J.

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.

The Kwo-tze-keen, or National University.

c

THROUGH CHINA

WITH A CAMERA

BY

JOHN THOMSON, F. R. G. S.

Author of
"The Antiquities of Cambodia"
'Illustrations of China and its People" etc.

With nearly ioo Illustrations

WESTMINSTER
A. CONSTABLE & Co.
1898

Eel.8(\l

INTRODUCTION.
Had the great Venetian traveller, Marco Polo, been able to
confirm by a series of photographs his story of the wonders of
Cathay, his fair fame would have escaped the discredit cast
upon it for centuries, and indeed until comparatively recent
investigation confirmed his story.
Since the time when I made my first journey into Cambodia
to examine its ancient cities, it has been my constant endeav
our to show how the explorer may add not only to the interest,
but to the permanent value of his work by the use of photo
graphy. The camera has always been the companion of my travels,
and has supplied the only accurate means of portraying objects
of interest along my route, and the races with which I came
in contact. Thus it came about that I have always been able to
furnish readers of my books with incontestable pictorial evidence
of my "bona fides", and to share with them the pleasure ex
perienced in coming face to face for the first time with the scenes
and the people of far-off lands.
Some parts of this volume have been published in a more
costly form. In the present instance the photographs have been
reproduced and transformed into printing blocks by a most
effective half-tone process, so that nothing in the original plates
is lost. The letter-press has been carefully revised and brought
up to date and in part re-written. I have kept myself " au

VIII INTRODUCTION.
courant" with the course of events in "Further Asia." But
in China and in Chinese institutions there is no well-defined
change to place on record. Western civilisation with its aggressive
activities appears to be opposed to the genius of the people,
who fain would be left alone to follow their time-worn methods
social and political.
To those of my readers interested in photography I may add
a note on my method of working.
All my negatives were taken by the wet collodion process, a
process most exacting in its chemistry, especially in a land where
the science is practically unknown.
Some of my troubles are recounted in these pages, and may
prove interesting to the amateur who works along the line of
rapid plates and films, and who after making his exposure, may
retain the plate with its latent image for an indefinite period
before development. With such plates and films ready to his
hand the explorer ought to be in a position to produce work
of the highest artistic and scientific value.
I must here thank my former pubHshers, Messrs. Sampson
Low and Marston, for their courtesy in allowing me to make
use of such matter as I required for the present volume.
January, i8g8. J. Thomson.

CONTENTS.
Page
Chapter I. A brief Sketch of the Condition of China, Past
and Present  .... i
,, II. The Chinaman Abroad and At Home . . . . i8
Chinese Guilds — Hongkong — Native boats — Shopkeepers
—Artists— Music Halls,
„ III. The Chinaman Abroad and At Home (continued). 34
Gambling — Typhoons — The floating population of Hong
kong — North branch of the Pearl river.
,, IV. Canton and Kwang-tung Province . . .52
Tea — Foreign Hongs and Houses — Schroffing.
,, V. Canton (continued)  62
Its general appearance — Its population — Streets — IVIode
of transacting business — Signboards — Work and wages
— The willow-pattern bridge — Juilin, Governor-General
of the two Kwang — Clan fights— Hak-kas — The mystic
pills — Dwellings of the poor — The Lohang-tang — Bud
dhist monastic life— On board a junk.
,, VI. Canton (continued). Macao. Swatow. Chao-chow-
Fu — Amoy . ... . . .... -85
The charitable institutions of China— Macao — Description
of the town — Its inhabitants— Swatow — Foreign settle
ment — Chao-chow-fu — Swatow fan-painters — Modellers
—Chinese art — Village warfare — Amoy — The , native
quarter — Abodes of the poor — Infanticide — Manure-pits
— Human remains in jars — Lekin — Romantic scenery —
Ku-lang-su — The foreign settlement.

X CONTENTS.
Chapter VII. Formosa  io6
Takow harbour, Formosa — La-mah-kai — Difficulties of
navigation — Tai-wan-fu— The Taotai — His yamen —
How to cancel a state debt— The Dutch in 1 66 1— Sylvan
lanes — Medical missions— A journey to the interior
Old watercourses— Broken land— Hak-ka settlers — Po-
ahbe — Pepohoan village — Baksa valley — The name
'Isla Formosa' — A long march — The central moun
tains—Bamboo bridges— ' Pau-ah-liau ' village — The
physician at work — Ka-san-po village — A wine-feast—
Interior of a hut — Pepohoan dwellings — A savage
dance — Savage hunting-grounds— La-lung village— Re
turn journey.
VIII. Foochow and the River Min  139
The Japanese in Formosa — Cause of the invasion —
The River Min — Foochow Arsenal — Chinese gun
boats — Foochow city and great bridge — A City ofthe
dead — Its inhabitants — Beggars — Thieves — Lepers —
Ku-shan Monastery — The hermit — Tea plantation on
Paeling hills— Voyage up the Min— Shui-kow — An
up-country farm — Captain Sheng and his spouse —
Yen-ping city— Sacrificing to the dead — Shooting the
Yen-ping rapids — A Native passenger-boat.
,, IX. Shanghai. Ningpo. Hankow. The Yangtsze. . 170
Steam traffic in the China Sea — In the wake of a
typhoon — Shanghai — Notes of its early history —
Japanese raids— Shanghai foreign settleraent^Paul
Su, or 'Su-kwang-ki ' — Shanghai city— Ningpo— Native
soldiers — Snowy valley — The Mountains— Azaleas—
The monastery of the Snowy Crevice — The thousand-
fathom precipice — Buddhist Monks — The Yangtsze
Kiang — Hankow— The Upper Yangtsze, Ichang — The
Gorges— The great Tsing-tan rapid — Mystic mountain
lights — A dangerous disaster — Kwei-fu— Our return —
Kiukiang— Nanking ; its arsenal— The death of Tsing-
kwo-fan — Chinese superstition.

CONTENTS. XI
Chapter X. Chefoo. Peking- Tientsin. The Great Wall. 219
The foreign settlement — The Yellow River— Silk —
Its production — Taku forts — The Peiho River — Chi
nese progress — Floods in Pei-chil-li — Their effects-
Tientsin — The Sisters' chapel — Condition of the
people — A midnight storm — Tung-Chow — Peking— The
Tartar and Chinese divisions of the metropolis — Its
roads, shops and people — The foreign hotel — Temple
and domestic architecture — The Tsungli Yamen —
Prince Kung and the high officers of the empire —
Literary championship — The Confucian Temple — The
Observatory — Ancient Chinese instruments — Yang's
house — Habits of the ladies —Peking enamelling — Yuen-
Ming-Yuen — Remarkable cenotaph — A Chinese army
— Li-Hung-Chang — The inn of 'Patriotic Perfection'
—The Great Wall— The Ming tombs.
APPENDIX.
The Aboriginal Dialects of Formosa  275

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Frontispiece. The Kwo-tze-keen or National University.
Facing page 2. Civil Mandarin in Official Chair.
,, „ 4. Military Mandarin.
,, ,, 16. Kowloon City, Mainland, opposite Hongkong.
,, ,, 24. The Kwang-tung Slipper-Boat.
„ ,, 26. Canton Boat-Girl and Chao-chow-fu Female.
,, ,, 28. Chinese Curio Shop, Hongkong.
,, ,, 30. A venerable Student and Chinese Artist.
,, ,, 32. Chinese Houses, Hongkong.
,, ,, 34. Street Gambling.
,, „ 36. Cantonese Girl and Pepohoan Woman, Formosa.
,, ,, 38. Group of Chinese Labourers, Hongkong.
„ ,, 40. Chinese Sawyers and Chinese Pedlar.
,, ,, 42. Chinese Bridge, Kwang-tung Province, China.
,, ,, 48. Buddhist Monks.
,, ,, 52. Distant View of Foreign Settlement, Canton.
,, „ 54. In a Chinese Tea-Hong, Canton.
,, ,, 56. Chinese Tea Dealers.
,, ,, 58. Suburban Residents, Canton.
,, „ 60. Schroffing Dollars.
,, ,, 62. Female Coiffure, Canton.
„ ,, 64. Garden, British Consular Yamen, Canton.
,, ,, 66. Physic Street, Canton.
,, ,, 68. Opium Smoking.
,, ,, 72. Reeling Silk.
„ „ 74. a, Pun-shi-Cheng's Garden, Canton.
b. Pavilion in Pun-shi-Cheng's Garden, Canton.
„ „ 76. Buddhist Monk.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

xiii

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Buddhist Monks at Chess.
Chinese Pagoda, Kwang-tung Province.
Macao. Approach to Buddhist Temple, Macao.
Bridge at Chao-chow-fu.
Buddhist Temple, Amoy.
Amoy Natives and Primitive Soldier.
Mountain Gorge, Island of Formosa.
Chinese Garden-gateway.
Chinese Street Industries.
Right bank of Lakoli river, Formosa.
Native Herbalist and Natives, Fukien Province.
Foochow Female and Chinese Seamstress.
Chinese Tomb.
Open Altar of Heaven, Foochow.
Szechuan Hermit and Lepers.
Yuen-fu Monastery, Fukien Province.
The Morning Bell — Yuen-fu Monastery, and Opium
Smoking.
Up-country Farm, Fukien Province.
Rapids near Yen-Ping City, River Min,
Fishing with Cormorants, and Knife Grinder.
Art Dealers and Chinese Coster.
Wayside Gambling.
Our Native House Boat, Upper Yangtsze.
My native Boat, Upper Yangtsze.
Mountain Scene, Province of Hupeh.
Near the Mitan Gorge, Upper Yangtsze.
Mountain Scene, Szechuan.
Night Watchman, Peking and Chinese Archer.
Street Scene in Peking, after rain.
Chinese Coolies and Collector of Printed Scraps.
The Great Bell, Peking, and Native Plough.
Gateway in Imperial Palace Wall, Peking.

XIV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Facing page 242. Travelling Cook and Chiropodist, Peking.
„ „ 244. a, Chinese Coster and Manchu Tartar Lady.
b. Peking Peep-Show.
c. Marble Bridge, Peking.
„ „ 246. Pialo or Memorial Arch, Peking.
„ „ 250. Military Mandarin.
„ ,, 252. Members of the Tsungli Yamen, Peking.
,, ,, 254. Great Gateway, Temple of Confucius, Peking.
,, ,, 256. Ancient Astronomical Instruments on the Wall
of Peking.
,, ,, 258. «. Manchu Tartar Lady and Manchu Lady and
Maid.
b, Tartar Lady and Maid.
,, ,, 260. a. Native Actors. Bride and Bridegroom.
b. Manchu Tartar Bride and Maid.
,, ,, 262. a. Marble Bridge, Yuen-Ming- Yuen.
b. Bronze Temple, Yuen-Ming- Yuen.
,, „ 264. a. Female compressed foot and natural foot, and
Sculptured Panel on Buddhist Cenotaph, Peking.
b. Wo-foh-sze Monastery, Yuen-Ming- Yuen.
,, ,, 266. Buddhist Temple, Yuen-Ming- Yuen.
,, ,, 268. a. Sculptured Terrace, Yuen-Ming- Yuen.
b. Mongols and Native Litter, Nankow Pass.
,, ,, 270. Chinese Bronze Lion, Yuen-Ming- Yuen, and
Funeral Bannermen.
„ ,, 272. a. Avenue leading to the Ming Tombs, North of
Peking. b. Temple of Ching-tsoo, Ming Tombs.

THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.

CHAPTER I.
a brief sketch of the condition of china, past and present.
"The Chinese are so ancient in the world that it fares with
them, as to their original, as with great rivers whose source
can scarce be discovered." It is over two centuries since this
was written by Le Comte, and the origin of the Chinese is
still wrapped in the obscurity that preceded the dawn of authentic
history. It is held by native scholars that Chinese history sup
plies a fairly accurate record of the Kings and Emperors who
have reigned for the past four thousand years, and that their
annals, dealing with an earlier period are largely mythical. The
primitive sovereigns of the race are represented as the sources
of the wisdom and probity, which are supposed to characterise
the Government of the present day. They were certainly not
without influence in moulding the political and social institutions
which have kept the Chinese together for so many centuries in
independence and isolation. The cause, however, of the per
manency of the Chinese Government, in its main outlines has
afforded ample scope for controversy to sinalogues and students
of history, some affirming that it is solely due to the principle

2 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
of paternal authority that forms the basis of the Chinese System,
while others attribute its continuity to the traditional method
followed in selecting officials. "It is solely owing to a principle
which the policy of every successive dynasty has practically
maintained, in a greater or less degree, — viz., that good govern
ment consists in the advancement of men of talent and merit
only, to the rank and power conferred by official posts."
This view Mr. Meadows supports by the authority of Con
fucius, who says: — "Good government depends on obtaining
proper men. Justice is what is right in the nature of things,
its highest exercise is to honour men of virtue and talent." ^
But other maxims are not wanting in the works of Confucius
to prove that good government, to be enduring, must be based
on the duties of universal obligation between "Sovereign and
minister, between father and son, between husband and wife,
between elder brother and younger brother, and those belonging
to the intercourse of friends." ^ It would appear, therefore, that
the persistency of the Chinese system of government must be
attributed to more causes than one, in some measure to the
patriarchal system, as well as to the principle embodied in
selecting the most accomplished scholars for the service of the
state. Be that as it may, the reader is probably aware that the
system of government examination for civil and military pre
ferment is one of the most aucient institutions of the Empire.
All official posts, theoretically, are open as the rewards of
distinguished scholarship. Examinations are periodically held
in the chief cities of the Empire, and the subjects for examina
tion, and methods followed by the examiners, are practically the

1 Meadow's Notes on China.
^ Chinese Classics, vol. I, page 103. —Prof. Legge.

LITERARY GRADUATES. 3
same as they were two thousand years ago, with this difference,
that a thorough scholarly acquaintance with the classics takes
now first rank, while the result of the moral teaching of the
sacred text-books is hardly recognised, and is left to the some
what elastic conscience ofthe successful candidate for office.
These examinations are open to all grades of society, excepting
the most depraved sections of the community, and those having
no recognised social status. On the surface, this appears to be
the one democratic institution of the country, but in its practical
operation proves no exception to the purely conservative basis
upon which all Chinese institutions are reared.
Literary graduates, when selected for the Imperial service,
are at once cut adrift from the people, and form a caste by
themselves, whose sole interest lies in maintaining the ancient
policy of the Government, to the exclusion of such measures
of progress and reform as would bring the country abreast of
the times, and foster the permanent interests of the community
from which they sprang. The system is nevertheless popular,
and the examination-hall full of infinite possibilities, affording
a strong incentive to parents to educate their children, with the
result that the schoolmaster is found in every village in the
Empire. He is himself a student, an expectant, or unsuccessful
candidate for office, who is treated with the honour befitting
the dignity of his position, and supported with much self-sacrifice
by the villagers. Judging from personal experience, few Chinamen
are wholly illiterate, while the majority are too poor to procure
anything beyond elementary training. It is from this untutored
class that our colonial settlements draw their supplies of labour,
the class "par excellence" showing capacity and determi
nation to adapt themselves to new surroundings and to profit by
the methods of Western progress. They are naturally free

4 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
from the retarding influence of cultured prejudice, which
characterises the Chinese "literati." It is to this humbler
section of the race, engaged in trade, and tillage, that one is
forced to look for the ultimate regeneration of China, rather
than to the accomplished followers of Confucius. It is within
my knowledge that some of these emigrants and their descen
dants, the latter having been trained in foreign schools, have
risen to opulence and launched successfully, on foreign lines,
abroad and in their own country, commercial undertakings of
great magnitude and importance. In the hands of such men
as these, perchance, lie the destinies of China, which must
either move forward, or drift and be dismembered by powers
over which she has no control. The experience of the last
quarter of a century, and especially the results of the last war
are far from reassuring, and do not encourage the hope that
China at the eleventh hour will "set her house in order." She
would have to re-organise her whole system of administration, ex
cepting her Imperial Maritime Customs under Foreign Commis
sioners, which might well serve as a model, or an honest foun
dation upon which to rear the new fabric of government. In
regard to the pressing necessity for reform of a drastic type,
the reader may draw his own conclusions from a perusal ofthe
recent "Times" correspondence, or still more recent British
Consular Report, on "The Revenue and Expenditure of the
Chinese Empire." The political as well as the fiscal outlook
are there set down in the most sombre colours. Will China
face the position boldly and at oncef A native scholar once
remarked that it takes more than a thousand years to introduce
a new tone into the Chinese language. Should this estimate
afford some clue to the ratio of political and social progress,
it is difficult to limit the time required to cast off the chrysalis

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CHINESE PHILOSOPHY. 5
of antiquity in which the Empire is shrouded. Signs of for
ward movement, however, have not been wanting, but they are
solely due to pressure from without, not unfrequently applied
at the point of the bayonet. There has been no spontaneous
advance. The efforts of the Chinese have been spent, and
their resources exhausted, in futile endeavours to safeguard
their ancient institutions. Arsenals, Naval and Military Schools
and Colleges have been founded, a fleet and armaments pur
chased, and untold wealth lavished on useless defences which
have left the Empire at the mercy of her foes. Still with all
these reluctant and costly innovations the Chinese to-day place
implicit faith in their time-worn methods of training for govern
ment service, civil and military. The nine books of the Classics
are the Examination Text-books, just as they were two thousand
years ago, and on them they have staked their existence.
Five of the books were written before the days of Pythagoras,
and the remaining four compiled by Confucius and his immediate
disciples. In these sacred tomes the authors are supposed to
have completed the circle of human knowledge, and left to
their countrymen a store of wisdom sufficient for all time.
All discoveries in Science and Art should conform to, and
be tested by these primitive standards, sources which were
frozen up during what may be termed the glacial epoch of
Chinese progress. Confucian philosophy stands at the opposite
pole to that of Bacon, and if not inoperative as a means of
cultivating the mind, is useless for all work of human develop
ment. It is the modern Great Wall, hedging round the
ignorance and superstition of the race. The moral maxims of
Confucius " are excellent, but they have not made the Chinese
a moral people." ' While his doctrine is full of faultless ethic-
' The Religions of the Chinese. — Dr. Edkins.

6 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
al teaching, it is placed on record that the teacher himself
failed in his integrity when personal interest was involved
"He broke an oath he had sworn at a place called Pfoo, on
the plea that it was a forced oath, and the Spirits do not hear
such." ' He also enjoined concealment of truth, if by that
means a father or friend might escape the conseque nces of their
own misdeeds. This touches upon a phase of national character
which accounts for much official malfeasance. The cultured
disciples of Confucius have not failed to profit by the few
isolated passages which record the back-sliding of , the Master,
while the scrupulous correctness of his conduct as a whole, and
excellence of his moral teaching have had little or no effect in
moulding the character of his modern followers.
If the ancient rulers of China were remarkable for wisdom
and probity, the morality of the modern Mandarin is mainly
confined to polite phraseology and posturing. This outer sem
blance of virtue and integrity presents a phase of Asiatic
character, with which foreigners in their Chinese experience
are not unfamiliar. It is the polished husk presented to the
outer barbarians with all due ceremony, and which has proved
so unsatisfying as to have led to reprisals which have brought
China to the verge of bankruptcy. But foreigners are not the
only sufferers by such methods of official procedure. The pro
vincial Governors enjoy a quasi-financial independence in the
collection and administration of a large part of the Imperial
revenue. Foreign and native trade alike suffer from the irre
gular mode practised in levying and collecting taxes. The
policy of the provincial officials in dealing with the revenue is
to retain as much as possible for local expenditure, and to
1 The Chinese Classics, vol. I, p. loi.- Prof. Legge.

SALARIES OF MANDARINS. 7
remit as little as possible to Peking. Things are made to appear
what they are not; a considerable portion of the revenue never
finds its way into the official returns, while many of the large
items set down for military and naval expenditure are so mani
pulated as to leave a large residue in the pockets of the pro
vincial rulers and their numerous retainers. For this the Govern
ment is in some measure responsible, as the official salaries
of Mandarins are merely nominal. That, for example, of the
governor-general of a province about equals the salary of a
city clerk, while his supplementary allowances are indefinite and
elastic, affording ample scope for the exercise of predatory
habits. It is indeed difficult, and, from the oriental point of
view, impossible, for the official to carry on his administration
with clean hands. Besides, his tenure of office is short, while
his present and prospective wants are immeasurable.
The safeguarding of a system that tolerates this state of
official corruption accounts in part for the native dread of innova
tion, and their intolerance of foreigners and foreign intercourse.
The one branch of the Imperial service carried on with hon
esty is, as I have noticed, the Imperial Maritime Customs, under
the direction of Sir Robert Hart. This yields an ever increas
ing revenue. The average annual return is over 23,000,000
taels, while the native Customs, with many more stations and
irregular imports, produce about 10,000,000 ta^ls, an amount
which always remains about the same, irrespective of war, fam
ine, pestilence, or fluctuations of trade. In the Kwang-tung
province the foreign Customs collect at four ports 3,000,000
taels, while the native Customs returns from forty ports and
stations less than half a million taels. ' The work accomplished
' Far Eastern Question. — Val Chirol.

8 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
by the Foreign Commissioners has met with scant appreciation
at the hands of the Chinese, and although it supplies the most
important item of revenue of the Central Government, has led
to no reform in other branches of the administration. Corruption
is still the rule, sapping the strength of every modem effort,
whether in re-organising the army, founding arsenals, or the
purchase of a fleet.
In justice, however, it must be recorded that the ruling classes
are not wholly corrupt. There are exceptions ; men in authority
who are famed for honesty rather than for stores of ill-gotten
gain, and men like the Viceroy of Hupeh and Yunan, Ching-
Chi-tung, who, in a patriotic attempt to benefit his country, squan
dered his fortune in founding gigantic iron and steel works,
which were to provide the railroad plant of a line from Hankow
to Peking. The works were to be managed entirely by Chinese,
while the foreigner was to look on with mingled envy and appre
hension. But, as might have been foreseen, for lack of know
ledge the project had to be abandoned. It may be noticed that
this Viceroy, so it was said, was not wholly unacquainted with
the promoters of the pseudo-republican rising in Formosa, which
gave the Japanese some trouble when they entered into posses
sion of that island. Since the close of the war with Japan,
reforms are in the air, just as they were a quarter of a century
ago. A new fleet is to be purchased, and the Chinese navy
organised under a British officer. Commander Dundas, R.N.
The army too, is to be re-modelled by English and German officers.
It is to be supposed before this step was taken, that a suitable
guarantee was obtained that the officers in question will be
accorded better treatment by the Chinese Government than fell
to the lot of Captain Lang, who became simply a naval instructor,
subordinate to the native officials, who embraced every oppor-

CHINESE DEFENCES. 9
tunity of misapplying funds, supposed to be devoted to rendering
the fleet efficient. If the new fleet, yet to be purchased, and
the army, yet to be formed, are to be of service, the funds
set apart for their organisation and maintenance should be ad
ministered by Europeans as a guarantee that they will be wholly
applied to the purpose for which they are intended. Should this
precaution fail to be taken, history will repeat itself, as the next
war will prove. What has become of the army of 600,000
fighting men, supposed to have existed before the war with
Japan, an army sufficiently organised to require regular rations
and payments. In travelling all over the country I saw no evidence
of the existence of any great military force. In the official
pay-sheets it figures as a very formidable host. Apart from the
numerical strength named, a considerable force does exist in the
North, brought together and maintained by Li Hung Chang,
when Viceroy of Pechili.
The navy, before the war broke out, numbered about one
hundred vessels of all sorts, from sea-going ironclads to torpedo
boats. This fleet, which does not now exist, will probably
be recreated at great cost, and before officers or men
can be trained for service. But this is a matter, which does
not disturb the Chinese mind. I do not know what the last
navy cost the Government, but I do know that neither ships,
officers nor crews were ever fit for fighting. The Chinese
trusted entirely, after the manner of their renowned Chieftains
of ancient history, to the outward show of force, rather than to
force itself, to defeat their foes. As for the army, on paper
it is a costly machine. In the provinces and capital a con
siderable part of the revenue is annually expended on this line of
defence, and yet in order to make some show of resistance
during the war, the force herded to the front was mainly from

IO THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
the fields; men engaged in tillage, who had never handled a
weapon more formidable than a hoe, were pushed forward,
musket in hand, and many of them left to raid their own coun
trymen for rations, until brought to the shambles on the battle
fields, or disbanded.
Reform, one would suppose in the case of China, to be
effective, would begin, not in wild schemes for arming the the
Empire in defence of the very institutions which are the cause
of her impotency, and of a system of corruption which would
render her land forces and fleet useless in a struggle against any
third-rate power, but begin with the government itself. The system
of administration must be made worthy of respect, so as to be
supported by the patriotic endeavour of the whole nation.
This can never be the case in China so long as the govern
ment figures as one in the first rank of Asiatic despotisms, so
long as there are no railways, no public press, no public opinion,
no modern facilities for intercourse, and no encouragement for
the development of great industries, except what China has
beein forced to concede by Treaty stipulations, notably by
clauses contained in the Treaty of Shimonosaki, which has
thrown open some new ports to trade. Under Article VI, it
is stipulated that Japanese subjects shall be free to engage in
all sorts of industries in the cities and open ports of the
Empire, and be free to import all sorts of machinery for
manufacturing purposes. By the provisions of the Treaty of
Tientsin, Great Britain and all other powers under the most
favoured nation concessions, share in the benefits conferred upon
Japan. China, indeed, has again been reluctantly thrust forward
as the direct result of her own immobility. But in order that
she may hold together, and voluntarily proceed along the path
of progress, it is essential first that the Government should

IMPERIAL MARITIME CUSTOMS. 1 1
conduct its affairs with honesty and discretion. For this end
there should be a central fiscal administration, accountable for
the whole income and expenditure of the Empire, and a Court
of Exchequer having a thoroughly experienced foreign Chancellor,
as a guarantee of efficiency. This would naturally lead to a com
plete revision of official salaries, which would be so supplemented
as to remove the necessity for peculation, and would secure
the whole revenue for the purposes of the Government, measures
which would at once place China in a sound financial position,
enabling her not only to meet all the liabilities resulting from
the late war, but to have a considerable surplus in reserve.
It is estimated that from one-half to two-thirds of the revenue
disappears in the process of collection and transmission. Other
essential reforms should follow, such as a complete survey of
the land, in order to secure a proper adjustment of the land
tax and return of the legitimate proceeds accruing from that
source. The unification of the whole of the Customs under the
present Imperial Maritime Customs Commissioners would sweep
away the system of farming inland transit dues, and levying
illegal imposts on foreign goods, by which they are so burdened
as to become unsaleable in many of the inland marts. The total
abolition of native collectorates would add greatly to the internal
resources, as returns from those quarters are always much
below actual collection. ' The entire revenue of the Central
Government of China, roughly speaking, is about one-fourth of
that of India, although in area of productive soil and in popu
lation India is at a disadvantage, while at the same time the
burden of taxation borne by the people under British rule is
lighter and less oppressive, and is not subject to fluctuations
1 See British Consular Report. Pari. 1897.

12 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
arising from the necessity, caprice or avarice of local officials.
It must be noted that the money paid to the central Govern
ment falls far short of the amount actually collected by the
provincial authorities.
In India every facility is afforded for the development of the
resources of the country, and for the expansion of trade, by a
network of railways and trade routes, and by the safeguarding
of the interests of the entire population. In China there are
no facilities for inland transport save by river and canal navi
gation, which the Chinese discovered to their cost during the
late war, no railroads of any commercial importance and no
roads worthy of the name. This in a land having boundless stores
of wealth in coal, iron and minerals of all sorts, and an un
limited supply of efficient labour; a land famed for the minute
economy of its people, who derive warmth and fuel from charcoal
and millet stalks, while millions of tons of coal He undisturbed
beneath their feet. The people are remarkable for their utili
sation of waste products in food and in tillage, while their
rulers can boast of the waste of their country's resources.
Mandarins hold commerce in contempt, and may not stoop
to trade at the peril of losing caste, and yet some there are
who add to their wealth by a quasi-connection with trade, as
in the case of Li Hung Chang and the China Steam Navigation
Coy., and who, while denouncing foreign opium as a curse
to the people, foster the cultivation of the native drug for
their individual profit. Li Hung Chang has acquired great
wealth by methods sanctioned by custom and best known to
himself. He is also not without fame as the figure-head of the
modern school of China, from whom better things were ex
pected than the complete collapse of her armaments, for which
he is held in a great measure responsible. It can hardly be

CHINESE DIPLOMACY. 13
expected that the Government will so warily guide the helm of
state as to clear the shoals which beset their course on all
sides. On the north and north-east, Russia, who used her
influence successfully in modifying the Treaty of Shimonosaki
and who guaranteed part of the indemnity exacted by Japan,
has not failed to advance her interests by obtaining a concession
to continue her Trans-Siberian railway through Chinese terri
tory to the seaboard ; there she will have a naval station with
an open sea at all seasons. The arrangement is ostensibly
temporary, but Russian diplomacy may be safely left to secure
its permanency. Along the coast of China the land lies open to
attack at all points, while on her south-western border the French
and ourselves are busily at work, contesting the right to widen
the ever extending sphere of influence, and to tap the trade
of two of the richest provinces of the Empire. In this region the
British have been treated to another example of bad faith in
the Chinese ceding territory to France, the small state of Maung
U, which by treaty stipulation was never to be transferred to a
third power. Negotiations regarding this double dealing have ter
minated satisfactorily, and one important result for British commerce
has been secured in opening the western river of Kwang-tung to
trade. By this concession we obtain a direct route to Kwangsi
and Yunan. France has permission to carry her railway from
Tongking as far as Liuchow in Kwangsi, but Britain may safe
guard her interests by the completion of the Mandalay railway
to Kun-lung ferry, whence little difficulty would be encountered
in continuing the route to a point above the French limit on
the Mekong. Given these routes and a fair field for trade, one
need not dread the results of the competition of our gallant
neighbours, whose trading capacity is far outstripped by their
chivalrous desire for Empire in the East. There is no reason

14 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
why we should not work in harmony, as the French cannot dis
pense with our services in commerce, unless indeed, they foster
a more intimate relationship with our German rivals. On the
other hand, the Germans have every reason to encourage French
colonial expansion as a factor not to be under-estimated in se
curing peace on their European borders. It is a sort of blood
letting of the military power of the latter, by which war fever
is allayed and forces are spread over an extremely wide and
unhealthy area.
Regarding the modern movement of China which had for
its object the defence of the Empire, one of the most daring
departures from her conventional and time-honoured institu
tions was promoted by the Viceroy of Hupeh and Yunan,
Ching-Chi-tung, already noticed, by the erection, at a cost of
about six million dollars, of rolling mills and arsenals at Hanyang.
The plant covered seventy acres, and had its railroad, half a
mile in length, from the Yangtize Kiang to the works. The
arsenal was destroyed by fire soon after its completion, and
finally the effort of this Chinese patriot had to be abandoned.
He proposed not only to supply the Government with abundant,
up-to-date munitions of war, manufactured by natives alone,
but to produce the plant, steel rails included, and to build a
trunk line from Hankow to Peking. The scheme proved a
ruinous failure as had been predicted, Ching-Chi-tung having
determined to dispense with the help of European experts and
workmen, his own object being to prove, once and for all, that
China, alone and unaided could supply herself with all that was
requisite to sustain her position as the paramount power in the
Far East. The money required for this disastrous venture came
from the private purse of Ching-Chi-tung, how he came to be
possessed of such vast resources has not been revealed. His

THE TIENTSIN-PEKING RAILWAY. 15
latest venture is framed on more modest lines — viz., the erection
of a Mint at Hankow; the dies for the coinage were sent from
Birmingham. This institution will possibly share the fate of the
Canton Mint, set up some seven years ago, and which turned
out dollars and smaller coins, but the dollars never got into
circulation, as no two batches proved of like value owing to
defective assay. Small coins are still struck, and find a market
as charms against malign influences.
The railway from Tientsin to Peking, constructed under the
direction of H. E. Hsu, should be completed before this work
sees the light. The more important trunk line from Hankow
to Peking is still in abeyance. But it is reported that a Belgian
Syndicate has secured the privilege of advancing ^4,500,000
sterling to be spent on the construction of the line, and the
right to supply materials and engineers. As the line is to figure
as part security, and the money is to be expended by Belgians,
one would expect that this much needed and long projected
railway would be built forthwith and finished with all speed.
I hope that the report may prove well-founded, and that the
Syndicate may ere long reap the reward of an enterprise so
daring and not unattended with risk. This loan it would appear
"has been authorized by Imperial Edict, and the contract signed
by Ching-Chi-tung and Sheng Taoti at Wuchang, also by the
members of the Tsungli Yamen Peking. Sheng secured for him
self a most unenviable reputation during the War, and has since
posed as the promoter of the Chinese Imperial Bank Scheme,
and financier of the Hankow-Peking railway. It is said that the
Belgians were not alone in their offer of capital for the enterprise,
but that the Chinese were fain to close with Belgium, being a
small power without a fleet. It is quite possible, notwithstanding,
that French and Russian financiers are not wholly uninterested

1 6 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
in the loan, and that, in the event of misunderstanding,
Belgium might not be left to settle matters singlehanded.
As I close this review of the position and prospects of China,
news has arrived of the opening of the West River of Canton,
and for this great boon to commerce we are in a great measure
indebted to the energy and diplomacy of Sir Claude Macdonald.
The opening of the ports on the west branch of the Pearl
river, has not been secured for ourselves alone, but for all
foreign nations, and this I may say is truly characteristic ofthe
liberal spirit of British diplomacy. The opening of this route
is a step which must have a far-reaching influence, not only on
foreign trade, but on the future of this part of the Chinese
Empire. Steamers now run from Hongkong to Wu-Chau-fu three
times a week, carrying passengers and produce.
I have alluded to the cession of Maung U, in the valley of
the Nam U, to France in violation of the understanding with
Great Britain. This -breach of faith has been atoned for under
the new Anglo-Chinese Convention ratified in Peking on June
5th of this year. By this agreement the Chinese cede to Great
Britain the Shan State of Kokang on the South of Yunan. The
State appears to be in form triangular, its base resting on the
British Shan States, and its apex piercing Yunan. The Salwin
flows through its centre, from the northern limit to Kun-lung
ferry, thus opening a route from the ferry, a point to which
the Mandalay railway will soon be completed. From Kun-lung
to the Yunan frontier in a straight line, is about sixty miles.
Gold is said to exist in the country, but the interior of Kokang
is practically unknown to Europeans. In addition, a small terri
tory has been added to the west of the Swali river, which
ought to prove important, as it points to a possible trade route
from Bahmo, by Kwitu, to the Shewli.

Kowloon City, W.iinland, opposite Hong Kong.

PROSPECTS. 17
1 will conclude this introductory sketch by expressing the
hope that China may awake from her lethargy before it is too
late, and pursue a policy of progress and enlightenment, and
so banish for ever her antiquated usages and bring herself
abreast of the times. The great trunk railway piercing the
most populous part of the Empire, will prove of incalculable
service, not only in opening new fields for commerce, but in
breaking the fetters of superstition which for centuries have
bound China and her people.

CHAPTER II.
the CfflNAMAN ABROAD AND AT HOME.
Chinese Guilds— Hongkong - Native Boats— Shopkeepers— Artists— Music
Halls.
My experience of the Chinese was not wholly confined to
their native land. Before travelling through China I obtained
some knowledge of the people in the Straits of Malacca, Siam,
Cambodia and Cochin China. Although it forms no part of
my scheme to recount in detail my impressions of the Chinaman
abroad, yet a brief outline of his condition and prospects as one
finds him outside the limits of his own land may assist the
reader in forming a fair estimate of his character and capacity.
He has been regarded as a non-progressive type, moving like
a planet in an orbit of his own, from which he may not diverge
without disaster to the political and social system of his nation.
The conclusion is not without reason, as in his own country
he is fettered by ancient tradition and the stern rule of a
despotic government. His sacred books are the classics of
antiquity in which are stored the tests of all human knowledge ;
there he must find the light of his life to guide him in his
career from birth to burial. He may not, and seemingly cannot.

CHINESE GUILDS. 19
conceive of the existence of a brighter and better philosophy,
where evolution and progress reign supreme. He is nevertheless
charged with latent energy and intelligence, which, as we shall see
only requires change of condition and fitting opportunities for
their liberation. The Chinaman out of his own country, enjoying
the security and prosperity which a more liberal administration
confers, seems to develop into something like a new being. No
longer chained to the soil, he finds wide scope for his energies
and high rewards for his industry. In Singapore, I found him
filling positions of honour and trust, figuring as a member of
the Legislative Council, as a contractor, builder, handicraftsman
and labourer, and so full of resource as to render his services
indispensable to the European community, having indeed no
equal among Asiatics. But the love of combination, of the
guilds and unions in which all Chinamen delight, tempts him
at times too far. His countrymen combine among themselves
to get as much out of each other as they possibly can, and
when practicable to monopolise trade and rule the markets;
and feeling the strength of organisation, the societies so
formed set up laws for themselves, for the rule and protection
of their members, in defiance of the local government. The
congsee, or guild, thus drifts from a purely commercial
into a semi-mercantile, semi-political league, and more than
once has menaced the power of petty states, by making
efforts to cast off the yoke which rested so lightly on its
shoulders. These societies are imitations of similar institu
tions existing in every province of the Chinese Empire, where
the people combine to resist government oppression, and the
peasantry unite in clans and guilds to limit the power of local
officials and of their employees, and to promote their own
commercial and social interests. Such societies are frequently

20 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
the cause of local disturbances, when the Sam-sings, or
fighting men, resist the interference of the police. The Sam-
sings are thus described by an old Chinese resident. "They
live by looting and are on the watch for any excuse for exer
cising their talents. Each hoey, or society, must have so many
of them, but I don't know any means of ascertaining their
numbers. They are a regular fighting people and are paid so
much a month. If there is any disturbance these people go
out in looting parties; whether ordered by the head men or
not, I cannot say; perhaps they do it on their own account."
I was present on one occasion in a village in Penang which
had been sacked and burned by hired ruffians belonging to an
opposing clan, and it required strong measures on the part of
the Government to put down the faction fight. This sort of
warfare, as we shall see when we reach the "Flowery Land",
the Imperial Government in the south of China has, at times,
been either unable or unwilling to suppress. This class of
Chinese immigrants cast upon the shore of a friendly state do
not unfortunately confine their attention to faction fights ; they
organise gang robberies and the wealthier Chinese are rarely,
if ever, the victims of their raids ; they indeed enjoy an im
munity which would appear unaccountable if we knew nothing
of native guilds. Chinese thieves are thorough experts at their
profession, adopting the most ingenious devices to attain their
infamous ends. I recollect a burglary which took place at a
friend's house, when the thief found his way into the principal
bedroom and deliberately used up half a box of matches be
fore he could get the lamp to light ; his patience being rewarded
at last, he proceeded with equal coolness in the plunder of the
apartment, not forgetting to search beneath the pillow, where
he secured a revolver and a watch. These Chinese robbers are

CHINESE THIEVES. 21
reported to be able to stupify their victims by using some
narcotic known only to themselves. I have no doubt this was
done in the case referred to by the agency of the Chinese
house-servants, who perhaps introduced the drug into my
friend's bed. The Malays have told me of cases, as they
averred, where the cunning Chinese thief passes the doorway
of the house to be pillaged, and tosses in a handful of rice
impregnated with some aromatic drug. This drug soon sends
the inmates off into deep repose, from which they seldom awake
till long after the robber has finished his undertaking, and that
in the complete and deliberate style which suits the taste of
the Chinese; for I must tell you that they at all times object
to vulgar haste, whatever be the business they are pursuing,
and they prefer if possible to avoid sudden surprises and
unexpected attacks. The slightest sound will make them take
to flight, dropping their booty and their garments, if any, in
order to facilitate escape. But when they have a daring robbery
on hand they go quite naked, with the body oiled all over and
the queue coiled into a knob at the back of the head and
stuck full of needles on every side. The following adventure
with a Chinese burglar befel an acquaintance of mine. About
midnight as he lay awake in bed, with the lamp extinguished
and the windows open to admit the air, he saw a dark figure,
silhouetted against the sky, clamber over his window rail and
enter the apartment. He lay motionless, till the intruder, be
lieving all to be safe, had reached the centre of the room, and
then sprang out of bed and seized him ; both were powerful
men, and a furious struggle ensued, but the robber had the ad
vantage, for his only covering was a coat of oil, so that at last,
slipping like an eel from the grasp of his antagonist, he made
a plunge at the window and was about to drop over, when his

22 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
pursuer caught him by the queue. The tail, stuck full of need
les, and alas! a false one too, came away, and was left a
worthless trophy in the hands of the European.
The Chinese guilds have been a fruitful source of trouble to
the government of the Straits Settlements, but I believe that
they are now well under control.
One element which operates successfully in maintaining order
in China is the superstitious reverence which the Chinese have
for their parents. Should a son commit a crime and abscond,
his parents are liable to be punished in his stead. This law,
even supposing it were put in force in a foreign land, would
not affect the immigrants, as they seldom bring their wives or
parents with them; and to this fact alone— that is, the absence
of the strong family ties held so sacred by the race — we may
attribute much of the difficulty encountered by our own author
ities in dealing with the crime and vice of this section of the
population. A few of the Chinese immigrants marry native
women, but the majority remain bachelors. If any one perchance
is unable to realise the hope of returning to his native village,
if he should die on foreign soil, his friends expend the savings
of the deceased in sending his body back to mingle with the
dust of his forefathers in China. Thus we find a steady stream
of the living and the dead passing to and fro between the
Straits Settlements and the southern provinces of China.
The foregoing presents a somewhat sombre sketch of the
Chinaman abroad, but it portrays some of the worst phases of
his character, and applies most particularly to the "mauvais
sujets" who have left their country for their country's good,
and some of them, embracing the opportunities afforded for
engaging in honest and remunerative labour, depart from their
evil ways and become useful members of the community. On

CHINESE EMIGRANTS. 23
the other hand, there is a large and ever increasing body of
patient, orderly and industrious labourers flowing southwards from
the parent source, who meet with every inducement to settle
in the undeveloped regions of Borneo, Sumatra and the Malayan
Peninsula; these men not only engage in tillage, but are the
most successful traders in the East. The mercantile section
have established for themselves connections in almost all the
islands to which our foreign commodities are carried ; their
agents reside in Sumatra, Java, Borneo and on the Indo-Chinese
mainland, collecting produce by barter with the natives, to
whom they are not infrequently related by social, as well as
commercial ties. In this way much of the produce shipped
from the East passes through the hands of Chinese middlemen,
or they forward it direct to their agents in Europe and America.
The great majority of the Chinese who emigrate to the Straits
Settlements are natives of the island of Hainan, or of the Kwang-
tang or Fukien provinces. Should they intermarry with the
Malays, the children of such parents assume the dress and
acquire the language of the father in addition to an English
education in the Government schools. They also obtain commercial
training under the compradors employed by European firms to
deal directly with the natives in buying and selling produce,
and the result of this is that a large percentage of the direct
trade has passed into the hands of the Chinese. They have
indeed adopted the philosophy of Bacon, which differs from that
of Plato and Confucius, its sole aim being "to provide man
with what he requires while he continues to be man," while
that of the Platonic and Chinese philosophy was "to raise us
far above vulgar wants." The aim of the Baconian philosophy
was "to supply our vulgar wants," and this is the business to
which the immigrant from Cathay devotes his energies, when

24 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
freed from the guidance of his sages, "which began in words
and ended in words." '
Having touched lightly on some points of character in the
Chinese as one finds them abroad, I will now proceed to pass
them in review as I saw them on their native soil in Hongkong.
This spot, moored to our little island by an electric cable that
sweeps half round the globe, rises like a political beacon out of
the China Sea, and has by no means been without its influence
in preventing the Tartar dynasty from foundering, in maintaining
peace and casting the light of a higher civilisation over some
dark corners of the Flowery Land. It stands alone on the
fringe of the great continent of Asia, with its mixed population,
its British rule, its noble European edifices and Chinese streets,
its Christian Churches and Buddhist Temples, a Crown Colony
of which we have no reason to be ashamed. The geographical
position of the island, its climate, its mineral and material pro
ducts are so well known as to require no comment at my hands,
but its native population present some curious phases of Hfe
and character, and with these I propose to deal. On its hos
pitable shores we again find the Chinaman free to follow the
lucrative channels of commerce and of labour. His industry, his
thrift and his placid contentment with his surroundings cannot
fail to impress the most casual observer. The city of Victoria
with its solid granite buildings, its magnificent esplanade and
palatial residences are the handiwork of this much maligned
alien ; by his labour the island rocks have been hewn and fashi
oned and reared into a city that has no equal in Eastern Asia.
The initiative lay with the Government, with the British architects
and designers, but the practical details and solid work are
' Macaulay, vol. I, page 399.

55

HONGKONG. 25
Chinese. Since 1843 when we hoisted our flag, the progress of
the colony has experienced no serious check, and the native
population, despite local disturbances caused by the influx of
the scum of Chinese cities, has contributed in no small degree
to its general prosperity. The natives, the best of whom still
cling to their old superstitions, are in the mid-stage of evolution ;
their inborn prejudice against up-to-date foreign methods of
dealing with crime and insubordination, and the not infrequent
waves of zymotic disease, such as cholera and the black plague,
rouse them to most determined resistance. They stubbornly
refuse sanitation as a body, or as individuals. But of this we
have examples much nearer home, in the centres of congested
population in our large towns. The low-lying quarters of Hong
kong, where the poorest and most depraved class of Chinese
reside, present the most favourable conditions for the growth of
zymotic disease, especially during the hot months of the year.
Poverty, insufficient and unwholesome food, a humid atmosphere
and temperature over 90 deg. in the shade, account in a great
measure for the frequent visits of cholera and the black plague.
These scourges of unsanitary humanity invariably limit their
ravages to such localities as I have indicated, while the wealthier
and more cleanly localities are free from the disease. Under
these circumstances it is surprising to find, even among the
educated Chinese, a rooted objection to our modern methods
of sanitation and our treatment of disease ; they regard the
drastic operations enforced as utterly barbarous and quite un-
suited to a cultured, if not cleanly people. There are of course
many notable exceptions among the old resident natives, who
have learned wisdom by experience, and who have aided the
Government in dealing with their unruly countrymen. Many of
the unlettered natives have a notion that England is a small

26 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
settlement on the borders of China, and that we as a people
are wholly engaged in commerce with that Empire, and that
Hongkong represents our greatest possession. The floating
population must not be overlooked. There are in Hongkong
waters many thousands of such people, who make their homes in
their boats, and earn their subsistence by fishing, or attending
upon the ships in the harbour. These folk carefully study the
indications of the weather, and can calculate with great shrewd
ness the near approach of a storm; they usually verify their
own observations by ascertaining the barometrical changes from
foreign ship-captains in port, and when they have settled in
their own mind that a typhoon is at hand, they cross the harbour
en masse, and shelter in the bays of Kowloon until the fury of
the hurricane is past. The men in the boats are naked to the
waist and bronzed with constant exposure, but the women are
decently clothed and are pretty and attractive-looking. Some of
them, if we may judge by their pale skins, their finely formed
features and their large lustrous eyes are not of purely Chinese
blood. The sedan chair, in use all over China by the official classes,
was the favourite mode of conveyance in Hongkong, and afforded
remuneration to a large number of stalwart cooHes. This has
been replaced by the jimricksha from Japan, a hand-cart on
wheels with a man motor between the shafts. The change is
not without significance, as the Japanese are destined by modes
less gentle, if aU the more sure, to drive their neighbours over
paths of progress hitherto unexplored. I may here note that
in a former work I made a fairly accurate forecast of the recent
conflict between the Empires of China and Japan and its issue.
The jimricksha men, who take the place of our cab-drivers,
make it their study to find out the habits of European residents,

NATIVE SHOPKEEPERS. 27
so that a new-comer only requires to be about a week in the
place, and it is ten chances to one, should he dine out and
hail the first vehicle to take him home, the coolie, without a
word spoken on either side will land him at his domicile. Nay,
more, they have learned something of his personal character,
and whether they ought to trust him and accept the paper which
he offers. It is customary in most transactions with the Chinese
to pay them with an order on the Schrof, or Chinese cash-
keeper, of the house to which one belongs, and the Schrof in
honouring these cheques, whenever he has the opportunity, will
discharge the debt in light dollars and charge full weight to
his employer's account. This is the first sample of the system
atic squeezing and overreaching process which is the keynote
of Chinese society over the whole land. The system is as
minute as it is perfect in its ramifications.
Chinese shopkeepers are a class apart, and vie with each
other in their display of costly wares. Canton silks, carved ivory,
jewellery, porcelain and paintings. Entering a Cantonese shop,
one is welcomed by the proprietor himself, a Kwang-tung gentle
man speaking English; his attire is a jacket of Shan-tung silk,
dark crape breeches, white leggings and velvet embroidered
shoes, and he displays all the ponderosity and ease of a pros
perous Chinaman. His assistants are dressed with equal care
and stand behind ebony counters and glass cases, the latter of
spotless polish and filled with curiosities. One side of the shop
is occupied by rolls of silk and samples of grass matting, all
labelled and priced; the floor above is taken up with a cleverly
arranged assortment of bronzes, porcelain, ebony furniture and
lacquered ware. These men, as a rule, are fine specimens of
their race, generally fair in their dealings, and will supply
the cheapest toy with as great politeness as if receiving an

28 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
order for a ship-load of embroidered silks. In the market
place in the Chinese quarter the chief business of the day is
concluded by about seven in the morning. Here the avenues
are rendered picturesque by painted and gilded sign-boards,
inscribed with Chinese or English characters, though the dealers
are all of them Chinamen. Thus, Ah- Yet, Sam-Ching, Canton
Tom and Cheap Jack announce that as ship compradors, they
are prepared to supply poultry, beef, vegetables and groceries
of the best quality at the lowest rates, and solicit a trial, or
at least an inspection of their stalls. Such men keep monthly
market-books for their customers, and these with each item
suppHed and price jotted down, are settled at the end of each
month. Apart from the well-fitted shops of these useful mem
bers of society there are stalls which supply special commo
dities, preserved European provisions, fruit, fish and so forth.
Perhaps the most interesting of these is the fishmonger's,
whose estabHshment consists of a number of tanks or aquaria,
filled with clear running water and teeming with living sea or
river fish, for the most part reared in the Canton fish-breeding
ponds and brought to market in water-boats. The purchaser
stands over the tank, selects some finny occupant which he
fancies, and this is at once caught and supplied to him. The
fish are of great variety and beauty, as may be gathered from
an inspection of Mr. Reeves' coUection in the British Museum.
Then at the butchers' staHs sundry delicacies are met with,
unknown to the European palate, and in which the natives
delight; rats strung up by their tails, temptingly plump, and
festoons of living frogs, fattened for the epicure. Here and
there one may see small ribs and legs, undoubtedly canine;
these are exceptional and are more commonly exposed for sale
in purely Chinese cities. As a rule the Chinese are not par-

Chinese Curio SIiop, Hong Kong.

CHINESE ARTISTS. 29
ticular as to the kind of food they eat,' but they are cleanly
in their modes of preparing it, and we might well learn some
valuable lessons from them in this branch of domestic economy ;
thus they are skilled in making palatable and nutritious dishes
out of odds and ends, and are far less wasteful and extravagant
in the use of their food than we are. A number of the best
European vegetables are sold in the Hongkong market; beef,
mutton, fowls, eggs, fish and game are also to be procured at
prices which seldom exceed what we pay for the same com
modities at home. Besides, there are about fifty different kinds
of fruit, nearly half of them indigenous and peculiar to China.
Following the main thoroughfare, one notes the display of
sign-boards, each one glowing in bold Roman letters with the
style and title of some Chinese artist, such as " Chin-Sing, por
trait painter", "Afong", "Ating" and many others, which make
up the list of the painters and photographers of Hongkong.
Some of the specimens of photographic art displayed in door
ways are fairly good, while others are the most hideous carica
tures of the human face that it is possible for the camera to
produce. A Chinaman wiH not suffer himself to be posed so
as to produce a profile or three-quarter face, his reason being
that the portrait must show him to possess two eyes and two
ears and that his round face is perfect as a full moon. The
same observance of symmetry is carried out in the entire pose
of the figure ; the face too must be as nearly as possible devoid
of shadow, or if there be any shadow at all, it must be equal
on both sides. Shadow they say should not exist, it is an
accident of nature and therefore should not be portrayed, as
it does not represent any feature of the face; and yet they all
of them carry fans in order to secure that very shade so essen
tial to existence in the south of China. They fail to recognise

so THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
that, in conjunction with light, they are indebted to shade for
the visible appearance of all things animate and inanimate which
make up the Chinese Empire. These desultory notes would be
incomplete were I to omit an account of the portrait and minia
ture painters of the Colony. They have no Academy or peri
odical exhibitions, in which one may inspect their work, it is
therefore necessary to visit the studios. The walls of Ating's
atelier are adorned with paintings in oil, and at one extremity
of the apartment a number of artists are at work, producing
large coloured pictures from small imperfect photographs. The
proprietor has an assistant, whose business it is to scour the
ships in port in search of patrons among the foreign crews.
Jack desirous of carrying home a souvenir of his visit to the
wonderful land of pigtails and tea, supplies a photograph of Poll
or Susan, and orders a large copy to be executed in oils. The
whole to be finished, framed and delivered in two days, and is
not to exceed the contract price of four dollars, or about one
pound sterUng of our money. The work in this painting-shop,
like many things Chinese, is so divided as to afford the maxi
mum of profit for the minimum of labour. Thus one artist
sketches, another paints the face, a third does the hands, and
a fourth fiUs in the costume and accessories. Susan is placed
on the limner's easel and is covered with a glass bearing the
lines and squares which solve the problem of proportion in the
large work. A strange being the artist looks, he has just roused
himself from a long sleep, and his clothes are redolent of the
fumes of opium ; he peers through his large spectacles into
poor Susan's black eyes, and measures out her fair proportions
as he transfers them to the canvas,— then she is passed from
hand to hand, until at last every detail has been produced with
pre-Raphaelite exactitude, and a glow of colour added to the

a venerable student.

CHINESE ARTIST.

MUSIC HALLS. 3 1
whole far surpassing nature. But let us examine the finished
picture. The dress is sky blue, flounced with green ; chains of
the brightest gold adorn the neck, there are bracelets on the
arms and rings on the fingers, gleaming with gems. The hair
is pitchy black, the skin pearly white, the cheeks of vermilion
and the lips of carmine ; as for the dress, it shows neither spot
nor wrinkle, and is as taught, her lover would say, as the
carved robes of a figure-head. Jack proudly hangs the picture
above his bunk, but stiH, at times, he has his grave misgivings
about the small hands and feet and about the rainbow-hued
sailor's goddess into which Susan has been transformed. Ating's
miniature work on ivory is conducted on the same co-operative
and commercial lines, and is decidedly better than when the
copies are enlarged. The paintings are always minute, but
during my stay in the Colony I fell in with only one man who
could venture with any success beyond a mere servUe imitation
of a photograph. He was a sort of genius in his way, and at
the same time a most inveterate opium smoker ; when I first
knew him, he was a good-looking dandy, in full work as a
miniature painter, fond of good company and high living, a
frequenter of music-halls and the gambling clubs of Victoria.
He first smoked opium in moderation, but this habit gained
upon him to such an extent, that when the hour for the pipe
came on, no matter where he was, he had to rush off and
abandon himself to the use of the drug, which soon brought
him to his grave.
The lower quarter of the town to which I have alluded, em
braces "Tai Ping Shan", or the HiU of Great Peace. The
name is a fine one, but a fine name will not hide the sins
of the place ; it is inhabited almost wholly by Chinamen ; as
for the women, they are numerous enough, but of the lowest

32 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
type. There are strange hotels in this quarter, besides music-
haUs and lodging-houses, the haunts of vagabonds known to the
poHce. I once accompanied an inspector of police on one of
his periodical rounds through this region of darkness, and I
should shrink from describing everything I saw there; but it
proved to me that all that has been alleged of the immorality
of this section of the native population is perfectly true. On
the other hand, the more respectable part of the community
had there many places of rational amusement, with which one
could find no fault whatever. Among the largest music-halls, one
may serve as a type of the great majority of the others. At
the entrance there stood an altar, crowned with votive offer
ings dedicated to the god of pleasure, whose image surmounted
the shrine. To the right and left of this hung scroHs, on which
high moral precepts were inscribed, sadly at variance with the
real character of the place. Half a dozen of the most fasci
nating of the female singers were seated outside the gate ; their
robes were of richly embroidered silk, their faces were enam
elled, and their hair bedecked with perfumed flowers and
dressed, in some cases, to represent a teapot, in others, a bird
with spread wings on the top of the head. On the ground
floor all the avaUable space was taken up with rows of narrow
compartments, each one furnished with an opium couch and
all the appliances for the use of the drug. Here were girls in
constant attendance, some ready to prepare and charge the
bowl with opium, and others to strum upon the lute and sing
sweet melodies to waft the sleeper off into dreamland, under
the, strangely fascinating influences which, ere long, wiU make
him wholly their slave. On the first floor, reached by a flight
of steps, there is a deserted music-room showing traces of
the revel of the preceding night, in faded garlands which still

CHINESE HOUSES, HONGKONG.

MUSIC. 33
festooned its carved and gilded ceiling. There were two more
stories to the edifice, both of them partitioned off in the same
way as the ground floor. At another house we visited we
found a goodly company in the music-saloon ; the interior had
been freshly decked with flowers, festooned from the ceiling,
or suspended in baskets made of wattled twigs, while mirrors,
paint, gilding and all the skiU of Kwang-tung art had been
lavishly bestowed on the more permanent waH decorations.
At a table spread with fruits and delicacies, sat a merry throng
of Chinamen, young, middle-aged and old; hot wine in bright
pewter pots was passing freely round the board, and the re
vellers were pledging each other in small cups of the steaming
draught. We had dropped in upon a dinner-party, where,
under the influence of native wine, melon seeds and pretty
women, the guests were engaged in a noisy, but at the same
time friendly, contest in the art of versification. Behind each
guest, as is customary at such gatherings, a young girl sat;
many of them might fairly claim to be caUed handsome, while
all were prettily dressed in the fashionable silks of Canton;
their hair was wreathed with flowers, and their faces painted
until they resembled their native porcelain ware. An old Chinese
merchant present, whom I knew, informed me that these women
were all highly respectable. That might be the case; at any
rate, he assured me that they were not infrequently carried off
by the visitors and raised to the rank of second wives or
concubines. Music was being performed in the four corners
of the room by four independent female bands, each accom
panying the shrill piping voice of an old woman, who sang
the adventures of a hero of romance, a personage famous alike
for his prowess and his ardent and amorous heart.

CHAPTER III.
the CHINAMAN AT HOME AND ABROAD (^Continued).

Gambling — Typhoons — The Floating Population of Hongkong— North Branch
of the Pearl River.

Gambling is a phase of Oriental vice to which the Chinese
are peculiarly addicted, and was at one time farmed by the
Government, but the ordinance was eventually suppressed. The
licensing system, during its short career, contributed about
14,000 dollars a month to the Treasury, and judging from local
statistics, naturally aided in the suppression of crime. It was,
besides, supposed to maintain a higher moral tone among the
native police, who, when secret gambling-houses flourish, are
seduced continually by bribes into dereliction of duty and
corruption. One of the difficulties in carrying out the plan was
the conscientious scruple, which, apparently, even affected the
promoters of the measure, as to the application of a constantly
accumulating fund derived from a source so poUuted. It was
even suggested to drop it silently into the sea and have done
with it. All I would say is, if the policy of sheltering this
particular vice, in order to effect a diminution of crime in the
Colony, was sound, the proceeds of the gambling-farm might
have been worthily employed in rendering the police-force

Street Gamblinsf.

GAMBLING. 35
stiU more efficient, and in lightening the burden of taxation
borne by the colonists. But, as I have no desire to criticise
government measures, I wiU simply state that, on the same
lines, the policy adopted of bringing disorderly houses under
the direct supervision of the government by licensing, had also
to be abandoned, although the results, as far as statistics show,
proved the wisdom of the measure.
During the time when gambling-houses were under supervision,
they became the open resort of most respectable-looking Chinese;
patterns one would suppose of native virtue. It took me by sur
prise, when visiting a gaming-house, to find one or two native
shopkeepers, otherwise noted for respectabiUty, busily engrossed
at the table. The room in which I found them was nearly square,
and the ceiling had been pierced with an opening leading to the
next floor or gallery. This gallery was filled with a sUent party
of players, some of whom were bending over, looking down upon
a long table spread before us. A close-shaven, placid Chinaman
on the right of the table acted as banker, and before him an
orderly array of coins and bank-notes were spread out on the
table. It was surprising to note the speed with which he reckoned
up the winnings and interest on the smaUest sums, deducting a
seven-per-cent commission from the gains of every transaction ;
behind him an assistant weighed the dollars, broken silver and
jeweHery of the players, then at his side was the book-keeper,
and on the left the teller. On the centre of the table lay a
square pewter slab crossed with diagonal lines, and the sections
thus formed bore the numbers, one, two, three and four respec
tively. The player was at liberty to stake on any of these
numbers, when, unless he ventured on two numbers separately
and at once, he would have three to one against him, plus
seven per cent on his winnings should he succeed. Some men

36 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
spend the entire day in the house, and on starting, open an
account with the bank, which is kept carefully posted on a
pewter slab before them, and balanced at the close of the day.
When the stakes are made, some are dropped from the upper
gallery in a smaU basket attached to a cord. The teller, who
conducted the vital part of the business, sat there serene and
stolid, closely watched in spite of his seeming probity and hon
our. His sleeves were short, nearly up to his arm-pits ; before
him, on the table, lay a pile of polished cash, from this he took
a handful, placed it on a clear space and covered it with a
brass cup. After the stakes were made, the cup was removed,
and the teller proceeded with the extreme end of an ivory
wand to pick out the cash in fours, the remaining number
being that which wins. Before the pile is half counted, provided
there are no split coins or trickery in the game, a habitual player
can always tell, with puzzling accuracy, what the remainder will
be, and at this stage of the game one observes a striking pecu
liarity in the Chinese character. There are no passionate excla
mations, no noisy excitement, no outbursts of delight, no deep
cursing of adverse fate. It is only in the faces of the players
one can see the signs of emotion, or the sullen determination
to carry on at all hazards, until Fortune smiles once more, or
" leaves them beggared at the board.
Native gambling is not confined to gaming-houses, it is
carried on in clubs and private abodes, in the highways and at
the corners of streets by labourers in their leisure moments;
even children will form a ring round a vendor of sweets and
stake their cash in the attempt to win a double share of his
condiments. Lotteries are also in great vogue in China at all
times ; for these, tickets are sold on which a series of numbers
are engrossed; the purchaser pays his cent and marks ten of

Cantonese Girl.

Tepohoan Woraan, Formosa.

A TYPHOON. 37
the numbers, those which by some secret process of his own he
selects as the lucky set. The marked ticket is then paid in,
and the holder receives a duplicate marked in the same way.
On the day of drawing, the numbers are supposed to be dealt
with by a mystic being or spirit, whose abode is darkness ; he
who holds three of the winning numbers gets back his money
in fuU, and he who holds the ten numbers gets back six thou
sand times his stake. This banker not unfrequently pockets
fifty per cent as his profit for managing the lottery. Although
gambling is a popular Chinese vice, it does not, so far as I am
aware, meet with recognition from the Chinese Government, and
this is all the more astonishing as it might be made to contri
bute largely to the Imperial revenue.
I have already noticed the floating population of Hongkong,
a community which suffers great loss during the storms or ty
phoons common to the region. I had long been anxious to
witness a typhoon, and I had my wish gratified on more than
one occasion. The force of the wind at such times is more
than I thought possible. It whirls ships helplessly adrift from
their moorings, and I have seen them emerge from the storm
with canvas torn to shreds, spars carried away, and masts
broken off nearly flush with the deck. In Hongkong, the wind,
with a sudden blast, has riven roofs from houses and blown them
far inland, and has sent solid brick corners and projecting ve
randahs flying across the streets. Once while the tempest was
at its height, I ventured down to the Praya, in time to see the
crowd of Chinese boats and sailing craft that had been blown
inshore and piled up in a mass of wreck below the city, at
the western end of the beach. One or two intrepid foreigners
had been there and had rescued a large number of the natives,
but many more had gone down with their boats. The sky was

38 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
dark and leaden, and there were moments when the wind abated
only to gather fresh violence, catching up the crested waves and
sending them in long white streaks of vapour across the scene,
through which dismantled ships were dimly descried, drifting
from their moorings, and steamers with steam up, ready for
any emergency. Blinded by the waves as they leapt over the
road and dashed against the houses, and lying forward on the
wind, I at length reached the east end of the Praya, joining a
number of foreigners who were attempting to rescue two women
from a small Chinese boat. These women, seemingly greatly
exhausted, were putting forth their last efforts to keep their
tiny vessel in position and to prevent it from being dashed to
pieces against the dislodged, jagged blocks of the Praya wall.
Advantage was taken of a slight lull to fire off line-rockets,
but these were driven back like feathers, against the houses ;
then long-boats were dragged to the pier, but the first was
wrecked in launching, the second met with a like fate and its
gallant crew were pitched into the sea. Every effort proved
abortive, and as darkness set in the poor women were reluc
tantly left to their fate.
The Chinese as I found them at home, under their own
paternal Government, proved in some material respects different
from their fellow-countrymen abroad. The large majority are
engaged in manual labour of some sort, chiefly tillage, not be
cause of its lucrative nature, but because Mother Earth was the
only friend they could trust to yield them subsistence for labour.
Their rulers, represented to them by the nearest Mandarin and
his crafty Yamen-runners, collectors of revenue, legitimate and
otherwise, could be trusted only to gather their spoil. They
were the far-reaching antennae of the Government, trained to a
degree of scientific nicety to leave blood enough in the body of

Group of Cliinese Labourers, Hong Kong.

NORTH BRANCH OF THE PEARL RIVER. 39
the patient husbandman, to enable him to continue his toil
without fainting, to supply his own modest wants and to fill the
local treasury. But some seasons the crops fail, and the farmers
having no resource whatever, perish in multitudes, of famine
and disease. In some of the Western provinces, the people,
noted for their independence, resist extortion by the ruling
classes and live in comfort and even affluence. This limitation
also applies to the merchants at the ports open to foreign trade ;
many of them amass wealth and enjoy the protection of the
local authorities, who, some of them, have money profitably
invested in native commercial enterprises. The bulk of the
officials, however, while they view commerce with contempt, do
not scruple to levy extortionate exactions on trade, and to
accept bribes to condone offences against the law, even to the
extent of permitting a criminal to procure a substitute to suffer
capital punishment in his stead. '
My first excursion into China proper was an ascent of the
north branch of the Pearl river of Kwang-tung, accompanied
by three Hongkong residents. This northern affluent joins the
main stream at a point caUed "San Shui," or Three Waters,
lying above Canton, about forty miles inland. To reach it we
must pass through the Fatshan Creek, where Commodore Keppel
fought his famous action in 1857. The town of Fatshan exceeds
a mile in length ; the Creek passes right through its centre, and
it is the nucleus of the great manufacturing districts of Southern
China. Cutlery and hardware are the two chief industries, hence it
is said to be the Sheffield of Cathay. It appeared strange to me
after examining the native wares, that similar articles of superior
English make had done so little to supplant the industry ofthe
' Meadow's Notes on China.

40 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
Fatshan factories. This is partly caused by the cheapness of
Chinese labour and the suitableness of the articles manufactured
to local popular requirements. Chinese scissors, for example, are
quite different from those in use with us, and if we were to
attempt to cut with them, we should be apt to tear the cloth.
In the hands of a native tailor they are made to work wonders,
and indeed use has taught the latter to prefer them to our
own. The iron used in this district is mainly imported from
abroad, although it is said that ore abounds in the Ying-ping
district of the province, of a quaHty so good as to yield 70 per
cent of the metal. '
But the "Feng-shui" superstitious dread of natives, fostered
by the Mandarins, to opening mines is gradually giving way
before the pressure of foreign intercourse and a practical popular
awakening to a knowledge of the wealth stored up in the land.
Contiguous to the iron deposits are also coal-beds of un
known extent and value. So long, however, as " Feng-shui" and
Government opposition hold their sway, mines are certain never
to be opened up. Some progress has been made in this
direction ; the coal mines of Kaiping, eighty miles north-east of
Tientsin, are worked with European machinery, and connected
by a railroad with the Peh-tang river, twenty-one miles distant.
As we pass through the city we notice numerous edifices sub
stantially built of brick, the residences of native merchants,
temples with a sculptured granite fagade, and a large customs
station; but the houses in the suburbs which border the creek
are raised above the water, on piles, and their temporary, miserable
appearance is in striking contrast to the abodes and evidences
of wealth which we encounter in the heart of the town. The Creek
¦ China Review, 1873, p. 337.

CHINESE SAWYERS.

CHINESE PEDLAR.

FATSHAN CREEK. 4 1
is the principal thoroughfare, and is crowded with thousands of
junks and boats, all busily engaged in loading or discharging cargo,
or else in bearing passengers to and fro along the extremely narrow
channel which winds its way through this floating Babel where
endless discord reigns. This creek is evidently much too con
tracted for the traffic of the place ; and I can readily imagine
how, forty years ago, the Chinese squadron, fleeing before a
handful of British tars in their smaU boats, drew up Hke a
wall across this narrow passage, and poured a hail-storm of shot
upon their gallant assailants, spreading death and destruction
among the little band. As for the Commodore, with his boat
shot away from under him, "with his coxswain killed, and every
man of his crew wounded, ' he retired to await reinforce
ments, and returned at last from a severe attack, with five of
the largest junks in tow." The Chinese themselves, who are by
no means destitute of courage, are said honestly to have acknow
ledged their admiration for the pluck and daring of the man
who started with seven small boats to capture Fatshan and its
200,000 inhabitants, and who destroyed their entire fleet — the
terror, as was supposed, of the "foreign fire-eating devils," who
were held never before this to have fought a fair fight; but to
be always taking their foes in the rear of their forts, instead of
bravely coming to the front and taking the guns which had
been set up with so much pains for the very purpose of re
ceiving their assaults.
Whenever a block-up among the boats in the creek takes
place — which happens frequently, and is protracted indefinitely
for a long period of time— one has leisure to notice the nu
merous floating tea and music saloons, and many flower barges
' China, p. 35— G. Wingrove Cooke.

42 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
moored close against the banks. These boats carry elevated
cabins on their decks, and are very prettily carved, painted,
gilded and decorated throughout. The windows and doors are
curtained with sUk; and through one of these, which stood
conveniently open, we could discern gaily-dressed young dandies,
and even elder Sybarites, flirting with gaudily painted girls, who
waited upon them with silver pipes or Chinese hookahs, or
served up cups of tea. There were pleasure boats, too, fitted
up with private cabins, in which famUies were being conveyed
into the country to enjoy a gHmpse of the green rice-fields and
orchards. At San-shui we entered the north river, passing into a pictur
esque district, in some places not unlike the Scottish lowlands,
covered with ripening fields of barley. Halting not far from
the town of Lo'pau, at Wong-Tong village, on the right bank
of the stream, I prepared to take a photograph, and my in
tention was to include a group of old women who were gossiping
and drawing water ; but when they saw my instrument pointed
towards their hamlet, they fled in alarm, and spread abroad the
report that the foreigners had returned and were preparing to
bombard the settlement. A deputation soon set out from the
village, led by a venerable Chinaman, the head man of the clan,
and to him we explained that we had come on no hostile errand,
but only to take a picture of the place. He gave us a hearty
welcome to his house, spreading tea and cake before us. This
was one of those many instances of a simple, genuine hospitality
which I experienced aU over the land; and I feel assured that
any foreigner knowing enough of the language to make his im
mediate wants understood, and endowed with a reasonable, even
temper, would encounter little opposition in traveUing over the
greater part of China. But there is always a certain amount of

Chinese Bridge, Kwangtung Province, China.

TSING-YUNE. 43
danger in the larger and more populous cities. We offered one
or two smaU silver coins to the children of the house, but the
old gentleman would not permit them to be accepted, until it
had been carefully explained to him that they were simple gifts
to be worn as charms, and not intended as a recompense for his
hospitality. On the bank of the river in the Tsing-yune district, 1 nar
rowly escaped sinking into a quicksand. We spent a night
before Tsing-yune city, but were kept awake by the noise of
gongs and crackers, by the odour of joss-sticks, and by the
smoke of cooking from the adjoining boats. At length we
reached the Buddhist monastery of Fi-lai-sz, perhaps the most
picturesque, and one of the most famous of its kind to be seen
in the south of China. The building is approached from the
brink of the river by a flight of broad granite steps ; this con
ducts us to an outer gate, whereon is inscribed in characters
of gold, "Hioh Shan Miau." The monastery has been built on
a richly wooded hill-side, and half way up to it, on the verge
of a mossy deU, we reach the Fi-lai-sz shrine. Three idols stand
within tbis shrine, one of them representing, or supposed to
represent, the pious founder. A favourite resting-place this for
travellers, one where they are hospitably entertained, and where
the monks, with impious sympathy for human weakness, supply
their guests with opium, and sell carved sticks, cut from the
sacred temple groves, as parting reUcs of their visit.
The Tsing-yune pass, in which the monastery Hes, is in great
repute as a burial-ground. There, thousands of graves front
the river and stud the hill-slopes to a height of about 800 feet.
To every grave there is a neat facing of stone, something in
the form of a horse-shoe, or like an easy chair with a rounded
back. The interior of the temple cloister is paved with granite

44 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
and decorated with flowers set out in vases and ornamental
pots; thus art lent its aid to a scene of natural loveliness, the
most romantic and beautiful. On the opposite bank of the
stream a narrow path leads to a wooded ravine, whither the
monks retire when they ought to abstract themselves from
the world, forgetting existence, with its pleasures and sorrows,
and cultivating that supreme repose which will bring them
nearer Nirvana. It seemed to me, when I inspected the cell-like
chambers of these devotees, that some among them were not
unfamiliar with the fumes of the opium-pipe, and that they must,
poor fraU mortals! at times endeavour to float away to the
western heavens steeped in the incense of that enslaving drug.
We next halted at a village called Lien-Chow-Kwong. It was
a miserable specimen of its kind, planted in a desolate neigh
bourhood, and with an air of poverty and destitution pervading
both it and its inhabitants. The passes in this river present
some bold rock and hiU scenery, while the short reaches and
sudden bends of the stream remind one of Highland lochs. In
other places the hills slope gently downwards towards the water,
and terminate in a bank of glittering sand, not unfrequently a
mile broad. These sand-banks glare like miniature deserts
beneath the blazing mid-day sun, but are happy in the asso
ciation of a refreshing stream which flows clear and cool along
the margin. The Mang-Tsz-Hap, or Blind Man's Pass, is one
of the finest on the river. Here the bold crags shoot up in
precipices that are lost in shreds of drifting mist, as if the heavy
clouds, sweeping across jagged pinnacles of rock, were riven
into a hundred vapoury fragments. The weather was now cold
and stormy, but fitful gleams of sunshine broke in upon the
darkness. Once, caught in a rapid by a sudden gust of wind,
our boat seemed like to have been shattered in the breakers;

BOATMEN. 45
but her crew in a twinkling slipped the tracking line, and she
drifted safely down mid-stream.
The Chinese get the credit of being exceedingly temperate,
and in the majority of cases this is true ; but at the same time,
among the lower orders, especiaUy the boating population, tem
perance is only observed because sheer necessity compels re
straint; and many of the boatmen on the rivers along which I
have travelled will drink sam-shu to excess during the cold
weather, whenever they can win a few extra cash. These men
are about as poor and miserable a class as one can meet in
the most poverty-stricken districts of the land. In the southern
provinces their sole food is steamed rice, flavoured with salt,
or rendered more savoury with a fragment of salt fish; and
when times are good, they even indulge in the luxury of a
little bit of pork fat. It is surprising how they stand the cold,
more especially in the northern regions, and how a drop of
spirits will send the warm blood tingling through their veins
and cause them to display a muscular power and a strength of
endurance not easily accounted for, when one considers the
simple nature of their food. MiUions of these hardy sons of
toU live from hand to mouth, and are only kept from starving,
from piracy, and from rebellion by the cheapness of their staple
food, and by the constant demand for their labour. But there
are pirates to be found in this very river; our crew themselves
told us of it, and added, that for anything they knew to the
contrary, there might be a swarm of them in the boats among
which we moored at night.
At Ying-Tek city I feU in with a spectacle which fully
affirmed this assertion, and at the same time produced in me
a sensation of horror that it wiU be impossible ever to forget.
Ying-Tek stands on the right bank of the stream; beneath

46 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
its outer wall there stretches a bank of reeking filth and gar
bage, which at mid-day must pollute the air for miles round.
We picked our way over slimy, treacherous paths and across
putrid-looking pools, till we passed through the gateway into
the main street of the town. It was an exceedingly narrow
thoroughfare, and had at one time been paved, but the pave
ment was now broken and disordered; while, as to the people,
they looked sickly, sullen and dispirited. But it was in the
market-place that we beheld the most shocking sight of aU: —
there the bodies of two men were exposed to the public gaze,
their position indicated by swarms of flies, and the air telling
that decomposition had already set in. One of these male
factors had been starved to death in the cage in which he
stood, and the other had been crucified.
Beyond the rapids of this part of the river we reach vast
cultivated plains, out of which isolated limestone rocks and
parallel ranges of mountains rise up in shapes most fantastic,
and disorder most picturesque. It was from a hill above the
Polo-hang temple that we obtained the finest views of the
country. The cultivation hereabouts was of a kind I had never
seen before ; in the foreground were a multitude of fields,
banked off for the purposes of irrigation, but already shorn of
their crops ; here and there was a mound covered with temples
and trees, and beyond, reaching to the base of the distant
mountains, were groves of green bamboo, rocking their plumage
to and fro in the wind, like the waves of an emerald sea.
The bamboo is reared in this and other districts, and forms a
valuable article of commerce, the wealth of a farmer being
frequently estimated by the number of clumps which he has
on his estate. It requires neither care nor tillage, and is a
source of wealth in this part of the country.

TEMPLE OF KWAN-YIN. 47
When looking on this scene my old Chinaman, Akum, came
up. I do not think he has yet been introduced to my readers.
He was a faithful servant, or boy, as they are here caUed,
about forty years of age, who had been in my employment in
Singapore, and afterwards turning trader, had lost his smaU
capital. "WeU," he said, "what are you looking at. Sir.?"— "At
the beautiful view," I repHed. — "Yes," he said; "I wish I had
the smaUest of those hiUs ; I would settle there, on the top,
watching my gardeners at work below, and when I saw one
labourer more industrious than the rest I would reward him
with a wife."
He spoke to me often afterwards about this ideal hiU on
which he hoped one day to sit and reward the virtue of his
servants. He was a disciple of Confucius.
Hereafter I may say something as to the multitudinous uses
to which the bamboo can be appHed. There is good snipe and
pheasant-shooting in this quarter.
We noticed quantities of the reeds employed for making
Canton mats. Mats of this sort are manufactured extensively
in three places — viz., Tun-kun, Lintan and Canton ; they afford
occupation to many thousand operatives, and are indeed an
important industry of the province of Kwang-tung. About
112,000 rolls, measuring 40 yards apiece, are said to be annually
exported from Canton.
About two hundred miles above Canton we visited the most
remarkable object which we had encountered in the course of
our journey. This is the celebrated grotto of Kwan-yin, the
goddess of mercy, formed out of a natural cave in the foot of
a limestone precipice which rears its head high above the
stream. The mouth of the cavern opens on the water's edge,
and the interior has been enlarged in some places by exca-

48 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
vation, and built up in others, so as to render it suitable for a
Buddhist shrine. A broad granite platform surmounted by a
flight of steps leads us into the upper chamber, and there the
goddess may be seen, seated on a huge lotus-flower; sculp
tured, so they tell us, by no human hands, and discovered in
situ within the cave. The priests placed implicit faith in the
story, but they could not be persuaded to beheve that the
flower might be the fossil of a pre-historic lotus of monstrous
dimensions. Barbarians might credit such childish fables as that
flowers or fishes can be turned into stone, but not the
enlightened followers of Buddha. No; they say the lotus was
created in the cave for Kwan-yin to sit upon; there was no
getting over that.
According to their account this goddess of mercy has a
marvellous history. She first appeared on earth in the centre
of the world, that is China, as the daughter of a Chinaman
named "Shi-kin," and she was made visible to mortal eyes as
a child of the Emperor Miao-Chwang. The sovereign ordered
her to marry, and this she stedfastly refused to do, thus vio
lating the native usages, whereupon the dutiful parent put her
remorselessly to death. But this measure, contrary to Miao-
Chwang's expectation, only caused his daughter to be promoted
into the proud position she now fiUs. Afterwards Kwan-yin
is said to have visited the infernal regions, where the presence
of such transcendent goodness and beauty produced an in
stantaneous effect. The instruments of torture dropped from
the hands of the executioners, the guilty were liberated, and
heU was transformed into paradise itself. The goddess now
looks down with a benign expression from her seat upon the
lotus throne, but she seems to be urgently in need of repairs.
The priests who dwell within the cave, sit overlooking the

J3

CHINESE FARMING. 49
river from an opening in the upper face of the rock, which
serves the purpose of a window. As we see them with the
sun at their backs they appear like a row of badly preserved
dolls, so motionless do they sit, and so unconscious, to all
seeming, of the presence of foreigners. But when we confront
them and display a bright coin, they wake up and manifest an
unholy zeal to appropriate it.
The money is offered and accepted, and then a venerable
member of the order shows us through the interior of the
cave. A number of smaller idols, the attendants of Kwan-yin,
are ranged along niches in the rock; a little lighted taper burns
in front of each, while cups of sam-shu and votive offerings of
food are spread out before them. A group of stalactites hangs
in front of the window ; above and around them hover a num
ber of pure white doves, that descend at the call of the aged
priest and feed out of his hand. It was interesting to notice
the outstretched hand of the old man ; it was withered, shrunk
en, and encumbered by a set of long yeUow naUs, that looked
dead, and were already partly buried beneath the unwashed
encrustation of a lifetime.
It is harvest-time, and the grain in many places is already
cut, and has been piled up in farm-yards in stacks, to be thrash
ed with flails, or trodden beneath the heavy-footed ox. The
season has been a plenteous one, and the farmers are fuU of
joy, praising the god of agriculture for the abundance of this
their second crop from a soU which has yielded produce during
centuries of constantly recurring harvests. The Chinese are
careful farmers, and were probably the first to understand that
their land requires as much consideration as their oxen or their
asses ; that the substance which it gives up to a crop has to
be replaced by manure, and that it requires a time of rest
4

so THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
after a season of labour, before it will yield its greatest increase.
How the Chinese acquired this knowledge, and at what epoch,
are questions which Confucius himself would probably have been
puzzled to answer. There is no doubt that they succeed in
raising green crops and grain alternately from their fields at
least twice in the year. But this extraordinary fertility is due
in part to the small size of their farms, which are, most of them,
of so limited an area that the proprietors can cultivate them
personally with unceasing care, and part also to the abundant
use of manure in fashion among the peasants of China. We
see evidence of the social economy of the people in a multitude
of instances and a variety of ways. Thus, when the farmer is
near a town he pays a small sum to certain houses for the pri
vilege of daily removing their sewage to his own manure-pit.
This sewage he uses, for the most part in a fluid state, often
to fertilise poor waste lands which have been leased to him at
a low rental. If his farm is some distance from viUages or
towns, he is careful to use every opportunity for securing cheap
supplies of the manure which he so much needs, and accord
ingly erects small houses for the use of wayfarers, along the
edge of his fields. His neighbour is equally careful to have
houses of the same description; and they vie with each other
in keeping them as clean and attractive-looking as possible.
I returned to Canton alone from San Shui, in a small boat,
leaving my friends to find their own way leisurely back. At
one place there were only a few inches of water above the
bed of the stream, so I had to hire an open canoe, while my
baggage was carried overland to the next bend of the river.
In this canoe I descended, or rather raced, down to Fatshan,
amid a number of similar craft whereon Chinese traders were
embarked. The distance was about twenty-five miles. We

FATSHAN ROUGHS. 51
contrived to reach the town about half an hour ahead of the
rest, and passed at once down the narrow channel between the
crowded boats. This was by far the most disagreeable experience
of the journey. Attempting to land quietly and take a photograph
of the tower, I was assailed on the bank by a mob of roughs,
who drove me into the river, where I was taken into a boat
by a couple of good-natured women, and by them rowed down
stream tUl I could succeed in engaging a fast boat to convey.
me as far as Canton.

CHAPTER IV.
CANTON AND KWANG-TUNG PROVINCE.
Tea — Foreign Hongs and Houses— Schroffing.
Canton and the Kwang-tung province, as my reader is doubt
less aware, continued for many years to be almost the only
places in the vast Chinese Empire with which Europeans
were acquainted. I need hardly do more here than refer
those of my readers who take an interest in the obscured
and chequered history of Canton, to an elaborate and interesting
account, translated and published in China by Mr. Bowra, of
the Imperial Customs. In this narrative it is stated that the
first authentic notice of Kwang-tung province is found in the
native writings of the Chow dynasty, B. C. 1122. The fifth
century of our era is set down as the date at which Buddhist
missionaries introduced their religious classics, and not only
founded the sect which now predominates in the country, but
led to the establishment of commercial relations between the
Empires of India and China. UntU recently, for the last two
centuries foreign trade was confined to Canton, and nearly all

Distant view of Foreign Settlement, Canton.

CANTON. 53
the knowledge of China possessed by Western nations was
limited to that city and its neighbourhood. The foreign trade
of Canton was one of sufferance, maintained by the aggressive
perseverance of traders and their disregard of the repeated
sHghts and indignities of the local authorities, who looked upon
trade and traders with contempt and reported accordingly to the
Government at Peking. But the Treaty of Tientsin placed the
course of trade beyond the control and caprice of local Manda
rins. The people are now allowed comparative freedom to
indulge their trading inclinations. Although in some degree
modified, the native prejudice against foreigners and their wares
still flows in a deep undercurrent, which comes to the surface,
conceal it as they may, in their contact with Europeans.
The city of Canton stands on the north bank of the Chu-
kiang or Pearl river, about ninety miles inland, and is accessible
at all seasons to vessels of the largest tonnage. Communication
between the capital and the other parts of the province is afford
ed by the three branches which feed the Pearl river, and by
a network of canals and creeks. A line of fine steamers plies
between the city and Hongkong, and the submarine telegraph
at the latter place, has thus brought the once distant Cathay
into daily correspondence with the western world. It is a pleas
ant trip from Hongkong up the broad Pearl river; from the
deck of the steamers one may view with comfort the ruins of
the Bogue forts, and think of the time and feelings of Captain
Weddell, who in 1637 anchored the first fleet of EngUsh mer
chant vessels before them. The Chinese cabin in the Canton
steamer is an interesting sight, too. It is crowded with passen
gers every trip ; and there they lie on the deck in all imagin
able attitudes, some on mats, smoking opium, others on benches,
fast asleep. There are little gambling parties in one corner.

54 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
and city merchants talking trade in another; and viewed from
the cabin-door the whole presents a wonderfully confused per
spective of naked limbs, arms and heads, queues, fans, pipes,
and silk or cotton jackets. The owners of these miscellaneous
effects never dream of walking about, or enjoying the scenery
or sea-breeze. I only once noticed a party of Chinese passen
gers aroused to something bordering on excitement, and it was
in this Canton steamer. They had caught a countryman in an
attempt at robbery and determined to punish him in their own
way. When the steamer reached the wharf, they relieved the
delinquent of his clothing, bound it around his head, and tied
his hands behind his back with cords : and in this condition
sent him ashore to meet his friends, but not before they had
covered his nakedness with a coat of paint of various tints.
My readers will remember the celebrated Governor Yeh of
Canton, who was carried prisoner to Calcutta. He would almost
be forgotten in this quarter were it not for a temple erected to
his departed spirit. It may be seen on the bank of a suburban
creek; a very pretty monument it is to remind one of our
lively intercourse with the notorious Imperial commissioner in
1857, an intercourse marked by trouble and bloodshed throughout,
and which ended in the capture of that unfortunate official in
an obscure Yamen.
The Fatee gardens, so often described were still to be found,
almost unchanged, at the side of a narrow creek on the right
bank of the river. These gardens were nurseries for flowers,
dwarf shrubs and trees. Like most Chinese gardens they covered
only a small area, and were contrived to represent landscape
gardening in miniature. Some distance below the Fatee creek,
on the same side of the river, a number of Tea Hongs and
tea-firing establishments are to be found. To these I now

ffi

TEA-TRADE. 55
venture to introduce the reader, as he must needs feel more or
less interest in the tea-men, and their mode of preparing this
highly-prized luxury. Passing up the creek, along the usual
narrow channel, between densely-packed rows of floating craft,
we land on a broad stone platform, cross a court where men
are to be seen weighing the tea, and enter a large three-storied
brick building, where we meet Tan King Ching, the proprietor,
to whom we bear an introduction from one of his foreign cus
tomers. One of the clerks is directed to show us over the place. He
first ushers us into a large warehouse, where thousands of chests of
the new crop are pUed up, ready for inspection by the buyer. The
inspection of this cargo is an exceedingly simple process ; the for
eign tea-taster enters and places his mark on certain boxes in dif
ferent parts of the pile and these are forthwith removed, weighed
and scrutinised as fair samples of the bulk. The whole cargo is
shipped without further ceremony should the parcels examined
prove satisfactory ones; and, indeed, nowadays it seldom hap
pens that shortcomings in weight and quality are at the last
moment detected, for the better class of Chinese merchants are
remarkable for their honesty and fair dealing. I am the more
anxious thus to do justice to the Chinese dealers, because the
notion has got abroad that, as a rule, they are the most noto
rious cheats; men who never faU to overreach the unsuspecting
trader when an opportunity occurs, and upon whose shoulders
must fall the full weight of the charge of preparing and seUing
spurious or adulterated teas which have reached this country in
a condition not fit for human food. It seems clear to me that
the Chinese manufacturer of this sort of rubbish is by no means
the most reprehensible party in the trade. He it is, indeed,
who sets himself to collect from the servants of foreigners or
natives, and from the restaurants and tea-saloons, the leaves

56 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
that have been already used, and to dry them, cook them and
mix them with imitations of the genuine leaf. This process
completed, he next adds pickings, dust and sweepings from the
tea-factory, and mixes the whole with foreign materials, so as
to lend it a healthy surface hue. Lastly, he perfumes the lot
with some sweet-smeUing flower — the chlorantus, olea, aglaia
and others; and thus provides a cheap, fragrant and polluted
cup for the humble consumers abroad. This evil has been to
a great extent cured by the competition which has sprung
up in the cultivation of tea. China still holds a market in the
finer sorts of tea, but her trade has greatly faUen as a whole,
and is threatened with extinction unless, by improved methods
of culture and preparation, she can rival the cost and quality of
the full-flavoured leaf of India and Ceylon. In 1895, as compared
with the previous year, the export of black teas to Great Britain
and the United States had faUen off 150,000 piculs.
The tea-trade in China is more or less a speculative one,
always full of risks (as some of our merchants have found out
to their cost) ; and though a vast amount of foreign capital is
annually invested in the enterprise, it is probably only every
second or third venture that will return, I do not say a handsome
profit, but any profit at aU.
We wUl now proceed to another apartment and see the
method adopted in the manufacture of gunpowder teas. First
the fresh leaves of black tea are partially dried in the sun;
these are next rolled, either in the palm of the hand, or on a
flat tray, or by the feet in a hempen bag, then they are scorch
ed in hollow iron pans over a charcoal fire, and after this
are spread out on bamboo trays, that the broken stems and
refuse may be picked out. In this large stone-paved room
we notice the leaves in different stages of preparation. The

Chinese Tea Dealers.

PREPARING THE LEAF. 57
labour required to produce the gunpowder leaf is the most
curious and interesting of the many processes to which the
plant is subjected. We are surprised to notice a troop of able-
bodied coolies, each dressed only in a short pair of cotton
trousers, tucked up so as to give free action to his naked Hmbs.
One feels puzzled at first to conjecture what they are about.
Can they be at work, or is it only play.? They each rest
their arms on a cross beam, or against the wall, and with
their feet busily roll and toss balls of about a foot in diameter
(or the size of an ordinary football), up and down the floor of
the room. Our guide assures us it is work, and very hard work
too. The balls beneath their feet are the bags packed full of
^ tea leaves, which by the constant rolling motion assume the
peUet shape. As the leaves become more compact, the bag
loosens and requires to be twisted up at the neck and again
rolled ; the twisting and roUing being repeated untU the leaf has
become perfectly globose. It is then divided through selves into
different sizes, or qualities, and the scent and bouquet is im
parted after the final drying or scorching. I feel convinced that
the introduction of the best machinery for rolling, cooking and
preparing the leaf is only a question of time, and wUl follow
in the wake of railways and silk and cotton mills, after the
manner of the Japanese.
Most of the tea shipped from Canton is now grown in the
province of Kwang-tung ; formerly part of it used to be brought
from the "Tung-ting" district, but that now finds its way to
Hankow. Leaves from the Taishan district are mostly used in
making "Canton District Pekoe" and " Long-Leaf Scented Orange
Pekoe," while Loting leaf makes "Scented Caper and Gunpow
der" teas.
In order to see the foreign tea-tasters prosecuting a branch

58 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
of science which they have made peculiarly their own, we must
cross the river to Shameen, a pretty little green island, on
which the foreign houses stand; looking with its villas, gardens
and croquet-lawns and churches like the suburb of some English
town. We ascend a flight of steps in a massive stone retaining
wall with which Shameen is surrounded, —and this done we might
wander for a whole day and examine aU the houses on the
island, without discovering a trace of a merchant's office, or
any outward sign of commerce at all. Those who are famUiar
with the factory site, and who can figure what that must have
been in olden times, when the foreign merchants were caged
up like wild beasts and subjected to the company and taunts
of the vilest part of the river population, and to the pestilential
fumes of an open drain that carried the sewage of the city to
the stream, will be surprised at the transformation that has,
since those days, been wrought.
The present residences of foreigners on this grassy site (re
claimed mud flat, raised above the river) are substantial, elegant
buildings of stone or brick, each surrounded by a wall ; an
ornamental railing, or bamboo hedge, enclosing the gardens and
outhouses in its circuit. Except the firm's name on each small
brass door-plate, there is nothing anywhere that tells us of trade.
But when we have entered, we find the dwelling-house on the
upper story, and the comprador's room and offices on the
ground-floor; next to the offices the tea-taster's apartment.
Ranged against the waUs of this chamber are rows of polished
shelves, covered with small round tin boxes of a uniform size,
and each bearing a label and date in Chinese and English
writing. These boxes contain samples of all the various sorts
of old and new teas, used for reference and comparison in
tasting, smeUing and scrutinising parcels, or chops, which may

SUBURBAN RESIDENTS, CANTON.

TESTING TEA. 59
be offered for sale. In the centre of the floor stands a long
table bestrewn with a multitude of white porcelain covered
cups, manufactured specially for the purpose of tasting tea.
The samples are placed in these cups, and hot water of a given
temperature is then poured upon them. The time the tea
rests in the hot water is measured by a sand-glass ; and when
this is accomplished, all is ready for the tasting, which is a
much more useful than elegant operation.
The windows of the room have a northern aspect, and are
screened off so as to admit only a steady skyHght, which falls
directly on a tea-board beneath. Upon this board the samples
are spread on square wooden trays, and it is under the uniform
Hght above described that the minute inspection of colour, make,
general appearance and smeU takes place. AH these tests are
made by assistants who have gone through a special course of
training which fits them for the mysteries of their art. The
knowledge which these experts possess is of the greatest im
portance to the merchant, as the profitable outcome of the
crops selected for the home market depends, to a great extent,
on their judgment and ability. It will thus be seen that the
merchant, not only when he chooses his teas for exportation,
but at the last moment before they are shipped, takes the
minutest precautions against fraudulent shortcomings, either in
quality or weight. It is possible, however, for a sound tea, if
undercooked or imperfectly dried, to become putrid during the
homeward voyage, and to reach this country in a condition
quite unfit for use. This I know from my own experience. I
at one time was presented with a box of tea by the Taotai of
Taiwanfu, in Formosa, and when I first got it I found that some
of the leaves had a slightly green tint and were damp. I had
intended to bring this tea home to England ; it was of good

6o THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
quality, but it spoiled before I left China. Judging from the
quantities of tea that have been condemned, the importation of
spurious cargoes can hardly be a lucrative trade.
Although Chinese commercial morality has not run to such
a very low ebb as some might imagine, yet the clever traders
of the lower orders of Cathay are by no means above resorting
to highly questionable and ingenious practices of adulteration,
when such practices can be managed with safety and profit.
Thus the foreign merchant finds it always necessary to be vigil
ant in his scrutiny of tea, sUk and other produce, before
effecting a purchase. But equal care requires to be observed
in all money transactions, as counterfeit coining is a profession
carried on in Canton with marvellous success ; so successful
indeed, are the coiners of false dollars that the native experts,
or schroffs, who are employed by foreign merchants (Mr. W.
F. Mayers assured me), are taught the art of schroffing, or
detecting co.unterfeit coin, by men who are in direct communi
cation with the coiners of the spurious doUars in circulation.
In many of the Canton shops one notices the intimation
"Schroffing taught here." This is a curious system of corruption,
which one would think would be worth the serious attention
of the Government. Were counterfeiting coining put down,
there would be no need for the crafty instructors of schroffs;
and at the same time the expensive staff of experts employed
in banks and merchants' offices could be dispensed with.
But the dollar in the hands of a needy and ingenious Chi
naman is not only delightful to behold, but it admits of a
manipulation at once most skilful and profitable. The art of
"schroffing" or detecting spurious coin and ascertaining the
difference in the value of dollars of various issues, is studied
as a profession by hundreds of young Chinamen, who find em-

SCHROFFING DOLLARS.

SCHROFFING. 6 1
ployment in banks and merchants' offices. The establishments
where schroffing is taught are weU known to be in direct com
munication with counterfeiters of Mexican dollars and other coin,
and it has often been said that the existence of schroffs and
false money are mutually indispensable to each other. If the
amount of counterfeit coin in circulation were less, the ne
cessity for a multitude of schroffs would not be so severely
felt, and if the establishments where schroffing is taught did
not exist, the counterfeiters would lose the principal means of
passing false money into circulation.

CHAPTER V.

canton iContinued).

Its general Appearance — Its Population — Streets — Mode of transacting
Business — Signboards — Work and Wages — The Willow-pattern Bridge —
Juilin, late Governor-General of the two Kwang — Clan Fights — Hak-
kas — The Mystic Pills — Dwellings of the Poor — The Lohang-tang —
Buddhist Monastic Life — On board a Junk.
Canton is by no means the densely packed London in China
which some have made it out to be. The circuit of the city
wall very little exceeds six miles, and if we stand upon the
heights to the north of the city, and turn our faces southward,
we can trace the outline of these fortifications along a consid
erable portion of their course. This, then, is the entire area
strictly included in the limits of the town ; but there are large
straggling suburbs outside the walls which spread for no little
distance over the plain. In these suburbs there are many open
spaces; some, shaded by trees and orchards, form the parks
and gardens of the officials; others, again, display the carefully
tended produce of the market-gardener; while military parade
grounds, rice-fields, and ponds where fish are bred, are scattered
at intervals between more thickly populated ground. There is.

FEMALE COIFFURE, CANTON.

CANTON PAWNSHOPS. 63
indeed, nothing in the whole picture of this southern metropolis
suggestive of a teeming land population, save the centre of the
city itself. But to the south of the wall there is the broad
Pearl river, and communicating with this stream a network
of canals and creeks, the whole more densely populated
perhaps than the city. In the boats which crowd these water
ways a vast number of famUies pass their lives, and subsist by
carrying merchandise or conveying passengers to different parts
of the province. The population of Canton is computed at
about a miUion souls, although the official census returns it at
a figure considerable higher.
As in Peking, so at Canton, the space within the walls is
divided into two unequal parts, the one occupied nominally by
the Tartar garrison and official residences only, and the other
containing the abodes of the trading Chinese population. But
the descendants of the old Tartar soldiers, too proud to labour,
and too haughty to stoop themselves to the mean artifices of
trade, have become impoverished in process of time, and have
disposed of their lands and dwellings to their more industrious
Chinese neighbours. As to the houses themselves, they every
where preserve one uniform low level, but the monotonous appear
ance thus produced is at rare intervals broken by some tall
temple, which rears its carved and gilded roof from amid a
grove of venerable trees, or by the nine-storied pagoda, or
lofty quadrangular towers that mark the pawnshop sites. The
pawnshops in this strange city rear their heads heavenwards as
proudly as church steeples, and indeed at first we mistook them
for temples. What was our surprise then, to discover in them
the Chinese reproduction of that money-lending establishment
which is found in the shady corners of our own bye-streets,
beneath a modest trinity of gUded balls, and whose private side

64 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
entrance stands invitingly open. In Canton they are square
bold-looking edifices, lifting their benevolent grey-brick heads
to a height which positively, in Chinese eyes, invests them
with sanctity.
Ah-sin and Ah-lok, indeed, look up with something akin
to veneration at their plastered walls, narrow stanchioned win
dows, and at the huge rock boulders poised on the edge of
the roof above, ready to drop down upon any robber who
might dare to scale the treasure-sheltering sides. I recollect
visiting one of these places for the purpose of seeing within,
and to obtain a view of the city. Armed with an introduction
from a leading Chinese merchant, I presented myself one morn
ing before an outer gate in the high prison-looking wall, which
encircled the tower. My summons was answered by a portly
gate-keeper, who at once admitted me inside. Here I found
a number of military candidates going through a course of
driU ; the porter was himself an old soldier, a sort of drill-
sergeant, and was now instructing pupils in the use of the bow
and how to lift up heavy weights. After exhibiting one or two
specimens of their powers, we were taken to a narrow barred
gate at the base of the tower. The office for transacting busi
ness was on the ground-floor, and above this, a square wooden
scaffolding, standing free of the walls, ran right up to the roof.
This scaffolding was divided into a series of flats, having ladders
which lead from one to the other; the bottom flat was used
for stowing pledges of the greatest bulk, such as furniture or
produce; smaUer and Hghter articles occupied the upper flats,
whUe the one nearest the roof was devoted to bullion and
jewellery. Every pledge from floor to ceiling was catalogued,
and bore a ticket denoting the number of the article and the
date when it was deposited. Thus anything could be found

Garden, British Consular Yamen, Canton.

TARTARS. 65
and redeemed at a moment's notice. Such towers are places
for the safe custody of the costly gems and robes of the wealthy
classes of the community, and are really indispensable insti
tutions in a country where bridgandage and misgovernment
expose property to constant risks. Besides this, a licensed
pawnbroking establishment makes temporary advances to needy
persons who may have security to lodge ; the charge being three
per cent per month on sums under ten taels, save in the last
month of the year, when the interest is reduced to two per
cent. If the amount of the loan exceeds ten taels, the rate is
uniformly two per cent per month. The pledges are kept for
three years in the better class of pawnshops ; it is customary for
the poor to pawn their winter and summer clothing alternately,
redeeming each suit as it may be required.
Not far below the Heights in the Tartar quarter of the city,
is the British Consulate, or Yamen. This edifice stands in the
grounds of what was once a palace, and is made up of diverse
picturesque Chinese buUdings, environed by a tastefully laid out
garden and deer park. Hard by is the ancient nine-storied
pagoda ascribed to the reign of Emperor Wu-Ti, in the middle of
the sixth century of our era; it is octagonal in shape and 170 feet
high. In 1859 some British sailors, weary of shore life and
longing to go aloft, managed, at the risk of their necks, to
scale this crazy-looking monument — an event which greatly
disgusted the Chinese, for they hate to have their dwellings
overlooked from a height, more especially by a pack of foreign
fire-eating sailors. Descending from the height, and passing
southwards down to the main street of the town, we are struck
by the appearance of the closely-packed shops, which differ
from anything we have ever seen before. We observe that
the folks who lounge about, even in the meanest-looking S

66 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
dwellings, are, most of them, good-looking— the men of average
height and shapely, and the women seldom disfigured by small
bandaged feet. There are also a number of soldiers, not far
from the parade-ground — fellows who, erect and muscular, carry
themselves with a dauntless military air. These are the rem
nants of the once powerful Tartar camp. They have been
instructed in foreign drUl, and are said to make good soldiers;
they certainly contrast favourably with many of the troops I
saw in other quarters of the Empire. As to the shopkeepers,
they are aU Chinese, but their small-footed consorts are no
where to be seen ; the fact is, they keep them strictly secluded.
Some of these handsome Tartar matrons have their chUdren
seated in bamboo cages at their doors, and pretty little birds
they make, too.
One is almost bewildered by the diversity of shops and the
attractive wares they display. Then the shopkeepers are so
very fascinating in their manners. Have a good look at them;
they are about the best class of men in China — industrious,
contented and refined-looking, some of them. A short time
back a curious, though not uncommon, sort of lottery was got
up among the shopkeepers of Canton. Wang-leang-chai of the
Juy-Chang boot shop in Ma-an street, seized with a passion for
poetry, organised a sort of literary lottery, and offered the
stakes as prizes to the successful composer of the best lines
on five selected subjects. '
Frequently, on entering a Canton shop, you wUl find its owner
with a book in one hand and a pipe or fan in the other, and
wholly absorbed in his studies. You wiU be doomed to disap
pointment if you expect the smoker to start up at once, all
' See China Review, 1873, p. 249.

PHYSIC STREET, CANTON.

CANTON SHOPS. 67
smUes and blandness, rubbing his hands together as he makes a
shrewd guess of what he is likely to take out of you, and re
ceiving you obsequiously or with rudeness accordingly. Quite
the reverse. Your presence is apparently unnoticed, unless you
happen to lift anything; then you hear that the fan has been
arrested, and feel that a keen eye is bent on your movements
aU the while. But it is not tUl you enquire for some article
that the gentleman, now certain that you mean to trade, wiH
rise without bustle from his seat, show you his goods, or state
the price he means to seH at — with a polite yet careless air,
which plainly says, "If it suits you, we make an exchange." After
all, by adhering to this independent style I believe they seU
more, and make better profits, than if they were perpetually
soliciting patronage by word and gesture. On our way home
wards we pass through Physic Street, or Tsiang-Lan-Kiai. Here
nearly all the shops are uniform in size, a brick party-wall
dividing each building from its neighbour. All have one front
apartment open to the street, with a granite or brick counter
for the display of their wares. A granite base also supports
the tall upright signboard, the indispensable characteristic of
every shop in China. Opposite the signboard stands a small
altar or shrine, dedicated to the god who presides over the
tradesman and his craft. This deity is honoured regularly when
the shop is opened, and a smaU incense-stick is lighted, and
kept burning in a bronze cup of ashes placed in front of the
shrine. The shops within are frequently fitted with a counter of pol
ished wood and carved shelves, whUe at the back is an ac
countant's room, screened off with an open-work wooden partition,
so carved as to resemble a climbing plant. In some conspicuous
place stand the brazen scales and weights, ever polished and

68 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
adorned with red cloth. These scales are used for weighing
the silver-coin bars and fragments of the precious metal, which
form part of the currency of the place. When goods are sold
by weight, the customer invariably brings his own balance, so
as to secure his fair and just portion of the article he has come
to buy. This balance is not unlike an ordinary yard measuring-
rod, furnished with a sliding weight. It is a simple appli
cation of the lever. But the tendency of this mechanical con
trivance is not calculated to elevate the Chinese in our estima
tion; it proves a universal lack of confidence, which finds its
way down to the lowest details of petty trade, for which the
governing classes may take to themselves credit. The people
are in this, as in many other matters, a law unto themselves.
A ceaseless struggle against unfair dealing has therefore, like
other native institutions, become a stereotyped necessity.
It is by no means pleasant to be caught in one of these
narrow streets during a shower, as the water pours down in
torrents from the roofs and floods the pavement, untU it subsides
through the soil beneath. The broadest streets are narrow, and
shaded above in some places with screens of matting to keep
out the sun. So close indeed, are the roofs to each other in
the Chinese city, that, viewed from a distance, they look like
one uninterrupted covering — a space entirely tiled over, beneath
which the citizens sedulously conceal themselves until the cool
of the evening, when weary of the darkness and of the trade
and strife of the day, they swarm on the housetops to gamble,
or smoke, or sip their tea until the shades of night faU, then
they retire again to the lower regions to sleep on the cool
benches of their shops. Canton boasts no system of drainage,
no water supply save the river, no gas works, and no system
of street lighting.

Opium Smoking.

SHOP SIGNBOARDS. 69
The signboards of Cantonese shops are not only the pride of
their owners, but they are a delight to students of Chinese.
In the high-flown classical, or poetical phrases by which public
attention is drawn to the various shops, one faUs to see in
most instances the faintest reference to the contents of the
establishment. Thus, a tradesman who sells swaUows' nests for
making soup, has on his board simply characters signifying
Yun-Ki, sign of the Eternal. But here is a list :
Kien Ki Hao — the sign of the symbol Kien (Heaven) Hwei-
chow, ink, pencils and writing materials. This is indeed a very
high compliment to literature.
Chang Tsi Tang (Chang of the family branch designated Tsi).
Wax-cased pills of select manufacture. Chang is evidently
proud of his family connection and probably offers it as a
sufficient guarantee for the quality of his pUls.
Tien Yih (Celestial advantage). Table-covers, cushions for
chairs and divans for sale. Now what "Celestial advantage"
can a customer be supposed to derive from table-covers or
cushions, unless, indeed, one supposes that the downy ease
conferred by the use of these cushions is almost beyond the
sphere of terrestial enjoyment. There must be some notion of
this sort associated with upholsterers' shops, as we have here
another sign embodying a high-flown phrase flavoured with a
little common sense.
Tien Yih Shen (Celestial advantage combined with attention).
Shop for the sale of cushions and ratan mats.
Yung Ki (sign of the Eternal). Swallows' nests. Money-schroffing
taught here.
K'ing Wen T'a'ng (the hall of delight in scholarship). Seals
artisticly engraved.
Notwithstanding the narrowness of the streets of Canton, they

70 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
are extremely picturesque; more especially those in which we
find the old curiosity-shops, the silversmiths and the silk-mercers,
where the signboards present a most attractive display of brilliant
and varied colours, as indeed, in the one through which we have
just been passing.
Striking thence by a narrow alley into a back lane, we find
ourselves in a very poor neighbourhood with dingy, dirty hovels
filled with operatives, who are busily at work; some weaving
silk; others embroidering satin robes; others again, carving and
turning the ivory balls and curios which are the admiration of
foreigners. Entering one shop we were shown an elaborately
carved series of nine ivory balls, one within the other. It is
commonly believed that these balls are first carved in halves
and then joined together so perfectly as to look solid. But as
we watch a man working on one of them the mystery is grad
ually solved. The rough piece of solid ivory is first cut into
a baU ; it is then fixed into a primitive-looking lathe and turned
with a sharp tool in various positions until it becomes perfectly
round. It is then set again in the lathe and drilled with the
requisite number of holes all round. After this one hole is
centred, a tool bent at the end is passed in, and with this a
groove is produced near the heart of the sphere ; another hole
is then centred, and after that another, the same operation
being carried out with all the holes until all the grooves meet
and a smaU ball drops into the centre. In this way all the baUs,
one within the other, are ultimately released. The next operation
is carving the innermost ball; this is accomplished by means of
long drills and other delicate tools, and in the same way aU the
rest of the balls are carved in succession, the carving gradually
becoming more easy and elaborate untU the outside ball is
reached, and this is then finished with a delicate beauty that

ARTISANS' WAGES. 71
resembles the finer sorts of lace. Close by these ivory-turners
are men designing patterns of birds, butterflies and flowers on
satin robes. The wages of the people who do this lovely work
are very small indeed. The artist who furnishes the designs
receives about ^i 5s a month, and the following table gives the
average at which skiHed labourers are paid.
£ s d
Shoemaker  150a month with food
Blacksmith  100
First-class ivory carver .280
SkUled embroiderer. . . 15 o
SUversmith  i 12 o
Painter . ... . 18 o
It takes about ten days to complete the embroidery of a pair
of shoes ; and these, when soled and finished, fetch fifteen shil
lings a pair. The wages of the embroiderer, according to this
calculation, would amount to six shillings or thereabouts, and
the balance, to cover cost of material and making, would leave
but a modest profit to the master; but then embroidered shoes
are in constant demand, and a lady of rank will require some
thirty pairs for her marriage trousseau alone. Some ladies em
broider their own shoes, but the practice is by no means a
common one. The dress shoes of the men are embroidered
too, and are used by all except the poorest class. It wiH be
seen from the foregoing notes that skilled labour is so cheap in
China as to give artisans a great advantage in all those various
branches of native industry which find a market abroad; and
this will one day render the clever, careful and patient China
man a formidable rival to European manufacturers, when he
has learned to use machinery in weaving fabrics of cotton or sUk.

72 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
Many of the beautifully embroidered stuffs we see in our
shops at home are made by hand in China, and yet they can
be sold in London at prices that defy competition. The oppo
sition to the introduction of the machines used in Bradford and
Manchester comes mostly from the operatives themselves. It
is noteworthy that the Chinese in this province have adopted
Pasteur's method of detecting and eradicating disease in the
silkworms. Machinery is also being introduced in reeling the
silk, notwithstanding the native dread of innovation. It is per
fectly astonishing to see what these Cantonese can accompHsh
on their own inferior looms. Give them almost any pattern or
design, and they will contrive to weave it, imitating its imper
fections with as much exactness as its beauties. I like to linger
over these shops, and to meditate on these scenes of ceaseless
industry, where all goes on with a quiet harmony that has a
strange fascination for the observer. Amid all the evidences of
toil, the poorest has some leisure at his command ; then, seated
on a bench, or squatting tranquilly on the ground, he will smoke
or chat with a neighbour, untroubled by the presence of his em
ployer, who seems to grow fatter and wealthier on the smUes
and happy temperament of his workmen. Here, too, one can
see how the nucleus of this great city is more closely populated
than at first sight one would suppose. Most of the workshops
are kitchen, dining-room and bed-room too ; here the workpeople
breakfast on their benches; here at nightfall they stretch them
selves out to sleep. Their whole worldly wealth is stored here
too. An extra jacket, a pipe, a few ornaments which are used
in common, and a pair of chopsticks — these make up each man's
total worldly pelf; and indeed his greatest treasure he carries
with him— a stock of health and a contented mind. The Chi
nese operative is completely content if he escape the pangs of

REELING SILK.

WILLOW-PATTERN BRIDGE. 73
hunger, endowed with health sufficient to enable him simply
to enjoy the sense of living, and of Uving too in a land so
perfect, that a human being ought to be happy in the privilege
of residing there at aU. It is a land, so they seem to suppose,
wherein everything is settled and ordered by men who know
exactly what they ought to know, and who are paid to keep
people from rising, or ambitiously seeking to quit the groove
in which Providence placed them at their birth. Many will say
that the Chinaman is not without ambition, and in a sense they
will be right. Parents are ambitious to educate their chUdren,
and to qualify them for candidature at the Government exam
inations ; and there are probably no men who lust more after
power, wealth and place than the successful Chinese graduates,
simply because they know that there is no limit to their pros
pects. If they have interest and genius, the poorest of them
may fairly aspire to become a member of the Imperial Cabinet ;
but then these are the men of letters, and not the poor labour
ing classes, the populace whom I have just described.
Before I quit Canton I must give some account of a spot there,
which I visited more than once, and which was commonly known
as the garden of Pun-ting-qua. Pun-ting-qua, or Pun-shi-cheng,
the original owner, had been a wealthy merchant at Canton,
but his Government ultimately drained him of his wealth, by
compelling him to pay a certain fixed sum for the monopoly
of trade in salt. Falling into heavy arrears, and being unable
to raise the amount, his property was sequestrated, and his
splendid garden raffled in a public lottery. A notable instance,
this, of the danger of becoming too rich in China. His house,
a singularly beautiful place, was sold to the anti-foreign, anti-
missionary society of Canton; and at the time of my visit to
this quaint pleasure-ground, traces of decay had already set

74 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
their stamp upon the curious structures that adorned it. I first
made my way up Sulphur Creek, which sweeps round to the
west of the city, and passed many a strange-looking edifice
rising above the dull water and bending over a frail wooden
jetty which divided it from the stream. Women are washing
and children sit upon the steps and jetties in a way that makes
one tremble for their safety. Dogs bark and snarl at the door
ways, domesticated pigs or fowls look out upon the throng of
boats, whUe the men are busy dipping dark blue cotton fabrics
into the stream. A three-storied pagoda marks the site of
Pun-ting-qua's garden, which we enter through a gateway in
the outer wall. Once arrived inside, we seem for the first time
to realise the China pictured to us in our schoolboy days.
Here we see model Chinese gardening ; drooping willows, shady
walks and sunny lotus-pools, on which gilded barges float.
Here, too, spanning a lake, stands the well-known willow-pat
tern bridge, with a paviUon hard by. But we miss the two
love-birds; there is no dutiful parent, with the fish-taU feet,
leisurely and with lamp in hand pursuing his unfilial daughter
as she, with equal leisure, makes her way after the shepherd
with the crook. I photographed this willow-pattern bridge, but
when I look at my picture, I find it faUs far short of the scene
on our soup-plates. Where, for example, is the pavilion which
is all ornaments, the tree above it which grows nothing but
foot-baUs, and that other tree, too, on which only feathers
bloom.? Where is the fence that meanders across the platform
in the fore-ground.? And yet these gardens have a quaintness
aH their own. Their winding paths conduct to cleverly con
trived retreats ; and tunnels cut through mossy fern-covered rocks,
land us in some pavUion or theatre, on the edge of a glassy
pool, where gold-fish sport in the sunshine, and glistening

o

u

u

o'bp tog

CLAN FIGHTS. 75
frogs sit gravely on broad dew-spangled lotus-leaves ; or else
where we discover some spacious open saloon, where a party
of native gentlemen, seated on square, cool, marble-bottomed,
ebony chairs, enjoy a repast of tea or cake, or listen to the
strumming of a lute, and to the shrill song of some lady in
attendance. Juilin, who was governor of the province and of Kwangsi as
well, was an officer who had seen distinguished service. A man
of marked abiUty, who did much to promote the prosperity of
the two provinces. It was he who organised a steam gunboat
service, which made its presence felt among the pirates on the
coast, and was also instrumental in suppressing the village clans
in Cha-chow-fu, which had for many years set all authority
at defiance. These villages were each inhabited by one family,
or clan, and were at feud with all the other surrounding vUlages
and clans.
When in Chao-chow-fu, in the Kwang-tung province, I visited
several of these villages and got some notion of their style of
fighting. Those unfortunates who were carried off as prisoners
of war were frequently detained in slavery, or met with a fate
even worse than this, for their captors would dispose of them
to be sent, as involuntary emigrants, to foreign shores. At
harvest-time one village would make a midnight raid upon its
neighbour and carry off all the crops ; and at Sinchew I found
an old feud existing between that village and a number of
smaller hamlets. One Aching and his brother, tired at last of
fighting, and of being constantly interrupted in more peaceful
and profitable pursuits, resolved to go into the Fukien Province,
and there to seek for work. With their bundles on their backs
they started from their native place, but halted when not far
on their journey to fish in a neighbouring stream. WhUe thus

76 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
engaged, a boat full of their enemies carefully disguised, made
its approach, and one of the crew offered to buy their stock of
fish. The two brothers falling into the snare, were thus carried
off to the hostUe viUage, and there kUled and mutUated in an
open space in front of the settlement. Aching's heart was cut
out, boiled and eaten by his savage captors, under the notion
that they would become more daring and bloodthirsty in conse
quence of this revolting deed. — Another example of native
treachery and cunning will suffice. Two men of opposite clans
had made up their minds to quit the province with the loot
they had gained in war; they, both of them, went to Cheng-lin
at the same time, in search of the same object, viz., a boat.
The one, hearing of the other's presence, hired a number of
ruffians to slay him, promising them six pounds for his enemy's
head and heart. The gang, tempted to the crime by the pro
spect of this liberal reward, soon caught their man ; but he,
enquiring how much they were to receive for his head, at once
offered them, on better security, double terms for the capture
of his crafty foe. They had no hesitation in accepting the
proposal, and it was their first employer, therefore who feU a
victim to their guile. In the end a small army was sent into
the provinces, and all who refused to come to terms, and obey
the law, were mercilessly put to the sword. So it came about
that at the time I visited the place a well-dressed man might
walk abroad, and no longer fear lest he should be stripped and
sent adrift without a rag to cover him, or else be sold into
slavery or even killed.
There is a hardy race of people found in this and several
other districts. These are known as Hak-kas, and some are of
opinion that they are a people distinct from the Chinese, as
they speak a language of their own, and resemble Indians in

BUDDHIST MONK.

HAK-KAS. TJ
physical appearance, rather than the Chinese type. Others,
again, hold that the Hak-kas emigrated some eight hundred
years ago from the Ning-hwa district in the Fukien province ;
and a writer in the "China Review" undertakes to prove from
the Hak-kas family records that Ning-hwa was really their orig
inal home. Be their origin what it may, they have carved
out an important place for themselves in the rich province of
Kwang-tung. I also met them increasing, multiplying and spread
ing their industry in the island of Formosa. It was they who,
having no sympathies in common with the Puntis of Canton,
formed the Coolie corps to the aUied troops, and won a high
reputation for perseverance and bravery. They have even been
known to rescue British soldiers, when wounded and drowning,
amid a perfect storm of buUets. Dr. Eitel, who laboured among
them for many years, and who kindly furnished me with some
of his experiences, described them as the hardest workers and
the most industrious men in Kwang-tung ; — and when the interests
of Hak-kas and Puntis, or natives of the province, clashed, the
former have always distinguished themselves by their readiness
to fight. For more than two centuries a stream of Hak-ka
emigration has been flowing into the Ka-ying-chow department,
taking its course more especially through the mountainous and
thinly populated parts. This movement is still going on.
The process, in individual cases, is more or less as foHows.
A couple of Hak-kas come to a Punti village, and there they
hire themselves out to labour on the farm. In process of time,
when they have laid up a little money, they rent a few acres
of mountain land, or unredeemed bog. The insecurity caused
by robbers and banditti makes it difficult in sparsely populated
districts to cultivate land far from a vUlage. The Hak-kas,
therefore, easily find landowners willing to rent their outlying

78 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
acres at a merely nominal rate. All further difficulties are
gradually overcome, and at last the persevering Hak-kas send
for their families and friends, and settle down in mud huts,
which they build like forts, surrounding them with ditches, with
thorny thickets and impenetrable bamboo. Success in most
cases follows, the hamlet grows rapidly, and a flock of immi
grants from their native province crowd in to plant a settlement
in the neighbourhood. Those scattered settlements form a
confederation among themselves, and forthwith demand a reduc
tion of the ground-rent. If this be not acceded to, things
will progress pleasantly for a short time longer, until the confed
eration feels itself strong enough to wage war with the original
owners and refuse to pay any rent. But, lest the Government
should interfere, they are careful to inform the mandarins before
hand that they will pay lawful ground-rent to them. Besides,
in many public offices in the Kwang-tung province, the subor
dinate employes are Hak-kas. This always enables them to
judge of their own strength, to meet intrigue with intrigue,
and to keep their quarrels outside the limits of Government
intervention. As this class of village wars is looked upon as
harmless by the authorities, they only interfere to squeeze both
parties. The Punti employ bravos to fight for them, whUe the
Hak-kas fight their battles for themselves, and that is why the
latter always win.
I wUl now glance at a quarter of the town which has under
gone improvements. Not far from the old factory site, and
close to the river, there stands a row of well-built brick houses.
In 1869 these houses had not been built, and the ground was
occupied by a strange mixed population of the poorest classes.
Too poor to live in boats, or in the houses of the city, they
squatted on this waste land between the river and the waH,

HOVELS. 79
existing, most of them, nobody knew how. Some of the hovels
in which they dwelt would not have made decent dog-kennels ;
and yet, amid aU their poverty, they seemed a tolerably con
tented lot. I remember one hut which had been pieced to
gether out of the fragments of an old boat, bits of foreign
packing-cases inscribed with trade-marks that betrayed their
chequered history, patches of decayed matting, clay, mud and
straw; a covering of odd tUes and broken pottery made all
snug within. In the small space thus enclosed, accommodation
was found for a lean pig that lived on garbage, two old women,
one old man, the old man's daughter and the daughter's chUd.
A smaH space in front was arranged as the kitchen, while part
of the roof and one or two pots were taken up with vegetables
or flowers. I have seen the inmates, in the morning sunshine,
breakfasting off a savoury meal of mixed scraps that they had
picked up in their perambulations about the city. There were
many such dweUings in this neighbourhood, and the district
physician lived not far off. The doctor had a very aged look,
as if, at some distant period, he had been embalmed and pre
served in a dried-up state, though stiU alive. He might be
consulted at all hours, and would be found at his doorway
among his herbs and simples, dressed in a pair of slippers and
cotton breeches, and with ponderous spectacles across his
shrivelled nose. But the door and waUs of this pubHc benefac
tor's abode were covered with an array of black plasters, to
which the old man pointed with great pride as incontestable
evidences of his professional skill. These plasters had a wide
celebrity among his poor patients, and many a man, as a token
of deep gratitude for some signal cure, had brought his plaster
back as a certificate to adorn the residence where his dehverer
dwelt.

8o THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
Leaving this quarter, and striking for the suburbs north of
of the foreign settlements, we come upon a temple, perhaps
the most interesting in Canton. This is the Temple of 500 Gods ;
said, in Mr. Bowra's translation of the native history of the pro
vince, to have been founded by Bodhidharama, a Buddhist monk
from India, about the year 520 A.D. It is Bodhidharama whom
we frequently see pictured on Chinese tea-cups, as he ascends
the Yangtsze river on his bamboo raft. The temple was rebuilt
in 1755, under the auspices of the Emperor Kien-lung. It
contains the Lo-hang-tang, or hall of saints, and with its temple
buUdings, its houses for priests, its lakes and its gardens, covers
altogether a very large space. Colonel Yule, in his last edition
of Marco Polo, says that one of the statues in this temple is an
image of the Venetian traveller ; but careful inquiry proves this
statement incorrect, for none of the images present the Euro
pean type of face, and all the records connected with them
are of an antiquity which runs back beyond Marco Polo's age.
The abbot, who is the centre figure in the Ulu stration of a group
of chess-players, received us with great cordiality, and showed us
into his private apartments, where we enjoyed a repast of tea
and cake, and spent some time in examining a collection of
dwarf trees and flowering shrubs, which he had arranged in a
court in front of his sitting-room. In the centre of this court
stood a tank containing fish, and a group of sacred lotus flowers
in full bloom. The old gentleman had spent many years of his
life in seclusion and seemed to be devoted to his garden, ex
pressing his delight to find a foreigner who could share in his love of
flowers. The apartments of this prelate impressed me with a sense
of cold squareness and rigid uniformity. The flooring was marble,
and the tables and chairs were either wholly of marble, or
ebony, or ebony and marble combined. If the chairs sent too

Buddhist Monks at Chess.

BOATWOMEN. 8 1
rheumatic a chUl through your blood, you could test the comfort
of a block of polished rock in the corner, or try one or two
cold glazed porcelain stools. Sundry texts from the sacred classics
were hung about the dim waUs ; everything was in order and
everything scrupulously clean. But at length we discovered,
when a number of the monks had joined our party, that the
shaven, silent, thoughtful-looking inmates of the cloister could
unbend if they chose, and take a natural and ardent interest
in the current gossip of Canton. Nay, they conducted us to a
snuggery in an inner court, where a table was sumptuously
spread, embowered beneath plantain-trees and shaded by their
huge waving leaves. Round a lotus-pool, in the centre of this
court, ran a paved pathway, and an ornamental railing, draped
with the green leaves of a creeping plant. Here we left the
monks engaging their venerable abbot in a game at chess, whUe
I took my way to the interior of the shrine to obtain a photo
graph of the central altar. I found a number of people at
worship within, making votive offerings to the idols whose aid
they sought. Some ladies were there, decked in their finest
silks ; and my entrance so startled these fair devotees, that they
would have fled but for the intervention of the priests, who
gave me a high character, as one in search of knowledge, who
had wisely come from an obscure island to view the greatest
teraple in all Cathay, and to carry pictures of its wonders home.
Wending our way back to the river through narrow tortuous
streets, and passing third-rate tea establishments, where men
mix the fragrant leaves and toss them about with their naked
feet, on mats spread out in the sun, we at length embark in one
of the many small boats which ply for hire at the jetties. The
crew of the little craft consists of three young girls, and these
boatwomen are the prettiest and most attractive-looking of their
6

82 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
sex to be met with out of doors in this part of China. They
never paint, and are therefore set down by their countrywomen
as of doubtful respectability. This is really true of some of
them, although in the presence of Europeans who may hire
their boats, they behave with uniform modesty and decorum.
Their boats are the perfection of neatness, and their dress as
simple as it is picturesque. They scull or row with great
dexterity, skimming in and out among the crowd of shipping, or
along the narrow ways that form the thoroughfares in the
floating town of boats, where natives in tens of thousands pursue
their various avocations, quite apart from the dweUers on shore.
A brisk trade is carried on in many of these narrow avenues,
and the smaH merchants who engage in it have their shops in
the bows of their boat and their residences at the stern. If
business happens to be duU at one end of the town they move
to the other, or else take a tour in the provinces, carrying their
whole establishment to a region where the family can enjoy
balmy air, and where they will delight the hearts of the rustics
with their display of city wares.
Steering clear of a floating market in one of the main alleys
of this aquatic Babel, we come in front of a row of flower-
boats, the floating music-saloons of this quarter of the stream.
It is growing dark, and the numerous lamps which hang round
these boats produce a very striking effect. Each saloon rears
its head high above the water, and is carved into the most
elaborate representations of the animal and vegetable world, of
the beauties on earth or the wonders in the heavens above.
Through the interstices of the carving we can make out some
pretty female faces, and suddenly a crowd of fine young dam
sels rise above the woodwork, looking like a continuation of
the ornaments. Suddenly they again disappear, as a gay group

Chinese Pagoda, Kwangtung Province.

JUNKS. 83
of youths in silken robes step out of a boat and pass into the
nearest saloon. Then we hear the warble of the lute and the
damsels piping in shrUl treble tones; for these maidens have
descended from their perch above and are entertaining the city
youths, who have come to dine in the saloon, to enjoy a
whiff of opium and to bask in smUes so sweet, that they seem
like to crack the enamel off the faces of the fair damsels.
Pulling back is hard work for the crew, but they redouble
their efforts, for as they say, "Plenty piecee bad man hab got
this side, too muchee likee cut throat pidjin," and soon we are
once more in mid-stream. Here we pass close under the dark
frowning hulks of a fleet of old weather-beaten junks that lie
moored in a long double line. As everyone already knows all
about these junks — what they look like, with their big eyes set
in front to scare off the demons of the deep — I need not at
tempt to describe them here; but I may inform the reader that
the accompanying picture of the deck of a junk was one which
cost me some trouble to obtain. I got it under the following
circumstances. Two artistic friends and myself were one day
pulling about Hongkong harbour, in quest of a good subject for
a picture, and after having scrambled by the aid of a convenient
rope, on to the deck of a junk at anchor there, we found the
crew busy with a complex machinery of ropes, poles and wind
lasses, and indeed on the point of making saU. Suddenly they
forsook their work, confronted us with angry gestures and threat
ened to bar our advance. We enquired for the captains, of
whom there are not uncommonly half a dozen on board ; for
these junks are built in water-tight compartments, and each
owner of cargo is a captain so far as concerns that compart
ment where his own goods have been separately stored. Thus
if the compartments be six, the captains are six, and each cap-

84 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
tain has a sixth part of the vessel under his own command.
The result of this equitable arrangement is that the craft is
sometimes required to travel in six different directions simul
taneously, and to stand for six different points at a time ; and
in the end the crew take the steering into their own hands, or
else consult Joss, who stands in his shrine in the cabin un
moved, though tempests rage. As it happened in our case
there were but two captains on board, the one anxious to be
civil and the other ready to pitch us into the sea. At length
they requested us to remain, whUe they referred the case to
Joss. The idol, it appeared, gave us a hearty welcome, for
captains and crew returned from the interior to unite in helping
me to get up a successful picture.

CHAPTER VI.
canton i Continued). MACAO. SWATOW. CHAO-C'HOW-FU. AMOY.
The Charitable Institutions of China — Macao— Description of the Town-
Its inhabitants — Swatow — Foreign Settlement — Chao-chow-fu — Swatow
Fan-painters — Modellers— Chinese Art — Village Warfare — Amoy— The
Native Quarter — Abodes ofthe Poor — Infanticide — Manure-pits — Human
Remains in Jars — Lekin — Romantic Scenery -Ku-lang-su— The Foreign
Settlement.
The charitable institutions of China are far from numerous, and
but ill-organised as a rule. At the time of my visit an estab
lishment under Chinese supervision, and supported entirely out
of Chinese funds, was about to be opened in Canton for reUev-
ing the sick and destitute, and supplying coffins to the poor.
The intention of its founders, so it is supposed, was to counter
act the influence of the hospitals and charities supported by
the foreign Christian Missions in their city.
But when I left Canton the place was stiU unopened, although
a house had already been bought, which had been occupied as
a private residence by Pun-ting-qua, the last of the Hong mer
chants, whose property, as I have said already, had been con
fiscated by Government. This house was one of the finest I

86

THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.

have seen in China, and its magnificent costly decorations con
veyed some notion of Pun-ting-qua's great wealth, which had
been quietly absorbed by the authorities.
Among the charities in Canton there is a Leper Village.
These sort of asylums for plague-stricken men and women are
found in various quarters of the Empire, but as I only visited
one place of the kind, I shall reserve what I have to say about
them for a future page. There are also institutions for the
aged and infirm, and a foundUng hospital, in which the poor
children, who may be left at its door, are nursed on the slen
derest fare. Dr. Kerr gave some interesting detaUs as to the
management of this hospital, in the "China Review." One wet
nurse, so he tells us, has at times as many as three infants
to feed, and she must herself be reduced to starvation
allowance, as her pay is only about eight shillings a month.
Many of the nurslings die, as might be expected, while those
who survive are sold for about three shillings apiece. It is
mostly female children who are brought to this benevolent
institution, for girls are esteemed nothing but encumbrances to
poor parents in China, the reproach of their mothers, who ought
to give birth to boys alone. These foundlings are bought by
the wealthy and brought up as servants or concubines ; or else
they are disposed of to designing hags, who purchase them on
speculation and reserve them for a more miserable fate. This
custom of investing in girls as speculative property, and of
rearing them carefully till their personal attractions will command
a high market value, is one of the worst aspects of that traffic
in slaves which is carried on without shame or concealment all
over Chinese soU. The evil might be mitigated if we could
but persuade the Chinese Government to encourage female
emigration by any means in their power, more particularly to

MACAO. 87
those lands where as yet only males have found their way from
China. Besides this there are countries in which the Chinese
are as yet almost unknown — Africa, for example — where, with
wives and chUdren around them, a congenial climate, and a
rich soil to cultivate with produce, which they have been ac
customed to grow, vast tracts of the waste lands of the earth
might be colonised and redeemed. Thus would the parent
country be relieved from the pressure of over-population, which
hitherto has been mainly kept in check by famine, infanticide
and civil war.
Macao is interesting as the only Portuguese settlement to be
found on the coast of China. It may be reached by steamer
either from Hongkong or Canton, and it is a favourite summer
resort for the residents of our own little colony. In that pretty
watering-place we may enjoy the cool sea-breezes, and almost
fancy, when promenading the broad Praya Grande, as it sweeps
round a bay truly picturesque, that we have been suddenly
transported to some ancient continental town. Macao is a
magnificent curiosity in its way. The Chinese say it has no
right to be there at all ; that it is buUt on Chinese soU ; whereas
the Portuguese, on their part, allege that the site was ceded
to the King of Portugal in return for services rendered to the
Government of China. These services, however, cannot have
been properly appreciated, for the Chinese in 1573, buUt a
barrier-wall across the isthmus on which the town stands, to
shut out the foreigners. The place has had a chequered history
since the time of its original foundation, sometimes being under
its own legitimate Government, and at others being claimed and
ruled by the Chinese. But its history, however important to
the parent country, had better be left alone, more especially as
there are passages in it which reflect no great lustre on the

88 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA
nation whom Camoens adorned. The main streets in Macao
are deserted. The houses there are painted in a variety of
strange colours, some of the windows being fringed with a rim
of red, which gives them the look of inflamed eyes in the
painted cheeks of the dwellings. But there are magnificent
staircases, wide doorways and vast haUs, though the inmates
for the most part are a very diminutive race ; they are called
Portuguese, but they suffer by comparison with the more recent
arrivals from the parent land, being darker than the Portuguese
of Europe, and darker even than the native Chinese. There
is trade going on the streets, but it is of a very languid
kind, and the gambling-houses, or the cathedral are the chief
places of resort.
The forts are, of course, garrisoned with troops from Europe.
At 4 p.m. or thereabouts, the settlement wakes up ; carriages
whirl along the road ; sedan chairs struggle shorewards, that
their occupants may taste the sea-breeze ; and the mid-day
solitudes of the Praya Grande have been converted into a
fashionable promenade. Ladies are there too, attired in the
lightest costumes and the gayest colours ; some of them pretty,
but the majority sallow-faced and uninteresting, and decked out
with ribbons and dresses, whose gaudy tints are so inhar-
moniously contrasted, that one wonders how Chinnery the
painter could have spent so many of his days among a com
munity so wanting in artistic tastes. The young men — for there
seem to be no old men here, at least aU dress alike, quite
irrespective of years — are a slender race, but not more slender
than diminutive. But if Macao is interesting as a Portuguese
settlement, and the only one which now remains to Portugal
of those which her early traders founded in China, it can also
boast of historic associations, giving it a special and independent

Approach to Buddhist Te.-nple, Macao.

SWATOW. 89
attraction. Here the poet Camoens found a retreat, and here
too, Chinnery produced a multitude of sketches and paintings,
which have really had some influence on art in the south
of China.
Swatow is the next place on our route northward, and to
reach it we take steamer from Hongkong. There is, I must
tell you, almost daily a service of steamers up and down the
Chinese coast. The splendid passenger accommodation and the
facilities for conveying merchandise, supplied by these vessels,
are of a kind not easily surpassed ; and considering the nature
of the coasts they navigate and the dangerous typhoons to
which they are exposed, very few accidents occur.
Swatow is the port of the city Chao-chow-fu, which lies in
the province of Kwang-tung. Chao-chow-fu ought really to have
been an entrepot for foreign trade, but this idea was given up
in consequence of the turbulence of the surrounding clans. The
town is built upon the banks of the Han, and the district
through which that river flows is one of the most fertUe in the
province. Swatow has a harbour available even for vessels of
the largest tonnage; and so far as that point goes the place
is better suited to foreign trade than Chao-chow-fu would have
been ; for the latter place stands some thirty miles up the river,
and can only be reached by lighters of a shallow draught. The
foreign settlement, or rather the residences of foreigners, are
perched upon a low range of hills, which remind one of the
barren cinder-looking hiUs of Aden. Huge boulders of granite
are planted up and down these hilly slopes in the most extra
ordinary positions ; some are like Druidical circles, others re
semble great obelisks. Not unfrequently, too, they bear in
scriptions in Chinese characters, which are nothing more than
the productions of natives, who have sought to gain an un-

9° THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
profitable immortality by graving their names, or their poetical
effusions, or else a record of some local incident upon the
imperishable surface of these stones. Here the foreign houses
and many of the native ones too, are built with a local concrete,
made of the felspar clay which abounds in the neighbourhood,
combined with shell-lime. In process of time this compound
hardens into a stony substance, producing solid and durable
walls. The interiors of these dwellings are no less remarkable,
for the ceilings are adorned with beautiful stucco cornices, re
presenting birds and flowers in endless variety and profusion.
The men who execute this sort of artistic work are to all
appearance coolies, receiving for their labour but little more
than they could earn by tiUing the soU or drawing water; and
yet, to fit themselves for their tasks, they must undergo what
is a fine art training, at least to a Chinaman. When at work
they squat on the floor, with a hod full of stucco before them,
and a sort of smaU baking-board at their feet. On this board,
with their fingers and a trowel, they model flower after flower —
stems, foliage, fruit and all — besides birds of one or two kinds ;
passing the portions, as they complete them, up to a workman,
whose business it is to group the bits together, and fix them
in position. No moulds are used, no wooden pattern of any
sort, — all is done with the unaided hand and eye.
Of the native settlement of Swatow I need only say that it
is more or less like the river quarters of Canton, or Fatshan,
or any other town in the south of China; but I cannot refrain
from introducing the reader to the Swatow fan-painters. There
are a number of fan-shops in the main street, and one which
is perhaps more celebrated for the beauty of its work than
any of the others can pretend to be. To this shop, then, I
repaired in the company of an English merchant, whose warm

FAN-PAINTERS. 91
hospitality proved him to be no exception to the majority of
his associates in China. We were here shown some of the
most beautiful and delicate fan-painting that I have ever come
across, representing, for the most part, garden scenes. Asking
to be introduced to the artists, I was shown into an apartment
at the back of the premises, where I found three occupants.
Two were seated before a table, engaged in designing on the
yet unpainted fans, whUe the third lay stretched on a couch,
indulging in an opium-pipe. They were, all of them, opium-
smokers ; and it struck me that their most finely imaginative
paintings were executed under the influence of the drug. As
I have said, the pictures produced by these men were remark
able for their beauty, and that because the drawing and per
spective were good, and the designs full of delicacy. Here,
then, we find Chinese art pure and simple, without the ad
mixture of any foreign element, as in Hongkong ; and my opinion
is that it is a higher class of art than we are apt to suppose
the Chinese to possess. But then we must bear in mind that
after all we do not know much about China and her art. It
was only the other day, when in Peking, that I picked up one
or two old pictures which had formed part of the collection
of a private Chinese gentleman, and that alone gave me a more
favourable opinion of, at any rate, the ancient school of Chinese
artists. One specimen, a series of original sketches representing chil
dren at play, was as remarkable for its quaint humour as for
its clever execution ; yet the pictures are nothing more preten
tious than unelaborated pen-and-ink sketches. In a postscript
attached to his book, the artist modestly teUs his readers, " I
have made up a portfolio of twelve sketches, consecutively
Ulustrative of the four seasons of the year, beginning with a

92 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
representation of New Year festivities, and ending with the draw
ing of the snow lion ; and, though I cannot pretend to the
perfection of the artists of bygone days, perhaps I may aspire
to six or seven tenths of their talent. Written on the 4th day
of the 4th month of the year Woo-shin, by Se Hea of Hang-
chow." There can be no doubt that art has declined in China,
and this the Chinese themselves confess, as the above note will
serve to show. Moreover, as with ourselves, the wealthy and
cultivated classes in China expend large sums of money in col
lecting the works of the ancient masters, which they carefully
preserve. Many of these old paintings have been executed on
silk scrolls, and thus a Chinese picture gaUery is quite unlike
what we should expect to see, for the pictures are not framed
and exposed on the waUs, but are kept carefully roUed up and
protected against the light and air. My friend Mr. Wylie, who
is well known to Eastern scholars, when examining several old
pictures which I had brought from Peking, made some interest
ing remarks on this point. He said, "Many anecdotes are on
hand regarding the achievements of the old masters. Thus, in
the third century we are told of a painter, Tsaou Puh-ying,
who, when he had finished a screen for the Emperor, added
some flies to the picture by a few touches of the pencU here
and there ; great was his gratification at seeing his Majesty take up a
handkerchief to drive these flies away. Not less celebrated was
Hwan Tseuen, who flourished about A.D. 1000, and who introduced
several pheasants into a mural decoration in one of the haUs of
the palace. Some foreign envoys, who had brought a tribute of
falcons, were ushered into this haU ; and no sooner did the birds
of prey get sight of the pheasants on the wall than they made a
precipitate dart at their victims, more of course to the detri
ment of their heads than to the satisfaction of their appetites. "

CHAO-CHOW-FU. 93
Between Swatow and Chao-chow-fu I have met wayfarers on
a hot day stripped to the skin, every article of their clothing
bound around the head, and thus marching along, to all appear
ance without the slightest sense of impropriety. The higher
one ascends the Han the more savage-looking are the people
we encounter there, but, happily, the clan-fights had been sup
pressed and peace re-established in the province. At Chao-
chow-fu I got up one morning before daybreak, to photograph
an old bridge across the river there, and I fondly thought that
being so early astir, I should get clear of the city mob ; but as
it happened, there was a market held on the top of the bridge,
and even before it was quite light, long trains of produce-laden
coolies were pouring in from every side. I had just time to
show myself and take a photograph, when a howUng multitude
came rushing down to where I stood near my boat on the shore.
Amid a shower of missUes I unscrewed my camera, with the
still undeveloped photograph inside, took the apparatus under
my arm, and presenting my iron-pointed tripod to the rapidly
approaching foe, backed into the river and scrambled on board
the boat. Chao-chow-fu bridge is not unlike the one at Foo
chow, which spans the river Min. It is buUt of stone and
contains a great many arches, or rather square spaces for the
passage of boats beneath. On each side of the causeway above,
a row of houses has been erected, and these project beyond
the parapets and overhang the stream for as much as three-
fourths of their entire depth. There seems, indeed, to be no
part of each house, except the brick waU in front, which rests
upon the bridge ; whUe as to the fabric itself, it is held up by
a series of long poles, which abut upon the projections of the
buttresses below, and thus serve to support the dwelling Hke
the under-props of a bracket. This was what one would call

94 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
a break-neck sort of architecture, and yet the great market of
the town is held on this bridge, and there we find the dweU-
ing-houses and shops of the merchants. There they trade and
there they sleep, calmly awaiting the hour which shaU drop
them and their frail tenements into a muddy grave. But they
had other means stiU to ensure safety both for property and
Hfe. Suspended between each archway hang two slender
wooden frames, and these barriers the householders piously let
down at night to deter malignant spirits from passing beneath
their dwellings — a device, I need hardly say, universally successful.
Chao-chow-fu is open to foreign trade, and on one or two
occasions the attempt has been made to establish a British
Consulate in the town; but it has always been a failure. Tur
bulent mobs continually stone foreigners, and during the time
of my visit the Vice-consul was the only European in the
place. He, when I told him how I had been attacked by the
rabble, said quietly, "You are no worse off than your neighbours ;
it is just what every white man must expect at the hands of
the lawless ruffians of the town." So I was not sorry when I
turned my back upon this part of Kwang-tung, and descended
once more to Swatow. Every year sees an increase in the
number of emigrants who leave this part of China to work on
the plantations in Siam, Cochin China, or the Straits, and we
may be sure that the price of labour in China is at a very low
ebb, when we find that wages, running from two to four dollars
a month, are aU the inducement held out to allure the cooHes
from their homes ; and that such a sum as this even is, by the
toiling poor, esteemed sufficient to enable them to save money
to invest in a farm on their return to their native land. It
was up into this region that JuUin sent a military mandarin
with a force of 2,000 men. This officer, at the time of my

SWABOI. 95
visit, was known in the district as Chao-Yang. His task was
approaching completion and there was consequently more of
peace and prosperity in the country than had been its lot for
many previous years. Fang-Yao, for that was the mandarin's
inharmonious designation, pursued a rough and ready sort of
system in the conduct of his operations for putting matters to
rights. Thus, at the village of Go-swa, near Double Island, he
seized a man named Kwin-Kwong, weU known to foreigners, and
required him to surrender 200 of the chief rebels of his village.
Kwin-Kwong produced 100, many of them, poor wretches, in
nocent substitutes for the true offenders. Under pressure and
threats a few more victims were ultimately given up, and the
whole were then beheaded, Kwin-Kwong's own skull being tossed
into the pUe to swell the number of the sufferers. It must have
been bloody work ; more than 1 ,000 are said to have been de
capitated during Fang-Yao's memorable march.
Swaboi, one of the most powerful vUlages in the province,
stands about two miles distant from Swatow, and for
many years has monopolised the right to supply cooHes to
that town.
Several years ago, seventeen other vUlages combined against
Swaboi, and resolved by force, if necessary, to put a stop to
its monopoly of labour. The war lasted four years, and termin
ated in favour of Swaboi. At such times the villagers practise
the most heartless cruelties on each other, burying their enemies,
for example, while stiU alive, and head downwards, in graves
prepared with quicklime and earth. It was, indeed, in this
district that I gathered a notion of the inhuman treatment of
idiots practised in some parts of China. I myself have seen an
idiot exposed outside a vUlage in a wooden cage, and there left for
the passers-by to feed him, or better stiU to starve and die.

96 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
I afterwards went a second time to see this being that looked
more brute than man, but he had died in his cage.
Amoy is the next open port in our northern route; and
though situated in the province of Fukien, its geological features
resemble those of Swatow. Thus the same decomposing hUls
crowned with huge granite bare boulders, are to be seen at the
entrance of the harbour ; and one of these boulders which faces
the port, has some passages connected with the local history of
the place engraven in huge characters upon its stony sides.
Several of them rear their grey heads to a great height out of
the water, or above the shore close by, and these the natives
look up to with reverence and awe, as objects intimately con
nected with the Feng-shui, or good luck of the port. But in
such a place as this it is but seldom that good luck waits upon
the lower and most superstitious classes. The Amoy men make
good soldiers, so at least it is said ; they certainly fought well
for their independence, and were the last to yield to the Tartar
invaders, and those upon whom the conquerors seemed to have
pressed most heavily. To this day they wear the turban which
they assumed to hide the tonsure and queue imposed on them
by the conquerors. The dialect here is so different from that
spoken in Canton as to lead my boys to imagine that they
were once more out of China and in some foreign realm. But
a gHmpse of the town quickly reassured them. There they feU
in with men from their own province, and with odours and ap
pearances so unmistakably Chinese that there was no getting over
the fact; and they soon acknowledged that this indeed could
StUl be no other than their own Chinese land. At Amoy, as in
Swatow and most other Chinese seaport towns, the houses in
the native quarter are huddled together like a crowd of sight
seers, all eager to stand in the front row along the water's

Puddhist Temple, Amoy.

AMOY. 97
edge. Many of these dwellings are in a sad state of decay and
dUapidation ; and the long, dark, narrow street which runs the
length of the settlement is paved with cross flags of stone so
worn and loose that they rest for the most part in treacherous
pits of mud ; and thus, if a foot be placed hastily on the
rocking flag, a shower of most offensive dirt is splashed up over
one's clothes. Every second shop reeks with a smeU of roasting
fat and onions. Mangy dogs and lean pigs yelp and grunt as
we disturb their occupations : these are the sanitary authorities
of the locaUty and to them the duty faUs to clear up the refuse
and garbage. Nor were these the only inconveniences ; on
nearly every occasion when I waded my way along the unin
viting thoroughfares, I found it blocked at some point by a
strolling band of players, hired to perform in public by one of
the more liberal-spirited tradesmen. The approach to the foreign
merchants' establishments can hardly be accounted better than the
miserable Chinese aUey which I have just described ; but the
offices themselves, when the difficulty of reaching them is over
come, are found to be venerable structures, fiUed with all sorts
of produce beneath, and showing all the evidences of business
above. The trade of this port has grown, and is likely to continue
growing, just in proportion as the rich island of Formosa opposite
is developed, and its tea, sugar and other products increase.
The late transfer of Formosa to the Japanese wUl alter the
conditions of trade, although the Japanese may find it profitable
to ship produce to the nearest markets on the Chinese mainland.
The import trade and the distribution of foreign goods inland,
is pretty effectually choked off by the illegal system of transit
duties levied at the various stations, and regulated chiefly by
the need or avarice of the local officials at the various points 7

98 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
along the route. There is also a grievous charge called Lekin,
originally imposed as a war tax on foreign goods, and never
since withdrawn. The American Consul, in writing on the
subject, said: "At Swatow the local taxes levied on imports
remain unchanged; that is to say, about one-fortieth of what
they are in Amoy;" and he goes on to observe "that natives
can stiU bring foreign goods overland from Swatow to the Amoy
districts, and sell them at a cheaper rate than if they were
imported and sold direct in Amoy." ' This Lekin tax was in
stituted to defray the expenses either of the Taiping rebellion
or of the "smaU knife" rebelHon, or both. The "smaU knife"
rebellion of 1853 was a serious affair for Amoy. The rebel
chief, or ringleader, of this dagger society was said to be a
Singapore Chinaman of the name of Tan-keng-chin. The out
break was, in fact, a development of one of the secret so
cieties that have been a source of continual trouble to all the
countries into which Chinese labour has flowed.
In 1864, a few months after Nankin fell into the hands of
the Imperialists, and when the cause of Tien- Wang or Heavenly
King was all but crushed, the last remnant of his followers made
a final effort and captured Chang-chow-fu, a city which stands
in the same relationship to Amoy as Chao-chow-fu to Swatow.
The place was eventually retaken by the Imperialists after a
protracted struggle; and this barbarous war was then closed,
amid scenes of cold-blooded massacre as inhuman as any that
have stained the annals of the Taiping revolt, whose overthrow
was brought about by foreign intervention, and by one or two
powerful decisive blows dealt at the strongholds of the rebel
towns. Alas ! these successes were but too frequently followed
' Report on Amoy and the Island of Formosa, by A. W. Le Gendre.

AMOY NATIVES.

PRIMITIVE SOLDIER.

AMOY HOSPITAL. 99
up by indiscriminate slaughter, for those are the means by
which a weak government seeks to strike terror into the hearts
of the people.
Occurrences such as that which I am now about to describe
were accordingly by no means rare. The fight was ended and
the fruits of the victory were reckoned up. It was reported
to the conqueror that there were 254 heads and 231 queues
and ears of people supposed to be rebels ; at any rate, they
were heads and ears and queues, and these the ImperiaHst troops
had to lay at the feet of the authorities. It is astonishing how
some of these mutilated wretches survived. Thus I myself saw
a man who reported that his head had been nearly severed
from his body, but who succeeded in reaching Amoy. There
were certainly marks of a severe wound on the neck, simUar
to those described by Mr. Hughes in the "China Review" for
June 1875. I have also seen a man enjoying good health who
had both ears chopped off and part of the scalp carried away.
Mr. Hughes again tells us, in another paper, that female infant
icide is perhaps worse in this part of the Fukien province than
in any other quarter of the Empire, and this corroborates the
conclusion I myself had come to from enquiries I made on the
spot. Mr. Hughes one day met a stout weU-to-do-looking man
of the coolie class, carrying two neat and clean round baskets,
slung on a pole which he bore across his shoulder. " Hearing
the cry of a child, I stopped him, when I found that he had
two infants in each basket;" and it is recorded that this crafty
old speculator in innocents was on his way to sell his living
burden at the Foundling Hospital, where he would receive 100
cash, or about fivepence, for a female child, and as much as
three pounds for a boy.
This Foundling Hospital was organised by a native merchant

IOO THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
whom I had the pleasure of meeting, and it is a lamentable fact
that the prospect of receiving fivepence wiH tempt a mother to
part with her babe.
The Amoy Hospital is, however, conducted on rather more
liberal principles than that in Canton ; for if any one wishes to
obtain a child, he may get one here free of charge, provided
that he can deposit suitable credentials as to his own respect-
abUity. One of the resident Christian missionaries informed
me that he felt convinced that 25 per cent of the female chU
dren of Amoy were destroyed at birth. The natives themselves
make no secret of this crime, and I saw one old woman who
confessed to having made away with three of her daughters in
succession. They excuse their misdeeds on the ground of ex
treme poverty, and they certainly are poor and wretched to a
degree I had no conception of before I visited their abodes.
The district around is naturally barren and unproductive, and
plundering raids of rebel and Imperial troops crippled the ener
gies of the needy inhabitants. War, it is true, has thinned the
population, but not to such an extent as materially to affect its
density. An able-bodied man can here earn only fivepence a day, and
skUled workmen, of whom there are many, are paid about eight-
pence per diem. There is a great trade carried on in one
quarter of the town, or rather in a suburb, in the coUection
and preparation of manure, which is afterwards sold to the
farmers to fertilise their poor lands. The people who deal in
this commodity dwell on the edge of the foul pits into which
filth of aU sorts is thrown, and for the use of the hovels in
which they reside many of them pay about fivepence a month
in rent. Close to this spot is a hiH on which the poor are
buried. There is no lack of recent graves, but all such are

UNSEPULCHRED SKELETONS. lOI
covered with lime, mixed with fragments of glass and pottery,
in order to keep pigs and dogs from digging up the bodies.
How the people subsist here it is hard to say I Judging from
the multitude of graves they must die in great numbers, and
who can wonder at it, in an atmosphere that smeHs so putrid.
I looked into one or two of the dwellings ; they were single-
roomed huts reared above the naked sod. Often they contained
no furniture at all, and their ragged lean occupants were filthy
in the extreme ; and yet numerous children were to be seen
running about, pitching pebbles into the pools, or chasing the
pigs and pariah dogs to prevent them from eating up the only
article of trade in the locality.
There was another hill not far off, and commanding a view of
the harbour. On this I found a row of glazed earthen pots, each
containing a skeleton ; one had been broken and the bones lay
scattered over the face of the rock, while a number of children
were playing catch-baU with the skuU. What mean these dis
honoured relics, over which some Ezekiel might prophesy, lament
ing the degradation of his people } These are the remains
deposited here to await interment— a ceremony which can only
be properly accomplished by attending to the times and places
which the professors of Feng-shui may prescribe. But alas 1 too
many of these unsepulchred skeletons wiU never know any
resting-place more hallowed than the pots in which they were
originaUy stored. There they crumble, unfriended and forgotten,
for their surviving kinsmen are perhaps themselves cut off from
the land, or else too poor to pay the expenses of the for ever
deferred burial rites. Now, then, my readers can appreciate the
true motives of a Chinaman, who, as I have already said, wUl
devote his earnings to the purchase of a coffin, funeral raiment
and a burial site in anticipation, many years before his death.

I02 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
My sketch of Amoy has thus far been a dark one, and yet
the true picture is not without some glances of light striking
down even into the lowest quarters of the town. Thus, in one
of my many perambulations I came to a very narrow and very
dark lane, where I found the humble tenants of the houses
engaged in what, to me, was quite a new industry. Men, women
and chUdren were aH busily occupied in the manufacture of
most beautiful artificial flowers, from a pith obtained in Formosa,
from the same plant (Aralia papyriferd) as that out of which
the so-called rice-paper is made. I entered shop after shop,
and everywhere found thousands of flowers spread out on trays,
and each one so lifelike that it might almost be mistaken for
nature herself. But tiny hands were at work here too, and
roses, Hlies, azaleas and camelias grew up with wonderful celer
ity beneath them. The workshops are the dwellings, the offices
and the warehouses of each firm, or family; and the workers
within are so closely packed that strangers not unfrequently
must watch the process, or make a purchase, by taking up a
position outside. I bought a great many of these flowers from
a man in a very mean shop indeed. He was extremely poor,
and he asked me for an advance of money, offering to furnish
security if I wished. I lent him a few dollars without troubling
him for securities ; and though I knew nothing about him, he
carried out the transaction with the most scrupulous honesty.
There are many wealthy Chinese merchants in Amoy, who
live in good style and in superior houses on the hills above
and beyond the town. On those hills, too, we may find temples
and monastic establishments, built in the most romantic situations
among great granite boulders which tower in some places many
hundred feet above the plain. Thus from the rock on which the
"White Stag" monastery stands one obtains a commanding view

FORMOSA. 103
of the town, harbour and island of Ku-lang-su. It is on Ku-
lang-su that European settlers chiefly reside ; and there the
houses environed with parks and gardens, are second to none
in China. Some Christian missions also are established in
the same quarter, and not unfittingly, for there is a wide
opening for mission labour in a field so benighted and so woe-
stricken as Amoy.
From Amoy I crossed over by steamer to Formosa; but
before I left the harbour I had time to pull off to the steam
ship "Yesso," and take a hurried leave of an esteemed friend
broken down in health, and then homeward bound. I never
saw him again, for he died before reaching home. I had a
pleasant companion in Dr. Maxwell, the medical missionary of
Tai-wan-fu, in Formosa, and from him I heard some interesting
accounts of the savages on this strange island. Leaving the
harbour at 5 pm., we passed the Pescadore group of islands at
daybreak next morning. The wind aU the whUe blew strongly
from the north, forcing me to forego my dinner, and to confine
myself a prisoner in my berth until I was summoned on deck
to see land. It was a grateful sight, but how the sea was
rolling! and the land — alas I the only thing that struck me about
it was that it must be a very long way off. Having once gained
my sea legs, I had one or two hours' leisure to scrutinise the
coast and the inland mountain ranges, which lost themselves in
the clouds above. A narrow rocky inlet was pointed out to me
as the only harbour accessible in this quarter; and it was
abreast of this spot, some two mUes from shore, that the
steamer came to her moorings. Here I found myself keenly
interested in the experiences of a Malay on board, who informed
me that vessels were constantly being wrecked along this shore,
and that their crews were invariably eaten to a man by the

I04 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA,
bloodthirsty savages, who perpetually scoured the beach in
search of prey. He had probably heard of the wreck of the
schooner "Macto" in 1859, and how the crew were massacred
on this very beach by the natives; or else he may have been
referring to the murder at a later date, of a number of American
castaways by the aborigines further south. It is to punish
outrages of this sort that a Japanese army was despatched to
Formosa, in retaliation for some particular barbarities which
chance to have been practised upon a Japanese crew ; so say
the Japanese. I predicted in my previous work the probabUity
of coming difficulties between Japan and China.
We are told by the "PaU MaU Gazette" that when the Jap
anese fleet anchored off Formosa, and before a single soldier
landed, a Chinese corvette and a gunboat steamed into sight,
with guns run out, men at quarters and everything prepared for
action. Between them these two vessels as they assure us, might
have sunk the whole Japanese squadron ; but after some palaver
the Chinese men-of-war quietly steamed off again, and the Japanese
troops were landed. It is possible that this visit of the Japanese
to Formosa and their finding it a land greatly to be desired and fuU
of undeveloped resources, had some influence in their eventually
securing the island for themselves.
Before we disembark and proceed on our journey inland, it
may be as well to give the reader some general notion of the
island and its position. Isla Formosa, or the Beautiful Island,
as the Portuguese named it, lies at the distance of about one
hundred mUes off the mainland. In time the Chinese crossed
over and planted a settlement on the island, driving the savages
high up into the almost inaccessible mountains. The island
runs nearly north and south, its length is about 250 miles, and
it is about 84 mUes broad across its widest part. Down its

Mountain Gorge, Island of Formosa.

FORMOSA. 105
centre a rocky spine of lofty mountains stretches longitudinaHy
nearly from sea to sea, with peaks, in some places, about
fourteen thousand feet high. The Chinese occupy only the
western half of the island and a smaU portion at its northern
extremity, while the whole of the mountainous region to the
east is held by independent tribes of aborigines. Before it was
ceded to Japan the island was ruled over by a Taotai resident
at Tai-wan-fu, and appointed by the Central Government. The
Taotai of Formosa was the only officer of the same rank in
the Empire who enjoyed the privUege of direct appeal to the
throne. The population is about three miUions, viz., tv.'o and a
half miUions Chinese and half a mUlion aborigines. Naturalists
suppose that Formosa was originally joined to the mainland;
and what confirms them in this view is the great similarity of
its flora and fauna to that of the nearest provinces of China.
But let us land and see for ourselves.

CHAPTER VII.

FORMOSA.

Takow Harbour, Formosa— La-mah-kai — Difficulties of Navigation— Tai-
wan-fu — The Taotai— His Yamen — How to cancel a State Debt — The
Dutch in 1661 — Sylvan Lanes — Medical Missions — A Journey to the
Interior — Old Watercourses — Broken Land — Hak-ka Settlers — Poah-
be — Pepohoan Village— Baksa Valley— The name "Isla Formosa" — A
long March — The Central Mountains — Bamboo Bridges — "Pau-ah-liau"
Village — The Physician at work— Ka-san-po Village— A Wine-feast—
Interior of a Hut — Pepohoan Dwellings — A Savage Dance— Savage
Hunting-grounds— La-lung Village — Return Journey.
A CmNESE pilot, named Opium, came off to the steamer and
brought her to a secure anchorage about a mile from shore.
There was a pretty heavy sea on at this time, rendering it
dangerous, even in a surf-boat, to make for the mouth of the
harbour; so Dr. MaxweU and I determined to go ashore with
Opium, trusting to his local knowledge to land us safely some
where along the coast. This pilot was a cool, imperturbable
seaman, a daring specimen, who had been out in all weathers
and who was said to have earned his singular cognomen of
Opium from his notoriety as a smuggler of that valuable drug.

A FORMOSA RAID. 1 07
It is truly wonderful how in California the genius of the Chinese
race has been times without number equal to the task of car
rying on an untaxed opium traffic, and that too under a system
of poHce surveiUance that only faUs short of submitting the
Chinaman and his effects to a process of sublimation, which
would leave the hidden juices of the narcotic behind. Never
theless, their dodges have been detected one by one; a layer
of opium glued in between the polished sides of a trunk wUl
never reach shore, nor pass unnoticed though wrought into the
well-made soles of a silken boot, or stitched into the skirts of
a padded robe. But now we are on the top of the breakers,
plunging as if the boat were going bow-foremost to the bottom.
Opium is looking calmly on the whUe, with a countenance at
once soothing and reassuring. We soon roll over the last bU-
low and are swept into a small haven amid the rocks. These
rocks are of igneous formation, and look like molten metal
suddenly chUled while in a state of violent ebullition. We land,
and scramble over a multitude of cell-like cavities with edges
as hard as flint and sharp as splintered glass. Many of these
cavities have the hollows filled up with a little sandy soil, in
which luxuriant shrubs and a sort of dwarf date-palm grow.
The wet sand along the beach was of a deep black hue.
As we made our way through the native town of Takow, I
was much struck with the tropical appearance of the place,
and with the shady palms, which reminded us of the villages
in the Malayan Archipelago. But evidently neither Mohammedans
nor Malays dwelt there, for huge porkers roamed free about
the settlement, or kept watch around the cabin doors. At
length we reached the Mission Station, and met with a cordial
welcome. Here the Rev. Mr. Ritchie gave me some notion of
the lawless state which prevailed in this portion of the island.

I08 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
One day, when on a mission-trip inland, he fell in with the
deputy magistrate (Chinese) of the Tung-shan district, return
ing to his "Yamen" from a place called La-ma-kai, with a troop
of armed retainers at his heels. Passing this official and pro
ceeding on to La-ma-kai, my friend there met a band of ruffians
carrying spears, daggers and fire-arms ; and behind them followed
an old woman, who besought the marauders to return her son's
matchlock, which one of them had just stolen from her house.
The first question asked of Mr. Ritchie when he reached the
Chinaman's hut where he proposed to sleep, was whether these
armed men had been seen, as they were a band of highway
robbers that had been plundering the neighbouring settlements.
The magistrate, it appeared, had been despatched by his superior
officer to seize on a rich relative of one of the bandits, and
to hold him as a hostage ; but the crafty knaves had been fore
warned of the threatened surprise, most probably by one of the
servants in the mandarin's train, and had forthwith met their
enemy with so overwhelming a force as to compel him to an
undignified and speedy retreat. A wholesome dread of Euro
peans, inspired by the vigorous action of Lieutenant Gordon at
Tai-wan-fu, saved my friend from falHng an easy prey into the
hands of the gang.
Two or three of the European firms at Amoy have branch
establishments in Takow, or had at the time I speak of; and
behind these foreign houses there rises a hill more than i,ooo
feet high and commonly known as Apes' HiU, from the large
apes, its only inhabitants, which may be seen in great numbers
about the crags. From this hiU I obtained a commanding view
of Takow harbour, and the observations which I made here, as
well as closer inspections carried out from other points, led
me to the conclusion that in the hands of a civilised foreign

TAI-WAN-FU. 109
power, a portion of the soft sandy lagoon, which is gradually
invading and narrowing the available anchorage of the harbour,
might soon be added to the now limited accommodation for ship
ping; whUe the bar at the mouth of the port might no less
easily be removed. As the case now stands, with wind and
tide favourable, a barque drawing twelve feet of water can find
her way through the rocky entrance. Rapid physical changes
have taken place within a recent period on this western side
of Formosa, as I shall be able to demonstrate conclusively when
we get to a point further north. It struck me, however, that
the natural formation of the harbour of Takow belongs to a
modern date. Thus, when the Dutch occupied the island, a con
siderable river existed at the southern extremity, and the channel,
now nearly dry, is still known as "Ang-mang-kang," or estuary
of the red-haired race. The combined action of the sea silting
up debris on the one side, and of the river on the other, to
gether with the growth of a crescent-shaped coral reef, has formed
a natural barrier several mUes in extent, now covered with a
belt of most luxuriant tropical trees. This bar is joined at its
northern extremity by a ridge of igneous rocks; and it is in
this ridge that the break or flaw occurs which forms the mouth
of the harbour. Much of the six or seven miles enclosed by
this natural wall, consists of a shallow lagoon with a bottom of
extremely soft mud. It is only towards the northern end that
a depth of water is obtained sufficient for ships trading to the
island. Owing to the disturbed state of the country I deferred my
visit to the aboriginal tribes of the south, and went with Dr.
Maxwell to see Tai-wan-fu, the capital, twenty-five miles further
north on the coast. Starting at daylight in the "Formosa," we
reached the outer roads at 8 o'clock. It is singular to observe

I IO THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
that there is now no harbour at Tai-wan-fu. We could descry
the old fort Zelandia, erected there by the Dutch in 1633,
about two and a half mUes from where we lay, and surrounded
by water so shaHow as to render any nearer approach impos
sible; and yet in the Dutch accounts of Formosa it is stated
that Zelandia was an island where a spacious haven was formed ;
and further, that on AprU 30th, 1661, Koksinga's fleet
appeared before Tai-wan-fu, ran into the spacious haven be
tween Zelandia and Provincia, separated by a distance of more
than three mUes; and the haven in which the Chinese invader
anchored his fleet is now a dry arid plain, crossed by a high
road, and having a canal cut through it, communicating with
the old port of Tai-wan-fu. A small portion of the plain is
flooded at high tide; whUe off the fort the water is now so
shaHow that vessels have to anchor, as we did, two miles out
to sea. Neither is it an easy or safe business to cross these
vast shallows, at least when the sea is rough ; and if there is
a strong south-west monsoon blowing, it cannot be done at
aU. As for ourselves, we went ashore in a catamaran, a sort
of raft made of poles of the largest species of bamboo. These
poles are bent by fire so as to impart a hollow shape to the
raft, and are lashed together with ratan. A strong wooden
block, made fast to the centre of this surf-boat, supports the
mast, which carries a large mat sail. There is not a nail used
in the whole contrivance, and the most curious feature about
the strange vessel is the accommodation provided for passengers.
This is nothing more than a spacious tub. I thought it possible
at first that these were the boats of the local washerwomen;
but, so far as washing is concerned, the natives of Formosa
confine themselves to washing their customers occasionally
ashore in the tub and mangHng them on the beach — a very

THE TAOTAI. 1 1 1
simple process, for the tub is in no way fixed to the raft, so
that a heavy sea would, and does frequently, send it adrift.
The tub into which we descended would hold four persons,
and when we squatted down inside it we could just see
over the top. Not feeling very comfortable, we came out and
sat on the bare raft, to which we had at times to cling,
manibus pedibusque, as the waves broke over us.
Tai-wan-fu, the capital of Formosa, is a fortified city of 70,000
inhabitants. The waUs enclose a space of about five mUes,
planted to a great extent with fields and gardens, and still
showing traces of the ancient Dutch occupation, in the ruins
of Fort Provincia and in the extensive parks shaded with fine
old trees or groves of tall bamboo. The suburbs are intersected
by a multitude of green lanes, which run between walls of
cactus interspersed with the brilliant flowers of the wUd fuchsia
and clusters of major convolvulus, or else shaded by bamboo
hedges, which form a pointed archway above the path. The
inhabitants of this part of the island are chiefly natives of the
Fukian province, and the Hak-kas already described. These
between them are daily carrying arts and agriculture further
into the territory claimed by the aboriginal tribes.
Armed with an official introduction I paid a visit to the
"Taotai" (or governor) of Tai-wan (Formosa). Waiting in my
chair outside his yamen whUe my card — a red one, the size of
a large sheet of note-paper — was sent in, I found myself sur
rounded by the idle crowd that is always certain to collect
about a stranger in China — whence the gazers came, and
whither they would go, would be difficult to teU — and all sorts
of conjectures being thrown out as to the nature of my business.
A little naked boy, with a face full of perfectly untutored in
nocent curiosity, ventured a trifle too near, so I leaned sUghtly

112 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
forward and frowned at him. Bursting into a fit of screaming
terror he fled from the yamen, while the mob looked grave,
and wondered what devilry I could have practised on the child
Soon an officer appeared, and behind him followed a train of
yamen attendants, who wore the usual conical hats with red
feathers that suggested the idea of flames burning through the
top of an extinguisher. Thus escorted, I was ushered into the
yamen. Passing through the hall of justice, I noticed various
instruments of torture, the substitutes for our sacred oath, to
extract truth from a witness, or confession from the lips of
a prisoner. Here I met a more venerable official, dressed in a
long silk robe, a stiff girdle and heavily-soled satin boots. By
him I was conducted through a court and along a series of
corridors, and finally presented to the Taotai, with infinitely
greater official ceremony and pomposity than when I was intro
duced to Prince Kung, or Li-hung-Chang. Indeed it seems to
me the Chinese are not exempt from the peculiarity which
makes small officials everywhere self-important, and fearfully
exacting in all matters touching their personal dignity. The
private quarters of the Taotai and his retainers were prettUy
laid out, the open courts being shaded with palms and decked
with flowers in vases, besides shrubs, ferns and creepers; and
the whole interior was surrounded with saloons or pavilions.
Into one of these last I was led, and there presented to a fuU-
faced pleasant-looking Chinaman, who, to my surprise, held out
his hand, and addressing me in perfect English, said, ' ' Good
morning, Mr. Thomson, I am glad to see you here ; when did
you come over.?" I recognised the speaker after a time, as a
man whom I had met in Hongkong as a comprador, or a
schroff, in a bank. He told me he was the nephew of the
Taotai, and I have a strong suspicion that that functionary

Chinese Garden-gateway.

SETTLING ACCOUNTS. 1 1 3
himself had at one time been engaged in trade, and that he
had by purchase obtained this post, out of which, if report
spoke true, he was making a very good thing. After partaking
of tea and fruit, my friend, whose mind was evidently imbued
with the notion that I had come to the place on some secret
mission, tried aU he could to gain exact information as to my
intentions. I told him plainly that my purpose was to go into
the heart of the island to see the aborigines. He wanted to
know why I should take the trouble to trudge so far on foot,
through a region where no proper roads existed, merely to see
the place, with the chance perhaps of being kiUed. " Depend
upon it," he assured me, "you wiU never get near them; you
wUl be shot with poisoned arrows, or lose yourself in the forest
paths. But come and see the Taotai." This gentleman was
rather a good-looking man, of middle age, and said to be re
markable for his administrative abiUty. At any rate, although
apparently affected with suspicions as to my design in visiting
the aborigines, he showed me some kindness, and in return for
a portrait which I took for him, he sent me a box of tea
and some dried lichees. The tea unfortunately spoUed before
I reached Hongkong, but the lichees were very good.
A curious incident occurred in this town during the rule of
the preceding Taotai. When the fort of Anping had been
stormed by Lieut. Gordon and his party, the mUitary mandarin
in command of the troops at Anping, was supposed in some
measure to have failed in his duty. To this charge was added
an accusation of treason; for it was known that he had saluted
Mr. Gibson, the late British Consul, with three guns, when that
functionary left for Amoy. This unworthy commander, then,
was dining one night with the prefect, when a message was sent
from the Taotai, directing the Prefect to detain his military

114 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
guest until morning. At daybreak a second messenger arrived,
who brought instructions for the Prefect to repair with his
prisoner to the Taotai's yamen, and forthwith, as the business
was urgent. When they reached the yamen, a servant came
out to say that the Taotai would not receive the military man
darin, and ordered him to prepare for instant death. The un
happy man insisted on an interview, and with his men forced
his way into the yamen, where he demanded an appeal to the
Emperor. The Taotai informed him that the edict had been
received from Peking, had him stripped of his official clothes,
hurried off and put to death on the spot. In another such
instance of summary vengeance a wealthy mandarin, who had
aided the Government with loans of money, determined, as he
saw no probability of repayment, to withhold an undue propor
tion of the local taxes. It is a very common course of proce
dure in the interest of the Imperial Government to wait untU
the official has amassed sufficient wealth by iUegal exactions,
then to trump up a case against him, squeeze his property and
condemn him to death. Shortly after the mandarin had taken
this step, an official was despatched by the Government to
inquire into the matter. The district governor hereupon invited
the defaulter to a quiet dinner to meet the governor-general's
emissary, and during the course of a convivial evening the host
and his friend between them so managed to outrage the feel
ings of the guest, that a quarrel finally ensued. Then the " yamen
runners" were called in, the expostulating guest was cut down,
and this was the new way in which an old state debt was paid.
A large tract of land outside Tai-wan-fu is known as the exe
cution-ground, and this spot I visited in company with Dr.
MaxweU. I tried to make a picture out of it, but there was
nothing to lend grace to the scene ; for the plain here is a per-

THE EXECUTION GROUND. 1 1 5
fectly flat one, whence the grand old trees of Tai-wan may be
seen crowding away into the background, as if they shrunk from
rooting themselves in unhallowed earth. Hardly a shrub relieves
the monotony of this gloomy place of death; and yet with
what a fearful interest it must have been gazed on by that
band of Europeans, i6o in number, who were led out there to
execution one morning in August 1842I The mob of the city
followed behind them with yells of exultation, but before the
terrible massacre had closed, their savage laughter was changed
into panic terror, for the sky became overcast and a dire storm
burst upon the scene. The water-courses were fiUed with impet
uous torrents that flooded the land, sweeping trees, houses and
produce before its swoUen streams, whUe the cries of perishing
people were drowned in the fierce tumult of the tempest. Thus,
say the thoughtful and superstitious natives, God wiped out the
bloody stain from the ground. It is alleged that about 2,000
persons perished on that eventful day. A tragic history attaches
to Tai-wan-fu, apart both from the incident which I have just
related, and the storming of Anping fort, more recently still —
an event too fuH of detaUs to permit description here.
In olden times the city was the scene of the fierce struggle
which ended in the expulsion of the Dutch from Formosa in
J 66 1, after a nearly twelve months' siege. Koksinga, who drove
the doughty HoUanders from this beautiful island, must have
been a bold adventurer. He was a sort of Chinese sea-king,
levying black-maU from aU the surrounding islands. China now-
a-days needs just such an admiral to command her new steam
fleet. With resources so great at his command, he might have
taught the ambitious inhabitants of the small kingdom of Japan
that their safest poHcy is to keep their troops at home. When I
took my rambles through the sylvan lanes of Tai-wan-fu, no feature

1 1 6 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
so much struck me as their perfect repose ; not a sign or sound
recaUed the fearful conflicts which they too often witnessed.
The languid air was filled with no noise more warlike than the
hum of insects, the creak of produce-laden carts on their way
to market, or the merry prattle of children at play. Alas! the
quiet glades of Formosa may soon be stirred once more with
the din of a vital struggle for supremacy, between two races
who for the first time will confront each other with modern
weapons in their hands. The conflict when it takes place wUl
without doubt be severe and its issue may lead to important
results in opening up the vast continent of China. This fore
cast has been verified by the result of the late war, and China
has been found, as I supposed, with her beggarly troops, her
boasted navy, unable to cope with her much despised neighbour.
Her increased army and modern navy afforded an opportunity,
too tempting for the time-honoured and systematic plunder of
the mandarins. The existence of an army proved an illusion ;
the ships of the navy were simply targets for the Japanese
cruisers ; whUe the Chinese sheUs were filled with sand as a
harmless and economical substitute for gunpowder or other ex
plosive material having a certain market value.
I determined to make an excursion into the interior, and to
visit the outlying mission-stations, where my friend hoped, if
possible, to open up new ground among the mountain savages.
Accordingly on Monday, April nth, we left Tai-wan-fu for the
village of Poah-be, and were carried in native sedans ten miles
across the plain. I hired a number of cooHes to convey my
instruments, as I had determined to photograph the objects of
interest which we might fall in with en route. The plain, a
highly cultivated one, was dotted with Chinese farms, and with
hamlets overshadowed by groves of bamboo ; the chief products

Chinese Street Industries.

UPLAND FARMS. 1 1 7
here were rice, sweet potatoes, earth-nuts and sugar-cane. Many
of the women were out at work in the fields; most of them
had the compressed feet so much in vogue among the females
of the Fukien province, and hence they seemed to limp about
uneasily over the furrows. They generally wore pretty dresses
of white caUco, edged with pale blue. As for the men, they
were bronzed and fat, and they had a lazy, loutish appearance,
seemingly leaving the women to do the bulk of the field-work.
There were chUdren to be seen too, but their attire consisted
simply of a small charm hung on a string around the neck. As at
Tai-wan-fu, we passed along some beautiful sylvan lanes, shaded
by areca-palms and bamboos, and leading to the settlements
which were truly enchanting when viewed from a distance, but
less attractive and thoroughly Chinese on a closer inspection.
The near approach to one of these hamlets was always known
by the conflicting odours of garUc and^ manure, mingled with the
fragrance of some sweet-smelling flowers of which the Chinese
are very fond, and which quite overpower the soft perfume of
the white wild-rose that grows in profusion in the hedges. In
the wild flowers which bloom hereabouts we discover the deH-
cate hues of our more temperate climes, blending charmingly
with the vivid primary colours of the tropical flora. It was pleas
ant, too, to listen to the songs of the field lark, a bird common
to certain districts of the mainland both in the north and south
of China, and, so far as I can recoUect, to some parts of Siam.
Halting at the first range of hiUs, we send back the chairs
and await the arrival of my boy Ahong and the coolies, who
were far in the rear. Ahong, unaccustomed to walking, was
already foot-sore. Against my advice he had put on straw
sandals, and so blistered the soles of his feet that the remaining
eight miles of our journey tried him severely. The road, if our

1I8 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
route could be dignified by such a name, was a broken track
over dry hills, constantly interrupted by blocks of hard clay
and by pitfalls six or eight feet deep. But these were trifles
to what lay before us. Slowly we progressed, now wending
our tortuous way along the verge of a clay chasm more than
200 feet deep, now diving down into the recesses of a huge
clay pit, where the flat surface was so heated with the sun that
it almost blistered the hands when we touched its bare waUs.
The soU became the more broken the further we progressed
inland; the pits, too, grew wider and deeper. At the bottom
of some of these we actually found cultivated fields, and traces
of the mountain torrents that force a subterraneous passage
during the wet season through the soft formation beneath, and
thus effect the drainage of the central range of mountains, while
at the same time they render farming in this hill region an
enterprise full of peril. For the squatter tiUs the treacherous
ground, and is liable to find his fields and his dweUing swept
away by the sudden subsidence of the soil. But the Hak-kas,
who cultivate this shifting clay, are prepared for such emergen
cies, and are quite accustomed to a hasty change of abode,
cheerfully resuming their agricultural labours wherever they may
happen to settle. At times, indeed, the sudden disappearance
of their whole property may lead to very desirable results. They
emigrate to a healthier or more settled neighbourhood, perhaps,
or else to one where the trees and debris brought down by the
torrents wUl furnish them with fuel during the winter months.
I need hardly say that the Imperial Government has not seen
fit to send a geographer to lay down a map of this ever-chang
ing region ; and it wiU be a matter of difficulty, I should think,
for the farmer, at the end of each wet season, to find out
exactly where he and his neighbours have settled. Poah-be was

POAH-BE. 119
reached by about 4 p.m. This place is the first settlement of
a tribe of aborigines whom the Chinese call "Pepohoan," or
"foreigners of the plain" These people have a lively and warm
recoUection of their Dutch masters. They stUl cherish traditions
of their kind-hearted, red-haired brothers, and for this reason
they receive foreigners with a cordial welcome. Once, in the
times of the Dutch, they lived down in those fertile plains which
we had just been crossing ; but they have long ago been driven
back out of the richer land by the advance of the ruthless
Chinese. Higher up, in the mountain fastnesses, their hardy
kinsmen have held their own, defying all the forces of the
Imperial conqueror.
The natives came out in great numbers to meet and welcome
the Doctor, whom they had not seen for a considerable time.
They were a fine, simple-looking race and had a frank sincerity
of manner which was refreshing after a long experience of the
cunning Chinese. These Pepohoans had acquired the Chinese
arts of husbandry and house-buUding. Their buildings were
even superior to those of the Chinese squatters, and the people
themselves were better dressed. It struck me, as I have noticed
elsewhere, that they resembled the Laotians of Siam both in
features and costume, while their old language bore undoubted
traces of Malayan origin. '
I visited several of the houses at Poah-be and found them
clean, well-arranged and comfortable. Their mode of construc
tion is as follows : — A bamboo framework is first set up ; this
is then covered with a lathing or rather wattle-work of reeds
or split bamboo, and the whole is afterwards plastered over
with the clay that abounds in the neighbourhood, and finished
when dry with an outer coating of the white lime made out of
' See Appendix.

I20 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
the limestone rock which is plentiful in these hills. The dwell
ings usually form three sides of a square; but I wUl describe
the interior accommodation in more detail further on in my nar
rative. Only two articles in any of the Pepohoan settlements
bore tokens of ingenuity and mechanical skUl; these were the
butts of their matchlocks and a native rat-trap, which was very
curious indeed. The rat is esteemed a great luxury among the
mountaineers — so great that the invention of this trap must have
been a most important event in the history of their race.
Friday, AprU ii. — We left Poah-be at 7 a.m. to-day to walk
to Baksa, twelve miles off. It was a beautiful morning, and the
scenery gradually became so interesting as to warrant the belief
that we had now got clear of the broken shifting lands through
which our yesterday's journey had extended. By about ten
o'clock the heat became intense, and Ahong was fairly knocked
up. We had to reduce our pace, too, on account of his sorely
blistered feet, so that it was twelve o'clock before we reached
Baksa valley. Here again the people came out to welcome us,
shouting "Peng-gan," "Peace be with you," while many a horny
hand was stretched out from its toU to grasp the doctor's as
we entered the village, or rather as we passed through the
lanes, and beneath the palms that shaded the scattered dwellings
in this Pepohoan paradise. I could now understand what the
Portuguese meant when they named the island Formosa; and
yet what we saw here was but the foreshadowing of the wilder
grandeur of the mountain scenery inland. A crescent of lime
stone hiUs sweeps round Baksa valley, presenting in many places
a bare rocky front in striking contrast to the foliage which
luxuriates elsewhere. Perhaps the bamboos where the most
remarkable feature in the scene, for these plants here attain
exceptional proportions and are, some of them, more than 100

BAMBOO. 121
feet high. In the history of Tai-wan it is stated that there are
thirteen varieties of bamboos (a species of grass) known in
Formosa, one being reported to attain to the enormous girth
of two feet. ' I will here give a brief account of the many uses
to which the bamboo is applied — a plant which figures exten
sively in the social economy of the people throughout the length
and breadth of China. Were every other means of support
withdrawn except rice and bamboo, these two plants would, I
beUeve, supply the necessaries for clothing, habitation and food ;
indeed the bamboo alone, as I propose to show, would bear the
Hon's share of the burden. No tending is needed for this hardy-
natured plant, nor is it dainty in the choice of its locality; and
although it probably reaches its highest state of perfection in
the rich valleys of Formosa, yet it grows with nearly equal
vigour on the thin soil of rocky hUl-sides. It is first used to
hedge the dwelling around with an almost impenetrable barrier
of prickly stems, and to cast a cool shade over the abodes with
its lofty pale-green plumes. The houses themselves may be
constructed entirely of its stems and thatched with its dry
leaves. Within, the couches and chairs are made of bamboo,
and so is the table, except its deal top ; so, too, are the water-
cans, the drinking jugs and the rice-measures. Hanging from
the roof are a number of prickly bamboo stems, supporting dried
pork and such like provisions, and warding off rats with their
chevaux de frise. In one corner we may see the proprietor's
waterproof coat and hat, each made out of the leaves of the
plant, which overlap like the plumage of a bird. The agricul
tural implements are, many of them, made of hard bamboo stems,
and, indeed, the fishing-net, the baskets of divers shapes, the
1 Chinese Notes and Queries, ii. 135.

122 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
paper and the pens (never absent from the humblest Chinese
abodes), the wine-cups, the water ladles, the chop-sticks and,
finally, the tobacco-pipes are aU of bamboo. The man who dweUs
there is feasting on the tender shoots of the plant; and if you
ask him, he will tell you that his earliest impressions came to
him through the basket-work of his bamboo cradle, and that
his latest hope will be to He beneath some bamboo brake, on
a cool hill-side. The plant is also extensively used in the sacred
offices of the Buddhist temples. The most ancient Buddhist
classics were cut on strips of bamboo ; the divination-sticks and
the case which contains them are manufactured out of its stem ;
whUe the courts outside the temple are fanned and sheltered
by its nodding plumes. There are a variety of different sorts
of paper made from the bamboo, but the kind which struck
me as showing a new property in the fibre of the plant was
that commonly used by the Fukien gold-beaters in the produc
tion of gold-leaf, thus occupying the place of the parchment
employed for the same purpose in Europe. Fans and flutes
are also made of bamboo, and even the looms on which the
Chinese weave their silken fabrics are chiefly made out of the
plant. Indeed, it is impossible to estimate its value to the
Chinese. This much, however, I may unhesitatingly affirm, that
so multifarious are the duties which the bamboo is made to
discharge, and so wide-spread are the benefits which it confers
upon the Chinese, as to render it above all others the most
useful plant in the Empire.
We spent the night at the Baksa mission-station and left early
next morning to walk to Ka-san-po, a distance of twenty-six
miles. The first hill we got to after quitting Baksa gave us
some faint notion of the journey now before us. We had to
climb a rocky ridge, where the soil had been completely broken

BAKSA TO KA-SAN-PO. 1 23
away on either side; and thus along the sharp edge we made
our way upwards to the summit of the hUl. It was with no
feelings of ease that I kept looking back upon our baggage-
bearers (six strong Pepohoans from Baksa), who, had they slipped
would have been precipitated several hundred feet on whatever
side they chanced to fall. At last we reached the summit
safely, and were rewarded with a view of a splendid valley sur
rounded by a circle of hills, while the central mountain ranges
of the island could be descried towering heavenwards in the
distance beyond. The little settlement of Kamana could just
be made out at the eastern extremity of a long glen. Resting
for a short time in a Pepohoan hut, where the people were
glad to see us and where we had a refreshing draught of spring
water, we then pushed on to Kamana, and were there met by
a sturdy old native helper named Tong, a man of good Chinese
education, who had formerly held a post in a yamen. He was
a fine-looking fellow, and had suffered a good deal of persecu
tion for having embraced the Christian faith. At about one
o'clock, under the guidance of Tong, we left this station and
commenced another toilsome ascent, beneath a blazing sun and
without a breath of wind to temper the intense heat. At length,
after surmounting the first range, we fell in with a buffalo herd,
and found an old man living in a rude shed in the centre of a
parched wilderness. He received us kindly and gladly shared
with us his supply of water, which he held in a bamboo tube.
Our arrival evidently afforded him great pleasure, and he was
anxious we should remain for a smoke and a chat. Off again
to climb another hiU, or rather to scramble up deep fissures in
one, over a broken stratum of clay and slate. Once on the
top we flung ourselves down beneath the scant shade of some
shrubs in a rocky cleft, at the same time dislodging from the

124 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
roots and stones numerous tribes of centipedes, each about as
long as one's finger and of a rich chocolate colour, with bright
yeUow feet. These centipedes inflict a severe sting, but we
were too much exhausted to get out of their way, and fortun
ately they got out of ours. A steep descent on the other side
of this ridge brought us to our next halting-place, where a
brook was reported to exist; a channel indeed was there, but
the waters had dried up long ago. Here while at breakfast our
crowning trouble overtook us. One of the bearers incautiously
broke off the green stem of a plant, which in return for the
outrage sent forth a perfectly putrid odour. It was some time
before we discovered the cause of the nuisance, for the Pepo
hoan nose seemed to account it a luxury rather then otherwise.
This plant is known to them as the "foul" shrub, and is one
which the Chinese ought to prize dearly, for its very breath
might be sufficient to fertilise a whole region.
We were now on one of the spurs that He at the foot of the
central range, and could enjoy a splendid view of a valley that
stretched out in front of us, half cultivated and half in its pris
tine grandeur; while the mountain sierras rose up pUe behind
pUe, Mount Morrisson lifting its deep blue peak on high above
them aU. A river flowed far down beneath our feet, and we
could hear the distant boom of its waters, as they rushed onward
through dark ravines and over a rocky mountain bed. This
river was now at its smaUest, but was stUl a broad stream, and
was spanned by a number of bamboo bridges, if such these
rude structures might be called. Far away, at the northern end
of the valley, the village of Pau-ah-Hau could be descried peep
ing out amid a mass of foliage ; and high above this settle
ment rose mountains wrapped in the gloom of primeval forests,
the haunts of wUd beasts and savage men. These mountain

PRIMITIVE BRIDGES. 1 25
tribes just referred to, exact a heavy black-mail from their more
civUised kinsmen in the vaUeys below ; and not content with
this, they will at times swoop down in troops of sixty or seventy
to waylay traveUing parties, whom they plunder and put to
death, or else make a raid on some village in their vicinity.
We had now reached the banks of the stream, and had to
cross it to gain the vUlage; but the bridge here, which possessed
the great merit — from an engineering point of view — of ex
treme simplicity, was about the most crazy, break-neck contriv
ance it has ever been my lot to see. The whole structure
consisted of one or two poles of bamboo, stretched from bank
to bank some twelve feet above the deep river. These elegant
structures are the common property of the natives, and suffice
for the purposes of trade and intercommunication in this region.
They are understood to be rebuilt, or kept in repair, by the
man who happens to break them, should he survive the acci
dent, or by the next comer should he not. Providence has
suppHed a bountiful stock of raw material for their construction,
in the surrounding vale and along the river's bank. There we
may see the boulders for new piers, and ratans growing in the
thickets, wherewith, if need be, to bind the cross-poles to the
piers, and there are bamboos everywhere.
About half a mile from Pau-ah-liau we passed beneath the
spreading branches of the "Png-chieu'' tree, as the natives term
it, whose roots spread along the ground in curious writhings
and contortions, now forming an inviting chair, now a couch on
which one might pass the hot nights with comfort ; or elsewhere
a small shrine connected with the fetishism of the vUlage. These
spirit-shrines were encountered at the roots of many of the
finest trees, and consisted commonly of one basement stone and
four other slabs, together forming three sides and a roof. Within,

126 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
in the centre, was a tiny stone altar on which the offerings
reposed. Our path was along a pleasant shady road, on the
margin of a stream that had been made use of for irrigation.
On our left hand was a hedge adorned with numerous wUd
flowers — fuchsias, roses, guavas, wUd mint and convolvulus —
besides a profusion of wUd raspberry-bushes that had lately been
laden with fruit, as sweet as our own English raspberries, if we
may judge from what little still remained. Again we had to
cross a bamboo bridge, and thence to foUow a foot-road by
the edge of the ricefields, where the young blades rose in vivid
green above the water, just high enough to break up the reflec
tion of the mountains on its glassy surface. We now entered
the village of Pau-ah-liau, and made straight for the house of
an aged blind Pepohoan, named Sin-chun. We were foUowed
into his enclosure by troops of savage-looking women and chil
dren, the latter, some of them ten years old, without a rag
to hide their youthful proportions. Here the men, women and
children were all provided with bamboo tobacco-pipes, of which
they made vigorous and unceasing use. I had not long to wait
before a haggard old dame came up to where I stood and
offered me her pipe for a smoke. When I accepted the cour
tesy, she went on to ask for my cigar, from which she took
one or two hearty puUs, and then her face disappeared in a
compound series of wrinkles, denoting delight at the unusual
piquancy of the weed. After this the cigar was passed from
mouth to mouth through the crowd, and carefully returned to
me when they had all had a puU. The villagers were, most of
them, taU and well-formed, with large brown eyes, kindling at
times with a savage lustre that told of a free untamed spirit,
born amid the wild grandeur and solitude of these mountain
lands.

PAU-AH-LIAU. 127
The women wear a profusion of dark brown or black hair,
combed straight back from the forehead, and caught up and
folded in behind the head. Then the long tresses are twisted
into a sort of cable, into which a strip of red cloth is entwined,
and the whole is then brought over the left ear, passed like a
diadem across the brows and firmly fixed up at the back of
the head. The effect of this simple head-dress is very striking,
and contrasts weU with the rich olive skin of its wearer.
The Chinese say the women are extremely barbarous, be
cause even the finest of them never paint. Time appears to
deal hardly with them as they advance in years ; toil and ex
posure rob them quickly of the attractions of their youth, but
yet their hair is dressed neatly and carefully to the last, and
they fight a stubborn battle against the encroaching hands
of fate.
The men now came trooping home in greater numbers from
the fields, tall erect fellows, wearing an air of perfect good-
wUl, frankness and honesty. In spite of their horny hands and
poor clothing, there was a manly grace in their demeanour and
a perfect gentleness, a heartiness, and a simple hospitality which
it was truly touching to observe. In these respects there was
a marked difference between the different villages. Thus, where
the Pepohoans had come into closer contact with the Chinese,
they were better dressed, but less friendly than in those viUages
where we encountered the aborigines alone. Sin-chun invited
us into his cabin, and there I lay down on a mat to rest, and
soon fell fast asleep. I awoke again with a start as a gust of
fetid air passed across the apartment. These natives, I must
tell you, have a way of salting their turnips and placing them
in a jar of water, where they are kept tUl they decompose,
after which they eat them as a reUsh to their rice.

128 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
It was now 3 p.m., and we were still six mUes from Kasanpo.
Pursuing our way by the river-side, we arrived at that village
by five o'clock, and proceeded to the house of one Ah-toan, an
old man with whom the doctor was acquainted. Ah-toan was
not at home, but he soon appeared, driving his cattle before
him into the pen. He, too, was very pleased to see us, and
quickly made an apartment ready, in which we deposited
our things. On the verandah behind his dwelling a narrow
space had been screened off for bathing, and of this convenience
we at once took advantage. Our arrival was the signal for
the villagers to crowd in and have a look at us, but I could
not make out why the male portion of the community appeared
to treat our visit as a highly humorous incident, and why they
had lost the erect and dignified bearing peculiar to their race.
One old savage more than six feet high, got hold of my pith
hat, turned it round, and finally burst into a broad grin. I
noticed, too, that he had abandoned all control over his facial
muscles, and though he evidently meant to be civU, that he
could not bring back the normal expression of sober gravity
to his countenance ; his features, in spite of him, would dissolve
into a grin. At last I smelt sam-shu, and it transpired that the
viUagers had been thatching a neighbour's house, and, as is
customary, had been entertained at a wine-feast. The Pepohoans
distU a very strong spirit from the sweet potato, which they
cultivate as a staple food like rice.
I wiU now endeavour to describe our bedroom. The Pepohoan
huts are infested with rats, and the chamber we occupied did
not escape their forays. This apartment measured about eight
feet each way, one half of which area was taken up by a
platform of bamboo raised about eighteen inches above the hard
clay floor. This platform formed our bed, and the only other

PEPOHOANS. 1 29
articles of furniture to be seen within, were two bUlets of wood
which served the purpose of pillows. By way of a lamp we
had a smaH cup of oU, in which floated a few shreds of burning
pith, and by this flickering light I could see that the clay waUs
were blackened and the rafters glazed with sooty smoke. In
a corner above my head were a bundle of green tobacco, one
or two spears, a bow, a heap of arrows, a primitive match
lock, and lastly, — an object which I had not hitherto noticed — a
huge bin of unhusked rice at the side of the bed. I fain hoped
that there the rats might find occupation during the night more
profitable than worrying our slumbers.
Ahong informed me, in strict confidence, that the dexterity
of the savages hereabouts in the use of the bow and poisoned
arrows was no less wonderful than the cool way in which they
boiled and ate their tender-hearted but tough-limbed Chinese
foes. He besought me not to venture much further into the
mountains, as the hiU-men never show themselves when they
attack, but discharge their arrows high into the air, with such
unerring precision that, as they faU, they pierce the skulls of
their victims and cause instant death.
We did not sleep much, as we found that rats were by no
means the only vermin we had to entertain, and once or twice
I woke up to find the rats making short tracks across my
body for the rice-bin. Next morning we started for Lalung,
about eleven miles distant, through some of the grandest
scenery I have ever beheld. Old Atuan furnished us with an
armed guide — a good-looking young feUow named "Teng-Tsai."
The path was an unsafe one, leading as it did through the
lower hunting-grounds belonging to tribes of savages higher up
in the hiUs. Teng-Tsai caUed a friend who joined our party
with his matchlock, and both carried small priming-flasks of
9

I30 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
staghorn, suspended round their necks with strings of glass
beads. They had also cord fusees coUed on bamboo rollers or
bracelets, round their left arms. These cords wiU keep alight
for twenty-four hours, and when kindled the burning end is
attached to forceps, which bring the light down into the powder-
pan, when the trigger is puUed. All the savages hereabouts
use EngUsh powder for priming, when they can get it supplied
them by the Chinese. As soon as our guides lost sight of the
vUlage, they lighted their fusees and enjoined us to keep to
gether and make our way in silence. For the first half of our
journey we were marching along the bed of a stream, but at
length we ascended a narrow defile where mighty rocks towered
high above our heads, arched over in places by great forest-
trees, or giant ferns. A clear riU leapt from ledge to ledge,
where with its glassy surface it mirrored the bright reflection
of the ferns as they flung their fronds from the rock to form
a frame around the pool. Here we halted awhile to admire
the loveliness of the mountain gorges, and to obtain a photo
graph of the scene. An armed party of six friendly Pepohoans
came upon us as we were enjoying a bath and a swim in the
clear pool. They were out on a fishing excursion ; and one old
fellow was cleverly shooting his fish with an arrow, while the
others were hunting for crabs among the rocks, twisting off
their legs and devouring them sheU and all, alive. The younger
members of the party caught fish by beating the water with a
bamboo rod and thus stupifying their prey. A tedious climb
over a mountain path that wound its way through the forest,
brought us at last to a change of scene.
Here the trees, many of them, were of gigantic proportions,
their great lateral branches striking out at a considerable altitude
like the yards of a ship, from which hung a multitude of the

LALUNG. 131
bare stems of parasite plants, like cables and rigging flying
adrift before the breeze. We noted a number of fine specimens
of the camphor-tree, the largest about four feet in diameter,
and rising to a great height, straight as an arrow, with a slight
taper and devoid of branches, tiU it reached the free air above.
Besides there were interminable ratan plants, and in a compar
atively open space we fell in with a splendid lily of great size
and in full flower, the entire plant standing about twelve feet
from the root. Orchids, too, were there in abundance, filling
the air with their perfume on every side. From the summit of
this hill we got a view of the central mountain chain. A
Pepohoan here joined our party; he had traveUed over the
mountains from the other side of the island, and was now
homeward bound. From him we learnt the existence of a fine
harbour on the eastern shore, and he added that the tribes
granted him a free pass over their territory on the payment of
three buUocks. It was about four o'clock when we entered
Lalung; this village stands on the banks of a broad river, now
reduced to narrow dimensions and to be seen winding along
some half mUe from its proper banks, which rose about sixty
feet above the dry channel of the stream. But during the rains,
we were assured that the river swells to such a volume that
it fills up this entire bed. This is evidently one of the great
arteries of the drainage of the central mountains ; and if we take
into account the great altitude of those mountains, and the
force of the torrents which make their way over the narrow
plain, carrying with them annually, immense quantities of debris
that the sea continually throws back and deposits along the
western shore, we shall get some insight into the way in which
land is being built up and redeemed from the ocean on the
west, independently of the volcanic action stiU at work in cer-

132 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
tain quarters of the island. Thus we may account for the
disappearance of the Taiwan harbour within the brief period of
200 years, as well as for the formation of Takow harbour
further south. The formation of a great coral-reef breakwater
must also be taken into account. Perhaps no example can be
found anywhere better than in Formosa, of the power of water
to transform the physical aspect of a country. In many places
on that island no settled water-courses exist ; and thus the tor
rents in the impetus of their headlong rush down the mountain
steeps, attack weak positions in the rocks and soils and form
new passages for themselves.
On leaving the mountain top our course lay for an hour
through the dry bed of a stream, cut through a black rock
stratum, where we discovered traces of shale and coal. On
reaching a small stream we found Mrs. Hong, who told us that
her husband would put us up at the village. This lady was
accompanied by a party of young savages who carried tackle
for fishing. Lalung village is only separated from the territory
of the most purely savage aborigines by the stream which I
have just described, and its inhabitants number about 1,000
souls. Flong we found from home, but he soon returned and
informed us that Boon, his eldest son, had lately lost his wife
and was off to his savage kinsmen in the mountains to secure
another bride. He was expected to return that night, and
would be accompanied by an escort from his partner's tribe.
Here, in these Pepohoan viUages, I found the only instance I
encountered of Chinamen employing middle-men or brokers to
deal with natives of the country. It seems that Pepohoans are
very often used as go-betweens in the barter trade between the
mountaineers and the Chinese ; for the latter, though they are
great and patient traders, yet as a rule possess but little of the

HONG'S HOSPITALITY. 1 33
bold spirit of adventure, and entertain a wholesome dread of
these Highlanders. They are not without good grounds for their
fears ; for in one village at least, a missionary, who lately repair
ed thither, found the men adorning their huts with skuUs of
their Chinese foes, and the report goes that they are cannibals
too. Strangely enough the weapons and ammunition used by
the hill tribes to destroy wUd animals and Chinamen are sup
plied by the Chinese themselves.
Family ties between the wild hill-tribes and the Pepohoans
are kept up by constant intermarriage. * The wedding ceremony
is a simple one. The father of the lady merely takes his
daughter by the hand and passes her over to her lord, and
then there is a drinking-revel to conclude the rites. In the old
Dutch accounts of the people it is said that the offer of a pre
sent by a suitor and its acceptance by the lady, entitles the
giver to be esteemed the legal husband, according to the rule
"Nuptias non concubitus sed concensus facit"; and the marriage
tie is with equal facility dissolved. Indeed it would almost seem
as if the "Free Lovers" of America had borrowed their creed
of inconstancy and their fickle practices from the unchivalrous
Formosan tribes.
Hong, having at length appeared, gave us a cordial welcome
to his house, insisting on the sacrifice of a pig for the more
perfect accomplishment of hospitable rites. The porker was
therefore slaughtered before the door and in the presence of a
pack of half-starved hunting-dogs that fought savagely over the
drops of blood. My boy Ahong set it down as his solemn
beUef that these people could not, after all, be classed as utter

* See for further information. Natives of the West Coast of Formosa,
translated from an old Dutch work, by Rev. W. Lobschied.

134 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
barbarians, for they , clearly understood the use of roast hog.
At this place I collected a number of old Pepohoan words which
appear in the vocabularies in the Appendix.
Next morning we resumed our journey under the guidance
of Goona, the youngest son of our host. Goona was a pure
young savage, fuH of laughter and froUc, wearing a crown of
ferns on his head and little else by way of clothing. We were
now descending a narrow path to the dry bed of the river,
when our progress was arrested by a yellowish snake about
seven feet long, which shot out his head across our track.
I struck him over the neck with a heavy bamboo staff which
I had in my hand. On this the reptUe roUed down the bank,
and when we had completed the descent we found him again,
lodged beneath a boulder. Aided by one or two natives I
managed to topple the mass over, and then our enemy made
another dart forward, — I dealt him another blow and despatched
him. I should have carried him off, but he was too big to be
easily disposed of, so I left him to be devoured by the
Pepohoans, who are said to be fond of snakes. I was anxious
to cross the river, but was urged not to do so, as two men
had been killed by a hostUe tribe about a month before, just
opposite where we stood.
I obtained some good types of the aboriginal tribes in this
quarter, and managed also to photograph the scenery. About
two o'clock we set out again to walk to Lakoli, which lay
some twelve mUes off. At one place we crossed a small stream
of strongly alkaline water, and here, on the banks, some alkali,
soda or potash, had crystallised in such quantities as to resemble
a recent faU of snow. The banks of the main stream now
towered more than 200 feet above the dry bed, and alternating
strata of clay and boulders could be distinctly seen. Before us

Right bank of Lakoli river, Formosa.

LA-LIAT, CHINESE TRADER. 135
we had a panorama of surpassing grandeur. The grandeur of
this region during the wet season must baffle description. Then
a thousand cataracts veUed in vapour and illumined with
rainbow hues, leap from the mountain sides, roaring and tumbUng
in their downward course to the broad river.
Before us, as in a peaceful vale, we could see the settlement
of Lakoli — a few rude dwellings, and a patch of tUled land,
amid a jungle wilderness. In the fast-failing light we could
just make out its hedges and areca-palms, its mango and langan
trees ; but ere long the darkness closed in around, and left us
groping our way forwards at the outskirt of the hamlet. We
could hear the sounds of rude music, laughter and dancing ;
but there was no one to be seen until we fell in with the hut
of one "Kim-Siang." Here we met but a cool reception. The
old man was laid up with the effects of rheumatism and
opium-smoking, and we found a slave girl fanning him in an
adjoining hut. His son, a feUow over six feet high, stood in
front of the doorway of the cabin, and beside him was his
wife, a woman from a friendly mountain tribe. Outside this
abode hung festoons of deer-skulls and boar-heads that had been
taken in the chase. When the father had finished his opium-
pipe, he consented to aUow us to occupy an outer shed for
the night.
Anxious to procure food, and a vessel in which to boil down
my nitrate-of-sUver bath to dryness (photographers famUiar
with the wet collodion process wUl know what is meant by the
bath having struck work and obstinately refusing to produce a
picture), I made my way by torchlight to the hut of one "La-
Hat," an Amoy man, engaged here in barter traffic with the
hiU-tribes. We found little or no evidence of any goods in
La-Hat's abode ; there was a table on the clay floor, and a taper

136 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
flickering feebly in a cup of oU above it, and here, in this
cheerless dwelling, a boisterous party had gathered themselves
together and were engaged in smoking and drinking. Our
entrance was but little noticed and less appreciated; they had
nothing we wanted, not even a civU word. A drunken old
woman staggered up with a teapot containing sam-shu, and
offered to sell us the vessel, when she had first carefully
exhausted its contents. MeanwhUe La-liat, who had been sleeping
on a sort of counter, woke up, recognised my friend and
agreed to trade. Strange to relate, in grateful remembrance
of his former acquaintance with the Doctor, he suppHed us
with a dozen eggs and a brown jar, and then positively refused
to accept payment. He also showed us raw camphor, skins,
horns, boars' tusks, ratan and other wares which he had
obtained from a party of savages who had come down from
their hunting-grounds to Lakoli the day before. In return for
these goods he had supplied them with beads, turkey-red cloth,
knives and gunpowder.
Our armed guide slept on a mat in the hut beside us, while
Ahong, my servant, and I were engaged tiU about 2 a.m.,
boiling down my bath in the Chinese pot. It was a tedious
job. First Ahong slept as we sat before the fire ; then I slept ;
then we both slept, and the fire went low and had to be tended.
I complained of my boy's sleeping and immediately dozed off
myself, and so on until the whole liquid was evaporated. Once
the alcohoHc fumes in passing off caught fire; then 1 heard a
terrible shriek and started up to find the scared face of a savage
old woman glaring close to mine. She must have been placed
there to watch us, and she vanished instantly into the darkness
whence she had appeared. Ahong, disturbed in his sleep,
caught sight of the apparition and declared that it was the —

ABOVE BAKSA. 137
weU, never mind what! But he did not rest quite so comfort
ably after that incident. I am not prepared myself to say what
the old witch could have been, or how she vanished. She
certainly looked haggard, hideous and unearthly, and her flight,
too, was sudden and noiseless. Four hours' rest and we were
up again by daylight and ready for the road. After the night's
doctoring, my nitrate-of-sUver bath gave every satisfaction ;
only the water which I used to dUute it, was so extremely alka
line that I had to employ a goodly supply of Chinese vinegar
to turn it — slightly, to the acid side.
As I must quit Formosa with this chapter, it wUl be necessary
to summarise my experiences from this point and to condense
my narrative within narrower limits. On the summit of the
first range, on our homeward route, above Lakoli, in place of
setting up my instrument to photograph, I felt I would much
rather have lain down and slept, — but there was no time for
that, as we had by the route we followed, between twenty and
thirty mUes to walk before night, and a day's work of photo
graphing to overtake besides. My friend was not feeling well;
he had, however, promised to be at Baksa next day to conduct
the service in the chapel there, so we pushed on. At the foot
of another range, on the brink of a clear, cool stream, I secured
two more photographs, and waited for a short time to admire
a sedgy pool and to bathe our feet in its cool water. The
remainder of the day's journey was almost an uninterrupted
toil over hiU and dale.
At noon we halted at a smaU vUlage, in front of a hut where
an old woman was seUing fruit. Here a large party of Pepo
hoans — in clothing that might have been decent had it cover
ed their nakedness — assembled to see us eat. We came
upon a large sheet of water at the place where we next halted.

138 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
and there we swam about for some time. It was probably an
imprudent thing, but it refreshed us for the moment. A few
hours after this my friend became very ill, and had to lie down
beneath the shade of some shrubs, in a place where there was
not a drop of clear water to be procured for miles around.
At his request I gave him a dose of quinine and iron, and after
an hour's rest we resumed our march. I took a picture of
one of the deep dry clay-pits of this region, and had to proceed
ten mUes farther on before I could get a drop of water to wash
the plate and finish the negative. It turned out one of my
finest pictures, nevertheless. On the hiU above Baksa we halted
at a hut and were there regaled with a cup of pure honey.
Descending the ridge which I described at starting, my foot
slipped, but fortunately I saved myself from the fearful fall by
clinging to the sharp edges of the rock, cutting my hands badly
in the accident.
But I must now quit this island, remarkable no less for its
beauty than for the hospitality of its simple inhabitants. I after
wards travelled overland to Takow, for the purpose of visiting
the haunts of the savages farther south, but they were at war
with the Chinese, and their territory could not be entered with
safety.

CHAPTER VIII.

FOOCHOW AND THE RIVER MIN.

The Japanese in Formosa — Cause of the Invasion — The River Min —
Foochow Arsenal and Chinese Gun-boats — Foochow City and Great
Bridge — Beggars — A City of the Dead — Its Inhabitants — Thieves — ¦
Lepers — Ku-shan Monastery — A Hermit — Tea Plantation on Paeling
Hills — Voyage up the Min — Shui-kow — An Upcountry Farm — Captain
Sheng and his Spouse — Yen-ping City— Sacrificing to the Dead —
Shooting the Yen-ping Rapids — A Native Passenger-boat.
The island kingdom of Japan is to all appearance destined to
afford an unparaUeled example of progress. She has indeed
preferred, to quote Professor TyndaU's words, " Commotion
before stagnation, the leap of the torrent before the stillness
of the swamp;" and we have just seen, in Formosa, how such
leaping torrents in their impetuous courses cut out new channels
in the mountain sides, spread fertUity over the plains below,
and even reclaim the land from the barren domain of the ocean
with the debris which they sweep down.
There is vigorous life and hope and high promise for the
future in the busy movement that is carrying Japan from dark
ness into civilisation and light ; and the impetus, if we mistake
not, which she is gathering in her onward course will clear away
mighty obstacles and check stagnation and decay in other
quarters as well as her own.

I40 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
" The invasion of Formosa by Japanese troops was a fact fuH of
deep significance, and more righteous grounds for such aggres
sive action it would be impossible for any government to pos
sess. Scores of Japanese sailors, wrecked from time to time
upon the Formosan coasts, have there been plundered and
murdered by the savage tribes; and as these barbarities were
perpetrated on Chinese soil, redress was applied for at Peking.
The members of the Imperial Cabinet, in a moment of weak
ness — moments of not infrequent occurrence in Chinese history —
appear to have conceded the right for the Japanese to proceed
to Formosa and seek redress for themselves. It would be
extremely interesting to know what share the aborigines of
Formosa have reaUy taken in the cold-blooded massacres of
castaways that have been reported from the island. It seems
pretty clear that it was the Kalee tribes who put the crew of
the "Rover" to death; at the same time it is equally certain
that the murder of the captain and saUors of the "Macto" was
perpetrated by Chinese villagers at Takow. If we are thus to
believe that pure motives of humanity gave rise to this inva
sion of Formosa by the Japanese, it would be only just to
award to the Mikado and his ministers the highest meed of
praise; but perhaps it ought to be borne in mind that the
Japanese have not yet forgotten their ancient feuds against
China, and stUl fall somewhat short of that almost unattainable
pitch of national virtue, which would induce them to enter
upon costly expeditions to redress outrages committed upon
native crews. However the matter ends, its results wiU as I
should anticipate, be advantageous. China may get off by
paying the cost of the expedition — a proceeding which, whUe
it humbled her national vanity, might stir her up to imitate and
rival Japan, so as, if possible, to outstrip her in the march of

THE RIVER MIN. I41
progress, from the sheer necessity of self-preservation; and I
have no hesitation in saying that China, petrified and stagnant
as she is, and has been for so many centuries, yet contains
within herself all the material elements that will one day win
her a proud pre-eminence among the nations of the earth.
Truth even now is busUy at work loosening the earth about
the ancient foundation of classical lore and superstition on
which her venerable waU of fossil institutions is reared; and
that wall, ere long, will be lowered stone by stone, or over
thrown with some violent shock, till a way has been opened
across it for the purer institutions of progressive government.
Should war be the alternative, it will probably only hasten the
work of regeneration." This is a fairly accurate forecast which
I made some years ago, of the position which China has taken
as a fighting power, shown in the result of the late Chino-
Japanese war. It is extremely doubtful if the lesson taught
by the issue of the conflict wiU lead to the introduction of any
serious measures of reform. Since the date of the Japanese
raid on Formosa the Chinese have practicaUy done nothing to
strengthen their position and secure themselves against the attack
of even a third-rate power.
I wiU now take leave of the island of Formosa and cross
again to the mainland of China, where, in the province of
Fukien, I gathered some information relating to the supposed
progress made by the Chinese in the arts of natural defence
and the construction of implements of war.
The river Min, flowing through the heart of the Fu-kien
province, is one of the main outlets for the drainage of the
mountainous region where the celebrated Bohea hills stand, and
is also the channel down which the produce of one of the
richest tea districts in China is conveyed for exportation. The

142 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
stream, however, although a broad one, is not navigable for
large vessels beyond the town of Shui-Kow, which stands on
its left bank, at the foot of dangerous rapids, one hundred
mUes from the coast. The entrance to the Min by the south
channel is nearly opposite to a group of islands known as the
"White Dogs." There are, however, two other channels now
in use ; the most northerly between Sharp Peak Island and the
mainland, and only available for vessels of light draught; whUe
the middle channel to the south of the Sharp Peak, has a
breadth of about three-quarters of a mUe, and is nearly three
fathoms deep at low tide. The south channel is not quite so
roomy, nor yet so direct, except for vessels trading south. A
lighthouse built on the "White Dogs" proves of great advantage
to the port. The Kin-pai and Min-Ngan passes, through which
the anchorage is gained, recalled the approaches to the Pearl river.
The harbour is about thirty miles from the mouth of the
river, and is wide enough to contain the entire merchant fleet
of China. This spot is caUed "Pagoda Anchorage," and takes
that name from a small island crowned with an old pagoda,
which forms a conspicuous object in the landscape. But for
this purely Chinese edifice, one might readily suppose oneself
transported suddenly to a scene on the river Clyde. There
stand the houses of a smaU foreign settlement, and yonder are
a dock, taU chimneys and rows of workshops, whence the clang
of steam-hammers and the hum of engines may be heard.
Here, in fact, is the Foochow Arsenal, on a piece of level
ground redeemed from an old swamp, and looking in the distance
like an English manufacturing village. This was destroyed by
the French in 1884, and has since been reconstituted. A French
mission under the direction of M. Doyere has just been
intrusted with its reorganisation. But side by side with the

FOOCHOW ARSENAL. 1 43
residences on the hill, there is a crescent-shaped stone shrine of
imposing proportions, designed to correct the Feng-shui, which
has been seriously disturbed by the construction of an arsenal
after a foreign type.
This arsenal, like all the others on Chinese soil, was raised
simply because the authorities deemed it expedient to remodel
their mUitary equipments with all possible speed, and then
Feng-shui, or the Geomantic luck of the locality, was treated
with but scant consideration. Feng-shui, indeed, had to yield
to the stern necessity of the times, and was relegated to this
very humble station on the hiU-side. By steps like this the
fanatic dread of the common people wiU readily be overcome;
for they account their scholarly mandarins much better judges
of Feng-shui and its influences than they themselves can pretend
to be. But let us visit the Chinese foreign arsenal. The first
building we enter when we land, reminds us, by its lofty roof
and general appearance, of a plain English railway-station. It
is constructed of brick on a soHd granite foundation, and is
enclosed by a wall, which is also of granite and which rises
about five feet above the floor. Passing in through a spacious
doorway we make our way along an iron avenue, lined on both
sides with smiths ' forges, whose blast is supplied by steam.
The engine which ministers to these forges has a driving-wheel
of colossal proportions, and may also be seen quickening a row
of steam-hammers, with forces mighty enough to forge a shaft
for the biggest steamer afloat, or so delicate as to straighten
a pin. Strange as it may appear, these giant tools when first
seen working, produced but little impression on their Chinese
spectators. The next workshop we visit is as spacious as the
preceding one, and contains the half-formed skeleton of a
mammoth engine for rolling out sheet-iron and steel armour-

144 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
plating for iron-clad ships. An iron driving-wheel, eighteen feet
in diameter, is to be seen there, propped up in position. We
next cross a broad paved court having a line of railway along
one of its sides, used in conveying materials to the different
workshops which run parallel to the rails and face the river.
In these shops practical engineering and shipbuilding in its
various branches are being carried on ; and in one there is a
sort of school, where mechanical drawing and modelling are
taught by French masters. These instructors, all of them,
remarked to me on the wonderful aptitude displayed by the
Chinese in picking up a knowledge of the various mechanical
appliances employed in the arsenal. Many of the men who are
there working at the steam-lathes and guiding the planing-
machines, had two or three months before been ordinary field
labourers. In one apartment a powerful machine is punching
rivet-holes in boiler-plates. In another department we found
men at work, making wooden patterns for iron castings; and
others constructing models of steam-engines, to be used in
educating the pupUs of this training-school. There are indeed
many admirable specimens of complicated work carried out
solely from drawings ; the whole betokening an advanced degree
of skill and knowledge pn the part of the workmen. AH these
results have been achieved under the guidance of European
foremen. For my own part, from what I have seen in these
arsenals, I firmly believe that when the Chinese find it convenient
to throw off their grossly superstitious notions regarding foreign
inventions and appliances, they will excel in all that pertains
to the exact sciences, and in their practical application to the
construction of machinery. The mandarins connected with the
arsenal look with pardonable vanity at the steam gun-boats that
have been built under their own eyes, and sent into commission

NATIVE HERBALIST.

NATIVES — FUKIEN PROVINCE.

NATIVE MARINES. 145
from their own naval and shipbuilding yards. A gunboat had
been launched from the patent slip a few days previous to our
visit, and the sister vessel was already on the stocks.
Proceeding on board the former, we are received by the
Chinese captain and his lieutenant, with great courtesy, and
conducted all over the ship. This a nautical friend present
pronounced to be an honest, solid, masterly piece of work
throughout. The woodwork of the cabin is simply varnished,
and reUeved with narrow gold mouldings. The officers' cabin
and mess-room are finished in the same unpretending and yet
not inelegant style; and in the sailors' quarters we notice that
each seaman is supplied with a strong teak bunker to hold his
effects and to serve him also instead of a couch or chair. This
gun-vessel carries one huge Armstrong gun on her upper deck,
and is to be fitted with the same weapons throughout. Her
armament, therefore, wiU render her a formidable enemy to
pirates, though not perhaps of much service in a combat with
any European power.
Our next visit is to a vessel in commission lying off the
arsenal, and manned throughout, from captain to cabin-boy, by
an entirely Chinese crew. Stepping on deck from the gangway,
we are saluted in military style by a Ningpo marine, who in
forms us in tolerable English that we shall find the captain in
his cabin. The dress of this marine is admirable, consisting of
a black turban, blue blouse, pantaloons with red stripe, and a
pair of neat and strongly made native shoes. A well-kept belt
fastens in the blouse at the waist and supports also a cartouche-
box and side-arms. An officer of marines next welcomes us
on board, and says, " S'pose you likee my can show you my
driU pidjin," an offer which we gladly accept. "My hab got two
squab, one too muchee new, other olo, can saby drill pidjin."

146 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
He means to say that he has two squads, one well trained and
the other raw recruits. It wants still fifteen minutes to drill
time, so, at the captain's request, we wiU take a peep into
his cabin.
In most respects this resembles that of some English gunboats;
but on a smaU table, supported by graceful brackets, we note
a strange assortment of foreign nautical instruments spread
around a small idol. This idol was the only visible token of
native superstition, and was used in conjunction with the baro
meter and thermometer to avoid coming storms, or to
find out lucky days for sailing. Having partaken of wine with
our hospitable entertainer, we next return to the upper deck to
see the marines at driU. The bugleman sounds to quarters, and
the men, with Enfield rifles in their hands, fall, or rather tumble
into position, six or eight at a time. Then one more dUatory
than his fellows, pops his head out of a hatchway, in order to
satisfy himself that his company could not be dispensed with,
scrambles on deck as he drags himself into his blouse and pan
taloons, and fixes his belt as he faUs in. Some, too, have mis
placed their rifles, but all have now fairly got into line, and all
appear orderly enough, until one unlucky fellow, feeling perhaps
a sudden twinge of itch, drops his weapon to have a scratch.
A comrade politely leaves the ranks to clear his throat over
the side ; and so the driU proceeds, its forms seemingly weU
understood by most of the men, but its object, so far as we
could judge, almost entirely ignored. Thus there is a marked
absence of the discipline we always associate with naval or
military training.
The opticians make ships' compasses, portions of sextants
and the brass work of other nautical instruments. How they
acquired these arts it is difficult to make out, as their foreign

FOOCHOW FEMALE.

CHINESE SEAMSTRESS.

FOOCHOW CITY. 147
teacher confessed to his complete ignorance of their language.
P. Giguel was the chief director of this establishment.
The Viceroy Tso, under whose auspices the arsenal was buUt,
is also deserving of some credit, although he was not the first
to see the need for a change in the construction of the warlike
implements of his nation. The monthly expenditure of the
whole estabHshment was reported at about ^^i 7,000. It appears
that the authorities discharged the foreign employes, though
what may have been their reason for this step, which happened
just before the Japanese invaded Formosa, it is impossible for
me to say, and as may be supposed, the step has proved far
from beneficial.
Foochow city, one of the great tea marts of China, stands
about seven mUes above the arsenal and the harbour where the
vessels load tea. Of all the open ports this is perhaps the
most picturesque, and its stone bridge of "ten thousand ages"
proves that the Chinese, had they so chosen, might have left
monuments behind them more worthy of their civilisation and
prowess than their great unwieldy waU monuments, which
would have shed a gleam of truth across the obscure pages of
their bygone history. This bridge was erected, it is said, about
900 years ago, and displays no pretensions to ornamentation
except in its stone balustrade. It is indeed evident that its
buUders had convenience and durability alone in view; and the
masses of soUd granite then employed, stiU but little injured
by the lapse of time, bear high testimony, in their colossal
proportions, to the skiU of the ancient engineers who raised
them up out of the water and placed them in position on the
stone piers above. The bridge is fully a quarter of a mile in
length, and the granite blocks which stretch from pier to pier
are, some of them, forty feet long.

148 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
The foreign settlement is separated from Foochow city by
the great bridge, and by a smaU island which here rises in the
middle of the stream. The site was formerly that of an old
Chinese burial-ground, and abundant disputes arose in conse
quence when plots had to be purchased for the erection of
houses, the natives being loath to see the dweUings of living
"foreign devUs" erected over the resting-places of their own
haUowed dead. But money, which exercises as potent an
influence here as elsewhere, procured a solution of the difficul
ties; even] the spirits of the departed were to be consoled by
timely offerings at their shrines ; and so now, on these hills,
the dust of the long-forgotten dead is trodden under foot by
the hated foreign intruder, and mingles with the roses with
which his garden is adorned. Even the tombs have, some of
them, been turned to account. Living occupants have entered
into joint tenancy with the silent inhabitants who repose beneath,
and pigs or poultry may be seen enjoying the cool shade and
shelter which the ample granite gravestone suppHes. But I need
not give any detaUed description of the foreign residences at
Foochow. This notice of the graves in the foreigners' quarter may be
supplemented by some account of the living tenants to be met
with in a city of the dead close by; but before proceeding to
describe the condition of these wretched beings, it may be as
well to give the reader a notion of the condition of the poor
in Foochow. In China the beggar pursues his caUing unmo
lested, and has even won for himself a protection and quasi-
recognition at the hands of the civic authorities. The fact is
that the charitable institutions of the country cannot cope with
a tenth part of the misery and destitution that prevails in
populous localities. No poor law is known, and the only plan

Cliinese Tomb.

BEGGARS. 149
adopted to paUiate the evU is to tolerate begging in public,
and to place the lazzaroni under the local jurisdiction of a
responsible chief. In Foochow the city is divided into wards,
and within the limits of each ward a head-man is appointed,
able to trace his descent from a line of illustrious beggar chiefs,
who, like himself, exercised the right to keep the members of
their order under their own management and control. During
my stay in Foochow I was introduced to one of these beggar
kings ; he was an inveterate opium-smoker, and consequently in
reduced circumstances. I afterwards visited the house of another
head-man. His eldest son received me at the entrance and
conducted me into a guest's chamber; and while I was seated
there two ladies dressed in sUks passed the door of the apart
ment in order to steal a glimpse at its inmate. These were
the chief and second wives of this Lord of the Lazzaroni, who
was himself unfortunately absent on business. I afterwards
secured his photograph.
Beggar chieftains of this kind have it in their power to make
an agreement with the business men of the streets in their re
spective wards, under which they levy a kind of fluctuating poor-
rate for the maintenance of themselves and their subjects. A
composition thus entered into exempts the streets or shops
whereon the chief has placed his mark, from the harassing raids
of his tattered troops. Woe betide the shopman who has the
courage to refuse his dole to these beggars I The most loath
some and pertinacious specimens of the naked tribe will be de
spatched to beset his shop. Thus, whUe walking along one of
the best streets of the city, I myself saw a revolting, diseased
and filthy object carried on the shoulders of another member
of the fraternity, who marched into a shop and deposited his
burden on the polished counter, where the tradesman was serv-

150 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
ing customers with ornaments for shrines and food for the
gods. The bearer, with cool audacity, proceeded to light his
pipe and smoke untU he had been paid to remove the cripple.
A still worse case was narrated to me by an eye-witness. A
sUk-mercer had refused to contribute his black-maU, and accord
ingly received a domiciliary visit from a representative of the
chief. This intruder had smeared his bare body with mud, and
carried a bowl slung with cords and fiUed with foul water to the
very brim. Having taken up his stand in the shop, he commenc
ed to swing this bowl round his head, without indeed spilling
a drop of its contents, yet so that, had anyone attempted to
arrest his arm, the water would have been distributed in a filthy
shower over the sUks pUed upon the counter and shelves.
But there is stUl another and a worse class of beggars
— outlaws who own allegiance to no prince or power on earth —
and these were the men whom I visited and found dwelling in
the charnel-houses in a city of the dead. Many of the little
huts in this dismal spot were built with brick and roofed with
tiles. They contained coffins and bodies placed there to await
the favourable hour for interment, when the rites of Fengshui
might be duly performed, and the remains laid to rest in some
well-situated site where neither wind nor wave would disturb
their sacred dust. But poverty, death, distress, or indeed a
variety of causes, not infrequently intervene to prevent the
surviving relatives from ever choosing this happy site and
bringing the final ceremonies to a consummation; and thus the
coffins lie forgotten and moulder into dust, and the tombs are
invaded by the poor outcasts, who there seek shelter from the
cold and rain, creeping gladly to slumber into the dark corners
of a sepulchre, and then most happy when they most imitate
the dead. On my first visit to this place I recoUect being

Open Altar of Heaven, Foochow.

THE "MAQUI." 151
attracted to an ominous-looking tomb by hearing some one moan
there. It was growing dark and I may have, perhaps, felt a
little superstitious as I peeped in and beheld what seemed to
be an old man clad in rags too scant to cover his frame. He
was fanning a fire made up of withered branches, but he was
not the only tenant ; there was a coffin too, looming out from
the darkness within, and I almost fancied he was the ghost of
its owner. But no ! there was no mistaking the moan of suf
fering humanity. The cold wind was chilling his thin blood and
racking his joints with pain. Administering some temporary
relief and passing on to a tomb where I could hear sounds of
mirth, I found four inmates inside, the members of a firm of
beggars. I visited them again next morning and came upon the
group at breakfast. The head-man — a lusty, half-naked lout —
was standing in front of the entrance, enjoying a post-prandial
pipe, and he offered me a smoke with the air of a Chinese
gentleman. After this he invited me in to inspect the interior,
where his partners were busily engrossed with chopsticks and
bowls of reeking scraps collected on the previous day. They
were chatting noisily, too, forgetful of their cares and of the
coffins that surrounded them. One, the jester of the party, was
seated astride a coffin, cracking his jokes over the skull of its
occupant. While at Foochow, after visiting the beggars, I thought I
might as well see what the detectives are like. These men are
commonly known as the "Ma-qui" or "Swift as horses," and
are attached to the yamens of the local authorities, receiving
a small stipend out of the Government supplies, but obtaining
the bulk of their earnings from persons who seek to recover
stolen goods, or even from the thieves themselves.
The Ma-qui is supposed to know personally all the professional

152 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
robbers of his district ; and one wishing to recover his property
from the thieves must make a liberal offer to the Ma-qui, at
least one half the value of the articles lost; faUing this, it is
probable that he will never hear of his goods again. But trans
actions of this kind are generally effected through the Ma-qui,
who simply acts as a broker, and takes his heavy percentage
from both sides. Should the thieves refuse to yield up the
property at the price he offers, they run the risk of being
imprisoned and tortured. I photographed a thief who had
just escaped from gaol; he had been an unprofitable burglar,
a bad constituent of the Ma-qui, and was accordingly triced up
by the thumbs until the cords had worn the flesh away, and
left nothing but the bare bones exposed. It was told of this
detective, who might more appropriately be called the chief of
the thieves, that he, one day, fell in with an old thief whom he
had known and profited by in former times, but who was now
respectably clad and striving to lead an honest life. He at
once had the man conveyed to prison, and there, in order to
impress upon him the danger to which he exposed himself in
falling into honest ways, suspended him by the thumbs, stripped
off his clothes, and discharged him with one arm put out of
joint. When a thief is not in the profession and cannot be
discovered, the Ma-qui is liable to be whipped. He then whips
his subordinates, and they in turn whip the thieves. Should
this plan faU, it is reported that the police have been whipped
and that the stolen property cannot be found.
A word about leprosy and the leper villages of the Chinese.
This disease — not an uncommon one in China — may be seen
in a variety of its loathsome forms in the public streets of
almost every city. This disease, however, is not held to be
infectious by many Asiatics, as well as by a number of European

SZECHUAN HERMIT.

A LEPER VILLAGE. I 53
physicians, who have had to prescribe for the sufferers, and,
for my own part, I am inclined to adopt their view. It has
also been proved that the malady, although to a certain extent
hereditary, will at last die out of a family. Thus, in the Canton
leper viUage there are direct descendants of lepers, now alive,
who are entirely free from the disease ; and in the leper
settlement at Foochow I was informed that the inhabitants were
permitted to marry and rear famiUes; and the statement was
evidently true, for we found there many parents surrounded by
children, some of whom, though they had reached maturity,
were still free from the fearful blight that had fallen on the
wretched community around.
The village to which I allude is a walled enclosure, standing
about a mile beyond the east gate of the city ; I set out with
the Rev. Mr. Mahood to pay a visit to this asylum. It was
now about four in the afternoon; a drizzling rain had already
set in and a sudden darkness overcast the heavens as we
entered the gate of the village. The dreariness of the weather
and the gloominess of the gathering clouds overhead, intensified
the wretchedness of the scene; and we were soon surrounded
by a crowd of men, women and chUdren, some too loathsome
to bear description, and all clamouring for alms to buy food
to sustain their miserable lives ; nor did their importunity cease
until the governor of the place, himself a leper, came out to
keep his subjects in order. It would appear that the original
idea of the institution, like the majority of native institutions in
China, had been lost sight of, and that it is now made as
much the means by which the officials extort money from
wealthy lepers, as of conferring a boon upon the community by
keeping the lepers shut up and cut off from contact with the
outer world. The poor among them, who are unable to pay

154 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
for their own maintenance, are allowed a nominal annual sum
by government, sufficient to support them probably one month
out of twelve, and for the rest they are daily sent adrift into
the public highways, and I beheve, as in the case of ordinary
beggars, certain shops and streets may unite together and
purchase freedom from their most objectionable visits. This
little settlement numbered something over 300 souls, and had
once contained a theatre for the amusement of its inhabitants,
but that edifice had long faUen into decay.
The streets of Foochow are so similar to the streets of aU
the other cities of Southern China as to require no description
here. Foochow, too, has its parade-grounds, its yamens, its
temples and its pagodas ; all of great importance to the citizens
themselves, and of comparatively little interest to the stranger
from outside, unless to one who wishes to make himself ac
quainted with an endless variety of dry detaUs as to rehgion,
Feng-shui, or local jurisdiction ; none of which subjects could
possibly be digested into a volume of such dimensions as mine.
I wUl therefore only remark as I quit the town, that the visitor
must not faU to observe the oysters — oysters which are not
only very good, but very remarkable too in their way. It may
be said that a bamboo rod is not the "native climb" of that
highly-prized sheU-fish; and yet, in the main thoroughfares at
Foochow, one finds an endless array of fish-stalls where oysters
are served out to passing customers, and these oysters are grown
in clusters on bamboo rods, stuck into the beds at the proper
season, puUed up again when mature, and brought in this fashion
to market.
There are a number of trades which are pecuHar to this city,
and among the most interesting is that of the lamp-maker. One
lamp, of a very pretty though fragUe kind, is made up of thin

YUAN-FU MONASTERY. I 5 5
rods of glass, set so closely together as almost to imitate
basketwork. The light shines through these rods with a very
effective lustre ; and though no lamps of the sort, so far as I
know, have yet been introduced into this country, they would
form very attractive novelties at a garden fete.
There are many charming resorts in the vicinity of Foochow ;
but to my mind "Fang-Kuang-Yen-tien-chuan," better known as
the "Yuan-fu" monastery, is the most fascinating of them all.
It was my good fortune to visit that retreat as the guest of a
foreign merchant, who made up a party for a cruise on the
Yuan-fu branch of the river Min. Intense cold with drifting
sleet made the prospect ahead unpromising. The bold moun
tains known to the natives as the " Wu-hu " or " five tiger " range,
were wrapped in a thin veil of mist ; but it was nearly mid-day
before the last shred of vapour had withdrawn from the rugged
overhanging crag, which has been called the "Lover's Leap."
The mountains rise to a considerable altitude about this part
of the river, and terminate in bold rocky cliffs ; but beneath,
wherever an avaUable patch of soil is to be found, it has been
terraced and cultivated up to the very face of the rocks. Two
days were spent amid a ceaseless diversity of grand river and
mountain scenery ; and on the third morning, at a short distance
above the first rapid, we landed to make the journey to Yuan-
fu monastery. My friends had brought their sedans and bearers
with them ; as for me, I hired one at the nearest vUlage, my
dog, as was his custom, at once scrambling inside, and stowing
himself comfortably beneath the seat. The chair being intended
for mountain use, was so small that I had to sit in a cramped
and awkward position. At one spot there is a flight of 400 steps
(I had the curiosity to count them as our progress was slow),
and this brought us to the entrance of the ravine overlooked

I 56 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
by the monastery, which was also perhaps the most romantic
bit of scenery to be encountered there. Above these steps the
path winds beneath a forest, and around a rich undergrowth of
ferns and flowering shrubs, and finally seems suddenly to
terminate in a cave. This cave in reality forms the passage
through which the deU is approached. A small idol stood at
the foot of the rocks, on the right of the entrance, and there
was incense burning before its shrine. As we ascended a narrow
path cut in the face of the rocks, we obtained a full view of
the monastery. There it stood with its broad eaves, carved
roofs and ornamental balustrades, propped up on the face of a
precipice 200 feet in height, and resting above this awful abyss
on nothing more durable than a slender-looking framework of
wooden beams.
There were only three monks in residence here; one a mere
boy, the second an able-bodied youth, and lastly the abbot, who
was old, infirm and blind. I was accommodated with an apart
ment commanding a good view of the valley far beneath, and
built out of thin pine planks, plastered over with lime. Inside
this chamber were a pine table, a pine chair and a pine bed,
and on the latter the same unyielding wooden pillow which
forms its usual cheap and durable appurtenance. As for the
bedstead itself, it was a kind of square chocolate-coloured well of
wood; and in this unluxurious contrivance I had to pass the
nights, which were here extremely cold. My coolies slept in
the apartment beneath, packed together like sardines, to keep
themselves warm. Every evening at about sunset, my friends,
dressed in their yellow canonicals went up into the temple to
pray. The fervour of a long-winded prayer was much impaired
in my eyes when I found that it was meaningless mummery to
the young devotee who chanted it. On one of the altars I saw

Yuen-fu Monastery, Fukien Province.

KU-SHAN. 157
an image known as the "Laughing Buddha," the god of longevity;
and before this jovial-looking idol a joss-stick timepiece had
been set up. This timepiece consists of a series of thin fire-
sticks, placed parallel to each other over a flat clay bed con
tained in a box of bronze. Each stick will burn for twelve
hours, and a fresh one is ignited when the one already burning
is about to expire. Thus the time of day or night might be
ascertained at a glance. This fire, like the vestal fires of Rome,
so the old monk assured me, had been smouldering uninter
ruptedly for untold years before he came to the place.
"Ku-Shan," or "Drum Mountain," stands about seven mUes
below Foochow, and forms part of a range that rises abruptly
out of the level, cultivated plain. The mountain enjoys a wide
celebrity, as the great "Ku-Shan" monastery is built inavaUey
near its summit, on a site said in ancient times to have been
the haunt of poisonous snakes or dragons, able to diffuse pesti
lence, raise up storms, or blight the harvest crops. One Ling-
chiau, a sage, was entreated to put a stop to these ravages ; so
the good man, repairing to the pool in which the evU serpents
dwelt, recited a ritual caUed the Hua-yen treatise, before which,
like wise serpents, they took instant flight. It must indeed
have been a powerful composition, for not even deadly snakes
would risk a second recital, and the Emperor, hearing of the
miracle, erected the Hua-yen monastery on the spot, in the
year 784.
The establishment, though repeatedly destroyed, has been
constantly rebuUt on its original foundations, receiving consider
able additions from time to time, untU at the present day it
accommodates 200 monks. The ascent from the plain is a steep
and tedious one, but many picturesque views of the surround
ing country are to be obtained en route, and we reach the

158 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
monastery itself at length, through a grove of ancient pine-trees,
2,500 feet above the level of the sea. Inside the main entrance
sit four colossal images of the protectors of the Buddhist faith.
Ku-Shan monastery, like almost all such edifices in China, is
made up of three great detached buildings, set one behind the
other, in a spacious paved courtyard ; and opening inwards from
the walls which surround this enclosure, we may see the apart
ments of the monks. At this shrine a number of relics of
Buddha are shown, and it is said that they annually draw crowds
of weary pUgrims from afar. Sacred animals too are maintained
in the grounds, and if there be any member of the brute creation
that has shown more than usual instinct, it wUl find a welcome
reception here.
The "Three Holy Ones," the chief images of every Buddhist
temple, were here as conspicuous as usual in the central shrine ;
each figure being in this instance more than thirty feet in height,
and rising up behind the customary altar bespread with cande
labra and votive offerings of various sorts.
I remained three days in this place, and occupied some of my
leisure in visiting the rooms of the priests, one among them
more frequently than the rest. Having mounted the ladder by
which access to this chamber was to be gained, we entered a
bare apartment, lit by a small window above and furnished with
a deal table and a chair. Within I was always certain to find
some member of the order improving himself by sitting like an
image, meditating on the precepts of his sect, and at long
intervals tolling a beU suspended in a tower above. Then again,
some distance from the central temple, in one of the many
beautiful avenues on the mountain-side, was a water-bell, that
could be heard tolling there night and day. Against the foot
of one of the rocks a small hut had been constructed. One

THE MORNING BELL — YUEN-FU MONASTERY.

OPIUM SMOKING.

A HERMIT. 1 59
day I ventured within it and found a Buddhist image, set up
on a stony ledge inside. I was thinking it was about the finest
thing of the sort I had seen for some time, when the head
moved forward, the limbs unbent, and the idol descended from
its perch — "Venus incessu patuit Deus.?" No, I can hardly
venture to affirm so much of this bald-headed, yeUow-robed god.
"Tsing, tsing, sir, good morning; what side you come.?" was his
greeting, as he lighted on the ground. Less awe-stricken than
might perhaps have been expected, I returned the enquiry, and
asked: "What side you come?" to which his response was
quickly vouchsafed: "Long time my got this side." This, then,
was the hermit, of whom report had said so much. It turned
out that he had been an Amoy trader, and after years of strife
with the world, had come to end his days and repent him of
his sins within this mossy dell.
The nearest tea-plantations in this province are in the Paeling
Hills, about fifteen miles north of Foochow. These I visited in
company, as the guest of two of my Foochow friends. We put
up at a smaU temple on one of the farms, and made a three
days' stay in the locality. Here some foreigners who had
visited the district before us, had imparted a very limited and
confused acquaintance with the EngUsh tongue to the priest
who presided at the shrine. It therefore startled us when we
approached the edifice, to be met by this ragged follower of
Buddha, evidently proud to parade his knowledge of our language,
with the salutation: "Good morning, can do! you bet!" Can
do what, we enquired ; but alas ! our friend's vocabulary was
limited to this single phrase.
The farms are usually smaU, seldom exceeding a few acres
in size, and are rented by the poor from capitalists who pay
the land tax. To these landowners the tenants undertake to

l6o THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
dispose of their crops at a certain stipulated price. Thus the
men who grow that tea which is a source of so much wealth
to China, very rarely possess any capital at all themselves; and
like mUlions of their labouring fellow-countrymen, they can
earn but a hard-won sustenance out of the luxury which they
thus produce. At the proper season — that is usuaUy in the
beginning of AprU — the first picking of the leaves takes place.
These leaves, when gathered, are partially dried in the sun, and
then offered for sale in baskets, at a kind of fair, at which all
the neighbourhood attends. The native buyers from the foreign
ports — usually Cantonese — here enter upon a keen competition,
and buy up as much as they can of the leaves. In the end the
lots bought from a variety of these small farms are mixed
together by the purchaser, and then subjected to the firing
already described, up-country, in houses hired specially for that
purpose. Thousands of poor women and chUdren are next employed
in picking out stems and stalks ; after which the leaves are
winnowed, the cured portion is carried away, and the uncured
left behind to be subjected again to the fire. When the firing
process is completed, the tea is sifted, and separated into two
or three different parcels, or "chops" as they are called, the
quality of each parcel varying with the quantity prepared at a
time. Thus the first and highest "chops" consist of the small
est and best-twisted leaves ; the second is somewhat inferior ;
whUe the third is made of the stalks, dust and siftings. This
last, which is perfectly innocuous and wholesome, is used in
this country to mix with better sorts of teas and thus to produce
the cheap good teas of commerce.
These parcels or chops are next packed into chests of about
90 lbs., half-chests of 40 or 45 lbs., and boxes of 21 lbs..

TEA CULTURE. l6l
lined each of them with lead, and thus forwarded to the open
ports for sale. Most of the Bohea teas are brought down to
Foochow by the river Min — a voyage, as we shaU presently see,
requiring no ordinary nerve and skUl. The cargoes, as a rule,
begin to arrive at about the end of April; but at the
time I speak the market, for two or three seasons past, had
not been opened tiU some time in June. The year before the
mandarins gave native dealers credit for the duties on the leaf,
and thus aided them to hold back their teas untU scarcity
should force the market into rates highly favourable to China.
The Europeans do not seem to succeed in banding together,
like the Chinese, to secure the tea crop on profitable terms.
The probable advantage to be gained by being first in the market
presents a temptation too great for the impetuous foreign
merchant to resist. But although the Chinese sellers enjoy
many facilities, such as borrowing money from the Foreign
banks in Foochow against the " chops " which they hold, they have
to pay high rates of interest, and the up-country competition
among themselves too, is strong ; so that they are not unfamiliar
with losses — and heavy ones too sometimes.
But now let us proceed up country and gather some notion
of the difficulties which beset the transit of this precious herb.
I made an excursion for 200 miles up the Min, as far as
Yen-ping city, in the company of Mr. Justice Doolittle, whose
valuable book on the "Social Life of the Chinese" is the result
of years of painstaking labour and careful observation among the
people of this district. Armed with the requisite passports, we
started for Shui-kow, at mid-day on December 2, in a yacht
kindly placed at my disposal by one of the EngUsh merchants
at Foochow.
Boating on a Chinese river and with a Chinese crew is

1 62 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
always a trying experience to the temper of a European, except
where the men have been bound by contract to perform their
work for a fixed price and within a given period of time. If
this precaution has been neglected the notion takes possession
of the boatmen that foreigners are by nature wealthy, and that
as a duty to themselves — who are always, both by birth and
by necessity, extremely poor — they must take the most of the
rare opportunity which good fortune has cast in their way.
Inspired by such considerations as these, the men set themselves
to enjoy a good deal more than their usual scanty leisure, a
good deal more food, a longer spell of the opium-pipe and
deeper drains out of the sam-shu flask. Hence in one's diary
such jottings as the following by no means infrequently recur:
" The men have been amusing themselves all day long, running
the boat on to sandbanks and eating rice." "Tracking-line
entangled again with that of another boat ; two crews quarrelling
for half an hour, another half-hour spent in apologies, and a
third in disentangling the lines."
Sunday we spent quietly at a place called Teuk-kai, or
Bamboo Crags. Here I had a walk ashore with my boy Ahong,
and stopped for awhile to rest on a green mossy bank, whence
our boat could dimly be made out through a sheet of mist that
rose above the river, like the steam from a cauldron's mouth.
We next passed over a lovely bit of country, through olive and
orange plantations, where the trees bent down beneath their
fruit, and the air seemed laden with perpetual fragrance. In one
orchard we fell in with a watchman ensconced in a snug little
straw hut, containing a bamboo table, a tea-pot, two chairs and
a fine cat and kittens. The old man had been watching the
place, he said, for more than half a century ; he showed us the
way to the farm, conducting us through fields of sugar-cane to

up country Farm, Fukien Province.

VOYAGE UP THE RIVER MIN. 163
the group of picturesque well-built brick houses of which the
settlement was composed. When we had left this place and
had sat down on a hiU-side to talk over old times and former
scenes of travel, Ahong confessed to me, among other matters,
that he had no particular religious views at all. He had at one
time been a Christian in Singapore, but had got bullied out of
his change of faith by his friends. In a general way he thought
it a good thing to have plenty of pork while alive ; then to
be laid in a comfortable coffin and buried in a dry place, and
hereafter to have one's spirit fed and clothed continuously by
surviving sons.
Next day we reached Shui-kow and found it built on the slopes
of the hills, on the left bank of the river. This town was
unlike any which I had seen on the plains. There was something
new in its piles of buildings towering story above story, and in
its picturesque situation; and here, too, I found that a water
system had been elaborated out of a complex series of bamboo
pipes and gutters, which passed from house to house, and
brought constant supplies of water from a spring more than a
mUe away, in the hiUs. At Shui-kow I hired a "rapid-boat"
to take us on to Yen-ping-fu. Our captain was Cheng-Show, or
rather his wife, a lady who had a great deal to say both for
him and herself too. Thus, when we ascended the first rapid,
there was Mrs. Cheng to be seen well to the fore ; at one
moment nursing her baby, at another the child had been tossed
into a basket, and the mother was fending her boat with a long
pole from destruction on the rocks. Then to her brat again,
or to cooking, cleaning, or husband- baiting ; to each and every
pursuit she was found equal, as fancy prompted or necessity
compeUed. Ours was a small boat, like all the others, carrying
a high bridge and a rudder in the shape of a long oar, which

1 64 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
swung on a pivot aft. This oar was nearly as long as the boat
itself, and its effect when used was to make the vessel turn at
once in its own length. The craft is built entirely of pine, is
as strong as it is light, and admirably adapted in every respect
for the navigation of the perilous rapids which begin to show
themselves about half a mile above Shui-kow. We anchored
for the night close to a military station, if two or three shanties
and the half-dozen miserable-looking soldiers armed with match
locks, who occupied them, could be honoured with so dignified
a name. Next morning, as usual, there was a thick fog upon the river.
This prevented our seeing more than two or three feet around
the boat, and put a stop to all traffic tUl within an hour of
noon. Our halting-place that evening was the village of Ching-
ku-kwan; and there Mr. Doolittle and myself went ashore to
inspect a Snake Temple. There was no image of the snake to
be seen in this shrine; but the tablet of the snake king was
there, set up for worship in a holy place, and we learned that
during the seventh month a living snake becomes the object of
adoration. Next day Mrs. Cheng and her husband had a little
conjugal disagreement. As for Captain Cheng, he sat meekly
smoking his pipe, a true example of marital equanimity, waiting
till the storm should be over-past. Half an hour later his wife
was working away as busUy as ever. Each night the boat is
arched over, waggon-fashion, with a telescopic arrangement of
bamboo matting, forty feet long, ten feet wide and four feet
high, which covers the entire deck. My friend and I occupied
a small space at the bow. Ahong, the cook and fourteen
boatmen were stretched out amid-ships, a small space at the
stern being curtained off for the captain and his spouse. The
representatives of three generations of the Cheng family are to

Rapids near Yen-Ping City, River Min.

RAPIDS. 1 65
be found living on board the craft. First the grandfather. He
does almost nothing except smoke; and his pipe, a bamboo-
cane with a knob at the end of it, he cherishes with wonderful
affection. On his head is a relic of antiquity as venerable as
himself — the tattered framework of a greasy-looking felt hat ;
whUe as for his thickly-padded jacket, it is reported that he
removes that garment from his person about once a week, in
order to destroy the smaU colonists that disturb his repose.
For upwards of half a century he had been learning to swallow
the smoke of his pipe, but with only partial success. Once or
twice I fancied that he had fairly choked himself, and was about
to expire ; but he came to himself again by-and-by, and was
seen puffing more vigorously than before.
As soon as the roofs were drawn over for the night, smoking
commenced— the entire crew, Mrs. Cheng and all setting to work
in business-like fashion ; and as there was no outlet for the
fumes, the atmosphere can be imagined much more easily than
it could be endured. On the following day we passed a newly-
wrecked boat, which had struck a sunken rock and then gone
down. We also encountered a second boat dashing down the
same rapid with a fatal way on her. She was bearing straight
for the breakers, away from the main channel; the helmsman
could not alter her course, and so she too struck and settled
down, but not before the crew had had time to scramble out on
the rocks and make the wreck fast with a cable. At one little
viUage where we went ashore, a number of smaU-footed women
were washing clothes in the stream. At our approach they fled
with startling celerity, scaling the rocks and finding foothold
where only cloven-hoofed goats might have been supposed to
make their way.
On Sunday we reached Yen-ping, in time for service at the

1 66 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
Methodist Mission Chapel in that place, which stands on a hUl
and faces the main stream at a point where it is fed by two
nearly equal tributaries, the one flowing from the Bohea HUls
and the other from a source further to the south-east. The
town contains a population of about thirty thousand souls, and
does a considerable trade in paper, lackered ware, baskets and
tea. The foot of the hill was encircled by a high waU, from
within which rose an inclined plane of roofs, broken here and
there by groves of trees and temples, but stiU almost appearing
one solid slope of tUed steps, over which an Alpine tourist might
scramble to the outermost waU above, whose top could be seen
in a faint line sweeping round the heights that closed in the
city from behind. Beyond this hiU, which looked as if it had
been made for the town that covers it, a high range of moun
tains rose up in a deep purple belt, like a great protecting barrier.
The Mission House in the main thoroughfare was a miserable
place enough, and we learnt that no one would let a decent
house to Christians. The native missionary when we entered
the chapel was conducting the morning service in the midst of
an attentive congregation. He resided here with his family, and
looked happy and contented; although, as I have said, his abode
was a poor one, built and partitioned off with bamboo-laths and
plaster, so thin that one could have pushed one's fingers through
the walls ; while the roof was festooned with cobwebs and admit
ted more dayUght and air than was either necessary or agreeable.
The interior beneath, however, wore a clean and even cheerful
look. The back of this dweUing, like many others, was perched
upon the city wall ; and there was a path running beneath the
fortifications, along which I picked my way with caution, and
yet narrowly escaped being tripped up by a herd of pigs, as
they rushed to banquet upon some filthy refuse dropping down

YEN-PING CITY. 167
from a house above. Yen-ping was a Chinese city, and yet one
could breathe pure mountain air on its upper wall, and encounter
some very pretty sights. On one occasion, when taking a view
from a steep hiU on the other side of the river, and whUe making
my way up to a level space, I slipped my footing and caught
hold of some grass that stood twelve or fifteen feet high there.
The blades of this grass are furnished with an array of sharp
teeth, that ripped my hands up like a saw ; but at the same
time it saved me a rapid descent of about two hundred feet,
and a final plunge of a clear hundred more into the river below.
Near this place, in a small village, we found the two widows
and family of a deceased mandarin, sending a complete retinue
to the spirit of their departed lord. A pile of huge paper models
of houses and furniture, boats and sedans, ladies-in-waiting and
gentlemen-pages were brought down to the banks of the river
and there burned before the waUing widows. These effigies are
supposed to be transformed by fire into the spiritual reality of
the things which they represent. Many of the articles were
covered with tin-foU, and when the sacrifice was over a seedy-
looking trader bought the ashes, that he might sift them and
secure the tin that had refused to put on an ethereal shape.
Many of the men hereabouts appeared deformed, but the
deformity was due to the small charcoal furnaces which they
carried concealed beneath the dress, and used to keep their
bodies warm. As there are no fire-places in the houses, these
portable furnaces prove very convenient substitutes. At first,
when I saw so many humps about, I supposed that some special
disease must be common in the place, or else that the sufferers
had gathered themselves together from different parts of the
empire to test the efficacy of some curative spring, like those
hot weUs near Foochow, where I have seen crowds of feeble

1 68 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
and infirm folk bathing in the heaHng vapours. But the little
copper furnaces encased in basket-work supplied a less melancholy
explanation of the mystery.
When I watched the coolness, pluck and daring with which
these poor river navigators will shoot the rapids of the river
Min, risking their lives in every voyage — in a country where
there are no insurances, except such as the guilds may chance
to afford, and where no higher reward is to be gained than a
hand-to-mouth subsistence on the most wretched fare — I began
to get a truer insight into the manly and hardy qualities latent
in this misgoverned Chinese race. In some of these watery
steeps the channel winds and writhes from right to left, and
forms acute angles among the rocks at every two or three
boats' lengths. Once, when we descended, our frail craft tearing
down these bends at a fearful speed, I thought for a moment
that our fate was sealed, for it seemed impossible that the
helmsman could ever bring the vessel round in time to clear a
huge rock which rose up right ahead. There he stood on the
bridge, calm and erect, with an iron grasp on the long rudder,
impassive until we were just plunging on to the rock ; and then,
as I prepared to leap for life, he threw his whole weight on to
the oar, and brought the boat round with a sweep that cleared
the danger by the breadth of a hair, Thus we shot onwards,
down ! down ! down 1 like a feather tossed to and fro by the
caprice of the irresistible waves. As we passed down stream
we saw a great number of men fishing with col-morants. These
fishermen poled themselves about on bamboo-rafts, and on each
raft was a basket and two or three cormorants, trained to dive
and bring up fish for their owners. As I intended to take some
pictures on the way down to Foochow, my friend, who was
pressed for time, determined to find his way home in a native

b^^/j.-.,--,.-.u:-.il FISHING WITH CORMORANTS.

KNIFE GRINDER.

A NATIVE PASSENGER BOAT. 1 69
passenger-boat that was about to leave Shui-kow. So after
dinner I accompanied him on board, not without a last vain
effort, as he was but in feeble health, to persuade him to
complete the voyage in the yacht or house-boat in which we
had come. A Chinese passenger-boat makes a pretty swift trip,
and may be very suitable for natives, but it does not quite
come up to our European notions of comfort. Thus the
steerage accommodation consists of a long low cabin, in which
one can scarcely kneel upright; and within this narrow space
we found about fifty persons stowed away. Many were pedlars,
carrying their wares along with them for sale ; and the air of
this packing-box was strongly tainted with garlic, tobacco,
sam-shu, opium and a variety of other Chinese perfumes, which
issued from the mass of humanity that writhed and tumbled
about in fruitless efforts to discover places for repose. When
they were a little settled, we had literally to grope our way
over a reeking platform of half-naked limbs and bodies, and
amid a torrent of cursing and abuse, in order to reach the state
cabin, where my stout friend, after sundry efforts, succeeded in
depositing himself at last. This cabin measured about four feet
by three. The door was shut, and there he was in a sort of
locker with one or two openings to admit the air, or rather the
stench and din of the unwashed, noisy crowd in the steerage.
So we parted to meet again and recount our adventures in
Foochow.

CHAPTERIX.
SHANGHAL NINGPO. HANKOW. THE YANGTSZE.
Steam Traffic in the China Sea— In the Wake of a Typhoon— Shanghai-
Notes of its early History — Japanese Raids — Shanghai Foreign Settle
ment — Paul Sii, or 'Su-kwang-ki' — Shanghai City — Ningpo— Native
Soldiers- Snowy Valley — The Mountains'— Azaleas — The Monastery of
the Snowy Crevice — The Thousand-Fathom Precipice — Buddhist
Monks— The Yangtsze Kiang— Hankow — The Upper Yangtsze, Ichang —
The Gorges — The Great Tsing-tan Rapid — Mystic Mountain Lights —
A Dangerous Disaster — Kwei-fu — Our Return — Kiukiang — Nanking ; its
Arsenal — The Death of Tsing-kwo-fan — Chinese Superstition.
The opening of the Suez Canal wrought as great a change
in the China trade as in the commerce of the Malayan
Archipelago ; and nowhere is this change more marked than in
the carrying traffic from port to port along the coasts of China.
Old lumbering junks, lorchas and even square-rigged saUing ships
have given place to the splendidly equipped steamers of the
local companies that ply regularly between the different stations
from Hongkong to Newchang ; and then innumerable vessels,
owned, not a few of them, by private firms, as weU as by
native and European companies, frequently find lucrative employ
ment when the tea and silk seasons have not yet begun, either
in running between the treaty ports, or in making short voyages
to the rice-markets of Indo-China.
It was my good fortune to make a coasting trip to Shanghai

SHANGHAI. 1 7 1
in a fine steamer belonging to a private line, engaged in the
tea trade during the greater portion of the year, but at that
time making a cruise northward till the Hankow tea-market
should be open. As we neared Shanghai the glass indicated
either that a typhoon was approaching, or else that we were
just upon its verge. The latter conclusion was a true one. It
turned out that we had followed in the wake of a hurricane,
and thus our experience afforded a good example of the limit
ed area to which the circles of these typhoons are frequently
confined. We had encountered nothing save calms and light
winds throughout our passage ; and yet when we entered Shanghai
river we found many ships disabled, some of them swept clear
to the deck — masts, spars and rigging having all gone over the
side. Here we had to wait twelve hours tUl a licensed pilot came
on board; and when that individual did at last make his
appearance, he gravely remarked that he was only a fifteen-foot
man, but that he could make it all right with another pilot of
superior depth to take us up. What he meant to convey to
us was that his license only allowed him to pUot vessels drawing
fifteen feet. An unfortunate accident occurred as we were
steaming up the Wong-poo to the wharf at Shanghai. The
Chinese have a superstitious belief that bad luck wiU attend
their voyage, if they fail at starting to cross the bows of a
vessel as she saUs across their track ; and so, as we steamed on,
we perceived a native trading-boat making frantic efforts with
saUs and sculls to pass under our bows. The whistle was pHed,
but in vain. On they pulled to their own certain destruction.
The engines could not be backed amid such a crowd of shipping,
and I was gazing helplessly over our bulwarks when we came
crashing through the timbers of the fated craft. There was a
yell of despair, and the wreck was next seen drifting down

172 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
the stream. A number of the crew had been projected by the
shock some distance into the water; others clung to their
property untU it was submerged; but fortunately none of them
perished, as a number of boats had seen the incident and had
put off to their assistance at once.
Shanghai has always been able to hold its own as the great
Chinese emporium of foreign trade. It was therefore with feelings
of profound interest that I for the first time beheld the splen
did foreign settlement that stands there on the banks of the
Wong-poo, at a spot which about sixty years ago was a mere
swamp dotted with a few fisher huts, and inhabited by a miser
able semi-aquatic sort of Chinese population. In 1831 Dr. Gutzlaff,
who visited the place for the first time in a junk, describes it
as the centre of a great native trade, and tells us that from
this port, "more than a thousand smaU vessels go up to the
north several times annually, exporting silk and other Kiangnan
manufactures," and besides, that an extensive traffic was carried
on by Fukien men with the Indian Archipelago. But we may
venture much further back in the history of the town. Several
centuries ago, even before the Wong-poo river became a navigable
stream at all, there was a great mart established in this locality
on the banks of the present Soo-chow Creek, twenty-five miles
distant from the harbour in which we have just anchored. * The
topographical history of the district is fuU of records telling ofthe
physical changes to which the vast alluvial plain where Shanghai
stands has from time to time been subjected. Streams have
been silted up, new channels have spontaneously opened; and
yet, amid constant difficulties and never-ceasing alterations, the
ever-important trade of the place has been maintained within
* See the Shanghai Hein Chi.

ART DEALERS.

CHINESE COSTER.

SHANGHAI. 173
the same narrow area, where the annual floods of the Yang-
tsze-kiang deposit their alluvium on the margin of the ocean
and raise up new land out of its bed.
The political as well as the commercial and physical history
of this region is no less fuU of interest. In process of time
the old Wu-sung-kiang became unnavigable; and during the
thirteenth century, a settlement was founded on the present
site of Shanghai, to which trade was rapidly transferred by the
closing of the old waterway: finally, in A. D. 1544, the settle
ment was converted into a waUed city, as a defence against
the repeated attacks of the Japanese. These Japanese raids,
which date from A. D. 1361, when the Ming dynasty had just
come to the throne, were not confined to this quarter, but
distributed generally over the maritime provinces in the north.
The Japanese, time after time, proved more than a match for
their less warlike foes ; but the latter always managed, in the
long run, to prevent the daring invaders from obtaining a per
manent foothold upon their coveted shores. These Chinese
successes were sometimes secured by intrigue and diplomacy,
or by fair promises and bribes ; the slow-moving ponderosities
of Chinese warfare being only resorted to when all else had
failed. To illustrate these two methods of repelling an invading
force, I will relate the following story. In 1 543 when the Japanese
had spoUed and laid waste no small extent of the country
around Shanghai, the Chinese seeing that they were too feeble to
fight against their enemies with success, had recourse to intrigue.
Accordingly, the Governor-General of the province invited
the Japanese leaders, Thsu-hai, Cheng-tung, Ma-yeh, and
Wang-chen to come over to the side of the Chinese ; promis
ing them the rewards of high rank and untold treasure, if such
vaUant leaders would but join the Imperial standard. Tempted

174 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
by the offer, they presented themselves to arrange conditions,
and were forthwith seized, despatched to Peking and there put
to an ignominious death. On another occasion it is reported
that the Japanese came down upon their enemy with a fleet of
300 vessels; and after carrying aU before them, and plundering
to their hearts' content, they departed laden with their spoU;
the Chinese troops pursuing them valiantly out of the country
and making an imposing hostile demonstration on the shore as
they unfurled the sails of their ships.
As to the settlement itself, those of my readers who have
not visited China wUl feel interested in a brief description of
its appearance. The approach by the river almost looks like
that of any busy prosperous European seaport. There one
finds ships of all nations ; and, anchored in mid-channel, or
making their way to their moorings, a long line of ocean
steamers ; whUe steam-launches, bearing mails and despatches,
dart in and out among the crowd of native craft that are seen
around. Advancing further up the river, we pass rows of store
houses, foundries, dockyards and sheds. Next to these the
substantial buildings on the American concession ; and then a
fuU view opens before us of the pubUc garden and the impos
ing array of European offices which front the river on the
EngUsh concession ground. What surprised me most about this
settlement was the absence of anything temporary or unfinished
in the style of its buUdings, such as might remind one that the
place was, after aU, nothing more than a trading depot, planted
on hostUe and inhospitable shores, and sustained in its position
in spite of the envy which its appearance excited among the
rulers of the land. What pangs of regret and remorse ought
to be awakened among these proud unenlightened men, when,
in their moments, if any, of honest reflection, they cast their eyes

SHANGHAI. 175
upon this "Model Settlement," and perceive that a handful of
outer barbarians have, within the space of sixty years, done more
with the little quagmire that was grudgingly allotted to them,
than they themselves, with their highest efforts, have achieved
anywhere in their own wide Empire during all the untold cen
turies of its fame. As I have said already, there is a finish about
the whole settlement, a splendour and sumptuousness about its
buUdings, its wide roads and breathing spaces, its spacious
wharves and elegant warehouses, that stand as a solemn rebuke
to the niggardliness and grinding despotism which within the
adjoining native city have penned thousands of struggling beings
in the most temporary abodes; there to carry on a ceaseless
strife for existence, breathing the fetid air of narrow polluted
alleys, exposed to the constant risk of fearful conflagration and
the grim horrors of pestUence or famine.
Su-kwang-ki, or "Paul Su," celebrated as the pupU of Matthew
Ricci, the great Jesuit missionary of the sixteenth century, appears
to have been a man who mourned over the condition of his
country. He was a native of Shanghai, a scholar of great renown ;
and he not only aided Ricci in his translation of a number of
the books of Euclid, but left behind him many valuable original
works ; notably one on agriculture, which is still highly prized.
But although admitted by the Emperor Kia-tsing and his suc
cessor to be man of singular ability and foresight, his wise
counsels were disregarded, and he himself was repeatedly treated
with suspicion, due to the intrigues of jealous rivals. Accord
ingly his counsel was set aside, and his measures for the preser
vation and defence of the last Chinese dynasty were systematic
ally neglected. But to this day he occupies a shrine in one
of the temples of Shanghai, and there his fellow-townsmen pay
him reverent worship as a sort of divinely-inspired sage.

176 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
Most of my readers are aware that in spite of a host of
troubles (not the least of which was the Taiping rebellion, or
rather, I believe, the attack upon the city by the short-sword or
dagger rebels) Shanghai has continued to advance steadUy, and
has always maintained its position as the greatest emporium of
China. It must be at the same time borne in mind that this
commercial success is, in some measure at least, attributable to
the European customs' administration which was inaugurated
at this city in 1843, and which now extends its ramifications to
all the open ports of the Empire.
Some of my readers will naturally inquire whence the labour
came which transformed this dismal swamp into what I have
just described, and built houses there fit for any capital of
Europe and superior to some of the edifices that adorn our
own greatest ports. One might think that structures such as
these must have been reared by skilled workmen from Europe ;
but a very short residence in Shanghai suffices to undeceive us.
Then we mark the avidity with which native builders, carpenters
and mechanics of every sort compete with each other to win
the remunerative employment which those buildings afford, and
the facility with which they pick up the extended knowledge
needful to enable them to carry out their contracts and to
impart to their work that elegance and perfection which the
cultivated tastes of the foreign architect demand. But it is not
to these buUdings alone that we must look to discover the hidden
resources of Chinese toil. Visit the dockyards and foundries,
and there too watch the Chinese craftsmen — the shipwrights,
engineers, carpenters, painters and decorators, busily at work
under European foremen, who bear the highest testimony to the
capabilities of their men. Pass on next to the Kiang-nan arsenal,
outside the city walls, and there you will find perhaps the highest

SHANGHAI. 177
development of Chinese technical industry, in the manufacture
of rifles and field-guns and the construction of ships of war.
It is computed that in 1898 there will be established at
this port eighteen or twenty Chinese, Japanese and European
cotton mills, equipped with the best and most modern appHances
throughout. There are native mUls already in operation, and in
1895 capital to the extent of 38,000 taels was subscribed by
foreign joint-stock companies for the erection of four spinning
and weaving miUs. It wiU be gathered from this, and the cheap
efficient labour available for the industry, that the Chinese are
beginning to supply their own markets with a certain class of
cotton goods, and that ere long a large export trade will be
created in cotton fabrics suitable for commerce all over Eastern
Asia. The native cotton is of short staple, and the thread spun
only suitable for weaving the coarser fabrics of native wear.
The native walled city of Shanghai stands to the south of the
foreign settlement, and is separated from it by the French
concession ground, and by a canal which here sweeps round
and forms with Soo-chow Creek and the river a water boundary
for the entire English ground. The latter, on its western side,
supports a Chinese population of over 50,000 souls ; but inside
the walls of the Chinese city, in an area measuring little over
a mile long by three-fourths of a mile in breadth, and in a
densely crowded suburb on the water's edge close by, about
130,000 inhabitants reside.
Like all other Chinese towns, Shanghai has its tutelary deity,
upon whom the Emperor, as brother of the Sun, has conferred
an honorary title. This guardian of the fortunes of Shanghai
stands in the " Cheng-hwang-Miau " or " Temple of the City God, "
in the northern quarter of the town; and though he and his
shrine have from time to time been rudely overthrown, both,

178 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
after each disaster, have been reverently restored; and now he
may be seen looking out upon wide pleasure-grounds — in a more
or less dilapidated state, it is true — but still now and again
regaled with theatrical performances, and leading, for an idol, a
not altogether unenjoyable life. In the same spot are two drum-
towers, superintended by a number of inferior deities, and used
more especially to spread the alarm of fire, or to notify the
approach of a foe. Then there is the Confucian temple ; besides
a host of other Buddhist and Taoist sacred edifices, occupying
the best spaces of ground within a city where the miserable
population have too often scarcely breathing space.
Our route now lies away among the azalea-clad mountains in
the province of Che-kiang. But before re-embarking we must
have a parting glance at the streets of the "Model Settlement. "
There are no cabs ; but the residents, many of them, possess
private carriages. The substitute for the cab here is the wheel
barrow and Japanese jinricksha — very undignified sort of convey
ances, but nevertheless comfortable enough when one has once
grown accustomed to their use. Ahong procured me two of these
wheelbarrows from the nearest stand, and thus, with my two
boys, my baggage and "Spot," I set out for the Ningpo steamer.
There is not much risk of accidents in a steady-going vehicle
such as this. The coolie who propels it is neither skittish nor
given to shying, and the pace he puts on is never dangerous.
The Portuguese were established on the river Yang at the
beginning of the sixteenth century, and were finally massacred
by the natives in revenge for their barbarous conduct, according
to the Chinese account. These Portuguese were said about that
time to have joined with the Japanese in several of their raids
on the maritime provinces of China; and it wUl be remember
ed that, some fifty-six years ago, there was another massacre

NINGPO. 179
of Portuguese and ManUla men at this very same town. They
were then in some way implicated in the piracies of daily
occurrence in the China Sea at that time, and the general feeling
was that the retribution was not altogether undeserved. Another
disaster befel Ningpo in 1861, when it fell into the the hands
of the Taipings ; remaining in their possession for about six
months, when it was retaken for the ImperiaUsts by the English
and French war vessels, and since that time, like many other
Chinese cities, has been labouring on peacefully in an effort to
regain what it lost at the hands of the rebels and the Imperial
troops. It was daylight when we steamed up the Yang river ; and the
harsh outlines of the islands and of Chin-hai promontory close
by, were mellowed in the morning light. A great fleet of
fishing-boats bound seaward contributed to enliven the scene ;
and there were Fukien timber-junks, too, laden tiU they looked
like floating wood-yards, and labouring their way up stream. One
feature full of novelty was the endless array of ice-houses lining
the banks of the river for miles and presenting the appearance
of an encampment of troops. These ice-houses, or ice-pits, are
thatched over with straw, and the ice is used to preserve fresh
fish during the summer months.
There is a small foreign community on the banks of the Yang
of different nationalities, including the missionary body. The
native city is a walled enclosure, somewhat larger than that at
Shanghai, and with nearly double its population ; but as for the
foreign trade of the place, it has never been very important,
in spite of the proximity of Hang-chow-fu, the capital of the
province, which the great Venetian, when he passed through
it, described as an Eastern Paradise.
Among the chief attractions of Ningpo are the Fukien guild-

l8o THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
haU, the " Tien-how-kung, " as it is called, or "Temple ofthe Queen
of Heaven ' ' ; one of the finest buildings of the kind in China.
Indeed it is only the temples, the yamens and the houses of
the rich— the latter, outside the official ranks, few and far be
tween when one considers the vastness of the population — that
possess any noteworthy architectural features in the country.
The comfortable, elegant and tasteful abodes of the middle classes,
which adorn the suburbs round our cities at home, are conspic
uous by their absence in the "Flowery Land." In this town
I met the remnant of that " ever-victorious army " which achieved
so many triumphs. Now, "after much turmoU, " these warriors
rest from their labours, and form the Ningpo city guard, a small
compact body of native troops under two English officers, well
drilled, well cared for and well paid. This, I fear, is more than
can be said of a large portion of the Chinese forces under arms.
At any rate they are not all well, and but few of them regul
arly paid. Notwithstanding this the condition of the Chinese
soldiers is perhaps better than it has been in former years ; and I
believe that, were the Imperial Government obhged to make an
effort, they might turn out an army better equipped than is
generally supposed ; although at the same time any force the Chinese
might thus muster would be wofuUy deficient in the discipline,
organisation and science, required in coping with the machine
like masses that are placed upon the modern battle-fields of
Europe. These are the impressions I gathered from actual obser
vation of bodies of men encamped and under review in China.
1 think that a Chinaman who has received an English education
of a not very high-class sort, might try to put a letter together
in pure EngUsh with just about as much success as his govern
ment, with the knowledge they at present possess of the science
of modern warfare, to send a thoroughly efficient army to face

CHINESE ENGLISH. iSl
foreign troops. I cannot indeed march a regiment of Chinese
before my reader for review, but of their shortcomings in Eu
ropean literary composition I will give an actual sample. An
Englishman had occasion to send a note to his doctor s native
assistant, and here, in facsimile, is the reply :
"Dear Sir, — I not know this things. Dr. — no came Thursday.
More better you ask he supose you what Fashtion thing can
tell me know I can send to you. "Yours truly, "HANG SIN."
Now in the foregoing we have a very fine specimen of the
sort of results achieved by Chinamen who flatter themselves
that they can write English. There are a tardily increasing num
ber of well-educated natives to whom this remark does not apply.
They have learnt the letters, and something of the syntax and
grammar, but not enough to be of value to them ; and so it
is with the Chinese soldier of to-day. He possesses occasionally
the right weapons, but he lacks the knowledge essential to
make use of them effectively, and the perfect discipline which
alone can unite him to his feUows on the field, as an important
unit in a compact and well-organised mass.
On April 4th I left Ningpo for Snowy Valley, in a native
boat which I hired to take me up stream to Kong-kai. It was
close on midnight when we started from Ningpo wharf, and we
hoped to reach Kong-kai village by about 9 or 10 a. m. next
day. In the end we reached Kong-kai within the allotted time.
My party consisted of my two China boys, and four Ningpo
coolies engaged to transport my baggage to the hills. Our path
lay across fields of bean and rape, now in full bloom and exhal
ing a deUghtful fragrance, which contrasted strikingly with the
morning whiffs from the manure-bestrewed fields, which com-

1 82 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
monly salute the wanderer in China. Everything hereabouts
shone with freshness and beauty, and it was evident that we
must have landed in a real paradise of cultivation.
There lay the village in front of us, nestling cosUy amid the
trees ! And as we marched along I pictured to myself a quiet,
rustic hamlet, such as we encounter in our English counties.
But notwithstanding the natural beauty of the situation, Kong-kai
was disappointing. No perfume of rose or honeysuckle greeted
us as we approached, no rustic cots, no healthy, blooming
chUdren, not even the fondly-expected sturdy vUlager were among
what was to be seen here.
At this place we procured mountain-chairs for an eighteen
miles' journey to the monastery of Tien-tang. The chair-bearers
looked worn and feeble, but as I walked a good deal they were
not over-fatigued. One or two of the hamlets which we passed
on the road were much more attractive than Kong-kai ; and indeed
the people seemed to improve in condition the further we
advanced inland. Near the hUls the women and chUdren adorn
their raven tresses with the bright flower of the azalea— a plant
found in great profusion in the highlands of the locality. The
halting-places were little wayside temples, and in one of these
I met two old women, the priestesses of the shrine. Most hag
gard, ill-favoured crones were they, and it was with grave fore
bodings that I aUowed them to prepare my repast.
The bearers rested as often as they possibly could, and spent
their money and their leisure in gambling among themselves
or with wayside hawkers. Some of the small temples hereabouts
differed from any which I had seen in China, having their outer
porches adorned with two or three well-modelled life-size figures
in the costume which appeared to be that of the ancient lictors
of the Ming dynasty. But the idols within were invariably the

WAYSIDE GAMBLING.

THE MONASTERY OF THE SNOWY CREVICE. 183
same, the ordinary Triad of the Buddhist mythology. Each
shady nook about these shrines was the resort and at times the
sleeping-place of wayfarers; and there too vendors of fruit and
other provisions had set up their stalls, ready either to seU the
traveller his daily food, or to gamble with him for it, if he
preferred that plan. The wandering minstrel and the story-teller
were not absent from the scene, beguUing the mid-day repast
with quaint ballads or with some tale from the stores which
the folklore of the country has to supply. At one of these
halting-places, while the coolies were tossing dice with an aged
hawker, a Chinese pedlar laid down his burden for a rest. He
had been carrying two baskets slung on a pole, and from these
there issued such an incessant pattering and ceaseless chirping,
that my curiosity induced me to open one of them and have a
look inside. There I found about a hundred fluffy little ducklings,
all of an age, flapping their rudimentary wings and opening
their capacious mouths, clamorous for food. They were of our
friend's own hatching and but one or two days old. Hatching
poultry by artificial heat has reached great perfection in China.
The plain which we were crossing was dotted with little
grave-mounds crowned with shrubs. And here and there a
farm-house could be seen peeping out amid the groves, or a
haystack clinging round the trunk of a tree and propped six
feet clear above the ground.
The ascent to the monastery of the "Snowy Crevice " afforded
a succession of the finest views to be met with in the province
of Cheh-kiang. The azaleas, for which this place is celebrated,
were now in full bloom, mantling the hills and valleys with
rosy hues, and throwing out their blossoms in clusters of
surprising brUliancy against the deep green foliage which bound
the edges of the path. The mountains themselves were tossed

1 84 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
in wild disorder, swelling into richly-wooded knolls, or rising
in cliffs and beetling crags. As the day declined the hills
seemed to melt and merge into the fiery clouds; deep shadows
shot across the path, swallowing up the woody chasms and
warning us that night was near at hand. Darkness had already
set in before we arrived at our destination. "Spot", my dog,
had proceeded on, and his appearance had brought out a
venerable bonze, who, almost without question, suspended the
evening reckoning of his sins on his rosary, and lit us to our
quarters in a large block of buildings behind. The apartment
assigned to us was a plastered, white-washed chamber buUt out
of pine wood, and containing a magnificent hardwood bed. After
intimating that foreign wine was much better than any of his
country's liquors, our old guide took his leave. We were not long,
however, in finding our way to the kitchen for ourselves, and
there the boys kindled a fire, while I smoked with the monks.
The monastery of the "Snowy Crevice" reposes far from the
haunts of men and the tumult of cities, in a broad, fertile
valley, part of the imperial patrimony upon which its members
subsist. It has of course a miraculous history, and, like many
similar establishments, is popularly supposed to be extremely
ancient. One of the stories connected with the place is that,
in 1264 A.D., the Emperor Li- tang dreamed a dream about the
temple, and named it accordingly "The famous Hall of Dreams. "
This formed one of the most important events in its annals,
for the dream was followed by substantial gifts. There is
another legend which tells us of an anchorite, and of an Emperor
who essayed in vain to slay the Holy Man. At last the
monarch fell down and worshipped the priest, for he had never
before come across a being whom he could not slay. This
Emperor was distinguished for his wise rule, and had just put

THE THOUSAND-FATHOM PRECIPICE. 1 85
a mUHon of the common sort of his subjects to death; but he
was, at that time, athirst for some victim of rarer eminence and
sanctity than any of those whom he had already brought to
their end. He died at last a pious priest, and left some suitable
gifts behind him. Something like this is not unknown even at
the present time. There are monks, I am told, in those places,
who have passed their lives in crime, and who find it expedient
to retire to these choice retreats (making them places of refuge,
like the temples of the ancient Jews and Greeks) to die
pleasantly chanting "Omita-Foh!"
Such holy ones, rescued from the grasp of justice and the jaws of
the pit, take good care, nevertheless, to live as long as they can.
Some Buddhists are doubtless sincere, if judged by the laws of
their own faith ; and many of them, whom I came across, I found
hospitable and kind to strangers. They seldom failed, however,
to let me know if the presents I chanced to give them were not
quite equal to those which other visitors had bestowed.
EarLy next morning a mute and aged monk conducted me to
view the "Thousand-fathom Precipice." A heavy cloud was
hanging like a pall over the scene as I followed the guide along
a mountain path. At length we reached a summit that stood
out bold and clear, though still wet with vapoury rain ; and
there, in a smaU rest-house, perched upon one of the rocks, we
sat down to listen to the roar of the fall and the foaming torrent
beneath. The monk next led me to where, clinging to a tree,
I could lean over the edge of the precipice and get a look
right down into the abyss; but there was nothing to be made
out save a sea of mist, through which the deafening roar
of the waters could be heard as they leapt from rock to rock
in their descent to the valley more than 1,000 feet below. The
sun gradually shone out, and by its aid we descended to the

1 86 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
foot of the faU through a steep shady path, and secured some
pictures of the scenery. The cataract takes a leap of about 500
feet and then gushes downwards over the cliffs and edges like
the graceful folds of a bridal veU; whUe the variously coloured
rocks are covered with ferns and flowering shrubs.
It was interesting to watch the monks at their refections ;
and this we contrived to do without being noticed ourselves. We
found them as a rule particular in observing those rules of Buddhism,
by which the external semblance of cleanliness is enforced. *
The following are some of the laws which regulate diet: —
"The dinner of a priest consists of seven measures of rice
mixed with flour, the tenth of a cubit of pastry, and nearly the
same weight of bread. To eat more is cupidity, to eat less is
parsimony; to eat vegetables of any kind besides these dishes
is not permitted. ' '
The last injunction is by no means commonly followed in China: —
" Then the priest shall offer to the good and bad spirits, and
repeat five prayers. He must not speak about his dinner, nor
steal food like a dog, nor scratch his head, nor breathe in his
neighbour 's face, nor speak with his mouth fuU, nor laugh, nor
joke, nor smack in eating; and if he should happen to find an
insect in his food he must conceal it so as not to create doubt
in the minds of others. "
There are a host of other very good rules laid down for his
guidance ; but their general tendency when observed is to make
a monk 's dinner a most solemn and most unsocial event. When
we look through the Buddhist laws and precepts, we find them
so minute and so wide-reaching, that they hedge the priest

* Laws and Regulations of ihe Priesthood of Buddha, in China. Trans.
by C. F. Newmann.

HANKOW. 187
completely around, shutting him out from the gratification of
his most natural desires and rendering it indeed uncertain
whether any perfectly devout and faithful Buddhists can possibly
exist in China.
The return voyage to Ningpo and Shanghai I must pass by
unrecorded, that I may hurry forward to describe my journey
up the Yangtsze river to Sze-chuan.
Having dined with a literary friend in Shanghai, I returned to
the hotel towards midnight and there found my boys with every
thing in readiness, and a gang of coolies waiting to bear our
baggage on board the "Fusiyama, " which was getting up steam
for Hankow. It was a bitter night, and the scene was as dark
and gloomy as the wind was cold. The lamps blinked and shiv
ered as the blast swept by. The bund was deserted ; only some
stray woman would now and again emerge from the darkness,
and then be swallowed up once more, like a sinful victim in
the jaws of night. We soon passed on to the "Fusiyama," across
the floating landing-stage alongside of which she was moored.
She was a fine steamer, although by no means the finest among
the S. S. N. Go's fleet.
Reserving what I may have to say about Nanking and the
ports on the lower Yangtsze, I wiU transport the reader at once
about 600 miles higher up — to Hankow, the furthest point on the
Yangtsze river to which steam navigation had at that time been
carried. Hankow holds an important position at the confluence
of the rivers Han and Yangtsze. The ancient name of the Han
river was the Mien, and its course, as well as the point at which
it joins the Yangtsze, have been subjected to frequent change.
It was only in the last decade of the fifteenth century that the
river created its present channel, and at the same time the
advantageous site, to which Hankow owes no little portion of

1 88 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
her prosperity. The early trade of the district was confined to
Hanyang, a place described as a flourishing port at the remote
period treated of in the "History of the Three States. " Hanyang
is now chiefly taken up with official residences, though its
suburbs are still the resort of a considerable native trade.
Hankow flourished under the rule of the Mings, and does not
seem to have suffered greatly during the disasters which attended
their fall. It was then known as the great mart, in fact the
commercial centre of the Empire, and was the resort of traders
from the furthest north, and from the southernmost provinces
Kiang-su and Yunan. Most of the provinces indeed were
represented there by guUds, whose haUs are stUl famous for
their size and decoration. During Kien-loong's time the pros
perity of Hankow continued to advance until the disastrous
epoch of the Taiping rebellion. Then the decay was as rapid
as the ruin was complete; and finally, in 1855, the whole city
was burned to the ground.
After the Taipings had been expelled from Hupeh, Hankow
rose once more out of its ashes, and in 1861 the final arrange
ments for a concession of land to the British Crown were
carried into effect. The hoisting of the English colours was foUow
ed at once by a splendid settlement, erected on a very unfor
tunate site. The land was bought up in small lots at 2,500
taels each, and enormous sums were squandered before it was
discovered that the spot chosen for a foreign settlement was
exposed to constant inundations of the most destructive kind.
Thus, in the year before my arrival, the flood, which is
always looked forward to as the event of the season, bestowed
its fertilising favours with no grudging hand; and indeed there
was no foretelling to what height the waters, which had already
swept away entire suburbs from the cities higher up stream.

HANKOW. 1 89
might deluge the vicinity of Hankow. WeU, first of all, it rose
slowly until it had submerged its banks ; thence it made excur
sions along the outlying streets ; crept up like a silent foe till
it had breasted the fortifications ; and finally made the captured
settlement over to a sort of watery sack. The inhabitants
retreated to their garret fastnesses, while pigs, poultry, and
even cattle were sheltered in boats, or found refuge in the
bedrooms on the upper floors. At any rate it was a convenience
to " PaterfamUias " to have his milk-cow next door to his nur
sery, and chanticleer perched upon a friendly bedpost to screech
the approach of day. But when the novelty of these domestic
arrangements had worn off, and when the richly-papered walls
began to weep through a lacework of fungus, and the limbs of
the polished furniture to show symptoms of dissolution; when
silken hangings grew mildewed and pale, and the boundary walls
tottered and sunk with a dull splash into the red stream, the
insecurity of the position pressed heavily upon the despondent
inhabitants. The halls and staircases became docks and landing-
stages where visitors might disembark, and a dining or drawing-
room made a much better plunge-bath than one could have
imagined. Bachelors, too, while they indulged in a morning
swim, could caU at the bank to enquire the rate of exchange,
or dive to their breakfast beneath the doorway of some hospit
able friend. At length the water reached its height; and then
to the relief of all began slowly to recede. It is apprehended
that but for a back wall (erected originally by the Chinese
Government at a cost of ^^80,000, as a protection against organ
ised raids from the banditti of the plain) which acted as a
breakwater, the entire settlement might have been swept into
the Yangtsze by the strong reflux currents from the Han.
The business at Hankow has never come near the anticipations

I90 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
of the Europeans who flocked thither when the place was opened ;
but, nevertheless, as the centre of the districts which produce
the Congou teas, it must always secure a very important share
of foreign commerce. The total value of the trade in foreign
shipping was reported to be about 14,000,000 taels in 1871,
while in 1873 it appears to have fallen off; but this was owing
to a sort of commercial stagnation which has been felt all over
China. In 1895 it stood at 44,507,502 taels.
The Taotai of Hankow, Ti-ming-chih, who furnished me with
a passport for the upper Yangtsze, and whom I had twice the
pleasure of meeting, had been born in the province ofKiangsu,
and commenced his official career at the age of thirty, by an
appointment to a modest clerkship. From this his abilities
advanced him step by step, untU he attained his present position,
where he earned a high reputation by his just, mild and in
telligent rule.
Woochang city, on the opposite bank of the river presents
a picturesque appearance, due partly to the elevated ground on
which it stands and partly to its celebrated tower, which tradition
reports to have been first set up there 1,300 years ago. This
tower was overthrown by the foUowers of the " Heavenly King "
during the Taiping rebelHon, and after an interval of about
fifteen years rebuUt and finished. It is quite unlike the ordinary
Chinese pagoda, and from its peculiar design runs no risk of
ever being mistaken for any other monument.
During the journey to the upper Yangtsze, which I now pro
pose to describe, I had two American gentlemen for my com
panions. Two native boats were secured, and we engaged them
to carry us to Ichang. Into the smaller of these craft we stowed
the cook and servants, reserving the larger one for our baggage
and ourselves. Our boat was divided into three compartments

YANGTSZE BOATMEN. 191
with well-carved bulkheads between. The fore-cabin was taken
up by a boy to wait on us, and by our newly-appointed Chinese
secretary — Chang. This secretary was a small compact man,
fuU of Chinese lore and self-satisfied complacency. The " central
state" room was our own, whUe Captain Wang and his wife
found shelter in the after-cabin. Besides this there was an ample
hold, which contained our baggage, our provisions and our crew.
We left Hankow about mid-day, but as there was no wind,
we had to pole our way through thousands of native boats,
and anchor for the night at Ta-tuen-shan, only ten mUes
above the town. A hard frost set in during the evening, and
it seemed quite impossible to keep the intense cold out of our
quarters. To make matters worse, the skipper and his spouse
smoked stale tobacco half through the night, and the fumes came
through the bulkhead and filled my sleeping-bunk. Next day
we set to work with paper and paste to cure both evils by
patching up every crevice and by fixing up a stove which had
been lent us by friends for the voyage. These preparations
were a source of disquietude to Mrs. Wang, who turned out
to be a tartar more desperate even than the lady of the Min.
The boatmen were a miserably poor lot. They neither changed
their clothes nor washed their bodies during the entire trip :
and "Why should they.?" said Chang the secretary ; theycould
only change their garments with one another. They have but
a single suit apiece, and that, too, some of them only loan for
the winter months. Their clothes were padded with cotton and
formed their habiliments by day and their bedding by night.
Poor souls ! how they crept together, and huddled into the hold !
and what an odour arose from their retreat in the morning, for
they had smoked themselves to sleep with tobacco, or those
of them who could afford it, with opium. It was always a

192 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
difficult matter to get them up and out on deck to face the
cold. I confess 1 never cared to be the first to Hft the hatch.
But the voice of Mrs. Wang was equal to the occasion. She
shook those sluggards from their rest with her strident tones;
she stamped in her cabin and "slung slang" at them like the
foulest missUes. At last, about seven o'clock, they might be
seen unwillingly turning to and hauling up the anchor, not more
slow-moving than themselves. As it happened, we had a fair
wind and made a good day's run, but the iron stove seemed
to be a failure, or at any rate our coal would not burn. It
took us half a day of hard work to turn "Farmer's Bend,"
although one might easily walk across the neck of land which
divides the two extremities of the curve, in a quarter of an
hour. A canal cut across would be a great saving in the river
navigation. We noticed many timber rafts from the Tung-Ting
lake, looking like floating vUlages, and indeed they are neither
more nor less than hamlets. Each on its substructure of timber
supported two rows of huts, and in these dwelt the little colonies
of Chinamen who had invested their time, labour and small capital
in the trade. When the rafts reach Hankow, these huts are lifted
off and placed on the river's bank; the owners residing inside
them tUl all their wood has been disposed of. When steamers
are seen thus far up the Yangtsze river (46 miles above Hankow)
experienced pilots would be required, especially at this season
when the water is at its lowest, and it might perhaps be neces
sary even, to survey the stream annually, for its channel tends
constantly to shift. Steam navigation is now carried beyond — to
Ichang, at the entrance to the Gorges of the upper Yangoge.
At Paitsow, where we anchored for the night, we found men
manufacturing bamboo cables. They had no rope-walks, but
only high temporary-looking scaffoldings, with some men above

OUR NATIVE HOUSE BOAT — UPPER YANGTSZE.

MRS. WANG. 193
and others below, making and twisting th>i thick strands.
Next morning the skipper's wife and the crew got through a
good deal of bad language between them before we made a
start. The conversation was a shriU-toned one, and alternated
between Mrs. Wang in her cabin at one end of the boat and
the crew in the hold at the other. The latter objected to turn
out until their captain was at his post. This difficulty the
gentle wife settled ultimately by kicking her husband out of bed
on to the deck, hurling torrents of abuse at his unhappy head
and supplementing those delicate attentions by a plentiful supply
of cooking utensUs. Let the reader imagine himself afloat in
such a vessel as I have described, with such a crew, on a river
red like the soU through which it flows, and from half a mile
to a league in breadth; let him conceive himself ascending the
stream between low level monotonous clay walls ; he will then
have a picture of our craft and our surroundings for many
days as we pursued our voyage up to the Gorges. We break
fasted and dined, anchored and slept, surveying the river as
weU as we could, and here and there marking out sundry sand
banks and other barriers to commerce, formed since the one
and only chart of the river had been made.
We had chosen our opportunity weU. There can be no
better time for examining the features of a river than when it
is at its lowest, and the Yangtsze was now running far below
its banks, which in summer are completely submerged. But
our careful soundings, our notes of bearings and our chart-
projecting need find no record here. Their very sameness grew
wearisome at last ; but, as for our secretary, he would have
been quite willing to sail on until he had digested the whole
of the ancient classics, drinking our wine and smoking our
cheroots as frequently as they were offered. He had marvellous 13

194 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
raiment — Chang. A padded robe of classic cut, with sleeves
reaching down to his knees, and a collar that stood up like a
fortress, around his neck. When in a corner, seated at study,
he looked like a huge bolster surmounted by a tiny cap. He
would remain in this posture for hours, with his eyes closed,
and audibly rehearsing whole books of classic lore ; but he had
also a good deal of accurate information about the country, and
was extremely polite in his manner, and willing to make him
self useful. It was a mistake having two boats; their unequal
sailing powers caused grievous delay — delays which the servants
and cook readily turned to account in explaining all sorts of
shortcomings, and which contributed greatly to the leisure and
enjoyment of the crews who were paid by the day. On the
23rd we passed the point where the Ta-Kiang — or great
river — is joined by the stream from the Tung-Ting lake. At
this place there were abundant evidences of considerable trade
in the fleets of boats we continually passed. The river, in some
of the long reaches hereabouts, would be dangerous for steam
navigation, at any rate during the months when the banks are
submerged. Hence suitable landmarks would have to be erected,
as not a single tree, shrub, or knoll, can at such times be seen
for many miles around. All the shoals at this (the winter) season
are well defined, and, with the exception of two reefs of rocks
which stand weU clear of the water, consist of soft mud and
sand, and occur just at bends, where anyone accustomed to
river navigation would expect to find them. Wherever the
current struck upon the clay, a good channel was almost
invariably to be found.
On the 24th we aScended a small rapid which ran about five
knots, and were detained by a snow-storm for about six hours.
The little hamlets we passed, or anchored at, day after day.

THE UPPER YANGTSZE. 1 95
were temporary, miserable-looking settlements, conveying the
idea of a thinly peopled country; and the inhabitants wore the
poverty-stricken look only too common in other parts of China.
We have walked over the country, and along the banks, for
nearly half a day without encountering a single individual. At
many places the river had undermined the banks, and these were
falling in great blocks eight or ten feet wide ; and there was
one point where we noticed that the stream was cutting out
the heart of an old settlement, for there were foundations of
houses exposed, and many coffins protruding from the bank.
On the 27th we reached Shang-chai-wan, and remarked that
the banks in front of an old pagoda there, had been carefully
faced up with stones. Thus a useful sort of landmark was well
protected from the inroads of the stream, while the houses were
left to be swept away as the bank fell in.
This viUage indicated some slight degree of prosperity and
presented a pretty winter's scene. There was no one astir, not
a footprint stained the white mantle in which the soil was wrapt ;
only on one level patch the leaves of a winter crop shot up in
rows, and formed a pale green pattern on a snowy ground.
A little further on was the town of Shang-chai-wan, where
our boys went ashore and spent half a day in a vain search for
coal. Then the crew had to be hunted up aU over the place,
and one by one the men dropped in, each with as much sam-shu
as he could hold inside him, or else stupified with opium. Capt.
Wang we found in a filthy alley, enjoying the nectar of a grog
shop, amid a group of natives who were civU enough. Few of
them had ever set eyes upon a genuine white man before, and
aU made numerous good-natured enquiries about our relations
and our clothes ; one old man even suggested that our faces
and hands had only acquired a pale colour through the use of

196 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
some wonderful cosmetic, and that our bodies were black. I
bared my arm to refute this calumny, and its white skin was
touched by many a rough finger, and awoke universal admiration.
Not knowing exactly what our barbarous views of decency
might be, we were kindly recommended by an unwashed, but
polished member of the community not to gratify vulgar curi
osity by stripping entirely, as we had already completely
satisfied the more intelligent members of the crowd.
The reader can easily gather from such incidents as these
what depraved notions some of the Chinese must entertain about
ourselves and our customs. They always seem to feel that we
have a great deal to learn ; the merest coolie, if he be a kindly-
disposed person, wUl readily place his knowledge at our ser
vice and put us in the way of picking up something of
Chinese civUisation. I have in my possession one of the valua
ble works upon which this popular belief is fed. It is a sort
of ethnological treatise, written down to the limited comprehen
sion of facts and to the inordinate craving for fable which
characterise the lower classes among this highly superstitious
nation. The author gravely describes races of men, who, like
ourselves, live on the outer edges of the world, that is outside
the benign influence of Chinese rule. Some are very hairy men
clothed with leaves; others hop about on [one leg; while others
again are adorned with the claws of birds. There is one very
singular tribe indeed. These have only a single huge eye in the
forehead, whUe the women carry a multitude of breasts. There
are men too with big holes through their bodies above the
region of the heart, so that they may be spitted like herrings,
or carried about on poles ; and lastly there is one community
more gifted still, for they can fly through the air with wings.
It was at this place that our writer Chang, who said he was

SHI-SHOW-HIEN. 197
suffering from cold, despatched one of the boatmen ashore to
buy a bottle of sam-shu. The trust which he displayed in the
integrity of the messenger was no less marvellous than touching.
"I do not know how much there is here," said he, as he
placed his purse in the boatman's hands ; " but take what you
require and put back the rest. " Just before, however, I had
noticed the crafty rogue carefully count the cash in this very
purse, which, as it turned out, contained no more than exactly
sufficient for the purchase.
On the 29th, when passing a customs' station, we were
pursued and overtaken by a fiery official, who came on board,
received a cigar and a glass of wine and went away greatly
impressed with our respectability. We also saUed by a large
cotton-junk lying wrecked on the bank, and a second one
which had run aground where the water was deeper, and whose
owners were now living in a mud hole, waiting tiU the river
should rise high enough to float their craft.
At Shi-show-hien we bought a quantity of fish; among them
was one described by Captain Blakiston, which carries a sword
above its wide toothless mouth. This sword it is said to use
for boring into the soft mud to dislodge the tiny fish, which
thereupon rush for shelter down its dark capacious throat. The
stomach of the specimen we purchased, contained one or two of
these half-digested mud-fish. Its colour, from the spine half-way
down to the beUy, was dark blue or slate ; the beUy was white ; the
taU and fins were white and red. Length from point of sword
to tip of taU, 4 feet 2 inches; length of sword, 14 inches.
Shi-show-hien was formerly held by the Taiping rebels. Here
they built a fortress, whose ruins may stiU be seen. We were
now within sight of the hiU ranges in the province of Hunan, and
on one hUl close at hand stood a temple called the Ti-tai-shan,

198 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
which forms a striking land-mark for river navigation. The
changes which have taken place since our Admiralty chart was
laid down renders that map comparatively useless, both for this
and other parts of the river, at any rate when the waters are low.
Shasze stands on the left bank of the Yangtsze river, which
is here more than a mUe and a half broad, with a deep roomy
channel ; and we may gather from the crowd of native shipping
that lies anchored off the town or close to its fine stone
embankment, that we have reached an important centre of trade.
This embankment terminates at its upper end in a sort of bul
wark, crowned with the finest pagoda to be found anywhere
along this river. Immense labour has been bestowed in fortifying
this site against the undermining influence of the current ; and
the town is placed at such an angle on the stream, that the
action of the water always keeps a clear channel close to its
strong stone-retaining wall. Stone is freely used in this part of
the upper Yangtsze, and is readily obtainable in unlimited
supplies in the gorges above the town. At Shasze, landing-
stages for steamers might be made at almost any part of the
bank; whUe there are splendid sites for a foreign settlement
on the hiUs across the stream.
Coal abounds in Hunan and Szechuan, and yet we found it
difficult to procure. In the former province it is worked at
two places only — Tsang-yang-hien and Pa-tung-hien, and there
to an extremely limited degree ; but in Szechuan there is a good
deal more coal-mining going on. The coal is of good quality,
in every way suitable for steam purposes — at least the samples
which we collected were excellent.
We arrived on February 3rd at the town of Kiang-kow.
Here the men struck work, as they wished to go ashore for
what they caUed rice, but which Chang interpreted as wine.

A MUTINY. 199
We offered to supply them with rice; but that they would not
accept, demanding an advance of money and leave of absence
to spend it. This we steadfastly refused to concede, and
threatened to cut off their captain's pay unless he brought his
men to terms. The mutineers next hauled in the saUs and sat
themselves down for a smoke ; but in about an hour, seeing
no prospect of our yielding, the skipper consulted his sweet spouse,
and then forthwith ordered the men to turn to, under penalty
of letting the wife of his bosom loose on them. This prospect
produced such a powerful effect on the men that they instantly
resumed their work.
We were now fairly entering the mountainous region, and
quitting the great alluvial plain that stretches hundreds ofmUes
southward to the sea. We could just see the " Mountains of the
Seven Gates" towering in dark masses above the horizon, as
the evening closed in upon us and we cast anchor for the night.
Our skipper determined to serve us out for our obstinacy. He
assured us that the place was infested with pirates, and that it
would be necessary to keep an armed watch all night. Perhaps
he feared his men, who were certainly a dare-devU-looking set.
We noticed men fishing with trained otters on this part of
the river. There were a number of boats, and each boat was
furnished with an otter tied to a cord. The animal was thrust
into the water and remained there until it had secured a fish;
then it was hauled up, and the fisherman, placing his foot upon
its taU, stamped vigorously untU it had dropped its finny prey.
We passed two prosperous-looking little towns, Po-yang and
Chi-kiang; and on the morning of February 5 th were saUing be
neath bold rocky bluffs backed by a chaos of fantastic mountain
peaks. Here, on the highest pinnacle, a Buddhist monastery
was perched, not far from the brink of the river. It was fronted

200 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
by a precipice of 600 feet, and looked quite inaccessible at its
altitude of more than 1,200 feet above the stream. But after
all, to scale this stony height and to rear a shrine amid the
clouds, although a wonderful achievement in its way, sinks into
insignificance when compared with the task of self-subjection
daily set before each inmate of the cloister, who, even in such
a retreat as this, removed as far as it well can be from the
haunts of men, finds the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life
too strong to be effectually subdued. Many of the Buddhist
monastic estabUshments in China, as we have already seen, are
planted in most romantic and lovely spots ; and in the one now
before us we found no exception to the rule.
On the same day, at noon or a little after, we anchored at
Ichang. This city is one of considerable commercial importance,
and as it stands at the entrance of the Gorges, it is the highest
point to which steam navigation can be carried until these rocky
defiles, which extend for upwards of 100 miles beyond it, shaH
have been thoroughly surveyed, and some obstacles removed,
which render the navigation there by far the most dangerous
on the rivers of China. Ichang is now open to foreign trade,
and is the present limit of steam navigation on the river.
I must here refer the reader to the Imperial Maritime Customs'
Reports for 1895, for information regarding the trade of Ichang.
At present, foreign goods are distributed from this port through the
surrounding provinces, while the rich plains of Hupeh, besides
the usual cereal crops — beans, mUlet, rice and rape — produce
yeUow silk, tung-oil and opium ; the latter in small quantities,
although it is raised more plentifully in Szechuan and Yunnan.
The town of Ichang sweeps in a crescent-shape round a bend
on the left bank of the river, and is divided into two halves by
a canal. The one half occupies high land, while the other is on

IN THE GORGES. 20I
lower ground, and comprises a large suburb which suffered
severely in the flood of 1870, but has since been rebuilt. In
the afternoon we were the spectators of a naval review. Six
small gun-boats, each mounting a six-pound gun at the bow,
were drawn up in line and fired their cannon at irregular inter
vals. I say irregular, because some of the artUlery refused to
go off at all ; and when the sham fight was all over, we could
hear them discharging themselves during the night. The boats
were small, and had each about forty rowers on board. When
the review was over, the admiral landed and rode off on a
gaUy-caparisoned pony, followed by his retainers.
At Ichang we had to hire a large rapid-boat to make the
ascent of the Gorges, and we left our saUing vessels to await
our return. Before we started a cock was sacrificed to the river
goddess ; its blood and feathers were sprinkled on the bow,
while a libation was poured upon the water. We had a crew of
twenty-four men at the sweeps, who worked to the tune of
a shriU piping song, or rather yeU, and under their exertions it
was not long before Ichang had been passed and the mouth of
the first gorge was before us. Here the river narrows from half
a mUe to a few hundred yards across, and pours through the
rocky defile with a velocity that makes it difficult to enter.
The hUls rose on each side from 500 to 2,500 feet in height,
presenting two irregular stone walls to the river, each worn and
furrowed with the floods of ages, and showing some well-defined
water-markings IOO feet above the winter stream, up which we
were now toiling on our way. The further we entered the
gorges the more desolate and dark became the scene; the
narrow barren defile presenting a striking contrast to the wide
cultivated plains through which we had been making our way
from the sea, for more then 1,000 miles.

202 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
The only inhabitants of this region appeared to be a few
fishermen, who prosecuted their avocation among the rocks ;
while their rude huts could be seen perched high in inaccessible-
looking nooks and crannies among the mountains above. Huts,
indeed, they could hardly be caUed ; at least those of them
which we visited were either natural caves, or holes scooped
out beneath the sheltering rocks, and closed in with what
resembled the front of an ordinary straw-thatched cottage.
These smoke-begrimed abodes called to my mind the ancient
cave-dwellings which sheltered our forefathers at Wemyss Bay
in Scotland. The interiors were dark and gloomy, the clay
floors cold and covered with fishbones and refuse, while a dull
light glimmering from a taper in a recess in the rocks, revealed
at once the grim features of a smaU idol and the few and
simple articles of furniture that made up the property of the
inmates. A residence of this sort, with aU it contains, might
be fitted up at an original cost of probably one pound sterling;
and yet it was in such places that we found the frugality and
industry of the Chinese most conspicuously displayed; for out
side the caves, wherever there was a little soU on the face of
the rocks, it had been scraped together and planted with vege
tables, which were made to contribute to the domestic economy
of the inhabitants. This was indeed taking bread out of a
stone! Further on we found a number of men engaged in
quarrying the stone, and in forming river embankments. The
stream in many places heieabouts had undermined the limestone
formation of the rocks, so that the softer portions had been
washed away, and a series of grotesque flint pillars were left,
supporting the upper strata which towered above our heads in
precipices of a thousand feet. In other places the rocks looked
like the high walls and ramparts of a fortress, or the battle-

My native Boat, Upper Yangtsze.

THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. 203
ments and towers of a citadel. The inhabitants of this sterile
region must have a severe struggle for existence, but they are
a hardy and independent race, scorning the mendicant tricks of
their more abject fellow-countrymen in the plains. Thus I
only feU in with a single beggar in these mountain passes. Our
men slept on deck in the open air, and I was always afraid
lest I should find some of them dead in the morning, for the
cold was intense during the night. But they huddled themselves
together beneath the awning of matting, and thus managed to
keep the night air from freezing their blood. Near the upper
end of the gorge the huts were of a better class ; the soU
improved and smaU orchards came into sight, displaying a
profusion of plum-blossoms even at this season of the year.
We were compelled to spend half a day at a place
called Kwang-loong-Miau, that the crew might celebrate the
Chinese New Year. The festival was conducted at the
village shrine, which stood on a picturesque spot surrounded
with pine and backed by a mountain 2,000 feet high. Chang
had here a dispute with the boatmen, who, as he protested,
had sullied his honourable name. He complained of their riotous,
drunken conduct; but I soon found that our venerated inter
preter was himself not without sin, and was indeed unable to
stand erect. He suggested that the chief offenders ought to
be taken before the nearest magistrate.
In truth they made a great uproar during the night, firing
crackers, quarrelling, and gambling; but next morning they
were once more ready for work, though some of them had sold
a portion of what little they had in the shape of clothing, to
give the new year a fair start, and looked all the more savage
for the change. They soon got heated, as we had cleared the
first gorge and were now ascending a rapid. It was the first.

2o4 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
but by no means the least dangerous. The bulk of the men
were on the bank, attached to a tracking line. Off they sped,
yelling like fiends above the roar of the water; while the boy,
to add to the din, lustily beat a gong, and the cook a small
drum, for the purpose of stirring the men to put forth their
full strength. At about the centre of the rapid there was a
dead halt, as if the boat had stuck fast on a reef, though the
trackers were straining to their utmost with hands and feet
planted firmly on the rocks. The skipper stamped, danced and
bellowed to his crew ; and they, responding with a wild shout,
a desperate tug and a strain, at last launched our boat into
the smooth water above. The danger of this rapid consists not
so much in its force as in the narrowness of the channel, and
in the multitude of rocks, sunken as well as above the water,
on which the boat, were the tracking line to part, would cer
tainly drift, and there be dashed to pieces.
In the second, or Lukan Gorge, the mountains rise to a
greater altitude, projecting in some places over the chasm as if
to join and exclude the light from the already darkened river.
There were numerous strange perpendicular markings in these
rocks, like borings for the purpose of mining. These had appar
ently been made by a sort of natural sand-drill. Small hard
pebbles imprisoned in the recesses of soft rock, with the aid
of sand and water, have in time pierced these deep vertical
shafts, and the attrition of the water on the face of the rocks
has at last brought the tunneUed apertures to light.
At the next rapid, Shan-tow-pien, we noticed the wrecks of
two Szechuan trading-boats, making in all nine which we had
come across since we started from Ichang. It was snowing
heavily as we made our way over the rocks to the viUage, which
came down close to the water's edge; and towards dark we

Mountain Scene, Pi-ovince of Hupeh.

THE GREAT RAPID. 205
found ourselves in front of a small cabin made out of the debris
of a wrecked boat. The owner of the wreck, an aged man,
resided within, and had been residing there for some days past.
He looked cold and wretched, but he would have nothing to
say to us and haughtily rejected our proffered help.
We had now reached the great rapid of the Upper Yangtsze,
which occurs at the mouth of the Mitan Gorge. Here, whUe I
was engaged in photographing the scene, I fell in with a man
darin, who asked many questions about my honourable name and
title, my country, my kinsmen, and as he had never set eyes
on a photographic instrument before, he wanted to see the result
of my work. When the picture was shown to him, he enquired
by what possible means a drawing could be so perfectly com
pleted in so short a space of time ; and then, without waiting
for an answer, and casting an anxious glance at me to make
sure I had neither horns, hoofs, nor tail visible, he hurried
off to the village, with the conviction that my art was an
uncanny one, and that my diabolical insignia were only craftily
concealed. Accordingly, on taking my next view at the same village, I
was surrounded by a crowd of sullen spectators who, though
it was explained that I was only securing a picture, favoured me
with sundry tokens of their dread in the shape of sods and
stones. Chang tried his eloquence on the people, but with Httle
effect. We packed up as quickly as possible and marched down
the bank to cross over to the other side, where my companions
were preparing for the ascent of the rapid. No doubt these
villagers, some of them, had heard the popular fiction that
pictures such as mine were made out of the eyes of Chinese
babes. I narrowly escaped a stroke from an oar as I took
refuge in a boat; but the blow was warded off with a force

2o6 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
that sent its author spinning headlong into the stream, from
which he emerged below the rapid, a good deal shaken and
bruised, but with no serious injury.
This rapid is one of the grandest spectacles in the whole
panorama of the river. The water presents a smooth surface
as it emerges from the pass ; then suddenly seems to bend like
a polished cylinder of glass ; falls eight or ten feet, and finally
curves upwards in a crest of foam as it surges away in wild
tumult down the gorge. At this season sundry rocks enhance
the perU of shooting the rapid. On our way down we persuaded
Chang to come in the boat with us; but as the vessel plunged
and groaned in an agony of straining timbers, he became per
fectly sick with panic fear. It was indeed hardly to be wondered
at. The pilot we employed at this time was a tall bony man
with dark piercing eyes, a huge black moustache and a mouth
full of protruding teeth. He and his assistant guided the boat
to what seemed the worst part of the rapid, and then launched
her into the raging waters broadside on. After the first plunge
she swept round, bow foremost, tossing and writhing until I
thought she would go to pieces and disappear. MeanwhUe the
pilot, flinging his arms on high, shouted and danced about the
deck, conveying the notion that the craft was doomed, although
in reality he was only guiding his men at the helm. But the
boat, regardless of oaths, oars and rudder, sped forward with
a fearful impetus, bearing right down for the rocks, dodged them
at the last moment, and then darted into comparatively smooth
water far below. The pilot's buffoonery is probably part of his
game. It pays when at last he presents himself for his legiti
mate fee, and for the trifle extra which he expects for saving
our lives at the risk of his own. That there is great danger
in shooting this rapid may be gathered from a survey of the

COAL MINES. 207
wrecks that strew the shore, from the Hfe-boats in constant
attendance, or from the fact that the Chinese unload their boats
at the head of the rapid, and have their cargo and themselves
transported overland to the smooth waters below.
This Tsing-tan rapid, then, is the greatest obstacle to the
steam navigation of the Upper Yangtsze. We had to hire fifty
trackers from the village to aid our men in hauling the boat up
the stream, which here ran about eight knots an hour; but I
see no reason why the kind of steamer Captain Blakiston has
suggested should not navigate this, and indeed any of the other
rapids on the river, the steam power to be capable of either
towing the vessel up, or retarding her swift and hazardous
descent. Were the river once opened to steam, daring and
scientific skiU would be forthcoming to accomplish the end
in view.
The mountains of this gorge are on the same stupendous
scale as those of the Lukan passage below. On the uth we
reached a small walled town called Kwei, with not a single craft
nor a human being near it to betoken trade of any kind. Here
we halted for the night, and in the morning visited some coal
mines at a place called Patung, where the limestone strata in
which the coal is formed, stand up in nearly perpendicular walls
against the edge of the river. Adits had been carried into the
face of the rock, but they were aU of them on an exceedingly
small scale — simple burrowings without any depth. No shafts
were sunk, and no ventilation was attempted. Coal abounds,
and even with such rude appliances as the miners possess, is
turned out in considerable quantities; but the quality is not so
good as some we got further up the gorge. The miner when
at work, carries a lamp stuck in his cap, much the same as
those in use with us before Sir H. Davy's invention. The coal

2o8 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
was shunted from the mouth of the pit down a groove cut in
the face of the cliffs, and when conveyed any distance is trans
ported in kreels on the backs of women. There were several
mining villages at this place ; and there every household is
employed entirely in the trade, the chUdren making fuel by
mixing the coal with water and clay, and then casting it in
moulds into blocks which weigh one catty (1V3 lb.) apiece. The
miners who are occupied in this work earn about seven shiUings
a week, and their hours of labour are from seven o'clock in the
morning to about 4 p.m.
Baron von Richthofen has assured us that there is plenty
of coal in Hunan and Hupeh, and that the coal-field of
Szechuan is also of enormous area. He adds that at the
present rate of consumption the world could draw its
supplies from Southern Shensi alone for over a thousand years ;
and yet, in the very places referred to, it is not uncommon
to find the Chinese storing up wood and miUet-stalks for their
firing in winter, while coal in untold quantities lies ready for
use beneath their feet. These vast coal-fields will constitute
the basis of China's future greatness, when science shall
have been called in to aid in the development of her
enormous mineral wealth.
Wu-shan Gorge which we reached on the morning of the
I Sth, is more than twenty mUes long, and we entered this great
defile about ten o'clock. The river was perfectly placid; and
the view at the mouth of the gorge was one of the finest we
had hitherto encountered. The mountains rose in confused mas
ses to a great altitude; the most distant peak at the extremity
of the passage, resembUng a cut sapphire, with snow-lines that
sparkled in the sun like the gleams of Ught on the facets of a
gem, while the cliffs and precipices gradually deepened in outline

RIVER PIRATES 209
until they reached the bold lights and shadows of the rocky
foreground. The officers of a gunboat stationed at the boundary which
parts the provinces of Hupeh and Szechuan, warned us to be
ware of pirates, and they had good reason for so doing. We
came to anchor at a place where the rocks, towering overhead,
wrapped the scene in darkness ; and it was nearly 10 p.m. when
our skipper sent to say we had better have our arms ready, as
pirates were prowHng about. One boat had just passed noise
lessly up alongside, and its occupants were talking in whispers.
We hailed them, but they made no reply, so then we fired over
their heads. Our fire was responded to by a flash and a report
from some men on the bank not far off. After this we kept
a watch all night, and at about two in the morning were all
roused again to chaUenge a boat's crew that was noiselessly
stealing down on our quarters. A second time we were forced
to fire, and the sharp ping of the rifle-baU on the rocks had
the effect of deterring further advances from our invisible foes.
The disturbers of our repose must have been thoroughly acquaint
ed with this part of the river, for even by day it is somewhat
dark, and at night it is so utterly without light that no trading-
boat would venture an inch from her rock-bound moorings.
On another night in this gorge, I was summoned by my boy,
who appeared in the cabin with a face of blank terror, and told
me that he had just seen a group of luminous spirits that were
haunting the pass. It was evident that something unusual had
occurred, as I had never before seen the boy in such a state of
clammy fear; so we followed him on to the deck, and looking
up the precipice, about eight hundred feet above our heads, we
then saw three lights on the face of the rock, performing a
series of the most extraordinary evolutions. My old attendant 14

2IO THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
declared, the cold perspiration trickling down his face the while,
that he could make out sylph-like forms waving the lights to
warn wayfarers off the edge of the abyss :
" This seraph band, each waved his hand,
It was a heavenly sight:
They stood as signals to the land.
Each one a lovely light."
The true explanation of the phenomenon lay in the fact,
perhaps, that in this very gorge there are hapless beings, con
victs, immured in prison-ceUs cut in the face of the rocks, into
which they are dropped by their gaolers above, and from which
they can never hope to escape unless to seek destruction by a
plunge into the river below. Here, too, we find inhabitants of
a widely different stamp, a number of philosophic followers of
Laou-tsoo, who pass their lives as hermits in these dark solitudes.
In one cave we came across the remains of a Taouist philo
sopher of this sort; a recluse who expired, so it was said, at
the ripe age of 200 years. Several of the boatmen averred that
they knew him to have been more than a century old. His
relics lay in the centre of the cave, covered over with a cairn
of stones and sods, which had been thrown up by passing
mountaineers. February 15. — To-day we met with a disaster as we were
ascending a rapid. The boat was caught by a blast of wind,
and this, aided by a strong eddy, was just sending her over,
when the skipper's mate, the most active youth on board, sprang
forward and cut the tracking line. The trackers unexpectedly
relieved of the great strain, were sent sprawling over the rocks ;
while as for the boat, she righted at once and then drifted
down the rapid, tUl at last she settled on a spit of sand half
a mile below the scene of the accident. So far the result

THE RETURN VOYAGE. 211
was satisfactory; but then we were on one side of the stream
and our crew on the other. As there was a village near at
hand, we at once repaired thither to engage a boat to convey
our men across ; but not a soul would stir unless we paid them
beforehand nearly as much as would buy another village, such
as it was. We offered them what the boatmen considered a
fair hire, but this they stedfastly refused; untU at last we jumped
into one of their boats, and threatened to use it ourselves.
Seeing this, they thought better of it, apologised and struck a
fair bargain. We came to, for that night, above the Wu-shan
Gorge. Before us, on the left bank, lay the walled town of
Wu-shan, surrounded by low hiUs and richly-tiUed valleys ; and
here we noticed the outlet of a small river that joins the
Yangtsze, and down which salt is brought in great quantities
from mines at a place called Ta-ning.
Opium, silk and tea are among the chief products of this
district, and it is also singularly rich in fruits of various sorts.
We bought the most delicious oranges I ever tasted in China,
for a shilling a hundred. Next day we made a strenuous
though futile effort to reach Kwei-chow-fu ; but we could make
no headway in the face of a storm that swept in fearful blasts
down the gorge and filled the air with a fine blinding sand,
most irritating to the eyes. We therefore left Szechuan on the
1 6th, after having ascended a distance of over thirteen hundred
miles above Shanghai. The return voyage was comparatively
easy, and eighteen days after leaving Szechuan we again set
foot on the foreign settlement at Hankow. Here our friends
received us with a hearty welcome, and plied us with the most
minute enquiries as to the state of the river and the exact
appearance of the proposed new treaty-port at Ichang.
At Hankow I rejoined some of my oldest friends in China,

212 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
and it was not without a pang of sincere regret at parting from
them that I stepped on board the steamer.
I stopped at Kiukiang on the downward trip, and spent two
or three days in the settlement. The native city, although it
holds an important position near the mouth of the Po-yung lake,
and thus communicates with the network of canals and streams
that form the trade routes into the vast green-tea fields of
Kiangsi and Ngan-Hwei, has nevertheless failed to attain a high
commercial position; nor has the foreign settlement either, done
much yet towards monopolising the traffic of the richly produc
tive districts by which it is surrounded. The city, which suffered
a severe blow at the hands of the rebels who left it a ruined
waste in 1861, had not, even at the time of my visit, regained
its former prosperity.
Kiukiang will probably rise into much greater commercial
importance when the Po-yung lake shall have been thrown open
to steam navigation. One or two excursions which I made into
the surrounding districts, enabled me to form a very favourable
estimate of the fertUity of the soil and the prosperity of the
cultivators. The region, however, seemed thinly populated, and
this fact alone is sufficient to account for the absence of the
poverty and misery which fall to the lot of the toiling millions
in many quarters of the land.
At a place called Tai-ping-kung, about ten miles inland from
Kiukiang, I found the ruins of an ancient shrine, presenting
most remarkable architectural features. AU that remained of a
once extensive edifice were two towers pierced with windows,
which looked something like the pointed gothic apertures of a
medieval European building. The waUs of a small joss-house
adjoining were built partly of finely sculptured stones ; and the
whole ruin, indeed, was unlike anything I had before seen in

NANKING. 2 1 3
China. It seemed more European than Chinese, and possibly
may point to Ricci's Jesuit mission to that part ofthe province in
1 590. It is, however, said to have once been one of the greatest
Buddhist establishments in Cathay. On the way back from this
old shrine I passed over classic ground, where the rocks are in
scribed with the praises of Chu-fu-tze, a celebrated Confucian
commentator and philosopher who lived in the twelfth century.
The next point at which I touched was Nanking, the ancient
capital of China, where there was no foreign settlement, nor
any port open for trade. It was dark when, with my boys and
baggage and two Chinese officers of the Governor-General's
household, I descended from the steamer "Hirado" into a native
boat, and landed on the muddy bank beneath the outer walls
of this famous city. We had to spend the night in a smaU
shed which had been provided for the convenience of passengers
making use of the river steamers. The place was crowded
with an orderly company of natives, who very kindly made room
for me to repose myself on a table; but it was in vain
that I courted sleep, for the air was obscured by clouds of
tobacco-smoke, and conversation was kept up with an incessant
clamour all night through. As it happened the talk was of the
deepest interest; Tseng-kuo-fan, the Chinese general who had
fought side by side with Li-hung-chang and Colonel Gordon in
the suppression of the Taiping rebellion, had just expired at
his palace in Nanking. Many present said that he had perished
by his own hand, or had succumbed to an overdose of gold-
leaf; whereas the truth was, as I afterwards discovered, that he
had died in a fit of apoplexy, the second with which he had
been attacked. His death was a great disappointment to me,
as my chief motive in visiting Nanking had been to see the
celebrated leader, and, if possible, obtain his likeness for my

214 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
larger work. I carried with me an introduction to him from
Li-hung-chang the Governor-General of Pei-chil-li, and this note
I duly presented to his son, who sent me a reply expressing
the deep regret of the family thaf' they should have missed the
opportunity of obtaining a portrait. But a general officer subse
quently remarked that after all it was perhaps as well for me
that I not arrived in time to take the picture, as most assuredly
the speaker himself, and others as weU as he, would have accused
me of causing the untimely death. It is a wide-spread Chinese
belief, from which men of intelligence are by no means free,
that in taking a photograph, a certain portion of the vital prin
ciple is extracted from the body of the sitter, and that thus his
decease within a limited period is rendered an absolute certainty.
The reader will gather from this that I was frequently looked
upon as a forerunner of death, as a sort of Nemesis in fact;
and I have seen unfortunates, stricken with superstitious dread,
fall down on bended knees and beseech me not to take their
likeness or their life with the fatal lens of my camera. But aU
this might have occurred in our own country not many years
ago, where a photograph would have been esteemed a work
of the devil.
Tseng-kuo-fan was one of the, foremost statesmen of his time.
He was a member of the Grand Secretariat, and was created
a noble of the second class after the expulsion of the rebels
from Nanking. He was then at the zenith of his power, and
it was even said that his wide-spread influence was dreaded by
the court at Peking. In 1868 he became Governor-General of
Pei-chU-li, and was removed from that office after the Tientsin
massacre, and for the third time appointed Governor-General of
the two Kiang.
The view of Nanking was a disappointing one. It is simply

NANKING. 215
a vast area enclosed within a high wall which makes a circuit
of twenty-two miles, and is therefore the largest city in the
kingdom. Near at hand are several heights crowned with tem
ples, and such-like sacred buildings ; whUe a number of yamens
and religious edifices may be seen dotting the great open spaces
where cultivation is carried on. But the city itself, as usual, is
crowded into the narrowest limits, capable of supporting half a
million struggling sons of Han. There were stiU many dreary
acres of demolished streets with not a single occupant, but in
other quarters the work of restoration was being actively
carried on. This great "Southern Capital" must probably have
been at one time what Le Comte stated, "a splendid city
surrounded by waUs, one within the other," the outermost,
"sixteen long leagues round." Such may have been its condition
some fourteen hundred years ago, when it first became the
Imperial head-quarters, or perhaps even so late as the fourteenth
century, when Hung-Woo, the first Ming Emperor, is reported
to have restored it to its pristine glory. But the place had
already fallen sadly off at the advent of the Tien-wang, who
conferred upon it the honour of making it the capital of a
Chinese dynasty once more. It was said to have been at the
recommendation of a very humble follower, an old sailor, that
the "Heavenly King," as he styled himself, decided on making
Nanking the seat of his celestial government ; but in other
matters this self-made potentate was not so easily pursuaded.
Why should he have been ? He professed to believe impUcitly
that he was a second son of God, sent down to redeem China.
When the Imperialists were marshaUing their forces around
the great Ming tomb, and when his old soldiers and faithful
adherents were starving in the streets, he gave orders that they
should be fed on dew, and sing a new song tUl the hour of

2l6 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
deliverance came. Calmly he sat within his palace, looking with
disdain upon the gathering forces that ere long were to strike
the fatal blow. The city had not yet fallen into the hands of
his foes, when his faith and fortitude forsook him, and he ended
his days by his own hand.
It is a tedious journey round the city moat to the southern
gate. Many boats were to be met winding their way along this
canal, or else drawn up into groups and forming little market
places every here and there. At one small bridge beneath which
we passed, it was told me that there, after the fall of Nanking,
the canal had been dammed up by rebel heads. Outside the
southern gate there is a large suburb. Why it should have
been planted there, when there is so much vacant space within
the walls, is difficult to tell. Many of its dwellings are nothing
more than rude huts, erected over ground strewn with the
graves and bones of Taipings and Imperialists mingled together
in kindred dust. Here, too, I found the old porcelain tower of
Nanking (once one of the seven wonders of the world, but now
leveUed to the earth) ; and a number of small speculators driving
a trade in its porcelain bricks. But most of the bricks of this
tower and of the "Monastery of Gratitude " to which it belonged,
were used in constructing the Nanking arsenal close by ; and of
the two edifices I should say that the latter, planted as it had
been by Li-hung-chang, in the very heart ofthe " Central Flowery
Land," will be held to be far the more wonderful structure of the
two. Here, then, the old Buddhist tower and the monastery with
its monotonous chants, have been replaced by a temple dedicated
to the Chinese Vulcan and Mars, whose altars are furnaces,
whose worshippers are melters of iron, and from whose shrines
come the never-ceasing rattle of machinery and the reports of
rifles that are being tested for service.

THE PORCELAIN TOWER. 217
This arsenal, built as I have said, under the auspices of Li-
hung-chang, was the first of its kind in China, and is conducted
on the most advanced scientific principles under the superinten
dence of Dr. Macartney, now Sir H. Macartney. It is, indeed,
a startling innovation on the old style of things. If the Chinese
first taught us the use of guns (They are said to have employed
them in 1232 at the siege of Khai-fung-fu), we are certainly
repaying the obligation with interest by instructing them how
our deadUest weapons are to be made. In this arsenal some
hundreds of tons of guns and ammunition are manufactured
every year, and I have no doubt its products have already
proved of service in the suppression of the Mahometan outbreak
in the provinces of Kiangsu and Shensi. Here the Chinese can
turn out heavy guns for battery-trains, or field-artUlery, howitzers,
gatling-guns, torpedoes, rockets, shot, sheU, cartridges and caps.
The rocket factory stands on an open plot of ground some
distance from the main buUding, and [this place is appropriated
to the filling of rockets and sheUs with their explosive contents.
With respect to these arsenals and their high state of efficiency,
I have one further remark to offer — and that is, that were the
strict foreign management under which they i^have matured to be
withdrawn, they could not be carried on so as to be of the
slightest effectual service. Probably the same amount of money
would be spent on their maintenance, but it would be subjected
to a process of official filtration which would admit of nothing
more than the purchase of inferior materials and the employment
of underpaid labourers. An experiment of this sort was once
tried, to humour an officer who boasted himself able to produce
everything in the shape of modern warlike inventions as perfectly
as any foreigner in the Empire. But the attempt was not
repeated, as the shells he manufactured turned out much more

21 8 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
deadly projectiles in the hands of his own men than they could
ever have proved in the ranks of an enemy. They were badly
cast with coarse iron, and their dangerous imperfections were
filled up with black-leaded clay. So my humble opinion is that
before the Chinese can hope to take a position among the
civilised Powers of the world, they must acquire something of
simple honesty, and unlearn much of the science of deception
by which they study to enrich themselves, while making ready
to conquer their foes.
"Kin-Shan" or "Golden Island," "Silver Island," and the mouth
of the Grand Canal were the last objects of interest I saw on
the Yangtsze river. The Grand Canal may be set down as the
greatest public work of the race who wasted years of needless
labour in constructing the Great Wall to shut out the barbarous
hordes, who, after aU, are masters of the Empire. But this
huge artificial waterway is now useless in many places, and
utterly broken down ; although it might have proved of incalcul
able service in draining off the great waters of the Yellow River,
which have, from time to time, spread their desolating floods
over the vast productive plains of the interior.

CHAPTER X.
CHEFOO. TIENTSIN. PEKING. THE GREAT WALL.
Chefoo — The Foreign Settlement — The Yellow River — Silk — Its Production —
Taku Forts — Chinese Progress — The Peiho River— Floods in Pei-
chil-li — Their Effects — Tientsin — The Sisters' Chapel — Condition ofthe
People — A Midnight Storm — Tung-chow — Peking — The Tartar and
Chinese Divisions of the Metropolis — Its Roads, Shops and People —
The Foreign Hotel — Temple and Domestic Architecture — The Tsungli
Yamen— Prince Kung and the High Officers of the Empire — Literary
Championship — The Confucian Temple — The Observatory — Ancient
Chinese Instruments — Yang's House — Habits of the Ladies — Peking
Enamelling — Yuen-Ming-Yuen — Remarkable Cenotaph — A Chinese Army
— Li-Hung-chang— The Inn of "Patriotic Perfection" — The Great Wall —
The Ming Tombs.
Chefoo is a favourite watering-place for foreigners resident at
Peking or Shanghai, for there bracing air and sea-bathing may
be enjoyed during the hottest months of summer.
The beach on which the European hotel is built, skirts the
foot of a low range of grassy hills, and reminded me, in its
semicircular sweep and general aspect, of Brodic Bay in Arran,
on the west coast of Scotland. I have a lively recollection of
Chefoo Bay; of its stretch which at the time appeared intermin
able; and of the soft yielding sand over which, with a friend
remarkable alike for his good-nature, weight and agility, I had
to run from the steamer to forestall the other passengers and

220 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
secure the best apartment for an invalid lady from Shanghai.
The thermometer at the time was standing at about one hundred
degrees in the shade, so that after completing our task we were
in a condition to enjoy to the full the cool breeze that swept
through the verandah of the hotel. It was an unpretending but
charming retreat, and none the less so on account of the many
comforts which the enterprising proprietor had in store for
his guests.
Chefoo foreign settlement lies on the opposite side of the
bay, and is about the least inviting place of the kind on the
coast. But StiU we must not forget that it enjoys the honour
of standing on the ground of the most classic province in the
Empire, where the engineering labours of the celebrated Yu were
in part performed. Confucius, too, was a native of the Shan-tung
province, and so indeed was Mensius, his successor. While
Pythagoras was pursuing his phUosophical researches at Crotona,
Confucius was compiling the classical lore that has since been
to China what the compass is to the mariner at sea. But this
ancient guide to national prosperity, social, political and religious,
when relied on by those who now-a-days control the helm of
the Empire, is as untrustworthy as the compass of a man-of-
war when the steersman makes no aUowance for the influences
of the iron plates and steel guns with which science has sur
rounded his needle. And yet fain would the wisest Confucianists
of the "Central Flowery Land" stiU rivet their fond gaze on
their ancient books ; fain would they guide their steps by the
rushlight of a dim science and philosophy, lit by sages of four
thousand years ago ; and that though truth, like the sun in
noonday splendour, is shining on the nations around.
The foreign trade of Chefoo is small, though not unimpor
tant. Whether it be that the natives affect more the simple

THE HWANG-HO. 221
robes of their ancient sages than the less costly cotton fabrics of
Manchester, or whether the constantly recurring floods of the
Hwang-ho or Yellow River, have so impoverished the inland
districts as to materially damage trade, is a difficult point to
determine. Since the YeUow River has changed its course and now flows
to the north of the Shan-tung mountains, a great portion of the
Grand Canal has been rendered useless. The change of course
to which I refer, took place in 1852, but in 1889 it again changed
and forced its way to the south where it joined the Yangtzse.
The Chinese, however, breaking away from their modern policy
of squandering money on armaments and defences, found scope
for their energy and perseverance in turning back to its northern
channel the waters of the Hwang-ho. This they eventually suc
ceeded in doing by the aid of foreign appliances, a task which
may be fairly accounted a triumph of engineering skill. In many
places the banks had been carried away, and an eye-witness
has described the scene in the following words:* — "For dreari
ness and desolation no scene can exceed that which the Yellow
River here presents ; everything natural and artificial is at the
mercy of the muddy dun-coloured waters, as they sweep on their
course towards the sea."
But we shall see as we pass through Pei-chil-H, how these
floods actually affect the people. Thus, while a considerable
extent of country suffers from the withdrawal of the great
river from its old channel, parts of Shan-tung and Pei-chil-li
come in for a superabundant share of its waters. Notwithstanding
this there are some portions of the former province which are
as productive as any soil in the world, and where the nature
* Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xl , p. 5.

222 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
of the climate is favourable to the culture of a wide range of
products. These include mUlet, wheat, rice, tobacco and beans —
the latter, in the shape of "bean-cake," forming a valuable article
of exportation. Besides the foregoing a certain sort of dark-
coloured silk fabric, known as "Pongee" silk, is produced in
Shan-tung, and exported in steadUy increasing quantities from
Chefoo. This silk is obtained from a wild black worm that
feeds on a different kind of leaf from the mulberry. Rearing
silk-worms in China is an exceedingly deUcate process, and one
which one might almost have supposed unsuited to the natives,
for the little worm is most exacting in its habits. It has even
been stated that it wiU refuse either to feed or to work before
strangers ; and the Chinese aver that it cannot endure the presence
of foreigners, or the sounds of barbaric tongues. If in this
respect it resembles its masters, it differs from them widely in
its abhorrence of uncleanly odours, and indeed in a polluted
atmosphere wUl sicken and starve itself to death. For this reason
the Chinese, from the time when the worm emerges from the
egg to the moment when it perishes in its own silken robe, must
suffer great inconvenience by the compulsory absence of all those
strong smells wherein so many of them take an unaffected
delight. No wonder, then, if the close of the sUk season, when
the dainty little toiler has woven its shroud and met its doom,
should be one of great rejoicing.
Like the culture of tea, silk — which confers an enormous
benefit on China, and has now become an indispensable luxury
to the world — is the most modest industry imaginable. Let us
cast a glance on the various progressive steps through which the
staple passes till it is ready for the looms of China or Lyons,
The eggs are hatched about the middle of April, and the
best season to obtain them for exportation is in March, or

SILK. 223
the beginning of April. The young worms, when hatched are
placed on bamboo frames and fed on mulberry-leaves cut up
into smaH shreds. As the worms increase in size they are
transferred to a larger number of frames, and are fed with
leaves not so finely shred ; and so the process continues until,
in their last stage, the leaves are given to them entire. The
price of leaves runs from four shillings and sixpence to eight
shillings a picul (133 lbs). After hatching, the worms continue
eating during five days, and then sleep for the first time for
two days. When they again wake their appetite is not quite
so good, and they usuaUy eat for four days only and sleep again
for two days more. Then they eat for the third time for four
days and repose for two. This eating and repose is usually
repeated four times, and then having gained full strength, they
proceed to spin their cocoons. The task of spinning occupies
them from four to seven days more ; and when this business is
completed three days are spent in stripping off the cocoon, and
some seven days later each small cultivator brings his silken
harvest to the local market and disposes of it to native traders,
who make it up into bales.
Leaving popular superstitious influences out of account, the
quality of the silk is first of all affected by the breed of the
worms that spin it, then by the quality of the leaves and the
mode of feeding. As I have already remarked, the sUk-worm
is injured by noise, by the presence and especially by the han
dling of strangers, and by noxious smells. They must be fed,
too, at regular hours, and the temperature of the apartment must
not be too high. The greatest defect in Chinese silk has been
due to the primitive mode of reeling, which the natives adopt.
Shanghai is the great sUk mart, and there, about June 1st, the
first season's silk is usually brought down. It is never the

224 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
growers who bring the silk to the foreign market. These
growers are invariably smaU farmers, who either purchase the
leaves, or have a few mulberry bushes planted in some odd
corner of their tiUed lands, and the rearing of the worm and
the production of silk by no means monopoHse the whole of
their time. It is only a spring occupation for the women and
younger members of their famUies. Chinese merchants or
brokers proceed to the country markets, and there coUect the
produce until they have secured enough to make up a parcel
for the Shanghai or Chefoo^ markets, where it is bought up by
foreigners for exportation.
I paid two visits to Chefoo, and must have experienced the
extremes of temperature. On the first occasion the heat was
intense; but on my return the cold was so severe that my boy
Ahong had his ears and nose frost-bitten. We had proceeded
to a hiU-top to obtain a picture of Chefoo, but the north-west
wind, blowing from the icy steppes of Mongolia, was like to
freeze the blood in our veins. Having, however, succeeded in
taking a photograph, I sent to a neighbouring hut for a bottle
of water to wash the negative, but no sooner had I withdrawn the
plate from the shelter of the dark tent and poured the water
over it, than the liquid froze on its surface and hung in icicles
around its edge. In spite of these difficulties we adjourned to
a friendly hut, where we thawed the plate over a charcoal fire
and washed it with hot water, — wet plate process.
The next place of importance at which we touched on our
route north, was Taku, at the mouth of the Peiho. The Taku
forts are mud strongholds, which have been often and well
described. At the time of my visit these forts had been under
repair; stUl they were not yet properly garrisoned, nor were
their guns all mounted. I passed along a stone pavement which

TAKU FORTS. 225
leads from the river across the inner extremity of the mud
slough. It was here in 1859, that so many of our men were
shot down in the unsuccessful attempt to storm the southern
fort. We carried the place without much difficulty a twelve
month afterwards. The only entrance into this fort is across
a wide ditch from behind. As for me, I passed inside it without
a word being asked ; for indeed there were only one or two
cooHes loitering about the enclosure. The waUs are of great
thickness, and built, as formerly, of mud and miUet-stalks — a
composition well adapted to resist shot. Within were two bat
teries of over fifty guns a-piece, one above the other, and com
manding the entrance to the stream. Some of them, however,
were rusty, badly mounted on their carriages, and altogether
sadly in want of repair. Lastly, I noticed two large American
smooth-bores lying half-buried in mud in front of the officers'
quarters. On the whole the place wore the look of a deserted
mud-quarry rather than a fortress. But I have been informed
that a great change has since come over the scene— that these
fortresses, one on each side of the Peiho, are now armed with
Krupp guns and properly garrisoned; so that thus the defence
of the capital has been secured after a scheme planned out and
decided upon long before the Formosa difficulty cropped up. I
myself saw a battery of Krupp guns landed at Tientsin before I left
that place of dark memories ; and indeed there could be no ques
tion that the Chinese were hastily arming themselves with modern
weapons, laying up stores of destructive projectiles and ammu
nition, and addressing themselves to the task of guarding their
own shores from invasion. It may be — nay, it must be — that
there is a purpose in all this. The Chinese Government have
probably not been blind aU these years to what has been going
on in Japan, to say nothing of the visions they may entertain 15

226 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
of possible encounters with more formidable foes. They undoubt
edly still retain the notion that they have an absolute right to
do what they like with their own country and in it; and they
are probably only preparing themselves to assert or defend this
right when a suitable opportunity presents itself. Prince Kung,
in despatch about the Woosung Bar at Shanghai, declined
to dredge a channel to facilitate trade, and regarded the
sand-bank as a barrier set there by Divine Providence to aid
the Chinese in the defence of the country and its approaches.
He further pointed out that each nation has a right to guard and
protect its own territory by the means it alone deems best. It
is perhaps very natural to suppose that China was made
exclusively for the support of Chinamen, and that no other
race has a right to question this divine arrangement, or to seek
by the simple dredging of a sand-bar to thwart the plans of a
kind Providence, who is thus closing up the river-courses against
the commerce which furnishes miUions of Chinese with means
to feed and clothe themselves that formerly they could never
have obtained.
In this narrow policy there is not the faintest recognition of that
divine progress which, by a thousand telegraphs, railways and indus
tries, is tending more and more to bind the nations of the earth
together in one universal kinmanship, where, by free intercourse and
liberal enlightened government, peoples of every nation, kindred
and tongue, wiU be rendered mutually dependent on each other.
The inundations were predicted just as they happened, years
before the swoUen river burst its barriers at Lung-men-Kan, and
might have been easily prevented by keeping clear "what has
always been an artificial channel."* The business was put off,
* Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xl. p. 19.

INUNDATIONS. 227
however, from one year to another, until at last the red flood
burst upon the plains and transformed a fruitful smUing country
into lakes, lagoons and pestilential marshes.
As we steamed up the Peiho, there were many places where
not a trace of the river's banks was to be discovered, and the
further we ascended the more apparent became the ravages of
the flood. The mUlet-crop was rotting under the water, and
whole hamlets had in many places been swept away. The
viUage dwellings, like the Taku forts, were for the most part
constructed of millet-stalks and mud ; but however well calcu
lated to resist the shots of an ordinary foe, these fraU abodes,
one by one had sUently dissolved before the invading waters,
leaving nothing behind them but something that looked like
grave-mounds, the melancholy landmarks of each new work of
desolation. We could see the wretched vUlagers squatting on
the tops of their hiUocks, sheltered by scraps of thatch or
matting which they had rescued from the flood. AH who had
means were removing to Tientsin, where the authorities were
said to be doing their utmost to relieve the sufferers. Singularly
enough I overheard a Chinaman say that he considered the
flood a punishment for the Tientsin massacre, which had occurred
just a year before.
It is quite impossible to estimate the misery that such disasters
bring upon the toUing poor of the province, who are thus be
reft of food, shelter and fuel; and that, too, when the winter
was just at hand. The scene on aU sides presented one sheet
of water, only broken by the wrecks of villages, and by islands
of mud where herds of cattle were packed and perishing for
want of pasture. Men, women and chUdren were to be seen
fishing in the shaUows of their harvest-fields. Fish were
abundant ; and this was fortunate, as the people had little else

228 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
to subsist on. How they got through the hot days and cold
nights, and how many of them survived their hardships only to
be subjected to them in the succeeding year, it is impossible
to say. We could tell from the bodies drifting seaward that
Death was busy among them, relieving the sick and satisfying
the hungry in his own sad final way.
The Chinese, like peoples both ancient and modern, have a
superstitious dread of disturbing the resting-places of their dead.
For many miles around Tientsin the country is one vast burial-
ground, and it was pitiful to notice the efforts the living were
making to lash the coffins of their dead to trees or to posts
which they had driven into the mud. But numbers of the huge
clumsy coffins Were to be seen floating adrift, with no living
relation to care for their occupants. The water was so deep
that in many places the tortuous river's channel had been
abandoned, and native craft were saUing overland, so to speak,
direct from the city.
Our steamer, the "Sin-nan-sing," had great difficulty in turning
the sharp bends of the river; her bow would stick in the mud
of one bank, and her screw in the other ; but at length Tientsin
was reached, and there we found the water five or six feet
deep at the back of the foreign settlement, and the Peking road
submerged. The foreigners were looking forward to the prospect of soon
being shut in by a sea of ice. Here, on the bank of the river,
was a British hotel, called "The Astor House," its modest pro
portions almost concealed by the huge signboard in front. This
establishment was constructed of mud, and on one side of it a
window had faUen out, while on the other the wall had faUen
in. I had a look at this unpromising exterior and some conver
sation with its proprietor. The latter was an Englishman, and

TIENTSIN. 229
he lamented to me over the wreck of his property. There
were still two apartments in front, one containing a billiard-
table and the other a bar ; but a couple of mud bedrooms had
dissolved and could be seen in solution through a broken waU.
The stabling in the rear also, out of sheer depression at losing
its occupants, had taken a header into the water and disappeared.
We next passed out of doors to examine the ravages of the
flood in sundry outhouses which had also settled down. In the
bar-room I found a Scotchman connected with the Tientsin
Powder Factory, saying some very hard things about the pecu
liar views of a Chinese tailor to whom he had entrusted some
"vara guid braid claith to mak a pair of breeks." It appeared
that the taUor had found it necessary, on account of family
concerns, to remove from Tientsin to another district, and had
taken the cloth with him without going through the ceremony
of leaving his card.
I slept on board the steamer, and started for Peking on
August 29th. Before setting out I engaged a Tientsin man named
Tao, or "Virtue," at the rate of nine doUars a month; but this
sum was a trifle compared with what he intended to make out
of me, as in every transaction, whether it was simply to change
a dollar into cash, or to buy provisions, he made a profitable
bargain for himself. My own southern men could have managed
better, although they were ignorant of the northern dialect, and
could only make known their wants in writing. Systematic
pilfering, however, I soon discovered to be the common attribute
of servants in the north. We engaged a boat to convey us to
Tung-chow, the nearest point by water to Peking. This boat
carried a wooden house in the centre, which could be shut up
all round at night, so as to keep the cold out ; and it was just
large enough to accommodate my party and baggage. The space

230 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
within it was divided into two compartments, and in the after
one stood a clay cooking gaUey, around which the boys were
stowed. Our crew consisted of a father, Wong-Tsing, and his
two sons, Wong-su and Wong-soon. We had to make our way
up through the city of Tientsin along a narrow ever-changing
channel between thousands of native trading-boats. It was not
without a free use of such poles, and the vilest epithets in the
language, that we got clear of the floating Babel at last. The
left bank, hereabouts, was covered with mounds of salt, piled
up beneath the mat sheds which the salt monopolist had erected
to protect his precious store.
The river at this point was about 200 yards wide, and Tao
pointed out on the right bank the black bare walls of the
Sisters ' Chapel that had been burned twelve months before.
There, too, we could see the ruins of the hospital where the
Sisters of Mercy had consecrated their lives to the ministration
of the sick, and to rescuing outcast chUdren ; for which good
works they had here been brutally murdered by an ignorant and
superstitious mob. There was stiU a heap of ashes in front of
the edifice, and the long breach in its waU through which the
murderers dragged their hapless victims to their doom. The
breach had indeed been plastered up with mud, a fitting type
of the unsatisfactory way in which the Chinese sought to atone
for an outrage which was perpetrated almost within sight of
the Governor-General's yamen.
From this point, too, we could descry, at the upper end of
the reach, the imposing ruins of the Roman Catholic cathedral,
the only striking object in the city of Tientsin; and the reflec
tion was forced upon me, from what I know of native super
stition, that that noble pile of buUdings, standing as it did so
much above what the Chinese themselves hold most sacred in

Night Watchman, Peking.

Cliinese Archer.

AVERSION TO FOREIGNERS. 231
their yamens and shrines, must in itself have stirred up a bitter
feeling against foreigners. This feeling was without doubt
greatly intensified by horrible stories, most ingeniously spread
abroad by the literary members of society, describing how
foreigners manufacture medicines from the eyes and hearts of
Chinese children, or even of adults. In the latter case it is to
procure silver that these practices are aUeged to be carried on ;
and this we may gather from the accompanying passage out of
a native work which was in brisk circulation when the massacre
took place. "The reason for extracting eyes is this. From one
hundred pounds of Chinese lead can be extracted eight pounds
of silver, and the remaining ninety-two pounds of lead can be
sold at the original cost. But the only way to obtain this silver
is by compounding the lead with the eyes of Chinamen. The
eyes of foreigners are of no use, hence they do not take out
the eyes of their own people." Further on it says :" The people
of France without exception foUow the false and corrupt Tien-
chu religion. They have devUish arts by which they transform
men into beasts," etc.
This pamphlet is full of matter unfit for quotation, and con
cludes with an appeal to the people to rise and exterminate the
hated strangers: —
" Therefore, these contemptible beings having aroused our
righteous wrath, we, heartily adhering to the kingdom of our
sovereign, would not only give vent to a little of the hate that
will not allow us to stand under the same heaven with them,
but would make an eternal end of the distress of being obliged
to have them ever near us. ... * If the temporising policy is
adopted, this nonhuman species wUl again increase." The author
* Death-blow to Corrupt Doctrines.

232 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
goes on, without mincing matters, to urge the utter extermination
of foreigners and the preservation of the virtuous followers of
Confucius. When we consider that this pamphlet had a wide,
though, as it was pretended, a secret circulation; and above aU,
when we reflect on the utter ignorance and superstition, and the
fierceness of the half-starved classes whom it professed to caution
and enlighten, and on whom the calm, moderate and subtle
style of some of its worst .passages must have produced a
fearful effect, we cannot wonder at the result.
Tao believed implicitly in the strange stories which he had
heard about the priests and about the poor Sisters, who had
been so cruelly put to death. The ruins now were being care
fuUy guarded by a fleet of native gun-boats; but there were
none of them at hand when succour was reaUy needed, nor did
they reach the spot until long after the deed had been accomplished.
I could not refrain from offering some remarks to my new
man about the miserable mud huts in which his countrymen
dwelt. Whereupon, with a vanity not uncommon in his race —
although it surprised me at the time — he pointed out what he
held to be- the advantages of occupying such abodes. His argu
ments ran something like this : — The materials, mud and millet-
stalks, can be had aU over the plain, at every man's doorway
cheaply — for the lifting, indeed ; whereas wood and stone are too
dear for poor people to procure. Then, again, with such
materials every man can be his own architect and mason; and
finally, when floods and rain dissolve the tenement, it sinks
down quietly, forming a mound in which the furniture and
domestic utensils may repose, and on which the famUy may sit
till the waters have subsided and they are able to set to again
and raise up their broken waUs.
The river here is spanned by one or two pontoon bridges.

MILLET BREAD. 233
which had to be opened to let us pass through. These bridges
form great impediments to the traffic, both on land and by water ;
for the pontoon is never pulled up to make a passage until
about a dozen junks and boats have coUected, and their owners,
who by that time have been long waiting for the event, are
clamouring and fighting amongst themselves to get first through.
While the boats are passing through, the land traffic is of course
interrupted, and crowds of foot passengers and vehicles are
pressing forward on each side of the aperture to await the
replacement of the pontoon. One or two of them, unable to
make their way back, were driven over into the water and
rescued by boat-hooks as we passed. The narrow wooden
pavement of the bridge was made still narrower by a throng
of shops and stalls, lepers, beggars and jugglers.
As the land rose towards the hills which sweep like a cres
cent around the north of Peking, we emerged from the flooded
plains into a less desolate region, where the people were not so
destitute of the common necessaries of life, and where the banks
were lined with ripe fields of mUlet. Our boatmen, like the
dwellers on land, lived on the flour of this useful cereal, which
they season with salt-fish and garUc. The flour is made into
bread, or rather cooked and puUed out into strings of hot,
tough, elastic dough. This the people consumed in great
quantities at meal-times, and always appeared to recover from
its effects, although to me it seemed just about as digestible as
india-rubber cables. Here we encountered many ponies, mules
and donkeys in use; the mules being of an exceedingly fine
breed, and having, many of them, zebra stripes across the legs.
As for the donkeys, they were thoroughly domesticated, and
followed their masters to and fro like dogs.
The huts improved in appearance as we neared Tung-chow,

234 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
and the villagers, too, were more robust-looking, although even
the best of these, in spite of their wUlow-shaded dweUings and
their harvest-fields, betrayed evidences of a hard-struggling, hand-
to-mouth existence.
It was not till the afternoon of the fourth day that we reached
Tung-chow, though we made but another halt to visit a village fair,
where we saw a poor conjuror perform tricks for a few cash that
would make his fortune on a London stage. And yet his
greatest trick of aU was transforming three copper cash into
gold coin. His arms were quite bare, and having taken his
cash in the palm of his hand, he permitted me to close the
fingers over them. Then, passing a wand above the clenched
fist, he opened it again and feasted the greedy eyes of his
rustic admirers on what looked extremely like glittering gold.
He also killed a smaU boy whom he had with him, by plunging
a knife into his body. The youth became suddenly pale, seemed
to expire, then jumping up again, removed the knife with one
hand, while he soHcited patronage with the other. There was
one feat which this conjuror performed with wonderful dexterity.
He placed a square cloth flat upon the ground, and taking it
by the centre, between his forefinger and thumb, with one hand,
he waved the wand with the other ; and, gradually raising the
cloth, disclosed a huge vase brimful of pure water beneath it.
At Tung-chow our boat was boarded by at least a dozen
coolies eager to carry our baggage One of them incautiously
Hfted a trunk and was making off with it, when he was suddenly
relieved of the burden by Tao and hurled peU-mell into the
water. This summary procedure on the part of my Tientsin
man almost cost him his much venerated tail, for it had nearly
been torn out at the roots by the infuriated coolies before I
could come to the rescue. Here we engaged carts for the

CHINESE COOLIES.

COLLECTOR OF PRINTED SCRAPS.

TUNG CHOW. 235
metropolis. These carts are the imperial-highway substitutes
for our railways, cabs and omnibuses, but they have no springs.
A railway is being built from Tientsin to Peking. Notwith
standing this they might be comfortable enough if so constructed
as to allow the passenger to sit down, and used only on a
perfectly level road. Tao had himself carefully packed into his
conveyance with straw, but as for me, not Hking the look of
the vehicles, I determined to walk at least a part of the way.
There may be passages in what I have stiU to relate which
may seem strange to a European reader, and I may be aUowed
perhaps, therefore, here to remind him that I am describing
only what I actually saw and experienced. Soon we were
entering Tung-chow, the carts plunging and lumbering behind
us over what at one time had been a massively constructed
Mongolian causeway. Gallantly the carters struggled on beneath
an ancient archway, when suddenly the thoroughfare was found
jammed by a heavily laden cart drawn by a team of mules
and donkeys, that had stuck fast among the broken blocks of
stone. Straightway the air re-echoed with the execrations of a
hundred carters, who found their progress obstructed, and it
was full half an hour before we managed to pass. I should
think that the distinguished members of the Peking Board of
Works can hardly have ventured so far as Tung-chow on their
tours of inspection. A few moderate-sized stone walls thrown
across the street there could scarcely prove more serious impe
diments to the traffic than the existing dUapidated pavement.
One may now travel on a well-constructed railway from a station
adjoining the Taku forts, to Tientsin. This Une wUl eventually
be carried to Peking. The rails and plant for the extension
were imported during the war. As for the town and its inhab
itants, we had ample leisure to inspect them before the carts

236 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
had struggled clear of their streets. The shop-fronts were of
richly carved wood, quite different from what one sees in the
south, but seemingly stained with the accumulated dust of ages.
Even outside Tung-chow the roads were knee-deep in mud,
in consequence of the heavy rain which had fallen during the
previous night, so that I had no further choice, and perforce
took refuge in the cart. My driver smelt of sam-shu and garlic,
and placed such implicit trust in his mule that, once fairly on
the road, he feU asleep on the shaft, and had to be reminded
frequently by a shove off his perch, that he might as well do
something to extricate his jaded beast and its burden from the
pitfaUs and mud-pools of the way. At length we made a halt
at an inn. These inns supply food for man and beast, and
occur at frequent intervals along that road, reminding one in
some respects of those simUar old-fashioned wayside resting-places
which are now dying out rapidly in our own land.
Outside this inn ran a long low wall, whitewashed and inscribed
in huge black characters with the sign or motto, " Perpetual
felicity achieved." Along the entire front of the establishment a
narrow dwarf-table had been set up, and groups of travellers
seated round it discussed reeking bowls of soup or tea, and the
latest news from the capital. Their cattle they had already
made over to the care of hangers-on at the inn.
Tao and my Hainan men had gone on ahead, but I stopped
here and partook of a diner d la Ckinoise, which was served up
to me in a bedroom. This apartment contained nothing save
a table and a chair, and a bed or kang made of bricks. As
for the table, it was covered with a surface formation of dirt,
into which I could cut like cheese. But I must say that the
dinner here suppHed me was the best I ever tasted at a Chinese
inn. The viands were stewed mutton cut up into small pieces,

THE GREAT BELL, PEKING.

NATIVE PLOUGH.

PEKING. 237
rice, an omelette, grapes and tea. The room had recently been
used as a stable ; and its window filled in with a small wooden
frame and originally covered with paper, was now festooned
with dusty spiders'-webs. Another long detour at length brought
us to the Chi-ho gate of the Tartar city.
Before we enter I wUl run over some of the more general
characteristics of the city at which we have now arrived. It
stands, as we have already seen, on a plain sloping down to the
sea, and is indeed made up of two towns — a Tartar or Manchu
quarter, and a Chinese settlement — joined together by a waU more
than twenty mUes round. At the time of the Manchu conquest
these two divisions were parted from each other by a second,
inner waU; the true natives of the soU, at least those of them
supposed to be friendly to the new dynasty, being confined
within a narrow space to the south ; while the Tartar army was
encamped around the Imperial palace in the northern city, which
covers a square space of double the area of the Chinese town.
In so far as the features 1 have just described are concerned,
Peking is the same to-day as it was over 200 years ago, when
the descendants of Kublai Khan mounted the Imperial throne.
There are still in the Tartar city the same high walls pierced
with nine double gateways ; the same towers and moats and
fortified positions; and within, the palace is stiU surrounded by
the permanent Manchu garrison, Hke that which was estabUshed
in most of the provincial capitals of China.
The army was originally divided into four corps, distinguished
by the white, red, yellow and blue banners under which they
respectively fought. Four bordered banners of the same colours
were subsequently added, and eight corps of Mongols and an
equal number of Chinese adherents were created at a later date.
Each corps of Manchu bannermen possesses, or rather is sup-

238 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
posed to possess, its ground as originaUy allotted to it within
the Imperial city ; and before the cottage doorways one may
StiU see square paper lamps, whose colours denote the banners
to which their proprietors respectively belong. But time has
changed the stern rules under which the Chinese were confined
to their own quarter. Their superior industry and their slowly
but surely accumulating wealth have gradually made them masters
of the Tartar warriors, and of their allotments within the sacred
city. In fact, Chinese thrift and commercial energy have conquered
the descendants of the doughty Manchus who drove the Mings
from the throne.
It can hardly be credited by the stranger who visits this
Chinese centre of the universe, that the miserable beings whom
he sees clad in sheep-skins out of the Imperial bounty, and
acting as watchmen to the prosperous Chinese, are in reality the
remnants of those noble nomads who were at one time a terror
to Western Europe, and at a later date the conquerors of the
"Central Flowery Land."
The old walls of the great city are truly wonderful monuments
of human industry. Their base is sixty feet wide, their breadth
at the top about forty feet, and their height also averages forty
feet. But, alas ! time and the modern arts of warfare have
rendered thern practically nothing more than interesting relics
of a bygone age. A wooden stockade would now-a-days be
about as effective a protection to the Imperial throne within.
They seem to be weU defended, however. Casting our eyes up
to the great tower above the gateway, we can see that it bristles
with guns; yet the little field-glass of modern science reveals to
us after all only a mock artUlery, painted muzzles on painted
boards, threatening sham terrors through the countless embrasures.
A few rusty, dismantled cannon lie here and there beneath the

Gateway in Imperial Palace Wall, Peking.

PEKING. 239
gateway, but everything looks out of repair. The moats have
become long shaHow lagoons, and yonder a train of 100 camels
is wading calmly through one into the city. The Government
probably know all this, and have turned their attention to the
defence of the coast line and frontiers ; in the hope perhaps
that a foreign foe wiU never again be able to flounder over the
broken highways, and bring warfare to the palace door. A vain
delusion truly, unless China is prepared to take to heart the
sad lessons of modern battle-fields, and to keep pace with the
ever-progressive science that is at work in our European arsenals.
How can she do this.? She may squander wealth — distUled out
of the blood, sinews and sweat of long-suffering labour — upon
fleets and armaments ; but where will she find the genius to
use her weapons to advantage.? (Written in 1872.) In the event
of a collision with a foreign Power, what good end would the
hasty purchase of iron-clads and arms secure.? As for the new
weapons which they are manufacturing for themselves, we wUl
hope that the rulers may never become so utterly blinded as
to place these in the hands of untrained troops to defend the
ancient poUcy of exclusiveness so fatal to progress in China.
It wiU be readily admitted that this forecast has been fully
justified by recent events.
But let us hasten our steps and enter the gate to behold this
great metropolis. A mighty crowd is pressing on towards the
dark archway, and we betake ourselves again to our carts,
feeling sure that our passports wiU be examined by the guards
on duty at the portal. But after aU we pass through unnoticed
in the wake of a train of camels, laden with fuel from the coal
mines not far off. There is a great noise and confusion. Two
streams, made up of carts, camels, mules, donkeys and citizens,
have met beneath the arch, and are struggling out of the dark-

240 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
ness at either end. Within there is a wide thoroughfare, by
far the widest I encountered in any Chinese city, and as roomy
as the great roads of London. AU the main streets of Peking
can boast of this advantage; but the cartway runs down the
centre of the road, and is only broad enough to aUow two
vehicles to pass abreast. The causeway in the middle is kept
in repair by material which coolies ladle out of the deep trenches
or mud-holes to be seen on either side of it. Citizens using
this part of the highway after dark are occasionally drowned in
these sloughs. Thus one old woman met her end in this way
when I was in Peking, so that I never felt altogether safe when
riding through the streets at night; whUe in the morning, when
the dutiful servants of the Board of Works were flourishing their
ladles, one had to face the insalubrious odours of the putrid
mud; and at mid-day again, more especially if the weather was
dry, the dust was so thick that when I washed my beard I could
have supplied a valuable contribution towards the repairs of
the road.
Notwithstanding aU this, if there were no dust-clouds to obstruct
the sight, the Peking streets are highly picturesque and inter
esting. Along each side of the central highway an interminable
line of booths and stalls has been set up, and there almost
everything under the Chinese sun is to be obtained. Then out
side these staUs, again, there are the footpaths and beyond them
we come upon the shops, which form the boundaries of the
actual road. It is a compUcated picture, and I only hope that
the reader may not lose himself, as I have done more than once,
amid the maze of streets. The shops had a great fascination
for me. In both cities they are almost always owned by Chi
nese, for the Tartars, even if they have money, are too proud
to trade; and if they have none, as is most frequently the case,

PEKING STREETS. 24 1
they possess neither the energy nor the ingenuity to make a
start. The Chinese, on the other hand, wUl many of them trade
on nothing ; and some seem capable of living on nothing too,
untU by patience and thrift, if they ever have the ghost of a
chance, they manage to obtain a fair living.
The shops in Peking, both outside and within doors, are very
attractive objects. Many of their fronts are elaborately carved,
painted and gUded; whUe as for the interiors, these are fitted
up and finished with an equally scrupulous care, the owners ready
for business inside, clothed in their silks, and looking a supremely
contented tribe. I could discover evidences of distribution of
the wealth of the official classes in all those shops which in any
way supplied their wants, or ministered to their tastes. On the
other hand, signs of squalor and misery were apparent every
where in the unwelcome and uncared-for poor ; aU the more
apparent, perhaps, when brought face to face with the tokens of
wealth and refinement.
I have not space to relate a tenth of what I beheld or expe
rienced in this great capital ; how its naked beggars were found
in the winter mornings dead at its gates; how a cart might be
met going its rounds to pick up the bodies of infants too young
to require the sacred rites of sepulture ; how the destitute were
to be seen crowding into a sort of casual ward already full,
and craving permission to stand inside its walls, so as to obtain
shelter from the wintry blast that would freeze their hearts be
fore the dawn. There are acres of hovels at Peking, in which
the Imperial bannermen herd, and filth seems to be deposited
like tribute before the very palace gates ; indeed, there is hardly
a spot in the capital that does not make one long for a single
glimpse of that Chinese paradise we had pictured to ourselves
in our youth — for the bright sky, the tea-fields, orange-groves 16

242 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
and hedges of jasmine, and for the lotus-lakes fiUing the air
with their perfume.
Next to the shops, the footpaths in front of them are perhaps
most curious to a foreigner. In these paths, after a shower of
rain, many pools occur — pools which it is impossible to cross
except by wading, unless one cares to imitate an old Pekingese
lady, who carried two bricks with her wherever she went, to
pave her way over the puddles. As in the Commercial Road
in London, crowds congregate in front of the tents and stalls
of the hawkers, while the shopkeepers spread out their wares
for sale so as to monopolise at least two-thirds of the pave
ment, so also in Peking, in yet greater numbers and variety,
the buyers and sellers occupy every dry spot. Sometimes one
can only get through the press by brushing against the dry
dusty hides of a train of camels, as they are being unladen be
fore a coal-shed ; and one must take care, should any of them
be lying down, not to tread on their huge soft feet, for they
can inflict a savage bite. In another spot it may become ne
cessary to wait until some skittish mule, tethered in front of a
shop, has been removed by its leisurely master, who is smoking
a pipe with the shopman inside. Once, as I threaded my way
along, 1 had to climb a pUe of wooden planks to reach the path
beyond, and finding that a clear view could be obtained from
the top of a fine shop on the other side of the road, I had
my camera set up and proceeded to take a photograph.
But in two or three minutes, before the picture could be
secured, there was a sudden transformation of the scene.
Every avaUable spot of ground was taken up by eager but
good-natured spectators; traffic was suspended; and just as I
was about to expose the plate, some ingenious youth displaced
the plank on which I stood, and brought me down in a

TRAVELLING COOK.

CHIROPODIST— PEKING.

\

PEKING STALLS. 243
rapid, undignified descent, immensely entertaining to the crowd.
Some of the booths close to the foot-way are built of mud
or brick, and would indeed become permanent structures, but
that their occupants may be ordered at any moment to clear
them away, so as to make room for the progress of the Em
peror. For I must teU you that whenever the Sovereign is
carried abroad, outside his own palace walls, the roads must be
cleared, and even cleaned, that his sacred eyes may not be
offended with a glimpse at the true condition of his splendid
capital. After he has passed by, booths, tents and stalls are
re-erected, and commerce and confusion resume their sway. As
matters stand, these roadside obstructions are really a great
boon to the people. Anything can be bought at the stalls, and
their owners are neither slow nor sUent in advertising the fact.
At one a butcher and a baker combine their crafts. The for
mer sells his mutton cut to suit the taste of his customers,
while at the same time he disposes of all the bones and refuse
to the cook who manufactures savoury pies before a hungry
crowd of lookers-on. Twirling his rolling-pin on his board, he
shrieks out in a shriU key a list of the delicacies he has prepared.
Jewels, too, of no mean value, are on sale here as weU, and
there are peep-shows, jugglers, lottery-men, ballad-singers and
story-tellers ; fhe latter accompanying their recitations with the
strummings of a lute, while their audience sits round a long
table and listens with rapt attention to the dramatic renderings
of their poets. The story-teller, however, has many competitors
to contend against, and of all his rivals the old-clothes-men are
perhaps the most formidable tribe. These old-clothes-men enjoy
a wide celebrity for their humorous stories, and will run off
with a rhyme to suit the garments as they offer them to the
highest bidder. Each coat is thus invested with a miraculous

244 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
history, which gives it at once a speculative value. If it be fur,
its heat-producing powers are eloquently described. "It was this
fur which, during the year of the great frost, saved the head
of that illustrious family Chang. The cold was so intense that
the people were mute. When they spoke, their words froze and
hung from their lips. Men's ears congealed and were devoid of
feeling, so that when they shook their heads they fell off.
Men froze to the streets and died by thousands; but as for
Chang of honoured memory, he put on this coat, and it brought
summer to his blood. How much say you for it.?" etc. The
foregoing is a rendering of the language actually used by one
of these seUers of unredeemed pledges.
I saw two or three men who were driving a trade in magic
pictures and foreign stereoscopic photographs, some in not the
most refined style of art; and as for the peep-shows — well, the
less one says about them the better; they certainly would not
be tolerated in any public thoroughfare in Europe. The original
Punch and Judy is also to be encountered in the Peking streets ;
puppets worked by the hands of a hidden operator, on just the
same plan as with us. At night, too, 1 have frequently seen a
most ingenious shadow pantomime, contrived by projecting small
movable figures on to a thin screen, under a brilHant Hght from
behind. Capital clay images may be purchased at some of the
staUs; but in no part of China has this art of making coloured
clay figures reached such perfection as at Tientsin. At that
place tiny figures are sold for a mere song, which are by far
the cleverest things of the kind I ever saw. These are not
only most perfect representations of Chinese men and women,
but many of them hit off humorous characteristics with the most
wonderfully artistic fidelity.
If I go rambling on in this way over the city, we shaU never

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Marble Bridge, Peldno-.

CORE ANS. 245
reach the hotel, nor receive that welcome which was so warmly
accorded to me by Monsieur Thomas, the proprietor. Thomas
was not the cleanest man in the world, but he was extremely
polite, which was something. There was, however, about his
costume a painful lack of buttons, and its appearance might
perhaps have been improved by the addition of a waistcoat, and
by the absence of the grease that seemed to have been strug
gling up to reach his hair, but had not arrived at its destination.
His hands, and even his face, in prospect of our coming, had
been hastily though imperfectly washed. But then he was a
cook, too ; and he remarked, when I flattered him on this head,
that there was nothing like a Httle eau-de-vie to enable an artist
to put the finishing touches on a chef-d'ceuvre, either of cookery
or painting. Had he confessed to a great deal of that stimulant,
he would have been much nearer the truth.
My bedroom was not a comfortable one. How could it be.? —
it was chiefly built of mud. The mud floor, indeed, was mat
ted over, but the white-washed walls felt sticky, and so did the
bed and curtains; a close, nasty smeU, too, pervaded the whole
apartment, and on looking into a closet, I discovered a quantity
of mouldy, foreign apparel. This, as I found out next morning,
had been left there as plague-stricken by a gentleman who,
some days previously, had nearly died of small-pox in this very
room. Fortunately I escaped an attack of the malady.
I paid a visit to the Corean Legation in the Tartar quarter
of the city. It was customary before the war for the King of
Corea to send an annual embassy of tribute-bearers to Peking.
The first detachment of the embassy had just arrived before I
quitted the capital. There were but a few members present at
the Legation at the time of my visit, and the apartments in
which they dwelt were so scrupulously clean that I almost

246 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
wished that I had left my shoes at the doorway, in my fear of
soiling the white straw mats. I was also most favourably impress
ed with the spotless purity of their garments, which were
almost entirely of white. It was with great difficulty, however,
that 1 secured an illustration, but it was on that account aU the
more prized.
After my return from the Ming tombs, H. B. M.'s Minister,
the late Sir Thomas Wall, kindly invited me to stay at the
Legation, but I had promised Thomas to remain in his house,
and although unfortunate in some respects, he proved thor
oughly honest, and did his best to make me comfortable.
I bought a Mongolian pony to save me time in exploring the
city, and a saddle and bridle were kindly lent to me by a friend ;
but the brute was a large-boned, large-headed animal with a
great round belly, over which, for want 'of a crupper, the saddle-
girths were always sliding. It had, too, an enormous appetite,
at least, so said the groom whom I employed. The first night
it consumed its bed, and when I examined it in the morning
it seemed to be hungry stUl, for it had barked the tree to which
it was tethered, and had, besides this, devoured about five shU-
lings' worth of millet-bran, and so forth. I soon found out that
I was being fleeced by the stable-boy, who had a pony of his
own in the next house, and had determined to feed it at my
expense. The Pekingese have a strange mode of shoeing their horses.
They pull three feet together with cords, and leave the hoof
that is to be shod, free. Then they sling the animal bodily up
between two posts, and so complete the task in comfort and
safety. In the plan of the city of Peking there is every evidence of
careful design, and this has been carried out minutely, from the

Pialo, or Memorial Arch, Peking.

THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN. 247
central buUdings of the palace to the outermost wall of fortifi
cation. The ground-plan of the Imperial buildings is in most
respects identical with the ground-plans of the great temples
and tombs of the country. So much alike are they, even in
the style and arrangement of their edifices, that a palace, with
scarcely any alteration, might be at once converted into a Bud
dhist temple. Thus we find that the Great Yung-ho-Kung
Lamasary of the Mongols in the north-east quarter of the city,
was at one time the residence of the son and successor of
Kang-hi. The chief haUs of the Imperial palace — if we may
judge from the glimpse one gets of their lofty roofs when one
stands on the city wall — are three in number, extending from
the Chien-men to Prospect Hill, and in every instance are ap
proached by a triple gateway. The Hke order prevails at the Ming
tombs. There one finds an equal number of halls, with a triple
doorway in front of each ; whUe the temple and domestic archi
tecture throughout the north of China is based upon the same
plan. In the latter case there are three courts, divided from each
other by haUs, the apartments of the domestics being ranged
about the outer courts, whUe the innermost of the three is
devoted to family use.
It is interesting to observe the evidences which crop up every
where, showing the universal sacredness of the numbers three
and nine. Thus at Peking, the gates with which the outer
waU of the Tartar city is pierced form together a multiple of
three, and the sacred person of the Emperor can only be ap
proached, even by his highest officers, after three times three
prostrations. The Temple of Heaven, too, in the Chinese city,
with its triple roof, the triple terraces of its marble altars and
the rest of its mystic symbolism throughout, points either to
three or its multiples.

248 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
The Rev. Joseph Edkins was, I believe, the first to draw
attention to the symbolical architecture of the Temple of Hea
ven, and to the importance which the Chinese themselves attach
to the southern open altar, as the most sacred of all Chinese
religious structures. There, at the winter solstice, the Emperor
himself makes burnt-offerings, just as the patriarchs did of old,
to the supreme Lord of Heaven. In the city of Foochow, on
the southern side of the walled enclosure, are two hUls, one
known as Wu-shih-shan, and the other as Kui-shen-shan, or the
"HiU of the Nine Genu." On the top of the former there is
an open altar — a simple erection of rude unhewn stone, ap
proached first by a flight of eighteen steps, and finally by three
steps, cut into the face of the rock. This altar is reputed to
be very ancient, and to it the Governor-General of the province
repairs at certain seasons of the year as the representative of
the Emperor, and there offers up burnt-sacrifices to heaven.
In this granite table, covered with a simple square stone vessel
filled with ashes, we have the sacrificial altar in what is probably
its most ancient Chinese form. The southern altar at Peking
bears a wonderful resemblance to Mount Meru, the centre of
the Buddhist universe, round which aU the heavenly bodies are
supposed to move ; and there we find tablets of sun, moon and
stars arranged around the second terrace of the altar, according
to the Chinese system of astronomy.
The city of Peking, or rather the Tartar portion of it, is laid
out with an almost perfect symmetry. The sacred purple city
stands nearly in the centre, and there are three main streets,
which run from north to south. One of these streets leads
direct to the palace-gates, and the other two are nearly equi
distant from it on either side ; while myriads of minor thorough
fares and lanes intersect one another in the spaces between.

ARCHITECTURE 249
but are always either parallel with or at right angles to the three
main roads. Viewed from any stand-point on the outer waU,
the whole scene is disappointing. With the exception of the
palace buildings, the Buddhist shrines, the Temple of Heaven,
the Roman Catholic Cathedral and the official yamens, the houses
never rise above the low, modest, uniform level prescribed for
them by law. Much, too, that is ruinous and dilapidated pre
sents itself to the gaze. Here and there we see open spaces
and green trees that shade the buildings of the rich; but again
the eye wearies of its wanderings over hundreds of acres of
tiles and waUs all of one stereotyped pattern, and cannot help
noticing that the isolation of the Chinese begins with the family
unit at home. There stands the sacred dwelling of the mighty
Emperor, walled round and round ; his person protected from the
gaze of the outer world by countless courts and "halls of sacred
harmony"; and one can note the same exclusiveness carried
out in all the dwellings of his people. Each residence is enclos
ed in a wall of its own, and a single outer entrance gives
access to courts and reception-rooms, beyond which the most
favoured guest may not intrude to violate by his mere presence
the sanctity of the domicile. There are, of course, tens of
thousands of houses and hovels where this arrangement cannot
be observed, but where the people, nevertheless, manage to
sustain a sort of dignified isolation by investing themselves with
an air of self-importance, which the very street beggars never
whoHy lay aside. These, if they be Manchus, are proud at any
rate of their sheepskin coats ; or if they be not, then the more
fugitive covering of mud, which is aU that hides their nakedness,
is StiU carried with a sort of stolid solemnity which would be
ludicrous were it not for their misfortunes.
I had the good fortune while in the metropolis to be intro-

250 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
duced by Dr. Martin, President of the Imperial Tungwen Col
lege, to Prince Kung and the other distinguished members of
the Chinese Government ; and they wisely availed themselves of
my presence to have their portraits taken at the Tsungli-yamen,
or Chinese Foreign Office. Prince Kung, as most of my readers
are aware, is a younger brother of the late Emperor Hien-fung.
He holds several high appointments, mUitary as weU as civil,
and in particular he is a member of the Supreme Council — a
department of the State which most nearly resembles the Cabi
net in our own constitution. He has been for over a quarter
of a century Chief Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chancellor
of the Empire. He is, too, a man esteemed by aU who know
him, quick in apprehension, comparatively Uberal in his views,
and regarded by some as the head of that small party of politi
cians who favour progress in China.
The creation of the Tsungli-yamen, or Foreign Board, was
one of the important results which followed the ratification of
the Treaty of Tientsin. Up to that time all foreign diplomatic
correspondence had been carried on through the Colonial Office,
where the great Powers were practicaUy placed on a level with
the Central Asian dependencies of the Empire. This yamen
stands next to the Imperial College, where a staff of foreign
professors is now employed in instructing Chinese students in
European languages, literature and science. Accompanied by
one of these professors, who kindly undertook to be my inter
preter, I found myself one morning entering a low narrow
doorway through a dead wall. After making our way along a
number of courts, studded with rockeries, flowers and ponds,
and after passing down dingy corridors in dismal disrepair, we
at length stood beneath the shade of an old tree, and in front
of the picturesque, but purely Chinese-looking, audience-chamber.

ll^l-l - ,

¦HSPI

MILITARY MANDARIN.

PRINCE KUNG AND MINISTERS. 25 1
wherein the interests of vast numbers of the human race are
from time to time discussed. We had barely time to glance at
the painted pillars, the curved roofs and carved windows, when
a venerable noble issued from behind a bamboo screen that
concealed a narrow doorway, and accorded us a quiet, courteous
welcome. The Prince himself had not arrived ; but Wen-siang, Paou-keun
and Shen-kwe-fen, members, all of them, at that time, of the Grand
Council, were already in attendance. Wen-siang was well known in
diplomatic circles as a statesman endowed with intellectual
powers of a high order, and as one of the foremost ministers
of his age. It is said of him, that, in reply to the urgent repre
sentations of a foreigner who was clamouring for Chinese pro
gress, he delivered himself of the following prophecy, which has
not yet, however, been fulfilled : — " Give China time, and her
progress will be both rapid and overwhelming in its results ; so
much so, that those who were foremost with the plea for pro
gress will be sighing for the good old times." This transforma
tion may be looming in the far-off distance, like some unknown
star whose light is travelling through the immeasurable regions
of space, but has not yet reached our own sphere. China has
had her ages of flint and bronze ; and her vast mineral resources
tell us that she is yet destined to enter upon all that is impUed
in an age of coal and iron.
Wen-siang and Paou-keun are Manchus, while Shen-kwe-
fen is one of the Chinese members of the Grand CouncU of
State. Cheng-lin, Tung-sean and Maou-cheng-he, ministers of the
Foreign Board were also present. Tung-sean is the author of
many valuable works. One of these, on the hydrography of
northern China, was in the press at the time of my visit ; and.

252 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
as the reader will have gathered from my account of the inun
dations, his treatise is likely to be of great value, provided that
its suggestions, if any, for draining the country and restoi^ing
the broken embankments can, or rather wiU, be carried out.
The ministers wore simple robes of variously-coloured satin, open
in front and caught in by a band at the waist ; collars of pale
blue silk tapering down from the neck to the shoulders, and
thick-soled black satin boots. This costume was extremely
picturesque, and what is of far greater importance, the ministers,
most of them, were as fine-looking men as ever our own
Cabinet can boast. All of them had an air of quiet, dignified
repose. The arrival of Prince Kung on the scene cut short our gen
eral conversation. The Prince for a few minutes kept me in a
pleasant talk, enquiring about my travels and about photography,
and manifesting considerable interest in the process of taking
a likeness. He is a man of middle stature, and of rather slender
frame ; his appearance, indeed, did not impress me so favourably
as did that of the other members of the Cabinet; yet he had
what phrenologists would describe as a splendid head. His eyes
were penetrating, and his face, when in repose, wore an expres
sion of suUen resolution. As I looked upon him, I wondered
whether he felt the burden of the responsibility which he shared
with the ministers around, in guiding the destinies of so many
millions of the human race ; or whether he and his distinguished
colleagues were able to look with complacency upon the present
state of the Empire and its people.
These men have had many and great difficulties to contend
against in their time. Foreign war, civU insurrection, famine,
floods and the rapacity of their officials in different quarters of
the land, have done much to weaken the prestige and power

MEMBERS OF THE TSUNGLI YAMEN, PEKING.

THE CHONG-UN DEGREE. 253
of the great central Government; and her authority now can
never be properly felt and acknowledged in the more distant
portions of China, untU each remotest province of that vast
kingdom shall have been united to Peking by railways and by
a network of telegraphic nerves.
Perhaps the most grave and distinguished-looking member of
the group now before me was Maou-cheng-he. This man's schol
arly attainments had won him the highest post of literary fame,
and formerly he had been chief judge of the metropolitan liter
ary examinations.
Extraordinary is the honour which the Chinese attach to
literary championship, and to the achievement of the Chong-iin
or Han-lin degree, which is conferred by the Peking examiners.
At the triennial examination of 1871 a man from Shun-kak
district, in the Kwang-tung province, carried off the Chong-iin.
His family name was Leung. Now this literary distinction had
been obtained by a Kwang-tung scholar some half a century
before, and he was the first who achieved that success during
a period of 200 years. Thus the new victory of their own
candidate was hailed by the men of Kwang-tung as a great
historical event. It was reported, however, that Mr. Leung had
after aU obtained the honour by a lucky "fluke." As one of a
triad of chosen scholars of the Empire, he produced the com
position which was to decide his claims. There were nine es
says in aU, and these, when they had been submitted to the
Han-lin examiners, were sent by them to the Empress Dowager
(the Emperor being under age) to have their own award for
mally confirmed. The work of greatest merit was placed upper
most; but the old lady, who had an imperial will of her own,
felt anxious to thwart the decision of the learned pundits ; and,
as chance would have it, the sunlight fell on the chosen manu-

254 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
script, and she discovered a flaw, a thinness in the paper, indi
cating a place in the composition where one character had been
erased and another substituted. The Empress rated the exam
iners for allowing such slovenly work to pass, and proclaimed
Leung the victor. The superstitious Cantonese declared that it
was a divine choice, that the sunbeam was a messenger sent by
Heaven to point out the blemish in the essay at first selected
for the prize.
Mr. Leung reached Canton in May, 1872, and was received
there by the local authorities with the highest possible honours.
All the families who bore the name of Leung (and who had
also means to afford it) paid the Chong-iin large sums of money
to be permitted to come and worship at his ancestral hall. By
this means they established a spurious claim to relationship and
as soon as the ceremony was over, were allowed to place tablets
above the entrances of their own halls inscribed with the title
Chong-iin. An uncle of the successful wrangler, uniting an exalted
sense of his duty to his family with a laudable desire to repair
his own fortune, forestalled the happy Chong-un, and acted as
his deputy before his arrival, in visiting sundry halls. For such
honourable service this obliging relative at times received a
thousand dollars, and his nephew, for the sake of the family
name, had to sanction the steps thus prematurely adopted to
spread his fame abroad. To show the great esteem in which
such a man is held by the Chinese, I may add that a brother
of Mr. Leung rented a house in Canton, and its owner hearing
that he was the brother of the famous Chong-iin, made him a
free gift of the tenement.
After partaking of tea with one or two of the members of
the Cabinet, and after some general talk on topics of common
interest, we rose and quitted the yamen.

u

o

THE CONFUCIAN TEMPLE. 255
I must leave many of the temples and objects of interest in
Peking undescribed, as my aim is rather to convey a general
impression of the condition of the country and of its people as
we find them now-a-days, than to enter into minute details.
I can therefore only cast a passing glance at a few places of
public importance. The Confucian Temple covers a wide area,
and like aU palaces, shrines and even houses, is completely
walled around. The main gateway which leads into the sacred
enclosure is presented in the accompanying picture. This gateway
is approached, as were the ancient shrines of Greece and Rome,
through an avenue of venerable cypress trees ; and the whole
establishment forms perhaps the most imposing specimen of
purely Chinese architecture to be found among the ornaments
of the capital. The triple approach and the balustrading are of
sculptured marble; whUe the pillars and other portions of the
gateway are of more perishable materials — wood, glazed earthen
ware and brick. On either side are groves of marble tablets,
bearing the names of the successful Han-lin scholars for many
centuries back; and that one to the left, supported upon the
back of a tortoise, was set up here when Marco Polo was in
China. Within this gate stand the celebrated stone drums,
inscribed with stanzas, cut nearly 2,000 years ago, in primi
tive form of Chinese writing. Thus these drums prove the
antiquity at once of the poetry and of the character in which
that has been engraved. These inscriptions have been translated
by Dr. S. W. Bushell, the gentleman who has also discovered
the site of the famous city of Shang-tu, referred to by Coleridge
as Xanadu, and spoken of by Marco Polo as the northern capital
of the Yuen dynasty. The great hall within simply contains the
tablet of China's chief sage and those of twenty-two of his most
distinguished followers. The spirits of the departed great are

256 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
supposed to reside in their tablets, and hence annually, at the
vernal and autumnal equinoxes, sheep and oxen fall in sacrifice
in front of this honoured shrine of literature.
Close to the Confucian Temple stands the Kwo-tze-keen, or
National University; and there, ranged around the Pi-yung-kung,
or HaU of the Classics, are 200 tablets of stone inscribed with
the complete text of the nine sacred books.
The Observatory has been set up on the wall on the eastern
side of the Tartar city. Here, in addition to the colossal astro
nomical instruments erected by the Jesuit missionaries in the
seventeenth century, we find two other instruments in a court
below, which the Chinese made for themselves towards the close
of the thirteenth century, when the Yuen dynasty was on the
throne. Possibly some elements of European science may have
been brought to bear on the construction of even these instru
ments, although the characters and divisions engraved on their
splendid bronze circles point only to the Chinese method of
dividing the year, and to the state of Chinese astronomy at the
time. Yet Marco Polo must have been in the north of China
at about the period of their manufacture, or at any rate John
de Carvino was there, for he, under Pope Clement V., became
bishop of Cambalu (Peking) about 1290 A. D., and perhaps,
with his numerous staff of priests, he introduced some knowledge
of Western art. The late Mr. Wylie (than whom there was probably
no better authority) was with me when I examined these instru
ments, and was of opinion that they are Chinese, and that they
were produced by Ko-show-king, one of the most famous astron
omers of China. One of them is an astrolaba, furnished beneath
with a splendid sun-dial, which has long since lost its gnomon.
The whole, indeed, consists of three astrolabae, one partly move
able and partly fixed in the plane of the ecliptic; the second

Ancient Astronomical Instruments on tlie WaU of Pekin

ASTRONOMICAL INSTRUMENTS. 257
turning on a centre as a meridian circle, and the third the azi
muth circle.
The other instrument is an armillary sphere, supported by
chained dragons, of most beautiful workmanship and design.
This instrument is a marvellous specimen of the perfection to
which the Chinese must, even then, have brought the art of
casting in bronze. The horizon is inscribed with the twelve cyclical
characters, into which the Chinese divide the day and night.
Outside the ring these characters appear again, paired with eight
characters of the denary cycle, and four names of the eight dia
grams of the book of changes, denoting the points of the com
pass ; whUe the inside of the ring bears the names of the twelve
States into which China, in ancient times, was portioned out.
An equatorial circle, a double-ring ecliptic, an equinoctial colure
and a double-ring colure are adjusted with the horizon ring.
The equator is engraved with constellations of unknown anti
quity; while the ecliptic is marked off into twenty-four equal
spaces, corresponding to the divisions of the year. All the circles
are divided into 365-^ degrees, for the days of the year; whUe
each degree is subdivided into 100 parts, as for everything less
than a degree the centenary scale prevailed at that period. I
take these instrunients to be of great interest, as indicating the
state of astronomical science in China at about the end of the
thirteenth century.
While in Peking I made the acquaintance of many educated
and intelligent natives, one of whom accompanied an English
physician and myself on an excursion to the ruins of the Summer
Palace. With another gentleman, Mr. Yang, I became consider
ably intimate ; and in this way enjoyed some opportunity of
seeing the dwellings and domestic life of the upper classes in
the capital. Both my friends were devoted to photography; but
17

258 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
Yang, not content with his triumphs in that branch of science,
frequently carried his researches and experiments to a pitch that
caused the members of his multitudinous household no less in
convenience than alarm. Yang was a fine sample of the modern
Chinese savant — fat, good-natured and contented; but much
inclined to take short cuts to scientific knowledge, and to esteem
his own incomplete and hap-hazard achievements the results of
marvellously perfect intelligence. His house, like most others
in China, was approached through a lane hedged in by high
brick walls on either side, so that there was nothing to be seen
of it from without save the small doorway and a low brick par
tition about six feet beyond the threshold — the latter intend
ed to prevent the ingress of the spirits of the dead. Within
there was the usual array of courts and halls, reached by narrow
vine-shaded corridors ; but each court was tastefully laid out with
rockeries, flowers, fish-ponds, bridges and pavilions. Really the
place was very picturesque and admirably suited to the disposition
of a people affecting seclusion and the pleasures of family life ; and
who (so far as the women are concerned) know little or nothing
of the world in which they live, beyond what they gather within
the walls of their own abode.
Here I was, then, admitted at last into the sacred precincts
of the mysterious Chinese dwelling. Its proprietor was an ama
teur, not merely of photography, but of chemistry and electricity
too; and he had a laboratory fitted up in the ladies' quarter.
In one corner of this laboratory stood a black carved bedstead,
curtained with silk and pUlowed with wood; whUe a carved
bench, also of black wood, supported a heterogeneous collection
of instruments, chemical, electrical and photographic, besides
Chinese and European books. The walls were garnished with
enlarged photographs of Yang's family and friends. In a small

MANCHU TARTAR LADY.

MANCHU LADY AND MAID.

Tartar Lady and IMaid.

CHINESE LADIES AT HOME. 259
outer court care had been taken to supply a fowl-house with a
steam saw-mUl, with which the owner had achieved wonders in
the short space of a single day.
The machine, indeed, had never enjoyed but that one chance
of distinguishing itself; for the Pekingese, disturbed by the whirr
of the engine, scaled the waUs with ladders, clustered on to the
roofs and compelled the startled proprietor to abandon his un
dertaking. There, then, stood the motionless miU, with one or
two dejected fowls perched upon its cylinder — a monster whom
long familiarity had taught even the poultry to despise. I saw
the ladies several times while I was teaching my friend how to
concoct nitrate of silver and other photographic chemicals. Some
of these women were handsome, and all were dressed in rich
satins; but the following information which I received from an
English lady (Mrs. Edkins), who was much esteemed, and deser
vedly so, for her good works among the natives, will give further
insight into the daily life of the Pekingese ladies.
Many Chinese ladies spend a great portion of their time in
gossiping, smoking and gambling — very unlady-like occupations
my fair readers will exclaim ; nevertheless, these accomplishments,
taken either singly or collectively, require years of assiduous
training before they can be practised with that perfection which
prevails in polite circles in China. Gambling, it is to be regret
ted, is by far the most favourite pastime, and it is perhaps
but cold comfort to reflect that this vice is not monopolised
by the ladies of Cathay, but that it is their lords who set
them the example. They never dream of playing except for
money; and when they have no visitors of their own rank
to gamble with, they caU up the domestics and play with them.
Poorer women meet at some gaming den, and there manage
to squander considerable sums of money; thus affording their

260 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
devoted husbands at the end of the year, when debts must
be discharged which they are unable to pay, an excuse for
committing suicide.
The married lady rises early, and first sees that tea is pre
pared for her husband, as well as some hot water for his morning
bath. The same attention is also exacted by the mother-in-law;
for she is always present, like the guardian angel of her son.
As a rule, however, the mother-in-law is not held to be an angel
by the wife, who, during the lifetime of her husband's mother,
has to be a very drudge in the house. It may be unkind to
relate it, but the truth must be told: the ladies in the morning
fly about with shoes down at heel — that is, the Tartars do, who
have not small feet — dressed en deshabille, and shouting out
their orders to the domestic slaves. In short, a general uproar
prevails in many Chinese households until everything for the
elaborate toUet has been procured.
Each lady has generally one or two maids, besides a smaU
slave-girl who waits on these maids and trims and lights her
mistress's pipe. The dressing of a lady's hair occupies her atten
dants from one to two hours ; then a white paste is prepared and
daubed over her face and neck, and this, when dry, is smoothed
and polished once. Afterwards a blush of rose-powder is applied
to the cheeks and eyelids, the surplus rouge remaining on the
lady's palm, as a rose-pink on the hand is greatly esteemed.
Next they dye the nails red with the blossom of a certain flower,
and finally they dress for the day. Many of them have chig
nons and false hair; but no hair-dyes are used, for raven hair
is common and golden tresses are not in repute. Numbers of
ladies pass a portion of their time in embroidering shoes, purses,
handkerchiefs and such like gear; while before marriage, nearly
all their days are occupied in preparations for the dreary event

Native Actors.

Native .Vctors.

Biide and Bridegioom.

Manchu-Tartar Bride and Maid.

PEKING ENAMELS. 261
of wedding one whom probably they have never yet seen, and
for whom they can never care. Women of education— there
are, alas ! but a few — occasionally hire educated widows in needy
circumstances to read novels or plays to them. Women capable
of reading in this way can make a very comfortable living.
Story-tellers and ballad-singers are also employed to entertain
them in the courts of their houses.
The evenings they generally spend in their court-yards, smok
ing and watching the amusements of the children ; and on
these occasions conjurors, Punch-and-Judy men and ventrilo
quists are much in demand. The families retire early to rest,
the ladies never caring to spoil their eyes by working under
the light of a lamp. Opium-smoking is freely indulged in by
many women in China. The romance of love is not unknown
in the land, although few marriages are ever celebrated where
the contracting parties have formed an attachment, or even
seen each other, before their wedding-day.
On leaving Yang's dwelling, I had always to make my way
across a flooded court, where a steam mining-pump had once
been set going and had deluged the premises before it could
be stopped. My friend, when I took my departure, was daily
expecting the complete apparatus for a small gas-work, to sup
ply his house with gas— a feat which I believe he successfully
accomplished without blowing up his abode.
Pekingese Enamelling. — There are but one or two shops in
Peking where the art of enamelling is carried on. The oldest
enameUed vases were made during the Ta-ming dynasty, about
three centuries ago; but these are said to be inferior to what
were produced about 200 years later, when Kien-lung was on
the throne. Within the last quarter of a century the art has
been revived. One of the best shops for such work stood not

262 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
far from the French Legation, and was— strangely enough-
kept by a Manchu named Kwan.
The first part of the process consists in forming a copper
vase of the desired form, partly beaten into shape and
partly soldered. The design for the enamelled flowers and
figures is then traced on to the copper by a native artist,
and afterwards all the lines engraved are replaced by strips
of copper, soldered hard on to the vase, and rather thicker
than the depth of the enamel which they are destined to
contain. The materials used for soldering are borax and
sUver, which require a higher temperature for fusion than the
enamel itself. The design is now fiUed in with the various
coloured enamels, reduced to a state of powder and made into
a paste by the admixture of water. The enamel powders are
said to be prepared by a secret process, known only to one
man in Peking, who seUs them in a solid form, like slabs of
different coloured glass. The delicate operation of filling in the
coloured powders is chiefly carried on by boys, who manage
to blend the colours with wonderful perfection. After the design
has been filled in, the vase is next subjected to a heat that
fuses the enamel. Imperfections are then filled up and the
whole is fused again. This operation is repeated three times,
and then the vase is ready to be filed, ground and polished.
The grinding and polishing are conducted on a rude lathe, and
when completed the vase is gUt. Some of the largest and finest
vases seH for thousands of taels and are much prized by the
Chinese, as weU as among foreigners.
On October iSth I set out with two friends for the Sum
mer Palace at Yuen-ming-Yuen, about eight miles to the
north-west of Peking. One of our party, Mr. Wang, to whom
I have already referred, was connected with the Peking Board of

3

Bronze Temple, Yuen-Ming- Yuen.

THE SUMMER PALACE- 263
Works. This gentleman used his official cart and was followed
by a mounted retainer, while Dr. Dudgeon and I rode ponies.
On the way, near the Imperial Palace, we fell in with a proces
sion of sixty-four men, bearing a huge sedan, wherein sat
fourteen friends of Wang, his colleagues at the Board of
Works. These gentlemen were testing the strength of the
chair, which they had prepared to convey the remains of an
Imperial princess to sepulture. Something this, on the principle
of placing a railway director in front of every train I A great
vase filled to the brim with water had been set up in the
centre of the sedan in order to train the bearers to maintain
an accurate level. Whether the tea and refreshments and the
general hilarity of the party had anything to do with this
official investigation, I am at a loss to determine, but at any
rate the duties of the Board, apart from their extreme useful
ness, appeared to be far from disagreeable. Further on the
road I had a race with a cavalry officer, and I managed to
to get ahead of him, but not untU the saddle of my trusty
steed was nearly over its shoulders.
By four o'clock we had reached the grounds of the palace,
and there we found a wilderness of ruin and devastation which
it was piteous to behold. Marble slabs and sculptured orna
ments that had graced one of the finest scenes in China, now
lay scattered everywhere among the debris and weeds. But
there were some of the monuments which had defied the hand
of the invaders, or had been spared, let us hope, on account
of their beauty. Among these is a marble bridge on seventeen
arches, which spans a lotus-lake. This was still in perfect
preservation; and in the far distance, too, the great temple on
Wan-show-shan could be seen sparkling intact in the sunlight.
At the base of this pile were a multitude of splendid statues.

264 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
pagodas and other ornaments, overthrown during the fearful
raid of the allies. Enough yet remained, however, to give
some faint notion of the untold wealth and labour that must
have been lavished on this Imperial retreat. The Summer
Palace lay in ruins within its boundary waHs, just as it was
looted and left. It is a pity that redress for a breach of treaty
obligations was not sought by some less destructive mode
than this; by some real achievement, which would have
impressed the Chinese with exalted ideas of our civilisation as
much as it terrified them with the awfulness of our power.
If, for example, the capital had been held long enough to show
what improvements a wise and liberal administration could,
even in a short time, accomplish in the condition of the people
and the country; then after a suitable indemnity had been
paid for the lesson which we had been forced to convey, we
might have withdrawn.
Wang made not a single allusion to the wreck around him.
He admired, indeed, what little was left of the former splen
dour of the palace ; but it was impossible to fathom his real
sentiments, for a Chinaman, when interrogated, wUl never disclose
what he thinks. The buildings were of purely Chinese design
and conception.
At the monastery of Wo-foh-sze, or "the Sleeping Buddha,"
we found a resting-place for the night. The old Lama here
was complaining of bad times. There was not enough land,
he said, to support the establishment, and that though every
monk enjoyed a yearly grant of twelve taels (equal to about
^3 ws, of our money) from the Peking Board of Rites. But
of late years there have been but few of the members of
the Imperial family to bury — a ceremony for which this esta
bHshment receives a fee of some 300 taels. A remarkably beau-

Female compressed foot, and natural foot.

Sculptured Panel on Buddhist Cenotaph, Peking.

Wo-foh-sze Monastery, Yuen Ming Yuen.

CHINESE TROOPS. 265
tiful place was Wo-foh-sze ; and the quarters of the monks there,
though furnished with the usual simplicity, were wonderfully
clean and weU kept.
There are many institutions and objects of interest in Peking,
but to describe even the most prominent among them would
require a volume by itself.
The most remarkable, and perhaps the finest, monument in
aU China is the marble cenotaph erected over the robes and
relics of the Banjin Lama of Thibet. This edifice stands in the
grounds of the Hwang-She monastery, about a mile beyond the
north waU of Peking. When on my way to inspect it I witnessed
a review of the northern army on the Anting plain. Some
thousands of troops, infantry as weU as cavalry, were in the field,
and at a distance they made a warlike and imposing show, but
nearer examination always seems to me to alter one's ideas of
the greatness of human institutions, and more especially so where
Chinese are concerned. Thus a close view of one of their river
gun-boats revealed to me that a stand of rifles which occupied
a prominent place on its deck was aU constructed of wood;
and the ancient foes of China have more than once in the same
way advanced with caution to surprise a tented camp, and dis
covered that the tents were but white-washed clay mounds in
undisturbed possession of the field. Thus also on the Anting
plain, beneath the flaunting banners, we found the men armed
with the old matchlocks, or with bows and arrows, and carrying
huge basket-work shields painted with the faces of ogres, to
strike terror into the hearts of a foe. For all that, evidences
of military reform were not altogether wanting. Thus there
were modern field-pieces, modern rifles, fair target-practice, and
above all, desperate efforts to maintain discipline and order. At
the same time I could not help thinking of Le-hung-chang (to

266 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
whom I had the honour of being introduced at Tientsin), the
founder of the first arsenal on a foreign type in China, and the
companion in arms of Colonel Gordon and Tseng-kwo-fan. Per
sonally Le is tall, resolute and calm, and altogether a fine speci
men of his race. Perhaps he entertains an exaggerated belief in
the capabilities of his nation ; but at the same time he is deeply
conscious of the power of Western kingdoms, and apparently
desires to fathom the secrets of their superiority. On one
occasion, when fiUed with admiration of the beauty and genius
displayed in a piece of foreign mechanism, he exclaimed, "How
wonderful! how comes it that such inventions and discoveries
are always foreign.? It must be something different in the con
stitution of our minds that causes us to remain as we were. "
But after all, perhaps he may have intended to compliment his
auditors, rather than to give genuine expression to his opinions.
He probably knows that for untold centuries there has been
little or no opportunity for the development of genius in China.
The light of truth has been sought for only in the dark pages
of past history; and the Chinese, in their efforts to attain to
the perfection of their mythical kings and of the maxims em
bodied in their classics, have set up an inquisition which perforce
suppresses originality and uproots invention like a noxious weed.
We are now at the grand cenotaph; but after aU, what is
there in its massive proportions, its grotesque sculptures, its
golden crown and its shady groves of cypress and pine that vviU
compare in interest with the daily life and aspirations of the
meanest coolie who here comes to gaze with reverent awe and
to place his simple votive offering before the temple shrine!
The story of this buUding is a short one. The broad white
marble base which gleams in the sunlight covers the reUcs of a
Mongol Lama who was esteemed an incarnate Buddha. Yonder

MONGOLS. 267
is the vacant throne in the Hwang-Shi, or "Central HaU," whereon
this human deity sat in state with his face to the East. In
another apartment we see the bed on which his Holiness expired;
poisoned, as is said, by a jealous Emperor towards the end of
the eighteenth century, the monarch treating his victim with the
most stately courtesy to the last, and even worshipping and glori
fying him in public, while his sacrifice was being secretly prepared.
The late Mr. Wylie, of the London Bible Society, who was
journeying into the Northern Provinces, accompanied me to the
Great Wall ; and Mr. Welmer, a Russian gentleman, also joined
our party. Outside the Anting plain we halted at an inn called " The
Gem of Prosperity," and, praise be to the Board of Works ! we there
found men repairing the roads. At Ma-teen there was a sheep-
market, and Mongols disposing of their flocks. It is strange to
note the strong nomadic tendencies of this race. In the Mongol
quarter at Peking I have seen them actually place their beasts
of burden inside the apartments of the house they hired, and
pitch their own tent in the court outside. The condition of
the sheep testified to the richness of the Mongolian pastures;
while the shepherds, clad in sheep-skin coats, were a hardy,
raw-boned-looking race. At Sha-ho viUage, in the inn of "Pa
triotic Perfection," we made a second halt. Here in our chamber
we found the maxim, written up on a board, "All who seek wealth
by the only pure principles wiH find it." Judging by this doc
trine our host must have been a sad ruffian, for the poverty of
his surroundings bore witness that he, for his part, must have
sought after riches in some very questionable channel. We spent the
night at Suy-Shan Inn, Nankow. It was truly a wretched place :
the "grand chamber" measured about eight feet across, and was
supplied with the usual brick bed, having an oven underneath
it. In a room of this sort the fire is usually lit at night, and

268 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
is made up of charcoal, so that persons sleeping there are apt
to be poisoned by the fumes. Such a calamity indeed at times
will occur. In other respects those who are used to a brick
bed and a bUlet of wood for a pillow may sleep comfortably
enough; unless by chance the bricks become red-hot, and then
one is apt to be done brown. We left Nankow at six o'clock
in the morning, and followed the old Mongol road formed by
blocks of prophyry and marble. Through the pass our convey
ances were litters slung between two mules, one in front and
the other behind. Although there is here a great traffic between
Thibet, Mongolia, Russia and China, the road in many places
was all but impassable, not to say extremely dangerous, skirting
as it does precipitous rocks where the slip of a hoof on the
part of either mule might end in a fatal accident. We were
constantly falling in with long trains of camels, mules and donkeys,
all heavily laden, some with brick-tea for the Mongolian and
Russian markets, while others bore produce to the capital from
the outer dependencies of China. At Kew-yung-kwan, an inner
spur of the Great WaU sweeps across the pass ; and here, too,
is the old arch which has been rendered famous by Mr. Wylie's
successful labours in translating the Buddhist prayer inscribed in
six different languages on its inner wall. On this arch, too, we
find bas-reliefs representing the Kings of the Devas in Buddhist
mythology. The structure is supposed to have been erected
during the Yuen dynasty, and is said originally to have carried
a pagoda on its summit; but this was afterwards taken down
by the Mings, to propitiate the Mongol tribes. I have on an
other page drawn attention to the Indian mythological figures
with which this arch is adorned, and Mr. WyUe's notice of the
inscription wUl be found in the "Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society," Vol. V., Part i, pp. 14 seq.

Sculptured Terrace, Yuen-Ming- Yuen.

NATIVE LITTER — NANKOV*' PASS.

THE GREAT WALL. 269
It is necessary to be careful in bargaining with the men who
take one up this pass, for they wiU impose on foreigners in
every possible way. Thus, when about to struggle through the
rough parts of the roughest road in the worid, they will ask for
a guide a-piece to pilot them over each rock and boulder that
has to be crossed. It always happens that these guides are
themselves most extortionate characters, and as the way grows
more difficult some fresh demand is certain to be put forward.
Our friend, Mr. Welmer, had arranged everything with our men
before we left Peking, but stiU they made most pertinacious
efforts to extort more money from us.
At the Great Wall I reluctantly parted from Mr. Wylie, who
was one of the most distinguished and modest travellers it has
been my good fortune to meet.
The Wall has often been described, but I confess that it dis
appointed me. It is simply a gigantic, useless stone fence,
climbing the hills and dipping down into the valleys. At the
point I visited it has been frequently repaired, and only attained
to its present massive proportions during the Ming dynasty.
That piece of it which we see in the Nankow pass at Pan-ta-
ling is not so old by several centuries as the outer wall, which
was built by Tsin-she-whang, B. C. 213.* In its route of over
1,000 miles there are some portions of the waU which from
neglect have now fallen into decay ; but it was never much more
than a clay mound even in its best parts, faced with sun-dried
bricks, and in the passes, as at Pan-ta-ling, with stone. It now
only stands as a colossal monument of misdirected human labour,
and of the genius which the Chinese have ever displayed in
raising costly barriers to shut out barbarians from Cathay. In
* See "Journeys in North China," Rev. Dr. Williamson, ii. 390.

270 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
vain were all these toilsome precautions! The danger that was
threatening them within the country they all the while failed to
guard against, and from this very cause at last the native dynasty
had to succumb before an alien race. To understand this we must
remember that a rebel wrested the throne from the last Chinese
Emperor, and that, when this usurper had been in turn dethron
ed, the Manchus, taking advantage of ,the existing disorder, came
in and conquered China.
On my return journey I fell in with a gang of convicts,
heavily chained and sent adrift to seek a precarious living in
the pass. There they spent existence, shut out from the vUlages
and shunned by all. One who had charge of the rest, rode an
ass. Half the hair had been rubbed off this poor brute's back
by the irons of its rider, and even respectable donkeys as they
passed trains, would hold no intercourse with it. Many of
the traders we met were fine-looking men, and few went by
us without bestowing a kindly salutation.
At Nankow I put up again at the inn, and there found a
native merchant in possession of the best room. He politely
offered to vacate it in my favour, but this I, of course, refused
to allow, contenting myself with an apartment where Ahong,
having first obtained the unwilling consent of the landlord, set
to with a half-naked slave to reduce the table and chair until
they disclosed the wood of which they were made. There
were also many spider-webs, but we left these undisturbed, for
their bloated occupants were feasting on the flies with which
the room was infested. The merchant had a train of fourteen
mules, an elegant sedan, and a troop of muleteers, who were
carousing in the next apartment. A merry time they had of
it! One of them was still gesticulating like a Chinese stage-
warrior as I dropped off to sleep.

mmnpif

CHINESE BRONZE LION— YUEN-MING-YUEN.

FUNERAL BANNERMEN.

THE MING TOMBS. 271
In the morning I was awakened by the clang of a smith's
anvU, and found that the smith was one of the many traveUing
workmen who abound in Cathay. He was making knives and
reaping-hooks, and had contrived a simple forge by attaching a
tube to his air-pump, passing this beneath the ground, and
then bringing up the end so as to play through the fire which
lay in a hollow in the soU. There was also a Mahommedan
inn at Nankow, and there the host and his attendants were
remarkable for their Indian physiognomies. At the same place,
too, I found a guide, who had distinguished himself by show
ing visitors through the pass. This individual had fallen heir
to a pair of enormous foreign boots, which he kept on his
feet by pads and swathes of cloth. He had, besides, obtained a
number of certificates from his patrons, which, almost without
exception, described him as a great ruffian. These certificates
he presented for my inspection with an evident air of pride.
He also said that his sympathies were not Chinese, and
pointing to his boots, declared that he was a foreigner like
myself. From Nankow I proceeded on to the Ming tombs. For the
information of those among my readers who may still be
unacquainted with the great burial-ground where thirteen Em
perors of the Ming dynasty were interred, I will give a brief
summary of my experiences in that place.
It will be remembered that Nanking, the ancient capital,
where the founder of the Ming dynasty established his court,
contains the first mausoleum of those Kings— a mausoleum in
almost every particular resembling the tombs of the same line
in the valley thirty miles north of Peking. These tombs lie at
the foot of a semi-circle of hills, which has something like
a three mUes' radius.

272 THROUGH CHINA WITH A CAMERA.
The temple of Chingtsoo, who reigned with the national
designation of Yung-lo, from 1403 till his death in 1424, is by
far the finest of these Imperial resting-places. It is approached
through an avenue of colossal animals and warriors sculptured
in stone, and although some of the figures are in attitudes of
perfect repose, weU becoming in the guardians of the Ulus-
trious dead, yet when we view them as the finest specimens of
sculpture which China has to show, we must acknowledge that
her ancient art falls short of our own modern standard. I
doubt, however, whether Chinese artists of the present day
could produce anything, I do not say better, but even so good
as these Ming statues. The great tomb may be set down in
most respects as a counterpart of the architecture which
prevails in the temples, the palaces and even the dwellings in
China. I was pleased to find that Mr. Simpson, in his
interesting account of his tour round the world, has also
noticed this similarity. It must of necessity be so, as the
Chinese look upon such a tomb as this as the palace of the
spirit of Yung-lo. The animals and warriors form his retinue,
while offerings to his soul are annually made at the shrine in
the great sacrificial hall. In the same way with their gods :
the temples are the palaces wherein the deities reside, and
indeed the word "kung," used to designate Taouist temples,
signifies "a palace." *
The Emperors of the present dynasty, who drove the Mings
from their dominions, stUl offer sacrifices at the tombs of those
sovereigns; and this they do, it may be, out of mere state
poHcy, or perhaps because the spirits of the departed monarchs
are supposed to exercise an influence over the Imperial throne.
Although Chinese buildings, in their general plan, present
* "The Religious Condition of the Chinese," Edkins, p. 42.

Avenue leading to the Ming Tombs, North of Peking.

Temple of Ching-tsoo. Ming Tombs.

THE MING TOMBS. 273
many points of similarity, differences nevertheless exist in
the number of their courts, and in the detaUs of the various
kinds of edifices. Thus the magisterial yamen has usually four
courts; the first three, with the apartments attached to them,
comprising the various offices required for administrative pur
poses; while the fourth, with its , buUdings, is sacred to the
mandarin and his family. But it is impossible to treat, at the
conclusion of a chapter, of a subject which would worthily fill a
volume ; nor can I do more than bestow this passing glance at
the VaUey of Tombs, which marks the resting-place of the last
Chinese dynasty.
In conclusion, I venture to hope that — so far as my years
of travel and personal observation suffice — I have given the
reader some insight into the condition of the inhabitants of the
vast Chinese Empire. The picture at best is a sad one ; and
although a ray of sunshine may brighten it here and there, yet,
after aU, the darkness that broods over the land becomes but
the more palpable under this straggling, fitful light. Poverty
and ignorance we have among us in England ; but no poverty so
wretched, no ignorance so intense as are found among the mU
lions of China.

18

APPENDIX.

The Aboriginal Dialects of Formosa.
There appears to be no trace of the existence of a written
language among the aborigines of Formosa, unless indeed we
take into account the use which the semi-civilised tribes have
made of Roman and Chinese written characters.
The use of the former was taught by the Dutch over two
centuries ago, when they occupied the island. Some singular
specimens of Romanised Malay documents are still treasured up
among the tribes, although they are quite ignorant of their
value, as they are now unable to translate them. These papers
are chiefly title-deeds to property, or simple business agreements
between man and man.
The Chinese, since the time of the Dutch occupation, have
impressed upon the Pepohoan, or ' strangers of the plain ' , their
own language both written and oral. It was therefore only
from the oldest members of the Baksa Pepohoan tribe that I
could obtain the words set down in the Vocabulary. At Baksa
the native language has been superseded by the Chinese collo
quial dialect.
The Shekhoan is the great northern tribe of half-civilised
aborigines. They still retain their original tongue, although the
crafty Chinese invaders are making rapid inroads on their fertile
valleys, and civUising them out of the lands, if not out of the
language of their fathers.

276 APPENDIX.
In the savage mountain tribes of Formosa — separated as they
are from each other by impenetrable forests, rocky barriers,
impetuous torrents, and deep ravines, as weU as by ceaseless
warfare — we have an example of the change which, in time,
may be effected in a language by the breaking up of a race
into tribes which for at least two hundred years have been,
from necessity, for the most part, isolated from each other,
and where oral tradition afforded the only means of retaining a
knowledge of their original tongue. We find that the numerals
of the language, which were probably the sounds most con
stantly in use, have suffered least change, and the number " five "
has retained its original sound. This may be from the fact
that among primitive tribes who have no written numerals, the
five fingers of the hand are invariably used to solve their simple
problems in arithmetic; so notably, indeed, is this the case,
that in many dialects "five" and "hand" are synonymous: the
hand in that way becoming a sort of — if I may use the expres
sion — rude hieroglyphic signifying five. In the same way " eye ",
or Mata, is a simple, easily remembered sound; and as it
designates the organ of sight — something that has its sign in
each human face, that is in constant use, and constantly
appealed to to satisfy the savage, as weU as the most cultivated
instincts — it too has been retained, in nearly its pure sound,
in the various dialects. Thus I might go on selecting the words
that appear to me to have retained their primitive sounds,
simply because they find their visible symbols in the objects
which surround the simple abodes of the aborigines.
But the reader, by referring to the Vocabularies, wUl be
enabled to form his own conclusions, and to trace out the
affinities, or the opposite, that exist between the Formosan
dialects, and also the close family likeness which they bear to

APPENDIX. 277
the Polynesian languages. (See Polynesian Vocabularies in Craw
ford's " Indian Archipelago " , vol. iU, and the words noted on
Table III.)
Fresh evidence of the existence of races on the New Guinea
coast who speak the Polynesian dialects has been afforded by
the Rev. W. W. GiU, who made three visits to the island in
1872. ' Thus, he teUs us that the wordfor " eye" with two separ
ate tribes is Mata, for "ear" Taringa and Taia, and for " hands "
Ima-ima and Rima-rima. These words are all to be found in
the Formosan dialects, and indeed might have been taken from
them. As for the numerals in use among the aborigines of
Formosa, they would afford but doubtful evidence of the Poly
nesian origin of the tribes were they not supported by the more
direct testimony which the various dialects supply.
' Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society, xviii. 45.

Short Vocabularies of the Dialects spoken by the Aborigines of Formosa.
TABLE I.

to
00

NAMES OF TRIBE. S.

ENGLISH.

PACHIEN.

SIBUCOON.

TIBOLAL.

BANGA.

BANTAN-
LANG.

SINGAPORE MALAY.

Man

Lalusa

Lamoosa

Sarellai

Aoolai

Orang

Woman

Atlain

Maou-spingth

—

Abaia

Abaia

Prampuon

Head

Bangoo

Bangoo

Sapchi

Kapallu

Kapallu

Kapala

Hair

—

—

—

Ussioi

—

Rambut

Tooth

—

—

Nganon

—

—

Gigit

Neck

Guon-gorath

—

—

Oorohu

Oorohu

Leber

Ear

Charunga

Nipoon

—

Charinga

Charinga

Talinga

Mouth

Mussoo

Muttus

—

Didisi

Muto-mytoo

Mulut

Nose

Ngoon-goro

Mata

Nguchu

Coomonu

Ongoho

Idung

Eye

Ooraitla

Kanum

Muchen

Macha

Macha

Mata

Heart

Takaru

Tarima

—

Kasso

Tookuho

Janteng

Hand

Ramucho

Ktlapa

Ramucha

Arema

—

Tangan

Foot

Sapatl

Pinassan

Sapchi

Tsapku

Amoo

Kaki

Thigh

Bannen

—

Tangigya

Danoosa

Laloohe

Pauh

Leg

—

—

—

Tiboo-sabossa

—

Betis

Knee

Anasatoo

Khap

—

Pookuro

Sakaho

Lutut

Leopard

Lakotl

—

—

Likalao

Rikoslao

Animau Kambang

Bear

Chumatu

—

—

Chomatu

Choomai

Bruang

Deer

Putooru

—

—

Silappu

Caliche

Rusa

Wild Hog

Aroomthi

—

—

—

Babooy

Babi-outan

Monkey

—

—

—

—

Mararooko

Monyet

Wild Goat

Okin

—

—

—

Kehe

Kambing-outan

Fowl
House

Turhook

—

—

Turkook Turkook
Dami Dami

Ayam \
Ruma

Chief

—

Titan-garchu



Tital-abahi

Tallai

Rajah

Bamboo

Baswera







Taroo-lahiroi

Bulah

Cassia







Tara-inai

Kiilit Manis

Tea

—

—

—

Lang-lang



Daun Teh

Cooking Pan
Pumpkin

Kusang

—

—

Tangu-tangu

Palangu

Kwali-MasakLabii-Fringgi

Fragrant

—

—

. _

—

Anaremu

Wangle

Rice

—

—

— .



Chiluco

Bras

Rice (boiled)

Oaro

—

—

Curao

Ba-ooro

Nasi

Fire

Apooth

Sapooth

Pooju

Apoolu

Apooy

Api

Water

Satloom

Manum

Choomai

Achilai

Achilai

Ayer

Ring

Tujana

Paklis

—

Tarra

Mata-na

Chin-chin

Ear-ring

—

—

. — •

Chin-gari

Ang-choy

Krabu

Bracelet

Pitoka

Push-tonna

—

Uliule

Issaise

Galang

Pipe

Katsap

Kaconan

—

Ang-choy

Ang-choy

Pipa

Gun

Taklito

Pavak-sapum

—

Guang

Guangu

Sadapang

Skin Jacket

Nicaroota

Shiddi

—

Amalin

Carridha

Bajo-kulet

Cap

Sarapun

Tamoking

—

Tara-pung

Torra-pungu

Topie

Letter

—

—

—

Senna

Uraome

Surat

Smoke

Worlboroo

Khosalt

—

Uburon

—

Asap

By-and-bye

Chuden

—

—

—

Churana

Lagi-sabuntar

Warm

Machechu

—

—

Mechechi

Mechechi

Panas

Cold

MatUku

—

—

MatUku

Malilku

Sajuk

Rain

"

"

"

"

Maisang

Ugan

NOTE. — The Formosa vocabularies, with the exception of the Baksa Pepohoan, were supplied by Dr. Maxwell
and the Rev. Mr. Ritchie, Formosa. The Baksa vocabulary was taken down by the author when among
the Pepohoans.

280

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28 I

NAMES OF
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282

TABLE IV.

NAMES OF TRIBES.

ENGLISH.

BAKSA PEPOHOAN.

MALAY.

Man

Kaguling-ma

Qrang

Male

Ama

Jantan

Female

Enina

Batina

Son

Alak

Anak

Daughter

Yugant nina

Anak-dara

Child

Yugant

Anik

Father

Ima

Bapa

Mother

Ina

Ma

Elder brother

Jaka

Abang

Younger brother

Ebe

Adik

Elder sister

Jaka

Younger sister

Ebe

Husband and v^'ife

Maka-kaja

Head

Mongong

Kapala

Body

Bwan

Badan

Belly

Ebuk

Prut

Beard

Nigh

Jangut

Tooth

Wall

Gigi

Mouth

Mutut

Mulut

Throat

Luak

Lhaer

Hair

Bukaun

Rambut

Hand

Lima

Tangan

Foot

Lapan

Kaki

Finger-nails

Ku-rung-kung

Kooku

Eye

Mata

Mata

Ear

Tangela

Talinga

Nose

Togunut

Idung

Death

Ilapati

Mati

Life

Maonga

Idup

Fire

Apoi

Api

Tobacco

Tabacow

Timbacu

Pipe

Timbakang

Pepo

Stand

Neteku

Burderi

Walk

Daran

Jalan

Sing

Mururou

Ngnia

TABLE IV. {Continued).

283

NAMES OF TRIBES.

ENGLISH.

BAKSA PEPOHOAN.

MALAY.

Heat

Ma-kinku

Panas

Cold

Ma-hunmoon

Sajuk

Rain

Mudan

Ugim

Stone

Batu

Batu

Wood

Kiau

Kiau

Iron

Mani

Bisi

Flower

Eseep

Bunga

Fruit

Toto

Bua

Earth

Ni

Tana

Water

Jalum

Ayer

Wind

Bali

Angin

Smoke

Atu

Asap

Clean

Ma-kupti

Brisi

Dirty

Ma-luksung

Cotor

Black

Ma-edum

Etam

White

Ma-puU

Puti

Red

Ma-epong

Mera

Rice

Dak

Bras

Rice cooked

Rudak

Bras-masa

River

Mutu

Sungi

Sky

Towin

Langit

Sea

Baung

Laut

To blow

Ayu

Teop

To push

Dudung

Kaki

Banana

Bunbun

Pisang

Cocoa-nut

Agubung

Kalapa

Mango

Mangut

Mampalam

Orange

Busilam

Lemo

Potato

Tamami

Obie

Bad

Masari

Jahat

Good

Magani

Balk

Disease

Maalam

Sackit

To kill

Lumpo

iKasa-mati
\ or Bono

Sun

Wah

Mata-hari

Moon

Buran

Bulan

284
Comparative Table of the Languages of Formosa, the Philippines
Singapore, New Zealand, Ac.
TABLE V.

c

0) CO
11 nJ o

O m
O o
CJ C
.-9 o

x; rt
rt CO
°^
.-2 S

rt
rt w
OOO
rt t-
m o

6X)

• - rt

^ «

O O

S E

ci >;

CO ,°

P^

li
Oo rt
o c"
a. e
a o
en w.
m 

0.3.
as
¦3 rt
.c I—.

OneTwo
Three FourFive
Six Seven
Eight NineTen
Hand '

Saoe

Tashang

Soo

Lusha

Toro

Taoo

Pati

Piat

Rima

Tima

Neum

Noom

Pito

Pito

Mivaroo

Awoo

Siwa

Siva

Koomath

Basau

—

—

Chum Lusa
ToolooSupatLimaNaumaPitoMevarooChugaMat '

DengaNoosa Toro
PatuLimaNeumaPito MevarooBangatoo Poorookoo

DengaNoosa Toro
PatuLimaNeumPito MevarooCangatu
Poorooku

Itsa

Saat

Lusa

Duha

Toroo

Turo

Sipat

Dapat

Lima

Darima

Unum

Danum

Pito

Dapito

Aloo

Kuipat

Siva

—

Poro

Kating

—

Lima

Isa
DalauaTallo
Apat Lima
AnimPito Ualo
Siam Sampu

u
'^ CO
Ph

CO ¦a
'Si o
tsi

It.

3 3
rt -a

ca c
e2

a

rtj-g

JS rt
rt bi)

&

cn <y

OS

s.s

4)

Q°

cn
1
UsaDuha TatoUpat
LimaUniam PitoUalo
SiamNapulo
Tahi
Rua Toro WaRima Ono
WituWarn IwaNga-huru
Tassa
Roua TorouFaLima Ono
FitouWarouSivaAnhafouro
SaiDouiKior Fiak
Rim Onem
Fik WarSion
Somfour
Taha Oua
TolouFaNima OnoFttouValou
Hiva Oulou
TahiBona TodouWa
Dima Ono
WitouWadouIwa
NgaOudon
EssaRoua Taiou
ApatLimaAnamPitonWalou
SioPoulou
SatuDua Tiga
AmpatLima
AnamTugo
Da-lapan
Sambilan Sa-puluh
1 I have added the word Lima, or Hand, in the Baksa dialect, in which it also means five.
' In many Negro languages Lima also means hand '. See the late Mr. Crawford's Dissertation
on the Malay language, etc., p. 236
2 Essays Ethnological and Linguistic, by the late James Kennedy, p. 74-
3 Du Dialecte de Tahiti, de celui des lies Marquises, et en general, de la Langue Polyn6-
sienne. Table, p. loi.
< Voyage de I'Astrolabe, par M. D'Urville. Paris, 1834.
.^LE UNIVERSITY

YALE

V

i