POLITICAL, COMMERCIAL ,
AND
SOCIAL ;
IN AN OFFICIAL REPORT TO HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT.
BY
R. MONTGOMERY MARTIN , Esq .,
7
Weigh
LATE HER MAJESTY'S TREASURER FOR THE COLONIAL, CONSULAR AND DIPLOMATIC SERVICES IN
CHINA AND A MEMBER OF HER MAJESTY'S LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL XT HONG KONG.
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VOL. I.
LONDON :
JAMES MADDEN, 8, LEADENHALL STREET .
MDCCCXLVII.
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DEDICATION.
1
TO THE QUEEN .
MADAM ,
The gracious permission to dedicate these Volumes to
Your Majesty, induces me to solicit a consideration of the great
interests involved in the British relations with China ; an Empire
first opened to our commerce by the patriotic spirit of Queen
Elizabeth, and with which our intercourse has been enlarged
during the auspicious reign of Your Majesty.
1
To extend personal communication with nearly four hundred
million comparatively civilized people - to establish mercantile
relations with the immense regions of Central Asia- and to pro
mote the blessings of Christian civilization among myriads of
mankind, are the principal objects of this work ; and, however
imperfectly developed , I trust they will receive the favourable
notice of Your Majesty.
* Vol, ii., page 1 .
DEDICATION .
A vast Empire, which has been almost miraculously preserved
for more than two thousand years, is now in friendly alliance with
Your Majesty, and with two of the most powerful Sovereigns of
Europe, (those of France and Russia), the isolation of ages has
been destroyed- and China is now admitted into the social
compact of the western hemisphere.
England, France, and Russia, are the representatives of three
great principles in politics— the Aristocratic - the Democratic, and
the Absolute ; they are also identified with three forms of Chris
tianity-the Protestant- the Romanist, and the Greek ; they are
antagonistic in Creed, Constitution, and Character. The domi
nions of Your Majesty, and those of the Emperor of Russia, now
adjoin those of the Emperor of China.
It is consistent with the experience of history, that at no dis
tant period a rivalry will arise in the East, that a strenuous endea
vour will be made to establish a dominant influence in China
to stamp an impress on a materialist people admirably adapted
for the reception of superior intelligence, and to wield for ulterior
purposes a mighty nation which, although long dormant, is capa
}
ble of producing an extraordinary influence on mankind .
It is, therefore, of great importance that international relations
<
be established on the most amicable basis, and that the divine prin
ciples of Justice, revealed for the guidance of kingdoms as well as
of individuals, shall characterize every transaction with the
Chinese government and people.
It is thus only that England can possess a valuable and
!
DEDICATION .
permanent influence in China, —it is by such means a mutuality
of interests may best be consolidated, —and an opening intercourse
be disarmed of that fear or jealousy which destroys confidence,
and may eventually lead to hostilities between the two Empires.
The exalted character of Your Majesty precludes the idea that
any other course of policy would receive the Royal sanction ; and
I am, therefore, emboldened to entreat the attention of Your
Majesty to the section in this Report on the " English Opium
Traffic in China .” * It is impossible to peruse the official docu
ments on this point without acknowledging that Your Majesty's
subjects are engaged in the commission of a fearful crime in
China ; that they are actively embarked in a traffic which is des
troying the lives and deteriorating the morals of thousands of our
fellow creatures ; and that the Emperor of China, after waging
an ineffectual war to stop this calamity, is now compelled to
endure the continued and encreasing perpetration of an offence
which would not be permitted against any Sovereignty in Eu
rope ; and which our superior strength enables us to commit
with impunity .
The island of Hong Kong was ceded to Your Majesty by the
Emperor of China, as a residence for British merchants, and as a
careening station for their ships . That island has been converted
by the Representative of Your Majesty into an Opium depôt, and
under the purchased license of Your Majesty, a drug justly deno
minated by the Emperor of China, as a "flowing poison," is sold
in defiance of the Chinese Government , for the avowed purpose
of being smuggled into China, -or for the use of such of His
* Vol. ii. p. 174 to 262.
I
DEDICATION .
Majesty's subjects as may seek protection under the flag of
England, from the adjacent mainland, where the " opium offence"
is punishable with death !*
I crave the attention of Your Majesty to another matter dis
cussed in this Report. It is a suggestive fact that England did
not become a colonizing and commercial nation until
ና Protestanism
was established, and the Bible translated for dissemination
in distant lands. A maritime and mercantile nation appears
71
to have been specially chosen by the Supreme Disposer of
Events for this hallowed purpose . ެތ ގ . $
Ther ... * ... '
The English language is now more extensively spoken than any
other in the World, and in due time will most probably be the me
dium of communication among all Nations ; the British Sovereignty
is more widely spread than that of any known Empire,-the richest
plains, the loftiest mountains, the largest rivers, the most
capacious lakes, -the best placed islands, the securest havens,
and the strongest fortresses are all within the dominions of Your
Majesty, the commerce and wealth of this Empire have no parallel
in Ancient or Modern record ; enterprize, skill, and capital have
brought the most distant regions of the earth by steam navigation
within constant, speedy, and certain communication ; and the bles
sings of civil and religious liberty, -of political and moral freedom,
are firmly established throughout an Empire- on which the sun
never sets .
Such have been the glorious results of the principles established
* Vol. ii . p . 186 , 187 , 188 , 221 .
+ State of Religion and Christianity in China. Vol. ii . ch. 10 , p . 428 to 501 .
DEDICATION .
and inculcated by the regal predecessor of Your Majesty, Queen
Elizabeth ; their operating effects were manifested in the found
ation of Colonies, -in the extension of commerce,-and in the
dissemination of a pure Christianity to which colonies and com·
merce have largely contributed.
Yet the British Empire is but in the infancy of its power,
and we have scarcely commenced the moral and spiritual duties
for which dominion has been granted.
We are still on the threshold of an Empire, whose territory
is nearly as large as Europe, with a population equal in numbers
to one third of mankind ; and we have no intercourse whatever
with the extensive and populous kingdoms ofJapan, Corea, Cochin
China, and Siam, which contain about one hundred million of
civilized inhabitants,* and which I humbly seek permission to
open to British trade and intercourse.
An interchange of the peculiar products of each Country tends
to the establishment of friendly relations, and may be made the
medium for promoting civilization . Commerce is thus rendered
auxiliary to the extension of Christianity, which rightly understood
is inseparable from the enjoyment of the highest range of earthly
power and happiness.
There is, therefore, every inducement to encourage the esta
blishment of a pure faith in the regions recently opened, and still
1 to be opened, to British intercourse ; it is thus only, under Divine
* Vol i., c. ix. p . 295 to p. 361 .
DEDICATION .
Providence, that the sceptre of Your Majesty may be upheld ,
and it appears to be for this sacred purpose that vast power and
wide spread dominion have been granted to England .
I should have been unworthy of the honourable station entrusted
to me by the Gracious favour of Your Majesty, had I failed to
prepare to the best of my ability, the statements contained in
these volumes, which have occupied my sedulous attention for the
past three years ; I conceived it to be an object of national impor
tance to examine in detail our new and complex position in
China ;-to investigate the value or worthlessness of Hong Kong ; *
to check to the utmost of my power, a wasteful application of
the resources of Your Majesty's treasury ; -and to point out
what appeared to be an erroneous course of national policy, which
required timely correction previous to the evacuation of Chusan .†
To accomplish these objects , I conscientiously believed that I
should most efficiently fulfil my grateful duty as a servant of the
Crown, by returning without delay to England , even at the sacri
fice of my position in China, to lay this official report before Your
Majesty's government. ‡
If it be deemed that I have erred in so doing, I trust Your
Majesty will indulgently consider the originating motive, and that
a zealous desire to promote the welfare of my country, may be
pleaded in extenuation .
With an heartfelt prayer, that it may please an Overruling
* Vol. ii. page 317. + Vol . ii . page 369 .
Correspondence on resignation, vol. ii. p . 404 to 410, and Appendix, p . xiv. to xviii.
DEDICATION .
Providence to vouchsafe to Your Majesty a continuance of that
Wisdom which can alone benefit the counsels of a nation ; —and
a full enjoyment of those blessings which have hitherto resulted
from the admirable fulfilment of the exalted station devolving
on the Sovereign of this great Empire, -I beg permission to
subscribe myself,
Your Majesty's dutiful subject,
R. M. MARTIN.
London,
March 1st, 1847 .
+
1
LIST OF MR. MARTIN'S WORKS .
Copies
printed
I. History of the British Colonies, 5 vols. ; 28 Maps, Charts, & c. 8,500
II. Marquis Wellesley's Indian Despatches, 5 vols.; Maps, Plans , &c. 8,000
III. British Colonial Library, 10 vols.; Engravings , Maps, &c. 22,000
IV. Eastern India, 3 vols.; 200 Drawings, Maps, Plans, &c. 4,500
V. Statistics of the British Colonies, I large vol.; 3,000,000 Figures,
Seals, & c. 3,000
VI. Ireland as it was- is-and ought to be ( 1833 ) ; Tabular Charts, &c. 1,500
VII. Political, Commercial, and Financial Condition of Anglo - Eastern
Empire in 1832, 8vo . 1,500
VIII. British relations with the Chinese Empire in 1832, 8vo. 3,000
IX. Taxation of the British Empire ; with Tabular Views, &c. 1,500
X. Past and Present State of Tea Trade of England, Europe, and America 1,500
XI. Analysis of Parliamentary Evidence on China Trade, 1832 3,000
XII. Colonial Policy of the British Empire ; Part I., Government 1,500
XIII. Marquis Wellesley's Spanish Despatches, 1 vol. , 8vo. 1,500
XIV. Colonial Magazine, 7 vols. 8vo . , completed , Engravings, &c. 12,000
XV. Ireland before and after the Union ; ( 1844) Map, Tables, & c. 3,000
XVI. Analysis of the Bible, two Editions, and a Translation into Chinese 5,000
XVII. China : Political , Commercial, and Social , with Maps and Tables,
2 vols. 8vo. 2,000
Evidence before Parliament on Taxation , in 1836-37.
Examination before Select Committee of House of Commons, on the
Commerce of India, the Subsidiary States, &c., 1839-40.
Poor Laws for Ireland , a Measure of Justice for England, & c.
Pamphlet : impressions circulated • 10,000
East and West India Sugar Duties Equalization : impressions circulated 40,000
Monetary System of British India : impressions circulated 10,000
Analysis of the Evidence before Parliament for two Sessions, on the
Handloom Weavers ; prepared at the unanimous request of
the Parliamentary Committee, and printed by order of the
House of Commons.
The Bank of England and the Country Bankers 3,000
Effects of Climate , Food, and Drink upon Man 2,000
Colonial Atlas, with Maps of each Colony, Engraving.
Various Pamphlets on Commerce, Finance, Shipping, & c.
The foregoing publications comprise about seventy thousand octavo volumes, illus
trated by numerous Maps, Engravings, Plans, and Statistical Charts. The mere
mechanical expenditure on those works, for printing, paper, engraving, &c., has been
upwards of twenty thousand pounds sterling, towards which not the slightest assist
ance has been afforded by Her Majesty's Government.
9
STATISTICAL VIEW OF CHINA PROPER, BY R. M. MARTIN .
Sea Coast, Distance Area Population Quantity ofLand Salt Revenue Total fixed Sent to the Emperor . Remains in Soldiers and ‡ I
on each Quantity in Land Tax in Chau ‡
Provinces. Provincial Capital. Geographical Position . or from in Square Population. in Cultivation in in Taels of Sundry Duties Revenue of the Provincial Militia in each Foo Ting
Ting Chau Heen
Inland. Miles. Square English Acres. English Acres. Taels of Silver. Silver. in Taels. Province. Depart Depart- Depart- Districts . Districts . Districts . Topography of the Provinces. Principal Productions.
Peking. Mile. each Province . Money in Taels. Rice in Shih. † Treasury.
ments. ments. ments.
Lat. N. Long. E.
0 / // 0 / // in Taels.
CHIH-LE PEKING . 39.54.13 116.28.00 Inland .. 58,949 27,990,871 473 37,727,360 13,143,837 1,334,457 437,949 153,272 1,925,650 1,939,941 621,813 151,000 11 6 3 17 124 Westward very flat, sloping towards the sea, sterile.
Le. * Millet, ginseng, fruits, tobacco, coal, saltpetre, skins .
SHAN-TUNG TSE-NAN-FOO • 36.44.24 117.07.30 Sea Coast 800 65,104 28,958,764 515 41,666,560 19,421,081 3,396,165 120,720 70,661 3,930,513 2,730,736 353,973 691,141 35,000 10 2 9 96 Mountainous, a bracing climate, bold and good harbours. Corn and fruits, drugs, wines, skins .
SHAN -SE TAE-YUEN- FOO • 37.53.30 112.30.30 Inland .. 1200 55,268 14,004,210 253 35,371,520 6,591,724 2,990,675 507,828 82,944 3,580,647 2,702,285 169,240 328,290 35,000 9 10 3 6 85 Very mountainous, sterile and woody. Silks, wines, iron, salt, marble, jasper, musk.
:
HONAN KAE-Fung- FOO • 34.55.00 113.20.00 Inland . • 1540 65,104 23,037,171 353 41,676,300 14,456,407 3,164,758 44,950 3,420,940 2,441,110 221,242 626,623 24,000 9 4 6 97 Flat, very fertile, climate agreeable. The garden of China ; rhubarb, musk, indigo .
NANKING . 32.04.40 118.47.00 Sea Coast 2400 37,843,501 13,797,689 3,116,826 2,085,282 142,317 6,475,690 2,564,728 1,401,273 8 1 3
2
KANG-SOO 422,709 3 62 Very low and fertile, climate good . Medical herbs, China-ware, gold, tin, lead, salt.
92,661 774 59,595,040 132,000
GAN-HWUY GAN - KING- FOO 30.37.10 117.04.13 Sea Coast 2700 34,168,059 6,762,418 1,174,110 1,174,110 776,173 8 5 4 50 Romantic scenery, and fertile on banks of Yang. Varnish trees, green teas, silks, rice, millet.
KIANG-SI NAN-CHANG-FOO • 28.37.12 115.48.17 Inland . 2850 72,176 30,426,999 421 46,192,640 9,585,412 1,878,682 5,150 38,593 2,719,488 1,602,431 795,863 540,705 39,000 13 1 2 1 75 Sterile and hilly, climate healthy . Coarse cloths, hemp, China-ware, drugs.
FOO-KEEN FUH-CHOO- FOO 26.02.24 119.25.00 Sea Coast 4845 53,480 14,777,410 276 34,227,200 2,565,417 1,074,490 85,470 42,630 1,202,590 1,055,109 208,050 76,000 10 2 3 62 Very mountainous, good harbours, fertile where capable of cultivation . Black teas, camphor, sugar, indigo, tobacco.
CHE-KEANG . • HANG- CHOO-FOO 30.20.20 | 120.07.34 Sea Coast 3300 39,150 26,256,784 671 25,056,000 9,195,754 2,914,946 501,034 49,037 2,532,327 2,287,346 66,600 687,277 35,000 11 1 1 76 On the sea coast very hilly but fertile. Silk, paper, wines, Lung-tsing-cha, a costly tea.
:
HOO-PIH . WOO-CHANG-FOO 30.34.50 114.13.30 Inland . • 3155 37,370,098 11,338,269 1,174,110 11,554 1,282,598 776,173 96,934 333,543 37,000 10 1 7 60 Well watered, numerous lakes and rivers.
Teas, paper, rice, rhubarb, musk, tobacco .
:
144,770 317 92,652,800
HUNAN CHANG-CHA- FOO 28.12.00 112.46.57 Inland .. 4550 18,652,507 6,245,759 882,745 44,345 924,302 944,422 96,214 265,379 51,000 9 3 4 3 64 Slightly elevated and fertile, a good climate. Gold, silver, tin, drugs, mercury, hemp.
: LO5
LO
LO
SHEN-SE SE-GAN-FOO 34.16.45 108.57.45 Inland .. 2650 10,207,256 5,047,420 1,658,700 507,028 40,623 2,206,351 306,336 265,498 104,000 7 5 5 73 Plains and mountains, cold and barren.
164 98,565,120 < Woollens, iron, copper, drugs, furs, millet.
154,008
KAN -SUH LAN-CHOO-FOO • 36.08.24 103.55.00 Inland .. 4040 15,193,135 ) 3,556,626 280,652 39,450 60,787 380,889 1,082,644 72,274 123,000 9 6 7 7 51 Mountainous, fertile fields, and sandy deserts. Gold, quicksilver, musk, tobacco .
:
SZE-CHUEN . . CHING-TOO-FOO · • 30.40.41 103.10.30 Inland .. 5700 166,800 21,435,678 128 106,752,000 9,182,933 631,094 31,782 662,880 13,029 85,000 12 6 8 3 11 111 Bold coast, good harbours, fertile, fine climate. Copper, iron, tin, rhubarb, rice, salt, drugs .
:
KWANG - TUNG ,
OR CANTO KWANG - CHOO-FOO 23.08.09 111.16.30 Sea Coast 7570 79,456 19,147,030 214 50,851,840 6,576,658 1,364,364 47,913 65,220 1,477,497 719,307 339,143 99,000 9 2 4 3 7 79 Excellent harbours, fertile soil, climate good. Rice, silks, fish, vegetables, copper, iron, tin.
KWANG-SI • KWE-LIN- FOO 25.13.12110.13.50 Sea Coast 7460 78,250 7,313,895 93 50,080,000 1,748,012 416,399 47,150 52,660 516,149 275,559 86,945 42,000 11 1 3 16 47 Bold mountains, fertile valleys, large forests . Fruits, rice, cassia, iron, lead, sugar, tin .
YUN -NAN . YUN -NAN-FOO . 25.06.00 | 102.51.40 Inland .. 8200❘ 107,969 5,561,320 51 69,100,160 1,389,996 209,582 227,626 34,256 471,464 188,927 227,626 53,596 53,000 14 3 4 5 27 39 The Switzerland of China, very wild and jungley . Rich in metals, rice, musk, betel-nut .
LO
KWEI-CHOO . • KWEI-YANG-FOO 26.30.00 106.36.10 Inland .. 7640 64,554 5,288,219 82 41,314,560 513,835 181,268 6,234 24,431 131,938 52,846 13,314 70,000 12 3 1 5 13 34 Wild and mountainous, intersected by several rivers . Considerable metallic wealth, tobacco, drugs.
Total 1,297,999 367,632,907 283 830,829,100 141,119,347 | 27,854,023 | 4,618,834 991,092 | 35,016,023 22,445,573 | 3,428,955 | 5,569,329 1,232,000 182 18 67 45 143 1285
This Table is prepared from various authorities : the greater portion was furnished to me in China, translated from the Official Records . Dr. Gutzlaff and other Chinese scholars considered the Population Census correct. The number of inhabitants to the square mile is about the same as in England, and less than the number in Ireland . The most dense population in China is along the banks of the great rivers, particularly near the
great Yangtzekang, and central districts of the country, where the waters, furnish large supplies of food. The fecundity of the Chinese is visible in every village, where children are grouped in considerable numbers. It is probable that the dependent Provinces of Mongolia, Mantchouria, Turkestan, and Tibet, contain a population of forty millions : thus making the inhabitants of the whole Empire more than four hundred millions !
* A Le is about 631 yards English . + A Shih is 160 lbs. Avoirdupois. See Page 6, Chapter 1.
ì
PREFA C E.
THE object of the following pages is to awaken an earnest interest
in England in behalf of one- third of the human race ; to offer,
in a condensed view, the past history and present state of China
in its domestic and foreign relations ; to investigate the causes
which prevent four hundred million * industrious, sober, obedient,
pacific, and educated people, holding the position to which they are
entitled among the other kingdoms of the earth ; to examine our
own political, commercial, and social position in that vast country,
in order that the statesman, the merchant, and the philanthropist,
may be the better enabled to direct their course of action to the
production of some beneficial result equally conducive to the
welfare and concord of England and China.
Hitherto, we have acted in ignorance of the internal state of
China, and without any defined system . The result has been a
disappointment of sanguine expectations, and the practical exclu
sion of Europeans from that internal communication by which
trade could be best extended, and social intercourse beneficially
promoted .
To remedy this and other serious defects in our past pro
ceedings, all the useful information collected by trustworthy
observers at different periods, has been collated under different
* In China Proper there are 367,632,907 inhabitants, (sce Statistical Chart of
Provinces) , and in the Dependencies of Mantchooria, Mongolia, Turkestan, Tibet ,
&c. at least 30,000,000 , making a total of FOUR HUNDRED MILLION people under one
government. The population of the whole carth is estimated at 800,000,000 to
1,000,000,000 million.
.
مر
ii PREFACE .
heads. The accuracy of this information has been substantiated
by the testimony of several learned and intelligent gentlemen,
long resident in China ; and every accessible part of the country
has been visited to verify the statements subjected to examination .
The following documents were, accordingly, transmitted to Her
Majesty's Government, in the hope they might prove of some
utility ; and the Lords' Committee of the Privy Council for Trade
having offered no objection to their publication, they are now
submitted for public perusal, divested of several voluminous
statistical tables and official returns .
The plan adopted has been to shew, in the first part, the
physical geography ; the population, and, so far as may be
necessary to an understanding of character, their customs, habits
and classification ; the agricultural, manufacturing, and mineral
products ; the imperial, provincial, and municipal governments ;
the monetary system ; and the amount and state of the revenue
of China.
The second part contains the early history of this ancient
empire, and its intercourse with foreign nations-European and
Asiatic,-in elucidation of the line of policy which it seems
advisable to pursue .
The third part details the internal, coasting, and foreign traffic,
and the regulations under which it is conducted . To this is
subjoined a separate section on the tea trade, and another on
opium, with the state papers of the Chinese ministers and au
thorities on this highly-important and still unsettled question.
The fourth part describes the Consular Ports of Canton, Amoy,
Foochoo, Ningpo, and Shanghai ; and the stations of Hong- Kong,
Chusan, Macao, and Kiackta . To this has been added a succinct
exposition, deducible from the facts detailed, on our present posi
tion and future prospects in China.
If wealth and power involve a responsibility to Him who per
mits their acquisition ;-if England have been almost miraculously
raised from a small insular kingdom, to become the dominant
Empire of the earth ; -if her destiny be, through the apparent
instrumentality of her commerce, to civilize mankind ; —then ,
indeed , a fearful responsibility attends her proceedings in China .
PREFACE . iii
The onward progress of England, in political and commercial
freedom-in the practical application of science- in the accumu
lation of capital-in the extension of maritime communication , —
indicates that she cannot be passive : action is essential to her
J
existence- it is the main spring of her life-the animating im
pulse which produces evil or good ; if not rightly directed, it
will tend to her downfal, after the manner of other states ; but,
under wise and righteous principles, this very law of her being
will conduce to the establishment of her supremacy over the earth
so long as Christianity shall exist.
It is the direct interest of all other nations that this supremacy
be maintained ; a republic of kingdoms is as utopian as a republic
of individuals : —some powerful Empire has always swayed the
world, but whoever possessed the dominion has unfortunately used
its power for the subjugation and enslavement, rather than for the
elevation and liberty, of weaker states .
This has not been the career of England ; her insularity has
happily prevented the necessity of seeking continental European
territory ; her free political institutions have naturally rendered
her desirous of extending their advantages to other nations ; and
her pure and tolerant religion has made her the ark to which the
oppressed can flee for safety and repose ; and , while placing a salu
tary check on ambition or mere aggrandizement, it has inspired
the desire, and furnished the means, of contributing to the ad
vancement of all countries .
What then have the nations of Europe to fear from the
supremacy of England ? She has thrown open the ports of her
wide-spread maritime dominion to every nation ; whatever new
territory she conquers, or reclaims from the desert, it is freely
opened to mercantile competition ; she retains no selfish monopoly
——-claims no undue privilege, —exercises no arbitrary sway to the
prejudice of Europe. Possessed of a power, which could at any
moment arouse a general war, -with resources at her command far
greater than she ever possessed, -of a magnitude which strangers
cannot see, and which are comprehended but by few, she yet
earnestly seeks peace, because it is a Christian duty, and desires
no other rivalry with her surrounding competitors than that of
iv PREFACE ,
extending the blessings of order, industry, and intelligence, -of
promoting the interchange of commodities, and of facilitating
intercourse with the most distant regions . These unquestionable
facts demonstrate, that whatever position England may acquire in
China it will not be for her exclusive advantage ; the time is
happily arriving, when nations, as well as individuals, learn that
a benefit conferred returns to the donor with a blessing,—that
injuries reflect punishment on the perpetrators,-and thus even in
a selfish point of view, the exercise of good is a far better policy
than the commission of injustice .
A conviction of the truth of this divine precept is slowly dawning
on the minds of men ; it is the high behest of England to prove
the reality by its practical application . No sphere could be more
appropriate for its exercise than China, where myriads of our
fellow creatures seem specially adapted for, and prepared to receive ,
the influence of a Christian civilization . It is impossible to
estimate fully the effects of such an influence on so vast a mass
of mankind ;—it is difficult to calculate the extraordinary commer
cial power which would be created by four hundred million active
and intelligent beings, with numerous desires, keen perceptions,
and indomitable industry, having full scope given to their sin
gular energies ; —it is deeply interesting to consider the physical,
moral, and intellectual results which would accrue not only to
the continent of Asia, but also to those of Europe and of America,
from the christianization of China. Under Providence, this glori
ous consummation may be witnessed by the existing generation ;
but whether this be permitted or not, it is the bounden duty of
all Christians to aid in its accomplishment.
An humble labourer in a vineyard teeming with promises,
sincerely trusts, that this truly important subject will be examined
without reference to its comparatively feeble exposition, and that
the facts submitted for consideration , may induce those who have
the means, to assist in opening China to perfect freedom of inA
tercourse with all Europe and America, for the sake of extending
the commerce, and promoting the freedom, the welfare, and the
happiness of mankind.
CHINA ;
GEOGRAPHICAL , POLITICAL , COMMERCIAL ,
AND SOCIAL .
CHAPTER I.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY .
THE Chinese Empire extends through about thirty- five degrees of
latitude, and about sixty-five degrees of longitude, bounded on the
east by the Pacific Ocean for upwards of 2000 miles ; on the south by
Cochin-China, Tonquin, Laos, Siam, Birmah, Assam, and Tibet ;
on the west by Independent Tartary or Great Bukhara and Tur
kestan ; and on the north by the Russian Empire, the Siberian
region, and tribes of nomadic Tartars .
The length of the territory, including the dependent provinces, is
computed at 3000 miles, the breadth at 2000 miles, and the area at
five million square miles ; ofwhich about 1,300,000 square miles are
covered by China Proper, which extends from Pekin in 40° N. to
the Gulf of Tonquin in 20° S. ,. and from the sea coast in 121 ° E.
to the frontiers of Tibet in the 100th degree of longitude . There
are also several large islands attached or tributary to China ; such as
Hainan in 20° N. latitude, Formosa in 25°, the Chusan Archipelago
in 30°, and Segalien in 50° N.
The physical aspect of China, so far as we know, is varied by three
great features : an elevated northern region, or plateau, on which
Pekin is situated ; an alluvial plain through which the Yangtzekang
and Hwang-ho rivers flow to the sea ; and a broken, undulating terri
tory in the south, with broad valleys and lofty mountains . The coast
line from Hainan Island in 20° S. , to the Quesan group of islets in
29° 22′, forms a segment of a circle, and consists generally of a
bold, rugged, mountainous sea-frontage sloping to the westward,
seldom assuming a tabular form,. but frequently rising to cones, or
" haycocks " of 1000 feet, with supporting spurs or buttresses in
every direction ; some connected with an inland ridge of moun
tains, which, at a distance of about 150 to 200 miles from the
coast, traverse the provinces of Fokien and Chekeang, and is then
B
2 PHYSICAL ASPECT OF CHINA .
continued to the northern boundary of Kwantung (Canton) pro
vince, and to the westward towards Bootan . The whole of this
coast line is broken into bays, inlets, and coves, with numerous
islands and rocks, allowing free entrance, and affording good shelter
for vessels. There are few hidden dangers ; the rocks have gene
rally deep water alongside ; and as the wind seldom blows direct on
the shore, navigation is comparatively easy and safe. The aspect
of the south coast is very sterile ; its geological formation appears
to consist of red and grey sandstone, intermixed with coarse granite
in various stages of decomposition . As the sea is receding from
the land,. large boulder stones, and grotesquely formed rocks, worn
by wind and water, give a wild and singular appearance to the
coast . At every nook, or on any rock containing the smallest
patch of arable surface, a fishing village or small trading town is to
be found : but the general feature is aridness, and its concomitant
poverty. There are, therefore, only three large maritime cities,
Canton, Amoy, and Fuchoo, in this division . The first deriving
its support chiefly from foreign , European, and American com
merce ; the second principally from its trade with Canton, Formosa,
Singapore, and the Eastern Archipelago ; and the third owing its
importance to being the principal city of the large province of
Fokien .
Passing northward from the Quesan Group, the aspect of the
country begins to change, the land dipping to the northward as the
delta of the Yangtzekang is approached. At the Chusan Archi
pelago, the geological structure appears to be principally a por
phyritic claystone, tabular, and columnar ; no granite is seen ; the
hills and mountains are clothed with stately trees, or cultivated to
their very summits with crops requiring various altitudes ; rich
vegetation and continuous grain and cotton cultivation abound ;
cattle and sheep become more plentiful ; the sea runs deeply into
the land, which is watered by numerous rivers, and which, together
with the adjacent seas, abound in varieties of fish.
Chekeang is indented with bays and rivers. Keangsoo is acces
sible by the large rivers Yangtzekang and Hwang-ho or Yellow River,
so called from its immense discharge of yellow clay and sand, which
colours the neighbouring sea. Shantung is rugged, and marked
by promontories ; the southern part of Chih-li province is flat and
sandy. Tientsen, or the White River, is the only port available
for vessels of burthen.
In such a vast extent of territory the aspect and climate must be
very diversified : —thus there are some tracts similar to the swampy
plains of Holland ; others like the mountains and valleys of
Switzerland, —the fertile plains of Lombardy- the champagne
country of France-the dreary steppes of Russia-the sandy deserts
of Africa- and the beautiful hills and dales, the corn and wood
lands, of our own incomparable country.
It is difficult to trace the mountain ridges : one appears to ex
1
ng.
MOUNTAINS OF CHINA .
tend from the province of Yunnan, through Canton province in a
N.E. direction, through Fokein to Chekeang ; it is through this
ridge that the Meling road or pass has been cut, for interior traffic
between Canton and Keangsoo . Another chain passes from Sze
chuen to Shense, and givesthe Yellow River a northerly direc
tion through the great wall. Two mountains extend westward of
Peking. Generally speaking, the mountains in the N.W. are not
continuous ranges, but " table lands," which extend N. and S. of
the Yellow River, over the provinces of Kansuh and Shense.
The provinces of Shanse, Shense, Sze- chuen, and Yunnan con
stitute a part of the table land of central Asia. In Yunnan the
mountains are said to form a gigantic wall, with but one pass,
which is closed with two gates, guarded on one side by Tonquinese,
on the other by Chinese.
The three lines of mountains, which begin respectively at the
Yellow Sea, at the Yangtzekang, and at the coast of Canton , run
their course to the eastward , north- east and south-east, until they
unite in the great range of European Tibet, a spur or buttress of
the mighty Himalaya. Two great branches from the Tibetian
chain, are called by the Chinese Pih-ling (northern ) and Nan- ling
(southern) chain . The Yunling, which is an offshoot of the Pihling,
separates China from Tibet, and branches to lake Kokonor (Blue
Sea.) The Yang range N. W. of Peking is a portion of the Yin
elevation, which divides China Proper from Mongolia, and which
is continued to the Corean mountains .
The three basins which determine the course of the water
courses, are, 1st, that S. of the Nanling chain, through which the
rivers flow in the Fokeen and Canton provinces ;-2nd, the middle
basin N. of the Nanling, and S. of the Pihling mountains, which
collects the waters that become tributary to the Yangtzekang,
the 3rd is N. of the Pihling, extending to the mountain ridges of
Tartary, called the Yang, through which the Hwang-ho flows into
the Yellow Sea.
It is estimated that two- thirds of China Proper are studded with
lofty mountains, some of which are perpetually covered with snow.
The Chinese geographers enumerate 5,270 celebrated mountains,
of which they say 467 yield copper, and 3,609 iron. There is no
known volcano in China ; some natives say a lofty mountain peak
near Yunnan occasionally emits flame. In Shen-se there are
said to be two mountains which have chasms on their summits ,
which give off flame and smoke when dry grass is thrown therein .
The lakes of China are of two descriptions ; those of the moun
tains, and those of the plains. The surface of the upland districts ,
and especially that of the province of Yunnan, is diversified with
frequently occurring and widely extended collections of water,
lodged in the depressed and pent-up places of the glens and valleys.
The lakes of the plains are mere dilatations of the rivers, or the
estuaries in which they terminate ; and they are so numerous and
B 2
4 LAKES OF CHINA .
expansive, that, inclusive of the marshy places with which they are
associated, they are supposed to occupy a fourth part of the whole
surface of the low country. The plains of China are to all appear
ance usurpations of the land upon the once undisputed domains
of the water. This enlargement of the land is in active operation ,
by the continued deposition of alluvial matter. The Yellow Sea,
with all its creeks, bays and gulfs, is daily becoming less deep, and
more broken with banks and islands . The Po-yang, the largest
of these lakes, lies between 28° and 30° North in the province of
Keang- soo, and receives rivers from most points of the compass ;
the water of which collected into one stream , forms one of the
tributaries of the Yangtzekang. This lake, including its marshes,
is said to be 100 miles in length, and is called the " Inland Sea."
Two hundred miles westward of this lake, in the province of
Hunan a labyrinth of lakes spreads over an extensive surface on
both sides of the river Yangtzekang .
Of this group the lake Tong-ting is said to be the largest ; it is esti
mated at nearly 300 miles in circumference. It form is irregular,
and it receives the waters of many rivers of various sizes .
A great portion of the Imperial Canal lies through a dreary waste
of morass, which occasionally assumes the appearance of a sea,
interspersed with islands .
When the floods subside, the district still retains numerous
groups of large and permanent lakes ; among which are the Po- yang,
and the Lemaare to the west of the canal; the Tai, extended at the
feet of picturesque hills ; together with many more dispersed over
the space which intervenes between the two great rivers.
The Si-hu Lake, situated in the department of Hangchoo, in the
province of Chekeang , covers an area of about four miles in dia
meter. Barrow says, its natural and artificial beauties far surpass
any others he met with in China. The lake extends from the
walls of the city to the foot of the mountains, spreading its arms
here and there into the wooded valleys . The margin of the lake
is adorned with summer houses, grottoes, and light fancy buildings,
and it is covered with innumerable pleasure-boats ; the lake teems
with fish, is not deep , has a gravelly bottom, and excellent water.
The Great River, Yangtzekang, is the largest in Asia, and is
scarcely inferior to any in America ; it is said to measure 2,283
miles in length . It is seen in the western part of the Kokonor
country, the southern division of Mongolia. Its sources are pro
bably in the mountain ridge that furnish the Bhramaputra, and
Irrawaddy. There seem to be three branches, which flow in an
easterly direction and unite at a place called Woo - shoo -too - sze-too,
in latitude 26° ; from thence the river runs south-east and enters
Szechuen province . Even in Tsing-hae many places are situated
on its banks ; which proves that the region around it must be fer
tile, and the river navigable. This river, by means of canals and
lakes, stands in connection with the whole empire ; it is the key to
10
RIVERS AND GREAT WALL . 5
China and central Asia, and has been aptly named the "girdle of the
empire." The mouth of the Yangtzekang is about thirty miles
wide, between the 31 ° and 32° N. latitude, divided into several
channels by low islands, defended by dykes and cultivated by
Chinese. The largest, Tsungming, lying W. N. W. and E. S. E, is
thirty miles long by six to nine broad, and richly productive . We
know, from our fleet under the able command of Admiral Sir Wil-
liam Parker, that this noble river is navigable 200 miles for the
largest class vessels . Coal abounds everywhere on its banks ; and
under a wise policy, our steam-boats would be freely traversing this
vast artery to the rich central regions of China, and spreading civi
lization, peace, commerce, and science among millions of mankind .
The Hwang-ho, or Yellow River, affords inland communication
for nearly 2,000 miles ; but from its low and loose banks and rapid
floods, the country on its margin is subject to frequent inunda
tions. From both these great rivers we are still excluded .
The Grand Canal, called in Chinese the Yunho, or " Transit River,"
is a stupendous work- especially when we consider the period at
which it was finished ; namely, in the fourteenth century. It con
nects the Yangtzekang and Hwang-ho Rivers at a point near
their embouche, where they are about 100 miles apart. The canal
passes through the great plain which extends from Peking through
the deserts of Chihli, part of Shantung, and Keangsoo , to Hang- choo
in Chekeang . We are excluded from traffic on this canal, and have
no port or trading station on its banks . The canal is about 800
miles long, and, in Shantung, where it is fed at its greatest eleva
tion by the Wien-ho, the banks are protected by strong masonry.
Vessels of large burden are raised over the sluices (which serve
instead of locks) by rude but effective machinery constructed in
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries . Chinkeangfoo , on the Yang
tzekang, communicates with the Grand Canal, and would be an
excellent station for our trade.
The far-famed Great Wall of China was commenced by the Em
peror Hwangte, who reigned B.C. 246. His reign may be justly
termed an iron rule, that drew forth sufficient means and men to
complete in a few years this gigantic work. The intention and
object of this wall was to fortify China against the inroads of the
Tartars. The wall is 1,500 miles long ; in height varying according
to the locality—in some parts the elevation is twenty-five feet, with
towers forty feet high erected at not more than 100 yards distance
from each other, for a considerable portion of the entire wall. The
country on which a portion of the wall is erected is hilly and wild ;
it is built on the steep sides of mountains, between five and six
thousand feet above the level of the sea ; it surmounts their sum
mits, and again descends into the valleys : on crossing a river it
forms a ponderous arch. A large mound of stone erected in the
province of Chih- li, east of Peking, formed the beginning of this
mighty bulwark . Its principal direction is from E. to W.; the ram
6 TOPOGRAPHY OF PROVINCES .
part runs along the northern confines of three provinces, Chih -li,
Shan-sc, and Shen-se ; and thus defends in some measure a popula
tion of fifty million of inhabitants, which are scattered along the
whole northern frontier of the empire. This great wall terminates
in latitude 40° 4′ N. , longitude 120° 2 ′ E. A sketch was taken of
its termination by one of our war-party in 1840. The wall, after
descending from the highlands, which are very rugged , stretches
northward a few miles across a narrow plain to a ledge of rocks,
with which it seems to unite, and there loses itself in the waters of
the gulf of Leaontung. The celebrated passes through the Great
Wall,. proceeding westward from the coast, are the following :
Hifung-kau, lat . 40° 26′ N. , Kupe-kau, lat. 40° 43′ N. , (Lord Ma
cartney's embassy passed through Kupe-kau gate) , Tushi-kau, lat.
41° 19′ 20″ N.: the fourth gate is the key of the commerce of Russia
and China ; it is called Chang-kau, in lat. 40° 51 ′ 15″ N. and is the
fixed residence of a great number of merchants, who carry on a large
trade with Mongolia. It is the residence of the Commander-in
Chief, or the Keeper- General of Chahar, who has a large military
force at his command at all times.
In order to convey some idea of the topography of the different
provinces, the following abstract is subjoined .
CHIH- LI OF PE- CHELE has had its northern boundaries greatly ex
tended . It was anciently called Yu and Yen , and is now the capital
province of the Empire. The sea coast forms the boundary from
Shan Tung Province to the Great Wall, which for a short dis
tance divides Chih-li ; thence a palisade is the separating line, to
the River Hwang-ho. This river marks the northern boundary of
the province from the palisade to its source among the peaks of the
Hingan. Thence the boundary runs nearly due east and west, in
lat. 42° 30′ N. The western boundary running nearly N. and S.
extends over more than seven and a half degrees of latitude, and
divides Chih -li from Shense and Honan . The western parts of the
province are flat, and slope towards the sea, but the country towards.
Shan-se rises and is hilly. There are two lakes in the E. and S.
division of the province . The great canal passes through the E.
part, and falls into the Pei- ho in lat . 39° 11 ', long. 0° 48′ east of
Peking. The Pei-ho river takes its rise a little beyond the Great
Wall and disembogues in the gulph of Pe- chele. It has no tides,
but flows very rapidly. The entrance to the river Pei-ho is rather
shallow, in consequence of a bar which stretches for a considerable
distance into the sea. The province is divided into districts and
and departments, called foo, ting, chaw and heen. A foo is a large
portion or department of a province. A ting is a division of a
province smaller than a foo . A chaw is a division similar to a ting,
and, like it, independent of any other. A heen may be called a
district, or small division of a department, whether of a foo, or of
an independent chaw or ting . Each foo, ting, chaw, and heen,
possesses one walled town, which is the seat of its government .
TOPOGRAPHY OF PROVINCES . 7
This province contains eleven foo, six chaw departments, three
ting districts, seventeen chau districts, and one hundred and
twenty-four heen districts ; and is compared in size with England
and Wales united , or to Michigan, Illinois or Arkansas in the
United States .
SHANTUNG (i. e. " East of the hills") province, anciently called Tsi
and Lu, bounded by Chih-li, is a mountainous country, the coast
bold and well indented . The whole surface of the province is
intersected by rivers, at no great distance from each other. The
Tatsing-ho is the largest river in the province, the Yu-ho, is a
branch of the Pei-ho . The rivers are short. The grand canal
commences at Lingsing-chau ; from this point north to Tientsin ,
the communication is along the channel of a branch of the Pei-ho .
The native maps point out numerous harbours and bays, which
are almost unknown to foreigners . Shantung is about the size
of Wales in Great Britain, or of Georgia in the United States .
SHAN-SE province, called " West of the Hills," anciently Tsin
and Chau, is one of the central divisions of the Empire . It is
bounded on the east by Chih-li and Honan ; on the south by Honan ;
on the west by Shensi ; and on the north by Chahur in Mongolia.
The whole western , and half of the southern boundary, are formed
by the Yellow River. The province is nearly in the form of a
parallelogram, of which the river is one of the longest sides . Its
boundaries are marked to the north by the Great Wall, which sepa
rates the province from Mongolia . Shan-se is mountainous, has
no lakes, but numerous rivers ; the Hwang-ho runs for 180 miles
through the province.
HONAN province, anciently called Yen and Yu, the centre region
of China, borders to the north on Chih-li, Shan-se, and Shan
tung, south upon Hoo -pih, east upon Keang-nan, (Keangso and
Anhwin) , and west upon Shan-se . Its greatest limits to the north,
are lat. 37° ; to the south, 31° 30′ ; to the west, 6° 20′ west of
Peking ; to the east, 25' long. east of Peking. The northern part
stretches into the provinces of Chih-le, and Shan-tung. The river
Hwang-ho runs through its whole breadth . The rivers in the
north are the Chang-ho, Hin-ho, and Ke-ho ; in the south there
is the Foo-ho, with several others . Ho -nan-foo, in lat. 34° 43′ in
the western part of the province, near Hwang-ho river, is surrounded
with mountains , and lies between three rivers, which disembogue
into the Hwang-ho .
KEANG - SOO AND GAN- HWUY provinces were formerly united
under the name of Keang-nan . On the north they border Shan
tung and Honan ; on the south Keang- si and Che-keang ; on the
east the Yellow Sea ; on the west Hoo-pih and Hu-nan. The coun
try extends from 29° to 35° 8′ lat. N., and from 5° 10′ E. of Peking,
to 1° 30 ′ W. The rivers are mostly tributary to the Yangtze
kang, or to the river Hwai. Those that flow into the last, come
from Honan, and run to the S.E. Mountains are seen in the
8 TOPOGRAPHY OF PROVINCES.
PROVINCES .
southern part of the province ; and the ranges form the high
lands on each side of the Great River, where many of the streams
have their sources . The coast is low and flat. The country, for
ten miles inland, is alluvial soil. The only island along the sea
coast of any height is Tac-shan, to the north of the Yellow River,
in lat. 34° 40 ' ; and this is intersected by a double ridge of hills.
The province is about half as large as Spain .
KIANG - SI (west of the river) extends from lat. 24° 30' to 30° 10″,
and from long. 1° 50′ E. of Peking ; bounded on the N.E. by Hu
pih and Anhwui ; on the E. by Che-kiang and Fo - Keen ; on the
S. by Kwang-tung ; and on the W. by Hunan . Its shape is irre
gular, about 400 miles up the Yangtzekang, in a north-westernly
and then in a south-westernly, direction, through the united pro
vinces of Keang- soo and Anhwui. On the north-eastern borders
of Kiang-si, the river leaves the province, after a course of about
eighty miles along its northern frontier, through a part of which
distance it forms the boundary line. The country is hilly, but not
mountainous. The south-western hills separate it from Kwang
tung Province . The province is about the size of Virginia, U.S. ,
or twice the size of Portugal.
Foo -KEEN, anciently called Min or Ho - Keen, borders towards
the N. upon Che- Keang, S. upon Kwang-tung (Canton), E. upon
the Ocean and Formosa Channel, and towards the W. on Keang-se.
It extends from lat. 25° 35' to 28° 47', from long. W. of Peking
0° 22′, to long. E. of Peking 4°, (the Formosa island not included) .
The province is very mountainous. Its sea - coast abounds with
harbours, many of them spacious and safe ; the whole coast is more
indented than any other maritime province . Not far from the
main are several islands, the principal ones are Namoa, Tungshan,
Heaman, Kinmun, and Haytan . The Min is the chief river ; its
branches extend over half the province, and unite into one channel
near the city of Fuchoo. Nearly every branch of the Min has its
fountain-head within the boundaries of the province. A high
range of mountains extend from S. to the N., the highest form
ing the line of demarcation between Kiangse and Foo -keen.
its general features it presents very little level ground.
CHEKIANG province, originally the country of Yue, is of a
circular form, extending from lat. 27° 20′ to 31° 20′ N. , and from
long. 1° 48′ to 6° 30′ E. of Peking, and includes the principal
islands of the Chusan Archipelago. On the N. it is bounded by
the province of Kiang- see, E. by the sea, S. by Foo-keen, and W.
by Kiang-si and Anhwui. The country is in general hilly. The
rivers of the province are numerous, and all of them have a westerly
course . The chief river is the Tang-keang, a navigable river, near
the mouth of which Hang-choo, the capital, is situated ; further
to the S. the Gow-keang and Nan-keang flow into the sea. Its
coasts are studded with islands , which extend as far as the Great
Yangtzekang ; the most important are the Chusan group, of
TOPOGRAPHY OF PROVINCES . 9
about seventeen or eighteen islands ; the largest island is Ting-hae,
or the Great Chusan. The harbours are Cha-poo, Hang-choo,
Ning-po, Ting-hae, Ship-po, Wan-choo, and Tae-choo.
HOO - PIH AND HU- NAN, formerly Hoo -kwang, borders to the
N. on the province of Ho-nan ; the S. on Kwang-tung (Canton)
and Kwang-se ; to the E. upon Kiang-nan andKiang-si ; and
the W. upon Shen-se, Sze-chuen, and Kwei-choo ; and extends
from lat. 24° 45′ to 33° 20' , and from long . W. of Peking,
0° 20′ to 8°. It is divided by the Yangtzekang into two
parts, the northern being called the Hoo-pih, the southern the
Hu-nan . The former is the largest. The Yangtzekang in
its serpentine course receives the Han- Keang : there are several
rivers, which flow near the city of Han Yang, into the same river.
The large and numerous lakes in the neighbourhood of the Yang
tzekang have given the name to this province. This province is
as well watered as any in China .
SHEN- SE AND KANSUH (west of the Pass) previous to the reign
of Keen-lung, were only one province. These provinces extend
from lat. 32° to 40′ and from longitude W. of Peking, 5° 25′ to
17°. They border to the N. upon Mongolia, to the S. upon Hoo
pih and Sze-chuen , to the E. upon Shan-se, and to the W. upon
Mongolia and Soungaria ; the Great Wall runs along its northern
frontiers. Several mountain ridges pass through Shen-se . The
river Hwang-ho flows along the great wall, crossing it twice before
it takes its course into Mongolia. The Wei-ho, one r of the large
rivers in China, flows into the Yellow River in lat . 34° 40′ . The
Han-ho, and Kin-tsin-ho rise in Shen-se and run into Hoo-pih.
SZE -CHUEN , anciently called Sishu, the westernmost and largest
of all the Chinese provinces, extends from lat. 25° 57′ to 33 °, and
from long. W. of Peking, 6° 50′ to 15° 43'. It borders to the N.
upon Shen- se ; to the S. upon Yun-nan and Kwei-choo ; to the
Ŵ. upon the territory of the Kokonor Tartars and the country of
the Tufans ; and the E. upon Hu-nan and Hoo-pih. The Yang
tzekang river travels all through this province. All the other
rivers in the province, (which are numerous) fall into that noble
stream .
KWANG -TUNG, (i.e. Canton, " Eastern -breadth," -also called Yue
tung,) extends from lat. 20° 13′ to 25° 34′, and from long. E. of
Peking 0° 53′ to long. W. of Peking. It borders to the N. upon
Keang-se and Fo-keen ; S. upon the ocean ; E. upon Foo-keen ; W.
upon Hu-nan, Kwang-se, and Ton- quin, from which it is separated
by the Gan-nan River, the natural boundary .
The south-western chain of mountains runs along its northern
boundaries and the Mei-ling mountain, through which a road is
cut. The principal islands along the coast are Hae-nan, to the
south, and the Ladrone group , to which Hong-kong belongs . The
island of Hae-nan is mountainous , extends about fifty leagues in a
N.E. and S.W. direction, and is about thirty-five leagues in breadth ;
10 TOPOGRAPHY OF PROVINCES .
its N.W. and W. coasts are said to be skirted with shoal banks
extending six or seven leagues from the shore. There are seve
ral fine harbours on the south coast . The island of " Namoa,'در
(under the government of Canton) , is thirteen miles in length , and
about three in breadth . The eastern point of the island is in lat .
23° 28′ N., and long. 116° 59′ 30″ E .; it has two mountains, con
nected by a low isthmus . The province is well watered ; the chief
river is called Choo -keang, (Pearl River,) on which the capital
(Canton) is situated. East of Canton is the Tung-keang ; W. the
Yang-keang ; Chaou- choo-foo is situated on the Han -keang, a con
siderable river.
KWANG- SE (called formerly Yuesi) extends from 21° 50′ 15″ lat. ,
from long. W. of Peking, 4° 10' to 12°. It borders towards the
N. upon Kwei-choo and Hu-nan ; E. upon Kwang-tung (Canton) ;
W. upon Yun-nan ; and S. upon Canton and Ton- quin, a province
in Cochin China, formerly in the possession of the Chinese ; brass
pillars mark the boundary. The chief river is the Sang-koi , which
annually overflows its banks. Kwang-se has numerous small rivers
+ which flow between its mountains.
YUN-NAN (anciently called Tien) extends from lat . 21° 40′ to 28°;
from 10° 30′ to 18° 50′ long . W. of Peking. It borders towards
the N. upon Sze-chuen ; towards the E. on Kwei- choo and Kwang
se ; W. upon Tibet, and the territory of savage nations ; S. upon
Ava, Laos, and Ton -quin . Yun-nan is separated from Sze-chuen
on the N. by the Kin-sha-keang. The Mei-nan-korn, Kew-lung
keang, are all rivers of considerable breadth, and disembogue them
selves, the former in the gulph of Cambodia, the latter near Bang
kok. In the centre of the province are four lakes, the largest,
Shang-kwan, is about thirty miles long. The mountains are bold
and steep. The westernmost city is called Ta-le, situated in the
Se-urh, a lake which gives rise to the Ho-te River. It runs into
Ton-quin.
KWEI - CHOO ( or " rich district," anciently Land of Kien ,) extends
from lat. 24° 40' to 29°, and from long. W. of Peking 7° 17′ to
12° 36'. It borders towards the N. upon Sze-chuen ; S. upon the
Kwang-se and Yun-nan ; towards the E. upon Hu-nan ; and to
wards the W. upon Sze-chuen . It is a wild mountainous coun
try . There are several large rivers which intersect the province .
The principal rivers are the Woo -keang, Chang-keho, and the
Shin - ho . It may be seen from the foregoing how little we really
know of this vast Empire, but a few remarks on some of the cities
in the north of China will indicate how erroneously we have re
stricted our intercourse to Canton, and the more southern pro
vinces .
Not less than five cities of the first order, among which are the
celebrated ones of Su-chaw and Hang- Chew, are situated on the
banks of that part of the Grand Canal, between the basin at Hang
Chew, and its junction with the Yangtzekang, a distance of only
CHIEF CITIES - SUCHAW . 11
200 miles ; besides Nankin, and Tong-Kiang foo, and Hew-Chewfoo,
with many other innumerable cities and towns .
Suchaw was recently visited by one of the commercial deputies
attached to the French mission, and ought to have been explored
by British enterprize. It is two days distant from the sea, acces
sible only by inland water communication ; is the second city of
the province of Kiangsoo, and the residence of a governor. Shang
hai is merely its port, and may be compared to Gravesend or
Greenock, in comparison to London or Glasgow. Yet our inter
course is restricted to Shanghai . The situation is beautiful ; the
country all around very pleasant ; the climate delightful, and it is
represented to be the most populous city of the empire. From
Shanghai the route is through cities and villages ; not a yard of
ground is left uncultivated . The country around is flat, the soil of
a rich alluvial character. Cotton, silk, rice, wheat, rye, barley,
and vegetables, are the productions . The intercommunication is
carried on by means of rivers, canals, and lakes, surrounded by
the most flourishing vegetation .
The mulberry, the tallow tree, the black bamboo, green willow,
the paper tree, cypress, the pine, and the wide-spreading banian
tree, all flourish. Machines, moved by men or buffaloes, keep up
constant irrigation : granite sluices are constructed for the same
purpose : all the canals are full of boats, lighters, and junks ,
laden with grain, fruit and other products . Suchaw, like
Hangchew, is not only a town of large commerce and silk-manu
factures, it is also devoted to pleasure . The Chinese say, "Above is
Paradise, below Suchaw ; to be happy on earth, one must be born
here, live in Canton, and die in Lian-chau." Suchaw has a high
reputation in every part of China for its splendid marble buildings,
the elegance of its tombs, the number of its granite bridges, and
artificial canals, gardens, streets and quays ; as also for the
politeness of its inhabitants, and especially for the beauty of the
• female sex .
It is said that the city contains one million of inhabitants,
and that there is another million in the vicinity. Indeed there
are several towns included in one, comprising what is called
Suchaw the city proper, is inclosed with high walls, which are
about ten miles in circumference ; the suburbs are four dis
tinct towns, about ten miles in length, and nearly the same in
breadth ; the population living on the waters is also very great.
Lord Macartney passed through this beautiful city, and fully
confirms the foregoing statement. His boats were nearly three
hours passing the suburbs before they reached the city walls . In
one building-yard, not less than sixteen vessels of 200 tons each
were observed on the stocks. The intelligent and adventurous
Mr. Fortune, agent for the Horticultural Society, whom I had
the pleasure to meet in the North of China, and to accompany to
Ningpo, attempted to enter the city, without success , The French
12 CHIEF CITIES- HAUCHEW.
government were anxious to learn some information on the mul
berry, and silk-manufacture, and a Mr. Isadore Hedde traversed
the city and suburbs in a silk dress, and was not discovered .
He visited the Mint, and all the public buildings, examined
the great and extensive manufacturing locality in the western
portion of the city, where there are manufactories of iron, ivory,
bone, gold, silver, glass, paper, cotton and silk ; and saw them
making that beautiful silk called (Keh Sz' , ) the knowledge of
which is confined to Suchaw : M. Hedde says it surpasses any
thing known in Europe in its representation of figures and flowers .
M. Hedde ascended the Tiger- nose hill Pagoda, from whence he
had a good view of the town, the fortifications, the great imperial
canal, rivers, streams, and pools which intersect the city ; at the
foot of the hill he saw beautiful shops of every description .
The enterprizing Frenchman who undertook this interesting
exploration (for which an Englishman would be liable to deporta
tion and penalties by his own government, under our mistaken
policy,) passed along the imperial canal, among elegant boats
conducted by young girls, richly dressed, and having their heads
decked with gold and flowers and among several junks laden
with the imperial revenues . He saw fields of mulberry trees, and
learned the mode of their cultivation, visited several establishments
and observed the ingenious apparatus for avoiding double cocoons,
the simple process for reeling the fine white silk, named t's ih li,
and the well known seven cocoon thread .
The city of Hang-chew is situated between the basin of the
Grand Canal and the river Yangtzekang, which flows into the
sea about sixty miles eastward of the city. The tide, when full,
increases the width of the river about four miles opposite to the
city. At low water there is a level strand two miles broad . All
goods brought by sea into the river from the southward, as well as
whatever comes from the lakes and rivers of Che-kiang and Fo
kien , must be landed at this city in their way to the northward ;
the city is therefore the general emporium between the northern
and southern provinces.
The population of this city is supposed to be equal to that of
Peking. It is the residence of the viceroy, and the capital of the
province of Che-keang, which produces more silk than all the other
districts of the empire ; not less than 60,000 workmen of this
article are said to be employed within the walls of the city .
The town of Han-ken, situated in the northern division of the
province of Hou-quang, i.e. Hoo -pih, ranks next the above-named
cities, in the estimation of the Chinese at Canton, as a place of
trade . The city of Vu-chang, is the centre of China, and the
place from whence it is the easiest to keep open a communication
with the rest of the provinces . This city, in conjunction with
Hang-yang (only separated by the Yangtzekang) forms the most
populous and frequented portion of China. The two cities may
CHAPOO AND CHAUCHEW . 13
be compared to Paris and Lyons in size, &c. The Yangtzekang
is here 150 leagues from the sea, yet it is three miles wide, and
deep enough for vessels of any size ; the number of vessels navi
1
gating the river is incredible.
CHAPOO is situated on the northern side of the great bay of Hang 1
chew, in the province of Che-keang, it is a place of considerable
trading importance, and the only port from which the trade between
China and Japan is permitted .
During the war, when our troops took possession of this place,
the well-known policy of the Chinese government was clearly
developed. Like all the considerable cities of China, the Tartar
troops had a portion of the city allotted to themselves, which is
surrounded by a wall. The style of the houses are of mixed cha
racter, some being small and others of a more spacious dimension.
One, in particular, was every way suited as a residence for some
distinguished personage. Each is detached , and surrounded with
a wall of about seven feet high, and almost every yard has a well
sunk very deep . The walls of the houses are constructed of brick,
which is plastered and whitened . The average number of the
houses consisted of only two apartments, with a kitchen at the
rear ; the furniture consisted of tables, chairs, and a kind of side
board, together with presses, and wardrobes which were well sup
plied with female habiliments. Every where was seen the comforts,
if not the elegancies, of life.
The Mantchou Emperor, Yung-ching, in 1730, devoted great
attention to the defences of Chapoo, and provided it with a garrison
of 2,000 men, 1,500 matchlocks, 30,000 arrow-men, and a regular
armoury .
CHANG- CHEW, is a large city in the province of Foo-keen, about
thirty-six miles from Amoy, which is merely the port of Chang
chow, from which we are excluded — or, rather, from which we have
voluntarily excluded ourselves . The city lies in a valley nearly em
bosomed in hills, with a river running through it, surrounded by a
wall, inside of which it is thickly planted with trees of large dimen
sions . The population is said to exceed 800,000, independent of
the suburbs .
From an eminence near the city a large plain may be seen,
about thirty miles long and nearly twenty broad, on which there
are not less than eighty villages teeming with an agricultural popu
lation . The streets of the city are from ten to twelve feet wide, some
of them well paved.
The shops are numerous, and appeared well stocked with a
coarse description of goods much resembling those of Canton .
The houses are fronted with wood, with brick side-walls, and gene
rally about two stories high. The crowds and bustle in the streets
prove the city to be populous. The bridges over the river are two
in number ; one of them is built on twenty- six piles of stone about
thirty feet apart and twenty feet each in height ; beams are laid
>
14 PEKING THE CAPITAL.
from pile to pile, and others across, and then paved with granite
blocks, some of which extend from pile to pile in length ; a few
may be seen full forty feet long and two-and- a-half broad : the
width of the bridge is about nine feet, and full one half is covered
with shops and cooking stalls . The temples are large, and spacious
1 grounds are attached to them ; they are said to be one thousand
} years old, and have every appearance of great antiquity : the idols
are large, averaging from ten to sixteen feet high, cut out of granite .
There are two large cities on the Canton River of which we know
nothing, and there must be many wealthy and populous towns of
which we are entirely ignorant, and likely to continue so unless we
adopt a wiser policy.
Peking, the capital of the Chinese Empire, stands on a
vast plain in the interior of the province of Chih-li, the most
northern province of China Proper. It is situated in lat . 39° 55′
N., and in long. 116° 45′ E. from Greenwich and about 3° 30′ E.
of Canton . On the E. and S. the sandy plain extends farther
than the eye can reach ; on the W. and N. hills begin to rise
above the plain only a few miles from the walls of the city ; a
short distance beyond, the prospect is bounded by mountains
which separate Chih- li from Mantchouria. From the Great Wall,
which passes along upon this ridge of mountains, Peking is about
fifty miles distant ; and about 100 miles from the gulph of Chih-li .
The Pei-ho river rising in the N. near the Great Wall, flows within
twelve miles of the city on the E. and passes down in a S. E.
direction by Tientsin into the sea. Some small rivers issuing
from the mountains on the N. W. water a part of the plain ; one
of them, Tunghwuy, descends to the city and supplies its numerous
canals and tanks ; it then flows eastward, and uniting with one of
the larger rivers, forms an extensive water communication, by
which the city is supplied with provisions. The style of the archi
tecture and general appearance of the buildings is similar to that of
Canton, except that the streets are rather wider, and generally run
straight, but they are not paved . The multitude of moveable work
shops of tinkers , barbers, cobblers, and blacksmiths ; and the tents
and booths where eatables are exposed for sale, contract a spacious.
street to a narrow path .
The northern division of Peking, consists of three inclosures, one
within another, each surrounded by its own wall. The first con
tains the imperial palace and the abodes of the different members
of the imperial household ; the second was designed for the resi
dence of the officers of the court, but is now occupied by Chinese
merchants ; the third consists of the space inclosed by the outer
walls, and was formerly inhabited by Tartar soldiers ; but is now
in the possession of Chinese shop-keepers and traders .
The first enclosure (" forbidden city ") is the most splendid and
important part of Peking . It is situated nearly in the centre of
the northern division of the city. It is an oblong parallelogram
PEKING PALACES . 15
about two miles in circumference, and enclosed by a wall nearly
thirty feet high. This wall is built of polished red brick, sur
rounded by a ditch lined with hewn stone, and covered with
varnished tiles of a brilliant yellow, which gives it the appearance,
when seen under the rays of the sun, of being covered with a roof
of gold. The interior of this inclosure is occupied by a suite of
court-yards and apartments, which, it is said, for beauty and splen
dour cannot be surpassed . It is divided into three parts, the
eastern, middle and western . The middle division contains the
imperial buildings, which are subdivided into several distinct
palaces. They are represented by the Jesuits as perfect models
of architecture .
The gates and halls are thus described :
1. The Meridian Gate ! Before this gate on the E. is a lunar
dial, and on the W. a solar, and in the tower above it a large bell
and gong. All public officers enter and leave the palace by the
eastern avenue ; none but the princes of the imperial blood are
permitted to pass the western, and none but the emperor the
southern avenue. At this gate are distributed the presents to
embassies ; and all war captives are here received by His Majesty
in person .
2. The Gate of Peace has five avenues, and is a superb building
of white marble . The height of the basement is twenty feet, and
the whole edifice one hundred and ten . The ascent to it is by
five flights of forty steps each, and it is highly ornamented with
tripods and other figures in bronze . Here, on all the holidays
and on the anniversary of the emperor's birth-day, he receives the
congratulations of his officers, who prostrate themselves to the
earth before him, and strike the ground with their foreheads.
3. The Hall of Perfect Peace. Here the emperor comes to
examine the implements prepared for the annual ceremony of
ploughing.
4. The Hall of Secure Peace ; in this the Emperor gives a banquet
to his foreign guests on new year's day.
5. The Tranquil Palace of Heaven, i.e. of the Emperor . This is a
private retreat, to which no one can approach without special per
mission. This palace is described by the Russians, who have had
many opportunities of seeing it, as " the loftiest, richest, and most
magnificent of all the palaces." On each side of the tower is a
large copper vessel, in which incense is burnt day and night.
6. The Palace of Earth's Repose, i.e. of the Empress , which is said
to be very beautiful ; adjoining this is the imperial flower garden,
which is laid out in walks for Her Majesty, who being a Tartar,
has not adopted the Chinese custom of crippling her feet, and
therefore is said to enjoy herself in what is called "Earth's Repose ."
In this garden is a library, said to contain a collection of all the
books published in China.
Hwang-ching, another imperial city, constitutes the second en
16 PEKING PALACES .
closure, and surrounds the " forbidden city." It is about six miles
in circumference, and surrounded by a wall twenty feet high. It
has four large gates . Tae-meaou, " the great temple," is dedicated
to the ancestors of the reigning family. The outer wall, which
includes several buildings, is about 3,000 feet in circumference.
Near the eastern gate of the forbidden city is a depository of
military stores : and a vast number of workshops for their manu
facture. Northward from these is the Russian College, designed to
furnish interpreters for the government in its intercourse with
Russia.
Kingshan, an artificial mountain, is situated directly N. from
the imperial palace. Its base is said to consist of coal, which is
kept in reserve in case of siege, and its surface is the earth dug
from the ditches that surround the walls . It is about 150 feet in
height, and encircled by a wall . It has five summits lying east
and west from each other. This mountain is planted and laid out
in shady walks .
The western part of this enclosure is ornamented with an arti
ficial lake, more than a mile in length, and about one-eighth of a
mile in breadth . The lake is crossed by a bridge of nine arches,
200 paces in length, and ten feet wide, built of white marble.
This lake is represented by the Missionaries as " a most enchanting
place . "
Near the western gardens is a temple consecrated to the
discoverer of the silk worm, reputed to have been the wife of
the Emperor Hwang-te, who, according to Chinese history,
reigned long previous to our era. The empress, and other great
ladies of the court, assist in tending the worms, in order to encou
rage this branch of industry . The moveable type printing office
is on the east side of the gardens ; these types were formerly cast
in copper, like so many seals . In the reign of Kang-he, a collec
tion of books was printed with these types, forming in all 10,000
sheets, which is bound into 500 volumes.
The imperial city contains a great many palaces, temples, and
other public edifices, independent of those noticed here. The
Roman Catholic Missionaries reckon the number of palaces alone
ea
in this division, and in the forbidden city, at two hundred ; " ch
palace large enough to accommodate the most wealthy European
nobleman ! " In the third and outer inclosure, which constitutes
the remainder of the northern division, are situated five of the six
supreme tribunals of the empire ; the Board of Civil Office ; the
Board of Revenue ; the Board of Rites ; the Board of War ; the
Board of Public Works ; and the Board of Punishments .
At the distance of about ten miles west and north-west from
the city are several extensive gardens, with thirty distinct places
of residences for the emperor and the officers of state, whose pre
sence is occasionally required . Each of those constitute a con
siderable village, which are occupied by eunuchs, servants, and His
PEKING AND TIEN -TSIN . 17
majesty's artificers : but these imperial abodes scarcely deserve the
appellation of palaces. All the palaces of the emperor are filled with
eunuchs, who are required to look after the gardens, and attend
on the harem.
Peking is sustained by its being the seat of government. It
has no trade, except that which is produced by the wants of its
numerous inhabitants, who are said to amount to between two and
three millions, including those that live in the suburbs . The
country around Peking is less productive than many other parts
of China. The provisions and manufactured goods required by
the inhabitants are conveyed by the Grand Canal. Beef and
mutton are brought from Mongolia ; and coals from the mountains
of the north-west. A considerable portion of the taxes levied
upon the productions of the whole empire, is paid in kind, and is
here stored up ; the amount of rice alone in these granaries, at one
portion of the year, is enormous ; but they are often empty before
the new crop is gathered , so that a great many die for want of
food . The large establishment of the emperor, and the numerous
persons in the employment of the government, who are paid out
of the public revenue, absorb a great portion of the grain .
Tien-tsin, situated in the province of Chih-le, on the right bank
of the Peiho, about thirty miles up the river, is the emporium of
the capital,. not two days' journey from Peking, and is one of
the richest trading places in the empire. The junks of Siam,
Cochin-China, and the south of China Proper, (Keang-nan and
Shan-tung) , may be seen here for miles together, as close as they
can possibly stow, from June to October. Near the city, the
Great Canal joins the Peiho, and thus it is the resort of some
thousands of grain junks. The chief article for sale here is salt,
which may be seen piled in mounds for miles , on the north side
of the river ; it is chiefly procured in the eastern and southern
provinces, several thousand boats are constantly engaged in its
transport. Mr. Barrow calculated the quantity he saw in 1816, to
be six hundred millions of pounds in weight.
The land in the vicinity yields few productions , and the only
articles manufactured are a coarse kind of woollen cloth, tapestry,
and glass. Woollens and furs are large articles of import, and all
transactions are paid for in silver and in bills of exchange on the
southern provinces. The few privileged salt merchants who reside
here live in the style of princes . The city, with all its wealth and
extensive trade, has a miserable appearance , from the government
prohibiting the use of bricks in building their houses . Tien -tsin
ought to have been one of our consular ports ; and by prudent
negotiation we may yet be enabled to establish a trade there, to
supply Peking and Tartary with our manufactures, and especially
with woollen cloths, which are worn for six months, at least, by
those who do not use furs, skins, or wadded garments .
с
18
CLIMATE OF CHINA.
The varied latitude and elevation of China must necessarily pro
duce great difference of temperature ; but China, being situated on
the eastern side of a great continent, is subject to the usual ex
tremes of heat and cold . Peking is said to be most salubrious ;
the frost usually sets in about the middle of December, and remains
for about two months . The heat in June and July is very great ;
in September the thermometer is 96 in the shade, yet this month
is considered the most pleasant in the year. The refreshing
showers that fall during the hottest weather mitigate the direful
effects of the intense heat : altogether the climate of China may
be said to be as varied as its surface . The rivers of the northern
provinces, and particularly the Yellow River, are covered with ice,
(which becomes an article of commerce) and communication to the
interior is stopped by the frost. Europeans who have lived in China
for years, feel the cold weather much more penetrating than what
is experienced in Europe, which is accounted for by the large
quantities of nitre with which the earth is charged . The heat in
summer causes , in the south, a dampness on the walls and pillars
of most buildings. Canton and Macao are the only portions of
China in which Europeans have had a long opportunity of judging
of the climate ; and it appears that 70° of Fahrenheit is the average
temperature of Canton and Macao : October and April give nearly
the mean heat of the year. Vegetation ceases from the first week
in November to February, during which period scarcely any rain
falls . In the month of May the fall of rain has exceeded eighteen
inches, being a fourth of the year. On the whole, the climate of
China Proper is much the same as that of Asia in general. The
number of people met with of an advanced age in the northern pro
vinces, is the best proof that the air is salubrious and bracing ; it
neither approximates to the rigour of the northern regions, nor to
the wasting influence of the southern . The tropical monsoons do
not extend much beyond Canton City. The ty-foons only occur
during the hottest months, about August or September : they are
equally as destructive as the West Indian tornadoes, the extensive
sea-coast appears to conduct the wind . Along the extensive chan
nel of Formosa, N. E. winds are prevalent for full eight months
out of twelve . The winds in the interior are conducted by the
vast chains of mountains.
CHINESE DEPENDENCIES .
The provinces or countries dependent on or contiguous to China
are so little known that a connected statement may be useful.
Soungaria and Eastern Turkeston, called Chinese Tartary, is
separated from China by the Teenshan , or Celestial Mountains .
The district extends from lat . 47° 30′ N. to 33° 30′, and from 22°
DEPENDENT PROVINCES OF CHINA . 19
23′ W. of Peking to 42° 25' . It is bounded on the N. by the
Altai Mountains, which separate it from the Kirghis territory, the
Chamor Mountains, and River Irtish ; on the N. E. from the
Mongolian district, Oulai- Soutai ; to the E. it borders on Kansuh,
in China Proper ; the Kwanben and Kobi separate Turkestan from
Tibet ; and the Belour Mountains from Buckharia.
The whole of this territory, up to the year 1772, was in the pos
session of the Kalmucks, or Eleuths ; and each district was
governed by a chief (turah) . The Emperor Keen -lung conquered,
and successfully governed the whole province . In 1833, a descend
ant of the ancient princes, Jehangir Khojeh, took advantage of
the unpopularity of the Chinese government, and rose in rebellion,
aided by a large body of Khirgiz, and 8,000 troops from the Khan
of Kokan. Kashgar was taken from the Chinese, who, it is said,
lost a large army. One victory followed another, so that the whole
of the territory was in Jehangir's possession for more than seven
months .
From the tyranny and oppression practised by the new ruler,
he became unpopular ; and the Chinese returning with a large
force, Ishak Khojeh, a chief of some Kashgar tribes, betrayed his
ally to the Chinese, who sent him to Peking, where he was exe
cuted . The betrayer was made Prince of Kashgar by the Emperor
of China ; and on visiting Peking, the following year, never re
turned . He is said to have been poisoned , the government being
afraid of his influence .
Chinese Tartary contains many towns, the chief are : Yarkand,
Kashgar, Oksei, Ele, Yengi Hissar, Ooch Turfan, and Koneh Turfan,
(called Hami,) Gummi, and Lopp.
Yarkand is the capital of a large territory. The population of
Yarkand is said to be 80,000 families : there are resident in Yar
kand 200 Chinese merchants ; but many others visit it at stated
times . A considerable number of Tungani merchants are perma
nently settled there . The Tungani are Mussulmans, and said to
be descended from the soldiers of Alexander the Great, who pushed
his conquests as far as Solar. (Tungani signifies " left behind ," or
CC
looking back .") It has two forts of large extent ; one of them sur
rounded with a mud wall. There are 300 Tartar, and 600 Chinese
soldiers. Horse-flesh sells for the same price as mutton . Yarkand
is surrounded by a number of towns and villages, which are very
populous. Traffic is very active, as Chinese traders from Shanse,
Shense, Keagnan, and Chekeang, proceed thither to meet traders
from various countries not governed by China.
The productions of Yarkand are wheat, rice, barley, and a variety
of seeds, from which oil is extracted . Fruit and vegetables are very
abundant. Raw silk is cultivated in large quantities : but the
staple article is the wool of the shawl goat (aklehah) ; the dumba,
sheep with a large tail, is abundant. The celebrated jade - stone is
found near Yarkand in large quantities. About 10,000 lbs . weight
c 2
20 DEPENDENCIES- KASHGAR, ELE .
of the spotless yu is sent annually to the Emperor, from a neigh
bouring mountain. Private individuals are prohibited trading in
this gem. The customs produce 35,000 taels of silver annually ;
30 taels of gold, 35,000 sacks of corn, 800 measures of oil, and
1649 taels for military expenses . The Mahomedans furnish 57,569
pieces of linen, 15,000 lbs. of cotton, 1,400 linen sacks, 1,300
hempen ropes, and 3,000 lbs . of copper ; all of which is sent to
Ele.
Kashgar is a large frontier town on the N.W. extremity of
Se-Yu, beyond the snowy mountains, distant about five days'
journey from Yarkand, and was the ancient capital of the province,
until the late rebellion , since which time it is declining . The city
contains about 15,000 inhabitants . There are constantly 8,000
Chinese troops quartered in and around the city. It has also an
Usbeck chief, with a nominal authority. The Chinese government
keep a close watch on the Khan of Kokan. The country is fertile :
the Mahomedans contribute every year 3,600 small carpets ; 3,600
taels of silver ; 14,000 sacks of grain ; and 10,000 pieces of linen ;
all of which are sent to Ele. Large quantities of gold and silver
brocades are manufactured and sent to the emperor. Merchandise
pays a custom-duty of one-tenth . There are eight towns dependent
on the chief officer of Kashgar.
Yengi Hissar lies half way between Yarkand and Kashgar.
Oksu is N.E. from Yarkand, and distant about twenty days'
caravan travelling. It is a large commercial mart, for the produc
tions of China and Russian Tartary. Coined silver is the circu
lating medium (tankeh) . There are 2,000 Chinese troops stationed
here. The population of the town is said to be 20,000 families .
The country around produces great abundance of provisions ;
there are large herds of cattle, sheep , camels, and horses ; the
Mahomedans collect from every quarter for trade, and much com
fort prevails among the people .
Eela or Ele is situated N. of Oksu, distant twenty-five days'
journey, and forty from Yarkand . It is a walled town, and is the
penal settlement of China. The climate is destructive to the con
stitution of the Chinese ; a Tartar general has charge of the civil
as well as military administration .
Kouche is N.W. of Oksu, and S. of Ele, and three months'
journey from the Russian frontier. The inhabitants are chiefly
Kalmuks, who follow a pastoral life . Great quantities of cattle
are reared . It is called the eastern gate of China .
Ooch Turfan is two days' journey from Yarkand. Konih Turfan ,
called Hami, two months' journey from Yarkand, is a place of
great trade in all kinds of merchandize ; it is governed by two
great officers and 1,000 soldiers, and is four le * in circumference .
* The Chinese le, or measure of distance , varies in the north and south of China,
those of the south being the longest : 200 le are said to be equal to a degree of latitude.
DEPENDENCIES, GOVERNMENT. 21
Lopp is two months ' journey from Yarkand, and is inhabited by
Chinese principally .
Gummi lies between Yarkand and Eelchi (in Khoten) .
Khoten . This country contains many large towns, Karakash,
Eelchi, and Kirrea, with many others . Karakash is the capital,
within ten days' journey from Yarkand, and twenty days' from
Tibet. It is governed by two Chinese Umbauns, or residents, to
whom are subordinate two Usbeck Karims ; one in Eelchi, and the
other in Kirrea. The taxable subjects are estimated at 700,000 .
The military force is 2,000 . The country is flat, and the soil very
productive. The Yu (jade) is found in considerable quantities .
Eelchi is twelve days' journey from Yarkand .
Kirrea is about five days' journey from Eelchi. The Chinese
government work the gold mines here, and monopolize the pro
duce. The sand of the river is said to contain a large portion of
gold. The commercial intercourse is with Yarkand, and is very
considerable in silk, gold- dust, grapes, raisins, &c . Caravans come
from the Russian frontier vid Eela, Oksu, and Kouche, and bring
broad cloth, brocades, furs, and steel ; and take in return, tea,
rhubarb, sal- ammoniac, &c.
About ten days' journey from Oksu are two very high moun
tains ; the valley between them is covered for a considerable depth
with sal-ammoniac . During the eruptions, (the natives call it
God's fire), the sal-ammoniac falls like a mist, and in winter be
comes crystallized .
Near Yarkand is a river called Zurufshan, which is frozen over
three months in the winter .
Chinese Tartary is subject to the extremes of cold and heat; but
except on the mountains snow is never seen in the capital . Rain
does not fall more than three or four times in the year.
About the year 1832 the country was much ravaged by earth
quakes and the cholera.
We know very little of this region, which separates China
Proper from the Russian territories, and may ere long be the
battle-field between the two empires, if Peking be made the " Con
stantinople, " or place of intrigue, for the Muscovite policy.
The government of Soungaria and Turkestan is of three kinds :
-1st. In the easternmost districts of Soungaria, Barkoul, and
Orountchi, it is much the same as China, and these districts have
been incorporated with the province of Kansuh ; 2nd. In the west
ern districts around Ele , where the Chinese convicts are sent, it is
strictly military, being occupied by Mantchou troops, who are
considered as inhabitants of the soil ; they are commanded by a
general and subordinate officers, whose authority extends to the
eastern districts, and to Turkestan ; in Turkestan, the government
is left in the hands of the native nobles, who are Begs of different
degrees of rank, under the control of Chinese residents at the
principal cities.
22 MONGOLIA DEPENDENCY .
MONGOLIA .— The eastern boundary of Mongolia is the Tchitchi
har district of Mantchouria ; to the N. it is separated from Siberia
by the Altai Mountains ; to the S. it has the Chinese Great Wall ;
to the W. it borders on the government of Ele and Kan-suh pro
vince . It is situated to the N.W. of Tibet, whilst Kokonor stretches
along the western boundaries of Sz -chuen province. It extends
from lat. 34° to 55° N. , and from east of Peking, 5° to 20° W.; it is
about 1,400 miles in length, and 1,000 in breadth .
The government of Mongolia remains, for the most part, in the
hands of the native princes . The male population is enrolled, and
formed into bodies called Ke, the same as the Mantchou troops,
who are called Pa-ke. Each ke is under a tchassak, or dzassak,
who is hereditary. The tchassaks are all nobles . The ke, or stan
dards, are united into corps, over which a commander-general
and a deputy preside . There are six such corps in Inner Mongo
lia, four in Outer Mongolia, and eight between Kokonor and Ou
liasoutai on the Russian frontier . The ke are sub-divided into
companies. In a few districts in Mongolia, in place of the tchassak,
either generals or residents are put at the head of the government .
There are two residents in Outer Mongolia, at Kourun, for regu
lating the intercourse of the Chinese, Mongols, and Russians.
Notwithstanding their anxiety, the Tartar government are quite
ignorant of the amount of the population of the Mongols. Each
Mongol prince engages to furnish to China from four to twenty
squadrons, each consisting of 150 horsemen. Taking thirteen
squadrons as an average for each banner, it appears that the
forty-nine banners of the southern Mongols, or Kalkas, formed a
total amount of 260,000 men ; and eight banners of the Tsakhars,
which are estimated at 24,000 men. This return was made after
the great struggle between the Soungarians and Chinese ; ever since
that period ( 1696) the Mongolians have had uninterrupted peace,
and the population must have increased .
It is said there are at least 500,000 tents, each of which contains
a soldier ; reckoning four to each family, the total population would
be 2,000,000 .
In the northern part of Mongolia there is an abundance of tim
ber, such as the pine, fir, larch, and poplar ; the elm is very com
mon. The Selengar, Orchou, Iro, Khara, and other rivers abound .
in fish ; such as salmon, sturgeon, trout, pike, and various other
kinds. The quadrupeds are wild boars, wild horses , bears, wolves ,
hares, sables, foxes, and squirrels . The birds are cranes, geese,
All
ducks, quails, and swans. The horse is small, but strong.
the camels of Mongolia have two humps ; those of Gobi are very
large and strong. The sheep, which are all white, constitute the
riches of the Mongols, and supply them with milk and meat, their
only subsistence . Millet, barley, and wheat, are sown in small
quantities.
MANTCHOURIA . - The Mantchous, who now govern China, are
MANTCHOURIA DEPENDENCY . 23
said to be of Tongouse origin ; and have scarcely existed more than
three centuries as a distinct and independent nation . Their coun
try is mountainous and barren, and thinly populated. It was for
merly divided among a number of petty chieftains , who seldom
remained long at peace with each other. Hence, the people be
came more hardy and vigorous than their neighbours, the Chinese ;
and at a period when the empire was torn by dissensions be
tween the imperial princes, and revolts among the people, a Mant
chou chieftain began to attack China, over which, after thirty
years' warfare, in the middle of the seventeenth century, the Mant
chons obtained the dominion they now hold, under the title of the
Tat-sing dynasty.
The Mantchou territory is divided in three provinces, viz .:
Shingking, or Moukden (the ancient Leaoutung) ; 2. Kirin ; and
3. Kihlung-keang, or Tsitsihar . The first of these borders on
China, Mongolia, and the gulf of Pechilee, or of Leaoutung ; the
second on Corea, and the sea of Japan ; and the third, on Siberia
and Mongolia .
Mantchouria is situated between 29° and 55° north lat. and from
the meridian of Peking to 30° 20′ E. To the north it borders Si
beria, from which it is separated by the Daourian Mountains ; the
River Kerbechi constitutes the natural boundary. The boundary
line between Mantchouria and Mongolia is a wooden wall, running
from the Great Wall along the N.E. boundaries of Leaoutung ;
the frontiers take then a N.W. direction, along the Songaria and
other rivers, to Kobi, and the territory of the Kalkas. On the E.
it borders on the channel of Tartary and the Japan Sea ; on the S.,
the Yellow Sea and Corea. The extent from N. to S. is about 700
miles ; from E. to W. 900. The principal rivers are the Amour, or
Segalien, Songari, the Noun, or Nonni, and Ousouri . The Sega
lien rises in Mongolia, and forms the boundary between Mongolia
and the Siberian province of Nertchinsk. The Songari rises in the
Chang-pih-shan, near the northern frontier of Corea ; running
N.E. by E. it unites in lat. 47° 50′, long. 16° 10′ with the Sega
lien . The Nonni rises near the inner Daourian Mountains, and
falls into the Songari . The Ousouri rises in the Seih-hih-tih
Mountains, and falls into the Amour .
The lakes of Mantchouria are the Hin-ka, situated in Kirin ;
the Hoo -rien and Pir, and several smaller ones . The Seih-hin-tih
Mountains lie along the sea- coast. The Daourian Mountains are
branches of the Stanovoy chain. These mountains form the
northern boundaries : they are high, and are covered with perpe
tual snow. Between Leaoutung and Corea are several other high
mountains .
The description of Mantchouria as given by the Emperor Keen
lung, may be correct, but it has been greatly improved since the
present dynasty came on the throne. He commences thus : " In
a space of ten thousand le (Chinese mile) you find a succession of
24 MANTCHOURIA , MOUKDEN ,
hills and vallies, parched lands and well irrigated territories, ma
jestic rivers, impetuous torrents, graceful streams, smiling plains,
and forests impenetrable to the rays of the sun. The Iron Moun
tain and the Ornamented Mountain are seen from a great distance.
Wheat returns the labour expended on it one hundred -fold ; fruits
are produced in great abundance. Gin-seng grows on all the
mountains . Leaoutung exports large quantities of wheat, peas,
rice, and rhubarb." The population are returned at 943,000,
which is considered too little. The Chinese residents far outnum
ber the Mantchous , who are both proud and indolent .
Moukden, the capital, is built on an eminence, in lat . 41 ° 56′, and
7° 11′ E. of Peking. Great efforts have been made by the Chinese
Sovereigns to make this a large and elegant city.
Kin- choo is a considerable emporium, in lat. 40° 10′, long. 4° 55'
E. of Peking. As a market, it ranks high for drugs, peas, and flour ;
upwards of 1000 junks obtain cargoes . Kae-choo, in the neigh
bourhood of the capital, in lat. 40° 30′, long. 6° E. of Peking, is a
place of great trade ; the produce of the surrounding country is
collected here, and exported to Fo-keen, Canton, and Keang-nan.
In the season, the mercantile activity is very great : the town is
nearly eight miles from the sea, and the merchandize is sent
thither by horses and carts . Fung-hwang-ching is the only em
porium between Manchouria and Corea. The Coreans are per
mitted this for the purpose of exchanging their paper and raw
produce for Chinese manufactures. The Corean commerce is so
much fettered by restrictions and heavy duties, that the trade is
almost stationary. The Chinese merchants have engrossed nearly
all the commerce of the place.
The government of the provinces of Mantchouria consists of a
supreme government at Moukden, and three provincial govern
ments. That of Moukden is the same as in China Proper, while
that of the other provinces is wholly military. The province of
Moukden includes two departments, that of Fungteen -foo, the
metropolitan department, and Hingking, or Kinchou-foo . These
are sub-divided into chow and heen districts, as in China . The
City of Moukden is not under a che-foo, but one of higher rank, .
called foo-yuen, who cooperates with one of the Boards in the govern
ment ofthe metropolitan department. His assistant has the direc
tion of the literary branch of the administration. The three eastern
provinces, Moukden, Kirin, and Tsitsihar, are under the govern
ment of a general, who is always a Mantchou . His subordinate
officers are lieutenant-generals, at the head of each principal divi
sion of the province. Subordinate to these are garrison officers, of
rank varying according to the importance of the districts under
them ; these delegate their authority to officers, or assistant direc
tors . The frontiers are under a separate class of officers .
The emigration to Mantchouria, from the province of Shan
tung, is very great, so that, in a few years, there will not be a spot
TIBET DEPENDENCY. 25
uncultivated. The summers are short, but very hot. The cold
weather commences in October, and the whole country is one sheet
of ice until March. The changes of heat to cold are sudden ;
within a few hours the thermometer falls from 40° to 10°. Fruits,
and even tropical productions, are grown to perfection . The
Chinese and Mantchoo languages are in use ; the latter is the lan
guage of the court.
Sagalien Island, or Tahoka, on the coast of Mantchouria, is repre
sented in Chinese maps as an island, with a small islet between it
and the main land . Late travellers represent the intervening
water to be so shallow, that the natives ford it. On the northern
side of the mouth of the river Amour, the Tartar- Chinese have a
town, and general mart (Tsetaleho) , to which the Chinese resort,
and carry on a large trade.
The extent of the rivers which disembogue at the mouth of the
Amour, is amazing ; and all the principal cities of eastern Tar
tary are accessible by them. They extend to upwards of 30° of
longitude. The river, nearest the sea, runs N.E. and has two
forked branches ; the one in the E. and W. direction, and the
other in the same direction, nearly, as the trunk or stem ; in Eu
ropean maps, it is called Songari. The stem and branch Songari,
which communicates with Kirin Ula, and Ningkuta, the principal
cities in Mantchou Tartary, the Chinese call Hwan-tung-keang, {
and the Japanese give the same name to the great stem which
enters the sea at Okotsk . The branch which lies E. and W.
extends beyond the Russian city Nipcha, and is called Hilung
keang (Dragon River) . This is the Amour of the Russians, and
the Sagalien of the Tartars.
ļ
TIBET DEPENDENCY.
TIBET may be considered as comprehending all the tract of
country from the eastern boundaries of Cashmere to the frontiers
of Kokonor, from long. W. of Peking 18° to 42°, and from lat. 28°
to 35°, Ladhak included . Its eastern frontiers are Sefan, Kokonor,
and Turkestan ; its northern, the government of Ele and Great
Bukharia ; its southern, Nepaul, Sikkim, and Bootan ; its western,
Bukharia and Cashmere. Its divisions are two, Anterior and
Ulterior Tibet ; by the Chinese it is called Se-tsang. Anterior
Tibet, called Lassa, is the most eastern part ; it borders upon
China, its capital is Lassa, and it contains eight cantons. Ulterior
Tibet, called Tes-hoo, Loomboo, and the Umdes, contains six
cantons, all situated to the west of the capital.
LASSA, in 30° 43′ north latitude, the chief city of Anterior
Tibet, is situated in an extensive valley, which is forty le from
N. to S., and about 450 le from E. to W. Under this name
is understood all the country Yuiba, which runs eastward to
Kamba, the greater part of which is incorporated with China.
26 LASSA, CAPITAL OF TIBET.
The district of Lassa is bounded on the east by the province of
Sze-chuen and Yun-nan ; in China proper, on the N.E., by Ko
konor ; on the N. by the Hwang-ho, or Yellow River ; on the
W. by the Western Sea, or Lake Terkiri ; on the S. by Tako . It
is stated that the numerous temples and splendid edifices, noble
strects, and large market places, prove it to be one of the most
flourishing cities of the West.
The next considerable city in Tibet to Lassa is Jiga-gounggar,
in the province of Wei, 104 le S.W. of Lassa, which contains 20,000
families . Its position is 29° 58′ N. lat .
The government of Tibet, like Turkestan, remains in the hands
of native authorities, but with an inferior degree of control on the
part of the Chinese residents. The chief native authority lies in the
dalai lama for Anterior Tibet, and in the bantchin-erdeni lama for
Ulterior Tibet ; both these have secular deputies. There is a
Chinese resident at the court of each lama, who is consulted in all
important affairs . There are also feudal townships , called Toosze,
and some Mongols in Tibet, entirely under the authority of the
residents .
There are said to be upwards of 60,000 soldiers in Tibet ; at
Lassa, 3,000 cavalry ; 2,000 in Dzang ; 5,000 in Ngari ; 1,000 in
Koba ; 3,000 in Tardzi, Landzi, Lanmautso, and among the Mon
gols living in black tents in Ngari. The troops are recruited by
taking one man out of ten or five ; the same with horses .
FORMOSA, (" the beautiful island "), or Tewan, is about 300 miles
long. A chain of mountains runs through its centre, from N. to
S.; beyond this on both sides there is a continued flat, and towards
the sea a barren alluvial sand, nearly four miles in breadth . The
south -east point of Formosa is in lat. 21 ° 53′ 30″ N. , and in long.
120° 57′ E. Ke-lung, the most northern point, is 25° 16' N. , and
121 ° 4′ 3″ E. from Greenwich. The channel which separates For
mosa from the Chinese coast, is from 70 to 100 miles in breadth ;
about 24 miles from the island lie the Pang-hoo , or Pescadore
islands . The position of Formosa for trade is excellent, within one
day's sail of the port of Amoy, within thirty leagues of the coast of
China, about 150 from Japan, and nearly the same distance from
the Philippines, Except Ke-lung harbour, there is no other that
has yet been explored . Nieuhoff visited the island, and states that
Pang-hoo-ting has several good harbours, and two commodious
bays, where ships may ride safely in eight or nine fathoms of
water. The islands are numerous ; the best is Fisher's Island
(western) .
The aborigines of the island of Formosa are divided into three
classes -first, those who have not only submitted to the Chinese,
but have advanced towards civilisation . This class was instructed
by the Dutch, when they had possession of the island ; many of
them still have some slight knowledge of the language, although a
period of 170 years has elapsed since the Dutch occupied part of
FORMOSA ISLAND . 27
the island . The second class is composed of aborigines, who sub
mit to the Chinese authority, yet retain their own habits and
customs ; these are styled " raw natives ." The third portion in
cludes all the unsubdued tribes, whose number is unknown. They
are ruled by a chief and elders, and are of a slender shape, and
olive complexion ; live in wretched huts, have no written language,
or established religion .
Formosa, together with the Pescadore islands, forms one foo, or
department, of the province of Foo -keen, which is subject to the
foo-yuen of that province. The departments comprise six heen, or
districts ; five of which are in Formosa, the other includes the Pes
cadore isles. Tae-wan, the chief district, is a narrow tract of land,
in lat . 23° N., and is considered equal to the first-class cities of
China in wealth and appearance . Attached to it are twenty
Chinese and three native villages . Its harbours are not good, one
of the entrances being closed with sand . To the north of Tae-wan ,
is Choo-lo -heen, which comprises one town , four Chinese and
thirty-two native villages, with a tolerable harbour (Lo-kang) ;
next is Chang-hwa-heen, which has one good town, fifteen villages,
and 132 Chinese farms, and 51 native villages .
Tan-shwuy-heen has one town, 133 farms, and 70 native vil
lages . Fung-shou-heen lies in a southern point, and has one
town. The native villages are 73, of which eight only are occu
pied by civilised natives. The Pescadore, or Pang-hoo, constitutes
the sixth heen, or district . This cluster of islands, 36 in number,
although barren, forms an important naval and military station for
the Chinese government, who find it necessary to watch the in
habitants, as they have a reputation for lawlessness, occasioned it is
said by the unjust extortions of the Mandarins, on the thousands
of emigrants who come from Foo-keen, Canton, and Che-keang
provinces. The eastern part of the island of Formosa is still in
possession of the native chiefs . The revenue of Formosa exceeds
1,000,000 taels of silver, and the whole population is between two
and three millions of inhabitants .
The portion of Formosa under the government of China is most
fruitful and healthy. The vast plains of the southern part may
justly be called a garden. Every kind of grain and fruit may be
produced on the island ; but rice, sugar, tobacco, and camphor,
are the chief articles of export. The number of junks employed
in conveying rice to Fo-keen and Che-keang provinces is upwards.
of 200. For sugar, more than 70 junks are annually employed
between the single port of Tein-tsin . The camphor is sent to
Canton, and the quantity is very considerable . Cattle, sheep,
goats, and poultry, are abundant. The mountains produce gold,
silver, cinnabar, copper, and coal, of which latter some excellent
specimens have been recently sent to England. Formosa exceeds
Manilla and Java in the quantity of its exports ; and the circu
lating capital is in proportion to the commerce.
28 POPULATION OF CHINA .
The whole of the preceding details must necessarily be con
sidered as vague in many points ; they are derived from various
sources, which will be particularized at the end of the work ; and
they are given rather as an incitement to further inquiry, and as
illustrative of the vastness and importance of the empire of China,
than from any implicit reliance on their accuracy. At any rate,
this imperfect description may awaken investigation, by showing
what immense regions yet remain for exploration, and it is to be
hoped for commercial profit.
CHAPTER II .
POPULATION, CHARACTER, -MANNERS, & c.
THERE is no country in the world where there are more opportu
nities of knowing the amount of the population than China, as
every district has its officer ; every street its constable ; every ten
houses, its tything-man ; and every family is required to have a
board always hanging up in the house, ready for the inspection of
the regular officer, on which the name of every man, woman, or
child, in the house, must be inscribed . There is even a law to
constrain Chinese householders to give a faithful return . All per
sons are required to be registered according to their several avo
cations .
When the master of a family, who holds land that is chargeable
with contributions to the revenue, omits to make any entry in the
public register, he is liable to be punished with one hundred blows ;
but if he possess no such property, with eighty blows. When any
master of a family has strangers, who constitute, in fact, a distinct
family, he shall be punished with one hundred blows, if such
strangers possess taxable property ; and eighty, if not. In all cases,
the register must be immediately corrected .
The reigning dynasty has adopted a system, that a reasonable
proportion of money and grain shall be retained by each province
for the use of the state, to meet the wants of the people : the
government could not know the amount to be reserved, if they did
not know the average amount of inhabitants ; so that, it seems
most likely that it is to help the government, and not to impose
on foreigners, that the census is taken . The following table is from
Chinese authorities .
POPULATION CENSUSES. 29
YEAR OF A. D. POPULATION.
DYNASTY . EMPEROR. REIGN.
Ming Tae- tsoo 27 1393 60,5 15,811
Tsing Shun che 18 1662 21,068,600
"" Kang-he 6 1668 25,386,209
"" "" 49 1710 23,312,200
"" "" 50 1711 28,605,716
རྒྱལ་
"" Keen -lung 18 1753 102,328,258
"" "" 57 1792 307,467,200
در Kea- king 16 1812 361,221,900
The first period of 60,000,000 was under the peaceful rule of
the old Ming dynasty. The falling off in the second period may
be occasioned by the sanguinary wars that took place between the
Tartars and Chinese, before the accession of the former to the
Chinese dynasty ; and from the want of knowledge of the state of
the country, which the Chinese themselves were not inclined to
give willingly to their conquerors ; it may likewise be accounted
for by emigration, and because the Tartars could not reckon the
people of the western and southern provinces as their subjects, as
they were not subdued for several generations : moreover, the
present dynasty levied a capitation tax and many evaded enrolment. !
In the year 1710 the capitation tax was annulled , and a land tax
substituted ; and in year 1711 , according to the census returns,
there is an increase of upwards of 5,000,000, and it is very likely,
had there been a return for the following year, there would have
been four times as large an increase. The increase from 1711 to
1753 may be accounted for by the increasing power of the Tartar
dynasty, and partly by the facts above mentioned . The next in
crease is from 1753 to 1792 , which seems enormous ; the length of
peace that was enjoyed for years, and the encouragement given to
cultivate waste lands, which the terrified people had abandoned ,
and now received bounties to cultivate and re-inhabit, render it by
no means improbable.
The increase from 1792 to 1812 seems very inconsiderable when
compared with former years, scarcely one per cent. per annum ;
this may be accounted for by the large number of inhabitants now
in the country, and as a matter of course, by emigration ; and
likewise, in the opinion of Mr. Medhurst and others, by the intro
duction of the opium to an enormous extent, sufficient to check
population, for it ruins the constitution, the health, and energies,
and cuts off in a few years all those that indulge in it .
In the statement given to Sir G. Staunton, in 1795 , by Chew
ta-jin, a Mandarin of high rank, the population of Fokien pro
vince is stated to be 15,000,000 ; and that of the whole empire
330,000,000 . In the Appendix to the Report of the Anglo- Chinese
College for 1829, it is stated, on the authority of the Tae-Ch'heng
30 LONGEVITY OF THE CHINESE .
hwuy-teen, or collection of statutes of the Tae-Ch'heng dynasty,
in 261 volumes, that the Emperor Keen- lung, in his 57th year
(A.D. 1793) , found the amount of the whole population to be
307,467,200.
The Jesuit Missionaries, and those who have traversed various
parts of China, see no reason to doubt the accuracy of these
statements : indeed, if we examine the amount of population in
China, in proportion to the area of surface, the density of indi
viduals to each square mile will be found less than it is in Ireland,
and not much greater than in England .
Father Alvarez Semedo, a Portuguese, who resided twenty years
at Peking and various other parts of the empire, in his History of
China, published in London in the year 1655, thus speaks of the
population : " I am amazed at the great population of this empire ;
it is not alone in cities, towns, and public places, but also in the
highways, there is as great a concourse of people met with every
day, as you may only occasionally see in Europe on some particu
lar festival- day : and by a reference to the general register-book,
wherein only the common men are enrolled, leaving out women,
children, eunuchs, professors of letters and arms, there are reckoned
of them to be fifty-eight millions, fifty-five thousand, one hundred,
and fourscore ."
China is not remarkable for longevity. An examination was
made in 1827, by the Emperor Kang-he, to ascertain how many
persons were above seventy years of age, that they might be
exempted from the public service and nourished by the state.
Those of eighty, ninety, and one hundred were successively
honoured with higher rewards .
In nine provinces, containing 158,793,306 inhabitants, there
were but 194,086 of seventy and upwards- which latter sum is the
eight hundred and eighteenth part of the former.
In sixteen provinces- the number of people at eighty years of
age was 168,850 ; at ninety years, 9,996 ; and at or above one
hundred years of age, but 21. Not a two-thousandth part of the
whole empire reached the age of eighty years ; not the thirty - six
thousandth part, ninety years ; and only about one in seventeen
million inhabitants reached the age of a century.
Only three provinces evince this longevity ; viz .: Shan-tung, 9 ;
Ho -nan , 5 ; Hu-nan, or Hon - quang, 4 ; Keang- nan , 3 =21 .
In the Canton province, on a population of 19,147,030, but
9,415 reached the age of eighty, and only 519, that of ninety
years : none attained a century.
Amidst such a vast mass of human beings there must necessarily
be a very great variety of individual character ; but the Chinese , in
general, may be said to be mild, laborious, and patient. No occu
pation is considered mean, provided they can become rich by it ;
this desire for riches is so great that it is generally asserted they
will lie and cheat any one with whom they have dealings . The
ነ CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE . 31
vicissitudes of life are very marked : the children of men who have
held the highest offices under the government, are often reduced
to poverty . The poor are divided into two classes : the labourer
and the mendicant ; the latter are a most degraded class, resem
bling somewhat the gipsies, and may be seen in the streets almost
in a state of nudity ; no one will shelter them, lest they should rob
the house . They sleep at night on bridges, and in public places,
being denied even the caves of rocks, lest they should die there,
for, in that case, the proprietor would be obliged to pay the officer
whose duty it is to inter the corpse . The love of gambling is said
to be the cause of great destitution : the poorest labourer will
gamble for his breakfast or dinner, and may be seen doing so at
the road-side.
I visited various parts of the country, and found the inhabitants
in the north of China much more civilised and social than those in
the south . Dr. Gutzlaff, who has examined a great portion of the
empire, thus writes of the population on the coast :-" I invariably
found the people civil and obliging, but for the most part poor and
wretched, and dreadfully diseased . Books and medicines were
received with avidity . What appeared most surprising was, their
submitting to surgical operations by barbarians." The villages a
few miles from the coast, visited by the medical Missionaries , were
not much better than those along the coast . The houses, built of
red and white bricks, have a neat appearance at a distance ; but
on entering them, a bedstead and one or two stools constitute the
whole of the furniture .
The government, in theory at least, allot waste lands for the
poor ; but local extortions prevent such proclamations as the follow
ing being carried into effect :
" Loo, Governor of Canton, & c. & c.
" Choo, the Foo-yuen, &c. &c. A.D.. 1834.
" Hereby issue a proclamation to make known the regulations to
be observed on commencing the cultivation of waste lands . In
government there is nothing so important as a sufficient supply of
food for the people. In villages the most honourable occupation
is agriculture . In Canton province thieves and robbers are ex
ceedingly numerous, which no doubt have originated from the
want of a suitable employment . In endeavouring to eradicate evil
practices , the first thing is to provide the means of subsistence .
" The plan is to invite poor people to locate themselves on waste
spots of land, wherever they may find them, on hills or plains, and
cultivate them in any way of which the land is capable, and for
the cultivators' sole benefit, without land-tax or quit-rent, or any
charge whatever from the local officers. The land thus cultivated
may be liable to land -tax hereafter, but the land itself is to become
the freehold estates of the occupants for ever . Government will
give a grant or deed of occupation to the settlers . Only small lots
are granted, and none but poor people need apply. The local
32 STATE OF THE TOWNS AND HOUSES .
magistrates are strictly charged not to extort money from the
settlers."
The Missionaries , who travelled through the province of Shau
tung, in 1837, thus write : -" We saw nothing of the squalid
misery that was every where to be met with in many of the
other provinces . The men were robust, and apparently well fed
and cheerful. We saw no beggars, and very few ragged people ;
their clothing was chiefly cotton, sometimes doubled and quilted ;
most of the people wore shoes and stockings . Some wore coats
made of skins , with the hair or wool inside. Every one carries a
smoking pipe, and a bit of steel, and as the ground is covered with
a kind of quartz, a light is easily procured . The females were
pale-faced, and had an unhealthy look, with any thing but pleasing
features. The poorer sort of females work in the fields up to their
knees in mud, and with truth may be said to drag out a miserable
existence. The majority of the houses are about thirty feet
long, ten wide, and eight high . The streets are from ten to
twenty feet wide, running parallel to each other, crossed by narrow
dirty lanes. Each village is supplied with a temple ; small shrines.
may be seen in fields, with a simple inscription on them. The
houses of the better class are built of granite ; those of the poor,
of mud. The people possess few of the comforts of life ; neither
table, chair, nor any article of furniture can be seen in the dwell
ings of the poor ."
Nowhere did I observe great individual wealth, property seems
much subdivided. The Chinese buildings have a striking appear
ance, which is more from their extent than their magnificence.
Those of the princes and great men contain four or six outer
courts, in each of which is a separate building, with three gates .
The halls set apart for receiving visitors are provided with chairs
and tables ; but there is an absence of all grandeur. The chambers
appropriated for the females and children, are inaccessible to even
the most intimate friend . The beds of the opulent are furnished
in winter with curtains of double satin, and in summer with white
plain taffety. The common people use curtains of linen , with
mattrasses stuffed with cotton ; in the northern provinces, they
sleep upon beds constructed of brick. These beds are larger or
smaller in proportion to the family. They are kept warm by
means of a small stove, placed on one side, in which a coal fire is
lighted, while a small funnel, that rises above the roof, carries off
the smoke. Some place over the bricks a mattrass, which is re
moved in the day, and the bed becomes a couch, upon which the
whole family work.
Among other indications of an altered state of society in China,
the following lamentations of a Chinaman at Whampoo may be
quoted :-" The times are changed , and the people are rapidly
growing worse. The people of frugal and honest habits are fast
disappearing ; a new and bad race is growing up. Formerly it
THE CHIN- CHEW MEN. 33
was not the rage to gain wealth, but when a man carned a sub
sistence he retired, and thus gave an opportunity to others.
Thus, when a ferryman had earned sufficient in the morning to
support him for the day, he retired, and made room for others who
were not so fortunate . The thirst for gain is so great, that the
people will work both day and night, and yet are not satisfied.
Robberies, kidnapping, and keeping the well- disposed in alarm ,
are more and more frequent. The common crime is carrying off
young girls, and selling them as slaves, unless ransomed by their
friends. These kidnappers treat in the most open manner with their
parents, and fix a price, which averages from 15 to 100 dollars ."
There is, however, much difference in the character and con
dition of the people, and no general description will suffice to
pourtray them. For instance, the men of Chin-chew are the
most industrious and independent people in China. The " celes
tial empire " has few spots so remarkable as the territory situ
ated between the 23° and 26° of lat . , and the 116° and 119 °
of longitude. It is divided into three districts, or fooritz : -Tseun
choo (Chin-chew ), about 54 miles in length, and 24 in breadth ;
Chang-choo, 65 miles in length, and 83 in breadth ; and Chau
choo, 90 miles in length, and 50 in breadth : the two former
are the south- westernmost parts of Fokeen ; the latter, the
easternmost of Canton . The mountains are barren, the tracts
along the sea- coast are sterile in the extreme, and only yield by
dint of hard labour a scanty crop of sweet potatoes. With the
exception of sugar, this country has no staple article of export ;
the rice cultivated is not sufficient for the consumption of the
population, which is immense. The territory, being indented, has
many good harbours, and nearly the entire of the maritime com
merce of China is in the hands of the Chin- chew men. Almost
the whole of the imperial and mercantile navy is manned by
1 natives of this territory, and there are not less than 150,000 sailors
amongst them. The number of fishermen is not inferior. In the
interior cities there are tens of thousands of the natives of this ter
ritory ; they do not confine themselves to the coast . The bankers
of the capital, the pedlars, the actors in all hazardous under
takings, are natives of Chin- chew. They cultivate the most barren
soil, and may be seen perched on rocks, that would not apparently
yield a blade of grass ; yet, from those mountains and rocks, by
labour and attention, they extract three crops annually.
In Canton almost every article of traffic is under their direction .
They have penetrated to the Woo E. tea-hills, planted the Ankoi
regions with this shrub, and nearly engrossed its commerce.
More than a million of these people are scattered over China ; the
island of Haenan was reclaimed by them . Formosa has only for
the last two centuries become the scene of their industry, and is
now the most productive island in Asia . There are about two
million of their tribe, who, as peasants and merchants, have pos
D
3.1 TRADING CHARACTER OF PEOPLE .
sessed themselves of the fairest portion of that island . It is said
that the fecundity of this tribe is so great, as to furnish a suf
ficient number of inhabitants for all the islands of the Indian
Archipelago ; yet they have never been encouraged to emigrate in
so large a number as to Formosa. The Chin-chew men, who
inhabit Siam, Annam, and Tonquin, with the other parts and
isles of Southern Asia, cannot be less than two million . They
are in those countries, as well as in all Chinese locations, the very
soul of commercial enterprise. In examining the districts from
whence these swarms issued, there is no diminution of the popula
tion ; on the contrary, those regions are teeming with human
beings . Thus, a district not larger than a county in England,
pours forth thousands of colonists, in defiance of the laws of their
country. The fecundity of population must be very great, which
can establish colonies greater in extent some hundred times than
the native land . It is not by the sword, but by the plough that
they conquer and they are still opening new roads for other
needy adventurers, from China .
It is truly observed, in an official report to the British government
in 1837, that the Jews perhaps excepted, no nation is so much
influenced by the love of gain ; and at the same time, so utterly re
gardless about the means to attain this end. The more wealthy
classes absorb their very existence in trade. Commerce is the in
variable topic of conversation, the most important pursuit, the
highest object of pleasure, and the goal of all their wishes. Trade
is the first and last word in which all unanimously join, whilst the
energies of mind and body are consumed in following up this bent .
Trade is not here confined to one class of men, but to all ranks
and ages. Scarcely can a boy lisp, when he begins to sell a few
cakes, or a little sugar- cane. The poorest try to gain a subsistence,
if it be only to dispose of a few rags. There is nothing in all
nature which a Chinaman might not turn to advantage, and trade F
in . All recesses are ransacked to find a few trifles which may
be sold to advantage, and he would rather procure a pittance in
this way, than receive the money without displaying his inventive
genius .
The Chinese may justly be termed the pedlars of the world ;
wherever you go, there seem to be more sellers than buyers .
Nothing can exceed their affability if they think you are going to
purchase anything from them : they will refuse no money if they
can be ever so little gainers ; they are therefore quite the reverse of
the Japanese, who are rough, disobliging, and positive ; and when
they ask a price, will not abate their demand. But the Chinese
turn every thing to advantage that offers, and undertake the most
difficult things for the least hope of gain .
The Chinese maxim is, that he who buys is for getting things as
cheap as he can, and would give nothing, did the seller consent to
it ; upon this principle, they think they have a right to ask the
CEREMONIAL AND CUSTOMS. 35
greatest price. The dealer does not deceive, say they ; it is the
buyer who deceives himself. The buyer is under no compulsion ;
and the profit which the merchant gets is the fruit of his industry.
In all ranks of life, but more especially among the magistrates
and officers of government, vivacity and activity are less esteemed
than sedateness and deliberation ; gravity is considered as the test
of wisdom, and silence of discretion. A magistrate should never
attempt to joke, and should forbear to talk ; he should " resemble
great bells, which seldom strike, and full vessels, which give little
sound." He should never show his anger, as this would put the
person that has offended him on his guard . If two persons meet
they know, from the button on the cap, their respective ranks. If
any of the poor people should fail to pay proper respect in meet
ing a superior, he is instantly ordered fifteen or twenty blows of
the bamboo.
Amusements, when resorted to, are either childish, or have re
ference to gambling . Kite-flying, and shuttlecock (played with
the feet) are favorite pastimes with the men . Among the amuse
ments to which they are addicted, notwithstanding the doctrine of
Buddah, is cricket-fighting. While the British are preparing for
the Derby and Epsom, the Chinese are matching their crickets.
About Midsummer the cricket fights commence ; and all classes,
young and old, rich and poor, take part in this sport. The species
selected is the male of the common gryllus campestris, which is
found on the neighbouring hills ; their price varies from one cash
to fifty dollars ; and the wagers on favorite crickets amount to an
incredible sum .
In the higher circles of society the mode adopted of cultivating
friendship with foreigners (and probably amongst themselves) is
the day after a visit is paid, to send a present of tea, fruit,
and sweetmeats, in separate baskets ; the total of the lots being
even, and the contents of each made up of an even number of
packets ; a superstitious idea is very prevalent against an odd num•
ber. The contrary is practised on the occasion of a death in a
family. If the present sent is of any magnitude in size, it is ex
pected that only a portion of it will be retained, and the remainder
returned with your card as an acknowledgement . The persons
who convey the presents must be handed a gift in money ; and not
unfrequently three or four will accompany the gift, each of whom
must get an equal sum.
Ceremonial is the most essential branch of education, and is the
study of a life . The master of a house meets an approaching
guest half- way, with his head covered . At entertainments , the
guest is always at the upper hand . If the guest is from the south
ern provinces, he sits on the right ; the northern, the left the
guest takes the right or left hand of his host, (according to the
difference in north and south,) who consequently stands on the
other hand ; they bow very low three or four times, with their
D2
36 POLITE INVITATIONS. -GUESTS .
hands towards the head ; some are so polite as to change places
right and left on meeting.
In the house the guest is conducted to the upper seat, foreigners
in preference to all others. The forms observed at departure are
still more ceremonious, as the servants have their part to go
through. After paying a visit, the visited sends his card, and
messengers to enquire if the visitor has got safe home. The size of
the card, or coloured paper, (some are a foot long and upwards,) in
dicates the rank and respect paid ; but a smaller card accompanies
the large, to shew independence.
Interviews and social visits between officers of government, are
conducted with minute regard as to ceremony and dress ; the offi-
cial robes are always at hand, as they never appear to each other
en déshabille ; nor do they travel any distance without them.
An interview, after a long absence, is usually on the knees, or
three bows with the fingers touching the ground.
An invitation to an entertainment is not supposed to be given
with sincerity, until it has been renewed three or four times in
writing. A card is sent on the evening before the entertainment ;
another on the morning of the appointed day ; and a third when
every thing is prepared and nothing to do but sit down to table.
A Chinese classical book prescribes the following rules : " When
you entertain any one, or eat at his table, pay the strictest atten
tion to decency ; be careful not to devour your victuals greedily ;
never drink at long draughts ; avoid making a noise with your
mouth or teeth ; never sup up the broth that is left when every
one is done ; nor testify, by exterior signs, the pleasure you receive
from any particular kind of food or wine ; neither pick your teeth,
nor blow upon wine to cool it ; take small bits at a time ; chew your
victuals well, and never let your mouth be too full. The ancient
Emperors established it as a law, for those who might give enter
tainments, that they should salute each guest, separately, every
time they drank."
. Previous to the Tartar dynasty, the Chinese allowed their hair
to grow, both men and women, without ever cutting ; and being
almost universally black-haired , were called the black-haired people
by foreign nations. When the Tartars obtained dominion, they
introduced many changes, and among others, barbers, a calling pre
viously unknown in China. At the first city taken by the Tartars
a proclamation was issued, which declared that none of the inhabit
ants should be killed, if they would cut their hair and beard, and
use the Tartars' dress, viz .: garments, or long robes, falling down
to the feet, with sleeves not so wide or large as the Chinese use.
No difference is perceptible between the male and female garments .
As in all countries devoid of a true knowledge of God, supersti
tion has strong hold on the people . When the father of a family
is at the point of death, they put a piece of silver to his mouth,
and cover his nose and ears, which must really hasten his death .
DEATHS AND BURIALS . 37
The moment life departs, they make a hole in the roof of the house,
to permit the spirits that leave his body a free exit ; then the
priests are brought in, and prayers commence. A tablet is first set
up (beside the coffin) to keep away evil spirits ; and beside it, on a
table, a quantity of eatables, perfumes, and lamps . If the family
are not too wealthy, every visitor is expected to bring some presents .
The Buddhist priests call on the visitor to assist them in weep
ing and wailing ; this lasts several days, until the priests, by the
dint of prayers, make a breach in the " nether world," for the es
cape of the departed spirit : when the soul is released from purga
tory, the priests give it a letter to Buddah, which procures it a
residence in the " western heavens ."
When the interment takes place, the corpse is dressed in the
best clothes the family can afford . All who attend the funeral
must be dressed in mourning (white) , or, at least, some conspicuous
part of their dress must be white . The body is laid in the tomb,
under the discharge of rockets and fireworks .
After the interment all return to the house of the deceased,
where feasting and enjoyment is carried to an excess.
The doctrine preached by this sect, is that every man has three
souls the first comes to live in the body ; the second goes to
Hades ; and the third resides in the tablet which has been pre
pared for it.
They regard the perpetuation of their names to posterity as an
important matter. Daughters inherit nothing from their parents,
and anything bestowed is in the nature of a present. The eldest
son of the principal wife, or the grandson of this eldest son, if he
be dead, becomes the head of the family at the death of the
father ; it is his duty to support the other children of the two beds
as if he were their father. If the principal wife has not had a son
when she is fifty years old, the husband can choose as his heir the
1 eldest son of any of his other wives : but the eldest only. If there
are no sons from the first or second beds, the husband can adopt
the son of one of his relations, provided he bears the same name as
himself.
So stringent is custom, a Chinese is less the master of his
own movements than any other part of mankind . When born,
if a boy, he is taken care of; if a girl, she stands a chance of being
drowned . Infanticide is not confined to the poorer classes : as a
proof of the existence of that crime, foundling hospitals are erected
in all large towns to receive girls only, in which they are kept
until they are fourteen years of age. Some contend that child mur
der does not exist to a great extent, in some provinces, as the fe
males are more numerous than the men in several districts . The
crime, however, is not held in the abhorrence it should be . The
first instruction of a boy consists in making obeisance and pros
trating himself in company ; this ceremony is instituted at an early
period, and not forgotten in old age.
38 DECEIT. - WOMEN . - MARRIAGES .
Rich and poor are polite in the extreme, until their interests or
passions are disturbed ; then they are equal to the savage, and
their manners coarse and insulting ; but they are early taught to
hide their real sentiments ; their politeness and meekness are only
assumed, the better to enable them to overreach their fellows . Their
minds are perverted by unmeaning compliments, and truth is sacri
ficed to gain their object ; deceit and hypocrisy seem the ruling
passions of their nature . When a boy goes to school he is taught
nothing but the classics of Confucius, as whatever was not taught
در
by the ancients is not fit to be learned by any of the " sons ofHan ;
by this means, the Tartars are better enabled to rule and oppress
the Chinese . To attain this end, the system of education is the
same all over the empire ; so that when all minds are tutored in
the same mould , the restraining powers, when necessary to be en
forced, answer for the whole community. The officers of govern
ment keep the people in constant terror ; and having no opportu
nity of resisting or revenging by open force, they resort to crafti
ness, deceit, and lying, to escape the myrmidons of the law. To
this may be traced the cause why the Chinese character is pro
verbially deceitful .
A Chinese woman spends her time at home, and, if poor, works
at the loom . Ladies prepare embroidery, and are fond of gaudy
dress . Girls get little or no education, and boys are sent to school
at an early age. Match-makers are in much repute, as ladies are
not allowed to make a selection for themselves . The marriage
vow is said to be strictly observed on the female side, but the
same cannot be said of the men . A small foot and a pale com
plexion are the tests of beauty . Celibacy is only known to a poor
man who cannot buy a wife : all parents expect a dowry for their
daughter, to repay them the expense of bringing her up.
The suspicion of the Chinese character is manifest even in their
marriages. The wedding- day being fixed on, the bridegroom sends
a sedan (a particular kind is made for this purpose) . The mother
of the bride puts her in the sedan, securely locks the door, and
sends the key to the mother- in-law. On the arrival at the
bridegroom's house his mother unlocks the door, and delivers
her to her intended husband, when both repair to the chapel of
the idols, where are kept the names of their ancestors . In the
outer temple they bow themselves four times upon their knees,
and then enter the inner temple where their parents are sitting,
to whom they make the same reverences . All parties then re
tire to the bridegroom's house, where a private room is set apart
for the bride, into which no male relative can ever enter, not
even the father of either parties . Should the father have occa
sion to chastise his son, which is not uncommon, the son con
trives to get into this private apartment, and is safe .
Marriage appears to have been a formal ceremony in use from
the earliest time. There are two kinds of marriage : the first is
CLANS AND FEUDS . 39
called a true marriage and lasts for the life of both parties, un
less causes of divorce can be shown, which are numerous and
trivial. The second marriage is permitted by the laws in case
they have no sons ; these concubines, or second wives, are regu
larly purchased from their parents, or some other person who
has brought them up from childhood with that object. The price.
obtained for an accomplished female is very considerable. As
soon as she brings forth a son she is probably parted with, and
disposed of to another ; the first wife takes the son, and the real
mother never sees it again. There is no prohibition against
widows marrying ; but the higher classes never do .
Clanships in China are very general, and many small islands
and villages are solely inhabited by one or more clans, and probably
only two surnames among them. By this means feuds are perpe
tuated from one generation to another, and occasionally break out
into fatal quarrels. Two families , Chung and Chuy, —the former
inhabits Dane's Island at Whampoa, and the latter the second
Pagoda- have for years been on the most unfriendly terms with
each other. The head of the Chung family at the near approach
of death bit off his finger, and with the blood wrote the wrongs
which had been perpetrated by the other clan, enjoining on them
to exact full vengeance . From that day to this, if any member of
either clan is found alone , he is sure to be robbed and beaten .
On the north side of the river, their lands adjoin each other. The
watercourses are generally a fruitful source of contention . If
death ensues, it is rigidly kept secret from the authorities, as their
mutual interests are concerned . But if the affair gets wind, and
an investigation takes place, to meet the charge, a society is
formed, the members of which voluntarily surrender themselves to
government as the real perpetrators. The society then employs
lawyers, and makes the case out one of homicide, which is pun
ished by fine or banishment. The society lay a tax on the mem
bers of the clan, to provide support for the families of the con
victed . The guaranteed amount is 300 dollars when capital pu
nishment takes place.
There is a strange mixture of self- government mingled with the
despotism of the Pekin government.
Many villages in China are without a single government- officer
or policeman ; and in that case the inhabitants combine together
and select a head-man , pay him a yearly salary, and depose him
and elect another should his conduct not meet the wishes of the
majority of the inhabitants . Custom has given this head -man a
degree of authority. Although unconnected with government, as
the head of the village he is held responsible . His duties are
chiefly arranging petty disputes, but his powers extend to flogging .
The salary of this head man, in the village of Whampoa (7,000
inhabitants) is 300 dollars per annum : and he has under him
fourteen policemen . Appeals from the decision of the head-man
40 DIVORCE CAUSES .
are to the seunkeen, the chief officer of a sze, which is the name of
the subdivisions of a heen or district. Of these sze, the district of
Pinanyu has four ; and the sze which includes Whampoa com2
prises 164 villages, each having a head-man .
Secret societies (the triad) have lately caused a great increase of
crime among this population. And for the better government of
its affairs, twenty villages have subscribed, and built a court-house
in a market town on the island of Honan . A president is elected
with a salary of 400 dollars per annum, who is chairman over the
other head-men , when they deliberate in secret. When a man is
selected for prosecution, he is forwarded to the cheheen, and
seldom returns .
Moral apothegms are much in favour among the Chinese,
although there, as elsewhere, not carried into practice. These
inculcations are painted on their temples, on tablets hung up in
halls, on pictures, vases, &c. A few examples will indicate their
nature. "A woman has merit no longer than while she applies
herself to the virtues proper to her rank in society ; and these are,
filial reverence, respectful fear, sweetness, modesty, gravity, sin
cerity, complaisance, a spirit of economy, and a compassion for the
wretched . What she ought to shun is, levity, pride, anger, indis
cretion, and a hardness of heart towards the unhappy, idleness,
& c.; but most particularly, not to be guilty of anything which
gives her husband a right to divorce her."
The faults authorizing divorce according to ancient laws, are seven
in number :-1st, To be otherwise than submissive ; 2nd, to be
barren ; 3rd, to be guilty of adultery ; 4th, to be jealous : 5th, to
have some grievous disease ; 6th, to talk too much ; 7th, to steal.
Any of these gives a husband a right to put away his wife . The
fourth article is such as would cause a primary or legitimate wife,
to hinder her husband taking a second wife or concubine. The
fifth is meant by such a disease as leprosy, epilepsy, and the like.
The four other articles require no explanation. Theft is a sub
ject of divorce only when a wife robs her husband to enrich her
relations. Among other aphorisms we find
" Learn to conquer your passions, to regulate your heart, and
form it to virtue. Should you commit any crime, be very careful
never to do it any more ; the dike once broken, you can never
stem the torrent . The desire of gaining riches never ceases but
with life, which men are very often indifferent how they accumu
late, and which extravagant children soon squander.
" Do not be one of those gloomy spirits that everything dis
pleases, and who dislike everything belonging to the whole human
race ; but at the same time do not give your heart up to everything
tender, nor trust to slight protestations of fidelity. In the ways of
civil life observe a just road, and you will escape a great deal of
trouble and repentance .
" You have secret dislike to good men, and you do not like their
MORAL APHORISMS . 41
conversation ; a certain proof of the depravity of your heart, and a
disordered understanding : you are richly clothed, you ride fine
horses, nothing disturbs your tranquillity ; your table abounds in
delicate meats, you swim in joy and pleasure ; death will come
and surprize you in the very midst of your delights, and perhaps
asleep, and you will cause passengers to say, ' Whose son was this
young man ?'
" If your friend has different notions from you and won't give
the least concession, if it only relates to indifferent things, let him
indulge in them ; if, on the contrary you always contradict him,
what will you gain ? You will breed ill- blood between you, and
""
will lose by little and little his affection and confidence.'
The following are classed as rules of conduct relative to ourselves :
"Never employ your authority in its full extent ; temper what
ever is severe in it by an air of sweetness and goodnature. Neither
abuse the fear and respect which your rank and dignity inspire.
It will do you honour to adapt the exercise of your power to the
circumstances and situation of the persons with whom you live.
" If some disaster or great misfortune befall you , and you see no
means to extricate yourself ; submit to the will of Heaven. To
complain, to sigh, to bemoan youaself, to strike the earth with
your foot, is not to diminish but increase the evil. No one is
ignorant of this truth : but how seldom do we see it regarded in
men's practice ?
" Think much and speak little. A great parade of words only
dazzles the eyes of fools ; and is far inferior to a judicious silence .
There are especially certain occasions, when a wise man, how fine
a speaker soever he be, and whatever inclination he may have to
speak, will always put a seal upon his lips.
" Forget the services you have done to others : it is their business
to remember them. Do not point out the shining advantages
which distinguish you from the common run of mankind : it is the
part of others to find them out. The peach and the plumb speak
not, they naturally leave traces of their worth .
" If you have a sharp , subtle, penetrating spirit ; only apply it to
the well governing of your domestic affairs : in your commerce
with the world study simplicity and plain-dealing. If you affect
to appear more cunning than others ; if there are discovered in your
air and expressions, constraint and artifice ; you will always be
distrusted , and will never acquire sincere friends .
" Do you love sweet things ? Taste first those that are sour. Do
you seek repose and pleasure ? First experience fatigue and toil.
He that would take a high leap, must first of all stoop and bend
his body .
" It is not enough to study the world in order to adapt yourself
well to it ; study yourself, and examine every evening what you
have done during the day . If any action hath escaped you which
you have reason to be sorry for, take proper means to correct your
42 SELF DISCIPLINE AND REGULATION .
self, and commit it no more . If, on the contrary, you have no
thing to reproach yourself with, taste the sweet pleasure which
arises from the testimony of a good conscience.
" If you hear the praises, which are bestowed on you, with a
modest simplicity, you add a new lustre to your merit. If, on the
contrary, you are puffed up with this slight mark of esteem, and
are seduced to assume an important and supercilious air, the
favourable opinion that was entertained of you is instantly con
verted to prejudice, and people retract in secret the applauses of
which they think you no longer worthy.
" Ruin follows gain very near : and misery is at the tail of good
fortune. He alone leads a tranquil life, who is content with a
decent mediocrity.
" How difficult it is to live in the world and to preserve therein
irreproachable manners ! It is nevertheless possible ; but for this
end one hath need of a continual attention and watchfulness over
one's self.
" The soul ought to rule the body. How unhappy is he who
suffers himself to be governed by his passions and irregular desires !
You see that great man : he is an hero, that hath not his equal
among all our warriors : his name makes the earth tremble ; he
hath crossed the four seas, he hath subdued all before him ; him
self is the only one he hath not been able to conquer ; for he is
still a slave to his body.
" You employ yourself in study, with outendeavouring to compre
hend what you study : the time you spend therein, is to you so
much time lost. When you read the books which the sages have
left us, read them with reflection : every letter, every expression,
ought to appear precious to you : the doctrine ought to be deeply
engraven on your heart : that which goes no farther than the eyes
and ears, is like a repast which one only makes in a dream .
"A kindness or favour opportunely done, may procure sometimes
to him who did it a considerable fortune . A trifle often occasions
great joy. Excessive love frequently turns to bitter hatred.
" Neglect not an affair because it appears of small importance : a
slight chink may cause shipwreck to the greatest vessel . An
insect never so small may by its bite occasion your death .
" If you are charged with an important and difficult employ, away
with sound and colour ; but on the other hand, imitate not those
senseless young men, who take their pleasure, and at the same
time make complaint ; who are overpowered with the slightest
business, and who trouble their neighbours incessantly about it.
" If you have but a small share of genius and virtue, and have
nothing to recommend you but a self- sufficient and decisive air,
your fall is certain : of ten, who resemble you, nine fall . If you
have never seen the heavens, but from the bottom of a pit ; if you
can only show the road by the direction of a wall, the best advice
is never singly to undertake any great affair.
DUTIES OF CHILDREN AND PARENTS . 43
" Propose great models for your imitation . Yao, Shun, Yu, Ven
vang, Chew-cong, Cong-tse, differed not in shape from common
men, but in the qualities of the mind and heart, which have
rendered them famous to ten thousand generations. Form your
self after the pattern of their integrity, their greatness of soul,
their sweetness , their facility of pardoning, and their other virtues,
and you will become a real sage : but if you neglect to improve
the talents you have received from nature ; if you are blunt, impe
rious, and harsh to others, you will only be a despicable creature .
" Do you see this frantic person- this madman ? he tears his
clothes, he runs about everywhere, he would get upon the top of
the house naked , he bites, he tears those who endeavour to stop
him. It is the picture of a hair-brained man, who will do every
thing head foremost, and in the manner he likes best ; that is to
say, in the most unreasonable manner in the world . If you make
the least remonstrance, he chafes himself, he is in a heat, he flies
out into a rage, and only repays the affection you show him, with
ingratitude and hatred .
" One of the best actions we can do in this life is to succour the
afflicted and to relieve the indigent. If Heaven did not send cala
mities into the world , we should have no opportunity to exercise
mercy.
" Three things are absolutely necessary to him who addicts him
self to study. In the first place, to conquer his passions, and to
render himself their master. Secondly, to have a sweet, tractable,
complying temper. Thirdly, to hold all bad doctrines in abhor
rence, and never to engage in any false sect .
" Who hath loved you more than your father and mother ? What
inquietudes hath your infancy caused them ? What pains have
they taken to bring you up ? How many kinds of labour and toil
have they endured to place you in your present condition ? And
can you carry your ingratitude and harshness so far, as to displease
and afflict them ?
" Yet this will be the consequence , ye fathers and mothers, if you
do not pay attention to the faults of your children, and if you
neglect to correct them in their tender age. Above all, never per-
mit them, under a pretence of showing their wit, to answer you
pertly, or to contradict those whom they ought to reverence : if
this is permitted, you must never expect to see them obedient and
respectful when more advanced in years .
" What shall we say of that person, who labours under great igno
rance ; who knows but imperfectly the nature of things, and the
true principles of morality, and who nevertheless appears with his
head lifted up, opening great eyes, bridling his chin, thrusting out
his belly, marching haughtily and as if he counted his steps ? Is
there an object more worthy of compassion ? Were he a hundred
years upon the earth, could one say of such a one he had lived a
day ?
44 BASENESS OF THE HEART.
" If you have reason on your side make it appear with a soft and
gentle air ; to what end those emotions of anger ? This is not the
way to persuade a reasonable mind . But if you have not reason
on your side, and yet would carry it by downright force , you are
no better than the public robbers .
" Your neighbour hath acquired a large fortune ; gold and silver
melt in his house ; everything prospers with him, and you are
ready to burst with spite . Another groans under a weight of
affliction which overwhelms him, and you feel at the bottom of
your soul a secret joy at it. Sad effects of the malignity and base
ness of your heart !
" You are only employed in procuring for yourself all sorts of
pleasures, and in leading a sensual and voluptuous life ; you enjoy
calmly all the favours of fortune, think yourself secure from
hunger, thirst and poverty ; senseless, as you are, are you igno
rant that heaven endures not the wicked, and leaves not any evil
unpunished ?
"Would you become skilful in the administration of public affairs ?
Apply yourself to the reading of our history. But if you have an
antipathy to books, if you cannot endure them in your house, your
children will be worse than if they were born blind.
" In a famine the sourest and bitterest things are pleasant to your
taste. Are you in abundance, the best meats seem to you tasteless
and insipid. The heart of heaven cannot content your heart.
Did you ever see any one die of hunger, who knew how to be con
tent with what little he had ?
" There are three things you should always have before your eyes :
the law of heaven, the law of the empire, and the honour of your
neighbour. If you neglect these three articles, go wherever you
will, you must not hope to live at ease.
" Study, science, and virtue, make whole families shine : applica
tion and economy serve to govern them : complaisance and pacific
disposition, to keep them united : tranquillity and conformity to
reason, to preserve them. A man who hath neither equity, appli
cation, nor politeness, is a savage beast, whose head is covered with
a bonnet .
"However dexterous a man may be, whatever service he may have
performed, if he is vain enough to make it the subject of his con
versation, if there escape a single word in his own praise, it is all
over with him, he loses all the merit of it. If, on the contrary, he
chance to fall into any fault, and do but acknowledge it and
humble himself, his fault is repaired .
" If the father of a family bathe every day, his children will be
skilful swimmers . If the father steal melons or fruits, his sons will
be assassins and incendiaries. One is apt to spare a child, and
laugh at his faults, instead of correcting them ; it is pretended he
is still young ; and while this is incessantly said and repeated, the
child grows up ; he is now a great boy and becomes your punish
TREATMENT OF BRUTES . 45
ment. People torment and afflict themselves when they have no
children, and yet they frequently suffer much more when they have
them .
" How hard is it to escape a bad character ? It is still more diffi
cult to deserve general esteem and approbation .
" Be not too eager and lively, have no precipitation in your words
and in your motions ; he who is least pressing often arrives first at
the goal ; too much vivacity only serves to perplex affairs . When one
swallows whole morsels, one is liable to cast them up : when one
runs too fast, one is liable to fall headlong to the ground.
"What end do you think can be answered by that blunt and
haughty air, which distinguishes you ? Be good and severe at the
same time ; eternal peace shall reign in your family. Put a seal
upon your mouth, and guard your heart as you would guard the
walls of a city. Above all, do not become a relater of false reports,
nor of all you hear said at random.
" Suffer not yourself to be hurried away by excess of joy for any
unforeseen good luck. Be always equal and cool at either fortune ."
The rules of conduct relative to the brute creation , translated
from the Kung- Kwo-Kih, evince an excess of amiability ; and yet
there is scarcely any nation more cruel or indifferent to human or
animal suffering.
The rewards and penalties, are thus estimated by comparative
numerals
1. To save from death an animal that is unable to render any
service by way of recompense. (e . g. swine, sheep, geese, & c . ) 1
2. To save the lives of an hundred insects. 1
3. To bury an animal that has died of itself • 1
4. To relieve a brute that is greatly wearied with work 1
5. To purchase and set at liberty, animals intended to be
slaughtered. (For each hundred STSEEN so employed.) 1
6. Not to eat the flesh of an animal killed on purpose for our
own use. (Perhaps so killed without thought-or by the kindness
of a friend. ) 2
7. To abstain for a whole year from the flesh of oxen and dogs 5
8. To save the life of a brute, which, by its services, can re
compense us. (e. g. the dog, the ox, the ass, the horse, &c . ) 20
9. To abstain from killing every kind of animal for one whole
year. 20
10. To take the lead in exhorting men from the slaughter of
animals, and in advising them to set free those which are appointed
for slaughter. 100
A LIST OF ERRORS ON THE SAME SUBJECT .
1. To confine birds in a cage. 1
2. To kill ten insects . 1
3. To be unsparing of the strength of wearied animals . 1
4. To kill an animal that is without the power of remunerating
kind treatment. (e. g. poultry, sheep, &c.) 3
46 SLAVERY AND ITS LAWS .
5. To disturb insects in their holes, and to frighten away birds
perching on the boughs. 3
6. To despise those persons who compassionately set at liberty,
brutes that were intended for the shambles 3
7. To stop up the dens of wild beasts, and destroy the nests of
birds. 20
8. Without great reason to kill and dress animals for food 20
9. Secretly to butcher oxen and dogs. 100
10. To be the foremost to encourage the slaughter of animals,
or to hinder persons from setting them at liberty. 100
Notwithstanding this apparent sensibility, one of the ordinary
punishments for criminals is to place them in the town square, fixed
in a wooden collar, with a guard to prevent any food being given
them, and nothing but a little water allowed daily, in order to
render their sufferings more severe. The torture is thus prolonged
for ten or more days, until death releases the victims of barbar
ism. A people who would suffer this mode of punishment must
be as cruel as they are selfish and sensual.
There can be no doubt that slavery exists in China. Several of
the Europeans engaged in the opium trade on the coast, buy Chi
nese girls, at a price from 100 dollars and upwards according to
their beauty .
Mr. Biot has minutely investigated the laws relative to the hired
servant and the slave. The law protects the two last classes against
their masters . The punishment varies according to the condition
of the parties, for the purpose of keeping up the distinction . Mar
riage between slaves and free persons is strictly forbidden, and
punished by banishment, and the marriage is declared null and
void. A slave guilty of criminal intercourse with a wife or daughter
of a freeman, shall be punished more severely than a freeman would
have been under similar circumstances . The punishment of a free
man under similar circumstances, is much lighter, as it is con
sidered he has disgraced his character. The penal code lays down
responsibility on all parties of the social circle, for the concealment
of the untimely death of either master or slave.
The laws are severe against slaves, and decree that any slave who
purposely strikes his master shall be beheaded . All slaves design
edly killing, or striking their master, with a design to kill , shall
suffer death by a slow and painful execution . All slaves who ac
cidentally kill their masters, shall be strangled after having been
imprisoned the usual time. Every slave who shall accidentally
wound his master, shall suffer one hundred blows, and perpetual
banishment to the distance of three thousand le.
Every hired servant who strikes his master, or the maternal
grandfather or grandmother of his master, shall be punished with
one hundred blows and three years banishment ; if he wounds the
said persons, he shall be punished with one hundred blows, and per
petual banishment to the distance of 3,000 le.
SLAVES AND EUNUCHS. 47
Section 314 of the penal code decrees, that in case of theft or
adultery committed by a slave, if the master or one of his near
relatives secretly beats the slave to death, instead of informing the
magistrate, this master or his relation shall be sentenced to receive
one hundred blows. If the master of a slave, or the relation of a
master in the first degree, intentionally kills this slave, or beats him
to death ; the slave not being guilty of any crime, the delinquent
shall be punished with 60 blows and one year's banishment. The
family of the slave killed have a right to be affranchised . A master
can beat his hired servant without being punished ; but if he kills
him he is punished by strangulation .
Section 322 relates to a master who strikes his late slave, and re
ciprocally. Both shall be punished as equals, the tie between them
having been broken by the sale of the slave ; but if the master
has freed his slave, his right is not transferred to any other, and
thus the sentence is pronounced as if the slave had not been set
free .
Section 328 provides against abusive language from a slave or
hired servant to his master or his relations. If the words are ad
dressed to his master, the slave is punished with strangulation . If
they are addressed to the relations of his master in the first degree,
the slave receives 50 blows and two years banishment . In all cases
the language must have been heard by the person so insulted, and
such person must always complain of it publicly.
There can be no doubt, from a perusal of these laws, that slavery
is general is various parts of China, but it appears specially so in
the southern provinces . The number of slaves that are annually
sent to the island of Formosa from Fookeen is very great. The
Chinese when spoken to, gravely answer, " What can poor people
do that have no rice ? " It is possible that the Chinese authorities
are disposed to subdue the whole island to themselves : lately they
have formed new settlements on the N.E. and E. side of Formosa .
An eye-witness who had seen 150 slaves shipped by natives of
China, says, the junk was only about ninety tons burthen, . divided
into compartments. Previous to the celebration of the new year,
children are regularly sold, and the money is squandered . The
prices average from twenty to fifty dollars each : elderly women
bring about thirty dollars ; female children, who are goodlooking,
bring very high prices, from 500 to 5,000 dollars . The price is
said to go towards foundling hospitals, in which many of them
have been brought up .
The Emperors of the Han, Tang, and Sung dynasties bestowed
most of the civil offices of state on the eunuchs : there is no doubt
that political principles governed their choice ; in this they were
disappointed, as the eunuchs have often excited the greatest dis
sension in the Chinese empire. Since the Mantchou dynasty, the
number of these dependents has been reduced : according to law,
there can be no eunuchs in a private house ; this right is only con
48 INFANTICIDE- PROCLAMATION .
ferred on the princes of the imperial family ; the number at pre
sent in China is about six thousand . By law castration is per
formed on the children of rebels, under sixteen years of age. All
the male relations of criminals guilty of high treason suffer death,
if over sixteen years of age ; and all under that age are made
eunuchs of, to be employed in the palace.
The existence of infanticide in China has been often asserted ;
and either doubted or totally disbelieved , especially by those who
extol Chinese civilization . In proof of its existence, the annexed
proclamation from the Governor of Canton is given :
February 19 , 1838.
" Lieutenant- Governor Ke, to the People of Canton .
" Whereas heaven and earth display their benevolent power in
giving existence, and fathers and mothers exhibit their tender
affection in loving their offspring ; it is, therefore, incumbent on
you, inhabitants of the land, to nurse and rear all your infants,
whether male or female . On inquiry, I find that the drowning of
females is quite common, and practised by both rich and poor.
Had there been no mothers, whence would you have obtained your
own bodies ? If you had no wives, where will be your posterity ?
Reflect consider what you are doing. The destruction of female
infants is nothing less than the murder of human beings . That
those who kill shall themselves be killed , is the sure retribution of
omniscient Heaven. And you , elders and gentry, ought by ex
hortations and kindness to prevent the destruction of human life.
Hereafter no clemency will be shown to such offenders : so give
heed to these instructions ."
The medical missionaries, since the opening of the northern
ports, have been ceaseless in their endeavours to check this cruel
system, and have endeavoured to trace the probable extent to which
it is carried .
The excellent missionary, Mr. Abeel, who was for several years
at Koolungsoo and Amoy, says, that from a comparison with many
other parts of the country, there is reason to believe that a greater
number of children are destroyed at birth in this district , than in
any other department. By an inquiry of persons from forty dif
ferent towns and villages (of which the names are here omitted),
the number destroyed varies exceedingly in different places ; the
extremes extending from seven to eight tenths (Chinese mode), i.e.
seventy or eighty per cent. to one-tenth, or ten per cent.; and the
mean of the whole number, the average proportion destroyed in all
these places, amounted to nearly four- tenths, or exactly thirty-nine
per cent.
In seventeen of these forty towns and villages, the informants
declared that more than one -half of the children born are deprived
of existence. Taking eight other places, as a standard, it lies be
tween one-fourth and three-tenths, or near thirty per cent .
According to the opinion of the inhabitants of eighteen towns
FOUNDLING HOSPITALS . 49
and villages in the department of Changchaw, the number killed is
more than one-fourth, and less than three-tenths. From inquiries
made of the inhabitants of Fuchou-foo, the existence of the crime
is admitted, but its prevalence is not so extensive . An examina
tion which was held at Amoy, in 1843, to confer literary honours,
brought many hundred candidates from various districts, who were
asked as to the extent of the crime ; they all deplored it, and ex-
pressed themselves freely on the subject. But, as suicide is no
crime in China, and self- destruction is even regarded as a favour
by the government to an alleged criminal, so the taking of the life
of an infant, especially that of a female, is not generally regarded
as murder.
To check this brutal custom, efforts are made in large cities, by
the erection of foundling hospitals by benevolent individuals, but
they are too limited in number and resources. There does not
appear to be any disgrace connected with infanticide, except an
exposure of their poverty ; what excuse the rich make it is diffi-
cult to know, but avarice must be the mainspring in their cal
culations .
Foundling hospitals are met with in the large cities of China.
One in Ningpo accommodates from sixty to seventy children of
both sexes : outside the building is placed a wooden cradle, and
over it an inscription : Kian-ching-pau- ch-ih, " Nurture to maturity,
and protect the babes." Each nurse has the charge of two children.
Male children remain until they are fourteen years of age ; girls
until they are sixteen . This institution is upwards of 100 years
established . The six districts connected with Ningpo are taxed in
kind for its support ; it has a yearly income from land and money
funded. It is presided over by a superintendent and a government
inspector.
Extreme poverty is often the cause of infanticide ; but as a
nation or people, the Chinese have more food than the Hindoos.
The labouring classes have two meals in the day, at ten o'clock, A.M.,
and five, P.M. The table furniture is uniform among the several
ranks of society : a large bowl for rice, several small dishes for fish,
and a small bowl for each person, with a pair of chop-sticks, com
plete the requirements of the poor. In eating, each person holds
the small bowl up to his chin, and shovels the rice, or whatever it
is, into his mouth. What most surprises a foreigner is the number
of dishes at a rich banquet. But one kind is brought to table at
once, and probably there will be thirty courses. Fruit is often
served first ; fish, or soup, last ; there does not appear to be any
fixed rule. The Chinese custom, when giving a large party, is to
provide each guest with a separate table. Games of chance are
often introduced between the courses . An ordinary feast will
occupy five or six hours at least. In feasting out, the Chinese are
proverbial for eating voraciously. If an invited guest is prevented
from attending, his share is carefully sent to his house. The
E
50 ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE FOOD ,
female portion of a family is always excluded ; among the higher
ranks, males and females sit at separate tables .
The domesticated animals used by the Chinese as food, comprise
most of those known in Europe, but inferior in size. Cattle for
agricultural purposes are plentiful ; the pasture ground is usually
on the hills among the graves. The broad-tailed sheep is known
all over China, the mutton is tender and well -flavoured ; goats are
abundant, but of all quadrupeds the swine is most common and
esteemed for the fat ; horse-flesh is found in the markets of the
north, and brings a good price : dogs, cats, rats, mice, snakes,
toads, and other reptiles, are eaten by those who can afford to buy
little ; indeed every thing that is found, even to the elephant, is
eaten by the poor.
The beverages of the Chinese are few in variety, and every thing
is drunk warm , but tea is used by every one even at dinner, and
without sugar or milk . On all complimentary visits tea is pre
sented instead of wine .
The castor oil plant and camellia oleifera, or oil- bearing tea
plant, are in great demand . The Chinese use the castor oil in
cooking, as its purgative qualities are not great when fresh . The
oil is obtained from the seeds by parboiling them and then press
ing them in a cylinder. The young shoots of the bamboo, as a
vegetable, are in more extensive use than most other vegetables .
Tobacco is almost universally smoked by men and women ; and not
unfrequently mixed with opium. The rivers, lakes, and canals,
teem with fish, and the millions of people who live on the water and
near the shore, wholly live on fish, the right of fishing being
open to all. They have a species of bird like a cormorant which
is trained to dive for fish ; all the other modes, such as hooks,
nets, and snares, are in use. All the water- products known are to
›
be found in China ; and fish is more or less an ingredient in every
dish among rich and poor.
The grains which are cultivated include all those used for food,
rice, wheat, rye, &c. Rice is the chief article of diet, and is raised
in almost every part of the empire. The southern parts are best
adapted ; but it has been found growing in the extreme northern
part of China. Wheat and millet appear to be the most general
crop in the region north of the Yangtzekang. Millet is the
great staple on the banks of the Pei-ho ; there are several species
of plants under the name of millet, the seeds of which differ
much in size and taste ; the Barbadoes millet is most common :
panicum, which is planted much later, is also called millet . Rice
and millet are generally boiled together. Wheaten flour is pre
ferred for pastry, cakes , &c. Bread is prepared from wheaten flour,
but without leaven : bread is rarely seen in shops or houses, so
that it is not a common article of food, among the Chinese , Maize
grows to great perfection in the nothern regions, and is most gene
COOKING AND EATING HOUSES . 51
rally eaten green. Oats and barley are known, but not esteemed
for food. Garden vegetables of some sort, always form a part of
the Chinese meals. Leguminous and cruciferous plants are culti
vated in every portion of China that has been visited by Europeans.
The kidney-bean and horse-bean are well known ; the whole plant
is frequently boiled . From the dolichos soja, or soy-bean, is
manufacture d the condiment called soy . The white bean, when
ground with water, appears like the curd of milk, and in that state
is hawked about the streets . Peas are in season in February .
Among cruciferous plants, cabbage and turnips are the most ex-
tensively cultivated. One description of white cabbage grows
upwards of three feet high, and will weigh twelve or eighteen
pounds . Onions and garlics are pickled , boiled , and fried ; carrots,
asparagus, melons, and cucumbers are esteemed . Edible tubers are
cultivated in lakes, rivers, and wherever they will grow. The Irish
potatoe is chiefly confined to the vicinity of Macao. The nelum
bium roots are frequently seen five feet long, and nearly three inches
thick ; in taste they resemble a turnip . They are eaten raw and
cooked, generally boiled . The cooking and mode of eating among
the Chinese are peculiar : cooking is uniform from the governor to
the cooley, as far as regards the preparation of the staples : as to
the mode of eating with two smooth sticks, it is thoroughly na
tional, and unlike any other people in the world. Oil is universally
used in cooking, also garlic or onions ; the most common mode is
stewing and frying. There is no limit to the number of ingre
dients in a single dish, which will often amount to ten or twelve
different substances . The entire body of an animal is sometimes
baked whole ; the outer side is first made clean, and the body
pierced with holes into which salt is rubbed ; this is the common
mode of dressing hogs and dogs . Roasting is hardly known in
Chinese cookery. Puddings, custards, pies, or such like, so much
esteemed in Europe, are nearly or altogether unknown in China .
All attempts to introduce European wines among the Chinese
have hitherto failed . They make a wine from rice, by putting yeast
in it, but it soon turns sour, and is then converted into vinegar.
An ardent spirit (samshoo) is distilled from millet and rice, and
has a smoky flavour somewhat like Scotch whisky. Rum is distilled
from molasses, and is an abominable drink. Cherry brandy (im
ported) is a favourite drink with the rich . If inebriety be prac
tised among the Chinese, it is done in private, for to see a drunkard
in the streets is very unusual. Complimentary healths are drank
at dinner, and the cup is generally drained .
Eating-houses and taverns are numerous in large towns and
cities ; board and lodging are reasonable. The number of taverns
in Canton is very great ; but the greater number of eating-places
are in the principal thoroughfare in the streets, where the provisions
are cooked and vended . The average price for a meal is from two
E2
52 SPIRITS .- PUBLIC GRANARIES .
mace to three candereens. Every thing is hawked about the
streets ; the markets are merely open spaces near the temples.
Fuel is expensive, and only used for cooking and manufactures ; in
cold weather the cheerful fire is dispensed with, and an additional
number of garments, sometimes five or six in number, are worn
over each other ; in warm weather almost every garment is dis
pensed with : body linen is by no means in general use.
Spirits are used extensively, but drunkenness is very rare . The
spirit termed " samshoo " is drank hot at the principal meal.
The following extracts from a native work called " Tung-shen
luh," or " Essays to Good," show how sobriety is inculcated :
(c
Spirits are maddening medicine. They destroy virtue, and
throw man's nature into confusion. Unless men possess sage-like
virtue, they can never control themselves when under the influence
of spirits. The officer who indulges freely in their use, blindly and
sluggishly conducts the duties of his office. The learned and un
learned when steeped in spirits, turn all things upside down . The
licentious and lewd it leads on, acting as their go-between . They
excite anger, and induce quarrelling- they darken and mislead the
intelligent, and make the careful and discreet careless and disor
derly. There are miseries without and diseases within. Spirits
ulcerate the stomach, destroy the intestines, and eventually cause
death."
The dissimilarity in the style of living, between the extremes
of wealth and poverty, is remarkable : the rich Chinese collect
on their tables everything that is curious and expensive ; and
the cost of a dish enhances it in their estimation. On the other
hand, it would be difficult to know what it is the poor of China
do not eat and it is not in times of famine only, but at all
times, they consume food that no other people would eat from
taste or fancy, but from sheer necessity. The principles of the
Chinese law are to admit of no distinctions among the subjects,
except those of learning and office ; and the most rigid laws have
been imposed to check vanity and splendour which wealth is
apt to assume ; but with regard to diet, the difference between
rich and poor is more marked than in any other country.
Public granaries are established in every province. Those of
the government are presided over by an officer who has the
charge of them, and complaints are made of the misappropria
tion of the provision only intended for the poor in times of fa
mine. There are other granaries, which belong to individuals
who have raised a fund for that object. When once filled, the
surplus incomes go to the expenses of the district. In years of
abundance they loan or sell the rice, and at the harvest cause it
to be returned with interest. The Emperor in times of famine
sends a subscription . There is a description of almshouses or hos
pitals, chiefly supported by government, but they only admit the
aged and infirm. The abuses of these desirable institutions are
WAGES .- BUILDING ARRANGEMENTS . 53
very great ; it is said not one-half the incomes are expended on
the poor.
Under the head of manufactures, the rates of wages and prices
of provisions are given . Many of the most skilful men do not
earn a guinea a month ; the most industrious manufacturers get
only three dollars monthly, on an average, and with this they
are content .
Rice, salt, and a few vegetables, with some fish, are their daily
food. They work from daylight to sunset, and have no holiday
except at the new year. There are very few large manufacturing
establishments ; the artizans work on their own account, and sell
their work when it is finished .
Notwithstanding the rudeness of their looms, yet in several
articles of silk and cotton manufactures, the Chinese compete with
European skill and capital, as regards cheapness of production :
and certainly their products are superior in durability, in soft
ness, and frequently in brightness of colour.
The wages of mechanics and skilful workmen are very low,
and seldom exceed one-fourth of a dollar per day ; those engaged
by the month still less . The number of itinerant tradesmen ,
that hawk their labour and tools through every part of China,
is incalculable : they very much resemble the gypsies. A common
labourer's wages average about thirty cash (fourpence) ; ordinary
servants about three and a half dollars per month. When very
poor and not able to work, many turn Buddhist priests.
The laws and custom require all cities and towns to be built on
a plan laid down by government . The first is, they must be
square, as far as the ground will admit ; this is in order that the
gates on each side may face the cardinal points. They are, when
built, divided into four nearly equal divisions, and then subdivided
into smaller divisions, each not to have more than ten houses ; over
each subdivision an officer presides, whose duty is to take notice
of the most trifling circumstance that occurs, such as contention,
or the visit of strangers : all is reported to the Mandarins . This
inquisitorial system commences in the capital of each province, and
descends, step by step, down to the father of every family, who is
held answerable for the ill- conduct of either his slaves, servants, or
children .
Dwelling-houses must be built according to a law which regu
lates the height only. If built in any respect to cope with the
temples, the owner exposes himself to punishment, and the house
is liable to be pulled down. In some of the provinces where wood
is abundant, the houses are chiefly composed of wooden posts,
covered with a coarse kind of mat-work, plastered and whitened .
In Canton the houses are chiefly built of brick, and are only one
story high ; in large cities they are generally two stories high.
The windows are chiefly carved latticed-work, and covered with silk
paper, or split oyster-shells. When viewed from the exterior, the
54 - DWELLINGS AND TEMPLES .- FAIRS .
Chinese dwellings have a neat appearance ; but they will not bear
examination as compared to the internal arrangement of similar
houses in Europe .
The temples in China have generally a handsome front, with a
stage for theatrical performances. The corners of the roof are
more pointed than those of private houses, and no limit is placed to
their height. The interior of these temples are very extensive, as
they serve for a dwelling-place for the priests. Figures in wood
and stone, are very numerous throughout the principal edifice.
Before these are placed dishes and large vases, bearing lights and
incense, which are burnt in honour of the gods. An iron bell and a
large drum are requisite to complete the furnishing of a Chinese
temple. On festival days, after the good things are first offered to
the idols, they are then partaken of by the worshippers ; and sen
suality of the grossest nature often closes the " religious " duties
of the day.
Fairs and markets are held at stated times . In small towns
there are nine fairs every month ; in second-rate towns, fifteen ;
and in large cities there is a fair or market every day- besides
fairs which are held specially for the sale of cattle. At the Chinese
fairs, every thing in use amongst them is sold. Any considerable
quantity of goods is usually bought on credit, and security given
for the payment at a stated time . There is a class of men, who
are called mediators, whose duty is chiefly to reconcile two parties
who cannot agree as to the real value of a commodity. These
" go-betweens " are very numerous, and generally make both
parties pay them for their services.
Inns of a miserable description are to be found in all great
thoroughfares . The beds are very uncomfortable ; the Chinese
generally carry a blanket with them when they travel any distance
from home. Inns on the road- side seldom or ever have sleeping 1{
accommodation for travellers, so that nothing is to be had in
them but boiled rice or vegetables, except tea, which is the usual
beverage.
The military roads are made at the government expense ; and
are rarely laid out in a straight line for any considerable distance,
their direction depending entirely upon the owner or occupier of
the land through which they are made . The provinces that have
no rivers or canals , are intersected with roads, the average breadth
of five or six feet . It is said, that in the provinces of Honan,
Shense, and Chih-li, there are waggons and public conveyances.
In districts that produce salt and coal, and that have no rivers, the
narrow roads are covered for miles with porters , who divide their
burdens into two equal parts, which they attach to each end of a
bamboo pole . Asses and mules are generally made use of in
mountain districts .
The dikes in the low sea-board districts of China, require con
stant repair and attention ; as also the banks of the great rivers .
POOR-LAWS .- BEGGARS .- ROBBERS . 55
Applications are very numerous to government, which are answered
by calling on those who have received imperial favours for subscrip
tions those who seek promotion in office, generally give liberally :
when this amount fails to finish the works, a grant of money is
given, to be restored by means of a sinking fund, within a number
of years. But a free grant for this most necessary purpose is a
rare occurrence. Great damage is done from time to time to large
districts of country by the overflowing of the rivers ; which one of
our ordinary engineers, if in the service of the Chinese govern
ment, would effectually prevent .
Many of the enactments of China read well on paper, but are
never acted upon, and are practically inoperative : thus, for instance,
by the laws of China it is enacted, that all widowers and widows,
the fatherless and childless, the helpless and infirm, shall receive
sufficient maintenance and protection from the magistrates of their
native city or district, whenever they have neither relations nor
connexions upon whom they can depend for their subsistence ; any
magistrate refusing such protection shall be punished with sixty
blows . But as no funds are provided for the maintenance of the
indigent, no mandarins thinks it requisite to attend to the enforce
ment of the law : the poor are, however, permitted to beg from
door to door, and to beat a small gong, or drum, in or at every
house or shop, until they receive some alms, however small. À
beggar may be seen keeping up a hideous din in a shop in Canton
for half-an-hour, without receiving the slightest attention from the
shop-keeper, until some customer comes in, when the noise of the
beggar is quelled by a " cash," the (seventh part of a farthing,) and
he goes off to another door .
The Chinese are probably the most expert robbers, pirates and
burglars, in the world. Thieves are divided into two classes :
pickpockets and housebreakers . The first are migratory, and
visit every fair ; when they arrive, they call on the chief officer,
and request permission to trade (plunder) , which is readily granted,
with the caution not to make a noise. Should they be caught in
the act, they get a few blows . This fraternity have strict laws,
which are rigidly obeyed . Should two bands meet at one fair,
they must fight for the day, or surrender. They have regular
places for depositing their plunder. These bands are very numer
ous, and are subject to the direction of chiefs , some of whom have
600 men under them. The farmers all keep dogs to protect their
property.
The maritime population are much addicted to piracy ; the Foo
keen men and those of Canton ,. are famed for their lawless daring .
In various places along the coast, and on the islands, villages are
plundered by piratical junks, who carry off not only goods, but
young girls. The people are surprised that we do not plunder them
also, and that we pay for whatever we require .
The first foreign ships that visited China, anchored near Macao,
56 PIRATES, THEIR STRENGTH, ETC.
and were attacked by pirates ; from that time to the present, no
boat's crew or junk is safe going any distance along the shore or
from port to port. The East India Company's ships were all fully
armed, a circumstance well known to the pirates, as they never
ventured an attack, The numerous edicts issued by the Emperor
against the pirates, read well on paper but have no effect. The pre
sent mode of hunting them is to start at an appointed time, first
letting off fireworks, and making a great sound of music, to give
them timely warning to hide. But if the government were really
disposed to destroy the pirates, it could soon be accomplished,
by the authorities quietly embarking on board a merchant vessel, as
their haunts are well known. From Turner's account, who was
compelled to live with them in 1810, their junks amounted to up
wards of 500, the average size of them from 100 to 300 tons, the
largest carried from 150 to 200 men with guns, (some of British
manufacture) and long pikes, swords, &c. It is to be regretted
that the mandarins are too ready to compromise the matter. With
all the boasted severity of the laws, these miscreants continue along
the coast and put the Imperial forces at defiance. The ancient
mode was to appoint the leaders of the band of robbers to some
important office ; that was not found to answer well, as Ching, the
notorious pirate, who was made admiral of the sea, afterwards
aimed at the throne of China unsuccessfully, but obtained for his
son one of the princesses of the blood in marriage. His position
was of great importance to the contending parties in China at that
time.
The daring acts of piracy committed on the Chinese coast, are a
source of much uneasiness, particularly to merchants who find it
necessary to ship treasure from one port to another. It appears to
be essential that all vessels coasting should be well prepared with
fire arms. The first mode of attack with the pirates is to throw fire
balls on deck, which causes confusion . Captain Kelly, of the Isa
bella Robertson, and four of his men, were overpowered, and plun
dered of three boxes of money, of the value of 7,440 dollars, at ele
ven o'clock in the forenoon .
The province of Fookeen is allowed by all writers to be more
independent than the others, and the coast is the stronghold of
the pirates : the people are bold, fearless of their own autho
rities, of a shrewd character, with but little knowledge of trade as
connected with European foreigners . The quarrels in the interior
are very frequent, and savage encounters take place between whole
villages and towns ; clanship being most prevalent ; several fierce
attacks were made on towns close to Amoy during the residence
of Captain Gribble, and many lives were lost. The sea-board is
infested by pirates, and may be considered under no control
whatever. Our Consul was informed of the capture and destruc
tion of a war-junk within six miles of Amoy, and partly from
curiosity visited the place ; he succeeded in driving off about 400
RELIGION . - CONFUCIANS . - CREATION . 57
pirates, and delivered her over to the nearest mandarin ; in twelve
hours the pirates re-appeared, and the war-junk was destroyed.
No notice was taken of this capture by the authorities, although
detection was easy . Our Consul, Captain Gribble, had only five
armed-men in the boat when he drove off the pirates.
RELIGION OF THE CHINESE .-It is difficult to convey a distinct
idea of the religion of the Chinese. The higher classes are Deists ;
and I heard their learned men express an utter disbelief of a future
state . In order that we may be the better enabled to see the pros
pects which pure Christianity would have in China, the following
explanation of the Confucian and other systems is given ; for
which I am indebted to Drs. Medhurst, Gutzlaff, Bridgeman, and
others. While in China, I was favoured by Dr. Gutzlaff trans
lating my " Analysis of the Bible " into Chinese, which I caused
to be printed ; it is now extensively circulating throughout China,
and said to be producing a good effect.
The Confucian system of religion, if religion it can be called, for
it has little or nothing to do with theology, is merely a scheme of
ethics and politics, from which things spiritual and divine are gene
rally speaking excluded . In the works of Confucius, there are
some allusions to Heaven as the presiding power of nature ; and to
Fate as the determiner of all things ; but he does not appear to
attribute originality to the one, or rationality to the other. " Life
and death are decreed by Fate ; riches and poverty rest with Hea
ven."
The Book of Odes, speaks of the Imperial Supreme, as r ma
jestic in his descending and surveying the inhabitants of the world,
and promoting their tranquillity ;" who is to be worshiped and
served with abstinence and purification ; while he views the affairs
of men, and rewards or punishes them according to their deeds.
" The principle of order, which regulates the universe," is called
the soul of the world . The heavens and earth, together with all
animate and inanimate things, are, according to them, but one
principle ; which is as universally diffused through nature, as wa
ter through the ocean.
Their description of the creation of the world is as follows :
" Before heaven and earth were divided, there existed one universal
chaos ; when the two energies of nature were gradually distin
guished, and the yin and yang, i. e. the male and female princi
ples, established. Then the purer influence established, and became
the expansive heavens ; while the grosser particles descended, and
constituted the subjacent earth . From the combination of these
two, all things were produced ; and thus heaven is the father, and
earth the mother of nature ."
Hwaenantze, an ancient author of China, whose works are in
great esteem,. writes thus :-" Heaven was formless, a chaos ; and
the whole mass nothing but confusion . Order was produced in the
pure ether ; out of the pure ether the universe came forth ; the
58 COSMOGONY . - TRINITY .-MAN .
universe produced the air. When the pure male principle yang,
had been diluted, it formed the heavens. The heavy parts coagu
lated and formed the earth . The refined particles united very
soon, but the thick and heavy went on slowly ; therefore the
heavens came into existence first, and the earth afterwards. From
the subtile escence of heaven and earth, the dual principles, yang
and yin, were formed ; the joint operation of yang and yin pro
duced the four seasons, putting forth their generative power,
gave birth to all the products of the earth . The warm air of
yang produced fire, and the finest parts of fire formed the sun.
The cold air of the yin, being condensed, produced water ; and
the finest parts of the watery substance formed the moon.
Their system of cosmogony is connected with a scheme of dia
grams, which consists of a square, according to the following
form :
4 9 2
35 7
8 1 6
Of these every odd number represents heaven, or the superior
principle ; and every even number earth, or the inferior principle :
the odd numbers combined make 25 , and the even ones , with the
decade, 30 ; and by these 55 numbers, they imagine that all trans
formations are perfected, and the spirits act .
Another portion of their faith is in a material trinity, called
heaven, earth, and man ; meaning by the latter sages only. Hea
ven and earth produced human beings; but without communicating
instruction, their work was incomplete. Thus the sages aided na
ture in teaching the principles and correct forms for the govern
ment of the world ; and thus a triad is established of equal powers
and importance .
An extract from one of the Four Books, will better illustrate their
belief.
*
" It is only the thoroughly sincere, who can perfect his own na
ture ; he who can perfect his own nature, can perfect the nature of
other men he who can perfect the nature of men, can perfect the
nature of things ; he who can perfect the nature of things, can
assist heaven and earth, in renovating and nourishing the world . "
Of Confucius, it is said by his followers, that his fame overflowed
China like a deluge ; wherever there is blood and breath he has
been honoured, and therefore he is equal to Heaven . There are
1550 temples dedicated to him ; 62,600 animals annually sacri
ficed to his manes ; and 27,000 pieces of silk offered ; all of which
are paid for by government.
BIOGRAPHY OF CONFUCIUS . 59
Confucius was born in the year 550 ь.c.; his father was a magis
trate in the then petty kingdom of Lu, now the province of Shan
tung. At the early age of seventeen, he was appointed as a clerk
in the grain department ; which was then, as it is now, a govern
ment tax. When he was twenty-four years of age, he lost his
mother, and resigned his appointment in order to mourn for her
three years, according to ancient custom . This sacrifice on the
part of a young man, in imitating and reviving the ancient custom,
made a great impression on his neighbours, and they all succes
sively followed his example. From this province the practice
spread throughout the empire, and it is at present strictly adhered
to, even by the emperor.
During the three years he paid great attention to the customs
of the ancient kings, Yau and Sheen, in order to ascertain how
perfection in morals was attained. In order to carry out his
principles, he composed a series of works which set forth his
doctrine. His next plan was to establish schools, for which pur
pose he traversed the whole empire, and became a favourite at
court, so that free admission to the archives of the kingdom was
given to him.
Confucius had great aptitude for illustrating his doctrine from
the works of nature ; one of his dissertations will give the reader an
idea of his style. On one occasion, when walking with some dis
ciples, he perceived a fowler catching birds with a net . Confucius
asked him how it was he had caught no old birds . " The old
66
birds," said he, are too wary to be caught, and the young ones
that follow them attentively, likewise escape ; but the young ones
that separate from the flock are what I generally catch. Occa
sionally I catch an old bird, but only when he follows the young
ones . >> " Now," said Confucius, " attend to my instruction : the
young birds escape the snare only when they keep with the old
ones ; the old ones are taken when they follow the young ; thus it
is with mankind . Presumption, hardihood, want of forethought,
and inattention, are the principal reasons why young people are led
astray. They rashly undertake acts without consulting the aged
and experienced, and thus, following their own notions, are misled,
and fall into the first snare that is laid for them.”
Confucius, after many years' travelling, settled in his native
state, Lu, where he established a kind of college, which taught and
disseminated his doctrine, by the aid of 3,000 students, who colS
lected his sayings, and called them Lun-yu, now one of the Four
Books.
Every district in the empire has a temple dedicated to Confu
cius ; and every school-room has a tablet with his name on it, be
fore which incense is burnt by the scholars twice a day.
The writings of Confucius are held in great veneration, and
consist of nine books, five of which are called the canonical works .
The Four Books must be committed to memory by all who attain
60 PHILOSOPHY OF CONFUCIUS .
to distinction in literary rank. The first of the Four Books is the
Ta-heo, which endeavours to show that in the knowledge and
government of one's self the economy and government of a family
must originate ; and from thence to a province ; and that the same
rules and maxims should be practised in governing the empire.
The whole work has a political tendency ; one extract will readily
show this : " Let those who produce revenue be many, and those
who consume it few ; let the producers have every facility, and let
the consumers practise economy ; and thus there will be at all
times a sufficiency of revenue." 1 The leading features of his
morality are subordination to superiors ; kind and upright dealing
with our fellow-men ; children to obey parents, who, in their turn,
are to obey the king, who is himself to obey Heaven- whose son
the king is.
It is recorded of Confucius, that the Prince of Lu dying, his son
called on Confucius to take the entire management of the state.
The wisdom of the philosopher was very soon apparent in the good
government of the state, and the happiness of the people was
greatly augmented.
There was one of the nobles of this state who had hitherto com
mitted great crimes with impunity. Confucius had him tried and
executed ; this courageous act made him still more popular.
His austere and truly moral principles, and the propriety and
decorum that were observed at court, procured him many enemies ;
and his prince once more relapsing into a licentious state of life,
Confucius left the helm of affairs, and took again to travelling, and
writing his books, which, when completed, (at the age of sixty
eight,) he dedicated with great solemnity to Heaven. He died in
479 B.C. in the seventy-third year of his age. His posthumous
honours are numerous, and his descendants continue to dwell in
Shantung province to this day ; and the heads of the family are
the only hereditary nobility in the empire. The chief is called the
holy duke. The Emperor Kanghe had a correct list made out of
the descendants of the sage, and they numbered 11,000 males : the
present is the seventy-fourth generation .
A few of the select sayings of Confucius illustrate his doctrines .
The Seaou King, a treatise on filial duty, was written by Confu
cius ; a work in more general circulation than any other in the
Chinese empire .
Section the first is on the origin and nature of filial duty.
Question. " How did the ancient kings render the kingdom so
obedient that the people lived in peace and harmony, and that no
ill-will existed between superiors and inferiors ? —A.- Filial duty
is the root of virtue, and the stem from which instruction in moral
principles springs forth. Filial duty requires of us to carefully pre
serve from injury the bodies which we have received from our
parents ; and to acquire for ourselves a station in the world , thus
regulating our conduct by correct principles, so as to transmit our
FILIAL DUTY IN ALL CLASSES . 61
names to future generations, and reflect glory on our parents :
this is the ultimate aim of filial duty.
Think always of your ancestors ;
Talk of, and imitate their virtues."
Section 2nd. - Filial duty as practised by the Son of Heaven.
" If he loves his parents, he cannot hate other people ; if he
respects his parents, he cannot treat others with neglect. When
his love and respect towards his parents are perfect, those virtues
will be extended to the people, all will imitate his example.
When the one man is virtuous,
The millions will rely upon him."
Section 3rd . - Filial duty exhibited on the part of nobles.
" When those who are above all others are free from pride, they
are not in danger from exaltation. To be elevated, and yet secure
from danger, is the way in which continually to maintain nobility;
and of abundance to have nothing wasted. Thus preserving their
nobility and riches, they will be able to protect their ancestral
possessions, and keep their subjects and people in peace and quiet
ness .
Be watchful, be very watchful,
As though approaching a deep abyss,
Or as when treading upon thin ice."
Section 4th .- On the practice of filial duty by ministers of state.
" No robes but those which were allowed by the laws of the
ancient kings should be worn : language opposed to their usage
should not be employed. If ministers of state speak only accord
ing to the rules, and act only in harmony with the principles of
those ancient kings, their words will be unexceptionable, and their
conduct irreproachable .
Morning and evening be watchful :
در
And diligently serve the one man .'
Section 5th. On the attention of scholars to filial duty.
" With the same love that they serve their fathers, they should
serve their mothers likewise ; and with the same respect that they
serve their fathers, they should serve their prince ; unmixed love,
then, will be the offering they make to their mothers : unfeigned
respect the tribute they bring to their prince ; and towards their
fathers both these will be combined .
From the hour of early dawn, till late retirement at night,
Always be careful not to dishonour those who gave you birth."
Section 6th . - On the practice of filial duty by the people.
" To observe the revolving seasons, to distinguish the diversities
of soil, to be careful of their persons, and practice economy . There
fore, from the Son of Heaven down to the common people, whoever
does not always conform to the requirement of filial duty, will be
overtaken by calamity : there can be no exception ."
Section 7th .- Filial duty is the grand law of heaven, the great
bond of earth, and the capital duty of man.
62 THREE THOUSAND CRIMES .
How glorious was the good master Yin,
All the people anxiously looked up to him. "
Section 8th. - The influence of filial duty on government.
" In ancient times, the illustrious kings governed the empire on
the principles of filial duty. They would not treat with disregard
even the ministers of small countries, how much less dukes, counts ,
and barons of every grade ; hence all the state gladly served the
ancient kings . The masters of ancient families would not neglect
even their servants and concubines, much less their wives and
children .
They exhibited a pattern of virtuous conduct,
And the nations on all sides submitted to them."
Section 9th . “ Of all things that derive their notions from hea
ven and earth, man is the most noble ; and of all duties which are
incumbent on him, there is none greater than filial obedience. The
feelings which ought to characterize the intercourse between father
aud son are of a heavenly nature, resembling the bonds which
exist between a prince and his ministers .
The great and good man,
Is never guilty of an error."
Section 10th.P Of crimes and punishments .
" There are three thousand crimes to which one or the other of
the five kinds of punishment is attached as a penalty ; and of these
no one is greater than disobedience to parents . When ministers
exercise control over the monarch, then there is no supremacy.
When the maxims of the sages are set aside, then the law is abro
gated; so are those who disregard filial duty, as though they had
no parents ."
Section 11th . - The best moral principles explained .
" In teaching the people to love one another, there is nothing so
beneficial as a proper understanding of filial duty. In teaching
them the rules of politeness and obedience, there is nothing so
good as a thorough knowledge of the duties which brothers owe to
each other ; for improving their manners, instruction in music is
the most efficient means that can be employed . Nothing is equal
to properly inculcating the principles of propriety. Now, propriety
of conduct has its foundation in respect. When princes respect
their parents, children take pleasure in imitating them. When
respect is shewn to elder brothers, the younger will rejoice to follow
the example. When the sovereign is respected, his ministers will
be delighted . Thus when one is respected , thousands and tens of
thousands receive pleasure ; and the few by paying respect, render
the many happy. "
Section 12th. -On remonstrance .
66 Formerly, if the emperor had only seven ministers who would
remonstrate with him, though he were destitute of virtue, yet he
lost not his empire. The nobles, though they might be devoid of
principle, yet if they had five servants who would remonstrate with
STATE RELIGION OF CHINA . 63
them, lost not their countries . And if a scholar had faithful friends
to remonstrate with him, he would not lose his good name."
Section 13th .- On the retributive results of filial duty.
" The ancient kings served their parents with respect ; hence
they could serve heaven intelligently. With them concord and
obedience were maintained between seniors and juniors ; hence
superiors and inferiors moved in their respective spheres. Even the
Son of Heaven (emperor) must have some one above him, namely his
father ; some one senior to himself, to be regarded as his eldest bro
ther. But it is in the ancestral temple that he displays the most per
fect degree of reverence for his parents, adorning himself with virtue,
lest he dishonour his progenitors ; it is while worshiping with rever
ence, that the spirits of his ancestors manifest themselves to him.”
Section 14th . - On the death of parents.
" The sages taught the people, not to destroy the living on ac
count of the dead , nor to injure themselves with grief. The time
of mourning is limited to three years, to show the people it must
have an end . When a parent dies, a coffin and case is made ready,
and the corpse wrapped in a shroud is laid therein . The male and
female members of the family, moving by the side of the coffin ,
weep as they advance . A felicitous burial-place is selected, and
the body laid down to rest. And in spring and autumn, sacrificial
rites are performed, to keep the dead in perpetual remembrance.
This is the fulfilment of all filial duty.”
There is a state religion practised by the court, at Peking, and by
all provincial governments. The objects of worship are things and
persons ; the sacrifices are thus divided . 1st, great sacrifices ; 2nd,
medium sacrifices ; 3rd, small sacrifices for the multitude. In the
following list, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, are the objects to which the
great sacrifices are offered . From the 5th to the 13th are those to
which the medium sacrifices are offered ; from the 14th to the 30th
they are only entitled to small sacrifices . 1st . The heavens or sky,
called also the imperial concave expanse. 2nd. The imperial earth.
3rd . The great temple of ancestors . 4th. The gods of the land
and grain. 5th. The sun, called the ' great light .' 6th . The moon ,
' night light.' 7th . The names of the emperors of former ages.
8th. The ancient master, Confucius. 9th . The first patron of agri•
culture. 10th . The ancient patron of silk manufacture . 11th .
The gods of heaven. 12th. The gods of the earth . 13th . The
god of the passing year. 14th. The ancient patron of the healing
art ; and the ghosts of faithful statesmen, scholars, &c. 15th . The
stars . 16th . The clouds . 12th. The rain . 18th . The wind .
19th . Thunder. 20th. The five great mountains of China . 21st .
The four great seas . 22nd . The four rivers . 23rd. The famous
hills. 24th Great streams of water. 25th. Military flags and
banners . 26th . The god of a road where, any army must pass .
27th. The god of cannon. 28th. The gods of the gate. 29th .
The queen goddess of the ground . 30th. The north pole, & c. &c.
!
64 EMPEROR THE HIGH PRIEST .
The priests of this state religion, are the emperor, (who is high
priest,) kings, nobles, statesmen, and an indefinite number of civil
and military officers . When the "high priest " worships heaven, he
wears robes of azure colour ; for the earth his robes are yellow ; for
the sun his dress is scarlet ; for the moon , a pale milky white . The
nobles wear their court-dresses . The altar on which the sacrifice to
heaven is laid, is round ; the altar dedicated to the earth is square.
It is only when the sacrifice to the patron of silk manufacturers
takes place, that the empress, princesses, and imperial concubines
are permitted to take part. All who take part in the first order of
sacrifices, are required to fast three days. They must abstain from
listening to music ; from cohabitation with wives or concubines ;
from mourning for the dead ; from eating onions or garlic, or drink
ing wine. The victims offered are bullocks, cows, sheep, and pigs.
There is no particular rule for killing them, but they are all cooked
and made ready for eating when blessed. The sacrifice to Heaven
is offered on the day of the winter solstice ; to earth on the day
of the summer solstice ; and the remainder at fixed periods .
The ceremonies consist in kneeling, bowing, and knocking the
head against the ground. When the Emperor officiates, this cere
mony is partly dispensed with ; the nine knockings of the head
are turned into bows.
Any informality in attending to the state religion is punished by
a fine ; but as none but high officers of state are permitted to take
part, this is of small moment. The punishment awarded to com
mon people for holding communion with the gods, or announcing
their wants in the same manner as the emperor, is, for the first
offence, 70 blows ; and for a repetition, strangulation . According to
the 161st section of the criminal code, if the priests of Budha and
Yaou imitate the state religion , it shall be deemed a profanation of
the sacred rites, for which they shall be expelled .
On occasions of drought, pestilence, famine, war, or any other ca
lamity,the Emperor alone prays to heaven for the people. The fol
lowing prayer for rain was made by the Emperor, in 1802 .
" Kneeling, a memorial is hereby presented, to cause affairs to
be heard.
" Oh, alas ! Imperial Heaven, were not the world afflicted by ex-
traordinary changes, I would not dare to present extraordinary
services. But this year the drought is most unusual. Summer is
past, and no rain has fallen . Not only do agriculture and human
beings feel the dire calamity, but also beasts and insects, herbs and
trees almost cease to live.
"I, the minister of Heaven, am placed over mankind, and am res
ponsible for keeping the world in order, and tranquillizing the people.
Although it is now impossible for me to sleep or eat with compo
sure ; although I am scorched with grief and tremble with anxiety ;
still, after all, no genial or copious showers have been obtained.
Some days ago, I fasted, and offered rich sacrifices on the altars of
}
EMPEROR'S PRAYER FOR RAIN . 65
the gods of the land and the grain ; and had to be thankful for
gathering clouds, and slight showers ; but not enough to cause
gladness.
" Looking up, I consider that Heaven's heart is benevolence and
love. The sole cause is the daily deeper atrocity of my sins ; with
but little sincerity and little devotion. Hence, I have been unable
to move Heaven's heart, and bring down abundant blessings .
"Having respectfully searched the records, I find that in the
24th year of Keen-lung, my imperial grandfather, the high, honor .
able, and pure emperor, reverently performed a ' great snow ser
vice.' I feel impelled, by ten thousand considerations, to look up
and imitate the usage, and with trembling anxiety, rashly to assail
heaven, and examine myself, whether in sacrificial services I have
been disrespectful ? Whether or not pride and prodigality have had
a place in my heart, springing up there unobserved ? Whether from
the length of time, I have become remiss in attending to the affairs
of government ; and having been unable to attend to them with
serious diligence, and strenuous effort, I deserve reprehension ?
Whether perfect equity has been attained in conferring rewards or
inflicting punishments ? Whether in raising mausoleums and lay
ing out gardens, I have distressed the people and wasted property?
Whether in the appointment of officers, I have failed to obtain fit
and proper persons, and thereby the acts of government have been
} petty and vexatious to the people ? Whether punishments have
been unjustly inflicted or not ? Whether the oppressed have found
no means of appeal ? Whether in persecuting heterodox sects,
the innocent have not been involved ? Whether or not the magis
trates have insulted the people, and refused to listen to their
affairs ? Whether in the military operations on the western fron
tiers, there may have been the horrors of human slaughter, for the
} sake of imperial rewards ? Whether the largesses bestowed on the
afflicted southern provinces were properly applied, or the people
left to die in the ditches ? Whether the efforts to exterminate the
rebellious mountaineers , or to pacify them, were properly conducted ;
or whether they led to the inhabitants being trampled on as mire
and ashes ? To all these topics, to which my anxieties have been
directed, I ought to lay the plumb-line, and strenuously endeavour
to correct what is wrong ; still recollecting that there may be faults
which have not occurred to me in my meditations .
" Prostrate, I beg Imperial Heaven, (Hwang Teen) to pardon my
ignorance and stupidity, and to grant me self-renovation ; for
myriads of innocent people are involved by me, a single man. My
sins are so numerous, it is difficult to escape from them. Summer
is past and autumn arrived ; to wait longer will be impossible .
Knocking head I pray, Imperial Heaven , to hasten and confer
gracious deliverance, a speedy and divinely beneficial rain , to save
the people's lives ; and in some degree redeem my iniquities. Oh,
F
66 PRAYER BEFORE WAR .
alas ! Imperial Heaven observe these things, be gracious. I am
frightened . Reverently this memorial is presented . ”
The following is a copy of the prayer of the Emperor Kang-he
before going to war :
" Sovereign Lord of Heaven- the supreme Ruler-receive my
homage, and grant protection to the humblest of thy subjects .
With respectful confidence, I invoke thy aid in the war, which I
am compelled to wage . Thou hast heaped on me thy favours, and
hast distinguished me by thy special protection. A people without
number acknowledges thy power . I adore in silent devotion thy
manifold kindness, but know not how to manifest the gratitude
which I feel.
" The desire of my heart is to give to my people, and likewise let
strangers enjoy, the blessings of peace ; but the enemy has put a
stop to this, my most cherished hope. Prostrate before thee I imA
plore thy succour, and in making this humble prayer, I am animated
with the hope of obtaining thy signal favour. My only wish is to
procure a lasting peace throughout the immense regions over which
ر
thou hast set me. د
One of the sects of religionists into which the inhabitants are
divided is called Taou, signifying a way or path, a principle, and
the principle from which heaven, earth, . man and nature emanate.
Laou-tan or Laou-tsze, the founder of this sect, was a contempo
rary with Confucius ; but the Taou, or Reason itself, they assert is
uncreated and underived . His fabulous incarnation is as follows :
" The venerable prince existed before the creation, but was incar
nate in the time of Yang-kea, of the Shang dynasty, в.c. 1407 ;
when from the regions of great purity and eternal reason, a subtle
fluid descended from the superior principle of nature, and was
transformed into a yellow substance, about the size of a pill ; which
rolling into the mouth of a pearly damsel while she was asleep,
caused her to conceive : the child was not born till eighty-one
years afterwards, and on his appearance was grey-headed, and was
called Laou-tsze, ' the venerable one.' The second appearance of
this wonderful individual was in the person of Laou-tan, who was
visited by Confucius B.C. 500. The third appearance was in a.D.
633, when a man reported he had seen an old man, who said . Go
رور
and tell the Emperor that I am Laou-keuen his ancestor.'
The votaries of Taou preach virtue, and profess to promote it by
abstraction from the world, and the repression of desire ; the latter
object they think is effected by eating their spirits, i . e . stopping their
breathing for a considerable time. All depends on the subjection
of the heart ; so they mortify every feeling, in order to attain unto
perfect virtue. To prevent intercourse with the world, many of
them retire to the hills and mountains . The theory of this faith
teaches the votaries to despise wealth and worldly objects. Alchemy
is a great study with them ; but the frequent impositions practised
THE TAOU RELIGION . 67
by them having been discovered, they have been driven from the
court. The head of this sect, professes to have intercourse and per
fect control over the demons of the invisible world, and conse
quently removes the deities from one temple to another, as the
Emperor does his officers .
As a matter of course, superstition reigns triumphant among the
votaries of Taou, so that ghosts and accidents are guarded against
by having possession of a charm, which this prince of ghosts
disposes of; to be efficacious they must be renewed every year. The
services of the priest, are particularly required after death has taken
place in a house, to cleanse it from evil spirits . The estimation in
which this sect is held by the government, cannot be better illus
trated than by giving an extract from a commentary on the Sacred
Edict. The Sacred Edict was written by the Emperor Kang-he, A.D.
1723, and the commentary by his son and successor Yungching.
The 7th article inculcates the policy to degrade strange religions,
in order to exalt the orthodox doctrine.
"All these nonsensical tales about keeping fasts, collecting
assemblies, building temples, and fashioning images, are feigned by
those sauntering priests of Budha and Taou to deceive you. Still
you believe them, and suffer your wives and daughters to worship
at their temples ; with their hair oiled , their faces painted , and
dressed in scarlet, trimmed with green . I see nowhere the good .
they do ; on the contrary, they do many shameful things, which give
people occasion for laughter and ridicule . All their object is
nourishing well the animal spirits, and lengthening out life for a
few years : that is all. ”
The fundamental doctrine of Buddah is that all things originated
in nothing, and will return to nothing : annihilation is the summit
of bliss ; and nonentity the future anticipation of all . The priests
are held in great respect by their adherents, but the literati
hold them in the greatest contempt. Their indolent lives and
1
celibacy, so opposite to the Confucian doctrine, may account
for their degradation . Taken from the dregs of society they
are what they preach, poor - from necessity not from choice.
There are several grades amongst them, and when better opportuni
ties offer, they throw off the garb, and take some other occupation .
When strolling play-actors arrive in a city or village, they take the
chief management of the performance. The caps they wear are
made after the shape of some of the Roman Catholic sects of
Europe. The similarity of their forms of worship to the Roman
Catholic is very observable ; namely celibacy, holy water, prayers for
the dead, fasting, rosaries, (beads which they reckon while repeating
their prayers) , the worship of relics, together with nunneries which
are attached to their temples. From the vast number of the Bud
dhist priests in China, they are wretchedly poor, and subsist by
begging chiefly, and are not allowed while priests to attend the
public examinations . This degraded state of the priesthood and
F2
68 BUDDHISTICAL DOCTRINES .
the dilapidated state of their temples, intimate that the system is
on the wane.
The Buddhists, to reconcile the Chinese to their doctrine, have
adopted a precept of Confucius, viz . : that the children are bound
to sacrifice to their deceased ancestors . Thus, those who leave
children and grandchildren endeavour to provide for them ; but those
who have nothing to leave behind them, must wander about cold
and hungry in the invisible regions. To provide the hungry ghosts
who left no posterity to supply their wants, this sect have taken
advantage of this general feeling, and have a ceremony every year
during the seventh moon ; and as every district, village, and street
is supposed to have hungry ghosts, there is one held in each ; this
is all under the cloak of charity and benevolence, for which large
collections are made. The quantity of provisions collected for
those occasions is immense, so that one day in the year these im
postors are sure to fare well . Money is remitted to these poor
ghosts, also clothes, furniture and houses, made of paper ; for the
money a small bit of gold leaf or tin foil is attached to a bit of
paper about three inches long ; clothes are drawn on or cut out
of paper, houses of card, cooking utensils of wood , all of which
are consumed by fire . The baskets, when seen on the altar, are
crammed full- to all appearance piled up : but on examination
both baskets and rice bowls have false bottoms or are filled
with shavings. The consumption of sacrificial paper forms a
large item of trade .
Buddhism was imported into China about the year 60 of the
Christian era, by Ming-ti one of the Han dynasty. At the present
time the priests of this sect actually swarm in every province of
China. Their commandments or interdicts, are five. 1st, From
the meanest insect up to man, thou shalt kill no animal whatever ;
2nd. Do not steal ; 3rd, Do not marry, or violate the wife or concu
bine of another ; 4, Speak not falsely ; 5, Drink no wine or intoxi
cating liquor.
The ten sins- 1 , killing animals ; 2 , theft ; 3, adultery ; 4, false
hood ; 5 , discord ; 6, offensive language ; 7, idle-talk ; 8, coveting ;
9, envy-malice ; 10, following the doctrines of false gods . Their
vows are to renounce all family connexions, shave their head and
reside in temples . The gods they worship, are the three precious
Buddahs- the past, present, and future ; the goddess of mercy, the
goddess of small-pox, the patroness of barren women, the god of
wealth . The three Buddahs are generally represented half naked,
with woolly hair, in a sitting position.
Their temples are adorned with images to their various gods and
goddesses ; an altar on which are placed candles and incense, and
in the centre a very large iron cauldron, for burning gilt paper in ;
on one side of the hall is placed a large bell and a drum, which is
only put in motion when a person of some importance comes to
adore the god ; he is not to be aroused for every plebeian . They
NUNNERIES .-MAHOMEDANS . 69
have no sabbaths, but observe the new and full moon with great
solemnity ; they have service every day, besides one hundred and
sixty fast days in every year.
The service consists in offering up forms of prayer in the Sanscrit
language, which few of the priests understand, and in repeating the
name of Buddah (" O -me-to - Fuh") two or three hundred thousand
times ; the devotee is then at no great distance from a personal
vision of the god. The advantages promised, are that all the gods.
will protect the true devotee ; all the demi -gods will attend him ;
all the Buddahs will think of him ; no devil can harm him ; all his
former crimes shall melt away, and he shall be delivered from the
crime of murder ; and when he dies he shall see O-me-to - Fuh !
What a field of promise China offers to the missionaries of the one
and true God !
Nunneries in China are numerous . They are dedicated to the
"Goddess of Mercy," and are connected with Buddhism. Vacancies
are filled up by purchase and self-dedication ; and parents very
often sell their female children . The inducement held out is the cer
tainty of being, after death, completely absorbed into the unknown
Budha . Their dress is so much like that of the Buddhist Priests,
that in the streets it is difficult to distinguish between them. The
distinction between the novice and the nun in orders is, one has
the head completely shaven and the novice only a small portion of
the crown ; the other requirements are to eat and drink sparingly,
and wholly to live on vegetable diet, with a perpetual vow of
virginity ; the sick and poor are to be visited . Their services are
performed morning and evening, and consist of reciting out of
their sacred books ; and when specially employed to perform a ser
vice they are remunerated by sums varying from 50 to 100 cash.
Their means of support arise from donations and subscriptions, and
letting out their nunneries into lodgings, not unfrequently for
the basest purposes . In the district of Ningpo there are upwards
of thirty of these bagnios .
The number of Mahommedans in China is said to be consider
able. There is a large mosque inside the city of Canton . Many
learned Mahommedans, from Balk and Samarkand, accompanied
the Western Tartars when they invaded China, A.D. 1278. These
men were of infinite service to the state, particularly in imparting
to them a knowledge of astronomy, and correcting their calendar.
But still they were quite astray in their calculations until the
arrival of the Jesuits in the sixteenth century ; in fact, the Chi
nese had not proper instruments until then. Astrology appears
more sought after than astronomy, even to the present day.
The increase in the number of the Mohammedans was so great
in a few years, as to attract the attention of government ; it was
discovered that their increase was owing to their purchasing chil
dren whom their parents were unable to rear, and would other
wise have destroyed . Many of this persuasion have held important
70 JEWS IN CHINA .
offices under government. They are still numerous about the
borders of the province of Shen-se, and generally congregate in
districts .
We have no account of the number of Jews in China ; but that
there are many in the inland provinces, is very probable . There
is an early record, of Jews in China, given by two Arabian
travellers, who traded with China, A.D. 877, (see Foreign Inter
course) . Peristal, an Italian Jew, who wrote two centuries ago,
states that the Jews were at one time powerful in India and China.
"Their chief residence was Chabor, to approach which you must
double the Cape of Good Hope, enter the Indian Ocean, make the
continent of Asia, and you will find Chabor."
A Rabbi, named Benjamin of Tudela, in the 12th century,
visited many countries of the East to discover the scattered tribes .
He found them in Persia, Samarckand, Tibet, and China. He
states that part of the Ten Tribes crossed the Great Wall which
divides China from Tartary, and settled in the former. Father
Ricci, the learned Jesuit, while residing in Peking in A.D. 1610,
met with a Jew who informed him that there were ten families of
Jews residing in Keafung-foo , which is the capital of the province
of Honan ; and that they had preserved a copy of the Pentateuch
600 years. Father Ricci showed him a Hebrew Bible. The
young Jew (although a Chinese student) identified the characters.
The onerous duties of Ricci, and the distance from Peking (200
leagues) , prevented him personally inspecting this Synagogue.
But three years after he sent a Chinese Jesuit with a letter to the
chief, who seemed so well aware of the fame of Ricci, that he in
vited him to take possession of the Synagogue, as he was very old,
provided he would abstain from meats that were forbidden. On
this occasion the Pentateuch was minutely examined, and found
in every respect conformable to the Hebrew Bible.
The subsequent year, Father Aleni, a Jesuit and distinguished
Hebrew scholar, visited this Synagogue ; but the chief was dead,
and nothing could induce them to show their books. They stated
that their ancestors came from a kingdom of the West ; and that
their alphabet had twenty-seven letters, but that they seldom made
use of more than twenty-two ; when they read the Bible they cover
their face with a transparent veil . They read a section every Sab
bath-day, and thus read the law in the course of the year. They
call themselves Tiau-kin Kiau* " the sect which plucks out the
sinew." They date their entry into China B.C. 258. Several Jews
have been governors and ministers of state in China.
LANGUAGE. According to the Rev. Mr. Medhurst, who is in
ferior to none of our Chinese scholars, and whose benevolent cha
racter leads him among all classes of the people, the elements,
or radicals of the Chinese language, refer generally to well known
* The children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank.- Genesis xxxii. 32.
CHINESE LANGUAGE . CHARACTERS . 71
things, such as the human species, man and woman ; the parts of
the body, head, mouth, ear, eye, face, heart, hand, foot, flesh, bones,
and hair ; human actions, speaking, walking, and eating ; things
necessary to man, such as silks, clothes, door, and city ; the celes
tial objects, sun , moon, and rain ; the elements, wood, water, fire,
metal, and earth ; the vegetable, animal, and mineral kingdoms .
The words referable to their substances or subjects, are classed so
as to be discernible without much difficulty ; and by a nice calcu
lation of the additional number of strokes, the position of the cha
racter as given in the dictionary, is as well ascertained as by an
alphabet. Every character occupies an exact square, of whatever
number of strokes it be composed ; uniformity is the point of ex
cellence in which the Chinese delight, so that the page shall ap
pear as divided into an equal number of sections . The Chinese
read from top to bottom, and commence at the right hand, going
down each column. They write and print only on one side, so
double each page . The edges are not cut in front ; but on the
top, bottom, and back of the book. Each volume contains about
eighty pages, and the book is not more than half an inch thick.
Where exactness is necessary, communication by oral medium is
difficult. The sound E, for instance, has upwards of 1800
significations. When any business of importance is to be dis
cussed, it can only be properly understood by each party writing
down his ideas . In the courts of justice, accusations and defences
are obliged to be written ; even the instruction is not imparted
verbally, in the Chinese schools, and to this may be attributed the
slow march of civilization, as anything not seen is ill understood .
Nothing can more strongly prove either their want of capacity or
unwillingness, than that few, if any, of their most distinguished
scholars know anything of foreign languages, not even to pro
nounce a double consonant .
Dr. Gutzlaff, who well comprehends the language, referring
to the roots , says a horizontal, a perpendicular, two oblique lines
drawn in opposite directions, with an acute angle and dot,
constitute the rudiments of which all Chinese characters con
sist. Like stenography, many characters are alike in form, but
a slight stroke or dot makes the difference . It is said that the
number of words ranges from ten to sixty thousand. Morrison's
dictionary contains upwards of twenty thousand ; but it is not to
be supposed that anything like this number are required either to
speak or write the language. S. G. Stanton contrived to translate
the Chinese penal Code with less than two thousand words, not
including repetitions. Morrison's Bible, consisting of twenty-one
volumes, has not more than 2,500 characters . The number of
elementary roots or characters, under which, as heads of classes ,
all others are arranged , is 214. The original plan of the
framers of this system, was evidently to form a separate symbol
72 DIVERSITY OF SPOKEN LANGUAGES .
for each idea. The multitude of authors which China produced,
and the premium that was at all times held out to scholars, are
sufficient to account for the different meanings attached to one
character.
Thus there is scarcely a single character which is confined to one
meaning ; but a great number which signify fifteen or twenty
ideas, either alike in some points or diametrically opposite . This
confusion and difficulty is remedied by a note, which assists
the student, in translating the numerous ambiguous characters
with which the language abounds ; figures bear a resemblance
to the forms of material objects, such as the sun, moon, hill, eye,
horse, child : combinations of ideas consist of two or three symbols,
united to represent one idea. For instance, the sun and moon
express brightness ; a tree or piece of wood in a door-way denotes
obstruction ; two trees stand for a forest ; the junction of eye and
man points out the idea of seeing. In this system of symbols, the
Chinese government have been enabled to preserve the union of so
many millions of families , otherwise the kingdom would have been
divided into many independent portions, in every way different
from the parent stock ; again, their exclusive policy never could
have been maintained , if it were not for this almost unsurmountable
barrier. The Chinese are proud of possessing this advantage, and
besides, of having a universal language that speaks more distinctly
to the eye than to the ear.
The learned and amiable Dr. Bridgman says, diversities in the
modes of speech, and deviations from the most approved usages,
exist in every tongue. That most prevalent in Peking among
the people about the court, differs considerably from that once
dominant, and still extensively used, known as the Nanking dia
lect, or the language of the southern court . In their present posi
tion, foreigners are unable to ascertain even the number of dialects
spoken within the empire. The difference between the colloquial
style and that used in books, seems to be greater in the Chinese
than in most other languages . Standard works, which form
the great body of national literature, are read and understood
with nearly equal ease by people in every part of the empire, how
ever their local dialects may differ from the style of those works .
The system of intonation, with few exceptions, appears to be one
and the same in all the dialects . Again, the characters preserve
an unvarying form in all parts of the empire : a partial exception
to this, however, is occasioned by the use of well-known characters,
slightly changed to express local phrases ; and then regard is had
only to the sound of the characters .
The antiquity and originality of the Chinese language give it a
claim to consideration , independent of its being the standard lan
guage throughout the empire, and also cultivated in the neighbour
ing kingdoms and colonies ; so that it may be computed as the
LITERATURE AND PRINTING . 73
spoken and written medium of communication between four
hundred millions of people , spread over a surface in extent larger
than all Europe.
The various dialects in which it is spoken, notwithstanding that
the body of the language has never been changed, is thus accounted
for: first, there is no alphabet ; and, secondly, China, like other coun
tries, has been rent into separate states, and the conqueror and
conquered prevented from all communication ; and in this way the
diversity of expression and phrases must have originated .
How it has been maintained with so few changes for a score of
centuries, is still more easily accounted for ; as all who are dis
posed to improve their position must be intimately acquainted with
the writings of Confucius, and what is termed the court dialect, or
mandarin pronunciation .
CHINESE LITERATURE . - The Chinese are a reading people, and
the number of their published works is very considerable. In
the departments of morals, history, biography, the drama, poetry,
and romance, there are no lack of writings, such as they are. The
Chinese Materia Medica comprises forty octavo volumes : of statis
tical works, the number is very large. Their novels are said to be
excellent pictures of the national manners. China is full of books ;
new authors are continually springing up ; the press is active, and
the traffic in books is a lucrative and most honourable branch of
trade. When examinations take place in the capital or the palace,
the most clever students are chosen to fill the office of bookmakers .
There are, however, few really new works, and all that appear are
compilations and quotations ; the author never venturing an
idea of his own : and in this consists true learning according to
Chinese notions. There is one work in the Royal Library, on the
topography of China, which is said to consist of 5000 volumes ;
some of the best translators that have had access to some extracts
from this giant, were sadly disappointed, as it appears to be a mass
of confusion, without any attempt at order or proper arrangement.
There are numerous small treatises, similar to our tracts, gratuit
ously distributed by private individuals, inculcating morality and
virtue. Printing is evidently cheaper in China than in Europe,
when ten volumes, each containing 100 pages, can be purchased
for less than a dollar. Every peasant and the poorest fisherman
can read and write . Private and public schools are numerous in
every province, and entirely independent of government. Occa
sionally an examiner visits all schools to ascertain the qualifications
of the teachers .
The third report of the " Society for diffusing useful knowledge
in China," held at Canton, 20th November, 1837, contains a re
view of the existing literature of the Chinese, and an enumeration
of the " catalogue of works contained in the imperial library at
Peking." It concludes with these remarks :
66
' From this cursory review which we have taken of Chinesc
74 GENERAL DEFICIENCY IN KNOWLEDGE .
literature, we are enabled to perceive what is the range of existing
knowledge in this country. A philosophy, which, leaving alone all
speculations concerning the origin and future state of man, con
fines itself wholly to the relations between man and man in this
life, occupies one fourth portion . A history and a geography,
almost exclusively national, occupies another fourth portion ; while
the existence of other nations, and the practical lessons to be
learned from the rest of mankind, are almost wholly forgotten.
With the exception of agriculture and weaving, the useful arts of
life find hardly any place in Chinese literature. Mechanical and
chemical sciences are scarcely thought of. Medicine we know to
consist, for the most part, of mere quackery. Astronomical and
mathematical sciences are chiefly derived from Europeans, and the
knowledge of them is confined to a very few persons ; while the
vagaries of astrology and divination, find a place not only in their
literature, but also in the arrangements of government. Natural
history is regarded only as an adjunct to * medical science, if the
practice of medicine among the Chinese can be dignified with the
name of science. Seeing that so many are the defects of Chinese
literature, it becomes our imperative duty to exert our utmost
ލ
energies to supply their lack of knowledge ."
As regards their philosophy, the committee observe :—
" Several of the classical works, which form the foundation of
this first department of Chinese literature, have already, by means
of translations, been placed within the reach of the European
public. From these we are enabled to perceive to how low an
elevation in philosophy the most esteemed sages of China have
attained ."
In the geography of even their own country they are almost as
deficient as they are of that of foreign countries. A map of the
province of Fokien, which I saw at the viceroy's residence at Foo
choo, would have disgraced the New Zealanders, or any other bar
barous nation . It had no bearings - no divisional lines- no pro
portions ; and that part which we know, the Min river, was entirely
incorrect. Yet this map was kept a secret ; and our Consul at
Foochoo could only procure a copy, by paying a Chinese largely
for copying it by stealth . In astronomy, music, surgery, medicine,
chemistry, military and naval science, fine arts, &c., they are
utterly deficient.
The imperial historiographers of China, are employed to re
late every thing said and done by the reigning Emperor, and
to record, likewise, a true account of every public event during
his reign .
These documents, when prepared, are all sealed up, and de
posited in a large iron chest, which is placed in the prime minis
ter's tribunal ; and is not opened until after the emperor's death,
when, should there be any thing unfavourable in his biography, it
is again locked up for several generations ; this is to prevent the
LITERARY EXAMINATIONS . 75
compilers being influenced by either fear or flattery of the prince
or his descendants .
Dr. Bridgman states, in his Chinese Christomathy, that there is
published in China, by order of the government, the most com
plete topographical and statistical history of all the provinces and
departments of China, which taking the whole as a body of works
on statistics, is unequalled in any country. It is much to be re
gretted that this work has never been translated, as it would be of
great benefit to the trading community, and a hope is entertained
that our consuls will endeavour to procure so desirable a work.
It is on the literary institutions of China, the government chiefly
relies for stability and support. The military forces are not adequate
to the task ; and hence the great attention and uniformity of their
system of education throughout the whole of the " Celestial"
dominions . Wealth and station have their influence here as well
as elsewhere, but learning is indispensible to attain to an office of
trust, and this is the policy of the state by opening a way to the am-
bitious, that they may attain to the highest office in the government,
and thus prevent the overthrow of the ruling powers. The governors
and all the officers under the crown have distinguished themselves
by their intellectual powers ; but they must yield implicit obedi
ence to a most absolute monarch ; strict examinations are held
triennially to discover the talent of the community, and are open
to all, except priests, play-actors, and menial servants. Two
examiners are selected by the Emperor, and on those who come to
Canton 600 taels are bestowed for expenses ; these are assisted by
ten others, who are selected from the local officers. The average
number of students in Canton on those occasions, exceeds eight
thousand, who assemble at a large hall ( Kungyuen) or college
designed for the purpose . These students must have been at for
mer examinations called Sewtsae, - and are divided in classes ,
but none are admitted unless previously enrolled by the literary
chancellor, of their native province, who certifies that their family
have resided there three generations ; their age, features, and lineage
are recorded . The examinations continue several days, and the
students enter the hall the day previous, and are detained there two
nights and a day without food . On thelast day of examination five ques
tions are given, relating to the history and political economy of China.
The themes must be sententious ; the poetry grave and important,
and all must concern things of real importance ; but any reference
to state policy must be avoided . Each thesis must be inspected by
the proper officer ; the number of themes and the characters are
limited ; and at the close of every theme it must be stated how
many alterations were made in the characters ; and if the number
exceed one hundred the student is excluded . It appears that up
wards of one hundred are subject to that punishment at each
examination . All intercourse with friends must cease, and if it is
discovered that any one wrote any portion of the theme of another,
76 LITERARY DEGREES .
both of them shall be severely punished . On entering the hall the
student is searched, and if any book or writing be discovered on his
person, he shall be punished, and compelled to wear the wooden
collar round his neck ; his tutor and father are also severely pu
nished. A watch is kept at the examination hall by military officers
day and night . Out of so many candidates only seventy- one can
obtain the degree (Keu-jin) ; the names of these are published by
proclamation, within twenty-five days after the examination has
closed. Three guns are then fired to commemorate this important
event ; a banquet is prepared on a grand scale, and is attended by
all the civil officers of Canton, together with the governor. Two
lads, dressed like naiads, holding in their hands branches of the
olive tree, contribute to the enjoyment by a song from the ancient
classics, and thus closes a scene worthy of imitation in other coun
tries .
The Chinese system of education entails great misery on those
who do not succeed ; as, in their early years, all their energies are
devoted to the attainment of the degrees which qualify them for
holding civil offices.
Almost every family selects one or more of their sons to devote
their whole attention to Confucian principles . But numbers of
candidates are doomed to disappointment : on some occasions, pro
bably only one hundred will be qualified out of seven thousand ;
and many that obtain the qualification never get employment, par
ticularly if they are without the means of interesting the man
darins in their favour.
The first degree is conferred by an officer who is generally
resident in every considerable town, with the sanction and ap
proval of an officer from Peking, who periodically visits each town.
The second degree (keu-jin) is only conferred at the capital city of
each province, perhaps many miles from a man's own locality. The
third degree (tsin- sze) is only conferred at Peking, which may pro
bably be a thousand miles from his native place. Thus, the dis
appointed spend all their energies, hoping against hope ; occasion
ally they become tutors and schoolmasters. The frequency with
which examinations are held diverts them from persevering in any
useful occupations ; and the consequence is, that in the neighbour
hood of Canton, thousands of them may be seen lounging and
begging in a most miserable state of destitution ; nevertheless, they
maintain the position of " gentlemen- scholars," and refuse to
lower their diguity by turning to any useful employment.
Books of good advice are published, from time to time, by the
emperors ; some of the following are said to have been composed
by the learned Jesuit , Adam Schall . The following sermons, or
instructions, were written by the emperors of the present dynasty,
on the art of governing the people, especially directed to the atten
tion of all the officers in authority .
Hwang-te Shing- Heen .- This elaborate work consists of nearly
BOOKS OF GOOD ADVICE . 77
200 volumes, printed in very large characters, that aged statesmen
may study this vade-mecum with greater facility ; each volume .
contains about twenty leaves .
The first lesson, or sermon, was written by Teen-ming, who was
the first Mantchou chief that aspired to the throne of China ; it
was written before the conquest was completed .
1st. A prince is the son of Heaven ; all the ministers and public
functionaries are his sons ; and the people are again the children
of the former. A prince serves Heaven as a father, and never for
getful, thinks with reverence about rendering his virtues illustri
ous, and looking up, receives the gift (empire) . The ministers
should, therefore, view the emperor as their father, and serve him
as such ; never be rapacious, or play the traitor ; protect the
people ; observe the laws, and, above all things, see that no treason
is spreading amongst the people.
2nd. " Lasting peace." This is only to be attained by having
a wise prince and a faithful minister, who must, with united
strength, co-operate : second to these is the blessing of Heaven.
Let there be the utmost justice, in imitation of the righteous
arrangements made by heaven and earth ; then prosperity and
success will prevail throughout the land. Now, when the one man
(emperor) loses his virtue, calamity spreads to all regions , and the
evil is worse than that wrought by demons. This was instanced
on occasion of the Emperor Wanluh's attacking a friendly empire,
when all the troops brought against the Mantchous were killed.
The third sermon is addressed to all kings, princes, ministers, and
those in authority. Be wise, and just in all things, do not hanker
after wealth, and your rule will be more firmly established . All
evil practices proceed from the heart, keep it therefore in a virtuous
state, and all events will prove fortunate ; you will be praised , and
become popular ; riches will fall to your share, and your glory will
be resplendent . On the other hand, if you harbour vicious
thoughts, the contrary will take place .
The next emperor was Shunche, who had for his adviser and
most intimate friend, Adam Schall, the Jesuit . The first volume
contains a discourse on government, piety, sacred and filial duty,
study of the sages, humility, economy, and continence. The 2nd,
instructions for ministers, on petitions or receiving reproof. 3rd,
On choosing people for officers ; on restraining inferiors. 4th, On
managing wealth ; on giving alms ; on propriety towards the gene
ration past and gone. 5th, On promoting literature ; exhortations
to commanders -in-chief. 6th, On quietly governing the people,
avoiding punishments ; repressing greedy parasites ; avoiding evil,
and forgiving faults .
In his discourse on government , the emperor acknowledges the
great responsibility he is under to Heaven, to whom he is alone
accountable ; and strongly inculcates the doctrine that princes
were created for the people. He duly admits the claims of the
78 THE EMPEROR'S SERMONS .
people to good government . He expatiates on the oppression of his
predecessors (of the Ming dynasty), in imposing taxes that the
people could not pay ; on the usurpation of the nobles in taking
possession of the people's ground, and converting it into hunting
and pleasure grounds . The emperor's respect for the departed
was proved by his having the tombs of the Ming princes repaired
and beautified.
Kanghe, who inherited the throne of his father, Shunche, and
also his taste for writing and preaching, has bequeathed sixty
volumes . That addressed to the authorities is-for plain speaking
and good sense-a novelty in Chinese literature, and in theory
excellent .
His Majesty says : " I am at my post early in the morning ;
assemble in my presence, and do not spend the time in idle foolish
ceremonies, but let business be despatched . The land is full of
robbers ; the people are suffering oppression ; assist to put an end
""
to this state of affairs, then you will be ministers indeed.'
Science is now at a very low ebb in China, whatever may have
been its former state.
Marco Polo states that he found in China upwards of five thou
sand astronomers . But it has been proved that their early astro
nomical observations were absolute forgeries - as the Jesuits found
no one able to calculate an eclipse. The instruments found by the
Jesuits must have been introduced from a distant country, as they
were only adapted to the latitude of 36° north, whereas Nankin is
32°.
The learned M. de Guignes remarks, that they never knew
anything of astronomy, not even in his day : they are astrologers,
and consult the stars for both public government and private
affairs .
EMIGRATION .- The migration of the Chinese, originated in the
Tartar conquest . The Chinese sought peace in a distant country.
Fookeen and the adjacent districts were the last conquered by the
Mantchoos, and from thence are the principal migrations.
The tide of seaward emigration from China, is principally to
Singapore, the islands and stations in the Straits, and to the Dutch
settlements of Java, Borneo, Bauca, &c . Great complaints are made
by those who return, of the Dutch system of farming the revenue
to any one who will bid most; consequently authority is conferred
without any regard to character, and the consequence is oppres
sion and tyranny . The industrious and well-disposed Chinese
emigrants, give a sad account of the treatment they are subject to
by the officers of the Dutch government, and by secret associations
of their own countrymen . As for justice, it is out of the question
to obtain it. According to the laws, the majority of witnesses
decides the magistrate's judgment ; and from the great extent of
the Triad Society throughout the Straits, there is no lack of wit
nesses to swear against any who do not belong to their nefarious
EMIGRATION OF THE CHINESE . 79
system . The well- disposed Chinese emigrants are plundered , and
frequently murdered ; but such is the pressure for food, that emi
gration is yearly increasing to the Eastern Archipelago, &c.
Chinese emigration differs from that of all other countries in this
respect, that it is only sheer necessity that will compel them to leave
their native home, and it is always their intention to return as soon
as circumstances will permit them . But it frequently happens that
they remain and intermarry with the natives, and are at the present
day by far the most numerous colonists in the Eastern Archipelago .
The better class of Chinese settlers may be described, as enter
prising, keen, laborious, and persevering ; those in trade are expert,
speculative, and judicious. Their intelligence and activity have
obtained for them the management of the public revenue, in almost
every part of the Archipelago ; the traffic with the surrounding
foreign states of the Archipelago is principally in their hands. The
majority of these settlers are in Singapore, Java, Penang, and
Borneo.
The number of Chinese settlers inthe I Straits, Eastern Archipe
lago, Siam, Cochin and China, the Phillipine islands, is probably be
tween one and two millions . In Siam alone the number is esti
mated at 500,000 ; in Borneo at 150,000 ; in Java 120,000 ; in
Bauca at the tin mines 50,000 ; in Singapore 30,000, and so on.
At Singapore they are rapidly reclaiming the jungle from the abode .
of the tiger and the serpent, and substituting plantations and
manufactures of sugar, nutmeg, pepper, cathechu, terra japonica,
sago, &c. No nation is so well adapted for reclaiming and civil
izing the beautiful, but still almost useless, regions of the Eastern
seas as the Chinese, and under our rule encouragement would be
given to their migrations. The Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese
governments are afraid of Chinese colonists .
When at Amoy, in June, 1845, I found a French barque laden with
Chinese emigrants, bound for Bourbon . I obtained an interview with
the French gentleman who was conveying the labourers, and he
favoured me with a copy of the agreement (which I have given to
Her Majesty's government), signed by himself, and a Mr. F. D.
Syme, an intelligent Scotch merchant, then residing at Amoy.
Monsieur Bocque informed me that he could have obtained any
number of able-bodied useful labourers ; that the mandarins ex
pressed themselves gratified at the poor people getting a prospect
of subsistence, and that not the slightest obstruction was offered :
quite the reverse. M. Bocque had to guard against the Chinese
running away, or jumping overboard , after they had received their
money in advance. Last year he took a cargo of emigrants from
Penang and Singapore to Bourbon, but found them rather trouble
some characters, hence his present voyage to Amoy. Australia and
our West Indian colonies might be largely supplied with labourers
from China. A respectable gentleman, named Brown, proposed
to convey a ship full of labourers from Hong- Kong to Jamaica,
80 MEAOU-TSZE, OR ABORIGINES .
but a timid and procrastinating policy ultimately defeated the
project.
We know nothing, either as regards the numbers or the conJ
dition of the dependent possessions ; but among the people sub
ordinate, allied to, or incorporated with China, one in particular
deserves special notice, viz :-the Meaou-tsze ; a word said by Dr.
Morison, to signify " grain growing in a field ; the first budding of
any plants ; numerous descendants," &c.
These unsubdued tribes are supposed to be the aborigines .
They are divided into forty tribes, and occupy the borders of the
provinces, lying in the western part of the empire, Sze-chuen,
Kwei-choo, Kook-wang, Yun-nan, and Kwang- se. The various
tribes all differ in their way of living, as also in their language ;
and although scattered over an immense territory, their national
character as to clanship, is so strong, that some of them who are
in partial subjection to the Chinese government, will forfeit their
allegiance, and openly join the unsubdued portion , in open rebellion
against the Chinese authorities .
The Meaou-tze, have been many years a great source of uneasi
ness to the government. The Emperor Keen-lung, wasted an im
mense army for several years, in unsuccessful contests . The Em
peror Kea-king was compelled to sue for peace from these hardy
mountaineers. In 1832 , a rebellion broke out near Leen-choo, on
the frontiers of Kwang-tung, (Canton) province, which proved most
destructive to the imperial army. One dark night the rebels fast
ened lights on the horns of goats and sheep, and let them loose
about the mountains .
The imperial troops by this diversion were sent to attack the ima
ginary enemy, when the real one came down in a defile, and com
mitted dreadful slaughter. Kin -lung, the rebel chief, about the
same time, met the Viceroy of Canton in open battle, and slew
many of his troops, surprised the garrison one night, and fired the
gupowder magazines, so that many thousand Chinese soldiers were
blown up. After campaigning a considerable time, the rebels qui
etly laid down their arms . The Peking Gazette announced it as a
victory, but the fact was that the Chinese Generals paid a very
large sum of money for this nominal victory, which is the usual
case with the Chinese government .
The Meaou-tsze are of middle-size, excellent horsemen, and have
few traces of the savage in their exterior, although the Chinese
paint them in the worst colors. They manufacture their own
clothes and warlike instruments.
The existence of such a race in the neighbourhood of Canton
province, often spreading terror to Canton city itself, is one of
the numerous proofs of the utter helplessness of the government,
general and local .
A summing up, or general examination , of the Chinese character
and state of society is reserved for the last chapter ; when the in
AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS . 81
ferences to be drawn from the whole of the facts stated will be
more manifest, and when the Christian philanthropist will be ap
pealed to in aid of extending the means of improving the condi
tion, and promoting the moral and spiritual welfare, of one-third of
the human race now existing in the immense empire under review,
and with whom we must inevitably be brought into more intimate
association.
CHAPTER III .
AGRICULTURAL, MANUFACTURING, AND MINERAL
PRODUCTS .
Agriculture and Vegetable Productions. - China owes its internal
wealth and extensive population to thrifty and skilful agriculture.
Shin-ning, a celebrated inventor, is said have been the first who
substituted grain for raw meat, and taught the nation cultivation .
The Chinese sovereigns always encouraged agriculture. Wanti
(179 B.C.) even took the plough into his hand ; which gave rise to
à festival and custom that is practised to the present day ; and by
no former emperors has this branch of industry been encouraged
more than by the present sovereign, Taoukwang. The success of
Chinese agriculture is conveyed in the homely instructions of the
emperor to his children (subjects), viz.: " Keep your lands clean ,
manure them richly, and make a farm resemble a garden ." No
fields are laid down in pasture ; tillage in every practicable spot is
universal : two, three, and four crops are obtained in the year from
the same ground, viz. , rice, potatoes, pulse, cabbage, and turnips.
Manure in a liquid state is in extensive use ; one of the modes
of preparation is to steep it several months in a reservoir, and when
in a liquid state, it is reduced to cakes, and mixed with putrid vege
table matter, or with oil- cakes, human hair, or lime from powdered
oyster-shells, ashes, &c.
The provinces which lie to the north and west of China, such as
Chih-li, Shan- se, and Sz-chuen, produce in great abundance wheat,
barley, several kinds of millet, tobacco, peas that are always green,
also black and yellow peas for feeding horses ; but in the southern
provinces, these sorts of grain are in no esteem .
The same provinces likewise produce rice, in several places where
G
82 TIMBER . - CAMPHOR TREE .
the earth is dry, but then the crop is not so abundant, besides it is
harder, and requires more boiling than the rice of the southern
provinces, especially How- quang and Che-keang, which produce
great quantities, as the lands lie lower and have plenty of water.
China produces a great variety of vegetables, including turnips
and carrots . Potatoes, except the sweet description , are not en
couraged. White cabbage is a most excellent vegetable, particu
larly in the northern provinces, and constitutes the food of poor and
rich ; during the winter it is much improved by the frost .
Cotton is grown in Kiang-uan to a great extent : the sugar- cane
in the southern provinces, and especially in Formosa, where the
best sugar in all Asia is produced . Of grains, rice grows in most
of the provinces, except the cold ones , where wheat and barley
thrive. As the Chinese are great smokers, tobacco is cultivated
with much care . Pulse is in abundance, as food for man and
beast .
The camphor tree, a species of laurel, is peculiar to China and
Japan, for it is not known whether the camphor tree of Borneo
and Sumatra is the same. To obtain the camphor, the branches
are cut off, steeped in water, and then boiled . The camphor forms
a sediment, which is refined, and then brought to market. There
are whole forests of this tree in Formosa ; in China itself, it is
found only in a few districts. Its wood makes excellent furniture,
and is proof against insects. The cassia tree grows in great abun
dance in Yun-nan province . The bark is stripped off and dried ;
that of a brownish-red colour is best. Great quantities of this
bark are exported from Canton, as it serves all the purposes of ex
pensive cinnamon .
There is in general a great want of timber ; the oak is scarce, but
the fir-tree supplies its place ; the sapanwood, a tree peculiar to
China, is inferior to fir. With the exception of the mountainous
districts, there are few forests in the country, for every inch of
available ground is made into arable land . Mantchoo Tartary
abounds in primeval forests, whilst Chih-li does not produce suffi
cient timber to make rafters for houses. In Fokien, the dwellings
are of solid granite, and sometimes not a piece of wood is to be
seen in the whole construction . The iron-wood, which is used for
anchors, and various other purposes, is met with in China ; but
teak is not indigenous . The le-pih la -shoo, wax tree, is an extra
ordinary production . The sweet blossoms attract an insect, simi
lar to our bee, which is an industrious wax manufacturer, as long
as the blossoms remain . The tallow-tree resembles the birch -tree
the bark is white, the branches slender, and the leaves of a dark
green . The fruit grows in bunches, and is inclosed in a brown
capsule, which contains three kernels, every one of which is coated
with tallow ; the kernel contains a great quantity of oil, which is
pressed out and used for the lamp . It grows in Kiang-se, Keang
nan, and Che-keang, and is one of the most useful trees which the
RICE CULTIVATION . 83
country produces . The varnish-tree resembles the ash . When
the tree is full grown, several horizontal incisions are made in the
trunk, and oyster- shells are there placed to receive the oil deposited
during the night. The paper-tree resembles the fig-tree ; the rind
is peeled off and made into paper.
The great article of consumption throughout China is rice, of
which there are three varieties ; the red, the small, and the large
rice, together with the dry, and the glutinous ; the two latter are
grown on dry and usually hilly spots . The great requisites in
raising rice are water and manure . The average size of the fields is
from four to six acres . After ploughing and harrowing, and com
pletely pulverizing the soil, and reducing it to mud, it is fit for
sowing. A few days before the rice is sown , it is first steeped in
liquid manure : the shoots may be seen in three days after setting ;
when the water is gradually drawn off. When about six inches
high the plants are all transplanted to fresh ground , and again
covered with water, until near harvest-time. In some districts the
division of labour is so well carried out, that the husbandmen pur
chase the rice plant from a nurseryman , or rearer of the vegetable,
when it is ready for transplanting ; thus time is saved for the land,
while it has been employed growing other crops, and the nursery
man is responsible for the good quality of the seed-plant. The
usual period from seed-time to harvest is six months for a crop of
rice. When one crop is cut, or even before that period, another is
planted, or rather transplanted , the same day probably. The in
crease is calculated at about thirty-fold . The average wages for
the labourer's work of transplanting (up to their knees in mud
and water) are thirteen cents per day. The straw of the rice, called
"paddy " straw, is converted into brooms and brushes, and also
largely exported . The importation of rice from America is increas
ing ; the average importation is about fifty-five million pounds.
weight.
A separate account of the growth and manufacture of tea will be
given in a subsequent part of this work, when treating of the com
merce of China.
The Chinese may more properly be called gardeners than agri
culturalists, as the space allotted to each family is very small, and
on this they must subsist. A Chinaman, in the country parts, is
seldom seen without a basket and rake, with which he collects any-
thing in the shape of manure ; Chinese have been seen dressed in
silk, following the buffaloes and hogs, to collect whatever is dropped.
They convey sand a long distance to mix with a heavy soil, and
loam to put on that which is too loose. In winter, the soil is fre
quently thrown up in large heaps, after being mixed with manure ;
but it is never allowed to remain fallow long. A small grass bor
der divides one field from another. Their domestic animals are
confined to one particular place at a time by a rope : only those
that are required for agriculture arc kept, as the Chiucse have a
G 2
84 CATTLE . SHEEP . HORSES .
horror of using the milk of any animal. Fowls are raised in great
quantities, and fattened to an amazing size. Domestic cattle are
scarce ; the cow is seldom bred for food, but is used, as is also the
buffalo, extensively in agriculture. Horses are small, compactly
built, and hardy ; they are only employed for carriage.
The Emperor of China has at all times in the country of the
Kalkas twenty thousand camels, and immense herds of horses ; and
camels are furnished as tribute by the Sounites and Kalkas . These
are kept for service in time of war, and are separated into herds .
Each herd consists of three hundred camels , with one chief superin
tendant. Every six years there is an inspection . During peace,
the camels are employed in conveying grain from Ele and Gobdo,
where great quantities are cultivated by the convicts. The average
stock of other animals in the western frontier belonging to the Em
peror is said to be 40,000 oxen and 180,000 sheep ; of horses 230
studs, each containing 300. The good horses at four years old are
sent to Peking ; the remainder are at the disposal of the war de
partment and the post conveyance.
A farmer in China who occupies eight or ten acres of land is
considered a large cultivator ; so that the implements required for
this garden, as it may be called, are not numerous, nor expensive.
The le, or plough, is made of hard wood, except the iron that de
fends the share, and is drawn by a single buffalo ; and in some pro
vinces of China very little used, as the rice fields are too marshy
and wet to require a plough. The harrow (pa) is to divide and
pulverize the rice grounds , so as to reduce them almost to the con
sistence of jelly ; the teeth are about ten inches long. The ox or
horse, either of Europe or China, would never be able to perform
this laborious work, hence the buffalo is always employed. The
hoe (cha) is made of wood, except the guard of iron at the edge of
the blade ; this implement is the most general one in use, and
women may be seen using it in angles and small places where the
harrow will not reach. The spade (reo) , is made of wood and iron
like the hoe, and is chiefly used in repairing the dykes which se
parate the fields . The bamboo rake, for gleaning the fields, or for
collecting manure in the streets, may be said to be the vade-mecum
of the Chinese. The leen, or bill-hook, in spring answers for a
pruning knife, in summer as a scythe, in harvest-time as a sickle ;
the blade is about fourteen inches long and rather thick .
Irrigation is a matter of special attention ; the water is conveyed
by canals and conduits to the field, from the nearest stream . The
rice is ripe in May, is cut with a reaping hook. and thrashed in
the field by striking the sheaf against the side of a large tub ; the
flail is sometimes in use, and it is precisely similar to that in use
in England . It is not an uncommon thing to plant a second crop
of rice in the same ground while the first is growing, and near ma
turity ; hence the field when reaped has a fine green appearance .
FARMING IMPLEMENTS. 85
The soil is laid under heavy contribution, but it is well manured
and irrigated .
The farmers make use of a sowing machine, which has a resem
blance to the common plough in use in Europe ; it has three hollow
teeth, with iron supports . Above the wheels is placed a box, from
the bottom of which the seed falls through the teeth, which are
about nine inches in length, constantly following the motion
of the plough in the furrows. In place of a harrow is a wooden
roller, which covers the seed. The most singular feature about
their agricultural implements, is their lightness ; for instance, the
plough can be conveniently carried on a man's shoulder.
Carts for carrying manure or produce are not absolutely required,
except in the northern provinces, where the canals and boats are
not numerous . Those employed by the farmers, have no spokes to
their wheels. The instruments in use for extracting the oil from
seeds are numerous . One made on the principle of a trip-hammer
falls into a wooden bowl in which the seeds are placed . The same
principle is also extended, and several hammers are elevated by a
long cylinder, which is turned by means of a water-wheel. The
seeds are placed in a trough, and the machine requires very little
attention. Simplicity and cheapness are very conspicuous in all
their arts and manufactures ; to economise time or labour, is quite
foreign to the Chinese.
The bridges over the canals are built of stone, some ofthem have
arches that are high and beautifully constructed . Those over the
grand canal would do credit to any nation. There is one that is
said to have ninety arches. To pass stationary bridges, the masts
of the boats are so constructed as to let down at pleasure. The
banks of the canals, seldom require facing as in Europe, as the
boats are mostly propelled by a scull. Where the tide ascends,
sluicegates are erected in the banks of the adjoining fields , which
allow every tide to cover the grain, just as the farmer wishes, and
the water can be retained or let off at pleasure . Strength and
solidity are quite apparent in all their stone bridges ; wooden bridges
are numerous over the rivers and canals .
The laws which regulate agriculture, and the transfer of lands,
&c., are the same as those laid down by Confucius . The Emperor
is the universal owner, so that all lands are held in occupation from
him . The occupier can be dispossessed at pleasure . The chief se
curity a Chinese farmer has in the possession of his land, is his
means of cultivating it . When this is the case, a spot of land will
descend from father to son, for many generations. Many farmers
lease out a portion of their land, the rent of which is partly paid in
kind . By far more than one half of the cultivated land in China
is held in this manner. There is no law against mortgages , except
land held by soldiers, which cannot be mortgaged . On applying
for unregistered land, the applicant must prove that he possesses the
86 SILK BREEDING THE WORM .
means to cultivate it . There are no fishing privileges, nor game
laws. The land-tax is paid in kind and in money, and remitted in
seasons of distress . Evading the land-tax by a false pretence is
punished by blows and confiscation .
SILK . -The Chinese annals date their knowlege of the silk-worm
to B.C. 2,700 . Marco Polo, who resided in China for a considerable
time in the thirteenth century, states that he saw, at one period,
one thousand carriages and pack horses enter Peking laden with
raw silk . This is not improbable, for at the present day, upwards.
of 300 junks are said to be sent annually to Peking from two pro
vinces, Kiang- si and Che-Keang, alone, laden with wrought silks,
satins, velvets, and costly garments, independent of immense quan
tities of raw silk, conveyed from other provinces as tribute.
The quantity produced must be large, as it is only the super
abundant supply that is sent to Europe, and as it is more or
less in use by every inhabitant who lays any claim to respectability;
every government officer must have by him several silk over
dresses, (official) independent of his private wardrobe . Three or
four silk dresses over each other is usual in winter.
Silk is the production of the phalaena, or mulberry-moth, and
its original locality appears to be China. The substance which
the animal spins to protect itself when in the pupa state, is the
silk, which before it is dyed, is a bright yellow color. The time
that elapses while the worm is undergoing its changes, varies
according to the state of the weather, and the quantity of nourish
ment with which it is supplied . The Chinese are most particular
on this head, as on this depends the quantity of silk which the
worm will produce. The Chinese calculate that the same number
of insects, which would, if they had attained their full size, in twenty
five days, produce twenty-five ounces of silk, would only yield twenty
ounces , if their growth occupied thirty days, and only ten ounces if
forty days. During the first twenty-four hours of its existence, the
Chinese feed it every half hour, or forty-eight times ; the second
day, thirty times ; and so on, reducing the meals as the worm grows,
The place selected for their habitation, must be quite free from
noise or disagreeable smell, the bark of a dog or the crow of a
cock disturbs them ; females attend to the worms in China ; pre
vious to entering their chamber the woman is required to have
washed herself thoroughly, and all her clothing ; and not to have
eaten anything that would cause her breath to have a disagreeable
smell, as the insects must be carefully humoured before the first
time of casting their slough.
When in the caterpillar state, the silk -worm changes its
coat four times, and previous to each moult eats nothing. When
its nest is finished, and it has changed into the pupa state, the
Cocoons are removed from the place where the animal had formed
them ; and after those which it is intended to keep, that they may
perfect their changes, and lay eggs for the ensuing year, arc
+
ENCOURAGEMENT OF SILK PRODUCTION . 87
removed, the remainder are put in large earthern vessels, and
covered with a warm blanket ; they are then exposed to a heat
that is sufficient to destroy the life of the pupa.
The earliest account on record, of the introduction of the silk
worm into Europe was in 550 A.D. when two Nestorians returned
from China with some ofthe eggs of the insect, concealed in the head
of a walking- stick. And having got a knowledge of the process of
rearing the worm, and manufacturing the silk ; they disposed of
their secret to the Emperor Justinian, so that the cultivation of the
worm became general all over Greece. The quantity to be ob
tained from China may be very largely increased.
The Chinese government are solicitous for the extension of the
production of the raw material : and the following proclamation
thereon is translated from the Chinese :
" Wan-choo-tung, commissioner of revenue of the Kiang-nan
provinces, hereby issues a proclamation for general information .
" It is well known that from ancient times until now, agriculture
and the cultivation of the mulberry have both been regarded as of
the highest importance ; being not only the sources from which
the food and clothing of the people are derived, but the greatest
advantages accrue to the whole empire. When the produce of
agriculture is deficient, then that of the mulberry supplies it : thus
in the instruction of Tsz-yushi (one of the worthies of high anti
quity) we read, ' let the husbandman attend to his grain, and the
women to their cloth, and the super-abundance of the one will
supply the deficiencies of the other .' The Kiang- soo province is
heavily taxed, and the population is rapidly increasing . The
extent of land remains the same ; and with droughts and inunda
tions, the calamities of war have caused the rich to become poor,
while the arrears of taxes are daily accumulating . No plan can be
better adopted than the cultivation of the mulberry.
"Also,this province is contiguous to Kia-king and Ku-chau, which
yearly reap great advantages from silk ; yet the people will not
attend to their own interests. I can point out five great advantages
to be derived from it. The husbandman is heavily taxed, but the
mulberry pays no tax ; and the first great advantage is, to be free
from the annoyance of the tax-gatherer. The tops of the walls,
corners of ground, and along paths, will do for planting the tree ; and
this is the second advantage. The time occupied will be only two
months, and this is a great contrast to the husbandman, whose toil
is incessant, and his crops exposed to droughts, &c.; this is the
third advantage . Feeding the worm and preparing the cocoons is
suited to female labour, and will not interfere with the labour of
the plough ; this is the fourth great advantage . There is free
trade at Shanghai, and the sale of silk has greatly increased ; and
not, as formerly, having to wait for the silk merchants, who sold
it far away in Kwang-tung (Canton) , the fruits of their labour
will be early repaid ; and this is the fifth great advantage.
88 HATCHING FISH - SPAWN.
" These benefits are obvious to the dullest and most ignorant ; but
people delight to gaze and look on, and are involved in doubt, in
contemplating an enterprize ; but we, more alive to the hardships
of the times, do not disdain or dislike, again and again to com
mand and exhort you . We command all our officers to assemble
the village gentry and elders, and let them admonish the people,
and lay down the best rules, and have them published with de
scriptive plates . We in haste proclaim our commands to soldiers,
and all people of the province : do not be doubtful and slothful,
the exertion required is small ; let the father instruct his child,
and the husband his wife ; then shall we see the men at the plough,
and the females at the loom ; and no labourer will be unemployed ,
and no resources of the soil lost. The condition of the people will
improve, and the state treasury will be full ; all will enjoy happi
ness that will surpass the felicity of peace . That this will be
realized, I, the commissioner, have the most ardent expectations ;
so let none oppose an earnest and special proclamation .
" Taou- Kwang, 24th year, 10th month, and 30th day.
CC
Shanghai, January, 1845. "
Grossius says, there is in China an insect which resembles the
caterpillar, and is entirely different from the silk-worm. They
propagate with any care, and are very numerous in the province
of Canton. Although partial to the mulbery, they will feed on
other trees . These insects differ from the silk-worm, as they do
not spin their silk circularly ; they produce it in filaments and long
threads, which being carried away by the wind, are caught by the
trees and bushes.
The Chinese collect these threads, and make a stuff called kien
tcheau, which is inferior in lustre to those made of silk ; it is like
drugget ; and is much esteemed for its durability, and washing
like linen . These insects are of two kinds ; one are larger and
blacker than European silk- worms ; the other are smaller . The
silk of the first is of a reddish gray ; that of the second is blacker ;
and the cloth made of them partakes of both these colours.
Hatching eggs by artificial heat is well known, and extensively
practised in China; as is, also, the hatching of fish. The sale of spawn
for this purpose forms an important branch of trade in China.
The fishermen collect, with care, on the margin and surface of
water all the gelatinous matters that contain spawn of fish, which
is then placed in an egg- shell, which has been fresh emptied, through
a small hole, which is then stopped, and the shell is placed under a
setting fowl. In a few days, the Chinese break the shell in warm
water (warmed by the sun) . The young fish are then kept in
water until they are large enough to be placed in a pond. This
plan in some measure counteracts the great destruction of spawn
by troll-nets, which have caused the extinction of many fisheries.
The introduction and use of tobacco in China are evidently of
TOBACCO . LIME . 89
modern date, as it is not found in the Pun-Tsaou, or Chinese
Herbal. It is called yere (smoke), and is cultivated in every pro
vince of China ; it differs from the American materially, as it is
very mild. All classes use it, including boys, girls, and grown
females. Manufactories are numerous in Canton of what is called
paper cigars . The fibre and veins are cut out of the leaf, which is
first moistened, and put in a screw- press . The workman has a
large plane, with an ingeniously contrived moveable box on the top,
to retain the tobacco as the plane cuts the leaves . An expert
workman will make 1000 of these cigars in one day. Their average
price is from two to five cents per hundred .
In the neighbourhood of Canton, lime is obtained, from the ani
mal kingdom, and fossil shells furnish almost the whole of what is
used ; hundreds of boats are employed in dredging for shells in the
shallows of the delta of the Pearl river. It is said they are thus
procured, everywhere between the Bogue and Macao ; they would
be found elsewhere if the people had the means of procuring them
from the deep water.
The mode of calcination adopted, is to mark out a circular piece
of ground , and enclose it with a stone wall , about three feet high.
In the centre, which is lower than the sides, a fire-place is built,
connected with the outside by a draught which is underground ; a
fly-wheel is hung at the outside at the mouth of the pipe, to supply
the place of a bellows, and so contrived with a treddle that a man
can keep up a draught with his feet. The fire-wood is then placed in
a pyramid from over the central fire-place ; the shells are then placed
on the wood, clean and dry ; by keeping up a constant blast the
shells are calcined in about ten hours ; when cool it is sifted and
pounded for sale. Enquiries have been made to know if the
1.
Chinese are aware of the true properties of limestone, and it does
not appear they are; certainly in the neighbourhood of Canton, they
are ignorant of the limestone.
MANUFACTURES AND TRADES OF CHINA .-We are unable to
understand fully the various branches of manufacture in China, by
reason of our limited knowledge of the country ; and all that can be
done at present, is to collect information from every source and lay
the foundation for future observation . With the exception of por
celain, silks, embroidery, and lacquered ware, there are few manufac
tures conducive to luxury ; but in all those branches of art neces
sary to the comfort of life, the Chinese have made considerable pro
gress . There is little or no machinery anywhere perceptible ; all is
done by hand, even the grinding of corn is chiefly by manual
labour ; but a mill for expressing oil from seeds, moved by oxen,
and a chain pump for conveying water from canals or ditches into
fields for irrigation, worked by men or oxen, are everywhere ob
servable .
Porcelain is made of two different kinds of stone, the Pe-tun-tsze,
and Kaou-lin ; the latter of a whitish, the former of a greenish
90 PORCELAIN . PAPER.
cast. They are pulverized in a mortar, and the substance refined
and made into paste . It is then kneaded, rolled, and wrought into
a solid substance, to make the ware close and compact. The potter
cither moulds or forms with a wheel, and afterwards finishes with a
chisel. When dried, the ware are painted with a white mineral oil,
which adds to their transparency and beauty. They are finally
painted with the requisite colours. To heighten or vary the glaz-
ing of the pih-yew, or white oil, it is usually mixed with oil of
lime, fern ashes, and various other mineral varnishes, according to
the design of the potter. Mineral colours alone are sufficiently
durable to stand the progress of burning in the oven . The fur
naces in use are about two fathoms high, and four in width , with
several holes in the top, and are constructed of brick and chinaM
ware. The greatest art consists in baking the porcelain vessels ;
for if the heat of the oven be not well tempered, the whole set is
destroyed, which with all their care frequently occurs. It is an
article of great consumption in China, and yields a good profit to
the manufacturer .
The manufacture of paper consumes large quantities of bamboo .
The stalks are cut close to the ground and sorted ; the younger the
bamboo, the better is the quality of the paper made of it . The
bamboo is first placed in a reservoir of mud and water, and re
mains there for two or three weeks . It is then cut in pieces and
put in a mortar, with a little water, and pounded into pulp with
wooden pestles. This mass , after being cleansed of the coarse parts,
is put into a tub of water, and additions of the bamboo are made,
until the whole becomes a sufficient consistence to form paper.
A workman then takes up a sheet with a mould of the proper di
mensions, the bottom of which is constructed of bamboo, cut in
slips and made smooth round, like wire. The pulp is kept con-
stantly stirred . When the sheets are taken up, they are placed on
tables to dry. According to some who have witnessed the manu
facture of paper, it is said the sheets when taken up are placed on
heated plates of iron, and sized by dipping the sheets in a solution
of fish-glue and alum, either during or after the first process of
making it. The sheets are made from three to four feet long and
about two in breadth . The paper made in the northern provinces.
is whiter, and superior in every respect ; it is said to be made of
cotton and some portion of the mulberry tree ; the price is about
one dollar per ream, medium size ; great quantities are used in their
sacrifices ; it is a large item in the inland commerce.
In the suburbs of Peking is a village, entirely occupied by a class
of people who collect old scraps of paper, no matter how dirty or
stained. The coarse and fine are separated, and well washed on a
stone flag near some running stream. When well washed, they
beat them into a pulp or thin jelly ; and by means of a mould
form them into sheets, and afterwards place them against the
INK . PRINTING . ENGRAVING . 91
whitened walls surrounding their habitations, where the sun dries
them in a short time.
Chinese paper-hats are made from bamboo, which is beaten into
pulp, and then mixed with a portion of some glutinous substance,
supposed to be agar-agar, or sea-weed, the same article with
which lanterns are made. These hats from the lightness are
admirably adapted for the climate, and are preferable to straw hats,
inasmuch as the hat is less pervious to the rays ofthe sun . They are
covered with silk in the usual way, and sold for something less
than a dollar.
The ink universally used in China, and known in this country as
Indian ink , is made by placing a number of wicks lighted in a ves
sel filled with oil . A cover, something like a bee- hive, is hung over
the flame, on which is collected the smoke, or lamp black : when
brushed off, it is then mixed with gum and made into paste and
formed into different shapes . There are modes of making an in
ferior description from the smoke of the fir timber; but it is not so
intensely black nor so free from grittiness ; as the Chinese write
with a brush, this ink answers all purposes . A small portion of
musk is blended with it, which preserves it and also gives an
agreeable smell .
According to the best authorities the art of printing was known
in China upwards of 900 years ago . In the time of Confucius B.C.
500, books were formed of slips of bamboo ; and about 150 years
after Christ, paper was first made : A.D. 745, books were bound
into leaves : A.D. 900, printing was in general use. The process of
printing is simple. The materials consist of a graver, blocks of
wood, and a brush, which the printers carry with K them from place
to place. Without wheel, or wedge, or screw, a printer will throw
off more than 2,500 impressions in one day. The paper (thin)
can be bought for one fourth the price in China that it can in any
other country. The works of Confucius, six volumes, four hundred
leaves, octavo, can be bought for ninepence. For an historical
novel, twenty volumes, one thousand five hundred leaves, half- a
crown is the price amongst the Chinese.
In wood and ivory engraving, the Chinese are not behind Eu
ropeans ; and what would cost two or three pounds sterling in Lon
don, could be done in China for three or four shillings. The beauty
and finish of their tortoiseshell, ebony, and mother of pearl, is too
well known to require description . The rapidity with which the
Chinese cut their characters for printing is truly surprising ; when
a book is to be printed, the characters are written on a sheet of
paper, and transferred to a block of wood which is quite smooth,
to which it adheres ; when the paper is removed, the writing is
found to adhere to the glutinous paste with which the block has
been covered. The engraver then cuts all the strokes which run
level ; then the oblique, and afterwards the perpendicular ones.
92 LACQUER WARE . GLASS BLOWING .
throughout the whole line ; he then cuts the centre parts, and thus
completes a block with probably one hundred characters on it, for
which he is paid sixpence ; this is an ordinary day's work.
Lacquer ware perhaps is the most extensive article of Chinese
fancy wares. After the wood is joined, the seams and sometimes
the whole surface is covered with thin paper, (not canvass as in
Europe) , which is made to adhere by the use of hogs-lard . When
dry this is smeared over with a paste made of clay, which when dry
is as hard as a stone : it is next smoothed with a pummice or whit
stone ; the varnish is then laid on, an operation that must be re
peated several times. The etchings for figures are done by throw
ing a fine powder upon a piece of paper, which is drilled with
minute holes to form the outlines of the picture ; and by these
dots, the shape of the several objects is traced . The gold is then
applied in a powdered state with a dossil of cotton.
A
Glass- blowing. The crucible is a cylindrical hole in the side of
a mass of masonry, heated by a fire below. It slants downwards
and backwards, for the sake of holding the melted glass. The
blow-pipe is about three feet long, and an inch in diameter. It
has a bulb in the lower extremity, which forms the point of attach
ment for the glass . The workman inserts this into the melted
glass, and turns it round on it own axis several times, to collect a
certain quantity upon the end. He then takes it out, and smooths
and rounds the ball with a spatula . This process is several times
repeated before sufficient has been taken up ; he then blows with
his mouth, and subsequently takes the blow-pipe to a pair ofbellows
placed upon two beams, and applies its extremity to the tube that
point downwards, while a third person moves the piston .
In this way, gravity is made to accelerate the expansion of the
glass . A pit in the floor allows room for the dilation of the beau
tiful spheroid that is soon formed by the action of the bellows .
Sometimes the spheroid of six or ten feet in length is formed by
one man with the blow-pipe, who keeps up a continued action on
the globe of solid glass until it has obtained this great size . In
an establishment which I visited at Canton , the glass-blower had
the blood vessels of his face and neck so enlarged, that instant
death will probably one day occur in the midst of his occupation .
Two persons are employed ; one plies a fan to cool the man at the
furnace, the other blows the bellows to expand the glass . As char
coal is used, it is not deemed necessary to use the bellows or blow
pipe . The spheroid of thin glass is, by means of a paper model,
450
marked with ink into panes, which are flattened in an oven after
wards ; each pane of glass, when heated, being placed on a flat
stone, and smoothed with a metal rod . These panes of glass or
plates are intended for looking glasses, of which immense quan
tities are in use. The glass is very thin, but perfectly transparent.
There are many glass establishments to be seen in and about CanSAĞ
ton, but none of them are on an extensive scale.
SPANGLES . METALLIC WARE . 93
Large quantities of flints are now imported into Canton, and
have thus almost superseded the sale of broken glass -once a con
siderable article of export to China . The Chinese will probably
establish manufactories on a great scale. They cut and grind
glass with great dexterity, and in beautiful shapes.
Spangles as an article of ornament, are in great demand
among the Chinese, and manufactured on a very simple plan.
Copper wire is cut into lengths, and, with the aid of a pair of nip
pers, bent into rings, which are then beaten out as our gold-beaters
do their gold leaf. Shoes must necessarily be an article of extensive
manufacture among so large a population who all cover their feet.
The shoe-shops have a very attractive appearance, from the paint
ing and embroidery with which they are finished ; and as tall ladies
are much admired in China, the shoe-maker can hide any defect in
this respect by making the soles one or two inches thick, which
is about the average size . Felted paper and the buffalo leather are
principally used . The leather is bad, porous, and ill- suited to any
but an eastern climate. A good deal of inferior-tanned leather is
imported from Manilla.
In the manufacture of pewter vessels, the pewter is first prepared
in sheets, and in this state hammered into pots, vases, tea-pots, and
every article of domestic utensil . A block of about two feet high,
and one and a half in diameter, is sunk in the floor. Upon this
the double pewter is moulded to the desired shape . Shops for the
disposal and manufacture of this article are very numerous ; and
are laid out to the best advantage for display. Copper ware, such
as jars, bottles, drinking cups, and every necessary domestic article,
is made of thin copper. They are painted various colours, and
have a very tasteful appearanee, somewhat resembling porcelain .
Many articles for domestic use are made of a metal termed " white
copper," which has the appearance of silver.
Bricks and tiles are manufactured in every part of China ; and
the former are invariably of a peculiar blue colour.
Fire-proof houses are used in China . The tiles are laid on the
rafters in rows, alternately concave and convex, forming ridges and
furrows, luted by a cement of stiff clay. These tiles over-lap each
other, but not so as to form two complete layers. The Chinese
consider these roofs perfectly fire-proof.
Stone-cutting is a very large branch of trade, particularly in the
southern provinces . The artizans split and shape stone with great
dexterity ; some blocks of granite for pillars which I measured ,
were thirty feet long, and split thus from the quarry as even as if
they had been sawn timber. The grain or vein of the stone is as
certained, and with iron wedges along aline thus traced, the hardest
granite is split like slate .
The grinding mill is very simple, for it is without wheel or
pinion . One stone is placed upon the ground, while the upper
turns upon an axis, which passes through the centre of both . The
94 GRINDING MILL. CHAIN PUMP.
stones are about four feet in diameter. A staff is fastened to the
edge of the stone ; from which the traces lead to the neck of the
ox that turns it. This staff is attached by its middle, and is
capable of revolving horizontally, to allow the ox some freedom in
his movements . Owing to the slow movements of the stones, the
flour is coarse. The hopper used for distributing the grain between
the stones, is in the shape of a funnel, with a stick placed across
the centre. This, by means of a string that confines it to the wall,
slopes and forms a hollow cone as the hopper turns round. Down
the sides of this funnel the wheat trickles, and finds its way
through the centre of the upper stone to the space between it and
the nether mill- stone . By a centrifugal force, the ground- corn is
thrown towards the circumference. and drops from between the
edges of the stone upon a ledge that runs round the nether mill
stone . As many as five of their mills may be seen at work in one
house or yard : it is said that the operation of grinding corn by
water power is in use in the interior of the country.
A chain pump is in general use for raising water to irrigate the
fields ; it consists of a hollow trough or trunk, of a square make.
Flat and square pieces of wood, corresponding to the dimensions of
the cavity of the trunk, are fixed to a chain, which turns over a
roller or small wheel, placed at each extremity of the trunk. The
square pieces of wood fixed to the chain move with it round the
rollers, and lift up a quantity of water, equal to the dimensions of
the hollow trunk. The power used in working the machine is
applicable in three different ways if the machine be intended to
lift a great quantity of water, several sets of wooden arms are made
to project from various parts of the lengthened axis of the roller,
over which the chain and lifter turn . These arms are shaped
like the letter T, and made round and smooth for the foot to
rest on. Buffaloes and men work the pumps.
Lanterns are in universal use in China, and the manufacture of
them employs many thousands of men, women, and children . The
frame is made of bamboo splinters, and woven on frames of diffeJ
rent sizes, chiefly by females . The workman then arranges all the
interstices which are generally large, and stiffens them with glue,
and covers the lantern with coarse paper, which becomes trans
parent by an application of a coat of varnish, the material of which
is found on the rocky shores of Hainan. The above are those in
common use, and are sold at the low price of six cents .
The lanterns used by distinguished officers, are made of similar
materials, but finished in the most costly style, and emblazoned
with their titles . Those carried by private persons have their
names written on them . Shop -keepers use them on a large scale,
so that at night some streets have the appearance of an illumina
tion . There is no article probably in which the Chinese display
so much ingenuity ; and at the annual " Feast of Lanterns" the
display is very striking. They are made in the shape of various
animals, fish, or birds.
CANDLES . STUCCO . STOVES . 95
The Chinese candles are not unlike the segment of a cone, and
are lighted at the broad end : the wick is a small stick or hollow
reed, round which cotton thread, or the pith of a rush, is wrapped .
One end of the reed or stick, serves for fixing on the candlestick ,
which is made with the point to enter into the hollow. The light
produced is very bright and clear ; and as the wick is solid , and
changes while burning into a hard carbon, it is not easily snuffed ;
scissors made for the purpose are used .
A substitute for stone or brick pavements is made by mixing
sifted sand with quicklime in the proportion of 14 to 1 , and tho
roughly working them as if making mortar ; it is then spread out
and well beaten with a broad wooden mallet, and occasionally
sprinkled with water ; when dry it is a close and solid pavement .
The materials for building walls is the same, only that the gravel is
much coarser . In building a house the foundation is marked out
in the usual manner, and sunk some eighteen or twenty inches ;
posts are then sunk on both inner and outer sides according to the
required thickness ; into this casement, is poured the mortar, and
pressed in the most solid manner, one coat over the other, until a
sufficient height. Where bricks are scarce and dear, this mode of
building is generally adopted .
The Chinese stove called kang, consists of a furnace, a pipe for
the heat, a brick stove, and two funnels for the smoke. The fur
nace is proportioned to the size of the stove it is intended to heat .
The lowest part is the ash-hole ; next the cellar ; then the furnace,
having a slit or mouth, that conveys the flame and heat into the
stove by a pipe or conductor for the heat, beginning at the mouth
of the furnace, and forming a channel which falls in a right angle
on a second, that goes quite through under the middle of the floor ;
and this last pipe has vent holes here and there.
The stove is a pavement made of bricks, which being supported
at the four corners by solid piles, a hollow space is formed between
them and the under pavement, where the heat remains pent-up ,
and warms the floor. The smoke funnels are at both ends of the
stove, with a little opening on the stove, and another outward, which
carries off the smoke.
The heat of the furnace, impelled by the outward air, and atw w
tracted by the rarefied air of the stove, rushes through the stove by
the vent holes, heats the bricks, and from them the whole room.
The smoke which has a free passage, is carried off by the funnels .
The furnace may be placed either within or without the house ;
the middle classes have it in an adjoining room ; the rich have it
outside the house . The furnace is in the form of a cone some
what arched, that the activity of the heat and flame may be all im
pelled into the stove, and not fly off when the aperture at the top is
left open. The opening in the furnace is narrow, and the lower
end of the conductor must go quick into the stove .
The ground or flooring of the stove is generally composed of
bricks placed edgewise. The Chinese cement them with a compo
96 PAWNBROKERS ESTABLISHMENTS .
sition, consisting of varnish and vegetable oil . The chief advan
tage of these stoves is, that any kind of fuel will heat them ; seacoal
is pounded fine and mixed with yellow clay, into the form of bricks,
by which plan there is a saving of coals ; and the seacoal thus
tempered is less offensive . The stove is similar to those used by
the ancient Romans .
Pawnbrokers in China. - The establishments of Pawnbrokers are
distinct from many shops , and very numerous in China. The
licensed shops are divided into three classes. Those who pos
sess large capital, and are licensed to grant loans to any amount,
are placed under strict regulations. They allow three years.
to redeem pledges, with a grace of three months ; and have to pay
largely for their license, besides being subject to an annual tax.
They must give three years notice of retiring from business . Infe
rior pawnbrokers are licensed to allow only two years to redeem ,
and others again of a still lower description may sell off their
pledges after one year. Persons carrying on business without a
license are liable to severe punishment . The length of time al
lowed by law for the redemption of pledges, proves very injurious
to them, as the articles must often lose their value within such pro
tracted periods, -the only reason assigned for this anomaly is
that such is the law. If a pawnbroker suffer from fire originating
in his own premises, he is not exonerated from the responsibility of
refunding to his customers the value of any article pledged and
destroyed by fire . But when fire is communicated to the pawn
broker's shop from a neighbour's, he is only to make good half the
amount of loss .
The Pawnbroker, according to law can demand from the first to
the ninth month inclusive two per cent per month on sums of
ten taels and upwards ; and three per cent per month on smaller
!
sums ; but during the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth months only one
and a half per cent per month, for sums of ten taels and upwards,
and two per cent on smaller sums .
The establishments are frequently on a very large scale ; one that
I minutely examined at Shanghai, required an hour to go through
the different departments ; the goods were classified, and so well
arranged, that any pawned goods could be immediately found by a
wooden label hanging from the end of the compact bundle, with
the name of the person, the date of the pawn, and the amount
for which the goods were pawned . Many of the poorer classes
pawn their winter clothes when summer has arrived, and their
summer ones at the beginning of winter ; their clothes are thus care
fully preserved, and they get the use of the money thus obtained.
Whale Fishing in China.- During the months of January and
February, whales and their young resort to the coast of China,
especially to the leeward of Hailing Shain, in great numbers ; and
during those months they are pursued by the Chinese belonging to
Hainen and the neighbouring islands with considerable success .
WAGES OF LABOUR . 97
The fish is covered with barnacles, and their object in resorting to
that coast is probably to obtain food, and to roll on the numerous
sand banks on the coast, and clean their skin of the barnacles .
Besides the coast abounds with squid, cuttle, and blubber fish.
Sixty of the whaling or fishing boats may be seen scattered over
the bays at once. The boats are well adapted for following up
the fish, as they may be turned rouud quickly, and make very little
noise. They are of different sizes, the smallest about three tons , the
largest twenty five, which carry two small boats on deck, and a
crew of twelve men. On the bow is a crooked piece of timber,
which serves as a rest for the harpoon, and enables the harponeer
to stretch well over the bow.
The harpoon has only one barb ; the line is made of native hemp,
and is about sixty fathoms long, and about five inches in circum
ference. Great length of line is not required by them, for there is
shoal water along the coast for many miles to seaward . A number
of boats start at daylight, and spread themselves in different
directions ; the first boat that sees a whale blowing, lowers the
sails and unships the rudder, which is the signal for the other
boats to come to their aid. They strike the fish a little behind
the blowhole, on the top of the back . With eight or ten harpoons
in it, the whale does not live more than two hours, and is then
floated to the shore ; the whales average about fifty barrels of oil .
English whalers and Americans now fish as far north in the China
seas as Japan, and it is said that this gigantic creature is taking
refuge from his pursuers in the Southern Ocean by migrating
to the Northern Pacific. I saw English whaling vessels recently
on the coast of Siam and Cochin China, pursuing their adventurous
calling with great success.
In order to ascertain the wages of labour, and cost of food, the
following answers were returned to my queries by Dr. Gutzlaff :
Wages of labour of the lowest description in Canton and in other
provinces ? —60 cash per day and food , even 40 in the north, during
bad times. Canton much better in similar cases, 80-90, as far as
400 cash, which is considered very high, and given to men that
are well versed in their profession. Not 20, however, in the
north ; where I never heard of above 300 cash, even to printers,
per day.
Wages or earnings of weavers of cotton or silk in Canton and in
the northern provinces ? -On an average 2-3 dollars per month,
one person .
Wages of artizans, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, &c ., in
Canton and other provinces ? —Five dollars per month on an ave
rage. I have found instances of 4 and also of 7 dollars, but not
commonly.
Cost of maintaining a labourer, his wife, and three children, in ac
cordance with his wages or earnings ? -Lowest 3 dollars . Single
elderly persons I have myself maintained at the rate of 1 dollar per
H
98 COST OF MAINTENANCE .
month. Make for each child an allowance of 600 cash, as the
lowest ; hardy boys will consume food to the amount of 11 dollar
per month.
Cost for maintaining an artizan ? -Smiths, and stone cutters, and
carpenters, at 3-4 dollars per month, in those parts per person.
Cost for maintaining a weaver ?-Two dollars per person. In the
north they pay him about 80 cash, per day, and give him food ;
so also to masons.
Average cost of rice in Canton and other districts ? -One and a
half dollar per month, 2 beginning to be high ; in the north this
price is considered moderate.
Average cost of millet, wheat, or other grain in Canton, and in
other districts ? —When cheap at one dollar per picul, often ad
vances 300 cash, Millet of the best description, one tael per
picul, generally in the north that price, here perhaps 20 per cent.
dearer ; barley 800 cash per picul, seldom one dollar.
Average cost of pulse in Canton and other districts ? —The great
pulse market is Mantchouria, where a picul in ordinary times fetches
about one dollar, never less, often one dollar and a half. In Can
ton the lowest price is one tael, averaging, however, dollar higher,
without being called dear.
Average cost of salt in Canton and other districts ? -Varying from
16-20 cash : on the seacoast, where it pays no gabel, not half its
price . In the inland districts, however, where the price is enhanced
by transportation and extortion, it is often ten times the above
price. În Peking it ordinarily fetches 150-200 cash per catty.
Cost of oil in Canton and other districts ? —Tea oil averaging
for 1 tael 300-500 cash per 23 catties ; earth-nut about 10-14
per cent less ; mustard oil at about 2 taels ; one catty hogslard, 100
cash here . į
What is the oil made from that is generally used as fuel or for
food ? -From the fruits of the Camelia, tea oil ; for burning, from
earth-nut : oil, very common, and most generally used in cooking.
In the north, mustard oil much used ; hogslard and other substances
exclusively for food .
Average cost of salt or fresh fish in Canton and other districts ? ---
1 Fresh. Cheapest, 20 cash ; dearest, 200 ; average, 60 ; Salt .
40-50 cash, cheapest ; 100-120, dearest ; which varies accord
ing to the quantities caught, as well as to the peculiar situation of
a place . The above, however, is a fair average per catty.
Average cost of tea drank by the poorer classes in China ?-Three
cash per day furnishes to a small family a tolerable supply. The
experiment has been made by myself.
Prime cost of a large trading junk ready for sea, say of 300 tons
burthen ?-Not under 10,000 dollars , when built in Siam ; add in
China, 50 per cent .; at Fuhchoo, where timber abounds , only fifteen
per cent.; more on an average at other ports .
BOAT MAKING AND SAILING , 99
Expenses per month of navigating ajunk of 300 tons ?-The cost
varies along the coast, and fluctuates at different periods of the
year.
BOAT MAKING AND SAILING .-A large smuggling -boat con
structed at Hong- kong, employed forty carpenters for one month,
and cost with rigging 1600 dollars . These boats do not last more
than three or four years without repairing ; their dimensions are
about :
Length • 70 cubits .
Breadth amidship • 13 ""
Depth of hold 5 ""
Height of the main mast . 50 "
Do. mizen do . 35 ""
drawing water • 13/1/00 ""
This boat would be only a second class ; the first class would be
seventy-eight cubits long ; a cubit is fifteen inches English. When
fully manned, the crew are as follows : first and second captains,
sixty rowers, and ten sailors to steer and shift sails . The crews are
residents or natives of Whampoa ; and if married, their wives are
not allowed with them, lest their presence would damp their
courage in time of danger. One of these fast boats will carry 350
chests of opium, or 400 of Congo tea. The profits of each voyage are
arranged thus. Provisions, six dollars per day, or 180 dollars a
month ; the proprietor then takes half, and the remainder is divided
among the crew; the first captain takes 100 per cent. , and the second
captain fifty per cent above all the others on board. With a calm
sea and a fair tide the boat can go six miles an hour without using
sails, with a good breeze ten or twelve miles at the same time . At
night the "watch" consists of six men relieved every hour. Time is
calculated by burning a joss stick (if they have no watch), with four
marks at equal distances . A " watch" extends from one mark to ano
ther, and is lighted at eight o'clock, so they burn two during the
night. The last " watch" ends at four o'clock a.m. The armament
is as follows : one cannon, twelve pounder ; one do ., six pounder ;
twelve gingalls or small rampart pieces, on pivots ; one English
musket ; twenty pairs of double swords ; thirty rattan shields ; 200
pikes ; sixty oars ; fifteen mats to cover the vessel ; two cables, one
of them bamboo, and the other coir, fifty fathoms long ; one pump
of bamboo tubes ; one European telescope : one compass, which is
rarely used, their voyages being near shore . The crew seldom go
on shore. The captain has no power to strike any of the crew nor
put a man in irons, but by common consent the disturbers are put on
shore ; no articles of agreement are entered into ; the captain selects
his men, and generally advances them one or two dollars . There
is no medicine on board ; no one is permitted to smoke opium,
unless the boat is anchored in a safe place. All breakage and
damage are defrayed by the owner ; but damage by negligence is
H 2
100 SALT MANUFACTURE.
defrayed by the crew. The powder is kept in a wooden box in
charge of the captain, and the average quantity is a picul of 133lbs . ;
the cartridges are made of Chinese bamboo paper, and resemble
silk paper ; they combine strength and fineness .
Under a judicious policy, our small square-rigged coasting
vessels, or schooners, would become extensive carriers along the
whole coast of China, and be a great benefit to the Chinese by
cheapening the transit of commodities along so extensive a sea
border.
SALT MANUFACTURE . -There are more people employed in the
manufacture and conveyance of salt than in any other branch of
trade in China. The salt in use among the Chinese is manufac
tured as follows : Over their salt-pans is spread a sandy earth,
upon which they pour in an abundance of sea-water ; and when it
is entirely saturated therewith, and the water has been evaporated
by the rays of the sun, this dried earth is chipped off to about one
inch in depth . This is then trodden into vats, built of clay, about
seven feet long and four feet broad, having a sieve-like bottom
formed of canes ; sea-water is then poured on the top, and allowed
to filter through this earth and cane-work into a reservoir beneath,
from which a small gutter, formed of half a bamboo, leads it into
large round pans. It is afterwards placed in earthen vessels, and
put in charcoal fires, to skim and purify the salt .
The amount of tonnage employed in the freight of salt must be
immense, when we consider the enormous population among which
it is one of the necessaries of life . The habitual use of salted fish and
rice, renders it probable that more salt is used in China in reference
to the population, than is consumed by the inhabitants of all Eu
rope. There are salt springs in the western provinces of Sze- chuen ,
and salt is manufactured there for the supply of the contiguous
country. From time immemorial in China, salt has been a govern
mental monopoly ; the mandarins employed in the collection of
salt duties take the highest rank among the imperial revenue offi
cers ; and salt merchants are, it is well known, among the most
opulent individuals in China . The duty levied it is said amounts
to nine dollars a ton, which with a population of 320 millions would
produce a revenue of £ 18,000,000 . In passing up the river Peiho,
travellers have been surprised with the immense stacks of salt
which lined its banks .
Dr. Gutzlaff in his journal, says, "the large and numerous
stacks of salt along the shore, especially at Teen-tsin, cannot fail to
arrest the attention of strangers ; the quantity seemed sufficient to
supply the whole empire ; it has been increasing there during
the reigns of five emperors and is still accumulating. Assum
ing that only two-thirds of the population of China consume sea
salt, the tonnage employed would equal the whole amount of foreign
shipping which entered all the ports of the United Kingdom, du
ring the year 1839, and more than eight times the tonnage of all
EXPORT OF SALT FROM ENGLAND . 101
vessels built there during the same period . The principal manu
facture of salt is on the island Hainan, and on the coasts of the
Canton and Fokien provinces . Mr. Lindsay in his narrative, says,
C6
numerous salt- pans are to be seen in the vicinity of all towns
along the coast, laid out in plots of fifty feet square, and paved with
small red stones, which give them a neat appearance .
Salt is extensively smuggled, and vended without paying the go
vernment duty, and many salt boats make Hong-kong their ren
dezvous. The Chinese code awards in the case of smuggled salt,
the whole of it to the informer, and of all other goods only three
tenths. The brown salt is sold in China for about twenty-seven
shillings per ton to the wholesale dealer ; the white salt is retailed
at three and a half dollars per picul. The prime cost of this arti
cle in China, where fuel is so dear, can scarcely be under one dollar
a picul ; double this would be nearer the mark, but at the former
rate of one dollar, the dollar and eighteen piculs to the ton, which
is 2,600 pounds weight, such sale price (of a better article than the
Chinese) , would be about £4 a ton. The Cheshire salt manufac
turers may deem it worth while to consider whether they could
export salt to China at a profit, after paying the tax to the Chinese
government.
In a memorial from the governor of Canton to the Emperor of
China, loud complaint is made of the diminution in the revenue.
The governor states that, " The condition of things is fast retro
grading, that salt is abundant, and no one to buy it. This (he says)
must arise from private parties manufacturing salt, which calls
loudly for increased vigilance ; as the number of people employed
under the Crown in the sale, manufacture, and transport of salt is
not much under one million . Canton is supplied from the districts
of Tachow, Pomow, Teenmow, and Kanpih, and provides an exten
sive market and wide channel for consumption ; the price is always
the same, but it is quite evident that the soldiers, and all those in
authority, neglect your Majesty's interest. It appears that the
able-bodied country people band together, and convey it into the
interior."
The Coal-fields of China are extensive. It is probable that coal
was discovered, and in general use in China, long before it was
known in Europe ; it is mentioned by travellers of the 13th and
14th century, as abounding throughout the province of Cathay,
ofwhich Pekin is the capital ; " black stones" are said to have been
.66
dug out of the mountains, which stones burn when kindled, and
are used by many persons in preference to wood, of which there is
abundance."
The missionaries of subsequent dates give minute descriptions of
the various coals supplied to Pekin, and with the aid of stoves and
furnaces, experimented on their qualities, with reference not only
to domestic, but for laboratory purposes .
There are three kinds in use :
102 VARIETIES OF COAL IN CHINA .
1st . The coal used by blacksmiths , which yields a great flame,
and is fierce, but liable to decrepitate, which accounts probably
for blacksmiths using it in a pounded or powdered state .
2nd. A hard, stony coal, used for culinary purposes, which yields
more flame than the other sorts so employed ; is less quickly con
sumed, and leaves a residuum of grey ashes : there are several kinds
of this coal ; the best are hard to break, of a fine grain, and of a
deep black colour, soiling the hands less than the others, and sili
cious so as to give fire with steel. Others have a coarse grain ,
and make a bright fire with a reddish ash . Another species, when
placed on the fire, falls down in scales, closes the passage of the
air, and stifles the fire .
3rd. A soft coal, gives out less heat than the second class ; con
sumes quickly, breaks with great ease, and is a jet black ; this de
scription is in most general use for mixing with coal-dust and clay,
moulded in the shape of bricks, and extensively sold in the shops
of Pekin : it is thought economical .
Nearly the whole of the properties and applications of coal now
in use in Europe, have long been familiar to the Chinese. The
modern method of warming our dwellings, which we view as the
result of superior and scientific investigation, was in use with little
deviation many centuries ago by the Chinese : there are many
patented fuel- compounds of modern date in Europe, which have
been in practical use in China at least a thousand years ago.
An anthracite coal, abounding thirty leagues from Pekin, was
not formerly in such general use as the other kinds : it is called
by the Chinese che- tan. Che means a stone ; tan is the name they
give to wood. Charcoal, according to their language, signifies a
substance having the properties of stone and wood . The Chinese
coal forms an exception to the unfavourable impression prevailing
against all other with which we are acquainted in the East : a
recent high authority ranks it very favourably. In specific gravity
it is equal to the Welsh fuel, without its spungy texture .
So late as 1841 , a Russian traveller describes the coal mines,
particularly the western mountain range of China, in such abund
ance, as to be almost incredible : not a league can be gone over
without meeting a stratum of coal. Mining is in a rude state in
China, and yet coal is a moderate price in the capital. Anthracite
may be had in the western range of mountains, twenty miles from
Pekin.
Where thick beds of coal occur, the formation is largely deve
loped ; some of this coal is completely decomposed, and its parti
cles have so little cohesion, that they are almost reduced to a state of
powder. Beneath these coals are beds of sandstone ; and below
those, a much richer seam of coal than the upper formation. In
this range are seen horizontal and vertical beds of mixed coal ; it
much resembles anthracite ; it is close and shining, rather difficult
VARIETIES OF COAL IN CHINA . 103
to ignite, has no flame, and yields no smoke : it is homogeneous.
This leads to a well-grounded belief that there has been great heat
at, or subsequent to, the period of its formation . The horizontal beds
are only about four feet thick, of great extent, and, owing to their
imperfect mining operations, are the most important and valuable.
Artificers and copper-smiths prefer this coal, owing to the intense
heat it yields .
In parts of China, where wood is dear, coal is worked on a large
scale for market. Mining is not understood, but in the prepara
tion of charcoal, the Chinese excel.
As a substitute for coal or charcoal, coal-dust and clay,to the
extent of nearly one-third, was selling at Canton last year at
£1 12s . per ton. An indifferent quality gives no heat, and con
sumes quickly ; it is principally used by the poorer classes, but is
still prepared as described by ancient travellers .
There is no country in the world in which this combustible is
so common. The missionaries and Russian travellers state that
it abounds in every province of this vast empire, and along the
banks of the Yantzekang. At Nankin may be seen amazing quan
tities of native coal, from which our steamers were supplied during
the war . At the Gulf of Pe-tche-le pure anthracite coal was seen,
which was brought down from Pekin . Coal of a brownish colour
exists extensively around Canton . All the coals seen south of
Nankin closely resemble cannel coal : this description may be
found for general sale in Shanghai. Brown coal seems confined to
the country around Canton. Lord Amherst's Embassy was offered
coal for sale in all the cities it passed . Nearly all the brown coal
beds were horizontal, and not deep. A sulphureous coal, mixed with
slate, generally found on sand- stone strata, prevails largely around
Canton. There is abundant evidence, that extending over large
areas in China, are beds of every description of coal, consisting of
brown coal, cannel coal, and varieties of bituminous coal, all of
which have been in use for ages, and used for all domestic
purposes known to civilized nations, including gas-lighting ; smeltCFL
ing iron, copper, and other metals .
It is rightly noted as surprising, that in China, where most of the
practical arts have been more or less in use from time immemorial,
and with the characteristic perseverance of that most industrious
people, the operations of mining are conducted without any regard
to science. At Pekin, as well as at Canton, their process is bad
in the extreme. Machinery to lighten labour is unknown : not
even the idea of pumps to draw off the water. The shovel, pick,
and hammer, are the only instruments in use amongst the Chinese
in their mining operations. The water is emptied by filling sacks,
which are brought to the surface by manual labour.
The prices of coals at Pekin averaged , in 1844, at the pit's
mouth, four dollars sixty- three cents per ton : land carriage over
104 GAS- LIGHTING IN CHINA .
mountains on camels' backs, &c. , enhances the price in cities to
£2 10s. for 2,240 lbs. ; the best fuel is, therefore, expensive in
many places.
Le Compte says, no country can be better supplied with coal
than China ; especially mountains in the provinces of Shen- si ,
Shan-si, and Chih-le ; without this convenience there would be no
living in so cold a country, where wood is scarce. Peking, he adds,
has been supplied with coal, from a mountain two leagues distant
from the city, at least two thousand years past. This coal is a jet
black, and found between the rocks in very deep veins ; it is diffi
cult to light, but casts a powerful heat, and is very lasting. This
coal yields a bad smell sometimes, which is counteracted by the
Chinese keeping a large bowl of water in the apartment, which
draws the smoke in such a short time that the water must be fre
quently changed.
Coal of a good quality has recently been found in abundance on
the island of Formosa, in the direct tract for steamers up the coast
of China .
GAS- LIGHTING IN CHINA. - To what extent the Chinese pro
duce illuminating gas is not known ; but it appears certain, that
for centuries spontaneous jets of gas have been burning, and turned
to various useful purposes. Salt water is obtained by boring coal
beds, and the gas is forced up thirty and forty feet high : from
these fountains the vapour is conducted through pipes to the salt
works, and used for evaporation : along- side these are gas tubes to
convey the gas to cities ; and it is in general use in kitchens,
bazaars, &c. : the excess is conveyed away to burn bricks and lime.
This application of gas to various purposes, is worthy of trial in
Newcastle, Durham, and other coal districts .
Mineral productions. - The mountainous districts of Kwei-choo
and Yun-nan are rich in mineral treasures ; but mining is not en
couraged, because it withdraws the people from agriculture, and
the greatest riches are still hidden in the earth. There are gold
mines, but no European can point out the place where they are to
be found. The quantity of gold current, in bars about the value of
£44 sterling, is considerable ; it is issued from the capital and from
Shan -tung province. Tibet possesses the precious metals . The
first-rate Chinese sycee, which is the native silver of the country,
contains some parts of gold, and surpasses in fineness and purity
that of every other country in the world .
Gold-dust is found in the River Yang-tsze-keang, and in several
rivers of Yun-nan ; it is also imported into China from the Laos
country, Birmah, and Borneo. Iron is found in every part of
China, but great quantities are imported . Lead, though obtained
in many places, is not sufficient for the consumption : the same may
be said of tin . Copper is imported largely from Japan. Tuten
ague is an alloy of copper, iron, and zinc, of great whiteness ; and
is a composition of Chinese invention . Mercury is common ; the
MINERALS .- GOLD, IRON, MERCURY . 105
*
oxydation of vermilion is so great, principally for export, as to re
quire large importation from abroad. Yun-nan furnishes the
chrystal, ruby, amethyst, sapphire, and topaz. Alum is found in
slates in great quantities ; as are also rock- salt , marble, porphyry,
and jasper ; several districts are impregnated with saltpetre.
On another authority it is stated ,. that the western districts
or provinces of Kwang-se, Yun-nan, and Kwei-chow, are
richer in mineral productions than any other part of China.
They possess tin, gold, silver, iron, and copper mines ; also cor
nelians, jasper, rubies, and beautiful marbles, in Yun-nan : gold
and silver exist, likewise, to some extent, in Szechuen, Canton, and
Keang-se ; and to a smaller amount, in Hoopih and Fooh-keen .
Iron and lead are found, more or less, in all the southern pro
vinces. Mercury is obtained chiefly in Sze- chuen and Kwei- chow :
and there are a few coal mines in Kwang-tung (Canton) , even inside
the city itself. The yuh stone, or jade, is found in Shan-se and
Hoo-nan ; the cornelian, in Chih-li ; there are also extensive coal
mines in the southern portions of Chih-li and Shan- se ; and also,
to a limited extent, in Shan-tung and Hoo-nan.
Dr. Gutzlaff furnished me, in China, with the following list of
mines :
Gold mines.- Those of Oroumtsi, and in the neighbourhood of
the ceded western part of Turkestan, the districts of Teih -hwa and
Suglae.
The Chinese government does not interfere in the working of
the mines, but appoints the most experienced as head-man, who
pays for this privilege, monthly, three cordaneers' weight of gold .
All the gold obtained must be regularly stamped by responsible
shroffs , and no bars without their particular mark are allowed to
be circulated . Government sends annually considerable quantities
of the produce falling to its share to the imperial establishment at
Peking. The mines are very extensive, but as the advantages are
solely accruing to the sovereign, no public account of the returns
is ever published .
In the mines of Teen-kwang, the stated amount of workmen is
2,000 ; and allowing three times this number as being the actual
miners, this would constitute no trifling adventure. The head
men pay him during the summer as well as in winter the same
sum , for the monarch's private purse . These miners are under
the special supervision of government, mandarins being especially
appointed to watch over them ; and an extra tax, for defraying this
expenditure, is also put on the ore.
The largest quantity of gold is obtained from places in the
neighbourhood of Kokonor, and in that country ; the principal
places to the south of the chain of mountains which abut on
the Himmalah, are Tseénfut, Tung-sha, Tsaon-tun, Keép-kan,
Keép-sik, Gokpok-pachen, Poolakik-chang, and Chang-tsze ; to the
north arc Polotae, Tsing-tun, Keep-too, Yaon-tsze, Kokoshashik,
106 GOLD AND SILVER MINES .
2
Yintun-heén, and Tsenen-tsze. The gold is here found, both in
the bowels of the earth as well as in the sand of rivers. These
mines are only worked during the summer months, but no statement
of the average production exists .
In Shen-se are the Hoppootat and the Haehopla Mountains,
containing rich ore ; and every gang of fifty men pays two mace
five candareens in weight per day, besides a premium of three cor
doneers on each tael, to the officers of government.
In the province of Yun-nan, there are many places, and,
perhaps, the largest establishments in the world, for washing
the sand of the Yang-tsze, which here assumes the name of Gold
dust River. For every bed (a space confined between boards where
the washing is carried on,) the owner pays, monthly, one mace
weight in gold ; and, annually, seven taels, two mace, six canda
reens besides . At other places the tax is much heavier, a clear
proof of the sand being more productive ; the principal places are
Yungpik, Hok-king, Pik-ya-pootsaon, Kaehwa, and Makoo.
The richest mines, however, are in Kwei-choo Province, Sze-nan
foo, and Teén-king, where the miners pay on each tael pure gold,
four candareens and three mace to government.
Gold-dust abounds in Assam,. which adjoins Yunnan.
Silver mines.- Sze-chuen province has at Yenynen, Kea- tsze,
Kwapeavatze, Kowkeén-chang, Chinshakow, Ningfonying, and at
Sekoopeét, copper mines which yield a good deal of silver, paying
a duty of two mace, four candareens, and five cash for each tael.
In Canton Province, there are lead-mines producing considerable
quantities of silver, at Tsangchelin, and Taewan ; in Chinping dis
trict, at Sinshaw ; in Tung-shun district, at Tungkeo-pèen and
Leshoowan ; in Taepoo district, at Taetsing and Taho-ping. The
mines being very productive, the labourers pay five mace and one
cordoneer on each tael of silver.
The following are the pure silver-mines : in Kwang- se, at Nang
tang ; in Hoche country, at Kwa-hung ; and in Funho district, at
Tseavurnuh-shan : the duty varies here from one- and-a-half mace
to two mace upon each tael of refined silver . The officers superin
tending the work are made responsible for the payment of a fixed
sum, not mentioned in the statistics ; and failing to collect it, must
themselves make up the deficiency.
In Yun-nan there are the following pure silver-mines : at Sha
heén, in Tang-chuen country, where the contractor has to pay
1,302 taels per annum, and may extract as much as he can ; at
Pootsaoutang, in Hok-king district, the contractor pays 421 taels
per annum ; in Kaehwafoo, at Matsoote, 706 taels ; at Kooheo, on
the frontiers of Birmah and Cochin China, annually paid in duties,
568 taels ; in Gan-nan country, at Tookikla, 60 taels ; at Tsoo
heung, in the Yung-ching mines, 3,375 taels ; at Malung, 698
taels . The Kookew mines in Mungsze district, and the extensive
silver-mines of Weseatuntsze and Pokeihtsze, on the Cochin China
THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINA . 107
frontiers (amount of duties paying to government not mentioned) ;
at Muhhih, in Keénshway district, and the Kinsha and Loma
mines, in Chaontung-foo, and those at Santaoukow, are under the
immediate superintendence of the Chinese government, and pay
one mace eight cordoneers duty per tael ; under the same juris
diction are the Shih-yang, the Chowcha, and Tseénlién, the Mang
leén, and the Muhyew mines ; the former pay 1-2 cordoneers
per tael, the last, 300 taels per annum. At the Kinsha copper
mines there is also silver ore found . In the neighbourhood are
the Teéntsae, Kaetae, Yufung, and Yuenlung mines . At Lelung
foo are the Hwuy-lung mines, which pay one mace three cordo
neers per tael. In Shunning-foo, there are several mines paying
annually 800 taels to government ; others are not enumerated in
this list because they are met with very frequently, and being
under far less restraint than those in other provinces, are worked
by myriads of human beings.
The richest mines, however, are in Kwei-choo province, at Wei
ning country, in Chatsze, and Chookwangtang, which pay four
mace per tael duty.
At the two Lokma and Hwuylung mines, a deputy pays, an
nually, from 8,000 to 25,000 taels ; this sum, however, is sent to
the Board of Revenue. Officers who distinguish themselves in
collecting sums from mines are rewarded by being raised in rank.
When we take into consideration, that at least ten times the
number of mines are worked clandestinely, or under the conni
vance of the government officers, and, moreover, by the aborigines
who are in possession of the mountains, it will be apparent at a
single glance, that the precious metals gained from the bowels of
the earth, far exceed in quantity the amount of the exported
bullion.
CHAPTER IV .
THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINA,-GENERAL,-PROVIN
CIAL, AND LOCAL.
Our knowledge of the mode in which one third of mankind
is governed in China has hitherto been very limited ; it has, there
fore, seemed advisable to collect in one view all the information
which may tend to illustrate this singular problem. So far as I have
been enabled to trace, it appears that while complete despotism
is exercised generally, there is considerable local freedom, the
remnant of the ancient Chinese institutions, which the Tartars.
108 GOVERNMENT. - IMPERIAL FAMILY.
have not been enabled entirely to crush, although they have suc
ceeded in debasing the people.
According to the doctrine artfully inculcated throughout China,
the monarch is responsible to no one on earth ; by the ruling pow
ers of earth and heaven he is emperor of China, representative of
all living beings, and of mankind especially .
He is supposed to transact all business between man and the su<
perior beings.
As the high-priest he worships the presiding powers, and prays
for all men . He has been called a political heathen pontiff,
vested with temporal and spiritual power ; his Majesty even rules
over Hades, canonizes, and can condemn and degrade, as well as
exalt and confer honors on an idiot.
He stands as an inferior compared to his ancestors ; if dead he
follows their example ; and provides them with paper money burnt
over their tombs, in order that they may purchase necessaries ; if
alive he venerates them with the same respect as if they were su
perior beings ; as a proof, the empress mother made Taoukwang
renew the late war with the English, after the conclusion of peace
between Commissioner Keshen and Captain Elliott ; she put a stop to
festivities, and ordered mourning throughout the empire, which
actually took place.
The emperor nominates his successor. The present emperor was
not the eldest son of his father.
IMPERIAL FAMILY,-The Emperor of China signs his name
Taoukwang, " Reason's Glory," and is the second son of the late
emperor Keaking ; he was born in 1781 ; and succeeded to the
throne in 1821. His eldest son died in 1832 ; but he has three
other sons living . Since his accession to the throne, there has been
very little internal peace ; not one year has passed, but one part or
the other of the empire has been disturbed by insurgents, and
the wide-spread influence of the numerous secret soceities that
exist throughout the empire, are a continual source of uneasiness.
The first on the list of the imperial officers is Tsungjunfu, whose
duties consist in regulating and providing for the imperial clan
who are very numerous, and divided into two classes ; first, the
imperial house, (tsungshi) ; second, the golden tribe, (Ghioro),
the latter being the surname of the reigning family. The descen
dants in a direct line of the first sovereign , who took the name of
emperor, are styled of the imperial house ; the remainder of the
family are merely called after their surname, Ghioro . Members
of these two classes are frequently expelled for impropriety of con
duct, but are nevertheless distinguished by wearing coloured
girdles, one red and the other pink . There are many nominal dis
tinctions of titles among the imperial family, but their names
rarely appear in any elevated station of official employment. The
members who manage the affairs of this office, have adopted a
different line of policy, from that which was hitherto in practice,
GENERAL GOVERNMENT OF CHINA. 109
and the consequence is that domestic strife is unknown . There
are many of the imperial kindred whose allowance from the emperor
does not exceed one pound sterling, per month ; the consequence
is that they have no influence whatever over the public, with
whom many of them are compelled to associate in the capacity of
shopmen and servants.
THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT may be said to consist of two
councils, six supreme boards, a censorate, a colonial office, and an
imperial college.
The inner council (Nui Ko) is the emperor's office of business,
from which all his commands are issued. There are four chief
ministers, (ta hiasz) , and two assistant ministers, (hiessan ta hiasz) ,
also ten ministers. (hiasz) . Their united duties are to deliberate
on the affairs of the state ; to declare the imperial will, and to aid
the sovereign in governing the people. From the latter ten
ministers, (hiasz) are selected the governors of provinces, political
agents in the colonies, &c.; six of them are Mantchoo Tartars,
and four Chinese . The ordinary business of the Council, Nui Ko,
is the reception of imperial edicts, and the presentation of memo
rials, and the replies which are to be given. These documents are
all transmitted from the General Council Chamber, (Keun-kee
Choo) for the perusal and examination of the members, previous
to their submitting the same to his Majesty ; to all these documents
are attached a slip of paper, with the opinion of the council as to
the answer that should be returned written on it, to economize
time. The day following the reception of each memorial, the
council all attend on his Majesty at daylight in the morning.
A Mantchoo minister reads each document, and then hands it over
to a Chinese minister, who inscribes on it the imperial answer.
The other duties of this council, are the care and preservation of
the imperial seals, twenty five in number ; they also arrange what
posthumous titles are to be conferred on deceased emperors and
their consorts , also on meritorious ministers and nobles .
The General Council, (Keun-ke- Choo, ' is chiefly composed of
members chosen from among the ta heasze of the inner council,
the presidents, and vice presidents of the six boards, and the prin
cipal officers of all the other courts in the city. All important
business that requires immediate attention is transacted by this
council, who sit daily from two until four o'clock. They attend
his Majesty when he holds a council of state ; on which occasion
they are permitted to sit on low cushions, which are placed on the
ground. The commands and decisions of the Emperor are written
down and transmitted to the Nui- Ko to be made public ; if the
decisions are of a secret nature, and relate to the provincial
affairs, they are sent to the board of war, who have them dis
patched at the rate of 400 or 500 le a day. In all matters con
cerning the government, and the decision of trials of importance,
the members of this council are engaged alone, or deliberate with
110 SIX SUPREME BOARDS .
the board or court to which the affair more properly belongs .
The Emperor, in time of war or rebellion, looks to this council for
local information, and the state of the country through which the
soldiers have to pass . This council is bound to furnish his
Majesty with a list of all the meritorious officers, entitled to pro
motion. They keep the map of the dependencies, and countries
inhabited by barbarians ; have the appointment and removal of the
Mantchow and Chinese residents in Tibet, Turkestan, & c.; select
the presents to be given to tribute-bearers ; regulate the examina
tions at the court, and translate documents into and from foreign
languages. Thirty clerks, called changking, are attached to this
department.
The six supreme boards, (luh-hoo), are the boards of : 1 , civil
office ; 2, of revenue and territorial resources ; 3 , of ritual obser
vances ; 4, of war ; 5 , of punishments ; and 6, public works . At
the head of each board are two presidents (shangshoo), and four
vice-presidents (shelong), who are either Mantchoo Tartars, Mon
gols, or Chinese . The chief ministers of the Nui- ko, are often ap
pointed superintendents over the presidents of one or other of the
boards. The boards over which such superintendents are most
generally appointed are those of war, of revenue, and of punish
ments ; sometimes a president of one board is placed as superin
tendent of another . Each board has a subordinate department,
for attending to particular portions of the peculiar business of the
board.
The board of civil office assists his majesty in his judgments, re
garding the promotion and degradation of officers ; confers ranks of
nobility, and manages a great part of the machinery of the govern
ment. This board has in its gift, subject to his majesty's appro
val, all the civil appointments, from the governor of a province to a !
police runner, the total of which amounts to many thousands .
There are four subordinate departments attached to the civil office ;
the duties of which are to take cognizance of the conduct of all the
civil officers in the empire, to keep a strict account of all their good
and bad actions, to regulate their temporary retirement from duty,
their promotion or their degradation .
The board ofrevenue, (Hoo -poo) , levies duties and taxes, arranges
the distribution of salaries and allowances, the receipt and expen
diture of grain and treasure. It regulates the territory of the em
pire, in its divisions into provinces, compiles correct censuses of all
the people in their various distinctions of classes, obtains admea
surements of all the lands in the empire, ascertains the positions of
places by their latitude and longitude, proportions the taxes and
conscriptions, and regulates the expenditure of the empire . At
tached to it are fourteen subordinate departments, who are charged
with the supervision of the revenue of the several provinces . A
board or court of appeal is connected with the Hoo-poo, which re
gulates disputes respecting property and successions ; also a mint
OFFICIAL DUTIES OF THE BOARDS . 111
under the direction of two of the she-lang, or vice-presidents of
the board, and of two other superintendents, subordinate to them ;
an officer of " the great ministers of the three treasuries," viz : the
treasuries of metals, of silks, and of the material of coloring, toge
ther with stationary, &c.; an officer for superintending the sup
plies of grain in and about the capital, under the direction of two
officers (shelang) , and thirty- two superintendents .
The board ofrites (Le-poo) , superintends the classes of ritual ob
servances : 1st, those of a propitious nature, viz : festivals, sacrifices
to the gods, and state ceremonies ; 2nd, those of a felicitious or
joyful nature, &c.; 3rd, those of a military character, preparations
for war, reviews of troops, &c .; and 4th, those of hospitality, and
everything relating to the intercourse of foreign states, and the pre
sentation of tribute from abroad and the provinces.
There are four subordinate departments, besides several officers
for conducting the general business of the board of rites, the chief
duties of which are to regulate the etiquette and ceremony to be
observed between the various ranks, and the degree of attention
which is to be paid to each other, when meeting in official capaci
ties ; to attend to the governmental schools and academies ; and
the public literary examinations. This department has the whole
charge of foreign embassies-attached to it is an interpreter's office.
The board grants permission to foreign astronomers, mathematici
ans, and artists to reside in Peking. The fourth department of the
board has the superintendence of the imperial feasts, and the al
lowances given to princes and other lords in waiting on the royal
family.
The board of music, ( Yo -poo) , is an office connected with the
Le-poo, and is under the superintendence of the Mantchoo presi
dent of that board, and an indefinite number of high officers who
possess musical talents.
The board of war, (Ping-poo) , has for its general duties the presen
tations of military officers to the Emperor, and the distribution of
military commands throughout the empire. The minor duties of
the board are managed by four subordinate departments.
The board of punishments, (Hing-poo) , hears causes and ap
cases
peals, confirms or reverses sentences, and regulates fines . In
of capital crimes, with a few exceptions, the officers of this board
meet with two other criminal courts and deliberate together ; and
at the time of the autumnal assizes, they meet the officers of eight
other courts, to reconsider the sentences passed by the various pro
vincial judges. This board marks all changes made in the written
laws, and the supplementary enactments, and prepares all new edi
tions of the penal code for publication, regulates prisons, and has
attached to it a treasury, which is supplied by fines on jailors and
others .
The board of works, (Kung-poo) , regulates the erection and repairs
of all buildings for the use of the public, and the manufacture of all
112 FOREIGN AND COLONIAL OFFICES .
kinds of vessels, instruments, dresses, and imperial mausoleums ;
also the regulation of weights and measures.
The subordinate departments are four : the first has charge of all
city walls, palaces, temples and altars, and estimates the value of
all buildings confiscated to government ; four superintendents of
timber and two of glass-ware and pottery are appointed . The
second attends to the manufacture of military weapons, guns, shot,
&c., and has charge of the imperial pearl-fisheries . The third depart
ment has charge of all water-ways, dikes, &c. The 4th has the
furnishing of all the palaces and temples, and the erection of tombs .
The mint is under the direction of two vice-presidents ( shelang)
of the board of works, with two superintendents, subordinate to
them .
The manufacture of gunpowder is under the charge of " two
great ministers," with one subordinate superintendent.
Lefan-yuen is intrusted with the management of the Mongols,
and the government of Turkestan and Tibet, and is composed en
tirely of Mantchoos and Mongols. The board is also entrusted
with the government of the tributary tribes in Szechuen, Formosa ,
and other places ; these are called fan, foreigners, to distinguish
them from the " barbarians" (all western people) . These " bar
barians" are divided into two classes, external and internal ; the
latter includes all the unsubdued mountaineers, called Meaou-tze ,
who dwell on the borders of Kwang-tung, Kwang-se, Kweichoo,
and other provinces ; this office regulates the government of the
Nomads. The multifarious duties of the colonial office are pretty
equally divided among six subordinate departments.
The 1st has charge of the territorial limitations, and regulates the
rank and succession ofthe princes and nobles of the inner Mongo
lian tribes ; it arranges the marriage of the princes. and their sons.
and daughters, these being generally inter-married with the impe
rial family ; has charge of arranging the tribes into corps, and
administering to them the oath of fealty. The 2nd regulates the
salaries of the inner Mongolian princes, and their visits to the court,
which take place in regular succession . The 3rd department
exercises the same control over the outer Mongolian princes and
nobles ; and over the lamas of Tibet, exercises the same restraint, as
the first department does over the inner Mongolians ; fixes the
limits of the territories of each tribe, supervises their government,
issues a license to their merchants without which they cannot
trade. At Kourun , the principal city of the Kalkas, are resident
two ministers, Keepers of the Russian frontier ; they have an office
at Kiachta, where the intercourse between Russia and China is re
gulated . The chief resident of the lamas is in Tibet ; here two po
litical agents reside, connected with this department, who sit in
council with the dalai lama and the bantchinerdeni. " The tribute
of Tibet and the Gorkas," is under the direction of this department.
The 4th fixes the emoluments, tribute, & c. , of the outer MonP
EXAMINING COURT, OR CENSORATE . 113
golians and the lamas. The 5th arranges the government of the
Mohammedan princes and Begs, also those tributary unsubdued
tribes of Pourouths, Kassaks, and Turkomans, of Khokand, Bad
akshan, Belaur, Tashkend, and Aakhan, in independent Tartary.
The 6th regulates the penal discipline of all the tributary tribes ;
has attached to it a translator's office, a treasury, and an office of
supervision .
The Examining Court, or Censorate, investigates into the character
and conduct of all the public officers in the empire. When any
important affairs of government are submitted to the consideration
of the six boards, the censorate is one ; and in all important cri
minal cases this board is consulted . The members of this court are,
two chief censors, and four deputy censors ; these are called censors
of the left ; the governors of provinces are ex-officio censors of the
right ; and the lieutenant-governors, with the governors of the
rivers, are ex- officio deputy censors, also, of the right. The mem
bers of this court, when in the presence of his majesty, give expres
sion to their sentiments very freely. They are required to point
out to the emperor his faults, and the law makes them responsible
for every bad action he commits without a remonstrance on their
part.
The present emperor differs from his predecessors, inasmuch as
he has frequently commended them for their homely truths ; but
under former reigns, particularly during that of Keenlung, many
censors were ordered for execution for only performing their duty.
This anomaly in government was very objectionable to the Tartars,
who had no idea of any restraint on their despotic sway.
In July, 1843, one of the imperial censors addressed a strong
rebuke to the emperor, which shows the bold free language now
used, and at the same time the hatred of the English. He says :
" That which the people love is good, that which they hate is bad.
Do they not love truth and virtue-and do they not hate iniquity
and falsehood ? If, then, you (the emperor) reward not the right
eous and punish not the evil-doer, verily it will become a sore sick
ness to the land.
" When the disobedient barbarians (the English) , like foul birds
and unclean beasts, wrought strife in the land, did not civil and
military authorities and their men flee away. Many reasons were
given for this disgraceful conduct ; but although their ships were
strong and their cannon great, yet are not the laws of the emperor
stronger and his wrath greater. How much better to risk life in
1 battle than death in flight. Although the barbarians returned to
their own country, yet the emperor was so justly incensed at his
officers, for having violated the law, by fleeing from the barbarians,
that he commanded their conduct to be investigated . The said
officers were disgraced, degraded, and condemned to death ; among
them was Yu-poo -yuen, who was executed ; none were to be found
who did not clap their hands and rejoice at his punishment . Great
I
114 COURT OF REPRESENTATION .
as was his crime, how much greater were the crimes of Ke-shen,
Ki-king, Woo-wee, and others, who have not received like punish
ment.
(C
Surely the hearts of people are sorry, and men cry out, that is
by reason of their being Tartars, and not Chinese like Yu-poo -yuen.
" The censor implores the emperor to listen to the peoples'
prayers, and to degrade Ke-shen to the lowest rank, never again to
be employed in a service he has betrayed,-then will the people's
hearts be glad ; and true it is that they hate Ke- shen, and would
tear him in pieces for selling them to the barbarians .
" The secret of rightly governing, is to know when and how to
reward, when and how to punish . "
The subordinate departments of the censorate are, the luh-ko, six
classes, the censors of the fifteen taou or provinces, and the censors
of the five divisions of Pekin . The six classes are named after the
six boards, each having to attend to the supervision of the board
after which it is named . The censors of the fifteen taou attend to
the supervision of all the courts of the capital, the archives, & c. , and
to all criminal cases in the provinces.
The Court of Representation (Tung- ching), consists of two chief
officers, two deputies, and two counsellors ; their duties are to receive
all memorials and appeals from the provinces, addressed to the em
peror. This is the eighth court for aiding his majesty. Some of
the deputies of this court attend at the palace gates, where a drum
is placed ; those who have appeals to present, beat this drum and
are immediately waited on.
The Criminal Court and Court of Appeal (called Tale-sze) is the
ninth court which consults on all matters relating to government,
and one of the three courts (supreme) of judicature. These three
courts must be unanimous in their decision on all capital crimes
brought under their consideration ; if otherwise, the case is then
submitted to the emperor, who decides . This board is frequently
divided into two subordinate courts, the heads of which preside in
assemblies of the subordinate departments of the board of punishG
ments, each of the two courts being joined with half the whole
number of the departments of the board. The officers for con
ducting the business are nearly the same as those of the six
boards .
The Imperial Academy (Hanlin-yuen) .— The chief officers are
two presidents, who attend upon the emperor. Twice in each year
they give in lists of officers, from which the emperor selects
(( speakers," whose duty is to translate essays which have been
written by his majesty, and read them aloud in his presence.
Twenty-two members of this academy are selected to attend his
majesty on public occasions, to record his words and speeches ;
four take this duty in turn. Attached to the academy, is the
historiographer's school, for preparing memoirs and national his
tories . The imperial family is also instructed by this board.
The Emperor of China consults his ministers on various sub
IMPERIAL RULE AND CRUELTY . 115
jects. The present sovereign recently promulgated the following
queries :
" 1st. What is the practice of economy according to the maxims
of the ancient kings ?
" 2nd. What signifies the grandeur of the universe ?
" 3rd. Is it requisite first to rectify peoples' hearts, and then to
improve their manners ?
" 4th. Do rites (religious ceremonies) put a stop to lawsuits and
to altercation ?
" 5th. Is it not necessary to place the war establishment upon a
proper footing, with a view to maintaining civil order ? And must
not some leading characters be chosen to carry this object into
effect ? "
Although there appear to be checks on imperial rule or cruelty,
the emperor is absolute in cases of life or death ; and the present
sovereign did not hesitate to violate the promise of protection
granted by his officers. Jehangir, the leader of the Mohammedan
rebellion, surrendered himself to Chang-ling, the general of the
Chinese forces, and, relying on his promises, returned to Peking.
An extract from the Peking Gazette of this period shews the
reliance to be placed on the promises of generals under a Chinese
emperor, in thus recording the sentiments of Taoukwang. " This
day I have descended to the gate, and received the prisoner ; I am
filled with consolation and profound awe." The following day,
the great ministers of state and the military council assembled to
try the prisoner, the emperor presiding on the occasion . He was
found guilty, and sentenced to a slow death, and his head to be ex
posed to public gaze. The proclamation said : " Let the sons of
the officers who fought against him, and the assistant ministers of
state, the president of the boards, and the imperial attendants, go
and witness the execution . Our hair stands on end to think of
his killing our great officers. Let the rebel's heart be torn out,
and given to the sons of those officers, to sacrifice at the tombs of
their fathers to console their faithful spirits." A subsequent
gazette announced the execution to have taken place.
The Empress of China.- The imperial harem is supplied chiefly
with the daughters of noblemen and grandees. They are entrusted
to the care of elderly matrons and eunuchs, who carefully train
them in the duties according to the prescribed order. When a
selection is to be made for a consort, the birth and connexions of
the individual is taken into consideration : but no Chinese lady can
ascend the throne, nor can her children be considered legitimate.
The lady made empress is entrusted with the entire government of
the harem , and the same homage that is paid to the emperor must
likewise be bestowed upon her by the women .
The empress is supposed to represent the earth, and, conse
quently, possesses the power of exerting a transforming influence.
She is charged with the homage due to the god of the silk- worm,
12
116 THE EMPRESS OF CHINA.
and has for the encouragement of her sex to rear this insect. Her
ladies of the bedchamber are employed in weaving silks, which are
annually brought as offerings to the gods.
The Chinese constitution prohibits an empress from interfering
in affairs of state ; so that when a regency has managed affairs,
and a female has been concerned in it, great dissatisfaction has
been manifested by the grandees .
The interior palace resembles a garrisoned city ; no one is per
mitted to enter without the permission of the emperor. There
are very few male servants permitted ; female domestics and eunuchs
perform the duties of the palace .
The Local Government of Peking is intrusted to a minister of one
of the six boards, and subordinate to him is a fooyuin, or mayor.
They have charge of the four divisions ofthe metropolis ; and have
under them two (heen) magistrates ; each heen district comprises
about one half of the city. They are only subordinate to the em
peror, to whom they carry all difficult cases. They have control
over the military police of the city. The board of punishments,
delivers over to them all subjects sentenced to transportation .
The Taepuh is under the direction of two presidents (king) , and
two deputies ; their duty is to superintend the rearing of horses,
and training them for military purposes. Two large tracts of land,
lying beyond the Great Wall, are appropriated for this purpose.
The national college, gives instruction in general language,
classics of Confucius, and mathematics ; in each department there
are separate teachers . The heads of this college are chosen from
among the ministers of the councils, two principals, and three pro
fessors, a Mantchoo, a Chinese, and a Mongol. The Russians and
Lewchewens are instructed in Chinese, Mantchoo, and Mongol
literature .
The Imperial Astronomical College is under the direction of several
ministers, and two principals, and four assistants, a Mantchoo, a
Chinese, and (formerly) two Europeans. Their chief labors consist
in preparing an annual almanac, and the selection of lucky days
and hours, for public acts, sacrifices, and interments. Geometry
and trigonometry, are partially attended to . The geographical
positions of places are determined by members of this college.
The Grand Medical Hall, is regulated by a president and two de
puties ; their duties consist in directing the cure of the nine
diseases . 1st, those affecting the pulse violently ; 2nd, those affect
ing it a little ; 3rd, diseases arising from cold ; 4th, female diseases ;
5th, cutaneous diseases ; 6th, those requiring bleeding ; 7th,
diseases of the eyes ; 8th, diseases of the mouth ; 9th, diseases of
the bones. In rotation the members attend on the Emperor and
household . No theoretical instruction is imparted, all knowledge
is acquired by practice. The members are divided into four grades.
The Nuy- woo-foo, is under an indefinite number of great minis
ters. All affairs, whether civil, financial, military, ritual, or penal ,
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF PEKING. 117
connected with the imperial household, are conducted by this board.
One member must be in attendance on any of the ladies of the
harem, when going from, or returning to the palace. The house
holds of all the married sons or daughters of the emperor, are
placed under the charge of this board. One of the subordinate
departments has a treasury and five depositories ; viz., of tea, gin
sing, skins, silks, and dresses ; these depositories supply the pre
sents given by the Emperor, and employ all artizans required for
the use of the palace ; the revenue from the imperial farms is
paid into this office . There is a weaving and dying establishment,
under one minister and eight deputies. The fourth subordinate
department selects the ladies for the harem, collects the revenues
arising from the 900 imperial farms occupied by Mantchoos of the
three banners .
The She-wei-choo, or Court of the body-guards. Six great minis
ters have the government of the body-guards and personal troops
of the three banners, all Mantchoos or Mongols, who are divided
into classes . Connected with this office are several classes of great
ministers, with great officers at their head . These are called the
inner great ministers ; the mixed assembly of great ministers have
no particular duties assigned them .
The tootungs of the eight banners, at the conquest of China, in
1644, (the invading force,) were composed of natives of Mongolia,
Mantchouria, and China, These were divided into eight corps,
each with separate coloured banners, and from that time have
formed the defence of the Mantchoo dominion. Three of those
banners are called superior, and five inferior. A small portion is
occasionally sent to the provinces, but the majority are always in
garrison, either in Peking or in Moukden . The Mantchoo and
Mongol race in these corps is rigorously maintained, but the Chinese
portions are permitted to retire and attend to other callings .
All the small military bodies in the capital are attached to the
eight banners ; 1st, the vanguard, picked from the Mantchoo and
Mongol troops, under eight commanders ; a body of infantry, or
armed police, under a commander and two lieutenant-generals ; a
body of artillery, under Mantchoo and Mongol commanders ; a
body of scalers, under the same command ; a troop of pioneers ;
do. of lancers ; do. of falconers ; wrestlers, and archers, complete
the local government of Peking.
A military power in China would destroy the civil authority ; a
lawless force would soon subdue a weak and corrupt government ;
hence the literary are placed above the military, although a stand
ing army has existed in China for centuries.
The land force of China, according to Timkowsky, consists of
four divisions, corresponding with the number of nations which
compose the Empire . The division consisting of Mantchoos holds
the first rank, and comprises 678 companies of 100 each € 67,800
men. The second is composed of Mongols, and is formed into
118 MILITARY FORCE OF CHINA .
211 companies, = 21,000 men. The third consists of 270 com
panies, 27,000 men. Thus the Mantchoo army forms a total
of 116,000 men : the greater part cavalry. The fourth division is
composed of Native Chinese annually recruited . It is called the
green flag, and numbers half a million of men ; besides 125,000
irregular troops or militia- total 625,000 men . The number of
men under the command of the Mantchoos amounts to 740,000
men. The Chinese troops are chiefly cantoned - 1st . In the
capital and its environs ; 2nd . Eastwards, near the Amour ; 3rd .
Westwards, on the banks of the Ele, the penal colony . It should,
however, be remarked that large numbers of the Chinese army
exist only on paper ; the names and descriptions of each soldier
are on the muster-roll, but when review-days arrive, neighbouring
peasants are collected for a few hours . The commander-in-chief,
however, draws monthly pay for the whole number on the muster
roll . The soldiers are all married ; their male children are en
tered on the muster-roll of the army ; there is no distinction of
dress except a jacket . The pay is four taels of silver per month .
The 4th division have land assigned them which they cultivate, as
they could not support themselves on the pay.
To read their books on military art and tactics, it might be sup
posed that their army was in some real state of efficiency, which
is not the case. The Kiau Ping Siu Chi, is a manual on the duties
of Chinese soldiers . The first section authorises the commissary
to provide trust- worthy (colones) camp-followers, who are to be
instructed in their duties, and to have a license granted them . All
carts, horses, or waggons, are to be considered public property. It
is the duty of the commanding officers to march in front, while the
commissaries are to keep in the rear, and bring up and chastise the
laggers . The soldiers are not to be exhausted with long marches,
but gentle treatment will beget respect and obedience .
When on march, the horse soldiers to go first, the foot soldiers
to follow, and the baggage in the rear. A map, and a statement
of the cities and camps, should be drawn up for the information
of all.
In the second section, instruction is given about the construc
tion of a bridge :-reeds, bundles of straw, and planks of wood are
generally to be met with, and from these a temporary raft may be
constructed . When necessity compels an army to encamp on hills
or in forests, great precaution is required that the enemy be not
posted in the recesses . For this purpose the light companies
should advance before and examine every hiding place . Great
caution is necessary in taking any information from the villagers,
as they may have been paid for leading the army in a wrong direc
tion. Every thing told should be sifted to the bottom, as much
may be won or lost by correct or incorrect intelligence.
The third section directs, that each company consisting of 100
men, is to march by its own encampment, and at night to dig a
MILITARY ART AND INSTRUCTIONS . 119
trench, and throw up a rampart . On the outside of the trench
stag-horns are to be planted. Each company is to collect a great
number of stones, and pile them up in heaps at some distance
from each other ; also to have blow- pipes, and fire-balls ready. All
the weapons should be within the immediate reach of each soldier,
who must not be allowed to take off his clothes at night. The men
should sleep upon their bow-cases . If the enemy approach, the
sentinel should twang his bow-string as a signal-loud talking
should be avoided . When a camp communicates with the habita
tions of the people, great caution will be necessary to guard against
excesses or injury to the property of others. A portion of soldiers
from the green flag, and also the black flag, are to act as consta
bles : these are expected to discover if any plots are being formed ,
so that the " bud may be cut off."
The fourth section refers to flags and drums, which are called the
(6 eyes and ears of the soldier, as each company musters under a
flag of a peculiar colour. Four strong men are selected to take
care of the standard, and to carry it in turn . When the drum
sounds aloud, the soldiers are to advance with all speed,. " though
fire and water should be before them."
The fifth section enjoins that the soldier shall carry his arms when
on march, and not trust them to camp-followers ; and that strict
attention be paid to the gun-powder. It is recommended that the
string which is used instead of a flint, should be well boiled to ex
tract the sap, as it is made of thin bark. The balls should be tried
before using, as it is necessary to have them fit properly.
The sixth section relates to the great care that should be given
to horses, to have them in good condition .
The seventh section requires that camp-followers should be
steady men.
In the eighth section, summits of hills are recommended as pro
per places for an encampment, so that a good view may be had of
the enemy. A spot well supplied with water and grass will avoid
the evils of hunger .
The ninth section states, that the distance between each encamp
ment should never exceed two miles .
The tenth advises, that groups of men, varying in number, should
be sent in different routes, towards the enemies' quarters . These
spies are to visit the enemy under the appearance of merchants, or
to offer their services, in order to pry out their secrets .
The eleventh section supposes that the enemy is in sight. Each
man is to stand at the distance of fourteen inches from his com
panion, and keep his rank. The cavalry is to be divided into two
brigades. When the enemy advances close, a vigorous fire should
be kept up. If the enemy's scouts are seen, it is evident that the
main-body is very near at hand . In this case bowmen, musketeers,
and horse, are to advance ; and after one discharge, to retreat slowly
-not at once, but at several periods . This movement is to be fol
120 MILITARY COLONIES ON FRONTIERS .
lowed by a discharge from the artillery. During the smoke the
spearmen are to be sent forth, and presently the bowmen . Should
this fail in vanquishing the enemy, recourse must be had to the
great guns.
The twelfth notices the different situations in which an enemy
may be posted . If it be on a hill, bold men should be chosen to
climb it ; if it be in a low situation, stones should be tumbled on
the heads of the enemy .
The thirteenth condemns the practice of selecting the bravest
men for the body- guard of an officer, as it is derogatory to the
dignity and bravery of the army.
The remaining five sections impress on all soldiers the duty
they owe their country ; and enjoin patience under the many
privations they may be subject to ; the rewards that will attend
victory ; and the eternal disgrace that is always attached to a de
feat. If a soldier has any moral crookedness in his nature, it is his
duty to make it straight ; this the commanding officer should im
press on the minds of his men, line upon line, precept upon
precept.
Military colonies exist in China, formed somewhat after the
manner of those of the Romans. The policy of the present go
vernment has been to keep a large number of military round its
frontiers, in order to free the public from the expenditure which
their maintenance rendered necessary ; the lands of the borderers,
or of conquered enemies, were, therefore, assigned to the soldiers
15 in perpetuity ; and thus an armed peasantry was created . From
a report from the commanding officer, it appears that the number
of Mantchoos thus placed towards the Mongolian frontier is very
much on the increase ; but that the quantity of land assigned is
not sufficient to rear produce for their own families. The cha
racteristics of the conquerers of China are laziness and improvi
dence. Too idle to work themselves, they buy Chinese as slaves,
or let out the land to Chinese, who, by hard labour, have obtained
possession of nearly the whole of the lands, which were allotted , in
the first instance, to the soldiers . To obviate this evil, and keep
the defenders of the Tartar government from hunger, the emperor
granted the request of the petitioners, and bestowed a larger tract
of land, and a more liberal allowance in money and cattle, upon
each of the families. Throughout all Mantchooria, and along the
extensive borders of Mongolia, and on every fertile spot, to the
confines of Bucharia, the Chinese have established themselves, in
defiance of severe laws and regulations to the contrary, and are in
possession of all the necessaries of life, whilst the natives of those
regions are steeped in poverty and wretchedness.
Government of Yarkand and its Dependencies . -The Chinese go
vernment has a military force at Yarkand of 7,000 men, composed
of Chinese and Mantchoos (to keep each other in check) ; go
verned by an officer, who is called Umbaun. This officer is the chief
ACTIVITY OF WAR DEPARTMENT. 121
political as well as military authority. The governor of Yarkand,
Abdul Rehman Beg Wang, is the nominal Usbeck ruler of the
country, but subordinate in every thing to the Chinese Umbaun.
No Tungani soldiers are enlisted, being Mussulmen, and the same
religion as the Usbecks. There is a capitation tax of one rupee
from each man per month, and a tenth of the produce of the land .
Custom duties were abolished a few years ago . There is a bad
feeling between the natives and the Chinese government, in con
sequence of the latter, of late years, walling in the towns by the
forced labour of the natives. The Chinese troops, in the different
towns on the frontiers, amount to from 20,000 to 30,000.
Since the recent contest with England, the War Department
has shewn symptoms of great activity. In the year 1842-43,
exertions were being made to erect forts, and repair others that
were dismantled during the war. Military stores, cannon,
muskets, &c. are largely purchased from the Americans and
others. According to the agreement entered into between the
English and Chinese, none of the fortified places within the river
should be re-armed , nor any additional preparations made. At the
time this engagement was entered into, Yishan, " the great barba
rian quelling general," in a memorial to his majesty, states, " as soon
as the ships of war depart, immediate steps shall be taken, begin
ning with the river in front of the city, all the way down to the
Bocca Tigris ; every important pass shall be blocked up, forts
erected, and guns mounted ; and thus commerce, which to
these foreigners is the very artery of life, can be immediately
stopped." Old forts above Whampoa have been re-armed, and
many new ones built, and guns placed in them ; the promise to
the emperor has been literally fulfilled. It is to be regretted
that the forts at Canton have been rebuilt ; once opened, the river
to Canton and Macao Passage, should have remained so . Now the
fortifications of the Bocca Tigris are as strong as those of the
Dardanelles ; and manned by European troops and artillery, with
the heights in the rear of each fort, well defended by towers, the
passage of the Canton river would be impracticable. Throughout
China preparations are making for another war, and some of the
mandarins boast they are now better prepared for hostilities .
THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT of China is different from the
government of Pekin : to illustrate this vast piece of machinery,
the following details of the structure are necessary :-The first
ranks are tsungtuh, (governor or governor- general) , and fooyuen,
(lieutenant-governor.) The first has the control of two or
more provinces, or of two or more high offices in the same
province. There is one tsungtuh over three provinces, or over
two provinces, who is at the same time fooyuen of one of the two,
and two over single provinces who exercise the functions both of
tsungtuh and fooyuen . The fooyuen has at all times the direction
of a whole province, either independently of, or in subordination
122 PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT. - MILITARY GOVERNMENT.
to a tsungtuh. There are twelve officers who are, and three
who are not, thus subordinate ; while in three provinces the duties
of the offices of fooyuen are performed by the tsungtuh. The
duties of the tsungtuh consist in the general control of all
affairs civil and military. The fooyuen has a similar control (except
where there is no tsungtuh, in an inferior degree) , and direction
of the administrative department of the civil government.
The Civil Government of the provinces is divided into five
departments, viz. commercial, literary, gabel, commissariat, and
administrative : the latter is subdivided into territorial, financial,
and judicial branches.
These subdivisions are governed by a pooching- sze, (regulating
1 government) and a nagancha-sze, (chief judge) , and a heoching,
(director of learning) . The commercial department officers
(keéntuh) are appointed by the board of revenue, and generally
sent from Peking to all seaport towns and large thoroughfares to
collect the revenue, they are subjeet to the governor or (fooyuen) ,
where there is no tsungtuh, but only in cases of doubt or
difficulty.
The Military Government has also the command of the naval
forces . There are sixteen commanders-in- chief ; (teetuh) twelve of
whom are confined to the military branch, but have the control of
the inland navigation ; two are military, with command over the
naval force ; and two are exclusively naval. In the province of
Kansech, there are two military commanders ; and in five other
provinces, the command of the military is held by the fooyuen .
In all considerable cities, there is a garrison of " Tartar troops,"
who are only subject to the control of the Emperor ; their duties
are confined to the city in times of peace ; they are commanded
by a general (tseang-keun) . The circumstance of being indepen
dent of the city authorities is proof that their special duty is to
prevent any outbreak arising from treasonable conspiracies that
might be formed by the provincial authorities . The governor of a
province being independent, does not prevent him occasionally
holding a council of all the chief officers to aid his judgment. The
order of precedence is tsungtuh, fooyuen, heoching, tseangkeum,
fetuh, keentuh, pooching-sze, nagancha-sze. The pooching - sze,
and the nagancha-sze although at the head of distinct portions
of the administrative department, are frequently united when any
matter of importance, such as financial, territorial, or criminal
cases, are to be decided . The next in authority are called taou
or taoutae, and are subordinate to the governor only ; their duty
is to take part in the protection and circuit supervision of por
tions of the province . This class has charge of the gabel and
commissariat departments, besides military powers. Their territo
rial authority extends to two or four departments, into which each
province is divided. (See Statistical Table.) Subordinate to these
officers, are the chefoo and chechaw, magistrates of district
departments, whose only duty is to know and record every circum
SUBORDINATE DEPARTMENTS . 123
stance that occurs within their department. Similar officers are
appointed over ting, chaw, and heen districts .
When territorial duties are onerous, assistants of various deno
minations are appointed, called tungche and tungpwan, their
duties are chiefly confined to the care of taxes, in both grain and
money, tea and salt revenue, attention to the military inspector,
the police, care of post stations, water ways, dykes, and to keep
the barbarians on the frontiers in subjection. The ting, chaw, and
heen districts have also their assistant magistrates .
When the Emperor issues a proclamation, it is first sent to the
governor, who has copies furnished to the next officer in rank ; and
so on, down to the assistant heen magistrate. In lodging appeals,
the same course is followed, only they are first entered with the
assistant magistrate, and march upwards .
The Literary Department of each proviuce is under the direc
tion of an officer, who is selected from the Hanlin College, in
Peking, by the emperor, and is called, (heaching) director of learn
ing. This director appoints teachers, and denominates them as fol
lows : The chief teacher of a department, is called , giver of instruc
tions ; of a chaw-district , corrector of learning ; of a heen district,
teacher of the commands. Subordinate to them are numerous
teachers called guides and admonishers . There is an annual exami
nation in each department of the province, which is presided over
by the director of learning, who is invested with the power of
conferring the first degree. At the triennial examinations, two
officers are sent from Peking, to examine the students, and confer
the second degree .
The Gabel Department is under the direction of a number of
commissioners, whose duty is to protect the government monopoly
in salt they are called, yenching, and rank with the heads of the
civil department of the government.
The Commissariat Department is conducted by twelve commission
ers, whose only duty is collecting grain, and conveying it to Peking.
In six provinces those duties are performed by the pooching- sze.
The Commercial Department duties are strictly confined to mari
time customs, and the prevention of smuggling. The hoppo, at
Canton, is superintendent under this department of government.
Subordinate Officers in the province. From the magistrates of
districts upwards, every civil appointment has to be confirmed by
the emperor. In the province of Kwangtung, (Canton) , there are
seventy magistrates of districts, and a proportionate number in all
the other provinces ; their superiors are called prefects, also assistant
prefects, also circuit commissioners, who have each three prefects
under them. Throughout China the duties of magistrate and col
lector are united ; hence there are frequent changes and removals,
all of which appear in the Peking Gazette from time to time. One
magistrate is recalled to Peking, being unfit to perform his duties
from ill health ; another is required to resign the duties of admi
›
1
124 MARKS OF OFFICIAL RANK .
nistration for those of literary tuition, the emperor having been
informed of his abilities in that department of the government.
One officer who failed in restoring property that was stolen is
ultimately reinstated, as the property has been recovered. In the
Gazette may be seen a magistrate restored to his office for bring
ing his son to justice for some misdemeanour, which was the cause
of his father being degraded. Petty cases are frequently brought
before the emperor, at Pekin, as he claims his ancient feudal
authority in the capital. His Majesty has frequently expressed
his abhorrence of the system, which has lately sprung up of
employing a low set of plundering lawyers, none of which his
Majesty will permit in his manorial court . Appeals from the
provinces are numerous, against the tyranny of mandarins and the
rich, who oppress and plunder the people with impunity.
The arrangement in China of all official persons and employers
is into nine ranks , or orders, each distinguished by a particular
ball of stone, glass, or metal, on the top of the cap . The nine
are subdivided into two classes , principals and secondaries, but
without any alteration in the distinguishing balls or knobs.
For the 1st rank red precious stone .
"" 2 "" red coral.
در 3 درblue precious stone.
در 4 درdark blue or purple stone.
39 5 درchrystal.
در 6 "" white or jade stone.
,ر 7 ""
در 8 "" a ball of worked gold .
رد 9 ""
Officers who have not entered the course of the nine ranks wear
the same dress as those of the ninth rank.
The Chinese mandarins of the literary rank are distinguished
by a silk dress, on which is embroidered the figure of a bird .
The military officers wear similar dresses on days of ceremony ;
but instead of a bird, have the form of a beast, such as a lion, tiger,
leopard, &c . to inspire courage.
The privileged classes in China are :-1 . the privilege of imperial
blood and connexions ; 2. ditto of long service ; 3. ditto of illus
trious actions ; 4. ditto of extraordinary wisdom ; 5. ditto of great
abilities ; 6. ditto of zeal and assiduity ; 7. ditto of nobility ;
8. ditto of birth.
The preservation of certain names, and the avoidance of any in
termixture of Chinese with Tartar words, indicates the anxiety to
keep the latter distinct. This is shewn in the Peking Gazette of
November, 1814 :
" The following imperial edict has been respectfully received .
' In consequence of some of the imperial family taking the names of
OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS. 125
Ho-Kwan-pooeo and Tsing-Yung-toe, I send down an order re
quiring them to be changed. Yesterday, Yung-see, my royal cousin,
stated verbally, that a great many of the imperial kingdom had
taken names containing three characters, and which did not form
a Tartar word. He requested that all such should be ordered to
change their names. His request is by no means proper. Those
under the Tartar banner, adopting a Chinese name, are not per
mitted to take three characters. The sons of the eight banners
take Tartar names, in which three or four characters are used ; and
from a change in the termination of a word, they do not well agree
with the Tartar language. If they be ordered to change, it will
cause confusion, and be unsuitable to the dignity of government .
It is ordered, that in all these cases, they act as heretofore.
Respect this." "
The Chinese, or rather the Tartar, government of China , pub
lishes a work in forty -eight volumes , which is the official record of
the proceedings and duties of the rulers in their several depart
ments :
Vol. I. is on the office of the imperial kindred , and on the ma
nagement of this department. The Tartar policy is to keep the
majority of the numerous imperial progeny in a very low condition,
as the imperial design is to retain the princes on a level with the
people. Many of them receive but three taels (£ 1 3s .) a month,
so that several work as servants . An accurate register of the
births, marriages, and deaths, in the imperial family, is carefully
kept.
Vol. II. is on the Nui-ko, or Cabinet, which consists of six ;
generally old men, who have raised themselves to the highest seat
in the empire ; their duty is to assist the emperor in the govern
ment of the empire, to circulate his edicts, and attend at sacrifices.
Vol. III . is on the Kiun Ki-chu, or Privy Council. This is the
most powerful body in the kingdom : the members are chosen by
the emperor himself. They meet from three to five each day, and
any thing that requires despatch or energy , is done by them : they
appoint and remove the residents at Tibet, Turkestan, &c.; and
they supply these colonies . They select presents for tribute
bearers, and translate public documents into and from any foreign
languages, & c .
Vol . IV. is on the Li Pú, or Board of Civil Office, whose duty
is to assist His Majesty in all arrangements concerning the rank,
examination , promotion, or degradation of officers ; the rank and
titles of the nobility, rewards , &c. They have at their disposal
(subject to the approval of the emperor) the patronage of 1,934
offices, from the governor of a province, down to the district magis
trate, with a great number of inferior civilians .
Vol. V. is on the Board of Public Instruction . The number of
functionaries under this board are 12,996 of all grades ; of these
3,931 are teachers entrusted with the examinations. In the grain
126 DUTIES OF DEPARTMENTS .
department there is one governor, and twelve inspectors . In the
salt office, eight superintendents, five assistants, thirteen inspec
tors, and other minor officers . There are in the board of inland
navigation, three governors, fourteen managers, thirty-four de
puties, and some other officers, who bear military rank, who have
the duty of preserving the dykes, and the protection of navigation
on their rivers .
Vol. VI. expatiates on the mode of choice, and on the various
ways of promoting officers, &c .
Vol. VII. is on the Hu Pu , or Board of Revenue, which is
charged with the finances, payment of salaries, and the manage
ment of the granaries. It also contains the situation of the various
districts of the empire, and a vocabulary of the principal rivers
and mountains.
Vol. VIII. contains the Censuses, and degrees of latitude and
longitude of the several provinces, as calculated by the Jesuits.
Vol. IX. is on the expenditure of the state ; and is arranged
under twelve heads :-for sacrifices ; popular festivals ; allowance for
officers ; for their servants ; the examinations ; soldiers' batta ;
stipends of couriers ; inland navigation ; sundries ; manufactures ;
and salaries .
Vol. X. The details of the income and expenditure in some
branches ; the mines and the mint.
Vol. XI. The build of boats ; the transit of grain; and excise
duty on merchandise.
Vol . XII. is on the settling of disputes as to the pay of the
soldiers of the eight Mantchoo banners, and other soldiers ; on the
supply of the commissariat with money and food ; and how to watch
and overhaul the treasury and granaries, for fear of roguery.
Vol. XIII . expatiates on the Li Pu, or Board of Rites, and is
one of the strong-holds of the despotic government ; it illustrates
the hold of etiquette on the people.
Vol. XIV. dilates on the robes of state, worn at the court cere
monies, to be observed between the different officers of state when
they visit each other.
Vol. XV. gives an account of all their schools and colleges, and
how the examinations are carried on.
Vol. XVI . gives a detailed account of the literary examinations,
and on the duties of candidates for office . It also treats on the
seals of the various departments, as used under the board of rites.
Vol. XVII . gives a minute account of their temples and altars ;
of the various deities and saints worshipped by government, and
the ceremonies in the temples .
Vol. XVIII . is a manual of the harem ; it regulates the dress
and etiquette to be observed by ladies of the court.
Vol. XIX. is on the presents to be given to tribute-bearers ; an
account of those kingdoms that paid tribute to China ; on the
generosity that should be shown to tribute-bearers that come a
DETAILS OF SERVICE . 127
long distance ; on sacrifices to the gods of those nations ; and a de
scription of imperial banquets to the living and the dead.
Vol. XX . is entirely on music, and the names of the airs to be
played on certain occasions.
Vol. XXI. is on the Ping-pu, or Board of War ; and gives the
number of all officers and garrisons in the empire, and their reviews .
Vol. XXII . is a continuation of the former ; gives an account of
the navy, the transport service, and the Tartar garrisons in the
provinces. ?
Vol . XXIII . details the ranks of military officers, which are
eighteen .
Vol. XXIV. is on martial law, which is very severe ; treats of
the nobility that is open to the brave, and to the protection of the
children of those who die on the field of battle.
Vol. XXV . is on the cavalry and posts ; as the foot- soldiers are
considered an armed police, so the cavalry are mere couriers to
carry despatches.
Vol. XXVI. gives an account of van, rear, and centre of the
army ; its battallions and companies .
Vol. XXVII. is on the Hing- Pu, or Board of Punishments ; it
details the several modes of punishment, according to the ancient
laws : subdivides the existing codes ; reduces all the statutes it
contains to matters concerning the six boards .
Vol . XXVIII . dilates largely on prisons ; the commutation of
punishments ; assizes ; and an outline of the seventeen principal
courts, with other matters .
Vol . XXIX . is on the Kung- Pu, or Board of Public Works . The
imperial tombs rank first, and next to them the dykes and inland
nigation ; it likewise gives a full description of the imperial city.
Vol. XXX. enforces the manufacture of arms and gunpower ;
the selection of pearls for the use of the Emperor ; the public
works along the rivers and canals .
Vol. XXXI . gives an ample description of the tombs of the em
perors and other persons ; the granaries, the mint, the powder
manufacture, &c.; and points out the places they are to be found.
Vol . XXXII . is on the Lifan Yuen, or Colonial Office, which is
managed entirely by Mongols . It regulates the emoluments of
the nobility, appoints the audiences of the chiefs, and revises their
punishments.
Vol . XXXIII . is on Outer Mongolia, and contains the names of
the different hordes and their chiefs, from the lowest to the ruling
khans. It has a short account of the trade with Russia, and
enumerates the post establishments .
Vol. XXXIV . gives a more minute description of the Mongol
princes : the tribute they pay ; their relationship ; the presents
they receive ; and an account of the nobility, revenue, and situation
of Turkestan .
Vol. XXXV . speaks of the Censorate and its various functions ;
128 ALLOWANCES OF THE EMPEROR,
of the Court of Requests, through which all important papers pass ;
of the Taleshi, or court for revising the judgement of other boards
and re-examining sentences for capital crimes .
Vol. XXXVI . On the imperial stud, and the display of the
Tartars when denizens of the wilderness .
Vol . XXXVII . gives an account of the eating establishment,
and the sacrifices known as the Kwangluh -shi ; and an account of
the annual ceremonial of ploughing in the fields, and the ex-
aminations in the palace .
Vol. XXXVIII . contains an account of the national school, in
which the sons of meritorious officers are supported ; and on the
Kin Tien Kin, or Astronomical Board, which is to foretel coming
events, lucky hours, and national calender.
Vol. XXXIX. is a treatise on Chinese astronomy.
Vol. XL . is on the business of astronomers , end on the medical
college and its various functions.
Vol. XLI . is on the imperial body-guard, and the service they
perform .
Vol. XLII. gives an account of the eight standards of the powers
of the Mantchoos , and their domestic arrangements at births, mar
riages, and deaths.
Vol. XLIII . details their duties and reviews, and their duties
when on active service, &c.
Vol. XLIV. is on artillery, mortars, batteries, &c.
Vol. XLV. is an inventory of the things in the treasury.
Vol. XLVI. is on the marriages of the emperor and princesses ;
and on the duties they ought to perform.
Vol. XLVII . is on the administering of punishment.
Vol XLVIII. enumerates all the pleasure gardens in and around
Peking, and their uses ; and an account of their eating establish
ments . There ought to be placed before the emperor every day
twenty-two catties of meat in a basin ; five catties boiled in soup ; of
hogslard one catty ; two sheep, two fowls, and two ducks ; the
milk of sixty cows ; one catty of butter ; and seventy-five parcels of
tea. The empress is allowed about one-half of the above quantity.
The other ladies and maids receive in proportion to their rank.
Lamas are appointed to read prayers, they being the chaplains of
the court.
The number of mandarins dispersed throughout China is said
to amount to 13,647 . The military mandarins are 18,500, together
with 2,400 at court, where every province has its mandarin, who
stands in the nature of its protector and solicitor- general .
Employments are divided among the mandarins in the following
manner :—when a candidate has gained two or three degrees of
literature, his name is placed on the register of the tribunal Li pu,
which office distributes the vacant offices according to the rank and
merit of the literati, who, when qualified, repair to court for that
purpose ; but they are seldom raised to be governors of cities of
OFFICIALS AND THEIR SALARIES . 129
the second and third rank at first. As soon as four vacancies
occur, the Emperor is acquainted with the circumstance, and then
the four first candidates on the register are called , and the names
of the vacant cities are written on tickets, and put in a box placed
so high as just to be within reach ofthe candidates, who are on their
knees ; each obtains the city which falls to his lot .
The number, rank, and salaries of high officers in China are said
to be as follows :
Salarics.
Rank. Number. In Ounces Total.
of Silver.
Viceroys over one or more 11 . 20,000 220,000
provinces :}
Governors of provinces 15 16,000 240,000
Collectors of revenue . 19 9,000 171,000
Presidents of criminal tri-
18 6,000 108,000
bunals
Governors of more than one
86 . 3,000 258,000
city ofthe first order . } 86
Ditto only of one city 184 2,000 368,000
Ditto of the second order 149 1,000 149,000
Ditto of the third order . 1,305 800 • 1,044,000
Presidents of literature 17
3,000 • 402,000
Inspectors general 117}
Total ounces 2,960,000
Fees and bribes are so universal, that the actual receipts of each
official are unknown.
All superior officers in the provinces of China must appear at
court every three years. A memorial from the governors of Yunnan
province, which is several thousand miles from Peking, complained
of the expense, and the long and fatiguing journey, besides the
loss of their services . The memorialists state that their pay will
not admit of military officers doing so, and the consequence is, that
they will resort to corrupt practices, in order to supply the neces
sary expenses. This triennial journey is ordered to prevent officers
obtaining too much influence in the province, and they are gene
rally shifted when they visit Peking . The code contains a
prohibition against officers of government holding employment in
their native province, or to marry or hold landed property in the
district under their control. The present Emperor in 1833
revived an old edict, requiring all officers to direct their communi
cations to himself, and not under cover ; as he states it is likely to
lead to dangerous and corrupt combinations. The late Emperor in
the year 1818 prohibited all magistrates from holding familiar
intercourse with county gentlemen, unless they held some official
station .
K
130 PRECARIOUS TENURE OF OFFICE .
The fixed salary of the governor of a province is said to be
15,000 taels , (about 8d. each tael) per annum, with a house, & c. ,
the emoluments are calculated at ten times that sum. The Hoppo
has 2800 taels . The households of these officials are very numer
ous, amounting frequently to 150 domestics, all of whom arc
Mantchoo Tartars . From the acknowledgements which are fre
quently met with in the Peking Gazette, of money remitted to
Peking, from the Hoppo of Canton, it is supposed to be sent for a
renewal of his office . One Hoppo (Chung) had got into arrear
when in office in Keangnan, to the amount of 217,000 taels . The
first year he was in office in Canton, he remitted to Peking on
account of his former deficiency 50,000 taels, the second year
45,000 taels . This office was worth from 250,000 to 300,000
taels per annum , a large portion of which is sent to the emperor
as a gift. His household numbered over 200 persons. Governors
and Foyuens when installed into office, have also conferred on them
an honorary title, Foocha, (censor) by virtue of which office they are
expected to confess their faults, and strange as it may appear,
instances are met with in the Peking Gazette ; but the crimes are so
trivial, that it is evident they are sent in to deceive the Emperor ,
and divert him from examining into some grave malversation that
is probably going on at the time.
The last section of the fifth book, on criminal law, enacts that
all military officers of government are prohibited from receiving
gold, silver, silk stuffs, clothes, ornaments, or board wages, from
individuals related to the royal family, in any of the three principal
ranks of hereditary nobility. For the first offence, degradation
and banishment are awarded .
As an act of fealty, every civil and military officer in China, who
receives an appointment, or surrenders one which he held for the
stipulated period , viz . three years, must repair to the capital, and
attend a sacrifice, in company with other officers, who must certify
that he there professed himself a dutiful adherent of the Confucian
doctrine . A hog is usually sacrificed, as the most useful animal.
{ The precarious tenure of office, and the vicissitudes ofpublic func
tionaries, are very great . Keshen , whose name must be familiar to
Europeans, was governor- general of Keangnan and Keang- se, the
highest provincial appointment . He then became assistant minis
ter in the cabinet and government of Chih-li province, in which
capacity he ruled the court, and more or less the whole empire.
He was too well acquainted with the Mandarins to let them escape,
and therefore had from time to time denounced some hundreds of
them for their misdeeds. The Emperor did nothing important
without asking his opinion . This enviable station, as well as his
censorious character, procured him many enemies. It was in this
situation the English expedition found him. He was most desirous
to be the " pacificator," as were also his antagonists, though from
far different motives, and thus the over-prudent statesman fell into
COMMISSIONER KESHEN . 131
the snare which his enemies had laid for him. For not having been
able to exterminate the rebellious barbarians, he was sent in chains
to Peking, and his truly enormous fortune was confiscated, and
sentence of death followed immediately. The Emperor had not
lost all regard for his old favourite, and did not sign the warrant for
his execution . When Ning- po had been captured, and everything
he had foretold had been fulfilled, he was released from the dungeon,
and sent to Hang-choo to conclude the best convention that was
possible, but without rank or power for effecting such a purpose.
On his arrival at the city, he was sent back by the governor, who
stated he would not admit aww traitor. On his return to Pekin he
was unnoticed, and in want of the common necessaries of life.
When peace was concluded, the Emperor gave him a colonial apG
pointment, but was overruled by his enemies ; however, he took him
into the palace as his personal servant. He is now viceroy of Tibet,
and accumulating another fortune.
The servile dependence upon each other, in which all the govern
ment officers are placed, has produced the contrary effect to what
was intended ; in fact, it acts as a bond of union between them not
to betray each others' malversation, and encourages the utmost
artifice and ingenuity in a system of universal fraud and peculation.
The inviolable etiquette of the Chinese court affords great facility
to those who wish to blind the Emperor, and contributes to
strengthen this system of universal corruption . As no representa
tion can reach the throne except through the appointed channels,
and as these channels are only open to whoever pays the highest
price, it is obvious whose complaints will be attended to. De
Guignes, who was an apologist for the Chinese in many points,
states that a viceroy at Canton would admit no suitor who could
not pay a sum equal to £4500 .
It may be asked why the government, laws, and false philosophy
of the Chinese have been extolled by some European writers ? This
must proceed from their admiration of the benevolent doctrine of
Confucius, who exhorts his sovereign to consider and govern his
people as his own family.
This principle is only applicable in the infancy of society, where
the limits within which the chief acts , enable him to see everything
with his own eyes ; the feeling of personal relationship is a bond
of union between the governor and governed, and the dread of
competitors operates as a check upon his actions .
The want of this check is severely felt in China, particularly du
ring the last Emperor's reign, when there was nothing but commo
tion within and without, invasion, confiscation , cruelty, and
tyranny ; the censors who performed their duty were handed over
to the executioner.
The Chinese system of governing the people as a family, has been
rightly viewed as a beautiful theory, but quite impracticable ; for
as the sovereign is unable to see all his children, he must employ
K2
132 SQUEEZING THE OFFICIAL SPUNGE .
deputies . These imperial deputies are sent all over the empire on
special business . When these deputies arrive in a province
they take precedence over the governors . The Mandarins give
attendance to these envoys and make them large presents,
which their salaries would not enable them to do, and hence cor
ruption and extortion are practised by all .
The orders of the Emperor become null, and the recripocal vigi
lance of the Mandarins, is converted into a mutual league to
secure themselves from inquiry . Occasionally, cases of tyranny
are exposed, and the governors or Mandarins suspended for a
short time, all their property confiscated, and them sent to a
strange province to replenish their empty coffers . The learned
M. de Guignes who resided many years in Peking, thus illustrates
the system " The Emperor of China, makes use of his grandees
as sponges to suck up the wealth of his subjects ; when the
sponge is full he squeezes it, and sends it elsewhere to be filled
""
anew .
Whatever may have been the former state of Chinese morals,
there is at the present day an acknowledged total absence of
public virtue. Europeans lay great stress on the courtesy and
politeness of the Chinese, which is considered allied to virtue in
the western world . With the Mandarins those virtues are all
assumed, and are the weapons with which they attack and
defend their diplomacy ; when European embassies have visited
Pekin, and their houses and doors were double guarded, this was
represented as a guard of honour. That their politeness gives
place entirely to insolence and selfishness, was abundantly proved
by their false misrepresentations to our ambassadors . The bar
barous treatment received by the Roman Catholic missionaries, who
imported to them a knowledge of various sciences, is well known .
No language can describe the indignities offered to Mezzabarba ,
(in 1721 ) the Pope's legate, by Lee-pung-shung the great Man
darin . De Lang, the Russian resident minister, received such
treatment, that he very soon applied for permission to retire. Mr.
Thoin, Mr. Lay, Mr. Medhurst, Dr. Gutzlaff, and all conversant
with the Chinese character, concur in stating that the meanness,
cunning, and rapacity of the Chinese officials are alone equalled by
their cowardice and sensuality.
The Confucian philosophy may well be tested by the effect it
has produced on the character of all the great officers, both mili
tary and civil, who as a matter of necessity must have profoundly
studied its works . As to virtue, public or private, in a Mandarin ,
it may be sought for in vain . However writers and visitors to
China differ in their descriptions of the country, all agree on one
point, viz. : that the Mandarins are mean , corrupt, unjust, insin
cere, proud, and assuming. These are the sages of China ; and
when it is recollected the class they generally come from, it is not
CORRUPTION OF PUBLIC FUNCTIONARIES . 133
to be wondered that their parents have probably inflicted on them
sexual mutilation, to give them a chance of promotion .
There were upwards of 6,000 eunuchs at Peking at the period of
the conquest. The present dynasty is said to have greatly reduced
the number, and driven them from the palace ; but it is to be
feared that sensuality is returned to the court, as there has been
an increase in the number of these unhappy creatures.
The corruption of the Chinese functionaries may be estimated
from two instances : Keshen and Hokwan . Keshan, formerly a
member of the Peking cabinet, was deputed, in 1840, as plenipo
tentiary to settle affairs with the western barbarians ; for not doing
so, he was degraded, his property confiscated, and he was sent in
chains to Peking, there to undergo a lingering death, and his body
to be cut in small pieces to serve as food for the vultures . He was
then forty-five years of age, and his property was at first estimated
at £ 8,000,000 sterling, but was subsequently found to be much
greater. Among the property seized and delivered over to the im
perial treasury for the special use of his majesty, were 682 catties of
gold ; 17,940,000 taels of silver, and eleven boxes of jewels . On a
second search, a vast quantity of gold, silver, and other property
was found, including 2,561,217 Chinese acres of land, and shares
in pawnshops, banks, saltworks, & c . His wives and concubines
were then sold by auction, and produced a large sum. Keshen's
life was subsequently spared, and he is now again as before ob
served amassing a large fortune as governor of Tibet.
Hokwan, Hoquen, or Ho - chung, the once illustrious statesman
of China, was a Tartar of obscure birth, and raised himself from
the inferior station of guard of one of the palace gates . His
manners were pleasing, and his understanding penetrating and
acute . His son was married to the emperor's daughter. This
circumstance alarmed both the imperial family and the loyal sub
jects. He had great control over the aged Emperor, and his well
known dislike to foreigners was proved in the failure of Lord
Macartney's embassy, which was clearly traceable to his extraordi
nary influence.
One officer, who displayed more loyalty than wisdom , addressed a
petition to the emperor, praying him to declare his successor to the
throne during his lifetime. The memorialist was instantly sen
tenced to death by the criminal tribunal, whose president was the
creature of Hokwan . Apprehensions were generally entertained
that, on the death of the emperor, he would attempt an open re
volt ; with a view of frustrating this intention, the young emperor,
Keaking, appointed him to the honourable office of superintendent
over the rites of mourning, on his father's decease ; this duty con
fined the minister to the palace, and made his arrest less dangerous,
as every one in power was indebted to him for their authority .
In the fourth year of his reign, A.D. 1799, and when the days of
134 HOKWAN'S CONFISCATED PROPERTY .
mourning had ceased, the new Emperor made known his long pre
meditated designs, by seizing Hokwan, and divesting him of rank
and employment. The following are the charges preferred by his
imperial accuser : " That being summoned by our royal father to the
palace, he rode on horseback through the left gate ; that the young
females brought up for the service of the palace he took to himself
as concubines ; that during the late rebellion in the provinces,
Hokwan was receiving reports from the troops, and did not com
municate the result to our royal father, although bereft of sleep
from anxiety ; that his own kindred were intrusted with high
offices for the duties of which they were incompetent ; that in the
late confiscation (which was previous to any trial or charge) of his
property, many of the apartments were found built of the imperial
wood (nanmoo), and gardens were constructed in the style of the
imperial palace ; that among his treasures, upwards of 200 strings
of pearls were found, many times exceeding in value those in our
possession ; various gems and buttons were found, such as he should
not wear." All these charges were proved, and acknowledged by
his own confession ; and the sentence was, that he should receive
a slow and painful death ." But, in consideration of his once ex-
alted rank, (through imperial favour,) he was permitted to become
his own executioner. The estimated value of his bullion was
about £23,000,000 sterling. Sir G. Staunton says, that " besides
lands, houses, and other immoveable property, to an amazing
amount, not less than 80,000,000 Chinese ounces of silver, about
£23,330,000 sterling value in bullion and gems were found in his
treasury." The gold found deposited in the walls of his house,
amounted to 4,800 pounds weight.
All officers of government, from the first to the ninth rank,
must have literary or military qualifications ; but clerks and atten
dants are classed the same as the community generally. The
ninth rank includes village magistrates, jailers , inferior treasurers,
&c. The large (foo) cities, and (heen ) districts (see statistical table) ,
have from 100 to 1,000 unpaid police.
The 48th section of the penal code gives the sole appointments
and removals of all military or civil officers to the Emperor. Any
violation of this section is punished with death. A memorial from
a censor, which lately appeared in the Peking Gazette, requests
the Emperor to put a stop to several glaring abuses, such as magis
-
trates quitting their districts to look for promotion, while the col
lection of the revenue is left to underlings who fleece the people.
A second abuse is, that governors appoint magistrates to be their
secretaries, and thus obtain their services without payment, and
afterwards recommend them to the Emperor for higher employment.
Another abuse complained of is, that governors take into their
employment the most worthless characters, and raise them to
respectable stations. The censors' reports fully illustrate the
theory and practice of the Chinese government . Concerning the
MAGISTERIAL BRIBERY . 135
state of the province of Chih-li, in the suburbs of Peking, the cen
sors report, that " the magistrates, without fear or shame, connive
at daring robberies ; that horse- stealers bring their plunder for
sale to the fairs and markets ; that in a village adjoining the im
perial palace are many thieves, who are joined by a number of
Mohammedans, who go out in bands of thirty and forty to plunder ;
when some of them are taken,. the magistrates order them a few
blows and imprisonment, from which they are allowed to escape.
We beg that your majesty will make a selection of honest, decided
men, who will not favour or screen this banditti in future." In
the subsequent year, the government of Peking removed upwards
of 20,000 underlings from various employments, charged with ex
tortion and cruelty, from the province of Chih- li alone.
The governor of the Chih -li province points out to the emperor
that the evil arises from not paying the police a reasonable salary ;
and asks for a loan of 100,000 taels from the public funds ; one
half to be placed out at compound interest in merchants' hands
until it has increased to the original sum, when it shall be returned
to the treasury ; the other half to be applied to the payment of the
police.
A censor, who was also a superintendent of grain in the province
of Shen-se, reported , in 1830, that it is a common occurrence to see
a corpse floating in the river ; on asking the people why they did
not inform the magistrates, they answer, that in case the magis
trate is told, he compels the owner of the ground where a corpse is
found to purchase a coffin at his own expense ; and his clerks
and attendants take advantage of this circumstance to extort
money by threatening him with a prosecution for being concerned
in the death .
The censor goes on to say, " I hear that during the fourth and
fifth moons, when the heavy rains fall, that many people are
drowned ; particularly when the grain vessels arrive, there is a great
concourse of people assembled, the number of sailors, pedlars, &c.,
that are drowned is incalculable, and the magistrates seem to take no
notice ofthe affair. It is, therefore, my duty to request that your
majesty will command the governor of Chih -li province, and the
military officers of the district of Shunteen, to give strict orders to
the police that when they meet with a dead body, they should exa
mine into the cause of death, and give information : also to prohibit
magistrates, clerks, and police, from extorting money under false
pretences ; and to order coffins to be purchased at the public ex
pense."
Dr. Gutzlaff officially reported, recently, that " honesty of pur
pose is a quality so rare in China, that the possessor of it is looked
upon as an extraordinary character." During the war, in 1840-1 ,
the most egregiously false reports were made of our utter defeat
and destruction, by the provincial authorities to the government
at Peking in fact, according to the annals of the East India Com
136 MAGISTERIAL BRIBERY .
pany at Canton, " duplicity and corruption have been manifested
for two hundred years." The Select Committee of the East India
Company at Canton, frequently refer in their records to the “ gross
misrepresentations and impositions practised by local authorities
on the Emperor and his ministers at court." This is corroborated
in various ways ; and it is confidently stated that the imperial
government have, even to the present day, not been made fully
acquainted with the origin and proceedings of the late war ; con
sequently, the arrival of our fleet in the Yang-tsze-kang produced
the greatest consternation at Peking. An instance of this systema
tic falsehood and corruption is thus given in the " Hong Kong
Register," of May 6th, 1845 ; of the authenticity of which there is
no doubt :- " When Canton was ransomed, and the money for
that purpose drawn from the provincial treasury, a report was
made to the emperor that it was a debt due to the foreigners by
the Hong merchants, who were unable to pay it ; and these latter
were induced to sign a document to that effect, on the assurance
being given them that it should not be used against them. How-
ever, after the affair was terminated, various attempts were made
to extort the amount from them, but without success. Headed by
Howqua's eldest son, who has taken a literary degree, and who
threatened to lay the matter before the Emperor, they refused to
pay more than 2,000,000 dollars, which they admitted to be due
by the merchants to the Emperor. The local authorities have, at
last, agreed to accept this amount ; and thus has terminated an
affair which has been a source of great uneasiness to the Hong
merchants, and was considered sufficiently important to the foreign
trade, to induce Mr. Cushing, the American plenipotentiary, to
address Keying on the subject .
" The following is the amount paid by each Hong merchant :
Howqua, 550,000 taels ; Poonkeequa, 200,000 taels ; Samqua,
200,000 taels ; Gowqua, 200,000 taels ; Kingqua, 60,000 dollars ;
Poonhoyqua, 60,000 dollars ; Mowqua, 50,000 dollars ; Footae,
50,000 dollars ; Mingqua, 50,000 dollars ; and Sowqua, 50,000
dollars . One-third to be paid in four months, and the remainder
in ten annual instalments ."
The majority of the people of Canton have been induced to be
lieve that the English paid a large sum of money to be allowed to
retire unmolested from before the walls of Canton . A few extracts
from the East India Company's records will illustrate the proceed
ings and policy of the Chinese government.
The Select Committee of the East India Company at Canton, re
corded in 1831 , their deliberate opinion that the history of China
shows " numerous instances of even acts of undue violence, meeting
with respectful treatment in return from the government, while
persons living in obedience to its laws were suffering from severe
and unmerited oppression ;" and in 1807, the Select Committee re
TARTAR POLICY TO EUROPEANS . 137
marked that " the weakness and corruption of the Chinese govern
در
ment proved a counterpoise to its pride and arrogance .
In 1830, the Select Committee stated the " Chinese government
evince a malignant temper in the publication of several insulting
and opprobrious edicts, promulgated with the evident intention of
(
degrading the character of foreigners amongst the lower order of
the natives, and calculated in a high degree to aggravate the feel
ings of the former, and excite the disposition of the latter to offen
sive acts ."" The whole British community in Canton protested
against the indignities heaped upon them by the Chinese govern
ment.
Again, they record that the English there " are daily in contact
with the lowest of the Chinese, and exposed to assaults so wanton
and often so barbarous, as well as to robberies so extensive, that
self-defence imposes upon them the necessity of attacking their
assailants in a manner from whence death must often ensue .در
In another place the Select Committee says, " The contempt of
foreigners, engendered and fostered by the abusive terms in which
they are spoken of by the officers ofgovernment, the want of police
regulations, and the defenceless state in which we are placed, leave
us exposed to assaults of all descriptions ."
This passage might have been written at the present moment,
Nov. 1846 ; for it depicts the condition of the British and other
foreign residents at Canton, even under the provisions ofthe treaty
of Nankin and its equally unfortunate supplement.
Dr. Gutzlaff in his official report, says " China is faithless as a !
nation, and its government is based on expediency." Mr. Thorm,
our consul at Canton, and an excellent Chinese scholar, says, " the
Chinese are devoid of truth and morals, and the officials without
honesty or priuciple ." Mr. Lay, consul at Amoy, and a Chinese
scholar, uses still stronger language on the subject. He says, " the
Tartar government, from the highest to the lowest, are liars and ex
tortioners, possessed of witty cunning and ingenious malice ; proud
and insolent ;" (page 3, of published work) . More recently, viz. :
at Amoy, in June, 1845 , Mr. Lay declared that the " rulers of
China are the greatest villains on the face of the earth, —there was
not one to be trusted ." Mr. Lay's sentiments of the people gene
rally, particularly those of the north provinces, were favourable.
Everywhere in China I heard the same opinions from those conver
sant with the character and language of the Tartars and Chinese ;
and that the government only considered treaties to be binding so
long as it was expedient to uphold them.
The following code or abstract of instructions , from the govern-
ment of China to their licensed merchants at Kiackta, displays great
cunning, duplicity, and meanness.
" The end and aim of every commercial nation, should be to pre
vent the advantage being on the side of the foreigners :
138 TARTAR INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGNERS .
" 1st . To do this effectually, all letters received by any one of the
licensed merchants, from their partners, are only to be opened in a
public assembly, so that all may act in concert against the fo
reigners .
" 2nd. Discover what articles the Russians are most in need of,
and what price these sell for in Russia. Every member is to strive
with all his might, to obtain information on this head, and lay it
before a general meeting ; when the president will give to each a
note, which will state the quantity of each article he is to purchase,
and the price he is to buy them at ; and likewise those which he is
to withhold.
"3rd. The least display possible, as to the quantity of Chinese
goods, that may be brought for sale ; do not appear anxious for
Russian goods .
" 4th . The Chinese goods should be at all times less in quantity,
than Russian ; that no fresh goods be brought forward, until the
old are sold off.
" 6th . Let no eagerness be shown for an article of Russian manu
facture ; no matter how much any one member may wish to pro
cure it."
" 7th. When the Russians are scantily supplied with any valuable
article, great eagerness should be displayed to purchase the whole
stock, saying that it was in good demand ; and then to be equally
divided between each merchant : the consequence will be, that the
next year, a large stock will be brought to market, and great bar
gains will be procured, by stating that the demand has ceased ; and
thus gain advantage to the nation .
" 8th . If the Russians should raise the price of any article that
was scarce, no one should buy anything for one month. If they
complain to us, we will tell them that the trade must be stopped .
" 9th . Tell the Russians that the quantity of goods on hand is
much less than it really is ; and likewise tell them, that China
has no silk or cotton to dispose of.
“ 10th. No license will be granted to trade at Kiackta, unless the
merchant is able to write and speak the Russian language ; and
that will prevent the necessity of the Russian acquiring a know
ledge of the Chinese ; and thus preserve the secrets of trade and
the policy of government.
" 11th. Treat the Russians with politeness on all occasions, and
even show them acts of hospitality ; which will enable you the bet
ter to learn how their country is governed. But on no account
sleep in the same house with them .
" 12th . No merchant to transact business for one year after his ar
rival at Kiackta ; but for that period to learn thoroughly all the
secrets of the trade, and thus prevent mistakes .
" 13th. Prohibits gold, silver, copper, and iron, from being ex
changed with Russia.
SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSIBILITY. 139
" 14th . Proscribes the introduction of all articles of luxury, wine,
spirits," & c.
There are various punishments awarded for a violation of any of
the above rules. For disclosing the nature of the above instructions.
to the Russians, death, or banishment for life ; for lesser crimes,
mistakes, &c., to pull the grain boats five years, i. e. the galleys .
The trade of the interior of China, the prices, demand, & c., are
to be kept a profound secret.
The whole government is a system of strict surveillance and uni
versal responsibility, approaching to the greatest military despotism.
The man who knows it is almost impossible to escape, (except by
entire seclusion) , the emissaries of the government, will be cautious
of offending the laws of his country ; for if he himself should
escape, his family will suffer for his offence, and if he can venture
home, it is most likely his property will be in the possession of
the officers of the government, or of neighbours who feel secure
in plundering him.
The Emperor is not only sole head of the Chinese constitution,
but is considered to be the " Teen Tsze," the Son of Heaven. It is
in unison with these high notions, that they refuse to negotiate with
the barbarians until compelled by a superior power, when it is
thought Heaven wills it .
The absolute power which the Emperor possesses, he arms his
deputies with, to be exercised by them in their various offices :
each being responsible only to his superior officer . The law has
appointed censors over the actions of the Emperor, but he need not
regard them in China all tyranny is so well cloked as to be
styled paternal authority.
The duties to be observed by the Emperors are strictly considered
to be in unison with Confucius and his most celebrated disciples,
as given in their famed works, the Five Classics and Four Books.
The first distinction of castes is between natives and aliens, which
latter class includes all the mountaineers, and other tribes throughout
the empire ; the families that live in boats, also fishermen in the
maritime provinces : these are subject to laws that do not affect
natives. The second distinction is between the conquered and the
conquerors, i.e. Chinese and Tartars : the object of this distinction
is to put a stop to intermarriages, so as to prevent amalgamation
between the two races.
The third distinction is that every native can have slaves, whose
children are likewise slaves, under certain restrictions ; free-born
people are often condemned for their crimes to slavery.
All the people are divided into two classes, the mean and
honourable : the latter loses its privileges should they marry with
the former, who are comprised of people of the lowest grade :
slaves, policemen, stage-players, and jugglers ; and these for three
generations are required to follow some honourable and useful
140 CASTES .- EFFECT OF CEREMONIAL.
employment to work out their liberty. Every thing to perpetuate
distinction is done most artfully.
One of the inevitable results of the system is the spirit of
falsehood, and want of candour which their ceremonies univer
sally infuse. The Emperor's whole study is to decoy or
cajole his people ; and he, in return , is cajoled by his mi
nisters . It is scarcely necessary in China to ask a favour, for it is
sure to be promised, without the slightest idea of fulfilment .
The advantage attending this profusion of promises is, that they
can be estimated at their real value.
It is truly observed, that at one time the government adopts
language pregnant with direful import ; and the next, if encountered
bya show of resistance, sinks into the most ignominious submission ,
and resorts to ridiculous subterfuges, in order to escape from the
consequence of its own folly and audacity.
The people, particularly those of the better class, are very desirous
of associating with the English, but their Tartar rulers take every
possible means to prevent such association ; the most opprobrious
epithets are heaped on the English, and placards are posted on the
walls at night accusing them of odious crimes ; in other instances
edicts are issued as the following, entitled :
66 Regulations for preventing the familiar intercourse of natives
and foreigners. The houses and lanes in the neighbourhood of the
foreign factories, (Canton), are the resort of native traitors ; these
must be banished, to prevent an intimate connexion growing up
between the natives and the barbarians. The Foo and Heen
magistrates are to inspect the said places in person. All the doors
of the foreign factories at the back are to be immediately blocked
up . The square in the front is to be enclosed . The passages
through all the streets near the factories are to be cut off and
never again opened, and the walls built higher and thicker. It
will be proper to have one thoroughfare, with a gate, and a military
sentinel. But the shops in New China- street are so intimately
connected with foreigners, that they suspend signboards with
foreign characters written on them ; this is in opposition to the
law, and must be put a stop to for ever. The private houses must
be also closed, and woe to all those who disobey, and let procla
mations be issued appointing a time to sweep away these traitors !!"
There are various proofs in the Peking Gazettes of the disorgani
zation that is in progress, and the loose and corrupt system of
government in the provinces.
The Lieut. -governor of Che-Keang, sent a memorial to his
majesty, which stated that a numerous band of robbers infested
the province of Hoonan . They grew so bold that nothing could
stop their marauding spirit. He represented them as disbanded
militia, who during the war with the English, fought under the
banners of their country, and being out of employment, and
unable to carn a living, have betaken themselves to these wicked
PROGRESS OF DISORGANIZATION . 141
courses. Cho-ping-teen, a minister of state, recently memo
rialized the throne, respecting the state of the Peking police. The
memorial states, that the residence of his Majesty is infested with
robbers, who have been banished from other provinces, and have
not only taken up their residence, but actually bought houses, and
are living in a most splendid manner on the produce of their
booty. Debts and defalcations are numerous in Keangse ; several
thousand taels are owing from three districts . In the province of
Chih-li, a magistrate is a defaulter to the extent of 12,000 taels .
A defaulter, in Honan, died , while being conveyed to Peking : his
property was put under seal. The undermentioned extracts from
the Peking Gazette, conveys further information to the internal
state of China. In 1827, Peking was in a deplorable state ;
plurdering and murder were frequent in daylight, without
detection ; ten carts laden with grain were taken from the gates
of the city. In 1827 , extraordinary powers were given to the
Governor of Shan-tung ; the banditti were so numerous, and the
expenses so great, that the emperor empowered him to inflict
summary punishment, without examining witnesses . In 1829, the
hills in Che-Keang which protect rebels, were ordered to be set fire
to in order to burn the grass and brush wood ; thirteen of the
soldiers were consumed in the performance of this duty. The
banditti who inhabit the borders of Kwang-tung (Canton) , and
Kwangse provinces, appear to be the most troublesome. The
governor memoralized the present Emperor, that the banditti
in his jurisdiction might not be included in the act of grace on
the occasion of his accession. The same year nearly 500 of a
banditti were taken, within 200 miles of Canton, on the eastern side.
In 1827, the governor of Canton, requested the emperor to be
stow rewards on the troops, as they had routed the banditti on the
southern hills, and taken 200 of the gang. In 1828, a reward of 1000
dollars was offered for the apprehension of a banditti leader, and
3,000 for another. The judge of Canton , this year complains that
he cannot clear the court of the number of cases. After a long
sitting, he states that there were of undecided cases for robbery
430, which involve upwards of 2000 who are not yet taken , and
the number is daily increasing. In 1829 the governor obtained
rewards for the military from the Emperor, for their successful
exertions, in the north and east of the province, where 300 bandits
were captured .
In the vicinity of Canton, Whampoa, and Macao, poor people
who cultivate land on the banks of the rivers, are frequently
plundered of all they possess, unless they take out a ticket of
security from a banditti, which protects them for a certain time .
Among fishermen along the coast a similar tax is imposed. The
Gazette denounces these practices, and that is all that is heard of
them .
1
In 1830, the number and character of the robberies in Canton
142 ROBBERIES AND KIDNAPPING.
were of the worst kind . Government offices and temples were
violated, and the robbers mustered in bands of from 300 to 500
each . The number captured in three months of this year in
Canton, was 467. Kidnappers are never pursued, or if so they are
sure to put their captives to death. The sacred palace of the
emperor, at Yuenmingyuen, was lately plundered, although well
guarded by day and night. His Majesty complained of " the want
of respect that is apparent, in latter years, as every thing belong
ing to his majesty should be respected with awe and veneration . ”
On any occasion of insurrection or tumultuous disturbances,
no mercy is shewn by the military. A recent report from the
Commander-in- chief of Formosa , states, that the neighbourhood of
Taewan, (the capital of Formosa), is infested with a disorderly and
rebellious gang, who openly defy the authorities . About thirty
of these had been taken prisoners, this has caused a disturbance in
which two Chinese soldiers have lost their lives . To quell the
insurrection 1000 soldiers were marched to the place, whilst the
treasury furnished 1800 taels to defray the expense. In the first
engagement ninety prisoners were taken, and their heads instantly
cut off. In a second engagement the commander reports, that he
dispatched about 300 heads . The loss on the parts of the victors
was trifling. The total killed and wounded, slain in battle, was
upwards of 1000 : from 500 to 600 were beheaded, sixty-nine
decapitated, sixteen taken alive, and 100 stand of arms. These
robbers being completely exterminated , all is again quiet . The
only answer made to this report, was " the imperial will has been
recorded ."
The rebellion among the Mohammedans in Turkestan, which
broke out in the year 1826, excited great alarm throughout the
empire, as it was well known that the Mohammedans beyond the
frontiers would join them. The Booriats of Kokan supported
the rebel chief ; and after his death made an entry into Cashgar,
but were defeated by the Chinese.
In 1818, a numerous tribe, called Elucth, who inhabit the
borders of the province of Szechuen and Shense, committed
dreadful plunder on the inhabitants . The governor of the pro
vince reported, that he had defeated them and taken several
hundred captives . When the expenses of this insurrection were
applied for, the Emperor ordered that the governor should pay it
himself. The consequence was that he committed suicide.
A fierce and bold race of mountaineers, called Lolo, inhabit a
country lying between the provinces of Szechuen and Yunnan
and the British territory in Assam ; they are supposed to be the
Shans . The Peking Gazette, of 1819, declared the rewards to the
officers who defeated these rebels, which was all the public ever
heard . An express travelling 600 le a -day ( 168 miles) an*
nounced the victory.
It appears from the Peking Gazette, of the years 1826, 1828 ,
FRONTIER INCURSIONS AND REBELLIONS . 143
1830, and 1834, that the Chinese military was employed in quelling
insurrections that broke out on the western frontier of Yunnan .
The borderers on the Burman frontier were also defeated, and
many prisoners taken in 1830 .
The governor of Yunnan memorialized the Emperor against a re
duction of his military forces, which amounted to 33,970 ; all of
which he stated to be fully employed in keeping off a tribe called
Tsingke. In 1832, the envoy from Tibet to Peking was plundered
and severely beaten, on the borders of the province of Szechuen.
The tribe called Meenpoh, about this time, plundered and burnt
upwards of twenty villages. The most daring tribes inhabit the
country southward of the Yellow River, which, when frozen over,
they cross, carry all before them , and plunder the Mongol
pastoral tribes. The complaints were so numerous that the
authorities sent upwards of 3,000 troops after them, and recovered
I
30,000 head of cattle, with seventeen of the ringleaders, who were
beheaded.
The hill tribes within several of the western provinces, cause
even more expense and trouble to the authorities than the more
distant rebels ; there are upwards of eighty different tribes . The
rebellion of 1832 cost 2,100,000 taels, and the Chinese army lost
10,000 men. The peasantry dread the imperial troops as much as
they do the robbers ; hence the following instructions to the sol
diers to preserve honest and orderly habits by Yu, one of the Com
manders-in-chief, which read well, but are not obeyed .
،،
Every man derives his nature from heaven, and from infancy
to manhood none are destitute of virtue. The virtuous cherish it
in their hearts, while the exercise of it towards a prince is called
loyalty, and towards a parent filial piety . That you should while
at home exercise reverence towards your parents, and fraternal
affection towards your brethren, you very well know. The Sacred
Edict has widely promulgated and reiterated in your hearing, that
scholars and husbandmen, mechanics and tradesmen, by attending
to the appropriate duties of their calling, will secure a reputation,
and surely reap their reward.
" The favors we receive from others ought never to be forgotten .
Here allow me to introduce a similitude . Suppose you were on a
long journey and your pocket -money were expended, and you
found yourself destitute, far from home, without friends, and
perishing from want. Then suppose a man should give you a few
hundred cash to preserve your life. Should you ever afterward see
this man, ought you to make any expression of gratitude for his
mercy ? And, if you made no returus for his kindness, would you
not justly be considered a forgetful and an ungrateful creature,
and thus exhibit no goodness of heart ? It is a common saying,
if we receive from others a favor, like a drop of water, the return
should be like an overflowing fountain .
"
144 INSTRUCTIONS TO PRESERVE ORDER .
" Now you, soldiers, have received favors from your sovereign,
which it is extremely difficult for you ever to repay. It is be
coming you, as you regularly enter the cantonment to receive your
rations and monthly pay, to remember that all you have for the
support of your lives, the nourishment of your family, and the
offerings to your ancestors, is the result of your sovereign's com
passion, whose mercy is higher than the heavens and extensive as
the earth ; therefore loyalty is a sentiment that should be engraven
on your hearts. As you receive liberally of the favors of your
sovereign, it is becoming you, by a careful and diligent attention
to your appropriate duties, to promote the peace of the land, by
exterminating thieves and robbers, and avoid disturbing or dis
tressing the people . Thus you may respond to the distinguished
favors of your sovereign, and yourselves advance in the road of
promotion, from the infantry to the cavalry, and then to official
stations, with increasing honors and emolument . This is in time .
of peace ; but should there be a national disturbance, and you are
sent out in regular file, and on seeing the foe, advance bravely
before him and slay the enemy, you thus repay the kindness of
your sovereign. But if, on seeing the enemy, you cherish un
worthy fears and do not advance, you prove yourself ungrateful
and unworthy creatures, and of the same class with pirates, and
all men will be justified in slaying you .
" You may consider that from ancient times till now, the wise
and the brave have been prosperous and honored,- and for this
reason that with a true heart they destroyed the enemy. But
those who fear to die cannot thus avoid death ; suppose they shut
themselves up within their own doors and die of disease, —are they
not then dead ? But if you would not deserve death, take your
sword and rush amidst a thousand or ten thousand men, bran
dishing your weapon and speeding your horse, and you cannot die.
A discharge of your appropriate duties and the subjugation of the
enemy, all depends upon your loyalty and bravery, and in this way
alone you can preserve the laws and save your lives.
" In time of peace, while remaining in your cantonments, it is
expected that you be quietly employed in your customary duties,
not quarrelling with each other : and when you go out, whether it
be for taking thieves or for war, as you meet the people you should
remember, that your food and salary are the result of their labor.
Therefore, carefully endeavour to protect them. Do not frighten
and annoy them ; but when you see among them old persons,
regard them as you would your own father and mother ; and when
you see young persons, treat them as you would a brother or
sister. Do not think, because you spend your strength in the
service of your Emperor, that you have a right to defraud the
people. When going abroad do not compel the coolies to bear
your burdens, without a suitable compensation ; and as you pass
along the road, do not rob the gardens of their vegetables and
་
เค
SOLDIERS NOT TO ABUSE THE PEOPLE. 145
fruits . Do not passionately abuse the people, and, relying on your
numbers, insult the defenceless. Should all respond to the voice
of one man, and several tens of you unite in beating one man, and
if, perchance he is killed, do not think that you will pass unde
tected. Your fellow- soldiers, lest they should be implicated , will
make known who was the mover of the disturbance, and when
this is known by the people, they will represent the case to the
proper authority ; who will institute an investigation, and the cor
roborating testimony of soldiers and people will so clearly esta
blish your guilt, that even your friends and relations will not dare
deny it. Such will then be judged according to law, and beheaded,
and your heads suspended by the wayside to the gaze of the multi
tude. These things you all understand .
" You remember that during the revolt of Formosa, in the 12th
year of his Imperial Majesty's reign, A.D. 1832 , the soldiers from
Chekiágg, Honan, and Sz'chuen refused to pay the coolies for bearing
their burdens, and that a dispute arose and life was lost ; also, that
children were kidnapped, and the office of the salt merchant was
plundered : when these things were beyond all endurance, they
were represented to the high provincial officers, who reported it to
his majesty ; and an imperial edict was issued ; and,. after the
necessary investigation, the offenders were delivered down to be
punished according to law. These things are for your admonition .
Therefore, do not trust in your numbers or the fallacious hope of
escape, for your commanding officers will surely understand and
make known your conduct ; also your comrades, for fear of being
themselves implicated, will disclose the matter, and you cannot
escape punishment . From ancient times till now, the laws con
cerning soldiers have been very rigid. On a former occasion a
soldier stole a man's vegetables, and he was put to death for it.
"Now you think that a vegetable is worth but a few cash ;—
why need a man fear to take it ? Man is prone to imitate bad
example ; and if he can take a vegetable, he will take something
else, and soon it will become habitual ; and the people of the
country will cease to fear thieves and pirates, from their greater
dread of the soldiers . Thus the anger of the people would lead
them to call upon the gods for vengeance, and you will incur their
wrath, instead of securing their aid, in time of battle. Think you,
when engaged in battle, should one man draw back, would not all
follow his example and flee, and the foe pursue after them to the
destruction of all ? The laws concerning soldiers are extremely
severe. The good man constantly observes the customs, and dares.
not contend with his associates . He regards his own life as pre
cious, and trembles lest by quarrelling with another he should
accidentally kill him, when he would pay for it by the loss of his
own life. If he escape death, he is banished, and thus precluded
for ever from all honor and profit.
L
146 VALUE OF TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS .
"C
Anciently, there was a man by the name of Han Sin, who
compelled a thief to pass between his legs ; still he dared not
wrangle. According to the saying, ' The brave act like tigers, and
not like mice .'
" If for a few years there should be peace, and , instead of going
to war, you all remain at home, as good men , I will teach you what
to do , namely, -practice yourselves in your duties, that you may
be able to protect yourselves and your families, thus exhibiting
truth and righteousness . Every thing in heaven and earth is
comprehended in these two terms, -truth and righteousness. They
are to men what the root is to the tree . Where then is truth ?
To speak a word to-day, and follow it ever afterwards ; not pointing
to the east, then going to the west ; not saying that you have what
you have not ; not changing to suit your own convenience ;-if you
speak and act thus, all men will believe you . This is what is called
truth. What is righteousness ? For each to attend to his business
and practice himself in his appropriate duties ;—regarding his
officers as he regards his parents, and his comrades as his brethren ,
avoiding ingratitude and a violation of the laws ; -this is what is
called righteousness. If a man have no truth, but is deceitful and
false, then there is nothing too bad for him to do, and even his
father and mother, and wife and children , will see that he is a bad ܪ
man . An unrighteous man in the twinkling of an eye becomes
ungrateful . Therefore truth and righteousness are of the first
importance.
(C
Again, it is easy to move the mind of the ignorant. This you
will understand by observing a play. Suppose the actor, in al
luding to the ancients, should exhibit loyalty and filial piety . The
audience, looking at the faithful minister or dutiful child exposed
to ten thousand ills, still maintaining his integrity, and, in every
temptation to impropriety and unrighteousness, sternly adhering to
truth and uprightness . Therefore, the gods of heaven and earth
will protect him in the field of battle, and crown him with laurels
of victory, -bless him with a blooming wife and honorable chil
dren, and perpetuate his name to a thousand generations . But
how often is it that stupid men frequent the plays, desiring only
to witness impure and incorrect exhibitions, and look upon scenes.
calculated to foster a contentious spirit . You may know from the
expression of their countenances, that such, if they are not already
adepts in the practice of vice, will soon learn to be ; for such
things are very shallow, and easily learned .
" Here allow me to introduce the case of Sung Kiang, a famous
robber, whose name is recorded in the Shui Hu, and history in
forms us that he was at the head of thirty-six giantlike insurgents .
General Chang Suye, of Hwuihai, at one time called out his men
to exterminate them, but they surrendered and swore allegiance to
their sovereign . Sung Kiang lived about the middle of the Sung
dynasty. He was a man of superior natural talents ; and at length
Į
DUTIES OF SOLDIERS IN PEACE . 147
became a faithful subject and a queller of rebellion, and promoter
of peace within the four seas (China), and was praised by suc
ceeding generations . Still, though he became a faithful subject
and distinguished patriot, by all his good deeds he could not erase
from history the record that he was once a robber. Moreover, the
works of fiction have misrepresented the number of his colleagues,
and endeavored to make it appear that he acted not for gain, but
for honor ; thus tempting the age, blinding the eyes of the people,
and injuring the hearts of men in no small degree . In the same
way, novels have so represented the character of the robbers of
Wa Kang, that indiscriminating minds are led to admire their
valor ; not thinking that they were without prince or father, and
that they thus treated with contempt their own body and their
own parents ; not thinking that true courage consists in speaking
with propriety and acting righteously, in not obscuring the laws of
heaven, or throwing away conscience, even if it should be at the
hazard of life .
" The fact is, you cannot rely on what novels say ; for Sung
Kiang was no better than Tai Wu and Manting (notorious rob
bers) . You know that in secret societies, where the members are
sworn to protect each other, the greater guilt rests on the head
man, and his guilt is increased in proportion to the increase of the
numbers under him. For such proceedings they surely will be
apprehended and punished, when repentance will be unavailing.
"Therefore you , soldiers, ought carefully and unceasingly to
follow truth and righteousness, filial piety and loyalty. For if you A
carefully practice your own tactics , and when at home respect your
parents, love your brethren, and attend to your own business, and,
when sent for the apprehension of pirates, you prove faithful to
your trust ; in time of war not oppressing the people, and mutually
admonishing each other to walk in the path of virtue ; and if you
bravely contend for your friends and relations, and also the
rulers of the land, the gods will secretly protect you wherever
you go. But if you do not carefully practice your tactics, and
attend to your own business ; when set after robbers, if you do
not face the foe ;-such conduct cannot be endured by the justice
of the laws, or the mercy of the gods .
" Finally, strive to familiarise yourself with your own business ,
and mutually instruct and assist each other. In giving these
instructions , your general has not employed a mysterious style and
unintelligible terms, but simple and every-day language ; so plain
that it may be easily understood, even by those who cannot read .
Now if these principles of your nature (truth and righteousness)
be established, you may travel to the ends of the earth without
danger of harm ; and is it not a matter to be desired, that the
officers and soldiers, princes and people, should dwell together in
peace and happiness ?"
The feebleness of the Tartar government is well illustrated by
L2
148 STRENGTH OF THE PIRATES .
the constant piracy along the whole coast of China . Pirates in
China are divided into two classes, sea robbers , and water or river
robbers . Chaouchoo -foo, and the neighbouring province of
Foo-keen, appear to be the stronghold of both classes, particularly
during the seasons of distress, as then it is known that many join
them for want of employment . Dr. Gutzlaff, who visited many
parts of the coast of China, in 1831 , describes the social state there
as wretched in the extreme .
The duty of the Chinese navy, is supposed to be for the protection
of maritime commerce, and a few observations on its efficacy, will
show how far it answers that purpose . The governor of Keangnan
reported, in 1818 , that he found great difficulty in procuring timber
to build twelve junks, for the coast of Shan-tung. The Governor of
Canton reports, in 1820, that ninety vessels were disabled this
year, and forty more in the succeeding year. In 1833, 100,000
taels were voted to build ten junks, under the direction of the
Governor of Canton . The admiral received private information,
that the new junks were put together with wooden bolts ; on exami
nation it was found to be so. At Nangaou, which is the second
naval station of Canton , and bordering on Foo -keen, (the stronghold
of pirates) , and the residence of an admiral, with a force of 5000
men, —Messrs . Lindsay and Gutzlaff found eight small junks in
1832 .
Mr. Glasspole, who was taken prisoner by the Chinese pirates,
together with seven of his men, in 1809 , calculated their whole
force to consist of 70,000 men, navigating 800 large vessels , and
1000 smaller ones, including their row-boats . The united forces of
the Chinese navy, aided by vessels belonging to the Portuguese of
Macao, consisting of upwards of 100 sail, were totally unable to
make the least impression on the pirate band. Mr. Glasspole was
with them nearly three months, and was compelled, along with his
men, to enter into many engagements with them during that time,
and consequently had a good opportunity of calculating their
forces . It was not until division appeared between the rival com
manders, that the imperial government proposed a general pardon,
and employment to those who would surrender. Kuo Patao,
commander of the black squadron, surrendered and entered into
terms for all his followers, and subsequently found employment in
Peking. Paoer, the admiral of the red flag, very soon surrendered
on the same terms, and he and many of his forces were employed
by the government in hunting their former associates . Ever since,
every effort has been made to prevent their uniting in so strong a
body, but they are still numerous .
In 1831 , the Peking Gazette contained a proclamation, against
allowing in future, tea to be conveyed to the Northern Provinces
by sea, as his Majesty had been informed that the tea-dealers
carry with them powder, to supply and pacify the pirates. The
Governor of Canton, in 1829, issued a proclamation against the
In
'} }
SALE OF PUBLIC OFFICES . 149
Lintin smugglers, who have boats with from thirty to forty oars,
who when smuggling fails, turn pirates, carry fire arms, and even
fire on the revenue cutters of the government.
In a representation made to the emperor in 1830, from the
Governor of Che - Keang, it is stated that the officers of the coast
permitted pirates to do as they wished, that murder and plunder
was an occurrence of every day ;-the emperor in answer, deprived
the officers of their cutters for three months, during which time
they were to have all the pirates made prisoners, or failing therein
to be dismissed.
The Peking Gazette of August, 1831 , has a peremptory order
from the Emperor, concerning the nine pirates who were taken for
the plunder of Howqua's fort ; he desires that they be put to torture,
in order to discover the remainder. A fleet of Cochin China
pirates was discovered this year, which consisted of ninety sail.
One of the most remarkable indications of decay in the empire,
and of general corruption, is the sale of offices, which has recently
increased to a great extent, and is at total variance with the
literary examinations which had hitherto been the basis of official
employment, and powerful means of keeping the empire consoli
dated and tranquil.
1822. A memorial to the emperor, from Sin Tsung-yih, head
master of the literati in Shanting province, and Yuen- Seen, the
censor of Yun-nau province, in 1822, is as follows :
We have heard that the sale of high offices originated under the
Han dynasty ; but the disgrace of selling office under the pre
sent is of greater enormity than theirs . The sums procured under
the Han dynasty were applied to the public service, but our
dynasty puts the whole of such revenues into its private purse.
" Our dynasty commenced the sale of office , in 1637, Teentsung's
tenth year, to supply money for the use of the state, and to collect
human talent ; for many of our sages arose from fish and salt
markets, and those who bought office , made up a portion of talent
unsupplied by those who obtained office by literary merit . But
it was ordered by imperial authority, that the literary should have
the majority in the proportion of eleven to eight.
" But at the present time, there are unemployed by government
more than 15,000, who have obtained the third degree, (tsin - sze) ,
and near 30,000 of the second degree, (ken-jin), and those that
are waiting to be employed were made eligible thirty years ago.
The design of your Majesty's heart is to give age to their talent,
and prepare them for service.
CC
Allowing them to be thirty years of age when they obtain the
degree of ken-jin, and then wait thirty years more, they are then
generally pointed out as feeble and stupid, and thus the learned
will ultimately be excluded from office.
" The buyers of office are both young and have abundance of
money, and are thus put over everybody's head, and pointed out
150 QUALIFICATION FOR OFFICE .
as possessing talents . The qualifications for graduates are most
rigorous . A candidate must state his descent for three genera
tions back ; also procure five graduates to enter into bonds of
security . The purchaser of office has nothing to do but pay his
money, and there is his office ; and governors become his sureties.
Thus priests, who are prohibited , and actual highwaymen , are
daily promoted to office. When in authority they are cruel
oppressors, they terrify the people, and their superiors point them
out as possessing decision . Of late none of them have been
impeached , and their numbers are unknown . When this docu
ment reaches the privy council, they will say, the resources of the
country are inadequate, and thereby darkly insinuate their
slanderous aspersions ; we have, therefore, made a calculation.
In the third year of Keaking a banditti, in Sze- Chuen, and two
other provinces, caused an insurrection, and the sale of offices
procured 70,000 taels, (about £25,000 . ) In the eleventh year of
his reign, a rebellion broke out in Yun-nan, and the sale of offices
realized 120,000 taels ; the 19th year 60,000 taels ; thus the
whole amount for twenty years, make but a few hundred thousand
taels. Now if the expenses of imperial honors were once removed,
it would save as much in one year, as the sale of offices has pro
duced in ten .
"The expenses of flowers and rouge at the imperial harem is
annually 100,000 taels. The salaries at the harem for waiting
boys is 120,000 taels . The gardens of Yuenming cost more than
200,000 taels. The establishment at Jeho, costs 480,000 taels .
The other expenses of these gardens for salaries to great officers, is
160,000 taels ; and there are conferred in largesses on the women
of these gardens 250,000 taels. Ifthese few items were abolished,
talent might be brought to the service of the country, and the wealth
of the people be secured .
" We find in the provinces, from governor, lieutenant-governors,
down to the village magistrates, all combine to gain their purpose
by hiding the truth from the Emperor.
" Now for the tricks played by the great salt officers, they are
numerous . Each bag of salt supplied to the emperor weighs
sixty catties, charged 500 cash per bag ; but the salt supplied to
the people only weighs eight catties at the same charge.
" If your majesty deem this statement to be right, and will act
thereon in the government, the army, the nation , and the poor people
will have cause of gladness of heart. Should we be subjected to the
operation ofthe hatchet, or suffer death in the boiling caldron, we shall
not decline it ."
His majesty's reply :
" The report of Yuen- seen and his colleague is extremely lucid,
and shows them to be faithful statesmen, who are grieved for the
state of their country, and who have the spirit of the great states
PRICES OF OFFICE . 151
men of antiquity. Since the days of Yun-Chawwantoo, 221 B.C.
such men have not appeared .
TAOUKWANG, (Feby 22, a.d. 1822. ) ”
Nothing, however, was done, on the " lucid and faithful,"
report.
The sale of civil and military offices , in 1826, produced
6,000,000 of taels . The privilege is only granted for one year at a
time ; but it was renewed 1828 and 1829 .
The Peking Gazette for January, 1831 , announces that two
sons of Howqua have been promoted, one created ken-jéh by patent,
for having one year previously subscribed 36,000 taels, the other
son had contributed 100,000 taels towards the war in Tartary,
for which he was made a director of the salt monopoly.
The literary chancellor of the province of Keang- se, in 1828,
having been reported to the emperor as guilty of selling degrees ;
two special commissioners were dispatched to his house, who
discovered 400,000 taels, and to save any examination, he was
given an opportunity to commit suicide .
The price of a first degree , is said to cost 7000 or 8,000 dollars ;
a substitute can be had on much less terms, who does not regard
the punishment. At an investigation which was held in Peking,
in 1832, six writers were ordered for execution for forging diplomas.
An officer, in the Board of Revenue, in Peking, was discovered to
have sold 20,000 diplomas of rank.
The imperial Court Calendar gives the number of provincial
officers as follows :-Governors, 11 ; fooyuens, 15 ; treasurers, 19 ;
judges, 18 ; chancellors, 17 ; magistrates of cities of the first order,
184 ; of cities of the second order, 212, and of the third, 1305 :
total, 1781. According to law, all these officers must be changed
every third year, and they must not fill a similar office in the province
a second time ; this principle carried out would require 35,620
great officers to fill all these appointments during sixty years .
The extent of bribery and corruption, and the number of offices
sold, may, therefore , be fairly inferred as very great .
Police ofPeking.- The police of Peking are composed of part of
the Chinese infantry, belonging to the regular troops ; they keep a
very strict surveillance over the city, and they are constantly in the
streets with swords at their sides, and whips in their hands, ready
to strike any one who would create a confusion . They take care
to have the streets kept clean, and will put their hands to it them
selves in case of necessity ; they keep watch during the night, and
allow no one to go through the streets, except with lanterns, and
then only on very urgent business - such as to call a physician , &c .
They even question those who may be charged with missions to the
Emperor, and all must give satisfactory answers ; if not, they have a
right to arrest them. The officers of the guard are bound to be
extremely vigilant with respect to the men under their command ..
?
152 DUTIES OF THE POLICE .
The slightest negligence would be punished, and the officers cashiered
on the following day.
One of their principal duties is to prevent a famine in the city.
In the city as well as the suburbs there are large granaries, where
rice is kept to provide against scarce seasons . The regulations are
very honestly executed in the vicinity of the court, but not so in
provinces ; which occurs through the negligence of the mandarins .
Besides these public stores, there are large granaries of the Emperor
which are filled with wheat, and pulse, and fodder, for the beasts.
of burden.
The following edict against forestallers of rice, indicates the
anxiety of the government to maintain a low price for food :
((
Keying of the imperial house, governor- general of Kwang-tung
and Kwang-si, a director of the board of war, vice-high chancellor
and guardian of the heir apparent, minister and commissioner ex
traordinary, &c., issues a severe prohibition against storing rice from
fear of famine. Whereas it is important that rice should be in the
market, to stop it is against the law. The population of Kwang
tung is great, and its produce is too little, and the support of the
people always depends upon the rice of Kwang-si, which the mer
chants bring. But now the price of rice in Canton rises every day,
and it has been found out that there are some villains and dissolute
persons stirring up the people, and saying that in the year Ping-woo*
and Tin-wi in the reign of Kin-lung there was a famine, and now
this year is Ping-woo again, and we should keep our rice for a good
market. These villains hinder the rice -boats from coming, and
squeeze them in every way according to their wishes, and the mer
chants stop their trade ; and this causes the want of rice among
the people. But these men surely do not know the rainy season
of the last year Yih-sze came exactly in time, and it enriched the
earth very much, and when compared with the Yih- sze year in the
reign of Kin-lung it is very different, and I believe, when the spring
comes we shall have fine rains . If those villains still dare to keep
back the rice, seeking profit, the law cannot suffer them, and their
policy must be thwarted, so that the merchants may trade again,
and the people have food. Besides commanding the governor of
Kwang-si to renew his former edict, I will command all the officers
of the districts through which the merchants of Kwang-tung must
pass in trading with Kwang-si, to issue proclamations, so as to let
all people know, that after this no man should store up rice for the
fear of famine. Ifany merchants from Kwang-tung go to Kwang-si
* " The Chinese have two sets of characters ; the one of which, called Teen-kan ,
" the celestial stems," includes ten characters, the other set called Te-che, the " ter
restrial branches," consist of twelve characters, and these characters are applied to
years, months, days, and hours. They have been combined so as to form a cycle of
sixty ; and Pingwoo ' is the third year in this order, and ' Ting-we' the forty- fourth,
and‘Yih- sze' the forty- second. Some Chinese think that in the space of sixty years
all former occurrences will come again, like the four seasons of the year.- Note by
Ashing, the translator of this edict.
FORESTALLING OF FOOD . 153
to buy rice, they should buy their rice freely, and bring it to.
Kwang-tung to sell, and there should be no secret hindrance of
buying and selling rice, so as to raise the value of rice, and cause
all sorts of difficulties to the poor. If, after this second edict, any
of the villains dare to store up their rice, seeking profit, and send
*
boats along the entrances of the province to hinder and squeeze
the merchants, the officers of their districts shall seize them, and
bring them to trial, and punish them with heavy penalties, and
shall not set them at liberty. Do not disobey this special edict. 1
" First month, 21st day." (Feb. 16 , 1846. )
The police of China are thus aptly described by one who has
closely studied the subject .
"With the exception of prying into families, the police are very
vigilant. To form a proper idea of this body elect, we must consi I
der them to be a collection of the very scum of the nation , well
versed in all tricks, personally acquainted with thieves, robbers ,
and gamblers, initiated in all the mysteries of iniquity, and often
partaking largely, not only of the bribes, but also in the practice of
abomination, in the very haunts of vice . The government being
well aware of the character of this gentry, degraded them below
the level of citizens, excluding them from entering upon the an-
nual examinations, and partaking of the general privileges of the
nation at large. A small number receive pay from their employ
ers, of about one to two dollars per month, but by far the greater
part serve for honour's sake, and even pay to their masters a monthly
sum of money to bear the venerable name of Chae or Chae-yuh—►
runners. This is the most conclusive proof that their situations
must be worth something, for otherwise we cannòt imagine how
they would enter upon a profession which requires incessant exer
cise, without the least prospect of gain . The headman of the police
stipulates to pay a considerable sum to his master, he secures his
many myrmidons, and takes very good care to reimburse himself
as soon as possible. These men , therefore, are a terror to the
nation, their very appearance sickens the people, and the guilty as
well as the guiltless tremble at their sight. No police-runner will
move a single step, unless it be with the view of making some
money ; no persons are apprehended, no measures are put into
execution, without their being well and honorably paid for.
How odious soever the executors of the law may appear, they
enable the mandarins to know everything that passes in their juris
diction. Hence the ease with which criminals are discovered, and
abuses temporarily checked, whenever it suits the views of the
Chinese government to do so . But still the mandarins must oc
casionally be satisfied with becoming the dupes of these knaves,
and seeing their measures frustrated by the antipathy borne to them
by their own people. Hence it has happened, that thieves have
been harboured in the very offices from whence the warrants for their
apprehension were issued ; that contraband goods have been stowed
154 LAWS OF CHINA .
away in the hall of justice ; and that even rebels have been secreted
by the very men sent to seize them. To dispatch a rogue in order
to catch a rogue, may perhaps sometimes be convenient ; but rogues.
can never be trusted for any length of time, and the best intentions
may be defeated by making them guardians of the law.
A peculiar feature in the police of China has lately been their
joining of the triad society. We cannot assign any other reason
for this step, but their wish to keep themselves free from the wrath
of their own mandarins, for no official dares openly to attack a
member of the brotherhood. On the other hand, this fraternity
must have been very glad to number amongst its votaries men ac
quainted with all the measures of government, who could give
them a timely warning, and screen them in case of persecution .
Though the police is often allowed to carry on extortion and to
harass the people for any length of time, the patience of the over
patient people is still occasionally worn out, and they rise in a body
to resist their tormentors . Such proceedings are of frequent oc
currence, and if they happen on a large scale, the government is
wise enough to forgive the whole, while partial resistance is punished
with the utmost severity. The whole system is full of contradic
tion, there is a laxity almost amounting to lawlessness ; and again ,
a rigor exceeding all bounds and reason . The police, once know
ing the tone assumed by government, are careful to follow its dic
tates, and the richest harvest is always the time, when the laws are
going to be put into execution. The innocent people may be
seized and again released, upon paying a handsome sum ; the guilty
may obtain a chance of escaping by discharging a fee ; and those
in prison may get relief by bribing their keepers. During such
seasons the exertions of the whole tribe are extraordinary, they
traverse all streets, holes, and haunts, none can escape their hawks'
eyes, and if criminals get out of danger, it is owing to the friendly
services of their patrons, the police."
Laws of China . It is the general opinion that the Chinese ad
ministration of their laws is salutary, and that the laws are never
changed : such is not the fact ; for the Emperor himself acknow
ledges, that in every department of the government there are cor
ruption and carelessness ; that famine visits the land frequently,
and that its horrors are aggravated by the rapacity of the autho
rities ; that conspiracies exist in all parts of the country (of men
who are confederated into brotherhoods, whose avowed object is to
upset the present Tartar dynasty) , which break out occasionally
into insurrection against the government ; that every part of the
country is infested with banditti, who are countenanced, if not
permitted, by the officers of government, and we may conclude
that such a government is held together more by the force of habit
than through intrinsic merit.
The penal code has been several times altered within the last
thirty years ; it consisted originally of the leuh, which for several
UNCERTAINTY OF CHINESE CODE . 155
ages comprised 457 heads ; in the fifth year of the Emperor Yung
ching, it was reduced to 436. The le (novelle) or modern clauses,
to limit, explain , or alter the old statutes, were first introduced
during the Ming dynasty, which preceded that now on the throne.
In the first year of the present reign , they amounted to 1573. In
the year 1829, the criminal board of Peking addressed the Emperor
to recommend a new edition. The late emperor had ordered that
a revised and a corrected edition should be published every five
years ; the first being a slight revisal, the next being a thorough
one. In consequence of the many alterations which had taken place
during the preceding reign, the law and practice no longer agreed .
The following year a new edition was published, (very likely
with the request of a board,) comprising twenty-eight volumes
octavo. The emperor then decreed, that instead of fixing ten
years, or any other time, for the republication of the whole code,
the supreme courts should make as few alterations as possible on
the last code, and that only when they are obliged to do so.
The 44th section of the penal code provides, that in cases where
there is no law in existence precisely applicable, such cases may
then be determined on by an accurate comparison with others
which are already provided for, and which approach most nearly to
those under investigation, in order to ascertain afterwards whether
an aggravation of the offence, or a mitigation of it, was necessary.
The uncertainty of the Chinese code is seen in the following in
cident, which happened about the year 1835, in the Nganhwuy
province , where six people were killed by salt smugglers. A Ma
hommedan, one of the murderers, plucked out the viscera, split
the head, and threw the different parts of the body into the river :
this man was sentenced to suffer death, after confinement (which
generally means to have his life spared) . The Emperor not only
censures the judge who sentenced him, but the board of Peking
who referred it to him, because they noticed the gratuitous cruelty
of the murderer ; and orders a new law to be made to apply to such
cases .
In the year 1829, the Emperor enacted a law, which refers only
to his own clan, in consequence of their litigious spirit. Of late,
he remarks, they have constantly appeared in cases that do not
immediately concern themselves, and have employed their privi
leges and influence to extort money on legal pretexts . The tenor
of the law was, that should any member of the imperial clan appeal
in cases that do not concern himself, and should it be found that
it was done for the purpose of extorting money, he shall be sen
tenced to sixty blows with the cudgel, and forty blows with the
bamboo this circumstance is worthy of notice, as the 9th section of
the code enacts, that all the subjects of the empire who are en
rolled under Tartarian banners, when found guilty of any offences
which render them liable by the laws in general to a corporeal
punishment, shall receive the whole number of blows specified ,
156 PENAL LAWS AND OFFENCES .
but the chastisement shall be inflicted with the whip instead of a
bamboo .
The provincial officers often stretch the laws without reference
to the Emperor. The governors of provinces generally invite foo
yuen, judge, treasurer, &c., to share the responsibility. Some of
these precepts even affect life . The governor and fooyuen of Can
ton issued a proclamation, in 1830, directed against a banditti,
who, under disguise as custom-house searchers, plundered boats
on the river. An imperial edict of 1824 says, that holding of
fire-arms is illegal, and fixes a period for valuing them and deQ
livering them up . And again, in 1831 , fire- arms, excepting fowl
ing-pieces, are to be delivered up in six months . In 1830, the
magistrate of the Nanhae district in Canton , took it upon himself
to proclaim all as thieves that were seen on tops of houses after
first-watch ; and after second-watch, they might be fired at, but
with grains of paddy (rice unhusked) ; " because," he adds, " I
want to detect thieves, not to take lives."
The existing penal laws for China were promulgated by the pre
sent Tartar usurpers, in the middle of the 17th century, shortly
after they seized on the throne and empire of China. The last
edition was published in 1830 , in twenty- eight volume octavo : the
lowest degree of punishment is from ten to fifty blows, with a
bamboo five feet long and two inches thick ; the second degree of
punishment is from sixty to one hundred blows ; temporary banish
ment, with one hundred blows , is the third degree of punishment ;
perpetual banishment is the fourth ; and death is the fifth degree.
The Tartar subjects are beaten with a whip, and instead of banish
ment, put into a moveable pillory.
The law for enrolment is plain and clear ; every person from
the age of four years must be entered on the registry : omitting to
register all the family annually is punished with 100 blows, if
there be any property in the family ; 80, if otherwise . Every 100
families all over the empire form a division, and appoint ten asses
sors to oversee their district, and make the annual returns ; for
any neglect the bamboo is applied.
The first and most severe enactment is the protection of the
emperor's apartments, of the empress, her mother, and grand
mother, whose dwellings are sacred, and whoever enters without
authority will be strangled . No one but his majesty's attendants
shall cross his bridges or roads ; and during his journeys, any ob
struction or intrusion while travelling, is death : hence, it may be
said, being near an emperor is as dangerous as meeting a tiger.
All persons who carry the productions or inventions of the
country beyond the frontier, or remove themselves out of the em
pire, shall be beheaded : it is also forbidden any one by the laws to
build or settle on any of the islands near the coast ; no horses or
cattle can be killed without permission ; all official letters and dis
patches must travel at the rate of 300 le, or Chinese miles, in a
day and a night ; one hour's delay subjects them to the bamboo,
RESPONSIBILITY OF RELATIONS . 157
ten blows for each hour ; the distance from Peking to Canton is
1200 English miles by land , and the distance is performed in thir
teen or fourteen days ; the gazette seldom arrives in less than
thirty days ; officials are allowed ninety days to perform the
journey.
In the 6th article of the criminal code, high treason, rebellion,
allegiance, sorcery, and magic, are treated under the head of theft
and robbery. All persons convicted of high treason, shall suffer
death by a slow and painful execution ; also all the male relations
in the first degree, from the age of sixteen upwards, namely, father,
grand-father, sons, grand-sons, paternal uncles, and their sons,
shall suffer death : all male relations under sixteen years of age,
shall be given to the great officers of state as slaves, and the
females of all ages, likewise ; all property is confiscated .
Quarrelling and fighting are punished : striking with the hand,
20 blows of the bamboo ; tearing more than one inch of hair, is
50 blows ; breaking a tooth, or any bone of the body, 100 blows ;
any person guilty of striking their father, grandfather, grand
mother, or any wife who is guilty of striking her husband, father,
grandfather, or grandmother, shall suffer death.
All the courts of justice in China are furnished with a drum, the
beating of which by those who demand justice, together with
the noise and confusion, has a very novel appearance to an Euro
pean.
There does not appear to be any fixed period for the courts of
justice to sit, and sometimes the magistrate presides to hear causes
in private ; but, generally speaking, the public are admitted indis
criminately. The magistrate sits at a table, which is furnished
with writing materials ; plaintiff, defendant, and the witnesses
kneel in the front of the judge . The pleadings are all written by
licensed notaries, who are permitted to read them, but no counsel
is allowed to plead.
The 416th section of the criminal code provides, that when a
prisoner has been tried and convicted, he shall be brought before
the judge a second time, together with his family and his nearest
relations, each of whom are at liberty to acknowledge or protest
against the judgement about being pronounced . The protests are
taken down in writing, and form a case for a second investigation .
The same section provides a punishment of sixty blows to any
magistrate who refuses to receive a protest under such circum
stances, viz . , whether a subject has been sentenced to banishment
or death . When the case is disposed of, a full report of the pro
ceedings is required to be furnished to the emperor.
State of the Prisons. -The fooyuen of Canton, in a report to the
Emperor on the state of the prisons , reports that they are not suf
ficiently large to contain the vast number of prisoners that accu
mulate, in consequence of the great delay in the administration of
justice. The report further states, that the magistrates have been
in the habit of taking separate buildings when the jails were full ;
158 STATE OF THE PRISONS .
that in one district, he found three such private prisons, with upwards
of 300 prisoners, witnesses, and accusers, who had been sent from
some distant part of the province, to have their cases decided at the
provincial capital. These private prisons are built in the form of
a bird- cage, and are used as a means of confession and extortion ;
some of the prisoners had been confined (untried) for long periods,
averaging from three to twelve months . Two magistrates had ap
pointed females to attend them, who provided female slaves for the
basest purposes . In 1816 there were upwards of 10,000 prisoners
confined in the various jails in China convicted of capital offences,
awaiting the imperial order for execution . In 1829, Governor Le,
of Canton, sent a report that a prison had been burnt, and twenty
prisoners had lost their lives. His Majesty ordered all the autho
rities to be put on their trial, as it appeared that torture had been
illegally resorted to by the officers, and a disposition of revolt
having shown itself, the prison was purposely set on fire . The
Peking Gazette, of the 15th May, 1830, announced a return of
10,500 prisoners capitally convicted, but respited , in consequence
of an imperial anniversary .
Prisons are made use of as an instrument of torture that baffles
description . Those who have money to spend can be accommo
dated with private apartments, cards, servants, and every luxury.
The chains and fetters are removed from the body, and suspended
against the walls until the hour of going the round occurs . Those
who have no money to bribe, are in a pitiable condition. Not only
is every alleviation of their sufferings denied, but actual infliction
of punishment is added to extort money, or buy burnt offerings
(of paper) to the god of the jail ; for this purpose the prisoners are
severely tortured . The words " hell" and " prison" are synonymous
in the Chinese language .
Modes of Punishment, Torture, &c.—According to the penal
code, magistrates are permitted to use instruments of torture to
obtain a confession of guilt. The code also provides punishment
for unjustly abusing this privilege . The only limitation is the
eight privileged classes, and all below the age of fifteen and above
seventy years.
A censor, from the province of Honan, reports to the Emperor
as follows, " All courts of law have fixed regulations, in ques
tioning prisoners, that should guide their conduct before the
magistrates inflict punishment. Latterly, when prisoners are
brought before district-magistrates on suspicion, in order to obtain
a character for activity they resort to various modes of torture to
induce them to confess . The common practice is pulling them by
the ears, and obliging them to kneel on iron chains for a length of
time, with the breast, small of the back, and legs bent up, and
fastened to three crossbars ; and suspending them from a beam
by strings placed round their fingers and thumbs . By this means
many innocent people are compelled to sign a confession of guilt."
The same censor reports , that "the police fix on timid people, who
TORTURES . -APPEAL REGULATIONS . 159
are known to possess property, and falsely accuse them of seditious
practices, and by that means extort large sums of money." And
he'goes on to say, that " these things could not be done, unless the
local magistrate connived at it. I lay this statement, with respect
and reverence, before your majesty . - Chow. "
Flogging, otherwise beating with the bamboo, and whipping
with a rattan, are the most general modes of punishment for petty
offences. The whip is a modern instrument, and only exercised
on Tartars . A sentence of banishment is convertible, for the
Tartars only, into wearing the wooden collar. This punishment is
not clearly laid down in the penal code ; but from what is known
as the practice , the distance averages from one hundred to fourteen
hundred statute miles from the culprit's native place ; the desti
nation rests entirely with the emperor. The fifteenth section
provides, in all cases of perpetual banishment, the criminal's wife
must be sent with him ; his children and relations, only, when the
offence is high treason,-the relations are designated " imperial
prisoners ." Those sentenced to banishment for short periods, are
employed in government salt-works . A large number of those
who are sentenced for long periods, or for life, are sent to Western
Tartary, and handed over to the soldiers as slaves . From the
northern parts of the empire the criminals are sent to the south,
as slaves to the Tartar soldiers . Yuen, the governor of the pro
vince of Yunnan, in 1832 , memorialised the Emperor, complaining
of the vast number of convicts which are annually sent to that
province from Tartary. This is done on account of the unhealth
iness of the climate ; their numbers average 4,500, of whom one
fourth are ignorant of any trade, and must be supported by the
province, which cannot afford it. The annual expense is 4,000
taels .
APPEALS . According to the section 332 of the penal code, all
subjects of the empire, soldiers or citizens, who have complaints to
make, must address themselves , in the first instance, to the lowest
tribunal of justice within the district to which they belong. Sec
tion 341 provides, that "in all cases of adultery, robbery, frauds,
breach of laws concerning landed property, pecuniary contracts, or
of any such offences, committed by or against individuals in the
military class , or if the people are implicated in any way, the
military commanding officer and the civil magistrate shall have
joint jurisdiction ."
Chang-ling, who was prime minister in 1830 , was fined to the
amount of one year's salary, for permitting a petition to be handed
to the emperor in person, although the petition was from a soldier
of the body-guard .
A memorial from the captains of infantry who had charge of
the city gates, complains of the vast number of petitioners who
have lately resorted to Peking . The memorialists attribute the
number of appeals to the perverseness of the people, and the
neglect of duty in the local officers, so that women and girls of
160 SUBSTITUTES FOR MURDERERS .
tender age travel thousands of miles to obtain redress . To cure
this growing evil, the captains have suggested that all petitioners
coming to Peking, without previously laying their case before their
own governor, be punished ; that, should their case be unjustly
decided, those who have tried it be likewise punished .
It is evident that the numerous appeals arise from the delay in
obtaining justice . The Emperor, in approving of a magistrate in
the province of Hoopih, who had disposed of 1,000 cases within
the year, in which the parties had appealed to superior courts,
says, " what must the number be throughout the empire ?" His
Majesty added , " that unjust decisions must be the cause of só
many appeals being brought forward . Hereafter, let all governors
of provinces issue strict orders that all appeals be disposed of as
soon as they are presented . If they are allowed to accumulate in
future, report to me ."
A case occurred in 1829, in the province of Keangse, and on
examining into the appeal it appeared, that two substitutes had
been found for the real murderers, who were bribed to undergo
the sentence of death in their stead .
On an appeal to Peking against two magistrates, for torturing
the appellant's father to death by a false accusation, they were
sentenced to transportation with hard labour.
A widow of Foo -keen, after appealing in vain for four years to
the local authorities for redress for the murder of her son , sent her
nephew to Peking. The case was attended to , but the court was
unable to comprehend him owing to his local dialect. The fact
was, that the robbers belonged to such a powerful gang, that the
authorities dare not take them up.
The governor of the two Kwang provinces, interdicts women
from presenting memorials or appeals, and old men appearing as
witnesses. " How can old men, in the evening of life, become wit
nesses ? But, among the people of Canton, there exists a litigious
spirit. Now, as old men cannot be punished, these seditious cha
racters hire them as witnesses . As the punishment of crimes
cannot be inflicted on women, they send young delicate females
openly into the halls of justice . You, magistrates, must examine
into the matter ; question both parties and find out the bribery:
and inflict severe punishment. If people stop my chair in order to
force a petition into it, I will seize the presenter and punish him
severely ; let them go to the inferior courts ."
In 1821 , the crew of H. M.'s ship Topaz had an affray with
the inhabitants of Lintin, when two Chinese were killed . Two
years after this transaction , the brother of one of the men who
was killed, visited Peking to complain against the authorities in
Canton, particularly Howqua, whom he charged with receiving a
bribe from the foreigners . The case was referred to the emperor,
who sent the appellant back to Canton, with an order to the go
vernor to enquire into the affair. The governor reported, that the
accusation was false ; and, according to law, the appellant is guilty
TI
REDEMPTION FROM CRIMES . 161
of false accusation , and sentenced to be banished 2,000 miles
distance from his native place,
OATHS. The form of an oath is dispensed with in their courts
of justice. Still the people consider an oath as a most solemn
engagement. The man who persists in a denial or affirmation of
a fact, is led by the parties who are interested to a temple which is
completely darkened . He then denounces against himself the
most dreadful imprecations, invoking both heaven and earth to
witness . After this he cuts off the head of a fowl, and, while the
blood is streaming, repeats his former words, devoting himself to
destruction if he does not speak the truth . Any man that has
gone through this ordeal is held in superstitious dread and ab
horrence ; and this is the reason why oaths of this kind are seldom
resorted to. Oaths, however, are freely administered amongst the
various secret societies . The novitiates are sworn to abjure all
human ties, to merge their family feelings, and, if necessary for
the objects of the society, to abandon their names and country.
An oath common among the people, consists in pointing with
the finger to a near object, and saying, as sure as this exists, so
true are my statements .
The following table exhibits a scale of pecuniary redemption
from crimes, which, by an edict of Keenlung, is acted on in
China :
Rank of the Party offending . Sentence. Pecuniary
Commutation.
Ozs. of Silver.
An officer above the 4th rank • 12.000
"" of the 4th rank 5.000
Death by
"" of the 5th or 6th rank 4.000
Strangula
ور of the 7th, or any infe tion or
rior rank, or a doctor of literature 2.500
Decollation .
A graduate or licentiate 2.000
A private individual 1.200
An officer above the 4th rank 7.200
رو of the 4th rank 3.000
در of the 5th or 6th rank • 2.400
Perpetual
"} of the 7th, or any infe
Banishment
rior rank, or a doctor of literature 1.500
A graduate or licentiate 1.200
A private individual 0.720
An officer above the 4th rank 4.800
رد of the 4th rank Temporary 2.000
در of the 5th or 6th rank • Banishment 1.600
A graduate or licentiate or Blows . 0.800
A private individual 0.480
M
162 NUMBER OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENTS .
Strangulation is performed by tying a man with his back to a
THE CARTHE FIR post, around which and his neck a rope is drawn tight and twisted
by a winch. This mode of execution is considered the least dis
graceful in China . Section 422 of the penal code prescribes a
punishment of sixty blows to any magistrate who substitutes,
wilfully, this punishment for beheading. The smallest crime for
which a sentence of strangulation is pronounced, is a third con
viction of stealing, and defacing the brand-marks inflicted by the
two former convictions .
The criminal code provides that no execution shall take place
during the first or sixth moons in any year. Europeans, who have
been long resident in Canton, have never been able to ascertain
the exact number of executions that have taken place, as the
Peking Gazette only occasionally publishes the total number fixed
by the Emperor. In March 1817 there were twenty-four men
beheaded in Canton, and five days after eighteen more . Executions
in Canton excite little or no interest, from their frequent occur
rence, and the crimes for which so many suffer are rarely or ever
made public .
The Peking Gazette, of October 1817, states the number of
warrants signed by the Emperor was 925, of which 135 belonged
to the province of Canton . The whole of these were minor of
fences only, which awaited the autumnal decision . All offences
of a serious nature have the penalty of execution performed before
the Emperor is informed of it, notwithstanding the law.
A maniac who killed his father was punished with death, in the
province of Hoonan, although he was proved to be deranged
several years .
The number of autumnal death-warrants, in 1826, was 581 .
The same gazette states that a Tartar soldier, who had killed his
mother, had been handed over to the privileged tribe to which he
belonged, to be dealt with as they thought proper. In 1828, a
young female was cut in a thousand pieces, for poisoning her
mother-in-law ; her husband was compelled to witness the scene,
and shed tears at this butcherly sight. For this display of feeling
he was instantly sentenced to wear the cangue a month, and re
ceive fifty blows . There is no exhibition of feeling allowed where
the death of a father or mother is vindicated .
The total number of executions in Canton , in 1829, was 190, of
which 130 were executed without any reference being made to the
Emperor, and sixty died by imperial warrant .
At the autumnal sittings of 1828 there were ordered for execu
tion 782, of which the single province of Szechuen had 112 marked
for execution .
The succeeding year the number published was 579, of which
the above province had 104. In 1833 the number executed, in
Canton, was 156 .
On a recent occasion , the Emperor having gone through the cus
tomary form of fasting and prayer, received, in autumn, the list of
PERIODIC READING OF THE LAWS . 163
criminals sentenced to death, from the hands of Muhchangah,
the prime minister. In presence of the ministers of the cabinet,
the members of the privy council, and the president and officers of
the board of punishments, the following number was marked off in
eight successive days, for execution, viz.: for Turkestan, 4 ; Yun
nan, 28 ; Kwiechoo , 11 ; Szechuen . 125 ; Kwang-tung (Canton) ,
25 ; Kwangsee, 10 ; Foo-keen, 9 ; Leaoutung, 21 ; Kan-suh and
Shense provinces, 26 ; Chekeang, 14 ; Keangse, 20 ; Hookwang,
49 ; Keangsoo, 25 ; Ganhwuy, 23 ; Honan, 29 ; Shan-tung 29 ;
Shanse, 24 ; Chih-le, 17 ; Jehol, 4 ; and Peking, 13. This list
only shows the number who have accumulated during the whole
year, and on whose behalf mercy has been sought in vain . Total, 506.
A proclamation from governor Loo, in the Peking_Gazette,
against exhumation, states that the law is as follows : " To open a
grave and see the coffin, shall be punished by perpetual banishment.
To open the coffin and see the corpse, death by strangulation . To
carry off the body and demand a ransom, death by immediate
decapitation, both for principals and accomplices . At the north
gate of Canton city, where many are buried , there are three classes
of resurrection men. First, those who open graves and break the
coffins of their foes from revenge and malice ! 2nd , those who` do
so to strip the dead bodies of their ornaments ; and 3rd, those who
carry off the dead to obtain ransom . These are crimes sufficient
to make the hairs of one's head stand on end. The law shall be
strictly enforced without mercy ."
Every city has its town hall, where the laws are periodically read
to the people .
The Sacred Edict, containing sixteen maxims of the Emperor
Kanghe, is by statute required to be proclaimed throughout the
empire, by the local officers , on the first and fifteenth of every
moon. The maxims are as follows :
1st. Pay just regard to filial and fraternal duties, in order to give
due importance to the relations of life .
2nd . Respect kindred, in order to display the excellence of har
mony.*
3rd. Let concord abound among those who dwell in the same
neighbourhood , in order to prevent litigations.
4th . Give the chief place to husbandry and the culture of the
mulberry tree, in order to procure adequate supplies of food and
raiment.
5th. Hold economy in estimation, in order to prevent the lavish
waste of money .
6th. Magnify academical learning, in order to direct the scholar's
progress .
7th. Degrade all strange religions, in order to exalt the orthodox
doctrinc .
* There are not more than 100 family names in the empire.
M 2
164 IMPERIAL MAXIMS .
8th. Explain the laws, in order to warn the ignorant and ob
stinate.
9th . Illustrate the principles of a polite and yielding carriage, in
order to improve manners .
10th. Attend to the essential employments, in order to give un
varying determination to the will of the people.
11th . Instruct the youth, in order to prevent them from doing
evil.
12th. Suppress all false accusing, in order to secure protection
to the innocent .
13th. Warn those who hide deserters, that they may not be in
volved in their downfall.
14th. Complete the payment of taxes, in order to prevent fre
quent urging.
15th . Settle animosities, that lives may be duly valued .
16th . Unite the paou and kea, in order to extirpate robbery and
theft .*
The following case illustrates in some points the nature of Chinese
law and justice :-A French merchant vessel was wrecked on the
coast of Cochin China, in 1829, but the crew were saved . The
10
captain hired a Chinese junk to convey his crew, thirteen in number,
to Macao. In the progress of their journey the Chinese murdered
every man of the crew, except one Italian, Francisco Mangiapan,
who escaped by swimming to a Chinese boat, which brought him
to Macao. The Chinese authorities displayed the most laudable
anxiety to discover the murderers, and offered fifty dollars for the
detection of each, and a monthly allowance of three taels to the
Italian, and a present of 100 dollars . The whole gang were taken,
tried, and condemned, and due notice was given to all foreigners
resident in Canton, that the government would confront the mur
derers with Francisco in the Hong merchants' hall on a certain day,
that they might be present.
On the day of trial, the prisoners arrived, each in a separate cage ;
about three feet long, two wide, and three deep, with chains round
their necks, legs, and wrists . One of the prisoners, a native of
Foo-keen, appeared most anxious to communicate with some person
who understood his dialect . A foreign gentleman who was pre
sent, ascertained from him, that from the torture he had undergone
he confessed to a guilty knowledge of the crime, but wished to
recant that plea. The prisoners were brought before the judge
three at a time, and put on their knees . Francisco was attended
by a Portuguese interpreter, and with very little hesitation he fully
identified all the murderers . In his first statement, one of the
crew was described as not having taken any part in the massacre ;
* " The law of the paou and the kea." Ten families form a kea, and ten kea
constitute a paou. Every kea has its elder, and every paou its chief. A register is
prepared, and the names of all must be enrolled.
THE PEKING , OR GOVERNMENT GAZETTE . 165
but on the contrary, early intimated to the French captain their
murderous intention . Francisco described him minutely, by a
mark on his face. When the prisoner who spoke to the foreigner
was brought forward, Francisco instantly pointed him out as his
deliverer, and regardless of the consequence or presence ofgovernment,
gave vent to the intensity of his gratitude by embracing him with
all the warmth and ardour so peculiar to his country. The judge
having closely questioned Francisco, appeared fully satisfied, so the
sentence was respited for banishment. Seventeen men suffered
for the murder, and the French consul received 3,000 dollars
made up from property which the malefactors possessed in their
own right, but was confiscated ; their relations were mulcted out
of 150,000 dollars, by the various officers. The subsequent con-
fession of the pardoned culprit, discloses an extraordinary fact, that
six of those that suffered death were bought substitutes.
The Press. Government communicates its orders and transmits
information through a Peking Gazette, called king-paou ; (king
great, and paou to report) , which is published by government and
circulated in every province, entirely for the use of officers of go
vernment ; its indiscriminate circulation is contrary to law. The
Gazette at all times contains curious information, by which we
are made acquainted with the machinery of the government. The
chief contents of each number is taken up with rewards to meritor
ious officers, the degradation of others, memorials, disasters attend
ing the rivers, &c.; impeachments and proclamations occupy a
great portion of it : these documents are all signed, Taoukwang,
در
(Reason's Glory) , as with us in the form of " God save the Queen .'
All licentious books are prohibited, but the law is a dead letter,
and they have a wide range. Works on sorcery, witchcraft, and
divination, (except those branches sanctioned by the government) ,
are interdicted, and the authors and printers are liable to lose their
lives . Political subjects are not to be discussed . The government
publishes all political works, and only permits their circulation
amongst the officers . The code of laws is an exception to this ge
neral rule ; at the rate of two dollars 24 volumes are circulated, so
that no person may plead ignorance of the laws . Dr. Gutzlaff had
the goodness to translate into the general printed character of the
Chinese language- my " Analysis of the Bible," or code of social
ethics ; it has not been interdicted by the government, and is now
in extensive circulation throughout the whole empire.
Secret Sects. - The Tartar rulers of China are continually dis
turbed by the discovery of secret sects and associations in different 1
provinces . The vigilance with which the present Emperor per
secutes all those societies is accounted for thus ; his father's life
was attempted by one of those sects, and only preserved by the
valor of his present majesty. The various disturbances that have
lately occurred in Shanse province, and Hoonan, have been traced
to a society called " Heaven and Earth." In the province of
166 SECRET SOCIETIES .
Foo-keen a sect called the " Tea Society " is considered most
dangerous . Soldiers and police join these sects ; the novitiates ,
it is said, go through a ceremony of drinking each other's blood
mixed with water.
The disorganized state of society, and the conduct of the police
and petty officers in the country, may also be gathered from "a
memorial to the Emperor, showing the daily increase of enervation
and degeneracy in the province of Kwang-tung," & c., in 1838 .
" 1st. In the department of police, no negligence or indolence
must be suffered ; all judicial cases must be speedily attended to
and determined ; then will peace dwell in the abodes of the people,
and the instigators of strife be checked.
(C Many are the cases of plunder that are from time to time
brought forward in the province of Kwang-tung ; and of these a
large number are attributable to unlawful associations . Bands of
men combine and join together, under the designations of Teente
Brotherhoods , Triad Societies, and such like. They carry off*
persons in order to extort ransoms for them ; they falsely assume
the character of policemen ; they clandestinely build fast-pulling
boats, professedly to guard the fields of grain, and these they man
with a crew of from ten to twenty people, who cruise along the
rivers, violently plundering the boats of travellers as they pass to
and fro, or forcibly carrying off the wives and daughters of the
tanka boat people. The inhabitants of the villages and hamlets
fear these robbers as they would tigers, and do not offer them
any resistance, lest they should draw down their resentment . The
husbandman, when he has received a field to plant and ready for
culture, must take the precaution of paying these robbers a charge,
which is called procuring an indemnity,―else, as soon as the crop is
ripe, it is plundered, and the whole field laid bare. In the precincts of
the metropolis, where their contiguity to the civil and military
tribunals prevents them from committing violent depredations in
open day, they set fire to places during the night, their aim being,
under pretence, during the conflagration, of saving and defending,
to avail themselves of opportunities to plunder and carry off. Hence,
of late years, calamitous fires have greatly increased in frequency.
The local officers have treated these merely as common accidental
fires . And robbers, finding that they could thus act with impunity,
have added to the irregularity of their doings .
" In cases of petty altercations, or of more serious disputes,
among the people themselves - as the uneducated villagers adhere
closely to the use of local dialects, it consequently rests entirely
with the clerks and under- officers to interpret the evidence . When
the judicial officer, whose duty it is to hear and determine, is in the
slightest degree lax and inattentive, the attendants and servants
of the court have the evidence pre- arranged, and join with bullies
and strife-makers to subvert right and wrong- fattening themselves
upon bribes extorted under the names of ' notes or memoranda of
OFFICIAL CORRUPTION AND OPPRESSION . 167
Tins GND
the complaints,' ' purchases of replies, ' and so forth ; retarding in
definitely the decision of cases, and even instigating thieves to bring
false accusations against the good ; who, ere a true judgment is
elicited, and the stolen effects are recovered, are already ruined and
deprived of all their property. While the officers of government
and people are thus kept apart and separated, how can it be other
wise than that appeals to higher tribunals should be incessant, and
that instigation of strife and perseverance in litigation should
prevail ?
" It behoves, therefore, that a declaration of the imperial plea
sure should be solicited, commanding the governor and lieutenant
governor of Kwang-tung to issue orders to the magistrates through
out the province, to apprehend the lawless, and give security to the
good ; and with severity to seize all who are joined in illegal asso
ciations, sending them to the metropolis, that they may be openly
punished, and that like proceedings may be interdicted . By these
means, masters will be led to command their families ; and these
will have knowledge to be deterred from being seduced to attach
themselves to such associations . Whenever any case of plunder
arises, the magistrates should make personal investigation, followma
ing the traces till they succeed in apprehending the thieves ; they
should not seek, by disregard of the matter, to avoid censure for
ill- success . When fires break out among the abodes of the people,
the magistrates should ascertain how they originated,. and should
not be allowed to assume indifference, and so let the matter pass
off. As soon as complaints, or appeals , are brought before them,
they should immediately give their personal attention to the inves
tigation, and, if true, should inflict punishment with strictness ; if
unfounded, should visit with like punishment the false accusers .
They should not give the rein to the clerks and attendants of the
courts, lest their so doing should result in a want of truth or of
perfect justice. In this way it may be expected to clear off the
judicial cases, to settle long-delayed litigations, and gradually to
bring to an end habits of plunder and robbery ; and thus it may
be hoped that the people will be enabled to rest upon their beds
in peace .
(6
2ndly. The magistrates of districts, when collecting the taxes,
whether of money or of grain, must not overrate the amount due,
with a view of deducting from it, nor suffer the excise officers to
connive at non- payment .
" If the taxes be overrated, each individual will entertain schemes
whereby he may hope to avoid payment, and the result will be,
opposition to the collectors, and defalcation of the revenue. If
non-payment be connived at, debts from the people to the revenue
will accumulate, and still increase, and the consequences must be
that bribery will become necessary, in order to obtain continued
delay.
The province of Kwangtung, in place of its original contribution
168 TRIAD SOCIETY, ORIGIN .
!
to the supplies conveyed to the court, has for a long time past paid
the tax of grain, due from it, in money, which, after being collected,
is remitted to the provincial treasury, under the charge of the
financial and territorial commissioner. The people have always
attended to agriculture, and have not failed gladly to discharge
this tax. But it is said, that, of late years, whilst inundations and
drought have in no small degree afflicted the land, causing very
scanty harvests, the magistrates when levying the tax of grain,
have rated the price of it as high as six or seven taels for a sheih
M
of 120 catties.* The common people are not possessed of abund
ant wealth, and cannot sustain being thus peeled and scraped ; con
sequently, the clerks and tax collectors, and village bullies, have
received bribes to shelter them and to let them pass free of pay
ment. And hence, old debts and new levies conjointly press upon
them, and remain alike unpaid.
" It behoves, therefore, that a declaration of the imperial plea
sure be solicited, commanding that strict orders be issued to all
the magistrates, that whenever the tax on grain has to be collected ,
they shall, previously to the collection , issue proclamations through
¿ out every city, village, and market-place, declaring what is the legal
amount leviable as the price of the grain-contribution , upon each
acre of arable land, and commanding the payment thereof within
a time named ; adding, also, that the clerks and tax-gatherers are
not permitted to extort fees, or to receive any surplus above the
legal amount ; that if any persons venture to undertake such exac
tions, in opposition to the commands so issued, they shall be strictly
apprehended and punished . At the same time, these orders must
not be stretched to involve the unoffending . All debts incurred
prior to the year 1835 , have, by a gracious declaration of the im
perial pleasure, received full remission ; which fact should be made
known by appending to the magistrates' proclamation a copy, on
yellow paper, of the imperial commands. Thus will be attained
the certainty, that the village husbandmen and field labourers.
are all fully aware of, and thoroughly imbued, by the sovereign's
benevolence and any semblance of sanction will be removed from
an undistinguishing enforcement of the payment of these remitted
debts. Such measures as these will produce, in place of a tardy,
a most ready and joyful payment of the taxes. "
The Triad Society.-This society excites great interest, as its
object is stated to be the overthrow of the Tartar dynasty, and
the restoration of the Chinese, which two centuries ago, was dis
possessed by the Tartar race . Dr. Gutzlaff found some of their
papers, and has translated them. They consist of songs used at
the initiation of new members, and of the oath taken by the
novices. The societies take their beginning from a war between
the Manchoos and the Suloos, towards the close of the seventeenth
* The sheih is legally rated at from three or four tacks.
ORGANIZATION OF THE TRIADS . 169
century. For many years the Triads have maintained a bold
struggle with the usurping government ; but in 1736, they were
dispersed into various parts of the empire, having previously
agreed upon certain signs by which they might be known to each
other, until the day of vengeance shall arrive, when they are all
to march to Nankin, and establish the ancient Chinese dynasty
upon the throne . From that time to the present, they have main
tained a secret organization, somewhat like the Freemasons of
Europe, divided into lodges, and connected by certain signs only
known to themselves, such as certain passwords, or modes of
putting a question, the manner of placing cups and dishes on the
table, of putting on a garment, of saluting, &c.
Meetings are held often by night, in secluded places ; blood is
mingled and burnt with incense on an altar ; a cock is frequently
sacrificed, vows of fidelity are renewed, traitors denounced, and
vengeance declared, which is rarely unfulfilled . Men frequently
join these societies for protection, and seek the strongest body to
enrol their names.
The society is rapidly extending to all the lower classes, and
Dr. Gutzlaff thinks that should they ever join the other numerous
political societies forming in every part of the empire, against all
barbarian encroachments, their resistance would be very for
midable.
The manifesto, of which a translation is subjoined , was found in
the English burial ground, at Macao, in the year 1828 .
It is discovered to be a kind of oath or speeeh, which is used
by a secret society, whose object is to expel the present, to them
hateful dynasty, from the throne . There can be no doubt that
these affiliated and formidable associations pervade all parts of
China ; members of them are said to be in every public office.
" Manifesto to invite an Army."
" Ist. Illustrious, illustrious, the middle nation : vast, vast, the
celestial empire .
2nd. A thousand states offered her tribute ; ten thousand nations
attended her court.
3rd . The Hoo-men usurped and seized her : resentment for this
it is impossible to suppress .
4th . Invite soldiers, buy horses-high respond the flowery bridge.
5th . Arise, soldiers, uplift the pike ; destroy and exterminate the
رو
Tsing dynasty.'
The 152nd section of the penal code, provides punishment
for magicians, and teachers of false doctrines ; 255 for rebel
lion : this clause extends to Tartar subjects, as well as to
other subjects of the empire, to all religious associations , but
particularly to the " Heaven and Earth society," of Foo-keen : 256
170 DENOUNCEMENT OF SECRET SOCIETIES .
to sorcery and magic ; the 266th section awards death to all, of
any party whose number shall amount to a hundred and more, who
meet to plan or commit robbery.
The commentator (Shing-Yu), on the Sacred Edict, given at
page 163, cautions the people against attending religious meetings,
which he designates as nonsensical and mischievous ; such as
keeping fasts, and building temples, and which things, he says, are
got up by the priests of Budha and Taou to deceive. It appears,
that the objection government have to religious assemblies is
founded on the tendency they all have to combine against the
Mantchoo dynasty. Sir G. Staunton states, that in the provinces
inhabited by Tartars, half a dozen natives cannot meet without a
clamour against their rulers. Amongst the most numerous of the
illegal societies are the Water-lily sect, who about the beginning
of this century, revolted in four provinces, Hoopih, Kausuh , Shense,
and Szechuen, which comprise a population of upwards of
80,000,000 ; the rebellion was not suppressed for nearly nine
years.
In 1813 , this society again broke out, and attacked the Emperor,
Keaking, in his palace, at Peking, whose life was only preserved
by the great courage displayed by his second son, the present
Emperor. The first edict issued denounced the guilty sect ; but the
magistrates, to exhibit their loyalty spared no society except the
Budhists, and advantage was taken of this opportunity to prosecute
the numerous Christians and their missionaries, who were expelled
from Peking. This period might be called the reign of terror, as
very many of the innocent suffered for the guilty. The greedy
mandarins and underlings tortured and extorted with impunity.
The state of the empire from these proceedings cannot be better
exhibited, than by giving some extracts from a manifesto from the
Emperor, which appeared in the Peking Gazette, of 13th November,
1814, " This moment great degeneracy prevails ; the magistrates
are destitute of truth, and a great portion of the people are false
and deceitful. There is little of conscience or shame in their hearts.
They enjoy the sweets of office, and carelessly spend their days :
it is monstrously strange."
After some unsuccessful attempts, the society adapted another
name, called , the " Triad Society, or Heaven , Earth, and Man,"
which according to the Chinese doctrine of the universe, are the
three great powers of nature . There are other societies called
the " Flood Family," and " Queen of Heaven's Company," these arc
numerous in the Chinese colonies, and Singapore and Borneo, &c.
The Peking Gazette of June, 1816, is much taken up with pro
ceedings against a secret society called the " Pure Tea Sect," the
leader of which had been put to death . In 1817, a member of the
imperial family was discovered to be connected with one of those
societies, and degraded . Governor Yuen, about this period ,
apprehended upwards of 2000 members of a secret society in
BANKING AND CURRENCY . 171
Canton . In 1818, a large number of families were implicated in
Peking, but on making a full confession were forgiven . In 1824,
a society was discovered in Shan-tung, and upwards of 500 appre
hended ; another in Soochaw, was this year scattered, by the
increased vigilance of the authorities . In 1827, a serious disturb
ance occurred at the Meiling Pass, in which a magistrate was
killed ; also at Leenchaw, this year, the inhabitants were plundered
of all their moveable property, including rice- crops, &c. A censor
reports, that the local magistrates are in dread of punishing the
members when brought before them : the Emperor in answer ordered
the military to take up the matter.
In 1831 , the Emperor ordered proclamations to be issued offer
ing free pardon to all who would recant, and give up their conThey
nexion with those societies. The Governor of Canton, in a kind of
answer to his majesty, suggests a mode that has been tried in four
districts of the province with success, viz . giving them waste lands
rent free. The emperor has consented to this plan, but desires
that tax-gatherers and underlings may not be allowed to oppress
them, also that free schools should be established among them ; and
that strict attention be paid to the half monthly reading of the
Sacred Edict ; in order to incite them to the practice of virtue.
The conclusion at which I have arrived, after an attentive exami
nation of the whole of the question respecting the government of
China, is that it is corrupt to the core, and losing control over
the nation, which is held together by habit, -by the natural love
of the people for order and peace,-by the associations, interests,
and feelings which more or less pervade every large and long
established community . But this will be a subject for future dis
cussion .
CHAPTER V.
BANKING AND CURRENCY.
THE trade in money , in China , is carried on by bankers, assayers
of the mint, and money-changers, whose establishments are com
prized under the general term of " money-shops :" their occupation
is similar to that of like establishments in Europe. The money
shops in China are generally private establishments, composed of
one or more individuals, with equal or unequal shares in the busi
ness . Sometimes only one name is used, although there are seve
ral partners in the firm. They receive money in deposit at one
172 BANKING LAWS . - INTEREST .
rate of interest, and lend out at another ; they advance money on
good security, and deal in gold, silver, and native and foreign coin.
They discount either their own bills, or those of their connexions
in business, with whom they are on a footing of reciprocity. In
Canton they do not issue notes payable on demand ; but in other
large cities in the north, such notes are in circulation, often with a
great many endorsements on them. They, however, only circulate
in the places where they are issued , or in their immediate vicinity.
The notes issued by the bankers rise and fall in value according to
the demand for them. On our occupation of Ningpo, they rose in
value, as the people wished to carry off their property, and our
troops did not think it worth while to seize pieces of paper. The
confidence reposed in large banks is unlimited : a low-class China
man will cheat for a " cash," but the higher class, in large dealings,
are scrupulously honest. The bankers receive deposits drawable
at will of the depositor, when no interest is allowed ; or they take
money at interest, not exceeding one per cent . per month, in which
case timely notice must be given before any portion of it can be
withdrawn. At Shanghai, on a deposit of 100 taels of silver, inte
rest is allowed at the rate of seven mace per month : on a loan of
the same amount effected, the rate of interest is fifteen mace per
month : loans are effected to any amount. One bank in Shanghai,
whose books I minutely examined, seemed very methodically con
ducted . The highest lawful interest is three per cent. per month ;
but this is seldom obtained without considerable risk, except by
pawnbrokers. When money is deposited, a receipt for it is given,
in which the terms upon which it is deposited are stated .
Agreements to receive money at compound interest are unlaw
ful ; but when the interest is to be added to the principal, the ori
ginal receipt is cancelled, and a new one given, the aggregate being
considered as the principal, at single interest . This may be done
monthly, annually, or at any other periods, according to agree
ment.
By the Chinese law, three per cent. per month thirty -six per
annum, is the limited rate, and whatever the period upon which
interest is due at the day of repayment, no more can be received
or demanded than the original sum lent, and the lawful interest
thereon, to an amount not exceeding the principal. Debtors not
fulfilling their agreements are punished by blows, or by banish
ment, to a given extent, according to the amount of the debts ; the
blows to be repeated from month to month .
Bills of exchange, and promissory notes, circulate : these are
either payable at sight, or within a given period after sight, in which
latter case they are regularly accepted ; and lastly, they are some
times made payable at a fixed period . A certain sort of promissory
notes is in use among the Chinese at Canton, which do not pass
through the hands of more than three or four persons, all of whom
are well acquainted with each other. In lieu of endorsing the
BANK NOTES . — EXCHANGES . 173
original note in the manner customary in Europe, they attach a
piece of paper to it, in which they assign the reason why it has
been handed over to another person instead of money : at maturity
the holder does not apply for payment to the drawer, but to him
from whom he has received the bill ; and thus each endorser pro
ceeds , until at last it reaches the drawer ; or the three or four per
sons whose names are on the endorsement, including the actual
holder of the bill, call together on the drawer for payment : this
latter mode is considered the most simple and effectual. The
Chinese in Canton , therefore, do not consider promissory notes so
much as an accommodation, but rather as a security for the pay
ment of money. The discount charged on such bills varies accord
ing to the scarcity or abundance of money in the market, but
would rarely exceed one per cent . per month. Money can be
transmitted through the banks from Canton to those places with
which they stand in relations of business, and this is effected either
by credit or bills of exchange, at a cost of about half, one, two, or
three per cent . , according to distance. Many of the banks, how
ever, only confine their transactions to Canton, and the adjoining
province of Kwangse . Some have correspondents in one or two
other provinces, but the connexions of only a few extend beyond
those limits. At Foochoo, the capital of the Foo-keen province,
banks are numerous, and paper notes almost the sole circulating
medium . The lowest notes I obtained at Foochoo were for 400
cash, about a quarter of a dollar ; some notes are issued in the
northern cities as high as 30,000 taels, or 35,000 dollars. Money
was safely remitted for our consulates by native bankers between
Amoy and Foochoo . The cost for sending 9950 dollars from Soo
choo (the large city of which Shanghai is the port) to Canton, is
fifty dollars . The bank which possesses most credit at Canton is
said to be that of Anshing, whose correspondence is chiefly with
Nanking and Peking ; and it is said that his intercourse with these
places is as regular, if not more so, than that of government .
On placing funds in a bank, the depositor is furnished with a
pass-book, and whenever he draws for money, he sends his book
to the bank, where the sum paid is entered in the same. It ap-
pears that when the pass-book is lost, there is a great difficulty in
recovering the money which has not been drawn for . The larger
bank establishments have branches in some of the principal places
of trade connected with Canton. The bankers take each others'
notes where there is an understanding between them to that effect :
failures of banks are of rare occurrence. None of the persons, vari
ously employed in banking business, are responsible to, or in any
way connected with the government, except the government shroffs,
or assayers of the Mint. Every public officer, superintending any
branch of the revenue, employs one of these shroffs to receive the
taxes and duties, with the addition of a fixed allowance for loss in
melting ; and the shroff having reduced them to sycee silver (in
174 ANCIENT PAPER MONEY .
which state only they are received by the imperial treasury) ; he
becomes responsible for the purity thereof.
The establishments thus connected with the government are
licensed, and remunerated by a certain allowance for waste, which
always exceeds the amount actually required. Taxes are generally
handed over to them by the public departments ; and duties of im
port and export are paid into their banks by the merchants from
whom they are owing ; in which latter case the banker grants a re
ceipt for the amount, accompanied by a certificate that it shall be
paid to the government within a certain period . The refined silver
is generally cast into bars of the form of a horse shoe, and stamped
with the banker's name, and the date when it was refined . Any
deception on the part of the assayer, at whatever distance of time
discovered, is liable to severe punishment . The following details of
the progress of paper money may interest :-in the year 119 B.C.,
paper money was used by the Chinese ; sometimes a nominal cur
rency was issued on pieces of skin a foot square, or on pasteboard ;
in the Hung Dynasty, A.D. 807, the currency was more regular,
and copper only used for coining . Contributions were obliged to
be made to the treasury, for which "the Sian," voluntary money,
was issued ; A.D. 960, notes were issued for merchandize deposited
in the public treasuries - like pawnbrokers ' duplicates : they were
called " pianthsian," or accommodation money, were everywhere
negotiable, made on paper a foot square, with their current value
stamped on them, and had an official seal . Subsequently a system of
cheques (tchilse) were issued to replace the heavy iron coinage used.
About the tenth century a better system of banking was intro
duced ; bills of exchange (kiao-tse changes) were issued, payable
every three years. 2 The kiao-tsee, is one ounce of silver, or 1,000
cash. About the eleventh century the public creditors were paid
by the issue of notes, or contracts in nominal value, varying from
200 to 1,000 cash. The extent to which these were issued towards
the close of the century, is stated to have been 28,000,000 ounces
of silver . Different provinces, also, issued their own paper, and a
great monetary confusion arose.
Marco Polo, the Venetian traveller, who resided in China upwards
of twenty years, about the year A.D. 1256, thus describes the mode
in which paper money was then made and issued by the emperor,
or grand khan, in the city of Kambalu ( Pekin) . The bark is strip
ped from a tree (the mulberry) , on the leaves of which the silk-worm
feeds . It is first well soaked in water, then pounded in a mortar
into a pulpy consistence, and then made into paper of a dark
colour, which is cut into oblong pieces of different sizes, and of the
respective values of a denier tournais of 1 , 2, 5, and 10 Venetian
groats, and 1 , 2, 3, and as high as 10 besants of gold. These notes
are signed by special officers, and stamped with the emperor's seal,
which attaches value to it . The penalty for forgery is death . This
CIRCULATION OF PAPER MONEY . 175
paper money is circulated throughout the empire, and any article
can be procured by those who have this money.
Several times throughout the year, large caravans of merchants
arrive at Peking, with pearls, jewels, and gold tissues, which they lay
before his majesty . Twelve valuers are then sent by the emperor,
to fix the price of the goods, which are then paid for in this paper
money. Should the caravans happen to be from a distant empire,
they make no objection, as they invest the whole amount in mer
chandize suited to their own markets .
When these notes are damaged from use, they are exchanged at
the Mint for new ones at the charge of three per cent. The holders of
these notes could obtain gold or silver for them at any time, by ap
plying to the Mint, provided it was for having the bullion manu
factured into ornaments, drinking cups, &c. The armies of the
empire were paid with this currency .
One of the government notes extant, issued during the Ming
dynasty, has the following on one half of the note :
“ At the petition of the treasury board, it is ordained that paper
money thus marked with the imperial seal of the Ming, shall have
currency and be used in all respects as if it were copper money ;
whoever disobeys will have his head cut off."
Paper money continued to be used, or rather abused, in China.
under the Moguls ; and Klaproth states that when they were driven
from China, they had ruined it by their paper money. The Ming
dynasty revived the paper currency, recalled the old, and issued
new notes for 100 to 1,000 cash, and tried to keep up their value
by forbidding traffic in gold or silver ; but the value of the notes
declined in 1448 to three cash of copper for 1,000 cash paper. In
1455 the Government decreed the taxes to be paid in paper money,
metal money was forbidden ; but the nominal government cur
rency gradually declined or passed away, and since then the people
will not trust the government with the issue of paper money.
The founder of the Ming dynasty in China, Hung-woo, issued
large quantities of paper money ; the dynasty which the Emperor
destroyed, Yuen (who were Mongol Tartars) had also a great deal
of paper money in use.
There had also been paper money in circulation 140 years pre
vious to this, under the dynasty of Kin (oriental Tartars), who
reigned in the northern provinces of China and Tartary.
It does not appear that any of the native Chinese dynasties,
which reigned in the southern provinces of China, resorted to this
mode of raising supplies ; but it was generally adopted by the
usurpers, for obvious reasons .
In imitation of Spanish dollars, the reigning Emperor, not long ago
issued pieces of money, nearly equal in weight, but of finer silver, with
which the troops are paid ; the coin has on it in the Mantchoo and
Chinese languages, the words " Soldiers' pay." They are cast at
176 METALLIC WEALTH OF CHINA .
Hangchou and at Formosa. Gold bars circulate at a value varying
from 180 to 220 dollars . Private individuals cast the coin called
"cash," as well as the government, but they are continually dimin
ishing them in size, and debasing their quality, although it is felony.
The cash is the smallest coin in the world, there being about
1,000 to 1,500 in a dollar i . e . one-fifth to one- seventh of a farth
ing. Privately casting copper coin is punished with strangulation,
all accessaries in proportion . Other forgeries are punished by
blows, except those for deceiving the sovereign, counterfeiting an
official seal, or the imperial almanac, or the stamps which are used
to authenticate the land or water permits for the conveyance of
salt or tea throughout the empire-for which the punishment is
death. Judging from the constant influx of large quantities of
silver, supplied by the foreign trade for more than a century, with
out any being exported or wrought into plate to any great extent,
the stock of silver hoarded up in China must be very considerable,
notwithstanding the present heavy drain upon this accumulated
treasure, by the large exportation of bullion for opium ; this is also
counterbalanced in some degree by the annual production of the
mines by the importation of bullion and coin from Europe and
South America, and by the savings of thousands of Chinese, scat
tered over the Indian Archipelago, who remit money home for the
support of their parents and relations. It is computed that
400,000,000 dollars passed from Acapulco to Manilla during the
250 years of their intercourse ; of this sum it is estimated that one
fourth passed from Manilla to China. Since 1784, about 100,000,000
dollars have passed from the United States to China. Siam and
Cochin China send large quantities of gold and silver in ingots to
China. Japan , it is estimated, has poured into China during sixty
years of free intercourse, at least 100,000,000 dollars. From all
other sources during the past century, China has received about
50,000,000 dollars. The estimated metallic circulation is 500,000,000
dollars . Silver mines exist in several parts of the empire, some of
which may have been already exhausted and the working of others
prohibited ; but the most extensive mines and those from which a
part of the sycee silver is obtained, are at Fok- shau on the frontiers
of Burmah, and at Sung- sing in Cochin China, on the frontiers of
Kwang-se they are worked by a company of Chinese merchants,
who are said to keep constantly twenty thousand men employed in
the works, which they farm from the crown . The quantity derived
from these mines annually, does not, however, appear to exceed two
millions of taels , or about six hundred thousand pounds sterling.
Gold is said by some to be but little produced in the country. A
small proportion is said to be derived from copper after it has been
melted, and some is obtained from the sand of rivers, by washing.
It is altogether considered as an article of merchandize, and is
bought and sold at the current price, but from its scarcity it has
GOLD AND SILVER VALUES . 177
hitherto been rather dear, one tael of gold being exchanged for
about sixteen taels of silver. The money shops deal in gold .
At Amoy, in June last, I saw a considerable quantity of gold in
ingots offered for sale . The touch was said to be ninety-two ; weight
of fifteen doubloons worth 215 dollars ; fourteen dollars, 33 cents .
per oz., or £2 19s. 8d. Taking our standard gold at ninety-one
and a half touch, and the oz . as fixed by law, at £3 17s . 10d. per
oz., this would show a difference of 18s. 2d. per oz . The opium
ships on the coast used to take gold in payment until they found a
great deception practised . On one occasion 5,000 dollars were
lost. The Loocho islanders bring gold in bars annually, to
Foochoo for trade, when purchasing their yearly investments.
Copper mines are found in all the provinces, but the most produc
tive are those in Wannam, which are worked under the superinten
dence of government . This metal, with the addition of tin, lead,
and spelter, constitutes the coin which forms the circulating medium
in China, commonly called " cash," of which from one thousand to
twelve hundred good ones go to the tael of silver. These " cash"
have a square hole in the centre, for suspending them on a string,
which renders them more portable. Accounts are kept in taels,
mace, candareens, and cash :
10 cash (Chinese name le) 1 candareen .
10 candareens ( "" "" fun) 1 mace.
10 mace "" "" tseen) 1 tael.
The Chinese name for taels, is leang.
Owing to the admixture of many Cochin Chinese cash, with
those in circulation at Canton, there is a difference in the number
of these small coins which are given as an equivalent for the
Spanish dollar . An uncut dollar is valued at seven mace, two
candareens .
Articles of commerce in Canton, are paid for in Spanish dollars,
or in taels of silver . The Chinese at Canton are very fastidious in
the choice of dollars ; rejecting some and choosing others, according
to those more or less popularly preferred . Spanish dollars, with
pillars, especially those in the reign of Charles or Carlos IV., are
the most popular, and often bear a premium ; while on the other
hand, the coin issued by the American states, such as Mexican dolC
lars, are passed with difficulty, even at a discount, varying from
three to six per cent. There is another kind of Spanish dollars,
bearing the stamp letter G. or G. , which denotes their being
coined at the Guadalajara mint, called Kaw-tseen ; these are never
received but at a discount of four and five per cent. The dread of
change which is the characteristic feature in the domestic and
foreign policy of China, has extended its influence to the circulating
medium of the country. The government are determined that its
coffers shall suffer no defalcation by depreciation of currency , and
hence the imperial taxes and duties are required to be paid in pure
N
178 COINING- SPANISH DOLLARS .
silver. Since the increase of foreign trade, the introduction of
dollars has furnished a circulating medium of metal to a limited
extent. The authorities seemed so sensible of the advantages, that
they allowed a coinage of dollars in imitation thereof, but they were
re-issued at a higher rate than the foreign dollars, and in a short
time sank greatly below them, while the foreign money still pre
served its purity. Coining dollars is now disallowed by the laws,
but the common report is, that they are still manufactured in the
district of Shunlih, south of Canton ; it is said, as many as one hun
dred workmen are employed in one establishment . These coiners
practice great deceptions, and are said to have obtained European
stamps at a considerable expense : their dollars are in common cir
culation, and natives of this district are selected as shroffs, or
judges of it ; a book is printed for the use of the public, giving an
account of each kind of false money ; when the dollar is made of
true value, it is difficult to detect it, but the shroffs can see it at a
glance . The profits of this mint are so large, that the proprietors
are enabled to prevent the inteference of the local officers. One
English mercantile firm at Canton, had a mint there, in which
Spanish dollars were coined , and from which large profits were
derived. Gold and silver may not be legally exported from China
except in limited quantities and in foreign metal. A large amount
is, however, annually taken away in broken Spanish dollars and
sycee silver and gold. The gold is chiefly taken as gold leaf, but it
is also exported in bars and ingots . Gold leaf is used as money
the exchange is seventeen taels of silver, about twenty-two and a
half dollars per tael of gold .
Export of Sycee. — A censor from Che- Keang complains of the
exportation of silver and yellow gold, and that there is no law
to punish those guilty . By his majesty's directions, the criminal
board have decided that, in future, the same punishment shall
be awarded for the exportation of gold and silver as for export
ing rice. The board urges that trade with foreigners should
be in the way of barter ; and as dollars were imported they might
also be exported .
The censor of Foo-kein has appealed against this law. He
states that the people like dollars ; they are so easily counted , and
can be made of an inferior touch . Dollars are made of sycee
silver by crafty merchants, similar to the foreign . So that, if the
law is not altered , all the silver in China may be coined and sent
away. He, therefore, prays his majesty to attach the same penalty
for coining dollars as he does to the secret coining of cash ; as
rice and money are so different in value while the same in bulk,
that he should increase in the same proportion the punishment for
exporting silver. Otherwise, the treasures of the land will go forth
to feed hungry barbarians, and injure China for ever. The export
of copper and iron affects only military weapons, but that of silver
touches the vitals of the empire.
TOUCH OR FINENESS OF SILVER. 179
Sycee silver is the medium in which the government taxes and
duties, and the salaries of officers, are paid ; it is also current
among merchants in general. The term sycee is derived from two
Chinese words, se sze (fine floss silk) . This silver is formed into
ingots, sometimes called shoes, and in India hoofs, which are
stamped with the mark of the person that issues them, and the
date of their being issued . The ingots are various in form and
weight, of one to fifty taels, but are, most commonly, ten taels
each . Sycee silver is divided into several classes, according to its
fineness and freedom from alloy. The kinds most current in Can
ton province are the five following :
1. Kwan-heang, the hoppo's duties, or the silver which is for
warded to the imperial treasury at Peking. This is always of
ninety-seven to ninety-nine touch. On all the imperial duties a
certain per centage is levied, for the purpose of turning them into
sycee of this high standard , and of conveying them to Peking
without any loss in the full amount. This per centage is, how
ever, increased by the hoppo to an amount far exceeding what is
requisite, that he may be enabled to retain the remainder for him
self and his dependents.
2. Fan-koo or fam-foo, the treasurer's receipts, or that in which
the land tax is paid . This is also of a high standard, but inferior
to that of the hoppo's duties, and, being intended for use in the
province, not for conveyance to Peking, no per centage is levied on
the taxes which are paid in it .
3. Yuen-paou or une-po, literally, chief in value. This kind is
usually imported from Soochow, in large pieces of fifty taels each.
It does not appear to belong to any particular government tax .
4. Yen or een-heang, salt duties . It is difficult to account for
these being of so low a standard, the salt trade being entirely a
government monopoly.
5. Wuh-tae or mut-tae, the name of which, signifying " un
cleansed," or " unpurified," designates it as the worst of all.
The immense masses ofwealth accumulated by official individuals,
in a few years, would indicate an abundance of specie in China.
The property of Keshen, seized after his negotiation with Captain
Elliott, in 1840-41 , and delivered over into the hands of the
imperial treasurer for his majesty's special use was
682 catties of gold,
17,940,000 taels of silver,
11 boxes of jewels, worth unknown.
This was only the first instalment.
Muh-Changah, then prime minister, on a second search, confis
cated the following effects :
1438 large pieces of silver, valued at 60 dollars each,
6,100 taels, annual rental of property,
2,561,217 Chinese acres in land,
independent of houses, shares in pawn-shops, salt works, &c.
N 2
180 CROWN REVENUES AND LAND-TAX .
His property, as first rated, was equivalent to £8,000,000 ster
ling ; but, on a subsequent minute calculation, was found of far
greater value .
A similar instance to the confiscation of the property of Keshen
is recorded by Sir George Stanton.
Hockuntong, or Hoquen, or Hokwan, the celebrated minister of
China, under the Emperor Kien- Lung, amassed, before his im
peachment by the Emperor Kiaking, in the fourth year of his
reign, eighty millions of Chinese ounces of silver, or about
£23,300,000 sterling value, in bullion or gems, which were found
in his treasury, besides lands, houses, and other immoveable pro
perty to an amazing amount. — Sir George Stanton's Penal Code,
Appendix, p . 492 .
We have no corrected returns of the specie drain on China.
The bullion exported from China, in dollars, was calculated ,
1830. 1831. 1832. 1833 . 1834 .
London 961,439 No returns . 2,132,936 .. 155,730
Calcutta 2,575,931 رد 1,074,553..1,929,931
Bombay 2,995,617 در 1,479,250..3,854,280
Sundry places 213,385 رد 140,016 .. 277,879
Total . . 6,746,372 4,826,755..6,217,820
In 1834, there was also shipped of gold, to the value of 513,795
dollars, making a total export of 6,731,615 dollars, at 4s . 3d .
£ 1,430,468 ; of this sum €1,197,035 was native silver and gold .
This drain is now largely and annually increased , to provide for
the payment of opium, and probably amounts to about four million
sterling.
CHAPTER VI.
THE CROWN REVENUES AND LAND TAX, DEFAL
CATIONS, & c.
THE whole revenue of China is said to amount to nearly
60,000,000 pounds sterling annually, of which only 12,000,000 are
remitted to Peking-the remainder is retained in the provinces,
which appear to be subject to different rates of assessment, accord
ing to some defined relative proportions.
DETAILS OF GOVERNMENT REVENUE . 181
The landholder is said to be taxed fully one -tenth of the produce.
It is upon landed income that all the superannuated officers of
government, merchants who have given up trade, all the Tartar
families, who hold their property under a species of feudal vas
salage, and all farmers who are not actually labourers, must be
supposed to subsist. As there are are no public funds in China,
the purchase of land is the chief mode of rendering capital pro
ductive, and there is no part of the east where the rights of landed
property are more respected, if we except the acts of the govern
ment.
All lands that remain unproductive are, by the penal code, con
fiscated, and the owners punished ; as lands must be registered, the
discovery is easily made. The taxes are paid both in money and
kind, and the whole of the taxes on the summer harvest must be
paid before the end of the seventh moon. The duties on salt pro
duce a large revenue, as the quantity of fish cured is enormous,
and its use is indispensable for rice and vegetables The salt
merchants are licensed, and are a wealthy and respectable class.
The penal laws against smuggling salt are, half the value to the
crown, three-tenths to the informer, and fifty blows of the bamboo
to the smuggler .
Dr. Gutzlaff says that the whole revenue of the Chinese empire,
as stated in their official books, is as follows :
Land tax, in money Taels . 53,730,218
Ditto in kind, valued at 113,398,057
Salt tax 7,486,380
Tea duties . 204,530
Duties on merchandise . 4,535,459
Ditto on foreign ditto, at Canton 3,000,000
Sundries 1,052,706
Duties on marketable articles 1,174,932
Ditto on shops and pawnbrokers 5,000,000
Ginseng 1,000,000
Coinage 1,000,000
Total . Taels . 191,804,139
exclusive of small items and stamp duties. Calculating the tael
at 6s . 8d. sterling, this sum would yield annually £63,934,713
sterling. The indemnity paid us, of 21,000,000 dollars
£4,375,000, is, therefore, not equal to the revenue of one month
of the imperial revenues. A taxation of 63,000,000 sterling
cannot be considered very large, for four shillings per head on
300,000,000 people, would yield £60,000,000 sterling. There is
no national debt in China, and no person would trust the govern
ment.
J
182 MONEY STOLEN FROM THE TREASURY .
Budget of 1843. Extracted from the Chinese Statistical Tables .
}
SENT TO THE CAPITAL . PROVINCIAL
TREASURY.
PROVINCES.
MONEY TAELS. SHIH RICE. MONEY TAELS .
Chihle + • • 1,939,941 1,180,514
Keangsoo • ► · 2,564,728 1,431,273 1,471,543
Ganhway = • 1,194,914 3,274,683
Keangse 1,602,431 795,063 795,224
Chekeang • 2,287,346 678,320 907,905
Fulkien 1,055,290 309,380
Hoopih · 776,173 96,934 365,741
Hoonan • 944,432 96,314 280,192
Honan . • • • • 2,441,110 221,342 658,923
Shantung · • ► ་ · 2,730,736 353,963 743,532
Shanse • • · • 2,702,285 898,081
Shense • • • 1,344,548 306,121
For the Turkestan
Garrisons .
Kansuh 182,644 218,550 133,061
Szechuen . • 306,366 24,271
Kwangtung 719,370 542,603
Kwangse • 278,559 113,725
Yunnan 188,927 227,626 87,852
Kweichow 53,346 27,056
23,313,146 4,119,385 12,120,407
Total in money ··
. 35,430,552 taels,
REMARKS ON THE FOREGOING TABLE .
1. The tax on salt (in Kwantung) amounts to 602,977 taels;;
transit and maritime custom-house duties, 1,490,981 taels ; for sun
dries, 995,412 taels. The remainder is derived from the land tax.
2. The Kwantung receipts do not include 864,232 taels, which,
since the new arrangement, the hoppo at Canton is respon
sible for levying upon the foreign trade. The rice, also, which is
issued to the troops and petty officers of the various provinces,
fully equal in amount to that sent to the capital, is not contained
in the statement .
3. The above is the net revenue of the country ; but the ex
penditure of collection, and the extortion and fees, make the taxes
that are actually levied at least three times as heavy.
4. No statement of the expenditure is given ; but, from the
repeated reports, as well as the accounts published in the Peking
Gazette, it would appear that there has been a deficiency in many
provinces, which the governors and high officers must make good
by a loan or some other expedient. At Peking, the public money
was recently so scarce that the necessary repairs of the imperial
gardens could not be made.
5. This year's expenditure is more heavy than that of an
* The shih of rice is about 2 bushels.
wit mat
DEFICIENCY OF IMPERIAL REVENUE. 183
previous one for various reasons . 1st. Because the millions of
dollars furnished by various provincial treasuries had to be paid to
Great Britain. 2nd . Nine million of taels were wanted for the
repairs of the dykes of the Yellow River, the largest amount ever
required for this purpose. This sum is to be raised by temporary
loans, a paper currency, and patriotic contributions, which give
the donor a claim for office : part of this money has been already
collected . 3rd . Government wanted 2,500,000 taels to reconstruct
the marine defences and navy, which item has been obtained by
the sale of offices.
6. Nine million of taels were stolen from the Imperial
Treasury. The very circumstance that such an enormous sum of
money could be abstracted without discovery, shews at once,
that there must be immense hoards, which are scarcely ever
touched ; to reimburse the Emperor for his personal loss, all the
officers that have held a situation for more than thirty years
at the Treasury, if still alive, or if not, their posterity and families ,
must pay their respective shares, until the whole is made good .
Amongst the defaulters are several princes of the blood, whose
property has been confiscated .
7. All the colonial possessions and dependencies of China.
require considerable sums for the payment of troops, and the
subsidy of the Mongol chiefs, as well as the Mantchoo vassals in
their own country ; all this is paid by the Peking treasury, and
proves a considerable drain, without the most distant hope of
recovering the money in any way.
8. Various proposals for raising the revenue to a level with the
expenditure have been made, but none has yet been finally adopted,
nor has the ministry published the result of long and frequent
deliberations .
(Signed) CHARLES GUTZLAFF .
Chinese Secretary .
[Three taels are K £ 1 sterling ; one shih, 160 pounds ; one
king, 100 mow ; one mow, 6000 square covids . ]
The revenue of last year has, it is said, immensely fallen short of
the actual amount required to pay off the arrears due since the
war ; so that there remained in October, 1844, taels 38,711,000 to
be paid. The rice annually ordered has, for the greater part, on
account of the inundation , not been forwarded to the capital .
There are sundry branches of revenue which arise from the pro
ceeds of pawnbrokers ' shops, mercantile establishments, and various
fees and duties ; there are, moreover, innumerable local items not
mentioned in the statistical returns, because the mandarins on the
spot receive them without sending any account ; for this they have,
however, to keep up a considerable establishment .
The colonial possessions, instead of yielding a revenue, absorb
184 IMPERIAL INCOME AND EXPENDITURE .
considerable sums. The subsidies paid to the Mongol chiefs, both
in money as well as kind , are very large ; the expenditure of the
army in Turkestan amounts to several millions annually ; and to
keep up the establishments in Mantchouria, the treasury is con
stantly drained . Tibet requires only about 200,000 taels annually.
No returns of these liabilities are ever published .
It ought always to be kept in mind, that the sums specified are
the net revenue, after the deduction of the expenditure of col
lection, so that, in many instances, the sums actually raised are
five times more than what is put down here. In the estimate are
not included the duties on the foreign trade, which are, at the
lowest, about 3,000,000 taels per annum. So , also, the monopoly
in Ginseng, per centage from the numerous mines, profits from
coinage, &c ., which is the most moderate calculation, does not
amount to less than 5,000,000 taels per annum, which are paid
direct to the Emperor .
Neither has there been calculated about 34,000,000 shih of grain ,
which, according to the regulations, is kept in deposit by govern
ment in order to provide against starvation . The people have
some claim on this, and reap the profits arising from the sale.
The quantity, moreover, fluctuates very much ; the amount quoted
is abstracted from a work published about twenty years ago . It
is difficult to know the total taxation .
From the Peking Gazette of the 11th Oct. 1833, we obtain the
deliberations of the Hoo-poo, or treasury department. It appears
that during the last few years, the current expenses and outlay
have exceeded the income more than thirty million taels of silver.
The deficiency is attributed to the two Mahommedan rebellions ;
also to the troubles with the mountaineers, in the provinces of
Kwei-chow ; and to the natural calamities from drought, repairing
the banks of rivers, &c . , so that the land tax was obliged to be re
mitted . The plan recommended is the sale of offices for a short
period, to replenish the treasury.
The Peking Gazette of Nov. 9th, same year, has a long state
ment from Na-sze-hungah, the censor of the province of Keang- se.
This state document says, that the whole income of the empire,
from land tax, salt tax, customs and duties, with all the sums paid
to make them good, does not exceed 40,000,000 of taels ; and that
the outlay is upwards of 30,000,000 . He states, that although the
overplus be not great, were there no deficiencies of income, the
state machine might go on : but of late years, there has not been
one in which numerous defalcations in every department have not
occurred, so that the income has not been adequate for times of
tranquillity ; therefore, on occasions of insurrection and drought, the
deficiency has amounted to millions . To make good the revenue,
many plans have been proposed : one party says, open the mines ;
another, raise the price of salt ; a third is for selling offices, and
persuading merchants to subscribe towards the wants of the state ;
PLAN OF ENRICHING THE TREASURY . 185
thus causing anxiety to the mind of his sacred majesty, on whom it
devolves to balance the advantages and disadvantages of these
plans, and either reject them at once, or give them a trial, and
then desist.
By a secret memorial from the governor of the province of
Keang- soo (Lin) , it appears, that this province pays to the
revenue (taking its extent) as much again as Che-keang ; three
times as much as Keang-se; and ten times as much as Hoo-kwang.
The years of abundance in this province are, probably, not one in
five, and, consequently, the required sum cannot be remitted
punctually, owing to frequent river inundations. Lin states he
has received from the Emperor, a letter charging him with neglect
in of duty to government. The statesman, in reply, declares that
everything has been done to induce the rich to make up the defi
ciency for the poor, but that the numerous calls on them for the
last few years had dried up their resources. He gives the amount
of voluntary subscriptions for two years of great calamity ; the
third year of the present reign, the amount raised by admonitory
proclamations to the rich was 1,950,000 taels of silver ; and in the
eleventh year, 1,400,000 taels. He tells the Emperor that all the
government possesses comes from the people, and attention to them
is the first duty of a statesman : but who can withstand natural
calamities ?
During the year 1843, one district in Keang- se province re
sponded to the urgent call to defend the empire, by subscribing
103,000 taels of silver (nearly £30,000) , and 58,000 chon of copper
( £10,000) ; another district, 27,000 taels of silver, and 87,000
chon of copper. A chon (tseen ) , in the court dialect, is the de
signation for a string of copper cash which count 10,000 .
The following is a curious memorial to the Emperor of China,
with a plan of enriching the treasury, and for the establishment of
a property tax in China :
" Your slave Keenéen the lord mayor of Moukden, comes kneeling
and beseeching of your majesty to give a sacred glance to a plan I
submit for enriching the royal treasury. The sacred favors be
stowed on your slave in making him lord mayor, induce him to
give your majesty his opinion on what he has seen and carefully
inquired into ; your slave approaches the subject with caution, in
making changes in old regulations, but the great deficiency in the
revenue from the late plunder, and the large sums required for
maritime fortifications and hydraulical works, I find amounts to
many tons of myriads of taels, and I hope my plan will give per
manency and respectability to the state and fresh life to the people.
In devising this plan, I am like one groping in the dark, but the
honour and esteem I have for your majesty, are my only apology .
The four following measures are the result of my best judgment and
anxious enquiries :—
" 1st. All bonds held by the people, for house taxes, to be can-
186 IMPOSITION OF A PROPERTY - TAX .
celled . I have noticed with astonishment the great quantity of
goods stored in the shops and dwellings ; in towns and suburbs
it exceeds belief. The law hitherto has given the taxes to two wings
of the Tartar army, and great fraud and extortion are practised, and
smuggling to a great extent, which must greatly affect the revenue.
Fraudulent mortgages and sham sales are practised to evade the
taxes ; I beg to call the attention of the board of requests, or have
an officer of high standing appointed , whose sole duty would be to
look after these things, or empower the police to give in a correct
return of all inhabitants and the number of houses ; remit all the
old bonds, and call on the people to repair instantly to the man
darins, and honestly state the value of their property, and pay three
per cent. on the whole, for which they will get a seal on their bonds
to protect them from other extortions ; if mortgaged, the mort
gagee to pay the taxes . After a fixed period, all defaulters to have
their property confiscated . This will be best for all parties, as it
will give the people security against extortions and law suits, and
restore every farthing of the duties . The clerks and officers must
be strictly looked after ; if my plan be carried out the people will not
practice frauds, neither should the inferior officers be allowed to
extort money, and apply it to their own use ; strict attention will
save great confusion . All violaters of this law to be prosecuted
with severity, which will have a good effect.
“ 2nd . That all taxes should be increased except the land tax, as
an increase there would bear on the poorer classes : but all shop
keepers, markets, bazaars, and merchants who sell goods by weight,
derive a much larger profit than those who till the ground ; pawn
brokers are very numerous, and I find they only, like others, pay
about five taels per annum ; coal mines, iron works, and large
mercantile houses, pay even less . Pawnbrokers should cheerfully
pay the increase. As to the tea shops, I would strongly advise the
governors to look to them, and report accordingly.
" 3rd . Provincial fees should be transferred to the public trea
sury. I, your slave, held appointments in Chih-le, and other places,
and know that all magistrates and others, receive fees, and volun
tary contributions under various names, and expend it in public
works, which your treasurer has accounted for ; but for the present,
I would stop all public works, and have the fees sent to the capital.
The mandarins' salaries I would reduce, and remit the amount, and
cause a strict enquiry as to the amount of those fees ; after paying
the army expenses, the balance should be paid into the state trea
sury.
66
4th, The mandarins or collectors of the taxes are behindhand
in paying them in, and when urged to do so make sundry excuses
and delays, notwithstanding there is a period fixed . Look to this
matter without delay, as they frequently turn bankrupts , or pre
tend to be so, to avoid payment, and often propose paying by in
stalments. May I request that this system will be stopped, and no
THREE HUNDRED TONS OF SILVER STOLEN . 187
instalment taken, but that their security and themselves be made
pay at once ; this would be acting severely and mercifully ; great
severity must be used. When I was prefect under Taoukwang
(1834), a deficiency was discovered, and I demanded from the high
inspector 1,000 taels and sent them to your treasury, and the re
mainder soon followed. I, your slave, have drawn up this statement
with a view of enriching the treasury, and stupid as I am I hope
they are suited to the occasion, and humbly beg your instructions
thereon ."
Answer written with vermillion pencil, saying the Board would
consult about it. "Respect this."
October, 1843.
Dr. Gutzlaff states that there were abstracted from the imperial
treasury, when alarm was spread of the British army proceeding to
Peking, in 1842, 9,252,000 taels of silver, about 2,000,000 sterling,
or 250 tons of silver . On the 19th day of the 5th month, an im
perial edict appeared to the following effect : " An extensive de
ficiency was discovered in the treasury ; kings and other high
ministers were ordered to investigate it, and have furnished me
with a list of officers and auditors that have successively held ap
pointments in the treasury, and it appears they are all abandoned
characters concerned in this affair, and must be severely punished,
as an example, and to maintain the law. We direct that all the
officers in this list shall be prosecuted, and we direct that all Tartar
mandarins in office or on leave, shall be first degraded, and a list
taken of them, likewise the sons and grandsons of such as are dead,
whether in office or not, and handed over to Muchangah for pun
ishment. Respect this. "
Imperial edict the second has been received to the following
effect: " We have appointed from time to time, kings and high
ministers to superintend the receipts and disbursements of our re
venue ; and this year we made an addition of two, a Mantchoo and
a Chinese ; these high officers were instructed to examine with great
care into all matters, and we find they are all blind and stupid .
Changchingpaon, a high treasury officer, has made away with the
public money, and we sent a great minister to inquire into it, and
his report reached me this day, and it states the deficiency to amount
to the enormous sum of 9,250,000 taels of silver ! Never was the
like known, and on hearing it my anger knows no bounds ; only
think of them acting like common thieves of the country ! This
peculation has been going on many years, and the number in office
has been great ; but still a strict investigation must take place,
otherwise some of them will escape . I find, ever since the reign
of Keaking, (1801 , ) the mandarins in the treasury have all been
blood relations, but some of them were ministers of high rank, and
not one of them has ever denounced the plunder : they ought to
be ashamed of such conduct . I blame myself for not seeing to
it, and my mortification is exceedingly great . I direct that they
188 PRESSURE ON THE TREASURY .
be handed over to the board that will be appointed, and well
punished, and that said board enquire, and report the best means
of recovering, and making the deficiency good by fines, &c. &c .
" Respect this."
[The result of this measure, as previously stated , has been that
every treasurer, since the year, 1801 , or their descendants, have
been required to make good the defalcation of 9,252,000 taels of
silver .]
A careful analysis of the Peking Gazette throws much light on
the mechanism and policy of the Chinese government, at home and
abroad, as it is the organ of government, and the only publication
of the kind permitted in the empire. A selection of extracts, re
lative to the state of the revenue, indicates that there is consider
able pressure on the imperial and local treasury.
The system of lending money adopted by the Chinese govern
ment, is believed to be carried on upon a very extensive scale. It is
said that several of the imperial palaces at Peking, are wholly
supported by the interest which is paid by the salt and other
merchants, who from time to time are compelled to borrow money
from the government. This system has been brought to light
from translations which have been made from the government
gazette among these are memorials from merchants, stating
their inability to pay the interest, and edicts from the Emperor,
stating that the superintendents of the palaces, to whom the
interest is paid towards the expenses of these establishments, are
seriously inconvenienced by this want of punctuality.
Finances. May, 1844, the Board of Revenue have furnished a
schedule of all the out-standing debts in the provinces . Answers
have been received from the local authorities, declaring their in
ability to satisfy the demands, and praying further time.
1844. Proposals have been received by the Board of Revenue to
lay on transit duties on the cattle that pass the frontiers from
Mantchouria and Mongolia. It is stated that the sheep alone
amount to some millions of heads annually.
Pwanshegan, at present minister of finance, has submitted a list
of Mantchoo defaulters who have not paid in the sums which they
were sentenced to furnish, in order to make good the 9,252,000
taels of silver which were embezzled lately from the treasury .
They are to be deprived of their situations, and imprisoned until
every tael is paid.
1844. A memorial from the mandarin of the province of Keang
soo, stating that they are unable to collect in the whole amount of
the revenue . Ordered that the mandarins make good the re
mainder. "Respect this ! "
The Board of Revenue ordered, that all who generously contribute
to the exigences of the country, and repairs of the rivers, should
obtain a receipt, which will certify their claim to favour and emolu
BREAKING OPEN MONEY CHESTS . 189
ment. Provincial officers are ordered to make monthly returns of
the sums paid into their respective treasury. Likewise all man
darins in arrear shall be instantly degraded . Regulations have
been prepared to fill up their offices. The expedient is desperate,
but the case is urgent- “ so tremble ! ”
The Board of Revenue has requested the Emperor to ordert hat
all the money to be levied in the shape of voluntary contributions
and patriotic gifts, should be exacted with rigour. It was first pro
posed that Hoopih and Canton provinces, only, should be called on .
Unfortunately, other large expenses were rendered necessary by
the overflowing of the Yellow River, amounting to 800,000 taels of
silver. The emperor now calls on the whole realm to furnish the
means of constructing dykes. No extortions will be allowed, but
his majesty will be enabled to distinguish the real friends of the
country by their generosity . "Respect this."
Imperial Treasury. A second attempt has been made to break
open the money chests in the Imperial Palace ; strict inquiry is inG
stituted, and condign punishment threatened.
1845. Board of Revenue, ordered that 27,300 taels be granted
for the repairs of the dykes in Shan-tung province . The same
Gazette publishes an ordinance, calling on all merchants who had
borrowed money from the public treasury, instantly to pay up the
arrears of interest, to enable government to procure lighters, in
order to unload part of the rice junks in their progress to the
capital, where the water is shallow.
Ordered that 131,000 taels be placed at interest, for defraying
the expenses of the Imperial Palace of Jeho . Surplus of revenue
from one of the custom stations, above the first annual amount ,
27,056 be placed in the household treasury ; 223 taels to be given
as a present to the collector .
The Yellow River is a source of uneasiness almost every year,
and for the repair of its banks voluntary subscriptions are raised.
The last collections only amounted to 348,000,000 cash . This sum
fell short to finish the works, and complaint is made to the go
vernor of the river, and he petitioned his Majesty to receive the
cash at the rate 1,300 per tael , (that is about six shillings sterling) ,
and prayed that his Majesty will distribute rank and emolument
to the generous contributors to this necessary undertaking.
When the canals suffer from the flood, the Emperor decrees that
all magistrates along whose districts the banks had been destroyed
should be degraded , but remain in office, and repair, with their own
money, the damage.
The superintendent of Teentsin harbour, had entrusted to his
care a large amount of subscriptions to build war junks, and put
the harbour in a good state of defence . His embezzlement and
extortions were represented, and his Majesty ordered him to be
degraded until the defalcations were made good . The governor of
190 FINANCIAL EMBARRASSMENTS FOR RIVER DYKES .
the rivers has made a personal inspection to ascertain the damage
done by the floods of 1844, and demands 283,790 taels of silver to
commence the works .
The capital of the fertile province of Honan was again under
water, and the whole of the walls levelled . The lieutenant-governor
commenced raising subscriptions, which were responded to ; the
Emperor was so highly pleased that he rewarded the author, and
desired that the principal contributors be promoted to situations .
The governors and lieutenant-governors who have been dismissed
for neglect in not seeing to the state of the canals and rivers, by
which so much damage had been caused, petitioned his Majesty
for forgiveness . The answer denied that they had any claim on
his Majesty's clemency, as they had occasioned enormous expenses
to the state . For immediate wants, the sum of 800,000 taels were
granted, and his Majesty called on all the neighbouring provinces
in which the calamity had occurred , to send in their portion of this
sum , and thus exhibit their loyalty and attachment to his throne .
The same Gazette has a petition from the superintendent of the
pleasure seat of his majesty at Zehol, complaining of the dilapidated
state of the walls of this once magnificent estate, and praying that
something may be done to save the pleasure grounds and gardens
from ruin : the stags, he states, have free access to the gardens .
1844, September, Treasury.-A strict investigation for the
recovery of the lost nine millions of taels, has ended in the dis
covery of the strong boxes containing the silver being in a very
decayed state, and the sycee had gradually dropped out. This
subterfuge, however, has availed nothing, and several members of
the imperial household , who were under heavy liabilities, have been
obliged to discharge them.
Upon the representation of Hwuy the governor of rivers, sub
scriptions to the amount of nine million of taels, were last year
raised, in order to reconstruct the dykes. Since now, however, the
injury done by the inundation is far greater, new measures are
necessary. It is therefore proposed to levy additional sums, during
the space of a year, upon the same principles as in the maritime
provinces (by bestowing offices upon the subscribers .)
The whole money contributed is five million by merchants, and
six million by the gentry and people . Of this the salt merchants
at Canton subscribed 1,200,000 taels, which has been applied for
military purposes. Of 2,400,000 taels subscribed, 1,000,000 was
to be used for the repair of dykes, and in three instalments within .
six years to be repaid. The merchants of Chekeang furnished.
1,500,000 taels, of which above 120,000 were applied to the dykes,
and the money will be refunded just as the above. The Loo tra
ders subscribed 400,000 taels, and paid up 50,000 taels, which is to
be restored by the gabel within five years.
The money in Shanse for which rank was bought, amounts to
above 1,600,000 taels ; in Shense to above 1,000,000 ; in Chih -li
PROPOSED ISSUE OF TREASURY BILLS . 191
370,000 taels. As for Canton and other provinces from 340,000
to 800,000 taels . The sums however collected in the maritime
provinces, are to be retained there and applied for military
purposes.
This proposal is adopted, that the merchants and people might
have time to collect the sums within the space of a year, but by no
means to distress the nation .
Leyanking, a member of the censorate entrusted with the super
vision of the river, has reported , that considering the immense
expenditure necessary for the repairs of the hydraulic works, and
the difficulty of procuring the money, and even when this is
obtained, the ruinous exchange that hence arises, proposes that
henceforth treasury bills be issued in lieu of payment. This plan
did not succeed under the Ming and Sung dynasties ; but to
obviate the difficulties and the rapid fall of the value of paper money,
the revenue is to receive the assignats and immediately to destroy
them .
Muhchangah and others have submitted various proposals made
by Keying, which bear upon the subject of collecting duties ;
and the privy council as well as the board of revenue having
taken them into consideration, and submitted them with their
opinions thereon to the Emperor, they are approved of and
confirmed .
1. The amount of fixed duties to be sent to the capital by the
Canton maritime custom house was 899,064 taels ; and besides a
surplus of about 1,000 to 40,000 taels . However, since now the
trade will be carried on in the other four ports, the receipts at
Canton will fall short of that sum, and therefore Fuchoo and the
other emporiums, must, after having realized their respective quotas,
make up the deficit of Canton.
2. In order to fix the whole amount of duties of the other
ports, three years must pass before a true estimate can be made .
It will then be determined, how much each port according to the
respective receipts of money can supply to Canton.
3. All extra charges, although formerly paid into the public
treasury, are at once abolished .
4. On every 1,000 taels sent to the board of revenue, there
was formerly a per centage of 15 taels, and the recent extra charge
of 25 taels is for that very purpose . There were, moreover, 55,000
taels paid in tribute, and 100,000 taels as an equivalent for the
ginseng, and these sums were forwarded by the Hong merchant to
the court establishment, besides 4,000 to 30,000 taels made over to
the inspector of grain for charitable purposes by the same indivi
duals, and sundry fees to the Hoppo and his people.
Since the Cohong, however, is now done away with, the tribute
must be paid from the surplus of the stated duties. As for the
ginseng, which at the rate of 700,000 taels, the value to be sti
pulated, if paid by the said merchants would within four years
•
192 FINANCIAL EMBARRASSMENTS . - DOWNFAL.
amount to 2,800,000 taels ; it must now be sold for whatever it will
fetch. The Hoppo, moreover, must make arrangements to provide
for the other items, and manage matters accordingly.
5. A sum of about 120 to 130,000 taels was hitherto kept in
reserve, to be transmitted to the court in presents and for other
purposes. As now, however, the sources whence the money was
derived are exhausted, the Hoppo must in future manage this
matter.
6. The duty on raw silk now fixed at 10 taels per picul is less
than it was formerly. And the five ports being now open , mer
chants will go with this article to the nearest market. But they
must make up the loss of the transit duties, which otherwise would
have been paid, if they had proceeded to Canton, in whatsoever
port they sell their cargo.
7. Tea, raw and wrought silks, were hitherto prohibited to be
exported by sea. But under existing circumstances, every junk
that navigates the ocean, shall pay upon them the same duty as
foreign vessels, to prevent their smuggling these articles on board
the ships.
8. Every other part of the native trade, is to be carried on ac
cording to the old regulations without the least change.
9. All fees and payments to the inmates of the custom house
are entirely annulled, and the superintendents ought henceforth to
provide for their whole establishment.
Taoukwang, 23rd year, 7th intercalary month, 21st day, —14th
September, 1843.
1845 , Formosa.Gogla From a recent investigation, it appears that
during the late severe storm above 3,000 human beings lost their
lives by the immense floods and inroads of the sea. On the whole
coast there prevail much destitution and misery, the fields having
been rendered unfit for cultivation by the sea water. It does not
yet appear what measures the mandarins have taken for alleviating
the sufferings of the poor islanders . They have been again com
manded by the court to furnish a true statement of the damage
done both to the people and public buildings . One of the leading
men in the island has declared that "the government can only
levy taxes with the consent of the people," and he has refused
payment ofthe imposts.
Every thing I heard and saw in China, impressed on my mind
the conviction that the finances of the empire are in a most
wretched state, and that corruption pervades the officers entrusted
with the collection and appropriation of the resources of the
state . In all kingdoms, and in every age, financial embarrassments
are the sure precursors of the downfal of a nation, or of the
dynasty or administration who rules its destinies .
ANALYSIS OF CHINESE SOVEREIGNS -THEIR CHRONOLOGY, CHARACTER, &c.
Termination
[ Indicating a greater extent of crime and sensuality than even the Roman Empire .]
Years
No.
reigned
.of n
of
Reig
Died, Cause of Name and Position of Character of Sovereign and Events .
.
Era. Name of Sovereign. Dethroned, or Death, Dethronement, or Successor.
Abdicated. Abdication .
B. C. Chow Dynasty .
946 55 Died Natural Son. King-Wang Fond of display; sensible of his
1001 Muh-Wang
faults .
12 Died Three successors, no Aged and feeble on accession .
946 King-Wang ··
thing remarkable
873 827 19 Died Fourteen years in exile Son . Suen-Wang Tyrannical, rapacious, and cruel .
Le-Wang Warlike, defeated the Tartars
781 46 Died Of grieffor killing two His son. Yew-Wang
827 Suen-Wang
Courtiers . with great difficulty.
781 Yew-Wang 770 11 Killed Killed by the Tartars Lawful heirPing-Wang Extravagant, sensual, andindolent .
and his son. The European eclipses recorded .
Died ... ... A weak monarch. A declaration
770 Ping-Wang 719 51
of independence by nearly all the
719 princes .
to Hwan-Wang ... Died Died of grief and There were five Emperors reigned,
but the historical details relate
:
mortification .
:
618
to the minor states chiefly.
30 Died Natural His two sons contend A faction formed in favour of the
675 | Hwuy-Wang ed for the Throne Emperor's brother, who took the
capital.
645 Dethroned Dethroned by his ... Twenty years of civil war (page
Seang-Wang
brother 204) between the two brothers .
0:
:
By the aid of the prince of
Tsin, the usurper was killed .
618 Well disposed men, but had no
to King-Wang, and Ting-Wang authority .- Eleven states con
Kwang-Wang } federated to restore order.
606
6 DO ... Birth of Laou-tsze.
606 Ting-Wang 613
583 Keen-Wang ··· 12 Died ... Ling-Wang A fruitless endeavour to equalize
the power of the vassals.
... Died ... Grandson . King Merely the title of sovereign .
571 Ling-Wang Wang
:
The princes plundered each
other.
536 519 35 Died Two brothers Partial to his youngest son, and
King-Wang
unable to govern his palace.
519 six Killed Killed by his half Discord and slaughter within the
Mong
:.
months brother palace, and civil war throughout
the empire .
472 Died ... One prince despoiling another ;
Kae, or King-Wang the great prince of Tsin lost
nearly all his possessions .
Died Three sons , two of This period may be termed the
440 Ching-ting-Wang whom killed each other " dark ages " of China .
:
::
366 Heen-Wang ... ... The end of the dynasty fast apw w
proaching. Tsin again powerful.
:
:
.
306 Nan-Wang ... ... Deposed by the Prince The Usurper E-jin Wall building to keep out the
of Tsin . Tartars .
286 Chaou- Seang ... Died ... Ambition was hereditary in the
Tsins .
During several periods of the above epochs the Emperors are only mentioned incidentally, and therefore it is a chronology of
powerful Wangs (Kings) .
B.C. Tsin Dynasty . B.C.
Che-hwang-te 210 37 Died Natural. Assassination Son . Urh-she-hwang- Sanguinary, despotic, bold . Built
246 Great Wall in five years.
failed te
4 Dethroned Suicide . Dethroned Tsze-Ying Cruel and debauched. Succeeded
210 Ur-she-hwang-te 206
by Lew-pang, an ad by nephew.
venturer
Do. Subdued by Lew-pang, Lew-pang Feeble . Unable to resist the
206 Tsze-Ying 202 4
a bandit . bandit, Lew-pang .
Han Dynasty .
202 195 7 Died Natural Son . Heaou-hwuy-te Bold. Resisted the Huns .
Lew-pang, alias
Kaou-tsoo
195 188 7 Died Natural ; without issue Mother Sunk in effeminacy.
Heaou-hwuy-te
188 Mother of above 180 8 Do. From excesses Wan-te Ambitious, cruel, dissolute .
180 Wan-te 157 23 Do. Natural King-te Very popular. Paper invented .
141 16 Do. Do. Woo-te Unsuccessful rebellions .
157 King-te
141 Woo-te Do. Do. Chaou-te . Son Cruel and superstitious . Killed his
mother to prevent her reigning.
Chaou-te 68 Do. Natural ; ascended by his Uncle Foreign invasion and domestic
throne at 7 years
treachery .
Uncle of above 73 Dethroned by the Nobles Seuen-te
73 Suen-te 48 25 Died Natural Yuen-te Literary. Subjected the Huns .
48 Yuen-te 34 16 Died Do. Ching-te. Son Literary .
32 Do. Natural, but resigned Ping-te . Son Sensual and effeminate.
32 Ching-te
power to his uncles.
A.D. A.D.
Ping-te Poisoned by a noble, Wang- Mang A regency of Wang Nine years old when placed on
-23 < Mang throne .
23 Killed Destroyed for usurping Kwang-Wo-te Ambitious and unprincipled.
Wang Mang, regent
throne
03 Kwene Woo-te 58 35 Died Natural Ming-te. Son Many rebellions .
Ho-te Budhism introduced .
"I Liv-ic
Several minorities Ambitious ennuchs placed boys on the throne, in order to hold power during long
minorities, and then destroyed them .
168 Ling-te 180 21 Died Natural Heen-te Ascended at twelve years old.
189 Heen-te 220 31 Abdicated Cruelty caused by Tsaou-pe Great bloodshed in this reign.
Tungcho
220 Tsaou-pe Do. Lew-pei Foreign intercourse at Canton .
:D
35
Lew-pei Died How-te Printing from blocks invented .
How-te 255 ... Abdicated Invasion and internal Prince of Wei-Woo-te Termination of Han Dynasty .
weakness
Tsín Dynasty.
255 Prince ofWei-Woo-te Do. Compelled by Woote
:
290 Hwuy-te ...
::
307 Hwae-te 313 6 Assassinated Attacked by King of Min-te . A member of Unparalleled cruelty .
Han Tsin family
313 Min-te 318 5 Do. Empire in miserable by Governor- General
condition
43
318 Sze-Ma-Juy 322 4 Conspiracy and trouble | Ming-te
322 Ming-te 325 Numberless plots Three minorities
Three minors ·· Died from drinking " Am Gae-te
brosial" liquid to pro
cure immortality.
362 Gae-te 365 3 Died drinking Heaou-Woo
365 Heaou-Woo 396 31 Strangled When drunk, by wife Gan-te. Son
396 Gan-te 419 23 Do. by an ambitious general Kung-te . Brother
419 Kung-te 420 1 Abdicated & Compelled by the Lew-Yu End of Tsin dynasty.
poisoned above
Sung Dynasty .
420 Lew-Yu or Woo-te 422 2 Died Shaou-te. Son
422 Shaou-te Removed Unworthy of throne Wan-te. Brother
Wan-te 454 } 32 Murdered by one of his sons by his son Patron of learning . Suppressed
Budhism .
454 Son of above 465 11 Died from debauchery Fe-te. Son Sensual and depraved .
465 Fe-te 466 1 Murdered for his ferocity Ming-te Slew all who displeased him .
466 Ming-te 472 6 Killed fourteen ne Tsang-Woo-Wang These were rivals in their eager
phews ness to shed blood .
53
472 Tsang- Woo-Wang 477 Do. Bloodthirsty Shun-te . Son
477 Shun-te 480 Abdicated Forced by his general Seaou-teaou- Ching End of Sung dynasty.
Tse Dynasty.
480 Seaou -teaou - Ching, 482 2 Died ... ... Woo-te. Son Excellent character.
or Kaou-te
::
482 Woo-te by son
492 10 Dethroned
Sun of do. by Seaou-lun Seaou-lun
492 Seaou-lun 499 7 Killed by the priests Paou-Keuen. Son
499 Paou-Keuen 502 3 Dethroned by his general Seaou-Yeu End of Tse dynasty.
Leang Dynasty .
502 Seaou-Yeu or Leang Abdicated Went into a monastery Son Became a Priest of Budh .
:
Woo-te
Keen-Wan-te 50 Slain by his general How-King
:
How-King Do. .. Yuen-te
552 Yuen-te 557 Do. His brother
King-te 557 5{
} 5 Abdicated Finding he had no Chin-pa-Seen End of Leang dynasty .
power
Chin Dynasty .
557 Chin- pa- Seen or 559 2 ... Nephew
Kaou-tsoo
559 Chin-tseen orWan-te 566 7 Died ... Son Wise and judicious prince.
566 Pe-tsung 568 2❘ Deposed by his uncle Uncle Imbecile .
568 Chin-heu 582 14 Died ... ... Son
582 Haw-te 590 8 Dethroned by General Yang-Keen By General Voluptuous and effeminate .
Sup Dynasty.
590 Yang-Keen 604 14 Died ... Son End of Chin dynasty.
His son Strangled by his brother Brother Utterly unfit to reign by de
604 Yang-Kwan 13 Slain by assassins bauchery .
Ը՝Ո ດ Murdered
:.
hv LeYuen, his general Ley-uen End of Suy dynasty .
wavu- vSUU Repelled artars .
30 Do.
Kaou-tsoo 649 } { Kaou-tsung Encouraged science .
649 Kaou-tsnng 684 35 Do. Chung- tsung Warlike . Entered Persia and Tibet
684 Chung-tsung 710 26 Confined by his mother who Brother Weak and debauched .
reigned
710 Juy-tsung
Heuen-tsung Dethroned by a rebellion Son Murdered his empress and chil
:.
dren .
Tih-tsung
782 Suh-tsung 1 Abdicated ... Son
Heen-tsung Poisoned by liquor of " Immor
::
tality"
Seuen-tsung ·· Do. by do.
Several successors Do. Do. Various successors All perished similarly.
888 Chaou- tsung 905 17 Murdered by Choo -Wan
905 Cheaou-Suen-te Abdicated in favour of Choo-Wan End of Tang dynasty .
Five Dynasties
succeeded.
The How-leang,
How-tang, The usual train of murders, rebellious, abdications, and infamy ; cruelty and imbecility . The last
How-tsin, of the How-tang dynasty obtained the throne by murdering his brother, and when attacked, A.D.
How-han & 936, collected all the insignia of royalty, and set fire to them, to himself, his empress and children .
How-Chow
Sung Dynasty .
960 Chaou Kwang-Yin 976 16 Died Natural death Son Warlike, learned, frugal and good .
977 Tae-tsung 997 21 Do. Do.
Chin-tsung 1022 45 Do. Do. Weak and credulous .
997
27 Do.
::
1127 Made a prisoner by Revived the Eunuchs' influence .
::
1100 Hwuy-tsung
Tartars
1125 Prin-tsung Do. ... ... Brother
1162 Heaou-tsung
1194 Ning-tsung ... ... Invited the Mongols, who retained
1265 Too-tsung 1277 13 End of Sung Dynasty the country- first under Gen
ghis Khan, and then under
Mongol Dynasty .
Kublai-Khan.
1279 Kublai-Khan or 1294 14 Died of vexation Grandson
Che-Yuen
1204 Timur, or Yuen Ching 1307 13 Died
1307 Woo-tsung 1311 4 Do. ·· •• •• Devoted to wine and women.
1311 Jin - tsung 1320 9 Do. ··· Son Learned and good .
1320 Ying-tsung 1323 3 Assassinated in his tent
1323 Ye-Sun-te Mur 1328 5 Died Second son
1328 Toote-Mur Abdicated in favour of elder bro
Ho-chila 1332 4 Poisoned ther
1332 To-hwan-te Mur 1368 36 Fled Conquered by Choo- Chang About this period end of Mon
Yuen gols' dynasty.
Ming Dynasty.
1368 Hung-Wu 1399 33 Died Natural. Rose from a Grandson Extirpated the Mongols .
poor labourer
1399 Kien-wan • Dethroned by rebellions, & c.
Yeu - Yungloh 1425
Successor A prisoner
:
1450 King-ti
Choo-Keen-Shin ... ... ... End of Ming dynasty in 1644 .
:.
Tae-tsing Dynasty .
1644 Taetsing, and other Tartars in succession
Kanghe, who died 1722
Yung-ching, died 1537
Keen Lung, who reigned 63 years, and at 85 years of age resigned the throne to his son
Keaking, (1796, ) an imbecile sensualist, cowardly and cruel ; he died 1820, and was succeeded by the present Emperor
Taou-kwang, who is more than 60 years of age, and on whose death there will be a disputed succession, and probably great internal
disturbances .
193
CHAPTER VII .
TRADITION, HISTORY, AND DYNASTIES OF CHINA
FOR THREE THOUSAND YEARS .
CENTRAL ASIA was most probably the cradle of the human race ;
man was placed by his Creator in a temperate region, abounding
in all the products of the earth, adapted for the foundation of
great kingdoms, and affording facilities for dispersion when aug
menting population pressed on the means of subsistence, or the
desire for change stimulated an emigration to distant countries.
The Chinese are supposed to be a branch of the great Scythian
family, who entered China from the north-west, gradually drove
the aborigines before them, occupied in separate states the most
fertile and eligible spots, until they reached the tropic of Capricorn,
and after the usual strife and bloodshed incident to small com
munities, finally were consolidated into one empire. The Scythians
may have penetrated to the " far east " before they became known
in the west, which was about the year 630 B.C. , when they ad·
vanced with their conquering hordes to the borders of Egypt . The
Scythians would appear to have been the common parents of the
Tartars, the Mongolians, and other races that afterwards spread
themselves over the northern and eastern portions of Asia.
In craniological formation- in language, habits, and character
the Chinese are a distinct people from any of the other inhabitants
of Asia, to whom, in all these particulars, they bear less resemblance
than they do to the European races.
B.C. 2,204 is the utmost extent to which Chinese tradition ex
tends . This was about 140 years after the Flood ; and supposing
the human family had increased to a degree that required them to
migrate, the Chinese may have separated from the parent stock,
after their dispersion, and , diverting their course to the eastward,
colonized on the Yellow River.
Their first great Emperor, Fohi, ( supposed to be identical with
Noah) , is said to have settled in the province of Shen-se, which
is the north-western part of the empire, and includes the ancient
Serica, also the country of Sinæ.
His length of reign is reputed to have been 115 years ; he in
vented everything useful, and appointed a prime minister and four
mandarins to govern the four provinces. His successor, Shin
Nong, reigned 146 years, and invented the plough, the same as it ex-
ists at the present day. In physical knowledge he was said to be an
0
194 STATE OF THE EMPIRE UNDER YAO .
adept. Whang-ti, the third emperor, was also highly gifted, could
speak when a year old , reigned at ten years, and invented the com
pass * at fifteen . This sample is given of Chinese history, as the
best means of disabusing those who are inclined to place reliance
on their fables .
Yu, or Yao, the founder of the first dynasty (B.c. 2204) , is said
to have devoted his whole life to the draining of the land ; and for
thirteen years he never entered his own house, would rise from his
food and listen to complaints, and thrice he tied up his hair, while
in the bath , to answer some urgent call ; by this means he set an
example to his subjects of attending to business first, and pleasure
afterwards .
Meng-tse, the Chinese historian, gives an account of the state of
the empire under the Emperor Yao, "The country presented only
a desert, and the men were mere savages . The empire was not
formed ; the lowlands were covered with stagnant water, the re
mains of inundation ; those parts which were not still submerged ,
were covered with trees and bushes, and were the haunt of wild
beasts.
" Yao set fire to the forests, in order to clear the ground , and drive
the wild animals off. China was at this period only a residence for
serpents and dragons ; the people had no fixed dwelling-places, but
were compelled to shelter themselves on trees, when in the low
country, and in caves when among the mountains .”
Such are the terms that the Chinese philosopher Meng-tse uses
in describing the state of his country, centuries subsequent to
the time that some credulous authors would make people believe
that it was a flourishing and populous empire.
Formosa, although within twenty leagues of China, was not
known until the 15th century.
Manufacture of cotton is not spoken of in China until one or two
centuries before the Christian era, from which period to the sixth
century, the cotton cloth, which was either paid in tribute, or
offered in presents to the Emperor, is always mentioned as a thing
rare and precious .
It is recorded in the annals of China, that the Emperor Vou- ti ,
who reigned A.D. 502 , had a robe of cotton . Up to the eleventh
G
* Du Halde gives the following account of the discovery ofthe compass : " The Em
peror Hoang ti being at war with Tchi- l'eau, and perceiving that thick fogs saved the
enemy from his pursuit, and that the soldiers rambled out of the way, and lost the
course of the wind, made a car which showed them the four cardinal points ; by this
method he overtook the enemy, made him prisoner, and put him to death. The same
author says, that certain ambassadors from afar, after they had taken leave in order to
return to their own country, were given by the Emperor Tcheou- Kong, an instrument
which on one side pointed to the north, and on the opposite side towards the south, to
direct them better on their way home, supposed to be Cochin China. This instrument
was called Tchi -nan, which is the same name by which the Chinese call the sea - com
pass. This is said to have occurred in the twenty-second Cycle 1040 B.C.
Remusat, whose able translations are worthy of credit, adduces strong arguments
against the supposed knowledge of the mariners' compass at so early a date in China.
INVENTION OF THE COMPASS . 195
century, the cotton tree appears to have been a garden shrub, as
there are several poems in praise of its beautiful flowers . After
the Mongol Tartars conquered China, in 1280, great encourage
ment was given by government to the culture and manufacture of
cotton, although it was much opposed by the people, who considered
it an innovation ; about 1370 , the progress of this new branch was
rapid, and at present nine-tenths of the population are clothed in
its fabrics .
Of the eighteen provinces into which China is now divided, fully
one-half were occupied by wandering savages, who had never been
under any control, the other half was roamed over by pastoral
tribes, with here and there a city or large camp, which had been
dignified into the name of kingdoms.
From the constant strife that existed between the rival sove
reigns, it must have taken a long time to have united the nume
rous petty kingdoms in the present extensive empire . If the civiAlta
lization and refinement of the Chinese had an existence, at so early
a period , it would have been known to other ancient nations.
No reliance can be placed on the semi-historical period, which
French authors have endeavoured to pass for authentic . The
Chinese chronological system or cycle, was said to be established
by the Emperor Hwang-te in the sixty-first year of his reign, B.C.
2637.
The cycle of sixty years was said to have been then invented by
an individual named Ta-naou : seventy-four of these cycles were
said to have been completed A.D. 1803, making 4440 years. *
* The year 1839 corresponds to the year ke-hai, or the 36th year of the 75th Chi
nese cycle of sixty, which is the 19th year of Taou-kwang, and commences on the 1st of
February.
The Chinese cycle of sixty is said to have been invented by an individual named
Ta-naou, who lived under the reign of the Emperor Hwang-te, and its use commences
with the 61st year of that monarch, 2637 years B.C. The Chinese compute also by the
year ofthe reigning Emperor, frequently joining to it that of the cycle . Formerly,
when the Emperors often changed their titular names or designations, this plan
must have been very inconvenient, as every few years a new epoch commenced, with
out any change of reign. But for some centuries past, the Emperors have usually
retained the same designations throughout the whole period of their continuance on
the throne.
The Chinese year is luni - solar, consisting of twelve lunar months, to which an
intercalary month is added, when requisite to preserve correspondence with the solar
year.
The rule respecting the intercalary month is this : that when, during a lunar month,
the sun does not enter any sign of the zodiac, that month is intercalary ; and the year
consequently contains thirteen instead of twelve months.
The year commences on the new moon nearest to the fifteenth degree of Aquarius.
It is corrected according to the solar year, by the use of twenty-four terms, or half
months, called Tsee, each of which expresses the period of the sun's passage through
the half of a zodiacal sign. The names applied to those terms, like those of the
French revolutionary months, have a reference in their meaning to the season of the
year.
They date from the commencement of the reign of each successive sovereign ; thus
they write " Taoukwang, 26th year, 10th month, 19th day," corresponding to 19th
November 1846. The age of a person is reckoned from the number of years of the
cycle that have elapsed since his name and birth were registered, which has the effect
o 2
196 CHRONOLOGICAL SYSTEM . -CYCLES .
China could not be considered an empire, or have any pretensions
to a universal rule or dominion at the early period alleged . Ma
twan-lin, reputed a good authority, says that when Ching-tang
founded the second dynasty, (1766 B.C.) called the Shang, the
number of feudal principalities was three thousand ; and that there
were five sorts of fiefs, forming in the whole " one thousand, seven
hundred and seventy-three principalities ."
Ching-tang, the founder of the second dynasty, (B.c. 1763) is said
to have " ruled the people gently, removed many oppressions , and
lent a willing ear to the wants of the people, so that all confided in
his judgment ."
It was during this Emperor's reign that the seven years famine
from drought occurred, and the Emperor was called on to propiti
ate heaven, and offer up prayers .
History relates that he fasted, cut off his hair and nails ; and
binding his body with white reeds, which was the symbol of a
sacrifical animal, thus went into a lonesome place, confessing his
of making the age appear greater than it is in reality ; a child, for instance, born on
the last day of the year will be described as two years old, as it is considered to have
lived in two years of the cycle. Several classes of characters are employed for
chronological purposes. The most ancient and most generally used, consist of two sets
of characters : the one called shih kan, the ten stems, ' or teen kan, the celestial stems,'
includes ten characters, the other set, called shih - urh che, the twelve branches,' and
te che, the ' terrestrial branches,' consists of twelve characters.
These characters are applied to years, months, days, and hours, as well as to the
points of the compass . For chronological purposes, they have been combined so as to
form a cycle of sixty. In this cycle, the ' ten stems' occurring six times, and the
'twelve branches' five times, both sets terminate in the number sixty, and the cycle
is thus completed. The method of combination is this,-kea, the first of the ten, is
joined to tsze, the first ofthe twelve, and read kea- tsze, which denotes the first year,
month, & c. of the cycle. In the same manner, the second year is yih-chow,-the
tenth year, kwei- yew,-the twelfth year, yih-hae, and so on up to sixty, which is desig
nated by the characters kwei- hae, the last of each set.
For the hours of the day, the twelve branches' are used singly. The civil day of
twenty-four hours is divided into twelve periods of two hours each, called she- shin,
which are designated by the characters of twelve branches, in the following manner : P
11 to 1 , or midnight, tsze ; 1 to 3, (4th watch, ) chow ; 3 to 5, ( 5th watch ,) yin ; 5 to 7 ,
maou ; 7 to 9, shin ; 9 to 11 , sze ; 11 to 1 or noon, woo ; 1 to 3, we ; 3 to 5 , shin ;
5 to 7, yew : 7 to 9 , ( 1st watch, ) seuh ; 9 to 11 , ( 2nd watch, ) hae .
By prefixing to these characters the words ching and keaou, these twelve periods are
divided into twenty-four hours ; each of which is subdivided into four kih or quarters.
Thus, ching-tsze denotes midnight, or from 12 to 1 o'clock ; while keaou- tsze denotes
from 11 till 12, ching- tsze yih kih denotes a quarter past 12 at night.
The night, from 7 o'clock in the evening to 5 in the morning, is also divided
into five kang, or watches, each watch consisting of one she-shin, or period of two
hours.
In reference to the compass, Tsze is the north, Woo the south , Maou the east, and
Yew the west. The other eight are intermediate points between these.
The following terms, which are the names of twenty- eight constellations, are also
employed to designate days.
1 keo ; 2 kang ; 3 te ; 4fang ; 5 sin ; 6 wei ; 7 ke ; 8 tow ; 9 new ; 10 neu ; 11 heu ;
12 wei ; 13 shih ; 14 peih ; 15 kwei ; 16 loo ; 17 wei ; 18 maou ; 19 peih ; 20 tsze ;
21 tsan ; 22 tsing ; 23 kwei ; 24 lew, 25 sing ; 26 chang ; 27 yil ; 28 chin.
These characters being applied in regular order to the days of the month, four
of them (those printed in italics) always mark the weekly sabbath, while the others
designate the week days respectively.
DYNASTIES BEFORE THE CHRISTIAN ERA. 197
需
errors, saying, " Let not the lives of the people be forfeited, on
account of the neglect of one individual. Is it that my govern
ment is extravagant, or that my palaces are too grand, or that the
wants of the people are not attended to ?" When he had ceased
praying, the rain is said to have fallen in great abundance, and to
the distance of several thousand miles .
1153 B.C. A remarkable character, Chaw, is said to have ruled
the empire at this period ; he was a tyrant by disposition , endowed
with supernatural strength, and was ruined by the fascinations of
a wicked woman.
This portion of Chinese history agrees with that assigned in
sacred history to Sampson.
Ven- Vang was the first sovereign of the Tcheou dynasty, whose
reign began B.c. 1122. This prince and his son Vou- Vang reigned
over the country round about Sy-gan-foo, in the province of
Shen-se.
According to this their territories could not have been very
extensive, as it is alleged in their more modern history that this
very province was in possession of barbarians. The first origin of
large cities and towns, was in order to keep in subjection the
barbarians as they conquered them ; so that their own history gives
the credit of building them to the Han dynasty.
Ching- Vang the successor of Vou- Vang, after consulting the
oracles, according to their dictation built a city at a place called
Fong, which was the centre of the world ; this city is alleged to
have been built in six days B.c. 1109, and was probably little better
than a camp .
" One of the causes," says M. de Guignes, " which have led the
Chinese into great errors with regard to the ancient state of their
country, is the having given to their ancient characters the accepta
tion which they did not acquire till later times .
" The characters which are now translated by the words emperor,
province, city, and palace, meant no more in former time than
chief of tribe, district, camp, and house : these simple meanings
did not flatter their vanity sufficiently, and they therefore preferred
employing terms which would represent their ancestors as rich and
powerful, and their empire as vastدرand flourishing in the first year
of its foundation, as if by magic .
This learned and judicious writer says, their early history " is
entirely destitute of facts, extremely uncertain ; in a word, so far
from this empire having had an existence 3,000 years before the
Christian era, it has not been united together in a durable manner
above 529 years B.C."
Writers of the last century who wished to cast discredit on the
Mosaic narrative, readily propagated ideas of the remote antiquity
of the Chinese, which are fabulous, and at variance with Sacred
Writ. A discussion on this subject would , therefore, be out of
place ; it may, however, be safely asserted that China is the oldest
198 DURATION OF CHINESE EMPIRE .
empire extant, and that it has had existence as a civilized govern
ment for more than two thousand years .
It is stated by Chinese historians, that Confucius wrote two
histories, the Shoo-king (book of records) and the Chun-tsew ; the
former ends B.C. 722, and the latter commences .
The Chun-tsew, or history of his own times, is represented by
characters to denote " Spring (youth) and Autumn " (age). This
favours the opinion that the sage was unwilling to perpetuate
fabulous narratives, or stamp them with his authority.
The history of his own time consists of dry details of the twenty
one independent kingdoms, or principalities, into which China was
then divided .
The Shoo-king, which professes to give the several dynasties in
regular order, does not state the number of Emperors of the Hea,
or first dynasty, (B.c. 2206 to 1766, ) its duration , or the number
of years each Emperor reigned . The same omission is observable
in regard of the Shang dynasty. Some Chinese historiographers
give the duration varying from 644 to 446 years.
M. Biot has lately translated (1843) the Shoo - king, —“ Book of
Odes," which is undoubtedly the production of Confucius, and
met the fate of all the other ancient writings ; but, being in metri
cal pieces, was retained in the memory of the people, and more
likely to be authentic .
M. Biot says, " it is evident that this collection exhibits the
manners of the ancient Chinese in their purest state of nature,
and which are seen more easily than in the historical works, where
the facts are often buried under long moral discourses ." The
book has reference to a period antecedent to the Christian era
about six centuries.
Their dress is thus described : -Officers of state had six kinds of
dress ; the princes had seven. The court dress was woollen , em-
broidered with silk ; some courts adopted various furs to adorn
their dresses . The officers of the court wore a red collar to their
robe. The nobility wore various colours, except red, which was
imperial ; the caps were of skin (fur) ; the girdles of silk, fastened
by a clasp . The farmers wore straw hats tied with ribbons ; the
women wore undyed cloth, and a veil or cap .
The toilette was furnished with a mirror made of metal. Ladies
of rank plaited or frizzled their hair on each side of the head.
The children of the rich wore in their girdle an ivory needle , which
they made use of to untie a knot when they disrobed . Both men
and women anointed their hair or head.
The walls of the houses were of earth . The soil was beaten
hard, and upon the beaten foundation of the intended wall was
placed a frame of four planks, two of which corresponded to the
two faces of the wall ; the frame was filled up with moistened
earth, which is the mode of the present day. The doors were of
.
EARLY SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. 199
wood, except those of the very poorest, who stopped up the en
trance, in winter, with mud .
Their chief subsistence depended on the chase, which consisted
of wild fowl, boars, wolves, foxes, deer, and wild cattle (buffaloes) .
The agricultural productions were the same as those of the pre
sent day ; as were also the various metals , such as gold, silver, iron,
lead and copper .
From a very remote period the court or government of China
was held in the province of Shan- se : and , it is the general opinion ,
that the foundation of the empire was laid on the banks of the
Yangtzekang and the Hwang- ho rivers ; that from thence the
people spread themselves first in a northerly direction, and that
the province of Shan-se was chosen, because it enabled the Emperor
to oppose the barbarians from the northern regions.
An erroneous impression has prevailed that there has long been
internal peace in China, and a regular succession of sovereigns by
hereditary right : such is by no means the case. Dr. Gutzlaff and
Mr. Thornton have, at considerable length, and with much com
mendable zeal, translated and prepared several documents on this
interesting subject ; the following abstract will, however, suffi
ciently elucidate the various changes of rulers, although it is imA
possible to narrate in detail the crimes, murders, wars, anarchy,
and desolation which have overspread the land .
No nation has had so many historians as China from the time of
Confucius, who was born B.C. 550. He was the first who col
lected the records (bundles of wood), and formed them into a
history ; every age since his time has had its historians, many of
whom, however, are only transcribers .
Dr. Bridgeman, a master of the language, speaking of the
native historians, says, that a few are found among them whose
writings are remarkable for their originality of thought and purity
of diction, and that they have supplied rich and various materials
for composing a history of one of the first nations that existed .
He adds, that the author who would furnish a good history of
China must make up his mind to study carefully more than one
thousand volumes of native works .
THE CHOW DYNASTY.
B.C. 1001. Muh-wang, the " magnificent king," is reported to
have had an immoderate passion for horses, which Confucius says
were scarce in China. His love of pomp and splendour was ex·
hibited in constructing gorgeous palaces and temples. He de
clared war against the northern Tartars, who began to make
incursions across the frontier.
Modern Chinese history relates that this Emperor made a
journey to Mount Kwan-lun, and other places beyond his empire ;
200 ANCIENT CHINESE ODE .
B.C. 984. It is related by several historians, and confirmed by the
great chronological tables, that when this Emperor was at Kwan
lun, > a western prince, or princess, named Se-wang-mao,
(" Mother of the Western King,") paid him a visit ; that the two
princes interchanged presents, and entertained each other with
great magnificence. Their amusements comprised poetical com
position ; and two odes, said to have been written to each other,
are extant. The western prince, or princess, sent artificers to
China to construct palaces and gardens . Chinese authors are
divided in opinion as to what country they came from ; some say
Persia, others Arabia (Ta- tsin) .
The following is a literal version of these two odes :
SE - WANG - MOO's.
" White clouds float in the sky ;
The mountain-top appears in view,
Its distance far remote :
Hills and rivers intervene .
When we have a son, we die not :
Marry, and then you may return ."
MUH-WANG'S .
" I return to the eastern land :
I have reduced the nine tones to harmony.
The ten thousand people are in prosperity.
I regard you attentively :
For three years have I continued here :
Now I return to the deserted place."
Although the visit is not noticed by Confucius, it may neverthe
less have occurred, as it was foreign to his notions of propriety to
hold intercourse with foreigners . Some have traced an analogy
between this interview and the well-known visit of the Queen of
Sheba to King Solomon.
Another supposition is probable, that later authors may have
copied a mutilated relation of that occurrence from the Bible or
rabbinical writings .
The Shoo - King gives an expression of opinion, which Muh
Wang is said to have related of himself—thus, " my disposition in
clines towards what is wrong, but my resource is in my ministers,
who are bound to supply my defects by their prudence and ex
perience ; they should check me when I swerve from the straight
path, correct my perverseness, and expel from my mind what is
bad."
Muh-Wang is stated to have died в.c. 946, after a reign of fifty
five years .
Although great doubts are naturally cast on the traditional his
tory of China, yet there is less mythology or fable in their tradi
DATE OF ECLIPSES IN CHINA . 201
tions than in those of any other people except the Jews ; and the
eclipses recorded by the Chinese (who viewed with great awe these
natural celestial phenomena), attest the veracity of dates, at least
for two thousand six hundred years from the present day.
There was an eclipse of the sun on the day sin-maou, i . e . , first
of the tenth moon of the year Yih Chow, which corresponds with
the 6th of September, B.C. 778 . }
It is thus noticed in Chinese books :
" During the conjunction of the tenth moon with the sun,
The first day of the Cycle called Sin- maou,
There was something which devoured the sun ;
It was a very bad omen.
The moon we behold shone not ;
The sun we now see was dark,
And the poor people here below
Were in a sad, a deplorable condition .
The sun and moon (thus) announce great calamities,
When they accomplish not their revolutions," &c.
Among the lower classes of Chinese, the prevailing opinion
with regard to an eclipse is, that an animal, a monster of the frog
kind, having one leg and two fore paws, swallows the sun or moon ;
in consequence of which the priests in the temples, the people in
the streets, and the officers at the public courts, keep up an inces
ant beating of drums . As near the time of the commencement of
the eclipse as can be ascertained, each one sounds his drum as
loudly as he possibly can, in order to affright the frog, and cause
it to cast forth the luminary which it has seized . The noise of the
drums continues until the eclipse is over. Eclipses are generally
regarded with dread by the Chinese, and they present offerings to
the sun when he is thus obscured, believing some national calamity
to be portended. On the 7th day of 7th moon (7th of August),
unmarried females offer wine, flowers, and cosmetics to two of the
stars of the milky way.
The following record of eclipses is taken from the Chinese
Chronology of Gaubil, and found to correspond with the calcula
tions of European astronomers :—
B.C. B.C. B.C.
17 July . . 709 3 February* . 626 | 10 June • 531
: 10 October . 695 28 April . 612 9 April . 518
27 May . .. 669 20 September 601 14 November 511
10 November . 668 9 May 575 22 July • 495
19 August . 655 19 June . 549 19 April 481
The first eclipse of the moon on record in European books, was
observed at Babylon .
This eclipse is supposed by Volney to have been the same which was predicted
by Thales. Herodotus states this eclipse put a stop to the conflict between the
Lydians and Medes, under Cyaxarcs.
202 THE CHOW DYNASTY, B.C. 946.
To proceed with a record of the Chow Dynasty :--
B.C. 946 to 873. One of the successors of Mung-Wang, Heaou
Wang, conferred on one of his grooms, as a reward for his skill in
horsemanship, the principality of Shen - se, which, at a subsequent
period, overthrew the Chow Dynasty, and founded that of Tsin ,
better known as Tsin-Che Hwangte, who built the Great Wall of
China.
B.C. 873. The next sovereign on record is Le-Wang, " Cruel
and Tyrannical King ; " his cruelty, rapacity, and depravity, ren
dered him odious to his subjects ; some of whom lampooned his
actions in prose and verse. To stop their censure, he forbade his
subjects, on pain of death, to discuss his actions. To evade this
tyranny, the writers veiled their satire in allegory, exhibiting the
melancholy state of the empire, sunk in misery and discontent,
overrun with robbers and extortioners, thus, " there was a
tender and flexible mulberry-tree, which once over-shadowed a vast
space with its spreading branches . Its leaves are now dropping
sear and withered to the ground, and those who rejoiced beneath
its shade, spent with fatigue, can no longer find repose there."
B.C. 873. Le-Wang tried sorcery to discover his dissatisfied
subjects , and determined to put to death all whom the diviners.
named . Chaou -Kung, one of his ministers , warned him against ¿
adopting this method , as follows :-" so far from attempting to ex
tinguish the voice of the nation , you should give it free scope . It is
madness to think of stopping a torrent ; on the contrary , we must
deepen the channel , remove impediments , and open fresh sluices
for the water. So that when the discontent of your people acquires
暑 a dangerous volume , you should give it vent. The true policy of
government is to allow poets to sing , historians to write, ministers
to give advice, and the people to utter their sentiments : a govern ""
ment derives its best instruction from the tongues of the people.
Nothing better than this has been said in the middle of the nine
teenth century of the Christian era.
B.C. 846. Le-Wang persevered in braving the brim full torrent
of indignation of his people, and at last it broke out into open
violence . His palace was attacked, but he escaped . The enraged
mob demanded his child, and after a fruitless remonstrance of his
chief minister, Chaou-Kung, with the rebels, he surrendered his
own child, as that of the heir, who was instantly killed .
The Emperor ended his life after an exile of fourteen years ; a
}' regency was appointed : the faithful minister exerted himself to
quiet the people, and governed the country with zeal and ability.
B.C. 827. On the death of Le -Wang, his son was placed on the
throne, and called Seuen- Wang, " Proclaimed King ;" his reign
F was only seven years, but was stated to be a glorious one as re
garded internal peace . With the tributary tribes on the north and
south of his empire he had many contests.
INCURSIONS OF THE TARTARS, B.C. 781 . 203
B.C. 781. Yew- Wang, the " Retired King," was indolent, ex
travagant, and fond of pleasure ; he augmented the taxes, exhausted
the resources of the empire on a damsel whom he had taken, and
discarded his own wife, who obtained an asylum from the Prince
of Shin , who , with the aid of the northern Tartars, resented the
injury done to his family.
The Tartars, on this as on a subsequent occasion, showed more
energy than the Chinese. They took the Emperor prisoner, killed
him and his concubine, ravaged the country, and obtained great
booty.
The vassal princes became alarmed at the power of the Tartars,
roused their energies, and it was only by threats that their auxiliaries
were prevailed on to retire ; the princes of Shin , Chin, Tsin, and
Wei, having combined to expel them.
B.C. 776. The lawful heir of Yew- Wang was proclaimed Em
peror, under the title of Ping- Wang, " Pacific King ;" but the re
cords of this sovereign, and his successors in the dynasty, exhibit
a great extent of anarchy, crime, rebellion, and sensuality.
The united vassals, who placed Yew-Wang on the throne, and
successfully drove out the dangerous Tartars, obtained various
favours for their services .
↓ B.C. 747. The number of independent principalities in the em
pire at this date was twenty-one. Some of the vassal princes, who
were virtually independent, became dissatisfied, and renounced
their allegiance. The King of Tse seized a great part of Shantung ; t
Tsoo took Hoo- Kwang and Kiang- se ; and Tsin had quiet posses
sion of the large province of Shen- se, now containing an area of
154,000 square miles .
It may here be noted that one of the chiefs who expelled the
Tartars, was the Prince or King of Tsin.
Claude Visdelan, a learned Jesuit, states , " that the family of
the kings of Tsin was illustrious by its nobility and power. It exG
isted in great splendour more than 1000 years, and was only in
ferior to the royal dignity. Feitsz, a prince of this family, had
conferred upon him the sovereignty of the city Tsin Chow in mesne
tenure (en titre d' arriere fief) , with the title of sub-tributary
king .
About 122 years after this (B.c. 770) , Siangwan, petit roi of
لو Tsin Chow, was created king in full tenure, without limitation .
The same Emperor abandoning Singan-foo, the capital of his em
pire, for his seat in Lohyang (Honan), made himself master of the
province of Shen- se . Though his fortune changed, he did not
change his title, retaining that of the city of Tsin Chou . The
kingdom of Tsin became celebrated , and being the place of the
first arrival of the people of the western countries, they gave this
name to all China.
B.C. 722, —was the forty-ninth year of Ping- wang's sovereignty,
204 THE SHO0 - KING OF CONFUCIUS . }
and Yin-kung, the Prince of Loo, began to reign. The history of
China, called Shoo-king, said to be written by Confucius, is dis
continued with this reign .
Confucius commenced a history, which is called Chun-tsew,
" Spring and Autumn." This history is said to be very authentic,
and comprehends historical details of the various states into
which the empire was divided .
The last chapter in the Shoo -king is devoted to an event which is
said to have occurred in 624 B.C. Muh-kung, Prince of Tsin , in
Shen-se, and the Prince of Tsin, in Shan-se, contended for power ;
the latter was victorious. Muh- kung dying in a few years, upwards
of 150 persons were compelled to kill themselves at the prince's
funeral, in order to attend him in the other world . This has
always been a Tartar and Scythian custom .
B.C. 719 to 618. The six successors of Ping- wang, who occupy
this epoch, had very disturbed reigns . The dissensions of the
several princes with each other gave rise to perpetual wars ; and
the constant inroads of the Tartars caused the reigning Emperor,
Hwan-wang, to die of grief and mortification .
B.C. 650. Hwang-kung, the Prince of Tse, became the most
powerful of all the princes, and was, by mutual consent, chosen
chief of their assemblies . Public affairs were well administered ;
1 arts, sciences, and commerce flourished, and men of talent were
encouraged at his splendid court.
B.C. 675 . Hwuy-wang was no sooner placed on the throne,
f
than a faction was formed against him, and his capital taken from
| him . The tributary princes came to his aid ; the capital was re
taken, after dreadful slaughter.
B.C. 645 . This Emperor intended that his youngest son should
succeed him , but the princes in an assembly settled that his eldest
son should reign . Seang-wang was declared emperor , but his
brother, Shoo -tae, intrigued against him, and successfully drove
him from the court by the aid of the Tartars . After some time ,
peace was proclaimed , and Shoo -tae retired to a distant place .
In 637, the reigning Emperor found it necessary to call in the
Tartars, to defend his capital against his vassals . He subsequently
married a Tartar princess, who proved faithless, and too intimate
with his brother. 4
Shoo -tae again incited the Tartars to revenge the insult (their
ruling passion) ; they drove Seang-wang from the throne, and
proclaimed Shoo -tae Emperor, who made the degraded Empress
his wife.
IM The most powerful of the vassal princes, Tsin, drove the Tartars
to their own territory, took Shoo -tae prisoner, put him to death,
and placed his brother again on the throne, who reigned until 617.
B.C. 618 to 606. Two Emperors reigned in this period, King
wang and Kwang- wang, who were well disposed towards their sub
BIRTH OF CONFUCIUS , B.C. 551. * 20
jects, but were thwarted in every measure by uncontrollable vassals,
so that their authority was only nominal.
B.C. 606. Ting-wang was chosen Emperor ; eleven of the vassal
princes combined with the Prince of Chao as their chief, to
endeavour to produce some tranquillity, the empire being torn and
distracted by the clashing of their separate interests . The history
of China is, in fact, nothing but a continued narrative of intrigues
and wars of the several principalities, most of which kept large
standing armies, who were employed killing each other, whilst the
common enemy (Tartars) plundered the poor people. It would be
only a waste of space to further narrate the latter years of the
Chow dynasty, as it would not be a history of a monarchy, but a
harrowing detail of crimes that far surpass anything on record.
In the midst of these scenes (B.c. 551 ) , Confucius was born ; and
his doctrines, which partake largely of inspiration and abound in
virtuous precepts, were well calculated to mould a tractable people,
and to ensure, so far as anything short of Christianity can secure,
the peace and happiness of a nation . In this reign was born
Laou-tsze, the founder of the Taou sect, that is, the " sect of rea
son. "
B.C. 606. The remarks of M. Remusat on the mythological his
tory of this prince of imposters, are to the following effect : he
says, " the biography of Laou- tsze is a tissue of absurdities, not
even of his own age, which have no connexion with the doctrine
in his book ; his followers, subsequent to the introduction of
Budhism into China, probably adopted the idea of incarnation
from India, and the pretended reappearances of the philosopher at
various periods, only mark the rise and declension of his principles ;
which were sometimes openly professed, and at other times perse
cuted ."
The learned professor saw striking analogies between Laou-tsze
and Pythagoras (B.c. 540) .
An interview is said to have taken place between Laou-tsze and
Confucius in the year 517 B.C. The former was 87 years old, and
the latter 35 ; Laou-tsze reproached Confucius with vanity and
worldly-mindedness, as exhibited by the pompous style in which
he travelled, and the number of his followers . " The wise man
loves obscurity ; so far from courting employments, he shuns
them he studies the times ; if they be favourable, he speaks ; if
corrupt, he yields to the storm . He who is truly virtuous, makes
no parade of his virtue ; he does not proclaim to all the world that
he is a sage . This is all I have to say to you : make the best of it
درConfucius said of Laou-tsze that " he knew the habits
you can.'
of birds, beasts, and fishes, and how to take them ; but as to the
dragon, he could not understand how it could raise itself in the
heavens . He had seen Laou-tsze, who resembled the dragon . " *
* The Chinese consider the dragon as a type of the cclestial genii.
206 NUMEROUS WARS AND INTRIGUES .
522 B.C. According to the native history " Chun-tsew" (said to
be written by Confucius, ) there is nothing recorded at this period,
but wars and intrigues of the numerous petty states into which the
empire was divided . The principal fiefs, at this time, were fifteen ;
the chief were called Tsin, Shuh, Pa, Wei, Kin, Yen, Kwo, Tsoo,
Wei, (the second,) Sung, Tse, Loo, Woo, and Yue .
Some of these petty principalities extended beyond the Yang
tzekang, but none of them reached the " Sea of the South ."
B.C. 519. On the death of King Wang, he left the throne to
his youngest son Chaou ; but his title was disputed by the eldest,
Mong, and each sought aid from their vassals ; the eldest was put
out of the way privately, after much loss of blood by the partisans
of each .
Mong's party proclaimed (Kae) his full brother, and was well
supported by the Prince of Tsin . After various contests, Kae was
victorious, and was crowned under the title of King Wang, and
soon caused Chaou's death.
B.C. 472. The Prince of Yue despoiled the Prince of Woo, of
his large territories, by which means he demanded the chieftainship
of all the vassals, and even subjected the hitherto powerful Prince
of Tsin to submission .
B.C. 440. The Emperor Ching-ting- Wang left three sons ; the
eldest was killed by the youngest brother, who was very soon after
I murdered by another brother ; the third brother became Emperor
Kaou - Wang.
B.C. 375. At this period the vassal princes became so formidable
that the authority of the Emperor ' Lee-Wang' was disregarded .
The Ching territory was conquered by the Prince of Han.
B.C. 366. During the reign of " Heen-Wang" the great Prince
of Tsin became the terror of all the other vassals, whose territories
adjoined his the Princes of Wei and Tsoo , therefore fortified their
provinces by great walls .
B.C. 342. The Prince of Tsin was declared chief of the vassals,
and attended court at the head of a large army to pay homage.
B.C. 332. Tsao attacked Yue and deprived him of his posses
sions, and he returned to the " Isles of the Eastern Sea." The
entire province of Che- Keang was subjected by the Prince of
Tsoo, who now assumed the title Wang ' King . ' His example was
followed by Han, Tse, Tsin, and a few others . The Emperor
Heen-Wang is said to have thrown the symbols of his authority into $
a lake, lest some of his vassals should obtain possession of them.
B.C. 317. Nearly all the other vassals conspired against Tsin,
و شیده
but he was more than a match for them . He obtained victories
over Chaou, Han, Wei, Yen, and Tsoo . He also subjected Sze
Chuen province, and a portion of Hoo - Kwang, from two chiefs, who
were called ' Kings of Shoo .'
(
B.C. 306. Nan- Wang.' During this reign high-wall-building,
to keep out the Tartars, increased ; the Prince of Chaou, (on the
L
GREAT WALL BUILT, B.C. 306. 207
northern frontier) built the great wall between the Hwang-ho and
province of Chih-le, and with the aid of a well- disciplined army, he
was the terror of these invaders . Yeu also drove them out of the
north of Chih -le, and built a great wall from Shan-se to Leaou-tung.
Tsin expelled them from the north of Shen- se, and a great wall
was constructed from Lin taou foo to the Hwang-ho, where this
river enters China.
B.C. 286. The Sung territory was invaded by the King of Tse.
The King of Yeu leagued with others against Tse ; but his death
caused the breaking-up of the confederacy .
B.C. 286. The King of Tsin, " Chaou- Seang" was every day
adding to his vast possessions . His grandson, E-jin, was left as
hostage at the court of Chaou, and the King of Tsin laid siege to
a town belonging to that prince. The Prince of Chaou determined
to kill the hostage : but he was foiled, by the aid of Leu-puh-Wei,
a merchant of Ho- nan, who concealed the hostage E -jin, in his
own house. Leu-puh-Wei had a concubine, with whom E -jin
became too familiar, and her former master gave her up .
B.C. 256. In process of time she was delivered of a son , who
subsequently became the great Emperor Che-hwangte . The mo
ther was declared the lawful wife of Prince E -jin, who was the heir
of the Tsin family .
B.C. 256. A simultaneous attack by order of the nominal Em
peror Nan-Wang' was made against the Prince of Tsin, but the
only vassal that responded to the call was Tse. This was sufficient
indication for 6 Chaou-seang' Tsin, who sent an army into the
imperial territories, and took thirty-five cities and towns .
The Emperor surrendered, and craved his life, but he died
soon after, and left no issue to contend with the usurper.
251. The usurper died and was succeeded by his son Heaou
Wau, who died in a few days after. Thus terminated the Chow
dynasty.
E-jin was proclaimed Emperor " Chwang-seang-Wang " and
his deliverer Leu-puh-wei, was made a prince and prime minister.
B.C. 256. The fourth dynasty was called Tsin, from which the
term Chin or China was probably derived . The first Emperor of
this dynasty obtained dominion over the various kingdoms of
which China was formerly composed. It is very probable that at
this time Tunking, Cochin China, and several other neighbouring
countries, were subdued and annexed to China. This supposition
respecting the origin of the term China is the more probable , from
3
the circumstance that the country was called throughout all ages
Chang-Kwo, i.e. the middle kingdom,' and likewise it had hitherto
taken the name from the reigning dynasty, such as Han, Tang, &c.;
but the victorious arms of this Emperor, having carried with them
his name, the surrounding countries have thus perpetuated and
handed it down to posterity. In the Latin tongue China is written
Sinae ; in the time of Marco Polo (A.D. 1260) the Chinese were
208 TSIN DYNASTY, B.C. 248 .
called Chin or Cin by the Japanese ; and they are so called by the
Siamese and the Cochin Chinese. In the Institutes of Menu
they are called Chinas ; Ptolemy A.D. 150, calls them Sin-ites.
THE TSIN DYNASTY .
B.C. 248. Chwang-seang-Wang, i.e. E-jin was imbued with the
ambition which long had characterised the Tsin family . He
attacked the Princes of Wei, Han and Chaou . To check his suc
cesses, five princes joined their forces to those of Wei, and defeated
the imperial army of 200,000 men. The Emperor died, it is said,
of grief, leaving the throne to his son (though only 13 years old) by
the concubine previously mentioned .
B.C. 246. Tsin- chehwang- te, i.e. Ching- Wang declined the title
of Emperor, chose that of King of Tsin , and made his old friend the
Honan merchant, Prime Minister. The former intimacy between
Leu-puh-Wei, and the empress-mother was now renewed ; and the
better to disguise his criminal intercourse, Leu-puh-wei intro
duced a young man into the court under the pretence that he was
a eunuch.
The empress -mother fell in love with this youth, by whom she
had two children. The grandees investigated the matter ; the }
youth fled , and carried off the imperial seal, and with it levied a
large army. Being devoid of talent for such an enterprise, he
was soon defeated , and, notwithstanding the interference of his
friend the prime minister, he was cut in pieces , with his two
children. Leu-puh-wei was deprived of office , and sent to a distant
part of the empire, where he soon died . The Emperor punished
his guilty mother with such severity, that the literati remonstrated
with him on his unfilial conduct ; but, in consequence of their
temerity, upwards of twenty of the literary nobility were executed .
Notwithstanding this, a noble of the house of Tse, reproached the
Emperor, and so worked on his feelings, as to succeed in causing
the empress to be released from a cruel punishment, and himself
to be raised to a distinguished office.
The Emperor at last met with a man of great ability, named
Le-sze, to whom he confided his long- cherished intention of con
1
solidating the numerous kingdoms into one empire.
B.C. 228. A commencement was made with the states of Chaou
and Yen : Le-sze, by his intrigues, having set them at variance ;
the troops of Yen were defeated by those of Chaou, who took the
Yen territory. The Emperor's aid was sought, and readily
granted ; his army was successful, he re-took the conquered terri
tory, and kept it. In the mean time, the intriguer had set the
two states of Wei and Choo at war respecting their boundaries .
An appeal was made to the Emperor to decide the matter, which
he did by seizing those of the former and annexing them to his
PLAN OF CONSOLIDATING THE EMPIRE. 209
own . He now attacked Chou, who was well supported by the
nobles, and met with a defeat ; but corruption and discord accom
plished his purpose ; Chou was taken and executed, together with
all his family.
B.C. 224. The King of Han, seeing the fate that awaited him,
proposed to become tributary, but that was not the policy of the
Emperor. The King of Han was brought to court, his territory
taken, and, being a man of no energy, was permitted to die a
natural death . The Wei state was the best fortified of all the
others ; the capital, in particular, was well defended : to ensure
success, the river Hwang-ho was made to flow into the city, which
had the desired effect. When the city was taken, the country
soon surrendered, and every branch of the family was murdered .
The Prince of Choo was next on the list, but the imperial troops
were here defeated with great loss . The second army sent against
Choo is said to have amounted to 600,000 men. The difficulty
of feeding such an army caused frequent conflicts with the escort
ing convoys. After many skirmishes, a general engagement took
place, in which the imperial troops were successful .
B.C. 220. The kingdom of Tse had yet to be conquered, and
some other petty statess ; thus, in a few years, China was consoli
dated into a large empire. Á native authority says, " the Tsins
acquired the mastery, not by their virtues or the force of good
government, but by craft, treachery, corruption, and wholesale
murder." All this was done in about twenty- six years .
A proposal was made to the Emperor to erect petty principalities
for the grandees and the royal princes, which he refused by saying
"good government is irreconcileable with a multitude of masters ."
His capital was Shen-se ; everything curious and valuable that be
longed to the vanquished states was conveyed thither, and all the
implements of war were converted into musical instruments, bells,
and statues of the several genii .
The Emperor now turned his attention to a survey of the em
pire, and saw the necessity of making roads for intercommunica
tion, from his travelling through a great portion of the country.
B.C. 215. A prophecy was spread that the dynasty of Tsin
must give way to that of Hoo . This title was supposed to refer
to the Tartars, and the Emperor prepared to subdue them. There
was a large country to the north of Shan-se, Shen-se , and Chih-le,
; called Ta- tan. The inhabitants were known by the names of
Huns, Turks, Mongols, and Tartars . The Chinese have no true
history of these tribes until B.c. 209. Their country is described
by early historians as bounded on the east by the Wo-leang-ho
(Mantchoo Tartary) ; on the south, by the Wall of China ; in Tar
tary it had the countries of Hami and Igaur, as far as the Irtish ;
on the north, its boundaries were the Kalkas and Eleuth empires .
These united tribes were called Heung-noos, and hence the
name of Huns, which signifies in Chinese, " unhappy slaves."
P
210 ORIGIN OF THE HUNS, AND GREAT WALL.
When China was parcelled out into states, the Heung-noos were
very formidable, and often successful in their incursions .
Gibbon says, " the plains of Scythia, i.e. Tartary, in every age
have been inhabited by vagrant tribes of hunters and shepherds,
whose indolence was such as to never cultivate the earth, and }
whose restless spirit disdained the confincment of a sedentary life.
In every age, the Scythians and Tartars have been renowned for
their invincible courage and rapid conquests . The thrones of
Asia have been repeatedly overturned by the shepherds of the
north." He places their country between the mouth of the
Danube and the sea of Japan ; 5,000 miles of longitude, and in
latitude from the Wall of China to Siberia.
After the Heung-noos subjugated the Tartars to the west of
Shen-se, the latter emigrated to the westward, and founded a large
kingdom, called Yue (which is supposed to be Parthia) , north of
the laxartes, extending to the Caspian Sea, also Khorasan and
Backtriana, which an ancient Chinese writer states is contiguous
to Keen-too (Hindu), i.e. India ; whither, he says, many mer
chants in his time (B.c. 100) convey goods from the province of
Sze-chuen.
Che-hwang-te, determined to exterminate the whole race, sent
a large army against the Heung-noos, and routed and slaughtered
many thousands of them . To effectually keep them out, that
extraordinary monument, the Great Wall, was constructed .
row, to give an idea of its extent, says, " the vastness of the mass
may be better appreciated by considering that it is more than
sufficient to surround the circumference of the earth, on two of
its great circles, with two walls each six fect high and two feet
thick ."
The previous history of this Emperor and his minister, strongly
favours the incident narrated in Chinese history, that he ordered
four hundred learned men to be buried alive, and books and annals
to be burned, in order to blot out the knowledge of the past, and
render his own dynasty the most celebrated . This barbarous in
cident is thus recorded.
B.C. 213. At an assembly of the grandees convened by the
1
Emperor, who was seated on his throne, he invited every one pre
-
sent to give a free expression of their sentiments on his govern
ment and policy, without any restraint or reserve ; at the same
time assuring them of his protection, no matter whether it met
their approval or no. The first speaker was most eloquent in his
adulation ; the second, a literary noble, was condemnatory, but
was called to order by the Emperor, who preferred hearing the
opinion of his prime minister, Le-sze, who directed his eloquence
against the literati, ridiculed their notions of antiquity, styled
them fools and rebels who ought to be deprived of that which only
ministered to their pride or their discontent. He proposed that
DESTRUCTION OF LITERATI AND BOOKS . 211
all books, except those on medicine, agriculture, divination , and
astrology, and, also, that the annals of the reigning family, be
destroyed within forty days. This presumption was overruled by
} an all-wise Providence, by the subsequent discovery of some books
of Confucius, in repairing an old house ; and the attempt to per
petuate his race failed, by the demise of his son in less than two
→
years after his own death, through which circumstance the govern
ment passed into other hands, and the dynasty was changed for
that of Han, by which name the Chinese wish to distinguish them
selves from the Tartars .
It is not improbable that China would have been Christianized,
but for the despotism that ruled the empire. The malcontents
were becoming so numerous that an example was made in the
capital, by causing upwards of 400 of the most distinguished of
the Confucian school (who were prepared for Christianity) to be
put to a cruel death . The Emperor did not even spare his eldest
son, Foo-soo, who, for daring to remonstrate with him against this
cruel act, was banished . To blot out effectually all remembrance
of the past, new characters were brought into use by Le-sze , which
were declared the only legal form. It is probable that these new
characters were an improvement on the former rude pictures or
symbols, and it is not unlikely were similar to the Egyptian hiero
glyphics. Some have said that the present Chinese characters arc
all resolvable into the Arabic numerals, viz .: three single strokes ;
two strokes united ; two across, &c. This would suggest an early
f intercourse between the Chinese and the Arabians, or descendants
of Ishmael.
B.C. 211. It should be recollected that the biographers of this
prince were more or less prejudiced against his rule. If he were
not one of the most wicked, he was one of the greatest their coun
try ever produced . His ambition was probably prompted by a re
gard for the welfare of his subjects. He rescued China from a
wretched state of anarchy, and much enlarged its extent. Inde
I pendent of the Great Wall, he constructed a road upwards of 600
miles long, in which hills were divided, valleys filled up, marshes
drained, and trees planted on each side of this road throughout its
whole extent. Upwards of 800,000 persons were employed to
1 complete his gorgeous palaces, and beautify his capital at Heen
yong. His character, in several respects, was like that of Na
i poleon ; he never disclosed what he intended to do, or where he
should reside, and generally kept moving about-to dissipate, it
was said, his gloomy reflections.
In one of his journeys in Shan -tung he was taken ill , saw his
approaching end , sent for his discarded son , Foo - Soo ; but before
the courier departed he died, in the thirty- seventh year of his
reign, and fiftieth of his age. B.C. 210.
The fame of Che-Hwangte extended throughout Asia ; the gran
P 2
212 FREE POLICY OF CHE- HWANG - TE .
deur of China was every where renowned ; for he literally per
mitted freedom of intercourse , and during his reign there was an
extensive traffic with India, the Eastern Islands, & c.
His death was concealed from his son, and a conspiracy was
entered into between Chaou-kaou, an eunuch, who held the seal of
the empire, and was the criminal judge . His object was to secure F
the throne to the second son, Hoo -hae.
The grandees were introduced to the bed-room of the Emperor
as if he was alive, and an edict was produced , appointing Hoo - hae
as his successor. The other two sons of the Emperor were soon
put out of the way, and Hoo - hae was proclaimed, Ur-she-hwang-te.
B.C. 210 to 202. The new Emperor was cruel and debauched,
and left all his affairs to the management of the eunuchs and Le
sze, who influenced the Emperor to kill the most illustrious nobles
in the empire.
Some of the nobles revolted, and the eunuchs despatched an
army against them. The person sent to head the army, was pre
vailed on by his officers to rebel against his sovereign, and was
ultimately declared King of Choo. The nobles followed the ex 1
ample, and all the old titles were restored, such as Choou , Wei,
Yen, and Tse. Lew-pang, the chief of a town called Pey, was
hailed as the Prince of Pey, and became an officer under Heong
Leang, general of the King of Choo .
B.C. 208. The ruling cunuch, hearing that his companion Le
sze intended to join the grandees, in laying before the Emperor
the true state of affairs, represented to his Majesty that Le- sze
was in concert with the rebels, and had been promised a kingdom
for himself. He was tried by a jury composed of eunuchs, con
demned, and cut in pieces, with many others .
The eunuch Chaou-kaou was made prime minister, and seeing
the state of the empire, he determined to depose his sovereign .
To do this, he procured a number of troops to surround the palace
at night, and represented them as the rebel army, knowing that
the Emperor would destroy himself rather than fall into the hands
of the enemy ; this stratagem succeeded as he expected it .
The eunuch raised Tze-ying, a son of Foo- soo, to the throne.
This prince was well aware of the dreadful character he had to
deal with, and a few days after he was crowned, feigned illness. 1
The eunuch attending him alone, the Emperor stabbed him ; a cirM
cumstance which excited universal joy .
Two generals now aspired to the imperial throne, Heang-tse and 1
Lew-pang ; the latter reached the capital first, and the Emperor,
having no means of resisting, surrendered his crown and seal of
authority. On the arrival of the other general, his disappointment
knew no bounds, he murdered all before him, and burned the
great city, (Heen-yan) , which the late Emperor was thirty years
beautifying. He then retured to the eastward.
B.C. 204. The King of Choo was proclaimed Emperor by the
HAN DYNASTY, B.C. 202 . 213
General Heang-tse, under the title of E- te, taking a title for himT
self, which he called Pa-wang . The empire was now divided into
several kingdoms : Lew-pang was King of Han . Heang-tse be
came odious to every one, several battles took place, but ultimately
Heang- tse was defeated, and become his own executioner at the
close of the year B.C. 203. Thus terminated the Tsin Dynasty.
THE HAN DYNASTY, FROM B.C. 202 To a.d. 255 .
Lew -pang, the captain of a band of robbers, with the aid of the
Prince of Tsoo, declared himself Emperor, under the name Kaou
tsoo . He was the grandsire of many Emperors, and possessed a
daring and jealous disposition . His policy was to conciliate the
Chinese, and, for this end, he patronized the Confucians, and re
stored the scattered sages . He murdered every living branch of
the last dynasty, (the last scion was Tsze-ying) , and caused their
bones to be disinterred and burnt. His death took place B.c. 195 ,
leaving for his successor a child of tender years .
His mother became regent, and aided by experienced ministers,
ruled with a firm hand ; her son dying before he reached the throne,
she kept possession . Her ambition and cruelty knew no bounds ;
and had not a fit of sickness carried her off, she must have met
with an untimely death . She was the first female who ever ruled
the Chinese.
B.C. 180. Wan-te, a descendant of Lew-pang , was chosen suc
cessor, lived in peace, redressed many grievances , and was the first
who gave a distinctive name to his reign , which has been ever since
followed up.
Wan -te died 157 B.C. , leaving a good character be
hind him, which had been a novelty in China for many centuries .
Under his reign the Chinese invented paper .
B.C. 157. His successor, King-te, murdered a young prince,
whose father fomented a rebellion to revenge his son's death, but
was defeated by the imperial forces. Between earthquakes and
locusts, this was a most calamitous reign for the people. King-te
died B.c. 141 .
B.C. 141 . Woo -te, the next Emperor , was early called to con
tend against the old enemies , the Huns or Tartars ; intrigues , tri
butes , and alliances , all failed ; arms were then tried, and a tem
J porary victory was gained over them . In this reign commenced
a violent struggle for supremacy between the founder of Taouism
(Laou-tsze), and the disciples of Confucius . This Emperor's cha
racter was both cruel and superstitious . He reigned fifty-four
years.
B.C. 86. Chaou- te, the son of the last Emperor, ascended the
throne at seven years of age, but died B.c. 74 ; the same scenes of
bloodshed were witnessed in this short reign between the cast and
west Tartars, who attacked the frontier provinces .
214 CHINESE AND ROMAN EMPIRES MEET .
B.C. 74. Chaou-te's uncle succeeded him, but was dethroned by
the nobles .
B.C. 73. Suen-te was the greatest patron of literature that
China had seen for many years. He subjected the Huns, and
ruled without interruption to the Caspian, by the aid of an able
prime minister, Ho -kwong. A plot was set on foot by his own
daughter to murder him and all his ministers, which was timely
discovered.
About this period the Roman and Chinese Empires gradually
approached each other, and they appear to have coalesced during
the Han Dynasty for the subjugation of the Parthians, who were
attacked by the Romans on the west, while the Chinese despatched
a general from the east to the Caspian, which he refused to cross,
hearing the passage would occupy from five to twelve months. He
was punished for his cowardice.
B.C. 48. Yuen- te reigned sixteen years, during which time he
devoted his time to promoting ancient literature. Famine, and
a fresh war with the Tartars, rendered all his efforts to improve
the condition of the people futile .
B.C. 32. Ching- te, son of the last Emperor, was called to the
throne ; but bent on devoting himself solely to libertinism and dis
sipation, he entrusted all power to his maternal uncles. He died
suddenly, and was succeeded by his nephew.
Notwithstanding his own dissipation , he thus remonstrates with
his subjects, " We see nothing now but extravagance ; my officers
build great mansions, make extensive gardens and vast lakes, and
entertain in idleness a crowd of slaves in their chariots, dresses,
marriages, funerals, and in everything, their expenditure is ex
cessive .'>>
B.C. 8. Gae-te, a man of good understanding, was unable to
carry out his good intentions, through a faction that surrounded
his court. He died the year Our Saviour was born .
Gae-te mourned over the disorders arising from extravagance.
in feasts, dress, vain ornaments, and from " the passion for the
tender and effeminate music of the kingdom of Chin and Wei,"
which he states has inspired libertinism . He consequently banished }
music from the palace except that which was required for religious
ceremonies, and for the instruments used in war.
A.D. Ping-te, (styled the " Prince ofPeace," which was a remark
able title to have been given at the commencement of the Chris
tian Era) , the grandson of Yuen- te, was the lawful heir to the
throne, although only nine years of age. The regency was usurped
by an ambitious noble, Wang-mank, whose object was to ascend
the throne, and so change the dynasty. After a dreadful struggle
he was killed .
A.D. 25. Kwang- woo- te was forced by his soldiers to take the
throne, and his first act was to declare a general amnesty. He
collected about him a most vigorous government ; restored order
" TERMINATION OF THE HAN DYNASTY. 215
and humbled the Huns. He prosecuted a long war with Cochin
China, and never ceased until he penetrated to Cambodia. He
died after a successful reign of thirty-two years.
A.D. 58. Ming-te, a son of the last Emperor, sent an embassy
to Hindostan, to import a foreign religion , in the form of Budhism ,
• which soon spread all over the empire. The Emperor was a patron
of learning, but his efforts to benefit the empire were greatly frus
trated by continual wars with the Tartars, who spread devastation
along the western frontiers. He reigned 18 years .
A.D. 73. Chang-te . This reign is celebrated for a great victory
over the Tartars, who were driven into the interior of their country
2000 le. (Chinese miles .) In this reign lived a celebrated authoress,
•
Pankoo ; her chief merit was in assigning to her own species, the
most inferior duties . To this strange doctrine must be attributed
the degradation of the female sex to the present day. After
Chang-te's death, boys, girls, and women reigned, and the greatest
distress and confusion prevailed .
A.D. 220. Three claimants now aspired to the throne, Tsaou-pe,
Chaou-le, and the Prince of Woo, who had hitherto ruled over a
great portion of southern China. The confused state of the em
pire may be imagined ; natural calamities were numerous, and no
one in authority cared for the distresses of the people. How-te,
the lawful Emperor, in a fit of despair, abdicated the throne in
favor of the Prince of Wei, and against the wish of his son, who
killed himself and his whole family, A.D. 263. With this tragedy,
the Han Dynasty ceased .
The Chinese still pride themselves on their being the " Sons of
Han," whose dynasty they consider the most glorious . Great
efforts were made for the encouragement of literature, and the
officers of government were chosen from among the literati .
The Tartars were bribed to quietude by giving their chiefs the
daughters of the Han rulers in marriage. During the continu
ance of the Han dynasty, the several Emperors had conquered
many remote regions, with the view of bringing them under the
transforming influence of their empire. Yet it was not until the
reign of Woo-te, (A.D. 265) that the south of China became subject
to or incorporated with the empire. A practice was then adopted
¡ which is continued to this day, viz. : -purchasing the loyalty of
their semi-barbarous subjects . In a memorial from a minister to
the Emperor Wan-te,* he says " behold a monstrous fact ;
although the Emperor is the head of the empire, and the barba
rians on the frontiers, but the inferior extremities, or fect, yet the
Tartars in our day offer us perpetual insult, and to evade them
large sums in silver or goods are paid them every year. To demand
this kind of tribute is to assume the character of masters ; to pay
it is to reduce ourselves to the condition of subjects- the feet
at top, the head at bottom- What a shameful derangement !"
* State papers collected by Kang-he, a copy ofwhich is in the Royal Library ofPatis
216 CIVILIZATION DURING HAN DYNASTY .
We have an evidence of the state of civilization during the Han
Dynasty as contrasted with a previous period, in a memorial from a
minister under Woo- te, which describes the hypocrisy, dissimulation,
knavery, and intemperance of this period. The Hans were the
first who imposed a tax on the sale of wines . He contrasts the
period with that of Wan-te, ( B.c. 179) " whose nether garment
was of leather, a common strap served to hold his sword ; his seat
was a common mat ; his house had no rich or handsome furniture ;
his only ornaments were his wisdom and his virtue .” “ Now" (said
the memorialist) " your palace is a city ; your women are covered
with diamonds and jewels ; your horses are richly harnessed ; your
dogs have rich collars, and even to the vessels of wood and clay, all
are covered with ornaments : you have cast balls of great size, your
drums emulate thunder, to say nothing of your dramas, concerts,
and dances." There must also then have been great wealth in the
M
empire, for under the reign of Hwang- te (A.D. 190,) a prime minis
ter named Tung- cho directed all public affairs ; was master over
the princes, and even over the Emperor himself. He compelled all
who approached him to bend the knee under pain of death, the
slightest murmur to his will was visited with the penalty of decapi
tation, under his own eye. At last the Emperor summoned courage
to sign the death-warrant of Tung-cho, and he was privately des
patched. The annals state there were great rejoicings at his fall .
There are said to have been found in his coffers more than
30,000 lbs . weight of gold, 90,000 lbs . weight of silver and pearls,
and jewels beyond count.
The Han Dynasty is so celebrated in Chinese history, that to
this day " a son of Han" is identified with everything that is
great and glorious and he must be still a hero.
That distinguished scholar, Remusat, says that the Chinese at
this period (see Embassies) began to have political relations and a
regular communication with the countries of the west. It was
under Woo-te that the Chinese Ambassador, Chang-keen, on reach
ing Ta-wan and Ta-hae, found that the inhabitants had pre
viously heard of the power and wealth of China, and to culti
vate a better acquaintance they facilitated the envoy's progress
to Sogdiana. The countries that he entered into friendly relation
with were Ta-wan (Shash) ; Ta-yue-che (Transaxiana) ; Kang-keu
(Sogdiana) Ta-hea (Bactriana.) The Ambassador brought detailed
accounts of six other kingdoms that he had heard of on his route,
amongst which is a country he called Shin-too (Hindus) . He
also reported that the people of Sze- Chuen province had intercourse
and traded with Bactriana across the Tibetian mountains .
Between the periods, B.c. 86 to 48, the government of China
took a most active part in the disputes of the Princes of Tartary .
They protected their vassal the King of Shen-shen, whose terri
tory was situate to the W. of Lake Lop ; to the S. of Tartary,
their jurisdiction extended to Khoten and Yarkand .
J
EVENTS DURING THE HAN DYNASTY . 217
B.C. 59. The Chinese government had political agents styled
commanders, in Pe-seu, Kean- she and Soo- che, and a Chinese go
vernor-general controlled Sogdiana and several other countries to
the west, although not united to China.
B.C. 6. Western Tartary was divided into fifty-five states ,
the respective princes of which were vassals of the empire .
A.D. 75. The Chinese conquests extended to the E. and S. as
well as the W. having subjected Corea, Cochin-China, and the
island of Hai-nan . After the conquest of Corea by the Emperor
Woo -te, intercourse between China and Japan is said to have com
(
menced . The Chinese historian Ma-twan-lin' thus writes, "the
territorial expansion exhausted the resources of the nation, for
the sake of aggrandizement which yielded no advantage.”
A.D. 107. All the states of Tartary revolted .
A.D. 166 to 240. According to Colonel Burney, the conquests of
China were carried to the banks of the Irrawaddi. Ta-guang, at
that time the seat of the Burmah Empire, is said to have been
destroyed by the Tartars and Chinese. In the Samhu Purana, a
person called Manja Ghok is said to have led a colony into Nepal
from China. The maximum population under the Chows is given at
13,704,920 men, excluding females and children ; the custom was to
note those only at 15 and 60 years of age, there being at that
period no capitation tax. The told population is put down at nearly
22,000,000 ; " the empire" comprehended little more than one half
of China as now laid down . The south of China was inhabited by
hordes of savages ; and Che-keang, Foo -kien, Keang-si, and Kwang
tung, in Woo-te's reign were covered with forests, and the moun
tains were infested with wild beasts . According to native authors,
the free population under the Hans, was about 83 millions.
The civil wars which followed the division of the empire into
three states under the latter Hans, must have considerably reduced
the population .
DATE OF CENSUS . KINGDOM. FAMILIES . INDIVIDUALS.
A.D. 220 Wei 663,000 4,432,880
? در 220 Shuh 200,000 900,000
91 240 Woo . 520,000 2,300,000
1,363,000 7,632,000
During this period there were several epidemical diseases, but
the disorganized state of the country by what were called the
" yellow caps," and the swarms of robbers, that for years lived on
the industrious classes, frequently suspended agriculture, and
caused extensive emigration . Ma-twan-lin says, " the fields were
covered with human skeletons, and great numbers of people were
killed ."
218 ARTS AND SCIENCES , B.C.
The improvements in arts and sciences under the Han Dynasty,
are said to have been paper, pencils, and ink ; - sculpture, painting,
and bell-casting : bridge- building and pagodas denote the existing
knowledge of architecture. One of their ancient bridges, or as
they call them " flying bridges," still exists in Shen-se province ;
it stretches 400 feet from one mountain to another, over a chasm }
500 feet deep . These bridges are said to be wide enough for four
horsemen to ride abreast, and the sides are well protected against
accidents. Necessity compelled a Chinese general to invent them,
to enable his troops to travel.
Wan-te interdicted the use of gold and silver plates ; silk was
common to all classes, and was chiefly made by females. Wan-te
made his empress work at her needle as an example to all his sub
jects. As to agriculture, King-te says, " wherefore should so
much attention be paid to sculpture, and vain ornaments which
only injure agriculture ? I plough the ground myself every year,
and the Empress rears silk-worms . I aspire above all things to
make agriculture appreciated ." In abundant seasons the govern
ment became the purchasers, and when it was scarce they sold
to the people . This plan was soon abused ; and the state traf
ficked to the general injury of the public . The system is still
maintained, and great abuses practised .
A remonstrance was addressed to Ching -te on the great expendi
ture of the Royal Mausolea . The Mausoleum of Chehwang-te was
thus described : " above the edifice rose like a mountain ; its height
Ka
was 500 feet, and it was half a league in circuit . It was so capa
cious within, that you might walk about at your ease as in a
saloon. Around were lamps and flambeaux fed with human fat .'
On one side was a tank of mercury, in which swam birds of gold
and silver ; on the other side were rich furniture, arms, and costly
jewels." All the wealth contained in this edifice was carried
off in the civil wars, when those places in general were plundered,
avarice overcoming the strong prejudice against disturbing the
dead.
The state slaves under the Hans are said to have numbered
100,000, and at some periods amounted to as many as 300,000. 1
The expense of supporting them became sometimes so great that 1
they were consequently enfranchised . Under Wan-te, frequent
It was
mention is met with of presents being made of slaves .
made lawful for parents to sell their children, to prevent the inhuSt
man practice of infanticide. Woo-te prevented masters from
killing their slaves at will. Gae-te limited the number of the
slaves attached to the high officers . Kwang- woo assumed the power
of enfranchising private slaves by edict, A.D. 27, in which he de
clared every female free who should be purchased by any individual
to be his wife. Domestic slavery is treated of by Sir George
Staunton as a mild species of servitude.
The following remarkable document, taken from the ancient state
COLLEGE ADDRESS TO STUDENTS , B.C. 219
papers collected by the Emperor Kanghe, in 1715, shews that how
ever distracted the state of the empire, literature was sedulously
cultivated . The address is said to have been delivered to 700
students at the college of Pan-yang. " You enter this place of
learning in order that you may be taught to speak with propriety,
to write correctly, and above all, how to live well. You come here
ta lay the foundation of virtue, to qualify yourselves for being use
ful to the state ; in a word, to acquire true wisdom. You must be
forewarned that at first these studies have nothing agreeable or
attractive in them ; on the contrary they may be repulsive to you.
But in time you will imbibe a relish for them; different exercises will
succeed each other ; you will gradually improve, and become fond of
that study which daily increases the amount of your knowledge.
You will make discoveries yourselves, and will be eager to prosecute
them ; your minds will expand ; your hearts will dilate ; you will
feel the intrinsic worth of wisdom, and haste in the pursuit of it,
which surpasses every other, and yields more real enjoyment than
all other pleasures combined . You will be astonished to find
everything changed, almost without knowing how ; and the tinge
which study imparts to the mind and heart is more permanent
than any other dye ; for if properly taken, it retains for ever the
beauty of its tints ."
THE TSIN DYNASTY, A.D. 264 To 420.
The founder of this Dynasty was Sze-ma-yen, originally only a
ruler over the Tsin principality ; but with an ambitious eye he
watched the proceedings of the three last Emperors, saw them
wasting their strength, and, embracing the firstopportunity, to
the astonishment of every one, proclaimed himself Emperor in his
own province, Honan. Having seen the cause of the destruction
of the last dynasty, he banished all the partisans of the Han and
Wei from court ; and endeavoured to unite the empire under
one head. After living a most sensual life, with, it is recorded ,
5,000 females in his harem, he died A.D. 290 .
A.D. 291. Hwuy-te, who was very young when called to the Ľ
¡
throne, left the government to his wife, who not only employed
people to murder her enemies, but actually perpetrated many cold
blooded murders with her own hands. The Huns again visited
J China, and committed great devastation. The Emperor died in
307. A.D.
A.D. 307. Hwae- te, a well- disposed prince, endeavoured to re
store order, but the King of Han proclaimed himself Emperor,
killed the young heir, took Hwae-te prisoner, and made him
attend at his table as a servant. Of all the tyrants and relentless
monsters that ever existed in China, Hwac-te surpassed them all .
The next prince who should have reigned was Ming-te, but he was
murdered.
220 TSIN AND SUNG DYNASTIES .
A.D. 317. Sze-ma-juy, or Yuen-te, a distant branch of the Tsin
family, escaped the slaughter, and after the death of the King of
Han, was unanimously called to the throne ; but bloodshed and
misery ensued, to increase which, the Tartars joined different sides,
and engaged in the general plunder- their favorite work. Children
1
were called to the throne, and when grown up, were disposed of in
a private way. Others were kept concealed, and ignorant of what
was occurring . One ofthem, Gan-te, had a general, named Lew-yu ,
who completely overthrew a numerous tribe of Tartars, which had
disturbed the whole empire. Lew-yu murdered nearly all the
imperial family, except Kung-te, who very soon abdicated the
throne, by which means this dynasty was terminated.
SUNG DYNASTY, A.D. 420 тo 479 .
Lew-yu, or Woo - te, poisoned the last Emperor, Kung-te, and
now reigned in his stead ; his birth was humble ; he possessed
some talent, but his cruel disposition knew no bounds. The
Tartars had made successful settlements in the north and west of
China, and founded separate kingdoms for their chiefs . Under
Wan-te, Budhism became the most fruitful source of annoyance to
the government, and the votaries of this degrading doctrine were
cruelly persecuted . Wan-te was killed by his own son, whose
brother succeeded to the throne, under the name of Heaou-woo - te .
This prince commenced well, but ended like all the rest ; and there
is no other event in the remainder of the dynasty but cold-
blooded murders of the most horrible description. Of numerous
lawful claimants to the throne, only one (Ming-te) died a natural
death. There were eight reigning Emperors of this dynasty,
and six of them were cruel monsters . One of their chief gene
rals, Seaou Taouching, usurped the throne. He first obtained
the principality of Tse, and set aside every branch of the Sung
race, A.D. 477.
During the sway of this dynasty, China was a scene of incessant
contests, between foreign invaders and rebellious subjects, strug }
gling with each other for the divisions of an empire which had
been consolidated by the Tsins and Hans.
Independent of the Tartars, there were more than 100 tribes
of Western Keangs, i.e. Tibetians, dispersed along the banks of
the Yangtzekiang and Hwang-ho rivers. Chinese historians dis
criminate between these tribes ; some were settled and others
roving.
In this short space of time, the Tartars founded sixteen inde
pendent kingdoms in China, according to Mailla's translation of
native history.
TSE, LEANG, AND CHIN DYNASTIES . 221
TSE DYNASTY , A.D. 480 тo 502 .
Seaou-taou-ching, the founder of this Dynasty, took the name of
Kaou-te, and kept his court at Nanking. Native historians com
prise all the dynasties from Sung to Suy under the name of Nan
pih-chaou, i.e. southern and northern ; as there existed, for 200
years, two independent empires in China, the North and South ;
one Tartar, and the other Chinese.
This Emperor promised well for the peace and prosperity of the
empire ; was a man of vigorous mind, and although not a disciple
of Confucius, he possessed great practical wisdom for governing.
He died in A.D. 482.
Woo-te, a son of the last Emperor, was very deficient of the
abilities possessed by his father. Neglecting the government, he
became an enthusiast in the doctrines of Budhism, so that super
stition reigned triumphant amongst court and people . Two con
tending philosophers graced this reign ; one for the mortality of
the soul, and the other for the immortality of the body : materialism
in all its pernicious forms was established . The Emperor died
A.D. 493 .
A.D. 494. A grandson of the last Emperor was the lawful heir,
but the throne was usurped by Seaou- lun, the prime minister, who
took the name Ming-te. The northern Emperor waged war against
the usurper, but the natural death of both defender and usurper
prevented a struggle. His third son, Paou-keuen, inherited the
throne, A.D. 499 , but was dethroned by one of his generals,
Seaou-yen, who took the name of Leang, and established a new
dynasty by that title.
LEANG DYNASTY, FROM 502 TO 557 A.D.
Leang-woo- te renewed the war with the northern empire, which
then was established in the province of Honan, and was governed
by a most extraordinary woman, Mung-she, who headed her army
in most of the bloody contests. Leang-woo -te withdrew from the
contest, being unable to obtain a victory ; and devoted the re
mainder of his life to Budhism. Haw-king, one of his generals,
usurped the throne, but spared the Emperor's life, but he soon
died, a miserable outcast . The lawful heir was killed by the
usurper. The people forced Yuen-te to the throne, but the
general outmanoeuvred them all, and founded a new dynasty
(Chin) .
CHIN DYNASTY, FROM 557 To 589 A.D.
A.D. 557 to 589. Chin-pa- Seen, an usurper, only lived two years,
and was succeeded by his son, Wan-te, who had abilities, and was
222 SUY AND TANG DYNASTIES .
likewise disposed to relieve the people from oppressive taxation .
He died in 566 : his successors, Pe-tsung, Chin-heu, Haw-te,
all reigned for short periods, and wholly gave themselves up to sen
suality.
The Suy state at this period became powerful, and its ruler,
Yang-keen, was an ambitious man ; he resolved to unite both the
empires (which had been divided from 420 to 589 A.D., by the
Yangtzekang river, ) to his sway. This he easily accomplished,
and became the founder of the Suy Dynasty A.D. 589 .
SUY DYNASTY , FROM 590 TO 618 A.D.
Yang-keen, or Kaou-tsoo , now governed the two kingdoms under
his own crown, and this gave a shock to the Tartars. To reconcile
them, he bestowed a princess on one of their chiefs, which had the
desired effect. The King of Corea refusing to pay tribute, was
very soon humbled . This Emperor paid great attention to litera ¿
ture. Domestic discord of a revolting kind hastened his death
in 604.
His son, Yang-te, succeeded him, by murdering the lawful heir ;
he was also murdered himself, and the crown was usurped by one
of his generals , Le-yuen, who changed the dynasty to the Tang,
A.D. 618.
TANG DYNASTY, FROM 619 a.D.
Le-yuen, or Kaou-tsoo, an usurper, was descended from a dis
tinguished family, and his military talents were of the first order ;
he encouraged learning, and was a determined enemy of the Bud
hist and Taou sects . In the second year of his reign, the western
provinces were attacked by the Turks, but the Emperor was a
good politician as well as general ; his policy made this horde of
barbarians turn their attention to the western world, and thus
saved China from their dreadful yoke. During six years ' reign he
subjugated the whole empire, and resigned in favour of his son,
after nine years' reign.
A.D. 627 to 640. Tae- tsung had fought many of his father's
battles, and was, therefore, a warlike Emperor. His memory to
the present day is revered by the Chinese ; his maxims are found
in modern printed books, and his impartial administration is
recorded as a good example to posterity. He conquered Tur
fan, expelled the Tibetians, and extended the frontiers of his
empire to the borders of Persia. From a translation of a stone
monument discovered in the province of Shen - se, in 1625 , with
Syriac characters on it referring to this period, it is conjectured
that some Nestorian Christians were favoured by this Emperor .
The monument had a cross on it, and an abstract of the Christian
law. It will hereafter be more fully described .
REBELLIONS, MURDERS, AND INFAMY. 223
I
The successor to Tae-tsung, being a scholar, great expectations
were anticipated from his reign ; but, unfortunately for the em
pire, the harem ruled , with the aid of the eunuchs, over the Em
< peror, and two of his successors .
Chung-stung ascended the throne, A.D. 684, but the empire may
be said to have been governed by his mother, represented as a most
cruel monster. The eunuchs now controlled all the affairs of the
government, the Emperor's authority being nominal. It would be
difficult to make any distinction between all the Emperors that
disgraced this dynasty ; imbecility was their prevailing character .
Heen-stung was a vile monster ; Chaou-tsung endeavouring to free
himself from the eunuchs, called to his aid a band of robbers, who
successfully carried his intention into effect, but dethroned the
Emperor in 903 .
The chief of the robbers put Chaou- suen- te on the throne, and
subscquently he usurped it himself, and founded a dynasty called
How Leang, and either banished or killed every branch of the Tang
dynasty.
THE HOW LEANG DYNASTY, FROM 907 TO 923 a.d.
The robber and founder of this Dynasty, with all his followers,
contrived to reign sixteen years ; the history of which surpassed,
if possible, all others, in the usual train of murders, rebellions, ab
dications, infamy, cruelty, and imbecility. The Tartars made themJ
selves masters of a large portion of China, settled in Leaou-tung,
and established an independent empire. The usurper was mur
dered by his son, who in turn was killed by his own brother, and
he was attacked and dethroned, A.D. 923, by a descendant of Le
ke-kung, who ascended the throne, and founded the How Tang
dynasty.
THE HOW TANG DYNASTY, FROM 924 тo 936 A.D.
Chwang-too, the founder, was in the last dynasty an able general ;
¿ but as soon as he obtained the throne, his licentious and cruel
disposition was exhibited . His subjects were reduced to starva
tion, while he hoarded up uncounted wealth ; his avarice knew no
bounds . Several rebellions broke out during his reign ; he was
killed in battle by an arrow.
A.D. 926. Ming-tsung was an adopted son of the last Emperor,
and a Tartar by birth. He successfully fought against his own
countrymen, greatly reduced the influence of the nobles, and for
nine years paid strict attention to the social wants of his subjects.
The lawful heir was dethroned by his son-in-law, She-king- tong ;
the troops joined the usurper. The Emperor, seeing no hope of
successful resistance, destroyed all the insignia of royalty, killed his
empress, all his children, and then himself. A.D. 936 .
224 STRUGGLES WITH THE TARTARS .
1L
THE HOW TSIN DYNASTY, FROM 936 TO 946 AD .
i
She-king-tong, the usurper, rewarded the Tartars for aiding him
to ascend the throne, by ceding the province of Chih-le, and a large
annual tribute . His son, Chuh-te, succeeded him, A.D. 943, and
was killed while opposing the Tartars. His general usurped the }
throne, calling it the How-han dynasty.
HOW HAN DYNASTY , FROM 947 TO 950 A.D.
Le-che-yuen, the general in the last dynasty and founder of this,
kept the Tartars at bay for the short period of his reign. His son,
Yin-te, was no sooner on the throne, than the western provinces of
the empire rose in rebellion . The Emperor was slain on his way
to the scene of action . His brother, Lew -pin, was compelled to
yield the throne to one of the generals, Kwo -wei, who as usual
founded a new dynasty .
HOW CHOW DYNASTY, FROM 951 TO 960 A.D.
The general, Kwo - wei, only reigned three years ; but the throne
was at last honoured by a just and able prince, She-tsung. His at
tention was first turned to education , which had been long on the
wane. He is also reported to have destroyed the idols , or converted
them into cash. He was so enamoured of agriculture as to have
a plough placed in a conspicuous place in the palace . He waged
war against the prince of Han, but was unable to keep the wily
Tartars within bounds . His son Kung- te was a minor, and was
placed under a prime minister, Chaou-kwang-yin, who by universal
consent was called to the throne himself, and thus became father
of the celebrated Sung Dynasty.
THE SUNG DYNASTY, FROM 960 TO 1279 a.d.
Chaou-kwang-yin, the fortunate soldier, had talents for military
exploits, and an ambition to govern the whole empire himself ;
some states surrendered quietly ; but the northern Han princes
joined the Tartars ; temporary victories and defeats were nume
rous ; and the blood that was shed, surpassed any thing recorded
in Chinese history . He died in 976 ; his intentions were good,
but all his time was taken up in defending the empire.
A.D. 977. Tae- tsung succeeded his father, and immediately at
tacked the Tartars with an immense army, who were all cut to
pieces. The administration of domestic affairs claiming his atten
POPULATION 800 YEARS AGO . 225
tion, he made peace with the Tartars, and left them quietly to enjoy
Leaou-tung. He died A.D. 997.
Chin-tsung, his successor, finding it impossible to overcome the
Tartars, paid them a large tribute ; turned his attention to agri
culture, and obtained a census of the male population who were
able to pay taxes ; they amounted to 9,995,729, which appears
extraordinary after centuries of carnage. He was a weak, super
stitious monarch, and died of a broken heart, owing to a defeat he
sustained from the Tartars.
A.D. 1023. Ting- tsung, his successor, was a minor ; the ungo
vernable Tartars threatened a rebellion, and obtained an enlarged
tribute of 200,000 taels . He died in 1063, leaving the throne to
his nephew.
Ying-tsung, A.D. 1064 ; Shin-tsung, A.D. 1068 ; and Che-tsung,
A.D. 1086, may be said to have governed by their wives or mothers ;
some of whom displayed talent .
Hwuy-tsung took a new mode of driving the Tartars from Leaou
tung, by entering into treaty with the Kin Tartars, who effectually
performed the service assigned them, and then kept possession
themselves of Leaou-tung, together with Chih-li and Shense pro
vinces, and made the Emperor prisoner in 1125 .
Prin-tsuny's first act was to put his ministers to death, for be
traying his father into the hands of his enemies ; the Tartars, em
boldened by success, took possession of the palace and the province
of Honan, adopting the Chinese name Kin for their reign.
A.D. 1127. Kaoou-tsung, brother to the last Emperor, removed
his court to Hang-choo , the capital of the province of Che-keang
and, failing to disturb the Tartars, tried what effect flattery would
have addressing the Tartars, he called himself Chin, which sig
nifies servant, (the same term is used by Chinese subordinates to
the present day. ) The only effect ofthis act of humility, was the ob
tainment of the dead bodies of the imperial family. The barrier to
further encroachments was the natural one of the Yangtzekang,
to the north of which the Tartars governed.
The subsequent monarchs, Heaou-tsung, A.D. 1162, and Kwang
tsung, A.D. 1189, appear to have been content with their diminished
territory ; but their successor, Ning-tsung, A.D. 1194, invited the
Mongol Tartars to aid him in banishing the Kin race of Tartars,
which was effectually done by their general, Genghis, who retained
possession of all the places recovered, on which was founded the
Yuen or Mongol dynasty. It should be remarked here, that a
number of the Tartars escaped from the Mongol and Chinese pur
suit, and settled in Mantchouria ; their subsequent victory, after an
exile of 400 years, over the Ming Dynasty, A.D. 1644, is well known.
Le-tsung now saw his error ; the Mongols became much more
formidable to the Chinese than the expelled Tartars, and no longer
disguised their intention. Too-tsung, his son, ascended the throne,
A.D. 1265 , and sacrificing his empire at the shrine of pleasure, so
226 DESTRUCTION OF THE SUNG DYNASTY .
disgusted the Chinese nobles, that many of them joined Kublai
khan, who now governed the Tartars . Too-tsung left three sons,
who were all young . The second son, Twan-tsung, made a feeble
resistance, was compelled to take refuge in Foo-keen province ; and
then fled to Canton with a large portion of the grandees , where he
died A.D. 1277. The Mongols sent a fleet in pursuit of the re
maining branches of the Sung Dynasty ; terms of captivity were
tendered to the grandees, who indignantly spurned the proposal .
Loo-sew -foo, a faithful minister of the late dynasty, had charge of
the young Emperor, who preferred death to captivity. The last
branch was destroyed by drowning, his wife and children , with him
self, by which no competitor was left for the Mongols .
THE MONGOLS .
Necessity appears to be the chief cause of these hardy tribes exD
tending their dominion ; having nothing to lose, no homestead to
protect or return to, locust-like they went forth devouring. Not
even possessing geographical knowledge, or the instruments of
war ; nothing, in fact, but their horses, which, like their riders, were
well inured to hardships and privations.
The mind contemplates with astonishment the extent of territory
which became subject to those ruthless rovers : India, Western
Asia, Bukhara, and China.
The Mongol monarch, " Genghis," while a vassal to the court
of Peking, sent an embassy, which, in the most haughty manner,
demanded tribute ; this was too much for " the Son of Heaven ;"
but while deliberations were going on, in A.D. 1212, Genghis'
army crossed the Great Wall, and took possession of two provinces,
Shan-se and Shen-se, which comprise 100,000 square miles, and
100 cities .
The Sung Dynasty, which was then on the throne of China, made
terms with the invaders ; and the better to insure peace, gave a
princess and an immense dowry . Treaties were no sooner made
than broken, so that Genghis possessed himself of five provinces,
and the command of the Yellow River. At this period his sway
extended from the Caucasus to the sea, and from Tibet to the
Frozen Ocean. The Chinese policy, at this period , in inviting the
Mongols in order to oppose their eastern enemies, the Tartars,
proved a heavy blow to the proud monarch of China. The Mon
gols no sooner defeated the Tartars, than they turned on the Em
peror of China, whom they drove to the south of the Yellow River.
The covetous eye of Ghenghis was next directed to the vast
territory of Mohammed, Sultan of Khorassan (in Persia) , which
he invaded with an army of 700,000 men . The force of the Sultan
is said to have been more than half that amount, but relying too
much on fortifications, he was completely overthrown , and thus
**
GENGHIS . — KUBLAI.
THE MONGOLS.- -GENGHIS 227
Bokhara, Khowarism, Herat, Otrar, Balkh, and Samarcand, to
gether with Kandahar, fell a prey to Genghis .
Previous to his death, A.D. 1227, Genghis was sole master of
central Asia. His dying request to his four sons was to complete
the conquest of China .
The four sons mutually divided their vast possessions, and de
clared Oktai Grand Khan of the Mongols and Tartars . No pro
ceedings were taken to extend their dominion in China, until
Kublia, a grandson of Genghis, was put in possession of the five
northern provinces .
Kublia, being an artful monarch, gained over to his aid the
grandees, and procured European and Arabian engineers, so that
a few years gave him possession of the Chinese Empire, A.D. 1279.
Kuhlia made an unsuccessful attempt on Japan ; but rendered
tributary to his empire, Cochin China, Siam, Bengal, and Tibet.
Under his excellent administration, China never was so prosperous
or happy.
Hulagu, another grandson of Genghis, conquered Persia, and
took possession of the city of Bagdad . The only check the descend
ants of Genghis met in their wide spread devastation, was from
the Mamelukes in Egypt.
A.D. 1235. Oktai, being in full possession of Northern China,
turned his attention towards Europe, and despatched Batu, his
nephew, with an army of 500,000 men, which completely overthrew
the daring Turkomans, the roving tribes of Caucasus and Russia ;
Poland, Silesia, the cities of Lublin and Cracow, also became a
prey to the Mongols . Their next conquest was Hungaria ; they
completely scattered the powerful army of King Bela, taking pos
session of every place northward of the Danube.
In A.D. 1240, Batu had fully prepared a large force to march
against the Turks, but was stayed by the hand of death . Proposals
were made at this time to Barkah, Batu's successor, both by Louis
the Ninth, and Pope Innocent the Fourth, to aid him in the con
templated campaign against the Turks ; their object was very ap
C parent, viz ., to assist the Crusaders . Barkah's attention being sudA
! denly called to Russia, the Crusaders were disappointed .
Unity, the bond of strength, appeared to be the policy adopted
by the two generations that followed Genghis ; jealousy or rival•
ship was unknown ; each, in their separate vast dominions, enjoyed
peace ; and when necessary, they united their forces and interests.
A. D. 1310. Vast as the Mongol Empire had hitherto been, its
decline was now visible ; strife and dissensions split their empires
into new kingdoms ; and the degenerated race of Genghis warmly
embraced Mohammedanism, but pertinaciously kept aloof from the
Turks . About this period, Timour, a native of Samarcand, an
nounced himself as a true descendant of Genghis. His warlike
propensities were early displayed , for at the age of thirteen he dis
tinguished himself in the battle-field , and at thirty-four had imperial
Q 2
228 DECLINE AND FALL OF THE MONGOLS .
authority over Turkestan and Western or Independent Tartary.
Timour, after conquering what might then be called the whole
world in upwards of thirty successful campaigns, and usurping
twenty- seven crowns, like his predecessor Genghis, was stopped in
his ambition by the Egyptians . To perpetuate his victories, he
erected, it is said, a pyramid of 90,000 human skulls at Bagdad . Dur
ing this period nine Mongol Emperors ruled over China. But the
hateful race was at last dethroned, and a native Chinese Emperor
was again enthroned . When Timour heard of the downfall of the
Mongols in China, his rage knew no bounds, and turning his great
army from the shores of the Bosphorus, was fully determined to
wreak his vengance on China ; but death put a stop to his earthly
career in the 70th year of his age. A.D. 1405 .
THE MING DYNASTY A.D. 1368 TO 1644 .
In the year 1368, Hungwu, the first monarch of the Ming Dynasty,
took full possession of the Chinese Empire : from a scullion he rose
to be a monarch, and became one of the best men who sat on the
Chinese throne. He died A.D. 1399, solemnly taking leave of his
ministers , and appointing as his successor his grandson .
Kienwan though only 16 years of age assumed the empire ; his
reign was most unpropitious. The old monarch had given large
provinces to his sons, they were jealous of the young prince being
placed over them, and they immediately began to rebel : one of them
was seized by the ministers of the Emperor and banished ; another
killed himself ; another lost his possessions, and was sentenced to
end his days in exile ; another (the Prince of Yen, ) took up arms
to, as he said, deliver his family from bad ministers, but really to
get possession of the throne ; which he did in 1404, the young Em
peror having been persuaded to escape and turn monk, which he
did . He wandered about for forty years, and afterwards died , un
thought of, in prison.
The reign of the Prince of Yeu-yungloh was most bloody and
revengeful ; murdering all those who supported his predecessor .
He issued an amnesty to the provincial authorities ; they would not
however submit to his government ; this did not stop his proceed
ings, he immediately prepared for hostilities ; removed his court
from Nanking, made Pekin the capital city ; and died in the year
1425, after waging war all his life : before his death he erected a
pyramid, to witness the extent of his conquests . His son Hunghi
who succeeded, published a general amnesty, and died A.D. 1426 .
He was succeeded by his son Siuente, who carried on a war with
the Cochin-Chinese, by which his armies were annihilated . He
was a lover of peace, and a good statesman, and died A.D. 1436,
leaving the throne to his son—
Yingtsung then only eight years of age, whose mother was
MING, OR CHINESE DYNASTY . 229
appointed regent during the minority. A Tartar chief of the
name of Yesien had made several inroads on the Chinese territory ;
Wangchin, the minister, (A.D. 1450) assembled a large army to
chastise him ; but when in the middle ofthe desert, was attacked by
the Tartar chief, defeated, and the young Emperor taken prisoner,
for whom the Tartar chief refused to take any ransom. In this
emergency, the empress dowager placed his brother Kingti on the
throne ; he however refused to retire, when Yesein proposed to
liberate the captive Emperor . Ying-tsun not being ambitious,
retired into private life, and again ascended the throne, on his
brother's death in 1458. He died in the year A.D. 1465 , and was
succeeded by his son
Chingwn, who was reared among women and eunuchs, became a
complete child of the palace, and gave the eunuchs great power,
which caused general dissatisfaction ; he died of grief on account
of the death of his wife, and left the country in a miserable state .
He was succeeded by his son Ching- te, A.D. 1506, then but 15
years of age. Great power was also given by this sovereign to
the eunuchs, who plundered the country ; the people rose in
several rebellions against the government, but were always re
pressed. From a census taken in his reign, China contained 50
million of souls. Ching-te died A.D. 1522, leaving no children,
and was succeeded by his cousin Kiat-sing, whose first act was a
general amnesty for all political offences ; he then gave himself
up to poetry and song, and did nothing for the good of the people.
The Mongols, who had traded on the frontiers in cattle, now broke
into rebellion in consequence of the exactions of the officers ;
their chief Yeuta laid the whole country waste, forced his way to
the very gates of Peking, and compelled the Emperor to permit
them to establish fairs. During this reign there was a continued
petty warfare between the Chinese and the Japanese. Kiat -sing
died after a useless reign of forty years, A.D. 1566, and was suc
ceeded by Lung-king, who did all in his power to settle the tran
quillity of the frontier, which the majority of his ministers opposed :
it was afterwards settled by a commercial treaty. He died in 1572.
Wan-ti, his successor, was only ten years of age at his accession :
during his minority he followed his ministers' advice, and appeared
to promise well . Mathew Ricci obtained access to court in 1583 ,
and presented the Emperor with a repeating watch, who ordered a
tower to be built to keep it safe. The intercourse, commenced
under his predecessor with western nations, now became an object
of solicitude. Through meddling in the affairs of Japan, he drew
himself into several wars, which always ended in the defeat of the
Chinese. These contests lasted for thirty years, and China lost
part of its territory, but gained it again on the death ofthe Japanese
chief Tarkosama, A.D. 1598. Ricci meanwhile persevered in his
mission, and had an edict issued against him by a tribunal at Pekin ,
to the effect that his preaching was of no value, and that he be
230 FALL OF CHINESE OR MING DYNASTY .
sent back again to his country. A few years afterwards, the same
tribunal (the tribunal of rights) praised the skill of the foreigners
in astronomy, and recommended them to be employed in that
department. Another war broke out on the frontier through the
tyranny and robbery of the Chinese on the Tartars, who were a
scattered people ; their chief Tienming, having a few naked savages,
proclaimed himself an Emperor, and to avenge his father's death
swore he would annihilate 200,000 Chinese ; he kept his oath, for he
carried fire and sword to the gates of Pekin ; the Chinese generals,
as usual, flying all ways from him. This destruction and the loss
of his wife broke the Emperor's heart ; he died A.D. 1620. He
was succeeded by his son Kwang-tsung, who exerted himself much
to put the state in order, but died from his exertions in 1621 .
He was succeeded by his son, a diffident youth of sixteen years of
age; the Chinese still continued their oppressions on the Mantchous,
who again resorted to arms . The Emperor did not live to behold
the result ; he died A.D. 1627. His successor, Hwan-tsung was
a great friend of letters , but was not able to meet the coming tem
pest. The Tartar leader Taitsung demanded an unconditional
submission to his arms ; one of the best of the Chinese ministers
was beheaded in the streets as a traitor, for recommending peace.
The Tartar general still advanced, was proclaimed Emperor in 1635 ,
under the name of Tae- tsing, i.e. " great purity." The Chinese
could have still resisted, but for their own feuds ; one of their
chiefs, a cruel monster, ravaged the central province and got posses
sion of the city of Peking, which was opened to him by the eunuchs.
The Emperor when he heard this, cruelly murdered his harem,
only one of his daughters escaping, and then hung himself. There
was found in his girdle a condemnation of himself and a request to
save the people. Thus died the last of the Ming Dynasty, A.D. 1644.
THE TAE -TSING, OR PRESENT TARTAR DYNASTY.
A.D. 1644 TO 1846 .
THE present dynasty of China, are Mantchou Tartars, and are of
the Tongoosian race. Their first connexion with China, was when
the Mongols in 1332 were driven from the throne ; some of their
tribes took refuge in the Mantchou territory, which gave offence to
the Chinese, who by force compelled them to sue for peace, but
permitted them to trade. The origin of the family is unknown, as
the country was destitute of learning. The first attack on China
by the Mantchous was in 1583, by Tae-tsoo, who took the frontier
city Tooloon ; the Chinese consenting to pay 800 oz . of silver
annually. Tae-tsoo subsequently discovered the Chinese govern
ment fomenting a rebellion in his kingdom, and made a vow to
extirpate the Mongol race. A battle was fought between them in
1593, in which the Chinese were defeated . Tae-tsoo declared him
self independent, and proclaimed himself Teen-ming "Heaven's de
PRESENT TARTAR DYNASTY RISE . 231
cree." Previous to marching against the Chinese, Teen-ming drew
up seven articles, charging the Chinese government with oppres
sion , deceit, and bad -faith . He was succeeded by his son Tsung-tih,
who entitled his dynasty Ta-tsing (" great purity" ) and first
brought his troops to the frontiers of Leaoutung, but was confined
to that territory by a brave Chinese general, Woo - san- kwei. A
rebellion at this time breaking out in China, the general concluded
a peace, and invited the Mantchous to aid him in expelling the
robber-chief Le-tsze-ching from China. By the aid of the Mant
chous the rebels were defeated, but they seeing an opportunity of
obtaining the throne of China refused to return home. In the
mean time Tsung-tih died, and his nephew was proclaimed Em
peror, under the name of Shun- che in 1644. At the same time the
mandarins declared a grandson of Ching- stung Emperor at Nanking.
No proof is required of the state of the empire, when a handful
of auxiliary troops possessed themselves of it, without even the
trouble of fighting for such vast dominions . The first act of
the usurpers was to compel the Chinese to adopt their custom of
wearing their hair. In selecting this badge of subjection nothing
could be more galling to the Chinese, as hitherto they never cut
an inch of their hair. The terms were banishment or acquiescence ;
the consequence was a general revolt, in which the Mantchous
were nearly overpowered.
Two princes of the late Ming dynasty, Tang and Yung-lieh,
were declared successively Emperors ; the former was proclaimed
at Canton, and temporarily resisted the invaders in the midland
provinces . But the Chinese were exceedingly deficient in love
of their country or of freedom . Tang was taken prisoner and
beheaded, and Yung-leih being forsaken fled to the King of Ava,
where he organized a force and attempted to take the province of
Kwei-choo, but was killed by the general Woo-san-kwei , the same
man who first introduced the usurpers, by the way of aiding the
Chinese .
Of all the monsters that ever disgraced humanity, Chang-heen
ching was probably the greatest . He was a daring robber by pro
fession, with the command of a powerful army ; he routed the
Tartars from the province of Sze-chuen, and proclaimed himself
Emperor. His ferocious disposition was first vented on the literati
and Budhist priests, whom he invited to a feast ; not one of whom
ever returned alive . His next display was on the news of one of
his generals going over to the Mantchous ; on hearing which, he
murdered every human being belonging to the capital Ching-too .
The males one day, to the number it is said of 600,000 .
The females the second day, to the number of 400,000 . He was
killed by one of his own soldiers . The next enemy the usurpers
had to contend with, and the only one in the empire, was Ching
ching -kung, better known as Coringa, the daring pirate of Formosa.
1650. Coxinga had frequent encounters with the Tartars, and was
232 MING AND TARTAR DYNASTIES CONTEST .
always either victorious, or escaped being taken prisoner . He
occupied the island of Tsung-ming in 1657, at the entrance of
the Yangtzekang river, and took possession of Nanking, by the aid
of a fleet of 800 vessels, which had a formidable appearance on the
great river. The easy manner in which possession was obtained ,
and the hatred of the inhabitants to the Tartars, caused them to neg
lect the fortifications ; they were consequently compelled by the
Tartars to fly to their ships, but not without great slaughter.
1651. Amawang, Regent, dying, his nephew Shun-che, although
young, had derived a great deal of instruction from his tutor, Adam
Schaal, a German jesuit, who was president of the mathematical
board .
All the domestic foes were either killed or bought over, except
the pirate and patriot, Coxinga, whose only strength lay on the
seacoast. Coxinga despairing of success against the Tartars, at
tacked Formosa, and banished the Dutch from that island .
1656. The Russians were the first to send an embassy to the
魔
new dynasty ; but refusing to perform the nine prostrations, were L
sent back without an audience. Shun-che and his ministry were
all for conciliation , and the Emperor not only wrote on the subject
but actually preached out of a pulpit. (See his sermons in another
part of this work, under " Sacred Instructions .)" The Tartar
usurpers having little or no form of religion of their own, adopted that
portion of the Chinese which pays such regard to the dead .
The Emperor was not long on the throne when he made a pilgrim
age to the tombs of the Ming Emperors, and finding them in a
dilapidated state had them beautified at a great expense.
1662. Shun-che died in 1661 , after reigning eleven years, and
was succeeded by his son Kang-he, who was a minor . A regency
was appointed, who failing or fearing to combat the great pirate and
patriot, Coxinga, issued an order requiring all the inhabitants of
the coast to remove to the interior of the country, under pain of
death . This policy did not meet the views of the young prince,
and he claimed the throne, on the death of one of the regents ; the
other he put to a cruel death. The skill, energy, and personal
courage of Kang-he were soon tested . Suspecting the fidelity of
the old general Woo -san, who had sold his former sovereign, he
was ordered to attend his Majesty, (his son being a hostage at
Peking) which he did at the head of a rebel force, assisted by
the Viceroys of Foo-kien and Canton, and the naval forces of
the pirate ; at the same time the north was invaded by a Mongol
prince. In this emergency, Kang-he displayed abilities of no or
dinary kind ; he attacked the Mongol prince himself, and routed
him effectually ; dissension was soon in the other camps, so that
they became an easy prey, one after the other. His attention was
next directed to check the chief of the Eleuths or Kalmuks, who
had for some time been extending his authority over the Kalkas ;
CHARACTER OF EMPEROR KANG - HE . 233
and Kang-he, dreading that he might ultimately become a trouble
ļ some frontier foe, at the head of a large army, not only checked
him, but made the Kalkas tributary to the Chinese Empire, and
thus obtained an ascendancy over Mongolia . The Russians at this
time were encroaching ; Kang-he sent them a treaty (see foreign
intercourse) and accompanied the embassy by a large army, to
enforce its ratification . There only remained the pirate Coxinga
to conquer ; he was aided by the defences the Dutch had left
behind them in Formosa. In 1681 , the pirate prince dying, was suc
ceeded by his son, who quietly surrendered the island to Kang-he,
and received in return a titular distinction . It is worthy of remark
that foreign commerce was strictly prohibited by this Emperor.
But the chief of Canton allowed the Europeans to trade for
his own private benefit. The Emperor being informed of this
violation of his orders, sent the chief a rope made of silk, with
which he hanged himself, together with upwards of one hundred of
his subordinate officers ; thus all danger of revolt was removed
throughout the empire. Kang-he devoted every moment he
i could spare from public business, from the time he reached the
throne, to acquire knowledge, became a thorough mathemati
cian, and now set to work to improve the general government of
the empire. The pruning-knife was first applied to the Hanlin
college ; three-fourths of the members, not being able to answer
his majesty in some questions, were expelled . Kang-he was a
thinking man, and decidedly the best, if not the only, scholar in
his dominions ; his dissertations on government under the name
of " Sacred Instructions," are full of sound sense. He was the
only monarch of the dynasty that visited all the provinces, (north
of the Yangtzekang) examined most minutely into the administra
tion of affairs, and carried with him a commissariat to supply his
large train that the people should be at no expense . He had
the geographical position of all considerable places ascertained ;
caused all the provinces to be surveyed by Europeans ; published
a dictionary of the Chinese language, and lest his own language
should become obsolete, had also one prepared in the Mantchou :
in every way he encouraged learning. His love of music was
intense, and the death of his favorite musician (a European)
caused great grief in the palace . His whole life was an arduous
struggle to benefit his subjects .
1709. Kang-he discovered a plot between his two sons to
obtain possession of the throne, which caused him a severe fit of
illness ; being given over by the state physicians, recourse was had
to the Jesuits , who had cured him of the ague some years pre
viously ; on this occasion they were equally successful.
1721. Kang-he was now sixty years on the throne : rejoicings
became general all over the empire ; more than human honours
were offered to him by mandarins and parasites ; and the same
234 CONSOLIDATION OF TARTAR GOVERNMENT.
year saw the Eleuths destroyed by his generals, and Tibet made
tributary to China. He died the following year, from the effects ;
of a cold, having previously appointed his fourth son his successor .
No prince ever ascended the throne of China with greater
prospects of a happy reign than Yung-ching. Being ignorant of
the value of science, and jealous of some of the imperial family
who had embraced Christianity, his first act was to banish all the
missionaries, who had become very numerous in every province ;
only a few were allowed to remain in Peking, whose services could
not be dispensed with .
These orders against Christianity were the signal for the man
darins to vent their long- smothered hatred against Europeans ;
extortion and cruelty were, therefore, perpetrated with impunity.
This reign was free from any domestic troubles of a political
nature ; but the calamities of dearth and want were more numerous
that had been known for the same space of time in China . An
earthquake occurred in 1730, in the province of Chih-le, which did
great injury to Peking.
The reign of Yung- ching lasted thirteen years : two acts dis
grace it, notwithstanding his excellent published works on charity
and benevolence (see " Sacred Instructions" ), viz .: severe cruelty to
his thirteen brothers, and the extirpation of Christianity. He died
in 1736 .
1736. Keen-lung, the eldest illegitimate son of the late Em
peror, was unexpectedly called to the throne. He became popular
by declaring a general amnesty, and restoring all the relatives of
the last Emperor to their liberty ; but their paternal property
being confiscated, their temporal position was not much improved
by a state allowance of thirteen shillings sterling per month, with
a portion of rice.
Keen-lung was not long on the throne when the Eleuths and
Kalkas, who had long disturbed the peace of the empire, and ,
although repeatedly conquered , were a powerful nation still, could
not agree in dividing their territory, and solicited Keen -lung as a
mediator ; this office he readily accepted, by sending a powerful
1
army, which totally extirpated the Kalmucks, and annexed their
territory (Ele) to China, in 1756.
The Mohammedans who inhabited Little Bukhara, were next
attacked by Keen-lung's merciless troops, -cut to pieces, -a part of
their territory joined to the province of Kansuh, and the remainder
made a dependency, constituting the eight Mohammedan cities .
January, 1767. This year an excuse was made to attack the
territories of the King of Ava, but very few of the invading sol
diers ever returned . The amount of the Chinese army on this
occasion is stated to have been 250,000 foot and 25,000 horse ;
the chief part of which was sent against Bamoo . In November
of the same year, Keen-lung sent an " invincible " army to take
vengeance, consisting of 60,000 horse and 600,000 foot, under the
C
AGGRANDISEMENT AND CRUELTY OF KEENTUNG . 235
command of his son-in-law, Myeng. After two years' unsuccessful
fighting, and the Chinese army being reduced to one-fourth, terms
of peace were proposed, and accepted by the Burmese generals,
without consulting their king, who, on their return, were disgraced
for permitting a Chinaman to return alive (See " Foreign Intercourse
with Birmah ”) .
After the taste of the Emperor for foreign conquests had been
satiated, rebellion and civil war engaged his attention, but it was
no sooner suppressed in one province than it broke out in another .
His character, after sixty years reign, was always marked with the
greatest cruelty to his enemies, and generals who returned un
successful : aggrandizement of the empire was his ruling passion .
He abdicated in favour of his son Kea-king.
1796. Kea-king was not well seated on the throne, when rebel
lion broke out in several provinces, and being a weak-minded
prince, and wholly given up to licentiousness, he adopted the
method of quelling them by spending large sums of money in
bribery, and promoting the leaders to offices of trust. His peace
! was also disturbed, and he narrowly escaped with his life, by an
organized mutiny of his own kindred .
During the first ten years of his reign, all law and order were set
at defiance by a band of pirates, who carried destruction along the
whole coast. The aid of the Portuguese government was solicited ,
but to no useful purpose. A treaty of peace was entered into,
therefore, with the pirates ; their chiefs were promoted as captains
in the imperial navy, and a grand entertainment was given in
Canton to celebrate the peace.
The persecution of the Christians was carried on with unabated
zeal until his death. In 1813 he was very near falling a sacrifice
to the enmity of some members of his own family, and was saved
by the courage displayed by his son, the present Emperor. His
life and reign is blank, as no just, noble, or generous action can
be discovered ; he himself was the patron of bribery and corrup
tion , which flourished in full vigour in every part of his vast
dominions . There was not a year which he reigned, but disturb
ances of a serious nature broke out in one or other of the pro
vinces, none of which were put down by the strong hand of the
law ; his successor has, in consequence, more or less resorted to
the same mode of obtaining bloodless victories . He died in 1820 .
The present Emperor of China, Taouk-wang, " Reason's glory,"
was born on the tenth of the eighth moon , 1781 , and, consequently,
is now in his sixty-sixth year. He succeeded his father, Kea-king,
in August, 1821. An extract from the first document issued by
his majesty may illustrate his government.
" The Chamber of Ministers (Nuy-ko) has received with due
respect the following imperial edict.
" From the late Emperor, who has now gone the great journey,
I received the utmost possible kindness and care ; and from him
236 TAOU- KWANG- PRESENT EMPEROR .
I derived my being ; his gracious kindness was infinite, like that
of the glorious heavens above . This year he was to solace with
his presence Lwang-yang, in Tartary, and I, the Emperor, followed
in his train. The weather being hot, he was taken ill on his journey, 1
and I, the Emperor, beat the ground with my head, and called on
heaven to bring him back-but in vain. During the twenty-five
years of his reign he suppressed rebellion, and gave tranquillity to
millions of common people . The dragon on horseback has as
cended and become a guest on high. All creatures endued with
blood and breath mourn with sincere and grateful feelings ; but
how much more deeply do I, the Emperor, feel. I received his late
majesty's last will, commanding that the funeral mourning should
be the same as usual.'" ""
A second proclamation was issued as follows : " My sacred and
indulgent father had, in the year that he began to rule alone,
silently settled that the divine utensil (the throne) should devolve
on my contemptible person . I, knowing the feebleness of my
virtue, at first felt afraid I should not be competent to the office ;
but on reflecting that the sages, my ancestors, have left to posterity
their plans ; that his late majesty has laid the duty on me-and
heaven's throne should not be long vacant- I have done violence
to my feelings, and forced myself to intermit a while my heartfelt
grief, that I may with reverence obey the unalterable decree ; and
on the twenty- seventh eighth moon (3d October, ) I purpose de
voutly to announce the event to heaven, to earth, to my ancestors,
and to the gods of the land and the grain , and shall then sit
down on the imperial throne ; let the next year be the first of
Taoukwang ."
Dr. Morrison says the title is rendered as follows : Taou is
" eternal reason ," the Chinese use it for a good government, where
reason, not passion, is predominant ; Kwang means light, lustre,
glory, illustrious, &c.: so the title of the present Emperor may be
rendered, " Reason's Glory," or " Reason Illustrious."
The present Emperor distinguished himself in the eighteenth
year of his father's reign, when a plot was formed to destroy the
monarch and subvert the government. He killed with his own
hands two rebels who were scaling the palace -walls . The acts of
the present Emperor have hitherto been passive, and he evidently
endeavours to accommodate himself to circumstances . Whatever
energy he possessed was very soon called into action by national
calamities, and an effort on the part of the Mohammedans in Tur
kestan to throw off their allegiance. The Emperor despatched his
prime minister, Chang-ling, at the head of an immense body of
troops ; and the same instruments that his father and grandfather
so successfully brought into the field of battle, viz .: silver and gold,
suppressed the insurrection .
The Emperor is fond of retirement, and takes little or nothing
of the cares of state upon himself.
CALAMITIES OF PRESENT REIGN . 237
In reviewing the dynasties for several centuries, in no one
reign has there been chronicled so many calamities and open
insurrections (in almost every province of China Proper) as under
the present sovereign . The numerous secret societies, particularly
the one called the " Triad," whose avowed object is the overthrow
of the present dynasty, are a continual source of anxiety to the
Emperor.
The rebellion which broke out in Formosa, in 1832, was occa
sioned by the oppression of the local authorities. The number of
troops slain, together with the mandarins, was very great ; its sup
pression was said to be accomplished in the usual way.
A rebellion on the eastward of Canton was carried on for several
years, and was suppressed by bribes .
The Emperor inherits his father's well -known hostility to
foreigners ; and his first act was to expel an European missionary
who assisted at the astronomical board, although for more than
200 years, two or more Europeans were attached to that tribunal.
From all accounts, these constant changes of dynasties and fre
quent revolutions, have caused great deterioration in every respect
in China .
Le Compte, who travelled over a great portion of the empire as
an officer of the government, and was an eye-witness to the scenes
he describes, states, that avarice, ambition, and pleasure go a great
way in their transactions. He asserts that they cozen and cheat
in traffic ; injustice reigns in sovereign courts ; the desire of getting
torments them continually, and makes them discover a thousand
ways of gaining . They are dexterous, laborious, and curious to
find out the inventions and contrivances of other nations, and very
apt to imitate them . These vices and faults are the inevitable
consequences in any country of a long career of official oppression
and public tyranny. Le Compte observes, that, " in olden times,
the Chinese were far more sincere, honest, and less corrupted, than
at present ; they were the wisest people of the universe : their
moral principles, their political rules, and their maxims of good
policy afford a marked distinction between the Chinese and other
men. For 2000 years after their origin as a nation, the Chinese
had the knowledge of the true God, and practised the most pure
morality ."
The previous pages and the facts for subsequent examination ,
show how lamentably this vast empire has degenerated .
In the preceding details two facts are manifested : first, that the
vast territory called China, has been an almost uninterrupted
scene of contests, bloodshed, fraud, and struggles for mastery,
either within the country, or from the nations on its borders ;
hence China has no claim to be viewed as a peaceful ancient
empire, held intact for many centuries under a "paternal " series
of lawfully succeeding rulers, who, by their seclusion from the
western nations, maintained, as was alleged, uninterrupted peace,
}
238 NO JUSTIFICATION FOR EXCLUSION .
and established general prosperity. The second is a corollary from
the first, namely, that there is nothing whatever in the past history
of China to justify the nations of western Europe in permitting the
present Tartar chiefs (usurpers of 200 years standing) to continue
their arbitrary system of exclusion ; a system adopted from selfish
principles, lest their own ill-gotten power should be shaken ; which
has not even for its avowed object the benefit of the millions over
whom they harshly and despotically rule, and whom they would be
unable to protect against any naval force, with which even Portugal
might wage war against China ; indeed, a single frigate might
ravage the whole coast of this immense empire .
CHAPTER VIII.
EARLY INTERCOURSE BETWEEN CHINA AND
FOREIGN COUNTRIES .
ONE of the points which it is desirable to investigate, relates
to the idea that the Chinese have always been secluded from other
portions of mankind, and that this seclusion has been the result
of a studied policy. An examination of the following statements
will decide the question . It is very probable, that some of the
wandering companies of the Ten Tribes of Israel who lived under
Hoshea, whose dispersion and captivity occurred B.C. 742 (chap .
xvii., 2 Kings) found their way into China, in conformity with
the decree , " The Lord shall scatter thee among all nations,
from one end of the earth even unto the other." (Deut. xxviii . 64. )
If this be true, it will account for the partial resemblance of
the Chinese moral maxims and customs to those of sacred Scrip
ture . The Jews, wherever they settled, doubtless inculcated
the law of God, and " called it to mind among the nations
whither the Lord their God had driven them.” [Deut. xxx. 1. ]
As Salmanassar removed the Israelites into Media, B.C. 721 ,
there are strong reasons for believing that many of them in the
process of time emigrated and settled in Bactria and Cara Cathia
(Chinese Tartary) . Their sacred learning mingled with idolatry,
(for which crime they were scattered) 2 Kings, chap . xvii. 12,
and Paganism probably formed some of the doctrines of the
Scythians, who are said to have laid the foundation of the Chi
CONFUCIUS PREDICTS THE MESSIAH . 239
nese empire, and as they only came to China a few generations
before the birth of Confucius (their only correct historian and sage)
he may have been indebted to the Jews solely for his primary
instructions. and founded his prophecies on those recorded by the
Hebrews. In his Shoo-king, after his appealing to " Shang-te"
the supreme ruler, he treats of the terrestrial paradise, its rivers,
waters of immortality, fall of the angels and of man, and the
appearance at that moment of Mercy ; also of the sabbath, con
fusion of tongues, the manna in the wilderness, the holy one
in the west, who was incomprehensible and one with the Tien
(Heaven) ; that the world cannot know the Tien except by the
holy one, who only can offer a sacrifice acceptable to Shang-te,
the " supreme sovereign" : that the nations are waiting for him
like plants for a refreshing shower. The Tien is the holy one
invisible, and the holy one is the Tien made visible and teaching
men. [ Higgins, Anacalypsis .] Grosier states that the Chinese
Jews who visited him declared that they honoured. Confucius as
a great lawgiver, and they asserted that the number of Jews
who departed from Egypt was sixty thousand . Grosier adds
that the Jews were noticed in China B.c. 206 ; they may have
been there long previous in great numbers, and inculcated their
habits . The few Chinese customs with which we are acquainted
present a striking similarity to those of the Jews ; in their nu
merous ceremonies,-new moons, and the number of their civil
courts, their few capital punishments, life for life ; their patriar
chal government ; tithes, and night watches (Judges vii . 19)
eating the sacrificed offerings and making merry (Exodus xxix . ) :
phylactaries worked into their garments, and worn on their fore
head and left arms . (The Chinese edicts are so carried to this day . )
The Jewish High Priest wore eight garments and a girdle ; could
not marry a widow or divorced woman ; entered into the Sanctum
Sanctorum once a year, was priest and lawgiver, and could alone
pray for the people : so also with the Chinese.
In the year 536, B.C., and seventy years after the Jews had been
driven eastward from their own country, King Cyrus published an
edict throughout his empire, which then included all the kingdoms
of the earth, declaring that all the people of the God of Heaven
might return to the land of their fathers. Josephus says that
many thousands of them continued to prefer the east for their
residence .
The successor of Cyrus, Cambyses, was adverse to the return of
the Jews, and disputes arose between them and the Persians . An
appeal was made to their new king, and Ahasuerus commanded the
edict of Cyrus to be brought from Ecbatana, and to be proclaimed
anew from Ethiopia to India ; from this Josephus, and Orasius, with
other Christian writers, founded their belief that the Jews were
scattered throughout the east.
In the library of the King of the French, there is a narrative of
240 JEWS EARLY IN CHINA .
travels in India and China, by two Mohammedans, who visited
those countries in the years A.D. 850 and 877. An extract from
this interesting narrative on Canton proves the existence of many
Jews in China at the period.
In detailing the particulars of a siege at Canfu (Canton) , the
writer states, that " besides the Chinese who were massacred upon
this occasion, there perished 120,000 Mohammedans, Jews, Chris
tians, and Parsees, who were there on account of traffic. The
number of the professors of those four religions who thus perished
is exactly known, because the Chinese are extremely nice in the
account they keep of them."
The apparent vestiges of Judaism found in Tartary and China,
led Manasseh, who is admitted to have been one of the most
learned Jewish doctors, to adopt an opinion, that a part of the Ten
Tribes settled in Tartary .
Basnage maintains, " that the Ten Tribes retired to the East
Indies and China." He further states, " that the Jews were ac
quainted with these countries in the time of Solomon ; as this
prince formed an alliance with the King of Tyre, and they sent
their fleets to Ophir to obtain gold, ivory, and frankincense. [ See
1 Kings, chap . ix., 26 verse ; chap . x.; 2nd Chronicles, chap . ix. 22.]
Whether " Ophir " was on the peninsula of Malacca, contiguous
to the China Sea, or at Sofala, on the east coast of Africa, is doubt
ful . I visited Sofala in Her Majesty's vessels " Levan and Barra
couta " in 1824 ; and Malacca, in 1844, in Her Majesty's steamer,
66
Spiteful ; " my opinion is in favour of Malacca being the true
Ophir. There is a large mountain so named, contiguous to the
coast at Malacca, and it abounds in gold . In sailing close along
the shore at night, the air was perfumed as if with spices and frank
incense. The whole country teems with rich and rare products .
Sofala, on the contrary, is a low, swampy territory ; no mountain
is visible ; gold- dust is certainly obtained there, brought from the
interior, but there are no spices, frankincense, or myrrh. Its lati
tude prohibits the growth of those articles, while Malacca is spe
cially adapted for them. The transition of the Jews from Malacca,
up the coast, to China, was an easy matter : indeed, the Chinese
themselves visited the Red Sea and Persian Gulph.
About the year A.D. 1150, the Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela,
visited several eastern countries, for the express purpose of ascer
taining the residence of the lost tribes . The rabbi found some of
his brethren in Samarcand, China, and Tibet ; in the first city he
found 50,000 Israelites.
Peristal, an Italian Jew, who lived about two centuries ago,
asserts that the Jews were at one time numerous and powerful in
India and China, in the silk trade.
Marco Polo, who held a high office in China, in the 12th cen
tury, makes frequent mention of the Jews and Christians.
The Roman Catholic Missionaries, in the 17th century, discovered
EARLY JEWS IN CHINA . 241
a synagogue of Jews, at Kaifung-foo, in the province of Honan .
Father Gazani took a copy of the inscriptions which were written
on large tablets of marble in the synagogue. These Jews informed
him that there was a Bible at Peking in the temple . ( See chapter
ii ., page 70, of this work .)
All the information gleaned on the subject, may be seen in the
18th volume of the " Lettres Edificantes et Curieuses ."
The above statement is corroborated by the Rev. W. C. Milne,
in a letter from Ningpo in 1843 ; he says, " a Mohammedan priest,
who visited me, brought with him a follower of the prophet. This
stranger gave me very distinct information of a class of religionists
in Kaifung-foo , his native province. He says, ' they refrain from
eating the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the
thigh,' (Gen. chap . xxxii . , v. 32) , and they do not touch the blood
of animals. He recognised the Hebrew letters as those used in
their Sacred Writings . See Grozier's China, Tom . iv.
The learned Manasseh believed that the prophecy of Isaiah
(chap . xlix., v . 12) , clearly refers to this emigration of the dispersed
tribes, and he applied the words of Isaiah, "the people shall return
from the country of the Siniens," to Sinim . He further observes ,
that it is not surprising that the Ten Tribes should pass from
Assyria into Tartary or China, when the distance was so short from
the former to the latter countries .
The land of Sinim is thus referred to in the Bible
(C
Behold, these shall come from far • and lo ! these from the north
and from the west ; and these from the land of Sinim ."-Isaiah ,
chap. xlix. , v . 12.
In the Latin language, China is written Sinae and Sinenses,
which approach as nearly to the Hebrew word Sinim, as the nature
of the Latin tongue allows . Marco Polo states that the Japanese
in his time (1276 A.D. ) , called them " Cin," or Chin ; and by this
name are they called to this day by the Siamese and Cochin
Chinese. In the Armenian history, A.D. 450, China is called Tsenia,
and is said to be the land of silks . Ptolemy, A.D. 150, calls them
Sinitis : Aristotle heard of them through Alexander, by the name .
A Thinae .
Kathay, Cathay, and Kitai, was an appellation given to a tribe
of Tartars, who were in possession of the northern division of China.
from A.D. 917 to 1126, they extended their conquests westward of
Cashgar. This tribe was driven out of China by another Tartar
tribe called Kin, and the Kin were attacked by the Mongols under
Genghis Khan, (A.D. 1209) .
In the most ancient Persian and Arabian records, the Chinese
are called Jin, Chin, and Sin ; it is probable that these names are
derived from the great family of Tsin, the first that consolidated
and governed all China.
The Arabian mariners thus describe Thiana (China.)
" Merchants from Arabia met others on the W. coast of India,
R
242 ARABIAN AND GREEK KNOWLEDGE OF CHINA .
who came from the E. coast ; those on the E. coast traded to a
country farther east, called the Golden Chersonesis, there was
another voyage still eastward which terminated at Thiana, and
Thiana was bounded by the ocean."
The Macedonians were the first who brought the name Thina to
Europe. Cosmos heard of the Chinese in Ceylon through Sopatrus,
and he calls them Tzinistae. This title approaches Chinese as
nearly as it can be expressed in Greek letters . The first notice of
Thina (China) by the Greeks is the alleged treatise of Aristotle,
De Mundo .
The map of Eratasthenes (B.c. 250) as recorded by Strabo, con
tained Thina at the extremity of the world, and bounded by the
ocean ; it was placed in the parallel of Rhodes, in lat. 30° N.
This parallel passes through the present dominions of China, and
probably relates to the then capital.
' Seres in Greek signifies worms,' hence the name of the nation
from which silk came. Sinae was for this reason called Seres by
the Greeks .
Periplus states that the raw material and the fabric were
conveyed by land through Bactria, to Berguza, i.e. Guzerat, and
by the Ganges to Limurike.
Dionysius, who translated the works of Eratasthenes, thus de
scribes the silk as prepared by the Seres . The " flower" referred
to may be that of the cotton shrub, which was certainly known in
China B.C. 200.
"Nor flocks, nor herds, the distant Seres tends ;
But from the flowers that in the desert bloom,
Tinctured with every varying hue, they cull
The glossy down, and card it for the loom ."
Virgil supposed that the Seres carded their silk from leaves ; and
it will be seen at page 88, that a sort of silk is collected from leaves
and trees, as deposited by an insect like a spider. Dr. Robertson
observes that the Greeks very early imitated, and endeavoured
to surpass, the sovereigns of Asia in magnificence ; and as silk
was then prized above all other luxuries, and China being the
only country then known to possess it, the position occupied by
the Persians gave them an advantage over the merchants from the
Arabian gulf, which they turned to their advantage, in all the
marts of India, to which silk was brought by sea from the east .
The caravans that supplied the Greeks with silk, had to travel by
land to China, and pass through the northern provinces of Persia :
so that Constantinople was entirely dependent on a rival power,
for an article which ministered to their pride and luxury.
Arian A.D. 136 after describing an island in the Indian Ocean,
says : ' still further on, towards the north, beyond the sea
which bounds the country of the Sinae, is the great city Thinae,
in the interior ; from which raw and manufactured silks are
brought to Barygaza by way of Bactria and the Ganges. Its
ita
ROMAN KNOWLEDGE OF CHINA . 243
territories are said to extend to the remote sides of the Pontus and
the Caspian sea. On the frontiers of Thinae, an annual fair is
} held for the Sesatae (Tartars).
Silk, which for several centuries was sold weight for weight
with gold, became a great favourite with the Romans, but com
mercial intercourse was so frequently interrupted by the Parthians,
(whose sway extended from the Caspian to that part of Tartary
which borders on China) that a negotiation was set on foot by
the Roman Emperor to establish a more secure trade .
M. Remusat, quoting from a Chinese writer, says : "the Kings of
great Tsin ( Roman empire) were always desirous of forming relations
with the Chinese ; but the people ofA- se, who bartered their goods for
those of the great Tsin, always took care to conceal the route and
prevent a communication between the two empires, which did not
take place till the reign of Hwan-te (A.D. 166) when the king of great
Tsin, named An-tun (Antoninus) sent an embassy by Tonquin. Their
cloths are better dyed and finer than those made to the east of the
sea ; they wished for the silk of the middle kingdom, . which is
the reason of their keeping up a trade with the A-se, and other
neighbouring people . "} This native account coincides in every
respect with the writings of the western historians .
There appear to have been several points of similitude between
the ancient Romans and the Chinese . Bayer and Paravey observe
that the Chinese letters consisted of nine simple character, five of
which were plain lines, and the other four were two or three joined
together ; which corresponds to the description of the Roman nu
merals . The Irish Ogham is undoubtedly the Scandinavian or
Saxon Rune, and they are all identical with the Chinese.
John Hoskins, Vice-President of the Royal Society, in 1686,
shews that the Abacus was the same among the earliest Romans and
Chinese, and exhibits drawings of each ; one stroke, or line, to
make one, and a cross to count ten, X, and so on till one hundred .
The Roman stove found in Chester, is similar to those in use in
China at the present day (see page 96) .
The Armenian history and geography designates China under
the title of Zenia, which was characterized by the production of silk,
the opulence of the natives, and by their love of peace above all
the other nations of the earth .
B.C. 25. In the reign of Wao -te, the Chinese had penetrated
into all the kingdoms of western Tartary, exeept Ke-pin (Samar
cand), which had hitherto treated every proposal to become tribu
tary to China with contempt. During the previous reign the
rulers of Samarcand tendered allegiance to the Chinese, but their
sincerity was doubted. A deputation arrived this year ( B.c. 25 ) ,
with the same profession of attachment, but some secret motive
influenced the government of China to refuse the proffer made,
under the pretence that they did not wish to augment their distant
dependencies .
Ptolemy (A.D. 137 ) states, that merchants from India, who were
R 2
1
244 INTERCOURSE WITH CENTRAL ASIA .
joined by Greeks from Cilicia, assembled for trade with the Seres
(Chinese), at a place called " the Stone Tower." From this tower
to the capital of the Seres was a journey of seven months .
The Greeks and Romans, in prosecuting a trade with China,
must have traversed a great portion of the extensive countries to
the east of the Caspian sea.
Ptolemy gives a description of these inland and remote regions
of Asia. The most distant part of the East to which his geographi
cal knowledge extended , he calls " Sera Metropolis," which bears
the same position with Kan-cheou, a city in the province of
Shen-se, and which is the most westerly province in China Proper.
He places it in longitude 117° 15′ . In this province reigned
the Tsin Dynasty . His knowledge was not confined to the cara
van road, as he writes concerning various nations towards the
north, which, according to the position he gives them, points them
out as parts of the great plains of Tartary, extending beyond Lassa
and Tibet. The latitudes are fixed with such precision that he
probably visited the places described .
Intercourse must have been early established between the
Chinese and the regions of Central Asia.
B.C. 127. In the reign of Han-wao-te, Cha-keen was sent to
render assistance to a people called Yue- che (west of China) . After
a long journey, he arrived at Ta-wan (Sogdiana), and from thence
passed into Transoxiana , where he resided more than one year.
The report of his travels is as follows : Ta-wen is about 10,000
le W. of Shen -se, to the N.E. lies Oo - sun ; to the E., Khoten ;
the kingdom of Ta-hea is to the S.W. of Ta-wan. He saw at Ta-hea,
cloths and other things similar to the productions of China, and
they told him they came from the kingdom of Shintoo (India) .
Shintoo is some thousand le S.E. of Ta-hae . There are three
routes to Ta-hae ; one by the country of the Keangs ; the second
more to the north ; the third, which is the shortest and best , is
through the country of Shoo . *
A.D. 94. The Emperor Ho-te sent a general called Pan-chaou ,
to the shores of the Caspian Sea. In the former reigns of Ming
and Chang, this general had extended the empire very much : he
restored Cashgar to its former alliance, and conquered eight other
kingdoms . He, at this period, passed the Snowy Mountains (N. of
Cashgar) , subdued the Kings of Yue-che and Koo - che (Bish- balikh) ,
and, by the submission of the states of Little Buchara, he was
enabled to reach the shores of the " Sea of the North " (Caspian) ;
from whence he sent the spoils of fifty kingdoms to the imperial
court . His intention was to have gone across the sea to the king
dom of Ta-tsin (Roman empire) , with which the Chinese had become
acquainted by their commercial transactions with it through Per
sia and Tartary. The information gained on this occasion is fully
* The Tung- keen Kang- muh, by Mailla, vol. iii.
SAINT THOMAS THE APOSTLE IN CHINA . 245
detailed in Chinese history . He speaks of Min-ke, Taw-le, and
A-se (said to be Bokhara or Buchara) .
The intercourse that existed between China and various nations,
previous and subsequent to the Christian era, naturally leads to
the conclusion that the " land of Sinim ” was visited by Christian
missionaries at an early period ; and an examination of the whole
state of China leads to the conclusion that the inculcation of the
divine precepts of our Redeemer, shortly after their adoption in
the west, has probably been the means of preserving China from
falling into barbarism, human sacrifices, &c., as was the case with
all the surrounding nations that did not become converts to
Mahomedanism .
The Rev. Mr. Medhurst has shown it is a well ascertained fact,
that St. Thomas the Apostle preached the Christian faith in India ;
and Assemannus tells us that he passed over to a country on the
east of India, where he preached the gospel, and founded a church
in the city of Cambala (Peking) ; after which he returned to
Malabar. This is confirmed by the Chaldean ritual, which pro
vides an office or ceremony for the celebration of St. Thomas,
which says, that " by him the Persians, Hindoos, and Chinese were
converted to the Christian faith." The early chronicles of China
state that their conquests extend as far as Ta-tsin, which signifies
Arabia and Judea ; the date likewise corresponds with the close of
the first century of this era .
It was not only by land that the Chinese carried on intercourse
with distant countries ; their early knowledge of the compass was
conveyed to Europe, and used by the navigators of the western
world.
Homer, speaking of the Phœacians, as to their extraordinary
skill in maritime affairs, makes Alcinous give to the shipping of
his island the same common character with Argos, and the ships
Phrixus, in the following lines :
" No pilot's aid Phoacian's vessels need,
Themselves, instinct with sense, securely speed ;
ļ Endued with wondrous skill, untaught they share,
The purpose and the will of those they bear ;
To fertile realms and distant climates go,
And where each realm and city lies they know ;
Swiftly they fly, and through the pathless sea,
Though wrapt in clouds and darkness, find their way.”
ODYSEY, L. viii .
It has been shewn in the previous chapter (page 194), that the
Chinese claimed a knowledge of the mariners' compass at a very
early period.
The travels of a Chinese named Fo-Hian, in the fourth century,
translated by MM . Remusat and Klaproth, show that navigation
was then carried on throughout the east, and that intercourse sub
sisted between China and India. Fo- Hian , with several com→
246 MARITIME VOYAGES OF CHINESE .
panions, set out on his travels, A.D. 319, from Chang-an, in the
province of Shen-se, and returned to Nanking, A.D. 414, being
absent fifteen years . His narrative is chiefly occupied with
details of Budhism ; and having found a town, he calls To-mo-li-ti, '
a part of the Bay of Bengal, in which his religion flourished, he
remained there two years transcribing manuscripts .
Fo-Hian states that he embarked from this place, with a large
number of merchants, in a ship that would carry 200 people, and
arrived at Sinhala (Ceylon) in fourteen days, the wind being
favourable.
He embarked from Ceylon in a merchant vessel of large dimen
sions, and well provisioned, for a long voyage across the Indian
Ocean, and after a passage of ninety days arrived in Java. Having
remained there for five months, he set sail for China ; and, at the
end of sixty days, being short of water, the vessel bore up for the
promontory of Lao, which is situated in the province of Shan-tung,
and bears the same name to this day.
This is not only confirmatory of intercourse, in a commercial
point of view, but disproves the assertion of those who state that
the Hindoos were never navigators . Fo- Hian found many Hindoos
at Java .
M. De Guignes says, (C nous trouvons dans les annales Chi
naises des vii. et viii . siècles , une route par mer depuis la Chine
jusqu' a l'embouchure de l'Euphrate . Les vaisseaux partaient de
Canton, ou les Arabes avaient un comptair très considérable ; cette
route est très bien suivie jusqu'a l'île de Ceylon ; le temps que
l'on emploie pour aller d' un lieu a' l'autre est indiqué ; Ceylon
dit on, est situé au midi du Tien-teo meridional, c'est à dire de
l'Inde ; de-là en suivant la côte occidentale on passait devant le
pays de Molai ou de Malabar, ensuite vers le nord ou est on
cotayait dix petits rayaumes , qui conduisoient aux frontiers occiS
dentales du pays des Brahmes et Menu ." Littera xxxii .
It may here be noted as a reason for the subsequent decadence
of the Chinese in maritime commerce, that their distant navigation
was materially checked, as was also that of other eastern nations,
by the lawless and buccaneering conduct of the Portuguese, who,
when paramount in the Indian Seas, were regardless of whom they
plundered .
The Chinese government, at a very early period, were well aware
of the piratical propensities of the Dutch and Portuguese. The
former were asked at one time, when the embassy visited Peking,
had they " any land to live on ?"
The Arabian traveller Ebn Wuahab (A.D. 877) points out the
road taken at that time, in the voyage from Bussora to Canton ; he
gives an account of the several islands he met with, and of their
productions, and speaks of the manners and customs of the
Chinese . He arrived at the capital of China with presents, and
had an audience with the Emperor, who seemed to know all the
sovereigns of the oriental countries, such as the Emperor of Constan
1
I
MARITIME ARABIAN INTERCOURSE . 247
tinople, and the Khaliff of Bagdad. In the Mediterranean on the
coast of Syria, this traveller found the wreck of an Arabian vessel ;
the construction announced that it was of Siraph, in the gulph of
Persia. He states, that all vessels built at Siraph, were put together
in a particular way, without nails, which distinguished them from
all other vessels . This Arabian marks the course the Chinese
vessels steered from Canton to Bussora ; they went from China
to Ceylon, doubled Cape Comorin, ran down the coast of Malabar,
passed the mouths of the Indus, and from thence to Siraph . The
Chinese were well acquainted with the Euphrates. From Bussora .
the merchandize was dispersed among the Mohammedan countries ,
and to the coast of Africa.
The account given by two Arabian merchants, who traded to
China, A.D. 850 and 877, is as follows : the first traveller (A.D. 850)
states, that the port of Canfoo was the principal resort of all the
ships and goods of the Arabs, who then traded with China. That
Canfoo (Kwanchoo-foo, i.e. Canton) is a large city built on a
great river. The extortions of the Chinese authorities on the
Arabian merchants, and the delay of their ships, is a subject of com
plaint. The charges amounted to thirty per cent. on the value of
each commodity. Arabian merchants wishing to travel through
the interior of China, were required to procure two passports, one
from the governor, and the other from the lieutenant. The Ara
bians highly approved of this system, as a protection for many of
their countrymen , who then traded with the interior of China, as
these passports are registered throughout the whole frontier posts .
And by this means, any but the proper owner is prevented being
in possession of the property, as a most minute description is set.
forth ; so that, should death overtake the traveller, his property is
carefully restored to his heirs. The Emperor of China appointed a
Mohammedan judge over those of that religion, who then resided
in Canton . The merchants of Irak, who then visited Canton, have
reported favourably of his general conduct and decisions, as in
every respect conformable to the Koran. The last Arabian, who
visited China in 877 A.D. gives an account of a revolution that took
ĭ
place about this period, in the city of Canfoo , (Canton ) on which
occasion , there were massacred, one hundred and twenty thousand
Christians, Jews, Mohammedans, and Parsees, who were quietly
attending their business. The writer states, that their grievances
increased, so that all the Arabian merchants returned in crowds to
Siraph and Oman.
The Arabs appear to have maintained and cultivated an extensive
intercourse with China, from an early period .
A.D. 708, in the reign of Walid, an embassy was sent to China
with valuable presents ; viâ Cashgar.
A.D. 635. The Chinese annals state, that during the reign of
Taitsung, the second Emperor of the Tang dynasty, there came am
bassadors from foreign nations . There arrived at the capital of
China, Singan-foo, a man of exalted virtue, named Olapun. The
248 CHRISTIAN INTERCOURSE IN THE COUNTRY .
Emperor graciously received this stranger, examined the na
ture of the new religion, (Scriptures ;) found that Olapun was
thoroughly acquainted with truth and uprightness , and gave him a
special command to make it known . The following year this de
cree was issued , " Truth hath not an unchanging name, nor are
holy men confined to one unchanging form . In every place
true doctrine has been given, and with reiterated instructions,
the crowd of the living have been blessed . From the distant
region of Ta-tsin,* (Arabia probably) the greatly virtuous Olapun
has brought the scriptures and the pictures , to offer them to our
high court. If the intent of this doctrine be examined , it is pro
found, excellent, and pure. If its noble origin be considered, it
produces that which is important . Its phraseology is without
superfluous words . It holds the truth, but rejects that which is
needless . It is benefical in all affairs and profitable to the people,
and should therefore pervade the empire . Let the officers erect a
temple for the religion of Ta-tsin in the capital, and appoint twenty
one ministers for its oversight .'در
The discovery of a Syrian monument, commemorating the pro
gress of Christianity in China, which was erected A.D. 718 , is a
remarkable fact, in corroboration of the foregoing statement. This
monument was discovered by some Chinese workmen, A.D. 1625 ,
near the city of Singan , the capital of the province of Shense, which
was at a remote period the capital of the empire . This city is sit
uated on the river Wei, in lat. 34° 16′ N. The monument is
described as a slab of marble, about ten feet long, and five broad ;
it was covered with earth, but was instantly shown to the authorities,
and at this period , there were numerous Christian missionaries in
China, who had an opportunity of examining it, together with
Natives and Pagans. On one side of it is the Chinese inscription,
in twenty- eight lines, twenty- six characters in each line, besides a
heading, in nine characters ; the Syrian is on the right side, com
prised in seventeen characters, (see translation . ) The nine Chinese
characters, at the top of this monument, read thus ; a " Tablet
recording the introduction of the religion of the Ta-tsin country
into China. "— (Ta-tsin, or Arabia and Judea. ) It commences with
stating the existence of the living and true God , —the Creation of
the World,-the fall of man, -and the mission of Jesus Christ .
The miraculous birth and excellent teaching of the Saviour, are
briefly described . His Ascension is spoken of; the institution of
baptism , mentioned ; and the cross declared to be effectual for
the salvation of all mankind . The latter part of the inscription
states, that in the reign of Tang-tae-tsung, A.D. 636, a Christian
teacher came from Ta-tsin, (supposed to be Arabia) to China ;
where the Emperor, after examining his doctrines, published an
edict, authorising the preaching of Christianity among the people ,
* Ta- tsin- " great purity."
NESTORIAN, ROMISH , AND ARMENIAN INTERCOURSE . 249
A.D. 782. The Emperor Suh-tsung founded several Christian
churches ; and to perpetuate his deeds, this tablet was erected .
Ĭ
In A.D. 780, Timothy, the Nestorian patriarch, sent Subchal
Jesus forth as a missionary, who is said to have laboured with
great success in China and in Tartary. The Nestorian Christians
: appear to have held intercourse with, and to have been, more or
less prosperous in China, from the 7th to the 13th century, -some
dada.
say, to the 16th century, when they were overcome by the
Romanists. But a discussion on this subject is reserved for an
7 examination of the prospects of christianizing China, which will
close this work.
A.D. 1246. Innocent IV. was the first Pope who conceived the
idea of sending missionaries , under the title of ambassadors, to the
Tartar conquerors . Two Franciscan monks formed this embassy,
and their object was to obtain aid from the Tartars to wrest the
holy sepulchre from the infidels ; but their shabby appearance
(being bare-footed), and refusing to pay homage to " Heaven's
Son," and their not bringing any presents, caused their dismissal,
with a letter to the Pope, telling him that " the Great Khan held
rightful sway over the whole earth.”
A.D. 1254. Haitho, king of Armenia, visited the Emperor of
China, in order to obtain a reduction of the amount of tribute
which the Mongols compelled him to pay ; his visit was short, so
that he had not much opportunity of seeing the country. The in
habitants he represents as most pompous and haughty.
A.D. 1288. Nicholas IV . sent John De Monte Corvino to China
to convert the Emperor to the religion of Rome. The chief obsta
cle he met with was the Nestorians, who were very numerous ; but
by great perseverance he built a church at Cambalu (Peking) , bap
tized 6,000 person, and translated the Psalms and New Testament
into the Mongolian language. He states that caravans arrived
from India and the shores of the Caspian, annually at the capital
of China. The whole of Bokhara was at this time under the
I Mongol government.
Oderic, a friar, visited China about this period , and without any
difficulty travelled over a great portion of the empire, and from
thence passed through Tibet. Here, he says, he was shocked at
the custom which was prevalent of children eating the flesh of
their deceased parents .
The intercourse carried on by the Jesuits, in the 17th century,
will be examined when discussing the rise, progress, and decline of
Romanism in China.
A.D. 1330. Ibn Batuta, a native ofTangiers, was sent to China from
the court of Delhi . He states that on his arrival at Calicut, on the
Malabar coast, he found fifteen Chinese junks at anchor. Some of
these junks had on board 600 sailors, and 400 soldiers . These
vessels were worked by oars, and the superior officers had their
wires and families with them, who lived in houses built on deck .
250 SIMILARITY BETWEEN PERUVIANS AND CHINESE .
This envoy was surprised at the good order which reigned in
China. Paper money was in general use, and the number and
wealth of the Mohammedan merchants he met with, far exceeded 1
his expectations. He returned via Sumatra.
Marco Polo, in describing Koulam, now considered to be An
jengo, in (Tamul language it signifies tank or pool,) at his time a
large city in India ; says, it is the residence of many Christians
and Jews. He remarks that the heat of the climate is very great,
yet merchants visit it from various parts of the world, such as the
kingdom of China and Arabia, attracted by the great profits they
obtain upon the merchandize brought there and taken away. It
it now, however, a rare thing to see a Chinese vessel to the west
ward of the straits of Malacca and Sunda ; although it is certain
that in a remote period, the Chinese did, reciprocally with the
Arabians, trade not only to the Peninsula of India, but also to the
Persian Gulf.
The authority of Edrisi, who wrote about the 12th century, (A.D.
1156 ,) is direct to the purpose :
" Ex ipsa, " he says of a port in Yemen, " solvuntur navigia
Sindae, Indiae, et Sinarum, et ad ipsam deferuntur vasa Sinica ."
(Geographia, page 25.)
Edrisi further says, " Muskat, the ancient capital of Oman , was
visited every year by great numbers of merchant-ships ; and was
annually much frequented by ships from Sin," (China.)
There are probabilities that the Chinese also penetrated the
Continent of America. The Peruvian annals state, that about the
year 1100 or 1150 A.D. , Manco Capac, with his wife and sister,
Mama Ocella, appeared as strangers on the banks of the Titiaca,
and announced themselves as " children of the sun," sent by their
beneficent parent to reclaim them from savage life. Manco in
structed the men in agriculture, and Mama taught the women to
spin and weave. This might be rejected as a fable, if there were
not a similarity in the institutions of the Peruvians and of the
Chinese . The first injunction strictly enjoined was to " love one
another." The preference was given to useful arts over warlike in-
struments : their literary men ranked highest as poets and philo L
sophers. ་
The Emperor was considered the father of his people ; whose
progenitor descended from Heaven . He was high-priest as well as
temporal prince. There was an annual ploughing match, in which
the Incas took part. Irrigation, together with various composts
for manure, characterized Peruvian husbandry. The taxes paid
in kind, were maize, rice, silk, cotton, &c. Roads were constructed
for general purposes, and houses of entertainment erected on them .
Humboldt remarks on their mode of architecture as precisely simi
lar, and all of one model. The Peruvians were celebrated for their
coarse pottery.
In their dramas and spectacles ; their suspension bridges made of
INTERCOURSE BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA. 251
ropes, and chains made of twisted osiers ; rafts with a mast and sail
p made of mats ; knotted cords for calculating time ; monasteries and
nunneries, there is a remarkable coincidence, demonstrative , at
least, of intercourse between the Peruvians and the Chinese .
As the subject is not confined to mere antiquarian intcrest, but
may help to indicate our future policy, some more detail will be
useful.
INTERCOURSE BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA.
B C. 126. The first authentic record of intercourse between
India and China, was during the reign of the Emperor Wante,
who sent an envoy to Tchang-kiao, with a retinue of 100 men, to
visit the western countries, such as Khorassan and Meru- al- nahar.
This envoy procured information about Persia ; and seeing rich
articles of trade from India, his curiosity prompted him to visit
ƒ that country .
That there was a constant commercial intercourse between India,
Ceylon, and China, about the beginning of the Christian era, is
fully proved by Pliny, (lib . 60, cap . ccxx.) The same passage
establishes the fact of a regular intercourse between the Roman
and Chinese merchants.
The above passage is thus translated by Salmasius :-" A certain
King of Ceylon sent four ambassadors to the Emperor Claudius,"
(this emperor ascended the throne, A.D. 44) .
" The chief of this embassy (Rachias) being asked if he knew the
Seres (Chinese), answered that the Seres lived beyond the Hai
miada, or Snow Mountains ; with regard to Ceylon, that the Seres
were often seen, or visited by his countrymen, and were well known
to them through a commercial intercourse ; that his father had been
there, and whenever caravans from Ceylon (and probably also from
India) went there, the Seres came part of the way to meet them in
a friendly manner ; which it seems was not the case with the
caravans from the west, consisting of Roman merchants."
Thus we see that the inhabitants of Ceylon traded to China, at
the commencement of our era, and it was by land that the inter
course was carried on . There can be no doubt that they went first
by sea to the country of Magad'ha, the name given by the Chinese
}
to all India. This kingdom of Magad'ha, in Anu- Gangam, is the
province of South Bahar, called by the Chinese Makiato, the Arabs
Mabid, or the Gangetic provinces, where Buddha was born , and his
religion flourished.
The traders from Ceylon, on arriving at Magad❜ha, joined
the caravans of that country, and went to China, through what
Ptolemy calls the great route from Palebothra to China.
It was by means of this commercial intercourse, that Budhism
was introduced into China in A.D. 65 ; and from that era we may
date the constant and regular intercourse between Magad'ha and
:
252 ROUTE BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA.
China ; until the extirpation of the religion of Buddha, and the
invasion of the Mussulmans .
A.D. 159. The King of Tientso (India) , sent an embassy by sea
to China, with many rare presents to the Emperor.
[The Chinese call India, Shinto and Tientso . ]
A.D. 408. Yuegnai, King of Kiaple (or the Ganges) , sent ambas
sadors to China.
A.D. 473 . The King of Poali (Magad'ha), sent ambassadors to
China.
A.D. 641. The Indian king of the countries belonging to the
great Mogul, and included in the Mo-kiato, or Magad'ha empire,
sent an embassy to China.
A.D. 642 . Kaou -tsung, Emperor of China, sent an embassy in
return to Houlomien . This Emperor had previously reduced all
India under his yoke.
A.D. 647. The Emperor of Magad'ha sent a second embassy to
China, and likewise the King of Nipolu (Nipal) .
A.D. 648. Kaou-tsung, Emperor of China, sent an embassy to
the King of Magad'ha ; but in the mean time Houlomien died,
and a civil war was raging .
Ptolemy states that there were two roads by which the inhabit
ants of India and China communicated with each other ; one road
led to Bactira, and the other to Palibothra . Merchandise was
conveyed first to the west, through Balkh to Palibothra, and from
the latter carried down the Ganges, and by sea to Limyrica.
From the metropolis of China, Ptolemy states there was a road
leading to Cattigara, in the country of Cambodia, in a south- west
direction .
With regard to the track, from the country of the Magad'ha,
and Palibothra, to China ; -from Cabul there was a road leading
through the mountains, north of the Punjab, which met another
from Jahora, in the same country, at a place called Aris, in the
mountains. These two roads are frequented to this day, and meet
at a place called the Eyes of Mansarowar, where there are three
lakes . Magasthenes gives the distance from the Indus to Pali
bothra as 20,000 stadia ( 1,476 British miles) .
On the authority of Chinese history, it appears that there was
constant intercourse between the kingdom of Magad'ha and
China, and the trade to an island and kingdom called Founan,
to the eastward of Siam, during the third and fourth centuries .
This was probably a Malay kingdom.
The Mohammedan travellers who visited China in the ninth
century, and whose correct description of the country is not disputed,
thus write : "the kings of Mabed send every year ambassadors and
presents to the Emperor of China, who in return sends ambassadors.
to them. Their country is of great extent, and when the ambas
sadors from Mabed enter China, they are carefully watched, and
never once allowed to survey the country, for fear they should form
MOORISH INTERCOURSE WITH CHINA . 253
designs of conquering it, because they are parted from China only
by mountains and rocks ; which would be no difficult task ."
Father Semedo, giving a description of China, in A.D. 1610 ,
states, that " in the province of Xemsi, (now called Kangsoo) there
is much merchandise, for it hath two cities in the borders thereof,
Gauchew and Suchaw toward the west, from whence come numer
ous caravans, of above a thousand in company, from several nations ;
but for the most part Moors. With these caravans come ambas
sadors, which the princes of the Moors send to the king of China,
making every three years a small embassy, and every five years a
great one. These foreign caravans remain in the above cities ,
trafficking there with their merchandise. The embassy in the
mean time depart to the Emperor with the presents from the five
kings, viz . The kings of Rume, Arabia, Cabol, Samarkan , ( Samarat
cand) and Turfon ; the first four know nothing of this embassy, but
the fifth king names the ambassadors, and the merchants make up
the presents between themselves ; they remain three months at
the Emperor's expense."
It is probable that there is no inconsiderable trade still carried
on with Central Asia from the western frontiers of China.
INTERCOURSE BETWEEN PERSIA AND CHINA .
Sir William Jones translated an account of embassies and letters
that passed between the Emperor of China and Shahrokh, the son
of Timur. One of the annals of the Hidjerah, (year 811 , ) commenc
ing 26th of May, 1408, A.D., runs as follows : ---
" When the king (i.e. Shah Rokh Mirza) returned from his expe
dition to Scistan, ambassadors, who had been sent by the Emperor
of China, to condole with him on the death of his father, arrived
with a variety of presents, and represented what they had to say on
the part of their monarch. The king after showing them many
favours and civilities, gave them dismission .
A.D. 1412. " Ambassadors from the Emperor of China and
Machin , and all those countries , arrived at Herat . His majesty
gave orders that the city and bazaars should be decorated , and that
the merchants should adorn their shops with all possible art and
elegance . The lords of the court also went to meet and welcome
them. It was a time of rejoicing and gaiety. After which his
majesty ascended the throne , and bestowed upon the chief of his
lords and the ambassadors , the happiness of kissing his hand. The
latter, after offering him their presents, delivered their message
and the Emperor's letter ."
The following is a copy of the letter of the Emperor of China to
Shahrokh ; it is in the usual arrogant style of a superior to an in
ferior :
'The great Emperor, Day-ming, sends this letter to the country
of Samarcan , to Shahrokh Bahadur .
254 INTERCOURSE BETWEEN PERSIA AND CHINA .
" As we consider that the most high God has created all things
in heaven and earth, to the end that all his creatures may be happy,
and that it is in consequence of his sovereign decree, that we are
become lord of theface of the earth, we therefore endeavour to exer
cise rule in obedience to his commands, and for this reason we
nake no partial distinctions between those that are near, and those
that are afar off, but regard them all with an eye of equal bene
volence . We have heard before this that thou art a wise and ex
cellent prince, highly distinguished above others, that thou art
obedient to the commands of the most high God, that thou art a
father to thy people and to thy troops, and art good and beneficent
towards all ; which has given us much satisfaction . But it was
with singular pleasure that when we sent an embassy with Kimkhas
and Torkos, and a dress, thou didst pay all due honour to our com
mands, and didst make a proper display of the favour thou hadst
received, insomuch that small and great rejoiced at it. Thou didst
also forthwith dispatch an ambassador to do us homage, and to
present us the rarities, horses, and manufactures of that country :
so that with the strictest regard to truth we can declare, that we
have deemed thee worthy of praise and distinction .
" The government of the Monguls was some time ago extinct,
but thy father Timur Fuma was obedient to the commands of the
most high God, and did homage to our great Emperor Tay-zuy,
nor did he omit to send ambassadors with presents . He (the Em
peror) for that reason granted protection to the men of that country,
and enriched them all. We have now seen that thou art a worthy
follower of thy father, in his noble spirit, and in his measures ; we
have therefore sent an embassy with congratulations and a dress,
and Kimkhas and Tarkos, and that the truth may be known . We
shall hereafter send persons whose office it will be to go and return
successively, in order to keep open a free communication, that mer
chants may traffic and carry on their business to their wish . This
is what we make known to thee."
Another letter was sent with the presents, and contained a par
ticular account of them ; besides, it served as a pass, which was to 1
remain with the ambassadors . Each was written in the Persian
language and character, as well as in the Turkish, the Mogul, and 1
the Chinese characters .
The embassy was most hospitably entertained, and one in return
was sent to China, with a letter, in Arabic and in Persian ; Shah
rokh being most anxious that the Emperor of China should regu
late his conduct by the law of the Koran .
A.D. 1417. The Emperor of China again sent ambassadors to
his Majesty, attended by three hundred horse ; the embassy con
veyed an abundance of rarities and presents, and a letter from the
Emperor of China with acknowledgments for past favours . The
chief point in this letter particularly insisted on, was that both
parties should strive to remove all constraint arising from distance
CHINA SOUGHT FREE INTERCOURSE . 255
of place, that the subjects and merchants of both kingdoms might
enjoy a free and unrestrained intercourse with each other. The am
bassadors were handsomely entertained, and as on all former occa
sions, received their dismission , when the king sent Ardasher
Tavachy, back with them to China.
About the end of Ramzan ( Oct. , 1419 , A.D. ) the ambassadors
Bimachin and jan-machin arrived at Herat, from China, with pre
sents and a letter for the king as follows :
" The great Emperor Day-Ming sends this letter to Sultan
Shahrokh. The Most High has made you knowing, and wise, and
perfect. Your majesty is of an enlightened mind, skilful, accom 1
plished, and judicious, and superior to all the Islamites . The wes
tern country, which is the seat of Islamism, has been famous for
producing wise and good men ; but none have been superior to
your majesty. We send your Majesty some presents, which are of
little value, only as tokens of our affection and regard.
" Henceforth, we hope that ambassadors and merchants, shall be
always passing and repassing between us without interruption, to the
end that our subjects may live in plenty, ease, and security. This is
what we have thought proper to write to you."
It is obvious from the foregoing that the Chinese government
sent out embassies with a view to the preservation of friendly and
commercial intercourse with distant states .
The letter from Shah Rokh , King of Herat, to the Emperor of
China, A.D. 1408, has been translated from the Arabic, -thus :
" There is no God but God, and Mohammed is his Apostle .
Mohammed, the Apostle of God, hath said, as long as ever there
C
shall remain a people of mine, that are steady in keeping the com
mandments of God, the man that persecutes them shall not prosper,
nor shall their enemy prevail against them, until the day of judg
ment. When the most high God proposed to create Adam, and his
race, he said, ' I have been a treasure concealed, but I choose now
to be known, -I therefore create human beings, that I may be
known.' It is then evident, from hence, that the wisdom of the
supreme Being, whose power is glorious, and whose word is sub
Į
lime, in the creation of the human species, was this-that the
knowledge of him, and of the true faith, might shine forth , and be
1
propagated . For this purpose . also, he sent his Apostle to direct
men in the way, and teach them the true religion, that it might be
exalted above all others, and the rites concerning clean and un
clean might be known . And he granted us the sublime and
miraculous Koran, to silence the unbelievers, and cut short their
tongues. The most high God, therefore, constrains us, by his past.
mercies and present bounties, to labour for the establishment of
the rules of his righteous and indispensable law ; and commands
us, under a sense of thankfulness to him, to administer justice aud
mercy to our subjects, in all cases, agreeably to the code and pre
cepts of Mustafa. He requires us also to found mosques, colleges,
A
256 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE CHINESE EMPEROR .
almshouses, and places of worship, in all parts of our dominions,
that the study of the laws, and the moral practices, which is the
result of those studies, may not be discontinued . Seeing then
that the permanence of temporal prosperity, and of dominion in thisį
lower world, depends on an adherence to truth and goodness, and
on the extirpation of heathenism and infidelity from the earth, with
a view to future retribution, I cherish the hope that your Majesty,
and the nobles of your realm , will unite with us in these matters,
and join us in establishing the sacred law. I trust, also, that your
Majesty will continue to send hither ambassadors, and express
messengers, and will strengthen the foundation of affection and
friendship, by keeping open a free communication between the [ two
empires ; that travellers and merchants may pass to and fro, un
molested, our subjects may be refreshed with the fruits of this
commerce . Peace be to him that follows the right path, for God is
ever gracious to them that serve him ."
A remarkable interview took place between the Emperor of China
and Alexander the Great, an account of which has been translated
from a Persian work by the late Sir John Malcolm .
After Alexander had made war against Paor or Porus , and slain
him, he marched against theEmperor of China. That monarch did
not consider himself equal to the conflict, and went in disguise to
the Grecian camp. He was discovered , and brought to Alexander,
who asked him how he could act in such a manner. The Emperor
replied : " I was anxious to see you, and your army ; I could have
no fear on my own account, as I knew I was not an object of dread
to Alexander ; besides, if he were to slay me , my subjects would in
stantly raise another king to the throne. But of this I can have
no fear, as I am satisfied Alexander can never be displeased with
an action that shows a solicitude to obtain his friendship."
The conqueror was completely overcome by this truly Chinese
flattery, and concluded a treaty by which China was spared on con
dition of paying tribute. The Emperor returned to his capital to
make preparations for the entertainment of his great ally ; and the
third day he returned with an army, the dust of which announced
its great numbers, which made Alexander prepare his force for
battle. When both lines were opposite, the Emperor of China,
with his ministers and nobles, alighted and went towards the
Grecian Prince , who asked him why he had broken faith . " I
wished," said the Emperor, " to show the number of my army,
that you might be satisfied I made peace from other motives than
an inability to make war. It was from consulting the stars, that I
have been led to submit . The Heavens aid you, and I war not
with them ."
Alexander was so gratified , that he released the Emperor from
paying tribute, as he was too wise , too pious, and too great a
prince ; he was perfectly satisfied to have his friendship .
The Emperor took his leave, and sent a present of jewels , gold,
CHRONOLOGY OF FOREIGN INTERCOUrse. 257
and beautiful ladies, to the conqueror. [From a Persian work
called Zeenut-ul Tuarikh. ]
We have no account of the extent of trade carried on between
Persia and China ; nor when the intercourse ceased . The mer
chandise brought from the kingdom of Magor, and the city of
Lahore, A.D. 1603, to China, consisted of salt, ammoniac, azure,
fine linen, carpets, knives, &c. ; but the chief article was the stone
called Yaca, (Jade) much prized in China, for making ornaments .
The return cargo was porcelain, musk, rubies, raw-silk, silk - stuffs ,
rhubarb, &c. The presents from Persia mentioned, consisted of 1333
Italian pounds' weight of Yaca, 340 horses, 300 small -pointed dia
monds, twelve catties of fine azure ; 600 knives, and as many files.
The presents from the Emperor of China consisted of two pieces
of cloth of gold for each horse ; thirty pieces of yellow silk, thirty
pounds of cha, (tea, ) ten of musk, and thirty pounds of silver. The
value of the Persian presents was estimated at 7000 crowns .
Those of the Chinese were valued by the Saracen merchants at
50,000.
CHRONOLOGY OF FOREIGN INTERCOURSE .
The accompanying record of foreign intercourse, and of foreign
missions to and from China, will prove that it is our own fault
China is not now open to a free intercourse with Europe .
B.C. 1000. Foreign embassies to China from eight " barbarous"
nations of India ; the nearest was ten days', and the most remote,
about six months' journey . Extracts from Chinese translations
state that the Japanese traded about this time to China.
B.C. 984. The Emperor Muh-wang, paid a visit to Mount
Kwan lun, to see a western prince, called See-wang-moo . (See
page 199, on Dynasties.)
B.C. 141. The Emperor Woo-te, sent embassies to foreign
countries to trade, from which they brought gems, pearls , gold, &c.
B.C. 121 . Wante sent an embassy and retinue of 100 persons to
visit the western countries .
ک B.C. 100. The Chinese chronicles record embassies from Japan,
as they allege, with " tribute, " i . e . presents .
A.D. 159. The King of India sent an embassy to China, with
rare presents .
A.D. 166. A Roman embassy, from Marcus Antoninus to
China .
A.D. 176. India and other nations came to China by the
southern sea, with " tribute ." Canton was at this period the
emporium for foreigners.
A.D. 265. A Roman embassy to China.
A.D. 285. Emperor Woo-te sent an ambassador to Lan-yu ,
Prince of Ta-wan, (between the Oxus and Taxartes, E. of Samar
cand) , and conferred the title of king on him.
$
258 EMBASSIES TO AND FROM CHINA.
A.D. 287. Envoys received from the Roman provinces, W. of
Persia, called great Tsin.
A.D. 408 . The King of Kiaple, (the Ganges,) sent an embassy
to China.
A.D. 473 . The King of Pala, (Magad'ha,) sent ambassadors to
China.
A.D. 600. During the Suy dynasty, ambassadors were sent to
the surrounding nations. Japan and China exchanged embassies ,
regularly.
A.D. 641 . The Indian King, under the Mogul, sent an embassy
to China.
A.D. 642. Kaou-tsung, Emperor of China, sent an embassy to
Houlomin . This Emperor had reduced all India to his sway,
A.D. 647. The King of Magadha, and the King of Nipalu,
(Nipal,) sent embassies to China.
A.D. 648. Kaou-tsung, Emperor of China, sent an embassy in
return to Magadha ; but in the meantime, Houlomin died, and a
civil war raged in his dominions.
A.D. 795. A memorial to the Emperor of China, states, that
the foreign trading ships had deserted Canton ; and now went to
Cochin-China ; the memorial states, that a tenth of the value was
the amount of the duty charged . The Emperor's answer is, that
the jewel must have been spoiled in its case ; meaning thereby, that
extortion had been used.
A D. 1246. An embassy from the Pope, viâ Russia, ill received .
A.D. 1253. An embassy from Louis the IX . (called St. Louis) .
Violent polemical discussions with the Mahommedans and Nesto
rians, caused this embassy to be dismissed, with this answer, " God
hath given the scriptures to the Christians : That holy book does not
permit them to vilify each other ; nor for the sake of gain, to
abandon the paths ofjustice : Go and practice its precepts."
The Popes continued to keep up the intercourse by missions,
which were begun by Pope Innocent.
A.D. 1260. Two Venetian nobles, named Polo, visited China,
with a cargo of merchandise ; they were well received by the Em
peror, Khublia- khan, who proposed sending back with them, an
ambassador to the Pope, to induce His Holiness to send him Christ
ian instructors . The ambassador died on the journey.
A.D. 1261 . The great Khan sent embassies to Louis the IX . ,
James of Arragon , Charles of Sicily , and other Christian princes ,
inviting them to join his forces .
A.D. 1276. The two Venetians, (Polo) returned to China, and
were well received . They brought letters from Gregory X. The
son, young Marco Polo, became the confidant of the Emperor, for
seventeen years, in various offices of trust. The father and uncle
had some difficulty to get away from court. At length , the Khan
sent them back by sea. Ambassadors from the Khan to the
Pope travelled with them.
}
1
FREE TRADE FOR FOREIGNERS IN CHINA, A.D. 1356. 259
A.D. 1279. Letter sent from Kublia Khan, to the Emperor of
Japan.
A.D. 1286. Embassy sent from China to Japan .
A.D. 1300. The Emperor, Yuen, sent an embassy to Japan,
which was joined by an envoy, from the King of Carea, but no
landing could be effected . This Emperor, and his successor, sent
eight different embassies and envoys, some of them military expe
ditions in disguise, but they were all unsuccessful .
A.D. 1323. Ibn Batuta, a pilgrim , left Tangiers about this
time, and travelled over a great portion of Asia . On his arrival at
Alexandria, Batuta visited a pious Imaum, who dispatched him on
a mission to China, where he was well received, and was astonished
at the good order and industry of the people of China.
Paper money was in general use, in the way of trade.
In all the large towns he found Mohammedans, who were
wealthy merchants, and had their own officers and laws .
A.D. 1356. The provinces of Foo - keen, Canton, Che-keang,
and Chinchew, were opened to foreign ships ; and an additional
officer appointed to Chinchew. All other ports were opened, on
giving a bond as security against smuggling ; the commanders
were furnished with arms to defend themselves . An edict was
issued, naming the articles to be bought from foreigners with money;
and adding that any Chinese that would cheat foreigners, should
be severely punished .
A.D. 1370. Embassy from the Ming dynasty. Between India
A.D. 1376 . Embassy from Hung-wo . and China.
A.D. 1400. Several reciprocal embassies.
A.D. 1400. It was decreed by the Chinese, that foreign nations
should bring " tribute" every three years ; the regulations were
strict, and 120 houses were built, and set apart for the sole use
of the foreigners .
A.D. 1419. An ambassador was sent from China to Japan, to
purchase some rarities ; he was badly treated, and narrowly es
caped with his life.
A.D. 1420. An embassy, from Shah Rokh Mirza, from Herat,
through Balkh and Samarcand ; this embassy being joined by
others , on their journey , the whole number amounted to upwards
of 800 persons , the greatest portion of whom were merchants .
They were well and hospitably treated .
A.D. 1420. An embassy sent from Yung-loo .
A.D. 1518. An embassy from Portugal obtained permission to
settle at Sancian ; subsequently treated with the Chinese for Macao.
A.D. 1539. The Japanese sent an ambassador to Ning-po, to
conclude a treaty of peace and commerce .
A.D. 1602. The Emperor of China sent an embassy to Manilla ,
to ascertain the truth of a report which had reached him, that the
port of Cavite was formed of gold .
s 2
260 ALL CHINESE PORTS OPEN TO ALL NATIONS, A.D. 1686 .
A.D. 1604. Another embassy from China to the Spanish au
thorities, to know why 20,000 Chinese had been slain or banished
from Manilla ; the embassy was satisfied, and trade resumed its
usual course .
A.D. 1624. The Dutch gained a settlement on the island of
Formosa, where the Chinese traded with them extensively .
A.D. 1625. The Emperor (Tien-ki) ; and government called to
their aid the Christian missionaries, and a number of Portuguese,
in repelling the Tartars ; their knowledge of artillery, and generous
aid succeeded in driving away the enemy, who was within seven
leagues of Peking. The generals on this occasion were Christians .
The mother of the Emperor, his chief wife, and his eldest son re
ceived the rite of Christian baptism, together with twenty ladies.
of rank at the court. The Chinese Empress was baptized Helena
and the other royal Christians sent a learned missionary, Michael
Baym, (a Pole) to Pope Alexander, to render obedience to the
court of Rome.
A.D. 1656. An embassy from the Dutch East India Company,
endeavoured to obtain a monopoly of trade, without success ; they
were permitted to return with " tribute," every eight years . The
embassy arrived at Peking, 17th July, 1656, and remained there
ninety-one days .
A.D. 1661. An embassy from Holland, to the Viceroy of Foo
keen province ; who presented them with a great variety of gifts
ADD
in return , and silver plates with their names engraved thereon,
VARANKAN
which served as passes .
ST HE
A.D. 1666-67 . A treaty between Holland and China, with per
mission to trade at Canton, Singchew, Hoksieu, Ningpo, and
Hanksew, without limitation of goods, time, or number of ships.
Stores and convenient dwelling-places were erected . The
embassy arrived at Peking, 29th June, 1667, and remained there
forty-six days.
A.D. 1689 . A treaty between China and Russia, by which the
latter was granted permission to send a caravan of merchandise,
every year, to Peking ; and permission for a certain number of
Russians to reside there.
A.D. 1686. By an edict of the Emperor Kanghe, all the ports
of China were opened, to every nation who chose to visit them for
trade ; they were all closed again in 1709 .
A.D. 1692. The Emperor Kanghe, issued an edict tolerating
the Christian religion . This was in consequence of the great per
secution that the missionaries were subject to from the Mandarins ;
the report of the Board of Rites was most favourable to the cha
racter of all the Christians, then resident in China. The report
states that the empire was indebted to them for the many and
sincere efforts, which they had rendered during the civil and
foreign wars. Moreover, that the Europeans are tranquil ; that
L
1
¦
1
EMBASSIES BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA . 261
they do not excite troubles in the provinces. Besides their doc
trine has nothing in common with the false and dangerous sects of
the empire, and their maxims do not lead people to sedition .
About this period the Emperor Kan-ghi was given over by the
Chinese physicians as incurable ; the Emperor sent for his great
favorite Gerbillon, the Jesuit, who cured the Emperor with quinine .
The Emperor, after his recovery, assigned the missionaries splendid
apartments in the first enclosure in the palace, and had a church
built within the palace, which was adorned by the Jesuit artists,
and opened with great ceremony, in March, 1702.
A.D. 1692-3 . Everard Isbrand Ides was sent on an embassy
from Russia to Peking. After having delivered the Czar's cre
dentials, the ambassador was invited to eat with the Emperor, and
to drink a cup of Tartarian wine, which was handed him by the
Emperor. The embassy arrived at Peking, 5th November, 1692,
and remained there 106 days.
A.D. 1712. An embassy was sent from Peking to A-yu-kee, Khan
of the Tourgouth Tartars, situated on the banks of the Volga, to
the north of the Caspian (it was sent in return for one from the
Tourgouth Tartars, which had reached China the preceding year) .
The instructions given to the Chinese embassy on this occasion are
curious and interesting. If any untoward circumstance should
lead the mission to Moscow, minute answers were given to the
embassy to every enquiry that was expected to be asked relating
to the government of China. " If asked what the Chinese esteem
most ; reply, fidelity, filial piety, charity, justice, and sincerity, are
esteemed above all other things : that on these principles we
govern this great empire, and likewise ourselves . If the Russians
speak to you about fire-arms, and solicit aid from me of that de
scription, state, that being on a mission to the Tourgouth Tartars,
you could not broach that question. Again, the Russians are a
vain people ; they will display several things they possess : on such
occasions neither express admiration nor contempt. But, of all
things, pay close attention to the manners of the inhabitants of
Russia ; its natural and artificial productions ; its geography, and
the general appearance of the country." Having been three years.
engaged on the mission, the embassy returned to Peking, escorted
by the Russian guard, and the troops of A-yu-kee.
A.D. 1715. The Czar, Peter the First, sent Laurence Lange as
envoy to Kanghi, Emperor of China, who received him with un
usual attention ; dispensed with most of the ceremonies that are
usually required, and called them his children ; at the same time
strict watch was kept, and a sentinel placed on the door . The
Emperor sent back with this embassy, two Chinese and two Tartar
lords as ambassadors to Russia.
A.D. 1720. This embassy from Peter the Great consisted of
upwards of 100 persons ; nothing could exceed the attention and
hospitality with which the embassy was treated . The Emperor
1
262 RUSSIAN MISSION ESTABLISHED AT PEKIN.
himself wrote a letter to Peter the Great, the only instance of such
condescension on record . The secretary to this embassy remained
in Peking, as a kind of agent to Peter the Great . The embassy
arrived at Peking, 18th November, 1720, and remained there 114
days.
A.D. 1721. A legation from the Pope to the Emperor Kanghi,
to obtain his aid in settling a difference of opinion that existed
between the Christians residing in China, as to the Pope's infalli
bility. The embassy remained at Peking ninety- one days.
A.D. 1728. A treaty entered into between Catherine the First,
Empress of Russia, and China . According to this treaty, the
Russian mission, composed of six priests and four lay members,
fixed its abode at Peking. A church was built by the aid of the
Chinese government ; and the Russians were permitted to worship
their God according to the rites of their religion . The mission
residing at Peking is changed for another set of priests and stu
dents every ten years to the present day.
A.D. 1754. An embassy from Portugal to China ; it was chiefly
conducted by the Roman Catholic Bishop and Priests of Macao .
Two mandarins of high rank, -one a German Jesuit, the other a
Tartar, were sent from Peking, to escort this embassy from Canton
to Peking. Strange to say, the real object of this embassy was
never well understood . But a reduction of a few hundred pounds
sterling was conceded to the Portuguese annually in Macao . They
left Canton in February, and returned in November. The embassy
remained at Peking thirty-nine days.
A.D. 1787. Embassy from China to the King of Ava ; well re
ceived, and returned with another embassy from the King of Ava to
the Emperor of China.
A.D. 1790 . Embassy from the Emperor of China to the King of
Ava.
A.D. 1792. Lord Macartney was appointed ambassador to China
by the British government and the East India Company. Hitherto
Great Britain had been obliged to trade with China under the
most disadvantageous circumstances . Fair competition was
destroyed by the unjust and oppressive exactions of the Chinese
officials at Canton . It became necessary to ascertain whether the
frequent obstructions to trade arose from the policy of the imperial
government, or were created by the corruption of the provincial
administration, and the object was to obtain a remedy for the
future . The legate who attended the ambassador was a Tartar ;
and the late success of the British arms in India had made an unP
favourable impression on his mind, as it was hinted that the
British had joined the Nepaulese in the war which had just taken
place with the Tartars, on the borders of Thibet . The Emperor of
China sent a letter to the King of England, refusing to make any
alteration in the then existing system, and further stated that the
1
BRITISH EMBASSIES TO CHINA . 263
Russians now only traded at Kiatcha, and had not for many years
come to Peking. Thus terminated the embassy, and all that can
be said, is that the ambassador was received with politeness,
treated with hospitality, watched with vigilance, and dismissed with
civility. Great difficulty was experienced at this time to obtain
permission for the king's ships to anchor at Anson's Bay, in order
to have them convenient to accompany the annual homeward-
bound fleet of merchant vessels . The local authorities would not
permit this publicly, but they did not prevent provisions being
supplied . The necessity of this convoy was fully proved in 1804,
when Sir Nathaniel Dance beat off the French squadron under
Admiral Linois, in the China Seas . The value of the homeward
bound fleet was estimated at upwards of £ 16,000,000 sterling . The
embassy remained at Peking forty- seven days .
A.D. 1795. A Dutch embassy remained thirty-five days at Pe
king.
A.D. 1806. A Russian embassy to Peking .
A.D. 1816. An embassy from the Prince Regent to the Em
peror of China embarked from Spithead, with Lord Amherst as
ambassador, on board His Majesty's ship Alceste, on the 8th
February, 1816. The objects of this embassy were similar to that
of Lord Macartney, but more particularly to point out the many
grievances under which the company were obliged to conduct their
trade, and hoping that the Emperor would sanction some regula
tions that would exempt them from the capricious exactions of the
local authorities . The instructions also hinted, that the time
might probably arrive when coercive measures would be found in
dispensable to protect a trade in which some millions of money
had been embarked . The course of policy pursued by the British
nation in India was fully explained . The embassy arrived at the
mouth of the White River, on the 28th July, but were delayed ,
waiting for the imperial legate, until the 9th August. The dis
cussion on the performance of the Ko-tow (knocking the head nine
times against the ground) commenced, the Chinese insisting that
the last ambassador had performed it. Lord Amherst refused . It
is needless to recite the various consultations and fruitless meet
ings held between the legate and the embassy, together with the
rude behaviour of the various officers of the court. The embassy
were ordered to return home, without an interview. In a letter
from the Emperor to the Prince Regent, was the following : " I
have sent these ambassadors back to their own country, without
punishing them for the high crime they have committed."
A.D. 1822. Embassy from the Emperor of China to the King of
Ava, with some presents, including a white male and female ass,
with bridles and saddles.
A.D. 1823. King of Ava sends embassy to China.
A.D. 1833. Exchanges of embassies between China and Ava.
t
264 CHINESE REGULATIONS FOR FOREIGN EMBASSIES .
The following rules and regulations to be observed by embassies
to the court of Peking, are translated from a Chinese court-docu +
ment, known as the Ta Tsing Hwui tien.
1
" The countries in the four quarters of the world, which send
embassies to China, and pay tribute, are Corea, Loochoo, Laos,
Cochin China, Siam, Sulu, Holland, Burmah, and those of the
Western Ocean ; all other countries have only intercourse and
commerce .
" When tribute -bearers arrive on the frontier, the local officers
must report the same to the Emperor ; and if the Emperor permits
the embassy to proceed, the officer must fix their numbers, grant
them gifts, provide them with what is necessary, (and if any are
sick show them compassionate charity) ; and an escort of officers
and soldiers to protect them.
"The Chinese and foreign merchants are permitted to trade with
each other in such things as they have, regard being had to the
established prohibitions : compassion and charity must be shown
to foreigners who are lost by shipwreck, and they must be sent
away in safety.
"Foreigners of the western countries, who are skilled in arts, or
astronomy, and are willing to go and serve in Peking, must first be
reported by the local officers at the place where they arrive, and
on getting a reply, they may be sent with a safe conductor to the
capital . The following are the countries from which ambassadors
have come with tribute to the court of Peking :—
" Corea. - Its tribute must be sent once in four years : the num
ber of the embassy allowed is, one ambassador, one deputy, a
secretary, three interpreters, and twenty-four men to protect the
tribute. The number of servants and others is not fixed, but the
imperial bounties are only given to thirty of them.
" Loochoo.- This embassy comes by the way of Fookien, twice in
three years. One ambassador, and one deputy ; the number of
interpreters and servants is not fixed .
" Cochin China - This embassy comes once in two years : there
are two or three ambassadors ; the assistants may be from four to
nine ; and the other servants, &c. , may be ten or more. ་
“ Laos. — This embassy comes by way of Yunnan : the period is
once in ten years, and the number composing the embassy cannot
exceed 100 ; and those who go to Peking cannot be more than
twenty.
" Siam.- This comes by Kwantung (Canton), once in three years :
the ambassadors may be two, three, or four ; the number who may
go to Peking cannot exceed twenty-six.
" Sulu. - Comes by way of Canton and Amoy, once in five or more
years ; one ambassador, one deputy, one interpreter ; but the
number of followers is not fixed.
Holland.- The Dutch embassy comes by Canton : it has no fixed
time. It may be composed of one or two ambassadors, one head
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Published by James Madden 8 Leadenhall Street London 1847 .
GREAT BRITAIN DECLARED TRIBUTARY TO CHINA . 265
follower, one secretary ; the other followers cannot be more than
100, and those going to Peking cannot exceed twenty.
"Burmah .- Comes by Yunnan, once in ten years : they must not
exceed 100, and those going to Peking cannot exceed 20. "
The countries of the Western Ocean (Europe) , Portugal, Italy,
and England, have no fixed periods, each embassy cannot have
more than three ships, each ship 100 men, and only twenty-two
people are admitted to Peking.
Among the other nations mentioned , are Japan , Acheen, France,
and Sweden ; the reason these countries have not brought " tribute "
are not mentioned . Great Britain first brought " tribute " in the
fifty-eighth year of Kienlung, A.D. 1793, but no reasons for it are
given. The reason assigned why Mr. Cushing, the American am
bassador, in 1844, should not proceed to Peking, was because the
United States had " never sent tribute ."
It is the custom throughout the East, for an inferior always to
tender some present or offering when approaching or visiting a
superior ; and this custom is specially observed in all embassies
from one state to another. The Chinese have artfully turned the
idea to their own glorification, by representing all " presents " as
"tributes," thus assuming a superiority for which there may not
be the slightest foundation . Such is the reason why England is
classed among the states " tributary " to China.
CHAPTER IX .
|
INTERCOURSE BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN. DE
SCRIPTION OF JAPAN ; AND ABSTRACT NARRATIVES
1
OF INTERCOURSE BETWEEN JAPAN AND ENGLAND,
素
PORTUGAL, HOLLAND, RUSSIA, AND AMERICA.
THE whole of the circumstances connected with Japan are so sin
gular and so little understood, that I am induced to give here the
following report on Japan, which was laid before Her Majesty's Go
vernment in the hope of inducing an attempt to open a commer
cial intercourse with a numerous and extraordinary people, whose
country is admirably situated, who enjoy a fine climate, and are
I
capable of carrying on a large trade, not only with Europe, but also
1
266 DESCRIPTION OF JAPANESE ISLANDS .
with China, India, and the eastern hemisphere. Indeed, our re-es
tablishment of friendly relations with Japan, would be of great
importance to our trade with China ; our cheap and rapid navigation
would enable us to become the carriers between the two empires,
and thus facilitate a social intercourse which would doubtless be
mutually advantageous to all engaged in a pursuit so useful to the
inhabitants of the vast regions under consideration .
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF JAPAN .
The empire of Japan is comprised within 31° and 46° of north
latitude, and 129° and 143° of longitude east from Greenwich.
Japan is a kingdom or empire in itself, insularly separated from
the rest of the world ; it is not unlike great Britain, being divided
and broken by forelands and arms of the sea ; with great bays and
inlets, running deep into the country, forming several islands,
peninsulas, gulfs, and noble harbours.
The empire of Japan is divided into three separate islands, the
largest of which is Niphon . This noble island is in length from
south-west to north- east 1,300 Russian miles, with a breadth vary
ing from 160 to 240 wrests, and running lengthwise from east to
west in a winding form . The island is indented with deep bays
and capacious havens, and has many small adjacent islets. The
English estimation is 700 miles long, by 86 broad, in the form of
an elbow.
Kewsew or Kiusin , the second island in extent, is separated from
the south-western extremity of Niphon, by a narrow channel. The
estimated length of the island is in English measurement, 200
miles long, by 140 broad . It is compassed by a number of islands .
Sikokf is the smallest of the three islands, and is situated south
of Niphon and east of Kewsew, it lies contiguous to the other two
islands ; this island is said to be 200 wrests in length, and nearly
square in form . It is encompassed with an inconceivable number 1
of small islands. The English estimate is ninety miles long, by
fifty broad.
The most remote southern island is Fatsisio , which is eighty
leagues distant from the mainland of Japan. It is considered
almost inaccessible ; it is viewed as a penal settlement for the
grandees. The force of the ocean is most manifest on the south and
south-west coasts, particularly on the island of Kewsew or Kinsin ,
where Nangasaki is situate. In the year 1600 A. D. The Japanese
wrested the two islands of Iki and Tsusseina from the Coreans .
Japan or Nipan signifies the foundation of the sun , being derived
from Ni, fire or sun, and pan, the ground or foundation of a thing.
It is also called Fino-matto, fi the sun, and matto a root.
1
PROVINCES , DEPARTMENTS, AND DISTRICTS OF JAPAN . 267
!
GOVERNMENTAL DIVISIONS OF JAPAN.
I The empire of Japan is divided into eight provinces ; Gakinai,
Takai, Tasan, Fookurooku, Sanin, Sanyo, Nankai, and Saikai .
These are subdivided into sixty- eight departments, which again
consist of 622 districts .
1st. Gakinai province consists of five departments, the whole of
which are considered the domain of the empire, i. e., the Crown
lands . The departments are, Yamasiro, Yamato, Kawatsi, Jelsumi,
and Sidzeu. This province is situated nearly in the centre of the
empire, in the southern part of Niphon ; the length is said to be
180 Russian miles. This province contains the two chief cities of
Japan, Osaka and Myako . The first is situated at the mouth of the
river Yado ; the second is the capital of the empire, and the resi
dence of the Dairi, or ecclesiastical Emperor. Myako is situated
on a branch of the river Yado ; its walls are said to be ten leagues
in circuit.
2nd. Takai, the second province, is situated due west of Gakinai,
and comprises fifteen departments, the whole of the south- eastern
part of Nipan. The city of Jedo is the second capital of the empire,
and is situated on a large plain at the gulf of Jedo in about 36°
north latitude . The Seogun, or Generalissimo of Japan resides
at Jedo, the population of which is estimated at 700,000 ; the city
is traversed by a river.
3rd. Tasan province, is situated north of Takai, and consists of
eight departments . It is the largest and most fruitful province,
and includes the whole of the northern part of Niphon or Nipan .
4th. Fookurooku province, comprehends seven departments, and
is situated to the north-west of Gakinai, and eastward from the
southern part of Tasan .
5th . Sanin includes the northern part of the western extremity
of Niphon, and is divided into eight departments .
6th. Sanyo lies directly south of Sanin, and contains eight de
partments.
7th . Nankai has six departments, which constitute the island of
Sikakf : Awasi , and Kii, two islands situated due east of Sikakf,
form the southern extremity of Niphon.
8th. Suikai province comprehends the whole island of Kewsew,
and is divided into nine departments . Firando and Nangasaki are
situated in this province ; also Buzo, Buzen, Fizen, and Satsumi.
ISLANDS . -A short distance to the north of Niphon, lies the
twenty-second Kurile island of Matsmai, this island is said to be
1,400 Russian miles in circumference. To the north of Matsmai
is the island of Sagalien, but of which only the southerly half
belongs to Japan, and the other half is said to be Chinese.
✓
268 MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS OF JAPAN .
\
About two centuries ago, one of the Japanese princes bought
from the natives of Matsmai, a portion of the south-west coast ; this
was farmed out to merchants and fishermen in portions, to the mu
tual advantage of both. These islands are called Matsmai, Kunis 1
her, Eetooroop, and Sagalem. They may be considered as colonies
of Japan.
When the Russians conquered the northern Kuriles, and thus •
extended their possessions further to the south, the Japanese were
so alarmed lest their fishermen should be disturbed , that they conDa
quered the natives, but gave them many privileges, and did not
interfere in their customs or religion . No fire-arms are permitted
to the natives. Their chiefs are confirmed by the Emperor after
their election by the natives.
When La Perouse visited these seas with his two frigates, the
Japanese had no settlements on Sagalien ; but the Japanese and
Chinese then took nominal possession of the island, to prevent, if
possible, any European coming there.
ASPECT OF JAPAN.
MOUNTAINS . - Japan is a very mountainous and hilly country .
Niphon, the largest island, is traversed in nearly its own length by
a chain of almost uniform elevation ; in many parts the peaks are
covered with perpetual snow. This chain divides the streams which
flow to the south and east, and then fall into the Pacific Ocean ;
from those which pursue a northerly course to the sea of Japan :
the range is generally from north to south . The volcanic chain ,
the first links of which are found in the island of Formosa, extend
through the Loochoo islands , to Japan, and from thence run along
the Kurile Archipelago, probably as far as Kamtschatka.
On the island of Kewsew, south- east from Nangasaki, is a " high
mountain of warm springs," which has several craters . Several of A
the volcanic mountains of Japan possess hot springs . Kampfer
states, that shocks of earthquakes are not more regarded than a 1
hail shower in Europe.
THE RIVERS of Japan are wide and very rapid in their course,
which is occasioned by the steep mountains and rocks. The river 1
A
Ujin, is one quarter of a German mile in breadth, that is one and a
half imperial miles ; its rapidity is such that at low water, although
knee deep, it requires five men to ford or guide a horse safely over.
The men employed here to convey passengers across, are responsi
ble for the lives of those who pass the river. The river Oome is re
ported to have sprung up in one night, in the year B.c. 285. The
river Akagova, is remarkable for the depth of its bed, which is
perpetually varying.
The
CLASSIFICATION OF THE KURILE ISLANDS . 269
THE KURILE ISLANDS .
:
FROM NO . 1 TO 21 , UNDER RUSSIA .
The Kurile Islands . - Under this name are comprised a chain
of islands which lie in the Eastern Ocean, between the south of
Kamtschatka and Japan . The Russians gave them this name from
the smoking volcanoes ; kurile, in the Russian language, signifying
smoke.
The number of these islands that are said to be under contribu
tion to Russia, is twenty-one ; and the sea-room occupied by them
from Lapatka to the island of Matsmai, is about 1,300 Russian
versts (three-fourths of an imperial mile) . These islands were an
nexed to the Russian crown by mariners and fishermen ; the first
was taken possession of in 1713, and the remainder successively,
up to A.D. 1779 .
No. 1. The nearest Kurile island to Kamtschatka is called
Shoumtshu . The channel between Lapatka and this island, is
fifteen versts in breadth . The length of the island from N.E. to
S.W., is fifty versts, and the breadth about thirty . It is a flat
island with moderate ridges of hills, well watered throughout ; has
a lake nearly in the centre, five versts in circuit. It is rich in
minerals . But is chiefly visited for the sea otter and red fox, with
which it abounds ; its salmon is in much request.
No. 2. The second island is called Poromushir ; between which
and the former island is a strait, two versts in breadth . It lies
from N.E. to S.W. , and is twice as large as the first island ; it is
hilly, and well watered ; has no timber, but has valuable mines ; it
produces the red fox, wolves, sea otter, &c.
No. 3. Shirinki ; the distance from the last-named island to
this is computed to be twenty- six versts . It is remarkable for a
bee-hive- shaped mountain of considerable altitude . This island is
nearly as broad as it is long, say about forty versts in circumfer
ence ; it abounds with sea-lions, and various marine animals, which
are carried there by floating ice. The want of a safe anchorage
prevents this island from being much frequented .
No. 4. Makan Kur Assey Island lies sixty versts from the
latter ; and is in length twenty versts, and about ten in breadth .
It is covered with brushwood , is badly watered ; but nourishes the
red fox, and sea beavers ; and a large number of seals are caught
on it.
No. 5. Anakutan Island is situated thirty -five versts' distance
from the latter ; this island is in length 100 versts, and in breadth
about fifteen . Three summits of mountains exhibit themselves ,
which are exhausted craters . The red fox and sea beavers are
numerous .
No. 6. Amakutan Island is not more than six versts from the
latter ; is twenty versts in length, and ten in breadth ; produces
foxes, and its shores abound with sea-lions and otters .
270 RUSSIAN KURILE ISLANds .
No. 7. Syaskutan Island is separated from the latter full fifty
versts, and the current between them most rapid . Its length is
eighty versts, and only about five in breadth . Its productions are
similar to the former island .
No. 8. Ikarma is a volcano island, about twelve versts from the
latter ; and only eight versts in circumference.
No. 9. Tshimkutan Island is thirty versts' distance from the
former ; is round in form , and about fifteen versts in diameter.
The coast is mountainous and rocky .
No. 10. Mussyr Island is thirty-five versts from the ninth
island ; and not more than three versts in diameter. Produces a
large quantity of wild fowl .
No. 11. Rach-koke Island is 120 versts from the last-men
tioned, its length and breadth is about twenty versts . This island
looks like a solitary mountain, shooting upwards from the sea. A
continual burning of this island has filled up thirteen fathoms of
water ; and converted a large place into shoals and banks.
No. 12. Mutova Island is situated forty-five versts from the
former, and is thirty versts long, and twenty-five broad. There
is a volcano mountain to the south, which emits smoke ; to the
north are several rich valleys and habitable plains . 100 of the
inhabitants pay tribute to Russia.
No. 13. Rassegu Island is forty versts' distance from the latter,
and in extent about thirty versts every way. This island has
several lofty mountains, rocky shores, and sandy bays. It is fur
nished with excellent timber, nourishes sea-birds, beavers and
seals .
No. 14. Ussassyr Island lies seventeen versts from the former ;
it is, properly speaking, two islands, lying close together, occu
pying a space of twenty-five versts each way. It abounds with
rocks, cliffs, and hot springs . The productions are similar to the
latter.
No. 15. Keoli Island is situated at a distance of thirty- six
versts from the Island of Ussassyr ; and is thirty versts in
length, and only ten in breadth . This island has three mountains
of considerable altitude . The white and black- bellied red fox, 1
so much esteemed for his skin, is here found in abundance.
No. 16. Semussyr Island is thirty versts' distance from the
latter. The extraordinary length of this island gives it a peculiar 1
appearance to the mariner. Its length is ascertained to be 130
versts, and not more than ten in breadth . Four mountains are
visible on this island , with evident traces of volcanic eruptions
about them . The timber is excellent, and the various animals
in request are numerous . The passage from this to the next
island is upward of 200 versts in extent.
No. 17. Tshirpo Oi, and two other adjacent isles, are estimated,
in length and breadth, about fifteen versts . A volcanic eruption at
1
JAPANESE KURILE ISLANDS . 271
some period has covered these islands with stones, so that they are
utterly useless.
No. 18. Ourup Island is a respectable size , being fully 200 versts
! in length , and twenty in breadth . Its physical aspect is lofty
mountains, and deep glens . On the northern side, lie four small
isles, which produce good timber, and abundance of vegetables .
Streams from the mountains traverse the island and fall into the sea.
This island is considered to be rich in minerals, but is only visited
for the red and white fox, which are very numerous .
No. 19. Etorpoo Island lies thirty versts distance from the fore
going ; and is in extent either way, 300 versts . Several lofty
mountains adorn this island ; forests of noble timber, consisting
of larch , pine, oak, &c . The other productions are black boars,
sables , foxes, fish-otters, salmon, sturgeon, &c. In stormy weather,
whales and dolphins are thrown on the shore. The inhabitants
are the genuine aborigines, or hairy Kuriles ; they congregate into
villages, and pay a nominal tribute to Russia.
No. 20. Kunassyr Island is situated forty versts' distance from
Eterpoo, its estimated length is 150 versts, by about fifty in breadth ,
and is entirely surrounded with mountains and lofty summits ; on
the centre of this island, are large tracts of low land, covered with
good timber. The productions of the southern portion , are a great
variety of vegetables, and fish. A pearl-bearing muscle as large
as a dessert-plate, is found here, and the inhabitants sell large
quantities to Japanese traders : tribute is also paid to Russia in
this article .
No. 21. Tshikota Island is distant seventy versts from the latter
island . Its length is 120 versts, and the breadth about forty . The
features are lofty mountains, fertile plains, and several lakes, which
teem with excellent fish . At the southern extremity are ten petty
isles, which are covered with good timber. The whole of the
Russian islands are said to contain only 1400 inhabitants ; small
pox makes sad ravages .
THE KURILE ISLANDS UNDER JAPAN .-Matsmai :-this island
is called the twenty- second Kurile island, and is the largest of all
the group, and nearest to Japan, being only about twenty-five
versts distant from the Japanese dominions.
On the southern promontory stands the Japanese town of Mats
mai, at the extremity of the island, in latitude 41° 32 north, and
longitude 219° 56′ east, extending along the margin of an open bay.
The Japanese first purchased the privilege of hunting and fish
ing on this island, from the natives, but finally conquered it in A.D.
1652. The Japanese never would have annexed this island to the
principality of Matsmai, until they discovered that the Russians
had taken possession of the northern Kurile, and by that means
extended their power very far south .
The Japanese left the natives to their own choice of religion,
GOLD AND SILVER MINES OF JESSo .
laws, customs, and dress Chiefs are elected by the natives, and
their appointment confirmed in Japan. The island is well guarded, \
1•
at and several förtresses erected; the natives are prevented from carG
rying fire-arms . The productions of this island, particularly fish
and timber, are all exchanged with Japan for summer clothing.
bute is to the prince of Matsmai, who again pays it to
the Emperor
Jesse This island, that perplexed the navigators and geogra
phers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to discover, is the
most northern island the Japanese possess out of their own king
dom.desso was conquered by Joritoma, the first secular Emperor
of Japan, who at his death bequeathed it to the prince of Matsmai.
This island lies in 42° of northern latitude, and approaches in
"I,
form to that of an irregular triangle. Its estimated length from
north to south is 300 miles, and very little less in extreme breadth.
Bi
The most southern portion lies in 217° of east longitude . Jesso
is washed on the west by the gulf of Tartary, on the east by the I
Northern Pacific Ocean ; it is divided from Japan by the straits of
Sangar, and separated from Sagahlien island on the north by La
Perouse's Channel . Two promontories, Sugaor and Taajasaki, run
ning far into the sea form a large gulf, which faces Japan, and
reduces the distance from coast to coast between five and six Ger
man miles.
Its whole circumference is indented by deep bays, which form
good harbours. The best known to mariners, is Volcano Bay,
towards the south- east, which is secure and spacious ; Edermo,
likewise, is a harbour well sheltered by the land .
The aspect of the island, particularly the southern portion, is wild
and mountainous . A rugged chain traverses it from north to south.
Active and extinct volcanoes are visible. It is said to possess va
luable mines of gold and silver.
The northern portion of Jesso possesses many advantages over
A the south . Edermo is a most fertile tract, and produces every
thing necessary to support life . The timber-forests consist of larch,
oak, elm, birch, and the scented cypress, &c. Fish is most abun
dant, particularly salmon ; it is supposed that they are driven to
the coast by the whales . Cured fish of several kinds is sent to
Japan in large quantities. Bears are domesticated, and may be
seen roaming about with flocks of deer.
The inhabitants are Japanese emigrants, • and aborigines, which
are called Ainans. The island is called .Mazin, which signifies
hairy, as the natives are literally covered with hair, like monkeys,
according to Captain Sares. They are below the middle size,
strong and swift, of a dark brown complexion, dark eyes, an agreea
ble physiognomy, and remarkable for placidity of disposition .
Their summer- clothing is exchanged for their dried fish . The
small-pox makes sad havoc among them . Number unknown .
The city of Miyako, in the province of Gakinai, the capital of the
,
J.
CITIES OF JEDO AND NANGASAKI . 273
empire, is situated on the river Yodo, in a large and well cultivated
plain. Don Rodrigo visited this city about 200 years since. Its
walls are ten leagues in circuit. The city is celebrated for a mag
nificent temple, containing a bronze idol, the dimensions of which
2 may be estimated, when one man failed to grasp with his two arms
the thumb of the right hand . There were 100,000 workmen em
ployed for years in building this temple. The population is cal
culated at 1,500,000, and it is considered the largest city in the
world. A The city of Jedo , the second capital of the empire, contains
700,000 inhabitants, and is traversed by a considerable river, navi
gable by vessels of morate size. The streets of Jedo are open,
wide, and particular clean , and closed at each end by a gate,
which is guarded by soldiers . The houses are built of wood, and
about two stories high generally.
Nangasaki is situated in 32° 45′ north latitude, and 127° 31 ′ 30″
longitude east of London .
S
The population in 1826 amounted to 26,127, independent of the
military force. Persons in the employment of the Siogun, and
princes, priests, and monks, form , besides, a total of nearly six
thousand souls .
The city and its dependencies contain ninety- two streets ;
11,452 houses ; sixty-two temples and Budhist cloisters, and a
great religious edifice, besides five small chapels for the worship of
Camis .
It is the residence of a governor, who 1. is relieved by his col
league, who represents the city of Jedo every other year ; a super-
intendent of the domains of the Siogun, a commandant, two
mayors, a chamber of money placed over the foreign commerce, and
a college of interpreters for the Dutch, the Chinese, and Coreans .
The city contains two government palaces, those of the princes of
Fizen and Tzikuzen, who furnish alternately the garrison for the
port, the offices of charges d'affaires of the princes of Satsuma,
Tsasima, and some other provinces of Kuisin ; the Dutch factory,
Chinese ditto, a prison for the insane, public magazine, an arsenal,
a Funa-cura, or open yard, for the protection of ships of war, a
botanic garden , several theatres, a vast number of tea houses, and
other places of amusement, which are frequented by crowds of
dancers and musicians .
A brisk commerce is kept up, and great industry displayed ;
there is an extensive porcelain manufactory, and breweries for
making rice beer. The shops are numerous and well supplied ; as
the city is the only link between Japan and foreign countries , it is
constantly visited by merchants, learned men, and idlers from all
parts of the empire, and its portfilled with national vessels .
There are numerous batteries from the islands and shores, to
defend the entrance of the basin . The entrance itself is again de
fended by strong batteries, raised on the two sides, as well as by a
considerable garrison . The passage is 458 metres in its greatest
T
کہ
App
274 CLIMATE OF JAPAN .
width, and 150 in the most narrow place ; a chain is always kept 1
ready to bar it, if necessary. This disposition was kept a secret ¦
for a long time from the Dutch.
Nangasaki is the most corrupt and least national city of the em
pire. It is described as having suffered by the infection of
Chinese cunning and rapacity, and the coarseness of European
sailors ; and it is further debased by throngs of the craftiest traders
in Japan, who are naturally attracted to the only seat offoreign
commerce. Even the language there is so interlarded with Chinese
as to be well-nigh unintelligible to visitors from Nippon and Sikok .
Fizen principality, in which Nangasaki is situate, is a large promon
tory, with 1,016 islands comprised within its limits . The revenues
of the prince of Fizen are estimated at £357,000 per annum . The
prince of Buzen (where the Dutch embark for Nippon) has
£ 150,000 a year.
Nangasaki is the dearest market for purchasing the manufactures
t
of Japan, although it is a manufacturing town . The country
around it does not produce sufficient provisions to support the in
habitants ; they are chiefly supplied from the neighbouring pro
vinces of Fisen- figo, and the islands of Amakuso and Gotho, which
lie to the north of the town . The land adjoining the town is prin
cipally planted with vegetables, and fruit. The market is well
supplied with edibles of every kind that are in use in Europe ;
venison is abundant and cheap, and endless varieties of fine fish,
particularly crabs and oysters ; saki, or rice beer, is their principal
drink . A noble river runs through the town, the water of which
is excellent.
The climate is declared to be healthy by all the Europeans who
have visited Japan . In winter, the north and north-west winds are
sharp, and bring with them frost, which remains a considerable
time snow is common in winter, even in the southern part of the
empire . The summer heat is relieved by cool and refreshing sea
breezes ; rain falls more or less every month in the year, but most
abundantly in the months of June and July . 1
The greatest degree of heat for one year was, 96° Fahrenheit, in
August ; the severest cold in January, 35°. In summer the
southern sea-breezes are refreshing ; at night and morning the
wind blows from the eastward .
POPULATION, & C.-The number of inhabitants in all the Japanese
Islands is estimated at 30,000,000 to 35,000,000, divided into eight
。 classes.
First, the princes, called dai-mio and sai-mio.
Second, kie-nin, i . e. noblemen ; from this class are selected the
د.
ministers and great officers of state, governors, &c. They are sub
ject to many restrictions, and compelled to reside for stated periods
at the capital, and keep up an expensive establishment quite
beyond their income, in order to prevent their becoming rich or
powerful.
+
¿
POPULATION AND CLASSIFICATION . 275
Third class are the priests of the three forms of religion tolerated ,
viz.: Sintoo, Budhist, and Confucian .
Fourth, the military, who are the vassals of the nobility, and
hold their lands under tenure to supply a given number of troops
to the Emperor .
Fifth class, amongst these are inferior government officers,
medical men, and all who are entitled to wear one sword and
trousers. One class of men, which answer to the British sur
veyors or valuers, are so highly esteemed that they are permitted
to wear two swords, the same as the nobility .
The sixth class includes wealthy shopkeepers and merchants ; the
most wealthy inhabitants of the empire, but held in great contempt
by the princes and nobles, who, however, are frequently under
many obligations to them in pecuniary matters. The instances
are very rare of any member of this class being permitted to wear
a sword, but under no circumstance are they allowed to wear
trousers .
Seventh class comprises all mechanics, poor shopkeepers , and
artists .
Eighth class consists of labourers and farmers, or more correctly
speaking, the serfs of the nobility.
Tanners, curriers, and every one connected with the leather
trade, are outcasts from all classes ; this is supposed to arise from
their Pythagorian belief, and Sintoo doctrine of defilement by
coming in contact with death . Men of this calling are obliged to
live in villages by themselves ; they are excluded from the popula
tion census, and when occasions require are compelled to act as
executioners .
Appearance of the Japanese. - Marco Polo stated truly, some
centuries ago, that one China-man was the counterpart of another ;
but there is not that uniformity amongst the Japanese . The men,
who are generally exposed to the sun, are a yellowish colour all
over, muscular and well-made, active and free in their motions,
middle size, not corpulent ; perfectly European, with the exception
of the small lengthened Tartar eye-the only resemblance between
them and the Chinese. Thunberg states, that ladies are perfectly
white, with rather large heads and short necks. Their habili
ments have probably been 2000 years without undergoing any
change in shape, and are uniform , from the king to the peasant,
except in materials. Long wide gowns, one, two, or three, accord
ing to the season ; travellers and soldiers wear them short for conS
venience, with a leathern belt round the body. The gown is
rounded about the neck, and displays the bare bosom. Breeches,
like a petticoat, sewed between the legs, and left open at the side
for two- thirds of their length. An over-gown of ceremony . The
silk for fineness, such as worn by the rich, far surpasses anything
known in India or Europe .
T 2
276 CHARACTER AND CUSTOMS OF THE JAPANESE .
Character of the Japanese .- Doctor Ainslie, who was resident
at the Dutch factory in Japan, in 1814, thus states : " The Japa
nese are a nervous, vigorous people, assimilated by their bodily
and mental powers much nearer to Europeans than Asiatics ."
These traits of vigorous intellect may be traced in the greater pro
gress they have made in the arts and sciences than the Chinese,
with whom they consider it a great disgrace to be compared.
The Doctor's testimony agrees with former writers, who say they
have the stillness of the Spaniards, eager of novelty, and warm
in their attachments, open to strangers, and, excepting the restric
tions of their severe sumptuary laws, seem a people inclined to
throw themselves into the hands of any nation of superior intelli
gence . The Japanese, like the Chinese, have a great contempt
and disregard for everything below their own standard of morals .
Thunberg, a German physician, who remained several years in
Japan, pourtrays the natives as frugal, ingenious, sober, just, and
of a friendly disposition ; extremely curious and inquisitive con
cerning the manners and habits of other countries. But they
are distrustful, superstitious, proud, and implacable in their resent
ments ; never forgiving an injury. This spirit of revenge arises.
from pride, and the lofty sense of honour by which they are distin
guished from all other Asiatics . In courtesy and submission to
their superiors, few nations can be compared to them. Highway
robbery is unknown.
Captain Gordon states, " I never was in a country, the inhabit
ants of which conducted themselves with such propriety as Japan ;
not only affable and polite towards us, but invariably so towards
each other."
The Japanese express themselves very strongly against the
Chinese custom of immuring their females . The different classes
of society visit each other as they do in Europe. Doctor Ainslie
was at several entertainments, where ladies did the honors of the
table. He says they are (C a race of people remarkable for frankness
ofmanner and disposition ; for intelligent enquiry and freedom from
prejudice ; they are in an advanced state of civilization, in a climate
where European manufactures are almost a necessary comfort, and
where long use has accustomed them to many of its luxuries ."
Sir S. Raffles reports thus :
" The Japanese appear entirely free from any prejudice that
would stand in the way of a free and unrestricted intercourse with
Europeans ; even their prejudices on the score of religion, of which
such exaggerated accounts are reported by the Dutch, and of
which, as is believed among the Japanese, the Dutch have some
times availed themselves against their rivals in the early trade of
Japan, are moderate and inoffensive."
Ancient and modern unprejudiced travellers, all agree as to the
politeness of every class, rich and poor. On ordinary occasions
A
SIMILITUDE BETWEEN EGYPTIANS AND JAPANESE . 277
of meeting, respect is shewn by bending the knee ; extraordinary
deference is paid by kneeling on one knee and bowing to the
ground. The nobles are saluted by bending the knee until the
fingers touch the ground. When the bowing and bending is over,
the health of their respective families is enquired after, the state of
the weather, &c. The state-prisoner Golownin was highly amused
when his guard was relieved, as compliments were lavished by the
soldiers on each other before they exchanged places.
Doctor Siebold, in comparing the Japanese with the Chinese,
states that the former have never shewn the stiffness of the latter
in repulsing foreign improvements. Even at the present day their
literary men, especially their physicians and naturalists, neglect
no opportunity to instruct themselves in the European sciences,
and study the Dutch language with great assiduity, in order to
perfect their knowledge.
HABITS . Their domestic dwellings are very similar to those of
the Coreans and Chinese ; it does not appear that they are re
stricted in building their houses higher than one story, if their
means will permit, as the natives of China and Corea are. The
houses are built of wood, and whether it is to guard against fire,
or economy, there are no stoves ever seen in them. The floors
are covered with mats, and in the houses of the rich with carpets.
The decorations, of fancy papers and paintings, on the walls, have
a fantastic appearance. From the looking-glass, to the fowl placed
on the dinner-table, generally everything is gilded ; the feet and
neck of the fowl always so.
There is an apparent similitude in the temple- architecture of the
Japanese and Egyptians. The greater portion of the Japanese
temples are in the form of pyramids, some are graduated, and
some otherwise, having a quadrangular basement with a door
approached by steps. Many of them are built, as the Egyptian
temples were, in the form of a cross . The temple of Boorobbo is
pyramidical, having seven stages of ascent cut out of a conical hill,
and crowned by a dome, which is surrounded by a triple circle of
towers. This is supposed to be the model of the Tower of Babel .
The base of this Japanese pyramid comprises nearly the same
number of square feet as the pyramid of Giza, and like it the inte
rior passages and chambers are hewn out of the solid rock . A
great number of Japan hieroglyphics are strictly Egyptian . For
instance, the square, the knot, the orb, circle, semi- circle, the
triple twisted cord, vase, syphon, the trident, the mason's square,
hand-barrow. The common opinion is that the builders of this
temple came from the shores of the Red Sea.
In science , the Japanese are said to cultivate astronomy and
medicine ; original works are published, and likewise translations
from European works, on these branches. With regard to their
researches in medicine, we have proofs, by the introduction of their
system of acupuncture into Europe. The science of astronomy is
278 ASTRONOMY, MECHANISM , AND FINE ARTS .
brought so far to perfection, that they no longer have their calendar
made up in China . They study all the European works that have
been translated into the Dutch language. Their approval of
London-made mathematical instruments, over those made in other 1
L
countries, as frequently expressed by the interpreters to Captain
Krusestern, of the Russian embassy, is proof that they have made
some progress in that science .
They divide the year into twelve moons or lunations, and make
an intercalation of one month in the 3rd, 6th, 9th, 11th, 14th,
17th, and 19th year. They begin the new year with the first new
moon, which appears after the first degree of Aquarius, and the
whole year consists of 354 days . Golawnin states, " that they are
well skilled in trigonometry and civil engineering ; their maps are
very superior to those of the Chinese."
The clock and time-piece mechanism, consists in a horizontal
balance moving upon a pin forward and backward , with a weight
on each side. Their clocks accurately mark the duration of day
and night, by the approach or recession of the weights .
Their almanack, among other things, has a table containing re
markable events, and the number of years that have elapsed since.
they took place ; predictions regarding the weather, winds, and
lucky days, &c. The latter must be strictly observed by every one
who is about to engage in any important undertaking .
Their taste for music extends to every class ; even the coolies,
sailors, and watchmen, stimulate each other to equal exertion by a
sort of song : the latter show their vigilance by beating two sticks,
as a substitute for our rattles, in a similar manner to the watchmen
in China. In working various metals, they surpass all other coun
tries ; especially in the art of blending different metals, in a manner
to resemble the finest enamel ; which is then formed into orna
ments worn about the person, as jewelry is in Europe. Wood
engraving is an ancient art amongst them, but they have recently
obtained a knowledge of engraving upon copper, which they will
probably soon bring to perfection . Golownin, the Russian state
prisoner, being a seafaring man and probably unacquainted with
mechanics, states, that they tormented him with questions, and
perhaps hurt his national pride, by so often referring to London
made astronomical instruments, as superior to those in other
countries .
With regard to the proficiency of the Japanese in what is called
the fine arts, there is a difficulty in ascertaining their position .
The Dutch authorities are not to be relied on in any thing relating
to that country ; and the capability of the Dutch to appreciate
merit, is somewhat questionable. The German physicians who
have resided at the Dutch factory, give the Japanese great credit.
for their unaided attainments. During Dr. Von Siebold's short
residence in Japan, he was enabled to collect such a variety of
GOVERNMENT, EMPEROR, ETC. , OF JAPAN . 279
engravings, and works of art, that the Dutch authorities at the
Hague, gave him a large price for his museum.
Oil painting is not well understood in Japan ; but in water
colours nothing can be natural, from the brilliancy of the tints
imparted .
Prints respecting campaigns, and sea battles, are much prized
by all classes. Their lacker-ware, if an idea could be formed from
the tedious process it undergoes according to Kempfer, ought to
be beautiful . The specimens in the museum at the Hague, are
highly prized by good judges ; and yet they are not first-rate, as
none are allowed to be carried out of the kingdom. Printing and
A
bookselling are carried on to a great extent .
In 1781 a Yedo bookseller published an Encyclopædia (Kun seyo
rui tsui) in 639 volumes, comprehending 1273 divisions .
The work termed Bitsu foo ryak, consists of 1000 volumes, and
is the most extensive undertaking of the kind in Japan.
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN is monarchical and feudal. The
ancient laws entrusted all power and authority to the " Dairi"
(High Priest), Mikado or Emperor.
A.D. 1176. A check was placed over the power of the reigning
Emperors, by nominating a second Emperor or Generalissimo, who
is called the " Seogun ; " his authority extends to all civil and mili
tary affairs of the empire. The " Dairi" or celestial Emperor, is
never consulted on any state affairs, except a declaration of war, or
on negotiations with foreign powers . Even the soldiers who guard
his palace and the royal province of Gokinai, are appointed and paid
by the " Seogun. "
The Seogun is assisted in his administration of the government,
by a council and a senate. The council consists of five members,
all of whom must be reigning princes, and the descendants of the
principal supporters of the usurper Jjegas. Their titles are here
ditary. The council decides all ordinary cases, without the appro
bation of the Seogun . In all cases of importance his consent must
be obtained, and likewise that of the senate, before it becomes
law.
The senate decides all important civil and criminal cases ; and
all others which are of importance must first be examined and de
cided by this body, before they can be sent before the council.
These two branches of the government, form the legislative autho
rity of the whole empire.
According to law, the Seogun must visit the Emperor once in
seven years ; but embassies are frequent to and from each other ;
and it is imperative at the new year, for the Seogun to send to the
Emperor a white crane with a black head, taken with his own hand
in hunting ; no business can release him from this obligation .
The princes are about 200 in number ; they are compelled to
reside every other year in the capital, and to have a number of
280 ADMINISTRATIVE BOARDS AND PRINCIPALITIES .
soldiers in constant readiness to move at the command of the Seo
gun. They have a qualified independence in their respective prin
cipalities .
The public affairs of the empire are administered by seven sepa
rate boards. These are presided over by ministers, the number
attending each tribunal being regulated according to the importance
of the business for deliberation .
The first board takes charge of all taxes, which are generally paid
in kind, and amount to a tithe of the productions. Agriculture
and manufactures, are also under this board. The second tribunal
superintends the navigation and coasting trade, on the rivers ,
canals, and throughout the interior. This board has nothing to
do with the foreign commerce . The third board has charge of all
public buildings, temples, fortresses, &c. The fourth, the police,
is held in very great estimation, both by the nobles and people.
The fifth decides criminal causes, according to the laws existing in
each principality ; but if they are in any way connected with the
state, they are brought under this civil and criminal board . The
sixth, or military board, inquires into the number of troops in each
principality, &c. The seventh, or religious board, is a check on the
ecclesiastical Emperor (Dairi) lest he infringe on the power of the
Seogun.
Formerly there were sixty- eight princes with hereditary princi
palities, but liable to forfeiture in case of treason . These sixty
eight have, from time to time, been subdivided, and portioned out
into upwards of 600 separate administrations, called great and
small principalities, lordships, and imperial cities .
These princes are called kokushi, and are divided into two classes :
first, the dai-mio, who hold their lands direct from the spiritual Em
peror, i.e. Mikado ; the second, sai-mio, who hold from the temporal
Emperor, i.e. Seogun . These two grades govern in their separate
principalities , with only the semblance of sovereignty. The govern
ment of each principality is solely conducted by two officers sent
from the imperial council, called gokaro, with instructions from
the council to guide them in their administration . One of these
officers resides at the capital alternately, through whom the coun
cil issue their instructions ; the family of the absent one must
remain at the capital as a hostage, likewise the wife and family of
the princes ; whose society they only enjoy during their compul
sory residence every six months at Jedo. But on no account can
the family or wife of a reigning prince ever reside with him in his
principality. The consequence is, that the princes frequently re
sign in favour of their sons .
Each principality is obliged to keep a standing army, in propor
tion to the extent of the possessions, and, likewise, to furnish a
certain number of troops to guard the crown lands ; which troops.
are under the control and command of the temporal Emperor, or
Seogun.
PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN. 281
Nagasaki, the only port for foreigners, was taken from the
Prince of Fizen, in 1634, and converted into an imperial city. The
troops here are numerous, and are supported by the Prince of
} Fizen ; the revenue from the foreign trade being divided between
the governor and the inhabitants of the city.
The Prince of Satzuma is the only one that enjoys any privi
leges . His principality is situated on the southern portion of
Kinsu. He is said to govern the Loochoo Islands, and some other
adjoining ones. The only port to which the Loochoo's can resort
is in his territories : he unhesitatingly destroys any spies sent into
his principality, and no notice is taken of it at Jedo. The same
policy is adopted in the small principalities and lordships ; beside
the security and precaution above mentioned there are a vast
number of secret spies employed, some of whom are taken from
the most humble, and others from the highest rank in life.
I The provinces and towns appropriated for the support of the
imperial palaces, are ruled over by governors sent from the capital.
Each province, or large town, has two governors, who relieve each
other, and leave their families as hostages at the capital.
The government of Nagasaki is the only one with which Euro
peans are acquainted, and it is probable that the same system of
governing is adopted all over the empire .
The governor of Nagasaki has subordinate to him two secre
taries, and an indefinite number of officers, called gobanyosi (over
seeing officers) , each of whom has a separate department, for the
strict regulation of which he is responsible ; under these officers,
are a kind of police who execute the orders of the former. The
following officers are not subject to the governor's authority in any
respect : the treasurer (who is second in rank to the governor) , his
deputy, and the military commandant, who occupy the third rank ;
the three latter are the government officers who are permitted to
have their families with them. The number of spies on the privi
leged officers is unknown, but they are very numerous .
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN.-Nagasaki , one of the imperial
cities of Japan, is governed by three governors ; two being resident,
and acting in concert ; but one presides alternately every three
months the third is resident at the capital, Jedo . These go
vernors, or lords, are called tono-sama ; every two years, the senior
governor is relieved by the third one, who is sent from Jedo. On
his return to Jedo , he must give a written statement of every
transaction that occurred during his government , and , likewise, a
verbal statement . Here he is detained six months before he is
sent to any other station ; previous to retiring, he must leave his
wife and children as hostages for a considerable time . The salary
is 2,000 kokfs of rice, valued about 10,000 taels of silver ; more
than one-half of which he is compelled to spend in presents to the
chiefs and princes about the court. He is also obliged to keep an
establishment and appearance as the representative of royalty.
82 MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN,
There are two classes of officers, civil and military, who aid the
governor in his duties ; they are called Daosin and Joricks ; the
former is paid by the governor 50 taels per annum ; the latter, 100
taels : they are nothing better than spies, as none of the nobles
will accept the office .
The Emperor maintains a class of native interpreters (said to be
in number 132) , who understand the Dutch, Portuguese, Ton
quinese, Siamese, and Chinese languages. Kampfer mentions
several others ; and Dr. Ainslie says, English is studied .
There is an imperial guard , who live in huts, that command the
harbour ; they should be 1000 strong, but do not exceed 300 .
There is another guard, called Funohan, that is, ship-guard .
When a foreign vessel arrives, this guard is placed in boats on each
side of the vessel, and, with regular relays of men, never leave
that station until she is departing, when they convoy her out a
considerable distance .
There is another guard of troops, who reside on a hill that com
mands the coast ; it is situated on the south end of the city : twenty
is the stated number ; these are furnished with telescopes, and a
quantity of fire combustibles. If a fleet of ships are seen, a fire is
kindled, in a continuous line on each of the southern mountains,
and, by this means, the news reaches Jedo in twenty-four hours
(300 leagues' distance), which is otherwise a journey of several
weeks . A similar contrivance exists on the coast of China, by
three coloured lights.
The municipal duties of the city are conducted by a mayor, or
yearly warden, called Ninban.
All civil and criminal cases are tried by the imperial tribunal ;
witnesses and counsel are permitted : there is no appeal from their
decision, but the death-warrant must proceed from the council of
state at Jedo .
A head-man (ottoma) is elected by the inhabitants of each street ;
he is confirmed in his appointment by the governor. He has the
power of punishing for trivial crimes . His salary is one-tenth of
the profit from the foreign trade.
House and land owners form themselves into companies of five :
one of the five is elderman, or alderman, and is accountable for the }
good conduct of the other four. Householders are not eligible,
but they are free from taxes .
There is a public notary (fisia) , he is the ottoma's (mayor's)
clerk, and register of births, deaths, &c . He issues passports, &c.
Treasurer (kaku) : every street has its treasurer, his duties are
to disburse the money allowed from the profits of the foreign trade
to each house- owner, &c.
Every street has its messenger, who reports all removals and
changes that take place in his street, &c.
Previous to any of the foreign ships sailing, a muster-roll is
called of the inhabitants, three times, the night before she sails .
t
$
LOCAL AND GENERAL TAXES OF JAPAN. 283
A census is taken in the last month of the year, and a list of all
those able to bear arms sent to the Emperor.
Any person wishing to purchase a house in Nagasaki, must ob
tain the consent of all the inhabitants of the street . There is a
ļ kind of stamp tax of about ten per cent. on the amount laid out ;
six per cent . of which goes to the inhabitants, and the remainder
to a public dinner, to which the new comer is invited .
All street combatants, if not immediately separated , involve their
nearest neighbours in punishment, by causing their being shut up
in their houses for three or six months ; first permitting them to
lay in a store of provisions that will last for the time. No fines
or mulcts are recognised in Japan, lest the rich should violate
the law.
The Japanese are very lightly taxed : householders pay no
taxes, as they are not considered citizens, unless they own the
house or land .
The Emperor's ground-tax or rent is charged according to
frontage (not the area) , and seldom exceeds six mace for every
kin (about two yards) . There is a collection every year for the
Emperor, which is voluntary.
An inquest is held on the body of all persons before they are
interred ; the coroner is the head-man of the company of five,
who must give a certificate that the death occurred from natural
causes .
It is said, that on the second day of the new year, there is an
annual trampling on a brass cross, twelve inches long, represent
ing Christ and the Virgin Mary ; and that six days are employed
in going round the city, as all must trample on the cross .
COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS. —A very extensive and lucrative trade
might be carried on with Japan. Sir Stamford Raffles said, "the
climate, habits of the people, and their freedom from any preju
dices which would obstruct the operation of these natural causes,
would open a vent for numerous articles of European comfort and
luxury. The consumption of woollens and hardware might be
rendered almost unlimited ; they are fond of the finer specimens of
the glass manufacture, and it requires only to bring them ac
quainted with many other products of British industry to obtain
for them a ready introduction ." " To establish a British factory in
Japan, and furnish a population of not less than 25,000,000, with
the manufactures of Great Britain, is in itself a grand national
object."
In June, 1814, English ships were sent by Sir S. Raffles from
Java to Japan, with instructions to open trade . Dr. Ainslie re
ported, that the " commercial objects of the voyage have been ac
complished ; arrangements entered into for securing ultimately the
introduction of the English, and the doing away in a considerable
degree the violent prejudices entertained against the English cha
racter in that quarter, where alone they could be assailed, and
I
284 PRODUCTS AND WANTS OF JAPAN.
亨
among the people whose sentiments on that subject are likely to
gain ground where it is of most importance they should prevail."
Captain Gordon states, as the result of his experience on visiting
Japan in 1818 , that " the Japanese having no sheep , and woollen
clothing being suitable during the winter throughout the whole
empire, which may contain 30,000,000 inhabitants, the demand
for the staple articles would probably equal in quantity, though
not in quality, that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland. With respect to cotton wool, piece goods, indigo, and
sugar, he believed that Bengal would be inadequate to the supply.
The mineral riches of Japan are such as to provide returns more
than sufficient for such immense imports."
Mr. Gordon says, " the nation is fully sensible of the advantages
to be derived from foreign trade, and are desirous of enjoying it."
"A moderately restricted intercourse with Jedo I regarded as the
foundation ."
Among the products of Japan are corn, wheat, silk, hemp ,
copper (of the purest quality) , tea, wax, cinnabar, oil, borax, gam
boge, drugs, dyes, &c .
The articles required , and in use by the Japanese, are stated
to be
1. Woollens of every description . " It is expected that a de
mand for them would be unlimited when once introduced ."— [ Sir
S. Raffles. ] They are partial to primary colours.
2. Hardware : likely to be very extensive .
3. Glass : fond of cut-glass of every description . Window and
plate glass in demand .
4. Carpeting, of different descriptions.
5. Printed cottons, of fine texture and brightest patterns.
6. Ironmongery ; including tools of every description . Iron
chests, tin plates, lead, stoves, door locks, &c.
7. Porcelain, of handsome patterns .
Fire-arms, clocks, watches, &c.- Fire engines.
9. Stationery ; leather, of bright colours .
10. Lace, mock jewellery, &c.
In April, 1841 , the Dutch Government sent presents to the
Emperor of Japan, who accepted them, and returned others of 1
great value ; an interchange which had not taken place for a long
time. Among the presents sent by the Japanese Emperor was a
magnificent set of chess-men made of solid gold, and enriched with
precious gems.
The report made states, " favourable news has arrived ; the Em
peror appears strongly disposed to favour the Dutch." During our
war with China, the usual number of junks was diminished from
China, and the Japanese Government then gave permission to the
Dutch to augment the number and size of their vessels .
The Emperor, as a very flattering testimony of regard to the
English, and as an unusual mark of favour, accepted the whole of
,"
SIR S. RAFFLES' OPINION OF JAPAN. 285
the presents sent by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1814, except the
elephant, which it was found impossible to transmit.
The English mission in 1814 broke the ice ; the interpreters
and others, who are alone the channels of communication, have
* seen that the English are not the violent and intemperate charac
ters they have been represented ; and the reception of the mission,
as far as liberality of sentiment, manner, and conduct, was deci
dedly favourable to the British character.
Sir S. Raffles strongly expressed his opinion on the advisability
and facility of opening an intercourse with Japan ; and on 10th Sept. ,
1815 , addressed the following remarks to a literary society in Java:—
" With regard to Japan, I venture to submit the information as I
received it from Dr. Ainslie .
" In the first place, every information that has been received, tends
to confirm the accuracy of Kempfer's history of that celebrated and
imperial island . The Japanese observe of him , that he is, in his
6
history, the very apostle of their faith,' from whose works alone
they know even their own country. Their first enquiry was for a
copy of Kempfer, and to evince the estimation in which the author
was held by the Japanese, their observation was : "That he had
drawn out their heart from them, and laid it palpitating before us,
with all the movements of their government, and the actions of
their men .' They are represented to be a vigorous nervous peo
ایه
ple, whose bodily and mental powers assimilate much nearer to
those of Europe, than what is attributed to Asiatics in general.
Their features are masculine and perfectly European, with the ex
ception of the small lengthened Tartar eye, which almost univer
sally prevails, and is the only feature of resemblance between them
KNUÇLALA.
and the Chinese . The complexion is perfectly fair, and indeed
blooming ; the women of the higher classes being equally fair with a
Europeans ." Hier
For a people who have had very few, if any, external aids, the
Japanese cannot but rank high in the scale of civilization . The
traits of a vigorous mind are displayed in their proficiency in the
M sciences, and particularly in metaphysics and judicial astrology .
The arts they practice speak for themselves, and are deservedly
acknowledged to be in a much higher degree of perfection than
among the Chinese, with whom they are so frequently confounded ;
the latter have been stationary, at least as long as we have known
them, whilst the slightest impulse seems sufficient to give deter
mination to the Japan character, which would progressively im
! prove until it attained the same height of civilization with the Eu
ropeans .
Nothing is so offensive to a Japanese, as to be compared in any one
respect with the Chinese, and the only occasion on which Dr.
Ainslie saw the habitual politeness of a Japanese ever surprised
into a burst of passion was, when upon a similitude of the two na
286 JAPANESE DESIRE FOREIGN INTERCOUrse .
tions being unguardedly asserted, the Japanese laid his hand upon
his sword.
The people are said to have a strong inclination to foreign inter
course, notwithstanding the political institution to the contrary ;
and perhaps the energy which characterises the Japanese-character
cannot be better elucidated, than by that extraordinary decision .
which excluded the world from their shores, and confined within
their own limits a people, who had before served as mercenaries
throughout all Polynesia, and traded with all nations . There is by
no means that uniformity among them which is observed in China,
where the impression of the government may be said to have
broken down all individuality, and left one Chinese the counterpart
of another.
The women are not secluded, as in China ; they associate among
themselves, like the ladies of Europe.
During the residence of Dr. Ainslie, frequent invitations and
I
entertainments were given ; on these occasions, and, at one in
particular, a lady from the court of Jedo is represented to have
done the honours of the table, with an ease, elegance, and address,
that would have graced a Parisian .
The dress of a Japanese woman of rank, would cost as much,
probably, as would supply the wardrobe of an European lady for
twenty years.
The Japanese, with an apparent coldness, like the stillness of the
Spanish character, and derived nearly from the same causes
espionage and disunion, dictated by the principles of both govern
ments are represented to be eager for novelty, and warm in their
attachments, open to strangers , and, abating the restrictions of
their political institutions, a people who seem inclined to throw
themselves into the hands of any nation of superior intelligence .
The mistaken idea of the illiberality of the Japanese in religious
matters, was fully proved, and the late mission experienced the
reverse . The story told by the Dutch, of trampling on the cross,
is denied by them, and appears to be untrue . The massacre of
Simvebarba is, by the Japanese, attributed to European (Dutch)
intrigue ; indeed, it is admitted by Kempfer.
The Japanese are not averse to the indulgence of social excess ;
and, on these occasions, give a latitude to their speech which one
would hardly suppose they dared to do in Japan .
During Dr. Ainslie's residence, there arrived a large detach
ment of officers of rank, who had been out making a survey of the
empire nearly four years, of which one-fourth had not been com
pleted .
The opinion of Dr. Ainslie is, that the Japanese are a people
with whom the European world might hold intercourse without
compromise of character ; they are wonderfully inquisitive in all
points of science, and possess a mind curious and anxious to re
ceive information, no matter from whom.
MINERALS AND AGRICULTURE OF JAPAN . 287
The natural productions of Japan are diamonds, amber, iron,
topaz, lead, tin, copper, gold, and silver ; good coal, lime, sulphur,
saltpetre, salt, and various other minerals. Gold is found in seve
ral parts of the empire ; some is washed out of golden sand ; but
the chief part is obtained from ore. Silver is found in the northern
parts of Japan. The Japanese copper is considered the best in the
world ; so, also, is the tin, which is fine and white . Brass is scarce,
and consequently expensive. Iron is abundant and cheap . The
Chinese were large purchasers in Japan of pearls and sea-shells,
as there was no prohibition against fishing for them.
Submarine plants, corals, &c., are found in the Japanese seas,
not inferior to those found on the Spice Islands and Amboyna.
The variety of the vegetable productions of Japan may be said
to be infinite. The forest trees are oak,. walnut, chesnut, maple,
and fir ; also the mulberry, varnish, paper, camphor, and every kind
of fruit-tree, including lemon and orange trees. Hemp and cotton
are cultivated ; also rice, corn, wheat, peas, pulse, potatoes, turnips,
ginseng, ginger, melons, tobacco, and mustard. The agriculture
is followed in every respect after the Chinese method . The laws
and customs of Japan strictly enforce good cultivation ; and the
}
owner leaving his ground uncultivated for more than one year,
forfeits his title to possession .
Buffaloes and oxen are kept for ploughing (not eating) only ;
horses for riding and carriages. Milk and butter are not used .
They have no sheep nor goats, and of swine very few. There are
no asses, mules, camels, nor elephants . Wild and tame fowls, such
as are met with in Europe. The population live on fish and
vegetables almost exclusively.
Cordage and ropes are made from the bark of a wild- nettle,
(Urtica Japonica ) which grows in Japan . When the nettle is
pulled before it attains its full growth, the bark is said to be equal
to Russian flax.
The substitute for soap is the powder of a wild bean, which
is said to answer the purpose admirably.
Lamps and candles are in general use ; the lamp-oil is pressed
from mustard- seed . Their candles are about six inches long, and
one inch thick ; the wick is formed of paper, twisted in a spiral
form ; the oil from which they are made is extracted from the
varnish tree ; they are of a whitish colour when first made, but soon
turn yellow, and become offensive .
In agriculture, the Japanese are not inferior to the Chinese .
The soil in many provinces is naturally sterile, but no labour is
spared ; it is plentifully manured, and the Chinese mode of irriga
tion adopted . The tenure on which it is held, compels them to lay
it under heavy contribution .
The rice produced in Japan is much superior to the Chinese ;
barley and wheat are grown chiefly for feeding cattle.
The Japanese gardeners excel in dwarfing trees, and enlarging
288 ENGLISH WHALERS IN JAPAN .
vegetables. Forest trees are stunted in their growth to three feet
high, and radishes increased to fifty pounds weight ; those from
ten to fifteen pounds are exposed for sale, and are said to be the
ordinary size.
Tea is successfully cultivated in every district, and is the usual
beverage with every class. Green tea raised in Japan , sold in the
London market (30th November, 1841 ) at from nine shillings, to
fifty-eight shillings per pound.
The Japanese wheat which I saw was of excellent quality ; it
sold, at Hong Kong, at 2 dollars per pecul of 133 lbs .
The whale abounds on the Japanese coasts, and in the adjacent
seas, especially on the coasts of Rhumano, around the whole of
Nipon, Tsupima, and Gatto, and at Omuza and Nomo.
Mr. Enderby informs me that the English whale ships now visit
Aniwa Bay, at the extreme point of Sagalien Island or Peninsula ;
the Japanese also visit this bay, in large numbers, to cure fish.
Our whale ships frequently visit the coasts of Japan, but the people }
are prohibited by their government from trading with the strangers .
Mr. Enderby says, that one of the cures adopted by our sailors
for scurvy - namely, burying a man up to his neck in fresh earth,
cannot be resorted to on the coasts of Japan, as the Japanese pro
hibit our people landing ; but the villagers bring off large casks
full of earth for the seamen to be embedded in, and vegetables and
water are freely supplied . Mr. Enderby has heard that some colo
nial whalers from Australia have landed on the coasts of Japan,
plundered the villages and destroyed the temples ; hence, he
thinks, there is alarm and jealousy of our nation.
Mr. King, in his report of the voyage of the " Morrison" ship, to
open, if possible, intercourse with Japan, is also of opinion that an
unfavourable opinion had been formed of the Americans from
the conduct of some American whale-ships on the coast. It is
therefore advantageous, for the Japanese themselves, that these
outrages should be punished and prevented for the future.
Mines. -It is only within the last few centuries, that any of the
natives would venture on a considerable island, yielding sulphur,
because it occasionally smoked. However, one stout-hearted man
ventured, with a guard of 50 others, to slay any demon that might
interrupt their progress ; it is needless to say that none were found.
Now, the Prince of Satzuma farms out the island, (called Sulphur
Island,) for the sulphur alone, for 20 chests of silver per annum .
The Emperor claims two-thirds of the produce of all the mines
he permits to be worked ; the lord of the province one-third .
Large quantities of gold are melted out of its own ore from the
sand of the rivers , where it is found very pure . The best is found
in Sado, a province in the Island of Nipon ; one catty yielded three
taels of gold, ( See " Weights , &c .") The gold mines of Surunga are
very productive . The most productive mines were in Satzuma,
:
GOLD, SILVER, COPPER, TIN, AND PEARLS .- JAPAN . 289
one catty of ore yielded five taels of pure gold . These mines were
closed lest they should be emptied .
Silver is found in the province of Bingo. But the copper of
Suranga is considered the best in the world ; it is beautifully fine,
and charged with gold, which the natives have lately learned to
separate.
The province of Salzuma produces a very pure species of copper,
which is refined and cast into a cylinder form, about a span and a
half long, and as thick as a man's finger ; it is made up in boxes of
one pecul weight, (125lbs. ) and sold to the Dutch for 12 mace the
pecul ; an inferior kind is made into round lumps, and sold at half
the price. Brass is very scarce, and consequently much dearer
than copper. Their tin is of a very pure quality, but little used.
Iron is only found in three provinces, and is rather dearer than
copper, so that the latter is substituted in all domestic utensils,
building junks, houses, and in making tools for husbandry.
1 Agates, not unlike sapphires, are found in several provinces ;
jaspers and cornelians are obtained in the mountains of Tsugar, in
the northern extremities, nearly opposite Jedo. Pearls are found
in a small oyster, (called akaja, ) which are not unlike the Persian
shell ; these pearls are much esteemed by the females of China,
ܐ
also by the Tonquinese . There is a red earth obtained in some of
K2) 5
the rivers, particularly in places where very little water runs ; it is
called Naphtha, by the natives Abra : when set fire to, it emits
a flame, and answers all the purposes of oil. Coals are abundant
La
in the northern provinces. Siebold, in his journey to Jedo, A.D.
1826, which was in winter, saw coal fires quite common ; and pass
ing a mine where they were working, descended and satisfied him
self both as to quantity and quality ; it is of a bituminous nature,
and is generally converted into charcoal .
The Dutch imports, from Batavia into Japan, are borax, cam
phor, baroos , cloves, cinnamon, coffee, elephants' teeth, lead, iron
✔
bars, glass-ware, looking-glasses, mace, musk, nutmegs, pepper,
mirrors, rattans, quicksilver, raw- silk, saffron, sapan-wood, soft
sugar, sugar-candy, tin, tortoiseshell, unicorn horns, Indian piece
goods, cotton and silk piece goods, and woollen cloth. Their
exports are copper, camphor, silk, lacker-ware, bees -wax, pitch,
wheat, and various articles. Their policy is always to starve a
market, and their intercourse being solely with Batavia, by means
of a monopoly, there is no spirit of enterprise in their trade with
Japan. The internal or coasting traffic of Japan is very active,
and carried on chiefly by water, in boats of 60 tons burthen, and
by land on the backs of horses or oxen . A pedestrian postal esta
blishment exists, as in China, for government letters only.
U
42
!
F
290 GOLD, SILVER, AND COPPER COINS IN JAPAN.
VALUES AND DUTIES ON THE FOREIGN TRADE AT
NANGASAKI .
The Dutch Company pay 15 per cent. on the amount of their
imports into Japan , which is calculated at the price they sell for
in Japan. The chief part of the Dutch cargoes from Batavia are
farmed out to private merchants . These imports must have a
separate manifest, and are charged with an additional duty , by the
Japanese government, of 45 per cent . on all piece goods ; goods
sold by weight pay 70 per cent. The authorities give their reason
for this heavy duty, thus : they say, private traders are at less ex
pense and no risk, compared to the Company, and can consequently
afford to pay more than they. The Chinese are charged 60 per
cent. also, and the reason alleged is the short voyage, and their
not being required to go to court.
Total amount received from the foreign commerce, (called Fan
nagin,)
60 per cent. on 20,000 taels, piece goods, 13,000 taels .
Ditto on Chinese, 600,000 produce 360,000
Rent charged to the Chinese 16,000
Ditto to the Dutch 5,580
Charges on Dutch company's imports 59,000
V Taels 453,580
JAPAN CURRENCY.-The coins of Japan are various, being le
gally of gold, silver, and copper ; accounts are kept in (rio) taels,
(momme) mace, and (bu) candareens, which have the same value as
in China ; the coins are cast, and gold and silver is weighed among
merchants ; the only coins that have a standard value are the im
perial coinage, with the royal coat of arms, a flower and three leaves
of the Kiri or Dryandra upon the face . The elliptical gold coins.
are two, the obang, and the kobang or kopang ; the first is as large
as the palm of the hand , and as thick as an English farthing . The
kobang, value of a tael of gold, and the tenth of an obang is two
inches long, and one inch wide, and should weigh three mace, five
candareens, or 203 grains troy. There is an old coin of this name
but seldom met with, it is thicker and of finer metal. The old
kobang weighs 275 grains troy, 22 carats fine ; the new kobang
weighs 180 grains troy, 16 carats fine ; the old kobang is worth
44s . and 7d. , or 10 rix dollars ; the new kobang is worth 21s . and
3d. or 6 rix dollars . The old Japanese coins are reckoned at
Madras only 87 touch, which is 20 carats, and reduces the old
kobang to 41s. and 1Cd. sterling. Of the smaller coins now in use,
one is called ichi-bu, the Dutch call it golden bean, it is a fourth
part of a kobang, should weigh 8 candareens, it has the imperial
arms and Emperor's reign . Another gold coin is called koisshiu,
and is half the value of the former.
3
BILLS OF EXCHANGE IN JAPAN . 291
The silver money, nandio or nandrio gin, is of three sorts ;
nibu gin is a kobang, the nishiu gin is of a kobang, and
the ichibu gin is of a kobang ; it is a small coin not one inch
1
long by inch broad, and as thick as a rupee. These are stamped
stating their relative value, as two, eight, or sixteen to a tael or
kobang, and are issued from the mint. The itagane, (or metallic
slips) , are made of gold and silver, of an oblong form, and when
passed from hand receive a stamp as evidence of their purity .
The kodama or pellets, like the itagane are stamped ; neither
bear the imperial arms ; if the schuit and itagane be the same
weight of this coin ; and according to Dr. Kelly, 4 oz. 18 dwts .
16 grains troy, and 4 oz . fineness it is worth 25s. and 3d. sterling . +
The coins of inferior metal, such as the Chinese cash, are called
by the Japanese zeni ; the smallest are reckoned as 6800 to a
kobang, and are a base coin . The se-mon zeni , (so called because
it is four times the value of the common sort,) is a good cast coin ,
of brass, and as large as a cent .
Cash are strung on a string, each containing 1000, called Kwan ;
a Kwan is worth 9 mace of silver ; 120 cash a single mace ; it ap
pears cash bears a higher value than in China, though inferior in
weight. The same is the case in Cochin China, although the coin
is still inferior. Bills of exchange seem to be as current in Japan,
as in China. Princes issue notes to circulate in their own prin
cipalities. The weights are the same as in China. The measures
of length and of capacity, are of the same size and proportion as
in China ; the Japanese ri or mile, varies in length ; it is computed
to be two-fifths of a Dutch league ; four Chinese ri are about
equal to one Japanese ri.
The following account of gold in Japan, was taken from a Chinese
book, written in 1708, and translated by Klaproth.
The Japanese chroniclers state, that silver was first presented to
the Emperor A.D. 670 .
The discovery of copper took place 1366 years after the founda
tion of the empire, which agrees with 700 A.D. Copper previous to
this period was imported ; and the fact of the discovery seems
evident by the name of the reign under which it fell, Wa-do,
which in Japanese signifies copper .
Gold was discovered* A.D. 749, heretofore it also was imported .
A.D. 1588. The first obang and kobang were coined, which are
large oblong pieces of gold.
A.D. 1608. The circulation of Chinese copper coin was prohibi
ted, and from this period to 1690 the coinage increased at an exC
tensive rate ; some years it is stated that 7,000,000 ounces of gold
were coined, and 80,000,000 ounces of silver. The increase of
foreign merchants and strangers, was so great in the year 1623 ,
* It is probable that there are extensive gold and silver mines in Japan , which the
skill and energy of Englishmen would soon develope.
U2
292 GOLD AND SILVER EXPORTED FROM JAPAN.
that the government became alarmed ; and confined the trade to
one port, viz . Nangasaki. Notwithstanding the extensive coin
age, the previous metals had become exceedingly scarce . It is
said that large sums of money were taken from the new converts to 1
Christianity, in the hopes of releasing their souls and those of their
ancestors from purgatory .
The following statement of the export of gold and silver from
one port alone, at a period when only the Dutch and Chinese were
permitted intercourse, will give some idea of what it must have
been in former years, when the Portuguese, English, Dutch, and
Chinese, were draining the empire.
From 1646 to 1708, there were exported from Nangasaki
2,397,600 kobangs of gold, valued at £2 4s. 7d .; the same period ,
37,420,900 crowns in silver. From 1663 to 1701 there were
1,114,498,700 pounds in bars of copper. From 1609 to 1662 , the
quantity of copper exported was beyond calculation .
The amount of gold exported from Nangasaki port alone, between
1611 and 1647, and up to 1706, is estimated at 6,192,800 kobangs ;
that of silver for the same period 112,268,700 crowns ; and bars of
pure copper, 2,228,997,500 pounds .
From 1706 to a late period, 2,000,000 kobangs have been coined ;
a third part of which has left the country, and out of one and a
half million crowns coined, not one third remains in the empire .
The following memorial was presented by a Japanese finance
minister, to the government, in the year A.D. 1710 .
"A thousand years ago, gold, silver, and copper, were unknown in
Japan, yet there was no want of necessaries. The earth was fertile,
and this was the best wealth. Gangin was the first Prince who
caused the mines to be diligently worked ; and during his reign, so
great a quantity of gold and silver was extracted from them, as no
one could have formed any conception of ; and since these metals
resemble the bones of the human body, inasmuch as what is
once extracted from the earth is not reproduced, if the mines con
tinue to be thus wrought, in less than a thousand years they will be
exhausted.
" Since these metals were discovered , the heart of man has become
more and more depraved. With the exception of medicines, we
can dispense with every thing that is brought to us from abroad.
The stuff and other things are no real benefit to us . If we squanC
der our treasures in this manner, what shall we subsist upon ?
Let each of Gangin's successors reflect upon this matter, and the
wealth of Japan will last as long as the heavens and the earth ."
It is remarkable that the fear of the " oozing out" of the precious
metals, equally pervades China and Japan, in their intercourse with
foreigners ; but the same idea, to some extent, pervades most of
the nations of Europe.
EMPEROR OF JAPAN RECEIVES WM. ADAMS A.D. 1600. 293
EARLY EUROPEAN INTERCOURSE WITH JAPAN.
William Adams, born at Jellingham , in Kent, engaged himself as
pilot of a fleet which the Dutch India Company were sending out
from Holland in 1598 A.D. In the South Sea the fleet encountered
severe storms, and were driven southward as far as 54°. After
crossing the line, the ships kept company until February, 1600 ;
when, being in latitude 28° N., they were separated by a furious
storm .
A.D. 1600. The 20th April Adams's ship made the coast of
Japan, in latitude 3010. There were only six of the crew (twenty }
four in number) that could work the ship . The ship anchored at
the port of Bingo, the natives offering no resistance. The third
day after their arrival, a Jesuit came on board, and acted as inter
preter. The king of Bingo gave them a house to reside in , and
every attention was paid to the sick crew. The emperor, hearing
of their arrival, sent for Adams, who repaired to his court eighty
leagues distant. The first question asked by the Emperor was as
to the state of Europe with regard to peace or war ; a variety of
other questions were also put, all of which Adams answered to the
apparent satisfaction of the Emperor : however, he was committed
to close custody, but treated with kindness . In three days' time
he was again brought before the Emperor, and asked the reason of
their coming so long a journey ; Adams answering it was to ex
change the commodities of their country with others, and thus
cultivate friendship with all nations, he was again sent to prison
for thirty-nine days, during which time the Spanish and Portu
guese were using their utmost influence to have the crew executed.
But on the forty-first day, the Emperor released Adams, and sent
him to rejoin his crew ; telling the Spanish and Portuguese that
the Dutch as yet had done no harm, either to himself or to any of his
land ; therefore it was contrary to reason and justice to put such
of their nation as had come to Japan to death. If the Spanish
and Dutch were at war, that was no reason why he should slaugh
ter the crew . In the meantime, the Dutch ship had been con
veyed as near as possible to where the Emperor resided, but had
been plundered of her cargo . When this was made known to the
Emperor, he ordered everything to be replaced, but this was found
impossible ; so that a sum of money was made up, amounting to
50,000 rials, and paid into an officer's hands, who was ordered by
his majesty to disburse the same equably for the several necessi
ties of the crew .
The Emperor being about to remove his court to the most east
ern part of his dominions, which was called Quanto, distant from
the latter place (Assaka) 120 leagues, his majesty had the Dutch=)
men and their ship conveyed to Eddo, that is, Jedo, and ordered
two pounds of rice daily, and twelve ducats annually to be paid to
:
294 ADAMS INSTRUCTS THE EMPEROR IN MATHEMATICS .
each man. Adams, by command of the Emperor, built a ship of
eighty tons, which gave great satisfaction, and raised him in such
favour that a yearly allowance of seventy ducats and two pounds
of rice daily were ordered to be paid him- A.D . 1604 .
A.D. 1605. Adams had daily intercourse with the Emperor,
and gav e him less ons in geometry and mathematics . Being now five
years in the island, he asked permissiou to return to see his wife
and children ; and hearing, through the Portuguese, that the
Dutch and English had vessels at Siam , promised to bring each
nation to trade at Japan ; but the Emperor would not part with
him . Seeing no hopes for himself, he asked and obtained per
mission for his captain and crew to depart . He sent several
lett ers by the cap tai n , wit h this sin gul ar sup ers cription , " To
my unknown friends and country ."
A.D. 1609. The Captain was killed at Malacca, and probably
the letters fell into the hands of the Spanish or Portuguese.
Hostilities were at this time going on between the Portuguese and
Dutch at Macao ; the latter sent two ships to intercept some of the
Portuguese traders between Firando and Macao, and missing their
intended prize, anchored in Firando ; Adams introduced them to
the Emperor, who readily entered into terms with them and per
mitted them to send two ships annually.
A.D. 1611. This year a small Dutch ship came to Firando,
laden with lead, elephants' teeth, damask, black taffety, raw silk,
pepper, and cloth ; an excuse was made for not coming the pre
vious year . This year the Emperor rewarded Adams for his
services, by granting him a manor, together with one hundred
slaves or servants to work it.
An extract from Adams's letter at this period states, that the
66
Hollanders have in Japan an Indies of money, so that there is
no need for silver to be sent out from Holland ; for in Japan is
much silver and gold, to serve for the Hollanders to handle whither
they will in the East Indies, which is always provided for their
commodities, which are generally lead, raw silk, damask, black
and red cloths . Such like imports are ready money in Japan."
His letter concludes with a description of Japan. " This island
of Japan lieth in latitude 48° at the north extremity, and 35 °
at the south ; in length 220 English leagues . The people are
good of nature, courteous out of measure, and valiant in war.
Justice is severely executed upon transgressors without partiality.
There is not in the world a land better governed by civil policy.
The people are very superstitious in their religion, being divers in
opinion. If a ship come from England to traffic at Japan, not any
nation should receive a better welcome ;" and this it was in his power
to procure, for which he praises God who hath given him favour with
the Emperor : hence he could boldly promise that his countrymen
should be as welcome and as free in comparison as in the river in
London .
ADAMS INVITES THE ENGLISH TO JAPAN. 295
" Could our English merchants, after settling in Japan, procure
trade with the Chinese, then shall our country make great profit
here, and the Company will not have need to send money out of
England, for in Japan there are gold and silver in abundance , and
therefore by the traffic here they will take in exchange money
enough for their investments in India and China.
" The Hollanders are now (1612 ) settled in Japan , and I
(Adams) have got them that privilege, which the Spaniards could
never obtain since they first came to Japan."
Adams proceeds to say :-" If a ship is sent, let her not come
where the Hollanders are (Firando) for it is a bad place for the sale
of goods ; but let her come for the easterly part of Japan, lying in
latitude 35 °, where the King's and the Emperor's court is. Besides,
should our ships come to Firando, thence to the court is about
230 leagues, a wearisome way . The city of Edo lieth in 36°, and X30
about this easterly part are the best harbours and a clear coast, so Xajen
that there are no shoals nor rocks half a mile from the mainland
it is also good for the sale of merchandise . And comes there a
ship here, I hope the Worshipful Company shall find me to be a
servant of their servants, in such manner as that they shall be
satisfied with my services. If any ship come near the easternmost
part of Japan, let them enquire for me. I am called in the Japan
tongue ' Augin Samma ;' by that name am I known all the sea
coast along. Nor fear to come near the mainland, for you shall
have barks with pilots to carry you where you will."
Adams thus concludes his letter to the agent of the English
factory (Spalding) at Bantam ;-" Had I known that our English
ships had trade in the Indies, I had long ago troubled you with
writing, but the Hollanders kept it most secret from me till the
year 1611 , which was the first news I had of the trading of our
ships in the Indies."
A.D. 1613 , June 12. This day arrived the ship " Clove" from
England, with a letter from King James, and presents for the
Emperor of Japan ; Captain Saris, who was called the Company's
general, and Richard Cock, who was to be superintendent . A
treaty, or charter of privileges, was obtained without the least dif
ficulty, and a factory opened .
ABSTRACT NARRATIVE OF ENGLISH INTERCOURSE
WITH JAPAN.
The English East India Company's introduction to Japan, was
as above shewn by a letter of invitation from William Adams, an
Englishman, a pilot in the Dutch service, who had been wrecked.
on the coast of Japan, and becoming a great favourite at court
was naturally anxious to serve his native country.
A.D. 1612. The East India Company at this time were desirous
296 EMPEROR OF JAPAN TO KING JAMES OF ENGLAND .
to open a communication with China, and thinking this an oppor
tunity that might ultimately facilitate their wishes, sent Captain
Saris in the " Clove," with a letter and presents from King James,
to the Emperor of Japan .
The " Clove" sailed from Bantam, viâ the Moluccas, and arri
ved in Firando, early in the year 1613.
When the "Clove" arrived, she was visited by King Foyne and
his nephew, accompanied by Adams ; nothing could exceed the
kindness and attention paid Captain Saris, who was quite unpre
pared for such a reception, having heard of the persecution of the
Portuguese Jesuits, a short time previous.
The King of Firando sent Captain Saris to Jedo, the capital,
providing every accommodation for his journey. His reception by
the heir apparent, was in every respect most cordial, and every
privilege required was freely granted, together with a letter and
presents for the King of England . The following is a copy of the
letter :
"To the King of Great Britain.
"Your Majesty's kind letter, sent by your servant Captain John
Saris, (who is the first I have known to arrive in any part of my
dominions) , I heartily embrace, being not a little glad to under
stand of your great wisdom and power, as having three plentiful
and mighty kingdoms, under your powerful command . I ac
knowledge your Majesty's great bounty, in sending me so unde
served a present of many rare things, such as my land affordeth
not, neither have I ever before seen ; which I receive not as from
a stranger, but as from your Majesty, whom I esteem as myself.
"Desiring the continuance of friendship with your Highness, and
that it may stand with your good- liking, to send your subjects to
any part or port of my dominions, where they shall be most
heartily welcome. Applauding much their worthiness in their ad
mirable navigation, having with much facility discovered a country
so remote, being no whit amazed with the distance of so mighty
a gulph, nor greatness of such infinite clouds and storms, from
prosecuting honorable enterprizes of discoveries and merchandising :
wherein they shall find me to further them, according to their
desires.
"I return to your Majesty a small token of my love, (by your
said subject) desiring you to accept thereof, as from him that much
rejoiceth in your friendship .
"And whereas your Majesty's subjects have desired certain
privileges for trade, and settling of a factory in my dominions,
I have not only granted what they demanded, but have confirmed
the same unto them under my broad seal, for better establishing
thereof.
JAPAN TREATY OF PRIVILEGES TO ENGLISH , 1613. 297
" From my Castle in Surunga, this fourth day of ninth
month, in the eighteenth year of our diary.
(6
Resting your Majesty's friend, the Highest Com
mander in this Kingdom of Japan.
"Mina, Mouttono, yei, ye, yeas."
The following is a copy of the treaty or charter of privileges
granted to the English.
(C
Imprimis . *— We give free license to the subjects of the King of
Great Britain, viz . :-Sir Thomas Smith, governor, and Company
of the East India merchants and adventurers, for ever safely to
come into any part of our empire of Japan, with their ships and
merchandise, without any hindrance to them or their goods. And
to abide, buy, sell, and barter, according to their own manner with
all nations ; to tarry here as long as they think good, and depart
at their pleasure .
Item the 2nd.- We grant unto them freedom of custom, for all
such merchandise as either now they have brought, or hereafter
shall bring, into our kingdom, or shall from hence transport to any
foreign port. And do authorise those ships that hereafter shall
arrive, and come from England , to proceed to present sale of their
commodities, without further coming or sending up to our court.
“ Item the 3rd.— If any of the ships shall happen to be in danger
of shipwreck, we will our subjects, not only to assist them, but that
such parts of the ship and goods as shall be saved, be returned to
their captain, or Cape merchant, or assigns . And that they shall
or may build one house or more for themselves in any part of our
empire, where they shall think fittest, and at their departure to
make sale thereof at their pleasure .
“ Item the 4th.— If any of the English merchants, or others, shall
depart this life within our dominions, the goods of the deceased
shall remain at the disposal of the Cape merchant . And all offences
committed by them, shall be punished by the said Cape merchant
according to his discretion ; and our laws to take no hold of their
persons or goods .
"Item the 5th.-We will that ye our subjects, trading with
them for any of their commodities, pay them for the same, accord
ing to agreement, without delay, or return of their goods again
unto them .
“ Item the 6th. - For such commodities as they have now
brought, or shall hereafter bring, fitting for our service and proper
use, we will that no arrest be made thereof, but that the price
be with the Cape merchant, according as they may sell to others,
and present payment upon the delivery of the goods .
" Item the 7th.- If, in discovery of other countries for trade and
return of their ships, they shall need men or provisions, we will
* I have a copy of this treaty, or charter of privileges, in the Firagone (Japanese
Cursive character, which has been examined by the distinguished oriental and ge
neral scholar, N. Bland, Esq., of Randall's Park, Leatherhead . - R . M. M.
298 ENGLISH FACTORY OPENED AT JAPAN .
that ye our subjects furnish them for their money, as their need
shall require .
Item the 8th. ~ And without any other passport, they shall and
may set out to the northward, upon discovery of Yeadzo, or any
other port in or about our empire.
" From our Castle, at Suringa, this first day of ninth
month, and in the eighteenth year of our " diary,"
according to our computation .
" Under-written, and sealed with our broad seal.
" Mina, Mouttono, yei, ye, yeas ."
Place of Seal .
A.D. 1613. On the return of Captain Saris, a factory was
opened, and the chief part of the cargo being broadcloth, he
was rather disappointed that it did not sell quickly. He was soon