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HISTORIC
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OTHER SKETCHES.
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VERITAS
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​HISTORIC CHINA
AND
OTHER SKETCHES.
HISTORIC CHINA
AND
OTHER SKETCHES
BY
HERBERT A. GILES
Of H.B.M.'s Consular Service.
Author of 'Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio,
'Chinese Sketches,' &c.
LONDON:
THOS. DE LA RUE & CO.
110, BUNHILL ROW.
1882
[The Right of Translation and Reproduction is reserved.]
Hist. - For East
Adrien
3-6-37
33448
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
I. THE CHOWS (B.C. 1122-250)
The Great Exhibition at Lin-tʻung
II. THE HANS (B. C. 200-A.D. 200)
The Death of Ts'ao Ts'ao
III. THE T'ANGS (A.D. 600-900)
Visit to the Country of Gentlemen
IV. THE SUNGS (A.D. 960-1280)
The Old Drunkard's Arbour
The Intercession of Amida Buddha
V. THE MINGS (A.D. 1370-1650)
The Rev. Mr. Gold
...
VI. THE CH'INGS (A.D. 1650-1882) ..
...
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
THE PENAL CODE of the present Dynasty
Lan Lu-chow's CRIMINAL CASES
(1). The Three Body-snatchers
...
(2). Evil Effects of Superstitious Doctrines
(3). A Witness from the Grave...
(4). The Blank Petition...
...
::
: : :
:
: :
...
...
PAGE
I
19
32
45
51
62
79
89
92
99
106
III
...
...
125
141
149
...
158
163
169
175
178
185
...
190
194
210
...
(5). A Dead Beggar gets a Wife and Son
(6). The Robbers and the Widow
(7). The Quarrelling Brothers
(8). Altering the Register
(9). Torture at an Inn
...
...
...
чечеке
"
(10). A Meddling God
...
(11). The Efficacy of Pig's Blood
(12). Two Troublesome Coffins ...
:::
...
...
:::
217
228
vi
CONTENTS.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Education in China
...
The Book Language of China
A Cremation in China
On Chinese Fans
...
Mesmerism, Planchette, and Spiritualism
Wei-ch'i, or the Chinese Game of War
On the Surnames of the Chinese
Freemasonry in China
...
Index
...
:
...
...
:
...
404
:
:
:
:
233
257
278
...
294
...
314
...
...
...
330
353
378
401
ERRATA.
P. 118, last line, for 'was legalised' read 'was virtually legalised.'
P. 108, third line, for 'Gould' read 'Gold.'
P. 164, eighth line, for 'woulds' read 'wounds.'
PREFACE
THE Six 'Dynastic Sketches' with which this
volume begins, are intended to present to the
general reader a rough panorama of the history
of China for the past three thousand years. The
whole six will be found to occupy not more than
about sixty pages, or two pages to a century,
condensation and omission having been pushed
to an extreme limit in deference to the homœo-
pathic nature of the demand for such information.
For the British public takes but a scanty interest
in Chinese affairs, past or present, in spite of the
enormous lapse of time during which the Chinese
people have covered a vast proportion of the
earth's surface and have constituted an over-
whelming percentage of the human race.
Between these six 'Dynastic Sketches' I have
sandwiched some translated extracts as specimens
of the lighter literature of China.
viii
PREFACE.
1
Then follow a series of 'Judicial Sketches,'
comprising a brief survey of the Penal Code
of the present dynasty, and translations of twelve
criminal cases actually tried by a famous magis-
trate who flourished about one hundred and fifty
years ago, since which date the procedure of
Chinese courts has undergone no change.
The volume concludes with several miscel-
laneous articles on various topics, as set forth
in the Table of Contents.
A carefully-prepared Index has been added, on
the chance of the work finding even a back place
as a casual book of reference on the subjects with
which it professes to deal.
HERBERT A. GILES.
[
1
:
}
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
I. THE CHOWS.
B.C. 1122-250.
THE Chinese people cannot be proved to have originally
come from anywhere beyond the limits of the Chinese
empire. At the remotest period to which we can satis-
factorily go back, without quitting the domain of history
for that of legend, we find them already in existence as
an organised and as a more or less civilised nation.
Previous to that time, their condition had doubtless been
that of nomad tribes; but whether as immigrants, or as
veritable sons of the soil, there is not sufficient evidence
to show. Conjecture, however, based for the most part
upon coincidences of speech, writing, or manners and
customs, has been busy with their ultimate origin; and
they have been variously identified with the Turks, with
the Chaldees, with the earliest inhabitants of Ireland, and
with the lost tribes of Israel.
According to one native authority, China (ie., the
world) was evolved out of chaos exactly 3,276,481 years
ago. This evolution was brought about by the action
of a First Cause, or Force, which separated into two
B
2
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
principles, active and passive, male and female. These
last found their material embodiment in Heaven and
Earth, and became the father and mother of all things,
beginning with Man, who was immediately associated
with them in a triumvirate of creative powers. Then
ensued ten immense periods, the last of which has
been made, by some Chinese writers on chronology,
to end where every sober history of China should begin,
namely, with the establishment of the Chow dynasty
eleven hundred years before the birth of Christ. During
this almost immeasurable lapse of time, a process of
development was going on, involving such discoveries as
the production of fire, the construction of houses, boats,
and wheeled vehicles, the cultivation of grain, and mutual
communication by means of writing. The father of
Chinese history chose, indeed, to carry us back to the
court of the Yellow Emperor (B.C. 2697), and to intro-
duce us to his successors-Yao and Shun-and to the
Great Yü, who, by his engineering skill, had drained.
away a terrible inundation, which some have foolishly
sought to identify with Noah's flood. But that was
China's 'golden age,' the true record of which is
shrouded for us in the obscurity of centuries. There
were a few laws, but never any occasion to exact the
penalties attached to misconduct. It was considered.
superfluous to close the house-door at night, and no
one would even pick up any lost property that lay in the
high road. All was virtue, happiness, and prosperity,
the like of which has not since been known. The
Emperor Shun was raised from the plough-tail to the
THE CHOWS.
3
throne, solely because of his filial piety, in recognition
of which wild beasts used to come and voluntarily drag
his plough for him through the channelled fields,'
while birds of the air would hover round and guard his
sprouting grain from the depredations of insects. This
of course is not history; and but little more can be said
for the accounts given of the two dynasties which ruled
China between the above-mentioned golden age and the
opening reigns of the House of Chow. The historian in
question had not many sources of information at com-
mand. Besides tradition, of which he largely availed
himself, the chief of these was the hundred chapters
which had been edited by Confucius from the historical
remains of those times, now known as the Book of
History. This contains an unquestionable foundation
of fact, pointing to a comparatively advanced state of
civilisation even so far back as 2,000 years before our
era; but the picture is dimly seen, and many of its
details are of little practical value. It is only with the
dynasty of the Chows that we begin to feel ourselves on
safe ground, though long before that date the Chinese
were undoubtedly enjoying a far higher civilisation than
fell to the share of most Western nations until many
centuries later. The art of writing had already been
fully developed, having passed, if we are to believe
native researches, from an original system of knotted
cords,* through successive stages of notches on wood
* Some method of calculation by means of knotted cords exists
among the Sonthals of Bengal, and is mentioned in the "Report on
the Census for 1872.”
B 2
4
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
and rude outlines of natural objects, down to the
phonetic stage in which it exists at the present day.
Astronomical observations of a simple kind had been
made and recorded, and the year divided into months.
The rite of marriage had been substituted for capture ;
and although cowries were still employed and remained
in use until a much later date, metallic coins of various
shapes and sizes began to be recognised as a more
practicable medium of exchange. Music, both vocal.
and instrumental, was widely cultivated; and a kind
of solemn posturing filled the place that has been occu-
pied by dancing among nations farther to the west.
Painting, charioteering, and archery, were reckoned
among the fine arts; the cross-bow especially being a
favourite weapon either on the battle-field or in the
chase. The people seem to have lived upon rice and
cabbage, pork and fish, much as they do now; they also
drank the ardent spirit distilled from rice, vulgarly
known as 'samshoo,' and clad themselves in silk or
their own coarse homestuffs, according to the means of
each. All this previous to the dynasty of Chow, with
which it is now proposed to begin.
The Chows rose to power over the vices of preceding
rulers, aided by the genius of a certain duke or chieftain
of the Chow State, though he personally never reached
the Imperial throne. It was his more famous son, who,
in B.C. 1122, routed the forces of the last tyrant of the
semi-legendary period, and made himself master of
China. The China of those days consisted of a number
of petty principalities, clustering round one central State,
THE CHOWS.
5
and thus constituting a federation. The central State
managed the common affairs, while each one had its
own local laws and administration. It was, in some
senses, a feudal age, since the various 'dukes' were
regarded as vassals, owing allegiance to the sovereign at
the head of the Imperial State, and bound to assist him
with money and men in case of need. And in order to
keep together this mass, constantly in danger of dis-
integration from strifes within, the sovereigns of the house
of Chow were forever summoning these vassal dukes to
the capital and making them renew, with ceremonies of
sacrifice and potations of blood, their vows of loyalty
to themselves and treaties of alliance with each other.
The senior duke always occupied a position somewhat
closer to the sovereign than the others. It was his
special business to protect the Imperial territory from
invasion by any malcontent vassal; and he was often
deputed to punish acts of insubordination and con-
tumacy, relying for help on the sworn faith of all the
States as a body against any individual recalcitrant
State. Such was the political condition of things
through a long series of reigns for nearly nine centuries,
the later history of this long and famous dynasty being
simply the record of a struggle against the increasing
power and ambitious designs of the vassal State of Ch'in,
until at length the power of the latter not only outgrew
that of the sovereign State, but successfully defied the
united efforts of all the others combined together in a
league. The house of Chow was overthrown, and the
house of Ch'in reigned in its stead, but over an empire,
6
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
the altered aspect of which will be described in its
proper place. Meanwhile, we may glance backward
over these nine hundred years, and gather some few
interesting facts as to the general economy of the China
of those days.
The religion of the Chinese was at this date a
modification of the older and simpler form of nature-
worship practised by their ruder forefathers. The
principal objects of veneration were still Heaven and
Earth, and the more prominent among the destructive
and beneficent powers of nature; but a tide of personi-
fication and deification had begun to set in, and to the
spirits of natural objects and influences, now rapidly
assuming material shapes, had been added the spirits
of departed heroes, whose protection was invoked after
death by those to whom it had been afforded during
life. The sovereigns of the Chow dynasty worshipped
in a building which they called the Hall of Light, and
which also served the purpose of an audience and
council chamber. It was 112 feet square, and sur-
mounted by a dome; typical of heaven above and earth
beneath. Thirty-six doors gave ample means of ingress
and egress, while seventy-two windows, each three feet
in height, admitted the light of day. China has always
been remarkably backward in architectural development,
never having got beyond the familiar roof with its
turned-up corners, in which antiquaries trace a likeness.
to the tent of their nomad days. Hence it is that the
Hall of Light of the Chows is considered by the Chinese
to have been a very wonderful structure.
THE CHOWS.
7
Some have said that the Pentateuch was carried to
China in the sixth century B.C.; but no definite traces
of Judaism are discoverable until several centuries later,
under the dynasty of the Hans.
The Chow period was pre-eminently one of cere-
monial observances, pushed to an extreme limit. Even
Confucius was unable to rise above the dead level of an
ultra-formal etiquette, which occupies in his teachings
a place altogether out of proportion to any advantages
likely to accrue from the most scrupulous compliance
with its rules. Happily, 'ceremonies' were not for the
poor and illiterate. They were confined chiefly to the
proceedings of vassal courts and courtiers vis-à-vis the
Imperial court and each other; to the daily life of
personages of leisure and social standing. The quiet
dignity of the modern mandarin, surrounded as it is
by a host of harmless formalities which seem to us out
of keeping with the nineteenth century, is in part a
legacy from the exaggerated ceremonial of the Chows.
During the early centuries of our present period, laws
were, as might be expected, excessively severe, and
punishments correspondingly barbarous; mutilation, and
death by burning or dissection, being among the enu-
merated penalties. On the other hand, aged persons of
ninety and upwards, as well as children under seven
years of age, were exempted from all punishment-as,
indeed, they are now, except in cases of rebellion and
high treason.
One hundred years before the close of the Chow
dynasty, a great statesman, named Wei Yang, appeared
8
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
in the rising State of Ch'in, above-mentioned, and
brought about many valuable reformations. Among
other things, he introduced the system of tithings, which
has endured to the present day. The unit of Chinese
social life has always been the family and not the
individual; and Wei Yang caused the people to be
divided into groups of ten families to each, upon a
basis of mutual protection and responsibility. The
headman or elder of each group, elected among them-
selves as representative of the tithing, formed one of
an unofficial council by whom the affairs of the com-
munity were regulated, rights secured, and wrongs
redressed, as far as possible without appeal to the
authorities.
The soil of China has always been regarded as the
inalienable property of her Imperial ruler for the time
being, held in trust by him on behalf of a higher and
greater Power, whose vice-regent he is, and who marks
its sense of his good or evil administration by such out-
ward and visible signs of pleasure and displeasure as a
plenteous harvest or a destroying flood.
In the age
of the Chows, land appears to have been cultivated upon
a system of communal tenure, one-ninth of the total
produce being devoted in all cases to the expenses
of government and the maintenance of the ruling family
in each State. Copper coin, of a uniform shape and
portable size, was first cast, according to Chinese writers,
about half-way through the sixth century B.C. We learn
from several sources that an irregular form of 'money'
had been in circulation long before, one of the early
THE CHOWS.
9
vassal dukes having been advised, in order to replenish
his treasury, to "break up the hills, and make money out
of the metal therein; to evaporate sea-water, and make
salt. This," added his advising minister, "will benefit
the realm, and with the profits you may buy up all kinds
of goods cheap, and store them until the market has
risen. Establish also three hundred dépôts of courtezans
for the traders, who will thereby be induced to bring all
kinds of merchandise to your country. This merchan-
dise you will tax, and thus have a sufficiency of funds to
meet the expenses of your army." Such were some of
the principles of finance and political economy among
the Chows, customs' duties being apparently, even at
that early date, a recognised part of the revenue.
The art of healing was practised among the Chinese
in their pre-historic times, but the first quasi-scientific
efforts, of which we have any written record, belong to
the period with which we are now dealing. The phy-
sicians of the Chow dynasty classified diseases under the
four seasons of the year-Headaches and neuralgic
affections under spring, skin diseases of all kinds under
summer, fevers and agues under autumn, and bronchial
and pulmonary complaints under winter. They treated
the various diseases that fell under these headings by
suitable exhibitions of one or more ingredients taken
from the five classes of drugs, derived from herbs, trees,
living creatures, minerals, and grains, each of which class
contained medicines of five flavours, with special pro-
perties, as follows:-Sour, for nourishing the bones;
acrid, for nourishing the muscles; salt, for nourishing
10
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
the blood-vessels; bitter, for nourishing general vitality;
and sweet, for nourishing the flesh. It was a standing
regulation that all potions administered to the ruler of a
State should first be tasted by his Prime Minister; and
the public at large was warned against rashly swallowing
the prescriptions of any physician whose family had not
been three generations in the medical profession.
When the Chows went into battle they formed a line,
with the bowmen on the left and the spearmen on the
right flank. The centre was occupied by chariots, each
drawn by either three or four horses harnessed abreast.
Swords, daggers, shields, iron-headed clubs some five
to six feet in length and weighing from twelve to fifteen
pounds, huge iron hooks, drums, cymbals, gongs, horns,
banners and streamers innumerable, were also among the
equipment of war. Beacon-fires of wolves' dung were
lighted to announce the approach of an enemy and
summon the inhabitants to arms. Quarter was rarely
if ever given, and it was customary to cut the ears from
the bodies of the slain. Parleys were conducted and
terms of peace arranged under the shelter of a banner
of truce, upon which two characters were inscribed-
'Stop fighting.'
It was under the Chows, a thousand years before
Christ, that the people of China began to possess family
names. Previous to that time there appear to have been
tribal or clan names, but these were not in ordinary use
among the individual members of each clan, who were
known by their personal appellations only, bestowed
on them in childhood by their parents. Gradually, it
THE CHOWS.
II
became customary to tack on to this personal appellation
a surname, adopted generally from the name of the place
where the family lived, sometimes from the personal
appellation or official title of a famous ancestor. By
the time of Confucius, the use of surnames had become
definitely established for all classes.
The Chows founded a university, the shadow of which
remains at the present day. They seem to have had
theatrical representations of some kind, though it is
difficult to say of what nature these actually were.
Music must have already reached a stage of consider-
able development, if we are to believe Confucius himself,
who has left it on record that after listening to a certain
melody he was so affected as not to be able to taste
meat for three months. With him, indeed, music was a
political instrument, its influence tending to smooth away
ruggedness of disposition and make men more amenable
to law and order. Slavery was at this date a regular
domestic institution, and was not confined as now to the
purchase of women alone; and whereas in still earlier
ages it had been usual to bury wooden puppets in the
tombs of princes, we now read of slave-boys and slave-
girls barbarously interred alive with the body of every
ruler of a State, in order, as was believed, to wait
upon the tyrant's spirit after death. But public opinion.
began during the Confucian era to discountenance this
savage rite; and the son of a man who left instructions
that he should be buried in a large coffin between two
of his concubines, ventured to disobey his father's com-
mands. We know that the Chows sat on chairs (while
12
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
all other eastern nations were sitting on the ground), and
ate their food and drank their wine from tables; that
they slept on beds and rode on horseback. They
measured the hours with the aid of sun-dials; and the
invention of the compass is attributed, but on wholly
insufficient grounds, to one of their earliest heroes.
They played games of calculation of an abstruse cha-
racter, and devised what is to all intents and purposes a
variety of chess. They also had games involving manual
dexterity, such as pitching arrows into a long-necked
bottle. They appear to have worn shoes of leather, and
stockings, and hats and caps, in addition to robes of
silk; and to have possessed such other material luxuries
as fans, mirrors of metal, flat-irons, and bath-tubs. But
it is often difficult to separate truth from falsehood in the
statements of Chinese writers with regard to their early
history. They are fond of exaggerating the civilisation
of their forefathers, which, as a matter of fact, was
sufficiently advanced to command admiration without
the undesirable colouring of fiction they have thus
been tempted to lay on.
It has been stated that the art of writing was known
to the Chinese long before our starting-point at the end
of the twelfth century B.C. Indeed, there is a tablet still
in existence, covered with an illegible inscription written
in the wriggling style known as the 'tadpole character,'
which is said to have been set up on a mountain in
commemoration of the labours of the Great Yü, more
than 4,000 years ago. It was discovered only in the
thirteenth century of our era, and is admittedly a
THE CHOWS.
13
forgery of that date. Dismissing, therefore, this and
other similar attempts, the great antiquity of Chinese
writing remains beyond a doubt; and, far back as we
can go, there is a great gulf between us and the be-
ginnings of the art. It would seem that the rude
delineation of a few dozen of the more prominent
objects in nature, such as the sun, moon, stars, etc.,
was followed, contrary to all analogy, by a sudden
inspiration the use of signs to represent spoken
-
sounds; and that then, by a process of combination,
a host of composite characters was produced, each one
made up of two parts, guiding the eye to the sound and
sense, respectively. It is, at any rate, pretty certain that
eight centuries before Christ elaborate symbols of the
kind, approximately those of modern times, were traced
upon tablets of bamboo with a sharp-pointed metal
stylus; and there are now in Peking ten irregular-shaped
blocks of stone, called 'stone drums,' bearing inscrip-
tions in the same form of character as that employed
under the Chow dynasty, to which period they may
without exaggeration be referred. We have also plenty
of inscriptions said to be copied from vases or bells.
dating from the pre-historic dynasties; but many of
these are evidently spurious and the rest doubtful. Of
the bamboo tablets in use among the Chows, not one is
known to be in existence now; and on paper, which was
not invented until several centuries later, there are pro-
bably no manuscript remains more than six or seven
hundred years old.
Near about the middle of the Chow dynasty was born
14
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
Lao-tzů, the founder of an abstruse system of ethical
philosophy which was destined first of all to lose its
original character in wild speculation and alchemistic
research; then to be supplemented by an admixture
of Buddhist ritual and creed; and finally to drag out,
side by side and on friendly terms with its Indian rival,
that loathsome combination of knavery and superstition
so familiar in the Taoism of to-day. But the 'Tao'
of Lao-tzů, as we learn from the only brief treatise
bequeathed by him to posterity, was simply the "path
of rectitude; and the utterances by which he sought to
guide mankind along it to a haven of perfect virtue
contain nothing of the mysticism imported into the
system by his later disciples, still less of the absurdities
by which, as will be seen hereafter, his pure philosophy
became ultimately corrupted and transformed.
precious things I prize and hold fast," said Lao-tzŭ—
"Humility, Compassion, and Economy.”
"Three
Closely following, and partially a contemporary, came
Confucius, a teacher who has been equalled in his
influence upon masses of the human race by Buddha
alone, and approached only by Mahomet and Christ.
His noble doctrines, among which is to be found the
'golden rule,' with many other maxims of great ethical
value, were collected together about a hundred years
after his death, and now form one of the standard
classical works in which all candidates for literary
honours are rigorously examined. Confucius devoted
his life chiefly to the moral amelioration of his fellow-
men by oral teaching. But he was also an author
THE CHOWS.
15
Besides editing, as stated in a previous paragraph, one
hundred chapters of the historical remains of earlier
ages, he published a collection of the old national
ballads of China, and wrote a history of his native
State during the two hundred and fifty years imme-
diately preceding his own death in B.C. 479. All these
we have now, the latter accompanied by a diffuse
commentary, the work of an admiring disciple, and
practically the most valuable portion of the whole.
In his daily life, the Sage was severely formal and
regular. He never spoke at meals. He did not eat to
excess; and in his potations he was careful to keep on
the right side of inebriety. He was particular about the
colour and make of his clothes; and insisted that all his
domestic surroundings should be 'squarely' arranged.
With him, decorum was a virtue; but it was the decorum
of external ceremonies only, and its essence consisted
in a due performance of bows and scrapes.
A hundred years later came Mencius, the record of
whose teachings also forms an important part of the only
authorised curriculum of a modern student.
His pet
theory, and one which has been more intimately asso-
ciated with his name than any other, was that 'the
nature of man is good,' and that all evil tendencies
are necessarily acquired from evil communications sub-
sequent to birth and early childhood. He was opposed
in this view by more than one able thinker of the age.
Some upheld an exactly opposite opinion; others, a mean
between these two extremes-namely, that the nature
of man at birth was not prejudiced either way, but
!
16
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
remained open to receive any impressions that particular
circumstances might produce. Another of the Mencian
dogmas was that the people can be led in any given
direction, but cannot be made to understand the reason
why. Meanwhile, the country was flooded with philo-
sophical treatises of various kinds and values, some
of which have come down to us, while the great bulk
of them has disappeared.
It was then that Lao-tzu's speculations fell into the
hands of enthusiastic seekers after truth, and so much
more began to be read out of them than the old philo-
sopher himself had written in them. Foremost among
these was Chuang-tzu, who broached several extraordi-
nary theories of a socialistic and communistic character.
He argued that if all laws were abrogated, crime must
necessarily cease; and showed that if weights and
measures were abolished, the people could not cheat
each other in the exchange of commodities. But
Chuang-tzů, like all those who have impugned in the
slightest degree the holy doctrines of Confucianism, has
been relegated to the limbo of heterodoxy. His work
remains, but it is not read except as a curiosity of
literature.
With the briefest possible allusion to three important
books, not otherwise mentioned, and a short paragraph
on the beginnings of modern Chinese poetry, this scanty
notice of the literary activity of the Chows will be
brought to an end.
The Book of Changes is the most ancient work
in the Chinese language. Its subject is a philosophic
THE CHOWS.
17
system deducible from the combinations and permu-
tations of certain sets of lines of different lengths,
formed into "diagrams" representing some power in
nature, either active or passive, such as fire, water,
thunder, etc. Attributed to one of the legendary
emperors, nearly 3,000 years before Christ, we may
safely refer it to the commencement of the Chow
dynasty, as the period to which in all probability it
belongs.
The Chow Ritual dates from
from a century or two
later. It treats of officials and their various functions,
and is a guide to the court etiquette of those days, the
etiquette of private life being dealt with in another work,
the Decorum Ritual, which has also come down to us
from the Chows.
The Erh Ya is a glossary of terms used in the old
historical and poetical remains, classified according to
subjects, and accompanied by explanatory notes. It has
been assigned to the opening years of the Chow dynasty,
but belongs more probably to the Confucian era, some
five or six centuries later.
•
Excluding from our calculations the more or less
irregular national ballads which were collected and
edited by Confucius, we may consider Chinese poetry
to have begun, a hundred years before the Chows passed
away, with the productions of Ch'ü P'ing, a high officer
of government in one of the vassal States. A beautiful
poem from his hand may still be read. It is entitled
Dissipation of Grief, and consists of a pathetic adieu to
the world and its troubles, which he abruptly quitted by
C
18
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
drowning himself. Chagrin at the loss of his sovereign's
favour, intrigued away from him by an unworthy rival,
urged him to the fatal step. His loss was deeply felt
by the people at large, and an annual sacrifice was
instituted in his memory, involving a pretended search
for his body, which survives in the famous Dragon
Festival of to-day.
The nine centuries covered by the history of the
Chows were full of stirring incidents in other parts
of the world. The Trojan war had just been brought
to an end, and Eneas had taken refuge in Italy from
the sack of Troy. Early in the dynasty, Zoroaster was
founding in Persia the religion of the Magi, the worship
of fire, which survives in the Parseeism of Bombay.
Saul was made king of Israel, and Solomon built the
temple at Jerusalem. Later on, Lycurgus gave laws to
the Spartans, and Romulus laid the first stone of the
eternal city. Then came the Babylonish captivity, the
appearance of Buddha, the conquest of Asia Minor by
Cyrus, the rise of the Roman republic, the defeats of
Darius at Marathon and of Xerxes at Salamis, the
Peloponnesian war, the retreat of the Ten Thousand,
and Roman conquests down to the end of the first
Punic war. From a literary point of view, the Chow
dynasty was the age of the Vedas in India; of Homer,
Æschylus, Herodotus, Aristophanes, Thucydides, Aris-
totle, and Demosthenes, in Greece; of the Jewish
prophets from Samuel to Daniel; and of the Talmud
as originally undertaken by the Scribes, subsequent to
the return from captivity in Babylon.
THE CHOWS.
19
THE GREAT EXHIBITION AT LIN-T'UNG.
[The following extract is a translation from the History of the
Feudal States, of which work Mr. A. WYLIE says, "although
written in the form of a novel, it differs less from authentic history
probably than any other in the same category." It is simply the
story of a bogus exhibition, planned by the scheming State of Chʻin,
nominally to make a collection of valuables and hand them over
as respectful tribute to the sovereign House of Chow, but really
with a view to a general massacre of the rival nobles who stood
in the way between the Ch'ins and their treasonable designs.]
Duke Ai of Ch'in now proceeded with his various
officers of State to prepare a place for the proposed
exhibition, at the same time setting a number of armed
men in ambuscade, with a view to carry out his
ambitious designs; and when he heard that the other
nobles had arrived, he went out and invited them to
come in. The usual ceremonies over, and the nobles
having taken their seats according to precedence, Duke
Ai addressed the meeting as follows:-
"I, having reverently received the commission of the
Son of Heaven, do hereby open this assembly for the
exhibition of such valuables as may be brought together
from all parts of the empire, the same to be subsequently
packed together, and forwarded as tribute to our Imperial
master. And since you nobles are now all collected
here in this place, it is fitting that our several exhibits
be forthwith produced and submitted for adjudication."
Sounds of assent from the nobles were heard at the
conclusion of this speech; but the Prime Minister of
the Ch'i State, conscious that the atmosphere was
C 2
20
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
heavily laden with the vapour of death, as if from
treacherous ambush, stepped forward and said :—
"Of old, when the nobles were wont to assemble, it
was customary to appoint one just and upright member
to act as arbiter or judge of the meeting; and now that
we have thus met for the purposes of this exhibition,
I propose, in the interest of public harmony, that some
one of us be nominated arbiter in a similar way."
Duke Ai readily agreed to the above proposition, and
immediately demanded of the assembled nobles who
among them would venture to accept the office indi-
cated. The words were scarcely out of his mouth when
up rose Pien Chuang, generalissimo of the forces of
Chêng, and declared that he was ready to undertake
the post.
Duke Ai then asked him upon what grounds,
as to personal ability, he based his claim; to which Pien
Chuang replied, "Of ability I have little indeed, but I
have slain a tiger with one blow of my fist, and in
martial prowess I am second to none. Upon this I
base my claim."
Accordingly, Duke Ai called for a golden tablet, and
was on the point of investing him as arbiter of the
exhibition, when a voice was heard from among the
retainers of the Wu state, loudly urging, "The slayer
of a tiger need be possessed only of physical courage ;
but how is that a sufficient recommendation for this
office? Delay awhile, I pray, until I come and take
the tablet myself."
By this time Duke Ai had seen that the speaker was
K'uai Hui, son of the Duke of Wei, and forthwith
THE CHOWS.
21
arguing that the
magician's trick,
He added that
inquired of him what his particular claim to the post
might be. "I cut the head off a deadly dragon, and
for that feat I claim this post." Duke Ai thereupon
ordered Pien Chuang to transfer to him the golden
tablet; but this he refused to do,
slaughter of a dragon was simply a
and not at all to the present purpose.
if the tablet was to be taken from him, it would
necessitate an appeal to force between himself and his
rival. The contest continued thus for some time, until
at length the Prime Minister of Ch'i rose again, and
solved the difficulty in the following terms:—
"The slaughter of a tiger involves physical courage,
and the slaughter of a dragon is a magician's trick;
hence, neither of these acts embraces that combination
of mental and physical power which we desire in the
arbiter of this meeting. Now, in front of the palace
there stands a sacrificial vessel which weighs about a
thousand pounds. Let Duke Ai give out a theme;
and then let him who replies thereto with most clearness
and accuracy, and who can moreover seize the aforesaid
vessel, and carry it round the platform on which the
eighteen representative nobles are seated, be nominated
to the post of arbiter, and receive the golden tablet."
To this plan Duke Ai assented; and writing down a
theme, bade his attendants exhibit it among the heroes
of the assembled States. The theme was in rhyme, and
contained these eight lines:-
Say what supports the sky; say what supports the earth:
What is the mystic number which to the universe gave birth?
22
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
Whence come the eddying waves of the river's rolling might?
Where shall we seek the primal germ of the mountain's towering
height?
By which of the elements five is the work of nature done?
And of all the ten thousand things that are, say which is the
wondrous one.
Such are the questions seven which I now propound to you ;
And he who can answer them straight and well is the trusty man
and true.
The theme had hardly been uttered, when up started
Chi Nien, generalissimo of the Ch'in State, and cried out,
"This is but a question of natural philosophy; what dif
ficulty is there in it?" He thereupon advanced to the
front; and, having obtained permission to compete, seized
a stylus, and wrote down the following reply:-
Nothing supports the sky; nothing supports the earth:
How can we guess at the number which to the universe gave birth?
From the reaches above come the eddying waves of the river's
rolling might :
How can we tell where to look for the germ of the mountain's
towering height?
By all the elements five is the work of Nature done ;
And of all the ten thousand things that are there is no particular one.
There you have my replies to the questions set by you ;
And the arbiter's post I hereby claim as the trusty man and true.
Chi Nien, having delivered this answer, proceeded
to tuck up his robe, and, passing to the front of the
palace, seized with both hands the sacrificial vessel,
and raised it some two feet from the ground, his whole
face becoming suffused with colour under the effort.
At the same time there arose a great noise of drums and
horns, and all the assembled nobles applauded loudly;
whereupon Duke Ai personally invested him with the
golden tablet, and proclaimed him arbiter of the
THE CHOWS.
23
exhibition, for which Chi Nien was just about to return
thanks, when suddenly up jumped Wu Yüan, generalis-
simo of the Ch'u State, and coming forward, declared
in an angry tone that Chi Nien's answer did not dispose
of the theme in a proper and final manner; that he had
not removed the sacrificial vessel from its place; and
that consequently he had not earned the appointment
which Wu Yüan now contended should be bestowed
upon himself. Duke Ai, in view of his scheme for
seizing the persons of the various nobles, was naturally
anxious that the post of arbiter should fall to one of
his own officers, and was much displeased at this
attempt on the part of Wu Yüan; however, he replied
that if the latter could dispose of the theme and carry
round the sacrificial vessel, the office of arbiter would
be his. Wu Yüan thereupon took a stylus, and indited
the following lines :—
The earth supports the sky; the sky supports the earth.
Five is the mystic number which to the universe gave birth.
From the sky come the eddying waves of the river's rolling might.
In the Kun-lun range we must seek the germ of the mountain's
towering height.
By truth, of the elements five,* can most good work be done ;
And of all the ten thousand things that are, man is the wondrous one.
There you have my replies to the questions set this day;
The answers are clear, and straight to the point, and given without
delay.
As soon as he had finished writing, he handed his
reply to Duke Ai, who at once saw that he had in every
* Each of the five physical elements-earth, wood, metal, water,
fire-has a corresponding moral equivalent, one of which has, by a
figure of rhetoric, been here substituted.
24
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
way disposed of the theme with far greater skill than
Chi Nien, and accordingly now bade him show his
strength upon the sacrificial vessel. Wu Yüan imme
diately stepped forward, and, holding up his robe with
his left hand, seized the vessel with his right, raising it
up and bearing it round the platform before the as-
sembled nobles, and finally depositing it in its original
place, without so much as changing colour. The nobles
gazed at each other in astonishment at this feat, and with
one accord, declared him to be the hero of the day; so
that Duke Ai had no alternative but to invest him with
the golden tablet, and announce his appointment to the
post of arbiter. Wu Yüan thanked the Duke in appro-
priate terms, and then proceeded to say :—
"Your servant, though devoid of ability, has received
this appointment at the hands of you nobles here
present. He has heard that a ship without a rudder
is at the mercy of the wind, and that a steel-yard without
its weight is no adjuster of quantities. As arbiter of
this meeting, your servant will speak out plainly, and
will conceal nothing; but in anticipation of disturbance
and insubordination on the part of any of the com-
petitors, it will be necessary for you nobles first of all
to confer full authority to deal with the same, or other-
wise your servant will not venture to take up this post."
Duke Ai looked round upon the assembled nobles,
and observing that Wu Yüan's request was regarded as
perfectly in accordance with what was right, presented
him with a sharp sword, and ordered him, in all such
cases as he had just mentioned, to slay the offender on
THE CHOWS.
25
the spot, and then report the matter for investigation.
Wu Yüan again tendered his thanks; and taking his
stand upon the steps of the pavilion, summoned the
nobles to produce their exhibits for adjudication before
entering into a solemn pact of mutual alliance. The
exhibits were now brought forth, and displayed for the
decision of the arbiter. They consisted of the following
rarities :-
(1). A goblet, possessing the peculiar property of
warming all wine poured into it in winter, and of cooling
all wine poured into it in summer. [Exhibited by the
Ch'in State.]
(2). A precious stone, so brilliant as to light up a
large hall by night, in the same way as a lamp. [Exhi-
bited by the Ch'i State.]
(3). A double sword, having two blades fitting into
the same scabbard, each of which would cry out if the
other was missing, and possessing also the power of
decapitating devils. [Exhibited by the Lu State.]
(4). A crystal screen able to raise wind or bring down
rain; and which, when thrown into the water, could
separate the waves on each side of it. [Exhibited by
the Chin State.]
(5). A curious mirror which, when placed on the bed
of a river or at the bottom of the sea, resembled the
moon, and lighted up the surrounding waters. [Exhi-
bited by the Sung State.]
(6). An umbrella which would effectually keep off rain
and snow from the person holding it, and disperse sand
and dust. [Exhibited by the Chêng State.]
26
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
(7). A coral pillow, reclining upon which a drunken man
would become sober, a sick man well, a heated man cool,
and a chilly man warm. [Exhibited by the Wu State.]
(8). A marvellous stone which, when placed in a room
swept by draughts, would cause such a stillness in the
air that not a feather would be moved. [Exhibited by
the Wei State.]
(9). An as-you-wish, able to induce either joy or anger
as desired, and, when placed up the sleeve, to bring
about the realisation of any hope. [Exhibited by the
Yen State.]
(10). An agate plate which would play tunes on being
struck. [Exhibited by the Yüeh State.]
(11). A fan, by means of which a cool wind could be
produced in summer. [Exhibited by the T'êng State.]
(12). A girdle of rhinoceros horn, possessing the
property of dividing water, of extinguishing fire, and
of curing all diseases. [Exhibited by the Hsieh State.]
(13). A wonderful mirror which would reflect every-
thing for more than thirty miles round, including the
forms of devils and bogies. [Exhibited by the Chü
State.]
(14). A marvellous sword, which could sever rainbows
and ward off wind and rain. [Exhibited by the Hsü
State.]
The other States having brought nothing to exhibit,
Duke Ai demanded to know from them why the Im-
perial command had been disobeyed; to which the Dukes
Ts'ai and Ch'ên replied by making an obeisance and
saying, "Our humble territories are limited in area, and
THE CHOWS.
27
so unproductive that we have nothing worthy of exhi-
bition at this meeting. Afraid, however, to disregard
entirely the Imperial wishes, we have come hither our-
selves even though empty-handed, and now pray that our
case may be represented for the merciful consideration
of the Son of Heaven."
Duke Ai was unwilling to look at their omission in
this light; and referring to the arbiter inquired of him
what would be a fitting punishment to award. The
arbiter observed that when the Great Yü marked out
the nine divisions of the empire, he arranged that each
district was to pay a tribute of local products, a scheme
which was subsequently adopted by the first sovereign
of the Chows at the overthrow of the dynasty of Shang.
"And although," he continued, "this exhibition is nomi-
nally one of rare or costly articles, still, if any States are
from natural causes deficient in these, there seems to be
no reason why they should not be permitted to fall back
upon local products.”
Reflecting for a few moments on this suggestion,
Duke Ai replied as follows:-"That certain of these
States should be unable to compete in costly articles
is perhaps not a subject for surprise; but pray tell me
how it is that the State of Ch'u, a fief estimated at a
thousand chariots, with a rich soil and a prosperous
population, is also without exhibits at this meeting ?"
"We men of Ch'u," rejoined the arbiter, "deem
virtue our most precious jewel;" upon which Duke
Ai promptly remarked that with their history of war
and slaughter, desolation of homes and states, and
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DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
desecration of sacred places beyond number, he should
be glad to be informed where any particular manifestation
of 'virtue' came in.
66
"All that you have enumerated," retorted the arbiter,
we learned from the example of your Highness' own
honourable State, and small blame to us. What I mean
with regard to virtue is simply this: that in the State
of Ch'u, prince and subject, father and son, severally
fulfil the due obligations attaching to conditions of
prince, subject, father, and son; that the scholar, the
husbandman, the artisan, and the merchant, peacefully
pursue their various callings; and that no one picks up
property lost upon the highway. The result is a high
standard of morals, and successful administration of
public affairs. These are the 'jewels' which give
strength and repose to my humble State, and which
are in no sense to be placed in comparison with your
inch-square pearls and your three-foot poniards."
Now when Duke Ai, whose intention it had been to
reprimand the Ch'u State for bringing nothing to the
exhibition, received instead this open rebuke himself, he
was unable to say a word; and when the nobles saw
what a defeat he had suffered at the hands of the arbiter,
they secretly rejoiced and praised the latter exceedingly,
while on the other hand some of the Duke's flattering
courtiers inquired what answer could be made to the
Son of Heaven in respect of this serious omission.
"Do you, nobles," cried the arbiter, "confine your-
selves to signing the instrument of confederation, and
leave me to report our neglect to the Son of Heaven.”
THE CHOWS.
29
Thereupon he proceeded to slay a black ox and a white
horse, and to perform the sacritices to Heaven and Earth.
These being concluded, he took in his left hand a bowl
of the freshly-shed blood, and brandishing in his right
his sharp sword, he mounted the steps leading up to the
pavilion, and cried aloud to the assembled nobles as
follows:
"All you chieftains who are present at this meeting
do hereby covenant to act, as rulers, considerately; as
subjects, loyally ;* as fathers, kindly; as sons, lovingly.
You agree to exchange mutual courtesies in times of
sorrow and of joy; to live in peace and harmony with
one another; to acknowledge the supremacy of the
Imperial house of Chow, and to pay tribute accordingly.
And it is further covenanted that any breach of faith on
the part of any one of the contracting parties shall be
punished by the rest, united together for that purpose."
At this speech all the assembled nobles bowed their
heads, and drinking the blood of the sacrifice, called
out in reply, "We hereby bind ourselves to obey without
fail the injunctions thus set forth;" whereupon the
arbiter, having fully settled the terms of alliance, placed
the deed of confederation in a golden casket. He next
collected together the costly exhibits of the various
States, and forwarded them as tribute to the Court
of Chow; after which all the representatives sat down
to take part in a grand banquet.
Let us now revert to Kung-sun Hou.
* That is, to the sovereign house of Chow.
He, seeing
30
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
that the original plot had failed, in consequence of the
appointment of Wu Yüan as arbiter, at once issued
orders to the soldiers in attendance to wait until the
wine had freely circulated and then to take Wu Yüan,
dead or alive, as a first step towards finally crushing
the power of the States. Now the guests were scarcely
more than half tipsy, when Chi Kuang of the Wu State
interrupted the decorum of the banquet by accidentally
breaking a jade bowl. This so enraged Duke Ai that he
shouted in a loud voice to the guard to arrest for him
the man who could venture to insult his superiors by
such a flagrant breach of propriety.
"Hold!" cried Wu Yüan, the arbiter, at this juncture;
"all things have their appointed issues, and man is not
infallible. Duke Mu, of old, did not take vengeance on
those who stole his horse, and Prince Chuang could
pardon even a dose of leeches.* And although Chi
Kuang has undoubtedly committed a breach of decorum
in breaking the bowl, surely your Highness will not be
outdone in magnanimity." Duke Ai, however, would
not listen to the arbiter, and Kung-sun Hou began to
tap on the wooden rattle, at which a number of soldiers
rushed in from all sides and seized Chi Kuang, as if in
open defiance of the assembled nobles.
"Hold!” cried the arbiter again; "this is no place
for martial demonstrations, but the scene of a friendly
conference of States. If this young noble is put to
death, will it not be taking an undue advantage over
* Which he is said to have swallowed, through inadvertence of
his prescribing physician.
THE CHOWS.
31
the body of representatives who are not provided even
with half an inch of protecting steel?" These words,
coupled with Wu Yüan's general demeanour, so alarmed
Kung-sun Hou that Chi Kuang was immediately re-
leased; and then Wu Yüan continued:-"Nobles, our
business is at an end: the banquet is over.
Let us
return to our respective homes without delay."
Thereupon, a move was made among the guests; and
Wu Yüan, turning to Duke Ai, said, “As your High-
ness has been the president of this conference, and as I
have reason to suspect an armed attack to be made upon
us when leaving your court, I pray you send a guard to
escort us safely to the frontier; otherwise, in case of
accident, your State will be held responsible." Duke Ai
had no option but to accede to this request, and forth-
with gave orders to Tzu-t'ieh, his general, to carry out
the wishes of the arbiter; and before Tzu-t'ieh had had
time to think, Wu Yüan had got him up on horseback,
and seizing his hand, said to him, "Your Excellency is
a pillar of this State and a representative of the public.
Without your escort we should not dare to start upon our
journey." Tzu-t'ieh accordingly set out to escort the nobles
on their homeward journey. For several miles there was an
uninterrupted stream of official hats and red umbrellas;
but the soldiers of the Ch'in State, who were lying in am-
buscade, did not attack the cavalcade, seeing that it was
under the escort of one of their own officers. And thus
the assembled nobles and their retinues passed over the
frontier in safety; and then Wu Yüan released the hand
of Tzu-t'ieh, and bade him a final farewell.
32
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
II. THE HANS.
B.C. 200-A.D. 200.
Ir has been stated that the Imperial rule of the Chows
over the vassal States which made up the China of those
early days, was gradually undermined by the growing
power and influence of one of the latter, the very name
of which was transformed into a by-word of reproach, so
that to call a person a 'man of Ch'in' was equivalent to
saying, in vulgar parlance, 'He is no friend of mine.'
The struggle between the Ch'ins and the rest of the
empire may be likened to the struggle between Athens
and the rest of Greece, though the end in each case was
not the same. The State of Ch'in vanquished its com-
bined opponents, and finally established a dynasty—
short-lived, indeed, but containing among the few rulers.
who sat upon the throne, only about fifty years in all,
the name of one remarkable man, the 'First Emperor'
of a united China.
On the ruins of the old feudal system, the landmarks
of which his three or four predecessors had succeeded
in sweeping away, the 'First Emperor' laid the foun-
dations of a coherent empire which was to date from
himself as its founder. He sent an army of 300,000
men to fight against the Huns. He despatched a fleet
THE HANS.
33
ร
to search for some mysterious islands off the coast of
China; and this expedition has since been connected
seriously with the colonisation of Japan. He built the
Great Wall, which is nearly 1,400 miles in length,
twenty-two feet in height, and twenty feet in thickness,
forming the most prominent artificial object on the
surface of the earth. His copper coinage was so uni-
formly good that the cowry disappeared altogether from
commerce with this reign. According to some, the
modern hair-pencil, employed by the Chinese as a pen,
was invented about this time, to be used for writing on
silk; while the characters themselves underwent certain
modifications and orthographical improvements. The
'First Emperor' desired above all things to impart a
fresh stimulus to literary effort; but he adopted singu-
larly unfortunate means to secure this desirable end.
For, listening to the insidious flattery of courtiers, he
determined that literature should begin anew with his
reign. He therefore issued orders for the destruction
of all existing books, with the exception of works treating
of medicine, agriculture, and divination, and the annals
of his own house; and he actually put to death many
hundreds of the literati who refused to comply with
these commands. Numbers of valuable works thus
perished in a general literary conflagration, popularly
known as the 'Burning of the Books;' and it is partly
to accident and partly to the pious efforts of the scholars
of the age that posterity is indebted for the preservation
of the most precious relics of ancient Chinese literature.
But the 'First Emperor' went the way of all flesh; and
D
34
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
his son and successor, the 'Second Emperor' and last
of the line, was shortly afterwards compelled to follow
his great father-a victim to the treachery of an am-
bitious eunuch. Meanwhile, an insurrection had broken.
out. A peasant forced his way to the front, and finally
seated himself firmly upon the throne as the first
emperor of the Hans.
The stately house of Han ruled over China for four
hundred years, accidentally divided into two equal
portions by the Christian era and by a temporary
usurpation of the throne which for some time threatened
the stability of the dynasty in the direct line of suc-
cession. During the whole period, the empire, if not
enjoying uninterrupted tranquillity either at home or
abroad, was nevertheless making vast strides towards a
more settled state of prosperity and civilisation. There
were, however, constant wars with the Tartar tribes to
the north, against which the Great Wall proved to be a
wholly ineffectual barrier. Also, with the various Turkic
tribes on the west; especially with the Huns, who once
succeeded in shutting up the founder of the dynasty in
one of his own cities, from which he only escaped by a
stratagem to be related in another connection. Later
on, an attempt was made to win over a Hun chieftain,
who happened to be visiting the court, by bestowing
upon him a distinguished Chinese lady to share with
him the honour and dignity of his Khanate; and even
now traces of Hunnish influence are discernible in
several of the recognised surnames of the Chinese.
The wild tribes of modern Yunnan were reduced to
THE HANS.
35
subjection, and their territory may be considered as
added to the empire from this date.
At home, the eunuchs gave an immense deal of
trouble by their restless spirit of intrigue; besides
which, for nearly twenty years the Imperial power was
in the hands of a famous usurper, named Wang Mang,
who had secured it by the usual means of treachery and
poison, to lose it on the battle-field and himself to perish.
shortly afterwards in a revolt of his own soldiery. This
dynasty also witnessed the spectacle-most unusual in
the East-of a woman wielding the Imperial sceptre;
and hers was not a reign calculated to inspire the people
of China with much faith either in the virtue or the
administrative ability of the sex.
In Chinese history,
however, her place is that of the only female sovereign
who ever legitimately occupied the throne.
The founder of the Hans, on his entry into the
capital of the fallen Ch'ins, at once issued a procla-
mation embodying what have since been known as the
'Three Laws,' the object in view being to attach the
people to his cause by an abandonment of the more
barbarous legal penalties in force at that date. By
these laws, murder was still to be punished with death,
but wounding and robbery only in proportion to the act
committed. His next care was to entrust an able and
faithful adherent, named Hsiao Ho, with the construc-
tion of a Penal Code, which was ultimately published,
and contained no fewer than 359 statute laws, upon one
of which, namely capital punishment, we read that
there were 409 additional clauses and 13,472 quoted
D 2
36
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
precedents. It was at any rate upon the model thus
made available that later dynasties framed their various
Codes, each with such modifications as altered cir-
cumstances might dictate.
It was under the Han dynasty that the religion of
Shakyamuni Buddha first became known to the Chinese
people. We read in the History of the Later Hans that
"the Emperor Ming had a vision of a golden being over
ten feet in height, around whose head was playing a
brilliant light. On asking his assembled ministers about
this dream, one of them said that in the West there was
a god, named Fo, sixteen feet high, and of the colour of
gold. So the Emperor sent off envoys to India to
inquire about the religion of Fo, and these brought
back the images and portraits we now possess." Another
passage runs: “The books of their priests consist chiefly
of the glorification of hollowness and abstraction. With
them, compassion is one of the highest virtues. They
do not take life. They believe that the vitality of man
does not perish with the body at death, but is again
endued with a mortal shape. They expect rewards and
punishments according to their good or evil acts in a
previous life, and are therefore very particular about
cultivating rectitude of heart, in order to become
Buddhas hereafter."
The quiet philosophy of Lao-tzů was meanwhile
undergoing a fundamental change. It had begun to
degenerate into a hocus-pocus system, the ultimate
objects of which were avowedly the transmutation of
metals and the preparation of an elixir of immortal life.
THE HANS.
37
A grandson of the founder of the dynasty, occupying a
high position in the public service, and commonly
known as Huai Nan Tzů, identified himself closely with
these researches, and bequeathed to posterity a mystic
work which now forms part of the Taoist canon, under
the title of the History of Great Light.
It was also during this period that the Jews appear
to have founded a colony in Honan, but we cannot
say what kind of reception was accorded to the new
faith. In the glow of early Buddhism, and in the
exciting times of its subsequent persecution, it is
probable that Judaism failed to attract much serious
attention from the Chinese. A synagogue was built at
K'ai-fung Fu in 1164, and the Catholic priest Ricci
visited the colony in the sixteenth century. In 1850,
certain Hebrew rolls were recovered from the few
remaining descendants of former Jews; but there was
then no one left who could read a word of them, or
who possessed any knowledge of the creed of their
forefathers beyond a few traditions of the scantiest
possible kind.
But the most remarkable of all events connected with
our present period was the general revival of learning
and authorship. The Confucian texts were rescued from
hiding-places in which they had been concealed at the
risk of death; editing committees were appointed, and
immense efforts made to repair the mischief sustained
by literature at the hands of the 'First Emperor.' The
schoolmen of the day expounded the records and
teachings of the great Sage according to their lights:
38
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
and although the practical outcome of their labours
was later on scattered to the wind by the genius of one
man, the bulky commentaries they put together still
survive, to be perused by the curious and accepted by
the few. Ink was invented under the Hans, to replace
such mixtures as brick-dust and water, with which cha-
racters had already been traced on silk; and paper,
made from the bark of trees and from hemp, followed
shortly after.
The result of these inventions was a
further modification of the written character from that
previously in use, and suitable to the stylus and tablets
of bamboo, to a form which could be more rapidly
committed to paper with the aid of the hair pencil.
Authorship was then enabled to make a fresh start-
the very start indeed that the 'First Emperor' had
longed to associate with his own reign, and had at-
tempted to secure by such impracticable means.
The 'father of Chinese history' flourished during the
latter portion of the second century B.C.
His great
work, which has been the model for all subsequent
histories, is divided into 130 books, and deals with a
period extending from the reign of the Yellow Emperor
down to his own times. This narrative was subsequently
taken up by Pan Ku a century and a half later, and
completed after his death by a gifted sister, who brought
the work down to Wang Mang's usurpation of the throne.
In another branch of literature, a foremost place
among the lexicographers of the world may fairly be
claimed for Hsü Shên, the author of the famous dic-
tionary known as the Shuo Wên, though it was not until
THE HANS.
39
quite recently that he was accorded a niche in the
Valhalla of Chinese literature, the temple of Confucius.
His work consisted of about 10,000 separate characters
in the tablet-and-stylus form, commonly called the
'Lesser Seal,'-seal, because for many centuries it has
been a favourite style for legends on public and private
seals and similar inscriptions; lesser, to distinguish it
from the older style (of which it was a modification)
in use during the early days of the Chow dynasty. It
was systematically arranged for purposes of reference,
and the meaning and scope of each character were more
or less elucidated by short explanatory entries. The
keynote to the whole lies in an attempt to establish
the 'hieroglyphic' origin of the written language; and
in this respect the author fails, from disregard of scientific
method and from grotesque exaggeration, to carry his
readers with him. On the other hand, he has left us
an ample and valuable record of the written character
of eighteen centuries ago, from an inspection of which
we learn that the principle of phonetic formation was
then as fully developed as it is now, leaving us to infer
that a considerable interval must necessarily have elapsed
between the beginnings of the art and an age in which
it was already so fully developed.
Many other voluminous works and celebrated writers
of the Han dynasty could here be mentioned at the risk
of tiring the reader with an overburdened page. But
these we will reluctantly pass over, to conclude with
the honoured name of one man who ensured for himself,
by his virtue and integrity, a more imperishable fame
40
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
than any mere literary achievement could bestow. Yang
Chên was indeed a scholar of no mean attainments, and
away in his occidental home he was known as 'the
Confucius of the West.' An officer of government in
a high position, with every means of obtaining wealth at
his command, he lived and died in comparative poverty,
his only object of ambition being the reputation of a
'spotless official.' The Yangs of his day grumbled
sorely at opportunities thus thrown away; but the Yangs
of to-day glory in the fame of their great ancestor, and
are proud to worship in the ancestral hall to which his
uprightness has bequeathed a name. For once, when
pressed to receive a bribe, with the additional induce-
ment that no one would know of the transaction, he
quietly replied "How so? Heaven would know; Earth
would know; you would know; and I should know.”
And to this hour the ancestral shrine of the clan of
the Yangs bears as its name 'The Hall of the Four
Knows.'
It was, in all probability, under the dynasty of the
Hans that the drama first took its place among the
amusements of the people, though some defer its ap-
pearance until eight or nine centuries later, and attribute
its origin to a dream of one of the Emperors of the
T'angs, in which he fancied himself on a visit to the
moon. Now, when the founder of the Hans was
besieged, as has been stated, by an army of Huns, His
Majesty, acting under the advice of a crafty minister,
sent a messenger to the Hun chieftain and offered him
the present of a very beautiful girl on condition of being
THE HANS.
41
allowed to pass unharmed through his lines. The Hun
chieftain, suspicious of treachery, repaired by agreement
to the foot of the city wall, and there beheld a charming
young lady moving about among a circle of attendants
almost as lovely as herself. His suspicions being thus
allayed, he gave orders to open a passage to the Emperor
and his suite, who promptly made the best of their way
out. At the same time, the Hun chieftain entered the
city and proceeded to the spot on the wall where the
young lady was awaiting him, still surrounded by her
bevy of handmaids; but on arriving there, he found, to
his infinite chagrin, that the beauty and her attendants
were simply a set of wooden puppets which had been
dressed up for the occasion, and were worked by a
concealed arrangement of strings. Overcome with rage
and mortification, he instantly started in pursuit of the
flying Emperor, who however succeeded in making good
his escape. From that day Punch and Judy shows are
said to have come into existence, if indeed the term
'Punch and Judy' be not somewhat of a misnomer.
For the marionettes of China are unconnected in any
way with the loves and hatreds of our own Mr. Punch.
The former exhibit to Chinese crowds of men, women,
and children, stirring episodes taken from the history
of ancient China, relieved by occasional farces of rather
questionable decency. Emperors, generals, crafty man-
darins, and intriguing women, strut backwards and
forwards across the mimic stage, and teach their lessons
of worldly wisdom in the local dialect of the audience.
No money is collected on the spot, the proprietors of
42
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
the show being paid out of the theatrical fund of the
street or village, sometimes by a well-to-do citizen, to
give their entertainment free to all comers.
The custom of burying slaves with the dead was
abolished early in the dynasty by the same enlightened
emperor, who reduced the twenty-seven months' mourning
for parents to a more manageable period of twenty-seven
days. Literary degrees were first established; and the
existing calendar was corrected to accord with the cal-
culations of the historian Ssu-ma Ch'ien. Perpetual
hereditary rank was conferred upon the senior descen-
dant of Confucius in the male line, and the succession
has continued unbroken to the present day. The head
of the 'K'ungs,' or Confucian clan, is now a 'duke,'
and resides in a palace, taking rank with, if not before,
the highest provincial authorities. Later on, the written.
language of China and the teachings of Confucius were
carried over to Japan, to be there received with unmixed
veneration for many centuries, and to shape the edu
cational curriculum of the people and the national bent
of thought, until destined in recent days to pale before
the flood of a brighter light.
During the above period, Greece had fallen from her
high estate and had become a Roman province. Her
literary activity seemed to be extinguished simultaneously
with the loss of her prestige and political supremacy;
and the tide of production, which in little more than a
hundred years had made Greek literature what it is, was
stopped for ever. Hannibal had been finally vanquished:
Christ had been crucified: Julius Cæsar had visited
THE HANS.
43
B
Britain: Augustus had been saluted Emperor: and
St. Paul had been brought in chains to Rome.
The close of the Han dynasty, and the rise of the
'Three Kingdoms' into which the empire was for a
short time divided, form one of the most interesting
portions of Chinese history. It was essentially an age
of heroes, of martial prowess, of bold attack and skilled
defence, of Odyssean cunning and Hectorean courage.
On the other hand, the empire was deluged in blood;
cities were sacked, homes desolated, and vast tracts
converted into desert solitudes. An invasion of the
Tibetans, followed by a rebellion, popularly known as
the revolt of the 'Yellow Turbans,' and coupled with.
palace intrigues, were the primary causes of all the
trouble, which began with a temporary usurpation of the
throne, the eunuchs being as usual in the thick of the
mischief. Able generals came to the front in unusual
numbers, the result being that each one of these, either
foreseeing or intending the early overthrow of the
reigning house, began to consult his own personal
interests and entertain the most ambitious designs.
Foremost among these was Ts'ao Ts'ao, whose long
and brilliant campaigns eventually placed not himself
but his son upon the throne of one of the Three
Kingdoms. Second only to Ts'ao Ts'ao, and for some
time one of his lieutenants, was Liu Pei, who was
distantly connected with the Imperial family. Like his
above-mentioned commander, his early laurels were
gained in fighting against the Yellow Turbans and in
aiding to crush their rebellion; and like him, he too
44
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
became a leader on his own account, finally establishing
himself, under the direction of his great general and
counsellor, Chu-ko Liang (or K'ung-ming), as Emperor
of a second of the Three Kingdoms. In his early days,
Liu Pei had fallen in with two kindred spirits, Chang
Fei and Kuan Yü; and the three, after having sworn an
oath of eternal fidelity to each other in a peach-orchard,
continued through life to fight together side by side.
Chang Fei fell by the hand of an assassin, and Kuan Yü
was taken prisoner by Sun Ch'üan, a rival general, and
beheaded. The latter became Emperor of the third
of the Three Kingdoms, while Kuan Yü, the greatest
military hero of all Chinese history, was first of all
canonised as a saint and subsequently promoted to the
rank of a God. He is now the guardian angel of every
Chinese city, and plays a prominent part in the Chinese
pantheon as the God of War.
The whole story of these civil wars is most graphically
told in a famous historical romance composed about
1,000 years afterwards. A considerable element of
fiction has been interwoven with truth to make the
narrative more palatable to the general reader; but
its basis is history, and the work is universally regarded
among the Chinese themselves as one of the most
valuable productions in the lighter branches of their
literature. The annexed extract is given chiefly because
of the allusion it contains to the use of anesthetics at
an early date.
THE HANS.
45
EXTRACT FROM THE STORY OF THE
THREE STATES.
[After the death of Kuan Yü, as already narrated, his head was
forwarded to Ts'ao Ts'ao; and the latter became from that moment
terribly disturbed in spirit, fancying always when he shut his eyes at
night that he saw before him the gory countenance of his once
dreaded foe. To such a pitch was he worked by this constant
strain on his nerves that he finally determined to quit his old palace
at Lo-Yang, which he began to believe was haunted by Kuan Yü's
ghost, and build himself a new residence, free from all supernatural
influences, With this view he caused a skilled artisan, named
Su Yüeh, to be brought before him, and proceeded to make
arrangements for carrying his plan into execution.]
"Ten miles or so from the city," said Su Yüeh, "there
is a pool called the Pool of the Jumping Dragon. In
front of that pool there is a shrine, and alongside of the
shrine there grows a tall pear-tree, some hundred feet
and more in height. That tree would do to make the
beam of your Highness' projected palace."
Ts'ao Ts'ao was greatly pleased, and sent off workmen
to fell it forthwith. These, however, returned after a
few days and reported that no saw or axe had any effect
on the tree, and that they could not cut it down.
Unable to believe their report, Ts'ao Ts'ao himself
started at the head of several hundred horsemen, and
on arriving at the pool alighted from his horse before
the shrine. Looking up, he beheld a straight and
stately tree which reared its head among the clouds.
He immediately gave orders to begin cutting; upon
which the village elders came out and attempted to
remonstrate with him, urging that the tree was several
hundred years old and was inhabited by a spirit, and
that in their opinion it could not be cut down.
46
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
"What!" cried Ts'ao Ts'ao, in anger; "shall I who
have roamed over the world for the past forty years, the
terror of all men from the Son of Heaven down to the
meanest of his subjects-shall I be crossed in my design
by some trumpery hobgoblin?" Thereupon he drew
his sword and attacked the tree with his own hands.
Chng-g-g rang the metal as it touched the wood; and
the next moment Ts'ao Ts'ao was covered with blood, at
which he was so alarmed that he threw aside his sword,
vaulted on his horse, and rode home.
That night he was restless and unable to sleep, and
while he was sitting up with his head bowed upon
his arms as he leant over the table, lo! a man with
dishevelled hair and dressed in black garments came
and stood sword in hand before him. "I," cried the
man, pointing with his finger at Ts'ao Ts'ao, “I am
the spirit of the pear-tree. You would build a palace in
furtherance of your seditious designs, for which you
attempted to make use of my glorious timber; but I,
knowing that your hour is at hand, have come hither to
slay you.” Ts'ao Ts'ao was terribly alarmed and called
out to the guard; whereupon the black-coated man
struck him a blow with his sword, which caused him
to utter a loud cry, and immediately afterwards he felt a
severe and almost unbearable pain in his head. Orders
were at once issued for a search to be made for some
skilful leech; but none were of any avail, and Ts'ao
Ts'ao's officers were sad at heart.
At this juncture, Hua Hsin addressed the commander-
in-chief and said, "Does your Highness not know of the
THE HANS.
47
marvellous skill of Dr. Hua T'o?" in reply to which
Ts'ao Ts'ao inquired if he meant the doctor of Chiang-
tung who had cured Chou T'ai; and on being informed
that the latter was the individual in question, remarked
that he was acquainted with Dr. Hua by reputation only.
"Dr. Hua," explained Hua Hsin, "is a mighty skilful
physician, and such a one as is not often to be found.
His administration of drugs, and his use of acupuncture
and counter-irritants, are always followed by the speedy
recovery of the patient. If the sick man is suffering
from some internal complaint and medicines produce no
satisfactory result, then Dr. Hua will administer a dose.
of hashish, under the influence of which the patient
becomes as it were intoxicated with wine.
He now
takes a sharp knife and opens the abdomen, proceeding
to wash the patient's viscera with medicinal liquids, but
without causing him the slightest pain. The washing
finished, he sews up the wound with medicated thread
and puts over it a plaster; and by the end of a month
or twenty days the place has healed up. Such is his
extraordinary skill. One day, for instance, as he was
walking along a road he heard someone groaning deeply,
and at once declared that the cause was indigestion.
On inquiry, this turned out to be the case; and
accordingly, Dr. Hua ordered him to drink three pints
of a decoction of garlic and leeks, which he did, and
vomited forth a snake between two and three feet in
length-after which he could digest food as before. On
another occasion, the Governor of Kuang-ling was very
much depressed in his mind, besides being troubled with
48
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
a flushing of the face and total loss of appetite. He
consulted Dr. Hua, and the effect of some medicine
administered by him was to cause the invalid to throw
up a quantity of red-headed wriggling tadpoles, which
the doctor told him had been generated in his system
by too great indulgence in fish, and which, although
temporarily expelled, would re-appear after an interval
of three years, when nothing could save him. And sure
enough, he died three years afterwards. In a further
instance, a man had a tumour growing between his
eyebrows, the itching of which was insupportable.
When Dr. Hua saw it, he said, 'There is a bird
inside;' at which everybody laughed. However, he
took a knife and opened the tumour, and out flew a
canary, the patient beginning to recover from that hour.
Again, another man had had his toes bitten by a dog,
the consequence being that two lumps of flesh grew up
from the wound, one of which was very painful while the
other itched unbearably. There are ten needles,' said
Dr. Hua, 'in the sore lump, and two black and white
wei-ch'i pips in the other.' No one believed this until Dr.
Hua opened them with a knife and showed that it was
Truly he is of the same strain as Pien Ch'iao and
Ts'ang Kung of old; and as he is now living not very far
from this, I wonder your Highness does not summon him."
So.
At this, Ts'ao Ts'ao sent away messengers who were
to travel day and night until they had brought Dr. Hua
before him; and when he arrived, Ts'ao Ts'ao held out
his pulse and desired him to diagnose his case.
"The pain in your Highness' head," said Dr. Hua,
THE HANS.
49
"arises from wind, and the seat of the disease is the
brain, where the wind is collected, unable to get out.
Drugs are of no avail in your present condition, for
which there is but one remedy. You must first swallow
a dose of hashish, and then with a sharp axe I will
split open the back of your head and let the wind out.
Thus the disease will be exterminated."
Ts'ao Ts'ao here flew into a great rage, and declared
that it was a plot aimed at his life; to which Dr. Hua
replied, "Has not your Highness heard of Kuan Yü's
wound in the right shoulder? I scraped the bone and
removed the poison for him without a single sign of
fear on his part. Your Highness' disease is but a
trifling affair; why, then, so much suspicion?"
"You may scrape a sore shoulder-bone," said Ts'ao
Ts'ao, "without much risk; but to split open my skull is
quite another matter. It strikes me now that you are here
simply to avenge your friend Kuan Yü upon this oppor-
tunity." He thereupon gave orders that the doctor should
be seized and cast into prison, to be put to the question,
in spite of all the objections raised by Chia Yü against
thus throwing away the skill of such an unrivalled prac-
titioner. To this Ts'ao Ts'ao replied that the fellow was
another Chi P'ing, and wanted to kill him, at the same
time commanding that he should be forthwith bambooed.
So Dr. Hua was thrown into prison. His gaoler,
however, brought him every day presents of wine and
food, as a return for which the doctor one day said to
him, "I am about to die; and in recognition of your
kindness to me, I should like to give you a medical
E
50
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
work by myself, which I have not yet published. It
is all I have to offer. Let me prepare a letter, and you
can send to my house for the book, by the aid of which
you will be enabled to carry on my practice." The
gaoler was overjoyed, and said, "If I get that book, I
will resign my employment in the gaol, and set to work
to relieve suffering humanity, and spread the fame of
your virtues far and wide." Dr. Hua then wrote a
letter and gave it to the gaoler, who, having obtained
the book from the doctor's wife, returned with it to
the prison, where it was formally presented to him, and
subsequently stored by him at his own home.
Some ten days after these events Dr. Hua died in
gaol, and was decently buried by the gaoler, who finally
threw up his post, and went off to his house to study
medicine from Dr. Hua's book. He reached home just
in time to find his wife in the act of burning it; and,
indeed, there were only a few leaves remaining when
he snatched the book hurriedly from the flames. He
cursed her soundly for her folly, but she retorted that
she had no wish for him to become as clever as Dr.
Hua, and perish in prison like him. Her husband
sighed deeply at the loss that the world had sustained
by the destruction of the book, for the few leaves that
remained had reference only to capons and pigs.
[It remains only to add that Ts'ao Ts'ao never recovered. He
soon afterwards became much worse, and knowing that his last
hour had arrived, he uttered his final injunctions to those who
stood round the bed. "And as he concluded, he heaved a deep
sigh; tears trickled down his face like rain; in a few moments he
had ceased to breathe, and all was over."]
THE T'ANGS.
51
III. THE T'ANG S.
A.D. 600-900.
Ir is unnecessary to linger over the four centuries which
connect the Hans with the T'angs. There was not in
them that distinctness of character or coherency of aim
which go to make up an 'age' in the sense of these
sketches. The Three Kingdoms passed rapidly away.
Other small dynasties succeeded them. But their names
and dates are not essential to a right comprehension of
the state of China, then or now. A few points may,
however, be briefly mentioned before quitting this period
of transition from the epoch of the Hans to the epoch
of the T'angs.
The old rule of twenty-seven months' mourning for
parents was re-established, and has continued in force
until the present day. Diplomatic relations were opened
with Japan; and Christianity was introduced by the
Nestorians under the title of the 'luminous teaching.'
The Tea Record tells us that tea was not known in
China before this date, which may be true as regards
the particular species of shrub employed in the prepa-
ration of the national drink; but an infusion of some
kind of leaf was familiar to the Chows, and its name
occurs in the Erh Ya.
E 2
52
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
Fa Hsien now performed his marvellous journey from
China to India across the Central Asian deserts, and
back by Ceylon and the Straits of Malacca. He had
remained away fifteen years, and had returned with a
practical knowledge of Sanscrit and with a large con-
signment of Buddhist books. The further impulse thus
given to the spread of the religion was very widely
felt; and in the history of a petty dynasty one hundred
years later, we read, "The emperor wholly devoted
himself to the worship of Shâkyamuni. Far and wide
the religion extended, until there were none who did
not serve Buddha." Previous even to this, the con-
struction of Buddhist temples had been going on, while
the ranks of the priesthood had already been largely
recruited.
It was at the close of this transitional period that we
first detect traces of the art of printing, still in an
embryonic stage, and not destined for many years to
displace altogether the tedious labours of the scribe.
It seems, however, to be quite certain that before the
end of the sixth century the Chinese were in possession
of a method of reproduction from wooden blocks; but,
as far as we can learn, the work was of the roughest
description, and made a poor show side by side with
the calligraphic triumphs of the day. The written
character had already been modified to its present
shape, and the old forms were now only seen on seals
or on ornamental scrolls.
One of the last emperors of the period was a
strange mixture of enterprise and vicious excess. While
•
THE T'ANGS.
53
committing every imaginable act of folly and extra-
vagance, he nevertheless succeeded in adding largely to
the empire by annexation towards the west. He joined
the Yang-tsze and the Yellow River by a canal, thus
anticipating in some measure the Grand Canal of
Kublai Khan. Embassies reached his court from
various nations-among others from Japan and Cochin
China-and helped to add to the lustre of his reign.
But the end came at last; and it was practically over
his murdered corpse that the T'angs rose to Imperial
power.
The three centuries during which the T'angs sat upon
the throne form a brilliant epoch in Chinese history;
and just as the northerners still delight to style them-
selves 'good sons of Han,' so are the more southern
people still proud of the designation which has des-
cended to them as 'men of T'ang.' The empire was
now once more undivided against itself; and although
wars and rebellions were not wanting to disturb the
even tenor of its way, the general picture presented to
us under the dynasty of the T'angs is one of national
peace, prosperity, and progress.
One of the chief political events of the period was
the usurpation of power by the Empress Wu; at first,
as nominal regent on behalf of a step-child, the son
and heir of her late husband by his first empress, but
afterwards on her own account. The Empress Wu
ruled with a rod of iron, and with much actual ability
so long as her great intellectual faculties remained
unimpaired; but in her old age she was deposed and
54
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
relegated to private life, the rightful heir being replaced
upon his father's throne. She had altered the name
of the dynasty to 'Chow,' which change, like many
others she had sought to introduce, was swept away at
her deposition from power. Her title of Empress,'
as signifying independent sovereignty, is more a sobriquet.
than anything else. The Empress Wu does not occupy
a real place among the sovereigns of China, such as has
been accorded to the Empress Lü of the Hans.
But unquestionably the most attractive portion of the
whole of the T'ang dynasty is that covered by the forty-
four years during which the Emperor Hsüan Tsung (or
Ming Ti) lapsed from the height of a wise and virtuous
ruler to the depth of a corrupt and sensual debauchee.
One of his first acts was to publish an edict against
the prevailing extravagance in dress; and in order to
point the principle by personal practice, he caused all
his own valuable wardrobe to be destroyed by fire. He
was the founder of a dramatic college, to which purpose
he devoted a large section of his Imperial residence,
known as the 'Pear Garden,' where male and female
actors in great numbers were trained to their respective
parts. An enthusiastic patron of literature, he sur-
rounded himself with the wits of the day, among whom
are specially noticeable the poets Li T'ai-poh and Tu Fu,
the Byron and De Musset of China. The former of
these, a poet at the early age of seven, was admitted
to an intimacy as unparalleled as it was objectionable
in character. On the strength of the beauty of his
verses, the Emperor waited upon him with wine and
THE T'ANGS.
55
food, while the Imperial favourite handed him paper,
pencil, and ink, the usual outcome of these symposia
being the general inebriation of all parties. No wonder
that such over-familiarity ended in mutual contempt.
The favourite became arrayed against the poet, because
of some alleged satirical allusions to her in his poems,
and Li T'ai-poh closed his days in the retirement and
obscurity of private life.
The T'ang dynasty is otherwise inseparably associated
with the highest flights of Chinese poetry. About one
hundred and eighty years ago, a Complete Collection of
the Poetry of the T'angs was published by Imperial
command. The work consists of 48,900 different pieces
of all kinds, arranged in 900 books. And it may not
be out of place to mention here that Chinese prosody
is of an extremely complicated nature. As a rule,
poems are written in so many columns, with either five
or seven characters to each, as previously determined
upon, though other metres are in use. The first, second,
and fourth columns rhyme; while intricate rules prevail
as to the 'tones' of characters in certain places, these
being made to correspond rhythmically one with another
according to a fixed system. Antithetical collocations,
and historical or mythological allusions, must also be
of frequent occurrence; figures of speech still more so,
it being an almost unpardonable fault to call a spade a
spade. Chinese poetry, as may now perhaps be under-
stood by the reader, is precisely that part of the literature
which has always been least appreciated by Europeans.
It possesses immense attractions for their own scholars
56
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
}
and the art of making verses holds an important position
in their educational curriculum.
The elaboration of 'tones,' or those modulations of
the voice by which any given vocable may be pro-
nounced in several different ways according to the
meaning required, is usually referred to this period.
Mr. Edkins says, "The number of tones increased from
two to three by the time of Confucius, to four in the
sixth century of our era, and so on to their present
state." The subject will be further alluded to when
we come to speak of the dialects of modern times.
Meanwhile, Buddhism was fast striking deep roots.
into a favourable soil. The founder of the dynasty
published, indeed, a severe edict against the growing
faith; and, towards the close of the T'ang period, another
Imperial thunderbolt of the kind was launched at the
then firmly established and almost universally-popular
religion. Confucianists, rejecting without discrimination
all beliefs in supernatural existences, were arrayed among
its most bitter enemies; and professors of Taoist mum-
meries, finding their receipts diminish in direct ratio to
the spread of Buddhistic doctrines, joined warmly in
the hue and cry. In the other camp were found several
weak emperors, and whole seraglios of silly women and
crafty eunuchs; the Imperial favour thus lavished on an
alien superstition reaching a climax with the determina-
tion of his Majesty Hsien Tsung to receive with public
honours a bone of Shâkyamuni which had been conveyed
with immense care from India overland to China.
lofty tower was prepared, from which the Emperor was
A
.
THE T'ANGS.
57
to view a gorgeous procession formed to conduct this
precious relic of the world-honoured Buddha within the
precincts of the Imperial palace. There was one man,
however, the most accomplished of the poets, philoso-
phers, and statesmen of his day, who was unable to look
unmoved on this degradation of intellect and of the
Imperial dignity. The name of Han Wên-kung is a
household word in every Chinese home upon which
the light even of a mediocre education has fallen. An
ardent student of Confucianism, as seen from the stand-
point of the Han scholars, he had succeeded in
introducing a theory of his own with regard to the
much-vexed question of man's original disposition. He
contended that men were born with natures belonging
to one or other of three classes. Their tendencies were
either innately good, or innately evil, or they occupied
a mean place between these extremes. But not one
of his efforts attracted so much attention at the time,
or has excited so much interest since, as his famous
remonstrance to the Emperor regarding the undignified
step his Majesty was about to take in the inatter of the
bone. This protest was conceived in a strain peculiarly
Chinese. Han Wên-kung travelled back to the palmy
days of Yao and Shun, and showed how happy were
the people, and how long-lived were the rulers of old,
centuries before any one had ever heard of the Lord
Buddha. He passed in review the intervening dynasties,
and pointed out that those emperors who had been
most inclined to the faith had enjoyed the least share
of worldly prosperity. He protested against going to
58
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
barbarians in search of the rule of life, and regretted
that the Son of Heaven, the master of all beneath the
canopy of the sky, should stoop to be taught at their
hands. "Supposing, indeed," he argued, "that this
Buddha had come to our capital in the flesh, under
an appointment from his own State, then your majesty
might have received him, with a few words of admo-
nition, bestowing on him a banquet and a suit of
clothes, previous to sending him out of the country with
an escort of soldiers, in order to avoid any dangerous
influence upon the minds of the people. But what are
the facts? The bone of a man long since dead and
decomposed, is to be admitted, forsooth, within the
precincts of the Imperial palace! And yet Confucius
said, 'Pay all respect to spiritual beings, but keep them
at a distance."" In conclusion, Han Wên-kung prayed
that the bone might be handed over for destruction by
fire or water, adding, "Should the Lord Buddha have
power to avenge this insult by the infliction of some
misfortune, then let the vials of his wrath be poured
out upon the person of your majesty's servant, who
now calls Heaven to witness that he will not repent
him of his oath."
The result of this brilliant appeal was not of a nature
to encourage further appeals in the same direction.
Han Wên-kung was immediately ordered to take up
the post of governor in a wild out-of-the-way region in
a distant part of the empire, the district in which the
Treaty Port of Swatow now lies. Thither he retired
to occupy himself in attempting to civilise the turbulent
THE T'ANGS.
59
clans committed to his charge; and there the memory
of his wise and just administration remains still fresh
and green, though more than a thousand years have
since passed away. It is pleasant to be able to record
the fact that this quasi-banishment came eventually to a
satisfactory end. Han Wên-kung was ultimately recalled,
and died full of honours, being canonised after death
under the title of a Prince of Literature.
It was during the reign of the second emperor of the
T'angs, and only six years after the Hegira, that the
religion of Mahomet is said to have first reached the
shores of China. Wahb-Abi-Kabcha, a maternal uncle
of the Prophet, visited the country, and obtained per-
mission to built a mosque at Canton, portions of which
may perhaps still be found in the thrice-restored structure
which now stands upon its site. Nearly a century and
a half later, an army of 4,000 Arab soldiers was sent to
China by the Caliph Abu Giaffar to assist in quelling
an insurrection; and these soldiers, as a reward for
their services, were allowed to settle in the country,
where they married native wives. They held fast by
the faith they had brought with them; but in every
other respect, their individuality was soon merged in
that of the Chinese people.
The use of paper money was first introduced by the
government towards the closing years of the dynasty;
and it is near about to this time that we can trace
back the existence of the modern Court Circular and
daily record of edicts, memorials, and so forth, com-
monly known as the Peking Gazette.
60
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
.
Another unimportant transition period, in this case
of only sixty years' duration, forms the connecting link
between the great houses of T'ang and Sung. It is
known in Chinese history as the period of the Five
Dynasties, after the five short-lived dynasties which were
all crowded into this brief space of time. It is remark-
able chiefly for the more extended practice of printing
from wooden blocks, the standard classical works being
now for the first time printed in this way, and admitted
to a wider circulation than heretofore.
The discreditable custom of cramping women's feet
into the so-called 'golden lilies' belongs probably to
this date, though referred by some to a period several
hundred years earlier. How it originated there is really
no sufficient or trustworthy evidence to show; but there
is no reason why this, one of the most extraordinary
and objectionable features of Chinese social life, should
be so thoroughly misunderstood, as is now the case.
Even Mr. Herbert Spencer writes: "Obviously these
[cramped feet] have become signs of class distinction,
because of the implied inability to labour." (Ceremonial
Institutions, p. 202.) Now, a very common sight in
China at the present moment is a small-footed woman,
of course of the poorer classes, toiling wearily along
under a burden out of all proportion to her strength,
even were her feet of the natural size and shape. The
fact is, that small feet do not constitute a class
distinction in the sense intended by Mr. Spencer. All
women of Chinese origin have their feet cramped in
infancy, without reference to their social standing, in
THE T'ANGS.
61
opposition to the Manchu or Tartar women, who, from
the empress downwards, are never subjected to this
process; neither is the custom in force among the
Hakkas, a race of ancient Chinese stock, said to have
emigrated from northern to southern China some six
hundred years ago; nor among the hill-tribes of Formosa
and other parts. The Manchus, as will be seen more
fully on a later page, are a people alien to the soil of
China, who swept down from their home in Manchuria
and made themselves masters of the empire in 1644,
since which date they have continued in unbroken
succession to occupy the Dragon Throne.
We have mentioned above that the age of the T'angs
was the age of Mahomet and his new religion, the pro-
pagation of which was destined to meet in the west
with a fatal check from the arms of Charles Martel at
the battle of Tours. It was the age of Rome inde-
pendent under her early popes; of Charlemagne as
Emperor of the West; of Egbert, as first king of
England; and of Alfred the Great.
62
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
A VISIT TO THE COUNTRY OF GENTLEMEN.
(FROM THE CHINESE.)*
Imagine that, instead of preferring to buy things at low prices,
men habitually preferred to give high prices for them; and imagine
that, conversely, sellers rejoiced in getting low prices instead of high
ones.-HERBERT SPENcer.
The year 684 after the birth of Christ was an eventful
year for China. A woman, endowed it is true with a
masculine nature and an iron will, set aside with violence
the rightful heir, and seated herself exultingly upon the
Dragon Throne. She understood, moreover, the difficult
art of keeping the empire she had acquired; and for
nearly twenty years the Chinese people had no alter-
native but to submit. Yet the Empress Wu distinguished
her reign by a certain amount of folly and arrogance
hardly compatible with the dauntless spirit which had
carried her through to victory. For instance, she issued
an edict, to be promulgated throughout the empire,
commanding every species of flower without a single
exception to be in bloom by a given day. Her frivolity,
dissipation, and extravagance, formed a common topic of
conversation at the public tea-gardens, and tended to
bring about a downfall even more rapid than had been
her rise to power.
The
With all this, however, we have now no concern.
story we have to tell is connected with this empress only
* Translated from Vol. IV. of the Ching-hua-yüan.
THE T'ANGS.
63
by the following link. Among her other whims she took
it into her head to establish examinations for women,
with a view to selecting the successful candidates for
posts in the service of the state which had hitherto been
confined to men. From the possession of a vigorous
intellect in her own case, she probably inferred that
many of her sex would be found to be equally gifted
if only the chance were given them of bringing their
powers into play.
Whatever may have been the cause, it is only certain
that this policy gave immediate and unbounded offence
to all ranks and classes alike. To none more so than
to a young and accomplished scholar, named T'ang Ao,
who had just taken the third place in the great triennial
examination. He declared that he saw through the
hollowness of all earthly honours, and expressed his
intention of throwing up a career as brilliant as it was
certain, and of roaming abroad for some years in search
of knowledge and amusement combined. It chanced
that an uncle of his, named Lin, was just on the point
of setting out on a long voyage with a cargo of mer-
chandise which he intended to dispose of on his way,
bringing back to China a goodly load of valuables from
the countries he proposed to visit. He gladly accepted
the offer of his nephew's companionship, and introduced
him to a third person, who, with his own wife and child,
made up a party of five. This was no other than an old
man of eighty, who had been travelling about the world.
ever since he was a boy, and was still hale and hearty
enough to take his place with many a younger man. He
64
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
*
was called To, because he knew so much, and every
question of importance was invariably referred to him.
They started with a fair wind in a tight ship, talking
gaily of all the wonders they expected to see.
And so they sailed along for many days until they
arrived at the Country of Gentlemen, where they went
on shore and proceeded at once to the capital city.
There, over the city gate, T'ang and his companions
read the following legend :-
Virtue is man's only jewel!
They then entered the city, which they found to be a
busy and prosperous mart, the inhabitants all talking the
Chinese language. Accordingly, T'ang accosted one of
the passers-by and asked him how it was his nation had
become so famous for politeness and consideration of
others; but to his great astonishment the man did not
understand the meaning of his question. T'ang then
asked him why this land was called the 'Country of
Gentlemen,' to which he likewise replied that he did not
know. Several other persons of whom they inquired
giving similar answers, the venerable To remarked that
the term had undoubtedly been adopted by the in-
habitants of adjacent countries, in consequence of the
polite manners and considerate behaviour of these
people. "For," said he, "the very labourers in the fields
and foot-passengers in the streets step aside to make
room for one another. High and low, rich and poor,
* To means 'much' in Chinese.
THE T'ANGS.
65
mutually respect each other's feelings without reference to
the wealth or social status of either; and this is, after all,
the essence of what constitutes the true gentleman.”
"In that case," cried T'ang, "let us not hurry on, but
rather improve ourselves by observing the ways and cus-
toms of this people."
By-and-by they arrived at the market-place, where
they saw an official servant* standing at a stall engaged
in making purchases. He was holding in his hand the
articles he wished to buy, and was saying to the owner
of the stall, "Just reflect a moment, Sir, how impossible
it would be for me to take these excellent goods at the
absurdly low price you are asking. If you will oblige
me by doubling the amount, I shall do myself the
honour of accepting them; otherwise, I cannot but feel
that you are unwilling to do business with me to-day."
"How very funny!" whispered T'ang to his friends.
"Here, now, is quite a different custom from ours, where
the buyer invariably tries to beat down the seller, and
the seller to run up the price of his goods as high as
possible. This certainly looks like the 'consideration
for others' of which we spoke just now."
The man at the stall here replied, "Your wish, Sir,
should be law to me, I know; but the fact is, I am
already overwhelmed with shame at the high price I
have ventured to name. Besides, I do not profess to
adhere rigidly to 'marked prices,'† which is a mere trick
* A class very much dreaded by shopkeepers in China for their
avarice and extortion. Usually called 'runners.'
+ Almost every shop in China has some such sign as 'prix fixé,’
F
66
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
of the trade; and consequently it should be the aim of
every purchaser to make me lower my terms to the
very smallest figure. You, on the contrary, are trying
to raise the price to an exorbitant figure: and, although
I fully appreciate your kindness in that respect, I must
really ask you to seek what you require at some other
establishment. It is quite impossible for me to execute
your commands.”
T'ang was again expressing his astonishment at this
extraordinary reversal of the platitudes of trade, when
the would-be purchaser replied, "For you, Sir, to ask
such a low sum for these first-class goods, and then to
turn round and accuse me of over-considering your
interests, is indeed a sad breach of etiquette. Trade
could not be carried on at all if all the advantages were
on one side and the losses on the other; neither am
I more devoid of brains than the ordinary run of people
that I should fail to understand this principle and let
you catch me in a trap."
So they went on wrangling and jangling, the stall-
keeper refusing to charge any more and the runner
insisting on paying his own price, until the latter made
a show of yielding and put down the full sum demanded
on the counter, but took only half the amount of goods.
Of course the stallkeeper would not consent to this,
and they would both have fallen back upon their original
positions had not two old gentlemen who happened to
but it is needless to say that Chinese tradesmen are quite as open
to abate their demands as the more civilised denizens of the Rue
Rivoli.
THE TANGS.
67
be passing stepped aside and arranged the matter for
them, by deciding that the runner was to pay the full
price but to receive only four-fifths of the goods.
T'ang and his companions walked on in silence, medi-
tating upon the strange scene they had just witnessed;
but they had not gone many steps when they came
across a soldier* similarly engaged in buying things at
an open shop window. He was saying, "When I asked
the price of these goods, you, Sir, begged me to take
them at my own valuation; but now that I am willing
to do so, you complain of the large sum I offer, whereas
the truth is that it is actually very much below their real
value. Do not treat me thus unfairly.”
"It is not for me, Sir," replied the shopkeeper, "to
demand a price for my own goods; my duty is to leave
that entirely to you. But the fact is that these goods
are old stock, and are not even the best of their kind;
you would do much better at another shop. However,
let us say halt what you are good enough to offer;
even then I feel I shall be taking a great deal too much :
I could not think, Sir, of parting with my goods at your
price."
"What is that you are saying, Sir?" cried the soldier.
"Although not in the trade myself, I can tell superior
from inferior articles, and am not likely to mistake one
* If possible a more deadly foe to Chinese tradesmen than the
runners above mentioned. These ill-paid, and consequently brutal,
vagabonds think nothing of snatching pastry or fruit from the cos-
termongers' stalls as they walk along the streets. Hence the
delicacy of our author's satire, which is necessarily somewhat lost
upon European readers.
F 2
68
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
for the other. And to pay a low price for a good
article is simply another way of taking money out of a
man's pocket."
"Sir," retorted the shopkeeper, "if you are such a
stickler for justice as all that, let us say half the price
you first mentioned, and the goods are yours. If you
object to that, I must ask you to take your custom
elsewhere. You will then find that I am not imposing
on you."
The soldier at first stuck to his text, but seeing that
the shopkeeper was not inclined to give way, he laid
down the sum named and began to take his goods,
picking out the very worst he could find. Here, how-
ever, the shopkeeper interposed, saying, "Excuse me,
Sir, but you are taking all the bad ones. It is doubtless
very kind of you to leave the best for me; but if all
men were like you, there would be a general collapse
of trade."
"Sir,” replied the soldier, "as you insist on accepting
only half the value of the goods, there is no course open
to me but to choose inferior articles. Besides, as a
matter of fact, the best kind will not answer my purpose
so well as the second or third best; and although I fully
recognise your good intentions, I must really ask to be
allowed to please myself."
"There is no objection, Sir," said the shopkeeper,
"to your pleasing yourself; but low-class goods are sold
at a low price, and do not command the same rates as
superior articles.”
Thus they went on bandying arguments for a long
THE T'ANGS.
69
1.
time without coming to any definite agreement, until at
last the soldier picked up the things he had chosen and
tried to make off with them. The bystanders, however,
all cried shame upon him and said he was a downright
cheat, so that he was ultimately obliged to take some
of the best kind and some of the inferior kind and
put an end to the altercation.
A little farther on our travellers saw a countryman
who had just paid the price of some purchases he had
succeeded in making, and was hurrying away with them,
when the shopkeeper called after him, "Sir! Sir! you
have paid me by mistake in finer silver than we are
accustomed to use here, and I have to allow you a
considerable discount in consequence. Of course this
is a mere trifle to a gentleman of your rank and position,
but still for my own sake I must ask leave to make
it all right with you."
"Pray don't mention such a small matter," replied
the countryman, "but oblige me by putting the amount
to my credit for use at a future date when I come again
to buy some more of your excellent wares."
"No, no," answered the shopkeeper, "you don't
catch old birds with chaff. That trick was played upon
me last year by another gentleman, and to this day I
have never set eyes upon him again, though I have made
every endeavour to find out his whereabouts. As it is,
I can now only look forward to repaying him in the next
life; but if I let you take me in in the same way, why,
when the next life comes and I am changed, may be
into a horse or a donkey, I shall have quite enough to
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DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
do to find him, and your debt will go dragging on till
the life after that.* No, no, there is no time like the
present; hereafter I might very likely forget what was
the exact sum I owed you."
The
They continued to argue the point until the country-
man consented to accept a trifle as a set-off against the
fineness of his silver and went away with his goods, the
shopkeeper bawling after him as long as he was in sight
that he had sold him inferior articles at a high rate,
and was positively defrauding him of his money.
countryman, however, got clear away, and the shop-
keeper returned to his grumbling at the iniquity of the
age. Just then a beggar happened to pass, and so in
anger at having been compelled to take more than his
due he handed him the difference. "Who knows," said
he, "but that the present misery of this poor fellow may
be retribution for overcharging people in a former life?"
"Ah," said T'ang, when he had witnessed the finale
of this little drama, "truly this is the behaviour of
gentlemen!"
Our travellers then fell into conversation with two
respectable-looking old men who said they were brothers,
and accepted their invitation to go and take a cup of tea
together. Their hosts talked eagerly about China, and
wished to hear many particulars of 'the first nation in
the world.' Yet, while expressing their admiration for
the high literary culture of its inhabitants and their
unqualified successes in the arts and sciences, they did
Alluding to the Buddhist system of metempsychosis.
THE T'ANGS.
71
not hesitate to stigmatise as unworthy a great people
certain usages which appeared to them deserving of the
utmost censure. They laughed at the superstitions of
Fêng-Shui* and wondered how intelligent men could
be imposed upon year after year by the mountebank
professors of such baseless nonsense. "If it is true,"
said one of them, "that the selection of an auspicious.
day and a fitting spot for the burial of one's father or
mother is certain to bring prosperity to the survivors,
how can you account for the fact that the geomancers
themselves are always a low, poverty-stricken lot? Surely
they would begin by appropriating the very best positions
themselves, and so secure whatever good fortune might
happen to be in want of an owner.”
Then again with regard to bandaging women's feet in
order to reduce their size. "We can see no beauty,"
said they, "in such monstrosities as the feet of your
ladies. Small noses are usually considered more attrac-
tive than large ones; but what would be said of a man
who sliced a piece off his own nose in order to reduce it
within proper limits?"
And thus the hours slipped pleasantly away until it
was time to bid adieu to their new friends and regain
their ship. Then a voyage of a few days brought them
to the Country of Great Men, where they would hardly
have landed but for T'ang's curiosity to see a people
* The celebrated wind-and-water system of geomancy, which
after having long been a serious obstacle to the introduction of
telegraphs and railways, has in the last few years been shaken to its
centre, and is now destined very shortly to collapse.
72
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
who he had heard used clouds as a means of locomotion.
The omniscient To explained that the city lay at some
distance from the shore behind a range of hills, and that
it would be absolutely necessary to get as far as that
if they wanted to see anything of the manners and
customs of the people. So they set off to walk, meeting
on the way a few people moving about on clouds of
different colours about half-a-foot from the ground, but
they soon lost themselves in a perfect labyrinth of paths
and did not know which way to turn. Luckily, they
spied out a small temple hidden in a grove of waving
bamboos, and were on the point of knocking for
admittance, when out came an old man of ordinary
appearance, riding on a cloud, with a stoup of wine in
one hand and a lump of pork in the other.* On seeing
the strangers he turned back and put down the pork
and wine, returning at once with a smile on his face to
welcome them to his 'rush hut.'t T'ang made him a
low bow and inquired what might be the name of the
temple. He replied that it was sacred to the Goddess
of Mercy, and that he was the officiating priest. The
* Evidencing a gross breach of the rule pasted at the door of
every Buddhist temple-
No wine or meat shall enter here!
+ Chinese conversational etiquette demands the use of the most
outrageous terms. One dirty old Chinaman will ask another what
is his honourable name,' the age of his 'venerable teeth,' the
whereabouts of his 'palace' or 'noble mansion,' and the number
of 'illustrious young gentlemen' who call him father. The hu
mility of tone adopted in the reply is generally in direct ratio to
the flattering language of the question.
THE T'ANGS.
73
trader Lin opened his eyes at this, and said, "But, my
venerable Sir, how comes it then that you do not shave
your head? And may we presume that there is a lady
inside for whom you were about to prepare the pork and
wine we saw just now?"
"There is, indeed, a lady within," replied the priest;
"but she is merely the insignificant wife of your humble
slave. She and I have lived here ever since we were
children, burning incense and candles daily before the
shrine. For our countrymen, hearing that China during
the Han dynasty had accepted the Law of Buddha, and
that priests and nuns with shaven heads had become
quite common there, determined to adopt the same
religion-dispensing however with the usual monastic
VOWS."
The old priest then asked them whence they came,
and on learning that they had just arrived from China
became anxious to show them some hospitality; but
T'ang prayed him to excuse them, urging that they
wished to hurry on to the city. He then added,
"May I ask what is the explanation of the clouds
I see underneath the feet of the inhabitants of this
country? Are you born with them?"
"Sir," answered the old priest, "these clouds are
perfectly independent of the will of the individuals to
whom they are attached. Their colour varies, and also
changes, with the disposition of each particular person.
The best clouds to have are striped like a rainbow;
yellow is the second best, and black is the worst of all.'
T'ang then begged him to point out the way to the city,
"}
74
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
which he did, and our travellers forthwith proceeded on
their way thither. At length they arrived, but found
nothing very different from what they had previously
seen in the Country of Gentlemen, except that all the
inhabitants were moving about on clouds of various
hues, green, red, yellow, blue, and black. Amongst
others they noticed a filthy beggar riding on a striped
or rainbow cloud; whereupon T'ang remarked, "Why,
the priest told us that the striped cloud was the best
of all, and here is a dirty old beggar with one!"
"Don't you recollect," said Lin, "that the wine-
bibbing, meat-eating, wife-marrying ascetic had a striped
cloud himself? You may be pretty sure that neither
of them are men of very distinguished virtue."
"When I was here before," explained To, "I heard
that the colour of a man's cloud was quite independent
of his wishes, being regulated entirely by his natural
disposition and actions, so that virtuous people show
good colours and wicked people bad ones whether
they like or not; and that nothing short of change
of disposition and conduct can possibly alter the hue
of any man's cloud. Thus it happens that persons
of high rank are sometimes seen on black clouds,
while their poorer and humbler neighbours ride about
on clouds of the very best colours. As it is, I would
have you notice how few-scarcely two in a hundred-
are seen on black clouds. For such are held in
universal detestation by their fellow-countrymen, who
avoid contact with them as much as they can; whereas,
on the other hand, nothing gives more pleasure to the
THE T'ANGS.
75
inhabitants of this region than the sight of a kindly and
benevolent act. Neither are they always striving to get
the better of one another, and therefore the people
of the adjacent nations have named this the Country
of Great Men; not meaning thereby that physically
speaking they are greater than the usual run of human
beings, but that they are a high-minded and virtuous
race."
"Dear me !” cried T'ang, "I now see what a delusion
I have always been labouring under. Formerly, when-
ever I heard any one talking about the Country of Great
Men, which they placed at an immense distance beyond
the
sea, I have always pictured to myself a land inhabited
by monstrous creatures with bodies some ten or twenty
feet in height."
"And such a nation really does exist," interposed To,
"the people of which are actually of the height you
mention; but when we get there, as in course of time
we shall, you will find out that there is a vast difference
between the country of great men and the country
of long men."
While they were thus talking, the people in the streets
began to fall back to either side, leaving a clear passage
in the middle; and by-and-by they saw an official pass
in great state, with his red umbrella, gongs, tablets, and
other instrumental parts of his dignity, besides hosts
of attendants on clouds of various hues. They noticed,
however, that his own cloud was scrupulously concealed
by a valance of red silk so that its colour could not
possibly be seen; whereupon T'ang observed, "Of course
76
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
the high officials of this country have no need for horses
or sedan-chairs, provided as they are with these con-
venient clouds upon which they can move about at their
pleasure; but I should like to know why this gentle-
man keeps his cloud covered up in such a mysterious
manner."
"Well,” replied To, "the fact is that he, like too
many others of his class, has a cloud of a peculiar
colour. It is not exactly black, but more of an ashen
hue, showing thereby that his hands are not nearly so
clean as they ought to be. For although he puts on all
the appearance of a virtuous member of society and
conceals his misdeeds from the world at large, yet he
cannot control his cloud which takes its hue from the
real working of his inmost mind. Consequently, he
covers it up; but he might as well 'stuff his ears' and
'ring a bell' for all the good that can do him. Other
people will hear the bell if he doesn't. Nothing on
earth will change the colour of that cloud of his except
a conscientious repentance and a thorough reformation
of character. Besides, there is every danger of the
truth becoming bruited abroad, and then he is a lost
Not only would he be severely punished by the
king of the country, but he would further be shunned on
all sides as a degraded and dishonourable man.”
man.
"Just Heaven!" cried the trader Lin, "how inscrut-
able are thy ways to man.”
"Why say you so?" asked T'ang of his uncle, "and
to what may you be particularly alluding?"
"I say so,” replied Lin, "inasmuch as I see these
THE T'ANGS.
77
clouds confined to this nation. How useful it would
be in our own country to have some such infallible
means of distinguishing the good from the bad. For
if every wicked man carried about, so to speak, his own
shop-sign with him wherever he went, surely this would
act as a powerful deterrent from crime."
"My dear friend," said the aged To, "though the
wicked in our part of the world carry about with them
no tell-tale cloud, there is nevertheless a blackness in
their looks by which you may know the colour of their
hearts."
"That may be so," answered Lin, "but I for one am
unable to perceive whether the blackness is there or
not."
"You may not detect it," retorted To, "but Heaven
does, and deals out its rewards and punishments ac-
cordingly."
"Sir," said Lin, "I will take your word for it;" and
there the discussion ended.
The sun was now sinking rapidly in the west, and our
travellers had no alternative but to make the best of
their way back to the ship, which they reached in safety
before night, and hoisting sail bade adieu to the Country
of Great Men. Their ocean trip was hardly yet begun,
so many various nations did they visit before setting foot
once again upon the soil of their fatherland. They saw
the Pygmies, averaging about one foot in height, with
their funny little four-inch children; and recorded the
fact that these tiny people were obliged to go about in
small bands of three or five, for fear of large birds which
78
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
were in the habit of carrying them off. They reached
the Country of Long Men, which T'ang had previously
confounded with the Country of Great Men, and beheld
the inhabitants on the sea-shore reaching down into the
water for fish with arms some fifteen cubits in length.
They saw the people of the Winged Nation flying about
over their heads, the Double-Faced Nation, and many
other strange beings. But the lessening hull of their
fish-like junk,* built, as is everything else in China, upon
unchanging lines, warns us that the reader's attention
may be lessening too. We shall therefore follow them
no farther upon their adventurous voyage, but wish them
'good wind, good water,' a prosperous journey and a
safe return.
* Home readers may not be aware that nearly every junk and even
small boat in China is provided with a pair of huge eyes nailed one
on each side of the bow. "For how," argue the Chinamen, "could
they otherwise see which way to go?" And European captains,
engaged in the carrying trade on the coast and dependent upon the
Chinese for their freights, have in many instances sought to humour
their patrons by adopting the same harmless custom in regard to
the steamers under their command.
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79
IV. THE SUNGS.
A.D. 960-1280.
THE first portion of the Sung dynasty may be considered
as on the whole one of the most prosperous and peace-
able periods of the history of China. The nation had
already in a great measure settled down to that state
of material civilisation and mental culture in which it
may be said to have been discovered by Europeans a
few centuries later. To the appliances of Chinese ordi-
nary life it is probable that but few additions had been
made even since a much earlier date. The national
costume has indeed undergone subsequent variations,
and at least one striking change has been introduced.
in later years, i.e., the tail, which will be mentioned in
its proper place. But the ploughs and hoes, the water-
wheels and well-sweeps, the tools of artisans, mud huts,
junks, carts, chairs, tables, chopsticks, etc., etc., which we
still see in China, are doubtless approximately those of
more than 2,000 years ago. Mencius observed that the
written language was the same, and axle-trees of the same
length, all over the empire; and to this day an unaltering
uniformity is one of the chief characteristics of the
Chinese people in every department of life.
The House of Sung was not, however, without the
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DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
usual troubles for any length of time. Periodicity of
revolt is a special feature of Chinese history; and the
Sungs were hardly exempt from this in a greater degree
than other dynasties. The Tartars, too, were for ever
encroaching upon Chinese territory, and finally overran
and occupied a large part of northern China. This
resulted in an amicable arrangement to divide the em-
pire, the Tartars retaining their conquests in the north.
Less than a hundred years later came the invasion of the
Mongols, under Genghiz Khan, with the long struggle
which eventuated in the complete overthrow of both the
Tartars and the Sungs and the final establishment of the
Mongol dynasty under Kublai Khan, whose success was
in a great measure due to the military capacity of his
famous lieutenant, Bayan. From this struggle one name
in particular has survived to form a landmark of which
the Chinese are justly proud. It is that of the patriot
statesman, Wên T'ien-hsiang, whose fidelity to the Sungs
no defeats could shake, no promises undermine; and
who perished miserably in the hands of the enemy,
rather than abjure the loyalty which had been the
pride and almost the object of his existence.
Another name inseparably connected with the history
of the Sungs is that of Wang An-shih, who has been
styled 'the innovator' from the gigantic administrative
changes, or innovations, he laboured ineffectually to
introduce. The chief of these were (1) a universal
system of militia, under which the whole body of citizens.
were liable to military drill and to be called out for
service in time of need: and (2) a system of State loans
THE SUNGS.
81
to agriculturists, in order to supply capital for more ex-
tensive and more remunerative farming operations. His
schemes were ultimately set aside, through the opposition
of a statesman, the mention of whose name carries us
away from politics to the serener atmosphere of literary
labour. Ssu-ma Kuang spent nineteen years of his life
in the compilation of The Mirror of History, a history of
China, in 294 books, from the earliest times of the Chow
dynasty down to the accession of the house of Sung. A
century later, this lengthy and somewhat unmanageable
production was recast in a greatly condensed form, under
the superintendence of Chu Hsi (or Choo Hi), the latter
work at once taking rank as the standard history of
China to that date. Chu Hsi himself played in other
ways by far the most important part among all the
literary giants of the Sungs. Besides holding, during a
large portion of his life, high official positions with an
almost unqualified success, his writings are more ex-
tensive and more varied in character than those of any
other Chinese author; and the complete collection of
his great philosophical works, published in 1713, fills
no fewer than sixty-six books. He introduced inter-
pretations of the Confucian classics, either wholly or
partially at variance with those which had been put
forth by the scholars of the Han dynasty and received
as infallible ever since, thus modifying to a certain extent
the prevailing standard of political and social morality.
His principle was simply one of consistency. He refused
to interpret certain words in a given passage in one sense,
and the same words, occurring elsewhere, in another
G
82
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
sense.
And this principle recommended itself at once
to the highly-logical mind of the Chinese. Chu Hsi's
commentaries were received to the exclusion of all
others, and still form the only authorised interpretation
of the classical books, upon a knowledge of which all
success at the great competitive examinations may be
said to entirely depend.
It would be a lengthy task to merely enumerate the
names in the great phalanx of writers who flourished
under the Sungs, and who formed an Augustan age of
Chinese literature. Exception must, however, be made
in favour of (1) Ou-yang Hsiu, who, besides being an
eminent statesman, was a voluminous historian of the
immediately preceding dynasties, an essayist of rare
ability, and a poet; and (2) of Su Tung-p'o, whose name,
next to that of Chu Hsi, fills the largest place in Chinese
memorials of this period. A vigorous opponent of the
'Innovator,' he suffered banishment for his opposition ;
and, again, after his rival's fall, he was similarly punished
for further crossing the Imperial will. His exile was
shared by the beautiful and accomplished girl, 'Morning
Clouds,' to whose inspiration we owe many of the
elaborate poems and other productions in the com-
position of which the banished poet beguiled his time;
and whose untimely death, of consumption, on the
banks of their favourite lake, hastened the poet's end,
which occurred shortly after his recall from banishment.
Buddhism and Taoism had by this time made
advances towards tacit terms of mutual toleration. They
wisely agreed to share rather than to quarrel over the
THE SUNGS.
83
carcass which lay at their feet; and from that date
they have flourished together without prejudice. The
ministers of each religion, now so mixed up that a
casual observer could hardly distinguish one from the
other, meet upon equal terms and often take parts in the
same ceremony, Chinese of the wealthier classes con-
sidering it advisable to patronise both establishments.
Both were, and still nominally remain, under the ban of
Confucianism; but Confucianism is cold food for the
uneducated classes, and affords poor solace to the
grosser cravings of the masses who have never learnt to
think. That Buddhism continued to receive Imperial
patronage under the Sungs is a fact confirmed by the
recent discovery at Buddha-Gaya of certain Chinese
inscriptions, the following translation of one of which
was made from a photograph taken by Mr. Garrick,
Assistant Archæological Surveyor to the Government of
India:
"This pagoda was erected by the Emperor and
Empress of the Great Sung dynasty, in memory of His
Imperial Majesty, T'ai Tsung.
(C
'By command of His Imperial Majesty, our divinely-
enlightened, most glorious, most virtuous, most filial
sovereign of this the Great Sung dynasty, and of Her
Imperial Majesty, our most gracious, most virtuous, and
most compassionate Empress, I, the Buddhist priest.
Hui-wên, have been humbly commissioned to proceed
to the country of Magadha, and to erect, on behalf of
His departed Imperial Majesty, T'ai Tsung, — the
humane, the orthodox, the deserving, the divinely-
G 2
84
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
virtuous, the wise, the supremely-filial-a pagoda beside
the Bôdhimanda, the Diamond Throne. For His.
Imperial Majesty, T'ai Tsung, was humbly desirous of
passing aloft to the Dêvalôka, the Mansions of the Blest,
there to receive the word from Buddha himself, to
witness the ranks of the Immortal Saints, and be
enrolled for ever among the ranks of the faithful; hoping
thus to secure to the House of Sung divine protection
through all generations.
"Recorded this 19th day of the first moon of the
second year of Ming Tao (A.D. 1033.)"
Magadha' was the name of the ancient kingdom in
which the temple of Buddha-Gaya was situated. It is
said to have been the head-quarters of Buddhism down.
to A.D. 400, if not later. The 'Bôdhimanda' is the
terrace surrounding the Bôdhi tree, or tree of knowledge,
and is said to have risen spontaneously out of the
ground of a consistency as hard as diamond.
Meanwhile, the system of competitive examinations
and literary degrees had been still more fully elaborated,
and the famous child's primer, the Three-Character-
Classic, which is even now the first stepping-stone to
knowledge, had been placed in the hands of schoolboys.
The surnames of the people were collected together to
the number of 438 in all; and although the list was
admittedly not complete, the great majority of those
names which were omitted, once perhaps in common
use, have altogether disappeared.
It is comparatively
rare now-a-days to meet with a person whose family
name is not to be found within the limits of this small
THE SUNGS.
85
collection. Administration of justice is said to have
flourished under the incorrupt officials of this dynasty;
and the acumen of Judge Pao, of the 'Dragon Face,'
is still a household word.* The functions of magistrates
acting in their capacity as coroners were now more fully
defined; while the study of medical jurisprudence was
stimulated by the publication of a volume which,
although combining the maximum of superstition with
the minimum of scientific research, is still the officially-
recognised text-book on all subjects connected with
murder, suicide, and accidental death. Medicine and
the art of healing generally came in for a considerable
share of attention at the hands of the Sungs, and many
voluminous works on therapeutics have come down to us
wholly or in part from this period. Inoculation for
small-pox has been known to the Chinese at least since
the early years of this dynasty, if not earlier. It was
also under the Sungs that the first work on acupuncture
was published. It is attributed to the court physician of
the day, who, by command of the Emperor, constructed
two brass figures of a man and woman, in order the
better to illustrate the principles of his art.
The irruption of the Mongols under Genghiz Khan,
and the comparatively short dynasty which was later on
actually established under Kublai Khan, may for several
reasons be regarded as a period of transition from the
epoch of the Sungs to the epoch of the Mings. For the
first eighty years after the nominal accession of Genghis
Khan, the empire was more or less in a state of siege
* For a specimen case, see p. 92.
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DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
and martial law from one end to the other; and then,
in less than one hundred years afterwards, the Mongol
dynasty had passed away. The story of Ser Marco
Polo and his wonderful travels, familiar to most readers,
gives us a valuable insight into this period of brilliant
courts, thronged marts, fine cities, and great national
wealth; to which may be added the corroborative account
given by Ibn Batuta, the Arab traveller, who visited
China towards the end of the first half of the fourteenth
century.
It
At this date, the literary glory of the Sungs had hardly
begun to grow dim. Ma Tuan-lin carried on his volu-
minous work through all these troublous times of change,
and at his death bequeathed to the world the Antiquarian
Researches in 348 books, which has made his name
famous to every student of Chinese literature. Plane
and spherical trigonometry were both known to the
Chinese by this time, and mathematics generally began
to receive a larger share of the attention of scholars.
was also under the Mongol dynasty that the novel first
made its appearance,—a fact pointing to a definite social
advancement, if only in the direction of luxurious reading.
Three out of the Four Wonderful Books, as four leading
Chinese novels are collectively styled, belong to this
period; one of these being the Romance of the Three
Kingdoms, from which an extract has already been given;
and another, an apocryphal account of the travels of
Hsüan Tsang, the Buddhist priest, to India and back,
six centuries before, in quest of books and information
relating to the new religion of Buddha.
THE SUNGS.
87
Among other points may be mentioned a great influx
of Mahommedans, and consequent spread of their religion,
about this time. It is also to this period that we must
refer an extensive migration of natives from the northern
to the southern portions of China, the descendants of
the migrating families being recognisable in the modern
Hakkas, a strange people who live among, yet in some
senses apart from, the ordinary Chinese of the south,
possessing a dialect and many social characteristics of
their own.
As has been already stated, they do not
cramp their women's feet. They are more thrifty and
more industrious, as well as a more hardy race, even
than the Chinese; and many of the prizes in the lotteries.
of literary competition fall from time to time to their
share.
The Grand Canal was completed, if not actually de-
signed, by Kublai Khan; and thus Cambaluc, the Peking
of those days, was united by inland water communication
with the extreme south of China. The work seems to
have been begun by the Emperor Yang Ti, seven cen-
turies previously, and one of its primary objects, the
conveyance of grain to the capital, has now ceased to
exist as such; but even thus, the balance, a great and at
that time useful undertaking, remains in favour of Kublai
Khan.
Hardly so successful was the same Emperor's huge
naval expedition against Japan, which, in point of number
of ships and men, the insular character of the enemy's
country, the chastisement intended, and the total loss of
the fleet in a storm, aided by the stubborn resistance
88
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
•
of the Japanese themselves-suggests a very obvious
comparison with the object and fate of the Spanish
Armada.
The age of the Sungs carries us from a hundred years
previous to the Norman Conquest down to about the
death of Edward III. It was the epoch of Venetian
commerce and maritime supremacy; and of the first
great lights in Italian literature-Dante, Petrarch, and
Boccacio. English, French, German, and Spanish lite-
rature had yet to develop, only one or two of the earlier
writers, such as Chaucer, having as yet appeared on the
scene.
THE SUNGS.
89
THE OLD DRUNKARD'S ARBOUR.
[This light sketch is from the pen of the historian, Ou-yang Hsiu,
and tells its own tale.]
The district of Ch'u is entirely surrounded by hills,
and the peaks to the south-west are clothed with a
dense and beautiful growth of trees over which the eye
wanders in rapture away to the confines of Shantung.
A walk of two or three miles on those hills brings one
within earshot of the sound of falling water which
gushes forth from a ravine, and is known as the Wine-
fountain; while hard by in a nook at a bend in the
road stands a kiosque, commonly spoken of as the Old
Drunkard's Arbour. It was built by a Buddhist priest,
called Deathless Wisdom, who lived among these hills,
and received the above name from the Governor himself.
For the latter used to bring his friends hither to take
wine; and as he personally was incapacitated by a very
few cups, and was besides a man well on in years, he
gave himself the sobriquet of the Old Drunkard. But
it was not wine that attracted him to this spot; it was
the charming scenery which wine enabled him to enjoy.
The sun's rays, peeping at dawn through the trees, and
by-and-by obscured behind gathering clouds, leaving
naught but gloom around, give to this spot the alter-
nations of morning and night. The wild flowers that
exhale their perfume from the darkness of some shady
dell; the luxuriant foliage of the dense forest of beautiful
trees; the clear frosty wind; and the naked boulders of
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DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
the lessening torrent-these are the indications of spring,
summer, autumn, and winter. The morning is the time
to go thither, returning with the shades of night; and
although the place presents a different aspect with the
changes of the season, its charms are subject to no
interruption, but continue always. Burden-carriers sing
their way along the road, and travellers rest a while
under the trees; shouts from one, responses from
another; old people hobbling onwards with baskets or
packages in their hands; backwards and forwards all
day long without a break ;—these are the people of Ch'u.
A cast in the stream, and a fine fish taken from some
spot where the eddying pools begin to deepen; a
draught of cool wine from the fountain; and a few
such dishes of meats and fruits as the hills are able to
provide ;-these, nicely laid out beforehand, constitute.
the Governor's feast. And in the revelry of the banquet
hour there is no thought of toil or trouble; every archer
hits his mark, and every player wins his partie; goblets
flash from hand to hand, and a buzz of conversation is
heard as the guests move unconstrainedly about. Among
them is an old man with white hair, bald at the top
of his head. This is the drunken Governor, who, when
the evening sun kisses the tips of the hills, and the
falling shadows are drawn out and blurred, bends his
steps homewards in company with his friends. Then
in the growing darkness are heard sounds above and
below the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
are rejoicing at the departure of man. They, too, can
rejoice in hills and trees, but they cannot rejoice as man
THE SUNGS.
91
rejoices. So also the Governor's friends; they rejoice.
with him, though they do not understand at what it is
that he rejoices. Drunk, he can rejoice with them;
sober, he can discourse with them; such is the Governor.
And should you ask who is this Governor, I reply,
'Ou-yang Hsiu of Lu-ling.'
92
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
THE INTERCESSION OF AMIDA BUDDHA.
[Translated from the published collection of Judge Pao's
Criminal Cases.]
There lived, at a certain place in the province of
Hupei, a graduate named Hsü Yen-chung, just eighteen
years of age, and a handsome, clever-looking fellow. In
the house opposite resided a pork-butcher, and he had a
pretty daughter named Shu-nü, about seventeen, who
spent a great deal of her time embroidering at an upper
window which overlooked the street. One day she
noticed Hsü passing by, and the two young people at once
fell in love with each other. As time went on they began
to laugh and talk together, and one evening Hsü, with
the young lady's consent, planted a ladder against the
wall, and got up into her room. Shu-nü then told him
that for the future she had arranged a method by which
he might climb up and down with less risk of detection,
explaining that every night a piece of cloth stretched
over a roller would be found hanging out of window, and
that if he took hold of the end below, she would pull
him up. Hsü was delighted with this plan, which they
carried on for some six months, quite unsuspected by
the pork-butcher, though not altogether so by the neigh-
bours. At length, it chanced that one evening when
Hsü had gone to a wine-party, and did not visit Shu-nü
as usual, a Buddhist priest who was calling for alms
along the street saw the cloth hanging out of window,
THE SUNGS.
93
and thinking that it had been hung out to dry and had
been forgotten by the family, he determined to walk off
with it. With this view, he stopped beating his wooden
fish,* and crossing quietly over, seized the cloth; upon
which he immediately felt himself being raised in the
air by some one above. Suspecting what this meant, he
allowed himself to be pulled up until he stood in the
presence of Shu-nü. No sooner had the latter found
out who he was, than without waiting to listen to his
protestations, she bade the dirty bald-pate† be gone,
offering him a hair-pin as a bribe to expedite his move-
ments. The priest, however, declared that she had
pulled him up, and that in consequence he intended
to stay; at which Shu-nü began to call out "Thieves!"
at the top of her voice. The pork-butcher and his wife.
were then fast asleep; but the priest, fearing lest he
should be discovered, drew a knife and killed the girl
on the spot, escaping from the room so soon as he had
possessed himself of her hair-pins, finger-rings, and other
ornaments.
On the following day, as Shu-nü did not appear at
breakfast, her mother went to see what was the matter,
and found her lying murdered on the floor. Nor had
the parents the least suspicion on the subject until one
of their neighbours, who was on bad terms with Hsü,
mentioned to the pork-hutcher that his daughter had
been acquainted with Hsü for six months past, and
* A hollow instrument made in that shape, because a fish sleeps
with its eyes open, and is therefore a good emblem of vigilance.
+ Buddhist priests shave the entire head.
94
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
hinted that as Hsü had been to a wine-party on that
very evening, he might have committed the murder in
a fit of drunkenness. The pork-butcher accordingly
proceeded to file a charge before Judge Pao, of whose
great judicial capacity he was well aware, in these
terms:-
"In a matter of violence resulting in murder. Whereas
a certain evil-disposed graduate, named Hsü Yen-chung,
has been striving by numerous artifices to carry out
iniquitous designs upon your petitioner's daughter, and
last night went so far as to enter her room in a state of
intoxication and stab her to death with a knife, subse-
quently making off with her head-ornaments, etc., in
proof of which the neighbours can be called to bear
witness; and whereas such behaviour is highly discredit-
able to the position he occupies, amounting in fact to
making as light of the laws and statutes as of a goose's
feather, and to dragging the great social relation-
ships and observances in the dust. Therefore, your
petitioner hastens to file this charge, praying that the
murderer may be decreed to pay the penalty with his
life."*
The above document having been admitted by Judge
Pao, runners were forthwith despatched to arrest prose-
cutor, accused, and witnesses; and when these were
duly assembled, the proceedings were opened by an
examination of the pork-butcher's neighbours, who de-
posed that the deceased had to their knowledge been
* A fair specimen of an ordinary Chinese 'petition' in a criminal
case.
1
THE SUNGS.
95
carrying on an intrigue with Hsü Yen-chung for the past
six months, the same being quite unknown to her
parents, and that unless it was through this that she
met her death, they could not say how it was, the affair
having happened in the dead of night. At this, Hsü
interposed, and said, “In the face of such general testi-
mony, I have no intention of denying the intrigue, which
I fully admit, and for which I am prepared to suffer
punishment; but I totally deny having taken any part
in the murder." "Your Honour," cried the pork-butcher,
"he is admitting the lesser only to escape the greater
crime. As no one else ever went into my daughter's
room, it follows that he must have killed her, possibly
because she may have tried to forbid his visits. And
now, the reckless young fellow has no more thought for
the poor girl, so that unless your Honour deals severely
with him, he will never acknowledge his guilt." The
judge looked at Hsü, and noticing by his handsome
face and quiet manner that he did not look at all like
a murderer, proceeded to ask him if during the time
that he had been acquainted with the deceased he had
seen any other persons passing along the street at night.
"Not until this month," replied Hsü, "when a begging
priest used to go by sometimes, beating his wooden
fish." At this, Judge Pao reflected a moment, and then,
flying into a great rage, cried out, "It was you who killed
her, and you will have to die for it! Do you admit the
justice of this sentence?" Hsü Yen-chung, being only
a young man, was frightened out of his life, and imme-
diately admitted that his sentence was just; upon which
96
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
he received twenty blows and was committed to prison,
after formally signing his confession of guilt.*
Judge Pao now summoned two of his runners, and
having elicited from them certain details as to the priest
mentioned by Hsü, gave them instructions how to act,
promising to reward them well in case of a successful
result. So it happened that the same night, as the
priest, after going his rounds, was returning to the
temple in which he lived, near a bridge, he heard from
beneath the bridge the noise of three devils, one of
which was crying out, 'Up!' and another 'Down!'
while the third was sobbing in a low and piteous tone.
The priest, in a great fright, sat down on the bridge, and
began to repeat the name of Amida Buddha, when one of
the devils, speaking in a woman's voice broken by sobs,
called out, "Oh, Ming-hsiu, Ming-hsiu,† why did you cut
me off before my time, and steal my hair-pins and head-
ornaments ? I have laid the case before the Judge of
the Infernal Regions, who has sent two devils with me to
get your life, and here are you praying to Amida Buddha
to intercede in your behalf! Rather get some money
and silk for me, and make a present to these devils, if
you want to hush the matter up privately. Otherwise,
if I appeal to God again, your life will certainly be
forfeited, and not all the Buddhas in creation will be
able to save you." At this the priest grasped his rosary,
* Without which no criminal record' of the kind is complete,
and, theoretically, no criminal can be executed.
+ The priest's religious designation.
The Supreme Being of the ancient Chinese, who is often, as
here, mixed up with Buddhist and other deities.
THE SUNGS.
97
and, joining his hands in an attitude of prayer, replied,
"I could not help it; I was afraid some one would
come and catch me, and so, without thinking, I took
your life. I still have your ornaments, and to-morrow
I will sell them and buy for you paper-money and silk ;
besides which, I will read masses for your soul and get
you safe through purgatory. Do not, I pray you, com-
plain of me to God." Here the female devil burst out
crying, and the two other devils began to roar out,
mingling their groans with the voice of the priest, who
was repeating a sutra and promising to say masses for
Shu-nü's soul, when suddenly the two runners came out
and clapped an iron chain over the priest's neck. The
latter was terrified, thinking they were devils, but one of
them told him they were only runners sent by Judge
Pao to take him prisoner; whereupon he became quite
beside himself with fear, and could only entreat them
to spare him for the love of Buddha.'
"A pretty
specimen of a Buddha you are,” replied the runners,
as they tightened up his chain and led him away, one
of them picking up his stole and praying-mat before
they left the spot.
Now, all this plan of the devils under the bridge had
been devised by the judge, who had told his two runners
to take a girl with them to play the part of Shu-nü;
and the next day the whole story was told in open
court, whereupon a present of money was made to the
girl and to the runners from the public funds, and the
ornaments which had been recovered from the sleeve
of the priest's robe were regularly identified by Shu-nü's
H
98
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
father. Ming-hsiu was now obliged to confess his guilt,
and Judge Pao, turning to Hsü Yen-chung, addressed
him as follows:-"The murderer of the deceased girl
was this bald-headed scoundrel who now stands before
us, and he will pay the penalty with his life. You,
too, a graduate of the empire, deserve for your connec-
tion with this affair to be deprived of your graduate's
gown. There is, however, a saving clause for you. On
condition that you acknowledge the deceased Shu-nü as
your lawful wife, and bury her, and worship at her tomb
as such, promising never to marry any other woman, then
I will forbear to unfrock you as I ought, and your
career will still be open before you. Do you accept
this condition? "Your Honour," replied Hsü, "I
readily accept the condition offered; the more so that
before Shu-nü's death I had already promised to marry
her as soon as I should have taken my second degree.
I will therefore do all your Honour requires of me;
as to my literary degree, and whether I am to retain
it or not, that is for your Honour to decide." "Your
heart," said Judge Pao, in conclusion, "beats, I am
pleased to observe, in accordance with the eternal
principles of Right. I shall make it my business to
forward your prospects in life, and will communicate
accordingly with the authorities of the Educational
Department."
THE MINGS.
99
V. THE MINGS.
A.D. 1370-1650.
THE founder of the Ming dynasty rose from starvation
and obscurity to occupy the throne of the Chinese.
Empire. In his youth he had sought refuge from the
pangs of hunger in a Buddhist monastery; later on he
became a soldier of fortune and joined the ranks of the
insurgents who were endeavouring to shake off the alien
yoke of the Mongols. His own great abilities carried
him on.
He speedily obtained the leadership of a large
army, with which he totally destroyed the power of the
Mongols and finally established a new Chinese dynasty
over the thirteen provinces into which the empire was
divided. He fixed his capital at Nanking, where it
remained until the accession of the third Emperor, the
conqueror of Cochin-China and Tonquin, who trans-
ferred the seat of government back to Peking, the capital
of the Mongols, from which it has never since been
removed.
For nearly three hundred years the Mings swayed
the destinies of China. Their rule was not one
of uninterrupted peace either within or without the
empire; but it was on the whole a wise and popular
rule, and the period which it covers is otherwise
H 2
100
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
notable for immense literary activity, and for considerable
refinement in manners and material civilisation. The
exquisite blue porcelain of this dynasty is now highly
prized by collectors of old China, and compares most
favourably with the heavier and coarser style which is
attributed to the age of the Sungs.
From without, the Mings were constantly harassed by
the encroachments of the Tartars; from within, the
ceaseless intriguing of the eunuchs (resulting in one
case in the temporary deposition of an Emperor) was
a fertile cause of trouble. Towards the close of the
sixteenth century the Portuguese appeared upon the
scene, and from their 'concession' at Macao, some
time the residence of Camoens, opened commercial
relations between China and the West. They brought the
Chinese, among other things, opium, which had previously
been imported overland from India. They possibly taught
them how to make gunpowder, to the invention of which
the Chinese do not seem, upon striking a balance of
evidence, to possess an independent claim. About the
same time Rome contributed the first instalment of
those wonderful Jesuit fathers, whose names may truly
be said to have filled the empire 'with sounds that echo
still,' the memory of their scientific labours and the
benefits they thus conferred upon China having long
survived the wreck and discredit of the faith to which
they devoted their lives. And at this distance of time it
does not appear to be a wild statement to assert that
had the Jesuits, the Franciscans, and the Dominicans,
been able to resist quarrelling among themselves, and
THE MINGS.
ΙΟΙ
had they rather united to persuade Papal infallibility to
permit the incorporation of ancestor worship with the
rites and ceremonies of the Romish church-China
would at this moment be a Catholic country, and
Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism would long since
have receded into the past.
Of all these Jesuit missionaries, the name of Matteo
Ricci stands by common consent first upon the long list.
He spent many years in China. He associated with
the highest personages in the land. He acquired an
unrivalled knowledge of the book language, and has left
behind him several valuable treatises of a metaphysical
and theological character, written in such a polished
style as to command the recognition and even the
admiration of the Chinese. He particularly directed
his attention to an attack upon Buddhism, the severity
of which called forth numerous replies from the better
educated of the priesthood, and evoked a controversy in
which it is considered that Ricci had the best of his
opponents. One of his most intimate friends and fellow-
workers was the well-known scholar and statesman, Hsü
Kuang-ch'i, the author of a voluminous compendium
of agriculture, and joint-author of the large work which
introduced European astronomy to the Chinese. He
was appointed by the Emperor to co-operate with other
Jesuit missionaries in reforming the national calendar,
which had gradually reached a stage of hopeless in-
accuracy. He wrote, independently, several small
scientific works; also a diatribe against the Buddhist
religion; and last but not least in significance, a defence
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DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
of the Jesuits, addressed to the Throne, when their
influence at court had begun to excite envy and distrust.
Hsü Kuang-ch'i forms the sole exception in the history
of China of a scholar, and a man of means and
position, on the side of Christianity.
Chief among the literary achievements belonging more.
strictly to native enterprise at this period, is the gigantic
encyclopædia in over 22,000 books, only one copy
of which, and that imperfect, has survived out of the
four that were originally made. Allowing fifty octavo
pages to a 'book,' the result would be a total of at least
1,100,000 pages, the index alone occupying no fewer
than three thousand pages. This wonderful work is now
probably rotting, if not already rotted beyond hope
of preservation, in some damp corner of the Imperial
palace at Peking.
This
Another important and more accessible production
of the Mings was the so-called Chinese Herbal.
is a compilation from the writings of no fewer than
eight hundred preceding writers on botany, mineralogy,
entomology, etc., etc., illustrated and arranged under
categories, the whole forming a voluminous but un-
scientific book of reference on the natural history of
China.
Many other great works of high literary calibre might
be here named to swell the list bequeathed by the
dynasty of the Mings. It must suffice however to state
that shortly after the accession of the third Emperor,
Yung Lo, the Imperial library was estimated to contain
works, written and printed, amounting to a total of
THE MINGS.
103
about 1,000,000 'books' in all. A 'book' is a variable
quantity both as regards number and size of pages;
the number of books to a work also vary from one
to several hundred. But a fair average value of a
'book' would be a demy 8vo. volume of 50 pages; and
reckoning twenty or twenty-five 'books' to a work, it will be
seen that the collection in question was not an unworthy
private library for any Emperor in the early years of the
fifteenth century.
The overthrow of the Mings was brought about by a
combination of events, of the utmost importance to those
who would understand the present position of the Tartars
as rulers of China. A sudden rebellion had resulted in
the capture of Peking by the insurgents, and in the
suicide of the Emperor who was fated to be the last
of his line. The Imperial Commander-in-chief, Wu
San-kuei, at that time away on the frontiers of Man-
churia, engaged in resisting the incursions of the
Manchu Tartars, now for a long time in a state of
ferment, immediately hurried back to the capital, but
was totally defeated by the insurgent leader, and once
more made his way, this time as a fugitive and a
suppliant, towards the Tartar camp. Here he obtained
promises of assistance, chiefly on condition that he
would shave his head and grow a tail in accordance
with Manchu custom,* and again set off with his new
* It is not quite clear from Mr. Herbert Spencer's “shaving the
head and braiding the hair in a long queue, as a sign of subjection”
(ch. on Mutilation in Ceremonial Institutions) that the mutilation
in question was enforced principally to assimilate the national
costume of the vanquished with that of the victors. See p. III.
104
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
auxiliaries towards Peking, being reinforced on the way
by a body of Mongol volunteers. As things turned out,
Wu San-kuei arrived at Peking in advance of these allies,
and actually succeeded, with the remnant of his own
scattered forces, in routing the troops of the rebel leader
before the Tartars and the Mongols came up. He then
started in pursuit of the flying foe.
Meanwhile, the Tartar contingent arrived; and on
entering the capital, the young Manchu prince in com-
mand was invited by the people of Peking to ascend
the vacant throne. So that by the time Wu San-kuei
re-appeared, he found a new dynasty already established,
and his late Manchu ally at the head of affairs. His
first intention had doubtless been to continue the Ming
line of Emperors; but he seems to have readily fallen
in with the arrangement already made, and to have
tendered his formal allegiance on the four following
conditions:
(1). That no Chinese woman should be taken into the
Imperial seraglio.
(2). That the first place at the great triennial exami-
nation for the highest literary degrees should never be
given to a Tartar.*
(3). That the people should adopt the national
costume of the Tartars in their every-day life; but
that they should be allowed to bury their corpses in
the dress of the late dynasty.
* This rule was broken in the case of the late Emperor's father-
in-law; and although it was expressly stated that such exception
was not to serve as a precedent, considerable discontent prevailed.
THE MINGS.
105
(4). That this condition of costume should not apply
to the women of China, who were not to be compelled
either to wear the hair in a tail before marriage (as the
Tartar girls do) or to abandon the custom of compressing
their feet.
The great Ming dynasty was now at an end, though not
destined wholly to pass away. A large part of it may
be said to remain in the literary monuments which were
executed during its three centuries of existence. The dress
of the period survives upon the modern Chinese stage;
and when occasionally the present alien yoke is found to
gall, seditious whispers of 'restoration' are not altogether
unheard. Secret societies have always been dreaded and
prohibited by the government; and of these none more so
than the famous "Triad Society,' in which Heaven, Earth,
and Man are supposed to be associated in close alliance,
and whose watchword is believed to embody some secret
allusion to the downfall of the present dynasty.
In other parts of the world eventful times had set in.
At home, we are brought from the accession of Richard
II. down to the struggle between the King and Commons
and the ultimate establishment of the Commonwealth. We
have Henry IV. in France and Ferdinand and Isabella in
Spain. In England, Shakespeare and Bacon; in France,
Rabelais and Descartes; in Germany, Luther and
Copernicus; in Spain, Cervantes; and in Italy, Galileo,
Machiavelli, and Tasso;-these names, to which
should be added those of the great explorers, Columbus
and Vasco de Gama, serve to remind one of what was
meanwhile passing in the West.
106
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
THE REV. MR. GOLD.*
The Rev. Mr. Gold was a native of Chu-ch'êng. His
father, being an unprincipled man, sold him for a few
hundred cash to the monks of the Five-Hill Monastery;
but, as the boy was a dull fellow and showed no aptitude
for the avocations of a priest, he was set to keep pigs.
and take them to market as if he had been a menial
servant. By-and-by, the old teacher among whose
disciples he had been enrolled, died, leaving him some.
small property; whereupon he packed up his traps and
left the monastery with a view of entering business as a
huckster, in which trade he cheated so successfully by
all kinds of tricks that before long he became quite a
rich man. He then purchased broad lands and houses,
and surrounded himself with a vast number of disciples.
More than a thousand fingers fed daily at his table; and
around them lay many hundred acres of fertile land, all
under the control of Mr. Gold. The neighbouring
houses were occupied by priests, including only the
poor labourers who, with their wives and families, were
employed to till the ground. Altogether there were
several hundred establishments, and each was SO
arranged that these poor people lived in rooms all
round, while the priests inhabited the middle. At
the entrances were handsome reception-rooms with
* This surname was adopted in allusion to the general avarice of
priests, and the story, translated from the collection of P'u Liu-
hsien, is a satire upon the wealth and influence of Buddhist priests.
in China towards the close of the Ming dynasty.
THE MINGS.
107
At
elaborately-carved posts and beams, beautifully painted
in green and gold, and the tables and screens in the
Behind
great hall were polished as bright as mirrors.
were the sleeping apartments with crimson door-screens
and embroidered curtains, from within which issued the
delicious perfume of epidendrum or musk. The beds.
were of sandal-wood, exquisitely ornamented and inlaid,
and were provided with brocaded quilts and mattresses a
foot or more in thickness. On the walls hung pictures
of lovely women and magnificent landscapes, all by
noted artists, not leaving a square inch uncovered.
a summons from within, many tens of servants would
respond from without like a clap of thunder; and, as for
officials in tasselled caps and leathern boots, they would
flock thither like birds, standing in the watchful and
expectant attitude of wild geese. They would speak in
an undertone, and incline their ears to listen; and on
the arrival of guests, there would be a rich banquet of
many courses of dainty food ready at a moment's notice.
No singing-girls were, however, permitted within the
precincts; but numbers of clever boys who could imitate
women used to wrap their heads in black crape turbans
and sing love ditties to the priests in a very captivating
And whenever Mr. Gold went out he was
followed by a troop of horsemen armed with bows and
arrows, and carrying banners and spears. His servants
addressed him as 'Sir,' and the people of the neigh-
bourhood as 'grandfather' or 'uncle,' no one venturing
to use such titles as 'teacher' or 'parson,' etc., etc.
disciples did things on a somewhat smaller scale; but
manner.
His
108
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
even they had swift steeds and crowds of chariots, as
though they had been the scions of the wealthiest houses.
Mr. Gould further extended his communications far and
wide, so that within a radius of several hundred miles
not a breath escaped him. He was thus kept informed
of all that went on, and people were very careful how
they crossed his path. Otherwise, he was a coarse,
illiterate fellow, without a spark of refinement in him.
He never said a single mass, nor uttered a single prayer ;
his feet never crossed the chapel threshold; neither were
cymbals or drums to be found in his private apartments,
such things never having been seen or heard of by his
followers. Among his tenants were a large number of
women and girls, just as at an Imperial city, all of whom
drew from the priests without stint what sums they
required for rouge, cosmetics, and pin-money generally;
and thus, in that neighbourhood, there were some
hundred persons who were agriculturists without fields.
to till.
On one occasion a labourer killed a priest and
buried him under his bed; but there was no searching
investigation of the affair: the man was simply expelled
the community according to custom. Mr. Gold also
bought a boy from a family with a different surname,
and adopted him as his son, engaging a tutor to instruct
him in literature. This youth turned out remarkably
clever, and his name was entered on the list of students;
and, by-and-by, Mr. Gold purchased for him the B.A.
degree and sent him up to the capital to compete for the
second or master's degree. The young man succeeded,
and Mr. Gold's reputation went up proportionately, and
THE MINGS.
109
those who 'Sirred' him before 'Your-Worshipped' him
now, standing in respectful attitudes as they gathered
round him at table.
Finally, when Mr. Gold departed this life, the master
of arts, clad in the hempen mourning clothes of a son,
lay on a straw-mat beside the coffin with his head on a
lump of earth, as though, in the language of the north,
he had been actually 'bereaved of his father.' The
couch was literally covered with staves, and from behind
the funeral-curtain there proceeded the wailing of a
single woman, the adopted daughter-in-law of the
deceased. All the great ladies who lived near came in
their best clothes to offer their condolences, and the
road was literally blocked up with official hats, red
umbrellas, sedan-chairs, and horses. On the day of the
interment long lines of sheds and marquees were erected,
while flags and banners darkened the sun in the sky.
Of offerings in paper of all kinds and colours, to be
burnt and used by the deceased in the infernal regions,
were numbers of chairs and umbrellas, hosts of horses
and beautiful girls, devil-attendants dressed in black
silk with tall hats that seemed to touch the sky, houses
and buildings extending over many acres, so that people
who got in among them frequently could not find their
way out again, and numerous other things of a similar
description, the very names of which it would be impos-
sible to tell. Those mandarins who came with large
retinues to the funeral entered in with bowed heads, and
performed eight prostrations before the corpse; while
persons of an inferior station merely knocked their heads
t
IIO
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
on the ground and departed, not daring to trouble
either the dead man's son or his brother priests to make
any response to their salutations. Lovely girls came to
gaze upon the scene; husbands brought their wives, and
mothers their children, in one long perspiring stream.
In the midst of this seething crowd were all kinds of
dramatic representations accompanied by the clash of
cymbals and tambourines; and of this mighty mass of
human beings nothing was to be seen but a moving sea
of heads. Women were taken with the pains of labour
and gave birth to children, while others stood round and
screened them by holding out their skirts. The baby's
cry would be heard, but no one had time to ask whether
it was a boy or a girl. A piece of anything was taken to
wrap the child in, and the mother was supported or
dragged away-truly a marvellous spectacle indeed!
When the funeral obsequies were over, the property left
by Mr. Gold was divided into two portions, of which
the son took one and the dead man's retainers took the
other. The master of arts continued to live there with
his half share, entirely surrounded on the north, south,
east, and west, by gentlemen of the dark robe, whose
interests were so inseparably bound up with his own that
when one itched the other felt it.
THE CH'INGS.
III
VI. THE CH'INGS.
A.D. 1650-1882.
THE age of the Ch'ings is the age in which we live;
but it is not so familiar to some persons as it ought
to be, that a Tartar, and not a Chinese sovereign, is
now seated upon the throne of China.
For some time after the accession of the first Manchu
Emperor there was considerable friction between the
two races, due, among other natural causes, to the
enforced adoption of the peculiar coiffure in vogue
among the Manchus-i.e., the tail, or plaited queue of
hair, which now hangs down every Chinaman's back.
This fashion was for a long time vigorously resisted by the
inhabitants of southern China, though now regarded by
all alike as one of the most sacred characteristics of the
'black-haired people.' And when it ultimately became
hopeless to oppose the inevitable, the southerners took to
twisting their tails around their heads and concealing
them under the turban, which is still a distinctive feature
in the costume of the masses of Amoy and Swatow.. At
the present day the case is curiously reversed. Those
Chinese emigrants who go forth to settle and make
fortunes in British colonies, becoming naturalised British
subjects, and even their British-born sons and grandsons,
•
JI2
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
reaching now to the third and fourth generations, steadily
refuse to lay aside the tail, but cling fondly to the old
custom, and to many other habits and customs of what,
in everything but name, is still their fatherland.
The subjugation of the empire by the Manchus was
followed by a military occupation of the country, which
has survived the original necessity, and is part of the
system of government at the present day. Garrisons
of Tartar troops were stationed at various important
centres of population, each under the command of a Tartar
officer of the highest military grade, whose duty it was
to co-operate with, and at the same time act as a check
upon, the high authorities in the civil administration of
the empire. Those Tartar garrisons still occupy the
same positions; and the descendants of the first bat-
talions, with occasional reinforcements from Peking, live
side by side and in perfect harmony with the strictly
Chinese populations. These Bannermen, as they are
called, may be known by their square, heavy faces, which
contrast strongly with the sharper and more astute phy-
siognomies of the Chinese. They speak the dialect of
Peking, now recognised as the official language par
excellence. They do not use their family or surnames-
which belong rather to the clan than to the individual
--but in order to conform to the requirements of Chinese
life, the personal name is substituted. Their women
do not compress their feet, and the female coiffure and
dress are wholly Tartar in character. Intermarriage
between the two races is not considered desirable,
though instances are not unknown.
THE CH'INGS.
113
In other respects, it is the old story of 'victa victrix'
the conquering Tartars have been themselves conquered
by the people over whom they set themselves to rule.
They have adopted the language, written and colloquial, of
China; and they are fully as proud as the purest-blooded
Chinese of the vast literature and glorious traditions of
those past dynasties of which they have made themselves
the joint heirs. Manchu, the language of the conquerors,
is still kept alive at the Court of Peking. By a State
fiction, it is supposed to be the language of the sovereign;
but the Emperors of China have now in their youth to
make a study of Manchu, just as much as the official
interpreters and others whose duty it is to translate
documents for the Imperial eye. It is by a somewhat
similar fiction that skill in archery commands such a
high value in these days of central-fire breech-loaders.
The bow has played a leading part in the history of
the Tartars; and the Manchus of to-day cannot bear
that their once fatally effective weapon should be con-
signed to an undeserved oblivion.
Eight emperors of this line have already occupied the
throne and 'become guests on high;' the ninth is yet
a boy less than ten years of age. Of these eight, the
second in every way fills the largest space in Chinese
history. K'ang Hsi (or Kang Hi) reigned for sixty-one
years, thus completing his cycle, or term of sixty years,
a division of time which has been in vogue among the
Chinese for many centuries past. He was essentially a
wise and great ruler. He treated the early Catholic
priests with kindness and distinction, and availed himself
I
114
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
He pro-
in many ways of their scientific knowledge.
mulgated sixteen moral maxims, collectively known as
the Sacred Edict, forming a complete code of rules for
the guidance of every-day life, and presented in such.
terse yet intelligible terms that they at once took firm
hold of the public mind, and have retained their position.
ever since. He tried to prevent the Chinese women
from cramping their feet, and, contrary. to the stipu-
lations agreed to by his predecessor, he actually forbade
the custom. Prejudice, however, proved too strong, and
at the end of four years the prohibition was unwillingly
withdrawn. K'ang Hsi was the most successful patron
of literature the world has ever seen. He caused to
be published, under his own personal supervision, the
four following compilations, known as the Four Great
Works of the present dynasty :—
(1). A huge thesaurus of extracts, in 110 thick
volumes.
(2). An encyclopædia in 450 books, usually bound
up in 160 volumes.
(3). An enlarged and improved edition of a herbarium,
in 100 books.
(4). A complete collection of the important philo-
sophical writings of Chu Hsi (see The Sungs) in sixty-six
books.
In addition to these, the Emperor K'ang Hsi designed
and gave his name to the great modern lexicon of the
Chinese language, which contains over 40,000 characters
under separate entries, accompanied in each case by
appropriate citations from the works of authors of every
THE CH'INGS.
115
age and of every style. In spite, however, of literary
activity on the above gigantic scale, it is a noticeable fact
that individual distinction in literature has so far been
gained by but few writers belonging to the present
dynasty. Lan Lu-chow, with his twenty small volumes
of essays, state papers, criminal cases, correspondence,
a lengthy disquisition on the education of women, etc.,
etc., all of considerable merit, must take the place
of literary representative of the dynasty. As a judge,
his capacity was second only to that of the famous Pao
of the Sung dynasty, and two out of the twenty volumes
above mentioned are devoted to recording his triumphs.
on the magisterial bench. He protested against Bud-
dhism with an eloquence which recalled the earnestness
of Han Wên-kung, complaining that nine-tenths of the
priests and nuns did not willingly take the vows, but
had been 'given to the priests when quite little, either
because their parents were too poor to keep them, or in
return for some act of kindness.' 'These cloister folk,'
added Lan Lu-chow, 'do a great deal of mischief amongst
the populace, wasting the substance of some and robbing
others of their good name.' And of such, we may add,
is the Buddhist religion of to-day.
It may here be mentioned that China possesses an
Index Expurgatorius-a list of works the publication
of all or parts of which is strictly forbidden; in some
cases because of the immorality, in others, because of
the revolutionary sentiments expressed. The recollection
of the Mings has not wholly died; neither are there
wanting patriots whose watchword is 'China for the
I 2
116
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
Chinese: down with the Tartars.' The great Triad
Society, the association of Heaven, Earth, and Man,
which of all secret societies in China has been the most
dreaded and the most severely prohibited, advocates
nothing more than a return to ming, literally 'light.'
This might of course be interpreted to mean intellectual
or moral light, and the society has therefore been claimed,
though on insufficient grounds, as an offshoot of Free-
masonry; but the 'light' of the Ming dynasty is more
probably the light intended, and it is in this sense that
the Tartars punish with death any connection with the
equivocal fraternity.
Under the third Manchu Emperor, Yung Chêng,
began that violent persecution of the Catholics which
has continued almost to the present day. The various
sects-Jesuits, Dominicans, and Franciscans-had been
unable to agree about the Chinese equivalent for God,
and the matter had been finally referred to the Pope.
Another difficulty had arisen as to the toleration of
ancestral worship by Chinese converts professing the
Catholic faith. There was a time when, but for this
particular hitch, it seems probable that the Chinese
people might have been gained over to Rome. They
clung fondly, however, to their traditional worship of
departed ancestors; and as the Pope refused to permit
the embodiment of this ancient custom with the cere-
monies of the Catholic church, the new religion ceased.
to advance, and by-and-by fell into disrepute.
Ch'ien Lung (or Kien Lung), the fourth Emperor
of the line, enjoyed a long and glorious reign. His
THE CH'INGS.
117
generals led a large army into Nepaul and conquered
the Goorkhas, reaching a point only some sixty miles
distant from British territory. Native accounts repre-
sent his Majesty as a very wonderful person. His
hands are said to have reached below his knees
his ears touched his shoulders; and his eyes could
see round behind his head. Like K'ang Hsi, he was
a generous patron of literature, though only two
instead of five great literary monuments remain to
mark his sixty years of power. These are (1) a mag-
nificent bibliographical work in 200 parts, consisting
of a catalogue of the books in the Imperial library, with
valuable historical and critical notices attached to the
entries of each; and (2) a huge topography of the
whole empire, in 500 books, beyond doubt one of the
most comprehensive and exhaustive works of the kind
ever published. K'ang Hsi had been a voluminous
poet; but the productions of Ch'ien Lung far outnumber
those of any previous or subsequent bard. For more
than fifty years this Emperor was an industrious poet,
finding time in the intervals of State duties to put
together no fewer than 33,950 separate pieces. In the
estimation, however, of this apparently impossible contri-
bution to poetic literature, it must always be borne in
mind that the stanza of four lines is a very favourite
length for a 'poem,' and that the couplet is not
uncommon. Even thus, a large balance stands to the
credit of a Chinese Emperor, whose time is rarely his
own, and whose day is divided out with wearisome
regularity, beginning with councils and audiences long
も
​118
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
before daylight has appeared. We gain a glimpse into
Ch'ien Lung's court from the account of Lord Macart-
ney's embassy in 1795, which was so favourably received
by the venerable monarch a short time previous to his
abdication, and three years before his death, and forms
such a contrast with that of Lord Amherst to his
successor in 1816.
With the opening years of the nineteenth century,
during the reign of Chia Ch'ing, Protestant missionaries
initiated a systematic attempt to convert the Chinese to
Christianity; but the religious toleration of the latter,
which on the whole has been a marked feature in their
civilisation of all ages, had been sorely tried by the
Catholics, and but little progress was made. In another
direction, some of the early Protestant missionaries did
good service to the world at large. They spent much
of their time in grappling with the difficulties of the
written language, and the publication of Dr. Morrison's
famous dictionary may justly be regarded as the point
de départ of all that has since been accomplished, cul-
minating in the laborious and lasting achievements
of Dr. Legge, the learned translator of the Chinese
'Classics,' and professor of Chinese at the University
of Oxford.
The reign of Tao Kuang, the sixth Manchu Emperor,
will be ever memorable for the so-called Opium War,
the result of which was that, at the point of the bayonet,
we extracted a treaty of commerce and a recognition of
national equality from a nation which had up to that
date looked upon us simply as unsubdued savages. The
THE CH'INGS.
119
trade in opium was legalised; the island of Hongkong
was ceded to England; five ports were thrown open to
commerce; and on the abolition of the old forms of
restricted intercourse, foreigners began to flock in con-
siderable numbers to what had previously been a 'hermit
land.'
As the rod of empire was about to pass from Tao
Kuang to Hsien Fêng, there arose the formidable
rebellion of the T'ai-p'ings, which was by-and-by to
shake the Manchu power to its foundation; and Hsien
Fêng had been actually seated upon the throne only
some four or five years, when the seizure of a dozen
sailors on board a Chinese lorcha flying the British
flag, led to a second war with foreign powers, to new
treaties, and to the promised opening of new ports,
with a considerable extension of trade. Then ensued
a short period of friction, involving repudiation by the
Chinese of responsibilities they had undertaken, refusal
to allow our Minister to proceed to the capital, renewal
of hostilities, and the ultimate capture of Peking by the
allied French and English forces, and the flight and
death of Hsien Fêng.
A mere child, the son of an Imperial concubine,
succeeded in 1862 to the then unenviable position
of ruler of the Chinese empire, which remained,
however, for many years under the regency of the two
Dowager Empresses, the wife* and concubine of Hsien
Fêng, aided by the counsels of the boy-Emperor's
Recently deceased.
120
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
uncle, Prince Kung. T'ung Chih himself had hardly
attained his majority and nominally assumed the reins
of government before he died of small-pox, an event
which was shortly afterwards followed by the death of the
girl-Empress he had just previously raised to the throne.
Meanwhile, after much bloodshed and devastation of the
country, the T'ai-p'ing rebellion had been crushed, chiefly
through the valuable military services rendered to the
Chinese Government by Colonel Gordon. A great Ma-
hommedan rising, which dated back as far as 1856, and
which had for its object the separation of the province of
Yun-nan into an independent State, was some years
afterwards brought to an end amid scenes of bloodshed
and wholesale carnage.
Under the child who came to the throne in 1875, with
the title of Kuang Hsü, we have seen the completion of
Chinese re-conquests in Central Asia, and the restoration
of Kuldja by the Russians. The empire is now at peace
with all foreign Powers, and judging from the charac-
teristic dislike of the Chinese to all war, aggressive or
defensive, it may be predicted that this state of things
will continue for some time to come. The progressive
party in the nation's councils, under the leadership of
Li Hung-chang, Viceroy of Chihli, is gradually gaining
strength, amply posted as the Court of Peking now is
in the affairs of Western countries. Even the old Con-
servative party, of which the successful and aged general
Tso Tsung-tang is supposed to be the representative, has
"There is no such thing as a 'righteous war.' We can only
assert that some wars are better than others."-Mencius.
THE CH'INGS.
121
vastly modified its tone since less than twenty years ago,
when the ultra-patriotic Wo-jên expressed his desire to
sleep on our skins.
It is true that the short experimental line of railway
which had been laid down between Shanghai and Wu-
sung was objected to, and finally got rid of, by the
Chinese Government; but the reason for this apparently
retrogade step arose (1) out of the not very scrupulous.
means employed by the promoters of the scheme, and
(2) out of the very natural dislike of an independent
State to be forced into innovations for which it may not
be altogether prepared. Since that date a telegraph line
has been laid between Peking and Shanghai, forming the
final connecting link between the capitals of the British
and Chinese empires, and an attempt is now being made
by a body of Chinese merchants to establish themselves
permanently and transact their own business in London
without the assistance of foreigners. For many years
past the Anglo-Saxon has been urging upon the 'Mon-
golian' the necessity of moving more rapidly along the
path of progress. It will be well if, in the coming
centuries, the, Mongolian does not advance with more
speed than is actually consistent with the worldly in-
terests of the Anglo-Saxon.
Under this dynasty the empire has been divided into
eighteen provinces, forming China proper, to which must
be added the huge areas of Manchuria, Mongolia, Chinese
Turkestan, and even of Tibet, which last the Chinese
claim as a dependency, sending a political agent to
reside at the Tibetan capital. An elaborate Penal Code
I22
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
was drawn up early in the dynasty, upon a mitigated
scale of severity as compared with that of the Mings, and
several administrative and other reforms were made.
The peacock's feather and the 'button' were introduced,
as rewards for merit and distinctive marks of rank,
respectively. Tobacco was first brought to China by
the Manchus, who are said to have got it from Japan,
through the Corean peninsula. Some opposition was
then raised to its growth in the country, on the ground.
that soil would thereby be withdrawn from the more
desirable cultivation of grain; but now it is widely cul-
tivated, and largely smoked by both sexes.
A few words as to the modern government of the
empire with its three hundred and fifty millions of
inhabitants. Roughly speaking, all Chinese society.
may be divided into two classes-rulers and ruled.
An official career, including all the highest and most
lucrative posts, is open to every man who can pass
successfully through the ordeal of the great public
competitions. This fact, taken as a set-off against the
practically democratic spirit of the Chinese people, goes
far to reconcile them with their form of government,
which in all outward form is essentially despotic. The
Chinese, as a nation, recognise the necessity of being
governed, and they believe in the divine right of their
emperors. They throw open the public service to com-
petition, and agree to regard successful competitors as
their masters rather than their servants. Hence, they
think it right to put up with a great deal that would
not be tolerated in the extreme West. Still, there is
THE CH'INGS.
123
a point beyond which the mandarin advances at his
peril; for riots inevitably follow, and the mandarin in
whose district any demonstration of the kind has been
made may as well 'hang up his hat and go home.,
His career, if not actually at an end, is at any rate
temporarily checked. This possibly may disabuse the
minds of some of a most egregious misconception,
namely, that the Chinese are a down-trodden people,
to be compared with the Egyptian fellah.
In conclusion, it may astonish a great many persons
to hear that the normal state of the people of China
is one of considerable prosperity and great national
happiness. Those who inhabited the districts visited
a few years ago by an awful famine were of course
neither prosperous nor happy for the time being; but
famine is not the normal condition of any portion of
the empire, and it is to the normal condition of China
that these remarks refer. No one can live long among
the Chinese, and watch them at work or at rest, in city
or afield, without being especially struck by their im-
mense fund of buoyancy and cheerfulness of disposition.
They seem to have acquired a national habit of looking
upon the brighter side. They regard death only as a
hateful necessity, meeting it with firmness and equa-
nimity when the hour comes. Older persons seek to
accustom themselves to the idea by preparing—and often
by sleeping in their coffins for months, and sometimes
for years, before they are actually needed. The cheery
mirth and laughter, even of the more squalid-looking
Chinese villages, must be seen and heard to be believed
124
DYNASTIC SKETCHES.
in. Apart from their professional beggars, who form a
not very numerous class and pursue their calling accord-
ing to fixed regulations, there are none of those grim
or sad-looking, hunger-stricken, sometimes drink-sodden
creatures, whose presence is such a blot on our own
civilisation at home. Food and lodging are cheap in
China; and it may be roundly stated that every man,
woman, and child in the empire has something in the way
of clothes, two full meals a day, and a shelter for his head
at night. The meals may not be tempting, nor the
clothing extensive, nor the shelter altogether such as is
desired by Europeans; but the result is at any rate life,
and life of a bearable kind, which has its occasionally
rosy streaks.
THE PENAL CODE.
125
THE PENAL CODE.
[This work contains (1) the immutable statute laws of the empire,
derived in great part from the previous Code of the Mings, and
(2) such modifications, extensions, and restrictions of these funda-
mental laws as time and circumstances have made necessary. In
the striking words of Mr. G. Jamieson, the former portion bears
the same ratio to the latter portion as the charters of the early Nor-
man Kings to the legislation of the past fifty years.]
THE punishments of the Chinese, under the present
dynasty, are confined to (1) flogging with the bamboo,
(2) banishment for a given time or permanently to
a given distance, and (3) death by decapitation or
strangulation.
The ordinary instruments of punishment, as authorised
by the Code, are :—
(1). A flat, polished piece of bamboo, of a given
length, breadth, weight, etc.
(2). The cangue, a square wooden collar of about
30 lbs. weight.
(3). An iron chain, about seven feet long and of
about 7 lbs. weight.
(4). Manacles of wood, for male prisoners only.
(5). Iron fetters, to be used only in cases of banish-
ment or sentence of death.
It is true that in an 'additional' clause two instru-
ments of torture are enumerated, (1) for compressing the
126
THE PENAL CODE.
ankle-bones, and (2) for squeezing the fingers, to be used
if necessary to extort a confession in cases of robbery or
homicide. The application, however, of these tortures
is fenced round in such a way as to impose great
responsibility upon the presiding magistrate; and in
addition to the risk of official impeachment, there is
the more dreaded certainty of a loss of influence and
popular esteem. A judge, in the opinion of the Chinese,
should be able to read the inmost heart of an accused
man as it were the page of a book spread out before
him; and when the crime is fairly brought home, it is an
almost understood thing that the culprit will confess.
Of this fact, I have witnessed several striking examples;
while on the other hand, all my most recent investi-
gations confirm to the full the statements made by me
some six years ago on this subject, to the effect that
'torture,' though not unknown in China, exists there
practically in name alone.
It is also worthy of note that the 'lingering death,'
about which so many horrible stories have been told, is
not among the punishments here formally enumerated.
Mention of it, however, occurs in another part of the
code, as the proper punishment for high treason. But
again all evidence tends to prove that though many are
condemned, no one is ever subjected to this truly
barbarous process, the very exceptions which might
possibly be discovered, forming of course part of the
proof. As a matter of fact, there is a great deal more
lenity in the Penal Code of China than most people are
aware of. During the excessive summer heats, some
THE PENAL CODE.
127
punishments are mitigated, and others remitted alto-
gether. Prompt surrender and acknowledgment of an
offence, before it is otherwise discovered, entitles the
offender, except in certain cases, to a full and free pardon;
as also does restitution of stolen property to its owner by
a repentant thief. Neither are the near relatives, nor
even the servants and slaves of a guilty man, punishable
for concealing his crime and assisting him to escape-
truly a great concession to the weakness of human
nature. And, further, in the case of a criminal charged
with two or more offences, it is provided that he shall
be punished only to the extent of the principal charge.
There are, per contra, ten heinous crimes for the com-
mission of which no justification is allowed, and which
are absolutely excepted from the benefit of any general
act of grace. These are (1) Rebellion, (2) Destruction
of Imperial Tombs, (3) Treachery to the State, (4) Par-
ricide, (5) Murder of three persons in one family,
(6) Sacrilege, (7) Filial Impiety, (8) Family Discord,
(9) Official Insubordination, and (10) Incest. Children
under seven, as in English law regarding felony, and
persons over the age of ninety, are not punishable under
any circumstances, the crimes of treason and rebellion
only being excepted; and in all cases, except capital
crimes, where the offender is under fifteen or over
seventy, punishment proper may be redeemed by pay-
ment of a fine.
And before passing on to Book II. of these immutable
laws, it may be noted that at least one of them has in
practice been altogether abrogated at the instance of the
128
THE PENAL CODE.
Western barbarian. For it is expressly stated that
foreigners who may be guilty of any crimes within the
limits of the Chinese Empire shall be dealt with
according to the provisions of this Penal Code. Wars
and Treaties have changed all that, and the subjects of
other nations are now tried in China, on the extra-
territorial principle, by their own authorities administer-
ing their own laws.
Book II. treats, as has been stated, of laws relating
to officials, and gives an insight into the various responsi-
bilities attaching to members of the ruling class. Especial
stress is laid upon the safe keeping of archives and of the
seal of office with which each mandarin above a certain
rank is entrusted; upon impartiality at the competitive
examinations; upon a close acquaintance with the pro-
visions and penalties of the Code, and so forth; in
reference to which latter clause, it is necessary to state
that the mandarins as a rule know nothing whatever of
the details of the Code, but depend wholly upon a well-
paid class of law experts,' who familiarise themselves.
with both the fundamental and additional laws, and are
ready to give chapter and verse at a moment's notice as
required.
The 'Fiscal' section is more interesting. We have
there regulations for the due registration of every Chinese
subject, for the licensing of Buddhist monasteries, for the
adoption of children, and for the case of aged and infirm
persons, which by the way is admittedly the business of
the State when no relatives or connections are forth-
coming. The laws of mortgage and usury (36 per cent.
!!
THE PENAL CODE.
129
being the extreme limit), of marriage and divorce, of
coinage, of customs' duties, of taxes, of prohibited articles
of export and import, of monopolies, of false weights and
measures, and of manufactures not so 'strong, durable,
or genuine, as they profess to be,' are also among the
more important on the list. An adopted child must be
of the same surname as his adopting father,* unless the
former is under three years of age; and even then he is
not entitled to inherit upon failure of children, as would
otherwise be the case. Sons are not allowed to separate
from their parents and set up their own establishments,
the social unit of China having always been the family
rather than the individual. No man can have more
than one legal wife, contrary to the general opinion of
foreigners, who persist in mixing up concubines with
wives. He is consequently forbidden from marrying a
second as long as his first wife is alive. Of concubines,
he may have as many as he likes; but even here a
conventionality of custom steps in, and prevents any
egregious outrage upon decency and common sense.
No marriage may be contracted during the stated period
of mourning for parents, nor during their imprisonment,
nor with persons of the same surname,† nor by officials
with any female member of a family under their par-
ticular jurisdiction or with actresses and musicians—a
tabooed caste-nor by priests of Buddha or Tao with
any women whatever, nor between free citizens and
slaves. Tea, salt, and alum, may not be sold without
See p. 108.
+ There are some curious exceptions to this important rule.
K
130
THE PENAL CODE.
a licence, nor except under fixed conditions; smuggling
is punished with fifty blows and forfeit of half value, part
of the sum forfeited going to the informer. Interest on
money lent is not to exceed 3 per cent. per month, and
'whatever the period of years or months may be upon
which interest is due at the day of repayment, no more
shall be received or demanded than the original and the
lawful interest thereon, to any amount not exceeding the
principal.' I may mention, en passant, that a case came
under my personal notice in which a mandarin refused to
recover a sum due on a bill by a Chinese to a British mer-
chant because, it was alleged, the latter had already received.
more money in the shape of interest than would have
covered both interest and principal up to the date at
which the bill fell due. All property found lying about
without an owner is to be delivered up to the district
magistrate within five days; and if the owner is dis-
covered within thirty days, the finder receives half as
a reward for his trouble. Otherwise, the whole is
returned to him.
Book IV. deals with religions, ceremonial observances,
sumptuary laws, and other topics of the kind. The
vestiges that remain of the old nature-worship of the
Chinese, under their later guise of sacrifices and invo-
cations to Heaven and Earth, have here their allotted
place; and any performance of the sacred rites connected
therewith is strictly forbidden, not only to private indi-
viduals, but also to Buddhist and other priests. Magic
and sorcery, the possession of astrological books, and
superstitious associations in general, as well as religious
THE PENAL CODE.
131
processions, are further prohibited under severe penalties,
though in the latter of these the law is more widely
honoured in the breach than in the observance. This
section includes, too, the preparation of food and
medicine for his Imperial Majesty. The doctor's pre-
scriptions must be made up according to recipes
sanctioned by established practice. The dishes served
by the cook must be clean and properly prepared.
They must have been previously tasted by him, and
must not contain other than duly authorised articles of
food, or, in addition to the punishment of one hundred
blows,* he will be compelled to swallow them himself.
No one is permitted to use silks or other stuffs
embroidered with the Imperial emblems-the Dragon
and the Phoenix. Priests' robes are to be of a single
colour and simple in pattern, and they themselves
are not to be excused from the important duty of
worshipping at the tombs of their ancestors, although
by the doctrines of the Buddhist Church all family ties
are severed at entrance into the priesthood. Conceal-
ment of a death, and omission of mourning rites
(involving in the case of an official mourning for a
parent a retirement of three years from public life), as
also any neglect to perform the proper funeral cere-
monies, and similar offences, are all severely punished-
a son or wife who plays upon a musical instrument
during his or her period of mourning for the dead
being visited with a punishment of no less than eighty
* The actual number inflicted is always reduced, according to a
fixed scale.
K 2
132
THE PENAL CODE.
blows. Cremation is forbidden, and so is water burial;
but it is permitted to the children of a man dying in
a distant country to consume their father's corpse with
fire, if positively unable to bring it back for ordinary
burial in his native district. The cremation of priests,
however, is tolerated in practice, though not provided
for in the Code.
Book V. consists chiefly of laws relating to military
organisation and the protection of the frontier. It
contains besides many interesting laws on other subjects
which could not be so conveniently introduced elsewhere.
For instance, a punishment of one hundred blows is
awarded to any person unauthorisedly passing through
the gates of the Imperial enclosure within the city of
Peking, at a stone's throw from which is situated the
once ducal park now occupied by the buildings of the
British Legation. But the penalty for entering in like
manner any room occupied by his Majesty, is death by
strangulation. The same severe penalty is inflicted upon
any one who shoots an arrow or bullet, or even throws a
stone, in the direction of an Imperial residence, with
any apparent possibility of hitting such place or building.'
Decapitation-regarded by the Chinese as a severer
form of death merely because the body will thereby
appear mutilated in the realms below to which the spirits
of the dead are believed to descend-awaits those
officers or soldiers who, in the face of an enemy, 'set
the example of giving way or retreating.' Pillage by
soldiers within the limits of the empire is absolutely
forbidden under the same penalty; and also, under
THE PENAL CODE.
133
mitigated penalties, in territories beyond the frontier.
No horses, cattle, ironware capable of being wrought
into weapons, copper coin, silk, gauzes, or satins, may
be clandestinely exported; neither may a man kill his
own horses, horned animals, camels, mules, or asses,
without a special permission from the State. Forty
blows are inflicted for neglect to secure dangerous ani-
mals, or for not destroying mad dogs. The owner of any
such animal or dog which causes the death of another
person is liable to the punishment for manslaughter,
though allowed to redeem the same by payment of a
fine. Insertion of some of these clauses into a 'military'
section appears rather anomalous, but the fact is that the
Code as a whole, whatever its other strong points may
be, is not a model of categorical accuracy.
Book VI., containing what for want of a better term
have been styled the 'criminal' laws, is an eminently
interesting portion of the work. It opens with the
terrible punishment of a slow and painful execution,'
commonly known as the 'lingering death,' for all persons
found guilty of high treason, which crime includes des-
truction, as principal or accessory, of the tombs of the
Emperors of the present dynasty. The same punish-
ment is set apart for the equally hideous crime of
parricide; and once every now and again the Peking
Gazette records the due execution by this process of
some unnatural child. A slave who kills his master is
also similarly liable. It seems idle to renew here a
protest entered six years ago against the prevalent-and
in many ways justifiable-belief that the details of this
134
THE PENAL CODE.
disgusting process are, as a general rule, carried out.
In spite of much declamatory opposition, that protest
remains precisely in statu quo. Innumerable oppor-
tunities have since occurred for deciding the question
one way or the other, but no one has yet come forward
to say that he has seen a Chinese malefactor deliberately
sliced to death. Meanwhile, all available evidence
favours the view that this form of death is practised, like
many other Chinese institutions, only on paper.
Larceny, embezzlement, and the acquisition of property
by other fraudulent means, naturally occupy a consider-
able space in this section of the Code. An ordinary
attempt to steal is punished by fifty blows; actual theft is
punished according to a fixed scale, ranging from sixty
blows for one ounce of silver, to death by strangulation
for a value of one hundred and twenty ounces (say £35)
and upwards. On a first conviction, criminals should be
branded with the character 'thief' on the left arm; on a
second, with the same character on the other arm; but a
third offence, or even defacement of the marks, is punish-
able with death. Theft of grain and fruit is forbidden
under ad valorem penalties; in practice, however, the plea
of hunger is always sufficient to secure dismissal, with a
warning not to offend again. Stealing from relatives
is punished on a mitigated scale; obtaining money
under false pretences, on the same scale as ordinary
larceny, but without branding; extorting by threats, on
a scale more severe by one degree. Robbery with
violence, even though no injury has been inflicted, is
also more heavily punished than mere larceny; and if
THE PENAL CODE.
135
the victim has been wounded, the punishment is death
by decapitation. Highway robbery involves a similar
death to all parties concerned; so does the theft of
an official seal from a magistrate or other functionary
of the State, and also a rescue, or even an attempt
to rescue, any prisoner from custody. Kidnapping by
stratagem is punishable with banishment to a distance
of 3,000 li and one hundred blows; if by violence,
with death. To disturb a grave and expose a coffin is a
serious crime; if the coffin is opened, the punishment
is death. For unauthorisedly entering a house at
night, eighty blows are inflicted. If the master of
the house should shoot the intruder dead on the spot,
he is held guiltless; he may not, however, seize him
first and then shoot him. What constitutes an actual
theft is carefully defined in the Code. In the case of
money and easily portable articles, they must have been
removed from the place or room where found, an
exception being made for jewels and small valuables,
the mere possession of which about the person is
regarded as an actual theft. Large articles must have
been placed in a cart or on the back of an animal;
and horses and cattle must have been taken out of the
stable. Otherwise, the crime comes under 'attempt to
steal,' and is punished accordingly. If a thief takes a
single animal from a stable, and the rest follow, the
extent of his crime is limited to the value of the one;
always excepting the case of a foal following a mare,
which renders him liable according to the value of the
two. Homicide is punished either by decapitation or
136
THE PENAL CODE.
strangulation, as the circumstances of the murder may
require. An attempt to murder is punished by strangula-
tion, providing that wounds were inflicted by the intending
murderer; otherwise, he receives one hundred blows,
and is banished for three years. Accidental homicide
in a brawl is visited with strangulation; and so is homi-
cide resulting from any kind of dangerous play. A son
may kill the murderer of his father or mother on the
spot and be held guiltless; if he defers his revenge,
he is punished with sixty blows-not for deferring, but
for perpetrating the crime. A husband may in like
manner kill an adulterous wife, or her paramour, or
both, provided he does so on the spot, but not at a
later period. A man who should remove a ladder from
a wall, or a bridle from a horse, is held responsible
for all consequences to any persons injured by such
acts. Homicide which is purely accidental in every
respect is nominally awarded the same punishment as
homicide in a brawl: but this may be redeemed by
payment of a fine. The death of a patient under the
hands of a doctor would come under this provision;
if, however, it could be shown that the latter had
wantonly deviated from the established rules of practice,
he would be beheaded. If a wife strikes her father-
or mother-in-law, and the husband kills her, he receives
only one hundred blows. But if he kills her for mere dis-
respect to their memories, and so forth, he is punished by
strangulation. And any one who for some unlawful
purpose threatens another so that he is driven to com-
mit suicide, is punished by decapitation. Ordinary
THE PENAL CODE.
137
cases of battery are met by ordinary punishments; but
where severe wounds are inflicted, an examination is
made into the sufferer's condition by the local magis-
trate, and a 'period of responsibility' is fixed upon.
If the injured man outlives this, or recovers in the
interim and dies from some other well-ascertained
cause, then the offender is punished only for a com-
mon assault; but if death occurs within the assigned
limit, the case becomes one of murder, and the inflicter
of the wounds is punished accordingly with death.
During the above-mentioned period the injured person
is entrusted to the care of his assailant, who is most
likely to do all in his power to effect a cure. Any one who
strikes an officer of government is heavily punished with
one hundred blows and banishment for three years; in the
case of an open wound, the penalty is death by strangula-
tion. A slave who strikes a free man, and a free man who
strikes a slave, are punished one degree more and one
degree less severely than would be the case but for this
distinction between their respective social positions. A
slave who designedly strikes his master is beheaded; if by
accident, he is strangled. A wife who strikes her husband
receives one hundred blows, and the latter is entitled to
a divorce; but a husband who chastises his wife is liable
to no punishment, unless he goes so far as to inflict an
open wound. If, however, the wife dies of the beating,
her husband is punished with death by strangulation. A
son who strikes his father, mother, or paternal grand-
parents, and a wife who strikes her husband's parents,
are both liable to death by decapitation. A man who
138
THE PENAL CODE.
unintentionally beats his disobedient son or grandson
to death is punished with one hundred blows; should he
accomplish this designedly, the punishment is increased to
sixty blows and one year's banishment. Abusive language
in general is punished by ten blows; from a slave to a
master, by strangulation; from a child or grandchild, by
the same extreme penalty, provided always the person
abused heard the abuse and made a formal complaint.
With regard to indictments generally, it is incumbent
on every prosecutor to begin by filing his charge at the
lowest tribunal of justice within the district, under a
penalty of fifty blows. Any person filing a false charge is
punished a certain number of degrees more heavily than
the accused would have been punished had he been con-
victed of the crime alleged. But if the charge is false.
in degree only, then he receives himself the difference
between the punishments for the crime alleged and the
crime committed. Authors of anonymous charges are
liable to strangulation, irrespective of the truth or false-
hood of the charge. No charge is allowed to be filed by
a child, grandchild, or wife, even if the accusation is true,
under a penalty of fifty blows; and the parent, grand-
parent, or husband, may escape all punishment for the
same by voluntary surrender. But if the charge is
untrue, even in part, the accuser is strangled. Stirring
up litigation of any kind is punished according to a fixed
scale. The laws against bribery are exceedingly severe,
acceptance of eighty ounces of silver for an unlawful and
of one hundred and twenty for a lawful object, rendering
a mandarin liable to death by strangulation. It is death
THE PENAL CODE.
139
by decapitation to forge an official seal, or to issue a
spurious edition of the Imperial Almanac, or to falsely
pass oneself off as a government official. It is death
by strangulation to counterfeit the common coin of
the realm, or to commit rape, the limit of age-under
which all cases are considered as such-being twelve
years. Gambling the national vice of China - is
forbidden by the Code under a penalty of eighty
blows and forfeiture of the stakes; but a few friends
meeting in a private house are not thereby prohibited
from playing at games of skill or chance for stakes of
food or drink. Arson is punishable according to its
results, death being the penalty if anybody is burnt.
Even to set fire to one's own house accidentally is
punishable by forty blows; if the fire spreads, by fifty;
and if any one is killed, by one hundred blows. It is
forbidden to represent upon public or private stages the
persons of any 'emperors, empresses, famous princes,
ministers, and generals of former ages,' under penalty of
one hundred blows; but actual enforcement of this law
has fallen into desuetude, if indeed it can be shown to
have ever been enforced at all. The remainder of this
theatrical clause is evidence that the real value of the
drama has not been misunderstood:-' Nevertheless, it
is not intended by this law to prohibit the exhibition
upon the stage of fictitious characters of just and upright
men, of chaste wives, and pious and obedient children,
all which may tend to dispose the minds of the spec-
tators to the practice of virtue.' The rest of this section
is taken up with elaborate laws relating to the arrest, trial,
140
THE PENAL CODE.
and execution of prisoners. Constables are punishable
if they fail to recover stolen property or to produce the
thieves. Prisoners are not to be ill-treated while awaiting
their trial in gaol. 'Torture' is not to be applied to
witnesses under fifteen or over seventy years of age.
Women are not to be committed to prison at all, except
in capital cases, or in cases of adultery; and the under-
lings who bamboo culprits are not to inflict blows with
great noise and little pain, as many of them are able
to do, under penalty of receiving themselves all such
punishment as is not severely administered.
Book VII. relates entirely to public works: to the
proper preservation of public buildings, of high roads,
and of bridges; and to the prevention of floods by the
maintenance of durable embankments along the banks
of rivers.
The above is, of course, only a rapid and insufficent
survey of the Chinese Penal Code, professing no more
than to give a general insight into a truly monumental
work, the mere existence, still less tenor, of which is
very widely unknown. An attempt will be made in the
following chapters to exhibit something of the working
of this Code in real life-the practice as opposed to
the theories of Chinese law.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
141
LAN LU-CHOW'S CRIMINAL CASES.
LAN LU-CHOW, who has already been mentioned on
page 115 as the literary representative of the present
dynasty, was born in the year 1680 at a small village
in the province of Fohkien. Entering official life, he
ultimately became a district magistrate and distinguished
himself by his just and incorrupt administration as much
as by his literary abilities. He managed, however, to
make enemies among his superior officers, and for some
trifling matter he was impeached and thrown inconti-
nently into prison. His case was subsequently laid
before the Emperor, who not only set him free but
appointed him Prefect at Canton, bestowing upon him
at the same time some valuable medicine, an autograph
copy of verses, a sable robe, some 'joss-stick' or incense,
and other coveted marks of Imperial favour. But all
was in vain. He died of a broken heart one month
after taking up his post, at the age of fifty-three. His
complete works have been published in twenty small
octavo volumes, two of which are devoted to a record of
the chief criminal cases tried by him during his short
judicial career. These cases are twenty-four in all, of
which twelve have been translated for this volume,
together with the editor's characteristic preface, which
here follows, and may perhaps serve as a specimen of
that particular branch of Chinese composition.
of
مدريد
142
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
PREFACE.
My master, Lu-chow, was sitting alone in his mud hut,
his days and nights occupied by literary labours, when
chancing to pass by, I said to him, "Ah me! and can
you in this state of inaction be yourself for a single
day?"
"Under whatever conditions I am placed,"
replied Lu-chow, smiling, "I am always myself; but
whether this is inaction or not, that I cannot say."
Just then a number of people arrived, some from ten,
others from a hundred li, and all bringing with them
either a basket or a box. "Alas!" said they, in the
fulness of their sympathy, "here was his Honour govern-
ing us for all the world like Lung-t'u* of old, when
this unexpected calamity came upon him, against which
we all most loudly protest." My master smiled and
thanked them, at the same time waving his hand and
saying, "Do not repeat these words; it is not kindness
to me to speak thus." Meanwhile, a man of over eighty
years of age, named Wang Hsi-wu, and a native of the
Hui-lai district, arrived from a tramp of 200 li, which
he had accomplished with the aid of a staff. He
brought five pints of rice and ten or a dozen eggs as
a present to Lu-chow; and, bursting into tears, cried
out, "O Heaven! O Heaven! who would have thought
that our worthy magistrate should be brought to
this!" I sighed when I thus saw how my master's
Judge Pao, mentioned on pp. 85, 92.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
143
marvellous administration had affected even the ad-
joining districts, so that when he had been dismissed
from office public sympathy was not confined to the
Ch'ao-yang and P'u-ning districts alone.
My master's judicial capacity was of a remarkably
high order, as though the mantle of Pao Hsiao-su* had
descended upon him. In very difficult cases he would
investigate dispassionately and calmly, appearing to
possess some unusual method for worming out the
truth; so that the most crafty lawyers and the most
experienced scoundrels, whom no logic could entangle
and no pains intimidate, upon being brought before
Lu-chow, found themselves deserted by their former
cunning, and confessed readily without waiting for the
application of torture. I, indeed, have often wondered
how it is that torture is brought into requisition so much
in judicial investigations. For, under the influence of
the 'three wooden instruments,'t what evidence is
there which cannot be elicited?—to say nothing of the
danger of a mistake and the unutterable injury thus
inflicted upon the departed spirit in the realms below.
Now, Lu-chow, in investigating and deciding cases, was
fearful only lest his people should not obtain a full and
fair hearing; he, therefore, argued each point with
them quietly and kindly until they were thoroughly
committed to a certain position, with no possibility of
backing out, and then he decided the case upon its
merits as thus set forth. By such means, those who
See Note on preceding page.
+ The cangue, the finger-squeezer, and the ankle-squeezer.
144
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
were bambooed had no cause for complaint, while those
who were condemned to die, died without resenting
their sentence; the people were unable to deceive him,
and they did not even venture to make the attempt.
Thus did he carry out the Confucian doctrine of
respecting popular feeling;* and were all judicial officers
to decide cases in the same careful and impartial manner,
there would not be a single injured suitor under the
canopy of heaven.
Subsequently, calling to mind past events, my master
chose from among the cases he had tried a certain
number that presented unusual circumstances, and
formed them into a two volume work under the title of
Miscellaneous Cases, the collection similarly published
under the name and authorship of Pao Lung-t'u, being,
for aught I know, a mixture of truth and falsehood; at
any rate, containing so much of the supernatural as to be
valueless to the student, even were the authenticity of
the work less doubtful than it is. ‡ In Lu-Chow's work,
however, this basis has been changed, and, with the
addition of an elegant style, the result is a most useful
book. And when other friends were sympathising with
my master in the calamity that had overtaken a faithful
servant of the State, I alone congratulated him upon it;
for in one who had fulfilled his duties towards his
* Enunciated in the Great Learning, or Book of Wisdom, a
politico-ethical treatise of the Confucian period, attributed by some
to Confucius himself.
+ See p. 141.
See the specimen case on pp. 92-8.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
145
sovereign in such a manner as to win the esteem of the.
people, striving after and attaining to a due regard for
the public welfare,* what cause could there be of self-
reproach ?—and, further, does not Mencius tell us that
life is strengthened by misfortune and sorrow [while
death is nurtured in ease and pleasure]? +
My master, from the time he first entered official life,
found leisure, as magistrate of the P'u-ning district, for
eating and sleeping only. But he had not been there
so much as two months before the good effect of his
administration was complete; and the higher officials,
seeing that he was a man of genius, accordingly bade
him take over the seals of Ch'ao-yang in addition to
those of P'u-ning. On the day he received these orders,
he set off for the former magistracy, and managed on
the way to investigate no less than three cases of murder.
Arriving at Ch'ao-yang, he had to deal with a scarcity
of military supplies during the preceding half-year,
consequent upon recent bad harvests; with organised
banditti, whose depredations compelled travellers to
move only in armed companies, and even then without
absolute security; with hardened scoundrels, who would
oppress the friendless and the weak, steal men's wives,
Adapted from the Confucian Discourses.
+ Only the first half of the quotation is given in the text, no
literary man requiring more than the key-word to any allusion taken
from books which are committed to memory as a first step to
knowledge.
‡ In busy districts the magistrates are very hard worked, being
often engaged until past midnight, and obliged to be up again with
the dawn.
L
146
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
sell their children, strive to get possession of their
property or rights, etc., etc.-the number of petitioners
in one day amounting to between one and two thousand.
My master set to work upon all this with a will. He
devised means of supplying the soldiers with food; he
tranquillised the brigand-infested country; and repressed
the iniquities of lawless villains. He disposed of every
case as soon as it came before him, beginning business
with the dawn of day, and only retiring to his evening
meal at the second or third beat of the drum.* He
would not entrust any one with the secretarial work of
either the judicial or revenue departments; and only
at the sixth crow of the cockt would he lie down to
sleep, to rise again with the first streaks of light in the
east. Thus he went on for more than a year without
a day, nay, a moment's interval; for when the district
was quieted and brought under proper control, there
still remained war-junks, forts, city walls, and grain
supplies, to occupy his attention to the utmost. Yet,
as the 1st and 15th of each moon came round, he
would proceed to expound to the students the doctrines
of Confucianism,‡ ever striving thereby to inspire them
with sentiments of reverence for the sovereign, of filial
piety, fraternal love, loyalty, and honour. And when
this task was over, he would make critical remarks upon
Between 9 and II p.m.
+ The Chinese hold various opinions as to the number of times
and hours at which cocks crow during the night.
By reading aloud the Sacred Edict, a collection of sixteen
maxims or rules of life, published by the Emperor Kang Hi. See
p. 114.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
147
their essays; until at length his friends upbraided him
for overstraining his powers, asking which was of the
greater importance-his official reputation, or his life.
"If I remain one day," replied Lu-chow, "unoccupied
in this way, then a feeling comes over me that I am
not doing my duty towards my sovereign. I am but
a blade of grass; yet I have been laden with Imperial
favours. [Like K'ung-ming] I will exhaust every effort
and perish in the attempt.
* "
As for me, I knew that my master's misfortune was
in reality a mark of Divine appreciation, and was sent
upon him in order to lengthen out his span of days.
Henceforth, he would be able to follow the bent of
his inclination among groves of trees and springs of .
water, and gain a place for himself by his writings
among the immortals of literature. And even should
he be called upon again to undertake the toils of office,
then this period of retreat-this experience of the vicissi-
tudes of life and of the winds and waves of an official
career-these would all aid towards the more successful
accomplishment of his destiny. I therefore congratulated
my master, believing him fully capable of enjoying the
enjoyments that lay within his grasp. The district of
Ch'ao-yang was at peace; doors were not bolted at
night; and habits of mutual good feeling and consi-
deration began to prevail. Ye who read this collection
of cases by Lu-chow should do so knowing something
* A phrase used by the famous general K'ung-ming, or Chu-ko
Liang, in an address to the son of Liu Pei. These names will be
familiar to every student of Chinese history.
See p. 44.
L 2
148
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
•
of the man under whose name they appear, and not
admire them only for the sake of the novelties they
contain.
Such is my preface, written in this spring-time of the
Chi-yu year* of Yung-Chêng, at Hêng-shan, by me, his
fellow-student, K'uang Min-pên; and I herewith make
my bow.
*
A.D. 1729.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
149
THE THREE BODY-SNATCHERS.
On the 13th of the seventh moon of the year Ting-wei
(1727) I entered upon my official career as magistrate of
the P'u-ning district. A month had hardly passed away
before I was petitioned by a man, named Wang Shih-i,
in the matter of the death of a younger brother,* by
poison. He stated that deceased, named A-hsiung, was
his second cousin, and that when the latter's mother had
become, in second nuptials, the concubine of a P'u-ning
man, named Ch'ên T'ien-wan, her son had accompanied
her to her new home. That the wife of this Ch'ên,
being jealous, had caused A-hsiung's death by poison,
deceased's fingers being found to be drawn up and his
teeth and lips of a livid hue. He filed at the same time
the usual bond providing that he was to suffer the usual
punishment in the event of the accusation being false.†
All this seemed to be very plausible, and next morning
I went to hold the inquest, but found no signs of the
corpse; upon which Wang Shih-i, with much vociferation,
singled out Ch′ên T'ien-wan, and declared that, in fear
of the consequences, he had made away with the body.
Ch'ên and his family stared at one another in blank
amazement without uttering a word, while I calmly and
* The term 'brother' is of wider application in China than with
us, as will be seen in the next sentence. Hence the explanation
of the numerous 'brothers' whom our Chinese servants are always
recommending for vacant posts.
+ See p. 138.
150
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
dispassionately elicited the fact that A-hsiung had been
ill about two months with dysentery, this being corro-
borated by the evidence of the doctor who had attended
on him. I noticed at the same time that Ch'ên's wife,
who was supported by several persons, was suffering
from a severe dropsy of nine years' standing, and was in
a pitiable condition, not at all resembling one who would
poison anybody from jealousy; and, out of a dozen
witnesses examined in connection with the accused, not
one could tell me what had become of the corpse. It
then occurred to me that Wang Shih-i had himself taken
it away; and, summoning the mother of the deceased
boy, I asked her whether on the day of her son's death
Wang Shih-i had gone to the house or not. "I invited
him to come," replied she, "but he would not ;" adding
that he came on the following day, but even then did
not enter the door, passing on to visit a female cousin of
his. I inquired if this female cousin had a husband,
and was informed that she had a son of about fifteen,
whom I immediately sent for, and found out from him
that on such and such a day Wang Shih-i had met him
in the road and had not gone into the house, but had
asked whether or not A-hsiung had been buried. "I
said he had," continued the boy; "and then he wanted
to know where, to which I replied that the grave was on
the hills at the back, after which he went away.' There-
upon, I struck the table with my hand, and cried in a
loud voice: "The body has been stolen away by Wang
Shih-i." Being then examined under torture, he
* His fingers were squeezed.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
151
*
confessed that he had hired a beggar to open the grave at
dead of night and carry off A-hsiung's corpse; but when
I came to ask him further as to its place of concealment
and the lawyer under whose advice he had acted, he
began to fence and would not speak out the truth. So,
fearing that he might be intimidated by the presence of
some among the bystanders, I sentenced him to thirty
blows with the bamboo, and ordered him to be taken
back to the district city and placed in the cangue;
while Ch'ên T'ien-wan and his family, as well as all the
other persons who had been implicated in this prose-
cution, were formally released. Several thousand people
had been collected together as spectators; and these, one ·
and all believing that the case was now at an end, rent
the air with their shouts as they crowded round to salute
me. I, however, had not gone above a furlong on my
way home when I called one of the sturdiest runners to
my side, and bade him doff his official hat and coat †
and hurry on to an inn at the east gate of the city,
where he was to inquire how long a stranger, named
Wang Shih-i, had stayed in the house, and which room
he had occupied; and, then, if he found any one in the
said room, he was to arrest him and bring him before
The runner thus managed to get hold of a lawyer,‡
me.
* In other words, the torture applied was not pushed to extreme
limits.
+ Official servants on duty wear long coats down to their heels.
The term is convenient, though applicable only to a class of
pettifoggers who 'get up' cases, prime witnesses, draw up petitions,
and so forth. No pleading by counsel or attorney is permitted in a
Chinese court; consequently, China has no 'Bar.'
152
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
named Wang Chüo-t'ing; but the latter comported
himself easily as if he knew nothing about the matter,
swearing that he was not even acquainted with Wang
Shih-i, who, by the way, kept his eyes steadily turned in
another direction. In fact, his whole behaviour was
such as to make it difficult for me to find a
loop-hole to take advantage of, when I recollected
that, besides Wang Shih-i, there would be subscribed
to the charge filed by him the names both of the man
who drafted it and of the guarantor of good faith.*
So I sent off quietly and caused these two persons to be
produced, and from them I learnt that Wang Chüo-t'ing
had been among the party. However, as he still refused
to admit his share in the business, I handed him a pen
and paper and bade him write down his deposition;
whereupon I immediately saw from the character of his
handwriting that he had copied the original petition, the
two styles being as like as the two halves of a tally. The
three wooden instruments were accordingly brought
into play; and at length he acknowledged that the
scheme of stealing the body and burying it, as had
been done, in another district, had been sketched out
by an old lawyer, named Ch'ên Wei-tu, from whom the
actual spot, which even Wang Shih-i did not know, might
be ascertained. Swift runners were forthwith despatched
to arrest Ch'ên Wei-tu, who turned out to be an old
* Without which no charge may be entertained.
+ The cangue, the finger-squeezer, and the ankle-squeezer.
‡ Thereby increasing the difficulties of the authorities, the juris-
diction of a magistrate being strictly limited to his own district.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
153
scoundrel ten times more crafty* than Wang Chüo-t'ing.
He swore he was an injured man; that Ch'ên T'ien-wan
was his cousin,† and that the two Wangs in the wicked-
ness of their hearts were striving to ruin his said cousin
by bringing this false charge of murder against him.
"But happily,” continued he, "they fell across a judge
who exposed their villany and frustrated their designs;
and now that they are trying to ruin me in the same way,
unless your Honour is Lung-t'u ‡ come back to earth, my
cousin and I shall go down to the grave with unclosed
eyes."§ At this story, which seemed to me plausible
enough, I was rather inclined to release the man; but
noticing that he had a restless eye, || not at all like that
of an innocent man, I tested him, saying, "Well, you
are indeed a good lawyer, and what you say has all the
appearance of right and truth, besides being couched in
pleasant language. If you had fallen across any one
else, the odds are you would have escaped; but un-
happily you have to deal with me, and as you say I am
Lung-t'u come to life, why on earth do you attempt to
deceive me thus? Make an open confession of your
guilt, and I will be as lenient with you as I can." Ch'ên
*
Literally, 'deeper' a coincidence of idiom by no means
uncommon.
+ Literally, 'his mourning-brother;' i.e., a relative for whom he
would have to wear mourning in case of death.
‡ Judge Pao. See pp. 85, 92.
§ It is believed that the eyes of a wronged man will not close
properly after death, until his wrongs have been righted.
This fact is notably of service to our own detectives. I have
heard it stated that Italian detectives watch rather for a restless
movement of the hands.
154
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
Wei-tu had not a word to say; but Wang Chüo-t'ing
fixed upon him and began as follows:-"Did not we
three concert this scheme in the room above the Black
Stone fort? Did you not quote the recovery of the
bones of Yang Ling Kung of old,* and bid us steal the
body and convey it over the district border? And did
you not give five reasons—viz., (1) that we should have
to fear no inquest at which absence of wounds might be
proved; (2) that there would be no danger of the matter
coming to light in another district; (3) that as to the
concealment of the body appearances would be against
the accused, and that in consequence Ch'ên T'ien-wan,
his family, and neighbours would be all put to the
question; (4) that no body being forthcoming the
presiding official would not be able to close the case,
and that we three had only to reap the success of our
plot in bribes for a settlement of the case, which the
other side would not be able to refuse, and which would
soon make us all rich men; (5) and lastly, that after the
case should be settled we were to keep our own counsel,
and as A-hsiung's body would never be forthcoming we
ran no risk of future trouble? And then, when we had
carried off and buried the corpse, did we not meet
together and agree over a cup of wine that it was an
excellent scheme, such as neither angel nor devil would
detect, and which not even Pao Lung-t'u, if he came to
life again, would be able to place in its true light? But
what is the use of arguing now? Since you have fallen
* Alluding to the death of a general who had been sent, under
the Sung dynasty, to fight against the Tartars.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
155
across a second Lung-t'u, why not speak out the truth,
and not leave us two to bear the brunt alone?" Ch'ên
Wei-t'u was still protesting his innocence when I made
trial of him again, saying, "Even supposing you were
not an accomplice in the plot, still your behaviour has
been very suspicious. If these two men were trying to
ruin your cousin, how was it you came to be eating and
66 It
drinking with them on friendly terms at an inn?”
was by accident,” replied Ch'ên Wei-t'u, taken somewhat
aback; to which I rejoined, "A single meal might be
accidental, but was it accidental that you ate together for
several days?" "There are but few eating-houses in
the city," said Ch'ên, "and I had no alternative;"
upon which I told him that I knew all about the
time they had spent together at the inn concocting
this plot, adding that persons on bad terms did
not usually have so much to say to each other.
Ch'ên Wei-tu then began to make some wild statements
about his having hoped by fair words to divert the other
two from their evil designs against his cousin, but in
reply to a question of mine declared that they had not
slept in the same room. My next step was to secretly
examine Wang Chüo-t'ing as to the room they had
occupied, its articles of furniture, their position, and so
forth; besides summoning the landlord and his son, and
eliciting from them under separate examinations that
Ch'ên Wei-tu and Wang Chüo-t'ing had passed three
nights together in the same apartment at their inn.
There being now no doubt as to the conspiracy, I put
Ch'ên Wei-tu to the torture, and at length got him to
156
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
confess that, in consequence of the sale of an ancestral
house, he had quarrelled with Ch'ên Tien-wan, and
availed himself of this opportunity to vent his spite. He
further admitted having buried A-hsiung's body outside
the Black Stone fort, some four or five feet deep in the
earth, saying that the spot had been marked by cutting
a tree which grew near. I therefore placed him under
restraint while I sent Wang Chüo-t'ing under the charge
of runners to the place indicated, having first commu-
nicated with the magistrate of the Ch'ao-yang district
and requested an escort of soldiers from the local station.
The result was what Ch'ên Wei-tu had stated. A-hsiung's
body was found at a depth of four feet, wrapped up in a
mat, and on being conveyed to the city was identified by
his mother and by Ch'ên Tien-wan, but my experts who
examined it* failed to find any signs of an unnatural
cause of death. Wang Shih-i had now nothing to say,
but Chiên T'ien-wan wept when he saw Ch'ên Wei-tu,
and said, "My brother, what has brought you to this
pass? You and I are of the same stock, and there has
been no deadly feud between us. When, because of
that ancestral property, you were annoyed with me, and
declared in your anger that you would sweep away all I
had and leave not a hoe behind, I treated your words
lightly, never thinking you would attempt to carry out
your threat; and had you not now confessed to what
you have done, I should not have divined whence this
trouble had come upon me. As far as I am concerned,
Externally. The stomach is never examined, and even if it
were, the Chinese could not analyze its contents.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
157
all is now clear; for you, you have only yourself to
thank." "I know it," replied Ch'ên Wei-tu, "we need
not discuss that.”
*
I was here advised to report this case in the usual
way, and by so doing make a great name for myself;
but I said, "The P'u-ning district has been suffering
from consecutive years of bad harvests. Hardly a month
has elapsed since my arrival, and affairs are not yet in
a settled state; and although death would inevitably be
the punishment of these three body-snatchers, my report
would necessarily involve the attendance at the provincial
capital of a large number of persons, a misfortune I am
not willing to entail upon them merely with a view to
establish my own reputation." I therefore ordered the
three culprits to receive the full tale of blows allowed
by law, and caused a square board to be prepared, on
which was written, in large characters, a full account of
their crime. This was to be borne aloft in procession,
the three men being at the same time taken and exposed
at various points in the cangue for the information of
the general public. Thus were the people of P'u-ning
satisfied.
* To the higher authorities.
+
158
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
EVIL EFFECTS OF SUPERSTITIOUS
DOCTRINES.
The people of the Ch'ao-yang district are great on
bogies, and love to talk of spirits and Buddhas. The
gentry and their wives devote themselves to Ta Tien,*
but the women generally of the neighbourhood flock
in crowds to the temples to burn incense and adore
Buddha, forming an unbroken string along the road.
Hence, much ghostly and supernatural nonsense gets
spread about; and hence it was that the Hou-t'ien sect
came to flourish. I know nothing of the origin of this
sect. It was started amongst the Ch'ao-yang people
by two men, named Yen and Chou respectively, who
said that they had been instructed by a white-bearded
Immortal, and who, when an attempt to arrest them
was made by a predecessor in office, absconded with
their families and remained in concealment. By-and-by,
however, they came back, calling themselves the White
Lily or the White Aspen sect. I imagine that White
Lily was the real designation, the alteration in name
being simply made to deceive. Their 'goddess' was
Yen's own wife, and she pretended to be able to
summon wind and bring down rain, enslave bogies and
exorcise spirits, being assisted in her performances
by her paramour, a man named Hu, who called
* A member of the Chinese Pantheon, about whom I know
nothing.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
159
himself the Immortal of Pencil Peak. He used
to aid in writing out charms, spirting water, curing
diseases, and praying for heirs; and he could enable
widows to hold converse with their departed husbands.
The whole district was taken in by these people and
went quite mad about them, people travelling from afar
to worship them as spiritual guides, and with many
offerings of money, meats, and wines, enrolling them-
selves as their humble disciples, until one would have
said it was market-day in the neighbourhood. I heard
of their doings one day as I was returning from the
prefectural city. They had already established them-
selves in a large building to the north of the district;
they had opened a preaching-hall, collected several
hundred persons together, and for the two previous
days had been availing themselves of the services of
some play-actors to sing and perform at their banquets.
I immediately sent off constables to arrest them; but
the constables were afraid of incurring the displeasure.
of the spirits and being seized by the soldiers of the
Infernal Regions,* while so much protection was afforded
by various families of wealth and position that the guilty
parties succeeded in preventing the arrest of a single one
of their number. Therefore I proceeded in person to
their establishment, knocked at the door, and seized the
goddess, whom I subjected to a searching examination
as to the whereabouts of her accomplices; but the
* Fits and other sudden attacks of illness are explained in this
Sometimes the wrong man is arrested, and his spirit is sent
back to earth by the Judge in Purgatory, i.c., he recovers.
way.
160
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
interior of the place being as it was a perfect maze of
passages ramifying in every direction, when I seized a
torch and made my way along, even if I did stumble up
against any one, they were gone in a moment before I
had time to see where. It was a veritable nest of secret
villany, and one which I felt ought to be searched to the
last corner. Accordingly, from the goddess's bed in a
dark and out-of-the-way chamber, I dragged forth some
ten or a dozen men; while out of the Immortal's bed-
room I brought a wooden seal of office belonging to the
Lady of the Moon, also a copy of their magic ritual, a
quantity of soporifics, wigs, clothes, ornaments, etc., etc.,
of the uses of which I was then totally ignorant. I
further made a great effort to secure the person of the
Immortal himself; and when his friends and rich sup-
porters saw the game was up, they surrendered him over
to justice. At his examination he comported himself in
a very singular manner, such being indeed the chief
means upon which he relied, besides the soporifics and
fine dresses, to deceive the eyes and ears of the public.
As to his credulous dupes, male and female, when they
heard the name of the Lady of the Moon they would be
at first somewhat scared; but by-and-by, seeing that the
goddess was certainly a woman, they would begin to
regain courage, while the Immortal himself, with his hair
dressed out and his face powdered and his skirts fluttering
about as he hovered round the goddess, and the two
together assumed all the airs and graces of women, soon
convinced the spectators that he was really the Lady of the
Moon, and quite put them off the scent as to his real sex.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
161
Adjourning now to one of the more remote apartments,
there would follow worship of Maitrêya Buddha, accom-
panied by the recital of some sûtra; after which soporific
incense would be lighted, and the victims be thrown into
a deep sleep. This soporific, or 'soul confuser' as it is
otherwise called, makes people feel tired and sleepy;
they are recovered by means of a charm and a draught
of cold water.* The promised heirs and the interviews
with deceased husbands-these are all supposed to be
brought about during the period of trance-for which
scandalous impostures the heads of these villains hung
up in the streets were scarcely a sufficient punishment.
However, reflecting that it would be a great grievance to
the people were any of them to find themselves mixed
up in such a case just after a bad harvest, and also that
among the large number who had become affiliated to
this society there would be found many old and respect-
able families, I determined on a plan which would put
an end to the affair without any troublesome esclandre.
I burnt all the depositions in which names were given,
and took no further steps against the persons named. I
ordered the goddess and her paramour to receive their
full complement of blows (viz., one hundred), and to be
punished with the heavy cangue; and, placing them at
the yamên gate, I let the people rail and curse at
them, tear their flesh and break their heads, until they
passed together into their boasted Paradise. The
husband and some ten others of the gang were placed
* The use of an anesthetic prepared from hemp has been known
to the Chinese for the past sixteen centuries, at least. See p. 47.
M
162
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
in the cangue, bambooed, or punished in some way;
and as for the rest, they were allowed to escape with
this one more chance to turn over a new leaf.
I con-
fiscated the building, destroyed its disgraceful hiding-
places, changed the whole appearance of the place, and
made it into a literary institution to be dedicated to five
famous heroes of literature. I cleansed and purified it
from all taint, and on the 1st and 15th of each moon I
would, when at leisure, indulge with the scholars of the
district in literary recreations. I formed, in fact, a
literary club; and, leasing a plot of ground for culti
vation, devoted the returns therefrom to the annual
Confucian demonstrations and to the payment of a
regular professor. Thus, the true doctrine was caused
to flourish, and these supernatural doings to disappear
from the scene. The public tone was elevated, and the
morality of the place vastly improved.
When the Brigadier-General and the Lieutenant-
Governor heard what had been done they very much
commended my action, saying: "Had this sect not been
rooted out, the evil results would have been dire indeed,
and had you reported the case in the usual way, praying
for the execution of these criminals, your merit would
undoubtedly have been great; but now, without selfish
regard to your own interests, you have shown yourself
unwilling to hunt down more victims than necessary, or
to expose those doings in such a manner as to lead to
the suicide of the persons implicated. Such care for the
fair fame of so many people is deserving of all praise.”
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
163
A WITNESS FROM THE GRAVE.
The inhabitants of certain villages having joined to-
gether in the construction of a dam to collect water
for the irrigation of their fields, which water was to be
at the disposal of the various members in turn, it
chanced that during the droughts of the eighth and
ninth months, two of the families interested, by name
Chiang and Lo respectively, relying on their superior
strength of numbers, proceeded to set at naught the
arrangement that had been agreed upon, and, heedless
of the fact that on the first of the month the supply
in the reservoir belonged to the Yang family, possessed
themselves of the water-lift, and began forthwith to
appropriate the water to their own use. One of the
Yangs, named Hsien-yu, would not stand this, but
seizing a knife, rushed upon the intruders, followed by
his two brothers, Wên-huan and Shih-hsiang, to prevent
them from carrying out their intention. Thereupon,
one of the Lo family, named Ming-chu, hurried home
and reported to the village elder, Chiang Li-ch'ing,
who immediately called out his fellow clansmen Chiang
Tzu-ch'ien and others, to the number of some forty or
fifty men, and away they went armed with spears and
clubs, surrounding and attacking the Yangs. This was
the signal for one of the latter family, named Hsüo-wên,
who saw his uncle and father thus placed in danger, to
summon likewise about thirty of their friends to the
rescue; and from that moment the fight became general;
M 2
164
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
but numbers soon began to tell, and Hsien-yu was killed,
his brother Shih-hsiang, who had been badly wounded
and unable to get away, being carried off by his oppo-
nents when they turned and fled after seeing what
mischief they had done. As soon as they were safe
within their own lines, the Chiangs and Los boasted
loudly of their feat, all the time taking particular care
to dress Shih-hsiang's woulds for fear he too should die.
At that time another official was acting magistrate of
the district, and he held an inquest in due form and
reported the case, as in duty bound. Before, however,
the trial came off, he died, and I was appointed to the
post. Many times I examined the accused persons,
but not one of them would confess himself to have
been the actual murderer; and two of the combatants
declared that the large number of persons engaged, with
swords and staves flying about in all directions, made
it quite impossible to say who struck the fatal blow.
The wounded man, too, only knew those who had struck
him personally; he could not say who was the first man
to inflict a mortal blow upon the deceased. My next
step was to examine the accused members of the two
clans, Chiang and Lo, one by one, alternately holding
out a hope of leniency, attempting to work upon their
feelings, frightening them by my demeanour, and flou-
rishing before them the three instruments of torture.*
In fact, I exhausted every means of the kind, without
eliciting anything beyond the two words 'Don't know; '
not even the merest shadow of a hint. I was thus
* The cangue, the finger-squeezer, and the ankle-squeezer.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
165
completely nonplussed, until a few nights subsequently,
when all was dark and dismal without, and the wind
whistled coldly through the almost deserted thorough-
fares, I lighted a lamp, and took my seat in the court-
room, summoning to my presence the whole crowd
of prosecutors and accused. I then addressed them,
saying, "A life for a life is the rule that has come
down to us from time immemorial. Do each of you,
now, this night pause to reflect how, if some one were
to take away your life and not pay the penalty with
his own-how you, a wronged shade, would feel in the
world below. As it is, you are trusting to the luck
of circumstances; not one of you will confess because
there is no one who can point either of you out as
the guilty man. Such being the case, I have sent a
despatch to the Municipal God,* and have arranged to
have the ghost of the murdered Yang Hsien-yu brought
back to earth this night during the second watch, to
be confronted with you.
And I would have you to
understand that had you each a hundred tongues, you
would not now be able to gloss over your guilt." There-
upon I bade my lictors escort them all to the temple of
the Municipal God, where, after the usual ceremonies
of gonging and drumming and burning incense, I took
my seat in the principal hall, and summoned the spirit
of Yang Hsien-yu to rise before me. I then made a
feint of addressing a few questions to it, finally turning
to the kneeling men, and saying, "Yang Hsien-yu is
here; he is desirous of being confronted with you.
* See p. 44.
166
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
Raise your heads and look at him; see! there he stands
with his hands pressed to his heart, in an attitude of
pain, and his clothes dyed red with blood." At this,
some of them raised their heads to look, while others
only took a furtive peep; but three of the number, Lo
Ming-chu, and Tzů-ch'ien and Li-ch'ing of the Chiang
family, remained perfectly motionless, as if they had
not heard a single word. I therefore called out, in a
natural tone of voice, "Ming-chu, come here! Yang
Hsien-yu has arrived, and would have you repay to
him that life you took away; do you still dare to
repudiate your debt?" Ming-chu now began to tremble
violently, and for a long time was quite unable to reply;
so I continued as follows:-"Ming-chu, you are ordi-
narily cunning enough at fence of words; but now
that the ghost of the murdered man is here, you do
not venture to open your mouth. This is proof enough
for me of your guilt, and unless you confess at once,
I will extract the truth from you by torture upon the
spot." Ming-chu confessed. He said, "I struck the
deceased with a club upon the left temple, but the
immediate cause of his death was a spear-thrust inflicted
by Tzu-ch'ien, with which I have nothing to do." I
now called out to Tzu-ch'ien to come nearer, and asked
him to explain, but he would not confess; whereupon
I said, "Argue the case yourself with the man's spirit;
and when Tzu-ch'ien had looked fixedly for some
moments without speaking, I continued, "Don't you
see the injured ghost? It told me that Ming-chu
struck a blow on the left temple with a club, and that
""
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
167
you pierced the pit of the stomach with a long blade,
causing the body to fall, while you drew your weapon
from the wound and the blood gushed out in a stream.
Such were the details of that fight; what need for
you to prolong the discussion?" "It was so,” replied
Tzu-ch'ien; and I then proceeded to ask if either had
aught to complain of in the statements of the spirit?
Both men answered in the negative; and to a further
question as to the originator of the violent scene, they
replied by naming Chiang Li-ch'ing. At this point, I
sent these two criminals into a dark part of the temple,
and summoning one of the two men who had declared
it was impossible to fix the crime upon any one in
particular, I said to him, "Yang Hsien-yu is much
hurt that you, knowing all the circumstances of his
case as you did, should have tried to conceal them to
his infinite injury, and his ghost is now disposed to
trouble you in consequence. How much did you get
to induce you to behave thus ?-indeed, I have a good
mind to make you answer for his life with your own."
The man then disclosed the whole affair in similar terms
to those of the two who had just confessed, pleading
at the same time that he himself had had nothing to
do with the murder, and could not fairly be held
responsible. Several of the others were next called,
and gave corroborative evidence; but Chiang Li-ch'ing,
who was an old man, stuck to his text of 'Don't know,'
and being unable to influence him either by physical
pain or mental perturbation, I could not succeed in
wringing a confession from his lips. However, seeing
168
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that he was in bad health, and standing upon the brink
of the grave, I addressed them all, saying, "The case
has been clearly made out by overwhelming evidence.
Chiang Li-ch'ing was the originator of the fracas, and
the dead man's ghost will not allow him to live in
peace, but will steal away his spirit on the road." I
then drew up the sentence in accordance with statute,
and forwarded the three men to the higher authori-
ties. Three days subsequently news came that Chiang
Li-ch'ing was dead, after which the people of the district
had no doubts as to the reality of the manifestation
above described.*
* I see no reason whatever to disbelieve the literal accuracy of
this story in reference to the extraordinary method of procedure
here described. The mandarins, themselves stout materialists, do
not hesitate to work upon the superstitious fears of the masses in
order to accomplish their own ends.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
169
THE BLANK PETITION.
One day, when I had just taken my seat in the judg-
ment hall, I noticed, outside the second entrance gate, a
young woman supporting an old woman. They remained
kneeling there for some time, the former holding up over
her head a sheet of paper, until at length I sent an at-
tendant to bid them come in. "If you have any plaint
to prefer, you should come forward into the hall,” cried
the attendant to them; "why do you stay kneeling
out there?” I then told the attendant to receive
their petition, but he informed me the paper was blank.
"Never mind,” I replied; "women are not acquainted
with the etiquette of petitions." "But there is nothing
written on it," urged the attendant; "it is only a piece
of white paper." However, I ordered him to take it
notwithstanding; and when I came to look, such was
indeed the case. Beckoning the women towards me, I
asked them, saying, "If you have suffered any wrong
that you would lay before me, you should write out a
plain statement of the facts; why come hither with a
blank petition?" The younger woman answered that
she could not read or write, that they were very badly
off, that the public scribe* had been intimidated by a
certain Li A-mei, and that no one would prepare her
petition for her. I therefore instructed a clerk to take
* Attached to every magistrate's yamên, for the special purpose
of drawing up petitions and other documents of the kind at a
fixed rate.
170
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
down the depositions, the old woman stating as fol-
lows:-"My maiden name was Chêng. I am eighty-six
years of age. This young woman, whose maiden name
was Liu, is my widowed daughter-in-law. My deceased
son, Li A-tzŭ, was last year driven to commit suicide by
the above-mentioned Li A-mei, who, when I was on the
point of instituting a prosecution against him, succeeded
in getting a number of the influential clansmen to per-
suade me to stay proceedings, promising to bury my
son's body, give me a house, and provide maintenance
for myself and this young woman. * But now, in the
wickedness of his heart, he has driven us out of the
house, taking away the tiles from the roof and cutting
off our supplies, leaving us only the wind for food, the
dew for a pillow. In this dire extremity we have come
here." "Human life," said I in reply, "is of paramount
importance. You were wrong to hush up the case in the
way you did, and now nine months have passed away;
how can you hope for any redress?" "Li A-mei is behav-
ing thus cruelly to the widow and orphan," answered the
younger woman, "because he knows that my husband's
death took place last year, and that we have no longer
any right to prefer a charge of homicide; that is why he
* Such is the usual course taken in cases of homicide, accidental
or otherwise. If no prosecutor is forthcoming, no steps are taken
by the authorities; and from without the circle of those actually
interested, no prosecution is likely to spring up. It would be
viewed with great disfavour by the officials as well as by the public;
and care would be taken to involve the meddling party in such
trouble and annoyance and expense as would prove an infallible
warning to others against following the example.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
171
ventures to go back upon his agreement. We, too, know
full well that as we brought no charge at the time when
Li A-mei drove my dead husband to take poison, we can
hardly expect to be allowed to do so at this late date.
But it is because Li A-mei has destroyed our home and
cut off our food, that we can bear it no longer; and we
are further unable to obtain redress from the elders of
our clan, who shuffle the responsibility from one to
another as if no concern of theirs. My aged mother-
in-law is like a candle in the storm; my child is a baby
in arms; if Heaven does not take pity upon us, Earth
will have no resting-place for our bones."* To my
inquiry as to the whereabouts of Li A-mei, the women
told me he lived at a certain place at no great distance
from the city; so bidding them wait awhile, I despatched
constables with a warrant† for his immediate arrest in
order to confront him with his accusers. Before long he
arrived, and in reply to my interrogations flatly denied
all knowledge of the circumstances described. "I was
related to the deceased," argued Li A-mei, "within the
five degrees of mourning, and when last year he was
taken ill and died, out of pity for his aged mother and
* The prospect of a decent burial in some propitiously-chosen
grave goes far to reconcile the ordinary Chinaman to his transit
from the world of men to the world of spirits.
+ A Chinese warrant, to be valid, must bear upon its face a large
character in red ink signifying "Issue,' or 'Let it be sent.' The
same character is noticeable upon the envelopes of official des-
patches and other similar documents.
Relatives within the first degree wear coarse unhemmed clothes
of sackcloth for three years; actually, for twenty-seven months. In
the second, hemmed sackcloth of a finer quality, for three or five
172
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
infant son, I provided them with the necessaries of life.
But now the crops have failed, grains of rice are dear as
pearls, the sequence of the green and the yellow* is no
more, and I have quite enough to do to take care of
myself without looking after others." Then ensued a
general wranglet between the three, but Li A-mei would
not yield an inch, finally declaring that these women were
never satisfied, and that his former charitable behaviour
towards them was not intended to be a permanent
thing. "My own wife and children," said he, "are now
in a state almost of destitution; how can I assist you?"
Examining him further as to Li A-tzu's suicide, the
hushing up of the case through the intervention of the
clan elders, the promise of the house and maintenance,
etc., Li A-mei protested that all this was a fiction from
beginning to end, put forward by them at the instigation
of a lawyer in the hope of getting something out of him,
and that the clan elders in question might be summoned
to bear him out. I, too, on my part began to think that
the story must be a fabrication, only that the women
had not the air of impostors, while Li A-mei's eye was
restless and his speech flurried, as if he were not
straightforward. So I made trial of him thus:-"Li
A-mei, you are a bold man to think to trifle with me. I
require to hear you say but two words to be able to see
months. In the third, coarse linen for nine months. In the fourth,
finer linen for five months. In the fifth, finer linen for three
months.
* Alluding, of course, to the ripening of grain.
+ See Note on p. 201.
‡ See Note on p. 153.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
173
straight into your heart;* how dare you try to deceive
me with your impudent falsehoods? You imagine
perhaps that because I have but recently come into
office I am to be easily taken in; or is it that you have
a desire to become acquainted with my three-foot laws?†
But come now, if you will confess your guilt, although
your crime is a serious one, still I may manage to deal
leniently with you; on the other hand, if you do not tell
me the truth, I will send for those clan elders and con-
front you with them, that the water may sink and the
stones appear. I shall then give you forty blows for
contempt of court to begin with, after which you will be
sentenced according to your deserts. Reflect, now, upon
what I have said." Li A-mei thereupon made the
following confession :-"Li A-tzů was my second cousin
once removed. Last year he came to get from me the
price of some fields, and because I would not pay him,
in a moment of anger he committed suicide by poison
out of revenge. § The clan elders advised me to pay the
expenses of his funeral; and besides giving deceased's
mother a present of twenty ounces of silver, I handed
back to her an old I O U for fifteen ounces more. But
* The text has 'heart and liver,' the liver being regarded as the
seat of some of the passions-the heart, of others. The latter is
also the centre of intellectual power.
+ In ancient times, the laws are said to have been inscribed upon
tablets three feet in length.
‡ A common figurative expression, signifying the establishment
of the real facts of any case.
§ Knowing the difficulties in which this act would be sure to
involve his surviving relative.
174
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
I never said anything about supporting the family."
"The original agreement," cried out the old woman at
this juncture,
was that I was to have a two-roomed
house for my own; but now he has pulled off the roof,
and we have nowhere to go. Besides, it was arranged
by the elders that he was to support us for a year, four
months of which period still remain. Is not this shame-
ful behaviour on Li A-mei's part?" "The tiles were
blown of by the wind," replied Li A-mei, "and I merely
collected them for future use. I will now go and have
them put on again, and hand over the house to these
women. I will also allow them a picul* of rice per
month until the end of the year, when I shall consider
myself free." The two women consented at once to
this, and turning to Li A-mei, I told him that in con-
sideration of his speedy confession and readiness to carry
out the terms of his agreement I would not be too hard
upon him, but would remit the punishments he had
incurred by his cruel behaviour and by his attempt to
deceive me. Accordingly, I bade him hand over the
house and provide the rice, and I let him off his bam-
booing, thus bringing about a due performance of his
duties towards his relatives. All parties were now friends
again; the two women went off vastly pleased with the
arrangement, and Li A-mei made me a k'o-t'ou,† putting
his tongue out of his mouth as he turned to leave the
hall.‡
* 133 lbs.
+ Knocked his head on the ground.
In joyful astonishment at having got off so easily.
་
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
175
A DEAD BEGGAR GETS A WIFE AND SON.
The wife of a man named Chêng once came before
me to complain that her husband had been driven to
commit suicide. She said he had been beadle of a
certain village, and that having had some trouble in
collecting taxes from a man, named Hsiao, who withheld
his title-deed and refused to listen to argument, the
latter, on the 13th day of the moon, had collected a
number of friends and wrecked the house, beating her
husband so severely, that, in despair, he threw himself
into the river and was drowned. She further indicated
the spot at which the body was to be found; and,
accordingly, though suspecting in my heart the truth of
her story, I had no alternative but to hold the usual
inquest. Her son got the corpse on board a boat and
brought it along, and I proceeded forthwith to make an
examination. No wounds were visible upon it; still the
finger nails were full of mud and sand-a sure proof of
suicide by drowning-though, at the same time, I felt
confident that the persons accused, who were all honestly
engaged in trade, would not thus causelessly set upon
and beat another man. Further, deceased had been
beadle of the place, and those now arraigned on this
charge of murder had frequently complained on previous
occasions to my predecessor in office, of the depredations
of thieves, with a view to recovering their losses from the
*
* As distinguished from a murder, when the nails would be free
from mud.
176
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
On my
beadle; and I, when I took over the seals, had gone so
far as to fix a limit within which the missing articles were
to be restored, but without success. Now, there was
this story of the attack and suicide; but the flesh on the
face of the dead man was too far decomposed to admit
of his identification, and I also thought it rather strange.
that no one should know anything about an affair which
had happened eight days previously, and that there
should have been such delay in making the charge. At
the same time, as the inquest was held only eight days
after death, it remained to be shown why the body
should be then so far gone in decomposition as if the
man had been dead for a fortnight and more.
putting this last question to the prosecutrix, her son
replied that bodies naturally decompose more rapidly in
water than otherwise; and as for the accused, they none
of them seemed to have a word to say for themselves,
while mother and son stood there jabbering away with
their hempen garments and mourning staves, the one
bemoaning the loss of her husband, the other of his
father, in such affecting tones as would have drawn tears
from the bystanders even had they been of iron or of stone.
My own conviction was, however, unfavourable to their
case, and I bade them go along home and bury the body
themselves. At this there was a general expression of
astonishment; and then I called the accused, and said to
them: "Chêng is not dead; can you not manage to arrest
him?" They all declared they "didn't know;" where-
upon I railed at them, saying: "What! you can't find out
the affairs of those who live in the same village, and draw
།
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
177
from the same well as yourselves? This indolent,
careless behaviour of yours is perfectly amazing. It's
all very well to be callous when other people are
concerned; but now that you stand charged with this
murder and your own necks are in peril, it being my
duty to commit you to prison to pay the penalty, do you
mean to tell me you are willing to take the conse-
quences?" The accused men then burst into tears, and
implored me to save them; to which I replied: "That
is no use. Here's this man Chêng, who was formerly an
accomplice of thieves, alarmed by my appointment to
office, disappears from the scene. Now, your cities of
refuge are confined to some half-dozen or so; and if you
separate and go to them in search of the missing man, I
have no doubt but that you will find him." Three days
passed away, when back one of them came with Chêng,
whom he had caught at the city of Hui-lai. They were
followed by a large crowd of several thousand persons,
who clapped their hands and seemed much amused; and
among them were the mother and son, overwhelmed with
shame, and grovelling in the dust before me. I made the
latter tell me the name of their legal adviser who had egged
them on to act thus, and punished all three according to
law, to the great delight of the inhabitants of the district.
As for the corpse, it was that of a drowned beggar, and no
one came forward to claim it. However, as its pretended
wife and son had worn sackcloth and carried funeral
staves, interring it with every outward demonstration of
respect, the beggar's soul must have had a good laugh
over the whole affair down in the realms below.
N
178
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
THE ROBBERS AND THE WIDOW.
When I was acting magistrate of Ch'ao-yang in
addition to my own post,* I was constantly backwards
and forwards between the two districts. One day, while
passing Shan-mên, I saw a number of herd-boys talking
together on the river bank, and overheard the following
conversation :-"Shameful indeed! To strip a woman
in that way deserves nothing short of death.”
"And a
bride too," continued another, "to be subjected to such
an outrage. I wonder how, with nothing on but an old
pair of the chair-coolie's trowsers for wedding dress, she
managed to get out of her chair, and what the bride-
groom thought of the whole affair." "What he thought
of it,” cried a third, "is not much to the point, since he
did not dare to seek any redress at the hands of the
authorities; and after all what is there to wonder at
in his backwardness ?"†
The above remarks astonished me so much that I at
once gave orders to stop, and inquired from the herd-boys
what it was all about, but they only laughed and ran away.
However, I had one of them caught and brought before
me, and he stated that what they had been saying was in
* A Chinese official holding two posts at the same time, as is
often the case temporarily, conducts the correspondence of each as
if he were two persons, writing from himself as one officer to
himself as another. This course prevents confusion in the archives
when he comes to relinquish either post to somebody else.
+ It is customary in China for people in the streets to talk so
loudly that every one can hear what is said.
1
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
179
reference to a band of desperadoes who infested the
neighbourhood, and who this very month had attacked a
bride on her way to her husband's home, dragged her
out of her bridal chair, and stripped her to the skin,
making off with the clothes and refusing to leave a single
garment for the poor woman to cover herself with; so
that when the robbers had gone she was glad enough to
put on an old pair of trowsers which one of the chair-
coolies very kindly gave her. "Come now," said I,
"this is rather too much. A bride would be accom-
panied by a large escort of her husband's relatives, and
you would have me believe that they all remained
passive spectators of the scene, and were unable to
provide between them anything better in the way of
clothes than the chair-coolie's old trowsers! Besides, it
is not likely that the husband would let such a matter
drop and say no more about it." "The family was
poor," replied the herd-boy, "and there was not much of
an escort. An appeal to the authorities would not only
have failed to bring the perpetrators of this outrage to
justice, but would have entailed trouble rather than
advantage to the prosecutor.
For these robbers stick at
nothing, murder and arson included, and no one cares to
test the tiger's teeth a second time." I then inquired
the name of the husband, but the boy did not know;
neither could he tell me the names of any of the robbers,
so I took a mental note of what had been said, and
when I reached home I sent off secret emissaries to
find out all about the affair. This, however, they did
not succeed in doing.
N 2
180
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
Now it was on the 18th of the moon that I took over
charge of the Ch'ao-yang district, and on the 19th at
daybreak two men named Ch'ên, and a third named Lin,
came before me to complain of a robbery with violence
committed against them in broad daylight four days
previously by a number of robbers who had attacked
them with knives and staves and had left them covered
with wounds, making off with all their clothes and
money. Three of their assailants, A-tsai, A-hsi, and
A-sung, they were able to identify, further declaring that
everybody in the neighbourhood knew them as most.
desperate characters whom no one dared either to
charge or to arrest, and adding that the wounds in-
flicted upon them by the above-mentioned robbers had
been properly examined by the magistrate previous to
my arrival but had not yet healed over. "Since no one
dares to arrest them," said I, laughing, "what, may I ask,
is the object of your present charge?" "Oh, sir,"
replied the three complainants all at once, "that was in
allusion to the time before your Honour's arrival; we
know that such obstruction of the high roads and inter-
ference with trade will not be tolerated now." So I sent
off runners with all despatch to travel day and night, and
on the 22nd day they caught A-sung; and when he was
brought before me I confronted him with his three.
accusers. "It is so," cried he, in a bold tone of voice;
"we robbed them of six thousand cash, and a lot of
clothes of various kinds which are still at A-chi's house
intact." He said that the band consisted of eight in all,
including himself, and that not daring to return to their
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
181
homes they lived in the mountains, showing themselves
every now and again, and sleeping in the jungle or on
the cliff, with the exception of two of their number who
remained with their families as receivers of the plunder
of the band. I inquired as to the depredations they had
committed, but the man said there were too many for
him to recollect; he further declared that none of them
had been of a piratical character. Such being the case,
I took measures for the arrest of his comrades, and by
the 26th of the moon I had six of them, who one and
all, without waiting to be bambooed, fully confirmed the
statements of A-sung.* A couple of them I saw at once
to be villains of the deepest dye, and I was prejudiced
against them accordingly; and when I demanded of
them in particular how many robberies they had com-
mitted, they said it was impossible to remember so far
back. Their recent performances, however, they ran off
quite glibly, and among others was the robbery of a bride
at the identical spot mentioned by the herd-boys. I
asked what had been taken from her; to which one of
them replied that she was a poor person with nothing but
silver ear-rings, hair-pins, rings, and a few clothes.
also told me that all the eight were concerned in the
robbery, but that only he and three others were the
distinguished perpetrators of it. Thereupon I railed at
him, saying, "What! a bridal equipage attacked and
robbed by less than a hundred and more men, and you
He
* The reader is requested to make especial note of this confession
without 'torture,' never intended by the writer to meet the barbarian
eye.
182
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
talking to me about your eights and your fours! Give
him a squeeze,” I cried, turning to my lictors; but at this
point he roared out, "She was a widow, your Honour,
going to be married again; where would she get an
equipage of a number of persons? I swear that there
were only eight of us; and now, when I am telling you
the truth on all these matters, why should I lie to you in
this one? If I say a hundred or a thousand, it is death
all the same and nothing more; can you inflict anything
worse on me than that?" "You are a bad lot," I
replied, "going about thus and committing highway
robberies in broad daylight when the empire is prosperous
and tranquil.* This one theft with violence is enough to
consign you to the executioner; but contrary to the rule
that men and women shall not even touch each other's
hands,† you go and shamefully strip a woman, without
regard either to her feelings or to the enduring cause for
annoyance you are importing into her married life, and
thus render yourselves doubly and trebly deserving of
your fate."
"We were driven to steal by poverty,” said
the two men I had singled out; "and now that our
career of robbery and violence is to be stopped short, we
cannot complain of the justice of our sentence. As to
the bride, she was simply a widow without claim to any
such title; and being herself without shame,‡ she could
* That is, when there is less excuse for deeds of the kind.
+ As a safeguard of morality. According to the ancient moral
code of China, men and women were prohibited from handing
things to each other, for fear their hands might touch.
In marrying again, contrary to Chinese feeling on the subject.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
183
not have suffered much at our hands.
Her husband did
not venture to make a case of it, and there is, therefore,
no occasion to say any more about it." "So true it is,"
said I, laughing, "that a widow should not marry again;
for if even a rascally robber like you can treat such a one
with contempt, what would a high-principled man of
education and refinement think of the matter? We need
discuss this question no further; but your other crimes
are too many and too heinous for you to escape with life,
and you are now specially charged with your last act of
violence against the present prosecutors. I shall avoid
going through the ordinary formalities of reporting to
the higher authorities, since that course usually results in
the escape of many through the meshes of the law, the
implication of innocent persons, and the death of others
on the road; you will simply be cangued for a full
period of the sun,* at the expiration of which your case
shall again be considered." I then gave orders for the
stolen property to be restored to the lawful owners, and
postponed the case against the missing robber until such
time as he should be caught and brought to punishment
according to law. The other seven were severely bam-
booed and after being invested with the heavy cangue
were placed at the four gates of the city as a warning to
all. Three of them, A-sung, A-tsai, and A-hsi, who were
* It is usual to condemn a man to wear the cangue, or wooden
collar, for a full period of one, two, or three moons, i.e., for so
many lunar months. A full period of the sun, from its waxing to
its waning, is of course a grim joke, and simply means until further
orders.
184
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
thoroughly hated by the inhabitants of the district, soon
found themselves surrounded by large crowds of people
gnashing their teeth at them and bitterly reviling them.
Some would pelt them with stones and mud; others
would burn them with lighted sticks; while the widow's
husband, forcing his way through the crowd, lighted a
large torch and roasted them by its flames. A-hsi soon
bit out his tongue and died, followed shortly by several
more of the band, and then the Ch'ao-yang people began
to hold up their hands in joy. Two of those remaining
fell sick and succumbed, leaving but one, named A-hsün,
who dashed his head against the stone steps promising to
amend his ways. In my leniency, I had him bambooed
and invested with the lighter cangue, whereupon he
managed to escape, cangue and all. He was caught,
however, less than two months afterwards on another
charge of robbery with violence, and received the reward
of his crimes.*
*It is probable that this hideous scene was enacted as above
described. Lan Lu-chow's share in it is inexcusable from our point
of view; still, the actual perpetrators of the cruelties in question
were the people, without whose sanction, tacit or expressed, no
mandarin would venture even to connive at such an outrageous
proceeding. The same holds good in all modern instances of
mandarin cruelty. It is not the cruelty of the powerful ruling
classes towards the helpless ruled, but the operation of a system
intended solely to repress crime, and fully approved by the
unanimous voice of the Chinese people.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
185
THE QUARRELLING BROTHERS.
A man, named Ch′ên, of an old rustic family, had two
sons: the elder was called A-ming, and the younger
A-ting. As boys, they pursued their studies together;
in manhood they worked side by side in the fields, and
were very much attached to each other.
When they
married, they arranged a division of property and lived
henceforth apart. * At their father's death there was a
further accession of some seven acres of land, to which
both brothers laid claim; and at length, in spite of the
endeavours of their relatives and clansmen, the two
litigants became involved in a lawsuit. A-ming declared
that their father had given the ground to him, and pro-
duced in support of his statement the will,† in which the
property was bequeathed at the old man's death to the
eldest grandson. A-ting also maintained his right to the
land, in accordance with the last wishes of their father
expressed upon his death-bed. Thereupon I told them
they were both in the right, and that it was their father
who had been in the wrong, adding that his coffin ought
to be brought in as defendant in this case. Neither
of them made any reply to this, and I therefore
continued:"The question of the land is a trifling
matter; it is the litigation between brothers which is
* For this family separation they would have been liable, if the
father had prosecuted, to a punishment of one hundred blows.
+ Nuncupative wills are binding in China, but are only resorted
to when the property is small or under pressure of circumstances.
186
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
so disgraceful. I cannot give any decision; but do each
of you now stretch forth a foot, and to him who shall
bear the pain without a groan when the two feet are
squeezed together, the property shall be given. I cannot
say whether you will suffer most in the left or the right
foot; therefore do you each choose for yourselves, and
stretch forth without compulsion that foot in which you
expect to feel no pain." A-ming and A-ting answered
that it was all the same as far as pain was concerned
which foot might be squeezed; upon which I remarked,
"Ah! just so; both your feet would suffer equally. Now
your body may be likened to your father, inasmuch as it
has precisely the same care for its left foot as your father
had for A-ming, the same care for its right foot as your
father had for A-ting. And if your body cannot bear to
sacrifice one of its feet, how much less could your father
bear to sacrifice one of his sons? But we will go into
this at another time." Meanwhile, I bade the attendants
bring an iron chain, with which I had the brothers.
fettered together, myself sealing the lock so that it could
not be improperly opened, in order that A-ming and
A-ting might be compelled to sit on the same seat, eat
side by side, lie down, get up to walk, stop, squat, or
stand together, without being able to separate from one
another for a single moment. I also placed spies to
watch their behaviour and listen to their conversation,
all of which was to be duly reported to me. At first
they were sulky and would not speak, sitting as well as
they could back to back; but after one or two days they
began gradually to come round, and after three or four
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
187
days they were face to face heaving sighs, until at length
they began to talk. Before long, they were eating and
drinking together, and now feeling convinced they were
both fully repentant, I asked them if they had either of
them any sons of their own. It appeared they had two
each, all four between the ages of fourteen and seventeen,
and accordingly I gave orders for the boys to be produced.
I then addressed A-ming and A-ting, saying, "It was
your father's misfortune to have you two sons, the cause
of the present complication. Had you two been only
one, the property would all have been his, and he would
have been happy in the enjoyment of it. But now you
two have, with similar bad luck, each of you got two
sons; and by-and-by they too will be engaged in quar-
relling and seizing property and in deeds of violence
without end, to the infinite sorrow of their respective
fathers. Therefore I will take counsel for you.
you each keep one son only. Let A-ming, who is the
elder, keep his eldest, and A-ting, the younger, his
youngest son, leaving the other two to me. I will order
my lictors to place them in the Foundling Hospital,* to
be subsequently handed over to the head of the beggars †
as his own children, making him enter into a bond for
their safe keeping. With the beggars there will be no
property to quarrel about, and we shall avoid like
Do
* These institutions are common all over China. As a rule, they
are mismanaged, and the children die by hundreds.
+ There is a beggars' guild in every Chinese town of any size.
Its members levy regular contributions from the various shop-
keepers, who thus purchase an immunity from molestation.
188
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
""
scenes in the future. At this A-ming and A-ting
knocked their heads on the ground before me, imploring
for mercy, and promising never to behave so again. I
asked them what it was they would not do again; to
which A-ming replied that he now saw his error and
would resign the land to his younger brother, never again
to raise the question of ownership as long as he might
live. A-ting, however, protested that he would not
accept it, and that he would resign it to A-ming, pledging
himself never to go back upon his word. Thereupon, I
suggested that they did not mean what they said, and
that I could not believe them; both men, however,
declared they were in earnest, and each cried out, “If I
ever repent these words, may God strike me dead!"
"Well," said I, "you seem to be both of one mind; but
how about your wives?-they may possibly not agree.
Go home and consult them, and come back in three
days." The next day, both brothers appeared with their
wives and with two elders of their clan, and begged me
to stay further proceedings. The wives came forward
arm in arm and fell upon the ground in tears before me,
promising to quarrel no more and not to take the land.
"We fools," said A-ming and A-ting, "were ignorant
of our obligations to each other. Now, thanks to your
Worship's kindness, we have awaked as from a dream,
and are ready to die of shame. Neither of us will have
this land, and we pray your Worship to bestow it on
some Buddhist temple for the benefit of the priests."
"What is this?" I cried; "why you are now more
unfilial than ever! You deserve to be bambooed to
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
189
death for your talk about temples and priests.* Do you
mean to say that you are willing to sacrifice this property,
acquired by the sweat of your father's brow, to some
bald-headed priest, who will step in like the fisherman in
the story and carry off both oyster and bird?† And do
you think that thus your dead father could hope to rest
in peace? No; if neither of you will have the land,
then let it be given back to your father himself. Let it
supply funds for worship at his tomb, each brother
annually taking it in turn to look after the crop pro-
duced. Your posterity will have nothing to quarrel
about if you adopt this excellent plan." To this the
clan elders, the brothers and their wives, all joyfully
consented, and went away with every protestation of
gratitude and respect. They were much happier to-
gether than ever before, and propriety and unselfishness
became household words in the mouths of the people
round about.
* Buddhism is not only tolerated, but practised by all classes.
A magistrate could not, however, openly recognise anything of the
kind from the bench.
+ The latter having poked its long bill into an oyster's shell,
which immediately closed, thus made both an easy prey to a fisher-
man who passed by at the moment.
190
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
ALTERING THE REGISTER.
In the prefecture of Ch'ao-chou it had become
customary to drag into every case as many persons as
possible, with a view to manifest the strength of the
prosecution. This end was furthered by a system of
forgery of names, intimidation of persons, bribery, con-
cealment of the guilty, and accusation of the innocent ;-
all such abuses in fact as put money into the pockets of
pettifoggers and yamên runners. I had laid myself out
to put a stop to these practices, but I had not fully
succeeded, when one day a case of beating to death was
brought before me, in which a large number of persons
were implicated, among others a man named Chêng
A-t'an. He was put down as a native of a certain
village, but my runners were quite unable to find him,
the villagers declaring that no person of that name lived
there. The mother of the deceased informed me,
however, that the man was also known as Chêng
Ch'i-liang, and an individual of that description was
accordingly produced in court. He said his real name
was Chêng A-ch'ing, not Chêng A-t'an; but a brother of
the deceased swore it was A-t'ung, and declared himself
ready, if it were not so, to suffer the punishment to
which A-t'ung would be sentenced if found guilty. It
should be mentioned in this connection that the two
names A-t'an and A-t'ung are pronounced exactly alike
in the local patois of the Ch'ao-yang district. Not
knowing what to make of all this, I said to Chêng
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
191
""
Ch'i-liang: "The point at issue is whether or not you
are mixed up in the murder; whether or not your name
is really A-t'ung is a matter of very little consequence.'
Chêng Ch'i-liang thereupon called heaven to witness,
and threw himself down on the earth, crying out that if
his name was A-t'ung then he would admit his share
in the murder; in reply to which the deceased's brother
pointed to the sky, and swore by the sun that if Chêng
Ch'i-liang's name was not A-t'ung then he would admit
that he himself had been guilty of a false accusation. I
here observed that it would be very easy to settle the
question, and gave orders that the register should be
produced, from which I discovered that Chêng Ch'i-
liang's personal name was A-ch'êng, the two characters
being written with strokes of uniform thickness, and very
much blurred in the formation. "Had I found your
name to be A-ch'ing,"* said I, "there would have been
no longer any doubt; but this chiêng character looks
very much like an alteration of t'ung." I then
examined the registers for the previous five years, and
found that all of them contained 'A-ch'êng,' the said
characters presenting, however, a suspicious appearance
of having been altered. Moreover, his brothers' names
were all characters containing the radical wood at the left
side; and how was it that he alone should differ from
the rest in this respect? "You impudent scoundrel!"
* As he had stated in the first instance.
+ The character for t'ung might easily be altered to that for
chiêng.
‡ 'Ch'êng' has grain for its radical instead of wood. There is
192
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
cried I, striking the table, "your name is A-t'ung, and
you have changed it to A-ch'êng with the view of mis-
leading me, and in the belief that I was to be thus
misled. You are therefore guilty of this murder; but
first tell me by what means and through whose assistance
you managed to alter the register." Chêng Ch'i-liang
now saw that further concealment would be imposssible,
and proceeded to acknowledge that his name was really
A-t'ung, and that he had got it altered through a clerk in
the register office, named Lin. The clerk was produced,
and admitted having changed the name for a present of
300 cash,* upon which I ordered him forty blows with
the bamboo, to be dismissed from his post, and to be
exposed in the cangue for two months. Chêng Ch'i-liang
also came in for his share of punishment; but, as regards
the murder, I found, upon further examination, that he
had really had nothing to do with it. "And now," said
I to him, "you see how foolish all your tricks have been.
Your home is several miles from the scene of the murder,
and an alibi has been distinctly proved in your favour.
It would have been for me, therefore, to recognise your
innocence, and discharge you accordingly; and had you
not conspired with my subordinates to alter the register,
you would have been at this moment wending your way
happily home. It was very clever of you to divine that
I should call not only for the current register but for the
generally a similar uniformity in the personal names of brothers; as
if, for want of a better analogy, an English father were to make all
his sons' names begin with a B: Bertram, Benjamin, Baldwin, etc.
Say, Is. 3d.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
193
registers of the past five years, all of which you altered
in anticipation; but you did not foresee that I might be
as clever as you, and that you would find it very difficult
to get the better of me." At this, all the parties to the
case knelt before me, and admitted the accuracy of
my decision, while Chêng Ch'i-liang positively hammered
his head upon the ground, begging me to release him.
"Your crime," I replied, "in thus planning to defeat the
ends of justice is a very great one.
I have just begun
my work of eradicating such abuses from this district,
and can by no means overlook your offence.* You, too,
will be exposed in the cangue, that my people may learn
from your fate to respect the law." From that moment
corrupt practices of this kind were of rarer occurrence,
and by strictly forbidding the implication of more than
five persons in any case brought before me,† a great
reformation was effected.
* First offences against a new regulation are always severely
punished, the effect of this system being considered more de
terrent.
†The dread of being called as a witness is only second to that of
being arrested as the culprit.
194
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
TORTURE AT AN INN.
In the spring of the year 1728, an official clerk passed
through a part of the P'u-ning district. He was accom-
panied by a man carrying his baggage, and followed by
two others, who appeared to be practising for chair-
coolies,* and who were bearing between them a body
covered with severe wounds. The party stopped for the
night at an inn kept by a man named Ch'iu Hsing;
and at daybreak next morning the baggage-porter started
off ahead on the road leading to the prefectural city.
The bearers of the body were then still asleep, but
when later on they were just about to follow with the
clerk, the landlord asked what had happened. "Oh,
it's only a case of theft," replied the clerk; "we are
going on to report to the authorities, the thief himself
being too ill to be moved," and accordingly off they went
together. The landlord now took a look at the sick
man, whom he found to be one of his own clansmen,
named A-shuang.† He was unable, however, to elicit
any replies to his questions; but by signs and gestures
the wounded man gave him to understand that he had
been beaten almost to death. Greatly alarmed, the
landlord communicated at once with his village elder, t
* That is, learning to keep in step and otherwise carry the sedan
so as not to inconvenience the rider.
+ His surname was of course Ch'iu, this being only his personal
I have avoided, as much as possible, burdening the page
with words unpronounceable by the general reader.
name.
The first step in all cases, civil or criminal.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
195
?
and the two went off in pursuit, catching up the three
men before they had got very far, and bringing them
back to the inn. The elder inquired into the matter,
and learned that the clerk belonged to the Hai-yang
magistracy, and was named Li. That, being on a
return journey from the provincial capital, he had hired
A-shuang to carry his luggage; that at a certain inn
he had one night lost four ounces of silver,* which
A-shuang confessed to having stolen, but would not
restore; and that consequently they-namely, himself
and the two bearers, were conveying the man to P'u-ning
for trial. Now, A-shuang had a brother who was turnkey
in the P'u-ning gaol, and the landlord sent at once to
summon him; but A-shuang remained quite speechless,
and died in the afternoon. An appeal was forthwith
made to the magistracy, where the clerk and the two
bearers were received into custody, while the case was
reported to Ch'ao-yang.† I set off in the middle of
the night for P'u-ning, and proceeded to hold the usual
inquest, at which it was ascertained that the deceased
had a wound on the right temple, inflicted by a wooden
staff; that his two thumbs bore marks of having been
tied together with cord, and his head of having been
compressed in a bamboo hoop, which had been tightened
by means of wooden wedges driven in on each side; in
addition to which, he was covered with scars of burning
* Landlords are responsible for thefts committed upon the
premises, and often compromise by immediate payment of a
portion of the loss.
† In which district the affair had actually taken place.
0 2
196
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
and flogging with a rattan. "How shameful!" cried I
"who could have been guilty of this disgraceful outrage?
Not to mention this yamên clerk, were the perpetrator
to be a mandarin even of the highest rank, verily I would
make him pay the penalty of this man's life with his
own." I then proceeded to take down the depositions,
the clerk acknowledging that in consequence of the sus-
picion which attached to the deceased as purloiner of
his money, he had struck him on the temple with a
piece of a bedstead, but declaring that the other wounds.
had all been inflicted by a petty officer and some soldiers
of the place. This was corroborated by the two bearers,
who added that the landlord of the inn there would
support their statements. It here occurred to me that
such treatment as that experienced by the deceased was
only to be compared with that usually dealt out by
soldiers to pirates and highwaymen, so that perhaps after
all there might be something in the clerk's story. Just
at this moment I also noticed that one of the bearers,
whose name was A-wei, had a mårk on the thumb of
his right hand like those on the deceased, and as he
protested it was nothing of the kind, I examined his
other thumb, placing them side by side, by which it
became evident that he had been tied up in the way
popularly known as the 'flying swallow.'* Looking at
his head, I further perceived the mark of a hoop; and
on removing his clothes, I saw that his body was likewise
* Suspended in the air by a cord fastened round the thumbs
placed behind the back.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
197
"This is
covered with scars of burning and flogging.
strange," said I to him; "here you are in much the
same plight as A-shuang, except that your wounds are
less severe; and yet not only do you keep silent about
it, but when questioned, you declare that nothing of the
kind has happened to you. My friend, I am thinking
it was you that stole the money, and that consequently
you dare not open your mouth. Now, tell me at once,
who was it inflicted these wounds on you?" "It was
that petty officer," answered A-wei. "Why did you not
say so before?" I asked him; to which he replied that
the clerk had bade him tell nothing for fear of getting
mixed up in a capital case. "Come, now," said I, "I
cannot believe that the clerk told you to say nothing
about what the petty officer did; that is not quite reason-
able." "It was only out of compassion for my poverty,"
replied A-wei, "and the certainty of my starving if once
mixed up in an affair of this kind. The loss of his
money was his own affair, and he was himself already
involved with the petty officer, so that there was no
object in dragging me into the case." The above
evidence was carefully taken down and forwarded, to-
gether with a sketch of the body and a list of the
wounds, to the higher authorities for transmission in the
usual way.
At the same time, I applied for the arrest
of the petty officer and the innkeeper,* the former of
whom swore loudly that he was an injured man; but
* A magistrate's jurisdiction is confined strictly to the limits of
his own district.
198
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
as the two bearers backed up the clerk's statement, I
sent to the camp and requested that the latter might
be deprived of his rank, in order to be able to use
torture at his examination.* I also requested to be
informed of the name and rank of the officer responsible
for this outbreak on the part of the soldiers, with a
view to obtaining his impeachment when forwarding the
record of the case to the higher authorities; and then,
having issued instructions for the witnesses and others
to be ready at hand, I gave the matter a dispassionate
and patient hearing. The story of the innkeeper last
mentioned was a very different version from the others.
He stated that the clerk had a nephew, who wandered
about practising as a physician and soothsayer, but
earning barely enough to keep body and soul together;
that the nephew had arrived a day before the clerk at
the inn, where they met by accident and both spent
the night. That the nephew had begged his uncle for
a sum of money to assist him in returning home, and
had obtained his uncle's consent; but that next morning
the clerk had found himself short four ounces of silver
and eighty copper cash. The latter had then informed
the other visitors at the inn that the money was Govern-
ment funds; that the local officials would be held
responsible; and that unless they aided him to recover
the missing silver they would all find themselves involved.
* No officer of government, from the first to the ninth grade,
may be bambooed unless first deprived of rank. Neither may any
holder of the first literary degree, until his diploma shall have been
duly cancelled.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
199
At this they were thrown into a great state of conster-
nation, and began to make inquiries among themselves,
when the two chair-coolies declared that during the night
A-shuang had not slept, but had twice gone in and out.
of the door. Suspicion was then directed towards
A-shuang, but he denied the charge stoutly; whereupon
the clerk cried out, that if a man who had stolen govern-
ment funds was beaten to death it would not matter,
and seizing a part of the bedstead, he struck A-shuang
with it on both temples. He then bade his nephew
and the others tie him up, and the nephew, who was
furious at missing his chance of a loan, tied A-shuang's
two thumbs together with whipcord and hoisted him
up to a beam, after which he proceeded to give him a
severe flogging. The by-standers called upon A-shuang
to confess, but he would not; and then the clerk and
his nephew made a bamboo hoop, which they fitted
round his head, tightening it with two wooden wedges
to such a degree that the man's eyes nearly started out
of their sockets. Still A-shuang would not confess, so
they proceeded to burn him in various parts of his
body with bunches of lighted grass, upon which he
cried out, "A-wei was sleeping on the same bed with
me; why should he be allowed to go free?" At this
the clerk and his nephew began to suspect A-wei, and
without more ado, seized him and subjected him to
precisely the same treatment as A-shuang; but finding
him equally unwilling to confess, the clerk finally
went off to a neighbouring guard-house, the officer in
charge of which, seeing that the local authorities were
200
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
compromised,* deputed a petty officer to go to the inn
to find out what was the matter. A-shuang, now that
his chances of escape were small, began to vapour about
his innocence-so much so, that the petty officer was
thereby convinced of his guilt, and suggested to the
clerk that he should be untied and searched. This
was accordingly done, but no money was found, and
the petty officer went back to report to his superior,
who observed that the case was one for the civil autho-
rities, and urged that it should be immediately laid
before the magistrate of P'u-ning. This advice the
clerk and his nephew determined to follow, but they
had not got far on their way with the accused and
the bearers when A-shuang declared that the money
was at the inn.
The party at once returned to the
inn, and searched all over the place, without however
finding anything. It was just then beginning to get
dark, and the petty officer, who also came back to the
inn, fearing lest A-shuang might escape in the night
and so further involve the local authorities, gave orders
that he should be bound before they went to sleep.
By next day A-shuang has become so reduced in con-
sequence of the wounds he had received, that he was
quite unable to walk, and the clerk was obliged to
promise the two chair-coolies wine and food if they
would carry him to the P'u-ning magistracy. Meanwhile,
however, the man had died. Such, swore the innkeeper,
* Responsible as they are in a greater or less degree for all the
crimes, and even accidental fires, floods, droughts, &c., which occur
within the district.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
201
(C
was the true story of this affair, but as I did not believe
him, I gave orders for his fingers to be squeezed, saying,
"The clerk and the two bearers have told me all about
it; how dare you foist on me this version of your own!
How much did the petty officer give you to screen him
from punishment and criminate the innocent, eh?"
'By
the sun in heaven above," cried the innkeeper, "you may
squeeze me to death if you will, but no false evidence
shall pass my lips. I pray your Worship to investigate
this case quietly and closely, until the waters of uncer-
tainty have been drained away and have exposed to
view the boulders of truth. Then, if it were not this
clerk and his nephew who did that deed, let me pay
the penalty with my life." I asked him the names of
the clerk and his nephew, but he said he did not know;
neither would he admit that there were any soldiers
mixed up in the case except the petty officer. I then
caused this witness to be confronted with the two
bearers,* whereupon he cursed their evil hearts for thus
accusing innocent persons, and warned them that they
would inevitably be struck dead in consequence. The
two men not having a word to say in their defence, I
called out to my lictors to give a squeeze, and then † they
acknowledged that the innkeeper's evidence was true.
"We foolishly listened," said they, "to the advice of the
* This is a special feature of every Chinese trial, and one upon
which the magistrate greatly depends for assistance in forming his
decision. The contradicting parties are often allowed to wrangle
away for a quarter of an hour or so without interference.
+ That is, before the application of the squeezers.
202
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
clerk who spoke to us about the importance of human
life, and warned us that we were about to involve
ourselves inextricably, being, as he pointed out, too poor
to buy a coffin and settle up the affair with the deceased's
relatives.* That, on the other hand, if we three could
but fix the soldiers with the murder, the officer of the
guard-house would be only too anxious to hush it up,
while pacifying deceased's relatives with a present of
money to bury the body. Thus, argued the clerk, there
would be no case; we should avoid all trouble, the
hoop-marks and the burns being attributed to the
soldiers, and the weals of the flogging we could say
were inflicted by their bow-strings. Now, however, that
the officer of the guard-house has made no attempt to
hush up the case, and that a report has already been
forwarded to the higher authorities, we are unable, in
the face of the living testimony of the innkeeper, to
conceal the truth any longer. It was the clerk and his
nephew who caused the death of A-shuang: the soldiers
of the guard-house had nothing whatever to do with the
affair." I here recollected that on the occasion of the
inquest A-wei had concealed his own wounds, doubtless
not without a cause, and it certainly seemed to me that
unless the clerk had inflicted these too there would have
been no point in his statement that the clerk had told
him to say nothing about them. I therefore asked
A-wei how it was he had previously stated that he
had been maltreated by the petty officer, whereas now
* As is done in nine cases out of ten of accidental homicide, or
of homicide in a brawl, etc.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
203
he declared that the soldiers were in no way concerned.
"It was the clerk who did it," replied A-wei, "and he
told me to say nothing about it; otherwise, was it likely
I should try to screen any one who had behaved towards
me in such a manner? I am now telling the truth, and
if you were to send me down below without a head, I
should still stick to what I have said."* I then examined
the petty officer, but without causing him to waver in his
denial, and turned next to the clerk, who cried out in
despair: "It is my evil destiny; I have nothing more
to say." "Tell me, then," I rejoined, "who actually
took A-shuang's life." The clerk acknowledged that he
himself was the guilty one, adding—when I asked him
how a weak fellow such as he was could overpower a
strong man like the deceased, and also if the petty
officer had bribed him to admit the charge-that he had
been assisted by his nephew, and that he had received
no bribe. He further recounted full details of the
flogging and burning, corroborating the innkeeper's story
word for word, and explaining that he had made no previous
* The fact that a witness has lied in the course of examination
does not, if he subsequently tells the truth, render him liable to
very heavy penalties; neither is it held to prejudice his ultimate
statements. No oath is ever administered to a Chinese witness;
but the deposition which he is made to sign always ends with the
formula 'The above is the truth.'
Having occasion, a year or two ago, to request a Japanese
Consul to punish a witness of that nationality for perjury in one
of Her Majesty's Provincial Courts in China, I was informed that
by Japanese law the punishment for perjury, if committed to screen
a friend, is ten days' imprisonment or a fine of seventy-five cents,
say 2s. 6d.
204
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
mention of his nephew, because they were trying to fix
the guilt on the soldiers, with a view to settle up the
case. He also stated that his nephew's name was A-hsien,
his address so-and-so; that he had no parents or family
of his own, but lived from hand to mouth, and that he
(the clerk) had not heard anything of him or of his
movements since his return from P'u-ning. I accordingly
communicated at once with the magistrate of the Hai-
yang district, and secured the nephew's arrest; and
when he was brought before me, he did not wait for the
stimulus of torture to make a clean breast of the whole
proceeding as previously narrated by the innkeeper and
the clerk. This satisfied me, and I proceeded to close
the record, sentencing the clerk to make good A-shuang's
life with his own, his nephew to be bambooed and
banished to a distance of 3,000 li, the petty officer and
the innkeeper for not interfering, and the two chair-
coolies for giving false evidence at first, to be all four
punished with eighty blows of the bamboo. The case
was then forwarded to the Prefect and on to the Pro-
vincial Judge, who, because of my previous report and
its discrepancy with the present finding, returned the
record, and instructed me to hold a new trial. Accord-
ingly, I proceeded dispassionately and cautiously to
re-investigate the whole matter, and when there was no
longer any doubt, I again reported to the higher
authorities in the sense of the verdict detailed above,
greatly to the indignation of the Judge who wanted the
petty officer to be found guilty, so that the military
authorities might be impeached for neglecting to keep
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
205
their subordinates in order.* Seeing, however, that
I did not alter my verdict he was very angry, and
threatened to impeach me for not having decided the
case in accordance with what lay before me; to which I
replied, “I am not going to save my official rank and
position at the expense of an innocent man's life.
Better far that I should resign my appointment and
retire into the hills, to be what I was before among
my books." The Judge thereupon sent for me to the
provincial capital to hear the case once more, saying
to me, "You think yourself a clever fellow, and pay
no heed to your superiors. You treated my return of
the record to you with contempt; yet I would ask you
where, except at the hands of soldiers, do we find such
cruel treatment as in this case. Besides, your first report
to me was in one sense, and now you report in
another. In what sense am I to report to the Board† that
the case has been closed? For these reasons you
will hear the case again, and this time be careful."
"Your Excellency," I replied, "I am of small capacity
and of humble rank; how should I venture to behave in
such a manner? I acted in accordance with your
Excellency's instructions and reheard the case, but was
unable to change the testimony adduced. The people of
the sea-board are robbers and can catch robbers, and in
* The real fact was that there had been a private quarrel between
the Judge and the Brigadier-General. The civil and military are
not unfrequently at loggerheads in China.
+ The Board of Punishments,-one of the six bureaus of govern-
ment administration at Peking.
206
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
the matter of tying, beating, burning, etc., they have
nothing to learn from the military. The clerk, himself
an employé in a magistrate's yâmen, knew well enough
that death would be his punishment, and the nephew
needed no torture to cause him to confess readily; such
evidence as theirs may be regarded, then, as partaking of
the supernatural.* Human life is at the disposal of
Heaven, and where one is taken away another must be
given in return; this principle may not be violated by
man.† The petty officer, however, is undoubtedly in-
nocent, and to make him suffer death would not only be
regarded by him as an unjust sentence but would also be
unsatisfactory to the dead man in the shades below.‡
My first report was made upon evidence given in one
sense; I closed the record and found a verdict upon
evidence elicited in another sense. I cannot say what the
Board will do. Dismissal from office is a small matter;
to condemn an innocent man to death is a serious affair.
It remains therefore for me to await quietly my impeach-
ment. That is all." At this the Judge was so enraged
that he was unable to reply, but stamped and raved and
cursed, threatening to impeach me without more ado;
* That is, they were urged to disclose the truth by the influence
of the dead man's spirit.
† An idea prevails among the Chinese that the sum total of
human life must always be the same, a birth here being compen-
sated by a death there, and vice versa.
It is impossible to think that a highly-educated man like Lan
Lu-chow had any personal faith in such superstitions. The officials
of China do not, however, hesitate to avail themselves of these and
similar idle beliefs, when it suits their purpose to do so.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
207
whereupon the attendants advised me to take off my hat
and ring my head on the floor in token of submission.*
"I can easily take off my hat," I replied, "but I can't
make my head ring; I have never learnt to do that."
The Judge was unable to help laughing, though all the
time very angry, and again he told me to rehear the
case dispassionately without holding to foregone con-
clusions. It then occurred to me that the limit of time
for the settlement of this case had nearly expired, and
that if I reheard it first and afterwards sent it on to
the Prefect, to be forwarded by him to the Judge, the
delay occasioned would be too great; I therefore took
the record and all the persons implicated straight to the
Prefect's yamên, and proceeded to hold a joint investi-
gation, with the Prefect as president of the court, while I
simply sat beside him and listened, my clerk taking
down the evidence as it was given. The result was that
all concerned stuck closely to what they had before
stated, and refused to make the slightest alteration ; upon
which I handed in the new record with its new questions
and answers for the inspection of the Judge. The latter
was furious, and pointing out that it was merely the
questions and not the answers that had been varied,
* This in allusion to a curious fact I have never seen noticed by
any previous writer. As it is etiquette that mandarins prostrating
themselves before the Emperor should make the floor ring with the
knocking of their heads, and as this process would be very ob-
jectionable on a solid surface of brick or stone, an arrangement has
been made by hollowing a portion of the flooring in front of the
throne, by which a slight knock will make a considerable noise, and
also save the foreheads of the knockers.
208
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
:
accused me of acting towards him as contemptuously
as if he had been a dog. "Your Excellency," I replied,
"questions emanate from the Court, and may be varied
at pleasure; answers are given by the accused, and as it
is on those answers that his life or death depends, they
may not be varied by the Court. And since evidence
may not be varied, it follows that the finding cannot be
varied either. Of the rights and wrongs of the present
case there can be no possible doubt; I pray your
Excellency to hear the case in person, and then if I have
been in fault I will take the consequences." The Judge
answered that were he to do so and thus put the case in
a new light my impeachment would follow as a matter of
course; to which I assented and went away. My friends
were all in a great state of anxiety on my behalf, but I
informed them that I had risen from poverty to the
position I then held, and that my official rank was a trifling
matter compared with a human life, which latter I was
not going to sacrifice in order to curry favour with
anybody. Several days afterwards the Judge proceeded.
to hear the case, and suspecting that the clerk and the
others had been bribed to say what they had said, made
preparations to torture them. At this the clerk cried out,
"I have been employed in a government office too long
not to know that he who commits a murder must die;
and what, I would ask, would the most enormous bribe
advantage me, if I were not to live to enjoy it. Because
of my unwillingness to lose four ounces of silver, I
caused a man to lose his life; to involve an innocent
man now would be only to double the magnitude of my
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
209
"?
crime. I am suffering no injustice in this matter, and
were you to squeeze me to death I should give no other
evidence than I have already given." "As for me,"
continued the clerk's nephew, "were I not to confess my
guilt I should indeed deserve to be put to the question;
but as it is I have acknowledged it openly, and I cannot
implicate any one else. Of what use, may I ask, would
it be to torture me?"
officer, "I would die this day under your torture, but I
would never pay the penalty of A-shuang's life with mine,
and thus wrong his spirit* in the shades below;" and as
all the other witnesses adhered firmly to their former
statements the Judge had no alternative but to turn to
his secretary and observe with a smile that he could do
nothing against such well organised collusion as that.
He had no grounds, he said, either for a reversal of the
finding or for the application of torture to the parties
concerned. His secretary remarked that he did not
think it was a case of collusion, and suggested a con-
sultation with His Excellency the Governor, to which the
Judge assented, it being thus finally settled that my
finding was to be accepted and reported to the Board in
due form. Shortly afterwards the clerk and his nephew
both died in prison, before they were overtaken by the
penalties of the law.
"For my part," added the petty
* By compensating it with any other life than that of the mur-
derer.
P
210
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
A MEDDLING GOD.
A man named Ch'ên once came before me with an
urgent request that I would examine into a case involving
the life of his daughter. He went on to say that she was
a virtuous young lady, whom he had bestowed in marriage
upon a fellow-villager of the name of Lin; that three
years had elapsed without there being any issue of this
marriage; and that the mother-in-law was a very violent-
tempered women, who was always taunting his daughter
with the poverty of her former home. "On the 13th
of this 9th moon," added he, "I went to visit my
daughter, but she had disappeared; whether beaten to
death and the body concealed, or sold into some
other family, I know not." "Tell me," said I, "had
the girl been passing backwards and forwards between
the two houses?" to which he replied that she had
come home in the 8th moon and had gone back on
the 6th of the 9th moon, current, mentioning at the
same time a friend named Wang, whom he wished me
to subpœna as a witness. Accordingly, I got all the
parties to the case together for trial, when the mother-
in-law began to vociferate loudly that she was an injured
"For seventeen years," cried she, "I led the
life of a widow. At the expiration of that period I
procured a wife for my son, but she was always for
going to see her parents. Twice in the 7th moon she
went, and again on the 6th of the 8th moon; and
although I sent three times to urge her to come back,
woman.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
211
she has never returned, for what reason I am unable
to say.
On the 13th of this moon, her father suddenly
appeared at our house and inquired what we had done
with his daughter, he having evidently concealed her
with the wicked design of marrying her to some one
else."* Upon this, I asked the father on what day
his daughter had returned to her husband, whether in
a sedan-chair, or on foot, and also who accompanied
her; to which he replied that she went back on the
6th, on foot because of their poverty, and accompanied
for about half the distance by her younger brother A-chü,
adding that the two families lived some three or four
miles apart. Here the girl's husband and mother-in-law
cried out that she had never returned to them, in proof
of which their neighbours† could be called as witnesses.
I then examined the above-mentioned friend Wang as
to when and where he had met the girl going home?
in reply to which he said he had not seen her himself,
but had been told of the fact‡ by her young brother
A-chü. "About one li from my house,” continued he,
"there is a temple dedicated to the Lord of the Three
Hills, and on the 6th of the moon, as I was hoeing
* And consequently of securing a second supply of the usual
wedding presents.
+ The evidence of neighbours on the immediate right and left
not only forms an invariable portion of every criminal record, but
the individuals themselves, according to the system of universal
solidarity which prevails, are often punished for an alleged
responsibility in matters over which they could have no possible
control. Hence the common saying that a thousand taels may
be spent on a house, but ten thousand won't buy [good] neighbours.'
‡ Hearsay evidence being always freely admitted.
P 2
212
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
""
in the garden, I saw A-chü coming from the direction
of the temple. He said his father had told him to
accompany his sister home, and that she had gone
on thitherwards. That is all I know about the matter.'
In answer to further questions, Wang told me that the
girl's father was very poor, and that he lived about three
or four li from the temple, seven or eight li being the
distance of the Lin family from the same place. I then
called upon Ch'ên to inform me how it was that he,
a poor man, at a time when 'rice-grains were as dear
as pearls and fire-wood as branches of cassia,' should
be for ever having his daughter to stay with him; also,
how it was that, after allowing the husband's family to
make repeated and fruitless applications for the return
of his daughter, he finally sent her back unasked, bidding
her brother accompany her half-way only instead of right
up to the house; and further, to explain what intention
the boy had in speaking of the matter to an outsider
like Wang; and how he, the father, could possibly
know that such a casual remark had been passed which
might stand him in good stead as evidence. Finally,
I told him that, in my opinion, the whole thing had
been a trick by which he had hoped to dispose of his
daughter in a second marriage; but he called Heaven
to witness that it was not so, prostrating himself upon
the ground, and crying out, "The affection between
father and child is very great; they gladly share the
coarsest food, and need not be rich to do as we have
done. When first my daughter was sent for I was loth
to let her go; but feeling afterwards that I had been
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
213
wrong, I myself forwarded her to her husband in acknow-
ledgment of my error, as was right. The boy was too
young to go far from home; and when half-way, my
son-in-law's house would be within easy reach. I
wondered to see A-chü return so soon, and suspected
that he had not been as far as I told him; but he
declared that he had gone past the temple, and said that
Wang had seen him. Wang is now brought into the case
simply because of this disappearance of the girl. As for
me, I am aware that the matrimonial tie is for life, and I
should never dare, with this son-in-law alive, to seek
another husband for my daughter." A-chü, a boy of just
ten years of age, was now called, and deposed to having
accompanied his sister as far as the temple, saying in
reply to a question that his father told him not to go
beyond that point, but to come home and look after the
buffalo, leaving his sister to proceed alone. "What!"
cried I, in an angry tone; "when your sister has just
been married in your own home, do you dare to deceive
me thus? If you do not speak out the truth, I will snap
one of your fingers off for you!" At this the boy was
much frightened and burst out crying, but would not say
anything, until at last I began to coax him, and then he
declared stoutly in favour of his father's story. "Are
there any priests in the temple?" I asked. "No," replied
he. "Nor any beggars?" "No." "Any houses near ?”
"No." "Any trees?" "No." Any water?" "No."
"Nor any neighbours living near your house." "No;"
at which point it was quite clear to me that his father
was playing an organised game, but as the latter adhered
((
214
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
so obstinately to his story,* and the boy was so young, I
did not see my way to more violent measures. It then
occurred to me that I might avail myself of the super-
stitious fear of spirits, so universal among the people of
the south; and accordingly I bade both prosecutor and
accused take notice that neither of them had produced
any definite evidence, and that the case was in con-
sequence a very troublesome one to decide. "However,”
I added, "as the road followed by the girl passes in front
of the temple, the Lord of the Three Hills will know all
about it. Do you therefore wait until I have informed
myself by these means of what actually happened before
proceeding further." On the next day I summoned
Chiên to appear before me, and striking the table
violently with my hand, I began to abuse him in a loud
tone of voice. "You scoundrel!" I said, "you con-
cealed your daughter and married her to another man,
and with the aid of some pettifogger you have organised
this plot, thinking that you will escape detection. But
although man may be deceived, you cannot deceive
Heaven. Three feet above your head are the spirits to
be found; and now the Lord of the Three Hills has
imparted to me the true circumstances of this case. I
know then, without more ado, the name and residence of
* In this sentence is involved the whole principle of Chinese
evidence. Torture is only applied when the witness is clearly
prevaricating; and it is accepted as a general rule that no criminal
telling a lie can be a match for an educated magistrate whose only
object is to elicit the truth. Mistakes naturally occur sometimes;
but even with our own elaborate procedure the guilty man fre-
quently goes free and the innocent are occasionally made to suffer.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
215
the man to whom you have disposed of your daughter, and
how much money you received from him; and if you do
not at once redeem her and return her to her husband, I
will assuredly subject you to torture." Ch'ên was too
terrified to reply. He prostrated himself before me and
knocking his head on the ground begged for mercy. I
said he should have mercy when he restored the girl;
and then he confessed that he had been driven by
poverty to sell his daughter to a man in a neighbouring
district, named Li, from whom he had received three
ounces of silver, further promising to part with his
buffalo in order to buy her back. Thereupon I ordered
thirty severe blows with the bamboo to be inflicted upon
him, and placed him in the cangue, on the understanding
that he was not to be released until the girl had been
restored. Ch'ên forthwith sent off to his wife to buy
back their daughter; but the man who had got her
insisted on receiving twice as much as he had paid, and
in order to raise the six ounces of silver it became
necessary to sell not only the buffalo but also another
younger daughter.* At this juncture, the real husband,
Lin, hearing that six ounces of silver had been collected,
and vexed by the loss of his wife's reputation, agreed
privately with her mother to accept the above-mentioned
amount and be free to marry some one else, leaving the
man Li in undisturbed possession. Two months, however,
* The sale of children is forbidden under a penalty of eighty
blows, unless they are consenting parties. In times of distress,
filial children will offer themselves for sale in the public streets,
sooner than see their parents starve.
216
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
passed before the matter was finally arranged, and Chiên
was almost in extremis from the effects of wearing the
cangue.* He then said to his wife, "If we had only
known that the Lord of the Three Hills was going to
meddle in this way, it would have been better to have
sold the buffalo and our little daughter long ago.
As
things are now, it only remains to petition for my
release." His wife accordingly came before me with a
statement of what had been done, upon which I smiled
and let her husband go.
* This punishment is very severe if the culprit is unable to bribe
his gaolers to free him from the collar at night, to wink at his
resting it on the wall, and so forth.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
217
THE EFFICACY OF PIG'S BLOOD.
At a certain village there lived a lawyer, named Ch'ên
Hsing-t'ai, of a most diabolical character. He lived by
litigation; trumping up false charges supported by lying
depositions, and filing them in the various courts against
any one with whom he happened to be on bad terms.
At one time he would accuse people of piracy, at another
of highway robbery; whereupon the authorities would
arrest those so charged, and would commit them to
prison, only to be released after a long imprisonment,
and in default of the appearance of a prosecutor,* by
which time their property would be already dissipated
and gone. Or he would incite others to bring forward
capital charges, which he himself would file on their
behalf, and thus stir up the waves of dissension upon a
windless plain.†
Now at the above village resided four brothers, named
Ts'ai. They were none of them married, and had no
homes, but slept at a neighbouring temple, going daily
upon the hills, and cutting grass for a livelihood, except
on rainy days, when they would steal sweet potatoes
from private gardens, or beg from door to door. One
day, the eldest, A-tsao, was boiling some potatoes in
an earthen pannikin, which cracked with the heat of
the fire, and let all the scalding water fall over his
* See Note on p. 170.
† A curious instance of 'mixed metaphor '—the only one I have
ever come across in high-class Chinese literature.
218
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
The
feet.* In consequence of this he was laid up, and unable
to get about and beg; and his sufferings from cold and
hunger brought about an illness of which he died. The
lawyer, hearing this, thought at once that he had an
opening; and in great glee sent for the deceased's three
brothers to come to his house, where he entertained
them with gruel, finally observing that he had been
compassionating their poverty and inability to give their
brother a decent burial, but that now they had a fine
chance both of getting a good coffin and of extricating
themselves from their present state of penury.
brothers inquired how this was to be accomplished, and
were informed that all they had to do was to convey the
deceased's body, and place it in the house of a certain
Ch'ên Hsing-chin; at which they hesitated awhile, until
Hsing-tai gave them six pints of rice, when they were so
overjoyed at this unexpected windfall that they imme-
diately took the body and placed it at Hsing-chin's door,
with a view of getting him into trouble. The latter
called Heaven and Earth to witness, and notified the
elders of the Ts'ai clan, who met the elders of his own,
the Ch'ên clan, at the place where the body was lying,
and determined that it was a very disgraceful affair.
Two of the three brothers of the deceased then saw that
they had been in the wrong; and feeling thoroughly
ashamed of themselves, handed over to the elders of the
Ch'ên clan the rice that had been given to them by the
* The poorer classes in the south of China never wear shoes;
chair-coolies, however, and weight-carriers in general usually have
sandals to protect their feet from the stones.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
219
lawyer, Hsing-t'ai, and begged them to have the body
buried. Thus was Hsing-t'ai disappointed, but he did
not give up the pursuit. He managed to get hold of the
third brother, A-wei, and keeping him at his house,
trumped up a formal charge for him of the beating to
death of his elder brother and compulsory burial of the
body. The plaint stated that Hsing-chin had bought a
hut from A-tsao, payment for which he kept on trying
to evade, until finally he sent his son, who gave A-tsao
such a beating that he died from the effects. That this
was followed up by bribery of the elders of deceased's
clan, in consequence of which the body was buried
under compulsion; and that the village beadle might be
called as a witness to the truth of the above state-
ments.
I felt very doubtful in my mind as to the good faith of
this charge-handed in, by the way, on the 18th of the
previous moon; and on comparing it with a plaint which
had been filed only the day before* by Hsing-chin, with
reference to the corpse that had been laid at his door,
and the subsequent attempt to intimidate him, on the
strength of which a warrant had been already issued-
it seemed clear that the accusation of murder was
entirely without foundation. However, as I had not
heard the case, I did not venture to come to any opinion
on its merits. I therefore ordered my constables to
* It is considered of great importance to be beforehand with
one's adversary in filing a charge. If two men have a fight or
other cause for magisterial intervention, a popular saying declares
that 'he who first files his plaint has won three-tenths of the battle.'
220
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
arrest all the parties to the case,* and waiting until the
seals had been opened, † I petitioned [the Prefect] that
the corpse might be exhumed, and an inquest held upon
it. Shortly afterwards I went to the provincial capital
on official business; and meanwhile A-wei filed a petition
in the Prefect's yamên that the inquest might be held by
the magistrate of a neighbouring district, Hsing-chin
also filing his petition in a similar manner. At this
behaviour on the part of Ch'ên Hsing-t'ai, the elders of
the Ch'ên clan were very angry, and likewise proceeded
to file a joint petition in the Prefect's Court, upon which
an order was made that the case was to be heard by the
proper magistrate. Hsing-t'ai, the lawyer, was so out-
raged at this that, in company with a number of his
armed clansmen and several professional boxers, he
proceeded to the house of one of the above-mentioned
elders, dragged him and another of the elders out, and
gave them such a terrible beating that they were all
covered with wounds, the left arm of the former being
broken by a severe blow from a stick. The assailants
then ransacked the house, carrying off all that they could
lay their hands on, Hsing-t'ai appearing to forget that
the objects of his attack were his own relatives in a
higher degree. Their next move was to get on board a
boat, and lie in ambush for Ch'ên Hsing-chin at a
* This would include witnesses and probably next-door neigh-
See Note on p. 211.
bours.
+ Official business of all kinds is nominally suspended for one
month at the New Year, and all seals of office are put away.
With a view to discover, on Chinese principles of medical
jurisprudence, the immediate cause of death.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
221
certain bridge, where they intercepted him, stripped
off his clothes, beat him, and finally took from him
1,500 cash, besides some fish and other things. Hsing-
chin escaped, naked as he was, and reported to the
beadle what had happened, but before the latter could
reach the scene of the assault, the boat in which the
assailants were had already reached mid-stream.
When I returned from the capital, I ordered my
runners to bring the parties to the case up for trial.
Hsing-t'ai, however, seemed afraid to show himself, for
he sent his mother with a plaint against one of his own
clan elders, accusing the latter of having surrounded and
sacked their house, with a view of course to divert
attention from his own misdeeds of this description, and
meanwhile kept so carefully out of sight that it was
some time before he was arrested and produced in court.
A-wei, his protegé, still adhered to his former statement;
whereupon I summoned the other two brothers, and
they, after an appeal on my part to their sense of right,
admitted that the eldest brother had died from natural
causes, and told me the whole story of their dealings with
Hsing-t'ai. I replied that they deserved well for having
thus spoken out the truth; at which juncture Hsing-t'ai
broke in with many asseverations to the contrary, declaring
that these two witnesses had been kept by Hsing-chin at
his house for the especial purpose of giving such evi-
dence. Hsing-chin himself knocked his head on the
ground and swore that this was not so; and I then observed,
"The point at issue is easily decided. Those two
brothers have a vegetable look upon their faces-half
222
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
A-wei
green and half yellow. They are evidently in great
stress for want of food, and have apparently found no
one to provide them therewith. Now I should like to
know how it is that A-wei, their brother, who has been
living and sleeping and eating with them at the temple,
has alone pink-and-white cheeks as if he had not
suffered from either cold or hunger for many months
past. It is clear that he has been battening at Hsing-
t'ai's expense." One of the other brothers here observed
that he had not seen A-wei for six months past; that
A-wei had been brought to the trial from Hsing-t'ai's
house; and if that did not mean that he had been living
there, he should like to know what it did mean.
now saw that deceit was of no more avail, and proceeded
to confess the details of the conspiracy, adding some
story about Hsing-t'ai having cheated one of his clan
elders out of three strings of cash, 200 of which had
been given to the beadle as his share. I then asked
what cause of feud there was between them; to which
A-wei replied that there was none in particular, but that
years before his father had sold a piece of ground to
Hsing-chin, and that recently Hsing-t'ai had been
anxious to acquire this same piece, and in consequence
of Hsing-chin's refusal to give up his purchase had got a
spite against him. A-wei added that Hsing-t'ai's motive
was to get money by intimidation, his spite being quite
a secondary consideration. This was followed by the
evidence of Hsing-t'ai's own clan elders as to the story
of the six pints of rice and their burial of the elder
brother's body, and also by the evidence of a large
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
223
*
number of witnesses on the other side, all of which
went to show that Hsing-t'ai was an unprincipled fellow
who was always stirring up mischief to the detriment of
others, and that, as the witnesses said, he had "no right to
live in the Yao-and-Shun days they were then enjoying,*
but should suffer the utmost penalty of the law in order to
tranquillise the surrounding neighbourhood." Hsing-t'ai
himself was now without a word to say; he bent his
head and obviated any recourse to violence by a full
and open confession of his guilt. When he had con-
cluded, I expressed my astonishment at such utter
villany, and ordered my lictors to give him forty blows
on the spot, after which he was cast into prison and the
stolen property recovered; and I was just on the point
of forwarding him and his case to the higher authorities
in accordance with statute, when he managed to escape,
and forthwith filed in the Taot'ai's court a petition,
written in blood,† charging me with concealment of a
highway robbery with violence that had been committed
against him in my district. Thereupon the Taot'ai
made an order of court, instructing the Hai-yang
magistrate to hear the charge, from which date Hsing-
* Yao and Shun were two ancient Emperors, whose reigns
are generally spoken of as China's 'golden age.' The intro-
duction of the term here was a compliment to Lan Lu-chow's
beneficent rule.
+ This is one of the last resources of a man who is otherwise
unable to secure justice.
‡ Alluding to the responsibility which always attaches to
mandarins for crimes, and still more for accidents, such as fires
and floods, which occur within their jurisdiction.
224
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
t'ai remained hanging on to the Taot'ai's* yamên,
satisfied with what he had accomplished, and content
to stay away from the district city. However, as I had
before me a capital charge against him, I did not venture
to allow any delay to intervene, but caused the constables.
commissioned to arrest him to be severely bambooed,†
the result being that he was shortly caught at the west
gate of the Prefectural city; and on his steadily refusing
to yield up the stolen property, I forthwith threw him
into prison.
Hsing-t'ai's next move was to send his father with a
petition to the Hai-yang magistrate, praying that the
charge against me might be heard; also on several
occasions to the Taot'ai's yamên, where he made a
public appeal for the redress of his grievances. ‡ A
* The Taot'ai is a high official placed in charge of what has
been called a 'circuit' of Prefectures.
+ In accordance with the provisions of the Code.
The ultima ratio of a suitor with a grievance. It was once
described by Mr. DAVENPORT, when officiating as H.M. Consul at
Shanghai, as follows: 'A recognised procedure among the
Chinese is what is called "Han Yüan "-i.e., the aggrieved suitors,
with as many friends as they can gather, surround the magistrate's
yamên, and howl as loud as they can for days and nights. .
Sometimes they go further, and pull down the magistrate's court-
house over his ears.' The concluding sentence is a valuable
contribution to our knowledge of the real relationship existing
between the Chinese people and their rulers. Instances of the
kind are not by any means unknown. The Hongkong China Mail
contained only last autumn (1880) a graphic account of a struggle
between the mandarins and the pork-butchers of Ch'ung-kʻing, in
the province of Szechuen, relative to the imposition of an extra
tax on each pig killed. The latter closed their shops, and took
measures for preventing the sale of pork either by or to any
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
225
great deal of official correspondence ensued; and at
length, seeing that Hsing-t'ai was unscrupulously obsti-
nate beyond all measure, I summoned him before me
and bade him state when he had suffered from a highway
robbery; what case I, the magistrate, had concealed
from the higher authorities, as lyingly set forth by him
in his petition to the Taot'ai. To this he replied that he
had really been beaten by Hsing-chin, but that had he
not made any exaggerated statements in his petition, the
higher authorities would not have taken up his case,
adding that he supposed he should now have to suffer
for it. I asked him what he meant by writing his
petition in blood; and he explained that it was done.
with a view to bring the matter more forcibly to the
person unpledged to support their cause. The military were called
out, and four official pork-stalls were opened, but the meat exposed
there rotted for want of purchasers. Ultimately, 'the pork-butchers
gained the day,
and the proper guarantees were given not
to raise the tax.' The Chinese are the most law-abiding people on
the face of the globe; but the laws by which they will abide must
be laws of which they approve.
·
Another case was given in the China Mail during July, 1880.
A number of graduates had committed a violent assault upon some
shopkeepers in the large city of Shiu-kwan, and several of them
had been imprisoned in consequence. 'In the course of the
morning a large meeting of the students was held in a college
adjoining the Examination Hall. The District Magistrate went
out to confer with them. The students cracked his gongs and
shattered his chair with showers of stones, and then prodded him
with their fans and umbrellas, and bespattered him with dirt as his
followers tried to carry him away on their shoulders. He was quite
seriously hurt.' Here, however, the graduates were in the wrong
from the beginning. The case is only quoted as one instance
among hundreds of the treatment experienced by an unpopular or
unsuccessful mandarin at the hands of a Chinese mob.
Q
226
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
notice of the Taot'ai and to enlist his sympathies in the
cause. "Where did you get your blood?" I rejoined;
"a stolen chicken perhaps, eh?" "No, your Honour,"
I
replied Hsing-t'ai, smiling; "it was pig's blood.
bought that day half-a-pound of pig's blood to make
soup for my breakfast, and I kept some in a cup for
inditing my petition. I told everybody else, however,
that I got the blood by pricking my own finger. It was
only a desperate effort to escape the punishment that was
fast coming upon me, and not designed for the purpose of
otherwise making trouble." "I will be lenient with you,"
I said, "if you will restore the stolen property;" to which
Hsing-t'ai replied that his father had received it all, and
that he had written to him to hand it over. The father,
however, had gone off and lay concealed in the Pre-
fectural city, and it only remained to invite the
co-operation of the Hai-yang magistrate and try to
get him arrested. Meanwhile, as regarded the false
charges of murder and highway robbery filed by Hsing-
t'ai, I appealed to the higher authorities for instructions
whether I should hand over Hsing-t'ai to the Hai-yang
magistrate for the latter to try the charge against me, or
whether I should arraign him myself and punish him
severely on the earlier charge standing against his name
in my court; but before any answer had been received
I had already ceased to be magistrate. It was that
blood-written petition which gave rise to months of
correspondence and caused so much difficulty in
dealing with this case, enabling Hsing-t'ai to swallow
the ship and slip through the net. For the acting
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
227
magistrate let him off with a bambooing and a month
in the cangue, besides recovering from him the 3,000
cash, which were confiscated and placed in the official
treasury. That was all the punishment Hsing-t'ai got;
at which he clapped his hands, and laughingly declared
that the efficacy of pig's blood was great.
Q 2.
228
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
TWO TROUBLESOME COFFINS.
On the skirts of a village situated to the west of the
district city of Ch'ao-yang, in a patch of high grass,
quietly reposed two coffins which had lain there, exposed
to sun and dew, no one could tell how many tens or
hundreds of years. Suddenly, one morning, there began
a great burning of incense and hurrying thither of the
people, as if they had been flocking to a market, the
cause of the excitement being quite unknown to me.
I then heard from one of the natives* that a certain
family had lost a little boy of eight years of age, and
that his father and mother, after hunting for him in
every direction, had found him lying down beside the
two coffins above-mentioned. When, however, they
spoke to him, he did not answer; neither was he able
to stand when raised up; from which they inferred that
the coffins were exercising a malign influence over the
boy, and accordingly they set to work to intercede with
prayers and supplications for the safety of their child.
Thereupon, the little fellow waked up and went off home
with his parents, who offered up sacrifices of wine and
meat, and burnt incense and paper money in gratitude
that their prayers had been answered.
Now, when the people of the neighbourhood saw what
had taken place, they concluded at once that it actually
was a spiritual manifestation, and one or two of the
* A magistrate can never be a 'native' of the province in which
he holds office.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
229
more mischievously-inclined embellished the story by
declaring that these old coffins could speak-that they
could foretell future events, bestow happiness, banish
misfortune, and answer prayers; thereby causing the
villagers to worship them precisely in the same manner
as their ordinary gods. Some one said the dead occu-
pants belonged to the Kuo family, and so the people
began to talk of them as Mr. and Mrs. Kuo, to which
by-and-by the title of 'saint' was added. Far and wide
spread the fame of this sainted pair. From city and
hamlet, men and women, old and young, flocked to
them with prayers and supplications; fishermen, fowlers,
holders of scarce merchandise,* women in want of sons,
men in search of fame or wealth, doctors, schemers,
parents in want of good husbands and wives for their
children, litigants, prisoners desirous of getting free,†
persons looking out for graves or estates, and gamblers
eager to win on their ventures-all such applicants as
these made their way to the coffins' side, where, falling
on their knees, they would invoke the aid of the departed
saints with much burning of incense and paper money
as a guarantee of good faith. And then, when their
desires had been fulfilled, there would be sacrifices of
wine and meat in token of gratitude for favours received.
Speculating on the rise in market prices.
+ Prisoners are often to be seen outside their prisons, employed
either in some handicraft or in begging from the passers-by, and
secured as a rule by fetters or a chain. But if good security is
forthcoming, they are allowed, when merely awaiting trial, to go
free. Bail is personal in China. If the bailee absconds, the bailer
has to take his place.
230
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
This went on until at length two old women found it
worth while to come and keep the place properly swept,
look after the incense, the implements of divination,* and
the interpretation of dreams, realising for these services.
no less than several thousand cash a day. Meanwhile,
the gobemouches of the country round would think nothing
of coming a hundred and more li to consult the oracle-
men and women, women and men, young and old, in
one continual stream from morning to night and from
night to morning. Young rascals of the pickpocket
class would hide themselves about the city wall and
steal the women's head-ornaments and ear-rings; or they
would get playing tricks with the girls, and indulging
in all kinds of rowdy behaviour, to the great scandal
of respectable people. At length, on my return
from P'u-ning to Ch'ao-yang, a number of the literati
took the matter up, and laid a formal plaint, in which
they spoke of 'incense burning on the highway and
the trysting-place at Mulberry Grove.'t "Ah!" said I
to the deputation, "you gentlemen are indeed zealous
in the cause of right. Were all our scholars to show
themselves equally careful of the public morals, the
welfare of the people would no longer be a subject for
anxiety. The Ch'ao-yang populace is greedy of marvels,
and there seems to be no lack of such manifestations ;
* Two pieces of wood, flat on one side and round on the other,
which are thrown into the air, and from the fall of which good or
bad results are predicted.
The latter is a figurative
† Sc. superstition and fornication.
expression, taken from the Book of Poetry.
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
231
but I am astonished that after what happened to 'the
goddess'*
a couple of rotten old coffins should be
credited with supernatural attributes. What possible
knowledge can these things have, exposed for years to
sun and dew in an out-of-the-way bit of a copse, at the
mercy of wind, rain, heat, and dust? Why, if they had
not influence enough with their descendants to secure
a mound of earth and a little attention, where, I should
like to know, do they now get their power of walking up
hills and across water, of mixing with ordinary mortals,
assisting them in lawsuits or in the acquisition of wealth
with even the minimum chances of success? Truly,
the folly of their dupes is pitiable indeed! Prosperity
and misfortune are matters of destiny; and no spiritual
being, however clear-sighted or well-meaning, would
venture to arrogate to itself one fraction of the merit
which appertains to Heaven alone! What, then, are
these skeletons that we should tolerate their mischievous
tricks? But they shall have their deserts, and so shall
all those who lend countenance to such deception; and
no mercy shall be shown."
Accordingly, I at once issued a notice warning people
to avoid the spot; and summoning the beadle and village
elders, I inquired if there were any descendants of the
dead Kuo and his wife, adding that if within three days
the coffins were not buried the beadle and the elders
were to provide faggots and accompany me to the place,
when, for the crime of lying there and deceiving persons
* See pp. 158-162.
232
JUDICIAL SKETCHES.
as to their possession of any spiritualistic power, I would
administer to each coffin two hundred blows, and then,
having consumed them with fire, would cast the ashes into
the river and thus rid the neighbourhood of an uncanny
pest. Upon this, the descendants of the deceased
persons, who lived at no great distance and followed the
trade of sandal-makers, were greatly alarmed, and set to
work without delay to remove and bury the coffins;
after which the spiritualistic mania died out.
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
233
EDUCATION IN CHINA.*
IT is doubtless widely known among English readers.
that book-learning has always been held in high esti-
mation by the Chinese, though few persons have much
opportunity of travelling beyond the terms of this
general proposition, and of acquiring clear-cut notions
as to what the book-learning of the Chinese actually
amounts to, when expressed in equivalents familiar to
their own range of thought. Speaking broadly, an apt
parallel is ready to hand, in the strict classical curriculum
of our forefathers, before modern languages and the
physical sciences had successfully asserted their claims
to at least an equal place, in the education of English-
men, with the literatures of Greece and Rome. It is a
system of mental culture by which the faculties of
memory, ratiocination, and judgment, are largely de-
veloped, and rendered more capable of application to
the ordinary problems of life. No enlightened teacher
of Greek or Latin, now, so far over-estimates the
functions of these languages, or of the literatures
belonging to them, in the training of youth, as to
believe that their influence extends much beyond
Reprinted from Time.
234
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
this point; but the Chinese have not yet attained to
similar enlightenment in the almost identical scheme of
education which prevails in China to the exclusion of any
other element. They have one beaten track, along
which each and every student must necessarily pursue
his way, over precisely the same ground, in each and
every case. Nothing is optional; and consequently
there are no alternative courses adapted to individual
tastes or abilities. The dogmas-ethical, political, and
social-of their early sages, are, one and all, without
reference to the changed surroundings of modern times,
regarded as some divine legacy of wisdom, infallible in
doctrine, and not to be altered or improved upon by the
degenerate race of to-day. It is true that Mencius, 'the
second,' as he is called, of China's immortals, expressly
warned his countrymen that they should strive to live in
harmony with the spirit of the age in which they might
chance to be born; but this valuable precept has always
been carefully overlooked, and greater prominence given
to others, couched in a less liberal and less practical
tone. And so it is that the Chinese are now, in the
hurry and excitement of this nineteenth century, pretty
much where they were hundreds upon hundreds of years
ago. A movement is indeed now being made in the
right direction; but the Chinese move slowly, and the
impulse has moreover arisen, not from any internal
conviction of its desirability, but from a forced contact
with Western nations. Schools, for the study of science
and foreign languages, have either been formed, or are in
course of formation, at various great centres of population ;
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
235
and so far so good, though as yet no way is open
through these channels to the posts of real honour
and emolument which the Government of China has to
bestow. In this respect, the ancient landmarks still remain
unchanged; and, before they pass away, 'and the waves
come upon them at last,' it may not be uninteresting to
record what is the actual state of education among the
Chinese at this late date in the world's history.
The birth of a son is an advent always accompanied
by much rejoicing in China, as elsewhere. All the more
so, however, if the family in question belongs to the
lettered section of Chinese society. The boy will follow
in the steps of his ancestors, and there is no saying what
he may not achieve in after life for them as well as for
himself! * Within a few days of birth his parents dub
him with some pet name, by which he is generally
known until he goes to school; he passes through the
arduous process of teething, and, what is more danger-
ous still, the blooming-time of his 'heavenly flowers'—
i.e., the small-pox. Being breeched, he plays about the
courtyards of the family manse with the slave-girls of
the establishment, or out in the streets and lanes, with
small crowds of contemporary gamins. His father-
'the venerable severe one'-watches him with devoted
fondness, and too often aids him in overloading his
stomach with sweeties and indigestible cakes; while his
mother-'the venerable compassionate one'—makes
frequent visits to the neighbouring temple, and offers
* Posthumous honours are frequently conferred upon the parents
and grandparents of distinguished men.
|
236
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
up many a prayer and sacrifice for the future career of
her son.
Until about seven years of age, the life of a
Chinese boy is an intellectual blank; then comes a
mighty change. He must either be sent to school, or
a tutor must be engaged for him at home. In any
case, he must forthwith enter upon that course of study
by which alone the worldly successes most prized by the
Chinese are to be obtained. Up to this moment he
has learned absolutely nothing; save, perhaps, to be
respectful to his seniors, and not to step on written
paper, or even to let it fall to the ground.
But now
he has a tedious task before him, to accomplish which
we will suppose that he goes to the village school, and
thither we will follow his steps, lighter at first starting
than a few months later on.
Here he is formally presented to the master, to whom
he usually conveys some trifling present over and above
the wretched monthly fee with which the latter is remu-
nerated for his services. He prostrates himself before
the image of Confucius, the recognised fountain of all
knowledge; and then the schoolmaster proceeds to
choose for him an appropriate personal name to be
retained in after life, after which he settles down to his
allotted task. For the past six centuries this initiatory
task has always been the same-the committal to memory
of a tiny primer, called the Three Character Classic, con-
taining miscellaneous information on a variety of subjects.
compressed into the narrowest possible compass. Each
character, as it occurs, is associated in the mind of the
learner rather with its sound than with its meaning in
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
237
the sentence where it stands; since some portions of this
primer, occasionally simple enough, would be quite unin-
telligible to a child. The opening verses, for instance:-
Man at birth;
By nature good;
In instinct similar;
In practice diverging.
This would of course be a hard nut to crack for a
totally uneducated boy of six-and-a-half; further on,
however, easier subjects are treated, and the pupil is
taught that the three great lights are the sun, moon,
and stars, and that the six domestic animals are the
horse, ox, sheep, pig, dog, and fowl. A little history,
biography, and so forth, make up the sum and substance.
of the work, of which so many lines, or more correctly
'columns,' are daily committed to memory. While
learning his task, the boy hums the words aloud in a
noisy sing-song voice, together with all his schoolfellows
at the same time, the result being an almost unbearable
din; in the midst of which the master will calmly hear
one of them repeat his lesson in a similar but louder
tone, while the pupil stands with his back to the magis-
terial desk, to guard against any chance of furtive
assistance from the book.
When thoroughly familiar with the Three Character
Classic-so called, by the way, because arranged in
columns of three characters to each-our youth will
have familiarised himself with the shapes and sounds,
and partially with the meanings, of something like 400
separate characters; and he will now be considered
238
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
}
sufficiently advanced to take the second set step upon
the road to knowledge, and to proceed to commit to
memory in like manner the Thousand Character Essay.
This singular piece of composition was the production
of a man who is said to have been supplied in prison
with 1000 different characters jumbled together, and to
have been ordered to make out of them a poem. He
accomplished the feat in a single night, but his hair
turned white with the effort. The poem consists of
250 columns of four characters to each. Its subjects
are varied, and, from the nature of the case, incon-
sequent; as witness the following specimen :-
Like arrows, years fly swiftly by;
The sun shines brightly in the sky;
The starry firmament goes round;
The changing moon is constant found;
The heat remains, the fuel spent ;-
Be then on time to come intent.
A dignity of mien maintain,
As if within some sacred fane.
Adjust your dress with equal care
For private as for public wear;
For all men love to crack a joke
At ignorant or vulgar folk.
Four words which give a sentence force
Are really, so, indeed, of course.
Here, again, the chief object is to store the pupil's
memory with the shapes and sounds of a large number
of written symbols; and by the time that the Thousand
Character Essay has been mastered, it follows that
1,000 new characters will have been added to the boy's
stock-in-trade; besides which, he will have acquired a
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
239
knowledge of a very useful cardinal series of numbers from
I to 1,000, these characters being constantly employed
as such in every department of life.
The next step is an important one, analogous to the
old school transition from Delectus to Cæsar-from the
elementary to the advanced; and it is generally with
renewed interest that the budding student opens at the
first page of The Four Books, a collection of writings
which form the leading feature in the great competitive
tests, to which he will hereafter be subjected. Of these
a brief notice will be necessary, specimen quotations
from each being reserved, until we come to speak of
papers actually set at one of the public examinations.
I. The Great Learning.—A short treatise on govern-
ment, dating from the Confucian period, though its
actual author is unknown. The above is Dr. Legge's
rendering of the title, which might be more poetically
translated by The Book of Wisdom. To quote its own
words: 'What the Book of Wisdom teaches is-to
illustrate illustrious virtue; to renovate the people; and
to rest in the highest excellence.'
II. The Doctrine of the Mean.-A short philosophical
treatise, ascribed to the grandson of Confucius, in which
the ruling motives of human conduct are traced from
their psychological source.
III. The Discourses [of Confucius].-This work, com-
piled a generation or so after the sage's death, is divided
into twenty sections, with partial reference to the subject-
matter of each, and, in general plan, is the counterpart
of the Christian Gospels. It is the source of almost all
240
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
our authoritative information as to the life and doctrines
of Confucius. From it we learn what he thought and
what he taught; and one section is even devoted to the
details of his private and personal deportment.
IV. This last and longest of the Four Books is nearly
identical in character with the preceding, except that it
is Mencius whose teachings are here embalmed. His
conversations with various princes and others are fully
recorded, and resolve many difficult questions of ethics
and political economy. He maintained, à outrance, the
doctrine enunciated in the first lines of the Three
Character Classic-in which, of course, it is simply a
quotation-namely, that the nature of man is originally
good, and that it becomes evil only from friction with an
evil world. His great antagonist, Kao, argued that the
nature of man was like water, which, having no inherent
tendencies of its own, flows indifferently hither and
thither, according as a passage is opened to it. Upon
which Mencius triumphantly replied, "Water will, in-
deed, flow indifferently to the east or to the west; but
will it flow indifferently up or down? The tendency
of man's nature to good, is like the tendency of water
to flow downwards. There are none but have this
tendency to good, just as all water flows downwards."
These Four Books are now committed, one by one, to
memory, in precisely the same way as the two foregoing
primers, anything like explanation or consultation of the
authorised commentary being postponed, until some
progress has been made in the arduous task of learning
by heart. Meanwhile the boy is taught to write, shaping
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
241
his characters in accordance with accepted canons of
elegance and finish, by means of a copy placed under a
semi-transparent sheet of paper, and traced over and
over, until the pupil acquires some freedom of manipu-
lation, and is able to imitate from sight. The proper
way to hold the camel's-hair brush, used as a pen, and
the method of rubbing ink on the ink-slab to a due
consistency, equally come in for a share of the pupil's
attention during the excessively long school hours-
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.-which are customary in China. By-
and-by, too, he is initiated into the art of essay-writing,
perhaps the most practically important, and, at the same
time, most unpractical part of the Chinese educational
scheme. It is on his proficiency in this respect that the
student's ultimate success for the most part depends.
A candidate, receiving a given theme, is not at liberty to
sit down and write an essay in the terms or sequence
which unassisted fancy may dictate. He must abide by
fixed rules; introducing the subject in so many balanced
sentences, developing it in so many more; summing up
his arguments, and finally reaching the conclusion,
according to received principles of composition. And
so also with poems. These are invariably upon the same
model—a stated number of characters to each line,
arbitrary rules of rhyme, trite similes, and forced allu-
sions to the past. The bookshops of Chinese cities
are flooded with collections of essays and poems by
famous authors of all ages, and these are carefully
studied by intending competitors, in the hope of borrow-
ing therefrom something of their vigour and refinement
R
242
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
of style. Successful and even unsuccessful candidates
often print their literary efforts in this direction, at any
rate for private circulation; and, good, bad, or indif-
ferent, these are always much admired by the writers
themselves. Hence a curious and caustic saying, that
men generally prefer 'their own compositions, but other
people's wives.'
At this point the youth's name is entered at the bureau
of the local magistrate; to accomplish which it is, how-
ever, first incumbent upon himself to show that his
genealogical record has been unsoiled through the three
preceding generations of father, grandfather, and great
grandfather: in the sense that none of these have been
engaged in certain tabooed occupations, such as acting,
holding the post of executioner, and some other menial
offices in government employ. His surname and per-
sonal name are then carefully registered, and a note is
appended as to his physical appearance, with a view to
establish identity in cases of doubt. The first and second
examinations to which our new undergraduate is admitted
are merely tests leading on to the third, which, in point of
fact, is really the first of the series, being that at which
the bachelor's degree is conferred. This last is held
twice in every three years, at the prefectural cities of each
province, by a resident provincial official of high rank,
who is usually spoken of as the Literary Chancellor. It
occupies only one day. The candidates assemble at the
place of examination before dawn, and are provided
with seats and paper. They are previously searched on
entering, but often find means to elude the vigilance of
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
243
their searchers; and instead of having the Four Books
at their fingers' ends, have them, in the form of diamond
editions, concealed up their flowing sleeves. As soon
as it is light enough, two themes for prose essays, and
one for a poem,* are carried round on long poles, and
are copied down by all. Then ensues a struggle as to
who shall finish first, a certain proportion of marks being
allowed for speed in composition; and, by degrees, all
the papers are handed in, and the candidates disperse.
Some few days afterwards the list is issued: and it is
a joyful moment for those who find themselves in pos-
session of the first literary degree-a degree which
launches its owner fairly in a recognised career, entitles
him to wear official dress with a gilt button of the lowest
grade, and exempts him as a prisoner, or as a witness,
from the indignity of the bamboo-at any rate, until such
time as his case shall have been reported to the higher
authorities, and his diploma cancelled. From this mo-
ment he is nominally an officer of the State, though
doomed to remain still for some time, and possibly for
ever, in the position of an unemployed and unpaid
attaché. His own energy and abilities must determine
the rest. He may now either obtain by purchase† or
influence subordinate employment as secretary, clerk,
etc., in some department of the metropolitan or pro-
vincial administration, and trust to chance to work his
Specimen themes are given below, in the description of the
examination for the second degree.
+ Not from the State, but from the mandarin, in whose office
the particular patronage is vested.
R 2
244
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
way along in the world; or, he may stick closely to his
books, proceed to a study of the Five Canons, and pre-
sent himself at the great public competition for the second
or master's degree, holden once in every three years at
the provincial capitals of China. This is an ordeal of
a much severer description than the examination for the
first degree. In addition to an accurate knowledge and
understanding of the Four Books, to considerable skill
in the composition of essays and poetry, the candidate
who would hope to succeed must have made a close
study of the five difficult and abstruse works comprised
under the above title. These Five Canons—'canon' in
its ecclesiastical sense-may be briefly described as
follows:-
I. The Book of Changes.-Dates from the twelfth cen-
tury B.C., and contains a fanciful system of philosophy, of
a Pythagorean character, deduced from the sixty-four
combinations of eight original diagrams, or arrangements
of a line and a divided line, thus
etc., each of which represents some power in nature,
either active or passive, such as fire, water, thunder, etc.
Confucius made an extensive study of the Book of
Changes, without, however, successfully unravelling its
mysteries; and at the present day it is more incom-
prehensible than ever.
II. The Book of History.—This is a lengthy work, in a
number of detached chapters, compiled by Confucius
from ancient historical remains, and dealing with the
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
245
period included between the twenty-fourth and seventh
centuries before Christ.
III. The Book of Poetry.-A collection of popular
ballads, collected and arranged by Confucius, to the
number of 311. The following is a specimen verse :-
The cricket is in the hall,
And the year is drawing to a close.
If we do not enjoy ourselves now,
The days and months will have fled.
But let us not go to excess :
Let us think of the duties of our position:
Let us not go beyond bounds in our love of pleasure:
The virtuous man is ever on his guard.*
IV. The Book of Rites.-An ancient work, containing
a multiplicity of rules for the performance of cere-
monies and 'the guidance of individual conduct,' under
a great variety of conditions.
V. Spring and Autumn.-This consists of the annals
of the petty kingdom of Lu from B.C. 722 to 484, and
was written by Confucius. It is a dry and uninteresting
record, dealing chiefly with names and dates; yet it was
the work by which Confucius declared that men would
know him, and Mencius considered it as important an
achievement as the draining of the empire by the Great
Yü, saying, "Confucius completed the Spring and
Autumn, and rebellious ministers and bad sons were
struck with terror." The title has two explanations:
(1) that "its commendations are life-giving like the
spring, and its censures life-withering like autumn;
*
Legge's translation.
246
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
(2) that to each entry in the annals was prefixed the
year, month, day, and season—i.e., spring or autumn-
in which the event recorded took place. The following
is a short specimen-extract from this renowned history,
which is admittedly of little value, taken apart from the
famous commentary upon it by Tso, a disciple of Con-
fucius, of whom very little is known :--
In the duke's sixteenth year, in spring, in the king's first month,
on Mow-shin, the first day of the moon, there fell stones in Sung-
five of them.
In the same month six fish-hawks flew backwards, past the
capital of Sung.
Such are the actual text-books of a Chinese educational
course, an intimate acquaintance with which is the sine
quâ non of success. But no ambitious student limits
himself to the particular ground covered by these.
Besides poring over tome after tome of commentary
and other exegetical aid, and comparing the conclusions
of the schoolmen of the Han dynasty, with those more
consistent interpretations which we owe to the genius of
Chu Hsi,* he will devour volume after volume of the
ponderous histories of Ssu-ma Kuang and Ssŭ-ma Ch'ien,
and linger over favourite poets and essay-writers, until
the first streaks of morning light struggle through his
bamboo blind. To poultice his weary brain, he will
have a wide choice among the voluminous works of
fiction, and the deservedly popular historical romances,
which really form no unimportant branch of Chinese
* The Han dynasty lasted from about B.C. 200 to A.D. 200.
Chu Hsi flourished under the Sung dynasty, dying A.D. 1200.
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
247
literature, though by custom rigidly excluded from all
recognition as such; and with a more or less severe
training in the above curriculum, he proceeds to compete
for the much envied master's degree.
The examination is held in the autumn of every third
year, by an Imperial Commissioner, usually spoken of as
the Grand Examiner, who is specially deputed by the
Emperor for that purpose. On arrival from Peking,
his residence is formally sealed up, and extraordinary
precautions are taken to prevent friends of intending
candidates from approaching him in an improper sense.
At an early hour on the appointed day, the candidates
begin to assemble, and by-and-by the great gates of the
examination hall are thrown open, and heralds shriek out
the names of those who are to enter. Each one answers
'Adsum' in turn as his name is called, and forthwith
receives from the attendants a roll of paper marked with
the number of the open cell he is to occupy in one
of the long alleys into which the examination hall is
divided. Other writing materials, as well as food, he
carries with him in a basket, which is always carefully
searched at the door. When all have found their seats,
the Grand Examiner burns incense, and closes the
entrance gates, through which no ingress nor egress will
now be permitted on any pretence whatever, until the
afternoon of the third day, when the first of three bouts
or sittings is at an end. In case of death-which is by
no means unusual, where a large body of human beings
are cooped up day and night in a confined space-the
body is always hoisted over the outer wall; and this rule
248
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
would be carried out even were it the Grand Examiner
himself, whose place would then be taken by his chief
Assistant-Examiner, a functionary who is also nominated
by the Emperor, and accompanies the Grand Examiner
from Peking. The themes are next exhibited, and copied
down by the candidates. For this first bout there are
three for prose essays, always taken from the Four
Books, and one subject for a poem. All the following
specimens for each bout were set at one of these
triennial examinations for the master's degree, held the
year before last, at a provincial capital, at which about
12,000 candidates competed for only sixty-one places.
There is no limit to age, and history records one
instance of the success of an old man of eighty-two.
In the present case, the youngest successful competitor,
who stood thirty-fourth on the list, was only nineteen;
while the oldest, who came out fourteenth, was no
less than fifty-three years of age.
BOUT I.
For Prose Essays:
(1). Tzŭ Kung said: Suppose the case of a ruler conferring
extensive benefits upon the people, and able to assist all.
(2). This rule [of conferring honours on three generations of
ancestors] was extended to the princes, great officers,
scholars, and people.
(3). To hold a middle course without deviation is as bad as
holding to an extreme.
For a Poem :-
The azure precipice was half concealed in a mass of
rolling clouds.
It may be mentioned here that an essay should consist
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
249
of about 700 to 800 characters in length, and the poem
of eighty characters, both to be correctly written, and
the latter in a stated metre; the paper, moreover, not
to be soiled, or torn. On the afternoon of the third
day, the candidates hand in their compositions, and are
then released until the next morning, when they re-
assemble for a second bout of three days, as before, to
compose five essays on themes taken from the Five
Canons.
BOUT II.
For Prose Essays
(1). Of suspended bodies none can exceed in brightness the
sun and the moon.
(2). The articles of tribute from this province, in the time of
Yü (B.C. 2205), were Ch'un wood, yew trees, cedars,
grindstones, whetstones, arrow-head stones, and cinnabar.
Also wood of the Kwan, Lu, and Hu trees.
(3). O my husbandmen! the harvest is all gathered in. Let us
go to the town and build our houses.
(4). The Marquis of Ch'i, the Duke of Sung, the Marquis of
Ch'in, the Marquis of Wei, and the Earl of Chʻing had a
meeting at Küen.
(5). In the time of the Hia dynasty the Imperial drum was
placed on feet; during the Shang dynasty it was supported
on pillars; and in the Chow dynasty it was suspended.
Again, on the afternoon of the third day, the results of
their labours are handed in by the candidates, and the
gates thrown open, to be closed as before on the
following morning, for a third and last bout of three
days, devoted to answering questions on miscellaneous
topics, selected by the examiners from any source they
may choose.
250
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
Questions on:-
BOUT III.
(1). The text and various readings of the Five Canons.
(2). Discrepancies in the standard histories of the empire.
(3). The merits and demerits of works on agriculture published
under preceding dynasties, prefaced by the remark that
The Government of a country is founded upon its agri-
culture, and the produce of the fields is the people's
heaven.
(4). The ancient geography of the province.
(5). The authorship, date, and literary value of certain cele-
brated collections of essays.
During this severe ordeal of nine days in all, strange
scenes are occasionally enacted within. Sometimes a
candidate collapses from sheer exhaustion; sometimes
one is found hanging from the beam overhead, or lying
in a pool of blood with his throat cut across. Only
last year, the Grand Examiner appointed to Foochow
conducted the proceedings with the usual decorum until
the third day of the First Bout, when suddenly His
Excellency's reason gave way. He tore up a number
of the essays already handed in, and scattered the pieces
flying all over the daïs appropriated to his use. He rushed
down among the alleys of cells which the candidates
were just leaving, and bit and cuffed everybody who
came in his way, until finally secured by order of the
Assistant-Examiner, and bound hand and foot in his
chair. On one occasion, a bachelor of arts presented
himself, to be examined for the higher degree, dressed
in woman's clothes, with his face highly rouged and
powdered, as the custom is. He was immediately
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
251
arrested by the guard, and the poor fellow was then
found to be hopelessly insane. His first degree was
taken from him, and he was quietly sent home to his
friends. On another occasion, a candidate handed in
a paper on which was nothing but a drawing of a huge
turtle (forming part of a Chinese term of abuse), with
the significant legend underneath-'Call me this if you
catch me here again!' In a further instance, a man
of some property occupied himself for the first three
days in carefully drawing up his last will and testament.
His mental equilibrium had been disturbed under the
excitement of the moment; and when, after a few days'
nursing, he regained a clearer view of human affairs,
he discovered, to his infinite chagrin, that his previously
earned degree of bachelor had also been taken from
him. A percentage of blank papers are regularly handed
in, reminding one of the blank letters and post-cards
which form part of the annual statistics of the Post-
master-General's return. The name of any candidate
who commits this breach of regulations is at once struck
off the list, and his former diploma of bachelor is taken
from him.
As far as the candidates are concerned, the exami-
nation is now at an end, and accordingly they disperse
to their own homes, there to await the news of failure
or of success. Perhaps they resume meanwhile their
usual student's life, alternating fits of sustained work
with wine-parties, moonlight excursions, and the compo-
sition of Chinese vers de société by the ream. Groups
of these students are often to be seen regaling themselves
252
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
with tea and pipes at some hill-side temple, upon the
walls of which they generally leave behind Bacchanalian
or amatory mementos of a jovial afternoon. They form
literary clubs, and meet periodically to write essays and
poems upon given themes, submitting these to the
decision of a qualified arbitrator, and putting together
a small pool of money to be handed by him to the
winner. They write inscriptions of a Damon-and-Pythias
tenor on each others' fans, and exchange presents of
scrolls, traced in an ancient or fanciful style of the
calligraphic art. They all smoke tobacco, and hate
foreign missionaries with an undying hatred, which
becomes intensified rather than mitigated by age and
experience; and not one of them can be brought even
to glance at propagandist publications. They regard
us generally, do these literati of China, with an unmixed
intellectual scorn, and fondly lap themselves in a stock.
phrase that they have nothing to learn from 'barbarians.'
But to return. The list of successful candidates is at
length ready, and is posted at midnight, always with a
surging and excited crowd thronging the streets and
anxious to hear the result, which is immediately borne
away to the residences of the fortunate ones by pro-
fessional runners, who receive a considerable honorarium
if the first to bring the good news.
The next thought of the newly-fledged provincial
graduate is to betake himself to Peking for the exami-
nation of metropolitan graduate, holden, like the last,
once in every three years, and in the spring directly
ensuing. For this purpose, money has frequently to be
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
253
scraped together from all quarters. Friends subscribe
and pawnbrokers loan; bills are given and articles of
jewellery and vertu are pledged; and away goes the
candidate full of high hope, oft-times counting chickens
that are never destined to see the light. In the old
days, it was a long and tiresome journey, possibly by
junk or overland, from the southern provinces of China,
involving great risks of robbery and even of death by
the way; but now the provincial graduate makes friends
with barbarian civilisation, in so far as to unroll his
mat and bedding in a comfortable bunk on the lower
deck of a coast steamer, performing the whole distance
snugly and speedily to within eighty miles of the capital.
For the rest, little remains to be said. The examination
is conducted upon lines almost identical with those of
the provincial competition for the preceding degree. It
is similarly divided into three sittings, of three days to
each, and the subjects, taken from the same sources,
are necessarily of the same character. Some 8,000 to
9,000 candidates compete, and among them about 300
degrees are distributed. Further tests are subsequently
applied, to determine the final order of arrangement,
and the three who ultimately head the list are proud
men indeed. Their names become household words for
the time being in every town and hamlet over the vast
area of civilised China; they are the heroes of the
hour; and, in the ordinary course of events, their future
fortunes are amply secured. The remaining winners
of this degree are divided into three classes. Upon
the first are bestowed appointments in the National
254
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
Academy of Literature; upon the second, subordinate
posts in government offices at Peking; and upon the
third, nominations to the ranks of 'expectant' officials,
under the various provincial administrations;—and the
world is all before them.
Here the system of education and of public compe-
tition comes to a natural end. The humblest individual
in the empire, provided always that his record is unsoiled,
may aspire to the highest offices of State; and the wide-
spread feeling that their rulers are not mere placemen,
undoubtedly goes far towards reconciling the Chinese
people with a yoke of government which might otherwise
be too galling to bear. Thoroughly conversant as each
one of these successful graduates must be with the great
principles of moral and material sway as enunciated in
the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, many of them
go forth to rule over large masses of their countrymen,
so far underpaid by the State that it is an understood
thing whence and how the deficit is to be made up.
The officials of China derive their salaries direct from
the people. Instead of collecting the revenues of their
offices, and handing over the total to the Imperial
Exchequer, from which they would receive a fixed
stipend in return for the services thus rendered, they
pay fixed amounts to the State, filtered in every case
through their immediate superiors, and keep whatever
balance they can for their own private purses. This is
the system which prejudiced persons persist in calling one
of bribery and corruption. But bribery and corruption
begin only where this system ends. As long as Chinese
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
255
magistrates collect fees and taxes at equitable rates, and
administer justice with impartial hand, the system cannot
be said to be at fault; and anything beyond this is simply
an abuse of power. Such abuse is unhappily not un-
known, but its extent has been greatly exaggerated. An
avaricious mandarin is not long tolerated. The people
recognise a definite limit to the exactions of their officials,
and all squeezes' within the boundary are cheerfully
submitted to and paid. But any attempt to overstep the
line leads on, at first, to individual grumbling and discon-
tent; finally, to rising and a popular émeute, which, right
or wrong, inevitably costs the mandarin his appointment,
if not his head.
In conclusion, success at these public examinations is
considered by the Chinese to result from one or other, or
from the aggregate of five special causes, enumerated in
the following order of importance :—
(1). Luck.
(2). Predestination.
(3). Influence exerted by propitious site of family
graves.
(4). Good deeds done in secret.
(5). Study.
This, however, is more a popular than a faithful state-
ment of the case. Any one whose life has been mixed
up with the literati of China must know well that, as a
rule, the successful candidates at these great competitions
are more proficient in what knowledge and literary skill
may be required of them than those who fail. Among
the latter there are, doubtless, often to be found men
256
EDUCATION IN CHINA.
of more real literary capacity, as witness the famous
author of the Liao-Chai, whose untoward fate the
Chinese are never tired of quoting in proof, if any
were wanted, that genius does not always push its way
to the front in a competition of the kind. And doubt-
less, too, men of much administrative and other ability
are frequently doomed in a similar way to the disap-
pointments of a private life; but, on the whole, the
broad results of competitive examinations are to the
public advantage, and they have stood China in good.
stead for many centuries past. In what may be termed
the mechanical part of the system, there is nothing
whatever to be changed; only in the scope of subjects is
a marked enlargement made necessary by the altered
conditions of the age. Like most Chinese institutions,
this one is excellently contrived; and like many others
in other parts of the world, it would work to perfection
in the hands of conscientious and immaculate officials.
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
257
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.*
For any one to state vaguely that he means to 'learn
Chinese' is almost as indefinite as to announce an in-
tention of entering upon a course of 'science.' In the
first place, 'Chinese' is often used collectively of the
written and spoken languages of China, as if there
existed between these two distinct branches of study
the same relation that we know to exist between written
and spoken French. But the language of Chinese
speech is never written down totidem verbis.† The
result of such a process would in Chinese eyes be
simply ludicrous; not to mention that for much of the
patois of China there are no corresponding characters, in
which case it would of course be impossible. When a
Chinaman sits down to write, say the evidence of a
witness in a court of justice, he does not put on paper
what the man actually says, but translates as he goes
along the colloquial into the book language. A foreigner
may learn either or both. Stanislas Julien, who never
* Reprinted from the Nineteenth Century, by permission of the Editor.
+ Except in the case of farces, songs, parts of low-class novels, etc.,
in which a very near approach is made to the colloquial. The mis-
sionaries, too, issue religious tracts in this form; and the Bible itself
has been published in the vulgar tongue of more than one province,
thus becoming a literary absurdity in the eyes of all educated Chinese,
S
258
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
went to China, was an accomplished scholar of the
written language, though ignorant of the colloquial; and
many residents at the various treaty ports are able to
converse fluently in the local dialects while totally unable
to read a single character. But before proceeding any
further with the main object of this investigation it may
be desirable to insert just a few remarks on the spoken
language of China. To begin with, there are at least
five strongly marked dialects, differing so widely one
from another as to make them practically, though not
really, five separate languages. Natives who speak only
their own dialect are as unintelligible to their fellow-
countrymen who do not know that dialect as an English-
man and a Russian are mutually unintelligible if neither
happens to be acquainted with the language of the
other.*
It is true that from time immemorial the
dialect spoken at court has been recognised as the
medium of intercommunication all over the empire; but
it is also true that only those who live within the radius.
where that form of speech prevails will learn it as their
mother-tongue. Pekingese is now regarded as the best
'Mandarin;'t whereas in former days, when Nanking
was the capital, the dialect spoken in and around that
* Hence, the not uncommon phenomenon of an Englishman
acting as interpreter between two Chinamen. Sometimes the latter
are both able to speak English; and we were informed only the
other day that Chinese educated in Hongkong, for instance,
frequently write to each other in English, in preference to their
own language.
+ All officials speak the so-called Mandarin dialect, as also do
many of the better class of tradesmen, whose business often calls
them to a distance from home.
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
259
city was taken as the official model. Both would be
unknown to an inhabitant of Canton.
I must now further warn my readers that although it is
not unusual to speak generally of the book language of
China, that too is subdivided into several classes, for
each of which a certain amount of special training is
required. For the present purpose it will be sufficient to
keep in view two principal divisions-namely, the official
and business languages on the one hand, and the ornate
style of poets, essayists, etc., on the other. From the
first of these all flowery or fine writing is rigorously
excluded: the lucid expression of the writer's meaning
is the sole object of a Chinese despatch, save always in
those instances where it may be desired rather to conceal
than to make plain. Even then this may be accom-
plished only by the aid of a grammatical confusion, and
not by the introduction of abstruse or uncommon terms.
In fact, the tacitly acknowledged rules of Chinese despatch-
writing accord very much with those once circulated by
Lord Palmerston, calling upon all members of the diplo-
matic and consular services to forward their communi-
cations written in a plain round hand; to avoid treating of
two subjects in a single despatch; to aim at perspicuity
above all things; and never to make use of a foreign
phrase when an English one would answer as well. But it
is the latter and more interesting division that I now pro-
pose to examine—the last refuge of that old Chinese pride
and faith in themselves, as opposed to the outer barbarian,
which received a mortal wound at the capture of Peking.*
By the allied British and French forces in 1860.
S 2
260
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
The once prevalent belief in the great difficulty of
acquiring a colloquial knowledge even of a single
Chinese dialect has long since taken its place among
other historical fictions ;* but it is still admitted on all
sides that the written language of China requires nothing
short of the devoted energies of a lifetime. Few, how-
ever, of those to whom this saying is proverbially familiar,
would care to be called upon at a moment's notice to
justify the remark. For we see from day to day the
ordinary Chinese literate, of say twenty-five years of age,
reading with apparent ease any work that chance may
throw into his hands; and we know that up to the age
of seven or eight † he was playing about in the streets
without educational restraint of any kind. We also
know that the habits of idleness contracted thus early
in the life of a Chinese schoolboy make him a very
difficult subject to manage when confined in a close
room to pore over and commit to memory a number
of characters, the meaning of which he is not taught
until several years afterwards, and surrounded as he is by
a roomful of companions each shrieking out his own
lesson almost at the very top of his voice. Add to this
the fact that the first thing these boys do on leaving
school is to get married, and that their subsequent
studies are not carried on in anything like the sys-
tematic manner which insures success to candidates for
* Exclusive of those who make a study of Chinese, there are now
to be found among foreign residents in China many who have
picked up by ear the dialect of their own locality.
+ Until he reaches this age, the Chinese child learns absolutely
nothing.
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
261
literary distinctions among ourselves; and we shall begin
to wonder indeed how it is that fifteen or sixteen years
of persevering effort do not yield the same result to a
European of average ability, whose advantages of pre-
vious training more than outweigh the one disadvantage
of beginning later in life.* And that my readers may be
enabled to form their own conclusion, possibly a new
one, as to the real difficulties of the book language of
China, I have arranged them under the four following
headings:-
I. Characters.-The first obstacle encountered by
students of Chinese is the multiform nature of the
written symbols. To a beginner who learns his twenty-
five characters a day for a fortnight or so, and then finds
himself obliged to diminish that number, some part of
his time being necessarily devoted to going over the old
ground, it seems almost hopeless that he will ever
acquire a mastery over some 6,000 or 7,000 of these
slippery puzzles. The more so as in nine cases out
of ten the student makes a false start, learning each
character by its general form, without relation to any
other character, and without analyzing the construction
of its component parts. By degrees, when much valu-
able time has been already wasted, it occurs to the more
attentive that these apparently fortuitous combinations
* Few foreigners begin to learn Chinese before the age of one- or
two-and-twenty; many much later.
+ 'For only by varied iteration can alien conceptions be forced
upon reluctant minds.'-HERBERT SPENCER'S Data of Ethics.
This is about the number required by the student who wishes
to be able to read any ordinary Chinese book or document.
262
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
of strokes fall naturally into certain groups with common
elements to each. Later on, it is perceived that each
character is divisible into two parts, from one of which
the sound may usually be predicted even though the
character in question has never been met before, and
from the other of which may be gained a tolerably
accurate clue to the meaning.* The difficulty of the
problem is thus very much modified: it becomes no
longer a question of committing to memory an immense
number of separate pictures, but rather of classifying
new acquisitions under old phonetic groups in which the
radicals play the part of differentiators as regards the
sense. It is impossible to give an accurate illustration
of this in English: the following examples are the
nearest we can get. A schoolboy meeting the word
Pliocene for the first time would learn by two efforts
of memory that it was derived from two Greek words
meaning 'more' and 'new'; but when subsequently he
sees Eocene, Miocene, and Pleistocene, he has only one
new word to remember in each case instead of two, the
latter half cene being common to all. In Chinese, how-
ever, the only function of the cene half, which we will
regard as corresponding with the phonetic of a character,
is to determine the sound, not of that half alone but of
the whole character. The eo, mi, etc., are the radicals or
differentiators, which give the reader a clue to the sense.
Again, in Chinese every tree, plant, shrub, etc., is written
with either one of the two radicals wood or grass, the
* The former of these is generally called the phonetic, the latter
the radical, of a character.
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
263
phonetics differing in each instance according to the
sound of the character. So in English we have school-
room, school-boy, school-master, etc., answering somewhat
to a group of Chinese characters in which the radical is
a constant quantity.
I have no wish to pretend that the acquisition of a
large number of Chinese characters is otherwise than a
sufficiently difficult task; still, a student gifted with an
average memory should be able in five years' study to
store up enough to carry him through any ordinary
business or official documents, light novels, etc.; and
were these characters the sole hindrance in his way, I
should be at a loss to understand how it is that the
written language of China has so long been regarded
as something beyond the powers of an ordinary English-
man.
*
II. Grammar.-I will take it for granted that my
readers know Chinese to be a non-flexional language
in the fullest sense of the term. There are no declen-
sions either of substantives, adjectives, or pronouns, and
no moods, conjugations, or tenses of verbs, each word
being complete in itself and incapable of any modi-
fication of form whatever. The syntax of a sentence
is, therefore, the only clue to determining the relative
* In my opinion, Professor Stokes' system of aids to the memory
could never be utilised by the student of Chinese. I venture to say
this, not wishing in any way to depreciate an otherwise valuable
help, with the merits of which I myself am personally acquainted;
but from a desire that no intending learner should quit the main
road in search of a short cut, the very existence of which to me
seems exceedingly doubtful,
264
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
value of its units; or, as it has been well put, 'the whole
of Chinese grammar depends upon position.' This is
the key by which, with proper attention to certain laws,
the seemingly tangled skein of written Chinese may be
accurately unravelled, and made to yield up a meaning,
and one meaning only. It is not true that half-a-dozen
different constructions may be placed upon one and the
same sentence according to mere fancy; the rules of
Chinese composition are, if anything, more stringently
adhered to than our own, though, of course, equivoques
and ambiguities of speech are not altogether unknown.
The responses of the oracle at Delphi have their counter-
parts in all languages; but it is quite inaccurate to
represent that these occur more frequently or are more
easily produced in Chinese than in any other language.
Where, as occasionally in the archaic style, transposition
of words is carried to an extreme limit, it is often very
difficult to determine the exact function of each par-
ticular word; such transpositions, however, are com-
paratively rare, and are always based upon some precedent
in the classics with which the reader is naturally supposed
to be familiar. Thus we have in Mencius a sentence of
four characters arranged as follows:-To-distribute men
according-to riches.' This means 'to distribute riches
according to the men,' and upon such a precedent a
modern writer would not hesitate to build a similar
phrase, which he would expect all educated readers to
identify at once. Here the foreign student is again at a
disadvantage, for he has never, like his Chinese rival,
learned the works of Mencius by heart. The most
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
265
curious specimen of such transposition ever noticed by
myself is the following: *-' Mother served sister-in-law,'
as applied to a very virtuous young lady, who, to give the
real meaning of the sentence, 'served her sister-in-law as
if that sister-in-law had been her mother.' Yet, strange
though it may seem, there is no particular difficulty in
this sentence taken where it stands: there is absolutely
nothing else which it could mean. However, as we saw
just now in the case of characters, so with regard to
grammar; its difficulties melt away before a course of
systematic study; and thus far in our analysis we are
unable to say that there is anything very impracticable in
the book language of China, But now, granting that the
student has stored up in his memory a considerable
number of characters, and is tolerably familiar with the
laws of Chinese syntax, it by no means follows that he
can understand an essay, a stanza of poetry, or even an
ordinary letter. For behind these simpler elements stands
a grim spectre, overshadowing the language with its dark,
impenetrable wing, the pride and delight of the Chinese
pundit, but the source of much despair and hope long
deferred to the European learner who would wander
at his own sweet will through the grotesquely-arranged
garden of Chinese literature.
III. Ornamentation.—Chinese prose and poetry alike,
to be of any literary value whatever, must bristle from
beginning to end with allusions to the events and per-
sonages of their own almost immeasurable past. More
* See the Liao Chai, Vol. VII., p. 57, of the usual sixteen-
volume edition.
266
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
than this, it is barely allowable to call anything by its
right name; some figure of speech or half-expressed
quotation-and the more obscure the better-must be
called in to do duty in place of the universally tabooed
spade. Hence, in the elucidation of a passage written
in this peculiar style, the Chinese student of his native
tongue has an immense advantage over the European
student of Chinese. Given an unfamiliar metaphor, the
former is able in a great majority of cases either to guess
its meaning, or, at any rate, obtain a clue thereto. His
mind has been schooled since childhood into a particular
attitude, which strikes us only as being awry. Manners,
customs, and folk-lore, which we have to learn, are to
him every-day topics of conversation. His familiarity
with the great store-houses of allusion, the Chinese
classics, committed to memory in early life, is such
that a well-chosen word or two will always call to
mind any passage required for use. Upon these last
the poets and essayists of China have ever largely drawn
for the means of saying simple things in obscure lan-
guage; and the greatest of them have, by a power of
combining the old in a fresh and original manner,
raised their own works to the standard of those from
which such quotations may be made, and have thus
very much enlarged the field of operations for all
those who come after. I shall perhaps give a better
idea of this, the marked peculiarity of all Chinese
works written with any pretensions to scholarship, by
translating a piece of simple English into the form
it would assume under the hands of a Chinese artist.
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
267
Let us take, for example, the following:-
The divinity (1) he sits on his fierce-light (2) that glisters (3),
Fenced in by whatever-is (4) the-hand-that-made-us (5);
The king-maker (6) he sits in his Englishman's-house (7) old,
Eyeing (8) his first-falling (9) herring-coloured (10) devil (11).
Which stood originally in the columns of Punch :—
The king he sits on his throne of gold,
Fenced in by his right divine;
The baron he sits in his castle old,
Drinking his ripe red wine.
The italicised words refer, of course, as follows:-
(1). There's a divinity doth hedge a king.
(2). The fierce light that beats upon a throne.
(3). All that glisters is not gold.
(4). Whatever is, is right.
(5). The hand that made us is divine.
(6). Earl Warwick, the last of the barons.
(7). An Englishman's house is his castle.
(8). Drink to me only with thine eyes.
(9). The ripest fruit first falls.
(10). Is neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring.
(11). O thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be
known by, let us call thee devil!
Ridiculous and exaggerated as the above may seem, I
can assure my readers that, quantitatively speaking, the
picture is by no means overdrawn. In some of the
more laboured Chinese essays almost every word is
made to play more or less a figurative part; and many
of their most valued works cannot be read, even by
scholars, without the commentary by the side. But
we will now proceed to examine more closely these
difficulties, which I have divided for convenience sake
under two sub-heads.
268
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
A. Allusions. First of all there is the mythological
or historical allusion in its direct form, when the name
of the god or hero is actually quoted; in its indirect
form, when merely a hint is given as to the identity
in question. Of the former, I need only say that to
understand each such allusion in its fullest sense implies
a knowledge of the history or mythology of China such
as few native scholars possess; of the latter, that our
own literature presents numerous examples analogous
in every respect. For instance, when Milton says—
Or call up him that left half told
The story of Cambuscan bold,
he has said enough for the man of literary cultivation.*
So, too, everybody who has read Tennyson's Dream of
Fair Women knows who is meant by 'the morning star
of song.' In fact, I am acquainted with nothing in
the British language which could be taken as a better
specimen of the highest flights of Chinese inspiration
than the last-named beautiful poem.
Morn broaden'd on the borders of the dark,
Ere I saw her, who clasp'd in her last trance
Her murder'd father's head,‡ or Joan of Arc,
A light of ancient France;
Or her who knew that Love can vanquish Death,
Who kneeling, with one arm about her king,
Drew forth the poison with her balmy breath, §
Sweet as new buds in spring.
* See Il Penseroso. The allusion is to an unfinished poem by
Chaucer, subsequently completed by Spenser.
Queene, Book IV., canto ii., stanza 32.
See The Faerie
+ Chaucer.
‡ Margaret Roper, the devoted daughter of Sir Thomas More.
§ Queen Eleanor, wife of Edward the First.
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
269
Similarly, all readers of Gray know well enough who
is meant by 'Nature's darling.' But we must pass on
to the second form of allusion, which is really nothing
more or less than quotation, though not quotation in
the ordinary sense of the term. It has been fully
exemplified in the verse which we just now clothed
in a Chinese dress, and consists in borrowing one or
more words from some passage in the classics or other
standard work to represent perhaps the whole idea
contained in that passage. We may compare this with
our own use of such phrases as 'utile dulci,' which
recently appeared underneath a picture in Punch. To
talk about the 'utile dulci' as we do in common
parlance is, of course nonsense, taken by itself and
without the mental reservation of—
Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit [utile dulci].
Two specimens from the Chinese will probably suffice.
Let us begin with the every-day book phrase, 'He was
no doubts old '—meaningless of course to the European
reader, but simple enough to any one who recollects
that in the Lun Yü or Discourses, Confucius says:-
At fifteen, I was bent on learning.
At thirty, I was fixed [in that determination].
At forty, I had no doubts, etc.
And thus 'no doubts' has come to be elegantly substi-
tuted for the coarser expression 'forty years.'
The next example is more recondite, and would be a
fair puzzle to any native scholar :-'They began to moon
270
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
first every one they met.' Now the Chinese is a lunar
year of twelve months, with an intercalary month in
every third year, and there is but one term in the
language for both. Thus 'moon first' means first of
the moon or month. So much for the mere words,
which would avail us little did we not know that in the
biography of a certain well-known scholar it is related
how he and his brother, also a man of high literary
repute, were in the habit of going out on the first day of
each month and quizzing the people they saw passing
and repassing on their way to and from the temples.
Hence 'to moon first' has come to be regarded as a
synonym of 'to quiz.'
B. Figures of Speech.-Metaphor, metonymy, cata-
chresis, irony, and all kinds of tropes are extensively
used in every branch of Chinese literature, always
excepting the business and official styles, in which,
however, such metaphors as may have become part of
the colloquial language do occasionally appear. As I
have already observed, the test of a well-written despatch
is the ready comprehension of it by the person to whom
it is addressed; whereas an elegant obscurity, arising
from an extended use of allusions and figures of speech,
is the sole end and aim of the Chinese poet or prose
writer. Take, for instance, the word pai, 'white.' A
'white business' signifies a death or funeral, that being
the colour of Chinese mourning garments, just as a 'red
business' stands for a wedding, red being the emblem of
joy, the colour of the bride's dress, her bridal palanquin,
etc.
Again, a 'white man' or a 'white-clothes man' is a
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
271
person who has no official status-one of the people, in
fact-and who has therefore no right to wear the button
and splendid robes of a mandarin. Similarly, a private
family is often spoken of as a 'white house.' 'White
characters' are Chinese symbols wrongly written for
others of precisely the same sound but of a different
meaning; just as if a bad speller of English were to put
'the air of all the ages' or 'the misletoe bow.' 'White
language' is a term applied to the local dialects of
China, a great portion of each existing only in a
colloquial form and having no corresponding characters.
To look at a person with 'white eyes' is to slight or
disregard him; in other words, it is to look at him with
the whites and not with the pupils. In the Life of Yüan
Chi we read that on the occasion of his mother's death
two brothers, acquaintances of his, came to condole
with him. The first arrived empty-handed, and was
coldly received with the 'whites;' while his younger
brother, who had brought with him the usual present,
was gratified by a sight of Yüan Chi's 'pupils.' To
continue, 'to fly white' is to skip a page in reading; 'to
eat white' is to batten at somebody else's expense; and
'to take trouble whitely' is equivalent to labouring in
vain. 'White sun' and 'white heaven' signify in broad
daylight; 'the great white' is Venus; and white preceded
by a number generally stands for so many years; e.g.,
'five whites' five years, from the annual occurrence
of snow. I have said generally, having once met the
phrase 'three whites' used for three bumpers of wine,
though without any accompanying explanation.
=
Г
And
272
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
so I might go on giving many other instances of the
figurative usage of the single word 'white;' but I
shall probably have done enough if I add it frequently
appears used as a verb, meaning 'to state,' 'to speak,'
the idea involved being the same as that in our own
phrase 'to make clear.'
I will now place before my readers an imaginary
Chinese letter of the complimentary order, upon the
mere substance of which it will not be necessary to
dwell, my sole object being that of introducing a few
common figures of speech, such as might be met with in
any composition of the kind.
FROM A FRIEND TO A FRIEND.
Throughout our long separation, anxiety for your welfare has
never ceased to hang around your servant's heart. He thirsts very
much to see you again; and now, learning from your jewelled
tablet that your chariot has returned to its palatial mansion, he
would implore you ten thousand not to be sparing of your jade, but
to let your brightness descend upon his rush hut, that you and he may
once more talk with fingers beneath the Silver River. Alas! your
unworthy menial is drawing near the wood. His hand-the-clothes
and his little dog have already prepared for him the planks and
robes of old age, and he will shortly be wandering upon the Terrace
of Night. He therefore prays you to speedily illuminate his humble
.abode, and remove the reproach of the autumn fan.
The 'jewelled tablet' is of course the letter previously
received by the writer from his friend, and is only one
among a host of similar metaphors applied in the same
The 'chariot' is the friend himself, and his
'palatial mansion' might very possibly be nothing more
than a 'two-pair back,' or rather the equivalent of some
sense.
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
273
such humble lodging, as Chinese houses rarely rise more
than one storey above the ground.* 'Ten thousand' is
merely an intensive, answering to 'on no account;' but
'to spare jade' is an ellipsis for 'to spare one's jade
footsteps,' the complimentary word 'jade,' or a similar
term, being invariably inserted when writing or speaking
of anybody else's belongings. Thus, a person's wife is
'the precious lady,' his father 'the honoured venerable,'
his son the honoured gentleman,' his daughter 'the
honoured loved one,' often 'the honoured ten thousand
[ounces of] gold,' as indicative of her great value; and
even if a man has the stomach-ache, it is absolutely
necessary to speak of it to him as his 'worshipful
complaint.' I may here mention, en passant, that a
common nickname for one's own daughter, or girls in
general, is 'lose-money goods,' from the fact that at
daughter always carries money in the shape of a dowry
from her own to a stranger's family; this process being
of course reversed in the case of sons. But to proceed.
It is impossible, according to all laws of epistolary and
conversational etiquette in China, to address any one
but an inferior in the second person. I have put 'your
brightness' for the sake of making it clear to the reader
that the meaning is 'you;' the original would contain
but the single word 'brightness.' The 'rush hut' is of
course antithetical to the 'palatial mansion;' to 'talk
* In Peking, care is taken that no one builds his house higher
than his neighbour's, lest he should be spying into the adjoining
courtyards or small gardens in which the ladies of each family are
wont to sit on summer afternoons, sometimes very lightly clad.
T
274
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
with fingers' is an elegant expression for 'playing at
chess;' and the 'Silver River' is better known to
Europeans as the 'Milky Way.' 'Unworthy menial'
stands for the pronoun 'I'; and to 'draw near the
wood' is but another form of our own 'one foot in
the grave,' the term 'wood' being used by metonymy
for the coffin. This last exquisite figure originated with
the philosopher Tso, who wrote the celebrated com-
mentary (Tso Chuan) on Confucius' great work, Spring
and Autumn :-'She is twenty-three and I am twenty-
five; and marrying thus, we shall draw near the wood
together.' A 'hand-the-clothes,' sometimes a 'hand-the-
towel-and-comb,' is a common book term for a wife,
from her supposed duties as femme de chambre to her
husband; its use, however, is illustrative rather of a
theory than of any system actually in practice among
the Chinese. So 'little dog' is said depreciatingly of
one's own son; and 'the planks and robes of old age'
are the boards* and grave-clothes that will moulder
with the body to dust in its last resting-place, 'the
Terrace of an eternal Night.' Death has comparatively
few terrors for the peaceable, law-abiding Chinaman
who is conscious of no neglect of his country's gods;
but it is none the less a hateful contingency, in that
he is thereby deprived of the light of day, the oft-
* The Chinese make beautiful coffins; and as the dead body is
kept in the house for many days after death, until an auspicious
hour for interment has arrived, it is necessary above all things that
the coffin should be air-tight. This is tested by occasionally passing
round a lighted candle, close to the seams.
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
275
recurring pleasures of the rice-bowl, and the sound of
his children's voices. Therefore he veils every allusion
to the inevitable hour with some graceful metaphor,
investing the circumstances of dissolution with a desir-
ableness not their own. Everything connected with
the grave is spoken of as part of an imaginary 'old age,'
which two words may be seen conspicuous in the shop-
sign of every Chinese undertaker. But though an elderly
gentleman views with satisfaction the present of a nice
comfortable coffin for himself, or cheerfully accompanies
a dutiful son to look at the spot where his own bones
will some day repose, yet in conversation he refrains as
much as possible from any direct or indirect mention
of the great catastrophe.
There remains only the autumn fan,' which here
stands for any apparent neglect of the writer by his
friend, but is a figure of speech usually applied to a
deserted wife, who is cast aside, like the fan, when her
summer of life is over. * A propos of which I venture
to add the nobler Chinese saying that 'the bran wife
should not go down from the hall '-i.e., the wife who
has shared the poverty-stricken days of bran food should
not be discarded in the hour of prosperity and wealth.
And so I might go on with almost endless instances of
quaint metaphors and grotesque images, such as occur
at every step in the book language of China. I will
conclude, however, with two curious figures, the latter
of which has been, and still remains, an example of
* For fuller details see p. 313.
T 2
276
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
how readily mistakes may be made in the interpretation
of Chinese, while the first one is cited in illustration
of the advantage at which the native stands as compared
with the most painstaking European student.
(1). 'He was absent about half a blow' is a very
common book phrase, but not, as a rule, compre-
hensible at first sight to the foreigner, albeit he sees
from the character employed that blow is the blowing
of the wind. There is an even commoner expression,
namely, 'half a meal-time,' which of course needs
no explanation; and the two are nearly synonymous.
'Half a blow' means half the time it takes to blow
the fire while cooking a meal, one of the functions
of the Chinese cook or his mate being to fan the
glowing charcoal over which the pot or frying-pan is
placed.
(2). The second phrase is 'to swallow gold,' which
has for many years been accepted without cavil in its
literal sense even by such otherwise accurate writers as
Williams and Doolittle, and is still generally regarded
as a peculiarly Chinese method of committing suicide.
To such an extent does this belief prevail, that a medical
man now practising in China has recently put forth a
grave dissertation on the consequences of swallowing
this metal, which he thinks must be taken in the form
of gold leaf; and he has gone so far as to offer his
opinion as to the best remedy to be adopted, the same
being 'the continuous exhibition of alkalies with demul-
cent drinks and emetics.' Now, 'to swallow gold'
is simply a metaphorical expression for taking poison,
THE BOOK LANGUAGE OF CHINA.
277
especially of any such act performed by a mandarin
under Imperial orders as punishment for unsuccessful
military service or some failure of the kind. The
revolting necessity was accordingly thus veiled; and
so skilfully, that not only Europeans, for whom there
is every excuse, but many well-educated Chinese,
have come to believe that the phrase is actually
based on the positive possibility of poisoning oneself
with gold.
278
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
A CREMATION IN CHINA.*
IN the great city of Canton are many and extensive
places of worship dedicated to the religion of Buddha,
the world-honoured one; but none more worthy a visit
than the 'Ocean Banner' monastery, which stands hard
by on the little island of Honam, its portals laved by the
muddy waters of the Pearl river. At no great distance,
on the opposite bank, once stood the celebrated foreign
'factories,' * where the pioneers of European commerce
dragged out so many weary hours of ennui and danger,
to be rewarded in most cases with those ample fortunes
which are even now inseparably connected with the
name of a China merchant. All this has of late years
undergone a change. On the Canton side of the river,
in close communication with the teeming suburbs of the
city itself, has been formed, upon what was not long ago
only a mud-bank, a beautiful park-like settlement, with
handsome European houses scattered here and there
among the trees, a public garden, a church, a club, a
theatre, a racquet-court, a lawn-tennis and croquet-
ground, and other striking proofs of an advanced.
* Reprinted from the Cornhill, by permission of the Editor.
+ So called from their being the residence of factors, or agents of
the East India Company.
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
279
civilisation. Residents who tire of the endless monotony
of each other's faces, stroll away unmolested into the crush
and bustle of the native town, where a new phase of
humanity presents itself at every turn to the eye of the
observing student. If they only conduct themselves
there with becoming propriety, resisting impulses to kick
each 'dirty coolie' out of their path, and attempting to
fall in with rather than ignore the exigencies of Chinese
street etiquette, they may wander from morn to dewy eve
far into the labyrinth of lanes of which this city is
composed, without the risk of even a bad word being
hurled at their unoffending heads.
We landed, on the afternoon of the 27th January last,
at the jetty of the Ocean Banner monastery; and, passing
through the entrance gate, proceeded up a broad granite
pathway, shaded on both sides with trees. Vice-Admiral
Hillyar, C.B., and several of his staff were availing
themselves of the opportunity of visiting this temple;
in consequence of which we were soon surrounded by an
unusually large crowd of excited children, all anxious to
have a good stare at the red-haired barbarian. The
promise of a cumshaw* readily enlisted two of the most
turbulent youngsters into our own service, and by their
aid we were enabled to advance with more rapidity than
we could otherwise have done. In a few moments we had
reached a kind of open gateway or porch, within which
were two enormous figures, one on each side, the door-
keepers of the place. The figure on the right wore a
* The Anglo-Chinese equivalent of 'baksheesh,' being a cor-
ruption of two Chinese words meaning 'grateful thanks.'
280
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
benignant smile of welcome, while his colleague opposite
looked scowlingly down on us, as if to warn us against
misbehaviour of any kind within the sacred precincts.
"No smoking" was placarded close by in large charac-
ters; also a prohibition against eating ground-nuts, but
neither seemed to be heeded by the people, nay, several
of the priests themselves were very willing to accept a
proffered cigar. A little farther on was another and
a larger gateway, containing images of the four heavenly
kings, whose duty it is to guard the world from the
attacks of Titanic demons known as Asuras. Their
faces are coloured green, red, white, and black respec-
tively; and over their huge legs and bodies are pasted
little strips of red paper, recording the names of little
children confided by their anxious mothers to the protec-
tion of these deities. Beyond this gateway stands the
first great sanctum, containing colossal images of the so-
called past, present, and future Buddhast-the Buddhist
Trinity. A priest, dressed in a light drab robe folded
across his breast in the form of a cross, dirty and
degraded-looking as usual, half-opened one of the side
doors, and in we pressed as hurriedly as we could, the
priest slamming the door in the face of the crowd
outside, minus the few more nimble than the rest who
had managed to squeeze in with us. On each side of
the Three Precious Ones were ranged smaller images of
the eighteen Lo-han,‡ or chosen disciples of Shâkyamuni
* The Tchaturmahârâdjas.
+ Shakyamuni, Avalôkitês 'vara (or Kwan-yin), and Mâitrêya.
Same as Arhân
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
281
Buddha; long scrolls of ornamental design, inscribed
with the formula Namah Amitâbha,* hung from the roof
in all directions, the gifts of wealthy suppliants whose
prayers had been heard; and in one corner was a mag-
nificent bell, some two hundred years old, which is
struck morning and evening one hundred and eight
times with a kind of battering-ram suspended at its side.
A ten-cent piece amply satisfied the priests in charge of
this hall, and we passed on without delay to the second,
in which stood a splendid marble dagoba, said to have
been hewn from a single block, and covering as usual some
precious relic of Buddha. At each of the four sides
stands a wooden table covered with flowers, candles,
incense, etc., the instrumental parts of the Buddhist as
well as of the Roman Catholic religion. On one ledge
of the dagoba itself was placed a bowl of water, the
emblem of purity as set forth in the life and teachings of
Buddha, but in no way corresponding, as has sometimes
been stated, to the eau bénite of the Romish Church.
Behind this, again, is the hall of Kuan-yin, the Chinese
Goddess of Mercy, and the Avalôkitês'vara of Indian
Buddhism. We take a hasty glance at the 'sacred' pigs
and cocks which are kept in the monastery in illustration
of the great Buddhist commandment, 'Thou shalt not
take life,' and prepare to examine into the more inte-
resting details of the Buddhist cloister, inserting by way of
preface a few desultory remarks on the social status of
the monks themselves.
The ranks of the Buddhist priesthood in China are
* Our humble trust is in Amida Buddha.'
282
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
generally recruited by children, purchased either from
their parents or from kidnappers. It is only in times
of great distress that the poorer Chinese will sell even
their daughters, still less the valued son on whom may
possibly devolve the paramount duty of conducting the
ancestral worship; kidnapping, however, is by no means.
an uncommon crime, albeit the punishment on detection
is a speedy and ignominious death. Occasionally, parents
dedicate a child to Buddha, perhaps in fulfilment of a
vow; and the victim is there and then formally made
over to the Church, by deeds signed, sealed, and
delivered. From this step there is no withdrawal. The
child's head is completely shaved; he is made to live on
a vegetable diet and forego the use of wine. He is taught
to chant the Buddhist liturgies, without understanding a
word of them; and after a required novitiate, proves his
constancy to the faith by standing unmoved while
several pastilles burn down into his scalp, leaving the
ineradicable scars which testify to the fact that he has
put away for ever the things of this world and has been
regularly ordained as a priest. He has now 'left his
home'* in good earnest, and all that remains to him in
this world is a life of celibacy and dull routine.
resume criminals fleeing from justice not unfrequently
seek refuge in a religious life, submitting to the branding
of their heads and the subsequent discomforts of cloister
existence rather than fall into the merciless meshes of
Chinese law.† Sometimes, too, unsuccessful mandarins
To
* The Chinese equivalent of our 'gone into the Church.'
† A very amusing story of this kind is told in one of the early
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
283
throw themselves into a monastery and take the vows,
driven to such a step by dread of the Imperial frown. It
is said that the foolish official who during the war of
1841-42, laid at the foot of the Throne his discovery of
the secret of foreign steamers, and forthwith produced a
vessel with two huge paddle-wheels to be turned by
coolies inside, is even now languishing in one of the
numerous monasteries on the celebrated Lo-fou hill in
the province of Kuang-tung, whither he retired after the
failure of his scheme, covered with ignominy and
shame.* From such sources as these come the priests
of Buddhism in China, renouncing all ties of home and
kindred for a life of celibacy, fasting, and prayer, its
monotony occasionally broken by some violent act of self-
sacrifice with a view to obtaining alms, such as sitting in
a box studded on the inside with nails and only pulling
one out each time a charitable passer-by sees fit to shorten
the penance by handing in a contribution to the
funds of the house. Besides the regular masses in their
own temple, the priests attend at people's houses to read
a service over the dead. Taoism divides with Buddhism
the patronage of the illiterate: some send for Taoist
chapters of the well-known Shui-hu. The criminal in question
gets horribly drunk and beats his brother priests right and left,
etc., etc.
* It may be interesting to some of our readers to learn that at
this very moment there is a line of passenger-boats running between
Canton and a town some ten or fifteen miles off, which are pro-
pelled by side-wheels turned by about twenty coolies, who work
exactly as if they were on the treadmill. These boats may fre-
quently be seen passing up and down the river, and make very good
way even against the tide.
284
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
priests, some for Buddhist; many make doubly sure by
calling in the aid of both. In every monastery there are
several who smoke opium; a few are sincere; all are
dirty and brutish-looking to the last degree. The people
tell sad stories of their oft-broken vows and generally
irreligious demeanour-a portion of which must be set
down to the scandal that usually gathers round a class
professing to be better than the world in general, but
much of which has indubitably a foundation of truth.
In any case the reputation of the Buddhist priest is a by-
word among the Chinese, whose superstitious nature
forbids them at the same time to dispense altogether
with the services of these despised creatures, who are not
classified as ordinary men. They have no home, no
country, no ancestors, no posterity. They have not even
a name; only a monastic appellation, by which they are
distinguished one from another.
We had now arrived at the refectory, where the
priests take their daily meals of vegetables and rice,
lenten fare being their only portion from one year's end
to another. 'No wine or meat may enter here,' says a
placard at the gate of the temple; and whatever may be
the forbidden dainties in which the brothers indulge
beyond the limits of the cloister or in their own private
apartments, it is quite certain that here before the eyes
of the public the commandments of Buddha are in no
way infringed. The refectory is a large airy room open
at one end, with a railing across to keep out strangers.
At the opposite end is a small table for the abbot, so to
speak, raised on a daïs about a foot high, from which
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
285
position he can see the faces of all the priests as they sit
on one side only of the long narrow tables ranged on the
right and left of the hall. The latter are not supposed
to talk during meals ;* they are expected to act in
accordance with a couplet, one among several which we
copied down from the pillars on which they hung:-
Reverence the statutes of purification (by fasting):
Pay strict attention to the rules of decorum.
In unoccupied moments they should meditate upon
some passage from the sûtras, such as may be seen in
large characters hanging from every wall. In one corner
there is a table laid for mendicant or travelling priests,
any of whom are entitled to three days' entertainment,
provided they can show their diploma of ordination,
sealed by the proper authorities. Just outside the
refectory railings is a peg in the wall, and over it the
inscription 'Lost Property.' On this each member of the
fraternity is supposed to hang anything he may find lying
about, part of a priest's dress, or any of the various
implements used in their religious ceremonies. We now
inspected the abbot's quarters and the loathsome dens
which serve as sleeping apartments for the monks; and
we were then shown into a section of the monastery con-
nected more closely with the subject of the present
* 'When they enter the refectory their demeanour is grave and
orderly: they sit down in regular order; they all keep silence; they
make no noise with their bowls, etc.; and when the attendants
serve more food they do not call out to each other, but make signs
with their hands.'—Record of the Buddhistic Kingdoms, ch. iii.
[By the present writer.]
286
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
paper. It is known as the 'Abode of a Long Old Age,'
and consists of a suite of rooms specially set apart for
aged or infirm priests, or such as are stricken with any
mortal disease. We entered in by the 'front' gate, or Gate
of Life, as opposed to the 'back' gate, or Gate of Death,
which last is opened only on the occasion of a priest's
demise, for this exit of his dead body. In the middle of
the building is a small chapel, dedicated to the God of
Medicine, and from a scroll overhead we learnt that this
was the 'Hall of the Centenarian's Repose.' Around
were the usual narrow bedchambers of the priests, and at
one side was a small cooking-range for the preparation of
their food. Three old brothers were living in this dismal
place, quietly awaiting the hour of translation to a higher
state. They detest, naturally enough, an enforced resi-
dence in this 'Abode of a Long Old Age;' when once the
abbot's fiat has been pronounced, however, there is
nothing left for them but to obey. We now passed
across to a room situated opposite to the gates of life
and death, where we were to view the large wooden
boxes containing wooden chairs in which dead priests are
placed on the day of their death, previous to the final act
of cremation; and we were just about to raise the vertical
slide of one of these, when the conducting priest seized
us by the sleeve and whispered hurriedly, "St! St! there's
one inside!" And immediately we saw, what we might
have noticed before, that a narrow strip of yellow paper,
bearing certain characters upon its face, was pasted on
the slide of the box, and that a table was arranged in
front with several plates of food, etc., and a taper burning
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
287
at the side. On asking particulars from our friendly
guide, we learnt that the dead man had passed away
in the night, and that he was to be cremated at eight
o'clock on the following morning. An offer of two ten-
cent pieces induced our informant to raise the vertical
slide; and on looking in, we beheld an old man sitting
bolt upright and dressed in the usual priestly garb, his
hands folded before him in prayer, and his head thrown
slightly back, as if he had fallen asleep. Only by the
hue on his face could we have told that he was really
dead. Before him, fixed in the framework of the chair
itself, was a short upright piece of wood with a crescent-
shaped top, intended to serve as a rest for the chin in
case his head should fall forward. What we had seen
suggested a project we determined to carry out; we
moved away at once, not wishing to give the impression
that we proposed to be present at the ceremony of the
morrow, lest the priests should take alarm at the prospect
of having foreigners among their spectators and so hurry
the performance over before our arrival. We did not
even stay to copy the inscription on the coffin, but
strolled away through the monastery grounds in an uncon-
cerned manner.
We got up next morning in the cold, grey dawn of a
January day, and after an early breakfast rowed quietly
down to the jetty of the Ocean Banner monastery. To
our great satisfaction but few children were about, and
we passed quickly and noiselessly through the dark clois-
ters, until we reached the 'Abode of a Long Old Age,'
arriving there about a quarter of an hour before the
288
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
appointed time. And now we had ample leisure to
make a further inspection of the coffin and its occupant,
a liberty resolutely opposed by a priest we found in
attendance. He said that the last mass had been
chanted for his dead brother's soul, and that no man
might look on his face again unless through the flames
which were to waft him into Nirvâna. We contented
ourselves, therefore, by noting down that above the box
and altar were two Chinese characters, signifying that the
priest within was on his return journey to the west, to
the land of Buddha; in other words, that he was dead.
On each side hung a scroll, on which were written the
following words:-
(1). Though the Trikâya* be absolutely complete,
the limit is not yet found.'
(2). 'It is the maturity of the Skandhaf which alone
can give perfection.'
The yellow strip of paper pasted on to the vertical
slide above mentioned bore this inscription:-'The
throne of intelligence of the contemplative philosopher,
* The three bodies-namely, Dharmakaya, or the spiritual body,
which is permanent and indestructible; Sambhogakâya, or the form
which belongs to every Buddha as a reward for his merits, and is in
due accordance therewith; and Nirmânakâya, or a body which has
the power of assuming any shape for the purpose of propagating
the doctrines of Buddhism.-EITEL'S Handbook of Buddhism.
+ Five attributes of every human being-namely, form, per-
ception, consciousness, action, and knowledge. 'The union of
these five attributes, which are considered as abstract qualities,
and yet as forming the real constituents of every personality, dates
from the moment of birth. Their full maturity brings on death.'-
DR. E. J. EITel.
‡ Bôdhi.
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
289
the Bôdhisatva,* the worthy Bikshu† 'United Wisdom,'‡
now passed away." While thus engaged we heard the
harsh tones of the 'wooden fish,'§ beaten to summon
the priests to their morning meal, and about a quarter
of an hour afterwards they begun one by one to drop
in, each with his kâchaya or coloured stole hanging
in readiness over one arm. Then ensued a series of
prostrations on the circular rush mat placed in front of
the altar and coffin; and every now and again some
friendly hand would renovate the wick of the flickering
lamp, that the spirit of the dead man might the better
see to eat the food there laid out to comfort its hungry
stomach. But these were merely private manifestations
of feeling, and had nothing to do with the real ceremony
of the day; and while not thus engaged, the priests, now
collecting in large numbers, examined as usual the tex-
ture of our clothes, and asked a few of the well-known
questions. One of them had only recently returned from
a visit to Lhassa, the capital of Tibet, and the stronghold
of that form of the Buddhist religion known as Lamaism.
He said the Lamas had no wish to see foreigners there,
and advised us strongly not to go, adding that there was
no such trade as we had at Canton to attract us thither.
Just at that moment it was announced that the abbot
was coming; and immediately all the priests put on their
* A being that has only once more to pass through human exis
tence before it attains to Buddhaship.
+ A priest or follower of Shâkyamuni.
The dead man's 'monastic appellation' mentioned above.
§ A piece of wood carved in the shape of a large-headed fish
with a very wide mouth. See p. 93.
U
290
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
stoles, and arranged themselves decorously in two long
rows, beginning from close alongside the coffin itself. In
a few minutes the abbot was passing slowly between their
ranks, his string of 108 beads* in one hand, and in the
other a small gong fixed into a framework of wood,
having a clapper so attached that every turn of the hand
produces a sound. He stopped in front of the altar and
coffin, and there prostrated himself thrice, each time
knocking his head upon the ground thrice, that being the
number of obeisances performed before the Emperor of
China, in the presence of death, and on other special
occasions. He then rose, and at a given signal the
whole body of priests broke forth into a chant or into-
nation of that portion of the Buddhist liturgy set apart as
the service for the dead, the abbot himself adding to the
general effect by a stroke every now and then upon his
little hand-gong. When this was over two little ragged
boys were chosen from among the now fast-increasing
crowd, to each of whom was confided a streaming banner
attached to the top of a light rod, ornamented with a
blue and white spiral from top to bottom. Both banners
bore the same legend :-'Our humble trust is in Amida
Buddha, our guide.' These two boys were told off to
head the procession; and then four priests, whose special
duty it is, seized the box which held the dead man and
bound it to a couple of stout bamboo poles, by the aid of
which they carried it very comfortably and gently between
them, without any of the jogging so hateful to Chinese
*Said to refer to the 108 compartments of the phrabat, or
sacred footprint of Buddha.
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
291
sentiment. Following close upon the banners, the coffin-
bearers themselves were followed by all the priests,
walking two and two, and headed by the abbot, the
whole company chanting in admirable time the words.
Namah Amitabha—'We humbly trust in Amida Buddha.'
A scuffling troop of idlers and children brought up
our disorderly rear; and thus we passed along, before
the 'Gate of Death,' through which the body of the
priest had been carried two nights previously, and up the
Via Mortis, or 'Way of Death,' a small lane leading from
the old men's quarters to the cremation-ground of the
monastery, never used except upon such occasions as the
present. On our way through the garden in which this
lane terminated, we observed a black marble tablet
standing in a little kiosque by the side of the path. This
had been put up in memory of a white deer which had
been presented to the monastery by a former Prefect of
Canton, celebrated as being long a favourite with the son
of its old master, and because on the very day on which
the boy was subsequently cut off in the flower of his
youth the affectionate creature laid down its head and
died too-they said of a broken heart. We passed two
of the substantial stone mausoleums into which are
thrown, tied up in red bags, the collected ashes of cre-
mated priests; but these are no longer in use, each having
already received its full complement of 5,048 bags, and
the little square port-holes at the side have been bricked
up for the last time. Meanwhile, such remains of
charred bones as are now gathered together after every
cremation are reverently deposited in small urns and
U 2
292
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
piled in a temporary shed, with a slip of paper or memo-
randum attached to each, until sufficient money can be
scraped together for the building of a new mausoleum.
We had now arrived in front of the furnace, a low brick
building, quite open on one side, and with apertures in
two of the other three, for the purpose, we presume, of
creating a proper draught. Within was already prepared
a funeral pyre consisting of billets of thick wood, and on
the top of these the coffin was placed ready for the fire.
The priests ranged themselves in the form of a horse-shoe
before the opening of the furnace, and once more began
to chant some passage from their sacred books; and it
was not until some ten minutes had elapsed that a novice
lighted a long-handled torch and handed it respectfully
to the abbot. The latter then stepped forward to a
position immediately in front of the furnace, and there
he slowly waved the torch several times round and round,
uttering at the same time an invocation to Buddha and all
the saints on behalf of the dead man's soul. While this
was going on, the novice had crept into the furnace; and
after gently raising the upper lid of the box, was busily
engaged in inserting therein pieces of wood, apparently
well oiled, together with other combustible material. By
the time the abbot had finished his prayer, everything
was in readiness; he then handed the torch back to the
novice, who forthwith placed it below the pyre, where oil
had evidently been poured over the dry twigs used for
lighting the fire. In a moment arose a blaze, and the
flames began almost instantaneously to roar fiercely up-
wards, devouring the thin planks of the box in which the
A CREMATION IN CHINA.
293
dead man was sitting. This was the signal for departure.
One by one the priests stole away, not caring to partici-
pate too closely in the last scene of all, until at length
only a few were left behind to collect with pious hands
the shê-li* of their departed brother. In less than two
hours the fire had burnt itself out. The earthly remains
of 'United Wisdom' were placed in the customary urn,
and deposited in the temporary mausoleum; while his
immortal soul had soared aloft to the promised land,
there to partake of the infinite beatitude of Nirvâna.
* The s'arira, or relics, of the body of any cremated saint.
294
ON CHINESE FANS.
ON CHINESE FANS.*
In China, just as the dragon is the symbol of power and
the national emblem of the Chinese people, so is the fan
the characteristic accompaniment to the every-day life of
the ordinary Chinaman. It is, therefore possible that a
few remarks from a purely Chinese standpoint may not be
wholly out of place. For even in these days of advanced
globe-trotting it is not every man's luck to get either to
Corinth or to Peking; and the topic is one, moreover, to
which the writer has personally devoted some attention.
In his Dictionary of the English Language, Dr. Latham
has ventured to define a fan as an 'instrument used
by ladies to move the air and cool themselves;' a
definition which is clearly bounded by the four walls of
a European ball-room. All over the Asiatic continent fans
are as much in use among men as among women; and
in China, to which the following paper will be confined,
a fan of some sort or other is part and parcel of every
man's summer equipment. The term 'fan' is expressed
in the Chinese language by the single and unchangeable
character, which in Mandarin is pronounced shan, the
a having almost exactly the value of the a in 'can't.' This
character is a compound of two others, namely ♬ hu
* Reprinted from Fraser, by permission of the Editor.
ON CHINESE FANS.
295
(or hoo), a door,' and yü, 'feathers.' These are
here written in the modern style, said to be a gradual
modification from the ancient hieroglyphs, under which
form this same hu is believed actually to stand for the
picture of one leaf of a door, and yü* for that of the
feathers or wings of a bird. From the conjunction of
these two hieroglyphs we obtain, not a third hieroglyph—
for no one pretends that any form of shan, ancient or
modern, in any way resembles a fan-but an ideographic
combination, analysis of which guides by association to
the sense. Feathers beneath a door, door standing by
synecdoche for a house: that which, made of feathers,
is used within doors: scilicet, a fan. Such is a fair
specimen of the process by which the ideographic nature
of modern Chinese writing is worked out. Whether
this process can or cannot be held to fulfil the conditions
of sound scientific investigation, and whether even the
hieroglyphic value attributed to the original elements of
such ideographs has or has not been seriously overrated
by philologists, these are open questions; at the same
time it is admitted on all sides that similar analyses,
wherever feasible, afford great assistance to the student,
and enable him to retain in the memory such a number
of complex characters as would be perfectly impossible
were each to be regarded as a tangled concourse of
strokes, brought together without rhyme or reason at the
sweet will of the Cadmus of China.
* Here used as a contraction of a more complex character.
+ It will be seen further on that fans are almost as much in requi-
sition out of doors as within the house.
296
ON CHINESE FANS.
Another, and in the written language, equally common
term for a fan, is sha (or shah),* compounded of the
same word yü, 'feathers,' placed above the character-
also an ideograph-which stands for a female com-
panion;' in other words, a woman fanning her lord,
such indeed being one of the daily duties of the
denizens of a Chinese harem. With regard to the
constant use of the word 'feathers' in these combi-
nations, it would appear from Chinese authorities that
wings of birds and leaves of trees dispute, if not
divide, the honour of having furnished the first fans
to mankind. But Chinese authorities are eminently
unreliable on most points, and the invention of the
fan has been variously attributed to different heroes.
of antiquity, according to the fancy of each particular
writer. For instance, the Yu-hsüo or Child's Guide
to Knowledge, tells us that to the Emperor Hsien
Yüan, who
who came to the throne B.C. 2697, we are
indebted for this boon to suffering humanity; while
the Kuang-shih-lei-fu, a well-known cyclopædia of anti-
theses, defers the invention to the reign of Wu-wang,
the first ruler of the Chow dynasty, or more than a
thousand years later. Other authorities declare for the
* With regard to the two words sha and shan, it is stated in the
Fang-yen, by Yang Hsiung, that the former is employed to the
east, the latter to the west, of the Shan-hai-Kuan, or point at which
the Great Wall of China abuts upon the sea coast, dividing Man-
churia from the eighteen provinces.
It should also be mentioned that there is another character, simi-
larly read sha, but differently written, which likewise means a fan.
The two are given in dictionaries as separate words, but it is not
improbable that they were originally the same.
ON CHINESE FANS.
297
Emperor Shun, B.C. 2255, with whose honoured name
tradition has lovingly coupled more than one similar
achievement designed to promote the welfare and happi-
ness of his children. Of the history of fans in China,
and their gradual development from the primitive bird's
wing or unelaborated leaf, there is positively nothing to
record, unless perhaps it be the publication by the
Emperor Ngan Ti, of the Chin dynasty (A.D. 405),* of
a strange enactment against the use of silk in the manu-
facture of these articles. It was apparently a mere
sumptuary law, having for its object the protection of
silk, the material which, according to a very ancient
belief still prevalent in China, can alone give warmth
to the aged. In one of his dissertations on political
economy, Mencius observed:† 'At fifty, without silk no
warmth; at seventy, without meat no satiety.' The sage
had been advocating a more extensive cultivation of the
mulberry tree, with a view to provide an adequate source
of food for the silkworm; and in the present instance
it is most probable that the Imperial edict was directed
against the indiscriminate waste of silk for purposes of
mere luxury; but like all similar enactments, this one fell
speedily into desuetude.
Almost every large city in China, and certainly every
important division of the empire, has its own charac-
teristic fan; or else there is something peculiar in the
* Here again authorities are at variance. Hsieh Ling-Yün credits
this enactment to the Emperor Hsiao Wu, of the same dynasty,
who reigned from A.D. 373-397. The date given in the text is
taken from the Kuang-shih-lei-fu.
+ Book VII.
298
ON CHINESE FANS.
make, colour, or ornamentation of the common 'folding'
fan as seen in that particular district, by which it may be
distinguished from its ubiquitous congener. For the
folding fan, as the Chinese call it, is the fan par
excellence; and all that ingenuity of design has hitherto
accomplished has not succeeded in displacing this con-
venient form from the affections of the people at large.
The large palm-leaf, with its strongly-bound edges and
natural handle, large quantities of which are exported
annually from Canton and elsewhere, may possibly be
the cheapest and most breeze-compelling of all kinds;
but it is not very portable, and cannot readily be stowed
away about the person, or stored so as to last into a
second summer. It finds favour in the eyes of tea-shop
and public eating-house keepers, and is always to be seen
in the guest chambers, whether of guilds, monasteries, or
private establishments. The folding fan, on the other
hand, occupies but little space; and, when not in use,
may be stuck in the high-boot of the full-dressed Chinese
gentleman, or at the back of the neck in the loose collar-
less jacket, which, with the addition of a curt caleçon,
constitutes the entire toilette of a Chinese coolie.
Besides, the folding fan opens into a tolerably smooth
surface, fairly well adapted for the painter's art; and
even the dirtiest specimen of Chinese vagabondage loves
to rest his eye upon some gaily painted flower or a spray
or two of the much-prized bamboo. Consequently, the
folding fan obtains all over the eighteen provinces of
China Proper, and beyond, far away across the Great
Wall, over the steppes of Mongolia and the mountains
ON CHINESE FANS.
299
of Tibet. Of the more elaborate kinds, produced at
Canton for export to Europe, with their exquisitely
carved or perforated ivory handles, etc., it will suffice
to say that such are quite unknown even in the highest
and wealthiest circles of Chinese society, the folding fan
being rarely the vehicle of extravagant expenditure in
this respect. It may be made, indeed, either of paper
or of silk; for handle, ivory or sandal-wood may be used;
but even then the general get-up is, as a rule, plain, while
for the common folding fan of the empire, bamboo is the
material most extensively employed, being at once the
cheapest and most durable of all woods. Pendents of
amber, jade, ivory, cornelian, and other substances, are
also affected by the more refined; and a fan case beauti-
fully embroidered in some quaint pattern, accompanied
perhaps by some appropriate classical allusion, is a very
ordinary birthday present from a sister to her brother, or
from a wife to her husband. The number of 'bones'*
or ribs to a folding fan is a matter which is by no means
left to chance. Sixteen, including the two outer pieces,
may be quoted as the standard; but fans made in certain
localities have more, as many as thirty-two, and some-
times even thirty-six. The reason why the number
sixteen is preferred is that such a fan opens into a
convenient number of spaces to receive the poetical
inscription which custom has almost, but not altogether,
tied down to a given number of lines.
Irregular inscriptions are, however, not uncommon.
* This again is a translation of the Chinese term.
300
ON CHINESE FANS.
The Hang-chow fan has a great many bones.
It is a
very strongly made article; and though only of paper,
prepared in some way with oil, may remain plunged in
water (it is said) for twenty-four hours without injury.
But this fan finds no favour with those who can afford to
pick and choose, and for a rather singular reason. Just
as with the Chinese white is the emblem of death and
mourning, so black is regarded as typical of moral
impurity, and black things are consequently avoided on
the strength of the proverb, 'Proximity to vermilion
makes a man red; to ink, black.' Now the Hang-chow
fan is, with the exception of a sprinkling of gold or silver
on the face, as black as it well could be; and it is there-
fore at a discount even among those by whom the most
trifling form of economy cannot be satisfactorily ignored.*
Chair coolies, everywhere a degraded class, invest their
money in these fans without hesitation, doubtless feeling
themselves beyond the reach of such influences as these.
Old men, too, may use black fans without scruple. Their
age is held to have placed them on a vantage ground in
this as in all other respects; for, as Confucius observed,
'That which is really white may be in the darkest dye
without being made black;'† and a man who has led for
years a spotless life is unlikely to be influenced for the
bad by mere contact with a fan. Black fans, with black
lacquer handles, are made in Canton for sale to the outer
* So punctilious, indeed, is a respectable Chinaman in the case of
mourning, that he will even abstain from chewing betel-nut, because
it would make his lips red, and red is emblematical of joy.
+ See the Lun-yü, Book XVII., ch. 7.
ON CHINESE FANS.
301
1
barbarian, the hated foreigner, whose moral obliquity is
regarded by the masses of China as more prononcé than
that of the lowest of their low.
etc.
Besides the large non-folding feather fan, generally
looked upon in Europe as a hand screen for the fire,
some beautiful specimens of the folding fan are also to
be seen in feathers, which show, on being opened, beau-
fully painted bouquets of flowers, butterflies, birds, etc.,
Kingfishers' feathers and beetles' wings are also
largely employed in the manufacture of fans and screens,
and tortoise-shell and jade are occasionally used in
elaborating the handles of the more expensive kinds.
White silk, stretched tightly over both sides of a narrow
frame-round, octagonal, sexagonal, or polygonal, as the
case may be forms what is considered in the higher
circles of Chinese society the ne plus ultra of elegance
and refinement; especially so when some charming study
in flower or landscape painting on the obverse is accom-
panied by a sparkling stanza on the reverse, signed by
the writer and addressed to the friend for whose delec-
tation it is intended. This is a very favourite present
among the Chinese; and as poets and painters are but
a small minority in China, as elsewhere, it follows that
any man who is sufficiently an artist to supply either the
verses or the design need never starve for want of
occupation. One of the highest officials and most
renowned calligraphists in the Chinese empire at the
present moment, when formerly a struggling student at
Foochow, eked out a scanty livelihood by writing in-
scriptions for fans in all kinds of styles, ancient and
302
ON CHINESE FANS.
modern, at about one shilling and eightpence per fan.
Outside his door was a notice calling the attention of the
public to the above fact, and the fancy name he gave to
his studio was 'Laugh, but Buy.'
I
That kind known as the 'Swatow' fan is for a non-
folding fan perhaps the most serviceable of all, as for
lightness and durability combined it is certainly without
a rival. It is formed from a piece of bamboo, about
1½ feet in length and half an inch in diameter, split
two-thirds of the way down into a number of slips, each
very thin and apparently fragile, while really possessed of
its full share of the strength and flexibility of the parent
stem. These slips are spread out in the same plane,
with their tips slightly bent over, somewhat like a
mustard-spoon; and then strong paper is pasted over
the whole as far down as the splits extend, the remaining
unsplit half serving as handle. This fan is said to
be actually made near Amoy, probably near Chang-chow,
and to be sent to Swatow only to be painted; but to
foreigners resident in China it is universally known as
the 'Swatow' fan. Of all fancy fans there is none so
curious as what is commonly termed the 'broken fan,'
which at first sight would appear to be a simple folding
fan, and on being opened from left to right as usual
discloses nothing to distinguish it from the most ordinary
kind. Opened, however, the reverse way, from right to
left, the whole fan seems to have fallen to pieces, each
bone, with the part attached to it, being separated from
all the others, as if the connecting strings were broken.
This arrangement is of course simple enough, but at first
ON CHINESE FANS.
303
sight the effect, as a trick, is remarkably good. From
the broken it is an easy transition to the secret or double-
entendre fan, which opened one way shows a flower or
similarly harmless design; the other, some ribald sketch
which with us would entail severe penalties on maker,
publisher, and all concerned. It is only fair, however,
to the administration of China to state that, theoretically
speaking, the same penalties would be incurred, though
practically they are seldom if ever enforced. In the
Peking form of this fan there are always two such
pictures to each. These are not seen when the fan is
opened out, and it will only open one way; but are
disclosed by turning back the two end ribs or 'bones.'
A far more creditable and more useful compagnon de
voyage is the map fan, which gives the plan of some such
great city as Peking or Canton, with the names of the
streets and public buildings marked in characters of
medium legibility. Sometimes whole districts are in-
cluded on the surface of a fan; and as the distances
from place to place are given with considerable accuracy,
travellers not unusually invest the small sums required
for the purchase of these topographical guides. So, too,
any great national event may be circulated over the
empire by means of fans, precisely as penny books of the
Lord Mayor's Show are still sold in Fleet Street on every
9th November. The Tientsin Massacre, for instance,
brought forth a hideous specimen, with horrid details
of the hacking to pieces of Roman Catholic priests and
sisters, the burning of the cathedral and of the French
Consulate, the murder of the French Consul and his
304
ON CHINESE FANS.
chancelier. The sale of these fans was almost imme-
diately prohibited by the Chinese authorities, and they
are now very rare.
Some 'fans' are not fans at all. The 'steel fan' is
simply a bar of metal, shaped and painted to resemble
an ordinary closed fan, and carried sometimes as a life-
preserver, sometimes by the swell mobsmen and rowdies
of China, to be used at close quarters with murderous
effect. Of the same species is the well-known' dagger
fan,' which consists of an elegant imitation in lacquer
of a common folding fan, but is really a sheath con-
taining within its fair exterior a deadly blade, short and
sharp, like a small Malay kris. This dagger fan was
invented by the Japanese, and its importation into China.
has always been strictly forbidden. Great numbers
have, however, been successfully introduced into Canton,
Foochow, and other large maritime cities, and they are
now even manufactured by the enterprising natives of
the first-mentioned port.
A curious specimen of the fan is produced in Formosa,
consisting of a thick pithy leaf, shaped like a cone with
the apex chopped off, and a short handle fitted to the
line of severance, and bearing upon its face a landscape
or group of figures burnt in with a hot iron. It was the
invention of a needy scholar of Taiwan Fu, the capital
city of Formosa, who being in distressed circumstances hit
upon the above novelty as a means of replenishing his
empty purse. The fan took immensely for a time, long
enough in fact to make the fortune of the inventor, who
for a considerable period was at his wits' end to meet the
ON CHINESE FANS.
305
demand. The rage for them has been now for some
time spent, and they are only made in small quantities,
for sale more as curiosities than anything else. For
there are fashions in fans as in other articles of human
luxury in China as elsewhere. Every year sees some
fresh variety, differing perhaps imperceptibly to the
European eye from the favourite of the preceding season,
but still sufficiently so to constitute a novelty-a new
fashion for the wealthy Chinese exquisite. A foreigner
may live for years amongst the Chinese and never notice
any change to relieve the monotony of their dress. Yet,
as a matter of fact, some variety, even of hat or shoes, is
introduced almost annually. The fashionable cap is
squarer or rounder at the top as the case may be; the
shoes more or less pointed, or ornamented after some
novel design. And so it is with fans, which are
made of different material and of different sizes for
different seasons of the year in proportion to the
quantity of breeze required. In the Miscellanies of the
Western Capital* we read:-'The fans of the Son of
Heaven are, for the summer, of feathers; for the winter,
of silk;' and in a poem by Ou-yang Hsiu occurs this
line:-
In the tenth moon the people of the capital turn to their
warm fans.
At the present day the distinction between warm and
cold fans can hardly be said to exist. Those for spring
* Ch'ang-an, now Hsi-an Fu, the capital of the province of
Shensi.
X
306
ON CHINESE FANS.
and autumn are smaller than those used in summer,
reminding one of the old Roman luxury of summer
and winter rings. It is also mauvais ton to be seen
with a fan too early or too late in the year. There
are indeed no days absolutely fixed for the beginning
and end of the fan season, as in the case of the summer
and winter hats worn by all employés of the Government,
and which are supposed to be changed simultaneously
all over the empire; but Chinese custom has made it
as ridiculous for a man to carry a fan before or after
a certain conventional date as it would be with us to
wear a white waistcoat in March or November.
During the summer months a bird's-eye view of China
would disclose a perfect flutter of fans from one confine
to the other. Punkahs are unknown to the Chinese,
except as an innovation of the foreigner; and it has
been necessary to coin a term expressly for them.
Occasionally they may be seen in the house of some
wealthy Chinese merchant-as, for instance, in the estab-
lishment of the celebrated Howqua family at Canton-
but even then they are regarded more as a curiosity
than as appliances of every-day use. On the other
hand, it can hardly be said that the idea of a general
fan or punkah has escaped the searching ingenuity of
the Chinese; for in the work last quoted we are informed
that 'under the Han dynasty [between sixteen hundred
and two thousand years ago] there lived at Ch'ang-an
a very skilful workman, named Ting Huan, who made.
a seven-wheel fan. This consisted of seven large wheels,
ten feet in diameter, joined together, the whole being
ON
307
ON CHINESE FANS.
turned by a single man, and keeping the place quite
cool during the summer months.' This description is
a trifle too meagre to enable us to state with certainty
the exact shape of the machine in question. The
paddle-wheel of a steamer seems to come the nearest
to it; and from the loftiness of Chinese halls and
reception rooms in general, both official and private,
no objection could be offered on the score of height.
Be this as it may, such a machine would at any rate
be free from what is in Chinese eyes the weak point
of a punkah, namely, its position with regard to the
person operated upon. A Chinaman fans his face, arms,
legs, chest, and even back, as he may feel disposed at
the moment; but he objects strongly to a draught of
air falling on the top of his head, and avoids it as
much as possible. At meals, during the very hot
weather, servants usually stand behind their masters and
slowly but steadily ply the large feather fan, originally
made from the feathers of a pheasant's tail, because
the Emperor Kao Tsung of the Yin* dynasty on one
occasion connected some fortunate event with the aus-
picious crowing of a pheasant. † Burden-carrying coolies
of the lowest stratum of Chinese society fan themselves
as they hurry along the streets weighed down by their
back-breaking loads. Little boys are engaged to fan
the workmen whose business is carried on in the hot
shops of a crowded Chinese city. The very soldiers in
* More commonly known as Wu Ting, B.C. 1324-1265.
This story is told by Ts'ui Pao in his Ku-chin-chu, or ‘Anti-
quarian Researches.'
X 2
308
ON CHINESE FANS.
the ranks fan themselves on parade; and among the
insignia carried in the procession of every mandarin
above a certain rank there is to be found a huge wooden
fan more resembling a banner than anything else. And
this brings us to a rather curious phrase of Chinese
etiquette. A Chinaman on horseback or in a sedan
chair, meeting an equal of his acquaintance on foot,
must forthwith dismount, be it only to make a passing
bow. It is a serious breach of politeness to remain
sitting while the person to whom you are addressing
yourself stands. And, similarly, two friends meeting in
chairs should, strictly speaking, both dismount to salute.
But to avoid the obvious inconvenience of perpetually
stopping and dismounting, in perhaps a crowded tho-
roughfare, at the appearance of every friend, it has
been arranged that the occupant, say of the chair, may
hold his fan up so as to screen his face from view,
and the two pass without further ceremony-as if, in
fact, they had never met. And such is the use to
which, apart from their emblematical signification, the
above-mentioned wooden fans would be put should the
almost impossible contingency arise of two mandarins
of equal rank meeting face to face in the street. The
servants of each would hasten to interpose these great
fans between the passing chairs of their respective
masters, who, by the aid of this pleasant fiction, would
be held not to have become aware of each other's
presence. A subordinate would turn up a side street
and yield the road to his superior officer.
Formerly there was a certain kind of fan specially
ON CHINESE FANS.
309
used as a screen to 'separate the sun, screen off the
wind, and obstruct the dust,' just as well-to-do Chinamen
now use the ordinary fan to save their half-shaven heads
from the scorching summer rays while they stroll along
or hurry by on business or pleasure bent. The common
coolie has his wide mushroom-shaped hat, and the
official rides in a sedan-chair with his red umbrella
carried like the wooden fan in procession before him;
but the middle-class Chinaman, who may be unwilling
to throw away money in chair hire, trusts to his fan
alone. As a matter of fact, from the narrowness of the
streets in most Chinese cities, and the matting with
which these streets are in many cases roofed over,
sufficient shade is afforded to enable persons to move
freely about without further defence against the sun;
and for a walk across country the inevitable umbrella
would of course be called into play-no longer, however,
the characteristic model of antiquity, with clumsy handle
and coarse oil-cloth top, but some cheap importation
in European style, the convenience of which in point
of portability has long since been recognised by the
Chinese. In such a city as Canton two open umbrellas
would more than fill the narrow roadway, and the
risk of constant collision would be great; consequently,
umbrellas are only to be seen on wet days, when the
ordinary crowd is at a minimum. Even in Peking,
where some of the streets are as wide as Regent
Street, the convenience of the fan recommends it
as a sunshade in preference to the more unwieldly
umbrella.
310
ON CHINESE FANS.
The fan plays no inconsiderable rôle in Chinese deco-
rative art. Besides being the vehicle of both poetry and
painting, it is itself often introduced into designs of all
kinds. Mullioned windows are not unusually made in
the shape of the top part of a folding fan spread out-
that is, the paper or silk part without the ribs; and the
full outline is often used to contain pictures or verses
painted or inscribed upon walls, as if an open fan had
simply been nailed over the spot. History indeed has
recorded the case of one painter, Wang Yüan-chün, who
so excelled in this particular line that people, like the
birds pecking at the grapes of Apelles, would often try to
take down and examine more closely some of these
beautiful specimens of wall painting, which appeared to
be really fans hung up by a thread or attached to a nail.
It has been mentioned above that, with the more refined
of the Chinese, fans, including both the 'screen' and the
'folding' varieties, are almost invariably painted on one
side and left blank on the other for the insertion of
some appropriate verses, which may be either original or
borrowed; from which it will be seen that fans occupy
to some extent in China the position of albums with us.
To give any idea of the quaint designs in figure and
landscape painting, the marvellous birds, beasts, and
insects-especially butterflies-which are to be found on
the more highly finished Chinese screens, is next to
impossible without reproducing the originals; but a few
words on the versification just alluded to, and on the fan
language in general, may not be uninteresting to some.
There is, however, in the long list of fan-painting
ON CHINESE FANS.
311
celebrities the name of one single artist, the nature of
whose works is expressed by a term with which they have
ever been associated in history. That term is '10,000 li,'
or a distance of over 3,000 English miles. The painter
in question was named Wang Fei; and the extent of a
landscape he was able to produce on the surface of a
mere ordinary fan was said to be limited only by the
hyperbolical range of 10,000 li
The fan is metaphorically known in the Chinese
language as the 'Phoenix Tail' or the 'Jay's Wing,'
terms which point to what were possibly the archetypes
of all fans-namely, the wings and tails of birds, from
which has been developed the modern feather fan. The
folding fan, by the way, is said by one authority* not to
be a Chinese invention at all, but to have been intro-
duced into China by the Coreans, who sent a quantity of
them to the Emperor Yung Lo of the Ming dynasty,
amongst the other articles offered as tribute by the vassal
State. The Emperor is further stated to have been so
pleased with the novelty that orders were issued for their
imitation by Chinese workmen. A fan is also alluded to
in figurative language as a 'strike the butterfly,' or a
'chase the flies,' as a 'like the moon,' or a 'call the
wind,' and as a 'screen the face,' a name which should
be taken in conjunction with the point of etiquette
previously mentioned. It is called a 'change the season,
from its power of cooling the person fanned. This
power has been enlarged upon in an ode to a fan, written
* The Ch'ien-ch'o-lei-shu, an encyclopædia published in 1632.
312
ON CHINESE FANS.
by a poet named Poh Chü-I,* of which the following are
specimen lines:-
With thee, hot suns shall strike in vain the snow;
By thy aid gentle gales perennial blow;
Thou mov'st an autumn breeze 'neath summer skies;
Cease, and the round moon in my bosom lies.
From the last line of this effusion, which, as a
translation, aims only at literal fidelity to the original,
it is clear that the particular kind of fan here alluded to
must be the round screen fan, which Chinese poets never
tire of comparing with the full moon, and which, when
not in use, is often laid 'in the bosom,' between the folds
of the flowing outer robe. As to inscriptions upon fans,
they vary with every variety of human thought and
feeling. The more usual kind treats in stilted language,
pregnant with classical quotation and obscure historical
allusion, of some one of the ever-changing aspects of
nature. Others, again, are didactic; and some are
literary tours de force, occasionally of a not very high.
order. The most celebrated of the latter class has been
acknowledged by universal consent to be a couplet
consisting of only eight characters, written at the eight
corners of an octagon fan belonging to the Emperor
Chien Wên, of the Liang dynasty,† and said to have
been the composition of the monarch himself. The
peculiarity of this couplet is that the reader may begin at
any one of the eight characters, and by reading round
the
way of the sun find a couplet of perfect sense and
* Flourished A.d. 772-846.
+ Reigned A.D. 550-551.
ON CHINESE FANS.
313
perfectly rhymed. Yet of all inscriptions on or about
fans in China, few are to be compared in point of pathos
and poetic vigour with a certain stanza penned many
centuries ago by a favourite of the Emperor Ch'êng Ti,
of the Han dynasty.* The lady in question, whose
name was Pan, had been for some time the confidante
of his Majesty, and the queen of the Imperial seraglio,
and appears to have believed that something more than
an ordinary attachment of the hour existed between
herself and the Son of Heaven. Gradually, however,
she began to find that her influence was on the wane,
and at length, unable to bear any longer her mortification
and grief, she forwarded to the Emperor a circular screen
fan, on one side of which was inscribed the following
lines :-
O fair white silk, fresh from the weaver's loom,
Clear as the frost, bright as the winter snow-
See, friendship fashions out of thee a fan;
Round as the round moon shines in heaven above;
At home, abroad, a close companion thou;
Stirring at every move the grateful gale.
And yet I fear, ah me! that autumn chills,
Cooling the dying summer's torrid rage,
Will see thee laid neglected on the shelf,
All thought of by-gone days, like them, by-gone.
Since the date of this poem, a deserted wife has
constantly been spoken of as an 'autumn fan.'†
* Reigned B.C. 32-6.
+ For another specimen see p. 320.
314
MESMERISM, PLANCHETTE, AND
MESMERISM, PLANCHETTE, AND
SPIRITUALISM IN CHINA.*
I. MESMERISM.
IN Vol. I., p. 265, of the celebrated Lettres édifiantes,
écrites des Missions étrangères, published in 1808, occurs
the passage of which the following is a translation :
People would have us believe that there is no science or art useful
to mankind which was not invented in China many centuries before
Europeans had even thought of it. It is, at any rate, easy to prove
that the discovery of animal magnetism belongs to the Chinese, and
that with them this art reaches back to a considerable antiquity,
and that even at the present day the Taoist bonzes† show them-
selves far superior therein to our Mesmer and other French
professors of magnetism, as well in theory as in practice.
It is not necessary here to dwell upon the now
exploded belief that all our great European inventions
and discoveries have been anticipated in China. Modern
investigation has systematically tended to prove that,
except in the matter of printing, China has no claim
whatever to the honours which have been gratuitously
*
Reprinted from Fraser, by permission of the Editor.
+ Priests of the religion of Tao, or, as it is sometimes called,
Rationalism, which was founded by Lao-tzu six centuries before the
Christian era, and still flourishes over the Chinese Empire, though
under a corrupted form. See pp. 14, 36.
The Chinese are said to have printed from wooden blocks as
early as A.D. 581, and from movable type in 1040. See p. 52.
SPIRITUALISM IN CHINA.
315
showered upon her. And even where she did anticipate
in discovery, she was speedily outstripped in practice;
and it has remained for foreigners of the present day to
exhibit to the Chinese beautiful and extensive founts of
Chinese characters, issued at a trifling cost when com-
pared with anything of the kind that they themselves
have been able to produce. The ordinary edition of the
Peking Gazette,* the official organ of a multitudinous,
multifarious empire, the integrality of which is cemented
by the common bond of a written language intelligible
to all alike,† is a dirty-looking little pamphlet, so ill
printed as to be in many places quite illegible.
But to resume: the worthy father above quoted goes
on to say (p. 266), 'What we call magnetism in France
is known as cong-fou in China;' or, as we should write it,
according to the most recent English orthography, kang-fu.
The first half of this term, kang-fu, occurs for the first time
in a work on alchemy which dates from the second cen-
tury of our era, and is there applied to the constellation
of the Great Bear; the latter half signifies (1) a bamboo
tally, and (2) a charm against evil spirits. The two
words taken together stand for a kind of religious
* Published daily. See p. 59.
+ Mencius observed that all the axle-trees of carts in China were
precisely of the same length, and that in all books the same
characters were used. Thus Chinese who speak different dialects,
amounting practically to totally distinct languages, and who are
mutually unintelligible by word of mouth, study the same books
and read the same novels. It is now only partially true that axle-
trees are of the same length. Varieties are to be found in certain
provinces, and carts arriving from distant parts are fitted with the
local regulation size as occasion may require.
316
MESMERISM, PLANCHETTE, AND
pathology, formerly much in vogue with the Chinese, and
adopted simultaneously with medical treatment, but now
for a long time prohibited by the authorities as a sham
and an outrage upon common sense, besides being cal-
culated to lead to very serious abuses. Consequently,
kang-fu is rarely practised at the present day, and then
only in secret; and books on the subject, once to be
picked up at any stall, are now extremely difficult to
procure.
To the priests of Tao, the religion of Pure Reason,
who dabbled under by-gone dynasties in alchemy and in
the science of attaining immortality, is due the discovery
of kang-fu and its application as a means of healing the
sick. All complaints are held to be equally amenable to
its power, though not all persons; professors of the art
stating plainly that kang-fu can exercise no influence
whatever over others than those who have faith. The
modus operandi is as follows:-A Taoist priest, known
for his skill in the art, is requested to attend at the
house of a sick person for the purpose of administering
kang-fu; and accordingly, after arranging what is to be
paid for his services and securing part of the sum in
advance, he proceeds to fit up within the patient's room
an altar for burning incense and joss-paper and for
worship generally. Muttered incantations follow, as the
priest walks slowly and with prescribed steps round and
round the room. By-and-by, he approaches the sick
man and partly raises him, or turns him on his back or
side, or lifts up a leg or an arm, or gently shampoos him,
the object being all the time to bring the sick man's
SPIRITUALISM IN CHINA.
317
When the priest thinks
mind into rapport with his own.
he has accomplished this, he commands the patient to
perspire or to become cool, or gives instructions for the
regulation of pulse and heart, in each case according to
what he conceives to be the exigencies of the disease.
The whole scene is rendered as impressive as possible by
silence, and by darkening the room, with the exception
of one oil-lamp by the light of which is dimly visible the
silhouette of the robed priest waving his large sleeves in
the air. The imaginative faculty of the sick man is thus
excited; and hence, perhaps, the reason why even in
these days of prohibition Chinamen may still be found
ready to declare that they (generally, however, their
friends or relatives) have derived undoubted benefits
from a well-timed administration of kang-fu. All my
own attempts to be present at such a scene have hitherto
proved unsuccessful; and the above account is gathered
chiefly from conversation, aided by a few stray hints
gleaned from Taoist pamphlets which contained allusions
to the subject. That something akin to mesmerism is
even now practised in China appears to be beyond all
doubt; but until closer investigation shall have shown.
what that is, the subject must remain, where I am now
compelled to leave it, in the category of things unknown.
II. PLANCHETTE.
Of Planchette, I have a more interesting tale to tell.
The Chinese word chi, of which 'Planchette' is a fair
translation, occurs in the Shuo Wên, which was published
in A.D. 100, and was the first lexicon systematically
318
MESMERISM, PLANCHETTE, AND
arranged according to certain elements common to cer-
tain groups of characters. It is there defined as 'to
inquire by divination upon uncertain matters.' This
might of course include other forms of divination; but
in the Liao-Chai-Chih-I, a well-known work completed
exactly two hundred years ago, and of which a trans-
lation is now in the hands of English readers,* there
are two stories which leave no doubt that at any rate
at that more recent date the term in question was
used precisely in the sense of our own 'Planchette.' It
has indeed been for some time known to residents in
and writers on China, that Planchette is commonly
practised in certain parts of the empire by the people
at large as a ready and efficacious means of inquiring
into the future on miscellaneous topics of immediate
importance to the inquirer, and by the cunning priests
who run the tables as a sure and certain method of
procuring a handsome addition to the annual income
of their temples. No one, however, appearing to have
made a personal investigation of the process,† I deter-
mined to make arrangements for being present myself
at a séance, simply with the view of discovering what there
was in the practice of this art powerful enough to induce
the thrifty Chinaman to part so easily with his hard-
earned strings of cash. For this purpose I had the
advantage of being stationed at Amoy, which, according
* Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio.
†The Rev. Mr. Doolittle has given a short account of Planchette
in his Social Life of the Chinese, with such inaccuracies of detail as
would be inseparable from any version founded on mere inquiry.
SPIRITUALISM IN CHINA.
319
to the Chinese, shares with Foochow the honour of
being the earliest and most prosperous home of Plan-
chette. I therefore arranged through the medium of a
friendly literate, that on a certain October afternoon I
was to visit both the principal temples in Amoy at which
such tables are to be found, first pledging my word that
I would neither laugh at anything I might see nor
commit any act likely to disturb the solemnity of the
proceedings. This promise it was indeed hardly neces-
sary to exact, for, to begin with, any disorderly behaviour
in a place of worship would have laid me open to the
pains and penalties enacted in Clause 100 of the Order
in Council of March 9, 1865, against British subjects
'guilty of publicly deriding, mocking, or insulting any
religion established or observed in China or in Japan, or
of publicly offering any insult to any religious service,
feast, or ceremony established or kept in any part of
China or in Japan, etc., etc.;' and, secondly, an un-
friendly demonstration on my part would have been at
once resisted by the priests, a row would have ensued,
and the mocking foreigner would have fared badly at
the hands of an excited Chinese mob. For in China
Planchette is carried on in the full light of day, just
within the entrance to the temple, at the foot of an
altar upon which is seated, amidst burning sticks of
incense and slender tallow candles, the God who presides
over the table. Immediately behind is another and a
larger altar, and thereon are ranged images of the
various deities whose worship is most affected in that
particular establishment.
320
MESMERISM, PLANCHETTE, AND
Accompanied by my friend, Mr. R. H. Pye, armed with
a pencil and a sketch-book, I was ushered on arrival at
the first temple into the guest-chamber, where we were to
await the return of one of the performers who, it was
averred, had gone out for a short time, but would soon be
back. The usual cup of fragrant yellow tea was served, but
as the guest-chamber soon became intolerably hot, we
strolled out among the rapidly increasing crowd to
examine the appointments of the temple. At the back
of the principal shrine were some half-dozen noisy
Chinamen sitting round a table playing the favourite
game of 'Promotion,'* the priests taking a small fee
for the use of the apparatus and for the tea supplied.
One of these gamblers kindly accommodated me with
a fan, upon the back of which was a rather curious
inscription in seven lines, of fifteen characters to each
line:-
Those who have not experienced the bitterness of war cannot
appreciate the happiness of peace;
Those who have not experienced the bitterness of desolation and
famine cannot appreciate the happiness of plenty ;
Those who have not experienced the bitterness of separation and
death cannot appreciate the happiness of reunion with
friends;
Those who have not experienced the bitterness of misfortune and
sorrow cannot appreciate the happiness of repose;
* Somewhat akin to our Race Game, in that the forward or back.
ward movements of each player depend upon throws with dice.
For the racecourse, however, the Chinese substitute their official
arena, in which the successful player advances rapidly to the post of
Secretary of State, while his less fortunate opponents lag behind in
subordinate positions, or are degraded to the lowest ranks in the
Chinese official scale.
SPIRITUALISM IN CHINA.
321
Those who have not experienced the bitterness of hunger and
cold cannot appreciate the happiness of repletion and
warmth;
Those who have not experienced the bitterness of disease and pain
cannot appreciate the happiness of health and strength;
Those who have not experienced the bitterness of dangers by
land and sea cannot appreciate the happiness of safety and
quiet.
Meanwhile, the heat grew absolutely stifling, while
the errant professor of Planchette showed no signs of
returning; and it soon became clear that the pro-
prietors of this table had not the remotest intention of
initiating us outer barbarians into the occult mysteries
of its operation. We therefore informed the priests
that we would call again, and forthwith directed the
steps of our chair-bearers towards the second temple,
where a similar table was to be found. Here again the
aspect of things seemed against us, for exactly in front
of the temple a large crowd had gathered to watch
an open-air theatrical performance that happened to
be going on. And in a moment the 'funny man' of
the piece was debiting his jokes to himself and his
brother actors, the crowd having faced round as one
man with a view of following us into the temple.
About one hundred and fifty or so got in before the
great gates could be closed, and there we were in a
more stifling atmosphere than ever, and so far without
having accomplished anything. This time we declined
both tea and guest-chamber, and sat down on a bench
drawn up to within a few feet of the Planchette table.
We began by inquiring if the séance could not be held
Y
322
MESMERISM, PLANCHETTE, AND
in a private room to avoid the pressure of the
crowd; but we were informed that to remove the table
from its divine surroundings would be tantamount to
depriving the performance of its very essence of
success. Then followed a long confabulation between
our guide and the priests, at which it was definitely
arranged that a séance should take place at once, on
condition that we engaged solemnly to take everything
with becoming gravity, and to subscribe to a fund for
certain repairs to the roof, through which, we were
told, the rain-drops now actually leaked on to the
sacred head of the Goddess of Mercy. And as an
earnest of good faith the priests requested that any
subject upon which we desired a spiritual communi-
cation should be written down on a slip of paper
and reverently laid at the feet of the God. There-
upon I advanced with due solemnity towards a small
writing-table at the side of the altar, and wrote down
in Chinese this sentence :—
A humble disciple ventures to inquire if he will win a stake in the
forthcoming Manila lottery.
Then, standing before the table, I raised the slip of
paper, as previously instructed, to my head, and finally
deposited it upon the altar directly in front of the image
of Na-ch'a,* after which I resumed my seat. Five to ten
* A member of the Chinese Pantheon held in high honour at
Amoy. He was born in a ball-shaped covering, which his father, a
high military official, clove in two with his sword; and being
subsequently deified, his name is now to be found in the 'List
of the Gods.'
SPIRITUALISM IN CHINA.
323
minutes now elapsed, and meanwhile the writing imple-
ment was placed upon the table. It consisted simply of
a gaily painted natural fork, cut from some slender willow
sapling-differing, however, from a simple fork in that
exactly at the point of bifurcation a short thick stump
projected at right angles to the plane of the two arms.
This stump was also part of the natural growth, rounded
off to a blunt point so as to form a kind of pencil. A
small packet of clean sand was next poured out in the
middle of the table, and the writing implement was so
arranged that its pencil-tip lay buried in the heap. The
crowd now parted, and three respectable-looking China-
men walked up towards the table, where they began by
making, each of them, several profound prostrations.
Two of them then grasped the arms of the writing imple-
ment, while the other took his seat at the secretary's desk
alongside. An attendant priest seized a bundle of gilt
joss-paper, and, casting a look round to see that all was
ready, plunged it into the flame of a lamp burning upon
the altar. Simultaneously the men who held the writing
implement began to work it so that the vertically placed
tip sped rapidly round and round in a circle of about a
foot in diameter, scattering the heap of sand from the
middle all over the table. This movement was con-
tinued for several minutes without intermission, the
priest who was burning the paper occasionally relieving
the monotony of the scene by holding a piece directly
over the Planchette or close under the nostrils of
Na-ch'a himself. No one uttered a word as the
implement went on spinning round and round, until at
Y 2
324
MESMERISM, PLANCHETTE, AND
length the two men who were driving the pencil
became suddenly possessed with the divine influence.
The circular movement was arrested; and the pencil,
without any apparent effort on the part of the per-
formers, who seemed to be in a kind of ecstasy, rapidly
traced a single Chinese word, upon the completion of
which inspiration ceased, and the writing implement
was whisked round and round as before. This word
was written in what is commonly termed the 'grass
character,' a cursive style of writing, in the execution of
which it is not necessary to take the pencil from
the surface employed. For in the ordinary style of
Chinese writing as many separate efforts of the hand
are required to form a single character as there are
strokes in that character; and the number of these
strokes ranges from a minimum of one to a maximum
of over fifty in a single word-the average number,
however, being from seven to nine. It was hardly
completed ere several of the bystanders had already
identified it, including the secretary himself, who pro-
ceeded to write the word down, while the writing
implement continued its course. Shortly afterwards
there was another pause; a second character was formed,
and then a third, and so on, the intervals between the for-
mation of each being not necessarily equidistant, but
depending entirely upon the inspiration accorded to the
performers. Thus the séance progressed, until at length
the secretary handed to me a perfect stanza of Chinese
verse in four columns of seven characters to each, with the
proper rhymes and tones-no easy task to accomplish--
SPIRITUALISM IN CHINA.
325
in the proper places. The following is a doggerel but
word-for-word rendering :-
The pulse of human nature throbs from England to Cathay,
And gambling mortals ever love to swell their gains by play;
For gold, in this vile world of ours, is everywhere a prize—
A thousand taels* shall meet the prayer that on this altar lies.
The
The explanation of this scene is simple enough.
query, placed before the performance at the feet of the
God, was secretly and rapidly communicated by an accom-
plice to the paid improvisatore employed by the priests,
themselves too illiterate for any such severe literary test.
Some five minutes or so were then consumed before an
actual start was made, and it was at least three or four
minutes after that before the first character appeared in
the sand. Still, keeping in mind the trammels of Chinese
prosody, the performance was a creditable one and quite
sufficient to impose on the gaping crowd around us.
Even when our response had been received in full, the
implement did not stop, but went on to respond to
another query which some one else had meanwhile taken
the opportunity to propose. We, however, did not deem
it worth while to wait for any further manifestations, but
departed, quite satisfied with the result of our visit. The
versified response to our query was clearly not a bogus
composition, as evidenced by the introduction of the
Chinese equivalent for England (viz., Ying), and its general
appositeness as a reply. It must have been prepared on
* A tael is one Chinese ounce weight (of silver), and as the prizes
of the Manila lottery are calculated in dollars, this may be con-
sidered as a slip on the part of the God.
326
MESMERISM, PLANCHETTE, AND
the spur of the moment, stans pede in uno, and recalled
the famous Chinese poet of old, who is said to have
composed an impromptu quatrain while taking seven
ordinary paces.
III. SPIRITUALISM.
The spirits of the unseen universe are directly invoked
by the Chinese, chiefly in cases of illness. In matters
which involve merely pecuniary interests, such means as
Planchette and various other indirect ways of consulting
the oracle are preferred, being at once simpler and less
costly to the inquirer. A man who wishes to learn the
probable result of an enterprise he has in view, will drop
into some roadside temple and will lay a small fee upon
the altar. The attendant priest lights a fresh candle or a
new stick of incense; and the suppliant, after making the
usual series of prostrations, reverently takes with both
hands a kidney-shaped piece of wood which has been
split into two halves so that each half shall have one flat
and one convex side. These are raised above the head
and dropped to the ground before the altar; and from the
combination which results, namely (1) two convexes,
(2) two flats, or (3) a flat and a convex, a propitious or
unpropitious answer is deduced, being (1) negative,
(2) indifferent, and (3) affirmative, respectively. The
more elaborate method, or that form known in Europe
as spiritualism, is to engage the services of a medium,
generally a Taoist priest, whose body is for the time.
being occupied by the God. This state of divine
'possession' is brought about in the following manner.
The medium takes a seat, while his brother priests or
SPIRITUALISM IN CHINA.
327
confederates arrange the usual altar, light candles, and burn
incense, and invoke the presence of the deity required.
After a short interval, one of them advances towards the
medium and performs certain movements, apparently
mesmeric passes, by which a state of unconciousness is
induced; whereupon the God takes possession of the
temporarily unoccupied body. From that moment every
word uttered by the medium is held to be divinely
inspired, or, more properly, the very words of the God,
who simply uses the medium as his mouthpiece.
In the Chinese work above mentioned* there is a story
of a medium, employed to stimulate the people of a
certain district to subscribe towards the restoration of a
temple, who in his ecstasy blurted out not only that the
directors had embezzled some of the money already col-
lected, but that he himself had positively shared in the
spoil. When the spirit left him, and he heard of the
charge brought by himself against himself, he was sorely
ashamed, and refunded the money at once, the whole
being nothing more than a clever trick to prove the
efficacy of the medium. In the same work will be found
an account of dark séances in China, which, besides
dating back at least as far as 1679, has the further
advantage of coming direct from the pen of a famous
native scholar, and is therefore of infinitely more value
than any hearsay evidence of a foreigner. I accordingly
give the translation of it here :—
It is customary in Shantung, when any one is sick, for the women
folk to engage an old sorceress or medium, who strums on a
* See p. 318.
328
MESMERISM, PLANCHETTE, AND
tambourine, and performs various mysterious antics. This custom
obtains even more in the capital, where young ladies of the best
families frequently organise such séances among themselves. On a
table in the hall they spread out a profusion of wine and meat, and
burn huge candles, which make the place as light as day. Then
the sorceress, shortening her skirts, stands on one leg and performs
the_shan-yang,* while two of the others support her, one on each
side. All this time she is chattering unintelligible sentences, some-
thing between a song and a prayer, the words being confused, but
uttered in a sort of tune, the hall resounding all the time with the
thunder of drums enough to stun a person, with which her vatici
nations are mixed up and lost. By-and-by her head begins to droop
and her eyes to look aslant; and but for her two supporters she
would inevitably fall to the ground. Suddenly she stretches forth
her neck and bounds several feet into the air, upon which the other
women regard her with terror, crying out, "The spirits have come
to eat!" and immediately afterwards the candles are extinguished
and everything is in total darkness. Thus they remain for about a
quarter-of-an-hour, afraid to speak a word, which in any case would
not be heard through the din, until at length the medium calls out
the personal name of the head of the family† and some others;
whereupon they relight the candles, and hurry up to ask if the reply of
the spirits is favourable or otherwise. They then see that every scrap
of the food and every drop of wine have disappeared. Meanwhile
they watch the old woman's expression, whereby they can tell if the
spirits are well disposed, and each one asks some question, to which
the medium as promptly replies. Should there be any unbelievers
among the party, the spirits are at once aware of their presence;
and the old woman, pointing her finger at such a one, cries out,
Shan-yang is the name of a fabulous bird which made its
appearance during the life of Confucius, and which was declared by
him to presage rain. Since that time it has been customary for boys
in certain parts of China, on the occasion of severe droughts, to
hop about on one leg in imitation of this bird, hoping thereby to
secure a fall of rain.
+ Thus proving the presence of an ancestral spirit, since no one
is at liberty to utter the personal name of another, except the
speaker be a near relative of a higher generation. The personal
name, therefore, of the head of the family could only be spoken by
the dead.
SPIRITUALISM IN CHINA.
329
"Disrespectful mocker! where are your trowsers?" upon which the
mocker alluded to looks down, and, lo! her trowsers are gone—
gone to the top of a tree in the courtyard, where they will subse-
quently be found.
Manchu women, and girls especially, are firm believers in
spiritualism. On the slightest provocation they consult their
medium, who comes into the room gorgeously dressed, and riding
upon an imitation horse or tiger. In her hand she holds a spear,
with which she mounts the couch and postures in an extraordinary
manner; the animal she rides snorting or roaring fiercely all the
time. Some call her Kuan Ti, others Chang Fei, and others
again Chow Kung,* from her terrible martial aspect, which strikes
fear into all beholders. And should any daring fellow try to peep
in during the séance, out of the window darts the spear, transfixes
his hat, and draws it off his head into the room, while women and
girls, young and old, hop round one after the other, like geese on
one leg, without seeming to get the least tired.
I have made many efforts to be present at a spiritual-
istic séance in China, but my endeavours have not yet
proved successful, albeit I am well known to the Chinese
with whom I have come in contact as the very reverse of
a 'disrespectful mocker' of their manifold customs and
beliefs. It would appear however, that such proceedings
as those above described are confined almost, if not
entirely, to women, to whose mysterious rites no native
of the other sex, still less an 'outer barbarian,' could
ever under any possible pretext hope to gain admittance.
Of Mesmerism, Planchette, and Spiritualism in China,
I have therefore had personal experience only of the
second; though from the care I have taken in pro-
secuting inquiries upon the other two, I am satisfied
that what I have set down in this paper is not very
wide of the truth.
* Three martial heroes of Chinese history.
330 WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME
OF WAR.*
Two Chinese gentlemen, with at least one pair of huge
spectacles between them, leaning over a delicately-
lacquered board on which they are arranging certain
black and white pips made from the beautiful marble
of Yunnan, two pipes, two cups of the fragrant tea
known only to China-and the reader has before him
the not uncommon tableau of a game of Wei-chʻi. † It
will be noted that the players have a something in
facial expression, something in general bearing, enough
to distinguish them from the attendants who from time
to time refill the empty pipe, replenish the half-drained
cup, or hand the grotesquely-painted spittoon, did not
the short sight and sunken chest of the student, added
to the fact of their indulging in the abtrusest of all
games 'under heaven,' at once proclaim their com-
panionship of the mighty order of the literati. For
none but the educated play at Wei-ch'i. A knowledge
of this difficult game stamps a man in China as
Reprinted from Temple Bar, by permission of the Editor.
+ Pronounced Way-ch'ee. Wei means to surround, and ch'i is
the specific name of games played on boards divided into squares.
An ordinary term for China, still in use, though the Chinese are
now more alive to its absurdity than they were a few years ago.
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR. 331
somewhat more than an ordinary person. Its subtleties
are beyond the reach of the lazy; its triumphs too
refined for the man of gross material tastes. Skill in
Wei-ch'i implies the astuteness and versatility so prized
amongst the Chinese. They could hardly believe a man
to play Wei-ch'i well and yet be possessed of indifferent
abilities as a practical man of the world. It would
amount to a contradiction of terms. All the more so,
as nearly all of those who enter upon a literary career
make a point of attempting to learn the game. But
many faint by the way. To a beginner, a mere know-
ledge of the rules for a long time seems hopeless; and
subsequent application of them more hopeless still. The
persevering ones alone play on day by day, until at last-
suddenly as it were the great scheme of Wei-ch'i dawns
upon them in all its fulness and beauty; and from that
day they are ardent enthusiasts in support of its
unquestionable merits.
Wei-ch'i is solemnly declared by Chinese writers to
have been invented by the great Emperor Yao,* who
flourished two thousand three hundred years before the
birth of Christ. The cautious student of Western
chronology, whose highest flights are confined to the
paltry limits of centuries, may well stand aghast at the
free and easy way in which Chinese history deals with
thousands, albeit India has long since taught us that
there are other claims to antiquity besides those of
Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
On this subject we shall
* See quotation from the Po wu chih in K'ang Hsi's dictionary:
'Yao invented Wei-ch'i, and Tan Chu was the best player.'
332 WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
refer the reader to the late Mr. John Williams' valuable
work on Chinese Comets, in the introduction of which it
appears that certain astronomical phenomena recorded
by the Chinese, even at an earlier date than that of the
Emperor Yao, have since been tested and found correct.
Truth and falsehood apart, it was a fitting tribute of
respect to dedicate this noble game to the memory of
that virtuous prince. With the convulsions of four
thousand years many great names have sunk into ob-
livion; but the fame of Yao is as fresh to-day in the
hearts of the Chinese people as it was in those days of
yore when, after a glorious reign extending over two
generations of man, he passed over his dissolute heir *
and abdicated the throne in favour of a private in-
dividual† whose title to Imperial advancement rested
upon integrity alone.
The earliest mention of Wei-ch'i occurs only three
hundred years before the Christian era; but it was then
evidently a game of long standing, and the champion
player of the day was not deemed unworthy to illustrate
the teaching of China's most original thinker-the divine
Mencius. We give a translation of the passage :—
Now take the art of Wei'chi.‡ It may be a small art, but
unless a man gives his whole mind to it with energy, he will not
*The 'Tan Chu' referred to in the last note.
+ Named Shun, and taken, like Coriolanus, from the plough.
tail. See p. 2.
The single word in the text which stands for Wei-ch'i has been
inaccurately translated by Dr. Legge as chess. That the two words
are not interchangeable terms will be amply evident to the reader
before he gets to the end of this essay.
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME of war. 333
succeed. Wei-ch'i Ch'iu is the best player in all the kingdom.
Let him teach two men to play, one of whom gives his whole mind
to it with energy, listening only to Wei-ch'i Ch'iu; the other of
whom, although listening, has his whole mind fixed upon a wild
swan which is approaching, and longs to bend his bow, adjust an
arrow, and have a shot at it. Although he is learning along with
the other, he will not keep up with him.'
**
According to a sentence in the Lun Yü, or Confucian
Gospels, the game of Wei-ch'i would come under a
sweeping clause which condemns emulation of all sorts
and kinds: 'The perfect man has no contentions;' the
latter word being understood in the sense of 'rivalries.'
The virtue of Confucius was cast in too stern a mould
to allow of anything so frivolous as play, even of so high
an order as Wei-ch'i. Besides, the necessary spirit of
emulation was stigmatised by him as bad in itself. Man
should excel for the sake of excelling, and not for the
sake of being superior to his neighbour. The practice of
virtue as an end, and not as a means, is a leading
feature in the teachings of Confucius.
In the later literature of China Wei-ch'i has received
no small share of attention. Several voluminous works †
have been entirely devoted to elucidating its principles
and many shorter treatises on the subject have appeared
in collections of miscellaneous writings. Most of these
are adorned with cuts showing advantageous positions
and giving problems to be worked out by the student.
* Mencius alludes once more to this game. He says that one of
the five unfilial acts is 'to play Wei-ch'i for money;' sc. to gamble.
+ We may mention the T'ao hua ch'üan in eight volumes, and the
Hsien chi wu k'u.
334 WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAr.
As is not uncommonly the case on matters Chinese,
the profoundest possible ignorance prevails amongst
Europeans resident in China with regard to this won-
derful game.
We shall venture to begin with our own.
Up to the end of 1874 we had frequently alluded to it in
conversation with educated Chinese, and had always
found them loud in its praises. At the same time it was
freely declared to be far too difficult for foreigners to
learn. Nor was any insult thereby intended to the
members of that mighty Western fraternity which had
produced steamers, sewing-machines, and the telegraph.
If anything, it was meant that the sole means of com-
munication being the Chinese language, too great
difficulty would be experienced by the teacher in making
the intricacies of the game sufficiently clear to the
learner. For, inasmuch as only educated men know
Wei-ch'i, and no educated man can speak a word of
English, the alternative would be a Pidgin-English-
speaking servant, and then it would be necessary first to
make him understand the principles he was undertaking
to explain. Supposing, however, even that to be accom-
plished, and a knowledge of the hidden mysteries of
Wei-ch'i to be actually infused into the dull brain of one
innocent of all acquaintanceship with the thirteen
classics. Then we can well imagine him entering upon.
his functions as interpreter in some such glittering
phraseology as this: "Wei-ch'i belong allo same two
piecee man makee fightum; wantchee stealum he com-
pound." Altogether, we had long accepted the dictum
that no foreigner could learn Wei-ch'i without an infinite
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR. 335
deal of labour, and must have unconsciously adopted
the opinion that it probably was not worth the effort. In
1875 we casually alluded to Wei-ch'i in a volume of
miscellaneous sketches of Chinese life and character as 'a

no3
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TLº 15
game played with 360 black and white pips on a board
containing 361 squares;' also as being 'very difficult
and known only to the few.' The '361 squares' is an
error, as will shortly be explained, which strangely
336 WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
-
enough occurs in almost the same words in Dr. Williams
new Chinese-English dictionary-the outcome of forty
years' residence in China. It was owing to a remark by
Cæcilius,' who noticed the above-mentioned 'Sketches'
in the Daily Press and St. James' Chronicle of the 11th
of December, 1875, that we subsequently determined to
learn the game; a threat which we put in execution on our
return to China in the spring, and the results of which
we shall now endeavour to put before the reader as
briefly and as clearly as possible.
Wei-ch'i is played on a board with a number of black
and white pips. The board is a square containing 324
squares, or 18 × 18. About 300 pips will suffice-150
black and 150 white.
portion to the size of a
size of a draught-board. It is etiquette to offer white to
the adversary, but the receiver of points plays with
black as a matter of course. Wei-ch'i is not played on
the squares as chess or draughts. It is played on the
points where the lines forming the squares cut or touch
one another. Now a board of 18 squares by 18 is made
by 19 lines cutting or touching 19 lines at right angles;
and if every point where these lines either cut or touch be
carefully counted, the result will give 361 places,* or
19 by 19. These 361 places connect with each other
They should bear the same pro-
Wei-ch'i board as draughts to the
* The learner will do well to make sure that there actually are
361 crosses. It will familiarise him with the habitual use of this
term in the explanations to follow, and teach him that the places on
the boundary lines and at the four corners are just as much crosses
as any of the others.
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR. 337
In the
along the lines, not diagonally across the squares.
absence of a better term let us call them crosses.
The object aimed at in Wei-ch'i is to acquire, by a
process of surrounding, as many of these 361 crosses
as possible; but before proceeding any further with des-
cription, a few simple examples may be worked out on
the board which will tend very much to clear the way
for future explanations.
(1). For instance, place a white pip on any cross near
the middle of the board, and surround it with four black
pips placed on the nearest or connecting crosses. White
having no move left may be taken up, and the space
inclosed becomes the property of black.
(2). Black's four pips remaining in statu quo, surround
them with eight white pips placed on the eight crosses
immediately connecting (with black's four pips). As,
however, there is still a vacant cross-i.e., a move, in
the middle-black is alive,' and cannot be taken up
by white. But at white's next move he may put down
a pip in that middle space, and take up black, who is
now hemmed in on all sides and has no move left.
The space thus inclosed becomes the property of white.
Nor could black fill up that middle space with one
of his own pips, as he would be himself cutting off his
only claim to existence, and be at once taken up by
white. It is plain, therefore, that such a space inclosed
by only four pips is not safe from an irruption of the
enemy.
(3). Let us go back a step. Black has four pips
down surrounding a vacant cross. Place an exactly
Z
338 WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
similar square of four more black pips in direct con-
nection with these, but connected by only a single line,
and then surround the whole lot with fourteen white
pips. In this instance, there being two vacant moves
in the middle of black's garrison, white is no longer
able to put down a pip and take up black's eight,
because black may claim that he has still one available
move left. But a close inspection will show that if
white does put a pip down in one of these 'eyes' the
Chinese call them, and it is as well to keep to the
Chinese terms-he will, at any rate, have cut off three
of black's pips from all communication with the other
eye or with anything else, and these he may at once
take up, the space so inclosed becoming his. Further,
as by this move he has reduced black's remaining five
pips to exactly the same condition as black's four pips
in Example 2-i.e., surrounded from the outside with
only a single move in the middle-all white has to do
is to wait his turn and fill up this solitary eye, by which
means black's five pips may be at once taken up. It
is clear, therefore, that such an inclosure as black's,
even though containing two eyes, is not an impregnable
garrison, though it takes longer to reduce than a garrison
with only one eye.
(4). Again, surround a single cross with four pips,
and add to these four more, making a square of eight
pips. Such an eye as this differs essentially from an
eye composed of only four pips, inasmuch as no single
one of its component pips is open to be surrounded
and cut off by the enemy, though of course the whole
.
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR. 339
garrison could be surrounded and subsequently taken
up by a hostile pip being placed in the middle, as in
Example 2. This is what is called a true eye. It
should be noticed that even if two of the corner pips
of this square of eight be taken away, the remaining
six form a semi-true eye. No single one of its pips
can be surrounded, but the whole body may easily be
cut in half, as will be easily seen on the board. Neither
are two of these six-pip eyes, placed in no matter what
connection, perfectly secure from the enemy. A part
of one or the other will always be open to attack, and
when one eye is broken into, the remaining eye cannot
stand alone, as in Example 3.
(5). But arrange a perfectly true eye of eight pips
in the form of a square (Example 4); and make this
square into an oblong by the addition of five more
pips at either one of its four sides. The oblong thus
composed of thirteen pips (twelve outside and one in
the middle) contains two true eyes. The enemy may
surround it on every side, and cut off all communication
with the main body; but the little garrison stands secure
from every form of assault. It contains two true eyes.
For supposing the adversary does surround it—what
then? To take it up both eyes must be filled, and
that is of course impossible, as a pip may only be
put down in an enemy's eye when either or all the
surrounding pips can be immediately taken up.
A resumé of the above examples gives us the following
results:-
Four pips surrounding a single cross are open to attack
Z 2
340
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
(Example 2), because they contain only one eye, and
that one a false eye.
Eight pips surrounding two crosses are open to attack
(Example 3), because, though they inclose two eyes, each
one is a false eye.
*
Eight pips in the form of a square, inclosing a single
cross, are open to attack (Example 4); for, though con-
taining a true eye, they contain but a single eye.
Any space containing two true eyes (Example 5) is
utterly impregnable.
Of course the examples given above could not happen
in so many words in practice where the players put down
pips alternately. I have been speaking as if one of the
opponents lay dormant and let the other surround him at
his pleasure. It now only remains to speak of the four
extreme or boundary lines of the Wei-ch'i board, which
are played upon in the same way as the other lines and
have exactly the same number (nineteen) of crosses, the
four corners of the board being necessarily included to
make up the grand total of 361 places. We will attempt
explanation with the aid of a few simple examples as
before.
(6.) A black pip at either of the four corner crosses may
be killed by placing one white pip on each side of it.
As will be readily seen, it has no move left.
(7.) Supposing a solitary black pip to occcupy a cross,
other than one of the four corners, on either of the four
* Even were one of them a true eye the garrison would be no
safer, as the enemy would begin by reducing the false eye, and
then (Example 4) make short work of the other.
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR. 341
extreme or boundary lines. Three pips are sufficient to
hem it in; it is taken up and that space becomes of
course the property of white.
(8.) But three pips at the side of the board do not make
a true eye any more than four pips in the middle of the
board. Either one of these three may be attacked and
cut off from the rest. For instance, suppose black has a
pip down on the first line close alongside either, not in
the middle of white's two pips on the first (ie., boundary)
line, and another on the same side of white's triangle
on the second line, in close connection with white's pip
on the second line; then that one of white's pips which
is in connection with black's two pips is in danger. For
all black has to do, if it is his move, is to put a pip
down in the middle of white's triangle and take up the
surrounded pip. Suppose black does this, it is clear
that white is now in exactly the same relative position
to black as black to white before the last move-i.e.,
having two pips close up to black's newly-formed triangle,
endangering the safety of black's nearest pip on the first
line. It naturally suggests itself to white to retort by
putting a pip down on the very cross just lost and take
up the pip just played by black. But it is evident that
there would be no end to such a system of retort; and
therefore the rules of the game make it compulsory that
a player who has just lost a single pip in no matter what
part of the board shall allow one move to intervene
before retorting on the pip which caused his loss. This
being the case, it becomes white's business to look round
the board for some weak point in his own, or, better
342 WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
still, for some vulnerable point in his adversary's game,
and play a pip accordingly. Then, if he succeeds in
creating such a diversion that black is compelled to
hurry off to the rescue, next move he will be able to
take up black's pip and regain his lost ground, when
of course the same process repeats itself with regard to
black. But if white fails in making an important move,
and drawing off black's attention, then black puts down
a pip in the middle of his own triangle and renders
further contest in that particular way impossible.* Of
course if black's four pips thus arranged are not in con-
nection with a live garrison, they are in danger of being
bodily surrounded from the outside, and the absence of
two true eyes hands them over an easy prey to white.
(9.) A true eye may be made at the corner of the board
by placing a pip on each side of the extreme corner
cross, and a third in direct connection with these two.
The result is a tiny square hemming in the corner cross.
(10.) To make two true eyes at a corner, preserve the
tiny square mentioned in the last example, and by
adding three pips transform it into an oblong,† con-
taining exactly three times the area of the original square,
and two vacant crosses which are the eyes.
It is an
impregnable garrison.
(11.) A single true eye on the first line, not at a corner,
* This is called 'stealing,' and in skilful hands may often be
made to turn the tide of an apparently hopeless game.
+ The 'squares' and 'oblongs' here mentioned are not neces-
sarily made of four sides of pips inclosing a space. At the side
of the board only three sides of pips would be wanted, the boundary
line taking the place of the fourth.
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR. 343
will require not less than five pips; two true eyes not
less than eight. The first is made by arranging three
pips round a cross on the first line, as in Example 8,
and making a rectangle by adding two pips, one on each
side of the single pip on the second line. The second,
by adding three pips to the above five in such a manner
as to double the length of the oblong contained by those
five.
It should now be possible for the reader to begin a
game.
The first move is an important point to secure,
as it gives the lead, upon the possession of which much
depends throughout the game. It belongs by right to
the giver of points; otherwise it may be decided by
toss. And here we must put in the remark that be-
ginners should not attempt to use a full-sized board. A
smaller one shows the principles of the game quite as
well, and is not nearly so bewildering. Take a board.
of 121 crosses only,* or eleven lines cutting or touching
eleven lines at right angles. This is called a (( corner
board." Now supposing white to give four points on a
board of these dimensions. Black places four pips
down, each one at a distance of four crosses (all in-
clusive) from two sides of the board; in other words,
each at one of the extreme corner crosses of an interior
square of 5 lines by 5-ie., 4 squares by 4 = 16. On
a larger board, the four pips are also put down each at
a distance of four places (all inclusive) from two sides
of the board; but the interior square thus formed varies
with the area of the whole. If two points only are
Always an odd number.
344 WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
given, any two opposite corners of this square of four
pips are the places. If eight pips are given, the same
square of four is arranged, and four more are put down,
one in the middle of each of its four sides, and so on.
But if the players are equal, the winner of the toss begins
by putting down a pip wherever fancy may lead him;
somewhere midway between the middle and sides of the
board is the best place. The adversary then follows,
generally on a cross somewhere close at hand, nearer
the side or middle of the board, according as he sees a
chance of hemming down the enemy to the side, or
finally circling round him in the middle. And thus they
play alternately until one has succeeded in surrounding
all but a single move a pip or body of such belonging
to his opponent; in the latter case of course without two
true eyes (Example 4). He then cries check-in Chinese,
'I'll eat you'-to that pip or body of pips, and his
opponent must strive to join on either to another pip
or body of pips which work freely-i.e., are not sur-
rounded, or, if they are, contain two true eyes. In this
way the threatened outpost is placed in a state of perfect.
security.* It is here important to note that an isolated
pip checked on any cross of any second line cannot
possibly be saved, if only the adversary play properly.
To attempt to do so is only waste of time.
* Any cross surrounded on three sides by the enemy is called a
'tiger's mouth.' A pip put down on such a cross is thrown away,
for the opponent immediately puts another on the fourth side and
takes it up. A 'tiger's mouth' should be broken up by surrounding
one of its component pips, or by leading a column right into the
dangerous inclosure.
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
345
The variety of combinations even on a small Wei-ch'i
board is enormous, and that variety has the advantage
of beginning from the very first move. It is often
remarked in China, that the uncertainties of life and
death are well exemplified in a game of Wei-ch'i. For
instance, black may check one or more of white's pips,
and, white failing to save them, black is of course in
a position to take them up when it comes to his move.
Seeing, however, that they are irrevocably his, he may
direct his attention to some other part of the board;
and by-and-by white, gradually working up his forces.
in that direction, may by some means or other break
through the lines that inclose these pips, and, by joining
them on to some garrison or to his main body, restore
to them the life they had apparently lost beyond all
recovery. Even supposing black to have fenced off a
space by a connecting line of pips from one boundary
line of the board to another, a space in the middle of
the board, in either of the corners, or anywhere else,
it by no means follows that such space is irrevocably
black's. For white, having hemmed in the garrison
from the outside, may dash into the middle; and then,
if he can fill up before black has time to make his two
eyes, black's pips being hemmed in on all sides without
a move left, fall an easy prey to white. Even if black
does succeed in making his two eyes, white may still
(if there is room, and if he has a fair start) manage to
inclose a small space inside black's with two true eyes
in it, which becomes his, and counts for him at the
end of the game.
346
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
Now, let black have inclosed by connecting pips a
small space anywhere on the board, at either corner or
in the middle, and himself to be closely surrounded
from the outside by white. Unless he can at once
secure two true eyes, it is by no means sure that the
garrison will remain his. For, as in the last paragraph,
supposing white to fill up this space with pips, then
black is dead. Even if black waits until white has filled
up all but one and then puts down a pip himself and
takes up white, white may begin again directly and fill
up until he is taken up once more. But if this is
repeated a certain number of times (according to the
size of the space), at last black will have himself filled
up every move but one, and then white puts a pip
down there and all black's are gone.
Such spaces
afford many neat problems to the beginner.
attempt to put one of the simplest into words.
I will
Black has two true eyes at the edge of the board
(see latter half of Example 11), all except the middle
of the three pips on the boundary line. He is sur-
rounded on the outside by white. Now if it is his turn
to play, he naturally puts his pip down at once and
secures the two true eyes shown in the example. But
if it is white's turn to play and he makes this move,
then black's pips are practically dead. For supposing
him to put down a pip each side of white and take up
his single pip, then only a single cross remains, and white
of course occupies it next move and takes up black.
If he lets white put down a second pip and then takes
him up, it is but putting off the fatal moment. Next
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR. 347
move white occupies one of the two remaining squares,
and then if he is again taken up, we have the old
position of a single vacant cross. In such a case, if
black fails to secure the middle cross at first, he directs
his energies elsewhere and does not contend for a space
which can never be his. Black's only chance would be
to call off white's attention and endeavour meanwhile
to break through his exterior line of pips. By varying
the number of crosses thus inclosed, many pretty com-
binations of this kind may be produced. Trained
players see at a glance in whose possession such spaces
will untimately remain, and accordingly do not play
them out; but the tyro should take no conclusions for
granted until he has proved them satisfactorily by ex-
perience. Sometimes it will happen that one player
will get a few pips down in a piece of his adversary's
ground (already surrounded on the outside) in such a
position that, although two crosses remain vacant, neither
can be the first to fill up one of these, because the
opponent by filling up the other would at once take
up, and by the series of combinations to follow would
gain final possession of the contested space. Thus some
half-dozen pips will often be able to remain unharmed
in the midst of a hostile garrison, though wanting the
two true eyes, without which under ordinary circum-
stances no body of pips can successfully resist attack.
Such pips are called truce pips, and count at the end
of the game.
The position is not an easy one to
explain, but once met with in practice cannot fail to
be understood.
348 WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
And now supposing the board to be so covered with
pips that neither party can play another move without
putting down in the adversary's ground, where they are
sure to be immediately taken up, or in his own ground,
where, if already safe from hostile inroads, they are of
course perfectly useless, then the game of Wei-ch'i is
at an end, and it only remains to see who is the winner.
This is effected by counting the crosses occupied and
inclosed by the pips of either player. Good players
inclose large tracts, which it is not obligatory to cover
with pips. Only if the adversary dashes in with a view
to make a smaller garrison inside, it then becomes neces-
sary to follow him about closely so that he cannot make
his two true eyes, at the same time securing two or
more such eyes for oneself. Such pips may be removed
from the interior of a garrison before counting up begins.
The pips are nothing in themselves; they merely mark
the crosses covered or inclosed. Of these crosses, a
'corner' Wei-ch'i board, such as has been recommended
for learners, contains II x II = 121-always an odd
number. Now black may have possessed himself of
sixty of these, and white of sixty-one. Then, if there
is nothing else to take into consideration, white wins
by one cross. But if he was the receiver of points,
then these must be deducted from his total and added
on to black's, who will become the winner by so many
as his total exceeds sixty or one-half the board, the idea
being that each player starts with one-half the board
as capital which he may increase or lose, a drawn game
being impossible, as there is always one cross left to
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR. 349
fight for, over and above the halves just mentioned.
Thus, if black has one hundred crosses, and white
twenty-one only, black wins by forty-i.e., thirty-nine
over his capital of sixty, plus the one contended for.
White loses by forty, for it would take thirty-nine to
make up white's original capital and one extra to make
him the winner. It should be noticed here that it is
only necessary to count the crosses of one player to
see who has won the game, and by how many. But
even now the game is not quite decided.
Suppose black to have sixty-one, and white sixty
places, no points having been given by either side. It
still remains to count the garrisons or spaces inclosed.
If the players have (as they should aim at having) one
large garrison each, no matter how parts of it ramify
among the enemy's pips so long as all the outposts are
connected with the main body, and consequently with
each other, then black wins the game by the single
cross he holds to the good. But if, instead of one,
black has three separate garrisons, for each garrison that
he has more than white he forfeits one cross. In the
present instance, therefore, two points would be taken
from black and added on to white, making the latter.
the winner by that number. This is all on the subject
of counting, which is as simple as it well can be.
And now we fancy we hear some weary experimen-
talist who has carefully followed this somewhat trying
description, expecting every instant that the light of
Wei-ch'i would flash across his understanding, exclaim
against the tedium of acquiring this difficult game.
If
350 WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
such be the case, if all we have written still fails to
rouse the necessary energy for learning its rules, and
kindle the necessary enthusiasm for appreciating its
combinations, we only ask it to be conceded that the
fault may lie in our own sickly disquisition, or possibly
in the learner himself; not in the fundamental principles
of a game which has survived the crash of dynasties,
the havoc of rebellion and war. Is it rational to believe
that an ingenious people like the Chinese, delighting
as they do in intellectual subtleties, would have given
their homage for so many centuries to a game not worth
the candle? Many of China's greatest heroes have been
famous for their skill at Wei-ch'i. Su Tung-p'o* forgot
the shame and misery of exile in the excitement of a
hard-fought game. The great general, Meng Chang-
chün, in his hours of peaceful retirement when the din
of battle was hushed, played daily bouts of Wei-ch'i
to keep his hand in practice for the art of war. So
unusual is it in China for a man of high literary tastes
and abilities to be ignorant of Wei-ch'i that history has
deigned to record that fact of the talented emperor who
reigned under the style of Ch'ien Lung.† It chanced,
one day, that a Japanese envoy-in those days 'Tribute-
bearer'-petitioned his Imperial Majesty for the honour
of a game. Ashamed to say that he could not play, the
Emperor caused a board and pips to be brought and
gravely sat down as if he knew all about it. Royalty
of course took the first move, but his Majesty, not
* See
p.
82.
+ See p. 116.
WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
351
J
knowing where to begin, thought the middle of the
board would be as good a place as any, and accordingly
put his pip down on the very centre cross of all, to the
no small astonishment of his opponent. The Japanese
then made such a move as he deemed advantageous,
which the Emperor immediately imitated by putting
down a pip in an exactly relative position on the
opposite side of the middle pip, and this he continued
to do all through the game, at the end of which he
was necessarily the winner by the pip he put down
first.
To
Had the Chinese nothing to take the place of Wei-
ch'i, we might be forced to concede-even then under
protest-that they only play Wei-ch'i for want of a better
game. But they have games involving thought with
cards, they have dominoes, and many other games
played with and without pips, requiring either calculation
or memory. Lastly they have that beautiful game*
which has so long reigned supreme in India, Persia, and
the West-the 'Game and Playe of ye Chesse.'
compare Wei-ch'i with either Chinese or Western chess
is quite beside the question. They have nothing in
common but the element of calculation and an absence
of anything like chance. Chess has a decided advan-
tage in the variety of character attaching to the different.
pieces. In variety of combinations, besides that of
number, Wei-ch'i has this advantage, that such variety
begins from the very first move. That drawn games may
* Differing in detail from our game, and, in our opinion, decidedly
inferior.
352 WEI-CH'I, OR THE CHINESE GAME OF WAR.
occur in chess, but not in Wei-ch'i, might be quoted as
an advantage by the supporters of either side. Without
being a scientific player of one game or the other, we
have no hesitation in saying that, national pride, pre-
judice, and the force of early association apart, Wei-ch'i
and chess meet upon equal terms.
In taking leave of Wei-ch'i, we must ask permission to
add that we do so only so far as these pages are con-
cerned. It has established itself securely with us as a
household game, and will doubtless yet afford us many a
pleasant hour. We can only hope we have succeeded in
presenting its general features in a tolerably clear light to
the uninitiated reader. To enable us even to attempt
this, it was necessary to master the science of the game
ourselves; and though we still remain but indifferent.
players, and frequently meet with the roughest treatment
at the hands of Chinese experts, we do not regret one
instant of the time spent in acquiring this truly noble
game.
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
353
CC
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE
CHINESE.
وو
... ONE of them said his name was Lo Fong
Le, and I think the other's was Le Fong Lo..
observed a lady who was recently describing a visit she
had received from two members of the Chinese Embassy
now in London. And her remark very fairly represents
the general level of public information, not only in the
matter of Chinese names, but on most topics connected
with China and its swarming millions. The social
institutions of that empire have always been regarded as
irresistibly funny, exhibiting, as they not unfrequently
do, a quaint antagonism to our own; and any attempt to
place them in a somewhat truer light, with the bloom of
fiction rubbed off, is pretty sure to meet with a cool
reception. Regardless of fact, people seem to prefer
to believe that the Chinese dine daily on bird's-nest
soup and rats, are a nation of thieves, opium-smokers,
polygamists, and even worse than that. These and
similar notions have long formed part of our ethnological
creed; and many years, and probably many writers, will
pass away before the necessary modifications have been
made and universally accepted. Only the other day, I
A A
354
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
read in a newspaper that a Chinaman was gravely sworn
before a magistrate at one of the London Police Courts
according to Chinese custom. A saucer was procured
and smashed in pieces, the witness expressing his
readiness, if he should not tell the truth, to perish in like
manner. Now, in the first place, the Chinese do not
swear their witnesses as we do, but make them sign or
mark written depositions, the closing words of which are
a set formula, viz: 'The above evidence is the truth.'
Occasionally, during examination, the magistrate will warn
a witness that Heaven is overhead and Earth below his
feet, implying that divine vengeance will infallibly over-
take a liar; but beyond this there is nothing in the way
of an oath known or practised in a Chinese court of
law. At an 'ordeal,' a peculiar kind of which is still
common all over China, the person put to the test is
called upon to repeat a most terrible form of oath, and
this is sealed, as it were, with the blood of a cock killed
at the moment, the speaker professing his willingness to
die like that bird should he be found to deviate by ever
so little from the truth. Saucer-breaking belongs in all
probability to one of the numerous secret societies which
have sprung up at various periods of Chinese history; it
is certainly not a widely recognised ceremony, even if it
is practised at all.
Meanwhile, it is my present object to give a brief
survey of personal nomenclature in China as it exists at
the present day, and as it has existed for more than two
thousand years past, centuries before any such system
was adopted in the British Isles, where surnames are a
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
355
comparatively late invention. The theme is in one sense
new; since it has never, to my knowledge, been treated
by any previous writer.
To ask a Chinaman how many surnames there are
in China, would be to insure one or other of two
answers. An uneducated man would infallibly reply
'a hundred;' a scholar would say he didn't know.
The explanation of this apparent paradox is simple
enough. At every bookstall in China may be purchased
for about a farthing a little work entitled Hundred-
Family-Surnames. It does not, however, contain one
hundred, but four hundred and eight single or mono-
syllabic names, and thirty double or dissyllabic names,
making a total of four hundred and thirty-eight in all.
The fact is that the character for 'hundred' is in this
combination vaguely expressive of a large number, the
whole series or class in question being always understood
to be included. Similarly, the cognate phrases 'hundred
officials' and 'hundred trades' do not by any means
limit the numbers of those two classes of Chinese
society, but merely signify the various officials and the
various trades in the empire of China, collectively. Still,
it is the use of this term that has beguiled the illiterate
native, and more than one unwary European, into the
belief that the surnames of the Chinese are one hundred
in all, neither more nor less; while the educated man,
who has learnt to repeat the collection by heart, and is
moreover well aware of names not included therein,
makes the guarded answer quoted above.
Better editions of what I shall henceforth call The
AA 2
356 ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
Family Names, are published for those who can afford
to buy them; and the preface of one of these I have
thought worthy of translation, the more so as, unlike
the usual run of Chinese prefaces, it is short and to
the point:-
"This collection of family names is taken from the
T'u yüan chi,* and was the work of an old scholar of
Hang-chow, at the beginning of the Sung† dynasty. It
was the epoch when Chien Chiao was governor of
Chekiang; hence Chao is the first name on the list,
and Ch'ien§ is the second. The third, Sun, was the
name of Ch'ien Ch'iao's favourite; and the fourth, Li,
was that of the ruler of Nanking. Then follow the
great clan-names of the empire, arranged in rhyme, but
with so many omissions as to provoke severe criticism
from the learned. Nevertheless, this book has been ever
since in general circulation; schoolboys learn to repeat it
and receive it as a canonical work. I have therefore
dealt with the collection as it stood, adding a rough
commentary by way of likening it to Surnames, Ancient
and Modern, and to previous productions of the same
character; though in point of fact my volume, as com-
pared with those, is but the puny weapon of 'puff and
dart' among the artillery of war.
"Done by WANG HSIANG OF LANG-YEH.”
* Unknown to me. Probably some kind of 'miscellany.'
† A.D. 960-1280. See p. 79.
The surname of the founder of the house of Sung.
§ Ch'ien Chiao's capital city was Hang-chow, where the 'old
scholar' dwelt who made this compilation.
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
357
From the above document we learn that this limitation
of surnames to a fixed number is (1) admittedly of modern
origin, and (2) inaccurate in detail. The incompleteness
of the list of 408+ 30 would be readily ascertained by
consulting the great lexicon published some two centuries
ago under the auspices of the Emperor K'ang Hsi. There
we find no less than 1,678 characters mentioned as family
names, besides 168 double and 8 triple names, making a
grand total of 1854, inclusive of those in the collection
under review. Of these, the great majority are quite
unknown as such to the Chinese public, it being a fact
that almost all the surnames now current in China are to
be found in the small volume which, as Wang Hsiang
rightly says, 'schoolboys learn to repeat and receive as a
canonical work.' I shall therefore confine myself chiefly
to an examination of The Family Names, always, it must
be duly borne in mind, with reference to the Chinese, ast
opposed to the Manchu or Tartar, inhabitants of China.
English readers are apt to think of the people of the
Middle Kingdom as a corporate whole, forgetting that
only 250 years back the Chinese Empire was conquered
by the Tartars of Manchuria, and unaware perhaps that
the victors and the vanquished, though at present
mingling in perfect social and political harmony, have
each steadily preserved particular characteristics of their
own, among which personal nomenclature holds rather a
prominent position.* The Manchus imposed, indeed,
their peculiar coiffure, the tail, upon the Chinese as a
badge of submission to the new dynasty; but otherwise
* See pp. 111, 112.
358
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
they have always forborne to meddle with such harmless
institutions as they found already in vogue.
Their
ordinary dress is similar to that of the Chinese, though
differences are visible to the practised eye; and while
they do not subject their own women to the barbarous
process of early foot-binding, they do not prevent the
Chinese from continuing this ignoble custom-a custom
which, in my opinion, is the greatest blot on their
national escutcheon.
The Chinese character, pronounced hsing in the Court
dialect of to-day, which answers to our word 'surname,'
is a composite symbol. It is made up of two parts, one
of which signifies, and is further said to have once been,
the picture of a 'woman,' and the other 'to give birth to'
or 'to be born.' Consequently, the whole character
hsing was explained by the most famous of Chinese.
etymologists,* who flourished in the first century of our
era, to be 'that with which a man is born.'t Indeed,
we are unable to go back to any date short of the
legendary period of Chinese history when a man could
be born without entering at once into part proprietorship
of an inheritance of the kind; though in the earlier ages
surnames seem to have been confined to clans rather
than extended to individuals, just as in the present day
the Manchus do not make use of their family or clan
names, but employ their personal appellations instead.
* Hsü Shên. See p. 38.
+ The continuation of this entry is curious :-'Of old, the holy
mother above, influenced by Heaven (sc. God), bore a son, who
was therefore named the Son of Heaven (sc. the Emperor).'
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
359
The view, however, taken by the native etymologist, is
open to grave objection for reasons which cannot be
enlarged upon here. It must suffice for me to state that
the portion of the character hsing which signifies 'to give
birth to,' etc., had never, in all probability, anything
whatever to do with the meaning or etymological origin
of the whole. There was doubtless a time when the
Chinese had both a spoken word and a written symbol
for 'to be born' or 'to give birth to,' but only a spoken
word for 'surname;' then, when the necessity arose
for writing down the latter, the already-existing symbol
for the former was taken, because of the similarity in
sound between the two, and to it was added the
specially-appropriate symbol for 'woman,' as a means
of differentiating, not merely these two, but the newly-
formed character hsing from each of a series of
characters combined on exactly the same principle.
Thus, by keeping the same phonetic base and changing
the differentiator woman to (1) bamboo, (2) bullock,
(3) cowries, or (4) sun, we obtain four new characters,
all similar in sound, but of such varying significations
as (1) pan-pipes, (2) sacrificial animals, (3) wealth, and
(4) stars. Whether or not, on the other hand, the early
Chinese traced the family line through the mother, as
might appear from the important part played by the
element 'woman' in the characteristic hsing, I am quite
unprepared to say; it is at any rate worthy of note that
the 'eight most ancient surnames' are all written with
this particular symbol. But in anything like antiquarian
research, the literature of China is far from being a safe
360
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
guide. The most sober among Chinese authors are for
ever giving play to fancy, and mixing up fiction and fact.
For instance, Pan Ku,* the stately historian and scholar
of the Han dynasty, states it as his opinion that the
surnames of China were originally limited to one hundred.
Unfortunately, he proceeds to dissipate any value that
might have been attached to his opinion by telling how
this number was reached. 'Man,' says he, 'came into
the world heir to the Five Virtues. The musical notes
are five† — Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol; and five times five is
twenty-five. Allow for the variations of the Four Seasons
----four times twenty-five; hence the total of a hundred
surnames.' In another passage the same writer informs
us that 'surnames were invented to cement love and
friendship, to knit more closely the family tie, to dis-
tinguish man from the brute creation, and to insure
propriety in matrimonial alliances.'
From a careful analysis of The Family Names it
becomes apparent that more than half of the collection
have been derived from the names of places. I may
remark, en passant, that I am not aware of any place in
China which has taken its name from an individual;
nothing like Faringdon or Gislingham, the homes of the
Fearings and Gislings of old. These local surnames have
either been adopted precisely as written; or (2) with
the omission of a portion of the character, signifying
* Flourished during the first century. See p. 38.
In ancient times this was the recognised number, the Chinese
names of which I have rendered by English equivalents merely for
convenience.
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
361
'district;'* or (3) in rarer instances with the addition of
this same part, as if with a view to complete an otherwise
imperfect symbol and exhibit its origin more clearly.
About half the remainder are names which have been
adopted from the personal appellations of ancestors and
of the mythological Emperors of 4,000 years ago, as well
as from official titles and even from sobriquets of dis-
tinguished members of the family; the balance being
made up of a heterogeneous mass which, for present
purposes, may remain in a class by itself.
Now the beginnings of nomenclature in China are
lost in the mists of antiquity; and while admitting
that there may possibly be some foundation of truth
in those genealogical statements which carry us back
to semi-legendary periods, it will be safer to start
from the commencement of a more truly historical
era, namely, about, eleven centuries and a half before
Christ. At that date there undoubtedly lived a great
and warlike chieftain the famous Wên Wang, one
of whose sons, Wu Wang, ultimately ascended the
* The family name of H.E. the Marquis Tsêng is a case in
point. It was originally the name of a territory, called Tsêng;
to represent which in writing, a phonetic base of that particular
value was taken, and to it was added the differentiator district'
as a clue to the sense of the whole. A younger son of the Emperor
Shao Kʻang (B.C. 2079) was appointed to rule over this territory,
and his descendants adopted Tsêng as their name; subsequently,
when the State in question ceased to exist, leaving out the dif-
ferentiator 'district,' and writing the character as at the present
day. [The ê is here arbitrarily used, and has precisely the same
sound as the u in hung. For English readers, therefore, it would
be simpler to write the Marquis Tsung.]
362
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
throne as the first sovereign of the Chow dynasty.*
Wên Wang is reputed to have had no fewer than
ninety-eight other sons, ninety-nine in all; and although
this total is an exaggeration, founded partly upon
the well-known Chinese tendency in that direction,
and partly upon the fascination exercised by such a
number as ninety-nine, it is none the less certain that
a great many of Wu Wang's brothers were appointed
to govern small States or territories under the
feudal system which then prevailed. And it is equally
certain that whereas some of the descendants of
these petty princes adopted a part of the personal
appellation of their particular ancestor, the founder
of their house, a great many more took their names.
from the locality in which the family settled, altering
the character or otherwise in one of the three ways
above described. It is up to this point that the native
genealogist feels himself on comparatively safe ground;
and but little heed is paid to the enthusiast who traces
the origin of his family back to the palmy days of Yao
and Shun.
But before proceeding further, I will give a selection
from The Family Names, choosing such as are easily
rendered into English, and arranging them according
to a rough classification of my own. I shall also
add to each class, in italics, a few specimens of
surnames mentioned as such in K'ang Hsi's lexicon,
but excluded from the collection with which I am
now principally concerned.
* See p. 4.
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE. 363
I. Nature:-
Morning.
Cave.
Stone.
Clouds.
Field.
Sun.
Thunder.
Water.
Moon.
Shade.
Hillock.
Stars.
River.
Flood.
Evening.
Pool.
Valley.
Sea.
Sand.
Mountain.
II. Animals :-
Bear.
Camel.
Dragon.
Horse.
Ox.
Panther.
Tiger.
Sheep.
Fox.
III. Birds:-
Pheasant.
Phoenix.
Swallow.
IV. Fishes:
Owl (doubtful).
Bird's-nest.
Dried Fish.
Crab. Turtle.
Fish (the species).
V. Parts of the Body :-
Hair.
Ear.
Head.
Long-ears.
Eye.
Mouth.
Squint-eye.
Teeth.
VI. Weapons:-
Draw-bow.
Bow.
Spear.
Target.
Arms.
Arrow.
Bow-twang.
Shield.
Wound.
VII. Times and Seasons:-
Time.
Summer.
Autumn.
Spring.
Month (same as moon).
Winter.
Day (same as sun).
Year.
VIII. Family and Dwellings:-
Home.
House.
Dwell.
Palace.
Gateway.
Hamlet.
Boy.
Grandson.
Man.
Woman.
364
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
IX. Eating and Drinking:-
Feed. Banquet. Broth.
Gruel. Bellyful.
X. Occupations :—
Shepherd.
Farmer.
Butcher.
Wizard.
XI. Colours:
Red.
Yellow.
Blue.
Black.
White.
Purple.
Colour of Nature.
XII. Trees and Flowers :-
Hawthorn.
Rice.
Larch.
Peach.
Thistle.
Mugwort.
Leaf.
Bamboo.
Rush.
Bramble.
Branch.
Chestnut.
Cassia.
Cedar.
Thorn.
Wheat.
Plum.
Reed.
Forest.
Grain.
Willow.
Mulberry.
Faggots.
Hemp.
Pine.
Bean.
XIII. Minerals :—
Gold.
Iron.
Silver.
Perter.
XIV. Characteristics, Physical and Mental:-
Sharp.
Square.
Lofty.
East.
Empty.
Level.
Sweet.
West.
Full.
High.
Bitter.
South.
Broad.
Bright.
Cautious,
Fat.
Thin.
Tepid.
Stern.
Fragrant.
Ancient.
Cold.
Modest.
Strange.
Rich.
Double.
Martial.
XV. Passions :—
Hope. Joy.
Love.
Fear.
Hate.
XVI. Number*:
Ten-thousand. Four. Five. Nine.
Hundred.
A Manchu official, recently stationed at Amoy, rejoiced in the
extraordinary name (see p. 112) of Eighty-four.'
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
365
XVII. Official :—
Registrar.
Duke.
Frontier.
Minister.
Tribute.
Prince.
Prison.
Seal.
Officer.
State.
Queen.
Salary.
XVIII. Miscellaneous:
Money.
Harmony.
Music.
Needle.
Ball.
Peace.
Age.
Bowels.
Yeast.
Repose.
Pole.
Fire.
Bushel.
Pot.
Cord.
Hook.
Tally.
Button.
Nail.
Balance.
Cowries.
Pillow.
Square (the).
Compasses.
Such are the meanings of a large number of Chinese
surnames, many of them being absolutely identical with
those of English families. From these lists the reader
will be able to draw his own conclusions, and I shall
only take upon myself to make one statement in con-
nection therewith, namely, that surnames derived from
animals are considered objectionable in China, where
the brute creation has always been held in low esteem.
The 'totemism' of surnames is a subject which I believe
has been run to death in reference to the West, but has
yet to find an exponent of its application in the East.
The question now arises as to how these Chinese
names, of which so far only English equivalents have
been given, sound when pronounced in ordinary con-
versation. The answer is that while some consist of
sounds foreign to our ears, and such as it would be
quite impossible to express with the letters of our
alphabet, others again are not only phonetically familiar
but almost identical with certain English surnames.
Thus, there are ten Chinese surnames which, if written
366 ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
down exactly as pronounced, would appear as Pye,
Lowe, Shee, Mee, May, Lay, Nye, Mann, Tighe, and Lee.
As it is, we are constrained to use for the expression of
Chinese sounds generally an arbitrary but at the same
time a consistent orthography; and so it comes about
that the above ten names would be properly written
down in such a disguised form as Pai, Lou, Hsi, Mi,
Mei, Lei, Nai, Man, Tai, and Li. On the other hand,
I have myself been acquainted with two persons bearing
thoroughly Chinese names, spelling and all, viz., Ching
and Ling; besides a third, Jung, which I copied out of
a newspaper. Of the English origin of the first two I
know nothing; in Chinese, Ching might mean either
thorn or a fine view (say Bellevue), and Ling an ice-
house. Among the sounds which cannot be expressed
in English, except by an arbitrary system, ssu and tzu
will suffice as specimens; unless I may add the curious-
looking name of the first Chinese gentleman admitted
to practise at the English bar. This name would be
transliterated into Cantonese, his native dialect, as 'Ng,
and its sound may be easily reproduced by uttering some
such word as sing without the si. It may here be
mentioned that whereas Chinese is rich enough and to
spare in written characters and their manifold literary
combinations, it is one of the most meagre of languages
in regard to spoken sounds. The Court dialect, spoken
at Peking and in the neighbourhood, has a total of only
421, under one or another of which every word must
fall; so that were it not for the partial remedy afforded
by the subdivision of the majority of these 421 sounds
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
367
under four tones, oral communication in a wide sense.
would be next door to an impossibility. Even as things
are, a sufficient number of words are pronounced alike to
cause serious difficulty to the foreign student, and this
difficulty has made itself felt to a certain extent in the
province of surnames. For instance supposing that, in
accordance with Chinese custom, the usual formula
'What is your honourable name,' had been regularly
answered only by the corresponding formula 'My
humble name is Chang,' the questioner would still be
left in doubt as to which of two Chang families might be
intended by the reply. Mr. Chang would inevitably
add, in the same breath, that his name was either 'bow-
long' Chang or 'stand-up' Chang as the case might be,
in allusion to the structure of the two written characters
employed, one being composed of 'bow' and 'long,'
and the other of 'stand-up' and 'early.' It would be as
though an Englishman were to give Leigh as his name,
and add the spelling, to avoid possible confusion with
Lee, Lea, or Legh. There are not more, however, than
about a dozen, or at most twenty, instances of the kind.
In China, the surname precedes whatever title its
owner may happen to be possessed of. Ordinary indi-
viduals are addressed by a term, literally 'elder-born,'
which corresponds more closely with Monsieur than
with Mr., e.g., Wang Elder-born; and also without the
name, e.g., 'Elder-born!' Officials may be similarly
addressed as (e.g.) 'Lin Great man,' or simply 'Great
man,' a term which is near about the equivalent of
'Your Honour.'
:
368
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
The double and triple surnames of the Chinese form a
chapter by themselves, although out of the grand total of
176, only thirty double and no triple specimens have
been admitted into The Family Names. Of the latter
kind, I neither know nor can discover any particulars. I
have never heard of a family with a triple surname, and
it is very doubtful if any are still to be found. Of the
thirty authorised double names, not more than four or
five are derived from places, and about half-a-dozen
more are commemorative of some high office held by an
ancestor, or perhaps by the founder of the family. The
Hsien-yüans or 'Hood-and-shafts,' claim their descent
from the legendary Yellow Emperor, who lived B.C. 2697,
and to whom the name Hsien-yüan was given as a
sort of agnomen because he was said to be the inventor
of carts and carriages. This is no doubt rubbish; but
it is not so when the modern Kung-suns or 'Duke-
grandsons' trace their origin to a grandson (sun) of one
of the feudal dukes (kung), who may have lived between
the eighth and fifth centuries before Christ. The Kung-
yang or 'Duke-sheep' family may or may not have a
foundation of truth in their story of a remote ancestor,
also under the Chow dynasty, who was the grandson of
a duke and was suckled by a sheep; but there need be
no suspicion attaching to the origin of such a name as
Mu-ch'i, which was bestowed upon the descendants of
the elder brother of the Emperor Hsien Wên of the
house of Toba (A.D. 466). A prince of the Turkic tribes.
is stated to have adopted as his surname the term
Mu-yung or 'desire-influence,' because he said he desired
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
369
the virtues of Heaven, and wished to continue the good
influences of the sun, moon, and stars. The explanation
of Ou-yang or 'Ou-southern' is simple and straight-
forward. It was adopted by the descendants of an
official appointed to a district on the southern side of
the Ngou-yü hill. So Shan-yü, 'chieftain,' was not
improbably, as is stated, the family name bestowed upon
a chieftain of the Turkic tribes who yielded submission
under the Han dynasty, some eighteen to twenty
centuries ago.
And even Ssu-ma 'manage-horse' may
possibly have been adopted at an early date from a
military title in use under the Chows; while with Tung-
fang'eastern-quarter,' said to have been adopted by the
descendants of a legendary official, whose duty it was to
control the influences of the eastern quarter, we become
conscious at once of a transition beyond the boundary of.
unvarnished truth.
These, then, are the recognised surnames current
upon the soil of China, one of which is the birthright of
every Chinese subject, but may not on any account be
changed or altered in form except under dispensation
from the Emperor himself. Only the wretched creature
who voluntarily, perhaps to avoid the penalty of crime, or
involuntarily by the act of parents, takes upon himself or
herself the vows of the Buddhist priesthood, is called
upon to leave behind at the gate of the temple that last
link with the outer world of sin. In its place is sub-
stituted a 'religious epithet,' under which the new initiate
will be enrolled as monk or nun. It is therefore a
terrible breach of etiquette, often however perpetrated by
B B
370
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
unwary foreigners, to politely inquire of a Buddhist
abbot what may be his honourable name. The dirty,
sodden-faced old man will probably hesitate, look con-
fused for a moment, and then, seeing that the mistake
was unintentional, will quietly reply that his religious
epithet is Limpid Truth or Divine Emancipation.
Surnames play an important part in the matrimonial
system of China. A Chinese woman changes her name
at marriage to that of her husband's family, to which she
henceforth belongs. As with us, Miss Lee becomes
Mrs. King; but the full legal title of a married woman
always includes her maiden name, and a Miss Lee who
should marry a Mr. King would be styled in all legal
documents 'Mrs. King, née Lee.'
surname.
A Chinaman may not marry a woman of the same
If he does so, 'the parties and the contractor
(i.e. go-between) of the marriage shall each receive sixty
blows, and the marriage being null and void, the man
and woman shall be separated, and the marriage presents
forfeited to government.'-(Penal Code.) This is the
general rule, based upon a belief in the original con-
sanguinity through the male line of all persons bearing
the same family name, and as such it is faithfully
observed; although on the one hand, modifications of
the law have become an absolute necessity in certain
parts of China, and on the other, it is freely admitted by
the Chinese that intermarriages between descendants of
the same family through the male branch have not been
absolutely prevented thereby. We will take the last case
first. It is beyond a doubt that many families distinguished
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
371
now by different surnames belonged once upon a time to
the same clan and possessed the same clan name, which
was changed perhaps by a particular branch only for
some local or other reason, several instances of which
will be found recorded in the Yüan-chien-lei-han and
similar works. Yet nothing is said against intermarriages
between members of the new family and the original
stock, because their surnames are different and the letter
of the law is carried out. In rare cases, however, the
feeling of consanguinity between families now of different
surnames is kept fully alive. The Yeh family will never
intermarry with the Shên family, because the name Yeh
was merely adopted by a branch of the Shên family from
the name of a place (formerly pronounced Shê) to which
one of their ancestors was appointed magistrate. The
Liu's and Hou's also refuse to allow intermarriages, a
once prominent member of the Liu family having been
forced by his own misconduct to flee from his native
province and settle down in a distant part of the empire,
where he described himself as 'Mr. Earl,' a name taken
from his old title * and said to have been up to that time
unknown. So, again, the Yangs will not hear of inter-
marriage with the Yihs. In Chinese, the written character
for Yih is part of the character Yang; and the Yih family
is said to have descended from a certain slave in the
Yang family, who was manumitted and allowed to adopt.
a portion of his master's name. It would be as if a
manumitted slave of the house of Howard were allowed
to adopt Ward as the surname of a new family.
* Hou, which means 'earl.'
B B 2
372
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
Modifications of the above rule have been introduced
both with the sanction of the government and by the
combined action of the people themselves. A classifi-
cation was made of those who assisted and those who did
not assist in the transport of grain to Peking during the
reign of the Emperor Yung Loh (A.D. 1403-1425), and
intermarriages of persons bearing the same surname,
but not belonging to the same one of these two classes,
were authorised to take place. In the same way, an un-
derstanding seems to have been arrived at by the inhabi-
tants of large areas peopled almost entirely by a single
clan, that intermarriages of the kind shall be permitted,
provided always the contracting parties are not related
within the five degrees of mourning;' which means,
that in the event of the death of either in an unmarried
state, or married to somebody else, the survivor would be
compelled to wear mourning of depth proportionate to
the relationship, as prescribed by law.*
The Chinese have their 'four common names,'
corresponding to our Brown, Jones, and Robinson.
These are Chang, Wang, Li, Chên, and may be
rendered by Draw-bow, Prince, Plum, and Spread,
respectively. The first and third are used in a curious
phrase-Chang-three-Li-four-much in the sense of our
So-and-so, to indicate some person or persons unknown.
I will conclude with a few words about the personal
names as opposed to the surnames of Chinese men and
women. Within a few days of birth, the parents of the
* See p. 171.
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
373
new-born baby usually fix upon some pet term of
endearment, which is called the 'milk name,' and may
be freely used during youth by any one speaking of or to
the child. Among the poorer classes, this milk name is
often retained through life; and a grown-up person
will thus be addressed or alluded to by his friends and
relatives under the sobriquet of his baby days. A
girl, of no matter what station in life, never becomes
possessed of any personal designation other than her
milk name, which may be changed at marriage should
the term employed be found to clash with any of the
'tabooed' names in the family which she is about to join.
Specimens of the milk-names of boys would include such
words as Doggy, Monkey, Booby, Fatty, etc.; those
bestowed on girls are chosen with a view to their more
lasting character, and run on a higher level, such as
Fairy, Gold, Silver, Jade, Pearl, Agate, Azure, etc. A
slave-girl is invariably named after some flower: Rose,
Chrysanthemum, Peony, etc.; because, say the Chinese,
flowers often change hands and fall to the highest
bidders. A strange custom prevails with regard to the
milk-names of delicate and unhealthy children. An
offensive term is generally chosen for the child in
question, the idea being that by this plan the evil in-
fluences which predominate in his or her constitution will
in some way or other be counteracted, and the child's life
saved. The masses, for whom the above theory is not
of a sufficiently material character, believe that the Angel
of Death will pass over any child thus named, not
deeming it worth while to cut the thread of such an
374
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
ignoble being, on whom even its own parents have
attached their stigma of scorn. A man, at this moment
occupying the position of messenger in one of H.B.M.'s
Consulates in China, was on this principle named Dung
in his early youth; and by this sobriquet he is still
known in the small but respectable circle in which he
moves.*
At seven or eight years of age, the Chinese boy, whose
parents are sufficiently well-to-do in the world, either
goes to school or shares the attention of a tutor with
his brothers at home. In any case, it is about this
period that he is provided with what we might call a
prænomen, but for the fact that, like all subordinate
designations and titles, it follows, instead of preceding,
the family name; otherwise, it is a fair counterpart of
the Roman prænomen, and of our baptismal or 'Chris-
tian' name.
It is chosen in accordance with fixed
rules, from which no one ever thinks of deviating.
Some remote ancestor having selected a certain body
of characters from any well-known source, these are
used in rotation for the prænomina of his posterity,
one for each generation, but variously combined in
each individual instance. Thus, brothers will have a
common character running through their prænomina,†
but nothing in common with their father's, except that
in the list upon which all the family prænomina are
based, one character of the father's prænomen will always
be found immediately preceding that one jointly occupied
Rice beneath a corpse is the actual character.
+ See p. 191.
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
375
by the sons. It is difficult to illustrate this by such
actual examples as 'Heaven's-gift' the father of 'Earth-
born,' 'Earth-blessed,' etc., the English reader not being
conversant with the Chinese source of the words Heaven
and Earth; but an exact analogy would be formed if
some father whose name might happen to be Matthew
John Smith, were to introduce Mark into the names of
all his sons, and they again Luke in the same way, and
so on. When the list is exhausted, it is not repeated,
but another is selected by the patriarchs of the family,
and a new start is made. This, however, is of rare
occurrence, especially when such a lengthy list as The
Thousand Character Essay * is chosen as the stock from
which the names are to be derived. The prænomen
is carefully entered against the name of the bearer in
the family register, a genealogical record held in high
esteem among the Chinese and regularly written up
among all classes with any pretentions to social respect-
ability. It is used on two special occasions :-(1) in
arranging the preliminaries of a marriage, when the
names of the man and woman, together with the year,
month, day, and hour, of birth are exchanged, that it
may be determined if their nativities are in proper
correspondence; and (2) at the official registration of
a boy in the books of the district magistrate with a
view to his future identification.
As time wears on, and the boy, having already
mastered the elements of learning, passes into the ranks
* See p. 238.
376
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
of more advanced students, he usually adopts what, for
want of a better equivalent, I shall call an agnomen.
This consists of some ornamental phrase, often suggested
by his tutor or friends, and frequently having reference
in an indirect way to the personal tastes or characteristics
of the owner. In social circles, a man's agnomen is used
by his acquaintances in addressing him or in speaking
about him to third persons; and he may have as many
of such names as he pleases. 'Scholarship-complete,'
Bright-hills,' and 'Correct-and-level,' are examples suffi-
cient to illustrate the variety of combinations employed.
The Chinese have yet another kind of personal name,
known as the 'official appellation.' This is assumed
either at marriage or on entering to compete at the
great public examinations, and is, strictly speaking, a
mark of entry into official life, though widely adopted by
persons in easy circumstances, much as the term Esquire
among ourselves. It is this appellation which appears,
following the surname, on the large red visiting-card
in use among the Chinese; and by the surname and
official appellation together, persons of all grades are
spoken of in ordinary conversation. Thus, we speak
freely of His Excellency, the Viceroy of Chihli, Grand
Secretary of State, etc., etc., as Li Hung-chang: Li
'Plum' being his surname, and Hung-chang 'Literary
polish' (or words to that effect) being his official appel-
lation. But we speak to him by the high title he has
won for himself in the service of his Imperial master.
I began this paper with a story of the pardonable
ignorance of an English lady in the matter of the
ON THE SURNAMES OF THE CHINESE.
377
surnames and personal names of the Chinese. I will
end it with another, in which Her Most Gracious Majesty
the Queen, and the high authorities at the Colonial Office,
are more or less involved.
Many years ago, a needy Chinaman emigrated from
Whampoa, near Canton, to the Straits' Settlements,
where he raised himself by thrift and force of character
to wealth and position, including, as far as I recollect,
the appointment of first Chinese Consul at Singapore.
His name was Hu Yü-ki, the last syllable of which
would be pronounced kai or kay in his native dialect;
but he was familiarly known in his struggling days under
the nickname of 'Whampoa' from the place of his birth,
and even as he advanced in life this name stuck to
him to the displacement of his own. And so, resigning
himself to the inevitable, he took the kai or kay, by
which he would be addressed in conjunction with the
prefix A or Ah-A-kay or Ah-kay-and placing these
as initials before what had practically become his family
name, he described himself according to English custom
as the Hon. A. K. Whampoa.* And it was positively
under this ludicrous sobriquet that Her Majesty the
Queen was recommended to confer, and did confer,
upon an enterprising and worthy Chinaman a com-
panionship in the exalted Order of St. Michael and
St. George.
* Sometimes with the initial of his Chinese surname as well;
thus, 'Honble. H. A. K. Whampoa.' This was probably the
authorised form, but the other was more commonly seen in
newspapers, etc.
378
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.*
In the year 1870, while attending the meetings of
my mother lodge, 'The Oak, No. 190,' I was frequently
met with the question 'Have you Freemasonry in China?'
-meaning, of course, as a purely Chinese institution ;
and again, many times since it has been my good fortune
to be a member of the 'Ionic Lodge of Amoy, No. 1781,'
the same query has been advanced in conversation by
several brethren desirous of some information as to
the possible existence of any connecting link between
Freemasonry and the Far East. I have therefore
concluded that a brief outline of what I myself have
been able to gather on this subject, during a residence
of over thirteen years in the country, may not be wholly
devoid of interest.
The first issue that presents itself for settlement is
simply one of terms. What do we mean when we ask
if Freemasonry exists in China? Do we confine our-
selves to the comparatively modern system in vogue at
the present day among western nations, with its ritual
of doubtful date, its signs, its passwords, and its Book
* An address to the members of the Ionic Lodge of Amoy,
delivered June 8th, 1880.
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA
379
of Constitutions? If so, then I would affirm that our
noble fraternity does not exist now among the Chinese,
and has never existed in China at all. Or are we
inquiring about mere secret societies, of which China
has always had enough and to spare, and of which at
least one, as I shall take occasion to show later on,
bears in some respects a rather singular resemblance to
our Craft? Or lastly, does this question point to that
higher and more ethereal scheme of morality, veiled
in an allegory and illustrated by symbols drawn from
operative masonry, which was initiated in pre-historic
times when the human race, emerging gradually from
savagery and barbarism, first turned to contemplate the
wondrous works of the Great Architect of the Universe
and began to recognise the mutual obligations subsisting
between man and man? For this is the masonry that
every enlightened mason should seek to cultivate-
the masonry, not of forms and of ceremonies, but of
the heart. We learn from operative masonry that
the straight is more graceful and more enduring than
the crooked, the upright a better weight-supporter
than that which is awry, and that the rectangle and
the circle are more practically useful and beautiful
than other and irregular shapes. In speculative
masonry, we apply all these facts figuratively to our
morals, and to ascertain how far the Chinese have
gone in the same direction will be the main object
of this paper.
From time immemorial we find the square and com-
passes used by Chinese writers, either together or
380
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
separately, to symbolise precisely the same phases of
moral conduct as in our own system of Freemasonry.
I may note here, in parentheses, that the Chinese
invert the order of the words and say 'compasses
and square.' Other masonic tools and appliances
have also been similarly employed, as I shall now
endeavour to show. The earliest passage known to
me which bears upon the subject is to be found
in the Book of History. There, in an account of a
military expedition, we read-
*
Ye officers of government, apply the compasses !
and in another part of the same venerable record a
magistrate is spoken of as 'the man of the level' or
'the level man.'t Now the Book of History embraces
a period reaching from the twenty-fourth to the seventh
century before Christ; so that even if we begin where
the Book of History ends, we find curious masonic
expressions to have been in use, at any rate in the
written language, more than seven hundred years before
the Christian era-that is to say, only about a couple
of hundred years after the death of King Solomon
himself. But inasmuch as there are no grounds what-
ever for impugning the authentic character of that work
as connected with periods much more remote, this would
give to speculative masonry a far higher antiquity than
has ever yet been claimed.
The published Discourses of Confucius provide us
* See the Yin-chêng.
+ See the Li-chêng.
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
381
with several masonic allusions of a more or less definite
character. For instance, when recounting his own
degrees of moral progress in life, the Master tells us
that only at seventy years of age could he venture to
follow the inclinations of his heart without fear of
'transgressing the limits of the square.' This would
be B.C. 481. But it is in the works of his great follower
Mencius, who flourished nearly two hundred years later,
that we meet with a fuller and more expressive masonic
phraseology. In one chapter we are taught that just
as the most highly skilled artificers are unable, without
the aid of the square and compasses, to produce perfect
rectangles or perfect circles, so must all men apply
these tools figuratively to their lives, and the level and
the marking-line besides, if they would walk in the
straight and even paths of wisdom, and keep themselves
within the bounds of honour and virtue.† But I will
give you the very words of three of the most curious
passages:-
In Book IV. we read-
The compasses and the square are the embodiment of the
rectangular and of the round, just as the prophets of old
were the embodiment of the due relationships between man
and man.
In Book VI. we find these words-
A master mason, in teaching his apprentices, makes use
of the compasses and the square. Ye who are engaged in
the pursuit of wisdom must also make use of the compasses
and square.
* See the Wei-chêng.
+ See the Li-shu.
382
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
Finally, in Book VII. we have-
A carpenter or a carriage-builder may give a man the compasses
and the square, but he cannot necessarily make him a skilful
workman.
These extracts are perhaps sufficiently curious to make
further comment unnecessary. It must not, however, be
assumed that such allusions are confined to the sayings
of Confucius and Mencius; I have simply chosen these
two as the most widely known names in the range of
Chinese literature. In confirmation of which I will
now place before you a few passages from other sources,
illustrative of the extended employment among Chinese
authors of masonic phraseology in a purely figurative
sense. But I must just detain you for a moment over
a quotation from a famous canonical work, commonly
known to foreigners as the Great Learning, the actual
authorship of which is a moot point among scholars,
though it is admitted on all sides that the text dates
from between three and five hundred years before
Christ. There, in Chapter X., we read that a man
should abstain from doing unto others what he would
not they should do unto him; and this,' adds the
writer, 'is called the principal of acting on the square.'
To continue. In a celebrated poem* which dates
from the fourth century B.C., the writer alludes thus
metaphorically to the degeneracy of his times :—
Of a truth the workmanship of the age is specious!
Neglected lie the square and compasses, our true guides;
The measuring-line is discarded and the crooked is pursued,
A showy elegance is the standard now aimed at by all.
* The Li Sao or Dissipation of Grief. See p. 17
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
383
The same poem contains several similar allusions,
such as-
In the relation of sovereign and subject,
Seek the harmony of the square and the measuring-line.
The Taoist philosopher Chuang-tzu, who flourished
about B.C. 330, and who propounded many extraordinary
doctrines-among others, that crime is due simply to the
measures taken for its repression, and that immorality is
an invention of moralists,*-has several allusions to the
square and compasses, one of which is quite in keeping
with the paradoxical tenor of his writings :-
Destroy all distinctions between the curved and the straight;
discard the compasses and the square; snap off the fingers of the
artificer Shui;t and then, then for the first time, will the world
see what real workmanship is like.
And so I could go on producing a large number of
similar quotations from various Chinese authors of note,
such as the philosopher Wên-tzŭ of the fourth century
B.C., the poet Liu Tsung-yüan of the T'ang dynasty (A.D.
773-819), the famous scholar and poet Su Tung-p'o of the
Sung dynasty (A.D. 1036-1101), but I will now ask you to
descend with me to more modern times, that I may
show how this same masonic phraseology has preserved
its place in the literary language of China even to the
present day. In the well-known Sacred Edict, which
consists of a number of moral maxims addressed to the
* See p. 16.
† A noted workman of antiquity, who could draw perfect squares
and circles with his fingers alone.
384
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
·
people by the second Emperor of the reigning dynasty
(1661-1723) and expanded by the third Emperor, his
son, we are told that filial piety and fraternal love should
be the chief objects in the moral education of our
children. We are bidden to exemplify these virtues in
our own lives, and to otherwise inculcate them by every
means in our power, and thus, as the text has it—
The wisdom of our sons may ripen day by day, and they may
walk within the limits prescribed by the compasses and the square.
In three other passages of the same work the word
compasses' is used in a metaphorical sense, but what
I have already given is doubtless sufficient for the
purpose of this investigation. It may not, however,
be out of place to add that the proverbial philosophy
of China teems with allusions of the kind, so much so,
that when the Amoy Masonic Hall was built there was
no difficulty in finding at once suitable mottoes to place
on each side of the entrance door to the Lodge.
on the right signifies-
That
The holy doctrine,* in its education of mankind, makes use of the
compasses and the square:
That on the left-
The genius of the sage in the administration of affairs takes the
form of the rectangular or the round.
Neither are these figurative expressions confined abso-
lutely to the written language, but prevail to a greater
or less extent in all the colloquial dialects at the
* Confucianism.
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
385
*
DIE
寳​口​通
​present date. In the everyday parlance of the Chinese,
a man who has no 'square and compasses,' or who does
not understand the 'square and compasses,' is one
who is oblivious of all moral and social obligations, and
totally unfit for any society of men 'who prize honour
and virtue above the external advantages of rank and
fortune.' By the same token, the Chinese regard their
only coin, the familiar cash (Fig. 1),
which is circular, and pierced with
a square hole, as the most perfect
symbol of a perfect man. But I
must now pass on to inquire whence
arose this marvellous adoration of
these two shapes, the material em-
bodiment of which is to be found, as Mencius has already
told us, in the square and compasses. Certain Chinese phi-
losophers of an imaginative order would have us believe
that the circle was discovered by observation of the beam
of a balance revolving upon its point of support, adding
that the square followed as a necessary consequence
of the circle. The actual words of one writer are-

治
​Fig. 1.
The balance revolving gave birth to the circle; what the circle
involves is a square.t
Here we have the incongruous picture of a people already
acquainted with the functions of a balance, but ignorant
* The specimen given here belongs to the reign of Shun Chih, the
first Emperor of the present or Manchu dynasty (A.D. 1644–1662).
Cash were first coined in China about 200 B.C., previous to which
the shell of the pearl-oyster was the recognised circulating medium.
† See the Ch'ien-han-li-li-chih.
сс
386
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
of the very existence of the simplest and most beautiful
of all shapes! I trust I have a better theory to propound
than that, by which this singular position of the square
and compasses in the earliest literature of China may
perhaps be accounted for in a more satisfactory manner.
The first objects of religious veneration among the
ancient Chinese were undoubtedly Heaven and Earth;
they are the two greatest of the three great Powers of
Nature, and the progenitors of the third, which is Man.
And when the half-savage nomad tribes which wandered
over the untilled plains of what is now the Middle
Kingdom, saw above them, and around them, the over-
arching canopy of the sky, they concluded, like the
Egyptians, that Heaven was round; mother Earth they
believed to be square, for what reason I am unable to
say, unless it be that a square is that shape, not a circle,
which suggests itself as most conveniently to be con-
tained within a circle. At any rate, it has ever been
accepted as a physical axiom in China that 'Heaven
is round, Earth is square;' '* and among the relics of
the nature-worship of old, we find the altar of Heaven
at Peking round, while the altar of Earth is square.†
By the marriage of Heaven and Earth, the conjunction
of the circle and the square, the Chinese believe that
all things were produced and subsequently distributed,
* The authorities for this statement are innumerable. Wên-tzŭ,
of the fourth century B.C., said 'Earth is square but without any
limit, so that no one can see its portals ;' and Hwai Nan Tzŭ
wrote, 'The goddess Nü Kua bears on her back the square earth,
embracing with her arms the circle of the sky.'
+ See the Digest of the Institutes of the Ch'ing Dynasty, sect. 37.
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
387
each according to its proper function. And such is,
in my opinion, the undoubted origin of the term 'square
and compasses' as figuratively applied to human conduct
by the earliest ancestors of the Chinese people. I am
unable to believe that they derived this particular
masonic phraseology from any admiration or reverence
for the masonic art, unless as connected with what I
have shown they believed to be the architecture of the
visible universe. At the same time, I am quite pre-
pared to admit that as ages passed away the real secret
of these words became obscured, and that the figurative
employment of the term 'square and compasses,' to
which had been added that of other implements and
phrases in use among operative builders, was henceforth
traced no further back than to the beginnings of masonry
itself. There is, on the other hand, every reason why
this phrase 'square and compasses' should have origi-
nated with the nature-worship of a round Heaven and
a square Earth. To begin with, the words themselves,
long before they came to be used as names for the
instruments by which squares and circles are produced,
stood simply for 'circle' and 'square;' and secondly,
Heaven and Earth have always been regarded as proto-
types of perfection and as unerring models for human
imitation. They are the father and mother of the
princes of China. They have no partialities:-
Heaven covers no one in particular: Earth supports no one in
particular the sun, moon, and stars shine down on no one in
particular.
*
* From the Book of Rites.
CC 2
388
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
And a great portion of one of the Four Books* is
devoted to eulogising the systematic uniformity of the
operations of these two Powers, and to pointing out
that he who can exhibit in his own life a similar
uniformity of principle may be considered as their
co-equal, and take his place accordingly in Nature's
great triad of Heaven, Earth, and Man. Further, this
hypothesis better explains the colloquial phrase; a man
who has no 'square and compasses' being one utterly
regardless of Heaven and Earth, the primeval parents
of mankind, whose useful unvarying existence is the
standard of rectitude for all.
I would now ask your attention to a celebrated pas-
sage
which occurs in one of our old masonic lectures:
In all well-formed and regularly constituted Masonic Lodges
there is a certain point within a circle round which the brethren
cannot materially err.
This it is of which Dr. Oliver, in his work on Signs
and Symbols (p. 197), speaks of as 'that most important
emblem of masonry.' Now the Chinese have this very
symbol (Fig. 2), a dot within a circle, which is nothing
more nor less than the ancient form of the character
* The Chung Yung, or 'Doctrine of the Mean,' the authorship
of which is ascribed to Tzu Ssů, the grandson of Confucius.
+ The learned Doctor proceeds, on p. 205, to deal with a Chinese
symbol, which he says bears a great resemblance to that which is
the subject of this lecture,' and which he describes as a 'circle
bounded north and south by two serpents, emblematical of the
universe protected and supported equally by the Power and Wisdom
of the Creator.' But here Dr. Oliver, himself not a Chinese scholar,
was simply accepting a figment totally unsupported by fact.
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
389
for sun. * It is one of the best of the scanty number
of bona fide hieroglyphics that the Chinese have to
show; it is a positive picture of
the sun, the life-giver, as their
forefathers saw it overhead, a dot
within the circle of the sky. The
masonic 'point within a circle' is
held to represent the one Supreme
Power, whatever that Power may
be, the Great Architect of the Universe, recognised
alike by ourselves and our brother masons of every
religious denomination; and it is, to say the least of
it, curious that the same emblem should be found
among the Chinese, and signifying, if not Heaven
itself, still the most prominent object in the sky.†

Fig. 2.
There are many other coincidences of the kind to be
traced in the ancient and modern lives of the Chinese
people, which the calm inquirer cannot be too cautious.
in accepting off-hand as proofs of Freemasonry in China.
For instance, Wor. Bro. Alabaster recently called atten-
tion to a number of coincidences he himself had met
with between the old religion of China and the ritual
and observances of our Craft. He noticed that the
Chinese character pên (Fig. 3), meaning 'root' or
* The modern form of this character is, a shape into which
it had almost been modified in the Shuo Wên dictionary, which
dates from the first century of our era. Its older form is, however,
traceable in several of the composite characters, in which it there
appears as a factor.
+ In this connection it is curious to note that Druid temples were
circular, often with a stone at the centre.
390
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
origin,' bore some resemblance to the masonic skirrit,
forgetting that the form of this
character, as we see it now, was
only introduced some four hundred
years after Christ, when the period
of the old religion of China, with
which Bro. Alabaster was dealing,

本
​Fig. 3.
had long since passed away. Under
its earlier shape (Fig. 4), no possible resemblance could
fairly be traced either to the skirrit or to
any other masonic tool. So also, Bro.
Alabaster alleges that the Emperors of
China of four thousand years ago wore a
jewel identical with our square, and trans-
mitted at death by every occupant of the
throne to his successor as a badge of

半
​Fig. 4.
Imperial sway. This would indeed be a discovery, if sup-
ported by proper evidence; unfortu-

nately, however, there is the fact that
Fig. 5.
the 'jewel'in question, which was sim-
ply a kind of musical stone, opens at
an obtuse angle, and would conse-
quently be quite out of place, operatively as a masonic
tool, and speculatively as a masonic emblem (Fig. 5).*
The old Chinese character for a square
* Bro. Alabaster drew his information from
the works of the Jesuit fathers, in which this
(Fig. 6) musical stone is wrongly depicted as
in the accompanying diagram.

Fig. 6.
Since my return from China, I have been to
the Supreme Council, 33°, and have seen the famous jade figure
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
391
is written thus (Fig. 7), the angles being of course
intended for right angles.* We must not jump to
hasty conclusions on the strength of a few
isolated examples; but what we should
do is to collect as many such coincidences.
as possible, and then to attempt to esti-
mate them at their true value. The
Chinese language contains many cha-
racters apparently masonic in form, but

[
Fig. 7.
almost all these coincidences vanish for the most
part into thin air when we recollect that the written
symbols of China are no longer

正
​Fig. 8.
what they were.
now written with
Characters are
straight lines ;
whereas before the Christian era
almost every other stroke was a
curve. Thus, the character chêng
(Fig. 8), 'upright,' is now undoubtedly
masonic in shape as well as in meaning, bearing as it
does a singular resemblance to the triple
tau monogram of the Royal Arch degree;
in ancient days, however, it was formed
of Confucius, taken from the loot of the Summer
Palace, in which figure the sage is popularly
supposed to be wearing the masonic square.
The annexed diagram, from a rubbing obtained
at that visit, will show, however, that the orna-
ment worn by Confucius does not open at the
angle required.
* Older forms are given by Chinese lexico-
graphers, but the above is the earliest in which much confidence
can be placed.

392
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
with curved strokes (Fig. 9), in which its identity with
the masonic monogram can be traced only by the
enthusiast. On the other hand, we have

T
the character t'ou (Fig. 10), the symbol
on our master mason's apron, written
now as it was between two and three
thousand years ago; and this is by no
means the only instance of the kind.
Fig. 9.
It may also be considered curious by
some that the old Chinese character chi (Fig. 11),
should signify a meeting or concourse of people, since
we read in Dr. Oliver's Treasury that
'Freemasonry is a Triad Society,' and
that every triad is a landmark;' and
those who are gifted with a lively power
of imagination may possibly be able
to identify the character ho (Fig. 12),
with our own past master's jewel. It is at any rate
rather remarkable that this last character should have

A
Fig. 10.
been employed to denote the union
of Heaven and Earth, that is, of the
square and the circle of which I spoke
just now; and that it should also form
part of the name and an important
emblem of the great Chinese Triad
Fig. 11.
Society, on which I shall shortly have
a few words to say. There still remain, however,
several points in connection with ancient times to
which I should like to draw your attention before
passing on to the more modern secret association.

FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
393
The place of honour, occupied by the head of
every Chinese family, is in the east. Hence, an
employer is commonly spoken of
by his employés as 'the eastern
one.' On the other hand, the
Emperors of China and all man-
darins have their throne and
judgment-seats facing the south;
that is, they sit in the north.
合
​
Fig. 12.
It is difficult, therefore, to detect anything more than
로돈
​Fig. 13.
A
rn
a coincidence in the

position accorded to the
master of a Chinese
household.
Let us now take the
apron, that distinguishing
badge of a Freemason.
Masonically speaking, it is considered as dividing the
body into two halves, the upper and nobler half
containing the brain and the heart,
which are thus separated from the
merely corporeal and baser half below.
Now the Chinese have for centuries
recognised this division of the body,'
and in their ancient ceremonial of
several thousand years ago an apron of
*
斤
​
Fig. 14.
some kind undoubtedly played a part. Such an article
of dress is in fact mentioned in the Discourses of
* See the Hsi-yüan-lu.
394
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
Confucius, and is depicted in the old illustrated dic-
tionary of the classics as ornamented with a plant, seven
stars, an axe, and the character a or ya (Fig. 13). The
plant or shrub will of course commend itself to the
notice of every master mason, while I
匠
​
Fig. 15.
may add that the Chinese symbol for an
axe (Fig. 14), placed inside the symbol
for square, thus (Fig. 15), is the identical
character by which the term 'master
mason' is expressed in the written lan-
guage of China.* What the character
va (Fig. 16) signifies in this combination, I am not
prepared to say. Some assert that its meaning has
reference to the disappearance of the sun; and if
so, why not to the darkness visible of a master
mason's Lodge? As to the apron, the Great Yü,
who is said to have drained off the
waters of the Chinese deluge, girt
himself with a lambskin apron when,
bareheaded and barefooted, he offered
himself as a sacrifice for the people;
besides which we have the apron
distinctly mentioned in the Book
of History as part of the sacrificial costume of old.
In the memoirs of the Jesuit fathers there is an
engraving† of the famous Spring Festival, from which
it would appear that a boy was made to follow in the

亞
​Fig. 16.
* On the symbolism of the axe, see HIGGINS' Anacalypsis.
+ First pointed out to me by Wor. Bro. Alabaster.
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
395
procession with one leg clothed and the other bare,
emblematical of Heaven and Earth, the two great
creative powers in Nature; and quite recently I came
across a passage in a native author having reference to
certain wands nine feet long and surmounted by doves,
which were formerly bestowed as marks of distinction
on the deserving. The Chinese have, too, their Great
Architect of the Universe, if indeed such a term can
be held applicable to the gross and grotesque conception
of a First Being. He is known as P'an-ku, and was
evolved, countless ages before the existence of anything,
out of chaos. It was only with his death that the work
of creation begun. His own dissolution gave birth to
the universe as we see it around us. His breath became
the wind; his voice, the thunder; his left eye, the sun;
his right eye, the moon; his blood flowed into rivers;
his hair grew into trees and plants; his flesh became
the soil; his sweat descended as rain; while the parasites
that infested his body are believed to have been the
origin of the human species.
I will now conclude with a few remarks upon the
secret societies of China. These exist at the present
day, though strictly forbidden by the Government as
hot-beds of sedition and political intrigue. The best
known of them is the Triad Society, which has its head-
quarters in the Straits' Settlements, no longer daring to
show itself as an institution within the limits of the
Middle Kingdom, though not a few of its members are
to be found at and about Amoy. It took its rise some
hundred and fifty years ago, curiously enough near about
396
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
the period of the great masonic revival in the West.
The term 'Triad' here alludes to a conjunction of the
three great powers in nature-Heaven, Earth, and Man;
hence it is sometimes called the Heaven and Earth
Society. Less than thirty years ago, the brotherhood
actually went so far as to issue a private coin. It
resembled in every way the ordinary Chinese cash,
except that it bore on the reverse the character ho
(Fig. 12) 'united,' which I mentioned just now as
bearing a distant resemblance to our past master's
jewel, and also the point within a circle (Fig. 2), from
which no master mason can err. This society admits
members with ceremonies very similar to our own.
Their working-tools comprise a 12-inch gauge, called
'the jade foot-rule,' a balance, a steel-yard, an abacus
or counting-board, and a pencil. They have a W.
a 'great brother' and a 'second brother,' corresponding
to our S. W. and J. W.; a 'first point' and a 'second
point,' corresponding to our S. D. and J. D.; and an
inner and outer guard, both of whom wear wave-shaped
swords, supposed to resemble a dragon swimming in a
pool. They have a Treasurer, and recognise the three
degrees of E. A., F. C., and M. M., which they speak of
as 'affiliated younger brother,' 'obligated elder brother,'
and 'obligated uncle,' respectively.' They have their
Book of Constitutions, and issue certificates, besides
giving to each member a badge in the form of a medal
which he can conveniently carry about with him wherever
he goes. Circulars are also sent round convening the
lodge meeting and stating the time and place. At the
M.
;
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
397
initiation of a candidate, he is first purified by ablution,
his upper garments are removed, and he is clothed in
white. His shoes and stockings are pulled off and
straw sandals put upon his feet, because,' say the
brethren, no one takes note of the poor and penniless.'
An alarm is then given at the door of the Lodge, and
after a number of questions have been properly answered
by the outer guard, an invocation is pronounced, when,
amidst burning of incense and sacrifices of meat and
wine, the candidate is admitted and led up to the altar
to repeat, kneeling, his great and solemn obligation.
This occupies some time, consisting as it does of no
less than thirty-six articles of considerable length. Before
commencing, the head is struck off a white cock, and
the candidate drinks some of its blood mingled with
wine. The death of the cock is symbolical of the death
of the new member to the outside world, previous to
his re-birth as a just and upright man and a brother.
This particular bird is chosen because of its vigilance,
which curiously enough is the very explanation given
in Ashe's Masonic Manual (p. 65) of the cock as a
masonic emblem; and its colour is, in China as else-
where, emblematical of purity of heart.
At the same
time, a stick of burning incense is arranged near the
candidate, and when the obligation is over he plunges
it into the ground, praying himself to be extinguished
like that fire should he ever break his obligation or
divulge any of the secrets entrusted to his care.
the obligation there follows a long ceremonial.
candidate is catechised by the Master, and prompted
After
The
398
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
4
in the answers he has to make. He is asked, 'How
high is the Lodge?' He replies, 'As high as one's eyes
can reach,' by which he means that it is bounded only
by the unfathomable azure of the sky. He is required
to state its breadth. He replies, 'As broad as the two
capitals and thirteen provinces,' alluding to the broad
empire of the Middle Kingdom. China proper contains
eighteen provinces now, but under the Ming dynasty
there were only thirteen ;* and the political significance
of this society is generally believed to be the overthrow
of the present and the restoration of the last dynasty.
And by another singular coincidence, the word Ming
means 'light;' hence the restoration of the Ming dynasty
would signify a return to the Reign of Light.
The candidate now goes on to perform the eight
salutations-viz.: (1) to Heaven, (2) Earth, (3) the Sun,
(4) the Moon, (5) the Five Founders of the society,
(6) to Wan Yün-lung, a former Grand Master, (7) to
the brethren generally, absent and present, and (8)
lastly, to the glorious reputation of the Order. More
ceremonies follow in quick succession, and it is only
after a séance of some four or five hours that the
initiation is fully completed. I think, however, enough
has been said on this part of the subject.
Regularly initiated brethren discover themselves to
one another by asking, 'Whence do you come?' The
*The two capitals' are Peking and Nanking. It was from the
latter to the former that the residence of the Court was transferred
by Yung Loh, the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, who reigned
1403-1425.
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
399
answer is, 'I come from the East.' The next question
is, 'Whither are you directing your steps?' to which
the only authorised reply is, 'I wish to go where I can
join the myriad brethren.' If a brother attempts to gain
admission to a Lodge without his certificate, the outer
guard says to him, 'I will kill you!' The brother then
replies, 'My throat is hard; I fear not;' whereupon, if
there is no further cause for suspicion, he is admitted
at once. Members of the Society desiring recognition
are warned always to step into a brother's house left
foot first, and to make certain signs.
by the arrangement of tea-cups or
chop-sticks in a given way. Or they
may tuck up the right leg of their
trowsers, or sit with their toes turned

八
​Fig. 17.
in at a right angle-with their feet
in fact in the form of a square. A pair of shoes placed
in this position is also a proof of the recent presence
of a true and lawful brother. Standing with the legs
wide apart, in the form of the Chinese character pa
'eight' (Fig. 17), is likewise a recognised sign of the
fraternity: it alludes to the performance of the eight
salutations by the candidate for admission to the
society.*
And now, brethren, I feel that I have already put
your patience and consideration to a sufficiently severe
*For further information on this part of the subject see the
Thian Ti Hwui by G. SCHLEGEL, and some papers on Chinese
Secret Societies, by W. A. PICKERING, recently published in the
journal of the Straits' branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
400
FREEMASONRY IN CHINA.
test. It is unreasonable to expect you to take the same
interest in Chinese topics as I myself, who have made
the study of this people my life's hobby; but I do
hope that the question as to any masonic connection
between China and the West has been put before you
in such a light as to enable you in future to answer it
for yourselves.
THE END
THOS. DE LA RUE AND CO., PRINTERS. BUNHILL ROW, LONDON.
INDEX.
ABUSIVE language
Acupuncture
Adoption
PAGE
137
85
129
son'.
Allusions..
Ambiguity of terms
Anæsthetics
Antiquity of Chinese
Architecture
268
264
from
47, 161
'Brother,' The term
'Brown, Jones, and Robin-
Buddha-Gaya, Inscriptions.
PAGE
149
372
83
Buddhism ... 36, 52, 56, 82, 115
Antiquarian researches......
86
Buddhist priests.
282, 370
I
...
Burglarious entry
135
6
Burial, Importance of
171
Armada against Japan
87
Burning of the Books
33
Arson
139
Burying alive..
11, 42
Assault and battery
136
Buttons
123
Autumn fan, The
275, 313
Axle-trees the same length.
315
CANGUE..
...
183, 216
BAIL is personal
229
Bamboo, Exemption from
the
243
Cash, Specimen...
Ceremonies
Character, The written
262, 315, 324, 359, 391
385
7
...
261,
Bambooing, Sham
139
Chess
Battle, Order of………..
IO
Chia Ch'ing
Bayan
80
Ch'ien Lung
Beggars' guild
187
Blood drinking
29
Chuang-tzu.
Blood-written petitions...... 223
Chu Hsi
Bone of Buddha
56
Chow Ritual, The............
Cochin-China conquered ... 99
351
118
116, 350
17
16, 383
81
Book of Changes, The
16
Cock-crow
146
Book of History, The 3, 380
...
Bribery and corruption...... 254
British subjects of Chinese
descent
III
Coffins.....
274
Col. Gordon
119
Colloquial language
257, 258
Compass, The
12
D D
402
INDEX.
Confronting witnesses
PAGE
201
Confucius 14, 239, 333, 380
...
Constables, Responsibility
of.......
Coroners..
....
Costume of Ming dynasty. 105
FA HSIEN
Factories, The
False charges..
PAGE
52
278
....
138
139, 224
Family separation
185
85
Fashions in dress
305
Fêng-Shui
...
70
Counterfeiting coin
138
Feudal Times
5
Cowries
4
Figures of speech ..
266, 270
Cremation
131
First Emperor, The
32
Cruelty of the people
184
First place at triennial exa-
Cumshaw
279
minations
104
First offences
193
DANCING
4
Fiscal laws.
128, 129
Decorum Ritual, The
17
Fish, Wooden
93
Degrees, Literary....
242 seqq.
Fits
159
Despatch-writing, Rules of 259
Dialects, Various
258, 260
Discourses, Confucian 239, 380
Dissipation of Grief, The 17, 382
Divination, Implements of,
230, 326
Division of the empire...... 80
Dowager Empresses
Drama, The
...
119
Five Canons, The
'Flying Swallow,' The
Food and lodging
Foot-print, Buddha's
Forgery
Four Books, The
Four Knows, Hall of the... 40
Four Wonderful Books...... 86
244
...
196
124
290
138
Foundling hospitals
187
239
II, 40, 139
Dramatic College
54
GAMBLING..
130
ELEMENTS, The five
23
Games of skill
351
Empress, The only
35
Genghiz Khan
...
80, 85
'Empress Wu, The
53
Golden Age, The
2
Encyclopædia, An
102
Golden lilies
Erh Ya, The
17
Golden rule, The
60
14, 382
Essay-writing...
241
Goorkhas,
Conquest
of
Etiquette of conversation... 72
the
116
Examinations, Competitive,
84, 242, 247, 252
Government
Grammar
122
....
263
Examination of dead bodies 156
Grand Canal
53, 87
Extra-territoriality....
128
Grass character
324
Eye, A restless
153
Great Learning, The... 239, 382
Eyes open after death
153
Great Wall, The
33
Eyes to junks.....
78
Gunpowder
100
INDEX.
403
PAGE
HALL of Light
6
Japan, Confucianism in
Hair pencil, Invention of...
33
Japan, Relations with
Hakkas
87
Jesuit Fathers
...
PAGE
42
51
100
Han Wên-kung
57
Jews in China
37
'Han Yüan'
224
Judge Pao
85, 92
...
Homicide
Homicide,
for
Hashish
Hearsay evidence
Heart and liver
Heaven and Earth .........2, 386
...
Height of Peking houses 273
Herbal, The
Hieroglyphics
Highway robbery
Holy water, Buddhist
Compensation
Hongkong ceded
Kidnapping
Knotted Cords
47
211
K'ANG HSI......
113
173
134
3
K'o-t'ou (or Kotow)
174
102
Kuang Hsü
I 20
39, 389
Kublai Khan
85
134
281
LAMAISM
135, 136
Land tenure
289
8
Landlords, Responsibility of 195
. 170, 202
Lan Lu-chow..
118
Lao-tzu.
Hsiao Ho
Hsien Fêng
Hsü Shên
Hsüan Tsang
35
Larceny
...
119
Law experts
Hsü Kuang-ch'i…………..
102
Hsuan Tsung, The Emperor 54
Lawyers
38
Legge, Dr.
86
...
Letter, A Chinese...
Li-Hung-chang
....
Human life
a
constant
Li T'ai-poh
quantity
206
Huns, The.
32, 34, 41
Literary degrees
Lingering death....
Literary degrees, Privileges
IBN BATUTA
86
with.....
Imperial Library
102
Literati, The
Imperial physician and cook,
Inaccurate views about China 353
Lord Amherst
130, 131
Lord Macartney..
Index Expurgatorius
Ink
115
MA TUAN-LIN
38
Macartney's Embassy, Lord 118
Innovator, The
80
Magistrate's work
Inquest
220
....
Inscriptions
13
JAPAN, Colonisation of…………..
33
Mahommedanism 59, 86, 119
...
Manchu Tartars, The
Mandarin dialect
Manuscripts
112
......
258
13
115, 141
14
134
128
•
151
118
272
120
...
54
126, 133
42
198
252
118
117
86
...... 145
DD 2
404
INDEX.
PAGE
PAGE
Marco Polo
86
Peacock's feather
122
Marriage.....
129, 370
Peking, Capture of
119
Medicine...
9, 85
Peking Gazette
59
Men and women touching
Peking, The capital ...
99
hands
182
Mencius
15, 234, 332, 381
Penal Code of the Hans
Pentateuch, The
35
7
Metempsychosis.....
70
People and their rulers, The,
Mirror of History, The 81
...
224, 225
Mixed Metaphor
217
Perjury in Japan
203
Monastery, A Buddhist, 284 seqq.
Perpetual cangue
183
Money...
Money, Paper
Morrison, Dr.
4, 8, 33
Personal names...
373
59
Pidgin-English
334
118
Pig-tail, The
103, III
Mother, Family line through 359
Pillage forbidden
132
Mourning..
131, 300, 372
Poems
241
Mourning clothes
Mourning for parents
171
42, 5I
Poetry...
17, 55
Mulberry Grove,' The
...
Portuguese arrive
100
...
230
Posthumous honours......... 235
Murder
135, 136
Prefaces, Chinese
Music
4, II, 360
Prince Kung
Printing
NATURE of man
15, 240
Priority of plaint
142, 356
119
52, 60
219
Nature-worship
.6, 386
211
51
185
220
Punishments
376
Punkahs
200, 223
Opium War
118
Origin of Chinese
I
Ou-yang Hsiu
82, 89
PAN KU .....
38
Runners
RAILWAY scheme
Refectory, Buddhist
Ricci
Ringing the head
Roman Catholicism
...
I2I
206
100, 116
65
284
100
•
P'an-ku
Paper
38
38
SACRED edict
114, 384
Neighbours
Nestorian Christians
Nuncupative wills
OATHS not administered 203, 354
Official holding two posts... 178
Official holidays…………..
Official names
Officials, Responsibility of,
Protestant missionaries...... 118
Punch and Judy……..
4I
7, 125
306
Prisoners, Avocations of ... 229
'Promotion,' The game
of.......
320
Prosecutor not forthcoming,
170, 217
INDEX.
4C5
Salaries of officials...
Sale of children
Saucer breaking..
School days
...
PAGE
254
Themes set at examinations,
PAGE
248 seqq-
Thousand Character Essay 238
215
354
236
39
Three Character Classic 236
Three-foot laws.
...
...
173
43
Seal character
Secret societies ...105, 116, 395
Shooting towards the palace 132
Shuo Wên, The.....
Three Kingdoms, The....
Three Laws, The
Tithings
39
Slavery
II, 42, 133, 137
Tobacco
Small feet
60
Tones, The
35
8
122
56
Smuggling
129
Tonquin conquered
99
Soldiers
67 Torture
126, 139, 143, 214
Son, Birth of a
235
Sorcery
130
Torture, Confession without 181
Totemism
365
Ssu-ma Ch'ien
men
Square and compasses 379, 385,
'Steamboats' propelled by
Stokes' mnemonic system
Stone drums, The....
Su Tung-p'o ...
Success at examinations
Suicide by drowning.
Suicide from revenge
...
Trinity, The Buddhist …..
280
387
Tso Tsung-t'ang
120
38
T'ung Chih
119
USURY
283
129
•
263
WANG AN-SHIH
80
13
Wang Mang the usurper
...
35
82, 350
Warrants
171
255
Wei Yang
8
175
Wên Tien-hsiang
80
...
.....
173
Wên Wang
361
Sun-dials
Surgery
12
Whampoa, Hon. H. A. K. 377
47
White cock
Surnames 10, 84, 353, seqq.
Surnames, Number of ...... 357
Widows re-marrying...
Women not imprisoned
..397
182
...
139
Swallowing gold
276
T'AI-P'ING Rebellion
119
Talking in the streets
......
178
Wooden Fish, The 93, 289
Writing-how taught
...
Writing, The Art of......
Wu San-kuei
241
3, 12
103
Tao Kuang.
118
Wu Wang
361
Taoism
14, 36, 82
Taoist physicians
316
YANG CHÂN..
40
Tea.
51
Yellow Emperor, The
2
Telegraph line
121
Yellow Turbans, The
43
Ten great crimes
127
Yü, The Great
2
Theft defined..
135
Yü, The Tablet of...........
12
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