UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES EXPLORATORY VISIT TO EACH OF THE AND TO THE IN BEHALF OF THE ftti$$ionavi> IN THE YEARS 1844, 1845, 1846. BY THE REV. GEORGE SMITH, M.A., OF MAGDALEN HALL, OXFORD, AND LATE MISSIONARY IN CHINA. SECOND EDITION. LONDON: SEELEY, BURNSIDE, & SEELEY, FLEET STREET: HATCHARD & SON, PICCADILLY; J. NISBET AND CO., BERNERS STREET. MDCCCXLVIT. LONDON : \V. WAT IS, PRIXTEK, CKOWS COURT, TKMI'LE BAH. ./*. : ! : *'.'..'., 109 AUTHOR'S PREFACE CO TO THE FIRST EDITION. ex: PQ rn "* .I HE Author of the following pages deems it right, at the very outset, to state, that this Volume is not a mere narrative of Missionary proceedings. The primary object of his tour among the newly-opened "~ cities of China was to explore the ground, and to ~* prepare the way for other Missionaries of the Church Q _ ^ of England, by collecting statistical facts, by record- ing general observations, and by furnishing detailed data for rightly estimating the moral, social, and Apolitical condition of that peculiar nation. The Dreader must therefore be prepared to find in this ^Volume a variety of topics handled, and of informa- mtion supplied, which might appear less appropriate ^in a book professedly devoted to a strict narrative of Missionary work. The Author has felt that nothing, which can afford an insight into the institutions and character of the Chinese, however remotely affecting the Missionary work, can be inopportune or unim- 11 PREFACE. portant in directing the mind to a proper selection of means for the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom. The following are extracts from the Instructions delivered, by the Church Missionary Society, to the Author and the fellow-labourer by whom he was ac- companied in the voyage from England, and in the earlier part of his residence in China : " Your Mission must necessarily be, in the first "instance, exploratory. And in such a work the " Committee must rather rely upon your own judg- " ment and prudence, than upon any Instructions " with which they can furnish you." * "After availing yourselves of every in- " formation which can be obtained at Hong Kong, " from these and other sources, it is the wish of the " Committee that you should visit each of the five " open ports of China, at such time and in such man- " ner as may be most likely to further your objects, " in order that you may be able, after full investi- " gation of the relative importance and facilities, in " respect of Missionary operations, of each accessible " point, to furnish the Committee with sufficient data " for determining in what spot, and in what mode, a " Mission of this Society may be best commenced. " The Committee invite you also freely to communi- f( cate to them your own judgment, and the sug- " gestions which you may feel inclined to offer to " them. But until you hear from them in reply, you PREFACE. Ill " must consider your measures as merely of a prepa- " rative and temporary kind." The Church Missionary Society had formerly sent an agent to Singapore and to Macao the Rev. E. B. Squire, the present vicar of Swansea. On the break- ing out of the war he was compelled, by the delicate state of Mrs. Squire's health, to embark for Europe. When the intelligence arrived in England of the treaty of Nanking, and the opening of China to Mis- sionary efforts, many urgent solicitations were ad- dressed to the Committee to resume their attempt of establishing a Mission in China. They were for a time reluctantly compelled to decline the call through want of funds. At this juncture, an anonymous donor, who wished to be known only under the signature of 'EXa;;o, " less than the least," gave the large donation of 6000 consols to the Society for the special object of commencing a Mission in China. The donation was accepted on this condition : and in the beginning of June 1844 the Rev. T. M'Clatchie, B.A., and the Author, embarked for China. Mr. M'Clatchie is now the only Missionary of the Society in China, and has already commenced preaching to the Chinese in the city of Shanghai. The Author, in conclusion, expresses his earnest hope and prayer, that this narrative of his explora- tory tour in China may be accepted by the Great Husbandman of the Missionary vineyard, and be made A 2 IV PREFACE. instrumental in exciting other labourers to enter on this promising field of Missionary enterprise, from which he himself has been, in the providence of God, removed by the failure of health. GEORGE SMITH. CHURCH MISSIONARY HOUSE, Salisbury Square, London, April 5th, 1847. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. DEPARTURE FROM HONG KONG TO CANTON. OBJECTS of Visit to Canton Voyage in Chinese Vessel Na- tive Crew Whampoa Canton River Landing at Foreign Factories State of Public Feeling towards Foreigners Chinese Teacher, Choo Budhist Priest's Visit Leang Afa, 1 CHAPTER II. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY OF CANTON. Early History and Civilization Ancient Commercial Cele- brity Early Mahomedan Accounts Extended Intercourse with Europeans in the Sixteenth Century Troubles on Tartar Conquest of China Topography of City Division and Mutual Checks of Government Difficulty of Fo- reigners entering the City Proper Crowded Population Narrow Streets Shops River Population Blind Beg- gars Medical Missionary Hospital Its Moral Influence The Patients A Poor Scholar Surgical Operations The Parsees - 13 CHAPTER III. FURTHER ACCOUNT OF CANTON. Visit to Honan Monastery Numerous Temples, Monks, and Nuns in Canton Universal Idolatry Visit of some Petty Mandarins, and Priest's Alarm Religious Services In- CONTENTS. terview with a High Chinese Military Officer Pending Examinations for Keu-jin Literary Degree General Ex- citement and Thirst for Literary Distinction Retarding Influence on National Improvement Notification of Suc- cessful Candidates Public Honours Visit of Tang-shin, a Literary Chinese - 31 CHAPTER IV. EXCURSIONS INTO THE SUBURBS OF CANTON. The Beggars' Square Excursion into Rural Hamlets of Honan Visit from Leang Afa's Son, A-tuh Excursion with a Native Preacher on the Banks of the River A Native Book Composed and Distributed to Discourage Female Infanticide Chinese Illuminations and Street- Theatricals - 48 CHAPTER V. REMOVAL TO MACAO, AND RETURN TO HONG KONG. Voyage to Macao Description of the Place Its Former Importance and Present Decay Origin of the Settlement Its Peculiarity as a Missionary Station Popish Into- lerance Morrison and Milne Voyage to Hong Kong Detention at Hong Kong Missionaiy Excursions Vil- lages of Hong Kong Villages on the Mainland of China Agong, a Native Preacher Ordinance of the British Government against Secret Societies Political Origin of the "Triad Society" Chinese Population of Hong Kong Case of A-quei A Native Juggler - - 66 CHAPTER VI. UNSUCCESSFUL VOYAGE ALONG THE EASTERN COAST, AND SECOND VISIT TO CANTON. Chinese Assault on Three British Gentlemen at Canton Remonstrance of British Plenipotentiary Rumoured Dis- CONTENTS. turbances at Amoy Opportunity of a Passage in a War- steamer sent thither General Character of the Coast Successive Points of Shore Accident, arid Compulsory Return under sail to Hong Kong Voyage to Canton Recent Imperial Edict of Toleration in Favour of Chris- tianity - . - : - - 85 CHAPTER VII. REAL EXTENT OF MISSIONARY OPENINGS AT CANTON. Projected Missionary Services at the " Ningpo Exchange " Alarm of the Superintending Officers Friendliness of the Better Classes Defective Courage of Native Preachers Riotous Interruption of a Religious Service by a Chinese Mob Distribution of Tracts Invitation by a Petty Man- darin to accompany him into the City His subsequent Fright at the proposal being acceded to Ineffectual At- tempts to enter the City -gate - 95 CHAPTER VIII. FURTHER INCIDENTS AT CANTON. Visit to Yun-tang, a Chinese Gentleman Interest of Chinese in the Arts, Inventions, and Astronomy of the West Curi- osity of a Priest Native Treatise on Astronomy Chinese Ingenuity, and Ignorance of Physical Sciences Execution- Ground " Temple of Longevity" Powtinqua's Gardens Howqua's Suburban Dwelling Neglected Education of Females in China Annual Procession in honour of the Idol Shing-Kea General Review of Missionary Facilities at Canton - 108 CHAPTER IX. DEPARTURE FOR SHANGHAI. Arrival of Bishop Boone at Hong Kong Recent Acts of the Triennial Convention of the American Protestant Episcopal CONTENTS. Church Embarkation for Shanghai Fellow-Passengers Skill of Chinese Fishermen Decoy-fish Gale in For- mosa Channel Chusan Group Entrance of River Yang- tze-keang Services on Board Entrance of Woosung River Chinese Forts and Battery British Opium Vessels Landing at Village of Woosung Journey overland in Chairs Arrival at Shanghai - - - 124 CHAPTER X. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SHANGHAI. First Impressions Topography of City General Features of surrounding Country Climate Natural Productions Character of People Estimated Population Commer- cial Importance and Connexion with the Interior Native Exports European Trade Local Authorities Capture of City by British Troops Outport to Soo-chow Growing Liberality of the Mandarins Roman-Catholic Settlement General View of Shanghai as a Missionary Station Tabular View of average Temperature for one Year - - 136 CHAPTER XL INCIDENTS AT SHANGHAI. A Roman-Catholic Ruin Missionary Excursion into the Interior Roman-Catholic Villagers Preaching in Hea- then Temples Visit to Northern Parts of the City Tri- umphal Arch to a Christian Mandarin The " Ching Wang Meaou" Newly-canonized Hero-warrior Caricature- Shops Missionary Services Trip round the City Walls Visit to a Corean Vessel Romish Church in Corea The "Hall of United Benevolence" "Foundling Hos- pital" The " Hall of the Lord of Heaven "Visit from a Corean Sailor Popish Mariolatry - - 143 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. ARRIVAL AT NINGPO. Voyage to Ningpo Descent of the Yang-tze-keang Bay of Chapoo Chinese Pilot City of Chin-hai Ascent of River and Arrival at Ningpo Renewed Civility of Cus- tom-house Officers Proposed Lodging in a Taouist Mo- nastery Renting a Chinese House, and attendant For- malities Access to the Family of a Chinese Patriarch Absurd Principles of Native Medicine Facts illustrative of Chinese Ideas on Marriage Situation of House The Tower of Ningpo Visit to a Mahomedan Mosque Re- turn-Visit of a Mahomedan Priest A Roman-Catholic Patient - - 161 CHAPTER XIII. EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR. Personal Adventures on the Journey Rural Scenery Arri- val at the Budhist Monastery of Teen-tung Visit to the Abbot Library Religious Hopes of Budhism Neigh- bouring Villages and Out-temples Budhist Rosary A Village Schoolmaster Return to Ningpo The "Ching- wang-meaou" Temples in honour of Confucius Visits to a Siamese Vessel - - . . 179 CHAPTER XIV. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF NINGPO. Topography Local Magistrates System of Provincial Go- vernment Disgrace and Ruin of Former Mandarins Effects of the British War on Rulers and People At- tempt of the Chinese to recapture the City Literary Reputation of Ningpo Privileges of Scholars Native Products and Employments of Inhabitants Former Splen- dour of the place Facilities as a Missionary Station Climate Moral Condition of People Recapitulation - - 191 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XV. VISIT TO THE ISLAND OF CHUSAN, AND FURTHER INCI- DENTS AT NINGPO. Visit to the Island of Chusan City of Ting-hai Interview with a Romish Padre Similarity between Popish and Budhistic Ceremonies Traditionary Origin of Bonzes Return to Ningpo Annual Offerings to Departed Spirits Temporary Abode in a Taouist Monastery Taouist Lay- brother Female Worshippers Taouist Abbot and Priests Chinese Garden and Artificial Grounds Visit to a Na- tive Doctor Mahomedan Shopkeeper Application of Opium-smokers for Medicine Visit to a Budhist Nunnery A Native Pawnbroker Visit to His Excellency the Taou-tai Ceremony of Reception A Chinese Entertain- ment Topics of Conversation Visit to the deposed Taou- tai His Public Integrity and Misfortunes - - 202 CHAPTER XVI. SECOND EXCURSION TO TEEN-TUNG. Animated Appearance of Country Ancestral Temples Contributions to a Bag for Idols Chinese Agriculture Gratuitous Travellers' Rest Dragon-boats Budhist Vigils in Monastery Exploratory Visit to Distant Villages Illiterate Priests Inquiring Spirit of a Tea-farmer Friendliness of the Abbot Hospitality of the Villagers Grace to an Idol Process of consulting the Idols Ascent of the "Tae pih san" Ridge Entertainment by a Chinese Gentleman Return to Ningpo - 225 CHAPTER XVII. CONCLUDING OCCURRENCES AT NINGPO, AND DEPARTURE FOR CHUSAN. Roman Catholics in Ningpo Chinese Military Archery- Ebullition of Popular Odium against the New "Che-heen" CONTENTS. Effect of Reading the New Testament on a Native Mer- chant Rebellion of Fung-kwa Repulse of Troops Final Compromise A Class of Hereditary Bondsmen Religious Service Review of actual Missionary Labours at Ningpo Arrival at Chusan The Visit and Reception of the French Embassy Christian Services among British Troops in a Budhist Temple ..... 243 CHAPTER XVIII. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CHUSAN. Topography Character of Population Natural Productions Events of first Capture by British Excesses of Troops Native Pillagers Menacing Edicts of Chinese Govern- ment Chinese Kidnappers Sufferings of British Soldiers Armistice and Cession of Chusan Insincerity of Chinese Government Re-capture of Chusan Rapid Successes of British Expedition along the Coast Treaty of Nanking and Retention of Chusan Mingled Influence of British Occupation British Administration of Police Foreign Trade Missionary Prospects Popular Feeling on re- verting to their own Native Government - - 258 CHAPTER XIX. SECOND VISIT TO SHANGHAI. Voyage to Shanghai Comparative View of the two Missio- nary Stations of Shanghai and Ningpo A New Sect of Moralists in the Interior of China An Original Work on Geography, by Commissioner Lin Chinese Schoolmaster and Scholars A Chinese Graduate's Reverence of the Written Character A Convict suffering by Deputy Military Reviews Offensive Epithets to Foreigners Pro- cession of the Taou-tai Recent Supplement to the Edict of Toleration Voyage to Chusan - - 280 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XX. VISIT TO THE SACRED ISLAND OF POOTOO. Voyage to Pootoo Various Localities of the Island The " Pah-kwa "The " Seen-sze "The " How-sze "Roman- tic Scenery Hospitality of the Abbot Priest importuning for Gifts to the Idols Collegiate System of Succession to Temple-benefices The " Ying-sew " Palpable Decay of Budhism Funeral of a Priest Avarice and Ignorance of Monks Questions of People Visit to the Summit of " Fuh ting shan" A newly-arrived Votary General Re- view of Pootoo, and its Influence in the Diffusion of Budhism - 299 CHAPTER XXI. DEPARTURE FROM CHUSAN TO FOO-CHOW FOO. Concluding Occurrences at Chusan Political Fears of the Chinese Excursion across .the Island Cases illustrative of the Advantage of Medical Missionary Efforts Voyage to Foo-chow Roman-Catholic Pilots Mouth of the River Min Picturesque Scenery Approach to the City - - 317 CHAPTER XXII. DAILY OCCURRENCES AT FOO-CHOW. Novel Appearance of River-population The Bridge of Foo- Chow Vivid Scenes of a Chinese Suburb British Con- sulate View of the City from the Summit of the " Woo- shih shan" State of Relations between the British Consul and the Local Mandarins Punishment of some Tartars for Assault An Excursion around the City-walls - 327 CHAPTER XXIII. FURTHER INCIDENTS AT FOO-CHOW. Excursions up the River and into the remote parts of the City Visit to the District of the Manchow Tartars? CONTENTS. Anxiety of Police to prevent a Disturbance Gradual Friendliness of the Tartar Soldiery The " Hot-baths " Present Position of the Tartars throughout the Empire The Contingency of a General Revolution in China consi- dered Latitudinarianism of Taouist and Budhist Priests Roman Catholics Mahomedans Detailed Occur- rences of the New-Moon Festival Culprits wearing the Wooden Collar Wretched Class of Beggars Suburb of Nantai Fishing Cormorants Case of Superstition and Priestcraft - - 343 CHAPTER XXIV. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FOO-CHOW. Topography Local Trade Opium-drain of Specie Native Im ports and Exports Monetary System Prospects in reference to a European Trade Character of People Neighbouring Country Number of Resident Graduates, and General System of Literary Promotion Disposition of Local Mandarins Prevalent Feeling towards Foreigners Missionary Aspect - . - 360 CHAPTER XXV. DEPARTURE TO AMOY. Voyage to Amoy Description of the Harbour Capture of Amoy, and Occupation of Koo-lang-soo by the British Circumstances attending the first Arrival of Protestant Missionaries at Amoy The Island of Koo-lang-soo Suf- ferings of the People from War and Pestilence Idolatrous Rites for averting their Calamity European Graves The Missionaries' Burial-place - - 376 CHAPTER XXVI. DAILY OCCURRENCES AT AMOY. Interview with the "Hai-hong" Large Collection of An- cestral Tablets Idol-shops Friendliness of People Mis- sionary Services Regular Attendants Service for Chinese Females - - - - 388 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVII. NEW-YEAR FESTIVITIES. Customary Observances of the New Year Moral Tracts by Native Scholars Antithetical Sentences over the Entrance of Houses Busy Adjustment of Pecuniary Matters An- nual Custom of " Surrounding the Furnace" A Family Scene Superstitious Mode of prognosticating the Seasons of the coming Year New -Year Visits to some Chinese Friends Ta laou-yay Lim-pai Lim seen-sang Tan seen-sang Universal Prevalence of Gambling A Missio- nary Service - 401 CHAPTER XXVIII. NEW-YEAR VISITS OF CEREMONY TO THE HIGH MANDARINS OF AMOY. A Chinese Bride Visit to the Te-tok, or Chinese Admiral His Adroitness in escaping the British War His recent Disgrace The Cham-hoo, or Military Commandant His Discussion with the Missionaries, and Defence of Idolatry The Taou-tai, or Prefect, a Manchow Tartar The Hai- quan, or Inspector of Customs, a Manchow The Hai-hong, or Lord Mayor A Budhist Nunnery The Privileged In- corporation of Beggars - 418 CHAPTER XXIX. FACTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE PREVALENCE AND EFFECTS OF OPIUM-SMOKING. Visit to Opium-Dens Confessions of Opium-Smokers Moral and Physical Effects of Opium Local System of Smuggling, and Mode of Retail Detailed Testimony of ten consecutive cases of Opium-Smokers, taken from their own lips - 431 CHAPTER XXX. FACTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF FEMALE INFANTICIDE. Trip to surrounding Villages Testimony of Villagers as to the Prevalence and the Motives of Infanticide Village CONTENTS. Clanships Ancestral Temple Village School-house - Confessions of Infanticide Parents Modes of Death com- monly practised Hospitality of a Medical Patient Case of Attempted Infanticide Degradation of the Female Sex, 443 CHAPTER XXXI. DAILY INCIDENTS AT AMOY, CONTINUED. Chinese Missionary Meeting Celebration of the Feast of Lanterns A Giant Specimen of Pyrotechnic Skill Cessa- tion of Holidays, and General Resumption of Business The Question of the Ancestral Tablet discussed Chinese Bible-Class Topics of Missionary Sermons Original Illustrations of Chinese Hearers Indirect Persecution of a Religious Inquirer - - 454 CHAPTER XXXII. MANDARINS' ENTERTAINMENT TO THE MISSIONARIES. Revised Translation of the Holy Scriptures Proceedings at a Meeting of the Local Translation Committee Special Entertainment to the Missionary Body, given jointly by the Five High Mandarins of Amoy Previous Invitation and Arrangements Ceremonies of Entrance and Recep- tion ^Etiquette of Precedence Details of Feast Topics of Conversation Ceremonies of Departure The secret Motives which prompted these Attentions - 470 CHAPTER XXXIII. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF AMOY. Early Intercourse with Europe Commercial Enterprise of the People Chinese Emigrants Topography of the City and Island The " White Stag Hill" Boundary Regula- lations A Roman-Catholic Village Another Explanatory Edict of Religious Toleration Attempts at Concealment by the JMandarins Local Prizes for Literary Merit Local Dialect Moral Degradation of the People Missio- nary Aspect of Amoy - , 480 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXXIV. DEPARTURE FROM AMOY, AND THIRD VISIT TO CANTON. Incidents of last Sabbath at Amoy Farewell Attentions of Chinese Friends Voyage to Hong Kong Visit to Canton Comparative Review of Missionary Openings at Canton and in the Northern Ports of China Recent Riots at Canton Difficulties of Ke-Ying Present Dangers of China An Apology for the Chinese Government in their Exclusion of Opium The Duty of the Christian Legisla- tors of Britain - 492 CHAPTER XXXV. GENERAL VIEW OF HONG KONG. First Occupation of Hong Kong Gradual Influx of Settlers Topography of the Island General Reflections on the Influence and Prospects of Britain in the East Ineligi- bility of Hong Kong as a Centre of Missionary Operations Climate Moral and Social Character of the Chinese Population Diversity of Dialects European Influences - 503 CHAPTER XXXVI. GENERAL VIEW OF HONG KONG CONTINUED. Actual Missionary Labours Morrison Education Society Medical Missionary Hospital Roman-Catholic Mission at Hong Kong Statement of Views respecting the Educa- tion of a Native-Christian Agency Printing Establish- ments Superior Missionary Facilities in the Four Northern Ports General Views of the Missionary Work in China Qualifications needed in Missionary Labourers Appeal to the Christian Parents and Youth of Britain Concluding Observations List of Protestant Missionaries in China - 515 DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. VIEW OF VICTORIA, HONG KONG, FROM THE OPPOSITE MAINLAND - Frontispiece MAP OF CHINA - - To face p. 1 VIEW OF MACAO - ... 67 ANNUAL WORSHIPPING AT TOMBS ... 119 RELIGIOUS PROCESSION OF CHINESE LADIES - ... 169 OFFERINGS OF BOAT PEOPLE AT A TEMPLE NEAR NINGPO . . . 226 DRAGON BOATS - ... 228 CHINESE SCHOOL - ... 290 SUPERSTITIOUS RITES IN A TAOUIST TEMPLE - ... 359 PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR . . . 405 CHINESE GAMBLERS . . . 415 A NEWLY-MADE GRADUATE ADORING THE AN- CESTRAL TABLET ON HIS PROMOTION - ... 464 VIEW OF HONG KONG HARBOUR FROM EAST POINT 503 fc <<, '"", ''" o Si. **-' > 'Praia C H I H A SEA 11 & 12 (?M^ <7"' Ju; " 1 rfK.i CANTON ior FU-CMUorrOO CHOW NINC-PO SHUNG MAC druJ ''v tfir same trcatv the ISL/VHOOt HONC-KbrtC trtifd in parpduity to the British . MIHA J.< ./(.. fuifohed (ry John Arrows mith .V'.'i<> i'oho .S^ / i r 7. ti N CHAPTER I. DEPARTURE FROM HONG KONG TO CANTON. OBJECTS OF VISIT TO CANTON VOYAGE IN CHINESE VESSEL NATIVE CREW WHAMPOA CANTON RIVER LANDING AT FOREIGN FACTORIES STATE OF PUBLIC FEELING TOWARDS FOREIGNERS CHINESE TEACHER, CHOO BUDHIST PRIEST'S VISIT LEANG AFA. ON Wednesday evening, Oct. 2, 1844, a week after our coming to anchor in the spacious harbour of Hong Kong, the Rev. T. M'Clatchie and myself em- barked on board a native fast-boat, which we had hired to convey us to Canton. The immediate object of our going thither was to procure a native teacher of the Mandarin, or Court dialect, and, at the same time, to endeavour to ascertain the precise nature of local facilities for Missionary enterprise, by personal survey and a temporary residence in that city. We had also grounds for indulging the hope, that a Native Budhist Priest, late Abbot of a neighbouring temple, and a man of superior learning, might be induced to become our teacher, and to permit us to rent apart- ments in the temple, where we should have very desi- rable opportunities of facilitating our acquaintance with the colloquial medium, by mixing and conversing 2 VOYAGE TO CANTON. with the numerous resident Priests, many of whom speak the Court dialect. Weighing anchor at about seven P. M., we sailed be- fore a fresh breeze from the north-east, which carried us along at about six knots an hour. We were soon beyond the numerous shipping, and passed out of the harbour to the north-west ; the numerous lights which marked the streets and buildings of the new town of Victoria growing more and more faint, and at last vanishing altogether from our view. Sailing through the Cap-singmun channel, which separates the lofty ridge of the Lantao island, at the distance of about a mile, from the rocky elevation of the opposite main- land of China, we proceeded northward through the eastern part of the spacious Delta of the Shoo-Keang or Pearl River. Our novel position, amid a crew of about twelve Chinese the fact of our being alone among heathen people the reflection of the ho- nourable, yet responsible office we sustained as Missionary heralds from the Church of England to these dark regions of superstition the important objects of our mission to China and the painful evi- dences which we were, from time to time, called to witness of the influence of idolatry over the minds of those on board, performing their idle, unmeaning religious offerings awakened in our minds thoughts of pensive melancholy, mingled, however, with joy in the prospect of the Missionary work, which we had only partially realized in former times. Our boat had two large mat-sails, which were managed with great skill, being raised and lowered by moveable ropes ; so that in a few moments we were at any time able to alter our tack, or to reef, in order to avoid the CHINESE SCENERY. 3 sudden gusts of wind. The sailors lay on the deck in different parts of the vessel. The central part of the boat was formed into a cabin, with Venetians at the side, forming a kind of poop above, on which one of the crew kept watch. In this cabin we laid our- selves down ; and, though sleeping in our clothes, we succeeded in obtaining a good night's rest. At day- light we found ourselves within the Bogue, or Bocca Tigris, the entrance to the river, and within a few miles of Whampoa. About noon we found our little vessel gliding through the numerous fleet of ships from all nations, which occupied the whole extent of the river, called Whampoa Reach. The wind be- coming moderate, and at last dying away altogether, our progress thence to Canton was very slow, and, at times, almost imperceptible. The country around was very beautiful, though, in many parts, presenting a rather monotonous appearance of paddy-fields, plan- tain-trees, orange-groves, bamboo-fences, and a few gardens. The hills were cultivated in terraces along their sides to the very top, assuming, in some parts, a rocky, precipitous appearance. Numerous pagodas and native houses, of fantastic architecture, gave a variety to the scenery ; while, as we approached nearer to the provincial city, the old half-dilapidated forts, which lined the river on either side as it became narrower, told of the impoverished exchequer of the executive government. The increased number of houses, the multitudes of native boats, and the density of the smoky atmosphere, indicated our proximity to Canton. The strange scenes of a Chinese city soon presented themselves in all their vivid and novel force. *We rowed slowly along the centre of 4 APPROACH TO CANTON. the river, which is here about three or four furlongs wide, through the thousands of strange vessels of every shape, colour, and size, which, from every nation of the East, are attracted by the gains of com- merce to this emporium of the Middle Kingdom. The beating of gongs, the frequent burning of gilt paper, the noisy discharge of fireworks and crackers, and the animated looks of curiosity with which the motley tribes of the river-population regarded our appearance, tended to enliven the scene. Beyond the river, with its crowded myriads of naturalized tenants, one continued mass of buildings, of nearly one uniform appearance, lay before us. Here and there some pagoda or mosque, or, again, the abode of some more opulent citizen, varied the monotony of aspect. The British flag, floating above the consular residence on our right, soon reminded us that, even at this distant quarter of the world, the power of our native land was felt and respected. Soon after, we came in sight of the foreign factories, towards which we made our course ; and, amid the noisy clamours of boatmen and boat- worn en, and the closely-packed range of boats which blocked up the shore, with difficulty, and after much delay and confusion, we landed, and within a few minutes received the kind Christian welcome of an excellent American Missionary, Dr. Parker, who of- fered us a temporary home. The expense and inconvenience of hiring a house and servants, and the uncertainty of our stay, decided us in accepting his kindly-proffered hospitality ; and in a few hours our two beds were placed at one end of our room, and tables ranged for our teachers at the other end. The period of our arrival in Canton was one of POPULAR EXCITEMENT. 5 unusual popular excitement. The spirit of hostility towards foreigners, engendered by two centuries of unequal intercourse, frequently fanned into arrogant fury by the calumniatory edicts of the rulers, and, alas! too frequently inflamed by the moral impro- prieties and insolent demeanour of foreigners them- selves, had been for a time overawed by the events of the late war with the British. The withdrawal of the British troops from the heights of Canton, and their purchased immunity from the sanguinary horrors of a bombardment, had been ascribed, by popular igno- rance, to fear and cowardice. Of this misapprehen- sion the Mandarins showed no desire to disabuse the popular mind, and to lower the majesty of Chi- nese power. Natives of candour and education could not but feel the undoubted evidence of national humi- liation, in their knowledge of the events of the war in the more northern parts of China, and the perio- dical payment of the ransom, however speciously disguised under the professed object of " tranquillizing the barbarians." But a strange infatuation seemed to possess the minds of the Canton populace ; and they ascribed it to the corrupt venality and cowar- dice of the Mandarins alone that the whole British armament in the neighbourhood had not been de- stroyed. They even cherished the confident expec- tation and eager determination, that, in the next war, the barbarians should not escape so easily. The injuries sustained in the western portion of the suburbs from the British ships of war anchored in the river, and the large number of idle, reckless vaga- bonds who now infested the neighbourhood, without any visible means of livelihood but roguery and 6 HATRED OF FOREIGNERS. plunder, tended to perpetuate the vindictive hatred of the mob. Every object which reminded them of their humiliation, or awakened their jealousy, was the occasion of a new ebullition of popular wrath. Of this kind was the contemplated rebuilding of the English factories, which had some months before been maliciously destroyed by supposed incendiaries. The Americans, though apparently enjoying more of favour in the eyes of the native authorities than the violent and formidable British, were, nevertheless, equally the object of popular scorn ; the more especially so on account of a recent affray, in which an American had shot a Chinese, by whom he was assaulted in a tumult. An arrow, which served as a weather-vane on the top of the flag-staff of the American Consulate, had been deemed, by vulgar prejudice, to be the ill-omened cause of some recent local calamities ; and, as such, was the occasion of the assemblage of an infuriated mob in front of the factories, determined to destroy the hateful and pernicious emblem of supposed de- structiveness. At the private request of some of the native authorities, the Americans had withdrawn this subject of popular tumult. Still the flame of hostility could not be extinguished, though temporarily allayed. Numerous placards were posted on the public walls, threatening the native contractors and workmen with certain death if they did not immediately desist from rebuilding the factories. On this account the works had been discontinued, and an outbreak was daily expected. Ke-Ying, the pacific, liberal, and enlightened Governor of the two Kwang Provinces, at this junc- ture had issued a public edict against these disturbers CHINESE PLACARDS. 7 of the peace, and the movement was, for the present, checked. Various public addresses, from time to time, were also sent forth, professing to be the ex- hortation of the "gentry and scholars" of a particular locality, abounding with sundry arguments inculcating the duty of subordination and obedience to the pater- nal rule of their superiors, and containing some partial invectives against the malicious outrages of the barbarians. Such a season was not the most favourable for estimating the pacific disposition of the natives towards those who imported the commerce, the science, or the religion of the West into the furthest extremities of the East. During our six weeks' residence at Canton there was happily no interruption to the public tranquillity ; and we had the happiness to find, that the indications of popular antipathy were generally confined to the lowest classes and the dregs of the populace, in every community the more numerous, though the less influ- ential portion of society. It will afterwards be seen how far the inconveniences and danger of such a state of the popular mind were realized in our own expe- rience and knowledge. The first two or three days were spent in visiting the various places of resort and objects of curiosity, calculated to impress the mind of a stranger with the manners, the character, the genius, the arts, the degree of civilization, the moral, social, and religious condition of the remarkable peo- ple, so long debarred, by an exclusive policy, from the genial influences of Christendom. Our time, however, was precious ; and we felt that it was not in the capacity of scientific travellers, seeking to enrich the stores of secular knowledge, or 8 NATIVE TEACHERS. merely to enlarge the bounds of our acquaintance with the national peculiarities of this heathen land, that we had been brought to these dark regions of super- stition and idolatry. Accordingly, within two or three days after our arrival, Choo, an aged native, and for thirty years teacher successively to the late Rev. Dr. Morrison and his lamented son, was engaged to come to our abode, and was duly installed in his office as our teacher. He speaks with much affection of both, especially of Mr. R. J. Morrison, who would have provided him with the means of support during his declining years, had his life been spared. He came in great poverty to our host, saying, that, within two months after Mr. Morrison's death, he had been dismissed from the employ of Government at Hong Kong, and had been in great distress and penury. He had nine mouths in his family, and begged the assistance of our friend. Though only fifty-five years of age, he has a much older appearance, from the debilitating, emaciating influence of opium- smoking, to which he confesses he has, in past times, been addicted, but makes profes- sions of reformation ; an assertion of which we had frequent reasons for doubting the truth. We en- gaged his services, and found his matured experience a fair counterbalance to his visible decay of energy. The Budhist Priest, to whom a reference has been made, waited upon us, with all the formality of Chi- nese etiquette, from the temple on the opposite side of the river, named Hae-Chwang-sze, but better known as " the Honan joss-house." He discouraged the project of our taking lodgings in the temple ; assigning, as his reason, the danger to which we BUDHIST PKIEST. 9 should be exposed of an outbreak of popular hatred, on the other side of the river, at a distance from the European factories. He thought that possibly we should be safe in coming to him during the day ; but that to pass the night in the temple would be attended with imminent personal hazard to himself, as well as to us. He suggested the plan of our chartering a native vessel, and living on the river ; in which case he was willing to become our guest, and to remain with us altogether. This, for obvious reasons, we declined ; and the only alternative was, if practicable, to engage his services as our teacher at our own abode. The chief difficulty was his independent situation, which rendered him unwilling, as he said, to engage his services as a hireling, or in any other capacity than that of a friend. He had served his course of three years as Abbot ; and having fulfilled the legal period, retired into privacy, according to the rules of the institution, having attained the highest summit of ambition, as the Superior of the richest and most famous temple in Canton. Accord- ing to the ancient regulations of the order, he had an ample allowance from the temple-revenues for his support; and was permitted to travel into foreign countries, probably as much with a view of avoiding feuds between the Abbots who successively pass the chair, as for the purpose of enlarging their knowledge. A short time since he was very anxious to visit America, and had consulted one of the Missionaries on the subject. He had cherished the intention of visiting England, in company with Mr. Morrison ; but the unexpected death of the latter had dissipated all such plans. He remained to dine with us; and, 10 MONASTIC RULE. arrayed in his long, black, flowing robes, with his head completely shaven, he presented an imposing specta- cle to our party. He endeavoured to show little acts of polite attention, by asking our age, and placing on our plates some fruit and sweetmeats, which we were obliged to eat, by the rules of Chinese etiquette, as a mark of our appreciating the attentions. By the rules of the monastic order, the monks abstain from flesh and strong beverages. But the Priest, on this occasion, seemed to have no great scruples on these points ; and, as well as he could, being supplied with Chinese chop-sticks, he endeavoured to give due honour to the provisions set before him. His whole demeanour was that of a perfect gentleman, and exhibited a mix- ture of true modesty and graceful dignity. Though in the latter stages of our acquaintance we had reasons for suspecting him of avarice and pride, yet the visit of such a man to Europe would be a new era in our intercourse with China, and might have important results in changing the native disposition towards Europeans.* Before his departure we had a visit from an indi- vidual, well known by name in Europe and America as the first-fruits of modern Protestant Missionary efforts among the Chinese, and the first Native Evan- gelist to his fellow-countrymen, Leang" Afa. He appeared about sixty years of age, a man of sturdy * The portrait of this remarkable man is in the Chinese Exhibi- tion in London, numbered 1032 in the Catalogue. The proprietor of the Exhibition testified to the liberality and obliging efforts by which he was assisted by the Abbot in procuring for the collection various specimens of vertd from the interior of the Empire. LEANG AFA. 11 dimensions, of cheerful manners, and venerable aspect. He seemed greatly interested in our arrival, and joined with much animation in the conversation. The sight of such a trophy of the converting power of God's grace excited emotions of joy in our minds, such as can only be estimated by those placed in a similar situation. It refreshed the weary eye, as the fair green oasis in the desert. The circumstances under which we met were somewhat remarkable. On the one hand was a native scholar, accounted wise and honourable, and yet the slave of a debasing ido- latry, ignorant of the true God, and of Jesus Christ the Saviour of mankind. On the other hand sat a Chinese, less deeply versed, perhaps, in the vagaries of Pagan learning, but taught by the Spirit of God, and rescued from sin and death by Divine Grace. Here we saw the contrast between nature and grace the wisdom of this world and the wisdom of God. I was pleased to observe that neither Leang Afa nor the Priest showed any marks of an uncourteous disposition. They exchanged the usual signs of salutation, and conversed with each other with apparent affability. The Christian meekness of the one, and the true na- tive politeness of the other, prevented the indication of any thing like illiberal antipathy. Of the one it is sufficient to say, that neither his fears of persecution, nor his long expatriation from China to the Straits of Malacca, nor the influence of surrounding heathenism, had deterred him from boldly confessing the Saviour. Of the other, it is no slight commendation to assert, that he only requires the sanctifying influence of the Gospel, to raise him immeasurably above the gene- rality of his countrymen. We esteemed ourselves J2 CHINESE STUDIES. fortunate in finally securing his attendance as our teacher of the Court dialect for a few hours daily. Our time was henceforth fully occupied by our Chinese studies, and the visits which we made from time to time to those localities which were accessible to foreigners, and calculated to supply the mind with interest and information. CHAPTER II. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE CITY OF CANTON. EARLY HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION ANCIENT COMMERCIAL CELEBRITY EARLY MAHOMEDAN ACCOUNTS EXTENDED INTERCOURSE WITH EUROPEANS IN THE SIXTEENTH CEN- TURY TROUBLES ON TARTAR CONQUEST OF CHINA TOPOGRAPHY OF CITY DIVISION AND MUTUAL CHECKS OF GOVERNMENT DIFFICULTY OF FOREIGNERS ENTERING THE CITY PROPER CROWDED POPULATION NARROW STREETS SHOPS RIVER-POPULATION BLIND BEGGARS MEDICAL MISSIONARY HOSPITAL ITS MORAL INFLUENCE THE PATIENTS A POOR SCHOLAR SURGICAL OPERATIONS THE PARSEES. THE city of Canton is one of the oldest cities in this part of the Empire, and native historians vie with each other in the effort to trace its annals to the remotest antiquity, and to call in the tales and wonders of my- thology to their aid. Without dwelling on the vaunt- ing statements in the native classics, and the events connected with the name of the famous Yaou, who, 4000 years ago. commanded one of his Ministers to v C? * repair to the South and govern the " splendid capital " and its surrounding country, we come down to the period of sober narrative, and behold Canton an im- portant city of the South, possessing a fair measure of improvement, an industrious population, the advan- tages of commerce, and a moderate portion of the 14 EARLY HISTORY OF CANTON. blessings of civilization, at a time when our own country was excluded, by the barbarous cruelty of our ancestors, from intercourse with the civilized world, or was the prey to the marauding expeditions of every plundering adventurer. So early as two centuries and a quarter before the Christian era, the people of the South for many years carried on a successful re- bellion against the Emperor Che Hwang of the Tsin dynasty ; and what is now the site of the city of Can- ton became the scene of the sanguinary horrors of a protracted siege. The imperial forces were routed ; the siege was raised ; and not till about 200 B.C. did the rebellious tribes of these Southern frontiers submit to the imperial sway in the person of the founder of the Han dynasty. There are strong grounds for stating the opinion that a considerable intercourse existed between the natives of India and the people of Canton soon after the Christian era. It is not till the time of the Tang dynasty, about 600 A.D., that Canton became a regu- lar commercial emporium, with fixed regulations and a tariff. Extortions at this early period frequently drove the foreign merchants to seek other marts for their commodities. Cochin China for a time shared the profits that were diverted from Canton ; and a spirit of hostile rivalry, sometimes leading to open war, was excited between the Cochin Chinese and the people of Canton. In spite of these obstacles to its growing commerce and importance, this city made rapid strides in improvement and the enlargement of its foreign intercourse. To such an extent had it increased, that in the account of a Mahomedan tra- veller, generally considered genuine and authentic, ANCIENT COMMERCIAL CELEBRITY. 15 who visited Canton before the close of the ninth cen- tury, we have the following statement, in reference to a recent rebellion and massacre of the inhabitants who persisted in their loyalty : " At last he (the leader of the rebels) became master of the city, and put all the inhabitants to the sword. There are persons fully acquainted with the affairs of China, who assure us, that, besides the Chinese who were massacred upon the occasion, there perished one hun- dred and twenty thousand Mahomedans, Jews, Chris- tians, and Parsees, who were there on account of traffic. The number of the professors of these four religions, who thus perished, is exactly known ; be- cause the Chinese are extremely nice in the account they keep of them." At this early period it is also related " that at Canfu (the ancient name of Canton), which is the principal scale for merchants, there is a Mahomedan appointed judge over those of his reli- gion, by the authority of the Emperor of China." One of the most considerable objects which the traveller sees rising before him, as he approaches the provincial city, is a lofty pagoda, different in form and structure from every other building, and which, on inquiry, he is told is the Mahomedan mosque, built above a thou- sand years ago. After the city had experienced its full share of tumults, wars, bloodshed, and the other calamities of a semi-civilized state, we arrive at that important epoch in the history of commerce, the com- mencement of the sixteenth century, when, by the discovery of the passage by the Cape of Good Hope, the doors were thrown open to a more frequent and extended intercourse between China and Europe. The Portuguese led the way, and were quickly fol- 16 MANCHOW TARTAR SIEGE. lowed by English, Spanish, and Dutch adventurers. These times of peaceful industry and prosperous com- merce were unhappily again disturbed by the troubles consequent on the subjugation of the Empire by the Manchow Tartars. The people of Canton, faithful to the former Ming native dynasty, raised the standard of revolt, and, under the leadership of a native prince, tried the issue of war. The Tartar armies soon re- duced the neighbouring provinces to submission; and after defending itself against the assaults of the be- siegers, Canton at last fell, probably by the treachery of the prefect of the city, who was permitted by the conquerors quietly to retain his office. Some native accounts depict in awful colours the carnage which ensued, and state the number of the slain at 700,000. The old city was reduced to ashes, from the ruins of which the present city of Canton has gradually risen, and has, under the Tartar sway, enjoyed a course of uninterrupted tranquillity, during which it has risen to be the first commercial emporium of the Empire, to which, till recently, all foreign commerce was restricted by the Tartar jealousy of foreign influ- ence. Roving bands of lawless banditti, called into existence by the frequent troubles during the change of dynasties, and by what are called the fortunes of war, even now continue to be the scourge of the dis- trict, as they are also indications of the ineffective character of the administration of police. Such is the brief, though imperfect, outline of the changes to which Canton has been subject in the various vicissitudes of its history. It partakes of the usual appearance of Oriental cities ; and fur- nishes a good specimen of Chinese cities in general. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CITY. 17 The surrounding scenery presents nothing remarkably striking to the eye. The neighbouring country is one large plain of well-cultivated fields, with a bold range of hills in the distance to the north-east. The city itself, i.e. the part contained within the walls, is. of compara- tively moderate extent, the whole circuit of walls pro- bably not exceeding six miles. A wall running from east to west divides what is called the Old City, in which the Tartar population and garrison reside, from the New City, which is not more than a third of tile size of the former, and lies on the south. At either extremity of this, a wall is carried down to the river, at one or two hundred yards' distance. The suburbs are very extensive, and exceed in extent the city itself. The different departments of Government are so arranged, as to keep up a mutual check upon each other. Thus the tsung-tuh, who is the viceroy or governor-general of the two provinces of Kwangtung and Kwangse, has his fixed residence in the New City. His nominal abode is, however, situated some miles to the west of the city ; and though, on account of the facilities of Canton, he is allowed to reside within the walls, he is not allowed to bring thither the troops placed at his command. The foo-yuen, the acting or lieutenant-governor of Kwangtung province, who, though generally subordinate, is, in many points, inde- pendent of the tsung-tuh, and hence sometimes be- comes a rival, is stationed in the Old City, where a small force of military is placed at his disposal ; and thus a balance of power is preserved. Again, to guard against the danger of combination on the part of these governors, or of the military force, entrusted to the c 18 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. foo-yuen for the purposes of police, being employed in the attainment of political aggrandizement, the of- ficer usually styled the Tartar-general, the tseangkeun, is located, with a strong force of Tartar troops, in the Old City, thus providing a check on ambitious civil governors, as well as a defence of the city against foreign invasion. The same principle of mutual checks is re- markably developed in all the other offices of state and finance, adapted to the preservation of the reins of power in the hands of the present foreign dynasty. It is probably to the consciousness of insecurity, and fear "of the native Chinese, that much of the jealous restrictive policy, which has peculiarly characterized the Man- chow Tartar race, is to be traced. They hear that the western barbarians are powerful. Especially they are told that the English foreigners have, from a small beginning, in the lapse of a single century, de- molished dynasties, overthrown kingdoms, and gra- dually brought the whole of India under their yoke. Hence this fear, joined to their distrust of the native Chinese, leads them to persist in an exclusive policy, which for so long a period has banished foreigners to a distance from the capital, and to load them, in their edicts, with a full measure of invective. Even at Canton, with all the boasted advantages of the British treaty, Europeans cannot venture in safety within the city-walls. Frequently did we in vain seek to obtain the assistance of our native teacher in exploring the city. Once we caught a glimpse of the Chuhlan-mun, the nearest gate to the foreign factories. We met with no. Europeans who, within the last two years, had ventured to enter, with the exception of a naval lieutenant, who was quickly compelled to seek safety JEALOUS RESTRICTIONS. POPULATION. 19 by flight, amid a shower of missiles, and with some bodily bruises. Popular violence, so long encouraged against foreigners, either could not now be restrained by the native authorities, or was the engine of terror, disingenuously employed by them, to prevent the in- gress of Europeans, and the humiliation of the rulers. The Mandarins made one unvarying statement to the British and American Consuls, that foreigners were welcome to enter the city, but they could not restrain the populace, or promise an immunity from assault. It is to be hoped that increasing experience of the urbanity, fair dealings, justice, and, above all, of the improved morality of the foreign community, will gra- dually undermine, and finally eradicate, this hostile feeling. The recently-arrived stranger naturally manifests surprise and incredulity on being told that the esti- mated population of Canton exceeds a million. As soon, however, as he visits the close streets, with their dense population and busy wayfarers, huddled toge- ther into lanes from five to nine feet wide, where Europeans could scarcely inhale the breath of life, the greatness of the number no longer appears in- credible. After the first feelings of novelty have passed away, disappointment, rather than admiration, occupies the mind. After leaving the open space before the factories, or, as the Chinese call them, the thirteen hongs, and passing through Old China Street, New China Street, Curiosity Street, and similar localities, the names of which indicate their propinquity to the residence of foreigners, we behold an endless succession of narrow avenues, scarcely deserving the name of streets. As the c2 20 NARROW STREETS. visitor pursues his course, narrow lanes still con- tinue to succeed each other, and the conviction is gradually impressed on the mind, that such is the general character of the streets of the city. Along these, busy traders, mechanics, barbers, venders, and porters, make their way ; while occasionally the noisy abrupt tones of vociferating coolies remind the tra- veller that some materials of bulky dimensions are on their transit, and suggest the expediency of keeping at a distance, to avoid collision. Now and then the monotony of the scene is relieved by some portly Man- darin, or merchant of the higher class, borne in a sedan-chair on the shoulders of two, or sometimes four men. Yet, with all this hurry and din, there seldom occurs any accident or interruption of good nature. On the river the same order and regularity prevail. Though there are probably not fewer than 200,000 denizens of the river, whose hereditary do- mains are the watery element that supports their little dwelling, yet harmony and good feeling are conspicuous in the accommodating manner with which they make way for each other. These aquatic tribes of the human species show a most philosophic spirit of equanimity, and contrive, in this way, to strip daily life of many of its little troubles ; while the fortitude and patience, with which the occasional injury or de- struction of their boat is borne, is remarkable. To return from the wide expanse of the river- population to the streets in the suburbs, the same spirit of contented adaptation to external things is everywhere observable, and it is difficult which to regard with most surprise the narrow abodes of the one, or the little boats which serve as family resi- SHOPKEEPERS. 21 dences to the other. There is something of romance in the effect of Chinese streets. On either side are shops, decked out with native ware, furniture, and manufactures of various kinds. These are adorned by pillars of sign-boards, rising perpendicularly, and inscribed from top to bottom with the various kinds of saleable articles which may be had within. Native artists seem to have lavished their ingenuity on several of these inscriptions, and, by their caligraphy, to give some idea of the superiority of the commodities for sale. Many of these sign-boards contain some fictitious emblem, adopted as the name of the shop, similar to the practice prevalent in London two centuries ago. On entering, the proprietor, with his assistants or partners, welcomes a foreigner with sundry salutations ; sometimes advancing to shake hands, and endeavour- ing to make the most of his scanty knowledge of English. They will show their saleable articles with the utmost patience, and evince nothing of disappoint- ment if, after gratifying his curiosity, he departs without purchasing. At a distance from the factories, where the sight of a foreigner is a rarity, crowds of idlers, from fifty to a hundred, rapidly gather round the shop, and frequent embarrassment ensues from an incipient or imperfect knowledge of the collo- quial medium. In these parts the shopkeepers know nothing but their own language, are more moderate in their politeness, and, as a compensation, put a less price on their wares. To write one's name in Chinese characters is a sure method of enhancing their good favour. Sometimes no fewer than eight or ten blind beggars find their way into a shop, and there they remain, singing a melancholy dirge-like 22 BLIND BEGGARS. strain, and most perseveringly beating together two pieces of wood, till the weary shopman at length takes compassion on them, and provides for the quiet of his shop by giving a copper cash to each ; on receiving which they depart, and repeat the same experiment elsewhere. The streets abound with these blind beggars, who are seldom treated with indignity. A kindly indulgence is extended to them, and they enjoy a prescriptive right of levying a copper cash from every shop or house they enter. It is said that this furnishes a liberal means of livelihood to an immense number of blind persons, who, in many instances, are banded together in companies or so- cieties, subject to a code of rules, on breach of which the transgressor is expelled the community, and loses his guild. In every little open space there are crowds of travelling doctors, haranguing the multitude on the wonderful powers and healing virtues of the medicines which they expose for sale. Close by, some cunning for- tune-teller may be seen, with crafty look, explaining to some awe-stricken simpleton his future destiny in life, from a number of books arranged before him, and consulted with due solemnity. In another part, some tamed birds are exhibiting their clever feats, in singling out, from amongst a hundred others, a piece of paper enclosing a coin, and then receiving a grain of millet as a reward of their cleverness. At a little distance are some fruit-stalls, at which old and young are making purchases, throwing lots for tlie quantity they are to receive. Near these again are noisy gangs of people, pursuing a less equivocal course of gambling, and evincing, by their excited looks and MISSIONARY HOSPITAL. 23 clamours, the intensity of their interest in the issue. In another part may be seen disposed the apparatus of some Chinese tonsor, who is performing his skilful vocation on the crown of some fellow-countryman, unable to command the attendance of the artist at a house of his own. We leave the motley assemblages which meet the eye on all sides, to take a view of incidents more agree- able and cheering in a moral and religious point of view. Emerging from the factories into Hog Lane a district abounding with refuse of all kinds, moral and material, and of which the inauspicious name is but a faint emblem we proceed about half its length, till, on our left, we observe a door, not remarkably different from the rest, but having a few sedan-chairs standing by, to indicate that some more opulent visi- tors are within. This is the Ophthalmic Hospital, in connexion with the Medical Missionary Society, organized, in 1838, at Canton, and having similar in- stitutions at Hong Kong, Amoy, Ningpo, and Shang- hai. The object of this Society was, to supply, gra- tuitously, medical assistants and drugs to those medical Missionaries who have been sent, by the Protestant So- cieties in England or America, to attempt the evange- lization of the Chinese, in connexion with the bene- volent effort to impart to the diseased sufferer the medical skill of Christendom. There is, professedly, no interference with the Missionaries themselves ; but a periodical report is expected of the state and progress of the Missionary Hospital. Subsequent events have led to a partial disorganization of the Society itself. On entering the hospital, numbers of Chinese, 24 MEDICAL PATIENTS. generally of the humblest ranks, are seen in the lower room, with impatience and anxiety depicted on the countenance. Diseases of every kind, but prin- cipally those of the eye, are brought hither, in the hope of obtaining relief from the humane skill of the Christian physician. On ascending into the upper range of rooms, from sixty to a hundred patients may generally be seen, on the weekly receiving day, sitting and waiting their turn to consult the Missionary, with his native assistants, at a table at the upper end of the room. Rude paintings of the various cases of tumours of large dimensions, removed by the hand of the operator, are hung round the room, to com- memorate the benefits of the institution, and to en- courage the confidence of the Chinese in the skill of the foreigner. Many emaciated sufferers, and many anxious mothers, pressing to their bosoms little pitiable infants, are here to be seen, watching most intently the words of the physician on their case, and eagerly extracting a ray of comfort from his looks. It is in such a school as this, that contentment and grati- tude to the Almighty are most forcibly taught and impressed on those who are exempt from the slowly- consuming pangs of sickness and disease. It is in such scenes that the heart of the Christian grows soft, and brings forth the genial emotions of sympathy and kindness towards our fellow-heirs of corruption and death. It is here, also, that the proud arrogance of native prejudice is subdued, under the power and beauty of the disinterested benevolence which springs from a heaven-born faith. To use the words of a Native Christian, Leang Afa, " When I speak to my countrymen in the villages and suburbs about Jesus A POOR SCHOLAR. 25 Christ, and His glorious Gospel, they are careless, and utter expressions of scorn ; but in the hospital their hearts are soft, and they will listen to the Gospel with serious attention." The advantages to the Mis- sionary work of such an institution are obvious to all. Our respected friend, who presides over it, has had the privilege of exhibiting to nearly 20,000 patients the benevolence of the Christian Religion. Among these have been one or two officers high in the state ; and it is to be hoped that the noble-minded Ke-Ying will never forget that he has received, at the hands of a Christian, the remedies which removed his bodily sufferings. On the first day of our visit we saw among the rest a literary student, a sew-tsai, or graduate of the lowest degree. Though his external appearance and dress plainly told the humble condition of life to which he belonged, yet he was now on a visit to Canton for a recent literary examination for the next step on the road to preferment, the keu-jin degree, for which he had been an unsuccessful candidate. It is a common practice for a poor family to single out some hopeful scion of the house, of promising talents and ability, who is supported by the contribu- tions of his relatives ; and thus, relieved from the ne- cessity of bodily labour for subsistence, h'e is enabled to devote the undivided powers of his mind to that summit of ambition, literary distinction, and the con- sequent enriching of his family on his promotion. He had lost the sight of one eye, and there was incipient amaurosis in the other, the effect of protracted study. He was about to return to his relatives, and presented the physician with a fan which he had written over 26 SURGICAL OPERATIONS. with Chinese characters, intended as a complimentary poem, and composed by himself for the occasion. As at this time our teachers could not speak any English, we were compelled to learn the Chinese col- loquial language ; and though at first it was very em- barrassing, yet, by means of a Vocabulary and Morri- son's Dictionary, with the previous advantage of diligent study on the voyage from England, we soon gathered all the common phrases necessary in our intercourse with them. The hospital also afforded some desirable facilities, as patients from all the provinces occa- sionally avail themselves of its benefits ; and among them we frequently met tea merchants and others, from the north of China, able to converse in the Court dialect, and very ready to help to improve our scanty knowledge of it. At various times we wit- nessed surgical operations, under which the Chinese evinced great fortitude. On one occasion we saw about ten cases of couching for cataract, two of which were performed with great ease and skill by the senior native assistant, named Ato. We were present also at the removal of several tumours from men and women. One poor Chinese submitted with great patience to a most painful and hazardous operation, by which a large tumour, weighing eight and a-half pounds, was removed from the side of his neck, extending upwards to the ear. So impassible is the Chinese temperament, that immediately after being laid on his bed he called for some rice-gruel ; and in three weeks after paid us a visit to our room. One neat young lady, most cruelly bandaged and tortured in her feet, with tottering pace advanced towards the physician, and submitted with great MORAL INFLUENCE OF MISSIONARY HOSPITAL. 27 patience to a tedious operation, by which a large excrescence was removed from either ear, which pre- sented an unsightly appearance. The father stood by, and informed us that it was preparatory to her marriage. Nothing could exceed the refined delicacy of feeling and demeanour, with which she appeared before so many strangers. Her dress was very beautiful, and contained a quantity of gold lace adorning the borders. It was at times an affecting spectacle to behold blind persons of all ages, one by one, approach the physician, and receive from his lips the discouraging announcement that vision was for ever gone, and its recovery altogether hopeless. Still more affecting was the consideration that these poor inheritors of the woes of humanity had no knowledge of that Divine Saviour, who has repaired the ruins of the fall of Adam, and restored the long- forfeited blessings of God's favour to the sons and daughters of affliction. Great was their gratitude to the human instrument, through whose efforts their sufferings were relieved. More than once have we seen the Christian physician in vain attempting to restrain the prostration of the head to the ground, as a token of their gratitude, and to direct their misplaced adoration to the true Author of good, exhorting them to thank God. Yet such is the jealousy, real or supposed, with which this institution is viewed by the native authorities, that the utmost caution is observed in communicating religious instruction ; and, with the exception of the occasional distribution of a Christian tract, or a portion of the New Testament, no aggres- sive effort was at this time made for the conversion of the patients. 28 THE PARSEES. In the districts bordering on the north of the city, as well as in the city itself, there are a few Chinese Roman Catholics. Some of them had been temporary inmates of the institution. There are also a few Ma- homedans in Canton. Near the hospital we were pointed out a respectable-looking Chinese, a Ma- homedan of great enterprise and zeal, who had jour- neyed through Thibet to India, and thence had pro- ceeded on a pilgrimage to Mecca. The Parsees, also, are rather numerous, and form an important portion of the inhabitants of the foreign factories, being gene- rally natives of Bombay. They may be seen walking in companies of from four to ten, every evening, in long, flowing, white dresses, occasionally relieved by the gay colour of pink or scarlet trowsers. They are an enterprising body of merchants, and, by their success in commerce, have gained in the East the same repute which the Jews so long obtained in theWest. They ge- nerally speak English, as well as their primitive Guze- ratee tongue. Their system of religious belief, when stript of some of its flagrant absurdities, appears to resolve itself into a Deism, almost verging to Atheism. They deny that they pay any idolatrous acts of worship to the sun, or to the element of fire. They profess to believe in the existence of one great, Supreme Being ; but as all their notions of him are necessarily vague, confused, and imperfect, they say that they need some visible object of adoration, and that they therefore transfer their worship to fire, as the most glorious of his creatures, and the most apt to be his representative. Amid all their Atheistic notions, they have much of self- righteousness. When they have a vessel on the point A HEATHEN'S FIRST OBJECTION. 29 of going to sea, they give away money to the poor, and frequently annoy their neighbours by the crowds of Chinese vagrants attracted to the house by throwing money to be scrambled for among them. Yet they are noted for their sensual lives ; and their personal appearance and the clamorous nature of their festivi- ties serve to confirm this reputation. On one occasion we formed the acquaintance of a Parsee at the hospital, with whom we had some con- versations on religious subjects. He told us that he had frequently discussed such topics with a Missionary at Bombay, whose name he mentioned with respect. He would sometimes speak in terms of proud enthu- siasm of the ancient glory of his race, the sublime sanctity of the Zendavesta, and the power of Zoroaster in reclaiming his race from a savage state to civiliza- tion. He would also speak of their expulsion from Persia by Mahomedan persecution, their migration to Guzerat, and the consequent change of their language and dress. Pointing to the various subjects of disease in the room, and singling out especially an emaciated form of infant suffering, we once asked him how, on any other hypothesis than that of the entrance of sin into the world and the fall of man, he could regard misery at so early an age as compatible with the infinite benevolence of the Creator. He seemed to feel the force of the argument ; but endeavoured to evade it by suddenly asking us how* it was there were so many sects of Christians, and they were not all one. In reply, we attempted to demonstrate to him the unity of faith, of love, of practice, which distin- guishes all spiritual followers of Jesus Christ, which can subsist independently of any diversity in the 30 ADVANTAGE OF CHRISTIAN UNITY. ceremonials of religion, or in the mere externals of Christianity. As an instance of the real unity of Chris- tians, we drew his attention to the fact, that our re- spected host, Dr. Parker, had welcomed us with all the kindness and affection of Christian hospitality, though we were previously strangers to each other, and belonged to different Christian communions. We related to him the origin and progress of the British and Foreign Bible Society, as a specimen of the manner in which Christians were willing to sink their minor differences in the grand, comprehensive effort to diffuse the Word of God as the "common rule of faith and practice, and the sole depository of God's revealed will to mankind. We afterwards sent him a letter, accompanying the gift of a Bible, which we presented to him in the name of that Society, not only as a token of our individual interest in his eternal welfare, but also as a memorial of the unity of British Christians. CHAPTER III. FURTHER ACCOUNT OF CANTON. VISIT TO HONAN MONASTERY NUMEROUS TEMPLES, MONKS, AND NUNS IN CANTON UNIVERSAL IDOLATRY VISIT OF SOME PETTY MANDARINS, AND PRIEST'S ALARM RELIGIOUS SERVICES INTERVIEW WITH A HIGH CHINESE MILITARY OFFICER PENDING EXAMINATIONS FOR KEU-JIN LITERARY DEGREE GENERAL EXCITEMET AND THIRST FOR LITERARY DISTINCTION RETARDING INFLUENCE ON NATIONAL IM- PROVEMENT NOTIFICATION OF SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES PUBLIC HONOURS VISIT OF TANG-SHIN, .A LITERARY CHINESE. ON October 7th we paid our first visit, with a party of friends, to the celebrated Honan Monastery, of which one of our teachers, the priest to whom allusion has already been made, had formerly been Abbot. We crossed the river a little to the east of the factories, and landed close to the Budhist Temple. On enter- ing, we passed at once into a long court-yard, at the further end of which is placed the emblematical tor- toise, carved on a large stone. Passing through another gateway, we beheld two colossal figures, said to be images of deified heroes, guarding the entrance to the temple. Advancing through another court, we entered a kind of vestibule, where four gigantic idols, two on either side, of fierce and fantastic aspect, remind the stranger that he has entered " the palace of the four celestial kings." Three of them strongly 32 SUPERSTITIOUS RITES OF BUDHIST PRIESTS. resembled ^Esculapius, Apollo, and Mars, of Greek and Roman mythology. A broad path conducted us thence to the principal temple, where, in a large hall, we beheld the priests celebrating their evening wor- ship before the three Budhas. These images, together with numerous other idols and altars, gave an im- posing effect to the scene. A large number of monks were standing with joined and uplifted palms, engaged in repeating the mystical and unintelligible sounds addressed to Budh ; while one of the number acted as a leader or precentor in this mummery, and, with out- stretched neck and breathless haste, poured forth a torrent of loud sonorous jargon, which was accom- panied from time to time by the beating of a drum and tinkling of a bell, another priest burning some gilt paper and incense. The whole produced a con- fused din and uproar, which might have consisted with a pandsemonium. From this we were hurried to the apartments of our friend the Abbot, as we con- tinue to designate him by courtesy. He received us with much politeness, and tea was immediately served for us ; before drinking which he pledged each guest separately with his cup brought into contact with theirs. He afterwards sent a priest to conduct us through the different parts of the establishment, which covers a space of seven or eight acres, and has some crops of rice, and a little grove of ornamental trees. A number of apartments on either side of the principal square form the cells of the priests, and various kinds of offices. We were conducted to the stall or pen, in which the sacred pigs are domiciled. According to the popular theory, these pigs are main- tained in a state of plenty, and are invested with a SACRED PIGS. 33 degree of sanctity, as a compensation to the species for the wrongs inflicted on them by the disciples of Budhism, in eating swine's fleshf contrary to the pri- mitive laws of Budh. Hence, to these favoured pigs every possible honour is paid, as reparation for the evils which wicked custom has perpetuated. To us they appear to possess only one attribute of sanctity in the estimate of the Chinese, that of excessive size and fatness, which rendered them, for a long time, regardless of the blows by which we endeavoured to provoke them into a standing posture. Thence we were conducted to the place, where, in a kind of oven, the bodies of the deceased priests are consumed by fire. Near to this was the mausoleum, in which the ashes of their burnt bodies are deposited on a certain day in each year. Adjoining to it was a little cell, in which the urns containing the ashes are temporarily placed till the periodical season for opening the mausoleum. The temple is a very old establishment, but did not attain its celebrity till about a century and a half ago, when, by the favour of one of the Manchow Tartar princes, it was richly endowed. The following tradi- tion of the circumstances is preserved. In the reign of Kang-he certain districts in the province of Canton remained faithful in their allegiance to the old native dynasty, and were in a state of rebellion. A son-in- law of the emperor was sent with a strong force, and subdued the country. The villages of Honan, which form the southern suburbs of the city of Canton, suf- fered under the sanguinary vengeance of the conqueror. Orders were issued for a general massacre of the people. Just before the command was executed, the 34 TRADITIONARY ORIGIN. prince saw a fat priest belonging to this temple ; and inveighing against the supposed hypocrisy of a priest, professing abstinence from flesh and wine, arriving at such a size, he ordered him to be put to death. The tradition goes on to relate a dream which happened to the prince, which induced him to reverse the sen- tence, and to load the holy priest with gifts, and the temple to which he belonged with an ample share of princely favour and wealth. Estates and money were given to increase the endowment, which was intended to support three hundred priests. From the difficulty of sustaining the number, there are now only about one hundred and sixty. Many of these are fugitives, out- laws, and bandits, who have been driven by want or fear to seek a shelter and asylum within its walls. They are generally a low set of men, and only a few of them are versed in the native literature. The Abbot is elected by vote for a term of three years. On several subsequent occasions we visited this Budhist temple, and were always courteously received by the Abbot, who once invited a young priest of very pleasing manners, from another temple, to meet us. Generally, on entering we were surrounded by the lower class of priests, who, by significant gestures, in- timated their desire that we would give them tobacco. We made known to them that we had no such gift for them, but offered them some copies of the Epistle to the Ephesians, and a tract entitled " The Way of Eternal Blessedness," which were eagerly sought and received. On returning afterwards, we saw several priests sitting in retired spots reading them, and in our subsequent visits we had numerous applicants. The Abbot himself once asked permission to take from UNIVERSAL IDOLATRY. 35 our room a copy of Dr. Milne's sermons ; and, on my next visit to his apartments, gave me a neat little book, in boards of fragrant wood, containing the prayers offered in the temple-worship to Budh. These proved to be a mere collection of unmeaning sounds, written in Chinese characters, but taken from the old Palee tongue, the primitive Indian language of Budhism. There are more than a hundred temples in Canton consecrated to the various systems of religious false- hood, which maintain an ascendency over the popular mind. Of these, a few belong to the Taou sect, whose priests may sometimes be seen walking in the streets, and are easily distinguished by the peculiar mode in which their head is shaven, a portion of the hair being left so as to be formed into a tuft on the crown. A larger number are denominated "temples of ances- tors." By far the most considerable portion, however, are devoted to Budhist worship. There exist also nu- merous public altars to the deities, who are supposed to preside over the locality, or to exercise a dominion over the different elements, together with count- less altars raised to the household gods. Religious processions and festivals also form a portion of the long catalogue of superstitious practices, which tend to prove that here, as in every other part of the world, man cannot subsist without the semblance of religious worship ; and that if he possess not the true religion, he invariably seeks its substitute in the coun- terfeit inventions of falsehood. The whole number of priests is estimated at 2000, who live a monastic life, and are bound to a life of celibacy, as long as they remain inmates of the temple. Though it is considered discreditable for the priests D 2 36 LOW CHARACTER OF PRIESTS. to abandon the sacred office, and to revert to a secu- lar calling, yet in most cases they adhere to the monastic life only because they have no other means of livelihood. They lead an idle sauntering life, and may be seen standing about the entrance of the temple precincts, distinguished more by their bare shaven crowns, than by their manners or demeanour, from the surrounding crowds of idlers. About 1000 nuns are also supported in the various institutions: they adopt the same dress as the monks, having their head completely shaven, and wearing a long black flowing robe. Though Confucianism is the only religious system professed by the state, the sage, and the scholar, yet every system of superstition exerts its divided influence over the ignorant masses ; and, by an un- happy inconsistency, idolatry, though decried by the learned, is yet followed and practised by all. October IQth We had an opportunity of witnessing an instance of the spirit which still prevails in Can- ton in reference to foreign intercourse. A Mandarin called on our host, while we were at dinner, on business, and we were introduced to him. He ap- proached us with great politeness, and shook hands. He wore an opaque white button on the top of his official cap, and had a peacock's feather hanging down over his back. He held the office of deputy district magistrate, and appeared to be about fifty years of age. We were entertained during the greater part of the meal with the high shrill tones of the Peking dialect, as he conversed with much apparent earnestness with our host in the adjoining verandah. Soon after, as we were sitting in our room, en- gaged with our teachers, Choo and the Honan ODIUM OF CONNEXION WITH FOREIGNERS. 37 Priest, the latter was suddenly thrown into great consternation by the announced, and subsequent actual arrival of three Mandarins in the adjoining room. All our efforts to calm his mind proved ineffectual : he trembled like a leaf, and cast most imploring looks to us not to expose him. At his request, we removed our books and writing materials into the bed-room, which communicated with the verandah adjoining the room in which the officials were engaged in a discussion with our friend, who had been acting as interpreter in the recent American negotiations. The priest entreated us to speak in a whisper ; and the least sound seemed to penetrate his very soul. As for old Choo, he did not seem to parti- cipate in this feeling to any great extent, having been inured, by thirty years' intercourse with foreigners, to hazards of this kind. He made the priest angry with him by speaking in a soft, but audible tone ; and after- wards, prompted by curiosity, ventured in silence to steal a glance into the other room ; while the other Chinese, placed on a higher pinnacle of rank, and therefore more exposed to the shafts of official displeasure, was tortured by fear. At last the officers took their departure, and released the priest from a load of care. It is difficult, under the new system of inter- course provided for by the British treaty, to account for these fears of respectable Chinese, except on the supposition that the native Government is known to have made reluctant concessions to foreigners, and to regard with peculiar animosity those natives who associate with them. On Oct. 13th I preached to about forty Europeans and Americans, in Dr. Parker's dining-room, my fellow- I 38 RELIGIOUS SERVICES. labourer, Mr. M'Clatchie, conducting the prayers in accordance with the Liturgy of the Church of England. This Service we generally continued every Sabbath during our stay in Canton. In the afternoon, our host and hostess joined with Leang Afa and ourselves in partaking of the Lord's Supper, for the first time after our arrival in China. An unusual solemnity pervaded the occasion ; and we felt the privilege of Christian communion with each other at this distance from the Churches of our respective father-lands. We assem- bled, few in number fewer than the original Apostles, and, like them, in an upper room, with a world lying around us in unbelief. There we peni- tentially confessed our sinfulness, and implored strength for our work. There we anew com- memorated that Saviour's death, on whom we built our hopes of acceptance, and in obedience to whose command, Go and teach att nations, we had come hither. And even here we were not without encou- ragement, in the fact of our approaching the Lord's table, in company with one, who, himself the first- fruits of modern Missionary efforts in China, was now an Evangelist to his own countrymen. We sang some hymns appropriate to our situation ; and the Service was concluded by Leang Afa praying, in Chinese, for the spread of the Gospel, and the con- version of his country. The earnestness of his tone plainly told us the fervency of his supplications. We were afterwards informed that his intercessions on the occasion were indeed most ardent on be- half of the idolatrous empire of China. He is sup- ported by the London Missionary Society ; and has daily prayers and reading of the Scripture at his MILITARY OFFICER. 39 house, about a mile distant on the opposite side of the river, at which some of his countrymen attend from time to time, and converse with him about Christianity. He has a wife, a son, and a daughter, Christians ; and, about a year ago, his aged mother was baptized. Oct. 15th This evening we went, by invitation, to a neighbouring hong, to meet a Mandarin of the highest class but one, holding military rank, and enjoying the privileges of a naturalized or adopted Tartar ; i. e. a descendant of those native Chinese who had assisted the Manchow Tartars in gaining the throne, and had for these services been admitted to an equality of rank with the conquerors. He had distinguished himself in war ; and, as a reward of his services, was decked with the honorary badge of a peacock's fea- ther with three eyes, the largest legal number. We were soon on familiar terms ; and though, from the nature of the conversation, which was interpreted to us, we did not conceive his stock of ideas to be very large, we contrived to spend a tolerably inter- esting evening in his company. He was very obliging in his endeavours to encourage our incipient efforts in the Mandarin dialect, and, when we were tole- rably successful, patted us on the shoulder. He was very particular in showing each article of ornament and use which he had with him, among which was a crystal snuff-bottle, which I filled with some snuff that had been for some years lying in my writing- desk. He received the present, and seemed to value it, as, two or three days after, I received an express messenger from his residence in the city, thanking me, and inquiring whether any such could be pur- chased at Hong Kong or Macao. He had two atten- 40 LITERARY EXAMINATIONS. dants, who stood behind, but were at no pains to con- ceal their participation in any subject of amusement that occurred, frequently offering their remarks. When any person who happened to be rather tall in sta- ture entered the room in which we were, the first thing our visitor did, after shaking hands, was to propose their standing back to back, in order to compare their respective height, as he is taller than the generality of Chinese. Though he professes an eternal friend- ship for one or two of our friends among the foreign residents, and occasionally pays them an evening visit, he is always alarmed at any proposal to visit him at his own house, and meets it with an open indication of unwillingness, probably fearing the odium he should incur. His manners were very polite, and he has the reputation of being a liberal-minded man. Oct. 11th We learnt from our old teacher, Choo, that the seventy-two (the legal number) successful as- pirants to the degree of keu-jin dine together on this day with the public functionaries, to commemorate with rejoicing their promotion. His brother-in-law was one of the happy number ; and we had, a few days after, to dispense with Choo's services, to enable him to go home, on the plea of joining in the family festi- vities consequent on the distinction of one of its members. There were eight thousand candidates in all. Before they are qualified to compete at this triennial examination for literary honours, held only in the capital of the province, they must be sew-tsai, L e. gra- duates of the lowest degree, conferred in the capital city of each department. For several weeks the exa- mination furnishes a subject of all-absorbing interest to the people. Hopes and fears, joy and solicitude, THIRST FOR DISTINCTION. 41 fill the minds of the relatives of the various candi- dates, as they dwell in imagination on the prospective distinction of their families, and build a visionary fa- bric of expected honours, wealth, and power on the contingencies of the future. Each candidate enters the building appropriated to the purposes of examination, which is carefully guarded by soldiers, to prevent communication from without. Here he is located in a cell, which is also narrowly watched, to prevent any illicit help being conveyed to him. There, on three different days, he writes a theme, or composes a short poem, on some given subject from the ancient classics, and transmits it to the judge under an assumed name or motto, to ensure impartiality and fairness in the tiecision. All subjects which can bear the remotest allusion to the policy of the rulers, or to the present dynasty, are strictly excluded. The test of superiority consists in the style and sentiment according with that of the ancient authors and sages. Consequently, Chinese literati pursue for ages the same beaten track of Confucian philosophy ; and whereas originality forms a principal quality in the estimate of literary excellence in Western regions, in China, on the contrary, the inventive faculty is checked, and innovation is stifled in the birth. Thus the sages of the celestial empire waste their energies in persevering efforts to remain stationary in know- ledge. Not the faintest gleam of physical science ever sheds a radiance on the dark chambers of their antiquated system. For ages not a single step is gained in the advancement of true science and those experimental arts which serve to extend the empire of the human mind over matter. 42 INFLUENCE OF LITERARY PROMOTION. So great is the interest in the successful effort to gain the higher literary degrees, that instances are not rare of individuals persevering through succes- sive years of disappointment till their seventieth or eightieth year. Nor is the vigilance of the autho- rities always sufficient to prevent the smuggling of themes, already composed for the examination, or their furtive introduction during the period of trial. Three or four years ago, the son of a wealthy salt- inspector at Canton succeeded in obtaining a keu-jin degree, though he was known to the whole neigh- bourhood as a simpleton. His success, the effect of venal corruption, produced great dissatisfaction ; and the suspicions, which were reasonably excited, were the fruitful occasion of libels and lampoons from the pens of the disappointed literati. Promotion is the summum bonum of a Chinese. The highest honours and emoluments of office are open to indi- viduals of the humblest rank. Tartar birth, though conferring on its possessor a considerable vantage- ground, does not necessarily conduct to pre-eminence, nor do family distinctions descend from father to son, except in the case of the imperial kindred. This system of promotion, while it secures for the empe- ror's service a body of well-educated public officers, at the same time perpetuates error, and presents one of the most formidable moral barriers to the progress of Christian truth. Frequently, also, the evils are appa- rent of. a system, which promotes to the highest offices of state the successful candidates for literary honours ; men raised, indeed, above their competitors by their erudition in Confucian lore, but often marvellously defective in the active qualities of government, and PUBLIC HONOURS. 43 unable to rise to the pressing exigencies of the age. The first intimation of the individual's success, after the literary ordeal, is learned by him from reading his feigned name or motto posted against the walls of the public office of the foo-yuen, or lieutenant-gover- nor. At a certain hour, this public functionary comes forth from his palace ; and after the customary dis- charge of guns, the official paper is pasted up. He then bows to the names of the successful candidates, and retires. A public banquet, honoured by the pre- sence of the foo-yuen and the highest authorities of the province, is given to the newly-made keu-jin ; and, while the thousands of disappointed scholars return to their homes, the successful few are loaded with applause and honour, and their names are sent up, with their compositions, to the emperor at Peking. Oct. 19th We had, this evening, the company, at tea, of a well-known individual, Tang Shin, a Hong merchant. The exclusive monopoly and privileges of the old Hong merchants have, by the late treaties, become obsolete. Yet their reputation and expe- rience give them great advantage in commerce, and Tang Shin is a rich, as well as a learned man. He is the author of more than one work on moral subjects, a copy of which he promised to give us. He remained for several hours ; and the conversation, which was sometimes in the Court dialect, and at other times in imperfect English, was interpreted by our host. On his being asked the origin of the Chinese custom of crippling ladies' feet, his opinion was confirmatory of the current statement, that Ta-ke, a wicked empress in the third century before the 44 ORIGIN OF CRIPPLING LADIES' FEET. Christian era, during the Tsin dynasty, influenced her husband to issue an edict, obliging all the Chinese ladies to make the empress's club-feet the standard of beauty. Some small-footed women once replied in our hearing to the same question, to the effect that ladies, who had no menial work to perform, did not require the use of their feet ! Tang Shin possesses enlightened views and information on subjects of foreign policy. He expressed the great desirable- ness of an imperial commissioner being sent to other nations, as peace would then be better maintained, and " the inner people would not re- main in ignorance of the affairs of outward nations." Speaking of the opium traffic, he said that it was worse than the African slave-trade : that slaves might be fed, and clad, and thrive in the enjoyment of health ; that, moreover, they might, and, he empha- tically added, they should, be restored to their father- land. "But," he continued, "the victims of opium grow sick in body, diseased in mind, depraved in heart, and become physically, mentally, and morally ruined." Our hostess pressed him to permit his wife to visit her. He laughed, but cautiously avoided committing himself by any such promise. He after- wards said that the Chinese law did not allow women to visit abroad. One of the party replied that he had never been able to discover such a law in the Chinese code. Tang Shin then said that he hoped at some time their custom might be rendered like that of foreigners, but at present it could not be so. On the subject of bigamy he appeared to be very sensitive, and anxious to repel the insinuation of the family-discords which it produced. He said that his first wife (who POLYGAMY. 45 was now dead) was above his four other more recently- married wives in rank, and that the latter were not per- mitted to eat in the presence of the former, but were rather considered as her servants. " And," continued he, " they are all happy and quiet, and live together like sisters." He has fifteen children, and as they do not like the idea of calling a stranger mother, he is unwilling again to marry a wife who would suc- ceed to the rank of mistress of the household, his con- cubines not receiving any elevation by the death of his wife. In reference to the recent literary examinations, he said that every officer in the empire, civil and mili- tary, must professedly be a sew-tsai, or graduate of the lowest degree, at least ; but that such was the corrup- tion of the times, that now, instead of talent finding its proper level, and a sure reward in promotion, various means could with impunity be resorted to by ambitious persons, for bribing the examiners, or ac- quiring the necessary degree by money or influence. Thousands even of keu-jin throughout the empire were waiting for promotion ; the favour of the governor of the province frequently elevating juniors, to the ex- clusion of older and more deserving men. No person of lower degree than Jceu-jin could be appointed to the office of district magistrate. But perseverance in the prosecution of literary honours was greatly checked by the abuses, which had been growing up and acquir- ing strength during the last few years. In the course of his conversation, the fact became continually more apparent, that, for some time past, the literati and government officers have been divided into two grand national factions ; the one, rigidly attached to an 46 CONSERVATIVE AND LIBERAL PARTIES IN CHINA. exclusive conservatism of national isolation and customs; the other, inclined to more liberal views, and more especially advocating the legalized im- portation of opium at a high duty. The former party number the famous commissioner Lin among their chief partizans. Among the more prominent leaders of the liberal party are Ke-Shen, who was de- graded for the negotiations with Captain Elliott ; and Ke-Ying, the present imperial commissioner, who has borne so conspicuous a part in the recent negotiations with the British, the Americans, and the French. Whatever may be the ignorance, real or affected, of the Chinese generally, respecting the superiority of foreigners in arts, in civilization, and in power, Tang Shin evidently laboured under no misapprehension on the subject. He examined, with much apparent in- terest, and many expressions of admiration, some appa- ratus exhibited to him, showing the European method of burning gas-light. He seemed to experience most difficulty in comprehending the nature of a gaseous fluid. Before taking his departure, he received a copy of the Epistle to the Ephesians, from the improved version, and also a Christian tract of about a dozen pages. He surveyed them both attentively for a few minutes, when he remarked that the former was difficult to his comprehension, and that the latter was more adapted in style and subject to the Chi- nese mind. Tang Shin is doubtless a great distance in advance of his countrymen. On a recent occasion he was made an honorary member of some literary society in A CHINESE PATRIOT. 47 America. In the letter of thanks to the officers of the institution for the honour conferred on him, he incidentally alluded to the evils of opium, calling on good men of all nations to combine in putting down the inhuman traffic. In the same letter he exhorted the Americans to abolish slavery in their dominions. CHAPTER IV. EXCURSIONS INTO THE SUBURBS OF CANTON. THE BEGGARS' SQUARE EXCURSION INTO RURAL HAMLETS OF HONAN VISIT FROM LEANG AFA's SON A-TUH EXCURSION WITH A NATIVE PREACHER ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER A NATIVE BOOK COMPOSED AND DISTRIBUTED TO DISCOU- RAGE FEMALE INFANTICIDE CHINESE ILLUMINATIONS AND STREET THEATRICALS. ON October 20th I walked with two friends about a mile and a half in a north-westernly direction from the factories, into a part of the suburbs called the Beggars' Square. It consists of an open space, of about a hundred yards on each side, and has a conti- nued range of temples on one side, extending into the adjacent streets. In these streets there is a greater number of dwellings indicating internal comfort and respectability than in most other parts. There is also a more than ordinary proportion of apothecaries' shops, the outer walls of which are covered with an immense number of old rags, which might at first be mistaken for a quantity of dead, decayed ivy- leaves; but which, on inquiry, were found to be the various plasters which had been successfully em- ployed on the apothecary's patients, and were nailed up as a visible trophy of his transcendent skill in the healing art. On entering the temples, some of them presented unequivocal marks of dilapidation and ruin. BEGGARS' SQUARE. 49 A crowd of people followed us into the court as far as the entrance of the inner part of the temple, where the sacred images and the priest on duty were sta- tioned. The priest showed us the various articles within, and explained the mode of consulting Budh, by drawing lots, on the subject of making a bargain, or marrying a wife. On emerging from these gloomy re- cesses of fraud and superstition, we proceeded into the centre of the square, where numbers of idle vagabonds were pursuing their various methods of amusement or vice. A number of emaciated pale forms were also to be seen, partly covered with mats. Some were gasping for breath, and were scarcely able to move. Others were motionless, and seemed to be destitute of life. Numbers of poor mendicants, on the approach of sickness and disease, are brought hither by their re- latives, and left to perish in neglected and unpitied destitution. One poor youth, with a look that pierced my inmost soul, had just sufficient strength to stretch forth his hand for that temporal relief which was, alas ! now unavailing. I counted four or five, close by, to all appearance dead. Desirous of assuring my- self of the fact, I stooped, and, removing the scanty matting which partially obscured their pallid features, gazed on the ghastly spectacle of death. Within three or four yards of the corpses, a company of noisy gamblers were boisterously pursuing their nefarious vocation. Such is the baneful spell of paganism ! such the unhallowed influence of every false religion ! Even within sight of Budhist altars ; close by nume- rous temples dedicated to heathen gods; under the vertical beams of all the benevolence that paganism can be supposed to diffuse ; we behold the spectacle 50 EXCURSION INTO HONAN. of death and the dying, sinking into the grave be- cause none will help them, and most of them perish- ing from actual starvation and neglect. The most corrupt form of Christianity knows no anomaly of this kind. The most feeble measure of Christian influence forbids hunger, disease, and penury to linger within sight, without making an effort to impart relief. But heathen priests permit the groan of the dying sufferer to ascend to the sky, as a testimony to that declaration of Holy Writ, The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. The dead bodies are, from time to time, removed from the square by the authorities, and are buried at the expense of Government. Oct. 22d In the afternoon we formed a party for making a pedestrian excursion into the rural dis- tricts, on the Honan side of the river. We passed through numerous streets and crossed a few bridges, at last fairly emerging into the open fields, over which we pursued our way to the distance of two miles and a half. We passed within sight of Leang A fa's abode, but judged it expedient not to mention his name, nor, by any other means, to excite any suspicion of his connexion with foreigners, to the hazard of his person, as the edict against his life has never been formally revoked. Our route lay through a burial- ground, covered with tomb-stones, at one end of which was a little altar with an idol. A poor woman was engaged in burning gilt-paper and fragrant sticks, and making prostrations before the image. The keeper of the altar begged us to move onwards, as the woman would be afraid to proceed with her offering, and his gains would be endangered. The woman interrupted RECEPTION BY THE PEOPLE. 51 him, and, with true good humour, told us she was not afraid of our remaining. Another woman soon joined in the offering, when both of them kept beating their heads to the ground before the idol, and uttering an indistinct kind of prayer. They then rose, and con- sulted the idol on the subject which they desired, by throwing into the air two semi-circular pieces of wood, formed of bamboo-roots, and inferring the idol's answer, favourable or otherwise, from the convex sides falling downwards, or the contrary ; after which they took their departure, not forgetting to pay the man fifteen cash as his fee. We proceeded through a well-cultivated district, abounding with rice-fields and little dykes or canals, till at last we reached a village larger than the rest, where an assemblage of people rapidly gathered round us. One of our party, who spoke Chinese, entered a shop, and addressed some questions to the inmates ; but both they and the by-standers evinced a shy, unfriendly spirit, and gave rude replies, advising us to go back to our houses. We returned by a different way, and met with no annoyance, as our party amounted to seven or eight, except from a number of young men and boys, who, seeing our approach through a lane towards a door which led into the fields, quickly ran round by another road, and, barring the door, effectually inter- rupted our progress for some minutes, more in joke than anger. After a short delay, one of them, pos- sessing more good nature than the rest, opened the door, and we passed through it, while a shout of de- rision was raised from the crowd rapidly increasing around us. During our walk back, we recognised a few patients, who had enjoyed the benefits of the B'2 52 LEANQ AFA'S SON, A-TUH. Missionary hospital, and who now showed their gra- titude by using their influence in our favour, and winning respect for the strangers from their neigh- bours. Oct. 29th Leang Afa called to introduce to us his son, A-tuh. The latter is a smart, intelligent, and well-educated young man. He has, for some time, been under the instruction and care of the Rev. Dr. Bridgman, of the American Board of Missions. Under his roof he received advantages which place him, intellectually, far above any other individual among his countrymen. In addition to the other general branches of European education, he has a tolerable measure of acquaintance with the Hebrew language. Having recently abandoned the Missio- naries at Hong Kong, and connected himself with the mercantile establishment of Powtinqua, the principal native merchant and gentleman at Canton, he is naturally regarded by the Missionaries with some suspicion ; and it is to be feared that he has been tempted by the superior gains and secular advan- tages which he receives as interpreter, to desert the quiet life and less alluring prospects of the Missio- nary body. He professes a temporary absence, and states his intention soon to return to Hong Kong. He is sometimes invited into the presence of Ke -Ying, and has been more than once consulted on the customs, his- tory, and power of Europeans. The high pay which he receives places him far above the rank of his father ; and though the influence for good of such an indi- vidual in the Government offices may be extensive, in improving the tone of international intercourse, yet it is difficult to banish regret from the mind, that, for DISAFFECTION OF CHINESE TO HONG KONG. 53 direct Christian Missionary work, he is practically lost to us. The case of A-tuh appears to be a specimen of the difficulty and disappointment, to which our Mis- sions will, for some years, be necessarily exposed, unless the English language be excluded from Mis- sion Schools. He speaks English fluently, and interpreted -between us and his father. The French treaty, and the faci- lities which were reported to have been secured for the protection of the Roman-Catholic religion in the interior, formed, at this time, an exciting subject of discussion among those acquainted with external nations. A-tuh thought that the report was true, but that the stipulation would not be ratified by the emperor ; or that the Mandarins would defeat it, by preventing the sale of land for churches, and by similar stratagems. Both of them spoke unfa- vourably of Hong Kong, as the resort of the worst classes, driven thither by destitution or crime. A-tuh especially spoke of the insolent treatment to which the Chinese residents were exposed from the police and the Europeans generally ; and became much excited when he spoke of a recent indignity of treatment, which his father had suffered. He said the English had always been overbearing towards his countrymen, and until they showed a kinder spirit towards them, Christianity would never be respected. Especially, continued he, since the war the Chinese generally hated the English to a mucli greater degree than even before, as they had done so much greater mischief. On this account they were more disinclined than formerly to listen to Christian doc- trines ; thinking that if Englishmen were Christians, 54 DIFFICULTIES OF A NATIVE CHRISTIAN TEACHER. it could not be a good religion which permitted them to be so insolent and mischievous. Afa, though he corroborated the general tenor of these remarks, evinced a more meek and gentle spirit. In reply to the expression of my hope that he might have many souls for his hire, and my remark that they, the first-fruits of the Gospel in China, were, in a pecu- liar manner, chosen out from the masses of surrounding heathenism, Afa said, with evident feeling, " If foreign Christians have such love for souls as to come to preach the Gospel to the Chinese, who hate them, how much more ought I, a Chinaman, to exert myself for the conversion of my countrymen." On my asking him what were the principal obstacles to Missionary success, he replied, "The Chinaman's heart is very hard : they will listen to European Missionaries, and not bring objections till they have departed. But to me they will address remarks of this kind : ' Perhaps this English doctrine may be very good ; but we wish that you would first try it on the English them- selves, for they are wicked men. When this doctrine has made them better, then come and speak to us.' " At another time inquirers would come for two or three days to his house, and listen to his instructions. The last question, before ceasing their inquiries about the new doctrine, is frequently this, " How many dollars a month shall we obtain if we become Christians ?" Afa observed to me, " God can soften even such hearts, and no one else." Before his departure I inti- mated to him that he was known by name to many Christian persons in my own country, and that they watched his progress with affectionate interest. The old man could not refrain from shedding tears, and, AFA'S CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM. 55 pointing to heaven, he said that he prayed heartily that he might be what he ought to be ; but he felt that he was not strong. Though connected with foreign Missionaries, he is a staunch patriot. The following instance occurred before the outbreak of open hostilities between his country and the British: He came with patriotic earnestness to the late Mr. Morrison, and entreated him to use his influence in preventing war. His argument was characteristic. He feared that if the English came to fight with the Chinese, and to destroy their lives, his countrymen would never after- wards receive Bibles, or listen to preaching, from English Missionaries. The interests of Christianity, therefore, should induce him to prevent hostilities by all means in his power. In his preaching at Hong Kong he is very bold in his apologies for the English. Sometimes he speaks of his son A-tuh ; and requests the Chinese, if they doubt his opportunities of esti- mating the English character, to ask his son, who has been brought up among foreigners, and writes and speaks and reads their language. On such occasions the Chinese evince excitement, and are said generally to regard A-tuh with mingled feelings of admiration and suspicion, as a person " who knows too much of the foreigners." A growing impression is, however, by these means, imperceptibly produced of the supe- rior arts, knowledge, and civilization of Christian lands, and of the disinterested benevolence of those English friends among whom Afa mixes in familiar intercourse. The following incidents will be a practical illustra- tion of the existing facilities for Missionary work at 56 VISIT TO THE SOUTHERN SUBURBS. Canton facilities which are of no very extensive kind, but such as have, nevertheless, existed for some time ; and might, perhaps with advantage, have been made, even at an earlier period, the vehicle of a widely-spread system of oral instruction in Christian doctrines, among the crowded masses of the suburban population. Among the various visits which I made to the suburbs, at a distance from the factories, was an occa- sional walk to the homely residence of an American Missionary, the Rev. J. Roberts. He arrived in Canton during the last summer, having, during the seven years of his past residence in China, been engaged at Macao, and in the island of Hong Kong, among the lowest class of the population. Previous to his arrival at Canton, the only Missionary machinery in existence was the Ophthalmic Hospital, close to the foreign factories. Immediately on his arrival, he cherished the laudable project of settling amongst the Chinese themselves, and living in free intercourse with them. He accordingly rented a few rooms in the house of a native merchant, who the more readily afforded him a lodging, as he wished to enlarge his trade, and to court an acquaintance with foreigners. Here he adopted the habits and costume of Chinese life. However some may be inclined to doubt the expediency of such a course as the latter, yet no one can refrain from commending the courage and zeal by which it was dictated. Here, at the time of my visits, he usually had two native assistants in his lodging ; and, during the week, several Chinese, of the lower class of merchants and tradesmen, were in the habit of making a call, and cultivating friendly inter- CHINESE COMPANIONS. 57 course. On one occasion I hired a boat, and sailed about a mile down the river, east of the factories, to a point of the suburbs nearly opposite the old fort, called the Dutch Folly. Here, with some difficulty, I descried, amidst the crowds of boats between which we were pursuing our intricate course, the Chinese characters inscribed on the dwelling in which Mr. Roberts had secured a lodging for himself and his native com- panions. It was close to the Tsing Hai Mun, one of the southern gates of the city-wall. On landing, I proceeded to the hong, and was speedily ushered into my friend's apartments. My arrival seemed to interest the novel company into which I was intro- duced. Four or five Chinese, of respectable appear- ance, were seated in the room with my friend and two of his native assistants. A religious inquirer, who was formerly a strolling fortune-teller, and, in that capacity, had travelled over a considerable num- ber of the provinces, and acquired several dialects, also formed one of the number, being for the present an inmate of the house. After the usual inquiries such as my age, and the period of my arrival in Canton prompted by Chinese curiosity, were over, the con- versation, which had been interrupted, was resumed amongst them. One of the assistants had a tract, .which he read aloud, adding lengthened comments and expla- nations, and thus giving a general outline of Christian doctrine. He was succeeded by the other, who, for another quarter of an hour, addressed the little com- pany on the same subject. During this time the visitors listened attentively, nodding assent, and bow- ing the whole time to indicate their comprehension. My friend also joined in conversation, and replied to 58 MISSIONARY EXCURSION DOWN THE RIVER. their questions." Later in the day we made an excur- sion in a boat further down the river, taking one of the Chinese assistants, and a large supply of religious tracts. Landing on the Honan side of the river, about two miles below the factories, we made the best of our way, through the crowds that were attracted by the rare event of a foreigner landing there, to a plat- form which was built on piles, and extended a little distance into the river. Taking up our station here, we speedily had a congregation of about one hundred persons, who pressed upon us to such a f degree that we had some difficulty in maintaining our position. Here, amid houses of the lowest description, and with a gang of gamblers in the adjacent room, the native assistant preached to an attentive audience the things belonging to their everlasting peace. About two hundred tracts were afterwards distributed, and por- tions of the Word of God circulated among the rapidly- increasing crowd, who, in their eagerness to receive copies, sometimes transgressed the usual limits of Chinese decorum. We walked about, experiencing no rude treatment or annoyances, except those prompted by a harmless curiosity. It will be difficult, however, to disabuse the native mind of the erroneous impres- sion, that Christianity, like Confucianism, is more a subject of theoretical speculation, than a practical principle of purity of heart and life. Not withstand ^ ing the attentive interest which seemed to beam in every countenance, and the sensible questions which indicated their intellectual apprehension of the in- structions conveyed to them, we soon had painful proof of the laxity of morals which they deemed compatible with our Missionary objects. DISTRIBUTION OF NATIVE MORAL TRACTS. 59 Landing about half a mile lower down the river, on the opposite side, and at no great distance from the southern wall of the city, we soon formed the acquaintance of a tea-merchant, in whose shop the same scenes recurred, on a smaller scale, and more tracts were distributed. The proprietor himself had, for gratuitous distribution, some native moral tracts, one of which he presented to us, and to the contents of which I shall make subsequent allusion. After taking tea with him, and giving one or two persons with disease of the eye a note of recommendation to the Ophthalmic Hospital, we departed to our boat, accompanied to the river by about a hundred persons, who, if they had wished to gratify any vindictive ma- lice against foreigners, were not destitute of materials for such an object in the stones and pebbles which lay on the beach. Good humour, however, was every- where apparent. Returning to the Tsing Hai Mun, we dined_,in Chi- nese style, with one of the natives ; and in the evening, accompanied by my friend, I proceeded to the fac- tories. In one of the streets we each took one side of the way, and calling at nearly every house, at the hour at which masters and servants were eating their even- ing meal together, we left amongst the party a tract, which was, in every case, received with politeness, and often with apparent thankfulness. The subject of the tract was " The Love of God," and it contained a large portion of 1 Cor. xiii. Of the quality of the piety and knowledge possessed by the native assistants I was unable to form an opinion. They were certainly novices. I saw nothing, however, to authorize the suspicion that they were actuated by 60 CHINESE TRACT AGAINST INFANTICIDE. other motives than a desire to promote the glory of God. My friend himself has evinced no inconside- rable degree of faith and courage in being the first Missionary to penetrate the dense masses of the suburb-population, and to live amongst them as a friend and a brother. He has not had the advantage of a liberal education ; and his peculiar plans have separated him from the Missionary Society with which he was originally connected. He remains, however, supported principally by local pecuniary help ; and, in the future results of his Missionary labours, it will perhaps be found that God often chooses the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty. Concerning the little book which we received during our stay in the tea-merchant's shop, my old teacher, Choo, gave me the following information. It was written about thirty years ago by a renowned Mandarin, Hang Fung, to discourage the practice of drowning female infants, as its title implied. The author was a good man, and lieutenant-governor of Kwangtung Province. He died about ten years ago. This book was originally published, and gratuitously distributed, at the expense of the Government ; and even now its circulation is promoted at the expense of the benevolent portion of the native community. This book naturally led me to question Choo further respecting the prevalence of female infanticide. In reply to my inquiries, he gave me the following statis- tical information. Taking a circle of the radius of ten miles around the spot where we were, he computed that the number of infanticides did not exceed one hundred a-year. The practice was entirely confined STATISTICS OF INFANTICIDE. 61 to the poor, and originated in the difficulty of rearing their female offspring. Rich men never practised the custom ; and even poor men were ashamed of the practice. He knew, among his acquaintance, some who had drowned their daughters ; but they did not like to confess the deed, but would speak of their children having died of disease. In Fokeen Province, on the other hand, female infanticides were very pre- valent. At a place called Kea-Ying-Chow, about five days' journey, or 800 le, above Canton (placed, in the map, in the north-east of the province, but bordering on Fokeen), there were computed to be 500 or 600 female infanticides in a month. The comparative in- frequency of the mal-practice at Canton he ascribed to the foundling-hospital there established, and super- intended by the Government. He computed that 5000 female children, the offspring of parents in circum- stances of poverty and want, were annually taken to this institution, where they received a tempo- rary provision and sustenance, under the inspection of an officer who visited the hospital every five days, and granted a certain sum for the purpose. From time to time, the more affluent class of mer- chants and gentry visit the hospital, and select some of the children, whom they take to their home, and educate for concubines or servants. The institution is capable of containing about one thousand infants ; and each child is generally removed in the space of two or three months, either being taken to the homes of the wealthy, or being sent to wet nurses to be reared apart from the foundling-hospital. This is the only institution of the kind in the province ; and a portion of the rates levied on foreign ships, in former 62 FOUNDLING HOSPITAL. times, was professedly for the support of this esta- blishment, which is situated about a mile from the city, in the eastern suburbs. These facts account for the general exemption of Canton from infanticide. But the circumstance of individual Chinese incurring the expense of gratuitously distributing a pamphlet discouraging the practice, is sufficient proof, to every reasonable mind, that the evil still exists to a la- mentable extent, rendering the appliance of such a moral remedy necessary. Another young native, A-tsin, whom, on account of his knowledge of English, we engaged for occasional assistance as teacher, sub- sequently corroborated the general tenor of Choo's statements. Nov. 4th to 18th It is difficult for a person, merely resident at the southern port of Canton, to form a just conception of the real character of social life among the more refined classes of Chinese. Practically re- strained within the narrow boundaries of the foreign hongs, and excluded from a free intercourse with the gentry of rank and influence, the utmost acquaintance that a foreigner can acquire, during a residence of even several years at Canton, will resemble rather an occasional and hasty glimpse, than a matured insight into their manners. Of the majesty of Chinese law, and the real character of their religion, the circum- scribed limits of a foreigner's residence render it im- possible to speak from that extensive observation which the other free ports offer to the inquiring mind. Of the former I saw nothing which led me to form any great estimation. A procession of Mandarins once passed me on their way to the river, to which they were escorted by a number of police-runners, a sorry CHINESE ILLUMINATIONS. 63 band of musicians, and the usual insignia decorating their sedan-chairs. There was nothing imposing in the aspect of the officials, some of whom were very portly, and others labouring under the decrepitude of old age. Of the influence which religion exerts over the daily life and actions of the community, it is less difficult, although not easy, to form an estimate. The unedu- cated are manifestly idolaters; nor do the better classes seem to rise much above the superstitions of the vulgar. In fact, the Chinese have no acknow- ledged system of religious belief, except a compound or farrago of all the strange vagaries which falsehood, priestcraft, mysticism, and fear have combined in diffusing alike among Budhists, Taouists, and Confu- cians. Their notions are wild, vague, and confused ; and they are ready to ingraft on the multiplied absurdities of their belief any unmeaning practice which may seem likely to procure a lucky omen, or the favour of chance. Of this character are the nume- rous illuminations, theatricals, and offerings, which at this season of the year abound in Canton. The destructive ravages of fire among whole streets, ren- dered still more destructive by the light combustible materials of which their houses are composed, have led to the practice of propitiating the tutelary deities of the neighbourhood by a yearly offering at the com- mencement of the winter season. Subscriptions are collected to raise a fund for this purpose ; and whole streets may be seen in their turn, night after night, bril- liantly illuminated for a general holiday. Public com- panies are also formed for supplying the usual lamps, festoons, musicians, images, and other accessories, G4 STREET-THEATRICALS. which grace the festive occasion. At the end of some of the streets the effect to the eye is magnificently grand, where the tradesmen have been unusually successful in business since the former similar occasion, and, as an acknowledgment, subscribe their money for a festival of more than ordinary grandeur. In walk- ing through the streets, the attention is suddenly arrested by ingeniously-contrived machinery, per- forming, by means of images, many of the acts of ordinary life, to the gratification of the crowd below. A little further on, a company of living musicians, in a retired recess or gallery, accompanying the voice of some artiste of song, rivet the attention of silent admirers. Suddenly, in some wider part of the street, numerous drums, gongs, and the shrill tones of the peculiar Chinese falsetto voice, indicate the prin- cipal centre of attraction. On an elevated stage may be seen mandarin processions ; battles between the Celestials and Barbarians (in which the former, of course, are always victorious) ; native heroes slaying their thousands, and whirling round in the violence of martial fury ; and horsemen whipping their unruly steeds, as well as the whip and the action can compensate for the absence of the imaginary animal. Soon, again, imperial councils and the politic measures of sage rulers, together with an occasional introduction to an interior view of Chinese social life, may be seen acted in all the pompous majesty of actual reality, amid the plaudits of the enthusiastic assem- blage. On one occasion, the mal-practices and am- bitious career of Tsaou- Tsaou, a wicked Mandarin in the Han Dynasty, the Napoleon of his age and country, were the subject of representation. The SOCIAL POSITION OF PLAYERS. 65 interest and sympathies of the assemblage seemed to be intense, as they watched the misfortunes of the devoted Emperor and his faithful adherents, and the evil successes of the ambitious rebel-chief, who subse- quently founded a dynasty in the person of his grand- son. The actors spoke the Nanking, or old court- dialect, and were arrayed in sumptuous dresses. At intervals, one of their attendants advanced to the front of the stage, and changed the inscription on a tablet, which always exhibited some moral maxim, of which the coming scene was to be illustrative. The inhabi- tants of each locality seek, by these festive rites, pro- fessedly to appease the presiding genii of the place, but in reality to please themselves. The parts of women are sustained by young men or boys. It affords some insight into the real estimation in which players are held by the educated and influential classes, to know that theatrical actors, however their accomplished arts are sought by all, are nevertheless, in common with menials and priests, excluded from the privilege of literary examinations, and conse- quently from all hope of rising to a station of power and wealth. Such are some of the impressions which were made on my mind during the period of this my first visit to Canton ; as their outline still lingers on the memory, and helps to recall my thoughts to the first vivid associations and exciting novelties of Chinese life. The remembrance of those happy hours is still fresh, and sheds a peculiar fragrance on a period of the past, consecrated by many blessings. CHAPTER V. REMOVAL TO MACAO, AND RETURN TO HONG KONG. VOYAGE TO MACAO DESCRIPTION OF THE PLACE ITS FORMER IMPORTANCE AND PRESENT DECAY ORIGIN OF THE SET- TLEMENT ITS PECULIARITY AS A MISSIONARY STATION POPISH INTOLERANCE MORRISON AND MILNE VOYAGE TO HONG KONG DETENTION AT HONG KONG MISSIONARY EXCURSIONS VILLAGES OF HONG KONG VILLAGES ON THE MAINLAND OF CHINA AGONG, A NATIVE PREACHER ORDI- NANCE OF THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AGAINST SECRET SOCIETIES POLITICAL ORIGIN OF THE " TRIAD SOCIETY " CHINESE POPULATION OF HONG KONG CASE OF A-QUEI A NATIVE JUGGLER. THE combined effects of climate and close application to the study of Chinese on my health at length ren- dered it necessary, in the opinion of my medical ad- viser, that I should leave for Macao, for change of air. Accordingly, on Nov. 14th, I left Canton soon after sunset, in a native fast-boat, accompanied by two American gentlemen. After a voyage of about thirty hours, during which I suffered considerably from pain in the head and fever, we came to anchor in Macao harbour soon after midnight, on the 15th. My two companions immediately disembarked ; but being myself too unwell to land at that hour, I remained in the boat till morning. The little sleep I could get, amidst the dashing of the boats against each other, ARRIVAL AT MACAO. 67 was effectually interrupted at day-break by the curi- osity of the people in the adjoining boats, men and women, who pulled open the Venetians at the side of my boat, and surveyed the contents of the cabin. As often as they were driven off, they would return and repeat the experiment, so that I had at length to dress with about twenty people intently gazing on me during the process. On landing, I proceeded to a Portuguese hotel, where I was confined to my room for three days, and th.cn removed to the house of an American Missionary, the Rev. W. Lowrie, whose hospitality and Christian kindness were a double comfort to me in my present circumstances. Under his roof I spent a fortnight, occasionally taking short walks on the neighbouring beach and in the adjoin- ing localities ; and enjoying the advantage of fre- quent intercourse with a few Missionaries lately arrived from America, and temporarily resident at Macao. The view of Macao is very striking, as seen from the harbour, and the place itself forms the most delightful residence open to foreigners in China, Having been for two centuries in the possession of the Portuguese, it presents to the eye the aspect of a European city, with its assemblage of churches, towers, and forts. It stands on an inconsiderable pro- montory of the island of Heang-shan, from which it is separated, at the isthmus, by a narrow fortification, jealously guarded in former times by the Chinese, to prevent communication with the interior. It pos- sesses two fine harbours, the inner and the outer, one on each side of the headland. Its fine broad roads on the semi-circular beach present a motley F 2 68 ITS FORMER ORIGIN AND PRESENT DECAY. appearance of the various races, of Chinese and European descent, which form its population. The European houses are spacious and of handsome ex- terior. Until the conclusion of the late war, it was the only residence for the families of foreign mer- chants, who were prohibited from taking their wives to Canton. The settlement of Hong Kong, and the more liberal regulations of the Chinese government in regard to the residence of foreign ladies at Canton, have operated conjointly in causing the removal of nearly all the British and American residents; and only a few American families now remain at Macao. For their confirmed possession of this isolated spot on the frontiers of China, so important under the old Chinese policy, both in a mercantile and religious point of view, the Portuguese are indebted to the gratitude of former Chinese monarchs, in return for the opportune services rendered them in the suppres- sion of the pirates who, under the leadership of the noted Coshinga, endangered the stability of the ruling dynasty. On account of the ambiguous position and circumscribed sphere occupied by the few Missio- naries at Canton, Macao may be said to have been the only station, in former times, on the soil of China Proper, really invested with a Missionary character. Macao, in many respects, resembled a fashionable watering-place in England, and abounded with the comforts, the refinements, and even the luxuries of European life. Such a locality was little adapted to develope Missionary zeal, or to impress the native mind with a respect for our religion. It was, however, the only accessible point on the fron- tiers of a benighted empire, which seemed to have MISSIONAKY ASPECT. 69 entirely closed every other avenue to the approach of Christian light. The few Protestant Missionaries, who were stationed here, had to contend with many discouragements. On the one hand was a Popish priesthood, intimately connected with the local govern- ment, narrowly watching the measures of Missionaries, and ready to crush, at the earliest stage, any attempts to make converts to Protestantism. On the other hand, the Missionaries possessed only limited means of intercourse with a depraved Chinese population, pre- senting materials the most heterogeneous and unlikely to be conformed to the principles of the Gospel. Added to which, there was a mixed authority, in Macao itself, of the Portuguese and Chinese governments. The precise boundary of their divided authority was a subject of continual doubt, as also of occa- sional altercation ; so that it was only by the suffe- rance of two adversaries, equally opposed to the truth, that these incipient and disproportionate efforts were conducted for the moral emancipation of the Chinese race. A short time before the late war between Britain and China, there were at Macao only four Protestant Missionaries able to speak Chinese fluently. Their efforts were principally directed to the issuing of Christian publications from the Missionary press, to the translation or revision of the Holy Scriptures, to the preparation and distribution of Religious Tracts, to medical institutions for the benefit of the natives, and to the education of the few native children whom they were able to obtain. Direct Missionary labours were conducted, when attempted at all, on a small scale ; and the preaching of the Gospel was de- prived of that prominence among God's appointed 70 POPISH INTOLERANCE. means for converting mankind, which, in other parts of the world, it justly occupies. The remains of the Rev. Dr. Morrison, his wife, and his son, Mr. John Robert Morrison, and also those of the Rev. S. Dyer, are interred in the European burial-ground, in the castle-gardens. These names will ever be remem- bered among the first Protestant Missionaries to the Chinese ; and be regarded by future Chinese converts with affectionate gratitude, as those of some of the most illustrious benefactors of their race. In the early stages of his Missionary career, it was only by entrenching himself behind employments of a secular kind, that Morrison was enabled to maintain his ground against the bigoted jealousy of a Popish priest- hood and an illiberal government. Without such official position Milne was, speedily after his arrival, banished from this contemplated scene of Missionary labour to the more distant stations in the Straits of Malacca. The principal establishment of the Jesuits has been recently removed from Macao to the British settlement of Hong Kong, where they are permitted to purchase ground from the government to build a Mission-house and Church, and to pursue without restraint their work of proselytism, under the mild toleration of a Protestant rule. Such is the contrast to be seen in the prevailing spirit of Popery and Pro- testantism, when respectively influencing the policy of governments. On the morning of December 2d, I left Macao for Hong Kong, in a native passage-boat, crowded with Chinese passengers, who pretty well divided their whole time between eating, smoking, and gambling. Being the only European on board, for a small sum EETURN TO HONG KONG. 71 I was indulged with the privilege of having a little room separated off from the main body of my fellow- passengers, who, however, still rendered themselves very unpleasant companions by the clouds of opium and tobacctf-smoke which they sent into my berth. The next day at noon we arrived at Hong Kong, and I was soon after domiciled in the residence of the Colonial Chaplain, the Rev. Vincent Stanton, who, with his excellent wife, paid me unremitting kindness during my protracted sojourn beneath their hospitable roof. My friend, Mr. M'Clatchie, arriving from Can- ton, joined me at Hong Kong on December 20th ; and on the 20th of February following he embarked for Shanghai, in order to fix his permanent abode, and to pursue his Chinese studies at that port, which, on the whole, seemed most likely to become one of the contemplated Stations of the Church Missionary So- ciety. The exploratory work of visiting all the newly-opened ports of China was left to me, which, however, the continued weakness of my health pre- vented my attempting till after the close of the unfavourable monsoon, later in the spring. The ordinary incidents of my residence at Hong Kong, though they must ever be deeply impressed on my own mind in the retrospect of its many mercies and privileges, I shall pass over, as being of a nature little calculated to give information concerning China and the Chinese. A few particulars will be given, illustrative of the general position of Missionaries, and the character of Missionary pursuits, in this recently-acquired appendage to the colonial empire of Britain. A more comprehensive view of the probable influence of Hong Kong on the destinies 72 DETENTION AT HONG KONG. of the Chinese race, and the real advantages which it secures to the Missionary of the cross, as well, also, as its general eligibility as a centre of Missionary operations, will be reserved for more systematic and enlarged consideration at the close of the volume. A view of the state of things in the Consular ports on the mainland of China, will enable the reader, with greater correctness and approximation to truth, to form his opinion of the relative advantages of Hong Kong and those ports, as he accompanies the author in the journal of his tour along the coast. During the period of my temporary residence at Hong Kong, I enjoyed the valuable privilege of continued inter- course with the various Missionaries who were at this time assembled at Hong Kong in more than their ordinary number ; many of them being either tempo- rary residents in the colony, by way of testing its eligibility, or visiting the place on their route to some other Missionary Station on the coast. From some of these, who had been for several years in the Missio- nary field, I received valuable counsel and infor- mation, which compensated, in a great degree, for the length of time during which I was, by various circumstances, detained at Hong Kong. One of the most remarkable men in China is already well known to the religious part of the community at home, by the published accounts of his Missionary voyages along the coast in former times the Rev. C. GutzlafF. Though he doubtless saw many things through the medium of a sanguine mind, and his opinions are consequently received with caution by the Missionaries ; yet his past Missio- nary labours for the benefit of the Chinese were con- A MISSIONARY EXCURSION. 73 ducted in a spirit of boldness and courage worthy the apostolic age. His knowledge of various Chinese dialects, and his extraordinary mental and physical activity, qualify him for an abundant measure of use- fulness, such as few men can attain. It is therefore a subject to be regretted, that, by the close engagements of his office as Chinese Secretary and Interpreter to the Government, he is to a great extent separated from Missionary work. He still, however, makes Mis- sionary excursions in the evenings and on the Sabbath Day, among the Chinese villages, in company with some native preachers in whom he has confidence ; and, with all his secular engagements, is able to do almost as much in active exertion as ordinary Mis- sionaries are able to effect without such secular em- ployment. A brief account of an excursion, in which he kindly invited me to accompany him, will give some idea of the class of Chinese on the island, and the degree of intercourse which can be held with them for Missionary purposes. On Dec. 22d, about nine o'clock, A. M., we embarked in a Chinese boat, accompanied by two native preachers, named A-seaou and A-tai, and proceeded along the harbour in an easterly direction. The morning was bright and beautiful, though the cold air made an upper coat indispensable to our full comfort. The towering hills of Hong Kong on our right, and the bold outline of the opposite coast, with native huts and villages on the mainland, and a number of Chinese junks and war-vessels sailing about in the opposite bay of Cow-loon, gave a pleasing and romantic effect to the scene. We doubled the small headland, which forms the eastern boundary 74 VILLAGERS OF THE ISLAND. of the harbour, and soon lost sight of the town of Victoria. Our plan was to have passed through the Lirnun Channel, and, steering northward, to have reached a populous village on the mainland, about twenty miles distant. As the tide had now turned against us, and the wind was also unfavourable, there remained no probability of our reaching the village till late in the afternoon. We accordingly changed our course, and determined on making the bay, which extends about two miles along the shore of Hong Kong to the point forming the Limun passage, the scene of our day's operations. We therefore disem- barked, and directed the Chinese in the boat to watch our movements, and to follow us at a little distance from the beach. We first landed at a stone quarry, where the Chinese workmen were induced to leave their labour, and, without any difficulty or delay, about twenty natives were assembled around us, and formed a little congregation of attentive listeners. Mr. Gutzlaff commenced addressing them, in their own language, on the truths of the Gospel, with much energy, adapting himself in tone, gesture, and manner, to the assemblage before him. They listened with ap- parent pleasure, frequently responding and offering observations. He was succeeded in turn by his two native assistants, who, with much animation, especially A-tai, the younger, addressed their fellow-countrymen. The whole was concluded by Mr. Gutzlaff offering a short prayer to the Almighty. We then departed, after leaving a few tracts, amid the plaudits and salutations of the assembly, most of whom had something to say to us. In this way we proceeded over a space of two miles, which was covered at almost every level and PREACHING TO THE CHINESE. 75 habitable point by native huts of rude construction, but with substantial outer walls to repel the inroads of pirates and freebooters. They seemed to re- cognise, in Mr. Gutzlaff and his native assistants, old acquaintances ; and the authoritative tone and manner with which he compelled any hesitating or inattentive individual to give his presence and attention was sometimes amusing. At one time we had a congre- gation in the open air, with the heavens as our canopy, and the rugged soil as the pulpit. At another time we met in some native dwelling, where the tenants of the adjoining huts were congregated, Mr. Gutzlaff stationing himself at the door to allow free ingress, but to prevent the egress of any refractory individual. His mild compulsions were received with good humour, extracting a smile from the object of them, and approval from the rest. The majority were eager to listen, following us, in some instances, to the next place of meeting, where the services underwent a slight change or alternation of the parts assigned to each preacher. Some of the more intelligent list- eners made remarks in the course of the address. The dialect which they spoke was the Hok-ha, which differs considerably from the Canton dialect generally spoken in these parts. While Mr. Gutzlaff, with his usual activity, mounted a hill, which I deemed my strength unequal to the labour of climbing, my attention was attracted, by the frequent noise of fire- works and crackers, to a little eminence, to which some degree of sanctity seemed to be attached. On ascending it, I saw two or three ugly idols, black in appearance, and only about six inches in height, with sundry decorations, and a quantity of gilt paper 76 DISPOSITION OF THE NATIVES. representing garments in miniature. Before them were little cups filled with tea, and spacious dishes of recently-cooked fowl and ham, with potatoes and yams, and the usual appendages of a Chinese feast. Two women and three or four men were all that visited the place during the time I remained. They left the food exposed without any fear of its being taken away ; but this appearance of devoutness generally terminates in their removing the offerings, and having a feast on them at their own houses. We next went on board a boat anchored close to the beach, and filled with a cargo of paving-stones. The crew amounted to about twenty, and evinced a shy manner. Here we had a service, necessarily rendered short by their heedless, inattentive, and unwilling dis- position. Mr. Gutzlaff, in the course of his address, told them they were pirates and robbers, wicked men, living without God, and exhorted them to repentance of sin and faith in His Son. They showed no dispo- sition to revenge the low opinion entertained of their morality, and attempted no denial. The whole popu- lation of these scattered hamlets consists, with few ex- ceptions, of Chinese of the lowest description and cha- racter, driven by outlawry and crime, as frequently as by the want of subsistence elsewhere, to the neigh- bourhood of this new British Settlement, This reflec- tion, together with the novelty of our situation, helped to excite me to . earnest prayer for the presence and blessing of the Holy Spirit. While listening to the yet unfamiliar sounds and tones of the Chinese lan- guage applied to the new and exalted object of prayer to the true God, I trust I joined in spirit, and found it good to be there. Six hours were spent in EXCURSION ON THE MAINLAND. 77 such visits. The last place of meeting was at a large village, in the shop of a tradesman of respectable appearance. The largest assemblage during the day amounted to about fifty persons ; and probably three or four hundred in all heard the sound of the Gospel. We re-embarked about half-past four P.M., and, having a fair breeze, sailed towards Victoria, on our return, at a brisk rate. The people whom we visited were generally Budhists in practice, and idols were con- spicuous in every dwelling. Not long after the former excursion, some other Missionaries formed a little party to accompany Agong, a Chinese Christian, baptized about sixteen years ago by the late Dr. Morrison, and now engaged as a native preacher in connexion with the Medical Missionary Hospital, on a visit to the villages on the mainland opposite to Victoria. I went in the com- pany ; and as no one present could speak the local dialect fluently, Agong was the chief speaker on the occasion. We were attended by a native boy, who carried books and tracts for distribution. The latter was almost a superfluous work, as in these parts hardly one man in a village can read a book, though many are able to understand a sufficient number of charac- ters to keep a shop or to reckon their debts. There was a hope, however, of their ultimately falling into the hands of more intelligent readers. On landing at a village called Sham-Shwui, our party separated into two bodies, in order to disarm the fears of the people ; two of our number sallying forth on a pedestrian excursion over the neighbouring hill, while a Medical Missionary and myself proceeded through the various hamlets, where little assemblages of willing 78 QUERIES OF THE INHABITANTS. hearers, prompted by curiosity, were got together, and Agong addressed them on the contents of the tracts distributed. A few cases of disease were also examined, and the patients were invited to come to the Medical Missionary Institution in Hong Kong, where their cases would receive attention. Copies of the internal regulations of the hospital were also cir- culated, in which a due prominence was given to the Christian objects of the hospital, and the daily assem- bling of the patients for devotion and hearing the Gospel. Much interlocutory dialogue passed between Agong and some of his countrymen. " What do you come for?" was generally the first query. He re- plied, not to get money, but to tell them of Jesus Christ and His Gospel. One woman asked him how much money we wanted to get from them, if they brought her sick child to the hospital. He replied, None. This reply seemed to produce incredulity among them, and drew forth expressions of doubt ; till Agong, stroking his white beard most ostentatiously, invited them to mark that sign of advanced age, and then to reflect whether he, so old a man, would deceive them, or allure them to Hong Kong by false promises. In this way we passed through several hamlets for a mile and a half, nothing remarkable occurring during the walk. The country was in a moderate state of cultivation, chiefly consisting of fields planted with sweet potatoes, and a kind of cabbage resembling a lettuce. The paths were very tortuous, being con- fined to the narrow fences between the several enclosures, and having little rills of water running close to them. The beach was fine, spacious, and sandy ; and the people were open and simple in their CHARACTER AND PURSUITS OF THE PEOPLE. 79 manners, one of them serving us with some tea. At the first village, we assembled at the entrance of a little temple, dedicated to the "goddess of mercy," or "queen of heaven," represented by an image of a female divinity with a male child in her arms. Behind her image, at a little distance, were those of the three Budhs. The people appeared to take delight in showing us the various sacred objects ; but there was an entire absence of any indications of religious awe. Near this little temple was a house, with a long inscription over a gate, leading into the principal court, which resembled a small farm-yard. This was to inform the passer-by that some rela- tive of the inmate was a successful candidate for literary distinction, and had obtained a keu-jin degree. The inhabitants of these scattered villages subsist apparently by agriculture and fishing. They extend over a mile and a half, and are within sight of the town of Victoria. On various other occasions I made excursions to the neighbouring villages on the island, and to the opposite village of Cow-loon, on the mainland, con- taining about 3000 people and a Chinese fort. I ex- tended my visits also to some of the numerous little islands, known by the general name of Ladrones, given to them by the Portuguese in former times, on account of the piratical character of the inha- bitants. During the period of my residence at Hong Kong an ordinance was passed by the Legislative Council, granting powers to the Executive to punish any Chinese who might be proved to belong to a secret Society. 80 ORDINANCE AGAINST SECRET SOCIETIES. A notice of the circumstances will help to afford an insight into the social character and condition of the motley population now gathered under the wing of British law in Hong Kong. In China there are several secret Societies, the members of which are banded together for certain objects. The principal association of this kind is the San hwui, or "Triad Society." This is supposed primarily to have been a political combination of the adherents of the old Chinese dynasty, for the object of expelling the pre- sent foreign dynasty. The members are bound by oath to secresy and mutual assistance. A large number are thus enrolled, especially in the southern extremity of the empire, where the original objects of the insti- tution have gradually given way to a general spirit of lawlessness, plunder, and rebellion. In short, both the members of this and similar confederations are now composed of the most disorderly portion of the commu- nity ; their system of oaths and bond of secresy afford- ing full scope and opportunity tp thieves and bandits to prosecute their evil vocations, with little danger of detection. The recent discovery of a gang of thieves, with their secret papers, furnished a clue to the existence of these confederations in Hong Kong, where the predatory character of many of the Chinese set- tlers rendered such means of mutual connivance and secresy a formidable barrier to the prevention or de- tection of crime. The ordinance in question com- mences with the following preamble, illustrative of the character of these Societies in the view of the pro- pounders of the ordinance : " Whereas the ' Triad Society,' and other secret Societies prevalent in China, exist among the inhabi- ORIGIN OF THE TRIAD SOCIETY. 81 tants of the island of Hong Kong ; and whereas these associations have objects in view which are incom- patible with the maintenance of good order and con- stituted authority, and with the security of life and property, and afford, by means of a secret agency, facilities for the commission of crime, and for the escape of offenders : " Be it therefore enacted," &c. &c. The penalties specified are, imprisonment for three years, branding on the right cheek, and banishment from the island. It is feared that a large proportion of the Chinese population of Hong Kong are members of one or more of these associations, which, in some respects, resemble the nature of benefit-clubs, in addi- tion to their censurable objects. These confederations, and especially the " Triad Society," have always been an occasion of alarm to the reigning government of China; and persons con- victed of membership have been visited with most severe punishment, as furnishing a nucleus to the more lawless and rebellious elements of society, and enabling notorious criminals to defeat the power of justice and authority. The many proclamations from the local government of Canton, of the same date, proved the anxiety and trouble which they occasion to the Chinese Government. The origin and history of the " Triad Society " are confessedly involved in much mystery and uncertainty. The existence of such societies is an instance of the anomalous combination of the elements of weakness and strength in the Government, and exerts a consi- derable influence on the rulers, in the absence of popular representation ; so that, in many parts of G 82 THE CHINESE PORTION OF THE TOWN. the Empire, the Chinese democracy is beginning to assume a formidable aspect. Before leaving Hong Kong, I accompanied a Mis- sionary friend, on several occasions, to the Chinese por- tion of the town, walking through the native bazaar and the back streets bordering on the beach, where we distributed tracts in some houses among the few persons capable of reading them. In several houses we witnessed the apparatus for opium-smoking, but saw no one in the act of smoking till we came to the house of a wealthy Chinese, named A-quei. He pos- sesses about fifty houses in the bazaar, and lives on the rent, in a style much above the generality of Chi- nese settlers, who are commonly composed of the re- fuse of the population of the neighbouring mainland. During the war, A-quei acted as purveyor of provi- sions to the British armament, and acquired some wealth. After the peace, he was at first afraid to return to the mainland, lest he should be seized as a traitor by the Mandarins. In the end he settled at Hong Kong, where he is said to encourage disre- putable characters by the loan of money, and in various ways to reap the proceeds of profligacy and crime. He introduced us to a partner, named A-tai, whom we saw in the process of smoking opium, in- haling the smoke through the mouth and emitting it through the nose. The thick fluid of prepared opium being held for a few moments over a flame, till it be- came more solid, was placed in the bowl of the pipe, which was held over a small glass lamp, burning for the purpose ; and the smoker, stretched on a kind of couch with a head-pillow, gently reposed himself, in order to enjoy the exciting effects of the fumes. A-tai THE OPIUM-MONOPOLY. 83 had just purchased, as the highest bidder, from Government, the exclusive right of selling opium by retail, in any quantity less than a chest, in Hong Kong. For this he said that he had agreed to pay 550 dollars a month. He intended to institute an office, from which he could sell licenses to individual opium-house keepers to retail the drug ; and out of these licenses he hoped to make his profits, after paying the 550 dollars monthly to the British Go- vernment. Some flaw was, however, subsequently detected in the terms of the agreement ; and after passing through various hands, the monopoly was finally purchased by A-quei himself. Reference will be made hereafter to the extortion, and general detri- ment to the interests of the colony, which the system of management pursued by A-quei speedily tended to create. The tracts against opium, which my companion distributed, might have provoked well- merited censure on our national inconsistency. A-quei conducted us into a room, where he was sitting with his two wives, handsomely attired, looking from a window on the crowd assembled in the street to witness the performances of a native juggler. The latter, after haranguing the crowd with much anima- tion in the Nanking dialect (as is usual with actors), proceeded to one part of the crowd, and took thence a child, apparently five or six years old, who, with struggling reluctance, was led into the centre of the circle. The man then, with impassioned gestures, violently threw the child on a wooden stool, and, placing him on his back, flourished over him a large knife ; the child all the time sobbing and crying, as if from fright. Two or three older men from the 84 A NATIVE JUGGLER. crowd approached with earnest remonstrances against the threatened deed of violence. For a time he de- sisted ; but soon after returning to the child, who was still uttering most pitiable cries, he placed him with his back upwards, and, notwithstanding the violent protests of the seniors, he suddenly dashed the knife into the back of the child's neck, which it appeared to enter till it had almost divided it from the head, the blood meanwhile flowing copiously from the wound, and streaming to the ground and over the hands of the man. The struggles of the child grew more and more feeble, and at last altogether ceased. The man then arose, leaving the knife firmly fixed in the child's neck. Copper cash were now thrown liberally into the ring for the benefit of the principal actors. These were collected by assistants, all of them viewing the influx of the coins with great delight, and bowing continually to the spectators, and reiterating the words, " To seay" " Many thanks." After a time, the man proceeded towards the corpse, pronounced a few words, took away the knife, and called aloud to the child. Soon there appeared the signs of returning animation. The stiffness of death gradually relaxed, and at last he stood up among the eager crowd, who closed around him and bountifully rewarded him with cash. The performance was evidently one which ex- cited delight in the bystanders, who, by their con- tinued shouts, showed their approbation of the acting. CHAPTER VI. UNSUCCESSFUL VOYAGE ALONG THE EASTERN COAST, AND SECOND VISIT TO CANTON. CHINESE ASSAULT ON THREE BRITISH GENTLEMEN AT CANTON REMONSTRANCE OF BRITISH PLENIPOTENTIARY RU- MOURED DISTURBANCES AT AMOY OPPORTUNITY OF A PASSAGE IN A WAR-STEAMER SENT THITHER GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE COAST SUCCESSIVE POINTS OF SHORE ACCIDENT, AND COMPULSORY RETURN UNDER SAIL TO HONG KONG VOYAGE TO CANTON RECENT IMPERIAL EDICT OF TOLERATION IN FAVOUR OF CHRISTIANITY. DURING the month of February my friend and host, the Colonial Chaplain of Hong Kong, availed himself of the opportunity afforded by my temporary stay to leave his charge, on a visit to Canton. On the morning of his departure from Canton, he took a walk, in company with Mr. Jackson, the Vice-Consul, and Mr. Martin, the Colonial Treasurer, around the walls of the city. They set off for their circumambulatory trip at daybreak, and had walked along the full extent of the western wall, and were already passing along the high ground on the northern side of the city, when a company of bandit-villagers, whom they saw assembling, quickly overtook them with spears, swords, and other implements of violence ; and after overpowering them easily (as resistance seemed hope- less against their numbers), robbed them of their watches, money, and other valuables. After this, 86 DIFFICULTIES AT CANTON. they had not proceeded far, before another party of robbers pounced upon them, and were commencing to strip them of their garments, till discouraged by others of the crowd. To complete the maltreatment, large stones, weighing several pounds, were forcibly rolled down from the watch-towers, by some Chinese on the city-walls, probably soldiers, and not without the connivance of their superiors. Our friends, how- ever, completed their survey of the circuit of the wall. These circumstances, joined to some recent local negotiations between the British and American Con- suls and the Mandarins, relative to the non-admission of foreigners within the city, became the occasion of a special communication with the highest native au- thorities. A subordinate official was deputed by the Mandarins to wait on the British Consul, at whose residence one of the injured party held a conversation with the aforesaid official, through an interpreter. To all his asseverations the Chinaman replied by frequent yawnings, and by protesting against the villany and vice of the populace, who, he said, were not civilized like the people in the northern ports, and whose an- tipathy and violence against foreigners the authorities were unable to restrain. It was hinted to him that this might be a convenient excuse for the Chinese autho- rities to allege, but was no good reason why British subjects should be left exposed to bodily assault ; and that if the Chinese Governor declared his inability to protect British residents, it might be rendered impe- ratively necessary to station a body of British troops at Canton, to overawe the populace and preserve peace. A few days after, the Governor of Hong Kong wrote RUMOURED DISTURBANCES AT AMOY. 87 a letter to Ke -Ying, the Chinese Imperial Commis- sioner, couched in strong language, on the late indig- nity to British subjects, demanding an investigation into the matter, and a satisfactory settlement of the long-debated question of safe entrance into the city. It was also deemed expedient to send the "Vixen" war- steamer to Whampoa, to make a demonstration, and to suggest the necessity of a speedy effort to make reparation by some specific remedy against the inso- lence of the mob. By the obliging kindness of the captain in command, I obtained a passage on board the "Vixen" for Whampoa, whence I intended to proceed in a boat to Canton, to spend a few days with some friends, from whom sickness had removed me rather suddenly to Macao in the last autumn. On my coming alongside the steamer, on Monday morning, March the 31st, the sentry on duty suggested to me that I had better not have my luggage brought up the ship's side, as the " Vixen " had received or- ders not to go to Whampoa. Wishing to know the accuracy of this information, I went on board, and proceeded to the captain's cabin, from whom I learnt the following particulars. On the preceding day the unexpected intelligence had been received at Hong Kong of some disturbances at Amoy, and the personal insecurity of the Consul and British residents. They had urgently requested that some ship-of-war might be sent to protect them from the violence of the mob, who had been encouraged to acts of pillage by the recent evacuation of the neighbouring island of Koo- lang-soo by the troops. The Governor, after consul- tation with the senior captain in command at Hong Kong, had decided, at a late hour of the preceding 88 VOYAGE ALONG THE EASTERN COAST. evening, on altering the destination of the "Vixen" to Amoy. The captain expressed his regret at my disappointment, and kindly offered to give me a passage to Amoy instead. As Amoy was one of the ports which my instructions from the Church Missio- nary Society had appointed me to visit, I gladly ac- cepted the proposal ; and hastening on shore to make the necessary preparations, I soon returned on board, and a little past eleven in the forenoon we weighed anchor, and rapidly steamed away out of the harbour. The rugged precipitous shores, which on either side form the commodious shelter for the fleets of Britain in these her newly-acquired possessions in the East, and which completely land-lock the harbour, shutting out, with the hurricanes that would desolate her shipping, the refreshing breezes which would dif- fuse salubrity and health through the colony, were soon seen lowering in the horizon, as we emerged through the Limun passage into the open sea, studded with islets, all partaking of the same rugged and deso- late appearance. Here and there we perceived some fisherman's hut, perched on a little headland, where a windlass was contrived to raise or lower the spacious nets, which, by means of moveable stakes, extended over the adjacent waters. The view was at times varied by little patches of ground, reclaimed from the barren waste as burial-places ; where filial piety had reared the peculiarly-shaped tombs of a semicircular or trefoil form ; and where sacrificial honours were wont to be paid to the shades of departed ancestors. In other parts, a naked unadorned tablet of stone, in- scribed with a few characters, told the more humble condition of the deceased. A few native villages, with GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE COAST. 89 fishing boats at anchor, were all the variety that marked the successive points of coast which we passed. Sail- ing in a south-east direction, we doubled the southern headland of the little island of Tamtoo ; and passing through the channel, commonly called the Ta-thong- mun, we steered in the direction of east by north, at a distance varying from four to sixteen miles from the shore. Wherever the eye extended, the same mono- tony of aspect, both on shore and on the sea, presented itself. The land formed one succession of rocky cliffs, with occasional flats of sand of inconsiderable extent, where not a vestige of vegetation relieved the unin- viting barrenness of the soil. On the wide deep, fleets of fishing-boats, of one uniform size and appearance, met the eye, nothing daunted by the strength of the breeze from venturing many miles away from the shore. Successively we passed Wochow Island, Nine Pins Rock, and, at a greater distance, the various creeks which indent the coast, Mirs Bay, Ty-pung Bay, and Tysan Bay, till the setting sun left us to pursue our track over the watery main, with no other variety than that of some venturous fisherman over- taken by darkness, and crossing our course in his frail craft. The next morning we beheld a line of coast par- taking of the same general features as that of the preceding day, except that the hills were less lofty and precipitous, and seemed to retire some distance from the shore. Especially to the east of Cap-che- san, we perceived a marked alteration in the ap- pearance of the land bordering close on the sea. A flat country, more or less extended, seemed to inter- vene between the beach and the hills rising dimly in 90 ACCIDENT TO THE STEAMER. the distance ; while an immense sand stretched along the shore, and received the dashing surge. The thou- sands of boats, which studded the sea for many miles, here began to partake of a different form, the sails being square, instead of the oblique sails further south. The men also generally wore the dark tur- ban, which marked them as belonging to the hardy and enterprising race of the Fokeen province. Some of them, however, were diligently plying their oars, destitute of clothing of every kind. We had passed Breakers' Point and Ma-urh Point, and were already near the Lamocks, and within sight of Namoa Island in the distance 'the extreme north-east boundary of the Canton province, where it joins to Fokeen when I felt an unusual sensation, which led me from my cabin to the deck, where I found the officers and crew assembled, and I received the disappointing intel- ligence that an accident had happened to the ma- chinery. The engine was completely disabled, and our only alternative was to change our course to the south-west, and to sail under canvas before the wind, which was blowing strong, on our return to Hong Kong. Although within ninety miles of Amoy, we endeavoured to make the best of our disappointment, and pleasantly sailed along with a favourable breeze, returning by precisely the same course. During the next night another casualty befel us. A poor native fishing crew, probably asleep in their boat, were run down by our vessel with such force as to carry away her masts and sails. Immediately after their disaster they began to blow a horn, to beat gongs, and to burn flakes of idol-paper, which they scattered abroad to propitiate the divinities of the deep. As one or RETURN TO HONG KONG. 91 two other boats were close by, ready to render assis- tance to the sinking boat, and to save the crew, we pursued our course with the damage of our jib-boom, which was broken asunder by the violence of the con- cussion, and our starboard paddle-wheel injured by the fishing-nets becoming entangled with it. At noon, on Wednesday, April 2d, after about forty-eight hours' absence, we slowly sailed into harbour, and came to anchor off the town. I returned from our cruise of 400 miles, greatly invigorated by the trip. My friends were surprised to see me so soon after my departure, till an explanation removed the whole mystery. In the meantime, intelligence had reached Hong Kong that the alarm at Amoy had been premature, and the disturbances only temporary ; and thus no in- convenience or danger was likely to ensue from our having returned to Hong Kong. The "Medusa" war-steamer was at Amoy, and tranquillity had been restored. The next day, April 3d, I carried out my former plan of visiting Canton, and accordingly set out in the even- ing in a passage-boat, with two Europeans and some Lascars as fellow-passengers. We arrived at Whampoa the next afternoon, where our Chinese steersman got into trouble. As he approached the ship, on board of which he was to discharge the Lascar passengers, he steered the boat so near that our mast carried away a spar from the ship's rigging, which came down about our heads, to our personal jeopardy. The consequence was, that the head man of our crew was made a prisoner, and safely lodged on board the ship till he should make good the damage. Long and impassioned argu- ments passed between the several members of our 92 VISIT TO CANTON. crew and the English captain. At last the matter was so far compromised as to enable us, after half-an- hour's detention, to proceed on our voyage, by the captain taking the board inscribed with the boat's number and license, which he held as security for payment of the estimated cost of repair. This mis- hap cast a damp on the spirits of the crew, which, however, was slightly dissipated by the intimation that some of us intended to give them a small sum towards their loss. Our servants during the voyage engaged in gambling with such eagerness, that it was only by a resolute severity of tone that we could get the slightest attention paid to our wants. The latter part of the voyage was tedious, but the scenery about sun- set was very pleasing. We slowly passed along the thousands of boats and junks which lay in the crowded river, and at 9 P.M. came to anchor off the foreign factories at Canton. The first intelligence I received at Canton, bearing on the Missionary work, was a rumoured edict of tole- ration of the Christian religion by the Imperial Go- vernment. Application had been made to Powtinqua to ascertain the truth of this report. He returned an evasive reply, and affected to be ignorant of any ground for such a rumour, except the known intention of the Emperor no longer to enforce the old penal laws against the professors of "the religion of the Lord of Heaven," the term employed by the Jesuits in former times to designate the Christian religion. Very soon after my arrival in Canton, however, more definite information on the subject was obtained by the transmission, from some Missionaries at Shang- hai, of a translation of a public Chinese document, IMPERIAL EDICT OF RELIGIOUS TOLERATION. 93 which had been issued by the authorities in those parts. It was in the form of a memorial of Ke-Ying to the imperial throne, petitioning for the full tolera- tion of Catholic converts, and containing, also, the rescript of the vermilion pencil, granting the subject of the memorial. A translation is here subjoined of this important document, which, in some parts, will perhaps remind the reader of the celebrated epistle of the younger Pliny to his imperial master, Trajan. Scarcely 200 years had elapsed after Pliny's letter before the banners of the cross waved from the turrets of the imperial city. May a similar result follow in China ! " Ke-Ying, High Imperial Commissioner, and Governor- General of the ' Two Kwang,' respectfully addresses the throne for the purpose of presenting a memorial. He finds, on exa- mination, that the religion of the ' Lord of Heaven ' is that which all the Western nations adore and receive ; that its object is principally to admonish to good, and to condemn evil ; that therefore, from the time when it was introduced into China during the previous Ming dynasty, it had hitherto not been prohibited ; that subsequently, because some of those who practised the religion took advantage of that religion to do wickedly, even to the seducing and defiling of men's wives and daughters, and the using a cheat to take out the pupils of sick men's eyes, the Government did then search out and punish them, of which there is record ; that in the reign of Kea-king a special clause was for the first time laid down, separately pro- viding for the punishment thereof; and that, therefore, the prohibition was originally directed against those Chinese who made a pretext of the religion to do evil, but it was by no means directed at that religion worshipped and received by all the Western nations. Now the request of the French Commissioner, La Grene, regarding the point, that those Chinese who practise this religion, and do well, be exempted from criminality, seems 94 COPY OF THE EDICT. as if it could be carried into effect. He must therefore request that, as regards all who hereafter learn and practise the religion of the Lord of Heaven, no matter whether they be Central or Outside people, and who do not cause disturbances or do wickedly, he may respectfully crave the celestial favour, per- mitting to and conferring on them an exemption from crimi- nality ; and should there be any seducing or defiling of men's wives and daughters, or using of craft to take out the pupils of sick men's eyes, or any other crimes otherwise offending the laws, they shall, as before, be punished according to the esta- blished laws. With respect to those individuals of the French and all other Western nations who practise the religion, let them accordingly be permitted to build halls for worship at the five ports of commercial intercourse, and they must not presume to enter into the interior to disseminate that religion. Should they act in opposition to, or turn their backs upon, the treaties, overstep the boundaries, and act irregularly, the local officers will, as soon as they seize them, forthwith send them to the Consuls of the several nations to restrain and punish them ; but death must not be inflicted on the spot, in order to evince a cherishing and kind disposition. Thus, peradventure, the good and the vile will not be intermixed, and the laws of kindness will manifest their equitable course. This request regarding those who practise the religion and do well being exempted from punishment, it is his duty to present to the throne in a respectful memorial, and he humbly craves his Imperial Ma- jesty graciously to assent and grant that it may be carried into effect. A respectful memorial." CHAPTER VII. REAL EXTENT OF MISSIONARY OPENINGS AT CANTON. PROJECTED MISSIONARY SERVICES AT THE " NINGPO EX- CHANGE " ALARM OF THE SUPERINTENDING OFFICERS FRIENDLINESS OF THE BETTER CLASSES DEFECTIVE COU- RAGE OF NATIVE PREACHERS RIOTOUS INTERRUPTION OF A RELIGIOUS SERVICE BY A CHINESE MOB DISTRIBUTION OF TRACTS INVITATION BY A PETTY MANDARIN TO ACCOM- PANY HIM INTO THE CITY HIS SUBSEQUENT FRIGHT AT THE PROPOSAL BEING ACCEDED TO INEFFECTUAL AT- TEMPTS TO ENTER THE CITY-GATE. APRIL 5th On the day after my arrival at Canton I visited two American Missionaries, who had lately removed their Missionary establishment from Hong Kong, on account of the disadvantages which, after due experience, they found to attach to that pecu- liar station, and had transferred the scene of their operations to Canton, in the hope of finding a fairer scope for their exertion. Many of their friends re- gretted and censured this step. They now resided in a hong close to the foreign factories, expecting, at no distant period, to effect a removal more into the heart of the Chinese population. As they had only arrived two days previously, their plans were not yet matured. They had, however, at least planned their operations for the following day, the Sabbath, on a bold and commendable scale. At half- 96 THE NINGPO EXCHANGE. past ten o'clock A.M. they were to hold a religious service, and to address the Chinese at a large hall, called the " Ningpo Exchange," the rendezvous of the native merchants from Ningpo, assisted by the native preachers, Yong and Mun. At the same hour, Wong, Lei, and Hong, were to hold a similar assemblage at the "Chinchew Exchange," a few streets further off; while Luh, Yow, and Tat, were also to attend, for the same purpose, at a place called the Shong-kow-poo. My two friends accompanied me on a walk into the neighbouring streets, more especially directing our visit to the scene of their intended Missionary work on the next day. The Ningpo Exchange was the best native building that I had yet seen in Canton, and had a rather extended range of halls and spacious rooms, on which there had evidently been, in past times, a considerable outlay of expense ; as its elabo- rately-carved pillars, its richly-gilt inscriptions, the beauty and size of the idols, and the substantial and elegant nature of the ornaments and furniture gene- rally, served to indicate. We made a personal survey of the different rooms, my companions at intervals giving utterance to the thoughts passing through their minds, and the desires uppermost in their hearts. As we wandered from place to place, through the numerous courts and halls, a knot of about half-a- dozen officers or attendants of the institution gathered around us, and received some of the Christian tracts, which were placed in different parts of the building. One of my friends soon entered into conversation, explaining the nature of the doctrines, the object of our errand, and the proposed services for the next day. This last topic gave rise to a lengthened dis- ALARM OF THE SUPERINTENDING OFFICERS. 97 cussion, during which it became apparent that they had been somewhat sanguine and premature in con- cluding that, in their previous visits, they had secured definite and explicit permission of the use of the building for the purposes contemplated by them. The Chinese demurred to the proposal, declaring that they were only stewards, and not the proprietors ; that the building was not designed for such objects ; and, in short, giving plain proof of the fear they entertained of being embroiled in some difficulty by connexion with foreigners. One of my companions endeavoured to allay their fears, and to prove the excellence of Christian doctrines, and the disinterestedness of his motives. My boy Afat joined with much earnestness in the debate, and addressed several remarks to his countrymen, explanatory of the objects and customs of foreigners. Leaving this little assemblage to rumi- nate on the words addressed to them, we retired to a higher room overlooking the court below, where we sat down to recruit our strength, and to discuss the prospects of the next day. While the Chinese below were engaged in discussing the strange pro- ceedings of the foreigners, we tried to excite our spirits to thankful adoration of the Triune God for our own participations in the blessings of the Gospel. We left amid the polite attentions of our new acquaintances, and directed our steps to a neighbouring street, occasionally distributing tracts, wherever we had reason to hope that they would re- ceive an attentive perusal. In one shop we remained for some time with the inmates, who evinced much interest in the books. The owner of the shop was an aged man, who seemed, in his advanced state of life, H 98 CONVERSATION WITH A SHOPKEEPER. to have relinquished the care and management of his affairs to his nephew, a middle-aged man of pleasing manners and intelligence. The latter made many in- quiries, and listened with attention, as the principal doctrines of Christianity were explained to him. He said he had not heard for ten thousand years such wonderful doctrines. When the fall of man, and the necessity of repentance and a new heart, were insisted on, he eagerly inquired whether to have an idol-altar was a sin. In reply, he was informed that God had forbidden idolatry, and willed that those who worship Him should worship Him in spirit and in truth. He pointed to a little recess in a room above, where he could retire to pray alone. His heart (he said) wished to believe, but could not fully comprehend the doctrines. In the course of the sub- sequent dialogue, he said he had a son and a daughter; whereupon he was reminded that, according to Chinese principles, this was held to be a rich portion of blessedness. To this he assented with hesitation, saying that he had not much money. He was re- minded that the favour of God and the knowledge of truth were a better possession than money. To the application to himself of the truth of the universality of human depravity, he objected strongly, affirming that he had a good heart. After some further con- versation on the wickedness of sinful desires, and an acknowledgment of his having never repented of idol- worship, he at last confessed that his heart was a little wicked. The old uncle, some time before, had taken umbrage at a reference to himself, and removed to the other end of the apartment. He seemed, how- ever, to regain his composure, as at our departure he HIS QUESTIONS. 99 patiently listened to some advice personally addressed to him, admonishing him of his grey hairs, and bade us a friendly farewell. The nephew alluded to some previous conversation with a medical Missionary in Canton. On this occasion, when one of my friends stated the objects for which we came to China as Missionaries, he quickly remarked, that we must have a good deal of money to enable us to leave our native land and come to so distant a country. He was informed that we were not rich men, but had come thither in obe- dience to the command of our Lord, Go, and teach all nations. Here Afat again became eloquent in his apology for Missionaries, and explanation of their errand ; saying that they did not come to get money, but to teach the Chinese tf ancient doctrine." The nephew again inquired whether we were Americans or English. He was told that two of our number were Americans, and the third an Englishman ; but that, though belonging to different countries, we were closely united to each other by Christian fellowship. He assented, with the remark that " discipleship makes all nations one." We left him with an invita- tion to attend the service at the Ningpo Exchange on the next day, and to call at my friends' house, whenever interest or curiosity might prompt him. These attempts of my two friends were preparatory only to carrying out their plan of hiring a house, as a Mission Chapel and residence, in some distant part of the suburbs, where they hoped to pursue a bold and systematic course of action, and to hold religious meetings every evening, both outside and inside the city, by means of their native preachers. The result of such an experiment was awaited with interest" by H2 100 OBSTACLES TO HOLDING PUBLIC- SERVICES. the friends of the Missionary work, though there were not wanting those who foretold danger from the attempt. In particular, the Missionary brother, with whom I was staying, expressed great apprehensions of the consequences, saying that he had positive knowledge of the anxious suspicions of the autho- rities, and the dangerous malignity of the mob. He predicted a disturbance as sure to result from the attempt, and a probable hindrance and shock to the Missionary work generally, which it might cost many years of cautious action to remove. The sequel proved that both the sanguine hopes of the one party, and the cautious timidity of the other, were somewhat excessive. While visits might be made to any part of the suburbs by a Missionary able to speak with the people in their own tongue ; while conversation with them might be carried on at their own houses without restraint ; while tracts might be distributed from house to house, and their contents explained ; yet it was found that no public service of any kind could be undertaken, except at the Missionaries' own residence among the foreign factories, and consequently at a distance from the Chi- nese population. Individual Chinese were willing to come to the Missionaries for private conversation, and a few also to attend the newly-instituted services. But at the Ningpo Exchange and the other public localities to which allusion has been made, no public service could be held, beyond an irregular dialogue with about twenty or thirty persons, who might gather round the Missionary and propose questions. The native preachers also showed great cowardice on finding that Missionary topics were unpopular among TUKBULENCE OF THE POPULACE. 101 the people, as savouring of intercourse with foreigners. Being men generally of limited education, and very little knowledge and zeal, they became easily fright- ened, and only ventured to give away a few tracts. As to their labours within the city, there was only their own account to receive, no foreigner being permitted to enter. Some time later, a house, after many obstacles, arising from the hesitation of the landlord, was rented by the two Missionaries, and was in course of preparation for a Chapel and residence, being situated at some distance from the foreign factories. The people of the neighbourhood soon, however, raised an outcry at the prospect of a " foreign demon " coming to reside amongst them, in defiance of Chinese custom ; and so serious was the disturbance, as to render the interference of the American Consul ne- cessary. At the period of one year afterwards, the Missionaries were still residing and carrying on their operations on a small scale among the foreign hongs. An English Missionary, also, who made the same laud- able attempt, met with the same serious difficulties. The Chinese mob broke into the house, which he had fitted up as a Chapel in the eastern suburbs, while Leang Afa was preaching, and raised a riot, breaking benches and stools, and throwing Afa into great alarm. A more detailed notice has been given of these proceedings, as showing the real nature and amount of facilities for public Missionary operations at Canton. At the present time they are reduced, by the arrogant lawlessness of the populace, within small limits. But, on the other hand, a boundless field lies before the Missionary labourer for preachin the Gospel from 102 DISTRIBUTION OF TRACTS. house to house, amid a population, of whom the better classes are intelligent, friendly, and inquiring ; and from among whom individuals may be led, by a discreet and respectful demeanour, to make private visits to the abode of Missionaries. In no part of the world are politeness of manner, and an attention to the little refinements and delicate sensibilities of civilized life, on the part of Missionaries, more neces- sary to secure the disposition of the people towards the all-important message which they bring. How far these conclusions are authorized by facts of daily occurrence the reader will have his own opportunities of judging, in the following journal of my intercourse with the people in the suburbs and in the Missionary Hospital. April 1th Early this morning I set out on a visit to the streets contiguous to the western wall of the city, accompanied by my boy Afat, who carried some books for me in a handkerchief, and acted as inter- preter in any difficulty which arose. Having pur- chased a map of the city and suburbs, depicted on a fan, I was enabled to lead the way with tolerable accuracy into the desired quarter. Afat showed many signs of timidity before he set out with me, saying that if he carried the books he should be apprehended by the Mandarins, and forfeit his queue, which, in the eye of a Chinaman, is tantamount to outlawry. Having reason to suspect his indolence rather than his fears, I was unwilling to lose his services. He followed me at a little distance, and assisted me in purchasing some articles that I needed. In a few shops which I visited, I distributed some of the books, reserving the greater part of them to be disposed of at a greater SEIZURE OF BOOKS BY A CROWD. 103 distance from the residence of foreigners, where Chris- tian publications were less likely to be known. De- sirous of relieving Afat from embarrassment, I took some tracts from him to carry myself, so as not to have recourse to him in any public spot. One or two Chi- nese approached me with an earnest request to ob- tain a book, which I accordingly gave. This attracted others ; and no sooner did I inadvertently turn to my boy to take from his bundle two or three tracts, than a crowd of outstretched hands was soon gathered around us, and the clamour and assemblage became so great, that the way was literally blocked up. With much difficulty I extricated myself from the rapidly- increasing throng, deeming it prudent to turn back and directing Afat to that effect, whom, as I passed, I beheld squeezed to the wall by the mass of eager applicants, and indicating by a flood of tears his sense of danger. The seventy tracts of large size which I had selected for the day's distribution were thus un- expectedly taken by force ; and it was to his no small comfort that I intimated to Afat, amid his unequivocal expressions of thankfulness, that I would not again make a similar request for his services as book-carrier. Though only sixteen years of age, he is a sensible lad, and his sympathies are evidently enlisted in favour of Missionaries. He acknowledges the folly of ido- latry, and that, too, in no very dubious terms. And yet, though intellectually convinced of the superiority of the Christian religion, the apathetic indifference to every thing but secular interests, so prevalent among the Chinese, disposes him, like many other youths who have been brought within the influence of the Missionaries, to pursue the beaten track of popular 104 INVITATION BY A MANDAEIN. error, in preference to the invidious appearance of abandoning the customs of their ancestors. Returning to the Missionary Hospital, I was present at the admission of new patients, which usually takes place on this day of the week (Monday). It afforded me pleasure to find that a more decidedly Missionary character had been given to the Institution since my last visit to Canton in the preceding year. A number of Christian books were placed on a table, from which the patients were invited to help themselves. It was gratifying to perceive, even in the absence of higher motives, the curiosity which prompted the majority to take the books, and retire to different parts of the room to read in quietude. A Christian Almanack in Chi- nese, combining, with an exhibition of evangelical doc- trine, a general view of the statistics, sciences, geogra- phy, and power of Western nations, was very accepta- ble to them. Among other acquaintances which I here formed, was that of an officer in the employ of the Kwang-chow-foo, a native of Chin-keang-foo, in Keangsoo province, a city situated west of Nanking, and the last place taken by assault by the British army. He appeared to be a man of intelligence, and commu- nicated to me the relative geographical position of the principal cities in those parts, which I found to accord very accurately with my own map. On my hinting to him the pleasure I should feel in accompanying him from the hospital on his return into the city, he assented to the plan, and even pressed me to give him the honour of my company to his own house. This I regarded, in the first instance, as Chinese politeness, and could hardly induce myself to give him credit for sincerity. As, however, he was a northern man, HIS SUBSEQUENT FEARS. 105 and might therefore, in a measure, be free from the strong anti-European feeling of the south ; and as he was, moreover, about to depart in two days on his return to his native city, Dr. Parker agreed with me in the conclusion that he possibly might be sincere, and pressed me not to lose the opportunity of entering the city with such a protector. When the officer was about to leave the hospital, he again politely reminded me of the proposed visit with him, and inquired if I were willing to carry it into execution. We had already taken steps to secure a sedan-chair with bearers, in which it was arranged that I should follow him into the city. But when the plan was actually on the point of being put into prac- tice, he suddenly became alarmed, asking if I really meant to enter the city, and deprecating my placing him in the awkward and difficult position of being the first Chinese to conduct a foreigner within the walls. We appealed to the fairness of a foreigner entering the city, and to the absurdity of the prohibition ; to which he assented, but said that such had been the ancient custom, and that he could not dare to face the danger of a tumult. The Chinese connected with the hospital all agreed as to the reasonableness of free entrance, but asserted, with much earnestness, the certainty of its giving rise to a disturbance. Thus the matter ended, the Chinaman, amid evident confu- sion, stammering forth his apologies, and, after polite bowings, making his exit to his sedan. In the evening I took a walk with Dr. Parker in the same direction as in the morning, extending our visit to the Tai-ping-mun, or "Gate of Universal Peace/' than which name nothing could be less emblematic 106 INEFFECTUAL ATTEMPTS TO ENTER THE CITY-GATE. of the real character of the neighbouring populace. We were the object of increasing curiosity as we approached nearer to this spot unfrequented by foreigners. But as we advanced under the ancient gateway, and showed, by our unchecked pace, that we were for moving onward within the forbidden pre- cincts of the city, the looks of displeasure, which were darted toward us by the crowd, were soon exchanged for shouts and gestures, which told us that we should not be tolerated in such an act of sacrilege. Two or three low fellows placed themselves close to Dr. Parker, who went first, and, making angry demonstra- tions of resistance, shouted to him to stop. We re- mained under the gateway for about five minutes, the storm of popular wrath growing darker, and the assem- blage rapidly increasing, till we deemed it prudent, after surveying the remarkable old building which forms the gateway, to turn down a narrow street bor- dering on the outside of the city-wall, which furnished us with many objects of curiosity, and at length con- ducted us, at the distance of about a mile, to the foreign factories. On a subsequent occasion I passed the Tai-ping- mun alone ; and, wishing again to test the possibility of entering the city, walked on under the gateway, the Chinese shouting to me from either side, of which I took no notice. When I had reached the inner side of the arched gateway, a Chinese officer, whom I conjectured, from his ability to speak both the Man- darin dialect and English, to be a spy of the Man- darins, stationed to prevent the entrance of foreigners, approached me with a request not to proceed. As I appeared to hesitate about desisting, he put his RUMOURED PROCLAMATION. 107 band on my shoulder, and, with a good-humoured smile, begged me to return. I asked him why I might not proceed, as I was a friend. He still per- severed in requesting me to turn back, showing, how- ever, amid all his polite remonstrances, that his secret instructions were on no account to permit a foreigner to enter, and that physical resistance would be em- ployed, if necessary, as a last resource. He seemed very anxious to get me clear out of the way, speaking of a Mandarin-station inside the wall, which I should not be allowed to pass. My ultimate compliance seemed to relieve his mind, and I took my departure, after giving him a selection of tracts, which he re- ceived with a polite acknowledgment. The crowd, which had been gathering, soon relaxed their scowling looks as they saw me turn down the little by-street in the suburb. The British Consul afterwards informed me that the Chinese authorities had recently promised to issue a proclamation, granting free entrance into the city, and threatening to punish any Chinese who should ill-treat a foreigner in the attempt to enter. During the period of this visit to Canton, I ascertained that no such proclamation had made its appearance ; and that the matter was likely to continue a fruitful source of diplomatic altercation. CHAPTER VIII. FURTHER INCIDENTS AT CANTON. VISIT TO YUN-TANG, A CHINESE GENTLEMAN INTEREST OF CHINESE IN THE ARTS, INVENTIONS, AND ASTRONOMY OF THE WEST CURIOSITY OF A PRIEST NATIVE TREATISE ON ASTRONOMY CHINESE INGENUITY, AND IGNORANCE OF PHY- SICAL SCIENCES EXECUTION-GROUND "TEMPLE OF LON- GEVITY" POWTINQUA'S GARDENS HOWQUA'S SUBURBAN DWELLING NEGLECTED EDUCATION OF FEMALES IN CHINA ANNUAL PROCESSION IN HONOUR OF THE IDOL SHING-KEA GENERAL REVIEW OF MISSIONARY FACILITIES AT CANTON. APRIL 8th I walked about a mile through the suburbs, in a western direction, to a street called the Shap-pat-poo, to call on a Chinese gentleman named Yun-tang, the brother-in-law ofPowtinqua, and the sixth son of Le, a salt-inspector of some celebrity and repute. His linguist was careful to inform me, with due accuracy, of his master's pedigree and importance at the Missionary Hospital on the previous day, where Yun-tang gave me his card and address, with the invitation to visit him. On entering his house, I was conducted through three or four courts and ante-rooms to an apartment of spacious dimensions, which looked into a garden containing a little forest of shrubs and flowers, placed in rows, rising gradually one above another on little platforms. VISIT TO A CHINESE GENTLEMAN. 109 After the first ceremonials of etiquette were over, tea and fruit were brought, with which we paid the usual compliments. About twenty domestics stood in the outer rooms, eagerly listening and gazing on me with evident curiosity, as their master, the linguist, and myself were engaged together. Our anticipated con- versation on the affairs of Outward nations soon com- menced, by Yun-tang's inquiring whether I could furnish him with a diagram and explanation of the manner in which foreigners could weave and manu- facture cloth by steam-machinery ; and whether I had ever seen such a wonderful contrivance. I then pro- ceeded to dwell at some length on the multitude of purposes to which the steam-engine could be applied ; and took the opportunity of alluding to the great loss which the Chinese nation experienced in their isolation from foreign countries, especially intimating that per- fect friendship and cordiality could not exist till the foreigner should be allowed to walk at large in all parts of the city, and the way be opened for a reci- procal interchange of kind offices. The observation I made of the willingness of foreigners to come and teach them the arts and learning of Western nations drew forth the remark from him, that an American at Macao had already received instructions to build a steam- ship for the Chinese, and that its arrival at Canton was shortly expected. Yun-tang then went to the end of the room, and brought two volumes of a najtive work on astronomy, abounding with diagrams and maps of the stars, which he presented to me. He requested me to examine them, and to ascertain whether they were correct and agreed with our astronomical sy- stem ; saying, that if I would be kind enough to send 110 INTEREST OF CHINESE IN EUROPEAN SCIENCE. or bring to him some book containing our system of the stars, he should feel himself under great obliga- tions, delicately hinting at the presents with which he would reward me. I promised to make an endeavour to comply with his wishes, and proceeded to illustrate the degree of perfection to which European science had advanced, by the accuracy with which our navigators, after sailing over ten thousand miles of ocean without seeing land, could ascertain the ship's position. He asked the name of the instrument to which I alluded, and subsequently inquired the price of a quadrant. He also mentioned that Mr. Morrison had, in former times, shown him the motion of the solar system, the globular form of the earth, and the remarkable fact that the people on the under side did not fall off. The statement of the objects of my Mission to China, and my proposed visit to the other consular ports, formed our next topic of conversation ; during which I tried to explain the motives and sanctions of the Gospel, the universal holiness and peace which it incul- cates, and the perfect happiness which it is designed to convey. The linguist here engaged in a long dialogue with Yun-tang, explaining that my objects were not mercantile. Afterwards he asked me whether I had not come to China in the same capacity as Dr. Mor- rison or Dr. Parker. The inquiry whether Yun-tang would receive, in return for his present of books, some pamphlets on the religion of foreigners, met with a ready acquiescence. He surveyed them for two or three minutes, and then eagerly inquired whether any part of the books treated of astronomy ; and on my replying in the negative, evinced some disap- CURIOSITY OF A PRIEST. Ill pointment, till I informed him they were exclusively on religious subjects, and that I would send him also a work on the stars, which explanation seemed satis- factory, and he retained the books. The linguist, who spoke English better than the ordinary class of native interpreters, and in a style far removed above that absurd jargon denominated the Canton-English, fre- quently invited me to repeat my visit whenever I could spare time. I once rose to take my departure, but at their urgent request resumed my seat for a little while longer ; and at length left them, amid an unsparing display of external etiquette, which could not entirely dissipate the regret I felt at discovering in their conversation, when the linguist explained my remarks, that the iermfan quei (foreign demon) was once applied to me amid this outward show of respect. This, together with several similar instances, has led me to suspect that the force of habit, in the use of this opprobrious epithet, has almost deprived it of its literal offensiveness. On my return I met a priest from the large Budhist Monastery in Honan, who, seeing the two volumes presented to me by Yun-tang, requested me to give him one of them, thinking they were on the foreigners' religion. He was not satisfied, till I had allowed him to read the title-page of the books, that they were not a foreign production ; and with evident marks of pleasure he observed me put my hand into my pocket, and take thence three books similar to those which I had given to Yun-tang. I gave them to him, with a request that he would also allow his friends to read them, which he promised to do. On my return to Dr. Parker's house, I examined, 112 CHINESE INGENUITY. with his assistance, the native books on astronomy, and found that they bore strong internal evidence of the European principles introduced in the seventeenth century by the Jesuit Missionaries. The diagrams, explaining the signs of the zodiac, the eclip- tic, the division into zones, and 180 degrees of latitude between each pole, proved the fact of their having been written with the borrowed aid of foreigners. The diagrams, explaining on meteorological princi- ples the cause of rain, appeared to be of more apocry- phal origin. Although mixed up with much of the absurdities of the Chinese principles of creation, Yin and Yang, the astronomy was generally correct as far as it went, and contained the first principles of Euro- pean science diluted through the work. We were afterwards engaged in listening to a native teacher, deeply versed in Chinese literature, as he explained to us the various little Chinese articles of curious device and ingenious manufacture submitted to him. These consisted of magnets differently adapted to the purposes of a mariner's compass, a sun-dial, and a moon-dial, separately and in combina- tion. They were inscribed with tables and diagrams, containing directions for arranging the dials and mag- nets for each purpose. I subsequently became pos- sessed of a specimen of their instruments, which, in the delicacy and beauty of its construction, and the in- genuity displayed in its adaptation to every-day use, would be well worthy a nation more advanced in civili- zation. In appearance it was a flat piece of ivory, small enough to be carried in the waistcoat pocket, and adorned with beautifully illuminated characters directing the mode of use. On one side, a round dial, SUN-DIALS AND MOON-DIALS. 113 inscribed with the horary characters, and having a gnomon in the centre, is elevated to receive the sun's shadow. The elevation is produced by little hinges from the principal piece of ivory, and is regulated ac- cording to the degree of the sun's declination at the different seasons, by means of a small pin inserted into different holes below. A needle, delicately balanced, shows the requisite position of the time- piece for meeting the sun's rays. The same dial is inscribed with the hours of the night, as well as of the day ; and, by means of its circular movement on a central pivot, it is speedily arranged so as to become a moon-dial, a projecting index being brought to meet the figures marked on another circle outside, which answer to the age of the moon. Possessed of such an instrument, a person might pursue his track over the untrodden desert, and also might obtain, with tolerable accuracy, the hour by day, and gene- rally by night. The ingenuity of the Chinese, in turning to the best account their limited knowledge of the physical sciences, is very remarkable, and excites a feeling of wonder, that, with such ready powers of applying it to every- day life, they never- theless have remained so long stationary in know- ledge ; especially when it is remembered that some of the most important of modern discoveries, which have effected such social changes in the West, were known many ages previously among the Chinese. The teacher, in reply to my question, hastily asserted that the knowledge of the magnet existed in China 5000 years ago. On my further inquiry, he stated the discovery to have been cotemporaneous with the Chow dynasty ; i. e. a few centuries before the Chris- 114 IGNORANCE IN PHYSICAL SCIENCES. tian aera, a period somewhat more modern than his first assertion. It often excites surprise that the native teachers who are brought into connexion with foreign students, and who enjoy a fair reputation for knowledge and learning amongst their countrymen, are nevertheless so marvellously ignorant in all matters of geography, history, and physical science. The reason of this is to be found in the fact, that the mind of China is diverted into other channels of knowledge, often ab- struse, and more frequently puerile. Amid the poverty of their physical sciences, it is evident that a large amount of talent is continually employed in the meta- physical system of the Chinese, which rests on the base of imaginative theory, destitute of reality and truth ; and those powers of mind, which, under more favour- able circumstances, might have grasped the sublimest objects, and pursued the most noble investigations, with profit and success, are frittered away and wasted on a system of puerile absurdity. Thus the misem- ployed mind of China is building up a pyramid of error, which it has cost ages to erect, and may require ages to demolish, opposing great obstacles in the way of a moral revolution in favour of Christian truth. The native work on astronomy, given me by Yun- tang, I afterwards found to have been written about twenty -four years ago by a Chinese scholar, the friend of Gnun tsung-tuh, who presided over the two Kwang provinces, Kwang-tung (or Canton) and Kwang-se, about ten years ago, and at whose instigation the work had been written. April Qth In the course of my rambles in the suburbs, I landed from my boat at the Tai-ma-toir, EXECUTION-GROUND. 115 about two miles below the foreign factories, and on the north bank of the river. It was difficult to feel quite secure from bodily assault amid the crowds who would sometimes follow, shouting, on every side, fan-qmi-lo (foreign demon) with astonishing perse- verance. Once or twice only has this popular ill- feeling been manifested in any thing beyond words, when I received a smart jerk from the elbow of some low fellows while passing through a crowd, which would pretty well conceal the individual offenders. In these distant parts of the southern suburb, abutting on the river, I passed through a number of by-lanes, which at last brought me to the Execution-ground, near the principal southern gate of the city. Here the stern majesty of Chinese law is vindicated in the blood of the transgressor. Here the convicted crimi- nal undergoes the last penalty of capital crime ; and, kneeling towards the imperial city of the north, dies in the attitude of adoration of paternal rule. About twenty bare skulls were lying on one side of this alley, while others were secured in earthenware urns, the odour of which was equally offensive with the sight. This Aceldama was literally a potter's field, as well as a field of blood ; being used as a ground for dry- ing earthern pots, which were lying about in every direction, covered with matting to protect them from the elements. No executions had taken place for a month ; though they sometimes amount to twenty or thirty at one time. As I was standing on the very spot where the head of the malefactor is severed at one blow from the body, and the lifeless corpse is made to attest the rigorous severity of justice, a few Chinese gathered round me, and I had an opportunity i2 116 TEMPLE OF LONGEVITY. of distributing some tracts, without the interruption of a crowd. The people of this district have gained a bad character for turbulence ; but, on this occasion, were very quiet and peaceable. Later in the evening, I accompanied a Missionary brother on a visit to the celebrated " temple of lon- gevity," situated about a mile and a half to the north- west of the foreign factories in the western suburb. We arrived at the time of celebration of evening ser- vice, and remained surveying the scene from with- out the door. About 100 or 150 priests reside in this Budhist monastery, seventy of whom were attending on this occasion in the principal temple. A great part of their ceremonies consisted in standing with joined palms, chanting, in a low, indistinct voice, the Palee sounds in praise of Budh, accompanied with gongs, drums, and bells. Sometimes they knelt, and at other times they walked in procession, beating time to a strange kind of tune, around the temple ; at a corner of which a priest was standing, giving to the other priests, as they passed, a check or tally a piece of wood inscribed with the Chinese character for " lon- gevity," to attest the presence of the individual accord- ing to stated rule. A few of the priests, seeing we had some books, left the procession, sought and obtained a copy, and then returned to join in the supersti- tions, reserving the book for subsequent perusal. The commendation bestowed by these priests on Christian doctrines is generally to the effect that they are very good for us, but not necessary for them : that Chris- tianity may be the best religion for foreigners, but Budhism is best for themselves. We ascended to the top of the temple, from which POWTINQUA'S GARDENS. 117 there is a good view of the city inside the walls, with its two lofty pagodas, rising from amidst the rich and luxuriant foliage of the trees interspersed below- The generality of the priests were men of fierce and unprepossessing aspect. We found one poor fellow in this lofty retreat, alone and unconscious of our presence, bowing his head and paying silent adoration before a large idol, and apparently spell-bound under the influence of superstitious awe. We passed through the numerous courts and lesser temples, which con- stitute this extensive and important establishment, with the humble hope and prayer, that the message of salvation and the clear statement of Christian truth, contained in the books this evening distributed among the numerous body of priests, might receive the pro- mised blessing from on high, not going forth in vain. I observed a rosary suspended from the neck of some of the priests. What a characteristic simi- larity, even in some of its most detailed particulars, between pagan idolatry and a corrupt form of Chris- tianity ! April llth I accompanied some friends on a visit to the gardens of the celebrated Powtinqua, in a boat which he sent for our use, with one of his attendants to act as our guide. After proceeding about three miles in a north-west direction, we left the broad river, and sailed up a canal on our right for a few fur- longs, to a summer-house, at which we disembarked. On entering the gardens, we proceeded to inspect the various attractions, passing over a number of bridges, which intersect in different parts the continuation of small lakes, of which this retreat is principally formed. These were not calculated, in their present shallow, 118 CHINESE SUMMER-HOUSES. muddy state, to add any beauty to the scene ; but later in the year, especially in the month of June, they are well filled with water, and abound with lotuses, forming a beautiful carpet-like expanse of vegetation. In different parts of the grounds were little summer- retreats, with furniture and decorations suited to the affluent condition of the proprietor. Splendid tablets, with large inscriptions, informed the visitor of the persons of rank and influence with whom the owner of these domains had contracted, by due forms, a com- pact of friendship. Of these writings, one contained the united names and emblems of Ke-Ying and Pow- tinqua. In these little buildings the common events of the interior of Chinese families were represented by some well-executed images, performing various ridiculous scenes, in which the ladies were the prin- cipal actors. In other parts there were little curiosi- ties, apparently the gift of some foreign visitor ; and among these, a model of a steam-boat with engine and paddles, easily worked for the purpose of explanation. Near this spot, a public notice, in tolerably correct English, informed us that the liberal proprietor wished his foreign friends to give no douceur to any of the attendants ; but intimated the pleasure with which he would receive any present of European manufacture, as a memorial of their visit. Gold and silver pheasants, mandarin-ducks, storks, peacocks, some deer, and other animals of rarity or beauty, were placed in cages along the raised walks, which led around and across the lakes. Beautiful trees, shrubs, and parterres of flowers, added their portion of variety and interest ; while, again, lofty platforms, surmounting the roofs of CROWDED POPULATION ON THE CANALS. 119 the numerous summer-houses, afforded a prospect into the neighbouring localities. On one of the latter eminences I was joined by three Chinese, who told me they had come hither, in compliance with annual custom, to perform the usual rites at the tomb of their grandfather, buried in an adjacent field. We re- turned from our trip by a different route, to avoid the force of the unfavourable tide, passing for two or three miles through canals, on either bank of which little boarded huts were crowded together on rude piles extending into the water. The motley tenants of these substitutes for houses, which formed to myriads of industrious people 'their only shelter from the ele- ments, assembled in groups as we passed along, to catch a glimpse of the lady of our party, whom they saluted with long-continued greetings offan-quei-moo, "foreign devil woman." As we emerged from the canal into a wider part of the river, and threaded our way among the lanes of boats of all sizes and forms, peopled by the average population of many a Euro- pean city, the general excitement and curiosity were manifested in shouts from the congregated thousands. Mothers ran forth with their infant offspring in their arms, shouting the offensive epithet, and holding them forward to gaze on the novel wonder of a barbarian woman. As the British troops had landed at these parts, after capturing and destroying the adjacent forts, and this portion of the suburbs had suffered severely in the war, we had reason to be thankful that curiosity, rather than malignity, was manifested in the reception with which we were greeted. We soon after landed at a spacious mansion belong- ing to the son and heir of the celebrated Howqua. 120 HOWQUA'S SUBURBAN RESIDENCE. The son inherits many of the good qualities of his father. Among other instances of his liberality and benevolence may be mentioned the fact of his still continuing the grant of the Missionary Hospital free of all rent, so nobly made, in the first instance, by old Howqua. The mansion extended close down to the water's edge, from which we passed upwards by a flight of stone stairs. It formed the suburb-dwelling of young Howqua, where one of his wives was domi- ciled. The interior arrangements of this splended dwelling, and the number of domestics, we found to be on a scale of great wealth and luxury. It had been rebuilt since the late war. The roof of the first story afforded a spacious terrace, laid out in flower-beds and walks, communicating with the apart- ments of the lady of the house. The lady of our party was immediately conducted to a large room above, where she was for some time engaged in the interchange of salutations with the Chinese lady, amid a company of attendants. On our departure, the Chi- nese lady, whom the scale of surrounding luxury pointed out as a favourite of her husband, watched us from above, a female attendant standing before to screen her from view, though at times she advanced, tittering and smiling, to catch a free gaze on the foreigners. These poor women are at present al- most placed beyond the possibility of Christian in- struction. No Missionary lady is as yet sufficiently versed in the language to be able to place before their minds, at the present stage of our intercourse, the truths of revelation. The defective education of females in China leaves their understanding untu- tored and unfurnished with knowledge ; and in very PROCESSION OF THE IDOL SHING-KEA. 12L few cases are they able to read the Christian books, which their own sex among the Missionary body might possess opportunities of presenting to them. April 13th On this day the western suburbs were the scene of much tumult and confusion from a pro- cession, which visited the various streets in succession, bearing abroad the idols of one of the temples on this the annual festival. The honours of the occasion were paid to the idol Shing-kea, this being his birth-day, when, according to annual custom, he is taken out for an airing in great pomp. The procession was very long, and took eighteen minutes in passing. It con- sisted of pipers, with drums and gongs at certain inter- vals, and numerous bearers of the insignia and gaudy ornaments of the temple. In different parts, boys and girls were seated on horseback, dressed out in most grotesque and fantastic garb. At intervals, some pro- stitutes, with painted faces, were seated on a portable platform. Little bands of children, with juvenile musi- cians, varied the scene ; and persons with mandarin- caps and other badges of office followed. The flags and banners were in some parts very beautiful and costly, and were inscribed with various devices ; e. LOCAL AUTHORITIES. 139 cheaper at Shanghai than at Canton, from the diminu- tion to the Chinese merchant of transit expenses, seems likely to divert no inconsiderable portion of the foreign trade from the southern commercial capital to this rapidly-increasing emporium of the north. The chief local magistrate is the taou-tai, who is the governor of two/00 and one chow, having altogether twenty-two ching or walled cities under his jurisdic- tion. The second Mandarin in importance is the hai-fang, or director of maritime affairs, who assumes the local government in the absence of the taou-tai. Of the subordinate Mandarins, the principal is the che-heen, who is at the head of the police department, and pos- sesses more circumscribed limits of authority. Shang- hai is situated in the province of Keang-soo, which, together with the province of Gnan-hwui, is included under the term Keang-nan, of which the chief city is Nanking. Keang-nan, together with the province of Keang-se, forms the government of the same tsung- tuh, or governor-general, the united provinces being comprised in the designation of the Leang-Keang, or " the Two Keang." The taou-tai enjoys the reputation, among the consular officials, of being a man of honour, integrity, and kind feelings. The residence of the British Consul within the city, and the occasional inter- change of visits, seem to have produced a mutual good understanding. The city suffered little, if any, damage during the disasters of the late war. It was captured by the British troops, but there was no destruction of property or life to any considerable extent. The most of the injury sustained was effected by the native rabble in their eagerness for plunder. Consequently there is but little exasperation of feeling, or disaffec- tion to the British on that account. The odious epithet, 140 POLICE REGULATIONS. " quei tze" (demon) was at first occasionally applied to foreigners ; but the Chinese authorities promptly discouraged the practice by a public notice, threaten- ing punishment of such offensive terms. The public buildings of any remarkable claims to attention are few, though there is here, as elsewhere, a fair proportion of temples, which afford, in most cases, a temporary lodging or hotel to the numerous immigrants and merchants from other provinces. The heads of the native firms generally reside at Soo-chow, at the distance of from fifty to eighty miles, leaving their brokers and clerks to transact their local business. The number of extra-provincial men temporarily resident at Shanghai ; the suspicion and distrust which the Mandarins entertain towards these naval and mercantile strangers from other provinces ; and the positive instances of the turbulent and lawless spirit of the Chin-chew sailors from the rebellious province of Fokeen, have naturally led to exclusive police regu- lations relative to non-residence within the city wall. It is probably on this account that there was at first a reluctance to let houses to foreigners within the city ; a difficulty happily now removed by a favourable precedent. The alarm also taken by the taou-tai at the aggressive labours of the resident Missionaries seems to have gradually subsided, under the influence of more favourable consideration, into a kind of negative permission, or acquiescence in what, on principles of justice and benevolence, he felt it impossible or inexpedient to check. In the city and neighbourhood there are large num- bers of Roman-Catholic professors of Christianity. The principal settlement is at a place called King-kea- hong, about four miles distant on the opposite side of ROMAN-CATHOLIC SETTLEMENT. 141 the river, at which the bishop resides. He is the titular bishop of Heliopolis, and his diocese comprises the provinces of Keang-nan and Shantung ; to which it is said the province of Pi-che-le (capital Peking) is about to be added, on account of the events arising out of a dispute between the Pope and the Portuguese of Macao. His diocese is computed to contain about 60,000 Roman Catholics; and his pastoral address to the Popish flocks, consequent on his discovering at Soq- cbow the document conferring religious toleration, was so bold that the Mandarins took umbrage, the tsung- tuh saying that he himself had only two provinces under his government, but that the bishop assumed three. Of the 6000 junks which annually bring down the grain for the emperor from Tartary, many are manned by Roman-Catholic sailors, who have come frequently to hear Mr. Medhurst preach, and through whom a Missionary might proceed to Tartary, as the people from Tartary and Corea profess their desire of being permitted to hold intercourse with foreigners. As a Missionary Station Shanghai exceeds the three other northern consular ports of Amoy, Foochow, and Ningpo in two important particulars -facility of access and connexion with the interior. In respect to the former, a continual intercourse is likely to be maintained with Hong Kong and Europe by means of the numerous ship- ping which frequent the port a considerable advan- tage in working the practical machinery of Missions. In reference to the latter, if it should be the good pleasure of God, who alone can, by His Holy Spirit, give potency and life to the best-concerted Missionary plans, to carry His preached and written word to the hearts and consciences of individuals among this pagan multitude, the important bearings of a Protestant 142 MISSIONARY ASPECT. Mission at Shanghai, with its community of native Christians and teachers, on the interior of China, can hardly be conceived at their proper estimate. Already have Christian books, like so many leaves from the tree of life, found their way to Nanking, Soo-chow, Chin-keang, and other important localities, and ex- cited a desire to know more of the doctrines they reveal. Already 14,500 cases of medical relief have tended to mitigate the sufferings of our fellow-heirs of sin, and helped to diffuse amongst the native community a respect for the religion of the benevolent foreigner. I have been favoured with the following averages of temperature, kindly supplied by Dr. Lockhart from a register kept in each month of the last year. The averages of June extend only over the latter half of that month. i|t &** si ** *& gx o - i* Hi Mb .=> Greatest heat by night. SA* g s-o S s * fg-i I 1 ! 1844. June 77 66 88 71 72 65 July 93 75 100 82 78 71 Aug. 89 "77 97 81 85 75 Sept. 79 67 91 77 68 63 Oct. 74 60 85 67 59 41 Nov. 65 53 73 60 55 40 Dec. 49 36 64 49 35 26 1845. Jan. 45 36 60 45 34 24 Feb. 45 37 62 47 36 30 March 53 43 80 64 41 32 April 64 51 75 65 47 41 May 71 60 87 68 59 51 CHAPTER XL INCIDENTS AT SHANGHAI. A ROMAN-CATHOLIC RUIN MISSIONARY EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR ROMAN-CATHOLIC VILLAGERS PREACHING IN HEATHEN TEMPLES VISIT TO NORTHERN PARTS OF THE CITY TRIUMPHAL ARCH TO A CHRISTIAN MANDARIN THE " CHING WANG MEAOU " NEWLY-CANONIZED HERO-WARRIOR CARICATURE-SHOPS MISSIONARY SERVICES TRIP ROUND THE CITY WALLS VISIT TO A COREAN VESSEL ROMISH CHURCH IN COREA THE "HALL OF UNITED BENEVOLENCE*' "FOUNDLING HOSPITAL" THE "HALL OF THE LORD OF HEAVEN" -VISIT FROM A COREAN SAILOR POPISH MARIOLATRY. OUR time was taken up for two or three days in the arrangements for Mr. M'Clatchie's removal into his newly-rented house within the south gate of the city. The native authorities secretly tried the influence of intimidation with the Chinese landlord. The docu- ments, however, had been duly signed, and were in our possession ; and Mr. M'Clatchie immediately re- moved his luggage, and slept his first night of inaugu- ration in his new abode. On June 19th we went about a mile into the country to explore an old ruin which formerly belonged to the Roman-Catholic Missionaries, and appeared to be about 150 years old. It lay in the midst of a beautiful and quiet retreat, with few houses near. An old man 144 A ROMAN-CATHOLIC RUIN. came out of an adjoining dwelling, and conducted us into a dilapidated building, apparently used at pre- sent as an old warehouse or lumber-room. It bore the plainest marks of having been a church, with a semicircular arch dividing the body of the building from the chancel, where there was a handsomely- carved altar of stone, about four feet in height and eight in breadth, surmounted by a horizontal slab about a yard in depth. On the outer side was the inscription I H S in large Roman characters, sur- mounted by a cross ; and the rest of the tablet was decorated with carved representations of dragons, the sacred emblem of the Chinese mythology. Near the entrance was an inscription against the wall outside, to the memory of some Christian Mandarin. On walking round to the other side of the building, we beheld six grave-stones inscribed with the same Ro- man letters, I H S, with crosses, and placed on the edge of a large mound, which rose to the height of twelve feet, and was covered with lilies, plants, and some dwarf shrubs, forming a beautiful object in the garden which surrounds the ruin. Here ample proof existed, if any were needed, that the Romanists, in former ages, not only had access into the country, but also enjoyed a fair measure of toleration in their Mis- sionary work. Being desirous of ascertaining the nature and ex- tent of Missionary facilities in the neighbourhood of Shanghai, I availed myself of the invitation of Mr. Medhurst to accompany him on his usual weekly Missionary excursion up the river. About midnight we embarked in a covered boat, with two other Missionaries. We set off at this MISSIONARY EXCURSION IN THE INTERIOR. 145 unseasonable hour, in order to have as much time as possible before us to bring our trip within a " day's journey," in accordance with the consular arrange- ments on the subject of boundaries. We slept on the seats on either side of our boat, with a few mats below and a blanket over us. The mosquitoes were very troublesome ; and we tried in vain to expel these unwelcome intruders by filling the boat with fumes of tobacco, which served only to increase our previous difficulty in obtaining rest. Towards day-light, as the smarting irritation of their bites subsided, and their numbers gradually disappeared, we got a little sleep, and rose somewhat refreshed to take our morn- ing meal in the boat, which was now nearly twenty miles up the river, in a south-west direction from Shanghai. From this point we proceeded very slowly, till at last we steered up a kang or lesser stream on our right ; and after another hour's sculling we stopped at a small hamlet, the tide leaving our boat without sufficient depth of water to proceed further. We landed amidst about a hundred villagers, who quickly gathered around us to receive books, which were distributed to the most intelligent of their num- ber. Mr. Medhurst addressed them afterwards for about ten minutes, and finding that they were princi- pally professors of the " teen choo keaou," or Roman- Catholic religion, dwelt on the more prominent truths of the Incarnation and Atonement of Christ, to which they assented. But on his subsequently enlarging on the necessity of trusting in Christ alone as the Saviour, and the sinfulness of raising other Mediators, such as the Virgin Mary, who was only a sinful mortal like ourselves, they appeared to be somewhat stag- 148 VISIT TO NORTHERN PARTS OF THE CITY. At last, witnessing one Chinese very importunate, I fetched a copy of Luke's Gospel for him. No sooner did he perceive it than he addressed earnest entreaties to the boatmen to steer nearer the shore, along the banks of which he had been running to overtake us ; and, watching my opportunity, I folded up the book, and threw it safely on the dry bank. Before entering the broad river, we landed and dis- tributed tracts at an oil -manufactory, where a number of families were congregated. On the north bank of the river, also, we landed and passed through a long village, named Min Hong, where we had a large number of eager applicants, who accompanied us to the boat to obtain books. After a few unimportant adventures we arrived at Shanghai about eleven P.M., thus saving our legal time in the matter of the boun- dary regulations. June 2lst We went this evening to explore the northern parts of the city. Entering by the smaller southern gate, we pursued our way for a mile and a half through a succession of populous streets and lanes, all partaking of the same general features, and abounding with a greater than usual number of tea- taverns, in which little companies, varying from ten to thirty persons, were generally assembled. For three or four copper cash less than one farthing the labouring people of the poorest class can enter one of these establishments, and indulge in a liquor which refreshes but does not intoxicate, while quiet harmony and peaceful order seem to be universal among them. It was a pleasure to contrast the crowded state of these tea-taverns with the generally empty appearance of the few neighbouring tsew-fang or wine-shops. TRIUMPHAL ARCH TO A CHRISTIAN MANDARIN. 149 The only addition to the tea was smoking tobacco ; and their animated countenances frequently bespoke the earnestness with which they were debating over the table some question or event of the neighbour- hood. As we passed the temple of the God of Fire, the Pluto of the Chinese, the assembled crowd, and the sounds of musicians in the interior, indicated some festal occasion in honour of the deity. Near this we passed under a triumphal arch, erected to the memory of the celebrated Seu, the father of Candida, both of whom bore a prominent part in the events of the seventeenth century, the former being raised to the highest honours of the state, though a Christian. His tomb outside the southern gate is covered with a rich crop of verdure, and has seven regularly-planted trees of gigantic growth. His posterity are partly Christian and partly pagan. The latter have raised an altar to his memory within the city, and still continue to wor- ship his image. Near the northern gate we visited a temple, or rather a district of temples, denominated the Ching-wang-meaou, the principal temple of the range being dedicated to the presiding deity of the city. In this temple there were several courts and fanes decked out with idols, some of which were of gigantic size and well-executed formation. Around the sides were ranged a large number of images, representing attendants on the deity, and dressed out in an old attire, destitute of the Chinese queue, intro- duced by the Manchows. The principal idol was placed in a lurid, dismal part of the building, where we could hardly catch a glimpse, amidst the dimly- burning lamps, of the countenance, upon which a more than ordinary portion of, artistic care seemed to. have 148 VISIT TO NORTHERN PARTS OF THE CITY. At last, witnessing one Chinese very importunate, I fetched a copy of Luke's Gospel for him. No sooner did he perceive it than he addressed earnest entreaties to the boatmen to steer nearer the shore, along the banks of which he had been running to overtake us ; and, w r atching my opportunity, I folded up the book, and threw it safely on the dry bank. Before entering the broad river, we landed and dis- tributed tracts at an oil -manufactory, where a number of families were congregated. On the north bank of the river, also, we landed and passed through a long village, named Min Hong, where we had a large number of eager applicants, who accompanied us to the boat to obtain books. After a few unimportant adventures we arrived at Shanghai about eleven P.M., thus saving our legal time in the matter of the boun- dary regulations. June 2lst We went this evening to explore the northern parts of the city. Entering by the smaller southern gate, we pursued our way for a mile and a half through a succession of populous streets and lanes, all partaking of the same general features, and abounding with a greater than usual number of tea- taverns, in which little companies, varying from ten to thirty persons, were generally assembled. For three or four copper cash less than one farthing the labouring people of the poorest class can enter one of these establishments, and indulge in a liquor which refreshes but does not intoxicate, while quiet harmony and peaceful order seem to be universal among them. It was a pleasure to contrast the crowded state of these tea-taverns with the generally empty appearance of the few neighbouring tsew-fang or wine-shops. TRIUMPHAL ARCH TO A CHRISTIAN MANDARIN. 149 The only addition to the tea was smoking tobacco ; and their animated countenances frequently bespoke the earnestness with which they were debating over the table some question or event of the neighbour- hood. As we passed the temple of the God of Fire, the Pluto of the Chinese, the assembled crowd, and the sounds of musicians in the interior, indicated some festal occasion in honour of the deity. Near this we passed under a triumphal arch, erected to the memory of the celebrated Seu, the father of Candida, both of whom bore a prominent part in the events of the seventeenth century, the former being raised to the highest honours of the state, though a Christian. His tomb outside the southern gate is covered with a rich crop of verdure, and has seven regularly-planted trees of gigantic growth. His posterity are partly Christian and partly pagan. The latter have raised an altar to his memory within the city, and still continue to wor- ship his image. Near the northern gate we visited a temple, or rather a district of temples, denominated the Ching-wang-meaou, the principal temple of the range being dedicated to the presiding deity of the city. In this temple there were several courts and fanes decked out with idols, some of which were of gigantic size and well-executed formation. Around the sides were ranged a large number of images, representing attendants on the deity, and dressed out in an old attire, destitute of the Chinese queue, intro- duced by the Manchows. The principal idol was placed in a lurid, dismal part of the building, where we could hardly catch a glimpse, amidst the dimly- burning lamps, of the countenance, upon which a more than ordinary portion of. artistic care seemed to. have 150 NATIVE CARICATURES. been lavished. In an adjoining building was the image of a celebrated military Mandarin, commandant of the Woosung forts, who fell in battle while resisting the British troops when they took the forts by storm in the late war. He had since been canonized, and a few days previously solemn offerings had been made to his memory. Incense, and the general apparatus of idolatry, were lying before his image when we entered. The representation of this unfortunate hero-warrior is said to be a very faithful likeness, and skilfully finished. Further on, the noise of pipes and flutes, with stringed instruments, called our attention to the dwelling of a shop-keeper, who was paying honour to his idol by theatrical exhibitions, and a well-supplied feast of sweetmeats and fruit. The performers were all boys, who to a certain irregular tune were alternating their parts in some pathetic romance of real life ; at one time imitating the sounds of grief, and at another time of remonstrance and expostulation. Our entrance seemed likely to inter- rupt, for a time, some of these juvenile musicians and actors ; but after a little faltering hesitation they continued their animated chantings. In the shops several caricatures were to be seen of the English, in military or naval costume, with most grotesque figures, arranged by the artist so as to bring down ridicule on foreigners. A European lady was re- presented in one of the caricature-drawings, in a very inelegant posture, evidently intended to excite merriment at the expense of foreign manners. A large open space in this vicinity was covered with temples, some of which were situated on a small lake, and were approached by bridges. The whole appearance was MISSIONARY SERVICES. 151 very unique. On our return we found the city-gates shut, at eight p. M. On our raising a shout they were immediately opened ; and as we passed, the watch- word was promptly conveyed to the porter of the outer gate, who also opened for us without any questions or delay. June 22d After the service at the British Con- sulate, I attended Mr. Medhurst's Chinese service, in a large lower room in his own house. This being the day for the burial, at Soo-chow, of the deceased wife of the che-heen, or mayor of the city, many Chinese were kept away by the theatrical exhibitions which prevailed in the city. The sacred festival, also, of the tsal shin meaou, or " Temple of the God of Wealth," was another impediment to there being the usual number of attendants. About a hundred re- spectably-dressed Chinese listened for nearly an hour to the Missionary while he read and explained a printed sermon, composed for the occasion, a copy of which was placed in the hand of every individual to read at the time, and to take to his home for subse- quent perusal. They appeared much interested, and expressed their approbation of the doctrines explained to them. Mr. Medhurst makes it his practice to com- pose his discourse in the literary style, and to print it previously to its delivery, that each of his hearers may have the subject in writing before him. He read a few sentences, and then explained and enlarged on them in the dialect of the place. One of the auditors had come from Kea-ting, thirty miles distant, to con- vey a request that the Missionaries would go thither to preach. Similar cases of inquiry have occurred at Soo-chow and Nanking ; and at this time one such 152 RELIGIOUS INQUIRERS. case from Chin-keang-foo* was under Dr. Lockhart's roof. The cases of this kind have been generally those of men of affluence and education ; and the Christian tracts which had been carried to distant towns were the first link in the chain of instrumental events which led them within the sound of the preached Word of God. At nine o'clock in the morning Mr. Medhurst had previously held a service in the city in the Fokeen dialect, for the benefit of the enterprising merchants from that province, temporarily resident at Shanghai. In the evening he again held a service at Dr. Lock- hart's, at which about one hundred were present, one- third of the number being women, who sat apart from the rest in the surgery-room adjoining the open court in which the men were seated. After the service was concluded, several Chinese approached the table, asking for books, especially naming the tung-shoo, or "Christian Almanac." One of them was a grain- dealer from Hang-chow, the terminus of the Grand Canal. He and several others asked when there would be another service of the kind, a good sign of the interest excited. June 23d I set off at six A.M. to make a trip around the city walls. Being unable to walk the' dis- tance, I employed two men to carry me in a bamboo chair. Making our way from the suburbs to the lesser southern gate, we mounted the parapet by a flight of about twenty stone steps, and proceeded in a north- west direction towards the larger southern gate. The * This man, a literary graduate, has since been admitted to baptism. TRIP ROUND THE CITY WALLS. 153 city here presented a rural aspect, forming one suc- cession of pleasant gardens, with only a few houses interspersed. Outside the wall there was scarcely a house to be seen till our arrival at the northern gate, where both the city and suburbs appeared to be more thickly peopled. Near this point we had to pass through a temple of the Taou sect, which surmounted the wall, and consequently lay across our course. An old man, apparently connected with the temple, began conversing with the bearers ; and afterwards, approach- ing my chair, shook hands with me, and pressed me to alight and explore the building. He took me across a room filled with attendants to another series of rooms, anxious to show me what he considered the wonders of the place, till want of time compelled me to de- cline his attentions. Near this point we passed two dead bodies of beggars, who were brought hither, in the last stage of life, to die, and to be buried at the expense of the government, or by the agents of some >enevolent society. During the excursion we passed six or seven other dead bodies on the city wall, two of finch were lying at the entrance of a temple. Bending )ur course from the northern gate, in a south-east direc- tion, we passed along a thickly-inhabited part of the 3ity, abounding with temples, some of which compelled is to descend from the parapet and to re-ascend on the )ther side of the building. Towards the two eastern rates, the suburbs retired to a little distance from the fall, the intermediate space being occupied by wide spacious paths with a few houses interspersed. The >rincipal part of the buildings in the suburbs followed the course of the river, showing the commercial character of the population. The eastern parts of 154 VISIT TO A COREAN JUNK. the city seemed to possess the finest private build- ings, and a more opulent class of inhabitants. The long range of buildings connected with the depart- ment of the superintendant of the customs occupied a considerable extent of space. One fact I noticed, which may serve to show the extent to which idola- trous offerings form an essential part of the daily life of this people. Not only along the streets may be seen a number of shops, at which scarcely any thing else is sold but silver paper for offerings ; but also in a solitary part of the city wall I met with a small stand, the whole vendible articles of which consisted of fra- grant sticks, incense, sacred candles, and the substitute for money made from tinfoil. The whole circuit of the walls and return to the suburbs occupied about one hour and a half. The people everywhere showed a friendly disposition, and the impression of the city was, on the whole, favourable. The thing which excited most surprise was to find that for more than half the circuit of the walls there were scarcely any houses in their vicinity, and nothing to resemble a regular street for above a quarter of a mile in some parts ; the neighbourhood of the walls being apparently inhabited by an agricultural or horticultural class of people. Later in the day I visited a Corean junk manned by Roman-Catholic sailors, and lying in the river off the custom-house. The circumstances attending the arri- val of this little vessel possessed more than ordinary interest. The self-styled captain was a deacon of the Roman-Catholic Church planted in former times in Corea, where it has survived the power of successive persecutions, during one of which his own father and grandfather had been put to death. The arrival of ROMISH CHURCH IN COREA. 155 these strangers, with their peculiar garb and high- peaked caps, furnished an occasion of amusement to the Chinese in Shanghai. The Coreans soon formed a subject for the native painters of caricatures; and grotesque representations of them were to be seen exposed for sale at the picture-shops. The immediate object of their visit to Shanghai was to request that a bishop might be sent back with them from the Popish Mission near the city. In order to escape the sus- picion of the Chinese authorities, they feigned to be driven, by stress of weather and with the loss of a mast, into the port for refuge, where they pretended to refit their vessel for a return to their own country. On my going on board, I was welcomed, in the captain's absence, by two or three of the crew, into a little nar- row cabin, screened only by canvass from the elements. I found three Latin Missals and a Popish Calendar lying on the table, the greater part of them being printed in Paris, and one bearing the date 1823. Although possessing a language of their own, they could speak Chinese in the Court dialect. They made frequent signs of the cross as I conversed with them. Before my departure I sketched out, in Latin, a note for the captain, giving a short outline of the more pro- minent truths of the Gospel. Just as I had concluded, the captain was announced as coming from the shore. In a few minutes he arrived and cordially greeted me. He was named Sung-kim, and stated himself to be twenty-four years of age. He estimated the population of Corea, his native country, at fourteen millions, about 10,000 of whom were Christians. He said that they observed the Sabbath-day, but were not rigidly strict in fasting. In reply to my question, he stated that they 156 THE "HALL or UNITED BENEVOLENCE." had in Corea only three or four of the Latin books which I saw on the table ; and that death had taken from them their bishop and all their priests. He professed to have brought no cargo, and said that he intended to take none back on their return. Their only object in making so long a voyage was to obtain a bishop for Corea, whom they would convey back in their junk. As the Romish bishop was now absent from Shanghai on a secret mission to Peking, the Coreans were anxiously awaiting his daily-expected return : and report affirmed that they had taxed their ingenuity to the utmost, in imposing on the authorities excuses for delaying their departure. At my invita- tion the captain read aloud from one of the Latin Missals. The page from which he read contained an extravagant eulogium of the Virgin, in which I parti- cularly noticed the term Mater Dei, shortly after fol- lowed by .... qua pervia cceli Porta manes, " Mother of God, who continuest the gate through which we pass to heaven." On June 25th we visited the tungjin tang, or " Hall of United Benevolence." The existence of such insti- tutions in China is a striking trait in the national character, and exhibits a measure of natural bene- volence almost peculiar to the Chinese as a pagan nation. The Chinese have been for more than 2000 years an isolated people, and yet we behold amongst them, what Christian writers have in former times been disposed to doubt or deny, the existence of bene- volent institutions as the fruits of pagan morality. The "Hall of United Benevolence" has its ceme- tery, hospital, and similar institutions in different parts of the city and suburbs, at which coffins are THE " FOUNDLING HOSPITAL." 157 provided, and the expenses of burial defrayed for the unclaimed dead. A few aged and infirm persons, also, are supplied with relief, the expenses of support and management being defrayed by private subscriptions. On entering the court we turned aside into a hall, where a master was engaged in teaching about twenty boys, who, with fifteen old men, were the only inmates of this place. In a little room on the right were nine coffins quite new, of plain though very substantial construction, and ready for use at any time. These were inscribed in Chinese characters, with the name of the institution, |WJ < ^ tung jin tang, and with the figures 6382 to 6390 consecutively, being the num- ber of coffins gratuitously supplied since the com- mencement of the institution. From this place we proceeded to the yuh ying tang, or " Foundling Hospital," which is also supported by subscriptions, and is intended to receive the female children of those who are too poor to support their offspring. At the entrance the Chinese attendants showed us the little box in which the infant is placed, as in a kind of drawer, and passed by its relatives into the interior, a bell being rung to apprise the in- mates of the arrival of the young stranger. This explanation of its use, and corresponding gestures of the attendants, drew forth considerable mirth from the collected crowd. Two hundred female infants are said to be received annually. In the principal hall was a gigantic image of an old woman, with five infants either in her arms or hanging to her person. We went through a few wards, and saw six nurses with the same number of children, most of them under a year old; the greater part of the children being 18 THE "HALL OF THE LORD OF HEAVEN." supported away from the hospital, at the expense of its funds. Each child had a wooden tally, with its own name and that of the institution inscribed on it, and kept by its nurse. The superintendant presented me with a copy of the printed Report of the Institu- tion, containing nearly a hundred pages. We went next to visit an old temple called the Kwan-te-meaou, the " Temple of the Martial God," or, as it is also commonly termed, the teen-choo tang, the " Hall of the Lord of Heaven," a Roman-Catholic church formerly occupying its site. In the time of the Ming dynasty it was burnt down, and the Chinese authorities, at a later period, availed themselves of the unpopularity of the Romanist Missionaries to convert it into a pagan temple. On the ruin was rebuilt the present edifice to the honour of Kwan-te, a deified martial hero, who nourished in the San-kwo, about the time of the Christian era. The Roman-Catholic bishop is said to be strenuously exerting his influence at this time to get it restored to its original purposes, and to build a cathedral on its site. As we entered, there were several hundred persons collected to wit- ness a theatrical exhibition in the outer square. Be- hind the temple a terrace is said to be still remaining, from which some of the learned Jesuit Missionaries, in former times, made their astronomical observa- tions, by their improvements in which science they gained such an influence over the Chinese rulers. By an act of ingratitude, however, no sooner had the Jesuits framed a calendar for astronomical purposes, extending forward for centuries, than the Chinese emperor expelled the men of whose services he was now independent. VISIT FROM A COREAN SAILOR. 159 The temple itself possessed nothing remarkable, except the size and splendour of the idols, that of Kwan-te occupying a prominent position. A few men were observed in the interior effecting some repairs and decorating portions of the temple. There ap- peared to be, at this time, a revived zeal for beautify- ing the public buildings at Shanghai, indicating the thriving trade as well as the thriving superstition of the inhabitants. When on the point of embarking for Ningpo, I went in a boat to make a final visit to the Corean junk. I took with me a copy of the Gospel of St. Luke in Chinese, for each of the crew, twelve in number ; and a copy of the Epistle to the Romans and a manual of prayers for the captain. On arriving alongside I was informed that the captain was absent, but the books were readily received by the crew, who pressed me by urgent invitations to come on board, which I was unable to do, as I was in hourly expectation of sail- ing. About an hour had elapsed after my embarka- tion, when one of the Corean crew boarded our vessel, and, with many protestations of respect, begged permission to return the whole of the books, and to decline the present from me. The reason, which I more than suspected, was the subsequent return of the captain, a Romish deacon, educated by the priests at Macao, and his unwillingness that his men should re- ceive what he probably deemed to contain the elements of Protestant heresy. The motive, however, assigned by the Corean was, that, in the absence of the captain, they had no authority to receive any books, and that he already had some religious books for them. It was not difficult to see through this flimsy pretext. Before 160 POPISH MARIOLATRY. his departure I held a brief conversation with him, being desirous of ascertaining whether he had any intellectual perception of the more prominent truths of the Gospel. He soon furnished painful evidence of the amount of external zeal which may co-exist with ignorance of the Gospel in its essential truth. On my asking him to whom a sinner can flee for re- fuge and pray for forgiveness of sins, he reiterated the reply, in spite of my remonstrances on the unrea- sonableness of such a hope, Yay-soo teih moo-tsin, Mah-le-a, " Jesus's mother, Mary." A Romanist Missionary subsequently informed me that the Coreans remained for a sufficient length of time to accomplish the object of their visit, and took back a bishop and three priests. The bishop came from Hong Kong, and had already been seven years a Missionary in one of the interior provinces. CHAPTER XII. ARRIVAL AT NINGPO. VOYAGE TO NINGPO DESCENT OF THE YANG-TZE-KEANG BAY OF CHAPOO CHINESE PILOT CITY OF CHIN-HAI ASCENT OF RIVER AND ARRIVAL AT NINGPO RENEWED CIVILITY OF CUSTOM-HOUSE OFFICERS PROPOSED LODGING IN A TAOUIST MONASTERY RENTING A CHINESE HOUSE, AND ATTENDANT FORMALITIES ACCESS TO THE FAMILY OF A CHINESE PATRIARCH ABSURD PRINCIPLES OF NATIVE MEDICINE FACTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF CHINESE IDEAS ON MARRIAGE SITUATION OF HOUSE THE TOWER OF NINGPO VISIT TO A MAHOMEDAN MOSQUE RETURN-VISIT OF A MAHOMEDAN PRIEST A ROMAN-CATHOLIC PATIENT. ON June 26th we weighed anchor and dropped down the river with the ebb-tide. Numbers of junks from Shantung and Tartary, laden with grain, were in the river, with a multitude of boats, propelled by one or two sculls, each of which was sometimes of sufficient size to employ eight or ten persons. Oars seemed to be a mechanical contrivance either unknown or un- valued in comparison with the scull. We came to anchor at Woosung, a heavy gale blowing during the night from the south-east. The next morning, the 27th, the weather moderated, and the wind slightly changed, so as to enable us to sail down the Yang- tze-keang to the east of Gutzlaff's Island. We came to anchor, during a fog, somewhere near Rocky Island, M 162 VOYAGE TO NINGPO. at the opening of the bay which indents the coast of Keang-soo and Che-keang provinces, and contains two of the most important ports of the central line of sea- board Hang-chow-foo, the terminus of the Grand Canal, and Chapoo, the port to which the Japanese trading junks are restricted. The day after, as soon as the fog cleared away, we weighed anchor, and sailed to the eastward of some islands forming part of the Chusan group, till we were again compelled to drop anchor, at 4 P.M., for the night. The next morning we found ourselves near the opening of the river which leads to Ningpo, the entrance of which, however, was a work of danger and difficulty, from the numerous sunken rocks which here abound. Being deputed by the captain to act as an interpreter, I was sent off with a boat's crew to one of the fishing-boats to obtain a pilot. There being little wind, the poor fishermen could not have escaped from our oars, even if they had cherished the wish. With some difficulty I made them comprehend the na- ture of my errand ; and by kind words, and assurances of good treatment, one of them was induced to return with us to the ship, where he was of some service in directing our course through this rocky channel. As we entered the river, the wind suddenly failing, and the contrary tide running strong, we were compelled to lie at anchor for several hours off the city of Chin-hai. The neigbouring hills possessed all the romantic in- terest of the scenery further south, with the additional advantage of a fair amount of cultivation, the soil being divided into parterres of vegetation rising one above another, and marking the stimulus afforded by neces- sity to the industry of an excessive population. Two CITY OF CH1N-HAI. 163 forts, one on either side, guarded the entrance of the river, which was lined by a long battery of fortifica- tions, extending half a mile. These were captured by the British in the late war, and the city itself was occupied for some months by the troops. It is said that the battle of Chin-hai was one of the most san- guinary, next to the capture of Chin-keang-foo, that took place in the course of the war. Upwards of a thousand Chinese were slain, being driven down by the British troops on either side into the river, from which only two or three hundred could be prevailed upon to return and receive quarter, on the assurances of safety given by the interpreter. Large crowds of people were at this time assembled on the bank outside the wall to catch a view of us, the arrival of a foreign vessel being still an event of unfrequent oc- currence. As we lay among a fleet of junks, a boat was observed making for our vessel, with a large piece of cloth, in the form of a flag, suspended from a pole, and inscribed with Chinese characters, intimating that they were from the hai-quan, or custom-house. Two officials requested the production of the ship's pass, the port from which she had sailed, the nature of her cargo, and other particulars. The required papers being produced for their inspection, they were pro- ceeding to put a further series of queries from a book, having parallel sentences in Chinese and English, when I interrupted them by the observation that this was our Sabbath-day, on which it was our custom to avoid unnecessary business. This intimation was a sufficient inducement to them to terminate their in- quiries, and, with the usual salutations of respect, they descended to their boat without further questions. . M 2 ]64 ARRIVAL AT NINGFO. With the evening's tide we proceeded up the river to the city of Ningpo, twelve miles distant, a con- tinuous series of villages and temples enlivening the scenery. The hills at the mouth of the river gra- dually recede on either side ; so that Ningpo occupies the centre of an extended plain, the high ground, at the distance of fifteen miles, rising two or three thou- sand feet above the valley enclosed by them. The only foreign vessel lying off the city was a Scotch bark, close to which we took our position. Few minutes had elapsed before another party of custom- house officials made their appearance, and, after a series of bowings, were proceeding to their interroga- tions, when I pursued immediately the same course as at Chin-hai, saying that this was our holy day, and that we were unwilling to enter on any business till the following morning, when all the information they desired would be obtainable, together with the ship's papers, at the British Consulate. This plea of exemp- tion was instantly acknowledged as reasonable and satisfactory ; and the promptness with which they left the vessel was an additional proof of the willingness of the Chinese to respect in others that adherence to principle and customary observances, which they so rigidly practise themselves. On the following morning, June 30th, I landed at the British Consulate. The houses of the few foreigners resident at Ningpo are situated in a little suburb on the northern bank of the river, by which they are separated from the city itself. Here I \vas hospitably entertained by the Vice-Consul, formerly a member of the University of Cambridge. During the next three days I made visits to some Missionary TAOUIST MONASTERY. 1G5 brethren, whose acquaintance I had formed in the south of China, especially to two American friends on the other side of the river, who, for the present, were lodging in a part of a Taouist temple within the northern gate of the city. The foundation of this monastery was of comparatively recent origin, dating no further back than fifty years, in the reign of Kea- King, the predecessor of the present emperor. It forms an assemblage of temples, comprised under the general name of j^ ^ ^| yew shing quan. The principal building forms the monastery, in which six Taouist priests reside, who are remarkable for little else than their vacant looks, their excessive ignorance, and the obesity of their persons, which gives rise to the suspicion that they are not very rigid in their adherence to the vegetable diet of mo- nastic rule. In the north-west extremity of the range of buildings is a small nunnery the frequent appen- dage of these institutions in which three nuns of ill repute reside. In the south-west angle is a temple of ancestors, placed under the superintendence of the monks, at which, twice in each month, there is a general attendance of the city-mandarins for worship. In the south-east corner is another temple, which, is denominated ~3^ *jj p*j| wan chang ko, being dedi- cated to a deity of the Taou sect, named wan chang. In this building my two Missionary friends were do- miciled ; and we surveyed the other untenanted parts, with the intention of my securing a lodging in the temple. The apartments placed at my option ad- joined a little room, in which was an idol of the god of the north-star. In my proposed lodging there were lying several coffins of substantial construction, sent 166 RENTING A CHINESE HOUSE. hither by superstitious individuals, whose bodies they were destined hereafter to enclose, under the absurd belief that the sacred vicinity in which they were lodged was calculated to ensure long life and prospe- rity a superstition of which the monks probably were not anxious to disabuse their minds, in the accession which it brings to the revenues of the temple. As, however, I regarded Ningpo as the probable scene of my future Missionary labours, and was there- fore desirous, if possible, of securing a residence, in the midst of the native population, of a more perma- nent tenure, we strolled into the heart of the city, and looked at several houses. In this matter I received valuable assistance from Sze seen-sang, the teacher of one of the Missionaries, who evinced a great interest in Christianity. He seemed pleased at my being a Missionary, and was very active in reducing every item of expenditure to an economical scale. Several unsuitable houses were shown to us; and we were near giving over the hope of success, when a man told us of a vacant house between the East and the Salt Gates, which seemed, on examination, likely to suit my purpose. After two or three days' preliminary nego- tiations, on July 3d the lease was duly signed by the chung-jin, or house-agent, and myself, and attested by one foreigner and one Chinese, in addition to the Chinese who drew up the document. The terms were favourable, viz. 9 dollars a month six months' rent to be paid immediately, as a deposit and a guarantee against ejection or increase of rent by the landlord. The deed was torn down the middle, and each party retained his half, as security. The matter occupied three hours, with the various little debates A CHINESE PATRIARCH. 167 and consultations which arose from it : but this was a rare instance of promptness and despatch for such an occasion. July \2th I visited, with a medical Missionary and his teacher, a Chinese family in the western part of the city, one of the members of which was dangerously ill. The old man, the head of the family, received us in a hall, where a feast of sweetmeats and tea was served to us. A kind of spirituous liquor, distilled from rice, was poured out from a teapot into small cups, and handed to us to taste. The old man kept watching, and re- plenishing our saucers with sweetmeats and cakes, which he broke into morsels with his own fingers, dipping them into a kind of sauce. My friend Sze seen-sang was, however, annoyed at his excessive attentions and use of his fingers, telling him that it was the custom of foreigners to help themselves, and handing us the chop-sticks for the purpose. The old gentleman still insisted on his doing the honours of the occasion ; and our portion was handed to us as before, in his fingers, dropping with sauce. In the open space outside were ranged a number of dwarf trees, which the Chinese show much patience and skill in restraining within the limits of a stunted growth. There were little shrubs, resembling the fir and the oak, and possessing all the proportions and beautiful foliage of large trees, compressed to a dimi- nutive size, scarcely exceeding eighteen inches in height. We were soon after summoned to survey the melan- choly scenes of the sick chamber. Under the same roof lived the patriarch and his descendants to the third generation, with the wives of his sons and grandsons. 168 ABSURD PRINCIPLES OF NATIVE MEDICINE. The ladies of the family stood at a door, and eagerly stole secret glances at the foreigners, quickly retreating on the discovery that they were observed. One of the sons was lying on a bed, afflicted with dropsy, under the effects of which he was suffering acutely, his body being swollen to twice the natural size. The aged mother supported his languid frame, and betrayed the tender emotions of maternal affection; while the father expatiated, in sonorous tones and with wild gestures, on the symptoms of the disease. The native prac- titioners had been pursuing their irrational mode of treatment, on the supposition that it was a little glo- bule of coagulated blood which was circulating in the body, and must be expelled before any hope of reco- very could be cherished. For this purpose, among other specifics, toads had been prescribed for the patient. The real seat of disease appeared to be the liver ; but the serious stage of the disease, and their unwillingness to act decidedly against the course pre- scribed by the native quacks, rendered foreign medi- cal skill almost useless. The poor fellow died about a fortnight afterwards. On returning to the water side, we found the weather so boisterous, and the waves running so high, that the Chinese boatmen would not venture across. I had therefore to remain in the city with my Ameri- can friends, and slept in the Taouist monastery, in a room adjoining the great hall of Confucius. I was more successful in my attempt to cross over early the next day. July 14kth I had a long conversation with a well- informed Chinese, named Sing, an attache of the British Consulate, who, in the late war, acted as a MARRIAGE-CUSTOMS OF CHINESE. J69 paymaster in the Chinese army, for which the prin- cipal reward he received was the privilege of wearing a gold button on his cap, the decoration of Mandarins of the three lowest ranks. His relation to the British, and knowledge of the English language, rendered him a person of some importance to the Mandarins, by whom he was frequently sent for to explain business relating to foreigners. On the strength of his in- creasing consequence and augmented income, he lately determined to marry ; but a strange mistake occurred to mar the joyous festivity of his marriage. On the occasion of a procession of native females to some temple, the daughter of a neighbouring gentle- man had caught the eye of Sing, who had thereupon become sensible to her attractions, and had employed the usual services of a chiwg-jin, or go-between. This office is generally discharged by an elderly lady, familiar with the usages of such occasions, by whom the customary presents are sent, and the engagement is duly contracted. Unfortunately for Sing, the lady who was the object of his affection was the fourth daughter, while he, in his simplicity, believed her to be the fifth. The match was made in accordance with this error; and on the nuptial day the bride was carried in a gaily-decorated sedan-chair, with the usual pomp and band of musicians, from the house of her father to the house of the bridegroom. The bride, lifted by two matrons over the threshold of her new abode, was now, for the first time, introduced to her future lord. The nuptials were on the point of consummation, by the ceremony of drinking together the " cup of alliance ;" but here Sing's joy received an unexpected interruption. Instead of welcoming 170 CHINESE POLYGAMY. the beautiful damsel whom he had before seen, he had the mortification of beholding her younger sister, of very plain exterior, and with personal attractions consi- derably diminished, in his estimation, by the marks of small-pox. At first he proposed that she should return to her father's house ; but as she objected, he deemed it expedient, on further reflection, to bear the disappointment with patience, and is said to be gra- dually reconciled to his lot. The Chinese do not scruple to have as many wives as they can afford to purchase, although a large number sometimes operates to retard the advance- ment of the individual. Sing stated to me, that, a short time since, there was a military Mandarin of the first class, Le ta-jin, holding the rank of a general at Ningpo. His father had performed, thirty years ago, some distinguished services to the State, for which the Emperor had ennobled him and his family to the fourth generation, with the rank of /f0 pih, or " earl." His son, the general, had ten wives ; which circumstance being reported to the Emperor, excited a distrust of his official ability ; and he was dismissed from his military command to return to his native province of Fokeen. The reason assigned for his dismissal was, that he was too much engaged in domestic affairs. Sing is an able and clever Chinese, but possesses very lax moral principles. He frankly confessed that the Confucians do not believe in a future state of rewards and punishments, saying, with a contemptuous tone, that they left such notions to the Budhists. According to his view, Confucius left no instructions respecting the Deity, and taught his followers, that such things ATHEISM OF CONFUCIANS. 171 as worshipping idols were matters of indifference, to be decided altogether by the tastes or interests of the individual. The clung loo, "the straight way," was the only path of moral duty of any importance, in the estimate of the sage. On July 16th, after some delay caused by indisposi- tion, I was safely inducted into my new residence within the city- wall, which almost touched the back of my house. The houses adjacent to my residence were tenanted by persons of the worst character, which was a source of continual annoyance to me, as I had frequent melancholy proofs of their low estimate of European morality. My rebuke of one of this class created some surprise. This quarter of the city was, however, favourable for acquiring the local dialect; and my house was within a few hundred yards of the Tung mun keae, or "East-gate street," the principal street of the city. My only foreign neighbours within the city were two American Mis- sionaries, lodging in a temple above a mile distant. Separated to a great extent from intercourse with Christians, I nevertheless found solitude to be pleasant and profitable. The heat soon began to be intense ; and the only hour during which it was safe to venture out of doors was about sunset. At this season of the evening I usually took a short walk on the city-wall adjacent to my house. Occasionally, as I sat in a little recess of the ram- part, the Chinese labourers would stop to look at the books, which I generally carried with me for distribu- tion ; but scarcely one man in five could read a cha- racter. A few of the more respectable class of trades- men and writers in the public offices would sometimes 172 QUESTIONS OF CHINESE NEIGHBOURS. remain questioning me. The inquiries generally referred to the nature of my objects, my employments, my residence, the number of my domestics, the num- ber of times I ate rice in a day, and many similar matters, by which they sought to estimate my impor- tance. A few of them afterwards paid me a visit at my house. Two old men, who soon began to claim an acquaintance with me, used to ask me about the cross, and the difference between my religion and that of the Roman Catholics, whom they had seen in the neighbouring town of Tze-ke. On July 23d I varied my usual evening route, by paying a visit, with my teacher, to the pagoda com- monly called Teen-fung tah, " The tower of celestial wind." After passing through several court-yards of a neighbouring Budhist monastery, I at last found myself in the open space, in which this lofty tower stands. The ground was overgrown with thick herb- age ; and the large number of tombs, placed, accord- ing to the custom of the central and northern pro- vinces, above the level of the soil, gave it almost the appearance of a European burial-ground. The building is hexagonal, and has seven stories. A suc- cession of wooden stairs within conducts the visitor to the highest story ; and as he gradually ascends, the view from the windows of each story is increasingly grand and magnificent. Beneath his feet lie the living masses of a populous city, teeming with busy toil. Every variety of form, size, and colour helps to heighten the novel effect, and imparts a feeling of romance to the objects before him. The numerous temples reared by native superstition, the curiously-devised buildings, the grotesque style of architecture, the elaborately- TOWER OF NINGPO. 173 formed roofs, the strangely-sculptured arches, the various emblems of civic authority, and the irregular range of public buildings, form one successive group of motley objects, as far as the eye extends. The walls, which begirt the city at the distance of one or two miles on either side, are relieved from their monotonous appearance by the watch-towers which surmount the gates. On three sides the city is sur- rounded by streams of considerable breadth, into which numerous dykes conduct the drains and refuse of the place. To the east lies the river, with an assemblage of native junks on its waters. Beyond the walls an extended plain stretches forward amid a fertile and productive country, till, at the distance of ten or twenty miles, the bold line of hills, rising in the sky, gives a completeness to the scene. Here, if any- where, will the traveller, as he views this moving panorama of life, realize the feeling, that he is in a new world of men and things. As we descended, a priest was standing below to receive his perquisite of a few cash for his superin- tendence of the building. The pagoda is said to have been built about 900 years ago, during the How Chow dynasty ; and a vague superstition in the power of the tutelary gods of the city was probably the sole origin of an edifice, which remote generations have viewed with interest. It has suffered a larger than average proportion of disasters from casualties and the ravages of the elements. Its exterior bears the mark of age in the half-tottering appearance of the whole edifice. The interior is in a better state of preservation, having been repaired, about six years ago, by a Chinese gen- tleman, of some local celebrity, named Wang, who is 174 PUBLIC SPIRIT OF WEALTHY CHINESE. said to have expended 3000 dollars on the building. His public spirit and liberality have been emulated by another wealthy Chinese, named Fung, who has amassed an immense fortune by his junks trading in the Eastern Ocean, and now resides at a little dis- tance from the city, at a place called Tze-ke. There he seeks to enjoy the comforts and splendour of wealth, and the more substantial luxury of doing good, in the Chinese estimate of the matter, by re- pairing temples, beautifying public buildings, and mending the roads in the vicinity. The pagoda is more than 100 feet in height, and is ascended by deep steps, ninety-two in number, to the uppermost story, above which it is roofed over on the top. The priest, who was completely deaf, seemed to possess no respect in the minds of the surrounding crowd. The Gospel of St. John and the Epistle of St. James were left with him, as a memorial of our visit. Nothing can be more humiliating than the general condition of these men, who by their poverty, by the absence of the means of an honest livelihood, or by being sold in infancy, have become attached to the monastic institutions. We proceeded thence to visit the hwui-hwui tang, or Mahomedan temple, in Woo-se, near the famous lake in the interior of the city. The building was not extensive, but had an air of peculiar neatness. Some flowers and shrubs were tastefully arranged in the principal court, into which two or three dwellings opened, the mosque itself (if it may be dignified with such a name) occupying the upper end of the court, and being slightly raised. The old priest, a man of fine intelligent appearance and lively manners, received me MAHOMEDAN MOSQUE. 175 and my teacher with great politeness. The Mahome- dans are a small body, having come to Ningpo from the province of Shantung about 200 years ago, and they now number only about sixty-seven persons of all ages and both sexes. They are Mongul Tartars by descent, and are engaged principally in trade. Some of them are employed as writers in the public offices ; and there are also a few soldiers among their number. The old priest was a native of Shantung, having been sent for thence to Ningpo, forty years ago, according to the custom of supplying the priesthood, on a vacancy, from their original province. After we had taken some tea together, and made an exchange of some trifling presents, he sent his grandson to bring some Arabic books and portions of the Koran, which he appeared to read with great fluency. His knowledge of geogra- phical names exceeded that of the generality of Chinese to be met with in the north of China. He mentioned the countries in which his religion pre- vailed, among which he named Bokhara, Madras, Turkey, and several places in Arabia. We adjourned into the temple, which was written over with sacred sentences from the Koran, and had a little ark for the sacred books, with a moveable pulpit. I had pre- viously supplied him and another Mahomedan with one of the Gospels and Epistles in Chinese ; but was surprised to find, on asking the priest to read some Chinese inscriptions in the temple, that he was unable to decipher a single character, though he speaks the language very well, and has been during forty years a resident in Ningpo. He mentioned Nanking as the place where the professors of Mahomedanism are most numerous, computing them, at that place, to 176 RETURN-VISIT OF A MAIIOMEDAN PRIEST. exceed 20,000. On my return, I took a walk around the Woo-se lake and its fine assemblage of public buildings. A cool, refreshing breeze rippled its sur- face ; and the comparative quietude of the spot, and the open spaciousness of the scene, after the close noisy streets through which we had been borne, im- parted a soothing influence to the mind. On the next day, Fung, the Mahomedan priest, re- turned my visit. One of his Mahomedan friends had lately come from Shantung, and brought thence three small Tartar horses for sale. His friend was thinking of proceeding with them to Chusan, and the old man wished to have my advice on the expediency of this course, and the probability of finding a purchaser among the English residents. I suggested to him that the approaching evacuation of Chusan by the British troops, at the end of the Chinese year, was likely to increase the difficulty of sale. We afterwards had some conversation on more general topics, which I was enabled to carry on by the help of my teacher, Le seen-sang, and by the slow enunciation of the priest himself. He spoke of the great strictness of his sect in abstaining from intoxica- ting liquors, and said he was invested with the power of inflicting corporal chastisement on any of his people addicted to intemperance. He next dwelt on the fre- quent religious ablutions which they practised, and which he seemed to regard as a mark of their devout- ness. To this it was replied, that Christians did not neglect outward washings, but that the object of the Gospel was to cleanse the inward man ; and that if the heart were right, outward conduct would be right. On my stating that all men were naturally possessed TOPICS OF CONVERSATION. 177 of wicked hearts, and quoting the beginning of the San- tze-king,for the purpose of denying the truth of its state- ment, that " man's disposition at the commencement is originally good," the priest and my teacher both ex- claimed, in their surprise, " How can a little child be wicked !" I proceeded to instance the truth of my assertion, in the proneness of children to anger, even in infancy, and their increasing wickedness with their increasing years. How then (I asked) could the heart be made good ? How could sin be forgiven ? Jesus could effect both, and the worshipper of Jesus became happy. The old man spoke of the zeal of his sect against idolatry, and their breaking of images when- ever they had the power. He asked if we had any images, and expressed his satisfaction with my reply. Once or twice he said, that as the holy day of Chris- tians differed only in being two days later in each week from the holy day of Mahomedans, our religions were almost the same ; a statement of which I could not avoid as often denying the truth. He took an oppor- tunity of ridiculing the ignorance and hypocrisy of the Budhist monks, and rose from his seat to mimic their uplifted hands, closed eyes, muttered sounds, and fre- quent prostrations. As he left me he said something about Peh-to-lo (Peter), of which I could not gather the meaning, but considered it to refer to the Teen- choo-keaou, or Roman Catholics. In reply to my in- quiries, I was informed there were not more than two or three of that sect in Ningpo. My teacher thought that there were more than that number, who clandes- tinely worshipped the Lord of Heaven, but were afraid of persecution. A few days afterwards, as I was sitting at the Mis- N J78 ROMAN-CATHOLIC PATIENT. sionary Hospital, conducted on a small scale within the north gate of the city, a man presented himself for medical treatment, who had come from the neigh- bouring town of Tze-ke, and whom we discovered to be a Roman-Catholic. He had a small medal sus- pended from his neck, which, in reply to our question, he plainly said he worshipped. The medal was about the size of a farthing, and had on one side a represen- tation of the cross, with the Roman letter M (Mary), instead of the usual letters I H S. On the reverse was an image of the Virgin, surrounded by some Chi- nese characters. CHAPTER XIII. EXCURSION INTO THE INTERIOR. PERSONAL ADVENTURES ON THE JOURNEY RURAL SCENERY ARRIVAL AT THE BUDHIST MONASTERY OF TEEN-TUNG VISIT TO THE ABBOT LIBRARY RELIGIOUS HOPES OF BUDH1SM NEIGHBOURING VILLAGES AND OUT-TEMPLES BUDHIST ROSARY A VILLAGE SCHOOLMASTER RETURN TO NINGPO THE "CHING-WANG-MEAOU" TEMPLES IN HO- NOUR OF CONFUCIUS VISITS TO A SIAMESE VESSEL. THE increasing violence of the heat produced in me such debilitating effects, that, on July 30th, I availed myself of the kindness of a friend, who accompanied me to a cool retreat on the hills, about twenty-one miles distant, where there was a large Budhist Monas- tery. The regulations established at Ningpo re- specting the boundaries are those of locality and not of time. The scene of our intended visit c was com- prised within the limits of the district, in which foreigners are permitted to roam ; so that we were not restricted by any necessity of returning to Ningpo within any given day, or even any number of days. We set out at 8 P.M., in a boat covered over on the top. After proceeding up the river on the eastern side of the city, about half a mile, we were detained some time at a barrier separating the river from a canal, which we had to enter. Here we landed, and remained on the bank, while six Chinese were N2 180 PERSONAL ADVENTURES ON THE JOURNEY. engaged in slowly winding round, by means of a clumsily-contrived capstan, the rope which was at- tached to the boat. In this manner they gradually drew it up over an inclined plane, from the top of which it was easily launched, by its own weight, two or three feet into the canal on the other side. On the whole, it was a good substitute for a lock. The clamour and scolding of our men, who assisted in hauling our boat the next few miles, effectually pre- vented our obtaining any rest from sleep. The bridges were numerous, and at not a few of them our impe- tuous haulers, heedless of the vociferating cautions of the boatmen, brought our mast into contact with the arch, and precipitated both the mast and the towing- line into the water. At one point we were hailed by some soldiers at a watch-station, when our boy held up my companion's lantern, inscribed with his title and office, as a proof of our respectability, and we were allowed to pass on. About 1 A.M. we arrived at the terminus of the canal, from which our route lay over the hills. We had to wait for two hours till chair-bearers and luggage-carriers could be procured, at this unseasonable hour of the night, from a neigh- bouring village. At last, after marshalling our retinue of followers in a long shed, in which was a strange idol of some female divinity, we set out for our desti- nation, the woodland hills of Teen-Tung. Our chairs were very simple contrivances, consisting merely of two bamboo-poles, joined together by a small cross- pole at either end and in the middle. A small board, suspended by two pieces of cord from the central part, answered the purpose of a seat; and a cross-stick, similarly suspended still lower before it, served as a RURAL SCENERY. 181 rest for the feet. The cross-pole, which connected the bamboos in the middle of their length, answered also the purpose of a rest for the back. We set out on our ascent over the hills, each of us borne on the shoulders of two sturdy Chinese villagers on these simple vehi- cles, which enabled us to see the country and to catch the breeze. For about three miles our path lay over a beautiful country, as far as we could catch a glimpse of its general features by the star-light, leading us by a gradual ascent to the top of a high hill. On one side was an old half-dilapidated pagoda, and on the other a Budhist temple, with three priests. The bell of the latter was sounding for their idolatrous matins, as we halted to rest in an adjoining building, which served as a public place of rest. From this point we descended along a causeway, which was regularly paved, and divided into steps to facilitate the descent. On either side, as the approach of dawn enabled us to gain a clearer view of the country, the hills, covered with coppices of bamboo and fir-trees, bore, in many parts, the appearance of an English rural scene. Two miles of valley stretched before us from the bottom of the hill, containing little village homesteads, with a rivulet here and there murmuring in its passage over the pebbly channel. Rice-fields occupied the space between the hills on our right and left, little temples, ancestral tombs, and arches, lending also a variety to the scene. At the end of the valley we entered a long winding avenue of tall trees, which cast their sombre shade around us, preparing our mind for the mystic retreats which superstition here holds out, in all the stillness of solitude, to its votaries. On three sides, lofty hills, clad with verdant foliage to their summit 182 BUDHIST MONASTERY AT TEEN-TUNG. hemmed in the view. Fish-ponds on the left, covered with water-lilies and lotus-flowers, found an outlet for their pent-up waters in a little cascade on the right. A deep ravine intimated the violence with which this mountain-torrent, at certain seasons of the year, rolls down its impetuous waters. The trees were some of them nearly two feet in diameter ; and were in some places occupied by an idol, for the reception of which an opening had been made into the bark. Suddenly the beautiful assemblage of temples, in all their ro- mantic novelty, burst upon our view, with the gaudily- painted roofs, and fantastically-carved ridges. We passed over the large outer approach, with its spa- cious piece of water, into the principal entrance, from which courts in succession opened before us into other quadrangles of temples. After exploring the various parts of the monastery in the hope of finding suitable quarters, we at length fixed our lodging in a couple of rooms usually set apart for visitors, into which our luggage was promptly conveyed. We had not been there many minutes before we were waited on by a mmiber of the priests in succes- sion, to congratulate us on our arrival, and possibly to congratulate themselves on the probable addition to their perquisites. After a temporary rest, we went to pay our respects to the abbot, who received us with great politeness, and invited us to be seated. As we came upon him unexpectedly, he watched for an opportunity of slipping out of the room, and soon returned with a more dignified priestly robe. He told us that he was fifty-four years of age, and a native of one of the distant provinces ; that the monastery over which he presided was founded in the time of INTERVIEW WITH THE ABBOT. 183 the Chin dynasty ; and that the abbot was elected every three years. He asked me my age and my country. In reference to the latter, he first asked me if I was a Spaniard. He then inquired if I was an English Mandarin ; and on my replying in the nega- tive, asked me my object in coming to China. I told him that I had come as a chuen keaou, or " propagator of religion." He then asked me if I came to China as a chuen hwui-hwui keaou, or " propagator of the Maho- medan religion." On my saying that I came to pro- pagate the religion of Jesus, he again, after a little consideration, inquired if my religion was the same as the teen-choo keaou, or " religion of the Lord of Heaven." After his curiosity had in some degree been satisfied, the abbot, in his turn, replied to my inquiry respecting the origin and object of this mo- nastic institution. He said that it was founded in order that people might retire thither and make their hearts good. I told him that our religious doctrines could make a man's heart good, and begged him to accept some of our sacred books. He received some tracts, and a copy of one of the gospels. I presented him also with a Christian Almanac, containing several maps, which furnished a theme of great interest, and led me to explain to him the relative sites of Britain and America, and the extensive possessions of the former in different parts of the world. Before the close of our interview, the abbot assented, with appa- rent readiness, to the proposal of my coming to reside some time in the monastery before the end of the summer. After leaving the abbot's apartments, we proceeded to make a more minute survey of the different parts 184 LIBRARY. of the monastery. In one of the courts, a number of men were engaged in drying in the sun many hundred volumes of books. Near this place we observed the library ; and in a little room close by we met a soli- tary student, who was so absorbed in his subject, that he only took a glance at us for a few moments, and then pursued his studies, so as to be again apparently lost to a consciousness of external things. More than a hundred priests dwell in the temple. The greater portion of these monks are either brought to the temple in childhood, by their needy relatives, or have been driven to find an asylum within its walls, by their poverty or crime, in later years. The priests themselves acknowledged to me that this was often the case. One old priest, above eighty years of age, told me that those priests, who came from a dis- tance, had almost invariably fled from their home on account of crime. Here these wretched specimens of humanity live together in idleness. No community of interest, no ties of social life, no objects of generous ambition, beyond the satisfying of those wants which bind them to the cloister, help to diversify the mono- tonous current of their daily life. Separated by a broad line of demarkation from the rest of society and bound by vows to a life of celibacy and asceti- cism, they are cut off from the ordinary enjoyments of one world, without any well-founded hope of a better life. The greater part of these wretched men saunter about with an idiotic smile and vacant look, and appear little removed in intellect above the animal creation. Only a few seem raised by mental culture above the generality, and exhibit a refinement of mind and manner. It is probable that some of RELIGIOUS HOPES OF BUDHISM. 185 these have been driven to seek solace in this retreat from the sorrows of life, or from the anguish of re- morse. By means of self-righteous asceticism they hope to be delivered from the grosser elements which form the compound being, man ; and to be assimi- lated to, and at length finally absorbed into, the im- material substance of the holy Budh. For this pur- pose they abstain from animal food, and repeat their daily routine of O-me-tofuh, till the requisite amount of purity and merit has been gained, and the more devout are enabled to revel in the imaginary paradise of absorption, or, in other words, of annihilation. This is the grand hope of Budhism : this is the only stimulus to present exertion which it offers. The material part of man is to be purged away ; and, after transmigration through certain stages of animal life, more or less numerous in proportion to the guilt or merit of the individual, the soul is at last taken into the deity, and becomes a part of Budh himself. How glorious, in the contrast with such meagre hopes, are the substantial realities which the Gospel reveals ! 1 John iii. 1 3. In the evening we proceeded, in chairs, about three miles across the fields, and over some of the woods, to a temple called Seaou Teen-Tung. This, and some other temples which we visited, were out-stations of the monastery, with a few resident priests, who had their daily allowance from the mother institution. In one of them we were shown the burial-place of the seve- ral abbots of the monastery. In every place which we visited the priests brought us some peculiar tea, grown in the neighbourhood, of a rare and expensive kind. They were very anxious to cultivate an acquaintance. 186 VILLAGES AND OUT-TEMPLES. and to receive books. The scenery of the country over which we returned to the monastery was very picturesque. Little hills and valleys alternately suc- ceeded each other, with their busy population quietly pursuing, on all sides, their work of daily toil. At every point the inmates of each house, male and female, old and young, ran out to see the strangers, and, in most instances, welcomed us with good-natured smiles. In one place the path was so narrow and precipitous, that one false step of the bearers, or breaking of the bamboo-poles which supported our weight, would have thrown us above one hundred feet into the ravine below. We arrived at our lodging in the monastery, having every reason to be pleased with the population and the beautiful scenery of the villages which we had explored. At an early hour on the next morning, the abbot and the superintending priest from Seaou Teen-Tung returned our call, and sat for some time with us, till they discovered that we had not yet taken our morn- ing meal ; when they left, with many apologies for their early intrusion. In the course of the day one of the priests, who wore a rosary, which attracted my no- tice, in a very gracious manner presented it to me. Being afterwards afraid that he should receive no pre- sent from me in return, beyond the books I gave him, he paid me a visit at a later hour of the day, and exhi- bited many symptoms of anxiety. He told my boy that it had cost him 1000 cash, and had been purchased at Nanking. One little priest, about nine years old, seemed to be a pet of the abbot. He looked forward, with ardent expectation, 'to the age of sixteen, when he would have his head entirely shaven, and be A VILLAGE SCHOOLMASTER. 187 inducted into the full privileges of the priesthood. He soon began to attach himself to our party ; and, as he possessed much vivacity and intelligence, we had him continually with us, deeming it necessary, how- ever, to keep a good watch over any articles of our property within his reach, which he begged for most importunately. Before the sun was high, we took a morning ride, in our chairs, to the neighbouring village of Teen- tung-keae. We sat some time in a school, among master and pupils. The former took from a box a European print, for us to examine, which he seemed highly to prize. The drawing was a representation of the Prince Consort of the British Queen. The seen- sang said that it was an Englishman who had given him the picture which he so much valued ; and beyond this he had no knowledge of the donor. In the evening we set out on our return to the city of Ningpo. After two hours we arrived at the canal, and, embarking in our boat, reached the barrier which leads into the river at Ningpo about the hour of mid- night. Here we were delayed till sunrise by a strong gale of wind. Soon after daylight we left the boat, and proceeded in chairs through the military exer- cising-ground to a floating bridge of boats, over which we had to pass to the city. This bridge consisted of a series of long platforms, or stages, each resting on two boats, and joining, by a few moveable planks, to the next platform, similarly supported, forming alto- gether a distance of 150 yards across. After crossing this bridge, and passing along a street a few hundred yards in the suburbs, we entered the city by the 188 TEMPLES IN HONOUR OF CONFUCIUS. eastern gate ; and in a few minutes I arrived at my house. A few days after my return from Teen-Tung, I visited the Ching-wang meaou, the principal temple of the city, at which the Mandarins are accustomed, at the commencement and in the middle of each month, to assemble for a formal invocation of the tutelary divinities of the place. The idols were exquisitely adorned, and the various courts, into which I was suc- cessively ushered, gave an air of splendour to these establishments. This temple, as also the two temples of Confucius, to which I thence directed my course, had a large space of ground attached, with ornamental ponds and bridges. A few venerable Chinese were sitting in various parts of these retreats from busy life, apparently absorbed in the recollection of by- gone years. In the lesser temple of Confucius a num- ber of tablets, in trios, were hung round the principal hall, in place of the usual triads of idols. The only image was that of Confucius, which represented the sage as a man of venerable aspect, with white hair and flowing beard, wearing a square black cap, and holding in his hand a small wooden tablet, which was inscribed with some mystic characters. A pot of incense-ashes lay before the image, the remains of some recent offering. In the larger of the temples, devoted to the memory of the sage, which was situated near the Salt Gate, no image of any kind was to be seen. About this time I paid occasional visits to a Siamese junk lying in the river, off the east gate of the city. On my boarding her, several groups of Chi- VISITS TO A SIAMESE JUNK. 189 nese were observed, chiefly engaged in gambling and smoking. The vessel had three masts, and a spacious poop, with a cabin below, into which I was conducted. The captain and supercargo were the only Siamese connected with the vessel, which was said to belong to the king of Siam, though manned by Chinese sailors. The two Siamese were on shore when I visited the vessel. The cargo consisted of Brazil wood for dyeing, cocoa-nuts, and the general produce of the Straits of Malacca. At the end of the cabin, an altar, gaily decked out with gilt ornaments, furnished an instance of the widely-extended empire of super- stition. At the period of my last visit, before em- barking for Chusan, I took with me a carefully- assorted package of tracts, which I hoped might even- tually find their way to the kingdom of Siam. On my appearing on the deck, two Chinese were engaged in folding some gilt paper into the shape of Sycee bul- lion, and making other preparations for offerings to an idol placed before the poop. I proceeded to the work of distribution, and found several able and will- ing at once to peruse the books. The two Chinese soon began to beat gongs, and to burn the gilt paper before the idol, which was a signal for the whole crew to assemble on the spot. After the completion of some superstitious observances, they separated into little groups, for their principal meal, in different parts of the deck. The principal gong-beater pa- tiently bore the interruption caused by my remon- strance, while his whole manner showed, amid this outward display of offerings, how feeble was the real hold of idolatry on his mind. On many such occa- sions, the entire absence of any indication of anger 190 INFLUENCE OF IDOLATRY. at having their prejudices shocked by a solitary foreigner could not but leave the general impression, that it is the force of custom, rather than a sense of the supernatural, which renders the practice of ido- latry popular among the Chinese. CHAPTER XIV. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF NINGPO. TOPOGRAPHY LOCAL MAGISTRATES SYSTEM OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT DISGRACE AND RUIN OF FORMER MANDARINS EFFECTS OF THE BRITISH WAR ON RULERS AND PEOPLE ATTEMPT OF THE CHINESE TO RECAPTURE THE CITY LITE- RARY REPUTATION OF NINGPO PRIVILEGES OF SCHOLARS NATIVE PRODUCTS AND EMPLOYMENTS OF INHABITANTS FORMER SPLENDOUR OF THE PLACE FACILITIES AS A MISSIONARY STATION CLIMATE MORAL CONDITION OF PEOPLE RECAPITULATION. IT may be convenient in this place to subjoin a general description of the city of Ningpo, and the character of its inhabitants, to the irregular accounts to be gathered from the preceding journal. Ningpo is situated in north latitude 29 55', and in east longi- tude 121 22' ; and contained, in former times, a Euro- pean factory, which was brought to a termination by the violent excesses of the foreigners, and the growing jealousy of the Chinese. It is the capital city of a foo or department of that name, and is situated in the province of Che-keang, of which the principal city is Hang- chow, distant about eighty miles in a north-west direction. At the latter place the governor of the province resides, who is subordi- nate to the tsung-tuh or viceroy of the united pro- vinces of Che-keang and Fokeen. Foo-chow, the 192 LOCAL MAGISTRATES. capital of the latter province, is the seat of the vice- regal government. Thus three of the five consular ports in China, viz. Ningpo in Che-keang, and Foo- chow and Amoy in Fokeen, are comprised in the government of the same viceroy. The local govern- ment of Ningpo consists of a taou-tai, who, at the pre- sent time, is a Mandarin of the third rank, and a native of Nanking, named Ching che-ke. His govern- ment may, for convenience of terms, be denominated a prefecture, and includes, in addition to the depart- ment of Ningpo, those also of Shaou-hing and Tai- chew, situated respectively about sixty miles to the west and south of Ningpo. The second magistrate in importance and power is the che-foo, whose authority extends over the depart- ment of Ningpo alone. The present che-foo is Le shoo-ling, a native of Shantung province, and an officer of the fourth class. Each foo or department, also, is subdivided into a certain number of keen or minor districts, each of which is governed by a sub- ordinate municipal officer named the che-heen. This officer has two co-adjutors or deputies, respectively called the tso-tang and yew-tang (literally, the "left hall" and the "right hall"); the former being superior, and occupying the hall on the left side of the courts of justice, which side is the place of honour among the Chinese. As the department of Ningpo contains six districts, there are, in addition to the che-heen or district-magistrate of Ningpo Proper, those also of Tze-ke, Fung-fava, Teang-san, Chin-hai, and Ting-hai the capital of Chusan. The present che-heen of Ningpo is a native of Fokeen, and an officer of the fifth class, named Yih-kwan. So complete in all its detailed DISGRACE OF FORMER RULERS. 193 ramifications is the organization of police, which 3000 years of national cohesion have consolidated into the present system. The civil Mandarins are never pro- moted to the government of a district of which they are natives. They can seldom speak the dialect of the place which they govern, and are compelled, therefore, to employ an interpreter. From this diversity of local dialects has arisen the general pre- valence of the dialect of the imperial capital, as the common medium of intercourse between the officers of government throughout the Empire. The nominal stipend of the Mandarins is small, and has given rise to many abuses in the existence of bribes and extor- tions, by which they contrive to raise themselves to a scale of affluence commensurate with their rank.* Many of them are, nevertheless, poor, and the furniture of their houses is generally of an inexpensive kind. The events of the British war brought disgrace and ruin on the Mandarins who were then in power. The deposed taou-tai, Loo ta-laou-yay, was with difficulty * Stipends of Mandarins, according to information derived from two independent sources. I. A LITERARY TEACHER, A SEW-TSA1 II. A CHINESE GENTLEMAN NAMED ADVANCED. tsung-tuh. . 1 2,000 taels a year 10,000 8000 5000 3000 . foo-yuen. taou-tai . che-foo. . . che-heen. CHANG. taou-tai. che-foo . . che-heen . 500 taels a month .250 .150 A tael is equal to about 6s. 3d. sterling. The above probably includes some fees in addition to stipend actually paid from the Government. Making an allowance for the difference in the value of money, we may regard the highest stipend as equal to ^10,000 a-year in England. O 194 CHARACTER OF PEOPLE. saved from capital punishment by the petition of the inhabitants, and was appointed, after degradation from all his honours and emoluments, to assist the present taou-tai in his civic duties. He is, however, slowly re- covering the imperial favour, has been already partially restored to his former honours, and is likely to become the che-heen of Ting-hai, on the cession of Chusan by the British. The deposed che-foo, Shoo laou-yay, has not been so fortunate. He has been deprived of all his honours, and is compelled, as a penalty for his cowar- dice in fleeing from the city on the approach of the British troops, to serve in the subordinate post of superintendant of the repairs of the city wall. The deposed che-heen, Hwang laou-yay, was still more severely punished, being banished into the cold coun- try in hopeless exile. The character of the inhabitants is a favourable specimen of the Chinese population. In their inter- course with foreigners they generally evince a re- spectful and friendly manner. It is, however, palpably evident, to the most cursory observer, that fear is the principal feeling which influences them in their de- meanour towards the Western strangers. Between the consular officers and the civic magistrates there has hitherto existed but little intercourse. This doubtless arises, in some degree, from the fact, that the Consu- late is situated outside the city, and on the opposite side of the river ; so that natural impediments exist to the frequent intercourse which exists in some of the other consular cities of China. The events of the late war also entailed so much disaster on the native authorities, that their successors appear to make it their grand aim to prevent a recurrence of hostilities, ATTEMPT TO RECAPTURE THE CITY. 195 by seeking to avoid, as much as possible, all opportu- nities of intercourse and occasions of collision with foreigners. The people seem to entertain similar feelings, and to regard the British as persons who are not to be dealt with on the ordinary rules of social in- tercourse, but to be disarmed of their formidable cha- racter by the arts of management and adroitness. It is not strange that this feeling has been excited, so detri- mental to an exalted estimate of our civilization. The city suffered but, little on its first capture, in 1841, by the troops, as no resistance was offered. The attempt to regain the city, by a sudden assault on the British of a large body of Chinese troops, changed the whole aspect of affairs. In the dead of night they attacked the British sentries at the west gate, and in large numbers scaled the adjacent wall. This unexpected attack, however, brought a destructive carnage on the assailants, and was the occasion of inflicting on the city the rigorous measures of war, which the captors had hitherto relaxed. The slaughter on this occasion was immense ; and an eye-witness relates, that, in the principal narrow street adjoining the scene of attack, piles of dead were heaped one upon another from the sweeping destruction of a grape-shot cannonade. After this time the terms of occupation were more severe. A per-centage was levied on the estimated value of property in the city, which was spared the horrors of an indiscriminate sacking. In spite of these adverse circumstances, the people are rapidly recovering from their panic ; and a kind word from a foreigner is gene- rally sufficient to ensure for him a friendly reception. In no part of China are the people apparently more alive to the influence of kindness. It is easy for a 02 196 LITERARY REPUTATION. European living amongst them, and acting with but a common degree of forbearance, to overcome prejudice, and gradually to win a favourable opinion for himself. Ningpo has the reputation of being the finest city on the coast of China open to foreigners. Nor does it enjoy an inconsiderable celebrity among the Chinese themselves, who regard it as one of the most literary cities in the empire, and inferior only to Soo-chow and Hang-chow in the refinement and taste of the people. An intelligent native scholar gave me the following statistical information respecting the various classes of inhabitants, which compose the population of Ningpo. Of the people included within the city walls, he estimated four-fifths to be engaged in trade, merchandize, or labour. On the other hand, no less a proportion than one-fifth were calculated as be- longing to the literary class. This, however, not only included the graduates and candidates for literary promotion, but also the writers and clerks in the public offices. The successful aspirants to degrees are invested with important civil privileges, being subject, in most cases of a municipal nature, to the literary chancellor of the province, to whom they can appeal from the lower officers of Government, so as to enjoy a prescriptive right, which may, without danger of misapprehension, be termed " the benefit of clergy." In cases, also, of oppression in their neighbourhood, a memorial signed by the literary graduates exerts a considerable influence in rectifying abuses. A case of this kind recently occurred at Ningpo, in which a native, after being unjustly sub- jected to examination by torture, on suspicion of theft, was released on the petition of four keu-jin of the POPULATION. .197 district, through whose influence the offending police were severely punished by the superior officers. Of the population in the suburbs, and on the level plain extending to the hills, six parts out of ten are esti- mated as deriving their livelihood from agriculture ; three parts as artisans of various kinds ; and the remaining tenth as consisting of fishermen and boat- men. The manufacture of carpets and mats furnishes employment to a large proportion of the people. The female part of the population are employed, to a considerable extent, in weaving cloth. If the state- ment which was once made by the present taou-tai be correct, that in Ningpo there are 100,000 houses and shops assessed in taxes to the Government, even a moderate calculation must raise the number of the population to nearly 400,000 persons. This, however, will be considered a very large estimate, when the extent of ground actually covered with buildings is considered. The city is surrounded by a wall of about five miles in circuitj through which there are six gates opening into the suburbs, or upon the river. They are named respectively the North, West, South, Spiritual Bridge, East and Salt Gates, and have guard-stations erected over them for soldiers. In some parts of the city a considerable space of ground is occupied by gardens and tombs. The latter are covered with shrubs and various species of the melon- tribe, which give a rural appearance to such localities within the walls. In the city there is an unusually large proportion of temples and of spacious private buildings. The breadth, also, and cleanliness of the principal streets give a favourable impression of the wealth and rank of the inhabitants. The comparative 198 DECAY OF NINGPO. facility, however, with which houses can be rented within the city by foreigners, the decay of many of the buildings, and the non-occupation of others, furnish a proof that the city is rapidly losing its former splen- dour and consequence. It is still a place of impor- tance, and has a considerable trade with Hang- chow and Soo-chow in the interior. It has a large maritime trade, also, with the province of Fokeen and the island of Formosa, from both of which sugar and rice are imported. There is also an extensive trade with the province of Shantung. There are about 3000 soldiers in the city, of whom 800 are cavalry. The greater part, however, of these consists of a local militia. All the civil Mandarins are of Chinese descent ; two of the military commandants being the only Manchow Tartars in authority. As a Missionary Station, Ningpo possesses inde- pendent advantages, which exist only in a modified degree at each of the other cities open to foreigners. Considered even in itself, and apart from connexion with other places, it presents a field of a peculiarly inviting character. Possessing a climate which, as at Shanghai, is subject to extremes of cold and heat the range of the thermometer extending from above 100 to as low as 8 or 10 below the freezing point, in the different seasons of the year it nevertheless affords a reasonable prospect of salubrity to a European con- stitution of ordinary physical strength. The character of the people is such as their ignorance of the sanc- tions and holy precepts of the Bible would lead us to expect. The standard of morality is very low. There is a general disregard of truth and honesty in all cases in which the means of concealment exist. They MORAL CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. 199 are, however, a kind, peaceable, and friendly people. In circumstances of extraordinary provocation, their quarrels seldom extend to personal violence ; and the simple food on which they subsist, together with the almost universal absence of intoxication, renders them, even in the absence of religion, a gentle and orderly population. As sensual pleasure presents itself as the summit of human enjoyment to their minds, and money furnishes its .possessor with a command over the ordinary sources of sensual gratification, the dol- lars of the foreigner will be, as they ever have been, the great temptation, against which the integrity of the natives is too weak to stand. A foreigner, who avoids the appearance of being wealthy, is safe among them. Their ideas, however, of the correlative condi- tions of poverty and wealth differ considerably from our own. It is particularly necessary as, for obvious reasons, in other parts of the world, so, also, especially in China that the establishment and domestic expen- diture of Missionary families should be rigidly econo- mical ; and that every thing be avoided which is calculated to impress the natives with the wealth of the strangers. Amongst a people, to whom a few dollars are a great possession, it will be impossible for any class of Europeans to appear otherwise than rich, in the absence of the ordinary means of procuring a subsis- tence. Independently of the temptations arising from the poverty of the people, the most unbounded confi- dence may be placed in them. A foreigner may, in the ordinary circumstances of peace, stray alone several miles into the country around Ningpo ; and although curiosity may occasionally collect a throng, yet of gra- tuitous cruelty and treacherous malice the people in 200 MISSIONARY ASPECT. these parts evince no symptoms. They have some- times suffered from the overbearing conduct of indi- vidual foreigners. But the writer of these pages can state it to be his unvarying experience, that a kind word ever found a ready response from the natural feelings of the people. As a Missionary mingles with the good-humoured villagers of these more northern provinces, or holds intercourse with the more intelli- gent inhabitants of the cities, he, cannot but feel that the feeble philosophy of the natural man has here achieved some of its highest conquests, as far as its limited power can avail, in the absence of the sanc- tifying grace of the gospel. It is, however, a sad counterpart to this picture, to reflect that the people are living only for this world, without one defined idea of the future. Their prospects are bounded by the narrow horizon of this life. Beyond the grave, every thing with them is unthought of, unknown, and uncared for. Here, however, the Missionary of the cross has ready means of access to a people, who are free from most of the usual disquieting and contami- nating influences of a large European trade and an extensive influx of foreigners. When the local dialect has been acquired, there lies before him a bound- less field of daily Missionary work among an intel- ligent and well-disposed class of hearers. The boundary regulations are favourable, foreigners being permitted, without restriction as to time, to visit, or even reside, in any part of the keen or district of Ningpo. This extends on the south-west more than fifty miles, and on the south-east includes, within the limits of the port, a portion of the sea-coast, and the woodland hills of Teen - tung. In other 11ECAPITULATION. 201 directions, the boundaries vary from five to sixteen miles. The advantages of Ningpo may be summed up in a few words of recapitulation. I. It affords a promising sphere of quiet Missionary work among a superior population, in one of the finest and largest cities of the empire, without the deterio- rating influences of an extensive trade with foreigners. II. It presents peculiar facilities for the planting of out-stations, and for making periodical visits in the surrounding country, as the growing exigencies of the Mission may hereafter render expedient. CHAPTER XV. VISIT TO THE ISLAND OF CHUSAN, AND FURTHER INCIDENTS AT NINGPO. VISIT TO THE ISLAND OF CHUSAN CITY OF TING-HAI INTER- VIEW WITH A ROMISH PADRE SIMILARITY BETWEEN POPISH AND BUDHISTIC CEREMONIES TRADITIONARY ORIGIN OF BONZES RETURN TO NINGPO ANNUAL OFFERINGS TO DEPARTED SPIRITS TEMPORARY ABODE IN A TAOUIST MONASTERY TAOUIST LAY-BROTHER FEMALE WORSHIP- PERS TAOUIST ABBOT AND PRIESTS CHINESE GARDEN AND ARTIFICIAL GROUNDS VISIT TO A NATIVE DOCTOR MAHOMEDAN SHOPKEEPER APPLICATION OF OPIUM-SMOKERS FOR MEDICINE VISIT TO A BUDHIST NUNNERY A NATIVE PAWNBROKER VISIT TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE TAOU-TAI CEREMONY OF RECEPTION A CHINESE ENTERTAINMENT TOPICS OF CONVERSATION VISIT TO THE DEPOSED TAOU-TAI HIS PUBLIC INTEGRITY AND MISFORTUNES. ON August 12th I embarked, at sunset, with a Mis- sionary friend and his wife for Chusan, in a native boat. We proceeded with the ebb-tide down the river before a moderate breeze, which at length died away, so that, at 11 P.M., we had to anchor for the night at the mouth of the river, off the city of Chin-hai. At daybreak the next morning we weighed anchor, and after tacking about for some hours, the wind being unfavourable, we arrived among the numerous islands which form the harbour of Chusan, and came to anchor among a little fleet of about 200 junks and boats. On my landing shortly after, I was hospitably VISIT TO CHUSAN. 203 received by a military friend, in whose house I re- mained during the whole time of my visit. The immediate object of my coming to Chusan was to try the effects of a change of air, and to obtain addi- tional medical advice. The weakness of my health con- sequently prevented my making any visits to the dis- tant parts of the island. I had, however, an opportunity of exploring, in a boat, some of the neighbouring islets and creeks, and of admiring the beautiful blending of bold mountainous scenery with the signs of fertility, which everywhere met the eye. The hills were co- vered with a loamy sandy soil, which., although scanty and shallow, yielded an abundant return to the indus- try of the cultivator. Hedge-rows, of regular form, rose one above another up the hill- sides, and sepa- rated the different crops which luxuriated on their bosom. There was, however, something very unna- tural in the appearance of European barracks and sentries of the red coats and muskets of British soldiers of the sable countenances and pliant limbs of the Indian sepoys and of the gay accoutrements of the military officers which stood out in bold relief from the general Chinese features of the island, and reminded the beholder that the flag of British law was waving over this Oriental spot. The people seemed resigned to a foreign rule ; and their merry counte- nances told how light was the burden of political care which settled on their minds. Every gate of the city, and several of the principal buildings, were occupied by sepoys, who, inferior to their British companions in arms, seemed to delight in the idea of their own superiority to the Chinese, and in occasional freaks of overbearing conduct. In addition to the 204 INTERVIEW WITH A ROMISH PADRE. Indian troops quartered in the city, nearly a thousand European soldiers were located in the barracks, distant about a mile, and adjoining the beach. The interme- diate space between the sea and the city of Ting-haiis occupied by rice-fields, which are, in certain seasons of the year, covered with water to the depth of six inches, and give a marshy appearance to the soil. Before my departure from Chusan I was introduced to M. Danicourt, a Roman-Catholic Missionary, with whom I had some lengthened conversation. He had been for ten years a professor of Latin in the Romish College at Macao, from which place he came to Chusan three years ago. In addition to his Missionary work, he was employed as a political agent of the French Government. According to the information supplied to me by M. Danicourt, the Roman-Catholic Missionaries in China are supported, in part only, by European re- sources. In former times there was a fund instituted by Louis XIV. for the propagation of Christianity, from which the Missionaries in China received their entire support. But the troubles of the French Revo- lution, and the spoliation of the Romish Church by Napoleon, had been the means of abolishing this endowment. The Society for the Propagation of the Faith, formed twenty-three years ago, endeavoured to supply the loss by an annual grant of 100 dollars to each Missionary in China. This sum M. Danicourt considered to be, under ordinary circumstances, suffi- cient, as each Missionary itinerated in the interior from place to place, visiting and instructing the Ro- man-Catholic converts, in whose families he was a temporary guest. M. Danicourt said that at Chusan SIMILARITY BETWEEN POPERY AND BUDHISM. 205 he had found this sum insufficient, on account of the expenses of his chapel, to which, however, the Roman- Catholic soldiers had assisted in contributing. He professed to number twenty-five native converts in Chusan, exclusive of two Chinese Missionaries resi- dent in the island. In the course of his conversation, he stated that the Roman-Catholic Missionaries felt much dissatisfaction with the Chinese Government, on account of the attempt to conceal the recent edict in favour of Christianity from the people in the interior, who were still exposed to vexation on account of their religion. The edict of toleration was so unexpected a departure from the antiquated policy of the Govern- ment, and so plain a proof of the growing influence of foreigners, that it is not extraordinary that the Chinese rulers have for the present refrained from giving general publicity to the document. M. Danicourt's opinion of the Mandarins and of the common people seemed not to be very high. Of the latter he said that they were, amid all their blandness and good humour, very deceitful and covetous, and that {( money was their god." An honest Romanist priest must often be stumbled at the similarity between the religious forms of Popery and those of Budhism. The existence of monasteries and nunneries ; the celibacy, the tonsure, the flowing robes, and the peculiar caps, of the priesthood ; the burning of incense, the tinkling of bells, the rosaries of beads, the sacred candles on the altar-tables, the intonation of services, the prayers in an unknown tongue, purgatory, and the offerings for the dead in their temples ; and above all, the titles of their principal goddess, " the Queen of Heaven," and " Holy Mother," represented by the image of a woman 206 THE VIRGIN MARY AND THE IDOL KWAX-YIN. with a male child in her arms ; present features of mutual resemblance which must strike every candid mind.* Such a remarkable similarity of details, al- though it may facilitate a transition from Budhism to Popery, must occasionally give rise to perplexing com- parisons. This subject is sometimes regarded as so full of difficulties, that in former times a Romanist * The author is inclined to the opinion that all these details of similarity are purely accidental resemblances, with the exception of the titles of the Virgin given to their idol Kwan-yin, commonly called the " Goddess of Mercy." The hypothesis that some of the degenerate Nestorian Christians, who arrived in China in the seventh century of the Christian era, amalgamated with their faith and ceremonies the prevailing errors of China, and caused the priests of Budha to adopt many of their rites, is destitute of probability, and is disproved by the opposition of the Nestorian Christians to the worship of the Virgin on the arrival of the Portuguese in Southern India in the sixteenth century. A more probable hypothesis is, that, on the arrival of the Romish Missionaries in China, the Budhists, observing the similarity of the image of the Virgin Mary to their own idol the " goddess of Mercy," concluded that they were one and the same idol, and transferred the titles of " Holy Mother/' and " Queen of Heaven," to their own goddess Kwan-yin. This view of the question is supported by the following extract from a work on China by Sir John Davis, the present Governor of Hong Kong The Chinese at Canton, who are fond of finding parallels and resemblances of the kind, give the name of the Virgin (in conversing with Europeans) to their Budhist idol Kwan-yin ; and in the same way apply the name of Kwan-yin to the Romish idols of the Virgin. To every saint who has a Church at Macao they contrive to give a name, founded on some supposed analogy in their own idols. St. Anthony they call " the Fire God " There is nothing in the Catholic worship at that place, or in the character of the priests, that is calculated to give the Chinese a very exalted idea of this corruption of Christianity. In the former, they witness graven or molten images, proces- sions, tinkling of bells, candles, and incense, exactly resembling their own religious rites : in the latter, a number of ignorant and idle monks, professing celibacy, but with indifferent moral characters, shaving their heads and count- ing beads, very much after the fashion of the Budhist priests. ORIGIN OF BONZES. 207 Missionary declared, in the distress of his mind, that Budhism must have been the rival system and master- plot of Satan, to hinder the progress of the Christian faith. Whether M. Danicourt felt any perplexity in the matter, it was difficult to know. I was, however, inclined to suspect as much, from the abrupt transition with which he passed from previous topics of conver- sation to that of Budhism. His information was amusing, and confirmatory of some legends of which I had before heard. One of the ancient emperors of China had a re- markable dream, which caused him some anxiety and distress. He dreamt that he saw a man with a bow and two arrows, who was to accomplish strange things, and whom it was expedient to propitiate. Some interpreters of dreams were consulted, one of whom said that the man represented the character jin,J\^, the bow represented the character kung, IP^ ; and, with the addition of the two arrows, J| the whole symbol formed the character fuh, ^ or Budh, a new deity lately imported from India. Another division of the component parts of the character into the negative fuh, j^ on the right hand, andjin, y^a man on the left, gave the meaning, " not a man;' which corresponded also with another part of the dream, intimating his superhuman origin and power. The emperor then took measures for discovering the idol, and setting apart a number of priests to worship it. Hereupon a difficulty arose : the Chinese refused to become priests, objecting that such a course was opposed to the maxims of Confucius and the customs of the empire. Many submitted to capital punish- ment in preference to incurring the guilt of this im- piety. At last the emperor, in despair of finding 208 RETURN TO NINGPO. honest men willing to undertake the priesthood, made proposals to a number of felons, convicted of murder, robbery, and other crimes. The convicts were offered pardon, on condition of their entering the Budhist temples, and consecrating themselves to the idol's service in different parts of the country. In order to prevent their subsequent escape from the temples, they were compelled to shave their heads entirely. Being thus easily known, their re-capture and punish- ment would be facilitated. Such, according to M. Danicourt, was the tradition of the Chinese, confirmed by some of their old writings, respecting the origin and degradation of this wretched class of men. I left Chusan on August 22d, having experienced during my stay great kindness from the British resi- dents, which was doubly acceptable under the circum- stances of my visit. Embarking in a Chinese sailing- boat, with a fair wind and favourable tide, we made a rapid passage to Ningpo, in a little more than seven hours. During the first two nights after my return to Ningpo, I could get but little sleep amid the con- tinued sound of drums, gongs, and flutes, caused by the superstitious observances prevalent among the people on the occasion of the fang yen Jcow. This is the term used to denote the ceremonies performed in the seventh month of the Chinese year, on behalf of departed spirits, in order to rescue them from the Budhist purgatory. The rites are explained as having originated in the supposed misery and poverty, in the spiritual world, of such persons as had left behind no surviving offspring or relatives to make the accus- tomed offerings of gilt money and paper garments to their manes. Lanterns are hung in all directions ; OFFERINGS TO DEPARTED SPIRITS. 209 platforms are erected and covered with provisions ; the hungry spirits are invited to partake of a repast ; and the people observe a kind of vigil. A general subscription of money is raised for the occasion ; and the sum contributed by my boy was a rupee, accord- ing to his own statement. The festival in honour of the completion of the official residence of the taou-tai, which had been rebuilt since the destruction of the public buildings in the late war, gave an additional eclat to the occasion. A Chinese gentleman in the neighbourhood had liberally supplied funds for the latter public work ; and was destined to receive, as his reward, advancement to the nominal rank of a Mandarin of the third class. This is the more deli- cate way in which public honours are now virtually put up for sale throughout the empire. The depraved class of Chinese, who had lately be- come tenants of the house adjoining my own, on a subsequent evening hired the attendance of some priests, who, for three or four dollars, devoted the whole evening to singing a number of dirges, on the occasion of the natal day of Te-wang, the prince of the infernal regions. At this period of the year popular superstition commemorates the release of many spirits from their prison below, and their temporary admis- sion into the upper regions, to receive the offerings of food, garments, and money. The melancholy chant- ings to the king of the infernal realms, and the of- ferings of food to the spirits of the dead, are supposed to possess the meritorious efficacy of propitiating the imaginary deity, and hastening the deliverance of their friends from destitution in the other world. On the latter occasion, I congratulated myself on their ter- minating the sound of the bells, gongs, and discor- 210 TEMPORARY ABODE IN -A TAOUIST MONASTERY. dant voices, at as early an hour as that of midnight. Cases of similar superstition are often to be seen on the occurrence of sickness in a family. The inmates commence beating drums and gongs, and set out a feast, in the superstitious belief that some deceased member of the family is starving in the world below, and that, in revenge of their neglect, his spirit has come to feed on the body of the sick person. Hence they seek, by the bribe of a feast, and the intimidation of sounds, to expel the unwelcome author of their calamity. The educated Chinese are often raised above the influence of these vulgar terrors ; but the empire of superstition is almost universal. On August 25th I went to reside for a few days with two Missionary friends lodging in the Taouist monastery, near the north gate of the city. The room which served as my dormitory adjoined a large hall, in which worship was wont to be paid by those persons who were ambitious of literary honours. In another part of the temple were situated the different halls, in which the gods of the seasons, and the numerous other divinities of the Taou sect, were enthroned. The only male worshipper whom I observed, on my first visit to the principal hall, was one of the lay-brothers of the Taou sect. They form an intermediate class between the Taouist monks and the common people, and are not bound to the observance of celibacy, or a monas- tic life. The lay-brother was engaged in hurrying through a repetition of senseless words, and beating time on a hollow, ornamented sounding-board. He did not, however, seem to experience any devotional feeling; as, on my entrance, he arose, welcoming me with polite bowings, but continuing his recitations. The lay-brothers seek to make themselves perfect in TAOUIST WORSHIPPERS, ABBOT, AND MONKS. 211 the repetition of these forms, till they have obtained sufficient knowledge to qualify them for travelling in the neighbourhood, and hiring out their services on the various superstitious occasions, which may occur in private families. A friend of the lay-brother was waiting near, and followed us about the temple pre- cincts, offering many civilities, some of which betrayed the avaricious spirit by which he was influenced. The few women, who were worshipping when I entered, belonged to a superior class, being arrayed in beautiful dresses, and attended by their ammahs. As soon as I made my appearance, they affected great modesty, and, with half-turned faces and half-sup- pressed smiles, quietly took their departure, with as much haste as their tottering steps and limping gait permitted. During the five days of my residence in the temple, no Chinese were observed to come for worship to the quadrangle, in which our apartments lay. Sometimes, in the other portions of the temple, the gongs and monotonous voices of the priests were to be heard. Every morning, in an opposite garden, an old woman made her appearance outside her cottage, kneeling and uttering her customary number of formal repetitions, with loud and impassioned voice. The Taouist abbot was advanced in years, and his fierce and irascible temper had been somewhat sub- dued by the infirmities of age. Both the abbot and the priests were very desirous of cultivating our acquaintance, and sometimes rendered themselves unwelcome visitors to our apartments by the length of time during which they remained. The Taouist monks are less numerous, and appear to be less diligent in their superstitious observances, than the 212 CHINESE GARDEN AND ARTIFICIAL GROUNDS. Budhist monks. They also seem to be in better repute with the literary class. The principal mark by which they may be distinguished from the Bonzes, is the peculiar tuft into which their hair is bound on the crown of the head. On August 28th I was accompanied by a friend on a visit to the flower-garden of Kang laou-yay, a gentleman of great wealth. He had realized a large fortune in the monopoly of salt, which he purchased, on speculation, from the Government. The payment for the monopoly is made to the Government in taels of silver; and the money received for the sale of salt, from the people, is paid in copper cash. But as silver is very scarce at the present time, and the copper cash is proportionably depreciated in value, the salt monopoly has been, of late, a source of great loss to the mono- polists, and some of the wealthiest salt-merchants have been reduced from affluence to comparative indigence. Kang, however, still retained some proofs of wealth, in the general taste and arrangements of his garden, the variety of his plants and flowers, and the expensive furniture of the rooms through which we passed. The imitation of rocks and caverns, though on a small scale, had a pretty and pleasing effect. At the end of a little pond, covered with the lotus-flower, there stood a large cage, containing a fine stork, which the tradition of the family stated to be above a hundred years old. The old gentleman himself was above eighty years of age, and was very deaf. He told us of the recent visit of an Englishman, who had begged so importunately for a rare flower which he possessed, that, though it cost him ten dollars, he had presented it to the foreigner. He seemed to be very dissatisfied VISIT TO A NATIVE DOCTOR. 213 with the return-present of a microscope, which, though a liberal recompense, he termed " a very little thing." As we were sitting together, a number of Chinese ladies were looking through a window from the adjoining room. The slightest glance in that direction was sufficient to cause them to disperse on either side of the apartment, till curiosity led them to brave another view of our foreign features, even at the expense of Chinese etiquette. After our departure from the mansion of Kang laou-yay, we paid our respects to a medical prac- titioner, named Chang, who resided on the opposite side of the same street. Among the various inscrip- tions and specimens of Chinese caligraphy, which adorned the rooms in which we sat, was a scroll which announced that the doctor possessed the re- quisite skill for healing a hundred diseases. In the British war he acted as a spy, and was the bearer of several semi-official messages from the Mandarins at Ningpo to the British at Chusan. He rendered some services to the latter, and contracted an acquaintance with several English gentlemen, whose letters and cards he showed satisfaction in exhibiting. The old man had, however, shared the usual lot of such persons, and was slighted both by the English, who resisted his rude acts of inquisitiveness, and by the Chinese, who regarded his patriotism with suspicion. His medical practice was not of a lucrative kind, if a judgment might be formed from the signs of straitened income apparent in his house. His peculiar department of Chinese surgery was acupuncture, by which he professed an ability to perform cures for rheumatism and similar diseases. At the time of our 214 MAHOMEDAN SHOPKEEPER. visit he was eking out his scanty means of subsistence by instructing three pupils, who were present in the room with us. Finding that I wished to visit Foo- chow before the close of the year, and that I ex- perienced much difficulty in obtaining a European vessel bound for that port, he was very urgent in advising me to go in a Fokeen junk, and volunteered himself to accompany me as a protector. He pro- posed that I should proceed from Foo-chow, in Chinese costume, by an overland route to Amoy, and volunteered his aid in effecting such an arrangement. As we returned to the monastery, we entered, for a few minutes, the shop of a native of Shantung, whom we discovered to be a Mahomedan, and though able to speak Chinese, to be ignorant of the written cha- racter. The whole sect appear to devote their studies exclusively to their own sacred language, the Arabic. His bold features, prominent nose, and restless eye, confirmed the fact of the distinct origin of this de- scendant of Ishmael. I always felt a sympathy with the poor dispersed disciples of Islam in this pagan wild, and regarded their denunciation of idols, and their worship of one God, as a comparative approxi- mation to our own religion in the midst of a people enslaved either by superstition or by atheism. It was a source of continual regret to my mind, that their ignorance of the Chinese written character prevented their deriving instruction from our Christian publica- tions. Aug. 3Qth The houses of the foreign community at Ningpo being situated principally in the little suburb, on the opposite side of the river, I had frequent occasion to hire the services of some Chinese boatmen OPIUM-MEDICINE BUDHIST NUNNERY. 215 to take me across the river in their ferry-boats. On this and the preceding evenings, as I crossed the river, the boatmen urgently begged me to give them some medicine for curing them of the effects of smoking opium. The poor wretches betrayed, by their haggard looks and sickly countenances, the dreadful ravages which the indulgence of this destructive habit had produced on their constitution. They said that they were poor ; and, pointing to their tattered rai- ment and emaciated limbs, implored me to give them the required medicine, which they had heard that my countrymen possessed. They appeared to be im- patient of any delay, and requested me to fix a day for them to call at my house and receive the medicine. My boy told them the place of my abode, and I after- wards wrote a note, containing a recommendation of their case to a medical Missionary, who, by tonics and other remedies, endeavours to invigorate the constitu- tion against the prostrating effects on the nervous system, produced by the disuse of the long-accus- tomed stimulus. On Sept. 2d I went with a friend to visit the nun- nery adjoining my house, dedicated to the Budhist " Queen of Heaven " or " Goddess of Mercy." The literal translation of her latter title, " hearing the cries of the world" indicates the presence of more amiable attributes than most of their popular deities are repre- sented as possessing. Six nuns resided within the building, supported by an endowment and occasional gifts from worshippers. We remained about an hour, during which the old abbess served to us some sweet- meats and fruits, which she placed before us with her own hands, selecting the kinds which she deemed 216 A NATIVE PAWNBROKER. most palatable. For this we afterwards had to make a present, which the feast was a delicate way of ex- torting from us. The nuns were generally women of coarse manners and unprepossessing appearance. The abbess possessed a masculine spirit, and from time to time issued some command to five or six servant-men in the court, some of whom were engaged in cleaning raw cotton, and others in making garments. There were also two little nuns, of about four or five years of age, who enjoyed one compensation for their dedi- cation to the temple-service, in being permitted to possess feet of the natural size and growth. The dress of the nuns was very like that of a Budhist monk, their heads being entirely shaven, and their principal garment consisting of a loose flowing robe. The abbess wore a black silk cap over her crown, in the centre of which was a hole, through which her bare head was perceptible. As she dangled her rosary of beads on her arm, she made many in- quiries about an English Missionary, who, about two years ago, lodged for a month in the nunnery. At this time there were a few Chinese lodging in the building, such institutions being frequently converted to the purposes of an hotel. On our return through the Tung-mun-keae, we were engaged for some time in a pawnbroker's shop, in examining some articles of curiosity, which had found their way into his possession. Among these was an old bell, about a hundred pounds in weight, and having a large number of Chinese characters beautifully engraven on it. It gave a tolerably har- monious and agreeable sound, and had been brought hither to be pawned from a Budhist nunnery, in the VISIT TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE TAOU-TAI. 217 neigbouring town of Tze-ke. There was also an- other article pawned from the same institution, an idol of the goddess of mercy, made of bronze, and about ten inches in height. This he wanted to sell for two dollars and a half. It is scarcely possible to stroll into the adjacent streets without meeting conti- nual indications of the real scepticism and atheism of the Chinese, amid all their apparent deference to the religious customs of their country. On Sept. 3d I went with some friends to visit the principal Mandarin in Ningpo, usually styled the taou-tai. Due notice had been given some hours pre- viously, and there were circumstances attending our visit, which insured a polite reception from his Excel- lency. We were borne in chairs along the streets to the ya-mun, or public offices, in which the taou-tai was then residing. As we approached the large folding- doors, leading into the first of a number of spacious courts, a gong was struck, which was immediately answered by other gongs and a bell from within. At the same time, a native piper commenced playing a noisy air, accompanied by a kind of cymbal, to do honour to us as we passed. As door opened within door, we saw signs of bustle and activity among the numerous attendants, till our sedan-chairs were set down on a pavement at the bottom of a little flight of steps leading into a vestibule. Here the great man, Ching ta jin, descended to welcome us ; and after a good deal of bowing and other salutations, we were conducted to a reception-hall, where we were invited to take our seats. But preliminary matters of etiquette had to be settled, which occupied some time. The taou-tai would not occupy the highest seat on the left 218 RECEPTION CURIOSITY OF SERVANTS. side, the place of honour; and the members of our little party affected like humility. One pressed the other, and tried to lead him into the uppermost seat, which gentle attempt the other as gently resisted. Under ordinary circumstances this would have been fatiguing ; but in the excessive heat of the summer it was doubly irksome : and matters were at last abruptly brought to a satisfactory adjustment by one of our party coolly occupying the highest seat, and thus ter- minating the debate. One of our friends was a fluent speaker of Chinese, and acted as our spokesman. The taou-tai's cap of authority, which was ornamented with the usual knob or button of a light blue colour, indi- cating his rank as being of the third of the nine orders of Mandarins, was now taken from his head, and handed to an attendant, who placed it in a conspicuous part of the room. Soon after, another servant came at his bidding to assist in removing his upper garment of blue silk ; and as, notwithstanding the heat, we had paid his Excellency the compliment of appearing in woollen coats, we gladly availed ourselves of his invi- tation to put off the incumbrance, and sat during the rest of our visit in our shirt-sleeves. The room did not afford the signs of any great wealth in the pro- prietor, the furniture being simple and substantial, rather than elegant. A number of servants were standing outside, and sometimes, in their eagerness to see and listen, pressed around the door. A wave of the hand from their master once or twice seemed to remove them to a little distance on either side. But when he subsequently sat so as to have his back to- wards them, they quietly returned, and their number was increased by the addition of several others eager LITERARY DEGREE CHINESE ENTERTAINMENT. 219 to satisfy their curiosity. After we had taken tea, the signs of preparation for a morning collation were ap- parent in the various dishes brought and set out on a table in the centre of the room. On the announce- ment being made that all was ready, the same cere- mony and delay as to precedence took place. The taou-tai took his seat at the lowest end of the table. As our meal proceeded, he reverted to former topics, especially to our literary degrees. As I had been in- troduced as a literary teacher, he now inquired what literary degree in my own country I had attained. My friend very inconsiderately replied that I was the same as a tsin-sze, i. e. the second of the four Chinese literary degrees, to which Chin ta jin had himself at- tained. The taou-tai then commenced congratulating me on the felicity of my lot in getting literary promo- tion at so early an age. He proceeded to take a strict survey of my physiognomy, and made some remarks on my personal appearance. At last, fortunately for our preservation of gravity, the conversation was led to the subject of literary examinations and degrees in China, on which he was very lengthened in his obser- vations. Meanwhile we endeavoured to do honour to the dishes, which in rapid succession were placed before us, our host helping us from each dish with the chop- sticks with which he himself was eating. A kind of spirit, distilled from rice, was poured out into small cups and saucers and placed before us. Deference had been paid to our foreign palates, and, in addition to the usual routine of Chinese dainties, small slices of ham, beef, duck, and fowl were served on the table. Plovers' eggs, nuts, sweetmeats, formed also portions of 220 TOPICS OF CONVERSATION. our repast. Our host continually watched our saucers, and replenished them from time to time with what he deemed the choicest morsels. Once or twice we ven- tured to act on our own choice, and to taste some of the unknown dishes ; but we quickly came to the de- cision that it was better to trust to his selection. At last we were tired with the number of dishes, which one after another made their appearance. But it was to no purpose that he was informed that we had eaten a sufficient quantity. He begged to assure us that the repast would soon be over ; and our apologies for occasioning him so much expense only made him in- sist more rigorously on our remaining till the end. During this time an animated discussion took place on the subject of foreign customs. He again reverted to the subject of my literary degree, and inquired my family name. This was altered to suit the Chinese sounds, and written Sze-mei. He then asked my per- sonal name, which he tried in vain to pronounce, say- ing it took four Chinese characters to write it. He made several ineffectual attempts to catch the sound George, changing it to Jih-ah-le-jih. At last, in despair of mastering the outlandish sounds, he ceased from the attempt, and, falling back into his large chair, gave a hearty prolonged laugh. Then he inquired of my friend respecting the koo-wan, or ancient classical lite- rature of our country. This led to his being informed of the gradual improvement of our native tongue the comparatively recent date of English literature the stores of ancient learning imported from Greece and Rome the prevalence of Latin as the general me- dium of communication between the literati of Europe and the different races who successively peopled DEPARTURE. Britain. To all these topics he listened with atten- tion, bringing frequent illustrations from similar events in the history of China. He afterwards inquired about some European country, by a name which we had never before heard. On our further listening to his pronunciation of the word, we discovered the name to be a strange combination of sounds, intended for Denmark. Afterwards the current of topics flowed to America and its twenty-six States ; the separation of the United States from Britain in the last century ; their common descent and language ; their commer- cial rivalry and political emulation ; the number of annual emigrants from Britain to America ; the pro- cess of clearing away forests and preparing the soil for cultivation ; the enterprising character of Ameri- can merchants ; and the political supremacy of Bri- tain. He made some inquiries respecting the causes of emigration, and of the willingness of the British merchants to come to so distant a country as China. He continually responded, sometimes giving a hearty laugh, and not in the slightest degree affecting an appearance of gravity. He mentioned his having been formerly sent on a special mission by the Chi- nese Government to the country of Mongolia, and spoke of the cold temperature and the forests as pro- bably resembling those of America. At length, after many unavailing attempts to rise from the table, which he as often prevented, we were enabled to make preparations for our departure. During our stay of more than an hour, he showed us the usual marks of politeness and courtesy. As his jurisdiction extended over three of the eleven depart- ments, into which the province of Che-keang is 222 VISIT TO THE DEPOSED TAOU-TAI. divided, he was an officer of some consequence, and ruled a territory as large as Scotland. He was appa- rently about fifty-six years of age, and his manners were commanding and graceful. In spite of our re- monstrance, he insisted on accompanying us to our sedans, and we took our departure with the same ceremony, and amid the same noise of piping and gongs, as greeted us on our entrance. Our next visit was to the deposed taou-tai, Loo ta- laou-yay. We passed through a long covered area, filled with tables and benches, which, in my ignorance, I conjectured to be intended for some public feast. I soon, however, ascertained that this was the literary examination-hall, where 900 candidates for the sew-tsai degree could be accommodated at one time with seats and materials for writing their themes. At the other end was situated the temporary but elegant apartments assigned to the disgraced officer. He received us with smiles of good-humoured politeness, and with at least the semblance of cordiality. Here how different a scene lay before us ! The cloud of sorrow which saddened his features, and the dark gloom which hovered over his spirits, proclaimed the misfortunes of the deposed ruler, whose hand, in the golden hour of prosperity, all would have hastened to greet ; but who now, beneath the frown of imperial displeasure, was condemned to assume the cares, without the honours or emoluments, of civic authority. His only crime was the love of life. On the approach of a conquer- ing enemy, he joined in the universal flight of the citizens. Not being a military Mandarin, he could have offered no successful resistance by awaiting the national foe. Nevertheless, in the judgment of the HIS MISFORTUNES AND MERITS. 223 Emperor, he ought to have fallen at his post ; and in order to deter the Mandarins from a similar betrayal of their trust, Loo ta-laou-yay had been stript of his rank and office, and, amid a band of faithful attendants, mourned in secret over his humiliation and fall. He wore a knob of white, the decoration of the sixth class of Mandarins, having, since the peace, been restored to a portion of his former honours. His age exceeded sixty years, and his form stooped a little beneath the weight of his afflictions. He is reported to pos- sess private wealth, and to be no longer desirous of restoration to political power, which, however, the approaching cession of Chusan by the British is said to render probable. He was greatly superior to the ruling taou-tai in knowledge and intelligence ; and tried to look cheerful in the animated conversation which ensued. His laugh, however, was less hearty, and his manner possessed less of vivacity. His pri- vate worth and public integrity may be inferred from the petition of the inhabitants, by whose exer- tions alone he was released from impending capital punishment. The eight years of gratuitous service, imposed on him by the Emperor, were nearly half accomplished ; and his probable restoration, after this probation, to his former office would be hailed with universal satisfaction by the people. The Im- perial Government of China is fickle in its bestowal of favours, and severe in its infliction of penalties. Old Loo is therefore perhaps more happy in his present position than in the dangerous elevation of magisterial power. Here most of the scenes recurred which took place at the taou-tai's. A luncheon was again set out, of which we partook for the sake of 224 CONVERSATION CALAMITIES OF THE LATE WAR. civility. Every five minutes an attendant brought a water-pipe, through the gurgling tube of which Loo inhaled the fumes of tobacco, emitting them from his mouth and nostrils with ludicrous composure. The only thing, that ruffled the calm serenity of his coun- tenance, was our inexperience in the use of the chop- sticks. He entered into conversation on the topic of foreign coinage, and the mode of assaying silver, in gathering the particulars of which, as well as the re- lative value of the several kinds of dollars, he was very particular. The mention of Mexican and Peru- vian dollars led to the subject of Spain and her early conquests in South America. Beyond the occasional recollection of names, both he and the taou-tai seemed to possess scarcely any geographical knowledge of Western nations. All appeared to them one great wild of unknown regions ; and they seemed to remem- ber only a few names of countries, strangely altered and adapted to the monosyllabic poverty of the Chi- nese language. We passed an hour very pleasantly with Loo ta-laou-yay. He attended us, with the usual marks of civility, to our chairs on our departure. Here I felt, in much of their sad reality, the evils of war, and the calamities which it inflicts. The country of the men, whom he now honoured as his guests, had been the occasion of his ruin and disgrace. The outward show of respect, with which he received our visit, must have been utterly at variance with the in- ward feelings of his heart. The cases of individual suffering, which the British war has inflicted on many thousands of innocent victims in the Central Provinces of China, render the precious boon of Christianity a debt doubly due from Britain to this benighted land. CHAPTER XVI. SECOND EXCURSION TO TEEN-TUNG. ANIMATED APPEARANCE OF COUNTRY ANCESTRAL TEMPLES CONTRIBUTIONS TO A BAG FOR IDOLS CHINESE AGRICUL- TURE GRATUITOUS TRAVELLERS* REST DRAGON-BOATS BUDHIST VIGILS IN MONASTERY EXPLORATORY VISIT TO DISTANT VILLAGES ILLITERATE PRIESTS INQUIRING SPIRIT OF A TEA-FARMER FRIENDLINESS OF THE ABBOT HOSPI- TALITY OF THE VILLAGERS GRACE TO AN IDOL PROCESS OF CONSULTING THE IDOLS ASCENT OF THE " TAE-PIH-SAN " RIDGE ENTERTAINMENT BY A CHINESE GENTLEMAN RE- TURN TO NINGPO. THE heat at Ningpo being still very oppressive, I was again under the necessity of seeking a cooler tem- perature, in the hilly region which skirts the plain of Ningpo. Accordingly, on September 15th I set out on my second visit to the monastery of Teen-tung, accompanied only by my Chinese boy. I was carried in a chair, about a mile and a half through the city, to a retired part of the eastern suburbs. Here, on a little lake, entirely surrounded by shops and warehouses, was the boat which was engaged to convey me and my boy, with a few articles of provision, towards our place of destination. As soon as I made my appear- ance, the boatman became excited, and was quickly involved in a quarrel with my boy. On discovering that the boat was hired to convey a foreigner, the Q 226 ANCESTRAL TEMPLES. boatman wanted to raise the sum agreed upon between him and my boy some hours before, when no men- tion had been made by the latter that his master was a foreigner. A long and angry altercation ensued be- tween them, and a crowd was soon attracted towards the spot in which we were. To a person unacquainted with the Chinese temperament, the danger of a serious personal encounter between them would have ap- peared imminent ; but their excited gestures and impassioned tones were carefully restrained within the limits of caution, and no assault was committed. As soon as this preliminary difficulty was overcome, we proceeded along the canal, amidst a multitude of boats laden with people, who were bringing vegetables and provisions to market. These canals are the only mode of transit, for heavy commodities, from one part of the country to another. About a mile from the city the country begins to assume a very pretty ap- pearance, and to the native mind presents many asso- ciations of interest and awe in the multitude of tombs, which enshrine the remains of their forefathers. We passed a number of sze tang, or "ancestral halls," some of which belonged respectively to the Cheang, the Woo, the E, the Ju, and the Sze families. These various clans reside within the city, and have a com- mon right to the ancestral halls, in which the tablets, commemorative of their departed ancestors, are ranged in order according to their generations. Little temples continually succeeded each other every mile, with two or three Bonzes sauntering about the en- trance. A bag, fastened to a long pole, so as to reach to the boats which were passing by, was held out from some of the temples, in order to receive the offerings CONTRIBUTIONS TO IDOLS CHINESE AGRICULTURE. 227 of the devout. Every boat contributed a few copper coins to the sacred bag for the idol, on receiving which the agents of the institution commenced sound- ing a gong, by way of celebrating their offerings. In each of the bags I deposited, as my gift, a few Chris- tian books on the sin of worshipping idols. The peo- ple in the suburbs were very desirous of receiving books, and followed the boat some time after I ceased from distributing them. One man, in his anxiety to catch a book, lost his balance, and fell into the canal. We soon passed from the suburbs into the open country, which was covered with crops of rice and other grain. But here agricultural scenes were some- what different from those in other lands. Instead of the fresh breezes of autumn, and the inhalations of the pure country air, the rice-fields and gardens gave forth most offensive odours, caused by the ma- nure with which the ripening crops were covered. Boats passed and re-passed, laden with this disa- greeable cargo. Not a particle of refuse is lost by this people, who place large jars and vessels in every corner of their villages to receive these seeds of fer- tility and wealth. It is by a system of manure and irrigation that the poorest soils are forced, year after year, to produce two annual crops, sustaining an amount of population which few other countries could, in their present state, support. The economy of soil everywhere perceptible, combined with the fact of the early age at which every person is married, give probability to the largest estimate of the population of China. As we approached the terminus of the canal, the usual signs of a village holiday were visible, in the Q 2 228 DRAGON-BOATS TRAVELLERS' REST. approach of two boats, which were either preparing for a race to contest their relative speed, or about to per- form some act of traditionary superstition. Each boat was manned by twenty men, who bore paddles gaudily ornamented with paint, and were decked out in a fancy costume, with colours and dress to distinguish their boats. A man stood upright beating a drum, to the time of which they adapted their strokes. The bridges were very numerous, and generally bore inscriptions, intimating the date of their erection. They were formed of steps projecting inwards one beyond another, so as to cause the sides of the bridges gradually to approach each other at the top. Large flat slabs of stone were laid across, forming the highest point of junction. Only one bridge, built with a regular arch, crossed the canal. Every three or four miles there was a building, in which travellers are permitted to rest, and tea is supplied gratuitously at the expense of some wealthy and benevolent indi- viduals. Some of the working-people were resting under the cool shade of these buildings, and refreshing themselves with this gratuitous beverage, as we passed in our boat. The benevolent supporters of these institutions find their reward in the respect entertained towards them during life, and in the honours paid to their memory after death. Lofty stone arches, with public inscriptions, testified in every hamlet the fre- quency of such instances of liberality and worth. I landed at a little village near the terminus of the canal, and proceeded, in a chair, over the hills to the Budhist monastery at Teen-tung. About sun-set I was domiciled in some apartments, which I was per- mitted to appropriate to my use, in one of the BUDHIST VIGILS IN MONASTERY. 229 quadrangles of the monastery. My luggage was deposited in the inner room, in which I slept, leaving my boy to occupy the outer room. In the latter was a large idol, which brought us occasional visits from some of the worshippers. One of the earliest visitors was a priest, who, after lighting a few fragrant sticks and presenting them to the idol, bowed down before it, knocking his head three times against the ground. The frequent sounds of bells and gongs during the night deprived me of those peaceful slumbers, which I might have expected to obtain in a more favourable situation. These vigils of the Budhist monks were far from being calculated to soothe the mind. On such a spot, however, feelings of thankfulness were sometimes more vividly realized than elsewhere, at the remembrance of that grace which alone makes a Christian to differ from the heathen around him. Sept. \>th I was disturbed at an early hour by a priest groaning in the ante-room, and uttering doleful sounds, as he prostrated his body before the hideous idol, after re-lighting the perfume-sticks. I remon- strated with the poor creature, who, with a vacant stare, asked me whether there were no Budhist priests in my own country, and what idols we wor- shipped. I gave him a tract, which he was unable to read, and which I therefore received again. In the afternoon I passed through some of the lesser temples, in which a few priests were performing their customary mummeries. I was at length attracted to the principal temple, in which about thirty priests were engaged in celebrating the evening service. The abbot stood in the centre with his face towards a colossal idol, at the distance of a few yards. A 230 IDOLATROUS SERVICES. number of priests were marshalled in a row at a little distance on either side. At the tinkling of a bell they commenced a chant in slow time, and gradually increased in rapidity of utterance, as the quick beating of a hollow sounding-board led to an equally quick articulation of their unmeaning sounds, sometimes in a rehearsing, and at other times in a singing tone. Some of the priests, while repeating the sounds, secretly held out their hands towards me, making signs for some of the books which I carried under my arm. At length they all bowed down for some minutes before the idol, with their muffled faces on the ground. The sight of such an instance of delusion overcame all hesitation on my part ; and proceeding at once into the temple, I passed between the rows of priests, and placed a tract before each of them, as they lay on the pavement beating their heads. The tract contained a remonstrance against the sin of idolatry, and was written by a Chinese Christian, Leang Afa, himself a convert from idolatry. In the evening I proceeded to an out-temple distant a few hundred yards, where two priests were stationed. They appeared to take pleasure in exhibiting the ugly little idols, which were enshrined within the principal hall. As I remonstrated with them, in the presence of many other persons, on their folly in asking me to worship such senseless blocks, I proceeded to point to the idols with my umbrella ; whereupon the principal idol soon gave way to the force with which, in my carelessness, I poked its various parts. The whole assemblage burst into a loud laugh, on which I was emboldened to show how little the other idols could help themselves. As I EXPLORATORY VISIT TO DISTANT VILLAGES. 231 gave them a slight thrust they trembled, tottered, and tumbled from their thrones. The people again laughed heartily, as the priests tried for some time in vain to make one of the idols maintain its sitting posture, the fall having disordered its component parts. Thinking that this liberty might put their good humour to too severe a test, I became more serious in my manner, and spoke of the wrath of God on those who thus dishonour His name. The only intelligible reply which I received was, that it was the Chinese custom to worship idols. In an adjoining room were a number of pikes lying in different directions. With these the priests arm themselves in case of robbery or depredation on the bamboo-plantations, which are an important source of income to the monastery. Sept. llth I set out, in a chair, on a visit to a part of the country distant about five miles, and previously unexplored by Europeans. As I was leaving the monastery, I met some women, who were coming to the temple to worship the idols. I gave them a few books to take to their homes, which they were at first unwilling to receive, and requested to know how much money they were to pay for them. The first large village, through which I passed, had never before been visited by a Western foreigner, and I was conse- quently an object of eager curiosity to the old, and of unmingled terror to the young. As I was carried through the long street of the village, the child- ren on all sides hurried away, screaming with fright, to their mothers. In the police of this district, the principle of self-government seemed to be carried out in its fullest extent. In every place there were some elder men elected as the responsible 232 RECEPTION AMONG THE COUNTRY-PEOPLE. heads of the village. There was no Mandarin at any place nearer than Ningpo. The revenue was collected by a resident officer at each place, termed a te-paou, who, beyond the collection of the land-tax, possessed no authority, and received for his services about double a working-labourer's pay. The prin- cipal proprietor was a tea-grower, whose little farm lay on the adjoining hills. He was disappointed at my inability to give him a book, my stock being ex- hausted. One little group of men sought to obtain some tracts ; but on my testing the extent of their scholarship, I ascertained that not one of them could read. One of them, however, made a few unsuccessful attempts to guess at the sounds of the characters on the title-page. Many who asked for books were unable to pass this ordeal of reading the title-page, and showed disappointment at meeting with a conse- quent refusal of their request. At the top of one of the hills was a resting-place, with the usual appendage of an idol, under a long shed. An old preist, who had charge of the building, brought some tea, of which I partook. He endeavoured to raise himself in my estimation by telling me that his daughter was married to an Englishman. A by- stander hereupon whispered into my ear that the priest had sold his daughter for two or three hundred dollars. Before becoming priests, some of the monks have engaged in secular affairs, and brought up families of children ; the death of a wife being, in cases of poverty, sometimes an occasion of the husband retiring to a monastery for an easy subsistence. The furthest of the hills, to which I extended my visit, afforded a view of the sea from its summit. The INQUIRING SPIRIT OF A TEA-FARMER. 233 neighbouring hills were named the Yang-so san, the Hwang-ge san, the Woo-ge san, and the Pow-tai san. A number of rocky islets were dotted about at a little distance from the shore, and a few fishing-craft were in sight. A marine village lay beneath us, called the Yang-haou keae. Although I was at the distance of twenty-five miles from any other foreigner, the people were everywhere friendly, peaceable, and apparently pleased with my visit. I was dependent on the services of two Chinese chair-bearers, whom I had never seen but once before. The same civility was perceptible everywhere as I returned. In the evening, as I passed through one of the large temples by a shorter way, one of the priests, possessing more than a usual share of impudence, urged me to comply with the usual custom of making obeisance to the large idol. I remonstrated with him on the absurdity of his wishing me to worship a thing made of wood and stone. He slunk away half ashamed. A young priest, of about eighteen years of age, watched his exit, and, approaching me, said, probably with the view of ingratiating himself in my favour, Sze-mei seen-sang pai poo-suh puh haou teih, " Smith, teacher, it is a bad thing to worship idols." I gave him a tract ; but found again, to my disap- pointment, that he could not read, and was practically removed beyond the means of instruction. The tea-farmer, whom I met at the village of San- dang-dow, visited me the next morning, having come three miles to obtain the books which I promised him. His visiting card of pink paper bore the names, Jin ting-yuen, and he stated his age to be fifty-three years. He stated that his village consisted of about ninety 234 FRIENDLINESS OF THE ABBOT. houses, and that the inhabitants were engaged in agricultural pursuits, raising crops of rice, and a herb called teen-tsing, which is extensively used for dying blue. Neither wheat nor cotton was grown in the vicinity. Large quantities of green tea were also cultivated. He said that the annual sum paid by himself, in Government duties, amounted to seventy taels of silver, equivalent to about 23 sterling. He came attired in his best clothes, and invited me to pay their village another visit the same evening, and to take a meal at his house. Soon after his departure the abbot returned my call. He seemed in very good spirits, and not at all displeased with my recent irregularity in distribu- ting the tracts against idolatry among the priests while engaged in their temple-services. He was also disposed to acquiesce in my proposal, that a friend from Ningpo should be permitted to occupy a suite of rooms, either in the monastery, or in an out-temple situated at the head of a pretty valley, half-a-mile distant, on the consideration of his receiving payment to the amount of five dollars a month. On the pre- vious day he affected to make objections, on the ground of our killing fowls and other animals for food, which practice was contrary to the maxims of the Budhist religion. He now appeared to be perfectly reconciled to the project, and intimated that he did not object even to foreign ladies visiting the place as temporary inmates ; which intimation removed another serious difficulty in the way of my friend bringing his family hither for a change of air. He presented me with some of the sacred books of the Budhists, and after- wards took me to see some rooms, which he placed at HOSPITALITY OF VILLAGERS. 235 our service, having succeeded in effecting a compro- mise with his former scruples. In the evening I was carried to the village, three miles distant, to pay my friend the tea-farmer my pro- mised visit. One of the neighbouring peasants, called A-luh, who had attached himself to me as a chair-bearer and conductor, and was useful to me as an interpreter, being able to mingle a certain degree of the Mandarin dialect with the unintelligible patois of the district, proceeded to give me various items of information as we proceeded on our way. One of the facts commu- nicated to me by A-luh was to the effect that there were no robbers nor thieves in the neighbourhood, the people being very devout in worshipping idols. If this questionable plea of morality be admissible, it shows that idolatry exerts a moral check on the mind, and that superstition wields a greater power of re- straint over the fears of men than atheism. On my arrival at Jin's house I was surrounded by a number of his friends, who came to see the strange wonder of foreign features and a foreign garb. After handling my garments, and admiring the texture, with other similar outbreaks of curiosity, they showed some evi- dences of confidence in my good intentions, by bring- ing to me some sick persons, and especially those afflicted with diseases of the eye. I examined a few cases with sufficient attention to indicate my friendly interest, and then promised to write out the Chinese address of a medical Missionary friend at Ningpo, with a recommendation of their case for medical aid, in English. They asked how much money they were to pay ; and were delighted at receiving the promise of a general recommendation for any inhabitants of 236 APPLICATIONS FOR MEDICAL AID. their village, who might proceed to the city for gratuitous cure. Here A-luh in some measure incurred my displeasure by his unwillingness to in- terpret the full meaning of my words. I requested him to explain that my friend the physician was, like myself, a worshipper of Jesus, and wished to do them kindness, in compliance with the rules of our religion. A-luh would, however, only say that we were good men ; and though I urged him to explain the whole of my remarks, he continued heedless .of my solicitations, and persisted to the last in avoiding the literal phrase. He belonged to a poor oppressed hereditary class of bondsmen, known by the name of Do-be in the local dialect, to whom allusion will hereafter be made ; and perhaps his fears might have got the better of his general desire to please. As I was writing the re- commendations for medical aid, some cakes, tea, wine, and other provisions were served on a table, of which the master of the house and myself alone partook. On my asking whether I might live among them in the village, he replied in the affirmative, and offered me the use of an upper room in his own house. I asked if they were afraid of the Mandarins, or the te-paou; to which they replied that they were not afraid, and that the latter officer had no authority to interfere in such matters. They also said that they would welcome and treat kindly any of my friends, who would come to distribute books and speak to them concerning our doctrines. The Chinese are very lavish in promises and compliments ; but there was no reason for doubt- ing, in the present instance, the sincerity and cor- diality of their assurances. Before I returned to Teen-tung, my host took me GRACE TO AN IDOL. 237 by a winding path, overgrown with shrubs, along the side of a little hill to a retired spot, where there was a temple with its superintending monk. All the love- liest spots in these parts appeared to be appropriated to temples and monasteries. After taking tea with the priest, and leaving some books, I took my depar- ture towards Teen-tung. The friendly sounds of Sze- mei seen-sang and Sze-mei laou-yay greeted me from almost every little group of houses, and indicated the kind spirit with which they welcomed my visit among them. The principal regret which I felt was my in- ability to speak to them, except a few words through my refractory Mandarin-interpreter. Sept. 19th When taking a morning walk around the different squares of the monastery, I was attracted to the large dining-hall by the notes of preparation and the summons of the monks to their second meal at nine A. M. The abbot was seated at a table on a raised platform, occupied by himself alone. The rest sat at long tables on either side, and awaited in solemn silence the signal to commence. An attendant car- ried round a large vessel containing rice, from which the abbot, and afterwards the rest of the priests in turn, helped themselves. Another large vessel was carried round, from which some soup of most nauseous odour was served out in a ladle. They all continued absorbed in silence without beginning their meal ; while one of the priests, who ministered on the occasion, took a small portion of rice, and carried it outside the building, where he placed it very devoutly on a stone slab. After bowing reverently to it two or three times, he returned to the hall, on which the sparrows quickly made their appearance to devour the sacred 238 DISTINCTIONS OF MONASTIC RANK. morsels. When he had resumed his position in the centre of the hall, another priest began to tinkle a bell, whereupon they all commenced singing, in regular time, a prayer or grace to the idol, which oc- cupied about five minutes. At the conclusion of the prayer, they proceeded to partake of the meal before them, not a syllable being exchanged between any of the priests, all of whom appeared to be under the in- fluence of serious awe. At the conclusion of this scanty and unsavoury repast, they again, with uplifted palms, returned thanks, each priest rising and bowing to the idol as he left the hall. On making his exit, the abbot directed his steps towards the place where I had been a quiet spectator of their meal, and invited me to accompany him to a portion of the temple, oc- cupied for the present by a priest who had come to visit him from a distance, and to whom he wished to introduce me. All the priests rose, when the superior of the monastery made his appearance. There was evidently a difference of rank in the priests, some of whom were employed in menial offices, while others were better clad and secured a larger share of atten- tion. This probably originated in the fact of there being several distinct endowments of the monastery, the priests appearing to enjoy a degree of affluence proportioned to the nature of the foundation, to which they happened to belong. Most of them, however, appeared to be in deep poverty, and were willing to descend to any act of servility for the smallest sum of money. In the large temple at the entrance a number of women were occasionally assembled from the neigh- bouring villages to consult the hwui-do idol. This ASCENT OF THE TAE-PIH-SAN RIDGE. 239 divinity is said to have been originally imported from Siam, and is very generally consulted by traders, husbandmen, and mariners, previously to undertaking any business of importance. The worshippers burnt a few incense-sticks before the idol, and then took a round wooden case containing some tallies regularly numbered, which they waved over the fumes of sacred incense. After knocking their heads on the floor, they next proceeded to shake the wooden case till a tally dropped out. The process was repeated till a second fell from the case. Both tallies were taken to a priest sitting at a table near the entrance, who received a small fee, and gave in return two pieces of paper cor- responding in their numbers with those of the tallies. These slips contained a number of maxims and direc- tions on the various matters of daily life, from which their superstition or secret wishes led them to extract the response of the deity. In the afternoon I ascended the range of lofty hills known by the name Tae-pih-san. I was borne on the usual chair of two bamboo-poles joined together. In this manner my Chinese companions climbed, with much difficulty, the steep acclivity of the path, leading through a little forest of brush- wood for the first half mile, over which I proceeded, partly lifted and partly treading the ground with my feet from the chair. Our path was afterwards less impeded by shrubs ; but the ascent was at times so steep and rugged as to be attended with some degree of hazard. The Chinese, however, toiled on, and ascended hill after hill, separated from each other by alternate descents and sloping rises. At last we reached the summit, after an hour and a half's labour. None of my companions had ever before ascended to the 240 VIEW FROM THE SUMMIT. top, though born and educated in the neighbour- hood. Near the summit was a little well of cold water, dedicated, by popular superstition, to the tung- fiai lung-wang, " The Dragon-prince of the Eastern Ocean," whose idol, carved out of a rude half-finished stone, was almost concealed by the bushes. It was so overgrown with shrubs that it required some time to cut them away and open the idol to their view. Here two of the Chinese commenced worshipping and bowing their heads to the water in the well ; while the two others yielded to my remonstrances, and abstained from any open act of the kind. We remained about half an hour on the summit of the hill, which is esti- mated at about 3000 feet above the level of the sea. As these hills formed a part of the promontory called Ke-tow point, there was an extensive view of the sea on three sides. Over against us lay the beautiful island of Chusan, at the distance of thirty miles. On our left, the declining sun w r as now gilding with its softened rays the town of Chin-hai, which was partially concealed by the bold towering rocks at the entrance of the river. Further inland lay the city of Ningpo, almost concealed by a passing thunder-cloud, which was rolling its deep sounds in the valley beneath us. On the south-west we descried the Tung-woo, with its spacious waters inclosed between the granite hills, which environed it on all sides. My conductors brought me some leaves of the tea-shrub, w r hich was here growing wild, and invited me to chew them as a substitute for a better beverage. The taste was un- pleasant, and I could as easily have detected the flavour of tea in a number of gooseberry leaves. On our descent we returned, by a different route, to a spot about three miles from the place of our ascent. HOSPITALITY OF A CHINESE GENTLEMAN. 241 The hills lower down had large tracts of soil occupied by tea-plantations. In different parts, the rustics who were working in the fields anxiously inquired of my guides what were my objects in coming there, and where I had been. A few words seemed to relieve their anxiety, and we proceeded downward by the channel of a mountain-stream. At the bottom the stream enlarged its bed, and flowed through the valley into numerous canals, which diverged from each other, and intersected the country like hedge-rows in a European scene, serving as substitutes for roads in the transit of the produce of the land. I was taken to the principal man of the village into which we came, which was of a straggling form, containing at least 2000 people. He received me hospitably into his extensive abode, which consisted of buildings forming a square, and inclosing a court in the centre, after the manner of the better sort of Chinese dwell- ings. My host was a clothier and clothes' dyer, having several shops in the neighbourhood. He appeared to be a person of some wealth, and his ambition had risen proportionably with the increase of his possessions. He had lately purchased the nominal rank of a gold knob or button on his cap. I had not long been seated before some ducks' eggs and rice-cakes, with tea, were brought, of which the old gentleman and myself partook. He was very inquisitive, and A-luh volunteered to explain my objects and character, in the course of which he caused me some annoyance by saying that I was the same as an English Bonze or Budhist priest, hung-maou ho-shang, a comparison which my religious objects, my being unmarried, and my recent refusal to take some wine, probably led 242 RETURN TO THE CITY. him to make. This I contradicted at the time ; but on my afterwards reproving A-luh for his folly in comparing me to so wicked and ignorant a class of men, he affected innocence, and protested that he had been first asked the question whether I was such, and had merely denied the fact. Our path now lay over rice-fields, interspersed with tombs and monumental arches, if horizontal stones placed above perpendicular pillars can strictly merit the name. One tomb ex- ceeded the rest in beauty, having been erected to the memory of a Fokeen man named Hwang, who had come to open a trading hong at Ningpo, and died three years ago at a distance from his native province. He died in youth ; and, as a lucky place could not be purchased nearer to the city, was brought hither for interment, at the distance of twenty miles. We ar- rived at the monastery as it was growing dark, after an absence of five hours. Sept. 20th At daybreak I set out on my return for Ningpo, the people exchanging kind looks, and in many cases a farewell greeting, as I passed through their villages to the canal five or six miles distant. By mid-day I arrived at the city, after a disagreeable journey in the boat, from the heat and the dirty habits of the Chinese who were my fellow-passengers. At each of the different villages we took in a fresh set of noisy companions. CHAPTER XVII. CONCLUDING OCCURRENCES AT NINGPO, AND DEPARTURE FOR CHUSAN. ROMAN CATHOLICS IN NINGPO CHINESE MILITARY ARCHERY EBULLITION OF POPULAR ODIUM AGAINST THE NEW " CHE- HEEN " EFFECT OF READING THE NEW TESTAMENT ON A NATIVE MERCHANT REBELLION OF FUNG-KWA REPULSE OF TROOPS FINAL COMPROMISE A CLASS OF HEREDITARY BONDSMEN RELIGIOUS SERVICE REVIEW OF ACTUAL MISSIONARY LABOURS AT NINGPO ARRIVAL AT CHUSAN THE VISIT AND RECEPTION OF THE FRENCH EMBASSY CHRISTIAN SERVICES AMONG BRITISH TROOPS IN A BUDHIST TEMPLE. SEPT. 2lst During one of the occasional walks which I took into the streets near my house, in order to dis- tribute tracts, I entered into the house of an oil- merchant. He and his partners rose to welcome me, and one of them advanced to shake hands with me, after the English custom. As we sipped tea together, they asked me many questions ; and finding that this was our Sabbath-day, they quickly turned to the Christian Almanac, a copy of which had by some means found its way into their possession ; and after inspecting the calendar they confirmed my statement. One of them for some minutes read aloud a part of a tract which I had given them. Among other ques- tions, they asked me whether I was a Roman Catholic. They afterwards told me that there were only a very R 2 244 ROMAN CATHOLICS IN NINGPO. few Roman-Catholic natives in Ningpo, and that they principally belonged to the middle class of tradesmen. They also said that this sect secretly practised their religion, and at the same time worshipped idols, in order to escape detection, as the Mandarins would punish any person known to profess the teen-choo-keaou, " the religion of the Lord of Heaven." On the other hand, they said that the Mahomedans were more nu- merous, and were under no such danger or prohibi- tion, as several were to be found among the Mongol Tartars, and a few even among the Manchows. Sept. 22d The son of Doctor Chang paid me a visit, to convey to me a present from his father, and also to take me to see the military exercising, at the distance of about a mile. Under a shed, screened from the sun by some canvas, were seated two mili- tary subalterns, wearing white knobs on their caps. They were engaged in smoking and drinking tea from time to time ; while the soldiers came up in compa- nies of five, and, after answering to their names, shot six arrows each at a target about eighty yards distant. They wore a velvet cap, with a red silk tassel, similar to that generally worn by the higher classes of native gentry in winter. Their outer garment was a long flowing robe of blue cotton, reaching to the ankle, and fastened by a leather girdle around the waist. They had thick black boots, of a strong texture, reaching up the leg to the knee. After poising their frame, and throwing their body into various contortions, each of the soldiers deliberately took aim, and the arrow was propelled from their clumsy bow to the target. This consisted of a frame made of paper, about two yards in height and one in breadth. It had a white MILITARY ARCHERY. 245 mark about a yard in length and three inches in width, running down the centre, in which were three red bulls' eyes at a distance of six inches from each other. More than half the arrows struck the target, on which a drum was beaten to announce the successful hit. A few soldiers shot with remarkable skill, one man hitting the central bull's eye three times out of the first four arrows. One of the subalterns kept a check-book, in which he noted down, opposite each soldier's name, his number of marks, sometimes making observations or giving directions in a scolding tone to any soldier who shot badly. Some of them appeared to experience nervousness under the lecture, and the reproof invariably took away all remaining chance of the individual hitting the mark. One or two men, after a random-shot, were ordered off without finish- ing their number of arrows. A prize is given to the successful archer, and his promotion is thereby deter- mined. There are regular trials for military degrees, similar to the literary examinations for civil offices, with the same titles of sew-tsai, Jceu-jin, &c., which are determined by similar exercises in archery, gunnery, equestrianism, and other details of military duty. Promotion is dispensed accordingly, and the most aspiring may hope to rise in their profession. The appearance of these soldiers was far from being martial or military ; and the reflection that such as these were the defenders of the Celestial Empire from invasion and conquest, was calculated to provoke the most ridi- culous comparisons. The Chinese have, however, gained experience in the late war ; and by adopting an improvement in their gunpowder, and the addition of wheels and swivels to their cannon, they might, in 246 CHINESE SYSTEM OF MILITARY BREVETS. a future collision with a foreign power, offer a much more protracted resistance than in their past struggle with the British. Among the Tartar generals there exist unquestionably the highest chivalry and courage in defence of the Empire. But before the prowess and skill of the West they must finally bend in every con- flict, until they can overcome their reluctant scruples, and encourage the immigration and services of foreign engineers. The latter policy would involve so decided a departure from old-established ideas, and would be so marked an abandonment of that portion of national isolation which remains, that such an era in the his- tory of this race seems indefinitely distant. There has been a precedent of a similar policy in the astro- nomical services of foreigners at the capital. But no- thing else than the imminent peril of the Government, and the impending dissolution of the Empire, appears likely to effect the admission of French or American engineers to the confidence of the Government. In that respect, Mehemet Ali and the Porte are a thou- sand years in advance of the Chinese. During this week the military exercises continued in different parts of the suburbs, and in some open spaces within the city. Each day a printed list of the order and details of a military review was circulated among the people. The cavalry and mounted bow- men practised their exercises outside the eastern gate. It was generally rumoured that these trials were pre- paratory to conferring a brevet of military degrees and promotion. Sept. 23d The report was this day confirmed of the removal of Yih-kwan, the che-heen or district magistrate of Ningpo, to the district magistracy of POPULAR ODIUM AGAINST THE NEW CHE-HEEN. 247 Chapoo. He was a rich man, and therefore might expect rapidly to ascend the ladder of preferment in the present impoverished state of the exchequer, the lucrative offices of Government being frequently con- ferred on the wealthiest purchaser. His successor was the che-heen of Chin-hai, named Lai, who came to Ningpo under a load of popular odium. Placards were issued from anonymous writers, warning the people against the extortions of one of his principal servants, and abounding with charges of corruption against the che-heen himself. In making out a recent list of the candidates for the degree of sew-tsai in his district, he was charged with having placed, for a bribe of 2000 dollars, one of the inferior candidates at the top of the list of probationary sew-tsai, before nine or ten others more deserving of the first place of honourable mention. The list was republished on these placards, containing the names of the various probationers regularly registered, with the exception of the first name, which, in consequence of the ru- moured bribe, was omitted, and the candidate simply announced as " Mr. Two Thousand Dollars." These anonymous manifestos and ebullitions of popular in- dignation against corrupt or unpopular officers of the Government form a powerful engine of public opinion, and are the only substitute for a free press. It was generally believed that the new che-heen would have some difficulty in maintaining his ground against these public manifestos of the irate " scholars and gentry," and would be compelled to leave the place. The matter was likely to come to the ears of the che-foo, his superior, in which event the che-heen would be called to account. The next step in the usual course 248 VENAL CORRUPTION OF SUBORDINATE RULERS. of venal corruption then follows. He partly confesses, but agrees to share the bribe with the che-foo. Here the affair terminates for the present ; but if the taou- tai take up the matter, he too must be subsidized in a portion of the 2000 dollars. Thus, by the partition of the ill-gotten bribe, the che-heen retains his office, the people vent their indignation in vain, and a cor- rupt administration of the local government is almost hopelessly perpetuated. Sept. 2Qth The strongly-expressed opinions of my medical advisers on the personal hazard of my re- maining during another hot season in China, led me reluctantly to make preparations for underletting the lease of my house, and taking my early depar- ture from Ningpo, in order to visit the other con- sular cities during the winter. The arrangements for bringing my successor's commercial goods into his new dwelling were for a day or two the means of attracting several native merchants and shroffs to my house, among whom I had opportunities of dis- tributing books. One of them was seen frequently perusing the books, and sometimes came to me to ask questions respecting them. In the early part of the morning I gave him a copy of the Epistle of St. James, translated into Chinese, which he was engaged for some time in reading. Two hours after, on my returning from a neighbouring street, I had to borrow from him a few coins to send to a beggar who lay in the last extremity of sickness at the entrance of a neighbouring temple. My Chinese friend seemed surprised at my conduct, and asked my reasons for taking any interest in the beggar, who was neither a relative nor a countryman of mine. I replied that the EFFECT OF READING THE NEW TESTAMENT. 249 Supreme Ruler of Heaven commanded us to do good to all men. He commended the action, and then went away. He paced up and down in an adjoining room, appearing absorbed in thought, and emitting thick clouds of tobacco-smoke from his nostrils. He then took up one of the books, and after reading it a few moments, returned to me with pleasure depicted on his countenance, as if he had made some discovery which satisfactorily explained the questions passing through his mind. "Teacher," said he, "I under- stand it ! I understand it ! " He then pointed to the second chapter and eighth verse of St. James's Epistle, If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well. He highly commended the morality contained in that portion of our holy Scriptures, but said that Confucius enjoined the same duty almost in the same terms. He affirmed that there was a pas- sage of the same kind in the " Four Books." * In a subsequent part of our conversation he acknowledged * The original passage is an extract from a Commentary on one of the ancient classics. This Commentary is supposed to have been written a few centuries subsequent to the Christian era. The universal duty of benevolence is stated in a negative form, and consequently with a diminished force, to the following effect : " What- soever you are unwilling that others should do unto you, be unwill- ing to do unto them." Another extract states that "The whole system of Confucius's doctrine consists in fidelity and lenity alone." The sceptical atheism of Chinese literati, and their disbelief of a future state, are seen also in another statement. "Confucius said, Not being able to serve men, how can we serve spirits ? Not being fully acquainted with the affairs of this life, how can we possibly know the things after death ?" 250 EARLY CLOSING OF THE CITY-GATES. that he had never prayed for forgiveness of sin ; and that as we could obtain so little knowledge about the next world, the Confucians considered it unnecessary to trouble themselves about matters so uncertain. Sept. 21th On my going from the city, to sleep at a friend's house on the opposite side of the river, I had some apprehensions of not being allowed to pass through the city gate. It was rumoured that the Mandarins had ordered all the six gates to be closed at an early hour in the evening, and a seal to be affixed to each of them, in order to prevent any open- ing of the gates by bribing the soldiers of the watch. I found the North gate closed, but experienced no difficulty in having it opened. This I had often done before at the North, the Salt, and the East gates of the city ; the gate-keeper usually calling the next morn- ing for a gratuity of a hundred copper cash. On my approach to the gate this evening, the keeper at once pronounced my name and residence, the former gra- tuities having produced a remarkable effect on his powers of memory. I easily induced him to open the huge ponderous gate for myself and two Chinese. The cause of the early closing of the city gates was the serious outbreak of popular fury at Fung-kwa, about twenty miles distant, one of the districts in the department of Ningpo. The circumstances which gave rise to this tumult were said to be the follow- ing : In the examinations for the literary degree of sew-tsai, in the last year, the che-heen of Fung-kwa was charged with gross and flagrant partiality, the result of bribery. The same functionary had also, about the same time, levied an unauthorized amount of taxes on the people in his district. During the past year, the KEBELLION OF FUNG-KWA. 251 people of Fung-kwa heen had sent a petition, through the che-heen, to the Imperial Government, requesting that a considerable sum might be remitted from their taxes. A favourable reply had been received from Peking, remitting 2000 taels, which the che-heen con- trived to keep secret. He proceeded to levy the full amount of taxes, on the pretext that the petition had been unsuccessful, and placed the 2000 taels in his own pocket. This had been detected by the people, from whom a deputation of literary graduates was sent to Peking. Their petition was referred to the che-foo of Ningpo, who received an order to redress their grievances. The che-foo, who was suspected of being in league with the che-heen, and of being an- noyed with the memorialists for their spirited inter- ference, passed several slighting remarks, and affected to doubt the fact of their literary degree. He ordered the "Four Books" to be placed in the hands of some of them, that he might on the spot be satisfied of their scholarship. This insult the scholars could not brook. They refused to pass any such ordeal, saying that they came to have their wrongs redressed, and not to submit to a literary examination. The consequence was that they were rather roughly treated, and it was said that some of them were even bambooed on the spot by order of the che-foo. The time of retribu- tion, however, drew nigh. On the first day of the literary examinations the assembled scholars rose against the authorities, and, being joined by the popu- lace, put the che-heen to flight, and spread disorder and consternation over the whole district. Popular report affirmed that they were about to march on the city of Ningpo, and capture it by a coup- de-main. A 252 A CLASS OF HEREDITARY BONDSMEN. deputation of three Mandarins, who had been sent from Ningpo to negotiate with the infuriated people, were severely beaten, and their sedan-chairs broken to pieces. The only officer, to whom the scholars were willing to listen, was said to be the deposed taou- tai, Loo ta-laou-yay, which fact was another proof of the public integrity of the disgraced functionary. The tumult of Fung-kwa speedily grew into a regular rebel- lion, and troops were sent from different parts of the province to quell the disturbance. These were once or twice routed by the populace ; and several of the military officers, as well as the che-heen himself, sub- sequently became the temporary patients of the two medical Missionaries in Ningpo, who prescribed for their wounds. The local authorities were in a panic ; but at length, with the arrival of reinforcements, the prospects of the rebels became gloomy, and the matter was brought to an amicable adjustment, on the condi- tion of the ringleader being given up for capital punishment. The real ringleader was secretly spared, and his place was said to be supplied by a poor Chinese, who, for the sum of 2000 dollars paid to his parents and family, consented to be the victim. The Chinese gazettes soon afterwards contained a list of military promotions, consequent on the bravery of the troops, as reported to the emperor through the false representations of the local authorities. The chair-bearers, who were to be hired at almost every corner of the streets in Ningpo, appeared to belong to a class of hereditary bondsmen, excluded from every honourable calling, and made, from gene- ration to generation, the marked objects of popular contempt, This race of beggar-population, commonly RELIGIOUS SERVICE. 253 called do-be, were said to have had their origin during the time of the Yuen dynasty : their numbers were also reinforced in the Ming dynasty. They were said to be the descendants of some criminals who, for their offences, were, with their families, for ever incapaci- tated for honourable employment. These criminals were some Mandarins, guilty of treacherous transac- tions with the Japanese. At the present time this oppressed class supplies all the chair-bearers of the neighbourhood. They are also employed as barbers and head-shavers, and may perform the work of coolies. A few of them are engaged in the lowest kind of trades, and secretly possess considerable sums of money. Their women are employed as nurses, and are never saluted by other Chinese women with the usual respectful address of " sister-in-law." The do-be class are not allowed to wear the usual cap or garments of respectable Chinese. A great number of them become play-actors. They are not very numerous, being estimated at between two or three thousand, and are only found in the province of Che-keang, dwelling principally in the departments of Ningpo, Shaou-hing, and Tai-chew ; where, after a lapse of four or five cen- turies since their primary offence, they still continue to suffer the penalty of hereditary degradation. Sept. 28th I attended a religious service held in the morning by the American Missionaries, at which there was an attendance of about sixty persons, consist- ing principally of Chinese servants, teachers, and pupils. It was a scene well calculated to impress the native mind, accustomed to the superstitions of idolatry, with the solemnity and sublimity of Christian worship ad- dressed to the one true God. The next day, amid the 254 ACTUAL MISSIONARY LABOURS. affectionate greetings of my friends, I paid a farewell to Ningpo, where I had hoped to spend many years of usefulness, but in which, from continued sickness the effect of debilitated constitution rather than of local insalubrity I was unable to maintain my ground. After I had been committed to the Divine blessing by one of the Missionary brethren whom I had last visited, and we had mingled our prayers together, that we might, each in the different spheres in which Pro- vidence might place us, ever realize the Divine pre- sence, and be employed to God's glory, I embarked, at 10 P.M., on board a native boat, and at midnight weighed anchor. The circumstances of my three months' residence at Ningpo, although a season of protracted weakness and sickness, will ever be remembered among the most pleasing recollections of my life. The Missio- nary brethren from America, of whose kind atten- tion I shall ever retain an affectionate remembrance, were diligent in pursuing their work; and though as yet few in number, are likely to become, as a body, eminently useful. Only one British labourer had at this time entered on the Station of Ningpo a female Missionary, who, with her own independent resources, was making a praiseworthy effort to impart the benefits of a Christian education to about twenty female children. The prejudices and suspi- cions of the parents, which were at first roused by the slightest incident, even causing the removal of every child at the mere arrival of a steamer in the river, had been gradually allayed by her judicious and kind management, and their confidence was daily in- creasing. A little babe, rescued from slow starvation, DEPARTURE FOR CHUSAN. 255 had just been received as an inmate, on the day of my last visit at the School. Boys could be obtained from their parents, without difficulty, for a term of years, to be educated by the Missionaries ; and the system had been already partially acted on by them. But it is only to unmarried female Missionaries and even to such with some degree of hesitation that the Chinese are willing to entrust the care of their female children. Miss Aldersey, therefore, deserves the sympathy and prayers of all who are interested in the success of her bold experiment. Her labours have been con- ducted, both here and previously in Java, with a degree of perseverance and courage, which deserves to find a place among those instances of female fortitude, with which the history of Christian Missions abounds. Our Chinese boat lay at anchor off Chin-hai during the night. The next morning, also, we were detained by foul winds for some time off the mouth of the river. About mid-day, with the change of tide, we proceeded towards Chusan, where we arrived, about an hour after sunset, on September 30th. During the first few days of my stay at Chusan, I resided in the house of a friend on the beach, from which I afterwards removed to the house of an American Missionary, situated near the north gate within the city of Tinghai. On Oct. 3d, the French ambassador, M. Lagrene, with his family and suite, landed at Chusan, amid a salute of artillery from the British, and a guard of honour. The visit of his Excellency gave a temporary excitement to the place. Among the suite was the son of the late Duke of Tarentum, Marshal M'Donald, who, in the freedom of friendly hospitality, mingled with 256 CHRISTIAN SERVICES IN A BUDHIST TEMPLE. some of the veterans, who had been opposed to his mar- tial sire. In addition to some priests in private garb, there was one who appeared with his Excellency on various public occasions, and was said to be the supe- rior of the order of St. Lazarus, whose emissaries are numerous in China. During my stay in Chusan I had an opportunity of officiating on the Sundays at an afternoon service for the troops. A Budhist temple, formerly devoted to the service of idols, and even now bearing marks of the late war in portions of the walls battered by the cannon-balls of the British, was the scene of our religious service. The whole European bat- talion were assembled, and the Protestant part of them marched to the building, which was ordinarily used as a canteen for the troops. On the first occa- sion about 500 persons were assembled, to whom I preached a sermon on the blessedness of a Christian death. The subject was suggested by the funeral procession of a young naval officer, whom I had buried during the past week, and whose remains were attended to the grave by a body of military and part of a man-of-war's crew, the soldiers firing, according to custom, at the conclusion of the service. A period of five years had elapsed since the first occupation of the island by the British. During the whole of this time the military residents had been left destitute of the advantages of a resident chaplain. The only interruption to this destitution of spiritual instruction was the occasional visit of a man-of-war with a naval chaplain ; who however had his appointed duties on board his own ship, lying at some distance from the shore. It was indeed affecting to behold FORMER DESTITUTION OF SPIRITUAL INSTRUCTION. 257 that assemblage, the sad relics of war, climate, and disease ; and to reflect on the numbers who had sunk into the grave without the comforts of religion even in their dying hour, or the ministerial offices of burial. The deep attention depicted in every countenance in that martial assembly seemed to tell a tale, which might well appeal to the sympathy of statesmen, and suggest thoughts of self-reproach for past neglect. The French ambassador, in my hearing, drew an in- vidious contrast between the neglect of the British Government in leaving so large a body of soldiers for so long a time destitute of a resident spiritual instruc- tor, and the conduct of his own Government, who, in addition to other priests on board the frigate, had supplied him with a private Chaplain among his suite. About twelve pious soldiers used also to visit me on another evening of the week, within the city, where I held another religious service. I remained in Chusan for a fortnight, waiting for a passage to Shanghai, having determined on paying a second visit to my friend M'Clatchie, previously to my departure to the consular ports of Foo-chow and Amoy. During this time I made frequent excursions into the surrounding country, and mingled in con- tinual intercourse with the people of Tinghai, in com- pany with the Missionary friend, whose house afforded me the comforts of a temporary home. CHAPTER XVIII. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CHUSAN. TOPOGRAPHY CHARACTER OF POPULATION NATURAL PRO- DUCTIONS EVENTS OF FIRST CAPTURE BY BRITISH EXCESSES OF TROOPS NATIVE PILLAGERS MENACING EDICTS OF CHINESE GOVERNMENT CHINESE KIDNAPPERS SUFFERINGS OF BRITISH SOLDIERS ARMISTICE AND CESSION OF CHUSAN INSINCERITY OF CHINESE GOVERN- MENT RE-CAPTURE OF CHUSAN RAPID SUCCESSES OF BRITISH EXPEDITION ALONG THE COAST TREATY OF NANKING AND RETENTION OF CHUSAN MINGLED IN- FLUENCE OF BRITISH OCCUPATION BRITISH ADMINISTRA- TION OF POLICE FOREIGN TRADE MISSION ARY PROSPECTS POPULAR FEELING ON REVERTING TO THEIR OWN NATIVE GOVERNMENT. CHUSAN is the largest island of an archipelago of that name, which lies off the central part of the ex- tensive line of Chinese coast. This cluster of islands forms a district in the department of Ningpo, named Tinghai-heen, after the capital of Chusan, which city is situated in latitude 30 0' 20" north, and in longi- tude 122 5' 18" east. The island stretches, in an irregular form, about twenty-five miles in length from north-west to south-east, its average breadth being about ten miles. There are eighteen principal vil- lages in the island, together with a number of lesser hamlets, where the cultivators of some larger farm are collected together within a wall surrounding their TOPOGRAPHY. 259 little dwellings. Lofty hills, rising to the height of from 1000 to 2000 feet, intersect the country in all directions, and enclose a number of fertile valleys, in which crops of bean, maize, rice, and the sweet potato, sheltered by the surrounding eminences from the cold blast, wave in rich luxuriance, to delight the eye and reward the toil of the husbandman. Every valley has its little stream or rivulet, pursuing its course down the verdant slopes, and finding a tortuous channel to the sea. Those valleys, which open on the beach, are guarded from the impetuous waters of the spring-tides by broad and firmly-constructed barriers of earth, piled along the shore, and possessing outlets, which, at certain seasons, are opened to drain the neighbouring rice-fields of their superabundant water. There are few parts of the island which are not compelled to yield some kind of produce for the supply of human necessities. The only spots, which escape the plough or the spade, are the thousands of little tombs, which conceal the de- parted dead, and whose lofty piles of grassy herb- age, surmounting the top, denote the numerous contributions of sacred earth which their relatives annually make. The extraordinary number of tombs, which cover the hills bordering on the north-west of the city, prove its great antiquity and numerous population. Scarcely a spot is to be seen, which is not occupied with stone monuments, inscribed with the names and dates of the deceased. The city itself is of an irregular pentagonal form, about two-thirds of a mile in length from north to south, and a little less in average breadth from east to west. It is sur- rounded by a wall about eighteen feet in height, and 260 APPEARANCE OF THE CITY. fifteen in breadth, which is nearly three miles in circuit, and through which four gates open into the surrounding country, respectively named from the four cardinal points. The parts of the wall, which cross the Cameronian hill, so as to enclose portions of it within the city, are in a state of semi-dilapidation, the ramparts having been thrown down by the British troops after their escalade and capture of the defences. From this eminence a fine view is obtained of the city, and of the harbour at the distance of a mile, with the adjoining country and the neighbouring islets. Several open spaces, formerly occupied by the public offices and houses of Mandarins, remain as monuments of the destructive ravages of British assailants. A fine pagoda rises above the general level of the buildings in the western part of the city. In several of the groves, which line the neighbouring hill-sides, are little temples, under the superintendence of one or two priests, who are generally sent from the island of Pootoo, the grand metropolis of Budhism in this part of China. About a mile to the north of the city there is a very pretty grotto and flower-garden, on a small scale, skilfully contrived so as to represent the usual beauties of rural scenery in a small space. Two bridges over a stream of water, and two flights of stone steps, lead the visitor, by a circuitous route, to the other end of the grotto, combining a variety of scenes, the arrangement of which is creditable to the ingenuity of the native artist, and has been gene- rally attractive to foreigners. The paths over the hills and across the fields are generally very narrow, in many parts scarcely ad- mitting one person to walk, except with extreme care. CHARACTER OF POPULATION. 261 Some of the valleys are very picturesque, and have received an English name from some circumstance happening to individual foreigners on the first, capture of the island. Among these, the long valley, com- monly called Anstruther's Valley, deserves mention, so termed from the fact of a British officer of that name being kidnapped by the Chinese in that part, and taken prisoner to the Mandarins on the conti- nent. The whole population of the island has been variously estimated ; but the most probable estimate reckons it to amount to 120,000, one-fourth of the number being contained within the city of Tinghai. The character of the population resembles that of the people on the neighbouring mainland. They are free from that turbulent hostility to foreigners, which prevails among their countrymen in the province of Canton. The former inhabitants of Chusan, according to tradition, manifested great opposition to the reigning dynasty on the first subjugation of China by the Manchow Tartars. They are said to have resisted all efforts to bring them to submission, and to have per- sisted in refusing to adopt the badge of servitude, imposed by the conquering race the modern fashion of shaving the head and wearing a queue. This brought on them the vengeance of the victorious bands of Manchows, who subdued the island, and ex- terminated the whole race of the original inhabitants, whose place was supplied by an emigration from Ningpo of the ancestors of the present population. The mass of the people consists of agriculturists and fishermen, the traders forming but a small proportion of the whole, except within the city. Under the Chinese regime, which prevailed previously to the 262 NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. occupation of the island by the British, the produce of the soil was divided into ten parts, of which one was paid to the Government, four to the proprietor of the land, and the remaining five were the property of the cultivator. There are some rich landowners, but few of them have resided on the island since the war. The fertility of the soil is such, that from the same ground two crops of rice, besides vegetables, are raised with little labour, and that little is required only at one season of the year. Their ploughs are worked by a single buffalo ; and, after the grain is sown, the principal labour is that of irrigation. This is gene- rally performed by means of a circular machine, worked by a buffalo ; the water being raised, by a series of pieces of wood attached to a strap, into a higher level from the stream or dyke below. The harvests usually take place between the months of August and November. Rice is raised in quantities more than sufficient to support the whole population. From the surplus a kind of spirit is distilled, called samshoo, which forms the principal article of export. Vegetable tallow, tea, sweet potatoes, and cotton, are also produced for home-consumption. The manu- facture of salt, bricks, and various articles of domestic use, furnish employment to a portion of the population. The people have the character of being industrious and easily governed. Highway robbery, though not unknown, is of extremely rare occurrence. House- breaking is more common, and petty thefts are of daily occurrence. The population of the neighbouring islands is scanty, some of them having only one or two families, while others are entirely destitute of inhabitants. It is composed of the same classes of EMPLOYMENTS OF PEOPLE. 263 people as the inhabitants of Chusan, consisting of agriculturists, fishermen, and salt-makers. Pirates and freebooters, chiefly from the more southern province of Fokeen, frequent the neighbouring pas- sages, but have never been known to attack Euro- peans. The native craft are sometimes collected together in Chusan harbour, so as to form a mutual convoy against these depredators on their voyage southward. In July of the present year, out of 180 junks, which left the harbour together, 160 were compelled to return within four hours afterwards, with the loss of a few sailors, who were wounded by the spears of the pirates. Some cases of piracy have taken place close to the harbour; but there are no grounds for suspecting the people of Chusan to be implicated in these deeds of crime. There are passage-boats constantly plying between Chusan and Ningpo, by which natives are brought the whole distance for the small sum of 200 copper cash, equal to about eightpence. There is a considerable intercourse between the two places, the more respect- able merchants residing at the city of Ningpo. They generally transact their business at Chusan by means of brokers and agents, and visit the island only on extraordinary occasions. Although Chusan possesses the elements of internal prosperity, in the natural productions and independent resources which a boun- tiful Providence has afforded it, there are few cases of wealth, the people generally exhibiting the marks of poverty and slender means of livelihood. The cases of extreme want are, however, rare ; and every man in health can earn, by the sweat of his brow, sufficient to supply the ordinary demands of nature. There 264 SOCIAL CONDITION. are only a few of those public institutions, which are met with in richer and larger cities, for the relief of the destitute. The poor are left to die in the streets, or at the entrance of temples. The owners of houses are careful to remove indigent inmates on the first approach of fatal disease, to prevent their contamina- tion by death, and to avoid the expenses of interment, which legally devolve on the proprietor of the dwell- ing in which a pauper dies. The people are friendly and well-disposed to strangers ; and a visit to the most distant parts of the island can be made at any time, and without any risk of meeting with personal violence or insulting expressions. The simple ele- ments of society appear to be held together principally by the bonds of patriarchal law, unwritten indeed, but deeply rooted in the feelings of the people. The social condition of the people of Chusan stands forth in happy contrast with the heterogeneous elements of which the Chinese population of Hong Kong is com- posed, and with the nocturnal depredations on pro- perty, and violence on person, which have long pre- vailed there. On the testimony of those officers of the British Government, who have had the best op- portunities of ascertaining the truth, Chusan possesses an industrious, orderly, and respectable class of inha- bitants, and enjoys a general exemption from those social disadvantages, which have converted the British possession, off the southern coast, into a receptacle for the most abandoned desperadoes of the adjoining continent. Such is the general character of an island, which is intimately associated with the most prominent events of the late war with China. In the beginning of July EVENTS OF FIRST CAPTURE BY BRITISH. 265 1840, the British expedition arrived before the town of Tinghai, the authorities of which were summoned to surrender. There was something tragical in the oc- currences of that time, when, in pursuance of a policy of warfare more bold than just, the scene of conflict was transferred from the South of China to the Central Provinces, the inhabitants of which scarcely knew the name of Britain until they beheld her victorious arma- ments advancing before their defenceless homes. A show of resistance, more ludicrous than terrible, was offered ; and on July the 5th the British forces landed, and, carrying every thing before them, on the next day entered the city without a check. The old Chinese admiral, who, in a previous parley with the British commanders, had affected a listless composure, and laughed heartily as he descended the foreign ship of war, calmly encountered his unhappy destiny. He had to choose between two alternatives. On the one hand, was present safety to be gained by timely sur- render, but to be followed by the speedy vengeance of the Emperor for cowardice. On the other hand, there remained for him the alternative of meeting death with a dignified courage, while resisting the enemies of his country. He preferred the path of heroism, and fell seriously wounded. His flag-captain was slain ; and the che-heen, the principal Civil Magis- trate, in the hour of flight, resorted to suicide as the termination of his disasters. The British troops were undisputed masters of the city, which for a time be- came a confused scene of plunder and pillage. It was in vain that officers were stationed in the different streets to restrain the Indian and European soldiery in the hour of excitement. Every house was sacked, 266 EXCESSES OF TROOPS AND NATIVE PILLAGERS. the intoxicating samshoo was eagerly sought and drunk, and, but for the general destruction of the jars which contained this ardent spirit, further excesses of the most deplorable kind might have followed. Mean- while the more respectable citizens had been fleeing through the northern, eastern, and western gates to the distant parts of the island, whence they quickly trans- ported themselves to the continent, beyond the reach of their British invaders. Proclamations were issued from the British Commander-in-chief, offering security of person and of property to those who were willing to remain. But the stillness of desolation reigned every- where ; and, as the troops advanced, only a few poor creatures, who were unable to escape, made their ap- pearance. They were seen coming forth from their houses, imploring the barbarians to spare their lives, and seeking to disarm their dreaded cruelty by offering them tea. The lowest classes of Chinese, who, amid the general flight of the inhabitants, remained in the island, soon gathered boldness, and proceeded to pillage the houses that had been abandoned by their wealthier owners, and to carry the booty from the city. This led to prohibitory measures, and the gates of the city were guarded, to prevent the removal of any property. The walls were also watched, to defeat the many plans of deception that were devised to smuggle away the plunder. Sometimes a coffin was borne through the gates with a train of loudly-bewailing mourners, who were allowed to pass. The funerals soon became so frequent, that at last a coffin was opened, and instead of the corpse, a quantity of silk was discovered within. Some of these plunderers were shot dead on attempt- ing to force their way past the sentries. The shop- CHINESE KIDNAPPERS SUFFERINGS OF BRITISH. 267 keepers who remained soon resumed their customary vocations, and their commodities met with a rapid sale. Provisions were everywhere in request by the English, which the native traders were eager to supply as a source of profit. Matters proceeded for some time in this smooth and easy course, when at length the Chi- nese rulers issued their threatening edicts against those individuals who supplied the barbarians with provi- sions. A Chinese purveyor was seized by kidnappers, and, being taken to Chinhai, was severely punished for his offence. Rewards were afterwards offered for the capture of Englishmen, and a few cases of kidnapping and mutilation followed. Three Chinese were appre- hended and sentenced to be hanged for an attempt of this kind. During the previous night, one of them, whilst endeavouring to escape, was shot by the sentry on duty. The two others were led forth to be sus- pended from the same branch of a tree, and after repeated bowings to a crowd of spectators, Chinese and British, were thrown off by one of their own countrymen and fellow-prisoners, on whom the task was imposed. The intrigues of the Mandarins, and the terrors of the people, soon produced a scarcity of provisions, which may be considered as the primary cause of the subsequent ravages of disease among the troops. The dire menaces of the Mandarins against those who fur- nished supplies to the British, produced such a panic in the minds of the Chinese inhabitants, that Tinghai became, in a short time, deserted by the people, and the necessaries of life were with difficulty obtained. The people also, in the villages around, became so emboldened by the forbearance of the British, that 268 ARMISTICE AND CESSION OF CHUSAN. every straggler from the foraging parties was seized, and the most trifling articles of food had to be guarded and convoyed by an armed force. Mean- while the troops, encamped on a marshy swamp, amid the intense heat of summer, were suffering from the combined effects of sickness and bad provisions. Fever and dysentery spread fearful havoc among them. The removal from tents into comfortable quarters in the city proved but a slight alleviation of the evil. The severity of their sufferings, added to the frequent attacks of the peasantry, might naturally have been expected to try the patience of the mili- tary. There is, however, every reason for believing that the general forbearance of the troops was in the highest degree creditable under these circumstances of provocation. Notwithstanding these adverse cir- cumstances, some desultory attempts were made to organize a native police throughout the island, and to form a system of internal government. At this juncture the tidings arrived of pacific over- tures, and the conclusion of a truce with the Chinese Government. After a series of diplomatic negotia- tions, during which Chinese duplicity had full scope for its exercise, a treaty was concluded between the representatives of the Chinese and British Govern- ments. The prisoners on either side were to be libe- rated ; the island was to be evacuated ; and, in accord- ance with these stipulations, on Feb. 23d, 1841, Chusan was restored to the Chinese. The British expedition was soon on its way to the southward ; and thus an ill-timed dependence on the promises and fair speeches of E-le-poo averted for a time the impending blow, and served to defer the day of plenary retribution. RECAPTURE OF CHUSAN. 269 The result showed that neither party was satisfied with the terms of the peace ; and E-le-poo had soon to bear the weight of imperial displeasure, in distant exile from the flowery land. Subsequent events proved the insincerity of the Chinese, and the note of warlike preparation was again sounded. The arrival of the new plenipotentiary, Sir H. Pottinger, brought energy and firmness into the scene of operation ; and soon an expedition was a second time on its way from Hong Kong. Amoy speedily fell before the assembled forces, naval and military. Ningpo was situated next in the contemplated order of advance towards the im- perial capital. Chusan lay in the route, and again became an object of attack. During the interval since its evacuation, its defences had been strength- ened, and a long line of mud-fortifications had been thrown up along the beach. The resistance, though more determined on the part of the Chinese than on the former assault, was equally ineffectual. On the west of the harbour a strong body of troops landed, and pursued the routed bodies of Chinese over the hills toward the city. On the east the cannonade of the British soon silenced every Chinese gun, and emptied the Pagoda Hill fort of its defenders. The bravery of many individuals was conspicuous; but the British bore every thing before them, and a second time Tinghai fell into the hands of a foreign invader. A body of the troops was detached to scour the island in all directions; and before the expedition left, Chusan was placed under military government, and garrisoned by a body of 400 men. Thus, after a lapse of less than eight months, on Oct. the 1st, 1841, the island again became subject to British law. The 270 RAPID SUCCESSES OF BRITISH EXPEDITION. inhabitants were made acquainted with the fact of its probable retention for many years under British power, till the whole of the demands of Britain should be not only acceded to, but also carried into effect. Proclamations were issued, promising protection to the peaceable, and denouncing punishment against the disorderly. The people were induced to resume their customary trades, by the assurances of a just and fostering Government. From that time to the present, affairs have gradually assumed a peaceful aspect, and the population have become reconciled to, and even contented with, their foreign rulers. The subsequent events of the war ceased to affect their condition. The capture of Chinhai at the distance of thirty miles on the mainland, the occupation of Ningpo, the re- duction of Chapoo, were a rapid succession of defeats, thoroughly humbling to the arrogance of the native rulers. The fall of Shanghai, the dreadful storming of Chinkeang, and, lastly, the approach of the expedition under the very walls of Nanking, with a numerous fleet of ships of war, which, by the skill of the survey- ing departments of the force, had overcome all the formidable difficulties of navigating the Yang-tze- keang, the key to the whole empire, proved to a de- monstration the power and superiority of those foreigners, whom they had hitherto affected to de- spise. On August 29, 1842, the treaty of Nanking was signed, and the retention of Chusan formed a part of the stipulations, until the payment of the last instalment of the indemnity, which was to take place in the early part of 1846. The dreadful ravages of disease, by which so many of our troops were brought to the grave on the first occupation of the island RETENTION OF CHUSAN. 271 in 1840, were soon proved to be the result, not of local insalubrity, but of unparalleled privations. For four years, since its second capture, Chusan has been found a healthy and agreeable residence ; and many are now able to acknowledge, with gratitude to the Almighty, the invigorating influence of its climate, after a change from the insalubrity of Hong Kong. The influence, for good or for evil, which British occupation exerts, involves a responsibility of the most serious kind. The consideration of this subject will naturally awaken anxious reflections in the minds of those Christian patriots, who view even the greatness and glory of their native land, and the wide extension of the British empire, as events important indeed, but secondary to the interests of the Redeemer's king- dom, and the proclamation of that message of mercy, which everywhere breathes the spirit of its Heavenly Author, Peace on earth and good-will towards men. The probable effects of British tenure of this important island on the social and moral state of the population, and indirectly on the destinies of the Chinese empire, might have furnished an interesting subject for conjec- ture. The extent, however, to which such hopes have been realised, is a matter more easy for investigation. It would have argued no very sanguine temperament, to have hailed the temporary annexation of Chusan to the empire of Britain as a rare and precious opportu- nity for an exhibition of the arts and civilization of the west of the mild but incorruptible majesty of British law of the sublime morality and benevolence of the Christian character and of the fostering influ- ence diffused by British government on the commerce, the liberties, and the happiness of the governed. A 272 MINGLED INFLUENCE OF BRITISH OCCUPATION. more intimate knowledge, however, of human affairs, and of the general tendency of British colonization, would perhaps have moderated excessive expectations of this kind. The actual condition of the people, and the feelings cherished by them towards the foreigners, may afford an insight into the real effects of British connexion. The absence of all taxation, the large amount of gain acquired by the tradesmen, and the well-known and acknowledged fact of the impartial administration of justice equally to rich and poor, have undoubtedly attached considerable numbers of the people to the British. But the dark side of the picture must be viewed before we hastily gather the self-complacent inference, that we have here reared a permanent monument of our superiority to the old Chinese regime in their eyes. Frequent deeds of vio- lence on the part of the soldiery, numerous scenes of intoxication from the maddening draughts of samshoo, a general disregard of the feelings of the Chinese, and continual outbreaks of a proud overbearing spirit on the vanquished race, required something more of an opposite character, to counteract their natural effect on the native mind, than the mere spectacle of the power, the arts, and the wealth of the new-comers. Accord- ingly, we find that the popularity of the British is limited to those, on whom self-interest and lucre have operated as a bribe. The lower classes exhibit no decided indications of hostility. The better classes, however, who had rank and consequence to lose, are naturally dissatisfied with the present state of things. Sighing in secret for the period when they will be able to resume their former position in society, they maintain a cautious reserve of their opinions on all DISAFFECTION TO THE BRITISH. 273 subjects of comparison between the two Governments. Before the American residents they are less reserved, and speak in terms of exultation of the approaching evacuation of Chusan, and the restoration of Chinese rule. The boatmen, coolies, and servants regard the departure of the British as a cessation of their high wages. The shopkeepers also, who have gained money from the foreign residents, are naturally sincere in their regret at the departure of the Bri- tish troops. As the Mandarins will probably prac- tise extortions on those who have acquired wealth from the British, it is expected that many of this class will, on the cession of Chusan, migrate for a season to the cities on the continent, and thus contrive to escape their rapacious avarice. The administration of police under the British has been generally marked by a spirit of moderation and mildness ; though some of the British police- officers, ignorant of the distinctions of Chinese rank, have generally treated the gentry and mob equally alike. On the occasion of a trivial matter of com- plaint, a literary Chinese was tied by the queue to a fellow-prisoner, and dragged unceremoni- ously, through the gazing throngs of his country- men, to the residence of the British magistrate, who promptly dismissed the case. Their liabi- lity to such acts of degradation have combined, with fear of the British, in banishing the wealthiest native gentry from the island. The native police, em- ployed by the British magistrate, are suspected of being also in the secret employ of the Chinese Government as spies on the proceedings of foreign- ers. They are taken from the worst classes of 274 BRITISH ADMINISTRATION OF POLICE. the Chinese population, but do their work well, and have been found faithful to their present employers. Many of them have themselves been thieves ; and their acquaintance with the haunts and plans of their former companions in theft has afforded advantages in the apprehension of offenders. Some- times they affect to be afraid of the vengeance of the thieves on the departure of the British. The petty acts of trickery, current in Chinese courts of law, have been sometimes resorted to in the most unblushing manner by criminals. It was, at first, no uncommon occurrence for the accused to attempt in open court to bribe the police, the interpreter, or the magistrate, the people having been accustomed to a system, in which money usually carried the day. One wealthy native merchant, who was apprehended with some stolen articles on his person, pleaded that he was not the thief, and offered to Bring the actual thief, who subsequently came and confessed the deed. The latter was sentenced, amongst other punishments of a severer kind, to lose his queue. This degradation was so unexpected that he earnestly begged for exemption from this part of the sentence, and brought witnesses to prove that the merchant, who had now made good his escape, had bribed him by the sum of a hundred dollars to plead guilty of the crime, and to be his substitute in suffering the punishment. This vicarious punishment in consideration of pecuniary remunera- tion is frequently connived at and tolerated by the Chinese rulers ; but it could not be recognised oy a British magistrate, and the poor dupe had to suffer the full penalty for his avarice and deceit. The foreign trade of Chusan has been almost a FOREIGN TRADE. 275 nullity, being confined to a few ships touching on their way to the other ports. The only vessels in the har- bour are an occasional ship of war, and three or four opium-ships, stationed there as receiving vessels. These afford the principal attractions to the Chinese merchants, to the exclusion of more regular com- merce. The fumes of opium, which at all times are wafted on the breeze and infect the whole atmosphere around, together with the numerous native smuggling craft which beset the sides of the opium-vessels, are some indication of the extent of this branch of traffic. Native smuggling vessels from Taichew, Chinhai, Ningpo, and Chapoo, constantly convey back the drug by stealth to the mainland, and reap a rich amount of gain from their boldness. The monthly sale of opium in the harbour of Chusan averages from 225 to 230 chests. The Chinese officers at Ningpo are said to connive at the introduction of the article on payment of 5 per cent, ad valorem duty ; i. e. from 25 to 50 dollars per chest. This is a fact of open notoriety among the Chinese at Ningpo and Chusan. The whole sum is supposed to be swallowed up among the venal agents of the customs. The only general trade with foreigners has consisted of a few cargoes of cam- phor and alum. Nothing, however, of any extent or importance has been transacted, in the absence of the former capital and wealth of the island. The presence of foreigners will probably stamp a permanent character on the tastes and wants of the people of Chusan. Trifling articles of European manu- facture have found their way into Chusan, and given a new impulse to native skill. And thus the people will be at least half a century in advance of their country- T2 276 EFFECTS OF BRITISH TENURE. men. Old prejudices have been sapped and under- mined ; so that amid all the faults and abuses of our trust, the permanent benefits conferred by our tem- porary jurisdiction will, on the whole, counterbalance the moral evils. The spectacle of a Government supe- rior to bribes and extortions has been exhibited to their view. That moral power, which British truth and integrity have acquired in India, more than all our force of arms could alone effect, has here been esta- blished in the native mind. It may have driven from Chusan the rich and wealthy, who, disgusted with our ignorance of Chinese customs, were offended with the impartiality of our administration of law. But when time shall have blunted the sense of private wrongs, it is to be hoped that a rule, so just and incorruptible in its character, in contrast with the corruption of their own officers, will live in the recollection, and exercise a salutary influence upon the minds of all classes of the inhabitants. At the present time a good understanding and a friendly spirit of co-operation exists between the Bri- tish authorities at Chusan and the Chinese Mandarins at Ningpo, as far as it has been required in the mutual surrender of criminals and fugitives. Complicated cases of law are generally handed over to the che- heen of Ningpo ; and in consideration of the speedy resumption of Chusan by the Chinese, most matters of legal dispute are referred to them for permanent adjustment. By many persons it is believed that the Chinese Government either have succeeded, during the last four years, in secretly levying the land-tax in Chusan, or intend, on their resumption of the island, to levy the whole arrears of taxation. The British MISSIONARY ASPECT. 277 authorities have, however, done all in their power to throw the shield of their protecting influence around the defenceless inhabitants. Proclamations have been issued, bearing the signature of his Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong, promising full indemnity and protection in all cases of wrong inflicted here- after on those connected with the British. Every thing has been done, both by conciliation of the native authorities and by protective measures on be- half of the people, to facilitate the transition of power. One Protestant Missionary only, from the American General Assembly's Board of Missions, is now sta- tioned at Chusan, residing within the city, where he intends to maintain his position, till summoned by the Chinese to quit the island. The experiment which he is thus about to make of the liberality and forbear- ance of the Chinese, will be awaited with much inter- est and anxiety. The expulsion of the East-India Company's commercial agents more than a century ago, after a year or two of supposed toleration in Chusan, is a precedent which leads us to cherish only a faint hope of any prolonged residence of foreigners being permitted after the resumption of Chusan by the Chinese.* As a sphere of Missionary exertion it resembles the general character of Ningpo. The dialect is the same, the character of the people is similar, the salubrity is greater, and, under a Euro- pean rule, the prospects of permanency for educa- * Recent letters from China bring the intelligence that both the Protestant Missionary and the Romish Padre have been compelled to leave Chusan. 278 NATIVE PREFERENCE OF CHINESE RULE. tional institutions would have been highly favourable. A beautiful island, with a fine climate and a peaceable, well-disposed population, under the paternal influence of just government, would have been a promising and inviting field for Missionary exertion. We leave the lovely island of Chusan with regret ; but with adoring submission to that unseen hand of Providence, which directs every event to the purposes of the divine glory and the welfare of mankind. The absence of any marked feelings of regret on the part of the inhabitants generally at their return to Chinese rule, and the positive joy at the prospect cherished by large numbers, are facts of interest at the present juncture, and give birth to many reflec- tions on the real nature of their own Government. Although relieved from all taxation, and possessing opportunities of gain without fear of extortion under the British, they prefer their own Mandarins with all their faults. The reason is plain, and extorts an en- comium on their internal organization, which has been reluctantly and tardily accorded to them. The Go- vernment of China is probably the best pure despotism that ever existed. There is an influence of public opinion, a strong national feeling, which will survive the downfal of the Manchow, as of former dynasties. The petitions of the people of Ningpo and Amoy after the late war, on behalf of their deposed Mandarins, the prevalent desire of the people of Chu- san to revert to their native rule, and the cohesion of the nation for so long a period, prove that, amid many anomalies and imperfections, their system of government contains much that is essentially good ; and that the people are ordinarily better ruled than GENERAL CHARACTER OF CHINESE GOVERNMENT. 279 we should have thought possible in a nation destitute of a free representative Government, and unenlightened by the spirit of Christianity. Under a different state of things, the people of Chusan would have hailed the continuance of British rule as a deliverance from the oppressive yoke of native rulers. CHAPTER XIX. SECOND VISIT TO SHANGHAI. VOYAGE TO SHANGHAI COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE TWO MIS- SIONARY STATIONS OF SHANGHAI AND NINGPO A NEW SECT * OF MORALISTS IN THE INTERIOR OF CHINA AN ORIGINAL WORK ON GEOGRAPHY, BY COMMISSIONER LIN CHINESE SCHOOLMASTER AND SCHOLARS A CHINESE GRADUATE'S REVERENCE OF THE WRITTEN CHARACTER A CONVICT SUF- FERING BY DEPUTY MILITARY REVIEWS OFFENSIVE EPI- THETS TO FOREIGNERS PROCESSION OF THE TAOU-TAI RECENT SUPPLEMENT TO THE EDICT OF TOLERATION VOYAGE TO CHUSAN. ON the evening of October llth I embarked on board a schooner, bound for Shanghai, and weighed anchor on the following morning. The breeze, which was at first moderate, began to freshen from the south, and we soon passed through the islands to the westward of Chusan. In a few hours we doubled the southern headland of the island of Kin- tang, and sailed along within sight of the city of Chinhai. From this point our course lay northward to the Yang-tze-keang The violence of the tides, as we crossed the bay of Chapoo, was such as to render it necessary to make allowance for the current by keeping the head of the vessel a few points from the true course. By midnight we were off Gutzlaff's island, and at day-break we en- tered the river. There being no land in sight, the VOYAGE TO SHANGHAI. 281 position of the vessel could only be ascertained by soundings, which gave, for some time, only three fa- thoms, and afterwards five fathoms. The bank of the river soon appeared on our left, and the low flat island of Tsung-ming lay at a distance on our right. With the wind and tide in our favour, we rapidly sailed up the narrow channel, and by ten A.M. came to anchor at Woosung. Here I hired a native boat to convey me to Shang- hai ; but the strength of the breeze, which was con- trary, together with the dashing of the water over our little craft, soon convinced me of the imprac- ticability of our reaching the city during the day. I determined, therefore, on disembarking at the village of Woosung. Here I procured a chair, in which I proceeded across the country to Shanghai, leaving my boy to bring up my luggage and bed in the boat by the next morning. As usual, the bargain had to be struck, which caused half an hour's earnest debating with the peasants, before we could succeed in mode- rating their exorbitant demands for bearing me. Be- fore leaving the boat at Woosung, I had selected a few books to distribute at the different hamlets on my way to the city. Some of the loungers on the beach at Woosung caught sight of them, and followed me with their importunate requests. I gave away about twenty copies amongst them ; but their eagerness overcame their sense of propriety, and I had reason to remember the long nails on their fingers, which had been brought rather roughly in contact with my hand. They afterwards surrounded my chair, and could with difficulty only be restrained from helping themselves, as I buttoned up my coat closely to the collar. I 282 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MISSIONARY ACTION. passed over the same line of country as on a former occasion, and arrived at Shanghai by sunset, thoroughly drenched with the rain, which had descended in tor- rents. Here I was soon comfortably lodged in the house of my brother M'Clatchie. A residence of three months in the city of Ningpo, and also for nearly one month in the island of Chu- san, since the period of my former visit to Shanghai, enabled me to form, on the spot, a comparative esti- mate of the peculiar advantages and facilities for the work of Christian Missions, which they respectively afford. It may not, perhaps, be deemed inopportune to subjoin in this place, a statement of some of the principles and reasons, which have influenced the Church Missionary Society to select Shanghai and Ningpo as their first Missionary Stations in China. Viewing, in all its comprehensive bearings, the pro- bable influence of a Mission in China on the prospects of Christianity in the East endeavouring to estimate, at their just value, the existing indications of a pro- gressive movement in the native mind examining, in the mirror of God's word, the present leadings of Pro- vidence and tokens for good and, above all, assured of the final overthrow of falsehood, and the victory of Christian truth the Church Missionary Society have felt that Missionary efforts for the conversion of the Chinese ought to be taken in hand, in a spirit of faith in some degree commensurate with the glorious object in view, and on a magnitude of scale worthy the Church to which they belong. To concentrate and consolidate our Missionary work on some definite field, which can be strongly occupied, is obviously a preferable course to that of scattering MISSIONARY ADVANTAGES OF SHANGHAI. 283 our divided and weakened forces over an extended line of coast, among a diversity of dialects and native character. To avoid one error, however, it is not necessary to run into the opposite extreme of narrow- ing our sphere of exertion, so as to limit all our attention to one spot. If we wish to select one of the newly-opened ports of China, and make it the solitary advanced picquet in invading these vast regions of error, the mind is per- plexed in the choice between Shanghai and Ningpo. The former promises to become the grand commercial emporium of the north ; and, as a nucleus of foreign intercourse, and, in a mercantile point of view, already inferior to Canton alone, it offers the advantages of a frequent communication with Europe, by vessels sail- ing direct to Shanghai, without touching at Hong Kong. The latter, as a quiet Missionary Station, exempt from the usual deteriorating influence of a foreign mercantile community, presents facilities of a different kind. Ningpo approves itself to most persons as the more desirable station, considered solely in reference to Missionary work ; but seems to be too retired a spot to be the solitary seat of a Mission. Time, expe- rience, and the course of events, will alone show the real superiority of each, separately considered. But if both are occupied, and each place is thus made to blend its peculiar advantages, they present one of the most magnificent fields of Missionary enterprise, that the Christian Church could desire. On the one hand, 1. Shanghai is the port of Soo-chow, from which it is distant about fifty miles the metropolis of classic lite- rature, of taste, and of fashion the Oxford of China a 284 SUMMARY VIEW OF SHANGHAI. centre of influence, whence the rays of native philoso- phy are dispersed over the millions of educated Chinese. 2. Looking beyond the events of the present time, and contemplating the possible extension of foreign intercourse with the interior, we regard Shanghai also as the key to Nanking, the old capital of the Empire, and distant only about 200 miles. 3. Again, it commands the entrance of the Yang- tze-keang, forming, by its junction with the Grand Canal, the vast central artery of wealth and com- merce, which supplies life and warmth to the most distant extremities of the empire. 4. Occupying a central position, midway on a line of coast running nearly 2000 miles from north to south, of all the free ports it approaches nearest to the present capital, Peking. It lies within fifty miles of the 32d degree of north latitude, beyond which British vessels are prohibited, by treaty, from sailing within a distance of 150 miles from the coast. 5. If the presence of foreign influence be deemed a valuable adjunct to its other advantages, Shanghai (as .before intimated) already possesses an extent of com- merce exceeding the united amount of all the other free ports, exclusive of Canton ; and, as such, must become an important rendezvous for native merchants from the interior. The importance of this position for disseminating the Gospel through the interior, by means of a native agency hereafter, can scarcely be over-rated. 6. Lastly, if we take a large view, and extend the eye of faith over the boundless expanse unexplored and unoccupied by Missionary labourers, we behold, in either of these two stations, the bright spot from MISSIONARY ADVANTAGES OF NINGPO. 285 which the light of truth might penetrate the darkness brooding over Japan, the Loo-choo islands, and the surrounding archipelago. To the south-east lie the interesting group of the Loo-choo islands, within three days' sail in either monsoon. To the north-east we behold Japan, with its pagan millions, so long shut out, by exclusive jealousy, from intercourse with Christendom, within little more than three days' sail with a favourable breeze. On the other hand, Ningpo, lying about a hundred miles to the south of Shanghai, and enjoying many of its advantages in a modified degree, possesses additional independent facilities. 1. The population, from the limited extent of its foreign commerce, is less exposed to the disquieting contaminating influences on their simplicity. 2. The literary character and social refinement of the people of Ningpo have acquired a celebrity throughout the empire. 3. Ningpo is the usual point of access to the popu- lous city of Hang-chow, which is the capital of the province of Che-keang, and is inferior in importance only to Soo-chow. 4. It has also an extensive native trade with the interior. 5. Lastly, its situation on the mainland, opposite to Chusan, invests it with an important character, under a variety of future contingencies, of which it places us in a position to avail ourselves. In the event of a recurrence of hostilities, Chusan would probably, as in the last war, be immediately occupied by British troops ; and, once re-occupied, it requires no prophetic 286 COMPARATIVE VIEW OF BOTH STATIONS. wisdom to predict its permanent retention, and its probable substitution for Hong Kong, as the base of British power. This would open Chusan to Missio- nary efforts ; and Missionaries from Ningpo, speaking the same dialect, would be ready at once to enter on this fertile, salubrious, and populous island, without destroying, but rather cementing, the compactness of the two other stations. At both places the climate is favo arable for Europeans of ordinary physical strength ; the boun- dary regulations permit a considerable extent of Mis- sionary exertion ; the people are friendly and re- spectful to foreigners ; the rulers evince no dispo- sition to oppose the efforts of Missionaries ; and the dialects of Shanghai and Ningpo, though dissimilar, resemble each other more than at any other two of the consular cities of China. Should unforeseen cir- cumstances, therefore, lead to a change of scene of Missionary labours from one place to the other, the inconveniences under this head would be considerably diminished. Viewed, therefore, as combining in themselves the several distinct advantages of salubrious climate, eligible residence, and friendly disposition of the in- habitants of direct communication with Europe of comparatively quiet isolation from foreigners of contiguity to the strongholds of native science of local proximity to the second largest city in the empire of importance in regard to Chusan of central position in reference to the whole of China and of future bearings of the most magnificent order on the evangelization of the surrounding archipelago the united Missionary Stations of Shanghai and INCIPIENT DANGERS AT SHANGHAI. 2S7 Ningpo may, without hesitation, be asserted to present one of the noblest and most promising fields in the East. Their largeness of scope, and their central position amid surrounding regions, where one unexpected event of Providence may place millions of idolaters within reach of Christian philanthropy, point out these two cities as uniting in themselves facilities and advantages, for which we may look in vain in any other two stations on the coast of China, open to foreigners. At the period of my second visit to Shanghai, the Missionary services were conducted in the same manner as on my former visit. The friendly dispo- sition of the people towards foreigners remained unabated, though sometimes exposed to the danger of interruption from the conduct of the crews of the European and American vessels in the river. Shang- hai is a second Liverpool, in the extent of its com- merce and in the various races of people attracted thither by gain, who compose the lowest classes of its population. Whole streets are tenanted by the men of Fokeen the Irishmen of China men of ardent, impetuous, and enterprising minds, but turbulent and irascible withal. It is vain for foreigners to attempt any overbearing conduct towards this spirited race. A blow for a blow, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, is their maxim of daily life. The Chinese generally, in these more northerly cities, would as soon think of encountering a legion, as of attacking individual foreigners, whose athletic powers of bodily strength they are apt to overrate. But the men of the Chinchew junks have already begun to break this spell of terror. Some incipient symptoms may be already traced of their increasing determination to resist the 288 A NEW SECT OF CHINESE MORALISTS. aggression of foreigners. Two or three of the mer- cantile residents, who flourished their sticks rather incautiously over the heads of these junk-men, were speedily disarmed and put to an ignominious flight. This incautious demeanour towards the natives on the part of the better class of foreigners, and the occasional excesses of the foreign sailors temporarily visiting the port, are the principal danger to Missio- nary exertions at Shanghai, and the great obstacle to the extension of our general intercourse with the respectable Chinese in all the consular cities of China. The foreign trade at Shanghai is rapidly in- creasing. Fourteen vessels of large size were at this time in port. The following fact, which occurred during my stay, may be mentioned as an instance of the importance of Shanghai in regard to the interior of China. One of the Missionaries was visited by a Chinese merchant from the interior, a member of a new phi- losophical sect, who had banded themselves together to effect a reform in morals, and to correct the pride and avarice of their countrymen. This merchant's favourite scheme, after hearing the Missionary preach, was the possibility of grafting Confucianism on Chris- tianity, or Christianity on Confucianism, and combining the excellence of both systems. He made many inquiries about the nature of the Trinity, and whether the Holy Ghost was not merely the intelligent soul of the man Jesus. Many other similar questions showed the bias of his thoughts, and the real sincerity of his desire of knowledge. The greatest stumbling-block to his mind seemed to be the exclusive claims of Christianity to truth, and its condemnation of all other RE-APPEARANCE OF COMMISSIONER LIN. 289 systems of morality and religion as resting on funda- mental error. The same Missionary was also engaged in a Chinese publication, which possessed a considerable degree of interest. A British merchant had liberally placed a thousand dollars at his disposal, for incurring the expense of re-editing a native work on geography, which had lately made its appearance. This was the production of no less a personage than the celebrated Commissioner Lin. This functionary, who bore so prominent a part in the early proceedings attending the collision with Britain, had suddenly, re-appeared on the political arena. Instead of being dead,"* as report affirmed, he had regained the imperial favour, and had been elevated to the high position of viceroy of two of the interior provinces. The restoration of the disgraced minister is some proof that the old anti- European or conservative party at Peking still possess a considerable influence in the imperial councils. The geographical work alluded to was composed during the period of his disgrace, and has been full of interest to the Chinese literati. Though" it abounded with many errors and mis-statements respecting Western nations, it contained much that was cre- ditable to the understanding and knowledge of its author ; and, when pruned of its inaccuracies by the English editor, will become a useful text-book to the Chinese on the statistics of foreign lands. During my stay at Shanghai I took frequent walks through the city, in which I was generally accom- panied by my friend M'Clatchie. On one occasion we formed the acquaintance of a schoolmaster, whom I afterwards re-visited, with a present of books for u 290 A CHINESE SCHOOL. himself and the more intelligent of his pupils. The master and his assistant were sitting at different ends of the school, each listening to the recitations of a pupil. Each boy stood with his back turned on the teacher, and, rocking from side to side, enunciated, with breathless haste and in a' loud singing tone, some pas- sage from the Ta Heoh. The teacher had a pen, with which he inserted marks in the book, as the pupil proceeded with his lesson. My entrance discomposed the gravity of the boys, and was near producing the exercise of a severe act of discipline on some of the juniors. The boys, who were sitting at their desks, screamed out their lessons at the top of their voices, which is an essential part of study in a Chinese school. The noise and uproar of a few boys at their study is no slight disturbance to the unfortunate Chinaman, who occupies the adjoining dwelling. Each of the elder scholars took some tracts, with the permission of the teacher, in order to carry them home to their parents. The master was very polite, and rather excessive in his acknowledgment of the favour conferred on him by my visit. The listless look and quiet manner of the seen-sang would hardly prepare a visitor for that stern correction, which Chinese teachers sometimes apply to the indo- lence of youth. The strange posture of the pupil, who turns his back on the master in order that he may be unable to look over the book, is rather con- trary to European ideas of propriety. It has given rise to a characteristic phrase, pei shoo, literally " to back a book," which has the general meaning " to repeat memoriter," from this practice of boys turning away their face from those who hear their repetitions. SPECIMEN OF A NATIVE TEACHER. 291 The teacher of my friend M f Clatchie was an extraordinary specimen of this class of seen-sang. He had attained the literary rank of sew-tsai, and his degree made him almost intolerably vain and con- ceited. Keaou seen-sang was about sixty years of age, retained much of the energy of youth, and seemed to revel in a paradise of self-complacency, when we sat to listen to his magniloquent intonations of the classics. The impassioned gesture and literary enthusiasm of Keaou would have led us to believe that his mental enjoyment was very great, and the ideas conveyed by the composition very sublime. But on translating the immortal fragment, it was frequently found to consist of some such sentiments as these : " He who makes just agreements, can fulfil his pro- mises ; he who behaves with reverence and propriety, puts shame and disgrace to a distance ; he who loses not the friendship of those whom he ought to treat with kindness and respect, may be a master." Notwithstanding his recent detection in an act of petty meanness, almost amounting to dishonesty, in a pecuniary transaction, and a severe reproof which he lately received for attempting to excite prejudice in a Budhist priest who visited my friend, by instilling into his mind objections to the inelegant style of the Chinese Scriptures, he still retained very lofty notions of his dignity. Of this the following was an example. While engaged in instructing his reverend pupil in Chinese, he took an opportunity of explaining the various gradations of rank, and the conventional appellations of respect current in polite society. He said, " It is usual to apply the term sze-foo, ' doctor,' to learned scholars, like myself, distinguished in u 2 292 RESPECT FOR THE WRITTEN CHARACTER. literature. To an inferior gentleman, like yourself, a literary student, it is usual to give the title laou-yay, 1 sir.' " He then concluded these conceited remarks by the modest request, that my friend M'Clatchie would issue an order to his servants always to address Keaou by the title of sze-foo, or doctor. On another occasion, his pupil was about to throw away a piece of paper, which was inscribed with some Chinese sentences. The old man affected great sur- prise and indignation at the dishonour done to litera- ture. After making some verbal remarks, he proceeded to indite a little essay on the honour due to writing, which he afterwards presented to his pupil, to prevent future acts of the kind. A translation of this rare document would have afforded more amusement than instruction to the Western reader. It furnished a true specimen of Chinese logic, and of that remarkable stagnation of intellect, which their puerile course of education tends to create and perpetuate. At the same time, the fact indicated a respect for the written character, the universal prevalence of which feeling among the Chinese is of incalculable advantage in the distribution of Christian books, and furnishes an en- couraging hope, that these written messengers of truth will meet no mutilation from the hands of the people. In one of our excursions through the city, we passed through the different portions of the extensive range of buildings, which form the public offices of the che- heen. As we were examining the judgment-seat, and listening to the proffered explanations of the by- standers, respecting a recent case of corporal punish- ment with the bamboo, one of the convicts appeared among them, bearing a large wooden collar, which A RICH CONVICT SUFFERING BY DEPUTY. 293 was to be worn for four months. The culprit seemed to be in very good spirits, though rather the worse in appearance for his encumbrance, which projected two feet in each direction from under his neck. On further inquiry, it appeared that he was only the sub- stitute for a richer man, who had been sentenced for theft to wear the wooden collar for four months, but had succeeded in buying the services of a poor man as his deputy in undergoing the slow torture. One month of the period of punishment had already elapsed. The real convict was pursuing his usual business in a distant part ; and in three months the collar-bearer would be released, with a pecuniary reward for his four months' captivity and disgrace. Meanwhile, the dignity of Chinese law suffers in the public estimation, and the humiliating fact is pro- claimed from the august seat of justice, that money has the power of atoning for crime, and purchasing an exemption from personal punishment. Hence it is no wonder that, among a people whose only plea- sures are of a sensual kind, and under a Government, in whose eye riches cover a multitude of sins, money should have become the sole divinity enshrined in every man's affections. We sat for some time in a suite of rooms occupied by policemen and jailors, a set of noisy, ill-looking gamesters, whose vocation had not improved their manner nor their physiognomy. We were permitted to look through the bars into some of the prison-cells, the inmates of which eagerly gathered around the door, and appeared to be in very good spirits, if a judgment might be formed from their animated con- versation and light-hearted humour. 294 MILITARY REVIEWS. Oct. 21st I went to see the military exercising their musketry in a large open space near the lesser southern gate. They advanced in companies, with intervals of ten feet between each man; and, after discharging their matchlocks, ran back a few yards to re-load. Meanwhile another party advanced to the same spot, and, after discharging their pieces, as rapidly retreated. Their matchlocks were of most clumsy contrivance and rude construction. There was a larger kind of gun borne to the attack by two men, one of whom supported it on his shoulder a few- inches from the muzzle, and the other, supporting the stock, took aim and discharged the piece. The exhibition looked very much like child's play, and seemed to be viewed as such by the assembled mob. On a subsequent occasion I had also an opportunity of witnessing a sword-exercise at the same place, in which various military evolutions were performed. Their skill consisted chiefly in piling up their shields in fantastical combination, so as to form a little wall or testudo, behind which they sometimes retreated to escape the darts of assailants. At another time, the more advanced ranks threw themselves on the ground, and covered themselves with their shields ; while those in the rear passed over them, treading on the shields in their advance. There was also a sham- fight, in which the combatants raised a loud yell at every blow which they dealt, in order to strike terror into their adversaries. When the exhibition was at an end, the subordinate officers approached a raised area, at a little distance, to receive the harangue of a mili- tary Mandarin who presided on the occasion. OFFENSIVE EPITHET TO FOREIGNERS. 295 In a later part of the same day, as I was sitting to rest myself in the shop of a tailor, who had lately arrived with his partners from Ningpo, several Chinese assembled outside, and began to converse with each other about foreigners. One of the Chinese was a tradesman, just arrived from Soo-chow. He asked me if I was not one of the two Englishmen, who had lately secretly visited Soo-chow. On my replying in the negative, he entered into a long conversation with the men of Ningpo, during which I heard him apply the term, quei-tze, or " devil," to the Englishmen. I interrupted him, and showed my strong disappro- bation of such an insulting expression. The man looked startled and ashamed, and soon watched his opportunity of taking a sudden departure, when I reminded him that a proclamation of the Mandarins rendered such an expression a punishable offence. The shopmen seemed very annoyed at the occur- rence, and explained that he was no acquaintance of theirs, but a mere casual visitor. They said, that he was a bad man, " not understanding the principles of decorum, and destitute of politeness." These were the most galling epithets to which a Chinese ear could listen ; and the man of Soo-chow had to hear this reproof, before he could effect his exit. Oct. 2&th As I was proceeding, in a chair, towards the European factories, then in course of erection, the taou-tai was borne along in state through the street. My bearers quickly laid down my chair by the side of the way close to the wall, and all business seemed for a few minutes at a pause, as the great Mandarin approached. First of all came a couple of men fan- tastically dressed, and behind them, at the distance of 296 EXPLANATOEY EDICT OP RELIGIOUS TOLERATION. a few yards, two executioners. Soon after, two men bore those common implements of justice, the Chinese bamboo, while two more bore immense thongs, or whips of leather. The taou-tai then passed in his chair of state, while the usual retinue of a few horse- men brought up the rear. His appearance was that of a grave, thoughtful old man, with long white beard and moustachios. Whether my bearers took the liberty of dropping me down in the street from curiosity, or from conventional respect to their chief magistrate, I could not be certain ; but was inclined to believe that it was from the latter feeling, and that to have with- held this customary homage would have exposed them to the danger of correction. Before leaving Shanghai I had an opportunity of reading a translation of a public document, purporting to be a proclamation of Pe-chang, viceroy of the " Leang Keang," in which publicity was given to an edict of Ke-ying, the Imperial Commissioner for transacting negotiations with foreign nations. This document was explanatory of the former edict of universal religious toleration. In this second edict, the latter functionary proceeded to define the term teen choo keaou, " the religion of the Lord of Heaven," contained in his former edict respecting the toleration of Christianity. The term was now restricted' to " those who worshipped the Lord of Heaven, and venerated the cross" paying respect to images, pictures, and saints. The second edict proceeded to prohibit ill-disposed persons from diffusing their religious opinions, under the pretext of being comprised under the term teen choo keaou, to prevent which dishonesty the limitation of the term was professedly made. VOYAGE TO CHUSAN. 297 Some of the expressions furnished ample internal evidence of Popish, and probably French influence having been employed with the Chinese authorities. It will afterwards be seen in what way this unfair par- tiality was rectified. On Oct. 27th I bade farewell to my dear friends, M'Clatchie, Bishop Boone, and the other Missionaries at Shanghai, and embarked on board a British brig for Chusan. We set sail the next morning, and pro- ceeded about five miles down the river, till the unfa- vourable tide compelled us to drop anchor. During this delay I landed on the south bank of the river, in order to distribute tracts, but found none of the villagers able to read. I ascertained, however, that there were some Roman Catholics, at the distance of a le (one-third of a British mile), who were able to read. After proceeding with a guide in that direction, about half the distance, I was hastily summoned back to the vessel, a favourable wind having sprung up in the meantime. I left the books with my conductor to take to the village, who promised to fulfil my request. After anchoring for the night at the mouth of the Woosung river, we sailed the next morning, with wind and tide in our favour, down the Yang-tze-keang. It was a beautiful day, and the voyage was ex- tremely pleasant. A little before sun-set, however, the vessel was suddenly laid almost on her beam-ends by a white squall, which, coming on without the slightest warning, and unattended with either rain or clouds, so often dismasts vessels in these seas. Our vessel was, for a few moments, in great confusion, and we expected our masts to give way before the violence of the squall. After a scene of considerable disorder, 298 ARRIVAL AT CHUSAN. we were again enabled to run on in our course under reduced sail. The captain, for a time, hesitated about anchoring, at sun-set, under the Rugged Islands ; but as the wind had moderated, and there was good anchorage throughout the bay, through which our course lay, he determined to sail on for a few hours till we reached some of the islands further south. He afterwards repented of his decision, the wind soon increasing to a violent gale, which carried us at the mercy of the elements, in the dark of night, with only one sail set, at so rapid a rate as to endanger the strength of the chain-cable if we ventured on casting anchor. After two hours' great anxiety, as it was conjectured that we were near some of the rocky islands which lined the shore in all directions, at nine P.M. the order was given to let go the anchor, on which the vessel swung round, and, amid furious tossings and drivings, rode out the storm in safety during the night. A merciful Providence preserved us from destruction, as we were borne towards a lee- shore in a tremendous sea, all our lives being for the time suspended on the weakest link which held us to the anchorage. The next morning revealed to us our position amongst rocky islands on nearly every side. Soon after day-break, the wind having moderated, we were able to pursue our course through the narrow but deep channel of the Blackwall passage ; and, after en- countering baffling winds, anchored a little outside Chusan harbour in the evening of October the 30th. CHAPTER XX. VISIT TO THE SACRED ISLAND OF POOTOO. VOYAGE TO POOTOO VARIOUS LOCALITIES OF THE ISLAND THE "PAH-KWA" THE "SEEN-SZE" THE "HOW-SZE" ROMANTIC SCENERY HOSPITALITY OF THE ABBOT PRIEST IMPORTUNING FOR GIFTS TO THE IDOLS COLLEGIATE SYSTEM OF SUCCESSION TO TEMPLE-BENEFICES THE " YING-SEW" PALPABLE DECAY OF BUDHISM FUNERAL OF A PRIEST AVARICE AND IGNORANCE OF MONKS QUES- TIONS OF PEOPLE VISIT TO THE SUMMIT OF " FUH TING SHAN" A NEWLY-ARRIVED VOTARY GENERAL REVIEW OF POOTOO, AND ITS INFLUENCE IN THE DIFFUSION OF BUDHISM. AFTER a stay of a few days in the city of Tinghai, on Nov. 5th I carried into execution the long-cherished project of a visit to the Budhist priests in their sacred island of Pootoo. I was accompanied by a native servant and a crew of five Chinese, in a boat which carried two sails, and was covered over at the top by a semicircular arch of matting stretched on hoops. This covering rose nearly five feet from the deck, so that a person could move about in a stooping posture. Within this part of the boat my bed and that of my boy were stowed in separate corners, and a pot of charcoal at the other end served to cook our provi- sions. The wind and tide being unfavourable, we had only proceeded three miles to the east of the harbour, when we were obliged to anchor and wait for the 300 VOYAGE TO POOTOO. change of tide. Here, within twenty yards of the shore, our little vessel was moored, and my Chinese companions laid themselves down to sleep. After enveloping myself in furs, and patching up some old sails to form a shelter from the wind at our cabin's head, I soon contrived to follow their example. After two or three hours, the noise from the neighbouring junks, hauling up their anchors, roused me from my slumbers, but not my sleepy crew ; whom I could with difficulty induce to draw up the anchor, and propel the boat by sculling, it being now slack-water. We continued to stretch along the southern shore of the island of Chusan, which was here lined with villages of salt-makers, as the continuous heaps of dirty deposit on the beach indicated. At length we passed through the channel called the Sin-kea-mun, on the northern side of which was a large village, with one or two houses bearing the marks of English design in their construction. Here there was a little fleet of fishing-boats lying at anchor. The barren sides and summits of the hills in this part would fail to impress on a stranger the real fertility of the in- terior of the island. As we passed through the Sin-kea-mun, a junk of piratical appearance excited the suspicions and fears of our crew, who, after sailing a little distance outside, returned within the passage, and anchored close to some other vessels. Here they decided on remaining till a change of tide, without pushing across the open sea, a few miles, to Pootoo, now dimly descried by starlight in the distance. We slept as well as the roaring of the waves, the violence of the wind, and the dashing of the surge permitted, till about midnight ; SCENES ON ARRIVAL. 301 when we availed ourselves of the changing tide, and, beating against the head- wind, succeeded, by means of frequent tacking, in crossing the open channel to Poo- too. Our course was rather tempestuous, and required no little agility in clinging to the side of the boat, as we rolled from side to side. At length, after two hours, we arrived on the beach, and were saluted by the dis- cordant cries of about a dozen boatmen making inqui- ries. Various altercations arose during their endea- vour to haul the boat ashore from her present awkward and uncomfortable position, where every swell of the waves dashed her up and down on the rocks. After clearing my little apartment of some Chinese, who wanted to sleep around me, and whose honesty I was not disposed to trust, I got a little sleep before morn- ing. I was awoke some time before day-light by the bells and beating of wooden sound-boards, to which the priests in an adjoining temple were timing their idolatrous matins. On disembarking from the boat, and walking a few yards on the beach, I found that we had taken up our position in a little bay, sheltered by some projecting headlands of rock, on the south-eastern side of the island. The first object which attracted my notice was a retinue of coolies, bearing a number of bags of rice to one of the temples, from some of the temple- lands on the adjacent islands. The bags were in- scribed, in large characters, with the name of the monastery to which they belonged. Every now and then a priest would approach the boat, and gaze on us while we partook of our morning meal. The whole vicinity bore marks of the indolent quietude, which forms so predominant a characteristic of the 302 THE " PAH-KWA." system of superstitious error, which here reigns in all the power of ancient renown. Soon afterwards I went in a chair to explore the different localities of the island. I had first to pass under a gorgeous arch, of apparently recent construc- tion, with sacred emblems and Chinese inscriptions painted on the boards of which it was composed. Turning to the left, I ascended several flights of steps, overhung by stately trees. I passed through a series of minor temples, till at last I entered the principal square, where several of the priests were observed, some engaged in working, some in cooking, and others in the idle effort to pass away their time. The build- ings were in a dirty state, but the stone steps were in tolerably good repair. The whole assemblage of buildings was included under the name Pah-kwa. Some of the lower class of priests stared, others laughed, and a few examined my books ; but scarcely one of the priests in this temple could read fluently and witliout hesitation over each character. After leaving this place, I ascended a hill which extended along the eastern beach, with huge columns of rock on the left, inscribed with sacred maxims. I soon came to a kind of grotto, crossing the road on the high ground ; from which, as I slowly descended by a well-paved path, with a pretty avenue of shrubs on either side, I gained a full view of the beautiful range of temples, which, under the name of Seen-sse, form the principal monastery in Pootoo. After passing under a monumental stone arch, I turned to the left through a fine open space, from which an elegant bridge lay across a small lake, with its green floating bosom of lotus-flowers. I advanced into the principal THE " SEEN-SZE." 303 court, and found myself speedily surrounded by a number of priests, some of whom were men of intelli- gence and education. Here, on applying the usual test of reading the title-page, I found comparatively few persons who were unable to read the characters, and consequently my supply of books was in great request. During this process of distribution, a bell was heard ringing a summons to a meal in a temple at a short distance, on which my new acquaintances suddenly scampered off, like hungry school-boys, in the direction of the dining-hall. I was left alone with a few of the workmen and other secular per- sons, connected with the temples and permitted to reside on the island. On going myself, shortly afterwards, in the same direction, I approached the hall as the priests, about thirty in number, were chant- ing a grace to the idol, before partaking of food ; after which the process of consumption began in right good earnest, rice and broth being the only articles which supplied their meal. Leaving the Seen-sze, and defiling to the east, along a row of shops, I passed, by a flight of ascending steps, to the top of the next hill. I was carried over a series of rugged precipices overhanging the sea, and re- sounding with the billows dashing wildly beneath, with all the bold sternness of the stormy ocean stretching far away on the horizon. The wide expanse of watery surface was occasionally dotted by a little island, or well-nigh concealed rock, where the white foam of the breaking waves alone pointed out to the mariner the latent danger. After proceeding, by a gradual descent, over a distance of another mile, be- tween hedge-rows of woodbines and bushes, enclosing 304 THE " HOW-SZE." scanty areas of cultivation on either side, I at last passed through a little cluster of trees, from which I emerged before an old dilapidated tower. This ruin formed the entrance to the other principal monastery of the island, named the How-sze. It was situated in a natural amphitheatre of rugged rocks sheltering it on the north, and was overhung by clumps of trees dotted up the hill-side, the whole presenting a pleas- ing object to the eye amid the surrounding wild. The chilling blasts of winter had begun already to strip the woods of their luxuriance, which was shown by the naked state of the trees, and the withered appearance of the branches. Here the priests volunteered many acts of civility, and brought refreshments of tea and sweetmeats, while I availed myself of their curiosity in presenting tracts and portions of the New Testa- ment to those who could read. One man, who seemed to partake of the general curiosity, and to be in no way destitute of an average degree of intelligence, I discovered to be deaf and dumb. Some of the priests appeared here to be a low vulgar class of men. Though respectful to myself, they ventured on taking a few liberties with my Chinese boy, who resented the affront on his pride and dignity by angry looks, till at last his ire was greatly excited by an old priest pre- suming to touch his queue of hair behind. On my being conducted to the apartments of the abbot of this monastery, who shares with the abbot of the *Seen-sze the jurisdiction of the island, the usual scenes of such introductions recurred. The abbot stated his name to be Yung-nang. A repast was set out, of which I partook. My boy, who was smartly attired, here took the liberty of passing himself off A DECEASED PRIEST. 305 for a gentleman, and accepted the abbot's invitation, with evident delight at his newly-estimated import- ance. He continued eyeing me all the time, and was half afraid of my mortifying his dignity by some dis- covery of our real relative situations, while he coolly took his seat at the table, and bowed gracefully to every remark addressed to him by the abbot. A dirty ill-looking priest begged importunately for money for the idol, as I took my departure from the outer court. On the way back I turned into a few lesser temples, remarkable for nothing but their indolent priests and dirty courts. The general appearance and useless unprofitable lives of these bare-headed closely-shaven monks, formed but a poor comment on the boasting self-complacent inscription, which, in large characters, on one of the neighbouring rocks, was intended to impress the visitor with the sanctity of the place and its priests Chung kwo yew shing jin, " The Central Kingdom possesses holy men." I afterwards turned aside from the broad path to the left, by a little by-way leading from the Seen-sze, which conducted us, close by a pretty stone pagoda and a number of larger tombs, to a little temple, overhanging the sea on the south-eastern extremity of the island. Here I expected to find an old priest, above seventy years of age, who was well qualified to give information respecting the island, on which for so long a period of life he had been a quiet inhabitant. Instead of the intelligent old man, who had only a fortnight before been found a useful and valuable informant to a Missionary friend who then visited Pootoo, I was only in time to gaze on the bare coffin which inclosed his remains, and before which the 306 COLLEGIATE SYSTEM OF TEMPLE-BENEFICES. lurid glare of sepulchral lamps was shedding a dim and mournful lustre. The superstitious emblems of death were strewed in profusion around that chamber of the dead ; but the solemn realities of the eternal world seemed in no way present to the minds of the by-standers. One man was daubing a coat of varnish on the exterior of the coffin. Two priests looked on and indulged in their usual vein of light-minded fri- volity, replying to my questions about the deceased with the utmost indifference. He had died of old age about five days before, having been preferred, by seniority of standing, from the principal monastery, the Seen-sze, to this little temple, which contained two other priests, and of which he was the superior. These lesser establishments are a kind of incumbency, or college-preferment, to which the monks succeed, in course, according to the seniority of their fellowship. A new superior was about to arrive from the mother- temple, to succeed the deceased. It was an affecting spectacle to mingle with this exhibition of silver paper-money, incense sticks, and funeral lamps, over a corpse unillumined by the hope of the Gospel, and uncheered by any other joy, in the last agony of death, than that of virtual annihilation. After pro- ceeding down the side of a hill, and over a few hun- dred yards of sandy beach, I arrived at the boat, after a trip altogether of seven miles. Later in the day I ascended a hill close to the land- ing place, in a northern direction, till I reached a little temple called the Ying-sew, containing fifteen priests, of kind manners, some of them being also men of intelligent minds. On entering the first large building, which contained the principal idols, I was I STATISTICAL FACTS EESPECTING BUDHISM. 307 soon surrounded by the usual number of priests, eager to receive books. One middle-aged priest was sitting at a table before the large images of the three Budhs, with the apparatus of worship before him ; and, amid the loud talking of some, and the boisterous laughter of others, pursued his hurried repetitions of " O-me-to fuh" beating time on a piece of hollow wood. Nothing could move his equanimity, or disturb his devotion ; and it was not till half-an-hour after, that he joined our party in an adjoining court, where the priests had been performing the rites of hospitality. One of their number was a man from Fokeen, who spoke the Mandarin dialect, and seemed to be a person of more than ordinary education and ability. He was about thirty-five years of age, thirty of which he had spent in the temple as a priest. I observed that the better order of priests were almost invariably those who in childhood had been dedicated to the priest- hood. The others were an inferior class of men, generally with little education, and of doubtful cha- racter. From this priest I received various particu- lars of information respecting the island. After ex- plaining the general statistics of the place, and the different localities of the neighbourhood, he informed me that the island of Pootoo had been ceded to the Budhists, as an endowment for the diffusion of their religion, by one of the Chinese emperors of the Han dynasty. This date would make the origin of their religious endowment contemporaneous with the ear- liest centuries of the Christian era. In reply to my inquiry, at what date Budhism was supposed to have entered China, he expressed his inability to give me the desired information, and seemed to think me x 2 308 DIMINISHED ZEAL OF PEOPLE. unreasonable in trying his antiquarian knowledge on so obscure a matter. He said that Pootoo had seen brighter days, and spoke with regret of the degeneracy of the present age, in respect of zeal for idolatry. He especially mentioned the fact of there having been three hundred more priests on the island a century ago ; and accounted for the diminution in their number by the want of interest and devotion shown by the people on the mainland, who suffered the temples, one after another, to fall into ruin, without incurring the expense of rebuilding them. The endowment of the temple, in which he himself resided, arose from 200 mow of land, assigned to it as its revenue in the opposite island of Chew-ko-tze. Besides this, they enjoyed an uncertain revenue from the offerings of casual devotees visiting the sacred locality. He did not like to specify the average annual amount of these offerings ; and, as there were several by-standers list- ening, he appeared desirous of avoiding that subject. He stated his opinion, that, out of every hundred priests in Pootoo, only twenty were men of education ; but that the greater number could decipher individual characters, though unable to understand a book; a distinction which ought always to be borne in mind in estimating the real progress of education among the Chinese. On my leaving, they followed me in a body to the outer gate. In the evening I took a short excursion to the top of a hill overlooking the Seen-sze, where I met ten priests going to a funeral on the beach. They in- vited me to accompany them, and put several ques- tions to me on our way. Among other similar inqui- ries, showing the real current of their affections, amid FUNERAL OF A PRIEST. 309 all the affected sanctity of the cloister, were the fol- lowing : " How far is it to England ? How many days' voyage is it to your country ? Does it possess much silver ? Is it a rich country ? Has it any idols or priests? May we go with you to England?" I told them that they were welcome to go with me to England, if they were willing to defray the expenses of the voyage. On their learning the amount of the passage-money, they seemed to abandon as hopeless the idea of ever reaching a land, in which they appa- rently thought that dollars might be picked up like pebbles on the sea-shore. On arriving at the beach, we were joined by some other priests, whose arrival raised their number alto- gether to twenty. Preparations were now made to lift the coffin from the boat to the shore. This was done amid much noise and levity, the boatmen scold- ing each other, and the priests exchanging jokes and loud laughter. The deceased was a priest of the island, who had died at Ningpo in the course of his excursions on the mainland, and had been brought hither, a distance of seventy miles, for interment in the sacred soil of Pootoo. His death occurred about a week previously, and the process of corruption had already commenced. After the coffin had been landed and placed on some stools for support, the customary preparations took place, and a procession was formed by the priests, who advanced in couples. A dirge was chanted, accompanied by the tinkling of a bell and the beating of a sound-board. Three other priests, who seemed to be related to the deceased, placed incense-sticks, candles, and fruit on a table before the coffin, and bowed to the ground, knocking 310 QUESTIONS OF THE PEOPLE. their foreheads against the stones, before a small tablet inscribed with the name of the deceased. After this, a layman, who was said to be the adopted son of the deceased, proceeded to bow, in adoration of the de- parted spirit, with due form and solemnity. Imme- diately after rising from these prostrations they ap- proached me, and asked several questions with the utmost unconcern. The priests were frequently talk- ing, and even laughing, in the midst of their chant. The lay-relative, who was not more than twenty years of age, asked me if I could give him some opium- medicine. He admitted that he was addicted to the indulgence of smoking opium, and stated his inability to abandon the habit, although he was desirous of being freed from its power. One of the priests also asked me for the same medicine, but denied that he smoked opium, saying that he wanted it in order to cure a friend of the habit. The funeral-procession soon moved slowly off to the place of sepulture, about a mile distance, amid a continued beating of gongs to affright the evil spirits. Two shopkeepers, attached to the Seen-sze, soon after- wards joined me. They made several inquiries about the books which I had distributed, and the object of my visit to Pootoo. They asked if persons, who em- braced the Christian religion, were permitted to eat animal food and drink wine ; which questions were naturally suggested by the abstinence from these par- ticular articles of diet, professed by the Budhist priests. The next morning 1 proceeded to visit some remote localities, situated at the northern and western extre- mities of the island. After pursuing my way about ASCENT OF " FUH TING SHAN." 311 three miles to the How-sze, I turned by a devious path on the left, and ascended the steep acclivity known by the name Fuh ting shan, " Budh's highest hill." In some parts the ascent lay over steep flights of stone steps, with which the hilly parts of the island abounded. From the summit a fine view was gained of the sea and the numerous surrounding islands ; and in order to remind the stranger of the extensive dominion of the deity, who ruled these realms of superstition, the inscription stood forth from the projecting rock in large and legible characters, Hai teenfuh kwo, " the sea and the heaven are Budh's kingdom." After descend- ing a little distance on the other side of the hill, amid a small avenue of cedars and cypresses, I arrived at one of the lesser temples of the island, containing twenty- five priests. The name /|jj^ fuh, " Budh," met the eye in every direction, with other inscriptions calculated to impress the visitor with the sanctity and harmony of these hermits in their retreat from the busy world. At the entrance there sat the sleek smirking idol of Budh, with the body gilded over, and blue tresses of hair on his head. The priests were very illiterate and ignorant, scarcely three of the whole number being able to decipher a character. The place, also, was overgrown with filth, and bore evident marks of decay. The vacant stare and half-idiotic appearance of these poor creatures produce^, a gloomy feeling, which the fine view of the sea on the opposite side of the island failed for some time to dissipate from my mind. Later in the day I went over some fields along the western beach, in which several husbandmen were pursuing their labour. My visit caused them some 312 A NEWLY-ARRIVED VOTARY. little interruption, from the difficulty which they ex- perienced in subduing the mad impetuosity of their buffaloes, who seemed to be unaccustomed to barba- rian features, and disposed to rush to an attack. I returned by a circuitous route, passing through some quadrangles of the Seen-sze on my way. Here I found that the abbot, the principal authority in the island, was absent at Ningpo. Some of the other priests invited me to take some tea ; and on my entering a large hall, I saw some of the books, which I distributed on the preceding day, lying on the tables in different parts of the room. As I sat among them, they showed many acts of civility, and said that they would not object to my coming to reside on the island ; in which event I should receive good treatment from them. Actual experience might hereafter prove these assu- rances to have been insincere. I could, however, see no reason at the time to doubt their sincerity. There appears to be so little religious bigotry among the Chinese, that there is reason for believing that the feelings of self-interest, in the gain of a few dollars from rent of lodgings, would, in the minds of the priests, outweigh all considerations of fear for their religion or zeal for their superstitions. In the middle of the day I met a tradesman on the beach, who had just landed from Tinghai. He was dressed in his best clothes, and brought with him a number of presents. He told me that he was come on a pilgrimage to Pootoo, for the purpose of making an offering to the idols. On my endeavouring to show him the folly of worshipping lifeless objects, and ex- horting him to worship the one true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, he remained some time with me, EETURN TO CHUSAN. 313 and promised to accept my invitation to visit me on his return to Tinghai, at the house of my Missionary friend, within the north gate of the city. He pleaded the power of custom as his only inducement to the practice of idolatry ; and seemed to be influenced more by a feeling that it tended to good luck in his trading business, than by any regard to the character and objects of his devotions. In the afternoon we set sail, with a fair wind and favourable tide, and, after a rapid passage of three hours and a half, arrived in the harbour of Chusan. The scenes of curious interest, among which I had been mingling, were calculated to awaken many con- flicting emotions. The most careless mind, when brought into such a vicinity of monastic brotherhoods and temple endowments, and led to observe the marks of design which pervaded these institutions, as a grand and diversified machinery for the diffusion of Budh- ism, could not fail to be struck with the mutual affinities which exist between the various systems of error, and to exclaim, " How faithful a counterpart this of Popery ! " A more magnificent scheme could hardly be conceived or devised for the external diffu- sion of Budhism, and the maintenance of its hold over the popular mind. The project is one worthy the Pro- paganda of Rome in the most palmy days of her acti- vity and priestcraft. At the present time above six hundred priests reside on the island, in the leisure and moderate affluence of an ample endowment. Three hundred other mendicant friars and itinerant priests are generally absent in the neighbouring provinces, sub- sisting on the alms and offerings of the superstitious. Bound by their vows to a life of celibacy, they are left 314 GENERAL VIEW OF POOTOO. free from the cares of domestic life, to pursue, with- out distraction, the work of proselytism. After a sea- son of active exertion, they return to this isolated spot, associated with all the ancient glories of Budhism. Here they are permitted to refresh their weary bodies and exhausted minds with the natural beauties of scenery, the quiet solitude of contemplation, and a deeper initiation in the mysteries of their order, ere they pour forth anew their invigorated energies on the millions of the Chinese empire. The prescription of antiquity, and the devout liberality of ancient monarchs, have done all they could to enhance the external influence of the brotherhoods. The whole island, which is about one hundred le (thirty miles) in circumference, forms, together with the smaller adja- cent islands, the territory of the principal abbot resid- ing in the Seen-sze. This ecclesiastic divides a portion of his authority with the superior of the other principal monastery, the How-sze. Free from all payment of revenue to the Imperial Government, Pootoo is left under the sacred control of the principal Bonze. He acts as governor in matters of an ordinary kind ; and only in penal matters, which demand a more rigid correction than the mild restraints of sacerdotal rule, is a reference made to the chief magistrate of Tinghai. The priests are chiefly from the neighbouring province of Che-keang ; but a large number flock hither from the more distant provinces of the Empire. In the Seen- sze one hundred and fifty monks reside, and in the How- sze about eighty. There are also seventy-two lesser temples scattered over the island, with their resident inmates, all of them occupying the most romantic spots. The secularizing influence of female society is PALPABLE DECAY OF BUDHISM. 315 not permitted to allure these devotees from their ab- stractions. No women are permitted to dwell on this consecrated soil. Three hundred individuals of secu- lar callings, whose services are deemed necessary for the tillage of the soil and the supply of the necessary wants of the priests, are alone allowed to remain on the island. But the privilege extends not to the dead : only priests can be buried in Pootoo. No secular bones are permitted to whiten on the sacred soil, or to defile the sanctity of the place. Every thing, which human foresight could devise, has been conferred on Budhism, to enable it to make a gigantic and syste- matic effort for the amelioration of mankind. It has here enjoyed ample scope for the exercise of its influ- ence : it has found a fair field for the development of its inherent powers for good or evil. And yet, sup- ported alike by the favour of the powerful and the partialities of the multitude, Budhism has achieved no results ; and seems destined ere long to fall, from mere inherent decay, irrespectively of accelerating causes from without. For a justification of this belief, we look not only to the dilapidated state of their tem- ples, and the illiterate character of their priests, but also to the evident signs of contempt among the people. To this ^nay be added the obvious marks of scepticism among the priests themselves, in whose deportment there is seldom to be seen any indication of their own belief in the superstitions which they practise. Some might be tempted, in the view of this metropolis of Budhism, to give utterance to the wish, that Christianity possessed such a vantage ground for dealing its assault on the kingdom of darkness. In such a wish we do not sympathize. Armed with the 316 TRUE GROUNDS OF MISSIONARY HOPE. panoply of heaven, the evangelists of the pure gospel of Christ must be content to go forth, like their Master, trusting in the inherent power of His cause, rather than in the machinery of man's contrivance. Assured of the final subjugation of error, and of the triumph of Christian truth, it is for them to sow, even amid tears and discouragements, the good seed of His word, looking to the dews of divine grace, and the life-dif- fusing Sun of Righteousness, for an abundant harvest of joy ; when, in the kingdom of their common Father, " both he that soweth and he that reapeth shall rejoice together." CHAPTER XXI. DEPARTURE FROM CHUSAN TO FOO-CHOW FOO. CONCLUDING OCCURRENCES AT CHUSAN POLITICAL FEARS OF THE CHINESE EXCURSION ACROSS THE ISLAND CASES ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE ADVANTAGE OF MEDICAL MISSIONARY EFFORTS VOYAGE TO FOO-CHOW ROMAN-CATHOLIC PILOTS MOUTH OF THE RIVER MIN PICTURESQUE SCENERY APPROACH TO THE CITY. THE difficulty and delay experienced in obtaining a passage down the coast to the city of Foo-chow, de- tained me another month at Chusan, during which time I remained under the hospitable roof of the only other Protestant Missionary in the city of Tinghai. On the Sabbath I continued to hold a service in the joss-house near the barracks for the European troops, a few of whom also availed themselves of our family- service on Thursday evenings. During the first few days, the quiet monotony of daily occurrences was a little diversified by the general rejoicings and street illuminations of the Chinese, on the occasion of the birth-day of the emperor's mother. The approaching evacuation of the island by the British had evidently unsettled the minds of all the respectable classes of Chinese ; and the effect of this feeling was frequently observable in their fear of paying visits to my Ameri- can friend, and their unwillingness to be seen reading Christian books. Although the parents of the pupils 318 POLITICAL FEABS OF THE CHINESE. had previously agreed to bind their children by arti- cles of indenture for a term of years, to insure their non-removal before the completion of their education, they now evinced a reluctance to comply with the condition, and to affix their signatures to the writing. They disavowed any personal objection, but professed to entertain an alarm, lest any connexion of this kind with foreigners might draw on them the notice of the Mandarins, and expose them to extortions on the de- parture of the British. They therefore requested to be permitted to wait till things were in a more settled state. The edict of toleration, issued by Ke-ying, was on such occasions shown to them, with which they professed to be abundantly satisfied, saying, " There is nothing foreign in this document : there is no possibi- lity of mistaking it : it cannot be a forgery, for the style is such as only a Chinese can have indited." For a time they appeared satisfied ; but soon after again betrayed their fears. At this period matters had almost assumed the appearance of a general panic among all who had money to lose. The merchants and shopkeepers, who had acquired any gain by con- nexion with the British, had every thing prepared for a general and sudden emigration on the departure of the troops. Some intended to remove to Shanghai, and others to different parts of the mainland, till the first storm of official cupidity and displeasure had blown over, when they would watch their op- portunity of returning. The edict of the British Governor of Hong Kong had been affixed to the walls of the public streets, inviting a disclosure of any future cases of oppression on the return of the Chinese Mandarins, and promising full protection to those EXCURSION ACROSS THE ISLAND. 319 who should be punished for their connexion with the British. The permanent retention of the island by the British, and its occupation by the French, were, in turn, the subject of report among the Chinese. The rumoured diplomatic difficulties between the British and Chinese plenipotentiaries, relative to the entrance of foreigners within the city of Canton, served also to increase the general excitement. Some of the more patriotic Chinese even ventured to breathe into American ears their suspicions of the integrity of the British, whom they denounced as seeking an excuse for breaking the treaty, and retaining possession of Chusan. On Nov. 14th I proceeded, in a chair, with a friend, across the island to the beach on the northern shore. We pursued our way through the north gate of the city; soon after passing which, we turned a little to the right, and ascended the hills through a long series of wild mountainous paths. The narrow road was in- tersected by the deep beds of torrents, and skirted on either side by numerous rustic dwellings, with little patches of vegetation surrounding them. We at length reached the principal mountain-pass, from which we had a fine view of a long fertile valley, which extended before us to the sea. After passing through several homesteads and hamlets, we at last stopped an hour in a large village, at a druggist's shop, who bade us welcome, and helped us to cook our meal of rice, eggs, and tea. Meanwhile a num- ber of villagers gathered around us, and the few who could read received some books. Two miles further on, we remained some time on the beach, while the Chinese salt-makers explained to us the 320 VILLAGES OF CHUSAN. process of successive evaporations by solar and culinary heat, by which the sea-water is converted into salt. Large shallow sheets of sea-water on the sand, a few pits for filtering the briny fluid, and a number of sheds with furnaces and flat brazen vessels, formed the apparatus for the manufacture of salt, which forms so important an article in the native produce of Chusan. At this point several thousands of acres of rich, alluvial, loamy soil stretched away to the hills five miles distant. This fertile plain, bear- ing its two or three crops of annual produce, would be sufficient to supply ten times the amount of the present population of the island. As we returned to the city, we visited a distillery, the apparatus of which, although more rude and less complex than in Western nations, was capable of producing a spirit of great strength and very intoxicating effects. In one of the villages a Bonze was officiating among a crowd at the idolatrous services usual at the full- moon festival, the gongs and drums being audible at a great distance. At the highest point of the mountain-pass there was a little assemblage of idols in a rude kind of temple. One of the images repre- sented the goddess of mercy, in the usual attitude of a male infant in her arms, which a European visitor might easily have mistaken for an image of the Virgin Mary. During the latter part of my stay at Chusan, the frequent wailings of funeral processions showed the prevalence of sickness among the people. On one occasion I was attracted to a house, in which two priests of the Taou sect were endeavouring, by noises, to drive away the evil spirits, and to procure, by a IMPORTANCE OF MEDICAL MISSIONARY LABOURS. 321 feast set out before the idols, the recovery of a sick woman in the family. On my entering, I was speedily taken to her bedside, and was entreated to prescribe some remedy for her disease. After re- buking their folly in trying to effect her recovery by such superstitious means, I gave her a temporary remedy, till a day or two after, when I took her with me to the house of an American physician, just arrived in Chusan, and received his directions as to the mode of treatment. This, being followed out for a few days, was the means of completely restoring her,although she had been given over by the native practitioners. Her recovery was a subject of thankfulness to my mind, as I was afraid that, in case of her death, the priests might attribute the event to the anger of the offended idols. The gratitude of the family was very great, and the case procured me some reputation for medical skill. I had several visitors, who followed out my course of treatment, although I enforced a rigid interdiction of the use of tobacco and samshoo while they took my medicines. I had also, by these means, an opportunity of distributing some tracts in a few private families. These little occurrences served to deepen in my mind a conviction of the importance of medical Missionary efforts, when kept in their subordinate place, as mere subsidiary means in pre- paring the way for Christian evangelists in this heathen land. On Dec. 9, 1845, an opportunity presented itself of my proceeding to Foo-chow, in a little schooner in ballast, touching at Chusan on her way from Shang- hai to that port. Embarking at nine A.M., I found myself in another hour passing gradually out of sight 322 VOYAGE TO FOO-CHOW. of this beautiful island, in which I had been permitted to spend several weeks very happily, in the quiet retirement of a Christian family. A steady breeze and favourable tide bore our little craft steadily along ; and the fair blue hills of Chusan were soon lost in the dim distance. Passing beyond Ketow point, we at length arrived at a little island, which had a hollow cavern running through it, and hence derived its name of " Buffalo's nose," from a fanciful resemblance to that object. Between this and another small island to the east we anchored for the night. On the fol- lowing morning, the thick, rainy weather, increasing to a dark mist, prevented our weighing anchor, and we remained off the island the whole day. During the succeeding night a little fleet of trading junks, with two war-junks, anchored within a cable's length, the two latter vessels being stationed one off each bow of our schooner. This was the occasion of our carronades and swivel-guns being loaded, and a sharp look-out was kept on our new neighbours. All this, however, was unnecessary, as, at the first dawn of day, they quietly left the anchorage, and sailed in a body to the south, keeping close to the shore. In the fore- noon we weighed anchor, and, with a strong breeze from the north-west, soon passed beyond the Kwesan group of islands into the open sea. During the day we sailed very fast ; and fearing lest, before the fol- lowing day-break, we should over-run our course, we shortened sail during the night, and on the following morning drew in sight of land. During several hours we passed between some islets and the mainland, at one time sailing in smooth water, and soon afterwards emerging into some bay of the ROMAN-CATHOLIC PILOTS. 323 open sea, which indented the coast. The thick, cloudy weather prevented us from ascertaining our position by an observation of the sun, and no one on board was able to recognise the coast. After sailing forty miles between rugged, precipitous islands, we were com- pelled, at sunset, to come suddenly to anchor in deep water, under a small island, with but little shelter from the violence of the wind, and with a lee-shore about half-a-mile distant. After an uncomfortable night of tossing and driving, the next morning we again pro- ceeded on our course to the southward. A Ningpo junk sailed by us as we were weighing anchor, and we had hopes of finding our true course by following in her track. We soon, however, lost sight of her, as she sailed through some little passage close to the main- land, where we were afraid to follow her. Steering to the south-west between the shore and an irregular range of islands lying ten miles outside, we suddenly discovered our position in time to avoid running on the reef at the mouth of the river Min, which lay before us. We had suddenly to alter our course, and to beat against the wind, which was blowing hard, till we came to an anchorage under an island called Ma-choo san. Here we rode at anchor for the night, close to a little village of fishing-boats, which was situated on a little sandy level point in a narrow bay to the south of the island. The next day, Sunday, Dec. 14th, two fishermen came on board to volunteer their services as pilots, for which they claimed a rather exorbitant reward. But as they soon became more reasonable in their de- mands, the bargain was struck for the sum of five dollars, and they were duly installed at the helm. On Y 2 324 INCONVENIENCE OF DIFFERENT DIALECTS. their first coming on board, they crossed themselves repeatedly on the forehead, cheeks, and breast, after most approved Roman-Catholic fashion, which seemed not a little to please our Malabar steward, and ap- peared to be generally understood by our Indo- Spanish crew of Manilla men. The inconvenience of the different dialects soon began to show itself. The Canton linguist, who could also speak the Mandarin dialect, tried in vain to get a reply to his question, rt How far is it to Foo-chow ?" But although for nearly ten minutes the phraseology was varied in every possible way, the parties were as far from under- standing each other as at the commencement; and the pilots, with a significant waving of the hand, begged him to desist from the useless effort. Subse- quently, however, they appeared to be more successful, as, within half-an-hour afterwards, the linguist came with a request from them to the captain for a glass of spirits, which they drank off in a manner that indi- cated a not unfrequent use of the beverage. Our captain, not being quite confident of their skill or trustworthiness as pilots, gave orders to keep casting the lead, and sounding the depth of water. This our new acquaintances appeared to take ill, waving their hands as if to deprecate our distrust. They succeeded in bringing us safely around the bank, which forms the principal danger in the navigation of the entrance to the river. Passing over the bar, we at last entered the fine circular harbour, formed by the projecting points of the mainland and two or three little islands. The roadstead stretched before us seven or eight miles, to the point where the river suddenly narrowed itself into a little channel about half a mile across. THE RIVER MIN. 325 Three opium-ships were stationed here outside the consular boundaries of the port, with about fifty native junks close by. Immense flocks of wild fowl were to be seen in all directions. A few villages on the beach, with some watch-towers on the sides of the hills, and a number of bold mountain-cliffs rising sternly in all their wild magnificence, and closing in the distant prospect, formed a fine specimen of the rugged and picturesque scenery, which is the general charac- teristic of this iron-bound coast. We had not an- chored long outside the narrow passage called Kin-pai mun, before the usual assemblage of Chinese boats, many of them containing a very depraved class of na- tives, came alongside, as avarice or curiosity prompted their owners. The next morning, leaving the schooner, I pro- ceeded in a European boat up the river about twenty miles to the city of Foo-chow. After entering the Kin-pai mun, we passed a large village named Kwan- tow on the right, where there was a Mandarin-station, with a custom-house establishment. The river at this point was about a mile across, being hemmed in on all sides by huge towering rocks, which were variegated and gilded with the sun's rays, so as to present almost every imaginable form, and glittered with the torrents and cascades rushing down the precipices after the recent rains. The combined influence of refraction and reflection raised every distant object above the horizon, and gave it a double appearance, the lower part having an inverted form. A succession of vil- lages and watch-towers extends on the right for several miles, till the sides of the river, suddenly converging, form another narrow pass called the Min-gan, witli 32f> ARRIVAL AT FOO-CHOW. columns of rocks on either side, piled up to the height of a thousand feet. Soon after, the river again widens, and at the Pagoda Island, the usual anchorage for vessels of large burden, divides into two streams. The principal branch leads to the city, and the other takes a southern course, rejoining the main branch of the river Min, about seven miles above Foo-chow, so as to inclose between the two channels a large island of well-cultivated land. We sailed up the principal channel, having the lofty range of the Koo-shan rising 3000 feet on our right. There were a few villages below, and some little groves of pines on the opposite shore. We arrived at last at the bar, situated at a sudden bend of the river. At this point the larger number of junks, and increasing signs of busy acti- vity, indicated our approach to the provincial capital. After half a mile's intricate winding course between the native craft, we arrived in the densest part of the river suburbs, and went ashore close to a large bridge, which at this point crosses the river Min. CHAPTER XXII. DAILY OCCURRENCES AT FOO-CHOW. NOVEL APPEARANCE OF RIVER-POPULATION THE BRIDGE OF FOO-CHOW VIVID SCENES OF A CHINESE SUBURB. BRITISH CONSULATE VIEW OF THE CITY FROM THE SUMMIT OF "WOO-SHIH SHAN" STATE OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE BRITISH CONSUL AND THE LOCAL MANDARINS PUNISHMENT OF SOME TARTARS FOR ASSAULT AN EXCURSION AROUND THE CITY WALLS. IHE friendly kindness of a newly-formed acquaintance placed at my disposal, during my stay at Foo-chow, the upper story of a small boarded house, overhang- ing the river, and situated on a small island about a furlong in length. In this lodging my mattress was unfolded and spread after Oriental fashion, and I was soon inducted into my new dormitory. After a night of refreshing rest, the vociferating cries of my new neighbours the boatmen, carrying on their busy voca- tion on the water, effectually roused me at an early hour ; and sallying forth on a little kind of gallery, I had an opportunity of being a quiet spectator of the motley groups below/ A large number of boats, serving as family-residences to their humble owners, lined each bank of the river for about a mile on either side, the principal clusters being stationed around the little island, which blocks up the main channel, and divides it into two streams. Each boat was decked 328 THE BRIDGE OF FOO-CHOW. out with a number of flower-pots and evergreens, according to the taste or the means of the proprietor, and presented a pleasing object from above. The boatwomen wore a head-dress of artificial flowers, and exhibited a neatness unusual in that class. The tops of the boats and the roofs of the houses were covered with a hoar frost, which lasted for several days, ice being gathered on one or two mornings. The celebrated bridge of Poo-chow connects the little island with each bank of the river, and, pro- bably from the substantial and durable materials of which it is composed, is called the Wan-shoiv-keaou, or " bridge often thousand ages." The larger -bridge on the northern side consists of about forty arches, which are merely immense slabs of granite, thrown across at right angles with the piers. The lesser bridge on the south consists of nine similar arches. At high water vessels of small burden can pass up the stream by lowering their masts. At low water a cascade is formed from the higher part of the stream into the lower level of the river on the other side. The larger bridge is occupied by shops, and its nar- row thoroughfare is generally crowded by all kinds of busy wayfarers. Over this bridge I proceeded in a chair, on my way to the residence of the British Consul, between whose hospitable dwelling and my little lodging on the island I divided the time of my subsequent stay at Foo-chow. A long suburb, con- sisting of a single street, and abounding with every variety of trades and handicrafts, extended for more than two miles from the bridge to the southern gate of the city. Every part of it was thronged by the same noisy crowds of people, in whom were to be SCENES IN A CHINESE SUBURB. 329 observed more pugnacious looks, and more frequent signs of intemperance, than are commonly seen in the northern parts of China. The frequent jostlings and blows from the chairbearers, inseparable from the crowded state of Chinese streets, were generally borne with their usual calm indifference. On a few occa- sions, however, I experienced no slight interruption from this cause, and my bearers were involved in trouble, being unceremoniously apprehended, to com- pensate the damage to various articles of domestic use, which they broke or upset in their eagerness to press forward. One literary gentleman, also, so far forgot the precepts of his philosophy, as to follow us for above a hundred yards, seizing every opportunity of beating most unmercifully the head of one of the bearers, who had brought the chair into contact with his person. The looks of the people were cold and forbidding, although their demeanour was not devoid of external respect. There was no rude assembling of a crowd, nor any noisy ejaculations at the presence of a foreigner. Generally, also, there was an absence of any troublesome outbreaks of curiosity. Our course lay through this long street, which was a fair specimen of Chinese streets in general. Here were to be seen the artisans of the various branches of native industry pursuing their busy work, and vending the products of their labour, in one and the same room, which served the triple object of workshop, warehouse, and counter. Here were crowded together in their nar- row dwellings, amid the din of forges and hammers, little groups of wire-drawers, braziers, button-makers, and smiths, with four men alternating their rapid blows on the sounding anvil. Here again were to be 330 NATIVE ARTISANS. seen image- makers, lamp-makers, carpenters, shoe- makers, tailors, gold and silver leaf-beaters, umbrella- makers, cotton-beaters, grocers, druggists, jade-stone cutters, seal-engravers, and decorators, with the pro- fessors of the numerous arts which supply the neces- sities or luxuries of Chinese life. Further on were to be seen picture-shops, hung out with the tawdry per- formances of native artists, and caricatures of English admirals, colonels, ladies, and steam-boats. At every corner were to be seen portable kitchens steaming away, and supplying to hungry expectants the savoury materials of a hasty meal. For the more wealthy a succession of cook-shops, wine-shops, and tea-shops, lined the way. A little further on, a crowd of gam- blers disputed a few square feet of ground with the holders of orange-stands or the venders of sweetmeats. Near to these were the well-stored shops of pawn- brokers, or the decent exterior of shroff-bankers, with bunches of copper cash, in elegant imitation-work, hanging before the house as the emblem of their call- ing. Soon again we passed the usual crowds of china- shops, pipe-makers, grain-dealers, paper and tinfoil manufacturers, weaving-looms, silk-dealers, trinket- makers, and, lastly, a few book-shops, to indicate that, amid the general eager activity to supply the wants of the outward man, knowledge had its votaries, and the mind could here receive its appropriate intellectual food. Occasionally three or four Bonzes sauntered by, whose listless looks betrayed their little participa- tion in the busy cares of the world around them ; and whose sanctimonious garb afforded no protection from the rude jostling of the secular crowd. Now and then a few gentlemen, or expectants of office, THE BRITISH CONSULATE. 331 passed along, borne on the shoulders of their less affluent countrymen. Lower down in the scale of society might be seen, every half mile, some wretched culprits, bearing the heavy wooden collar as a penalty of the broken laws, blowing at the scanty charcoal with which they sought to repel the pinching cold from their extremities, or trying in vain to obtain the denied slumber. Further onward again, the pos- sessors of liberty were assembled in a public tea- tavern, sitting over their beverage, to listen to an itinerant, scholar, who expounded for hire one of the ancient classics, or declaimed from his humble ros- trum on some exciting subject of popular romance. We soon entered the city, through the massive arch- way of the southern gate, and proceeded, by a sudden turn on the left, along the inner side of the city wall. After pursuing our way for another mile, - over a thinly-inhabited part of the city, we passed through a fine avenue of trees. The British union was soon after to be seen floating from a flag-staff on the over- hanging rocks, which crown the summit of the Woo- shih shan, or (< Black Stone hill." An ascent over alternate pathways and terraces brought me at length into full view of the romantic assemblage of pleasure grounds and ancestral temples, which form the site of the British Consulate. On this beautifully-wooded retreat the largest temple was in course of prepara- tion for an English residence, and was already par- tially inhabited by the Consul and his lady. The firmness of the late Consul, Mr. Lay, succeeded in effecting a removal of his official residence from the insalubrious vicinity of the river-suburb to its present agreeable site. The Chinese authorities exerted their 332 CHINESE LIBERALITY. influence with the priests of the principal temple, who, for the consideration of a few hundred dollars as annual rent, willingly abandoned theif- claims to the building. With that loose attachment to their religion, which is generally characteristic of the whole nation, the priests beheld with complacency their benefice and grounds changed into a foreign residence ; and the abbot himself, in the character of head-gardener, might be seen every day busily superintending the requisite alterations and repairs. Although taking the life of animals is a violation of a prominent article in the Budhistic creed, my old friend the abbot (for during my sta*y I had the pleasure of forming his acquaintance) would at all times readily afford his services in procuring for foreigners pheasants, geese, ducks, and any kind of game. The liberality of the Mandarins was perceptible in one of the con- ditions which they, of their own accord, introduced into their agreement with the building contractor ; viz. that the masons and carpenters should never perform any work on the Sabbath-day, nor in any way interfere with the religious observances of the English. In the same spirit the Mandarins, before paying the Consul a visit, frequently sent to inquire whether it was the Sabbath-day or not. The abbot also of an adjoining Taouist temple, with a re- markable absence of bigotry, for a small monthly sum has willingly admitted one of the officers of the Consulate as a tenant of a portion of the sacred building. From the top of Woo-shih shan, 500 feet above the surrounding level, a fine view is gained of the city and the adjacent country. As I sat on a corner of one of VIEW FROM THE " WOO-SHIH SHAN." 333 the projecting rocks, with the huge masses of stone lying around and aloft, the perennial monuments of one of nature's most violent convulsions, the quiet solitude of the spot where I lingered contrasted strongly with the busy scenes below, and the animated appearance of the adjacent country. At my feet lay the populous city of Foo-chow, with its teeming masses of living industry. At a little distance beyond, the undulating plains, which surrounded the city, retreated on either side, till they met a range of lofty hills, rising from two to three thousand feet in height. On the east, north, and west, at the distance of five miles, a slightly broken country terminated in some high precipitous ground, which formed a bold amphitheatre around the northern half of the city. On the south, a level country extended across the river, nearly twenty miles, to another series of hills, which closed in the prospect. The river, with its mean- dering turbid waters, pursued its rapid course from west to east, a depression in the outline of the distant hills showing the direction in which the river divided their range. The whole country around formed a circular basin, with a diameter of about twenty miles. In the city itself the dingy expanse of houses and streets was relieved by a hill, which rose abruptly at the northern extremity, and was surmounted by a conspicuous watch-tower. On the south-east, another hill, rising from the level of the streets, and having its sides covered with interspersed dwellings and temples, rivalled in height the hill on which I was stationed. Two pagodas intervened between the two hills in the southern portion of the city. In other parts, high orna- 334 APPEARANCE OF THE CITY. mented wooden poles, or the bright red colour of the walls, denoted the various temples, or the residences of the great Mandarins of the city. The devious and irregular circuit of the city-walls, the strange forms of the city watch-towers, the more regular ap- pearance of the public granaries, and the verdant foliage of trees peeping forth from amongst the crowded streets, imparted some relief to the fatiguing similarity of objects. Such is Foo-chow, with its immense population, as the exciting impressions of that moment fixed its outline indelibly on my mind. The various sounds ascending from below ; the trade-cries and tinkling of bells from the crowded streets ; the beating of gongs, drums, and cymbals from the precincts of the tem- ples ; the noise of fireworks from the offerings of the superstitious, mingling inharmoniously with the guns announcing the exit of Mandarins from the city-gate ; the confused scream of the buzzard-hawk careering in its circling flight on high ; the flocks of minas, crows, and magpies, fluttering on all sides ; the shouts of men and the gambols of children, with the full tide of population borne along in the busy channel of toil and trade, stole on my ears, and convinced me of the reality of the animated masses which were mingling in the cares of life below. Only a few idle priests from the adjoining temples, some wandering beggars, some boys collecting fuel, or a few strangers who had come hither to catch a bird's-eye view of the provincial capital, disturbed the solitude of the spot, and helped to awaken the mind from the silent reveries of the moment. It was no common trial, however, to my mind, as I RELATIONS BETWEEN CONSUL AND MANDARINS. 335 gazed from the summit of this hill on the populous city below, to reflect, that here above half a million of immortal souls, spell-bound by idolatry or atheism, in the capital of one of the largest provinces of the Empire, the seat of a viceroy having two provinces under his jurisdiction, should nevertheless be desti- tute of a single Missionary labourer from Protestant lands, and that no effort should yet have been made to convey to them the inestimable blessings of the Gospel. It was a comfort to remember, in such a spot, that even China formed part of the purchased inheritance of Christ, and that her pagan population would hereafter become subjects of the kingdom of God. The next day I engaged a Chinese teacher, a native of the place, able to speak both the local and the Court dialects, who was to be employed in accom- panying me on my strolls as an interpreter, and in explaining any objects that might arrest my at- tention. At the time of my arrival at Foo-chow, the relations which subsisted between the British Consul and the local authorities had assumed a character of more than ordinary interest. The late Mr. Lay, on his arrival in the latter part of 1 844, to open the port, had to encounter considerable obstacles in the unwill- ingness of the Chinese authorities to grant him a suitable residence, and the symptoms of a general disposition to slight his office. As it has been already intimated, persevering firmness and determined re- monstrances had surmounted these temporary dif- ficulties, and a growing spirit of liberality and respect towards foreigners had been excited. The removal 336 PUNISHMENT OF SOME MANCHOW TARTARS. of the Consulate into the city, and a frequent inter- change of visits, had gradually produced a friendly understanding with the Chinese authorities, which was also happily promoted by the present Consul. Repeated proclamations were issued, inculcating respect towards foreign strangers, and denouncing punishment against offenders. Things proceeded favourably, till about three months previously to this time, when a gentleman, attached to the Consulate as interpreter, as he was walking on the city wall, adjoining the quarter of the city inhabited by the dominant race of Manchow Tartars, was assaulted by a number of men, who pelted him with stones, and chased him from the spot. This assault was "made a subject of grave remonstrance with the authorities, and the threat was held out by the Consul of the visit of a ship-of-war, unless speedy reparation were made by the summary punishment of the offenders. Copies of his remonstrance were sent alike to the viceroy and the Tartar general, the latter of whom possesses exclusive jurisdiction over the Manchow part of the population, who form the garrison of the city. Although, at first, they treated it as a light matter, and issued a proclamation, in which, with a strange mildness of terms, they affected to speak angrily of the " breach of good manners " committed on the occasion of this assault on a stranger, the determined protest of the Consul against the terms of the procla- mation soon brought matters to a crisis. The Tartar general, in the paroxysm of his alarm at the possible consequences of a collision, arrested six Tartars for the offence, three of whom were punished with the bamboo, and the other three underwent the severe punishment TRIP AROUND THE CITY WALLS. 337 of the cangue, or wooden collar, for a month. The novel and unprecedented event of a Mahchow Tartar wearing the cangue, from which mode of punish- ment they had hitherto enjoyed a prescriptive immu- nity ; and the humiliating announcement, attached as usual to the wooden plank, of the crime for which they were punished, and that, too, an assault com- mitted on a new-comer and a stranger, were doubly mortifying to the pride of this arrogant class of in- habitants, as it was also a subject of invidious exul- tation among the purely Chinese portion of the popu- lation. During the few preceding weeks there had arisen an evident improvement in the position of foreign residents. During my stay, I had frequent opportunities of testing the truth of this fact, and the result of this experiment will be seen in the following journal of daily occurrences. Dec. 18th I was carried in a chair on the city walls around their whole circuit, which formed al- together a distance of eight or nine miles. Ascending at a breach in the wall, close to the foot of the Woo- shih shan, I proceeded in a westerly direction. A little avenue, formed by the battlements on one side, and a little row of trees close to the wall on the other, skirted the lower part of the Woo-shih shan, with its beautiful assemblage of shrubberies rising up the hill- side. The wall itself varied in height, but generally averaged thirty feet on the outer side. The causeway on the top was of sufficient breadth in most places to form a road for a single carriage, and was of regular and even construction, although overgrown with grass along the edges. As Foo-chow is a garrison city, with a large provincial staff of civil and military Mandarins, 338 SUSPICION OF THE SENTRIES. the walls are guarded with great strictness, and there is a succession of watch-towers every two or three hundred yards, with a few cannon resting on carriages without wheels, and pointing outwards into the adja- cent country. From the clumsiness of this contrivance they are capable of being moved only a little way on either side, and can only be brought to bear point blank on any object or mark. Several of the sentries came around me as I examined the contents of these buildings, and betrayed some suspicion at seeing my note-book. Some of them were rather loquacious ; but their eloquence was employed in vain, as I could only comprehend one of their questions whether the cannon of my honourable country were made of iron or brass. Some lofty and beautiful trees in the fields, and a few ponds covered with the lotus-flower, fringed the outer portion of the wall. On the inner side some sheets of stagnant water, and a long range of public granaries, stored with provisions against sea- sons of dearth, filled up the space till we arrived at a building, which had the appearance of a city gate, but which proved to be the se-shwui-kwan, or " western water-barrier." A long cannon here guarded a wind- lass, which drew up or let down (as occasion might require) the sliding board of a large water-course. This was opened in order to carry off the drains and sewers of the city, but was closed in the time of inun- dations ; the water in the suburbs, on such occasions, rising far above the level of the city. We next came to the western gate of the city, which had a spacious colon- nade supporting a watch-tower, and afforded a view of the adjoining suburb. From this point, on the outer side, a large sheet of water, called the se-woo, or " west- THE "WESTERN LAKE." 339 ern lake," extended in a parallel course with the wall for several furlongs. A slight rising of the ground bounded it on the further side, where it had a temple and a few small bridges. Some boats and fishing-nets were also disposed at intervals over its surface. On our arrival at the north gate, about a mile and a half further on, the keeper followed me, eyeing my note-book, and showing, amid all his acts of polite- ness, evident signs of suspicion. The wall at this part began to ascend the lofty hill on the extreme north, which is included within the walls, and is surmounted by a large watch-tower, forming one of the most pro- minent objects to a visitor approaching the city. This tower overlooked the city and the surrounding coun- try, and had seven large stone furnaces, which served as beacons in case of fire or the approach of an enemy. Immediately outside the wall there was a precipice, 200 feet in depth, covered with irregular patches of trees. Beyond this rugged hill there were no suburbs. The country was bare and bald, but bore the marks of cultivation at a little distance out- side. On the inner side there were some villas, in- terspersed among gardens. Orchards of fruit-trees, lichens, and banians, with some cedars rising above coppices of dwarf-shrubs, pointed out the quiet retreat which wealth here afforded to its proprietors from the crowded parts of the city. Lower down the hill as the wall bended towards the east, the houses and dwellings were more isolated, and of a better kind. We soon after arrived at a portion of the wall, which bordered on the densely-inhabited parts of the city. The gate called Tsing-low-mun, with its three lofty stories, conducted us by a dark passage on the upper z2 340 DISTRICT OF THE MANCHOW TARTARS. story, through heaps of rubbish and a rope manufac- tory, to the vicinity of the Manchow Tartar popula- tion. Here the keeper followed me for some dis- tance, and some Manchows passed, evidently subdued by the recollection of recent events, and not at all disposed to interrupt my progress. Passing another large water-barrier, with its three Manchow keepers, I arrived at last in the quarter of the city which, till a recent period, none but the Tartar race were allowed to frequent. The keepers gradually relaxed their scowling looks, as I distributed a few tracts among them, which they received with smiles, but soon re- sumed their anxious disconcerted air. I determined so far to humour their minds as to put out of sight my memorandum-book, which they regarded with evident dislike. Several Tartars now passed by, scowling in spite of their efforts to appear unmoved, and hardly daring to look towards me. Some few, with a fierce air, would hurry by my chair, without even lifting their eyes towards my person. I had declined the offer of an attendant from the British Consulate, that I might be better enabled, without the advantages of official protection, to test the practicability of such an excursion by foreigners. Frequent questions passed between the keepers and my teacher, the latter ap- pearing to be destitute of fear, and fully sensible of foreign protection. A keeper ran on before to the next gate, to report, with anxious looks, my approach, and to prevent any ebullition of popular excitement. I could not, therefore, be surprised at the crowd assembled at the Tang-mun, or "Hot-bath Gate," where the gift of a few tracts, however, soon produced polite bowings and a courteous reception from the " HILL OF THE NINE GENII." 341 officer in charge. The parts of the city adjacent to this gate, and to the Tung-mun^ or " East Gate," at which we next arrived, were occupied exclusively by Tartars, many of whom were practising archery at a target in a military exercising-ground below, and who desisted from their exercise in order to gain a view of the unexpected visitor, as I passed. A Manchow officer sent on three attendants to conduct me in safety to the next gate. They could all speak the Mandarin dialect, but, when speaking amongst them- selves, employed the Manchow language, which abounded with extraordinary intonations and inhar- monious sounds. They were generally dressed in military costume, with red caps and high boots, although most of them united some trade with their military calling. They had the appearance of being a haughty and arrogant race, whom a slight provoca- tion would excite. Nor were my Chinese bearers of the light-spirited garrulous class of people, with whom I mingled in the more northern parts. In a silent and serious mood they trudged onward, willing to meet every wish, but not enjoying a salient flow of spirits. After passing some marshy ground, skirted by a wretched class of habitations, we arrived at another of the water-barrier gates, where the polite bowing of the few remaining Tartars, whom I passed, seemed to indicate a desire to efface the remembrance of the recent assault on a foreigner ; although the re- membrance of the cangue probably exerted some in- fluence in prompting these civilities. The Kew-sin shan, or " Hill of the Nine Genii," soon after caused an ascent in the course of the city wall. A number of buildings, projecting from little rocky 342 VICINITY OF THE SOUTH GATE. eminences, extended along its side to the summit. This hill shared, with the opposite hill of the Woo- shih shan, the southern side of the city. It had nume- rous inscriptions carved on its rocky columns, and commanded a fine view of the river, in its course to- wards the sea between the towering barrier of hills, which wall in the cultivated valley on either side. The Kwan-yin-meaou, or " Temple of the Goddess of Mercy ;" the Pih-tah, or " White Pagoda," of seven stories, with bushy shrubs issuing forth from crevices on the top and around its sides ; and the Shih-tah, or " Stone Pagoda," another half-dilapidated building of seven stories, with its branching roofs rising one above another, occupied the space between the foot of the Kew-sin shan and the Nan~mun, or "South Gate." The mercantile portion of the population are situated prin- cipally in the vicinity of this gate, on account of its proximity to the populous river-suburb of Nantai. Proceeding half a mile further, I at length arrived at the spot by which I had ascended the wall on my outset, the whole circuit of the city having occupied about three hours. CHAPTER XXIII. FURTHER INCIDENTS AT FOO-CHOW. EXCURSIONS UP THE RIVER AND INTO THE REMOTE PARTS OF THE CITY VISIT TO THE DISTRICT OF THE MANCHOW TAR- TARS ANXIETY OF POLICE TO PREVENT A DISTURBANCE GRADUAL FRIENDLINESS OF THE TARTAR SOLDIERS THE "HOT-BATHS" PRESENT POSITION OF THE TARTARS THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE THE CONTINGENCY OF A GENE- RAL REVOLUTION IN CHINA CONSIDERED LATITUDINARIAN- ISM OF TAOUIST AND BUDHIST PRIESTS ROMAN CATHOLICS MAHOMEDANS DETAILED OCCURRENCES OF THE NEW- MOON FESTIVAL CULPRITS WEARING THE WOODEN COLLAR WRETCHED CLASS OF BEGGARS SUBURB OF NANTAI FISH- ING CORMORANTS CASE OF SUPERSTITION AND PRIESTCRAFT. THE next few days were occupied in an excursion a few miles up the river to another large bridge which crosses the Min, in visiting the temples adjacent to the Consulate hill, and in perambulating the different streets of the city. On one of the latter excursions, I proceeded from the south gate northward, into the heart of the city, through the principal street, called the Nan-mun-keae, or " South Gate Street." In this part the people were remarkably well-behaved in imposing restraints on their curiosity. Though they would throng around any shop into which I entered, they would always retreat on either side, so as to form a passage for me on my coming out, without being 344 PRINCIPAL STREET OF THE CITY. obtrusive or troublesome in their eagerness to watch my proceedings. These little crowds seldom ex- ceeded a hundred persons, and were very peaceable and orderly in their deportment. As I walked along, the outbreaks of their curiosity were generally con- fined to an attentive survey of my dress and person. The shops were of a superior kind, especially those in which European articles were exposed for sale, watch- makers occupying a few of them, and making a fair display of clocks, time-pieces, and watches of native and foreign manufacture. In this main street, and in one of the principal cross streets, which led, by a turning on the left, through the viceroy's palace- yard, there were several curiosity shops, well supplied with old bronze vases, images, jade-stone ornaments, and carved wood, for which the owners generally asked exorbitant prices. As I approached the central parts of the city, the crowd, being here less familiar- ized with foreign features, was more troublesome ; and once or twice the sound of fan kow, "foreign dog," struck my ear. Once hearing this sound proceed from a youth close to my side, I fixed my eye on him, to intimate that I understood the phrase ; on which he shrunk back into the crowd, sometimes summoning up a laugh and repeating aloud the offensive expres- sion, which he saw I fully appreciated. I made a remark to my teacher concerning their liability to punishment by the Mandarins for this rude conduct. Unfortunately he mistook my meaning, a mistake more justly chargeable on my limited vocabulary of Chinese words than on his dulness of comprehension ; and I soon had the mortification of finding myself at the entrance of a police court, to which he was con- CIVILITIES OF A POLICE-RUNNER. 345 ducting me to lodge a complaint before the magistrate. As he was knocking at the door, and trying to open the barred entrance, I fortunately discovered the mis- take, so as to prevent his continuing the attempt. On our coming out, the crowd, which was rapidly increas- ing, raised a cheer, either of exultation at our appear- ing to be baffled, or of approbation of my not persist- ing in the complaint. I heard, however, no more of the expression, the only epithet which saluted my ear, during the rest of the walk, being fan yen, '-' foreigner." After passing under an extensive public building, which crossed the way, and exhibited aloft the unusual spectacle of a large clock with a Euro- pean dial, we were followed by an increasing crowd, chiefly of boys, to the large suite of courts and tem- ples forming the ching-wang-meaou. Here the voices becoming louder, and the people somewhat more boisterous, a police-runner attached himself to me from one of the public offices. This new comer was apparently very anxious to prevent my experiencing any annoyance, and did not allow the crowds of boys and idlers, who followed, to approach within twenty yards. At length the latter, being tired of following, gradually turned back and left their places to be sup- plied by the idlers of the next street through which we passed. From time to time he also offered me oranges and betel-nut. Our course now lay through a narrow defile of lanes, abounding with refuse and nauseous odours, towards the eastern quarter of the city, where I deter- mined on paying a visit to the Manchow Tartars. On my way the people evinced increasing signs of curio- sity ; and when I entered a shop to rest, the policeman 346 THE MANCHOW TARTARS. had to station himself at the door to prevent any pressure, returning inside at intervals to offer me a pipe of tobacco, or to perform some similar act of civility. At last I entered the district of the Man- chows, where none but the dominant race are per- mitted to reside ; and to which, till recently, no Chi- nese were bold enough even to pay a visit. Men, women, and children, of every age and condition? turned out to see me as I passed down their streets, with looks which betokened mingled surprise and dissatisfaction. They generally appeared to be of more solid frame and higher stature than the inha- bitants of pure Chinese descent. They all appeared exceedingly anxious not to give any umbrage or ground of offence. The elder portion of them kept waving their hands, or using their lungs, to deter any of the younger people from following our steps ; and at one of the police-stations the officers made them all turn back and desist from following. As we ap- proached the entrance to the Tartar general's palace- yard, my teacher and the police-guide wanted to take a sudden turn down a narrow street on the right. I persisted, however, in leading the way through this extensive range of courts into the Manchow streets on the opposite side of the palace. A Manchow officer now joined our little party as an additional escort, and accompanied us till our arrival at the east gate, where we turned to the northward, and pursued our way over the military exercising-ground inside the wall. Here about fifty Manchows followed, who per- formed various little acts of attention, and proceeded to show me the curiosities of the neighbourhood. They first took me to a hot spring, strongly impregnated THE HOT BATHS. 347 with sulphur, the water of which I just tasted, but which they prevented my drinking, saying that their horses were brought thither to water. They next led the way, in a small body, to the Tang-mun, or " Hot- Bath Gate," through which they conducted me into a little suburb, where the Manchow and Chinese inha- bitants are mingled together. We soon arrived at the public hot-baths, where, for a fee of two copper cash, the inhabitants possess the privilege of an ablution in these medicinal springs ; to which cause some persons ascribe the fact of cutaneous diseases being less fre- quently observable among the inhabitants of Foo-chow, than of other Chinese cities. The first object which I beheld, was about twenty men in a round circular bath, of not more than six feet in diameter, all im- mersed up to their chin in the steaming fluid, and packed as closely as faggots. A shout of laughter, unusual among the serious gloomy people of Foo-chow, proceeded from these twenty heads, trunkless as far as my eyes were concerned. Three or four men were sitting on the edge, waiting till one of the twenty came out of the bath, and made room for another person to join the bathers. One or two others were anointing their bodies with liniment or plaster, having appa- rently used the bath to cure their sores. A little further on there was another bath, with its twenty Chinese similarly packed in a shallow well. A few per- sons were drinking at another well under the same roof. At a few yards' distance there was a well, partitioned off to some distance, and guarded from bathers, where the water was carried off in buckets, and persons were only permitted to drink. The water was exceed- ingly hot, even in a cup ; but had no medicinal taste. 348 PRESENT POSITION OF THE DOMINANT RACE. In the meantime my new conductors grew very friendly, and by degrees became even cheerful. They asked me my honourable surname, and requested me to write it on the sand. They afterwards wished to know what office I filled, and the time of my arrival at Foo-chow. The information supplied to them by my teacher I was unable to understand ; but I had reason to infer, from some circumstances which oc- curred on a similar occasion, that, in spite of my explanations to the contrary, he made many exagge- rations and mis-statements respecting me, and sought thereby to augment his own importance. The Man- chows at Foo-chow have been estimated at about 3000 in number ; but according to their own accounts on this occasion, they had no means of accurately ascer- taining their precise numbers, which, however, they computed as amounting, with women and children, to about 8000. They have the character of being a tur- bulent and haughty race, and sometimes occasion much difficulty to the Chinese officers of Government, from whose jurisdiction they are generally exempt, and are subject only to officers of their own race. They still retain the pride of conquest after the lapse of two centuries ; and as they never amalgamate with the Chinese, and are not very numerous throughout the empire, a revolution is more than probable when any general grievance shall arouse the spirit of the nation, and a leader be found able and willing to head a general revolt against their dynasty. The Tartar yoke is said to be at times very galling and humi- liating ; but the dominant race have wisely consented, from the beginning, to share the Government with the vanquished ; and the system of literary degrees theo- CONTINGENCY OF A REVOLUTION IN CHINA. 349 retically opens the door of political preferment to all persons without any distinction. The probable near- ness or remoteness of the period of Chinese emancipa- tion from Tartar rule is an enigma of difficult solu- tion, and can form only a subject of doubtful conjec- ture to foreigners, who possess little knowledge of the political condition of China beyond a few general impressions, founded on a very imperfect induction of facts. The Emperor appears to share a large portion of loyal attachment, as a good man and just ruler ; and only a few of the Chinese, who are connected with foreigners, ever dare to breathe the treasonable language of dislike towards the existing Government. Popular opinion is, however, powerful in China ; and though there are no regular channels of manifesting its power in the absence of a representative Govern- ment, it cannot safely be outraged. A grand national disaster alone appears likely seriously to endanger the stability of the present dynasty ; and if the treaty of Nanking had not arrested the career of invading con- quest, the capture of Peking might ere now have driven back the reigning family to their native do- minions in Manchowria, and China Proper might be just emerging from the widely-spread disasters of a general anarchy. The viceroy and Tartar general in Foo-chow hold equal rank, but are seldom on terms of cordiality, the boundaries of their equal and divided authority frequently operating as a cause of misunderstanding. Returning into the heart of the city by a different route, I at length reached the vicinity of the viceroy's palace. I called a sedan-chair from a public stand in a neighbouring street, and after another half hour 350 POPULAR DISPOSITION TOWARDS FOREIGNERS. found myself at the foot of the Woo-shih shan. Here the Chinese servants attached to the Consulate, with their office as f< retainers of the great English nation " embroidered in large characters on the bosom of their dress, as they strutted about in the apparent con- sciousness of British protection, were living proofs of the mighty inroads which have, during the present generation, been made on the exclusive policy of the Chinese Government. On various other occasions I visited the central and western parts of the city, occasionally sitting down in the shop of a tradesman. The individual natives, with whom I formed an acquaintance during my stay, as well as the people generally, whose feelings I had an opportunity of testing, showed the same friendly disposition, which is prevalent among the Chinese in other parts accessible to foreigners. The most un- friendly part of their conduct was their unreasonable- ness in demanding large sums of money for the most trifling articles, which I wished to purchase. One man came down to my price with great humour, as I remonstrated with him on his making such a dif- ference between his Chinese and foreign customers, and repeated the proverb, " All the people comprised within the four seas are as brethren." During my daily strolls on the Woo-shih shan, I had continual opportunities of an insight into the various characters and pursuits of the people, who sauntered to these parts as the Hyde Park of Foo-chow. On one occasion I enjoyed the hospitality of the abbot of a Taouist temple called the Taou-shan-kwan, a venerable old man, seventy-five years of age, with long, flowing, white beard, who, with his brother priests, was very LATITUDINARIANISM OF TAOUISTS AND BUDHISTS. 351 friendly and polite. One of them afterwards re-joined me alone ; and after reading for a few moments a Christian book, as if to show the universal scepticism of his mind, or his opinion of the unimportant cha- racter of such subjects, he gave utterance to the latitudinarian remark, that all religions were in prin- ciple the same. Some Bonzes also followed me in order to procure books, which they received with their usual protestations of gratitude. Daily instances occurred of the real indifference of both sects alike to their respective superstitions, and of the total absence of any alarm at the possible diminution of their influ- ence by the dissemination of Christian tenets in these publications. In the same locality, and within a few minutes of time, a Chinese Roman Catholic, who inherited from his ancestors a profession of Christianity, after re- ceiving a tract, drew forth a medal suspended from his bosom, and inscribed with the images of Joseph, the Virgin, and John the Baptist. The sight of these (he said) recalled to his mind the good things which he read in his holy books. From other sources I gained the information, that there had been a recent perse- cution of the Roman Catholics in the neighbourhood, originating in their refusal to subscribe money to the building or repair of some heathen temple. A Spanish padre, named Justo D'Aguilar, had been residing for a year at Foo-chow, under the terms of the recent edict of universal religious toleration. He wore a Chinese costume, but was said to be a person of but little activity of body, or energy of mind, and to be greatly discouraged at the prospects of Roman- Catholicism in the city. The people were, in his 352 ROMAN CATHOLICS. opinion, so apathetic, that he despaired of making any converts from among them. In the northern part of the province of Fokeen, at the distance of a hundred miles from Foo-chow, there is a Popish bishop, a Spaniard ninety years of age, who has been fifty years in the country. There is also a Popish College ; and the Romish converts are said to be more numerous than the pagan inhabitants in some of those districts, so that they are too powerful to become the victims of persecution. In the course of an interview, the British Consul took occasion to remonstrate with the acting governor of the province against the invi- dious distinctions and exclusive spirit, which were supposed to pervade the second edict of Ke-ying, apparently limiting the first edict of toleration to the professors of the Roman-Catholic religion. In his reply, the governor deprecated the idea of such dif- ferences being known at Peking ; and stated that the Emperor, in the full spirit of extending equal privi- leges to the French and English nations, would grant free and perfect toleration to the religion generally of Western nations. He also intimated, that although at Peking the Imperial Government knew no diffe- rence between Roman Catholics and Protestants, he himself appreciated the distinction, and preferred the Protestants as less disposed to political intrigues. The native authorities appeared to be well acquainted with the movements of the Spanish padre, but had thus far acted with liberality, promptly checking the mal- treatment of the Chinese converts, when the real facts of the case had been duly explained to them. Mahomedanism, also, is not without its represen- tatives in the city, six priests being resident at Foo- MAHOMEDANS. 353 chow, who soon gain intelligence of the arrival of any Mussulmans in the crews of foreign vessels, and visit all such new-comers in order to sell their sacred writings. There are also between twenty and thirty Mahomedan fakirs, or religious beggars, who subsist on the superstitions or the fears of the people. Popular report states them to be the special favour- ites of a Mongol Tartar, a member of the highest board of the State, who, from Peking, would denounce punishment on any person slighting the beggars. Whether this rumour be true or false, there is no doubt of its being serviceable to this class of the wretched objects, who are so numerous in Chinese cities. Dec. 29th This being the period of the new moon, the twelfth of the current Chinese year, the usual scenes of the season gave an appearance of additional excitement to the streets. Parties of mendicant Bonzes were to be seen marching in slow movement, and chanting some religious song, while one or two of their number visited the neighbouring shops, to make a collection. They had sometimes to wait for five minutes before the tradesman, busily occupied with his customers, deigned to take any notice of the priests, who were generally dismissed with a few copper cash. Close by, two men of more than ordi- nary irascibility of temperament, were fiercely dealing blows at each other's person, but were held back by the surrounding crowd, so that little harm was done by the excited pugilists. After being with difficulty separated, they again rushed towards each other, and levelled their aim with redoubled fury ; but being again pulled back, they had only the satisfaction of A A 354 NEW-MOON FESTIVAL. beating the air. It was pleasing to observe the general anxiety of the people to prevent any further collision between the contending parties, as contrasted with the disgraceful scenes sometimes seen in more civilized countries on such occasions. The shop- keepers rushed out of their houses, and for the time it appeared to be every man's business to separate the combatants, and lead them in different directions. The system of dividing the city into wards, and making the respective householders of each respon- sible to Government for a breach of the peace in their district, is here productive of the best effects, not only in the prevention of disturbances generally, but also in securing good treatment to any stranger who visits the city from European vessels. The frequent bridal processions and sounds of music indicated, also, a more than ordinary number of weddings at this auspicious season. Now and then, also, a newly-promoted sew-tsai might be seen making a formal visit to his friends, in a chair, with a retinue of attendants and pipers, and rejoicing in the con- sciousness of his newly-acquired dignity. Soon after sunset the inhabitants of whole streets might be observed bringing forth from their houses little heaps of paper, inscribed with Chinese writing, which they reverently burnt before the door, to prevent any pos- sible desecration of their written character. The smoking embers might be traced in succession for some distance, as a mark of the universality of the custom. The poor delinquents, who bore the wooden collar as a punishment for their offences, and who outnumbered all that I had seen in every other part of China, seemed also at this time to enjoy some little CULPRITS WEARING THE WOODEN COLLAR. 355 alleviation of their sufferings, in the kind attentions of their friends. Some aged man might be observed, whose appearance pointed him out as the parent of the criminal, feeding, with paternal kindness, the full- grown offender, who enjoyed, either by connivance or permission of the police, his share in the convivial festivities of the season. The offences for which they suffered this slow and attenuating torture were, generally, theft ; and the mode of their punishment often gave rise to strange scenes. Occasionally, a son of tender years might be seen performing the office of filial piety, in re- moving the accumulated dirt from the person of his father. The criminals themselves seemed to have exerted their powers of invention in discovering modes of compensating the inconvenience of the pro- jecting plank, separating between their upper and lower extremities, by toothpicks and ear-picks, two feet in length, which, with extended and carefully- poised arm, they endeavoured to insert over the wooden encumbrance into the appropriate place of reception. Soon after sunset, a policeman arrives to unlock the chain which fastens the cangue to the wall, and the culprit is marched for the night to the com- mon prison, whence, on the following day, he is again conducted forth for exposure to public gaze. It was difficult to conceive any thing more wretched than the squalid class of beggars, who might be seen in all the degrees of want and misery, from a state of tattered garb and partial nakedness to that of extreme destitution, shrivelled limbs, and pale-stricken coun- tenance, loitering in the streets for the casual alms of the benevolent, or lying by the way-side in the help- A A2 356 WRETCHED CLASS OF BEGGARS. lessness of pining sickness. One poor sufferer was pushing himself along in a kind of box, with his lower extremities eaten away by disease. He had placed one of his feet, withered and dried, on a peg in front, in order to obtain, by this hideous spectacle, the earnestly-sought relief of the busy way-farers. A Manchow military officer, passing by in his chair, and attended by his lictors in all the stateliness and pride of wealth, was a strong contrast with the widely-pre- valent destitution of the beggar-population. During the latter part of my stay at Foo-chow, I remained generally on the little island between the two bridges in the suburb of Nantai. The principal part of this suburb is situated on the southern bank of the river, and contains a population of 20,000. The greater portion of these consist of boatmen, sailors, and natives of Ningpo and of other distant places, who come to the city in trading junks. This part abounds with fish, fruit, and vegetables, which are everywhere exposed for sale. The two latter articles are brought hither by a fine healthy race of countrywomen, whose hardy frames and active steps present a strong con- trast with the limping gait and stunted growth of the female population of the city. The practice of cramping the feet by bandages from early infancy, though not universal, as in the more northern cities, is very general ; few women being exempted from this customary infliction of cruelty, except the Tartar ladies, the boatwomen on the river, and the lower classes of female inhabitants generally, who may be seen bearing burdens, and working with the activity of men. Many of these women perform the work of coolies, and hurry along the streets with bare feet, or FISHING CORMORANTS. 357 with light shoes made of straw. They wear a hair- pin of large size, and frequently made of silver, and are the finest and most robust race of women to be seen in China, compensating, in some degree, for the poor appearance of the other sex. Some of the inhabitants of Nantai have an ingenious way of earning their livelihood, by training cormo- rants to dive into the river and bring up fish from the bottom. Generally, about the time of low water, a boatman might be seen near the arches of the bridge, with four or five cormorants perched on a boat. At a given signal from the owner, one of these birds bounded from the boat into the stream, and, after looking about for a few moments, dived, to the bottom, becoming invisible sometimes for two minutes, when it generally rose, at forty or fifty yards' distance, to breathe the air. After another minute the bird again descended into the stream, and repeated the process till it brought a fish to the surface, struggling in its beak. This was a signal to the boatman to paddle his little vessel to the spot, where he cast a net into the river, and hauled both bird and fish into the boat. The bird, conscious of its desert, flapped its wings, and, by various odd motions, sought the usual reward of a piece of fish, or other food, for its success. Some- times two cormorants were fishing at the same time, and were often for many minutes apparently lost. The fisherman, however, easily followed them, his little boat consisting merely of half-a-dozen bamboo poles, which formed a light raft, sufficient for himself and the birds, and was' easily paddled with a single oar. During the time in which I watched their ope- rations they caught three or four fish, one of which 358 BURIAL-GROUND. was more than the captor could manage, and weighed down its bill below the stream as it floated towards the raft. It is said that a ring, placed round the lower portion of the throat of these fishing cormorants, disables them from swallowing their prey before the boatman arrives to the rescue. On Dec. 31, 1845, I made a visit to the country bordering on Nantai to the south, by a hill which rose abruptly to the height of 300 feet, and afforded a good view of the city at three miles' distance. After pass- ing over some broken ground, covered at intervals with clumps of trees, I found myself amongst thou- sands of tombs of every size, from the small mound which covered the remains of the beggar, to the spa- cious well-paved monument of the wealthy. Some of the smaller ones were covered with a hard kind of cement, or plaster, and resembled a mere mound of earth, as in western countries. The larger kind of mausolem, from its trefoil shape, resembled the last letter in the Greek alphabet, the omega and the end of all things. A long sandy hill of undulating surface, dotted with a few plantations of cypresses and pines, formed the general burial-ground of the city, beyond which a plain of considerable extent stretched over a cultivated line of country to the distant hills. In one of the temples on the hill of Nantai I witnessed a curious specimen of the power of priest- craft, which still retains its hold on a portion of the people. In a little temple, consisting of two or three courts, dedicated to one of the Taouist deities, and entrusted to a few priests, I met a Chinese, who had come to obtain deliverance from domestic grief. The cause of his affliction was the sickness and expected A CASE OF PRIESTCRAFT. 359 death of his wife. The husband, dressed out in his finest clothes, and loaded with offerings, stood before a platform, in anxious expectation, while a priest went through a variety of evolutions, tossings, and tum- blings on the floor, to procure a good omen. With his head bound in a red handkerchief, or turban, and a quantity of burning paper in his hand, the priest vigo- rously danced, with impassioned gestures, around a table laden with cakes and fruits, while two attend- ants, beating a gong and a drum, kept time with his performance. At one time he prayed in softly-uttered tones; soon again he employed scolding accents to the deity whom he invoked. At one moment he would endeavour to coax away the angry spirit ; at another, he would terrify it away by whipping the air. After half an hour's frantic noise, and persevering somer- sets on the ground, he rose, and placed a hair-pin on the head of the anxious husband, after binding the hair into the peculiar tuft of the Taou sect. Some more paper was burnt outside the temple ; the priest ceased from his flagellations; the husband bowed down several times before an idol which stood near ; and after paying the usual fees to the priest, returned, apparently satisfied, to the scene of his domestic affliction. CHAPTER XXIV. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FOO-CHOW". TOPOGRAPHY LOCAL TRADE OPIUM-DRAIN OF SPECIE NA- TIVE IMPORTS AND EXPORTS MONETARY SYSTEM PRO- SPECTS IN REFERENCE TO A EUROPEAN TRADE CHARACTER OF PEOPLE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRY NUMBER OF RESI- DENT GRADUATES, AND GENERAL SYSTEM OF LITERARY PRO- MOTION DISPOSITION OF LOCAL MANDARINS PREVALENT FEELING TOWARDS FOREIGNERS MISSIONARY ASPECT. i.HE city of Foo-chow, called, in the local dialect, Hok-choo, is situated in 26 T north latitude, and in 119 15' east longitude. The amount of its population, in the absence of all authentic statistics, can only be a subject of uncertain conjecture. The extent of space within the city, actually covered with buildings, would lead a visitor to estimate its size to be twice that of Ningpo, three times that of Shanghai, and nearly five times that of Amoy. The lowest estimate, which I have heard, makes it to contain a population of more than half a million of souls. I am myself inclined to raise the number as high as 600,000 a number which will not be considered excessive, when it is remembered that the walls of the city are eight miles and a half in circuit, and that nearly the whole of the space inclosed by them is occupied by build- ings. Although it is the capital of Fokeen province, it is nevertheless, on the testimony of all the high OPIUM-DRAIN OF SPECIE. 361 officers of the local Government, a city of little trade with the interior, and of decreasing commercial im- portance. Nor is its commerce with the maritime parts of China of any considerable extent, its maritime trade being checked by the hordes of pirates who, more or less, for centuries have been the scourge of an unwarlike people, and the terror of a weak Govern- ment. The increasing diminution of its inland trade, according to the statements of some of the most respectable native traders, is mainly attributable to the restraints which are imposed on legitimate com- merce and native industry by the annual drain of Sycee bullion from the country, in payment for opium smuggled along the coast. Two millions of dollars' worth of the drug are said to be annually imported into the city. The principal opium station was for- merly at Chin chew, 140 miles to the south of Foo- chow ; but another depot has also been recently esta- blished for the smuggling vessels, at the mouth of the river Min, just beyond the consular limits of the port. At the present time a considerable portion of the opium finds its way from Foo-chow to other places in the interior. From four to eight chests are also daily retailed in the city. One half of the population are supposed to be addicted to the indulgence ; and even the lowest coolies and beggars often deny themselves a portion of the substantial necessaries of life, in order to enjoy the- prized luxury. Upwards of one hundred smoking houses, with the exterior of private houses, but having their interior fitted up with all the conve- niences and apparatus for smoking, are spread over the city. The fact of their being frequently situated near the residences of the Mandarins, and being generally 362 REASONS FOR CONNIVANCE BY THE MANDARINS. resorted to by the police and military, can leave no doubt of the perfect notoriety of their existence among the local officers of Government. A fear of the per- sonal consequences of a collision with foreigners a lurking suspicion of the connexion of the British Government with the opium system a sense of inabi- lity to put down by force the well-armed foreign vessels stationed at the smuggling depots and the harvest of bribes and secret duties which they are able to reap from connivance are the several motives which probably restrain the Mandarins from assuming a position of decided hostility, and from enforcing the prohibition of this contraband traffic by the severe penalties of the law. These separate causes operate conjointly in fostering and upholding an evil which, by the general stagnation of native trade, and the constant drain of the precious metals from the coun- try, is fast producing a crisis, involving alike the commercial ruin of the cities along the sea-board, and the financial impoverishment of the empire ; and which may be a more powerful argument to those who have it in their power to arrest the evil, the closing up, from sheer decay, of one of the most important outlets for the manufactures of the West. Notwithstanding these restrictions on its commer- cial prosperity, Foo-chow possesses a large amount of trade with other places in the various minor neces- saries of life. From the neighbouring province of Keangse there is an import of chinaware. From the more distant province of Shanse skins and furs are supplied. Junks from Shantung, Teensing, and other places along the coast, bring vegetables and drugs. From Ningpo cotton-cloth is imported. The tribute- NATIVE IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 363 bearing junks from the Loo-choo Islands import also dried fish, birds'-nests, wine, beche-le-mer, and Japan- ese ingots of gold to the annual value of 10,000 dollars. The country in the north-western parts of the province supplies the staple commodity of tea, tea-oil, rice, bamboo-roots, fragrant wood, and ox-hides. From the southern parts of the province, more especially from the vicinity of Amoy and Chinchew, there is an overland transit of rattans, pepper, long-cloths, wool- lens, beche-le-mer, sharks'-fins, birds'-nests, sandal and other scented woods, ginseng, sugar, and quicksilver, imported from other countries into these southern ports by their more adventurous inhabitants, and fur- nishing them with a lucrative overland trade to the capital of the province. In return for these native imports, there is an export trade from Foo-chow of bamboos, tea, spars, oranges, paper, and tin-foil for idolatrous offerings. The number of large junks at Foo-chow is inconsiderable, scarcely amounting to a hundred, and these mostly from Ningpo. The lesser junks come down the river, which is navigable for nearly 200 miles to the north-western extremity of the province. They are provided with an immense long oar at the stern, and sometimes also at the bow, in- stead of a rudder, to counteract the power of the stream, which abounds with rapids, and is, on this account, of rather difficult navigation. The monetary system prevalent at Foo-chow indi- cates an advanced state of commerce and civilization. There are regular issues of promissory bills or notes, varying in amount from 400 copper cash (equivalent to about sixteen pence) to 1000 dollars, which supply all the advantages, with as little as possible of the 364 MONETARY SYSTEM. dangers, of a bank-note circulation. The blue, red, and black colours, which are blended together on these promissory bills, present a rather gay appear- ance of signatures and indorsings. The name of the issuing mercantile firm, and a number of characters traced around the page, form the original impression from an ink of a bright blue colour. The year, month, and day of issue, and some ingeniously wrought ciphers for the reception of signatures and prevention of forgeries, are of a deep red. The entry of the sum, together with the names of the issuing partner and the receivers, stands forth in large black characters. On the opposite side of the bill are the indorsements of various individuals through whose hands the bill has passed, in order to facilitate the detection of forgeries, but not to render the indorsers further liable. The credit of the firms is generally good, and bankruptcies seldom occur. A small fee is charged at the issue, and also at the discounting of the bills, by the firm. The people value them as much as silver ; and when I paid chair-bearers their hire, they generally preferred a bill of this kind to the payment of copper coin, on account of its lightness. There exists scarcely any foreign trade at Foo- chow. There is only one European merchant resident in the place ; and only seven foreign vessels have as yet entered the port, of which three were American. Nor are there any present signs of an immediate in- crease in the foreign trade. As Foo-chow itself is destitute of those manufactures and natural produc- tions, which are required for export to Europe, tea, brought from the upper parts of the province, is the PROSPECTS IN REFERENCE TO A EUROPEAN TRADE. 365 only article of trade ever likely to become an impor- tant item of foreign commerce. The province of Fokeen is the great black-tea district of the empire, and the famous hills of Bohea are situated only 150 miles to the north-west of Foo-chow. It does not, therefore, seem to be very improbable that, on the arrival of British capital at the port, the tea-merchants may bring their teas for sale to Foo-chow, rather than incur the expense of the present difficult and tedious overland route of more than 600 miles to Canton. A cargo of tea may be brought in boats in four days down the stream to Foo-chow ; while the expensive route over the mountainous country to Canton occu- pies almost as many weeks. Some of the tea-growers are also said to be desirous of bringing their teas to Foo-chow, and exchanging them in barter for Euro- pean goods. The principal obstacles appear to be the general unwillingness of the Chinese to abandon their old methods of trade, and the reluctance of the foreign merchants to increase the number and expense of their agencies, by commencing establishments at any other ports than the two principal marts of Can- ton and Shanghai. The people have the character of being destitute of the activity and enterprise, which generally distin- guishes the Fokeen race above the population of other provinces of China. Inhabiting a provincial capital, which is excluded, by its isolated situation and the difficult navigation of its river, from extensive inter- course with maritime parts; and possessing among themselves, through the favouring bounty of Provi- dence, most of the resources necessary for human subsistence ; the people have ever been indisposed to 366 CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE. emigrate, and have obtained little knowledge of foreign nations. They are generally serious, grave, and almost sullen in their deportment towards Europeans. This is probably only a temporary effect of the stringent regu- lations issued by the native authorities, by which the people are prohibited from indulging their curiosity, or using offensive expressions, when they meet a foreigner. The few natives, who are brought into connexion with foreigners, evince as much respect as is to be commonly seen in other cities of China. If, from want of a better acquaintance, the people gene- rally are at present less cordial in their demeanour, they are also, at the same time, less prone to indulge in familiarity and forwardness of manner than the Chinese in other parts where foreigners are better known. There is evidently a growing improvement in this respect ; and the popular mind, if not alien- ated by that reckless conduct which too frequently marks the advancing tide of our extended commerce, will doubtless, ere long, be imbued with feelings of positive friendliness and favour towards foreigners. The numerous sedan-chairs, with two and some- times four bearers, which impede the way at every hundred yards, are a fair proof of the existence of considerable wealth in the city. By far the greater part, however, of the population are immersed in the deepest poverty, earning, in compliance with the sternest conditions of human nature, a scanty sub- sistence by the sweat of their brow. The neighbour- ing villages, which are scattered over the plain to the encircling hills, contain an agricultural population. The inhabitants of the villages on either bank of the river towards the sea have the character of being EMPLOYMENTS OF NATIVE POPULATION. 367 addicted to frequent acts of piracy and lawlessness. The people who live in the city are generally em- ployed in trade, or in the lower work of coolies and labourers. Some of the artisans are in advance of their countrymen in most other parts, being indebted to foreign skill for the acquisition of those arts, from which they derive their livelihood. There are several watchmakers' shops, with watches and clocks of va- rious degrees of excellence. The proprietors of these shops freely acknowledged that the watches of most delicate construction were imported into Canton from foreign countries, and that the more common speci- mens, made by themselves, were imitations of foreign ingenuity. On the sale of a time-piece, a slip of paper is given to the purchaser, containing, in Chi- nese, a printed explanation of the European figures on the dial. I have seen one of these watchmakers take to pieces a lever-watch with the greatest des- patch, and pronounce promptly on the cause of stoppage. They bear a willing testimony to the su- perior skill of foreigners in products of this kind. The frequent exhibition of foreign scenes in their picture-shops suggests the belief that they know some- thing of the warlike disposition of the English. A total exemption of the people from the disasters of the late war, and the not improbable efforts of the viceroy to conceal from them the humiliating capture by the British of two important cities within his juris- diction, may reasonably be supposed to have rendered the inhabitants of Foo-chow more ignorant of the real power and superiority of foreigners than the inhabi- tants of the other consular cities of China. The Man- darins themselves, however, know the real position of 368 NUMBER OF RESIDENT GRADUATES. affairs ; and in the strong contrast, which their pro- clamations respecting civility to foreigners form, with the irresolute tone adopted by the native authorities at Canton, we hail a favourable omen of their sin- cerity, and the continuance of friendly relations with foreigners. The degree of literary reputation which Foo-chow enjoys is a question which a casual visitor necessarily finds difficulty in investigating. The following facts, supplied to me by an intelligent Chinese, with whom I became acquainted during my stay, will show that it is entitled to no mean reputation in this respect. Of the literary degree of sew-tsai, which is conferred twice in every three years, there are about 8000 gra- duates in the whole province of Fokeen, of whom 2000 belong to the city of Foo-chow. Of the degree of keu-jin, which is conferred once in the same period of time, there are about 1000 graduates throughout the province, of whom 360 reside at the capital. Again, of the degree of tsin-sze to which only about 360 graduates are promoted at each triennial examina- tion at Peking from the eighteen provinces of the empire, and beyond which step of literary distinction promotion is so rare that only thirty persons are raised to the highest degree of Han-lin, at each trien- nial examination, from the whole of China there are estimated to be 200 graduates in the province of Fokeen, sixty of whom are inhabitants of the city. In Foo-chow there are also 5000 literary students who have not yet obtained a degree, and who earn their livelihood by tuition and similar pursuits, a few being employed in the subordinate situations of the public offices of Government. The sew-tsai seldom GENERAL SYSTEM OF LITERARY PROMOTION. 369 obtain promotion to political offices, unless they are supported by the influence of private wealth. Even the keu-jin, if they are poor men, have generally to wait for ten or twelve years before they receive preferment. The tsin-sze invariably gain immediate promotion to an official station, as the sure reward of their rare distinction. The successful few who rise to the highest distinction of admission into the Han- lin, or National College, form a body of councillors, who are consulted by the Emperor on grave matters of state policy, and from whom the highest ministers of state are selected. There is a great scarcity of large and handsome temples in the city. There is, however, one of some attractions to visitors, situated about half-way between the south and the west gates, bordering on the outer- side of the city wall, and nearly opposite to the Con- sulate Hill. There is also a noted Budhist monastery, called the Yung-tsemn-she, situated about half-way up the Koo-shan range, about eight miles in a south- eastern direction from Foo-chow. There are about one hundred priests supported by the endowment, of whom about sixty are generally resident. The disposition of the present local authorities is said to be, on the whole, liberal, and increasingly favourable to foreigners. The present tsung-tuh, or viceroy of the united provinces of Fokeen and Chekeang, is named Sew yun-ko, who, although he had the reputation of being, during the war, very fierce in his hostility to the British, and the un- flinching advocate of the harshest measures towards the barbarians, has now mitigated his hatred, and cultivates a friendly intercourse with the British B B 370 DISPOSITION OF LOCAL MANDARINE. Consul. The tseang-kemn, or Tartar general, named King-mull, is a man of less popular manners, having shown a considerable degree of bigotry and pride in his intercourse with individual foreigners. Thefan- tai, or treasurer, who at present is also the acting governor of the province, is Sew Tee-yew, formerly chief judge of Canton, a man of liberal views, and remarkably well versed in the geography and politics of the West. The hai-quan, or superin- tendant of customs, is Ho lung-woo, a colonel in the Tartar army, a frank and well-disposed man, but possessing moderate ability, who lately held a similar office at Amoy. Of the subordinate officers of Govern- ment, the most prominent is the Min-heen, one of the district magistrates, who held office formerly at Can- ton, and has brought thence a taint of the old anti- European feeling, which sometimes manifests itself in the haughty flippancy of his demeanour, even when mingling in the freedom of social intercourse with foreigners. All these local authorities occupy official residences in the city, which are approached by a series of open spaces, court within court. Their houses are supplied with furniture of a poor kind, and are sheltered only by windows of paper from the inclemency of the seasons. Their families generally reside at a distance in their native districts, to avoid the inconvenience and expense of the continual removals consequent on translation or promotion to other official appointments. In the festive mirth and freedom of manner which distinguish their private social intercourse, they evince great mutual confi- dence, and appear to be on the best of terms with each other. The city gates are shut soon after sunset ; GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE. 371 and so rigid are the regulations of a garrison city, that not even the Tartar general can be admitted into the city after they are once closed. Of all these officers of the local Government, the governor of the province far exceeds the rest in the variety and extent of his information, and in the liberality of his views. In the reference that has already been made to him in the case of the equal toleration of foreign religions, it has been seen that he is far in advance of the generality of his countrymen. In his intercourse with the British Consul he has alluded, in con- versation, to the more prominent events of modern European history, and shown his general acquaint- ance with European politics ; as, for instance, the difficulty of governing Ireland on account of Popery, the revolt of Belgium from Holland, the separation from Britain and Spain of their colonies in North and South America, the ambitious career of Napoleon, and the closing victory of Waterloo. He had even heard of the excitement in Eng- land consequent on the discussion of the Maynooth Grant. Sometimes, for hours together, he converses on geography, and has pasted the Chinese characters over an expensive American atlas, presented to him by one of his subordinate officers from Canton ; in addition to which, he will soon also possess a globe, promised him by the Consul. The Consul's lady, at his request, drew for him a map of the world, coloured respectively according to the divisions into British, French, and Russian dominions, &c. Shortly after the receipt of it, he sent a note, inquiring the reason why Afghanistan had been omitted, and whether it had become amalgamated with Persia, or was no longer B B 2 372 RESIDENCE OF INDIVIDUAL FOREIGNERS. an independent kingdom. The Mandarins generally appear, in conversation, to recognise the superior skill of foreigners. One of them, the admiral, declined to receive a visit of ceremony, on board his junk, from some British officers, assigning as his reason the great inferiority of his own vessel to a British ship-of- war. On the whole, when we remember the impedi- ments encountered at the first opening of the port, and the slighting neglect formerly shown by the Chinese ; the state of mutual friendliness between the native authorities and the British Consul, which has been brought about by the combined influence of courtesy and firmness, is not only a satisfactory indication of the growing liberality of the Mandarins themselves, but also some guarantee, here at least, of that which must be desired by every Christian philanthropist the permanency of our pacific relations with China. The boundary regulations, as settled by mutual consent of the Chinese authorities and the British Consul, extend over the valley of Foo-chow to the surrounding hills. Europeans frequently make ex- cursions for many miles through the neighbourhood, and no vexatious restrictions have been as yet at- tempted. Firmness on the part of a Consul is gene- rally a sufficient preventive of any illiberal restraints on the part of the Mandarins. As regards the residence of individual foreigners, there is no reason to believe that any great difficulty will be experienced in renting commodious houses. The partial difficulty which exists at present arises more from a spirit of extortion, and a general dis- trust of foreigners, than from fear of the authorities, or deep-rooted aversion in the minds of the people. MISSIONARY ASPECT. 373 Large and expensive houses may be obtained without difficulty even at the present time. A Missionary, either unmarried, or unaccompanied by his family in the first instance, might easily induce the priests to afford him a lodging in some of the temples within the city, on the Woo-shih shan, or on the no less salubrious site of the Kew-sin shan. In either of these localities he would enjoy favourable opportuni- ties of gaining the language by mingling with the people, till his increasing acquaintance with the local dialect, and the increasing confidence of the inhabi- tants, should prepare the way also for the residence of Missionary families. Without this previous ac- quisition of the dialect, and preparation of the po- pular mind, the residence of a married Missionary with his family would probably occasion, for a time, some practical inconveniences to the Missionary work. This leads me to the last and most important point of view in which Foo-chow is to be regarded ; viz. the nature and degree of its eligibility as a Missionary Station. In enumerating, on the one hand, some of the disadvantages of a Missionary Station at Foo- chow, the obstacle of its present inaccessibility will readily present itself to most minds. To this must be added the fact, that the people have never yet been impressed by any visible display of the national superiority and civilization of foreigners. There is also a spirit of suspicious distrust, naturally prevalent among the inhabitants towards a race of strangers, hitherto unknown. And, lastly, the local dialect, partaking of all the difficulties of the Fokeen dialects in other parts, is considered to be doubly barbarous 374 CLAIMS OF A PROTESTANT MISSION AT FOO-CHOW. and difficult of acquirement. All these difficulties, however, are either temporary, or surmountable by those general habits of energy and perseverance, in- dispensably necessary for usefulness in every portion of the Missionary field in China. On the other hand, however, we may contrast with these disadvantages many considerations which point out the desirableness of some Protestant Missionary Society speedily occupying Foo-chow with a Missio- nary establishment. Containing within the walls no less a number than 600,000 inhabitants, and, as the capital of a province, opening many channels of intercourse with surrounding places, it occupies a prominence in point of size, population, and local importance, inferior only to Canton among the newly- opened ports of China. It is free from the dete- riorating influence of an extensive foreign commerce, and the irritating effects of the late war, never having experienced the disasters of foreign invasion. The liberal disposition of the authorities, and the religious indifference of the people, alike encourage the hope that no jealousy of proselytism will throw inter- ruptions in the way of Protestant Missionaries. And, lastly, its strongest claims rest on the fact, that while nearly every system of superstition has here its living representatives, Protestant Chris- tianity is alone unrepresented in this vast city : and while every point along the coast accessible to foreigners has been occupied by Missionary labourers, the populous capital of Fokeen is as yet destitute of a single evangelist of the unadulterated faith of the Gospel. Here, then, a sphere of usefulness lies open, where RECAPITULATION. 375 no institution of caste operates to divide man from man ; where no priesthood wields a general influence over the fears or respect of the people ; where no strength of religious bigotry threatens to oppose our progress ; but where the principal obstacles, with which we shall have to contend, are those national traits of spiritual apathy and sensuality, which every- where, alas ! are deeply rooted in the fallen nature of man, and form the chief barrier to his reception of pure and vital Christianity. The view of this great heathen city, with its popu- lation absorbed in earthly pursuits, devoid of every care about a future life, and destitute of the means of Christian instruction, was a spectacle which could not but excite a train of melancholy reflections in the au- thor's mind. He cherishes, however, the hope that his visit may be instrumental in exciting other labourers to enter on this Missionary field. When the primary Stations of Shanghai and Ningpo shall have been occupied by an adequate Missionary force, Foo-chow will probably be the Station next entered upon by the Church Missionary Society. CHAPTER XXV. DEPARTURE TO AMOY. VOYAGE TO AMOY DESCRIPTION OF THE HARBOUR CAPTURE OF AMOY, AND OCCUPATION OF KOO-LANG-SOO BY THE BRITISH CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING THE FIRST ARRIVAL OF PRO- TESTANT MISSIONARIES AT AMOY THE ISLAND OF KOO- LANG-SOO SUFFERINGS OF THE PEOPLE FROM WAR AND PESTILENCE IDOLATROUS RITES FOR AVERTING THEIR CALAMITY EUROPEAN GRAVES THE MISSIONARIES' BURIAL- PLACE. ON Jan. 7th, 1846, I engaged a crew of Chinese to convey me from Foo-chow in their boat to a vessel a few miles down the river, in which I was to embark for Amoy. The weather still continued to be very cold, the thermometer standing at about 45 degrees. Having the tide in our favour, we arrived in two hours off Pagoda island. Here, as we doubled the point, a strong head- wind meeting the tide rendered our course rather dangerous, and our boat was nearly swamped. The Chinese, though the worst sailors, are the best boatmen in the world. The experience, on former occasions, of their extraordinary cleverness in managing a boat, imparted to my mind a feeling of confidence, which I could seldom, on a similar emergency, have placed in the skill of foreigners. A man at the head of the boat watched every wave as it approached, VOYAGE TO AMOY. 377 and raised a shout, so as to give the stroke altogether at the proper moment for avoiding the threatening mass of water. About noon I embarked on board the " Wolverine " brig-of-war, in which, through the kindness of the captain in command, I obtained a pas- sage to Amoy. We did not weigh anchor till the following morning, when we sailed slowly down the river with the ebb-tide, another brig-of-war, and also a war-steamer, with the British admiral on board, keeping us company a few miles astern. Near the entrance of the narrow channel called the Kin-pai- mun, where the Min expands into the broad harbour, formed by the mouth of the river and two or three adjoining islets, a sudden jerk and rolling of the vessel warned us of our having run aground, and the anchor was immediately let go. It was soon discovered that the vessel was suspended mid-ships on a rock, of which the charts gave no mention, in the middle of the channel. With eight or nine fathoms of water at our bow and stern we remained here for two hours, the admiral in the meantime passing in the steamer between us and the southern shore. Just as the admiral had made a signal to the other brig to " stand by vessel in distress," and three man-of-war's boats were rowing alongside to haul us off, the rising tide floated us aright, and we were soon again on our course. The next signal from the admiral's ship, " Proceed to Amoy," relieved us from the suspense in which the possibility of our accompanying him across to the island of Formosa had kept our minds. Soon after we came to anchor, among a fleet of junks and opium vessels, till the next morning, when we crossed the bar, and proceeded before a fresh breeze, nine knots 378 DESCRIPTION OF THE HARBOUR. an hour, towards Amoy. At daybreak on Jan. 10th we arrived among the islands which, at the distance of about eight miles from the city of Amoy, stretch across the mouth of an extensive bay, formed by two projecting headlands on the coast. The harbour en- closed within extends for several miles, being open to the sea on the south-east, and having on the south the lofty hill of Lam-tai-boo, situated on the mainland, and surmounted by a conspicuous pagoda. On the south-west lies an island, with another conspicuous pagoda, at the entrance of the river leading to the city of Chang-chew, the capital of the department of that name. On the east, at a greater distance, lies the island of Quemoy. The island of Amoy itself fills up the north and north-west of this circular range of hills, which rival each other in the bold grandeur of their towering cliffs and the wild sterility of their scenery. Sailing along the southern shore of the island, which is here lined with an extensive range of batteries close to the water-edge, we at length came to anchor in the lesser harbour, between the city and the opposite island of Koo-lang-soo, which lies about half a mile distant from Amoy. After another hour I found myself domiciled among the Missionaries, expe- riencing that hearty welcome and hospitality which I never failed to receive, both from British and Ame- rican Missionaries, during my visit to the consular ports of China. A brief relation of the part which Amoy bore in the events of the British war with Cl ina, and of the cir- cumstances attending the arrival of the first Protestant Missionaries, will be appropriate, and necessary to enable the reader to form a right estimate of the EVENTS OF THE BRITISH WAR. 379 present position of the Mission. A more general description of Amoy will be reserved till a later period of the narrative, and will also be gathered from the journal of daily occurrences. In the summer of 1840, on the sailing of the British expedition northward to Chusan, Amoy had been exempted from the desolating terror of British arms. In a later period of the same summer, the " Blonde " frigate was despatched to Amoy, to deliver to the local authorities a copy of a letter addressed by the Foreign Secretary of State, Lord Palmerston, to the principal officers and advisers of the Chinese emperor. The same letter had been sent also to other places in the north of China, where the native authorities, after transcribing the contents, had politely returned it to the messenger, with the haughty intimation that neither the subject nor the style was suited to the dignity of the imperial glance. At Amoy not even this semblance of civility was shown ; and the Manda- rins refused to receive the letter, or even to hold any communication with the frigate. The interpreter, who was deputed by the commanding officer to go ashore and explain the objects of his visit, was also fired upon in the boat. This drew down a severe cannonade on the fort and city walls, which were speedily emptied of their defenders. The absence of a regular military force prevented further hostilities ; and the commander contented himself with erecting on the beach a bamboo-staff, with a proclamation and the letter attached, for the information of the inhabi- tants; after which the "Blonde" took her departure. In August of the following year (1841) Amoy was destined to become the scene of more destructive 380 CAPTURE OF AMOY. operations. The British squadron, on its second voyage from the south of China, appeared off the har- bour on August 26th. A combined attack of the ves- sels of war on the batteries of Amoy and Koo-lang-soo, and the landing of a body of the troops, so as to flank the Chinese troops engaged on the sea battery, after a few hours dispersed the Chinese ; and the British, ad- vancing without further resistance, made themselves masters of the high ground on the east of the city, where they bivouacked for the night. The next morn- ing they entered the city, which had been generally deserted by the people, and the commander-in-chief quartered himself, with the troops, in the palace of the principal Chinese officer, the te-tok, or admiral. Very little spoil was found in the city, which is a mere outport to more important cities in the neigh- bourhood, and is not famous for the wealth of its traders. Numerous excesses were committed by the Indian troops ; and even to the present time husbands and fathers speak, with excited feelings of indignation, of the outrages committed on their families, which disgraced that occasion. Proclamations were issued by the British commander, promising protection to the well-disposed inhabitants, and inviting them to return to the city. This was the means of partially gaining the confidence of the population, who soon reverted to their former trades and occupations, and never had reason to complain of the general treat- ment which they subsequently received. The main body of the force proceeded northward to Chusan. Three vessels of war and a military force were left to garrison the island of Koo-lang-soo, and to overawe the city of Amoy, from which the troops were imme- OCCUPATION OF KOO-LANG-SOO. 381 diately removed, Koo-lang-soo henceforth becoming the head-quarters and residence for the British. From this time the island remained in the quiet occu- pation of the British, and Amoy itself was unaffected by the subsequent events of the campaign in the north. In August 1842 (one year after its capture) Koo-lang-soo was temporarily ceded, with Chusan, to the British, by the terms of the treaty of Nanking, till the payment of the stipulated indemnity money. In the beginning of 1845 it was voluntarily ceded by the British to the Chinese, about twelve months before the stipulated time of cession ; and the few British resi- dents who remained passed over to Amoy, where they experienced no difficulty in procuring suitable houses amongst a friendly and respectful people. The first Protestant Missionaries to Amoy had ar- rived at Koo-lang-soo in the beginning of 1842, which, it is necessary to bear in mind, was a few months pre- vious to the "treaty of perpetual peace and friend- ship." Two American clergymen, Rev. D. Abeel (now, it is to be feared, lingering in the last extremity of pulmonary disease in his native land) and the Rev. W. J. Boone (now Bishop of the American Episcopal Church at Shanghai), commenced their Missionary work, by preaching, on the first Sabbath after their arrival, in the Fokeen dialect of the district, which they had exclusively studied at Singapore and in Java among the numerous emigrants from this part of China. Being unconnected with the British, they occasionally ventured across from Koo-lang-soo to Amoy ; and although, in the excited state of the popu- lar mind, the experiment was by no means safe, their knowledge of the dialect enabled them to remonstrate 382 FIRST ARRIVAL OF PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES. with the people on the very first appearance of danger, and to disarm the first symptoms of hostility. After being for a time deemed neutral, they soon were regarded even as friends; and the frequent cases of maltreatment which they were able, as gratuitous in- terpreters to the British commandant, to avert or remedy by their influence, soon caused the Missiona- ries, as a body, to be viewed as peaceable, upright, and good men. Frequent cases occurred, also, in which, as interpreters, they were able to mediate between the British and the native authorities, which secured for them, among the latter, feelings of respect, in some cases perhaps associated with the character of the American nation, rather than of the Christian religion. It is, however, due to those excellent men to state, that there appear to be no grounds for suspecting them of a desire to encourage this confusion of ideas, or to sink, in the slightest de- gree, their distinctive character as Missionaries of the Cross into that of mere partisans or patriots. Their numbers were strengthened by gradual additions, both of British and American Missionaries. After recent losses by death or removal, they now amounted to six in number, four of whom were Americans, and two British. At the cession of Koo-lang-soo they migrated with the mercantile residents and the British Consulate to Amoy, where they now resided on the edge of the water, opposite to Koo-lang-soo, having two chapels situated in streets about a quarter of a mile distant, in which divine service and preaching were regu- larly held. During the first week after my arrival at Amoy, I paid frequent visits, with some of the Missionaries, to DESCRIPTION OF KOO-LANG-SOO. 383 the opposite island of Koo-lang-soo. After a few minutes' sailing in a boat, we landed on a long cause- way of large granite slabs roughly hewn, and very slippery from the multitude of little shell-fish left on them at high water. The island itself is about a mile in length, and the same in width at its broadest part. Partaking of the same general ruggedness of aspect, which is the almost unvarying feature of the whole coast of China, from the mountainous shores of Shan- tung to the rocky cliffs of Hainan, it possesses a romantic beauty of scenery peculiarly its own, in the glens and defiles which, in alternate succession, con- duct the visitor among the overhanging masses of rock of every imaginable form and appearance. In some parts, little groves of banian-trees encircle a few houses ; and the signs of cultivation are to be seen in the crops of wheat and rice which line the beach on its level parts. There are only two villages on the island, which are prettily situated on the sea-side. Of these, one lies on the shore opposite to Amoy ; the other occupies the northern and more picturesque extremity of the island. A series of gardens, with their rich foliage, rise gracefully up the slope of a little hill, till they meet the same odd jumble of chasms and boulder-stones, piled aloft or loosely scat- tered around ; huge masses of rock forming peaks on high, and seeming to vibrate in the air and to quiver in their nicely-balanced position. From the eminence at the extreme southern point a fine view is obtained of the outer harbour, and of the Six Islands, with the sea beyond. On this point of land a British flag-staff and battery formerly stood, commanding the approach to Amoy. In the centre of the island the ground 384 SEVERE PESTILENCE AND MORTALITY. generally rises by a gentle acclivity, except in a few parts where the granite peaks suddenly rear their towering heads. The island of Koo-lang-soo com- mands the city on the opposite side, and was well selected as the quarters of the British garrison, who formed too small a force to be left in occupation of the populous city itself. On the evacuation of the British, every building, and every object which served to remind them of British occupation, were destroyed or removed. The barracks, the forts, the flag-staffs, and even the frame-work of the windows and veran- dahs, were all speedily demolished, and the materials converted into firewood. The work of destruction continued, till no remnants of the foreigners remained, and the houses were restored to their primitive condi- tion. The work of purgation was vigorously persisted in. The roads were dug up, and the fields had again begun to assume the appearance of cultivation. The power of superstition and the aid of heathen priests were duly invoked. Scarcely a day passed without processions of idols, which were to be seen passing in boats through the harbour amongst the fleet of junks, each of which, with loudly-sounding gongs, saluted the deity as it passed under the vessel towards the island on the opposite side. The fearful mortality, which carried off so many of the British, and which was un- known previous to their occupation of the island, had continued to prevail to an alarming extent during the previous summer, notwithstanding the gradual resump- tion of tillage. In one family, known to the Missio- naries, and occupying one house, out of nine persons, seven had fallen victims to the prevailing fever. Even those who tilled the ground generally returned after SUPERSTITIOUS RITES FOR AVERTING CALAMITY. 385 the day's labour to the less insalubrious residence of Amoy to spend the night. The fears of the ignorant imputed the common calamity to the evil spirits of the English, who had been buried on the island. The superstitions of the people magnified every little event ; and the villagers were to be heard expatiating on the mysterious scenes which they had witnessed, of the ghosts of barbarians running up and down the hills at night, and " talking English most fearfully." On the first occasion of my visit, a large platform was erected in the northern village. Close by was a tem- porary building, destined to be succeeded, at some future period, by a more substantial edifice. In this the idols had been duly installed, and the tutelary deities were invited back to resume their rule. Some priests of the Taou sect stood by to re-consecrate the spot, with attendants bearing cakes, fruits, and sweet- meats ; while others beat drums and gongs, or played some sacred air on a wind-instrument resembling the bagpipe. A mournful chant was commenced, and they moved forward in slow and solemn procession to mount the platform, where the offering of gilt paper and the burning of incense were prolonged amid the anxious interest of the village crowd. Subscriptions of money had been levied on the inhabitants of Koo- lang-soo and Amoy ; and the afflicted people endea- voured to encourage themselves in the hope that their calamities of war and pestilence were now in course of termination. Some European graves on the eastern beach proved the former existence of a foreign trade at Amoy. Two grave-stones, with English inscriptions, bore the re- spective dates of 1698 and 1700. There was also a c c 386 EUROPEAN BURIAL-GROUND. grave-stone, erected to the memory of a Spaniard. In another part were buried the remains of a former Roman-Catholic Bishop. There are also independent grounds for believing that a considerable trade and intercourse existed in former times between the Dutch in Formosa and the Chinese at Amoy. Indelible monuments of^he recent foreign occupa- tion remained in the crowded British cemetery, in which lay the unfortunate sufferers who fell victims to the insalubrity of the spot. This cemetery was situated at the eastern side of the island, near the landing-place, and had many elegant grave-stones, erected by the sym- pathy of surviving comrades. Near the northern vil- lage, screened from view by a little assemblage of trees, was situated the burial-ground of the Missionaries. The unhealthiness of the climate had been severely felt by this class of the Lord's labourers, who followed in the train of earthly conquerors, to extend the blood- less conquests of their divine Saviour. During the last thirteen months, out of twenty-five members of the Missionary families, eighteen had been removed by various providential events. Three Missionaries had permanently left, either from the failure of their own health, or of that of their families. Two wives of Missionaries had set out for their native land, on ac- count of ill health, one of whom died on the voyage ; while two others had been suddenly summoned from the scenes of their Missionary work to higher employ- ment in a better world. Two children had died, and nine others had been sent to Europe or America. Six Missionaries now remained, one of whom was married ; so that there were in all seven labourers on the field. In this little retired spot of ground were interred THE MISSIONARY'S GRAVE. 387 the bodies of three female Missionaries, Mrs. Boone, Mrs. Dotey, and Mrs. Pohlman, with the two children of the last. They left America in the vigour of youth, to consecrate their lives to the Missionary work ; but were cut down, one after another, by premature death, leaving their earthly partners to sorrow not as those who have no hope. Appropriate texts and inscriptions on the grave-stones told the confidence of the departed in that Saviour in whom they had trusted, and their devotion, even in the cold embrace of death, to that work in which they had humbly sought to spend and be spent. Among all the achieve- ments which the annals of fame or the affection of the living delight to tell of the departed dead, where is the man, who has tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, who will not concede that the most substantial glory is that which silently adorns the Missionary's grave ? c c 2 CHAPTER XXVI. DAILY OCCURRENCES AT AMOY. INTERVIEW WITH THE " HAI-HONG" LARGE COLLECTION OF ANCESTRAL TABLETS IDOL-SHOPS FRIENDLINESS OF PEOPLE MISSIONARY SERVICES REGULAR ATTENDANTS SERVICE FOR CHINESE FEMALES. JAN. 16th The friendly intercourse held by the Mis- sionaries with the Chinese authorities at Amoy en- couraged me to pay a visit to the hai-hong, the princi- pal officer in municipal matters, whose jurisdiction, similar to that of a lord-mayor, extended over the city and island of Amoy. His predecessor, whom he succeeded a few months ago, was a man of very liberal views, and sometimes visited the Missionaries without any ceremony or state, on which occasions he used to take their children on his knee, and play with them in the most friendly manner. The present hai-hong possessed a large measure of his predecessor's liberal views and popular manners, and was at all times accessible. We walked over some rugged rising ground near the beach, covered with tombs, the masonry of which was in some cases dilapidated through age, so as to expose the decayed coffins to view. We soon arrived at the suburban hamlet of Ha-mun-ka, in which the hai-hong's residence is situated. A couple of long open courts and some flights of steps conducted us at length to the recep- tion-rooms and large open halls at the end of a raised INTERVIEW WITH THE HAI-HONG. 389 area. The hai-hong had just gone to transact some official business with the other Mandarins at the te- tok's palace within the city, and, according to annual custom, to seal up the public books and documents, for the purpose of terminating all business during the period of the new-year holidays, which lasted from this, the 19th day of the twelfth moon, to the 20th day of the first moon. Two of his secretaries received us, and conducted us into a little room on the right, where they entertained us with tea and oranges, and continued questioning us for half-an-hour, till the usual discharge of guns and beating of gongs announced the approach of the hai-hong himself on his return home. Our cards, inscribed with our Chi- nese names, having been first sent in according to due form, an attendant returned to usher us into the large reception-hall. Here the hai-hong himself, wearing his cap, surmounted by a crystal button, and adorned with a peacock's feather behind, with ornaments of necklaces, and embroidery on his breast, advanced to welcome us. He shook hands with us, and ad- dressed us separately by our names, affixing to each the appellation of " teacher." He placed himself at the lowest seat ; and as we sipped tea together, with about twenty attendants standing around, various questions passed between him and the two American Missionaries by whom I was accompanied. A sub- ordinate officer interpreted between them, as the Missionaries understood only the local dialect, and the hai-hong spoke the Peking or Court dialect. Occasionally a few words, in the Court dialect, passed between the hai-hong and myself. Hearing that I was a hung maou seen-sang, " an English teacher," he 390 HIS LIBERALITY TOWARDS MISSIONARIES. asked if I was a le pai seen-sang, " a religious teacher." I replied, that I was a chuen keaou, " a propagator of religion," and asked if our objects in coming to the Central Kingdom met his approbation. He replied, that as we had come in order to teach men to act irtuously, our object was good and benevolent, and fie could not therefore but highly approve of it. During the rest of the interview, he took frequent occasion to commend our work, though he did not go so far as his predecessor in office, who once expressed his hope to Mr. Abeel that the Missionaries would convert the people to Christianity, as they would then become more loyal subjects. The present of a Christian Almanack led to an examination of the maps, and to many questions about England and her possessions. He especially asked where India (Yin- too) was situated. He then inquired how long I had been in China, what amount of time I had devoted to Chinese studies, and what parts of the coast I had visited. He then asked to which of the five ports I gave the preference, and whether I liked Fokeen province as well as Che-keang. In the course of my reply, I took an opportunity of acquainting him that my friends were Americans, and I myself was an Englishman ; but that the doctrines, which we pro- fessed in common, made all nations brethren and friends. This led to renewed professions of admira- tion of our religion, and the statement of his wish to be included among the number of our friends. He expressed his hope that, if we wanted any favour, we would not hesitate to convey our wishes to him ; and intimated to us that he also, on his part, should place similar confidence in our willingness to confer acts TOPICS OF CONVERSATION. 391 of kindness on himself. This sounded rather strange to me at the time, but received explanation from the fact, of which I was afterwards informed, that the Chinese authorities sometimes send a private mes- senger to the Missionaries for information on various matters affecting their intercourse with foreigners. An instance of this kind lately occurred on the visit of the French ambassador to a city forty miles in the interior, by which the jealous surmises of the Man- darins were excited. Their suspicions were removed by the information of the Missionaries, who, in reply to the official messenger, stated their opinion that the French were uninfluenced by any sinister designs, and actuated by no other motive than curiosity. The presence of a body of men, whose knowledge of the language enables them to hold free communication with the Chinese, and whose objects form to the Mandarins a guarantee for their integrity, cannot be regarded otherwise than as an advantage even to the secular interests of Europeans. After making some inquiries from the two Missio- naries respecting a barometer and a telescope, which he had commissioned them to purchase for him, and expressing some strange notions on the subject of land-mists and sea-mists, he exchanged a few words, in a low tone of voice, with an attendant. The latter, watching his opportunity, whispered into the ear of one of our party that the hai-hong had a number of persons outside waiting for him to transact some important business. This hint induced us to hasten our departure, amid the greetings of the hai-hong, who accompanied us to the outer court. Here we found about a hundred officers, police-runners, and 392 A COLLECTION OF ANCESTRAL TABLETS. lictors, regularly drawn up in files, awaiting his exit. As we passed out of the courts into the neighbouring street, our ears were greeted with the sounds of pipes and drums, which form the usual salute to visitors at the houses of the great. We proceeded thence along the broad cause-way, by which the victorious British troops advanced to- wards the citadel on the capture of Amoy. It had some old triumphal arches and gates, with some tem- ples on either side of the road. We entered into one of these temples, which had no idols, but was com- pletely filled with rows of ancestral tablets, altogether amounting to about three thousand in number. It had been recently erected by the public subscriptions of the officers and people, and was intended to com- memorate the unfortunate multitudes, who had been swept away by a fearful inundation in the neighbour- hood. This disastrous occurrence took place in the year 1842, when whole villages were swept away from the vale of Chang-chew on the opposite mainland. Hundreds of bodies were washed down the river, and carried out into the sea by the current. Numbers were also borne alongside the British vessels of war then lying on the other side of Koo-lang-soo. This building was erected to receive the ancestral tablets of those families which had perished in the common disaster. Many of the tablets had been carried away, together with the temples which contained them, by the all-destroying force of the waters. Such of the tablets as had been recovered from the general de- struction were carefully placed together in this tem- ple, erected for the purpose. In the inscription above the entrance we beheld as positive a proof as IDOL-SHOPS. 393 could be required of the direct worship paid to departed spirits, and the real demonolatry of the Chinese : Yew kew peih ying, " Those who pray will of necessity obtain a response/' tantamount to the words of Scripture, Ask, and ye shall receive. Each tablet was inscribed with the number of generations through which the family was traced some thirteen, some fourteen, and others seventeen. Although a Chinese regards with superstitious, and even idola- trous veneration, the ancestral tablets of his own family, he does not extend the same feelings of reverential awe to those of other families. It is not uncommon for them to place the tablets of obsolete or extinct families in some little spot, with an idol presiding as a protector. They will, however, suffer them to be removed, and sometimes even encourage their removal by any one whose curiosity may prompt to the act, and who will not wantonly injure them. A Chinese of my acquaintance readily volunteered to procure me a couple of tablets from this temple. He seemed to consider them as common property, and their removal to involve no act of desecration or dis- honesty, as the original owners had no longer any representatives. In one of the narrow streets we entered an idol- shop, where idols of every pattern and quality were procurable, the prices varying from several dollars each to the low sum of six cash, equal to about one farthing. The licensed permission of the Mandarins to pursue the vocation of idol-maker was visibly de- picted on a sign-board in the shop. On another board was a notice that precious Budhas were there manu- factured or repaired. A large number of idols, of 394 FRIENDLINESS OF THE PEOPLE. every shape and in every stage of manufacture, were lying around. Another idol-manufactory had the sign suspended over the door, " The golden Budha shop.'' These shops were to be seen at every quarter of a mile, and presented groups of images, some black with age and sent hither for regilding, and others gaudily painted and fresh from the hand of the artist. Some had stern visages ; some wore the expression of plea- sure ; and all looked exceedingly grotesque. The people outside would readily enter into the subject, and laugh heartily as the Missionary pointed out to them the unreasonable character of worship paid to such divinities. The people everywhere showed the same polite attentions and friendly disposition ; and although the Missionaries spoke boldly their sentiments on idolatry, they did not appear to excite any ill-will. Mis- takes at the commencement of the Mission were sometimes made by the people, as to the objects and motives of Missionaries. A Chinese came, soon after their first arrival, and proposed to one of them to effect an expulsion of the present Tartar dynasty, which he demonstrated to be perfectly easy, if they would only bring 4000 men to Amoy, to assist in carry- ing out his plan ! As we passed along the street, in the immediate vicinity of the residences of the Missiona- ries, the frequent salutation greeted our ears, "Have you eaten rice to-day?" "Have you eaten to the full?" A special degree of interest seemed to be produced on their minds by the arrival of a new teacher ; and whenever I walked alone through these streets, they endeavoured, in their simple manner, to make me welcome by many acts of politeness and MISSIONARY CHAPELS. 395 good-humoured remarks, the meaning of which I could better understand by their looks than by their language. The ropemakers, who thronged some of the streets, generally called out to me as I endea- voured to pass under the lines across the street, and stopped their work that I might be enabled to cross over without having to stoop. Jan. ISth (Sunday) A description of the Missionary services of this day will give an idea of the usual course of Sabbath duties at Amoy. At 9 A.M. a Chi- nese service was held at each of the two Missionary chapels, one of which belonged to the American Board of Foreign Missions, and the other to the London Missionary Society. They were commodiously situ- ated among the population, having been rented at a moderate annual sum, and converted, at a small ex- pense, from trading hongs, or warehouses, into chapels capable of holding one hundred and fifty persons, with moveable benches for seats. At 10 A. M. a Missionary service was held among the Chinese, at the hospital, by the medical Missionary who presided over the insti- tution. At 11 A.M. an English service was held at the house of one of the Missionaries, at which two or three other Europeans sometimes were present. At 3 p. M. another Chinese service was held at the two chapels. Besides these services on Sundays, the Missionaries generally visited one of the chapels every afternoon, for the purpose of conversing with those whom cu- riosity might induce to enter. These afternoon visits were intermitted on those days on which they had a Chinese Bible class at their own houses for their teachers, domestics, and constant hearers. On one afternoon in the week there was also a special meeting 396 MISSIONARY SERVICES. for women, at the house of the only married Mis- sionary, whose wife survived and was able to remain at Amoy. She frequently received visits from her female neighbours, and had continual access to their houses ; by which friendly intercourse many prejudices were removed, and their confidence was gained. At the first public service which I attended, the Missionary who officiated addressed about fifty Chi- nese, drawing his comparisons and illustrations from the customs of the approaching new year. He re- marked on the scrupulous care with which they settled their accounts, prepared their garments, and made other arrangements for a suitable observance of the holiday. He drew an argument from this their exces- sive care in unimportant concerns, to the greatness of their moral responsibility in the higher matter of pre- paring to meet their God, and using every effort to secure the salvation of their immortal souls. The regular attendants were very attentive, and listened in silence. The new comers were much less reverent, and sometimes interrupted the preacher with remarks or questions. One elderly gentleman, attired in a silk gown, entered the room, bowing and nodding to the preacher and the other persons present, whom he hap- pened to recognise, as he was conducted by a Chinese, who acted as a sexton, to a bench near the place where I was sitting. The old man frequently gave vent to a half-suppressed laugh, as the Missionary laid open to view the interior scenes and detailed prepara- tions of Chinese families in the prospect of the ap- proaching festival. Again the old man's countenance became grave, and his looks bespoke deep attention, till some pointed remark or happy allusion again drew INTERRUPTION BY A CHINESE. 397 forth a stifled laugh or an audibly expressed commen- dation. After the sermon, a middle-aged Chinese, of rather shabby exterior, went round and tried to sound our breasts, for the purpose of listening whether our hearts were good or wicked. He made many comments after each experiment, in a way which left doubt whether to regard him as a person of weak mind or eccentric wit. On a previous occasion he once interrupted the preacher for several minutes, in the midst of his sermon, standing up and making a lengthened harangue to those present, in order to prove to them that all this attention and concern respecting the future was unnecessary, and that the best way to happiness was to banish all care and thought about such matters from the mind. At the hospital all the Chinese knelt down during the prayer. In the chapels, where the congregations consisted of a mixed class of hearers, those only who had been regu- lar in their attendance were observed to kneel. About twenty-five Chinese in all had been for some time under instruction, and came nearly every day to the Missio- naries. Two of these were old men, who had been four years under a course of daily instruction. Their baptism had been deferred so long, possibly even from an excess of caution unwarranted by scriptural exam- ples, but, nevertheless, under the strong conviction, that, in the present circumstances of the Mission, delay was far preferable to a premature admission of converts ; which, though it might increase the number of professing Christians, was calculated also to lower the standard of spiritual religion in the eyes of the heathen. The most regular attendants on the services were 398 HONORARY TITLE OF FATHERS OF GRADUATES. the following individuals, many of whom (as will be perceived) were those who, from their situation or employment, were in some measure dependent on the Missionaries, and whose sincerity might, on that ac- count, be exposed to suspicion. There were the two old men, who were soon to be admitted to baptism, Hok que-peh and Un sea-pai, both of whom keep small shops, and rigidly abstain from trade and other secular business on the Sabbath. There was also a rich old merchant, engaged in the tea trade with Can- ton, whose son had been advanced to the literary degree of keu-jin, and was then at Peking, waiting for political preferment. The old gentleman was gene- rally known by the title of ta laou-yay, or "his lord- ship," this being a title of salutation given to Manda- rins of some of the intermediate ranks, and also con- ferred by conventional usage on the fathers of the higher classes of literary graduates. China is proba- bly the only country in the world where a son can thus, by his own individual merits, ennoble a father with a title of honour. Another, also, of the daily hearers was an old reclaimed opium smoker, named Lim pai, who subsisted on his own small independent means, and passed a great deal of his time in the society of the Missionaries, according to his own pro- fessions, in order to avoid the ensnaring influence of his former boon-companions, and to be removed out of the way of temptation. Among the regular atten- dants there were also two old men, nearly blind, named Ma sing-hea and Shwui lo, the latter being a keeper of one of the chapels, in an upper room of which he resided. Another old man, Ban hea, who was formerly inclined to embrace the Roman-Catholic NAMES OF REGULAR ATTENDANTS. 399 religion, but was deterred by fear of persecution, was also a constant visitor of the Missionaries. Among the middle-aged and younger men were Khey cheong, a manufacturer of idol-paper for offerings, who pro- fessed to be troubled in conscience at the sinfulness of his calling, and wished to change his trade ; Hok ha, a ropemaker, of very promising character ; Ching han, a medical student attached to the Missionary hospital ; and An jean, a leper who had been for some time a patient in the hospital. There were also the six teachers of the Missionaries, two of them being graduates of the first or lowest degree. All of the teachers appeared to be intellectually well acquainted with the doctrines of Christianity, and assented to the excellence and truth of the Gospel. One of them, Tan seen-sang, after receiving preparatory instruction from a Missionary during the morning, frequently accompanied him in the afternoon to the chapel and to other places, where he took his turn in addressing the assembled Chinese. Of the expediency of this course different persons may possibly take opposite views: much, however, depends on the wisdom and judgment exercised by the individual Missionary on such occasions. There were also eleven other Chi- nese attached to the families of Missionaries, or to the hospital, whose daily opportunities had enabled them to gain an insight into the more prominent doctrines of Christianity, but who had not yet shown any decided proofs of a change of heart. All these persons had ceased to worship idols ; but with the exception of the two old men about to be admitted to baptism, they had not generally adopted the decided course of expel- ling the images from their household. The old Ta laou- 400 SERVICE FOR CHINESE FEMALES. yay adopted the custom of burning incense-sticks on a household altar, from which he had recently expelled the idol, and on which he said that he offered incense to the one true God. Notwithstanding the frequent censures of the Missionaries on this part of his conduct, he still availed himself of every opportunity of attend- ing the services, and might be seen every day at one of the chapels, with his Chinese Testament and hymn- book. He sometimes expressed a desire to be bap- tized, and appeared to be sincerely convinced of the superiority of the Christian religion ; but his self- righteous views, and love of the material worship of incense, pointed him out as on the broad road to Popery, whenever he might be brought into contact with a ritual form of worship, so studiously addressed to the senses and the imagination. The largest attendance which I witnessed, at either of the chapels, was about one hundred. At the religious meeting for women, men were not generally admitted: on one or two occasions, how- ever, I was present. A Missionary and his wife, with one Chinese teacher and about twenty women, formed our little assembly. The teacher addressed them with much animation, and the Missionary concluded with a suitable prayer, during which all knelt. At the close, the women made remarks on the doctrines being good ; and after some further conversation, and taking tea together, departed to their homes. CHAPTER XXVII. NEW-YEAR FESTIVITIES. CUSTOMARY OBSERVANCES OF THE NEW YEAR MORAL TRACTS BY NATIVE SCHOLARS ANTITHETICAL SENTENCES OVER THE ENTRANCE OF HOUSES BUSY ADJUSTMENT OF PECU- NIARY MATTERS ANNUAL CUSTOM OF "SURROUNDING THE FURNACE" A FAMILY SCENE SUPERSTITIOUS MODE OF PROGNOSTICATING THE SEASONS OF THE COMING YEAR NEW-YEAR VISITS TO SOME CHINESE FRIENDS TA LAOU-YAY LIM-PAI LIM SEEN-SANG TAN SEEN-SANG UNIVERSAL PREVALENCE OF GAMBLING A MISSIONARY SERVICE. THE approach of the new-year holidays imparted for the next few days an air of excitement to the busy masses in the narrow crowded streets. In one of my daily excursions with the Missionaries through the city, we visited the temple of Kwante, the " god of war," in whose image a piece of glass on the belly was intended to represent the soul of the deity. Two images of his attendants, with their usual fierce looks, stood near to affright the superstitious. Near this was also a temple of Budh's mother, whose image was furnished with eighteen hands. A neighbouring hall contained eighteen images, which represented the eighteen original disciples of Budh. In these temples we distributed copies of a tract composed for the season, being an address to the people " on crossing the new year." D D 402 SANCTITY OF THE CHINESE WRITTEN CHARACTER. We afterwards entered the citadel, or city proper, which is included within the walls, and contains only a small portion of the population. After a few mi- nutes we reached the opposite gate to that by which we had entered, and soon again passed into the outer city on our return. A number of ornamented boxes, or cabinets, about two feet in width, were to be seen, at every two hundred yards, projecting from the corner of some house, and having their exterior in- scribed with various sentences, one of which intimated to the reader that " every fragrant action would have its remembrance." These, on inquiry, proved to be little chests, voluntarily provided by the more super- stitious of the shopkeepers, to become the depository of pieces of paper inscribed with writing, in order that no one might violate the sanctity of the Chinese written character by tossing away these precious fragments to be trodden under foot. At the new- moon festival these scraps of paper are consumed, according to custom, to prevent any imaginary dese- cration. In all directions, also, were to be seen a number of moral tracts, which, at this period of the year, were conspicuously displayed on the walls in places of public resort, and contained the well-intended exhor- tations to virtue, addressed by some native scholar to his less-instructed countrymen. One of these was the production of a sew-tsai graduate of Chang-chew, who, after sundry magniloquent remarks of a prefatory kind, exhorted his readers to regain their primitive rectitude and virtue. About the middle of the sheet a succession of diagrams or figures represented the heart of man in the several stages of its downward MORAL TRACTS BY NATIVE SCHOLARS. 403 career to vice. The heart was first white, without blemish or spot, and a quotation was subjoined from the ancient classics, to show that " man's disposition is originally good." The next figure represented the heart, with a small patch of black, to denote incipient deterioration, the effect of neglected educa- tion. The third, fourth, and fifth figures, with the gradually increasing amount of black, denoted the gradual but certain progress of moral depravity ; till the sixth, with its rudely-shapen heart, entirely filled up with black, showed the consummation of wicked- ness, and the complete ascendency of evil principles. The remaining six figures, with the brief moral sen- tences appended below, proceeded to illustrate the gradual restoration of the human heart, from the lowest depths of depravity to the pure unsullied white of original virtue, by obedience to the maxims of the sages and the practice of good. Another part of the sheet described the same progress to evil and restora- tion to virtue, by means of hearts placed in different degrees of obliquity. Copies of this moral tract had been liberally circulated at Chang-chew by the ori- ginal composer. The wooden block, from which it had been printed, was sent to Amoy, where any one, who had sufficient benevolence or interest in the public morals, was permitted to strike off a number of impressions for distribution. The name and seal of the individual, who had the public spirit to incur the expense of the paper, ink, and printing of this new edition, were duly blazoned forth in red colour on the lower part of the sheet, as the reward of his good deeds. Another custom, universally prevalent at this season, DD 2 404 SENTENCES OVER THE ENTRANCE OF HOUSES. and characteristic of the nation, deserves special no- tice. The entrance to every Chinese dwelling had visibly depicted on the door and door-posts*, as well as on the cross-beam above, two or more pair of anti- thetical sentences, chosen with great care from their approved writings, and generally combining a number of lucky expressions, as well as a neatly-contrived antithesis of ideas and cognate tones. The selection of these sentences requires an amount of classical knowledge and critical acumen, such as is only pos- sessed by literary persons. All the teachers of the Missionaries petitioned for a short vacation, to enable them to turn to their own pecuniary gain their respec- tive talents in selecting and writing these antithetical sentences. The poor scholars might be seen in all directions standing at a table in some street, or at the entrance of some temple, and selling their writings for a few copper cash ; the new year being the annual period for removing the old sentences and substituting new ones in their place. The paper on which they were written was of various colours; the general co- lour, however, being of a deep red. White paper denoted that the inmates had lost a parent during the past year. The second year's mourning required blue for a father ; yellow for a mother ; and carnation colour for grand-parents. A light red indicated the third year of mourning ; after which they reverted to the usual colour of a dark red. Numerous proclamations also, from the municipal authorities, appeared at this time on the walls adjoin- ing the gates of the citadel, on various subjects of * See Deuteronomy vi. 9. BUSY ADJUSTMENT OF PECUNIARY MATTERS. 405 public exhortation. One of these public notices con- tained a warning from the district-magistrates, prohi- biting constables and other subordinate officials from apprehending individuals on the sanction of old war- rants, and thus seeking to obtain a bribe for their liberation. Jan. 2Qth This being the last day of the Chinese year, busy preparations were in progress for termi- nating business, for laying in a stock of provisions, and for celebrating the superstitious observances of the evening. In all directions companies of cooly-bearers might be seen carrying large packages of new-year presents to the friends of their master. In the various houses which we visited after sunset the head of the establishment, attended by his sons or his partners, was to be observed balancing his mercantile accounts, and settling the debts of the year. So punctilious are the Chinese in the observance of this commendable practice, that they say they could not enjoy the festive occasion, nor sleep during the night, unless they had previously relieved their mind of this burden. The swan-pwan, or counting board, was in constant use ; and when the business seemed well nigh terminated, and the books were about to be closed, a neighbour would hurry into the shop, and pecuniary transactions would again for a season be renewed. While these important matters were in progress, the family were engaged in burning gilt paper, with the occasional discharge of fireworks, and in making preparations for the peculiar annual custom named hivui loo, or " sur- rounding the furnace." This is performed by the members of each family sitting down to a substantial supper, with a pan of charcoal placed under the table 406 ANNUAL CUSTOM OF "SURROUNDING THE FURNACE." in the centre of the party. The only explanation which they gave of this odd custom was, that fire is the most potent of the elements ; and hence, probably, they derived a notion of its efficacy in averting evil, or in strengthening the bonds of family union. The women observed this custom in an inner room by themselves ; while the master of the house, with his sons and his hired assistants, sat down in an outer room. In one of the families, in which we were in- vited to remain in order to view the detailed obser- vances of the occasion, the proprietor, a man appa- rently of some little wealth, sat down with his assis- tants, his younger son, and two little grandsons. The eldest son, a youth of about nineteen, sat near us, attending to our wants, but without partaking of the feast himself. Every minute he was on his legs, at- tending to the beckoning motions of his father, on whom he waited without the least appearance of its being esteemed unusual. At one time he brought a spoon, or a pair of chop-sticks ; at another time he fetched a paper-napkin for his father's use, or re- filled his glass with samshoo. The old gentleman, after a short time, became silent and drowsy. But the rest of the party meanwhile increased in mirth, as they rapidly consumed the good fare placed before them. The conversation became increasingly ani- mated, and some of the women soon entered at the further end, and joined in the subjects of amusement. These were the secondary wives of the household, the proper wife and the daughters-in-law being never permitted to mingle in the free unrestrained con- versation with strangers, which is sometimes allowed in the inferior class of female domestics. Great POSITION OF WIVES. 407 civility was shown to us, but we declined to partake of the feast. It was very melancholy to witness the habit of reckless lying, which manifested itself so frequently in their replies ; both the old man and the son showing not the least compunction or sense of shame in telling flagrant falsehoods whenever it suited their purpose. In reply to our question about one of the women present, the old man said, first, that she was an acquaintance ; then, shortly after, that she was a daughter-in-law ; and, at last, the plain truth came out, that she was one of his secondary wives. Not the slightest jealousy appeared to be cherished in regard to the latter class of wives, though the mistress of the family did not once make her ap- pearance. This lower class of women are generally purchased from poor parents as domestic servants, with the liberty of degrading them to the rank of in- ferior wives; which practice is generally prevalent, and is considered, even by their sages, to be strictly in accordance with moral rectitude, if the proper wife has given birth to no son. The offspring of both classes of wives are considered legitimate, although the sons of concubines, in inheriting the patrimony, receive only half as much as the sfc "* a > ^> ~~ A ""-H g m x> GENERAL REMARK t Batavia. u 2 'i P- V en O> .S t3 *^ T3 =3 4J O o E p , ^ be cc a m 3 ^ .1 'B, 1 t Bankok. ^ o 1 ex, t Singapore. < -z ~ M s 1 3 .-3 O O ex, C3 be 03 a Catechist at E Singapore. Hospital. can Missionary, n Education Soci Malacca. 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