THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 GIFT OF 
 
 Mrs. Ralph W. Powell 
 
Oct. 131-^ 
 
Digitized by tlie Internet Arcliive 
 
 in 2008 witli funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 littp://www.arcliive.org/details/alongriverroadinOOdukericli 
 
I 
 
Along River # Road 
 
 IN 
 
 FUH-KIEN, CHINA. 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWIN JOSHUA DUKES. 
 
 WITH A MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 FROM SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR. 
 
 AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 
 
 150 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK CITY. 
 
LOAN STACK 
 GIFP 
 
-J-^ 
 
 D72 
 
 IV\Pr\f\} 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 AMO.^ FROM KULANGSEU .... Frotiiispiece. 
 
 A CHINESE PEEP-SHOW. AN IDOL PROCESSION 27 
 
 BARBER J3 
 
 WHEELBARROW. 47 
 
 JINRIKSHA 53 
 
 BOAT-TOWING 65 
 
 NIA-TAU. SHOOTING THE RAPIDS . ... 73 
 
 ROOM IN MANDARINS HOUSE 8j 
 
 GAMBLERS . 123 
 
 MAP. TUNG-A-BE CHAPEL 157 
 
 MASTER MERCY, THE COOK. CHINESE PRISON- 
 ERS WEARING THE CANGUE . ... 163 
 
 CHINESE COURTROOM 205 
 
 BOYS' SCHOOL 253 
 
 CHINESE STUDENTS 257 
 
 CHINESE PUNISHMENTS 263 
 
 LONDON MISSION HOUSE, A3IOY . ... 3^3 
 
 983 
 
PREFACE 
 
 That China is a mysterious problem to all 
 who interest themselves in its affairs is the only 
 excuse for writing another book about it. To 
 the Christian its religious state is a subject to be 
 spoken of with bated breath. To the politician 
 the condition of its government and people is one 
 of the chronic disturbing elements in his specu- 
 lations. 
 
 In the following pages the writer ventures to 
 think he has pictured the people of that great 
 and wonderful land in a light in which they have 
 not often been seen by any but a traveller. The 
 endeavor has not been to represent China from 
 the special point of view of the politician, mer- 
 chant, or missionary, but simply to describe the 
 scenes of daily life as they appear to one moving 
 to and fro among them. This book has no inten- 
 tion of being profound nor of explaining every- 
 thing. It is consistent with its title, and presents 
 the reader only familiar sketches. The chapters 
 are, with one or two exceptions, compiled from 
 notes made when travelling upon mission jour- 
 
6 PREFACE. 
 
 neys and from letters written to friends in Eng- 
 land. It has been the writer's hope that the 
 effort to portray the Chinese as they are seen in 
 their daily life may create in the minds of per- 
 sons interested in the religious welfare of China 
 a more intelligent sympathy with missionary 
 work. 
 
 This strange nation, who win their way to 
 the front rank in commerce and easily outdo the 
 Hindoo, Malay, and Saxon on their own soil, 
 who have proved themselves the equals of Euro- 
 pean statesmen in diplomacy, who persevere 
 steadily and earn a living in the face of every 
 obstacle, taking ' ' time for their fulcrum and pa- 
 tience for their lever, ' ' as Sir John Davis said of 
 them, and who defy climatic differences, living 
 with almost equal ease in the Torrid or Arctic 
 Zone, must be destined to decide much of the 
 future history of the globe. A few years more 
 and the "Chinese question" will be regarded as 
 one to be discussed not merely by Irish obstruc- 
 tionists of cheap labor in California, or by gold- 
 diggers and sheep-farmers in Australia; it will 
 become a great international problem, summon- 
 ing to its solution the wisdom and resources of 
 the cabinets of Western countries and calling 
 forth the united efforts of Christendom. Change 
 and movement will be rapid in China, now that 
 
PREFACE. 7 
 
 they are fairly begun. Outside nations will soon 
 feel the pressure of the unwieldy mass of this 
 Chinese race. The nation so long self-barred 
 from international relations is being driven to 
 seek alliances abroad. A people who lately 
 scorned to know where England is, or France 
 or Russia, is opening its eyes to see prospects of 
 gain beyond its own borders. Already the Chi- 
 nese are pouring down a human torrent upon the 
 countries and islands of the East. Cambodia, 
 Burmah, Siam, and the entire Malay peninsula 
 show signs of being overrun by the Chinaman, 
 while tens of thousands are wending their way 
 across the sea to Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Papua, 
 the Philippines, the Celebes, and the Sandwich 
 Islands. More slowly they stream northward, 
 settling down upon the bleak steppes of Asiatic 
 Russia and the green plains of Thibet, Mongolia, 
 and Manchuria. The unoccupied spaces of the 
 lands of the rising sun lie before them. Peace- 
 fully but resolutely they are taking possession of 
 sparsely-populated regions. It needs but a little 
 of the spirit of the prophet to foretell that this 
 generation shall not pass till it has seen great 
 events in China. Nor is there any doubt in the 
 minds of any one acquainted with the story of 
 its Protestant missions that, happen what may 
 politically, the Christian church is now so firmly 
 
8 PREFACE. 
 
 rooted there that every change will result in the 
 wider opening of the doors for the heralds of the 
 cross. 
 
 Many of these familiar descriptions of life in 
 China were written at Amoy, in the Fuh-kien 
 province — a place concerning which very little 
 has been said by writers on China. It was the 
 people of that province whom the writer almost 
 always had in his mind. Customs and manners 
 differ in certain parts of the land as much as the 
 languages of the southern half, but not enough, 
 it is presumed, to prevent the Fuh-kienese from 
 being typical, for the most part, of the Chinaman 
 of Chili or Quantung, of Kansuh or Chikiang. 
 
 By the kind permission of Mr. James Clarke, 
 the chapter on "Feng-shui," originally written 
 for the "Christian World Magazine," is reprinted 
 here with only a few modifications and additions. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A WALK IN THE STREETS. 
 
 What is a street? Things suggested, but not said. A heathen 
 temple. "Joss-houses." Buyers and sellers in the temple. 
 Burden-bearers. A clothier's advertisement. Wandering in 
 sheep-skins and goat-skins. The bootmaker's inconsidera- 
 tion for the favorite corn. Restaurants and sweet-stuff shops. 
 Public theatricals. A pictorial genius. A " designing char- 
 acter." Ablutions in public. The omnipresent " miracle 
 man." The barber. Mandarin procession. Sign-boards and 
 mottoes. " No cheating here." English pictures in a Chinese 
 street. Having eyes, they see not. On the way to chapel. 
 Comedy and tragedy. Cash, the end and aim of existence 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 
 
 So-called "great roads." Private ideas concerning road-making. 
 Locomotion in the north. The by-paths. Somewhat " un- 
 equally j'oked." The " one-hoss shay." The " Pullman car " 
 of Shanghai. Universal conveyance of Central China. A 
 developed wheelbarrow. Sedan-chair. Chair-bearers. The 
 Chinese "cabby" and his "fare." Undue hospitality. " Squeez- 
 ing" the foreigner. A "contested election" of chair-bearers. 
 Simple rules of conduct. Travelling by water. Passage 
 junks. The mission junk. Shooting the rapids. More ex- 
 citing than pleasant. Down the North River. Boats and pilots. 
 A trusty leader 43 
 
lO CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CHINESE INNS. 
 
 An inn. What it is. What it is not. Simple habits of John 
 Chinaman. Expenses of furnishing. An " imperial " hotel. 
 A "people's cafe." An inhabitant of another sphere. The 
 eternal topic. Refinements of civilization. Foreign ghosts. 
 A laudable desire for information. " In season and out of 
 season." Inns in the north. Sleeping accommodation in the 
 south. What's in a name? A night to be remembered, or 
 perhaps forgotten. MuUa in parvo. Hindrances to repose. 
 The warming-pan. Names of inns. Entertaining company. 
 Opportunities of Christian work in inns . . . .78 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. 
 
 Chinese holidays. No Sabbath. Preparations for New Year. The 
 universal birthday. Aged infants. Respect for age. Simi- 
 larity between the Hebrew and Chinese customs. Winding 
 up accounts. Fear the gods, honor the king. Crackers. 
 Early matins. The sacrifices. "Surrounding the furnace." 
 The city on New Year's morning. Jack is as fine as his mas- 
 ter. The " Book of Rites." Afternoon calls and four o'clock 
 tea. New Year's gifts. The Chinese en fete. No work for a 
 week. " All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy " . 106 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE HABITS AND MANNERS OF JOHN CHINAMAN. 
 Adverse views concerning the Chinese race. Missionaries the 
 best judges. The buyer sold. Filial piety and respect. 
 "Father-mothers" and "lion-tigers." Moderation of the 
 Chinaman. Claims of rival deities. Courtesy, geniality, hos- 
 pitality. Burden of the " proprieties." A Chinaman's esti- 
 mate of the English. Confucian ethics. The dark side of 
 Chinese life. Commercial integrity. No idea of the sacred- 
 ness of truth. " It is naught, it is naught," saith the buyer, etc. 
 Pilfering. A "high commission " court. Unjust judges. Uni- 
 versal immorality. The sphere of woman. Chinese women 
 better off than other Orientals. The "upper ten" in China 127 
 
CONTENTS. II 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 
 
 The gospel boat. A village chapel. An embryo hymnologist. A 
 pastoral visit. A " Sunday out." Providing for a journey. 
 "Sold again!" Chinese bridges. Mosquitoes more pressing 
 than polite. Lost on the way. A converted pawn-shop. Early 
 risers. Salt-making. An unexpected pleasure. Advanced 
 j-oung women. Small feet. Country worshippers. A proph- 
 et's chamber. The nearer the church, the farther from God. 
 Sabbath observance. The " city of grace and peace." Chapel 
 destroyed by a mob. Dragons and demons guarding the 
 temple. Progress of the work. Note. — Legend of the Great 
 Bridge of Lo-iu 154 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 
 
 Breaking fresh ground. Graves and monuments. A truly inde- 
 pendent pastor. Self-support in the churches. A model 
 chapel. Varieties of language. A quiet resting-place. Some 
 exquisite scenery. Twelve days in Foochow, the " Happy 
 City." The Episcopal Methodist Conference. Off again. 
 Changes in temperature. A Chinese feast. Perilous paths. 
 Morning worship. A Sunday in the clouds. Bad inns again. 
 Settling the area of the Amoy language towards the north. 
 Utter callousness of the heathen to Christian doctrine. Liter- 
 ally, a china town. A grewsome sanctuary. Computation of 
 distance. There 's no place like home .... 189 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 FENG-SHUI : THE BIGGEST OF ALL BUGBEARS. 
 
 What Feng-Shui is. Feng-Shui doctors. Unquiet spirits. Fixing 
 a site for the last home. Fair breezes and foul. Current in- 
 fluences. Disturbing elements. Use of pagodas. An interna- 
 tional quarrel. The spirits object to railways and telegraphs. 
 A haunted chapel. Unsettled remains. " Potted Chinaman." 
 The autocrat at the sepulchre. Physician, heal thyself ! The 
 old love and the new. Opening up of coal-mines. Probable 
 effects of development of the resources of China . . 220 
 
12 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 
 
 Reverence for education. Chinese literature. Its ethical and 
 moral excellence and influence. Signification of the words 
 "learning" and "education." Men of letters. How many 
 can read? Respect for the written character. "Fragments 
 of science." Examinations the road to prosperity. A boys' 
 school. The village dominie. College life. Vain repetitions. 
 What subjects taught. Misleading notions as to academical 
 degrees. Viceroy Yeh on preparation for official position. 
 Men of one idea. Conferring degrees. Persevering candi- 
 dates. " Purchasing to themselves a good degree." Signs of 
 approaching change. English-speaking Chinese. Newspapers 
 in China. The broad end of the wedge is getting in . . 240 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. 
 
 Heavenwards, but not to heaven. Buddhist monks, their origin 
 and occupation. The " voluntary system " ad nauseam. Plan 
 of Kushan. The local deities. The " vanities of the heathen." 
 Leisurely printers. A very holy brother. Buddha's tooth. 
 How big was Buddha? A Buddhist "Zoo." "Preserved 
 fish." A story to be whispered. The tolling bell. "Where 
 nature fails, art steps in." " I went away from there." Buddh- 
 ist worship. A musical service. Forty stripes save one on 
 popery . . . . . 274 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 CREMATION OF A BUDDHIST PRIEST. 
 
 A novel funeral procession. Paper currency. Mourning dress. 
 The cremation ground. "All sorts and conditions of men." 
 The furnace. Mode of conducting the funeral service. Rather 
 monotonous. Unceremonious treatment of the dead. Burial 
 fees. Collecting the ashes. A monk "on the shelf" at 
 last ! 295 
 
CONTENTS. 13 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 
 
 Notions of Christians at home as to missionaries. " Hat and stick 
 and hymn-book too." Nearly 7,000 sermons without a con- 
 vert. Instruction vs. exhortation. Natives as preachers. 
 Preaching in the market-place. Christ and the idols face to 
 face. The humorous aspect of idolatry. The idol-mender. 
 Daily preaching services. Arrangements of a chapel. " Let the 
 women keep silence in the churches." Behavior in church. 
 An e.xtraordinary interruption. Prepared hearts. Buddhist 
 tract distribution. Onniivorous credulity. Chinese psalmody. 
 Sunday-schools. Books in Roman letter .... 308 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 OUR CHINESE BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 
 
 The "rest and refreshment" of being a missionary deputation. 
 Quality of converts. The love of Christ and the love of cash. 
 " Passing rich on si.xteen pounds a year." A Chinese bargain. 
 Struggle for existence. Christian liberality. Peaceable, but 
 very noisy. Living by faith. Speaking for Christ. " Philip 
 findeth Nathanael." "Sheep without a shepherd." An " in- 
 dependent" church. Brother Tiap and his wonderful doings. 
 The "Praise-God village." Fluency of Chinese speakers. 
 The Emperor's Chinese hard to murder. Church members as 
 evangelists. " The "apostle of the Chinese " . . .335 
 
ALONG RIVER AND ROAD 
 
 IN 
 
 FUH-KIEN, CHINA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A WALK IN THE STREETS. 
 
 I WELL remember the earnestness with which 
 one of our most honored theological professors 
 besought a class of students to cultivate the "his- 
 torical imagination" when reading the Bible or 
 when preparing for the pulpit. "Try to see the 
 event for yourselves," he said; "let it happen 
 over again as you describe it." 
 
 In attempting to paint in broad outline the 
 daily scenes of a missionary's life in China I can 
 only entreat the reader to endeavor to exercise the 
 "geographical imagination," and to see for him- 
 self, by the aid of imagination, the strange sights 
 
l6 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 that meet the eye of the ordinary traveller or the 
 "messengers of the churches" in this wonderful 
 Eastern land. 
 
 Let us begin with a walk through the streets, 
 just such a walk as one would have to take on a 
 Sunday afternoon in marching a mile through the 
 town to conduct the service at a Christian chapel. 
 Put away, if you please, all the prejudices you 
 have acquired from childhood in connection with 
 that word "street." Do not think of a paved or 
 gravelled road with a path on each side, and 
 horses and carts pursuing their way, while foot- 
 passengers are looking into the shops with glazed 
 windows or hurrying along the broad pavement. 
 
 First, remember that throughout almost the 
 whole of the country south of the Yang-tsze River 
 there is scarcely to be found such a thing as a 
 wheeled vehicle. In the north rude carts are 
 made, which do their duty as best they can under 
 the combined difficulties of imskilful construction 
 of the carts themselves, the bad condition of the 
 roads, the imperfect culture of the beasts of bur- 
 den, and, not least, the eccentricities of their own- 
 ers. But south of the Yang-tsze, with the excep- 
 tion of wheelbarrows for goods and passengers, the 
 only vehicle is the sedan-chair in some of its vari- 
 ous stages of development. Then imagine the 
 streets as mere alleys and courts, and not at all 
 
A WALK IN THE STREETS. 17 
 
 what we mean by the word "street. " Stretch out 
 your arms, and reflect that in so doing, in an ordi- 
 nary Chinese town, you would generally be able 
 to touch the counters of the shops on both sides of 
 the way. ]\Iany towns, of course, have a few 
 streets twice, and even three times, that width, 
 but they are the exception ; while on the other 
 hand there is in every populous town an immense 
 network of narrow alleys in which it is impossible 
 for two persons to pass one another without mu- 
 tual concession. The spectacle of a portly gentle- 
 man walking sideways for a few paces because he 
 is a few inches less broad from front to back than 
 he is from side to side is one that appears after a 
 little time to be very natural and not at all hu- 
 morous. 
 
 But before we go farther let me say that, in 
 attempting a description of every-day life in a 
 heathen country, it is quite necessary to pass over 
 many things that would render the narrative more 
 graphic and realistic. Some of these are often the 
 very things in which the character of the people 
 stands most clearly revealed, and which it is need- 
 ful to know in order to have a true idea of what 
 they are like. Although China is very far from 
 being destitute of what we call civilization, yet 
 the people are thoroughly Oriental in their habits 
 as well as in their position, and it is impossible to 
 
 Biver aad Bond ia Cbiaa. 9 
 
l8 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 walk for five minutes in the smallest village or 
 the largest town without seeing much which had 
 better not be put on paper. One is compelled to 
 sum the matter up in some such phrases as these: 
 that very few, even of the gentry, burden them- 
 selves with that product of Western refinement, 
 the pocket-handkerchief; that soap is almost un- 
 known and washing is not regarded as one of the 
 necessary duties of life ; that in warm weather 
 most Chinamen do not perspire under a needless 
 quantity of clothing ; that the vast array of beg- 
 gars that obstruct the way at intervals regard their 
 ghastly sores as so much stock in trade, to be ex- 
 hibited accordingly; and that the odors in every 
 town without exception, and in most villages, are 
 many and disagreeable. 
 
 The stroll we are about to take is through the 
 town of Amoy, and we will turn our steps in the 
 direction of "Little Customhouse Street," which 
 is about a mile from the sea-shore. The street we 
 are entering is " Facing Kwan-tai's Temple 
 Street." The name is not posted up at an angle 
 of the wall, as with us, but over the wooden gate- 
 way which admits to the next ward of the town. 
 
 The first object that attracts our attention is 
 the exterior of the temple itself To one who has 
 associated the idea of pagan worship with what is 
 grand and beautiful in its outward aspects, it is 
 
A WALK IN the; streets. 19 
 
 almost shocking to enter such a house as this con- 
 secrated to Kwan-tai. The word ' ' temple, ' ' also, 
 has been so sacred to us from our infancy through 
 its connection in our minds with the worship of 
 the living God, that to apply it to this dirty, 
 unsightly shed, harboring not only the dust- 
 covered images of Kwan-tai and his attendants, 
 but choice representatives of the various grades of 
 the ragtag and bobtail of a heathen town, strikes 
 us as a profanation of the term. As a matter of 
 fact, however, in China these places are not often 
 spoken of as temples. The word commonly used 
 both by merchants and missionaries is yoss-house. 
 Its derivation is from the Portuguese Dios^ which 
 again is from the Latin Deus^ God. Dios is cor- 
 rupted by the Chinese who speak that mongrel 
 abomination, "pigeon-English," into yoss. They 
 apply the same term to our Christian worship as 
 to their own idolatrous customs. To burn incense- 
 sticks before an idol, or to go to church as the 
 Christians do, is alike to "go do Joss." 
 
 But could idolatry condemn itself more utterly 
 in any other way than in permitting such a place 
 as this to be used for worship? It seems never to 
 have been painted, washed, or swept since it was 
 built. And what a crowd of half-dressed rascals! 
 While some poor soul is lighting her sticks of in- 
 cense before the dirty idols and shaking out of 
 
20 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 the bamboo jar the fortune-telling slips, a roar and 
 rattle of rapid and incessant chatter is kept up by 
 the loafers who surround little tables made of a 
 tray on the top of a basket, gambling with dice, 
 tossing cash, getting their fortunes told, dictating 
 a letter to a professional scribe, or haggling noisily 
 over some matter of business. It is a fact univer- 
 sally recognized that the joss-houses are frequented 
 most by the worst characters of the town, and that 
 schemes of wickedness are commonly hatched un- 
 der the noses of the gods. 
 
 The little space in front of the building is oc- 
 cupied with movable stalls containing all kinds of 
 goods. Most of these stalls are removed at night. 
 Here are trays of cakes and sweetmeats, caps, 
 purses, jade-stone bracelets, combs, pipes, lan- 
 terns, writing materials, little pictures in frames, 
 portraits of women supposed to be beautiful, 
 boots, umbrellas, native and foreign, parafhne-oil 
 lamps, and a thousand odds and ends of trinkets 
 the like of which one sees in England only at a 
 bazar or a fair. 
 
 From the front of Kwan-tai's undignified resi- 
 dence we enter a very long street crowded with 
 busy people. The prospect of having to proceed 
 for a long distance through such narrow streets 
 and such a rabble of the unwashed is anything 
 but exhilarating. In China it is always well not 
 
A WALK IN THE STREETS. 21 
 
 to be in a hurry, but particularly so in the main 
 thoroughfares of a busy town. There seems to be 
 no room at all to spare. Many persons are carry- 
 ing heavy and bulky burdens that nearly block 
 the narrow road, and compel those who do not 
 care to be knocked down to retire precipitately 
 into a shop-door to* let the carriers pass. Here 
 they come, one after another, trotting at a mod- 
 erate pace, because they say it is easier to carry a 
 heavy weight when running than when walking. 
 There being no other means of transport than 
 human hands and human shoulders, every variety 
 of goods, bales of all sorts and sizes, are borne 
 upon a pole across the hardened and distorted 
 shoulders of the professional burden-bearers. The 
 scanty dress allows us to observe the splendid sin- 
 ews of these men, but their bent backs too often 
 prove that they have suffered severely in their 
 painful tasks. The coolie is a much-enduring 
 beast of burden, but he pays down something of 
 his life as well as of sweat for the miserable dole 
 of cash which he earns with such labor. As we 
 are noting these facts we hasten to avoid being 
 hurt by an enormous box carried by four men, 
 who have only four square yards of clothing 
 among them, and who are glistening from head 
 to foot with perspiration. The chest contains the 
 stage properties of a band of strolling players, who 
 
22 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 have probably been hired to make night hideous 
 in some highly-favored quarter of the town. Be- 
 fore we get home we may possibly see a troupe 
 performing their professional duties. 
 
 You will perceive that the streets are admira- 
 bly paved. The slabs of stone are not quite level, 
 it is true. They have been worn into inequality 
 by the footsteps of multitudes of the barefooted 
 and the shod. But still these blocks, seven feet 
 long, that extend from side to side, make a solid 
 pavement. Immediately underneath is the sewer. 
 That is why there is a space of an inch or less be- 
 tween each slab. The sewer, being open, gets 
 thoroughly ventilated, and so retards the forming 
 of poisonous gases ; and when there is a heavy 
 shower the water runs off the path instantane- 
 ously and cleanses the drains. 
 
 But who and what are these melancholy mor- 
 tals who are meandering along covered with 
 sheep -skins? They are what, when you see 
 them, you call "sandwich-men." They are ex- 
 hibiting the wares purchasable at this clothier's 
 shop on our left. Instead of carrying advertise- 
 ment-boards and wandering up and down the 
 street, a layer of lean mortality between two slices 
 of wood, they wear upon their own backs the very 
 goods which you are respectfully invited to in- 
 spect and to buy. Do not imagine that a China- 
 
A WALK IN THE STREETS. 23 
 
 man's mind feels any qualms at the thouglit that 
 these garments have been for weeks upon the 
 back of one of the unwashed. He is troubled by 
 no such unpleasant reflections. But he would no 
 doubt drive a harder bargain on the plea that they 
 had been already much worn. 
 
 These sheep-skins are very highly valued in 
 winter by the country people. If you were rela- 
 ting to an agricultural audience in the south of 
 China, and in the north also to townspeople, the 
 sufierings of the persecuted saints of old, it would 
 never do to tell them that ' ' they wandered about 
 in sheep-skins and goat-skins." You would err 
 as much as the Moravian missionaries did who 
 first preached of the fires of hell to the Greenland- 
 ers. Those Arctic folk were immensely pleased 
 with the prospect of going there, and the mission- 
 aries were naturally very much shocked at the 
 result of their own preaching. And so to the 
 Chinese mind the wandering about in sheep-skins 
 and goat-skins does not at all imply that they 
 were "destitute, afflicted, tormented." They 
 would very much like to be persecuted to that 
 degree. 
 
 Many of the Chinese streets are devoted to 
 shops provided with only one kind of goods. In 
 the larger towns this is of course more commonly 
 the case than in a comparatively poor town like 
 
24 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 Amoy. Canton, for instance, has its Paternostei 
 Row filled with book-stores, its long lines of shops 
 of jewelry, crockery, clothing, and bric-a-brac. 
 Here in Amoy we also have a Bootmaker Street 
 and Basket Street, and streets almost wholly occu- 
 pied with rice-sellers. But the street along which 
 we are making our way has a little of everything. 
 The shops are generally of the rudest order, as far 
 as construction is concerned. A large proportion 
 of them are no better than sheds or booths at a 
 fair. None have glass windows. Very little 
 glass is used anywhere in China, and especially in 
 the south, where the heat is very great during the 
 larger part of the year. The shops that make 
 some degree of show are also very oddly mixed 
 up with those of the commonest order. Here is 
 an ironmonger's store, the counter next the road- 
 way being burdened with the most miscellaneous 
 and rusty of keys, locks, wire, bolts, hammers, 
 and other tools; while pendent chains and iron 
 implements hang so thickly from the roof in front 
 as almost to darken the interior. Next is a hand- 
 some silk shop; beautiful skeins of every shade of 
 color lie on the counter, and the well-dressed 
 assistants are exhibiting materials which English 
 ladies would delight to brood over for hours. 
 Here we have a carpenter's workroom stuffed from 
 floor to ceiling with tubs, pails, basins, chairs, and 
 
A WALK IN THE STREETS. 25 
 
 beds, all painted a bright red. Next to this is a 
 cap factory and shop. Half of the employes are 
 selling the goods, and the other half are moulding 
 little black satin caps, lined with red flannel, to 
 fit the back of the human cranium. The same is 
 true of this boot shop; making and selling are 
 going forward behind the same counter. But in 
 this case I can assure you by painful experience 
 that the Chinese artist who covers the human 
 foot takes no account of its shape. He acts as 
 though that part of your extremities which you 
 treat with so much consideration and call your 
 "big toe" were placed in the middle of the foot, 
 with two small toes on each side of it. Why 
 the Chinese boot is made with a narrow-pointed 
 end it is impossible to say. Perhaps the idea has 
 never occurred to the makers that there is a phys- 
 iological reason why the same boot should not be 
 worn with equal ease on either foot. But so it is; 
 tliev do not distinwnish between ri^ht and left in 
 the matter of boots, and a week of suffering must 
 be endured before the boot begins to adapt itself 
 to the foot. 
 
 There are plenty of refreshment-rooms on both 
 sides of the way, from the sweet-stuff shop to the 
 more extensive dining-room, where you may get 
 a heavy meal of rice and sweet potatoes, with 
 snacks of fish and other tasty dishes, for about 
 
26 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 three halfpence. In Amoy there are none of the 
 splendid tea-drinking saloons that are to be found 
 in Canton and many other large cities. There 
 the people are very busy, and with not much cash 
 to spare. There is very little loitering and gos- 
 siping over the tea-table compared with the richer 
 towns. But at every few steps you may come to 
 an eating-house where you can sit on a form and 
 with your chopsticks sweep the steaming rice from 
 the bowl into your mouth. There is abundance 
 also of odds and ends of edibles that are nameless 
 to us and shall remain so — messes chiefly fried in 
 nut-oil, tasting queer and smelling worse. The 
 cooking-stove is lighted at the street-door instead 
 of in a kitchen at the back of the premises. There 
 is no chimney to carry off the smoke, but neither 
 the neighbors nor the passers-by complain. Look- 
 ing down from the hillside upon the town with its 
 houses closely packed together for miles, there is 
 no such thing as a chimney to be seen. In the 
 private houses the cooking is done in the little 
 court around which the rooms are built; in the 
 business premises, if there is no back yard, it is 
 done in the street. The Chinaman is a wonder- 
 ful creature for enduring endless nuisances, re- 
 garding them as things that are and have been, 
 and therefore still must be. 
 
 We could scarcely have a better illustration of 
 
'l^,.^i/e,;"".,//>-'^,^i/ 
 
 A CHINESE PEEP-SHOW. 
 
 AN IDOL PROCESSION. 
 
A WALK IN THE STREETS. 29 
 
 that last remark than this stage which has been 
 thrown right across the main thoroughfare. We 
 must either find our way round by a side street or 
 creep under the stage as best we can. Fancy 
 what it would be for a band of itinerant actors to 
 erect a theatre in Cheapside, compelling all the 
 traffic to turn aside for a whole day; and then 
 consider that the street we are in bears about the 
 same relation to the city of Amoy as Cheapside 
 does to the city of London ! Yet the people do 
 not complain. It is probable that not one in a 
 hundred who turn aside because the road is blocked 
 thinks that such a nuisance ought not to be al- 
 lowed. It is much more likely that the inhab- 
 itants of the street are objects of envy because the 
 theatre is brought to their very doors. Some 
 shopkeeper in the street has invited the actors at 
 his own expense, and his neighbors are much 
 obliged to him for giving them an opportunity of 
 seeing the play and hearing the drums beat, the 
 bells ring, the cymbals clash, and the actors howl 
 and screech without the trouble of leaving their 
 shop-doors. 
 
 Now that we have got away from the din of 
 the play and the laughing crowd who watched us 
 scrambling under the stage (even the actors stopped 
 to see how we fared), let me introduce you to a 
 native painter. This artist has made some small 
 
A WALK IN TIIK STREETS. 29 
 
 that last remark than this stage which has been 
 thrown right across the main thoroughfare. We 
 must either find our way round by a side street or 
 creep under the stage as best we can. Fancy 
 what it would be for a band of itinerant actors to 
 erect a theatre in Cheapside, compelling all the 
 traffic to turn aside for a whole day; and then 
 consider that the street we are in bears about the 
 same relation to the city of Amoy as Cheapside 
 does to the city of London ! Yet the people do 
 not complain. It is probable that not one in a 
 hundred who turn aside because the road is blocked 
 thinks that such a nuisance ought not to be al- 
 lowed. It is much more likely that the inhab- 
 itants of the street are objects of envy because the 
 theatre is brought to their very doors. Some 
 shopkeeper in the street has invited the actors at 
 his own expense, and his neighbors are much 
 obliged to him for giving them an opportunity of 
 seeing the play and hearing the drums beat, the 
 bells ring, the cymbals clash, and the actors howl 
 and screech without the trouble of leavincr their 
 shop-doors. 
 
 Now that we have got away from the din of 
 the play and the laughing crowd who watched us 
 scrambling under the stage (even the actors stopped 
 to see how we fared), let me introduce you to a 
 native painter. This artist has made some small 
 
30 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 degree of fame in the town for the rapidity with 
 which he draws and the excellent manner in 
 which he groups his figures. To our eyes they 
 appear either hideous or ludicrous. Even the 
 most sedate specimens of Chinese art seem to 
 have been intended as high burlesque. By some 
 mental process which the European is unable to 
 follow the Chinaman sees what is intended to be 
 taught by the picture, which offends most outra- 
 geously against all laws of proportion, perspec- 
 tive, or correctness in color. If you tell our friend 
 here that the picture is not accurate, that the 
 bridge formed of the trunk of a tree joining the 
 sides of that chasm is at least a mile long, and 
 that the mule crossing the bridge is "doing Blon- 
 din" at a height of no less than a thousand feet, 
 he simply does not understand you; or if you sug- 
 gest that this fierce warrior, who is brandishing 
 his sword at nothing, ought to be on the ground 
 and not up in the air, you only become an object 
 of pity to the artist without benefiting him at all. 
 These scrolls, covered with hideous human forms, 
 daubed with flaring colors, are considered works 
 of art; and they are realh'- very curious specimens 
 of ingenuity, but it is the ingenuity of art that has 
 become insane or that never had its proper senses. 
 This much must, however, be said in its favor, 
 that the Chinese artist manages to express an idea 
 
A WALK IN THE STREETS. 3I 
 
 with fewer strokes of his brush than would have 
 been deemed possible, and that there is about 
 many of his productions a weird kind of beauty 
 which suggests that a very little instruction would 
 make a creditable workman of him. Most of 
 these pictures represent some mythical or idola- 
 trous personage. It is a pity that in the case of 
 pictures of idols it should be considered the tri- 
 umph of skill to represent them as the impersona- 
 tion of all that is hideous. The scrolls are to be 
 hung up in the reception-room of a Chinese house, 
 and incense will probably be burned before them 
 by the pious at daybreak and at dusk. 
 
 Stop a moment to see what this man is doing 
 as he sits at the doorstep. He is producing a 
 truly admirable work of art. Seated on a low 
 stool, he has placed on his knees a board upon 
 which is spread a piece of fine linen, and, undis- 
 turbed by the busy traffic, he is drawing with a 
 camePs-hair pencil dipped in Indian ink patterns 
 to be sold to persons skilled in working with col- 
 ored silks. At the present moment he is tracing 
 a rectilinear Greek pattern for the border of the 
 skirt of a lady's gown. He uses neither rule nor 
 compass, yet every stroke is produced with math- 
 ematical accuracy. Some of the finished pieces 
 are covered with flowers and wreaths and birds 
 and human figures, portrayed with a delicacy of 
 
32 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 touch which would do credit to a first-class lith- 
 ographic artist. It is true he only attempts a 
 regular round of patterns and that he has drawn 
 each of them hundreds of times, but still the work 
 is done and with the perfection that you see. 
 
 There are many curious scenes to be witnessed 
 occasionally upon this road and on almost any 
 other. Indeed, the entertaining sights are so 
 numerous that to describe all that strikes the 
 new-comer as fantastic would take a volume. 
 You may see a woman deliberately washing her 
 long black hair in a wooden bowl, combing it out, 
 and doing it up in public, without so much as a 
 thought that any one would think she should do 
 it indoors. Or maybe it is a man in scanty garb 
 sitting on the threshold of his shop washing his 
 long legs in a basin of hot water. Sometimes you 
 may come across a conjurer performing at one of 
 the tiny clear spaces where the road widens for a 
 few yards. Close by this spot I once met a man 
 who seemed to have a knife broken off short in 
 the top of his skull, and the blood apparently was 
 running down upon his clothes. The people 
 stood aside with what I thought was a shocked 
 aspect as he solemnly walked on, looking to nei- 
 ther right nor left, and it proved to be only a 
 famous conjurer going through one of his most 
 remarkable performances. Occasionally you may 
 
CHINESE STREET BARBER. 
 
A WALK IN THE STREETS. 35 
 
 happen upon one of the eccentric customs of idol- 
 atry, and see a new house consecrated by the pres- 
 ence of the black-faced idol. And rarely (for it is 
 obviously not a sight to be seen every day) you 
 may happen upon a dentist drawing a tooth. 
 The patient sits on a stool or doorstep, while a 
 small knot of men stand round to witness the 
 operation, quite innocent of the humor of the 
 whole proceeding from the observer's point of 
 view. 
 
 Among the every-day sights is this one before 
 us now, the shaving of the head of the Celestial. 
 At first it appears very laughable for a man to sit 
 in the open street to have his head operated upon; 
 but one grows hardened to this as to so many more 
 of the curious customs of this curious land. The 
 barber is generally both a peripatetic and a philos- 
 opher. He carries his whole stock in trade upon 
 his shoulder-pole, goes round to see his regular 
 customers, and tells the news of the town as the 
 fraternity of the razor commonly do among us. 
 His apparatus consists of two sets of boxes or 
 drawers, one which serves as till for cash, place 
 for razors, and seat for the person to be shaved; 
 the other being a stand that incloses a pan of 
 lighted charcoal, over which is a basin of warm 
 water. With these various articles hanging from 
 the pole he makes his rounds, taking as much 
 
36 AI^ONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 interest in tlie heads of the people as a shoeblack 
 does in their feet. Very commonly he is paid in 
 kind instead of in cash, the purveyors in perisha- 
 bles handing him a few handfuls of rice or pota- 
 toes or oil for his trouble in making their heads to 
 shine. 
 
 You had better stand aside a moment to let 
 this procession pass. It is what we call a "man- 
 darin procession," and occupies a good deal of 
 space. The absurdity of these very narrow streets 
 is never better seen than when a chair containing 
 a mandarin or a bride is trying to turn a corner. 
 Sometimes a counter with all its goods has to be 
 shifted to let a bulky sedan go by. His Excel- 
 lency who occupies the chair stares with a dull 
 and supercilious look at us "foreign devils," 
 nor does he imagine for a moment that in our 
 eyes he looks a very comical figure as he sits 
 there, a weighty lump of flesh, unable to proceed 
 because his chair is wider than is kind to the 
 shopkeepers. Nor are his attendants, with Davy- 
 lamps on their heads by way of hats, in the least 
 conscious that they are conspicuous. They are as 
 unwholesome a set of men as we can find, hired 
 probably for the occasion, many of them. And 
 they beat their gongs and blow their flageolets 
 with an irregular series of squeaks equal to half a 
 score of bagpipes, sublimely ignorant of the fact 
 
A WALK IN THE vSTREETS. 37 
 
 that they grieve our unaccustomed foreign ears. 
 All processions, whether of marriages or funerals 
 or idols or mandarins, are accompanied by the 
 same inharmonious sounds. It is a sore trial to 
 the missionary to have one of these too-common 
 processions pass the door of his chapel during a 
 service. 
 
 We must not omit to notice these bright-col- 
 ored boards that hang from the eaves of the roof 
 by the side of every shop with any pretension to 
 respectability. Like the signs of many English 
 inns, these boards face the passing traveller, so 
 that all may read them as they walk. Very sel- 
 dom is the name of the firm put upon the sign- 
 board, but some high-sounding epigram or sen- 
 timent which gives a designation to the shop, or 
 a brief statement of the calling of the tenant. 
 The characters inscribed upon them are frequently 
 richly gilt or of some brilliant color spotted with 
 gold. All are varnished, or were so once. The 
 variety of colors gives the street a gay appearance, 
 which commends itself even to the untutored taste 
 of a foreigner. Some of the inscriptions are amu- 
 sing for their bombastic style or for the quiet sar- 
 casm that suggests the keenness and sagacity of 
 the people. Here are a few samples: "The ad- 
 vantage of dealing here is mutual;" " Chattering 
 and gossiping interfere with business;" "No 
 
 Rivpr and Koad in China. " 
 
38 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN KUH-KIEN. 
 
 credit given — we have grown wise by painful 
 experience;" "No cheating here;" "Trade re- 
 volves like a wheel;" "The harmony of right 
 principles;" " Vast-flowing goodness;" "An im- 
 mense flowing stream." While noting these 
 signs we may also observe that over almost every 
 door are four characters, WTitten with black ink 
 on red paper, which read, "May the Five Bless- 
 ings descend npon this house!" Sometimes the 
 inscriptions are ludicrously inappropriate, as, for 
 instance, that one over the opium-den, "May 
 health and happiness rest on all who enter here !" 
 Stay a moment to look at this marine-store 
 dealer's counter. No better specimen of a cheap- 
 jack can you find in the town. All sorts of sec- 
 ond-hand goods — spectacles, opium-pipes, books, 
 picture-scrolls, boots, clothing, and an infinite 
 variety of things. One day as I was passing here 
 I saw a crowd round the stall examining very 
 intently a foreign picture. My worthy "shop- 
 lord" had cut from a German illustrated paper a 
 print representing German soldiers dancing in a 
 tavern with some fashionably-dressed females. 
 This he had pasted on a scroll and was offering it 
 for sale among his curios. The crowd saw me 
 looking over the shoulders of those in front of me, 
 and at once several voices exclaimed, " That rep- 
 resents the manners of your ancestral country." 
 
A WALK IN THE STREETS. 39 
 
 It is not the only case by a good many in which 
 one has wished that pictnres from abroad could 
 pass through the hands of a censor before being 
 distributed among the Chinese. I wrote on one 
 occasion to a friend in England to send me any 
 spare copies of the "Illustrated London News" 
 and "Graphic" to give away to my native friends. 
 It happened to be the time of the Turko-Russian 
 campaign, and a more ghastly set of pictures of 
 the inhuman brutality of war than those which 
 reached me it would be difficult to find. It is 
 needless to say that very few of the prints found 
 their way into the hands of my Chinese brethren. 
 By the way, while we are just finishing our 
 journey I will tell you a curious fact about China- 
 men and foreign pictures. Those who are unac- 
 customed to see them do not, as a rule, understand 
 them at all at first. They look at the picture, 
 but see no meaning in it. "Rob Roy" Mac- 
 gregor, in his book on "The Jordan," tells us the 
 same thing about his boatman. The man dis- 
 covered an arm and a leg in a picture of a statue 
 at intervals of hours and days. So a Chinaman 
 literally searches a picture for single facts and 
 ideas, which he then puts together piece by piece, 
 until at length he forms a complete conception of 
 what the purport of the picture is. A child does 
 the same, probably; and the Chinaman who sees 
 
40 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 a foreign picture for the first time looks at it with 
 the eyes of a grown-up child. When I had dis- 
 covered this fact I tested the truth of it many- 
 times by showing pictures to intelligent friends. 
 A fine sketch of the interior of a Turkish man-of- 
 war, four guns served by about ten men, and the 
 admiral standing in the foreground with his hands 
 resting upon his sword, was put down as "moun- 
 tains;" and a large and elaborate picture of the 
 funeral of IVI. Thiers proceeding through the 
 streets of Paris was said to be "a ship at sea." 
 This is an interesting fact for psychologists. 
 
 But here we are at our destination, the Lon- 
 don Mission Chapel in Kwan-a-lai Street. The 
 first time we take such a stroll through a Chinese 
 city it is quite impossible to realize that these 
 are the common scenes of daily life in every town. 
 It is like a troubled dream rather than stern fact. 
 The vast throngs of people, the din of daily toil, 
 the yelling of street-hawkers, the ceaseless shout 
 of burden-bearers — "Look out; stand aside!" — 
 the stuSy and choking smells, varied at every 
 few steps, but never for the better; an occasional 
 procession wnth drums and fifes, the huge and un- 
 wholesome pigs and the mangy dogs that are 
 clearing the streets of rubbish, the firing of crack- 
 ers, the burning of incense, the smoke of cooking- 
 stoves — these are the things that assail the senses 
 
A WALK IN THE STREETS. 41 
 
 as one threads one's way through the intricacies 
 of a Chinese city. Do the supporters of foreign 
 missions realize that it is through such scenes as 
 these that the missionary has to pass every Sun- 
 day (for that day is to the Chinaman the same as 
 another) on his way to conduct divine service or 
 to preach the gospel to the heathen ? 
 
 There are also, as I suggested above, more 
 unpleasant things than can be related. Yet the 
 people live- and thrive and are happy. They are 
 not so much troubled by their surroundings as we 
 should imagine, because they were born into 
 them. Many of them seem incapable of care, 
 though it is equally true that a bitter wail goes 
 up to the throne of God from multitudes of suffer- 
 ers in body and mind in every place. In no land 
 are comedy and tragedy nearer together. The 
 colors of the kaleidoscope do not change as rap- 
 idly as do the aspects of Chinese life from gay to 
 grave and back again. But as we meet them 
 here and there it seems as though many of them 
 knew no other care than that one which is born 
 in every Chinaman and ingrained in his very 
 soul, namely, how to get more cash. For this 
 they live. They talk and think only cash. Nine- 
 tenths of all that clatter of voices we heard in the 
 joss-house, in the shops, and in the street was 
 about cash. If they are given to dreaming, it must 
 
42 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 be largely about cash. The struggle for existence 
 is so severe that cash is the one inexhaustible topic 
 that employs the tongue of all. Yet if anything 
 could persuade them of the political and social 
 economy of spending cash upon their streets to im- 
 prove them, or if Chinese towns could be purged 
 "so as by fire," as London, Yeddo, and many 
 another city has been, and rebuilt upon a more 
 liberal plan, it would be a boon which would 
 make China a richer and more wholesome land. 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 43 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 
 
 One of the early Roman governors of Britain 
 was asked, "What is most needed in order to ren- 
 der the newly-conquered island a profitable colo- 
 ny?" "Good roads," was the reply. "And the 
 second?" "More roads." "And the third?" 
 "More roads still." That he and his successors 
 acted upon this plan in developing the resources 
 of the little island which we call Great Britain we 
 know from history and the many Roman roads 
 that abound still. But the Chinese not only are 
 careless of this principle of political economy, but 
 are oblivious of the fact that a straight line is the 
 shortest cut. As far as roads are concerned they 
 are as indifferent to the promotion of trade as to 
 the comfort of their limbs. 
 
 Samuel Wells Williams, in his " Middle King-- 
 dom," remarks that "the public roads, in a coun- 
 try so well provided with navigable streams, are 
 of minor consequence, but these media of travel 
 have by no means been neglected." He then 
 goes on to quote De Guignes, who praises in 
 hearty terms the condition of the roads in many 
 
44 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 jjarts of North China. Other writers have also 
 testified that in some parts of the north good broad 
 roads are found, shaded with trees and fairly well 
 attended to. These, however, are only the great 
 main thoroughfares, and are in a ratio to the bad 
 of less than one to a hundred. 
 
 It is very difficult for any one who has not 
 travelled in an Oriental country to conceive the 
 utter state of disorganization of these lines of com- 
 munication, which we think so essential to our 
 prosperity and ease. In our description of the 
 streets of a city we had occasion to inform the 
 reader that comparatively seldom is a street found 
 wider than from five to fifteen feet. Outside the 
 town matters are worse. There it is often diffi- 
 cult to find any road at all. By instinct, or by the 
 sense of direction, one often happens upon the 
 right path, but it is always best to ask and to 
 seek diligently for it. 
 
 Between great cities there are the regular high- 
 ways, which go by the name of ' ' great roads. ' ' 
 These are kept in moderate repair, and sometimes 
 exceed six feet in width. If, however, you should 
 turn off one of them, it becomes absolutely neces- 
 sary to have a guide. Half a day's journey from 
 Amoy is the "great road," which is said to run 
 as nearly straight as possible from Peking to Can- 
 ton. The people of the locality seemed very proud 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 45 
 
 of the fact. But in walking along it, as we saw 
 it, no consecutive thirty yards are of the same 
 description. Now it is formed of a loose shingle, 
 and now it is paved; here it runs on top of a mud- 
 bank, and there it descends into a narrow ditch. 
 In hilly or agricultural districts the roads take 
 care of themselves. It is nobody's business to 
 make or mend them. One stands aghast at what 
 seems the audacity of the farmer in interfering 
 with the public ways. He will plough them up 
 and allow the public to tread them hard again, 
 apparently hoping they may be narrowed by the 
 process; or he will find it convenient to make a 
 pond for irrigating purposes right where the path 
 runs, and henceforth, until some new idea seizes 
 him, the public must walk round his pond. Med- 
 dlers with the roads never seem to suffer from 
 prick of conscience, and while grumbling at them 
 is endless, I do not remember ever to have heard 
 it said that any public or private body should im- 
 prove them. It fact, their false notions of econ- 
 omy would probably induce them to believe that 
 to make a broad path would be utterly wasteful 
 of good land. That, at any rate, is what they 
 say in regard to the broad roads made by Euro- 
 peans on certain lands possessed or rented by 
 them. 
 
 This being the condition of things throughout 
 
46 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 the country south of the Yang-tsze-kiang, even if 
 there were wheeled vehicles they would be use- 
 less. Not even the wheelbarrow could be trun- 
 dled over the many obstructions that constantly 
 occur. The strong thews and muscles of the coo- 
 lie class of bearers must perforce do all the work 
 that with us falls to the lot of the beast of burden 
 or the steam-engine. 
 
 In the far north the modes of conveyance dif- 
 fer altogether from those in the south. In Peking 
 multitudes of camels are to be seen doing a large 
 share of the goods traffic between the capital and 
 Mongolia and ]\Ianchuria. The greater part of 
 the tea that reaches Russia from China goes as far 
 as Thibet on the backs of camels. Heavy two- 
 wheeled wagons, drawn by bullocks, are met with 
 in all directions on such roads as are wdde enough 
 for them. Horses and mules are also extensively 
 employed. 
 
 Some very curious sights are seen on these car- 
 riage roads. The Chinaman is a being decidedly 
 utilitarian in his wavs of thinkino: and actins;. 
 He scorns appearances if he can by any means 
 attain his end, which is to secure as large a meas- 
 ure of draught-power with as little trouble to him- 
 self as may be. A bullock and a donkey in the 
 shafts, or driven tandem; a large horse and a small 
 mule yoked together; or even, as some say, a man 
 

TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 49 
 
 or woman harnessed with an ass, arc among the 
 arrangements that astonish the traveller from the 
 West. Wheelbarrows abound, and the labor of 
 propulsion is assisted, if the wind be favorable, by 
 the hoisting of a sail, or, if not, by attaching a 
 mule or two in front. Could the reader witness 
 such a scene as this and keep his gravity ? two 
 pompous Chinese gentlemen, elegantly attired, 
 sitting on a barrow, thumping along the uneven 
 road, their round cheeks trembling like a jelly, 
 while two panting and perspiring coolies endeav- 
 or to steady the handles of the machine and a 
 melancholy mule drags it along by means of a 
 rope. A hundred such strange sights may be seen 
 in the day. 
 
 In these northerly parts the most common con- 
 veyance is the one-horse cart, the multiform in- 
 conveniences of which it w^ould take too long to 
 relate. To begin with, it has no springs what- 
 ever, and the solid wheels are fixed to the short 
 axletrees. A small piece of water-proof cloth is 
 spread upon a bamboo frame as a protection from 
 the weather, but raised so little above the cart 
 that the traveller can only sit up or lie down. 
 The jolting is indescribably annoying and pain- 
 ful. Sir John Davis tells us that the servant of a 
 British ambassador actually suffered concussion 
 of the brain in one of these instruments of torture, 
 
50 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 because, being unwell, he could not help lying 
 down in the bottom of the cart. The only way 
 to endure the pain of a long journey is to provide 
 one's self with a large quantity of bedding with 
 which to moderate the shocks. Jolting over lit- 
 tle hillocks of hard mud or dropping suddenly 
 into a hole, sinking u^^ to the axle in the deep 
 ruts and bogs in wet weather or blinded with the 
 finest of dust when it is dry — such is the average 
 experience of the traveller in a Chinese cart. 
 
 The city of Peking, however, can boast of 
 hackney-coaches. The streets of the capital are 
 moderately wide, affording space for these curious 
 two-wheeled cabs, or garrics. It is true they have 
 no springs, and that even a short journey is a pain- 
 ful experience to unaccustomed limbs ; but to 
 make up for this slight deficiency in point of com- 
 fort they are elegantly fitted inside with a lining 
 and blinds of green- or red silk. Besides, you can 
 hire coach, horse, and man for a whole day for 
 one shilling and eightpence! There are compar- 
 atively few sedan-chairs in Peking. 
 
 The most popular vehicle in China just now 
 is the jinriksha^ which abounds in the streets of 
 the splendid foreign settlement in Shanghai and 
 the English colony of Hong-Kong. It is a small 
 gig, to seat either one or two persons, and drawn 
 by a man, whence it has been humorously called 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 5I 
 
 the "Pullman car." That small jest is, it may 
 be added, an accurate translation of the name of 
 the vehicle; for the three syllables are 7/;/, man; 
 rik^ strength ; sJia^ carriage. The jinriksJia was 
 introduced into China from Japan. A bar unites 
 the ends of the shafts, and taking hold of this the 
 coolie holds it to his chest and runs with the little 
 craft at a speed of six miles an hour. On a cool 
 evening scores of these pretty carriages are trying 
 to overtake one another along the broad and shady 
 Bund, or river-face, in Shanghai. The misfor- 
 tune is that in consequence of the badness of na- 
 tive roads the jinriksha is of no use so soon as it 
 leaves the American, English, or French "con- 
 cessions." Three thousand of them are licensed 
 for hire in the foreign city of Shanghai. One can 
 ride for an hour for the small sum of fivepence. 
 
 In these central districts of China the most 
 common vehicle is the wheelbarrow, far m.ore 
 common than carts in the north or sedan-chairs 
 in the south. It is used by travellers and for the 
 transport of goods. On a perfectly level road or 
 pavement the wheelbarrow is rather an agreeable 
 carriage; but let the road be in any degree rough, 
 and the barrow becomes the most excruciating 
 machine ever invented for the torture of travel- 
 lers. 
 
 The wheel is about three feet in diameter, and 
 
52 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 is placed in the centre of the barrow, so that the 
 sitter is directly over the axle. The driver has no 
 other burden than to propel and steady the ma- 
 chine. A wooden frame, covering the iipi^er part 
 of the wheel, serves as an arm-rest. From this 
 the seat projects on each side over the axles. If 
 there is only one passenger the barrow must be 
 tilted a little on one side. The rider places one 
 foot on a bar forming part of the frame, while the 
 other hangs down upon a stirrup made of rope. 
 It need not be said that to run over a brick or 
 into a hole eight or ten inches deep or upon well- 
 worn paving-stones is anything but conducive to 
 quiet reflection or peace of mind. The writer has 
 many a painful reminiscence of aching joints and 
 bruises gotten on a barrow. 
 
 The elegant and dignified and agreeable vehi- 
 cle of China belongs peculiarly to the south. It 
 is the sedan-chair. The comfort of this convey- 
 ance has been brought as nearly to perfection as 
 circumstances will allow. In cities where many 
 wealthy men reside sedans are often seen which 
 are real works of art. The seat is luxuriously 
 cushioned and padded, lined with blue or crimson 
 satin. Comfortable elbow-rests, a shelf behind 
 for a large package, and another in front for pipe 
 or book or small parcel; windows of glass with 
 silk blinds, and the exterior of blue cloth, with 
 

 
 W<^"^^^- 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 55 
 
 embroidered ornaments and tassels hanging from 
 the top all round the four sides. What more ele- 
 gant and commodious vehicle can you wish for 
 than that ? Unfortunately, these are not for pub- 
 lic hire. The best chairs for hire are fairly com- 
 fortable, but it is well to carry a cushion for the 
 seat and back. Missionaries generally use their 
 light travelling mattress for this purpose. Occa- 
 sionally the chair-bearer will complain of the 
 slight addition to the weight, but not often. A 
 very small amount of luggage is also allowed in 
 the chair. How the poor fellows manage to carry 
 the chair and its occupant for twenty miles it is 
 hard to imagine. The chair itself often weighs 
 as much as 40 lbs., and one may presume that the 
 average weight of adult men is 140 lbs., while the 
 latter is doubtless very frequently exceeded. Yet 
 with the pressure of 100 lbs. upon the shoulders 
 of each man they struggle more or less good-hu- 
 moredly for a whole day. 
 
 From the better class of sedan there is a de- 
 scending scale to the common bamboo frame, 
 called a "mountain-chair." It consists of only 
 two poles, with a seat between them, and a wood- 
 en stirrup for the feet. I weighed one of these 
 machines and found it only 16 lbs. To keep off 
 the sun and the wet a piece of oil-cloth is spread 
 over a frame of four split sticks. When the 
 
56 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 weather is fine and mild this is a luxurious mode 
 of conveyance in a country where few persons are 
 in a hurry, and twenty miles in a day is reckoned 
 rapid travelling. In cold, wet, and windy weath- 
 er the "mountain-chair" may be described mild- 
 ly as an offence. 
 
 The number of bearers of any one chair is 
 regulated by law. The emperor alone is allowed 
 sixteen, mandarins of the highest rank eight, les- 
 ser dignitaries four, and a civilian two or three, 
 according as the weight of his "honorable body " 
 may render needful. But however much he may 
 exceed ordinary proportions, if he is of common, 
 unofficial clay, not more than three may carry 
 him. He must be content to pay heavily, as he 
 weighs heavily. 
 
 Chair-bearers belong to the very lowest class 
 of society. In the Fuh-kien province, at least, to 
 be a chair-bearer is regarded as equivalent to be- 
 ing a long way down in the social scale. For the 
 most part they are men who pay little or no re- 
 gard to the amenities of social intercourse or the 
 ties of family life. Those on the main roads have 
 seldom any settled homes. At certain seasons 
 they can make money fast. When the provincial 
 examinations are being held in a neighboring 
 town or at the time of a fair or idolatrous feast, 
 many well-to-do people are moving to and fro. 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 57 
 
 and the price of fares is high. But they live from 
 hand to mouth, and spend their surplus cash in 
 opium-smoking and debauchery. 
 
 Notwithstanding all their bad ways the chair- 
 bearers are a pleasant set of men to deal with, if 
 they are only treated with a fair degree of consid- 
 eration and good-humor. There is nothing they 
 resent so much as a cantankerous fare, especially 
 if he happens to be a foreigner. Then all their 
 essentially republican sentiments come to the 
 front, and they let him know that one man is as 
 good as another in their opinion. The satirical 
 fun they lavish upon him in his hearing to the 
 bearers of a passing chair or at an eating-house is 
 as fine as anything ever jDroduced by a London 
 "cabby." Poor fellows! full of quaint humor, 
 in fair weather and full work and health so light- 
 hearted and gay, and yet fallen so low in morals 
 and public esteem, toiling so hard for the cash 
 they spend so recklessly, one cannot help laugh- 
 ing at and with them, but with a feeling more of 
 pity than of pleasure. 
 
 One of the most amusing adventures I ever 
 had with chair-bearers was the following, I hired 
 two men to carry me in a *' mountain-chair" to a 
 district city about eighteen miles off. Our route 
 lay over some very rough granite hills to a tiny 
 village, where I was to meet some Christian breth- 
 
58 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 ren for an hour or two. Reaching this place 
 about ten o'clock in the morning, my friends, who 
 wished to do me honor, extended their favors to 
 my hired men and unfortunately brought out the 
 samsJwo^ a strong liquor generally reserved for 
 feasts and special occasions. Of this I was quite 
 unaware when I left the village. We had not 
 gone far before one of the men showed signs of 
 collapse. Two or three times he fell on his knees, 
 but always declared there was nothing the matter 
 with him. Another mile, and both had suc- 
 cumbed. We were now upon a ridge of hills, and 
 before us was a wide, sandy plain, stretching 
 along for several miles with nothing to break the 
 line of view. Pausing here until one of the men 
 had partially recovered, I made him take the chair 
 upon his back and follow me, and the other I 
 stuck up against a rock to fend for himself. My 
 companion's endeavor to carry that chair proper- 
 ly would have made the most sober temperance 
 lecturer lose his gravity. By the time we reached 
 an eating-house on the farther side of the plain 
 we saw No. 2 on the far horizon, doing his utmost 
 to make up for lost time, and an hour sufficed to 
 bring him up moderately sober. When we ar- 
 rived at the city T paid them their stipulated fare, 
 contenting myself with adding a little teetotal dis- 
 course; but they amazed me by asking for more. 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 59 
 
 "What!" I said, "you dare to ask an extra 
 fee after compelling me to walk for miles and 
 delaying me for several hours!" "But think, 
 teacher," one of them said with a broad grin, 
 ' ' think what a trouble we have had to get you 
 along !" 
 
 There is no regular tariff for chairs on any 
 road. One of the first things the traveller has to 
 learn is how to hire a chair and baggage-men so 
 as not to pay very much more than the recog- 
 nized rate. The Chinaman looks upon a for- 
 eigner as lawful prey, and as the victim does not 
 make his appearance every day, advantage must 
 be taken of the present opportimity. The process 
 is very properly called " squeezing." They seem 
 to imagine the foreigner is loaded with dollars. 
 When he comes on the scene the name of money 
 becomes kim (silver) rather than chien (bronze 
 cash). Times without number we have heard 
 passers-by on road and river congratulate our men 
 on the "good job" they have on hand, feeling 
 sure the stranger could not have escaped at least 
 a small amount of " squeezing," " Ha ! Lo-ah ! 
 Ten dollars that job?" It is probably not more 
 than one or two dollars; but our men laugh back 
 the jest, "It has a shadow — it is real — forty dol- 
 lars, you mean!" As a rule, missionaries expect 
 to pay half as much again as a native gentleman. 
 
6o ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 The plan is a wise one, for the extra sum is very 
 small, and the hard-working coolies keep on good 
 terms with us. We have known foreio^n mer- 
 chants pay eight and ten times the proper fare; 
 but the Chinese do not respect them any more for 
 their reckless expenditure and are only demoral- 
 ized by it.* 
 
 It is not always easy to secure chair-bearers 
 even by offering an extra gratuity. I was travel- 
 ling in a region through which Europeans passed 
 only once or twice a year, and wishing to walk a 
 good deal, was hiring as best I could for a few 
 miles now and then. I arrived at mid-day at a 
 rice-shop on the top of a high hill, and while dis- 
 cussing my dinner of rice and peanuts announced 
 to the crowd of chattering Celestials that it would 
 harmonize with my wishes if I could have a chair 
 to the next stage, distant six miles. Ten chairs 
 immediately blocked up all available space and 
 many voices pleaded for the favor of my patron- 
 age. Which chair would I have ? I said I would 
 have that chair for riding in which I should have 
 
 * In the journals of the late Mr. Margery, who was so unfortu- 
 nately murdered in Yunnan in 1S75, there is a note of the reason 
 for his careful expenditure in chair-hiring in country places. He 
 says he was "thinking of the missionaries who might travel the 
 same road after him, and was afraid of creating a precedent " 
 which might press heavily on their slender purses. It was a little 
 act of consideration which reveals the character of the man and 
 explains the universal esteem in which he was held. 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 6l 
 
 to pay two hundred cash — say, eighteenpence. 
 Every face changed to a look of incredulity at my 
 innocence, injury at my audacity, and defiance at 
 my expectations. ' ' Two hundred cash indeed ! 
 The thing could not be done. There was not a 
 bearer in the whole place who might, could, 
 would, or should stir a foot on the road until five 
 hundred cash was promised." When they had 
 exhausted their expressions of astonishment and 
 the play was almost acted out, I said quietly, 
 "Look here, friends, I am not a stranger to your 
 customs. You think I ought to offer one hundred 
 cash, and you demand five hundred, and then we 
 are to waste half an hour in chaffering about it, 
 you gradually lowering your figure and I raising 
 mine, until at last we settle that the fare shall be 
 there hundred or thereabout. But our foreign 
 fashion is different. I am not going to haggle 
 with you about the price. Your own people 
 would never think of paying more than one hun- 
 dred and fifty; I offer two hundred; who will 
 go?" No, not one of them. But when they see 
 me unexcited and firm, one man suggests that 
 perhaps he was mistaken in saying the distance 
 was ten miles, and he is willing to accept four 
 hundred and fifty. For three-quarters of an hour 
 the discussion breaks out afresh at intervals, while 
 my baggage-bearer takes his mid-day nap. At 
 
62 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 length we get up to walk, begging them to be 
 seated in their own chairs. When they see me 
 and my man fairly started, many voices clamor 
 aloud, "Teacher, three hundred!" "No; I have 
 said it — two hundred." They make a show of 
 removing the chairs, murmuring, "The man is 
 hard." By the time we are clear of the village 
 and beeinning to descend the hill one of them 
 rushes forward, screaming frantically, ' ' Teacher, 
 two hundred and eighty!" " No; two hundred." 
 "Two hundred and fifty!" I do not return an 
 answer, but proceed some three hundred yards, 
 when from the top of the hill comes a shout, 
 "Teacher, teacher, stop! two hundred and twen- 
 ty." I motion with my hands a sign of refusal 
 and go on. But presently my servant calls to me 
 that two men are running down hill with a chair. 
 I wait till they come and then quietly ask, "Two 
 hundred?" " All right, teacher; two hundred." 
 Again they sigh, "This man is hard." Where- 
 upon I take my seat, and there are no recrimina- 
 tions or apologies on either side. 
 
 When chair-bearers are hired for a trip which 
 will extend to several days or weeks, it is very 
 advisable to have an agreement drawn up in due 
 form and stamped with an official seal. Such a 
 document can be had for the merest trifle and 
 will prevent a great deal of possible trouble. It 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 63 
 
 is no slight ordeal to be surrounded by a set of 
 Chinese coolies frenzied with assumed indigna- 
 tion at the shortcomings of the "foreign guest." 
 A great deal of patience is needed by the travel- 
 ler, not merely because so much time is exhausted 
 on the journey, but as the result of unavoidable 
 incidents and accidents. Quite unconsciously one 
 falls into the habit of talking of distance not by 
 long measure, but by time measure. Such and 
 such a town is so many hours or days away. On 
 well-known routes we can generally calculate the 
 length of the journey to an hour, but when it 
 comes to a week or so we may find ourselves 
 wrong by a whole day. The opportunity of a 
 clean location for a night is a most material fac- 
 tor in deciding whether a single day's trip is long 
 or short. 
 
 From what we have said it will be evident 
 that the traveller in China has several rules to 
 learn, very simple, yet affecting his peace of mind 
 to a serious degree ; such as, never be in a hurry; 
 get along as quickly as you can, but remember 
 that to "hasten slowly" is the best policy in a 
 sedan-chair; never bring railing accusations 
 against the roads, or if you do, make a jest of 
 their defects, for there they are; you cannot im- 
 prove them, and the Chinese will not. Above 
 all, never get out of temper, for that will only 
 
64 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 puzzle the Chinaman and distress yourself. When 
 you have learned to accept with composure the 
 many deficiencies of roads, chairs, baggage-men, 
 chair-bearers, eating-houses, inns, and weather, 
 you will have advanced a long way towards per- 
 fection. 
 
 The subject changes completely when we turn 
 from speaking of travelling by land to travelling 
 by water. There is no other country in the world 
 that possesses such magnificent waterways as Chi- 
 na. Not only has it rivers that run their steady 
 course for upwards of a thousand miles, like that 
 " Son-of-the-Sea," the Yang-tsze-kiang, but the 
 whole land is covered with a network of canals 
 and water-courses which connect town with town 
 and afford at the same time ample supplies for ir- 
 rigation of the paddy-fields. It is probably true 
 that there are daily as many travellers by water 
 as by land. Even the large towns are veined 
 with channels which provide a transit route for 
 goods and passengers. In this connection should 
 be mentioned the Grand Canal, the most useful 
 public work the Chinese ever constructed, which 
 for 650 miles unites countless towns and villages 
 that, but for its friendly aid, would be strangers 
 to one another. The many great lakes, with the 
 rivers which run into them, are also means of 
 bringing distant places near. Too frequently the 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 67 
 
 rivers, which look very fine after a spell of wet 
 weather, arc found difficult of navigation after 
 drought. The undredged detritus of millen- 
 niums makes them more treacherous year by 
 year. 
 
 The Chinese have a system of conveyance by 
 means of public "passage-boats" as complete as 
 any of our own. At regular hours, or at the suit- 
 able state of the tide, heavy junks loaded with 
 passengers come and go upon the bays, rivers, 
 and creeks. The jetties are crowded with friends 
 and idlers who witness the departure and arrival 
 of the boats. The smallness of the fare is some- 
 times almost incredible, ten cash (about one cent) 
 sufficing for thirty or forty miles. 
 
 At such a fare one must not expect to have the 
 whole deck to one's self or to be accommodated 
 in a saloon cabin. The desirability of life-insu- 
 rance also suggests itself to the practical foreign 
 mind. It may be that the comfort of passengers 
 is an idea that the "boat-chief" has seldom in- 
 dulged; and it is too much to be feared that his 
 trust in Providence becomes sublime when an ex- 
 tra score of candidates for the voyage appear in 
 view. I once stood on the deck of a passage-boat 
 for seven hours, in company with 160 Chinamen, 
 while the sea washed up to my knees, destroying 
 my provisions and books, and the vessel lurched 
 
68 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIElN. 
 
 over to such a degree that it was as much as we 
 could do to keep on deck. 
 
 Given fair weather and a breeze astern, how- 
 ever, and who minds a little inconvenience ? In 
 such circumstances a common passage -boat is 
 luxurious compared with the monotony of a se- 
 dan-chair. The fine river-boats of Canton are 
 roomy and well furnished. A private cabin may 
 be engaged for a small extra fee. The ever-vary- 
 ing views of the beautiful shores pass rapidly by. 
 The elegant junk looks down upon the blue waves 
 through its two great eyes, which are always 
 painted on the prow. The sailors and passengers 
 keep up a pleasant sing-song of conversation. 
 One finds time to think when on the water and 
 the wind is fair. But if we are beating up against 
 wind and tide, possibly rowed with six oars and 
 with a great wooden propeller astern, farewell to 
 all pleasant pictures and dreams; we need resig- 
 nation and a library. 
 
 In connection with the missions situated where 
 the water communication is good a mission-boat 
 becomes a necessity. In many places, such as 
 Amoy, Foochow, and Ningpo, more than half the 
 mission journeys are by water. The boat in this 
 case does duty as a carriage, hotel, reception- 
 room, chapel, and book depot. Anchored in the 
 broad stream or resting upon the mud in an un- 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 69 
 
 lovely creek, the gospel-boat provides a tiny home 
 for Ihc ''messengers of the churches" when on 
 their evangelistic and pastoral tours. Not even 
 then, by the way, are they quite clear of discom- 
 forts, for the armies of mosquitoes that infest the 
 banks and the multifarious sounds of a landing- 
 place are foes of quietude and peace. But the 
 boat is a palace compared with the sleeping-room 
 of a chapel or inn, and the most sensitive nerves 
 become hardened by custoin and resolution. 
 
 Shooting the rapids is the kind of travelling 
 that is most interesting of all. In many direc- 
 tions around Amoy there is opportunity of expe- 
 riencing the excitement of such a journey. The 
 rivers rise among the hills several hundred miles 
 to the north, west, and south. In some places 
 the rocks are so numerous and so close together 
 that no boat can pass even when the river is at its 
 fullest, and the journey has to be continued over 
 the hill to the point where boats are able once 
 more to ply. Sometimes, too, the fall is too great 
 to allow of any kind of craft except the great rafts 
 of timber going over them. All passengers must 
 then alight while the boat is let down carefully 
 by means of bamboo ropes. 
 
 Such a journey sometimes proves to be more 
 exciting than one would desire. My first experi- 
 ence was peculiarly unfortunate. The boat was 
 
yo ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 not suited to anything but level water, being only 
 a shallow punt some twenty feet long and seven 
 broad. In this were stowed twenty-seven passen- 
 gers, about half a ton of crockery, three sedan- 
 chairs, our baggage, and a lot of luggage belong- 
 ing to the Chinese passengers. There was liter- 
 ally not room to turn round. Before starting we 
 protested against the overcrowding of the boat, 
 but to no purpose. Happily the slope of the 
 water at the falls was not very serious. At the 
 first we grated ominously on the rocks. At the 
 second we ran on the top of a sunken rock and 
 stuck fast for seventeen minutes. We should all 
 have been overthrown had there been room to 
 fall. What were we to do ? A more ludicrous 
 sight it would be hard to find than twenty-seven 
 human beings, packed as close as they can stand, 
 stranded in the middle of a rapid stream. The 
 captain found means to convey to shore eight 
 men (say 1,200 lbs. weight). The boat being 
 lightened to that extent floated off" the rock, and 
 we who retained our places were so hardened we 
 would not allow our late fellow-travellers to re- 
 turn. For a mile or two they ran along the shore 
 near to us, exhausting their vocabulary of abuse 
 and satire. 
 
 One of the most interesting journeys on the 
 rapids near Amoy is from the city of lying- yang, 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 7 1 
 
 near to the centre of the Fuh-kien province. The 
 falls extend over somewhat more than a hundred 
 miles from Ling-yang to Chiu-loa (" End of Rap- 
 ids"). There is a course of some twelve to twen- 
 ty miles of the river over which no boat can go. 
 The river mission-boat can go as far as Nia-tau, 
 from which point a pass over the mountain-side 
 leads to Te-hong, one of the most important tea 
 marts in Fuh-kien, where many roads meet. 
 Here the river becomes practicable once more, 
 except when it is dangerously full or so shallow 
 as not to cover the rocks. At many points there 
 are magnificent pools, deep, embowered among 
 the trees or shut in by high cliffs, and sometimes 
 so full of fish that one cannot wash one's hands 
 without a number of gills pressing for food. At 
 a place called "The Eleven Pools" there is a 
 magnificent chasm through wdiich the river runs. 
 It is almost horseshoe in shape, with cliffs from 
 two hundred to four hundred feet in height, and 
 the hills rise somewhat abruptly beyond that. 
 The boatmen said the sun never shines into the 
 chasm in summer for more than an hour in the 
 day. All passengers must disembark here and 
 make their way for half a mile by a narrow path 
 cut in the face of the cliff to a point where a 
 loaded boat may again safely pass. In the chasm 
 is a shrine to the memory of a mandarin who was 
 
72 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 wrecked there and lost his life. Our boatmen 
 pulled up to the rock to burn a few incense sticks. 
 Few if any would dare to pass this point without 
 propitiating the spirit of the dead. What sort of 
 a notion can they have of the morals of their de- 
 ceased friends, seeing that they must needs always 
 keep on the right side of them by means of joss- 
 sticks, paper-money, and crackers ? While being 
 rowed across a long pool we took advantage of 
 the relief to the pilot's attention to ask how many 
 wrecks take place a year, and he said, " Only one 
 boat in a thousand in the year." If that is real- 
 ly so, it is a high testimony to the skill of the 
 pilots. The bed of the stream consists of rock 
 throughout almost the whole course from Ling- 
 yang to Chiu-loa. It requires no slight effort of 
 memory to remember the exact position of all the 
 rocks, sunken or otherwise, in a distance of many 
 tens of miles. 
 
 The run from Ling-yang occupied twenty-two 
 hours, spread over three days. From Ling-yang 
 to Chiang-ping there are just one hundred and 
 fifty falls, water-slides, and rapids; and from Chi- 
 ang-ping to Te-hong thirty-six of the larger sort 
 and innumerable smaller ones. Many of these 
 imply a difference in level of not more than three 
 feet, whereas not a few are inclined planes of from 
 a hundred yards to a quarter of a mile, down 
 
•*^-co;f^ 
 
 '^. ^^t .^^f^-^h 
 
 
 
 -m ^««^-'^-^' 
 
 
 
 gHOOXlNG THE EAPID3. 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. 75 
 
 which the boat shoots with a velocity of perhaps 
 twelve miles an hour. The mountain towns and 
 villages on the banks of this river are at a consid- 
 erable elevation, indicated not only by the steep 
 descent of the water, but also by the low temper- 
 ature as compared with the sea level. 
 
 A boat for the rapids is built of pine wood, 
 flat-bottomed, three feet broad in the water and 
 five feet at the top of the gunwales, which are 
 three feet high and inclined outwards, to throw 
 off the spray of the cascades. The pilot stands at 
 the prow wielding an oar thirty feet long, most 
 delicately balanced by a mass of stone, so that 
 only about three feet of the thirty are on board. 
 The blade is crescent-shaped. If it comes in con- 
 tact with a sunken rock it readily slips over it. 
 With a single stroke of this sweep-oar he is able 
 in a second to alter the course of the boat and to 
 guide it through the most tortuous passages among 
 the rocks. It is necessary for one's peace of mind 
 to have implicit confidence in the pilot. His in- 
 timate acquaintance with the exact position of 
 every one of the ten thousand rocks we pass each 
 hour, and his surprising skill in avoiding them, 
 so command our admiration that we forget the 
 dangers of the journey. 
 
 The process of shooting the rapids is at first 
 frightfully exciting. One is apt to indulge that 
 
76 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 harmless notion of the beginner that one is doinsf 
 something exceedingly venturesome; but after a 
 score or two of falls have been safely passed one 
 remains resigned and calm in shooting the most 
 boisterous cascade. No one, however, knows bet- 
 ter than the pilot that the danger of careless boat- 
 ing is extreme. When nearing a fall or water- 
 slide the pilot stands rigid at the prow holding 
 the sweep-oar, while with one hand he makes 
 signs over his shoulder to the steersman. A sud- 
 den hush falls upon the occupants of the boat, 
 which sways to and fro with the force of the hurt- 
 ling waters. Above the deafening roar are heard 
 certain shrill, sharp monosyllables from the lips 
 of the pilot; and we know that a movement of 
 the long craft six inches in the wrong direction 
 would break it up like an egg-shell and spill us 
 all into the frothy fangs of a rock-bound chasm. 
 Such a sensation comes over us then as I suppose 
 soldiers feel when they stand in battle amid a 
 shower of leaden hail. At one moment we are 
 being hurled like a dart at a massive rock in mid- 
 stream up the sides of which the water is trying 
 to climb, and it seems to us that the next second 
 must see the wreckage of the boat and its strug- 
 gling passengers scattered in the foam; but a 
 sharp, timely stroke of the long oar throws us 
 into another channel, and we are gliding down 
 
TRAVELLING BY ROAD AND RIVER. ']^ 
 
 hill amid the thunder of the water broken into 
 myriads of foam-crested waves, and presently 
 reach a quiet pool shut in by pleasant wooded 
 hills or craggy cliffs, where utter silence reigns 
 between two cataracts. Then the buzz of con- 
 versation breaks out afresh as we are rowed gently 
 over the placid stream towards the next fall. 
 
 i.l lioHiI lu China. 
 
78 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CHINESE INNS. 
 
 The unsophisticated traveller who finds him- 
 self compelled to pass the night in a Chinese inn 
 rebels against the application of the word " inn " 
 or "hotel" to such a place of entertainment. 
 That, let us say again, is simply because of the 
 prejudices of the civilized Briton. If he will take 
 a Webster's dictionary and turn to the word mn^ 
 he will find that he has not been deceived by his 
 Chinese host. There it is written that an inn is 
 "a place of shelter," and he will not deny that 
 the three or four walls have a roof on them, if 
 somewhat leaky. Another definition is, "A house 
 for the lodging and entertainment of travellers," 
 and it is surely a most full and accurate descrip- 
 tion of the commodity supplied. We should, 
 however, be obliged discreetly to pass over a note 
 which reads, " It has been judicially defined as a 
 house where a traveller is furnished with every- 
 thing for which he has occasion when on his 
 way." That is the point where the Chinese hos- 
 telry fails: it does not furnish you with the things 
 you desire, but it supplies you over-abundantly 
 
CHINESE INNS. 79 
 
 with the things you dislike and wish to avoid. 
 Charles Kingsley, writing to Mr. Thomas Hughes, 
 describes his hotel in Wales as " the divinest pig- 
 sty under the canopy." Charles Kingsley had 
 not been in China ! 
 
 But we must not seem to write tckel^ "thou 
 art found wanting," over every entrance-door, 
 especially as there is a benediction rudely written 
 on red paper posted there already. I^ike the pri- 
 vate houses, inns are of every description and 
 quality. We are told that in early Saxon " inn " 
 meant a palace, and thence originated the names 
 Lincoln's Inn, Clifford's Inn, and so on. There 
 are hotels which in Chinese eyes are elegant man- 
 sions, and in comparison with the ordinary kind 
 deserve to be called The Grand or The Metropol- 
 itan or The Palace Hotel. Some of these go by 
 the name of Mandarin Hotels, because they are 
 kept ready for the use of travelling magistrates 
 and are not open to every class of the public. 
 They are roomy, airy, the floors tiled, and the 
 rooms screened off with car\'ed frames covered 
 with tissue paper. From these spacious and ven- 
 tilated buildings there is a descent to the dark, 
 damp, and malodorous sheds at the service of 
 ordinary travellers, who herd together anyhow 
 and pay their twenty or thirty cash with only a 
 passing reference to the toad-stools in the floor 
 
8o ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 and the peculiar liveliness of the lodgers who do 
 not pay for their accommodation except some- 
 times with their life. 
 
 But we ought to beware of being harsh in our 
 judgment, although these hotels are so inferior to 
 our own. We have rather to consider the com- 
 pleteness of the contrast between the social ar- 
 rangements in our own country and in China and 
 to remember that the subject we are discussing is 
 only one of the features in that contrast. The 
 least inviting of our hotels would be preferable to 
 the dreadful probabilities of the best inns upon 
 many a Chinese main road. The reason simply 
 is that they do not seem to understand comfort in 
 our sense of the term. The word comfort of course 
 exists in the language, but they do not mean by 
 it what we do. With all their intelligence, their 
 considerable degree of skill in the social arts, and 
 the very marked decorum and courtesy of many 
 of their households, they have introduced very 
 few of what we call luxuries. They are probably 
 none the worse off on that account. It would be 
 a decided mistake and misfortune to exchange 
 their present simple habits for our more compli- 
 cated and expensive style of living. The require- 
 ments of the climate are not the same as ours, and 
 the necessity of living cheaply leads them to think 
 only of necessaries in the furnishing of house and 
 
CHINESE INNS. 8l 
 
 table. In the West \vc submit to a great variety 
 of discomforts in our dress in obedience to the dic- 
 tates of public opinion, one sex in certain grades 
 of society disregarding the simplest laws of health 
 and incurring very serious expense in providing — 
 not clothing, but dress; but the Chinese of both 
 sexes commonly adapt their costume to their cir- 
 cumstances and occupations, and dress with an 
 elegance, simplicity, and ease that allow little 
 room for criticism. In putting on and taking off 
 their dress people in our middle and upper classes 
 of society spend, on a very moderate computation, 
 something like two whole weeks out of the fifty- 
 two; while as for the time and labor expended in 
 o^ivinof starchiness and discomfort to certain arti- 
 cles of clothing, we shrink from entering upon a 
 calculation so difficult and uncertain. The Chi- 
 naman and Chinawoman, on the other hand, are 
 fully dressed in less than five minutes after rising 
 in the morning. We cover our tables with viands 
 which are not absolute necessaries and which take 
 a great deal of time and skill to prepare, while 
 the number and variety of the implements by 
 means of which we partake of our food would fur- 
 nish words for several pages of a dictionary; but 
 the Chinaman with half a dozen pots and pans, a 
 dozen rice-bowls, and a pile of chopsticks, is ready 
 to cook and to dispose of an elaborate and respect- 
 
82 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 able meal. And if we were to talk of furnishing, 
 the contrast would become greater still, since we 
 crowd our rooms with furniture, lumbering them 
 with odds and ends and bric-a-brac, often not 
 pleasing to the eye and decidedly inconvenient, 
 laying carpets and hanging curtains which are 
 stores for dust, damp, and staleness, but which 
 must be provided if the rooms are to be "respect- 
 able;" whereas our Chinese brother will furnish 
 a whole house for a few tens of dollars, and never 
 gives a thought to more than a dozen or two of 
 the thousand items that the upholsterer, ironmon- 
 ger, earthenware-dealer, dressmaker, etc., etc., 
 assure us are absolutely necessary. 
 
 Even the mandarins and wealthy gentry live 
 in a plain and frugal fashion which would aston- 
 ish our English housekeepers, who are so fre- 
 quently in bondage to that worst of tyrants, ' ' What 
 will people say?" The palace of a viceroy ruling 
 twenty to fifty millions has a tiled iloor, straight- 
 backed, flat-bottomed chairs, a lounge covered 
 with nothing softer than a plantain-leaf mat, and 
 windows of tissue-paper or split oyster -shell. 
 Even he dines with the aid of bowl and chop- 
 sticks. On one occasion I was the guest of a 
 military mandarin in an inland city, who, like 
 our own civil magistrates, was engaged in busi- 
 ness as a wholesale tea-dealer. The house was 
 
CHINESE INNS. 85 
 
 very handsome. The central hall would have 
 seated two hundred people. A gallery admitted 
 to the private apartments. The bedsteads were 
 richly gilt. A dozen mantelpiece clocks were 
 scattered abont the house. Yet this grand and 
 courteous gentleman sat down to dinner with his 
 general servant, who was cook, housemaid, and 
 errand-boy all in one. In as delicate a manner 
 as possible I remarked to the servant on this sim- 
 plicity of the "great officer," and with a look of 
 surprise he remarked, ' ' Why not ? We share our 
 eating expenses !" After this it was not surpri- 
 sing to see the wealthy patriarch carry his shut- 
 ters into the street at dusk and put them up him- 
 self, because the servant was busy lighting the 
 incense-sticks before the household gods. 
 
 Chinese inns, like the private houses, contain 
 only such furniture as is needful. This is as true 
 in regard to the better sort as of the common 
 lodging-houses. One of the Kong-kwan or official 
 inns reserved for the use of mandarins is occa- 
 sionally engaged for a night by missionaries from 
 Amoy when it is certain that no mandarins will 
 be coming. On entering through an archway 
 guarded with heavy gates we find ourselves in a 
 court whose length is the whole width of the 
 building. To right and left against the road are 
 the lodgings of the innkeeper, the kitchens, and 
 
86 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 wood Stores. Before us, on a higher level, are 
 more heavy gates like those we have just passed 
 through. Trellis-work, painted various bright 
 colors and pasted over on the inner side with 
 white paper, forms the partition wall on either 
 side of the gates. Within these we find ourselves 
 in the main building. On either side are rooms 
 for the suite of the magistrate. Crossing a small 
 court partly covered over we enter the audience- 
 chamber or guest-room, where the great man 
 takes his meals in the presence of the gods. His 
 bed-chamber, a large and airy apartment, is on 
 one side of this, and a room of the. same size on 
 the other. The whole of the building, with the 
 exception of the outer court, is neatly paved with 
 red tiles. The only furniture in the sitting-room 
 is a shrine with idols, flowers, and incense-jars, a 
 table, two wooden arm-chairs, and two benches 
 without backs; and in each bedroom a four-post- 
 er, a table, and a chair. 
 
 In villages and country towns the inns are sel- 
 dom more than one story high. As a rule, only 
 in large towns where every foot of space is valua- 
 ble do our Celestial friends put themselves to the 
 trouble of climbing to an upper floor. Pictures of 
 European houses rising to a height of five and 
 more stories surprise them greatly. It is said that 
 an emperor once asked the British ambassador 
 
CHINESE INNS. 87 
 
 whether it was the smallness of our territory that 
 compelled us to build so high ! A fiue house in 
 Chiua does not mean one that towers aloft or has 
 a noble frontage, but one that covers a large space 
 of ground. One of the best houses we ever visit- 
 ed, which was said to have cost ten thousand 
 English pounds, was almost an acre in extent, but 
 no part of the roof exceeded twenty to thirty feet 
 in height. 
 
 The eating-houses at the various stages of a 
 main road belong to the general denomination of 
 inns and hotels. Where the restaurant stands 
 alone or almost alone, and not in a town or vil- 
 lage, it is most commonly located under the luxu- 
 riant branches of a banyan- tree, whose shade in 
 summer is most grateful to the sunburned coolies. 
 Often there is a group of some six or eight of 
 these rude buildings. There are only three walls 
 and a roof, all perfectly black with the dirt and 
 smoke of generations, if not of centuries. The 
 table and benches seem to be in the same condi- 
 tion. Pigs and dogs wander among the throng of 
 human beings. A few beggars exhibiting their 
 deformities and diseases, or blind persons, call the 
 attention of the benevolent. The itinerant seller 
 of cakes and sweetmeats is driving 'a leisurely 
 trade, although he is making a great noise about 
 it. The chattering crowd of dirty, good-humored 
 
88 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 people are not at all shy of talking to strangers. 
 Every Chinaman in Fnh-kien addresses every 
 other as though he had known him all his life. 
 The topic in most cases is, of course, that all-im- 
 portant, universal, and endless one — cash. I 
 called them good-humored, but a stranger would 
 not think so if he saw such a crowd for the first 
 time. On the contrary, the state of things seems 
 to be bordering on a riot. The amount of energy 
 that lies latent in a Chinaman waiting to be de- 
 veloped and manifested by a discussion on cash is 
 simply incalculable. The most commonplace 
 and innocent-looking person presently speaks as 
 though he were addressing a very deaf audience; 
 nor does he talk with his lips only, but with every 
 muscle of his face and body. As we coolly regard 
 this throng of half-dressed, copper-colored peo- 
 ple, we see chance acquaintances who have run 
 against one another for half an hour screaming 
 their loudest, with distorted countenances and vio- 
 lent gesticulations, apparently threatening imme- 
 diate death to those who differ from them. It 
 seems incredible that the subject is of no more 
 importance than whether a sack of potatoes or 
 basket of fish shall be half a farthing more or 
 less. 
 
 Imagine our coming suddenly into such a 
 crowd in a short serge jacket and big sun-hat, 
 
CHINESE INNS. 89 
 
 under which is a pale face and beard. If the 
 place is one where foreigners are occasionally 
 seen they will look up, say, "Hwan-kui" (foreign 
 ghost), and after a few moments resume their em- 
 ployment as though we were not there. If, how- 
 ever, foreigners are almost unknown in those 
 parts, we know perfectly well that we shall have 
 no peace except such as we can secure by means 
 of a little manoeuvring. Sometimes the landlord 
 appears pleased to receive us, but now and then 
 he seems to think we take up too much room, 
 with the crowd who stand round to look at us. 
 It is very entertaining to observe how excited 
 such a crowd often becomes by the advent of a 
 foreigner and how rapidly the news spreads to 
 neighboring houses that a "foreign ghost" has 
 arrived. Mine host stands and threatens terrible 
 things, which he has not the smallest intention of 
 carrying into execution. For half an hour he 
 will shout and gesticulate, entreating the untu- 
 tored herd to remember the proprieties and not 
 crowd in so much upon the foreign gentleman. 
 
 The point of greatest interest is always reached 
 when the traveller begins his meal. He has car- 
 ried with him all he wants, with the exception of 
 rice, potatoes, hot water, and one or two other 
 things. The laying out of plates, knives, and 
 forks is a great mystery. Much questioning goes 
 
9© AI^ONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 on as to the way of using them. They beg to 
 know the reason why we prefer to employ a man 
 to carry all our apparatus for dinner instead of 
 using their bowls and chopsticks. The spoon and 
 fork, apparently made of solid silver, greatly as- 
 tonish them, and the traveller is ready enough 
 to own that they are not silver at all. When we 
 lift our food to our mouth many hands move in a 
 similar way, as they say quietly to one another, 
 *'Look, he is doing like this!" Standing so 
 closely around our small table that we feel incon- 
 venienced, we entreat them to give us breathing 
 room while we dine, and afterwards we will talk 
 to them. Many voices break forth with pleasure 
 at our speaking to them. "The foreigner speaks 
 our words," says one. "Yes, let him eat," says 
 another. " Stand back, you man without propri- 
 ety," says a third, whose zeal for good manners 
 is evidently due only to his desire to secure a front 
 place. 
 
 At such a time one is almost always ques- 
 tioned in the same way. There is a stock list of 
 subjects about which the average Chinaman when 
 he meets a foreigner is very anxious to be in- 
 formed. Not, as the good supporters of missions 
 would like to be told, "What is your object in 
 coming among us? Is your doctrine better than 
 that of our great Confucius?" The most trivial 
 
CHINESE INNS. 91 
 
 and ridiculous questions are asked. The inqui- 
 ries they make of a foreigner are such as they com- 
 monly make among themselves. "How far is it 
 to your ancestral home ? Are your venerable pa- 
 rents living ? How many sons have you ? Was 
 your linen made in China or in England ? How 
 do you get it so white? Is it true your emperor 
 is a woman? How are marriages arrang-ed among^ 
 the foreign children? What is your income?" 
 A little mild banter is much appreciated by the 
 crowd, but brings out a more rapid fusillade of 
 questions. In the country places about Amoy I 
 have been asked very frequently, "Where is the 
 country where the people have one leg, one arm, 
 one eye, and where there are only women? Have 
 you seen these lands?" What the origin of these 
 notions is it is hard to say. Perhaps some Chi- 
 nese Baron Munchausen or Dean Swift wrote a 
 burlesque book of travels, which has in the course 
 of time been accepted as authentic by a people 
 who have for so many centuries stayed at home. 
 
 Dinner over, we take advantage of the con- 
 course of people to say a few words on the theme 
 nearest and dearest to the Christian heart.. Mov- 
 ing to such a position that we shall not interfere 
 with the business of the restaurant, we sit upon a 
 table and begin to explain for what purpose we 
 have come to reside in their ancient land. "That 
 
92 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 is what our hearts desire to know," says some 
 man who imagines we are buying tea or prospect- 
 ing for gold. He has an idea that every foreigner 
 can see three feet into the hillside and can tell at 
 a glance what there is in it. "Be silent, all!" 
 he exclaims. As we proceed to explain that our 
 doctrine is not opposed to anything that is good, 
 but includes all good and is the best doctrine in 
 the world, having come from God, and commends 
 itself to the good heart, our friend, who has in- 
 stalled himself as my herald and verger, remarks 
 respectfully, but in a somewhat disappointed tone, 
 "Hell ! The gentleman is one of the Jesus sect 
 shepherd-teachers — a man who speaks doctrine." 
 So we proceed with our discourse, asking them oc- 
 casionally whether the doctrine is not good and 
 whether they believe it; to which they courteous- 
 ly reply, "It is extremely good," though proba- 
 bly they have heard scarcely a word, having been 
 engaged upon a totally different line of thought 
 all the while. To a beginner such preaching is 
 often most disappointing. One discovers on ques- 
 tioning them that they have not listened at all. 
 Perhaps some one person among them does seem 
 to be drinking in our words, and as we speak we 
 insensibly fall to addressing our remarks directly 
 to him; our heart prays that he may receive the 
 truth ; we press the gospel message upon him ; we 
 
CHINESE INNS. 93 
 
 entreat him not to fear to believe and accept the 
 salvation offered to him. He seems to be more 
 and more deeply impressed, until at length he 
 makes a sign that he wishes to speak, and he 
 asks, "Teacher, were you born with a beard?" 
 or, " "Why do not your people shave their heads 
 as we do?" At such seasons the missionary is 
 obliofed to cheer himself with the fact that the 
 sower does not make the seed grow and that he 
 has only to scatter it, hoping that some may fall 
 into good ground, although much withers in the 
 stony ground and more is caught away by the 
 birds. No Christian laborer feels more deeply 
 than the missionary to the heathen the duty of 
 "sowing beside all waters," and the experience 
 of none proves to him more clearly that we "know 
 not whether shall prosper either this or that or 
 whether they both shall be alike good." All he 
 has to do is to obey the command, "In the morn- 
 ing sow thy seed and in the evening withhold 
 not thy hand." 
 
 Many missionaries feel that preaching in such 
 a place and under such circumstances is truly a 
 scattering of the seed rather than a sowing of it. 
 The incessant chatter of the audience, as well as 
 of the crowd around, and their insatiable curiosity 
 as to indifferent matters, render it next to impossi- 
 ble to address them upon the great themes of reli- 
 
94 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 gion, which demand a serious and steady atten- 
 tion. If half a dozen men can be induced to come 
 and sit in an inner room, to "stare themselves 
 full," as their idiom puts it, while they drink tea 
 and smoke their pipes, they can sometimes be 
 kept for an hour or two, and a little judicious 
 questioning brings out their difiBculties in such a 
 way as cannot possibly be done in a general and 
 busy throng. 
 
 We must, however, come back from this di- 
 gression to describe the accommodation in the 
 inns at night. As we can only speak of the Fuh- 
 kien province, let Dr. Alexander Williamson tell 
 us of what kind it is north of the Yang-tsze. " In 
 China every man carries his bedding with him ; 
 in the day-time it helps to pack the cart, or is 
 laid, by way of saddle, upon the ass. The trav- 
 eller may count himself fortunate if he can find 
 in some IMutual Prosperity or Heavenly Union 
 hotel a tolerable room in which to rest. On the 
 great roads and at the recognized stages the inns 
 are pretty sure to be decent, but elsewhere they 
 are often wretched. In those of the better sort 
 there is generally an eating-house or tea-shop on 
 one side of the large door in the yard. The shop 
 faces the street and is connected with the cook- 
 house and private rooms of the landlord. At this 
 end, too, are the rooms occupied by the carters 
 
CIIINKSE INNS. 95 
 
 and others. Passing through the great door the 
 visitor finds himself in a large unpaved yard with 
 buildings all round it. On one side are, perhaps, 
 six or eight guest-rooms, little boxes about twelve 
 feet square, with paper in place of glass for win- 
 dows, doors which do not fit, and through the 
 openings of which wind and dust find their way. 
 A very rickety old chair and an equally decrepit 
 table are the only furniture, the bed being simply 
 a brick or mud platform filling nearly half the 
 little room and raised about two feet from the 
 floor. Underneath it is a flue, into which in cold 
 weather dry grass or other fuel is pushed and 
 fired, the heat and smoke passing in a zigzag line 
 just under the surface of the couch and finally 
 escaping up a vent in the wall. Other fireplace 
 there is none; and if, as often happens, the chim- 
 ney should be foul, the warmed bed is but a poor 
 compensation for smarting eyes and partial suffo- 
 cation. But there are other rooms sometimes at 
 the top of the yard, and it is always an object to 
 secure them, as they are a trifle larger and cleaner 
 and probably in better repair. The charges are 
 moderate, from one to two hundred cash per night 
 (about one shilling), with extras for food and gra- 
 tuities for servants." 
 
 In the south the k^ang^ or bed over a flue, is 
 
 unknown, but the discomforts of the inns are prob- 
 
 6 
 
96 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 ably exceeded. In one particular at least they 
 agree perfectly, and that is in the magniloquence 
 of the names given to these sleeping-dens. Such 
 resounding titles might seem to suggest that the 
 landlords are men who profess a high degree of 
 integrity, or at least appreciate what is beautiful 
 and good. But it is no more than the fashion of 
 the country. Alas for the difference between the 
 outward profession and the inward state! Here 
 you are promised peace, love, truth, and generos- 
 ity, if you will but enter, though the man and the 
 house contravene all the virtues. I shall always re- 
 tain a keen and painful recollection of a series of 
 hostelries at which I was compelled to stay during 
 a lengthy tour due north of Amoy. That called 
 Unapproachable Purity, had it been clean, might 
 have been described as an oasis of purity in a des- 
 ert of filth, and "unapproachable" only in that 
 sense; but after stepping carefully towards it we 
 found the interior fully agreed with the character 
 of its surroundings. The house of entertainment 
 for man and beast which arrogated to itself the 
 proud title of The River of Abundance was so 
 ill-provided with the necessaries of life that mine 
 host could give us literally no food at all, and at 
 a neighboring rice-shop only a coarse "red rice" 
 was to be had. The boarding which formed the 
 walls on three sides was so damp and decomposed 
 
CHINESE INNS. 97 
 
 that fungus was growing- upon it. Another hotel, 
 famous for the proud possession of an upper floor 
 (into which we climbed and slept among confused 
 heaps of weaving and agricultural implements 
 and products), was called The Nourishment of 
 Life. It seemed, however, to have been con- 
 structed for precisely the opposite purpose. The 
 roof was lifted off the walls some inches on one 
 or more sides, and as I lay on the bed-boards 
 rolled up in a railway rug, the wintry air driving 
 through the room with a chill caught from a con- 
 siderable elevation above the sea effectually re- 
 moved the possibility of sleep, and kept one think- 
 ing of how it was possible, under the circumstan- 
 ces, to secure " the nourishment of life." 
 
 A detailed account of the occurrences of a sin- 
 gle night in an inn will explain what sort of ex- 
 perience it is, better than any amount of general 
 reflections. We had been to a part of the prov- 
 ince of Fuh-kien visited only once or twice before 
 by a European. Our sleeping accommodations 
 had been varied — one night wrapped in a rug on 
 the bottom of the boat, with a plantain-leaf mat 
 between us and the sky; the next in a tea ware- 
 house in the hills ; and the next in a loft or in a 
 gentleman's best bedroom. On the evening to 
 which I am about to refer we were belated on the 
 river throuo-h the slug^o-ishness of the stream after 
 
 River and Road in China. 
 
98 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 drouglit, and pulled up at the bank to look for 
 shelter. Whether the inn was more fit to be a 
 human habitation than the very airy barge let 
 the reader judge. 
 
 Fourteen of us quitted the boat to walk a quar- 
 ter of a mile to the village of "Southern Plains," 
 leaving two men to mind the oars and other prop- 
 erties. There was only one inn. This was a sin- 
 gle room ten paces long and four wide. The walls 
 were of light brown cement, and were evidently 
 ancient, for every particle of the whitewash facing 
 had long since disappeared and the storms of gen- 
 erations had eaten many ugly holes, which were 
 rudely plastered with mud. The one door and 
 window were innocent of paint, and looked, in- 
 deed, as though they had never been honored by 
 the brush. Inside the walls and roof and floor 
 were perfectly black with age and dirt. In this 
 small space were three sets of bed-boards, each 
 capable of accommodating three persons, a brick 
 cooking-range without a chimney, several piles of 
 dried grass and pine-wood for fuel, a doi^en or so 
 of large jars and tubs, some with rice and pota- 
 toes, others filled with rubbish, which has a cer- 
 tain value to the careful Celestial, and under the 
 bed-boards were a pig, several chickens, and a 
 miscellaneous assortment of odds and ends, agri- 
 cultural, domestic, and culinary, apparently in 
 
CHINESE INNS. 99 
 
 the last stages of decay. The open tile roof was 
 not lofty, but there was an upper floor in it con- 
 structed thus : a pole stood in the middle of the 
 room, another, rather stronger, rested on the top 
 of it and was fastened into the wall, and along 
 this horizontal bar boards were arranged, far from 
 securely, their farther ends lying on the ledge 
 formed by the top of the wall. On this loft eleven 
 men mounted to sleep, and we were sixteen in all 
 in the inn! 
 
 By eight o'clock we had had our supper and 
 had celebrated evening worship with three Chris- 
 tian natives of the company, the rest of the party 
 of course making no objection to our singing and 
 prayer. But by this time the atmosphere inside 
 was rather dense. Doubtless the odors of the 
 room would have been strong enough without our 
 presence, but with a full house and a chimneyless 
 stove and the savors of food, tobacco, and opium, 
 the smell was thick and stifling. It was a bril- 
 liant moonlight and not very cold, so I spent a 
 pleasant hour outside talking to little groups of 
 persons as to the purpose of our travelling and 
 residing in their country. As far as it was possi- 
 ble to judge the audience were very sympathetic, 
 and, as in many places, idolatry pure and simple 
 had only the slightest hold on them. Their reli- 
 gion, if such it could be called, consisted of cer- 
 
lOO ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 tain national forms and local superstitions. On 
 reentering the inn the smoke had almost cleared 
 off, but my servant was looking perplexed at the 
 set of boards I was to occupy for the night. They 
 were covered with the finest of soot. Smoke had 
 risen to the roof for years and generations, and 
 much of it had settled upon the boards of the loft, 
 so that when our boat's crew betook themselves 
 to that higher altitude they shook the soot down 
 like rain upon us who were to pass the night be- 
 low. Our protests induced the landlord to pro- 
 duce a few mats, which were laid on the loft, and 
 our merry men with good-natured grins promised 
 not to be more restless than they could help. 
 Covering my face with a handkerchief to catch 
 the falling dust, I lay down hoping to secure a 
 little sleep. Till twelve o'clock, notwithstanding 
 all remonstrances, the party up stairs continued 
 to chatter at a furious rate and to smoke tobacco 
 and opium, the fumes of which to all but those 
 accustomed to the oily native weed and the filthy 
 drug are insufferably nauseous. 
 
 It was ten minutes to two when a strange noise 
 was heard coming from the loft, as of some one in 
 mortal pain, groans and suppressed soliloquy ex- 
 pressing the agony he was in. I asked what was 
 the matter, but got no reply. At length the suf- 
 ferer very slowly felt his way to the ladder, and 
 
CHINESE INNS. lOI 
 
 still groaning and muttering descended to the 
 floor. To my disgust lie began to light the fire 
 with grass, and made no reply at all to my pro- 
 tests. In a moment the smoke of the grass rose 
 thick and fast to the region of the up-stairs sleep- 
 ers, who began to cough and sneeze and choke. 
 Calling to their aid their whole vocabulary of vi- 
 tuperation, they began to consign their absent 
 bedfellow to every imaginable kind of terrible 
 fate. At last we succeeded in inducing him to 
 explain his unreasonable and unseasonable pro- 
 ceedings. It proved to be our host himself, who 
 said in a whining and anything but apologetic 
 tone, ' ' My stomach is cold ; I want some fire ; I 
 cannot sleep without the charcoal-pan." It is the 
 custom in cold weather in Fuh-kien for old per- 
 sons to carry lighted charcoal in an earthen dish 
 inclosed in a small wicker frame. Sometimes 
 they place it under a low stool and sit over it. 
 They also conceal it within the ample folds of 
 their upper garments. 
 
 Sleep might have after this paid his long-de- 
 layed visit had it not been for the pig under my 
 neighbor's bed, which had probably slept by day, 
 and therefore was at leisure to move about at 
 night. His trough was close to the post support- 
 ing the loft; and, not content with expressing his 
 pleasure at being able to roam about freely and to 
 
I02 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 sup in peace, he spent the watches of the night in 
 polishing the post. The cock under my bed be- 
 gan to crow at three. You, reader, have possibly 
 sometimes complained of the early piety of your 
 neighbor's fowls as they performed their noisy 
 matins with the first rays of dawn, but what would 
 you say to a bird that persists in doing this within 
 a yard of your ears ? The deluded songster car- 
 ried on a broken conversation for a full hour with 
 other members of his species in distant houses. 
 By this time the situation had become entertain- 
 ing. The series of misfortunes had trodden upon 
 one another's heels so quickly as to trip each other 
 up, and we could only laugh at the ridiculous po- 
 sition we were in. There was nothing to do but 
 to enjoy a good time. Boots, slippers, walking- 
 stick, umbrella, and a wooden ladle did duty in 
 turn in silencing as far as possible our friends un- 
 der the beds, or drove them thither from their 
 perambulations round the room. Mine host from 
 his couch drowsily whined, "Teacher, you will 
 kill that bird," to which I replied, "What you 
 say has a shadow, and is true. ' ' My servant slew 
 the untimely songster in the morning, and it ap- 
 peared at the breakfast-table not a whit the ten- 
 derer for the treatment it had received. We rose 
 at five and returned to the boat at daybreak. The 
 charge for our entertainment, including the fuel 
 
CHINESE INNS. 103 
 
 used in cooking supper for our party and the pur- 
 chase of the noisy fowl, amounted to one shilling 
 and ninepence, and it was dear at that, especially 
 as a considerable number of the unestimated pop- 
 ulation of the inn resolved, uninvited, to emigrate 
 to other climes, taking a passage with us, to our 
 great discomfort and their own destruction. 
 
 From these brief sketches of the hotel-life of 
 China it is clear that to stay in an inn is usually 
 a painful experience for a European. Unfortu- 
 nately, in drawing a dark picture one has to add 
 that there are no lighter and more pleasant aspects 
 to it. The native disregard of cleanliness is uni- 
 versal. On one occasion, when staying for a few 
 days in a Chinese house inland, I pointed out to 
 my servant the dirty state of the premises and 
 desired him to go out and buy a broom and wash- 
 bowl. There was not such a thing to be had in 
 any of the scores of villages around; the nearest 
 town where these needful articles were purchasa- 
 ble was six miles off! Even the houses of the 
 grandees would be described as dirty, were it not 
 that the inferior sort are so much worse. If one 
 is seeking comfort, the inn should be visited for 
 the sake of observation only, like opium-dens 
 and prisons. The variety of the vermin is some- 
 times amazing. Besides the smaller fry more com- 
 monly known, there are many kinds of spiders, 
 
I04 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 cockroaches, black beetles, mosquitoes, rats, and 
 mice, and some travellers have even seen a centi- 
 pede. I once counted ten varieties that called 
 upon me in one night. In addition to all these 
 discomforts, the sleeping-rooms often have no win- 
 dow to let in air and light, and sometimes no door 
 to keep out the crowd. A missionary's trials are 
 not many if he is blessed with common sense, 
 good-temper, and health, but a night in a Chinese 
 inn is one of them. 
 
 Yet from the missionary point of view there is 
 another side to the question. There is no better 
 way of studying native life and character than in 
 an inn, and no better opportunity of prolonged 
 exposition of Christian truth to a small and man- 
 ageable audience. In the mission chapels the 
 missionary does not receive visits so frequently as 
 he would like from the class of men who can read 
 easily and who have social influence. The liter- 
 ati, so called, are shy of entering a known Chris- 
 tian house. But they will sometimes come to an 
 inn, and more often they are casually met with in 
 the inns, being themselves on a journey. Some 
 of the best opportunities the writer has ever had 
 of speaking on the Christian faith have been in 
 the country inns. Half a dozen gentlemen of 
 leisure have come to present their respects to the 
 teacher. They accept the invitation to sit down 
 
CHINESE INNS. 105 
 
 and sip tea. A quarter of an hour is lost (no, not 
 lost) in talking about indiflerent matters and the 
 customs of the West, and after that two hours 
 may be spent in questioning, instructing, and dis- 
 cussing. Perhaps it is worth while to endure the 
 domestic horrors of the inn for the sake of the 
 facilities it presents for preparing the soil to re- 
 ceive the seed. 
 
Io6 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. 
 
 The Chinese take fewer holidays than any 
 nation under heaven. They have many festivals 
 in the course of the year, but these are not gen- 
 eral holidays; they are days of rest or change 
 only to a few. In fact, none of the festivals ex- 
 cept that of the New Year can be described as 
 solemn, notable, or even particularly interesting. 
 
 It is needless to say that they do not observe 
 the Sabbath. In ancient times there is no doubt 
 that the custom prevailed. The national alma- 
 nac, which is found in every home, marks every 
 seventh day as "hidden" or honorable. Curi- 
 ously enough, it falls on the Christian Sabbath, 
 so that the worshippers in our mission churches 
 have only to look for the "bit-jit" to know that 
 it is the day of rest and worship. Many persons 
 have marvelled that so active and laborious a 
 people as are the mass of the Chinese can manage 
 to exist without stated periods of rest. But a 
 more accurate observer cannot fail to note that, 
 though they are capable of such great physical 
 energy, they are equally capable of enjoying pro- 
 
THE CIIINKSE NEW YEAR. lOj 
 
 longed periods of leisure. The farmer nominally 
 works from dawn to dusk, but he pauses twenty 
 times a day for a few moments' whiff at his pipe. 
 The boatman is considered a hard-working mor- 
 tal, but he has his leisure days, when the weather 
 keeps his fares indoors. The chair-bearer lives 
 the most painfully toilsome life, but he rests most 
 religiously for fifteen minutes in every hour. 
 There is no class of the people, however continu- 
 ous may seem to be their labors, but manage by 
 some means or other to secure their full share of 
 idle hours. We should err indeed if we suggest- 
 ed, or seemed to suggest, that the seventh day is 
 not needed as a day of bodily rest; but at the same 
 time we have to remember that the first and chief 
 aim of the divine institution of the Sabbath is to 
 provide opportunity for the converse of man with 
 his God. The soul needs its Sabbath much more 
 than the body. The day is more strictly kept by 
 communion with God than by shutting a shop. 
 It is possible to break a command in the spirit 
 even though it is kept in the letter. 
 
 The Chinese New Year generally falls in the 
 middle of February, or, more accurately, at the 
 time "when the new moon comes nearest to the 
 point in which the sun is in fifteen degrees of 
 Aquarius." As the day approaches a remarkable 
 change takes place in the appearance of the town. 
 
I08 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 The counters of the shops are piled up with new 
 dresses and with fancy articles in great variety. 
 Second-hand goods also make their appearance 
 in considerable quantities. These are to be had 
 very cheap, for this is the season when all who 
 can do so are busy paying their debts, and clothing 
 and furniture and everything that can be disposed 
 of is on sale to get the requisite funds. Business 
 is very active. The provision-shops are piled 
 with rich stores of the comestibles dear to the pal- 
 ate of the Celestial. Furniture-dealers, carpen- 
 ters, and painters are having a good time. Re- 
 spectable but poverty-stricken literary men are 
 busily engaged in writing mottoes on red paper 
 to affix to the doors of shops and private houses. 
 New lanterns are hung over every door where 
 the old ones are grown shabby. The pawnbro- 
 kers, pyrotechnists, incense-makers, and priests 
 are full of work. One thing in particular is 
 pleasant to see. All seem to have taken a pledge 
 against their normal dirty habits and to be stri- 
 ving earnestly for reform. As much water is 
 used in the week before New Year's day as in 
 several months before. The streets are deluged 
 with the filthy stream that is being swept off the 
 floors of the shops. On every hand the year-long 
 accumulation of mud is being scraped away. 
 The whole empire seems to be recovering its 
 
THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. 109 
 
 senses in the matter of cleanliness, in preparation 
 for the time when it will lose them again in idle- 
 ness and revelry. The courts of justice and all 
 public offices close ten days before the old year 
 ends, and do not reopen for thirty days, the portly 
 mandarins giving themselves up to recreation and 
 dissipation for a whole month. 
 
 On the first day of the first month the people 
 of the Chinese Empire become in the aggregate 
 some three or four hundred millions of years older 
 than they were the day before. This exhausting 
 remark will need a little explanation. 
 
 The Chinese do not reckon their age from the 
 day of birth, but from New Year's day. It is on 
 this account sometimes difficult to find out the 
 true age of young children. Here is a tiny sha- 
 ven-headed bundle of humanity, scarcely able to 
 stand alone for a moment, and you are gravely 
 assured that he is three years old ! If you have 
 left the sacred rules of propriety at home, you 
 venture mildly and politely to cast just a faint 
 shadow of doubt upon the statement; or if you do 
 not discredit the parent's assertion, but are still 
 unacquainted with the mode of reckoning, you 
 probably condole with its parents on the slight 
 degree of progress he has made towards maturity. 
 Should a child arrive in this world at five minutes 
 to twelve on New Year's eve, the fond father will 
 
no ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 proudly assure you next morning that the new 
 arrival is two years old, and never so much as 
 think that what he says is untrue ! Seeing that 
 clocks are very scarce articles except along the 
 coast, and that even where a clock is found time 
 is a very elastic and variable quantity, one won- 
 ders how such matters are determined in certain 
 cases. Perhaps the parents give the child the 
 benefit of the doubt in their eagerness to add 
 years to his life. The Chinese do not conceal 
 their age as English men and English women do, 
 nor do they ever try to represent themselves as 
 younger than they are. There is a much stronger 
 tendency to add to the stated number of their 
 years than to diminish it. On being introduced 
 to a new acquaintance, the first question is, " What 
 is your distinguished surname?" and the second 
 is, "What is your honorable age?" You reply 
 to one as readily as to the other. Age is so much 
 respected that it is considered a distinction to be 
 advancing in years. There are eight or ten dif- 
 ferent names which correspond to "Sir" or 
 "Mr.," according to the appearance of age or 
 real age to which a man has attained, and the 
 same for women. Besides, it is a matter of greater 
 congratulation as years go by that one has been 
 spared to add another year to the term of life. 
 We may note that there are several similarities 
 
THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. Ill 
 
 between the customs of the Hebrews and of the 
 Chinese in their New Year ceremonies. Feast- 
 ing, leisure, congratulations, visits of ceremony, 
 interchange of gifts, special acts of worship — all 
 afford points of correspondence. So does the cus- 
 tom of writing and pasting up mottoes and prayers 
 and good wishes. " Thou shalt write them upon 
 the posts of thy house and on thy gates" (Dent. 
 6:9), is fulfilled very literally by the Chinese. 
 Not less so is this custom of reckoning periods of 
 time from the New Year. All the reckonings of 
 dates by the Hebrews were from the beginning of 
 the year. In China all calculations are made on 
 this principle. The length of the reign of the 
 emperor, the term of official service, the engage- 
 ment of servants, the period of residence in a 
 locality — all are dated from the New^ Year. How- 
 ever brief may be the portion of time that belongs 
 to the old or new year, it is reckoned as a full 
 year. 
 
 Now is the time for settling accounts with 
 gods and men. All running bills must be paid 
 up. Bankruptcy becomes very common, because 
 firms cannot by any means meet their liabilities 
 in time. It is considered disgraceful not to have 
 fully arranged one's affairs by the close of the old 
 year. Ordinary methods of meeting their engage- 
 ments failing to set them clear, they betake them- 
 
 7 
 
 Kiver ami Koad in Cliina. ' 
 
112 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 selves to the plan of borrowing of Peter to pay 
 Paul. It is a splendid plan for the pawnbrokers, 
 money-lenders, and bankers. The old account is 
 closed with the new creditor on the first day of 
 the first month. One natural result of the en- 
 deavor to clear off" all old scores at a fixed time is 
 that theft is extremely common during the twelfth 
 month. The festive season is always heralded by 
 reports on every hand of pilfering and burglary. 
 Travelling by land and by water is avoided as 
 much as possible because of banditti in the hills 
 and pirates on the river. Native friends will 
 often seriously remonstrate with the missionary 
 for venturing "up country" as the year nears its 
 close; and whether he meets with mishap or not, 
 he must be content to pay double fees to boatmen 
 and chair-bearers who fear, or affect to fear, the 
 dangers against which they warn him. 
 
 At this season the Chinese endeavor to make 
 all comfortable with the gods. Those who have 
 any consciousness of sin (there are not many), or 
 those who have a vague dread lest they will be 
 overtaken by calamity for their misdeeds, seek to 
 propitiate the gods by doing their worship in the 
 gross at the end of the year. Having neglected 
 the gods for nearly twelve months, they become 
 eager to propitiate them. Priests are engaged to 
 pray for the pardon of sins and to preside at the 
 
THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. II3 
 
 offering of sacrifices. Prayers are written out on 
 red paper and pasted on the doors of houses. 
 
 On New Year's morning the civil and mili- 
 tary mandarins do homage before the shrine of 
 the reigning emperor. Where there is, as in Can- 
 ton, a temple dedicated to the emperor, the offi- 
 cials, high and low, proceed in state, attended by 
 bands of music and multitudes of underlings, and 
 prostrate themselves before the temple which con- 
 tains the imperial tablet. 
 
 He must be a sorrowful or an eccentric China- 
 man who would retire to rest on New Year's eve 
 without waiting for the midnight display of fire- 
 works. At that hour such feu de joie of crackers 
 breaks upon the ear as would satisfy the most ar- 
 dent supporter of the noisy and sulphurous rites 
 that we ourselves are accustomed to observe on 
 one day in every year. The reader, when we 
 write of crackers, must not picture to himself 
 those tiny, twisted articles purchasable at a small 
 stationer's shop for a penny. A Chinese cracker 
 is a much more formidable and demonstrative, 
 though incomparably cheaper article. It is a tube 
 an inch long and half an inch in diameter, made 
 of stout pasteboard and covered with red paper. 
 A handful of such crackers is arranged along a 
 string. To be fired the bunch is suspended from 
 a short pole. A hundred such crackers would be 
 
114 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN: 
 
 a very moderate number to let off at a time. It 
 is not unfrequently the case that the string bears 
 materials for a running fusillade of a thousand ex- 
 plosions. The object of the use of crackers is said 
 to be to frighten away evil spirits. If it alarmed 
 the spirits at all one would rather be inclined to 
 believe that not the evil but the good spirits 
 would be driven off by such an outrageous noise. 
 There is no doubt whatever that very few China- 
 men think of evil spirits when they fire crackers. 
 They are a nation of grown-up children and take 
 the simple delight of children in the clamorous 
 and fiery demonstration. But all consider it un- 
 lucky not to fire the biggest possible salvo at the 
 change of year. So large a quantity is used that 
 the farmers come into town to sweep up the refuse 
 paper for manure. 
 
 The women folks have been busy for weeks in 
 preparing the various edibles that are to be dis- 
 posed of during the series of festival meals. The 
 most common of all is a cake made of ground rice, 
 spread upon a flat surface to dry. These cakes 
 and other kinds of food are now piled upon dishes 
 and trays, awaiting the proper hour for the begin- 
 ning of the feast. 
 
 In respectable households, where the proprie- 
 ties are honored, the former half of the night is 
 spent in preparation for the usual sacred ceremo- 
 
THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. I15 
 
 nies, and the latter half in the performance of 
 them. The shrine of the family idols is decorated 
 with vases containing the fragrant gourd called 
 the "Hand of Buddha " and flowers of hyacinth 
 and narcissus. The bulbs have been placed in 
 dishes filled with water and small stones, and 
 timed to be in full bloom precisely at the New 
 Year. Artificial flowers, wonderfully like real 
 ones, and small, quaint-looking shrubs are placed 
 in suitable positions. The air is heavy with the 
 fragrance of incense made of sandal-wood. Then, 
 from midnight to dawn, various solemn services 
 are performed, of which the following is the brief- 
 est possible summary : 
 
 First of all is the sacrifice to "Heaven and 
 Earth" at about three a. m. A table is spread 
 in front of the three- walled "guest-room" or hall, 
 in a spot open to the sky. A bucket of rice, ten 
 bowls of vegetables, ten cups of tea, two large red 
 candles, three sticks of incense, ten pairs of chop- 
 sticks, and a copy of the almanac for the current 
 year are placed upon the table. Mock money, 
 representing gold and silver coinage, is burned as 
 an offering. The head of the family kneels in 
 front of the table, holding in his right hand three 
 sticks of incense. Knocking his head three times 
 on the floor, he expresses his thanks to " Heaven 
 and Earth" for past favors and entreats a contin- 
 
Il6 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 nance of them. Towards daybreak the sacrifice 
 is ofTered to the idols of the house. On the table 
 are rice, vegetables, fruit, tea, wine, candles, and 
 incense as before, but in smaller quantities. The 
 same ceremony is then performed before the tab- 
 lets of deceased ancestors. 
 
 But the fourth and last of these heathen matins 
 is the most curious of all, viz. , prostration of the 
 junior members of the family before their survi- 
 ving parents and grandparents. The elders sit in 
 turn to receive the devotion of their offspring. If 
 both grandparents or both parents are alive they 
 sit side by side, while the young or younger peo- 
 ple prostrate themselves at their feet three times 
 and congratulate them on having survived to the 
 beginning of another year. Whether this should 
 be called the "worship" of elders or not is a point 
 open to discussion. But no sacrifice of food or 
 money is used in it, nor are candles or incense- 
 sticks lighted. It only happens that the same 
 word, pai^ is used in speaking of the reverence 
 given to parents and of the worship of the gods. 
 Uncles and aunts stand to receive the congratula- 
 tions of the young. 
 
 In Amoy the custom of "surrounding the fur- 
 nace" takes place at about this point in the pro- 
 ceedings. A charcoal fire is lighted in an earthen 
 pan and placed under the table. The various 
 
THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. II7 
 
 members of the family then sit around it and take 
 a slight refreshment. It is said that there is a be- 
 lief that such a ceremony protects the house from 
 fire for the coming year; but it is open to question 
 whether the practice does not rather signify the 
 union of the household around one common 
 hearth. 
 
 New Year's morning is the only really quiet 
 time in a Chinese street in the whole year. The 
 merrymakers have not yet got up. Everything 
 seems changed about the town. The most famil- 
 iar streets wear an unfamiliar aspect. We are 
 struck by their width. The stalls and counters 
 have been taken indoors, making the street so 
 many feet wider. All the shops are closed; no 
 goods are being carried ; dogs, pigs, and chickens 
 are safely housed inside with their owners. The 
 stone road has a crimson carpet, formed by the 
 remnants of myriads of exploded crackers; crim- 
 son cloth hangs in festoons along the street, and 
 crimson sheets of paper with the word "Hok" 
 (happiness) written upon them give their benedic- 
 tion to the passer-by. 
 
 Mingled with this blaze of crimson are quieter 
 colors. The shutters of almost every shop are 
 decorated with numberless strips of perforated 
 yellow paper, offerings of gratitude from thank- 
 ful merchants to the spirits which have prospered 
 
Il8 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 them through another 3'ear. Here and there we 
 see a strip of bhie paper, which, with the pathetic 
 eloquence of silence, declares that death has vis- 
 ited this home during the past year and that the 
 new year is not all gladness to them. Such 
 mourners remain at home to-day instead of going 
 out to make formal calls. 
 
 Those, however, who are detained at home by 
 no such sorrowful causes begin to leave their 
 homes by about ten o'clock in the forenoon, and 
 from twelve till three or four the streets are gay. 
 All are decked out in their most gorgeous apparel. 
 These beautiful dresses have in many cases been 
 deposited for a whole year in the lofty, fortress- 
 like pawn-shop, and were only taken out a day 
 or two ago. When the festive season is over back 
 will 2:0 the dresses for another twelvemonth, or 
 until the next social or domestic feast ; for the 
 pawn-shop is a great institution in China — bank, 
 money-lending establishment, depository, pan- 
 technicon — and is certainly the only place in a 
 Chinese town where moth and rust do not cor- 
 rupt and where thieves have no hope of breaking 
 through to steal. 
 
 To-day a man can scarcely recognize his own 
 servants, they are so splendidly arrayed. Even 
 your coolie who sweeps the house, washes the 
 floor, and attends to your garden, for a considera- 
 
Tin- CriINESH NEW YEAR. II9 
 
 tion of twelve shillings and sixi^ence a month, 
 feeding himself and family on that ^Dittance, may 
 be seen clothed in purple and fine linen just for 
 this one day of the year. Pompous gentlemen 
 are strolling along, waddling like ducks either 
 through weight of flesh or sense of glory ; or they 
 are riding in sedan-chairs, with an air of impor- 
 tance, carrying in their hands red visiting-cards 
 seven inches long, as they go to present their good 
 wishes to kinsmen and acquaintance. Friends of 
 equal rank meeting thus in the streets this morn- 
 ing bow profoundly to one another and shake 
 their own closed hands, after the fashion of the 
 land, in courteous salutation. Persons of lower 
 social rank, meeting a superior, pause in their 
 walk for a second or so as he passes ; or if the 
 great man is very great, the humble individual 
 will fall on one knee for a moment. 
 
 The ceremonial to be observed in making a 
 formal call is laid down with the utmost exact- 
 ness in the " Book of Rites," one of the classical 
 works most reverenced of all in China. It is a 
 work which has had its beneficial use in giving a 
 staidness and courtesy to Chinese manners which 
 it is impossible not to admire ; though, on the 
 other hand, it gradually took the place of what 
 ought to be more real and less formal, the genial- 
 ity and charity that are distinctive of all true 
 
I20 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 Christianity. The "Book of Rites" is to the 
 Chinaman a sacred text-book of good manners. 
 It teaches him what to do and what to avoid. 
 " He does not know the proprieties," is the most 
 stinging rebuke that can issue from Chinese lips. 
 Reviling and abuse are mild compared with the 
 rebuff, "You are a not-know-the-Rites-man." 
 The ancient teachers saw that the natures of men 
 were very diverse, and sought to harmonize them 
 and reduce them to order and similarity by laying 
 stress on the outward forms which are prescribed 
 by the "Book of Rites." In the present day these 
 customs are diligently guarded and expounded by 
 a special Government office, the Li-Pu^ or Board 
 of Ceremonial. Such customs give a very agree- 
 able veneer and polish to the outward manners ot 
 the people; but those who know the people best 
 feel the most painfully that the elegant ceremo- 
 nies cover up laxity of moral life as complete and 
 terrible as that of the Pharisaic impostors whom 
 He who "knew what was in man" described as 
 " whited sepulchres." 
 
 It is an interesting sight, however, to see the 
 Chinese gentry calling on one another. The vis- 
 iting-card for the New Year has generally a pic- 
 ture in outline stamped upon the red paper, rep- 
 resenting emblematically the three things most 
 desired by a Chinaman. These are offspring, 
 
THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. 121 
 
 official employment, and longevity — the Sam- 
 Iiok^ or Three Happinesses, as they are commonly 
 called. Offspring is betokened by the figure of a 
 child; official position by the person of a manda- 
 rin at the extreme of obesity; and long life by an 
 aged man attended by a stork, the emblem in 
 China of length of days. On entering a house 
 every person within sight and hearing shouts 
 Kiong-hi (congratulations). A great amount of 
 time and energy is expended by the host in the 
 apparently vain endeavor to persuade the visitor 
 to sit in the seat of honor. He protests, " I dare 
 not, I dare not," meaning that it would be pre- 
 sumption on his part to occupy so distinguished 
 a place. Suffering himself at length to be per- 
 suaded, tea or extract of ginseng is ready to be 
 presented ; perhaps also a pipe of tobacco is in- 
 dulged in. After a short time spent in the very 
 sublimation of small and formal talk he takes his 
 departure to "bestow the illumination of his dis- 
 tinguished countenance" on some other fortu- 
 nate acquaintance. As he quits the house the 
 visitor exclaims to the host, "Pray be seated," 
 i. e., "Don't honor me by walking to the door;" 
 and the host says to his guest, "Walk slowly," 
 or, in other words, "Don't break my heart by 
 leaving me so suddenly." 
 
 The New Year is the time for the exchange of 
 
122 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 presents between friends. Tradesmen send snb- 
 stantial gifts to their customers. Parties who 
 have fallen out may venture to renew overtures 
 of regard by trying the effect of a formal inter- 
 change of courtesies in the form of a roll of new 
 cloth or a goose or a pile of pastry. The most 
 common gifts at this season are rare fruits, sweet- 
 meats, fine tea, silk stuffs, or ornaments of vari- 
 ous kinds. The receiver is also expected to re- 
 turn a present. In each case a red slip of paper 
 is sent with the article, on which is written a list 
 of the gifts with the name of the sender and some 
 flowery compliment. To decline to receive these 
 presents is regarded as a serious affront; but the 
 receiver may, if he choose, return a part, sending 
 with the portion returned a note in which are the 
 words, "We dare not presume to accept such 
 precious gifts." 
 
 Now is the harvesting season of jugglers, acro- 
 bats, and play-actors. These gentlemen are in 
 full work and make money freely. At no other 
 time can they get a group of spectators so com- 
 pletely at leisure or so flush of coin. The per- 
 formance which we call a "Punch and Judy 
 show" is also much appreciated by an admiring 
 public. Little open spaces where several streets 
 meeting have formed a square, the broader area 
 among private houses, the pleasant spot around a 
 
THE CHINESE NEW YEAR. 1 25 
 
 banyan-tree, or the open hillside where the holi- 
 day-makers are strolling-, are occupied by the 
 quick-fingered, lithe-limbed, and screaming pro- 
 fessionals. 
 
 But what strikes us most of all, perhaps, at 
 this festive season is that a large proportion of 
 the populace seem to have given themselves up 
 to gambling. At every few steps we come upon 
 a group of eager men bending over a small table 
 playing with the dice. Sometimes it is thrown on 
 the flat table and sometimes into a rice -bowl. 
 Close by a wheel of fortune is revolving, and cash 
 is freely changing hands. Through many open 
 doors we see the inmates of the houses indulging 
 in the same pastime. It is true that gambling is 
 not permitted by the law of the land, but the 
 magistrates are in the same festive state of mind 
 as the vulgar sort, and wink at all improprieties 
 of this kind which they see at the New Year. 
 Are not the magistrates' yamens closed for a 
 whole month? And are mandarins not mortal, 
 that they should not be allowed to disport them- 
 selves like meaner men ? The people may do as 
 they please, provided they do not disturb the offi- 
 cial mind; and men and children of all ages re- 
 gard this season of idleness as the time when they 
 may give' themselves up uninterruptedly to this 
 exciting and demoralizing sport. 
 
126 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 Very little work is done for a whole week. 
 Those whose purses are well lined continue to 
 feast and to enjoy their leisure for as much as a 
 fortnight and more ; and the richer classes eat 
 and sleep, sleep and eat, as though they would 
 have little chance of doing either during the com- 
 ing eleven months. All classes in Amoy are said 
 to have a superstitious dread of spending money 
 for three days, except for odds and ends, such as 
 candles, incense, sweetmeats, and peanuts. An 
 artisan or farm laborer expects to receive twice or 
 thrice as much as usual for a day's work. Fail- 
 ure would follow any attempt on the part of an 
 employer to compel his men to work. They 
 would quietly leave him and come back when 
 they chose. Englishmen and others in China, 
 holding this great national celebration in con- 
 tempt, have sometimes endeavored to ignore it 
 and to keep open their business premises as usual, 
 but China declares that she will not work for at 
 least a week, and the foreigner must of necessity 
 take a holiday also. By the end of a week one 
 shop here and another there begin to transact 
 business in a sleepy, leisurely fashion, and after 
 the space of yet another week the streets have re- 
 sumed almost entirely their wonted appearance of 
 toil and bustle. 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 127 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE HABITS AND MANNERS OF JOHN CHINA- 
 MAN. 
 
 There is nothing more difficult for any one, 
 of whatever nationality he be, than to form a fair, 
 impartial, and liberal estimate of the characteris- 
 tics and character of a foreign people. Perhaps 
 that tendency on the part of the Briton which the 
 Frenchman delights to call "insular" makes such 
 a charitable judgment more difficult to us than to 
 the representatives of some nations whose habits 
 are more cosmopolitan than ours. National pre- 
 judice is one of the most exacting of sentiments : 
 it makes demands upon strangers which are alto- 
 gether unreasonable. It is also most deluding : 
 it prevents our seeing the real virtues of those 
 whose national habits differ from our own. 
 
 John Bull has recently adopted Bret Harte's 
 ballad on Ah Sin of San Francisco as his opinion 
 of the Chinaman. 
 
 " For ways that are dark 
 And tricks that are vain, 
 The heathen Chinee is peculiar." 
 
 A capital jest is quoted as a sufficient summary 
 of the moral qualities of one-third of the human 
 
128 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN KUII-KIEN. 
 
 race. Forgetful of the fact, if it ever occurred 
 to him, that merchants in China have to do al- 
 most entirely with a class of men who enter the 
 service of the foreigner for no other reason than 
 to make as much as possible out of him, they ac- 
 cept the testimony of men who cannot speak Chi- 
 nese and who never once sat at table with a Chi- 
 naman except on some special and festive occa- 
 sion. Seamen are still less able to give a just 
 opinion on the subject, since only the riff-raff of 
 the population of a port come about a vessel, and 
 the points of connection between the shipping 
 and the shore are often of the lowest kind. Who 
 would like to have Englishmen judged by the 
 hobblers of the quays and the '"longshoremen" 
 of Liverpool, Newcastle, or London? Farthest of 
 all from the facts is a judgment founded upon con- 
 tact with Chinese immigrants in California, Aus- 
 tralia, or the Straits Settlements, seeing that the 
 larger proportion of such men are the very poor 
 and uneducated, and no small number have es- 
 caped from the penalties of the law or have thrown 
 off their family obligations. 
 
 Two things we venture to affirm: first, that 
 the mass of the people will be appreciated the 
 more highly the better they are known ; and sec- 
 ondly, that the higher the personal character of 
 the critic, whether missionary or layman, the 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 129 
 
 more favorable is his estimate. There are men 
 of exacting and jaundiced temperament in every 
 class who are never pleased and always suspi- 
 cious. But almost without exception, as far as 
 our observation has gone, the merchants and oth- 
 ers residing in China who live consistent religious 
 lives are admirers of the Chinese, and the mis- 
 sionaries who are doing their work with the best 
 temper and success are the men who hold the na- 
 tives in the highest esteem, finding not only much 
 to admire, but even much to love. Only two or 
 three missionaries have we ever known who did 
 not hold the Chinese in general respect ; and in 
 the writer's humble judgment it would have been 
 best for the mission cause for those brethren to 
 retire from the field. 
 
 My first experience with the Chinese trader 
 taught me a severe lesson for which I have often 
 been very thankful. On reaching my station I 
 was early assured by an acquaintance that the 
 Chinese were a nation of liars, that every shop- 
 keeper was a swindler by a law of nature, and 
 that there was no exception to the rule. A day 
 or two after I sent to ask a tradesman to submit 
 certain specimens of his art to my inspection. He 
 brought them wrapped up in a large blue hand- 
 kerchief. I was surprised at the long price, and 
 jumped to the conclusion that this was one of 
 
 Elver anil Koad in China. ft 
 
130 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 those universal swindlers who had a lower price 
 for the initiated. I ventured to suggest that the 
 charge was exorbitant. We discussed the matter 
 for a few moments, and when he saw I was firm 
 the goods were hastily heaped into the blue hand- 
 kerchief and the merchant was on his way home 
 before I could realize that I was snubbed. It was 
 a small matter, but it made me very careful and 
 observant, and led to my forming a higher esti- 
 mate of the truthfulness and integrity of those 
 with whom I was more immediately associated. 
 The man who is deceived and robbed has gener- 
 ally laid himself open to it. A hard master makes 
 unreliable and pilfering servants. Bad temper in 
 an employer lowers the character of the employes. 
 Niggardliness excites them to reprisals, and lav- 
 ish expenditure presents temptations which only 
 a man of the highest moral tone is able to resist. 
 
 Let us see what can be said in favor of the 
 much-abused Chinaman, while at the same time 
 accusing him as much as may be found necessary 
 for his faults. 
 
 I. His filial piety is so well known that a very 
 few words about it will suffice. From the time 
 that a child can walk he is trained in reverence 
 for his parents. The "Book of Rites" teaches 
 that he must bow to his parents when he enters 
 the room, and must rise to his feet when they 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 13I 
 
 come in. He respectfully addresses his mother 
 as "venerable mother," and his father as "ven- 
 erable father" or "great mandarin." Very ex- 
 act attention is paid to parental rights and claims. 
 No doubt there are plenty of disobedient sons and 
 daughters, but there are comparatively few who 
 would venture to treat their parents badly. Very 
 rarely does one hear of the crime of wilful neglect 
 of aged parents by their children. The whole 
 neighborhood would be shocked by such a state 
 of things. The son who would dare to do so 
 would be practically outlawed. 
 
 The filial sentiment is woven into the very 
 constitution of the nation, in its social and impe- 
 rial, as well as its domestic, relations. Obedience 
 and respect are claimed by the superior social 
 class from those below it. While there are no 
 other people in the world so absolutely democratic 
 in their social and domestic habits, there are none 
 more autocratic in their belief in "superiors." 
 In theory regard paid to superiors is to be the re- 
 sult of "filial piety." The rulers are, in common 
 parlance, the " father- mother" of the people. 
 Through the various grades from the family as 
 the unit to the elders of a ward, the inferior man- 
 darins, the mayors, the district and prefectural 
 rulers, the viceroys, the ministers of state, and 
 the emperor, each class is expected to give filial 
 
132 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 obedience with a willing mind. Even when the 
 grinding extortions of unjust magistrates drive 
 them to the use of a cruel phrase instead of " fa- 
 ther-mother," and they groan or hiss the term 
 '* lion-tiger" with flashing eyes and a significant 
 nod of the head, they seem still to regard the offi- 
 cials with some feeling of respectful awe. This sen- 
 timent of filial piety is ingrained in their nature, 
 imbibed with their mothers' milk, and transmitted 
 from generation to generation. There seems no 
 reason to doubt that it is chiefly this beautiful and 
 wise sentiment which has held the nation together 
 these four thousand years. 
 
 2. It must also be said for the Chinaman that 
 he is a most moderate and peaceable man. Although 
 no country has endured more rebellions and revo- 
 lutions, it is still true that he does not care for 
 fighting, and is willing to give all men their due. 
 Now and then local disturbances take place that 
 seem directly to contradict this. Feuds between 
 different clans, quarrels about graves and idols, 
 wild superstitions that goad a neighborhood to 
 madness, sometimes cause a temporary outbreak. 
 
 Several years ago, in a village near Amoy, 
 rival idols were being carried in procession. The 
 paths converged to a point a little way out of the 
 village. The persons forming the processions 
 caught sight of one another and ran towards the 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 133 
 
 junction of the paths to see which could get the 
 precedence. They came into collision, indulged 
 in a little fighting, and began a quarrel which 
 lasted fourteen months. Thirty-two villages be- 
 came involved. A tax was levied upon them by 
 the elders of the villages for the purchase of fire- 
 arms and ammunition. Sentries were placed at 
 the top of square towers to shoot at any of the 
 hostile party that might venture into the fields. 
 The seeds could not be sown. The standing crops 
 could not be reaped. Two small cannon were 
 bought in Amoy, and with these they amused 
 themselves occasionally in battering a wall or a 
 roof. Great damage was done. The whole neigh- 
 borhood was reduced to distress. Where were the 
 mandarins? Calmly waiting till some one was 
 killed. When that event occurred, and was mul- 
 tiplied by twenty-two, the district mandarin be- 
 came indignant, sent three thousand troops to 
 take possession, levied blackmail on all the vil- 
 lages involved, and retreated with the spoil.* 
 
 * It will interest the Christian reader to know that the London 
 Mission has a station in the village in which the outbreak took 
 place. The small church suffered severely from the hands of per- 
 secutors. They altogether declined to make contributions towards 
 the purchase of materials of war. " No," they said ; " if you elders 
 will levy a tax for mending the roads or for relieving widows and 
 orphans, we will give twice and thrice as much as any one else, 
 but we will not give money to do mischief to our neighbors." 
 Three times in the fourteen months the day was appointed for 
 
134 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 Such serious disturbances as these are sadly 
 common, and the cruelties perpetrated are some- 
 times of the most barbarous nature. And yet it 
 is no less true that the Chinaman loves peace and 
 quietness and is singularly gentle. He shrinks 
 from beginning a quarrel of his own, and stands 
 in terrible fear of being mixed up in those of his 
 neighbors. The "Three Happinesses" are long 
 life, wealth, and a family of sons. If he is 
 allowed to earn his living quietly and to bring up 
 a family who in their turn will provide for him, 
 he is perfectly content. The average Chinaman 
 is remarkably temperate in his habits and opin- 
 ions. Centuries and millenniums of very fair 
 ethical instruction, especially in the duty of so- 
 briety in act and word (the favorite exhortation of 
 Confucius and his followers), have done as much 
 for the Chinese as could be expected. Geniality, 
 good temper, sociability, affectionateness, and 
 hospitality are characteristic of the mass of the 
 people. One is constantly struck with the free- 
 dom from constraint among them. A merrier, 
 more jovial, and more contented people do not 
 exist under heaven. They talk as though they 
 had no secrets. They relate to a stranger in their 
 
 their assassination, but they did not run away, and on only two 
 Sundays did they fail to meet for worship. They were robbed of 
 furniture and field produce, but stood firm in the faith. 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 135 
 
 loudest key their private and public experiences. 
 Whatever wrongs oppression by bad rulers has 
 driven them to do, or whatever ugly tricks the 
 struggle for existence or their vain superstitions 
 lead them sometimes to play, deep down in the 
 nature of the Chinaman is the desire to be at 
 peace with all — "to live and let live." It is this 
 peaceable and moderate temperament that has 
 prevented their being a warlike nation and that 
 makes life and property as secure for the most 
 part in China as in England. They need only 
 tlie purer doctrine of Christ to raise the national 
 character to the highest standard. 
 
 3. Nor must we omit to notice their habitual 
 courtesy and politeness. We do not ignore the fact 
 that the moral value of courtesy is a difficult thing 
 to estimate. In some nations and some individu- 
 als it is one of the most delusive of the virtues. 
 There may be politeness on the lip and something 
 very different in the mind. But while we are 
 prepared to take off a large discount for pretended 
 courtesy, the Chinese must still be credited with 
 a language as polite as the best and with more of 
 the spirit of politeness than most other nationali- 
 ties. Sometimes, indeed, the desire to please is 
 carried to an extreme, and the unaccustomed for- 
 eigner would like to say, "Cut it short," to the 
 elaborate ritual of good manners. Times without 
 
136 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 number we have been made uncomfortable by 
 what seemed the excess of trouble our friends 
 were taking to insure our comfort. We have 
 been grieved at the expense to which they have 
 put themselves in preparing feasts of fat things. 
 In vain have we besought them not to accomj)any 
 us for long distances on the road. They seemed 
 to think that all our consideration for them only 
 made it more incumbent upon them to show that 
 they also knew "the proprieties." Even the 
 poorest classes pay much regard to the amenities 
 of social intercourse. 
 
 After a lengthened residence in China there is 
 nothing that strikes an Englishman more on his 
 return to England than the brusqueness of his 
 own countrymen. We are so accustomed at home 
 to what the Chinaman would call ignorance of 
 the proprieties, and we so consistently ignore 
 these same proprieties ourselves, that we cannot 
 appreciate the difference between Chinese and 
 English manners unless we have been to the 
 East. The selfish disregard of the convenience 
 of others, shown especially by young men and 
 women in our streets, in trains and tramcars, is 
 behavior practically unknown in China. Polite 
 request or apology seldom fails to be expressed at 
 the proper moment by the Chinaman. 
 
 It is well known that the Chinese commonly 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OK CHINAMEN. 1 37 
 
 call Europeans "barbarians." Too much may 
 be made of this unpleasant custom of theirs. It 
 needs to be explained that there is no satisfactory 
 comprehensive term in the language for ' ' for- 
 eigner." On the lips of the Chinaman it often 
 means uo more than the same term in ancient 
 Greek. "Barbarian" meant no more to the 
 Greeks than a degree of culture less than Greek. 
 Even the common expletive, "foreign devil," so 
 often heard in Chinese streets may be misunder- 
 stood and its violence exaggerated. To many it 
 means no more than ' ' foreign " or " outlandish ' ' 
 does with us. Even the Christians, when speak- 
 ing of their missionary pastors, often allude to 
 foreigners by names which, if literally translated, 
 would sound anything but polite. "Red-haired 
 men" for Englishmen, and "Little barbarian- 
 men" for any foreigner, are among the mildest 
 of these words which some good missionaries 
 think offensive. To avoid equivocal and disre- 
 spectful terms, missionaries have invented the 
 term "outside-country-men," which is in very 
 common use among those with whom they come 
 chiefly into contact. 
 
 We Englishmen are blissfully ignorant of the 
 fact that we are an astonishment to a nation like 
 the Chinese, and are indignant that they should 
 venture to speak disrespectfully of us. But it has 
 
133 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 to be remembered that we are apt to imagine that 
 no one else has such a claim to imiversal consid- 
 eration as ourselves. Our countrymen in China 
 do not mean to be rude, nor have they any idea 
 that they are so, and yet they often are objects of 
 perplexity, contempt, and even disgust to the 
 Chinaman. One or two foreigners at a port may 
 dishonor the name of the foreigner. A few here 
 and there have been known to act as if China 
 were governed from Downing Street instead of 
 from Peking. They lord it over every native, 
 are careless of their morals, indignant if the au- 
 thorities or the populace object to their v/ander- 
 ing everywhere and shooting game at will, furi- 
 ous if they may not buy what the Chinaman does 
 not wish to sell, and speak and act as though the 
 Chinaman were not very much the superior of 
 themselves in manners, if not in morals. They 
 forget that they are in the minority by some three 
 hundred millions, and that when they are finding 
 fault with him for his national peculiarities, he is 
 simply not fettered or misguided like themselves 
 by the prejudices born of centuries of insular con- 
 ceit and the developments of a civilization from 
 which simplicity has almost fled. It is not always 
 remarkable that the Chinese should think foreign- 
 ers lacking in culture. 
 
 As for themselves, they can never be fairly 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 139 
 
 judged except by those who know their language, 
 have lived among them, and have for Christ's 
 sake endured without a visible shudder many a 
 painful shock to the nerves; but missionaries, 
 who have the best opportunities of knowing them 
 intimately, almost unanimously testify to the cour- 
 tesy with which they are treated by the people. 
 Speaking generally, no foreigner is treated other- 
 wise than politely in China, unless he forgets that 
 even among semi-civilized heathens it is his duty 
 to act as a gentleman. 
 
 4. We must say a word of praise of their out- 
 ward morality. What their real moral state is we 
 may venture presently to describe. But they cer- 
 tainly deserve credit for the propriety that marks 
 their outward life. It is only too probable that 
 most, if not all, large Chinese towns have their 
 dens of debauchery. But crime does not shame- 
 lessly walk the streets and assert itself with such 
 effrontery as in the towns of this Christian land 
 of ours. Only where the congregating of Euro- 
 peans has resulted in a grosser degree of depravity 
 do the outward evidences of immoral conduct 
 force themselves upon one's notice. To what- 
 ever depths of license many of them may be ad- 
 dicted, it can at least be said that they do not 
 make an open show of their vices. 
 
 Few Christians realize as they should the effect 
 
140 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 produced upon the minds of intelligent heathen 
 visitors to our shores by what they are obliged to 
 witness in our large towns. In their innocence 
 the kindly supporters of missions think that it 
 must do the ' ' poor heathen ' ' so much good to 
 come to England and see how much better we are 
 than they. Would that it were possible for them 
 to be so impressed ! But these same ' ' poor heath- 
 en" are too often shocked by what they see and 
 hear. The misery of the poor, the foulness of the 
 slums, the number of murders recorded in our 
 newspapers, the blazoning of licentiousness upon 
 our streets, the prodigious figures of the " national 
 drink bill," and the number of drunkards — these 
 things startle and amaze the heathen who come 
 to England believing it to be an example for the 
 world ! The attaches of the Chinese Embassy 
 have expressed themselves on these points as 
 strongly as their politeness will allow. A well- 
 known missionary and scholar asked Ambassador 
 Kwoh what he thought of England. He replied, 
 " It is a fine country and your people are very 
 ingenious, but their immorality is very lamenta- 
 ble; it is a pity they have not become possessed 
 of right principles; vice is very common in many 
 forms; I cannot admire the low standard of pro- 
 priety and goodness which characterizes your 
 great country." That is the opinion formed of us 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 141 
 
 by a man we call a heathen ! In continning the 
 conversation the learned missionary was obliged 
 to confess that he had seen more drunken men in 
 walking from a railway station in a certain north- 
 ern city to the steamer quay than drunken China- 
 men during thirty years' residence in China. 
 
 But we need not bring a railing accusation 
 against ourselves, for that does not improve the 
 Chinese. It is well, however, to realize that 
 though great numbers of heathens are debased, 
 multitudes of them have a strong moral sense, 
 and that we are not nationally in all things an 
 example for them to copy. We may be too san- 
 guine in hoping that the residence of Chinese 
 among us would tend to spread the truths of 
 Christianity. In some directions their public 
 morality stands in advance of our own. While 
 we take as flattering a view of ourselves as possi- 
 ble, they scorn us for the difference between our 
 profession and our practice. While we are thank- 
 ing God for our Christianity and trying to spread 
 it, they imagine that we cannot possibly have 
 been educated in ' ' right principles. ' ' They come 
 soberly to the conclusion that the ethics of Confu- 
 cius have more power to deter men from crime 
 than the ethics of Christianity. We may object 
 as much as we please to their conclusion, as we 
 know they are most sadly mistaken; but all we 
 
142 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 are speaking of at present is the impression made 
 by our outward practices upon the mind of an in- 
 telligent heathen. The facts which come under 
 his notice, and which we all grant arise from the 
 lack of Christianity, are put down by a sober and 
 learned heathen as ih.Q.fatilt of Christianity. 
 
 The ethical standard of the Confucian school 
 is certainly high, considering that it is untouched 
 by Jewish or Christian influence. Such senten- 
 ces as the following abound in the writings of 
 Mencius, the chief follower of Confucius: "All 
 men originally have compassionate hearts ; all 
 men have hearts that are ashamed of vice; all 
 have hearts disposed to show reverence and re- 
 spect; and all have hearts that discriminate be- 
 tween right and wrong. A compassionate heart 
 implies benevolence; one ashamed of vice, recti- 
 tude; one which respects and reveres, a sense of 
 propriety; and one that clearly distinguishes right 
 from wrong, wisdom. Now the principles of be- 
 nevolence, rectitude, propriety, and wisdom are 
 not infused into us from without; we certainly 
 possess them of ourselves." The endeavor of the 
 sages was to induce men to live up to the con- 
 science of right and wrong which is written in 
 human nature. Though the spiritual element is 
 almost entirely absent from their teaching, they 
 have lifted the people as far as mere morality can 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 143 
 
 do. We do not mean to assert that the generality 
 of the Chinese make a direct effort to live up to 
 the standard of original goodness stated in the 
 above passage by Mencius; but only that mission- 
 aries and others who know them intimately are 
 often impressed with the benevolence, rectitude, 
 propriety, and wisdom (in the sense in which the 
 sage used the words) which distinguish them. 
 Politically, they are not aggressive, and have no 
 wish to annex their neighbors' territory. Commer- 
 cially, the class of native merchants with whom 
 our countrymen have to do are famous for their 
 integrity, even "their enemies being judges." 
 Socially, whatever vice or crime individuals are 
 guilty of is at least treated as a shame and cov- 
 ered up from public inspection. 
 
 After saying so much in their favor it is hard 
 to turn round and seem to disprove all we have 
 said. Yet it is most lamentably true that, while 
 they have so many private and public virtues, 
 Paul's description in Romans i of the depravity 
 of the heathen world applies to a vast mass of the 
 people of China. Side by side with their best 
 traits of character are found habits which are 
 gross and sensual and practices which reveal a 
 sorry lack of cultured moral sense. 
 
 The average Chinaman has, for instance, no 
 idea of the beauty of truthfulness in the Christian 
 
144 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 or any other sense. The case is not as bad as 
 some writers declare, who assert that no China- 
 man speaks the truth. But they have not the 
 same conscience about it as we have. To lie is 
 with them a sort of Spartan virtue. Parents feel 
 somewhat pleased at the dexterity with which a 
 child of theirs can lie. They regard it as a touch 
 of genius, a hopeful sign that their son will make 
 his way in the world. A lie is no more than a 
 piece of wit, and the more daring the more ad- 
 mirable. Even when, through affection or self- 
 interest, they speak the truth they do not seem to 
 feel that they have done what is commendable, 
 but merely that they have not done what they 
 have been inclined to. 
 
 In making a bargain this terrible infirmity 
 comes out most visibly. Both parties brace them- 
 selves for the occasion to bandy to and fro the 
 most glaring falsehoods. Suppose the buyer 
 wishes for a basket of a value of two dollars. He 
 goes into the shop and makes one or two indiffer- 
 ent remarks, and then suggests that baskets are 
 very dear. The salesman mildly finds fault with 
 the assertion, and takes down a basket which he 
 says is worth four dollars. The buyer reckons 
 that it must, therefore, be worth only two, and 
 accordingly says, "But I should say it was dear 
 at one dollar." "How can you presume to say 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. I45 
 
 that, when I gave three dollars and ninety cents 
 for it myself, and only charge you a profit of ten 
 cents for my trouble in keeping it?" A dispute 
 follows at great length ; the salesman declares 
 he is being ruined, that he is losing several dol- 
 lars, and so on. After much disputing they agree 
 on two dollars, which probably allows the basket- 
 seller a profit of half a dollar, and they part good 
 friends, having each of them told at least fifty 
 barefaced lies, known to be such by both. 
 
 It would, of course, be a wonder if the heathen 
 were truthful. Truthfulness is a virtue that some 
 Christians find it hard to cultivate. Not merely 
 the direct teaching of the gospel is needed to teach 
 a better way, but also the indirect influence of a 
 wiser social and commercial economy. One is 
 glad to be able to add one's own experience of the 
 native brethren. Notwithstanding that the old 
 infirmity causes them sometimes to stumble, they 
 do make conscience of this matter and are very 
 reliable. 
 
 The ingenuity of the Chinamen in deception 
 comes out strangely in his pilfering habits. As 
 we said of their lying, where affection or self-in- 
 terest constrain them they are all that could be 
 wished. The same is true of their honesty. Val- 
 uables may safely be intrusted with a man who 
 has sufficient reason to be honest; but all is fair 
 
 Kiver and Roiul in Cliiuo. J) 
 
146 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 gain that can be safely gotten is the loose princi- 
 ple of "childlike and bland" John Chinaman. 
 Robbery becomes a high art with certain classes, 
 especially as the New Year approaches. Several 
 years ago, while the Supreme Court of Hong-Kong 
 was in session, a man entered the court with a lad- 
 der, which he proceeded to place upon a bench 
 near the judge. The judge and counsel were an- 
 noyed at the ill-timed procedure and asked what 
 he wanted. He said he had been sent to fetch 
 the clock to be cleaned. In a rash moment the 
 judge said that, seeing he was already upon the 
 ladder, he might as well take the clock there and 
 then, instead of coming back for it at a more con- 
 venient season; and so he did, but that clock was 
 never heard of more ! We have known a house- 
 top to be stripped of its lead by persons who said 
 they had been sent tt) repair it. One almost feels 
 as though they had earned it by their daring. 
 
 In regard to ill-gotten gains the most striking 
 feature is commission on purchases and sales. 
 The Chinese are a nation of commission agents. 
 A man would get a percentage out of his own mo- 
 ther for buying something for her. The foreign 
 residents in China always take this custom into 
 their reckoning. They cannot alter it, and they 
 accept the inevitable. If you are hiring a cook, 
 the wages may be stated at seven dollars a month, 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 147 
 
 the man to provide for himself. You do not say 
 to him, "What commission are you going to take 
 on what you buy in the market?" You make no 
 reference to the matter, nor does he; and yet you 
 know perfectly well that he will get out of you a 
 commission of at least ten per cent, on even the 
 smallest purchases. He will buy them at one 
 rate and will hand you the bill at a higher figure. 
 So fully is this recognized that your servant will 
 walk down a street in which a particular kind of 
 goods is sold, calling out, "How much discount?" 
 The shopkeepers say, "Eight, ten, fifteen, twen- 
 ty," as they think well. The man then buys in 
 the cheapest market and charges you the full 
 price, pocketing the difference. The Christians 
 do this as well as the heathen. It is a national 
 custom and is looked upon simply as a legitimate 
 perquisite. 
 
 The judicial corruption of the ruling classes is 
 another phase of Chinese manners. It is a ques- 
 tion on which much uncertainty must of necessity 
 exist. All we can know is the broad fact that the 
 verdicts of the courts are all but openly bought 
 and sold. Now and again one hears of a just 
 magistrate, and such a man is all but worshipped 
 by the people. He does justly, however, at the 
 expense of his own comforts. The stipends of 
 ofiicials are so low that a mandarin is miserably 
 
148 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 poor if he does not resort to questionable practices. 
 Even of Li Hung Chang, the most enlightened 
 Chinese statesman of the age, it was said that 
 while he was mayor of Tientsin his stipend was 
 only $100, but he was known to be spending not 
 less than $50,000 a year. There is no reason to 
 doubt the statement often made that men be- 
 take themselves to university examinations and 
 public life in order to sweep into their own pock- 
 ets whatever they can seize. Bribery and cor- 
 rugation are all but universal among officials. The 
 man with the largest purse is sure of the verdict. 
 The rich man is squeezed and the poor man is 
 "eaten up." No wonder the generality of the 
 people call these fatherly officials the "lion-tigers 
 of the land." 
 
 But the saddest point of view from which to 
 study the manners of the Celestial is the question 
 of his sexual morality. We said above that the 
 outward propriety of the nation is very remark- 
 able and praiseworthy. But below all this veneer 
 of good manners there is often a state of corrup- 
 tion that is too terrible to think of. If the lan- 
 guage is the fullest of all in polite expressions 
 there surely is not another as abundant in unclean 
 and vulgar terms. Care has to be exercised in 
 speaking Chinese to avoid using offensive lan- 
 guage by mistake. Their songs, their jests, their 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. I49 
 
 conversation, their stage-plays, are most unclean. 
 The plays are so thoroughly bad that, though 
 they are held in the open air, members of Chris- 
 tian churches would be disciplined if it were 
 known that they had attended them. In the lan- 
 guage of vituperation they exceed themselves in 
 uncleanness. The children grow up amid the 
 corrupt and degraded conversation and behavior 
 and early learn the vices of their elders. The 
 women are about as bad as the men. 
 
 There we touch perhaps the secret of the 
 whole mischief. It may be that in the degraded 
 position of women in China lies the root of the 
 evil. Feeling themselves to be mere goods and 
 chattels and believing that they have not souls 
 like the men, they know little or nothing of the 
 dignity of pure womanhood. Sunk in ignorance 
 and shut up to the narrow sphere of their own 
 female circle, they are removed from the elevating 
 influences which would fit them in their turn to 
 use the power for blessing that God has put in 
 the hands of good women. Not only are they 
 untaught, but they are not allowed to associate 
 with their husbands' friends. When a visitor 
 calls to see the husband, the wife and daughters 
 generally hide themselves until he is gone. The 
 wife never sits at table with her husband. The 
 rice is brought in steaming hot for the men and 
 
150 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIKN. 
 
 boys, and when they have done the women-folks 
 can take their meah Not even the Christians de- 
 flect from that rule. The pleasant, civilizing, and 
 hallowing influences of the society of the gentler 
 sex are treated as valueless. No man may dare 
 to ask after the wife of another. Propriety for- 
 bids that any reference wdiatever should be made 
 to her. Even between intimate friends some 
 round-about phrase must be used instead of the 
 word "wife." The term in most common use 
 for wife, "the house-back," that is, "the person 
 at the back of the house," or the still more sug- 
 gestive term used in the north of China, "the 
 broom and dustpan," is only too natural an ex- 
 pression of their opinion of the female sex. The 
 Chinaman addresses his wife as " Er-r-r," indef- 
 initely prolonged — a syllable capable of accurately 
 suggesting a variety of conditions of mind — and 
 she speaks to and of him as "great mandarin." 
 The state of the female sex is not as bad in China 
 as in some other Oriental countries. They have 
 a good deal more freedom, especially the wives 
 and daughters of working people. They also ex- 
 ercise a good deal of authority in the house, not- 
 withstanding that the rules of social life have 
 placed them so low in the scale. It might even 
 be said that China is a thoroughly "hen-pecked" 
 country. But though the women are not as badly 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 151 
 
 off as in India or Turkey, their state is sad enough 
 to make the hearts of their Western sisters bleed 
 for them. Every one who has any acquaintance 
 with the home-life of China must long for the 
 time when the women will take their true posi- 
 tion and be, not the servants, but the helpmeets 
 and companions, of men. 
 
 Yet we confess to having a great admiration 
 for the Chinese people, notwithstanding all their 
 faults. We are weary of hearing them defamed, 
 ridiculed, and underrated by persons who have 
 gathered their information from the idle tattle of 
 sailors who have looked at crowds of dirty coolies 
 at the ports of China, or have conversed with 
 merchants and others who never knew a sentence 
 of Chinese and never entered a town or villasfe if 
 they could help it, or, what is worse, have been 
 misled by statements of the Irish "hoodlums" 
 and American "politicians and carpet-baggers" 
 of San Francisco. Over against every vice with 
 which we can charge the Chinaman we can bring 
 a counter-charge against large masses of our own 
 countrymen. Thank God, we do not lie so much, 
 nor do w^e smoke opium nor treat our women 
 badly; but we have among us a hundred thousand 
 known drunkards, besides all the secret tipplers; 
 and if there are degraded worshippers of idols in 
 China there are millions of more desrraded wor- 
 
152 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 shippers of nothing in England We do not 
 make these remarks with a view of shielding the 
 Chinaman from the accusation of godlessness, but 
 only to suggest that we must be charitable and 
 just. It is true we may not lower our moral stan- 
 dard in any degree, nor does all we say in their 
 behalf lessen in the least the necessity of evan- 
 gelistic effort; but we must make a measure of 
 allowance for the heathen, and in looking at their 
 vices not forget their virtues. These kinder judg- 
 ments rather encourage than discourage mission- 
 ary effort. The openness of the Chinese mind to 
 moral considerations and to common sense and 
 practical lines of thought and action makes it 
 likely that they will receive the truths of the gos- 
 pel very readily. Their reverence for learning 
 and virtue, their geniality and intelligence, all 
 tend in one direction. They hasten that consum- 
 mation which all Christians are praying for and 
 anticipating. 
 
 It should be understood that our words of 
 praise of the character of the Chinaman refer al- 
 most entirely to the middle and lower classes. 
 Foreigners in China have very little opportunity 
 of becoming intimately acquainted with the ruling 
 and "literary" classes. As far as they exhibit 
 themselves in their opinions and conduct they 
 seem to be as conceited, perverse, conservative, 
 
HABITS AND MANNERS OF CHINAMEN. 1 53 
 
 and impracticable a generation as could be found 
 anywhere in the world. They openly declare that 
 "they are the people, and that wisdom will die 
 with them." But the men that are met day by 
 day on the roads, in the inns and fields, the agri- 
 cultural and poorer class of business men, can 
 justly make a certain claim upon our respect and 
 esteem, and not infrequently our affection. The 
 intense fondness of parents for their children, the 
 devotion of children to their parents, their ready 
 and genuine sorrow over the misfortunes of others, 
 their neighborliness, their anxiety to oblige, their 
 simple and unsophisticated modes of thinking in 
 many respects, endear them not a little to those 
 who really know them. 
 
154 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 
 
 We left Amoy at nine A. m. in the "gospel 
 boat" — a heavy craft designed to weather stormy 
 times upon the broad bays and rivers upon which 
 we have to travel. She is thirty feet long, ten 
 feet in the beam, and draws about two feet of 
 water. There is a house, half upon deck and half 
 under, with two bunks for as many missionaries, 
 in which narrow compass we stretch out our little 
 travelling mattress. At the stern a portion of the 
 deck is movable, and lifting this as a trap-door 
 one looks into a dark den, into which six or eight 
 Chinese boatmen let themselves down to sleep. 
 How they contrive to spend ten minutes there 
 without being suffocated is their affair and not 
 mine, since they are perfectly contented with their 
 quarters. 
 
 For three hours there was only a gentle wind, 
 but at twelve o'clock a stiff breeze sprang up, and 
 we reached our anchorage at two. On the way 
 there were the usual sights, so surprising to a 
 new-comer, but so stale to those who see them 
 
DIARY OF A MIGSIONARY JOURNEY. 155 
 
 constantly. Men were seen by scores apparently 
 walking on the water, but in reality standing on 
 a few thick pieces of bamboo. On these are fas- 
 tened rowlocks eighteen inches high, and by 
 means of small oars these sea-walkers proj^el 
 themselves in the direction of their nets. Others 
 were sitting on these bamboo life-preservers coolly 
 fishing with a dozen lines, each of which has a 
 large number of hooks. 
 
 We anchored a quarter of a mile from shore 
 and were fetched from our boat by a rickety punt. 
 Crossing a potato-field soon after landing, I saw 
 the largest snake I had yet met with out of a 
 menagerie. It was about eight feet long and 
 thicker than my wrist, with small head and taper- 
 ing tail. I must have almost trodden upon it, for 
 it bounded away from my feet with a motion like 
 that of a horse galloping. 
 
 The village of Tung-a-be (end of the little 
 pond) consists of only about fifty mud houses. 
 There is a large population in numerous villages 
 around. The chapel is in a quiet spot and towers 
 above the one-story huts close by. It is painted 
 all the colors of the rainbow in approved Chinese 
 fashion, while on the front of the pulpit, desk, or 
 cupboard is the national device of two golden 
 dragons threatening to do something dreadful to 
 one another. The women's seats are behind the 
 
156 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 pulpit, and a screen of wood and bamboo extends 
 from the pulpit to the wall on the other side, com- 
 pletely concealing the women, who have an en- 
 trance-door to themselves. There is a gallery 
 p3.ved with red tiles, upon which are built the 
 rooms occupied by the preacher in charge and the 
 missionary upon his visits, and there is an empty 
 space used for prayer-meetings. 
 
 The preacher, a young man much given to 
 chanting the Scriptures as he reads them, seems 
 to be developing a talent for hymn-writing. He 
 has turned the 65th and 95th Psalms into Chinese 
 very well indeed. I gave him last night the 
 translation of the 1178th hymn in the Congrega- 
 tional Hymn-book, " Let me be with Thee where 
 Thou art," and pointed out the antithetic form of 
 the verses. His version makes the rhymes and 
 accent occur on the fifth and tenth syllables of 
 each line, making the hymn to be eight lines 
 fives. We have set it to the tune given on p. 
 221, which I heard played some time ago at 
 Chioh-be by a band of two violins, one banjo, and 
 one flageolet. 
 
 The preacher and I went to a neighboring vil- 
 lage this afternoon to hire a sedan-chair for Mon- 
 day morning, but without success. We had sev- 
 eral opportunities of talking about Christ to the 
 people. Not such preaching as friends at home 
 

 
 11 W{ ' fi 
 
 TrSC-v-BB CHiPEL. 
 
 "^ 
 
 '^"^-A, 
 
 '"oa-Ihau-ciiliiS 
 
 I 
 
 Tahg-oa 
 
 
 Map of the Country 
 
 between 
 
 FOOCHOW AND AMOY. 
 
 :l^ 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 159 
 
 are accustomed to think of when they read or 
 hear of a missionary talking to the heathen. 
 
 Missionary preaching in the open air is a very 
 simple affair. You will be near the mark if you 
 imagine the messenger of the gospel in a straw 
 hat and a pea-jacket sitting on a broken wall 
 (there is always a broken wall handy in a village) 
 or on a doorstep or on a form at the front of an 
 eating-house, conversing freely with a score of 
 Chinamen, all of whom perhaps bear some mark 
 of their occupation, while a number of boys in 
 very scanty clothing thrust themselves to the front 
 and a few women linger at a distance, just beyond 
 the range of hearing. 
 
 On the way back we called upon one of the 
 church members. The men were out, but as 
 there were only one very old woman and some 
 little children at home we went in to give her a 
 kind word. The whole stock of the laree house 
 would be priced at only a few shillings. The 
 broken-down state of the place, the dirt and litter, 
 are almost beyond description. Spinning-wheels, 
 pots, kettles, ploughs, big jars, children, flour- 
 mills, pigs, straw, ducks, chickens, benches, 
 chairs, were all mixed up in one confused mass; 
 while the open court within the circuit of rooms 
 was a sort of cesspool twenty feet square and eight 
 inches deep, filled with black effervescing cor- 
 
l6o ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 ruption. How the poor live is a question that 
 puzzles philanthropists at home, but how the 
 Chinaman manages to survive the fetid smells 
 that meet his olfactories at every turn in town 
 and village is a question that the traveller asks 
 himself each hour of the day. Five families live 
 in this one shed or series of sheds. The old lady 
 was very kind, insisted on brewing tea, and thrust 
 into the preacher's handkerchief some horrid 
 cakes, which she went out to buy. 
 
 After one or two interesting conversations on 
 religious matters we got home. I had my tea in 
 a queer little study-parlor-dining-bed-room and 
 then went down to spend an hour or two with the 
 evening worshippers, who were inaugurating the 
 service by taking their rice together amid a babel 
 of discussion. 
 
 Probably the reader would like to be told what 
 are a missionary bishop's duties on a Sunday in a 
 place such as Tung-a-be. We held a prayer- 
 meeting at 9:30, and morning service began at 
 10:30, the congregation being composed largely 
 of Christians coming in from long distances and 
 numbering about sixty in all. I conducted the 
 devotions and expounded a chapter. Wishing to 
 hear my young friend, the lay pastor, preach, I 
 gave him last evening the text, "God is love," 
 and we talked it over this morning. He repro- 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. l6l 
 
 duced all I suggested with remarkable accuracy; 
 but it was a very dull aud lifeless discourse; he 
 simply carried out my instructions. I followed 
 with a short talk on the same theme. Then dea- 
 cons' meeting, in the course of which we called 
 in one of the congregation who has been attend- 
 ing for nine years without seeking baptism. At 
 2:30 afternoon service, beginning with the public 
 catechising of eight candidates for baptism, after 
 which I preached on "That which is highly es- 
 teemed among men is abomination in the sight 
 of God," turning the subject towards the sacra- 
 ments and the Lord's Supper in particular. The 
 communion followed, thirty-nine church members 
 partaking of it. We then, in "church meeting," 
 arranged some matters of public business in which 
 all the members were interested. The worship- 
 pers from a distance started for home between 
 four and five o'clock amid many hearty cries of 
 "My brothers, peace, peace be with you!" The 
 "dark assembly," as the evening service is called, 
 was a little sociable gathering round a loug table 
 after the rice was cleared away. 
 
 Perhaps this is the place to tell what baggage 
 we carry when on a journey like this. At one 
 end of my porter's pole hangs a big white sack, 
 oil painted, to make it waterproof. In this is a 
 mattress, less than an inch thick, and clothing. 
 
l62 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 To save space no pillow, but pillow-cases, which 
 can be stufifed with clothes. The bag also con- 
 tains a small stock of tracts and Gospels. At the 
 other end of the pole is the provision store, a bas- 
 ket in three stories. Being out for so long a trip, 
 there is considerable variety of perishables, and a 
 most cosmopolitan assortment it is. Tinned beef 
 and jam from California, biscuits from England, 
 butter from Denmark, milk from Switzerland, 
 sardines from France, guava-jelly from India, pre- 
 served ginger from Canton, condiments from one- 
 does n't-know- where, and lucifer matches from 
 Norway. One of the first things to be learned as 
 missionary-traveller is what kind of food is to be 
 had in any particular locality. The only articles 
 to be relied upon are chickens, eggs, rice, and 
 fruit, and only the last two are to be had every- 
 where. One lives chiefly on these, with an occa- 
 sional variation gathered from the basket, and 
 served with wdiat skill he possesses by Master 
 Mercy, the cook. 
 
 Silence has now fallen on the chapel premises. 
 The last of the preacher's friends has gone his 
 way and the door is barred. If you want to learn 
 what solitude is, come to China and travel inland. 
 Wait till the bustle of the day is over and you are 
 left to your own reflections. If the mosquitoes are 
 agreeable you will then have leisure for thought. 
 
JIA.STBE MEECY, TEE COOK. 
 
 
 -'//r^i/Z/iii'- 
 
 -^ 
 
 CHINESE PRIS0NES3 TVEAFING THE CANGUB. 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 165 
 
 We left Tung-a-be at half-past five a. m. , walk- 
 ing through the fields four miles to the nearest 
 town. Passing on, at eight o'clock we rested in 
 a ruined temple in a very busy market-place 
 overshadowed by magnificent banyan-trees. As 
 we discussed breakfast in sight of the crowds of 
 interested and noisy spectators I kept up a run- 
 ning dispute for an hour as to the hire of a chair. 
 All declared they were too much engaged to carry 
 my "honorable body," it being peanut harvest 
 and every one busy in the fields. When at last I 
 had settled with two men to carry me till evening 
 for four hundred cash each (eighteen pence of our 
 money), they came and begged for two hundred 
 cash in advance to buy rice on the road. As this 
 is customary, the money w^as advanced, but when 
 the rascals had carried me a hundred yards they 
 sold me to two poor opium-smokers for three hun- 
 dred cash each and disappeared with the two hun- 
 dred that had been advanced. During the day 
 we passed through some good scenery and reached 
 this collection of miserable huts between five and 
 six in the evening. For a consideration of four- 
 pence half penny we persuaded the keeper of the 
 handsome Mandarin's Hotel, outside the village 
 of Go-leng (" Five Dragons"), to let us occupy it 
 for the night. So here we are, missionary, ser- 
 vant, porter, and chair-bearers; and we have iust 
 
 10 
 
l66 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 been singing hymns and reading Acts 17 beneath 
 the noses of the idols. The house and courts 
 cover about a quarter of an acre, but are innocent 
 of everything in the way of furniture, except bed- 
 boards, two tables, four chairs, and an altar with 
 large idols. 
 
 It was a cold, dark, and drizzling morning 
 when we left Five Dragons at five o'clock, and 
 we trudged on in silence for some hours over the 
 granite hills until we reached Chinchew, a city of 
 400,000 inhabitants. There were many things 
 worth noting on the road, such as a massive stone 
 bridge as long as London Bridge; the great gate- 
 ways of stone, twenty-five feet thick; a causeway 
 two miles in length across paddy fields, the stones 
 being ten feet long, two wide, and fifteen inches 
 thick, five of them making the breadth of the 
 road; the great structures over the inner gates of 
 the city, looking like Brobdignagian bird-cages. 
 At half-past nine we began to cross the suburbs, 
 and forty minutes' walk through the crowded 
 streets and under elegant memorial arches brought 
 us to the door of the English Presbyterian Mis- 
 sion Chapel. Here we rested half an hour and 
 breakfasted. Passing on, still on foot, in half an 
 hour we reached the other side of the city and 
 hired a chair to continue the journey. The roads 
 were thronged with country people bringing goods 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 167 
 
 into the city. There are no wheeled vehicles 
 made in the south of China; the porterage has, 
 therefore, to be done by stalwart human limbs; 
 and splendid beasts of burden do these chattering 
 Celestials make. 
 
 Five hours brought us to the seaside once 
 more, and to the w^estern end of what Dr. Med- 
 hurst speaks of as "the longest bridge in the 
 world." It may be that at the time he wrote he 
 was almost right. It took us just ten minutes to 
 get over it. * Half way across we found the faith- 
 ful preacher, now an ordained pastor, of Lo-iu 
 ("Descending-to-the-Sea") chapel. He had been 
 waiting for us an hour and a half. You will 
 think he had calculated the time of our arrival 
 pretty accurately, seeing that we left Amoy four 
 days ago. The chapel is a strange shape. Ima- 
 gine a shed with concrete walls, standing about 
 forty feet square, but with a room partitioned off 
 at each corner, so that the space for the congrega- 
 tion is shaped like a cross, and you will then, if 
 you can add the dinginess, see what Lo-iu chapel 
 is like. The crowd to see me was immense. Only 
 missionaries come this way, and they at very long 
 intervals. Many in the crowd, on account of my 
 beard probably, saluted me respectfully as "For- 
 eign emperor." 
 
 * At the close of this chapter is a description of the bridge. 
 
l68 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 Several Christian brethren had come from the 
 districts farther north to meet me. We sat for 
 three hours talking over the affairs of the church- 
 es, while the chapel was thronged by an eager 
 crowd and the windows were blocked with heads. 
 A Chinese crowd like this delights to reproduce 
 whatever the foreigner says or does. If he is eat- 
 ing they will lift up their hands in the same way. 
 They pass the word from the foreground to the 
 rear, "The foreigner is eating, the foreigner is 
 writing, the foreigner laughs, the foreigner says 
 so and so." Evening worship and more talk 
 brought the day to a close. 
 
 The mosquitoes here are fearful creatures. I 
 feel as though I had never seen mosquitoes before. 
 They have black and white rings round the body 
 and are twice as large as any of their cousins I 
 have previously met. They positively will not 
 take "no" for ah answer. Whenever I remarked 
 on their pressing attentions some dear brother 
 would reply pathetically, "Ah, at Lo-iu mosqui- 
 toes are dense and savage." They bite through 
 thick clothes and are so numerous that, now the 
 candles are lit and their manners and numbers 
 are at the worst, they look like smoke; and — alas, 
 it is too true ! — there are holes in the mosquito- 
 curtain round the bed-boards. 
 
 After a night in which rats as well as mosqui- 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 169 
 
 toes figured conspicuously I prepared to meet the 
 lyO-iu congregation. They, on their part, must 
 also have prepared to meet me, for they were at 
 chapel by nine o'clock, although some have many 
 miles to walk. After preaching, communion, and 
 catechising, I left in what we call an open chair, 
 that is, a rough basket on two poles. Two hours' 
 trot along the crowded Foochow high-road was 
 plain work to the bearers; but when we turned 
 oflf into the fields with the intention of coming to 
 Soa-tsui ("In-front-of-the-Hill"), they declined to 
 go any farther towards such outlandish places, and 
 we had to walk the remaining ten miles. For the 
 last six miles the way consisted of bare granite 
 hills with crevasses worn by the rains of ages at 
 every hundred yards or so. The road, therefore, 
 had to run so as to suit these deep gullies. It be- 
 came more difficult as we advanced. Soon it was 
 evident that we had missed our way. Night be- 
 gan to fall. The hill that had served as a beacon 
 had long disappeared behind the rugged piles of 
 granite among which we wandered. It was evi- 
 dent that every step had to be considered. We 
 sat down to rest for ten minutes, while one of our 
 company assured me that the spot where we sat 
 changes its form in a high wind and that a vil- 
 lage lies buried beneath the fine sand upon which 
 our feet rested. A quarter of a mile farther it be- 
 
170 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 came evident that we could not proceed without 
 danger, and we began to think of remaining where 
 we were for the night. The bark of dogs, how- 
 ever, suggested that human habitations must be 
 near at hand. Accordingly a native brother and 
 myself sat down on the sand in the dark, while 
 the third member of our company followed the 
 sound of the dogs. Before very long he returned 
 with a lantern and directions as to how to pro- 
 ceed. By the aid of this dim light we continued 
 our journey through rougher ways than any we 
 had yet crossed and soon were settled in the 
 comfortable little chapel belonging to our fellow- 
 Christians in Soa-tsui, whose inhabitants gener- 
 ally are politely called fishermen, but who might 
 be described by a less pleasant, though more ac- 
 curate, designation as pirates. 
 
 Mine host the preacher began to receive vis- 
 itors at 4:30 A. M., effectually cutting short my 
 night's rest. Going out in the early morning, 
 Soa-tsui was seen to consist of about fifty houses 
 near the sea, on a wild and barren coast. We 
 had service at nine o'clock, followed by the Lord's 
 Supper and a long discussion on the affairs of the 
 church. Having only ten miles to walk to-day, 
 we dined at Soa-tsui. The route (we cannot say 
 the road where there was no semblance of a path) 
 lay across another part of the wilderness we crossed 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 171 
 
 last night. Althougli it is October the heat of 
 the sun on the sand and rocks was very oppres- 
 sive. Fortunately for thirsty souls such as we, 
 eight or ten of the brethren were walking to their 
 homes in the direction in which we had to go, 
 and we rested a while in their village and drank 
 tea. 
 
 The chapel in the little walled city of Lam- 
 bang ("The Grave-facing-South") is a most 
 gloomy place, black and prison-like. It was once 
 a pawn-shop. The brotherhood of the three 
 golden balls in China build their houses in such 
 fashion that "thieves may not break through nor 
 steal. ' ' The windows of this house are mere slits, 
 and the thick bars which once guarded the vari- 
 ous store and treasure rooms have not yet been 
 removed. The whole place — floor, walls, and 
 ceilings — is literally as black as soot. Anything 
 more unlike a house of prayer one could scarcely 
 imagine. But the work in Lam-bang may be 
 described as "holding the fort." Some of the 
 noblest victories of the cross have been won in 
 darker dens than this, and worshippers as faithful 
 may meet to strengthen one another in God in an 
 ex-pawn-shop as in a cathedral which has been 
 centuries in building. The Holy One "dwells 
 not in temples made with hands," but in the hum- 
 ble and the contrite heart. At present Christ's 
 
172 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 gospel is spoken of in Lam-bang as foolishness, 
 and we take courage from the thought that the 
 weak and foolish things of the world confound 
 the things that are wise and mighty. 
 
 After service at Lam-bang and making ar- 
 rangements to have the dirty place cleaned and 
 whitewashed, five hours' walking brought us to 
 Ke-chhu ("Residence of families surnamed Ke"). 
 The way was all marshy and close to the sea. 
 Salt-making is here an important occupation. 
 The low land is covered with large pans of con- 
 crete, about fifteen feet square and two inches 
 deep. Sea water is poured in and allowed to 
 evaporate, after which the deposit of salt is swept 
 up. A rainy year must be disastrous to the trade, 
 for not any of the pans are covered over. The 
 salt is very bitter and coarse. The taste of it 
 produces much the same sensation as biting one's 
 tongue. 
 
 Passing through the village of Yap-chhu I was 
 astonished to see the words " Gospel Hall" on a 
 house we were approaching. It proved to be the 
 dwelling of Christians, used in former years as a 
 chapel. About thirty-five persons still meet there 
 for worship. All the premises were clean, light, 
 and airy. The brethren gave us a very kind re- 
 ception, and the villagers turned out en masse to 
 have a look at the stranger. My courteous host 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 1 73 
 
 gave me the use of an upper room in which to 
 dine, and I and my companions were feasted with 
 abundant rice and jiotatoes. 
 
 Ke-chhu chapel is very elegant, judged by 
 Chinese notions. It is the central hall or " guest- 
 room" of a good-sized house. The guest-room 
 of a Chinese dwelling has only three walls, the 
 whole of the front being open to the court. Here 
 the court is small, but there are trees and flowers 
 to ornament it, one of which is a lofty pumelo- 
 tree, that fruit of which the Amoy region may 
 dare to make its boast in face of the whole world. 
 
 Quite a crowd of young women came and 
 stood at the door watching me and my friends. 
 It is a fact worth noting, because generally the 
 Chinese women are so extremely shy (the rules of 
 society demand itj, and they can satisfy their cu- 
 riosity only by brief and surreptitious glances. 
 But this evening when we arrived quite a bevy of 
 pretty girls, with their arms about one another's 
 necks, crowded up to the door, laughing heartily 
 and chattering like starlings in a tree, joking 
 good-humoredly about everything we did. 
 
 The females on this side of Chinchew are very 
 different in their appearance and habits from their 
 sisters farther south. They dress more simply 
 and are much more active. In the Amoy region 
 all the women have bound feet with the excep- 
 
174 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 tion of the slave girls, so called, the domestic 
 drudges who stand in a relation very much like 
 compulsory servitude to their mistresses. The 
 practice of foot-binding leaves its mark upon the 
 constitution, the inactivity necessarily entailed on 
 the women resulting in a stunted frame, a sallow 
 complexion, and an irritable temper. The joy of 
 existence must be a thing utterly unknown to 
 the small-footed women. 
 
 In this Chinchew prefecture, however, great 
 numbers of the women go about with as much 
 freedom as the men. Their dress is cotton cloth 
 of a dark blue color, and fitting better to the 
 shape than Chinese garments generally do. The 
 trousers reach to a little above the ankles, around 
 the waist an apron is tied which falls to the knees, 
 the jacket fiits almost as close as a jersey, and round 
 the forehead, an inch or so above the e)-ebrows, 
 they wear a coronet of black satin, which gives a 
 pleasing appearance to the head. Very few of 
 them have their feet bound. They seem to be as 
 physically energetic as the other sex. On the 
 seashore the women fish with the nets, and in the 
 fields they are working with the hoe and the 
 plough. I asked some of them how it was their 
 feet were not bound, and they said, " It is not our 
 custom; for ten thousand generations the women 
 have gone about with their feet free." The fact 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 1 75 
 
 is that this custom of foot-binding, like every 
 other in China, is k)cal. The most contradictory 
 statements have been made by writers on China, 
 simply because they have not mentioned the 
 purely local character of the manners and cus- 
 toms they described. 
 
 What an excitement that young woman now 
 standing at the door would create if she walked 
 down Cheapside in that dress ! Her pretty feet 
 are bare; her trousers scarlet, with dark blue fig- 
 uring round the ankles; her gown sky blue, 
 worked round the border of the neck and sleeves 
 and lower edge with a white lace pattern; her 
 hair is parted in the middle, brushed down in 
 front, and at the back there is a wonderful ar- 
 rangement of hair over a wire frame, like two 
 half-opened fans, while projecting out of it over 
 the head is a large silver tuning-fork with made 
 flowers stuck in it. She has just been making 
 merry jests about my personal appearance; it seems 
 to me that there is room to retort with interest. 
 
 Service was at nine o'clock this morning at 
 Ke-chhu. The chapel was filled by a crowd who 
 came from a distance. Only two or three of this 
 Christian community live in the village. Here 
 as elsewhere it is commonly the case that few 
 converts are made in the immediate neighborhood 
 of a chapel. The Chinese version of our proverb, 
 
176 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 "The nearer the church the farther from God," 
 is, "Near the temple, forsake the spirit." Our 
 congregations are mostly gathered from long dis- 
 tances around the place of worship. 
 
 There is this that is notable in regard to the 
 composition of churches throughout the Amoy 
 district, and to a large extent throughout the 
 churches of China, that seven-tenths of the males 
 belong to the agricultural class. The reason is 
 not that the farmers are a more simple-minded 
 and unprejudiced race than shopkeepers, but that 
 they have not as serious a stumbling-block in 
 their way in regard to Sabbath observance. The 
 sanctity of the Sabbath is made a law of the 
 church, not only because there is sufficient war- 
 rant for it in the New Testament, but also because 
 Sabbath desecration is without exception coinci- 
 dent with laxity of religious principle and ear- 
 nestness. This is a very heavy cross for a shop- 
 keeper to take up. He says he cannot close his 
 shop; that if he should he would be ruined. The 
 farmer, on the other hand, does not find this rule 
 to be so difficult a one to observe. He has only 
 to work a little harder on other days of the week, 
 or perhaps one should rather say not take quite so 
 much leisure on other days of the week; he can 
 come with a quiet mind to the Sabbath services 
 and enjoy the rest his Creator designed he should 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY, 1 77 
 
 have and obtain the sj^iritual meat his soul so 
 greatly needs. 
 
 A "peaceful habitation" and a "quiet rest- 
 ing-place" is this little chapel at Ko-kwai. The 
 women folks, however, are rather badly treated. 
 In front of the room used for worship is a small 
 garden with trees in boxes. At the end of this is 
 a brick wall with spaces four inches square be- 
 tween the bricks. The female portion of the con- 
 gregation have to sit behind this wall, where they 
 can scarcely see or hear at all. 
 
 I slept in a "chamber on the wall " — perhaps 
 quite as good as that provided for the prophet 
 Elisha — at Ko-kwai ("Ancient Departmental 
 City"). It is about nine feet square; one half is 
 occupied by the boards of the bed. The floor is 
 made of pine-trees split in two, the rounded sides 
 being uppermost. Spaces between these admit 
 air nicely, though of course no such idea was in 
 the mind of the builders. There are three square 
 holes to let in light and air from the outer world. 
 Were it not for several varieties of vermin who 
 are occupying the lodging as well as I, it would 
 be quite a comfortable place to rest in at the end 
 of the week. 
 
 This is Saturday night. It has been a week 
 of much travelling, much preaching, much talk- 
 ing, and much anxious consideration of the affairs 
 
178 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 of the churches; but there are signs of spiritual 
 life in many of the members which are very cheer- 
 ing. The Christian church in these parts may 
 be likened to a cloud no bigger than a man's 
 hand; but the cloud is there, and we believe it 
 will grow until it covers all and breaks in showers 
 of blessing. 
 
 At seven o'clock this morning we left Ko-kwai 
 for the little village of Baw-pi. Three hours' 
 march brought us to the chapel, situated in a 
 valley closely shut in by hills reaching to a height 
 of two thousand feet. There was no time to spare. 
 The congregation had been assembled an hour or 
 two. We had service at once, settled a few mat- 
 ters of business in the church, and started for the 
 district city of Hui-an. This place is not only the 
 centre of the district governmentally and geo- 
 graphically, but is also in the centre of the group 
 of churches in these parts. It might be called the 
 cathedral city of the diocese of our friend Lim, 
 the pastor. In that sense, and I assure you in 
 that sense alone, does it deserve the name it 
 bears of "Grace and Peace." May the name 
 prove prophetic of the grace to be bestowed upon 
 it and of the peace to reign in it ! 
 
 Five months ago this chapel was destroyed by 
 the mob. Three thousand persons filled the space 
 in front. The pastor Lim, the preacher, and 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 1/9 
 
 several others escaped over the back wall, and 
 wandered in distant villages for several days before 
 ventnring to strike the road for Amoy. Every- 
 thing was completely destroyed ; even the tiles of 
 the floor were broken up. There seems no reason 
 to doubt that the riot was instigated by the man- 
 darins. At any rate the ringleaders belonged to 
 the Yamens and have received no punishment. 
 The British Vice-Consul came up to discuss the 
 matter with the authorities, who have levied a 
 tax on the town for repairs. At present the 
 chapel is only half finished. The floor has no 
 tiles, nor is the roof on. So we have had an airy 
 service. 
 
 These riotous Hui-an folks have done a curi- 
 ous thing, which shows that their objection to us 
 is largely superstitious and not merely dislike of 
 the foreigner. The neighbors complained of the 
 singing of Christian hymns. They said it upset 
 the idols and the evil spirits of the ward, which 
 is very likely indeed. When they found that the 
 chapel was really to be rebuilt, and that the sing- 
 ing misliked of demons was to continue, they held 
 a consultation as to what they could do to protect 
 the poor fiends from being disturbed. One of the 
 wiseacres — a Feng-shui doctor, I suppose — sug- 
 gested that a wall should be erected in front of the 
 chapel and that dragons and demons should b^ 
 
iSo ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 depicted thereon in a state of frenzy. Thereupon 
 they put themselves to the trouble and expense 
 of building a wall seven feet high and many yards 
 in length at a distance of perhaps twenty feet 
 away from the entrance to the chapel. The artist 
 has succeeded in painting some of the most rabid- 
 looking wild beasts I ever saw. There are also 
 demons, but I am no judge of those, as I presume 
 the artist is. But thanks to the superstition, the 
 deluded haters of the Christian faith have put up 
 a wall which gives a neat appearance to our chapel 
 entry and forms a broad and quiet courtyard, 
 much more pleasant than when exposed to the 
 piece of waste land in front. 
 
 The crowded congregation this afternoon was 
 representative of almost the whole diocese. There 
 were also a few friends from Amoy, and from 
 Changchow, a hundred and ten miles away. 
 
 So ends the week of visitation of these seven 
 churches. It has been laborious, but very stimu- 
 lating and encouraging. These isolated congre- 
 gations seem in a much more healthy condition 
 than those nearer to Amoy. The number of 
 baptized persons is upward of 200, and they are 
 contributing steadily and freely for the support of 
 the ministry, although extremely poor. If a for- 
 eign missionary could reside in Hui-an for. six 
 months of the year, going out alternate Sundays 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. l8l 
 
 to one of the other six churches, the work might 
 be very largely expanded. There is quite a Chris- 
 tian sentiment growing in the district. Three 
 congregations of professedly Christian Chinese, 
 numbering in all ii6 persons, are meeting every 
 Sunday for worship in their own neighborhoods 
 without being under the supervision of missiona- 
 ries or native preachers. "The harvest truly is 
 plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray ye 
 therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will 
 send forth laborers into his harvest." 
 
 THE GREAT BRIDGE OF LO-IU. 
 
 At the market-town of Loyang, or Lo-iu, 
 eighty miles northeast of Amoy, stands a bridge 
 which is one of the monuments of ancient art 
 and enterprise in China. It is built across an 
 estuary which at low tide is a mud flat covered 
 with oyster-beds. The river, at this point about 
 forty yards wide, runs rapidly near the centre of 
 the expanse of mud. When the tide is in the 
 whole is completely covered from shore to shore. 
 
 The bridge is a thousand yards long. I timed 
 myself to nine and a half minutes' quick walk- 
 ing in crossing it. One hundred and twenty 
 piers, which rise to nearly forty feet above high- 
 water mark, support the long masses of granite 
 which span the space between the shores. The 
 
 Blver ana lioiid in Chin 
 
 11 
 
l82 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 buttresses on the north side are very massive in 
 order to resist the pressure of the spring tor- 
 rents. After 800 years of wear the roadway is in 
 very good condition. Five blocks of stone, each 
 twenty feet and more in length and two feet in 
 breadth, form the road, which is therefore about 
 ten feet broad, though it varies somewhat. On 
 either side is a heavy balustrade or railing of 
 massive granite, held in position, not by cement, 
 but block fitting into block in sockets. 
 
 The story of its origin is substantially written 
 on a tablet at one end of the structure. Before 
 the bridge was built travellers and market people 
 were compelled to cross this estuary in the ferry- 
 boats, or they must needs make a long detour which 
 would be a good part of a day's journey. But 
 there are hills to the north at which they used to 
 look with grewsome awe, because sudden squalls 
 would come down upon the water in spring and 
 summer and many lives were lost by the upset- 
 ting of the boats. These squalls did not arise 
 like common breezes. They were caused by two 
 wicked fairies who lived up there among the hills 
 shaped like a tortoise and a snake, or at the bottom 
 of the river in the form of a boat or a man ! 
 
 And this was the way they carried on their 
 mischievous and wicked tricks. When they had 
 come down from the hills and had transformed 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 1 83 
 
 themselves into a man and boat, the boat and 
 man used to appear at the ferry to seek for fares. 
 There was no telling them from ordinary boats 
 and men ; so they took their passengers into mid- 
 stream, and then came the terrible ' ' squall of the 
 fairies;" the boat sank ; the man and boat became 
 a snake and a tortoise, and devoured the poor 
 people at their leisure. 
 
 Now it happened that about the year looo 
 A. D. a boat full of market-folk was nearing the 
 fatal spot where so many people had been carried 
 off by the fairies. The wind began to blow all 
 ways at once. The waves broke into the midst 
 of the passengers, who cried out that the tortoise 
 and the snake were upon them. Amid the lamen- 
 tations, however, a voice was heard distinctly 
 saying, "Chhah, the mandarin in the boat, must 
 build a bridge," No sooner were the words ut- 
 tered than the winds subsided and the boat reached 
 the shore in safety. 
 
 Great and grave was the discussion as to the 
 mysterious voice. There was clearly something 
 supernatural about it. "Who among us bears 
 the surname Chhah ?" No one replied, until at 
 length a woman timidly confessed that her hus- 
 band's surname was Chhah, and that she had mar- 
 ried him a few months before. With one consent 
 all declared that she would become the mother of 
 
184 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 a man whose work should be to build a bridge 
 over this dangerous creek, and so defeat the 
 wicked fairies. 
 
 Not long after this a son was born, whom she 
 named Siang, and she vowed that Chhah Siang 
 should obey "the heavenly command." He 
 proved to be an intelligent child. His mother 
 wrought upon his youthful imagination by con- 
 stantly describing what a fine thing it was to be a 
 mandarin and rule over large masses of people. 
 She gave him a good education which would fit 
 him for office. And as he grew into youth she 
 revealed to him the remarkable facts that had 
 heralded his birth. The boy was powerfully im- 
 pressed by the story she told of the voice from the 
 air. He resolved to spare no efforts to fulfil his 
 mission. 
 
 He had, however, to face a very grave diffi- 
 culty. There is an ancient law in China that 
 forbids any magistrate to hold office in the neigh- 
 borhood where he was born. What was to be 
 done? How could he overcome this formidable 
 barrier to his noble ambition? He had passed 
 his early examinations and was ready for office. 
 He determined now to proceed to Peking, to seek 
 employment in the imperial palace, and then to 
 wait his opportunity. He was about fifty years 
 of age and in daily attendance upon the emperor 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 185 
 
 when he matured his plans for carrying out his 
 life-long project. Knowing that the emperor was 
 intending to take a walk in the palace grounds, 
 Chhali Siang went down the grove an hour before, 
 and having previously chosen a tree with an ants' 
 nest at its foot, he wrote in large characters with 
 a brush and a pot of honey, " Chhah Siang, the 
 learned, be magistrate in your native prefectural 
 city." He then returned to the palace to accom- 
 j^any the emperor on his walk. 
 
 The party soon set out, and passing down the 
 grove the emperor caught sight of a mass of ants 
 marshalled in squadrons which shaped them on 
 the trunk of the tree into Chinese characters. In 
 breathless astonishment the emperor stood still 
 and read aloud, "Chhah Siang, the learned, be 
 magistrate in your native prefectural city!" In 
 a moment Chhah Siang, pretending not to notice 
 that the emperor was only reading what was on 
 the tree, fell upon his knees and thanked him 
 for the appointment. In vain the emperor pro- 
 tested that he had not intended to nominate him 
 for office. The Celestial prince was reminded that 
 he could not recall the words he certainly had ut- 
 tered. The law was overruled for this once, see- 
 ing that there seemed to be a divine omen in it. 
 Chhah Siang returned to Fuh-kien, and became 
 prefect of Chinchew, the city that governs Lo-iu. 
 
l86 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 At once Chhah Siaiig began to gather funds 
 and to make needful preparation for the great work 
 he had before him. He devoted all his leisure 
 time to rousing the enthusiasm of the people in 
 regard to the proposed bridge. He called on the 
 whole prefecture for voluntary subscriptions. The 
 towns and villages caught their governor's enthu- 
 siasm and responded heartily. 
 
 The task was gigantic. After many years of 
 labor, in which vast sums of money had been 
 spent, it seemed likely to fail because of the im- 
 possibility of laying the foundations of the centre 
 piers, where still the stream flows rapidly at low 
 tide. If the river were to run almost dry the 
 thing might be done; but unfortunately even a 
 long i^eriod of drought scarcely affected this part 
 of the stream at all. After suffering distress of 
 mind for many months and trying every imagina- 
 ble scheme, a happy thought occurred to Chhah 
 Siang. He resolved to write a letter to the god 
 of the sea and to ask his Marine Majesty to be so 
 kind as to draw off all the water. When the let- 
 ter was ready Chhah, sitting on his magistrate's 
 bench, said, "Who is able to descend to the sea?" 
 A man in the chamber at once said, " Here am I, 
 your Excellency." Now it should be explained 
 that Chinese names are usually translatable, and 
 on this occasion it happened that in the hall was 
 
DIARY OF A MISSIONARY JOURNEY. 187 
 
 a man whose name was Ui Loh-iu ("Able De- 
 scend-sea " ), who, thinking himself called, replied 
 to Chhah's question. They laughed a little at 
 the mistake, but regarded it as a good omen, and 
 Mr. "Able Descend-sea" was compelled to make 
 good his name. 
 
 Ui Loh-iu took the letter and proceeded to 
 seek an interview with the god of the sea. He 
 chose a spot at low tide that was moderately clean 
 and lay down to wait for the tide to return and 
 cover him. Here he fell asleep, and when he 
 awoke he found himself still in the same place 
 and quite comfortable; but his letter to Neptune 
 was gone, while in its place was another addressed 
 to the prefect. It did not occur to him that this 
 was the answer required, but he thought it best to 
 bring it to Chinchew and deliver it to his master. 
 Opening it, Chhah Siang found only one large 
 character written inside — the word vinegar. 
 
 This was indeed most confusing. Long and ear- 
 nestly did the prefect gaze upon it, till he felt 
 himself turning sour and angry. But a lucky 
 fortune-teller made a happy hit by suggesting 
 that the character Ts^o could be taken to pieces, 
 thus, 
 
l88 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 i: -P — aw 
 
 Two Ten One Day Evening 
 
 Twenty-first day^ at evening. The explanation was 
 at once clear. The laconic reply was from Nep- 
 tune himself! Preparations were made in antici- 
 pation of the water being very low on the even- 
 ing of the twenty-first of the month, and were not 
 made in vain. The water all ran off and the 
 foundations of the central piers were successfully 
 laid before the tide returned. No further hin- 
 drance delayed the progress of the work. The 
 Lo-iu bridge was completed before Chhah Sl- 
 ang's death — a million and a half pounds ster- 
 ling having been spent upon it. So runs the 
 legend. 
 
 In 1877, when the writer spent some days in 
 Lo-iu, the monument to the memory of Chhah 
 Siang was being renovated. This must have 
 been at or near the eight-hundredth anniversary 
 of its erection. 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUU-KIEN. 1 89 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 
 Hing-vvha (" The Prosperous and Influential "), October 17. 
 
 So far our trip has been devoted entirely to the 
 visitation of the churches. But now an Ameri- 
 can missionary brother (who came from Amoy 
 yesterday to join me) is going to travel with me 
 into unknown parts. We are first going to Foo- 
 chow as delegates from these southern churches 
 to the Methodist Episcopal churches at Foochow 
 and district; and then we propose to go over hill 
 and dale and decide a few geographical and lin- 
 guistic questions that bear directly upon the ex- 
 tension of the Amoy missions. 
 
 The linguistic difficulties of this region are 
 great, as they are all through the south of China. 
 North of the Yang-tsze the "mandarin" or court 
 language will serve you anywhere; but south of 
 that river the language is different at every few 
 miles. There are considerable differences between 
 the languages of Amoy and Hui-an ; and half way 
 between Hui-an and this place, at the market- 
 town of Hong-tan, we suddenly found ourselves 
 strangers and foreigners indeed, for we could not 
 
igo ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 understand more than a few words nor make the 
 people understand ns. Now for nearly three 
 weeks "I shall be unto him that speaketh a bar- 
 barian, and he that speaketh shall be a barbarian 
 unto me. ' ' 
 
 The scenery along the road was very beauti- 
 ful. The hills are lofty and abrupt, the valleys 
 wooded and dotted over with peaceful villages. 
 We met also a few horsemen on the paths, which 
 is worth chronicling in these districts. 
 
 The most notable things, however, were the 
 graves on the slopes near the road. Some of 
 them occupy a space of two hundred feet in length 
 by sixty in width. Series of well-made stone 
 steps in long flights lead up to the altar before the 
 grave. Along each side of the approach to the 
 residence of the spirit are statues in pairs, first of 
 men, then horses, deer, tigers, standing looking 
 at one another across the intervening space. The 
 Chinese are not great sculptors, and the less said 
 of their statuary the better for the reputation of 
 the artists. 
 
 We slept in Hong-tan last night at the chapel 
 of the Foochow Episcopal Methodist mission. 
 This is their farthest station south, and less than 
 twelve miles from the farthest north of our own. 
 The chapel is a horrible den, a long shed, forty 
 paces by six, standing on the main street. 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. I91 
 
 We are enjoyinor the hospitality of our breth- 
 ren from Foochow once more in this " Prosperous 
 and Influential City." The pastor in charge is a 
 remarkable man. Last year he appeared at Con- 
 ference with something laid upon his heart. He 
 rose and said, ' ' Brothers, I must speak. I have 
 come to the resolution that I will never more re- 
 ceive any pay from the foreign missionary. Wher- 
 ever I go our people say to me, ' You preach the 
 foreigner's words because you eat the foreigner's 
 rice.' That reproach shall never be true in my 
 case. I will receive not another cash from our 
 foreign pastors. I will go back to Hing-wha and 
 the churches of the district and say, ' Brothers, I 
 am your Presiding Elder; it is your duty to sup- 
 port me, so that I may do the work of the Lord 
 among you. I need but little; give me enough 
 to keep myself and my family.' " So he returned 
 to Hing-wha and told his flock what he had done. 
 The first month or two they gave him only two 
 or three dollars, but after a short time they raised 
 enough for him to live on comfortably, with an 
 additional sum to enable him to travel about to 
 visit the churches. The following year four pas- 
 tors under this Presiding Elder took the same 
 course, and are now being wholly supported by 
 the people to whom they minister. 
 
 Tlie chapel is a beautiful one and quite native 
 
192 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 in its style. Entering from a wide and quiet 
 street there is a hall for week-day preaching to 
 the heathen. Then there is a good court, partly 
 covered, where casual spectators can stand to 
 watch a religious service. Along two sides of 
 this court are rooms occupied by the families of 
 the pastor and the chapel-keeper. The chapel is 
 on the side of the court opposite the daily preach- 
 ing-hall. It is railed off from the court by orna- 
 mental woodwork, within which only the regular 
 congregation are admitted. In accordance with 
 Episcopal Methodist customs there are com- 
 munion railings in front of the pulpit and table. 
 The whole arrangements are admirably adapted 
 to the purposes of the church and quite in accor- 
 dance with Chinese notions, except in one respect 
 — the chapel, court, and hall are faultlessly clean. 
 
 Gu-kkoe (" Fish-stream ") Inn, October iS. 
 
 From day-dawn till five o'clock in the evening 
 we have been wandering through magnificent 
 valleys, covered with rice, or climbing the hills. 
 
 To our great surprise we are speaking the 
 Amoy language once more. The result of in- 
 quiry into this phenomenon is that the Hing- 
 wha language is an importation from Swatow or 
 farther south, and that it occuj)ies an egg-shaped 
 piece of territory about thirty-five miles from 
 north to south and sixty miles from east to west. 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUII-KIEN. 193 
 
 In HiiTg-wha we could not make ourselves under- 
 stood except with the very greatest difficulty, or 
 not at all. Here we converse freely with any one, 
 and for the last hour our lodging has been a 
 preaching-room. As I write a preacher travelling 
 with us is sitting at my elbow discussing the doc- 
 trine with three natives of the town. 
 
 We reckon that for a Chinese inn we are in 
 good quarters. Try to imagine it. The floor is 
 of earth, of course perfectly black, but not as un- 
 even as usual, and, inirabile dictti! it is swept. 
 The roof is open to the tiles, and the customary 
 dense festooning of spiders' webs is absent. The 
 walls are perfectly black, it is true, but at least 
 they are whole. There are five sets of bed-boards 
 around the room. You would call the bed-cham- 
 ber a shed; we are very grateful that we are in 
 such a clean resting-place and that even the mos- 
 quitoes do not favor a room so free from smells 
 and dirt. These five beds are to be occupied by 
 my comrade, myself, the preacher, two servants, 
 and two baggage-bearers. Our six chair-bearers 
 fend for themselves. 
 
 The Methodist Schooner " Lottie," October 19. 
 
 At half-past four this morning we had break- 
 fasted and were upon the road. Each chair- 
 bearer carried a torch. It was a gallant proces- 
 sion we made in going down the long street of 
 
194 ALCHS'G RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 '*Fish Stream." Rain had fallen heavily during 
 the night and the morning air was delicionsly 
 cool. We began at once to enter magnificent 
 country equal in beauty to the best parts of 
 Perthshire and wonderfully suggestive of the 
 Trossachs. The hills rise to upwards of 4,000 
 feet, and the tops appeared to be in many cases 
 inaccessible. Six times to-day we were looking 
 down into a valley shaped precisely like a basin. 
 One view was particularly grand. We had just 
 climbed a long and difficult ascent heavily over- 
 hung with trees, when suddenly the country was 
 clear in front for several miles. The bed of the 
 valley was perhaps a thousand feet below us. On 
 the left was a bank of hills six miles in length and 
 three to four thousand feet high, the slope of the 
 base so regular that nothing obstructed the view 
 through its entire length. A hundred shades of 
 color painted the scene with surpassing beauty. 
 The bed of the valley was the golden yellow of 
 the rice of the second har\'est. Many scores of 
 villages, large and small, were dotted over this 
 immense field, each of them with the regulation 
 banyan-trees and their lengthy shadows. The 
 various products of fields on terraces all gave 
 their own colors to the slopes to a height of a 
 thousand feet. Then came the moorland and the 
 purple heather, and above all this dream of beauty 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 195 
 
 the "gray and purple pile of granite rock thrust 
 itself into the clouds, gaining apparent increase 
 of height from the fact that snowy wreaths of 
 mist crowned their heads. 
 
 We spoke Amoyese until midday, and then 
 the dialect suddenly changed and the natives and 
 we were strangers to one another once more. The 
 preacher with us agrees that purer Amoyese is 
 spoken on this side of Hiiig-wha than on its im- 
 mediate southern border. 
 
 We dined at 10:30 at the city of "Great 
 Peace," drank tea at 3:30 in the town of "Great 
 Rio-hteousness," where we met in the street a 
 man sent by our Foochow friends to meet us. We 
 have been running down a tributary to the IMin 
 and are now on the broad river approaching Foo- 
 chow. We humble deni^^ens of the south are duly 
 appreciative of the luxury of this gospel boat, the 
 "Lottie." 
 
 Eng-hok (" Everlasting Happiness "), November 2. 
 
 For the last twelve days we have been in 
 Foochow ("The Happy City"), being very hos- 
 pitably entertained by one after another of the 
 kind Christian brotherhood belonging to Meth- 
 odist Episcopal, Congregational (American Board 
 of Commissioners for Foreign Missions), and the 
 English Episcopal Church. There is a great deal 
 in the Chinese manners and civil arrangements in 
 
196 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 Foochow that diflfers altogether from the more 
 southern parts. The people seem a sturdier race, 
 with a more decided style of speech. The city is 
 remarkable in shape. The walled portion lies in 
 the bed of a valley which has a level some six 
 miles across and surrounded on three sides by 
 high hills. Looking from the foreign settlement 
 the walled town is not visible, because of two lit- 
 tle hills on either side of the South Gate. From 
 U-sang, one of these hills, is the best place to get 
 a bird's-eye view of the whole. Within the walls 
 are nearly a million inhabitants, and there are 
 about six hundred thousand outside. A street of 
 shops three miles long joins the walled city with 
 the principal suburb and leads over the ' ' Bridge 
 of Ten Thousand Ages ' ' to the hill on which are 
 the foreign warehouses and residences. 
 
 The Methodist Conference was extremely in- 
 teresting. A hundred pastors and preachers and 
 twenty Americans and English were present. ]\Iy 
 companion and I addressed them through an in- 
 terpreter. The spirit of earnestness and devout- 
 ness in the whole assembly was very marked. A 
 visit like this provides a good opportunity for 
 picking up new ideas, which may find expression 
 in improved methods elsewhere. In one thing 
 our Foochow brethren are decidedly behind Amoy, 
 and that is in church psalmody. 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 197 
 
 We left the "Happy City" and our esteemed 
 and hospitable friends therein yesterday at seven 
 o'clock. Two hours' walk brought us to the 
 "Lottie" where she lay awaiting us, with the 
 Stars and Stripes flying at the mainmast. The 
 trip yesterday morning lay along a stream a hun- 
 dred and fifty yards wide, with high wooded hills 
 descending right to the river bank. In the after- 
 noon we arrived at the bottom of the rapids and 
 anchored for the night. The evening was spent 
 in hiring boats to go up the river and the weari- 
 some haggling over cash that always accompanies 
 transactions with boatmen and chair-bearers. 
 
 This morning was bitterly cold. We put on 
 overcoats and wrapped ourselves in railway rugs, 
 and yet could not keep warm. During the day, 
 however, it became so sultry that we wore only 
 such garments as propriety demanded, and finally 
 reached Eng-hok. 
 
 The chapel at Eng-hok, or " Everlasting Hap- 
 piness," belongs to the American Congregation- 
 alists. There is a native pastor resident at the 
 chapel and the cause flourishes, notwithstanding 
 the small amount of light, the dirt, and the bad 
 smells. The house is built upon scaffolding-poles 
 stuck into the bank of the river. The room we 
 are occupying is a loft whose glassless window 
 
 looks out upon the rapids of the river. As far as 
 12 
 
198 ALOXG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 the eye can reach the river is torn to foam, and 
 the noise is very great. 
 
 This evening we were invited to a Chinese 
 feast. The guests were nine Chinamen, two 
 Americans, and myself. Twelve basins of un- 
 savory-looking food occupied the centre of the 
 table. Into these we were to dip with our choj)- 
 sticks for anything we had a taste for. The Chi- 
 nese have an unj)leasant habit of foraging in these 
 common bowls for tit-bits with the chopsticks 
 which every moment they put into their mouths. 
 I skirmished among the bowls for myself and 
 brethren to see what it was possible to eat without 
 discomfort. I was sorry to see these Christians 
 drink far too much samshoo. The wine-cup is 
 exceedingly small, but they filled it so many times 
 that we foreigners discussed the need of starting 
 a total abstinence society in connection with the 
 churches. The Chinese are as a rule very ab- 
 stemious in regard to alcoholic liquors, but I have 
 noticed many times that when they can get sam- 
 shoo for nothing, as at a feast like this, they have 
 no objection to excessive indulgence. When we, 
 or rather they^ had "eaten full " of balls of pork, 
 pieces of pork-fat floating in oil, pig's liver, 
 chicken, cuttle-fish, oysters, vermicelli, greens, 
 beans, water-melon seeds, and several other messes 
 for which I could find no name, piled-up bowls of 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUII-KIEN. 199 
 
 rice were brought in, to the great satisfaction of 
 all who were getting nauseated with oil. At this 
 stage my servant was taken ill under the com- 
 bined eflfects of samshoo and pork-fat and had to 
 leave the table, which broke through the etiquette 
 of the party and allowed us opportunity to escape. 
 
 Siong-khau (" Mouth of the Hills "), Sunday, November 5. 
 
 We parted with our kind friends at "Everlast- 
 ing Happiness" on Friday morning and have had 
 two very hard days' travelling. The scenery is 
 so magnificent that we are getting surfeited of 
 mountains, chasms, overhanging rocks, waterfalls, 
 and rapids. For twenty miles the river was one 
 long series of falls, with an occasional pool like a 
 miniature lake. The rugged path lay along the 
 precipitous face of the hills by the side of the 
 river, often at a height of two hundred feet above 
 it. Both days the journey was occasionally spiced 
 with danger. No description can give any idea 
 of the badness of Chinese paths in inland and 
 mountainous country. More than once the chair- 
 bearers lost their footing and came near being pre- 
 cipitated into the abyss. We have walked the 
 greater part of both days because of the danger of 
 falling. For seven hours on Friday we were 
 crossing a high hill, reaching an eating-house at 
 5:30, where we lay in the loft for the night. 
 
 Starting very early yesterday morning in a 
 
200 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 drizzling rain, we wandered on till eight o'clock, 
 when we rested under some pine-trees for morn- 
 ing worship. We were quite a considerable cara- 
 van — two Americans, one Englishman, the Chin- 
 chew and Eng-hok preachers, a native doctor, 
 three servants, and nine chair-bearers. It was a 
 curious sight, that "early worship" in the wood. 
 To the bearers it was of course utterly without 
 meaning; but to the rest of us it was a very sol- 
 emn and beautiful thing to be singing the praises 
 of God amid some of his grandest works and to 
 be kneeling in reverent worship on the soft carpet 
 of the pine-needles, while the only sound was the 
 low sobbing of the wind through the pine-trees 
 and the splash of the waves in the river half a 
 mile below us. 
 
 The journey on Saturday was much the same 
 as on Friday. We crossed the river in a very 
 old punt full of holes, through which the water 
 rushed when any of its freight of eighteen persons 
 moved about so as to sway the boat. We were 
 thankful to cross the broad, deep pool in safety. 
 
 It is raining hard, as it did yesterday. What 
 shall we do if it continues? We are willing pris- 
 oners here for this Sabbath, but the prospect of 
 being detained long is not pleasant. The next 
 three days' journey is through more difficult coun- 
 try and quite impassable in the wet. 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF EUH-KIEN. 20I 
 
 We are very glad of this Sunday's rest. We 
 Auioyese also found some work to do. Several 
 natives of Amoy came to look at the foreigners, 
 and the result has been a long and very interest- 
 ing talk with them about the concerns of the soul. 
 Preaching has been going on all day in a lan- 
 guage not understood of Amoyites. The chapel 
 has been open eight years, but there is only one 
 convert, an opium-smoker for thirty years ! He 
 kept an opium den, but on his conversion gave 
 up both the habit and the trade. 
 
 About twelve o'clock we were getting very 
 fagged with tramping along in the wet upon such 
 terribly uneven paths, when we entered what 
 looked like a little grove of banyan and bamboo. 
 There was an inn, the front of which was com- 
 pletely shaded by the dense foliage above and 
 around, standing on the right of an open space 
 among the trees. We entered the house and 
 found it absolutely devoid of furniture. The 
 large guest-room, of which we straightway took 
 possession, would have comfortably seated a hun- 
 dred and fifty persons to table in European fash- 
 ion, but it was quite empty. Even the fixtures 
 seemed to have been dragged away, and a station- 
 ary stove was in a ruinous condition. Nor were 
 there any occupants apparently. There was one 
 decrepit beggar, as we thought him, engaged in 
 
202 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 stirring liis opium preparatory to smoking it. We 
 took him for a visitor like ourselves, but he proved 
 to be the tenant and the owner of this large and 
 handsome property. It is certainly one of the 
 finest private inns I have seen, and the guest-room 
 looks out upon a scene of surpassing beauty. 
 From the window opposite the entrance-door one 
 gets a glimpse of the steep wooded hills to right 
 and left. The rocky bed of the river is sixty feet 
 below the window, and the water rushes along 
 quarrelling with the stones. Not a square foot of 
 the ground of the precipitous hill opposite is visi- 
 ble. A dense garment of many shades of green 
 covers it from water's edge to summit. Even on 
 a wet and dreary day like this the scene is a dream 
 of loveliness, and perhaps the faint haze of the 
 fine drizzle as it tones down the whole, and the 
 clouds that cover some of the hills, add to the 
 dreaminess and sense of unreality of the whole. 
 
 Yet behind us, as we turn, is moral ruin in- 
 deed. "Every prospect pleases, and only man 
 is vile." This poor bundle of rags declines to 
 take any notice of us. He keeps on stirring the 
 vile and mischievous drug that has brought ruin 
 upon himself and his house. One cannot help 
 speculating about him. Did he have wife and 
 family here ? Could he employ ten servants to 
 help him in this business? What was he like 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 203 
 
 when he was a man and not a wretched heap of 
 rags, full of energy and intelligence, and not an 
 opium-smoker ? 
 
 You don't know how this horrible vice meets 
 us da}^ by day, how it points the sarcasms and 
 insults levelled at the foreigner, and how it dis- 
 honors the name of Christ in disgracing the Chris- 
 tianity we profess as our national faith. 
 
 Some well-known authorities have declared 
 that in this province half of the male adults, that 
 is, ten per cent, of the population, are opium- 
 smokers. I believe this to be a very moderate 
 estimate; for though some districts are almost free 
 from the vice, others are being ruined by it. This 
 province did not produce opium in appreciable 
 quantities until about the year 1870, but now the 
 home growth seems likely to be fostered every- 
 where. 
 
 Naturally one does not get many opportunities 
 of witnessing opium-smoking in private houses, 
 but it is very common in the inns, and a great 
 nuisance too, for the smell of the fumes is very 
 vile and sickening. I was in a large inn a few 
 weeks ago, much like a caravanserai. The build- 
 ing was very long, and the sleeping-cabins opened 
 out of the main hall down both sides. I had 
 occasion to go up and down this room or corri- 
 dor a number of times, and observed elegantly- 
 
204 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 dressed men in almost every chamber smoking 
 opium. In some of the rooms there were two or 
 three men lying on the beds side by side smoking. 
 The preachers tell me that in private houses it is 
 now so far a recognized thing that the opium-pipe 
 is oifered to a guest as much as a cup of tea used 
 to be. 
 
 Yet everybody knows what a destructive and 
 immoral thing the use of opium is. The defend- 
 ers of the opium trade (who, by the way, are 
 almost all haters of Christian missions and mis- 
 sionaries) declare that our protest is an unjustifia- 
 ble "fad." I am not careful to answer them. 
 I care only to tell you just what my eyes have 
 seen and my ears have heard from the people 
 themselves. It goes without saying that all mis- 
 sionaries and medical men in China hold our 
 views. But you have to remember also that the 
 native magistrates go through the form of issuing 
 proclamations against it, that the heathen them- 
 selves are forming leagues for opposing the habit 
 and the trade, that benevolent societies of Confu- 
 cianists and Buddhists issue and distribute a great 
 deal of literature in condemnation of opium, and 
 that its use is always included in the list of vices, 
 being mentioned in company with adultery, theft, 
 and murder. 
 
 No Chinaman is ever heard to justify the habit, 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 20/ 
 
 unless he is some dissolute fellow connected with 
 the trade. Nine out of every ten persons addict- 
 ed to the pipe will tell you that they do wickedly 
 in using the "foreign dirt," as they call it. So 
 far from its being defended by our friends here in 
 Fuh-kien, they have many sayings and phrases 
 which will become proverbs and household words, 
 expressing their sense of the enormity of the evil 
 into which they have fallen as into a snare. 
 
 Nobody, native or foreign, will have confi- 
 dence in a man who is known to be seriously ad- 
 dicted to its use. An opium-smoker would find 
 it hard to get employment as a servant, a clerk, 
 or a shopman. Even when engaging chair-bear- 
 ers one is obliged to look at them — and shall I 
 say smell them ? — to ascertain whether they shek- 
 in (eat smoke). Many men have come upon the 
 roads as bearers of burdens and chairs simply 
 through the ruin brought on them by the opium 
 habit. To hire bearers and then to find them 
 smokers is a great inconvenience, because they 
 need so much rest in order to smoke, and indeed 
 cannot do their work at all unless they have their 
 narcotic at regular intervals. The laborer who 
 smokes regularly must break off work to take his 
 pipe, or no more work will be done. An opium- 
 smoking teacher soon reveals his weakness by 
 gaping and yawning and falling asleep over his 
 
208 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 book. He must have his pipe to revive him. In 
 our neighborhood so many "literary" men are 
 given to the use of the drug that it is difficult to 
 find one who is free from this terrible bondage. 
 
 Of course no Protestant Christians are opium- 
 smokers. They would never be received into the 
 Christian church unless they had given up all 
 connection both with its use and sale. It is one 
 of the things the Chinese Christians complain 
 of— not because the principle is wrong, but be- 
 cause there are English merchants engaged in the 
 traffic who attend the services at English churches 
 and are not refused the Lord's Supper. Mission- 
 aries have no option but to decline to receive na- 
 tives into the church until they have given up 
 every form of complicity with this miserable vice. 
 Any other course would be destructive of order 
 and morality in the church. A Christian who 
 becomes a smoker is at once disciplined, and must 
 give up the pipe or give up his membership. Not 
 only the conscience of the church, but the con- 
 science of the nation, declares the thing to be un- 
 justifiable, mischievous, and immoral. 
 
 Dr. Osgood, of Foochow, who has come so far 
 on our journey with us, has a special department 
 in his hospital for opium patients. I wish that 
 every person who imagines opium to be a harm- 
 less luxury could go in there for an hour or so, 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 209 
 
 and hear from the lips of patients and doctor by 
 what frightful agonies of body and mind these 
 poor victims of the pipe are brought back to 
 health, happiness, and freedom. Having looked 
 on this scene in the hospital, I would then lead 
 our enchanted friends to further disenchantment 
 by conducting them to the nearest opium den, 
 and show them the black and unwholesome infer- 
 no which is a sample of the dens in which many 
 hundreds of thousands daily narcotize themselves 
 and waste their substance. Perhaps the two 
 visions might convince them that we missionaries 
 are right after all. No pictorial description can 
 represent the real horror of it in too vivid colors. 
 The thing itself is always worse than our words 
 make it. Happiness destroyed, families scattered, 
 homes ruined, health utterly and hopelessly gone, 
 moral deterioration, lost reputation, and the death 
 and burial of a beggar, is in a vast proportion of 
 cases the regular order of results. The physical 
 effects do not tell so disastrously upon the rich 
 man as upon the poor. Better living in every 
 respect helps the rich to escape many of its evils, 
 but the poor man drains his slender pouch of cash 
 for opium and then has little or nothing left to 
 pay for his rice. The poor man consequently 
 suffers much more than the rich. 
 
 Do you wonder that this opium business lies 
 
2IO ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 right athwart the path of the missionary ? It is 
 the gravest difficulty he has to contend with next 
 to the ' ' fleshly heart ' ' of the ' ' natural man. ' ' If 
 England were to wash her hands of this thing (I 
 will not say make some atonement for her crime !) 
 and say, "Henceforth the British Government in 
 India will have nothing whatever to do with 
 this opium trade, and seeing that China is pro- 
 ducing more than enough to supply the medici- 
 nal demand for the drug, no English subject shall 
 be allowed to import any opium into China," it 
 would be the best day for China, ay, and the 
 best day for the English conscience, morals, in- 
 fluence, and commerce, that we have seen for 
 many years. It will be a blessed day for the 
 England that we love when she can accept the 
 principle she likes to talk about, but refuses to 
 adopt, that "nothing can be politically wise and 
 safe that is not morally right." In other words, 
 as our anti-opium friends quote from the Prov- 
 erbs that "righteousness exalteth a nation, but 
 sin is a reproach to any people." 
 
 Kwai-tswa ("The High Path"), Tuesday, November 7. 
 
 Two more days of climbing hills and of de- 
 scending apparently into the bowels of the earth 
 have brought us to the highest part of our jour- 
 ney. The weather has been fine, and we have got 
 along happily. In the evening we reached the 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 211 
 
 first village we had seen during the day, though 
 there are a few cottages of farmers and charcoal- 
 burners here and there. It is called "Water's 
 Mouth," and the inn, "The Fountain of Abun- 
 dance." That it is not an extensive place may 
 be judged from the fact that the main street is 
 only twenty-four paces long. I counted just forty 
 houses. The inn was little better than a roomy 
 coal-cellar. My chamber (for I had one to my- 
 self) was formed by digging out the earth from 
 the hillside to make one wall and a boardin<j of 
 wood for the other three sides. Rice was grow- 
 ing in the floor to a height of eighteen inches 
 just against my head. We are far up in the hills 
 and the nights are very cold. 
 
 We have settled one important question that 
 led us on this journey. We had resolved that, if 
 possible, we would decide the limits of the Amoy 
 language in a direction due north of Amoy. We 
 discovered that the frontier line between the lan- 
 guages of Foochow and Amoy is a high range of 
 hills which we crossed yesterday about mid-day. 
 On the north side we were in a strange land, on 
 the south we were quite at home with the people. 
 This carries the limits of our evangelistic efforts 
 in one language to a point two days' journey 
 farther north than we were aware, and expands 
 what is known as the x\moy district to that degree. 
 
212 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 In the hoar-frost of this morning we left ' ' Wa- 
 ter's Mouth," climbed the highest hill on our 
 trip, and reached the "The High Path" at two 
 p. M. We have gone no farther because there is 
 not another inn for a good many miles, and the 
 bearers are worn out with climbing, though my 
 friend and I walk almost all day. 
 
 The natives of this village say they have seen 
 three foreigners before, but that we are the first 
 who ever spoke to them in their own language. 
 We spent the afternoon in trying to interest little 
 groups of persons in our message, but it seems 
 utterly incomprehensible to them. Dwellers in 
 England do not realize how utterly outside a 
 heathen's imagination the gospel message is. 
 You need to have the missionary's experience, 
 and to see how hard and unmeaning the heathen's 
 face becomes when you explain that it is his 
 moral nature and his soul you are trying to bene- 
 fit. He is too polite to laugh at you, but he 
 thinks you a little worse than crazy when he 
 hears the gospel for the first time. It recalls 
 Jean Ingelow's lines in "A Story of Doom," where 
 she speaks of the contempt in Noah's day heaped 
 upon 
 
 " Those who work for a world (no wages paid 
 By a Master hid in light), and sent alone 
 To face a laughing nniltitude whose ej'es 
 Are full of damaging pity tliat forbears 
 To tell the harmless laborer, ' Thou art mad!'" 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 213 
 
 That is the way in which the message from 
 God is still received. " The natural man receiv- 
 eth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they 
 are foolishness unto him: neither can he know 
 them, because they are spiritually discerned." 
 
 Tek-wha (" Upright and Influential "), November 8. 
 
 The den called "The Nourishment of Life" at 
 Kwai-tswa did not present sufficient attractions to 
 induce us to stay much after dawn. There was 
 hoar-frost on the ground. Over hill and dale 
 brought us in the afternoon to this city with its 
 self-laudatory name. 
 
 It is the most extensive manufactory of china 
 in the Fuh-kien province. The valley is broad 
 and dotted over a considerable area with very 
 pretty houses, in many cases resembling Swiss 
 chalets. The buildings seem large because there 
 are four houses to the block. Pottery, pottery 
 everywhere, in the fields, in the streets, in the 
 shops. In the open air children are painting the 
 cups. Each artist paints with his own color or 
 his own few strokes, whether a leaf, a tree, a 
 man's dress or beard, and passes it over to his 
 neighbor, who in turn applies his brush to paint 
 what is his share in the decoration. 
 
 The Episcopal Methodists of America and the 
 Established Church of England both have chapels 
 here. First we visited the Methodists, then went 
 
214 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 to the " Ang-li-kau " church. The latter was so 
 much roomier that we asked leave to stay over 
 nio-ht. The people were much iuterested in our 
 arrival and came in large numbers to hear us 
 speak in their own language. I have seldom re- 
 ceived a more courteous and cordial welcome 
 than from these artists in earthenware at Tek- 
 wha. 
 
 Eng-chhun (" Everlasting Spring "), November 9. 
 
 The words "There everlasting spring abides" 
 were not written of this city by Dr. Watts. The 
 room in which I am to sleep has no window. 
 Everything is perfectly black — floor, roof, walls, 
 bed-boards, mosquito-net, table, chair — while the 
 next room is a fold for goats, thick with odor, and 
 the spaces between the boards of the thin parti- 
 tion that separates me from my four-footed fellow- 
 lodgers allow the sounds and scents to pass freely 
 from them to me. 
 
 We were coming down hill a great part of the 
 afternoon and find the temperature much milder 
 in "Everlasting Spring." 
 
 " Market-on-top-of-the-Embankment," November 11. 
 
 At Eng-chhun we dismissed the chair-bearers, 
 who have been with us these last eight days. We 
 engaged them in Foochow on an agreement duly 
 attested by some civic potentate, and they have 
 wandered over hill and dale with us, carrying us 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 215 
 
 when we chose to ride. Now they have to return 
 with the empty chairs; but they intend to travel 
 via Hing-wha upon the frequented road by which 
 we ourselves went to Foochow. They have not 
 been of much service, and have grumbled a 
 good deal at the long stages between the rice- 
 shops. 
 
 That reminds me of the difficulty one has in 
 travelling inland to find out from the natives of a 
 place what is the approximate distance to the 
 next stage. The information supplied may be 
 correct once in ten times. The mistakes made 
 by our informants have been a constant jest with 
 the chair-bearers and all of us. Two incidents in 
 yesterday's journey may be taken as samples of 
 all. I asked an intelligent-looking man whom 
 we met on the road whether there were any hills 
 to cross up to the place from which he surely must 
 have come. He replied, "No, none at all; alto- 
 gether level." It proved to be as hard and weari- 
 some a bit of climbing up and down as we have 
 had on the trip. The last hill must have been a 
 descent of upwards of 2,500 feet, for we were com- 
 ing down the greater part of the day; and much 
 of the road was merely a watercourse, stones lying 
 in all directions as they had been hurled by the 
 freshets of ages. Again, yesterday morning we 
 asked how far it was to a certain place. ' ' A 
 
2l6 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 pau^^''* was the reply. Now, we do a pan in an 
 hour; but we plodded on for two hours and a 
 quarter and then again asked the distance. "A 
 pau and a half," this time, It is almost always 
 so. The Chinese have no exact notions as to 
 either time or space; it is only in money values 
 that they incline to absolute mathematical accu- 
 racy. "■ A. pau and a half" has passed with us 
 into a proverb and a jest. 
 
 We left " Eternal Spring" yesterday morning 
 at an early hour, did the rough travelling spoken 
 of above, and reached the village of "River's 
 Mouth" at a quarter past six in the evening. 
 After ten A. m. there was not a rice-shop the 
 whole way. You may imagine in what a state 
 of exhaustion from fatigue and hunger we arrived 
 at our lodging for the night. 
 
 This morning we took passage in a boat and 
 had two hours' run down the rapids. This is a 
 mode of travelling which is always sufficiently 
 exciting in itself; but to-day's trip had the fur- 
 ther spice of danger arising from the overcrowded 
 state of the broad, flat-bottomed boat. To earn 
 an extra cash or two a boatman would not hesi- 
 tate to trust twenty lives to the special care of 
 
 * A pau is commonly translated in English a league. There 
 are ten It (the Chinese unit of distance) to the pau, the li being 
 one-third of a mile. 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 21/ 
 
 what may, in his mind, correspond with provi- 
 dence. "There is an appointed fate for all," 
 would be his pious and philosophical remark as 
 he saw the water reach to within four inches of 
 the top of the gunwale. We were twenty-seven 
 persons in all, and the remainder of the boat's 
 freight was half a ton of crocker}^, three sedan- 
 chairs, our baggage, and a considerable quantity 
 of lug-oragre belono;inqf to the Chinese. At the 
 first waterslide we grated ominously on the rocks. 
 At the second we came to a sudden standstill. 
 Fortunately this was a very small incline, or other- 
 wise we should have been spilled upon the rush- 
 ing water, to find our way to the bank or to the 
 bottom, as the "appointed fate" of each would 
 have it. By the aid of a small boat eight men, 
 say fifteen hundred- weight of the ship's burden, 
 were put ashore before we slipped off the rock. 
 We were about five miles from our river-journey's 
 end at the time this accident occurred, but the 
 fortunate and facetious occupants of the boat 
 mirthfully declined the importunate entreaties of 
 the dislodged fares, who wanted to be taken on 
 board again when we got afloat. A running fire 
 of jests, threats, and blasphemy was kept up be- 
 tween the Chinese passengers on the river and the 
 would-be passengers as they ran for a mile or so 
 on the paddy fields and towing-path. 
 
2l8 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 We have at last touched the Amoy missionary 
 area once more, after twenty-five days of absence, 
 during which we have seen many strange sights, 
 had much pleasant intercourse with fellow-Chris- 
 tians, Chinese and foreign, conversed with great 
 numbers of people about the Christian faith, 
 made notes of the methods of oiir Foochow 
 brethren belonging to three missionary socie- 
 ties, and decided the limits of the Amoy lan- 
 guage to the northeast and north. On the third 
 day from now we shall reach home, all being 
 well. 
 
 Sunday night, November 12. 
 
 This chapel at Pwa-tau-chhi is a preaching 
 station only of the American Reformed Church. 
 No members have yet been gathered in. We 
 have had crowded audiences three times to-day. 
 Our plan has been to deliver brief and pointed ad- 
 dresses, relieved by the singing of a verse or two 
 of a hymn. No prayer in the presence of such a 
 heathen audience, because the mystery of prayer 
 alarms the timid and superstitious, and the con- 
 gregation is apt to disperse more rapidly than it 
 can be collected. Many persons seemed to be 
 much interested in a genial and brotherly fashion, 
 not at all in a state of concern for their salvation. 
 Some stopped behind for a chat, and this evening 
 others have been learning the hymns by heart. 
 
OVER THE HILLS OF FUH-KIEN. 219 
 
 At such a time we teach them those hymns that 
 are really summaries of Christian doctrine rather 
 than those that exj^ress the hopes of the regen- 
 erate. In this way our hymnology is a very 
 great help in conveying the knowledge of the 
 truth. 
 
220 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 FENG-SIIUI : THE BIGGEST OF ALL BUGBEARS. 
 
 So far as we have been able to discover, only 
 one short treatise and one magazine article have 
 ever been written in the English language on this 
 most widespread and perhaps most enthralling of 
 all the varied superstitions that afflict the human 
 race and hinder the progress of the Chinese nation 
 in particular. We may be pardoned therefore for 
 presuming that our readers know very little about 
 the subject, and shall deal with it in its popular 
 and general aspects and results, and say only a 
 few words about its philosophy. 
 
 For the doctrine from which it grows is ex- 
 ceedingly abstruse, like all forms of Chinese phi- 
 losophy. There is a very considerable native lit- 
 erature to explain its principles and to guide its 
 professors; but if any one wishes to see to what a 
 howling wilderness of erratic dogmatism the hu- 
 man mind can arrive, when speculation usurps 
 the place of science and theories are reverenced 
 equally with facts, let him endeavor to fathom 
 even the elementary principles of that abyss of 
 insane vagaries, the science of Feng-Shui. Dr. 
 
THE BUGBEAR FENG-SHUI. 221 
 
 Eitel, ill his pamphlet on the subject, calls Feng- 
 Shui " the terrestrial sister of astrology." There 
 is little doubt that it is a fungous growth upon 
 more intelligent systems of suj^erstition, such as 
 astrology and necromancy, and has grown until 
 it has overshadowed those pseudo- sciences from 
 which it sjDrang. It is difficult to discuss and at- 
 tack its dogmas seriatim^ because so few of them 
 are formally stated and so few " Feng-Shui doc- 
 tors" have clearly-defined views on the subject. 
 We can only wait until Christian truths and the 
 gospel of a sound philosophy shall lay the axe at 
 the foot of this deeply-rooted tree of superstition 
 and level it with all its branches of folly and fear. 
 
 The words Feng and SJmi mean wind and wa- 
 ter. "Wind" stands for that which cannot be 
 seen, "water" for that which cannot be grasped. 
 Feng-Shui, therefore, indicates a philosophy 
 which the human mind finds it very difficult to 
 comprehend, but is believed by the Chinese to be 
 no less real on that account; and the duplicate 
 word represents, as we shall presently see, the 
 aggregate of the intangible, occult, ill-defined, 
 but all-powerful spirit influences that affect the 
 fortunes and destinies of mankind. 
 
 Feng-Shui is always spoken of in connection 
 with graves or funeral ceremonies. A man speaks 
 of tlie graves of his relatives or ancestors as their 
 
222 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 Feng-Shiii. A grave in a good position, or a piece 
 of land highly suitable for a grave or cemetery, is 
 called "good Feng-Shui." To interfere with a 
 grave is to "disturb the Feng-Shui." 
 
 And this for the following reasons. The the- 
 ory involves a belief that the world is crowded 
 with malignant powers and influences which must 
 be regulated and controlled in order that human 
 beings may live in peace. These pernicious in- 
 fluences arise from the irritation of the spirits of 
 the dead at the discomfort in which they find 
 themselves if the bodies of the deceased have not 
 been placed in a suitable position, and their equa- 
 nimity can only be restored and maintained and 
 their good -will secured by attention to certain 
 necessary arrangements of the grave in which 
 their mortal remains are deposited. The Chinese 
 have so poor an opinion of the character of the 
 ghosts of their fathers as to believe they will be 
 visited by them with distresses innumerable for 
 sins of neglect of the dead. The unquiet spirit 
 of the king of Denmark burst his cerements and 
 "revisited the glimpses of the moon, making 
 night hideous," because of violence done to him 
 as a living man. The perturbed spirits of the 
 Chinese dead, on the other hand, break the sep- 
 ulchre in which they were "quietly inurned" 
 because the position of their "canonized bones" 
 
The bugbear feng-shui. 223 
 
 is not favorable to repose. Should a disembod- 
 ied spirit find himself cut off from light and air, 
 "cribbed, cabined, and confined" in a locality 
 which renders him ill at ease, it is supposed he 
 will not scruple to take vengeance on his poster- 
 ity for their inattention by destroying their for- 
 tunes and happiness. Nay, so little conscience 
 have these shadows of their former selves that 
 they will destroy the moral character as well as 
 the good success of their descendants. Morality 
 as well as worldly prosperity is mysteriously af- 
 fected by the tenants of the grave. 
 
 To insure one's self against misfortune, then, 
 the graves of relatives and ancestors must be so 
 placed that their occupants shall not only be per- 
 fectly satisfied, but overflowing with good -will 
 towards their friends still in the flesh. To find 
 this happy position is the occult, and sometimes 
 (when the practitioner has gained a reputation for 
 skill) lucrative, profession of the doctor of Feng- 
 Shui. Every site for a grave is chosen by its 
 rules. The standard regulation is that the grrave 
 must be upon a hillside facing the south, and that 
 there be a sheet of water or a plain between it and 
 the horizon. But this rule is so much affected by 
 other circumstances that the exceptions are num- 
 berless. None but the profound student who has 
 the key to all the ugly tricks dame nature plays 
 
224 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 on suflfering liumaiiity can see the way perfectly 
 to baffle her and win prosperity and ease by the 
 fortunate arrangement of a tomb. 
 
 In deciding that a southerly aspect is the most 
 favorable for this purpose, the Chinese mind seems 
 to have been influenced by observation of certain 
 facts in the natural world. The gentle zephyrs of 
 the spring blow softly from the south, bestowing 
 life and beauty on the fields and fruit-trees ; and 
 from the same direction come the health-giving 
 breezes of summer, subduing the scorching heat 
 of the sun and carrying on their wings the fre- 
 quent rain -clouds which distil their fertilizing 
 showers on the thirsty soil. But the cutting 
 winds of autumn, the harbingers of decay and 
 death in the fields and the source of much suffer- 
 ing and sickness to the scantily-clad and poorly- 
 housed denizens of the Flowery Land, who know 
 nothing of the comforts of a social fire-hearth and 
 well-fitting windows — these wintry blasts blow 
 keenly from the north. Moreover, pestilence 
 does not stalk through the crowded towns and 
 villages if the south wind fans them steadily in 
 summer ; but if at that season the wind blows 
 fiercely from the north, it is often the herald of a 
 disastrous typhoon, which scatters ruin and death 
 over large areas of the land. The southerly and 
 northerly directions thus become symbolical of 
 
THE BUGBEAR FENG-SIIUI. 225 
 
 prosperous and adverse influences, and from this 
 it is but a step to the belief that in the spirit world 
 (which to the Chinese mind is the analogue of the 
 material world) there exist similar currents — that 
 from the north bringing every species of ill-luck, 
 and that from the south prosperity. 
 
 Fortunately for the human race it is possible 
 to counteract the mischievous effects of the ma- 
 lignant forces of nature by turning aside the un- 
 propitious currents and by attracting and direct- 
 ing those that breathe only balm and peace. As 
 the present is not a scientific treatise on this as- 
 tounding delusion, but a popular view of it as 
 witnessed every day, we will simply say that 
 everything in a landscape sharp and abrupt is 
 believed to be hurtful in its tendencies. Jagged 
 lines, broken ridges, all those features that we 
 might poetically phrase as angry, sullen, frown- 
 ing rocks or savage scenery — these clearly threat- 
 en disaster. But gently-undulating hills, smiling 
 plateaus, smoothly -flowing streams, and mirror- 
 like ponds — these are hostages of nature as to her 
 peaceful intentions. Again, long straight lines 
 are greatly dreaded, especially if they converge 
 upon a grave, lest noxious currents should gather 
 force by the directness of their course and hurry 
 forward with increased momentum to the work 
 of destruction. The making of roads and railway 
 
226 ALOXG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 lines, therefore, could only be attended with fatal 
 results to myriads. To be prosj^erously inclined, 
 the landscape must have its rough points rounded 
 off and its roads gently curved. 
 
 Our readers are familiar with the pictures of 
 Chinese pagodas, but probably are not aware that 
 the sole object of most of them and the sole object 
 of every pagoda in many large districts in China, 
 is to nullify the destructive forces of bad Feng- 
 Shui, or to collect and concentrate the propitious 
 streams of spirit influence on some particular 
 town, stream, or plain. In the neighborhood of 
 Canton the greater number of the towers that dot 
 the landscape are narrow monuments, of the same 
 diameter from the top of the wall to the founda- 
 tion, and with a high, pointed roof. These are 
 shaped like a Chinese camel' s-hair brush, and are 
 erected to the memory of some eminent scholar. 
 Such pagodas are believed capable of attracting 
 portions of the propitious currents in such a way 
 as to result in an increase of intelligence in the 
 population. But others have a more general pur- 
 pose. There is hardly a large town but has one or 
 more lofty pagodas in or near it for its protection, 
 and this is called that particular town's Feng- 
 Shui. Thus close to Amoy there is an island at 
 the entrance to the river which leads to the great 
 city of Changchow, thirty miles distant, on which 
 
THE BUGBEAR FENG-SIIUI. 22/ 
 
 is a stumpy and dilapidated tower, called "the 
 Changcliow Feiig-Sliui." It is supposed that 
 this unsightly pagoda is able to deflect any mis- 
 chievous spirit influences which, but for its pres- 
 ence, might stream up the river and overthrow 
 the reputation and commerce of Changcliow, 
 The hopes of the inhabitants depend on the sta- 
 bility of that tower thirty miles off"; it is a pity it 
 seems likely soon to crumble to dust. Sometimes 
 the faith of the people is placed in objects even 
 more ungainly. On the shore of the island of 
 Kolongsoo (the residence of Europeans at Amoy) 
 is a mass of rock some twenty-five feet high, 
 called one of the "anchors" of Amoy. The 
 Amoyese believe that when that rock falls the 
 fortunes of the city will fall with it, and as its 
 base has been much worn by the action of the 
 sea, it is' abundantly propped up by large blocks 
 of stone piled at its foot. 
 
 The professors of Feng-Shui are always the 
 parties to decide on the site for a pagoda; and 
 similarly they will sometimes order a wall to be 
 built as a shield or screen to protect a house or 
 public building from malign influences. Of 
 course such a wall shuts off" also those currents 
 that are only beneficent; but the owner of the 
 house must take his chance of that. In front of 
 joss-houses and the residences of mandarins a 
 
228 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 screen is often raised in this way, and upon it 
 figure quaint diagrams, ferocious-looking beasts, 
 and some written characters which bid defiance 
 and breathe eternal hostility to the invisible en- 
 emy. A curious instance of this screen-making 
 occurred in connection with one of the London 
 Mission chapels near Amoy, as we have related 
 more at length in another part of this book. A 
 mob had destroyed the building before it was fin- 
 ished, on the pretext that it would disturb their 
 Feng-Shui. Through the efforts of the British 
 Consul the mandarins were compelled to raise the 
 money to rebuild the chapel; but to prevent any 
 harm being done to the town by its objectionable 
 presence, a wall, on which were painted dragons 
 and tigers, was put up opposite the chapel door, 
 and so the Feng-Shui of the town was preserved. 
 It will be readily seen that as Feng-Shui has 
 ■ to be regulated, so it can be most unfortunately 
 disturbed and bring utter ruin to multitudes who 
 have placed houses or graves in the position where 
 the best harvest of good luck may be reaped. The 
 making of a path or building of a house is not, 
 therefore, a matter in which the workman or his 
 employer alone is concerned. Every one who 
 lives within sight of it, and ever>^ spirit whose 
 bones repose in a grave near it, is intensely in- 
 terested in the questions where and in what style 
 
THE BUGBEAR EENG-SIIUI. 229 
 
 that house or road is going to be made. It will 
 suggest itself at once to the reader that if we 
 ignorant European outsiders were to live where 
 we choose in China, to build as we like, to make 
 roads and railways, to erect telegraph posts, to 
 quarry stone wherever we saw any to our fancy, to 
 delve recklessly into the bowels of the earth for 
 coal, we should, in the opinion of the Chinese, be 
 like "a maniac scattering dust" and "a fury 
 slinging flame." We should put steeples to our 
 churches and tall chimneys to our factories, and 
 in so doing commit the unpardonable crime of 
 upsetting the serenity of the spirit- world. No 
 vengeance would be too dire to execute upon the 
 rash mortal who could disregard the interests of 
 his fellow-creatures in such a manner. No pas- 
 time is more dangerous than that of making inno- 
 vations called improvements, and the collective 
 wrath of multitudes must fall on the man who 
 should attempt it. 
 
 The long and harassing troubles of the Epis- 
 copal Church Mission in Foochow a few years 
 ago all arose from the fact that the missionaries 
 wished to build an extra dwelling-house on a hill 
 in the town, and the people maintained that their 
 Feng-Shui would be destroyed. The city was 
 nearly ruined in 1876 by a series of catastrophes — 
 a typhoon, two floods which covered the town to 
 
230 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 a depth of six feet, in one of which the ancient 
 " Bridge of Ten Thousand Ages" was partly de- 
 stroyed, and a conflagration which swept away 
 two thousand houses. The whole of these mis- 
 fortunes were attributed to the fact that the mis- 
 sionaries had in their minds tJie intention to build 
 the Jiotise ! The opposition to the line of telegraph 
 from Foochow to Amoy was placed on the same 
 ground, that the Feng-Shui of the whole route 
 would be deflected and thrown into confusion; 
 and the Chinese triumphed ; the posts could not be 
 put up. One of the most striking illustrations of 
 this kind of fear which we have ever seen is in 
 Amoy. The whole neighborhood is a wilderness 
 of granite rocks. Enormous boulders are scat- 
 tered in every direction on hill and plain. The 
 *' Valley of the Ten Thousand Rocks" at the 
 side of the town led an English sea-captain to 
 say that "Amoy must have been the last place 
 created, and all the surplus stones were shot 
 there." Yet the natives rarely cut these rocks, 
 of which it would be a kindness to relieve the 
 fields and hillsides, but go by sea to the "Cut- 
 stone Village," three miles distant, where the 
 Feng-Shui doctors have declared it may be quar- 
 ried with impunity. 
 
 Every resident in China has heard of that 
 short-lived child of civilization, the Shanghai 
 
THE BUGBEAR FENG-SHUI. 231 
 
 railway, but few know that Feng-Shni, professed- 
 ly at least, had much to do with its being throt- 
 tled so soon after its birth. In "1875 an American 
 company completed the purchase of land for con- 
 structing a line of railway, nine miles in length, 
 from Shanghai to the small town of Woosung, 
 at the mouth of the river on which Shanghai is 
 situated. This was done in contravention of 
 treaty engagements, as the Chinese pleaded, with 
 some show of justice, but the enterprising capital- 
 ists had only the ultimate advantage of China in 
 view. It was believed that in a country so vast, 
 where communication even between places near 
 together is difficult and is only kept up at a waste- 
 ful expenditure of human labor,, the formation of 
 a short line of railway might prove to be a means 
 of exciting wealthy native merchants, if not the 
 ruling classes themselves, to endeavor to extend 
 the blessing of easy and rapid travelling through- 
 out the great centres of population. At first it 
 was proposed to present the whole line and plant 
 to the Chinese Government as a gift; but this in- 
 tention was not carried out, through fear that too 
 many of the mandarins were hostile to its exist- 
 ence. It was thought there would be a better 
 chance of its survival if the Government paid for 
 it than if they received it gratis. Accordingly, it 
 
 was sold to the Chinese at a moderate price ; but no 
 
 14 
 
232 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 sooner did they got the line into their own hands 
 than it was destroyed, and the engines and car- 
 riages were shipped over to Formosa (with the 
 professed intention of trying the railway scheme 
 in that island), where they long lay half buried 
 in the sands of the seashore. Almost the whole 
 opposition to it was laid at the door of Feng-Shui, 
 though there is plenty of evidence that other mo- 
 tives were in the background. 
 
 Occasionally Feng-Shui has played into the 
 hands of foreigners to their profit. We have not 
 before us the exact statement of facts with regard 
 to the following story, but it is approximately 
 correct. Some few years ago a German Mission 
 had a station in the centre of Canton province, 
 and a wealthy miller had built himself a very solid 
 and lofty granary in the same place. The mis- 
 sion church prospered but little for want of space 
 in their miserable hut, and the merchant's busi- 
 ness began to fail directly his warehouse was com- 
 pleted, because its Feng-Shui was bad. The 
 granary was offered for sale at a ridiculously low 
 price, since no one would be so rash as to pay a 
 heavy sum for a building in so unfortunate a po- 
 sition, and to take it down and rebuild it would 
 cost more than it was worth. But the missiona- 
 ries purchased it at once, occupied the ground 
 floor for a chapel, the first floor as schoolroom, 
 
THE BUGBEAR FENG-SHUI. 233 
 
 tlie second floor as apartments for preacher and 
 chapel-keepers, and the third floor was reserved 
 as accommodation for missionaries on their occa- 
 sional visits. It is needless to say the church has 
 prospered greatly since, notwithstanding the bad 
 Feng-Shui. 
 
 This superstition has developed a very curious 
 custom in China of disinterring the bones of the 
 dead. In every part of the land, but especially in 
 the Fuh-kien province, jars about twenty inches 
 deep are constantly seen grouped under the shadow 
 of a rock. These jars contain bones which have 
 been dug up from the grave because some calam- 
 ity has befallen the family of the deceased, and in 
 this way proved the Feng-Shui of the grave to be 
 bad. The jars and their contents (disrespectfully 
 called by foreigners "potted Chinaman," but by 
 themselves "yellow gold ") remain above ground 
 often for a long course of years, till the professor 
 of Feng-Shui has decided on an unexceptionable 
 site for reinterrinof them. In the neis^hborhood of 
 Shanghai, Ningpo, and many other places, the 
 first interment of a dead body sometimes does not 
 take place for many years after it is ready for 
 burial. 
 
 The body is placed in its strong coffin, which 
 then reposes under a shed till such time as the 
 verdict shall be given in favor of a grave of which 
 
234 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 . beyond a doubt the Feng-Shui will prove good. 
 The number of coffins piled in heaps in the open 
 ground in many parts would seem fabulous if it 
 were known. 
 
 It is an interesting though sad sight to see the 
 learned geomancer making his investigations. 
 Walking in country places, especially in those 
 parts that have through these delusions become 
 in the course of time vast cemeteries, one may 
 often see a small group of men wandering about — 
 now surveying the ground, now gazing at distant 
 points in the landscape, now intently gathered 
 round some little spot of earth, discussing in ear- 
 nest tones a very serious problem. Be sure there 
 is a professor of Feng-Shui in their midst. In 
 his hand he carries a mysterious-looking instru- 
 ment, the centre of which is a small compass, and 
 the wide outer rjm, painted with fifteen circles, 
 is crowded with written characters, each one of 
 which is the symbol of the various theories and 
 principles that govern the doctrine and practice of 
 Feng-Shui. It is difficult to gather any data by 
 which to judge of the extent to which these men 
 themselves believe in their miserable delusions, 
 or whether they only make profit out of the fol- 
 lies of the populace who are so anxious to be 
 gulled, and it is equally hard to form any opinion 
 as to the degree in which they act upon the writ- 
 
THE BUGBEAR FENG-SIIUI. 235 
 
 ten theories of Feng-Shui in assisting their clients 
 to select a tomb. One thing is certain, namely, 
 that they find it much easier to procure repose for 
 the dust of the poor than of the rich. The latter 
 are often kept waiting for years, while abstruse 
 calculations are made and heavy fees charged for 
 every attempt to solve the weighty and mysteri- 
 ous problem. 
 
 Naturally this distressing superstition is a stock 
 subject with Christian preachers in speaking to 
 the heathen. Sometimes the question is argued 
 on scientific grounds, but more often by reference 
 to the discrepancies between its professions and 
 the facts. We remember on one occasion hearing 
 the whole subject discussed by a very able preach- 
 er before a crowded heathen audience, when he 
 related this story. In Amoy there was a Feng- 
 Shui doctor who gave out that he was the most 
 learned and skilful of all his fraternity. Hearing 
 this the preacher got into conversation with him, 
 and quietly asked him, 
 
 " Have you chosen good Feng-Shui for your- 
 self?" 
 
 "Oh, yes, the very best; I used all the re- 
 sources of the art in selecting it." 
 
 To put his clever acquaintance off his guard 
 the preacher diverted the conversation a little 
 and then said, 
 
236 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 " Is yours a lucrative profession?" 
 "Alas, uo ; it is scarcely possible to live by 
 it." 
 
 "You do not look strong; is it because of ill 
 health that you are so poor ?' ' 
 
 ' ' No, it is not that, though I am often very 
 weak and ill; it is that peojDle will not pay me." 
 "Are your honored parents living yet?" 
 " No, they left the world many years ago." 
 " How many children have you?" 
 "Alas, I have buried the only three children 
 I have ever had." 
 
 "Why, herein is a strange affair," said our 
 friend the preacher. "You declare that you are 
 the most skilful master of Feng-Shui, that you 
 have chosen the very best Feng-Shui for yourself, 
 and that to have good Feng-Shui secures all man- 
 ner of good fortune, and yet you cannot get a suf- 
 ficiency of rice, and you are weak in body and 
 have neither parent nor child!" 
 
 There is no idea in the cranium of a Chinaman 
 more difficult to uproot than this absolute faith of 
 his in the almightiness of Feng-Shui. Argument 
 apparently fails to loosen his hold in the least. 
 He cannot grasp the elementary principles of a 
 sound theory of natural science, for his prejudices 
 are infinitely stronger than his reason. He listens 
 with the courtesy that is part of his very nature; 
 
THE BUGBEAR FENG-SHUI. 237 
 
 and, "with a smile that is childlike and bland," 
 he congratnlates his opponent on his skill in ar- 
 gument and his extensive knowledge, but retains 
 his old opinions intact. In nothing does he show 
 himself more conservative. And even when grace 
 has reached his heart and he joins the church of 
 Christ he too often clings to the rags of tradition 
 and tries to amalgamate and reconcile his super- 
 stition with his faith. Among many instances of 
 this one in particular comes to mind. An elderly 
 man at one of the Fuh-kien country chapels was 
 said to be a firm believer in Feng-Shui, although 
 he had made a profession of Christianity for some 
 years. I asked him before the whole congrega- 
 tion whether it was true or not, and he replied, 
 in a deep, sepulchral tone of awful solemnity, 
 which raised a laugh even during the service, 
 that "there must be a great deal in it ; a poor 
 man like him could not be expected to fathom 
 it; it was mysterious and profound." Their 
 faith in Feng-Shui is generally the last supersti- 
 tion to be eradicated from the converts to Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 We are glad to hear that a vigorous effort is 
 just now being made by some of the most enlight- 
 ened of the prominent men in China to introduce 
 the steam-engine and electric telegraph and to 
 open up its valuable coal-fields. It is estimated 
 
238 ALONG EJVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 that there is just twenty times as much coal in 
 China as in the whole of Europe. Hitherto they 
 have feared to procure the coal, lest they should 
 disturb and provoke the spirit of the earth. The 
 spectacle has often been witnessed of children by 
 hundreds grubbing up the roots of grass for fuel, 
 and men deforesting the land and turning it into 
 a barren waste, while the coal comes so near 
 the surface at the distance of a few miles that 
 the farmer meets with signs of it as he drives the 
 plough. But they fear to dig, lest they should 
 alter the conformation of the soil and upset the 
 Feng-Shui; while even if they dared face such 
 a peril, Feng-Shui has already made the trans- 
 port of the coal next to impossible by preventing 
 the people from constructing roads suitable for 
 carts. 
 
 From the above it will be seen how much 
 what we might call the gospel of natural science 
 is needed in China to assist in clearing away the 
 tangled undergrowth that hinders the feet of the 
 messengers of the truth. It must be cut down in 
 time, and the time will probably not be long. 
 China cannot hold out many years against the 
 wave of Western thought beating now upon her 
 shores; and when another railway has been made 
 and telegraph posts have proved the groundless- 
 ness of their dismay and mining operations tempt 
 
THE BUGBEAR FENG-SHUI. 239 
 
 the Chinese to risk rousing the wrath of the en- 
 emy, it will probably be found that this overbear- 
 ing tyrant of Feng-Shui, which at present has a 
 stronger rule over the people than idolatry, will 
 topple to his fall long before the gods are flung to 
 the moles and to the bats. 
 
240 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 
 
 The Chinese are worthy of their renown for 
 reverence for scholars and learning. Education 
 has during several millenniums been regarded as 
 necessary to the culture of the best type of man- 
 hood. The words of Solomon, "That the sonl 
 be without knowledge is not good," would be 
 heartily echoed by half the population of that vast 
 empire. The desire for learning has been trans- 
 mitted from generation to generation through all 
 the twenty-four centuries since Confucius. In 
 the sayings of the sage and his disciples we trace 
 evidences that in the old time before them also 
 the people of China held knowledge in high re- 
 pute. When our forefathers were savages in the 
 woods of Britain the Chinese had a considerable 
 literature and were eminent among their neigh- 
 bors for learning. About the year A. D. 600 the 
 practice was begun, says the late Dr. S. W. Wil- 
 liams, of conferring literary degrees upon students 
 and of admitting ofhcials to civil and military 
 rank by means of public examinations. It is true 
 that education in China is no better to-day than 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 241 
 
 ever it was, that the subjects of study have not 
 been changed nor the standard advanced; but it 
 is equally true, as Dr. Williams puts it, that the 
 degree of learning in China in the pre-Christian 
 centuries "was, so far as we know, altogether 
 superior to what obtained among the Jews, Per- 
 sians, and Syrians of the same period." It is no 
 less certain that the sages of China, such as pre- 
 eminently Confucius and his disciple Mencius, 
 have obtained a sway over the intellect and morals 
 of the world such as Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, 
 and all the philosophers of Greece and Rome have 
 never reached. It may be that the stability of 
 the empire through four millenniums (although 
 it is a country that has frequently been rent by 
 revolution) is chiefly due to the national and so- 
 cial sentiments which Confucius crystallized into 
 speech. 
 
 This further tribute must be paid to Chinese 
 learning, viz., that the national literature, the 
 books held in the highest esteem, are all written 
 in a high ethical strain. The literature which 
 forms the groundwork of the thought and life of 
 the people is morally unimpeachable. It has 
 often been charged against our own classical 
 models that they are unfit to be placed in the 
 hands of young persons. But in China no great 
 classic needs to be expurgated. The books in 
 
242 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 daily use in schools and colleges do not contain a 
 single phrase that could raise a blush or needs to 
 be passed over. To say the least, this is very re- 
 markable. Their neighbors the Hindoos have a 
 sacred literature which is a sink of licentiousness. 
 Many of the standard books of Rome, Greece, 
 and Persia are very unclean. Our own English 
 classics are, in no small measure, chargeable with 
 loose and immoral suggestions. But the crown- 
 ing honor of the Chinese race is that the books 
 most reverenced are the purest; that their ethics 
 are both wise and just, if not particularly pro- 
 found; and that the national ideal of moral con- 
 duct taught by these books and universally ac- 
 cepted, though too commonly ignored, has always 
 been both reasonable and good. As they are the 
 oldest nation in the world, so they have been be- 
 yond compare the most moderate, discriminating, 
 and moral. Their literature has trained them in 
 courtesy, temperance, and reverence for private 
 and public virtue. Falling far short though they 
 do of the Christian standard, it must yet be said 
 that they have many virtues that Christians would 
 do well to practise more circumspectly. Nor is 
 it any wonder that they marvel at our missionaries 
 for trying to teach them righteousness. Judging 
 our people and our faith by what is obvious to 
 themselves, they despise us as a people addicted 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 243 
 
 to quarrelsomeness, drunkenness, and licentious- 
 ness. But more of this further on. 
 
 In writing the above we have, unfortunately, 
 almost exhausted our opportunities for praising 
 the literature and the educational principles of 
 the Chinese. From this point discussion of these 
 subjects resolves itself into an indictment if the 
 standard of comparison for learning is bound to 
 be (which we cannot assert) the same as obtains 
 among ourselves. 
 
 Let it be at once understood that the terms 
 education and learning mean something incompar- 
 ably higher in the West than they do in the East, 
 a remark equally true of such words as worship, 
 reverence, truth, purity, and filial piety. Chris- 
 tianity has Christianized these words. In a heath- 
 en country they stand for little more than what 
 is customary, respectable, and ethical. There is 
 in truth no common ground on which we can 
 base a comparison between Western and Chinese 
 learning. If the question is asked, "Are the 
 Chinese an educated people?" no answer is suffi- 
 cient that does not expound what is to be under- 
 stood by the term education in China. 
 
 One of the commonest delusions in regard to 
 China is that all the people can read, a remark 
 that is often heard and read in connection Vv'itli 
 missionary matters. A few years ago a member 
 
244 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 of the House of Commons, speaking on common- 
 school education, said, "We shall have to go to 
 China to learn how to educate the masses of our 
 own population." Concerning which all that 
 need be said is that honorable members are not to 
 be looked upon always as models of accuracy or 
 masters of discrimination. 
 
 There is no possible method of deciding even 
 approximately what is the number of persons able 
 to read. But during the last few years something 
 like a general agreement has been arrived at 
 among persons who have carefully studied the 
 question. Only a few writers and speakers here 
 and there continue to use the language of exag- 
 geration about it. Moderate and careful state- 
 ments place the readers in China at something 
 like one- tenth of the estimate of forty years ago. 
 Even so learned a writer as Medhurst says, "The 
 number of individuals acquainted with letters in 
 China is amazingly great. One-half of the male 
 population are able to read, while some ' mount 
 the cloudy ladder ' of literary fame and far exceed 
 their companions." This was, doubtless, the 
 opinion generally held by foreigners in China at 
 the time Dr. Medhurst wrote; and it is true still, 
 if the phrase "acquainted with letters" might be 
 taken literally. There is scarcely an adult male 
 but can pick out a few characters here and there 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 245 
 
 in a proclamation posted on the wall; but, in the 
 Chinese language, to know a few characters does 
 not assist one in the least to understand the mean- 
 ing of others. Multitudes can read the characters 
 so as to know the names of hundreds of them 
 without being able to read a book so as to make 
 out the sense of it. There is also an exceedingly 
 numerous class of men who can read one book, 
 but not another. 
 
 It will be understood that, in presenting the 
 following considerations as to the number of read- 
 ers, the writer is not depreciating in any degree 
 the mental abilitv of the Chinese. The asfojeeate 
 number is enormous, and presents a magnificent 
 fund of material for the Bible Society and Tract 
 Society to work upon; but we ought to get rid as 
 soon as possible of the fond delusion that readers 
 of books are numbered not merely by tens of mil- 
 lions, but by hundreds of millions. Suppose the 
 population of the whole empire to be 400,000,000. 
 It has to be remembered, first of all, that of these 
 one-half are women; that in the whole of the 
 south there are no girls' schools, and in the north 
 the number of females who can read the simple 
 "Mandarin dialect," while large in the aggre- 
 gate, is small compared with the population. 
 Let us fix on a liberal figure for these ladies and 
 say there are 10,000,000, so as to throw the bal- 
 
246 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 ance in favor of the readers. Our number is now 
 210,000,000, of whom 10,000,000 are females. 
 But half of the males of every country are less 
 than twelve years of age, and since the boy must 
 be a genius who could read even a simple book at 
 sight in less than ten years of study on Chinese 
 methods, we must halve our 200,000,000 of males. 
 From the remaining 100,000,000 of adults, males 
 and youths, we must deduct that large class of 
 men who have never been to school at all — such 
 as the major part of the fishermen, boatmen, agri- 
 cultural laborers, unskilled artisans, chair-bearers, 
 baggage-men, wood-cutters, and beggars — many 
 millions of the last — who form at least one-half 
 the total male population, old and young. We 
 are left, on our liberal way of calculating, with 
 50,000,000 of males to account for; and it is here 
 that the element of uncertainty comes in and the 
 abundant room for difference of opinion. They 
 belong to so many grades of attainment. There 
 is an immense class of men who knew a good deal 
 of the character in their younger days, but who, 
 in a country without newspapers and magazines 
 and the ordinary kinds of mental stimulus that 
 obtain among ourselves, have grown very rusty 
 in it. It is, let us say, extremely easy to forget 
 the arbitrary and unalphabetical hieroglyphics 
 that form the written medium of the language. 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 247 
 
 Another considerable class consists of those who 
 through j^ressure of business, inhrniity, and, alx)ve 
 all, short-sightedness, have for many years lost the 
 art of reading. Is 20,000,000 too high a figure for 
 these men who are too busy, too indolent, or too 
 feeble to read? If not, we have now 30,000,000 
 of males to deal with. Now, all who know the 
 Chinaman are aware that he is in the habit of 
 saying "Yes" to the question, "Do you know 
 the character?" The coolie class will perhaps re- 
 ply, "How should such a man as I know anything 
 of it ? My father had no cash to spare to send me 
 to school. To me the art is very profound and 
 mysterious." But great numbers call themselves 
 " know-the-character-men " whose learning will 
 not bear investigation. They know the charac- 
 ters they require in their business; it may be a 
 hundred or a thousand. They can often read and 
 write business letters, but they cannot read even a 
 simple book at sight. The same is true of many 
 who are called the learned. I have seen a "teach- 
 er" in a state of bewilderment at meeting wnth a 
 few characters he had not seen before. When I 
 expressed to one of these men my surprise that h-e 
 could not read a pamphlet which I had fairly well 
 understood myself, he replied, "How should I? 
 I have never seen the book before !" One of the 
 
 most amusing sights of the kind I ever witnessed 
 
 15 
 
 Elver mid Roiul in China. 
 
248 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 was the attempt of a graduate of the first degree 
 to make sense of the third chapter of John. He 
 gave it up at last with an impatient shout, and 
 evidently not because of the doctrine. Place the 
 women readers of the north at 10,000,000 if you 
 will, and the men readers of the whole empire at 
 several tens of millions if you think it safe, the 
 number, though enormous in the aggregate and 
 presenting so fine a field for the dissemination of 
 religious truth, is still small in comparison with 
 the mass of the population. In the cities there 
 are, of course, more readers than in the country 
 districts, and some provinces are very far in ad- 
 vance of others. Llissionaries have sometimes 
 tried to make a careful average estimate. Some 
 years ago the mission doctors at Ningpo examined 
 the literary abilities of every patient who came to 
 their hospital, and decided that in the city itself 
 only about five per cent, of the men could read a 
 little. That percentage would have to be lowered 
 for the villages. In the northerly provinces, 
 where the ]\Iandarin language is read and spoken, 
 the proportion of readers is larger than in the 
 south, where the dialects and languages are so 
 numerous and the written language coincides so 
 little with the market tongues. The most deplor- 
 ably ignorant province is Fuh-kien. Intelligent 
 and judicious colporters in that province have as- 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 249 
 
 siired the writer that only one or two per cent, of 
 the men can read with sufficient intelligence to 
 allow of the hope that if they receive the Scrip- 
 tures their own eyes could convey the meaning to 
 their minds and hearts. 
 
 It is not difficult to trace the mistaken no- 
 tions current in England to their true source. 
 The facts concerning Chinese education are re- 
 markable enough to account for them. Every 
 town and almost every village has its schools. 
 The door to official promotion is in the examina- 
 tion hall. Degrees are conferred upon successful 
 students. So greatly are these degrees coveted 
 that the unsuccessful will try for several tens of 
 years to thread their way through the maze that 
 leads to success. The most notable men of a 
 neighborhood are not the wealthy but the learned. 
 The schoolmasters form a distinct portion of the 
 aristocracy of the land. Monuments and tablets 
 are erected to the memory of celebrated writers. 
 And beyond all these things, the immense bulk of 
 their literature, however poor may be the quality 
 of it, will explain how a partial and cursory glance 
 at the question of Chinese education has led to an 
 exaggerated estimate of the general culture of the 
 people. Even if a new-comer had never heard of 
 the honor which the Chinese accord to a knowl- 
 edge of reading and writing, he could not help 
 
250 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 soon becoming conscious of it. He observes 
 writing in all directions — shop signs, ornamental 
 inscriptions, placards, proclamations. He may 
 perchance happen to stroll through a street almost 
 entirely consisting of bookshops, like the Pater- 
 noster Row of Canton. Such a sight impresses 
 him the more because of his ignorance of the fact 
 that not in one village in a thousand is there a 
 book to be bought; nor does he know that it is 
 still a country without newspapers, except along 
 the coast. Now and again in his walk through the 
 city he hears the loud chatter of a score of lads 
 reading their lessons in school. It may be the 
 time of the provincial examinations for the Civil 
 Service, and the town is thronged with young 
 and middle-aged men who are ready to enter 
 the vast hall or court where the examinations are 
 held. All these things are most suggestive. But 
 what perhaps impresses most powerfully the un- 
 tutored observer is the respect which he finds is 
 paid by all to the written character. Small 
 shrines are erected at the corners of many streets, 
 forming furnaces into which the devout throw 
 every scrap of written paper, whether written by 
 hand, printed, or stamped, every piece of a torn 
 book, their old letters, and shreds that contain 
 the price-marks of goods. So sacred a thing is the 
 character reckoned to be that slips of paper are 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 25I 
 
 pasted on the walls calling on the populace to 
 "reverence lettered paper." Baskets are car- 
 ried round to the shops by persons hired for the 
 purpose to collect these odds and ends with wri- 
 tin£^ on thcni. The benevolent and pious well- 
 to-do people put themselves to the trouble and 
 expense of hiring these collectors of waste paper 
 under the belief that the unwary and irreligious 
 multitude would bring upon themselves blindness 
 and disease in this life, and the heaviest penalties 
 of hell in the next, by using lettered paper to 
 kindle fires or by sweeping it up with the dirt 
 and rubbish of the house or street.* Our new 
 arrival is informed that these characters are hon- 
 ored with the names of " the eyes of the sages," 
 and that the art of writing is poetically called 
 "treading in the footsteps of holy men." And 
 to crown all this array of illustration of the sup- 
 posed learning of the people, he is told that to 
 
 * In Foochow, in 1875, an official proclamation was posted on 
 the walls of the city, signed by the literary chief of the local pre- 
 fectural examinations, calling attention to the prevailing " disre- 
 spect exhibited towards the written character by shopkeepers, 
 who, in shameless disregard of propriety and ancient usage, have 
 the audacity to print words upon the papers and wrappers used 
 in the ordinary course of business, the character being thus often 
 torn and soiled with dirt in a way that excites one's strongest in- 
 dignation ;" and, to avoid this criminal act of writing upon their 
 parcels and goods, merchants were exhorted "' to use rings and 
 signs and figures of birds, fisii, insects, and flowers on their goods 
 and packages, thus causing many benefits to accrue to public 
 morality." 
 
252 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 pass an examination is to rise several grades in 
 social standing, that snch a scholar confers dis- 
 tinction upon the district in which he dwells, as 
 well as upon himself; that a new and resounding 
 title is given to him; and that not respect and 
 influence only, but the path to wealth also, in 
 many cases is open to a man who succeeds in the 
 endeavor to join this literary aristocracy. Who 
 can wonder that such facts, curious and supersti- 
 tious -as many of them are, lead to the conviction 
 that the Chinese are an eminently literary people? 
 
 Let us examine this educational system from 
 its foundation. 
 
 We enter a boys' school and find from fifteen 
 to twenty-five lads -eight to sixteen years of age 
 seated upon bamboo stools at tiny tables. On 
 each table is a slab of stone, a stick of India-ink, 
 and the writing brushes. Some are copying char- 
 acters in little yellow books; others are reading 
 their lessons. These latter shout their loudest 
 instead of speaking in quiet tones. The school- 
 master is satisfied with them so long as they are 
 making a noise. In ringing treble, their faces 
 upturned and the veins of their necks distended, 
 these shaven-headed, blue-robed little Celestials 
 repeat the lessons prescribed by the Board of Ed- 
 ucation a millennium or two ago, raising such a 
 din that the whole neighborhood can hear, and 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 255 
 
 the passer-by is advertised of the existence of the 
 schooh 
 
 On entering the scliooh-ooni in the morning 
 the boys first bow to the tablets of Confucins and 
 the god of letters. Then they turn to their teacher 
 and do the same. A stick of incense is then placed 
 in front of the tablets and the business of the day 
 begins. 
 
 The schoolmasters are not a prepossessing race 
 of men, if the writer's experience of them is a safe 
 criterion. A dirtier, greasier, slovenlier set of 
 men are not to be seen. Perhaps the sedentary 
 and uninspiring tasks make them careless in their 
 habits and lead them to much smoking of to- 
 bacco. It has also to be remembered that the 
 schoolmasters generally are the class of "schol- 
 ars" who have not succeeded hitherto in obtain- 
 ing a degree. There are no schools supported by 
 the Government, nor is there anywhere a local 
 tax levied to provide education for those who can- 
 not afford to pay for the instruction of their chil- 
 dren. It would be difficult to find a building 
 which had been specially erected as a school- 
 house. A needy "literate" hires a dwelling 
 with a large room and gets as many pupils as he 
 can. The school hours are from sunrise to ten in 
 the forenoon, and from eleven to sundown. The 
 boys begin their course of study by reading the 
 
256 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 names of the characters. This they continue to 
 do for several years, not being taught the mean- 
 ing of them until they have arrived at an age 
 when they are believed to be capable of under- 
 standing such explanations. Their little heads 
 become mere memory-boxes for certain signs and 
 sounds, but no intelligent ideas at all are connect- 
 ed with them. They also learn by rote certain 
 small primers which are the universal standard 
 readers, called the Four Books of Confucius and 
 the Five Ancient Classics. Throughout their 
 whole course nothing else whatever is taught 
 than reading and writing and committing to mem- 
 ory these little books known to every Chinaman. 
 Such studies as geography, arithmetic, history, 
 natural science, and foreign languages are not so 
 much as thought of. It would greatly surprise 
 one of these learned teachers to tell him that 
 these subjects were essentials of a liberal educa- 
 tion. It is not fair to judge the whole class by 
 such specimens as we have met; but our experi- 
 ence must have been very unfortunate, or else the 
 schoolmasters are a very dull and benighted race. 
 Their incapacity to discriminate upon the plain- 
 est subject that is out of the groove of their educa- 
 tion is ludicrous almost to the point of irritation. 
 No question is too childish for a schoolmaster to 
 ask and no absurdity too gross to be believed. 
 

SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 259 
 
 Visiting one of these gentry in the house of a 
 wealthy merchant, he leered at me blankly for 
 some five minutes, and then asked, " Can your 
 ships sail to the moon?" I thought I must have 
 misunderstood him; but he was anxious I should 
 not credit him with too much sense, and pressed 
 the question. The impossibility of a ship sailing 
 in the air had to be explained to him as to a child 
 of three years of age. 
 
 Such a schoolmaster earns a very poor living 
 unless he can get twenty pupils who pay regularly 
 and well. In Fuh-kien the fee is half a dollar a 
 month for each pupil — say, from fourpence to 
 fivepence a week. Taking the difference in the 
 value of money into account, we might call it 
 about three shillings a week for a boy's education, 
 a fact which will reveal very clearly how much 
 China needs to adopt our public-school system of 
 inexpensive education. In the country districts 
 a fee of less than half a dollar is the rule, but in 
 this case the parents of the pupils are expected to 
 send to the master presents of eatables with some 
 degree of regularity. 
 
 The system of education in the colleges does 
 not appear to much better advantage. There is 
 a change only in the names of the books, little or 
 none in the quality of them. Nor is the educa- 
 tion of the student in our sense of the term ad- 
 
26o ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 vanced in a degree at all proportionate to the 
 immense labor and perseverance with which these 
 studies are pursued. Among ourselves there are 
 multitudes of men and women who are profound 
 students simply for the love of learning. We call 
 them hard readers or book-worms or consumers of 
 the midnight oil. They love to add to their stores 
 of knowledge. The scientist or philologist or the- 
 ologian studies for the sake of doing so and for 
 love of learning. But it would be hard to find 
 such a person in China. There literature is pur- 
 sued almost solely as a means of gain, to secure 
 an honorable position in society or advancement 
 in office and wealth. Originality of thought is 
 not cultivated nor desired. To strike out for 
 one's self a new path, whether in thought or ex- 
 pression, would be to insure failure. Almost the 
 only mental faculty trained to study is that of 
 memory, A theme is given by the examining 
 board, and an essay must be written upon it con- 
 forming closely to the style which has been re- 
 garded for ages as the standard. The classics 
 must be quoted liberally and with absolute pre- 
 cision. The candidate most likely to be " placed ' ' 
 is the one whose memory recalls most readily 
 classic phrases bearing on the subject given. It 
 scarcely needs be pointed out how ludicrously 
 short such a system falls of what we mean by edu- 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 261 
 
 cation. In as far as the ethics of Confucius and 
 his greater pupil ]\Iencius guide the understand- 
 ing and afford a basis for sound judgment, these 
 students may be said to be educated. Nor will 
 we forget to credit them with a well-trained mem- 
 ory. But of what expands the mind and leads it 
 into undiscovered paths there is almost nothing. 
 Let it be remembered that there are not difierent 
 kinds or grades of training and examination for 
 those who intend to pursue law, medicine, or a 
 military career. For all there is nothing but 
 these everlasting and wearisome classics. To be 
 able to write a stilted essay and prosy rhymes is 
 considered sufficient proof of fitness to embark in 
 any undertaking. In the highest examinations 
 the history of China has a place; but general his- 
 tory, geography, mathematics, philosophy, scien- 
 ces, and languages would be thought utterly un- 
 worthy of the halls of learning. 
 
 To Europeans whose notions of liberal culture 
 cover a considerable range of study which cannot 
 be in itself a means of direct pecuniary profit or 
 a source of fame, it is impossible to fathom the 
 profound ignorance of the average Chinese grad- 
 uate. If he is asked whether he knows where 
 England, France, Russia, and America are, he 
 replies, "What advantage would it be ? I am 
 not intendiufr to travel." The same sort of an- 
 
262 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 svver is given to the question would he like to 
 know a foreign language. "No, I do not see 
 how I could earn any money by it." His world 
 is the land of his birth, and less than that — it is 
 the narrow circle in which he expects to pass his 
 days. 
 
 Yet there are foreigners of talent, and whose 
 position and culture give their opinions a claim 
 to our respect, who sometimes indulge in a lau- 
 datory style of criticism of Chinese learning. As 
 we write there comes to hand a newspaper with 
 the report of a speech by -a gentleman with a uni- 
 versity degree. He says, "The Chinese have for 
 many years had a most elaborate system of uni- 
 versities. There are one hundred thousand men 
 who have taken a degree equal to any degree in 
 England. There are smaller university towns at 
 which the degree equivalent to the London B. A. 
 may be taken. A candidate, after passing this 
 examination, may proceed to the capital of his 
 province to compete for the second degree, which 
 may be compared to the English M. A." There 
 is no need to quote on the other side the state- 
 ments of some of the most learned English and 
 German scholars who have pointed out the fatuity 
 of such assertions. The author of the above- 
 quoted words himself suggests that there must be 
 something fatally amiss in the system of gradua- 
 
CHINESE PUNISHMENTS. 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 265 
 
 tioii by proceeding to add, "I had a station in 
 one of these higher towns where every third 
 year four thousand eight hundred men came up 
 for examination. Of these four thousand eight 
 hundred only seventy-five could possibly take the 
 degree, because the Goveriuncnt granted no viore^ so 
 that a successful competitor gains a very high 
 honor." We may put side by side with that 
 statement the words of Dr. Medhurst, written at 
 a date when such opinions were perfectly excusa- 
 ble: "Wealth, patronage, friends, or favor are of 
 no avail in procuring advancement, while talent, 
 merit, diligence, and perseverance, even in the 
 poorest and humblest individual, are almost sure 
 of their appropriate reward. This is their princi- 
 ple, and their practice does not much vary from 
 it. They have a proverb that w^hile royalty is 
 hereditary, office is not, and the plan adopted at 
 the public examinations is an illustration of it." 
 Both in the matter forming the subject of exami- 
 nation and the manner of conferring degrees they 
 differ so much from our own universities that it is 
 vain to institute comparisons. Let them have all 
 due honor, and a large measure of it, for the re- 
 spect in which they hold learning and the zeal 
 with which they pursue it; but for the credit of 
 European scholarship and for dread of ridiculous 
 inaccuracy, let reference to these Chinese degrees 
 
266 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 as equivalents of our B. A., M. A., LL- D., and 
 F. R. S. be for ever avoided. * 
 
 Mr. G. W. Cooke in his interesting corre- 
 spondence, published at the time of the last war 
 with China, reported many conversations with 
 the Viceroy Yeh, and among the rest his state- 
 ments as to the preparation he had made for his 
 position. He had taken the four degrees. His 
 last distinction was so great that he stood second 
 on the list at the highest examination. From the 
 lengthy dialogue printed in the "Times" at that 
 date and afterwards published in a volume we 
 cull a few of the correspondent's queries and the 
 replies of this distinguished graduate, but gigantic 
 murderer, who died of surfeit, dirt, and laziness: 
 
 " Your Excellency was judge of Yunnan: did 
 you ever study Chinese law?" " Never." 
 
 "Did you never read the Chinese code?" 
 "No." 
 
 "May I believe that a man who understands 
 the Four Books and the Five Classics is thereby 
 and without any further study fitted for every 
 public office in China?" "From the very com- 
 
 » It may be interesting to some to read the names of the four 
 literary degrees. They are Siii-isai, or " flowering talent," because 
 of the promise held out of the future success of the scholar ; Kii- 
 jin, or "promoted men;" Tsin-szc, or " advanced doctors;" and 
 Han-lin, which is ratlier an office than a degree, for those who 
 attain it are enrolled as members of the Imperial Academy and 
 receive salaries. (Dr. Williams, " Middle Kingdom.") 
 
SCHOOLS And colleges. 267 
 
 mcncement of the Chinese Empire it has been 
 the custom to depend entirely on the Four Books," 
 
 "Can your Excellency speak or read Man- 
 tchu?" "No." 
 
 ' ' Nor the Cantonese dialect ?" " No. " 
 
 " In seeking civil emjDloy must you not know 
 something of practical matters, such as how to 
 restrain rivers within their channels?" "No; 
 we are only expected to speak of the true doc- 
 trine." 
 
 "Are you not required to be acquainted with 
 natural history or trade or relations with foreign 
 countries?" "No" (emphatically); "we are 
 only expected to speak of the true doctrine." 
 
 And so on to any length. 
 
 With such a system of education it can be no 
 matter of surprise that the graduates in China 
 appear to be the most ignorant, foolish, and im- 
 practicable class of the people. Among the coolie 
 and shop-keeping class one meets with most in- 
 telligent and thoughtful men, but the aristocracy 
 of "learning" in general seem incapable of re- 
 ceiving a new idea. From the very beginning 
 of their studies their range of thought has been 
 cramped by the method pursued. Their point of 
 view in regard to the blessings of education differs 
 absolutely from ours. Their idea is that man 
 needs to be kept from going wrong; ours that 
 
26S ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIKN. 
 
 man needs to be led into the way of right. Re- 
 pression, therefore, rather than expansion, is the 
 tendency and result of education. As Papuan 
 mothers put the heads of their babes into a frame 
 to flatten them according to Papuan notions of 
 good looks, so the minds of Chinese students are 
 crushed into a mould which is regarded as the 
 very type and acme of all that is mentally and 
 morally elegant, with the natural result that me- 
 diocrity is secured as well as uniformity. Original- 
 ity is the last gift a master desires for his pupil, 
 and genius means, not native vigor of thought, 
 but an unusual gift for being like everybody else. 
 In the Fa-ti nursery grounds near to Canton there 
 are some very odd-looking shrubs. The garden- 
 ers have clipped them to the shape of various fig- 
 ures, such as a mandarin with flowing robes, a 
 stag, a water buffalo, an Englishman with swal- 
 low-tail coat, high hat, and walking-stick. Every 
 twig that threatens to grow according to its own 
 nature is ruthlessly snipped off" in order that the 
 whole form of the bush may be contrary to nature. 
 Under such a figure we may illustrate the ten- 
 dency of Chinese methods of instruction to destroy 
 true culture and to repress the natural expansion 
 of the mind. 
 
 The curious plan of conferring degrees must 
 also be adverted to. The ceremonial is most 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 269 
 
 elaborate and stately, worthy of a people who re- 
 gard the possession of learning with snch respect. 
 But the proportion of those who j)ass the exam- 
 inations is absurdly small. In the Literary Hall 
 of Canton there are upwards of 10,000 cells for 
 the candidates, and they are filled at every exam- 
 ination; but only two or three hundred are al- 
 lowed to pass. Of the vast number who present 
 themselves year after year the larger part have 
 been up before, many years in succession. A 
 teacher of mine who twice presented himself un- 
 successfully while in my employ told me that 
 most of the candidates had been trying to pass as 
 long as he could remember. Cases have been 
 known in which grandfather, father, and son 
 have come up to the hall at the same time, the 
 two elder men having been doggedly pursuing 
 their academical career from their youth. To be 
 "ploughed" only because the Government re- 
 fuses to grant more than a certain number of de- 
 grees is enough to bring furrows to the most 
 stoical brow. Such unfortunates usually earn 
 their living as schoolmasters or by doing petti- 
 fogging law cases about the courts, or as clerks, 
 doctors, letter-writers, and fortune-tellers. 
 
 The difficulty of graduating in the recognized 
 and legitimate way has opened the door to a vasfc 
 
 system of official corruption. It is believed that 
 
 16 
 
270 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 as many degrees are purchased with bribes as are 
 won by talent. Nothing is easier than for a man 
 with sufficient coin to "purchase to himself a 
 good degree." To the honor of the Chinaman be 
 it said that the public mind holds such fictitious 
 degrees in supreme contempt ; but the fact that 
 the possession of the literary degree gives a touch 
 of refinement to the social standing of the wealthy 
 man, such as he could never win solely by his 
 riches, has made the practice of procuring them 
 by bribery only too common. 
 
 He v;ould be a bold prophet who should dare 
 to foretell anything that will happen in China 
 during the next twenty-five years. But great and 
 sweeping changes will certainly come, affecting 
 the whole political and social system. There is 
 abundant reason, from their point of view, for the 
 conservatism of those native politicians who have 
 resisted the introduction of everything foreign. 
 They dread the stean^-engine and the electric tel- 
 egraph, because they fear quick communication. 
 They are perfectly aware of the superiority of 
 Western enlightenment, but they are as alarmed 
 at the prospect of European ideas spreading 
 among the people as ever Roman priest was at 
 his flock reading the Bible. The present system 
 of government must break up. Internal disin- 
 tegration will not do it, for there is a marvellous 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 271 
 
 cohesiveness of national life in the present igno- 
 rant state of the masses. But contact with the 
 West will lead to revolution, sooner or later. The 
 shrewd politicians of China have foreseen that it 
 is inevitable, as every one who knows China can 
 foresee it. They are not as foolish as they some- 
 times appear to be. 
 
 In their modes of school and college training 
 changes must also set in rapidly. Great num- 
 bers of Chinese youths are being trained in Amer- 
 ica and Germany. More still are passing through 
 the colleges presided over by foreigners in Hong- 
 Kong, Canton, Shanghai, and Peking. Every 
 year hundreds of men leave these institutions as 
 English scholars. These native gentlemen, who 
 know our language intimately and a good deal of 
 our literature, are destined to displace the dullards 
 who worked their way into office through the old 
 doors. To be an English-speaker is to have a 
 source of income and to be on the road to power. 
 It is impossible that men whose minds are steeped 
 in Western thought can continue to rule China on 
 the same narrow lines as those which have been 
 orthodox during four millenniums. It needs only 
 that a few prominent positions be held by men 
 who never entered a native examination-hall in 
 order to shake these ancient seats of learning to 
 their foundation. Foreign ideas have begun to 
 
2/2 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 pour into the land, and the torrent will soon be- 
 come a flood. Daily newspapers, edited by na- 
 tives, circulate along the coast by hundreds of 
 thousands, issuing chiefly from Hong-Kong and 
 Shanghai. Missionary periodicals, weekly and 
 monthly, pour forth tens of thousands • more. 
 Scientific institutions of various kinds are spring- 
 ing up under European management. Arsenals 
 and shipping companies, wholly in the hands of 
 natives, are accomplished facts. The Govern- 
 ment are so far aware of the necessity of recogni- 
 zing this tendency towards European methods 
 tliat, though they do not try to keep pace with 
 the times, they know the fates will not allow 
 them to be as far in the rear as they could wish. 
 A considerable English literature on every branch 
 of science, as well as many hundreds of theologi- 
 cal and religious bocks, have been translated. 
 The Government have even secured the services 
 of a staff of gentlemen to act as official translators 
 of standard scientific and other works. The broad 
 end of the wedge is rapidly following the thin 
 end. Hindered this process will be by the hatred 
 of the literary class for everything foreign; ham- 
 pered it must be by the cumbrous written charac- 
 ter, so utterly unsuited to express new ideas. 
 But these restraining influences will onlv tend 
 providentially to prevent the revolution in the 
 
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES. 273 
 
 national thought from being dangerously rapid. 
 In the end, and before very long, this wonderful 
 people, so shrewd and so anxious to be wise, will 
 prefer that which is true and good, though new 
 and foreign, to that which is meagre and inaccu- 
 rate, though consecrated by ancestral usage and 
 national approval. 
 
2/4 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. 
 
 The Monastery of the Bubbling Well on Ku- 
 shan, or Drum Mountain, six miles southeast of 
 Foochow, stands 1,700 feet up the hillside, and a 
 craggy peak towers yet another 1,000 feet above 
 it. 
 
 By the kindness of our missionary brethren we 
 were provided with a comfortable boat, in which 
 we rowed and floated with the tide for about five 
 miles to the foot of Kushan. The ascent begins 
 not very far from the landing-place. The road 
 consists almost entirely of stone steps in good re- 
 pair, each stone being eight feet long. The steps 
 wind round several blufis. There are a good 
 many trees overhanging the path, but at clear 
 points splendid views are obtained of the great 
 valley of the Min, in the direction of Foochow. 
 Four archways divide the hour's ascent into easy 
 stages and provide places of rest for the weary 
 climber. Each of these is a rough kind of tem- 
 ple supplied with gods in a poor state of repair. 
 Exposure to the weather tries the constitutions of 
 these depressed-looking and obese deities, whose 
 
A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. 2/5 
 
 noses and toes and other protuberances are apt to 
 show unmistakable signs of decay. Sacrilegious 
 Englishmen and Americans have, of course, de- 
 faced the walls of these alcoves with their names 
 and sketches; but as the Chinese do the same to 
 an uulimited extent, no Chinaman probably has 
 thought it showed much lack of propriety on the 
 part of the foreigner. 
 
 While w^e are resting for a few moments before 
 completing the last part of the ascent we may say 
 a word or two in regard to these Buddhist monks. 
 Several of them are persons who have run away 
 from their family obligations, so our guide tells 
 us. One has taken the sacred vows to save him- 
 self from the last penalty of the law. Most of 
 them, however, have either been devoted by their 
 parents to the monastfc life when mere children 
 or they have been purchased as boys by the fra- 
 ternity to complete their number. Priests trained 
 in these institutions can claim the gratuitous hos- 
 pitality of Buddhist monasteries in all parts of the 
 kingdom, provided they present a certificate of 
 membership signed by the abbot of the monastery 
 to which they belong. Most of these places own 
 some land; this one is particularly wealthy; but 
 where the property is not large the monks make 
 up the deficiency in their income by begging of 
 visitors, who go in considerable numbers in fine 
 
276 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 weather, or they wander in the streets begging at 
 the shop-doors. This style of " making a collec- 
 tion " of conrse goes by the title of receiving vol- 
 untary contributions from the pious; but you have 
 only to watch one of these unwholesome brethren 
 thrusting himself upon the attention of a shop- 
 keeper, and refusing to accede to the polite re- 
 quest that he will leave clear the space he occu- 
 jDies, while he strikes a little globe of brass with a 
 stick, to imderstand that such a method is volun- 
 taryism with a difference. Sometimes a company 
 of a score or more will invade a ward of a town 
 and "do" it thoroughly for a day, one of the sol- 
 emn and pious brethren beating a gong at every 
 pace to draw attention to themselves, while a few 
 of their servants follow thein to gather up the 
 gifts of rice, oil, and cash which the bountiful 
 feel inclined to bestow. The priests give up all 
 the relationships of social life. That they are cel- 
 ibates does not so much contravene the notions of 
 the Chinese nor arouse their dislike. But the 
 fact that their vow compels them also to neglect 
 their parents fills the follower of Confucius with 
 disgust. The name by which they are respectful- 
 ly, though obliquely, referred to, " Forsaken-the- 
 family" ichck-kc), expresses this dislike in moder- 
 ate terms, and the deeper feeling of contempt 
 thrusts itself into notice in a stronger term, 
 
A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. VJ 
 
 "Bald-headed asses," which is almost as com- 
 mon. Tliou£;li much despised, the superstitious 
 seek their aid frequently in household religious 
 ceremonies. In the monastery they spend much 
 of their time in reciting the sacred books of the 
 Buddhist faith, which, though written in Chinese, 
 are not understood either by priests or people. 
 The sounds of the original Sanscrit as it came 
 from India in the year that the apostle Paul was 
 travelling in bonds to Rome are represented by 
 Chinese characters, but the meaning of the sounds 
 has been completely lost in the ages that have 
 elapsed since Buddhism was driven out of India 
 to find a refuge farther east. 
 
 The immediate approach to the monastery is 
 by a wide and well-kept road, densely shaded by 
 large trees. To a European the general appear- 
 ance of the building from the road or from the 
 cliffs around it is not prepossessing. It resembles 
 the granaries, stables, and sheds of a model farm 
 more than anything else. But its situation in 
 this deep dell, with the sides of the hill rising 
 sheer from its outer wall, the mass of the moun- 
 tain for a background and the descending hill in 
 front to the valley nearly 2,000 feet below, is one 
 that it would be difficult to match for beauty. 
 Truly these monkish recluses had an eye for the 
 beautiful as well as for their own comfort. About 
 
278 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 a square acre and a half is covered with buildings, 
 the various shrines and halls being placed com- 
 pactly along the four sides, while the large tem- 
 ples and the refectory occupy the central space. 
 
 The entrance is by a wide wooden archway, 
 on each side of which stand a pair of hideous fig- 
 ures known as " Buddha's doorkeepers. " Oppo- 
 site the gate and in the centre of the large square 
 are two temples, among the handsomest (as Chi- 
 nese taste goes) and most complete of Buddhist 
 buildings in all China. The smaller temples and 
 shrines opening from the surrounding cloisters are 
 very numerous, and are dedicated to all the more 
 important spirits in the Buddhist Pantheon, Of 
 these the highest place is given to the local deities 
 who shed down prosperity on the city of Foo- 
 chow. 
 
 One may remark, in passing, that either the 
 faculties of the gods are growing rusty or they 
 have been in a spiteful mood of late, for in the 
 course of the fifteen months before we gazed upon 
 them there had been in Foochow two disastrous 
 floods, in which the loss of life and destruction of 
 property were incalculable, and one of which car- 
 ried away a large part of that great engineering 
 work, the " Bridge of Ten Thousand Ages," which 
 Bpans the Min; also two extensive conflagrations, 
 destroying several thousand houses, a typhoon, 
 
A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. 279 
 
 and the cholera. This list of calamities shows 
 that the governmental arranci^cments of said local 
 deities need reorganizing very badly. But there 
 they sit, poor things, apparently perfectly satis- 
 fied with themselves; and there come the still 
 more pitiable priests and people, who regard the 
 "images good for nothing, the work of an ancient 
 hand," as the tutelary deities that defend the mil- 
 lion-peopled city from disaster. 
 
 Among the various rooms that surround these 
 large halls for worship are kitchens and store- 
 rooms, which are worth seeing because of the 
 elaborate scale on which it is necessary to prepare 
 rice and vegetables for the daily sustenance of 
 upwards of two hundred vegetarians ; a printing- 
 room for the production of Buddhist books in 
 which with much labor the small number of one 
 hundred pages a day are struck off from the rude- 
 ly-cut wooden blocks; a reception-hall "for dis- 
 tinguished guests;" the abbot's private rooms and 
 reception-room, all appropriately dingy and dirty; 
 bath-rooms, very foul and in almost total dark- 
 ness, for the compulsory ablution of the monks at 
 least once in five days (and very much some of 
 them seemed to need it); the "Hall of Law," 
 where the precepts of Buddha are taught to neo- 
 phytes ; the "Hall of Contemplation," to which 
 these worthies retire to think themselves by the 
 
28o ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN." 
 
 negation of thought into eternal intellectuality; 
 and the library and "Hall of the Five Hundred 
 Honorables. ' ' 
 
 In the "Hall of Contemplation " our guide, 
 who goes by the name of " Attend-guests," with 
 much dumb show to call our serious attention to 
 what he was going to do, drew aside a curtain of 
 cloth which had once been blue and revealed to 
 us a monk on a dais, kneeling on a low stool and 
 sitting on his heels. "This," said Mr. Attend- 
 guest, "is a peculiarly holy man," though I could 
 not help thinking there was a peculiarly facetious 
 expression about our friend's face as he made the 
 remark. The monk was "contemplating," and 
 had been in that attitude for three weeks, a little 
 food being handed to him now and then. 
 
 There is another shrine that deserves a para- 
 graph to itself. It was one of the most gaudily 
 decorated in the monastery. Under a glass shade 
 was what seemed to be a good-sized section of an 
 elephant's tusk, but we were gravely assured that 
 it was one of Buddha's teeth. We remarked that 
 if Buddha had a tooth as large as that, he himself 
 must have been of gigantic stature; to which the 
 guide replied, "Great, great, extremely great." 
 That it is really true that these degenerate Buddh- 
 ists believe their founder to have been so big, 
 there is no doubt, for they will show you the 
 
A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. 28l 
 
 print of his foot. In Canton I reckoned the foot- 
 print in the granite rock shown me as the mark 
 of Buddha's footstep to be twelve feet long and 
 proportionably broad. It is difficult to conceive 
 of the state of degradation into which Buddhism 
 has sunk when it lays such emphasis upon the 
 mere physical bigness of the chief prophet of its 
 faith. In many parts of China there are temples 
 and shrines built over the relics of Buddha, and in 
 some cases there is nothing more of him to show 
 than a single hair. 
 
 Perhaps the most grotesquely interesting sight 
 of all is a quantity of live stock. In one corner 
 of the monastery are stys and pens for the preser- 
 vation, till their happy release from the burden 
 of life, of an astounding number of decrepit beasts, 
 pigs, goats, and fowls being in the majority. 
 These are the offerings of the faithful who hope 
 to purchase and secure everlasting happiness, 
 or at least escape from everlasting perdition, by 
 the act of rescuing the animals from the hands of 
 the unhallowed mortals who destroy life and 
 grieve the soul of Buddha. Let no one say he 
 has seen the most ancient of those venerable 
 chickens, the mere aspect of which takes off the 
 edge of appetite, until he has visited Kushan 
 and looked upon these dishevelled birds, whose 
 eyelids have long since grown together, leaving 
 
282 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 them in darkness, and whose very feet are cov- 
 ered with feathers an inch in length. In this 
 weird menagerie, too, may be seen goats with 
 hair trailing upon the ground, and pigs with their 
 four limbs stretched out at right angles to their 
 body, not through weight of fat by any means, but 
 simply through weight of years. Here the moral 
 philosopher may learn what a gift for torture 
 some men exhibit in what they are pleased to 
 call their mercy. Surely such melancholy mute 
 appeals from dumb animals to a sympathizing 
 spectator are to be seen nowhere else. The kind- 
 est hand that could be introduced into these stys 
 would be that of a butcher. It is a temptation to 
 risk one's immortality in a Buddhistic Nir\'ana 
 for the sake of putting an end to such an accu- 
 mulation of misery. Death appears no longer 
 a curse, but a blessing, after seeing in the survi- 
 val of these unhappy quadrupeds and fowls the 
 sorrows and the pains of age. 
 
 A similar sight, but without its ghastly fea- 
 tures, meets one in the court opposite the central 
 temple. Here are fishponds in which are multi- 
 tudes of fish, and some of them apparently of 
 great size. They look like gigantic perch as 
 they struggle for the biscuit which we throw to 
 them. Puffing and panting, gasping aloud, like, 
 a cow coughing as she chews the cud, they writhe 
 
A BUDDHIST MONASTKRY. 283 
 
 over the surface, a slimy, tortuous mass. These 
 fish also are preserved out of devotiou to Buddha. 
 But we must now relate a good story told by 
 one of our number who had been here before. 
 He said that on his former visit he got into an 
 argument with Mr. Attend-guests on the subject 
 of the wickedness of taking animal life. " But, 
 Tai-kek," said my friend, " would you not kill a 
 flea or a mosquito?" "Neither a flea nor a mos- 
 quito nor — " and here he mentioned a list of the 
 most prominent parasites upon the human sub- 
 ject in China — "that," he added, "would be to 
 imperil my soul." Later in the day my friend 
 came upon Tai-kek endeavoring to drown his bed- 
 ding in the fishpond by putting brick-bats upon 
 it, and of course doing it with intentions which 
 were self-evident. "Why, Tai-kek," said our 
 missionary brother, " what are you doing there? 
 You said you would not destroy even a flea." 
 " Nor am I," said Tai-kek; "they can swim. If 
 the fish choose to destroy them, that is their af- 
 fair!" 
 
 Above the roof of one of the shrines is an im- 
 mense bronze bell, which is struck at regular in- 
 tervals. In another chapter I have attempted to 
 explain the purpose of the wave of sound that it 
 produces, and to show its relation to the whole 
 theory of Feng-Shui. In some occult fashion it 
 
284 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 is believed to pacify, harmonize, and regulate the 
 spirit-influences that affect the building and its 
 occupants. The vibrations are said to circulate 
 through the veins of surrounding nature, preserv- 
 ing to the monastery peace, health, and general 
 good luck. The blessings the bell showers out 
 in its mellow tones extend as far as to Foochow. 
 The monks declare that the reverberations never 
 cease, and that were there even a momentary si- 
 lence, the threads of the spirit-influences would be 
 severed and calamity would ensue. On this ac- 
 count, day and night, year in and year out, one 
 of their number must be there to give the stroke — 
 blows at intervals of about forty seconds being 
 sufficient to make one reverberation mingle with 
 the subsidence of its predecessor. 
 
 But monks are lazy mortals and love not work 
 even though it be not hard. Moreover, being 
 lazy, they are prone to slumber; and even though 
 they fall not asleep, yet may they fall to thinking 
 over deeply on that strange work-a-day world that 
 lies nearly 2,000 feet below them. Thus even 
 the zealous and anxious soul hath been known to 
 leave too long an interval between the successive 
 booming of the bell. Consequently they have in- 
 vented a method by which they may be saved the 
 effort of drawing the cord that bangs the pendent 
 lump of wood against the outer side of the bell. 
 
A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. 285 
 
 Some seventy yards or more from the belfry a 
 stream runs down from the hillside. This is 
 dammed up to form a pool for constant supply. 
 As the water runs over at its outlet it fills a wood- 
 en trough, which, when it is nearly full, turns 
 over by the weight of water, and pulls the cord 
 that rings the bell that rules the spirits that bring 
 peace to the otherwise troubled souls of the 
 monks. And so, through gradations as regular 
 as in the story of "The House that Jack Built," 
 the trickling stream that innocently issues from 
 the hillside makes its influence felt as far as the 
 city of Foochow. 
 
 Outside the monastery walls the walks on hill 
 and in dale, over crag and cliff, through fern- 
 copse and wooded dell, in caves and grottos, by 
 natural and artificial streams and fountains, are 
 very beautiful. Walking alone in the brushwood 
 while my friends were at some distance, it was 
 my hap to see at my feet a huge snake, whose 
 coil, as it lay in the grass, must have measured 
 thirty inches across. It is needless to say I did 
 not remain to observe it more accurately. Men- 
 tioning the fact to the monks, we learned that 
 this, like the dilapidated domestic brutes within 
 the monastery, was an importation. A faithful 
 believer residing in the west of the province had 
 purchased its preservation, when about to be 
 
 River and Roail in Cliina. I 7 
 
286 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 killed, for the sum of sixteen dollars, and put 
 himself to the further expense of having it car- 
 ried across to Kushan. Its weight is 75 lbs., and 
 its teeth are said to be extracted. It is literally 
 the bete-noire of the monks, who doubtless regret 
 that the necessity of securing their salvation com- 
 pels them to allow it to roam about in their beau- 
 , tiful woods. If the buyer of the boa, or whatever 
 it is, expected to attain heavenly bliss through 
 his faith, toil, and expense, he should at least have 
 reflected on the possibility of his sending some 
 one else out of the world more speedily than is 
 kind. 
 
 Our main object in visiting Kushan was to see 
 Buddhist worship at its best. At 3:30?. m. the 
 monks were summoned to prayer by the beating 
 of the hollow trunk of a tree shaped to the like- 
 ness of a dragon. This same trunk had suffered 
 considerably through the united efforts of time 
 and the cudgel, and threatened to succumb al- 
 together after a little more flagellation. Less 
 than a hundred members of the fraternity put in 
 an appearance at the sound of the church-going 
 dragon, for if they attend at the service held be- 
 fore daybreak they are excused in the afternoon. 
 All wore the sacred yellow hood over the robe, 
 the abbot being arrayed in a red robe and red 
 shoes. Before entering the great temple each 
 
A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. 287 
 
 man bowed in silence for a few moments before 
 the shrine of the " local " deities. 
 
 The temple, judged by Western ideas of taste, 
 is tawdry and the attempt at elaboration is over- 
 done. Three colossal images of the Buddhas, 
 Past, Present, and To Come, occupy the space 
 farthest from the entrance door. A profusion of 
 shrines, rich carving, numberless pendent lanterns 
 of every shape and many sizes, images, candles, 
 flowers, decorate the altars and shrines. The 
 signs of wealth are abundant, but there is no sign 
 of good taste or of the sentiment of worship. 
 Gaudiness and costliness are the two things that 
 seem to have been aimed at. 
 
 Of large altars there are two; one in front of 
 the images of Buddha, and the other, much small- 
 er and near the door, standing between the high 
 altar and the door. This smaller altar was used 
 at the service we witnessed, the other being the 
 altar at which high mass is performed on festival 
 days. There are no seats for worshippers. Rows 
 of kneel ing-stools about ten inches high, and mats 
 to stand upon, are the only pieces of furniture. 
 
 The service is about to begin. Amid solemn 
 silence a drum is struck to give the signal. Soft 
 and slow music at once breaks upon the ear. The 
 abbot marches in, dressed in his priestly vestments, 
 attended by little boys as acolytes, who bear in 
 
288 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN 
 
 their hands pots of incense, or bells, which they 
 strike at intervals. The music very gradually be- 
 comes more rapid, increasing in volume as well 
 as in speed. Now and then the monks turn to 
 face one another, two and two, and as they swing 
 round again to their former position the music de- 
 clines to its ongimd piano and andante strains. 
 
 At the time of listening to the monks I did 
 not attempt to write down the various chants. 
 My attention was far too much engrossed with 
 the extraordinary spectacle. But on returning to 
 Foochow a friend who had been to Kushan sever- 
 al times, and who had a trustworthy musical ear, 
 assisted my memory. The following three chants 
 are, I believe, quite accurate, or, if incorrect in 
 any particular, are so approximately correct as to 
 form a sufficient illustration of the nature of the 
 Kushan melodies. The first of them was sung 
 without intermission for about seventeen minutes, 
 just as in the Roman churches the pagan fashion 
 is followed of invoking the popish pantheon at 
 vespers. 
 
 -V — I — , ^^-m — J- —a — I M J — I *— 
 
 -^-^m — ^ .- • 
 
 *C^ 
 
 
A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. 289 
 
 
 To give any adequate description of the hour's 
 service is impossible. Let the reader try to exer- 
 cise his imagination and to conceive the spectacle 
 of a hundred shaven-headed Chinamen in yellow 
 robes, standing in two groups of fifty, separated 
 by the low altar, with closed eyes and clasped 
 hands, chanting monotonously, sometimes rapidly 
 and sometimes slovvly; the abbot in a red robe 
 prostrate before the altar, while six acolytes, three 
 on each side of him, are beating time to the mu- 
 sic, one with a drum, a second with a big bell, 
 and a third with a very small bell, giving one 
 blow to every note pronounced by themselves and 
 the congregation, whether slow or rapid; the wor- 
 shippers now kneeling and now standing, now 
 facing one another and now turning to the high 
 altar, the whole performance closing with a pro- 
 cession between the kneeling-stools, up and down 
 and round and round the temple, while they chant 
 the word "0-me-to" ("Praise to Buddha") pre- 
 cisely one thousand times, telling off the number 
 accurately by means of the rosary in their hands. 
 If you, reader, gifted with imagination, can call 
 this scene before your mind, and the surroundings 
 of gorgeous decoration, massive gilt idols, candles 
 
290 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 burning on the altar, and the heavy smell of in- 
 cense, you will have an approximate idea of what 
 are the externals of Buddhistic worship in their 
 most complete form in China at the present 
 day. 
 
 That which strikes a visitor most is the mar- 
 vellous resemblance between the whole of it and 
 the Romish ceremony called the Mass. The 
 high altar and the smaller shrines; the gaudy 
 colors, lighted candles, and smoking incense; 
 intoned prayers and chants in "a tongue not 
 understanded of the people;" the shaven celi- 
 bates, the acolytes and choristers; the officiating 
 priest in embroidered cope; pictures and many 
 images (one of which, Kwan-im, is surprisingly 
 like the Romish statues of the Virgin carrying 
 the infant Jesus); the constant genuflections, the 
 tinkling of a bell as the signal for prostration, 
 the sprinkling of holy water, the elevation and 
 sacrifice of holy rice; the procession and long-con- 
 tinued ejaculation of "Praise to Buddha" (resem- 
 bling the "Hail Mary !") the use of strings of beads 
 to reckon the repetitions, all of these recall most 
 vividly the services of the Roman Church, and 
 confirm the conviction that Romanism is not so 
 fnuch Christianity degenerated towards paganism, 
 but rather paganism only slightly Christiani/.ed, 
 Romanism and Ritualism are only the working 
 
A BUDDHIST MONASTERY. 291 
 
 out in the forms of worshijo of the paganism that 
 lies latent in every human heart. 
 
 And if we add to the twenty-two resemblances 
 mentioned above some seventeen other points'' of 
 similarity between Romanism and Buddhism that 
 strike every student of them both, we shall only 
 strengthen that impression. Vows of celibacy in 
 both sexes, nunneries under the patronage of 
 "Our Lady," statues of the Goddess of Mercy, 
 the "Hearer of Cries," called also the "Holy 
 Mother," and the "Queen of Heaven," bearing 
 the child in her arms;* the taking of a new name 
 on entering the convent; the shaving of the head 
 corresponding with the tonsure {dsniidatio capitis 
 rcvclatio mentis) ; a special monastic dress, fast- 
 ing, forbidden meats, masses for the dead, the 
 doctrine of purgatory, the power of the priests to 
 deliver souls from purgatory in consideration of a 
 cash payment, the canonization of saints, the 
 pretended performance of miracles, the worship 
 of relics, and the belief in justification by works, 
 tliese various points of ritual and credulity pre- 
 sent so many coincidences that practically the re- 
 semblance between the two religions is complete. 
 
 Is it any wonder that the French missionary 
 
 '■ In a Romish chapel at Foochow there is a large white earth- 
 enware staute of Kwan-im vised to represent the Virgin and 
 Cliild. I fancied the priest seemed uncomfortable as we looked 
 at the imposture. 
 
292 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 Premare wrote from China to the Pope that " the 
 devil had mimicked Holy Mother Church in or- 
 der to scandalize her," or that Abbe Hue, the 
 slave of his unhappy superstition, says of Buddh- 
 ism that "it has an admixture of truth with 
 Holy Church "? Premare ascribed these lamenta- 
 ble errors to the devil, and so do we; but he 
 thought the devil was mimicking the Romish 
 Church, whereas the case was precisely the op- 
 posite. 
 
 Service over, we adjourned to the refectory to 
 see the brethren demolish the vast piles of rice 
 and vegetables; and then, amid the dim shadows 
 of the evening and through the melancholy pine 
 forest, we ran down the hillside and made our 
 way with some little difficulty along the narrow 
 mud banks between the paddy-fields to our boat. 
 
CREMATION OF A BUDDHIST PRIEST. 293 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 CREMATION OF A BUDDHIST PRIEST. 
 
 At a time when the question of bnrning in- 
 stead of burying the dead is being discussed a 
 good deal, it may be interesting to know that it 
 has been the custom of the Chinese Buddhists for 
 many centuries to cremate their priests and monks 
 who have "gone away," as they delicately put 
 it. 
 
 On the occasion of visiting the Kushan mon- 
 astery described in the last chapter, as we were 
 climbing the steep hill we noticed ahead of us a 
 procession of unusual appearance; and learning 
 that the dead body of a priest was about to be 
 cremated, we kept a short distance behind the 
 procession in order to witness the whole of the 
 ceremony as far as might be possible. The shape 
 of the coffin puzzled us very much, for instead of 
 being long and shallow it was short and deep. 
 We found the explanation of this to be that the 
 corpse was in a sitting posture in its short box. 
 Four men carried it on their shoulders, as though 
 it were a sedan-chair. The whole of the cof- 
 fin and poles was covered with a beautiful pall, 
 
294 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 tlie groundwork of which was scarlet worked with 
 figuring in blue, silver, and gold. In front walked 
 a man who at short intervals scattered on the 
 ground pieces of paper in imitation of Chinese 
 cash. These were round, about two and a half 
 inches in diameter, with a square hole in the cen- 
 tre, and in color white and yellow, as represent- 
 ing silver and gold. This paper is called "buy- 
 the-road paper," and is intended to purchase the 
 right of way from the spirit-world for the spirit 
 of the dead. As the doctrine is one of vanity and 
 lies, it is but natural and appropriate that false 
 money should be used to deceive the spirits. 
 
 When about a quarter of a mile below the 
 monastery the procession halted upon a level 
 piece of ground where a path turned off and down 
 to the right. The coffin was put on the ground 
 and the bearers and priests amused themselves by 
 lolling about, laughing and chatting. Several 
 came forward and engaged in conversation with 
 us. They were kind enough to explain a few 
 details of the funeral whose purpose and meaning 
 had escaped us. One young man was very much 
 interested in a common lead-pencil with metal 
 head with which I was making notes. He was as 
 pleased as a child when it was presented to him. 
 
 Presently the fraternity, to the number of a 
 hundred and ten, sauntered towards us at a lei- 
 
CREMATION OF A BUDDHIST PRIEST. 295 
 
 surely pace. All, of course, were closely shaven, 
 with one exception, and for mourning wore a 
 long robe of lavender color, with a yellow shawl 
 or hood thrown loosely over the back, passing 
 under the right arm and fastened with a buckle 
 upon the left shoulder. The yellow hood is worn 
 only at religious services. Some of the number 
 were conspicuously silent and apparently indiffer- 
 ent to the solemn event at which they were assist- 
 ing, while a few were as conspicuously reverent, 
 muttering prayers. Bowing low, they saluted 
 one another as they arrived with the cry, "O-me- 
 to," which, as we observed, means "Praise to 
 Buddha," but in this connection would seem 
 rather to imply, " Peace be with you" (Ping-an), 
 the salutation of Christians in China when they 
 meet or part. 
 
 The officiating priest, dressed in a reddish- 
 purple robe like that of the abbot, having arrived, 
 we strolled down in the easy-going manner of the 
 monks, without a procession being formed, to the 
 cremation ground, which was distant only a hun- 
 dred yards or so. It is in a wild spot. The plat- 
 form on which we stood had been made by dig- 
 ging at the steep face of the hill and levelling the 
 rocks and earth so dislodged. On one side, in the 
 direction of the monastery, the hill rose abruptly 
 to a heifrht of more than a thousand feet. All 
 
296 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 around the platform was a fringe of fir-trees, while 
 its outer edge looked deep down into a gloomy 
 dell, and one could not help feeling that seven- 
 teen hundred feet lower down, though hidden by 
 the trees, there was the valley and the river 
 Min. During the ceremony the wind soughed 
 and wailed through the wood in harmony with 
 the weird scene of the burning corpse surround- 
 ed by the curious-looking monks. 
 
 It is a strange sight, never to be forgotten, to 
 see these hundred and ten men, who have bidden 
 farewell to the world and all human relationship 
 and perched themselves in a cloister like a huge 
 bird's nest high up among the hills, meet to bid 
 farewell to one of their own brotherhood among 
 these desolate woods. And they are such a va- 
 ried company. Surely never had monastery 
 representatives of more types of character than 
 we find gathered here. There stands a mild, blue- 
 eyed, handsome youth with cheerful, intelligent 
 features, who seems quite out of place in such 
 companionship; for next him is a creature more 
 brute than man, with bull neck, heavy lips, low 
 forehead, and a perpetual scowl— "Punch's" type 
 of the professional burglar or prize-fighter, Bill 
 Sikes moulded to the life. There again is an- 
 other youth of intellectual aspect, whose sad face 
 vividly recalls Dore's picture of the " Neophyte;" 
 
CREMATION OF A BUDDHIST PRIEST. 297 
 
 and near him a tall man with firm lips and deep- 
 set eyes, betokening a strong will and earnest 
 thought, who, though a graduate of high degree, 
 has fled from his home and left the shame of his 
 wife behind him to nurse his bitter sorrow apart 
 from the gaze of the world. At his side a man 
 who has almost completed his century of life, 
 bent down with years, allowed to wear long hair 
 and beard because the monkish habit of being 
 shaved is a burden to him, totters along with fee- 
 ble steps, looking as though he were a biped 
 brought out of the Buddhist menagerie. For the 
 rest, though of many types, they have for the 
 most part the hard, unreligious, careless, unthink- 
 ing, and even despairing faces of men who seem 
 to have bidden farewell to every human interest, 
 not for this world only, but also for the next. It 
 is a group of faces strange enough to haunt one's 
 dreams. 
 
 The cremation furnace is a narrow brick con- 
 struction let into the side of the hill from whence 
 the earth had been dug to form the platform on 
 which we stood. It looked like a very little house 
 with a very large door. For some reason which I 
 could not discover the coffin was not put into the 
 furnace, but stood about eight feet in front of it. 
 The monks arranged themselves in lines opposite 
 to it. Cash paper was again sprinkled round to 
 
298 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 make all right with the spirit-world, and incense- 
 sticks were burned at a small shrine that half 
 faced the furnace. Then the service commenced. 
 The officiating priest took his stand in front of the 
 coffin, and was supported on each side by acolytes 
 and singers. Bells tinkled, gongs resounded, and 
 a monotonous but sweet chant was sung. The 
 whole company prostrated themselves several 
 times to worship the spirit of the departed man. 
 The pall was then removed, and there was re- 
 vealed a box like a section of the funnel of a 
 steamship, five feet in height and two in diame- 
 ter, tarred profusely within and without. The 
 singing and bell-ringing and gong-beating having 
 ceased while the pall was taken away, the solem- 
 nity of silence fell on this part of the proceed- 
 ings. The monks then rose from the ground, 
 where they lay on knees and elbows, closed their 
 eyes, placed their hands as in prayer, with the 
 tips of the fingers touching, and recommenced 
 singing. The words are still Sanscrit, and the 
 singers have no idea what the meaning is, but 
 they believe there is great merit in the use of the 
 sounds. The chant is still a monotone and very 
 rapid. One note repeated 
 
 Presto. 
 
 
CREMATION OF A BUDDHIST PRIEST. 299 
 
 at an even pace nine times, varied with grace 
 notes ot every tenth beat, did not give one a very- 
 high opinion of the musical talent of Buddhist 
 priests; but being sung in the open air and mel- 
 lowed by the sighing of the wind through the 
 pine-trees, it was far from disagreeable. Even 
 the sweetest song, however, will satiate the ear 
 if continued too long, and so we found after this 
 one had been tum-tummed by a hundred monks 
 for more than fifteen minutes. 
 
 After that space of time the sexton came for- 
 ward with a hatchet and knocked off the round 
 lid of the coffin, and those in a favorable position 
 could see the corpse sitting upright in its narrow 
 tabernacle. A bamboo pole about fifteen feet 
 long was then brought and a quantity of long 
 thin strips of pine wood bound round one end, 
 until it looked like a gigantic garden-broom. 
 
 Setting fire to this, the sexton presented the 
 monstrous torch tcJ the priest conducting the ser- 
 vice. All again prostrated themselves, and the 
 torch was waved a few times before the coflSn and 
 returned to the sexton, who dropped the blazing 
 mass into the coffin and heaped dry pieces of pine 
 wood upon it. Through a hole near the bottom 
 of the box a strong draught fanned the flames, 
 and in a few moments a great blaze was issuing 
 from it with considerable noise. The coffin must 
 
300 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 have been of very solid materials, for although the 
 heat was so great that, except when the wind blew 
 the flames and heated air aside, we could not ven- 
 ture close to see how the body was being burned, 
 it was not so consumed as to fall to pieces and ex- 
 pose the charred corpse. 
 
 From beginning to end there was nothing 
 whatever that could be called disagreeable about 
 the performance. It is true we saw the blackened 
 body sitting in the flames, but it was because we 
 went to see it. The monks, too, could not resist 
 the feeling of curiosity concerning the fate of the 
 fleshly tabernacle of their late comrade, and a few 
 of them mounted on the hillside to look down into 
 the flames. But still I think the most sensitive 
 nature would have seen nothing in the whole 
 ceremony of cremation with which to be in any 
 degree offended. 
 
 The service occupied about half an hour and 
 the burning ten minutes. At the end of that time 
 the flames had sunk down and it was evident they 
 had done their work. Those of the monks who 
 had waited to witness the cremation strolled away 
 in the same leisurely fashion as they came and 
 joined the rest of the fraternity, who were waiting 
 for them at the junction of the roads. The under- 
 taker, as we should call him, was here paying 
 each monk for the trouble of attending and assist- 
 
CREMATION OP A BUDDHIST PRIKST, 3OI 
 
 ing witli his prayers. Each man received the suin 
 of forty cash — twopence of English money. The 
 smalhiess of the amount may seem to suggest that 
 the whole affair is very inexpensive; but the nu- 
 merous items of expenditure in cremation often 
 reach a total outlay of 100,000 cash (say ^iS Eng- 
 lish), which is an immense sum to a Chinaman. 
 
 Later in the day we returned to the spot to see 
 what had happened to. the cremated monk. The 
 ashes had been collected, placed in an earthen jar, 
 and carried to a neighboring shed, where the jar 
 adorned a shelf already heavily laden with monks 
 who had previously been potted in the same way. 
 We visited this receptacle for the ashes of Buddh- 
 ist devotees, and were amazed to find it a most 
 dilapidated and disreputable hut, about five and 
 a half feet high. The door was held fast by an 
 ingenious combination of chips of wood and bro- 
 ken tiles. As we opened it we had to be careful 
 that it did not fall off its hinges. The interior 
 was as dirty as any Chinaman could desire and 
 almost absolutely without order or arrangement. 
 I took a fancy to the idea of cremation until I 
 thought of myself as a Kushan monk stowed 
 away in a twopenny pot in a broken-down shed 
 unfit to keep pigs in and without so much as a 
 number to show which was me! It spoils my 
 
 grammar to think of it ! 
 
 18 
 
302 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 
 
 Many good people in England have an idea 
 that the missionary is always preaching. It is as 
 incorrect to suppose he is always preaching as 
 that he disports himself in broadcloth. For, first, 
 he could not do it if he would, and, secondly, he 
 would not do it if he could. He must observe 
 times and seasons quite as much in a heathen 
 land as he would in this country, in order to 
 adapt himself to the hours of leisure of the peo- 
 ple; and the heat of the weather through a great 
 part of the year makes it impossible to continue 
 preaching for more than two hours at most in the 
 day. But by the side of the impossibility of it 
 must be placed the inutility of so much preaching 
 to the heathen by the foreign missionary. Ex- 
 perience has shown that the practical result fol- 
 lowing from preaching by Europeans is so ex- 
 tremely small that many missionaries feel it to be 
 a duty to expend their energies in some other 
 direction than in preaching to a crowd. An 
 American gentleman in Canton had an audience 
 of several hundred Chinese every day for nine- 
 
^ c-4_r I -I (4 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 305 
 
 teen years, but lie declared he had never heard of 
 one convert from all his preaching in public. An 
 English gentleman in Canton told the writer 
 that he had preached to a similar audience for 
 twelve years, almost without omitting a day, and 
 he too said he could not point to one convert as 
 the result of such sustained efforts. It is true we 
 must not speak of these labors as wasted. No 
 doubt a foundation has been laid in multitudes of 
 minds for the fair superstructure of a pure Chris- 
 tian faith. One is also almost tempted to add that 
 it was worth while that these devoted brethren 
 should spend their strength and time for so long 
 in order to prove to their juniors and successors 
 the comparative uselessness of such methods of 
 evangelizing. It is not too much to say that it 
 would be better to seek out privately one here 
 and another there, and to instruct them one at a 
 time, to pray with and for them singly, than to 
 address audiences of hundreds of heathen. So 
 well is this now being recognized that there are 
 many missionaries who scarcely ever preach to the 
 heathen at all. A few here and there who great- 
 ly love talking continue to do so, but for the 
 most part the " messengers of the churches" de- 
 vote themselves to the building up of the congre- 
 gations already formed, and leave the aggressive 
 evans:elistic work to the native brethren. The 
 
306 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 work of the missionary in China is to-day rather 
 episcopal and professional than evangelistic. He 
 may have five, ten, or twenty churches under his 
 episcopal oversight. To visit them in order on 
 the Sabbaths, to look after the evangelists and 
 pastors in charge, to examine the catechumens, 
 to attend to a hundred and one matters of business 
 connected with these young churches, and on 
 each week-day to spend a few hours with the 
 students in training for the ministry, so fills up 
 one's time as to leave only an occasional hour 
 here and there during the week for literary work, 
 in writing or translating in the native tons^ue. 
 
 A man who loves his work, however, and on 
 whom rests the burden of souls, will not readily 
 let slip an opportunity of talking of Christ to the 
 heathen. The banyan-tree in the village often 
 makes a good pulpit as well as a seat, and a 
 dozen people may easily be induced to listen for 
 half an hour to the one theme of the missionary. 
 Inside an idol temple an attentive audience can 
 frequently be secured; and it is decidedly exhila- 
 rating to preach of the living and true God in 
 the presence of gods of mud and wood. I have 
 often read of missionaries preaching in a market- 
 place, but I never yet saw a suitable opportunity. 
 "Market-place" may mean in other lands what 
 it does not in China. Standinsf in the narrow 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 307 
 
 space with one's back to a wall, addressing an 
 excitable crowd of men brimming over with curi- 
 osity, their souls steeped in thoughts of worldly 
 gain, and a perfect Babel of cries, shouts, discus- 
 sion, and beating of gongs and bells drowning one's 
 speech, the congregation in the market-place is 
 seen to be one to be avoided rather than sought. 
 For the foreigner it is peculiarly undesirable. The 
 eyes, not tne ears, of his "hearers" are open. 
 Scarcely a man of them all is listening to a word 
 he says. The hope of the churches is rather in 
 its Nicodemuses, who come at first by night, but 
 afterwards defend Christ openly before the rulers 
 as well as before the common people. 
 
 It needs sometimes a great deal of discretion 
 to avoid giving needless offence in speaking of 
 idolatry and superstition. As a rule there are 
 few things the Chinaman enjoys more than to 
 hear fun poked at his gods. As the preacher 
 pictures the absurdity of idolatry, his audience 
 laugh till they hold their sides and shout, " It is 
 all true." "Then why do you worship them ?" 
 " It is the custom of our ancestral land, teacher." 
 But it is not always safe to be so plain, and per- 
 haps it is seldom wise to be humorous. Satire 
 may create bitterness towards the preacher and 
 defeat the end he has in view. 
 
 On one occasion I was crossing: some hills and 
 
308 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUII-KIEN. 
 
 came to a lonely hut by the side of the path. 
 There was a stone seat near the door on which 
 my two Chinese companions and I sat down to 
 rest a while. Hearing voices I went to the hut 
 door, and saw that it contained two persons, a man 
 whose head was being shaved, and the barber. 
 After greeting I went in, and noticed at the end 
 of the room a large heap of parts of idols — heads, 
 legs, and arms piled together without order. The 
 sight struck me as most ludicrous, and I began to 
 say to the barber, whom I took to be the tenant of 
 the house, that he should try how this head would 
 look on that body, or this leg by the side of that 
 leg, and so on. I also asked him whether he had 
 heard the proverb, "In three generations idol- 
 makers have no posterity." The barber, a jovial- 
 looking man, joined in the fun till the head of 
 his victim seemed to be endangered. But hap- 
 pening to look the latter in the face, I saw that 
 his eyes were flashing fiercely, his teeth were set 
 and his hands clenched. In a moment I saw the 
 mistake I had made. I had been speaking to the 
 wrong man. The solitary repairer of idols was 
 not the merry barber, but the morose and passion- 
 ate man sitting on the box. I did my best to 
 apologize, but he treated me very coldly when 
 three days after I tried to speak to him more 
 soberly on the same theme. 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 309 
 
 Preaching to the heathen inside a chapel is 
 very different from preachin<^ in the open air. It is 
 necessary to plunge at once in vudias res. There 
 must be no singing, for the heathen cannot join in 
 it and do not understand the aim of it; and there 
 must be no prayer, for the heathen have a very 
 grewsome fear of Christian prayers and will some- 
 times precipitately leave the building. As a rule, 
 the smaller the audience the more useful the 
 preaching. With a small number it is much 
 easier to converse freely, to ask questions and ob- 
 tain replies. 
 
 A very general method of arranging a daily 
 preaching service is to place a chair upon a small 
 platform a few paces from the door. A gong is 
 then struck to call passers-by to come in. Some 
 missionaries continue the objectionable practice of 
 singing a hymn to attract an audience. Present- 
 ly two or three very much astonished men come 
 to the door and look round. They are invited to 
 be seated and informed that the doctrine is about 
 to be spoken. The preaching begins then and 
 there with the conversation with the first comers. 
 Others come in after a time. The congregation 
 is a movable one, and will prove very much so 
 indeed imless the preacher asks a few questions 
 and creates a discussion. Dearly does the China- 
 man love an argument, and perhaps better still 
 
3IO ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 does he love to hear one, and to be allowed to 
 thrust in a word now and then without commit- 
 tino- himself. A good-humored, temperate con- 
 versation is the best style of preaching to such an 
 audience. 
 
 The position of the pulpit and the arrange- 
 ments of the seats in a Christian chapel are what 
 strike the attention of a stranger immediately on 
 entering. In many places, as, for instance, the 
 Amoy and Foochow districts, the pulpit-platform 
 stands one-third down from the end of the chapel 
 opposite the door. A screen of wood or bamboo 
 surrounds it on three sides and is continued from 
 the pulpit to the walls on either hand. The 
 screen thus shuts off one-third of the chapel from 
 the other two-thirds. The smaller space behind 
 the preacher is devoted to the women ; the larger 
 space in front is occupied by men only. In Can- 
 ton a screen six feet high is placed along the mid- 
 dle of the chapel, so that, while the preacher faces 
 all, the sexes are completely separated. In Shang- 
 hai, Ningpo, and many northerly places no such 
 arrangement is necessary. The two sexes only 
 occupy different sides of the chapel. The loca- 
 tion of the women behind the pulpit is the least 
 satisfactory of all. It is not possible to retain their 
 attention as readily as if they were in view of the 
 preacher, and they think themselves at liberty to 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 311 
 
 be as inattentive as they please because they are 
 not seen by the general congregation. They talk 
 to one another and to their babies to a degree that 
 is perfectly distracting to the minister. Half a 
 dozen times in the course of a sermon the writer 
 has been obliged to turn round and say in various 
 tones of entreaty or command, "Women, be si- 
 lent; do not talk, but listen to the doctrine." 
 
 This separation of the sexes in the chapels is 
 very necessary. It is intended to disarm die cal- 
 umnious reports of the enemy. Methods of pre- 
 venting the circulation of malicious statements by 
 the heathen vary according to localities. In the 
 north and extreme south the doors are shut at the 
 Lord's Supper, and in many cases at the ordinary 
 services. In the Fuh-kien province, as a rule, 
 such a plan would be generally dangerous and al- 
 ways undesirable. All sorts of disgraceful rumors 
 would be set afloat. To obviate this difficulty 
 some of the chapels have barred windows without 
 glass by the side of the entrance-door, so that even 
 when the door is closed against all but communi- 
 cants it is still possible for the outside public to 
 observe what is going on. It is impossible to be 
 too careful to forestall suspicions. In catechising 
 a woman in the presence of the whole assembly it 
 is just as well to call up the senior deacon to put 
 the questions and to receive her replies. There is 
 
312 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 not a creature more fond of a bit of scandal than 
 the Chinaman, except the Chinawoman. 
 
 In some respects the behavior of the native 
 brethren in their own places of worship would 
 strike one accustomed to the staid propriety of our 
 own assemblies as rather too free and easy. It re- 
 sults largely from the fact that most of the chap- 
 els have no schoolroom or extensive waiting- 
 room. The congregations come together from 
 miles around and spend the day at the chapel. 
 Consequently, if there is no waiting-room attached 
 to the building, the mid-day rice must be eaten in 
 the chapel — no great offence, as some of us think 
 who believe that the house of prayer was made 
 for man and not man for the house of prayer. 
 
 But at the services the people sometimes be- 
 have in the oddest way. In the middle of the 
 sermon a man will rise to his feet most leisurely, 
 stretch out his arms, give a long and loud yawn, 
 and sit down again with a look of quiet satisfac- 
 tion, and not one of the congregation will so 
 much as smile. Or another may desire to scratch 
 himself elaborately, perhaps even to search for the 
 cause of irritation, and he will do so very obvious- 
 ly. We have seen men get up during service, go 
 to the waiting-room, strike flint and steel, light a 
 pipe, and after an absence of three or four minutes 
 return to their place as though nothing had hap- 
 
 J 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 313 
 
 peiicd. More curious tliau all may seem the fact 
 that the writer, beiiij^ admitted as a guest to a 
 meeting of some eighty church members, found 
 them almost all smoking during the discussions 
 and addresses. When the missionary said, "Let 
 us kneel down to pray to our Heavenly Father," 
 they knocked the ashes out of their pipes, and 
 when they rose from prayer many of them imme- 
 diately relit their pipes. This must not be put 
 down to irreverence, but to simplicity. They 
 would see no more harm in yawning than in 
 coughing, no more disrespect in having a pipe 
 than in drinking a cup of tea within the walls of 
 a church. 
 
 So far from their intending to show any lack 
 of respect to the building in which they worship 
 God, they are rather jealous of its honor. A con- 
 siderable debate took place in the principal Con- 
 gregational church of Amoy, some years ago, be- 
 cause rubbish and drainage were carried through 
 the building from a house at the back. It was 
 regarded as a serious affront to the house of God. 
 In the same chapel I once saw a curious thing 
 done. While I was preaching a stranger came in 
 with his queue coiled round his head in coolie 
 fashion. In his amazement at seeing a foreigner 
 talking he strolled half up the aisle. One of the 
 deacons sitting facing the congregation precipi- 
 
3^4 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 tately darted down the aisle and struck the man's 
 queue off his head. The stranger's astonishment 
 was a sight to see. From the Chinese point of 
 view he had been guilty of great lack of courtesy; 
 for Chinese manners demand that a coolie shall 
 let his queue down on entering the presence of 
 the idols or on speaking to his superiors; and in 
 like manner he should have uncoiled it on enter- 
 ing a Christian place of worship. 
 
 The number of persons who enter during ser- 
 vice with no other object than to look on for a 
 while is something of a distraction to both minis- 
 ter and congregation. The singing of a hymn 
 will bring them in considerable numbers. They 
 remain a few moments and gradually thin off. 
 Some of the more curious make their way almost 
 to the pulpit. The deacons thereupon request 
 them to be seated or to retire to the back. 
 
 Very many of these occasional visitors are in- 
 terested in Christianity, and they especially need 
 to be dealt with courteously and kindly. As an 
 illustration of this fact, and of the strange inter- 
 ruptions to which a religious service in China is 
 liable, I will relate an incident that occurred at 
 one of our country chapels situated in a very lone- 
 ly place under a group of banyan-trees by the side 
 of an important highway. During sermon a se- 
 dan-chair stopped at the door and a gentleman 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 315 
 
 about fifty-five years of age descended, came to 
 the door of the chapel, walked up to my side, and 
 stood listening for perhaps five minutes or so. 
 Then he began to mutter words of approval, and 
 when I ceased shortly afterwards he said, "Good, 
 good; may I say a few words?" Whatever he 
 might say, I was sure it could do no one any 
 harm and might do good, so I told him we should 
 be happy to hear him. He then gave an address 
 of perhaps seven minutes' duration, the burden of 
 which was that we foreigners were in the right; 
 there was no other God except the "Lord of 
 heaven," and no hope of our souls continuing to 
 live except by the favor of the "saving Lord." 
 He urged the congregation to be faithful in their 
 attachment to the "Lord of heaven." We 
 thanked him for his words, sang a hymn, to 
 which he listened, but when I opened my eyes 
 after the benediction he was gone and his chair 
 too. We ran to the door, but the chair had 
 turned the corner and we saw him no more. 
 From certain modes of expression we guessed he 
 was a Cantonese Roman-catholic; but his brief 
 visit made a great impression on the little assem- 
 bly. 
 
 There are doubtless a vast number of persons 
 who are not tabulated and scheduled as Christians 
 who nevertheless, by the grace of God, "do justly, 
 
3:6 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 love mercy, and walk humbly with their God." 
 Many too are they who are ' ' not far from the 
 kingdom of God." They are met with occasion- 
 ally by Christian teachers. Their hearts seem to 
 have been strangely prepared, so that they ' ' re- 
 ceive with meekness the engrafted word." There 
 came, one day, to a chapel in a country town a 
 middle-aged man named Tong. He was giving 
 away tracts published by a Buddhist tract society. 
 The particular kind that he had in his hand at 
 the moment was a yellow leaflet wuth fourteen 
 sentences, exhorting men to righteousness of life. 
 From the Christian point of view the only fault 
 of the tract was in what it lacked, not in what it 
 contained. The preacher in charge was Sok-tai, 
 a man who for thirty years has preached the gos- 
 pel faithfully in the Amoy region in connection 
 with the London Missionary Society. Said Sok- 
 tai, "What is this?" "It tells of the will of 
 heaven." "Why do you give these away?" 
 "I am heaping up merit." "Come and sit 
 down and drink some tea, and I will tell }ou 
 how to win merit in the sight of heaven." Sok- 
 tai expounded the Christian faith to him, and the 
 Buddhist Tong accepted the truth as a little child 
 and was soon baptized. 
 
 1 met with another similar case, if possible 
 still more striking. At a village about thirty 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 317 
 
 miles from Amoy I had arranged to expound 
 Christian doctrine in a set form every evening 
 for a week. On the Monday morning I had vis- 
 ited some villages round to invite people to come, 
 and in the afternoon was sitting at the door of the 
 chapel when a man named Chew happened to 
 pass by. I knew the man by sight and had heard 
 a good deal about him. The neighbors said he 
 never sinned at all. They had been known to 
 object to the teaching of the preacher in charge, 
 who held that all men were sinners, and they in- 
 stanced Mr. Chew. I called to him, "Chew, my 
 elder brother, have you leisure?" "Yes, I have 
 leisure, teacher." "Come and sit down, and let 
 us talk." Wishing to disarm his opposition to 
 Christianity I began on other topics. We talked 
 of Western countries, the bigness of London, the 
 Crystal Palace, the underground railway, the 
 quantity of coal in China, the phases of the moon, 
 comets, and eclipses; in fact, I sought to excite 
 the man's astonishment and awe as much as pos- 
 sible. It was not long before he began to hold up 
 his hands in wonder, and under his breath I heard 
 him mutter, "Our fathers never told us these 
 things. These foreigners, how learned ! Can it 
 be so?" I begged him to come and hear greater 
 things than these at the evening meeting. We 
 were a little company sitting round a table at the 
 
3l8 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 door. Chew came and stood on the door-step and 
 peeped in to see and listen. On Tuesda}' we were 
 in the same place, but Chew stood inside. On 
 Wednesday so many people came that we moved 
 to the communion-table. Chew stood in the dark 
 near the door. On Thursday he came farther for- 
 ward, on Friday nearer still, and on Saturday he 
 sat at my right hand. The next day he attended 
 both services, and was baptized within five months 
 afterwards. The neighbors had testified to his 
 faultless life, and the simplicity with which he ac- 
 cepted the faith proved that the preparation of his 
 heart was from the Lord. 
 
 One of the chief difficulties of the Christian 
 missionary in dealing with a people like the Chi- 
 nese is that they have no consciousness of sin. 
 Their sages have told them that all men have a 
 "good heart," and they believe it. They speak 
 of lying, lust, or theft as though these were mere 
 failings or weaknesses, not as offences against a 
 just and holy God. There is no doubt that many 
 of them do not so much as suppose that gross sin 
 stains the soul at all. The "good heart" re- 
 mains good notwithstanding any amount of 
 wrongf-doing:. This lack of the sense of sin ren- 
 ders them quite apathetic in regard to religion. 
 They are willing to belong to any or all faiths. 
 In Fuh-kien, if a man is asked to what faith he 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 319 
 
 belongs, he will commonly reply, "Ju, To, Hut." 
 That is, he professes to belong to the three great 
 sects, the Confucian, the Taouist, and the Buddh- 
 ist. No amount of casuistry could make these 
 creeds agree with one another, but the easy-going, 
 complacent Chinaman takes them over in the 
 lump as the national creeds, and professes loyalty 
 to all. In a similar spirit they readily assent to 
 what the preacher says. A novice at preaching 
 is constantly delighted with the degree of their 
 approval of the doctrine and his manner of pre- 
 senting it; but more experience reveals the fact 
 that attention to the customary courtesies and 
 disregard of real personal interest in religious 
 questions inspire nine-tenths of the praises he re- 
 ceives. And in the same spirit, again, not a few 
 have been known to say of Jesus, "We have no 
 objection to him you call Jesus. He is your chief 
 Western sage. Every country has its sages. Let 
 us reverence Confucius, and do you reverence Je- 
 sus, and let us be brothers." They go farther 
 sometimes and add, "We are willing to worship 
 Jesus if it is worth while. Make an image of Je- 
 sus and put him by the side of our gods. W^e 
 will bow down to him as we do to them. Doubt- 
 less he was good." The sense of sin and the 
 need of atonement do not enter into their concep- 
 tion of religion. The "good heart" and the 
 
 River and Road in China. ^9 
 
320 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 "proprieties" are the sum-total of all that is 
 needed in man. One may add that in this delu- 
 sion they are no farther astray than certain phi- 
 losophers and professed admirers of Christ among 
 ourselves, who would resolve all sin into a breach 
 of good taste and good-humor. 
 
 Referring to the conduct of divine worship in 
 the Chinese chapels, it is worth while to refer to the 
 hymnology and singing. A very great advance 
 has been made in these matters during the last 
 ten years. Every mission has its own hymn- 
 book, or has united with some sister mission in 
 receiving a book already compiled. Many of 
 these are very elaborate compilations, and not a 
 few have the musical score printed on the same 
 page. Of necessity the earlier hymns are com- 
 pendiums of theology. Christian doctrine has 
 been taught as much by the hymns as by the 
 Bible. When the book is not too large the whole 
 of it is soon committed to memory by the chil- 
 dren of Christian schools, and even by the un- 
 educated adult members of the churches. The 
 singing, however, is a grief to the aesthetic ear. 
 It is abundant in volume, but deficient in quality. 
 Chinese music has a character quite its own; but 
 what forces itself most upon the notice of the 
 foreign musician is their avoidance of all fourths 
 and sevenths, and the singing of another note (gen- 
 
 J 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 321 
 
 erally a repetition of the one before the changed 
 note) instead of a fourth or seventh. In intro- 
 ducing new tunes, therefore, it is desirable that 
 care be taken to select tunes with no fourths or 
 sevenths, or as few as possible. That young 
 persons can be taught to sing in Western fashion 
 is proved by the success attending singing classes 
 in schools. An adaptation of the sol-fa system 
 was used with great success by the late Rev. Dr. 
 Carstairs Douglas, to whose earnest efforts is large- 
 ly due the fact that the psalmody in Amoy and 
 neighborhood is said to be incomparably the best 
 in China. Some trouble ought to be taken to 
 introduce as many native tunes, or adaptations 
 of them, as possible. A few collected by the 
 writer became great favorites with his Chinese 
 friends. The use of them is in some cases open 
 to the objection that they are sung in idolatrous 
 worship and in bad plays, but a similar objection 
 was taken to the introduction by the Wesle}-s of 
 more cheerful tunes than our Puritan ancestors 
 indulged in. The Christian church in China is 
 going to be Chinese and not English or Ameri- 
 can; and the more completely it adapts itself to 
 the native tastes and habits, in its organization, 
 its church buildings, and its psalmody, the more 
 will its life and energy be developed. 
 
 While upon this subject it may not be unin- 
 
323 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 teresting if I give a few specimens of Chinese 
 tunes. In travelling about the country I made a 
 persistent search for native tunes that might be 
 adapted in some way to the necessities of hym- 
 nology. A vast number of melodies may be col- 
 lected as mere samples of Chinese music, but my 
 aim was only to utilize native airs in Christian 
 worship. Most of them are so rapid and eccentric 
 that it is almost impossible to trace an idea of any 
 kind in them, although considerable practice in 
 listening does eventually reveal a subtle thread of 
 thought running through most of the popular 
 airs. Merely as illustrations of the kind of tunes 
 one hears of an evening, played on violin, guitar, 
 or flageolet, two melodies are here introduced. 
 The first is one which Barrow calls ' ' Moo-lee- 
 wha," and reports as "one of the most popular 
 sones in the whole country." 
 
 ?ifr«? #-» "; I * -[-» e~* 0^g-\ —»~W "C-f— '— "1 
 
 ?if=i=^E3: 
 
 — — — #-•—/&- 
 
 tatzjzi.— *r^T=l: 
 
 '3*— 
 
 
 -i^- 
 
THE MISSIOXARY AT WORK. 
 
 323 
 
 A native preacher who had often assisted me 
 in musical matters brought me the next tune, 
 which he had written in the Chinese adaptation 
 of the sol-fa notation. He was at the time resi- 
 dent in Changchow, and said it was the music of 
 one of the best-known songs there. 
 
 spirited. 
 
 The following melody was the only one I ever 
 heard played by a band. The mission station of 
 Chioh-boe, near Amoy, is up a creek, very mud- 
 dy and empty at low tide. The mission boat 
 lies on the mud and must needs have a long plank 
 to form a bridge to the shore. Houses of various 
 descriptions are on either bank, and from these 
 the sweet strains of Chinese music are frequently 
 heard. At no other place did I hear music so 
 well performed as in this wretched little town. 
 One Saturday afternoon, as I sat in the boat, a 
 number of instruments began to play in a shed 
 on the bank farther from the mission boat. At- 
 
324 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IX FUH-KIEN. 
 
 tracted by the sound, I made my way round a lit- 
 tle distance until I reached the shed, and saw four 
 gifted musicians, unwashed, very ragged, sitting 
 on pails turned upside down. One flageolet, two 
 violins, and a guitar were the instruments with 
 which they discoursed as follows: 
 
 Andante. 
 
 ilSp^iSg 
 
 -25* a/ — *— # 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 V^t 
 
 ^— *— #- 
 
 ^— <*— * 
 
 A colporter at Chinchew sang me the next 
 tune, saying he had learned it from a man who 
 had lived in Formosa, and who in his turn had 
 heard it sung by the Pepuhoan or aboriginal sav- 
 age race that occupies the eastern side of For- 
 mosa. They were reported as singing it very 
 softly and with much feeling. I adapted it to the 
 Amoy hymn Lan lang si-mia" bo tia"-ti6h (Our 
 life is all uncertain), and it very soon became an 
 established favorite and was commonly sung at 
 funerals. 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 
 
 325 
 
 Larsro. 
 
 m 
 
 d=± 
 
 * — r 
 
 -3^. 
 
 -m ^ 
 
 3^ 
 
 3^j^ 
 
 • ,- 
 
 r1^: 
 
 :zg -#_ *: 
 
 E: 
 
 
 i^^3^^-=iE3E^^plJJ 
 
 A friend in Canton, an eminent scholar in 
 Chinese, gave me the tnne "Wong-ho" which 
 follows. It was composed as an illustration of the 
 style of native music and for use in the Christian 
 chapels. It is a popular sevens, to which the 
 hymn "Let us with a gladsome mind" is often 
 sune. 
 
 ~^i 
 
 ^ 
 
 "^ 
 
 
 -rV 
 
 ^ — =4= ^>— - 
 
 "^ ^- 
 
 Lfi_: 
 
 -k=-- 
 
 
 b^ 
 
 -Ki ig*- 
 
 1^ 
 
 The next tune is one sung all over Fuh-kien 
 to a hymn in praise of ancestors. It is in three 
 parts. At every fourth note there is an indefina- 
 
326 ALOXG RIVKR AND ROAD IX FUH-KIEN. 
 
 ble pause of half a beat or so, which I think can 
 best be expressed by a staccato pointing. 
 
 First Part. 
 
 -t- 
 
 ^^1-^ 
 
 ii 
 
 ' — t~f*' 
 
 :E£1£3E±E^ 
 
 Second Part. 
 
 m 
 
 f0 
 
 E=^-:^Q 
 
 ;s 
 
 ^-*- 
 
 Third Part. 
 
 fei^^i 
 
 s 
 
 ^ — ^ 
 
 _._].. 
 
 • • — — ?^ 
 
 1— +-*- 
 
 •-• 
 
 i 
 
 As a proof of the necessity of being on one's 
 guard against tunes sung by native Christians lest 
 they should turn out to- be only foreign melodies 
 tortured into a Chinese style, I will give an air 
 that I picked up from a baggage-bearer in the 
 country west of Foochow. This man had been 
 in Lhe habit of frequenting a Christian chapel and 
 was fond of sino-ino-. I heard him often sinj; the 
 
 I 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 
 
 327 
 
 tune as written, and I put it down, thinking it 
 treasure-trove. The man himself assured me it 
 was native and generally familiar, yet it proved 
 to be only an American air that had almost lost 
 its individuality through its Chinese dressing. 
 
 
 
 The study of Chinese music is exceedingly in- 
 teresting, and the wonder is that more attention is 
 not given to it. Native tunes would be very pop- 
 ular in Christian services. It is true that many 
 of them immediately suggest songs that are any- 
 thing but proper; but that was the case at the 
 time that Wesley recovered some of our best Eng- 
 lish sacred melodies out of the snares of the devil 
 and Christianized them. After a short time they 
 would become familiar in their religious form and 
 would be a great help in evangelizing. The 
 Christian church in China is already too foreign 
 in its outward aspects, and anything that could 
 
3^8 ALONG RIVKR AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 assimilate it with good native sentiment would be 
 an advantage. 
 
 There are very few Sunday-schools in connec- 
 tion with the Chinese churches. In the boarding- 
 schools for boys and girls religious instruction is 
 of course given on Sundays, but schools conduct- 
 ed like our own Sunday-schools are very rare. 
 There are several reasons for this. Up to the 
 present time it has been difficult to find a sufh- 
 cieut number of intelligent and pious men at lei- 
 sure from other Christian work to act as teachers; 
 the times of public worship — from nine to ten in 
 the morning and half-past one to three in the 
 afternoon — make it anything but easy to arrange 
 an hour for the children, especially when the con- 
 ofreo^ation comes from long: distances around, and 
 the chapels are so particularly open to the public 
 that a school for children would be very much 
 disturbed. Under these circumstances the pastors 
 lay great stress upon the Sunday afternoon cate- 
 chising of the children after public service. 
 
 It should be added that another hindrance to 
 school-teaching is the fact that (in the Fuh-kien 
 province at least) so few children have mastered 
 more than a few characters, and hardly any of the 
 men from the country districts can read six con- 
 secutive characters. Under these circumstances 
 it is a matter for confrratulation that the mission- 
 
THE MISSIONARY AT WORK. 339 
 
 aries in Anioy, Ningpo, Shanghai, and many 
 other places have reduced large portions of the 
 Bible to the Roman letter. These transcriptions 
 are called Romanized versions. The complete 
 New Testament, the Psalms and many portions 
 of the Old Testament, hymn-books, the "Pil- 
 grim's Progress," catechisms, school-books, and 
 a variety of other publications have long been in 
 use at many of the missionary stations. The aim 
 of the transcribers at first was to help the women 
 to read and to provide an easy path to knowledge 
 for such of the men as were hopelessly behind- 
 hand in education. After many years' experi- 
 ence, however, it is felt by those who have fully 
 tested the value of the Romanized versions that 
 they are extremely useful, not only to the unedu- 
 cated adults, but to all classes. These books are 
 a most important factor in the mission work. A 
 new missionary fresh from England can, with 
 their assistance, readily master the difficulties of 
 one of the spoken languages in from eight to 
 twelve months so as to make himself fairly well 
 understood in preaching. The women in the 
 Bible-class of a missionary's wife often read per- 
 fectly in six months at the rate of one lesson a 
 week. To test the facility of learning the Ro- 
 man letter, I taught my table-servant, a man of 
 only average capacity. In thirty-five days he 
 
330 AI^OXG RIVRR AND ROAD IN FUH-KIKN. 
 
 read with more fluency than m}-self, and of course 
 with greater accuracy; and in a somewhat longer 
 time he learned to wTite in the same style. The 
 fact that persons who have mastered the enor- 
 mous difficulty of reading and writing the written 
 language of China despise in no stinted measure 
 these Romanized versions ought not to deter mis- 
 sionaries from printing the books nor the native 
 brethren from using them. One soul instructed 
 outweighs a thousand sneers. That it is not a 
 "respectable" thing to read Chinese in Roman 
 letter, as some good brethren assert, is a very car- 
 nal objection. The foolish things of the world 
 do still, as of old, confound the wise; and the 
 weak things and things that are despised have 
 still a knack, as in Paul's day, of giving to car- 
 nal judgments a shock of surprise by their evi- 
 dent vitality and efficiency. 
 
OUR CIIINP:SE brethren in CHRIST. 331 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 OUR CHINESE BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 
 
 Calling upon a well-known missionary who 
 was about to return to his station in China, I 
 asked him how he had got along among the 
 churches in England as a "missionary deputa- 
 tion," " Pretty comfortably," he said, "but the 
 churches of this country are so dead; they are not 
 like our Chinese churches." 
 
 The pleasing delusion cherished by the sup- 
 porters of foreign missions that a missionary comes 
 home to be spiritually refreshed has about as much 
 justification for its existence as that he comes home 
 to rest. As for the latter, by the end of his fur- 
 lough, if he is an acceptable speaker, he sorely 
 needs the rest which a few weeks' voyage by sea 
 may possibly give him on his return journey. 
 And as for the former, there are few missionaries 
 but would agree that there is more evidence of 
 spiritual vitality among the converts gathered in 
 the mission churches than among the members of 
 churches in England. Much as our brethren 
 abroad may lament that there is no larger meas- 
 ure of self-denial and active zeal in their own 
 
33^ ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 churches, comparison with average English con- 
 gregations leaves the balance of satisfaction on 
 the side of the converts from heathenism. 
 
 The quality of the converts made by any evan- 
 gelistic agency is a question that deserves to be 
 examined and considered with great care. In the 
 following remarks it should be understood that I 
 speak only of the people of the Fuh-kien province 
 of China. The Chinese nation consists of many 
 races, which have retained their special charac- 
 teristics as the result of geographical isolation; or 
 in some cases the same original race, under the 
 influence of climatic and geographical differences, 
 have developed very divergent traits of character. 
 The native of Canton is a foreigner to his brother 
 of Amoy not only in language, but in disposition; 
 and the Ningpo man is as far removed from a 
 Foochowese as the man of Kent is from the High- 
 lander. It is not therefore to be expected that, 
 when converted to the truth as it is in Christ, all 
 the churches would be of a similar type in sim- 
 plicity, spirituality, and zeal. 
 
 One of the best tests of the earnestness of the 
 church members is their liberality in supporting 
 the ordinances of religion. There are two things 
 that make this a fair test: first, their natural love 
 of money; and, secondly, the small sums which 
 they are accustomed to handle. 
 
OUR CHINESE BRETHREN IN CHRIST. ^23 
 
 It is charged upon ourselves, particularly by 
 our French neighbors, that we are "a nation of 
 shop-keepers," and that the covetous and perfidi- 
 ous Briton would sell his chance of heaven for a 
 few pounds more or less. It must be confessed 
 that there is some ground for calling us a money- 
 loving people, though we do not go so far as to 
 worship "the almighty dollar." But we are no- 
 where in point of greed of gain when compared 
 with the Chinaman. The love of cas/i is truly a 
 root of all kinds of evil. The endeavor to obtain 
 it absorbs his thought and energy.- Nine-tenths 
 of all the conversation that takes place in or out 
 of doors relates more or less directly to the ever- 
 lasting topic— cas/i. If a long file of men are 
 walking along a narrow path through the fields, 
 they shout to one another their cas/i calculations. 
 If a quarrel is going on in a house, in a shop, in 
 the field, in the market, you know, without listen- 
 ing that the subject is cas/i. Surely their dreams 
 must be principally about cas/i. 
 
 The cas/i is a bronze coin, worth on an aver- 
 age one-tenth of a penny, and is the only native 
 coinage of China. By means of a square hole in 
 the centre of the coins they are strung into thou- 
 sands. A stout piece of twine, rather more than 
 a yard long, is knotted in the centre. The coins 
 are then passed on from both ends. When a hun- 
 
334 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 dred are on each side of the knot a half-knot is 
 made with the string, and two more hundreds are 
 passed on. This is repeated until the string con- 
 tains a thousand cash, making a double row of 
 five hundreds. If the cash are good the string is 
 now worth a Mexican dollar of the value of y. 
 9^., or thereabout. In Amoy 1,120 of these cash 
 are usually reckoned to the dollar. 
 
 The struggle for existence is so great in many 
 populous parts of China that the whole energy of 
 the active brains of a native who knows not God 
 is devoted to the absorbing pursuit of small sums 
 of money. An agricultural laborer earns from 50 
 to 80 cash, or from 2\d. to 4^., a day. A skilled 
 artisan, such as a carpenter, stone- worker, house- 
 painter, etc., secures a daily wage of about lOo 
 cash, or ^.Id. A shop-hand often gets as much as 
 120 cash, or 5.W. And daily earnings to the amount 
 of IS. or IS. 3^. place a careful man not merely 
 beyond monetary anxieties, but enable him at the 
 same time to cut something of a figure as a well- 
 to-do person. 
 
 It is true that these small amounts are worth 
 in China from six to eight times as much as in 
 England; but it is needful to realize that the native 
 brethren are possessed of so little money in order 
 to understand the meaning of their gifts for church 
 purposes. Among the very poor at home we some- 
 
OUR CHINESE BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 33j 
 
 times hear a long dispute about a single penny, 
 but the Chinaman will argue long and angrily 
 about a cash or two. An Amoy missionary em- 
 ployed two men to do some work for him, and 
 paid them 75 cash. He should have given either 
 74 or 76, so that the sum might divide evenly. 
 One coin remaining over, they did not toss for it, 
 as an Englishman might do, but they woke the 
 echoes with a storm of discussion for an hour. 
 On any market-day such a scene as the following 
 may be witnessed. Two men are chaffering their 
 goods amid the greatest excitement. A score of 
 onlookers regard them with solemn interest. The 
 disputants spring backwards and forwards. Their 
 faces are distorted with passion. With voluble 
 profanity and abuse they consign one another's 
 relatives to perdition, beginning with those most 
 nearly related, and gradually enlarging the range 
 of their antipathies until they have fairly exhaust- 
 ed themselves and their degraded talents. Sud- 
 denly there is a lull ; the bargain is struck ; the 
 two men are on perfectly good terms ; they were 
 not seeking to do one another any mortal injur}-, 
 but only observing the custom of the country. 
 And now that calm has followed storm, we dis- 
 cover that this loud dispute was as to whether the 
 price of a large basket of fish or a sack of potatoes 
 shall be reduced bv tzvo cash or not. 
 
2^T,G ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 Ill some parts in which the mission work 
 thrives the most the people are extremely poor, 
 even for China. In the district of Hui-an, near 
 Amoy, the London Missionary Society has eight 
 stations. A considerable proportion of the people 
 are so poor that the writer was frequently assured 
 by preachers in charge and others that they can- 
 not afford to eat the rice they grow in the fields. 
 They sell it to buy other necessaries, and them- 
 selves live on sweet potatoes, white cabbage, and 
 little snacks of dried fish. A difficulty in pro- 
 curing tea also once brought out the fact that the 
 best tea in the district was sold at 3.^^. a lb., and 
 that very little of even that was used, great num- 
 bers of the people drinking as a rule nothing but 
 the water in which the sweet potatoes were boiled. 
 
 Let such facts as these be remembered when 
 we speak of the support given by the native Chris- 
 tians of China to the churches with which they 
 are united. The sum contributed may not seem 
 to be very large, but the critic must know the low 
 value of money in China, and multiply it proba- 
 bly by eight to get its true value in English mon- 
 ey. He must also consider the extreme poverty 
 of many of our Chinese brothers and sisters in 
 Christ and the money-loving spirit which had to 
 be subdued before such gifts could be laid upon 
 his altar. Paul's reference to "the grace of God 
 
OUR CHINESE BRETHREN IN CHRIST. T^i^j 
 
 bestowed on the churches of Macedonia," 2 Cor. 
 8:1, might not infrequently be repeated verbatim 
 of the churches of China, "how that in a great 
 trial of afidiction the abundance of their joy and 
 their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of 
 their liberality." 
 
 Now let us confine our attention to the contri- 
 butions to the London Missionary Society by the 
 native church at Amoy. The report of 1884 states 
 the gift of the native brethren at $2,166, and the 
 membership at 883. We have then these results: 
 
 The contributions of the native church were 
 at the rate of $2 45 per church member, which 
 sum has an English value of about $19 60, or, 
 roughly, nearly $20. Twenty dollars may be 
 reckoned as averaging ^3 i^s. The $2 45, there- 
 fore, from a Chinaman is about equal to ^3 i^s. 
 from an English church member. 
 
 It need scarcely be added that such an aver- 
 age sum contributed by members of our home 
 churches would save them from all financial em- 
 barrassments. There would be little need of 
 Church Aid Societies, Pastors' and Curates' Pre- 
 sentation and Augmentation Funds. There are 
 too many so-called Christians whose gift to the 
 cause of Christ in the ministry of the church and 
 its missions is no more than a threepenny or a six- 
 penny piece now and then, making a total of only 
 
338 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 two or three shillings a year. If the question of 
 contributions for the support of the gospel minis- 
 try is to be the test of the reality of their religious 
 faith, the Chinese converts may dare to lift up 
 their heads. 
 
 It may now be said that a considerable propor- 
 tion of the pastors and preachers in connection 
 with the missions in Foochow, Amoy, and For- 
 mosa are supported wholly or in large measure by 
 the people to whom they minister. In Amoy, in- 
 deed, as in a few other places, the native brethren 
 are beginning to interest themselves in the "re- 
 gions beyond." 
 
 A similar argument for the earnestness and 
 genuineness of the faith of the native brethren 
 might be founded on their readiness to speak of 
 Christ to others. Callous as too many are about 
 the souls around them, there is a larger propor- 
 tion of "Christian workers" in the average Chi- 
 nese church than in the average English church. 
 The missionary and the preacher may win their 
 trophies now and again by preaching, and they are 
 constantly building up the faith and kindling the 
 zeal of the church members;' but the actual evan- 
 gelization is largely done by the lay brethren. 
 Many a time, when about to baptize a man, I have 
 asked him to state to the church how he was first 
 brought to trust in Christ for salvation; and in- 
 
OUR CHINESE BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 339 
 
 stead of replying, " By the doctrine of the preach- 
 er and missionary," he has turned round to search 
 for sonic brother in the congrei^ation, and has 
 pointed the finger at him and said, "He led me 
 to Christ. He used to come to me months ago, 
 years ago, to sit with me after evening rice. I 
 tried to get rid of him, but he still came and be- 
 sought me to save my soul. I thank God that 
 brother so-and-so did not let me alone." 
 
 Not a few of the brethren give a large part of 
 their leisure in the country villages to speaking 
 as they can about Christ. Several I have known 
 to be systematic lay readers without being asked 
 to do the work. Every evening, when the even- 
 ing meal was over, they would put a Gospel into 
 their pocket, and with pipe and tobacco start 
 out on their evangelistic tour. Very strange 
 preaching they would call it who get their notion 
 of evangelizing from the proprieties of religious 
 discussion at home. Amid dirt and smells and 
 noise, through clouds of tobacco-smoke, the seed 
 of the Word is dropped into varied soil. The 
 debate sometimes waxes loud and energetic as a 
 quarrel about cash. But the "foolishness of 
 preaching" still "saves them that believe." 
 
 The number of preacherless congregations 
 scattered here and there about the land is a tes- 
 timony to the power of lay agency, while at the 
 
340 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 same time it presents a strong argument for in- 
 creased effort in trying to meet the opportuni- 
 ties of winning souls. It may truly be said in 
 some parts that "the field is white unto har- 
 vest," but, alas! as of old, "the laborers are 
 few." The writer has seen districts simply wait- 
 ing to be possessed by the missionary. Three 
 congregations were waiting for pastors at the 
 same time. To none of them in their entirety, 
 but only to several individuals in two of them, 
 had missionaries or preachers ever preached. In 
 the first there were fifteen persons who met almost 
 every evening for worship, observed the Sabbath, 
 were joined on the Sunday by four professed Chris- 
 tians who had no place of worship in their neigh- 
 borhood, had set apart a woodshed as a chapel 
 and fitted it up to accommodate about thirty per- 
 sons. The second congregation was isolated both 
 by its distance from the mission stations and its 
 position among the hills. Twenty-one persons 
 made a profession of the Christian faith, met daily 
 for prayer, observed the Sabbath, and the able- 
 bodied men among them travelled on foot four- 
 teen miles to service when there was anything 
 special going on at the nearest chapel. It seemed 
 sad to leave them to themselves, but the mission 
 had no surplus of either men or money. 
 
 The third such congregation was still more 
 
OUR CHINESE BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 34I 
 
 interesting. It had been thonght desirable to 
 change a place of Christian assembly a few miles 
 farther south. Eleven men who had been bap- 
 tized at the former chapel objected to the removal 
 of their place of worship, and resolved to remain 
 in their own neighborhood and to conduct the 
 services themselves. There was also a small 
 bone of contention at the time between them and 
 their pastors on the subject of payments to super- 
 stitious objects — one of those questions that call 
 for great forbearance and charity on the part of 
 the missionary, as well as for firmness and definite 
 teaching. No personal communication took place 
 between them and their pastors for four years. 
 At the end of that time I happened to be spending 
 a few weeks in their neighborhood, and requested 
 their leader to come and see me that I might hear 
 the other side of the dispute. Brother Tiap came 
 at once. He was a dark-skinned, black-eyed farm- 
 er rather under size. But in that small body it 
 was evident that there burned a fire of energy 
 that needed to be controlled; which, if rightly di- 
 rected, would be a power for good, but if brow- 
 beaten and opposed, could assert itself in mis- 
 chievous forms through very excess of zeal. 
 " Brother Tiap," I said, "why do you not come 
 to worship with us?" "Why should I come 
 to worship with you?" he said. "Does it not 
 
3^2 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KI^N. 
 
 take two full hours to walk here and two full 
 hours to walk back? Cannot we worship God 
 in our ancestral village? Why, too, should we 
 neglect our wives and children, our aged parents 
 and our neighbors? No, we will not worship 
 with you; we will tell of the love of God to our 
 fLimilies and friends." This was said with flash- 
 ing eyes and fiery gestures, in a loud voice, and 
 with the broadest provincial accent. I resolved 
 to make a friend of a Christian man capable of 
 so much passion. It was quite encouraging to 
 meet with one who was saying by his conduct, 
 "The zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up." 
 He and his friends might have been wrong in the 
 first instance, or they might have been justified 
 in their complaint. That was nothing to me. 
 I had as a Christian man simply to ask whether 
 these were believers trying to walk according to 
 the law of Christ, and while not palliating their 
 faults, still not to treat them with anything less 
 than Christian respect and love, and the more so 
 because their knowledge was imperfect and their 
 spiritual culture immature. A long conversation, 
 during which gentleness of treatment toned Tiap 
 down to a reverent and emotional frame of mind, 
 brought out the following facts. The little band 
 of eleven malcontents had been multiplied in the 
 four years to fifty regular worshippers who pro- 
 
OUR CHINESE BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 343 
 
 fessed Christianity, and twenty-five who were 
 not quite so decided, but were reckoned as be- 
 longing to the Christian community. In the 
 little village of Poo-kee they had set apart a house 
 as a chapel, and service was held there twice and 
 thrice on Sunday. On the week evenings a 
 number of persons assembled for worship. The 
 village was so changed by the existence of this 
 chapel that it was commonly known as " Pai 
 Shang-ti sia," the village where God is wor- 
 shipped; and superstitious practices had almost 
 ceased in it. Tiap generally conducted the ser- 
 vices himself, but being only a very indifferent 
 scholar, he was in the habit of walking on Satur- 
 day to Chinchew, a distance of nine miles each 
 way, in order to learn the characters he could not 
 understand, that he might read the Scripture les- 
 sons correctly. The bombastic way in which 
 Tiap began to tell me all this passed off as he pro- 
 ceeded, and he gave to God all the glory of the 
 wonderful work. I could not help saying at the 
 close of the conversation (in which one or two 
 preachers took part), "Brother Tiap, go on as 
 you are doing, and the Lord be with you. May 
 you never worship here except as a visitor and a 
 friend!" 
 
 I arranged to go and see the brotherhood at 
 Poo-kee two days later. It was a bad road even 
 
314 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 for China. The chapel was at last pointed out to 
 me on the other side of a gully, and as I stood 
 there the wind wafted across to me the sound of a 
 hymn. It was sung so well that the words were 
 audible: 
 
 " My heart doth praise indeed, 
 Because of God's great grace; 
 From ruin he lias saved my life; 
 Let heart and will adore." 
 
 On entering the house I found just about a 
 hundred persons present. After preaching to 
 them on the new birth, from John 3:3, we had a 
 conference as to their affairs, I had to confess 
 that we had no preacher to send them, and that, 
 if we had, it would be needful to have a fuller 
 conference than was possible then and there be- 
 fore a preacher could be appointed. The result 
 of our deliberations was that the congregation ap- 
 pointed three of their number, of whom Tiap was 
 one, to be joint preachers in charge. They were 
 to take it in turn to conduct the Sunday services. 
 On the other two Sundays they were to bring 
 some twelve to twenty vigorous young men a dis- 
 tance of seven and a half miles to the nearest dis- 
 trict city, where there was a resident pastor of 
 considerable ability. This arrangement contin- 
 ued for several years, until a preacher was ap- 
 pointed to Poo-kee, and the station and its mem- 
 
OUR CHINESE BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 345 
 
 bers are now reckoned as belonging to the Lon- 
 
 don Missionary Society. 
 
 The importance of such facts as these can 
 hardly be overestimated when we are trying to 
 test the genuineness of the faith of converts to 
 Christianity. Many faulty members there are; 
 some, alas ! who seem quite impassive in the face 
 of the mass of heathenism around them. But a 
 great part of the real evangelistic work, the work 
 of bringing in those that are out of the way, is 
 done by the church members themselves. Let 
 the missionary lament as he may the coldness and 
 apathy of his flock in liberality, in readiness to 
 speak for Christ, in endurance of reproach, in 
 faith in prayer, the Chinese Christians bear very 
 favorable comparison with their brethren in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 The fact that the Chinese are generally very 
 ready speakers ought to be noticed in this con- 
 nection, for it bears directly upon the question of 
 evangelization by means of native instrumentali- 
 ties. Their garrulousness may be accounted for 
 on the ground of their having in their various 
 languages almost nothing that can be called 
 grammar. The mysteries of moods, tenses, per- 
 sons, cases, and genders are happily absent from 
 the simple tongues of China. Consequently it is 
 hardly possible for a native to make a mistake in 
 
346 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 the turn and shape of a sentence. He has scarce- 
 ly to think about the fonn of his sentences at all, 
 but only of the matter. 
 
 Besides, every boy is allowed to express his 
 opinions. The saying, ' ' Little people should be 
 seen and not heard," may sometimes pass the 
 lips of the elders, but not often. The children 
 join in the conversation of the older folks as a 
 matter of course and upon equal terms. I re- 
 member on one occasion going into a heathen 
 temple where eight or ten old men were smoking 
 their long pipes and discussing some weighty 
 theme. A little fellow seven years of age was 
 among them. He gave his opinion on the sub- 
 ject in dispute as though he had as much right to 
 speak as they, and yet not with any foolish airs. 
 The old men solemnly turned round to listen to 
 this youngster. No one rebuked him for his im- 
 pertinence in speaking. The boys are kept in 
 their place by very rigid laws of etiquette, but 
 they are seldom told to be silent and listen to 
 their elders. 
 
 The result is that the men express themselves 
 with ease, fluency, and point. If they have any- 
 thing to say, they simply say it. The shyness, 
 nervousness, dread of murdering the grammar, 
 and horror lest the sentence should not work it- 
 self through to an end, that afflict many English 
 
 I 
 
OUR CHINESE BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 347 
 
 speakers are almost unknown to the Chinaman. 
 As a rule, too, they have a much finer faculty for 
 illustration than ourselves. It might almost be 
 said that, given a man whose heart the Lord has 
 opened, you have also a man whose lips the Lord 
 has touched. The most learned English mission- 
 ary, the most gifted and eloquent in his own 
 tongue, cannot hope to speak with half as much 
 power as the least educated Chinaman who has 
 the grace of God in his heart. One needs to be 
 a Chinaman in order to think as a Chinaman 
 and to use such illustrations and references and 
 phrases as will make public speech effective. 
 
 China will never be converted through the 
 lips of the foreigner. At the present rate at which 
 missionaries are sent to that country it would take 
 ages to do so. But there is room to doubt wheth- 
 er it was ever designed by the Head of the church 
 that it should be done by the presence and money 
 of foreign nations. The church at Jerusalem sent 
 out its small bands of messengers for a few years 
 only. When the church had taken root in foreign 
 lands the work of the first missionary society at 
 Jerusalem was over. From that time the church 
 must live or die according to the vitality inhe- 
 rent in it. If it could not live it would deserve to 
 die. 
 
 Most of the missionaries recognize the temper- 
 
348 ALONG RIVER AND ROAD IN FUH-KIEN. 
 
 ary nature of foreign effort very clearly, and are 
 devoting themselves to the work of trainincr a na- 
 live ministry. Not thousands of Englishmen or 
 Americans are needed, but thousands and tens of 
 thousands of Chinamen with consecrated lips and 
 hearts. Not so much scJiolars as men are needed. 
 If the scholar is tacked on to the man, well and 
 good; better to be a scholar than not; but it is the 
 man that is needed — the brave, true-hearted, con- 
 secrated man, who can stand alone without a for- 
 eign missionary to look after him, back him up, 
 and push him forward. Every missionary sighs 
 after such men. They are too uncommon over 
 there, as they are in most places. But the pro- 
 fessing Christians now number 25,000 persons. 
 It is time to look for China's apostle. He has 
 not yet given signs of his coming. Not one, but 
 many men must be given in answer to the con- 
 stant and earnest prayers that are offered. When 
 the apostle comes he will be a Chinaman and not 
 a foreigner. Will he come out of one of the na- 
 tive theological colleges, now numbering several 
 hundred students? or will he come from some un- 
 expected quarter, as God's ambassadors so often 
 do? We cannot tell; but may he come soon! 
 and may he shake the nation as did the Baptist in 
 the desert ! 
 
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