TRAVELS
IN
C H I N J,
CONTAINING
DESCRIPTIONS, OBSERVATIONS, AND COMPARISONS, MADE AND COLLECTED IN
THE COURSE OF A SHORT RESIDENCE AT THE IMPERIAL PALACE OF
YUEN-MIN-YUEN, AND ON A SUBSEQUENT JOURNEY THROUGH
THE COUNTRY FROM
PEKIN TO CANTON.
IN IVHICH ir IS ATTEMPTED TO APPRECIATE THE RANK THAT
THIS EXTRAORDINARY EMPIRE MAT BE CONSIDERED TO
HOLD IN THE SCALE OF CIVILIZED NATIONS.
" NON CUIVIS HOMINI CONTINGIT ADIRE CORIHTHVM."
It is the lot of few to go to PEKIN.
By JOHN BARROW, Efq.
LATE PRIVATE SECRETARY TO THE EARL OF MACARTNEY, AND ONE OF HIS SUITE A5
AMBASSADOR FROM THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN TO THE EMPEROR OF CHINA.
ILLUSTRATED WITH SEVERAL ENGRAVIKCS.
L ND ON:
Printed by A. Strahan, Printers-Street,
FOR T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES, IN THE STRAND.
1804.
107
TO
THE EARL OF MACARTNEY, K. B.
ONE OF HIS MAJESTY'8 MOST HONOURABLE PRIVY COUNCIL.
(Jfc. Ijfc. i^c.
THIS VOLUME OF TRAVELS IN CHINA, ^c.
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,
BY
HIS MOST FAlTHFUt
AND OBLIGED RUMBLE SERVANT,
JOHN BARROW,
A 2
'^Hr/r2>GG
CONTENTS.
CHAP. I.
PRELIMINARY MATTER.
Ititroduclkn. — General View of what Travellers are likely to meet luith in China.
Mijiahn Notions entertained luith regard to the Britifli Embajfy — correEied by the
Reception and Treatment of the fubfequent Dutch Embaffy. — Siippofed Points of
Failure in the former, as fated by a French Miffionary from Pekin, refuted—
Kien Long's Letter to the King of Holland. — Difference of Treatment experienced
b\ the two EmbaJJies explained. — Intrigues of Miffionaries in foreign Countries,'—
Pride and Self-hnportance of the Chinefe Court.^LiJl of European Embaffies, and
the Time of their Jbode in Pekin. — Conclufwn of Preliminary SubJeB. Page I
CHAP. II.
Occurrences and Obfervations in the Navigation of the Yellow
Sea, and the Paflage up the Pei-ho, or White River.
Different Tejimonies that have been given of the Chinefe CharaEler. — Comparifon of
China with Europe in the ftxteenth Century. — Motives of the Miffionaries in their
Writings.-— Briti/h Embaffy paffes the Streights of Formofa. — Appearance of a
Ta-fung Chufan I/lands. — hflance of Chinefe Amplification. — Various Chinefe
Veffels. — Zyfem of their Navigation— their Compafs, probably of Scythian Origin
.—foreign Voyages of. — Traces of Chinefe in America — in an Ifland of the
Tartarian Sea — in the Perfian Gulph — traded probably as far as Madagafcar.—
Commerce of the Tyrians. — Reafons for conjeEluring that the Hottentots may
have derived their Origin from China. — Portrait of a Chinefe compared with that
of
vi CONTENTS.
cfa Hotliiitot. — Malays of the fame defcent as the Chhufe.— Curious coincidences
in the Ciifonis of thcfe and the Sumatrans. — Cingalefe of Chinefe Origin. — One
of the Brigs di/pntched to Cliu-fan for Pikis.— Rapid Currents among the
Iflands. — Vifit to the Governor. — Dijicullies in procuring Pilots. — Arbitrary Pro-
ceeding of the Gj-^'cr/ior. — Pilots puzzled luith our Compafs— Ignorance of— Arrive
in the Gulph of Pe-tehe-lee. — Vifit of two Officers from Court, and their Prefent
—enter the Pei-ho, and embark in convenient Tachts. — Accommodating ConduB
of the tivt Officers. — Pnfufton of Provifions. — Appearance of the Country — of the
People. — Tirefs of the Women. — Remarks on their fmall Feet. — Chinefe an un-
cleanly and frotuzy People. — Immenfe Croiuds of People and River Craft at 'T\cn-
\3\ng.— 'Decent and prepojfefftng Conduci of the Multitude. — Mifical Air fung by
the Rowers of the Tachts. — Favourable Traits in the Chinefe CharaFler. — Face
and ProduEis of the Country .^Multitudes of People Inhabitants of the Water.— ^
Another Inflmce of arbitrary Power. — Difembark at Tong Tchoo, and are lodged
in a Temple. - - - Page 25
CHAP. III.
Journey through the Capital to a Country Villa of the Emperor.
Return to Pekin. The Imperial Palace and Gardens of Yuen-
min-yuen, and the Parks of Gehol.
Order of Proceffion from Tong-clioo to the Capital. — Crowd off mbled on the Occa-
fvi. — Appearance of Pelin ivithout and within the Walls, — Some Account of this
City. — Proceed to a Country Villa of the Emperor.— Inconveniencies of. — Return to
Pekin.— Embojfador proceeds to Tartary. — Author fent to the Palace «/"Yueii-miii-
^MfW.— Ad iferable Lodgings of. — Vifit of the Prefident and Members of the Mathe-
matical Tribunal. — Of the Bifjcp of Pekin, and others. — Gill's Sword-blades.
Hatchet t's Carriages. — Scorpion found in a Cajk packed at Birmingham. —Port raits
of Engl'flj Nobility. — Effects of Accounts from Tartary on the Officers of St.-:te in
Pehin. — Emperor's return to th: Capital. — InfpeHs the Prefents. — Application
of the Embafiidor for Leave to depart. — Short Account of the Palace and Gardens of
Yuen-min-yuen. — Lord Macartney's Dcfcription ofiheEafern and Weflern Parks
of Gehol.— And his general Remarks on Chinefe Land/cape Gardening. gj
CHAP.
CONTENTS. vii
CHAP. IV.
Sketch of the State of Society in China. — Manners, Cuftoms,
Sentiments, and Moral Charader of the People.
Condition of Women, a Criterion of the State of Society. — Degraded State of in
■China. — Domejlic Manners unfavourable to Filial AffeElion. — Parental Au-
thority, — /// EffeEis of feparating the Sexes. — Social Intercourse unkno7un, ex-
cept for gaming. Their Wor/hip fo/itary. — Fenfls of Netu Year.—Propenfity
to gaming, hfluence of the Laws feems to have defrayed the natural Cha-
mber of the People. — Made them indifferent, or cruel. — Various Inflances of
this Remark in public and in private Life, — Remarhs on Infanticide. — Perhaps
lefs general than ufually thought. — CharaEler of Chinefe in Foreign Countries. —
Temper and Dfpofition of the Chinefe. Merchants. Cuckoo-Clocks. — CondufI of
a Prince of the Blood. Of tJ^e Prime Minijler. Comparifon of the Phyfical and
Moral CharaBers of the Chinefe and Man-tchoo Tartars. General CharaBer of
the Nation illujirated. ... Page j^g
CHAP. V.
Manners and Araufements of the Court — Reception of Em-
bafladors. — Charader and private Life of the Emperor —
His Eunuchs and Women.
General Characler of the Court — Of the Buildings about the Palace — Lord Macart-
nry'j- Aciount of his Introduction — Of the Celebration of the Emperor's Anniverfary
Ffival — Of a Puppet-Shew — Comedy and Pantomime — Wreflling — Conjuring
and Fire-Works — Reception find Entertainment of the Dutch Embaffadors from
a Manufcript Journal — Obfervations on the State of the Chinefe Stage — Extraor-
dinary Scene in one of their Dramas — Grofs and indelicate Exhibitions — Sketch of
Kien-LongV Life and Charader — Kills his Son' by an unlucky Blow — conceives
him/elf immortal — Influence of the Eunuchs at the Tartar Conquefl — their prefent
State and Offces — Emperor's Wife, ^leens, and Concubines — How difpofed of at
hi Death. - - - . jpi
CHAP.
viii CONTENTS.
CHAP. vr.
Language. — Literature, and the fine Arts. — Sciences. — Mecha-
nics, and Medicine.
Opinion of the Chincfe Language being hieroglyphical erroneous.— Hoclor Hager's viif-
tnka. — Etymological Comparifons fallacious. — Examples of. — Nature of the Chinefe
written CharaEler. — Difficulty and Ambiguity of. — Curious Mi/liiie of an eminent
Antiquarian. — Mode of acquiring the Characler. — Oral Language. — Mantchot,
Tartar Alphabet. — Chincfe Literature. — Afronomy. — Chronology. — Cycle offtxty
Tears. — Geography —'Arithmetic.— Chemical Arts. ~ Cannon and Gunpowder. —
Diflillation. — Potteries. — Silk ManufaHures. — Lvory.— Bamboo. — Paper. — Lnk.—
Printing,— Mechanics. — Mufic. — Painting. — Sculpture— Architeiluie. — Hotel of
the Engli/l} Embajfador in Pchin.— The Great Wall. -The Grand Canal.—
Bridges. — Cemeteries. — Natural Philofophy,— Medicine. — Chinefe Pharmacopoeia.
— Quacks. — Contagious Fevers. — Small-pox. — Opthalmia. — Venereal Difeafe. —
Midvjifry. — Surgery, — Doctor Gregory's Opinion of their Jlledical Knoivledge. —
Sir William Jones's Opinion of their general Characler. - Page 236
CHAP. vir.
Government — Laws — Tenures of Land and Taxes — Revenues
— Civil and Military Ranks, and Eftablifhments.
Opinions en which the Executive Authority is grounded. — Principle on which an Em-
peror of China feldom appears in public. — The Cenforate. — Public Departments. —
Laws. — Scale of Crimes and Puni/ljinents. — Laws regarding Homicide. — Curious
Law Cafe. — No Appeal from Civil Suits. — Defe£ls in the Executive Government.
—Duty of Obedience and Power of perfonal CorreBion. — Ruffta and China com-
pared.— Fate of the Prime MiniJJer Ho-chang-tong. — Tearly Calendar and Pekin
Gazette, engines of Government. — Freedom of the Prefs. — Duration of the Govern-
ment attempted to be explained. — Precautions of Government to prevent liifurreBions.
— Taxes and Revenues.— Civil and Military Eflablipments. — Chinefe Army, its
Numbers and Appointments. — ConduB of the Tartar Government at the Conquefl. —
Impolitic Change of late Tears, and the probable Confequences of it. 357
CHAP.
CONTENTS. ix
CHAP. VIII.
Conje£lures on the Origin of the Chinefe. — Their Religious
Sedts, — Tenets, — and Ceremonies.
EtnbnJJy departs from Pek'tn, and is lodged in a Temple. — Colony from F.gypt not ne-
cejfary to befuppofedf in order to account for Egyptian Mythology in China.— Opi-
nions concerning Chinefe Origin. — Obfervations on the Heights ofTartary. — Proba-
bly the Refling place of the Ark of Noah.— Ancients ignorant of the Chinefe.— Seres.
— Firjl knoivn Intercourje of Foreigners with China. — Jews. — Biidhijls. — Ne/lo-
rians. — Mahomedans — Roman Catholics. — ^larrels of the Jcfuits and Ihmini-
cans. — Religion of Coffucius. — Attached to the Predi^ion of future Events. — No-
lions entertained by him of a future State. — Of the Deity. — Doclrine not unlike that
of the Stoics. — Ceremonies in Honour of his Memory led to Idolatry. — Mifreprefen-
tations of the Mijftonaries with regardtothe Religion of the Chinefe. — The Tao-tze
or Sons of Immortals. — Their Beverage of Life. — TheDifciplesofYo or Budhijls.
— Comparifon of fame of the Hindu, Greek, Egyptian, and Chinefe Deities.— 'The
Lotos or Nelumbium. — Story of Ofiris and Ifis, and the Ifia compared with the
Imperial Ceremony of Ploughing. — Women vifit the Temples. — Praclical Part of
Chinefe Religion.— Funeral Obfequies. — Feajl of Lanterns.— Obeifance to the
Emperor performed in Temples leads to Idolatry. — Primitive Religion lojl or corrupted.
— Summary of Chinefe Religion. ... P.ige 4 1 S
CHAP. IX.
journey from Tong-choo-foo to the Province of Canton. —
Face of the Country, and its Productions. — Buildings and
other Public Works. — Condition of the People. — State of
Agriculture. — Population.
Attentions paid to the Embaffy.— Obfervations on the Climate and Plains s/Te-tchC'
lee. — Plants of . — Diet and Condition of the People. — Burying-plncc. — Obferva-
tien on Chinefe Cities.— 'Trackers of the Tachts.— Entrance of the Grand Canal.—
z Th
CONTENTS.
Thf FiJhingCorvcrant —Approach /o //•/• Yellow-River. — Ceremony of croffing this
Riv^r.—Obfervalkiis on Canals and Roads. — Improvement of the Country in ad-
vancing to the Southward.— Beauty of, near Sau-choo-foo. — Bridge of ninety-one
Arches. — Country near Hang-choo foo. — City of. — Appearance of the Country near
thi'Po-yingLake. — Obfervationi in Proceeding through\sJ\ang-ke. — Ti^f Camellia
Scfaiiqua. — Retrofpeflive View of the Climate and Produce, Diet and Condition of
the People, 9/ Vc-tche-\ee. — Some Obfcrvations on the Capital of China.— Province
of Shaii-tung.— 0/" Kiang-nm.- Obfervntions on the State of Agriculture in
China.— Rice Mills. — Province o/"Tche kiang. — ©/"Kiang-fee. — Population of
China compared with that of England. — Erroneous Opinions entertained on this Sub-
feci.— Comparative Population of a City in China and in England — Famines ac-
counted for. — Means of Prevention,— Caufes of the Populoujmfs of China. P. 488
CHAP. X.
Journey through the Province of Canton. — Situation of Fo-
reigners trading to this Port. — Conclufion.
Vfble Chnnge in the CharaBer of the People. — Rugged Mountains.— Collieries —
Temple in a Cavern. — Stone ^/arries. — Various Plants for \jfe and Ornament. —
Arrive at Canton —Expence of the Rmbaffy to the Chinefe Government. — To the
Britifl} Nation. — Nature and Inconveniences of the Trade to Canton.— The Armenian
and his Pearl. — Impofitions of the Officers of Gciernment inffanced. — Principal
Caufe of them is the Ignorance of the Language Cafe ofChinefe trading to London.
— A Chinefe killed by a Seaman of His Majefly's Ship Madras. — Delinquent faved
from an ignominious Death, by a proper Alode of Communication with the Govern-
ment. — Conclusion. - - ~ 59'
LIST OF PLATES.
Portrait of Van-ta-g'in the Frontifpiece.
Trad'mg Vejfel and Rice Mill to face page 37.
Portraits of a Chinefe and a Hottentot to face page 50.
View in the Imperial Park at Gehol to face page 128.
Artillery^ between pages 302 and 303 with Sl guard.
Miijical Injlruments between pages 314 and 315 with a guard.
Arch of a Bridge to face page 338.
Chinefe Village^ and Mandarin's Dwelling, to face page 345.
ERRATA.
Page 10. line 12. tf(/^ a between of and crime
2,3. — 2. for iwice rtad thrice
39. line lart, f^ir Mjno r. Marco
44. — a6. y^r Toitanigue r. Tootanague
46. — '3- y^' G"3ffe r Giraffe
gl. — I. fli/^ to between mafler an! which
J03, — 17. /c monuments r. Monument
I2.Z. — 7. d(// the between of and palaces
)2y. . — 3. for iher r. their
141. — I. '/o' whit r. with
1S3. — 13. /o'' the r. a
1S6. — 4*/"'' 'oul'e r, lofe
224.' in the ro'.e, yir A. Calpum'us r, T. Calpurnius
23^. — 13. tf^rer crols place X
205. — 2T. /pr rumcrcial r. nunncrlca't
3^4, — 15. y&r on r. in
— 16 forxn r, on
416. — I-/*'' bl'jok r. (lock
568. — 12. for fiom r. form
_ .^ — JTyr form r. frrm
583. — . lall/er liiegr and r. the grard
ADVERTISEMENT.
The fentiments advanced in the prefent Work, and the point
of view in which fome of the fads are confidered, being fo very
different from the almoft univerfally received opinion, and
iome of them from the opinion of thofe to whofe friendfhip the
Author is particularly indebted for various literary communi-
cations, he thinks it right to declare, that they are the unbiafled
conclufions of his own mind, founded altogether on his own
obfervations ; and he trufts that the Public, in confidering him
alone refponfible, will receive them with its ufual candour.
TRAVLES
TRAVELS
I N
CHINA.
CHAP. I.
PRELIMINARY MATTER.
IntraduHion.-— General View of -what Travellers are likely to meet •with in China.—
Mijlaken Notions entertained with regard to the Britijh EmhaJJy — correBed by the
Reception and Treatment of the fubfequent Dutch Emhaffy. — Suppofed Points of
Fniliifn ill i!je former, as Jiated by a French Mijfonary frnm Peiin, refuted,—
Kien Long's Letter to the King of Holland.— Difference of Treatment experienced
by the two Embaffies explained,— Intrigues of Miffionaries in foreign Countries.—
Pride and Self-importance of the Chinefe Court. — Lifl of European Embaffies,
and the Time of their Mode in Pekin.'—Csncliifion of Preliminary Subjecl.
XT is hardly neceflary to obferve that, after the able and Inte-
refting account of the proceedings and refult of the Britifh
Embafly to the court of China, by the late Sir George Staun-
ton (who was no lefs amiable for liberality of fentimcnt, than
remarkable for vigour of intelled) it would be an idle, and,
indeed, a fuperfluous undertaking, in any other perfon who ac-
B companied
c TRAVELS IN CHINA.
companicd the embafTy, to dwell on thofe fubjeds which have
been treated by him in fo mafterly a manner ; or to recapi-
tulate thofe incidents and tranfadions, which he has detailed
with equal elegance and accuracy.
But, as it will readily occur to every one, there are ftlll many
interefting fubjeds, on which Sir George, from the nature of
his work, could only barely touch, and others that did not
come within his plan, one great objedt of which was to un-
fold the views of the embafTy, and to (hew that every thing,
which could be done, was done, for promoting the interefts of
the Brilifli nation, and fupporting the dignity of the Britifh
charader ; the Author of the prefent work has ventured,
though with extreme diffidence, and with the confcioufnefs of
the difadvantage under which he mull appear after that " Ac-
" count of the EmbafTy," to lay before the public the point
of view in which he faw the Chinefe empire, and the Chinefe
charader. In doing this, the fame fa£\;s will fomettmes necef-
farily occur, that have already been publifhed, for reafons that
it would be needlefs to mention ; but whenever that happens
to be the cafe, they will briefly be repeated, for the purpofe of
illuftrating fome pofition, or for deducing fome general infe-
rence. Thus, for inftance, the document given to the Embaf-
fador of the population of China will be noticed, not however
under the colour of its being an unqueftionably accurate ftate-
ment, but, on the contrary, to fhew that it neither is, nor can
be, corred ; yet at the fame time to endeavour to prove, by
fads and analogy, that, contrary to the received opinion, the
country is capable of fupporting not only three hundred and
I thirty-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 3
thirty-three millions of people, but that it might adually afford
the means of fubfiftence to twice that number. The confirma-
tion, indeed, of new and important fatSts, though very dif-
ferent conclufions be drawn from them, cannot be entirely
unacceptable to the reader ; for as different perfons will gene-
rally fee the fame things in different points of view, fo, perhaps,
by combining and comparing the different defcriptlons and
colouring that may be given of the fame objedls, the public is
enabled to obtain the mofl: correct notions of fuch matters as
can be learned only from the report of travellers.
With regard to China, if we except the work of Sir George
Staunton, and the limited account of Mr. Bell of Antermony,
which was not written by himfelf, it may be confidered as
unbeaten ground by Britons. We have heard a great deal of
Chinefe knavery pradifed at Canton, but, except in the two
works abovementioned, we have not yet heard the fentiments
of an Eugliftiman at all actjualnted with the manners, cufloms,
and charadter of the Chiaefe nation. The voluminous commu-
nications of the miffionaries are by no means fatisfadory ; and
fome of their defeats will be noticed and accounted for in the
courfe of this work ; the chief aim of which will be to fliew
this extraordinary people in their proper colours, not as their
own moral maxims would reprefent them, but as they really
are — to diveft the court of the tinfel and the tawdry varnifh
with which, like the palaces of the Emperor, the mifllonaries
have found it expedient to cover it in their writings ; and to
endeavour to draw fuch a fketch of the manners, the ftatc of
fociety, the language, literature and fine arts, the fciences
B 2 and
4 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
and civil inftltutlons, the religious worfhip and opinions, the
population and progrefs of agriculture, the civil and moral cha-
rader of the people, as may enable the reader to fettle, in his
own mind, the point of rank which China may be coiiftdered to
hold in the fi ale of civilized nations.
The ftablllty of the Chinefe government ; the few changes
that have been made in its civil inftitutions for fuch a number
of ages ; the vaft extent of empire and immenfe population,
forming one fociety, guided by the fame laws, and governed by
the will of a fmgle individual, offer, as Sir George Staunton has
obferved, " the grandeft collective objed that can be prefented
" for human contemplation or refearch." The cuftoms, habits
and manners, the wants and refources, the language, fentiments
and religious notions, of " the moft ancient fociety and the moft
*' populous empire exifting amongft men," are, without doubt
moft interefling fubjeds for the inveftigation of the philofo-
pher, and not unworthy the attention of the ftatefman. But
the expedations of the man ot Icience, the artift, or the natur-
alift, might perhaps be rather difappointed, than their curiofity
be gratified, in travelling through this extenfive country. It
can boaft of few works of art, few remains of ancient gran-
deur. The great wall, that for a time defended its peaceable
inhabitants againft the attacks of the roving Tartars, the walls
of its numerous cities, with their fquare towers and lofty
gates, and here and there an old pagoda, are its only architec-
tural antiquities; and, when thefe are excepted, there is not
perhaps a fmgle building in the whole extent of China that has
vvithftood the adion of three centuries. There are no ancient
palaces nor other public edifices, no paintings nor pieces of
fculp-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 5
fculpture, to arreft the attention of the traveller, unlefs It might
be from the novelty of their appearance. In travelling over the
continent of Europe, and more efpecially on the claflic ground
of Italy and Greece, every city, mountain, river, and ruin, are
rendered interefting by fomething on record which concerns
them ; the theme of fome poet, the feat of fome philofopher or
lawgiver, the fcene of fome memorable aclion, they all infpire
us with the livelieft fenfations, by reviving in the mind thofe
pleafures which the ftudy of their hiftory afforded in early life.
To Europeans the hiftory of China has hitherto furnifhed no
materials for fuch recurrence, and the country itfelf is therefore
incapable of communicating fuch impreffions. In vain fhould
we here look for the maffy and ftupendous fabrics that appear
In the pyramids and the pillars of the ancient Egyptians ; the
beautiful and fymmetrical works of art difplayed in the temples of
the Greeks ; the grand and magnificent remains of Roman
architedlure ; or that combination of convenience and elegance
of defign which charaflerlze the modern buildings of Europe.
In China every city is nearly the fame : a quadrangular fpace of
groimd Is enclofed with walls of ftone, of brick, or of earth, all
built upon the fame plan j tKfe houfes within them of the fame
conftrudlion ; and the ftreets, except the principal ones that run
from gate to gate, invariably narrow. The temples are, nearly,
all alike, of the fame awkward defign as the dwelling-houfes, but
on a larger fcale ; and the objeds that are known in Europe by
the name of pagodas, are of the fame inelegant kind of archi-
tedure, from one extremity of the empire to the other, differing
only in the number of rounds or ftories, and in the materials of
which they are conftrudled. The manners, the drefs, the amufe-
ments of the people, are nearly the fame. Even the furface of the
country,
6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
country, as far as regards the fifteen ancient provinces, Is fubjed
to little variation, and efpecially thofe parts over which the
grand inland navigation is carried ; the only parts, in fad, that
foreigners travelling in China have any chance of vifiting.
In this route no very great variety nor number of fubjeds
occur in the department of natural hiftory. Few native plants,
and ftill fewer wild animals, arc to be expeded in thofe parts of
a country that are populous and well cultivated. Indeed the
rapid manner in which the prefeut journey was made, was ill
fuited for colleding and examining fpecimens even of thofe few
that did occur.
On thefe confiderations it is hoped that the indulgence of
the reader will not be withheld, where information on fuch
points may appear to be defedive. A French critic * (perhaps
without doing him injuftice he may be called a hypercritic) who
happened to vifit Canton for a few months, fome fifty years
ago, has, with that happy confidence peculiar to his nation, not
only pointed out the errors and defeds of the information com-
municated to the world by the Englifli and the Dutch embaflies,
but has laid down a fyllabus of the fubjeds they ought to have
made themfelves completely acquainted with, which, inftead of
feven months, would feem to require arefidence of feven years in
the country. But the author of the prefent work refts his confi-
dence in the Englifh critics being lefs unreafonable in their de-
mands ; and that their indulgences will be proportioned to the
difficulties that occurred in colleding accurate information.
* Monfieur (I beg his pardon) Ciicyen Charpentier Cofligny.
With
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 7
With this reliance, the defcriptions, obfervations, and compari-
fons, fuch as they are, he prefents to the public, candidly ac-
knowledging that he is actuated rather by the hope of meeting its
forbearance, than by the confidence of deferving its approbation.
Perhaps it may not be thought amifs, before he enters on the
more immediate fubjedt of the work, to corred, in this place, a
very miftaken notion that prevailed on the return of the embafly,
which was, that an unconditional compliance of Lord Macartney
with all the humiliating ceremonies which the Chinefe might
have thought proper to exa£l from him, would have been pro-
du£live of refults more favourable to the views of the embafly,
AfTertions of fuch a general nature are more eafily made than
refuted, and indeed unworthy of attention ; but a letter of a
French miffionary at Pekin to the chief of the Dutch factory
at Canton is deferving of fome notice, becaufe it fpeclfies the
reafons to which, according to the writer's opinion, was owing
the fuppofed failure of the Britifti embafTy. In fpeaking of
this fubje(n: he obferves, " Never was an embafly deferving of
*' better fuccefs ! whether it be confidered on account of the
" experience, the wifdom, and the amiable qualities of Lord
*' Macartney and Sir George Staunton ; or of the talents, the
" knowledge, and the circumfped behaviour of the gentlemen
" who compofed their Suite ; or of the valuable and curious
" prefents intended for the Emperor — and yet, ftrange to tell,
" never was there an embafly that fuccceded fo ill !
" You may be curious, perhaps, to know the reafon of an
" event fo unfavourable and fo extraordinary. I will tell you
"in
8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" in a few words. Thefe gentlemen, like all ftrangers, who
•' know China only from books, were ignorant of the manner
*' of proceeding, of the cuftoms and the etiquette of this court ;
" and, to add to their misfortune, they brought with them a
" Chinefe interpreter ftill lefs informed than themfelves. The
•' confcquencc of all which was that, in the firft place, they
" came without any prefents for the Minifter of State, or for
" the fons of the Emperor. Secondly, they refufed to go
" through the ufual ceremony of fainting the Emperor, with-
" out offering any fatisfadory reafon for fuch refufal. Thirdly,
" They prefcnted themfelves in clothes that were too plain,
•' and too common. Fourthly, They did not ufe the precaution
" to fee (graiffer la patte) the feveral perfons appointed to the
" fuperintendance of their affairs. Fifthly, Their demands
" were not made in the tone and ftyle of the country. Ano-
" ther reafon of their bad fuccefs, and, in my mind, the prin-
" cipal one, was owing to the intrigues of a certain miflionary,
" who, Imagining that this embaffy might be injurious to the
" interefts of his own country, did not fail to excite unfavour-
" able impreffions againft the Englifh nation."
The points of failure enumerated In this letter of Monfieur
Grammont, were fo many fpurs to the Dutch fadlory to try
their fuccefs at the court of Pekin the following year. No
fooner did Mr. Van Braam receive this difpatch, by the return
of the Englifh embaffy to Canton, than he prepared a letter
for the Commiffaries General at Batavia, In which he Informed
them, that as It was the Intention of the different nations who
had fa(Sories eftablilhed in Canton, to fend embaffaders to the
capital,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 9
Capital, for the purpofe of congratulating the Emperor on his
attaining the age of eighty-four years, which would be in the
fixtieth year of his reign, he had refolved to proceed on fuch
a miffion on the part of the Baravian Republic, and requefted
that he might be furniflied, without delay, with fuitable cre-
dentials. To this application the Commiflaries General, who
had been fent out the fame year to retrench the expences of
the Company in their Indian fettlements, and to reform abufes,
returned for anfwer. That, " however low and inadequate their
" finances might be to admit of extraordinary expences, yet
" they deemed it expedient not to (hew any backwardncfs in
*' adopting fimilar meafures to thofe purfued by other Euro-
" peans trading to China ; and that they had, accordingly,
" nominated Mr. Titfingh as chief, and himfelf (Mr. Van
" Braam) as fecond Embalfador to the Court of China."
Mr. Titfingh loft no time in repairing to Canton, and thefe
two EmbalTadors, determining to avail themfelves of the hints
thrown out in Monfieur Grammont's letter, and thereby to
avoid fplitting on the fame rock which, they took for granted,
the Britifh Embaffador had done, cheerfully fubmitted to every
humiliating ceremony required from them by the Chinefc, who,
in return, treated them in the moft contemptuous and indignant
manner. At Canton they were ordered to afTift in a folemn
proceflion of Mandarines to a temple in the neigbourhood, and
there, before the Emperor's name, painted on cloth, and fuf-
pended above the altar, to bow their heads nine times to the
ground, in token of gratitude for his great condefcenfion in
permitting them to proceed to his prefence, in order to offer
c him
10 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
liim tribute. Tlicy fubmitted even to the demands of the ftate-
officers of Canton, that the letter, written by the Commif-
faries General at Batavia to the Emperor of China, and tranf-
lated there into the Chinefe language, fliould be broke open,
and the contents read by them ; and that they fhould further
be allowed to make therein fuch alterations and additions as
they might think proper. The EmbafTador, refolving not to
be wanting in any point of civility, requefted to know when
he might have the honour of paying his refpeds to the Viceroy ;
and received for anfwer, that the cuftoms of the country did
not allow a perfon in his fituation to come within the walls
of the Viceroy's palace, but that one of his officers fhould re-
ceive his vifit at the gate ; which vifit to the gats was literally
made. Mr. Van Braam, in relating this circumftance in his
journal, obferves, that the Viceroy " aflured his Excellency, he
" ought not to take his refufal aniifs, as the fame terms had
** been prefcribed to Lord Macartney the preceding year."
Mr. Van Braam knew very well that Lord Macartney never
fubjeifled himfelf to any fuch refufal ; and he knew too, that
the fame Viceroy accompanied his Lordfliip in a great part
of his journey from the Capital : that he partook of a repair,
on the invitation of Lord Macartney, at the Britilh factory ;.
when, for the firft time, both Mr. Van Braam and the fuper-
cargoes of all the European nations had been permitted to (it
down in the prefence of one of his rank.
At Pekin they were required to humiliate themfelves at leaft
thirty different times, at each of which they were obliged, on
their knees, to knock their heads nine times againft the ground,
which
TRAVELS IN CHINA. tt
which Mr. Van Braam, in his journal, very coolly calls, per-
forming the falute of honour, " f^'fe le falut (fhonneurr
And they were finally difmifled, with a few paltry pieces of
filk, without having once been allowed to open their lips on
any kind of bufinefs ; and without being permitted to fee either
their friend Grammont, or any other European miflionary,
except one, who had fpecial leave to make them a vifit of half
an hour, the day before their departure, in prefence of ten or
twelve officers of government. On their arrival in this Capital
they were lodged, literally, in a ftable ; under the fame cover,
and in the fame apartment, with a parcel of cart-horfes. Mr.
Van Braam's own words are, " Nous vvila done a notre arrivee
" dans la celebre refidence hnper'iale^ loges dans une efpece d'ecnrte,
*' Nous fer ion t nous attendus a une pareille avanture C
After fuch a vile reception and degrading treatment of the
Dutch Embafly, what advantages can reafonably be expeded
t-o accrue from a fervile and unconditional compliance with the
fubmiffions required by this haughty government ? It would
rather feem that their exa£lions are proportioned to the com-
plying temper of the perfons with whom they have to treaf.
For it appears, not only from Mr. Van Braam's own account
of the EmbafTy, but alio from two manufcript journals in the
Author's pofleffion, one kept by a Dutch gentleman in the
fuite, and the other by a native Chinefe, that the Embafladors
from the Batavian Republic were fully prepared to obviate^
every difficulty that might arife from the fuppofed points of
failure in the Britifh Embafly, as directed to their notice?
by M. Grammont. In the firft place, they not only carried
c 2 prefeijts
IS
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
prefents for the Minifters of State, but they calmly fuffered
thele gentlemen to trick them out of the only curious and valu-
able articles among the prefents intended for the Emperor, and
to fubftitute others, of a mean and common nature, in their
place. Secondly, they not only complied with going through
the ufual ceremony of fainting the Emperor, but alfo of falut-
ing the Emperor's name, painted on a piece of filk, at lead fifty
times, on their journey to and from the Capital i which de-
grading ceremony they even condefcended to perform before
the perfon of the Prime Minifter. With regard to the third
point, it certainly appears that no expence had been fpared in
providing themfelves with fplendid robes for the occafion ; but,
unfortunately, they had but few opportunities of making ufe
of them, their baggage not arriving at the Capital till many
days after they had been there. Nor does it feem that the
drefs of a foreign Embaflador is confidered of much confe-
quence in the eyes of the Chinefe ; for, when thefe gentlemen
wifhed to excufe themfelves from going to court, on account
of their dufty and tattered clothes, in which they had per-
formed a moft painful journey, the Matter of the Ceremonies
obferved, that it was not their dre/s, but their per/bm, which
the Emperor, his mafter, was defirous to fee. And, it can
hardly be fuppofed, they would omit obferving the fourth)
article, which, Mr. Grammont is of opinion, was negledled by
Lord Macartney. And, in the laft place, they ftand fully
acquitted of any want of humility in the tone and flyle of their
communications, after having allowed their credentials to be
new modelled by the officers of Government at Canton ; from
which city they had alfo an interpreter, a very proper one, no
doubt, appointed to attend them..
3 Their
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 15
Their mlffion, it is true, was not well calculated for making
terms or rejeding propofals. The Chinefe were not unac-
quainted with the declining finances of the Dutch ; they knew
very well that the embalTy had originated in Canton, and that it
was accredited only from their fuperiors in Batavia. In their
journey they were haraflcd beyond tneafure ; fometimes they
were lodged in wretched hovels, without furniture and without
cover ; fometimes they were obliged to pafs the night in the
open air, when the temperature was below the freezing point;
frequently for four and twenty hours they had nothing to eat.
Van Braam obferves that, owing to the fatigues of the journey,
the badnefs of the victuals, their early rifing and expofure to
the cold, he loft about five inches in the circumference of his
body. Being rather corpulent, and not very expert in perform-
ing the Chinefe ceremony at their public introdu£lion, his hat
happened to fall on the ground, upon which the old Emperor
began to laugh. " Thus," fays he, " I received a mark of dif-
" tin£lion and predilection, fuch as never Embaffador was ho-
" noured with before. I confefs," continues he, " that the recol-
" ledion of my fufFerings from the cold in waiting fo long in the
" morning, was very much foftened by this incident." No man
will certainly envy this gentleman's happy turn of minj, in
receiving fo much fatisfadion in being laughed at.
The tone of the Emperor's letter, with which they were dif-
mifled, while it fpeaks the vain and arrogant fentiments of this
haughty government, fhews at the fame time how well ac-
quainted they were with the circumftances that gave rife to the
miflion, and the degree of eftimation in which they held it. It
was
,4 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
was written In the Tartar, Chinefe, and Latin languages, from
the laft of which, as rendered by the miflionaries, the following
is a literal tranflation. The contents were addrefled to the
Council of India, but on the outfide wrapper, " To the King of
" HQllatiH." It may fcrve at the fame time as a fpecimen of
Chinefe compofition.
" I haTe received from heaven the fceptre of this vaft empire.
" I have reigned for fixty years with glory and happinefs ; and
*' have eftabliflied the moft profound peace upon the four
*' feas * of the faid empire, to the benefit of the nations bor-
" dering upon them. The fame of my majefty and proofs of
" my magnificence have found their way into every part of the
" world, and they conRitute the pride and the pleafure of my
*' vaft domains.
*' I confider my own happy empire, and other kingdoms,
" as one and the fame family ; the princes and the people are,
" in my eye, the fame men. I condefcend to fhed my bleffings
** over all, ftrangers as well as natives ; and there is no country,
" however diftant, that has not received inftances of my bene-
" vaJence. Thus, all nations fend to do me homage, and to
" congratulate me inceflantly. New and fucceffive Embafllidors
■*' arrive, fome drawn in chariots over land, and others traverfe,
•' in their fliips, the immenfity of the feas. In fad, I attend
* This cxpreiTion alludes to the ancient opinion that China was furrounded by the fea,
and that the reft of the world was made up of idands. Yet though they now poflefa a
tolerable notion of geography, fuch is their inveterate adherence to ancient opinion, that
they prefer retaining the mod. abfurd errors, rather than change one fingle fentiment or
rxprdTion that Confucius has written.
<c
to
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 15,
" to nothing but the good adminlftration of my empire. I feel
" a lively joy in obferving the anxiety with which they flock
*' together from every quarter to contemplate and admire the
" wife adminlftration of my government. I experience the
" moft agreeable fatisfadion in participating my happinefs
" with foreign ftates. I applaud therefore your government,
*' which, although feparated from mine by an immenfe ocean,
" has not failed to fend me congratulatory letters, accompanied
** with tributary offerings..
" Having perufed your letters, I obferve that they contain
" nothing but what I confider as authentic teftimonies of your
*' great veneration for me, from whence I conclude that you
" admire my mode of governing. In fad, you have great
" reafon to applaud me. Since you have carried on
" your trade at Canton, (and it is now many years,) ftrangers
" have always been well treated in my empire ; and they have
" individually been the objeds of my love and affedion. I
" might call to witnefs the Portuguefe, the Italians, the Englifli,
** and others of the fame fort of nations, who are all equally
" efteemed by me, and have all prefented me with pre-
" cious gifts. All have been treated, on my part, after the
" fame manner, and without any partiality. I give abundantly
" even when thofe things I received from them are of no
*' value. My manner of doing thefe things is undoubtedly
" known in your country.
" Concerning your Embaffador, he Is not, properly fpeaking,
** fent by his King ; but you, who are a company of merchants,^
" have
i6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" have fuppofed yourfelves authorized to pay me this refped.
*' Your Sovereign, however, hsving dircdled you to chufe a fa-
" vourable momentof my reign, you havenowfent to felicitate me
" accordingly in the name of your faid Sovereign. The fixtieth
•• year of my reign was about to be completed. You, a com-
" pany, too diftant from your Sovereign, could not announce it
" to him. Interpreting this to be his pleafure, you have under-
" taken to fend, in his name, to do me homage ; and I have no
" doubt this prince is infpired towards me with the fame fenti-
" ments which I have experienced in you. I have, therefore,
" received your Embaflador as if he had been fent immediately
" by his King. And I am defirous you fliould be made ac-
*' quainted that I have remarked nothing in the perfon of your
" Embaflador, but what bore teflimony of his refped for me,
" and of his own good conduit.
" I commanded my great officers to introduce him to my
" prefence. I gave him feveral entertainments, and permitted
" him to fee the grounds and the palaces that are within my vaft
" and magnificent gardens of Yuen m'm Yuen. I have fo adled
" that he might feel the effeds of my attention, dividing with
" him the pleafures which the profound peace of my empire
" allows me to enjoy. I have, moreover, made valuable pre-
" fents, not only to him, but alfo to the officers, interpreters,
" foldiers, and fervants of his fuite, giving them, befides what
" is cuftomary, many other articles, as may be feen by the
" catalogue.
Your
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 17
" Your Embaflador being about to return to the prefence of
" his fovereign, I have direft^d him to prefent to this Prince
" pieces of filk and other valuable articles to which I have
** added fome antique vafes.
" May your King receive my prefent. May he govern his
" people with wifdom ; and give his fole attention to this grand
" objed, atSting always with an upright and fmcere heart :
*' and, laftly, may he always cherifh the recolledlion of my
" beneficence ! May this King attentively watch over the affairs
" of his kingdom. I recommend it to him ftrongly and ear-
" neftly.
" The twenty-fourth day of the firft moon of the fixtleth
" year of the reign of Kien Long."
The very different treatment which the Englifh embaffy receiv-
ed at the court of Pekin is eafily explained. The Chinefe are well
informed of the fuperiority of the Englifh over all other nations
by fea ; of the great extent of their commerce ; of their vafl
poffeffions in India which they have long regarded with a jea-
lous eye ; and of the charadler and independent fpirit of the
nation. They perceived, in the manly and open conduct of
Lord Macartney, the reprefentative of a fovereign in no way in-
ferior to the Emperor of China, and they felt the propriety,
though they were unwilling to avow it, of exadling only the
fame token of refpeiS: from him towards their fovereign, that one
of their own countrymen, of equal rank, fliould pay to the por-
trait of his Britannic majefty. It muft, however, have been a
D hard
,8 TRAVELS IN CHINA,
hard nruggle between perfonal pride, and national innportance,.
before they refolvcd to rcje£t fo fair a propofal, and confent to
wave a ceremony which had never, on any former occafion,.
been difpenfed with. It is eafy to conceive how ftrong an im-
preffion the refufal of an individual to comply with the cere-
monies of the conntry was likely to make on the minds of the
Emperor and his court : how much they muft have fuffered in
their own opinion, and how greatly muft their pride have been
mortified, to find that by no trick, nor artifice, nor ftretch of power,
could they prevail on an Englifli Embaflador to forego the dig-
nity and refpedt due to the fituation he held at their court, whi-
ther they were now convinced he had not come, as was fignified
in painted letters on the colours of the fhips that tranfported the
embafly up the Pei-ho, " to offer tribute to the Emperor of
« Chwa."
With regard to the intrigues of the Portugueze mliTionary^
mentioned in Mr. Grammont's letter,^ Lord Macartney was fuf-
ficiently aware of them long before his arrival in the capital, and:
took fuch meafure§, in confequence of the information, as were
moft likely to be effedual in counteracting any influence that
he might fecretly exert, injurious to the interefts of the Britifli
nation. But the intrigues of churchmen are not always eafily
obviated, efpecially where they are fufpicious of their errors being-
expofed or their ignorance deteded. It is a painful truth (and
is noticed here with reludance, on account of the many worthy
members of the fociety) that the minifters of a certain branch of
a religion whofe diftinguifhing feature is meeknefs and forbear-
ance, fhould have fo far perverted the intention of its benevo-
lent
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 19.
lent author, as to have produced more intrigues, cabals, and
perfecutions, than even the relentlefs Mahomedans, whofe firfti
article of faith inculcates merit in deftroying thofe of a different
perfuafion. Their political intrigues and interference in ftato-.
affairs, have done material injury to the caufe of Chriftianity in
almoft every country into which their millions have extended.
The malignant fpirit of this fame Portugueze miffilonary was-
not confined to the framing of falfhcods and mifreprefentations
with regard to the views of the Britifti embafly, but has. con-
tinued to exert its influence at the court of Pekin, in the fame
fecret and difhonourable way, whenever an opportunity oc-
curred that feemed favourable for raifing unwan-antable fufpi-
clons in the minds of the Chinefe againft the EngUlh nation.
Towards the clofe of the lall war, when it was found expedient,
to take pofielTion of fome of the Portugueze colonies, and an
expedition for this purpofe was a(flually fent out to fecure the
peninfula of Macao, this miflionary loft no time in fuggefting
to the Chinefe court, that the defigns of the Englifh in getting
pofTeflion of Macao might be of the fame nature as thofe theyr
had already pradifed in India ; and that if they were once fufh
fered to get footing in the country, China might experience;
the fame fate as Hindoftan. Fortunately for the concerns 06
the Britifli Eaft India Company this officious interference and
the malevolent infmuations oi Bernardo Abneyda took a very
different turn to what he had expecfled. The intelligence of a
hoftile force fo near the coaft of China coming firft from an
European miffionary, implied a negle£t in the Viceroy of Can-
ton, and an angry letter was addreffed to him from court,
D 2 ordering
so TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ordering him to give immediate and accurate information on
the fubje£l. The Viceroy, nettled at the officious zeal of the
Portugueze, pofitively denied the (aO: of any hoftile intention
of the Enghfh, " who, being a brave people, and terrible in
" arms, had intimidated the Portugueze at Macao, though
" without reafon, as their (hips of war, as ufual, came only to
" protect their fhips of commerce againft their enemies." When
this difpatch of the Viceroy reached Pekin, the Emperor was
fo exafperated to think that the Court had fuffered itfelf to be
mifled by an European miffionary, that he ordered Almeyda to
appear before the mafter of the houfehold, and on his knees
to afk forgivenefs of crime, which, he was told, deferved to be
punifhed with death ; and he was difmifled with a caution never
more to interfere in the ftate affairs of China. The whole of this
curious tranfadion is publifhed in the Pekin Gazette of lafl
year ; fo that the Englifh have gained a confiderable degree of
reputation by it, fo much, indeed, that the Chinefe at Canton
(and a great deal depends upon their reprefentatlons) would
have no objeftion to fee the Englifh in pofTeflion of Macao j
for they cordially hate, I believe it is not too much to fay
they defpife, the Portugueze, and they fpeak with horror of
the French. What a moment then is this for England to turn
to its advantage I
Independent, however, of the machinations of mifTiona-
lies, fuch is the pride and the haughty infolence of the Chinefe
government, that, in no inflance on record, but that of the
Britifh embaffy, has it ever relaxed from its long eftablifhed
cuftoms, nox acquiefced in any demands of foreign embaffadors,
whether
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 21
whether tlie tone in which they were made was fupplicating or
authoritative. The forms of the court they contend to be as
immutable as were the laws of the Medes and Perfians. Every
thing muft be conduced by prefcriptive ufage, and no devia-
tion allowed from the rules which for ages have been eftablifhed
by law, and regiftered by the council of ordinances ; much
lefs the remiflion of any duty that might derogate from the
reverence and refpe£l which are confidered to be due to the per-
fon of the Emperor.
It may be imagined, then, that an event fo new as a refufal
to fubmit to the degrading ceremony required from an embaf-
fador, at his public introdudion, could not fail of making a
very ftrong impreflion on the minds of thofe about the perfon
of his Imperial Majcfty ; who, as Mr. Van Braam fays, were
(and without doubt they were) much better fatisfied with the
complying temper of the Dutch, than with the inflexible pertina-
city of the Englifh. Yet, they did not venture to lodge the latter
in a liable, nor think proper to perfevere in demanding unrea-
fonable homage. Neither was any pique or ill-nature apparent
in any fingle inftance, after the departure of the embafly from
the capital, but very much the contrary. The officers ap-
pointed to conduft it to Canton teftified the moft earneft
defire to pleafe, by a ready attention to every minute circum-
ftance that might add to the comforts of the travellers, or alle-
viate, if not entirely remove, any little inconvenience. It was
a flattering circumftance to the embafllador to obferve their
anxiety for the favourable opinion of a nation they had now
begun to think more highly of, and of whom, in meafuring
3 with
22 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
with themlclves, it was not difficult to perceive, they felt,
though too cautious to avow, the fuperiority.
The Britifli embafly was a meafure which it was abfolutely
neceffary to adopt, for reafons that are ftated at full length in
the tirfl: chapter of Sir George Staunton's valuable work, and
the foundation it has laid for future advantages more than
counterbalances the trifling expence it occafioned to the Eafh
India Company, which did not exceed two per cent, on the
annual amount of their trade from England to Canton. Thofe
who had formed immoderate expedations muft have little un-
derftood the laws and cuftoms of China, which admit not the
fyflem of mutual intercourfe between diftant nations, by means
of embalFadors or refident minifters at the refpedlive courts.
Their cuftom is to receive embafladors with refpedt and hofpi-
tality; to confider them as vifitors to the Emperor, and to
entertain them accordingly as his particular guefts, from the
moment they enter the country till they return to the bounda-
ries of his empire. This being neceflarily attended with an
enormous expence *, the court of ceremonies has prefcribed
forty days for the refidence of foreign embaffadors, either in
the capital, or wherever the court may happen to be ; though on
particular occafions, or by accident, the term may fometimes
be extended to double that time.
*rhus by confulting the accounts of the different European
fimbaffies that have been fent to China in the two lafl: ccntu-
* The expence occafioned to the court of China by the Britilh emba(ry, will be,
ilated ill a fubfequent chapter.
ries,
TRAVELS INjCHINA. 23
ries, It will be found that the refidence of none of them was
extended to twice the term fixed by the court of ceremonies,
and two of them did not remain the period allowed.
The firfl: embafly fent by the Dutch arrived in Pekin,
the 17th July 1656, and departed the i6th Odlober following,
having remained ninety-one days.
The fecond Dutch embafTy arrived in Pekin the 20th June
1667, and departed the jth Auguft, having refided forty- fix
days.
The firft RuiTian embafTy arrived at the capital on the 5th
November 1692, and left it on the 17th February 1693, having
remained there one hundred and fix days.
The fecond Ruffian embafTy arrived at Pekin on the 18th
November 1720, and did not leave it till the 2d March 172X,
being one hundred and fourteen days.
Thefe two embaffies were immediately conneded with the
commercial concerns of the two nations, which were then
tranfaded in the capital of China, but now confined to the ad-
joining frontiers.
The Pope's embafTy arrived in Pekin on the 15th December
1720, and departed the 24th March 1721, being ninety-nine
days.
The
24 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The Portugueze embafly entered Pekin the ift May 1753,
and left it the 8th June following, being only thirty-nine days.
The Britifli embafly arrived in Pekin the 21ft Auguft 1793,
and departed the 7th Odober, being forty-feven days.
The third Dutch embaflTy entered the capital the loth
January 1795, and left it the 15th February, being thirty-fix
days.
On the whole, then, it may be concluded, that neither Mon-
fieur Grammont, nor they who conceived that an unconditional
and fervile compliance, on the part of the Britifli Embaffador,
would have been productive of more favourable refults, were
right in their conjedures. On the contrary, it may, perhaps,
be rather laid down as a certain confequence, that a tone of
fubmiffion, and a tame and paffive obedience to the degrading
demands of this haughty court, ferve only to feed its pride, and
add to the abfurd notions of its own vaft importance.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 25
CHAP. II.
Occurrences and Obfervations in the Navigation of tlie Yellow
Sea, and the Paflage up the Pei-ho, or White River.
Different Tejlimontes that have been given of the Chitiefe CharaEfer. — Compari/on of
China with Europe in the Jixteenth Century. — Motives of the Mijftonaries in their
Writings.— Britifh Emboffy pcffes the Streights of Formofa. — Appearance of a
Ta-fun>^ Chufan Iflands. — hijlance of Chinefe Amplification.— Various Chinefe
Vejfels. — Syfiem of their Navigation — tJ?eir Compafs, probably of Scythian Origin
— foreign Voyages of. — Ttacis of Chinefe in America — in an IJlattd of the
Tartarian Sea— in the Peifun Gulph— traded probably as, far as Madagafcar.—'
Commerce of the Tyrians. — Reafons for conjeEluring that the Hottentots may
have derived their Origin from China. — Portrait of a Chinefe compared with that
cf a Hottentot. — Malays of the fame defcent as the Chinefe.—-Curious coincidences
in the Ciifioms of thefe and the Siimatrans. — Cingalefe of Chinefe Origin. — One
tf the Brigs difpatched to Chu-fan for Pikls. — Rapid Currents among the
Iflands. — Vifit to the Governor. — Difficulties in procuring Pilots. — Arbitrary Pro-
ceeding of the Governor. — Pilots puzzled with our Con-pafs— Ignorance of — Arrive
in the Gulph of Pe-tehe-lee. — Vifit of two Officers from Court, and their Prefent
•—enter the Pei-ho, and embark in convenient Tachts. — Accommodating Condufl
of the two Officers. — Profufion of Proviftons. — Appearance of the Country — of the
People. — Drefs of the Women. — Remarks on their fmall Feet. — Chinefe an un-
cleanly and frowzy People. — Immenfe Crowds of People and River Craft at Tien-
Sing. — Decent and prepoffeffing Conduct of the Multitude. — Mufical Air fung by
the Rowers of the Tachts. — Favourable Traits in the Chinefe Character Face
and ProduHsof the Country. — Multitudes of Ptople Inhabitants of the Water. -^
Another Injlance of arbitrary Power. — Difembark at Tong Tchoo, and are lodged
in a Temple.
"If any man Ihould make a coUedion of all the inventions,
*' and all the produdtions, that every nation, which now Is,
E "Of
j6 travels in china.
" or ever has been, upon the face of the globe, the whole
*' would fall far fliort, either as to number or quality, of what-
« is to be met with in China." Thefe, or fomething funilar,,
are the words of the learned Ifaac Voffius.
The teftimony given by the celebrated authors of the Ency^
clopedie des Conno'tffances huma'ines is almoft equally ftrong:
" The Chinefe who, by common confent, are fuperior to all
♦* the Afiatic nations, in antiquity, in genius, in the progrefs
" of the fciences, in wifdom, in government, and in true phi-
" loiophy ; may, moreover, in the opinion of fome authors,
" enter the lifts, on all thefe points, with the moft enlightened
" nations of Europe."
How flattering, then, and gratifying muft it have been to
the feelings of thofe few favoured perfons, who had the good
fortune to be admitted into the fuite of the Britifh Embaflador,
then preparing to proceed to the court of that Sovereign who
held the governmeat of fuch an extraordinary nation ; how
greatly muft; they have enjoyed the profpeiS of experiencing,
in their own perfons, all that was virtuous, and powerful, and
grand, and magnificent, concentrated in one point — in the city
of Pekin !
And if any doubts might have arifen, onconfideration that nei-
ther the learned Canon of Windfor, nor the celebrated Authors
of the Encyclopedie, were ever in China ; that the firft was won-
derfully given to the marvellous, and the latter had no other
authorities, than thefe of the Jefuits, and other rniflionaries for
propagating
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 27
propagating the Chriftian faith, yet fuch doubts were more
inclined to yield to the favourable fide, as being fupported by
the almoft unanimous concurrence of a multitude of teftimonies,
contained in the relations that have, at various times, been pub-
lifhed not only by the miffionaries, but alfo by fome other tra-
vellers.
The late Sir William Jones, indeed, who defervedly took
the lead iu oriental literature, had obferved, in fpeaklng of the
Chinefe, that " By fome they have been extolled as the oldeft
" and wifeft, as the moft learned, and mofl: ingenious, of na-
" tions ; whiift others have derided their pretenfions to anti-
" qulty, condemned their government as abominable, and
" arraigned their manners as inhuman ; without allowing
** them an element of fcience, or a fmgle art, for which
" they have not been indebted to fome more ancient and more
" civilized race of men."
It is true, alfo, the refearches of Mr. Pauw, the fagacious
philofopher of Berlin, and the narrative of the elegant and
impreflive writer of Lord Anfon's Voyage, convey to the
reader's mind no very favourable ideas of the Chinefe charac-
ter ; yet, as the enquiries of the one were entered upon in a
fpirit of controverfy, and directed to one fmgle point, and the
author, as juftly has been obferved of him, delights fometimes to
take a fwim againft the flream, many dedudlions were clearly to
be made from the conclufions of Mr. Pauw. And with regard
to the Narrative of Mr. Robins, it may be remarked that, to
decide upon the general charaifler of the Chinefe, from the
dealings Lord Anfon had with them in the port of Canton,
E 2 would
28 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
would be as unfair, as it would be thought prefumptuous in a
foreigner to draw the charafter of our own nation from- a
cafual vilit to Falmouth, Killybeggs, or Aberdeen. The fame
remark will apply to the accounts given of this nation by
Torecn, Ofbeck, Sonnerat, and fome others, who have vifited
Canton in trading (hips, none of whom were five hundred
yards beyond the limits of the European factories.
It would alfo have been highly illiberal to fuppofe, that a
body of men, remarkable, as the early Jefuit miffionaries were
thought to be, for probity, talent, and difintereftednefs, fliould
ftudioufly fit down to compofe fabrications for the mere pur-
pofe of deceiving the world. Even Voltaire, who had little
partiality for the facerdotal charatfler, is willing to admit, that
their relations ought to be confidered as the produdions of the
moft intelligent travellers that have extended and embelliflied
the fields of Science and Philofophy. This remark, with pro-
per allowances being made for the age in which they were
written, may perhaps be applied to the narratives of the early
miflions to China, though not exactly to fome others of a more
modern date. All the praifes beftowed by the former on this
nation, the latter, it would feem, have, injudicioufly, confidered
themfelves bound to juftify ; without taking into account the
progreflive improvements of Europe within the laft century
and a half.
That China was civilized to a certain degree before moft of
the nations of Europe, not even Greece excepted, is a fadl that
will not admit of a doubt ; but that it has continued to im-
3 prove,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 39
prove, fo as ftill to vie with many of the prefent European
ftates, as the miflionaries would have it fuppofed, is not by any
means fo clear. From the middle to the end of the fixteenth
century, compared with Europe in general, it had greatly the
fuperiorlty, if not in fcience, at leaft in arts and manufa£tures,
in the conveniencies and the luxuries of life. The Chinefe
were, at that period, pretty much in the fame ilate in wliich
they ftill are ; and in which they are likely to continue. When
the firft Europeans vifited China, they were aftonifhed to find
an univerfal toleration of religious opinions ; to obferve Lamas
and Tao-tzeSy Jeivs^ Perfees, and Mahomcdans^ living quietly
together, and each following his own creed without moleftation ;
■whilft moft of the countries in Europe were, at that time, torn
in pieces by religious fchlfms ; and man was labouring with
enthufiaftic fury to deftroy his fellow-creatures, in honour of
his Creator, for a flight difference of opinion in matters of no
real importance, or even for a different acceptation of a word.
In China, every one was allowed to think as he pleafed, and to
chufe his own religion. The horrid maflacre of the proteftants
in Paris had terrified all Europe. China knew nothing of in-
ternal commotions, but fuch as were fometimes occafioned by
a partial fcarcity of grain. The art of improving vegetables
by particular modes of culture, was juft beginning to be known
in Europe. All China, at that time, was comparatively a gar-
den. When the Ring of France Introduced the luxury of filk
{lockings, which, about eighteen years afterwards, was adopted
by Elizabeth of England, the peafantry of the middle provinces
of China were clothed in filks from head to foot. At this
period, few or none of the little elegancies or conveniencies of
life
'yt> TRAVELS IN CHINA.
life were known in Europe ; the ladies' toilet had few eflences
to gratify the fenfe of fmell, or to beautify, for a time, the
complexion ; the fciflars, needles, pen-knives, and other little
appendages, were then unknown ; and rude and ill-polilhed
fkewers ufurped the place of pins. In China, the ladies had
their needlework, their paint-boxes, their trinkets of ivory, of
filver in fillagree, of mother-pearl, and of tortoife-fhell. Even
the calendar, at this time fo defedive in Europe, that Pope
Gregory was urged to the bold undertaking of leaping over, or
annihilating, ten days, was found to be, in China, a national
concern, and the particular care of government. Decimal
arithmetic, a new and ufeful difcovery of the feventcenth cen-
tury in Europe, was the only fyftem of arithmetic in ufe in
China. In a word, when the nobility of England v^ere fleep-
ing on ftraw, a peafant of China had his mat and his pillow ;
and the man in office enjoyed his filken mattrefs. One cannot,
therefore, be furprized if the impreffions made upon thefe
holy men were powerfully felt, or if their defcriptions fhould
feem to incline a little towards the marvellous. Nor may per-
haps their relations be found to be much embellifhed, on a fair
comparifon of the ftate of China with that of Europe in gene-
ral, from the year 1560 to the clofe of the fame century.
Thefe religious men, however, might have had their motives
for fetting this wonderful people in the faireft point of view.
The more powerful and magnificent, the more learned and
refined they reprefented this nation to be, the greater would
be their triumph in the event of their efFeding a change of the
national faith. It may a!fo have occurred to them, that com-
mon
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 31
mon prudence required they fhould fpeak favourably, at leafl:,
of a nation under whofe power and prote£tion they had volun-
tarily placed themfelves for life. There is every reafon to fup-
pofe, that in general they mean to tell the truth, but by fuppref-
fing feme part of it, or by telling it in fuch a manner as if they
expeded it would one day get back to China in the language of
that country, their accounts often appear to be contradidory in
themfelves. In the fame breath that they extol the wonderful
ftrength of filial piety, they fpeak of the common pradices of
expofing infants ; the ftri£t morality and ceremonious condudl
of the people are followed by a lift of the moft grofs debauch-
eries ; the virtues and the phllofophy of the learned are ex-
plained by their ignorance and their vices ; if in one page they
fpeak of the exceffive fertility of the country, and the amazing
extenfion of agriculture, in the next, thoufands are feen perifh-
ing by want ; and whilft they extol with admiration the pro-
grefs they have made in the arts and fciences, they plainly in-
form us that without the aid of foreigners they can neither caft
a cannon, nor calculate an eclipfe.
Upon the whole, hoivever, the Britifh embaffy left England
under a favourable impreflion of the people it Vv-as about to vifit.
Whether the expeftations of all thofe who compofed it, inde-
pendent of any political confideratlon, were realized, or ended
in difappointment, may partly be colleded from the following
pages. The opinions they contain are drawn from fuch inci-
dents and anecdotes as occurred in the courfe of an eight months'
vifit and from fuch as feemed beft calculated to illuftrate the
condition of the people, the national charaftcr, and the nature
of
32 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
of the government. A ihort rcfidence in the imperial palace of
Yuen-min-yuen, a greater ihare of liberty than is ufually per-
mitted to ftrangers in this country, with the afTiftance of fome
little knowledge of the language, afforded me the means of col-
Icding the fa£ts and obfervations which I Jiow lay before the
public ; and in the relation of which I have endeavoured to ad-
here to that excellent rule of our immortal poet,
" Notliing extenuate, *
" Nor fet down aught in malice."
And as the qualities of good and evil, excellence and mediocrity,
in any nation, can only be fairly eftimated by a comparifon with
thofe of the fame kind in others, wherever a fimilitude or a cou-
traft in the Chinefe charadter or cuftoms with thofe of any other
people ancient or modern occurred to my recolledion, I have
confidercd it as not wholly uninterefting to note the relation or
difagrecment.
The difpatches from China, received by the Britifli Embaffa-
dor on his arrival at Batavia, communicated the agreeable intel-
ligence that his Imperial Majefty had been pleafed, by a public
edid, not only to declare his entire fatisfadion with the intended
embafly,but that he had likewife iffued ftrid orders to the com-
manding officers of the fevcral ports along the coaft of the Yel-
low Sea, to be particularly careful that Pilots fhould be ready,
at a moment's notice, to condud the Englifh fquadron to Tieri-
fuig^ the neareft port to the capital, or to any other which
might be confidered as more convenient and fuitable for the
Britifli fliips.
By
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 33
By this communication a point of fome difficulty was now con-
fsdered to be removed. It was deemed a defireable circumftance
to be furnifhed with the means of proceeding diredly to Pekin
through the Yellow Sea, and thus to avoid any intercourfewith the
port of Canton ; as it was well known the principal officers of the
government there were prepared to throw every obftacle in the
way of the embaffy, and if not effedually to prevent, at lead to
countera^l, any reprefentations that might be made at the impe-
rial court, with regard to the abufes that exift in the adminiftra-
tion of the public affiiirs at that place, and more efpecially to the
exadlions and impofitions to which the commercial eftablifh-
ments are liable of the different nations whofe fubjeds have efta-
blifhed factories in this fouthern emporium of China. It could
not be fiippofed, indeed, that their endeavours would be lefs ex-
erted, in this particular inftance, than on all former occafions of
a fimilar nature.
The navigation of the Yellow Sea, as yet entirely unknown
to any European nation, was confidered as a fubje£l of fome
importance, from the information it would afford the means of-
fupplying, and which, on any future occafion, might not only
leffen the dangers of an unknown paflage, but prevent alfo much
delay by fuperfeding the ncceffity of running into different ports
in fearch of Chinefe Pilots, whom, by experience, we afterwards
found to be more dangerous than ufeful.
We pafled through the ftreight of Formofa without feeing
any part of the main land of China, or of the ifland from
whence the ftreight derives its name, except a high point
F towards
34 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
towards the northern extremity. The weather, indeed, during-
three fucceflive days, the 25th, 26th, and 27th July was fo
dark and gloomy, that the eye could fcarcely difcern the largeft
objeds at the diftance of a mile, yet the thermometer was from.
80° to 83° the greater part of thefe days. A heavy and almoft in-
ceffant fall of rain was accompanied with violent fqualls of wind,
and frequent burfts of thunder and flafhes of lightning ; which,,
with the crofs and confufed fwell in the lea, made the paflage not
only uncomfortably irkfome, but alfo extremely dangerous, on
account of the many iflands interfperfed in almoft every part
of the ftrait.
On the evening of the 25th the fun fet in a bank ^f fog,
which made the whole weftern fide of the horizon look
like a blaze of fire, and the barometer was obferved to have
fallen near one third of an inch, which, in thefe latitudes-
and at fea, is confidered as a certain indication of a change of
weather. There were on board fome Chinefe fifherraen who
had been driven out to fea in one of the Eaft India company's
Ihips, which we met with in the ftralts of Sunda. Thefe men
aflured us that the appearance of the heavens prognofticated one
of thofe tremendous gales of wind which are well known to
Europeans by the name of Tty-phoon and which fome ingenious
and learned men have fuppofed to be the fame as the Typhon
of the Egyptians or Turpwv of the Greeks. The Chinefe, how-
ever have made ufe of no mythological allufion in naming this-
hurricanc. They call it Ta-fung v?hich literally fignifies a
a great wind. The wind was certainly high the whole of the
night and the following day, the thunder and lightning dread-
ful,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 35
ful, and the variable fqualls and rain frequent and heavy j the
■depth of the fea from 25 to 30 fathoms.
The charts, however, of this pafTage into the Yellow Sea,
conftrudled by Europeans when the Chinefe permitted foreign,
nations to trade to Cbu-fan^ are confidered as fufficlently exa(3:
for fkilful navigators to avoid the dangerous rocks and iflands.
By the help of thefe charts our fquadron ventured to ftand
through the ftlll more intricate and narrow paflages of the Chu-
fan Archipelago, where, in the contracted fpace of about eight
hundred fquare leagues, the furface of the fea is ftudded with a
•clufter, confiding, nearly, of four hundred diftindt iflands.
Thefe iflands appeared to us, in failing among them, to be
mofl:ly uninhabited, extremely barren of trees or flirubs, and
many of them deftitute even of herbage, or verdure of any kind.
In fome of the creeks we perceived a number of boats and other
fmall craft, at the upper ends of which were villages compofed
of mean looking huts, the dwellings mofl: probably of fifhermen,
as there was no appearance of cultivated ground near them to
furnifti their inhabitants with the means of fubfiftence.
The fquadron having dropped anchor, we landed on one of
the largeft of thefe iflands ; and walked a very confiderable dif-
tance before we faw a human being. At length, in defcending a
valley, in the bottom of which was a fmall village, we fell in
with a young peafant, whom with fome dlfliculty, by means of
an interpreter, we engaged in converfation. Embarrafl!ed in thus
fuddenly meeting with ftrangers, fo different from his own
F 2 coun-
26 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
countrymen, in drefs, in features, and complexion, his timidity
miglit ahnoH. be faid to afi'ume the appearance of terror. He foon,
however, gained confidence, and became communicative. He
aflured us that the ifland on which we were, and of which he was a
native, was the beft in the whole groupe, and the moft populous,
except that of Chu-fim ; the number of its inhabitants being ten
thoufand fouls. It was difcovered,, however, before we had
been long in the country, that when a Chinefe made ufe of the
monofyllable van^ which in his language fignifies ten thoufand,
he was not to be underftood as fpeaking of a determinate or
precife number, but only as making ufe of a term that implied
amplification. A ftate criminal, for example, is generally con-
demned to undergo the punilhment of being cut into ten thou-
fand pieces ; the great wall of China is called the van-lee-tchin^
or wall of ten thoufand lee^ or three, thoufand Englifli miles, a
length juft double to that which the moft authentic accounts
have given of it. But when he means to inform any one that
the emperor has ten thoufand large vefTels, for the purpofe of
colleding taxes paid in kind, on the grand canal, inftead of the
monofyllable van he invariably makes ufe of the exprefllon nine
thoufand nine hundred and ninety-nine, as conveying a fixed
and definite number, and, in this cafe, he will be underftood
to fignify literally ten thoufand. In this manner, I fuppofe,
we were to underftand the population of the ifland Lo-ang.
At the fight of our large (hips, fo different in their appear-
ance from any of thofe belonging to the Chinefe, a vaft
number of boats, iffuing from every creek and cove, prefently
crowded together, in fuch a manner, and with fo little manage-
ment.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 37
ment, as to render it difficult to pafs through without danger
of overfetting or finking fome of them; a danger, however,
to which they feemed quite infenfible. Veflels of a larger
defcription, and various in the fliape of their hulls and rigging,
from twenty tons burden and upwards, to about two hundred
tons, were obferved in confiderable numbers, failing along the
coaft of the continent, laden generally with fmall timber,
which was piled to fuch a height upon their decks, that no
extraordinary force of wind would feem to be required to
overturn them. Beams of wood, and other pieces that were
too long to be received upon the deck of a fingle fhip, were
laid acrofs the decks of two veflels laflied together. We faw
at leaft a hundred couple thus laden in one fleet, keeping clofc
in with the coaft, in order to be ready, in cafe of bad weather,
to put into the neareft port, being ill calculated to refift a ftorm
at fea. The fhips indeed that are deftined for longer voyages
appear, from their fingular conftrudtion, to be very unfit to
contend with the tempeftuous feas of China. The general
form of the hull, or body of the fhip, above water, is that of
the moon when about four days old. The bow, or forepart, is
not rounded as in fhips of Europe, but is a fquare flat furface,
the fame as the ftern ; without any projecting piece of wood,
ufually known by the name of cutwater, and without arty keel.
On each fide of the bow a large circular eye is painted, in imi-
tation, I fuppofe, of that of a fi{h. The two ends of the fhip
rife to a prodigious height above the deck. Some carry two,
fome three, and others four mafts. Each of thefe confifts of
a fingle piece of wood, and confequently not capable of being
occafionally reduced in length, as thofe of European fhips.
The
2H:j2GG
38 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The diameter of the malnmaft of one of the larger kind of
Chinefe veOels, fuch as trade to Batavia, is not lefs than that of
an Englifh man of war of fixty-four guns. And it is fixed
in a bed of maffive timber laid acrofs the deck. On each
maft is a fmgle fail of matting, made from the fibres of
the bamboo, and ftrctched by means of poles of that reed,
running acrofs, at the diftance of about two feet from each other.
Thefe fails are frequently made to furl and unfurl like a fan.
When well hoifted up and braced aim oft fore and aft, or
parallel with the fides of the fliip, a Chinefe veffel will fail
within three and a half, or four points of the wind ; but they
lofe all this advantage over fhips of Europe by their drifting to
leeward, in confequence of the round and clumfy fhape of
the bottom, and their want of keel. The rudder is fo placed,
in a large opening of the ftern, that it can occafionally be
taken up, which is generally done on approaching fands and
ihallows.
The Chinefe, in fact, are equally unfkilled in naval archi-
tefture, as in the art of navigation. They keep no reckoning
at fea, nor pofTefs the leaft idea of drawing imaginary lines
upon the furface of the globe, by the help of which the pofi-
tion of any particular fpot may be affigned ; in other words,
they have no means whatfoever of afcertaining the latitude or
the longitude of any place, either by eftimation from the diftance
failed, or by obfervation of the heavenly bodies, with inftru-
ments for that purpofe. Yet they pretend to fay, that maay
£)f their early navigators made long voyages, in which they
were
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 39
were guided by charts of the route, fometiraes drawn on paper,
and fometimes on the convex furface of large gourds or
pumpkins. From this circumftance, fome of the Jcfuits have
inferred, that fuch charts muft have been more correct than
thofe on flat furfaces. If, indeed, the portion of the convex
furface, employed for the purpofe, vs-as the fcgment of a fphere,
and occupied a fpace having a comparative relation to that
part of the furface of the earth failed over, the inference might
be allowable ; hut this would be to fuppofe a degree of know-
ledge to which, it does not appear, the Chinefe had at any time
attained, it being among them, in every period of their hiftory,
an univerfally received opinion, that the earth is a fquare, and
that the kingdom of China is placed in the very center of its-
flat furface.
The prefent fyftem of Chinefe navigation is to keep as near
the fhore as poflible ; and never to lofe fight of land, unlefs
in voyages that abfolutely require it ; fuch as to Japan, Batavia,
and Cochin-China. Knowing the bearing, or direction of the
port intended to be made, let the wind be fair or foul, they
endeavour, as nearly as poflible, to keep the head of the fhip
always pointing towards the port by means of the compafs.
This inftrument, as ufed in China, has every appearance of
originality. The natives know nothing, from hiftory or tra-
dition, of its firft introdu£tion or difcovery ; and the ufe of the
magnet, for indicating the poles of the earth, can be traced,
from their records, to a period of time when the greateft part
of Europe was in a ftate of barbarifm. It has been conjedured,
indeed, that the ufe of the magnetic needle, in Europe, was
firft brought from China by the famous traveller Mario Polo
the
40 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
the Venetian. Its appearance immediately after his death, or,
according to fome, while he was yet Hving, but at all events, in
his own country, renders fuch a conje£ture extremely probable.
The embaffies in which he was employed by Kublai-Khan, and
the long voyages he performed by fea, could fcarcely have been
pradlicable without the aid of the compafs. Be this as it may, the
Chincfe were, without doubt, well acquainted with this inftru-
ment long before the thirteenth century. It is recorded in their
beft authenticated annals merely as a fa£t, and not as any ex-
traordinary circumftance, that the Emperor Chung-ko prefented
an embaifador of Cochin-China, who had loft his way in coming
by fea, with a Ting-Jtan-tchin " a needle pointing out the fouth,"
the name which it ftill retains. Even this idea of the feat of
magnetic influence, together with the conflrudtion of the com-
pafs-box, the divifion of the card into eight principal points, and
each of thefe again fubdivided into three, the manner of fuf-
pending the needle, and its diminutive fize, feldom exceeding
in length three quarters of an inch, are all of them ftrong
prefumptions of its being an original, and not a borrowed
invention.
By fome, indeed, it has been conjedlured, that the Scythians,
in the northern regions of Afia, were acquainted with the
polarity of the magnet, in ages antecedent to all hiftory, and that
the virtue of this fofTil was intended to be meant by the flying
arrow, prefented to Abaris by Apollo, about the time of the
Trojan war, with the help of which he could tranfport him-
felf wherever he pleafed.. The abundance of iron ores, and
perhaps of native iron, in every part of Tartary, and the very
3 early
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 4»
early period of time in which the natives were acquainted with
the procefs of fmelting thefe ores, render the idea not impro-
bable, of the northern nations of Europe, and Afia, (or the Scy-
thians,) being firfl: acquainted with the polarity of the magnet.
Yet even with the affiftance of the compafs, it is
furprizing how the clumfy and ill-conftru£ted velfcls of the
Chinefe can perform fo long and dangerous a voyage as that to
Batavia. For, befides being thrown out of their courfe by
every contrary wind, their whole confl;ru£tion, and particularly
the vaft height of their upper works above the water, feems
little adapted to oppofe thofe violent tempefts that prevail on
the China feas, known, as we have already obferved, by the
name of Ta-fung. Thefe hurricanes foraetimes blow with
fuch ftrength that, according to the affertion of an experienced
and Intelligent commander of one of the Eaft India Company's
fhips, " Were it poffible to blow ten thoufand trumpets, and
" beat as many drums, on the forecaftle of an Indlaman, in the
" height of a Ta-fung, neither the found of the one nor the
" other would be heard by a perfon on the quarter-deck of the
*' fame fhip." In fadt, vaft numbers of Chinefe veflels are
loft in thefe heavy gales of wind ; and ten or twelve thoufand
fubje£ts from the port of Canton alone are reckoned to perifh
annually by fhipwreck.
When a fhip leaves this port on a foreign voyage, it is con-
fidered as an equal chance that (he will never return ; and when
the event proves favourable, a general rejoicing takes place
among the friends of all thofe who had embarked in the
G hazardous
41 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
hazardous enterprize. Some of thefe fhips are not lefs than a
thouland tons burden, and contain half that number of fouls,
bcfules the paffcngers that leave their country, in the hope of
making their fortunes in Batavia and Manilla. A fhip is fel-
dom the concern of one man. Sometimes forty or fifty, or
even a hundred different merchants purchafe a veffel, and
divide her into as many compartments as there are partners,
fo that each knows his own particular place in the fhip, which
he is at liberty to fit up and to fecure as he pleafes. He fhips.
his goods, and accompanies them in perfon, or fends his fon^
or a near relation, for it rarely happens that they will truft
each other with property, where no family connexion exifls*
Each fleeping-place is juft the length and breadth of a man,
and contains only a fmall mat, fpread on the floor, and a pil-
low. Behind the compafs is generally placed a fmall temple,,
with an altar, on which is continually kept burning a fpiral
taper cornpofed of wax, tallow and fandal-wood duft. This
holy flame anfwers a double purpofe ; for while the burning
of it fulfils an a(St of piety, its twelve equal divifions ferve
to mcafure the twelve portions of time, which make up a
complete day. It fhould feem that the fuperftitious notions
inculcated in the people have led them to fuppofe, that fome
particular influence refides in the compafs ; for, on every ap-
pearance of a change in the weather, they burn incenfe before
the magnetic needle.
The lofTes occafioned among the fhips that were employed
to tranfport the taxes paid in kind from the ports of the
foutbern and middle provinces to the northern capital, were fo
1 great*
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 43
great, at the time of the Tartar Conqueft, In the thirteenth
century, that the fucceflbrs of Gengis-Khan were induced to
open a diredl communication between the two extremes of the
empire, by means of the rivers and canals ; an undertaking
that refledls the hlgheft credit on the Mongul Tartars, and
which cannot fail to be regarded with admiration, as long as it
fhall continue to exlft. The Chinefe, however, fay, that the
Tartars only repaired the old works that were fallen into
decay.
Six centuries previous to this period, or about the feventh
century of the Chriftian sra, the Chinefe merchants, according
to the opinion of the learned and ingenious Mr. de Guignes
carried on a trade to the weft coaft of North America. That,
at this time, the promontory of Kamfkatka was known to
them under the name of Ta-Shan^ many of their books of
travels fufficlently teftify ; but their journles thither were gene-
rally made by land. One of the miffionaries aflured me that,
in a colle£lion of travels to Kamfkatka, by various Chinefe,
the names of the feveral Tartar tribes, their manners, cuftoras,
and charaders, the geographical defcrlptlons of lakes, rivers,
and mountains, were too clearly and diftindly noted to be mlf-
taken. It is, however, extremely probable that,- as fur^ and
peltry were always in great demand, they might alfo have fome
communication with the faid promontory from the ifles of
JefTo, to which they were known to trade with their fhipping ;
and which are only a very fliort diftance from it. Mr. de
Guignes, in fupport of bis opinion, quotes the journal of a
Bonze, as the priefts of Fo have ufually been called, who
G 2 failed
44 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
failed eaftward from Kamfkatka to fuch a diftance as, in his
mind, puts it beyond a doubt that the country he arrived at
was no other than the coaft of California. The Spanifh writers,
indeed, of the early voyages to this country, make mention of
various wrecks of Chinefe veflels being found in different parts
of the weftern coaft of the New Continent ; and they obferve
that the natives here were, invariably, more civilized than in
the interior and eaftern parts of America.
Even thofe on the eaftern coaft of South America have a
very ftrong refemblance to the Chinefe in their perfons, though
not in their temperament and manners. The Viceroy of the
Brazils retains a dozen of thefe people in his fervice, as rowers
of his barge, with the ufe of which he one day honoured us,
to make the tour of the grand harbour of Rio de Janeiro.
We obferved the Tartar or Chinefe features, particularly the
eye, ftrongly marked in the countenances of thefe Indians ; the
copper tinge was rather deeper than the darkeft of the Chinefe ;
but their beards being moftly confined to the upper lip and
the point of the chin, together with their ftrong black hair,
bore a very near refemblance.
The ifland of Tcho-ka, or Saghahen, in the Tartarian fea,
oppofite the mouth of the Amour, has evidently been peopled
by the Chinefe. When Monfieur la Peroufe vifited this ifland,
he found the inhabitants clothed in blue nankin, and " the
*' form of their drefs differed but little from that of the
" Chinefe ; their pipes were Chinefe, and of Toftanague ; they
" had long nails ; and they faluted by kneeling and proftration,
" like
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 45
*' like the Chlnefe. If," continues the navigator, " they have a
" common origin with the Tartars and Chinefe their fepa-
" ration from thefe nations muft be of very ancient date, for
" they have no refemblance to them in perfon, and little in man-
" ners." Yet from his own account it appears that both their
manners and cuftoms have a very clofe refemblance.'
The Chinefe at one period carried on a very confiderable
commerce with Buflbra and other fea-ports in the Perfian
gulph, particularly Siraff, near vyhich fome fmall iflands, as
well as feveral remarkable points and headlands of the coaft,
ftill bear Chinefe names. In fome of the voyages it is obferved
that a Colony of Chinefe had apparently fettled in the kingdom
of Soffala, the defcendants of whom were, in the time of the
writers, eafily diftinguifhed from the other natives, by the dif-
ference of their colour and their features. The early Portu-
guefe navigators alfo obferve that on the ifland St. Laurence
or Madagafcar they met with people that refembled the Chi-
nefe. That the celebrated traveller Marco Polo vifited Mada-
gafcar in a Chinefe veflel there can be little doubt, unlefs indeed,
like his own countrymen, we chufe rather to rejedl the proba-
ble parts of his narrative as fabulous, and to believe the miracles
performed by the Neftorian Chriftians in Armenia as the only
truths in his book.
It is impoffible not to confider the notices given by this early
traveller as curious, interefting and valuable ; and, as far as
they regard the empire of China, they bear internal evidence of
being generally corred. He failed from China in a fleet con-
fifting
46 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
fiftlng of fourteen fhips, each carrying four mafts, and having
their holds partitioned into feparate chambers, fome containing
thirteen diftind compartments. This is the exadl number of
divifions into which all the holds of thofe fea-faring veflels
were partitioned that tranfported the prefents and baggage from
our own fhips in the gulph of Pe-tche-lee into the river Pei-ho ;
and we obferved many hundreds of a ftill larger defcription, that
arc employed in foreign voyages, all carrying/o//r mafts; fuch vef-
fels, our Tailors who are remarkable for metamorphofing foreign
names, ufually caW jfujiks, from Tchuan which fignifies a fliip ; the
Tfo?ig-too or viceroy of a province is called by them yohn Tuck,
Not only the form of the fhips, but the circumftances of the
voyage taken notice of by this ancient navigator ftamp his rela-
tion with authenticity. The fi:rong current between Madagaf-
car and Zanzebar rendering it next to impofTible for fhips to get
back to the northward ; the black natives on that coaft, the
prodiiQs of the country which he enumerates ; the true defcrip-
tion of the GerafFe or Camelopardalis, at that time confidered in
Europe as a fabulous animal, are fo many and fuch ftrong evidences
in favour of his narrative, as to leave little doubt that he either
was himfelf upon the eaft coaft of Africa, or that he had received
very correct information from his Chinefe fhipmates concerning
it. Yet Dodor Vincent has afferted, in his Periplus of the Ery~
threan Sea *, that in the time of this Venetian traveller none but
Arab or Malay vefTels navigated the Indian Ocean. With all due
deference to fuch high authority I cannot forbear obferving that the
*• In tlie very next page (202) lie however cnrrefis himfelf, by obferving that eithsr
the Chinefe or Malays navigated as far as Madagafcar.
fimple
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
47
fimple relation of Marco Polo bears internal and Irrefiftible evi-
dence that the fleet of fhips in which he failed were Chinefe, of
the fame kind to all intents and purpofes as they now are.
Nor have we any reafon for doubting the authority of the two
Mahoinedans who vifited China in the ninth century, when
they tell us that Chinefe fhips traded to the Perfian gulph at
that time. In a chart made under the direiflion of the Vene-
tian traveller and ftill preferved in the church of St. Michael de
Murano at Venice, the fouthei'n part of the continent of Africa is
faid to be diftindly marked down, though this indeed might
have been infcrted after the Cape of Good Hope had beea
doubled by the Portugueze.
Whether the Prince of Portugal had feen or heard of this
chart, or confuked the Arabian Geographers, or had read of the
circumnavigation of Africa in the firft tranflation of Herodotus
that made its appearance but a few years before the difcovery
of the fouthern promontory of this continent by Bartholomew
Diaz ; or whether the voyages were undertaken at that time
on a general plan of difcovery, authors feem not to have
agreed, but the opinion, I underftand, among the Portugueze is
that Henry had good grounds for fuppofing that the circumna-
vigation of Africa was pradlicable.
And whether the Phoenicians did or did not, in the earlieft
periods of hiftory, double the Cape of Good of Hope there
is abundant reafon for fuppoling they were well acquainted with
the eaft coaft of Africa as far as the Cape of Currents. Nor is it
probable that the extent and flourifhing condition of the trade
and
48 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
and commerce of Tyrus fliould Iiave been limited to tliat part
of the Indian ocean to the fouthward of the Red Sea, which is
a more difficult navigation than to the northward. That this
commerce was extenfive we have the authority of the prophet
Ezekiel, who, in glo'vving terms, has painted its final deftruttion,
and who, it may be remarked, is ftippofed to have lived at the
very time the Phoenicians failed round Africa by order of Necho.
" Thy riches and thy fairs, thy merchandlfe, thy mariners and
" thy pilots, thy caulkers, and the occupiers of thy merchan-
" dize, and all thy men of war that are in thee, and in all thy
" company which is in the midfl: of thee, fhall fall into the
♦' midft of the feas in the day of thy ruin." It is probable there-
fore that the navigation of the Eaftern Seas was known in the
earlleft periods of hlftory, and there feems to be no reafon for
fuppofing that the Chinefe fhould not have had their (hare in it.
Without, however, making any enquiry Into the proba-
bility that an ancient intercourfe might have fubfifted between
China and the Eaft coaft of Africa, either by convention for
commercial purpofes, or that Chinefe failors might have been
thrown on that coaft either in Phcsniclan, or Arabian, or their own
vefTels, I happened to obferve in a former publication of" Travels
" hi Southern Jfr'ica^'' as a matter of fa£t, " that the upper lid of
" the eye of a real Hottentot, as in that of a Chinefe, was
" rounded into the lower on the fide next the nofe, and that it
" formed not an angle as in the eye of an European — that
" from this clrcumftance they were known in the colony of
" the Cape by the name of Chinefe Hottentots.^'' Further ob-
fervatlons have confirmed me in the very ftrlking degree of re-
femblance between them. Their phyfical characters agree in
almoft
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 49
almoft every point. The form of their perfons In the remark-
able fmallnefs of the joints and the extremities, their voices and
manner of fpeaking, their temper, their colour and features, and
particularly that fingular fhaped eye rounded in the corner next
the nofe like the end of an ellipfis, probably of Tartar or Scy-
thian origin, are nearly alike. They allb agree in the broad root
of the nofe ; or great diftance between the eyes : and in the
oblique pofition of thefe, which, inftead of being horizontal,
as Is generally the cafe In European fubje£ts, are deprefled
towards the nofe. A Hottentot who attended me in travelling
over Southern Africa was fo very like a Chlnefe fervant I had
in Canton, both In perfon, features, manners, and tone of voice,
that almoft always inadvertently I called him by the name of
the latter. Their hair, it Is true, and that only differs. This,
in a Hottentot, Is rather harfh and wiry, than woolly, neither
Ipng, nor fliort, but twifted in hard curling ringlets refembling
fringe. I poffefs not a fufficient degree of {kill In phyliology
to fay what kind of hair the offspring would have of a Chi-
nefe man and Mofamblque woman ; much lefs can I pretend
to account for the origin of the Hottentot tribes, infulat^d oa
the narrow extremity of a large continent, and differing fo
remarkably from all their neighbours, or where to look for
their priautive flock unlefs among the Chinefe.
I am aware It will appear rather fingular to thofe, who may
have attended to the accounts that generally have been given
of thefe two people, to meet with a comparifon between the
moft polifhed and the moft barbarous, the wifeft and the moft
ignorant of mankind ; and I am therefore the lefs furprized at
H an
^o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
at an obfcrvatlon made by the writers of the Critical Review
" that the foetus of the Hottentots may refemble the Chinefe, as
" the entrails of a pig refemble ihofe of a man ; but on this
*' topic our ingenious author feems to wander beyond the circle
•* of his knowledge." I hope thefe gentlemen will not be of-
fended at my taking this occafion to affure them that the com-
parifon was not even then made on loofe grounds, although no
inference was drawn from it, and that on a clofer examina-
tion, I am the more convinced of their near refemblance in
mental as well as phyfical qualities. The aptitude of a Hotten-
tot in acquiring and combining ideas is not lefs than of a Chi-
nefe, and their powers of imitation are equally great, allowance
being made for the difference of education ; the one being con-
tinually from his infancy brought up in a fociety where all the
arts and conveniencies of life are in common ufe; the other
among a miferable race of beings in conflant want even of the
common neceffaries of life.
But as affertions and opinions prove nothing, I have annexed
the portrait of a real Hottentot, drawn from the life by Mr. S..
Daniell, in order to compare it with one of a Chinefe, taken alfo
from the life by Mr. Alexander ; and I have no doubt that a
clofe comparifon of thefe portraits will convince the reader, as
well as the reviewer, that the refemblance I remarked to have
found was not altogether fanciful.
Indeed the people that have derived their origin from the
fame ftock with the Chinefe, are more widely fcattered over
tlie Aiiatic continent and the oriental iflands than is generally
imagined.
TRAVELS IN'cHINA. 51
imagined. All thofe numerous focietles, known under
the common name of Malays, are unqueftionably defcended
from the ancient inhabitants of Scythia or Tartary ; and it may
perhaps be added, that their connexion with the Arabs and
their converfion to Iflamifm firft infpired, and have now ren-
dered habitual, that cruel and fanguinary difpofition for which
they are remarkable ; for it has been obferved that the natives of
thofe iflands, to which the baleful Influence of this religion has
not extended, have generally been found a mild and inoffenfivc
people; as was the cafe with regard to the natives of the
Pelew iflands when difcovered by Captain Wilfon.
The pei-ufal of Mr. Marfden's excellent hiftory of Sumatra
leaves little doubt on my mind that a Chinefe colony at fomc
early period has fettled on that ifland. This author obferves
that the eyes of the Sumatrans are little, and of the fame
kind as thofe of the Chinefe ; that they fufFer their nails to
grow long ; that they excel in working fillagree, making gun-
powder, &c. that they regifter events by making knots on cords ;
that they count decimally ; write with a ftyle on bamboo ; that
they have little hair on their bodies and heads, which little, like the
Chinefe, they extract. In their language, many words, I perceive,
are fimilar ; and the correfponding words exprefs the fame idea
in both languages ; but on etymological comparifons I would be
underftood to lay little ftrefs, for reafons which will be afligned in
the fixth chapter. The fimllitude of a religious ceremony is much
Wronger ground to build upon ; and the coincidence Is fuffi-
ciently remarkable, that the manner pradlfed by the Sumatrans
in taking a folemn oath (hould exadly agree with the fame ce-
H 2 remony
58 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
remony which is ufed in giving a folemn pledge among the
common people of China, namely, by wringing off the head of
a cock. Captain Macklntofli told me that having once occafion
to place great confidence in the mafter of a Chinefe vefTel, and
doubting left he might betray it, the man felt himielf confi-
derably hurt, and faid he would give him fufficient proof that
he was to be trufted. He immediately procured a cock, and,
falling down on both knees, wrung off his head ; then hold-
ing up his hands towards heaven, he made ufe of thefe words :
*' If I a£l otherwife than as I have faid, do thou, o tien^ (Hea-
•' ven) deal with me as I have dealt with this cock I"
I have fmce been informed, from the beft authority, that
whenever, in the courfe of the concerns of the Britifh EafE
India Company with the merchants of China, it may be necef-
fary to adminlfter an oath to a Chinefe, the fame ceremony
is gone through of wringing off the head of a cock, which is
by them confidered in a very ferious light, a fort of incantation,
whofe effe£ts upon their minds are not unlike thofe produced
by fuppofed magic fpells, once common in our own country,
by which the vulgar were perfuaded that the Devil was to be
made to appear before them. In a Chinefe court of juftice aa
oath is never adminiftered. In a late affair, where a Chinefe
^as killed by a feaman of a Britifh man of war, and the Cap-
tain was about to adminifter an oath to two of his people
"Whom he produced as evidences in a Chinefe court of juftice,
the chief judge was fo ihocked, that he ordered the court ta
be inftantly cleared.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 53
The C'lngahfe are unqueftionably of Chinefe origin. Thofe
who are acquainted with the Chinefe manners and charadler,
will immediately perceive the very clofe refcmblance, on reading
Mr, Boyd's relation of his embalfy to the King of Candy.
S'lti-quo^ kingdom of 5;«, (from whence Sina, or China,) are
Chinefe words ; the termination is European. So alfo is the
name of the ifland Chinefe, See-Ian^ See-long, or Sec-lung^ the
Weftern Dragon, in conformity to an invariable cuflora of
afligning the name of fome animal, to every .mountain.
Having no intention, however, to inveftigate minutely the
extent of Chinefe navigation and commerce in ancient times,
but rather to confine my obfervations to their prefent ftate,
I return from this digreffion, in order to proceed on our
voyage.
One of the fmall brigs, attending the expedition, was dif-
patched without lofs of time to the port of Chu-San, to take
on board the pilots that, agreeable to the order contained ia
the Imperial edift, were expedled to be found in readinefs to
embark. In fome of the paflages, formed by the numerous
iflands, the currents ran with amazing rapidity, appear-
ing more like the impetuous torrents of rivers, fwelled
by rains, than branches of the great ocean. The depth too
of thefe narrow paflages was fo great as to make it difficult,
dangerous, and frequently impoflible, for fhips to anchor ia
the event of a calm ; in which cafe they muft neceflarily drive
at the mercy of the fliream. As we approached, in the Cla-
rence brig, the high rocky point of the continent called Kee-toc^
3 whicbt
54 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
which juts into the midft of the clufter of iflands, the wind
fuddenly failed us ; and the current hurried us with fuch velo-
city diredly towards the point, that we expeded momentarily
to be daflied in pieces ; but on coming within twice the length
of the fliip of the perpendicular precipice, which was fome
hundred feet high, the eddy fwept her round three feveral times
with great rapidity. The Captain would have dropped the
anchor, but an old Chinefe fifherman, whom we had taken
on board to pilot us, made figns that it was too deep, and, at
the fame time, that there was no danger, except that of the
bowfprit ftriking againft the mountain. The Chinefe veflels
have no bowfprit. At this moment the lead was thrown, but
we got no foundings at the depth of one hundred and twenty
fathoms ; yet the yellow mud was brought up from the bottom
in fuch quantities, that the Nile, at the height of its inunda-
tions, or the great Yellow River of China, could not be more
loaded with mud than the fea was In the whirlpool of Kec-too
point. The current, in the Strait of Faro, fetting diredly
upon the rocks of Scylla, and the whirlpool of Charybdis,
thofe celebrated objeds of dread to ancient navigators, could not
poffibly have been more awfully terrific, though perhaps more
dangerous, than the currents and the eddies that boiled tumul-
tuoufly round this promontory of the Chinefe continent, where,
*' When the tide rulhes from her rumbling caves
'* The rough rock roars ; tumultuous boil the waves ;
" They tofs, they foam, a wild confufion raife,
" Like waters bubbUng o'er the fiery blaze."
The fecond whirl removed us to a confiderable diftance from
the point, and, after the third, we were fwept rapidly along
in
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 55
in a fmooth uniform current. Our interpreter, a Chinefe
prieft, who had been educated in the college de propaganda Jide
at Naples, was not quite fo compofed as his countryman the
pilot. The poor fellow, indeed, had nearly been thrown
overboard by the boom of the mainfail, in the firfl, which was
the moft rapid, whirl of the ihip ; the fame blow ftriking a
failor tofled his hat overboard ; and it afforded fome amufe-
ment, in our fuppofed perilous fituation, to hear the different
ejaculations of thefe two perfons on the fame occafion.
SatiEliJfima Mar'ia^ ejl miraculum, eft mlraculum I exclaimed the
prieft, with great eagernefs ; whilft the failor, rubbing his head,
and walking away, with much compofure obferved, that the
d — 71 d boom had carried away his fore-top-gallant cap !
The Chinefe, it feemed, had already been apprized of our
arrival, for we had not proceeded far before a large veffel bore
down towards us, and, hailing the brig in their own language,
defired we would bring her to anchor, and that they would con-
du£l: us early the following morning into the harbour of Chu-fac,
Some of the officers came on board, were extremely civil, and
prefented us with a bafket of fruit; but they affeded to know
nothing of the occafion that had brought us thither. Our old
fifherman took out of the fea, (among thoufands that had
floated round our veffel) one of thofe animal fubftances which,
I believe, we vulgarly call fea blubbers (Mollusca mednfa
porpitd). It was at leaft a foot in diameter. Having dreffed it
for his fupper, and feeing it wear the inviting appearance of a
tranfparent colourlefs jelly, I was tempted to tafte it ; but the
36 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
effed produced by this, or the fruit, or both, was a feverc
ficknefs, which continued for feveral days.
We weighed anchor at day-break, and, with a pleafant
breeze, failed in company with the clumfy-lookingyVwyf, which,
however, to the furprize of our feamen, failed quite as well as
the fmart-looking Clarence.
Having anchored before the town, in a fpaclous bafon
formed by feveral iflands, and paid the ufual compliment of a
falute, a few Mandarines (officers of government fo named
by the early Portugueze from mandar^ to command) came on
board. To every queftion that led to the main point of our
vifit, thefe people gave us evafive anfwers, affeding the moft
complete ignorance of every thing relating to the affairs of the
embafl'y. They faid the TJung-ping-, or military governor of
the ifland, was then abfent, but that he would return in the
courfe of the day, and would be happy to fee us on fhore the
following morning. Chinefe etiquette, I fuppofe, required that
a day fhould elapfe before our reception in form.
Accordingly, at an early hour in the morning the gentlemen
of the embcilTy, who had been fent on this bufmefs, went on
fhore, and were received by the Governor with great polite-
nefs, and abundant ceremony, in his hall of public audience,
which, as a building, had little to attract our notice. The
ufual minute enquiries being gone through, which, it feems,
Chinefe good-breeding cannot difpenfe with, fuch as the health
of his vifitors, of their parents aad relations, and particularly
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 5^
the name and age of each perfon, the object of our vlfit was
explahied to him ; and at the fame time a hope exprefled that
there would be no delay in getting the pilots on board. The
old gentleman appeared to be much furprizcd at fuch violent
hafte, and talked of plays, feafts, and entertainments, that he
meant to give us. Pilots, however, he faid, were ready to
take charge of the (hips, and to carry them along the coaft to
the next province, where others would be found to conduct
them ftill farther. On being told that fuch a mode of naviga-
tion was utterly impracticable for the large Engllfh (hips, and
that fuch pilots would be of no ufe to us, he begged to be
allowed the remainder of the day to enquire for others. We
little expected to have met with any difficulties with regard to
pilots, in one of the beft and moft frequented ports in China,
where, at that time feveral hundred veffels were lying at anchor.
The remainder of the day was fpent in a vifit to the city of
Ting-hai ; but the crowd became fo numerous, and the day
was fo exceflively hot, that before we had paffed the length of
a ftreet, we were glad to take refuge in a temple, where the
priefts very civilly entertained us with tea, fruit, and cakes.
The officer who attended us advifed us to return in fedan
chairs, an offer which we accepted ; but the bearers were
flopped every moment by the crowd, in order that every one
might fatisfy his curiofity by thrufting his head in at the win-
dow, and exclaiming, with a grin, Hung-mau ! EtigliJJmiati^
or, literally, Redpate ! Rather difappointed than gratified, we
were glad, after a fatiguing day, to throw ourfelves into our
cots on board the Clarence.
I When
38 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
When we went on fliore the following morning, we found
the military governor, attended by a civil magiftrate, by whom,
after the ufual compliments, we were addrefled, in a long ora-
tion, delivered apparently with a great deal of folcmnity, the
intention of which was to convince us that, as it had been the
practice of the Chinefe, for time immemorial, to navigate from
port to port, experience had taught them it was the beft.
Finding, however, that his eloquence could not prevail on his
hearers to relinquifh their own opinions on the fubjed, the
governor and he confulted together for fome time, and at
length refolved that a general mufter fliould be made of all the
perfons in that place, vs'ho had at any time vifited by fea the
port of Tien-fing.
A number of foldiers were accordingly difpatched, and foon
returned, with a fet of the moft miferable-looking wretches I
ever beheld ; who were thrufl into the hall, and dropping on
their knees, were examined in that attitude, as to their qualifi-
cations. Some, it appeared, had been at the port of l^ien-fing^
but were no feamen ; others followed the profeffion, but had
never been at that port ; and feveral were hauled in, who had
never fet a foot on board a veflel of any defcription whatfoever.
In fhort, the greater part of the day was confumed to no pur-
pofe ; and we were about to conclude that we had a great
chance of leaving the central and much-frequented harbour of
Cbu-fan, without being able to procure a fingle pilot, when
two men were brought in, who feemed to anfwer the purpofe
belter than any which had yet been examined. It appeared,
however, that they had quitted the fea for many years, and
being
TRAVELS IN CHINA, 59
being comfortably fettled in trade, had no defire to engage in
the prefent fervice ; on the contrary, they begged on their
knees that they might be excufed from fuch an undertaking.
Their fupplications were of no avail. The Emperor's orders
muft be obeyed. In vain did they plead the ruin of their
bufinefs by their abfence, and the diftrefs it w^ould occafion to
their wives, their children, and their families. The Governor
was inexorable; and they were ordered to be ready to embark
in the courfe of an hour.
This arbitrary proceeding of the Governor conveyed no very
exalted ideas of the juftice or moderation of the government,
or of the protection it afforded to the fubjeft. To drag away
from his family an honeft and induftrious citizen, fettled in
trade, and to force him into a fervice that muft be ruinous to
his concerns, was an ad; of injuftice and violence that could
not be tolerated in any other than a defpotic government,
where the fubje£t knows no laws but the will of the tyrant.
But we are yet on a diftani ifland of the Great Empire, remote
from the fountain of authority; and delegated power, in all
countries, is but too liable to be abufed. Befides, a Chinefe
might be impreffed with fentiments equally unfavourable of our
government, were he informed of the manner in which im-
perious neceffity fometimes requires our navy to be manned.
One confideration, however, might with fafety be drawn
from the occurrences of this day, which was this, that long
voyages are never undertaken where they can be avoided; but
that the commerce of the Yellow Sea is carried on from
I 2 port
6o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
port to port ; and that the articles of merchandize fo tranf-
ported muft ncceflarily have many profits upon them, before
they come to the diftant confumer ; which may, in fome
degree, account for the high prices many of the products of the
country, as we afterwards found, bore in the capital. In like
manner was the inland commerce of Afia conduced by cara-
vans, proceeding from ftation to ftation, at each of which were
merchants to buy or exchange commodities with each other,
thofe at the limits of the journey having no conne£tion nor
communication whatfoever with one another ; which will partly
explain the ignorance of the Greeks with regard to the Eaftern
countries, from whence they derived their precious ftones, per-
fumes, and other valuable articles.
The old Governor was evidently relieved from a load of
anxiety at his fuccefs j and the tears and entreaties of the poor
men ferved only to brighten up his countenance. From
civility, or curiofity, or perhaps both, he returned our viiit on
board the brig, which had been crowded with the natives from
morning till night, fmce her firft arrival in the harbour. The
want of curiofity, which has been fuppofed to form a part of
the Chinefe charader, was not perceived in this inftance ; but
it was that fort of curiofity, which appeared rather to be incited
by the defire of looking narrowly at the perfons of thofe who
were to have the honour of being prefented to their Great
Emperor, than for the fake of gratifying the eye or the mind,
by the acquirement of information or new Ideas. The veflel,
although fo very different from their own, was an objeiS of
little notice ; and although eager to get a tranfient glance at
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 6i
the pafTengers, their curlofity was fatlsfied in a moment, and
was generally accompanied with fome vague exclamation,
in which the words Ta-whatig-tee occurred ; and the main
drift of which feemed to imply, " is this perfon to appear
*' before our Great Emperor ?" This was ftill more remarkable
in the crowd of Ting-hai ; nothing fcarcely was there heard
but the words Ta-whang-tee and Hung-maUy the Emperor and
the Englifhman.
The fquadron had fcarcely got under way, and cleared the
narrow paflages between the iflands into the Yellow Sea,
when it was perceived how very little advantage it was likely
to derive from the Chinefe pilots. One of them, in fad:, had
come on board without his compafs, and it was in vain to
attempt to make him comprehend ours. The moveable card
was to him a paradox, as being contrary to the univerfal prac-
tice with them, of making the needle traverfe the fixed points,
and not the points defcribed on the card to move (by the needle
being attached to the card), as in thofe of Europe. The other
was furnifhed with a compafs, about the fize of a common
fnuff-box, being an entire piece of wood, with a circular exca-
vation in the centre, juft large enough to admit the vibration
of a very fine fleel needle, not quite an inch in length, which,
however, might be found fufficiently ufeful, in their fliort
voyages, by means of a peculiar contrivance for preferving the
center of gravity, in all pofitions of the (hip, in coincidence
nearly with the center of fufpenfion. Nor is it neceflary, in
fo fhort and fine a needle, to load one end more than the other,
in order to counterad the dip, or tendency that the magnetic
I needle
62 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
needle Is known to have, more or lefs, towards the horizon
in different parts of the world. The Chinefe, however, <lo
not feem to have adopted their fmall needle from any. know-
ledge either of the variation, or of the inclination of the mag-
netic needle. Although the needle be invariably fmall, yet it
fometimes happens that the margin of the box is extended to
fuch a fize, as to contain from twenty to thirty concentric
circles, containing various charaders of the language, confti-
tuting a compendium of their aflronomical (perhaps more
properly fpeaking) aftrological knowledge. As numbers of
iiich compalles are in the mufeums of Europe, it may not per-
haps be wholly unacceptable to give fome notion of what tbefe
circles of charaders contain.
1. Central circle, or the needle.
2. 8 myflical charaders denoting the firfl; principles of
matter, faid to be invented by Fo-Jhce, the founder
of the monarchy.
3. The names of the 12 hours into which the day is divided.
4 and 5. Names of the circumpolar ftars.
6. Charaders of the 24 principal meridians or colures.
7. The 24 fubdivifions or feafons of the year.
8. The charaders of the cycle of 60 years.
9. Numerical charaders relating to the above cycle.
10. Charaders denoting the 28 figns of the Zodiac.
1 1. Certain aftrological charaders.
12. Eight fentences explanatory of the 8 myftical charaders
on the fecond circle.
13. A different arrangement of the Chinefe cycle.
14. Charaders of the five elements.
15. Re-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 63
15. Repetition of the charadlers on the eighth circle.
16. Repetition of the eighth circle.
17. an di8. Charaders of obfcure mythology.
19. Names of 28 conftcllations and their places in the hea-
vens.
20. Relates to the fixth and fifteenth circles.
21. The world divided according to the fidereal influences.
22. Correfponds with the eighth and fixteenth circles.
23. Contains the fame as the above with the addition of the
fourteenth circle.
24. and 25. Are inexplicable even by the Chinefe.
26. An arrangement of certain characters and marks for cal-
culating lucky, unlucky, and neutral days.
2 7, is the fame as the nineteenth, and furrounds the whole *.
The greatefi: depth of the Yellow Sea, in the track of the
fliips, did not exceed thirty-fix fathoms, and it was frequently
diminiftied to ten fathoms. The weather, as ufually happens
in fliallow feas, was generally hazy. In doubling the
projedling promontory of the province of Shan-tung, the
land was hidden in thick fogs. And on thefe, fortunately,
diflipating, it was perceived that the whole fquadron was
within four miles of the main land, and one of the fhips clofe
upon a rocky ifland. The pilots were as ignorant of our fitua-
* If any argument were wanting to prove the originality of the magnetic needle as
ufed in China, the circumftance of their having ingrafted upon it their moil ancient and
favourite mythology, their cycles, conftcllations, elements, and, in fhort, an abftraft of
all their aftronomical or aftrological fcience, is quite fufficient to fettle that point. Thofe
who are acquainted with the Chinefe charafter will not readily admit that their long
eftablidied fuperftitions fhould be found incorporated on an inftrument of barbarian in-
vention.
tion
64 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
tion as the meaneft fallor in the fquadron. Proceeding to the
weftvvard, a capacious bay was difcovered. One of the pilots,
after a minute examination of the land, which was now clear,
aflcrted that he knew the place very well ; that it was the bay
of Mfd-a-taw. The confidence with which he fpoke, and
the vaft concourfc of people, crowding down towards the
fhore, as if expecting our arrival, induced the Commander to
fteer diredly into the bay : but the depth of water diminifhing
to five fathoms, and land appearing on every fide, it was thought
prudent to let go the anchor. Several boats from the fhore were
prefently along-fide ; and we were foon convinced how little we
had to truft to the knowledge of our pilots, even within fight
of land. We were informed that the bay was called Kee-fan-
feii^ and that Mee-a-taw was, at leaft, fifteen leagues farther to
the weftward.
The hills along this fouthern coaft of the gulph of Pe-tche-lee
have a very peculiar chara£ter. They are all of the fame form
and nearly of the fame fize, being regular cones with fmooth
fides as if fafhioned by art, and entirely detached, each ftanding
on its proper bafe, refembling in their fhapes the fummer caps
worn by the officers of government ; and having, as yet, no
European names, they were noticed in the journals by the ap-
pellation of the firft, fecond, third, &c., mandarin's bonnets.
Determining now to avail ourfelves of the advice given by
the magiftrate of Chii-fan^ and to navigate from port to port,
we here procured two new pilots to carry the fhips to Mee-a-
taw. They brought us indeed to this place, but, inftead of a
harbour
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 65
harbour, we found only a narrow flralt, with a rapid tide fet-
ting through it, and rocky anchoring ground. On the fliore
of the continent was a city of confiderable extent, under the walls
of which next the fea was a bafon or dock, filled with vefl'els
whofe capacity might be from ten to one hundred tons.
The Governor of this city (the name of which we learned to
be Ten-tchoo-foo) paid his refpeds to the embaffador on board
the Lion, and obferved in the courfe of converfation that his
orders from court were to render all the fervice in his power to
the embafly, and to provide proper means of conveyance, either
by land or by fea. He feemed to be about the age of five and
thirty, a man of frank and eafy manners, courteous, intelligent,
and inquifitive. He flood higher in the opinion of all of us
than any we had yet feen. The following morning he fent off
what he was pleafed to call a trifling refrefliment, which con-
filled of four bullocks, eight fheep, eight goats, five facks of
fine white rice, five facks of red rice, two hundred pounds of
flour, and feveral bafkets of fruit and vegetables.
"We have always been taught to believe that the Chinefe con-
fider us as barbarians ; but we have hitherto no reafon to fay
that they treated us as fuch. At all events it was obvious that
the expelled arrival of the Britifh embafly had made no flight
impreflion on the court of Pekin.
Here we once more ventured on another pilot to carry the
{hips acrofs the gulph of Pe-tche-lee to Tien-fing. He was an
old man of 70 years, and feemed to poflTefs a perfect knowledge
K of
66 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
of all the bays and harbours in the gulph. He drew on paper
the fltetch of a port on the weftern coaft to which he undertook
to carry the Ihips. Fortunately, however, for us, it was con-
fidered more fafe to fend the fmall brigs a-head to found, than
to place any confidence in men who had already fo often de-
ceived us. They had fcarcely departed before the fignal of
danger was made ; a new courfe was fleered for the night, and
early the following morning, the fame fignal was repeated.
No land was now in fight, yet the water had fhallowed to fix
fathoms ; it was therefore deemed prudent to come to an an-
chor. It was a very unufual fituation for fuch large ihips to
ride thus at anchor in the middle of a ftrange fea, and out of
fight of land, yet liable, in cafe of blowing weather, to ftrike
againft the bottom.
The commanders of the fhips were esafperated againft the
pilots, and thefe on their part were almoft petrified with fear.
The poor creatures had done their beft, but they pofleired nei-
ther ikill nor judgment, or, perhaps, it may be more charitable
to fuppofe that they were confufed by the novelty of their fitu-
ation. It was in vain to endeavour to make them comprehend
the difference in the draught of water between their own
fhips and ours, which, in the latter, v/as as many fathoms as
feet in the former, although they were palpably fhewn, by a
piece of rope, the depth that was required.
As it was evidently impradicable to proceed farther with
cur own fliips towards the land, which was now from twelve
to fifteen miles diflant, and fo very low as not to be vifible
from
TRAVELS IN CHINA. Sj
the deck, one of the tenders was difpatched to the mouth of
the Pei-ho or white river to report our arrival. Here two
officers from the court had already embarked to wait on the
Embaflador, carrying with them a prefent of refrefhments, con-
fifting of bullocks, hogs, (heep, poultry, wine, fruit, and vege-
tables, in fuch quantities, as to be more than fufficient for a
a week's confumption of the whole fquadron, amounting nearly
to fix hundred men. It confifted in twenty fmall bullocks,
one hundred hogs, one hundred iheep, one thoufand fowls,
three thoufand pumpkins, as many melons, apples, pears,
plumbs, apricots, and other fruits, with an abundance of culi-
nary vegetables. The wine was contained in large earthen
jars whofe covers were cloleiy luted. Numbers of the hogs
and the fowls had been bruifed to death on the paflage, which
were thrown overboard from the Lion with difdaln, but the
Chinefe eagerly picked them up, wafhed them clean and laid
them in fait.
The number of veffels they had difpatched to take on fhore
the prefents and the baggage was between thirty and forty,
the capacity of each not being lefs, and many of them more,
than two hundred tons ; fo imperfedl a judgment had thefe
people formed of the quantity of articles to be tranfhipped.
Thefe were the veffels whofe holds were divided into thirteen
diftin£l compartments, feparated by partitions of two inch
plank, the feams of which were caulked with a preparation
of fine lime made from {hells, and fibres of bamboo, in order
to render them water-tight. Their fails, cables, rigging and
K 2 cordage
68 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
cordage were all made of bamboo ; and neither pitch nor tar
was ufcd on thefe or any part of the wood-work.
»
We detained about fifteen of thef?^' veflels to take on fliove
the Embafl'ador's fuite, the prefents for the Emperor, and the
baggage ; after which the Britifli fliips returned to Chii-fatt
without the afliftance of the Chinefe pilots, whofe flcill in
navigation was held very cheap, by the lowed feamen oo.-
board.
On entering the F el-Bo we obferved a number of buildings-
ereded on the right bank, with roofs of matting, but decorated'
in the moft fantaftical manner, with different coloured ribbands-
and variegated filks ; and' about three hundred foldiers in their
uniforms (which appeared to our eye not much adapted to
military purpofes) were drawn out, with a band of mufic,
near a temporary landing-place conftruiCted of wood j all of
which we underftood had been haftlly prepared for the recep-
tion of the Embaffador ; but as his Excellency was defirous of
reaching the capital without delay, he declined going on fhore,
preferilng to ftep into the accommodation yachts at once, that
w^ere ready to receive him, a little higher up the river, the mo-
ment that the prefents fliould be tranfhipped into the river-
craft. The officers who were deputed to conduit him to the
capital obferved, that fo muchhafte was not at all neceffary, as
the Emperor's birth-day was yet dlftant ; thefe people having
no other idea of an embaffy, as it feemed, than that of its being
a mere compliment to their Sovereign. The yellow flags dif-
played
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 69
played at the maft-heads of the river fleet, laden with the
prefents, and confiding of feventeen fail, gave, indeed, a more
extended meaning of fuch a miflion. Thefe flags, in broad
black chara£ters, bore the following infcription ; The Engli/h'
Embajfudor carrying Tribute to the Emperor of China.
■We found the yachts that were deftined to convey us ex--
ceedingly convenient, more fo indeed than any I have feen on
our canals of England. They are flat bottomed, and draw
only about fifteen inches of water. Their upper works are
high, appearing indeed like a floating houfe. They have three
apartments for the accommodation of paflengers j the firft an'
antichamber for the fervants and baggage ; the middle a com-
modious fitting and dining room, about fifteen feet fquare ;
and the third divided into two or three fleeping rooms. Behind
thefe is the kitchen ; and ftill farther aft, fmall places like dog-
kennels for the boatmen. Sometimes there is a kind of fecond
flory, upon the apartments, divided into little cells, that are juft
the length and breadth of a man. A Chinefe failor requires no
room for luggage, his whole, wardrobe being generally on his
back. In the difl'erent operations employed for making the
yachts proceed, they give no interruption to the paflengers.
A projecting gangway on each fide of the veflel, made of broad
planks, ferves as the paflTage from one end to the other.
The two officers that were fent from court, to conduflthe Em-
baflador to the capital, paid a vifit to every yacht, and fhewed'
the mofl; earneft defire to pleafe and to make us comfortable.
Their names were Van and Cboii^ to which they annexed the title
of-
yq TRAVELS IN CHINA.
of Ta-gln, or great maji. Van had the rank of Lieutenant-General
in the army, and Chou was the Governor of a diftridl in
Pe-tcbe-lee. We obferved in their manners no indication of
that ftifFand ceremonious conduft, which cuftom obliges them
to put on in public. On the contrary, they fat down to table
with us, endeavouring to learn the ufe of the knife and fork,
and made themfelves extremely agreeable ; lamented they were
not able to hold converfatlon with us in our own language ;
and on going away, fhook hands with us like Englilhmen.
Provifions, fruit, and wines (fuch as the country affords)
were fent on board in fuch profufion, that I really believe the
Chinefe boatmen, in the courfe of the paffage up this river,
were enabled to lay by their winter's ftock from the furplus.
In truth, as Sir George Staunton has obferved, the hofpitality,
attention, and refpe£t we hitherto experienced, were fuch as
ftrangers meet with only in the Eaftern parts of the world.
Nothing that could convey the idea of extraordinary wealth
or comfort among the inhabitants, or of extraordinary abun-
dance and fertility in the country, (unlefs in the copious fup-
plies of our provifions) had yet occurred, either at Chu-fan
or in the firft three days' fail up the Pei-ho towards the capital.
The land on both fides was low and flat, and inftead of hedge-
rows, trenches were dug to mark the boundaries of property.
A fmall proportion only was under cultivation. The greater
part appeared to be four fvvampy ground, covered with coarfe
grafs, with rufhes, and the common reed. There were few
trses, except near the villages, which were of mean appeai-ance,
I the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. ;i
the houfes generally confiftlng of mud walls, one ftory in
height, and thatched with ftraw or rufhes. Here and there a
folitary cottage intervened, but nothing that bore any refem-
blance to the refidence of a gentleman, or that could even be
called a comfortable farm-houfe. And although villages were
numerous, no aflemblage of houfes were perceived, that pro-
perly could be clafled under the name of a town, except that
of See-koo^ near the mouth of the river, and I'a-koo, a few
miles higher, until we proceeded to the diftance of about ninety
miles, when we entered the fuburbs of the large city of Tien~
Jing, ftretching, like London on the Thames, for feveral miles
along each bank of the river Pei-ho. But neither the buildings
nor the river would bear any comparifon, even wdth thofe parts
about RedrifFe and Wapping. Every thing, in fa£t, that we had
hitherto feen wore an air of poverty and meannefs. After a long-
confinement on board a fhip, to thofe at leaft who are not accuf-
tomed to it, almoft any country appears to poffefs the charms
of a Paradife ; yet on our firft landing in this celebrated empire
to the prefent place, which is no great diftance from the capi-
tal, I am perfuaded, that every individual of the embafly felt
himfelf rather difappointed in the expeftations he had formed.
If any thing excited admiration, it was the vaft multitudes of
people that, from our firft arrival, had daily flocked down to the
banks of the river, of both fexes and of all ages. Their gene-
ral appearance, however, was not fuch as to indicate any ex-
traordinary degree of happinefs or comfort. The beft drefTed
men wore a fort of velvet cap on their heads ; a fliort jacket,
buttoned clofe round the neck, and folded acrofs the breaft, the
fleeves remarkably wide ; the materials cotton cloth, black,
blue,
72 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
blue, or brown filk, or European camblet ; they wore quilicd
.petticoats, and black fattin boots. The common people were
drefled in large (Iraw hats, blue or black cotton frocks, wide
cotton trovvfers, and thick clumfy fhoes, fometimes made of ftraw.
Some had coarfe ftockings of cotton cloth ; the legs of others
were naked. A fingle pair of drawers conftituted indeed the
whole clothing of a great portion of the crowd.
Never were poor women fitted out in a ftyle fo difadvan-
tageous for fetting off their charms as thofe who made their
appearance on the banks of the Pei-hx) ; and we afterwards
found that the drefs of thefe, with fome flight variations,
was the common mode of the country. Bunches of large
artificial flowers, generally refembling afters, whole colours
were red,' blue, or yellow, were ftuck in their jet-black hair,
which, without any pretenfions to tafte or freedom, was
fcrewed up clofe behind, and folded into a ridge or knot acrofs
the crown of the head, not very unlike (^except in the want of
tafte) to the prefent mode in which the young ladies of Eng-
land braid their locks. Two bodkins of filver, brafs, or iron,
were confpicuoufly placed behind tlie head, in the form of an
oblique crofs, which is the common mode of Malay women.
Their faces and necks were daubed with white paint, the eye-
brows blackened, and on the center of the lower lip, and at
the point of the chin, were two fpots, about the fize of a fmall
wafer, of a deep vermillion colour. A blue cotton frock, like
that of the men, reaching in fome to the middle of the thigh,
in others to the knee, was almofl: univerfal. A pair of wide
trowfers, of different colours, but commonly either red, green,
or
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 75
or yellow, extended a little below the calf of the leg, where they
were drawn clofe, in order the better to difplay an ankle and a
foot, which for fingularity at leaft, may challenge the whole
world. This diftorted and difproportionate member confifts
of a foot that has been cramped in its growth, to the length of
four or five inches, and an ankle that is generally fwollcn in the
fame proportion that the foot is diminiflied. The little fhoe is
as fine as tinfel and tawdry can make it, and the ankle is band-
aged round with party-coloured clothes, ornamented with
fringe and taflels ; and fuch a leg and foot, thus dreffed out,
are confidered in China as fuperlatively beautiful.
The conftant pain and uneafinefsthat female children mufl: rie-
ceffarily fuffer, in the adl of compreffing, by means of bandages,
the toes under the fole of the foot, and retaining them in that
pofitlon until they literally grow into and become a part of it ;
and by forcing the heel forward, until it is entirely obliterated,
make it the more wonderful how a cuftom, fo unnatural and
inhuman, fhould have continued for fo many ages, at leaft
fuch is the opinion, that its origin is entirely unknown, or ex-
plained by fuch fabulous abfurdities as are too ridiculous to
affign for its adoption.
Few favage tribes are without the unnatural cuftom of
maiming or lopping off fome part of the human body, as
boring the lips and the cartilege of the nofe, drawing or
colouring the teeth, cutting off a joint from the fingers or toes,
and otherwife pracfiifing, as they muft fuppofe, improvements
on nature. But on this confideration it would fcarcely be fait^
L to
7^, TRAVELS IN CHINA.
to conclude, that maiming the feet of the Chlnefe ladies
derived its origin from a period of time when they were yet in
a favage ftate, fmcc we arc in the daily habit of obferving the
mort civilized and enlightened focieties fludying to find out
beauties in defcds, and creating them where nature had
intended perfedlon. The Chinefe would no doubt be equally
furprized at, and confider as cgregioufly abfurd, the cuftom
of circumcifion, as praQifcd by a great portion of Afiatic
nations ; nor have we any reafon to think they would not
condemn the refinement of docks and crops among our horfes
as an abfurd cuftom, not lefs ridiculous in their eyes, than the
little feet of their ladies are in ours. If they could not refrain
from burfting into fits of laughter on examining the greafe and
powder with which our hair was disfigured ; and if they fome-
times lamented that fo much oil and flour had unneceflarlly
been wafted, we might, perhaps, in the vanity of felf-import-
ance, afiedt to pity their tafte ; but fetting cuftom and preju-
dice apart, we had certainly no great reafon to defpife and
ridicule the Chinefe, or indeed any other nation, merely
becaufe they differ from us in the little points of drefs and
manners, feeing how very nearly we can match them with
fimilar follies and abfurdities of our own..
The filence of the earlieft travellers into China on fo extraor-
dinary a cuftom, would almoft warrant a conjedure that,
notwithftanding the pretended ignorance of the Chinefe with
regard to its origin, both the faftiion and the fentiment of its
being vulgar for ladies to be feen abroad, were only adopted
within the period of a few centuries. The Venetian traveller,
although
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 75
altliough he makes frequent mention of the beauty and
drefs of the women, takes no notice of this fingular fa-
flilon ; and he obferves that on the lake of Haiig-tchoo-foo
the ladles are accuftomed to take their pleafure with their
hufbands and their famihes. The Embafladors alfo of Shah
Rokh, the fon of Tamerlane, who in the year 141 9,
were fent to congratulate the Emperor of China, ftate in
the narrative of their expedition that, at their pubUc reception,
there flood two young virgins, one on each fide of the
throne, with their fiices and bofoms uncovered ; that they
were furnifhed with paper and pencils and took down
with great attention every word that the Emperor fpoke.
Thefe Embafladors faw alfo numbers of women In open
baths near the Yellow river ; and, In one city, they remark
that " there were many taverns, at the doors of which fat a
" number of young girls of extraordinary beauty." Nor do
the travels of two Mahomedans into China in the ninth
century, publiflied by Mr. Renaudot, make any mention of
the unnatural fmallnefs of the women's feet ; and they are not
by any means deficient In their obfervations of the manners and
cuftoms of this nation, at that time fo very little known to
the reft of the world. Almoft every thing they have related
concerning China at this early period is found to be true at
the prefent day, and as they particularly notice the drefs
and ornaments worn by the women, one would think they
would not have omitted a cuftom fo fingular In Its kind as that
of maiming the feet, if it had then been as common as it
now is.
\. 2 This
jr6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
This monftrous fafhion has generally been attributed to the
jcaloufy of the men. Admitting this to have been the cafe,
the Chinefe muft be allowed to be well verfed in the manage-
ment of the fex, to have fo far gained the afcendancy over
them, as to prevail upon them to adopt a fafhion, which re-
quired a voluntary relinquifliment of one of the greateft pleafures
and bleflings of life, the faculty of locomotion ; and to contrive
to render this fafhion fo univerfal that any deviation from it
fhould be confidered as difgraceful. The defire of being
thought fuperior to the reft of his fellows fometimes, indeed,
leads a man, into ftrange extravagancies. Upon this principle the
men of learning, as they are pleafed to ftyle themfelves, fufFer the
nails of their little fingers to grow fometimes to the enormous
length of three inches for the fole purpofe of giving ocular de-
monftration of the impoffibility of their being employed in any
fort of manual labour ; and upon the fame principle, perhaps,
the ladies of China may be induced to continue the cuftom
of maiming their female infants, in order that their children
may be diftinguifhed from thofe of the peafantry, who, in moft
of the provinces, are condemned to fubmit to the drudgery of
the field.
The interior wrappers of the ladies' feet are faid to be feldom
changed, remaining, fometimes, until they can no longer hold
together ; a cuftom that conveys no very favourable idea of
Chinefe cleanlinefs. This, indeed, forms no part of their cha-
rafter; on the contrary they are what Swift would call a
frowzy people. The comfort of clean linen, or frequent change
I of
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 77
of under-garments, Is equally unknown to the Sovereign and to
the peafant. A fort of thin coarfe filk fupplies the place of cot-
ton or linen next the fkin, among the upper ranks ; but the
common people wear a coarfe kind of open cotton cloth. Thefe
veftments are more rarely removed for the purpofe of wafliing
than for that of being replaced with new ones ; and the confe-
quence of fuch negleft or economy is, as might naturally be fup-
pofed, an abundant increafe of thofe vermin to whofe produc-
tion filthinefs is found to be moft favourable. The highefl:
officers of ftate made no hefitation of calling their attendants in
public to feek in their necks for thofe troublefome animals,
which, when caught, they very compofedly put between their
teeth. They carry no pocket handkerchiefs, but generally blow
their nofes into fmall fquare pieces of paper which fome of
their attendants have ready prepared for the purpofe. Many
are not fo cleanly, but fpit about the rooms, or againft
the walls like the French, and they wipe their dirty hands in the
fleeves of their gowns. They fleep at night in the fame clothes
they wear by day. Their bodies are as feldom waflied as their
articles of drefs. They never make ufe of the bath, neither
warm nor cold. Notwithftanding the vaft number of rivers and
canals, with which every part of the country is interfeded, I do
not remember to have feen a fingle groupe of boys bathing. The
men, in the hotteft day of fummer, make ufe of warm water
for wafhing the hands and face. They are unacquainted with
the ufe of foap. We procured, in Pekin, a fort of Barilla with
which and apricot oil we manufa£tured a fufficient quantity of
this article to wafh our linen, which, however, we were under
the neceffity of getting done by our own fervants.
On
78 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
On approaching the town oiTien-fing we obferved a prodigious
number of large (lacks of fait, piled up in facks of matting. The
quantity thus ftored was found, on rough calculation, to be fuf-
ficicnt for the confumption of thirty millions of people, for a
whole year. Such a furprifing aggregate of one of the ufeful and
alinofl: neceflary, articles of life, was a preparative, in foine mea-
fure, for the vaft multitudes of people which appeared on our
paffing this northern emporium of China. The gabelle, or
duty on fair, w'hich the government here, as well as elfewhere,
haxi found convenient to impofe on one of the indifpenfable
articles of life, partly accounted for fuch an extraordinary accu-
mulation. The colledlor of the fait duties of Tien-Ji/ig
held one of the mofl lucrative appointments in the gift of the
crown.
The crowds of large veflels lying clofe together along the
fides cf the river ; the various kinds of craft paffing and repair-
ing ; the town and manufadories and warehoufes extending on
each bank as far as the eye could reach, indicated a fpirit of com-
merce far beyond any thing we had hitherto met with. The
•large veflels, the fmall craft, the boats, the fliores, the walls
furrounding the houfes, the roofs were all covered with fpec-
tators. Our barges, being retarded in the narrow paffages among
the (hipping, were at leaft two hours in reaching the head of the
town. During the whole time the populace ftood in the water,
the front rank up to the middle, to get a peep at the ftr^ngers.
Hitherto among the fpedators there had generally appeared full
as many of the fair fex as of the other ; and the elderly dames, in
par-
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
19
particular, had been fo curious as to dip their little flumps Into
the water in order to have a peep into the barges as they glided
flowly along ; but here, among the whole crowd, not a fingle
female was vifible. Although the day was extremely fultry,
the thermometer of Fahrenheit being 88° in the fhade, as a mu-
tual accomodation their heads were all uncovered, and their
bald pates expofed to the fcorching rays of the fun. It was an
uncommon fpedtacle to fee fo many bronze-like heads ftuck as
clofe together, tier above tier, as Hogarth's groupe, intended to
difplay the difference between chara£ter and caricature, but it
lacked the variety of countenance which this artift has, in aa
inimitable manner, difplayed in his pidlure.
The deep founding ^o/;^, a fort of brazen kettle ftruck with
a mallet, and ufed in the barges to dire£t the motions of the
trackers on fhore, ihe kettle-drums and the trumpets in the mi-
litary band, the fhrill mufic and fqualling recitative in the
theatre, which was entirely open in front, and facing the river in
full view of the crowd ; the number of temporary booths and
buildings ereded for the ufe of the viceroy, governor, judges,
and other officers of government, and gaily decorated with .
ribbands and filken ftreamers ; the buzz and merriment of the
crowd had, altogether, fo ftriking an affinity to the ufual enter-
tainments of Bartholomew fair, that no extraordinary ftretch of
the imagination was required to fuppofe ourfelves for the moment
to have been tranfported intoSmithfield. We inftantly acquitted
the Chinefe of any want of curiofity. The arrival of Elfi Bey in
London drew not half the crowd ; and yet the Chinefe account
■ ■ us
So
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
us much greater barbarians than we pretend to confider the
inamelukes. The old viceroy of the province, a Tartar of mild
and winning manners, had prepared for us a moil magnificent
entertainment with wine, fruits, and great variety of paftry and
fweetmeats, together with prefents of tea, filk, and nankins,
not only to the Embaflador and his fuite, but alfo to the fer-
vants, muficians, and foldiers.
The cheerful and good-natured countenances of the multi-
tude were extremely prepoflefllng ; not Icfs fo their accomodat-
ing- behaviour to one another. There was an innocence and
fimplicity in their features, that feemed to indicate a happy and
contented turn of mind. This, however, "being a fort of gala
day, we might, on account of the extraordinary occafion, perhaps
have viev.'ed them to the beft advantage ; yet the fame cheerful
and willing mind had conftantly fhewn itfelf on all occafions,
by all thofe who were employed in the fervice of the embafly.
On board the yachts conftant mirth and good humour prevailed
among the feamen. When the weather was calm, the vefTels
were generally puilied on by means of two large fculls or oars
turning upon pivots that were placed in projecting pieces of
wood near the bow of the vefTel, and not the ftern, as is the
pradice of moft other nations. From fix to ten men are re-
quired to work one of thefe oars, which, inftead of being taken
out of the water, as in the adt of rowing, are moved backwards
and forwards under the furface, in a fimilar manner to what in
England is underftood by fcuUing. To lighten their labour,
and aflift in keeping time with the ftrokes, the following rude
air
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
8i
air was generally fung by the mafter, which the whole crew
ufed to join in chorus :
Solo
by the Maflcr.
Chorus
by the Citw.
A I R.
/ Hai - yo hai-yau hai
±:
S-4-=i-^
hai-yo hai-yau
^-»
-F — ^
>•
-^— ^
Hai-yo hai-yau
■ 1 l -V-^h'^p—^— '
hai-yo
p=e^f^^ ^-4^^:^^ ^fe^
hai - wlia de
-»-- h-
w
£
4^
^ — =H
-=HH»-I>-
hai-yau
hai-yau hai-yau
<-\ M 1 -F-H
hai-yo hai-yau
On many a calm ftill evening, when a dead filence reigned
upon the water, have we liftened with pleafure to this artlefs
and unpoliihed air, which was iung, with little alteration
through the whole fleet. Extraordinary exertions of bodily
flrength, depending, in a certain degree, on the willingnefs of
the mind, are frequently accompanied with exhilarating excla-
mations among the moft favage people ; but the Chinefe fong
could not be confidered in this point of view ; like the excla-
mations of our feamen in hauling the ropes, or the oar fong of
the Hebridians, which, as Doctor Johnfon has obferved, refem-
bled the proceleufmatick verfe by which the rowers of Grecian
M galleys
82 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
galleys were animated, the chief objedl of the Chlnefe cho-
rus feemed to be that of combining chearfulnefs with regu-
larity.
"■ Vcife fweetens toiV however rude the found."
Of their honefty, fobriety, and carefulnefs, we had already re^
ceived convincing proofs. Of the number of packages,
amounting to more than fix hundred, of various fizes and de-
fcriptions, not a fingle article was miffing nor injured, on their
arrival at the capital, notwithftanding they had been moved
about, and carried by land, and tranfliipped feveral times. Of
the three ftate-officers, who had been deputed from court to
attend the embaffy, two of them were the moft obliging and
attentive creatures imaginable. The third, a Tartar, who firft
made his appearance at Ticn-ftng^ was diftant, proud, and im-
perious. The Chinefe indeed were invariably more affable
than the Tartars. In fliort, had we returned to Europe, with-
out proceeding fartlier in the country than 7'ien-Jiiig, a mod
lively impreffion would always have remained on my mind in
favour of the Chinefe. But a variety of incidents that after-
wards occurred, and a more intimate acquaintance with their
manners and habits, produced a woeful change of fentiment ia
this refpe£t. Of fuch incidents, as may tend to illuftrate the
moral charader of this extraordinary people, I fhall relate a few
that were the moft ftriking, in taking a general view of their
Hate of fociety, to which, and to the nature of the executive
government, all their moral adions may be referred : and by
the influence of which, the natural bent of their charader evi-
dently has undergone a complete change.
Leaving.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 8j
Leaving Tien-Jiiig on the nth of Auguft, we found the
river confiderably contra<Sed in its dimenfions, and the ftream.
more powerful. The furface of the country, in fadt, began to
afliime a lefs uniform appearance, being now partly broken
into hill and dale ; but nothing approaching to a mountain was
yet vifible in any diredlion. It was ftill however fcantily
■wooded, few trees appearing except large willows on the banks,
and knots of elms, or firs, before the houfes of men in office,
and the temples, both of which were generally found at the
head of each village. More grain was here cultivated than on
the plains near the mouth of the river. Two fpecies of millet,
the paniaim criis gijUi, and the italicimi, and two of a larger
grain, the bolciis forghimi^ and the Jaccharatus^ were the moft
abundant. We obferved alfo a few patches of buck-wheat,
and different forts of kidney-beans; but neither common wheat,
barley, nor oats. A fpecies of nettle, the urtica nivea was alfo
fown in fquare patches, for the purpofe of converting its fibres
into thread, of which they manufadure a kind of cloth. We
faw no gardens nor pleafure-grounds, but confiderable tradts of
paflure or meadow-land intervened between the villages, on
which however were few cattle, and thofe few remarkably
fmall. Thofe we procured for the ufe of the fhips along the
coaft of the gulph of Pe-tche-lee, feldom exceeded the weight of
two hundred pounds. The few flieep we faw were of the
broad-tailed fpecies. The cottages of the peafantry were very
mean, without any appearance of comfort, and thinly fcat-
tered ; feldom Handing alone, but generally collecled into fmall
villages.
M 2 If
84 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
If, however, cities, towns, villages, and farm-houfes, were
lefs abundant fo near the capital, than from the relations of
travellers we had expeded to find them, the multitudes of
inhabitants whofe conftant dwelling was on the water, amply-
made up the apparent deficiency on fliore. We paifed, in one
day, upon this river, more than fix hundred large vefliels,
having each a range of ten or twelve diftin£t apartments built
upon the deck, and each apartment contained a whole family.
The number of perfons in one of thefe veflels, we reckoned, on
an average, to be about fifty, and we actually counted above
one thoufand vefTels of this defcription, that were floating on that
part of the river, between Tien-fing and Tong-tchoo. The dif-
ferent kinds of craft, befides thefe, that were perpetually paffing
and re-paffing, or lying chained to the banks of the river, all
of which were crowded with men, women, and children, con-
tained full as many as the large vefiels above mentioned ; fo
that, in the diftance of ninety miles, on this fniall branch
of a river, there were floating on the water not fewer than one
hundred thoufand fouls.
Among the different cargoes of cotton wool, copper-money,
rice, filk, fait, tea, and other commodities for the fupply of the
capital, we obferved an article of commerce, in feveral of the
large open craft, that puzzled us not a little to find out for
what it was intended. It confifted of dry brown cakes, not
much larger but thicker than thofe we call crumpets. A clofe
examination, however, foon difcovered the nature of their
compofition, which, it feemed, was'a mixture of every kind of
filth and excrementitious fubftances, moulded into their prefect
fhape,. and dried in the fun. In this form they are carried to
3 the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 85
the capital as articles of merchandize, where they meet with a
ready market from the gardeners in the vicinity ; who, after
diflblving them in urine, ufe them for manure.
Little occurred that was worthy of note, between Tlen-fmg
and Tong-tchoo, except an inftance in the exercife of arbitrary
power, not lefs cruel than that of the Governor of Cbu-fan^
and ill agreeing with the feelings of Englifhmen. Some of
our proviiions happened one morning to be a little tainted,
which could not be wondered at, confidering the heat of the
weather, the mercury, by Fahrenheit's fcale, being from 82° to
88°. The officers, however, who had been commiffioned to
furnifh the fupply of provifions, were inftantly deprived of their
rank, and all their fervants feverely bambooed. The Em-
baffador interceded with Van and Chou in favour of the de-
graded delinquents, was heard with great attention, but per-
ceived that little indulgence or relaxation from ftridt difcipline
was to be expe«3:ed on fuch occafions.
The whole diftance, from the entrance of the Pet ho to the
city of Tong-tchoo is about one hundred and feventy miles.
Here we found two buildings, that had been ereded in the
fpace of two days, for the temporary purpofe of receiving the
prefents and baggage ; and they were conftrudled of fuch large
dimenfions, that they were capable of containing at leafl: ten
times the quantity. The materials were wooden poles and
mats, and a fence of wooden paling furrounded the whole.
We took up our lodging in a fpaclous temple in the fnburbs,
from whence the priefts were turned out without the lead
ceremony
86 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ceremony, to make room for us, confiftlng in the whole of one
hundred perfons nearly. And here it was fettled we fhould
remain until every article was landed, and coolies or porters
procured fufficient to carry the whole at once to Pekin, which
was computed to be about twelve miles to the weftward from
this place. And although near three thoufand men were
required for this purpofe, they were fupplied the inftant the
goods were all on fliore ; nor did it appear that any difficulty
would have been found in raifing double that number, as there
feemed to be ten times the number of idle fpeftators as of
perfons employed. The plain between the landing-place and
the temple was like a fair, and cakes, rice, tea, and fruit upon
mafles of ice, and many other refrefhments were expofed for
fale, under large fquare umbrellas, that ferved inftead of booths.
A nice of water-melon, cooled on ice, was fold for one tchen^ a
piece of bafe copper coin, of the value of about three-tenths of
a farthing. Not a fingle woman appeared among the many
thoufand fpe^^lators that were affembled on the plain.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. «?
CHAP. III.
Journey through the Capital to a Country Villa of the Em-
peror. Return to Pekin. The Imperial Palace and Gardens
of Yuen-min-yuen, and the Parks of Gehol.
Order of ProceJJicn from Tong-choo to the Capital. — Crowd ajfembled on the Occa-
fion. — Appearance of Pekin luithout and within the Walls, — Some Account of this
City. — Proceed to a Country Villa of the Emperor.— Inconveniencies of. Return to
Pekin.— Embiijptdor proceeds to Tartary. — Author fent to the Palace 0/ Yuen-min-
yuen. — Miferable Lodgings of. — Vifit of the Prefident and Members of the Mathe-
matical Tribunal. — Of the Bifliop of Pekin, and others Gill's Sword-blades
Hatchetfs Carriages. — Scorpion found in a Cajh packed at Birmingham.-^Portraits
of Englif} Nobility. — Effects of Accounts from Tartary on the Officers of State in
Pekin. — Emperor's return to the Capital. — In/pecls the Prefents. — Application
of the Embaffador for Leave to depart. — Short Account of the Palace and Gardens of
Yuen-min-yuen. — Lord Macartney's Defcription of the Eajlern and Weflern Parks
of Gehol.— And his general Remarks on Chinefe Landfcape Gardening.
X HE prefents for the Emperor and our private baggage being
all landed, the packages repaired, and every article minutely
noted dov?n by the officers of government, the porters were
diredled to fix their bamboo bearing poles to each package, that
no impediment might prevent our fetting out at an early hour
in the morning. In doing this, as well as in landing the arti-
cles from the veffels, the Chinefe porters fhewed fuch expedi-
tion, ftrength, and activity, as could not, I believe, be pa-
ralleled.
88 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
rallcl or procured in fo fhort a time, in any other country.
Every thin"- here, in h^t, feems to be at the inftant command
of the ftatc ; and the mofl; laborious tafks are undertaken and
executed with a readinefs, and even a chearfulnefs, which one
could fcarcely expe£t to meet with in fo defpotlc a government.
According to the arrangement, on the iifr of Augufi:, about
three o'clock in the morning, we were prepared to fet out, but
could fcarcely be faid to be fairly in motion till five, and before
we had cleared the city of Tong-tchoo, It was pad fix o'clock.
From this city to the capital, I may venture to fay, the road
never before exhibited fo motley a groupe. In front marched
about three thoufand porters, carrying fix hundred packages ;
feme of vv-hich were fo large and heavy, as to require thirty-
two bearers : with thefe were mixed a proportionate number of
inferior officers, each having the charge and fuperintendence of
a divifion. Next followed eighty-five waggons, and thirty-
nine hand-carts, each with one wheel, loaded with wine, por-
ter, and other European provifions, ammunition, and fuch
heavy articles as were not liable to be broken. Eight light
field pieces, which were among the prefents for the Emperor,
clofed this part of the proceffion. After thefe paraded the
Tartar legate, and feveral officers from court, with their nume-
rous attendants ; fome on horfeback, fome in chairs, and others
on foot. Then followed the Embaflador's guard in waggons,
the fervants, muficians, and mechanics, alfo in waggons ^ the
gentlemen of the fuite on horfeback, the Embaflador, the Mi-
nifter Plenipotentiary, his fon, and the interpreter, in four or-
,iiamented chairs j the reft of the fuite in fmall covered carriages
on
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 89
on two wheels, not unlike In appearance to our funeral hearfes,
but only about half the length ; and laft of all Van and ChoN^
-with their attendants, clofed this motley pvoceffion.
Though, the diftance was only twelve miles, it was thought
advifeable by our conductors to halt for breakfaft about half-way;
for, as heavy bodies move flowly, what with the delay and
confufion in firft getting into order, and the frequent ftoppages
on the road, we found it was eight o'clock before the whole of
the cavalcade had reached the half-way houfe. Here we had a
moft fumptuous breakfaft of roaft pork and venifon, rice and
made difhes, eggs, tea, milk, and a variety of fruits ferved up
on mafles of ice.
The porters and the heavy baggage moved forwards without
halting ; and having ended our comfortable repaft, we followed
without lofs of time. We had fcarcely proceeded three miles,
till we found the fides of the road lined with fpedlators on
horfeback, on foot, in fmall carriages fmiilar to thofe we rode
in, in carts, waggons, and chairs. In the laft were Chinefe
ladies but, having gauze curtains at the fides and front, we
could fee little of them. Several well-looking women in long
filken robes, with a great number of children, were in the fmall
carriages. Thefe we underftood to be Tartars. A file of fol-
diers now moved along with the proceflion on each fide of the
road, armed with whips, which they continually exercifed in
order to keep off the crowd that increafed as we approached
the capital, and, at length, was fo great as to obftru£l the road.
We obferved, however, that though the foldiers were very
M adivc
00
TRAVELS IN CHINA
aaive and nolfy in brandifhing their whips, they only ftruck
them a"-ainft the ground, and never let them fall upon the
people. Indeed a Chinefe crowd is not fo tumultuous and un-
ruly as it generally is elfewhere.
The exceflive heat of the weather, the duftinefs of the road,
the clofenefs of the carriages, and the flow manner in which
we moved along, would have made this fhort journey almoft
infupportable, but from the novelty of the fcene, the fmiles,
the grins, the geftures of the multitude, and above all, the
raomentary expedatlon of entering the greateft city on the fur-
face of the globe. Thofe alfo who had been fo unlucky as to
make choice of the little covered carriages, found themfelves
extremely uncomfortable, notwithftanding they are the beft, the
moft eafy and genteel fort of carriage that the country affords.
Being fixed on the wheels without fprings, and having no feats
in the infide, they are to an European, who mufl: fit on his
haunches in the bottom, the moft uneafy vehicles that can be
imagined. Father Semedo, one of the earlieft miffionaries to
China, afierts, that coaches were anciently in common ufe ia
this country, and that they were laid down on account of the
great convenience and little expence of fedan chairs. The
coaches alluded to by the reverend father were, in all probabi-
lity, the little carts above mentioned, for not the veftige of any
thing better is to be found among them ; not the leaft appear-
ance of any thing like a fpring carriage. It is more probable
that palanquins and chairs have been in common ufe here and
in India, from the earlieft period of their hiftories. The leBica
of the Romans is fuppofed to have been brought to Rome
in
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 91
in the time of the Republic from fome of the eaftern na-
tions.
The great road to the capital lay acrofs an open country,
fandy and ill cultivated, and the few houfes on each fide
were of mean appearance, generally built with mud, or half
burnt bricks, to the very gates of Pekln. The middle
part of the road, for the width of eighteen or twenty feet,
was paved with Hones of granite from fix to fixteen feet
in length and broad in proportion. Every one of thefe enor-
mous flag ftones muft have been brought at leaft fixty miles,
the neareft mountains where quarries of granite are found being
thofe that divide China from Mantchoo Tartary, near the great
wall.
A temple on the right of the road and a bridge of white
marble having the balluftrade ornamented with figures, meant
to reprefent lions and other animals cut out of the fame mate-
rial, were the only objefts that attraded any notice, until the
walls and the lofty gates of the capital appeared in view. None
of the buildings within, on this fide of the city, overtopped
the walls, though thefe did not appear to exceed twenty-five
or at moft thirty feet in height ; they were flanked with fquare
towers, and furrounded by a moat or ditch. Thefe towers pro-
jected about forty feet from the line of the wall, and were placed
at regular intervals of about feventy yards, being confidered as
bow-fhot difiance from each other. Each had a fmall guard-
houfe upon its fummit. The thicknefs of the bafe of the wall
was about twenty-five feet, and the width acrofs the top within
N 2 the
ill
5a TRAVELS IN CHINA,
the parapets twelve feet ; ib that the fides of ,the wall have a
very confiderable flope, much more however within than with-
out. The middle part was compofed of the earth that had been
dug out of the ditch j and was kept together by two. retaining
walls, part of which w^ere of brick and part of ftone. The
famous barrier on the borders of Tartary, and the ramparts of
all the cities in the country, are built in the fame manner.
No cannon were mounted on the walls nor on the baftions; but
in the high building which furmoimted the gate, and which was
feverai ftories one above the other, the port-holes were clofed
with red doors, on the outfide of which were painted the re-
prefentations of cannon, not unlike at a diftance the fham ports
in a fhip of war. The gates of a Chinefe city are generally
double, and placed in the flanks of a fquare or femiclrcular bai-
tion. The firft opens into a large fpace, furrounded with build-
ings, which are appropriated entirely for military ufes, being
the depot of provifions and ammunition, place d'annes, and
barracks. Out of this place, in one of the flanks, the fecond
gate, having a fimilar high building ered:ed over it as the firfl,
opens into the city.
The firft appearance of this celebrated capital Is not much cal-
culated to raife high expedatlons, nor does it in the leaft im-
prove upon a more intimate acquaintance. In approaching an
European city it generally happens that a great variety of ob-
jefts catch the eye, as the towers and fplres of churches, domes,
obeliflcs, and other buildings for public purpofes towering above
the reft ; and the mind is amufed in conjeduring the form and
3 magnitude
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 93
magnitude of their feveral conftrudions, and the ufes to which
they may be applied. In Pekin not even a chimney is feen rif-
ing above the roofs of the houfes which, being all nearly of
the fame height, and the ftreets laid out in ftraight lines, have
the appearance and the regularity of a large encampment. The
roofs would only require to be painted white, inftead of being
red, green, or blue, to make the refemblance complete. Few
houfes exceed the height of one ftory, and none but the great
fhops have either windows or openings in the wall in front,
but moft of them have a fort of terrace, witl:. a railed balcony
or parapet wall in front, on which are placed pots of flowers,,
or fhrubs, or flunted trees.
This city is an oblong fquare, the outward boundary of which ^'' t%
IS fony lees, each Zfi? being fix hundred yards, fo that the in- , h^To^" ji.
clofing wall is near fourteen Englifh miles, and the area about 1^7^"
twelve fquare miles, independent of the extenfive fuburbs at
every gate. In the fouth wall are three gates, and in each of the
other fides two, from whence it is fometimes called The city with
nine gates ; but its ufual name is Pc-ching, or the Northern
Court. The middle gate, on the fouth fide, opens into the Im-
perial city, which is a fpace of ground within the general in-
clofure, in the fhape of a parallelogram, about a mile in length
from north to fouth, and three-fourths of a mile from eaft
to weft. A wall built of large red polilhed bricks, and
twenty feet high, covered with a roof of tiles painted yellow
and varnifhed, furrounds this fpace, in which are contained
not only the imperial palace and gardens, but alfo all the tri-
bunals, or public offices of government, lodgings for the mi-
nifters.
wo y
54 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
niftere, the eunuchs, artificers, and tradefmen belonging to the
court. A great variety of furface, as well as of different ob-
jeds, appear within this inclofure. A rivulet winding through
it not only affords a plentiful fupply of water, but adds largely
to the beauties of the grounds, by being formed into canals and
bafons, and lakes, which, with the artificial mounts, and rocks,
and groves, exhibit the happiefl: imitation of nature.
Between the other two gates. In the fouth wall, and the
correfponding and oppofite ones on the north fide of the city,
run two ftreets perfedly flraight, each being four Engllfli
miles in length, and about one hundred and twenty feet
in width. One ftreet alfo of the fame width runs from one
©f the eaftern to the oppofite weftern gate, but the other is in-
terrupted by the north wall of the imperial city, round which
it is carried. The crofs ftreets can be confidered only as lanes
branching from thefe main ftreets at right angles ; are very
narrow ; but the houfes in them are generally of the fame con-
ftrudion as thofe in the great ftreets. The large houfes of the ftate
officers are in thefe lanes.
Although the approach to Pekin afforded little that was intc-
reftmg, we had no fooner paffed the gate and opened oat the
broad ftreet, than a very fingular and novel appearance was ex-
hibited. We faw before us a line of buildings on each fide of
a wide ftreet, confifting entirely of fliops and warehoufes, the
particular goods of which were brought out and difplayed In
groupes in front of the houfes. Before thefe were generally
credled large wooden pillars, whofe tops were much higher
thaix
TRAVELS IN CHINA. g^j
than the eves of the houfes, bearing lnfcr]ptions In gilt charac-
ters, fetting forth the nature of the wares to be fold, and the
honeft reputation of the feller; and, to attract the more notice,
they were generally hung with various coloured flags and
ftreamers and ribbands from top to bottom, exhibiting the ap-
pearance of a line of fliipping drefled, as we fometimes fee
them, in the colours of all the different nations in Europe. The'
fides of the houfes were not lefs brilliant in the feveral colours
with which they were patnted, confifting generally of flcy blue
or green mixed with gold : and what appeared to us fingular
enough, the articles for fale that made the greateft fhow were
coffins for the dead. The mofl fplendid of our coffin furniture
would make but a poor figure if placed befide that intended for
a wealthy Chinefe. Thefe machines are feldora lefs than three
inches thick, and twice the bulk of ours. Next to thofe our
notice was attradted by the brilliant appearance of the funeral
biers and the marriage cars, both covered with ornamental
canopies.
At the four points where the great ftreets interfe£l: one an-
other were ereded thofe fingular buildings, fometimes of ftone,
but generally of wood, which have been called triumphal
arches, but which, in fa£l, are monuments to the memory of
thofe who had deferved well of the community, or who had at-
tained an unufual longevity. They confift invariably of a
large central gateway, with a fmaller one on each fide, all co-
vered with narrow roofs ;. and, like the houfes, they are painted,
■varnilhed, and gilt in the moft fplendid manner.
The
56 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The multitude of moveable workdiops of tinkers and bar-
bers, coblers and blackfmiths ; the tents and booths where
tea and fruit, rice and other eatables were expofed for fale,
with the wares and merchandize arrayed before the doors, had
contraded this fpacious ftreet to a narrow road in the middle,
juft wide enough for two of our little vehicles to pafs each other.
The cavalcade of officers and foldiers that preceded the embafly,
the proceffions of men in office attended by their numerous re-
tinues, bearing umbrellas and flags, painted lanterns, and a
variety of ftrange infignia of their rank and ftation, different
trains that were accompanying, with lamentable cries, corpfes
to their graves, and, with fqualling mufic, brides to their huf-
bands, the troops of dromedaries laden with coals from Tar-
tary, the wheel-barrov/s and hand-carts fluffed with vegetables,
occupied nearly the whole of this middle fpace in one continued
line, leaving very little room for the cavalcade of the embaffy
to pafs. All was in motion. The fides of the ftreet were filled
with an immenfe concourfe of people, buying and felling and
bartering their different commodities. The buz and confufed
noifes of this mixed multitude, proceeding from the loud baw-
ling of thofe who were crying their wares, the wrangling of
others, with every now and then a ftrange twanging noife like
the jarring of a cracked Jew's harp, the barber's fignal made by
his tweezers, the mirth and the laughter that prevailed in every
groupe, could fcarcely be exceeded by the brokers in the Bank
rotunda, or by the Jews and old women in Rofemary-Lane,
Pedlars with their packs, and jugglers, and conjurers, and for-
tune-tellers, mountebanks and quack-dodors comedians and
muficians, left no fpace unoccupied. The Tartar foldiers, with
their
TRAVELS IN CHINA. gj,
their whips, kept with difficuhy a clear paflage for the em-
bafly to move flowly forwards; fo flow, indeed, that although
we entered the eaftern gate at half-pafl nine, it was near twelve
before we arrived at the weftern.
Although an extraordinary crowd might be expedled to af-
femble on fuch a particular occafion, on the fame principle of
curiofity as could not fail to attraft a crowd of fpe£lators in
London, yet there was a moft remarkable and a ftriking diffe-
rence obfervable between a London and a Pekin populace. In
the former the whole attention and foul of the multitude would
have been wrapt up in the novel fpedacle j all would have
been idlers. In Pekin, the fliew was but an acceffary ; every
one purfued his bufmefs, at the fame time that he gratified his
curiofity. In fadl, it appeared that, on every day throughout
the v/hole year, there was the fame noife and buftle and crowd
in the capital of China. I fcarcely ever pafled the weftern gate,
which happened twice, or oftener, in rhe week, that I had not
to wait a confiderable time before the paflage was free, particu-
larly in the morning, notwithftanding the exertions of two or
three foldiers with their whips to clear the way. The crowd,
however, was entirely confined to the great ftreets, which are
the only outlets of the city. In the crofs lanes all was fl;ill and
quiet.
Women in Pekin were commonly feen among the crowd, or
Vv'alking in the narrow ftreets, or riding on horfeback, which
they crofled in the fame manner as the men, but they were all
Tartars. They wore long filken robes, reaching down to their
feet; their Ihoes appeared to be as much above the common fize,
o as
^8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
as thofe of the Chinefe are under it ; the upper part was generally
of embroidered fatin, the fole confifted of folds of cloth or pa-
per, about an inch thick ; they were fquare in front, and a
little turned up. The hair fmoothed up on all fides, not very
different from that of the Chinefe ; and though their faces were
painted with white lead and vermillion, it was evident their
flcins were much fairer than thofe of the former. The Chinefe
women are more fcrupuloufly confined to the houfe in the ca-
pital than elfewhere. Young girls were fometimes feen fmok-
ing their pipes in the doors of their houfes, but they always •
retired on the approach of men.
All the ftreets were covered with fand and duft : none had
the leaft pavement. The crofs lanes were generally watered,
which did not appear to be the cafe in the main ftreets. A large
fheet of water, feveral acres in extent, within the northern wall,
affords to that part of the city, and to the palace an abundant
fupply of that element, as does alfo a fmall ftream which runs
along the weftern wall to that neighbourhood. There are be-
fides abundance of wells ; but the water of fome of thefe is fo
dreadfully naufeous, that we, who were unaccuftomed to it,
were under the neceflity of fending to a diftance to obtain fuch
as was free from mineral or earthy impregnations. When mixed
with tea, the well water was particularly difgufting.
Although Pekin cannot boaft, like ancient Rome, or modern
London, of the conveniencies of common fewers to carry off
the dirt and dregs that muft neceffarily accumulate in large
cities, yet it enjoys one important advantage, which is rarely
I found
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 99
found In capitals out of England : no kind of filth or naftinefs,
creating offenfive fmclls is thrown out into the ftreets, a piece of
cleanlinefs that perhaps may he attributed rather to the fcarcity
and value of manure, than to the exertions of the police officers.
Each family has a large earthen jar, into which is carefully
collecfted every thing that may be ufed as manure ; when the
jar is full, there is no difficulty of converting its contents into
money, or of exchanging them for vegetables. The fame
fmall boxed carts with one wheel, which fupply the city with
vegetables, invariably return to the gardens with a load of this
liquid manure. Between the palace of Tucn-min-yiien and Pe-
kin, I have met many hundreds of thefe carts. They are ge-
nerally dragged by one perfon, and pulhed on by another ; and
they leave upon the road an odour that continues without inter-
miffion for many miles. Thus, though the city is cleared of
its filth, it feldom lofes its fragrance. In fadl, a conftant dif-
gufling odour remains in and about all the houfes the whole
day long, from the fermentation of the heterogeneous mixtures
kept above ground, which in our great cities arc carried off in
drains.
The medical gentlemen of China are not quite fo ingenious,
as we are told the faculty in Madrid were about the middle of
the laft century, when the inhabitants were directed, by royal
proclamation, to build proper places of retirement to their
houfes, inflead of emptying their no£lurnal machines out of
the windows into the ftreets. The inhabitants took it into
their heads to confider this order as a great affront, and a dired
violation of the rights of man j but the dodors were the moft
o 2 flrenuous
lOO
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ftrenuous oppofers of the meafure, having no doubt very
cedent rcafons for wlfliing the continuance of the pradice
They affured the inhabitants, that if human excrement was no
longer to be accumulated in the ftreets, to attract the putrefcent
particles floating in the air, they would find their way into
the human body, and a peftilential ficknefs would be the inevit-
able confequence.
The police of the capital, as we afterwards found, is Co well re-
gulated, that the fafety and tranquillity of the inhabitants are
feldom difturbed. At the end of every crofs ftreet, and at cer-
tain diftances in it, are a kind of crofs bars, with fentry boxes
at each of which is placed a foldier, and few of thefe ftreets arc
without a guard-houfe. Befides, the proprietor or .inhabitant
of every tenth houfe, like the ancient tythlngmen of England,
takes it in turn to keep the peace, and be refponfible for the
good conduct of his nine neighbours. If any riotous company
fhould affemble, or any difturbances happen within his diftridt,
he is to give immediate information thereof to the neareft guard-
houfe. The foldiers alfo go their rounds, and inftead of crying
the hour like our watchmen, ftrike upon a fliort tube of bam-
boo, which gives a dull hollow found, that for feveral nights
prevented us from fleeping until we were accuftomed to it.
It took us full two hours, as I before obferved, in paffing
from the eaftern to the weftern gate of Pckin. The clouds of
duft raifed by the populace were here much denfer than on the
road, and the fmothering heat of the day, the thermometer in
our little carts ftanding at 96% was almoft infupportable. Except
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. lor
the great crowd on every fide, we faw little to engage the at-
tention after the firft five minutes. Indeed, a fingle walk
through one of the broad ftreets is quite fufficient to give a
ftranger a competent idea of the whole city. He will imme-
diately perceive that every ftreet is laid out in the fame manner,
and every houfe built upon the fame plan ; and that their archi-
tedture is void of tafte, grandeur, beauty, folidity, or conve-
nience ; that the houfes arc merely tents, and that there is no-
thing magnificent, even in the palace of the Emperor ; — ^but
we fhall have occafion to fpeak on this fubjedl hereafter. Afk
a Chinefe, however, what is to be feen that is curious or great
in the capital, and he will immediately enter upon a long
hiftory of the beauties of the palace belonging to Ta-whang-tee^
the mighty Empei'or. According to his notions, every thing
within the palace walls is gold and filver. He will tell you of
gold and filver pillars, gold and filver roofs, gold and filver
vafes, in which are fwimmlng gold and filver fifhes. All, how-
ever, is not gold that glitters in China, more than elfewhere.
The Emperor, as I fhall hereafter have occafion to notice, has
very little furplus revenue at his difpofd, and is frequently dif-
treffed for money to pay his army and other exigences of the
ftate. And, though China has of late years drawn from Europe
a confiderable quantity of fpecie, yet when this is fcattered over
fo vaft an extent of country, and divided among fo many millions
of people, it becomes almofl: as a drop thrown into the fea. Moll
of the money, befides, that enters China is melted down, and
converted into articles of luxury or convenience. Few na-
tions are better acquainted with the value of thefe precious me-
tals than the Chinefe j and few, if any, can fiirpafs their in-
genuity
,^, TRAVELS IN CHINA.
eenuity in drawing out the one into thin leaves, and the other ^
into the fined wire.
We were not a little overjoyed in finding ouvielves once *
more upon the flagged caufeway, and in an open country, after
paffin"- a finall fuburb beyond the weftern gate of the city.
They brought us to a villa which was a kind of appendage to
one of the Emperor's palaces, about eight miles beyond Pekin.
Thebuildings, confiftingof a number of fmall detached apartments,
ilraggling over a furface of ground, about fifteen acres in extent, i
were neither fufficiently numerous to lodge the fuite, nor to con-
tain the prefents and our baggage ; and were moreover fo miferably
out of repair and in fo ruinous a condition, that the greater part
was wholly uninhabitable. The officers were accordingly told
that thefe were not accomodations fuitable to the dignity of a
Britifli Embaflador, and that he would not on any confideration
put up with them ; that it was a matter of indifference whether
he was lodged in the city or the country, but that the lodgings
fliould be convenient and proper. The fuperintending offi-
cers, upon this, caufed a large temporary building to be ereded
with poles and mats, which, as by magic, was finifhed in the
eourfe of the night, hoping, by this exertion, to have removed
all objeQions to the place. His Lordlhip, however, being de-
termined not to remain where there was neither a decent room,
nor any kind of comfort or convenience, every building being
entirely unfurnifhed, and, as I faid before, the greater number
untenantable, infilled upon being removed to Pekin, where ac-
cordingly it was very foon announced there was a fuitable houfe
ready for h:*- reception.
On
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 103
On returning to the capital we pafled through the great ftreet
of a town called Ha'i-tien in which moft of the houfes were of
two ftories, and before the upper of which was a kind of Ve-
randa full of dwarf trees and flower-pots. A great proportion
of the houfes were either butchers' fhops or coffin-makers.
From the end of this ftreet was a moft extenfive view of Pekin
and the furrounding country. The eye from hence took in
the whole length of the high ftraight wall with its two lofty-
gates and numerous fquare towers. At each angle of the wall
is a large fquare building rifmg above the parapet to four heights
or ftories of port-holes, and covered with two roofs. In each
row of the four fronts are fourteen windows or port-holes..
Thefe I underftood to be the rice magazines or public granaries.
Near the north-weft angle is a tall pagoda, another high tower
not unlike a glafs-houfe, and towards the higher weftern gate
appeared the upper part of a pyramidal building that terminated
in a gilded flame, very like the fummit of our monuments under
which, inftead of a gallery, was a moft magnificent canopy or
umbrella,^ painted and gilt with fuch brilliant colours, that from
certain points of view, when the rays of the fun played upon it,
the glittering appearance had a very good effedt. It was faid to
be a temple, and feenied to be of the fame kind of architedure as
the Shoo-ma-doo defcribed by Col. Symes in his embafly to Ava.
We found our new lodging fufficlently large, but the apartments
were fliamefully dirty, having been uninhabited for fome time •
very much out of repair, and totally unfurnifhed. This houfe,
being confidered as one of the beft in the whole city, I fliall have
occafion
j>4 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
occafion to take notice of hereafter, in fpeaking of the ftat«
of their architedure. It was built by the late Ho-poo^ or Col-
Icdlor of the cuftoms at Canton, from which fituation he was
preferred to the colledtorfhip of fait duties zX.Tieii-fing ; where, it
feems, he was detedted in embezzling the public revenues, thrown
into jail, and his immenfe property confifcated to the crown. The
officers appointed to attend the embafly told us, that when it
was propofed to the Emperor for the Englifh Embaflador to oc-
cupy this houfe, he immediately replied, " Moft certainly, you
" cannot refufe the temporary occupation of a houfe to the
" EmbalTador of that nation which contributed fo very amply
" towards the expence of building it." The inference to be
drawn from fuch a remark, is, that the court of Pekin is well
aware of the extortions committed againfl; foreigners at Canton.
The Emperor being at this time in Tartary, where he meant to
celebrate, the feftival of the anniverfary of his birth-day, had gi-
ven orders that the public introdudlion of the Britifh Embaflador
fhould be fixed for that day, and fhould take place at Gehol, a
fmall town 136 miles from Pekin, where he had a large palace,
park, gardens, and a magnificent Poo-ta-la or temple of Budha.
Accordingly a feledion was made of fuch prefents as were the
moft portable, to be fent forwards into Tartary ; and the Em-
baflador, with part of his fuite, feveral oflacers of the court, and
their retinue, fet out from Pekin on the fecond of September.
Some of the gentlemen, with part of the guard and of the
fervants, remained in Pekin, and Dr. Dinwiddle and myfelf,
with two mechanics, had apartments allotted to us in the
palace of Tueii-min-yuen, where the largeft and moft va-
luable
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 105
luable of the prefents were to be fitted up for the infpecllon of
the old Emperor on his return from Tartary.
Having ah'eady acquired fome little knowledge rf the lan-
guage on the paffage from England, by the afliftance cf two
Chinefe priefts who had been fent by their fuperiors to Naples,
for the purpofe of being inflruiled in the Chriftian religion, I
hoped to find this temporary banifliment lefs irkfome, particularly
as I had prevloufly ftipulated with the officers belonging to that
palace for an "unconditional leave to vifit the capital whenever I
fhould find it necefTary or proper, during the abfence of the
Embaffador ; and, it is but fair to fay, they kept faith to their
engagement in the ftri<ftefl: i'enCe. A horfe and one of ihe little
covered carts were always at my difpofal.
The gentlemen left in the city were lefs agreeably fituated. At
the outer gate of their lodgings a guard was ftationed with orders
to allow none of them to pafs, and all their proceedings and
movements were clofely watched. Sometimes they were a little
relieved by occafional vifits from the European miffionaries ;
but fo fufpicious were the officers of government of any com-
munication with thefe gentlemen that they were invariably ac-
companied by fome of them to adt as fpies, nptwithilanding
they could not comprehend one fingle word that was exchanged
in the converfations they held together. A Chinefe has no
knowledge whatfoever of any of the European languages. But
he watches the adions, and even the motions of the eye, and
makes his report accordingly. The courts of the houfe were
conftantly filled with the inferior officers -of government and
p their
io6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
their fervants, all of whom had fome poft or other afligned to
them connedcd with the Britifli EmbafTy. One was the fuper-
intenilant of the kitchen, another furnifhed tea, one was ap-
pointed to fupply us with fruit, another with vegetables, and
another with milk.
During the time I fhould be required to refide in Tuen-tnin-
yucn, I particularly wifhed to have none other than Chinefe fer-
vants, that I might be under the neceiTity of extending the little
knowledge I had already acquired of the fpoken language. This
is by no means difficult to learn except in the nice intonations
or inflexions of voice, but the written chara£ter is, perhaps of
all others, the moft abftrufe and moft perplexing both to the-
eye and to the memory. The length of time that is ufually
required by the Chinefe, together with the intenfe iludy and
ftretch of the micmory which they find neceflary in order to ob-
tain a very fmall proportion of the characters that form the lan-
guage, are ferious obftrudions to the progrefs of the arts and
fciences, but favourable to the ftability of the government of
which indeed the language may be confidered as one of the
great bulwarks. But the obfervations I have to make on this
fubje£t will more properly be referved.for a feparate chapter.
On arriving at Tiien-m'm-yucn I found a number of Chinefe
workmen bufily employed in breakng open the packages, fome
in one place and fome in another, to the no little danger of the-
globes, clocks, glafs luftres, and fuch like frangible articles, many
of which muft inevitably have fuffcred under lefs careful and dex-
terous hands than thofe of the Chinefe. As it was intended they
fliould
TRAVELS IN CHINA. roy
^ould be placed In one large room, the great hall In which the
Emperor gives audience to his minlRers, the firft operatioa
was to move them all thither, and carefully to unpack them;
and we had the fatisfadlion to find that not a fingle article wa«
either miffing or injured.
We had not been long here, before a gentleman appeared
who, notwithftanding his Chlnefe drefs, I foon perceived to
be an European. He introduced himfelf by faying, in the
Latin language, that his name was Deodato a Neapolitan
miffionary, and that the court liad appointed him to a.€t as inter-
preter ; hoped he might be ufeful to us, and offered his fervice*
in the moft handfome manner; and, I have great pleafure in
availing niyfelf of this opportunity to acknowledge the friend! j
and unremitting attention I received from him during a refi-
dence of five weeks in this palace, and the very material affift-
ance he afforded in explaining the nature, value, and ufe of the
feveral pieces of machinery to tbofe Chlnefe who were ap-
pointed to fuperintend them. Signor Deodato was an excellent
mechanic ; and in this capacity was employed in the palace to
infpe£t and keep in order the numberlefs pieces of clock-work
that had found their way thither, chiefly from London.
The officer appointed to attend us wore a light blue button
in his cap, denoting the 4th degree of rank. When he fhewed
the apartments that were defigned for us, I could not forbear ob-
ferving to him, that they feemed fitter for hogs than for human
creatures, and that rather than be obliged to occupy thofe, or any
P 2. other
loa TRAVELS IN CHINA.
other like them, I Hioultl for my own part prefer coming clowrt
from the capital every morning, and return in the fvuning. Th«y
confifted of thi-ee or four hovels in a fm:'l court, furroundcd
with a wall as high as their roofs. Each room was about twelve
feet fquare, the walls completely ni<ked, the ceiling broken in,
the rufhes or ftems of holsiis^ that held the plainer,, hanging
down and ftrewed on the floor > the lattice work of the win-
dows partially covered with broken paper ;. the doors confi fling
of old bamboo (kreens ; the floor covered with duft, and there
was not the leaft furniture in any of them, except aa old table
and two or three chairs in the one which was intended, I fup-
pofe, for the dining-room. The reft had nothing in them whatfo-
ever but a little raifed platform of brick- work, which they told us
was to fleep on, and that they fhould cover it with mats, and
order proper bedding to be brought upon it. Yet thefe mifer-
able hovels were not only within the palace wall, but fcarcely
two hundred yards from the great hall of audience. The
ofiicer afliired us that they were the apartments of one of their
Ta-gin (great men) but that, as I did not feem to like them^
we fliould be accommodated with others. We were then
carried a little farther, where there was a number of buildings
upon a, more extenfive fcale enclofcd alfo by high walls.
The apartments were fomewhat larger, but miferably dirty both
within and without, and wholly unfurnlQied; but as our at-
tendant took care to tell us they belonged to one of the nmi'ifters
ofjfate, and that he lodged in them when the Emperor was at
Yuen-min-yuen, we were precluded from further complaint.
Had we refufed thofe that were confidered fufiicient for
a minifter of ftate, the man might have thought that nothing
lefe
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 109
lefs than the Emperor's own would have fatlsfied us. If the
menial fervants of his Britannic Majcfty's Miuifters were no
better lodged than the minifters themfelvcs of his Chinefe Ma-
jefty, they would be apt to think themlelves very ill ufed. We
accepted them, however, fuch as they were, and caufed them to
be fwept out, an operation which had not been performed for
many months before ; a table and chairs were brought in, with
mats, pillows, and filken mattreffes ; but for thefe we had no
occafion, having fortunately brought with us from the flups
our own cots.
To make amends for our uncomfortable lodgings, we fat down
to a moft excellent dinner, wholly prepared in the Chinefe ftyle,
confifting of a vaft variety of made dllhes very neatly dreflcd,
and ferved in porcelain howls. The beft foup I ever tailed in
any part of the world was made here from an extradt of beef,
feafoned with a prepararion of foy and other ingredients. Their
vermicelli is excellent, and all their paftry is unufually light
and white as fnow. We underftood it to be made from the buck
wheat. The luxury of ice, in the neighbourhood of the capital,
is within the reach of the pooreft peafant; and, although they
drink cheir tea and other beverage warm, they prefer all kinds of
fruit when cooled on ice.
The three firft days, while the articles were unpacking and
afforting, we remained tolerably quiet, being annoyed only
with the interference and inquifitivenefs of an old eunuch, who
had in h^s train about a dozen of the fame V\x\^fiinHe aitt fecund urn.
But no fooner were they taken out of their cafes, and fet up in
3 the
,,0 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
the room, than vifitors of all ranks, from princes of the-blood
to plain citizens, came daily to look at the prefents, but more
particularly at us, whom I believe they confidered by much the
greateft curiofities. All the men of letters and rank, who held
employments in the ftate, and whofe attendance had been dif-
penfed with at Gehol, flocked to Tuen-min-yuen.
Among the numerous vifitors came one day in great ftate
the prefident of a board in Pekin, on which the Jefuiis have
conferred the pompous but unmerited title of the Tribunal of
Mathematics. He was accompanied by a Portuguefe miflionary
of the name of Govea, who is the titular Biftiop of Pekin, Padre
Antonio, and his fecretary, both Portuguefe, and all three
members of the faid tribunal. The particular obj-e6l of their
viiit was to make themfelves fully acquainted with the nature
and ufe of the feveral prefents that related to fcience, and efpe-
cially of the large planetarium, which had already made a^reat
noife in China, in order that they might be able to give a pro-
per defcription and explanation to his Imperial Majefty, both
of this inftrument, and of all the others connedled with their
department, and to anfwer any queftion concerning them that
might be afked.
It created no foit of furprize to anv of us, on finding that the
Chinele who accompanied thefe reverend gentlemen were
completely ignorant of the nature of a complicate machine,
whole motions, regulated by the moft ingenious mechanifm
that had ever been conftruded in Europe, reprefented all thofe
cveu of the moft irregular and eccentric of the heavenly bodies ;
nor
TRAVELS IN CHINA. xit
nor in perceiving that they feemed to be rather difappolnted In
the appearance and operations of this Inflrument. It was ob-
vious, from the few queftlons put by the prcfident of this learned
body, that he had conceived the planetarium to be fomethlng
fimilar to one of thofe curious pieces of mufical mechanlfm
which, in the Canton jargon, are called Slngjhngs, and that
nothing mere was neceiTary than to wind it up like a jack,
when it would immediately fpin round, and tell him every thing
that he wanted to know.
But the difficulty of making the right reverend Bifhop and
his colleagues comprehend the principles upon which it was-
Gonftrud:ed, and the feveral phenomena of the heavenly bodies
exhibited by it, conveyed almofl: as bad an opinion of their aftro-
nomical and mathematical knowledge as of that of their prefident.
The prelate, however, appeared to be a man of mild and placid
temper, pleafing manners, and of a modefl: and unalTuming
deportment. His fecretary was a keen fharp fellow, extremely
inqulfitive, and refolved not to lofe the little knowledge he
might acquire, for he wrote down the anfwer to every queftion
that was propofed.
•1 '
The following day the Blfliop came unattended by the Chlnefe
part of their board, and gave us fome account of the nature of
their employ. The aftronomical part of the national almanack,
fuch as calculating eclipfes, the times of new and full moon,
the rifing and fetting of the fun, were, as he informed us, en-
trufted to him and his colleagues, but the aftrological part waS'
managed by a committee of the Chinefe members. He candidly
, avowed
in TRAVELS IN CHINA.
avowed that neither he nor any of his European brethren were
well qualified for the taflc, and that they had been hitherto
more indebted to the Cotmoilfances de terns of Paris than to their
own calculations. That having exadly afcertained the diffe-
rence of meridians between Pekin and Paris, they had Httle dif-
ficulty in reducing the calculations made for the latter, fo as to
anfwer for the fituation of the former, at leaft to a degree of
accuracy that was fufficiently near the truth not to be deteded
by any of the Chinefe members.
The French revolution having put an end to future commu-
nications with that country was to them a fevere blow in this
refpcdt, though the fecretary thought he could now manage the
calculation of an eclipfe fufficiently corre£t to pafs current with
the Chinefe. Fortunately, however, Dodor Dinwiddle had
provided himfclf on leaving London with a fet of the nautical
almanacks, calculated for the meridian of Greenwich, up to
the year 1800, which they confidered as an invaluable prefent.
The grandfons of the Emperor were almoft daily vifitors. It
feems there is a kind of college in the palace for their education.
Though young men from the ages of fixteen to five-and-twenty,
the old eunuch ufed frequently to pufh them by the fhoulders
out of the hall of audience ; and, on exprefling my furprife
to Deodato at fuch infolence, he informed me that he was their
aya^ their governor!
We had alfo a great number of Tartar generals and military
officers who had heard of fword-blades that would cut iron
bars
TRAVELS IN CHINA. nj
bars without injuring the edge ; and fo great was their aftonifh-
ment on proving the fad, that ihey could fcarcely credit the
evidence of their own eyes. We could not confer a more ac-
ceptable prefent on a military officer than one of Gill's fword-
. blades ; and from the eager applications made for them, as we
pafTed through the country, the introduction of them through
•Canton, in the regular courle of trade, would, I fhould fuppofe,
be no difficult tafk.
But the two elegant carriages made by Hatchett puzzled the
Chinefe more than any of the other preients. Nothing of the
kind had ever been feen at the capital ; and the difputes among
themfelves as to the part which was intended for the feat of the
Emperor were whimfical enough. The hammer-cloth that co-
vered the box of the winter carriage had a fmart edging, and
was ornamented with feftoons of rofes. Its fplendid appearance
and elevated fituation determinated it at once, in the opinion of
the majority, to be the Emperor's feat ; but a difficulty arofe
how to appropriate the infide of the carriage. They examined
•the windows, the blinds, and the fkreens, and at laft concluded,
that it could be for nobody but his ladies. The old eunuch
came to me for information, and when he learned that the fine
elevated box was to be the feat of the man who managed the
horfes, and that the Emperor's place was within, he aiked me,
Vv'ith a fneer, if I fuppoled the Ta-wbang-tee would fuffer any
man to fit higher than himfelf, and to turn his back towards
him? and he wifhed to know if we could not contrive to have
the coach-box removed and placed fomewhere behind the body
of the carriage. . •
0^ A reijiark-
,14 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
A remarkable circumflancc, not eafily to be accounted for,
occurred in opening a cafk of Birmingham hardware. Every
one knows the necefTity of excluding the fea-air as much as
pofllbic Atom highly polifhed articles of iron and fteel, and ac-
cordingly m fuch articles intended to be fent abroad are packed
with the greateft care. The cafks, or cafes, are made as tight
as poflible and- covered with pitched canvas. Such was the
cafk in queftion. Yet, when the head was taken off, and a few
of the packages' removed, an enormous large fcorpion was
found in the midft of the cafk, nearly in a torpid ftate, but it
quickly recovered on expofure to the warm air.
" The thing we know is neither rich nor rare,
• " But wonder how the devil it got there V
Among the prefents carried into Tartary was a colledlon of
prints, chiefly portraits of Englifh nobility and diftinguifhed
perfons ; and to make the prefent more acceptable, they were
bound up in three volumes in yellow ?vlorocco. The Emperor
was fo pleafed with this collection, that he fent it exprefs to
Tucn-mm-yue7i to have the name, I'ank, and ofBce of each por-
trait tranflated into the Mantchoo and Chinefe languages. The
Tartar writer got on pretty well, but the Chinefe fecretary was
not a little puzzled with the B, the D, and the R, that fo fre-
quently recurred in the Englifh names. The Duke of Marl-
borough was Too-ke Ma-ul-po-loo ^ and Bedford was transformed
to Pete-fo-ul-te. But here a more ferious difficulty occurred than
that of writing the name. The rank was alfo to be written
down, and on coming to the portrait of this nobleman, (which
was a proof impreffion of the print, engraved from a pidure by
Sir
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 115
Sir Jofhua Reynolds, when the late Duke of Bedford was a
youth,) 1 told the Chincfe to write him down a Ta-gin^ or great
man of the fecond order. He inftantly obferved that I furely
meant his father was a Ta-g'm. I then explained to him that,
according to our laws, the fon fucceeded to the rank of the fa-
ther, and that with us it was by no means neceflary, In order
to obtain the firft; rank in the country, that a man fhould be of
a certain age, be poffefled of fuperior talents, or fuitable quali-
fications. That thefe were fometimes conducive to high ho-
nours, yet that a great part of the legiflative body of the na-
tion were entitled to their rank and fituation by birth. They
laughed heartily at the idea of a man being born a leglflator,
when it required fo many years of clofe application to enable
one of their countrymen to pafs his examination for the very
loweft order of ftate-ofEcers. As, however, the defcendants of
Confucius continue to enjoy a fort of nominal rank, and a&
their Emperor can alfo confer an hereditary dignity, without
entitling to office, emolument, or exclufive privilege, they
confidered his Grace might be one of this defcription, and
wrote down his rank accordingly ; but. they pofitively refufed to
give him the title of Ta-gin^ or great man, afking me, if I
thought their Emperor was fo ftupid as not to know the impof-
•fibility of a little boy having attained the rank of & great man.
About the 14th of September, or three days before the Empe-
ror's birth-day. Padre Anfelmo^ the procurator for the miffion
dc propaganda jide^ delivered me letters from Macao for the Em-
bafiador, which the Chinefe refufed to fend to Gehol, though
daily exprefles went to and from that place. Anfelmo hinted to
0^2 me
,,6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
me that the late viceroy of Canton, who was no friend to the
Englifh, had arrived, and that he feared all was not right. That
the Tartar legate had been degraded from his rank for deceiving
the Emperor, and particularly for not paying his perfonal re-
fpeds to the Embaffador on board his fhip when in Tien-ftng
roads. That the peacock's feather, which he wore in his cap
as a mark of his matter's favour, was exchanged for a crow's
tail, the fign of great difgrace, and that the confideration of
his age and his family had alone faved him from banifhment.
The Emperor, it feems, having heard that the Embaflador had
his pldure in his cabin on board the Lion, afked the legate
whether it was like him, upon which it came out that he had
never been near the Lion, as his orders directed him.
On the 17th, being the Emperor's birth-day, all the princes
and officers about the palace aflembled in their robes of cere-
mony, to make their obeifance to the throne in the great
hall of audience. On this occafion were placed on the floor
before the throne, on three fmall tripods, a cup of tea, of oil,
and of rice, perhaps as an acknowledgment of the Emperor be-
ing the proprietary of the foil, of which thefe are three material
produdis. The old eunuch told me that I might remain in
the hall during the ceremony, if I would confent to perform it
with them, and offered to inftrud me in it. He faid that all
the officers of government, in every part of the empire, made
their proftrations to the name of the Emperor infcribed on yel-
low filk on that day.
Twa
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 117
Two days after this, on going as ufual In the morning to the hall
of audience, I found the doors (hut and the old eunuch, who kept
the keys, walking about in fo fullen a mood that I could not get
from him afingle word. Different groupes of officers were aflem-
bled in the court-yard, all looking as if fomething very dreadful
either had occurred, or was about to happen. Nobody would
fpeak to me, nor could I get the leaft explanation of this extraor-
dinary condud, till at length our friend Deodato appeared with
a countenance no lefs woeful than thofe of the officers of govern-
ment, and the old eunuch. I a&ed him what was the matter ?
His anfwer was, We are all loft, ruined, and undone ! He
then informed me that intelligence had arrived from GehoJ,
ftating, that Lord Macartney had refufed to comply with the
ceremony of proftrating himfelf, like the EmbafTadors of tribu-
tary princes, nine times before the Emperor, unlefs one of
equal rank with himfelf fhould go through the fame ceremony
before the portrait of his Britannic Majefty : that rather than
do this they liad accepted his offer to perform the fame ce-
remony of refpedl to the Emperor as to his own fovereign.
That although little was thought of this affair at Gehol, the
great officers of ftate in the tribunal or department of ceremo-
nies in Pekin were mortified, and perplexed, and alarmed ; and
that, in fhort, it was impoffible to fay what might be the confe-
quence of an event unprecedented in the annals of the empire.
That the Emperor, when he began to think more ferioufly on the
fubjeft, might poffibly impeach thofe before the criminal tribu-
nal who had advifed him to accede to fuch a propofa), on re-
flcding how much his dignity had fuffered by the compliance;
and that the records of the country might hand it down to pof-
I ' terity,
nS TRAVELS IN CHINA.
terity, as an event that had tarnlflied the luftre of his reign, be-
ine nothing ftiort of breaking through an ancient cuftom, and
adopting one of a barbarous nation in its place. Deodato
thought even that its ill effedls might extend to them, as Euro-
peans, and might injure the caufe which was the firft obje£t of
their mlflion.
I found it in vain to put into good humour that day either
the officers of government, or the eunuchs, or even the mif-
fionaries ; and our table was very materially affeiled by it, both
in the number and the quality of difhes ; — a criterion from
which, more than any other, a judgment may be formed of
the ftate of mind in which a Chinefe happens to be. Some-
thing of the fame kind, it feems, occurred at Gehol. From
the time the EmbalTador began' to make conditions, his table
was abridged, under an idea that he might be ftarved into an
unconditional compliance. Finding this experiment fail, they
had recourfe to a different conduct, and became all kindnefs and
complalfance.
The ill-humour occafioned by the news from Gehol gradually
wore off, but I obferved that the princes who had hitherto
been daily vifitors now kept entirely away ; and the old eunuch,
when put out of his way, ufed to apply to us the epithet of
proud, headftrong Englifhmen.
On the 26th the EmbalTador (during whofe flay at Gehol
in Tartary an account of all that paffed there is given in Sir
George Staunton's book) returned to Pekin, when the re-
mainder
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 119
mainder of the prefents were fent to Yuen-min-yuen. A num-
ber of Tartar princes and great officers of ftate came to look
at thofe fitted up in the hall of audience, and fcemed extremely
folicitous that the whole fliould be got ready without delay.
Notice was alfo given that, on the 30th the Emperor would
infpedl the prefents. This was the day fixed for his return,
and it was notifidti to the Embaflador that it was an ufual
compliment for all public officers to meet him on the road, at
the diftance of ten or twelve miles from the capital. Accord'-
ingly, about four o'clock in the morning of the 30th, we were
all mounted and arrived at our ground about fix. The whole
road had been newly made, rolled as level as a bowling-green,
watered to keep down the duft and, on each fide, at the dif-
tance of about fifty yards from each other, were fmall triangular
poles erected, from which were fufpended painted lanterns.
They brought us into a kind of guard-houfe, where tea and
other refrefhments were prepared, after which we took our fta-
tion on a high bank on the left of the road. On each fide, as
far as the eye could reach, were feveral thoufands of the great
officers of ftate in their habits of ceremony ; Tartar troops in
their holiday drefles ; ftandard-bearers without number, mili-
tary mufic^ and officers of the houfehold, lining the two fides
of the road. The approach of the Emperor was announced by
a blaft of the trumpet, followed by fofter mufic, " and at that
" time when all the people heard the found of the cornet, flutes,
*' harp, fackbut, pfaltery, and all kinds of mufic, then the
" princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the trea-
" furers, the counfellors, the Iheriffs, and all the rulers of the
" provinces.
,2o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
*' provinces, that were gathered together, fell down and wor-
*' fhipped," except certain flrangers, who, being obflinately
refolved to do no greater homage to any fovereign th^ what is
required by iheir own fovereign, bent one knee only to the
ground.
The Emperor was carried by eight men in a kind of fedan
chair, which was followed by a clumfey ftate chariot upon two
wheels, and without fprings. He bowed very gracioufly to the
Embaffador as he pafled, and fent a meffage to him to fay that,
underftanding he was not well, he advifed him to return im-
mediately to Pekin, and not to flop at Yuen-min-yuen, as was
intended.
The morning being very cold, we were defirous to get home
as faft as we could ; and accordingly galloped along with foffie of
the Tartar cavalry. When we arrived under the walls of Pekin,
we turned our horfes towards a different gate to that through
which we were accuflomed to pafs, in order to fee a little
more of the city. But one of our condudors, who had
thought it his duty not to lofe fight of us; in perceiving us
making a wrong turn, hallowed out with all his might. We
pufhed forward, however, and got through the gate, but we
were purfued with fuch a hue and cry, that we were glad to
efcape through one of the crofs ftreets leading to our hotel,
where we arrived with at leaft a hundred foldiers at our
heels.
On
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 121
On the ift of (pdober the Emperor, attended by a Tartar,
infpeded the prefents in the hall of audience ant}, examined
them with minute attention. He defired the Tartar prince to
tell us, through Deodato, that the accounts he had received
of our good condudt at Yuen-mhi-ytien gave him great pleafure,
and that he had ordered a prefent to be made to each of us, as
a proof of his entire fatisfadtion. This prefent was brought,
after his departure from the hall, by the old eunuch, who took
care to tell us that before we received it we muft make nine
proftrations according to the Chlnefe cuftom. I made him no
anfwer, but requefted Deodato to explain to the Tartar prince,
who was ftill prefent, that being under the orders of the Em-
baflador \\& did not think ourfelves authorized to do what he
had found good to refufe, but that we had not the lead objedlion
to go through the fame ceremony that he ha4 done at GehoJ.
The Tartar prince immediately anfwered that nothing further
was required. We accordingly placed one knee on the lowed
ftep leading to the throne. The prefent confided of rolls
of filk and feveral pieces of filver cad in the form of a
Tartar Ihoe, without any mark or infcription on them, and each
about the weight of an ounce.
The prefents being now all delivered, and the EmbalTador
informed by the miflionarles that preparations were making for
our departure, the ufual time being nearly expired, his Excel-
lency was defirous of having the day fixed, and for this pur-
pofe dlfpatched a note to the fird minider, who fent an an-
fwer by the Tartar legate to inform him that, to prevent any
likelihood of being furprized by the approaching bad weather,
R the
12S
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
the Emperor had named the 7th inftant for^the beginning of
our journey; and had given orders that every honour and diC-
tindion Ihould be paid to the Embafly on the road.
But before I quit thefe renowned gardens of Yuen-min-yuen^
it will naturally be expelled I {hould fay fomething on their fub-
jed. From all that I had heard and read of the grandeur and
beauty of the fcenery and the magnificence of palaces, I had'
certainly expedled to meet with a (tyle of gardening and laying
out of grounds fuperior, or at leaft equal, to any thing in the
fame line in Europe ; and, perhaps indeed, I might have been
fully gratified in all my expectations provided no reftraint had'
been thrown upon our walks, which was far from being the
cafe. All the Httle excurfions I made were by fliealth. Even
in the fhort diftance between the hall of audience and our lodg-
ings, which might be about three hundred paces, we were con-
tinually watched. The idea of being flopped by an eunuch or
fome of the inferior officers belonging to the court, was fuffici-
ent to put us on our guard againft meeting with any fuch morti-
fication ;. pride, in fuch circumftances, generally gets the better
of the defire, however ftrong, of gratifying curiofity. I fome-
times, however, ventured to ftroll from our lodging in the even-
ing in order to take a ftolen glance at thefe celebrated gardens.
The grounds of Tuen-7nh-y?ie)i are calculated to comprehend
an extent of at leaft ten Engli(h miles in diameter, or about
fixty thcufand acres, a great part of which, however, is waftes
and woodland. The general appearance of thofe parts near
where we lodged, as to the natural furface of the country, bro-
ken
TRAVELS IN CHINA. laj
ken Into hill and dale, and diverfified with wood and lawri,
may be compared with Richmond park, to which, however, they
add the very great advantage of abundance of canals, rivers, and
large fheets of water, whofe banks, although artificial, are neither
trimmed, nor fhorn, nor floped, like the glacis of a fortification,
but have been thrown up with immenfe labour in an irregular,
and, as it were, fortuitous manner, fo as to reprefent the free
hand of nature. Bold rocky promontories are feen jutting into
a lake, and vallies retiring, feme choaked with wood, others
in a ftate of high cultivation. In particular fpots where plea-
fure-houies, or places of reft or retirement, were ereded, the
views appeared to have been ftudied. The trees were not only
placed according to their magnitudes, but the tints of their
foliage feemed alfo to have been confidered in the compofition
of the pidure, which fome of the landfcapes might be called
with great propriety. But, if an opinion may be formed froin
thofe parts of them which I have feen, and I underftood there
is a great fimilarity throughout the whole, they fall very fhort
of the fanciful and extravagant defcriptions that Sir William
Chambers has given of Chinefe gardening. Much, however,
has been done, and nothing that I faw could be confidered as
an offence to nature.
Thirty diftin£t places of refidtence for the Emperor, with all the
iiecefl'ary appendages of building to each, for lodging the feve-
ral officers of ftat^e, who are required to be prefent on court
days and particular occafions, for the eunuchs, fervants, and
^iriificers, each compofing a village of no inconfiderable magni-
aide, are faid to be <;ontained within the inclofure of thefe gar-
R 2 dens.
,34 TRAVELS IN CHINA;
dens. Thcfe aflemblages of buildings, which they dignify with
the name of palaces, are, however, of fuch a nature as to be
more remarkable for their number than for their fplendour
or magnificence. A great proportion of the buildings confifts
in mean cottages. The very dwelling of the Emperor and the
grand hall In which he gives audience, when diverted of the gild-
ing and the gaudy colours with which they are daubed, are
little fuperior, and much lefs folid, than the barns of a fub-
ftantial Englifh farmer. Their apartments are as deficient in
proportion, as their conftru£tion is void of every rule and prin-
ciple which we are apt to confider as effential to architedlure.
The principal hall of audience at Yuen-min-yuen flood upon a
platform of granite, raifed about four feet above the level of the
court. A row of large wooden columns, furrounding the build-
ing fupported the projeding roof; and a fecond row within
the firft, and correfponding with it (the interftices between
the columns being filled up with brick-work to the height of
about four feet) ferved for the walls of the room. The upper
part of thefe walls was a kind of lattice-work, covered over
with large fheets of oiled paper, and was capable of being
thrown entirely open on public occafions. The wooden co-
lumns had no capitals, and the only architrave was the hori-
zontal beam that fupported the rafters of the roof. This, in
dired contradidion to the eftablifhed mode in European arehi-
tedure, was the uppermoft member of what might be called
the entablature or frize, which was a broad ftreen of wood,
fattened between the upper part of the columns, painted with
the moft vivid colours of blue, red, and green, and interlarded
with gilding ; and the whole had net- work of wire ftretched
over
TRAVELS IN CHINA.' 125
over it, to prevent its being defiled by fwallows, and other
birds frequenting human dwellings. The length of this room
within was one hundred and tea feet, breadth forty- two, and
height twenty feet : the ceiling painted with circles, fquares, and
polygons, whimfically difpofed, and loaded with a great variety
of colours. The floor was paved with grey marble flag flones
laid chequer-v/ife. The throne, placed in a recefs, was fup-
ported by rows of pillars painted red like thofe without. It
confilted entirely of wood, not unlike mahogany, the carving
of which was exquifitely fine. The only furniture was a pair
of brafs kettle drums, two large paintings, two pair of ancient
blue porcelain vafes, a few volumes of manufcripts, and a table
at one end of the room on which was placed an old Englifh
chiming clock, made in the feventeenth century by one Clarke
ofLeadenhall-flreet, and which our old friend the eunuch had
the impudence to tell us was the workmanlhip of a Chinefe. A
pair of circular fans made of the wing feathers of the Aro-us
pheafant, and mounted on long polifhed ebony poles flood, one
on each fide of the throne, over which was written in four cha-
radters, " true, great, refulgent, fplendor ;" and under thefe,
in a lozenge, the charader of Happinefs. In the different courts
.were feveral miferable attempts at fculpture, and fome bronze
figures, but all the objects were fanciful, diftorted, and entirely
out of nature. The only fpecimen of workmanfhip about the
palace, that would bear a clofe examination, befides the carv-
ing of the throne, was a brick wall enclofing the flower gar-
den, which, perhaps, in no refped is exceeded by any thing of
the fort in England.
With
,,6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
With regard to the architedlure and gardening of the Chlnefe,
it may be expeded that I fhould give a more detailed defcrip-
tion, or offer fome opinion on thofe fubjeds. The little I
have to fay on the former will be referved for another place ;
and, with refped to the latter, I regret that I had not an oppor-
tunity of feeing fo much as I could have vi'ifhed, and particu-
larly the Emperor's great park at Gehol, which, from the de-
fcription of the Embaffador, feemed to be almoft unrivalled for
its features of beauty, fublimity, and amenity. But my own
deficiency will be amply filled up with an extrad or two from
the Journal of his Lordftiip, whofe tafte and fkill in landfcape
gardening are fo well known. I have indeed much to regret
that I could not enrich the prefent work with more extrads
from it, but as it makes a complete pidure of itfeif the partial
feledion of detached parts might have been injurious to it, by
conveying wrong imprelfions, when unconneded with the reft.
I am, therefore, the more obliged (and gladly embrace this op-
portunity of exprefllng the obligations I feel) to his Lordftiip, for
what little he has allowed me to tranfcribe.
Speaking of the route from Pekin to Gehol in Tartary, Lord
Macartney obferves : '* Our journey, upon the whole, has been
*' very pleafant and, being divided into feven days, not at all
*' fatiguing. At the end of every ftage we have beeti lodged
*' and entertained in the wings or houfes adjoining to the Em-
" peror's palaces. Thefe palaces, which occur at fliort dif-
*' tances from each other on the road, have been built for his
*' reception, on his annual vifit to Tartary. They are con-
*' ftruded upon nearly the fame plan and in the fame tafte.
*' They
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 127
** They front the fouth, and are ufually fituated on irregular
" ground near the bafis of gentle hills which, together with
" ther adjoining vallies, are enclofed by high walls and laid
" out in parks and pleafure grounds, with every poffible atten-
*' tion to pidturefque beauty. Whenever water can be brought
" into the view it is not negleded ; the diftant hills are planted,
" cultivated, or left naked, according to their accompaniments
" in the profpeit. The wall is often concealed in a funk fence,
" in order to give an idea of greater extent. A Chinefe gar-
•' dener is the painter of nature, and though totally ignorant of
** perfpedive, as a fcience, produces the happieft eiie£ts by the
" management, or rather pencilling, of diftances, if I may ufe
*' the expreffion, by relieving or keeping down the features
*' of the fcene, by contrafting trees of a bright with thofe of a
" duffcy foliage, by bringing them forward, or throwing them
** back, according to their bulk and their figure, and by intro-
" ducing buildings of different dimenfions, either heightened by
" ftrong colouring, or foftened by fimplicity and omiffion of
" ornament.
'* The Emperor having been informed that, in the eourfe of
" our travels in China we had fliewn a (irong delire of feeing
" every thing curious and interefting, was pleafed to give dr-
** re,£lions to the firft mlnlfter to llievv^ us his park or garden at
** Gehol. It is called in Chinefe V an-Jhoo-ynen^ or Paradife of
** ten thoufand (or innumerable) trees. In order to have this
** gratification (which is confidered as an inftance of uncom-
** mon favour) we rofe this morning at three o'clock and went
**^ to the palace 'where we waited, mixed with all ilw; great of-
" ficers
i:
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
*' ficers cf ftate, for three hours (fuch is the etiquette of the
" place) till the Emperor's appearance. At laft he catne forth,
" borne in the ufual manner by fixteen perfons on a high open
" palankeen, attended by guards, mufic, ftandards, and um-
" I)rcllas without number ; and obferving us, as we flood in
" the front line, gracloufly beckoned us to approach, having
" ordered his people to flop ; he entered into converfation
" with us ; and, with great affability of manner, told us that
" he was on his way to thq pagoda, where he ufually paid his
" morning devotions ; that as we profeffed a different religion
" from his he would not afk us to accompany him, but that
" he had ordered his firfl mlnifter and chief Colaos to conduct
" us through his garden, and to fhew us whatever we were de-
" firous of feeing there.
" Having expreffed my fenfe of this mark of his condefcen-
" fion in the proper manner, and my increafing admiration of
" every thing I had yet obferved at Gehol, I retired and,
" whilfl he proceeded to his adorations at the pagoda, I accom-
" panied the miniflers and other great Colaos of the court to
*' a pavilion prepared for us, from whence, after a fhort colla-
" tion, we fet out on horfeback to view this wonderful garden.
*' "We rode about three miles through a very beautiful park kept
*' in the highefl order and much refembling the approach to
" Luton in Bedfordfhire ; the grounds gently undulated and
■" chequered with various groupes of well contrafted trees la
*' the ofFskip. As we moved onward an extenfive lake ap-
" peared before us, the extremities of which feemed to lofe
" themfelves in diftance and obfcurity. Here was a large and
3 " magnilicenr-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 129
'* magnificent yacht ready to receive us, and a number of
" fnialler ones for the attendants, elegantly fitted up and
" adorned with numberlefs vanes, pendants, and ftreamers.
" The fliores of the lake have all the varieties of fliape, which
•' the fancy of a painter can delineate, and are fo indented with
" bays, or broken with projedions, that almoft every ftroke of
" the oar brought a new and unexpe£lcd object to our view.
" Nor are iflands wanting, but they are fituated only where
*' they fhould be, each in its proper place and having its
" proper character : one marked by a pagoda, or other
*' building; one quite defiitute of ornament; fome fmooth
" and level; fome fteep and uneven;' and others frowning
" with wood, or fmiling with culture. Where any things
" particularly interefting were to be fecn we difembarked, from
" time to time, to vifit them, and I dare fay that, in the
" courfe of our voyage, we flopped at forty or fifty diffe-
" rent palaces or pavilions. Thefe are all furniihed in the
" richeft manner with pidiures of the Emperor's huntings
" and progreffes, with ftupendous vafes of jafper and agate ;
" with the fineft porcelain and Japan, and with every kind
*' of European toys and fing'fo7igs ; with fpheres, orreries,
" clocks, and mufical automatons of fuch exquifite vrork-
" manfhip, and in fuch profufion, that our prefents muft
" Ihrink from the comparlfon, and hide their d'tjni?iiJJ:ed heads ;
" and yet I am told, that the fine things we have feen are far
" exceeded by others of the fame kind in the apartments of the
" ladies, and in the European repofitory at Viien-vmi-yuen, In
" every one of the pavilions was a throne, or imperial ftate,
" and a Eu-joii, or fymbol of peace and profperity, placed at
s " one
,30 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
« one fide of it refembling that which the Emperor delivered
" to me yefterday for the king.
" It would be an endlefs talk were I to attempt a detail of
" all the wonders of this charming place. There is no
" beauty of dillribution, no feature of amenity, no
" reach of fancy which embellifhes our pleafure grounds in
" England, that is not to be found here. Had China been
" acceffible to Mr. Browne or Mr. Hamilton, I fliould have
" fworn they had drawn their happieft ideas from the rich
" fources, which I have tafted this day ; for in the courfe of a
" few hours I have enjoyed iuch viciffitudes of rural de-
" light, as I did not conceive could be felt out of England, being
*' at different moments enchanted by fcenes perfcdly fimilar to
" thofe I had known there, to the magnificence of Stowe, the
•' fofter beauties of Wooburn, and the fairy-land of Paine's
« Hill.
" One thing I was particularly ftruck with, I mean the happy
" choice of fituation for ornamental buildings. From attentioa
" to this circumflance they have not the air of being crowded
" or difproportioned ; they never intrude upon the eye j but
" wherever they appear always fhewthemfelves to ad vantage, and
" aid, improve, and enliven the profpedt.
" In many places the lake is overfpread with the Nenuphar
" or lotus (nelumbium) refembling our broad leaved water lilly.
" This is an accompaniment which, though the Chinefe are
" paffionately fond of, cultivating it in all their pieces of water,
I " I con-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 131
« I confefs I don't much admire. Artificial rocks and ponds
" with gold and filver fifh are perhaps too often introduced,
" and the monftrous porcelain figures of lions and tygers,
" ufually placed before the pavilions, are difpleafing to an Eu-
" ropean eye ; but thefe are trifles of no great moment ; and
" I am aftonifhed that now, after a fix hours critical furvey of
" thefe gardens, I can fcarcely recoiled any thing befides to find
" fault with.
" At our taking leave of the minifter, he told us that we had
" only feen the eaftern fide of the gardens, but that the weft-
*' ern fide, which was the larger part ftill remained for him to
•♦ fhew us, and that he fliould have that pleafure another
« day.
" Accordingly, on the day of the Emperor's anniverfary fef-
" tival, after the ceremony was ended, the firft or great Colao
" Ho-chun-tong^ the Foo-leott.^ the Foo-leous brother Foo-chan-tong^
" and Song-ta-g'in^ with the other great men v/ho attended us
" two days fince, in our vifit to the eaftern garden, now pro-
** pofed to accompany us to the weftern, which forms a ftrong
" contraft with the other, and exhibits all the fublimer beauties
" of nature in as high a degree as the part which we faw before
" poffefles the attradlons of foffnefs and amenity. It is one
" of the fineft foreft-fcenes in the world ; wiUl, woody, mount-
*' ainous and rocky, abounding with flags and deer of different
" fpecies, and moft of the other beafts of the chace, not dan-
" gerous to man.
s 2 " In
13*
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" In many places immenfe woods, chiefly oaks, pines, and
•' chernuts, grow upon almoft perpendicular fteeps, and force
" their fturdy roots through every refiftance of furface and of
" foil, where vegetation would feem almoft impofTible. Thefe
" woods often clamber over the loftieft pinnacles of the ftony
" hills, or gathering on the fkirts of them, defcend with a rapid
" fwecp, and bury themfelves in the deepeft vallies. There, at
" proper diftances, you find palaces, banquetting boufes, and
*' monafteries, (but without bonzes) adapted to the fituation
" and peculiar circumftances of the place, fometimes with a
•' rivulet on one hand, gently ftealing through the glade, a6
*' other with a catara£t tumbling from above, raging with
" foam, and rebounding with a thoufand echoes from below,
" or filently engulphed in a gloomy pool, or yawning
" chafm.
" The roads by which we approached thefe romantic fcenes
" are often hewn out of the living rock, and conduced round
" the hills in a kind of rugged ftair cafe, and yet no ac-
" cident occurred in our progrefs, not a falfe ftep difturbed
" the regularity of our cavalcade, though the horfes are fpirited
" and all of them unfliod. From the great irregularity of
*' the ground, and the various heights to which we afcended,
" we had opportunities of catching many magnificent points of
*« view by detached glances, but after wandering for feveral
" hours (and yet never wearied with wandering) we at laft
" reached a covered pavilion open on all fides, and fituated on
" a fummit fo elevated as perfeaiy to command the whole
" furrounding country to a vaft extent. The radius of the ho-
'* rizon,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 135
" rizon I fhould fuppofe to be at leaft twenty miles from the
" central fpot where we ftood ; and certainly fo rich, fo
" various, fo beautiful, fo fublime a profpe£l my eyes had
" never beheld. I faw every thing before me as on an illumin-
" ated map, palaces, pagodas, towns, villages, farm-houfes,
*' plains, and vallies, watered by innumerable ftreams, hills
" waving with woods, and meadows covered with cattle of the
" moft beautiful marks and colours. All feemed to be nearly at
" my feet, and that a ftep would convey me within reach of them.
" 1 obferved here a vaft number of what we call in England
*' Jheet cows, alfo flieet horfes, many pyeballs, dappled, mottled,
" and fpotted, the latter chiefly ftrawberry.
" From hence was pointed out to us by the minifter a vaft
" enclofure below, which, he faid, was not more acceflible to
" him than to us, being never entered but by the Emperor, his
" women, or his Eunuchs. It includes within its bounds,
*' though on a fmaller fcale, mofl of the beauties which dif-
*' tinguifh the eaftern and the weftern gardens which we have
" already feen ; but from every thing I can learn it falls very
" fhort of the fanciful defcriptions which father Attiret and
" Sir William Chambers have intruded upon us as realities.
" That within thefe private retreats, various entertainment*
" of the moft novel and expenfive nature are prepared
" and exhibited by the Eunuchs, who are very numerous
" (perhaps fome thoufands) to amufe the Emperor and his-
" ladies, I have no doubt ; but that they are carried to all
" the lengths of extravagance and improbability thofe gentle-
*' mea
,34 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
*' men have mentioned, I very much queftion, as from every
" enquiry I have made (and I have not been fparing to make
" them) I have by no means fufEcient reafon to warrant me in
" acceding to, or confirming, the accounts which they have
" given U8.
*' If any place in England can be faid in any refpe£l to have
*' fimilar features to the weftern park, which I havev feen this
*' day, it is Lowther Hall in Weftmoreland, which (when I
" knew it many years ago) from the extent of profpe£t, the
" grand furrounding objedls, the noble fituation, the diverfity
" of furface, the extenfive woods, and command of water, I
" thought might be rendered by a man of fenfe, fpirit, and
" tafte, the fined fcene in the Britifh dominions."
After this defcriptlve and interefting detail of the beauties of the
two fides of the imperial park or gardens at Gehol, his Lordfhip
makes a few general obfervations on Chinefe gardening, and
the ornamental edifices that are ufually employed to aid the
efleft, as well as contribute to ufe and convenience. He
obferves,
It
a
n
((
" Whether our ftyle of gardening was really copied from the
Chinefe, or originated with ourfelves, I leave for vanity to
affert, and idlenefs to difcufs, A difcovery which is the re-
fult of good fenfe and reflexion may equally occur to the
moft diftant nations, without either borrowing from the other.
There is certainly a great analogy between our gardening
" and
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
'35
and the Chlnefe, but our excellence fecms to be rather in im-
proving nature, theirs to conquer her, and yet produce the
fame effect. It is indifferent to a Chinefe where he makes
his garden, whether on a fpot favoured, or abandoned, by
the rural deities. If the latter, he invites them, or compels
them to return. His point is to change every thing from
what he found it, to explode the old fafliion of the creation,
and introduce novelty in every corner. If there be a wafte,
he adorns it with trees ; if a dry defert, he waters it with a
river, or floats it with a lake. If there be a fmooth flat, he varies
it with all pofTible converfions. He undulates the furface,
he raifes it in hills, fcoops it into vallies, and roughens it •
with rocks. He foftens afperities, brings amenity into the
wildernefs, or animates the tamenefs of an expanfe, by ac-
companying it with the majefty of a forefl:. Deceptions and
eye-traps the Chinefe are not unacquainted with, but they
ufe them very fparingly. I obferved no artificial ruins,
caves, or hermitages. Though the fublime predominates in
its proper ftation, you are infenfibly led to contemplate it,
not ftartled by its fudden intrufion, for in the plan cheer-
fulnefs is the principal feature, and lights up the face of the
fcene. To enliven it ftill more, the aid of architecture is
invited ; all the buildings are perfedl of their kind, either
elegantly fimple, or highly decorated, according to the
effedl that is intended to arife, ereded at fuitable diftances,
and judicioufly contrafted, never crowded together in confu-
fion, nor afFe£ledly confronted, and flaring at each other
without meaning. Proper edifices in proper places. The
" fummer-
i;6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" fummer-houfe, the pavilion, the pagodas, have all their re-
" fpedive fituations, which ihcy diftinguifh and improve, but
" which any other ftrudures would injure or deform. The
" only things difagreeable to my eye are the large porcelain
" figures of lions, tygers, &c. and the rough hewn fteps, and
" huge mafles of rock work, which they feem fludious of in-
" troducing near many of their houfes and palaces. Confider-
" ing their general good tafte in the other points, I was much
" furprifed at this, and could only account for it, by the ex-
" pence and the difficulty of bringing together fuch incongrui-
" ties, for it is a common effedt of enormous riches to pufh
" every thing they can procure to bombaft and extravagance,
*' which are the death of tafte. In other countries, however,
" as well as in China, I have feen fome of the moft boafted feats,
" either outgrowing their beauty from a plethora of their
" owner's wealth, or becoming capricious and hypocondriacal
" by a quackifli application of it. A few fine places, even in
" England, might be pointed out that are labouring under thefe
" diforders ; not to mention fome celebrated houfes where
" twifted ftair-cafes, window-glafs cupolas, and embroidered
" chimney-pieces, convey nothing to us but the whims and
" dreams of fickly fancy, without an atom of grandeur, tafle,
" or propriety.
*' The architedure of the Chinefe is of a peculiar ftyle, to-
" tally unlike any other, irreducible to our rules, but perfedly
" confiftent with its own. It has certain principles, from
" which it never deviates, and although, when examined ac-
*' cording
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
M7
cording to curs, it fins againft the ideas we have Imbibed
of diftribution, compofition, and proportion; yet, upon
the whole, it often produces a mofl pleafing efTeft, as
we fometimes fee a perfon without a fingle good feature
in his face have, neverthelefs, a very agreeable coun-
tenance." \
,38 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
CHAP. IV.
Sketch of the State of Society hi China. — Manners, Cuftoms,
Sentiments, and Moral Charader of the People.
Condition of JVoinen, a Criterion of the State of Society— Degraded St.te of in
China. — Domefic Manners unfavourable to Filial AffeElion Parental Au-
thority.— HI Effects of feparating the Sexes. — Social Intercourfe unknown, ex-
cept for gaming.— Their IForfiip foiitary.—Feafs of New Tear.—Propenfity
to gaming. Influence of the Laws feems to have deflroyed the natural Cha.
roller of the People.— Made them indifferent, or cruel. — Various Inflances of
this Remark in public and in private Life. — Remarks on hfanticide. — Perhaps
lefs general than ufually thought.— CharaBer of Chinefe in Foreign Countries.—
Temper and Difpofition of the Chinefe.— Merchants.— Cuckoo-Clocks. — Coitdua of
a Prince of the Blood.— Of the Prime Minifler .—Comparifon of the Phyfical and
Moral CharaBers of the Chinefe and Man-tchoo Tartars.— General CharaEler of
the Nation illuflrated.
It may, perhaps, be laid down as an invariable maxim, that
the condhion of the female part of fociety in any nation will
furnifh a tolerable juft criterion of the degree of civilization to
which that nation has arrived. The manners, habits, and pre-
vailing fentiments of women, have great influence on thofe of
the fociety to which they belong, and generally give a turn to
its character. Thus we fhall find that thofe nations, where the
moral and intelle£tual powers of the mind in the female fex are
held in mofl eftimation, will be governed by fuch laws as are
I beft
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 139
beft calculated to promote the general happlnefs of the people ;
and, on the contrary, where the perfonal qualifications of the
fex are the only objects of confideration, as is the cafe in all the
defpotic governments of Afiatic nations, tyranny, oppreffion,
and flavery are fure to prevail ; and thefe perfonal accomplifh-
ments, fo far from being of ufe to the ow^ner, ferve only to
deprive her of liberty, and the fociety of her friends ; to render
her a degraded vidim, fubfervient to the fenfuol gratification, the
caprice, and thejealoufy of tyrant man. Among favage tribes
the labour and drudgery invariably fall heaviefl: on the weaker
fex.
The talents of women, in our own happy ifland, began only
in the reign of Queen Elizabeth to be held in a proper degree
of confideration. As women, they were admired and courted,
but they fcarcely could be faid to participate in the fociety of
men. In fadt, the manners of our forefathers, before that reign,
were too rough for them. In Wales, wives were fold to their
hufbands. In Scotland, women could not appear as evidences in
a court of juflice. In the time of Henry the Eighth, an a£l
was paffed prohibiting women and apprentices from reading the
New Teftament in the Englilli language. Among the poliflied
Greeks, they were held in little eftimation. Homer degrades
all his females? he makes the Grecian princefles weave the
web, fpin, and do all the drudgery of a modern waflierwo-
man ; and rarely allows them any (hare of focial intercourfe
with the other fex. Yet the very foundations on which he has
conftruded his two matchlefs poems are women. It appears
alfo from all the dramatic writers of ancient Greece, whofe aim
T 2 was
,40 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
was '* to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature, to fhew the
" very age and body of the time its form and preflure," that
notwithftanding their extreme delicacy of tafte, and rapid pro-
grefs in the fine arts, their manners were low and coarfe, and
that they were entire ftrangers to any other gratification arifing
from the fociety of women, than the indulgence of the fenfuat
appetite. Even the grave Herodotus mentions, in the higheft
terms of approbation, the cuftom of Babylon of felling by auc-
tion, on a certain fixed day, all the young women who had
any pretenfions to beauty, in order to raife a fum of money for
portioning off the reft of the females, to whom nature had been
lefs liberal in beftowing her gifts, and who were knocked down
to thofe who were fatisfied to take them with the leaft money.
This degradation of women would feem to be as impolitic as
it is extraordinary fince, under their guidance, the earlieft,
and fometimes the moft indelible (I believe I may fafely add,
the beft and moft amiable) impreffions are ftamped on the youth-
ful mind. In infancy their protection is indifpenfably neceffary,
and in ficknefs, or in old age, they unqueftionably afford the beft
and kindeft relief: or, as a French author has neatly obferved,
" Saus les fannies yles deuxcxtreinites de la vie Jeraient Jans fccoursy
" et le milieu fa?is plaifirsT " Without woman the two extre-
" mities of life would be helplefs, and the middle of it joylefs."
The Chinefe, if poffible, have impofed on their women a
greater degree of humility and reftraint than the Greeks of old,
or the Europeans in the dark ages. Not fatisfied with the phyfi-
cal deprivation of the ufe of their limbs, they have contrived,
in order to keep them the more confined, to make it a moral
crime
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 14T
crime for a woman to be feen abroad. If they fhould have oc-
cafion to vifit a friend or relation, they muft be carried in a
clofe fedan chair : to walk would be the height of vulgarity.
Even the country ladies, who may not poffefs the luxury of a
chair, rather than walk, fuffer themfelves to be fometimes rolled
about in a fort of covered wheelbarrow. The wives and daughters,,
however, of the lower clafs are neither confined to the houfe,,
nor exempt from hard and flavifh labour, many being obliged
to work with an infant upon the back, while the hufband, in-
all probability, is gaming, or otherwife idling away his time.
I have frequently feen women afhfting to drag a fort of light
plough, and the harrow. Nieuwhoff, in one of his prints,
taken from drawings fuppofed to be made in China, yokes, if
I miftake not, a woman to the fame plough with an afs. Should
this be the fail:, the Chinefe are not fingiilar, if we may credit
the Natural Hiftorian of Antiquity *, who obferves that, to open
the fertile fields of Byzacium in Africa, it was neceffary to wait
until the rains had foaked into the ground ; " after which a
" little weakly afs, and an old woman, attached to the fame
" yoke, were fufficient to drag the plough through the foil,"
poj} imbres vili afello, et a parte altera ji/gi ami vomerem trahente
vidimus fcindL
In the province of Kiaag-fce nothing is more common than
to fee a woman drawing a kind of light plough, with a fingle
handle, through ground that has previoufly been prepared.
The eafier talk of directing the machine is left to the hufband,
* Plin. lib. xvi. cap. 21.
who.
,.^, TRAVELS IN CHINA.
who, holding the plough with one hand, at the fame time whit
the other cafts the feed into the drills.
The advantages which thofe women poflefs in a higher fpherc
of life, if any, are not much to be envied. Even at home, in
her own family, a woman muft neither eat at the fame table,
nor fit in the fame room with her hufband. And the male
children, at the age of nine or ten, are entirely feparated from
their lifters. Thus the feelings of affection, not the inftindive
produds of nature, but the offspring of frequent intercourfe
and of a mutual communication of their little wants and plea-
fures, are nipped in the very bud of dawning fentiment. A
cold and ceremonious condudt muft be obferved on all occafions
between the members of the fame family. There is no com-
mon focus to attract and concentrate the love and refped of
children for their parents. Each lives retired and apart from
the other. The little incidents and adventures of the day,
which furnifh the converfation among children of many a long
winter's evening, by a comfortable fire-fide, in our own coun-
try, are in China buried in filence. Boys, it is true, fome-
times mix together in fchools, but the ftiff and ceremonious be-
haviour, which conftitutesno inconfiderable part of their educa-
tion, throws a reftraint on all the little playful actions incident
to their time of life and completely fubdues all fpirit of ac-
tivity and enterprize. A Chinefe youth of the higher clafs is
inanimate, formal, and inadive, conftantly endeavouring to
affume the gravity of years.
To
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
'4^
To beguile the many tedious and heavy hours, that mufl: un-
avoidably occur to the fecluded females totally unqualified for
mental purfuits, the tobacco-pipe is the ufual expedient. Every
female from the age of eight or nine years wears, as an ap-
pendage to her drefs, a fmall filken purfe or pocket to hold to-
bacco and a pipe, with the ufe of which many of them are not
unacquainted at this tender age. Some indeed are conftantly
employed in working embroidery on filks, or in painting birds,
Infedls, and flowers on thin gauze. In the ladies' apartments of
the great houfe in which we lived at Pekin, we obferved fome
very beautiful fpecimens of both kinds in the pannels of the
partitions, and I brought home a few articles which I under-
ftand have been much admired ; but the women who employ
their time in this manner are generally the wives and daugh-
ters of tradefmen and artificers, who are ufually the weavers
both of cottons and filks. I remember afking one of the great
officers of the court, who wore a filken veft beautifully em-
broidered, if it was the work of his lady, but the fuppofition
that his wife fhould condefcend to ufe her needle feemed to
give him offence.
Their manners in domeflic life are little calculated to pro-
duce that extraordinary degree of filial piety, or afFedtion and
reverence towards parents, for which they have been eminently
celebrated, and to the falutary effeds of which the Jefuits have
attributed the ftability of the government. Filial duty is, in
fad, in China, lefs a moral fentiment, than a precept which
by length of time has acquired the efficacy of a pofitive law;
and it may truly be faid to exift more in the maxims of the go-
vernment.
j^4 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
vernment, than in the minds of the people. Had they, indeed,
confidered filial piety to be fufficiently flrong when left to its
own natural influence, a precept or law to enforce it would
have been fuperfluous. The firft maxim inculcated in early life
is the entire fubmiffion of children to the will of their parents.
The tenour of this precept is not only " to honour thy father
" and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land ;''
but to labour for thy father and thy mother as long as they
both fliall live, to fell thyfelf into perpetual fervitude for their
fupport, if necefTary, and to confider thy life at their difpofal.
So much has this fentiment of parental authority gained ground
by precept and habit, that to all intents and purpofes it is as bind-
ing as the ftrcngefl law. It gives to the parent the exercife of
the fame unlimited and arbitrary power over his children, that
the Emperor, the common father, pofleffes by law over his
people. Hence, as among the Romans, the father has the
power to fell his fon for a flave ; and this power, either from
caprice, or from poverty, or other caufes, is not unfrequently
put in force.
A law that is founded in reafon or equity feldom requires
to be explained or juflified. The government of China, in fanc-
tionlng an a£t of parental authority that militates fo ftrongly
againft every principle of" nature, or moral right and wrong,
feeras to have felt the force of this remark. Their learned men
have been employed in writing volumes on the fubjeft, the
principal aim of which appears to be that of imprefling on the
minds of the people the comparative authority of the Emperor
over his fubjeds and of a parent over his children. The rea-
fonablenefs
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
J45
fonablenefs and juftlce of the latter being once eftabllflied, that
of the former, in a patriarchal government, followed of courfe;
and the extent of the power delegated to the one could not in
juftice be withheld from the other. And for the better allaying
of any fcruples that might be fuppofed to arlfe in men's con-%
fciences, it was eafy to invent any piece of fophiftry to ferve
by way of jullification for thofe unnatural parents who might
feel themfelves difpofed, or who from want might be induced,
to part with their children into perpetual flavery. A fon, fays
one of their mod celebrated lawgivers, after the death of his
father, has the power of felling his fervices for a day, or a year,
or for life ; but a father, while living, has unlimited authority
over his fon ; a father has, therefore, the fame right of felling
the fervices of his fon to another for any length of time, or evea
for life.
Daughters may be faid to be invariably fold. The bride-
groom muft always make his bargain with the parents of his in-
tended bride. The latter has no choice. She is a lot in the
market to be difpofed of to the higheft bidder. The man, in-
deed, in this refpe£t, has no great advantage on his fide, as he
is not allowed to fee his intended wife until fhe arrives in formal
procefTion at his gate. If, however, on opening the door of
the chair, in which the lady is fhut up, and of which the key
has been fent before, he fhould diflike his bargain, he can re-
turn her to her parents ; in which cafe the articles are forfeited
that conftituted her price ; and a fum of money, in addition to
them, may be demanded, not exceeding, however, the value of
u thefe
,46 TRAVELS IN CHINA,
thefe articles. Thefe matrimonial proceflions, attended with
pomp and mufic, are not unlike thofe ufed by the Greeks
when the bride was conducted to her hufband's houfe in a fplen-
did car ; only, in the former inftance, the lady is completely
invifible to every one.
To what a degraded condition is a female reduced by this ab-
furd cuftom ! How little inducement, it would be fuppofed,
fhe could have to appear amiable or elegant, or to ftudy her
drefs, or cramp her feet, or paint her face, knowing fhe will
be configned into the hands of the firfl: man who will give the
price that her parents have fixed upon her charms. No pre-
vious converfation is allowed to take place, no exchange of opi-
nions or comparifon of fentiments with regard to inclinations or
diflikes ; all the little filent ads of attention and kindnefs, which
fo eloquently fpeak to the heart, and demonftrate the fincerity
of the attachment, are utterly unfelt. In a word, that ftate of
the human heart, occafioned by the mutual affedion between
the fexes, and from whence proceed the happieft, the moft in-
terefting, and fometimes alfo, the moft diftreffing moments of
life, has no exiftence in China. The man takes a wife becaufe
the laws of the country dired him to do fo, and cuftom has
made it indifpenfable ; and the woman, after marriage, con-
tinues to be the fame piece of inanimate furniture fhe always was
in her father's houfe. She fuffers no indignity, nor does fhe
feel any jealoufy or difturbance (at leaft it is prudent not to
Ihew it) when her hufband brings into the fame houfe a fecond,
or a third woman. The firft is contented with the honour of
I prefiding
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 147
prefiding over, and dlreding the concerns of, the family with-
in doors, and in hearing the children of the others calling her
mother.
It might be urged, perhaps, on the part of the hufband, that
it would be highly unreafonable for the woman to complain.
The man who purchafed her ought to have an equal right in
the fame manner to purchafe others. The cafe is materially
different where parties are united by fentiments of love and
efteem, or bound by promifes or engagements ; under fuch cir-
cumftances the introdudion of a fecond wife, under the fame
roof, could not fail to difturb the harmony of the family, and
occafion the moft poignant feelings of diftrefs to the firft. But
a Chinefe wife has no fuch feelings, nor does the hufband make
any fuch engagements.
Although polygamy be allowed by the government, as In-
deed it could not well happen otherwife where women are arti-
cles of purchafe, yet it is an evil that, in a great degree, cor-
reds itfelf. Nine-tenths of the community find it difficult to
rear the offspring of one woman by the labour of their hands ;
fuch, therefore, are neither in circumflances, nor probably feel
much inclination, to purchafe a fecond. The general pra(3;ice
would, befides, be morally impofhble. In a country where fo
many female infants are expofed, and where the laws or cuf-
tom oblige every man to marry, any perfon taking to himfelf
two wives mull leave fome other without one, unlefs indeed it
be fuppofcd with the author of VE/prit des Loix^ what there
feems to be no grounds for fuppofmg, that a much greater
u 2 number
,48 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
number of females are born than of males. But all the obfer-
vations of this lively and ingenious author with regard to China,
and particularly the inferences he draws with refpedl to climate,
fall to the ground. It is not the vigour of natural propenfities,
as he has fuppofed, that deftroys the moral ones ; it is not the
effed of climate that makes it to be confidered among [thefe
people " as a prodigy of virtue for a man to meet a fine wo-
man in a retired chamber without offering violence to her," —
it is the effed of ftudioufly pampering the appetite, nurturing
vicious notions, confiderlng women as entirely fubfervlent to
the pleafures of man ; and, in Ihort, by fancying thofe plea-
fures in the head, rather than feeling them in the heart, that
have led them to adopt a fentiment which does the nation fo
little credit. The climate being every where temperate, and the
diet of the majority of the people moderate, I might fay
fcanty, thefe have little influence in promoting a vehement
defire for fexual intercourfe. It is indeed among the upper
ranks only and a few wealthy merchants (whom the fumptu-
ary laws, prohibiting fine houfes, gardens, carriages, and every
kind of external fhew and grandeur, have encouraged fecretly
to indulge and pamper their appetite in every fpecies of luxury
and voluptuoufnefs) where a plurality of wives are to be found.
Every great officer of flate has his haram confifling of fix, eight,
or ten women, according to his circumitances and his inclina-
tion for the fex. Every merchant alfo of Canton has his fera-
glio ; but a poor man finds one wife quite fufficient for all his
wants, and the children of one woman as many, and fometimes
more, than he is able to fupport.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 149
The unfociable diftance which the law (or cuftom, flronger
than law) prcfcribes to be obferved between the fexes, and
the cool ar,d indifferent manner of bargaining for a wife,
are not calculated to produce numerous inftances of cri-
minal intercourfe. Thefe, however, fometimes happen, and
the weight of punifhraent always fall heavieft on the woman.
The hufband finds no difficulty in obtaining a fentence of di-
vorce, after which he may fell her for a flave and thus redeem
a part at leaft of his purchafe-money. The fame thing hap-
pens in cafe a wife fhould elope, inftances of which I fancy
are ftill more rare ; as if fhe be of any fafhion, her feet are ill
calculated to carry her off with, fpeed ; and if a young girl
fhould chance to lofe what is ufually held to be the moft valuable
part of female reputation, {he is fent to market by her parents
and publicly fold for a flave. In cafes of mutual difllke, or in-
compatibility of temper, the woman is generally fent back to
her parents. A woman can inherit no property, but it may be
left to her by will. If a widow has no children, or females
only, the property defcends to the neareft male relation on the
deceafed hufband's fide, but he moft maintain the daughters until
he can provide them with hufbands.
The prohibition againft the frequent intercourfe with modeft
females, for there are public women in every great city, is not
attended here with the effedl of rendering the purfuit more
eager ; nor does it increafe the ardour, as among the ancient
Spartans who were obliged to fteal, as it were, the embraces
of their lawful wives. In China it feemfi to have the contrary
effect of promoting that fort of connexion which, being one of
the
,50 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
the greatefl: violations of the laws of nature, ought to be copfi-
dered among the firft of moral crimes — a connexion that finks
the man many degrees below the brute. The commiffion of
this deteftable and unnatural a€t is attended with fo little
fenfe of fliame, or feelings of delicacy, that many of the firft
officers of flate feemed to make no hefitation in publicly avowi-
ing It. Each of thefe officers is conftantly attended by his
pipe-bearer, who is generally a handfome boy from fourteen to
eighteen years of age, and is always well drefTed. In pointing
out to our notice the boys of each other, they made ufe of figns
and motions, the meaning of which was too obvious to be mlf-
interpreted. The two Mahomedans, I obferve, who were in
China in the ninth century, have alfo taken notice of this clr-
cumftance : and I find in the journal of Mr. Hittner, a gentle-
man who was in that part of the fuite who accompanied the Bri-
tlfti Embaffiidor into Tartary, in fpeaklngof the palaces of Gehol,
the following remark : " Dans I'un de ces palais, parmi d'autres
" chefs- d'ccuvres de I'art, on voyait deux ftatues de gar^ons, en
" marbre, d'un excellent travail ; ils avaient les pleds et les
" mains lie's, et leur pofitlon ne laiflait point de doute que le
" vice des Grecs n'eut perdu fon horreur pour les Chinois. Un
*' vieil eunuque nous les fit remarquer avec un fourire impu-
« dent."
It has been remarked that this unnatural crime prevails moft
in thofe countries where polygamy is allowed, that is to fay, in
thofe countries where the affedlons of women are not con-
fulted, but their perfons purchafed for gold — a remark which
may lead to this conclufion, that it is rather a moral turpitude
• than
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 151
than a propenfity arifing from phyfical or local caufes. The
appetite for female intercourfe foon becomes glutted by the fa-
cility of enjoyment ; and where women, fo circumftanced, can
only receive the embraces of their proprietors from a fenfe of
duty, their coldnefs and indifference, the neceffary confequence
of fuch connexions, muft alfo increafe in the men the tendency
to produce fatiety. I think it has been obferved that, even in
Europe, where females in general have the fuperior advantage
of fixing their own value upon themfelves, it is the greateft
rakes and debauchees, who,
" — — bred at home in idlenefs and riot,
" Ranfack for miftrefles th' unwholefome flews,
'• And never know the worth of virtuous love."
fiy fometimes in fearch of frefh enjoyment in the deteftable way
here alluded to*.
I have already obferved that the ftate of domeftic fociety in
China was ill calculated to promote the affedion aid kindnefs
which children not only owe to, but really feel for, their parents
in many countries of Europe. A tyrant, in fafl:, to command,
and a flave to obey, are found in every family ; for, where
the father is a defpot, the fon will naturally be a flave ; and if
all the little ads of kindnefs and filent attentions, th^.t create
* I fhould not have taken notice of this odious vice, had not the truth of its exift-
ence in China been doubted by feme, and attributed by others to a wrong caufe.
Profefling to defcribe the people as I found them, I muft endeavour to draw a faith-
ful piflure, neither attempting to palliate their vices, nor to exaggerate theii*
virtues.
mutual
,^2 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
mutual endearments, be wanting among the members of tlic
fame family, living under the fame roof, it will be in vain to ex-
pe€t to find them in the enlarged fphere of public life. In fa£l,
they have no kind of friendly focieties nor meetings to talk
over the tranfadlons and the news of the day. Thefe can only
take place in a free government. A Chinefe having finifhed his
daily employment retires to his folitary apartment. There are,
it is true, a fort of public houfes where the lower orders of
people fometimes refort for their cup of tea or oi feau-tchoo (a
kind of ardent fpirit diftilled from a mixture of rice and other
grain) but fuch houfes are feldom, if at all, frequented for the
fake of company. They are no incitement, as thofe are of a
fimilar kind in Europe, to jovial pleafures or to vulgar ebriety.
From this odious vice the bulk of the people are entirely free.
Among the multitudes which we daily iaw, in pafling from one
extremity of the country to the other, I do not recolle<!i hav-
ing ever met with a fingle inftance of a man being difguifed in
liquor. In Canton, where the lower orders of people are em-
ployed by Europeans and necefl'arily mix with European fea-
men, intoxication is not unfr.equent among the natives, but this
vice forms no part of the general charader of the people. When-
ever a few Chinefe happen to meet togeiher, it is generally for
the purpofe of gaming,, or to eat a kettle of boiled rice, or drink a
pot of tea, or fmoke a pipe of tobacco.
The upper ranks indulge at home in the ufe of opium. Great
quantities of this intoxicating drug are fmuggled into the coun-
•try, notwithftanding all the precautions taken by the govern-
ment to prohibit the importation of it ; but it is too expenfive
to
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 153
to be ufed by the common people. The officers of the cuftoms
are not beyond a bribe. After receiving the fum agreed upon
between the importer and themfelves they frequently become
the purchafers of the prohibited article. Moft of the country
fhips from Bengal carry opium to China ; but that of Turkey
fent from London in the China fnips is preferred, and fells at
near double the price of the other. The governor of Canton,
after defcribing in one of his late proclamations on the fubje<St
the pernicious and. fatal efFeds arifing from the ufe of opium,
obferves, " Thus it is that foreigners by the means of a vile ex-
" crementitious fubftance derive from this empire the moft
" folid profits and advantages ; but that our countrymen fliould
" blindly purfue this deftru£live and enfnaring vice, even till
" death is the confequence, without being undeceived, is indeed
" a fad odious and deplorable in the higheft degree." Yet
the governor of Canton very compofedly takes his daily dofe of
opium.
The young people have no occafional aiTembTies for the-
purpofe of dancing and of exercifing themfelves in feats of ac-
tivity which, in Europe, are attended with the happy effeds of
fhaking off the gloom and melancholy that a life of conftant
labour or feclufion from fociety is ape to promote. They have
not even a fixed day of reft fet apart for religious worftiip.
Their ads of devotion partake of the fame folitary caft
that prevails in their domeftic life. In none of the different
feds of religion, which at various times have been imported
into, and adopted in China, has congregational worftiip been
X incul-
,54 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
inculcated, which, to that country in particular, may be confi-
dered as a great misfortune. For, independent of religious
confiderations, the fabbatical inflitution is attended with advan-
tages of a phyfical as well as of a moral nature ; and humanity-
is not lefs concerned than policy in confecrating one day out of
feven, or fome other given number, to the fervice of the great
Creator, and to reft from bodily labour. When the government
of France, in the height of her rage for innovation, fell into
the hands of athciftical demagogues, when her temples were
polluted and every thing facred was invaded and profaned, the
feventh day was confidered as a relic of ancient fuperftitlon and
the obfervance of it accordingly abolifhed ; and, about the
fame time, it became the fafliion among a certain defcription
of people to ufe fpecious arguments againft its continuance
in our own country ; as being, for example, a day for the
encouragement of idlenefs, drunkennefs, and diffipation.
Such a remark could only be applied to large cities and towns ; .
and in crowded manufadui'ing towns the mechanic, who can
fubfift by working three days in the week, would be at no lofs
in finding opportunities, were there no fabbath day, in the courfe
of the other four to commit irregularities. And who, even for
the fake of the mechanic and artificer, would wifh to fee the
labouring peafant deprived of one day's reft, out of feven, which
to him is more precious than the wages he has hardly earned
the other fix ? What man, poflefled of common feelings of
humanity, in beholding the decent and modeft hufbandman,
accompanied by his family in their beft attire attending the
parifli-church, does not participate in the fmile of con-
tent which on this day particularly beams on his countenance,
and
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 155
and befpeaks the ferenlty of his mind ? Having on this day dlf-
charged his duty to God, refreflied his body with reft, enjoyed
the comfort of clean clothing, and exerclfed his mind in con-
verfing with his neighbours, he returns with double vigour to
his daily labour ;' having, as Mr. Addiibn cbferves in one of
his Spectators, rubbed ofFtbe ruft of the week.
The firft of the new year in China, and a few fucceeding
days, are the only holidays, properly fpeaking, that are obferved
by the working part of the community. On thefe days the
pooreft peafant makes a point of procuring new clothing for
himfelf and his family ; they pay their vlfits to friends and
relations, interchange civilities and compliments, make and re-
ceive prefents ; and the officers of government and the higher
ranks give feafts and entertainments. But even in thofe feafts there
is nothing that bears the refemblance of conviviality. The
guefts never partake together of the fame fervice of difties, but
each has frequently his feparate table ; fometimes two, but never
more than four, fit at the fame table ; and their eyes muft con-
ftantly be kept upon the mafter of the feaft, to watch all his
motions, and to obferve every morfel he puts into his mouth,
and every time he lifts the cup to his lips ; for a Chinefe of good-
breeding can neither eat nor drink without a particular cere-
mony, to which the guefts muft pay attention. If a perfon in-
vited {hould, from ficknefs or any accident, be prevented from
fulfilling his engagement, the portion of the dinner that was in-
tended to be placed on his table is fent in proceffion to his own
houfe ; a cuftom that ftrongly points out the very little notion
X 2 they
,56 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
they entertain of they&f/a/ pleafures of the table. It Is cuftom-
aiy to fend after each gueft the remains even of his dinner.
Whenever in the courfe of our journey we vifited a governor
or viceroy of a province, we generally found him at the head
of a range of tables, covered with a multitude of dilhes, which
invariably were marched after us to the yachts. Martial, if I
miftake not, has fome allufion to a fimilar cuftom among the
Romans. Each carried his own napkin to a feaft, which being
filled with the remains of the entertainment was fent home by
a flave ; but this appears to have been done more out of compli-
ment to the hoft, to fhew the great efteem in which they held
his cheer, than for the fake of the viands ; for the Romans
loved conviviality.
The Chlnefe alfo, like the ancient Egyptians as exemplified
in the enormous mefs which Jofeph gave to little Benjamin
above the reft of his brothers, teftify, on all occafions, that they
confider the meafure of a man's ftomach to depend more upon
the rank of its owner than either his bulk or appetite. The Em-
baflador's allowance was at leaft five times as great as that of any
perfon in his fuite. In this particular, however, thefe nations
are not fingular, neither in ancient nor in modern times. The
kings of Sparta, and indeed every Grecian hero, were always
fuppofed to eat twice the quantity of a common foldier ; and
the only difference with regard to our heroes of the prefent day
confifts in their being enabled to convert quantity into quality,
an advantage for which they are not a little indebted to the
invention of money, into which all other articles can be com-
muted.
What-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 157
Whatever may be the occafioii of bringing together a few
idlers, they feldom part without trying their luck at fome game
of chance for which a Chinefe is never unprepared. He rarely
goes abroad without a pack of cards in his pocket or a pair of
dice. B>>th of thefe, like almoft every thing elfe in the coun-
try, are different from fimilar articles elfewhere. Their cards
are much more numerous than ours, and their games much
more complicated. Nor are they at any lofs, even if none of
the party fhould happen to be furniQied with cards or dice ; on
fuch an emergency their fingers are employed to anfwer the
purpofe, which are all that is required to play the game of 7/01-
moi^ a game of which the lower clafs of people is particularly
fond. Two perfons, fitting diredly oppofite to each other,
raife their hands at the fame moment, when each calls out the
number he gueffes to be the fum of the fingers expanded by
himfelf and his adverfary. The clofed fift is none, the thumb
one, the thumb and forefinger two, &c. fo that the chances lie
between o and 5, as each mull know the number held out by
himfelf. The middling clafs of people likewife play at this
game when they give entertainments where wine is ferved, and
the lofer is always obliged to drink off a cup of wine. At this
childifh game two perfons will fometimes play to a very late
hour, till he who has had the worfl of the game has been
obliged to drink fo much wine that he can no longer fee cither to
count his own or his adverfary's fingers. I have thus particularly
noticed the Chinei'e Tfoi-moi, on account of the extraordinary
coincidence between it and a game in ufe among the Romans,
to which frequent allufion is made by Cicero. In a note by
Melanithon on Cicero's Offices it is thus dcfcribed. " Mlcare
3 " digitis^
,58 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" ii'i<Tit!s, ludl genus eft. Sic ludentcs, fimul digUos altcrlus
" manus quot volunt citifTime erigunt, et fimul ambo div'inant
" quot fimul ere£li fi"t ; quod qui definivit, lucratus eft ; unde
" acri vifii opus, et multa fide, ut cum aliquo in tenebris mices."
" Micare digitis, is a kind of game. Thofe who play at it
" ftretch out, with great quicknefs, as many fingers of one hand
" each, as they pleafe, and at the fame inftant both guefs how
" many are held up by the two together ; and he who guefles
" right wins the game : hence a fharp fight is necefiary, and
" alfo great confidence when it is played in the dark."
The Chinefe have certainly the ncer v'lfus^ but 1 doubt much
whether they have faith enough in each other's integrity to play
at the game of fingers in the dark, which, in the opinion of Ci-
cero, was a ftrong teft of a truly honeft man. The fame game
is faid to be ftill played in Italy under the name of Morra *.
The officers about Yuen-min-yuen ufed to play a kind of chefs,
which appeared to me to be eflentially different from that game
as played by the Perfians, the Indians, and other oriental nations,
both with regard to the lines drawn on the board, the form of
the chefs-men, and the moves, from which I Ihould rather con-
clude it to be a game of their own invention, than an introduc-
ti6n either from India or by the army of Gengis-khan^ as fome
authors have conjectured.
* Adam's Roman Antiquities.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 159
The fpirit of gaming is Co unlverfal in moft of the towns
and chies, that in alraoft every bye-corner, groupes are to be
found playing at cards or throwing dice. They are accufed
even of frequently flaking their wives and children on the ha-
zard of a die. It may eafily be conceived that where a man
can fell his children into flavery, there can be little remorfe,
in the breafl: of a gamefter reduced to his laft (lake, to rifk
the lofs of what the law has fancTtioned him to difpofe of.
Yet we are very gravely aflured by fome of the reverend mlffion-
aries, that " the Chinefe are entirely ign04*ant of all games of
" chance j" that " they can enjoy no amufements but fuch as are
" authorized by the laws." Thefe gentlemen furely could not
be ignorant that one of their moft favourite fports is cock-fight-
ing, and that this cruel and unmanly amiifement^ as they are
pleafed to confider it, is full as eagerly purfued by the upper
clafles in China as, to their fhamc and difgrace be it fpoken, it
continues to be by thofe in a fimilar fituation in fome parts of
Europe. The training of quails for the fame cruel purpofe of
butchering each other furnifhes abundance of employment for
the idle and diflipated. They have even extended their enqui-
ries after fighting animals into the infeft tribe, in which they
have difcovered a fpecies ol gryllus, or locuft, that will attack each
other with fuch ferocity as feldom to quit their hold without
bringing away at the fame time a limb of their antagonift.
Thefe little creatures are fed and kept apart in bamboo cao-es ;
and the cuftom of making them devour each other is fo com-
mon that, during the fummer months, fcarcely a boy is ittn.
without his cage and his grafshoppers.
I have
i6o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
I have already had occafion to obferve that the natural difpofi-
tlon of the Chinefe fliould feem to have fuffered almoft a total
change by the influence of the laws and maxims of government,
an influence which, in this country more than elfewhere, has
given a bias to the manners, fentiments, and moral charader of
the people ; for here every ancient proverb carries with it the
force of a law. While ihey are by nature quiet, pafllve, and
timid, the ftate of fociety and the abufe of the laws by which
they are governed, have rendered them indifferent, unfeeling,
and even cruel, as a few examples, which among many others
occurred, will but too clearly bear evidence ; and as the parti-
cular inftances, from which I have fometimes drawn an inference,
accorded with the common adlions and occurrences of life, I have
not hefitated to confider them as fo many general features in their
moral chara£ler ; at the fame time I am aware that allowances
ought to be made for particular ways of thinking, and for cuf-
toms entirely diflimilar from our own, which are, therefore,
not exadlly to be appreciated by the fame rule as if they had
occurred in our own country. The public fealls of Sparta, in
which the girls danced naked in prefence of young men, had
not the fame effe£t on the Lacedemonian youth, as they might
be fuppofed to produce in Europe ; nor is the delicacy of the
Hindoo women offended by looking on the Lingam. Thus
the Chinefe are entitled to our indulgence by the peculiar cir-
cumflances under which they are placed, but I leave it in the
breaft of the reader to make what allowance he may think they
ideferve.
The
i
TRAVELS IN CHINA, i5i
The common pradice of flogging with the bamboo has gene-
rally been confidered by the miffionaries in the light of a gen-
tle corredion, exerciled by men in power over their inferiors,
juft as a father would chaftife his fon, but not as a punifhment
to which difgrace is attached. However lightly thefe gentle-
men may chufe to treat ';as humiliating chaftifement, to which
all are liable from the prime minifter to the peafant, it is but
too often inflided in the anger and by the caprice of a man in
office, and frequently with circumftances of unv/arrantable
cruelty and injuftlce. Of the truth of this remark we had feve-
ral inftances. In our return down the Pei-ho^ the water being
confiderably fhallower than when we firft failed up this river,
one of our accommodation barges got aground in the middle of
the night. The air was piercing cold, and the poor creatures
belonging to the veflel were bufy until funrife in the midfl: of
the river, ufing their endeavours to get her off. The reft
of the fleet had proceeded, and the patience of the fu-
perintending oiEcer at length being exhaufted, he ordered
his foldiers to flog the captain and the whole crew ; which was
accordingly done in a mofl unmerciful manner : and this was
their only reward for the ufe of the yacht, their time and
labour for two days. The inftance of degrading an officer and
flogging all his people, becaufe the meat brought .for our ufe
was a little tainted when the temperature was at 88° in the
{hade, I have already had occafion to notice.
Whenever the, wind was contrary, or it was found necefTary
to track the veflels againfl: the ftream, a number of Vit'Ci wer?'
employed for this purpofe. The poor creatures wefe always
Y prefl'ed
,62 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
preffed Into this dilagreeable and laboiioQs fervlce, for which
they were to receive about fixpence a day fo long as they
tracked, without any allowance being made to them for return-
ing to the place from whence they were forced. Thefe people
knowing the difficulty there was of getting others to fupply their
places, and that their fervices would be required until fuch fhould'
be procured, generally deferted by night, difregarding thei-r pay.
In order to procure others, the officers difpatched their foldiers
to the ncareft village, taking the inhabitants by furprize and
forcing them out of their beds to join the yachts. Scarcely
a night occurred in which fome poor wretches did not fuffer
the lafhes of the foldiers for attempting to efcape, or for pleading^
the excufe of old age, or infirmity. It was painful to behold
the deplorable condition of fome of thefe creatures. Several
were half naked and appeared to be wafting and languifhing
for want of food. Yet the tafk of dragging along the veffels
was far from being light. Sometimes they were under the ne-
ceffity of wading to the middle in mud; fometimes to fwim
acrofs creeks, and immediately afterwards to expofe their naked
bodies to a fcorching fun ; and they were always driven by a
foldier or the lidtor of fome petty police officer carrying in his
hand an enormous whip, with which he lafhed them with as-
little reluctance as if they had been a team of horfes.
The Dutch Embaffy proceeded by land to the capital, in the
middle of winter, when the rivers and canals were frozen. The
thermometer was frequently from 8 to i6 degrees below the
freezing point, and the face of the country was moftly covered
with ice and fnow ; yet they were often under the necef-
3 fity
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 163
Hty of travelling all night ; and the peafantry, who were preffed
to carry the prefents and their baggage, notwithftanding their
heavy loads, were obliged to keep up with them as long as they
could. In the courfe of two nights, Mr. Van Braam obferves,
not lefs than eight of thefe poor wretches adlually expired
under their burdens, through cold, hunger, fatigue, and the
cruel treatment of their drivers.
It had been the practice of fome of the gentlemen ot the
Britiih embaffy, in their return through the country, to vva4k
dunng a part of the day, and to join the barges towards the
hour of dinner. One day an ofEcer of high rank took it into
his head to interrupt them in their ufual walk, and for this
purpofe difpatched after them nine or ten of his foldiers, who
forced them in a rude manner to return to the veflels. Our
two condud;ors Fan and C/jou, coming up at the time, and be-
ing made acquainted with the circumftance, gave to each of the
foldiers a moll fevere flogging. One of thefe, who had been
particularly infolent, had his ears bored through with iron wire,
and his hands bound to them for feveral days. The viceroy
of Canton was at this time with the embaffy, and being in rank
fuperior to the offending ofhcer, he ordered the latter to appear
before him, gave him a fevere reprimand, and fentenced him to
receive forty flrokes of the bamboo as a gentle corrcElmt. Our
two Chinefe friends were particularly prefFmg that the gentlemen
infulted fhould be prefent at the punifhment of the ofBcer, and
it was not without difficulty they could be perfuaded that fuch a
fcene would not afford them any gratification. It happened alfo,
in the Dutch embaffy, that an inferior officer was flogged and
y 2 dit-
,64 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
difgraced by their condudlors for not having in readinefs a fuf-
ficient number of coolies or porters to proceed with the baggage,,
and to carry the fedan chairs in which they travelled.
The tyranny that men in office exercife over the multitude,.
and each other, is perfedly agreeable to the fyftematic fub-
ordination which the law has fandioned. But as authority is a.
dangerous depofit in the hands of the wifeft, and leads fome-
times the moft wary to
'^ Play futh fantaftic tricks before high heaven-
" As make the angels weep,"
what muft the effeds of it be when vefted in an illiterate Chi'*-
nefe or rude Tartar who has no other talent or recommenda-
tion for his authority than the power alone which his office-
allows hira to exercife I
Several inftances however occurred in the courfe of our jour-
ney through the country, which feemed to- mark the fame unfeel-
ing and hard-hearted difpofition to exift between perfons of equaB
condition in life, as in men in office over their inferiors. One
of thefe afforded an extraordinary trait of inhumanity. A poor
fellow at Macao, in the employ of the Britilli factory there,
fell by accident from a wall and pitched upon his fkull. His
companions took him up with very little appearance of life
and, in this ftate, were carrying him away tov^^ards the fkirts
of the town, where they vv-ere met by one of the medical gen-
tlemen belonging to the embaffy. He interrogated them what
they meant to do with the unfortunate man, and was very
coolly
TRAVELS IN CHINA. t6^
coolly anfwered, they were going to bury him. Having ex-
prefled his aftonifliment that they fliould think of putting a
man into the grave before the breath was out of his body, they
replied that they were of opinion he never could recover, and
that if they carried him home he would only be a trouble and
expence to his friends fo long as he remained in a fituatlon which
rendered him unable to affift hinifelf. The man, however, by
the humanity and attention of Dudor Scott, was reftored again
to his family and to thofe friends who knew fo well to appre-
ciate the value of his life.
The dodor however was not aware of the riik he ran in thus
exercifing his humanity, as by a law of the country, which ap-
pears to us extraordinary, if a wounded man be taken into the
protedion and charge of any perfon with a view to effed his
recovery, and he fhould happen to die under his hands, the per-
fon into whofe care he was laft taken is liable to be puniflied
with death, unlefs he can produce undeniable evidence to prove
how the wound was made, or that he furvived it forty days.
The confequence of fuch a law is, that if a perfon fhould happen
to be mortally wounded in an affray, he is fuffered to die in the-
ftrects, from the fear (fhould any one take charge of him) of
being made refponfible for his life.
A flriking inftance of the fatal effeds of fuch a law happened
at Canton lately. A fire broke out in the fuburbs and three-
Chinefe, in alTifting to extingulih it, had their limbs fradurcd
and were otherwife dreadfully wounded by the falling of a wall.
The furgeon of the Englifli fadory, with all the alacrity to ad-
mi nifler
i66 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
jninlfter relief to fufFering humanity, which charaderlzes the pro-
feflion In Britain, direded them to be carried to the fadory, and
was preparing to perform amputation, as the only poflible means
of laving their lives, when one of the Hong merchants having
heard what was going on ran with great hafte to the place,
and entreated the furgeon hy no means to think of performing
any operation upon them, but rather to fuffer them to be taken
away from the fadory as fpeedily as pofTible ; adding that, how-
ever good his intentions might be, if any one of the patients
lliould die under his hands, he would inevitably be tried for mur-
der, and the mofl mitigated punifhment would be that of banifli-
ment for life into the w-iids of Tartary. The wounded Chincfe
were accordingly removed privately, and, no doubt, abandoned
to their fate.
The operation of fuch a barbarous law (for fo It appears
to us) will ferve to explain the condud of the Chinefe in the
following inftance. In the courfe of our journey down the
grand canal we had occafion to witnefs a fcene, which was
confidered as a remarkable example of a want of fellow-feeling.
Of the number of perfons who had crowded down to the banks of
the canal feveral had ported themfelves upon the high projed-
ing ft:ern of an old vefTel which, unfortunately, breaking down
with the weight, the whole groupe tumbled with the wreck into
the canal, jufl: at the moment when the yachts of the embaffy were
pafTing. Although numbers of boats were failing about the place,
none were perceived to go to the affiftance of thofe that were ftrug-
gling In the water. They even feemed not to know that fuch an
accident had happened, nor could the Ihrieks of the boys,
float-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. i6y^
floating on pieces of the wreck, attrad; their attention. One
fellow was obferved very bufily en^ployed in picking up, with
his boat-hook, the hat of a drowning man. It was in vain we
endeavoured to prevail on the people of our veffel to heave to
and fend the boat to their affiftance. It is true, we were then
going at the rate of feven miles an hour, which was the plea
they made for not flopping. I have no doubt that feveral of
thefe unfortunate people muft inevitably have periflied.
Being thus infenfible to the fufferings of their companlona
and countrymen, little compaflion is to be expeded from them
towards ftrangers. From a manufcript journal, kept by a gen-
tleman in the fuite of the Dutch Embaflador, it appears that
on their route to the capital, the writer felt an inclination to try
his fkaits on a fheet of ice that they pafled by the road-fide ; he
was alfo urged to it by the conducing officers. Having pro-
ceeded to fome diftance from the fliore, the ice gave way and
he fell in up to the neck. The Chinefe, inftead of rendering
him any affiftance, in the abfence of his own countrymen who
had gone forwards, ran away laughing at this accident and
left him to fcramble out as well as he could, which was not
efFedled without very great difficulty.
But, if further proofs were wanting to eftablifh the infenfible
and incompaffionate charader of the Chinefe, the horrid prac-
tice of infanticide, tolerated by cuflom and encouraged by the
government, can leave no doubt on this fubjed. — I venture to
fay encouraged, becaufe where the legiflature does not inter-
fere to prevent crimes, it certainly may be faid to lend them its
countenance.
j68 travels in china.
countenance. No law, however, allows, as I obferve It noticed
in a motlern author of reputation, a father to expofe all the
i]au"^hters and ihe third fon. I believe the laws of China do
not fuppol'e fuch an unnatural crime to exift, and have there-
fore provided no punifhment for it. It is true, they have left a
child to the entire difpofal of the father, concluding, perhaps,
that if his feelings will not prevent him from doing it an injury,
no other confideration will. Thus, though the commiffion of
infiinticide be frequent in China, it is confidered as more pru-
dent to wink at it as an inevitable evil which natural afFedioii
will better correal tlian penal ftatutes ; an evil that, on the other
hand, if publicly tolerated, would direftly contradidl the grand
principle of filial piety, upon which their fyftem of obedience
reds, and their patriarchal form of government is founded.
It is, however, tacitly confidered as a part of the duty of the
police of Pekin to employ certain perfons to go their rounds,
at an early hour in the morning, with carts, in order to pick up
fuch bodies of infants as may have been thrown out into the
ftreets in the courfe of the night. No inquiries are made, but the
bodies are carried to a common pit without the city walls, into
which all thofe that may be living, as well as thofe that are dead,
are faid to be thrown promifcuoufly. At this horrible pit of de-
ftrudion the Roman Catholic miffionaries, eftablifhed in Pekin,
attend by turns as a part of the duties of their office, in order,
as one of them expreffed himfelf to me on this fubjedt, to chufe
among them thofe that are the moft lively^ to make future
profelytes, and by the adminiftration of baptifm to fuch of the
reft
■ TRAVELS IN CHINA. i6g
feft as might be ftill alive, pour leurfauver Vame. The Mahome-
dans who, at the time that their fervices were ufeful in aflifting to
prepare the national calendar, had a powerful influence at
Court, did much better : thefe zealous bigots to a religion,
whofe leaft diftinguifhing feature is that of humanity, were,
however, on thefe occafions, the means of faving the lives of all
the little innocents they poflibly could fave from this maw of
death, which was an humane ad, although it might be for the
purpofe of bringing them up in the principles of their own faith.
I was aflured by one of the Chriftian miffionaries, with whom I
had daily converfation during a refidence of five weeks within
the walls of the Emperor's palace at Ynen-min-yiien^ and who
took his turn in attending, pour kur faiiver Vame^ that fuch
fcenes were fometimes exhibited on thefe occafions as to make
the feeling mind fhudder with horror. When I mention that
dogs and fwine are let loofe in all the narrow ftreets of the ca-
pital, the readeK may conceive what will fometimes necelTarily
happen to the expofed infants, before the police-carts can pick
them up.
The number' of children thus unnaturally and inhumanly
flaughtered, or interred alive, in the courfe of a year, is diffe-
rently ftated by different authors, fome making it about ten
and others thirty thoufand in the whole empire. The truth, as
generally happens, may probably lie about the middle. The
miffionaries, who alone poffcfs the means of afcertaining nearly
the number that is thus facrificed in the capital, differ very ma-
teriaJly in their ftatements : taking the mean, as given by thofe
with whom we converfed on the fubjed:, I fhould conclude that
z about
,7o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
about twenty-four infants were, on an average, in Pekln, dailjr
carried to the pit of death where the little innocents that have
not yet breathed their laft are condemned without remorfe,
to be ftifled in the vault.
" To whofs foul mouth no healthfome air breathes in,
" And there die."
This calculation gives nine thoufand nearly for the capital-
alone, where it is fuppofed about an equal number are expofed
to that of all the other parts of the empire. Thofe, whofe
conftant refidence is upon the water, and whofe poverty, or fu-
perflition, or total infenfibility, or whatever the caufe may be
that leads them to the perpetration of an ad againft which na-
ture revolts, fometimes, it is faid, expofe their infants by
throwing them into the canal or river with a gourd tied round
their necks, to keep the head above w^ater, and preferve them
alive until fome humane perfon may be induced to pick them
up. This hazardous experiment, in a country where humanity
appears to be reduced to fo low an ebb, can only be confidered
as an aggravation of cruelty. I have feen the dead body of an
infant, but without any gourd, floating down the river of Can-
ton among the boats, and the people feemed to take no more
notice of it than if it had been the carcafe of a dog : this, indeed,
would in all probability have attracted their attention, dogs being
an article of food commonly ufed by them ; the miferable half-
famifhed Chinefe, living upon the water, are glad to get any
thing in the fhape of animal food, which they will even eat in a
ftate of putrefaftion. Yet, little fcrupulous as they are with
I regard
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 171
regard to diet, I am not credulous enough to believe the infor-
mation of a Swediih author* to be correal in his ftatementof a
cure for a certain difeafe, though " he has no reafon to doubt
of the fadt," per Tix.voipoi.yixv alternis diebus, alterms jejunio'^by
eating children every other day /
A pidlure fo horrid in its nature as the expofing of infants
prefents to the imagination is not to be furpaffed among the
moft favage nations. The celebrated legiflator of Athens made
no law to punifh parricide, becaufe he confidered it as a crime
againft nature, too heinous ever to be committed, and that the
bare fuppofition of fuch a crime would have difgraced the coun-
try. The Chlnefe, in like manner, have no pofitive law againft in-
fanticide. The laws of the rude and warlike Spartans allowed
infanticide, of which, however, the parents were not the per-
petrators, nor the abettors. Nor, among thefe people, were the
weak and fickly children, deemed by the magiftrates unlikely
ever to become of ufe to themfelves, or to the public, thrown
into the cc7roBriy.7j, or common repofitory of the dead bodies of
children, until life had been previoufly extlnguiflied, we will
charitably fuppofe, by gentle and the leaft painful means.
The expofmg of children, however, it muft be allowed, was
very common among the ancients. The ftern and rigid virtues
of the Romans allowed this among many other cuftoms, that
were more unnatural than amiable, and fuch as in civilized fo-
cieties of the prefent day would have been confidered among
the moft atrocious of moral crimes. A Roman father, if his in-
* Mr. Torreen,
7. 2 fant
172 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
fant was meant to be preferved, lifted it from the ground in his
arms; if he negledted that ceremony, the chikl, it would feem,
was confidered as doomed to expofure in the highway. Thus,
in the Andrlan of Terence, where, though the fcene is not laid
in Rome, Roman culloms are defcribed, " quidquid peperiflet,
" decrevcrunt tollere." " Let it be boy or girl they have re-
*' folved to lift it from the ground." Nor indeed is fecret in-
fanticide unknown in modern Europe, although it may be ow-
ing to a different principle. In fuch cafes, the fenfe of fhame and
the fear of encountering the fcorn and obloquy of the w^orld
have determined the condu£t of the unhappy mother, before
the feelings of nature could have time to operate. For I am
willing to hope that none who had ever experienced a mother's
feelings and a mother's joy would confent by any means, direct
or indiredV, or under any impreflion of fear of fliame, of fcorn,
or biting penury, to the deftrudlion of a new-born babe. And
I may venture to fay with confidence, that a Britifh cottager,
however indigent, would divide his fcanty pittance among a
dozen children rather than confent to let fome of them perifli,
that he and the reft might fare the better, were even our laws
as tacit on this fubjed as thofe of China,
Some of the Chriftian miffionaries, in their accounts of this
tountry, have attempted to palliate the unnatural a£t of expof-
ing infants, by attributing it to the midwife, who they pretend
to fay, from knowing the circumftances of the parents, ftrangle
the child without the knowledge of the mother, telling her that
the infant was ftill-born. Others have afcribed the pradice to a
beliet in the metempfycofis, or tranfmigration of fouls into
other
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
J73
other bodies ; that the parents, feehig their children mufl
be doomed to poverty, think it is better at once to let the
foul efcape in fearch of a more happy afylum, than to linger in
one condemned to want and wretchednefs. No degree of fu-
perftition, one would imagine, could prevail upon a parent to
reafon thus, in that mofl anxious and critical moment when
the combined efforts of hope and fear, of exquifite joy and
fevere pain, agitate by turns the mother's breaft. Befides, the
Chinefe trouble themfelves very little with fuperftitious notions,
unlefs where they apprehend fome perfonal danger. Nor is it
more probable that the midwife fhould take upon herfelf tlie
commiffion of a concealed and voluntary murder of an innocent
and helplefs infant, for the fake of fparing thofe feelings in an-
other, of which the fuppofition implies fhe coukl not polTibly
partake; and if fhe fhould be encouraged by the father, whofe
affe<Stions for an infant child may be more gradually unfolded
than the mother's, to perpetrate fo horrid an a€t, we mufi: allow
that to the exiftence of unnatural and murtherous parents mufl
be added that of hired ruffians ; fo that Chinefe virtue would
gain little by fuch a fuppofition.
It is much more probable that extreme poverty and hopelefs
indigence, the frequent experience of direful famines, and the
fcenes of mifery and calamity occafioned by them, adling oa
minds whofe affedlions are not very powerful, induce this unna-
tural crime which common cuftom has encouraged, and which is
not prohibited by pofitive law. That this is the cafe, and that fu-
ture advantages are not overlooked, will appear from the cir-
cumftance of almoft all the infants that are cxpofed being fe-
males,
,74 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
males, who are the leaft able to provide for themfelves, and the
leafl: profitable to their parents ; and the pradlice is mod fre-
quent in crowded cities, where not only poverty more com-
monly prevails, but (o many examples daily occur of inhuma-
nity, of fummary punifliments, adls of violence and cruelty,
that the mind becomes callous and habituated to fcenes that once
would have fl:iocked, and is at length fcarcely fufceptible of th«
enormity of crimes.
I am afraid, however, it is but too common a practice even in
the remoteft corners of the provinces. A refpeflable French mif-
fionary, now in London, who vv^as many years in Fo-kien, told
me that he once happened to call on one of his converts juft at
the moment his wife was brought to-bed. The devoted infant
■was delivered to the father in order to be plunged into a jar of
water that "was prepared for the purpofe. The mifTionary ex-
poftulated with the man on the heinoufnefs of an a£l that was a
crime againfl God and nature. The man perfifted that, having
already more than he could fupport, it would be a greater crime
to preferve a life condemned to want and mifery, than to take it
away without pain. The miflionary, finding that no argument
of his was likely to divert him from his purpofe, obferved
" that, as a Chriflian, he could not refufe him the fatisfadtion of
" faving the infant's foul by baptifm." During the ceremony, as
the father held the infant in his arms he happened to fix his
eyes on its face, when the mifRonary thought he perceived the
feelings of nature begin to work ; and he protracted the cere-
mony to give time for the latent fpark of parental affedlion to
kindle into fiame. When the ceremony was ended ; *' Now,"
fays
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 175
fays the mlflionary, " I have done my duty In faving a foul
*' from perilhing." " And I," rejoined the man, " will do
" mine, by faving its life," and hurried away with the infant to
depofit it in the bofom of its mother.
How very weak then, in reality, muft be the boafted filial
affection of the Chinefe for their parents, when they fcruple not
to become the murderers of their own children, towards whom,
according to the immutable laws of nature, the force of affedion
will ever be ftronger than for thofe whom the laws of China, in^
preference, have commanded to be protedted and fupported
when rendered Incapable of affiftlng themfelves. The truth of
this obfervatlon, which I believe few will call in queftion, is a
ftrong proof that, as I have already remarked, filial piety
among the Chinefe may rather be confidered in the light of an
ancient precept, carrying with it the weight of a pofitive law,,
than the effedt of fentlment.
It is right to mention here (what however is no palliation of
the crime, though a diminution of the extent of it) a circum-
ftance which I do not recolledt to have feen noticed by any
author, and the truth of which I have too good authority
to call in queftion. As every corpfe great and fmall mufl: be
carried to a place of burial at a confiderable diftance without'
the city, and as cuftom requires that all funerals Ihould be con-
duced with very heavy expences, people in Pekin, even thofe
ill comfortable circumftances, make no hefitation in laying
in bafkets ftill-born children, or infants who may die the
fiift month, knowing that they will be taken up by the police.
This
,76 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
This being the cafe, we may eafily conceive tliat, In a city faid
to contain three millions of people, a great proportion of the
nine thoufand, which we have fuppofed to be annually expofed,
may be of the above defcription. According to the rules of po-
litical arithmetic, and fuppofing half of thofe who died to be ex-
pofed, the number would be diminifhed to about 4000. The ex-
pence attending a Chinefe funeral is more extravagant than an'
European can well conceive. A rich Hong merchant at Canton
is known to have kept his mother near twelve months above
ground, becaufe it was not convenient for him to bury her in a
manner fuitable to his fuppofed wealth and ftation.
I am informed alfo that foundling hofpitals do exift in China,
but that they are on a fmall fcale, being raifed and fupported by
donations of individuals, and their continuance is therefore
as precarious as the wealth of their charitable founders.
Thefe unfavourable features in the charader of a people, whofe
natural difpofition is neither ferocious nor morofe ; but, on the
contrary, mild, obliging, and cheerful, can be attributed only to
the habits in which they have been trained, and to the heavy
hand of power perpetually hanging over them. That this is
adually the cafe may be inferred from the general condud and
character of thofe vaft multitudes who, from time to time, have
emigrated to the Phillipine iflands, Batavia, Pulo Pinang and
other parts of our Eaft Indian fettlements. In thofe places they
are not lefs remarkable for their honefty, than for their peace-
able and induftrious habits. To the Dutch in Batavia they are
mafons,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. i-j-j
mafons, carpenters, tailors, flioemakers, iliopkeepers, bankers,
and, in fhort, every thing. Indolence and luxury are there
arrived to fuch a height that, without the affiftance of the
Chinefe, the Dutch would literally be in danger of ftarving.
Yet the infamous government of that place, in the year 1741,
eaufed to be maffacred, in cold blood, many thoufands of thefe
harmlefs people who offered no refiftance; neither women nor
children efcaped the fury of thefe blood-hounds.
In thefe places it appears alfo, that their quicknefs at inven-
tion is not furpafied by accuracy of imitation, for which they
have always been accounted remarkably expert in their own
country. Man is, by nature, a hoarding animal ; and his en-
deavours to accumulate property will be proportioned to the
fecurity and ftability which the laws afford for the poffeffion
and enjoyment of that property. In China, the laws regarding
property are infufficient to give itthat fecurity : hence the talent
of invention is there feldoni exercifed beyond fuggefting the
means of providing for the firft ncceffities and the moft preffing
wants. A man, indeed, is afraid here to be confidered as
wealthy, well knowing that fome of the rapacious officers of
the ftate would find legal reafons to extort his riches from him.
The exterior deportment of every clafs in China is uncommon-
ly decent, and all their manrters mild and engaging; but even thefe
among perfons of any rank are confidered as objeds worthy the
interference of the legiflature ; hence it follows that they are cere-
monious without fincerity, ftudious of the forms only of poHtenefs
A A without
178 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
without either the eafe or elegance of good-breeding. An inferior
makes alham attempt to fall on his knees before his fuperior, and
the latter affeds a flight motion to raife him. A common falutation
has its mode prefcribed by the court of ceremonies ; and any
negledl or default in a plebean towards his fuperior is puniQiable
by corporal chaftifement, and in men in office by degradation or
fufpenfion. In making thus the exterior and public manners of
the people a concern of the legiflature, fociety in many refpefts
was confiderably benefited. Between equals, and among the
lower orders of people, abufive language is very unufual, and
they feldom proceed to blows. If a quarrel fhould be can-ied
to this extremity, the conteft is rarely attended with more feri-
ous confequences than the lofs of the long lock of hair growing
from the crown of the head, or the rent of their clothes. The
a£t of drawing a fword, or prefenting a piftol, is fufficient to
frighten a common Chinefe into convuUions ; and their war-
riors fhew but few fymptoms of bravery. The Chinefe may
certainly be confidered among the mod timid people on the
face of the earth ; they feem to poflefs neither perfonal courage,
nor the leaft prefence of mind in dangers or difficulties ; con-
fequences that are derived probably from the influence of the
moral over the phyfical charailer. Yet there is perhaps no
country where ads of fuicide occur more frequently than in
China, among the women as well as the men ; fuch adls being
maiked with no difgrace, are not held in any abhorrence. The
government, indeed, fhould feem to hold out encouragement to
fuicide, by a very common pradice of mitigating the fentence
of death, in allowing the crimiiial to be his own executioner.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 179
The late viceroy of Canton, about two years ago, put an end
to his life by fvvallowing his ftone fnufF-bottle, which ftuck in
the oefophagus J and he died in excruciating agonies.
In a government, where every man is liable to be made a flavc,
where every man is fubjedl to be flogged with the bamboo at
the nod of one of the loweft rank of thofe in office, and where
he is compelled to kifs the rod that beats him or, which amounts
to the fame thing, to thank the tyrant on his knees for the trou-
ble he has taken to correct his morals, high notions of honour
and dignified fentiments are not to be expedted. Where the
maxims of the government commanding, and the opinions of
the people agreeing, that corporal punifhment may be in-
flided, on the ground of a favour conferred upon the perfon
punifhed, a principle of humiliation is admitted that is well
calculated to exclude and obliterate every notion of the dignity
of hum.an nature.
A flave, in fa£t, cannot be dlfhonoured. The condition it-
felf of being dependent upon and fubjed to the caprice of
another, without the privilege of appeal, is fuch a degraded ftate
of the human fpecies, that thofe vv'ho are unfortunately re-
duced to it have no further ignominy or fenfe of ihame to un-
dergo. The vices of fuch a condition are innumerable, and they
appear on all occafions among this people celebrated (rather un-
defervedly I think) for their polifhed manners and civilized go-
vernment. A Chinefe merchant will cheat, whenever an op-
portunity offers him the means, becaufe he is confidered to be
A A 2 incapable
i8o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
incapable of a3ing honeftly ; a Chinefe peafant will fleal when
ever he can do it without danger of being deteded, becaufethe
piinllhinent is only the bamboo, to which he is daily liable ;
and a Cliinefe prince, or a prime minifter, will extort the pro-
perty of the fubje£t, and apply it to his private ufe, whenever
he thinks he can do it with impunity. The only check upon
the rapacity of men in power is the influence of fear, arifing
from the pofRbility of detection : the love of honour, the dread
of Ihame, and a fenfe of juftice, feem to be equally unfelt by
the majority of men in office.
It would be needlefs to multiply inftances to thofe already on
record of the refined knavery difplayed by Chinefe merchants
in their dealings with Europeans, or the tricks that they play off
in their tranfadtions with one another. They are well known
to moft nations, and are proverbial in their own. A merchant
with them is confidered as the loweft charader in the country,
as a man that will cheat if he can, and whofe trade it is to
create and then fupply artificial wants. To this general cha-
rader, which public opinion has mofl: probably made to be
v/hat it is, an exception is due to thofe merchants who, ading
under the immediate fandion of the government, have always
been remarked for their liberality and accuracy in their dealings
with Europeans trading to Canton. Thefe men who are ftyled
the Hong merchants, in diftindion to a common merchant whom
X^Cif^ c&A mai-mal-ghi^ a biiy'mg and fcUifig man, might not un-
juftly be compared with the moft eminent of the mercantile
x;lafs in England.
But
TRAVELS IN CHINA. x3i
But as traders in general are degraded in all the ftate maxims,
and confequently in public opinion, it is not furprifing they fliould
attach fo. little refpedl to the charader of foreign merchants trad-
ing to their ports, efpecially as feveral knavifh trick^have been
pradifed upon them, in fpite of all their acutenefs and precau-
tion. The gaudy watches of indifferent workmanfhip, fabri-
cated purpofely for the China market and once in univerfal de-
mand, are now fcarcely afked for. One gentleman in the Ho-
nourable Eaft India Company's employ took it into his head
that cuckoo clocks might prove a faleable article in China^ and
accordingly laid in a large affbrtment, which more than an-
fvvered his moft fanguine expetftations. But as thefe wooden
machines were conftruded for fale only, and not for ufe, the
cuckoo clocks became all mute long before the fecond arrival of
this gentleman with another cargo. His clocks were now not
only unfaleable, but the former purchafers threatened to return
theirs upon his hands, which would certainly have been done,
had not a thought entered his head, that not only pacified his
former cuflomers but procured him alfo other purchafers for
his fecond cargo : he convinced them by undeniable authorities,
that the cuckoo was a very odd kind of bird which fung only at
certain feafons of the year, and affured them that whenever the
proper time arrived, all the cuckoos they had purchafed would
once again " tune their melodious throats." After this it would
only be fair to allow the Chinefe fometimes to trick the Euro-
pean purchafer with a wooden ham inftead of a real one.
But as fomething more honourable might be expeded In a
prince of the blood, a grandfon of the Emperor, I fhall juft
mention
,82 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
mention one anecdote that happened during my abode in the
palace of Yiien-min-yuen. This gentleman, then about five-
and-twenty years of age, having no oflenfible employment,
came almoft daily to the hall of audience, where we were arrang-
ing the prefcnts for the Emperor. He had frequently defired
to look at a gold time-piece which I wore in my pocket : one
morning I received a meffage from him, by one of the miflion-
aries, to know if I would fell it and for what price. I ex-
plained to the mlffionary that, being a prefent from a friend
and a token of remembrance, I could not willingly part with it,
but that I would endeavour to procure him one equally good from
our artificers who I thought had fuch articles for fale. I loon
difcovered, however, that his Royal Highnefs had already been
with thefe people, but did not like their prices. The following
morning a fecond mlfTionary came to me, bringing a prefent
from the prince confifting of about half a pound of common
tea, a filk purfe, and a few trumpery trinkets, hinting at the
lame time, that he was expelled to carry back the watch in re-
turn as an equivalent. I requeffed the mifTionary immediately
to take back the princely prefent, which he did with confider-
able reludance, dreading his Highnefs's difpleafure. The poor
fellow happened to have a gold watch about him, which he
was dcfired to (hew ; and the fame day he had a vifit from
one of the prince's domeflics to fay, that his mafler would do
him the honour to accept his watch ; which he was not only
under the nccefTity of fending, but was obliged to thank him,
on his knees, for this extraordinary mark of difUndlion. He
told me, moreover, that this fame gentleman had at leafl a
dozen watches which had been procured in the fame honour-
able wav.
In
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 183
In the lift of prefents carried by the late Dutch Embaflador
were two grand pieces of machinery, that formerly were a part
of the curious mufeum of the ingenious Mr. Coxe. In the
courfe of the long journey from Canton to Pekin they had
fuftercd fome flight damage. On leaving the capital they dif-
covered, through one of the miflionarics, that while thefe
pieces were under repair, the prime minifter Ho-tchang-tong
had fubftituted two others of a very inferior and common fort
to complete the lift, referving the two grand pieces of clock-
work for himfelf, which, at fome future period, he would,
perhaps, take the merit of prefenting to the Emperor in his
own name.
Thefe examples but too clearly illuftrate the great defed in
the boafted moral charader of the Chinefe. But the fault, as
I before obferved, feems to be more in the fyftem of govern-
ment than in the nature and difpofition of the people. The
acceffion of a foreign power to the throne, by adopting the lan-
guage, the laws, and the cuftoms of the conquered, has preferved
with the forms all the abufes of the ancient government. The
charader of the governors may differ a little, but that of the go-
verned remains unchanged. The Tartars, by affuming the
drefs, the manners, and the habits of the Chinefe, by being
originally defcended from the fame ftock, and by a great re-
femLlance of features, are fcarcely diftinguilhable from them
in their external appearance. And if any phyfical difference
exift, it feems to be in ftature only, which may have arifen
from local caufes. The Chinefe are rather taller, and of a more
flcnder and delicate form than the Tartars, who are in general
I fliorr.
,84 TRAVELS INCIIINxV.
{hort, thick, niul robuft. The fmall eye, elliptical at the end
next to the nofe, is a predominating feature in the caft of both
the Tartar and the Chinefc countenance, and they have both
the fame high cheek bones and pointed chins, which, with
thecurtom of Ihaving off the hair, gives to the head the fliape
of an inverted cone, remarkable enough in fome fubjeits, but
neither fo general, nor fo fingular, as to warrant their being
confidered among the monjlers in nature, Homo monjirofus, ma^
crocephalusy capite conico^ Chinenfis *. The head of our worthy
condu£tor Van-ta gin, who was a real Chinefe, had nothing in
its fhape different from that of an European, except the eye.
The portrait of this gentleman, drawn by Mr. Hickey, is fo
ftrong a likenefs, and he was defervedly fo great a favourite of
every Englifli man in the train of the Britifh Embaffador, that I
am happy in having an opportunity of placing it at the head of
this work.
The natural colour both of the Chinefe and'Tartars feems to
be that tint between a fair and dark complexion, which we dlf-
tlnguifhby the worddmnet or brunette ; and the fhades of this com-
plexion are deeper, or lighter, according as they have been
more or lefs expofed to the influence of the climate. The
women of the lower clafs, who labour in the fields or who
dwell in veffels, are almoft invariably coarfe, ill-featured, and
of a deep brown complexion, like that of the Hottentot. But
this we find to be the cafe among the poor of almoft every na-
tion, yard labour, fcanty fare, and early and frequent parturl-
* Linn. Syftema NaturK.
tion.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 185
tion, foon wither the delicate buds of beauty. The fprlghtli-
nefs and expreflion of the features, as well as the colour of the
Ikin, which diftinguifh the higher ranks from the vulgar, are
the effe£ls of eafe and education. We faw women in China,
though very few, that might pafs for beauties even in Europe.
The Malay features however prevail in moft ; a fmall black or
dark brown eye, a fliort rounded nofe, generally a little flat-
tened, lips confiderably thicker than in Europeans, and black
hair, are univerfal.
The Man-tchoo Tartars would appear to be compofed of a
mixed race : among thefe we obferved feveral, both men and
women, that were extremely fair and of florid complexions :
fome had light blue eyes, flireight or aquiline nofes, brown hair,
immenfe bufhy beards, and had much more the appearance of
Greeks than of Tartars. It is certainly not improbable that the
Greeks of Sogdiana, whofe defendants mufl: have blended with
the weftern Tartars and with whom the Man-tchoos were
conneded, may have communicated this caft of countenance.
Tchieti-Luiig, whofe nofe was fomewhat aquiline and com-
plexion florid, ufed to boafl: of his defcent from Geiigis-kban :
thefe, however, are exceptions to the general charader, which
is evidently the fame as that of the Chinefe.
But although their appearance and manners are externally
the fame, a clofer acquaintance foon difcovers that in difpofition
they are widely different. Thofe who are better pleafed with a
blunt fmcerity bordering on rudenefs than a fludied complai-
fance approaching to fervility ; who may think it better to be
B B robbed
iS6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
robbed openly than cheated civilly, will be apt to give the pre-
ference to the Tartar charader. Yet thofe Tartars of diftinc-
tion, vfho fill fome of the higher fituations in the ftate, foon
loofe their native roughnefs and are fcarcely diftinguiftiable in
their manners and demeanour from the Chinefe.
The eafe, polltenefs, and dignified carriage of the old viceroy
of Pe-tcbe-ke, who was a Man-tchoo, could not be exceeded
by the moft pradifed courtier in modern Europe : the attention
he fliewed to every thing that concerned the embaffy, the un-
affeded manner in which he received and entertained us at
Tien-fing; the kindnefs and condefcenfion with which he gave
his orders to the inferior officers and to his domeftics, placed him
in a very amiable point of view. He was a very fine old man of
feventy-eight years of age, of low ftature, with fmall fparkling
eyes, a benign afped, a long filver beard, and the whole of
his appearance calm, venerable, and dignified. The manners
oi Siinta-gin, a relation of the Emperor and one of the fix mi-
nifters of ftate, were no lefs dignified, eafy, and engaging ; and
Chufig-ta-gin, the new viceroy of Canton, was a plain, unaffum-
ing, and good-natured man. The prime minlfter Ho-chang-
tof7g, the little Tartar legate, and the ex-viceroy of Canton, were
the only perfons of rank among the many we had occafion to
converfe with that difcovered the leaft ill-humour, diftant hau-
teur, and want of com.plaifance. All the reft with whom we had
any concern, whether Tartars or Chinefe, when in our private
fociety, were eafy, affable, and familiar, extremely good-hu-
moured, loquacious, communicative. It was in public only,-
and towards each other, that they aflumed their ceremonious
gravity,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 187
gravity, and pradllfed all the tricks of demeanour which cuftom
requires of them.
The general chara(fler, however, of the nation is a ftrange
compound of pride and meannefs, of affedted gravity and real
frivoloufnefs, of refined civility and grofs indelicacy. With an
appearance of great fiinplicity and opennefs in converfation,
they praftife a degree of art and cunning againft which an
European is but ill prepared. Their manner of introducing the
fubjeft of the court ceremonies in converfation with the Embaf-
fador is no bad fpecimen of their fly addrefs in managing mat-
ters of this fort. Some of them obferved, by mere accident as
it were, how curious it was to fee the different modes of drefs
that prevailed among different nations : this naturally brought
on a comparifon between theirs and ours, the latter of which
they pretended to examine with critical attention. After a good
deal of circumlocutory obfervations, they thought their own
entitled to the preference, being more convenient, on account
of its being made wide and loofe and free from tight ligatures;
whereas ours muft be exceedingly uneafy and troublefome in
any other pofture than that of ftanding upright ; and particular-
ly fo in making the genufledlions and proftrations which were
cuftoraary and indeed neceffary to be performed by all perfons
whenever the Emperor appeared in public. No notice being
taken of this broad hint, fo artfully introduced, they proceeded
to compare their wide petticoats with our breeches, and to con-
trail the play and freedom of their knee-joints with the obftruc-
tion that our knee-buckles and garters muft neceffarily occafion.
This brought them diredly to the point, and they finiflied by
B B a recom-
i88 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
recommending, in the warmth of their friendfhip, that we
fliould difencumber curfelves of our breeches, as they would
certainly be inconvenient to appear in at court.
Of perfeverance in negociation, or more properly fpeaking,
in driving a bargain, the Tartar legate gave no bad fpecimen of
his talent. Having in vain piadifed every art to obtain from
the EmbalTador an unconditional compliance with the court
ceremony, he was fent at length by the Prime Minifter to
inform him, that the important point was finally decided
and that the Englifh mode was to be adopted ; but, he obferved,
that as it was not the cuftom of China to kifs the Emperor's
hand, he had fomething to propofe to which there could be no
objedlion, and which was that, in lieu of that part of the
Englifh ceremony, he fhould put the fecond knee upon the
ground and, inftead of bending one knee, to kneel on both.
In fadl, they negociate on the mofi: trifling point with as much
caution and precifenefs, as if they were forming a treaty of
peace, and with more addrefs than fomc treaties of peace have
been negociated.
As a dire£t refufal to any requeft would betray a want of
good breeding, every propofal finds their immediate acquief-
cence ; they promife without hefitation, but generally difap-
point by the invention of fome fly pretence or plaufible
objeQion. They have no proper fenfe of the obligations of
truth. So little fcrupulous indeed are they with regard to
veracity, that they will affert and contradiil without blulhing,
as it may beft fuit the purpofe of the moment.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 189
T'lf vanity of an ufiirped national ruperiority and a liigh
rotiun of felf importance never forfake them on any occafion.
Thofe advantages in otiiers which they cannot avoid feeling,
they will affeft not to fee. And although they are reduced to
the necfflity of em^ loying foreigners to regulate their calendar
and keep their clocks in order, although they are in the habit of
receiving yearly various fpecimens of art and ingenuity from
Europe, yet they pertiiiacioufly afFe£t to confider all the nations
of the earth as barbarians in comparifon of themfelves. A
Chinefe merchant of Canton, who, from the frequent opportu-
nities ot feeing Englilh fhips, was not infenfible of their advan-
tages over thofe of his own nation which traded to Batavia
and other diftant ports, refolved, and adually began, to con-
ftrud a veflel according to an Englifli model ; but the Hoopoo
or colletStor of the cuftoms being apjirized of it, not only
obliged him to relinquifh his proje<ft but fined him in a heavy-
penalty for prefuming to adopt the modes of a barbarous
nation. So great is their national conceit that not a fingle
article imported into the country, as I have elfewhere obferved
retains its name. Not a nation, nor perfon, nor objed, that
does not receive a Chinefe appellation : fo that their langua^-e,
though poor, is pure.
The expreflions made ufe of in falutation, by different na-
tions, may perhaps be confidered as deriving their origin from
features of national ohara£ter. Lau-ye^ Old fir ^ is a title of refpedl,
with which the firfh officers of ftate may be addreffed, becaufe
the maxims of government have inculcated the dodrine of
obedience, refped, and protection to old age. The common
falutation among the lower orders of people in fome of the
3 fouthern
igo TRAVELS IN CHINA.
fouthern provinces is Ta fa/i. Have you eaten your rice f the
greatefl: happlnefs that the common clafs of people in China
can hope to enjoy confiding in their having a fufficiency of
rice. Thus alfo the Dutch, who are confidered as great
eaters, have a morning falutation which is common among all
ranks, Smaakelyk ceten ! May you eat a hearty dinner ! Another
univerfal falutation among this people is. Hoe vaart uzve? How do
you fain adopted no doubt in the early periods of the Republic,
when they were all navigators and fifliermen. The ufuai
falutation at Cairo is. How do you fweat ? a dry hot fkin being
a furc indication of a deftrudive ephemeral fever. I think fome
author has obferved, in contrafting the haughty Spaniard with
the frivolous Frenchman, that the proud fteady gait and inflex-
ible folemnlty of the former were exprefled in his mode of falu-
tation, Come ejla? How do you Jl and? whilfl: the Comment vous
portezvous? How do you carry yourfelf? was equally expreflive
of the gay motion and incefTant adlion of the latter.
The Chinefe are fo ceremonious among themfelves, and fo
pun£lilious with regard to etiquette, that the omiffion of the
moft minute point eftabliftied by the court of ceremonies is
confidered as a criminal offence. Vifiting by tickets, which with
us is a fafhion of modern refinement, has been a common pra£tice
in China fome thoufand years ; but the rank of a Chinefe vifitor
is immediately afccrtained by the fize, colour, and ornaments
ef his ticket, which alfo varies in all thefe points according to
the rank of the perfon vifited. The old Viceroy of Pe-tche-lees
ticket to the Embaflador contained as much crimfon-coloured
paper as would be fufficient to cover the walls of a moderate-
fized room.
C H A p. V.
Manners and Amufements of the Court— Reception of Embaf-
fadors — Charader and private Life of the Emperor — His
Eunuchs and Women.
General CharaFler of the Court — Of the Buihibigs about the Palace — Lord Macart-
ncy'/ Account of his hitroduEiioii — Of the Celebration of the Emperor's Anniverfary
Fifival—^Of a Ptippet-Sheiv — Comedy and Pantomime — WreJlUno— Conjuring
and Fire-Works — Reception tind Entertainment of the Dutch Embaffadors from
a Manufcript Journal - Ohjervations on the State of the Chiuefe Stage Extraor-
dinary Scene in one of their Dramas ~- Grofs and indelicate Exhibitions Sketch of
Kien-I-ong'j Life and CharaSler' — Kills his Son by an unlucky Blonu conceives
himfelf immortal — Jnfluetue of the Eunuchs at the Tartar Conqueft their prefent
State and Offices — Emperor's Wife, ^teens, and Concubines — Hoiu difpofed of at
his Death.
jr\FTER the fketch I have exhibited of the ftate of fociety
among the different ranks in China, a tolerable notion may be
formed of the general charadler and complexion of the court.
It is, as Lord Macartney has juftly obferved, " a fmgular mixture
" of oftentatious holpitality and inbred fufpicion, ceremonious
" civility and real rudenefs, fhadowy complaifance and fuhdan-
" tial perverfenefs ; and this prevails through all the depart-
" ments conneded with the Court, although fomewhat modi-
" hed by the perfonal difpofition of thofe at their headj but as.
" to
,92 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" to tliat genuine politenefs, which diftinguiflies our manners, it
" cannot be expeded in Orientals, confidering among other
«' things the light in which they are accuflomed to regard the
" female part of fociety." Whether the great minifters of
■ftate, who have daily intercourfe in the different tribunals, fome-
tlmes relax from the ftiff and formal deportment obferved to-
wards each other in public, I am not able to fay, but when at
Court they invariably obferve certain ftated forms and expref-
fions as ftudied and ceremonious as if they had never met be-
fore. It appeared to us highly ridiculous to fee our friends, the
two colleagues Vaii-ta-gin and Chou-ta-gin^ on meeting in the
precinfts of the palace, performing to each other all the genu-
flexions and motions of the body which the ceremonial
inftltutes of the empire require.
I rather fufped, however, that where any degree of confi-
dence prevails among thefe people they fometimes enjoy their
moments of conviviality. Our two worthy condudors met at
Canton an old acquaintance who was governor of a city in Fo-
kien. He gave them an evening entertainment on the river in a
fplendid yacht to which I was privately invited. On entering
the great cabin I found the three gentlemen with each a young
girl by his fide very richly drefled, the cheeks, lips, and chin
highly rouged, the reft of the face and neck whitened with a pre-
paration of cerate. I was welcomed by a cup of hot wine from
each of the ladies who firft fipped by way of pledging me.
During fupper, which for number and variety of difhes ex-
ceeded any thing I had hitherto met with in the country, the
girls played on the flute and fung feveral airs, but there was no-
thing
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 193
thing very captivating either in the vocal or inftrumental part of
the mufic. We pafled a mod convivial evening free from any
referve or refti-alnt, but on going away I was particularly defired
by Fan not to take any notice of what I had feen, apprehenfive,
I fuppofe, that their brother officers might condemn their want
of prudence in admitting a barbarian to witneis their relaxation
from good morals. The yacht and the ladies it feemed were
hi^red for the occafion.
The incalculable numbers of the great officers of ftate and
their attendants, all robed in the richeft filks, embroidered with
the moft brilliant colours, and tiflued with gold and filver,
the order, filence, and folemnity with which they arrange and
condud themfelves on public court-days are the moft command-
ijig features on fuch occafions.
This fober pomp of Afiatic grandeur is exhibited only at-
certain fixed feftivals ; of which the principal is the anniverfary
of the Emperor's birth-day, the commencement of a new year,
the ceremonial of holding the plough, and the reception of fo-
reign embafladors, moft of whom they contrive to be prefent
at one or other of thefe feftivals. The birth-day is confidered to
be the moft fplendid ; when all the Tartar princes and tribu-
tuaries, and all the principal officers of government both civil
and military, are expeded to be prefent.
For reafons of ftate, which will be noticed hereafter, the Em-
peror rarely ftiews himfelf in public among the Chinefe part
c c of
,5+ TRAVELS IN CHINA.
of his fubjeds, except on fuch occafions ; and even then the
exhibition is confined within the precindls of the palace from
•which the populace are entirely excluded. Confiftcnt with
their fyftem of fumptuary laws there is little external appear-
ance of pomp or magnificence in the eftablifliment of the Em-
pei-or. The buildings that compofe the palace and the furni-
ture within them, if we except the paint, the gilding, and the
varnifli, that appear on the houfes even of plebeians, are equally
void of unncceflary and expenfive ornaments. Thofe who
fhould rely on the florid relations, in which the miffionaries and
fome travellers have indulged in their defcriptions of the palaces
of Pekin and thofe of Yuen-min-yue?z^ would experience on vifit-
ing them a woful difappointment. Thefe buildings, like the
common habitations of the country, are all modelled after the
form of a tent, and are magnificent only by a comparifon with
the others and by their number, which is fufficient, indeed, to
form a town of themfelves. Their walls are higher than
thofe of ordinary houfes, their wooden columns of greater
diameter, their roofs are immenfe, and a greater variety of
painting and gilding may be beftowed on the different parts ;
but none of them exceeds one ftory in height, and they are
jumbled and furrounded with mean and infignificant hovels.
Some writer has obferved that the King of England is worfe
lodged at Saint James's palace than any Sovereign in Europe.
Were I to compare fome of the imperial palaces in China to any
royal refidence in Europe it would certainly be to Saint James's ;
but the apartments, the furniture, and conveniences of the latter,
bad as they are, infinitely tranfcend any of thofe in China.
The ftone or clay floors arc indeed fometimes covered with a
carpet
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 195
carpet of Englifh broad-cloth, and the walls papered; but they
have no glafs in the windows, no ftoves, fire-places, or fire-
grates in the rooms ; no fofas, bureaux, chandeliers, nor look-
ing-glafles ; no book-cafes, prints, nor paintings. They have
neither curtains nor flieets to their beds ; a bench of wood, or
a platform of brick-work, is raifed in an alcove, on which are
mats or fluffed matreffes, hard pillows, or cufhions, according
to the feafon of the year; inftead of doors they have ufually
fkreens, made of the fibres of bamboo. In fhort, the wretched
lodgings of the ftate-officers at the court of Verfailles, in the
time of the French monarchy, were princely palaces in com-
parifon of thofe allotted to the firfl: minifters of the Emperor
of China, in the capital as well as at Yuen-mht-yu'eru
When attending the court, on public occafions, each courtier
takes his meal alone in his folitary cell on a fmall fquare table
crowded with bowls of rice and various ftews ; without table-
linen or napkins, without knife, fork, or fpoon ; a pair of fmall
fticks, or the quills of a porcupine, are the only fubftitutes for
thefe convenient articles : placing the bowl under his chin,
with thefe he throws the rice into his mouth and takes up the
pieces of meat in his foup or ftews. Having finillied his lonely
meal, he generally lies down to fleep. In a government fo
fufpicious as that of China, if parties were known to meet
together, the objedt of them might be fuppofed fomething
beyond that of conviviality, which however mutual jealoufy and
diftruft have prevented from growing into common ufe.
As the ready compliance of the late Dutch Embafladors with
all the degrading ceremonies required by the Chincfe, added to
c c 2 their
,96 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
their conftant refidcnce in the capital, gave them more oppor-
tunities of obferving the manners and the amufeinents of the
court than occurred to the Biitifli enibafly, I fhall here avail
myfolf of that part of a journal relating to this fubje^l, which
was kept by a young gentleman in the fulte of the former,
and whofe accuracy of obfervation may be depended on. The
account given by him of the New Year's feftival, added to
Lord Macartney's defcription of his introduction and the
birth-day folemnities, which his Lordfhip has obligingly per-
mitted me to extrasfl from his journal, together with my own
obfervations at the palace of Yucn-mhi-yuen ^ will ferve to con-
vey a tolerably exadl idea of the ftate, pleafures, and amufe-
ments of the great Monarch of China.
" On the 14th September," obferves his Lordfliip, " at four
" o'clock in the morning we fet out for the court, under the
" convoy of Van-ta-gin^ and Chou-ta-gtn, and reached it in little
" more than an hour, the diftance being about three miles
" from our hotel. We alighted at the park-gate, from whence
" we walked to the Imperial encampment, and were conduded
*' to a large handfome tent prepared for us, on one fide of the
*' Emperor's. After waiting there about an hour, his ap-
" proach was announced by drums and mufic, on which we
quitted our tent and came forward upon the green carpet.
He was feated in an open Palankeen, carried by fixteen
" bearers, attended by numbers of officers bearing flags, ftan-
" dards, and umbrellas; and as he pafTed., we paid him our
« compliments, by kneeling on one knee, whilft all the Chi-
" nefe made their ufual proftrations. As foon as he had
" afcended his throne I came to the entrance of his tent, and
" holding
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 197
" holding in both my hanJs a large gold box, enriched with
" diamonds, in which was 'encloled the King's letter, I walked
" deliberately up and, afcending the fteps of the throne, deli-
" vered it into the Emperor's own hands, who, having re-
" ceived it, paded it to the Minifter by whom it was placed
" on the cufh'on. He then gave me, as the firft prefent from
" him to his Majefty, the Eu-Jloee, or fymbol of peace and
" profperltv, and exprefled his hopes that my Sovereign and
" he (Iiould ahrays live in gnod correfpondence and amity.
" It is a whitifh agate-looking ftone, perhaps ferpentine, about
" a foot and a half long, curioiifly carved, and highly prized
" by the Chinpre; but to me It docs not appear in itfelf to be
" of any great value.
" The Emperor then prefented me with an Eu-Jhee of a
" greenifli-coloured ferpentine ftone, and of the fame emble-
" matic charafter ; at the fame time he very gracioufly
" received from me a pair of beautiful enamelled watches, fet
*' with diamonds which, having looked at, he pafled to the
" Minifter.
" Sir George Staunton (whom, as he had been appointed
" Minifter plenipotentiary, to a£t in cafe of my death or de-
*' parture, I introduced to him as fuchj now came forward, and
" after kneeling upon one knee, in the fame manner as I had
" done, prefented to him two elegant air-guns, and received froni
" him an Eu-Jhee of greenifh ftone nearly fimilar to mine.
" Other prefents were fent, at the fame time, to all the gentle-
'* men of my train. We then defcended from the fteps of the
3 " throne,
,98 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" throne, and fat down upon cufhions at one of the tables on
" the Emperor's left hand. And at other tables, according to
'' their different ranks, the chief Tartar princes and the Man-
" darins of the court at the fame time took their places ; all
" drefled in the proper robes of their refpecSive ranks. Thefe
" tables were then uncovered and exhibited a fumptuous
" banquet. The Emperor fent us feveral difhes from his own
" table, together with fome liquors, which the Chinefe call
*' wine ; not however exprefled from the grape, but dillilled
" or extraded from rice, herbs, and honey.
" In about half an hour he fent for Sir George Staunton and
" me to come to him and gave to each of us, with his own
*' hands, a cup of warm wine, which we immediately drank
*' in his prefence, and found it very pleafant and comfortable,
" the morning being cold and raw. Among other things he
*' afked me the age of my Sovereign and, being informed
*' of it, faid he hoped he might live as many years as himfelf
" which were then eighty-three. His manner was dignified,
" but affable and condefcending ; and his reception of us was
" very gracious and fatisfa(fl:ory.
•' The order and regularity in ferving and removing the
" dinner was wonderfully exa£t, and every function of the
" ceremony performed with fuch filence and folemnity as
" in fome meafure to refemble the celebration of a religious
" myftery.
" There were prefent on this occafion three EmbalTadors
" from l'a-t%e or Pegu, and fix Mahomedan Embaffadors
" from
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 199
" from the Kalmucs of the fouth-weft, but their appearance
" was not very fplendid. During the ceremony, which lafkd
•' five hours, various entertainments of wreRling, tumbling,
" wire-dancing, together with dramatic reprefentations, were
" exhibited oppofite the Emperor's tent, but at a confiderable
*' diftance from it.
" The 17th of September, being the Emperor's birth day, "^ ?^
" we fet out for the court at three o'clock in the morning,
" conduced by Van-ta-gin, Chou-ta-gin, and our ufual at-
" tendants. We repofed ourfelves about two hours in a large
" faloon at the entrance of the palace enclofure, where fruit,
" tea, warm milk, and other refrefhments were brought to us.
" At laft notice was given that the feftival was going to begin,
*' and we immediately defcended into the garden, where we
" found all the great men and mandarins in their robes of
" ftate, drawn up before the Imperial pavilion. The Em-
" peror did not fhew himlelf, but remained concealed
" behind a fcreen, from whence I prefume he could fee and
enjoy the ceremonies without inconvenience or interruption.
" Ail eyes were turned towards the place where his Majefty
was imagined to be enthroned, and feemed to exprefs an
" impatience to begin the devotions of the day. Slow, folemn
" mufic, muffled drums, and deep-toned bells, were heard at
*' a diftance ; — on a fudden the founds ceafed, and all was
" ftill — again they were renewed, and then intermitted with
" fhort paules ; during which feveral perfons pafFed backwards
*' and forwards, in the profcenium or foreground of tlie tent,
" as if engaged in^preparing fome grand coup-dc-thealre.
" At
((
<(
200
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" At length the great band, both vocal and Inflrumental,
" ftruck up with all their powers of harmony, and inftantly
" the whole court fell flat upon their faces before this invifible
*' Nebuchadnezzar, whilft
" He in his cloudy tabernacle fliviiicd
" Sojourned the while."
" The mufic might be confidered as a fort of birth-day ode, or
" ftate anthem, the burthen of which was, ' Bow doivn your
*' heads all ye dwellers upon earth, bow down your heads before
" the great Kien-long, the great Kien-long^ And then all tlie
" dwellers upon China earth there prefent, except ourfelves,
•' bowed down their heads and proftrated themfelves up-
" on the ground at every renewal of the chorus. Indeed,
" in no religion either ancient or modern has the divinity ever
" been addrefled, I believe, with ftronger exterior marks of
" worfhip and adoration than were this morning paid to the
" phantom of his Chinefe majefty. Such is the mode of cele-
" brating the Emperor's anniverfary feftival, according to the
" court ritual. We faw nothing of him the whole day,
" nor did any of his minifters, I imagine, approach him,
" for they all feemed to retire at the fame moment that we
" did.
" In the courfe of a tour we made in the gardens with the
'" prime minifter and other great officers of ftate, whom the
" Emperor had directed to attend us, we were entertained at
*' one of the palaces wiih a collation of petitpatis, fait relilhes,
" and other favoury difhes, with fruits and fweetmeats, milk
" and
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 20/
" and ice-water ; and as foon as we rofe from table, a number
" of yellow boxes, or drawers, were carried in procefTion be-
" fore UP, containing feveral pieces of filk and porcelain, which
*' we were told were prefents to us from the Emperor, and we
** confequently made our bows as they pafled. We were alfo V
" amufed with a Chinefe puppet-fhew which differs but little
-* from an Englifh one. There are a diftrefled princefs con-
" fined in a caftle, and a knight- errant, who, after fighting wild
" beafts and dragons, fets her at liberty and marries her; •
" wedding-feafts, jufts, and tournaments. Befides thefe, there
*' was alfo a comic drama, in which fome perfonages not un-
" like punch and his wife, Bandemeer and Scaramouch per-
" formed capital parts. This puppet-fhew, we were told, pro-
" pcrly belongs to the ladies' apartments, but was fent out aS
" a particular compliment to entertain us ; one of the perforra-
*' ances was exhibited with great applaufe from our condudors
" and I underftand it is a favourite piece at court.
*' On the morning of the i8th September we again went to
" court, in confequence of an invitation from the Emperor, to
*' fee the Chinefe comedy and other diverfions given on oc-
" cafion of his birth-day. The comedy began at eight o'clock
*' and lafted till noon. The Emperor was feated on a throne,
" oppofite the ftage, which projeded a good deal into the
" pit. The boxes were on each fide without feats or divi-
*' fions. The women were placed above, behind the lattices
" fo ti:at they might enjoy the amufements of the theatre with-
" out being obferved.
D D . " Soon
202 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" Soon after we came in, the Emperor fent for Sir George
" Staunton and me to attend him, and told us, with great
" condelcenfion of manner, that we ought not to be furprized
" to fee a man of his age at the theatre, for that he feldom
" came there except upon a very particular occafion like the
" prefent, for that, confidering the extent of his dominions
" and the number of his fubjeds, he could fpare but little time
" for fuch amufements. I endeavoured, in the turn of my
" anfwer, to lead him towards the fubjeft of my embafTy, but
" he feemed not difpofed to enter into it farther than by deli-
" vering me a little box of old japan, in the bottom of which
" were fome pieces of agate and other ftones much valued by
" the Chinefe and Tartars ; and at the top a fmall book written
" and painted by his own hand, which he defired me to pre-
" fent to the king my mafter as a token of his friendfhip
** faying, that the old box had been 800 years in his family. He,
** at the fame time, gave me a book for myfelf alfo written and
*• painted by him, together with feveral purfes for Areca nut. He
" likewife gave a purfe of the fame fort to Sir George Staunton,
•* and fent fome fmall prefents to the other gentlemen of the
** embafly. After this feveral pieces of filk or porcelain, but
*' fee»ingly of no great value, were diftributed among the Tar-
'* tar princes and chief courtiers, who appeared to receive them
*' with every pofTible demonftration of hixmility and gra-
*' litude.
" The theatrical entertainments confifted of great variety, both
" tragical and comical ; feveral diftind pieces were aded in fuc-
" ceffion, though without any apparent connexion with one an-
" other.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. ±03
" other. Some of them were hiftorical, and others of pure
** fancy, partly in recitativoy partly in Tinging, and partly in
" plain fpeaking, without any accompaniment of inftrumental
" mufic, but abounding in battles, murders, and moft of the
*' ufual incidents of the drama. Laft of all was the grand pan-
*' tomime which, from the approbation it met with, is, I pre-
" fume, confidered as a firft-rate effort of invention and inge-
*' nuity. It feemed to me, as far as I could comprehend it,
*' to reprefent the marriage of the ocean and the earth. The ,
" latter exhibited her various riches and productions, dragons,
" and elephants, and tygers, and eagles, and oftriches, oaks
*' and pines, and other trees of different kinds. The ocean
" was not behind hand, but poured forth on the ftage the
" wealth of his dominions, under the figures of whales and
" dolphins, porpefles and leviathans, and other fea monflers,
" befides fhips, rocks, fhells, fpunges, and corals, all performed
'* by concealed a(fl:ors, who were quite perfedl in their parts,
** and performed their charadlers to admiration. Thefe two
" marine and land regiments, after feparately parading in a cir-
" cular proceflion for a confiderable time, at lafl joined to-
" gether and, forming one body, came to the front of the flage
*' when, after a few evolutions, they opened to the right and
" left, to give room for the whale, who feemed to be the com-
*' manding officer, to waddle forward ; and who, taking his
*' flation exadly oppofite to the Emperor's box, fpouted out of
" his mouth into the pit feveral tons of water, which quickly
" difappeared through the perforations of the floor. This eja-
*' culation was received with the highefl applaufe, and two or
" three of the great men at my elbow defired me to take par-
D D 3 " ticular
^ao4 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" ticular notice of it ; repeating, at the fame time, * Hao^ kung
" bao /' — ' charming^ delightful!^
" A little before one o'clock in the afternoon we retired, and
" at four we returned to court to fee the evening's entertain-
" ments, which were exhibited on the lawn, in front of the
*' great tent or pavilion, where we had been firft prefented to
" the Emperor. He arrived very foon after us, mounted his
*' throne, and gave the fignal to begin. We had now wrelV-
*' ling and dancing, and tumbling and pofture making, which
" appeared to us particularly awkward and clumfy, from the
" performers being moftly dreffed according to the Chinele
" cojiume^ one infeparable part of which is a pair of heavy
" quilted boots with the foles of an inch thick. The wreftlers,
" however, feemed to be pretty expert and afforded much di-
" verfion to fuch as were admirers of the Palajira.
" A boy climbed up a pole or bamboo thirty or forty feet
" high, played feveral gambols, and balanced himfelf on the
*' top of it in various attitudes, but his performance fell far
*' fhort of what I have often met with in India of the fame
« kind.
" A fellow lay down on his back, and then railed his feet,
** legs, and thighs from his middle, perpendicularly, fo as
* to form a right angle with his body. On the foles of his
" feet was placed a large round empty jar, about four feet long
" and from two and a half to three feet diameter. This he ba-
" lanced for fome time, turning it round and round horizon-
S " tally.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. S05
" taHy, till one of the fpedators put a little boy into it, who,
" after throwing himfelf into various poftures at the mouth of
" it, came out and lat on tlie top. He then flood up, then
" fell flat upon his back, then fhifted to his belly, and after
*' {hewing a hundred tricks of that fort, jumped down upon
" the ground and relieved his coadjutor.
" A man then came forward and after faftening three flen-
" der flicks to each of his boots took fix porcelain di/hes of
" about eigliteen inches diameter, and balancing them feparate-
" ly at the end of a little ivory rod, which he held in his
" hand, and twirling them about for fome time, put them one
" after the other upon the points of the fix bootflicks above-
*' mentioned, they continuing to turn round all the while. He
" then took two fmall fticks in his left hand, and put difhes
" upon them in the fame manner as upon the other, and alfo
" one more upon the little finger of his right hand, fo that he
" had nine diOies annexed to him at once, all twirling together,
*' which in a few minutes he took off one by one and placed
" them regularly on the ground, without the ilighteft inter-
*' rupticn or mifcarriage.
" There were many other things of the fame kind, but I
" faw none at all comparable to the tumbling, rope-danc-
" ing, wire- walking, and ftraw-balancing of Sadler's-Wells ;
neither did I obferve any feats of equitation in the ftvle of
Hughes's and Alhley's amphitheatres, although I had been
always told that the Tartars were remarkably fkilful in the
inftrudicn and diftipiine of their horfes. Laft of all were
" the
{(
v
2o6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
*' the fireworks which, in fome particulars, exceeded any
" thing of the kind I had ever feen. In grandeur, magnifi-
" cence, and variety, they were, I own, inferior to the Chi-
" nefe fireworks we had feen at Batavia, but infinitely fuperior
" in point of novelty, neatnefs, and ingenuity of contrivance.
" One piece of machinery I greatly admired ; a green chefl of
** five feet fquare was hoifted up by a pulley to the height of
" fifty or fixty feet from the ground ; the bottom was fo con-
" flrudled as then fuddenly to fall out, and make way for twenty
" or thirty firings of lanterns inclofed in the box to defcend
" from it, unfolding themfelves from one another by degrees
" fo as at laft to form a colledion of at leaft five hundred, each
" having a light of a beautifully coloured flame burning brightly
*' within it. This devolution and developement of lanterns
*' (which appeared to me to be compofed of gauze and paper)
** were feveral times repeated, and every time exhibited a dif-
" ference of colour and figure. On each fide was a correfpon-
" dence of fmaller boxes, which opened in like manner as the
*' others, and let down an immenfe network of fire, with divi-
" vifions and copartments of various forms and dimenfions,
*' round and fquare, hexagons, odagons fand lozenges, which
" fhone like the brighteft burnilhed copper, and flafhed like
" prifmatic lightning, with every impulfe of the wind. The
" diverfity of colours indeed with which the Chinefe have the
" fecret of cloathing fire feems one of the chief merits of their
" pyrotechny. The whole concluded with a volcano, or ge-
" neral explofion and difcharge of funs and ftars, fquibs, boun-
" cers, crackers, rockets, and grenadoes, which involved the
•' gardens for above an hour after in a ctoud of intolerable
'* fmoke;
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 207
" fmoke. Whilft; thefe entertainments were going forward the
" Emperor fent to us a variety of refreftiments, all which,
" as coming from him, the etiquette of the court required us
" to partake of, although we had dined but a fhort time
" before.
" However meanly we muft think of the tafte and delicacy
** of the court of China, whofe moft refined amufements feem
" to be chiefly fuch as I have now defcribed, together with the
" wretched dramas of the morning, yet it miift be confefled,
" that there was fomething grand and impofing in the general
effe£t that refulted from the whole fpecfacle. The Emperor
himfelf being feated in front upon his throne, and all his
great men and oflScers attending in their robes of ceremony,
" and ftationed on each fide of him, fome ftanding, .fome fit-
*' ting, fome kneeling, and the guards and ftandard-bearers be-
*' hind them in incalculable numbers. A dead filence was ri-
" gldly obferved, not a fylla^ble articulated, nor a laugh ex-
" ploded during the whole performance."
Such was the reception and the entertainment of the Britlfh
Embaflador at the court of Gchol, in Man-tcboo Tartary, dur-
ing the days of the feftival of the Emperor's anniverfary. I
now proceed to give fome account of the manner in which the
Dutch Embafladors were received, and the entertainments that
took place on the occafion of the feftival of the new year, as
related in the manufcript journal above alluded to.
Thl&
2o8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
This journalifl: obferves that, on approaching the capital of
the empire, they were not a little aftoniflied to find that the
farther they advanced the more miferable and poor was the ap-
parent condition of the people, and the face of the country ;
the clay-built huts and thofe of ill-burnt bricks were crum-
bling to dull; the temples were in ruins, the earthen gods were
denioliflied, and tlieir fragments ftrewed on the ground ; and
the diftrid was thinly inhabited. The following day they en-
tered Pekin, but were turned out again to take up their lodgings
in the fuburbs, in a fort of liable. From this place they were or-
dered to proceed to the palace in their old travelling dreCes, as
their baggage was not yet arrived. They were drawn in fmall
carts as crazy and as much out of order as their own dreffcs. Sit-
ting in the bottom of thefe carts, without any feats, they waited
within the walls of the palace a full hour, while an empty room
was fwept out for their reception. Having remained here for
forae time, a few planks were brought in, on which were ar-
ranged a number of difhes of meat and fifh, ftewed in different
ways. Having finiihed their repaft, thus ended their firft day's
vifit.
The following morning, at five o'clock, they were again
fummoned to court, and ufhered into a fmall room like that of
the preceding day, without any kind of furniture. The wea-
ther being extremely cold, the thermometer many degrees be-
low the freezing point, the Embafladors prevailed on the people
to make a little fire which after fome time was brought in, not
however without letting them underftand that it was an extra-
ordinary
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 309
ordinary mark of favour, it being the cuftom of the Chinefc
to let all Embafladors wait the arrival of the Emperor in the
open air. .
At lengtli the Emperor made his appearance, carried by
eight men in a yellow fedan chair. On his approaching the
place where the Embafladors and their fuite were ft:anding, they
were diredled by the mafter of the ceremonies to fall down on
their knees, and in this pofture the firO; Embaflador was in-
ftrudted to hold in both his hands, above his head, the gold
box in which was contained the letter for the Emperor : the
fecond mlnlfler then ftcpped forwards, and took the letter out
of his hands, which he delivered to the Emperor ; and, at the
fame time, they were direded to bow their heads nine times to
the ground, in token of acknowledgment for the gracious
reception they had met with from his Chinefc Majefly.
This ceremony being ended, they were defired to follow the
Emperor's chair, which was carried to the fide of a pond or
bafon in the gardens, then frozen over. From this place the
Emperor was drawn on a fledge to a tent pitched on the ice,
whilft the EmbalTador and his fuite were conduded into a dirty
hovel little better than a plg-ftye, where they were defired to
fit down on a fort of bench built of ftone and mortar ; for, like
the room they were put into on a former day, it was defliitute
of the leaft furniture;' and they were told that fomethlng prc-
fently would be brought for them to eat. On complaining to
their condudlors that this was not the manner in which they
were accuftomed to fit down to meat, and that they did not con-
E ¥ ceivc
4,^ TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ccive fuch apartments to be at all fuitable to the fituation the7
had the honour to hold, they were fhortly afterwards con-
ducted into another room, little better however than the firft»
but partly furniftied with a few old chairs and tables. The
candlefticks were fmall blocks of wood, to which the candles
were faftened with a couple of nails. A few difhes of ftewed
meat were ferved up and, as a great delicacy from the. Em-
peror's table, were brought in, without any didi, a pair of
flag's legs, which the Chinefe threw down upon the naked
table ; and for this mark of imperial favour they were required
to make the caftomary genufledlions and nine proftrations.
Van Braam, in the journal which he or fome of his friends
publifhed in Paris, gives a curious account of the manner in
which they were fed from the Emperor's table : " La viande
" confiftait en un morceau de cotes fur lequelles il n'y avait
" point un demi-pouce d'epaifleur d'une chair maigre, en un
" petit OS de I'epaule ou il n'y avait prefque pas de chair, et en
" quatre ou cinq autres offemens fournis par le dos ou par les
" pattes d'un mouton, et qui femWaient avoir ete deja ronges»
" Tout ce de'goutant enfemble etait fur un plat fale et paraiflait
" plutot deftine a faire le regal d'un chien que le repas d'un
" homme. En Holland le dernier des mendians recevrait, dans
" un hopital, une pittance plus propre, et cependant c'eft une
" marque d'honneur de la part d'un Empereur envers un Am-
*' bafladeur ! Peut-etre meme etait-ce le refte du Prince, et dans
'* ce cas, felon I'opinion des Chinois, c'etait le dernier terme
** de la faveur, puifque nous pouvions achcver I'os que fa Ma-
" jefte avait commence a nettoyer."— " The meat confifted of a
" fmall
TRAVELS IN CHINA. n-r
fmall piece of the ribs, on which there was not half an inch
in thicknefs of lean flefh, and a fraall flioulder-blade almoft
without any upon it ; and in four or five other pieces of
bones from the back, or the legs of a fheep, which appeared
to have been already gnawed. The whole of this difgufting
mefs was brought upon a dirty plate, and feemed much rather
intended to feaft a dog than as a refrefliment for man. In
Holland the meaneft beggar would receive in an hofpital his
allowance in a neater manner; and yet it was intendsd as a
mark of honour on the part of an Emperor towards an Em-
baflador ! Perhaps it was even the remains of the Sovereign,
and in that cafe, according to the opinion of the Chinefe, it
was the greateft poffible a£t of favour, fince we fhould then
have had an opportunity of finifhing the bone which his Im-
perial Majefty had begun to pick."
The Dutch gentlemen, equally difgufled with the meannefs
and filthinefs of the place, and with the pride and haughtinef*
of the people, became now reconciled to the fhabby appearance
of their old travelling dreffes, which they began to confider as
fully good enough for the occafion.
Having finiftied their elegant repaft, the amufements of the
day commenced on the ice. The Emperor made his appear-
ance in a fort of fledge, fupported by the figures of four dra-
gons. This machine was moved about by feveral great Man-
darins, fome dragging before, and others pufhing behind. The
four principal minifters of ftate were alfo drawn upon the ice
in their fledges by inferior mandarins. Whole troops of civil
E E 2 and
212
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
and military officers foon appeared, fome on fledges, feme on
fkalts, and others playing at football upon the ice, and he
that picked up the ball was rewarded by the Emperor. The
ball was then hung up in a kind of arch, and feveral mandarins
{hot at it, in paffing on Ikaits, with their bows and arrows.
Their Awaits were cut ofFfliort under the heel, and the fore-part
was turned up at right angles. Owing to this form, or to the
inexpertnefs of the fkaiters, they could not ftop themfelves on
a fudden, but always tumbled one over the other whenever
they came near the edge of the ice, or towards the quarter where
the Emperor happened to be.
Leaving this place, they were carried through feveral nar-
row ftreets, compofed of miferable houfes, forming a furprifmg
contraft with the proud walls of the palace. They were cen-
duded into a fmall room of one of thefe houfes, almoft void of
furniture, in order to pay their complimients to Ho-tchnng-tang^
the Collao, or prime minifter, whom they found fitting crofs-
legged on a truckle bedftead with cane bottom. Before this
creature of fortune, whofe fate I fhall have occafion here-
after to notice, they were obliged to go dov/n on their
knees. Like a true prime minifter of China, he waved all
converfation that might lead towards bufinels, talked to them
of the length of their journey, was aftouilhed how they bore
the cold weather in fuch fcanty clothing, and fuch like general
topics, which, in fa£t, fignified nothing. From the firft minif-
ter they paid their vifit to the fecond, whom they found lodged
in a fimilar manner ; after which they returned to their mean
apartments in the city, more fatisfied on a comparifon with
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 213
the miferable little chambers in which they had found the two
firft minifters of this far-famed empire lodged, and the mean
hovels which they met with in the very center of the fpace fhut
in by the walls of the imperial palace. The impreflions that
the events and tranfa£lions of this day made on the minds of
the vlfitors were thofe of utter aftonifhment, on finding every
thing fo very much the reverfe of what they had been led to
exped.
The following day they were again drawn to court in their
little carts, before four o'clock in the morning, where, after
having waited about five hours in empty rooms, fimilar to
thofe of the preceding day, two or three great men [Ta-gin)
called upon them, but behaved towards them in a diftant,
fcornful, and haughty manner. " We had once more," ob-
ferves the Dutch journalift, from which I quote, " an occafion
" to remark the furprizing contraft of magnificence and mean-
" nefs in the buildings, and of pride and littlenefs in the per-
" fons belonging to the imperial palace."
After thefe interviews, they werefufFered to remain a day or
two at home ; but on a bag of dried grapes being brought by a
mandarin from the Emperor, they were required to thank him
for the prefent with nine proftrations, as ufual. Another time
a little paftry from the imperial kitchen demanded the fame ce-
remony. In fhort, whether at home or in the palace, the
Chinefe were determined they fiiould be kept in the conftant
pradice of the ioo-too, or ceremony of genuflexion and pro-
flration.
On
£14
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
On the 26th of January, the Embafladors received notice
that ic was expe£led they fhould attend the procefllon of the
Emperor to the temple, where he was about to make an offer-
ing to the God of Heaven and of earth. Having waited accord-
ingly by the road fide, from three o'clock in the morning till
fix, the weather difmally cold, Fahrenheit's thermometer (land-
ing at 1 6°. below the freezing point, the Emperor at length
faffed in his chair, when they made the ufual proftrations and
returned home.
The next morning they were again required to proceed to
the fame place, and at the fame early hour, to witnefs his re-
turn and again to go through the ufual ceremony.
On the 29th, they were again fummoned to attend by the
toad fide to do homage before the Emperor, as he paffed
them on his way to a pagoda or poo-ta-la^ a kind of temple or
monaftery, where a great number of priefts, clothed in yellow,
lived together in a ftate of celibacy ; and here he made his
burnt-offerings. The myftical rates performed, prefents were
brought out for the Embaffador and fuite, and alfo for the
King of Holland, confifling of little purfes, flimfey filks, and
a ccarfe ftuff fomewhat fimilar to that known by feamen under
the name of bunting ; and, in token of gratitude for this mark
of imperial kindnefs, they were direded again to bow down
their heads to the ground.
On the 30th, it was announced to them that the Emperor
intended to pay a vifit to his palace at Tuen-inin-ytieri^ and that
it
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 115
it would be neceffary for them to follow him thither ; after
having, as ufual, paid their refpedts in the Chinefe manner by
the road fide as he pafled.
On the 31ft, they were conduced round the grounds of
Yuen-min-yuen by feveral Mandarins, and received great fatiC»
faction in viewing the vaft variety of buildings, and the good
tafte in which the gardens and pleafure grounds were laid out,
and which wore an agreeable afpedt, even in the depth of win-
ter. In one of the buildings they faw the feveral prefents de-
pofited, which had been carried the preceding year by the Earl
of Macartney. They were ftowed away with no great care,
among many other articles, in all probability never more to fee
the light of day. It feems the elegant carriages of Hatchet, that
were finifhed with fo much care and objedls of admiration
even in London, were here carelefsly thrown behind one of
their mean and clumfey carts, to which they pretended to beftow
a preference. Capricious as children, the toy once played with
muft be thrown afide and changed for fomething new; or, in
this inftance, it would not be out of charafter to fuppofe, that
the two vehicles had defignedly been placed together to point
out to Europeans of how little eftimation the Chinefe confi-
dered their articles of oftentation, when they could perform the
fame fervices by fimpler and lefs expenfive means.
The Dutch Embafladors and their fuite were now to have a
fpecimen of the court entertainments, and the polite amufements
of this grand empire. They confifted chiefly of the contor-
tions of the human body, pra£tifed by pofture maftcrs ; of
rope-
c,6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ropc-danclng, ami a fort of pantomimic performance, ihe prin-
cipal charaders of which were men drefled in flcins, and going
on all-fours, intended to reprefent wild beafts ; and a parcel of
boys habited in' the dreffes of mandarins, who were to hunt
thein. This extraordinary chace, and the mufic, and the rope-
dancing, put the Emperor into fuch good humour, that he re-
warded the performers very liberally. And the Emprefs and
the ladies, who were in an upper part of the houfe concealed
behind a fort of Venetian blinds, appeared from their tittering
noife to be highly entertained. The whole concluded, though
in the middle of the day, with a variety of fire-works; and the
Chinefe part of the company departed feemingly well fatisBed
with thefe diverfions.
An eclipfe of the moon happening on the fourth of Febru-
ary gave occafion to the Embaffadors to enjoy a little reft at
home, though they were fummoned to attend the palace at a
very early hour in the morning. The Emperor and his man-
darins were engaged the whole day in devoutly praying the
gods that the moon might not be eaten up by the great dragon
that was hovering about her. Recovered from their apprehen-
fions, an entertainment was given the following day, at which
the Embaffadors were required to be prefent. After a number
of juggling tricks and infantine fports, a pantomime, intended
to be an exhibition of the battle of the dragon and the moon^
was reprefented before the full court. In this engagement two
or three hundred priefts, bearing lanterns fufpended at the ends
of long fticks, performed a variety of evolutions, dancing and
capering about, fometimes over the plain, and then over chairs
3 and
TRAVELS IN CHINA. cj;
And tables, affording to his Imperial Majefly and to his couriieis
the greatefi; pleafure and fatisfadlion.
«
On the fifteenth of February the Dutch Embafladors left
Pekin, having remained there thirty-fix days, during which
they were fcarcely allowed to have a fingle day's rcfl:, but
were obliged, at the moft unfeaTonable hours, in the depth of
winter, when the thermometer was feldom higher than lo or
12 degrees below the freezing point, to dance attendance upon
the Emperor and the great officers of ftate, whenever they
might think fit to call upon them ; and to fubmit to the degrad-
ing ceremony of knocking the head nine times agalnil the
ground, at leaft on thirty difFerent occafions, and without hav-
ing the fatisfadion of gaining by this unconditional compliance
any one earthly thing, beyond a compliment from the Empe-
ror, that they •went through their projlrations to admiration I
And they were finally obliged to leave the capital without be-
ing once allowed to fpeak on any kind ofbufinefs, or evea
afked a fingle queflion as to the nature of their miflion, which,
indeed, the Chinefe were determined to take for granted was
purely complimentary to their great Emperor.
The manufcript I quote from defcribes minutely all the pan-
tomimic performances, the tricks of conjurors and jugglers, and
the feats of pofture-mafters, but as they feem to be pretty much
of the fame kind as were exhibited before the Britifh Embafly
in Tartary, as defcribed by Lord Macartney, I forbear to re-
late them. Enough has been faid to fhew the tafte of the court
in this refpe<Sl, and the ftate of the drama in China.
F F I fufped,
2x8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
I fufpedl, however, that the amufements of the theatre have
in Ibme decree degenerated at court fince the time of the Tartar
conqueft. Dancing, riding, vvreftling, and pofture-making,
are more congenial to the rude and unpoUfhed Tartar than the
airs and dialogue of a regular drama, which is better fuited to
the "-enius and fplrit of the ceremonious and effeminate Cliinefc)
I am led to this obfervation from the very common cuftom
among the Chinefe officers of ftate of having private theatres
in their houfes, in which, Inftead of the juggling tricks above
mentioned, they occafionally entertain their guefts with regular
dramatic performances. In the courfe of our journey through
the country and at Canton, we were entertained with a num-
ber of exhibitions of this kind ; and as " the purpofe of playing,"
as our immortal bard has obferved, " both at the firft, and
" now, was, and is, to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature,"
it may not be foreign to the prefent fubjed to take a brief no-
tice of fuch performances*
The fubjeds of the pieces exhibited are for the moft part
hiftorical, and relate generally to the tranfaftions of remote
periods, in which cafes the dreffes are conformable to the an-
cient cojlume of China. There are others, however, that repre-
fent the Tartar conqueft, but none built on hiftorical events
fubfequent to that period. But the ancient drama is preferred
by the critics. They have alfo comic pieces, in which there
is always a buffoon, whofe grimaces and low jefts, like thofe of
the buffoons in our own theatres, obtain from the audience the
greatefl fhare of applaufe. The dialogue in all their dramas,
whether ferious or comic, is conduced in a kind of mono-
tonous
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
21^
tonous recitative, fometimes however rifing or finking a few
tones, which are meant to be expreffive of paffionate or queru-
lous cadences. The fpeaker is interrupted at intervals by flirill
harfh mufic, generally of wind inftruments, and the paufes are
invariably filled up with a loud crafh, aided by the fonorous
and deafening gong, and fometimes by the kettle drum. An
air or fong generally follows. Joy, grief, rage, defpair, mad-
nefs, are all attempted to be exprefled in fong on the Chinefe
ftage. I am not fure that a vehement admirer of the Italian
opera might not take umbrage at the reprefentation of a Chinefe
drama, as it appears to be fomething fo very like a burlefque on
that fafhionable fpecies of dramatic entertainment ; nor is the
Chinefe ftage wanting In thofe vocal warblers, the nature of
whom, as we are told by the Ingenious and very entertaining
Martin Sherlock, a French lady explained to her little Inquifi-
tlve daughter, by informing her, that there was the fame differ-
ence between them and m^n, as between an ox and a bull.
Such creatures are indeed more neceflary to the Chinefe theatre,
as the manners of the country prohibit women from appearing
in public.
The unity of adion is fo far preferved, that they have adual-
ly no change of fcene ; but change of place muft frequently be
fuppofed. To affift the imagination in this refpedt, their ma-
nagement is whimfical enough. If It be neceflary to fend a ge-
neral on a diftant expedition, he mounts a ftick, takes two or
three turns round the ftage, brandlflies a little whip, and fings a
fong ; when this is ended, he ftops fhort, and recommences
his recitative, when the journey is fuppofed to be performed.
F F 2 The
210
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The want of icenery is fometlmes fupplled by a very unclaf-
fical figure, which, juft the reverfe of the pro/op opoeia or perfo-
nification of grammarians, confiders perlbns to reprefent things.
If, for inrtance, a walled city is to be ftormed, a parcel of fol-
diers, piling themfelves on a heap acrofs the ftage, are fuppofed
to reprefent the w^all over which the ftorming party is to
fcramble. This puts one in mind of the fhifts of Nick Bot-
tom. " Some man or other muft prefent wall," and, " let
" him have fome plaifter, or fome lome, or fome rough- caft
*' about him to fignify wall."
The audienc? Is never left in doubt as to the charadter which
is produced before it. Like the ancient Greek drama and, in
imitation thereof, all our old plays, the drainatis perfo72ce In-
troduce themfelves in appropriate fpeeches to the acq^uaintance
of the fpedators.
As to the time of a£lion, a fmgle drama will fometlmes In-
clude the tranfadions of a whole century, or even of a dynafty
more than twice the length of that period ; which, among other
abfurdities, gave Voltaire occafion to compare what he thought
to be a literal tranflation of the Orphan of the Houfe of T'chao^
" to ihofe monftrous farces of Shakefpear, which have been
" called tragedies ;" farces, however, which will continue to
be read 1by thofe who underftand them, which he did not, with
heartfelt emotion and delight, when his Orphan of Chhia fhall
have funk into the negledt even of his own admiring coun-
trymen.
In
TRAVELS IN CHINA. aai
In this miferable compofition of Father Premare, for it can
fcarcely be called a tranflation, there is neither di£tlon, nor
fentiment, nor character ; it is a mere tiflue of unnatural, or
at leaft very improbable events, fit only for the amufement of
children, and not capable of raifing one fingle paflion, but
that of contempt for the tafte of thofe who could exprefs an
admiration of fuch a compofition. The denouement of the
piece is materially affifted by means of a dog : but this part of
the ftory is told, and not exhibited ; the Chinefe tafte not be-
ing quite fo depraved, in this inftance, as to admit the perform-
ance of a four-footed animal on the ftage.
This drama with ninety-nine others, publifhed together in
one work, are confidered as the claffical ftock-pieces of the
Chinefe ftage ; but like ourfelves, they complain that a depraved
tafte prevails for modern produdions very inferior to thofe of
ancient date. It is certainly true, that every fort of ribaldry
and obfcenity are encouraged on the Chinefe ftage at the prefent
day. A fet of players of a fuperior kind travel occafionally
from Nankin to Canton ; at the latter of which cities, it feems,
they meet with confiderable encouragement from the Hong
merchants, and other wealthy inhabitants. At thefe exhibitions
the Englifti are foraetimes prefent. The fubjeit and the con-
duct of one of their ftock pieces, which being a great favourite
is frequently repeated, are fo remarkable, that I cannot forbear
taking fome notice of it. A woman being tempted to murder
her hufband performs the adl whilft he is afleep, by ftriking a
fmall hatchet into his forehead. He appears on the ftage with
a large gafti juft above the eyes, out of which idues a prodigious
efFufion
222 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
efFufion of blood, reds about for fome time, bemoaning his la-
mentable fate in a fong, till exhaufted by lofs of blood, he
falls, and dies. The woman is feized, brought before a ma-
giftrate, and condemned to be flayed alive. The fentence is
put i,n execution ; and, in the following a£t, fhe appears upon
the ftage not only naked, but completely excoriated. The thin
wrapper w^ith which the creature (an eunuch) is covered, who
fuftains the part, is ftretched fo tight about the body, and fo
well painted, as to reprefent the difgufting obje<£l of a human
being deprived of its fkin ; and in this condition the charadler
fings or, more properly fpeaking, whines nearly half an hour
on the ftage, to excite the compaffion of three infernal or ma-
lignant fpirits who, like ^acus, Minos, and Rhadamanthus,
fit in judgment on her future deftiny. I have been informed
that it is fcarcely poflible to conceive a more obfcene, indelicate,
and difgufting obje£t, than this favourite exhibition, which, if
intended "to hold th e mirror up to nature," it is to nature in
its moft grofs, rude, anduncivilized ftate, ill-agreeing with the
boafted morality, high polifli, refined delicacy, and ceremoni-
ous exterior of the Chinefe nation ; but it tends, among other
parts of their real condud in life, to ftrengthen an obfervation
I have already made with regard to their filial piety, and which,
with fev/ exceptions, may perhaps be extended to moft of their
civil and moral inftitutions, " that they exift more in ftate
" maxims, than in the minds of the people." As, however, a
Chinefe might be led to make fimilar reflexions on the exhibi-
tion of Harlequin Skeleton, and thofe numerous reprefentations
that of late years have crept upon our own ftage, where ghofts,
hobgoblins, and bleeding ftatues are called in aid oixhcfpeffaclc,
X I {hould
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 223
I fhould hefitate to draw'any general conclufion, with regard to
their tafte, from the particular exhibition of a woman flayed
alive, were they not in the conftant praftice of performing
other pieces that, in point of immorality and obfcenity, are ftill
infinitely worfe ; fo vulgarly indelicate and fo filthy, that the
European part of the audience is fometimes compelled by dif-
guft to leave the theatre. Thefe are fuch as will not bear de-
fcriptlon, nor do I know to what fcenic reprefentations they
can with propriety be compared, unlefs to thofe grofs inde-
cencies of Theodora, which Procopius has defcribed to have
been exhibited on the Roman ftage, in the reign of Juftinian *.
The people who encourage them muft be funk very deep in in-
telledual groflhefs, and have totally loft fight of all decency.
Thefe and fimilar fcenes may be confidered among the ill effeds
of excluding women from their due fhare of influence in fociety.
It would be impoflible to compliment the court of Pekin on
the elegance and refinement of its entertainments, but at the
expence of truth and reafon. Thofe of Tartar origin will no
more bear a comparifon with the noble contefts of ftrength and
agility difplayed by the old hardy Romans in the Circenfian
games, than the regular drama of the Chinefe will admit of be-
ing meafured by the fofter, but more refined and rational amufe-
ments of a fimilar kind in Europe. It is true the fcenic repre-
fentations in the decline of the Roman empire, as they are de-
fcribed to us, appear to have been as rude and barbarous as
thofe of the Chinefe. They began by exhibiting in their vaft
* See G'llhon, under Emperor Juftinian : and Mena^iana, in which is given ths
tranQatioji of a very extraordinary paiTage from Procopius.
amphi-
224 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
amphitheatre the rare and wonderful produdlious of nature,
Forcfts enlivened with Innumerable birds ; caverns pouring forth
lions, and tygers, and panthers, and other beads of prey ;
plains covered with the elephant, the rhinofceros, the zebra,
the oftrich, and other curious animals, which the wilds of
Africa furniflied, were all brought together within the circuit
oi the are.'ia. Not fatisfied with the rich produdions of the
earth, the fea muft alfo become tributary to their amufements.
The ar-ena was convertible into a fiieet of water ; and, at length,
the two '' elements concluding a marriage, as on the Chinefe
theatre, produced a race of monfters which, according to the
Latin poet's * defcription, might vie with thofe of China.
" Non folum nobis fylveilria cernere monflra
" Contigit, squoreos ego cum certantibus iirfis
" Speflavi vitulos, et equorum nomine dignum
" Sed difForme genus."
Where Sylvan monfters not alone appear,
But fea-cows ftruggle with the fhaggy bear,
And horfes of the deep, a fhapelefs race.
In fliort, the greater part of the amufements of the Chinefe
are, at the prefent day, of a nature fo very puerile, or fo grofs
and vulgar, that the tricks and the puppet-fhews which are
occafionally exhibited in a common fair of one of the country
towns of England, may be confidered as comparatively po-
liflied, interefting, and rational. In fiight-of-hand, in pofture-
making, rope-dancing, riding, and athletic exercifes, they are
much inferior to Europeans ; but in the variety of their fire-
works they, perhaps, may carry the palm againft the whole
* A. Calpurnius.
vrorld.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 225
world. In every other refpcdl the amufements of the capital
of China appear to be of a low and trifling nature, neither fuited
to the afiedled gravity of the government nor to the generally
fuppofed ftate of civilization among the people.
The old Emperor, as he obferved to Lord Macartney, feldom
partook of fuch amufements. Confidering, indeed, all the cir-
cumftances conneded with the reign of the prefent dynafty on
the throne, the government of an empire of fuch vaft magni-
tude, ftored with an almoft incalculable population, muft ne-
cefTarily be a tafk of inconceivable vigilance and toil ; a tafk
that muft have required all the time, the talents, and the atten-
tion of the four fovereigns to enfure the brilliant and unparal-
leled fuccefles that have diftinguilhed their long reign. Tchien
Lung, at the age of eighty-three, was fo little afflidled with
the infirmities of age, that he had all the appearance and a<fti-
vity of a hale man of fixty. His eye was dark, quick, and pe-
netrating, his nofe rather aquiline, and his complexion, even at
this advanced age, was florid. His height I fhould fuppofe to be
about five feet ten inches, and he was perfedly upright.
Though neither corpulent nor mufcular at eighty-three, it was
not difficult to perceive that he once had pofTefled great bodily
ftrength. He always enjoyed a vigorous conftitution, which
the regularity of his life did not Impair. Like all the Man-
tchoo Tartars he was fond of hunting, an exercife that during
the fummer months he never negleded. He had the reputation
of being an expert bowman, and Inferior only in drawing this
weapon to his grandfather Caung-JJoee, who boafts, in his laft
G G will,
226 T-RAVELS IN CHINA.
will, that he drew a bow of the weight or ftrength of one hun-
dred and fifty pounds.
Nor were the faculties of his mind lefs a£live, or lefs power-
ful, than thofe of his body. As prompt in conceiving as re-
folute in executing his plans of conqueft, he feemed to com-
mand fuccefs. Kind and charitable, as on all occafions he
fhewed himfelf to his fubjeds, by remitting the taxes, and ad-
miniftering relief in feafons of diftrefs, he was no lefs vindic-
tive and relentlefs to his enemies. Impatient of reftraint or re-
verfes, he has fometimes been led to adt with injuftice, and to
punifh with too great feverity. His irafcible temper was once
the caufe of a fevere and lafting afflidion to himfelf, and the
circumftances conneded with it are faid to have produced a
gloom and melancholy on his mind which never entirely for-
fook him. About the middle part of his reign, he made a cir-
cuit through the heart of his empire. At Sau-tchoo-foo^ a city
that is celebrated for its beautiful ladies which, being purchafed
when infants, are educated there for fale to the opulent, he was
captivated with a girl of extraordinary beauty and talents, whom
he intended to carry back with him to his capital. The Em-
prefs, by means of an eunuch, was made acquainted with his
new amour, and dreading his future negleft, her fpirits were
depreffed to fuch a degree, that a few days after receiving the in-
telligence fhe put an end to her exiftence with a cord. The Em-
peror, on hearing this melancholy news, was greatly diftrefled
and repaired without delay to Pekin. One of his fons, a very
amiable youth, fearful of incurring his father's difpleafure,
had entertained fomc doubts whether it would be moft proper
I to
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 227
to appear before him in deep mourning for his mother, which
might be conftrued as an infultto the father, who had been the
caufe of her death, or in his robes of ceremony, which would
be difrefpe£lful to the memory of his deceafed mother. In this
dilemma he confulted his fchoolmafter, who, like a true
Chinefe, advifed him to put on both. He did fo and, unfor-
tunately for him, covered the mourning withthc ceremonial habit.
Tchiai-Lung, whofe afFetSion had now returned for his deceafed
Emprefs, and whofe melancholy fate he was deeply lamenting,
on perceiving his fon at his feet without mourning, was fo
fhocked and exafpcrated at the fuppofed want of filial duty
that, in the moment of rage, he gave him a violent kick in an
unfortunate place which, after his languifhing a few days,
proved fatal.
None of his four furvlving fons ever poflefTcd any fhare of
his confidence or authority which, of late years, were wholly
bellowed on his firfl; minifter Ho-chung-tong. He had a due
fenfe of religious duties, which he regularly performed every
morniag. Having made a vow at the early part of his reign
that, fhould it pleafe heaven to grant him to govern his domi-
nions for a complete cycle, or fixty years, he would then retire,
and refign the throne to his fuccefTor, he religioufly obferved it
on the accomplifhment of the event. The fincerity of his faith
may partly be inferred from the numerous and fplendid temples
he built and endowed in different parts of oriental Tartary, of
which the Poo-/d;-/a, or convent of Budha at Gehol, is themoft
magnificent. It is faid indeed, from the circumftance of his
long and fortunate reign, he had, in his later years, entertained
G G 2 an
((
228 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
an idea, that the Lama, or Budha, or Fo, for they are alt the
fame perfonage, had condefcended to become incarnate in his
perfon. " However wild and extravagant," obferves Lord
Macartney, " fuch a conceit may be regarded, we know from
" hiftory how much even the beft underftandings may be per-
" verted by profperity, and that human nature, not fatisfied
" with the good things of this world, fometimes wifhes to an-
" ticipate the condition and felicity of the next. If Alexander
" fcorned to owm lefs than Jupiter Ammon for his father, if
" many Roman Emperors extorted altars and facrifices in their
" lifetime, if, even in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, an Englifh
" nobleman * encouraged the belief of his defcent from a fwan,
" and was complimented in a dedication upon his feathered
pedigree, a fimilar infatuation may be the lefs inexcufable in
Kien-Long, a monarch, the length and happinefs of whofe
reign, the unlimited obedience of whofe incalculable number
of fubjedts, and the health and vigour of whofe body, have
hitherto kept out of his view mod of thofe circumftances
that are apt to remind other men of their mifery and mor-
« tality."
Till his laft illnefs he continued to rife at three o'clock in
the morning, both in winter and fummer. He ufually took fome
cordial to fortify his ftomach, and then repaired to his private
devotions at one of his temples. After this he read the dif-
patches of his great officers, both civil and military, who from
their different ftations were ordered to write to him diredtly,
• Duke of Buckingham. See the notes on this charaiJler in Shakefpear's Henry
VIII. Aa i. Scene 2.
and
a
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 229
and not to the tribunals as had ufually been the cafe. About
feven he took his breakfaft of tea, wines, and confectionary,
when he tranfadted bufinefs with the firfl minifter, confulting
with, or direding, him in the weighty matters of ftate, previous
to their appearing in regular form before the refpeiflive depart-
ments to which they belonged. He had then a kind of levee,
which was ufually attended by the collaos, or minifters, and
the prefidents of the departments or public boards. At eleven
refrefhments were again ferved up and, after bufinefs was over,
he either amufed himfelf in the women's apartments, or walked
round his palace or gardens. Between three and four he ufually
dined, after which he retired to his private rooms and employed
himfelf in reading or writing till bed-time, which was always
regulated by, and feldom later than, the fetting of the fun.
Hewasfully perfuaded that his uninterrupted health was chiefly
owing to his early retiring to reft, and early rifing ; an obfer-
vation, indeed, that in our country has grown into a maxim, and
maxims arc generally grounded on truth. The late Lord Mans-
field made a point for many years of enquiring from all the
aged perfons, that at any time appeared before him to give evi-
dence, into their particular mode of living, in order that he
might be able to form fome general conclufion with regard to
the ca,ufes of their longevity. The refult of his obfervations was,
that he could draw no inference from their intemperance or ab-
ftemioufnefs with regard to diet or drinking, but that they
all agreed in one point, that of being early rifers.
Tchien-
130
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
7'cbiefi-Lufij rcfi^ncd the throne of China to his fifteenth fon,
the prefcnt Kia-kiiig, in February 1796, having completed a
reign of fixty years ; and he died in the month of February
1799, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years.
When the Tartars conquered China, they found all the great
oflicers of ftate filled by eunuchs, and the palace fwarmed with
thefe creatures ; the greater part was immediately difplaced,
and other Chinefe of talent and education were put into their
places. Having, however, adopted the laws and cuftoms of
the conquered, it became necefiary to keep up the ufual efta-
b!i(hment of women in the palace, the inevitable confequence
of which was the retention of a certain number of eunuchs to
look after them. And they are at this moment as numerous,
perhaps, in all the palaces, as they were at the conqueft, but
none of them are dignified with any office of truft or impor-
tance in the ftate. They confider themfelves, however, as ele-
vated far above the plebeian rank ; and a bunch of keys or a
birch broom gives them all the airs and infolence of office.
Of thefe eunuchs there are two kinds. The one is fo far
cmafculated as never to have the confolation of being a father;
the other muft fubmit to lofe every trace of manhood. The
firft are entrufted with the infpedion and fuperintendance of
the buildings, gardens, and other works belonging to the im-
perial palaces, which they are required to keep in order. The
Rafibus^ as the miffionaries call them, are admitted into the in-
terior of th€ palace. Thefe creatures paint their faces, ftudy
their
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 231
their drefs, and are as coquettifh as the ladies, upon whom in-
deed it is their chief hufinefs to attend. The greateft favourite
fleeps in the fame room with the Emperor, to be ready to ad-
minifter to his wifhes ; and in this capacity he finds number-
lefs opportunities to prejudice his mafter agalnfl thofe for whom
he may have conceived a difllke ; and inftanccs are not wanting
where the firft officers in the ftate have been difgraced by means
of thefe creatures.
They are equally detefled and feared by the princes of the
blood who refide in the palace, by the court officers, and by
the mlffionarles in the employ of government. The latter find
it neceflary to make frequent, and fometimes expenfive, pre-
fents to thofe in particular about the perfon of his Imperial Ma-
jefty. Should any of thefe gentlemen happen to carry about
with him a watch, fnufF-box, or other trinket, which the
eunuch condefcends to admire, there is no alternative ; the mif-
fionary takes the hint, and begs his acceptance of it, knowing
very well that the only way to preferve his friendfhlp is to
fhare with him his property. An omlffion of this piece of ci-
vility has been productive of great injury to the European.
The gentleman who regulates and keeps in order the feveral
pieces of clock-work in the palace alTured me, that the old
eunuch, who was entrufted with the keys of the rooms, ufed
to go in by night and ptwpofely derange and break the ma-
chinery, that he might be put to the trouble and expence of
repairing it. This kappened to him fo often that, at length,
he became acquainted with the fecret of applying the proper
preventive, which although expenfive was ftlll lefs vexatious than
the
232 TTIAVELS IN CHINA.
the conftant reparation of the mifchief done to tlie articles of
which he had the fuperintendance.
The Chinefe eunuchs are addided to all the vices that diftin-
guifh thefe creatures in other countries. There is fcarcely one
about the palace, whether of the clafs of porters and fweepers,
or of that which is qualified for the inner apartments, but have
women in their lodgings, who are generally the daughters of
poor people, from whom they are purchafed, and are confe-
quentiy confidered as their flaves. It is difficult to conceive a
condition in life more humiliating, or more deplorable, than that
of a female flave to an eunuch ; but happily for fuch females, in
this country the mental powers are not very adive. Several
of the miffionaries affured me of the truth of this fafl:, which
indeed I have ftrong reafons for believing even of the raftbiis.
The keeper of the hall of audience once took me to his lodg-
ings, but on coming to the door he defired me to wait till he
had made fome arrangements within ; the meaning of which
was, until he had removed his lady ou: of the way j nor was
he in the leaft difpleafed at my hinting this to him. Being
one of the favourite attendants of the ladies of the court, he
was of courfe a black eunuch. He was the moft capricious crea-
ture in the world ; being fometimes extremely civil and com-
municative, fometimes fullen, and not deigning to open his
lips ; and whenever he took it into his head to be offended, he
was fure to pradife fome little revenge. I fancy he was clerk
of the kitchen, for the quality and the quantity of our dinner
generally depended on the ftate of his humour. When the re-
port of the Embafliulor's making conditions with regard to the
ceremony
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 233
ceremony of introdudion firft reached Tuen-miri-yiien^ he was
more than ufually peevifh, and conceived, as he thought, a
notable piece of revenge. Some pains had been taken to ar-
range the prefents in fuch ^ manner in the great hall as to fill
the room well, and fet them off to the beft advantage. The
old creature, determined to give us additional trouble and to
break through the arrangement that had been made, defircd
that the whole might be placed at one end of the room. On
my objeding to this he pretended to have received the Em-
peror's order, and that at all events it muft be obeyed; and the
reafon he affigned for the change was, " that his Majefty might
" fee them at once from his throne, without being at the trou-
" ble of turning his head."
The great number of thefe creatures about the palace of
Tuen-min-yuen made my refidence there extremely difagreeable.
They feemed, indeed, to be placed as fpies on our conduct.
If I attempted to move ever fo little beyond the court of our
apartments, I was fure of being watched and purfued by feme
of them ; to perfift in my walk would have thrown the whole
palace in an uproar. I one day happened inadvertently to
ftray through a thicket, which it feems led towards the apart-
ments of the ladies, but I had not proceeded far before 1 heard
feveral fqualling voices in the thicket, which I foon recognifed
to be thofe of eunuchs. They had run themfelves out of
breath in feeking me, and my old friend of the kitchen was
not to be pacified for putting him to the hazard, as he pre-
tended, of lofing his head by my imprudence.
H H The
2y^ TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The eunuchs and the women are the only companions of
the Emperor in his leiiure hours : of the latter, one only has
the rank of Emprefs, after whom are two Queens and their
numerous attendants, which conftitute the fccond clafs of the
eftabliniment ; and the third confifts of fix Queens, and their at-
tendants. To thefe three ranks of his wives are attached one
hundred ladies, who are ufually called his concubines, though
they are as much a legal part of his eftablifhment as the others.
They would feem to be of the fame defcription, and to hold the
lame rank as the handmaids of the ancient Ifraelites. Their
children are all confidered as branches of the Imperial family,
but the preference to the fucceffion is generally given to the
male ilTue of the firft Emprefs, provided there fhould be any.
This however is entirely a matter of choice, the Emperor hav-
ing an uncontrouled power of nominating his fucceifor, either
in his own family or out of it. The daughters are ufually mar-
ried to Tartar princes, and other Tartars of diflindion, but
rarely, if ever, to a Chinefe.
On the acceffion of a new Emperor, men of the firfl: rank
and fituation in the empire confider themfelves as highly ho-
noured and extremely fortunate, if the graces of their daugh-
ters fhould prove fufficient to provide them a place in the lift
of his concubines ; in which cafe, like the nuns In fome coun-
tries of Europe, they are doomed for ever to refide within the
walls of the palace. Such a fate, however, being common in
China v\ a certain degree to all women-kind, is lefs to be de-
plored than the fimilar lot of thofe in Europe, where one fex
is fuppofed to be entitled to an equal degree of liberty with
the
il
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 235
the other ; and as the cuftom of China authorizes the fale of all
young women by their parents or relations to men they never
faw, and without their confent previoufly obtained, there can
be no hardfhip in configning them over to the arms of the prince;
nor is any difgrace attached to the condition of a concubine,
where every marriage is a legal proftitution. At the death of the
fovereign all his women are removed to a feparate building,
called by a term which, divefled of its metaphor, implies the
Palace of Chajiity^ where they are doomed to refide during the
remainder of their lives.
H n 2
iji TRAVELS IN CHINA.,
CHAP. VI.
Language.— Literature, and the fine Arts. — Sciences. — Mecha-
nics, and Medicine.
Opinion of the Chinefe Language being hieroglyphical erroneous. — Doctor Hagers mif-
taket. — Etymological Comparifons fallacious. — Examples of. — Nature of the Chinefe
•written CharaEler. — Difficulty and Ambiguity of. — Curious Miflake of an eminent
Antiquarian. — Mode of acquiring the CharaHer. — Oral Language. — Mantchoi
^Tartar Alphabet. — Chinefe Literature. — Aftronomy — Chronology. — Cycle offtxls
Years. — Geography— 'Arithmetic— Chemical Arts.— Cannon and Gunpoiuder. —
Difiillation. — lotteries. — &ilk ManufaElures. — Ivory. —Bamboo. — Paper. — Ink. —
Printing.— Mechanics. — Muftc. — Painting — Sculpture. - Architeiiure.— Hotel of
' the Englifh Embajfador in Pekin.—The Great Wall. -The Grand Canal. —
Bridges. —Cemeteries — Natural Philofophy — Medicine — Chinefe Pharmacopoeia,
—^achs. — Contagious Fevers. — Small-pox. — Opthalmia. — Venereal Difeafe. —
Midwifery. Surgery. — DoBor Gregory s Opinion of their Medical Knowledge. —
5/V William Joneses Opinion of their general Character .
JLf no traces remained, nor any authorities could be produced,
of the antiquity of the Chinefe nation, except the written cha-
racter of their language, this alone would be fufEcient to de-
cide that point in its favour. There is fo much originality in this
language, and fuch a great and eflential difference between it
and that of any other nation not immediately derived from the
Chinefe,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 257
Chlnefe, that not the moft diftant degree of affinity can be dif-
covered, either with regard to the form of the charadcr, the
fyftem on which it is conftrudled, or the idiom, with any other
known language upon the face of the globe. Authors, how-
ever, and fome of high reputation, have been led to fuppofe
that, in the Chinefe character, they could trace fome relation
to thofe hieroglyphical or facred infcriptions found among the
remains of the ancient Egyptians; others have conlideied it to
be a modification of hieroglyphic writing, and that each cha-
radler was the fymbol or comprehenfive form of the idea it was
meant to exprefs, or, in other words, an abftradl delineation of
the objedl intended to be reprefented. To ftrengthen fuch an
opinion, they have ingenioufly fele£ted a few inftances where,
by adding to one part, and curtailing another, changing a
ftraight line into a curved one, or a fquare into a circle, fome-
thing might be made out that approached to the pidiure, or the
objedl of the idea conveyed by the charadter as, for example,
the charader ^y , reprefenting a cultivated piece of ground^
they fuppofed to be the picture of an inclofure, turned up in
ridges ; yet it fo happens that, in this country, there are no in-
clofures ; the charader, |-^ a mouthy has been confidered by
them as a very clofe refemblance of that objed ; j; and "p*
above and below, diftindly marked thefe points of poiition ; the
charader f\. , fignlfying tnati, is, according to their opi-
nion, obvioufly an abbreviated reprefentation of the human
figure ; yet the very fame charader, with an additional line
acrofs,
238 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
acrofs, thus /^ > '^^'lii'^l^ by the way approaches nearer to
the human figure, having now arms as well as legs, fignifies
the abftrad qunlity greai ; and with a fecond line thus "TV
the material or vifible heaven^ between either of which and
man it would be no eafy tafk to find out the analogy ; and ftill
lefs fo to trace an affinity between any of them, and "^V
which fignifies a dog.
It is true certain ancient charadters are ftill extant, in which
a rude reprefentation of the image is employed ; as for inftance,
a circle for the fun, and a crefcent for the moon, but thefe ap-
pear to have been ufed only as abbreviations, in the fame man-
ner as thefe objects are ftill charaderized in our almanacks, and
in our aftronomical calculations. Thus alfo the kingdcm of
China is defigned by a fquare, with a vertical line drawn through
the middle, in conformity perhaps with their ideas of the earth
being a fquare, and China placed in its center ; fo far thefe may
be confidered as fymbols of the objedls intended to be repre-
fented. So, alfo, the numerals one, two, three, being defigned
by .;=^ ^z- , would naturally fuggeft themfelves as being
fully as convenient for the purpofe, and perhaps more fo than
any other ; and where the firft feries of numerals ended, which
according to the univerfal cuftom of counting by the fingers
was at ten^ the very ad of placing the index of the right hand
on the little finger of the left would fuggeft the form of the
vertical
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 339
vertical crofs 4- as the fymbol or reprefentation of the number
ten.
I cannot avoid taking notice in this place of a publication ot
Doctor Hager, which he calls an " Explanation of the Elemen-
tary CharaBers of the Chincfy In this work he has advanced
a mofl extraordinary argument to prove an analogy between the
ancient Romans and the Chinefe, from the refemblance which
he has fancied to exift between the numeral characters and the
numeral founds made ufe of by thofe two nations. The Ro-
mans, he obferves, expreffed their numerals one, tv.'O, three, by
a correfponding number of vertical ftrokes I. II. III. which the
Chinefe place horizontally __ .^=.^=:^. The Romans defigned
tlie number ten by an oblique crofs , and the Chinefe by a
vertical one +. This refemblance in the forming of their nu-
merals, fo fimple and natural that almoft all nations -have
adopted it, is furely too flight a coincidence for concluding,
that the people who ufe them muft neceffariiy, at fome pe-
riod or other, have had communication together. The Dodlor
however feems to think ^o, and proceeds to obferve, that the
three principal Roman cyphers, I. V. X. or one, five and ten,
are denoted in the Chinefe language by the fame founds that
they exprefs in the Roman alphabet. This remark, although
ingenious, is not corred. One and^t;^, it is true, are expreffed
in the Chinefe language by the y and oti of the French, which
it may be prefumed, were the founds that the letters I. and V.
obtained in the ancient Roman alphabet ; but with regard to
the ten, or X, which, he fays, the Chinefe pronounce xe, he is
entirely miflaken, the Chinefe word for ten in Pekin Wmg Jhee,
and
240 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
and in Canton fiap. This error the Do£lor appears to have
been led into by confulting fome vocabulary in the Chinefe and
Portugucfe languages; in the latter of which the letter X is
pronounced like our Jh. But admitting, in its fulled extent,
the refemblance of fome of the numerals nfed by the two na-
tions, in the fhape of the charader, and of others in the found,
it certainly cannot be aflumed to prove any thing beyond a
mere accidental coincidence.
The earlieft accounts of China, after the doubling of the Cape
of Good Hope, being written by Portuguefe miffionaries, and
the Chinefe proper names ftill remaining to be fpelt in the let-
ters of that alphabet, have led feveral etymologifts into great
errors, not only with regard to the letter X, but more particu-
larly in the m final, and the h incipient, the former being pro-
nounced «§•, and the latter with a ftrong afpirate, as Jh. Thus
the name of the fecond Emperor of the prefent dynafty is al-
moft univerfally written in Europe Cam-bi^ whereas it is as
univerfally pronounced in China Caung-Jhee.
The learned Dodtor feems to be ftill lefs happy in his next
conjedure, where he obferves that, as the Romans exprefled
their Jive by fimply dividing the X, or ten, fo alfo the ancient
charaQer fignifying Jive with the Chinefe was x or ten be-
tween two lines thus ^ indicating, as it were, that the number
ten was divided in two ; the Dodtor feems to have forgotten that
he has here placed his crofs in the Roman form, and not as the
Chinefe write it ; and it is certainly a ftrange way of cutting a
thing in two, by enclofing it between two lines ; but the learned
3 feldom
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 241
feldom baulk at an abfurcUty, when a fyftem is to be efta-
bliflied. Tlie Chinefe charader for five is ^^ff^'
Of all dedudions, thofe drawn from etymological compari-
fons are, perhaps, the moft fallacious. Were thefe allowed to
have any weight, the Chinefe fpoken language is of fuch a na-
ture, that it would be no difficult tafk to point out its relation-
fhip to that of every nation upon earth. Being entirely mo-
nolyllabic, and each word ending in a vowel or a liquid, and
being, at the lame time, deprived of the founds of feveral let-
ters in our alphabet, it becomes neceffarily incapable of fupply-
ing any great number of diftindl fyllables. Three hundred are,
in fidt, nearly as many as an European tongue can articulate,
or ear diftlnguiih. It follows, of courfe, that the fame found
muft have a great variety of fignifications. The fyllable chingy
for example, is adhially exprefled by fifty-one different cha-
raders, each having a different, unconnected, and oppofite mean-
ing; but it would be the height of abfurdity to attempt to prove
the coincidence of any other language with the Chinefe, be-
caufe it might happen to poffefs a word fomething like the
found of chingy which might alfo bear a fignification not
very different from one of thofe fifty-one that it held in the
Chinefe.
The Greek abounds with Chinefe words. Kuuv^ a dog, is in
Chinefe both keon and keun, expreffive of the fame animal ; Jy,
good, is not very different from the Chinefe hau, which fignifies
the fame quality j and the article to is not far remote from /a,
1 1 he.
442 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
he, or that. Both Greeks and Romans might recognife their firft
perfonal pronoun iyu or ego in^o, or as it is fometimes written ngo.
TheItaHanaffirmative_/?is lufficiently near theGhinefeyZ»^tf, or zeey
expreffing afTent. The French etang, and the Chinefe tang, a pond
or lake, are nearly the fame, and their two negatives /<jj- and/oo
are not very remote. Lex, loi, le, law, compared with leu, lee,
laws and hijlitutes, are examples of analogy that would be decifive
to the etymological inquirer. The Englifh word mien, the coun-
tenance, and the Chinefe mien, expreffing the fame idea, are
nothing difFerent, and we might be fuppofed to have taken our
goofe from their^oo. To Jing is chaung, which comes very near
our cbatint. The Chinefe call a cat miau, and fo does the Hottentot.
The Malay word to know is tau, and the Chinefe monofyllable
for the fame verb is alfo tau, though in converfation they gene-
rally ufe the compound tchee-tau, each of which feparately have
nearly the fame meaning. The Sumatrans have mau for mo-
ther, the Chinefe fay moo. On grounds equally flight with
thefc have many attempts been made to form conclufions from
etymological comparifons. If I miftake not, the very ingenious
Mr. Bryant makes the word gate a derivative from the Indian
word ghaut, a pafs between mountains. Surely this is going a
great deal too far for our little monofyllable. Might we not with as
great a degree of propriety fetch ouxjhallow or Jhoal fvoin China,
•vfhercjha-loo fignifies a flat fand, occafionally covered with the
tide? A noted antiquarian has been led into fome comical miftakes
in his attempt to eftablifli a refemblance between the Chinefe
and the Irifti languages, frequently by his having confidered
the letters of the continental alphabets, in which the Chinefe
vocabulary
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
243
Tocabulary he confuhed was written, to be pronounced in the
fame manner as his own *.
Whatever
* For the curiofity of thofe who may be inclined to fpeculate in etymological
comparifons between the Chinefe and other languages, I here fubjoin a fliort lift of
words in the former, exprefling fome of the moft ftriking objeifts in the creation, 2
few fubjedls of natural hiftory, and of fuch articles as from their general ufe are fa-
miliar to moft nations ; thefe being of all others the moft likely to have retained
their primitive names. The orthography I hare ufed is that of the Englifh language.
Tie Earth
tee
A Quadruped
Jhoo
The Air
kee
A Bird
kin
Fire
ho
AFifli
eu
Water
flllSC
An Infea
tchong
The Sea
hat
A Plant
ijau
A River
ho
A Tree
Jhoi
A Lake
tang
A Fruit
k»-ffi
A Mountain
Jhan
A Flower
nuha
A Wildernefs
ye-tee
A Scone
Jhee
The Sun
jee-to
Gold
tchin
The Moon
yui
Silver
in tfe
The Stars
J"S
Copper
tung
The Clouds
yun
Lead
yuen
Rain
yeu
Iron
tii
Hail
fivee-tan
The Head
too
Snow
five
The Hand
Jhoo
Ice
ping
The Heart
>
Thunder
luie
The Leg '
koo
Lightning
JlMii-tien
The Foot
tchiau
The Wind
fung
The Face
mien
The Day
jee or litn
The Eyes
yen-Jhing
The Night
ye or •vanjiiang
The Ears
eul- to
The Sky or Heaven tien
The Hair
too fa
The Eaft
tung
An ox
nieu
The Weft
fee
A Camel
loo-too
The North
pee
A Horfe
ma
The South
nan
An Afi
loo -tfe
Man
jin
A Dog
kioon
Woman
fooj'm
A Frog
1 1 z
Uboo
A Sheep
«44
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Whatever degree of affinity may be difcovered between the
founds of the Chhiefe language and thofe of other nations, their
written charadter has no analogy whatfoever, but is entirely
peculiar
A Sheep
A Goat, or inouii'
tain Sheep
A Cat
yang
■Jban-yang
vnait
Wool (Sheep'
Coals
Sugar
Cheefe, they
sHair
have
■)yangmaH
tan
tang
} . .
A Stag
A Pidgeon
Jhan loo
hoo tfe
none but
Milk
thick
> na'tp'mg, or iced milk
Poultry
he
A Houfe
jiy,a
An Egg
A Goofe
lee tan
goo
A Temple
A Bed
tniau
tchuang
Oil
Rice
yeo
mee
A Door
A Table
men
tat
Milk
nai
A Chair
ye-Ize
Vinegar
Tobacco
Salt
Silk
t/oo
yen
yen
t/oo
A Knife
A Pitcher
A Plough
An Anchor
tau
fing
lee
mau
Cotton
mien- wha
A Ship
tchuan
Flax Plant
Hemp
ma
ma
Money
tften
I rnufl obferve, however, for the information of thefe philologifts, that fcarcely
two provinces in Chim have the fame oral language. The officers and their atten-
dants who came with us from the capital could converfe only with the boatmen of
the fouthern provinces, through the medium of an ijiterpreter. The charafter of the
language is univerfal, but the name or found of the charafter is arbitrary, if 3. con-
vention of founds could have been fettled like a convention of marks, one would fuppofe
that a commercial intercourfe would have effefted it, at lead in the numeral
founds, that mud neceflixrily be interchanged from place to place and myriads of
times repeated from one corner of the empire to the other. Let us compare
then the numerals of Pekin with thofe of Canton, the two greateft cities in
China.
1. Ye
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
245
peculiar to Itfelf. Neither the Egyptian infcriptlons, nor the
nail-headed charadters, or monograms, found on the Babylo-
nian bricks, have any nearer refemblance to the Chlnefe than
the Hebrew letters have to the Sanfcrit ; the only analogy that
can be faid to exift between them is, that of their being com-
pofed of points and lines. Nor are any marks or traces of
alphabetic writing difcoverable in the compofition of the
Chinefe charadler ; and, if at any time, hieroglyphics have been
employed to convey ideas, they have long given way to a col-
ledlion of arbitrary figns fettled by convention, and conftruded
on a fyftem, as regular and conftant as the formation of founds
Pekin,
Canton.
Pekin.
Canton.
I. Ye
yat
II.
fliee-ye
fliap-yat
2. Ul
ye
12.
fliee-ul
fhap-ye
3. faa
faani
20.
ul-fliee
ye-lhap
4. foo
fee
5°-
fan-fliee
faam-fhap
5. ou
urn
31-
fan-fliee-ye
faam-fliap-yat
6. leu
lok
3«-
fan-fliee-ul
faam-fliap.ye
7. tehee
tfat
100.
pe
paak
8, pas
pat
1000.
tfien
tfeen
9. tcheu
kow
10,000.
van
mau
10. fhee
fliap
lOOjOOO.
fhe-van
fliap-man
If then, in this highly civilized empire, the oral language of the northern part dif-
fers fo widely from the fouthern that, in numerous inftances, by none of the etymo-
logical tricks* can they be brought to bear any kind of analogy; if the very word
which in Pekin implies the number one, be ufed in Canton to exprefs t-wo, how very ab-
furd and ludicrous mult thofe learned and laboured differtations appear, that would
aflign an oriental origin to all our modern languages ?
* Such as the addition, deduflion, mutation, and tranfpofition of letters, or even fyllables. Thus
Mr. Webbe thinks tliat the derivation of the Greek ^tn'i a tumai, from the Chinefe m-g\n, is felf-
evident.
in
246 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
in any of the European languages arifes out of the alphabets
of thofe languages.
The hlftory of the world affords abundant evidence that, in
the dawn of civilization, moft nations endeavoured to fix and
to perpetuate ideas by painting the figures of the objedts that
produced them. The Egyptian priefthood recorded the myfte-
ries of their religion in graphic emblems of this kind ; and the
Mexicans, on the firfl: arrival of the Spaniards, informed their
prince Montezuma of what was paffing by painting their ideas
on a roll of cloth. There is no way fo natural as this of expref-
fing, and conveying to the underftanding of others, the images
that pafs in the mind, without the help of fpeech. In the
courfe of the prefent voyage, an officer of artillery and myfelf
were difpatchcd to make obfervations on the fmall ifland of
Collao, near the coaft of Cochin-china. In order to make the
natives comprehend our defire to procure fome poultry, we
drew on paper the figure of a hen, and were immediately fup-
plied to the extent of our wants. One of the inhabitants taking
up the idea drew clofe behind the hen the figure of an egg,
and a nod of the head obtained us as many as we had occa-
fion for. The Bosjefmen Hottentots, the moft wild and favage
race perhaps of human beings, are in the conftant habit of
drawing, on the fides of caverns, the reprefentations of the dif-
ferent animals peculiar to the country. When I vifited fome
of thofe caverns I confidered fuch drawings as the employ-
ment of idle hours ; but, on fince refleding that in almoft all
fuch caverns are alfo to be feenthe figures of Dutch boors (who
hunt thefe miferable creatures like wild beafts) in a variety of
attitudes,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 447
attitudes, fome \?vith guns In their hands, and others in the
a£t of firing upon their countrymen ; waggons fometimes pro-
ceeding and at others (landing (lill, the oxen unyoked, and
the boors fleeping ; and thefe reprefentatlons generally followed
by a number of lines fcored like fo many tallies ; I am inclined
to think they have adopted this method of informing their
companions of the number of their enemies, and the magni-
tude of the danger. The animals reprefented were generally
fuch as were to be met with in the diftridt where the drawings
appeared ; this, to a people who fubfift by the chace and by
plunder, might ferve as another piece of important informa-^
tion.
The Chinefe hiftory, although it takes notice of the time
when they had no other method of keeping their records, ex-
cept, like the Peruvians, by knotting cords, makes no men-
tion of any hieroglyphical charafters being ufed by them. If
fuch were adually the cafe, the remains of fymbolical writing
would now be moft difcoverable in the radical, or elementary
charaders, of which we (hall prefently have occafion to fpeak,
and efpecially In thofe which were employed to exprefs fomc
of the moft remarkable objects in nature. Out of the two hun-
dred and twelve, or thereabout, which conftltute the number
of the radical figns, the following are a few of the moft fimple,
in none of which, in my opinion, does there appear to be the
leaft refemblance between the piilure and the obje<St.
g">*
24^
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
man
JPJ koo^ a mouth
*fl tee^ earth
^ //, a fon
ihm tfau^ a plant
|Tl fian^ a mountain
tic* •^'^» ^ heart
. ;^b yZ^oo, a hand
,^jj-» fang^ fpace, or a fquare of
-^J ground
y\ yue^ the moon
tn 7^^> the fun
7«oo, a tree
rwee^ water
^T^ /^o, fire
^*K yZ*^^, a ftone.
The reft of the elementary charadters are, if poflible, ftlll more
unlike the objeds they reprefent. There feems, therefore, to
be no grounds for concluding that the Chinefe ever made ufe of
hieroglyphics or, more properly fpeaking, that their prefent
chara£ter fprung out of hieroglyphics. They have a tradition,
"which is univerfally believed, that their prince Fo-Jloee was the
inventor of the fyftem upon which their written character is
formed, and which, without any material alteration, there is
every reafon to fuppofe has continued in ufe to this day. To
Fo-fiee^ however, they afcribe the invention of almoft every
thing they know, which has led Mr. Baillie ingenioufly to con-
jedure that Fo-JJjee muft have been fome foreigner who firft
I civilized
TRAVELS IN CHINA, 249
civilized China ; as arts and fciences do not Ipring up and bear
fruit in the lile of one man. Many changes in the form of cha-
ra£ters may have taken place from time to time, but the princi-
ple on which they are conftrufted feems to have maintained its
ground. The redundancies of particular charaflers have been
removed for the fake of convenience ; and the learned in their
epiftolary writing have adopted a fort of running hand, in
which the form is fo very materially altered, by rounding oft
the angles, connedting fome parts and wholly omitting others,
as to make it appear to a fuperficial obferver a totally different
language. But I may venture to obferve, that it has not only
not undergone any material alteration for more than two thou-
fand years, but that it has never borrowed a chara&er, or a fyl-
lable, from any other language that now exifts. As a proof of
this, it may be mentioned, that every new article that has found
its way into China fince its difcovery to Europeans has acquired a
Chinefe name, and entirely funk that which it bore by the nation
who introduced it. The proper names even of countries, na-
tions, and individuals are changed, and affume new ones in
their language. Thus Europe is called See-yaiig^ the weftern
country; ]3i-^a.n Tung-y a ng, the eaflern country; ln<X\.3, Siau-
fee-yang^ the little weftern country. The Englifh are dignified
by the name of Hung-mou, or Red-heads^ and the French, Spa-
nifli, Portuguefe, an^ others, who vifit China, have each a
name in the language of the country totally diftindt from that
they bear in Europe. This inflexibility in retaining the words
of their own poor language has frequently made me think,
that Dodor Johnfon had the Chinefe in his mind when, in
that inimitable piece of fine writing which prefaces his didion-
K K arv.
a^o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ary, he made this remark : " The language moft likely to con-
" tinue long without alteration, would be that of a nation
" railed a little, and but a little, above barbarity, fecluded
" from ftrangers, and totally employed in procuring the con-
" veniencies of life,"
The invention of the Chinefe charader, although an effort
of genius, required far lefs powers of the mind than the difco-
very of an alphabet ; a difcovery fo fublime that, according to
the opinion of fome, nothing lefs than a divine origin ought to
be afcribed to it. It may, however, be confidered as the
neareft approximation to an univerfal charader that has hither-
to been attempted by the learned and ingenious of any nation ;
each charader conveying at once to the eye, not only fimple,
but the moft combined ideas. The plan of our countryman,
Bifhop Wilkins, for eftablifhing an univerfal charader is, in all
refpedls, fo fimilar to that upon which the Chinefe language is
conftruded, that a reference to the former will be found to con-
vey a very competent idea of the nature of the latter. The
univerfal charaQer of our countryman is, however, more fyfte-
matic, and more philofophical, than the plan of the Chinefe
chara£ler.
Certain figns expreffmg fimple obje£ts or Ideas may be con-
fidered as the roots or primitives of this language. Thefe are
few in number, not exceeding two hundred and twelve, one
of which, or its abbreviation, will be found to compofe a part
of every charader in the language ; and may, therefore, be con-
fidered as the key to the charader into which it enters. The
eye
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 251
eye foon becomes accuftomed to fix upon the particular key,
or root, of the moft complicated charadlers, in fome of which
are not fewer than fixty or feventy dlftin£L lines and points.
The right line, the curved line, and a point are the rudiments
of all the charafters. Thefe, varloufly combined with one an-
other, have been extended from time to time, as occafion might
require, to nearly eighty thoufand different charadlers.
To explain the manner in which their dictionaries are ar-
ranged will ferve to convey a correal notion of the nature of this
extraordinary language. All the two hundred and twelve roots
or keys are drawn fair and diftindl on the head of the page,
beginning with the moft fimple, or that which contains the
feweft number of lines or points, and proceeding to the moft
complicated ; and on the margins of the page are marked the
numeral charadlers one, two, three, &c. which fignify, that
the root or key at the top v^Ill be found to be combined on that
page with one, two, three, &c. lines or points. Suppofe, for
example, a learner fhould meet with an unknown chara(fter, in
which he perceives that the fimple fign expreffing -water is the
key or rcot^ and that it contains, befides this root, fix addi-
tional points and lines. He immediately turns over his di(5lion-
ary to the place where the charader water ftands on the top
of the page, and proceeding with his eye diredled to the mar-
gin, until the numeral charadler Jix occurs, he will foon per-
ceive the one in queftion ; for all the charadlers in the lan-
guage, belonging to the root ivater, and compofed of^^r other
lines and points, will follow fuccefTively in this place. The
name or found of the charader is placed immediately after it,
K K 2 exprefled
252 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
exprefled in fuch others as are fuppofed to be moft familiar ;
and, in the method made ufe of for conveying this information,
tlie Chincfe have dlfcovered fome faint and very imperfect idea
of alphabetic writing, by fplitting the monofyllabic found into
a didyllable, and again comprefTing the diflyllable into a fimple
found. One inftance v^'ill ferve to explain this method. Sup-
pofe the name of the charader under confideration to be ping.
If no fmgle character be thought fufficiently fimple to exprefs
the found ping, immediately after it will be placed two well-
known charadlers pe and ing; but, as every character in the lan-
guage has a monofyllabic found, it will readily be concluded,
ihdXpe and ing, when comprefled into one fy liable, muil be pro-
nounced /i/;/^. After thefe, the meaning or explanation fol-
lows, in the cleared and mofl eafy charaders that can be em-
ployed.
When, Indeed, a confiderable progrefs has been made In the
language, the general meaning of many of the charadlers may
be pretty nearly guefled at by the eye alone, as they will moftly
be found to have fome reference, either immediate or remote,
though very often in a figurative fenfe, to the fignification of
the key or root ; in the fame manner as in the claffification ot
objeds in natural hiftory, every fpecies may be referred to Its
proper genus. The figna, for inftance, exprefling the hand
and the ^ear/, are two roots, and all the works of art, the dif-
ferent trades and manufactures, arrange themfelves under the
firft, and all the paffions, affedions, and fentiments of the
mind under the latter. The root of an unit or one comprehends
all the charaders expreffive of unity, concord, harmony, and the
I like.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 253
like. Thus, if I obferve a character compounded of the two
fimple roots, one and heart, I have no difficulty in concluding
that its fignilication is unanimity, but, if the fign of a negative
fliould alfo appear in the fame charadter, the meaning will be
reverfed to difcord or dijjention, literally not one heart. Many
proper names of perfons have the character lignifying man for
their key or root, and all foreign names have the character
mouth or voice annexed, which fhews at once that the charader
is a proper name employed only to exprefs found without any
particular meaning.
Nor are thefe keys or roots, although fometlmes placed on
the right of the charader, fometimes on the left, now at the
top, and then at the bottom, fo very difficult to be difcovered
to a perfon who knows but a little of the language, as Dodor
Hager has imagined. This is by far the eafieft part of the lan-
guage. The abbreviations in the compound charadlers, and
the figurative fenfe in which they are fometimes ufed, conftitute
the difficulty, by the obfcurity in which they ai'e involved, and
the ambiguity to which they are liable.
The Dodor is equally unfortunate in the difcovery which he
thinks he has made of a want of order in claffing the elements
according to the number of lines they contain. The inftances
he gives of fuch anomaly are in the two charaders of
•jm^tnoo, mother; and ^Rtien, cultivated ground : the firft
of which he is furprifed to find among the elementary charac-
ters of four lines, and the latter (which he aflerts to be flill
more fimple) among thofe oijive. The Chinefe, however, are
not
234 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
not quite Co much out of order as theDodor feems to be out of
his province in attempting a critique on a language, of which he
really pofTefTes a very fuperficial knowledge. The firft charadlar
-^J^ mco is compofed of Z^^ / **" *» /andthe fecond
ffl tlcu of f "^ W— r J ^ i i^ii . the one of four, and the other
of five lines, according to the arrangement of Chincfe dictiona-
ries, and tlieir elementary treatifes.
Among the roots or primitives that moft frequently occur
are thofe expreffing the hand^ heart, mouth, and the five ele-
ments, earthy air^Jii-e, wood, and zoater. Man is alfo a very
common root.
The compofition of chara£lers is capable of exercifing a very
confiderable degree of ingenuity, and the analyfis of them is
extremely entertaining to a foreigner. As in a propofition of
Euclid it is neceilliry to go through the whole demonftration
before the figure to which it refers can be properly underftood,
fo, in the Chinefe charader, the fenfe of the feveral component
parts muft firft be known in order to comprehend the meaning
of the compound. To endeavour to recolledt them without
this knowledge would be a laborious and almoft impoffible
effort of the mind. Indeed, after this knowledge Is acquired,
the fenfe is fometimes fo hid in metaphor, and in allufions to
particular cuftoms or ways of thinking, that when all the com-
ponent parts of a charader are well underftood, the meaning
may yet remain in obfcurity. It may not be difficult to con-
ceive, for inftance, that in a figurative language, the union of
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 25^
the fun and moon might be employed to exprefs any extraor-
dinary degree of I'ght or brilliancy ; but it would not fo readily
occur, that the character Jbo or happincfs^ or fupreme felicity^
£hould be defigtied by the union of the charadters exprefling a
fpirit or demon, the number otic or iinily, a mouthy and a piece
oi cultivated ground^ thus ifi!^ . Thischarafter in the Chinefe
language is meant to convey the fame idea as tlie word co;;?/or/ does
in our own. The character implying the middle of any thing, an-
nexed to that of heart, was not inaptly employed to exprefs a very
dear friend, nor that with the heart furmounted by a negativCy
to imply indiffere?ice, no heart ; but it is not fo eafy to affign
any reafon why the charatfler ping, fignifying rank or order,
fhould be exprefled by the charader mouth, repeated thrice, and
placed like the three balls of a pawnbroker, thus JJ?^ , or why
fourof thefe mouths arrangedas under, with the character /cZj^rf^/,
in the center, fliould imply an inftrument, or piece of mechanifm.
'gr«a_ . Nor would it readily occur why the charader ^JT" nan^
mafcuUne, fhould be made up of tien, a field, and lee, flrength,
unlefs from the idea that the male fex "^o^ci^esflrength, and
only can inherit land. But that a fmoothnefs or "volubility of
ft""'' J^lhould be dcfigned by ^»». mouth, and kin^^M, w.
can more eafily conceive, as we apply the epithet fdvertongue
pretty nearly on the fame occafion.
If the Chinefe had rigidly adhered to the ingenious and phi-
lofophical mechanifm they originally employed in the conftruc-
tion
2^6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
tlon of their cliaraders, it would be the moft Intereftlng of all
languages. But fuch is far from being the cafe. New charac-
ters are daily conftrudted, in which convenience, rather than per-
Ipicuity, has been confulted.
It will follow from what has been faid, that every com-
pounded charadter is not only a word, but alfo a definition,
comprehending in vifible marks its full explanation ; but no
charadler, however compounded, can have more than a mo-
nofyllabic found, though each part when alone has a diftin(n:
found, as well as fenfe. Thus, " Happinefs," though com-
pounded of four diftindt characters, j/^<?^, a demon; ye, one ;
koo, a mouth, and tien, a piece of cultivated ground, has only
the fimple monofyllabic foundyoo, which is unlike that of any
one of its compounds.
The founds and various inflexions incidental to languages
in general, are not neceffary to be attended to in the ftudy of
the Ghinefe charaders. They fpeak equally ftrong to a perfcn
who is deaf and dumb, as the moft copious language could do
to one in the full enjoyment of all his fenfes. It is a language
addrefled entirely to the eye, and not to the ear. Juft as a
piece of mufic laid before feveral perfons of different nations of
Europe would be played by each in the fame key, the fame
meafure, and the fame air, fo would the Ghinefe charadters
be equally underftood by the natives of Japan, Tunquin, and
Cochin-Ghina ; yet each would give them different names or
founds, that would be wholly unintelligible to one another.
When, on the prefent voyage, we flopped at Pulo Condore,
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 257
the inhabitants, being Cochin-Chinefe, had no difficulty in cor-
refponding, by writing, with our Chinefe interpreters, though
they could not interchange one intelligible word.
Although, with the afliflance of a good di<n:ionary and a to-
lerable memory, a knowledge of inch of the Chinefe charadiers,
as moft frequently occur, may be obtained by a foreigner ; yet
the ambiguity to which they are liable, on account of the fre-
quent figurative expreffions and fubflitution of metaphor for
the literal meaning, renders their befl compofitions extremely
obfcure. Another, and not the leaft, difficulfy to a learner of
this language arifes from the abridgment of the charatSters for
the fake of convenience, by which the eye is deprived of the
chain that originally conneded the component parts. In fhort,
it is a language where much is to be made out that is not ex-
prefied, and particularly fo in what is called fine writing ; and
a thorough knowledge of it can only be acquired from a familiar
acquaintance with the manners, cufloms, habits, and opinions
of the people. Thofe mifTionaries even, who have refided in
the country the befl part of their lives, and accepted employ-
ments about the palace, are frequently at a lofs in tranflating
and compofing the official papers that are necefTary to be made
out on the occafion of an European embafTy.
It is, however, a matter of furprize that, after all that has
been publifhed in Europe by the Jefuits of the grandeur, the
magnificence, the learning, and the philofophy of the Chinefe,
fo very few perfons fhould have taken the trouble to make
themfelves acquainted with the language of this extraordinary
nation. So little was a profejfor of Chinefe, at Rome, verfed
258
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
in the language he profefled to know, that he is fliid* to have
miftaken feme charaders found on a b jfh of liis for Chlnefe^
which buft and the charaders were afterwards proved to be the
work of a modern artift of Turin, made after his own fancy. In
Great Britain we have known flill lefs of the Chinefe lanc-uase
and Chinefe literature than on the continent. It is not many-
years ago, that one of the fmall copper coins of China, ftamped
in the reign, and with the name, cf the late Tchien-liii/g (or as
he is ufually called in the fouthern dialed of China Kien-lotig^
was picked up in a bog in Ireland, and being confidered as a
great curiofity, was carried to an indefatigable antiquary, whofe
refearches have been of confiderable ufe in inveftigating the an-
cient hiftory and language of that ifland. Not knowing the
Chinefe charader, nor their coin, it was natural enough for
him to compare them with fome language with which he was
acquainted ; and the conclufion he drew was, that the four fol-
lowing charaders on the face were ancient Syriac ; and that
the reverfe (which are Man-tchoo letters) appeared to be aftro-
nomical, or talifmanic charaders, of which he could give no
explanation.
Face.
Tchicn-lung.
PaO'tung.
(Emperor's name.)
Current value.
Reverfe.
po tchin.
Houfe, or dynafty, of Tcbin.
By Mr. Pauw.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. ^59
The Man-tchoo Tartar charaders of another coin he fuppofed
to fignify pur^ which is conftrued into yorx, or lot; and it
is concluded, that thefe coins muft either have been imported
into Ireland by the Phoenicians, or manufa£tured in the coun-
try ; in which cafe, the Irifh muft have had an oriental alpha-
bet. " In either cafe," it is obferved, " thefe medals contri-
" bute more to authenticate the ancient hiftory of Ireland than
" all the volumes that have been written on the fubje<S."
I have noticed this clrcumftance, which is taken from the
CoIkButica Hibeniica, in order to fhew how little is known of
the Chinefe charaiStcr and language among the learned, whea
fo good a fcholar and eminent antiquary committed fo great a
ruiftake.
The youth of China generally begin to ftudy the language
when they are about fix years of age. Their firft employment
is to learn by name a certain number of eafy charadlers, with-
out any regard to the fignification, or without underftanding
the meaning of one of them, confequently, without adding to
the mind one fmgle idea, for five or fix years, except that of
labour and difficulty. For the natiie of a character, it may be
recollefted, has no reference whatfoever to its meaning. Thus
fifty-one different charaders, of as many diftin£t fignifications,
have the fame name of chhig ; and if ten or a dozen charac-
ters, bearing the found oi ching^ fhould occur in the fame page,
the learner, in this ftage of his education, is not inftruded in the
feveral meanings ; his obje£t is to acquire the found, but to ne-
glect the fenfe. I have been told, that a regular-bred fcholajf
L L 2 is
2^o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
is required to get by heart a very large volume of the works
of Confucius fo perfectly, that he may be able to turn to any
palTage or fentence from hearing the found of the charaders
only, without his having one fingle idea of their fignification.
The next ftep is to form the charafters, commencing by ♦'ra-
cing, or going over, a certain number that are faintly drawn in
red ink. As fooa as they are able to cover thefe with tolerable
accuracy, without deviating from the lines of the original,
they then endeavour to imitate them on frefh paper. Thefe
operations employ at leaft four years more of their life. Thus,
a young man of fourteen or fixteen years of age, although he
may be able to wrire a great number of charadlers, for each of
which he can alfo give a name, yet, at the fame time, he can
affix no diftind: idea to any one of them. The contrary me-
thod would appear advifable of teaching them firft the fignifica-
tion of the fimple roots, and the analyfis of the compound
characters, and afterwards the founds, vr, perhaps, to let the
one accompany the other.
Objeftions of a fimilar nature to thofe now mentioned
againft the mode of Chinefe education, have, it is true, been
frequently ftated with regard to the plan of educating youths
in the public grammar fchools of our own country ; that fome
of the moft precious years of their lives, when the faculties
were in growing vigour, and the plaftic mind moft fufceptible
of receiving and retaining impreffions, are wafted in poring
over the metaphyfics of a Latin Grammar, which they cannot
poffibly comprehend ; and in learning by heart a number of
declinations, conjugations, and fyntax rules, which ferve only
3 t<>
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 261
to puzzle and difguft, inftead of affording inftru£tion or amufe-
ment : that the grammar, or philoiophical part of a language, is
ufeful only for the niceties and perfedlion of that language, and
not a fahje<fl for boys. In all inftances, perhaps, where the
language to be learned is made the common colloquial language
of the pupil, the objedlions ftated againfl the ufe of the gram-
mar may have fome weight. But as this is not the cafe with
regard to the Greek and Latin languages in Europe, nor to
the written characSter in China, which differs widely from the
colloquial, long experience may, perhaps, in both cafes, have
led to the adoption of the mod eligible method *.
But a youth of Europe has a very material advantage over
one of China during the time in which he is faid to be por-
ing over his Latin Grammar. He is in the daily habit of ac-
quiring new ideas, from his knowledge of other languages.
His mother-tongue fupplies him with books, which he is able
to comprehend, and from which he derives both entertainment
and inftrudion. Without enumerating the great variety of thefe
that daily engage his attention, I deem it fufficient to obferve,
* That the Chinefe method, however, is defeiSive, may be inferred from the circiim-
ft.mce of the prefent Sir George Scuunton having not only acquired, in little more
than twelve months, and at the age of twelve years, fuch a number of words and
phrafeology as to make himfelf uaderftood, and to underftand others on common
topics of converfation, but he alfo learned to write the charaifters witii fuch facility
and accuracy, that all the diplomatic papers of the Embafly addreffed to the Chinefe
government were copied by him (the Chinefe themfelves being afraid to let papers
of fo unufual a ftyle appear in their own hand-wriiing) in fo neat and expeditious
a manner as to occafion great aftonifhment. It may be obferved, however, that
few youths of his age poffefs the talents, the attention, and the general information
with which he was endowed.
that
062 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
that his Roblnfon Crufoe (the befl: book, with few exceptions,
that can be put into a boy's hand) fhews the numbcrlefs diffi-
cuUies to which he is Hable in the world, when the anxious
cares of his parents have ccafed to watch over him ; it is there
pointed out to him that, arduous as many undertakings may
appear to be, few are infurmountable ; that the body and the
mind of man are furniflied with refources which, by patience,
diligence, prudence, and reflexion, will enable him to over-
come the greatefl: difficulties, and efcape the moft imminent
dangers. His Tom Jones, however exceptionable in tliofe
parts where human failings are reprefented under an amiable
and alluring drefs, leaves, upon the whole, a lively impreilion
in favour of generofity and virtue, and feldom fails to excite
an indignant glow againft perfidy, felfifhnefs, and brutality.
The young Chinefe has no fuch relief from his dry ftudy of ac-
quiring the names and reprefentations of things that to
him have as yet no meaning. He knows not a word of any lan-
guage but his own.
The lafh ftep in the education of a Chinefe is to analyfe the
characters, by the help oi the dictionary, in the manner already
mentioned, fo that he now firft begins to comprehend the ufe
of the written character. Extracts from the works of their
famous philofopher Cotig-foo-tfe (the Confucius of the miffion-
aries) are generally put into his hands ; beginning with thofe
that treat on moral fubjeCls, in which are fet forth, in fhort
fentences, the praifes of virtue, and the odioufnefs of vice, with
rules of conduct to be obferved in the world. Th.Q eternal mean^
in the ftyle and manner of the maxims of Seneca, next follows;
and
TRAVELS IN CHINA. , i6j
and the art of governmenr, with an abridgment of the laws,
completes him for takmg his firfl degree, which generally hap-
pens when he has attained his twentieth year; but in order to
be qualified for any high employment, he miift ftudy at lead
ten years longer.
From this view of the written charadler, and the mode of
education, it will readily occur, that little progrefs is likely to
be made in any of the fpecnlative fciences ; and more efpecially
as their affiftance is not neceflary to obtain the moft elevated
fituations in the government. The examinations to be pafled
for the attainment of office are principally confined to the
knowledge of the language ; and as far as this goes, they are
rigid to the utmofl degree. The candidates are put into fepa-
rate apartments, having previoufly been fearched, in order to
afcertain that they have no writing of any kind about them.
They are allowed nothing but pencils, ink, and paper, and with-
in a given time they are each to produce a theme on the fub-
je6t that fhall be propofed to them. The excellence of the
compofition, which is fubmitted to the examining officers, or
men of letters, depends chiefly on the following points.
That every charadter be neatly and accurately made.
That each charader be well chofen, and not in vulgar ufc.
That the fame charader do not occur twice in the fame
compofition.
The
f
264 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The fubjedl and the manner of treating It are of the leaft
confideration, but thofe on morality, or hiftory, are generally
preferred. If the following ftory, as communicated by one of
the mifTionaries, and related, I believe, by the Abbe Grozier,
be true, there requires no further illuftration of the ftate of li-
terature in China. " A candidate for preferment having inad-
*' vertently made ufe of an abreviation in writing the charadter
" ma (which fignilies a horfe) had not only the mortification of
" feeing his compofition, very good in every other refpect,
" rejeded folely on that account ; but, at the fame time, was
" feverely rallied by the cenfor, who, among other things,
*' afked him how he could poffibly expedl his horfe to walk
" without having all his legs !"
The conflrudion of the colloquial, or fpoken language, is
extremely fimple. It admits of no inflexion of termination,
either in the verb, or in the noun, each word being the fame
invariable monofyllable in number, in gender, in cafe, mood,
and teiife ; and, as moft of thefe monofyllables begin with a
confonant and end with a vowel, except a few that terminate
in /, H, or ng, the number of fuch founds, or fimple fyllables,
is very limited. To an European they do not exceed three
hundred and fifty. But a Chinefe, by early habit, has acquired
greater power over the organs of fpeech, and can fo modulate
his voice as to give to the fame monofyllable five or fix diftind
tones of found ; fo that he can utter at leaft twelve or thirteen
hundred radical words, which, with the compounds, are found
to be fully fufficient for expreffing all his wants.
On
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
265
On this curious fubjea: I am enabled to fpeak with great
accuracy, through the klndnefs of Sir George Staunton, to
whom, indeed, I am indebted for more information in this
work than I am allowed to acknowledge. From the beft ma-
nufcript Chinefe dictionary in his poffcffion, he has obligingly
taken the trouble to draw out the following abftradt of all the
fimple founds, or words, in the Chinefe language, together
with their inflexions or accentuations, by which they are ex-
tended as far as any tongue can pofTibly articulate, or the
niceft ear difcriminate. The firft column fhews all the initial
letters, or their powers in the language ; the fecond, the
number of terminations, or the remaining part of the mono-
fyllable befide the initial ; and the third, exprefies the num-
ber of monofyllabic founds that may be given to each by in-
flexion, or modulation of voice, and by making ufe of
afpirates.
I
2
3
4
<;
6
7
8
9
10
II
12
«3
'4
•5
16
'7
'7
Initials.
Fewer.
Ch. as in Child.
F.
G.
between H. & S.
Y.
J. as in French Jour
K.
L.
^r.
N.
o.
p.
s.
T.
Ts.
between V and W.
Sh.
Number of ter
Number of infiex'ons
minations to
Cjch.
or accentuations.
20
'3'
including afpirates.
10
3°
no afpirates.
I 1
32
no afpirates.
36
1.4
all ftrong afpirates.
16
61
no afpirates.
>4
'U
no afpirates.
37
2C6
including afpirates.
25
66
no afpirates.
22
5fi
no afpirates.
23
56
no afpirates.
1
2
no afpirates.
21
104
including afpirates.
29
^'6
no afpirates.
>7
105
including afpirates.
28
'47
including afpirates.
'3
39
no afpirates.
«9
60
no afpirates.
342
'33'
M M
So
266 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
So that in the whole colloquial language of China, an Euro-
pean may jviake out 342 fimplc monofyllabic founds, which by
the help of afpirates, inflexions of voice, or accentuations, are
capable of being increafed by a Chinefe to 133 1 words. And
as the written language is faid to contain 80,000 characters, and
each character has a name, it will follow, that, on an average,
60 charaders, of fo many different fignifications, muft neceffarily
be called by the fame monofyllabic name. Hence, a compofi-
tion if read would be totally unintelligible to the ear, and muft
be feen to be underftood. The monofyllabic found affigned to
each character is applied to fo many different meanings, that
in its unconneded ftate it may be faid to have no meaning
at all.
Inthebufinefsof common life, the nice inflexions or modula-
tions, that are required to make out thefe thirteen hundred words,
may amply be exprefled in about fifteen thoufand characters, fo
that each monofyllabic found will, in this cafe, on an average,
admit of about twelve diflindt fignifications. This recurrence
of the fame words muft neceffarily caufe great ambiguity in
converfation, and it frequently indeed leads to ridiculous mif-
takes, efpecially by foreigners. Thus, a fober miffionary, in-
tending to pafs the night at a peafant's houfe, afked as he
thought for a mat^ but was very much furprifed on feeing his
hoft prefenting him with a young girl; thefe two objeds, fo
very difl'erent from one another, being fignified by two words
whofe pronunciations are not diftinguifhable, and confequently
one or the other requires to be ufed with an adjunCl.
It
TRAVELS IN CHINA. t^j
It was a fource of daily amufement to our condudtors, to
hear the equivoques we made in attempting to fpeak their
laneuace. A Chinefe, when the fenfe is doubtful, will draw
the charader, or the root of it, in the air with his finger or
fan, by which he makes himfelf at once underftood.
But as fome of thefe monofyllabic words, as I have obferved
o? chi/ig, have not lefs than fifty diftinft fignifications, v;hich
the niceft tones and inflexions, even of a Chinefe voice, are not
able to difcriminate, fuch words are generally converted into
compounds, by adding a fecond fyllable, bearing fome relative
fenfe to the firft, by which the meaning is at once determined.
Among the fignifications, for inftance, of the monofyllable Jbo
is that ol father^ to which, for the fake of diftindion, as foo
has many fignifications befide that of father, they add the fylla-
ble <:Z//«, implying ZvWr^,^'; thus, a Chinefe in fpeaking of his
parents invariably fays foo-chin for father, and moo-chin for
mother ; but, in writing, the charader of chin would be confi-
dered as an unneceflary expletive, that o^ foo being very differ-
ently made from any other called by the fame name.
The grammar of this language may briefly be explained.
The noun, as obferved, is indeclinable ; the particles te or //V,
mark the genitive, and always follow the noun ; eu the dative,
which it precedes, and tung or tfung the ablative, before which
they are alfo placed. As for example, ^-^^^
Nom. gat love
Gen. gai'^te of love.
Dat. eurgai to love.
M M 2 Ace.
2^8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Ace. gat love.
Abl. tutig or tsung gai, from or by love. And the fame
in the plural.
Give me your book,
Keu go NE-TE J7}00.
Dear fo men,
^lei EU Jin.
Come you ivit/j him,
Ne-/ai TUNG /a.
The adjedlve is alfo formed from the genitive of the noun as
f>ai, whitenefs ; pai-tii white ; je heat ; je-tie hot ; lee, reafon ;
lee-ttJy rational; hau goodnefs ; haii-tie, good. But when the
adje£tive precedes the noun, as it generally does, the particle tie
is omitted as,
baujiti, a good man.
pai-ma, a white horfe.
je-fwee, hot water.
The plural of nouns is exprefled by prefixing fome word figni-
fying plurality, as to-jin, many men ; to-to jiti^ a multitude of
men ; cbiing jin^ all men ; and fometimes by a repetition of the
word ^s Jin-Jin, men.
Adjedives are compared by placing the particle ieng before
the comparative, as
yeou, foft ; keng yeoUy fofter.
/ Aai/, good ; ie/ig hau, better.
My book is newer than yours,
Go-teJhoQ K E K C ftn ne-te.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 269
The fuperhr've is marked by various particles, fometlmes pre-
ceding, and fometimes following, the adjedivc, and it is alfo
formed by repeating the pofuivc, as - , ,
hau^ bau t'le^ very good.
•whang-iuhang'ttc ^ very yellow.
The perfona! pronouns are,
ngo (nafal) or^o, «^, /<?, go-men^ tie-men ^ta-men.
I, thou, he, we, ye, they.
And they become pofleffives, in the fame manner as nouns arc
changed into adjectives, by the addition oi te or///, as
go-te, ne-te, ta-te, go-men-te^ ne-men-te^ ta-men-te.
mine, thine, his, ours, yours, theirs.
The verb has likewife neither conjugation nor infledion ;
and the tenfes, or times of adion or paffion, are limited to
three ; the prefent, the part, and the future. The prefent is
fignified fimply by the verb, as go lai^ I come ; the paft, is ex-
prefFed by the particle /fo, as^o lai leo, 1 did come, or I have
come ; and the future is formed by placing the particle yati be-
fore the verb, as^o yau lai, I will come ; or, when fomething
very determined is meant to be expreffed, the compound
y7ien-y precedes the verb, as go yuen-y-lai I am determined to
come. It may be obferved, however, that although thefe, and
other particles fignifying the time and mode of adion, are ne-
cefTary in common fpeech, yet, in fine writing, they arc entire-
ly omitted, which is another caufe of the obfcurity and dif-
ficulty that occur to ftrangers in the ftudy of the Chinefe
charader.
3 The
270 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The two negatives mo and poo, are of great ufe In the fpoken
language. The firft is generally ufed with the verb jc/t to
liave, and always implies a want or deficiency, as, mo yeu nai^
there is no milk ; mo yen tcha, you can have no tea, I have no
tea, there is no tea, &c. Poo is generally ufed to exprefs qua-
lities of an oppofite nature, as, ban, good ; poo hcui, bad ; je,
hot ; poo je, cold ; ta, great ; poo ta, little. The ufual faluta-
tion between friends is hnu-poo-hau, well, or not well ?
The limits I have prefcribed for the prefent work will not allow
me to enter into a more detailed account of this fingular lan-
guage. What has been faid may ferve to convey a general idea
of the written charader, and the fimple conftrudtion of the
fpoken language. I fhall now endeavour, in a few words, to
explain the nature and conftrudion of the Man-tchoo Tartar
charader, which, if the prefent family continue on the throne
for a century longer, will, in all probability, fupplant the
Chinefe, or will at leaft become the court language. In the
enunciation it is full, fonorous, and far from being difagreeable,
more like the Greek than any of the oriental languages ; and
it abounds with all thofe letters which the Chinefe have rejeded,
particularly with the letters B and R. It is alphabetic, or, more
properly fpeaking, fyllabic, and the different parts of fpeech
are fufceptible of expreffing number, cafe, gender, time, modes
of adlon, paffion, and other accidents, fimilar to thofe of Euro-
pean languages. This is effeded either by change of termina-
tion, prepofition, or interpofition. The charader is extremely
beautiful, and it is written, like the Chinefe, in perpendicular
columns,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 271
columns, but beginning on the left fide of the paper Inftead of
the right, as is the cafe in writing the fornier language.
The elements of the language are comprized in twelve clafles
of fimple founds or monofyllables, from the different combina-
tions of which all the words of the Mantchoo language are
formed.
Thefe claffes are diflinguifhed by the terminations.
The firft clafs ends in, a, e, 1, o, u, pronounced exa£lly
as the Italian.
The fecond, in ai, el, iei, oi, ui.
The third, in ar, er, ir, or, ur, air, &c.
The fourth, in an, en, in, &c.
The fifth, in ang, eng, ing, &c.
The fixth, in ak, ek, ik, &c.
The feventh, in as, es, is, &c.
The eighth, in at, et, it, &c.
The ninth, in ap, ep, ip, &c.
The tenth, in au, eu, iu, ou.
The elventh, in al, el, il, &c.
The twelfth, in am, em^ im, &c.
The initials are, A. E. F. H. I. K. L. M. N. O. P. R.
S. T. U. Y.
To give fome idea of the charadter, I fubjoin the written
elements.
I ft.
172
TRAVELS IN CHINA
1 ft Clafs. a
\
•
e 1
J i
ad Clafs. ai
ei iei
j
3d Clafs.
ar er ir
i
in
>
%
ing
4th Clafs. an en
i i
5th Clafs. ang eng
J
6th Clafs. ak ek
i i
7th Clafs. as es
Sth Clafs. at et
ik
■i
u
6 &.
Ol Ul
i-
or
)
ur
on un
i 4
ong
ung
ok
uk
% 4
IS OS us
i.
^
It Ot Ut
i i i i
4
9th
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
9th Clafs. ap
loth Clafs. au
1 1 th Clafs. al
i
1 2 th Clafs. am
ep
i
eu
i.
em
iP
lU
ii
L
im
4-^4:
op
ou
ol
om
4.
up
i i^
uu
ul
i- i-
um
The Initial characters are reprefented by refpe£tive marks,
which being joined to thefe elementary terminations, generally
at the upper extremity, give all the monofyllabic founds, and
the junclion of thefe according to their various combinations
all the w^ords in the IVIantchoo language. One example will
be fufficient to fhew the nature of fuch compofition ; thus the
initials P. T. L. S. F. fet before the 1 2th clafs of radicals, will
ftand as follows :
Pam
Tem
Llm
Som
Fum
^) ^J ^ ^
K N
And
274 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
And if each of thefe fyllables be refpeaively added to the jlh
clafs, they will ftand thus :
Pamang Temcng Liming Somong Fumung
4 ^ ? %^ %
r S 6 3 &
Of the flate of their literature, and progrefs in fcience, I
have little to obferve. The nature of the language will almoft
itfelf determine thefe 'points. With refped: to any branch of
polite literature, or fpeculative fcience, little improvement
feems to have been made in the laft two thoufand years. In-
deed, there are no works in the whole empire, modern or an-
cient, that are fo much efteemed, fo much ftudied, and I may
perhaps add, fo little comprehended, as the five claflical books
colledled and commented upon by their great philofopher
Cong-foo-tfe, who lived about 450 years before the Chriftian
asra ; and thefe certainly are very extraordinary produdions
for the time in which they were written. Thefe works and a
few writings of their favourite mafter, according to the annals
of the country, efcaped the general deftruction of books, when
the barbarous She-wharig-te ordered all the monuments of
learning to be burnt, except fuch as treated of medicine and
agriculture, about 200 years before Chrift, for the abfurd pur-
pofe, as they ftate, that he might be confidered by pofterity as
the firft civilized Emperor which had governed China, and
that the records of its hiftory might, by this mean artifice, ap-
pear to commence with his reign.
Admitting
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 2fs
Admitting fuch an event to have happened which, however,
may be confidered as doubtful, the fuppofition involves in it
this neceflary coiifequence, that the ftock of learning at that
time mufl; have been very confined. It is fcarcely poffible,
otherwife, how one perfon, near the end of his reign, could
have contrived to afl'emble together all the works of art and
literature, difperfed through fo large a tra£t of country and fo
enlightened as it was then fuppofed to be. There were, befides,
other independent fovereigns in the country, over whom he
had little or no controul, fo that it is very probable the com-
monwealth of letters fuffered no great lofs by the burning of the
Chinefe books. When the Caliph Omar commanded the Alex-
andrian library to be deftroyed, which the pride and the learn-
ing of the Ptolemy family had collefted from every part of the
world, literature fuftained an irreparable lofs; but, although the
tyrant had the power to confign to eternal oblivion the works
of fclence, yet he had no power over the principles upon which
thefe works were conftrudled. Thefe principles had fpread
themfelves wide over the world. The expedition of Alexan-
der carried the learning of the Egyptians and the Greeks into
various countries of Afia, where they continued to flourifh.
And when the tyranny and oppreffion of the feventh Ptolemy
(Phyfcon) forced the Alexandrians to abandon a city that was
perpetually dreaming with the blood of its citizens, they found
an afylum in the Grecian flates and in different parts of Afia.
And as this fanguinary tyrant, in the midft of his cruel-
ties, pretended and indeed fhewed a fondnefs for literature, the
arts and the fciences flourifhed even in his reign : the migra-
tions, therefore, at this time, from the capital of Egypt, were
N N 2 of
276 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
of the grcateil Importance and ufe to thofe nations among whom
the refugees fettled. Unluckily for China, the wild moun-
tainous forefts towards the fouth, and the wide fandy deferts
to the north, that render any communication extremely diffi-
cult between this empire and the reft of Afia, together with
their diflike for foreigners, feem, at this time, to have checked
the progrefs of thofe arts and fciences which had long flourifhed
In Europe and In Africa. Their hiftory, at leaft, is filent as to
any communication with India, till a century nearly after the
commencement of the Chriftian asra, when the religion of Bu-
dha found its way from Thibet. Into China.
Whether the burning of the works of the learned In China
did or did not happen, appears, as already obferved, to admit of
fome doubt ; but the antiquity, and the authenticity, of the five
king^ or claffics, feem to be fufficiently eftablifhed. And con-
fidering the early periods in which they were written, they cer-
tainly demonftraie a very fuperlor degree of civilization. It has
been obferved that. In this country, the arts, the fciences, and
literature, are not progreffive ; and the five king would lead
one to conclude, that they have rather even been retrograde than
ftationary. The names of thefe works are :
1. Shoo-king. A colledllon of records and annals of various
princes, commencing more than 2000 years before Chrift.
2. Shee-king. Odes, fonnets, and maxims; moft of them fo
abundant in metaphor, and fo obfcure, that much of
the fenfe is to be made out by the tranflator.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 277
3. Te-king. The perfed and the broken lines of Fofiee",
the moft ancient reli£t in China, and perhaps the firft
attempt at written language : now perfedly incompre-
henfible.
4. Cbung-choo. Spring and autumn. The hiftory of fome of
the kings oi Loo: the work principally of Co?ig-foo-tfc.
5. Lee-kee. Ceremonies and moral duties. A compilation of
Cong-foo-tfe.
The lines of Fo-JIkc puzzled even the great philofopher of
the country, who declared himfelf dilTatisfied with all the ex-
planations of the commentators. The learned and ingenious
Leibnitz fancied he difcovered in them a fyftem of binary
arithmetic, by which all the operations and refults of numbers
might be performed, with the help of two figures only, the
cypher or zero o, and an unit i, the former being confidered as
the canftant multiple of the latter, as 10 is of the unit. Thus
I would ftand for 1,10 for two, 1 1 for three, 100 for four, and
fo on. It is unneceflary to obferve, with how many incon-
veniencies fuch a fyftem would be attended when reduced to
practice. This difcovery of the binary feries, which the ma-
thematician, in all probability, confidered only as a philofo-
phical plaything, was communicated to Father Bouvet the
Jefuit who, happening at that time to be engaged in decy-
phering the lines aiFo-Jheey caught the idea and in an extacy
of joy proclaimed to the world that Leibnitz had folved the
Fo-fheean riddle.
The
278 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The mlflionarles of the Romifh church are fo accuftomed to
the myfteries with which their religion abounds, that every
thing they meet with, and do not underftand, among a ftrange
people, is alfo refolved into a myftery. Thus, the following
figure, which the Chinefe, in allufion to the regular lines de-
fcribed on the back-fhell of fome of the tortoifes, metaphori-
cally call the myftic tortoife, has been fuppofed by fome of
thefe gentlemen to contain the moft fublime dodtrines of Chi-
nefe philofophy ; that they embrace a lummary of all that is
perfedt and imperfed, reprefent the numbers of heaven and
earth, and fuch like jargon, which, it obvioufly appears, is no
lefs unintelligible to themfelves than to their readers.
Thefe famous lines, fuppofed to be found on the back of a
tortoife, are the following :
oo-oo-o-oo-o-o
y
°\°
•^ ° x»
"Who does not perceive, at a fmgle glance, In this figure the
common fchool-boy's trick of the magic fquare, or placing the
nine digits fo that they fhall make the fum of fifteen every
way, thus,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 279
2 1 9 U
7 1 5 1 3
6 1 I ! 8
and what are the perfed and imperfed numbers, but the odd
and even digits diftinguifhed by open and clofe points ? In like
manner, I am inclined to believe, the feveral ways of placing
thefe open and clofe points that occur in Chinefe books are li-
terally nothing more than the different combinations of the
nine numerical figures, for which they are fubftituted.
Mofl of the other k'mg have been tranflated, wholly or in
part, and publifhed in France. It may be obferved, however,
that all the Chinefe writings, tranflated by the miffionaries,
have undergone fo great a change in their European drefs, that
they ought rather to be looked upon as originals than tranflations.
It is true, a literal tranflation would be nonfenfe, but there is
a great difference between giving the meaning of an author,
and writing a commentary upon him. Sir William Jones ob-
ferves that the only method of doing juflice to the poetical
compofitions of the Afiatics, is to give firfl a verbal and then
a metrical verfion. The moft barren fubjedt, under his elegant
pen, becomes replete with beauties. The following flanza,
from one of the odes of the Jhec-king^ is an inflance of this re-
mark. It is calculated to have been written about the age of
Homer ; and it confifls of fifteen charaders.
The peach-tree, how fair, how graceful, its leaves, bow bloom-
cSo TRAVELS IN CHINA.
78 9 10 It
in<^, how pleafant ; fuch is a bride, when fhe enters her bride-
II ij 14 15
groom's houfe, and attends to her whole family.
This is a fair traaflation, as no more expletives are inferted
than fuch as were neceflary to make up the fenfe, and it is thus
paraphrafed by Sir William Jones.
" Giiy child of Spring, the garden's queen,
" Yon peach tree charms the roving fight ;
'' Its fragrant leaves how richly green !
•* Its bloflbms, how divinely briglit !
" So foftly fmiles the blooming bride,
" By love and confcious virtue led,
" O'er her new manfion to prcfide,
" And placid joys around her fprcad."
The late Emperor Klen-Lotig was confidered among the beft
poets of modern times, and the moft celebrated of his compofi-
tions is an ode in praife of Tea, which has been painted on all
the teapots in the empire. The following is a verbal tranflation,
with fuch auxiliaries only as were neceffary to make the fenfe
complete,
" On allow fire fet a tripod, whofe colour and texture (hew
" its long ufe ; fill it with clear fnow water ; boil it as long as
•' would be neceffary to turn fifh white, and crayfifh red ;
" throw it upon the delicate leaves of choice tea, in a cup of
" yooe (a particular fort of porcelain). Let it remain as long
" as the vapour rifes in a cloud, and leaves only a thin mift-
" floating on the furface. At your eafe, drink this precious li-
*' quor, which will chafe away the five caufes of trouble. We
can
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 281
" can tafte and feel, but not defcribe, the ftate of repofe pro-
" duced by a liquor thus prepared."
He wrote, Ilkewlfe, a long defcriptive poem on the city and
country of Moukden, in Mantchoo Tartary, which has been
tranflated by feme of the miffionaries, and appears to poflefs
much more merit than his ode on tea, of which, however, it is
difficult to judge without a thorough knowledge of the language,
asthe o de may owe its chief beauties and its fame more to the
choice of the charadlers than to the founds, literal fenfe, or veri-
fication. To an European the Chinefe language appears to
have few elegancies : it wants all the little auxiliaries that add
grace and energy to thofe of Europe. In the Chinefe the
beauty of an expreffion depends entirely on the choice of the
character, and not on any feledlion or arrangement of the
monofyllabic founds. A charafler uniting a happy affociation
of ideas has the fame effed: upon the eye of the Chinefe, as a
general theorem exprefled in fymbols has on a mathematician ;
but in both cafes a man muft be learned to feel the beauties of
the concife expreffion. Even in fpeaking the language has
few expletives. " Englifh good, Chinefe better," — " to-day
go, to-morrow come,"—*' fea no bound, Kiang no bottom ; —
" well, not well ;" — are modes of expreffion in which an Eu-
ropean will not find much elegance.
In addition to the defeds of the language, there is another
reafon why poetry is not likely ever to become a favourite pur-
fuit, or to be cultivated with fuccefs, among the Chinefe. The
date of fociety we have feen to be fuch as entirely to exclude
o o the
282 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
the paflion of love. A man, in this country, marries only
from neceffity, or for the fake of obtaining an heir to his pro-
perty, who may facrifice to his manes, or becaufe the maxims
of the government have made it difgraceful to remain in a ftate
of celibacy. The fine fentiments that arife from the mutual
endearment of two perfons enamoured of each other can
therefore have no place in the breaft of a Chinefe : and it is to
the effufions of a heart thus circumftanced, that poetry owes
fome of its greateft charms. Nor can they be confidered as a
nation of warriors ; and war, next to love, has ever been the
favourite theme of the mufes.
The language is much better adapted to the conclfe ftyle of
ethics, than the fublime flights of poetry. The moral precepts
of Cong-foo-tfe difplay an excellent mind in the writer, and
would do honour to any age and nation. The following will
fcrve as a fpecimen of his fubjedts, ftyle, and manner.
" There is one clear rule of conduct : to act with fmcerity; and
" to conform with all one's foul, and .with all one's ftrength, to
" this univerfal rule — do not any thing to another, that you
" would not wifli another fhould do to you,"
How conformable is this fentlment as well as the words in which
it is exprefl'edjto that of the great Author of our religion ; a re-
ligion whofe " ways are ways of pleafantnefs, and all whofe
" paths are peace."
« Five
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 183
" Five tilings ought to be well obferved In the world :
" Juftice between the prince and the fubjed ; affedion be-
" tween father and fon ; fidelity between man and wife j fub-
*' ordination among brothers j concord among friends.
*' There are three radical virtues : prudence to difcern, uni-
" verfal benevolence to embrace (all mankind) j courage to
« fuftain.
" What pafles in a man's mind is unknown to others : If you
*' are wife, take great care of what none but yourfelf can fee.
*' Examples are better for the people than precepts.
" A wife man is his own moft fevere cenfor : he is his own
*' accufer, his own evidence, and his own judge."
" A nation may accomplifh more by bravery than by fire
" and water. I never knew a people perifh, who had courage
" for their fupport."
" An upright man will not purfue a crooked path ; he follows
" the ftraight road, and walks therein fecure."
Having taken this fhort view of their language and literature,
I fhall now proceed to fhew the prefent Hate of the arts and
fclences, as far as the communications I had not only with the
mifTionaries, but alfo with fome of the moft learned Chinefe,
will allow me to pronounce on thefe points. The obfervations
002 I have
a84 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
I have to make muft of courfe be very general ; minute parti-
culars will not be expected In a work of this nature. There Is
no branch of fcience which the Chinefe afFedt to value fo much,
and underftand fo little, as aftronomy. The neceifity indeed
of being able to mark, with fome degree of precifion, the returns-
of the feafons and certain periods, in fo large a community^
muft have diredted an early attention of the government to this
fubjedt J and accordingly we find, that an aftronomieal board
has formed one of the ftate eftabllfliments from the earlieft pe-
riods of their hiftory. Yet fo little progrefs have they made in
this fcience, that the only part of its fundions, which can be
called aftronomieal, has long been committed to the care of
foreigners, whom they afFe<3: to hold in contempt and to con-
fider as barbarians. The principal object of this board is to
frame and to publifh a national calendar, and to point out to the
government the fuitable times and feafons for its Important un-
dertakings. Even when the marriage of a prince or princefs of
the blood is about to take place, the commiffioners of aftronomy
muft appoint a fortunate day for the celebration of the nup-
tials, which Is armounced in form In the Pekin Gazette.
In this Important almanack, as In the Greek and Roman ca-
lendars, are inferted all the fuppofed lucky and unlucky days In
the year, predidions of the weather, days proper for taking me-
dicine, commencing journies, taking home a wife, laying the
foundation of a houfe, and other matters of moment, for enter-
ing upon which particular times are afligned. To the fuperin-
tendency of the Chinefe members of this auguft tribunal is com-
mitted the aftrological part, a committee of whom Is feleded
annually
TRAVELS IN CHINA. S85
annually for the execution of this important tafk. Whether
the men of letters, as they call themfelves, really believe in the
abfurdities of judicial aftrology, or whether they may think it
neceflary to encourage the obfervance of popular fuperftitions,
on political confiderations, I will not take upon me to decide.
If, however, they /hould happen to pofTefs any fuch fuperior
knowledge, great credit is due to them for acTting the farce with
fuch apparent earneftnefs, and with fo much folemnlty. The
duration of the fame fyftem has certainly been long enough for
them to have difcovered, that the multitude are more effedtual-
ly governed by opinion than by power^
The phenomena of the heavenly bodies, to an enlightened
and inteUigent mind, furnifh the moft grand and fublime fpec-
taclc in nature ; to the ignorant and fuperftitious, the moft
awful. The common people of all countries, and in all ages,
have confidered the occafional privation of the light of the two
great luminaries of heaven as the forerunners of fome extraor-
dinary event, whilft the more intelligent part of the community
have . turned thefe fuperftitious notions to their advantage.
Thales is faid to have been able to calculate the returns of
ecHpfes fix hundred years before the birth of Chrift ; of courfe,
he was well acquainted with the caufes by which they were
produced ; yet his countrymen were always filled with fuper-
ftition and terror on the event of an eclipfe. Plutarch has ob-
ferved that Pericles learned from Anaxagoras to overcome the
terrors which the various phenomena of the heavens infpired
into thofe who knew not their caufes ; and he mentions a ftrik-
ing
-re TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ing proof which he gave of this knowledge, on his expediiion
againft Peloponnefus, when there happened an eclipfe of the fun.
The fudden darknefs, being confidered as an omen unfavour-
able to the objedt of the expedition, occafioned a general con-
fternation. Pericles, obferving the pilot of his own galley to be
frightened and confufed, took his cloak and placed it before
his eyes, afking him at the fame time if he found any thing
alarming, or of evil prefage, in what he then did ? and upon
his anfwering in the negative ; " Where then is the difference,"
faid Pericles, " between this covering and the other, except
*' that fomething of greater extent than my cloak-deprives us of
" the light of the fun ?" Nor can it be doubted that Alexan-
der when, oa a like occafion, previous to the battle of Arbela,
he commanded a facrifice to be made to the fun, the moon,
And the earth, as being the three powers to which eclipfes were
owing, did it merely to appeafe the fuperflitious notions of his
army. To fuppoie him ignorant of their caufes, would be pay-
ing an ill compliment to his great mafter. Thus it might have
been with regard to the Chinefe government, which, whether
through ignorance or policy, flill continues to obferve with the
greateil folemnity the fame ceremonies, or nearly i'o, on the
event of an eclipfe, which were in ufe among the Egyptians,
Greeks, and Romans, near two thoufand years ago. When
the moon was darkened by an eclipfe, their drums and clarions
and trumpets were founded, under the notion that, by their
fhrill and loud noife, they might affift in relieving the labour-
ing goddefs.
« A vaa
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 287
" A vaft eclipfe darkens the neighbouring planet,
" Sound there, found all our iaftruments of war ;
" Clarions and trumpets, filver, brafs, and iron,
" And beat a thoufand drums to help her labour."
The brazen gong is violently beat by the Chinefe on the fame
ocf afion ; and that fuch an event may not pafs unobferved, and
the luminary thereby be deprived of the ufual afBftance of mu-
fic, to frighten away or to charm the dragon, which they fup-
pofe to have feized upon it, the great officers of ftate in every
city and principal town are inftruded to give public notice of
the time it will happen, according to the calculations of the na-
tional almanack. A rude projedtion of a lunar eclipfe, that
happened whilfl: we were at Toiig-cboo, was ftuck up in the cor-
ners of the ftreets ; all the officers were in mourning, and all
bufinefs was fufpended for that day. When the Dutch Embaf-
fadors were in Pekin, the fun was eclipfed on the 21ft of Janu-
ary 1795, which happened to be the firft day of their new
year: a day obferved through the whole empire with the greateft
feftivlty and rejoicing ; and almoft the only day on which
the bulk of the people refrain from their refpeftive occupa-
tions. The Embaflador and his fuite were fummoned to court
at the ufual hour of three in the morning. On arriving at the
palace they were told that, in confequence of an eclipfe of the
fun, which was about to happen on that day and which was
a moft unfortunate event, portending an unhappy year to their
country, the Emperor would not be vifible for three days, dur-
ing which time the whole court would go into mourning j that
the amufements, feafts, and entertainments ufual on this parti-
cular
488 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
cular day would be fufpended from one end of the empire to
the other.
Before an eclipfe happens, the members of the mathematical
board and other learned men in office aflemble near the
palace, each having in his hand a fketch of the obfcuration, in
order to witnefs the truth of the aftronomer's calculation. But
if thefe people were not all interefted in making the calculation
t-o agree with the time and other circumftances of the eclipfe, the
aftronomers would run no great hazard of being delected in an
error, provided it was not a very glaring one, as they have no
inftruments for meafuring time with any tolerable degree of ac-
curacy. The moment the eclipfe begins, they all-fall down on their
knees, and bow their heads nine times to the ground, during
which is flruck up a horrible crafh of gongs, kettle-drums,
trumpets, and other noify inftruments, intended to fcare the
devouring dragon.
From the obfervance of fuch extravagant ceremonies it would
not be fair to infer their total ignorance of the principles of
aftronomy ; but that fuch is really the cafe, the latter part of
their hiftory furnilhes abundant teftimony. In the thirteenth
century, when Gen- gis Khan the Mongul Tartar firft entered
China, and his fucceflbr Kublai Khan effedted the conqueft of
the country, the greateft diforder and confufion prevailed in
their chronology. They were neither able to regulate the rec-
koning of time, nor to fettle the limits of the different provinces,
nor even to afcertain the divifions of lands as allotted to the fe-
deral diftrids. Kublai, according to their own annals, held out en-
couragement
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 289
couragement for learned men to frequent his court from every
part of the world, and through the means of the miflionaries,
both of the Chriftian and Mahomedan faith, hut principally the
latter, and perhaps ftiU more through the defcendants of the
Greeks, who anciently fettled in Badlriana, many important
improvements were then introduced into China. He caufed a
regular furvey to be taken of the whole empire. He adjufted
their chronology, and corre£led the errors of their aftronomical
obfervations ; he imported various mathematical and aftronomi-
cal inftruments from Balk and Samarcand ; fuch as were then ia
life among the Chinefe being of a rude conftrudiion, and unfit
to make obfervations of the heavenly bodies with any tolerable
degree of accuracy ; and he repaired the grand communication
by water that conne£ts the northern with the fouthern extre-
mities of the empire, a work, in the contemplation of which
the mind is not more ftrongly imprefled with the grandeur and
magnitude of the objed, than with the pleafmg fenfe of its im-
portant utility.
In fome of the early accounts of China, publiflied in Europe,
we find the defcription of certain inftruments, faid to have
been difcovered on a mountain near the city of Nankin, and
afterwards placed by the Chinefe partly in that capital and
partly in Pekin. On a more accurate examination of thofe in-
ftruments it appeared, that they had all been conftruded for
fome particular place lying under the 37th parallel of latitude;
from whence it followed, that all the obfervations made with
them at Pekin, which is in 39°. ^5, north, as well as all thofe
made at Nankin in 32°. 4. north, muft have been entirely falfe:
P P and
,50 TRAVELS IN CHINA,
and the very a£l of placing them fo diftant from the parallel
for which they were conftriided, is in iifelf a fufEcient proof
of the i'^-norance of the Chinefe ia niatters of this kind.
Mr. Pauw has given the mofl probable conjedure refpe£ting
thofe inftraments. He fuppofes them to have been made at
Balk in Badriana, by fome of thofe Greeks who obtained the
government of that province under the fucceflbrs of Alexander,
and that they had paffed into China during the period of the
Mongul government.
The death of Kublai Khan was fpeedily followed by the
total expulfion of the Tartars from China ; and moft probably,
at the fame time, of all thofe learned men they had been the
means of introducing into the country } for when the empire
was again fubdued by the Mantchoo Tartars, whole race now
fills the throne, Sim-cbee^ the firft Emperor of the prefent
dynafty, obferves in an edid publiflied by him in 1650, that
fmce the expulfion of the Monguls, the Chinefe had not beea
able to make a corred almanack ; and that error had been accu-
mulating on error in their aftronomical obfervations and chro-
nology. At this time, fome Mahomedans were again found to
fuperintend the conftrudion of the calendar ; but the ofEce de-
volving, at length, upon a Chinefe, the unfortunate almanack-
maker happened to infert a falfe intercalation, afligning thirteen
months to the year 1670, when it fhould have contained no
more than twelve. This miftake was an event too fortunate to
be overlooked by fome catholic miflionaries who, at that time,
happened to be in the capital. They faw the advantages to be
derived from convincing the Tartars of the ignorance of the
Chinefe
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 291
Chlnefe In a matter of the laft importance to the government,
and they had little doubt of fuccefs, where prejudice was al-
ready operating in their favour. In fhort, the Europeans fuc-
ceeded ; the almanacks of that year were declared defective,
were called in, a new edition printed off, and the poor alma-
nack^maker is faid to have been ftranglgd.
Four German Jefuits were then appointed to fill the vacant
places in the tribunal of mathematics ; and, being men of learn-
ing, they proved of no fmall ufe at court. After thefe the Por-
tuguefe fucceeded to the appointments of regulating the calendar,
three of whom, as already obferved, are now entrufted with
this important office. Fortunately for thefe gentlemen, the
Chinefe have no means of detedting any little inaccuracies that
may happen in their calculations. I faw, and converfed with,
numbers of their learned men at the palace of Tiien-mhi-ynen^
but I can fafely fay, that not a fingle Chinefe, nor a Tartar,
who fhewed themfelves there, were pofTeffed of the flighted
knowledge of aftronomy, nor one who could explain any of the
various phenomena of the heavenly bodies. Aftronomy with
them confifts entirely in a certain jargon of judicial aftrology ;
and they remain firmly attached to the belief of the dodrines of
their great philofopher, delivered more than two thoufand years
ago, which teach them that " the heaven is round, the earth a
" fquare fixed in the middle ; the other four elements placed
" at its four fides : water to the north ; fire to the fouth ; wood
" to the eaft; and metal to the weft :" and they believe the
ftars to be ftuck, like fo many nails, at equal diftances from the
earth, in the blue vault of heaven.
P P 2 As
2g2 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
As to the numerous eclipfes taken notice of In the re-
cords of the country, they are mere regifters, noted down
whenever they happened, and not predidlions or the refult
of calculations. It does not appear, indeed, that the Chi-
nefe were, at any time, able to predict an eclipfe, notwith-
ftanding all that has been faid in their favour on this fubje£t.
The reputed Chinefe tables, publifhed by father Couplet, have
been deteded to be thofe of Tycho Brahe ; and Caflini found
the chronology of their eclipfes, publiflied by Martinus, to be
erroneous, and their returns impoffible. It could not indeed
be otherwife ; the defedivenefs of the calendar muft neceflarily
falfify all their records as to time.
Had the miflionaries been difpofed to confer a real fervice on
the Chinefe, inftead of mifleading the world by their ftrange and
wonderful accounts of this people; inftead of beftowing fo
much time in tranflating into Chinefe a fet of logarithm tables
for the ufe of Kaungjloee^ the fecond Emperor of the prefent
dynafty, of which they pretend he was fo fond that he always
carried them about with him fufpended to his girdle, they
Ihould rather have taught them the ufe, and the convenience,
of the Arabic numbers, of whofe combinations and refults their
own language is not capable, and have inftrudted a few of their
youth in the principles of arithmetic and the mathematics. For
fuch an omiffion, however, human nature can readily find an
excufe. It would be too great an inftance of felf-denial, to re-
linquifh the advantages and the credit which their fuperior fkill
had gained them over a vaft empire, by making the individuals
of that empire participate in their knowledge.
When
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 293
When we refled:, for a moment, how many perplexities and
difficuhies were occafioned by the irregular coincidences of
the folar and lunar periods, in the calendars of Europe, from the
time of Julius Cacfar to the altering of the ftyle by pope Gre-
gory, we may readily conceive how great muft be the errors in
the chronology of a country, where the inhabitants are entirely
ignorant even of the firft principles of aftronomy, and where
they depended on the adventitious aid of foreigners, to enable
them to carry into execution one of the moft important concerns
of the government.
Every thing of their own invention and difcovery carries
with it fuch ftrong marks of originality, as cannot eafily be
miftaken. The language declares itfelf to be moft unqueftion-
ably the production of the country ; fo does the mariner's com-
pafs J and they have a cycle, or period, to affift their chrono-
logy, of which I think none will difpute with them the inven-
tion. In their records it is carried back to the time of the Em-
peror Whang-tee^ the third from Fo-JJjee. This cycle, conlift-
ing of fixty years, has no reference tO' the periods of the mo-
tions or coincidences of the fun and moon, as one of the fame
period among the Hindus, but is ufed merely as our century,
to diftinguifh time into eras or ages. Inftead of denominating
any given year the firft, fecond, or third year of fuch a cycle,
they have afTumed two fets of eharadlers, one fet confifting of
ten, and the other of twelve ; the firft are called the ten roots,
and the fecond the twelve branches. The combination of a
root and a branch gives a name for the year ; and the different
permutations, of which they ,are capable, fupply them with
fixty
294 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
fixty dlftlniSt titles, making the complete cycle of fixty years.
The nature of this period may be rendered familiar to fuch as are
not converfant with the combination of numbers, by afliiming
the numerals from i to lo for the ten roots, and the letters of
the alphabet from a to /«, for the twelve branches, and by
placing them in a circle, in the following manner, where the
cycle begins with the letter cu
10
9 8^
'X e ^
5 ^ <.-
^ \ ^ Qi
^ ^ ^ r & ji
A ^ 6
^ 01 X
^ % ^
Suppofing thefe letters and figures to be Chinefe charaders, the
firft year of any cycle would be called la, the fecond 2l>, the
third y. and fo on to lojf, the tenth year; the eleventh wouW
be i/, the twelfth 2m, the thirteenth 3^, and the fixtieth
10m
i
TRAVELS IN CHINA. ^ 295
10m, when the whole revolution would be completed. This
cycle, though always ufed in the records of their hiftory, never
appears in the date of public adts. Thefe only fpecify the time
of the reign under which they are given, as the I ft. 2d. or 3d.
day of the ift. 2d. or 3d moon, of the ift. ad. or 3d. year of the
reignof fuch or fuch an Emperor.
Little progrefs as they appear to have made in the fcience of
aftronomy, their knowledge of geography, which fuppofes in-
deed an acquaintance with the former, is equally limited. Their
own empire was confidered to occupy the middle fpace of the
fq\iare furface of the earth, the reft of which was made up of
iflands. When the Jefuits firft entered China, they found the
charts, even of their own country, rude and incorredt fkeiches,
without any fcale or proportion,, wherein a ridge of mountains
covered a whole- province, and a river fwept away haJf of an-
other. At prefent they have neat and accurate maps of the
country, copied after the original furvey of the whole empire,
undertaken and completed by the Jefuits, after feveral years of
indefatigable labour..
Although the Chlnefe language be unfavourable for nu-
mercial combinations it is admirably adapted for the conclfe
operations of algebra, and the terfe demonftrations of geome-
try, to neither of which, however, has it ever been made fub-
fervient, both the one and the other being totally unknown in
the country. Their arithmetic is mechanical. To find the
aggregate of numbers, a machine is in univerfal ufe, from the
man of letters, to the meaneft fhopman behind his counter.
By this machine, which is called a Sivan-pan^ arithmetical
operations are rendered palpable. It confiils of a frame of
I wood,
296
TRAVELS IN CHINA,
wood, divided Into two compartments by a bar running down
the middle : through this bar, at right angles, are inferted a
number of parallel wires, and on each wire, in one compart-
ment, are five moveable balls, and in the other two. Thefe
wires may be confidered as the afcending and defcending powers
of a numeration table, proceeding in a tenfold proportion ; fo
that if a ball upon any of the wires, in the larger compartment,
be placed againft the middle bar, and called unity or one, a ball
on the wire next above it will reprefent ten, and one on the
next one hundred ; fo, alfo, a ball on the wire next below that
expreffing unity will be one-tenth, the next lower one hun-
dredth, and the third one thoufandth, part of an unit ; and the
balls on the correfponding wires in the fmaller compartment
will be five, fifty, five hundred, five-tenths, five hundredths,
five thoufandths ; the value or power of each of thefe, in the
fmaller divlfion, being always five times as much as of thofe in
the larger. In the following figure, fuppofe X be alTumed as the
line of units, the lines to the right will be integers decimally in-
creafing, and thofe to the left frailional parts decimally decreaf-
ing ; and the Swan-pan in the prefent pofition of the balls, will
reprefent the number !^yi,q\6 ~r%''-°:s^-
Th
IS
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 297
This Is clearly a fyftem of decimal arithmetic, which, for the
cife, fimplicity, and convenience of its operations, it were to
be wifhed was generally adopted in Europe, inftead of the
endlefs ways in which the integer is differently divided in dif-
ferent countries, and in the different provinces of the fame
country. The Swan-pan would be no bad inftrumenl for
teaching to a blind perfon the operations of arithmetic. Yet,
paradoxical as it may feem, thcfe operations, as performed by
the Chinefe, like their written charadlers, require more the ex-
ercife of the eye than of the mind. The fimple addition or fub-
tradion of the little balls to, or from, the middle bar, (hews at
once by their difpofition on the board the refult of any required
combination. The invention of it I think may fairly be attri-
buted to the Chinefe ; though it has been compared, how juftly
-I cannot pretend to fay, to the Roman abacus.
It has been obferved, and perhaps with a great deal of truth,
that the arts which fupply the luxuries, the conveniencies, and
the necelTaries of life, have derived but little advantage in the
firfl inftance from the labours and fpeculations of philofophers ;
that the ingenuity of artlfts, the accidental or progreffive dif-
coverics of common workmen, in any particular branch of bufi-
nefs, have frequently afforded -t'*?/;?, from which, by the rea-
fonings and inveftigations of philofophers, hints have fome-
times been ftruck out for arriving at the fame ends by a fhorter
way ; that the learned are therefore more properly to be con-
fidered as improvers than inventors. Of this mortifying truth,
the Chinefe afford many ftrong examples in their arts and ma-
niifadures, and particularly in fome of thcfe operations that
have a reference to chemiftry, which cannot here be faid to
Q^ Q. exift
298 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
exift as a fclence, although feveral branches are in common
pradice as chemical arts. Without pofieffing any theory con-
cerning the affinities of bodies, or attractions of cohefion or
aggrcgation, they clarify the muddy waters of their rivers, for
immediate ufe, by ftirring them round with a piece of alum in
a hollow bamboo ; a fimple operation which, experience has
taught them, will caufe the clayey particles to fall to the bot-
tom : and having afcertained the fa6l, they have given them-
felves no further trouble to explain the phenomenon.
In like manner, they are well acquainted with the efFe£l of
fleam upon certain bodies that are immerfed in it ; that its heat
is much greater than that of boiling water. Yet, although for
ages they have been in the conftant pradlice of confining it in
clofe vefTels, fomething like Papins digejler^ for the purpofe of
foftening horn, from which their thin, tranfparent, and capa-
cious lanterns are made, they feem not to have difcovered it&
extraordinary force when thus pent up ; at leaft, they have
never thought of applying that power to purpofes which animal
ftrength has not been adequate to efFed. They extract from
the three kingdoms of nature the moft brilliant colours, which
they have alfo acquired the art of preparing and mixing, io
as to produce every intermediate tint ; and, in their richeft and
moft lively hues, they communicate thefe colours to filks, cot-
tons, and paper ; yet they have no theory on colours.
The procefs of fmelting iron from the ore Is well known to
them ; and their caft ware of this metal is remarkably thin and
light. They have alfo an imperfect knowledge of converting
I it
TRAVELS IN CHINA. '299
It into fled, but their manufadlures of this article arc not to be
mentioned with thofe of Europe, I will not lay of England,
becaufe it ftands unrivalled in this and indeed almoft every
other branch of the arts. Though their caft-iron wares appear
light and neat, and are annealed in heated ovens, to take olF
fomewhat of their brktlenefs, yet their procefs of rendering
caft iron malleable is imperfect, and all their manufa<flures of
wrought iron are confequently of a very inferior kind, not
only in workmanfhip but alfo in the quality of the metal.
In moft of the other metals their manufadlures are above me-
diocrity. Their trinkets of filver fillagree are extremely neat,
and their articles of tootanague are highly finifhed.
With the ufe of cannon they pretend to have been long
acquainted. When Gengis-Khan entered China, in the thir-
teenth century, artillery and bombs and mines are faid to have
been employed on both fides ; yet when the city of Macao, in
the year 1621, made a prefent to the Emperor of three pieces
of artillery, it was found neceflary to fend along with them
three men to inftrud the Chinefe how to ufe them. The in-
troduflion of matchlocks, I am inclined to think, is of no
very ancient date ; they wear no marks of originality about
them, like other articles of Chinefe invention ; on the con-
trary, they are exad models of the old Portugueze matchlock ;
and differ in nothing from thofe which ftill continue to be
carried, as an article of commerce, by this nation to Cochin-
china. There can be no doubt, however, of the ufe of gun-
powder being known to the Chinefe long before the Chrillian
Q>Q_2 In
300
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
In a very ancient treatife on the military art, there is a
detailed account of the manner how to annoy an enemy s
camp, by fpringing a mine with gunpowder; but this treatife
makes no mention of cannon. Fire-works, made generally of
gunpowder, filings of zinc, camphor, and other ingredients,
are defcribed in various old trads. It is eafily conceived, that
the deflagration of nitre was likely to be firft noticed in thofe
countries where it is the fpontaneous and abundant produdtion
of the earth, which is the cafe on the elevated defarts of Tar-
tary and Thibet, and on the low and extenfive plains of India
and China. The gunpowder, however, made by the Chinefe
is extremely bad. They have no particular manufadtory, but
each individual makes his own. It is in fadl one part of the
foldier's employment to prepare his own gunpowder. The
ufual proportions, according to Van-ia-gin^ information are,
50 pounds of nitre,
25 fulphiir,
25 charcoal.
They know not the art of granulating the pafte, as In Europe,
but ufe it in a coarfe powder, which fometimes cakes together
into a folid mafs ; and from the impurity of the nitre, (no
means appearing to be employed for extradting the common
fait it ufually contains) the leaft expofure to the air, by attracting
the moifture, makes it unfit for fervice. This may be one reafon
for their objedion to firelocks.
It has been remarked, that the three great dlfcoverles of the
magnetic needle, of gunpowder, and of printing, in Europe,
followed clofe upon the return of the famous traveller Marco
Polo.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. joi
Polo. It was the boafl: indeed of Caimg-Jhee to the Jefuits,
when they inftruded him in fome of the fciences of Europe,
that the latter country was neither acquainted with the mari-
ner's compafs, nor with the art of printing, nor with gun-
powder, till they had been in common ufe in China near
two thoufand years. As to gunpowder, it is pretty obvious,
that our countryman Roger Bacon was well acquainted with
the ingredients that enter into its compofition. In more than
one part of his works he obferves, that with faltpetre and
other articles may be made a fire that will inflame to a great
diftance; and in one place he ftates, that with fulphur, faltpetre,
and fomething elfe, which he difguifes under two or three
barbarous words, a compofition may be made, by which the
effeds of thunder and of lightning may be imitated. Bacon
died in the year 1292, and Marco Polo returned to Europe in
1295 J fo that he could not poffibly have received any hint
to lead towards the difcovery through the channel of the
Venetian traveller *.
If the Chinefe had, at any period of their hlftory, been
acquainted with the art of calling large cannon, and of making
* The invention, in Europe, is ufually attributed to one Schwartz, a German
Monk, about the year 1 354, which, liowever, is very doubtful, as there is every
reafon to believe that cannon was made ufe of at tlie battle of Crefly, which hap-
pened in the year 1346. And Mariana, in his account of the fiege of Algeziras by
the Spaniards, in the year 1342, or 1343, as quoted by Bifhop Watfon, obferves,
" that the Moors very much annoyed the Chriftians with their iron Ihot ;" and he
further adds, that " this is the firft mention made in hiftory of the ufe of gunpowder
" and ball." It is therefore extremely probable, that the firft introduction of
gunpowder into Europe was by fome Mahomedans from the eaftward, and that
Schwartz was not the inventor, although he might perhaps have been the firft
publiflier of the difcovery.
uCe
302 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ufe of them in their wars, it is fcarcely probable they would
ever have loft it. Yet it is very certain the two Jefuits, Schaal
and Verbieft, took great pains to inftrudl them in the method
of cafting cannon ; in which, however, they have not made
any progrefs or improvement. I obferved, near one of the-
gates of Pekin, a few rude, ill-fhapen, and difproportionate
pieces, lying unmounted on the ground, and thefe, with
fome of the fame kind on the frontiers of Canton, and a few
pieces, apparently twelve pounders, at Hang-tcheu-foo, which
had wooden pent-houfes ere£ted over each, were the only
cannon that we noticed in the whole country. Whether the
fpecimens, exhibited in the annexed plate, which were drawn
by the late Captain Parifli of the Royal Artillery, be originally
of Chinefe invention, or borrowed from fome other nation, I
cannot take upon me to decide ; but fuch are the pieces which
are fometimes found, fcattered about the gates of fome of their
cities.
Mr. Bell, who vlfited China in the fuite of the Ruffian Em-
baflador, near a century ago, remarks, that '* towards the
" weftern extremity of the Great Wall, he obferved fome
*' hundreds of old cannon piled up in one of the towers, each
" compofed of three or four pieces of hammered iron, joined
" and faftened together with hoops of the fame metal." It is
probable indeed that the Chinefe, like the Hindoos, before the
time of Schaal and Verbieft, made ufe of cannon of wrought
iron, which were hooped together like thofe mentioned by
Mr. BeU.
To
I
r,g:.
^
/wA»»*'-'*r''^*"T* *■*•»««'• -'
o
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 303
In making their falutes, of which they are not fparing, they
invariably employ three fmall petards, or piftol-barrels rather,
which are ftuck eredl in the ground ; and in firing thefe fmall
pieces the foldiers are fo afraid, that they are difcharged by
a train laid from one to the other. When Captain Parifh
caufed a few rounds to be fired from two field-pieces, which
were among tlie prefents for the Emperor, in as quick fuc-
celTion as poffible, the Chinefe officers very coolly obferved,
that their own foldiers could do it juft as well, and perhaps
better. And when Lord Macartney afked the Ex-viceroy of
Canton if he would wifh to fee his guard go through the diffe-
rent evolutions as pra£lifed in Europe, he replied with equal in-
difference, " That they could not poflibly be new to him, who
" had been fo much engaged in the wars on the frontiers of
*' Tartary;" though the chances are, that he had never before
feen a firelock : with fuch ridiculous affectation of fuperiority,
and contempt for other nations, does the unconquerable pride
of this people infpire them. It feems, indeed, to be laid down
as a general principle, never to be caught in the admiration of
any thing brought among them by foreigners. Whenever a
man of rank came to look at the prefents, if obferved by any
of us, he would carelefsly glance his eye over them, and affedt
as much irtdifFerence as if he was ia the daily habit of viewing
things of the fame kiad.
A French phyfician, who travelled in China, fays he never
faw an alembic or diflillatory apparatus in the whole country.
The art of diftillation, however, is very well known, and in
common pradice. Their Sau-tcboo, (literally burnt wine), is
an
304 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
an ardent fpirit diftilled from various kinds of grain, but moft
commonly from rice, of a ftrong empyreumatic flavour, not
unlike the fpirit known in Scotland by the name of whifkey.
The rice is kept in hot water till the grains are fwollen ; it is
then mixed up with water in which has been diffblved a pre-
paration called pe-ka, confifting of rice-flour, liquorice-root,
annifeed, and garlic ; this not only haftens fermentation, but is
fuppofed to give it a peculiar flavour. The mixture then
undergoes diftillation. The Sau-tchoo, thus prepared, may be
confidered as the bafis of the bed arrack, which in Java is
exclufively the manufadure of Chinefe, and is nothing more
than a redlfication of the above fpirit, with the addition of
raolafles and juice of the cocoa-nut tree. Before diftlllatioa
the liquor is fimply called tchoo, or wine, and in this ftate is a
very infipid and dlfagreeable beverage. The vine grows ex-
tremely well in all the provinces, even as far north as Pekin,
but the culture of it feems to meet with little encouragement,
and no wane is made from the juice of the grape, except by
the mifllonaries near the capital.
The manufadure of eartben ware, as far as depends upon
the preparation of the materials, they have carried to a pitch
of perfedion not hitherto equalled by any nation, except the
Japanefe, who are allowed to excel them, not only in this
branch, but alfo in all articles of lacquered and varnifbed ware,
which fetch exorbitant prices even in China. The beauty of
their porcelain, in a great degree, depends upon the extreme
labour and attention that is paid to the aflbrtment, and the
preparation of the different articles employed. Thefe are in
general
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 305
general a fine fort of clay called Kao-lin which is a fpcaes
of Soap-rock, and a granite called Pe-titn-tfe, compofed chiefty
of quartz, the proportioa of mica being very fmall. Thefe
materials are ground down and wafhed with the greateft care ;
and when the pafte has been turned or moulded into forms,
each piece is put into a box of clay before it goes ifito the
oven ; yet with every precaution, it frequently happens (fo
much is this art ftill a work of chance) that a whole oven
runs together and becomes a mafs of vitrified matter. Neither
the Chinefe nor the Japanefe can boaft of giving to the ma-
terials much elegance of form. With thofe inimitable models
from the Greek and Roman vafes, brought into modern ufe by
the ingenious Mr. Wedgwood, they will not bear a compari-
fon. And nothing can be more rude and ill-defigned than
the grotefque figures and other objeds painted, or rather
daubed, on their porcelain, which however are generally the
work of the wives and children of the labouring poor. That
they can do better we have evident proof j for if a pattern
be fent out from England, the artifts in Canton will execute it
with fcrupulous exa£tnefs ; and their colours are inimitable.
The mannfadure of glafs was totally unknown among them
until the laft century when, at the recommendation of the Je-
fuits, a family was engaged to go from France to Pekin, for the
purpofe of introducing the art of glafs-making into the country.
The attempt failed of fuccefs, and the concern, at the death of
the manager, was broken up. In Canton they melt old broken
glafs and mold it into new forms ; and they have been taught
to coat plates of glafs with filver, which are partially ufed as
R R looking-
206 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
looking-glafTes ; but tlielr common mirrors are of pollihed me-
ul, which is apparently a compofition of copper and zinc.
The pride, or the policy, of the government affeding to de-
fplfe any thing new or foreign, and the general want of encou-
ragement to new inventions, however ingenious, have been
greatly detrimental to the progrefs of the arts and manufadlures.
The people difcover no want of genius to conceive, nor of dex-
terity to execute ; and their imitative powers have always been
acknowledged to be very great. Of the truth of this remark
we had feveral inftances at Tiien-min-yuen. The complicated
glafs luftres, confifting of feveral hundred pieces, were taken
down, piece by piece, in the courfe of half an hour, by two
Chinefe, who had never feen any thing of the kind before, and
were put up again by them with equal facility ; yet Mr. Parker
thought it neceifary for our mechanics to attend at his ware-
houfe feveral times to fee them taken down and again put to-
gether, in order to be able to manage the bufinefs on their ar-
rival in China. A Chinefe undertook to cut a flip of glafs from
a large curved piece, Intended to cover the great dome of the
planetarium, after our two artificers had broken three fimilar
pieces in attempting to cut them with the help of the diamond.
The man performed it in private, nor could he be prevailed on to
fay in what manner he accomplllhed It. Being a little jagged
along the margin, I fufpe£t it was not cut but fradtured, per-
haps by pafFmg a heated Iron over a line drawn with water, or
fome other fluid. It is well known that a Chinefe in Canton,
on being fhewn an European watch, undertook, and fucceeded,
to make one like it, though he had never feen any thing of the
kind
TRAVELS IN CHINA, 307
kind before, but it was neccffary to furnifli him with a maia
fpring, which he could not make : and they now fabricate in
Canton, as well as in London, and at one third of the expence,
all thofe ingenious pieces of mechaniftn which at one time were
fent to China in fuch vaft quantities from the repofitories of
Coxe and Merlin. The mind of a Chinefe is quick and appre-
henfive, and his fmall delicate hands are formed for the execu-
tion of neat work.
The manufa£ture of filks has been eftablifhed in China at a
period fo remote, as not to be afcertained from hiftory j but the
time when the cotton plant was firft brought from the northera
parts of India into the fouthern provinces of China is known,
and noticed in their annals. That fpecies of the cotton plant,
from which is produced the manufadure ufually called nankin
cotton, is faid to loofe its peculiar yellow tint in the courfe
of two or three years when cultivated in the fouthern provinces,
owing, in all probability, to the great heat of the weather and
continued funOiine. I have raifed this particular fpecies at the
Cape of Good Hope where, upon the fame plant, as well as
on others produced from its feed, the pods were as full and
the luu of as deep a yellow in the third year as in the firft. As
is generally the cafe in moft of their manufadlures, thofe of filk
and cotton do not appear to have lately undergone progreffive
improvement. The want of proper encouragement from the
government, and the rigid adherence to ancient ufage^ have
rendered indeed all their fabricks ftatlonary.
R R 2
Of
3o8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Of all the mechanical arts that in which they feem to have
attained the higheft degree of perfection is the cutting of ivory.
In this branch they ftand unrivalled, even at Birmingham, that
great nurfery of the arts and manufadures where, I under-
ftand, it has been attempted by means of a machine to cut ivory
fans and other articles, in imitation of thofe of the Chinefe 5 but
the experiment, although ingenious, has not hitherto fucceeded
to that degree, fo as to produce articles fit to vie with thofe of
the latter. Nothing can be more exquifitely beautiful than
the fine open work difplayed in a Chinefe fan, the flicks of
which would feem to be fingly cut by the hand, for whatever
pattern may be required, or a fhield with coat of arms, or a
cypher, the article will be finifhed according to the drawing at
the fhorteft notice. The two outfide flicks are full of bold
fliarp work, undercut in fuch a manner as could not be per-
formed any other way than by the hand. Yet the moil finifhed
and beautiful of thefe fans may be purchafed at Canton for ,
five to ten Spanifh dollars *. Out of a folid ball of ivory, with
a hole in it not larger than half an inch in diameter, they will
cut from nine to fifteen diflind hollov/ globes, one within an-
other, all loofe and capable of being turned round in every di-
redion, and each of them carved full of the fame kind of upcn
work that appears on the fans. A very fmall fum of money
is the price of one of thefe difficult trifles. Models of temples,
* 1 am aware that thofe laboured pieces, of Italian make, of ivory cut into land-
Icapes, with houfes, trees, and figures j fometimes fo fmall as to be comprehended
within the compafs of a ring, may be quoted againft me ; but the work of a folitary
and feciuded monk to beguile the weary hours, is not to be brought in competition
with that of a common Chinefe artift, by which he earns his livelihood.
pagodas.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. ^09
pagodas, and other pieces of architedure, are beautifully worked
ia ivory ; and from the Ihavings, interwoven with pieces
of quills, they make neat bafkets and hats, which are as light
and pliant as thofe of ftraw. In fhort, all kinds of toys for
children, and other trinkets and trifles, are executed in a neater
manner and for lefs money in China, than in any other part
of the world.
The various ufes, to which that elegant fpecies of reed called
the bamboo is applied, would require a volume to enumerate.
Their chairs, their tables, their fkreens, their bedfteads and
bedding, and many other houfehold moveables, are entirely
conftrutSted of this hollow reed, and fome of them in a manner
fufficiently ingenious and beautiful. It is ufed on board (hips
for poles, for fails, for cables, for rigging, and for caulking.
In hufbandry for carts, for wheelbarrows, for wheels to raife
water, for fences, for facking to hold grain, and a variety of
other utenfils. The young fhoots furnifh an article of food ;
and the wicks of their candles are made of its fibres. It ferves
to embellifh the garden of the prince, and to cover the cottage
of the peafant. It is the inftrument, in the hand of power, that
keeps the whole empire in awe. In fhort, there are few ufes to
which a Chinefe cannot apply the bamboo, either entire or
fplit into thin laths, or further divided into fibres to be twifted
into cordage, or macerated into a pulp to be manufadtured in-
to paper.
That " there is nothing new under the fun," was the obfer-
vation of a wife man in days of yore. ImpreUed with the
fame
310 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
fane idea an Ingenious and learned modern author* has writ-
ten a book to prove, that all the late difcoveries and Inventions
of Europe were known to the ancients. The diTcovery of mak-
ing paper from ftraw, although nev/, perhaps, in Europe, is of
very ancient date in China. The ftraw of rice and other grain,
the bark of the mulberry-tree, the cotton flirub, hemp, nettles,
and various other plants and materials, are employed in the
paper manufa£lories of China, where llieets are prepared of
fuch dimenfions, that a fingle one may be had to cover the
whole fide of a moderate fized room. The finer fort of paper
for writing upon has a furface as fmooth as vellum, and is
wafhed with a ftrong folution of alum to prevent the Ink from
finking. Many old perfons and children earn a livelihood by
wafliing the ink from written paper, which, being afterwards
beaten and boiled to a pafte, is re-manufa£lured Into new flieets;
and the Ink Is aUb leparated from the water, and preferved for
future ufe. To this article of their manufiidlure the arts in
our own country owe fo many advantages, that little requires
to be faid in Its favour. The Chinefe, however, acknowledge
their obligations to the Coreans for the improvements in mak-
ing ink, which, not many centuries ago, were received froni
them.
As to the art of printing, there can be little doubt of Its an-
tiquity in China, yet they have never proceeded beyond a
wooden block. The nature. Indeed, of the charadler is fuch,
that moveable types would fcarcely be pra<S:Icable. It is true,
• Mr. Dute;is._
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. ^ii
the component parts of the charadters are fufficlently fimple
and few in number ; but the difficulty of putting them together
upon the frame, into the multitude of forms of which they are
capable, is perhaps not to be furmounted.
Like the reft of their inventions the chain-pump which, in
Europe, has been brought to fuch perfedtion as to conftitute
an effential part of {hips of war and other large veflels, con-
tinues among the Chinefe nearly in its primitive ftate, the prin-
cipal improvement fince its firfl invention confifting in the fub-
flitution of boards or bafket-work for wifps of ftraw. Its power
with them has never been extended beyond that of raifmg a
fmall ftream of water up an inclined plane, from one refervoir
to another, to ferve the purpofes of irrigation. They are of dif-
ferent fizes, fome worked by oxen, fome by treading in a wheel,
and others by the hand.
The great advantages attainable from the ufe of mechanical
powers are either not underftood or, purpofely, not employed.
In a country of fuch vaft population, machinery may perhaps
be confidered as detrimental efpecially as, at leaft, nine-tenths
of the community muit derive their fubfiftence from manual la-
bour. It may be a queftion, not at all decided in their minds,
whether the general advantages of facilitating labour, and gain-
ing time by means of machinery, be fufficient to counterba-
lance the individual diftrefs that would, for a time, be occa-
fioned by the introduction of fuch machinery. Whatever the
reafon may be, no fuch means are to be met with in the coun-
try. Among the prefents that were carried out for the Empe-
ror
^,2 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
lor were an apparatus for the air pump, various articles for
concluding a fet of experiments in eledricity, and tlie models
of a complete fet of mechanical powers placed upon a brafs pil-
lar. The Emperor, happening to caft his eye upon them, en-
quired of the eunuch in waiting for what they were intended.
This mutilated animal, although he had been daily ftudying the |
nature and ufe of the feveral prefents, in order to be able to fay
fomcthing upon them when they fhould be exhibited to his
mailer, could not fucceed in making his Imperial Majefty
comprehend the intention of the articles in queftion. " I
" fancy," fays the old monarch, " they are meant as play-
" things for fome of my great grandchildren."
The power of the pulley is underRood by them, and is ap-
plied on board all their large veflels, but always in a fingle
ftate ; at Icaft, I never obferved a block with more than one
wheel in it. The principle of the lever fhould alfo feem to be
well known, as all their valuable wares, even filver and gold,
are weighed with the fteelyard : and the tooth and pinion
wheels are ufed in the conftrudion of their felf-moving toys,
and in all their rice-mills that are put in motion by a water
wheel. But none of the mechanical powcis are applied on the
great fcale to facilitate and to expedite labour. Simplicity is the
leading feature in all their contrivances that relate to the arts
and manufadures. The tools of every artificer are of a con-
ftrudion the moft fimple that it (hould feem pofliblc to make
them, and yet each tool Is fo contrived as to anfvver feveral pur-
pofes. Thus, the bellows of the blackfmith, which is nothing
moi^ than a hollow cylinder of wood, with a valvular piflion,
befide
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 313
b^ fide] blowing the fire, Terves for his feat when fet on end,
and as a box to contain the reft of his tools. The barber's
bamboo baflcet, that contains his apparatus, is alfo the feat for
his cuftomers. The joiner makes ufe of his mle as a walking
flick, and the cheft that holds his tools ferves him as a bp nch
to work on. The pedlar's box and a large umbrella are fuf-
ficient for him to exhibit all his wares, and to form his little
fhop.
Little can be faid in favour of the ftate of the fine arts In this
country. Of their poetry, modern and ancient, I have given
a fpecimen ; but I think it right once more to obferve that,
with regard to Afiatic compofitions, Europeans cannot form a
proper judgment, and more efpecially of thofe of the Chinefe,
which, to the myfterious and obfcure expreflions of metaphor,
add the difadvantage of a language that fpeaks but little to the
ear ; a whole fentence, or a combination of ideas, being fome-
times fhut up in a fhort monofyllable, whofe beauties are moft
ftudioufly addrefled to the fenfe pf feeing alone.
Of the other two fifter arts, painting and mufic, a more de-
cided opinion may bepaffed. Of the latter I have little to ob-
ferve. It does not feem to be cultivated as a fcience : it Is neither
learned as an elegant accomplifhment, nor pradifed as an amufe-
ment of genteel life, except by thofe females who are educated
for fale, or by fuch as hire themfelves out for the entertainment
of thofe who may be inclined to purchafe their favours. And
as the Chinefe differ in their ideas from all other nations, thefe
s s women
314 TRAVELS IN CHINA-
women play generally upon wind laftruments, fach as fmall
pipes and flutes ; whilfl the favourite inftrument of the men is
the guittar or fomething not very unlike it, feme of which have
two ftrinc;s, fome four, and others feven. Eunuchs, and the
low^eft clafs of perfons, are hired to play ; and the merit of a
performance fhould feem to confift in the intenfenefs of the noife
brought out of the different inftruments. The gong or, as they
call it, the loo is admirably adapted for this purpofe. This inftru-
ment is a fort of fhallow kettle, or rather the lid of a kettle, which
they ftrike with a wooden mallet covered with leather. The
compofition is faid to be copper, tin, and bifmuth. They have alfo
a kind of clarinet, three or four different forts of ti'umpets, and a
ftringed inftrument not unlike a violoncello. Their ^ng is a
combination of uneven reeds of bamboo, not unlike the pipe
of Pan ; the tones are far from being difagreeable, but its con-
ftrudtion is fo wild and irregular, that it does not appear to be
reducible to any kind of fcale. Their kettle drums are ge;.
nerally fhaped like barrels ; and thefe, as well as different-fized
bells fixed in a frame, conftitute parts in their facred mu-
fic. They have alfo an inftrument of mufic which confifts
of ftones, cut itito the fhape of a carpenter's fquare, each ftone
fufpended by the corner in a wooden frame. Thofe which I
faw appeared to belong to that fpecies of the filicious getius
ufually called Gneifs, k fort of flaty granite. In the Kefwick
mufeum are mufical ftones of the fame kind, which were picked
up in a rivulet at the foot of Skiddaw mountain ; but thefe feem
to contain fmall pieces of black fhorl or tourmaline. It is in-
deed the boaft of their hiftorians, that the whole empire of ha-^
ture
I
^^
'"""nmi^m
. / .//«' a/ /v/^M^/i,/ _ y ^,^ ,./'M/Wc<a/,
/ //le/ii/
r
«"'«y«,r., ,'/■»'■'■''
/.//..
v^^y <>»
^he^^A// /fi //<y < /•_/(■(
Oi/z/i/e^^'f .
rnf>f{fhr,t J/ft^r/r^JJfff
1
^
y..'<f-
'^ ^iiiti// /vift// ^' >irm
' '/ //.in/ SJ """ ff-ir// e/i r^/ttrtrt/ ^ /fn-ilr .
A'M*>, />- ,<W\«-^
"aJrtl ir Dn^-its S/ffUr/t .
.»
i
I
^
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 315
ture has been laid under contribution in order to complete their
fyftem of mufic : that the fkins of animals, the fibres of plants,
metals, ftones, and baked earths, have all been employed in
the produdion of founds. Their inftruments, it is true, are
fufficiently varied, both as to fhape and materials, but I know
of none that is even tolerable to an European ear. An Englifh
gentleman in Canton took fome pains to colled: the various in-
ftruments of the country, of which the annexed plate is a re-
prefentation, but his catalogue is not complete.
A Chinefe band generally plays, or endeavours to play, in
unifon, and fometimes an inftrument takes the odave ; but
they never attempt to play in feparate parts, confining their
art to the melody only, if I may venture to apply a name of fo
much fweetnefs to an aggregation of harfh founds. They have
not the leaft notion of counter-point, or playing in parts ; an
invention indeed to which the elegant Greeks had not arrived,
and which was unknown in Europe as well as Afia, until the
monkilh ages.
I never heard but one fingle Chinefe who could be faid to fing
with feeling or plaintivenefs. Accompanied with a kind of guittar,
he fung the following air in praife of the flower Moo-lee^ which
it feems is one of the rnoft popular fongs in the whole country.
The fimple melody was taken down by Mr. Hittner, and I
underftand has been publifhed in London, with head and tail-
pieces, accompaniments, and all the refined arts of European
mufic ; fo that it ceafes to be a fpecimen of the plain melody of
s s 2 China.
3i6
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
China. I have therefore given It In its unadorned ftate, as fung
and played by the Chinefe, together with the words of the firft
ftanza, and their literal tranflation.
MOO-LEE-WHA.
: r ~T?
f.JL
'^
i
P — ^' — P
g
UnUutaal
^^
y~F~ p
p
■P — P — -zr-P
■P-
^
P — rP — ^— ^
?
-*-
r.MZ
I
-*—*-*—&■
^m^
i=f^
^^^n
^s^i^3
MoO-LEE-WHA.
I.
I » 3 4 s
Hau ye- to fien wha^
6 7 8 9 lo II II I?
Teu tchau yeu jie lo tjai go kla
14 15 16 17 18 19
Go pun tai, poo tchoo mun
xo XI IX x% X4 »S
'Tivee tcho Jien wha ul lo.
H.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 317
II.
1 a J 4 5 6
Hati ye to Moo-lee ivha
7 8 9 10 II iz 1} J4
Man yuen wha kai foy poo quee ta
15 16 17 18 19 20
Go pun tai tfai ye ta
21 21 23 24 s; 26 27
Tai you kung kan -wha jin ma.
, Literal Tranjlatlon.
I.
1.23 4- S
How delightful this branch of frefh flowers
6 7 89 »o 11 12 ij
One morning one day it was dropped in my houfc
14 15 16 17 'S '9
I the owner will wear it not out of doors
20 at 22 23 24 25
But I will hold the frefh flower and be happy.
II.
I ^ 23 456
How delightful this branch of the Moo-lee flower
789 10 II II 13 14
In the full plot of flowers blowing freely none excels it
15 16 17 19 18 20
I the owner will wear this gathered branch
21 22 23 2? 24 25 27
Wear it yet fear, the flower feen, men will envy.
I have thought it not amifs to fubjoin a few other airs of the
popular kind, which were written by the fame gentleman at
Canton, who made the drawings of their mufical inflruments.
I
!««
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
CHINESE POPULAR AIRS.
No. I.
grntr rfT^^^ is
s:
SI
« ^_i»
*^r^
-^S^
y ft ffe-fs-^
p
i
^^^-r-f-
WZltJL
fctJ
«— •-«
■9— S-
^Etpq pi ^^ii^
i^i
e-*-«^
i^^S^
-"T p ^-^f -p^^^^
fs—
^^i
"I
51^
EEE?^
1
No. II.
-»-
^ — t-^— F+-f-F
^1
m
ft-Ti-S:
».,..#
-^0-
at^zbzz
jg.i ^/
fefi^^Si^^ii^i
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
3»9
p^ii^ i EJ^ g^
^-p— * 'p ~ I f -— p f p
^^ r=a--:25=^^« ::>-C:-_=_ _L.._e::
^L^^^.X-i-4 — )^L.__^_i+__£j:_:j33:__.
^ _, — F-7-r-^ w-r- -r^r-r f-^ - '
g>_J_J-J r__j^J^____ — f_L:^._^4=t:
-y^Hjji— ^-
s
F=f^
iHii^
-a-f^
No. III.
^E^i^E^iHi^g^i^
■«--
^-?:
e^
J- I
$a
s
c ■ — ^
■d— -^--rf
^d
3
S
»rfc!=c
I
£--1 — p._-iz:s
,._^,
:it
=F^
3
S2ZM
-1—
4-d
^ ^ "^-=i=b^=£=^-^i=i-i-j-i4-j-i--i-ur ^
f=f=f^%t m
^
320
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
No. TV.
ppj^s^ij Elg ^^g^l^
EEfi3E^
-=* ' — ^ '"^l — ' — 1 '
^m
T=Fl
aziz^za
1
No. V.
«-
•s-^
^^^^^^
^^i^
:^^^
^-^
g ^ B fe^
-F— F
H
No. VI.
§
■— k J - 1 J^
i
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
321
gflg ffii^ E^Eg^pP^
^S
'?>.
^
P
te
No. VII.
fJt—rrl
giiiiiS
r ("•(■
P»
^7
,_^JR.j£^_- ,
img^gM^^l^gp
^_,^'*i
fe;^
-j**^^
^1
No. VIll.
p ^fe
i
5
azi
-p.
-^
■k±rJsii
^^^mw^^^^^
^"i ^^=f=^ g^
T T
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
No. IX.
:^Er.H£,t;S: = 3
i
■■■!■ w III! n~ —
*. -fl.
^
■"v-
E.-!^- — S~P
-^-x-^
:^=^
--tsr
^
gaEEBfB ^^
They have no other notion of noting down mufic than that
of employing a character esprefling the name of every note in
the fcale ; and even this imperfecft way they learned from Pe-
reira the Jefuit. They affeded to dlflike the Emhafliidor's
band which they pretended to fay produced no mufic, but a
confufion of noifes ; yet the Emperor's chief mufician gave him-
felf a great deal of trouble in tracing out the feveral inftruments
on large fheets of paper, each of its particular fize, marking the
places of the holes, fcrews, firings, and other parts, which they
conceived neceflary to enable them to make others of a fimilar
conftru<Stion.
It would be difficult to affign the motive that Induced father
Amiot to obferve, that " the Chinefe, in order to obtain their
« fcale
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 323
" fcale of notes or gamut perfect, were not afraid of fubmittlng
" to the moft laborious operations of geometry, and to the moft
" tedious and difgufting calculations inthefciencc ofnumbers;"
as he muft have known, that they were altogether ignorant
of geometry, and that their arithmetic extended not be-
yond their Swan-pan. Of the fame nature is the bold and un-
founded alTertion of another of the Jefuits, " that the mufical
*' fyftem of the Chinefe was borrowed from them by the
" Greeks and Egyptians, anterior to the time of Hermes or
" Orpheus!"
With regard to painting, they can be confidered in no
other light than as miferable daubers, being unable to pen-
cil out a correct outline of many objeds, to give body to
the fame by the application of proper lights and ihadows, and
to lay on the nice fliades of colour, fo as to refemble the tints
of nature. But the gaudy colouring of certain flowers, birds,
and infedts, they imitate with a degree of exaftnefs and bril-
liancy to which Europeans have not yet arrived. To give
diftance to objeds on canvas, by diminifhing them, by f.\int
colouring, and by perfpedive, they have no fort of concep-
tion. At Yuen-min-yuen I found two very large paintings of
landfcapes which, as to the pencilling, were done with toler-
able execution, but they were finifhed with a minutenefs of
detail, and without any of thofe flrong lights and mafles of
fhade, which give force and effed to a pidure ; none of the
rules of perfpedive were obferved, nor any attempt to throw
the objeds to their proper diftances ; yet I could not help fancy-
ing that I difcovered in them the hand of an European. The
T T 2 old
324 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
old cunuc'i, who carried the keys of the room, frequently
alked me, when looking at thefe pidurcs, if I did not think
his countrymen were excellent painters ; and having one day
exprelTed great admiration for the talents of the artift, he led
me into a recefs of the room, and opening a cheft, fupported
upon a pedeftaljhe obferved, with a fignificant look, he was now
going to produce fomething that would aftonifh me. He then
took out feveral large volumes, which were full of figures,
drawn in a very fuperior ftyle and tinted with water colours,
reprefenting the feveral trades and occupations carried on in the
country; but they feemed to be ftuck againft the paper, hav-
ing neither fhadow nor foreground, nor diftance, to give thera ,
any relief. On the oppofite page to each figure was a defcrip-
tion, in the Mantchoo Tartar and the Chinefe languages. Hav-
ing turned over one of the volume?, I oblerved, on the lafl: page,
the name of Cojlaglione^ which at once folved the riddle. On
re-examining the large piiTlures ia the hall, I found the fame
name in the corner of each. While going through the volume,
the old eunuch frequently aflced, if any one ia Europe could
paint like the Chinefe ? but, on my pointing to the name, and
repeating the word CaJiagUone, he immediately fhut the book
and returned them all into the cheft, nor, from that time, could
I ever prevail upon him to let me have another fight of them.
On enquiry, I found that Caftaglione was a miffionary in great
repute at court, where he executed a number of paintings, but
was exprefsly diredled by the Emperor to paint all his fubjedis
after the Chinefe manner, and not like thofe of Europe, with
broad mafTes of fhade and the diftant objedts fcarcely vifible,
obferving to him, as one of the miffionaries told me, that the
imper-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 325
Imperfcdions of the eye aftbrded no rcafon why the objeds of
nature lliould alfo be copied as imperfe^ft. This idea of the
Emperor accords with a remark made by one of his minifters,
who came to fee the portrait of His Britannic Majefty, " that
" it was great pity it fhould have been fpoiled by the dirt upon
" the face," pointing, at the fame time, to the broad flaade of
the nofe.
Ghirrardini, an European painter, publillied an account of
his voyage to China, where, it appears, he was fo difgufted
that, having obferved how little idea they poifefs of the fine
arts, he adds, with rather more petulancy than truth, " thefe
" Chinefe are fit for nothing but weighing filver, and eating
" rice." Ghirrardini painted a large colonnade In vanilhing
perfpedtlve, which ftruck them fo very forcibly that they con-
cluded he muft certainly have dealings with the devil ; but, on
approaching the canvas and feeling with their hands, In order
to be fully convinced that all they faw was on- a flat furface,
they perfifted that nothing could be more unnatural than to re-
prefent diftances, where there adually neither was, nor could
be, any diftance.
It is fcarcely neceflary to add any thing further with regard
to the ftate of painting In China. I fhall only obferve, that the
Emperor's favourite draughtfman, who may of courfe be fup-
pofed as good or better than others of the fame profeffion in
the capital, was fent to make drawings of fome of the principal
prefents to carry to his mailer, then in Tartary, as elucidations
of the defcrlptive catalogue. This man, after various unfuc-
3 cefsful
.5:6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ccfsfu! attcinins to defign the elegant [time-pieces of Vulliamy,
iiipported by beautiful figures of white marble, fupplicated my
a/Tiftancel!! a matter which he reprefented as of the Lift impor-
tance to himfelf. It was in vain to aflure him that I was no
draughtfman ; he was determined to have the proof of it ; and
he departed extremely well fatisfied in obtaining a very mean
performance with the pencil, to copy after or cover with his
China ink. Every part of the machines, except the naked
figures which fupported the time-piece and a barometer, he
drew with neatnefs and accuracy, but all his attempts to copy
thefe were unfuccefsful. Whether it was owing to any real
difficulty that exifts in the nice turns and proportions of the hu-
man figure, or that by being better acquainted with it v,'Q more
readily perceive the defeds in the imitation of it, or from the
circumftance of the human form being concealed in this coun-
try in loofe folding robes, that caufed the Chinefe draughtf-
man fo completely to fail, I leave to the ariifts of our own coun-
try to determine: but the fa£l was as I ftate it ; all his attempts
to draw thefe figures were prepofterous.
As to thofe fpecimens of beautiful flowers, birds, and infects,
fometimes brought over to Europe, they are the work of ar-
tills at Canton where, from being in the habit of copying
prints and drawings, carried thither for the purpofe of being
transferred to porcelain, or as articles of commerce, they have
acquired a better tafte than in the Interior parts of the country.
Great quantities of porcelain are fent from the potteries to Can-
ton perfectly white, that the purchafer may have them painted
to his own pattern : and fpecimens of thefe bear teftimony that
they
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 327
they are no mean copyifts. It has been obferved, however, that
the fabjedts of natural hiftory, painted by them, are frequently
incorreQ ; that it is no unufual thing to meet with the flower of
one plant fet upon the ftalk of another, and having the leaves of
a third. This may formerly have been the cafe, from their fol-
lowing imperfect patterns, or from fuppofing they could improve
nature; but having found that thereprefentations of natural ob-
jects are in more requeft among foreigners, they pay a
ftrider attention to the fubjedl that may be required ; and we
found them indeed fuch fcrupulous copyifts, as not only to draw
the exa£t number of the petals, the ftamina, and piftilla of a
flower, but alfo the very number of leaves, with the thorns or
fpots on the foot-ft:alk that fupported it. They will even count
the number of fcales on a fifti, and mark them out in their repre-
fentations, and it is impoflible to imitate the brilliant colours of
nature more clofely. I brought home feveral drawings of
plants, birds, and infe£ls, that have been greatly admired for
their accuracy and clofe colouring ; but they want that efFcvl
which the proper application or light and fhade never fiiils to
produce. The coloured prints of Europe that arc carried out
to Canton are copied there with wonderful fidelity. But in
doing this, they exercife no judgment of their own. Every de-
fe£l and blemifli, original or accidental, they are fure to copy,
being mere fervile imitators, and not in the leaft feeling the
force or the beauty of any fpecimen of the arts that may come
before them ; for the fame perfon who is one day employed in
copying a beautiful European print, will fit down the next to a
Chinefe drawing replete with abfurdity.
Whatever
«
%
32iJ TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Whatever may be tlie progrefs of the arts in the port of
Canton, they are not Hkely to CKperience much improvement
in the interior parts of the country, or in the capital. It was
the pride rather of the monarch, and of his minifters, that
made them rejecl the propofal of Caftaglione to eflablifh a
fchool for the arts, than the apprehenfion, as rtated by the mif-
fionaries, that the rage for painting would become fo general, as
to be prejudicial to ufeful labour.
In a country where painting is at fo low an ebb, it would be
in vain to expedt much execution from the chiflel. Grotefqne
images of ideal beings, and monftrous diftortions of nature, are
fometimes feen upon the balluftrades of bridges, and in their
temples, where the niches are filled with gigantic gods of baked
clay, fometimes painted with gaudy colours, and fometimes
plaftered over with gold leaf, or covered with a coat of varnilh.
They are as little able to model as to draw the human figure
with any degree of corrednefs. In the whole empire there is
not a ftatue, a hewn pillar, or a column that deferves to be
mentioned. Large four-fided blocks of ftone or wood are fre-
quently erected near the gates of cities, with infcriptions upon
them, meant to perpetuate the memory of certain diftinguilhed
characters; but they are neither objedls of grandeur nor orna-
ment, having a much clofer refemblance to a gallows than to
triumphal arches, as the miflionaries, for what reafon I know
not, have thought fit to call them.
The intention of thefe monumental ere£tions will appear
from fome of their infcriptions.
I. Honour
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 329
I.
Honour granted by the Emperor.
The grateful odour of one hundred years.
Retirement. Tranquillity.
II.
Emperor s order.
Peace and Happincfs,
The balm of Lfe.
On a fortunate day^ in the Sth month of the $oth year of the
reign ofKien-Longy this monument was ere&ed by the
Emperor sorder^ in honour of Liang-tien-pe y aged
102 years.
The two following are infcriptlons on monuments that have
been ere(fled to chafte women, a defcription of ladies whom
the Chinefe confider to be rarely met with.
III.
Hotiour granted by the Emperor.
Icy coldnefs. Hardfrojl.
IV.
The Emperor s order.
The fweet fragrance of piety and virginity.
Sublime chaflity. Pure morals.
u u
The
3JO TRAVELS IN CHINA,
The whole of their architedure, indeed, is as unfightly
as unfolid ; without elegance or convenience of defign, and
without any fettled proportion ; mean in its appearance^
and clumfey in the workmanfliip. Their pagodas of five,
feven, and nine rounds, or roofs, are the moft ftriking ob-
je£ts ; but though they appear to be the imitations or,'' per-
haps, more properly fpeaking, the models of a fimilar kind
of pyramids found in India, they are neither fo well de-
figned, nor fo well executed : they are, in fadt, fo very ill con-
ftrudted that half of them, without any marks of antiquity, ap-
pear in ruins ; of thefe ufelefs and whimfical edifices His Ma-
jefiiy's garden at Kew exhibits a fpecimen, which is not inferior
in any refpe£l to the very beft I have met with in China. The -
height of fuch ftrudlures, and the badnefs of the materials with
which they are ufually built, contradict the notion that they
affign as a reafon for the lownefs of their houfes, which is, that
they may efcape being thrown down by earthquakes. In fadt,
the tent ftands confefl!ed in all their dwellings, of which the
curved roof and the wooden pillars (in imitation of the poles)
forming a colonnade round the ill-built brick walls, clearly de-
note the origin ; and from this original form they have never
ventured to deviate. Their temples are moftly conftrufted
upon the fame plan, with the addition of a fecond, and fome-
times a third roof, one above the other. The wooden pillars.
that conftltute the colonnade are generally of larch fir, of no
fettled proportion between the length and the diameter, and
they are invariably painted red and fometimes covered with a
coat of varnilh.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 331
As cuftom and faflnlon are not the fame in any two countries,
it has been contended by many that there can be no fuch thing
as true tafte. The advocates for tafte arifing out of cuftom will
fay, that no folid reafon can be offered why the pillar which
fupports ihe Doric capital fliould be two diameters fhorter than
that which fuftains the Corinthian ; and that it is the habit only
of feeing them thus conftruded that conftitutes their propriety.
Though the refpedlive beauties of thefe particular columns may,
in part, be felt from the habit of obferving them always retaining
a fettled proportion, yet it muft be allowed that, in the moft
perfcdl works of nature, there appears a certain harmony and
agreement of one part with another, that without any fettled
proportion feldom fail to pleafe. Few people will difagree
in their ideas of a handfome tree, or an elegant flower, though
there be no fixed proportion between the trunk and the branches,
the flower and the foot-ftalk. Proportion, therefore, alone, is
not fufhcient to conftitute beauty. There muft be no ftiffnefs,
no fudden breaking oft" from a ftraight line to a curve ; but the
changes fliould be eafy, not vifible in any particular part, but
running imperceptibly through the whole. Utility has alfo
been confidared as one of the conftituent parts of beauty. In
the Chinefe column, labouring under an enormous mafs of
roof, without either bafe or capital, there is neither fymmetry
of parts, nor eafe, nor particular utility. Nor have the large
ill-fhapen and unnatural figures of lions, dragons, and ferpents,
grinning on the tops and corners of the roofs, any higher pre-
tenfions to good tafte, to utility, or to beauty.
u u 2 " The
2;^! TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" The architediure of the Chinefe," fays one of their enco-
miafts, " though it bears no relation to that of Europe ; though
" it has borrowed nothing from that of the Greeks, has a cer-
*' tain beauty peculiar to itfelf." It is indeed peculiar to itfelf,
and the miffionaries may be aflured they are the only perfons who
will ever difcover " real palaces in the manfions of the Em-
" peror," or to whom, " iheir imrnenfity, fymmetry, and
*♦ magnificence, will announce the grandeur of the matter who
*' inhabits them."
The houfe of a prince, or a great officer of ftate, in the capital,
is not much diftinguifhed from that of a tradefman, except by the
greater fpace of ground on which it ftands, and by being fur-
rounded by a high wall. Our lodgings in Pekin were in a
houfe of this defcription. The ground plot was four hundred
by three hundred feet, and it was laid out into ten or twelve
courts, fome having two, fome three, and others four, tent-
fhaped houfcs, ftanding on ftone terraces raifed about three
feet above the court, which was paved with tiles. Galleries of
communication, forming colonnades of red wooden pillars,
were carried from each building and from one court to an-
other, fo that every part of the houfe might be vifited without
expofure to the fun or the rain. The number of wooden pil-
lars of which the colonnades were formed was about 900. Moft
of the rooms were open to the rafters of the roof; but fome
had a flight ceiling of bamboo laths covered with plafter ; and
the ladies apartments confifted of two ftories; the upper however
had no light, and was not fo good as our common attics. The
floors were laid with bricks or clay. The windows had no
glafs ;
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 333
glafs ; oiled paper, or filk gauze, or pearl fliell, or horn, were
ufed as fubftitutes for this article. In the corners of fome of
the rooms were holes in the ground, covered over with ftones
or wood, intended for fire-places, from whence the heat is
conveyed, as in the houfes of ancient Rome, through flues in
the floor, or in the walls, the latter of which are generally-
whitened with lime made from fhells and imported from the
fea coafl:. One room was pointed out to us as the theatre. The
ftage was in the middle, and a fort of gallery was ereded in
front of it. A flone room was built in the midft of a piece of
water, in imitation of a paflage yacht, and one of the coarts
was roughened with rocks, with points and precipices and
excavations, as a reprefentation of nature in miniature. On
the ledges of thefe were meant to be placed their favourite
flowers and ftunted trees, for which they are famous.
There is not a water-clofet, nor a decent place of retirement
in all China. Sometimes a ftick is placed over a hole in a cor-
ner, but in general they make ufe of large earthen jars with
narrow tops. In the great houfe we occupied was a walled
inclofure, with a row of fmall fquare holes of brickwork funk
in the ground.
Next to the pagodas, the moft confpicuous objects are the
gates of cities. Thefe are generally fquare buildings, carried
feveral ftories above the arched gateway and, like the temples, are
covered with one or more large projedting roofs. But the moft
ftupendous work of this country is the great wall that divides
It from northern Tartary. It is built exactly upon the fame
plan as the wall of Pekin, being a mound of earth cafed on
each
J34 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
each fide with bricks or ftone. The aftonidiing magnitude of
the fabrick coniills not fo much in the plan of the work, as in
the immenfe diftance of fifteen hundred miles over which it
is extended, over mountains of two and three thoufand feet in
height, acrofs deep vallies and rivers. But the elevations, plans,
and ledlions of this wall and its towers have been taken with
fuch truth and accuracy by the late Captain Parifh, of the Royal
Artillery, that all further defcription would be fuperfluous.
They are to be found in Sir George Staunton's valuable account
-cf the embafly to China.
The fame Emperor, who Is faid to have committed tlie bar-
barous a£l of deftroying the works of the learned, railed this
ftupendous fabric, which has no parallel in the whole world,
not even in the pyramids of Egypt, the magnitude of the largefl:
of thefe containing only a very fmall portion of the quantity of
matter comprehended in the great wall ot China. This indeed
is fo enormous, that admitting, what I believe has never been
denied, its length to be fifteen hundred miles, and the dimen-
fions throughout pretty much the fame as where it was croffed
by the Brltlfh Embafly, the materials of all the dwelling-houfes
of England and Scotland, fuppofing them to amount to one
million eight hundred thoufand, and to average on the whole
two thoufand cubic feet of mafonry or brick-worJc, are barely
equivalent to the bulk or folid contents of the great wall of
China. Nor are the projeding maify towers of ftone and brick
included in this calculation. Thefe alone, fuppofing them to
continue throughout at bow-£hot diftance, were calculated to
contain as much mafonry and brickwoik as all London. To
I give
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 335
give another idea of the mafs of matter in this ftupendous fabric,
it may be obferved, that it is more than fufficient to furround
the circumference of the earth on two of its great circles
with two walls, each fix feet high and two feet thick ! It is to
be underftood, however, that in this calculation is included the
earthy part in the middle of the wall.
Turning from an obje£t, which the great Dodor Johnfon
was of opinion would bean honour to any one to fay that his
grandfather had feen, another prefents itfelf fcarcely inferior in
point of grandeur, and greatly excelling it in general utility.
This is what has ufually been called the imperial or grand canal,
an inland navigation of fuch extent and magnitude as to ftand
imrivalled in the hiftory of the world. I may fafely fay that,
in point of magnitude, our moft extenfive inland navigation of
England can no more be compared to the grand trunk that
interfe'£ts China, than a park or garden filh-pond to the great
lake of Winandermere. The Chinefe afcribe an antiquity to
this work higher by many centuries than to that of the great
wall ; but the Tartars pretend it was firft opened in the thir-
teenth century under the Mongul government. The probabi^
lity is, that an effeminate and Ihameful adminiftration had fuf-
fered it to fall into decay, and that the more adtive Tartars
caufed it to undergo a thorough repair : at prefent it exhibits no
appearances of great antiquity. The bridges, the ftone piers of
the flood-gates, the quays, and the retaining walls of the earthen
embankments are comparatively new. Whether it has origi-
nally been conftruded by Chinefe or Tartars, the conceptioa
of fuch an undertaking, and the manner in wliich it is executed,
imply
336 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
imply a degree of fcience and ingenuity beyond what I fufpeft
we rhould now find in the country, either in one or the other
of thefe people. The general furface of the country and other
favourable circumftances have contributed very materially to
affifl: the projector, but a great deal of fkill and management, as
well as of immenfc labour, are confpicuous throughout the
whole work.
I fhal) endeavour to convey, in a few words, a general idea of
the principles on which this grand undertaking has been carried
on. All the rivers of note in China fall from the high lands of
Tartary, which lie to the northward of Thibet, croffing the
plains of this empire in their defcent to the fea from weft to
eaft. The inland navigation being carried from north to fouth
cuts thefe rivers at right angles, the fmaller ftreams of which
terminating in it afford a conftant fupply of water ; and the
three great rivers, the Eu-ho to the north, the Tellow river to-
wards the middle, and the Yang-tfe-kiang to the fouth, inter-
fedlng the canal, carry off the fuperfluous water to the fea.
The former, therefore, are x.h.e feeders, and the latter the dif-
chargers, of the great trunk of the canal. A number of diffi-
culties muft have arifen in accommodating the general level of the
canal to the feveral levels of the feeding ftreams ; for notwith-
ftanding all the favourable circumftances of the face of the
country, it has been found necefl'ary in many places to cut
down to the depth of fixty or feventy feet below the furface ; and,
in others, to laife mounds of earth upon lakes and fwamps and
marfhy grounds, of fuch a length and magnitude that nothing
fliort of the abfolute command over multitudes could have ac-
complilhed
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 337
compliflied an undertaking, whofe immenfity is only exceeded
by the great wall. Thefe gigantic embankments are fome-
times carried through lakes of feveral miles in diameter, be-
tween which the water is forced up to a height confiderably
above that of the lake ; and in fuch iituations we fometiines ob-
ferved this enormnus aqueducSl gliding along at the rate of three
miles an hour. Few parts of It are level : in fome places it has
little or no current ; one day we had it fetting to the fouthward at
the rate of one, two, or three miles an hour, the next to the north-
ward, and frequently on the fame day we found it ftationary,
and running in oppofite directions. This balancing of the level
was effeded by flood-gates thrown acrofs at certain diftances to
elevate or deprefs the height of the water a few inches, as might
appear to be neceflary ; and thefe ftoppages are fimply planks
Aiding in grooves, that are cut into the fides of two ftone abut-
ments, which in thefe places contradt the canal to the width of
about thirty feet. There is not a lock nor, except thefe, a fingle
interruption to a continued navigation of fix hundred miles.
The moft remarkable parts of this extraordinary work will
be noticed in a following chapter, defcriptivc of our journey
through the empire.
Over this main trunk, and moft of the other 'canals and rivers,
are a great variety of bridges, fome with arches that are pointed
not unlike the gothic, fome femicircular, and others fhaped like a
horfe-fhoe : fome have the piers of fuch an extraordinary height
that the largeft veflels, of two hundred tons, fail under them
without ftriking their mafts. Some of their bridges, of three,
X X five,
33? TRAVELS IN CHINA.
five, and feven arches *, that crofs the canal, are extremely-
light and beautiful to the eye, but the plan on which they are
ufually conftruded does not imply much ftrength. Each
ftone, from five to ten feet in length, is cut fo as to form a feg-
ment of the arch, and as, in fuch cafes, there is no key-ftone,
ribs of wood fitted to the convexity of the arch are bolted
through the ftones by iron bars, fixed faft into the folid parts of
the bridge. Sometimes, however, they are without wood, and
the curved ftones are morticed into long tranfverfe blocks of.'
ftone, as in the annexed plate, which was drawa with great
accuracy by Mr. Alexander.
In this Plate,
No. 1. Are ftones cut to the curve of the arch lo feet long,
2. An immenfe ftone, 2 feet fquare, of the whole
depth of the arch.
3. Curved ftones, 7 feet long,
4. Ditto, 5 feet.
5. Ditto,, 37 feet.
6. Ditto, 3 feet.
7. Ditto, 3 feet.
8.8. Stones fimilar to No. 2. being each one entire
piece running through the bridge, and intended,
it would feem, to bind the fabric together as the
pillars 9.9. are morticed into them.
Tliere are, however, other arches wherein the ftones are fmaller
and pointed to a centre as in ours. I have underftood from
• A bridge with, ninety one arches will be noticed in a fubfequeat chapter.
the
■■•nrr ■' "''imi.gm
,t«p>ifjjj^
MM
k=(
N
V
I
^
^
Ic
d ^
V
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 3^9
the late Captain Parifh, that no mafonry could be fuperlor to
that of the great wall, and that all the arched and vaulted work
in the old towers was exceedingly well turned. This being
the cafe, we may probably be not far amifs in allowing the
Chinefe to have employed this ufeful and ornamental part of
architecture before it was known to the Greeks and the Romans,
Neither the Egyptians nor the Perfians appear at any time to
have applied it in their buildings. The ruins of Thebes and
of Perfepolis have no arches, nor have thofe cf Balbec and
Palmyra ; nor do they feem to have been much ufed in the
magnificent buildings of the Romans antecedent to the time of
Auguftus. The grand and elegant columns of all thefe nations
v%'ere connedled by ftraight architraves of ftone, of dimenfions
not inferior to the columns themfelves. In the Hindoo excava-!'
tions are arches cut out of the folid mountain ; but when loofc
ftones were employed, and a building was intended to be fuper-
ftru£led on columns, the ftones above the capitals were overlaid
like inverted fteps, till they met in a point in the middle above
the two columns, appearing at a little diftance exadlly like the
gothic arch, of which this might have given the firft idea. If
then the antiquity be admitted which the Chinefe afcribe to
the building of the great wall, and no reafon but a negative one,
the filence of Marco Polo, has been offered againft it (an ob-
jeftioii eafily refuted), they have a claim to the invention of tlie
arch founded on no unfolid grounds.
The cemeteries, or repofitories of the dead, exhibit a much
-greater variety of monumental architeiture than the dwellings
of the Irving can boaft of. Some indeed depofit the remains of
X.X 2 their
340 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
their anceftois in hoiifes that differ in nothing from thofe they
inhabited while living, except in their diminutive fize ; others
prefer a fquare vault, ornamented in fuch a manner as fancy may
fuggeft ; fome make choice of a hexagon to cover the deceafed,
and others of an odagon. The round, the triangular, the fquare,
and multangular column, is indifferently raifed over the grave
of a Chinefe j but the moft common form of a monument to
the remains of perfons of rank confifts in three terraces, one
above another, inclofed by circular walls. The door or en-
trance of the vault is in the centre of the uppermoft terrace,
covered with an appropriate infcription ; and figures of flaves
and horfes and cattle, with other creatures that, when living,
were fubfervient to them and added lo their pleafures, are em-
ployed after their death to decorate the terraces of their
tombs.
" Quar gratia currutn
" Armorumque fuit vivis, qux cura nitentes
" Pafcere equos, eadem fequitur ceilure repoftos."
Virgil, ^neib vi,
" Thofe pleaflng cares the heroes fek, alive,
" For chariots, fteeds, and arms, in death furvlve." Pitt.
It may be confidered as fuperfluous, af er what has been faid,
to obferve, that no branch of natural philofophy is made a
ftudy, or a purfuit in China. The pradical application of
fome of the moft obvious effeds produced by natural caufes
could not efcape the obfcrvation of a people who had, at an
early period, attained fo high a degree of civilization, but, fatif-
fied with the pradical part, they pu(hed their enquiries no far-
ther. Of pneumatics, hydroftatics, eledricity, and magnetifm,
they
TRAVELS IN CHINA." 341
they may be faid to have little or no knowledge ; and their
optics extend not beyond the making of convex and concave
lenfesof rock cryftal to affift the fight in magnifying, or throw-
ing more rays upon, fmall objeds and, by colleding to a focus
the rays of the fun, to fet fire to combuftible fubftances. Thefe
lenfes are cut with a faw and afterwards polifhed, the powder
of cryftal being ufed in both operations. To polifh diamonds
they make ufe of the powder of adamantine fpar, or the corun-
dum ftone. In cutting different kinds of ftone into groups of
figures, houfes, mountains, and fometimes into whole land-
fcapes, they difcover more of perfevering labour, of a determi-
nation to fubdue difficulties, which were not worth the fubdu-
ing, than real ingenuity. Among the many remarkable in-
ftances of this kind of labour, there is one in the pofleffion of
the Right Honourable Charles Greville, that deferves to be
noticed. It is a group of well formed, excavated, and highly
ornamented bottles, covered with foliage and figures, raifed in
the manner of the antique Cameos^ with moveable ring-handles,
Handing on a bafe or pedeftal, the whole cut out of one folid
block of clear rock cryftal. Yet this laborious trifle was pro-
bably fold for a few dollars in China. It was bought in Lon-
don for about thirty pounds, where it could not have been
made for many times that fum, if, indeed, it could have been
made at all. All their fpedacles that I have feen were cryftal
fet in horn, tortoife-fhell, or ivory. The fingle microfcope is
in common ufe, but they have never hit upon the effedt of ap-
proximating objeas by combining two or more lenfes, a difco-
very indeed to which in Europe we are more indebted to chance
than to the refull of fcientific enquiry. I obferv^d at Tuen-mhi-
3 yuen
342 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
yuen a rude kind of magic lantern, and a camera obfcura,
neither of which, although evidently of Chinefe vvorkmanfhip,
appeared to wear the marks of a national invention. I fliould
rather conclude, that they were part of thofe ftriking and curious
experiments which the early Jefuits difplayed at court, in order
to aftonifh the Emperor with their profound {kill, and raife
their reputation as men of learning. Of the ombres Chinoifes
they may, perhaps, claim the invention, and in pyrotechny
their ingenuity may be reckoned much fuperior to any thing
which has hitherto been exhibited in that art in Europe.
A convex lens is among the ufual appendages to the tobacco
pipe- With thefe they are in the daily habit of lighting their
pipes. Hence the great burning lens made by Mr. Parker of
Fleet-Street, and carried out among the prefents for the En:>-
peror, was an objecSt that excited no admiration in the minds of
the Chinefe. The difficulty of making a lens of fuch magni-
tude perfedl, or free from flaw, and its extraordinary powers
could net be underftood, and confequently not appreciated by
them : and although in the fhort fpace of four feconds it com-
pletely melted down one of their bafe copper coins, when the
fun was -more than forty degrees beyond the meridian, it made
no impreflion of furprize on their uninformed minds. The
only enquiry they made about it was, whether the fubftance
was cryftal ; but being informed it was glafs, they turned away
with a fort of difdain, as if they would fay. Is a lump of glafs a
proper prefent to offer to our great Whang-tee f The prime mi-
nifler, Ho-tchiing-tong^ in order to convince us how very fami-
liar articles of fuch a nature were to him, lighted his pipe very
compofedly
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 343
compofedly at the focus, but had a narrow efcape from fingeing
his fattin fleeve, which would certainly have happened had I
not given him a fudden pu(h. He feemed, however, to be in-
fenfible of his danger, and walked off without the leaft con-
cern.
Indeed, in feleding the many valuable prefents relating to
fcience, their knowledge and learning had been greatly over-
rated. They had little efteem for what they could not com-
prehend, and fpecimens of art ferved only to excite their jea-
loufy, and to wound their pride. Whenever a future embafly
fhall be fent to Pekin, I fhould recommend articles of gold,
filver, and fteel, children's toys and trinkets, and perhaps a
few fpecimens of Derbyfhire fpar, with the fined broad-cloth
and kerfeymeres, in preference to all others ; for in their pre-
fent ftate, they are totally incapable of appreciating any thing
great or excellent in. the arts and fciences.
To alleviate the afflictions of mankind, and to afluage the
pains which tlie human frame is liable to fufFer, muft have
been among the earlieft fludies of civilized fociety ; and accord^
ingly, in the hiftory of ancient kingdoms, we find the pratfti-
tioners of the healing art regarded even to adoration. Chi-
ron, the preceptor of Achilles, and the mafter of iEfculapius,
was transferred to the heavens, where he ftill fliines under the
name of Sagittarius. Among thefe nations, indeed, which we
call favage, there is ufually fhewn a more than ordinary refpe<£i
for fuch of their countrymen as are moft fkilled in removing
obftrudions, allaying tumors, healing bruifes, and, generally
fp caking.
3S^4 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ipeaking, who can apply relief to mlfery. But the Chinefc,
who feem to difier hi their opinions from all the reft of man-
kind, whether civilized or favage, pay little refpe£l to the
therapeutick art. They have eflabliflied no public fchools for
the ftudy of medicine, nor does the purfuit of it lead to honours,
rank, or fortune. Such as take up the profeffion are generally
of an inferior clafs j and tlie eunuchs about the palace are con-
fidered among their beft phyficians. According to their own
account, the books on medicine cfcaped the fire, by which they
pretend the vrorks of learning were confumed, in the reign of
Shee-whang-teCy two hundred years before the Chriftian era ;
and yet the beft of their medical books of the prefent day are
little better than mere herbals, fpecifying the names and enu-
merating the qualities of certain plants. The knowledge of
thefe plants and of their fuppofed virtues goes a great way towards
conftituting a phyfician. Thofe moft commonly employed are
gin-fing, rhubarb, and China-root. A few preparations are
alfo found in their pharmacopoeia from the animal and the mi-
neral kingdoms. In the former they employ fnakes, beetle?,
centipedes, and the aurelise of the filk worm and other infedls ;
the meloe and the bee are ufed for blifters. In the latter, falt-
petre, fulphur, native cinnabar, and a few other articles are
occafionally prefcribed. Opium is taken as a medicine, but
more generally as a cordial to exhilarate the fpirits. Though the
importation of this drug is ftridly prohibited, yet, as I have
before obferved, vaft quantities are annually fmuggled into the
country from Bengal and from Europe, through the connivance
of the cuftom-houfe officers.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 345
The phyfiology of the human body, or the dodrlne which
explains the conftitution of man, is neither* underftood, nor
confidered as neceflary to be known ; and their fkill in patho-
logy, or in the caufes and effects of dil'eafes, is extremely li-
mited, very often abfurd, and generally erroneous. The feat
of mod difeafes are, in fa£t, fuppofed to be difcoverable by
feeling the pulfe, agreeably to a fyftem built upon principles
the mod wild and extravagant. Having no knowledge what-
foever of the circulation of the blood, notwithftanding the Je-
fults have made no fcruple in aflerting it was well known to
them long before Europeans had any idea of it, they imagine,
that every particular part of the human body has a particular
pulfe affigned to it, and that thefe have all a corrcfponding and
fympathetic pulfe in the arm ; thus, they fuppofe one pulfe to
be fituated in the heart, another in the lungs, a third in the
kidneys, and fo forth ; and the fkill of the do£tor confifts in dif-
covering the prevailing pulfe in the body, by its fympathetic pul-
fations In the arm ; and the mummery made ufeof on fuchocca-
fions is highly ludicrous.
By eating too freely of unripe fruit at Chu-fan I had a vio-
lent attack of cholera morbus^ and on application being made to
the governor for a little opium and rhubarb, he immediately
difpatched to me one of his phyficians. With a countenance
as grave and a folemnity as fettled, as ever was exhibited in a
confultation over a doubtful cafe in London or Edinburgh, he
fixed his eyes upon the ceiling, while he held my hand, be-
ginning at the wrift, and proceeding towards the bending of
Y y the
346 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
the elbow, prefung foinetimes hard with one finger, and then
light with another, as if he was running over the keys of a
harpficord. This performance continued about ten minutes in
folemn filence, after which he let go my hand and pronounced
my complaint to have arifen from eating fomething that had
difagreed with the ftomach. I fhall not take upon me to de-
cide whether this conclufion was drawn from his flcill in the
pulfe, or from a conjedture of the nature of the complaint
from the medicines that had been demanded, and which met.
■with his entire approbation, or from a knowledge of the fad.
Le Compte, who had lefs reafon to be cautious, from his
having left the country, than other miffionaries who are doomed
to remain there for life, pofitively fays, that the phyficians al-
ways endeavour to make themfelves fecretly acquainted with
the cafe of the patient, before they pronounce upon it, as their
reputation depends more on their affigning the true caufe of the
diforder than on the cure. He then proceeds to tell a ftory of
a friend of his who, being troubled with a fwelling, fent for a
Chinefe phyfician. This gentleman told him very gravely,
that it was occafioned by a fmall worm which, unlefs extracted
by his {kill, would ultimately produce gangrene and certain
death. Accordingly one day after the tumour, by the applica-
tion of a few poultices, was getting better, the doilor contrived
to drop upon the removed poultice a little maggot, for the ex-
tradlioQ of which he affumed to himfelf no fmall degree of
merit. Le Compte's ftories, however, are not always to be
depeaded on*
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 347
The prlefts are alfo a kind of dodors, and make plaifters for
a variety of purpofes, fome to draw out the difcafe to the part
appHed, fome as charms againft the evil fpirit, and others
which they pretend to be aphrodifiac ; all of which, and
the laft in particular, are in great demand among the wealthy'.
In this refpedt the Chinefe agree with mofl nations of antk
quity, whofe priefts were generally employed as phyficians.
The number of quacks and venders of noftrums is immenfe in
every city who gain a livelihood by the credulity of the
multitude. One of this defcription exhibited in the public
ftreets of Canton a powder for fale as a fpecific for the bite of
a fnake ; and to conviiice the crowd of its Immediate efficacy,
Tie carried with him a fpecies of this reptile, whofe bite was
known to be extremely venemous. He applied the mouth of
the animal to the tip of his tongue, which began to fwell fo
very rapidly, that in a few minutes the mouth was no longer
able to contain it. The intumefcence continued till it feemed
to burft, and exhibited a fhocking fight of foam and blood,
during which the quack appeared in extreme agonies, and ex-
cited the commiferation of all the bye-ftanders. In the height
of the paroxyfm he applied a little of his powder to the nofe
and the inflamed member, after which it gradually fubfided,
and the dlforder disappeared. Though the probability in the
city of any one perfon being bit with a fnake was not lefs
perhaps than a hundred thoufand to one, yet every perfon pre-
fent bought of the miraculous powder, till a fly fellow mali-
cioufly fuggefted that the whole of this fcene might probably
Jiave been performed by means of a bladder concealed in the
mouth, '
y y 2 But
348 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
But the ufual remedy for the bite of a fnake is a topical ap-
plication of fulphur, or the bruifed head of the fame animal
that gave the wound. The coincidence of fuch an extravagant
idea among nations as remote from each other as the equator
from the pole is fufficiently remarkable. A Roman poet
obferves,
" Quum nocuit Terpens, fertur caput illius apte
" Vulneribus jungi : fanat quem fauciat ipfa."
^ Strenut de Medic'ma.
If to a ferpent's bite its head be laid,
'Twill heal the wound which by itfelf was made.
The naked legs of the Hottentots are frequently ftung by fcor-
pions, and they invariably endeavour to catch the animal, vi^hich
they bruife and apply to the wound, being confident of the
cure; thejavanefe, or inhabitants of Java, are fully perfuaded
of the efficacy of fuch application ; and the author above quoted
obferves with regard to the fting of this infect,,
" Vulneribufque aptus, fertur revocare venenum.""
Being applied to the wound, it Is faid to draw out the poifon.
As it is a violation of good morals for a gentleman to be {ttn
in company with ladies, much more fo to touch the hands of
the fair, the faculty rather than lofe a fee, though it commonly
amounts only to fifty tchen^ or the twentieth part of fix fhillings
and eight-pence, have contrived an ingenious way of feeling a
lady's pulfe : a filken cord being made faft to the wrift of the
patient is pafled through a hole in the wainfcot into another
apartment where the dodor, applying his hand to the cord,
3 after
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 349
after a due obfervance of folemn mockery, decides upon the
cafe and prefcribes accordingly. About court, however, a par-
ticular clafs of eunuchs only are entrufted with feeling the pulfe
of the ladies.
The crowded manner in which the common people live to-
gether in fmall apartments in all the cities, the confined ftreets
and, above all, the want of cleanlinefs in their perfons, beget
fometimes contagious difeafes that fweep off whole families,
fimilar to the plague. In Pekin incredible numbers perifh in
thefe contagious fevers, which more frequently happen there
than in other parts of the empire, notwithftanding the moderate
temperature of the climate. In the fouthern provinces they are
neither fo general, nor fo fatal as might be expe£led, owing, I
believe, in a very great degree, to the univerfal cuftom among
the mafs of the people of wearing vegetable fubftances next the
(kin which, being more cleanly, are confequently more whole-
fome than clothing made from animal matter. Thus, linen
and cotton are preferable to filk and woollen next the fkin,
which fhould be worn only by perfons of the moft cleanly ha-
bits. Another antidote to the ill effeQs that might be expe£led
from want of cleanlinefs in their houfes and their perfons, is the
conftant ventilation kept up in the former both by day and
night : during warm weather, they have no other door but an
open matted fkreen, and the windows are either entirely open
or of thin paper only. Notwithftanding their want of perfonal
cleanlinefs, they are little troubled with leprous or cutaneous
difeafes, and they pretend to be totally ignorant of gout, ftone,
or gravel, which they afcribe to the preventive eifedts of tea.
In
350 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
In favour of this opinion, it has been obfcrved by fofne of our
phyficians, that fince the introdudlion of tea into common ufe,
cutaneous difeafes have become much more rare in Great Bri-
tain than they were before that period, which ottiers have
afcribed, perhaps with more propriety, to the general ufe of
linen ; both, however, may have been inftr^mental in producing
the happy effed.
The ravages of the fmall-pox, wherever they malce their ap-
pearance, are attended with a general calamity. Of thefe they
pretend to diftinguiQi above forty different fpecies, to each of
which they have given a particular name. If a good fort breaks
out, inoculation or, more properly fpeaking, infedion by arti-
ficial means becomes general. The ufual way of communicat-
ing the difcafe is by inferting the matter, contained in a little
cotton wool, into the noflrils, or they put on the clothes of, or
fleep in the fame bed with, fuch as may have had a favourable
kind ; but they never introduce the matter by making any in-
cifion in the fkin. This fatal difeafe, as appears from the re-
cords of the empire, was unknown before the tenth century,
when it was perhaps introduced by the Mahomedans of Arabia
who, at that period, carried on a confiderable commerce with
Canton from the Perfian gulph, and who not long before had
received it from the Saracens, when they invaded and con-
quered the Eaftern Empire. The fame difeafe was likewife one
of thofe bleffings which the mad crufades conferred upon Eu-
rope ; fince which time, to the clofe of the eighteenth century,
not a hope had been held out of its extirpation when, happily,
the invaluable difcovery of the cow-pock, or rather the general
applica-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 351
application of that difcovery, which had long been confined to
a particular diflriiS, has furniflied abundant grounds to hope,
that this defirable event may now be accomplillied.
In fome of the provinces the lower orders of people are faid-
to be dreadfully afflidled with fore eyes, and this endemic com-
plaint has been fuppofed to proceed from the copious ufe of
rice ; a conjedure, apparently, without any kind of foundation,
as the Hindus and other Indian nations, whofe whole diet
confifts almoft exclufively of this grain, are not particularly
fubjedt" to the like difeafe : and in Egypt, both in ancient and
modern times, the opthalmia and blindnefs were much more
prevalent than in China; yet rice was neither cultivated nor
known in that part of Africa until the reign of the caliphs,
when it was introduced from the eaftward. The difeafe in
China, if prevalent there, may more probably be owing to
their living in crowded and low habitations, wherein there is a
perpetual fmoke from the fire, from tapers made of fandal wood
dull employed for marking the divifions of the day, from the
general ufe of tobacco, and from the miafma or noxious va-
pours exhaling from the dirt and offals which are collecfled in or
near their habitations. The organ of fight may alfo be relaxed,
and rendered more fufceptible of difeafe, by the conftant prac-
tice of wafliing the face, even in the middle of fummer, with
warm water. I muft obferve, however, that in the courfe of
our long journey, we faw very few blind people, or perfons
afflided with fore eyes.
It
352 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
It will readily be inferred, from the fhort view which has
been taken of the ftate of fociety, that the difeafe occafioned by
an iinreftrained and promifcuous intercourfe of the fexes can-
not be very common in China. In fail, it is fcarcely known,
and the treatment of it is fo little underftood, in the few cafes
which do occur, that it is allowed to work its way into the
fyftem, and is then confidered by them as an incurable leprofj\
On arriving at the northern extremity of the province of Can-
ton, one of our condudlorshad imprudently paffed the night in
one of thofe houfes where, by the licenfe of government, fe-
males are allowed to proftitute their perfons in order to gain a
livelihood. Here, it feems, he had caught the infedlon, and
after fuffering a confiderable degree of pain, and not lefs alarm,
he communicated to our phyfician the fymptoms of his
complaint, of the nature and caufe of which he was entirely
ignorant. He was a man of forty years, of a vigorous confti-
tution and a gay cheerful temper, and had ferved as an officer
in fevcral campaigns from the difierent provinces of northern
Tartary to the frontiers of India, yet fuch a difeafe did not
confift with his knowledge. From this circumftance, and
many others of a funilar kind, I conclude that, although it may
fometimes make its appearance in the capital, and even here
but very rarely, it has originally, and no long time ago, found
its way thither through the ports of Chu-fan, Canton, and
IVIinjao, where numbers of abandoned woman obtain their fub-
fiftence by felling their favours to fuch of every nation as may
be difpofed to purchafe them. It is, in fad, fometimes called
by the Chinefe the Canton-ulcer.
No
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 353
No male phyfician Is ever allowed to prefcribe for pregnant
women ; and they confider it fo great a breach of delicacy for
a man to be in ihe fame room with a woman when in labour
that, whatever difficulties may occur, the cafe is left entirely to
the woman who attends her. There is not a man-midwife in
all China, and yet the want of them does not appear to be inju-
rious to population. They could fcarcely believe it poffible
that, in Europe, men fliould be allowed to pradife a profeffiou
which, in their minds, belonged exclufively to the other fex.
As a due knowledge of the organization of the human body, of
the powers and fundions of the feveral parts, Is attainable only
by the ftudy of pradical anatomy, a ftudy that would fliock the
weak nerves of a timid Chinefe, it will not be expeded that
their furgical operations fliould either be numerous or neatly
performed. The law indeed which I have had occafion to no-
tice, and the effeds produced by it in two or three inftances
that occurred to our knowledge, will fufficiently explain the
very low ebb of chirurgical fl5:ill. No one will readily under-
take to perform the moft fimple operation, where not only all
the dired confequences, but the contingencies for forty days
muft He at his door. They fometimes fucceed In reducing a
diflocation, and in fetting a fimple fradure ; but in difficult
and complicate cafes, the patient Is generally abandoned to
chance. Amputation is never pradifed. In the courfe of our-
whole journey, wherein we pafled through millions of people,
I do not recoiled to have feen a fingle individual that had fuf-
tained the lofs of a limb, and but very few in any way maimed;
from whence I conclude, that accidents are uncommon, or that
z 2 ferlous
554
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ierious ones ufualiy terminate in the lofs of life. A Chinefe is
fo dreadfully afraid of a (harp cutting inftrument, that he has
not even fubmitted to the operation of blood-letting ; though
the principle is admitted, as they are in the pradice of drawing
blood by fcarifying the fkin, and applying cupping veffels. In
certain complaints they burn the fkin with fmall pointed irons
made hot, and fometimes, after punduring the part with filver
needles, they fet fire to the leaves of a fpecies of Artimefia upon
it, in the fame manner as the Moxa in Japan is made ufe of to
cure and even prevent a number of difeafes, but efpecially the
gout and rheumatifm, the former of which is faid to be unknown
in China. Cleanfing the ears, cutting corns, pulling the joints
till they crack, twitching the nofe, thumping on the back, and
fuch like operations, are annexed to the fhaving profeffion, by
which thoufands in every city gain a livelihood. In fhort, the
whole medical fkill of the Chinefe may be fummed up in the
words of the ingenious Dodor Gregory from the information
he obtained from his friend Dodtor Gillan. " In the greateft,
" moft ancient, and mod civilized empire on the face of the
" earth, an empire that was great, populous, and highly civi-
" lized two thoufand years ago, when this country was as fa-
" vage as New Zealand is at prefent, no fuch good medical
" aid can be obtained among the people of it, as a fmart
" boy of fixteen, who had been but tv/elve months ap-
" prentice to a good and well employed Edinburgh Sur-
" geon, might reafonably be expected to afford." If," con-
tinues the Dodor, " the Emperor of China, the abfolute
" monarch of three hundred and thirty-three millions of
" people, more than twice as many as all Europe contains.
I *' were
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
SS5
*' were attacked with a pleurify, or got his leg broken, it
" would be happy for himto get fuch a boy for his firft phy-
" fician and ferjeant-furgeon. The boy (if he had feea his
" mafter's praQice in but one or two fimilar cafes) would cer-
. " tainly know how to fet his Imperial Majefty's leg, and would
" probably cure him of his pleurify, which none of his own fub-
" jeds could do."
Having thus given a flight fketch of the flate of fome of the
leading branches in fcience, arts, and manufadlures, omitting
purpofely that of agriculture, which will be noticed among the
fuhjeds of a future fedlon, I think, upon the whole, it may
fairly be concluded, that the Chinefe have been among the
firft nations, now exifting in the world, to arrive at a certain
pitch of perfedion, where, from the policy of the govern-
ment, or fome other caufe, they have remained ftationary:
that they were civilized, fully to the fame extent they now are,
more than two thoufand years ago, at a period when all Europe
might be confidered, comparatively, as barbarous ; but that
they have fmce made little progrefs in any thing, and been re-
trograde in many things : that, at this moment, compared with
Europe, they can only be faid to be great in trifles, whilfl: they
are really trifling in every thing that is great. I cannot how-
ever exa(flly fubfcribe to an opinion pronounced on them by a
learned and elegant writer*, who was well verfed in oriental litera-
ture, as being rather too unqualified ; but he was lefs acquainted
with their character than that of any other Afiatic nation, and
totally ignorant of their language. " Their letters," fays he,
• Sir William Joaes.
Z Z 2 "if
SS^ TRAVELS IN CHINA.
*• if we may fo call them, arc merely the fymbols of ideas ;
** their philofophy feems yet in. fo rude a ftate, as hardly to
** deferve the appellation ; they have no ancient monuments
" from which their origin can be traced, even by plaufible con-
*' je£lure ; their fciences are wholly exotic ; and their mecha-
*' nical arts have nothing in them charadteriftic of a particular
" family; nothing which any fet of men, in a country fo high-
" ly favoured by nature, might not have difcovered and im-
" proved."
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 357^
CHAP. VIT.
Government — Laws — Tenures of Land and Taxes — Revenues
—Civil and Military Ranks, and Eftablifhments.
Optnions on -which the Executive Authority it grounded. — Principle on which an Em-m
peror of China feldotn appears in public. — The Cenferate. — Public Departments.—
Laws. — Scale of Crimes and Punijhments. — Laivs regarding Homicide, Curious
Law Cafe. — iVo Appeal from Civil Suits. — DefeBs in the Executive Government.
—Duty of Obedience and Power of perfonal CorreSiion. — RuJJia and China com'
pared. — Fate of the Prime Minijier Ho-chang^-tong. — Tearly Calendar and Pekin
Gazette^ engines of Government. — Freedom of the Prefs — Duration of the Govern-
ment attempted to be explained. — Precautions of Government to prevent InfurreElions:
—Taxes and Revenues. — Civil and Military EJlabVfhments. — Chinefe Armv its
Numbers and Appointments. — ConduB of the Tartar Government at the Ccrnueff.
Impolitic Change of late years y and the probable Confequences of it.
HE late period at which the nations of Europe became firft
acquainted with the exiftence even of that vaft extent of coun-
try comprehended under the name of China, the difficulties of
accefs to any part of it when known, the peculiar nature of
the language which, as I have endeavoured to prove, has no
relation with any other either ancient or modern, the extreme
jealoufy of the government towards foreigners, and the con-
tempt in which they were held by the loweft of the people, may
ferve,
j^S f^flAVELS IN CHINA.
fcrve, among other caufes, to account for the very limited and
imperfefl knowledge we have hitherto obtained of the real hif-
tory of this extraordinary empire : for their records, it feems,
are by no means deficient. For two centuries at lead before
the Chriftian era, down to the prefent time, the tranfa£tions of
each reign are amply detailed without any interruption. They
have even preferved colledlions of copper coins, forming a re-
gular feries of the different Emperors that have filled the throne
of China for the laft two thoufand years. Such a collection,
though not quite complete, Sir George Staunton brought with
him to England.
Before this time, when China confifted of a number of petty
ftates or principalities, the annals of the country are faid to
abound with recitals of wars and battles and bloodfhed, like
thofe of every other part of the world. But, in proportion as
the number of thefe diftinCt kingdoms diminilhed, till at length
they were all melted and amalgamated into one great empire,
the deftrudion of the human race by human means abated, and '
the government, fince that time, has been lefs interrupted by fo-
reign war, or domeftic commotion, than any other that hiftory
has made known. But whether this definable ftate of public
tranquillity may have been brought about by the peculiar nature
of the government being adapted to the genius and habits of the
people, which in the opinion of Ariftotle is the beft of all
poffible governments, or rather by conftraining and fubduing
the genius and habits of the people to the views and maxims of
the government, is a queftion that may admit of fome difpute.
At the prefent day, however, it is fufficiently evident, that
the
TRAVELS IN" CHINA. 359
the heavy hand of power has completely overcome and moulded
to its own fhape the phyfical charafter of the people, and that
their moral fentiments and adtions are fwayed by the opinions,
and alraoft under the entire dominion, of the government.
Thefe opinions, to which it owes fo much of its ftabinty, are
grounded on a principle of authority which, according to
maxims induftrioufly inculcated and now completely eftabliflied
in the minds of the people, is confidered as the natural and un-
alienable right of the parent over his children ; an authority
that is not fuppofed to ceafe at any given period of life or years,
but to extend, and to be maintained with undiminifhed and un-
controuled fway, until the death of one of the parties diffolves
the obligation. The Emperor being confidered as the common
father of his people is accordingly invefted with the exercife of
the fame authority over them, as the father of a family exerts
on thofe of his particular houfehold. In this fenfe he takes the
Jtitle of the Great Father; and by his being thus placed above
any earthly controul, he is fuppofed to be alfo above earthly
defcent, and therefore, as a natural confequence, he fometimes
ftyles himfelf i\\Q/ole ruler of" the world and the Son of Heaven,
But that no inconfiflency might appear in the grand fabric of
filial obedience the Emperor, with folemn ceremony at the com-
mencement of every new year, makes his proftrations before
the Emprefs Dowager, and on the fame day he demands a re-
petition of the fame homage from all his great officers of ftate.
Conformable to this fyftem, founded entirely on parental au-
thority, the governor of a province is confidered as the fathef
of that province ; of a city, the father of that city ; and the head
of
36o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
of any office or department is fuppofed to prcfide over it with
the fame authority, intereft, and afFedion, as the father of a
family fuperintends and manages the concerns of domeftic
life.
It is greatly to be lamented that a fyftem of government, fo
plaufible in theory, ftiould be liable to fo many abufes in prac-'
tice ; and that this fatherly care and affedion in the governors,
and filial duty and reverence in the governed would, with
much more propriety, be expreffed by the terms of tyranny,
opprefTion, and injuftice in the one, and by fear, deceit, and
difobedieace in the ether.
The firft grand maxim on which the Emperor ads is, feldom
to appear before the public, a maxim whofe origin would be
difficultly traced to any principle of affedion or folicitude for
his children ; much more eafily explained as the offspring of
fufpicion. The tyrant who may be confcious of having com-
mitted, or affented to, ads of cruelty and oppreffion, muft feel '
a reludance to mix with thofe who may have fmarted under
the lafli of his power, naturally concluding that fome fecret hand
may be led, by a fingle blow, to avenge his own wrongs, or
thofe of his fellow fubjeds. The principle, however, upon
which the Emperor of China feldom fhews himfelf in public,
and then only in the height of fplendor and magnificence, feems
to be eftablifhed on a policy of a very different kind lo that of
felf-prefervation. A power that ads in fecret, and whofe in-
fluence is felt near and remote at the fame moment, makes a
ftronger impreffion on the mind, and is regarded with more
dread
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 361
dread and awful refpedl, than if the agent was always vifible
and familiar to the eye of every one. The priefts of the Eleu-
finian myfteries were well acquainted with this feature of the
human chara<fl:er, which is ftronger in proportion as the reafon-
ing faculties are lefs improved, and which required the enlight-
ened mind of a Socrates to be able to difregard the terror they
infpired among the vulgar. Thus alfo Deioces, as Heredotus
informs us, when once eftabliflied as king in Ecbatana, would
fuffer none of the people, for whom before he was the common
advocate, to be now admitted to his prefence, concluding that all
thofe who were debarred from feeing him, would eafily be per-
fuaded that his nature, by being created king, was transformed
into fomething much fuperior to theirs. A frequent accefs in-
deed to men of rank and power and talents, a familiar and un-
reftrained intercourfe with them, and a daily obfervance of their
ordinary adlions and engagements in the concerns of life, have
a tendency very much to diminifh that reverence and refpe£t
which public opinion had been willing to allow them. It was
juftly obferved by the great Conde', that no man is a hero to his
valet-de- chambre.
Confiderations of this kind, rather than any dread of his fub-
je£ts, may probably have fuggefted the cuftom which prohibits
an Emperor of China from making his perfon too familiar to
the multitude, and which requires that he fhould exhibit him-
felf only on particular occafions, arrayed in pomp and magnifi-
cence, and at the head of his whole court, confifting of an af-
femblage of many thoufand officers of ftate, ihe agents of his
3 A will,
362 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
will, all ready, at the word of command, to proftrate themlelves
at his feet.
The power of the fovereign is abfolute ; but the patriarchal
fyftem, making it a point of indifpenfable duty for a fon to
bring offerings to the fpirit of his deceafed parent in the mod
public manner, operates as fome check upon the exercife of this
power. By this civil inftitutlon, the duties of which are ob-
ferved with more than a religious ftri£lnefs, he is conftantly
put in mind that the memory of his private condufl, as well
as of his public a£ls, will long furvive his natural life ; that his
name will, at certain times in every year, be pronounced with a
kindoffacredand reverential awe, from one extremity of theex-
tenfive empire to the other, provided he may have filled his fta-
tionto the fatisfadionofhisfubjeds ; and that, on the contrary,
public execrations will refcue from oblivion any arbitrary ad of
injuftice and oppreffion, of which he may have been guilty. It
may alfo operate as a motive for being nice and circumfped in
the nomination of a fuccefTor, which the law has left entirely to
his choice.
The confideration, however, of pofthumous fame, would
operate only as a (lender reftraint on the caprices of a tyrant, as
the hiftory of this, as well as other countries, furnifhes abun-
dant examples. It has, therefore, been thought neceflary to add
another, and perhaps a more effedual check, to curb any dif-
pofition to licentioufnefs or tyranny that might arife in the
bread of the monarch. This is the appointment of the cenfo-
rate.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 363
rate, an office filled by two perfons, who have the power ofre-
monftracing freely againft any illegal or unconftitutional ad
about to be committed, or fandioned by the Emperor. And
although it may well be fuppofed, that thefe mfen are extremely
cautious in the exercile of the power delegated to them, by vir-
tue of their office, and in the difcharge of this difagreeable part
of their duty, yet they have another tafl^ to perform, on which
their own pofthumous fame is not lefs involved than that of
their mafter, and in the execution of which they run lefs rifle
of giving offence. They are the hiftoriographers of the em-
pire ; or, more corredly fpeaking, the biographers of the Em-
peror. Their employment, in this capacity, confifts chiefly in
colledting the fentiments of the monarch, in recording his
fpeeches and memorable fayings, and in noting down the moft
prominent of his private aftions, and the remarkable occur-
rences of his reign. Thefe records are lodged in a large cheft,
which is kept in that part of the palace where the tribunals of
government are held, and which is fuppofed not to be opened until
the deceafe of the Emperor ; and, if any thing material to the
injury of his character and reputation is found to be recorded
the publication of it is delayed, out of delicacy to his family, till
two or three generations have pafled away, and fometimes till
the expiration of the dynafty ; by this indulgence they pretend,
that a more faithful relation is likely to be obtained, in which
neither fear nor flattery could have operated to difguife the
truth.
An infl;ltution, fo remarkable and fmgular in its kind in an
arbitrary government, could not fail to carry with it a very
3 A 2 powerful
3r4 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
powerful influence upon the decifions of the monarch, and to
make him folicitous to ad, on all occafions, in fuch a manner,
as would be moft likely to fecure a good name, and to tranfmit
his charadler unfuUied and facred to pofterity. The records of
lyheir hiftory are faid to mention a ftory of an Emperor, of the
dynafty or flimily of Tang^ who, from a confcioufnefs of hav-
ing, in feveral inftances, tranfgrelTed the bounds of his autho-
rity, was determined to take a peep into the hiftorical cheft,
where he knew he fhould find all his adions recorded. Having
made ufe of a variety of arguments, in order to convince the'
two cenfors that there could be nothing improper in the ftep he
was about to take, as, among other things, he alTured them,
he was aduated with the defire only of being made ac-
quainted with his greateft faults, as the firft ftep to amend-
ment, one of thefe gentlemen is faid to have anfwered him very
nobly, *o this efFed : " It is true your Majefty has committed a
" number of errors, and it has been the painful duty of our
" employment to take notice of them ; a duty," continued he,
" which further obliges us to inform pofterity of the conver-
*' fation which your Majefty has this day, very improperly,
" held with us."
To afTift the Emperor In the weighty affairs of ftate, and in
the arduous tafk of governing an empire of fo great an extent,
and fuch immenfe population, the conftitutlon has affigned him
two councils, one ordinary, and the other extraordinary ; the or-
dinary council is compofed of his principal minifters, under the
name of CoUao, of which there are fix. The extraordinary
council confifts entirely of the princes of the blood.
For
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 365
For the adminiflration of the affairs of government, there
are fix boards or departments, confifting of,
1. The Court of Appointments to vacancies in the of-
fices of government, being compofed of the minifter and
learned men, qualified to judge of the merits of can-
didates.
2. The Court of Finance.
3. The Court of Ceremonies, prefiding over the diredlion of
ancient cuftoms, and treating with foreign Embaffadors.
4. The Court for regulating military affairs.
5. The Tribunal of Juftice.
6. The Board of Works.
t
Thefe public fundionaries refolve upon, recommend, and
report to the Emperor, all matters belonging to their feparate.
jurifdidlions, who, with the advice of his ordinary and, ifcon-
fidered to be neceflary, of his extraordinary council, affirms,
amends, or reje£ts their decrees. For this purpofe, the late
Emperor never omitted to give regular audience in the great hall
of the palace every morning at the hours of four or five o'clock.
Subordinate to thefe fupreme courts held in the capital, are
others of fimilar conftitution eflabliflied in the different pro-
vinces
366 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
vinces and great cities of the empire, each of which correfponds
with its principal in Pekin.
It would far exceed the limits of the prefent work, were I to
enter into a detail of their code of laws, which indeed I am not
fufficlently prepared to do. They are publiflied for the ufe of
the fubje£l, in the plalneft charadters that the language will ad-
mit, making fixteen fniall volumes, a copy of which is now
in England ; and I am encouraged to hold out a reafonable
hope, that this compendium of the laws of China may, ere
long, appear in an able and faithful Englifh tranflation, which
will explain, more than all the volumes that have hitherto
been written on the fubjedl of China, in what manner a mafs
of people, more than the double of that which is found in all
Europe, has been kept together through fo many ages in one
bond of union. This work* on the laws of China, for per-
fpicuity and method, may juftly be compared with Blackftone's
Commentaries on the Laws of England. It not only contains
the laws arranged under their refpedlive heads, but to every
law is added a fhort commentary and a cafe.
I have been aflured, on the befl: authority, that the laws of
China define, in the moft diftindt and perfpicuous manner, al-
moft every fhade of criminal offences, and the punifhment
awarded to each crime : that the greateft care appears to have
been taken in conftrudting this fcale of crimes and punifliments;
that they are very far from being fanguinary : and that if
• It is called the Ta tchin Leu-Lee, the laws and infticutes under the dynafty Ta-
uhin, which is the name affumed by the prefent family on the throne.
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 367
the pradice was equal to the theory, few nations could boaft
of a more mild, and, at the fame time, a more efficacious dif-
penfation of juftice. Of all the defpotic governments exifting,
there is certainly none where the life of man is held fo facred
as in the laws of China. A murder is never overlooked, except
in the horrid pradice of expofmg infants : nor dares the Em-
peror himfelf, all-powerful as he is, to take away the life of
the meaneft fubjeft, without the formality at leaft of a regular
procefs, though, as will be feen in the cafe of the late prime
minifter of Kien-Long, the chance of efcaping muft be very
flender, where he himfelf becomes the accufer. So tenacioufly
however do they adhere to that folemn declaration of God de-
livered to Noah — " At the hand of every man's brother will I
" require the life of man. Whofo fheddeth man's blood, by
" man fhall his blood be fhed," — that the good intention is
oftentimes defeated by requiring, as I have elfewhere obferved,
from the perfon laft feen in company with one who may have
received a mortal wound, or who may have died fuddenly, a
circumftantial account, fupported by evidence, ia what manner
his death was occafioned.
In attempting to proportion punifhments to the degrees of
crimes, inftead of awarding the fame punifhment for ftealiiig a
loaf of bread and taking away the life of man, the Chinefe
legiflators, according to our notions, feem to have made too
little diftindion between accidental manllaughter and premedi-
tated murder. To conftitute the crime, it is not neceflary to
prove the intention or malice aforethought ; for though want of
intention palliates the offence, and confequently mitigates the
I punifhment»
o
5% TRAVELS IN CHINA.
punifliment, yet it never entirely €Xcufes the offender. If a
man fhould kill another by an unforefeen and unavoidable ac-
cident, his life is forfeited by the law, and however favourable
the circumftances may appear in behalf of the criminal, the
Emperor alone is inverted with the power of remitting the fen-
tence, a power which he very rarely if ever exercifes to
the extent of a full pardon but, on many occafions, to a
mitigation of the punifhment awarded by law. Stridly fpeak-
ing, no fentence of death can be carried into execution until it
has been ratified by the monarch. Yet in ftate crimes, or in
a£ts of great atrocity, the viceroy of a province fometimes takes
upon himfelf to order fummary punifhment, and prompt execu-
tion has been inflided on foreign criminals at Canton when
guilty only of homicide. Thus, about the beginning of the laft
century, a man belonging to Captain Shelvocke had the mif-
fortune to kill a Chinefe on the river. The corpfe was laid be-
fore the door of the Englifh fadory, and rhe firft perfon that
came out, who happened to be -one of the fupercargoes, was
feized and carried as a prifoner into the city, nor would they
confent to his releafe till the criminal was given up, whom, af-
ter a {hort inquiry, they ftrangled. The recent affair of the
unfortunate gunner is well known. An affray happened in Ma-
cao a few years ago, in which a Chinefe was killed by the Por-
tuguefe. A peremptory demand was made for one of the lat-
ter, to expiate the death of the former. The government of
this place, either unable or unwilling to fix on the delinquent,
propofed terms of compromife, which were rejecled and force
was threatened to be ufed. There happened to be a merchant
from Manilla then refiding at Macao, a man of excellent cha-
racter,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 369
rafter, who had long carried on a commerce between the two
ports. This unfortunate man was fe'.edted to bo the innocent
vidim to appeafe the rigour of Chinefe judice, and he was im-
mediately ftrangled *.
The procefs of every trial for criminal offences, of which the
punifhment is capital, muft be tranfmitted to Pekin, and fubmit-
* Various accidents having happened at different limes to Chinefe fubjeifts in tlie
port of Canton, which have generally led to difagreeabic difcuffions with the Chinefe
government, the fupercargoes of the Eafl India Company thought proper, on a late
occafion of a perfon being wounded by a Ihot from a Britifli fhip of war, to make
application for an extraft from the criminal code of laws relating to homicide, in or-
der to have the fame tranflated into F.nglifli, and made public. This extradl confided
of the following articles :
1. A man who kills another on the fuppofition of theft, fhall be ftrangled, according
to the law of homicide committed in an affray.
2. A man who fires at another with a mufquet, and kills him thereby, ftiall be be-
headed, as in cafes of wilful murder. ]f the fufferer be wounded, bur not mortally,
the offender {hall be feiit into exile.
3. A man who puts to death a criminal who had been apprehended, and made no
refillance, ihail be ftrangled, according to the law againll homicide committed in
an affray.
4. A man who falfely accufes an innocent perfon of theft (In cafes of greatefl crimina-
lity) is guilty of a capital offence ; in all other cafes the offenders, whether princi-
pals or accefi'.u-ies, fhall be fent into exile.
5. A man who wounds another unintentionally fliall be tried according to the law
refpeiting blows given in an affray, and the puniflimeat rendered more or Icfs fe-
vere, according to the degree of injury fuftained.
6. A man who, intoxicated with liquor, commits out';ages againll the laws, fhall be
exiled to a defert country, there to remain in a ftate of fervitude.
In this clear and decifive manner are puniihments awarded for every clafs of
crimes committed in fociety ; and it was communicated to the Englifli faftory from
the viceroy, that on no confideration was it left in the breaft of the judge to extenu-
ate or to exaggerate the fentence, whatever might be the rank, charac'ter, orftation of
the delinquent.
3 B ted
370 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ted to the impartial eye of the fupreme tribunal of juftice, which
affirms or alters, according to the nature of the cafe. And
where any peculiar circumftances appear in favour of the ac-
cufed, an order for revifing the fentence is recommended to the
Emperor, who, in fuch cafes, either amends it himfelf, or di-
rects the proceedings to be returned to the provincial court,
with the fentiments of the fupreme tribunal on the cafe. The
proceedings are then revifed, and if the circumftances are
found to apply to the fuggeftions of the high court, they alter
or modify their former fentence accordingly *.
As
* The following law cife, whicli is literally tranflated from a volume of reports
of trials, publiflied in the prefent reign of Kia-King, and with which I have been
favoured by a friend (who was himfelf the tranflacor), will ferve to fliew the mode of
proceeding in criminal matters of the provincial courts of judicature. The circum-
ftances of the tranfaflion appear to have been enquired into fairly and impartially,
and no pains fpared to afcertain the exaft degree of criminality. Being given to me
about the time when the trial took place of Smith, for the murder of the fiippofed
Hammerfmith ghojl, I was forcibly ftruck with the remarkable coincidence of the two
cafes, and with the almoft identical defence fet up by the Chinefe and the Englifli
prifoners, and on that account it excited more intereft than perhaps it might other-
wife be confidered to be entitled to.
Tranjlation of an ExtraS from a CoUeSion of Chinefe Laiv Reports, being the Trial, Ap-
peal, and Sentence upon an IndiSinent for Homicide by Gun firing.
At a criminal court held in the province of Fo-kien, upon an indiftment for {hoot-
ing, and mortally wounding a relation ; fetting forth, that Shefo-pao, native of the
city oi Fo-nganfien, did fire a gun, and by mifchance,wound Vang-yung-man, fo that he
died thereof.
The cafe was originally reported, as follows, by Vu-fe-Kung, fub»viceroy of the pro-
vince of Fo-kien :
The accufed Shefo-pao, and the deceafed Vang-yung-man, wjere of different families,
but connefted by marriage, were well known to each other, and there had al-
ways been a good underftanding between them.
In
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 371
As in fotne of the Grecian ftates, and other nations of mo-
dern times, the punifliment of treafon was extended to the re-
lations of the criminal, fo in China, even to the ninth genera-
tion.
la the courfe of the firft moon, of (lie 25th year of Kien-long, Sbe-fo-pao cultivated
a farm on the brow of a hill belonging to Chin-fe-kien, and which lay in the vicinity
of certain lands cultivated by Vang yung-man ani Vang-ky-bao, inafmuch as that the
fields of Vang-yung-man lay on the left of thofe of She-fo pao, which were In the cen-
ter, and thofe oi Vang-ky-hao on the right fide of the declivity of the hill. It oc-
curred that on the 7th day of the 9th moon of the fame year, Sht-fo-pao obferv-
ing the corn in his fields to be nearly ripe, was apprehenfive that thieves might
find an opportunity of ftealing the grain; and being aware, at the fame time, of the
danger which exifted on thofe hills from wolves and tygers, armed himfelf with a
mufquet, and went that night alone to thefpot, in order to watch the corn, and feated
himfelf in a convenient place on the fide of the hill. It happened that Vang-ly hao
went that day to the honfe of Vang-yung-man, in order that they might go together
to keep watch over the corn in their rel'peftive fields. However Vang-yung-tong the
elder brother of Vang-yung-man, conceiving it to be yet early, detained them to drink
tea, and fmoke tobacco until the fecond watch * of the night, when they parted from
him, and proceeded on their expedition, provided with large (licks for defence.
Vang-ky-hao having occafion to ftop for a fhort time upon the road, the other Vang..
yiing-man went on before, until he reached the boundary of the fields watched by
She-fo-pao.
Shefo-pao, on hearing a ruftling noife among the corn, and perceiving the fhadovr
of a perfon through the obfcurity of the night, immediately hailed him, l:ut the wind
blowing very frefti, he did not hear any reply. She-fo-pao then took alarm, on the
fufpicion that the found proceeded from thieves, or eUe from wild beads, and light-
ing the match-lock, which he held in his hand, fired it off, in order to repel the in-
vaders whoever they might be.
Vang-yung-man was wounded by the fhot in the head, cheeks, neck, and flioulder,
and inftantly fell to the ground. Vang iy -hao hearing the explbfion, haftened for,
ward, and called aloud to enquire who had fired the gun. The other heard the
voice, and going to the place from whence it proceeded, then learned whom he had
• Each watch is two hcurs, and the fecond watdi begins it eleven S'clock.
3 a 2 vroundei
372 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
tion, a traitor's blood is fuppofed to be tainted, though they
ufually fatisfy the law by including only the neareft male rela-
tions, thet\ living, in the guilt of the culprit, and by mitigating
their
vounded by the mifchance. The v.ounds of Vang-yung-man being mortal, h« expire J
after a very fliort interval of time liad elapfed.
She-fo-pao, being repeatedly examined by the magiftrate, acknowledged the faift
without rcferve ; and, upon the ftrifteft inveiligation and enquiry being entered up-
on, depofed, That it was really during the obfcurity of the night that he had afceuded
the hill, in order to watch the corn, and on hearin-J a coife to proceed from a quar-
ter of the field that was extremely dark, and in which the fhadow of forae perfon
was difcernable, he had called our, but received no anfwer : — That the fufpicion then
arofe in his mind, that they were either thieves or wild beads, and alarmed him for
the fecurity of his perfon, being then entirely alone ; he therefore fired the gun to re-
pel the danger, and wounded Fisng-yung-man by mifchance, fo that he afterwards
died.
That he, the deponent, was not aifluated by any other motive or intention on this
occafion, nor defirous of caufing the death of an individual. The relations of the
deceafed being then examined, gave a correfponding evidence, and raifed no doubts
in other refpefls to the truth of the above depofition. In confideration, therefore,
hereof it appears that, although Shs-fopao is guilty of homicide by gun-firing, yet,
fince he was upon the watch over the fields, in the darknefs of the night, and per-
ceived the fhadow of a man, whom he hailed, and from whom he received no anfwer,
and had In confequencc apprehended the approach of thieves or wild beads, to pre-
vent which, he fired the gun that occafioned the wounds whereof the man is now
dead — It follows, that there did not exift any premeditated intention of murder. —
The aft of which She-fo-pao Hands convifted may be, therefore, ranked under the ar-
ticle of homicide committed in an affray, and the fentence accordingly is, to be
ftrangled upon the next enfuing general execution or gaol delivery.
The above report being tranfmitted to the fupreme criminal tribunal at Pekin, —
They rejoin,
That, on inveftlgation of the laws we find It ordained, that homicide by gun-firing
fljall receive a fentence conformable to the \a\v againft intentional murder; and that
the law againft intentional murder gives a fentence of decapitation on the next en-
fuing public execution, or gaol delivery. It is likewife found to be ordained by law,
that
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
373
their punlfliment to that of exile. Nothing can be more unjuft
and abfurd, however pohtic, than fuch a law ; abfurd, becaufe
it confiders a non-entity capable of committing a crime ; and
unjuft,
that whrffever fhaJl unwarily draw a bow, and fhoot an arrow towards fields or tene-
ments, fo that any perfon unperceived therein (hall be wounded, and die therefrom,
the offender ftiall receive a hundred blows with the bamboo, and be banidied to the
dlil.incs of three thoufanJ lys (near a thoufand miles).
In the caf^ now before us, She-fo-pao, being armed with a mufquet, goes to watch
the corn, hears a noife in the fields, and calls aloud, but, receiving no anfwer, fuf-
pefts it to proceed from thieves or wild beads, and fires the gun, by which Vang-
yunj-man was wounded, and is now dead. But in the dspofition given in by the de-
fendant, the declaration that he faw the fliadow of fonie perfon does not accord
with the fufpicion afterwards expreJed, that the noife arofe from wild beafts. If, in
truth, he diftinguilhed traces of a man, at the time of his calling out, notwithftand-
ing that the violence of the wind prevented his hearing the reply, She-fo-pao had ocu-
lar proof of the reality of the perfon from the fhadow he had feen. Continuing our in"
velligation, we have further to notice, that when She-fo-pao took his ftation in order to
guard the middle ground, Vang-yung-man was engaged in watching his fields in a fi-
milar m.inner, and would have occafion to go near the limits of the middle ground
in his way to his own farm, and which could not be far removed from the path
leading to the middle ground ; on which account it behoved Shefo-pao to hail the
perfon repeatedly, previous to the firing of the gun, whofe effe<ft would be inflanta-
neous, and occafion the death of the unknown perfon from whom, the found pro-
ceeded.
Shefo-pao not having repeatedly hailed the perfon from whom the noife had arlfen
to difturb him, and proceeding to the laft extremity upon the firft impulfe or alarm,
are grounds for fufpeifting that there exi(l» a fallacy and difguife in the teftimony
given in this affair, in which cafe, a fcntence conformable to the law againft homi-
cide, committed in an affray, would afford a punifhmeiit unequul and inadequate to
the pfiffible aggravation of the offence.
On the other hand, it would appear, in confirmation of his ftatement, that thefe
fields v/ere, according to the cuftom of the neighbouring villages, uiiderftood to be
guarded at that time in the manner aforefaid, and that circumftance proving true,
the accident that followed might ftiU be coniidered folely as the effecfl of apprehen-
fion
J74 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
unjufl;, becaufe it puiilllies an innocent perfon. The lawgiver
of Ifrael, in order to intimidate his ftifF-necked and rebellious
fubjcds, found it expedient to threaten the vifitation of God on
the
Ijon of wild beafts by night, inducing the accufed to fire towards fields or tenements,
fo as to wound a man mortally by tlie mifchance.
Should a ftri(51: examination admit of this interpretation of the offence, the fentence
may be awarded according to the law, immediately applicable to the fubjedt, and
not in conformit)- with the law againft homicide committed in an affray. As the
life or death of the offender refts on the preference to be fhewn towards either of
thofe expofitions of the cafe, it is refolved to hold any immediate declfion as prema-
ture, and we ilfae our directions to the faid ftib-viceroy to revife the prior decifion ;
and, with the afllftance of a renewed invelligation, finally to determine and report to
us the fentence which he may conceive moll agreeable to the fpirit of our laws.
After a fecond inveftigation, and recoufideration of the affair, the fiib-viceroy
fent in the following report to the fiipreme tribunal : Purfuant to the order
•for revifal ilTued by the fupremc, criminal tribunal, She-fo-pao has been again exa-
mined at the bar, and depofes, That on hearing a noife in the corn fields, he
conceived it to proceed from thieves, and called out in confequence, but, re-
ceiving no anfwer, and finding the noife gradually to approach him, he then
fufpefted it to have arifen from a wolf or tyger ; and, in the alarm thus excited for
his perfonal fafety, had fired the gun, by which Vang-yung-man had been mortally
wounded ; That, fincc the event happened in the fecond watch of the night, after the
moon had fet, and while clouds obfcured the faint light of the flars, it was really a
moment of iinpenetrable darknefs ; and that it was only at the diftance of a few
paces that he diftinguifhed the approach of the found that had alarmed him, but, in
faft, had never feen any fhadow or traces -whatfoever ; That had he perceived any
traces or fliadow of that defcription, he would not have ceafed to call out, though
he had failed to receive an anfwer the firft time, nor would he have had the temerity
to fire the gun, and render himfelf guilty of murder.
That, on the preceding examination, the feverily and rigour of the enquiry re-
garding the grounds upon which he fufpefled the approach of thieves, {o as to in-
duce him to fire, had overcome him with fear, being a countryman unufed to fimi-
lar proceedings, and produced the apparent incongruity in his depofition, but that
the true meaning and intent was to exprefs his abfolute uncertainty whether the
alarm • arofe from thieves or wild beafts, and nothing farther ; and that from
*« fuch
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 375
the children, for the fins of the fathers, unto the third and
fourth generation, a fentimcnt however which, it would feem,
lapfe of time had rendered lefs expedient, for the prophet Eze-
kiel,
fuch depofition he had never intentionally fvverved in the courfe of the invefli-
gation.
According, tlierefore, to the amendment fuggefted by the fupreme tribunal, it
appears indeed, that when the noife was firft perceived in the fields, She-fo-pao had
called out, and on being prevented by the wind from hearing a reply, had taken
alarm as aforefaid^
And vs-hereas it was likewife depofed by Shc-fo-poa, That the grain being ripe at that
feafon, the ftems were exceeding high and ftrong, fo as to render it difficult to walk
\ amongft them, it feems that Vang-yung-man, in walking through the corn, had pro-
duced a ruftling noife very audible to She-fo-pao, who was fitting on the declivity
of the hill, and in a diredlion in which the wind favoured the progrefs of the found-
but when the latter called out, the wind, on the contrary, prevented hi m from be-
ing heard, and confequently from receiving an anfwer; this mifchance, therefore,
gave rife to his fufpicion of the approach of wild beads, which appears to have been
the fole and undifguifed motive for firing the gun.
This ftatement of fadls being narrowly inveftigated, in compliance with the fu-
preme tribunal's order for revifal, may be confided in as accurate, and worthy of
credit; the refult, therefore, is that the offender during the darknefs of the night,
and under the apprehenfion of the approach of a wolf or tyger, had fired a mufquet
in a fpot frequented by men, and had mortally wounded a man by the mifchance,
which correfponds with the law fuggefted in the order for revifal iflued by the fu-
preme tribunal ; namely, that law againft an. offender who fhould unwarily draw a
bow and (hoot an arrow towards fields or tenements, fo that any perfon unperceivcd
therein Ihould be wounded and die therefrom.
The prior decifion, conformably to the law againft homicide committed in an
affray, fubfequent Inveftigation does not confirm ; and She-fo-pao is, therefore, only
punifhable with banifiiment.
This fecond report being received by the fupreme criminal tribunal, they declare
that,
The fentence having been altered on a revifion by the fub-viceroy, and rendered
conformable to the law, which ordains that, whoever fiiall unwarily drav a bow and
flioof
376 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
kicl, wlio on this l'ubje£t had more elevated notions of nioral
right than elt'aer the Greeks or the Chinefe, fpurns it with
great indignation. In allufion to fuch an idea, which it feems
had become a proverb among the Jews, he breaks out into this
iublime exclamation : " What mean ye that ye ufe this pro-
" verb concerning the land of lirael, faying, The fathers have
" eaten four grapes, and the children's teeth are fet on edge ?
" As I live, faith the Lord, ye (hall not have occafion any
" more to ufe this proverb in Ifrael. Behold all fouls are
" mine; as the foul of the father, fo alfo the foul of the fon, is
" mine. The foul that finneth, it (hall die. The fon (hall not
" bear the iniquity of the father, neither fhall the father bear
" the inquity of the fon : the rlghteoufnefs of the righteous
" fliall be upon him, and the wickednefs of the wicked fliall be
*' upon him"
In moft caufes, except thofe of high treafon, it may be pre-
fumed, the high tribunal of Pekin will a£t with ftridl impar-
ftioot an arrow towards fields or tenements, fo that any perfon unperceived therein
may be wounded, and die therefrom, the offender fliall receive a hundred blows
with the bamboo, and fuffer banifhment to the diftance of 3000 lys.
We confirm the fentence of a hundred blows of the bamboo, and banifhment to
the diftance of 3000 lys; and further prefcribe, that ten ounces of filver (3/. 6s. id.)
ftiall be paid by the offender to the relations of the deceafed for the expences of
burial.
The fentence, being thus pronounced on the 19th day of the 5th moon, of the
27th year oi Kien-Long, received the Imperial fanfliion on the 21ft day of the fame
moon, in the following words : Purfiiant to fentence be this obeyed.
KHIN-TSE.
tiality.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 377
tiality. And It is greatly to be lamented, that all civil caufes
have not been made fubjedl to a fnnilar revifion as thofe of a
criminal nature, which would ftrike at the root of an evil that
is moft grievoufly felt in China, where the officers of juftice are
known, in moll cafes, to be corrupted by bribery. They have,
however, wifely feparated the office of judge from that of the
leglfiator. The former, having found the faift, has only to re-
fer to the code of laws, in v/hich he is fupplied with a fcale of
crimes and their punifliments. Such a mode of diftributing
juftice is not however without its inconveniences. Tender as
the government has (hewn Itfelf, where the life of a fubje£l is
concerned, having once eftabliffied the proportion of punifh-
ment to the offence it has fuppofed an appeal, in civil
caufes and mifdemeanors, to be unneceflary. The fentence in
fuch caufes being thus left in the breaft of a fingle judge, how
great foever riiay be the nicety by which the penalty is adapted
to the offence, the exclufion from appeal is in itfelf a bar to the
juft and impartial adminiftration of the laws. The fubjeifl be-
ing refufed the benefit of carrying his caufe into a higher, and
on that account more likely to be a more impartial, court, has
no fecurity againft the caprice, malice, or corruption of his
judge. . -
It may not perhaps be thought unworthy of notice that the
legiflators of China, among the various punifhments devifed for
the commiffion of crimes, have given the criminal no oppor-
tunity, either by labouring at any of the public works, or in
folitary confinement, to make fome reparation for the injury
he has committed againft fociety. Confinement in prifon, as a
3 c punifli-
378 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
punifiiment, is not known. Exile or perfonal chaftlfement
are decreed for all irregularities not approaching to capital
offences.
Executions for capital crimes are not frequently exhibited j
when found guilty the criminals are remanded to prifon till a
general gaol delivery, which happens once a year, about the
autumnal equinox. In adopting fuch a meafure government
may perhaps have confidered, how little benefit the morals of
the people were likely to derive from being the frequent
fpedtators of the momentary pain that is required to take away
the exiftence of a fellow mortal. All other punifhments, how-
ever, that do not afFe£l the life of man, are made as public as
poffible, and branded with the greateft degree of notoriety.
The beating with the bamboo, in their ideas, fcarcely ranks
under the name of punifhment, being more properly confidered
as a gentle corredlion, to which no difgrace is attached ; but the
cangue or, as they term it, the tch'a^ a kind of v/alking pillorj^,
is a heavy tablet of wood, to which they are faftened by the
neck and hands, and which they are fometimes obliged to drag
about for weeks and months ; this is a terrible punifhment,
and well calculated to deter others from the commiflion of
thofe crimes of which it is the confequence, and the nature
of which is always infcribed in large charadlers upon it.
The order that is kept in their jails is faid to be excellent,
and the debtor and the felon are always confined in feparate
places ; as indeed one fhould fuppofe every where to be the
cafe, for, as Sir George Staunton has obferved, " To aflbciate
" guilt
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 3y9
" guilt with imprudence, and confound wlckednefs with mif-
" fortune, is impolitic, immoral, and cruel *."
The abominable pradlce of extorting confeflion by the ap-
plication of the torture is the worft part of the criminal laws
of China ; but they pretend to fay this mode is feldom recurred
to, unlefs in cafes where the guilt of the accufed has been made
to appear by flrong circumftantial evidence. It is however a
common punifhment to fqueeze the fingers in cafes of mifde-
meanour, and is particularly pradifed as a punifhment of thofe
females who purchafe licences for breaking through the rules
of chaftity.
By the laws relating to property, women in China, as in
ancient Rome, are excluded from inheriting, where there are
children, and from dlfpofing of property; but where there are
no male children a man may leave, by will, the whole of his
property to the widow. The reafon they affign for women
not inheriting is, that a woman can make no offering to deceafed
relations in the hall of anceftors ; and it is deemed one of the
firft ideal bleffings of life for a man to have fome one to look
up to, who will tranfmit his name to future ages, by perform-
ing, at certain fixed periods, the duties of this important
ceremony. All their laws Indeed refpeding property, as I
have already obferved, are infufficlent to give it that fecurity
and ftability which alone can conftitute the pleafure of accu-
mulating wealth. The avarice of men in power may overlook
thofe who are In moderate circumflances, but the affluent rarely
• A debtor is releafed when it appears that the whole of his propcrt/ hEjs. been.
j^iven up for the ufe of his creditors, '''
3 c 2 cicape
380 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
efcape their rapacious grafp. In a word, although tlie laws
are not fo perfe£t as to procure for the fubjedt general good,
yet neither are they fo defedive as to reduce him to that ftate
of general mifery, which could only be ternanated in a revo-
lution. The executive adminiftration is fo faulty, that the man
in office generally has it in his power to govern the laws,
which makes the meafure of good or evil depend greatly on his
moral charadter.
Such are indeed the difpofition and the habits of the people,
that fo long as the multitude can procure their bowl of rice
and a few favory fauces, that coft only a mere trifle, there will
be lefs danger of a revolt ; and the government is fo well con-
vinced of this, that one of its firft concerns is to lay up, in the
public magazines eredled in every part of the empire, a pro-
vifion of grain, to ferve as a fupply for the poor in times of
famine or fcarcity. In this age of revolutions, a change, how-
ever, feems to be taking place in the minds of the people, which
I fhall prefently notice.
The fyftem of univerfal and implicit obedience towards
fuperiors pervades every branch of the public fervice. The
officers of the feveral departments of government, from the firft
to the ninth degree, adting upon the fame broad bafis of
paternal authority, are inverted with the power of inflidling the
fummary puniftiment of the bamboo, on all occafions where
they may judge it proper, which, under the denomination of
a fatherly corrcftion, they adminifter without any previous
trial, or form of inquiry. The flighteft offence is punifhable
in this manner, at the will or the caprice of the loweft ma-
giftrate.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 381
giftrate. Such a fummary proceeding of the powerful againft
the weak naturally creates in the latter a dread and diftruft of
the former ; and the common people, accordingly, regard the
approach of a man in office, juft as fchoolboys obferve the
motions of a fevere mafter ; but the fatherly kindnefs of the
Emperor is recognifed even in punifhment ; the culprit may
claim the exenjption of every fifth blow as the Emperor's coup'
de-grace ; but in all probability he gains little by fuch remiffion,
as the deficiency in number may eafily be made up in weight.
This pradtical method of evincing a fatherly affedlion is not
confined to the multitude alone, but is extended to every rank
and defcription of perfons, ceafing only at the foot of the
throne. Each officer of ftate, from the ninth degree upwards
to the fourth, can, at any time, adminifter a gentle corredion
to his inferior ; and the Emperor orders the bamboo to his
minifters, and to the other four clafies, whenever he may think
it neceflary for the good of their morals. It is well known
that the late Kien Long caufed two of his fons to be bambooed
- long after they had arrived at the age of maturity, one of which,
I believe, is the prefent reigning Emperor,
In travelling through the country, a day feldom efcaped
without our witneffing the application of the Fan-tse, or bam-
boo, and generally in fuch a manner that it might be called by
any other name except di gentle corredlion. A Chinefe fuffering
under this punilhment cries out in the moft piteous manner •
a Tartar bears it in filence. A Chinefe, after receiving a cer-
tain number of ftrokes, falls down on his knees, as a matter
3 of
2ti TRAVELS IN CHINA.
of courfe, before him who ordered the puniQiment, thanking
him, in the moft humble manner, for the fatherly kindnefs he
has teftified towards his fon, in thus putting him in mind of
his errors; a Tartar grumbles, and difputes the point as to the
right that a Chinefe may have to flog him ; or he turns away in
fallen filcncc.
Ridiculous as it may appear to a foreigner, in obferving an
oflBcer of ftate ftretching hirafelf along the ground for the pur-
pofe of being flogged by order of another who happens to rank
one degree above him ; yet it is impofl^ble, at the fame time,
to fupprefs a glow of indignation, in witnefllng fo mean and
obfequious a degradation of the human mind, which can bring
itfelf, under any circumftances, patiently to fubmlt to a vile
corporal punifliment, adminiftered by the hand of a flave, or by
a common foldier ; and when this is done, to undergo the ftill
more vile and humiliating a£t of kiffing the rod that correds
him. But the policy of the government has taken good care
to remove any fcruples that might arife on this fcore. Where
paternal I'egard was the fole motive, fuch a chafi:ifement could
not pofTibly be followed with difhonour or difgrace. It was a
wonderful point gained by the government, to fubje£l every
individual, the Emperor only excepted, to the fame corporal
corfeftion ; but it muft have required great addrefs, and men's
minds mufl: have been completely fubdued, or completely con-
vinced, before fuch a fyftem of univerfal obedience could have
been accomplifhed, the confequence of which, it was obvious,
could be no other than univerfal fervility. It could not fail to
eftablifla a moll effedual check againft the complaints of the
multitude,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 383
multitude, by fhewing them that the fame man, who had the
power of puniftiing them, was equally liable to be corrected in
his turn, and in the fame manner, by another. The punifh-
ment of the bamboo muft, I fufpecfi, be one of the moft ancient
inftitutions of China. Indeed we can fcarcely conceive it
ever to have been introduced into a fociety already civilized ;
but rather to have been coeval with the origin of that fociety.
A fimilar kind of perfonal chaflifement for light offences,
or mifcondudl, was infliiled in Ruffia on perfons of all ranks,
but with this difference, that the corredion was private and
by order of the Sovereign alone. The Czar Peter, indeed,
generally beftowed a drubbing on his courtiers with his own
hand ; who, inftead of being difhonoured or difgraced by fuch,
a caftigation, were fuppofed, from that very circumftance, to
be his particular favourites, and to ftand high in his confidence.
The great Mentzikoff is faid to have frequently left his clofet
with a black eye or a bloody nofe ; and feemed to derive en-
creafing importance from the unequivocal marks of his mafter's
friendship. Even at the prefent day, or till very lately, little
difgrace was attached to the punifhment of the knout, which was
a private flagellation by order of the court ; but this abominable
practice either is altogether difcontinued, or in its laft ftage of
exiftence. Such arbitrary proceedings could not long remain
in force among an enlightened people.
Thefe two great empires, the greatefl: indeed that exlH: in'
the world, dividing between them nearly a fifth part of the
whole habitable globe, each about a tenth, exhibit a fingular dif-
ference
^84 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ference with regard to political circumfl-ances. One century
ago Ruffia was bat juft emerging from a ftate of barbarifm,
and in a century hence, in all human probability, (he will
make a confpicuous figure among European nations, both
in arts and arms. Two thoufand years ago China was civilized
to the fame degree, or nearly fo, that flie is at prefent. The
governments were both arbitrary, and the people were flaves.
The natural genius of the Ruflian, cramped perhaps in fome
degree by his frozen climate, is lefs fufceptible of improvement
than that of the Chinefe. Whence then, it may be afked, pro-
ceeds the very great difference in the progreflive improvement
of the two nations ? principally, I fhould fuppofe, from the
two following reafons. Ruffia invites and encourages foreigners
to inftru£l her fubjefls in arts, fciences, and manufactures.
.China, from a fpirit of pride and felf-importance, as well as
from jealoufy, rejects and expels them. The language of
Ruffia is eafiiy acquired, and her fubjedis as eafily learn thofe
of other countries, whilft that of China is fo difficult, or their
method of learning it fo defective, as to require the ftudy of
half the life of man to fit him for any of the ordinary employ-
ments of the ftate, and they have no knowledge of any lan-
guage but their own. The one is in a ftate of youthful vigour,
advancing daily in ftrength and knowledge ; the other is worn
out with old age and difeafe, and under its prefent ftate of
exiftence is not likely to advance in any kind of improve-
ment.
To the principle of univerfal obedience the Chinefe govern-
ment has added another, which is well calculated to fatisfy
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 385
the public mind : the firft honours and the higheft offices are
open to the very loweft of the people. It admits of no here-
ditary nobility ; at leaft none with exclufive privileges. As a
mark of the Sovereign's favour a diftindlion will fometimes
defcend in a family, but, as it confers no power nor privilege
nor emolument, it foon wears out. All dignities may be con-
fidered as merely perfonal ; the princes of the blood, even,
fink gradually into the common mafs, unlefs their talents and
their application be fufficient to qualify them for office, inde-
pendent of which there can be neither rank nor honours, and
very little if any diftindion, not even in the imperial family,
beyond the third generation. On public days the Emperor,
at a fingle glance, can diftinguifli the rank of each of the many
thoufand courtiers that are affembled on fuch occafions by their
drefs of ceremony. The civilians have a bird, and the military
^ ^yg^'"} embroidered on the breaft and back of their upper
robe ; and their feveral ranks are pointed out by different
coloured globes, mounted on a pivot on the top of the cap or
bonnet. The Emperor has alfo two orders of difl;In£tion, which
are conferred by him alone, as marks of particular favour j the
order of the yellow veft and of the peacock's feather.
The influence that, in nations of Europe, is derived from
birth, fortune, and charadler, is of no weight in the Chinefe
government. The moft learned, and I have already explained
how far the term extends, provided he be not of notorious bad
charader, is fure to be employed ; though under the prefent
Tartar government, the Chinefe complain that they never arrive
at the higheft rank till they are advanced in years. Learning
3 D alone,
386 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
alone, by the ftri£t maxims of ftate, leads to office, and office
to diftin«5lion. Property, without learning, has little weight, and
confers no diftin£tion, except in fome corrupt provincial go-
vernments, where the external marks of office are fold, as in
Canton. Hence property is not fo much an obje£t of the laws
in China as elfewhere, and confequently has not the fame fecu-
rity. In the governments of Europe, property feldom fails to
command influence and to force dependence : in China, the
man of property is afraid to own it, and all the enjoyments it
procures him are flolen.
Sometimes, mdeed, the higheft appointments in the ftate are
conferred, as it happens elfewhere, by fome favourable acci-
dent, or by the caprice of the monarch. A ftriking inftance:
of this kind was difplayed in the perfon o^ Ho-tchimgrtang, the
laft prime minifter of the late Kicn-long. This man, a Tartar,
happened to be placed on guard in the palace, where his youtli-
and comely countenance ftruck the Emperor fo forcibly in paf-
fmg, that he fent for him to the prefence ; and finding him
equally agreeable in his converfation and manners, he raifed
him rapidly, but gradually, from the fituation of a common
foldier, to the higheft ftation in the empire. Such fudden
changes, from a ftate of nothingnefs to the fummit of power,
have frequently been obferved to be attended with confequences
no lefs fatal to the man fo elevated, than pernicious to the
public : and thus it happened to this favourite minifter. During
the life of his old mafter, over whom, in his later years, he i&
faid to have pofl!effed an unbounded influence, he availed him-
felf of the means that offered, by every fpecies of fraud and ex-
tortion.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. ^
tortlon, by tyranny and oppreflion, to amafs fuch immenfe
wealth in gold, filver, pearls, and immoveable property, that
his acquifitions were generally allowed to have exceeded thofe
of any fingle individual, that the hiftory of the country had
made known. His pride and haughty demeanor had rendered
him fo obnoxious to the royal family that, at the time we were
in Pekin, it was generally fuppofed, he had made up his mind to
die with the old Emperor, for which event he had always at hand
a dofe of poifon, not chufing to ftand the fevere inveftigation
which he was well aware the fucceeding prince would direct to
be made into his minifterlal condudl. It feems, however, when
that event adually happened, the love of life, and the hope of
efcaping, prevailed on hina to change his purpofe and to ftand
the hazard of a trial. Of the crimes and enormities laid to his
charge he was found, or rather he was faid to have pleaded,
guilty. The vaft wealth he had extorted from others was con-
fifcated to the crown, and he was condemned to fuffer an igno-
minious death *.
But
* Th« circnmftances attending the tlownfal of this minifler are curious, and fhew,
in its true light, the defpotic nature of the Chinefe government, notwithftanding
their falutary laws. The new Emperor, determined on his ruin, makes a public de-
claration wherein, after apologizing for not abftaining agreeably to the laws of the
empire from all aifls of innovation, for the fpace of three years after his father's
death, he obferves, that the crimes and exceffes oi Ho-tchungtang are of fb horrid a
nature, as to preclude him from afting towards him with any pity or indulgence.
He then exhibits about twenty articles of accufotion againft him, the principal of
which are.
Contumacy towards his father (the late Emperor) by riding on horfeback to the
very door of the hall of audience at Tuen-min-yiien.
Audacity, under pretence of lamenefs, in caufing himfelf to be carried to and from
the palace through the d9or fet apart for the Emperor.
3 t> 2 Scandahvi
388 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
But Ho-tchung-tang, if guilty of inordinate ambition, or ails
ofinjuftice, is far from being the only inftance of fuch con-
duct in men thus raifed from humble fituations. The officers
of
Scandalous bthaviour, in taking away the virgins of the palace, and appropriating
them to his own ufe.
Pride and tnfolence, in countermanding his (the new Emperor's) order, for all the
princes of Tartary to be fummoaed to Pekin, thofe who had not had the fmall-pox
excepted, to affift at the funeral of his father, and by iiTuing a new one, in which
none were excepted.
Bribery and partiality, in felling and giving away appointments of weight to perfoiis
totally unqualified to fill them.
Arrogance, in making ufe of the wood Nan-moo (cedar) in his houfe, which is def-
lined txclufively for royal palaces ; and in building a houfe and gardens in the ftyle
and manner of thofe belonging to the Emperor.
For having in his poffeflion more than two hundred firings of pearls, and an immenfe
quantity of jewels and precious ftones, which his rank did not allow him to wear,
and among which was a pearl of fuch wonderful magnitude, that the Emperor him-
felf had no equal to it.
For having in gold and filver alone, which has been already difcovered and con-
fifcated, the amount, at leaft, of ten million taels (about 3,300,00c/. flerling).
One article is Angularly curious. For having been guilty of the deeped treachery
in informing him (the new Emperor) of hisfather's intention to abdicate the govern-
ment in his (the new Emperor's) favour, one day before his father made it public,
thinking by fuch means to gain his favour and affedlion !
After enumerating the feveral articles of accufation, the Emperor ffates, that this
minifter being interrogated by a Tartar prince on the feveral points, had confeffed
the whole to be true, and, therefore, without further evidence, he com^mands the
prefidents and members of the feveral courts in Pekin, the viceroys of provinces, and
governors of cities, on thefe articles of accufation being laid before them, to pafs a
proper fentence on the faid Ho-tchung-tang. According to the majority, he was con-
demned to be beheaded ; but as a peculiar aft of grace and benevolence on the part
of the Emperor, this fentence was mitigated to that of his being allowed to be his
own executioner. A filken cord being fent as an intimation of this mark of the Enx-
peror's favour, he caufed himfelf to be ftrangled by fome of his attendants.
Who
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 389
of government in general, though intended by the conftitution
as a kind of barrier between the prince and the people, are the
greateft opprefTors of the latter, who have feldom any means of
redrefs, or of conveying their complaints to the Imperial ear.
There is no middle clafs of men in China : men whofe pro-
perty and ideas of independence give them weight in the part
of the country where they refide ; and whofe influence and in-
tereft are confidered as not below the notice of the government.
In fadl, there are no other than the governors and the governed.
If a man, by trade, or induftry in his profeflion, has accumu-
lated riches, he can enjoy them only in private. He dares not,
by having a grander houfe, or finer clothes, to let his neighbour
perceive that he is richer than himfelf, left he fhould betray
him to the commanding officer of the diftridl, who would find
no difficulty in bringing him within the pale of the fumptuary
laws, and in laying his property under confifcation.
Sometimes, indeed, the extortions that the officers pradtife
upon the people, as in the cafe of Ho-tchung-tang^ meet the
hand of juftice. Other magiftrates keep a fteady eye upon their
proceedings, and, in proper time, tranfmit the neceffiary infor-
mation to court. Spies alfo are detached from court into the
Who could efcape when the Emperor of China is himfelf the accufer ? It will readi-
ly occur, from the fate oi He-uhung-tang, that there is not that line of independence
drawn between the executive and juridical authority, which the ingenious author of the
Spiritof Laws has clearly proved to be the grand foundation of a juft, legal, and
efficient fecurity of the life and property of the fubje^. In faft, in all ft:;te crimes,
the Emperor becomes both the accufer and the judge. In the cafe of Ho-uhun^-iang
he may likewife be faid to have been the only evidence.
3 provinces,
390
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
provinces, under th« name of infpedors. Jealous of each
other, they let no opportunity flip of making unfavourable re-
ports to their fuperiors. Notwithftanding which, w^ith all the
precautions taken by government in favour of the fubje£t, the
latter finds himfelf moft dreadfully opprelGTed. It is true, for
very flight offences preferred againft men in office, the court
diredbs a public reprimand in the official Gazette ; for thofe of
a more ferious nature, degradation from rank ; and every of-
ficer fo degraded is under the neceffity of proclaiming his own
difgrace in all his public orders ; not only to put him in mind
of his paft conduct, but likewife to fhew the people how watch-
ful the eye of government is over the actions of its fervants.
The laft ftage of public degradation, which amounts to a fen-
tence of Infamy, is an order to fuperintend the preparation of
the Emperor's tomb, which implies that the perfon fo fen-
tenced is more fit to be employed among the dead than the liv-
ing. Tchang-ta-ghiy the late viceroy of Canton, was condemned
to this degrading fervice *.
The viceroy of a province can remain in that office no lon-
ger than three years, left he might obtain an undue influence.
No fervant of the crown can form a family alliance in the place
where he commands, nor obtain an office of importance in the
eity or town wherein he was born. Yet with thefe, and other
precautions, there is ftill little fecurity for the fubjedt. He has
no voice whatfoever in the government, either directly or by
* Among the various cuftoms of China, particularized in the accounts of the two
Mahoniedan travellers in the ninth century, this remarkable one is noticed, afford-
ing, with the reft, equally iingular and peculiar to tJiis nation, an irrefragable proof
of tile autbenticity of thefe two relations.
repre-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 391
reprefentation ; and the only fatisfadion he polTibly can receive
for injuries done to him, and that is merely of a negative kind,
is the degradation or the removal of the man in power, who
had been his oppreflbr, and who perhaps may be replaced by an-
other equally bad.
The ingenious Mr. Pauw has obferved, that China Is entire-
ly governed by the whip and the bamboo. To thefe he might
have added the yearly calendar and the Pekin Gazette, both of
which, as engines in the hands of government, contribute very
materially to affift its operations. By the circulation of the firfl
is kept alive the obfervance of certain fuperftitions which it
is, apparently, the fludy of government to encourage. The
fecond is a vehicle for conveying into every corner of the em-
pire the virtues and the fatherly kindnefs of the reigning fove-
reign, {hewn by punifliing the officers of his government, not
only for what they have done amifs, but for what they may have
omitted to do. Thus, if a famine has defolated any of the pro-
vinces, the principal officers are degraded for not having taken
the proper precautions againft it. This paper, in the fhape of
a fmall pamphlet, is publifhed every fecond day. The miC-
fionaries have pretended that immediate death would be the
confequence of inferting a falfehood in the Imperial Gazette.
Yet it is famous for defcribing battles that were never
fought, and for announcing victories that were never gained.
The truth of this obfervation appears from feveral proclama-
tions of Kaung-Jhee^ T'chien Long, and the prefent Emperor,
warning the generals on diftant flations from making falfe re-
portSj
392 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ports, and from killing tlioufan'ds and ten thoufands of the ene-
my, fometimes even when no engagement had taken place *.
The reverend gentlemen only mean to fay, that the editor vrould
be punilhed if he ventured to iafert any thing not fent to hun
officially by the government.
The prefs in China is as free as in England, and the profef-
fion of printing open to every one, which is a fingular circum-
ftance, and perhaps the only inftance of the kind, in a defpotic
government. It has ufually been fuppofed that, in free coun-
tries only where every peribn is equally under the prote(ftlon,
and equally liable to the penalties, of the law, the liberty of the
prefs could be cherifhed ; and that it was a thing next to im-
poffible, that power, founded on error and fupported by op-
preffion, could long be maintained where the prefs was free. It
was the prefs that in Europe effedled the ruin of priefdy power,
by dlfpelling the clouds that had long obfcured the rays of
truth ; and by opening a free accefs to the dodrines of that re-
ligion which, of all others, is heft calculated for the promotion
of individual happinefs and public virtue f.
In
• The words of Kaung-Jhee\ proclamation, repeated by Kia-h'tng, are : " At pre-
'• fent v?hen an army is fent on any military fervice, every report that is made of
" its operations, contains an account of a vidory, of rebels difperfed at the firft en-
•' counter, driven from their ftations, killed, and wounded, to a .qreat amount, or to
"the amount of feme thoufands, or, in Ihort, that the rebeib flain were innumerable."
rehn Gazette, 7\Jl July, 180O.
f When the art of printing was firft introduced into England, and carried on in
Weftminfter Abbey, a ihrewd churchman is faid to have obferved to the Abbot of
Weftminfter, " If you don't take care to deftroy that machine, it will veryfoon de-
" ftroy your trade." He faw at a fingle glance of the prefs, the downfal of prieftly
dominion
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
393
In China the liberty of the prefs feems to excite no appre-
henfions in the government. The fummary mode of punifh-
ing any breach of good morals, without the formality of a trial,
makes a pofitive prohibition againft printing unneceffary, being,
itfelf fufficient to reftrain the licentioufnefs of the prefs. The
printer, the vender, and the reader of any libellous publication,
are all equally liable to be flogged with the bamboo. Few, I
fuppofe, would be hardy enough to print reflexions on the con-
dud of government, or its principal officers, as fuch publica-
tions would be attended with certain ruin. Yet, notwithftand-
ing all the dangers to which the printing profeffion is liable,
daily papers are publillied in the capital, circulating, fomething
like our own, private anecdotes, domellic occurrences, public
notices of fales, and the wonderful virtues of quack medicines.
We were told that, in one of thefe papers, the Portuguefe mif-
fionary mentioned in Mr. Grammont's letter got a paragraph
Infertcd, purporting the great negled of the Englifli in having
brought no prefents for the princes of the blood, nor for the
Emperor's minifters. This falfe and malicious paragraph was
faid to be followed by another, infmuating that thofe for the
Emperor were common articles of little value. Another pre-
tended to give a catalogue of them, and included an elephant
about the fize of a rat, giants, dwarfs, wifiiing pillows, and
fuch like nonfenfe. Thefe, however, and other publications,
Jominion in ihe general difTufion of knowledge that would be occafioned by it, and
had the reft of the clergy been equally clear-fighted, it is probable the dark ages of
fuperftition and ignorance had ftill continued, or at Icaft had been greatly pro-
tri'.fted.
3 E were
394 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
were induflrioufly kept fiom our fight. Under tlie generous
idea of being the Emperor's guells, we were not allowed to
purchafe any thing. He alone was to fupply our wants, but
his officers took the liberty of judging what thefe wants fhould
confift in.
It is a fingular phenomenon in the hlflory of nations, how
the government of an empire, of fuch vaft magnitude as that of
China, fhould have preferved its ftability without any material
change, for more than two thoufand years ; for, dropping their
pretenfions to an extravagant antiquity, for which however
they have fome grounds, there can he no doubt they were
pretty much in the fame ftate, regulated by the fame laws, and
under the fame form of government as they now are, four hun-
dred years before the birth of Chrift, about which time their
renowned philofopher flourifhed, whofe works are ftill held on
the higheft reputation. They contain indeed all the maxims in
which their government is fliill grounded, and all the rules by
which the different ftations of life take their moral conduct; and
the monarchy is fuppofed to have been eftabliftied two thoufand
years before his time.
If the teft of a good government be made to depend on the
length of its continuance, unfhaken and unchanged by revolu-
tions, China may certainly be allowed to rank the firft among
civilized nations. But, whether good or bad, it has poflefled
the art of moulding the multitude to its own fhape in a manner
unprecedented in the annals of the world. Various accidents,
improved by policy, feem to have led to its durability. Among
thefe
TRAVELS IN CHINA. ^95
thefe the natural barriers of the country, exchuling any foreign
enemy, are not to be reckoned as the leall favourable ; whilft
the extreme caution of the government in admllting ftrangers
kept the world in ignorance, for many ages, of the exiflence even
of the moft extenfive, powerful, and populous empire among
men. Secluded thus from all intercourfe with the reft of the
■world, it had time and leizure to mould its own fubjeds into
the (hape it wiflied them to retain ; and the event has fufficient-
ly proved its knowledge in this refpeiSl.
A number of fortunate • circumftances, feldom combined in
the fame country, have contributed to the prefervation of inter-
nal tranquillity in China. The language is of a nature well cal-
culated to keep the mafs of the people in a ftate of ignorance.
They are neither prohibited from embracing any religion of
which they may make a choice, nor coerced to contribute to-
wards the fupport of one they do not approve. The pains that
have been taken to inculcate fober habits, to deftroy mutual
confidence, and render every man referved and fufpicious of his
neighbour, could not fail to put an end to focial intercourfe.
No meetings were held, even for convivial purpofes, beyond
the family circle, and thefe only at the feftival of new year.
Thofe kind of turbulent affemblies, where real or imagined
grievances are dlfculTed with all the rancour and violence that
malicious infinuatlons agalnft government, added to the effedts
of intoxicating draughts, too frequently infpire, never happen
among the Chinefe. Contented in having no voice in the go-
vernment, it has never occurred to them that they have any
3^2 rights.
396 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
rights * : and they certainly enjoy none but what are liable to
be invaded and trampled on, whenever the fovereign, or any
of his reprefentatives, from intereft, malice, or caprice, think
fit to exercife the power that is within their grafp. The doc-
trine of employing refiftence againft oppreffion, applied to the
people and the government, is fo contrary to every fentiment
of the former, that the latter has little to fear on that fcore.
Partial infurredions occafionally happen, but they are gene-
rally owing to the extreme poverty of the people which, in
feafons of fcarcity and famine, compels them to take by violence
the means of fubfifting life, which otherwife they could not
obtain. To this caufe may be referred the origin of almoft all
the commotions recorded in their hiftory, through fome of
which, when the calamity became general, the regular fuccef-
fion has been interrupted, and even changed. We were told,
however, by our Chinefe attendants, that certain myfterious
focietles did exift in fome of the provinces, whofe chief obje£t
was to overturn the Tartar government ; that they held fecret
* When the mifchievous docflrines of Tom Paine, expounded in his " Rights of
" Man," were tranfiated into various languages, and induftrioufly attempted to be
propagated among the eaftern nations, by means of French emiflaries ; when one
of thofe affidtious difturbers of the peace of mankind had aftually fucceeded in fur-
niflilng the Seiks with an abftraft of this precious work in their own language, he next
turned his attention to the vafl empire of China, a glorious theatre for thofe zealous
cofmopolites to play their parts in, if they could once contrive to fuit their drama to
the tafte of the people. The experiment, however, failed of fuccefs. The golden
opinions of Tom Paine could not be transfufed into the Chinefe language ; and thefe
unfortunate people underllood no other but their own ; fo that three hundred and
thirtj'-three millions were doomed to remain in ignorance and mifery on account of
their language being incapable of conveying the enlightened doiflrines of Tom Paine,
I meetings,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 397
meetings, in which they gave vent to their complaints againfl
Tartar preponderancy, revived the memory of ancient glory,
brooded over prefent injuries, and meditated revenge. If even
this be the cafe, the prefent ftate of fociety is little favourable to
their views. Nor indeed would a revolution be a defirable event
for theChinefe themfelves. It could not fail of being attended with
the moft horrible confequences. The Tartar foldiers would be
tired with flaying, and millions that efcaped the fword mud
neceflarily perifh by famine, on the leaft interruption of
the ufual purfuits of agriculture ; for they have no other coun-
try to look to for fupplies, and they raife no furplus quantity in
their own.
In order to prevent as much as poflible a fcarcity of grain,
and in conformity to their opinion, that the true fource of na-
tional wealth and profperity confifts in agriculture, the Chinefe
government has in all ages beftowed the firft honours on every
improvement in this branch of induftry. The hufbandman is
confidered as an honourable, as well as ufeful, member of fociety ;
he ranks next to men of letters, or officers of ftate, of whom in-
deed he is frequently the progenitor. The foldier in China
cultivates the ground. The priefts alfo are agriculturifts, when-
ever their convents are endowed with land. The Emperor is
confidered as the fole proprietary of the foil, but the tenant is
never turned out of poflTeffion as long as he continues to pay his
rent, which is calculated at about one-tenth of what his farm
is fuppofed capable of yielding ; and though the holder of lands
can only be confidered as a tenant at will, yet it is his own fault
if he Ihould be difpofl*e{red. So accuftomed are the Chinefe
-i to
398 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
to confider an eftate as their ov/n, while they continue to pay
the rent, that a Portuguefe in Macao had nearly lofl: his life
for endeavouring to raife the rent upon his Chinefe tenants. If
any one happens to hold more than his family can conveniently
cultivate, he lets it out to another on condition of receiving half
the produce, out of which he pays the whole of the Emperor's
taxes. A great part of the poorer peafantry cultivate lands on
thefe terms.
There are, in fa£l, no immenfe eftates grafplng nearly the
whole of a diftricl ; no monopolizing farmers, nor dealers In
grain. Every one can bring his produce to a free and open
market. No fifheries are let out to farm. Every fubjeft is
equally entitled to the free and uninterrupted enjoyment of
the fea, of the coafts, and the eftuaiies ; of the lakes and rivers.
There are no manor lords with exclufive privileges; no lands
fet apart for feeding beafts or birds for the profit or pleafure of
particular perfons ; every one may kill game on his own grounds,
and on the public commons. Yet with all thefe feeming ad-
vantages, there are rarely three fucceffive years without a fa-
mine in one province or another.
As in the Roman Empire examples were not wanting of the
firft charaders in the ftate glorying to put their hands to the
plough, to render the earth fertile, and to engage in the natural
employment of man ; as,
In ancient times the facred plough employ'd.
The kings and awful fathers,
So,
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
399
So, in China, the Emperor at the vernal equinox, after
a folemn offering to the God of Heaven and Earth, goes
through the ceremony of holding the plough, an example in
which he is followed by the viceroys and governors and great
officers in every part of the empire. This ceremony, though,
in all probability, the remains of a religious inftitution, is well
calculated to give encouragement to^ the labouring peafantry,
whofe profeffion, thus honourably patronized, cannot fail to be
purfued with more energy and cheerfulnefs than where it re-
ceives no fuch marks of diilindion. Here merchants, tradef-
men, and mechanics, are confidered far beneath the hufband-
man. So far from obtaining the honours attendant on com-
merce in the ancient city of Tyre, " whofe merchants were
princes, whofe " traffickers were the honourable oftheeaith" —
or the ancient immunities granted in Alfred's reign, by which an
Englilh merchant, who had made three foreign voyages by fea,
was raifed to the rank of nobility, the man who, in China, en-
gages in foreign trade is confidered as little better than a vaga-
bond. The home trade only is fuppofed to be necelfary, and
deferving the proteclion of government. It allows all goods and
manufadures, the produce of the country, to be interchanged
between the feveral provinces, on payment only of a fmall tranfit
duty to the flate, and certain tolls on the canals and rivers, ap-
plied chiefly to the repairs of flood-gates, bridges, and embank-
ments. This trade, being carried on entirely by barter, employs
fuch a multitude of craft of one defcription or other, as to baffle
all attempts at a calculation. I firmly believe, that all the float-
ing veflTels in the world befides, taken colledively, would not be
equal either in number or tonnage to thofe of China.
Foreign
4CO TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Foreign trade is barely tolerated. So very indifferent the
court of Pekin affeds to be on this fubjed, that it has been hinted,
on fome occafions, and indeed ferious apprehenfions have been
entertained in Europe, that they were half difpofed to fhut the
port of Canton againft foreigners. The treatment, indeed, which
ftrangers meet with at this place, from the inferior officers of
government, is of itfelf fufficient to exclude them, and fuch
as could only be tolerated in confideration of the importance
of the trade, and efpecially in the fupply of tea ; an article
which, from being about a century ago a luxury, is now be-
come, particularly in Great Britain, one of the firft ne-
ceffities of life.
The taxes raifed for the fupport of government are far from
being exorbitant or burthenfome to the fubjedl. They confift
in the tenth of the produce of the land paid ufually in kind, in a
duty on fait, on foreign imports, and a few fmaller taxes, that do
not materially affedl the bulk of the people. The total amount of
taxes and affeflments which each individual pays to the ftate,
taken on an average, does not exceed four (hillings a year.
With fuch advantages, unknown in moft other countries, and
fuch great encouragement given to agriculture, one would be led
to fuppofe that the condition of the poor mufl: be lefs expofed to
hardfhips here than elfewhere. Yet in years of fcarcity many
thcufands perifh from abfolute want of food. And fuch years
fo frequently occur in one province or another, either from
unfavourable feafons of drought or inundations, the ill effedts
of both of which might probably be counteraded by proper
management.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 4ot
management, or by a(i honeft application of the funis of money
voted for tlie purpofe out of the public revenue, that govern-
ment has feldom been able to lay up in ftore a fufEcient quan-
tity of grain to meet tlie neceflities of the people in feafons of
general calamity ; and they have no other relief to depend on
but this precarious fupply, feldom adminiftered with alacrity,
on account of the number of hands it has to pafs through. Tiiis
leads them to commit outrages againft their wealthier neigh-
bours. There are few public charities ; and it is not a com-
mon cuftom to afk alms. I did not obferve a fingle beggar
from one extremity of China to the other, except in the
ftreets of Canton. Nor are there any poor-laws griping the
lnduftrit)us hufbandman and labourer, to feed the lazy, and
to feaft thole who have the care of them ; no paupers of any
defcription, fupported from funds that have been levied on the
public. The children, if living and, if not, the next of kin,
muft take care of their aged relations ; and the parents difpofe
of their children in what manner they may think beft for the
family intereft. As feveral generations live together, they are
fubfifted at a much cheaper rate than if each had a feparate
houfehold. In cafes of real diftrefs the government is fuppofed
to adl the parent ; and its good intentions in this refpedt cannot
be called in queftion ; whenever it appears that any of its offi-
cers, through negle<fl or malice, have withheld grain from the
poor, they are puniftied with fmgular feverity,' fometimes even
with death.
Another great advantage enjoyed by the Chinefe fubje£t is,
that the am,punt of his taxes is afcertained. He is never re-
3 F quired
402 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
quired to contribute, by any new afleflment, to make up 3>
given fum for the extraordinary expences of the ftate, except
in cafes of rebellion, when an additional tax is fometimcs im-
pofed on the neighbouring provinces. But in general the exe-
cutive government muft adapt its wants to the ordinary fupplies,
inftead of calling on the people for extraordinary contributions.
The amount of the revenues of this great empire has been dif-
ferently ftated. As the principal branch, the land-tax, is paid
in kind, it is indeed fearcely poflible to eftimate the receipt of
it accurately, as it will greatly depend on the ftate of the crop..
An Emperor who aims at popularity never fails to remit this-
tax or rent, in fuch dlftrids as have fuffered by drought or
inundation. Chon-ta-gin gave to Lord Macartney, from the
Imperial rent-roll, a rough fketch of the fums railed in each
province, making them to amount in the whole to about fixty-
f}X millions fterling ; which is not more than twice the revenue
of the ftate in Great Britain, exclufive of the poor's-rate and
ether parochial taxes, in 1803, and which gives, as I before
©bferved, if reduced to a capitation, the fum of about four
Shillings for each individual, whilft that of Great Britain, by
in analogous computation, would amount to about fifteen times
that fum. I fhould fuppofe, however, that a fliilling in China,
generally fpeaking, will go as far as three in Great Britain.
Ftohi the produce of the taxes the civil and military efta-
bliftiments, and all the incidental and extraordinary expences,
are firft paid on the fpot where they are incurred, out of the pro-
■^incial magazines, atid the reniainder is remitted to the Imperial
ttfeafut-y in Pdkin to meet the expences of th^ court, the
eftablilhment
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
>^oj
eftahlKliment of the Emperor, his palaces, temples, gardens,
women, and princes of the blood. The confifcatioos, prefents,
tributes, and other articles, may be reckoned as his privy purfe.
The furplus revenue remitted to Pekin, in the year 1792, was
ftated to be about 36,000,000 ounces of filver, or 1 2,000,000 1.
fterling. It is a general opinion among the Chinefe part of his
fubjed:s, that vaft fums of the furplus revenue and fuch as
arife from confifcations are annually fent to Moukden, the
capital of Man-tchoo Tartary ; but this fhould appear to be an
erroneous opinion founded on prejudice. Notwithftanding the
enormous wealth of Ho-tchung-tang^ that filled the Imperial
coffers, the prefent Emperor found it neceflary the fanie year tp
accept an offering, as it was called, of 500,000 ounces of filver,
or 166,6661. fterling, from the fait merchants of Canton, and
fums of money and articles of merchandize from other quarters,
to enable him to quell a rebellion that was raging in one of the
weftern provinces. He even fent down to Canton a quantity
of pearls, agates, ferpentines, and other ftones of little value, ia
the hope of raifing a temporary fupply from the fale of thenji
to foreign merchants. The Emperor of China, therefore, has
not fo much wealth at his difpofal as has ufually been imagined.
He even accepts of patriotic gifts from individuals, cpnfifting
of pieces of porcelain, filks, fans, te^, and fuch-like triflii^g
articles, which afterwards ferye as prefents to foreign embaC-
fadors, and each gift is pompoufly proclaimed in the Pekia
gazette.
The chief officers in the civil departments of government,
independent of the minifters and the different boards in Pekin,
3 F 2 accordijng
404
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
according to the ftatement of Tchou-ta-gin., with their falaries
and allowances reduced into filver, will be feen from the fol-
lowlnp- table, which, with that of the military eftablifliment, is
publifhed in the appendix to the authentic account of the em-
bafTy by Sir George Staunton ; and as they differ very little from
the court calendar publifhed in 1801, and as I have occafion
to make a few remarks on them, as well as on that of the popu-
lation, which will be given in a fubfequent chapter, 1 have not
hefitated to introduce them into the prefent work.
Qsality.
SaUries
Number, ir. ounces
lot filver.
To'al.
Viceroys over one ormore provinces
Governors of provinces - - -
CoUeflors of revenue - - -
Prefidents of criminal tribunals - - -
Governors of more than one city of the firft order
Governors of one city only of the firft order
Governors of a city of the fecond order
Governors of a city of the third order
Prefidents of literature and examinations
Infpeftors general - - - -
1 1
»5
'9
18
85
184
•49
'305,
'7|
'i7i
2C,000
16,000
9,000
6.0CO
3.0C0
2,C00
I,OCO
fcco
3,oco
220,000
240,0001
171,000!
10?, 000
258,000.
368,oco-
149,000!
1,044,000
402,000j
Tot-i! oz. 2,960,000}
The inferior officers ading immediately under the orders
of thefe, and amounting to many thoufands, together with
the falaries and expences of the different boards in the ca-
pital, all of which arc paid out of the public treafury, muft re-
quire a fum at leaft equal to the above ; fo that on a moderate
calculation, the ordinary expences of the civil eftablifhment
will amount to the fum of 5,920,000 ounces, or i»973>333l»
fterling.
Some
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
405
Some idea may be formed of the numerous appointments,
and the frequent changes in adminiftration, from the circum-
ftance of the Court Calendar, or red book, being publifhed
every three months making four tolerable large volumes, or
fixteen volumes every year.
The fatherly attention, the wife precautions, and the extreme
jealoufy of the government, have not been confidered as alone
fufficient for the internal and external prote£lion of the empire,
without the afliftance of an immenfe ftanding army. This
army, in the midft of a profound peace, was ftated by Van-ta-
gln to confift of eighteen hundred thoufand men, one million
of which were faid to be infantry, and eight hundred thou-
fand cavalry. As this government, however, is fuppofed to
be much given to exaggeration in all matters relating to the
aggrandifement of the country, and to deal liberally in hyper-
boles, wherever numbers are concerned, the authenticity of
the above ftatement of their military force may perhaps be
called in queftion. The fum of money, that would be required
to keep in pay and furnifh the extraordinaries of fo immenfe
an army, is fo immoderate that the revenues would appear to
be unable to bear it. If the pay and the appointments, of each
foldier, infantry and cavalry one with another, be fuppofed
to amount to a fhilUng a day, the fum required for the pay
alone would amount to 33,000,0001. fterling a year I
To come nearer the truth, let us take the calculation drawn
up by Lord Macartney from the information of Van-ta-gin,
3
4o6
TRAVELS INCHINA.
Rank.
Tau-ton,
Tfung-ping
Foo-tlung
Tchoo-tfung
TchoO'tze
Too-tze
Sciou-foo
Tfien-tfung
Pa-tlung
ComniilTaries of provifions of firft rank
Conimiflarles of provifions of fecond rank
i»ooo,ooo infantry, at two ounces of filver each per month, 7
provifions included - - i
800,000 cavalry, at four ounces each, provifions and
forage included
800,000 horfes, coft at twenty ounces each, 16,000,000 oz
the annual wear and tear at 10 per cent, will be
Uniforms for 1,800,000 men once a year, at four ounces
Yearly wear and tear of arms, accoutrements, and contin- \
Num- Salaries,
ber.
18
62
121
165
37,i
4-5
825
1680
362:
44
33 =
33 =
40C0
2400
I tJCO
800
600
400
■^^o
160
I 30
165 ;
Total
24,000,000
> 35,400,000
}
gencies, at one ounce //r man
Total.
72,000
148,800
157,^00
132,000
223, Soo
170,000
264.000
26^,800
470,870
14,080
52,800
1,974,450
1,600,000
7,200,000
1,800,000
-73,ooo,coo
Total ounces 74,974,450
And as no allowance is made in the above eftimate for the ex-
pence of artillery, tents, war equipage, nor for veffels of force
on the different rivers and canals, the building and keeping in
repair the military ports, the flags, ceremonial dreflcs, boats,
waggons, mufical bands, all of which are included in the ex-
traordinaries of the army, thefc may probably be equal to the
ordinaries ; thus the whole military eftablifliment would require
the fum of 149,948,900 ounces, or 49,982,9331. fterling.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 407
The dirpofal of the revenues will then (land as follows :
Total amount of the revenue - £. 66,000,000
Civil eftablilhment - J^. 1,973,333
Military ditto - 49,982,933
51,956,266
Surplus, being for the Emperor's eftablifhment £. 14,043,734
■which accords pretty nearly with the fum faid to be remitted
to Pekin in the year 1792.
It will appear then that if the revenues be admitted as accu-
rate, and I fee no juft reafon for fuppofing the contrary, they
are more than fufficient to meet the expences of fo apparently
an enormous eftabliihment. If, however, the King of Pmffia,
the Monarch of a fmall indiftinguifhable fpeck on the globe,
when put in comparifon with the empire of China, can keep
up an army of one hundred and eighty or two hundred'thou-
fand men, I can perceive nothing either extravagant or ex-
traordinary in fuppofing that a Sovereign whofe dominions are
eight times the extent of thofe of France, before her late
ufurpations, fhould have ten times as great a force as that of
the King of Pruffia. It may perhaps be afked in what manner
are they employed, feeing the nation is fo little engaged in
foreign war ? The employments for which the military are
ufed differ materially from thofe among European nations^
Except a great part of the Tartar cavalry, who are ftationed on
the northern frontier and in the conquered provinces of Tar-
tary, and the Tartar infantry, who are diflributed as guards
for the different cities of the empire, the reft of the army is
parcelled.
4o8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
parcelled out in the finaller towns, villages, and hamlets; where
they adl as jailors, confiables, thief-takers, ailiflants to magif-
trates, fubordinatc coUedors of the taxes, guards to tlie grana-
.rles; and are employed in a variety of different ways under
the civil magiftracy and police. Befides thefe, an immenfe
multitude are ftationed as guards at the military ports along
the public roads, canals, and rivers. Thefe ports are fmall
fquare buildings, like fo many little caftles, each having on its
lummit a watch-tower and a flag; and they are placed at the
diftance of three or four miles afunder. At one of thefe ports
there are never fewer than fix men. They not only prevent
robberies and difputes on the roads and canals, but convey the
public difpatches to and from the capital. An exprefs fent
from port to port travels between the capital and Canton in
twelve days, which is upwards of one hundred miles a day.
There is no other port nor mode of conveying letters for the
convenience of the public.
A great part then of the Chinefe army can only be confidered
as a kind of militia, which never has been, and in all human
probability never will be, embodied ; as a part of the commu-
nity not living entirely on the labour of the reft, but contri-
buting fomething to the common ftock. Every foldier ftationed
on the difierent guards has his portion of land aflTigned to him,
.which he cultivates for his family, and pays his quota of the
produce to the ftate. Such a provifion, encouraged by public
opinion, induces the foldier to marry, and the married men are
never removed from their ftations.
It
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 409
It will not be expeded that men thus circumftanced fhould
exhibit a very military appearance under arms. In fome places,
where they were drawn out in compliment to the Embaflador,
when the weather happened to be a little warm, they were
employed in the exercife of their fans, inftead of their match-
locks ; others we found drawn up in a fingle line, and refting
very compofedly on their knees to receive the Embaflador, in
which pofture they remained till their commanding oflicer
pafl!ed the word to rife. Whenever we happened to take them
by furprize, there was the greateft fcramble to get their holyday
drefles out of the guard-houfe, which, when put on, had more
the appearance of being intended for the ftage than the field
of battle. Their quilted petticoats, fattin boots, and their fans,
had a mixture of clumfinefs and effeminacy that ill accorded
with the military charader.
The different kinds of troops that compofe the Chinefe army
confift of
Tartar cavalry, whofe only w^eapon is the fabre ; and a few
who carry bows,
Tartar infantry, bowmen ; having alfo large fab res.
Chinefe infantry, carrying the fame weapons.
Chinefe matchlocks.
Chinefe Tygers of war, bearing large round fliields of bafket-
work, and long ill-made fwords. On the fliields of the laft are
painted monftrous faces of fome imaginary animal, intended to
frighten the enemy, or, like another gorgon, to petrify their
beholders.
3 G The
4io TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The military drefs varies in almofl: every province. Some-
times they wore blue jackets edged with red, or brown with
yellow ; feme had long pantaloons ; fome breeches, with
ftockings of cotton cloth ; others petticoats and boots. The
bowmen had long loofe gowns of blue cotton, ftufFed with a
kind of felt or wadding, ftudded all over with brafs knobs,
and bound round the middle with a girdle, from which the
fabre was appended behind, hanging with the point forwards,
and on the right, not the left, fide as in Europe. On the head
they wore a helmet of leather, or gilt pafteboard, with flaps on
each fide that covered the cheeks and fell upon the fhoulder.
The upper part was exactly like an inverted funnel, with a long
pipe terminating in a kind of fpear, on- which was bound a
tuft of long hair dyed of a fcarlet colour.
The greatefl: number we faw at any one place might be from
two to three thoufand, which were drawn up in a fingle line
along the bank of a river ; and as they flood with an interval
between each equal to the width of a man, they formed a very
confiderable line in length. Every fifth man had a fmall trian-
gular flag, and every tenth a large one ; the ftafl^s that fupported
them were fixed to the jacket behind the fhoulders. Some of
the flags were green,, edged with red ; others blue, edged with
yellow. I never faw the Chinefe troops drawn out in any
other way than a fingle line in front ; not even two deep.
The Tartar cavalry appear to be remarkably fwift, and to
charge with great impetuofity ; but the horfes are fo fmall and
are broken into fo quick and fhort a ftroke that the eye is
deceived. Their real fpeed, in fad, is very moderate. Their
1 faddles
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 411
laddies are remarkably foft, and ralfed fo high both before and
behind, that the rider cannot eafily be thrown out of his feat.
The ftirrups are fo (hort that the knee is almoft as high as the
chin. They have very little artillery, and that little is as
wretched as it well can be. I fufpeft it is borrowed from
the Portugueze, as the matchlock moft unqueflionably has
been.
When our fellow-traveller Van-ta-gtn was afked the reafon of
their pretending to give a preference to the clumfy matchlocks
over the firelocks now in ufe among European troops, he
replied, it had been found, after a fevere engagement in Thi-
bet, that the matchlocks had done much more execution
than the firelocks. It is difficult to combat prejudices ; but it
was not very difficult to convince Va7i that the men might pro-
bably have been quite as much in fault as the inufqucts; and
that the fuperior fteadlnefs of the fire from the matchlocks
might poffibly be owing to their being fixed, by an iron fork,
into the ground. The miffionaries have affigned a very abfurd
reafon for firelocks not being ufed in China ; they fay the damp-
nefs of the air is apt to make the flint mifs fire. With equal
propriety might thefe gentlemen have afl'erted that flints would
not emit fire in Italy. Their want of good iron and fleel to
manufafture locks, or the bad quality of their gunpowder, might
perhaps be offered as better reafons ; and as the befl of all their
want of courage and coolnefs to make ufe of them with that
fteadinefs which is required to produce the effedls of which
they are capable. Their favourite inflrument is the bow,
which, like all other miffile weapons, requires lefs courage to
3 G 2 manage,
4J2 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
manage, than thofe which bring man to oppofe himfelf in
clofe conteft with man.
Although the Tartars have found it expedient to continue
the Chinefe army on the old footing, It may naturally be fup-
pofed they would endeavour to fecure themfelves by all poffible
means in the pofTeflion of this vaft empire, and that they would
ufe every exertion to recruit the army with their own coun-
trymen, in preference to the Chinefe. Every Tartar male
child is accordingly enrolled. This precaution was neceflary,
as their whole army, at the time of the conqueft, is faid not to
have exceeded eighty thoufand men. At this time, in fad, a
weak adminiftration had fufFered the empire to be torn afunder
by convulfions. Every department, both civil and military,
was under the control of eunuchs. Six thoufand of thefe crea-
tures are faid to have been turned adrift by the Tartars on
taking pofTeflion of the palace in Pekin»
The conduct of the Mantchoo Tartars, whofe race is now
on the throne, was a mafter-piece of policy little to be ex-
peded in a tribe of people that had been confidered but as half
civilized. They entered the Chinefe dominions as auxiliaries
againft two rebel chiefs, but foon perceived they might become
the principals. Having placed their leader on the vacant
throne, inftead of fetting up for conquerors, they melted at
once into the mafs of the conquered. They adopted the drefs,
the manners, and the opinions of the people. In all the civil
departments of the ftate they appointed the ableft Chinefe,
and all vacancies were filled with Chinefe in preference to
Tartars.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 41.3
Tartars. They learned the Chinefe language ; married into
Chinefe faipilies ; encouraged Chinefe fuperftitions ; and, in
(hort, omitted no ftep that could tend to incorporate them
as one nation. Their great objeft was to ftrengthen the army
with their own countrymen, whilft the Chinefe were fo fatis.-
fied with the change, that they almoft doubted whether a change
had really taken place.
The uninterrupted fucceffion of four Emperors, all of whom
were endowed with excellent underftandings, uncommon vigour
of mind, and decifion of character, has hitherto obviated the
danger of fuch an enormous difproportion between the gover-
nors and the governed^ The wifdom, prudence, and energy
of thefe Emperors have not only maintained the family on
the throne, the fifth of which now fills it, but have enlarged
the dominions to an extent of which hiftory furnifhes no pa-
ralleL The prefent Emperor, Kia-kingy is faid to poflefs the
learning ai>d prudence of his father, and the firmnefs of Kaipig-
Shee ; but it is probable he will have a more difficult taflc in
governing the empire than cither of his predeceflbrs. In pro-
portion as the Tartar power has increafed, they have become
lefs felicitous to conciliate the Chinefe. All the heads of depart-
ments are now Tartars. The minifters are all Tartars ; and
moft of the offices of high truft and power are filled by Tartars.
And although the ancient larLguage of the country is ftill pre-
ferved as the court language, yet it is more than probable that
Tartar pride, encreafing with its growing power, will ere long
be induced to adopt its own.
The
414 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The Emperor Kaung-Shee indeed took uncommon pains to
improve the Mantchoo language, and to form it into a fyftema-
tic Thefatiriis or didionary ; and Tchicti-Lung direded that the
children of all fuch parents as were one a Tartar, the other a
Chinefe, fhould be taught the Mantchoo language ; and that
they might pafs their examinations for office in that language.
I could obferve, that the young men of the royal family at
Ttien-m'in-yuen fpoke with great contempt of the Chinefe. One
of them, perceiving that I was defirous of acquiring fome
knowledge of the Chinefe written charader, took great pains
to convince me that the Tartar language was much fuperior to
it ; and he not only offered to furnilTi me with the alphabet
and fome books, but with his inftrudions alfo, if I would give
up the Chinefe, which, he obferved, was not to be acquired in
the courfe of a man's whole life. I could not forbear remark-
ing, how very much thefe young princes enjoyed a jeft levelled
againft the Chinefe. An ill-natured remark, for inftance, on
the cramped feet and the hobbling gait of a Chinefe woman
met with their hearty approbation; but they were equally dif-
pleafed on hearing the clumfy fhoes worn by the Tartar
ladies compared to the broad flat-bottomed junks of the
Chinefe.
Although the ancient inftltutes and laws, the eftabllflied forms
of office, the pageantry of adminlflratlon, were all retained,
and the drefs, the manners, and external deportment of the
vanqulfhed were affiimed by the vidors, yet the native charac-
ter remained diftind ; and now, in the higher departments of
office efpecially, it burfts through all difguife. The confcious
fuperio-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 415
fupenonty of the one checks and overawes the other. " Moft
" of our books," obferves Lord Macartney, " confound the.
*' two people together, and talk of them as if they made only
" one nation under the general name of China ; but whatever
" might be concluded from any outward appearances, the real
*' diftin£lion is never forgotten by the fovereign who, though
" he pretends to be perfedlly impartial, conduds himfelf at
*' bottom by a fyftematic nationality, and never for a moment
" lofas fight of the cradle of his power. The fcience of go-
" vernment in the Eajlern world, is underftood by thofe who
" govern very differently from what it is in the Wejieni.
" When the fucceffion of a contefted kingdom in Europe is
" once afcertained, whether by violence or compromife, the
**^ nation returns to its prifline regularity and compofure : it
" matters little whether a Bourbon or an Auftrian fills
** the throne of Naples or of Spain, becaufe the fovereign,
" whoever he be, then becomes to all intents and purpofes, a
" Spaniard or Neapolitan, and his defcendants continue fo
** with accelerated velocity. George the Firfl and George the
** Second ceafed to be foreigners from the moment our fceptre
" was fixed in their hands ; and His prefent Majefty is as
" much an Englifhman as King Alfred or King Edgar, and go-
"' verns his people not by Teutonic, but by Englifh laws.
" The policy of Afia is totally oppofite. There the prince
" regards the place of his nativity as an accident of mere indif-
" ference. If the parent root be good, he thinks it will flourifh
" in every foil, and perhaps acquire frefli vigour from tranf-
*' plantation. It is not locality, but his own caft and family;
« it
4i6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
** it is not the country where he drew his breath, but the block
" from which he fprung ; it is not the fcenery of the theatre,
" but the fpirit of the drama, that engages his attention and
" occupies his thoughts. A feries of two hundred years, in the
" fucceflion of eight or ten monarchs, did not change the Mo-
" gul into a Hindoo, nor has a century and a half made 7'chien-
" Lung a Chinefe. He remains, at this hour, in all his
" maxims of policy, as true a Tartar as any of Lis an-
" xeftors."
Whether this moft ancient empire among men will long
continue in its ftability and integrity, can only be matter of con-
jedure, but certain it is, the Chinefe are greatly diflatisfied, and
not without reafon, at the imperious tone now openly affumed
by the Tartars ; and though they arc obliged to cringe and fub-
mit, in order to rife to any diftin(3:ion In the ftate, yet they un-
animoufly load them with
" Curfes, not loud, but deep, niouth-honour, breath *."
• The laft accounts, indeed, that have been received from China, are rather of
an alarming nature. A very ferious rebellion had broken out in the weftem pro-
vinces, which had extended to that of Canton, the ohjeifl of which was the overthrow
of the Tartar government. It was known for fome years paft, as I before obferved,
that certain fecret focicties were forming in the different provinces, who correfponded
together by unknown figns, agreed upon by convention, but they were not confidered
to be of that extent as to caufe any uneafinefs to the government. It .ippears, how-
ever, that not fewer than forty thoufand men had aflenibled in arms in the province
of Canton, at the head of whom was a man of the family of the 1aft Chinefe Em-
peror, who had affumed the Imperial Yellow. Thefe rebels, it feems, are coafider-
ably encouraged in their caufe by a prophecy, which is current among the people,
that the prefent Tartar dynafty ftiall be overturned in the year 1804. The exiftence
of fuch a prophecy may be more dangerous to the Tartar government than the arms
of the rebels^ by afllfUng to bring about its own accom^ lifhiQcnt.
Whenever
I
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 417
Whenever the dlfmembennent or diflocatiou of this great ma-
chine {hall take place, either by a rebellion or revolution, it
muft be at the expence of many millions of lives. For, as is
well obferved by Lord Macartney, " A fudden tranfition frona
flavery to freedom, from dependence to authority, can fel-
' dom be borne with moderation or difcretion. Every change
' in the ftate of man ought to be gentle and gradual, other-
' wife it is commonly dangerous to himfelf, and intolerable to
' others. A due preparation may be as neceflary for liberty,
' as for inoculation of the fmall-pox, which, like liberty, is
' future health but, without due preparation, is almoft certain^
' deftrudion. Thus then the Chinefe, if not led to emanci-
' pation by degrees, but let loofe on a burft of enthufiitfra,
' would probably fall into all the exceQes of folly, fuffer all
' the paroxyfms of madnefs, and be found as unfit for
' the enjoyment of rational freedom, as the French and the
' negroes,"
3M
4i8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
CHAP. vm.
Conie£lures on the Origin of the Chinefe. — Their Religious
Sedts, — Tenets, — and Ceremonie:s.
Embajfy departs from Peking and is lodged in a Temple. — Colony from Egypt not ne-
ceffary to hefuppofed^ in order to account for Egyptian Mythology in China. — Opi-
nions concerning Chinefe Origin. — Obfervations on the Heights ofTartary — Proba-
bly the Refling-place of the Arl of Noah. — Ancients ignorant of the Chinefe. — Zeres..
—Firjl known Intercourfe of Foreigners luith China. — Jews. — Budh'flu—'Neflo-
fians. — Mahomedans. — Roman Catholics. — ^tarrels of the Jefuits and Domini-
fgfis. Religion of Confucius. — Attached to the Prediclion of future Events.— No-
tions entertained by him of a future State. — Of the Deity. — DoHrine not unlike that
of the Stoics. — Ceremonies in Honour of his AIem:ry led to Idolatry. — Mifrcprefen-
tations of the Miffionaries with regard to the Religicm of the Chinif.—The Tao-tze
«rSons of Immortals. — Their Beverage of Life. — The DifiplesofYa or Budki/ls.
—Comparifon offome of the Hindu, Greek, Egyptian, and Chinefe Deities.— The
Lotos or Nelumbium. — Story of Ofiris and Ifis, and the Ifia compared with the
Imperial Ceremony of Ploughing.— Women vifit the Temples.— PraHical Part cf
Chinefe Religion. — Funeral Obfequies. — FeaJ? cf Lanterns.'- Obeifance ta the
Emperor performed in Temples leads to Idolatry. — Primitive Religion lojl or corrupted.
— Summary of Chinefe Religion.
A HE fufpicious and watchful condud of the Chinefe go-
vernment towards ftrangers was ill fuited to the free and inde-
pendent fpirlt of Britons. Confined within the limits of their
hotel, the populous capital of China was to them little better
than
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 419
than a defcrt. It was, therefore, lefs painful to be obliged to
quit a place which they could conlider in no other light than as
an honourable prifon, and to take leave of a people, whole ge-
neral charadier feemed to be ftrongly marked with pride, mean-
Tiefs, and ignorance. After having pafled fome time in a na-
tion, where every petty officer is a tyrant, and every man a flave,
how doubly precious do the bleffingsof that true liberty appear,
which our happy conftitution affords to every one the means
of enjoying at home ; where property is fecured from violence,
and where the life of the meaneft fubjedl is equally prote<Sed
-with that of the prince. Let thofe vifionary men, who amufe
themfelves in building Utopian governments, and thofe who,
from real or fancied injury or negled, feel the chagrin of dif-
appointment, vlfit other countries, and experience how juftice
is adminiftered in other nations ; they will then be taught to
confefs that real liberty exifts only in Great Britain — in that
happy ifland where, to ufe the expreffion of an eminent wri-
ter on the laws of nations *, " an enlightened piety in the
" people is the firmefl fupport of lawful authority ; and in the
" fovereign's breaft, it is the pledge of the people's fafety, and
*' excites their confidence,"
Imprefled with fuch fentiments, on the evening of the 7th
of Odober I rode through the ftreets of Pekin, for the laft time,
in company with Mr. Maxwell. We were quite alone, not a
Tingle Chinefe fervant, nor foldier, nor officer to condud us;
yet we had no difficulty in finding our way. We pafled
• Vattel.
3 " 2 through
420 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
through the broad ftreets of this capital from one extremity to
the other without the leaft moleftation, or, indeed, the leaft no-
tice. We could not forbear remarking the extraordinary coii-
traft, that the two greateft cities in the world exhibited at liiis
hour of the day. In the public ftreets of Pekin, after five or
fix o'clock in the evening, fcarcely a human creature is feen to
move, but they abound with dogs and fwine. All its inhabitants,
having finifhed the bufmefs of the day, are now retired to their
refpedive homes to eat their rice and, agreeably with the ciif-
tom of their great Emperor, which to them is a law, to lie
down with the fetting fun ; at which time in London, the crowd
is fo great, from Hyde Park corner to Mile End, as to inter-
rupt each other. In Pekin, from the moment the day begins
to dawn, the buzz and the buftle of the populace is like that
of a fwarm of bees ; v^chilft, on the contrary, the flreets of Lon-
don at an early hour in the morning are nearly deferted. At
eight in the evening, even in fummer, the gates of Pekin are
fliut, and the keys fent to the governor, after which they can-
not be opened on any confideration.
The Embaflador and the reft of the fuite, with the foldiera,
fervants and muficians had, feveral hours before us, fet out in a
fort of proceffion, in which an officer of government on horfe-
back took the lead, with the letter of the Emperor of China to
the King of England flung acrofs his fhoulders, in a wooden
cafe covered with yellow filk. At a late hour in the night, we
joined the reft of the party in the fuburbs of Tong-tcljoo-foo, where
we were once more lodged among the gods of the nation, in a
temple that was confecratcd to the patronizing deity of the city.
There
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 421
There are no inns in any part of this vafl: empire ; or, to fpeak
more corredtly (for there are refting-places), no inhabited and
furnifhed houfes where, in confideration of paying a certain
fum of money, a traveller may purchafe the refrelliments of
comfortable reft, and of allaying the calls of hunger. The
ftate of fociety admits of no fuch accommodation, and much
lefs fuch as, in many countries, proceeds from a fpirit of difm-
terefted hofpitality ; on the contrary, in this country, they in-
variably fhut their doors againft a ftranger. What they call
inns are mean hovels, confifting of bare walls where, perhaps,
a traveller may procure his cup of tea for a piece of copper
money, and permifTion to pafs the night ; but this is the extent
of the comforts which fuch places hold out. The practice in-
deed of travelling by land is fo rare, except occafionally in thofe
parts of the country which admit not the convenience of inland
navigations, or at fuch times when thefe are frozen up, that the
profits which might arife from the entertainment of pafTengers
could not fupport a houfe of decent accommodation. The of-
ficers of ftate invariably make ufe of the conveniencies which
the temples offer, as being fuperior to any other which the
country affords ; and the priefts, well knowing how vain it
would be to refift, or remonftrate, patiently fubmit, and rcfign
the temporary ufe of their apartments without a murmur.
. In moft countries of the civilized v/orld, the buildings appro-
priated for religious worfhip and the repofitories of their gods,
are generally held facred. In the monafteries of thofe parts of
Europe, where inns are not to be found, the apartments of the
monks are fometimes reforted to by travellers, but in China the
3 very
422 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
•vt'cy fanBum fiViBorum is invaded. Every corner Is Indifcrimi-
nately occupied by men in power, if they fhould require it.
Sometimes, alfo, the whole building is made a common place of
refort for vagrants and idlers, where gamblers mix with gods,
and prices with pick-pockets. In juftice, however, it muft be
obferved, that the priefts of the two popular religions which
predominate in the country flievv no inclination to encourage,
by joining in, the vicious practices of the rabble ; but having
no pay nor emolument from government, and being rather
tolerated than fupported, they are obliged to fubmit to and
to overlook abufes of this nature, and even to allow the profluie
pradlices of the rabble in the very hours of their devotion. Yet
there is a decency of behaviour, a fort of pride and dignity i^
the deportment of a Chinefe prieft, that readily diftinguKh
him from the vulgar. The calumnies, which fome of the
Roman catholic miffionaries have fo induftrioufly circulated
againft them, feem to have no foundation in truth. The near
refemblance of their drefs and holy rites to thofe of their own
faith was fo mortifying a circumftance, that none of the mif-
fionaries I converfed with could fpeak with temper of the priefts
of China. I could not even prevail on our interpreter of the
propaganda Ji(Ie, who ftill manifefted a prediledion for the cuftoms
of his country in every other refpeft, to ftep into the temple
where the altar was placed ; nor could he be induced, by any
perfuafion, to give or to afk an explanation of their myfterious
dodtrines.
There is no fubjedt, perhaps, on which a traveller ought to
fpeak with lefs confidence, than on the religious opinions of
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 423
the people he may chance to vKit, in countries out of Eu-
rope, efpecially when thofe opinions are grounded on a very
remote antiquity. The allegorical allufions in which they
might originally have been involved, the various changes they
may fmce have undergone, the ceremonies and types under
which they are ftill exhibited, in their modern dreis, render
them fo wholly unintelligible that, although they may have
been founded in truth and reafon, they now appear abfurd and
ridiculous ; equally inexplicable by the people themfelves who
profefs them, as by thofe who are utter ftrangers. The various
modes, indeed, under which the Creator and Ruler of the Uni-
verfe is recognifed by various nations, all tending to one point,
but fetting out in very different diredions, can only be under-
ftood and reconciled by a thorough knowledge of the language,
the hiftory, and the habits of the people j of their origin and
connedions with other nations; and, even after fuch know-
ledge has been obtained, it is no eafy tafk to feparate fable from
metaphor, and truth from fi£tion. For thefe reafons, the reli-
gion of China appears to be fully as obfcure and inexplicable
as that of almoft any other of the oriental nations. The lan-
guage of the country, added to thejealoufy of the government
fn admitting foreigners, have thrown almoft iniuperable ob-
ftacles in the way of clearing up this intricate fubjedl ; and thofe
few, who only have had opportunities of overcoming thefe diffi-
culties, were unfortunately men of that clafs, whofe opinions
were fo warped by the prejudices iaibibed with the tenets of
their own religion, that the accounts given by them are not al-
ways to be depended upon. As I have already obferved, they
cannot
424 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
cannot bring themfelves to fpeak or to write of the priefts of
China with any degree of temper or moderation.
It would be prefumptuous in me to fuppofe, for a moment,
that I am qualified to remove the veil of darknefs that covers
the popular religion of China. But as, in the practice of this
religion, it is impoffible not to difcover a common origin with
the fyftems of other nations in ancient times, it may not be
Improper to introduce a few remarks on the fiabjed:, and to
enquire if hiftory will enable us to point out, in what manner
they might have received or communicated the fuperftitions
and metaphyfical ideas that feem to prevail among them. The
obvious coincidence between fome parts of the mythological
do£trines of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, with thofe of
China, induced the learned Monfieur de Guignes and many
of the Jefuits to infer, that a colony from Egypt, at fome re-
mote period, had pafled into China. This however does not
appear probable. The Chinefe are not a mixed but a dillindl
race of men ; and their countenance has nothing of the ancient
Egyptian in it. Nor indeed is it neceflary to fuppofe any fuch
connection, in order to explain the veftiges of Egyptian my-
thology that may appear in their temples. We are informed
by hiftory that when Alexander marched into India, about three
centuries before the birth of Chrift, many learned Greeks ac-
companied him on this memorable expedition ; and we are
further informed that, two centuries after this period when
the perfecutions and cruelties of Ptolemy Phyfcon expelled
great numbers of learned and pious Greeks and Egyptians
from the city of Alexandria, they travelled eaftward in fearch
of
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 425
of an afylum among the Perfians ant! the Indians ; fo thit there
is nothing extraordinary in meeting with Greek and Egyptian
fuperftitions among nations of the Eaft ; even where no veftigc
of their hinguage remains. For it may he obferved that,
whenever colonies emigrate from their own coun'ry and
fettle among ftrangers, they are much more apt to lofe their
native language, than their religious dogmas and fuperftitions
notions. NeceiTity indeed may compel them to adopt the lan-
guage of the new country into which they have emigrated, but
any compulfive meafures to draw them to another religion ferve
only to ftrengthen them in their own. The French refugees
at the Cape of Good Hope totally loft their language in lefs
than feventy years ; and, fingular as it may appear, I met with a
defcrter fio;n one of the Scotch regiments, on the borders of the
Kaft'er country, who had fo far forgot his languiage, in the
courfe of about three years, that he was not able to make him-
felf intelligible by it. Many languages, we know, have totally
been loft, and others fo changed as fcarcely to preferve any
traces of their original form *.
Mr.
* This confideration on the tranfient nature of languages, and efpeclally of thofe
whofe fleeting founds have never been fixed by any graphic invention, makes it the
more furpriying how Lord Karnes, in his fketch on the origin and progrefs of Ame-
rican nations, after obferving that no paffage by laud had been difcovered between
America and the oid world, fhould have given it as his opinion, that an enquiry,
much more decifive as to the former being peopled by the latter, might be purfued,
by afcertaining whether the fame language be fpoken by the inhabitants on the two
fides of the flrait that divides the northern regions of America from Kamfkatka.
And that, after finding this not to be the cafe, he fliould conclude that the former
could not have been peopled by the latter. Had not Lord Kames written upon a.
fyftem of a feparate and local creation, pre-eftabli{hed in his own mind, he would
unqueflionably have laid more ftrefs upon a relemblance in their phyfical charadters,
3 ' in
426 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Mr. Eallly, with fome other learned and ingenious men,
was of opinion, that many fragments of the old and abfurd
fables of China are difcoverable in the ancient hiftory of the
Hindus, from the birth of Fo-Jhee, the founder of the empire
{Fo-hij as the French write the word,) until the introdudion
of Budha, or fo. Like the Hinduis, it is true, they have
always fhewn a remarkable prediledion for the number mm.
Confucius calls it the moft perfedl of numbers. But the Scy-
thians, or Tartars, have alfo confidered this as a facred num-
ber. It is true, likewife, they refemble fome of the Indian
nations, in the obfervance of folflitial and equinoxial facrinces ;
in making offerings to the manes of their anceftors ; in the
dread of leaving no offspring behind them, to pay the cuf-
tomary obfequies to their memory ; in obferving eight cardinal
or principal points of the world ; in the divifion of the Zodiac,
and in a variety of other coincidences, which the learned Mr,
Bryant accounts for by fuppofing the Egyptians, Greeks, Ro-
mans, and Indians, to be derived from one common flock, and
that fome of thefe people carried their religion and their learn-
ing into China. No proof however is adduced, either by him
or others, of fuch a communication ; and an atTertion diredlly
the contrary might have been made with equal plaufibility.
In their fuperftitions and religious notions, than on fimilarity of language ; whici),
among the many acquirements of the human fpccies, or of human inilitution, is not
the leaft liable to change by a change of fituation, efpecially where no written cha-
railer has been employed to fix it. His Lordlhip's conclufion is the more extraor-
dinary, as he had already obferveJ that the refemblance between them was perfeft
in every other refpeft.
That
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 427
That the Chinefe do not owe their origin to the fame (lock,
their phyfical charader is of itfelf a lufficient proof. The fmall
eye, rounded at the extremity next the nofe, inftead of being
angular, as is the cafe in that of Europeans, its oblique inftead
of horizontal pofition, and the flat and broad root of the nofe,
are features or charaders entirely diftind from the Hindu, the
Greek, or the Roman ; and belong more properly to the natives
of that vaft extent of country, which was known to the ancients
by the name of Scythia, and, in modern times, by that of
Tartary. There is fcarcely in nature two of the human fpecies
that differ more widely than a Chinefe and a Hindu, fetting
afide the diflerence of colour, which however modern enquiries
have determined to have little or no relation to climate, but
rather to fome original formation of the different fpecies. The
Mantchoo, and indeed all the other Tartar tribes bordering
upon China, are fcarcely diflinguifliable from the Chinefe.
The fame colour, except in a few inftances as I have elfewhere
obferved, the fame eyes, and general turn of the countenance
prevail, on the continent of Afia, from the tropic of Cancer to
the Frozen Ocean *". The peninfula of Malacca, and the vaft
multitude of iflands fpread over the eaftern feas, and inhabited
by the Malays, as well as thofe of Japan and Lieou-kieou,
have clearly been peopled from the fame common ftock. The
firft race of people to the northward of Hindoflan, that pofTefs
* It is fufficiently remarkible, that the Emperor Kamg-Shee, in giving, br public
edifl, fome account to his fubjefls of the different nations of Afia and Europe, fhouIJ
make the following obfervation. " To the foutluvard of the Cojfach country a horde
" oi Hoo-tfe (Turks) is eftablifhed, who are defccnded from the fame ftock with Turn-
" tay-tfcy formerly Empeiors of China."
3 I 2 the
428 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
the Tartar countenance, fo different from that of the Hindus,
are the inhabitants of Bootan. " The Booteeas^'' fays Captain
Turner, " have invariably black hair, which it is their fafhion
" to cut Ihort to the head. The eye is a very remarkable
" feature of the face; fmall, black, with long pointed cor-
" ners *, as though ftretched and extended by artificial means.
" Their eye-la(hes are fo thin as to be fcarcely perceptible, and
" the eye-brow is but fllghtly ihaded. Below the eyes is the
" broad eft part of the face, which is rather flat, and narrows
" from the cheek-bones to the chin ; a charader of countenance
" appearing firft to take its rife among the Tartar tribes, but
" is by far more ftrongly marked in the Chinefe."^
The heights of Tartary, bulging out beyond the general fur-
face of the globe, have been confidered, indeed, by many as
the cradle of the human fpecies, or ftill more emphatically, and
perhaps more properly, as the fouridery of the huma}i race. This
opinion did not arife folely from the vaft multitudes of people
correfponding with the Tartar character, that are fpread over
every part of the eaft:ern world, and who in countlefs fwarms
once overran all Europe, but was grounded on a fuppofition,
that the whole furface of the globe, or the greater part of it,
has at one time been fubmerfed in water, and that Tartary was
the laft to be covered, and the firft that was uncovered ; and the
place from whence, of courfe, a new fet of creatures were forged
as in a workftiop, from fome remnant of the old ftock, to be the
germs of future nations.
• The exterior angles are here meant which, in th« Chinefe alfo, are extended in
the fsttue or a greater proportion than the interior ones are rounded off.
Alraoft
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 435
Almofl every part of the eartli, indeed, affords the moft un-
equivocal indications that fuch has adually been the cafe, not
only in the feveral marine produftions that have been difco-
vered in high mountains, at a diftance from any fea, and
equally deep under the furface of the earth ; but more efpecially
in the formation of the mountains themfelves, the very higheft
of which, except thofe of granite, confifting frequently of ta-
bular mafles piled on each other in fuch regular and horizon-
tal ftrata, that their fhape and appearance cannot be otherwife
accounted for, or explained by any known principle in nature,
except by fuppofmg them at one time to have exifted in a ftate
of fluidity, by the agency of fire or of water, a point which feems
to be not quite decided between the Volcanifts and the Nep-
tunifts. The heights of Tartary are unqueftionably the higheft
land in the old world. In America they may, perhaps, be ex-
ceeded. Gerbillon, who was a tolerable good mathematician
and furnifhed with inftruments, afflires us, that the mountain
Pe tcha, very inferior to many in Tartary, is nine Chinefe lees,
or about fifteen thoufand feet, above the level of the plains of
China. This mountain, as well as all the others in the fame
country, is compofed of fand ftone, and refts upon plains of
fand, mixed with rock fait and faltpetre. The Sha-moo, or im-
menfe defert of fand, which ftretches along the north-weft fron-
tier of China and divides it from weftern Tartary, is not lefs
elevated than K}(\t Pe-tcba, and is faid to referable the bed of the
ocean. Some of the mountains ftarting out of this fca of/and^
which its name implies, cannot be lefs than twenty thoufand
feet above the level of the eaftern ocean.
The
430 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The formation of the earth affords a wide field for fpecula-
tion ; and, accordingly, many ingenious theories have been con-
ceived to explain the various appearances v>'hich its furface ex-
hibits. The befl: modern naturalifts feem, however, to agree,
that water has been one of the principal agents to produce thefe
effedls. The great Linnseus, whofe penetrating mind pervaded
the whole empire of nature, after many and laborious enquiries,
acquiefced in the truth of the facred writings, that the whole
globe of the earth was, at fome period of time, fubmerfed in wa-
ter, and covered with the vaft ocean, until in the lapfe
of time one little ifland appeared in this immenfe fea,
which ifland muft have been of courfe the higheft moun-
tain upon the furface of the earth. In fupport of his hypo-
thefis, he adduces a number of fadls, many of which have fallen
within his own obfervation, of the progreffive retreat of the
fea, the diminution of fprings and rivers, and the neceflary in-
crement of land. Among the mod remarkable of thefe are
the obfervations made by the inhabitants of Northern Bothnia
upon the rocks on the fea coaft, from whence it appeared that,
in the courfe of a century, the fea had fubfided more than four
feet ; fo that fix thoufand years ago, fuppofing the rate of retir-
ing to have been the fame, the fea was higher than at prefent
by two hundred and forty feet. Such great and fenfible depref-
fion of the water of the fea muft, however, have been only local,
otherwife, as I have elfewhere obferved, the Red Sea and the
Mediterranean would have joined within the period of hiftory.
The fea, it is true, in fome parts of the world, gains upon the
land, and in others the land upon the fea, but thefe effedls arife
from a different caufe to that which is fuppofed to produce a ge-
neral
V
I
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 431
neral retreat. It is true, alfo, that in the neighbourhood of
mountains and great rivers, very material changes have taken
place in the courfe of a few ages. The fragments of the
former, worn away by the alternate a(3;ion of the fun and rains
are borne down by the torrents of the latter, and depofited in
the eddies formed by the two banks of the rivers where they
join the fea, producing thus aliuvious land as, for example, the
Delta of Egypt, which has gradually been depofited out of the
foil of AbyfTinia and Upper Egypt ; the plains of the northern
parts of China, which have been formed out of the mountains
of Tartary ; and thofe of India from the Thebetian mountains
and the other high lands to the northward and weft ward of the
peninfula. As, however, a much greater proportion of the frag-
ments borne down by rivers muft be depofited in the bofouv
of the deep than on its (hores, the fea by this confiiant and effec-
tive operation ought rather to advance than to retreat. We may
therefore, perhaps, conclude that, whatever the changes may
have been which the furface of the earth has undergone, with
regard to the proportion and the pofition of land and water the
appearances v/e now behold in various parts of the globe can
only be explained by fuppofing fome temporary and preterna-
tural caufe, or elfe by aflliming an incalculable period of time
for their produdion.
But to return from this digreffion to the more immediate fub-
je£t of the prefent fedion. It is fufficiently remarkable, and
no inconfiderable proof of the truth of the Sacred Writings,
that almoft every nation has fome traditionary account of a de-
luge, fome making it imiverfal, and others local : prefuming,
however.
432 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
however, the former to be corredl, which is not only juftified
by the teftimony of the auihor of the Pentateuch, bat by na-
tural appearances, it might perhaps be fliewn, with no great
deviation from the generally received opinion, that, inftead of
Perfia being the hive in which was preferved a remnant of the
ancient world for the continuation of the fpecies, thcfe who
have fuppofed Tartary to be the cradle, from whence the prefent
race of men ilTued, have adopted the more plaufible ccnjedture.
If it be borne in mind that, in every part of the bible hiftory,
the expreflions are accommodated to the underftandings of thofe
for whom ihey were intended, rather than ftridtly conformable
to fadls, and more confonant to appearances than realities, it
may be fuppofed, without any oiFence to the moft rigid be-
liever, that by the mount Ararat was not ftri<3;ly meant the
identical mountain of that name, which has been recognized in
Armenia, but rather the highefl: mountain on the face of the
globe ; for, if this were not the cafe, the Mofaic account would
be contradidory in itfelf, as we are told that, " all the high
" hills that were under the whole Heaven were covered." This
conceflion being allowed, we may fuppofe that the ark, inftead
of refting in Armenia, firft ftruck ground in that part of Tar-
tary which is now inhabited by the Eleuths, as being the moft
elevated tradl of country in the old world. From thefe heights
large rivers flow towards every quarter of the horizon. It is
here that the fources of the Selenga are found, defcending to the
northward into the lake Baikal, and from thence by the Ene-
fei and the Lena into the Frozen Ocean : of the Amour, which
empties its waters to the eaftward into the gulph of Tartary :
of the two great rivers of China flowing to the fouthward, and
3 of
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 433
of numberlefs lakes and rivers difcharging their waters to the
weftward, fome burying themfelves in deferts of fand, and
others working tlieir way to the great lake of Aral and the Caf-
pian Tea.
From fuch a fituation, admitting the earth to have been peopled
in fucceffion, the two great rivers which took the foutherly di-
redion and crofled the fertile and extenfive plains of China,
were fully as likely to diredl the few furvivors of the deluge to
this country, as that they IhoulJ follow any of the other dreams;
and probably more fo, as thefe led to a warmer and more com-
fortable climate, where fewer wants were felt and thofe few
more eafily fupplied. Confidered in this point of view, the opi-
nion of the Jefuits will not appear fo ill founded, which fup-
pofes that Noah, feparating from his rebellious family, travelled
with a part of his offspring into the eaft, and founded the Chinefe
monarchy ; and that he is the fame perfon as the Foo-Jhee * of
their hiftory. The words of fcriptureyro?« the eajl^ an ingeni-
ous commentator has obferved, ought more properly to be
tranflated, at the beg'wniiig. At all events, the fa£l I conclude
to be irrefiftible, that the Tartars and the Chinefe have one com-
mon origin, and the queftion then is fimply this, whether the
fertile plains of China were abandoned for the bleak and barren
heights of Tartary, or that the wandering and tjalf-famifhed
* As a corroborating proof of the Chinefe being of Scythic origin, it may be
obferved, that the adjunft charafter Wt-f (to tlie family name Foo) is compofed of a
Jheeb, rice, an arrow, and the conjundlive chara(fter a!fo, from whence may be inferred
that he united the occupations oijhepherd, agricuhurijl, and warrior,
3 K Scythians
434
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Scythians defcended into regions whofe temperature and pro-
dudions were more congenial to the nature of man.
*t3"-
If, however, we allow China to have been among the firft
nations formed after the flood, it does not appear to have kept
pace in learning and in arts with the Chaldeans, the AlTyrians,
or the Egyptians. Before the time of Confucius, its progrefs
in civilization feems to have been very flow. He was the firfl
perfonwho digefted any thing like a hiflory of the kings of
Loo ; for, in his time, the country was divided among a num-
ber of petty princes, who lived at the head of their families,
much in the fame manner as formerly the chiefs of the clans in
the Highlands of Scotland ; or, perhaps, more properly fpeak-
ing, like the German princes, whofe petty fl:ates are. fo many-
parts of one great empire. It is now about two thoufand years
fmce the feveral monarchies were confolidated in one undivded
and abfolute empire. There are feveral reafons for fuppofing
that, before this period, China made no great figure among the
poliflied nations of the world, although it produced a Confucius,
fome of whofe works demonfl:rate a vigorous and an enlightened
mind. From the commentaries of this philofopher on one of
their clafllcal books *, it would appear that a regular fuccefllon of
Emperors could be traced near two thoufand years back from
his time, or more than four thoufand years from the prefent
period. The duration of the dynafliies, with their feveral Em-
perors, which he enumerates, and the detail of occurrences
in each reign, make the truth of the hiilory fufficiently plaufi-
ble, though the chronology, from their total ignorance of aftro-
• The Shoo-hing.
nomy,
TRAVELS IN CFIINA. 435
nomy, mull: neceflarily be defedlive. It is flill aa extraordi-
nary circumrtance, that none of the ancient claflical authors
fliould have had the Icall knowledge of fuch a nation. Homer
neither mentions them nor makes any allufion to fuch 1 people;
and Herodotus feems to have been equally ignorant of their
cxiftence ; and yet, according to the befl: chronologifts, Hero-
dotus and Confucius muft have been contemporaries. It may
fairly be concluded then, that the early Greeks had no know-
ledge of the Chinefe. Even more than a century after the father
of hiftory flourifhed, when the Perfian empire was overthrown
by Alexander, it does not appear that the Chinefe were known
to this nation ; which in all probability would have been the
cafe, notwithftanding their averfion to any intercourfe with fo-
reigners, had they conflituted, at that time, a large and power-
ful empire ; perhaps, indeed, the ignorance of the Perfians might
arife from the intervention of the civilized nations of India, whofe
numbers might have made it prudent in the former to dire(fi
their arms conftantly towards the weft rather than to the caft.
It has been an opinion pretty generally adopted, that the
people known to the ancients by the name of Seres were the
fame as the Chinefe, partly on account of their eaPtern lltuation,
and partly becaufe the principal filk manufaQures were fup-
pofed to be brought from thence, which gave the Romans oc-
cafion to name the country Ser'unm. The Romans, however,
received the trifling quantity of filk made ufe of by them from
Perfia, and not from China, nor from the country of the Seres.
Nor is it probable, that the latter fhould be the Chinefe, who
are faid to have fent an embaffy to Auguftus, in order to court
3 K 2 the
436 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
the fri^nclfhlp of the Romans, it being fo very contrary to their
fundamental laws, which not only prohibit any intercourfe
with ftrangers, but allow not any of the natives to leave the
country. The faifl, indeed, of this embafly refts folely upon
the authority of Lucius A. Floras, who wrote his hiftory, if it
may fo be called, nearly a century after the death of Auguftus :
and, as none of the hiftorians contemporary with that Emperor,
take any notice of fuch an event, it is more than probable
that no fuch embafly was fent to Rome *.
The
* Ptolemy, the Geographer, places Serlca adjoining to Scythia, extra Imaum, cor-
refponding with Cafhgar, Tangut, and Kitai, countries famous for the cultivation
of the cotton plant. It would feem, indeed, from all the paffages which occur in
ancient authors concerning the Seres, that cotton was the fubftance alluded to,
rather than filk, and that thefe people were not the prefent Chinefe, but the Tartars
of Kitai.
^id mmora JEthiopum molli canentia lana ?
Vellera^ue utfoliis depeSant tenuia Seres r
Virg. Georg. ii. v. 120.
Primique ncva Phaethonte reteiii
Seres lanigeris repttebant ^ellera lucis,
Sil. Ital. 1. 6. V. 3.
^od molli tondent dejiipite Seres
Frondea lanigera carpenUs vellera Silva.
Claudiiin,
Seres lanifido Syl-uarum nobiles perfu/am ajud depeiieittes frondiiim canuiem .
Plin. 1.6. 17.
Horace malces the Seres expert in drawing the bow, a weapon in the ufe of which the
Scythians were always famous.
Do9ui Sagittas tendere Serieas
Arcu paterno ?
Hor. lib. i. Od. 29. v. 9.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 437
The firft people that we know to have travelled into China
was a colony of Jews who, according to the records kept by
their defcendants, and which I underftood from fome of the
miffionaries are corroborated as to the time by Chinefe hiftory,
firft fettled there fhortly after the expedition of Alexander had
opened a communication with India. Nor is it at all improba-
ble that this adventurous and induftrious people were the firft
to carry with them, into their new country, the filk worm and
the mode of rearingit,eitherfromPerfia,or fome of the neighbour-
ing countries. The Emperor Kaung-JJjee, in his obfervations on
natural hiftory, takes notice that the Chinefe are greatly miftaken
vrhen they fay that filk was an exclufive product of China, for
that the upper regions of India have a native worm of a larger
growth, and which fpins a ftronger filk than any in China.
Although indeed ancient authors are filent as to the'article of filk,
there are grounds for fuppofing it was not unknown in Tangut
and Kitai. Several expreffions in the Bible warrant the opi-
nion that filk was ufed in the time of Solomon, and the vejies
'ferliicidce ac Jiiddcs Medis of Juftin feem to convey a defcrip-
tion of filken robes. This mode of the firft introdu£lion of filk
into China is offered as mere conjecture, for which I have no
other authority in fupport of, than what is here mentioned, with
It certainly cannot be inferred that by the Seres, in any of the above quotations, was
meant the fame people as the prefent Chinefe ; on the contrary, the probability is
that it did not allude to this nation, and that the ancients had not the. leaft know-
ledge of its exiftence. It appears from another palTage in Pliny, that the bed iron in
the world was in Serlcum, and that the Seres exported it with their cloths and fkins.
The iron of the Chinefe, as I have had occafion to obferve, is remarkably bad, and
all their articles of peltry are imported.
the
4^3 TRAVELS INCIIINA.
t]ie circumftance of the Jews being fettled chiefly in the fi'.k
provinces, and of their being at this time in confiderable num-
bers near Hang-tchoo-foo, where they carry on the principal
trade in this article, and have acquired the reputation of fabri-
cating the beft fluffs of this material that are made in China ;
nor do I know in what other way they could recommend them-
felves to the Ghinefe, fo far as to have obtained the prote»n.ion
of this jealous government, and to be allowed to intermarry
with the women of the country. It is true they have pradifed
no underhand attempts to feduce the natives from their paternal
religion, and to perfuade them to embrace their own ; and al-
though they are not very famous for the cultivation of the
fciences, yet they might have rendered themfelves extremely
iifeful in fuggeftlng improvements in many of the arts and ma-
nufaiStures. Many of them, indeed, forfake the religion of their
forefathers, and arrive at high employments in the Hate. Few
among them, I underftand, except the Rabbis, have any know-
ledge of the Hebrew language, and they have long been fo in-
termixed with the Chinefe, that the priefts at the prefent day
are faid to find fome difficulty in keeping up their congrega-
tions. So different are the effeds produced by fuffcring, in-
ftead of perfecuting, religious opinions.
One of the miffionaries has given an account of his vifit to a
fynagogue of Jews in China. He found the priefts moft rigo-
roufly attached to their old law : nor had they the leaft know-
ledge of any other Jefus having appeared in the world, except
the fon of Sirach, of whom, he fays, their hiflory makes men-
tion. If this be really the fad, their anceftors could not have
been
{
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 439
been any part of the ten tribes that were carried into captivity,
but may rather be fuppofed to have been among the followers
of Alexander's army, which agrees with their own account of
the time they firft fettled in China. They poflefTed a copy of
the Pentateuch and fome other fragments of the Sacred Writ-
ings, which they had brought along with them from the weft-
ward, but the miflionary's information is very imperfect, as he
was ignorant of the Hebrew language *.
Although a very great fimilarity is obfervable between many
of the ancient Jewifh rites and ceremonies and thofe in ufe
among the Chinefe, yet there feems to be no reafon for fup-
pofmg that the latter received any part of their religion from the
* All nur enquiries, in pridlaj the city of Hang-tclioo-foo, were fruitlefs with re-
gard to thefe Ifraelitcs. We had hitherto entertained a hope of being able to pro-
cure, in the coiirfe of our journey, a copy of this ancient monument of the Jewifh
hiftory^ which the late Dodlor Geddes confidered as very defirable to compare with
thofe ah-eaJy in Europe ; but the hafty manner in which we travelled, and the re-
pugnance fhewn by our conducing officers, Chou and Van excepted, who had little
power or influence in the provinces, to enter into any of our views that might ap-
pear to occafion delay, prevented the fulfilment of thofe hopes. It were much to be
wifhed, that the reverend miffionaries would fo far lay afide their antipathy againft
opinions, not exaftly coinciding with their own, and enter into fuch a correfpondence
with the Jews, as would obtain from them, which they are no doubt poffl-flld of, an
account of the progrefs made by the Chinefe in civilization and arts, fince their firft
fettling in that country, and of other particulars noted down by them. The circum-
ftance of their carrying with them their code of laws, and the hiftory of their tribes,
is afufficient proof that they underftood a written language which, there can be no
doubt> they would ufe the utmoft caution not to lofe. Such an account would be
more authentic than the Chinefe annals, the bed of which abound in hyperbole, and
contain fails fo difguifed in metaphor, that it is no eafy matter to extrail from them
the fimple truth. At all events, the comparifoa of the two hiftories would ferve to
verify each other.
anceftors
440 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
anceftors of thofe Jews that are ftill in the country. This,
however, is not the cafe with regard to the priefts of Budha,
who, according to the Chinefe records, came by the invitation
of one of their Emperors from fome part of India, near Thi-
bet, about the fixtieth year of the Chriftian era. Thefe priefts
fucceeded fo well in introducing the worfliip of Budha, that it
continues to this day to be one of the popular religions of the
country ; and that no traces of the original name fhould remain
is the lefs furprifing, as they could not poflibly pronounce either
the B or the D ; befide, they make it an invariable rule, as 1 have
already obferved, not to adopt any foreign names.
In fome part of the feventh century, a few Chriftians of the
Neftorian fedl pafled from India into China where, for a time,
they were tolerated by the government. But, having moft
probably prefumed upon its indulgence, and endeavoured to
feduce the people from the eftablifhed religions of the country,
they were expofed to dreadful perfecutions, and were at length
entirely extirpated, after numberlefs inftances of their fuffering
martyrdom for the opinions they had undertaken to propagate
to the " utmoft corners of the earth." When Gengis-Khan
invaded China, in the beginning of the thirteenth century, a
number of Chriftians of the Greek church followed his army
into this country ; and they met with fuch great encouragement
from the Tartars, that when Kublai-Khan fucceeded to the go-
vernment and built the city of Pekin, he gave them a grant
of ground within the walls of the city for the purpofe of build-
ing a church, in order to retain in the empire men of fo much
learning and of abilities fo much fuperior to thofe of the
I Chinefe ;
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 441
Chlnefe ; who, however, on their part, have afFeded, in their
hiftory, to confider the Monguls as the greateft barbarians, for
turning their horfes into the apartments of the palaces, while
they themfelves were contented to pitch their tents in the courts
or quadrangular fpaces furrounded by the buildings. Father
Le Compte, in his memoirs of China, fays, but I know not on
what authority, that at the taking of the city of Nankin the
Tartars put all the Chinefe women in facks, without regard to
age or rank, and fold them to the higheft bidder; and that
fuch as, in thus " buying the pig in the poke," happened to
purchafe an old, ugly, or deformed bargain, made no ceremony
in throwing it into the river. If Father Le Compte was not
the inventor of this, among many other of his pleafant
ftories, it certainly tells as little in favour of the Chinefe, who
muft have been the purchafers, as of the Tartars ; but we will
charitably fuppofe the thing never happened. It feems, how-
ever, that the overthrow of the Chinefe empire by the Mongul
Tartars, was an event not to be regretted by the nation at large.
By means of the learned and fcientiflc men, who accompanied
the expedition from Balk and Samarcand, aftronomy was im-
proved, their calendar was corredled, inftruments for making
celeftial obfervations were introduced, and the dired commu-
nication between the two extremities of the empire was opened,
by converting the ftreams of rivers into an artificial bed, form-
ing an inland navigation, not to be paralleled in any other part
of the world.
It was about this period when the celebrated Venetian tra-
veller Marco Polo vifued the Tartar Khan, then fitting on the
3 L throne
44a TRAVELS IN CHINA.
throne of China ; and who, on his return, gave the firft ac-
counts of this extraordinary empire ; which appeared indeed fo
wonderful that they were generally confidered as his own in-
ventions. His relations of the magnificent and fplendid palaces
of the Emperor, of his immenfe wealth, of the extent of his
empire, and the vaft multitudes of people, were held to be fo
many fabrications ; and as, in fpeaking of thefe fubjeds, he
feldom made ufe of a lower term than millions, his country-
men beftowed upon him the epithet of Slgnor Marco MiUione —
Mr. Mark Million. They had no hefitation, however, in giv-
ing credit to the only incredible part of his narrative, where he
relates a few miracles that were performed, in the courfe of his
journey through Perfia, by fome Neftorean Chrlftians. Young
Marco is faid to have accompanied three miflionaries of the
Dominican order, fent from Venice to the capital of China,
at the exprefs defire of Kublai-Khan ; but, whether they met
with little encouragement in the objeft of their million, on
account of being preceded by the Chrlftians of the Greek
church, or their zeal at that time was lefs ardent than In later
days, is not ftated ; but it feems they did not remain long in
the Eaft, returning very foon to their native country much
enriched by their travels.
During the continuance of the Tartar government, which
•was not quite a century, great numbers of Mahomedans like-
wife found their way from Arabia to China. Thefe people had
long, indeed, been in the habit of carrying on a commercial
intercourfe with the Chinefe ; which, however, as at the pre-
sent day, extended no further than the fea-ports on the fouthern
coaft.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 443
coaft. They now found no difficulty in getting accefs to the
capital, where they rendered themfelves particularly ufeful in
adjufting the chronology of the nation, and making the necef-
fary calculations for the yearly calendar. Having acquired the
"language and adopted the drefs and manners of the people,
by degrees they turned their thoughts to the extending of their
religious principles, and bringing the whole country to embrace
the dodrinc of their great prophet. For this end, they bought
and educated at their own expence fuch children of poor
people as were likely to be expofed in times of famine ; and
they employed perfons to pick up, in the ftreets of the capital,
any infants that fliould be thrown out in the courfe of the
night, and who were not too much weakened or otherwife
injured to be recovered.
About the middle of the fixteenth century, feveral Roman
Catholic miflionaries, of the order of Jefus, penetrated into the
Eaft ; and the indefatigable zeal of one of thefe, Francis Xavier,
carried him as far as San-Shian^ a fmall ifland on the coafl of
China, where he died in the year 1552, in confequence of the
uncommon fatigues he had undergone. His brother miffiona-
ries have calculated that he travelled, on foot, not lefs than one
hundred thoufand Englifli miles, a great part of which was over
mountains and defarts and forefts and burning fands. Since
a more eafy communication with India and China has been
€ffe£l:ed by the way of the Cape of Good Hope, numbers of
miffionaries of the Catholic religion have volunteered their fer-
vices into thofe countries; and although the fole objedt of their
miffion is the propagation of the Chriftian faith, they find it
3 L 2 neccflary,
444 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
neceflary, in order to forward that obje£t, to make themfelves
ufeful to the government. In China, they are occafionally em-
ployed as aftronomers, mathematicians, mechanics, and inter-
preters. " It muft have appeared a fmgular fpe£tacle," obferves
Sir George Staunton, " to every clafs of beholders, to fee men
*' actuated by motives different from thofe of moft human
" adtions, quitting for ever their country and their connexions,
" to devote themfelves for life to the purpofes of changing
" the tenets of a people they had never feen ; and in purfuing
" that objedl to run every rifle, fuffer every perfecution, and
" facrifice every comfort ; infmuating themfelves, by addrefs,
" by talent, by perfeverance, by humility, by application to
" ftudies foreign from their original education, or by the culti-
" vation of arts to which they had not been bred, into notice
" and proteftion ; overcoming the prejudices of being ftrangers
" in a country where moft ftrangers were prohibited, and where
" it was a crime to have abandoned the tombs of their ancefiors,
" and gaining, at length, eftablifliments neceflary for the pro-
" pagation of their faith, without turning their influence to any
" perfonal advantage."
Moft of thofe, however, who were eftabllflied in Pekin, to
the fpiritual confolation of having laboured in the vineyard of
the gofpel not altogether in vain (for they do fometimes gain
a profelyte) add the fubftantial fatisfadlion of not having ne-
glected their worldly concerns. Befides the emoluments arifmg
from their feveral communities, they have ftiops and houfes in
the capital, which they rent to Chinefe. They have alfo their
country villas and eftates, where they cultivate the vine and
other
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 445
other fruits, and make their own wine. The revenues of the
two Portuguefe feminaries are Hated to amount to twelve
thoufand ounces of filver, or four thoufand pounds a year.
The mifTion de propaganda jide is poor. The French Jefuits
were once rich ; but their property was diflipated on the diflb-
lution of their fociety. The French mijjions etrangeres drew on
their fuperiors at Paris before the revolution, but fince that event
are reduced to a moft deplorable fituation. And it feemed to
me, from what I could perceive at Tuen-m'in-yuen, that they
were not much difpofed to affift one another. Each nation
had its feparate intereft, and they were not willing to lofe any
opportunity of calumniating their fellow-labourers. The French
and Italians were the moft moderate and liberal ; the Portuguefe
the moft inveterate. The miflionarles of this nation appeared
to be Infpired with a jealoufy and hatred, more than theological,
againft the reft. It is faid indeed that their rich pofTeffions, and
the high fituations they unworthily hold in the board of mathe-
matics, render them jealous of all other Europeans ; and they
ufe every means of excluding them from the country.
From the frequent diflenfions, indeed , among the different
orders, and their perpetual broils, originated the perfecutions
which they and their profelytes fuffered in China. The moft
violent of thefe difputes was carried on between the Jefuits
and the Dominicans. The Jefuits endeavoured to afllmilate
their dodiines and their opinions to thofe of the Chinefe, at
leaft as far as they confcientioufly could venture to do, in confor-
mity to the nature of their miffion ; by which means, together
with their apparently difmterefted condud, they foon colleded
3 a numerous
446 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
a numerous fet of followers, half Chriftians and half Pagans.
Unluckily for the caufe of Chriflianity, a different fedt of the
fame religion, but with prlp.ciples more auftere and of courfe
lefs tolerant of others that deviated from their own, fpeedily
followed the Jefults into the Kali. The Dominicans, meeting
with fome of the half-chriftianized converts, foon gave them
to underftand that nothing lefs than eternal damnation would
be the lot of all fuch as did not forfake their ancient fuperfti-
tions*and idolatrous pradices ; and efpecially that of facrificing
to their deceafed relations in the Hall of Anceftors. The Fran-
cifcans having joined the Dominicans they reprefented to the
Pope the abominable praaices of the Jefuits, who had perfuaded
the Chinefe they were come among them for the fole purpofe of
reftoring their ancient religion to its original purity, as deli-
vered by their Great Philolopher Confucius. The Pope, upon
this, fent over a bull, interdifting all the miffionaries in China
from admitting any extraneous ceremonies or idolatrous wor-
fhip, to be blended with thofe of Holy Catholic Church.
The Jefuits, however, by their fuperior talents, having made
themfelves ufeful at court, and obtained the notice and protec-
tion of Caung-Sbee the ruling monarch, and the greateft perhaps
that ever filled the throne of China, treated this bull with
contempt, and continued to make converts in their own way.
They even obtained from the Emperor a fum of money and a
grant of land, towards building a church in Pekin. And they
further managed their affairs fo well as to procure, from the fuc-
ceeding Pope, a difpenfation in favour of their mode of pro-
ceeding to convert the Chinefe to Chriflianity. The Domini-
cans
TRAVELS IN CHINA, 447
cans and Fianclfcans, piqued beyond meafure at the fuccefs of
the Jeluits, reprefented them to the Pope, in the ftrongeft terms,
as the greateft enemies to the Chriftian faith. The Jefuits, in
their turn, tranfmitted to Rome a manifcfto, figned by the Em-
peror himfelf, attcfting that the ceremonies of homage to the
dead, retained by the Chinefe Ghriftians, were not of a religious
but a civil nature, agreeable to the long eftablifhed laws of the
empire, which could not, on any confideration, be difpenfed
with. In fliort, their difputes and quarrels ran fo high,
and proceeded to fuch lengths ; and Bulls and EmbafTadors
were fent from Rome, with fuch imperious and threatening
commands for the Chinefe Ghriftians to defift from all ceremo-
nies that were not warranted by the catholic church, that the
Emperor began to think it was high time to interpofe his autho-
rity, and to interdict the Chriftian religion from being preached
at all in his dominions. And his fon and fucceflbr Yuuv chin
commenced his reign with violent perfecutions againft the mif-
fionaries. He ordered many of them immediately out of the
empire ; others were thrown into prifon *, where they lingered
out
• In the year 1735, Kien Long liberated, by a public edift, twelve millionaries
out of prifon, who, being deteftcd in privately feducing the Chinefe from the reli-
gion and cufloms of the country, had been condemned to perpetual iniprifonment.
This edidt, of which 1 procured a copy in Pekin, does great honour to the humane
and benevolent mind of the Emperor. After dating their crime, apprehenfion,
and trial, he obferves, " Had they made known their arrival to the officers of
• government, they might have proceeded to the capital and found proteflion.
' But as tranfgrefTors of the law, which forbids the entrance offtrangers, they have
' ftolen into the country, and fecretly endeavoured to multiply amverts to their
■• way of thinking, it became my duty to oppofe a condufl fo deceitful, and. to put
* a ftop to the progrefs of feduftion. Juftly as they were found to dcferve the
' punilhment to which they havs been condemned, touched, neverthelefs, with
" conipaOion
448 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
out a miferable life; and fome were put to death by the bow-
ftring. Thofe few, who were found neceflary to affift hi the
aftronomical part of the calendar, he allowed to remain in the
capital.
Notwithftanding the perfecutionsthat,in every reign, have been
violently carried on againfl them by the officers of government
in the feveral provinces, numbers of new miflionaries have con-
tinued, from time to time, to fteal into the country. At Macao
we found two young miflionaries, who had been waiting there
a long time, in vain, for an opportunity of getting privately
into the country. They accufed the Portuguefe of throwing
every obftacle in their way, while pretending to afibrd them
afliftance ; but, on application to the Britifh Embaflador, he
found no difficulty in procuring them leave to proceed to the
capital ; and as one of thefe gentlemen had been a pupil of the
celebrated La Lande, his fervices may probably fuperfede thofe
of the right reverend bifliop who at prefent dire£ls the aftro-
nomical part of the important national almanack.
From the fhort view that has here been taken of the diffe-
rent people who, at various limes, have gained admiflion into
China, and forae of them for no other purpofe than that of
" companion for their imprudence, it was not without injury to my feelings that I rati-
•' fied the fentence. But recolletSing afterwards that they were flrangers — ftrangers
•' perhaps ignorant of the laws of my empire, my compafllon increafed for them,
" and humanity fufFers on account of their long confinement. I will, therefore,
" and command that thefe twelve ftrangers be fet at liberty."
difleminating
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 449
difTemlnating their religious tenets, it may be concluded, that
the primitive worfliip of the country has experienced many
changes and innovations, efpecially fince the mafs of the people,
from the nature of the language, the maxims of the govern-
ment, and other circumftances, have always been kept in a ftate
of profound ignorance. Jews, Chriftians, Indians, and Ma-
homedans, have feverally met with encouragement. The Jefuits
had but one obftacle to overcome, the law that directed offer-
ings to be made to deceafed relations, and by giving way to
this, which they were inclined to do had they not been
thwarted by the more rigorous Dominicans, they might have
converted the whole nation and Chriftianity would have be-
come, in all probability, the prevailing religion, inftead of that
introduced from India. The paraphernalia and almoft all the
mummeries of the Romifh church, the bells, the beads, the
altars, the images, the candles, the drefs, and the fandimo-
nious deportment of the priefts in the hours of devotion, their
chauntlng and their incenfe, were already made familiar to the
people in every temple of Fo. But, as Lord Macartney has
obferved, " the prohibition or reftridlion of fenfual gratifica-
' " tions in a defpotic country, where there are fo few others, is
" difficult to be relifhed. Confcffion is repugnant to the clofe
" and fufpicious characler of the nation, and penance would
" but aggravate the mifery of him wTiofe inheritance is his
" labour, and poverty his punifhment. Againft it alfo is the
" ftate of fociety in China, which excludes women from their
" proper fhare of influence and importance. A religion which
" requires that women fhould at ftated times communicate to
" priefts, in private, their thoughts and adtions, muft be parti-
3 M cularljr
450 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" cularly difgufting to a Chinefe hufband, who had not hlm-
" felf been fufFered to fee his wife till the day of his marriage ;.
" and who but feldom allows her afterwards to fee even her
*' near relations of another fex. A religion like that of Ma-
" hornet can only be extended by violence and terror; for the
" natural ftubbornnefs of men does not readily give way to
" novel impreflions ; but the mild fpirit of the gofpel is alone
" to be infufed through the means of gentlenefs, perfuafion,
" and imperceptible perfeverance. Thefe are the proper inftru-
'* ments of convertion, and peculiarly belong to the fair fc.v,
" whofe eloquence, on fuch occafions, giv^es charms to devo-
" tion and ornaments to truth. The earliefl: ftages of Chrif-
*' tianity received no fmall fupport froai female agency and
•* example ; and for what fhew of religion flill appears in our
" churches, we are furely not a little indebted to the piety and
-" attendance of women." Nothing, in faft, more tended to
alarm the Chinefe than the imprudent practice of the Romifii
miflionaries of feducing the Chinefe women to their churches
whom, as they avow in their correfpondence, they fometimes
coaxed out of their jewels and money ; adding, by way of jufti-
fication, that it was to promote the fervice of God.
The primitive religion of China or, at leaft, thofe opinions,
rites, and ceremonies that prevailed in the time of Confucius,
(and before that period all feems to be fable and uncertainty)
may be pretty nearly afcertained from the writings that are
afcribed to that philofopher. He maintains in his phyfics,
that " out of nothing there cannot poflibly be produced any
*' thing; — that material bodies muft have exifted from all eter-
" nity ;
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 451
** nity ; — that the caufe [lee, rcafoii) or principle of things, muft
" have had a co-exiftence with the things themfelves ; — that,
" therefore, this caufe is alfo eternal, infinite, indeftrudible,
" without limits, omnipotent and omniprefent ; — that the cen-
" tral point of influence (j'?rf//o-/>6) from when ge this caufe prin-
" cipally ads, is the blue firmament {tieii) from whence its
" emanations fpread over the whole univerfc ;— that it is,
" therefore, the fupreme duty of the prince, in the name of
his fubjeds, to prefent offerings to //V;/, and particularly at the
equinoxes, the one for obtaining a propitious feed-time, and
the other a plentiful harveft."
Thefe offerings to the Deity, it may be obferved, were al-
ways placed on a large ftone, or heap of ftones, ereded on the
fummit of a high mountain, on the fuppofition, probably, that
their influence would be fo much the greater, in proportion as
they {hould approach the feat and fountain of creative power ;
like the ancient Perfians who, according to Herodotus, confider-
ed the whole circle of the Heavens to be the great ruling power
of the univerfe, to v,h!ch they alfo facrificed on high moun-
tains. Thus Tacitus, in fpeaking of the practice of worfhip-
ing the gods on high mountains, obferves, that the nearer mor-
tals can approach the heavens, the more diftindly will their
prayers be heard ; and on the fame principle, Seneca fays, that
the people always ftrove for the feat next to the image of the
deity in the temples, that their prayers might be the better
heard. Thus alfo Noah, after quitting the ark, built an altar
on the mountain where it refted, and made a burnt-offering,
whofe fmoke afcending to htaven was pleafing to the Lord.
3 M 2 And
452 TRAVELS IN CHINA,
And Abraham was commanded to offer his only fon liaac on a
mountain in the land of Moria ; and Balak carried Balaam to
the top of Mount Pifgah to offer a facrifice there, and to curfe
Ifrael. Thus, indeed, all nations in their infancy adopted the
natural idea of paying adoration to Heaven from high places.
The large ftones, or the heaps of ftones, that have been ap-
propriated for religious ufes at different times, in almoft every
part of the world, might have been introduced, as Lord Kames
fuppofes, from the cuftom among favage nations to mark with
a great ftone the place where their worthies were interred : that
fuch worthies being at length deified, in the fuperftitious no-
tions of their votaries, the ftones that were dedicated to their
memory became effential in every a£l: of religious worfhip per-
formed in honour of their new deities. The very particular
homage, that for time immemorial has been paid to the me-
mory of the dead by the Chinefe, renders the above explana-
tion extremely probable as to the origin of their altar of four
ftones which in their language are called Taw, and which in
former times were ere£ted on moft of their high mountains ;
and it is fmgular enough that, at the prefent day, the tan
fhould be reprefented, upon many of the altars ereded in their
temples, by four loofe ftones placed on the four corners of the
altar, as the horns were in the corners of the Jewifh akars.
When population increafed, and the people were fpread wide
over the empire, the inconvenience of afcending any parti-
cular mountain muft neceffarily be felt, and the tan was then
transferred to places that were better fuited for general ac-
commodation. The lame idea iadeed is ftill retained in our
3 churches.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 453
churches, the altar and high place being fynonimous words. In
the city of Pekin, which ftands on a fandy plain, the lien-tan^
or altar of Heaven; xhc tee-tan or altar of earth ; and i\\e ften-
nong-tan or altar of ancient agriculturifts, are ereded upon arti-
ficial mounts within the walls of the palace; and here the Em-
peror continues, to this day, to facrifice at appointed times,
exclufively, as the fon of Heaven, and the only being on earth
worthy to intercede for his people. The fame dodlrine pre-
vailed in the time of Confucius, who obferves, that the diftance
between the all-creative power, or caufe of all things, and the
people is fo immeafurably great, that the king or ruler, as high
prieft, can alone offer fuch a facrifice ; and that this power is
beft fatisfied when man performs the moral duties of life ; the
principal of which he makes to confift in filial piety,and unlimited
obedience to the will of the prince.
His religious notions and morals do him great credit, but
his metaphyfics are fo obfcure as not to be intelligible which,
however, may partly be owing to the nature of the language.
In his writings appears a ftrong prediIe£lion for a kind of for-
tune-telling, or predicting events by the myftical lines oiFo-fiee.
By the help of thefe lines, and the prevailing element at the
commencement of the reign of a prince, he pretended to fore-
tel the events that would take place and the length of its con-
tinuance ; but, at the fame time, he was cautious enough to
wrap them up in fuch ambiguous and myfterious expreflions
that, like moft prophecies of the kind, they might admit of a
variety of interpretations. This manner of expounding the
lines of Fo-fliee by Confucius, the fuppofed fyftem of binary
arithmetic
454 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
arithmetic by Leibnitz, laid the foundation of confulting future
deftiny, at this day univerfally fought after by the Chinefe *.
Predeftination in all ages, and in all nations, has formed one of
the leading features of religion ; and, in confideration per-
haps of popular opinion, has been foifled Into the articles of the
Chrlftian faith, though unwarranted by any pafTage in the holy
fcriptures. It is a do(£trine little calculated for the promotion of
good morals, and ftill lefs fo for conveying fpiritual confolation.
The Chinefe, however, confine the influence of lots to the events
of this life. It would perhaps be doing injuflice to the under-
flanding of Confucius to fuppofe, that he really believed in the
dodrine of fatality. Being prime minifter of one of the kings
of China, it was necefTiuy for him to acfl the politician as
* The government even grants licences to certain perfons, under the abiUeJ name
of aflronomcrs, who pretend to prcdiifl events, and cad out evil fplrits by a charm,
confilling of feme charader written by them, according to the fitppofed prevailing;
planet. The national almanack, not lefs minute in its predictions than thofe of
Francis Moore or Vincent Winj;, or even Partridge, points out the changes of the
weather in every month, with the lucky and unlucky days for undertaking moll of
the important concerns of life. And that the fillacy of thefe is not detcflcj, may
afford lefs matter for farprizc, on recollc(ftion that, in tlie wife and enlif^htened coun-
tries of Europe, and among very intelligent people, the ftate of the weather is pre-
tended to be predicted by the phafes of the moon ; that is to fay, they will prognolli-
cate a change of weather to happen at the new moon, or the firil quarter, or the full,
or the lad c|\iarter, or, at all events, three days before, or three days after one or
other of thefe periods ; fo that the predldor has, at the leall, eight-and-twcuty days
out of a lunar revolution, in favour of his prcdi<5tion being right, and the whole
lunation is only twenty-nine and a half. He has alfo another great advantage : the
accidental c^jincidence of one fmgle prophecy with the events eftablifhcs his fame
forever, whilll his blunders are either overlooked, or confidcred only as thofe of the
perfon, and not the defed of the fcicnce.
well
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 455
well as the philofopher ; and he could not fail to know, that
the fiiperilitions of the people were among the heft fupports of
the government. He might have been aware of the folly and
abfurdity of fuch a dodrine, and yet found it prudent to en-
force the obfervance of it; juft as the Greeks thought proper
to continue their Lots. Tliefe, inflead of fticks, as ufed by the
Chinefe, were three ftones that, according to fome, were firft
difcovered and prefented to Pallas by the nymphs, the daughters
of Jupiter, who rejeded an offering that rather belonged to
Apollo, and threw them away ; — an excellent moral, obferves
Dodor Tytler, the learned tranflator of the hymns and epi-
grams of Callimachus, fhewing that thofe perfons who are
guided by Pallas, or Wifdom, will improve the prefent time^
without being too anxious to pry into futurity. The Greek
poe", however, like the Chinefe philofopher, afcribed to the
poflelTor of the Lots, the talent of reading future deftiny.
" By him die lure events of Lots are given ;
" By him the prophet fpe.iks the will of Heaven." Tvtler.
The Romans had alfo their lots to determine future events,
which were a kind of wooden dice, and their priefts examined
the marks and interpreted the fignification of the throw. And
the ancient Germans, according to Tacitus, made ufe of little
flicks, notched at the ends which, like the Chinefe, they
threw three times in cafe they did not approve of the firft
throw. Herodotus traces the cuftoni of prediding future
events to the ancient Egyptians, and feems to think the Greeks
had it from them. But is not the defire of prying into futu-
rity
456 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
rlty to be afcribed rather to a weaknefs in human nature, than
as a curtom borrowed by one nation from another ? Are we en-
tirely free from it in modern Europe ? However humiliating the
refledion may be, yet it is certainly true, that men of the
ftrongeft minds and foundeft judgments have fometimes, to-
wards the clofe of an ufeful life, devoted their time to the ex-
pofition of old prophecies without meaning, or applicable only
to events that were already in train to be accomplifhed when
the predidion was made. Among many others, the great
Napier^ the inventor of logarithms, might be produced as an
inftance of this remark. From the Apocalypfe of Saint John
he preditled the day of judgment ; but his calculations in this
inftance not being founded on data equally folid with thole on
which he conftruded his tables, he unfortunately furvived the
day he had named to blufli at his own weaknefs.
Other parts of the dodrine of Confucius were well calculated
to keep alive the fuperftitious notions that ftill prevail among
the multitude. He taught them to believe that the human
body was compofed of two principles, the one light, invifible,
and afcending ; the other grofs, palpable, and defcending ; that
the feparation of thefe two principles caufe the death of man ;
that at this awful period the light and fpiritual part of the hu-
man body afcends into the air, whilft the grofs and corporeal
matter fmks into the earth. The word deaths in fa£t, never
enters into the philofophy of Confucius ; nor, indeed, on
common occafions is it employed by the Chinefe at the prefent
day. When a perfon departs this life, the common expreflion
is, be has returned to his family. And although the body re-
folves
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 457
folves itfelf in the courfe of time into its primitive elements, and
becomes a part of the univerfe ; yet, he contended, the fpirits
of fuch as had performed their duty in Ufe were permitted to
vifit their ancient habitations, or fuch places as might he ap-
pointed for receiving the homage of their defcendants, on
whom they had the power of conferring benefadlions. On this
ground it became the indifpenfable duty of every good man to
obferve a ftri£t obedience of the performance of facred rites in
the temple confecrated to the memory of anceftors. He main-
tained that all fuch as negleded this great branch of moral duty
would be punifhed for their negleit, after death, by their fplrit-
ual part being deprived of the privilege of vlfitlug the hall of
anceftors; and, confequently, of the pleafure arifinr^ from the
homage beftowed by their defcendants. Such a fyftem could
not fail to eftablifh a belief in good and evil genii, and of tute-
lar fpirits prefiding over families, towns, cities, houfes, moun-
tains, and other particular places. It afterwards required no
great ftretch of the imagination to give to thefe " airy nolhino-s
" a local habitation and a name."
It does not appear, however, that either Confucius or any
of his difciples attached the leaft idea of a perfonal being to the
deity; nor does it feem ever to have entered into their minds
to reprefent \\\& great Jirjl caiife under any image or perfonifica-
tion. They confidered the fun, moon, ftars and the elements,
with the azure firmament, as the creative and produdive powers,
the immediate agents of the Deity and infeparably connedied
with him, and they ofrered adoration to thefe agents, united in
one word 'T'len (Heaven). It cannot be fuppofed, after what
,3 N ha.s
458 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
has already been obfervcd in the fixth chapter, that I fhould
lay any ftrefs on the fimilarity of words in different languages,
or on the analogy of their fignihcation, in order to prove a com-
mon origin ; but if the conjedure of the learned Bos be right,
that Qfo? may be derived from Q£tl^ to move forward, in allu-
fion to the motion of the heavenly bodies which the ancient
Greeks, as well as the Perfians, worfhipped, tien certainly comes
very near the Greek both in found and fignification ; nearer it
could not come in found, as the Chinefe by no effort could pro-
nounce the th. The word tien not only fignifies heaven^ but
a revolution of the heavenly bodies, and is in common ufe both
in writing and converfation for day, as jr, ///, fan tien, one, two,
three days.
The Confucionifts, like the Stoics, feem to have confidered
the whole univerfe as one animaied fyftem, made up of one
material fubftance and one fpirit, of which every living thing-
was an emanation, and to which, when feparated by death from
the material part it had animated, every living thing again re-
turned. In a word, their conceptions of the Deity might be fum-
med up in thofe two beautiful and exprefTive lines of Pope,
" All are but parts of one ftupendous whole,
" Whofe body nature is, and God the foul."
But that which is mofl furprizing is, that the enthufiaftlc fol-
lowers of Confucius have never ereded any ftatue to his me-
mory, nor paid him divine honours as erroneoufly has been
fuppofed. In every city is a public building, a kind of college,
wherein
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 459
wherein examinations are held for degrees of office, and this
building is called the houfe of Confucius. Here, on certain
appointed days, the men of letters aflemble to pay refped; to
the memory of their efteemed philofopher. In the great hall
appropriated for this ceremony a plain tablet is erected, on
which is painted an infcription, in gilt charaders, to this effect :
" O Co7!g-foo-tfc, our revered mafter, let thy fpiritual part
" defcend and be pleafed with this our refpeft which we now
" humbly offer to thee !" Fruit and wine, flowers, perfumes
and other articles are then placed before the tablet, during
which are alfo burningvavious kinds of fcented gums, frankin-
cenfe, tapers of fandal wood and gilt paper. This ceremony,
which in every refpedl is the fame to that which he taught as
an obfervance towards the manesof departed relations, they are
perfuaded is agreeable to the invifible fpirits of thofe to whom
it is offered, who delight in hovering over the grateful odour of
flowers, of fruit, and the fmoke of incenfe. Thus, in like man-
ner, did the Romans on their birth-days offer flowers and
fruit and wine, and burn incenfe to invifible fpirits, whom
they called the genii^
" Fundc- mcrum genio."
" I-""!!! a glafs to Genius."
But the priefls, who, in all ages and in moft nations, have
been crafty enough to turn to their own account the credulity
and fuperflitions of the people, having once eftablifhed as a
religious duty the offering of fweet-fmelling herbs and other
perfumes, found little difficulty in perfuading the multitude,
3 N 2 that
^6o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
that the tutelar fpirits could eat as well as fmell, and that facrifices
and raeat-ofFerings would be acceptable to the gods. The priefts
of China loft no time in introducing facrifices, even of living
creatures, and offerings of corn and rice and wine and pre-
cious metals upon their altars, not however to that extent
which was pradlifed in the temples of Greece and Rome, whofe
gods were the moft mercenary of all nations, being rarely in-
duced to grant a favour without a fee. Nor in modern days
have the monks and priefts of the Catholic faith been backward in
this refpedl particularly in fandioning the dodrine of compofttlon
for fins ^ for the abfolution of which the rate was not even fixed
in proportion to the magnitude ; and what is ftill more aftonlfh-
ing, this impious pradice of bargaining with the Almighty has
furvived the dark ages, and exifts to a certain degree at this
moment.
The moral and religious opinions of Confucius were, in fad,
too fublime and too metaphyfical to preferve their purity among
a people fo unprepared, as his countrymen were, to receive and
cherifh them. The attention of the multitude would feem, in-
deed, in all nations to require being fixed on fomething grofs
and material. How difficult was it for the prieft and the leader
of the Jews, to reftrain their people from pradices of idolatry.
In the (hort abfence even of Mofes on Mount Sinai, they made
for themfelves a molten calf of gold as an objed of divine w^or-
fliip, in imitation, probably, of what they had beheld in the
temples of Egypt. The invifible god made little impreffion
on their grofs and untutored underftandings. Nor was Numa
gaore fuccefsful than Mofes or Confucius, in his attempt to efta-
blifh
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 461
bllfh among the people the worfhlp of an ideal or mental ob-
jed of adoration. Thus alio it happened with the Chinefe.
The fublime conceptions of their great philofopher, too refined
indeed for untutored human nature, they could not compre-
hend. They required fome vifible objed on which they
might fix their attention. It was not enough merely to ima-
gine that the fpirits of men, who had done their duty in this
life, were permitted to haunt the places where their bodies were
interred, or where their furviving friends fhould aflemble to
do them honour: it was neceflary to give them a form and fub-
ftance. In the fame manner was the purity of the Chriftian re-
ligion contaminated by the multitude of images that were in-
vented in the monkiQi ages, when every city, town, and church,
and even individuals, provided they could pay for them, had
their particular patron, or tutelar faint.
Like the temples of Confucius, thofe of the ancient Egyp- '
tians are fuppofed to have been entirely free from ftatues ; and
Plerodotus feems to be of opinion, that Hefiod and Homer
were the firfl: who introduced the genealogy of the gods among
the Greeks ; impofed names upon each, affigned their func-
tions and their honours, and clothed them in their feveral
forms. And we learn from Silius Italicus, that the ancient
temple of Hercules at Gades had no vifible type of the Deity.
" Sed nulla effigieSj fimulacrave nota deorum,
•* Majeftate locum, et facro impievere timore."
" No ftatues of the gods appear within,
" Nor images ; but rev'rend horror round,
" And gloom majeftic guard the facred ground."
Tytleh's MS.
TKe
462 TRAVELS IN CHINA,
The miffionaries in their writings have endeavoured to imprefs
the world with an idea that the Chinefe, and particularly theCon-
fucionifts, are atheifts ; that they difbelieve in a fut\ue ftate of
exifiencc ; and that they are the vidims of a fenfelefs fuperfti-
tion. Nothing can be more unjuil than fuch an accufation.
Could Cautig-fcce\>& an atheift, when he iufcribed with his own
hands the Jefuit church in Pekin,
" To the only true principle of all things," &c.
And can a people be juftly accufed of a difbelief in a date of
future exiftence, when the whole nation, of what fed: foever,
prefents its offerings at ftated feafons to t\\t fpirits of its de-
parted anceftors ? Does the ejaculation, " Let thy fpiritual part
" defcend and be pleafed with this our [refped which we now
*' humbly offer to thee !" convey any fuch fuppofition ? And
of all others, the miffionaries ought to have been the laft to ac-
cufe the Chinefe of fenfelefs fuperftitions. Surely it is not
more repugnant to reafon, nor lefs confonant with human' feel-
ings, to offer grateful gifts to the manes of deceafed parents and
friends, than to fall down before the Virgin Mary and the
thoufand faints whom caprice or cabal have foifted into their
calendar, and of whofe hiftory and adions even their votaries are
totally ignorant? Chinefe fuperftition, in this refped is, to fay
the word of it, an amiable weaknefs. If the fuppofition be
allowed that beings who have departed this life may poffefs
an influence over remaining mortals, it is furely more natural
to addrefs thofe whofe care and kindnefs had already been felt,
than thofe of whom we have no further knowledge than the
name. There is perhaps no ftronger incentive to virtuous
adions.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 463
a^ftions, nor a more efFeilual check againft vicious purfuits,
than the idea that the departed fplrit of a beloved parent may-
continue to vvatcli over and dire£l our conduit. The Chinefe, at
all events, are not illiberal in their fuperftitions : they made not
the leaR difficulty in allowing the corpfe of one of our artifts,
who died at Tong-tchoo, though a Chriftian and confequently
in their opinion a heretic, to be depofited in the midft of their
public burying ground. "With as little reafon does on angry miC-
fionary complain of the drefles ana ceremonies of their priefts,
as they certainly borrowed nothing from the Catholics, who,
on their part, are much indebted to the heathen Greeks for a
great part of the paraphernalia of their own religion. " There
" is no country," lays he, " where the devil has fo fuccefs-
" fully counterfeited the true worfhip of the holy church.
" Thefe priefts of the infernal fpirit wear long loofe gowns,
*' exa£lly refembling thofe of fome of the fathers of the church ;
*' they live in temples like fo many monafteries, and they chaunt
" in the fame manner as with us."
Another religion, much better calculated to gain popularity,
fprung up about the time of, or very fhortly after, the death
of Confucius. A man of the name of Lao-Ktttig^ having tra-
velled into Thibet, became in part acquainted with the wor-
fhip of the priefts of Lama, which he thought would fuit his
countrymen, and might alfo be the means of raifmg his own re-
putation. He accordingly eftabliihed a fe£t, under the name of
Tao-tze, or " Sons of immortals." He maintained, like E[)i-
curus, that to live at his eafe and to make himfelf happy were
the chief concerns of man : that, to feize the prefent moment,
3 regard Icf's-
^64 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
re^ardlefs of the paft and of that to come, was the bufinefs
of life,
" Carpe diem, quam minimum credula poftero."
« Swift the fleeting pleafure feize.
" Nor trull to-morrow's doubtful light."
But as ills would come, and difeafe and death feemed to be the
common lot of man-kind, the beverage of immortal life was a
o-lorious idea to hold out to mortal man. In fad, Immortality-
was one of the attributes of the Delai Lama, who is fuppofed
never to die ; the foul of the reigning Lama pafling immediately
into the perfon of his fucceflbr. This dodrine, a branch of
the Metempfycofis, was converted by Lao- Kung into the art of
producing a renovation of the faculties in the fame body, by
the means of certain preparations taken from the three king-
doms of nature. The infatuated people flew with avidity to
the fountain of life. Princes even fought after the draughts
that fhould render them immortal, but which, in fa£t, brought
on premature death. Numerous inftances are faid to be on
record, wherein the eunuchs have prevailed on the fovereign
to fwallow the immortal liquor which feldom failed to difpatch
him. Father Trigauit, who was in Pekin when the Tartars
took pofleffion of it, fpeaking of the propenfity of the upper
clafles for the beverage of life, obferves, " Even in this city,
" there are few of the magiftrates or eunuchs or ochers in
" office free from this infanity ; and as there are plenty who
" wifh to learn the fecret, there is no want of profellors." This
feems to be the only fpecles of alchemy to which the Jefuits
have faid the Chinefe are addided. The preparation of the
liquor
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 465
liquor of life is their philofcphcr's (lone; and, in all proba-
bility, is compofcd of opium and other drugs which, by
encreafing the ftimulus, gives a momentary exhilaration to the
fpirits ; and the fucceeding languor requiring another and ano-
ther draught till at length, the excitability being entirely ex-
haufted, the patient " puts on immortality."
How much foever we may had ourlelves difpofcd to cenfure
the abfurdity of the Chinefe beverage of life, we are not a great
way behind them in this refped, or the Perkhifes, the Solomons^
the Veltios^ and the Brodums^ with an innumerable hoft of quacks,
whofe indecent advertifements difgrace our daily prints, would
not derive their fubfiftence, much lefs rife to affluence, by the
credulity of Englifhmen ; for many ofthefe pefts of fociety are
foreigners, too contemptible in their own country to meet with
encouragement. What conclufion would a Chinefe be apt to
draw of our national chara<fler, if he had only a fmattering of
our language, juft fufficient to enable him to read thefe daily
efFufions that are forced upon public notice * ? And what muft
he think of the reveries of Condorcet, and of his Englifh dif-
ciples, whofe monflrous dodlrines (under the abufed name of
philofophy) would perfuade him that fleep was a difeafe ! That
" Sleep, that knits up the ravell'd fleave of care,
'• The death of each day's life, fore hibour's batli,
" Balm ot hurt minds, great nature's fecond courfc,
" Chief nourifner in life's feaft"
• And which, together with their pernicious pradices and infamous pamphlets,
addrefled chiefly to youth of both fexes, it may be added, have done more mifchief
than " plague, pedilence, or famine." Among the numerous focieties that have
been formed for the amendment of public morals and the fupprefllon of vice, it is
furprizing that no plan ha<; been thought of for the fupprcffion of impudent quacks.
3 o was
4$6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
was a bodily iniirmity, which the perfe nihility of the hmnan
mind (fo happily commenced by the French fubverfion^ would
completely eradicate ! Let us not altogether condemn the igno-
rant, perhaps defigning, priefts of 'Tao-tfe, and the ftill more
ignorant multitude, when the ftrong and enlightened mind of a
De/cartes could amufe itfelf with the fanciful hope of being able
to difcover the fecret of prolonging the life of man far beyond
the ufual lim.its which feem to be afligned to the human fpecies.
Confiftent with the principle of " taking no thought for the
" morrow," the priefts of Lao-kung devoted themfelves to a
ftate of celibacy, as being more free from cares than the incum-
brances which neceffarily attend a family connexion ; and the
better to accomplifti this end, they afTociated in convents.
Here they deal out to their votaries the decrees of the oracle
agreeably to the rules prefcribed by Confucius ; and they prac-
tlfe alfo a number of incantations, magic, invocations of fpirits,
and other myftical rites that are probably as little underftood by
themfelves as by the gazing multitude. In performing thefe
magic tricks they march in proccffion round the altar, on which
the facred flame is fuppofed to be kept perpetually burn-
ing, being a compofition of wax and tallow mixed up
with fandal wood fhavings and other perfumes ; they chaunt
in unifon a kind of recitative, and they bow their heads obfe-
quioufly every time they pafs before the front of the altar.
The great Gong is ftruck at intervals, accompanied by tinkling
founds emitted by gently ftriking fmall metal plates fufpended in
a frame as in the plate of mufical inftruments. Their temples are
crowded with large and monftrous figures, fome made of
wood, fomc of ftone, and others of baked clay daubed over
I with
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 4S7
with paint and varnifh, and fometimes gilt. To fiich figures
howiver they do not feem to pay any kind of liomage. They
are intended merely to reprefent the good and evil genii under
the various paffions to which human nature is liable. The
good genii, or pleafing affections, are placed on one fide of the
temple, and their oppofitcs on the other. Thus the perfonifi-
cations of mirth and melancholy, love and hatred, pleafure
and pain, are contrafted together. The conditions of men are
alfo rcprefented, and their figures oppofed to one another. In
this light at leaft they appeared to us ; though the prieft at Toug-
tchoo informed us they were intended to pourtray the different
characters of the monks that had belonged to the monaftery. In
fome temples alfo ai-e met with the ftatues of fuch Emperors oi:
minifters of ftate as had fliewn themfelves favourable to any
particular convent. If, for inftance, a great man fhould occupy
the apartments of a temple and at his departure leave a co»fi-
derable fum of money, the priefts, out of gratitude, would
place his image in a niche of the temple. In looking into one
of thefe edifices a ftranger would be apt to conclude that they
were Polytheifts, which I do not underftand to be the cafe.
Like the faints of the Catholics the great jFo, of whom I Ihall
prefently fpeak, with Poo-fa^ Shing-moo, and many others, are
confidered only in the light of agents and interceffors, or as
emanations of one creating, deftroying, and renovating power,
whofe good providence has divided itfelf into a number of
attributes for the better government of the univerfe *.
Next
• Thus among the infcriptions written Over the doors of Temples, fome are dedi-
cated
To the Holy Mother, ^een of Heaven ; the Goddefs of peace and fonuer, dt/a«ded from
the tjland of Moui-tao, tmho fills the ivaves ofthefea, allays forms, proteiit the empire.
302 Another
468 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Next to this religion of the immortals, was introduced ano-
ther of nearly the fame growth which, from being patronized
by the court, foon became no lefs popular than the former.
The priefts of Fo, coming by invitation from India, imported
with them a great portion of the Hindu mythology, which
fome learned men have fuppofed to be the origin from whence
the Polytheifm of Egypt and Greece had its fource ; and others
the dired: contrary. Be that as it may, the affinity feems to
be too ftrong not to afcribe them to a common parent ; and
the reprefentations and the hiftories of many of the gods of
thefe nations were imported, in all probability, with the reli-
gion of jFo, from India into China. This will better appear by
comparing a few as they are obferved in the different nations.
The Btidha of the Hindus was the fon of Ma ya^ and one
of his epithets is Aniita : the Fo of China was the fon of Mo-ya^
and one of his epithets is Om-e-to ; and, in Japan, whofe natives
arc of Chinefe origin, the fame god Fo is worfliipped under the
name of Amida. I could neither colle(3: from any of the
Chinefe what the literal meaning was of Om-e-to^ nor could I
decypher the characters under which it is written, but it appeared
to be ufed as a common ejaculation on moft occafions, juft as
we Europeans are too apt to make a familiar and impious ufe of
the name of God. Perhaps it might not feem inconfiftent in
confidering it to be derived from the Hindu myftic word Om.
Another has
The OHcient temple of the goddejs (Kin-'wha) of the golJenfo'wer, through luho/e Infiuer.ce
ftlds are green and fertile like a grove of trees ; and benefits *re dijfu/ed as the frothy ixave
jtftbtfeat that JhtTus like fplendid pearls.
Since
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 469
Since the acceffion of the Tartar princes to the throne of China,
the court religion, or at leaft the Tartar part of the court, which
before adhered to the tenets of Confucius, has been that of
Fo or Budha. The priefts are numerous, moftly dreffed in
yellow gowns, live in a ftate of celibacy in large convents
or temples, which the Chinefe call Poo-ta-la, evidently de-
rived from Budha-laya^ or habitation of Budha, this name be-
ing adopted by the Tartars, which the Chinefe have been un-
der the neceffity of following as nearly as their organs of fpeech
v/ould admit. They wear a fort of chapelet round their necks,
confifting of a number of beads. In fome of their ceremonies
they march, like the Tao-tfes, in proceflion round the altar, count-
ing their beads, repeating at every bead Om-e-to-fo, and re-
fpedfully bowing the head. The whole firing being finifhed,
they chalk up a mark, regiftering in this manner the pumber of
their ejaculations to Fo. This counting of their beads was one
of the ceremonies that very much exafperated the miflionaries.
The Ganefa of the Hindus, the yafius of the Romans, and
the Men-Jhin, or guardian fpirit of the door of the Chinefe, are
obvioufly one and the fame deity. Sometimes he is painted
with a club in one hand, and a key in the other, reprefenting
the prote£tor of the houfe. On almoft every door in China,
where the inhabitants profefs the religion of Fo, is drawn the
figure of Men-Jhln, or otherwile the two characters of this
word, agreeing exactly with what Sir William Jones has ob-
ferved of the new town of Gaya in Hindoftan, " that every
" new built houfe, agreeably to an immemorial ufage of the
" .Hindus, has the name oi Ganefa fuperfcribed on its door : and
470 TRAVELS INCHINA.
" In the old town his image is placed over the gates of the
" temples."
The ViJhfiH of the Hhidus, riding on an eagle, and fome-
fometimes attended by an eagle, has been confidered as the yu-
piter oi xht Greeks; and the Ln'i-JJAn of the Chinefe, or fpirit
of thunder, is figured under a man with the beak and talons of
an eagle, fometimes furrounded with kettle drums, carrying in
one hand a batoon and in the other a flame of fire. The Ofwis
•of the Egyptians, from whence the Greeks had their yiipiter^
comes ftill nearer to the Lui-Jloin of the Chinefe. When repre-
fented as the emblem of the fun, he was drawn under the figure
of a man with an eagle's beak, carrying in his hand a batoon
on which was painted an eye. The ingenious and fertile ima-
gination of the Greeks feparated the emblem from the god, and
made the bird of prey the attendant of the divinity, which the
Egyptians and the Chinefe united under one fymbol. It is a
curious coincidence of opinion, if it be not founded on fa£t,
that the Chinefe fhould aflign the fame reafon for giving aa
eagle's face to their Lui-Jlj'tn^ that Pliny has for the confecra-
tion of that bird to yupiter, namely, that no inftance was ever
known of an eagle being deftroyed by lightning. The Chinefe
have alfo an obfervation with regard to this bird, which has
■been made by other nations, and which is, that the eagle, in a
thunder ftorm, always mounts above the clouds.
The Varuna of the Hindus, riding on a fifli, the Neptune
of the Greeks, and the Chinefe Hai-vang, or king of the fea,
repofing
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 474
repofing on the waves, with, a fi(h in his hand, are unqueftion-
ably one and the fame perfonage.
The giant Brlareus^ with his hundred hands, is truly in
China of a moft ftupendous and coloffal ftature, being com-
monly from fifty to fixty feet in height, and fometimes as tall
as eighty feet. But the largeft of all their deities is a woman
of the family of Poo-fa *, apparently a perfonification of nature.
This goddefs is modelled in a variety of ways ; fometimes fhe
is to be found with four heads, and forty or fifty arms, the
heads looking towards the four cardinal points of the compafs,
and each arm holding fome natural product of the earth fub-
fervient to the ufe of man. Sometimes each arm produces fe-
veral fmaller arms, and on the head {lands a pyramidal groupe
of fmaller heads. Van Braam mentions his having feen a
ftatue of this goddefs that was ninety feet high, having four
heads and forty-four arms. It is no uncommon thing to meet
with temples in ruins, in the midft of which thefe monftrous
gods and goddelTes are feen entire, expofed to the elements. It
feems the inferior temples are generally upheld by the volun-
tary gifts of the people; and that, whenever any unufual cala-
mity befals a town or village, fuch as fevere famine, epidemic
difeafe, inundations, or the like, whofe dire effedls ceafe not
* Poo /a comprehends a clafs of fuperhnending deities inferior to thofe of /o,
who are confulted on trivial occafions, and the ordinary affairs of life- Of courfe
the greater number of temples are called by the general name of Poo-fa mlau, temple
of Poo-fa. The name implies all-helping. The charafter poo fignifies fupport, andyi
has the charafler o{ plant for its root or key united to that of prefervalion ; the plant-
•'preferving, or plartt-fupporling deitj ; from, v/hince it may perhaps be concluded, that
poo-fa is theoffspring of the Holy Metier of whom I am about to fpeak.
on
47^ TRAVELS IN CHINA.
en repeated applications to the proteding faint, by way of
puniniiiig the gods, they literally pull down the temple over
tlieir heads, and leave them fitting in the open air. This grotefque
and barbarous manner of reprefenting the manifold powers of
nature, or the goddefs of nature, by a plurality of heads and
hands in one idol, is by no means favourable to the fuppofitioa
of a refined or fuperior underftanding in the people who adopt
them into their religious worfliip. It can be confidered only as
a very fhort ftep beyond the conceptions of favages, who have
no other idea than that of fupplying by number, or a repetition
of the fame thing, what may be wanting in povs'^er. The fame
figure, with numerous arms, appears in the Hindu temples
that are excavated out of folid granite mountains, the.moft an-
cient and among the mod wonderful monuments of art and
perfevering labour that have hitherto been difcovered on the
face of the globe, the fountain perhaps from whence the arts,
the fciences, and the religious myfteries of the Egyptians and
the Greeks derived their origin.
But the mod common of all the female deities in China
is the Shing-mooy or holy mother, or rather the mother of
ferfe6l intcll'igejice *. This lady is the exadl counterpart of the
Indian Ganga or goddefs of the river, the Ifis of the Egyptians,
and the Ca-es of the Greeks. Nothing (hocked the miflionaries fo
much on their firft arrival in China as the image of this lady,
in whom they difcovered, or thought they difcovered, the moft
ftriking refemblance to the Virgin Mary. They found her ge-
* The chara<fter_/6//jf Is compounded of ear, mouth, and ruler or king, intending per-
haps to eiprefs the faculty of knowing all that ear has heard and mouth uttered.
neraily
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 473
nerally fhut up with great care in a recefs at the back part of
the altar, and veiled with a filken fcreen to hide her from
common obfervation ; fometimes with a child in her hand, at
other times on her knee, and a glory round her head. On
hearing the ftory of the Sbiiig-rnoo they were confirmed in this
opinion. They were told that fhe conceived and bore a fon
while yet a virgin, by eating the flower of the Lien-wha (the
Nelumbiutn) which fhe found lying upon her clothes on the
bank of a river where Ihe was bathing : that, when the time
of her geftation was expired, ihe went to the place where (he
had picked up the flower and was there delivered of a boy ;
that the infant was found and educated by a poor fiflierman ; and,
in procefs of time, became a great man and performed mi-
racles. Such is her fl;ory, as told by the Chinefe priefls. When
the image of this goddefs is ftanding, fhe generally holds a
flower of the Nelumbium in her hand ; and when fitting, fhe is
ufually placed upon the large peltate leaf of the fame plant.
The Egyptian Lotos, not that efculent plant from the ufe
of which the Lotophagi had their name, but another of a very
different genus confecrated to religious purpofes, is faid* to
have been afcertained from a flatue of Ofirh^ preferved in the
Barberini palace at Rome, to be that fpecies of water lilly which
grows in abundance in mofl: parts of the eaftern world, and
which was known to botanifts under the name oi Nymph a a Nem
lu7nbo ; but I underfland it is now confidered as a new genus, diflin-
guifhed, under a modification of its former fpecific name, by that
* By Mr. Pamv.
3P of
474 ■ TRAVELS IN CHINA.
oi Nelmnb'iuin. This plant, however, is no longer to be found in
Egypt. The two fpecies that grow, at prefent, on the banks
and canals of the Nile are totally different, which furnifhes a
very ftrongprefumption that, although a facred plant and cul-
tivated in the country, it might neverthelefs be of foreign
growth. In China, few temples are without fome reprcfenta-
tion of the Nelumbium ; fometimes the Shbig-moo is painted as
{landing upon its leaves in the midft of a lake. In one temple
1 obferved the intelligent mother fitting upon the broad pel-
tate leaf of this plant, which had been hewn out of the living
rock. Sometimes flie holds in her hand a cornucopia filled with
the ears of rice, of millet, and of the capfule or feed-veffel of
the Nelumbium, thefe being articles of food which fall to the
{hare of the pooreft peafant. This very beautiful water lilly
grows fpontaneoufly in almoft every lake and morafs, from the
middle of Tartary to the province of Canton ; a curious circum-
ftance, when we confider the very great difficulty with which it
can be preferved, even by artificial means, in climates of Europe,
whofe temperature are lefs warm and lefs cold than many of
thofe where, in China, it grows in a {late of nature, and with
the greate{l degree of luxuriance. On the heights of Tartary
it is found in an uncultivated {late where, in winter, the ther-
mometer frequently ftands at, and generally far below, the freez-
ing point. But here the roots ftrike at the bottom of A'cry deep
waters only, a circumftance from which we may perhaps con-
clude, that the plant may rather require uniformity of tempera-
ture, than any extraordinary degree either one way or other.
Not only the feed of the Nelumbium, which is a kind of nut
nearly as large as an acorn, but the long roots, jointed like
I canes,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 4^5
canes, furnifli articles of food for the table. In the capital, dur-
ing the whole fummer feafon, the latter are fliced and laid on
ice, and in this ftate ferve as part of the defert ; the tafte differs
very little from that of a good juicy turnip, with a flight degree
of aflringency.
There is fomcthlng fo very ftriking and remarkable in this
plant, that it is not furprizing the Egyptians and the Indians,
fond of drawing allufions from natural objects, fliould have
confidered it as emblematic of creative power. The leaves of
the fucceeding plant are found involved in the middle of the
feed, perfe(3:, and of a beautiful green. When the fun goes
down, the large leaves that fpread themfelves over the furface
of the water clofe like an umbrella, and the returning fun gra-
dually unfolds them. Now, as thefe nations confidered water
to be the primary element, and the firft medium on which crea-
tive influence began to adt, a plant of fuch fingularity, luxuri-
ance, utility and beauty, could not fail to be regarded by them
as a proper fymbol for reprefenting that creative power, and
was accordingly confecrated by the former to Ofiris and to Ifn^
the emblems of the fun and moon, and by the latter to Ganga^
the river goddefs, and to the fun. The coincidence of ideas be-
tween thofe two nations, in this refpedt, may be drawn from
that beautiful HindCi hymn, addrefl'ed to Surya or the fun, and
tranflated by Sir William Jones —
" Lord of die Lotos, father, friend and king,
" O Sun ! thy powers I fing." — &c,*
Whether
* Captain Turner found the name of the Lotos infcribed over moft of the temples
in Bootan and Thibet ; and Colonel Symcs, in the account of his embafly- to the
3 p i kingdom
476 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Whether the Chinefe, like the Hindus, entertained the fame
notions of creative power, or its influence upon water as the
primary element, I could not learn. No information as to the
ground-work of their religion is to be looked for from the
priefts of the prefent day, who are generally very ignorant ; but
I fufped the dedication of the Lotos to facrcd ufes to be much
older than the introdudlon of Hindu mythology by the priefts
of Budha. They even afcribe the fable of eating the flower to
the mother of their firft Emperor Foo-Jloee ; and the Lotos and
the lady are equally refpeded by all the feds in China ; and
even by the Mantchoo Tartars, whole hiftory commences with
the identical ftory of a young virgin conceiving and bearing a
fon, who was to be the progenitor of a race of conquerors, by
eating the flower of a water lilly. If, indeed, any dependence
is to be placed on the following well known infcription found
on an ancient monument of Ofiris, Egyptian rites may be fup-
pofed to have made their way into the eaft and probably into
China, or, on the other hand, thofe of the eaft adopted by the
Egyptians, at a period of very remote antiquity. " Saturn, the
*' youngeft of all the gods, was my father. I am Ofiris, who
*' conduded a large and numerous army as far as the deferts of
" India, and travelled over the greateft part of the world,
*• &c. &c."
It may not, perhaps, be thought improbable (I offer it, how-
ever, merely as conjedure) that the ftory of Ofiris and Ifis
kingdom of Ava, which with Pegu, Aracan, and Laos, now conftitute the Birman
empire, defcribes the people as BudhiRs or of the feifl of Fo ; indeed their cuftoms
and appearance, as well as their religion, feem to indicate a Chinefe or Tartar
origin.
was
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 477
was known in China at a very early period of the hiftory of
this country. Ofirh^ king of Egypt, and hufband of IJts^ waS
worfhipped under the form of an ox, from his having paid par-
ticular attention to the purfuits of agriculture, and from em^-
ploying this animal in the tillage of the ground.
" Primus aratra manu folerti fecit Ofiris-"
Ofiris firft con[lru(5led ploughs with dext'rous fl.ili.
Hiftorians fay, that Ifis^ on the murder of her hufband, en-
joined the priefts of Egypt, by a folemn oath, to eftablifh a-
form of worfhip in which divine honours fhould be paid to
their deceafed prince ; that they fhould fele£l: what kind of ani-
mal they pleafed to reprefent the perfon and the divinity of
Ofiris, and that they fhould inter it with folemn funeral honours
when dead. In confideration of this apotheofis, fhe allotted a
portion of land to each facerdotal body. The priefts were
obliged to make a vow of chaftity ; their heads were fhaven
and they went barefooted. Divine honours were llkewife con-
ferred on Ifis after her death, and fhe was worfhipped under
the form of a cow.
Now, although the feflival In China, at which the Emperor
holds the plough in the commencement of the fpring, be c vu-
fidered at this day as nothing more than a political inilitution,
and continued as an example to the lower orders of people, an
incitement for them to purfue the labours of agriculture as the
moft important employment in the ftate ; — yet, as this conde- '
fcenfion of the fovereign militates fo ftrongly againft all their
maxims of government, which place an immenfe diftance be-
tween
487 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
tween him and the firfl: of his people, it may not, perhaps, be
much amifs in fuppofing it to have originated in fome religious
opinion. Indeed he ftill continues to prepare himfelf for the
folemn occafion, by devoting three days entirely to pious cere-
monies and rigid devotion. On the day appointed by the tri-
bunal of mathematics, a cow is facrificed in the T'ee-tauy or
or temple dedicated to the earth ; and on the fame day, in fome
of the provinces, the figure of a cow of baked clay, of an im-
menfe fize, is carried in proceflion by a number of the peafan-
try, followed by the principal officers of government and the
other inhabitants. The horns and the hoofs are gilded and or-
namented with filken ribbons. The proftrations being made
and the offerings placed on the altar, the earthen cow is broken
in pieces and diftributed among the people. In like manner
the body of Oftris, worfhipped afterwards under the form of
an ox, was diftributed by Ifis among the priefts ; and the Ifta *
were long celebi-ated in Egypt in the fame manner as the fefti-
val of holding the plough is at this day obferved in China,
both being intended, no doubt, to commemorate the perfons
* No feRivals, pevhnps, were fo univcrlully adopted and fo far extended, as tliofc
in honour of IJis- They not only found their way into every part of the Eaft, but
from Greece they were alfo received by the Romans, and from thefe they paffed iii-
to Gaul. It has even been conjectured, that the m.odern name of Paris has its deri-
vation from a temple that was dedicated to this goddefs, wapa i^-w, not very diftant
from this ancient capital of Gaul. The city arms are a (hip, which Ifu was depifted
to hold in her hand, as the patronefs of navigation. In faft, a ftatue of Ifis f is faid
:o have been preferved with great care in the church of Saint Germain until the be-
ginning of the fiiteenth century, when the zeal of a bigotted cardinal caufed it to
be demolifiied as an unfanftified relick of pagan fupcrftition.
f Encyclopedic des ConnoiiTances Humaine*.
who
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 479
■who had rendered the moft folid advantages to the (late, by the
encouragement they had held out for the cultivation of the
ground.
The difputes, quarrels, perfecutions and maflacres, that have
happened at various times among the different feds of Chrifti-
anity in Europe, have not been much lefs violent, nor produc-
tive of lefs dreadful confequences, between the fe£t of immor-
tals and that of Fo, in China, whenever the court, or rather the
intriguing eunuchs, feemed to favour the opinions of one fe£l in
preference to thofe of the other. Perfecutions never failed to
begin whenever either party was fortunate enough to gain over
to its fide the chief of the eunuchs, who had always fufficient
influence with the reigning monarch to prevail upon him to
efpoufe the fame caufe. They were, however, wars of priefts
alone in which the people remained neutral, or took no active
part. Whole monafteries have been levelled with the ground,
and thoufands of priefts put to death on both fides. Since,
however, the acceflion of the prefent Tartar dynafty, they have
met with no particular marks of favour or diftindion ; and, on
that account, are apparently reconciled to each other ; indeed,
they are fcarcely diftinguifhable either by their temples or by
their drefs. The predidlion of future events being beft fuited
to the minds of the multitude, and moft fought after, the oracle
of fate may be confulted in any temple, whether of Fo or of
Tao-tze. The government interferes not in religious opinions,
and it gives no fupport to any particular fed, except that of the
Lama, whofe priefts are paid and maintained as a part of the
Imperial
48o TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Imperial eilablifhment. The Tartar officers of ftate are likewife
attached to the faith of the Lama, without the abfurdities that
liave been mixed with it by the immortals.
However ftrlftly the women may be kept at home by the
cuftortis of the country, they are neverthelefs permitted, on
certain occafions, to confult their deftiny at the altar, without
being expofed to the cenfure of vulgarity or impropriety. Bar-
ren wives are even encouraged to vifit the temples, not fo
much for the purpofe of knowing their deftiny, as under a
tirni belief that, by rubbing the bellies of certain little copper
rods, they fhall conceive and bear children. But, the women
in general who, from habit, feel little inclination to ftir
abroad, except on very preffing occafions, encourage a fet of
fortune-tellers, mountebanks and jugglers, who thus pick up a
livelihood by travelling the country and telling fortunes from
houfe to houfe. They are known by a wretched fqualling
flute on which they play, and are beckoned to call where their
art is required. By being made acquainted with the day and
hour of a perfon's birth, they pretend to cajl his nativity, which
is called Swafi-ming, or the art of difcovering events by means
of numbers. A Chinefe, even in the higher ranks, has no great
idea of a man's learning, if he be ignorant of the S'wa7i-ming. I
was very frequently applied to at Vuen-min-yiien, by perfons in
office, to know if I could tell them their fortune ; and it was
difficult to perfuade them I had any knowledge of the aftrono-
mical inftruments intended for the Emperor, after profeffing
my ignorance in cajiing a nativity.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA, 481
The prlefts of both feds are fuppofed to be no lefs attentive
in keeping up a perpetual fire burning upon the altars than the
Roman Veftals were in this refpeit ; but no expiation nor pu-
nilhment being confidered neceflary, as in the latter cafe, they
cannot boaft that " flames unextlnguifli'd on the!.- altars
" fhine." They are, in fa£l, frequently extinguifhed by care-
lelTnefs or accident. No virgins attend this holy flame, but the
charge of it is committed generally to young boys under train-
ing for the priefthood. Like the Greeks and the Romans, the
Chinefe have alfo their penates or houfehold gods, which are
not reprefented under any particular perfonification, but gene-
rally by a tablet bearing a fhort infcription and a taper burn-
ing before it. Every fhip, however fmall, has its tablet and
its taper ; and within the compafs-box or binnacle a taper is
continually kept burning.
In every city, town and village, fometimes in the midft of
woods, in the mountains and moft lonely places, are fmall
temples, the doors of which are continually left open for the'
admittance of fuch as may be defirous of confulting their de-
ftiny. The pradical part of Chinefe religion may, in fadt, be
faid to confift in predeftinatiori. A priefl: is not at all neceflary
for unravelling the book of fate. If any one be about to un-
dertake a journey, or to purchafe a wife, or to build a houfe,
or, above all, to bury a deceafed relation, and any doubt fhould
arife in his mind as to the fortunate refult of fuch undertaking,
he repairs to the neareft temple ; and, if he fhould not be able to
read himlcif, he takes a friend by the hand who can. On the
altar of every temple is placed a wooden cup, filled with a
3 Q_ number
4ba TRAVELS IN CHINA.
number of fniall flicks, marked at the extremities with certain
charaders. Taking the cup in his hands he fhakes it till one
of the fticks falls upon the ground and, having examined the cha-
ra£ler upon it, he looks for the correfponding mark in a book
which is generally appended to the wall of the temple. The
lot, in this manner, is call feveral times, and if one lucky ftick
in three fhould happen to turn up, he is willing to confider
the omen as favourable ; and, if the event fhould anfwer the ex-
pedation he has been led to form from the book of fate, he
confiders it as a duty to return to the temple and to hurn »■
fheet or two of painted paper, or of paper covered with tin foil,
and to depofit a few pieces of copper money on the altar, in-
token of gratitude for the favour he has received *. In this
• The prefent Emperor fhewed his gratitude for his prayers having been heard,-
by granting in a public cdifl an additional title to the temple in which they were
offered.
Imperial Edict.
" The gracious pratelltng temple of the ling of the dragons, on the mountain of Yu-chun,
" has on every occafion of drought proved favourable to our prayers offered up there
" for rain, as duly obferved on our facred regiflers. From the fummer folftice of
" the prefent year, a great want of rain has been experienced, on which account we
" were induced, on the 17th of this moon, to offer up our prayers and facrifices in
" perfon at the faid temple. During the very fame day, a fall of fmall rain or dew
" was obferved, and, on the day following, the country was relieved by frequent
" and copious fhowers. This further proof of efficacy in granting our reqiiefts, aug-
*' ments our veneration and, in teftimony whereof, we dired that the temple of the
" propitious divinity fhall receive an additional title, and be ftyled on all future oc-
•• cafions,
♦' The gracious in prote&ing, and efficacious in prefervingf the temple of the iing of the
" dragons.
" Be our •will obeyed"
Pekin Ga%elte, Z^d day of ^th Moon, of ()th year of Kia-K'mg,
manner
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 483
manner is confumed the greateft part of the tin that is carried
to China by the trading companies of Europe. I have already
obferved that they have no communion of worfhip to offer
up, in a public manner, their prayers or thankfgivings.
Formerly it was the cuftom to bury flaves with emperors and
princes and fometimcs alfo their concubines alive ; but this cruel
pradllce has given way, in modern times, to the more harmlefs
one of burning reprefentations of their domeftics in tin foil,
cut into the (hape of human beings, and of placing their ftatues
in wood or ftone upon their graves ; this feems to be the
remains of a Scythian or Tartar cuftom, which, according to
Herodotus, was commonly obferved at the funerals of their
fovereigns, when their horfes, their flaves, and their concu-
bines were impaled alive and placed in order round the tyrant's
tomb. The laft remains of a relation are interred with all the
honours that the family can afford. I never pafled between
the capital and Yuen-min-yucn without obferving numbers of
funeral proceffions. Thofe of great officers of flate would
fometimes extend for nearly half a mile. The train was ufually
arranged in the following order. In front marched a prieft un-
covered, next a group of muficians with flutes, trumpets, and
cymbals ; after thefe the male relations of the deceafed in long
white frocks and behind them the chief mourner, fupported by
two friends, whofe exertions to prevent him from tearing his
cheeks and hair appeared to be truly ridiculous. Then fol-
lowed the coffin, covered by a magnificent canopy and borne
generally by four men, fometimes by eight. After the canopy
the female relations proceeded in chairs, or more generally in the
3 CL 2 little
4H TRAVELS IN CHINA.
little covered carts, wearing white frocks like the men, their
hair dilhevelled, and broad white fillets hound acrofs their fore-
heads. On approaching a bridge or a temple the proceffion
always halted while the prieft burned little images of tin foil,
or let off a few crackers, upon which the noily gong and the
reft of the band made a flourifh.
The famous feaft of lanterns, when the whole empire is
lighted up from one extremity to the other, in every poffible
way that fancy can fuggeft, is an ancient religious ufage of
which, at the prefent day, they can give no plaufible account.
It is juft pofhble that, among other Egyptian ceremonies, this
may be one derived from a common origin with an annual
illumination of the fame kind mentioned by Herodotus ; which
was generally obferved, from the catarafts of the Nile to the
borders of the Mediterranean, by hanging lamps of different
kinds to the fides of the houfes. On this day the Chinefe not
only illuminate their houfes, but they alio exercife their inge-
nuity in making tranfparencics in the fliape of different animals,
with which they run through the ftreets by night. The effect
when perfectly dark is whimfical enough. Birds, beafts, fillies,
and other animals are feen darting through the air, and con-
tending with each other ; fome with fquibs in their mouths,
breathing fire, and others with crackers in their tails : fome
fending out fky rockets, others rifing into pyramids of party-
coloured fire, and others burfting like a mine with violent ex-
plofions. But the moft ingenious are thole that, Proteus-like,,
change their fhape from time to time, and under every form
exhibit a different difplay of fire-works.
I have
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 485
I have obferved, at the beginnuig of this chapter, that the
temples are occafionally appropriated to the ufe of ftate-officers,
embaiTadors and other public charaders, when travelling
through the country, there being no other houfes affording
accomodations equally fuitable. On quitting the temple it is
generally thought neceffary to perform an ad of reverence bor-
dering on devotion, not however to the Deity, but to the name
of the Emperor infcribed on the altar. This cuftom, together
with that of depofiting rice and other grain, tea and oil at
certain feafons, efpecially on the day of his nativity, although
perhaps, in the firft inftance, a token only of refped and gra-
titude, and in the other an acknowledgment of his being the
fole proprietary of the foil, are neverthelefs ads that tend, from
the fandity of the place v.'here they are performed, to the en-
couragement of idolatry. By thus affociating the offerings
made to the Deity and to the Monarch, the vulgar become apt
to magnify the power of the latter and to raife it on a level
with that of the former, A Chinefe in fpeaking of a propitious
event occurring, either in his own or any other country, gene-
rally attributes it to the joint Will of Heaven and the Emperor
of China.
The converfion of the temples into lodglng-houfes is attended
with fome temporal advantages to the priefts, by the donations
that are generally made on fuch occafions. Moft of them
being fupported entirely by voluntary contributions and trifling
legacies that may be left by pious perfons, they are thankful
for the fmalleft gifts : for as there is little or no connediou
between the church and the ftate, they derive no pay, nor
3 emolument.
486 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
emolument, nor preferment from the latter. The Emperor
pays his own priefts, which are thofe of all his Tartar fub-
je<n:s ; the Chinefe Confucionifts, or men of learning, and the
ftate officers contribute to the maintenance of theirs, whether
ofi^o or Tao-tze^ and the mafs of the people, from the prevailing
propenfity of enquiring into futurity, afford the means of fup-
port to many thoufands, I might perhaps fay millions of
priefls, by the offerings carried to the altars whenever they find
it neceffary to confult the book of fate, which is done on mofl of
the common occurrences in life.
From the fhort view I have here taken of the different feds,
I think it may juftly be concluded that the primitive religion
of China no longer exifts, or exifts only in a corrupted ftate ;
that there is at prefent no national nor fcarcely a ftate reli-.
gion : and that the articles of faith are as various- as the modes of
worfhip ; in all of which the people appear to be rather aduated
by the dread of evil in this life, than by the fear of punifh-
ment in another : that the duties they perform are more with
a view to appeafe an angry deity and to avert impending ca-
lamities, than from any hope of obtaining a pofitive good : that
they rather confult or enquire of their gods what may happen,
than petition them to accompliih or avert it ; for a Chinefe
can fcarcely be faid to pray ; he is grateful when the event
proves favourable to his wiflies ; petulant and peevifh with his
gods when adverfe.
Little as the priefts, or the numerous noviciates that are
found in all the principal temples, are employed in the duties
of
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 487
of their ofEce, or In worldly concerns, they are not lefs unclean-
ly in their perfons and their apartments than thofe are whofe
time is taken up in providing for the necefllties of life. The
room, in which fome of us Jbou/d have flept, was fo full of fcor-
pions and fcolopendras, and they crept in fuch numbers into
our beds, that we were fairly driven out and obliged to fwing
our cots in the open air between two trees. Here we were not
much lefs annoyed by myriads of mufquitoes and the unceaf-
ing noife of the chirping cicadas, which continued without in-
termiflion until the ftill more noiCy gong announced the break
of day, and fummoned the holy men to their morning de-
votions^
488 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
C H A P. IX.
Journey from Tong-choo-foo to the Province of Canton. —
Face of the Country, and its Produdions. — Buildings and
other Public Works. — Condition of the People. — State of
Agriculture. — Population.
Attentions paid to the EmbaJJy. — Obfervatiom on the Climate and Plains o/"Pe-tche-
lee. Plants of. — Diet and Condition of the People. — Buryng-place. — Ohferva-
tion on Chinefe Cities- — Trackers of the Tachts. — Entrance of the Grand Canal.—
The FifhingCorvorant . — Approach to the Yellow-River. — Ceremony of crojfng this
^iwr. — Obfervations on Canals and Roads. — Improvement of the Country in ad-
vancing to the Southward. — Beauty of, near Sau-choo-foo — Bridge of ninety-one
Arches. — Country near Hang-choo-foo. — City of. — Appearance of the Country near
iheVo-ynngLale. — Obfervations in Proceeding throughKX-ing-ke. — The CumtWii
Sefanqua. — RetrofpeElive View of the Climate and Produce, Diet and Condition of
the People, si/Pe-tche-lee. — Sew^ Obfervations on the Capital of China. — Province
of Shan-tung.— 0/" Kiang-nan.— Obfervations on the State of Agriculture in
China. — Rice Mills. — Proinnce (5/"Tche kiang. — 0/"Kiang-fee. — Population of
Chnna compared with that of England.— Erroneous Opinions entertained on this Sub-
ject. — Comparative Population of a City in China and in England. — Famines ac-
counted for. — Means of Prevention.— Caufes of the Populoufnefs of China.
V/N the 8th of 0£lober we embarked, for the fecond time, on
the Pei-ho in yachts, however, that were very different from
thofe on which we had afcended the river, being much fmaller
but broader in proportion to their length, and fo fhallow and
flat-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 489
flat-bottomed, that they required little depth of water ; yet we
found them fufficiently commodious. Of the neceflity of fuch
a change in the accommodation yachts, on account of the low
ftate of the river, we were fpeedily convinced, which, previous
to our embarkation, had been by fome attributed to a difterent
caufe. It was fuppofed that the men in office throughout the
country, piqued at the refufal of the Embaflador to fubmit to
their degrading ceremony, would not fail to retaliate the affront
by depriving us of every little comfort and convenience, and
by otherwife rendering the long journey before us extremely
unpleafant. The charader of the people at large juftified fuch
a conclufion ; and, I believe, every individual had laid his ac-
count of meeting with difficulties and difagreeable occurrences
on the journey to Canton. In jufticc, however, to thofe who
had the fuperintendence of the embafly, and particularly to the
two moft worthy characters Vciu and C/jo//, who were more im-
mediately connedled with its concerns, it is but fair to obferve
that no attention was wanting, nor expence fpared, to render
our fituation as eafy and comfortable as poffible. Supplies of
every kind were fent on board in the greateft profufion and
with the moft fcrupulous pundtuality. And as a fmgular proof
of attention fhewn to us in the commencement of this journey,
our conductors, having obferved that we ufed milk with our
tea, had purchafed two fine cows in full milk, which were put
on board a yacht prepared for their reception, for a fupply of
that article. And, it was obferved, that whenever the chief of-
ficers of the provinces, through which the embafly was to pafs,
prepared an entertainment in honour of the occafion, they had
3 R given
490 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
given themfclves all pofllble trouble to rentier it more accept-
able, by endeavouring to ferve it up, as they thought, in the
Englifli ftyle. Tn fome of thofe fcafts we had hogs roafted
whole, that could not have weighed lefs than fifty pounds ;
quarters of mutton, geefe, ducks, and fowls roafted or boiled
whole, a mode of cookery altogether different to the pracflice
of the country, which is chiefly confined to that of ftewing
fmall liiorfcls of meat with greens or rice. The awkward
manner in which they were prepared, being generally burnt
and glazed over with oil, was entitled to and found an ample
excufe in the defire thus teftified of pleafing.
From the time that we firft embarked in Auguft at the mouth
of the Pey-ho, or White River, until our return, we experi-
enced only a fingle Ihower of rain. It is obferved, indeed,
that during the autumnal months the northern provinces en-
joy a cloudlefs fky ; an advantage of which they avail themfelves
in thrafhing out thedlfferent kinds of grain in the field, thus faving
the labour of bearing it into barns or piling it Into ftacks. It is
either thralhed out on clay floors with flails, funilar to our own,
beat out of the ear againfl: the edge of a plank, or trodden by
oxen or buffalos. The grain that we had noticed juft ftrlking
into the ear, on afcending the river, was now generally reaped.
It confifled principally of the different fpecies of millet, as be-
fore obferved, and a fmall proportion of the polygonum fogopy rum
or buck-wheat. A fpecies of dolichos or bean, that had been
fown between the drills of the TIolcu?, or tall millet, was now
in flower.
The
I
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 491
The range of Fahrenheit's thermometer In the province
of Pc-tcbelce, during the month of Auguil, was from 80° to
88" in the middle of the day, and during the niglit it remained
generally about 60° to 64Q. In September, the medium tem-
perat\ire at two o'clock was about 76° ; and in October about
63 "; but in the latter month, it decreafed in the night fome-
times to 44°.
In the neighbourhood of the Pei-ho a light fandy foil chiefly
prevails, with a mixture of argillaceous earth and flimy matter,
interfperfed with fliining particles of mica ; but not a ilone of
any magnitude, nor pebbles, nor even gravel occur in the
whole extent of country through which this river is navigable.
The furface, indeed, is fb Hat and uniform, that the tide,
which rifes only nine or ten feet in the gulph 0I Pe-tcheleCy
flov/s to the diftance of thirty miles beyond Tien-faig, or one
hundred and ten miles from the mouth of the river ; and it fre-
quently fubmerges the whole country, notwithftanding the
great pains beftowed by the inhabitants in raifmg and keeping
in order artificial bank?. Such inundations, although fre-
quently the caufes of great fertility, are fometimes produdlive
of general calamity, cfpecially if they happen at a feafon when
the crop Is too far advanced. Thefe plains exhibit the appear-
ance of a more than ordinary incroachment of the land upon
the fea. The general level of the face of the country, at high
water, is not more elevated than two feet above the furface of
the river, of which not only the bed, but alfo the fubftratum
of the enclofmg banks, are compofed entirely of fine find fimi-
■lar to that on the fhore of the fea. The deeped part of the
3 R 2 wide
493 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
wide gulph oi Pe-tche-lee exceeds not twelve fathoms, and the
prodigious number of fmall fandy illands, jufi: appearing above
the furface, are faid to have been created within the records of
hiftory. A great portion of the enormous mafs of mud that is
perpetually wafted down the Yellow River, and which was
found by experiment to exceed two million folid feet in an
hour, is borne by a ftrong current from the Yellow Sea into
the gulph of Pe-tche-lec, where the ftillnefs of the water allows
it to fubfide. In the map of Marco Polo, which was moft
probably copied by him from one in the pofleffion of Gengis-
khan, or fome of the learned men about his court, Tiett-fwg is
placed upon the fea coaft ; and a branch of the Yellow River,
after traverfing the provinces Klang-nan^ Sbang-tung^ and part
of Pe-tche-lce, in the dire(Slion nearly of the prefent canal, dif-
charges itfelf into the gulph near the Pei-ho. Were this branch
of the river actually turned, the rapidity with which the gulph
oi Pe-tche-lee is filling up is the lefs furprifing, as the only
ftream to keep its waters in motion at prefent is the Pei-ho. It has
been calculated that, by the fimple turning of the great river that
falls from Winandermere-lake, the eftuary of Morecombe Bay,
which it now crofTes, would, in the natural courfe of events, be
converted in a few years into a green meadow. If the above-
mentioned chart be corred, it would prove alfo that the Mon-
gul Tartars did adually firft bring the grand navigation of China
to the ftate in which it now appears.
This uniform plain of China afforded little intereft to the
traveller. Few trees appeared, except now and then a clump
of firs furrounding a temple, or the plantations contiguous to
3 the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 493
the dwelling of fome officer of government. In fuch fituations
were alfo large elms, willows, and a fpecles of afh unknown in
Europe. There were no hedge-rows. Property here is divided
only by narrow ditches, lerving at the fame time for drains, or
by ridges of unploughed ground, as in the common fields of Eng-
land, which anfwer the purpofe of foot-paths. Thcfe ridges
were generally well covered with that family of running trefoil,
known by the name of Melilotos, intermixed with a fpecies of
Poa or meadow grafs, Avena or wild oats, and Briza or quaking
grafs. In the ditches, befide the common reed the Arundo phrag-
7m(cs^ were growing two fpecies of Cjperus, and a Scirpus or
club-rufh. None of the artificial grafles, ufually fo called, are
cultivated by the Chinefe. It is not an objedt with them to
fodder their cows for the fake of obtaining a greater quantity
of milk, this nutritive article of food being very fparingly ufed
either in its raw ftate or in any preparation ; and they are
either ignorant of the procefles of converting it into butter and
cheefe, or, for certain reafons, prefer to employ the little they
make ufe of in its original ftate. Horfes are rarely kept for lux-
ury or for labour ; and the few animals employed in agriculture^
which are moftly afies, mules, or buffalos, fubfill in the winter
feafon on chaff and flraw ; and their chief fupport in the fum-
mer is derived from the ftrong graffes that grow in the ditches
and the common reed, with which, in this part of the country,
large trads of fwampy ground are covered.
On approaching Tien-fing^ we obferved feveral large fields
cultivated with a vegetable called by the Chinefe the Pe-ffui, or
white herb, apparently a fpecies of Brajica or cole ; though
infipid
4S4 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
infipid in its tafte, being not unlike that of the cos-lettuce, it is
held in preference to all other vegetables ; and the capital is moft
abundantly fupplied with it in the fummer feafon frelh from the
gardens in its vicinity and, in the winter, falted and prepared
lomewhat in the fame manner as the Sotir-Krottt of the Ger-
mans. We obferved alfo in the gardens, carrots, turnips, black
radifhes, a fpecles of afparagus, the Solamim Mclotigena, a
fpccies of pbyfalh or winter-cherry, water-melons and mufk-
melons, pumpkins and cucumbers. Onions and garlic were
common vegetables planted near every peafant's houfe. The
'Trapa or water-caltrops grew in the ditches, the nuts of
which, with the feeds and the roots of the nelumbium, gene-
rally furnifhed out our defert ; to which, indeed, fometimes
were added tolerably good peaches, dry fpongy apples not
unlike quinces in appearance, and pears of an immenfe fizc but
of a harfh and auftere tafte.
However unfavorable the country might be for an extended
cultivation, which did not appear to be the cafe, the proximity
to the capital would have led one to expedt a correfponding
population. Nothing of the kind appeared ; the vaft numbers
we had obferved in alccndhig the river were drawn from the
diftance of many miles cut of mere curiofity; the inhabitants
only of the vicinity now (hewed themfelves ; and we were rather
furprized at the fewnefs o. thefe, as well as at the very ruinous
and m'ferable condition of almoft all the cottages. Thefe mean
huts were built, iome of half burnt bricks and others of clay,
and they were thatched with the ftraw of grain cr with reeds.
Some were' enclofed within walls of mud, or with a kind of
courfe
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 495
courfe matting made of reeds, or the ftalks of the holciis forghum^
which enclofure generally contained the families of two or
three generations, the cattle, pigs, poultry, and all the living
creatures belonging to the eftablifhment. The Chinefe have a
common faying, that " although there be poverty without
" Pekin, there is plenty within its walls." The appearance,
indeed, of all the peafantry in this province was marked with
every indication of poverty ; nor was the condition much better
of thofe who were employed about the veffels which carried
the Embaflador and his train. With the greateft thankfulnefs
they received the offals of our allowance ; and the tea-leaves,
which we had ufed, were fought after by them with avidity
and boiled up for their beverage. A little boiled rice, or millet,
with a few vegetables, commonly the Pe-tfai^ and onions fried
in oil, conftituted their principal meals, of which they made
only two regular ones in the day, one about ten o'clock
in the morning, and the other at four or five in the afternoon.
They generally however had the frying-pan on the fire at three
or four o'clock in the morning. The wine or liquor, which
we received in large jars, and which was fo miferably bad
as not to be ufed, afforded a great treat to the poor people,
whofe circumftances feldom allowed them to tafte it. This
liquor is brewed from a mixture of rice and millet, and from
its quickly turning four leems to have little ftrength, and to
have undergone a very imperfe£t degree of fermentation. Their
hot wine is feldom ufed except by the upper clafs of people
who, not fatisfied with the ftrong empyreumatic flavour com-
municated in the diftillation, drink it boiling hot in the midft
of fummer.
At
496 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
At Tieti-Shig our principal condudor Siin-ta-gin had pre-
pared for us a fumptuous entertainment, confifting of excellent
mutton, pork, venifon, and poultry of all kinds, a great variety
of confedionary, of fruits then in feafon, peaches, plumbs,
grapes, chefnuts, walnuts, and water-caltrops. We very foon
found indeed that we were treated with more ftudied attention,
with a more marked diftindion, and with lefs conftraint, than
when we afcended the river. Our dignified condudlor made no
difficulty in allowing us to walk on fliore as much as we pleafed ;
but recommended us not to quit the banks of the river for fear
of retarding the yachts or of being left behind. He hinted to
us, at the fame time, that the officers Va7i and Chou would be
refponfible at court for any accident that might happen to us,
fo long as we were under the protedion of the Emperor.
In paffing "Tien-Sing we found confiderable difficulty in
getting our fleet through the immenfe crowds of fliipping of
every defcription that were colleded there to remain for the
winter; among which were about five hundred of the Em-
peror's revenue veflels with grain for the capital. The Eu-ho^
or precious river, called alfo the Yun-leang-ho^ or river upon
which grain is tranfported, falling from the weftward, forms,
at the head of this city, a confluence with the Pei-ho, Our
barges were at leaft four hours in getting through the multitude
of veflels that were moored, for their winter- quarters, in this
fmall river; which, however, is rendered important by its com-
municationL with the grand artificial canal.
Having
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 497
Having pafled the fleet of (hipping and the fuburbs, a plain
extending beyond the reach of fight opened out on the left of
the river, upon which v\'ere obferved many thoufands of fmall
fandy tumuli, of a conical form, refcmbling thofe hillocks which
in myriads are thrown up on the continent of Africa by the
Termites^ or white ants. In feveral parts of this plain were
fmall buildings, in the form of dwelling-houfes, but not ex-
ceeding four or five feet -in height; in other places were circu-
lar, femicircular, and fquare enclofures of ftonework, and here
and there were interfperfed fmall pillars of ftone or brick and
other ereitions of every variety of form. I his was the firft
common burying-ground that we had obferved, except a very
fmall one at Tong-tchoo ; and the tumuli and the different
eredlions marked out the manfions of the dead. In many parts
of this extenfive enclofure we met with mafTy coffins lying
upon the furface, fome new, others newly painted, but none in
a mouldering flate. It was explained to us, by our interpreter,
that fome of thefe coffins had been depofited there, until the
proper advice fhould be obtained from the prieft or the oracle
confulted, or from calling lots, as to the moft propitious place
of interment, and the moft favourable day for performing the
obfequies ; fome were placed there till the pecuniary circum-
ftances of the furviving relatives would enable them to beftow a
fultable interment, and others were left to dry and moulder, to
a certain degree, in order to be burnt and the afhes colledted
and put into ftone jars or other receptacles*. On no occafion
do
• From a pafTage In the manufcript journal of a Chinefe who accompanied the
Dutch embaffy it would appear, that the art of embalming the dead was once
3 i IcDown
498 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
do the Chinefe bury their dead within the preclnds of a city or
town, much lefs within the walls of their temples ; but always
depofit them at a proper diftance from the dwellings of the
living, in which refpe£t they have more difcretlon than the
Europeans ; who not only allow the interment of dead bodies
in the midft of their populous cities, but have thruft them alfo
into places of public worfhip, where crowded congregations
are conftantly expofed to the naufeous effluvia, and perhaps
infection, arifing from putrid carcafes. Yet fo tenacious are
the people of the privilege of interment within the walls of the
church, in fome countries of Europe, that any attempt to dif-
continue the imprudent cuftom would be attended with fome
degree of danger, as happened to the late Grand Duke of Tuf-
cany who, having built a commodious and fpacious cemetery
without the city of Florence, to which it was intended to
remove the coffins out of the vaults of the church, had
nearly raifed a rebellion among his fubjedts. In Render % tour
through Germany, an inftance is given of the fatal effeds of
burying in churches, the relation of which makes one fhudder
with horror.
The bank of the river, being one of the enclofing fences to
the burying-ground, was ornamented with beautiful weeping
willows which, with a few folitary cyprefTes interfperfed among
known and prafUfed in this country. He obferves, that at Ou-tchf there is a temple
or pagoda inhabited by a number of priells, who ftiew the body of a very ancient
bonze, prepared in fuch a manner, and filled with fuch ingredients, that it does not
decay» but remains perfeflly entire. He is drtfled in his robes of ceremony^ and in
his hand he holds a machine vfhich was invented by him for cleaning rice.
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 499
the tombs, were the only trees that appeared in this part of the
country.
In a corner of the cemetery was a temple, built after the
ufual plan, with an altar in the center ; and a number of deities
moulded in clay were ranged on each fide on ftone pedeftals.
We obferved no priefts ; but an elderly lady was very bufily
employed in throwing the flicks of fate, in order to obtain a
lucky number in which, however, fhe failed. During the
operation of fhaking the cup, her countenance betrayed a greater
degree of eagernefs and anxiety than ufually appears on the
face of a Chinefe.; and fhe left the temple in a peevifh and
muttering tone, fufficiently expreffive of the greatnefs of her
difappointment which, it feemed, was no lefs than a refufal, on
the part of the oracle, to hold out the hope of her being blefTed
with a fecond hufband. Till this circumflance had been ex-
plained to us by the keeper of the temple, it was concluded that
the old lady had been muttering imprecations againft us for dif-
turbing her in the midfl of her devotions.
After two days' fail from Tkn-fing we arrived at a city of the
third order* called Tchien-Jlnen. The furface of the inter-
jacent country had continued the fame uniform plain, without a
pebble in the foil : the extent of cultivation by no means extraor-
dinary ; and the few fcattered villages of mean houfes indicated
• For the convenience of collefting and diftrlbuting the taxes raifed in kind, the
diftrifts, and cities within them, are divided into three claffes, diftinguifhed by the
adjunfts foo, tchoo, Jhun. "The Jhien is anfwerable to the uhoo ; the tchoo to the foo;
and theybo to the board of revenue in the capital.
3 s 2 no
500 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
no great degree of population ; the dwellings that floated on the
•water were numerous and crowded with inhabitants. We ob-
ferved feveral plots of young wheat rifing in drills a few inches
above the ground. Buck-wheat was in full flower and feveral
plantations of the cotton plant, gojfypium herbaceurn, were in
pod, fome of them perfedly ripe. Fahrenheit's thermometer on
the 14th, 15th, and i6th of this month flood at 52° and ^t,*^
in the morning, and about 70° in the middle of the day.
On the 17th, befide a great number of towns, villages and
military pofts, which are regularly placed at intervals of about
three miles, we pafled two cities of the third order, one of
which, from the length of its walls, appeared to be of very
confiderable importance. No true idea, however, can be form-
ed of the population and magnitude of aChinefe city by the ex-
tent of its enclofing walls. Few are without large patches of
unoccupied ground within them which, in many inftances, far
exceeds the quantity of land that is built upon. Even in that
part of the capital called the Chinefe city, feveral hundred acres
are under cultivation. The Imperial city, containing the
palace and buildings for the ofiicers of ftate, the eunuchs and
artificers, occupies very nearly a fquare mile, more than two-
thirds of which is a kind of park and pleafure grounds ; and
under the north wall of the Tartar city there is a pond or
fwamp covered almoft with the Nelumbium, which appeared to
be fully twice the dimenfions of Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, or four
times their fpace, namely near fifty acres. Such fpaces of
unoccupied ground might perhaps have been referved for the
ufe of the inhabitants in cafe of fiege, as the means of fupply-
ing
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 501
ing a few vegetables of the pungent kind, as onions and garlic, for
the befieged, which are the more neceflary for a people who
ufe fo finall a portion of animal food, and little or no milk.
Thus the cities of Babylon and Nineveh, which were fo fre-
quently expofed to the calamities of war and fiege, had gar-
dens and corn-lands within their walls.
On the 1 8th we pafled two cities and a great number of
towns and villages. The face of the country ftill level and en-
tirely open ; not a hedge-row appearing on any fide and very
few trees. Almoft all the veffels that we met in the courfc
of the day were laden with facks of cotton wool. This being
the night of full moon, we were allowed to enjoy very little
reft. The obfervance of the ufual ceremonies, which confifl
of firing their fmall petards, beating at intervals the noify
gong, harfh fqualling mufic and fire-works, required that
our vefTels fhould remain ftationary, and thefe nodturnal
orgies ceafed only with the appearance of the fun. There
\Y&s, however, another caufe of detention at this place. In
failing againft the ftream of the Eii-ho^ it was neceflary the
barges fliould be tracked by men and thefe men were to be
prefTed or forced into this laborious fervice from the villages
bordering upon the river. The ufual way of doing this was
to fend out the foldiers or attendants of the ofiicers before the
veflTels, in the dufk of the evening, to take the poor wretches
by furprize in their beds. But the ceremony of the full moon,
by retarding their ufual hour of retiring to reft, had put them
on their guard ; and, on the approach of the emiffaries of go-
vernment, all that were liable to be prefled into this fervice had
abfconded,
502 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
abfconded, fo that, in addition to the noife of the gongs and
the trumpets and crackers, our ears were frequently affailed by
the cries and lamentations of perfons under the punifhment of
the bamboo or the whip, for claiming their exemption from
joining the yachts and ailing as trackers. When the groupe
that had been colleded for this purpofe was brought together
in the morning, it was impoffible not to regard it with an
eye of pity. Moft of them confuled of infirm and decrepit old
men, and the reft were fuch lank, fickly-looking, ill-clothed
creatures, that the whole groupe appeared to be much fitter for
an hofpital than for performing any kind of labour. Our com-
panions pretended to fay that every farmer, who rented lands
upon the public rivers or canals, was obliged, by the tenure on
which he held his leafe, to furnifli fuch a number of men to
track the veflels in the fervice of government whenever it might
be required ; but that, on the prefent being an extraordinary
occafion, they had refolved to pay them, as they called it, in a
handfome manner, which was at the rate of fomething lefs than
feven-pence a-day, without any allowance for returning to their
homes ; a price for labour which bore no fort of proportion to
that of the neceflaries of life ; and it was even doubtful if this
pittance was ever paid to them.
Having cleared the fleet of fhipping that was aflembled at
this place, a favourable breeze relieved our invalids and
rendered their flender exertions unneceflary for the greater part
of the day, in the courfe of which we entered the province of
Sban-tung. In this province nothing worthy of notice occurred
until the 22d, when we quitted the Eu-ho and turning towards
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 503
the fouth entered the grand canal, out of which we obferved
a gentle current flowing into the river. At this point of junc-
tion the pagoda oi Lin-tjin, an ocStagonal pyramid, was ere£ted,
perhaps as a monument of this great and ufeful undertaking,,
which, however, in its prefent ftate, apparently had not ftood
many ages. In the hope of findirtg within it fome infcription,
that might point out its defignation, we mounted with fome
difficulty upon the firft of its nine ftages or roofs (for the little
door on a level with the ground was walled up with bricks)
but it contained only the bare walls, not even a ftair-cafe re-
mained nor any pofTible means of afcending to the top, and
the lower part was choaked up with rubbifh. Thefe pagodas
(or as the Chlnefe name them 7'(3) that fo frequently occur in
the country, feem to be intended only as embellifhments to
particular grounds, or objects to terminate viftas or profpedis.
Sometimes, it is true, they appear as appendages to temples, but
are never appropriated for the purpofes of facred worfhip.
Whatever their intention might have been, it fhould feem the
rage of building them no longer exifts, not one of a late erec-
tion having appeared in the whole country, and more than two-
thirds of thofe we fav/ being in ruins.
At the jundion of the canal with the Eu-bo there was no
lock nor flood-gate ; the gentle current of the former was in-
terrupted only from place to place, by loofe planks let down
in grooves cut in ftone piers. Thefe dams feldom occafioned
the difference of a foot in the level of the water ; and at each
was a guard-houfe with double the ufual number of foldiers
ftationed, to affift in drawing up or letting down the planks,
as
504 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
as occafion might require. The canal, which at the commence-
ment was from fixty to one liundred feet in width, was con-
traced at fuch places by the ftone piers of the flood-gates to
about thirty feet.
Towards the evening of the 23d, as we approached the city
I'ong'tchang-foo^ we were much amufed with a military ma-
noeuvre, which was evidently intended to aftonilh us. Under
the walls of this city about three hundred foldiers were drawn
out in a line, which, however, the darknefs of the night had
rendered invifible. But juft as we were coming to anchor,
each foldier, at the found of the gong, produced from under his
cloak a fplendid lantern with which he went through a regular
manual exercife. The following morning we obferved, for
the firft time, a few hillocks breaking the line of the horizon
to the eaftward. The country appeared to be in a tolerable
ftate of cultivation ; but the mode of tillage exhibited no extra-
ordinary degree of Ikill or of labour. Villages of confiderable
extent were eredted along the banks of the canal, at inter-
vals of about three miles from each other; and, in the gar-
dens contiguous to thefe, grew in abundance the tobacco
plant whofe leaves were fmall, hairy, and vifcous, and the
flowers of which were of a greenifh yellow pafllng into a faint
rofe colour at the edges of the petals. We obferved alfo fmall
patches of hemp. A greater ufe is made of the feeds and leaflets
of this plant, as a fubllitute for or to mix with tobacco, than
of its fibres for cloth, a purpofe to which it is as rarely con-
verted by the Chinefe as by the Hindoos, being little efteemed
for thofe valuable ufes to which, fmce its introduction into Eu-
rope,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 505
rope, it has been applied. The number of lateral branches^
which in a warm climate each Pcem throws out clofe above the
lurftice of the ground, breaks the length of fibre and renders it
unfit for thofe purpofes for which, in the northern regions of
Plurope, its tall branchlefs fteai is fo well adapted. The fow
thiftle, a plant that occurs in almoll every part of the world,
was nothing different here from its ufual habit in Europe. We
obferved alfo a fpecies oi Chenopodlnm and g{ Artemcfm or worui-
wood ; abundance of the Pc-tfai, and other common culinary
vegetables. In the finall flower gardens, without which we
fcarcely obferved a fingle cottage, were balfams, feveral kinds
of beautiful afters, holy-hocks, two Ipecies of iWir/Zw/, an Ama-
ranthiis, and the Ihowy and handfome fhrub the Ncrium Ole-
ander.
Having palled on the 26th Odober the walls of the city
T'fie-ning^ where a multitude of fmall craft were lying at anchor,
we came to an extenfive lake of the fame name, navigated by
a great number of failing boats. From the eaft fide of this lake
the canal was feparated only by an immenfe mound of earth.
To the weftward the whole country, beyond the reach of fight,
was one continued fvvamp or morafs, upon which were inter-
fperfed pools or ponds of water abounding with the nelum-
bium, at this time in full flower. The morafs being feveral
feet below the furface of the water in the canal afi^ordcd the
means of regulating the quantity ; and, accordingly, at certain
diftances, we obferved ftone arches turned in the earthen em-
bankment to let off the fuperfluous water that might be occa*
fioned by the fwelling of the feeding rivers. About this place
3 T alfo,
5c6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
alfo, it was remarked, that the bed of the canal was carried in a
line fo nearly horizontal, that the water had a gentle current
either to the northward or the fouthward, according as thefe
fluices were kept fhut or thrown open ; this line being afcer-
tained, perhaps, rather by the furface of the lake than by the
afiiftance of inftruments ; for it was fufficiently remarkable, that
no opportunity had been omitted in carrying this great work
along the fide, or through the middle, of lakes or other pools of
water wherever It could be done.
The nature of the country admitted of fuch management for
three days' journey, or about eighty miles from Tfie-n'mg. The
whole of this extenfive plain confifted in lakes or fwampy
ground half covered with water. On the former were conftant-
ly feen moving about vefl'els with fails and boats of every de-
fcription, conveying an animated pidlure of adivity, induftry,
and commerce. Almofl all the lakes were fludded with iflands
and thefe were covered with villages, that were chiefly inha-
bited by fifhermen. Here, for the firft time, we obferved the
Leu-tze or fifliing corvorant, the Felicanus Sinenfis, diving after
the finny tribe and feemingly no lefs anxious than its mailer
to take them. This bird is fo like another fpecies of the pelican,
called the Carbo or common corvorant which in England, as
naturalifts inform us, was formerly trained for filhing, that it has
ufually been confidered the fame, but from feveral fpecimens
brought home with us it appears to be a different fpecies. The
ufual praftice is to take ten or twelve of thefe birds, in the
morning when falling, upon a raft of bamboo poles laflied to-
gether, and to let one or two at moll at a time dive for fifli,
which
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 507
which are taken from them the moment they bring them to the
furface. Thefe birds, not much larger than the common duck,
will feize and gripe faft fifhes that are not lefs than their own
weight. When the proprietor judges the firft pair to be pretty
■well fatigued, they are fuffered to feed by way of encourage-
ment on fome of the fifli they have taken, and a fecond pair
are difpatched upon the water. The filh we obferved them to
take was a fpecies of perch. In the courfe of three days' navi-
gation, we faw feveral thoufand boats and rafts employed in this
kind of fifhing.
Except on the water and the iflands, the whole of the
fwampy country might be faid to be uninhabited and totally
void of any kind of cultivation. Sometimes, indeed, a few mi-
ferable mud huts appeared on the fmall hillocks that here and
there raifed their heads out of the dreary wafte of morafs ; but
the chief inhabitants were cranes, herons, guillemots and a vaft
variety of other kinds of birds that frequent the waters and
fwamps. Here too are great numbers of that fingularand beau-
tiful bird, the Anas Gakriculata, ufually known by the name
of the Mandarin duck which, like the gold and filver fifhes,
is caught and reared as an article of fale to the opulent and curi-
ous. The great extent of water had a fenfible effect on the tem-
perature of the ail', efpecially in the mornings and evenings,
when Fahrenheit's thermometer was fometimes below 40°.
Having pafied the lakes and fwamps, we entered fuddenly,
on the 31ft, upon a moft delightful part of the country, crowded
with temples and villages and towns and cities, near all of
3 T 2 which.
5o8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
which, and on every part of the canal, were vafl: numbers of
the revenue veOels, collecting the furplus taxes paid in kind,
in order to tranTport them to the capital. Wheat and cotton ap-
peared to be the two principal articles of culture. Tiie furface
of the country was now broken into hill and dale, every inch
appeared to be under tillage, except the fummit of the knolls,
which were generally crowned with forefi: trees, and few of
the detached houfes or temples were without extenfive gar-
dens and orchards. Apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots
and pomgranate^, were the common kinds of fruir, and the
culinary vegetables were the fame as thofe of Pc-tchc-lee.
The canal at this place is, perhaps, the grandeft inland navi-
gation in the whole world, being nearly a thoufand feet in
width and bordered on each tide by ftone quays, built with
mafly blocks of grey marble mixed with others of granite ; and
this immenfe aqueduft, although forced up feveral feet above
the furface of the country by embankments thrown up by the
labour of man, flowed with a current of three miles an hour near-
ly towards the Yellow River, to which we perceived we were
fafl: approaching, by the buftle and adlivity both on fliore and
on the numberlefs canals that branched out in every diredion
from the main trunk ; on whofe banks, for feveral miles on
either fide, one continued town extended to the point of junc-
tion with this large river, celebrated in every period of the
Chinefe hiftory. A village was particularly pointed out by the
bargemen, whofe name was derived from a miracle, which is
moft facredly believed by the Chinefe. Tradition fays, that
the famous aftronomer Heu was carried up to Heaven in his
I houfe.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 509
houfe, which ftooJ at this place, leaving hchind him ati old
faithful fervant who, being thus deprived of his mafter and
his habitation, was reduced to beggary ; but happening by ac-
cident to throw a little prepared rice into the ground, it imme-
diately grew and produced grain without chaff for his fuften-
ance ; from whence the place is called Sen-inec^ rice growing
ready drejjcd, to this day.
Before our barges launched into the ftream of the Yellow-
River, which rolled in a very rapid torrent, certain cere-
monies were conceived to be indifpenfably neceflary. In the
pradical part of religion (which indeed may be confidered as
nearly the v/hole) a Chinefe is not lefs folicitous to avert a pof-
fible evil, than to procure an eventual good ; and of all evils
perfonal danger is moft apprehended. It was therefore deemed
expedient, that an oblation fhould be made in every veflcl
of the fleet to the genius of the river. The animals that were
facrificed, on this occafion, were different in different yacht?,
but they generally confifled of a fowl or a pig, two animals that
were very common in Grecian facrifice?. The blood, with the
feathers and the hair, was daubed upon the principal parts of
the vefTel. On the forecaftle of feme were placed cups of wine,
oil and fait ; in others, tea, flour and fait ; and in others, oil,
rice and fait. The laft article appears to be thought by the
Chinefe, as well as by the Hebrews, a neceffary accompani-
ment to every facrifice. *' Every oblation of thy meat-offer-
" ing fhalt thou feafon with fait : neither flialt thou fuffer the
" fait of the Covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy fneat-
" offering." As, however, the high prieft and his friends
were
510 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
were to feafl: on thofe parts of the meat-offevlng, which were
confidered as unworthy the acceptance of heaven, which parts,
by the way, were always the beft of the vidlim, one might,
perhaps, affign a reafon for the ftrong injundion of offering fait,
this being a fcarce article in many countries of the Eafl and the
beft prefervatlve of meat againft putrefixdlion *.
The cups, the flaughtered animal and feveral made-difhes
remained on the forecaftlc, the Captain ftanding over them on
one fide and a man with a gong in his hand on the other. On
approaching the rapid part of the flream, at the fignal given by
the gong, the Captain took up the cups one by one, in order
that, like the Greeks of old, he might " perform the rites and
" pour the ruddy wine ;" which he did by throwing their con-
tents over the bow of the veffel into the river. The libation per-
formed, a quantity of crackers and fquibs and gilt tin foil were
burnt, with uplifted hands, whilft the deep-founding gong was
inceffantly ftruck with increafing violence as the veffels were
fvv'ept along with the current. The vi(5tim and the other difhes
were then removed for the ufe of the Captain and crew, and
the ceremony ended by three genuflexions and as many
proftrations. The Emperor is never fatisfied with lefs than
nine.
* The Far et mtcafalis were parts of mod of the Roman facrifices, and fait, in
particular, was held in fuch veneration, and in fuch general ufe, that when any one
obtained a falary or penfion, he was faid to have got his Solarium, or fomething to
procure his fait, in the fame fenfe, as we fay, to get one's bread ; and a common ex-
preflion in India, denoting fervice, is, I eat the fait of fuch a one; and the Dutch
in fpeaking of a dependent fay, he owes his fait to fuch a one. Thefe coincidences
of opinion, or cuftom, among remote nations, however difficult they may be to ex-
plain, are neverthelefs extremely interefting and are on that account here noticed.
Our
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 511
Our fleet confifted of about thirty fail, and from each veflel
there proceeded, on its launching into the ftream, fuch a din
of gongs and crackers and fuch volumes of fmoke from the
burnt offerings, that the deity of the river muft have been in a
very furly humour if he was not pleafed with fuch a multitude
of oblations. The fafe arrival, on the oppofite bank, of the
whole fquadron was a proof of his having accepted the ho-
mage, and accordingly he was again addreffed in a volley of
crackers as a token of thanks for his propitious and friendly
aid.
The width of the river at this place was full three quarters
of a mile ; and the ftream, where ftrongeft, ran with the rapi-
dity of feven or eight miles an hour ; and the water was as
thick and muddy as if the heavieft torrents of rain had juft de-
fcended, whereas, in fa(fb, there had not fallen a fhower for many
months.
The length of that part of the canal which lies between the
Eu-ho and the Yellow River, and which we had now failed
over, is about two hundred Englifh miles. The natural flope
of the country being from North to South, the projedlors of
this work feem to have fixed upon the middle point, or nearly
fo, between thefe two rivers for the commencement of their
operations : fo that from this middle point to the northward,
or rifing part of the country, they have been under the necef-
fity, in order to preferve their level, of cutting down to the •
depth of thirty, forty, and even to fevcnty feet, below the fur-
face ; whilft from the fame point to the fouthward, or dcfcend-
ingpart of the country, they have been obliged to force up the
water
5^;
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
water between immenfc banks of earth and flone. far above the
level of the fiat furface ; confiding almofl entirely of lakes,
fwamjis, and moraf!*. The quantity of human labour that muft
have been employed, in amaffing togelher the different materials
that compofe this immenfe aqueduft, could not have been fup-
plled, in any reafonable length of time, except in a country
Vv'here millions could be fet to work at the nod of a defpot.
The greateft vs'orks in China liave always been, and ftill con-
tinue "to be, performed by the accumulation of manual labour,
without the affiftance of machinery, except on very particular
occafions, where fome mechanical power may be abfolutely
neceffary to be brought in aid of human ftrength. Thus,
where canals are carried over furfaces that are too hilly and un-
even to admit of one continued level, they defcend from place
to place, as it were by fteps, at each of which is an inclined
plane ; the height from the upper canal to the lower being
generally from fix to ten feet ; and the angle of the plane from
forty-five to fifty degrees. All vefTels navigating fuch canals
muft be hoifted up thefe planes by the affiftance of upright cap-
ftans, without which it would fcarcely be poffible to get thofe of
large demenfions, together with their cargo, out of one canal into
the other; and they are gently lowered in the fame manner^
This awkward contrivance may, perhaps, lefs imply the igno-
rance of locks or other methods pradifed elfevvhere, than the
unwlllingnefs of the government to fuffer any innovation that
might be the means of depriving many thoufands of obtaining
that fcanty fubfiftence, which they now derive fr. m their atten-
dance at thefe capftans. However fliglitly fuch a notion may
be held in Europe, there can be no doubt that a general intro-
duftlon
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 51J
duftion of machinery into China, for the purpole of facilitating
and expediting labour \^ould, in the prefent ftate of the country,
be attended with the moft pernicious and diftrefling confe-
quences; 'were it only for this fimple reafon that, defpifing, as
they afFe£t to do, all foreign commerce, the demand for the
produifls of machinery, however much they might be reduced
in price, would not be cncreafed, "whilfl; that of manual labour
would confiderably be diminifhed.
Senfible as the Chinefe feem to be of the advantages derived
from an eafy communication between the different parts of the
empire, by means of canals, it is the more furprizing what the
motives could have been that, till this moment, have reftrained
them from facilitating an intercourfe by means of good roads,
in fuch parts of the country as have no inland navigations. In
this rcfpeil they fall fhort of moft civilized nations. Except
near the capital, and in fome few places where the jundion of
the grand canal with navigable rivers is interrupted by moun-
tainous ground, there is fcarcely a road in the whole country
that can be ranked beyond a foot-path. Hence it happens that
in the northern provinces, during winter, it is impoflible to
travel with any degree of eafe, convenience, or (lifety ; all the
canals to the northward of the Yellow River, which runs from
34° to 35" latitude being frozen up. It is equally furprizing
that their ingenuity has not extended itfelf to the invention of
fledges or fome fort of carriages fuitable for travelling on ice,
which other nations have converted into the beft of roads *.
The
• I infer that fuch is not the praflice in China, from the manner in whicL
the Dutch Embaffadors were conveyed to and from tlie capital in the middle of
, u winter.
•514. TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The continuation of the Grand Canal, frona the Yellow
River to the Tang- tfe-kiang^ was conRrudted upon the fame
■winter. The inconvenlcncies they fuffered on this occafion are fuch as can fcarcely
be conceived to have happened In a civilized country. The perufal of the manu-
fcript journal I have elfewhere noticed conveyed to my mind the idea of a country
dreary and defolate, and of a people indigent ar.d diftreHed ; without humanity, and
■without ho-fpitality. They travelled in little bamboo chairs, carried by four men,
who -were generally fo weak and tuttering that they could not go through the day's
journey, but were obliged, frequ-=-nJy, in the middle of the night, to halt in an open
uninhabited part of the country, -.vhere not a hovel of any defcription was to be met
with to fhelter them from the inclemency of the weather. And it moll commonly
_ happened, that the lodgings appointed for their reception, at the different flages, were
in fuch a miferable condition^ admitting on every fide the wind, rain, or fnow, that
they generally preferred taking alittle reft in their bamboo chairs. They were furprized
to find fo few cities, towns, or villages In their route, and not lefs furprized at the
ruinous condition in which thefc few appeared to be. Near the capital a whole city exhi-
bited only a mafs of ruins. In many places they found the country under water,
and the mud hovels completely melted down. Sometimes they palTed extenfive
waftes, where not a trace was vlfible of any kind of cultivation, nor a fingle dwelling
occurred in the diflance of eight or ten Englifh miles. And it was not before they
had crofled the Yellow River that they perceived the marks of whee'-carriages im-
printed on the roads, which were fo little travelled upon that they could with diffi-
culty be traced. Here they met old men and young women travelling in wheel-
barrows ; and Utters carried by afles, one being fixed between the poles before, and
one behind. The rivers had no bridges over them ; and fuch as were too deep to
be forded, they were tmder the neceflity of croQIng on rafts of bamboo. In Ihort,
before they arrived at the capital, the fatigue and hardfhips they had undergone
confiderably Impaired their health, and the condition of their clothing was fuch as
to excite the compafllon of the mandarines, who made them a prefent of twenty
(heep-lkin jackets, drefled with the wool upon them ; which, like the Hottentots,
they wore inwards. One of thefe gentlemen alFured me, that having fatisfied his
curiofity, no earthly conCderation fhould tempt him to undertake a fecond journey
by land to the capital ; for that he believed the whole world could not furnlfh a like
plflure of defolation and mifery. What a contraft Is here exhibited to the eafe and
convenience with which our journey was made ! But the whole treatment of the
Dutch embafly feems to have been proportioned to the degree of Importance which
the Chinefe attached to the political condition of this nation.
I principles
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 515
principles as that part between the Yellow River and the Eti-ho.
The country being level and abounding with lakes and marfliy
grounds, it was carried upon a mound of earth kept together by.
retaining walls of ftone the whole diftance, which is about ninety
miles, being in parts not lefs than twenty feet above the general
level of the country ; and the (heet of water it contained was
two hundred feet in width, running fometimes at the rate of
three miles an hour. Canals of communication fupplied it from
the weftward ; and the fuperfluous water was let off upon the
low marfhes. The tops of the w^alls of 'Pao-yiig-Jhien were
juft on a level with the furface of the water in the canal fo
that if the bank oppofite to it were to burft, the whole city muft
inevitably be inundated. Very little cultivation appeared in this
low marfhy country, but abundance of towns and villages, the
inhabitants of which fubfifted by fifliing. A prodigious extent
of low country on each fide of the Yellow river, perhaps not
much lefs than the furface of all England, is liable to inunda-
tions. The Chinefe fay, the overflowing of this river has been
more fatal to the country than war, peftilence, or famine. The
Emperor Kaung-JJjee, in order to diftrefs a rebel in the province
of Hunati, ordered a bank to be broken down behind a city he
had got pofTeflion of; but the inundation was fo great, that not
only the rebel forces were deftroyed, but almoft half a million
of people were completely fwept away ; and among thefe were
feveral European miflionaries. Vaft fums of money are ex-
pended in confining this river within its banks. The fame Em-
peror in his lafl will declares, that the fums of money iflued
annually from the Imperial treafury for the embankments to
prevent inundations, were never lefs, during his whole reign,
3 u 2 thaa
5i6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
than 3,000,000 ounces of filver, equivalent to one niillion
fterling.
On approaching the Yang-tjc-k'icuig the appearance of the
country improved, juft as it had done in the vicinity of the Yel-
low River. The town oi Sau-poo, extending along the quay of
the canal, confifted .of houfes that were generally two ftories
high, apparently well built, white-wafhed with lime and kept
in neat and clean order. The inhabitants were alfo better
cloathed than we had hitherto been accuftomed to fee them. The
women were lefs fhy in their advances ; their complexions were
much fairer and their features more foft and handfome than any
we had yet obferved in the northern provinces.
The walls and gates of Tang-tcboo-foo bore marks of great
antiquity, being partly in ruins and almofi: entirely overgrown
with mofs and creeping plants. A thoufand veflels, at leafl, of
different defcriptions were lying under its walls. Here we re-
mained for the night ; and the following morning, being the
5th of November, we launched into the grand and beautiful river
called the Tang-tfc-kiang^ which at this place was about two
miles in width ; but the current was fo gentle, that no oblation
to the prefiding deity was thought to be neceffary. The nume-
rous iflands rifing out of the river and covered with verdure,
the multitude of fhips of war, of burden and of pleafure, fome
gliding down the ftream, others failing againft it ; fome mov-
ing by oars and others lying at anchor; the banks on either
fide covered with towns and houfes, as far as the eye could
reach, prefented a profpeft more varied and cheerful than any
that
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 517
that had hitherto occurred. Nor was the canal, on the oppofite
fide, lefs lively ; for two whole days we were continually palling
among fleets of veflels of different conftrudions and dimenfions,
thofe belonging to the revenue department being the largefl:, each
capable of carrying, at leaft, two hundred tons. Cities, towns
and villages were continued along the banks without intermif-
fion : and vaft numbers of ftone bridges were thrown acrofs the
canal, fome having one, fome two, and others three arches.
The face of the country was beautifully diverfified with hill and
dale and every part of it in the higheft (late of cultivation.
The chief produce was that particular fpecies of cotton, of a
yellowilh tinge, known in Europe by the name of nankin.
The fuburbs o^ Sou-tchoo-foo employed us full three hours in
paffing before we reached the walls of the city, where a mul-
titude of vcfrels were lying at anchor. The numerous inhabi-
tants that appeared upon and without the walls of this exten-
five city, were better dreffed and feemed to be more contented
and cheerful, than we had yet obferved them in any other place.
For the moft part they weie cloathed in filk. The ladies were
here dreffed in petticoats and not in trowfers, as they had
hitherto appeared to the northward. The general falhion of
the head-drefs was a black fatln cap with a triangular peak, the
point defcending to the root of the nofe, in the middle of
which, or about the centre of the forehead, was a cryftal but-
ton. Tjie whole face and neck were wafhed with a prepara-
tion of white lead and the cheeks highly rouged ; and two Ver-
million fpots, like wafers, were particularly confpicuous, one
on the centre of the under lip and the other on the chin. Their
feet
5i8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
feet were univerfally fqueezed down to an unnatural fize. Few
'females were feen among the immenfe crowds that the novelty
of the fight had brought together, but great numbers had aflem-
bled in the houfes and particularly on board the pleafure or
paflage yachts, with the intention of fatisfying their curiofity.
The fuperior ftyle of drefs and the appearance of the women
in public at this place, fo different from the general cuftom of
the country, could only be explained to us by the writings of
the Chrillian miflionaries, who obferve that the concubines of
mandarins and men of property are chiefly procured from the
cities of Tang-tchoo and of Son-tchoo, where they are educated
in the pleafing arts of Tinging, mufic and dancing and every
other accompliftiment fuitable to women of fuperior rank, in
order to render them the more agreeable and fafcinating. That
fuch women are generally purchafed by perfons engaged in
the trade, in different parts of the country, and trained in thefe
cities, where they are difpofed of to the highefl: bidder, " this
" be'uig the principal branch of trade that is carried on in thofe
" two cities." How do thefe holy men reconcile fo infamous a
traffic among a people whom they have adorned with every
virtue ? a people whom they have rendered remarkable among
nations for [their filial piety ! Is there on earth a crime
more revolting againfl civilized nature, or more deteftable to
civilized fociety, than that of a parent felling his own child and
configning her, exprefsly and voluntarily, into a flate of profti-
tution ? Thofe unfortunate wretches who, in Europe, have by
any accident reduced themfelves to that degraded and deplor-
able condition of becoming fubfervient to the pleafures of a
man, whom they probably deteft, are generally the objeds of
. pity,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 519
pity, however their cohdud may be difapproved ; but a parent,
who fliould be the caufe of reducing them to fuch a ftate, would
be execrated ; but the affertion is as abfurd as ridiculous, and
the writer mud have been very credulous to fuppofe, that the
/r/«f/^«//r^rt'(? of one of the largeft cities in the world, whofe
population cannot be lefs than a million of fouls, fhould confift
in buying and felling ladies of pleafure. Buying females in
the legal way is certainly the greateft branch of trade throughout
China, as every woman there is bought and fold. Thefe reve-
rend gentlemen likewife inform us, with great indifference,
that if a man be defirous of having a male child and his wife
fhould happen to be barren, he will purchafe one of thefe con-
cubines for the fole purpofe of getting an heir ; and, when this
is accomplifhed, he either provides her with a hufband, or
turns her adrift. Such are the moral virtues of the Chinefe,
compared with whom all other nations have been accounted
barbarous *.
To the weft of Sau-tchoo-foo Is a range of mountains higher
than any we had yet feen, well covered with wood ; and an
extenfive lake ftretches along their bafe, famed in China for
Its pidturefque beauties and for Its lifli. We would gladly
have made a party of pleafure to this delightful fpot, but In-
numerable objedlions, as ufual, were ftarted by our condudlors,
on the fcore of delay that fuch an cxcurfion would occafion.
* It may be obferveJof almoft all the writings of the miflionaries concerning China,
that virtues of fo trifling a nature as liardly to Jeferve tlie name, have met their un-
qualified praife, whillT: enormous vices have eitlier been palliated or paffed over in
filence.
The
530
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
The two great produds of this part of the country are rice
ynd filk; the former of which, at this time, they were bufily
employed in reaping. Plantations of the mulberry tree were
extended on both fides of the canal and into the country be-
yond the reach of fight. They appeared to be of two diftinfl
fpecies ; the one, the common mulberry, viorus nigra, and the
other having much fmaller leaves, fmooth and heart-fliaped,
and bearing a white berry about the fize of the field ftrawberry.
The latter had more the habit of a fhrub, but the branches of
neither were fuffcred to run into ftrong wood, being frequently
pruned in order that the trunk might annually throw out
young fcions, whofe leaves were confidered to be more tender
than fuch as grew from old branches. Another reafon was alfb
affigned for this operation, A tree, when left to itfelf, throws
out the gveatefl part of its leaves at once, in the fpring of the
year, but if the thick wood be cut out from time to time, new
leaves will continue to pufh below the parts fo cut off during
the whole feafon ; and, accordingly, the Gliinefe are particularly
attentive to prune afrefli in the autumn, in order to obtain a
fupply of young leaves in the after- fpring. The thermometer
at this place, on the 9th of November at fun-rife, flood at 64",
and at noon in the lliade at 70° degrees.
It was In this part of the canal where the bridge of ninety-
one arches, mentioned in the fixth chapter, was thrown acrofs the
arm of a lake that joined the canal. I lament exceedingly that
we pafled this extraordinary fabric in the night. It happened to
catch the attention of a Swifs fervant who, as the yacht glided
along, began to count the arches, but finding them increafe in
number
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 521
number much beyond his expeiflation and, at the fame time,
in dimenfions, he ran into the cabin caUing out with great
eagernefs, *' For God's fake, gentlemen, come upon deck, for
" here is a bridge fuch as I never faw before ; it has no
" end." Mr. Maxwell and I haftened upon deck and, by the
faint light, could fufficiently diftingnifti the arches of a bridge
running parallel with the eaftern bank of the canal, acrofs the
arm of a vaft lake, with which the navigation thus communi-
cated. From the higheft point, or what appeared to us to be
the central arch, I counted forty-five to the end ; here they
were very fmall, but the central arch I guefled to be about thir-
ty feet high and forty wide ; and the whole length of the bridge
I calculated to be about half a mile. The conftrudlion of fuch
a bridge, in fuch a fituation, could obvioufly have been emr-
ployed for no other purpofe than that of opening a free commu-
nication with the lake ; and, at the fame time, of avoiding the
labour and expence of accumulating materials fufficient for mak-
ing a folid embankment.
After failing a great part of the day through a foreft of mul-
berry trees, planted with much regularity, we arrived on the
loth at the city oi Ha?2g-tchoofoo, the capital of the province
of 'Tche-kiatig. Here that branch of the grand canal which com-
municates with the Yaiig-tfe-k'nijig terminates in a large com-
modious bafon, at this time crowded with fhipping. From this
bafon a number of fmaller canals, pafTing through arches
turned in the walls and interfeding the city in every diredion,
are finally united in a lake beyond the weftern wall called the
See-boo. The natural and artificial beauties of this lake far .
3 X exceeded
522 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
exceeded any tl.ing we had hlthert-o had an opportunity of fee-
ing in China. The mountains furrounding it were lofty and
broken into a variety of forms that were highly pi(fturefque ;
and the vallies were richly cloathed with trees of different kinds,
among which three fpecies were remarkably ftriking, not only
by their intrinfic beauty, but alfo by the contraft they formed
with thenifelves and the reft of the trees of the foreft. Thefe
were the Lauriis Camphora or camphor tree, the Croton fcbi-
feriim or tallow tree, and the Tbuia Oricntalis or arbor vitaz.
The bright fhining green foliage of the firft, mingled with the
purple leaves of the fecond, and overtopped by the tall and
ftately tree of life^ of the deepeft green, produced a pleafing
effect to the eye ; and the landfcape was rendered ftill more in-
terefting to the mind, by the very fmgular and diverfified ap-
pearance of feveral repofitories of the dead, upon the floping
fides of the inferior hills. Here, as well as elfewhere, the fom-
bre and upright cyprefs was deftined to be the melancholy
companion of the tombs. Higher ftill among the woods,
avenues had been opened to admit of rows of fmall blue houfes,
fupported on white colonnades which, on examination, were
alfo found to be manfions of the dead. Naked coffins of extra-
ordinary thicknefs were every where lying upon the furface of
the ground.
The lake that extended from the walls of the city to the feet
of the mountains, and threw its numerous arms into the wooded
vallies, was the feat of pleafure, as well as of profit, to the in-
habitants of Hang-tchoo-foo. Thefe amufements, however, of
floating upon barges in the lake are principally confined to one
fex.
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
523
lex. Few women, except thofe of" loofe charadler, join in the
parties of men. How miferable or, at beft, how little intcrefl
can be ralfed in that ftate of fociety where no fecial intercourfc
of the fexes exlfts ; where fentiment, nice feeling and the fport
and play of the foftev paflions are totally unknown, and where
reafon and philofophy are at fo low an ebb ! In more enlight-
ened countries, when age may have weakened the ardour of
joining in the fprightly female circle, or inclination lead to
more ferious converfations, numberlefs refources are ftill left
to exercife the faculties of the mind, and fociety may always
be had for fuch as can relifh
" The feaft of rciilbn and the flow of foul."
But in China the tenor of their converfation mufl: be always
nearly the fame, turning chiefly on the affairs of the neigh-
bourhood, the injuflice of the magiftrates, the tricks and ftra-
tagems of the crafty merchant, or of the low mechanic. In
entertainments given by thofe who can afford to drink wine, it
is feldom ferved round as in other countries, but a number of
puerile contrivances are praflifed to determine which of the
party is to drink, as in the cafe I have already noticed of ibc
game of the Jiiigers. Thus, a nofegay is paffed round from
hand to hand, whilft a man in an adjoining room beats a drum
or the gong, and he who happens to hold the nofegay when
the inftrument ceafes muft drink a cup of wine. Many other
methods ftill more childifh are reforted to, in order to pafs
the time and to give a zeft to their wine ; but the ufual refource
here, as well as elfewhere, again ft the tedioufnefs of time, is
gaming. An attachment to this vice accompanies the loweft
3x2 Chinefe
524 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Chlnefe wherever he goes. It is laid that in one of our eallern
colonies, where Chinefe are encouraged to fettle, they pay to
the government the annual fum of ten thoufand dollars for a
licence to keep gaming tables and fell opium.
Our route being neceflarily delayed for two days at this place,
on account of an intervening neck of land over which all the
baggage was to be tranfported, I prevailed upon our good-na-
tured companion Van-ta-g'in to make a party to the lake See-
hoo, to which he readily affented ; and this was the only excur-
fion that we had in the courfe of the whole journey. We
had a fplendid yacht and another made fall to it to ferve as a
kitchen ; the dinner began the inftant we went on board and
ceafed only when we ftepped a-fhore. It confifted of at Icaft a
hundred dilhes in fucceffion, among which were excellent eels,
frefli caught in the lake and drefled in a variety of ways ; yet
the vvater was clear as cryflal. Vaft numbers of barges were fail-
ing to and fro, all gaily decorated with paint and gilding and
ftreaming colours; the parties within them apparently all in
purfuit of pleafure. The margins of the lake were ftudded
with light aereal buildings, among which one of more folidity
and of greater extent than the reft was faid to belong to the
Emperor. The grounds were enclofed with brick walls and
moftly planted with vegetables and fruit trees ; but in fonie
there appeared to be coUedions of fuch fhrubs and flowers as are
moft efteemed in the country. Among the fruits we got at this
place was the Jambo or rofe apple; ami, for the firft time, frefli
from the tree, but not yet perfedlly ripe, two fpecies of oranges,
the common China and the fmall one ufually called the Man-
I darin
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 525
darln orange ; pomgranates, bananas very indifferent and
melons equally bad ; apricots far from being equal to thofe of
our own country ; a large plumb, refembling the egg plumflif
alio indifferent, and peaches that might have been much im-
proved by judicious culture; apples and pears that in England
we fhould have no hefitatlon in pronouncing execrably bad ;
and a fpecies of fruit unknown to all of us which the Chinefe
called %ce-tf<.\ of a fvveet fickly tarte when ripe, otherwife mod
infufferably aftringent. Some of the gentlemen thought they
faw hazel nuts among the fliruberry, but it is more than pro-
bable they were miftaken. A few bad grapes were fometimes
brought to us, but the party who went from hence to Chu-fan
met with abundance of this fruit, and of very good quality,
growing upon ftandards erected in the feveral canals and form-
ing a fhade under which the barges could pafs.
Among the moft confpicuous of the ihrubs, on the borders of
the lake See-hoo^ was the Hibifcus inutabilis, the Hihifcus SyriacitSy
the Syriiiga Vulgaris or common lilac, and the paper mulberry;
we obferved alfo a fpecies of Mimofa, a Crottilaria, Cratagtis,
Rofa, Rhammis, Sambucus^ yiiniper and the cotton plant. Of
fiowers we particularly noticed a large purple-coloured double
poppy which, with the Nelumbhim that grew here in all the
ponds and a fpecies of p^onia^ appear mod frequently on the
large (heets of painted paper ufed for covering the walls of their
apartments. A great variety of beautiful balfams were alfo
in flower, a fpecies of AmaranthuSy a Xeranthcmum and Guapha-
Hum. I mention only fuch plants as caught the eye in paffing,
for our Chinefe companions, who had a much better appetite
for
526 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
for the eels of the lake and other goods things they had taken
care to provide than for botany, had no notion of being de-
tained by a bufh or a flower.
The next day Lieutenant Colonel, now General, Benfon,
Dodor Glllan, and myfelf, accompanied by a military officer
and his orderly, rode over the neck of land to look at the
yachts that were preparing for our future journey. As it was rather
late before we returned, I propofcd that we fhould pafs through
the city as I had done the day before with our condudor Fan,
which would fave us half the diftance. The officer perceiving
our intention endeavoured to draw us off to the right, but find-
ing us perfevere he whifpered the orderly, who immediately
puftied forward towards the gate. Aware that the intention
of this meafure was to flaut the gate againft us, we fpurred our
horfes and followed him, upon which the officer and his orderly
fet up fuch a hue and cry that the whole fuburbs were prefently
in a ftate of commotion The gates were inftantly fhut and
furrounded by a crowd. Within all wasconfufion. Meflage after
mtflage was difpatched to the Governor j the gongs were beat
and the guards were drawn out in every part of the city. I
alTured them there was nothing to fear ; tha we were only
three, and had no other delign but to pafs to our yachts.
During this time cur mandarin cfivar^ in prefence of the whole
populace, was down on his knees in the dirt, firft before one
and then another, intreating us to give up the point ; fo mean
and defpicable have the maxims of the government made thefe
people. At length our friends Van and Cbou^ with the inter-
preter and a numerous train of foldiers and attendants, made
their
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 527
their appearafice, and pretended to enjoy the joke of three
Engllflimen having cau.fed Co much alarm to one of their ftrongcft
cities, which at that time had a garrlfon of three thoufand men
•within its walls. On expiefling our furprife at fuch unnecef-
fary precaution, Van obferved, that our condudtor did not know
us fo well as he did, and, as he was refponfible for our fafe re-
■'^urn, he would rather have travelled us all night through the
country than brought us among the crowd in the ftreets.
When the new viceroy of Canton (who travelled with us from
bence) heard of this affair, and underftood from our condudlors
that the Englifh found great pleafure in walking and looking
about them (a pleafure of which a Chinefe can form no idea)
he immediately gave orders that the gentlemen in the train of
the Embaffador fhould walk whenever they pleafed without any
moleftation.
In the city of Hang-tchoo-foo^ being particularly famed for its
filk-trade, we were not furprized to meet with extenfive fhops
and warehoufes; in point of fize and the ftock contained within
them they might be faid to vie with the befl: in London. In
fome of thefe were not fewer than ten or twelve perfons ferving
behind the counter; but in paffing through the whole city not
a finge woman was vifible, either within doors or without.
The crowd of people, compofed of the other fex, appeared to
be little inferior to that in the great ftreets of Pekin. Here,
though moftly narrow they had in other refpedls much the ad-
vantage of thofe in the capital, being paved with broad fiag-
ftones, refembllng the Merceria of Venice [or courts of the
Strand ; Cranburn-Alley Is rather too wide for a Chinefe ilreet,
but
528 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
but tliofe of this city were equally well paved. They appeared to
be kept extremely neat and clean. In every {hop were expofed to
view filks of different manufactures, dyed cottons and nankins, a
great variety of Englifh broad-clcths, chiefly however blue
and fcarlet, ufed for winter cloaks, for chair covers and for
carpets; and alfo a quantity of peltry intended for the northern
markets. The refi; of the houies, in the public ftreets throughfW
which \\Q paffed, confifted of butchers and bakers' fhops, fifh-
mongers, dealers in rice and other grain, ivory-cutters, dealers
in laquered ware, tea-houfes, ccok-fhops, and coffin makers ;
the laft of which is a trade of no fmall note in China. The
population of the city alone, I fiiould fuppofe, from its extent
and appearance, to be not much Inferior to that of Pekin ; and
the number of inhabitants in the fuhurbs, with thofe that
conftantly refided upon the water, were perhaps nearly equal
to thofe within the walls.
Here our condudlor Sim'ta-g'm took his leave, after having
introduced to the EmbafTador the new Viceroy of Canton, who
was now to accompany the EmbaflV to the feat of his govern-
ment. Ells manners appeared to be no lefs amiable than thofe
of the Mlnifter. He had travelled pofl from Pekin and,
Vv'lth many affurances on the part of the Emperor of the
higheft fatisfaition he had derived from the embaffy, he brought
an additional prefent from him to His Majefly, confifling of
gold tiffued filks, purfes taken from his own perfon and the
Card of Happ'inefs. This is an ornamented piece of paper,
neatly folded .up and having in the centre the character foo or
happinefs infcribedby the Emperor's own hand, and isconfidered
as
I
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 529
as the ftrongefl: mark a foverelgn of China can give to another
prince of his fiicndfliip and afledion. Another card was given
to the Embaflador of a fimilar import, as a teftimony of his
approbation of the conduit of the embafly, which was further
confirmed by a prefent of filks, tea, fiins and other trinkets to
every individual of it.
A few miles beyond the city we again took fhipping on
the river Tcheng-tmig-chiang, which might properly be called
an eftuary, the tide rifing and falling fix or feven feet at the
place of embarkation, which was not very diftant from the
Yellow Sea. After feven days of tedious navigation, if drag-
ging by main ftrength over a pebbly bottom on which the boats
were conftantly aground and againft a rapid ftream, could be
fo called, we came to its fource near the city of Tchatig/ati-
Jloien. But its banks were not deficient in beautiful views and
pidurefque fcenery. The general furface of the country was
mountainous and romantic, but well cultivated in all fuch places
as would admit the labours of the hufbandman. One city only
occurred in the courfe of feven days ; but we pafled numerous
villages, fituated in the valleys and the glens between the ridges
of mountains ; and fifhermen's huts were conftantly in view.
There was here no want of trees, among which the moft com-
mon were the tallow-tree and the camphor, cedars, firs and the
tall and majeftlc arbor vita^. Groves of oranges, citrons and
lemons were abundantly interfperfed in the little vales that
floped down to the brink of the river; and few of the huts
were without a fmall garden and plantation of tobacco. The
larger plains were planted with the fugar-cane. We had thus
3 Y far
5^9 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
far paffed through the country without having feen a fingle
plant of the tea-flirub, but here we found it ufed as a com-
mon plant for hedge-rows to divide the gardens and fruit
groves, but not particularly cultivated for its leaves.
At the city of 'Tchattg-fan-Jloien we had again a neck of land
to crofs, in order to join the barges that were prepared on ano-
ther river falling towards the weftward, by which a connexion
was formed with the ufual route from Pekin to Canton, from
whence we had deviated at the Yang-tfe-kiang river, on account
of fome of the fuite being intended to join the Hindoftan in the
harbour of Tchu-fan. We were the lefs forry for this deviation,
as it gave us an opportunity of feeing a part of the country over
which there is no general communication with the grand route.
In paffing this neck of land, on a very fine caufeway, judici-
oufly led through the defiles of the mountains, we firft obferved
the terrace fyftem of agriculture, fo frequently mentioned in the
writings of the miffionaries. The Chinefe feem to entertain
a particular averfion againft fowing or planting on Hoping
ground and, accordingly, when fuch occurs, they level it into
a number of terraces one rifing above the other, which they
fupport by ftone walls, if the earth ihould not be thought fuf-
ficiently ftrong for the purpofe. The great conveniency of
leading the water from the uppermoft to the loweft terrace,
without lofing any of its nutritive effeds by a rapid courfe,
feems to have fuggefted this mode of preparing the ground.
In a hot and dry country, vegetation becomes languid without
the command of water ; and I obferved that on the uppermoft
terrace there was invariably a tank or refervoir to colle£t the
1 waters
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 531
waters falling from the upper parts of the hills. The cxpence
of labour, that had evidently been employed on fuch terraces,
was fo great as to make any fuitable return to the hufbandman
apparently impoflible ; and ftill lefs fo in other places where the
hills were completely dug away to the fkeleton rocks, and the
foil carried upon the marfliy ground at their feet.
With all this induftry it might be concluded, from the gene-
ral appearance of the people, that they merely gained a fub-
fiftence. It was with the utmoft difficulty that the officers of
government could procure, in the whole city which we lafl:
departed from, a fufficient number of chairs for themfelves and
thofe gentlemen of the embafly who preferred to be thus car-
ried, and horfes for the reft. For the foldiers, indeed, that
compofed his Excellency's guard, they had prepared a fort
of open bamboo chair, fixed between two poles and meant to
be carried flioulder- height. But the foldiers, fqueezed into
tliefe little chairs and elevated in the air, with their feathers
and their firelocks, foon perceived that they cut fuch ridiculous
figures and that the poor wretches who carried them were in
fo miferable a condition, both with regard to their clothing and
their habit of body, that, afhamed to be thus dragged along,
they prefently difmounted and infifted, in their turn, upon
carrying the Chinefe. Our conductors affedted to confider this
as a good joke, but others were evidently nettled at it, fup-
pofing it might have been meant as a kind of oblique refledion
on the indliferent accommodations that had been provided at
this place for the Embafiador and his retinue ; which were
3 Y s however
532 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
however the beft that it was poffible for them to procure by any
exertions.
Having finifhed this land journey, of about twenty-four
miles, in the courfe of the day, we lodged at Eu-Jhan-JJjein, a
fmall city of mean appearance and the following day embarked
on flat-bottomed barges, remarkably long and narrow, on the
river Long-Jlna-tong ; but two complete days of heavy rain
obliged us to remain quietly at anchor.
On the 24th of November we dropped down the river, which
by the rains was fwelled to an enormous fize and in fome
places had overflowed its banks, though in general high and
rocky compofed of a deep brown-coloured freeftone. Several
rice mills were fo completely inundated, that their thatched
roofs were but juft vifible above the furface of the water;
others were entirely waflied away ; and the wrecks of them
fcattered upon the banks of the river. A veflel of our fquadron
was upfet upon the roof of one of thefe mills.
During two days' fail the furface of the country was hilly
and well wooded with camphors, firs, and tallow-trees ; but as
we approached the Po-Yang lake, a fmall inland fea, it began
to aflume the uniform appearance of an extended marfh, with-
out any vifible figns of cultivation : here and there a few fmall
huts, {landing on the brink of pools of water, with twice the
number of fmall boats floating or drawn up on fhore, fufficiently
indicated the occupation of the inhabitants. In this part of the
country
{
TRAVELS IN CHI ^ A. 533
country we had an opportunity of feeing the various means
pra£lifed by the Chinefe to catch fifh : rafts and other floating
veflels with the fifliing corvorant : boats with moveable planks
turning on hinges, and painted fo as to deceive fifties on moon-
light nights and entice them to leap out of the water upon the
planks ; nets fet in every form ; and wicker baflcets made ex-
adly in the fame manner as thofe ufed in Europe. Large
gourds and blocks of wood were floating on the water, in order
to familiarize the various kinds of water-fowl to fuch objeds,
which gave the Chinefe an opportunity, by {ticking their heads
Into gourds or earthen pots and keeping their bodies under
water, to approach the birds in a gentle manner fufficiently
near to take them by the legs and draw them quietly under
the water ; a method which is faid to be pradifed by the natives
of South America.
The nearer we approached the great lake Po-yang, the more
dreary was the appearance of the country ; and for the diftance
of ten miles around it, or at leaft on the fouth and weft fides,
was a wild wafte of reeds and rank grafles, fuch as the Scirpus^
Cyperus, and bulrufhes, interrupted only by ftagnant pools of
water. Not a human dwelling of any defcription was to be
feen. This place may juftly be confidered as the fink of China,
into which rivers fall from every point of the compafs. It is
fcarcely poffible for the imagination to form to itfelf an idea of
a more defolate region than that which furrounds the Po-yang
lake. The temperature was fo reduced, by the circumambient,
waters, that on the 27th November, with drizzling ftiowers,
the thermometer was down to 48" in the forenoon. We failed
near four whole days over the fame kind of country and came,
towards
534 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
towards the evening of the laft, to the city of Nan-tchang-foo,
the capital of Klang-fee^ where we obferved from four to five
hundred of the revenue veffels lying at anchor. AVe waited at
this place a few hours to take in the neceflary provifions and
to receive a prefent of filk, tea, and fome other trifles from the
viceroy. We were told of a famous temple in the neighbour-
hood of the city, but we had no curiofity to go out of the way
to fee it, which was dedicated to the man who, as we have al-
ready obferved, made his apotbeofts comfortably in his ow^n
houfe ; that there was a well belonging to this teinple full of
large fnakes, whom the priefts venerate and to whom they ad-
monifli the people to make facrlfices, as being children of the
dragons which, if not conftantly appeafed by oblations to
thefe their offspring, would deftroy the whole world. Thus, in
all countries where votaries of fuperftition are to be found,
will knaves be met with to take advantage of their weaknefs.
The priefts of this temple are faid to have made one obferva-
tion, which is perhaps no fuperftition, that when thefe water
fnakes appear on the furface, rains and inundations are fure to
follow. I took advantage, however, of the (hort delay, to go
on board one of the revenue veflTels and to meafure the capa-
city of its hold. It was in length 1 15 feet, breadth 15 feet, and
depth 6 feet ; the fides ftreight and the width nearly the
fame fore and aft ; fo that the burden might fairly be eftimated
at 250 tons. Independent, therefore, of the innumerable fmall
craft, there were lying before this city 100,000 tons of {hip-
ping.
The city of Nan-tchang-foo is fituated upon the left bank of
the river Kan-kiang-ho falling from the fouthward into the
Po-yang
TRAVELS IN CHINA. S3S
Po-yang lake. It was here about five hundred yards in width,
againfl: the ftream of which we made a rapid progrefs with a
brifk breeze. For the firft fixty miles the country was flat and
uncultivated, except in places where we obferved a few fields
of rice. But there was no want of population. Towns and
villages were conftantly in fight, as were alfo manufa£lories of
earthen ware, bricks and tiles. The farther we advanced up
the river, the more populous was the country, the more varied
and agreeable the furface, and the more extended the cultiva-
tion. The banks w^ere Ikirted with large trees, that caft a cool
and comfortable fhade on the walks beneath. Of thefe, fome
were willows, others camphors, but by far the greateft numi-
ber were the Tatig-tchooy a large fpreading tree that threw its
branches down to the ground where, like the Ficus Indicus^ of
which indeed it was a variety, they took root and became
ftems.
At the city Kei-Jhui-JIjieti, which like moft cities In China
offered little worthy of remark, the river divided into two
branches ; and at Kin-gan-foo^ a city of the firft order, which
we paffed the fame night, by the river contrading fuddenly the
current became ftronger and of courfe our progrefs flower.
To track the barges it was neceffary again to prefs a number
of men ; here, however, it may be obferved, they undertook
the fervice with more willingnefs than to the northward. The
river meandered through a mountainous and barren country,
rich only in pidurefque beauty which, though pleafing to the
eye of the artift and the connoifleur, has lefs charms for the
philofopher, who finds more real beauties^ to exift in a foil-,
however
536 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
however tame and uniform, that can be rendered fubfervlent to
the ufes of man.
On the 3d of November we approached that part of the river
which, on account of the numerous fliip-wrecks that have hap-
pened there, is held in no fmall degree of dread by the Chinefe.
They call it the Shee-pa-tan, or the eighteen cataradls : which
are torrents formed by ledges of rock running acrofs the bed of
the river. They have not, however, any thing very terrific in
them, not one being half fo dangerous as the fall at London
bridge about half-tide. But the Chinefe have no great dexteri-
ty in the management of their veflels. They are fo eafiiy
alarmed, that they frequently mifcarry through timidity, when
a little recolle£lion and refolution would have fecured them
fuccefs. The mountains between which the river was hemmed
in were covered with forefts of the larch fir; the glens and
vallies abounded with the bamboo, of which we here obferved
two fpecies, one the fame that is common in other parts of the
Eaft, and the fecond much fmaller in its growth, fehlom exceed-
ing the height of ten feet ; and the fibres of its fmall ftem are
more hard and folid than thofe of the other fpecies. The Chi-
nefe ufe it in the finer parts of fuch houfehold furniture and
other articles as are conftru<3:ed of bamboo. From the margins
of the river to the feet of the forefts the lower parts of the
mountains were covered with coppice, among which the moft
common flirub bore a clofe refemblance to the tea plant, and
accordingly the Chinefe called it the Tcha-isuha^ or flower of
tea. It was the Camellia Sefanqua of Thunberg, to which they
had given the fame name (not being very nice in fpecific diftinc-
tlons)
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
m
tions, as to the Camellia Japcnica of Linna:us. From the nut
of the former not unlike to, though fomewhat fmaller than, the
chefnut, a very pleafant oil is exprefled and ufed for fimilar pur-
pofes to the Florence oil in Europe.
This intricate part of the river, where innumerable pointed
rocks occurred, fome above, fome even with, and others juft
below the furface of the water, required two long days' fail with
a fair breeze ; and the falls became more rapid and dangerous
the f;\rther we advanced. At the fifteenth catarad we per-
ceived two or three vefTels lying againft the rocks with their
fiat-bottoms uppermoft ; a terrible fight for our bargemen who,
like the countryman in the fable, inftead of applying the flioul-
der to the wheel, began to implore the afliftance of the river
god by founding the gong, in order to roufe his attention'
and by regaling his olfa(Sory nerves with the fmoke of fandal-
wood matches ; fo that had we been dropping down the ftream,
inftead of going againft it, there was every reafon to apprehend
that our barge would have fbared a fimilar fate ; for it received
many a gentle rub againft the rocks.
The appearance of the country in the neighbourhood of the
catarads was extremely beautiful. The tranfparency of the
ftream, the bold rocks finely fringed with wood, and the varied"
forms of the mountains called to mind thofe delightful ftreams
that are difcharged from the lakes of the northern' counties of
England. Like thefe too, the Kan-kiang-bo abounded with
fifti, not however with the delicious trout but one of much
lefs flavour, a fpecles of perch. Great numbers of rafts were
3 z floating
538 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
floating on the river with the fiftiing corvorant, and we obferved
that he feldom dived without fuccefs. For the whole diftance
of three days' journey, the hilly country bordering on the
river produced very little but the Camellia Sefanqua^ which ap-
peared to be every where of fpontaneous growth.
We halted on the 6th of December, late in the evening, be-
fore the city of Kan-tchoo-foo^ which is remarkable for nothing
that I could learn except for the great quantity of varnifti trees
the Rhus vcrnix I fuppofe, that are cultivated in the neigh-
bourhood. In the courfe of the journey we had picked up two
varieties of the tea plant, taken out of the gr.ound and potted
by our own gardener ; and which, being in good growing or-
der, were intended to be fent to Bengal as foon as occaCion
might ferve after our arrival at Canton. Knowing we fhould
be hurried away, as ufual, in the morning and wifhing to pro-
cure a few young plants of the varnifh tree, I prevailed on our
good friend Yan-ta-gin to difpatch fome perfon for that pur-
pofe, to add to thofe of the tea plant and the Camellia Sen/on-
qua. Van made application to the men in office at this place,
with the beft intention of ferving us, but thefe gentry, either
conceiving that their compliance might be treafon to the ftate,
or elfe, in the true fpirit of the nation, determined to play a
trick upon the ftrangers, certainly procured the plants and
fent them on board in pots, juft as we were departing the next
morning. In a fhort time they all began to droop, the leaves
withered and, on examination, it was found that not a fingle
plant among them had the leaft portion of a root, being nothing
more than fmall branches of trees which, from the nature
of
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 535
of the wood, were not likely nor indeed ever intended to
ftrike root.
From Kan-tchoo-foo the face of the country became more uni-
form and fuitable for the labours of agriculture ; and, accord-
ingly, we found a very fmall portion of it unoccupied. Wheat
about fix inches above ground and extenfi ve plantations of the fu-
garcane fit for cutting, were the chief articles under cultivation:
and the farther we advanced to the fouthward, the more abundant
and extended were thofe of the latter. The canes were remarkably
juicy and their joints from fix to nine inches in length. To
exprefs the juice from them and convert it into a confident
mafs, temporary mills were ereded in different places among
the plantations. The procefs was very fimple. A pair of cy-
linders, fometimes of ftone but more generally of hard wood,
placed vertically, were put in motion by oxen or bufFalos and
from the foot of thefe the exprefled juice was conveyed, by a
tube carried under the floor, into a boiler that was funk in the
gro"und at the end of the apartment ; where it was boiled to a
proper degree of confiftence the exprefled canes ferving as
fuel. Though unacquainted with the procefs of refining fugar,
the natural tendency that the fyrup poflTeflTes of forming itfelf
into cryftals in cooling had fuggefted to them the means of
obtaining very fine and pure fugar-candy which, in the market
of Canton, is fold in a pulverized ftate as white as the beft re-
fined fugar. The coarfe fyrup, ufually called treacle or
molafles, and the dregs, are not employed, as in the Weft.
India ifiands, in the diftillatlon of rum, but are fometimes
thrown into the dill with fermented rice, in order to procure a
3- z 2 better
540 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
better kind o{ Seau-tcboo or burnt wine ; tke chief ufe, however,
of the molafFes is to preferve fruits and other vegetable produc-
tions ; and particularly the roots of ginger, a conferve of which
the Chinefe are remarkably fond.
The bed of the river having, in the lapfe of ages, fettled to
the depth of twenty, thirty, or even forty feet below the general
level of the country, it became neceffary to employ fome artifi-
cial means of obtaining the water for the purpofe, of irrigation.
The contrivance made ufe of to raife it to the height of the
banks was fimple and ingenious ; and from hence it was con-
veyed in fmall channels to every part of the cane plantations.
Of the ufeful machine employed for this purpofes confift-
ing of a bamboo wheel which I underftand has been adopted
in America, a view and fedtion may be feen among the plates
accompanying Sir George Staunton's authentic account of the
embafly. I fhall therefore content myfelf with obferving in
this place that, the axis excepted, it is entirely conftrufted of
bamboo, without the afliftance of a fmgle nail or piece" of iron ;
that the expence of making it is a mere trifle ; that in its ope-
rations it requires no attendance, and that it will lift, to the
height of forty feet, one hundred and fifty tons of water
in the courfe of twenty-four hours *. Every plantation near
this part of the river had its wheel and fome of them two ;
• The water-wheels ftill ufed in Syria differ only from thofe of China, by
having loofe buckets fufpended at the circumference, inftcad of fixed tubes. ''Ihe
" whfcls of Hama," fays Volney, " are thirty-two feet in diameter. Troughs are
♦' fattened to the circumference, and fo difj-ofed as to fall in the river, and when
*• they reach the vertex of the wheel, difcharge the water into a refervoir."
x and
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 541
and the water ra'ifed by them was fometimes conveyed at once
into the plots of canes and fometimes into refervoirs, out of
which it was afterwards pumped, as occafion might require, by
the chain-pump and carried to thofe places where it might be
wanted along fmall channels coated with clay.
The women of this province were more robuft than ordinary
and well fuited, by their ftrength and mufcular powers, to en-
dure the hard labour and drudgery of the field, which feemed
to be their chief employment. This fort of labour, however,
might be the caufe, rather than the confequence, of their extra-
ordinary ftrength and mafculine form. The habitual ufe of
hard labour, to which the women are here brought up, fits
them beft to become the wives of the peafantry in the neigh-
bouring provinces ; and accordingly, when a Chinefe farmer is
defirous of purchafing a working wife he makes his offers in
Kiang-fce. It was here that we faw a woman yoked literally by
traces to a plough, whilft the hufband or mafter had the lighter
tafk of holding it by one hand and drilling in the feed with the
other. The exertion of labour together with the conftant ex-
pofure to the weather, in a climate fituated under the twenty-
fifth to the twenty-ninth parallel of latitude, have contributed
to render more coarfe and forbidding the features of the fair fex.
oi Kiang-Jce^ in the formation of which, indeed, Nature liad not
been too bountiful. Like the women of the Malay nation, with
whom they moft probably are derived from one common ftock,
they fixed their ftrong black hair clofe to the head by two metal
fkewefs. Their drefs, in other refpeds, was the fame as that
of the men, and like thefe they wore itraw fandals on their feet.
Thus
542 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Thus far, by avoiding the pain attendant on fafliionable feet,
and enjoying the free ufe of their limbs, they might be faid to
have the advantage of the city ladies. It was, indeed, obferved
that even fuch as were not employed in the labours of the field,
but kept conftantly at home for domeftic purpofes, were, in this
province, equally exempted from the barbarous fafhion of cramp-
ing the feet.
On the 9th we again entered a narrow defile and here witli
difficulty the vefTels were forced along againfl: a ftrong current ;
and over the pebbly bottom, againfl: which they were conftantly
ftriking. At Nan-gan-foo, where we arrived in the evening,
the river ceafes to be navigable. Indeed the whole of the three
laft days' navigation might, with propriety, in England be
called only a trout ftream; upon which no nation on earth,
except the Chinefe, would have conceived the idea of floating
any kind of craft ; they have however adapted, in an admirable
manner, the form and conftru£lion of their vefTels to the
nature and depth of the navigation ; towards the upper part of
the prefent river they drew only, when moderately laden,
about fix inches of water. They were from fifty to feventy
feet in length, narrow and flat-bottomed, a little curved, fo
that they took the ground only in the middle point. Yet, ia
feveral places, the water was fo (hallow that they could not be
dragged over until a channel had been made, by removing the
ftones and gravel with iron rakes. The length of this river,
from its fource at Na7t-gan-foo to the Po-yang lake, is nearly
three hundred Englifli miles. The banks in the low part of
the province oi Kiaug-fee confifted of a deep foil of black earth,
fupported
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 543
fupported on clay of a dark red or brown colour; denoting the
prefence of iron. The mountains were chiefly of red fand-
flone; and the foil of the hills, producing the Camellia, was a
brown loam mixed with particles of mica.
"We had now before us another land-journey, over the fteep
and lofty mountain of Me-lin, whofe fummit is the boundary
between the two provinces of Kia/ig-fee and ^iian-tung ; on
the fouth fide of which commences the river Pei-kiang-ho that
flows by the port of Canton ; and whofe mouth is familiarly-
known in Europe by the name of the Bocca Tigris, Ihe
afcent of this mountain, which fome undertook on horfeback.
and others in chairs, was made by a well-paved road, carried
in a zig-zag manner over the very higheft point, where a pafs
was cut to a confiderable depth through a granite rock ; a work
that had evidently not been aecompliflied with any moderate
degree of labour or expence. In the middle of the pafs was
a military port, much flronger than ordinary, and it was de-
fended or, more corredly fpeaking, it was fupplied with two-
old pieces of cannon, that had been caft, in all probability, near
two hundred years ago, perhaps by the Jefuits who firft taught
them an art which they feem already to have forgotten or
ncgletled.
The view from the fummit towards the fouth ward, over the
province of Canton, was as rich and enchanting as that on the
oppofite fide was dreary and barren. In defcending the gradual
flope of about twelve miles, before the mountain had blended
with the general furface of the country, t^ere. was a conftant
fucceffion
544 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
fucccflion of dwellings ; fo that this whole dlftance might almoft
he confidered as one continued ftreet. Half of the buildings
confifted, however, of places of convenience to which pafTen-
gers might retire to obey the calls of nature ; and the doors, or
rather the openings into fuch eredions, were always invitingly
fronting the flrect. To each fingle dwelling, whether alone or
joined with others, was annexed a fabric of this defcription.
Kach was conftrufted upon a large terrace ciftern, lined with
fuch materials that no abforption could take place ; and draw
and other dry rubbifh are thrown in by the owners, from time
to time, to prevent evaporation. In one of the ftreets of Can-
ton is a row of buildings of this kind which, in fo warm a
climate, is a dreadful nuifance ; but the confideration of pre-
ferving that kind of manure, v^'hich by the Chinefe is confidered
as fuperior for forcing vegetation to all others, has got the bet-
ter of both decency and prudence.
All the paffengers we met upon this road were laden with
jars of oil exprefled from the Camellia. In the courfe of
eighteen miles, which is about the diftance from the fummit
of Me-Un to the city of Nun-Jheun-foo , we pafled at leaft a
thoufand perfons on their way to Nan-gan-foo^ each bearing ten
or twelve gallons of oil and among thefe were a number of
women.
Having now traverfed five of the provinces of China, that
are confidered among the moft populous and produdive in the
empire, a general fketch may be drawn, by taking a retro-
fpedlve view, of the ftate of agriculture and the condition of
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 545
the people; of their habhations, drefs, diet and means of
fubfiftence ; and fome conclufion drawn as to the population
of the country.
It was a remark too fingular to efcape notice that, except in
the neighbourhood of the Po-yaiig lake, the peafantry of the
province in which the capital Hands were more miferable,
their houfes more mean and wretched, and their lands in a
worfe ftate of cultivation, than in any other part of the route —
a remark which alfo agrees with the accounts given by the
Dutch embafly of that part of Pe-tche-leCy on the fouth-weft
fide of the capital, through which they pafled. Four mud
walls covered over with a thatch of reeds, or the ftraw of millet,
or the flcms of holcus, compofe their habitations ; and they
are moft commonly fiirrounded with clay walls, or with a fence
made of the ftrong ftems of the Holctis Sorghum. A partition of
matting divides the hovel into two apartments; each of which has
a fmall opening in the wall to admit the air and light ; but one
door generally ferves as an entrance, the clofure of which is
frequently nothing more than a ftrong mat. A blue cotton
jacket and a pair of trovvfers, a ftraw hat and ftioes of the fame
material, conftitute the drefs of the majority of the people.
Matting of reeds or bamboo, a cylindrical pillow of wood co-
vered with leather, a kind of rug or felt blanket made of the
hairy wool of the broad-tailed flieep, not fpun and woven but
heat together as in the procefs for making hats, and fometimes
a mattrefs ftuffed with wool, hair, or ftraw, conftitute their
bedding. Two or three jars, a few bafons of earthen-ware of
the coarfeft kind, a large iron pot, a frying-pan and a portable
4 A ftove,
546 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
flove, are the chief articles of furniture. Chairs and tables are
not neceflary ; both men and women fit on their heels ; and in
this pofture they furround the great iron pot, with each a bafon
In his hands, when they take their meals. The poverty of
their food was fufficiently indicated by their meagre appear-
ance. It confifts chiefly of boiled rice, millet, or other grain,
with the addition of onions or garlic, and mixed fometimes
with a few other vegetables that, by way of relifh, are fried in
rancid oil, extraded from a variety of plants, fuch as the SeJJa-
miimy Brajica oriaital'is^ Cytijus Cadjan, a Ipecies of DoUchos,
and, among others, from the fame fpecies ol Ricinm or Palma-
Chri/li, from which the Caftor is drawn, and ufed only in
Europe as a powerful purgative. Its draftlc qualities may
probably be diminilhed by applying lefs preffure in extrading
the oil, or by habit, or by ufmg it frefli, as it does not appear
that the Chinefe fuffer any inconvenience in its application to
culinary purpofeSo As well as I could underftand, the feeds
were iirft bruifed and then boiled in water, and the oil that
floated on the furface was fkimmed off. Our Florence oil they
affeded not to admire having, as they liiid, no tafte. The
Chinefe, like the inhabitants of the South of Europe, feem to
attach a higher value on oils, in proportion as age has given to
them a higher degree of rancidity.
Filli of any kind, in this part of the country, is a great rarity ;
few are caught in the rivers of Pe-tche-lce, We met with none
in the whole province, except at Tiai-ftng and in the capital,
whofe market, no doubt, like that of London, draws to its
centre the choice produds of a very extenfive circuit. Salt and
dried
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 547
dried fifli, it is true, are brought from the fouthward as articles
of commerce, but the poor peafatitry cannot afford to purchafe
them for general ufe. They obtain them only fometlmes by
bartering millet or vegetables in exchange. A morfel of pork to
relllh their rice is almoft the only kind of meat that the poor can
afford to tafle. They have little rnllk and neither butter, nor
cheefe, nor bread; articles of nourlfhment to which, with potatoes,
the peafantry of Europe owe their chief fupport. Boiled rice, in-
deed, and not bread, is conlidered as an article of the firft ne-
cefllty, the ftalT of life in China. Hence the monofyllable /^;?,
which fignifies boiled rice, enters into every compound that
implies eating; thus tc/je-/lv!j the name of a meal in general, is
to eat rice; breakfifl: Is called the tfao-fon or morning rice,
and fupper tlie ouaii-fjH or evening rice. Their principal and
indeed their beft beverage is bad tea, boiled over and over again
as long as any bitter remains in the leaves, taken without milk
or fugar, or any other ingredient except, in cold weather, a
little ginger. In this weak flate the only purpofe it feems to
anfwer is that of carrying down the fedlment of muddy wa-
ter that abounds in all the flat provinces of China, which the
leaves of tea (as I fancy thofe of any other plant would) are
found to do. Thefe poor creatures, however, .are inftrudled
by popular opinion to afcribe to it many extraordinary qua-
lities *.
It
• The fimplc Ivillinjj of the w.iter indeed contiibutes greatly to the quick dcpofi-
tion of earthy particles, which may have been one caufe of the univerfal pradlce of
drinking every thing warm in China. They were furprifed to fee our foldiers and
fervants drinking the water of the Pei-ho cold, and told them it was very bad for
the- ftomach and bowels. This complaint, in fad, attacked ahnofl all the inferior
4 A 3 part
548 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
It would require a more familiar acquaintance with the
people and a longer refidence among them, than was allowed
to us, to explain the true reafon of fuch real poverty among
the peafantry in the vicinity of the capitalr Perhaps, indeed,
it may be owing, in a great degree, to the proximity of the
court, which in all countries has the efFedi: of drawing together
a crowd of people to confume the products of the foil, without
contributing any portion of labour towards their produdion.
The encouragement that is here given to idlenefs and diflipa-
tlon is but too apt to entice the young peafantry in the neigh-
bourhood from their houfes, and thus rob the country of its beft
hands. The foil, likewife, near the capital is barren and fandy,
producing few fupplies beyond the wants of the feveral tenants;
and all other neceflaries of life not raifed by them muft be pur-
chafed extravagantly dear. It is, indeed, furprizlng how this
immenfe city, faid to contain three millions of inhabitants, is
contrived to be fupplied at any rate, confidering the very fterile
and unprodudtive ftate of the country for many miles around
it. It might not, however, be a matter of lefs aftonifhment to
a Chinefe, nor lefs difficult for him to conceive, in what man-
ner our own capital receives its daily fupplies, efpecially after
he had obferved that there is not a angle road, by which Lon-
part of the embafTy, which Doftor Gillan did not hefitate to afcribe to the great im-
purity of the water. But the Chinefe argued the point with the Doftor with re-
gard to taking it cold, afking him why all the fluids of the body were warm, if na-
ture had intended us to drink water and other liquids in a cold ftate ! They feemed
to have forgotten that all the warm-blooded animals, except man^ muft neceflarily
drink cold water.
V don
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 549
don can be approached, that is not carried over vaft tra£ls of un-
cultivated commons and wafte grounds.
The vallles of Tartary furnifli beeves and broad-tailed fheep
for Pekin, and grain is brought by water from every part of
the country, of which the government takes the precaution to
lay up in ftore a fufficient quantity for a twelvemonth's con-
fumption. Of animal food, pork is moftly confumed. Few
peafants are without their breed of hogs ; thefe animals, indeed,
are likevvife kept in large cities, where they become public
nuifances. Bad beef in Pekin fells for about fix-pence the
pound ; mutton and pork eight-pence ; lean fowls and ducks
from two to three fhillings ; eggs are generally about one penny
each ; fmall loaves of bread that are boiled in fteam, without
yeaft or leaven, are about four-pence a pound ; rice fells ufually
at three-halfpence or two-pence the pound ; wheat flour at
two-pence halfpenny or three-pence ; fine tea from twelve to
thirty fhillings a pound ; that of the former price, at leaft fuch
as was procured clandeftinely for us, not drinkable, and the
latter not near fo good as that of about fix fhillings in Lon-
don *. There are, indeed, plenty of tea-houfes in and near
the capital, where the labouring people may purchafe their cup
of tea for two fmall copper coin (not quite a farthing) but it is
miferably bad. A tolerable horfe and a man-flave are ufually
about the fame price, being from fifteen, to twenty ounces of
* As thefe teas however were purchiifedby Chinefe, 1 have no doubt they refervcd
to themfelves a very large profit on the commiffioii, for it is fcarcely poiUble that this
article, the growth and produce of the middle provinces, fliould bear a price fo far
beyond what the very beft fells for in London*
1 filver.
550 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
filver. The article of drefs worn by the common people is not
very expenfive. The peafantry are invariably clad in cotton ;
and this article is the produce of mod of the provinces. The
complete dj'efs of a peafant is about fifteen fhillings ; of a com-
mon tradefman three pounds ; an officer of government's com-
mon drefs ten pounds ; of ceremony about thirty pounds ; and
if enriched with embroidery and gold and filver tilTue, between
two and three hundred pounds : a pair of black fatin boots
twenty flaillings ; and a cap or bonnet about the fame fum.
The price of labour, however, and particularly in Pekin, bears
no fort of proportion to the price of provifions. A mechanic
in this city thinks hitnfelf well paid if he gets a Ihilling a-day.
A common weaver, joiner, or other tradefman earns a bare
fubfiftence for his family ; and the beft fervants may be hired
for an ounce of filver a-month. Many are glad to give their
fervices in exchange for their fubfiftence, without any confi-
deration in hard money. Tobacco being an indifpenfable arti-
cle for all ranks of every age and fex bears of courfe a high
price in the capital. It is fingular enough, that this plant (hould
have found its way into every part of the world, among favage
as well as civilized nations, even into the deferts of Africa,
where it was found in conftant ufe among the Boofhuanas, a
people, till very lately, totally unknown ; and It is equally fin-
gular, that an herb of fo dilagreeable a tafte fhould, by habit,
obtain an afcendency fo far over the appetite, as not eafily to
be relinquifhed.
The climate of the northern provinces is unfavourable to the
poor peafantry. The fummers are fo warm that they go
nearly
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 551
nearly naked and the winters fo fevere that, what with their
poor and fcanty fare, their want of fuel, clothing, and even
fhelter, thoufands are faid to perifh from cold and hunger. In
fuch a condition the ties of nature fometimes yield to felf-pre-
fcrvatlon, and children are fold to fave both the parent and ofF-
fpring from perifhing for want ; and infants become a prey to
hopelefs indigence. We have feen in the notes taken by the
gentleman in the Dutch embafly, how low the temperature is
at Pekin in the winter months ; and they have no coals nearer
than the mountains of Tartary, which are all brought on the
backs of dromedaries ; of courfe, they are extravagantly dear.
In fadl, they are fcarcely ever burned pure, but are crumbled
to duft and mixed up with earth, in which ftatc they give out
a very llrong hear, but no flame, and are fuitable enough for
their fmall clofe ftoves.
Although it is a principle of the Chinefe government to ad-
mit of no diftinftions among its fubjefts, except thofe that learn-
ing and office confer ; and although the moft rigid fumptuary
laws have been impofed to check that tendency to fhew and
fplendor, which wealth is apt to alTume ; and to bring as much
as poflible oh a level, at leaft in outward appearance, all condi-
tions of men ; yet, with regard to diet, there is a wider differ-
ence perhaps between the rich and the poor of China, than in
any other country. That wealth which, if permitted, would
be expended in flattering the vanity of its poileflTors, is now ap-
plied in the purchafe of dainties to pamper the appetite. Their
famous Gin-fing^ a name fignifying the life of man (the Panax
quinqucfoUuvi of Linnseus) on account of its fuppofed invigo-
rating
552 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
rating and aphrodifiac qualities was, for a length of time,
weighed againft gold. The finewy parts of flags and other ani-
mals, with the fins of fharks, as produdive of the" fame eftedls,
are purchafed by the wealthy at enormous prices : and the nefts
that are conftrud:ed by fmall fvvallows on the coafts of Cochin-
china, Cambodia, and other parts of the Eaft, are dearer even
than fome kinds of Gi//^^^. Moft of the plants that grow on
the fea-fliore are fuppofed to poflefs an invigorating quality,
and are, therefore, in conftant ufe as pickles or preferves, or fim-
ply dried and cut into foups in the place of other vegetables.
The leaves of one of thefe, apparently a fpecies of that genus of
fea-weed called by botanifts fuciis^ after being gathered, are
rteeped in frefli water and hung up to dry. A fmall quantity
of this weed boiled in water gives to it the confiftence of a
jelly, and when mixed with a little fugar, the juice of an orange,
or other fruit, and fet by to cool, I know of no jelly more agree-
able or refrefliing. The leaf is about fix inches long, narrow
and pointed, deeply ferrated, and the margins ciliated ; the
middle part fmooth, femi-tranfparent, and of a leathery confift-
ence. The Chinefe call it Chin-chou.
The great officers of ftate make ufe of thefe and various
other gelatinous viands for the purpofe of acquiring, as they
fuppofe, a proper degree of corpulency *, which is confidered
by
• An old Frenchman {Cojfigny) but a dilciple of the new fchoo!, has found out
that the Chinefe are in pofletlion of a new fcience, the exiftence of which was not
even fufpefted by the enlightened nations of Europe. As he has the merit of mak-
ing this wonderful difcovery, it is but fair to announce it in his own words : " Je
" penfe que nous devrions prendre chez eux (les Chinois) les premiers elemens de la
«' fper-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 553
by them as refpeflable and impofing upon the multitude ; of
a great portion of whom it may be obferved, as Falftaff faid
of his company, " No eye hath (een fuch fcare-crows." It
would be rare to find, among the commonalty of China, one
to compare with a porter-drinking citizen or a jolly-looking
farmer of England. They are indeed naturally of a flender
habit of body and a fickly appearance, few having the bliifli
of health upon their cheeks. The tables of the great are co-
vered with a vafl: variety of diflies, confifting moftly of ftews
of fifli, fowl and meat, feparately and jointly, with proper pro-
portions of vegetables and fauces of different kinds. Their
beverage confifts of tea and whifke/. In fipping this ardent fpi-
rit, made almoft boiling hot, eating paftry and fruits, and fmok-
ing the pipe, they fpend the greateft part of the day, beginnin"'
from the moment they rife and continuing till they go to bed. In
hot weather they fleep in the middle of the day,attendcd by two fer-
vants, one to fan away the flies and the other to keep them cool.
The province of Pe-tche-lee embraces an extent of climate
from 38'^ to 40^° of north latitude. The temperature is very
" fpermatologle, fcience toiite nonvellc pour I'Europe, fcicnce qui intereffe I'humanite
" en general, en liii procuraflt des joiiifTances qui I'attachent a fon exiftence, en en-
" trctenant la fantc et la vigeur, en rcparant I'.ibus des exces, encontribuant a I'aug-
" mentation de la population. II feroit digne de la follicitude des gouvernemcns de
" s'occuper des recherches qui pourroient donner des connoiflances fur une fcience
" a peine foup9onnee des peuples ^claires de I'Europe." He then announces his
knowledge in preparing " des petites paftilles qui font aphrodifiaques et qui convien-
" nent fur- tout aux veillards, et a ceux qui out fait des exces :" and he concluded
with the mortifying; intclligenci; th it he is not permitted to reveal the important
fecret, " qji interelfe I'humanite cu general."
4 a various.
554 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
various. In fummer Fahrenheit's thermometer is generally
above 80° during the day, fometimes exceeding 90° ; and, in
the middle of winter, it remains for many days together below
the freezing point, defcending occafionally to zero or o. But
it generally enjoys a clear pure atmofpbere throughout the whole
year.
In the pradical part of agriculture, in this province, we ob-
ferved little to attradl attention or to commend. The farmer
gets no more than one crop off the ground in a feafon, and
this is generally one of the fpecies of millets already mentioned,
or holcus, or wheat ; but l,'.ey fometimes plant a dolichos or
bean between the rows of wheat, which ripens after the latter
is cut down. They have no winter crops, the hard frofty wea-
ther ufually fetting in towards the end of November and con-
tinuing till the end of March. The three different modes of
fowing grain, by drilling, dibbling, and broadcaft, are all in
life but chiefly the firft, as being the moft expeditious and
the crop moft eafy to be kept free from weeds ; the laft is rarely
pradtifed on account of the great wafte of feed ; and dibbling is
ufed only in fmall patches of ground near the houfes when they
aim at neatnefs. The foil, being in general loofe and fandy
and free from ftones, is worked without much difficulty, but
it feemed to require a good deal of manure ; and this neceflfary
article from the paucity of domeftic animals is extremely fcarce.
Very few iheep or cattle were obferved, yet there was an abun-
dance of land that did not feem for many years to have felt the
ploughfhare.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
555
The draught cattle moll generally in ufe are oxen, mules,
and afles. Horfes are fcarce and of a fmall miferable breed,
incapable of much work; a remark, indeed, which will apply to
every province of the empire; though thofe of Tartary, which
compofed the Emperor's ftud, according to the Embalfador's
defcription, were not wanting in point of fize, beauty, or fpirit.
No pains, however, are beftowed to effect, nor do they feem
to be fenfible of the advantages to be derived from, an improve-
ment in the breed of cattle. Nor indeed is any care taken of
the bad breed which they already poffefs. It would be fup-
pofed that, where a regular eftablifliment of cavalry is kept up
to an amount that fccms almoil incredible, fome attention
would be paid to the nature and condition of their horfes.
This, however, is not the cafe. A Scotch poney, wild from the
mountains, which has never felt the teeth of a currycomb and
whofe tail and mane are clotted together with dirt, is in fit
condition to join a regiment of Tartar cavalry. Thofe kept
by men in office are equally negleded. The Chinefe have no
idea that this noble animal requires any attention beyond that
of giving him his food ; and of this, in general, he receives a
very fcanty portion.
That part of the province of Shan-tiing through which we
travelled exhibited a greater variety of culture than Pe-tche-lee ;
but the furface of the northern parts efpecially was equally
uniform. The foil, confiding generally of mud and (lime
brought apparently by the inundations of rivers, contained not
a fingle pebble. The feafon was too late to form any eftimate
of the crops produced upon the immenfe plains oi Sban-tung ;.
4 B 2 but
556 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
but the young crops of wheat, {landing at this time (the middle
of Odober) a few inches above the ground, looked extremely
well. Little wafte ground occurred, except the footpaths and
the channels which ferved as divifion marks of property. Some
attempts indeed were here made at the divifion of grounds by
hedge-rows, but with little fuccefs ; the plant they had adopted,
the Palvia Chrijl't^ was ill-fuited for fuch a purpofe. As we ad-
vanced to the fouthward, in this province, the proportion of
wheat under cultivation diminifhed, and its place was employed
by plantations of cotton, whofe pods were now ripe and burft-
ing. The plant was low and poor in growth, but the branches
"were laden with pods. Like the wheat it was planted or dib-
bled in rows. The cotton produced the fecond year was faid
to be confidered as equally good with that of the firft, but be-
ing found to degenerate the third year, it was then rooted out
and the ground prepared for frefh feed *.
The
* In the tenth volume of a very extenfive agricultural work, is detailed the whols
procefs of cultivating the cotton from the feed to the web. The author obferves,
" The cotton in its raw ftate affords a light and pleafant lining for clothes ; the feed
" yields an oil, which, being exprefled from them, the remainder is ferviceable as
" manure ; the capfules or pods, being hard and woody, are ufej for firing, and the
" leaves afford nourifhment to cattle, fo that every part of the vegetable may be ap-
" propriated to fome ufeful purpofe.
" The foil mod favourable to this plant is a white fand, with a fmall proportion of
" clay or loam. The plant affeiSs an elevated open fituation, and cannot endure tow
" marfhy grounds.
*' After all the cotton pods are gathered, the remaining ftems and branches
'• fhould be cleared away without lofs of time, and the ground carefully ploughed up,
•' to e.xpofe a new furface to the air and renew the vigour of the foil.
" When the plough has paffed through the ground three times, the earth fhould be
•• raked level, that the wind may not raife or dry up any part of it.
" When
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 557
The fouthern parts of Shan iu?ig sltq compofed of mountains
and fwamps. Here, lakes of various n^agnitudes occur and
large trads of country fimilar to thofe which are known to us
by the name of peat-mofs. In fuch places the population could
not be expelled to be exceflive ; and, accordingly, we met with
few inhabitants, except thofe who fubfifted their families by
fifliing. So great were the numbers engaged in this employ-
ment, who lived entirely in floating veflTels, that we judged
When there is an abundance of manure, it may be laid on previous to
" the ufe of the plough, but if it be fcarce, &c. it will be preferable to apply it to the
" foil at the time of fowing the feed.
" The manure fhould be old and well prepared, and among the bed ingredients for
" the purpofe, is the refufe of vegetable fubftances, from which an oil has been ex-
" prefled.
" In the fouthern provinces the cotton plant will laft for two or three years, but to
" the n6rth\vard the feed muft be fown annually."
The author then enumerates nine diftin<5t varieties and their comparative quali-
ties ; after which he proceeds to the choice of feed, under which head he obferves,
that if the feed be fteeped in water, in which eels have been boiled, the plant will refift
the attack of iiifeds. He then defcribes the three methods of broadcafl, drilling, and
dibbling, :ind gives a decided preference of the laft, though it be the moft laborious.
" The ground being well prepared, holes are to be made at the diftance of a cubit
" from each other, and the lines a cubit apart. A little water is firft to be poured
" in, and then four or five feeds, after which each hole is to be covered with a mix-
*• ture of foil and manure, and firmly trodden down with the foot. In the other
" methods a roller is to be ufed."
The next procefs is weeding, loofening, and breaking fine the earth. — He then
obferves, " After the plants have attained feme degree of ftrength and fize, the moft
•' advanced and perfeift plant fhould be feledled, and ail the reft rooted out, for if two
" or more be fuffered to rife together, they will increafe in height without giving la-
<' teral (hoots ; the leaves will be large and luxuriant, but the pods will be few." He
next proceeds to the pruning of the plants to nnake them bear coploufly — gathering
the pods — preparing and fpinning the wool — weaving the cloth. — Tliis abridged ac-
count I have given to Ihew, that they are not deficient in writings of this kind.
the
558 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
the waters to be fully as populous as the land. No rent Is ex-
aded by the government, nor toll, nor tythe, nor licence-mo-
ney for permiflion to catch fifh ; nor is there any fort of impe-
diment againft the free ufe of any lake, river or canal whatfoever.
The gifts that nature has beftovv^ed are cautioufly ufurped by
any power, even in this defpotic government, for individual
ufe or profit ; but are fuffered to remain the free property of all
who may chufe by their labour to derive advantage from them.
But even this free and unreftrained ufe is barely fufficient to
procure for them the neceflaries, much lefs any of the comforts,
of life. The condition of the peafantry, in the northern parts
of this province, was much more defirable. Their clothing
was decent ; their countenances cheerful, indicating plenty ;
and their dwellings were built of bricks or wood, appearing
more folld and comfortable than thofe of the province in which
the capital is fituated. But the poor fifhermen carried about
with them unequivocal marks of their poverty. Their pale
meagre looks are afcribed to the frequent, and almoft exclufive,
ufe of fifli ; which is fuppofed to give them a fcrophulous
habit of body. Their endeavours, however, are not wanting
to correft any acid or unwholefome humours that this fort of
diet may produce, by the abundant ufe of onions and garlic,
which they cultivate even upon the waters. Having no houfes
on ftiore, nor ftationary abode, but moving about in their vef-
fels upon the extenfive lakes and rivers, they have no induce-
ment to cultivate patches of ground, which the purfuits of their
profeflion might require them to leave for the profit of ano-
ther; they prefer, therefore, to plant their onions on rafts of
bamboo, well interwoven with reeds and ftrong grafs and
covered
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
SS9
covered with earth ; and thefe floating gardens are towed after
their boats.
The women aflift in dragging the net and other operations
of taking fifh j but the younger part of the family are fometlmes
employed in breeding ducks. Thefe ftupid birds here acquire
an aftonifhing degree of docility. In a fmgle veflel are fome-
times many hundreds which, like the cattle of the Kaffers in
fouthern Africa, on the fignal of a whiftle leap into the water,
or upon the banks to feed ; and another whiftle brings them back.
Like the ancient Egyptians,jthey ufe artificial means of hatching
eggs, by burying them in fand at the bottom of wooden boxes,
and placing them on plates of iron kept moderately warm by
fmall furnaces underneath. Thus the old birds which, pro-
vided they hatched their eggs themfelves, would only produce
one brood, or at mod two, in the courfe of the year, continue
to lay eggs almoft every month. Hogs are alfo kept in many
of the fifhing craft. In fadl, ducks and hogs affording the moll
favory meat, moft abounding in fat and, it may be added, beft
able to fubfift themfelves, are efteemed above all other animals.
The ducks being fplit open, falted, and dried in the fun, are
exchanged for rice or other grain. In this ftate we found
them an excellent rellfh y and, at our requeft, they were
plentifully fupplied during the whole progrefs through the
country.
The province of Shan-tung extends in latitude from thirty-
four and a half to thirty-eight degrees. The mean tempera-
ture, from the 19th of 0(3;oberto the 29th of the fome month,
was
360 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
was about fifty-two degrees at fun-nfe, to feventy degrees at
noon. A conftant clear and cloudlefs fky.
The numerous canals and rivers, that in every diredtlon inter-
fe«ft the province oi Kiarig-najt, and by which it is capable of being
flooded to any extent in the dryefl: feafons, render it one ot
the moft valuable and fertile diftrids in the whole empire. Every
part of it, alfo, having a free communication with the Yellow
Sea by the two great rivers, the Whang-ho and the Tatig-tfe-
kiaiig, it has always been confidered as the central point for
the home trade ; and, at one time, its chief city Nankin was
the capital of the empire. That beautiful and durable cotton
of the fame name is here produced and fent to the port of
Canton ; from whence it is ibipped off to the different parts
of the world. The Chinefe rarely wear it in its natural
colour, except as an article of mourning ; but export it chiefly,
taking in return vaft quantities of unmanufadured white cot-
ton from Bengal and Bombay, finding they can purchafe this
foreign wool at a much cheaper rate than that at which the
nankin fells. For mourning drelTes and a few other purpofes
white cotton is made ufe of, but in general it is dyed black or
blue : among fome of our prefents were alfo pieces of a beauti-
ful fcarlet. Near moft of the plantations of cotton we obferved
patches of indigo ; a plant which grows freely in all the
middle and fouthern provinces. The dye of this fhrub being
no article of commerce in China is feldom, if ever, prepared
in a dry ftate, but is generally employed to communicate its
colouring matter from the leaves, to avoid the labour and the
lofs that would be required to reduce it to a folid fubftance.
We
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 561
We obferved that, in the cotton countries, almoft every cottage
had its garden of indigo. As in ancient times, in our own
country, when every cotrager brewed his own beer ; kept his
own cow for milk and butter ; bred his own fheep, the wool of
which being fpun into yarn by his own family was manufac-
tured into cloth by the parifli weaver ; and when every peafant
raifed the materials for his own web of hempen cloth ; fo it ftill
appears to be the cafe in China. Here there are no great far-
mers nor monopolifts of grain ; nor can any individual nor
body of men, by any poflibility, either glut the market, or with-
hold the produce of the ground, as may beft fuit their purpofe.
Each peafant is fuppofed, by his induftry, to have the means
of fubfiftence within himfelf; though it often happens that
thefe means, from adverfe circumftances which hereafter will
be noticed, fail of producing the defired effed.
In the province of Klang-nan each grows his own cotton ; his
wife and children fpin it into thread and it is woven into a web
in his own houfe, fometimes by his own family, but more fre-
quently by others hired for the purpofe. A few bamboos con-
ftitute the whole machinery required for this operation. Money
he has none ; but his produce he can eafily barter for any little
article of neceflity or luxury. The fuperfluitics of life, which
thofe in office may have occafion to purchafe, are paid for in
bars of filver without any impreffion,but bearing value for weight,
like the Roman as or the Yi^hxcw Jloekel. The only coin in cir-
culation is the Tche?iy a piece of fome inferior metal mixed with
a fmall proportion of copper, of the value of the thoufandth
part of an ounce of filver ; with this fmall piece of money the
4 c little
562 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
little and conftantly demanded neceflaries of life are purchafed,
fuch as could not conveniently be obtained by way of barter. Sil-
ver is rarely lent out at intereft, except between mercantile men
in large cities. The legal intereft is twelve per cent, but it is
commonly extended to eighteen, fometimes even to thirty-fix.
To avoid the punilhment of ufury, what is given above twelve
per cent, is in the ihape of a botius. " Ufury, in China," ob-
ferves Lord Macartney, " like gaming elfewhere, is a difho-
" nourable mode of getting money ; but by a fort of compact
" betv/een neceflity and avarice, between affluence and diftrefs,
" the profecution of a Jew or a fharper is confidered by us as
" not very honourable even in the fufferers."
The greater the diftance from the capital, the better was the
apparent condition of the people. The Viceroy, when he
received his Excellency on the entry of the embafl'y into this
province, happened to caft his eye upon the half-ftarved and
half-naked trackers of the boats ; and being either afliamed of
their miferable appearance, or feeling compaflion for their fitu-
ation, he ordered every man immediately a fuit of new cloaths.
In the morning, when our force was muftered, we were not
a little furprized to fee the great alteration that had taken place
in the appearance of our trackers : every man had a blue cotton
jacket edged with red, a pair of new white trowfers, and a
fmart hat with a high crown and feather. The natural fertility
of the country, its central fituation commanding a brifk trade,
the abundance of its fifheries on the large rivers and lakes
were incentives to induftry, for the vaft population that feemed
to be equally diftribuied over every part of the province.
I Rice
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 563
Rice being the ftaple of China was abundantly cultivated,
in all fuch places as afforded the greateft command of water.
The ufual average produce of corn-lands is reckoned to be from
ten to fifteen for one ; and of rice, from twenty- five to thirty ;
commonly about thirty. Thofe corn-lands that will admit of
eafy irrigation are ufually turned over with the plough imme-
diately after the grain is cut ; which, in the middle provinces,
is ready for the fickle early in June, about the fame time that the
young rice fields ftand at the height of eight or ten inches.
Thefe being now thinned, the young plants are tranfplanted
into the prepared wheat lands, which are then immediately
flooded. Upon fuch a crop they reckon from fifteen to twenty
for one. Inftead of rice one of the millets is fometimes fowa
as an after-crop, this requiring very little water, c.- the Cad"
jan^ a fpecies of Do/ic/jos or fmall bean, for oil, requiring ftill
lefs. Or, it is a common pradlice, after taking oflf a crop of
cotton and indigo, in the month of Odober, to fow wheat, in
order to have the land again clear in the month of May or
June. Such a fucceffion of crops, without ever fuffering the
land to lie fallow, fhould feem to require a large quantity of
manure. In fa£t, they fpare no pains in procuring comports
and manures; but they alfo accomplifh much without thefe
materials, by working the foil almoft incefTantly and mixing
it with extraneous matters as, for inftance, marie with light
and fandy foils, or if this is not to be had, ftifF clay ; and on
clayey grounds they carry fand and gravel. They alfo drag the
rivers and canals and pools of water for flime and mud ; and
they preferve, with great care, all kinds of urine, in which it
4 c 2 is
564 T R A V E L S 1 N C H 1 N A.
is an unlverfal praftice to ftecp the feeds previous lo their being
fown. If turnip-feeds be fteeped in lime and urine, the plant
is faid not to be attacked by the infeift. Near all the houfes
are large earthen jars funk in the ground, for colleding and
preferving thefe and other materials that are convertible, by
putrefactive fermentation, into manure. Old men and chil-
dren may be feen near all the villages with fmall rakes and
bafkets, collecting every kind of dirt, or offals, that come in
their way. Their eagernefs to pick up whatever may be ufed
as manure led to fome ridiculous fcenes. Whenever our barges
halted and the foldiers and fervants found it neceffary to ftep
on fhore, they were always purfued to their place of retirement
by thefe colledors of food for vegetables. It may literally be
faid in this country, that nothing is fuffered to be loft. The
profeflion of {having is followed by vaft numbers in China.
As the whole head is fhaved, except a fmall lock behind, few,
if any, are able to operate upon themfelves. And as hair is
confidered an excellent manure, every barber carries with him
a fmall bag to colle£t the fpoils of his razor.
The common plough of the country is a fimple machine
and much inferior to the very worft of ours. We faw one
drill plough in Shan-tung different from all the reft. It con-
fifted of two parallel poles of wood, fliod at the lower ex-
tremities with iron to open the furrows ; thefe poles were
placed on wheels : a fmall hopper was attached to each
pole to drop the feed into the furrows, which were covered
with earth by a tranfverfe piece of wood fixed behind, that
juft fwept the furface of the ground.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 56^
The machine ufually employed for clearing rice from the
huflc, in the large way, is exadly the fame as that now ufed
in Egypt for the fame purpofc, only that the latter is put in
motion by oxen and the former commonly by water. This
machine confifts of a long horizontal axis of wood, with cogs
or projeQing pieces of wood or iron fixed upon it, at certain
intervals, and it is turned by a water-wheel At right angles
to this axis are fixed as many horizontal levers as there are
circular rows of cogs ; thefe levers aft on pivots, that are
fallened into a low brick wall built parallel to the axis, and at
the diftance of about two feet from it. At the further extremity
of each lever, and perpendicular to it, is fixed a hollow peftle,
diredly over a large mortar of ftone or iron funk into the
ground ; the other extremity extending beyond the wall, be-
ing prefled upon by the cogs of the axis in its revolution, ele-
vates the peftle, which by its own gravity falls into the mortar.
An axis of this kind fometimes gives motion to fifteen or twenty
levers. This machine "*, as well as the plough, ftill in ufe in
modern Egypt, which is alfo the fame as the Chinefe plough,
have been confidered by a member of the French Inftitute to be
the fame inftruments as thofe employed in that country two
thoufand years ago ; and judging from the maxims of the Chi-
nefe government, and the charadler of the people, an antiquity
equally great may be afligned to them in the latter country. The
bamboo wheel for raifing water, or fomething approaching very
near to it, either with buckets appended to the circumference,
or with fellies hollowed out fo as to fcoop up water, was alfo in
♦ See the plate facing page 37.
ufe
^66 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ufe among the ancient Egyptians ; and, as I have before ob-
ferved, continue to be fo among the Syrians ; from thefe they
are fuppofed to have paffed into Perfia, where they are aho ftill
employed, and from whence they have derived, in Europe,
the name of Perfian wheels. The chain-pump of China, com-
mon in the hands of every farmer, was likewife an inftrument
of hulbandry in Egypt.
A very erroneous opinion feems to have been entertained in
Europe, with regard to the fkill of the Chinefe in agriculture.
Induftrious they certainly are, in an eminent degree, but their
labour does not always appear to be beftowed with judgment.
The inftruments, In the firft place, they make ufe of are inca-
pable of performing the operations of hufbandry to the greateft
advantage. In the deepeft and beft foils, their plough feldom
cuts to the depth of four inches, fo that they fow from year to
year upon the fame foil, without being able to turn up new
earth, and to bury the worn-out mould to refrefh itfelf. Sup-
pofing them, however, to be fupplied with ploughs of the beft
conftrudlion, we can fcarcely conceive that their mules and
afles and old women, would be equal to the talk of drawing
them.
The advantage that large farms in England poflefs over fmall
ones confifts principally in the means they afford the tenant
of keeping better teams than can poflibly be done on the latter,
and confequently of making a better tilth for the reception of
feed. The opulent farmer, on the fame quantity of ground,
will invariably raife more produce than the cottager can pretend
to
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 567
to do. In China nine-tenths of the peafantry may be confi-
dered as cottagers, and having few cattle (millions I might add
none at all) it can fcarcely be expeded that the whole country
fhould be in the bed poflible ftate of cultivation. As horticul-
turifts they may perhaps be allowed a confiderable fhare of me-
rit ; but, on the great fcale of agriculture, they are certainly not
to be mentioned with many European nations. They have no
knowledge of the modes of improvement pradtifed in the vari-
ous breeds of cattle ; no inftruments for breaking up and pre-
paring wafte lands; no fyftem for draining and reclaiming
fwamps and morafles ; though that part of the country over
which the grand communication is effedled between the two ex-
tremities of the empire, abounds with lands of this nature,
where population is exceffivc and where the multitudes of
(hipping that pafs and repafs create a never failing demand for
grain and other vegetable products. For want of this know-
ledge, a very confiderable portion of the richefl: land, perhaps,
in the whole empire, is fuffered to remain a barren and unpro-
fitable wafte. If an idea may be formed from what we faw in
the courfe of our journey, and from the accounts that have been
given of the other provinces, I fhould conclude, that one-
fourth part of the whole country nearly confifts of lakes and
low, four, fwampy grounds, which are totally uncultivated : and
which, among other reafons hereafter to be mentioned, may
ferve to explain the frequent famines that occur in a more fatif-
faftory way, than by luppofing, with the Jefuits, that they arc
owing to the circumftance of the nations bordering upon them
to the weftward being favage and growing no corn. Their
ignorance of draining, or their dread of inundations, to which
the
568 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
the low countries of China, in their prefent flate, are fabjc£t,
may perhaps have driven them, in certain fituations, to the
neceffity of levelling the fides of mountains into a fucceffion of
terraces ; a mode of cultivation frequently taken notice of by
the miffionaries as unexampled in Europe and peculiar to the
Chinefe ; whereas it is common in many parts of Europe. The
mountains of the Pays de Vaud, between Laufanne and Vevay,
are cultivated in this manner to their fummits with vines.
" This would have been impradicable," fays Doctor Moore,
" on account of the fteepnefs, had not the proprietors built
" ftrong ftone walls at proper intervals, one above the other,
" which fupport the foil, and from little terraces form the bot-
" torn to the top of the mountains." But this method of ter-
racing the hills is not to be confidered, by any means, as a com-
mon practice in China. In our dire£l route it occurred only
twice, and then on fo fmall a fcale as hardly to deferve notice.
The whole territorial right being vefted in the fovereign, the
wafte lands of courfe belong to the crown ; but any perfon, by
giving notice to the proper magiflrate, may obtain a property
therein, fo long as he continues to pay fuch portion of the efti-
mated produce as is required to be collected into the public ma-
gazines.
When I faid that the Chinefe might claim a confiderable fhare
of merit as horticulturifts, I meant to confine the obfervation to
their {kill and induftry of raifing the greateft poflible quantity
of vegetables from a given piece of ground Of the modes
pra£tifed in Europe of improving the quality of fruit, they feein
to have no juft notion. Their oranges are naturally good and
require
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 569
require no artificial means of improvement, but the European
fruits, as apples, pears, plums, peaches and apricots are of indiffer-
ent quality. They have a common methodof propagating feveral
kinds of fruit-trees, which of late years has been pra£tifed with
fuccefs in Bengal. The method is fimply this : they ftrip a ring
of bark, about an inch in width, from a bearing branch, fiir-
lound the place with a ball of fat earth or loam bound fad to
the branch with a piece of matting ; over this they fafpend a pot
or horn with w^ater having a fmall hole in the bottom juft fuf-
ficlent to let the w^ater drop, in order to keep the earth conrtant-
ly moift ; the branch throws new roots into the earth juft above
the place where the ring was ftripped off; the operation is per-
formed in the fpring, and the branch is fawn off and put into
the ground at the fall of the leaf; the following year it bears
fruit. They have no method of forcing vegetables by artificial
heat, or by excluding the cold air and admitting, at the fame
time, the rays of the fun through glafs. Their chief merit con-
fifts in preparing the foil, working it inceffantly, and keeping it
free of weeds.
Upon ihe whole, if I might venture to offer an opinion with
refpedi to the merit of the Chinefe as agriculturifts, 1 fhould not
hefitate to fay that, let as much ground be given to one of their
peafants as he and his family can work with the fpade, and he
will turn that piece of ground to more advantage, and produce
from it more fuftenance for the ufe of man, than any European
whatfoever would be able to do ; but, let fifty or one hundred
acres of the beft land in China be given to a farmer, at a mean
rent, fo far from making out of it the value of three rents, on
4 D which
570 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
which our farmers ufually calculate, he would fcarcely be able
to fupport his family, after paying the expence of labour that
would be required to work the farm.
In fa£t there are no great farms in China. The Inhabitants enjoy
every advantage which may be fuppofed to arife from the lands
being pretty equally divided among them, an advantage of
which the effects might probably anfwer the expedations of
thofe who lean towards fuch a fyftem, were they not counter-
acted by circumftancesthat are not lefs prejudicial, perhaps, to
the benefit of the public, than monopolizing farmers are by fuch
perfons fuppofed to be in our own country. One of the circum-
ftances I allude to is the common pradice, in almoft every part
of the country, of aflcmbling together in towns and villages,
between which very frequently the intermediate fpace of ground
has not a fingle habitation upon it ; and the reafon afligned for
this cuftom is the dread of the bands of robbers that in-
feft the weak and unprotected parts of the country. The con-
fequence of fuch a fyftem is, that although the lands adjoining
the villages be kept in the higheft ftate of cultivation, yet thofe
at a diftance are fuffered to remain almoft ufelefs ; for having
no beafts of burden, it would be an endlefs tafk of human la-
bour to bear the manure that would be required, for feveral
miles, upon the ground, and its produce from thence back again
to the village. That fuch robbers do exift who, in formidable
gangs, plunder the peafantry, is very certain : She-foo-pao was
watching his grain to prevent its being ftolen, when he had the
misfortune of (hooting his relation, who had alfo gone out for
the fame purpofe. They are fometimes indeed fo numerous, as
I to
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 571
to threaten their moft populous cities. The frequency of fuch
robberies and the alarm they occafion to the inhabitants are
neither favourable to the high notions that have been entertained
of the Chinefe government, nor of the morals of the people.
Another, and perhaps the chief, difadvantage arifmg from landed
property being pretty equally divided, will be noticed in fpeak-
ing of the population and the frequent famines.
The province oi K'tang-7ian extends from about 31° to 34"
of northern latitude ; and the mean temperature, according to
Fahrenheit's thermometer, from the 30th of October to the
9th of November, was 54° at fun-rife and 66° at noon ; the
fky uniformly clear.
The province of Tche-kiang abounds in lakes and is inter-
fedled with rivers and canals like K'ia?7g-nan ; but the produce,
except that of a little rice, is very different, confifting princi-
pally of filk. For feeding the worms that afford thts article,
all the fertile and beautiful vallies between the mountains, as
well as the plains, are covered with plantations of the mulberry-
tree. The fmall houfes, in which the worms are reared, are
placed generally in the centre of each plantation; in order that
they may be removed as far as poffible from any kind of noife;
experience having taught them, that a fudden fliout, or the
bark of a dog, is deftrudive of the young worms. A whole
brood has fomerimes perifhed by a thunder ftorm. The greatefl:
attention is, therefore, neceffary ; and, accordingly, they are
watched night and day. In fine weather, the young worms
are expofed to the fun, upon a kind of thin open gauze ftretched
4 D 2 in
572 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
in wooden frames ; and at night they are replaced in the
plantation houfes. The trees are pruned from time to time,
in order to caufe a greater quantity and a coiiftant fucceflion
of young leaves. The inhabitants of this province, efpecially
in the cities, are ahnoft univerfally clothed in filks ; this rule
among the Chinefe of confuming, as much as pofTible, the pro-
ducts of their own country, and receiving as little as they can
avoid from foreign nations, extends even to the provinces ; a
pradlice arifing out of the little refpedl that, in China, as in an-
cient Rome, is paid to thofe concerned in trade and mer-
chandize.
Befides filk Tche-kiang produces camphor, tallow from the
Croton^ a confiderable quantity of tea, oranges, and almoft all
the fruits that are peculiar to the country. Every part of the
province appeared to be in the higheft ftate of cultivation and
the population to be immenfe. Both the raw and manufac-
tured filks, nankins and other cotton cloths, were fold at fuch
low prices in the capital of this province, that it is difficult to
conceive how the growers or the manufadlurers contrived to
gain a livelihood by their labour. But of all others, I am the
moft aftonifhed at the fmall returns that muft neceffarily be
made to the cultivators of the tea plant. The preparations of
fome of the finer kinds of this article are faid to require that
every leaf fhould be rolled fingly by the hand ; particularly fuch
as are exported to the European markets. Befides this, there
are many procefles, fuch as fteeping, drying, turning, and pack-
ing, after it has been plucked off the flirub leaf by leaf. Yet
the firft coft in the tea provinces cannot be more than from four-
pence
TRAVELS IN CHINA. ^yj
pence to two (hillings a pound, when It is confidcred that the
ordinary teas ftand the Eaft India Company in no more than
eight-pence a pound ; and the very heft only two (hillings
and eight-pence *. Nothing can more clearly point out the
patient and unremitting labour of the Chinefe, than the
preparation of this plant for the market. It is a curious cir-
cumftance that a body of merchants in England fhould furnifh
employment, as might eafily be made appear, to more than a
million fubjeds of a nation that afFeds to defpife merchants,
and throws every obftacle in the way of commercial inter-
courfe.
The mean temperature of Tche-k'iang, in the middle of No-
vember, was from fifty-fix degrees at funrife, to fixty-two de-
grees at noon. The extent from North to South is between
the parallels of twenty-eight and thirty-four and a half degrees
of northern latitude.
The northern part of Kiang-fee contains the great Po-yang
lake, and thofe extenfive fwamps and morafTes that furround
it, and which, as I have already obferved, may be confidered as
the fink of China. The middle and fouthern parts are moun-
tainous. The chief produce is fugar and oil from tlxe Camellia
Sefatiqu a In this province are the principal manufadories of
porcelain, whofe qualities, as I have in a former chapter ob-
* The Eaft India Company pays from thirteen to fixty tales per pccnl for their
teas ; fome tea of a higher price is pnrchafed by indiriduals, biu feldom or ever by
the Company. A tale is fix fhillings and eight-pence, and a pecul is one hundred
and thirty-three pounds and one third.
ferved,
574 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
ferved, depend more on the care beftowed in the preparation
and in the feledion of the materials, than in any fecret art
poffefled by them. There are alfo, in this province, large
manufa£lories of coarfe earthen ware, of tiles, and bricks.
The extent of Kiang-fee is from twenty-eight to thirty
degrees, and the temperature, in November, was the fame as
that of the neighbouring province of I'che-kiatig.
I have now to mention a fubjed on which much has already
been written by various authors, but without the iuccefs of
having carried convidion into the minds of their readers, that
the things which they offered as fads were either true or pof-
fible ; I allude to the populoufnefs of this extenfive empire.
That none of the ftatements hitherto publifhed are ftridly true,
I am free to admit, but that the higheft degree of populoufnefs
that has yet been affigned may be poflible, and even probable,
I am equally ready to contend. At the fame time, I acknowledge
that, prepared as we were, from all that we had feen and heard
and read on the fubjed, for fomething very extraordinary;
yet whtn the following ftatement was delivered, at the requeft
of the Embaffador, by Chou-ta-gm^ as the abftrad of a cenfus
that had been taken the preceding year, the amount appeared
fo enormous as to furpafs credibility. But as we had always
found this officer a plain, unafFeded, and honeft man, who on
no occafion had attempted to deceive or impofe on us, we could
not confiftently confider it in any other light than as a document
drawn up from authentic materials j its Inaccuracy, however,
was
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
S7S
was obvious at a fingle glance, from the feveral fums being given
in round millions. I have added to the table the extent of the
provinces, the number of people on a (quare mile, and the
value of the furplus taxes remitted to Pekin in the year 1792,
as mentioned in the feventh chapter.
Provinces.
Population.
Square Miles.
No. on
each fquare
Mile.
Surplus taxes rc-
miued 10 Fekin.
Pe-tche-lee
Kiang-nan
Ki,ing fee
Tche-kiang
Fo-kien
TT f Hou-pee
"^"'^"^"Sl Hou-nan
Ho-nan
Shan-tung
Shan-fee
Shen-fee 7 one
Kan-foo 3 province
Se-tchuen
Quang-tuiig
Quang-fee
Yu-nan
Koei-tchoo
38,000,000
32,000,000
19,000,000
2I,OOO,C0O
15,000,000
14,000,000')
13,000,000 3
25,000,000
24,000,000
27,000,000
18,000,000')
13,000,0003
27,000,000
21,000,000
10,000,000
8,ooc,o
9,000,000
58,949
92,961
72>'76
39.'5o
53'4»o
144,770
65,104
65,104
55.268
154,008
166,800
79.456
78,250
107,969
64,554
644
344
263
536
280
187
384
368
488
195
162
264
128
74
140
02. filver.
3,0_)6,000
8,2 10,000
2,1 i0,O0O
3,810,000
1,277,000
f 1,310,000
I 1,345,000
3,213,000
3,600,000
3,722,000
( 1,700,000
l 340,000
670,000
1,340,000
500,000
210,000
145,000
Totals
3-? 3, 000, 000
1,207,999'
36,548,000
* The meafurement annexed to each of the fifteen ancient provinces was taken
from the maps that were conflruded by a very laborious and, as far as we had aiv
opportunity of comparing them with the country, a very accurate furvey, which
employed the Jefuits ten years. I do not pretend to fay that the areas, as I have
given them in the table, are mathematically correft, but the dimenfions were taken
with as much care as was deemed necelTary for the purpofe, from maps drawn on
a large fcale, of which a very beautiful manufcript copy is now in his Majefty's li-
brary at Buckingham-houfe, made by a Chinefe, having all the names written in
Chinefe and Tartar charailers
Confidering
576 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Confidering then the whole furface of the Chinefe dominions
within the great wall to contain 1,297,999 fquare miles, or
830,719,360 Engliili acres, and the population to amount to
333,000,000, every fquare mile will be found to contain two
hundred and fifty-fix perfons, and every individual might
potfefs two acres and a half of land. Great Britain is fuppofed
to average about one hundred and twenty perfons on one fquare
mile, and that to each inhabitant there might be affigned a
portion of five acres, or to each family five-and-twenty acres.
The population of China, therefore, is to that of Great Britain
as 256 to 120, or in a proportion fomewhat greater than two
to one ; and the quantity of land that each individual in Great
Britain might polTefs is juft twice as much as could be allowed
to each individual of China. We have only then to enquire if
Britain, under the fame circumftances as China, be capable of
fupporting twice its prefent population, or which is the fame
thing, if twelve and an half acres of land be fufficient for the
maintenance of a family of five perfons ? Two acres of choice
land fown with wheat, under good tillage, may be reckoned to
average, after deducing the feed, 60 bulliels or 3600 pounds,
which every baker knows would yield 5400 pounds of bread, or
three pounds a-day to every member of the family for the whole
year. Half an acre is a great allowance for a kitchen-garden
and potatoe bed. There w^uld ftill remain ten acres, which
muft be very bad land if, befides paying the rent and taxes, it
did not keep three or four cows ; and an induftrious and mana-
ging family would find no difficulty in rearing as many pigs and
as much poultry as would be neceflary for home confumption,
and
TRAVELS IN CHINA. ^77
and for the purchafe of clothing and other indifpenfable
neceflaries. If then the country was pretty equally par-
titioned out in this manner ; if the land was applied fole-
ly to produce food for man ; if no horfes nor fuperfluous
animals M'ere kept for pleafure, and few only for labour ; if
the country was not drained of its beft hands in foreign trade
and in large manufadlories ; if the carriage of goods for exchang-
ing with other goods was performed by canals and rivers and
lakes, all abounding with fifli ; if the catching of thefe fifli gave
employment to a very confiderable portion of the inhabitants ;
if the bulk of the people were fatisfied to abftain almoft wholly
from animal food, except fuch as is mod eafily procured, that
of pigs and ducks and fifh ; if only a very fmall part of the
grain raifed was employed in the dillilleries, but was ufed as
the ftaff of life for man ; and if this grain was of fuch a na-
ture as to yield twice, and even three times, the produce that
wheat will give on the fame fpace of ground ; if, moreover, the
climate was fo favourable as to allow two fuch crops every year—
if, under all thefe circumftances, twelve and a half acres of
land would not fupport a family of five perfons ; the fault
could only be afcribed to idlenefs or bad management.
Let us then, for a moment, confider that thefe or fiinilar ad-
vantages operate in China ; that every product of the ground is
appropriated folely for the food and clothing of man ; that a
fmgle acre of land, fown with rice, will yield a fufficient quan-
tity for the confumption of five people for a whole year, allow-
ing to each perfon two pounds a-day, provided the returns of
his crop are from twenty to twenty-five for one, which are con-
lidered as extremely moderate, being frequently more than
4 E twice
5;8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
twice this quantity ; that in the fouthern provinces two crops
of rice are produced in the year, one acre of which I am well
afluredjwith proper culture, will afford a fupply of that grain even
for ten perfons, and that an acre of cotton will clothe two or
three hundred perfons, we may juftly infer that, inftead of
twelve acres to each family, half that quantity would appear to
be more than necelTary ; and fafely conclude, that there is no
w^ant of land to fupport the aflumed population of three hun-
dred and thirty-three millions. This being the cafe, the popu-
lation is not yet arrived at a level with the means which the
country affords of fubfiftence.
There is, perhaps, no country where the condition of the pea-
fantry may more juRly be compared with thofe of China than
Ireland. This ifland, according to the lateft furvey, contains
about 17,000,000 Englifli acres, 730,000 houfes and 3,500,000
fouls ; fo that, as in Great Britain, each individual averages
very nearly five acres and every family five-and-twenty. An
Irifh cottager holds feldom more than an Irifli acre of land, or
one and three-quarters Englifh nearly, in cultivation, with
a cow's grafs, for which he pays a rent from two to five
pounds. Thofe on Lord Macartney's eftate at Liflanore have
their acre, which they cultivate in divifions with oats, potatoes,
kale, and a little flax ; with this they have befides the full paf-
turage of a cow all the year upon a large wafte, not overftocked,
and a comfortable cabin to inhabit, for which each pays the
rent of three pounds. The cottager works perhaps three days in
the week, at nine-pence a-day ; if, inftead of which, he had a
fecond acre to cultivate, he would derive more benefit from its
produce
TRAVELS IN CHIjNA. 575
produce than from the produd of his three days' labour per
week ; that is to fay, provided he would expend the fame la-
bour in its tillage. Thus then, fuppofing only half of Ireland
in a ftate of cultivation and the other half pafturage, it would
fupport a population more than three times that which it now
contains ; and as a century ago it had no more than a million of
people, fo within the prefent century, under favourable circuni-
ftances, it may Increafe to ten millions. And it is not unworthy of
remark, that this great Increafe of population in Ireland has taken
place fmce the introduQion of the potatoe, which gives a never-
failing crop.
I am aware that fuch is not the common opinion which prevails
in this country, neither with regard to Ireland nor China ; on the
contrary, the latter is generally fuppofed to be overftocked with
people ; that the land is infufficient for their maintenance, and
that the cities ftand fo thick one after the other, efpecially alonf
the grand navigation between Pekin and Canton, that they al-
moft occupy the whole furfacc. I fliould not, however, have
expedled to meet with an obfervatlon to this effedl from the
very learned commentator on the voyage of Nearcbi/s, founded
on no better autaority than the crude notes of one JEttcas An-
derfo/i^ a livery fervant of Lord Macartney, vamped up by a
London bookfeller as a fpeculation that could not fail, fo greatly
excited was public curiofity at the return of the EmbalTy. I
would not be thought to diiparage the authority on account of
its being that of a livery fervant ; on the contrary, the notes of
the meaneft and dulleft perfon, on a country fo little travelled
over, would be deferving attention before they came into the
4 E 2 hands
580 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
hands of a hook-dreJJ'er ; but what dependence can be placed on
the information of an author who ftates as a fa£l, that he faw tea
and rice growing on the banks of the Pei-bo, between the thir-
ty-ninth and fortieth parallels of latitude, two articles of the cul-
ture of which, in the whole province oi Pe-tche-lee, they know no
more than we do in England ; and who ignorantly and imper-
tinently talks of the fhocking ideas the Chinefe entertained of
Englifh cruelty, on feeing one of the guard receive a few laflies,
when, not only the common foldiers, but the officers of this na-
tion are flogged moft feverely with the bamboo on every flight
occafion. If Dodor Vincent, from reading this book, was
really perfuaded that the cities of China were fo large and fo
numerous, that they left not ground enough to fubfifl: the inha-
bitants, 1 could wifh to recall his attention for a few moments to
this fubjedl, as opinions fandlioned by fuch high authority,
whether right or wrong, are fure, in fome degree, to bias the
public mind. We have feen that if China be allowed to contain
three hundred and thirty-three millions of people, the propor-
tion of its population is only juft double that of Great Britain.
Now if London and Liverpool and Birmingham and Glafgow,
and all the cities, towns, villages, gentlemen's villas, farm-houfes
and cottages in this ifland were doubled, I fee no great incon-
venience likely to arife from fuch duplication. The unproduc-
tive land, in the fhape of gentlemen's parks and pleafure grounds,
would, I prefume, be much more than fufficient to counterbalance
the quantity occupied by the new eredions ; and the waftes
and commons would perhaps be more than enough to allow
even a fecond duplication. But the population of an Englifh
city is not to be compared with, or confidercd as fimilar to, the
I populouf-
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 581
populoufnefs of a Chinefe city, as will be obvious by confidcr-
ing the two capitals of thefe two empires. Pekin, according to
a meafurement fuppofed to be taken with great accuracy, occu-
pies a fpace of about fourteen fquare miles. London, with its
fuburbs, when reduced to a fquare, is faid to comprehend about
nine fquare miles. The houfes of Pekin rarely exceed a finglc
ftory ; thofe of London are feldom lefs than four ; yet both
the Chinefe and the miflionaries who are fettled in this capital
agree that Pekin contains three millions of people ; while Lon-
don is barely allowed to have one million. The reafon of this
difference is, that moft of the crofs ftreets of a Chinefe city are
very narrow, and the alleys branching from them fo confined,
that a perfon may place one hand on one fide and the other 011
the other fide as he walks along * ; that the houfes in general
are very fmall, and that each houfe contains fix, eight, or ten
perfons, fometimes twice the number. If, therefore, fourteen
fquare miles of buildings in China contain three millions of
inhabitants, and nine fquare miles of buildings in England one
million, the population of a city in China will be to that of a
city in England as twenty-feven to fourteen, or very nearly
as two to one ; and the former, with a proportion of inhabi-
tants double to that of the latter, will only have the fame
proportion of buildings ; fo that there is no neceffity of their
being fo clofely crowded together, or of their occupying fo
great a portion of land, as to interfere with the quantity necef-
fary fof the fubfiftence of the people.
• One of llie Rreets in the fuburbs of Canton is cmpiiatically called Squccit-^ut-
alley, which is fo narrow that every gentleman in the Company's fcrvice docs nc.i
find it quite convenient to pafs.
I h.'ve
582 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
I have been thus particular, in order to fet in its true light
a fubje£t that has been much agitated and generally difbelieved.
The fum total of three hundred and thirty-three millions is fo
enormous, that in its aggregate form it aftonifhes the mind and
ftaggers credibility ; yet we find no difficulty in conceiving
that a fingle fquare mile in China may contain two hundred
and fifty-fix perfons, efpecially when we call to our recollec-
tion the United Provinces of Holland, which have been calcu-
lated to contain two hundred and feventy inhabitants on a fquare
mile. And the United Provinces have enjoyed few of the
advantages favourable to population, of which China, for ages
part, has been in the uninterrupted pofleffion.
The materials for the ftatement given by Father Amiot of
the population of China appear to have been colle£ted with
care. The number of fouls in 1 760, according to this ftate-
ment was - _ ^. - 196,837,977
In 1761 _ - - - 198,214,553
Annual increafe — ^y37^)57^
This ftatement muft however be incorred, from the circum-
ftance of fome millions of people being excluded who have no
fixed habitation, but are conftantly changing their pofition on
the inland navigations of the empire, as well as all the iflanders
of the Archipelago of Chu-faji and of Formofa. Without,
however, taking thefe into confideration, and by fuppofing the
number of fouls in 1761, to amount to 198,214,553, there
ought to have been, in the year 1793, by allowing a progref-
five
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 583
five increale, according to a moderate calculation In political
arithmetic, at leaft 280,000,000 fouls.
Whether this great empire, the firft in rank both in extent
and population, may or may not adually contain ^^^■^ millions
of fouls, is a point that Europeans are not likely ever to afcer-
tam. That it is capable of fubfifting this and a much greater
population has, I think, been fufficiently proved. I know it is
a common argument with thofe who are not willing to admit
the facft, that although cities and towns and fhipping may
be crowded together in an aftonifliing manner, on and
near the grand route between the capital and Canton, yet that
the interior parts of the country are almoft deferted. By fome
of our party going to Chu-fan^ we had occafion to fee parts of
the country remote from the common road, and fuch parts
happened to be by far the moft populous in the whole journey.
But independent of the fmall portion of country feen by us,
the weftern provinces, which are moft diftant from the grand
navigation, are confidered as the granaries of the empire ; and
the cultivation of much grain, where few cattle and lefs ma-
chinery are ufed, neceffarily implies a correfponding population.
Thus we fee from the above table, that the furplus produce of
the land remitted to Pekin from the provinces of
O^. filvcr.
Honan 1 . c ^-u j (" 3>2 13,000
c,y r I remote rrom the c;rand A "* -^
Shan-lee > ■ • ^ < 3,722,000
c,, r \ navigation, were 1 -"/ '
Shen fee J L 2,040,000
Whilft thofe of
Pe-tche-lee l , j • ..• C 3>o36,ooo
cu . (on thegr and navigation, J ^ A' ^^^
Shan-tung >• ^ ) 3,000,000
Tche-kiang \ "^"^ (. j,Sio,coo
chiefly
584 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
chieriy in rice, wheat, and millet. There are no grounds there-
fore for fuppofing that the interior parts of China are deferts.
There are others again who are perfuaded of the population
being fo enormous, that the country is wholly inadequate to
fupply the means of fubfiflence ; and that famines are abfo-
lutely neceffiiry to keep down the former to the level of the
latter. The loofe and general way in which the accounts of
the miflionarles are drawn up certainly leave fuch an impref-
fion ; but as I have endeavoured to fliew that fuch is far from
being the cafe, it may be expedled I fhould alfo attempt to
explain the frequency of thofe difaftrous famines which occa-
fionally commit fuch terrible havock in this country. I am of
opinion then, that three principal reafons may be afligned for
them. Firft, the equal divifion of the land : Secondly, the
. mode of cultivation : and Thirdly, the nature of the pro-
duds.
If, in the firfl; place, every man has it in his option to
rent as much land as will fupport his family with food and
clothing, he will have no occafion to go to market for the firll
neceflities ; and fuch being generally the cafe in China, thofe
firfl neceflities find no market, except in the large cities. When
the peafant has brought under tillage of grain as much land as
may be fufficient for the confumption of his own family, and
the neceflary furplus for the landlord, he looks no further ; and
all his neighbours having done the fame, the firfl necefTiiies are,
in fadl, unfaleable articles, except in fo far as regards the de-
mands of large cities, which are by no means fo clofe upon
one
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 5S5
one another a<! has been imagined. A farplus of grain is like-
■wife Icfs calculated to cxcliange for fupcrfluities or luxuries
than many ether articles of produce. This being the cafe, if^
by any accident, a failure of the crops fliould be general in
a province, it has no- relief to expedl from the neighbouring pro-
vinces, nor any fupplies from foreign countries. In China there
are no great farmers who ftore their grain to throw into the
market in feafons of fcarcity. In fuch feafons the only refource
ifi that of the government opening its magazines, and reftoring
to the people that portion of their crop which it had demanded
from them as the price of its protedion. And this being
originally only a tenth part, out of which the monthly fub-
fiftence of every officer and foldier had already been deduded,
the remainder is feldom adequate to the wants of the people.
Infurre£lion and rebellion enfue, and thofe who may efcape
the devouring fcourge of famine, in all probability, fall by the
fword. In fuch feafons a whole province Is fomctimcs half
depopulated;, wretched parents are reduced, by imperious want,
to fell or deftroy their offspring, and children to put an end,
hy violence, to the fufferings of their aged and infirm parents.
Thus, the equal divifion of land, fo favourable to population in
feafons of plenty, is juft the reverfe when the calamity of a-
famine falls upon the people.
In the fecond place, a fcarcity may be owing to the mode
of cultivation. When I mention that two-thirds of the fmall
quantity of land under tillage is cultivated with the fpade or the
hoe, or otherwife by manual labour, without the aid of draught-
4 F cattle
586 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
cattle or fkilful machinery, it will readily be conceived how
very fmall a portion each family will be likely to employ every
year j certainly not one-third part of his average allowance.
The third caufe of famines may be owing to the nature of
the produdls, particularly to that of rice. This grain, the ftafF
of life in China, though it yields abundant returns in favourable
feafons, is more liable to fail than moft others. A drought in
its early ftages withers it on the ground ; and an inundation,
when nearly ripe, is equally deftrudive. The birds and the
locufts, more numerous in this country than an European can
well conceive, infeft it more than any other kind of grain. In
the northern provinces, where wheat, millet and pulfe are
cultivated, famines more rarely happen ; and I am perfuaded
that if potatoes and Guinea corn [Zea-Mays) were once
adopted as the common vegetable food of the people, thofe
direful famines that produce fuch general mifery would entirely
ceafe, and the encreafe of population be as rapid as that of Ire-
land. This root in the northern provinces, and this grain in
the middle and fouthern ones, would never fail them. An
acre of potatoes would yield more food than an acre of rice,
and twice the nourifhment. Rice is the poorefl of all grain, if we
may judge from the {lender and delicate forms of all the people
who ufe it as the chief article of their fuftenance j and potatoes
are juft the contrary *.
* The great advantage of a potatoe crop, as I before oblerved, is the certainty
of its fucceis. W. re a general failure of this root to take place, as fometimes hap-
pens to crops of rice, Ireland, in its prefent ftatc, would experience all the horrors
thsit attend a famine in feme of the provinces of China.
As
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 587
As Dr. Adam Smith obferves, " The chairmen, porters, and
" coal-heavers in London, and thofe unfortunate women who
" live by proftitution, the ftrongelt men and the moft beau-
" tiful women perhaps in the Britifli dominions, are faid to be,
*' the greater part of them, from the lowell rank of the people
" in Ireland, who are generally fed with this root ; no food
" can afford a more decifive proof of its nourlfliing quality,
" or of its being peculiarly fiiitable to the health of the hu^nan
" conftitution." The Guinea corn requires little or no atten-
tion after the feed is dropped into the ground ; and its leaves
and juicy ftems are not more nourifhing for cattle than its pro-
lific heads are for the fuftenance of man.
Various caufes have contributed to the populoufnefs of
China.. Since the Tartar conqueft it may be faid to have enw
joyed a profound peace ; for in the different wars and fkir-
mifhes that have taken place with the neighbouring nations on.
the fide of India, and with the Ruffians on the confines of
Siberia, a few Tartar foldiers only have been employed. The
Ghinefe army is parcelled out as guards for the towns, cities,
and villages ; and ftationed at the numberlefs pofls on the roads
and canals. Being feldom relieved from the fevcral guards,,
they all marry and have families. A certain portion of land is
allotted for their ufe, which they have fufEcient time to culti-
vate. As the nation has little foreign commerce there are few
feamen ; fuch as belong to the inland navigations are moftly
married. Although there be no dire<St penalty levied againft
fuch as remain batchelors, as was the cafe among the Romans
4, F 2 when.
588 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
when they willied to repair the defolation that their civil wars
had occafioned, yet puhllc opinion confiders celibacy as dif-
graceful, and a fort of infamy is attached to a man who con-
tinues unmarried beyond a certain time of life. And although
In China the public law be not eftablifhed of the Jus triian
liberoruniy by which every Roman citizen having three children
was entitled to certain privileges and Immunities, yet every
male child may be provided for, and receive a ftipend from the
moment of his birth, by his name being enrolled on the mili-
tary lift. By the equal divifion of the country into fmall farms,
every peafant has the means of bringing up his family, if
drought and inundation do not fruftrate his labour ; and the
purfuits of agriculture are more favourable to health, and con-
fequently to population, than mechanical employments in
crowded cities, and large manufadlories, where thofe who are
doomed to toil are more liable to become the vidims of difeafe
and debauchery, than fuch as are expofed to the free and open
air, and to adive and wholefome labour. In China there
are few of fuch manufaduring cities. No great capitals are
here employed in any one branch of the arts. In general
each labours for himfelf in his own profeffion. From the
general poverty that prevails among the lower orders of people,
the vice of drunkennefs is little pradifed among them. The
multitude, from neceffity, are temperate in their diet to the
laft degree. The climate is moderate and, except in the
northern provinces wh«re the cold is fevere, remarkably uniform,
not liable to thofe fudden and great changes in temperature,
which the human conftitution is lefs able to refift, than the
extremes
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 589
extremes of lieat or cold when fteady and invariable, and from
which the inconveniencies are perhaps nowhere fo feverely
felt as on our own ifland. Except the fmall-pox and con-
tagious difeafes that occafionally break out in their confined
and crowded cities, they are liable to few epidemical diforders.
The ftill and inanimate kind of life which is led by the wo-
men, at the fame time that it is fuppofed to render them
prolific, preferves them from accidents that might caufe
untimely births. Every woman fuckles and nurfes her own
child.
The operation of thefe and other favourable caufes that
might be afligned, in a country that has exifled under the
fame form of government, and prefervcd the fame laws and
cuftoms for fo many ages, muft neceflarily have created an ex-
cefs of population unknown in moft other parts of the world,
where the ravages of war, feveral times repeated in the courfe
of a century, or internal commotions, or peftilential difeafe, or
the effects of overgrown wealth, fometimes fweep away one
half of a nation within the ufual period allotted to the life of
man.
*< What a grand and curious fpedtacle," as Sir George Staun-
ton obferves, " is here exhibited to the mind of fo large a pro-
*' portion of the whole human race, connedled together in one
*' great fyftem of polity, fubmitting quietly and through fo
" confiderable an extent of country to one great fovereign ; and
" uniform
590
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" uniform in their laws, their manners, and their language ; but
*' differing eflentially in each of thefe refpeds from every other
" portion of mankind ; and neither defirous of communicating
" with, nor forming any defigns againft, the reft of the world."
How ftrong an inftance does China afford of the truth of the
obfervation, that men are more eafily governed by opinion thaa.
by power..
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 59,
CHAP. X.
Journey through the Province of Canton. — Situation of Fo-
reigners trading to this Port.— Conclufion.
Vifihle Chnnge tn the CharaEier of the People. — Rugged Afouniains..^Co//ienes
Temple in a Cavern. — Stone ^tarries. — Various Plants for Vfe and Ornament
Arrive at Canton — Expence of the Rmbnffy to the Chinefe Government.— To the
Britifj Nation. — Nature and Inconveniences of the Trade to Canton.— ~The Armenian
and his Pearl. — Impoftions of the Officers of Government inflanced. Principal
Caufe of them is the Ignorance of the Language.— Cnfe of Chinefe trading to London.
—A Chinefe killed by a Seaman of His Majejly's Ship Madras Delinquent faved
from an ignominious Death, by a proper Mode of Communication -with the Govern'
tnent. — Conclusion.
W E had no fooner pafled the fummlt of the high mountain
Me-lin^ and entered the province of Sluan-tung, or Canton than
a very fenfible difference was perceived in the condud of the in-
habitants. Hitherto the Embaffy had met with the greateft re-
fped and civility from all clafles of the natives, but now even
the peafantry ran out of their houfes, as we paffed, and bawled
after us ^eitze-fan-qitei, which, in their language, are opprobri-
ous and contemptuous expreflions, fignifying /cir^/p-// (/evils
imps ; epithets that are beftowed by the enlightened Chinefe on
all
592 TRAVELS. IN CHINA.
all foreigners. It was obvious, that the haughty and iufolent
manner in which all Europeans refiding at, or trading to, tlie
port of Canton are treated, had extended itfelf to the northern
frontier of the province, but it had not croffed the mountain
Me-lin ; the natives of Kiang-fce being a qu;et, civil, and inoffen-
five people. In ^ati-iiwg the farther we advanced, the more
rude and infolent they became. A timely rebuke, however,
given to the governor of Nau-JJjeiin-foo by Van-ta-gtn, for apply-
ing the above-mentioned opprobrious epithets to the Britidi
EmbafTy, had a good efFe£l on the Canton officers, who were
now to be our condudtors through their province.
This contempt of foreigners is not confined to the upper ranks,
or men in office, but pervades the very loweft clafs who, whilft
they make no fcruple of entering into the fervice of foreign
merchants refiding in the country, and accepting the moft me-
nial employments under them, performing the duties of their
feveral offices with diligence, punduality, and fidelity, affeft,
at the fame time, to defpife their employers, and to confider
them as placed, in the fcale of human beings, many degrees be-
low them. Having one day obferved my Chinefe fervant bu-
fily employed in drying a quantity of tea-leaves, that had al-
ready been ufed for breakfaft, and of which he had colletfted
feveral pounds, I inquired what he meant to do with them :
he replied, to mix them with other tea and fell them. " And
" is that the way," faid I, " in which you cheat your own
»♦ countrymen ?" " No," replied he, " my own countrymen are
" too wife to be fo eafily cheated, but your's are ftupid enough
" to let us ferve you fuch like tricks j and indeed," continued he,
% with
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 593
with the greateft fans froid imaginable, " any thing you get
" from us is quite good enough tor you." AfFeding to be an-
gry with him, he faid, " he meant for \\\z fecond fort of En-
" gliihmen," which is a diftindion they give to the Ame-
ricans *.
The city of Nafi-fJjcun-foo was pleafantly fituated on the high
bank of the river Pei-kiang-ho. The houfes appeared to be
very old, the ftreets narrow, large tradts of ground within the
walls unbuilt, others covered with ruins. While the barges
were preparing to receive on board the baggage, we took up
our lodgings in the public temple, that was dedicated to the
memory of Confucius, being, at the fame time, the college
where the (ludents are examined for their different degrees. It
C3nfifted of a long dark room, divided by two rows of red pil-
lars into a middle and two fide ailes, without furniture, paint-
ings, ftatues, or ornaments of any kind, except a few paper
lanterns fufpendcd between the pillars; the floor was of earth
and entirely broken up : to us it had more the appearance of a
large paflage or gang-way to fome manufadtory, as a brewhoufe
or iron foundery, than of the hall of Confucius. On each fide
and at the farther extremity, were feveral Itnall apartments, io
which we contrived to pafs the night.
The barges in which we now embarked were very fmall,
owing to the Ihallownefs of the river. The oflicers, aflembJed
• In the Canton ]^rgon,fecond chop EngViflmtn; and e\'en this diftinflion the Ame-
ricans, 1 underftand, have nearly f orfeiied in the minds of the Chinefe.
4 G here
594
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
here from different parts of the country, detained us a whole
day in order to have an opportunity of laying their feveral
complaints before our phyfician, at the recommendation ofTa?/-
ta-ghi, who had felt the good effe£ls of his pradlice. Here, for
once, we had an inftance of Chinefe pride giving way to felf-
intereft, and ufurped fuperiority condefcending to afk advice of
barbarians. We failed for two days in our little barges, through
one of the moft wild, mountainous, and barren tra£ts of coun-
try that I ever beheld, abounding more in the fublime and hor-
rible, than in the pidurefque or the beautiful. The lofty fum-
tnits of the mountains feemed to touch each other acrofs the
river and, at a diftance, it appeared as if we had to fail through
an arched cavern. The mafly fragments that had fallen down
from time to time, and impeded the navigation, were indica-
cations that the paffage was not altogether free from danger. Five
remarkable points of fand-ftone rock, rifing in fucceflion above
each other with perpendicular faces, feemed as if they had
been hewn out of one folid mountain : they were called ou-ma^
too, or the five horfes' heads. The mountains at a diftance on
each lide of the river were covered with pines, the nearer hills
with coppice wood, in which the Camellia prevailed ; and ia
the iittle glens were cluflers of fifliermen's huts, furrounded by
fmall plantations of tobacco.
Within the defile of thefe wild mountains, vre obferved fe-
veral extenfive collieries, which were advantageoufly worked
by driving levels from the river into their fides. The coals
brought out of the horizontal adits were immediately lowered
from a pier into veffels that were ready to receive and tranf-
port
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 395
port them to the potteries of this province, and of Kiaug-fee.
Coal is little ufed in its raw ftate.but is firft charred in large pits
that are du^^ in the ground. Coal duft, mixed with earth, and
formed into fquare blocks, is frequently ufed to heat their little
ftoves, on which they boil their rice.
At the city of Tchao-tchoo-foo, where we arrived on the 13th,
we exchanged our flat-bottomed boats for large and commo-
dious yachts, the river being here much increafed by the con-
fluence of another ftream. The boats before this city were
moftly managed by young girls, whofe drefs confifted of a neat
white jacket and petticoat and a gipfey ftraw hat. Having for
fo great a length of time fcarcely ever fet our eyes upon a fe^
male, except the heads of fome at a diftance, peeping from be-
hind the mud walls that furround the houfes, or labouring in
the grounds of Kiang-fee^ the ferry girls, though in reality very
plain and coarfe-featured, were confidered as the moft beautiful
objects that had occurred in the whole journey. To the occu-
pation of ferrying paffengers over the river it feemed they
added another, not quite fo honourable, for which, however,
they had not only the confent and approbation of their parents,
but alfo the fandion of the government, or perhaps, to fpeak
more correctly, of the governing magiftrates, given in con-
fidcration of their receiving a portion of the wages of pro-
ftitution.
In this mountainous diftridt a few fifhermen's huts and
thole of the colliers were the only habitations that occurred ;
but the defedl of population was abundantly fupplicd by tlie
4. G 2 number
596 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
number of wooden dwellings that were floating on the river.
Small huts, to the number of thirty or forty, were loinetimes
erected upon a fingle floating raft of fir baulks, lafhed together
by the ends and the fides. On thefe rafts the people carry on
their trade or occupation, particularly fuch as work in wood.
Our condudors directed the yachts to halt before a detached
rock, rifing with a perpendicular front from the margin of the
river to the height of feven hundred feet. In this front we ob-
ferved a cavern, before which was a terrace that had been cut
out of the rock, acceflible by a flight of fteps from the river.
Proceeding from the terrace into the cavity of the rock, we
afcended another flight of flairs, alfo cut out of folid ftone,
which led into a very fpacious apartment. In the centre of
this apartment fat the goddefs Pan fa upo-n a kind of altar, con-
ftituting a part of the rock, and hewn into the fliape of the
Lien-wba or Nelumbium. A fmall opening, next the river, ad-
mitted a " dim religious light," fuitable to the folemnity of
the place, which we were told was a temple confecrated to Poo-
fa^ and a monaftery for the refidence of a few fuperaniiuated
priefls. On the fmooth fides of the apartment was infcribed a
multitude of Chinefe verfes, fome cut into the rock, and others
painted upon it. The lodgings of the priefts were fmall caves
branching out of the large temple. A third flight of fteps led
from this to a fecond fl:ory, which was alfo lighted by a fmaH
aperture in front, that was nearly choaked up by an immenfe
mafs of ftaledllte that had been formed, and was ftill increafing,
by the conftiant oozing of water holding in folution calcare-
ous matter, and fufpended from a projedion of the upper part
of
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 597
of the rozk. Bat the light was fufficient to dlfcover a gigantic
image with a Saracen face, who " grinn'd horrible a ghaflly
" fmile." On his head was a fort of crown ; in one hand he
held a naked fcymeter, and a firebrand in the other ; but the
hiftory of this colofTal divinity feemed to be imperfectly known,
even to the votaries o'i Poo-fa themfelves. He had in all probabi-
lity been a warrior in his day, the Thefeus or the Hercules of
Cliina. The cave of the Cumaean Sibyl could not be better
fuited for dealing out the myfterious decrees of fate to the fu-
perftitious multitude, than that of the ^tan-gin Jhan^ froni
whence the oracle of future deftiny, ia like manner,
" HorrenJas canit ambages, antroque remugit,
" Ob'curis vera iiivoivens."
" The wond'rous truths, !nvo!v'd in riddles, gave,
" And furious bellovv'J round the gloomy ciive."
Lord Macartney obferved that this fi.ngular temple brought
to his recolledlion a Francifcan monaftery he had ftcn in Portiv-
gal, near Cape Roxent, ufually called the Cork Convent, " which
" is an excavation of confiderable extent under a hill, divided
** into a great number of cells, and fitted up with a church,
•' facrifty, refe(flory, and every requifite apartment for the ac-
*' commodation of the mlferable Cordeliers who burrow in it.
" The infide is entirely lined with cork : the walls, the roofs,
*' the floors, are covered with cork ; the tables, feats, chairs,
" beds, couches, the furniture of the chapel, the crucifixes, and
" every other implement, are all made of cork. The place was
" certainly difmal and comfortlefs to a great degree, but it
wanted the gigantic form, the grim features, the terrific
3 " afpedl
((
598 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
" afped which diftinguifh the temple of Poofa^ in the rock of
" ^uan-g'in-Jloanr Difmal as this gloomy den appeared to be,
where a few miferable beings had voluntarily chained them-
felves to a rock, to be gnawed by the vultures of fupcrftition
and fanaticifm, it is ftill lefs fo than an apartment of the Fran-
cifcan convent in Madeira, the walls of which are entirely co-
vered with human flculls, and the bones of legs and arms,
placed alternately in horizontal rov/s. A dirty lamp fufpended
from the ceiling, and conftantly attended by an old bald-headed
friar of the order, to keep the feeble light juft glimmering in
the focket, ferves to fhevsr indiftindly to ftrangers this difguft-
ing 7nemento mori. It would be difficult to determine which of
the three were the moll ufelefs members of fociety, the monks
oi Poo-fa, the monks of the Cork convent, or the monks of
Golgotha.
In feveral places among the wild and romantic mountains
through which we were carried on this river, we noticed quar-
ries of great extent, out of which huge ftones had been cut for
fepulchral monuments, for the arches of bridges, for archi-
traves, for paving the ftreets, and for various other ufes. To ob-
tain thefe large maflcs, thefaw is applied at the upper furface, and
they work down vertically to the length required. Each
ftone is fliaped and fafhioned to the fize that may be wanted,
before it is removed from the parent rock, by which much
difficulty is avoided and lefs power required in conveying it
to its deftination. Rude misQiapen blocks, requiring additional
labour for their removal, are never detached from the rock in
fuch a ftate. In this refped they are more provident than the
late
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
599
late Emprefs of Ruflia who, at an immenfe expencc and with
the aid of complicated machinery, cauled u block of ftone to
be brought to her capital, to ferve as a pedeftal for clie ftatue
of the Czar Peter, where it was found expedient to reduce it to
two-thirds of its original dimenfions.
Between the city of Canton and the firfl: pagoda on the bank
of the river, there is a continued feries of fimilar quarries, which
appear not to have been worked for many years. The regular and
formal manner in which the ftones have been cut away, exhibiting
lengthened ftreets of houfes with quadrangular chambers, in the
fides of which are fquare holes at equal diftances, as if intended
for the reception of beams ; the fmoothnefs and perfeQ perpen-
dicularity of the fides, and the number of detached pillars that
are fcattered over the plam, would juftify a fimilar miftake to
that of Mr. Addifon's Dodlor of one of the German univer-
fities, whom he found at Chateau d'Un in France, carefully
meafurlng the free-ftone quarries at that place, which he had
conceived to be the venerable remains of vail fubcerranean palaces
of great antiquity.
Almoft all the mountains that occurred in our paflage through.
China were of primaeval granite, fome few of fand-ftone, and
the inferior hills were generally of lime-ftone, or coarfe grey
marble. Except the Ladrone iflands on the fouth, and fome
of the Chu-fah iflands on the eaft, we obferved no appearances
in the whole country of volcanic produdlions. The high
mountains, indeed, that form great continental chains are
feldom, if ever, of volcanic formation. The prefence of a
vaft
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
. t.r feems to be iadifpenfably neceffary to
vaft volume of water ^-ms ,,,ordingly, we find
carry on this operation of n tu ^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^
,.. volcanic ^-^^^^^l .^^ P^ °^ ^^^ ''-^
entirely Inlulated. Thus, a . ^.^^ ^^ ^^^^, ,f
on the coaft of Chma-e volcano ^^ ^^^^^^,
lubterranean beat, either m volca P ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ f^-^ to
rprlngs, on a.e wbole conunen. ^^^.^^^^ J^^^ ^^^ ^^, ^,
have been frequently felt m a-1 P
Ihort duration.
,V,e mountains abruptly «•>''„>;"*„, ,„a ,„ each fide was
tended plain v,hlch, to the fou.hw ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^.^^ f,,^,^
terminated only by *= l'"""^-- f^yi„, „ the beautiful, from
, barrennefs to fertil.ty. f™"^ * '"„, f,-,, .„ pleafe, as all ftrong
l„egularity to »f ^l^; ^^t^/Us now in a high ftate of
contrafts ufually do. The country ^ .„nes, and to-
iiiage ; the chief P™'>''*,.;,::;' ' .e'nted by the tribt.
bacco ; and the river was lo tnuch g ^^^^ ^^^.^^^
,„, ft.ea.v.sof,hemou.tatns whch _^^^^_ ^^^^^^
,h.t it was nearly half a »''■: ^^, ,be city of San-
ftomits two b-^» •-;;:;: /;f of the river receding, be-
^-"^""'r^bth-o the tide,
ing driven back by the nux
t, vv, wras iuft witbln
on tbe toth we halted before a -^^^^.^^ was
, fight of the fubnrbs of Canton. ^^^^^^^^^ ^„,„
„l hy the C-»ff-;" "f * ,f; u,„3 tar from the faftor)-^
the Cbinefe had allowed to iToceeJ ^^^
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 6oi
and to which place the fervants of the Company are occafiou-
ally permitted to make their parties of pleafure. In the neigh-
bourhood of this village are extenfive gardens for the fupply
of the city with vegetables. In fome we obferved nurferies for
propagating the rare, the beautiful, the curious, or the ufeful
plants of the country ; which are feut to Canton for fale. On
this account we were not forry to be obliged to fpend the
remainder of the day at this place. Among the choice plants
we noticed the large Pcoiiia before mentioned, white, red, and
variegated ; the elegant Limodonim Tankervilliay and that fmgu-
lar plant the Epidcndriwi Jios aeris, fo called from its vegetating
without the affiftance of earth or water ; the Hybijcus miitabilisy
the Abelmofchusy and other fpecies of this genus ; the double
variegated Camellia Japonica ; the great holly-hock ; the fear-
let amaratithus and another fpecies of the fame genus, and a
very elegant Celofta or cock's comb ; the Ntriuin Oleander^
fometimes called the Ceylon rofe, and the Tu-lau, a fpecies of
magnolia, the flowers of which appear before the leaves burft
from the buds. Of the fcented plants iho. pliiiiicria and a
double flowering jafmine were the mod efteemed. We ob-
ferved alfo in pots the Ocymuin or fweet Bafil, Cloraiithus incon~
JpiciniSy called Cbu-lan^ whofe leaves are fometimes mixed with
thofe of tea to give them a peculiar flavour ; the Oleafragrans^
or fweet fcented olive, faid alfo to be ufed for the fame pur-
pofe ; a fpecies of myrtle ; the much efteemed Rofa S'mica ; the
Tuberofe ; the ftrong fcented Gardenia forida, improperly called
the Cape Jafmine; the China pink and feveral others, to enu-
merate which would exceed the limits of this work.
4H
Of
6oa TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Of fruits we noticed a variety of figs, and three fpecies of
mulberries ; peaches and almonds ; the Anuoim or cuftard-
apple; the Eugenia yambos, or rofe-apple; the much-efleemed
Lee-tchec or Sapindus-eduUs ; and the Kcelrcutcria^ another fpe-
cies of the fame genus ; the Averhoa Caranibola^ an excellent
fruit for tarts ; and the Ou-long-Jhoo, the Sterculia platanifolia.
Befides thefe were abundance of oranges and bananas.
As vegetables for the table, was a great variety of beans and
calavances, among which was the DoUchos Soja or foy plant,
and the polyjiachios, with its large cluflers of beautiful Icarlet
flowers; the Cytifus Cajaii^ whofe feed yields the famous bean-
milk, which it is the cuftom of the Emperor to offer to Em-
balTadors on their prefentation ; large mild radifhes, onions,
garlick, Capficum or Cayenne-pepper ; convolvulus batatas^ or
fweet potatoes; two fpecies of tobacco ; Amomiim, or ginger, in
great quantities, the root of which they preferve in fyrup ;
Sinapis^ or muftard, and the brajjtca orientalis^ from which an oil
is expreffed for the table.
Of plants that were ufeful in the arts, we obferved the Rhus
Vernix, or varnifh-tree, and two other fpecies of the fame genus;
Cwr//»?«,orturmeric ; Carthamtu ufed as a dye, and i\\e polygonum
Cbinenje for the fame purpofe ; the Rhapis flabdUformis , the
dried leaves of which are ufed. for fans among the common
people, and particularly by thofe who live in velfels; Cor-
chorus whofe bark, in India, is ufed as flax ; but not, I believe,
to any extent in China, the white nettle being here preferred.
The
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 603
The only medicinal plants were the Rheum palmattim^ Artcmlfta^
and the Smilax or China root.
To make our entre into Canton the more fplendid, a num-
ber of fuperb barges were fent to meet us, carrying flags and
ftreamers and umbrellas and other infignia of office ; and in fome
were bands of mufic. About the middle of the day we arrived
before the fadlories, which conftitute a line of buildings in the
European ftyle, extending along the left bank of the river,
where the Embaflador was received by the Song-too, or Vice-
roy, the Governor, the Ho-poo^ or colledtor of the cuftoms, and
all the principal officers of the government. From hence we
were conduced to the oppofite fide of the river, where a tem-
porary building of poles and mats had been prepared for the
occafion ; within which was a fcreen of yellow filk bearing the
name of the Emperor in gilt characters. Before this fcreen
the Viceroy and other officers performed the ufual proftrations,
in token of gratitude to his imperial Majefty, for his having
vouchfafed us a profperous journey.
It is but doing juflice to the Chinefe government and to the
individuals in its employ who had any concern in the affiiirs of
the embafly, to obferve, that as far as regarded ourfclves, their
conduit was uniformly marked by liberality, attention, and an
earneft dcfire to pleafe. Nor is there any vanity in faying that,
after obiferying usqlofely in the courfe of a long journey and
daily intercourfe,.t!h€i officers -of government gradually difmifled
the prejudices imbibed againft us, as foreigners, from their carliefl:
youth. Gained by our frank and open manners, and by little
-attentions, they feemed to fly with pleafure to our fociety as a
4 II 2 relief
6s4 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
relief from the tedious formalities they were obliged to affunie
in their official capacity. Van and Chou conftantly pafl'ed the
evenings in fome of our yachts. It is impoffible to fpeak of
thofe two worthy men in terms equal to their defert. PLind,
condefcending, unremitting in their attentions^ they never be-
trayed one moment of ill- humour from the time we entered
China till they took their final leave at Canton. Thefe two men
were capable of real attachments. They infifted on accom-
panying the Embaflador on board the Lion, where tliey took
their laft farewell. At parting they burft into tears and
(hewed the ftrongeft marks of fenfibillty and concern. Their
feelings quite overcame them, and they left the Lion for-
rowful and dcjeded. Early the following morning they fent
on board twenty bafkets of fruit and vegetables, as a farewell
token of their remembrance. We had the fatisfadion to hear,
that immediately on their arrival at Pekln they both were pro-
moted. Chou is at prefent in a high fituation at court, but Vmiy
the cheerful good-humoured Van^ has paid the debt of nature,
having fallen honourably in the fervice of his country. Oq
the condudl of Lee, our Chinefe Interpreter, any praife that
I could beftow would be far inadequate to his merit. Fully
fenfible of his perilous fituation, he never at any one time
fhrunk from his duty. At Macao he took an affedionate leave
of his Englifh friends, with whom, though placed in one of
the remoteft provinces of the empire, he ftill contrives to cor-
refpond. The Embaflador, Lord Macartney, has had feveral
letters from him ; the laft of which is of fo late a date as March
1802 ; fo that his fenfibillty has not been diminifhed either by
time or diftance.
^ It
TRAVELS IN CHIN-A. 60s
It is tlie cuftom of Gliina to confider all EmbafTadcrs as guefts
of the Emperor, from the moment they enter any part of his
dominions, until they are again entirely out of them. The in-
convenience of this cuftom was feverely felt by us, as it pre-
veated us from purchafing, in an open manner, many trifling
articles that would have been acceptable. The very confider-
able expence, incurred by the court on this account, may be one
reafon for prefcribing the limited time of forty days for all em-
bafladors to remain at the capital. To meet the expences of
the prefent Embaffy, Fan-ta-gin aflured me, that they were fur-
nilhed with an order to draw on the public treafuiies of the
different provinces through which we had to pafs, to the amount
of five thoufand ounces of filver a-day, or about one thoufand
fix hundred pounds fterling : and that fifteen hundred oimces
a-day had been ifiued out of the treafury at Pekin for the fup-
portofthe Embaffy during its continuance there. Suppofing
then thefe data to be correct, and I fee no reafon for calling
their authenticity in queftion, we may form an eftimatc of the
whole expence of this Embaffy to the Chinefe government.
yrom the 6th of Auguft (the day we entered
the Pei-ho) to the 2 ift (when we arrived in 0z^
Pekin) inclufive - - 16 days, 80,000
From th« 22d Auguft: to the 6th Odober (in
Pekin and in Gehol) - - 46 days, 69,000
From the 7th October to the 19th December
(when we arrived at Canton) - 74 days, 370,000
Total ounces of filver 5 . 9,000
Or
6o6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Or one hundred and feventy-three thoufand pounds fterllng;
three Chinefe ounces being equal to one pound fterling.
It is hardly poffible that this enormous fum of money could
have been expended on account of the Embafly, though I
have no doubt of its having been iflued out of the Imperial
treafary for that purpofe. One of the miffionaries informed
me, in Pekin, that the Gazette of that capital contained an arti-
cle ftating the liberality of tlie Emperor towards the Englilh
EmbafTador, in his having directed no lefs a fum than fifteen
hundred ounces of filver to be applied for the daily expences of
the EmbafTy, while ftationary in the capital and at Gehol. The
fame gentleman made an obfervation, that the great officers of
government, as well as thofe who had the good luck to be ap-
pointed to manage the concerns of a foreign embaffy, confi-
dered it as one of the heft wind-falls in the Emperor's gift, the
difference between the allowances and the actual expenditure
being equivalent to a little fortune.
Van-ta-gin^ indeed, explained to us, that although the Impe-
rial warrant was figned for thofe fums, yet that having a num-
ber of offices to pafs through, in all of which it diminiflied a
little, the whole of it was not actually expended on the Em-
bafTy. He gave to the Embaffador an excellent iiluftration of
the manner in which the Imperial bounty was fometimes ap-
plied. An inundation had fwept away, the preceding winter,
a whole village in the province oi Shan-iinig, fo fiiddenly, that
the inhabitants could lave nothing but their lives. The Em-
peror having once lodged at the place immediately ordered
100,000
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 607
icOjOOO ounces of filver for their relief, out of which the firft
officer of tlie treafury took 20,000, the fecond 10,000, the
third 5,000, and fo on, till at laft there remained only 20,000
for the poor fufferers. So that the boafled morality of China
is pretty much the fame, when reduced to praQice, as that of
other countries.
The real expence, however, of the Brltifh Embaffy, could
not have been a trifle, when we confider what a vaft multitude
of men, horfes, and vefl~els were conftantly employed on the
occafion. Fafi ta-gin affured me, that there were feldom fewer
than one thoufand men, and frequently many more, employed
one way or other in its fervice ; and I am perfuaded he did not
intend to exaggerate. In the flrft place, from the mouth of the
Pei-ho to Tong-tchoo^ we had forty-one yachts or barges, each
on an average, including boatmen, trackers, and foldiers, hav-
ing on board fifteen men ; this gives fix hundred and fifteen,
men to the boats only. Caterers running about the country to
colled, provlfions, boatmen to bring them to the feveral barges,
the conducing officers, and their numerous retinue, are not
included in this cftimate. From "Tong-tcboo near three thoufand
men were employed to carry the prefents and baggage, firfl to
Hung-ya-yueri, beyond Pekin, and then back again to the capi-
tal, which took them three days. In our return froni Tong-
tchoo to Hang-tchoo-foo^ we had a fleet of thirty- veffiels, with ten
men at lead and, for the greateft part of the journey, twenty
additional trackers to each veflel ; this gives nine hundred
people for the yachts alone.
From"
6c8 " TRAVELS IN CHINA.
From Haiig-fchoo-fooio En-JJjan-Jlj'icn^ and from Hang-tchoo-foo
to Cbii-fan, there might probably be employed about forty veffels,
with twelve men to each, or four hundred and eighty in the
whole. And, befides the people employed by the officers of
government to purchafe provifions, numbers were Rationed in
different parts of the rivers to contrad the ftream, by raking
together the pebbles where, otherwife, the water would have
been too (hallow for the boats to pafs ; and others to attend
at all the fiuices on the canals to affift the veffels in getting'
through the fame.
From I'chang'JJoan-JJjten to Eu-JJjati-JJo'tcji, overland, we had
about forty horfes, and three or four hundred men to carry the
baggage.
From the Po-ycvig lake to Canton, we had generally about
twenty-fix veflels with twenty men to each, including boatmen,
ft^ldiers, and trackers, which gives five hundred and twenty
men for thefe alone.
The Embafly confifted of near one hundred perfons, but as
for the feveral officers and their numerous retinue of guards, at-
tendants, and runners, I have not the lead idea to what their
numbers might amount ; all of whom, being on extraordinary
fervice, were fupported at the public expence.
ThewholeexpenceoftheEmbaflyto this country, including the
prefeutSjdid not exceed eighty thoufand pounds; an inconfiderable
fum for fuch a nation as Great Britain on fuch an occafion, and
not
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 609
not more than a fourth part of what has been generally ima-
gined.
Although the Britlfh fadlory was in every fenfe more com-
fortable than the mofl fplendid palace that the country afforded,
yet it was fo repugnant to the principles of the government for
an Embaffador to take up his abode in the fame dwelling with
morchants, that it was thought expedient to indulge their no-
tions in this refpe(ft, and to accept a large houfe in the midft of
a garden, on theoppofite fide of the river, which vras fitted up and
furnifhed withbeds in the European manner, with glazed fafli win-
dows, and with fire grates fuitable for burning coals. On our arri-
val here we found a company of comedians hard at work, in the
middle of a piece, which it feemed had begun atfun-rife ; but their
fqualling and their flirlll and harfli mufic were fo dreadful, that
they were prevailed upon, with difiiculty, to break off during din-
ner, which was ferved up in a viranda diredtly oppofite the theatre.
Next morning, however, about fun-rife, they fet to work
afrefh, but at the particular requefl of the Embaffador, in
which he was joined by the whole fuite, they were difcharged,
to the no fmall aftonifliment of our Chinefe condudors, who
concluded, from this circumftance, that the Englifli had very
little tafte for elegant amufements. Players, it feems, are here
hired by the day and the more inceffantly they labour, the
more they are applauded. They are always ready to begin
any one piece out of a lift of twenty or thirty, that is prefented
for the principal vifitor to make his choice.
The nature of the trade carried on by foreign nations at the
port of Canton is fo well known, that it would be fupcrfluous
4 I for
6io TRAVELS IN CHINA.
for me to dwell on thatfubje£t. The complaints of all nations
againfl; the extortions pradlifed there have been loudly and fre-
quently heard in Europe, but the fleps that have hitherto been
taken have proved unavailing. The common anfwer is,
" Why do you come here ? We take in exchange your arti-
" cles of produce and manufacture, which we really have no
" occafion for, and give you in return our precious tea, which
" nature has denied to your country, and yet you are not fatif-
" fied. Why do you fo often vifit a country whofe cuftoms you
" diflike ? We do not invite you to come among us, but when
" you do come, and behave well, we treat you accordingly.
" Refpe(5l then our bofpitallty, but don't pretend to regulate or
*' reform it." Such is the language held to Europeans by all
the petty officers of government with whom they have to
deal.
With fuch fentiments one cannot be furprized that fo-
reign merchants Ihould be received with indifference, if not
handled with rudenefs, and that the fair trader fhould be liable
to extortions. This is ftill more likely to happen from the
com.plete monopoly of all foreign trade being configned to a
limited number of merchants, feldom, I believe, exceeding
eight, who are fandioned by government. The cargoes of tin,
lead, cotton, opium, and large fums of Spanifh dollars, fent to
Canton from Europe, India, and America, all pafs through the
hands of thefe Hong merchants, who alfofurnifh the return car-
goes. As the capital employed is far beyond any thing of the kind
we can conceive in Europe by fo few individuals, their profits muft
be proportionally great, or they could not be able to bear the
expence
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 6ii
expence of the numerous and magnificent prefents which they
are expefted to make to the fuperior officers of government at
Canton, who, in their turn, find it expedient to divide thcfc with
the Emperor and his minifters in the capital. The various
toys, automatons, moving and mufical figures from Coxe's mu-
feum, the mathematical and aftronomical inftrnments, clocks,
watches, machinery, jewellery, all made in London, and now
In the different palaces of the Emperor of China, are faid to be
Valued at no lefs a fum than two millions fterling, all prefents
from Canton. The principal officers of this government are
invariably fent down from Pekin ; ihey arrive poor and, in
the courfe of three years, return with immenfe riches. How
much of the enormous wealth of Ho-tchtitig-tatig came from
the fame quarter it is difficult to fay, but the great influence he
poffefTed over the Emperor, and his intimacy with the vice-
roy of Canton, who was fnperfeded in 1793, leave no doubt,
that a very confiderable part of it was drawn from this port.
The large pearl, which forms one of the charges preferred
againft him, was a prefent from Canton, of which I have been
told a curious hiftory by a gentleman who was on the fpot at the
time it happened. An Armenian merchant brought this pearl to
Canton, in the expcdation of making his fortune. Its fize and
beauty foon became known and attra£ted the attention of the
officers and the merchants, who paid their daily vifits to the
Armenian, offering him prices far inadequate to its value. At
length, however, after minute and repeated examinations, a
price was agreed upon and a depofit made, but the Armenian
412 was
6i2 TRAVELS IN CHINA
was to keep poflefTion of tlie pearl till the remaining part
of the purchafe-money fliould be ready ; and in order to obviate
any pofTibllity of trick, the box in which it was kept was I'ealed
with the purchafer's feal. Several days elapfed without his
hearing any thing further from the Chinefe ; and, at length,
the time approached when all foreign merchants are ordered
down to Macao. The Armenian, in vain, endeavoured to find
out the people who had purchafed his pearl, but he contented
himfelf with the refledlion that, although he had been difap-
pointed in the main objecft of his journey, he ftill had his
property, and that the depofit was more than fufficient to de-
fray his expences. On reaching his home, he had no longer
any fcruple in breaking open the feal ; but his mortification may
eafily be fuppofed, on difcovering that his real pearl had
been exchanged for an artificial one, fo very like as not to be
deteded but by the moft critical examination. The daily vifits
of thefe people, it feems, were for no other purpofe than to ea-
able them to forge an accurate imitation, which they had dex-
teroufly fubftituted for the real one, when they propofed the
cunning expedient of fealing the box in which it was inclofed.
The Armenians, however, were determined not to be outdone
by the Chinefe, A noted charader, of the name of Baboom^
equally well known in Bengal and Madras as in Canton, juft
before his failure in about half a million fterling, depofited a va-
luable cafket of pearls, as he reprefented them, in the hands of
one of the Hotig merchants, as a pledge for a large fum of
money, which, when opened, inftead of pearls was found to
be a cajket of peas.
It
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 6ij
It has always been confidered that a foreigner has little chance
of obtaining juftice at Canton. The import and export duties,
which by the law of the country ought to be levied ad valorem^
are arbitrarily fixed according to the fancy of the collcdlor.
And although the court is at all times ready to punilh, by con-
fifcation of their property, fuch as have been guilty of corrup-
tion and oppreffion, yet by accepting their prefents, it feems to
lend them its encouragement. Befides, the diftance from Can-
ton to the metropolis is fo great, the temptations fo ftrong, and
the chances of impunity fo much in their favour, that to be
honeft, when power and opportunity lend their aid to roguery,
is a virtue not within the pale of Chinefe morality. A ftrik-
ing inftance of their peculation appeared in a circumftance that
was connected with the Britifh Embaffy. In confideration of
the Hindoftan having carried prefents for the Emperor, an or-
der was iffued from Court that Ihe fliould be exempt from
duties at any of the ports where fhe might take in a cargo. It
happened that the Hong merchants had already paid the Hin-
doftan's duties with thofe of the other fliips, of which her par-
ticular fhare was 30,000 ounces of filver. The Hoo-poo or col-
ledor was therefore requeued to return this fum agreeably to
the order from court, but he refunded only into Mr. Browne's
hands 14,000 dollars, which can be reckoned as little more
than 1 1,000 ounces, obferving, that fo much was the exadt
amount of the Emperor's duties. As in this inftance of a public
nature the collector could not be fuppofed to adt without cir-
cumfpedtion, we may conclude how very fmall a proportioa
of the duties, extorted from foreigners trading to Canton, linds
its way into the Imperial treaiury.
Thus
6i4 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Thus the taxes, which, if we may judge of them from
ihofe paid by their own countrymen, are extremely moderate,
by the abufes of the admlniftration become ferious grievances
to the foreign merchant who, however, has never hitherto em-
ployed the only probable mean of obtaining redrefs — that of
making himfelf acquainted with the language of the country,
fo as to be able to remonflrate to the high officers of ftate,
againft the oppreffions and impofitions of thofe who ad in in-
ferior capacities ; for, however rapacious and corrupt the firil
in authority may be, his timid nature would fhiink immediate-
ly from a bold, clamorous, and able complainant, w^ho pof-
feflfed the means of making his delinquency notorious. This
obfervation has been verified by a recent occurrence. A frau-
dulent fuppreffion of a bankruptcy, for which the government
Hood refponfible, and by which the interefts of the Eaft India
Company, as well as of feveral individuals in India and Can-
ton, would materially have fuffered, was completely fruftrated
by the fimple circumftance of Mr. Drummond, the chief of
the factory, rufliing into the city of Canton, and repeating
aloud a few words which he had got by heart whilft, at the
fame time, he held up a written memorial ; the confequence
of which was, that the memorial was immediately carried to
the viceroy, and the grievance complained of therein redrelTed.
It would have been in vain to convey it through any of the in-
ferior officers or the Hong merchants, as they were all interefted
in keeping it from the knowledge of government.
The fuppofed difficulty of acquiring the Chinefe language
has hitherto intimidated the refidents in Canton from making
the
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 615
the attempt. Satisfied in tranfadting the Company's concerns
through the medium of a jargon of broken EngHlh, which all
the Hong merchants and even tlic inferior tradefmen and me-
chanics find it worth their while to acquire, they have totally
negleded the language, as well as every other branch of infor-
mation refpedting the moil interefting and extraordinary empire
on the face of the globe. The attainment in facH: of four or
five thoufand charaders, which are fufficient to write clearly
and copioufly on any fubje<n:, is much lefs difficult than ufually
has been imagined, but it would require great attention and
unremitting perfeverance, fuch perhaps as few are willing to
beftow, who are placed in fituations which enable them to
calculate, almoft to a certainty, on realizing a fixed fum in a
given number of years. The climate may alio be adverfe to
intenfe appHcation, but if the foundation was laid in England,
much of the difficulty would thus be obviated. The French,
aware of the folid advantages that refult from the knowledge of
languages, are at this moment holding out every encou-
ragement to the ftudy of Chinefe literature ; obvioufly not
without defign. They know that the Chinefe charadler is un-
derftood from the Gulph of Siam to the Tartarian Sea, and
over a very confiderable part of the great Eaftern Archipelago ;
that the Cochin Chinefe, with whom they have already firmly
rooted themfelves, ufe no other writing than the pure Chinefe
charader, which is alfo the cafe with the Japanefe. It is to be
hoped therefore that the Brltifh nation will not negled t!ie
means of being able to meet the French, if necefiary, even on
this ground. The method of accomplifhing this deiirable ob-
ject appears to be extremely fimple. If the Diredors of the
F.aft
6i6 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
Eaft India Company were to make it a rule that no writer
Ihould be appointed to China until he had made himfelf ac-
quainted with five hundred or a thoufand charadlers of the
language *, I will be bold to fay that, where the number fent
out is fo few (the eftablifhment not exceeding twenty) and
the emoluments fo very liberal, there would be as little danger
as at prefent, by fuch a regulation, of the appointments being
made out of their own families. The noble Marquis at the
head of their affairs in India has eftablifhed an inftitution,
which feems to bid fair for producing a mutual benefit to
the parent flate and the native Indians. The exertions of Sir
William Jones and a few others had, indeed, long before
this, been produdlive of the happieft effeds ; and great num-
bers, both on the civil and military cftablilhments of the Com-
pany, made themfelves acquainted, in a certain degree, with
the different languages fpoken in the country. In fad, it be-
came a matter of neceffity, in order to remove prejudices im-
bibed againft us and to meet thofe of the natives. The Por-
tuguefe and the Dutch adopted a difierent policy ; and, like
our refidents at Canton, communicated only with the natives
in a jargon of their own languages. Mr. Thunberg tells a
ftory of a Dutch gentleman, who had refided as chief of their
fadtory in Japan for fourteen years, during which period he
had been four times in the capacity of Embaffador to the court,
* There :ire fcveral good manufcript Chinefe difllonaries in Enc^land ; one
of wliich is under publication by DoiSlor Montucci ; who, I underftand from
good authority, by many years of indefatigable application, hasfuccceJed in writing
the characfters with great neatnefs and accuracy ; and is well qualllied in other
refpefts for the undertaking, in which, it is to be hoped, he may meet with fuitable
tncouragement.
3 yet,
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 617
yet, on being aflced the name of the Emperor of Japan, freely
avowed that it had never occurred to him to afk it. In faiSt,
his grand objed was the accumulation of fo many mHHons of
florins in a given time ; in the purfuit of which he had com-
pletely loft fight of the Emperor of Japan and his millions of
fubjciVq.
If then, by negle£ting to ftudy the language of the Chinefe,
we are filly enough to place ourfelves and concerns fo com-
pletely in their power, we are highly deferving of the extortions
and iinpofuions fo loudly complained of. If the trade of
London was exclufively vefted in the hands of eight merchants^
and if the foreigners who vifited its port could neither fpeak
nor write one fingle word of the language of England, but
communicated folely on every fubjedt with thofe eight mer-
chants, through a broken jargon fomewhat refembling the
languages of the feveral foreigners, it might fairly be quef-
tioned, without any difparagement to the merchants of Lon-
don, if thofe foreigners would have lefs reafon of complaint
than the Europeans have who now trade to China ? Even as
things are, would a Chinefe arriving in England find no fubjeft
of complaint, no grievances nor vexations at the cuflom-houle,
which, for want of knowing our language, he might be apt
to confider as extortions and impofitions ? Two years ago two
Chinefe mlffionaries landed in England, in their way to the
college de propaganda Fide at Naples. Each had a fmall bundle
of clothes under his arm and, according to the cuftom of
their country, a fan in his hand. Being obferved by one of
thofe voracious fharks who, under the pretext of preventing
4 K frauds
6i8 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
frauds on the revenue, plunder unproteded foreigners and
convert the booty to their own advantage, the poor fellows
were ftripped by him of the little property they carried in their
hands, and were not, without difficulty, allowed to efcape with
the clothes on their backs. Can we blame thefe people for
reprefenting us as a barbarous, unfeeling, and inhofpitaWc
nation, ho^vever undeferving we may be of fuch a cha-
rader ?
*
Our cafe at Canton is pretty nearly the fame as that of the
two Chinefe miffionaries. Every petty officer of the govern-
ment knows he can pradife impofitions on our trade with im-
punity, becaufe we have not the means of bringing his villainy
to the knowledge of his fuperiors. For, how great foever
may be the propenfity of the Chinefe people to fraud and
extortion, I have little doubt of the juftice and moderation
of the Chinefe government, when the cafe is properly repre-
fented. A recent circumftance may be mentioned in fupport
of this opinion. In the year 1801, a failor on board his
Majefty's fliip the Madras fired upon and mortally wounded a
Chinefe who was paffing in a boat. A difcuffion, as ufual,
took place with the Chinefe government ; but it was conduced
in a very different manner from what had hitherto been ufual
on fimllar occafions. Inftead of entering into any explanation
or defence through the medium of the Hong merchants, who
tremble at the loweft officer of government, a memorial was
addreffed to the Viceroy, drawn up in a proper and becoming
manner by the prefent Sir George Staunton, the only Englifhman
in the Company's fervice who was fkilled in the Chinefe language.
Several
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 619
Several converfations were alfo held on the fubjcd with the
officers of juftice, from which the Hong merchants were ex-
cluded. Captain Dllkes fetting up a plea of recrimination
on the ground of fome Chinefe having cut his cable with an
intent to fteal it, the government afTented to have the matter
tried in the fuprcme court of juftice in the city of Canton. By
the law of China, if the wounded perfon furvive forty days,
the fentence of death is commuted for that of banifhment into
the wilds of Tartary ; yet fo favourably did the court incline
to the fide of the accufed in this inftance, that although the
time was not expired, and there was little hope of the wounded
man recovering, they allowed Captain Dilkes to take the fea-
man into his own cuftody, requiring only that he fliould leave
in court a written promife to produce him in cafe the wounded
fhould not furvive the time prefcribed by law. The man
lingered near fifty days and then died, upon which a meflage
was fent by the court, intimating to the Captain, that the
court faw no impropriety, in this inftance, in leaving it to him
to punifti the delinquent according to the laws of his own
country ; thus, for the firft time, affenting to fet afide a pofi-
tive law in favour of foreigners. By this proper mode of
interference an Englifli fubje£t was faved from an unjuft and
ignominious death, which would otherwife inevitably have hap-
pened, as on all former occafions of a fimilar kind, had the affair
been left in the hands of men whofe intereft it is to reprefent
us as barbarians, and who, however well they might be dif-
pofed, have not the courage to plead our caufe. Hitherto the
Chinefe have invariably made a point of executing immedi-
ately, and without a regular trial, any foreigner who fhould
4 K 2 kill
f;20
TRAVELS IN CHINA.
kill a Chlnefe, or fome fubftkute in the place of the a£lual cri-
minal, as I have already inftanced in the feventh chapter. One
of the moft intelligent of the Eaft India Company's fervants at
Canton, fpeaking on this fubjedl, in anfwer to certain queries
propofed to him about the time of the Embafly, remarks, " I
" cannot help obferving, that the fituation of the Company's
" fervants and the trade in general is, in this rcfpedl, very
" dangerous and difgraceful. It is fuch that it will be impof-
" fible for them to extricate themfelves from the cruel dilemma
" a very probable accident may place them in^ I will not fay
" with honour^ but without infamy^ or expofing the whole
" trade to ruin." Yet we have juft now feen, on the recur-
rence of fuch an accident, that by the circumftance of a diredl
and immediate communication with the government, the affair
was terminated, not only without difgrace or infamy, but in a
way that was honourable to both parlies.
TRAVELS IN CHINA. 621
CONCLUSION.
I HAVE now gone over inoft of the points relative to
which I have been able to recoiled the remarks and obferva-
tions which arofe in my mind during my attendance on this
memorable Embaffy. The compariibns I have made were
given with a view of alTifting the reader to form in his own
mind fome idea what rank the Chinefe may be confidercd to
hold, when meafured by the fcale of European nations ; but
this part is very defedive. To have made it complete would
require more time and more reading, than at prefent I could
command. The confideration of other objedts, thofe of a po-
litical nature, which are of the mofl ferious importance to our
interefts in China, is more particularly the province of thofe in
a different fphere, and would, therefore, be improper for me to
anticipate or prejudge, by any conjcdtures of my own. It be-
longs to other perfons, and perhaps to other times * ; but it is to
be hoped that the information, refledions, and opinions of the
Embaffador himfelf, may one day be fully communicated to the
public, when the prefent objedions to it fliall ceafe, and the
moment arrive (which is probably not very diftant) that will
enable us to ad upon the ideas of that nobleman's capacious and
enlightened mind, and to prove to the world that the late Em-
baffy, by Ihewing the charader and dignity of the Britifh na-
* This was written at the dofe of the year J803.
I tlon
622 TRAVELS IN CHINA.
tion in a new and fplendld light, to a court and people In a
great meafure ignorant of them before, however mifrepre-
fented by the jealoufy and envy of rivals, or impeded by the
counteradion of enemies, has laid an excellent foundation for
great future advantages, and done honour to the wifdom and
forefight of the .ftatefman * who planned the meafure, and di-
refted its execution.
* The Lord Vifcount Melville.
INDEX.
INDEX.
y^BJKis, the flying arrow of - 40
Africa, coaftof, known to the Phenicians 48
Agriculture, an honourable profeffion 397
■ of Pe-tche-lee
of Shan lung
oi Kiang-nan
terrace fyftem of
554
554
561
568
Jir fung by Chinefe boatmen 81
Almanack, national - - 284
Almejda, a Portiiguefe Jefuit, malignant
fpirit of - - 19
Alphabet of the Mantchoo language 272
American Indians refemble the Chinefe 44
traders; how confidered at
Canton
Amplification, Chinefe example of
Ancients unacquainted with China
Anni-ver/ary of the Emperor of China's
birth-d ly
Anfon'i voyage, character of Chinefe
in the account of - -
A'ltij-iary, curious miflake of one
Appeal, none in civil caufes
Arbitrary power, inftance of
Arch, very ancient in Chinefe architec-
ture
thofe called triumphal
593
36
435
196
27
258
277
85
339
95
Archipelago of Chu-fan, violent currents in 54
rACE
ArchiteHure of the palace of Yutn-min-
yuen . - 124
, ftyle of, in landfcape gar-
dening - - 135
, general obfervations on 330
, monumental - 339
Arithmetic _ - 206
Armenian and his pearl - - 6 1 1
Army cllablilhment . _ 40C
, how employed - - 408
AJlronomy . . - 281IL
, ignorance of the Chinefe in 290
Authority, parental, bafis of Chinefe go-
vernment - _ 3^9
B
Babcom, an Armenian, trick played by
him at Canton - . 612
Bamboo, the pradlice of flogging with,
inftanced _ . . i5i
, general utility of this plant 309
, reflexions on the puniflimenc of 380
, compared with that of the knout
in Ruflia - . J83
Bedford, Duke of, his portrait in "China 1 15
Beverage of life • _ 464
Bijhop of Pekin, his vifit to I'uen.min-yuen 1 1 o
Books, ancient ones of China - 276
Breakfaji, Chinefe - - 89
Briareus of China • - 47 1
Brid;et
624
INDEX.
Bridges
, one of ninetj'-one arches
Budba, compared witli Fo
Burying- ground
PAGE
337
520
- 468
- 497
Calendar, natloniil, an ennine of go-
vernment - -391
Camellia Se/anqua - - 53^
CameloparJalis, noticed by Marco Polo 46
CanaJ, Imperial - "335
— — obfervations on 506 — 512
Cannon - - " ^99
CantcK, reafons for the Embaffy avoid-
ing it - - 33
, fituatioD of foreigners trading
to it - - 610
Carriages of the Chinefe defcribed 90
, thofe made by Hatchett puzzle
them - .113
Ca-valry, Tartar - - 410
Cenforate - " 3^3
Cif'vwjo/y of the Court - • zi.
Chain- pump - - 3 « I
ChaaSer, phyfical, as given by Linnaus
not correct • - 1 84
, moral, of Chinefe and Tar-
tars - - 186
CharaStrs of the Chinefe language 24S
, keys or roots of - 25 1
, examples of tlie compofition
of - .. 255
Ckafiitj, palace of - "235
Chemical Arts - - 298
Checks to the abfolute power of the Em-
peror - - 362
Children ftill-born expofed in the (Ireets 176
Chou-ta-gin - - 70
PAGt
Chou-ta-gin, .kind attentions of 604
Chrijiian Religion might once have been
introduced - - 440
Churchmen, intrigues of, not eafdy ob-
viated - - 18
C/ffg-a/f/?, of Chinefe origin - 53
Cities of China, walls, towers, and gates of 9 1
• , obfervations on - 5^^°
Cleanlinefs no part of the Chinefe cha-
radter - .7^
Cock-fighting - - 1 59
Ccfiins, fplendid appearance of . - 95
Collieries - - 59+
Commerce of the Yellow Sea, how car-
ried on - - 60
CoOT^i/v defcribed - - 201
, extraordinary fcene in one 22 1
Comparifon ot China and Europe 20
of a Chinefe and a Hottentot 49
Compafs, an original invention of Chinefe 39
, obfervations on - - 6t
, explanation of the circles on ()Z
Conchifioyt - - 62 1
Conduct of Chinefe prepofletling 80
Confucius, religion of - - 451
, no ftatues to the memory of 458
' , hall of - _ 4.59
Cork Con-vent - - ^97
Corvorant, the fifhing - - 506
Cottons, manufaflures of • 307
' , cultivation of the plant - 556 ~
Court of China, forms of, immutable 21
, manners and amufementsof 19 1
Crimes and punijhments - "367
Criminal offences, mode of tria.1 for 370
Cro-iud of per/on s at Ting-hat - z-j
- axTien-fing - 78
at Tong-tchoo - 86
• in Pekin - - 96
Cruelty
INDEX.
625
rACi
Cruelty, inftance of - 161
Cryftal lenfc! - . - 341
Cuckoo-clocks . -181
Currents, violence of, in Chu-fan Archi-
pelago - - 54
C!(^c;« refpeifling Embaffiidors - 22
Cvjiems and drefs not fubjei5ls of ri-
dicule - - - 74
C/f/f of iixty years - - 293
D
FAGE
E
Daughters always fold
Day ofreji, policy of obferving one
Decimal Arithmetic
Deity not perfonified in China
Deluge, univerfal tradition of
Deodiito, an Italian mifllonary
Dipartmejtls, public
Defcartes, his idea of prolonging life
Dignities, perfonal
Dtfpojitions, natural, altered by influence
of laws
Dijiillation of Seau-tchoo
Dranui, ftate of the - -
— — —- , extraordinary fubjedl of one
— — — , obfcenities of, compared to
thofe of Theodora
, abfurdities of, fimilar to thofe
'45
"54
457
43^
107
365
466
I Co
2lii
222
"3
224
of the amphitheatres
Dre/s of the Chinefe
Dutch Embafladors humiliating con-
duift of - ■ 9
. — , their milEons not
calculated to make terms • 13
Da/»Vj levied at- Canton - - 6f3
Ebrieiy, not a Chincfc vice 152
EclipJ'e of the moon, obfcrvance of 216
, ceremony on occafion of 28j
Egyptian mythology in China explained 424
deities compared with Chinefe 477
Embaffador, Englifh, proceeds to Gehol 104
rcfufes to fubniit to
the ceremony 1 17
■ his introdudioa at
court - 196
— his hotel in Pekin 332
Embaffadors, Dutch, treatment oi, m
Canton
- — lodged in a ftable at Pekin
■ reception of, at Court
vifit Yuenminyuen
Embajpes, Dutch and Englilh, different
treatment of, explained
from Europe in the lad cen-
tury ...
Embaffy, Englifli, a neceflary meafure
, attention of the Chinefe to
, expencc of, to the Chinefe go-
vernment
, cxpence of, to the Britifli go-
vcrnment
Emperor of China laughs at Van Braam's
aukwardnefs
confiders Enib;ifladors
9
II
208
215
'7
23
22
604
605
608
'3
as his guells - - 22
, an obfervation of 104
. obeifance to, on his
birth-day . - 116
infpeifJs the prefents 1 19
, life and charader of 226
caufes the death of his
Emprefs and fon - . 226
4 ^ Emfertr
626
INDEX.
PAGE
£mptror of China concs\vt% the deity to
be incarnate iii him - - 228
~" , Jiis otlelnpraife of tea :8o
* ■ ■ , obfervations of, on the
mechanical powers - -212
*" , maxims on which he
ads - - - 360
, checks to the abfolute
power of - - 362
» patronizes agriculture 399
■ ■ , inftances of gratitude
in - - - 482
EncychpcJifls, French, their teftimonyof
the Chinefe chai-afler - 26
E/prit des Loix, falfe conclufions drawn in I48
£/>iW»g-/Va/ deduflions fallacious 241
Eunuchs, bad charafter of - .230
Expellee of the Embaffy, to the Englifli
and Chinefe governments 6^^
Eje of the Chinefe remarkable 49
Face of the country near the Pel-ho 70
Failure of the Embafly, fuppofed reafon
of, ftated - - 8
Famimi attempted to be explained 584
Feet distorted of Chinefe women 73
. not noticed by early travellers 75
difficult to account for - 7^
Feafts - - - ^55
Ferry-girls - • ' 5'^S
Feniers, contagious, not frequent 349
Filial duty, a precept rather than a fen-
timent • • - 143
Fire ivoris defcribeJ
- 206
Fijhing, various modes of
- 533
Fificrmen, condiaon of
- C58
Fo, religion of
- 468
Fonmja, ft rait of
- 34
Four fsas, an ancient expreflion
H
Fo-Jkee, the lines of
- 277
Francifcan convent in Madeira
- 59«
Frvitirees, how propagated
- 569
Funrrals
- 483
Gi^OT^^ of Chance - - 157
Ganga compared vi-ith Egyptian and
Chinefe deities - . 472
Gardening, general account of, by Lord
Macartney - - '3'
Gardens o'i Tuen-min-yueti, fome account of 122
Ga/i^j of Chinefe cities - - 92
Gehol, appointed fur the celebration of
the birth day - - 104
• , park of, defcribed by Lord Ma-
cartney
126
Gw^a compared with Janus dLndMen-fnin /^6^
Geological ohjcr^vaiiant . • 42.9
Geometry and geography little underftood 295
Gill's fword-bladcs, acceptable prefenrs 1 13
Giraffe, or Camelopardalis, noticed by
Marco Polo - - 46
Gla/s - - - 305
Gouernment, the pride of - - 20
• ftability of, accounted for 359
Go'vernor oi Chu-fan, arbitrary proceed-
ing of - - - 49
Grammar of Chinefe language - 267
Grammont,
INDEX.
627
Gratnmont, Monfieur, his letter to the
Dutch - - - . 7
Great Britain and China, compared as
to their extent and popuhition 576
Gunpirvjdcr _ . . 300
H
Hager, Doiflor, remarks on the publi-
cation of - - 239
' miftake of - ' '^SZ
Hang-tchoo-foo, alarm created in, by three
Englifhmen
- 526
Hatchstl's carriages puzzle the Chinefe i 1 3
Herodotus approves the ciiftom of felling
women - - 140
Hieroglyphical wrWmg, Chinefe charac-
ter different from
Hills of PttLbe-lee, charaiSer of
Hindoo and Chinefe features totally dif-
ferent - - -
Hifiory of China, why fo little known
Homer degrades women
Homicide puniflied with death
Honour, high notions of, incompatible
witli defpotifm
Ho-tcbang-tong, the iiiiniiler, anecdote of 183
■■ trial and condemnation of 387
Hottentots, refemblance of, to the Chinefe 48
portrait of one,compared with
a Chinefe - . . r©
Humiliation of the Dutch Embafladors 9
=37
64
427
357
140
368
179
PACE
Idolatry, one caufc of . 4.85
JciuiJ}} law punilhing children for their
fathers - - - 375
Jtiut might have carried the filk worm
to Cliina - . .27
, remarks on thefe people - 438
Immortals, fons of, a fed iu China 463
Imprifonment not known as a punirtiment 378
Incenfe burnt before the Chinefe eompafs 42
Infanticide, remarks on - - 168
. extent of, in China - 169
common among the ancients 171
, probable caufes of
Inns, none in China
In/criplion on the flags of the yachts
thofe on monuments
Inundations . . .
Jones, Sir William, his opinion of the
Chinefe
«73
421
326
J '5
- n
of their arts, fciences,
- 35S
Ireland, peafantry of, compared with
thofe of China - . r^g
Iron-ixiarc - . - 2c8
Italian opera, Chinefe drama a burlcfque
0" - - - 219
Ivory, cutting of . . jog
&c.
H
Kamjkatka, known to the Chinefe
King of Holland, Emp»ror's letter ad
drefled to . - 4?
Ue, a luxury enjoyed by the poor near Lake of Hang.tcboofoo
Pekin - - . 10^ Lama, religion of, in China
4 I. 2
- 523
- 464
Leinguage^
62S
INDEX.
TAGE
Language, Chinefe writtea charafler of 236
, method of ftudyiug 159
.. .^— ■ , colloqul&l - 264
, number of words in 265
-, grammar of -67
■ , Mantchoo Tartar - 270
, fooner loft than
religious opinions 405
-.. inconvenience attending our
ignorance of, at Canton 6 1 5
Lanterns, feaft of - - 4^ +
La<w, one of an extraordinary nature 165
, effeas of this law - - 166
, a curious cafe of - - 373
Lotus, code of - - - 366
Lens of Mr. Parker - - 342
Leibnitz, binary arithmetic of - 277
Letter of M. Grummont to the Dutch
faftory - - - 7
of the Emperor of China to the
King of Holland - - H
Literature - - - 274
Lonvang, one of the Chu-fan iflands 36
Lo'wtber-ball, grounds of, compared to
the park of Gehol - - i34
M
Macao, furmife with regard to - so
Macartney, Lord, his account of Chinefe
gardening - - 126
. of the birth-day
ceremonies - - '9^
____ . , his obfervations on the
Tartars and Chinefe - 415
Madaga/car, a people on, refembling the
Chinefe - - 45
Madrid, ftrange notion of the inhabi-
tants of - - - 99
rAGB
Mahomedans vifit China in the ninth cen-
tury - - - 47
get into the interior in the
thiiteenth century - - 442
AMy^ of Scythian origin - 51
Man-midiui'ves, none in China - 353
A/an»i.')-j of domeftic life - - 142
, a concern of the legislature 178
■ ■ and amufements of the court 191
Munsfdd, Lord, his obfervation on
early rifers - - 229
Manichoo Tartars, probably a mixed race 1 85
—^ , language of - 270
, policy of - 412
Manure, an article of commerce 84
Marco Pole, fuppofed to have brought the
compafs from China - 40
Match-locks, why preferred to fire-locks 41 1
Mechanical powers - -311
Medicine, (late of - - 344 .
Meetings of the people rare - 336
Merchants, how confidered in China 180
Micare digitis, ■i.'R.omin gM-nt - 158
Michael de Murano, chart in the church
of - - - 47
Military, eftablifhment of, &c. - 405-
. , ciurious mauccvivre of - 504
Minijler of State, miferable lodgings of 109
MiJJionaries, remarks on the communi-
cations of - - 3 — 28 — 31
accompanied by fpies when
they vifited the Englifli - loj
, ftory of an infant faved by
one - - - '74-
, condition of thofe in the ca-
pital - - ■ 445
caufe their own perfecu-
tions - - - 446
MiJ/ionarieSi
INDEX.
629
PACE
Mijiviarits iinjulljr accufe the Chinefe
of fuptr.litions - - 462
Mollu/ca-medufaf an article of food 55
Mongul Tartars^ benefit derived by their
coiiqueft of China - - 4j
Meniiments, infcriptions on • 3J9
erefted over the dead 340
Mouni^i^i aCcended for religious pur-
pofes - - - 451
— — — , nature of thofe of China 59^
Mufic - - • 3'4
, fpecimensof - - 318
Mufical injlrumenti, plate of. - 3 ' 5
PAGE
Oljiai that occur in China - 4
OccurrtHcei in the Yellow Sea 25
Office obtained only by learning 386
— — of government, civil - 404
— — — , military 406
Officers of Canton, condufl of, towards
the Dutch - - 10
Opium much ufed in China - 153
Opihalmia - " 3S '
Ornamental buildings in landfcape gar-
dening - - - J 29
Or/^«» of China, remarks on - 220
N
Ktnions, who had early intercourfe vith
China ...
Navis'^''"" of the Yellow Sea unknown
of the Chinefe untkilfal
■ — inland, improved by the Tar-
tars
440
33
38
43
Nautical Almanac, a valuable prefent to
the miflionaries in Pekia - 112
Kelumbium, or water lilly - - 473
NfW-year' s-dajiyths only holiday in China 155
Neah, fuppofeJ by the Jefuits to have
travelled into China - - 4^3
— — ark of, where it probably reftsd 432
O
Oary3«g-of the Chinefe - - 8r
Oaif>, form of, among the Chinefe and
Sumatrans - - 52
— — never adminiftered in a Chinefe
court of law - - H.
Pagodas, obfervations on
Paine, Tom, his doiflrines too fublime
for the Chinefe language
Painting - . -
Palaces of China worfe than Saint
James's
Pantctr.ime defcribed
Paper, manufafture of
Park of Gehol defcribed by Lord Ma-
cartney - .
Pauiu, his opinion of the Chinefe
Pea/antry, condition of -
Pearl, ftory of one belonging to an
Armenian
Pei-ho, entrance of
' fecond embarkation oa
Pekin, approach tcr .
, f(.me acconnt of - .
, uncommon buttle in the great
ftreets of
, populace of, compared with
that of London
J police of -
- 503
396
323
194
203
310
129
310
6.1
68
488
y3
96
97
103
Pekin
6^c
INDEX.
Pekin, uniformity of - -
, hotel of the Brilifh EmbafTador
in - - -
— •, appearance of, from Hai-tien
— , hue and cry raifed in
, gazette of - -
, contrafted with London
, prices of provifions in
, buildings and population of,
compared with thofe of London
Peroufe dt la, his account of a people
refeiTibling Chinefe
Pilots, difliculry of procuring them at
Chu-fan
Plants, in Pe iche-lee
. , near Hang-tchoo-foo • -
.^ , near CiUiton
Plough, ceremony of, compared with
the IJia
Poetry - - -
Polarity of the magnet known to the
Scythians
Police of Pekin
Polo Marco, valuable teftimony of
Polygamy an evil of fmall extent
Population of floating craft
I— '— and extent of China
, compared with thofe of
Great Britain
as given by Father Amiot
PAGE
101
Pvpuloufnejs of China, caufes of
Poor laivs, none
Porcelane - -
Portraits of a Chinefe and Hottentot
■ - among the prefents, difficulty
refpefting
Portugue/i miffionary, intrigues of
Pofture-majlers, feats of
Potatott a certain crop
- lOJ
ib.
120
- 39'
- 4?o
- 549
S8.
4+
493
5'5
601
487
4«
lOo
35
147
8+
575
576
582
587
401
304
50
114
18
204
585
PAGE
Poverty of the Chinefe - - 495
Predeftination • - 454
Prejent of the governor of Ten tchoo-foo 65
Pre/ent of the officers deputed from
court - - 67
Prc/s, liberty of, in China - 392
PnW* of the blood, anecdote of 182
Printing ^'- %■ - -311
ProceJJ^on fiom Tong-tchoo to Pekin 85
of - - - 746
/"ro/^r/ji not fecured by law - 177
— laws refpefting - - 379
Prophecy, folly of being guided by - 456
Pul/e - - - 345
Punijhments, capital, not frequent - 378
Puppet-Jhew defcribed - - 201
^lacks, tricks of - - 347
. , great pefts in England - 46;
parries of ftone - - 598
Red-bock, Chinefe - - 405
Religion, priniitive, of China - 450
— .— , no longer exifts 486
Religious opinions, difficult fometimes
to explain - '4^3
Revenues • - 403
. application of them - 407
veflels to colleft them - 534
Rice erroneoufly fuppofed to caufe op-
thalmia
the ftafF of life in China
^— mill for cleaning
a precarious crop
Road from Tong-tchoo to Pekin
Roads neglefted in China
- 351
547
■ 5^S
- 586
91
- 513
Romans,
INDEX.
631
Rotiam, ainphitlieatres of
RuJJia and China compared
Sabbatical \jx^C\t\it\on, none in China
Sacrifices • . -
Salt, (lacks of, near Ticnfing
remarks on the uff of
Salutation, mode of - -
, exprcflions of, mark a na-
tional charafler
Samene/s throughout China
Savages, cuftom of maiming the hu-
man body among
Scenic reprefentations of the Romans
Scythians probably acquainted with
the polarity of the magnet
Scorpion, remarkable circumftancc con-
cr-rnins one
Scott, Doilor, faves a man from be-
ing buried alive
Sculpture - •
Seres not the fame ns Cliinefe
Shing mco, or holy mother
Ships of the Chinefe
Si/i, probably known to the ancients
• , cultivation of - -
Simplicity the leading feature of the
Chinefe
Skating, amufement of - -
Small-pox, when introduced
Snake, bite of, how cured
Society, (late of • -
, domeftic
Soff:ila, Chinefe found ac - -
Song oi Mao-lee-ijoha
Streets of Pekin
Steam, effefts of, known to the Chi-
nefe
iSft^ar-mills ...
Suicide feemingly encouraged
PAGE
3H
Surgery, ftate of - -
Sumairans of Chinefe Origin
rAGB
353
S'
Siuord blades of Gill much admired
'«3
Sivaa-pan • - •
296
'5+
5^9
T
78
7a//, or Chinefe altar
45*
510
Taotzc, or immortals, {ed of
466
ic8
Tapiirs burnt on altars
481
Tui /or women, drefs of
■ 97
189
5
- Mantchoo, fcarcely diftinguifii-
able from Chinefe
184
'3
224
Tartary, heights of, remarks on
Tafte
Taxes, moderate
438
331
400
40
114
,65
328
436
473
37
437
57«
312
1, 1
45°
348
'38
151
4^"
316
94
298
539
178
, fixed
Tcho ka, an ifland in the Tartarian
fca
Tea a fuppofed preventive of certain
diforders
Tea plant, trick played by the Chi-
nefe concerning
, obfervations on the culture of
Temfle, Embalfy lodged in a - •
, in a cavernous rock
Tirracffy ft cm of agriculture
Ten choofoo, prefent of the governor
of - - -
Tien Jing, approach to the city of
ling hui, vifit to the city of
Tingnan-tching, name of the Chinefe
conipafs
Tit/mg Dutch Embaflador to Pekin
Tonuers of the walls of Pekin
Trackers of the yachts preffed into
this fervice
Trade difcouraged
how condufted at Canton
Tranquillity, internal
Tra-villers fee objeifts diflferently
7Vf«/o« punilhable in the 9th generation 372
Ttial
40»
4+
350
538
57=
421
596
530
65
7'
57
40
y
9'
162
399
610
395
3
632
INDEX.
PiGE
Trial of an Englifh feaman for killing
a Chinefe - - 618
7V/^fl«a/ of Mathematics - - no
fome account of - -in
Typhoon, what - * 34
• , ftrength of one - - 41
Tyrus, commerce of, defcribed by
Ezekiel - - - 48
FACE
w
Van Braam, application of, to Batavia 8
happy turn of mind of 13
his account of an Imperial
banquet - - - 210
Vanity, national, of the Chinefe - 189
Van ia-gin - - - 70
kind attentions of - 604
Variina compared with Neptune and
Hai-vang - - - 470
Venereal Aifciifnot common - 352
Viceroy of Canton, haughty conduft of i o
. fwallows his fnuiF-
box - - - '79
Villa belonging to the Emperor - loa
Virgin Mary and Shing-moo compared 472
Vijhna compared with Jupiter and Lui-
Jhin ' • - 470
Vifiting Tickets very ancient in China 1 90
Vijilers zt Tuen min-yuen - - iio
Vocabulary, brief one of Chinefe words 243
Volcanic produifts not found in China 600
Voffius, Ifaac, his opinion of the Chinefe 26 ■
/Ta// of China - - 33 j
ofPekin - -91
Watch made by a Chinefe - 306
Wealth expended to pamper the appetite 552
Weather, ftormy in the Streight of For-
mofa - - - 34
Wheel to raife water - - 540
Women, drefs and appearance of, at
Tien-feng - - - 7*
Tartar commonly feen in the
capital - . -
• reflexions on the condition of
condition of in China
employments of - .
on the Imperial eltublilhment
not prohibited from frequent-
ing temples - . _ 480
of Sau-tchoi-foo, appearance of 517
articles of fale - - 518
courfe features of thofe oiKiang-
fee - - - 541
Words, number of, in the Chinefe lan-
guage - - - 265
97
>38
MO
143
234
Yachts, trackers of - - 501
TelloiuSea, obfervations on " *J
— commerce of • - 60
—— river, ceremonies ufed in
croffing - - - 509
Tuen-min-yuen, miferable apartments at 108
gardens and buildings of 122
THEE N D.
Printed by A. Strihan,
Printtn-Sliee«.
i»
university otCaWom^a,^
DS 707. 827T
llllWMimnir'i
3 1158 00492 0103
^ 000 720 843