THE FLOWERY SCROLL. HWA TSIEN KI. THE FLOWERY SCROLL; a (tjjtnese TRANSLATED AND ILLUSTRATED W[TH NOTES BY SIR JOHN BOWRING, LL.D., F.R.S. LATE H.B.M. PLENIPOTENTIARY IN CHINA; PRESIDENT OF THE CHINESE BU\\CH OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY ; PHRA MAH4 YESA OF SIAM, ETC. ETC. LONDON : WM. H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL, S.W. 1868. RFFSE LEWIS & SON, SWAN BUILDINGS, MOOEGATE STEEET. PREFACE. THE translation of the Chinese Courtship, by Mr. P. P. Thorns, published by the E. I. C. Press, at Macao, in 1824, and presenting, with the original text, a lineal rendering of the popular novel, was a great service rendered to the students of the Chinese language; but it appeared to me, that a more free and flowing version, with reference to other editions than that so employed, might have greater attrac- tions for the English reader, and give oppor- tunities for the introduction of explanatory notes and observations, suggested by a long residence in China, and by many opportunities of access to that inner life, in which the national character can alone be seen, and which was wholly unobtainable half a century ago. Mr. yi PREFACE. Schlegel, who has printed, in the transactions of the Batavian Society of Arts and Sciences, 1865, an excellent translation, under the title of " Geschiedenis van het gebloemde Brief Pa- pier" has also avoided the metrical form of the original, which necessarily gives a certain stiff- ness to the style. He has adopted the com- mon narrative form. No apology is, however, necessary for pre- serving the general phraseology of the story. "If," as is said, "the individual style is the in- dividual man, " the national style is the nation, and it is emphatically so in China, where all thoughts, feelings and expressions, are moulded to a common type, that type being the result of a universally similar education, in which the elementary books employed are invariably the same. The character of that national education may be seen hi those constant references to the an- cient legends of the central kingdom, in that PREFACE. VU language, so flowery, poetical and fanciful, an intimacy with which is regarded as evidence of the highest refinement of manners and of the most elevated intellectual cultivation. Even the State Papers of China are permeated with these elements. On one occasion, a Mandarin said to me that, " the proof of your being no better than barbarians, is, that you have no poetry in your language." No doubt, our dispatches seemed to them repulsively dry. In correspondence with the Tae Ping Kings, one of them asked whether I had ever received any "poetry," written by the hand of God, and assured me that he had "autograph verses" sent to him direct by a messenger from heaven. The notes appended to the Chapters may seem profuse, but in a field so remote, and in which all habits of thought, feeling and ex- Tession, are so unlike, and sometimes so wholly Vlll PREFACE. irreconcilable with our own, it appeared not undesirable to append to the Text, information which, not disturbing the current of the nar- rative, might have interest for those who would care little for an every day love-story. Such notes may be passed over by the gene- ral reader. There is an undoubted resem- blance in the great outlines of human character wherever man is found, but the modifications it receives from all the varieties of climate, education, civilization, laws and religious usages, are worthy of a close survey; and, in the case of China, where a far larger portion of the human race are bound together by similarity of language, common traditions, all submitting to the same recognised authority all moulded to a general type, than can be found in any other portion of the terraqueous globe, it is hoped that, whatever may enable us to approach the domesticities of the Chinese people, will not be unwelcome. THE FLOWERY SCROLL 1 1 The Flowery Scrolls, in China, afford an immense field for the display of the poetical, the pictorial, and the caligraphic arts. There is not a hall or great apartment, on whose pillars or walls these ornaments are wanting. They are generally suspended in pairs, and it is expected that the inscriptions should, as it were, re- spond to one other by comparisons, contrasts and antitheses, so that a succession of images should relieve one another by the reflection of opposed lights and shades. Here is an example in the representation of the fate of a fortunate, and an unfortunate, lover : The bright sun rises over the eastern mountains, A new glory re-awakens the earth to the impulses of spring ; The pink peach flowers open their beauties to the light ; The yellow bamboos wave, in the garden, to the gentle breezes. He holds aloft the golden cup, and pours out its scarlet wine, The warm wine which gives greater warmth to his warm heart. See ! he is ascending the ladder by which he mounts to the clouds ! He approaches the condescending glance of the son of heaven!* The watery moon has descended beneath the western valley, The departure of the moon-goddess has filled the heaven with gloom; The almond blossoms and fruits have all been swept away. The fierce blast shakes the black fir-trees of the forest, The dull, damp mists of night enshroud the earth in darkness, And tears, frozen to ice, fall on the cold ground below. He cannot fling down the crimson screen at the boudoir ; His very entrails are torn with intolerable despair, f * He has obtained the highest literary eminence, and been admitted to theHanlin, or Doctorial College, and has obtained, in consequence, the hand of his beloved. t Failing in his competitive examination, he has lost the favour of his lady, and the screen cannot be removed, which debars access to her apartments. 1 2 THE FLOWERY SCROLL. These scrolls serve the purposes of albums, and are often the auto- graph paintings, and writings of persons known to fame, or possess- ing the friendship of the possessor. In the " Medicine Street," at Canton, deeply engraved in blazing, golden characters, of an immense size, on a scarlet ground, was the sign-board of the principal shop in the street, being the reproduction of a scroll written by the Yiceroy of Kwan Tung, Seu, who wished to convey to the physician by whom he had been cured of a serious malady, a permanent, and, as it proved to be, a very popular and a very profitable evidence of his good opinion. The literary scrolls are, for the most part, quotations from the classics ; apophthegms from the sages, and verses which have been handed down from the traditions of the past. The scrolls sup- ply abundant and varied materials for conversation, and serve to test the acquirements of those who seek opportunities for displaying their erudition by tracing them back to their authors. It is a curious fact that, when the scent bottles, with Chinese inscriptions, were dis- covered at Thebes and Memphis, there was not a single instance in which we were unable to track back the verse to its original Chinese source. Commissioner Lin, the author of the Opium War, was fa- mous for his scroll writing, the originals of which have a high money value, and fac-similes are frequently seen in Chinese houses.* It is in this field that painters and caricaturists obtain the highest rewards, and they generally appropriate to themselves some parti- cular department. Chang, a celebrated scroll painter of the last generation, devoted himself to the celebration of diiferent events in the history of the sages, giving a rude, written report of the tale he has to tell, and illustrating the tale by very grotesque, but often * I possess one of these scrolls, of which the following is a translation : If an upright heart be not maintained, interment in an auspicious place avails nothing : Without filial duty to Parents, sacrifice to the Gods avails nothing : If there be discord between brethren, harmony among friends avails nothing : With a disorderly life, pursuit of letters avails nothing : With a proud temper cherished, universal knowledge avails nothing : If folly guides in the transaction of affairs, superiority of intellect avails nothing : If the natural constitution be not attended to, to swallow medicine avails nothing : If fate be unpropitious, wild endeavours (to gain the desired end) will avail nothing : With the substance of others unjustly possessed, almsgiving avails nothing : If lustful desires bo entertained, piety and devotion avail nothing. INTRODUCTION. 3 powerful painting. For example, he depictured various occurrences in the history of two slaves who were given to one of the sages by a Chinese Emperor, on condition that the sage should turn them to the very best account. He sends them to foreign lands, that they may col- lect specimens of fruits, flowers, and manufactures unknown, or supe- rior to those with which his countrymen were acquainted. He makes them instruments for his moral improvement, giving to one, a red, and to the other a blue bottle, and directs the first slave to place, in the red bottle, the record of every kind and wise word that he utters, and every good deed that he performs ; while the other slave is charged to place, in the blue bottle, every foolish, or wicked word or act, and they are to bring the bottles to him at the close of every day, when, according to the instructions of the Buddhist authorities, he has to draw the balance between merits and demerits, and ascertain whether he has made a step upwards or downwards in the next stage of existence. G-ood hand- writing is the first requirement at all com- petitive examinations, and the beautiful specimens seen on the flowery scrolls, show with what success all the delicacies of that charming art are acquired. Chinese characters lend themselves to a great variety of ornaments. There are the bird the flower the bamboo the vase, and other fanciful forms, to which the various signs are accom- modated. Some show the minute and exquisite miniature touches of the finest pencil ; others, the bold dashing produced by brushes, such as are used for the colouring of walls, or the painting of screens and sign boards. Among the most remarkable scrolls, are those which represent the judgments of the Buddhist tribunals, after the death, and the delivery of the condemned to the devils, who are seen inflicting a variety of horrible, but appropriate tortures. There is scarcely any form of imaginable agony omitted ; crushing to death, sawing in two, tearing out the peccant parts from the body with fiery pincers, in which, all the multitudinous torments imagined by the monks of the middle ages, and exhibited in some of their convents at the present day, are out-horrified. These religious paintings form the adornment of the Buddhist temples, and are seldom seen in the private houses even of the poor. The pictorial displays found upon the scrolls are of infinite variety. Grand, historical processions, passages of ancient history, portraits of distinguished men and women, pic-nic garden parties, hunting, THE FLOWERY SCROLL. liawking, fishing, kite flying, in which the aged indulge them- selves quite as much as the young ; playing at various games, such as draughts or chess* love scenes, for which the Chinese novelists and dramatists give abundant materials. In landscapes, bamboos, forest flower trees, cascades and distant mountains are seldom wanting. The bamboo is one of the favourite objects of Chinese poets and painters, and with good reason, for its uses are multi- tudinous as are its graces. A very beautiful scroll, and an admirable display of Chinese art, was given by "Warren Hastings to G-eorge III., and is now in the British Museum. It is an elaborate, almost microscopic, picture of the City of Canton, every temple, edifice and house, with the factories and costumes of the nations who were then allowed to trade. Not a vestige is left of these ancient institutions, nor, it may be added, of those more modern fabrics. Lin, the most distinguished of the geographers of China, a Man- darin of very high rank, sent to me a complimentary autograph scroll in which my travels, through " sunny and snowy regions," were illustrated by references to much legendary lore, to the writings o\ distinguished Chinese statesmen and sages, and the honours they had received from the Emperors on their return home. The scrolls are mostly written on thin, white silk or paper, bespang- led with gold and silver leaf. In width, from one to four feet, ir length, they reach to the height of the pillar, or the apartment where they are hung. They can be rolled up and fastened with silk thread, which, being untied, the roller to which they are attached, is heavj enough to keep them in their perpendicular position. * The] Chinese game of chess does not resemble that which has been introduced into Europe, but is an image of their own constitution. In chess, each player has sixteen pieces, arranged in the intersections of the lines ; the board contains seventy two squares, divided from each other by a (broad) line, representing a river, on th< banks of which the battle is supposed to be fought There are five pawns (commoi soldiers) stationed hi the van, two artillerymen (called cannons) hi their rear, am the King, with his suite of two aids (Ministers of State), two elephants, two horse- men, and two charioteers, stand in the front row. The King and his two attendaa Ministers cannot go out of the four square enclosures in which they stand, but th< subordinates can cross the river. The horsemen and charioteers correspond to oui knights and castles, but the aids, artillerymen and elephants have powers differen- from any pieces in European chess. Draughts are not often played. The number o men is 3GO, half of them white and half black, intended to represent the number o days in the year. See Dr. Williams' Middle Kingdom, ii. 9 1 . My experience is different I found draughts very commonly played, but dominoes more frequently still CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. I STOOD leaning upon a balustrade that I might enjoy the freshness of the evening breeze. The autumnal wind wafted towards me the fragrance of the white lotus flowers, and shining like water I saw the horns of the new moon. 1 It was the very night when, as the tale is told, 1 The phrase, " watery moon," is commonly used in China to be- token its want of brightness, or its waning phase. In European phraseology, "love sickness" is associated with the "pale moon," to which youths and maidens habitually address their plaints : but, in China, the "bright moon" is more intimately connected with amatory passions, as the lunar goddess possesses all the attributes attributed to the classical Diana. In truth, it has been found very convenient at once to identify the Chinese deity with her of the Pantheon, and to employ the name " Diana" as a fit representative of the B.uddhist female divinity. 6 THE FLOWEKY SCROLL. there is the blending of the constellations. 1 And then I thought silently that if the heavens had a happiness of their own in union and sympathy, there was no reason why man should be delivered over to sadness and solitude. If there be a day of gladness and rejoicing above, are there no jewels, is there no fragrance for us to possess and enjoy below. 2 Look whichever way we will from the beginning to the end of things love is a uni- versal element it always was it always will be . The heart will follow the uncontrollable im- pulses of nature. It will be reckless, dis- satisfied impatient until its affections can be mingled with the affections of another. 1 One of the stars in Lyra, called the herdsman, (Niu Lang) is the representative of the male, and another, the webster, (Chi Niu) of the female principle. The legends call the lady the grand-daughter of Tien Ti, the celestial ruler. She was so busily engaged in weav- ing embroidered stuffs, that she neglected her toilet, irritated her grandfather, who insisted on her marrying the herdsman ; upon which, she abandoned her work, and Tien Ti ordered her to resume her former condition ; only allowing her, once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, to cross the milky-way and to visit her husband. The day is made a festival for wives and maidens in China, who throw out many coloured threads, in the starlight, to honor her manufacturing industry, activity, and to condole with her short connubial felicity. 2 " To rob precious stones, to steal fragrance," i.e., to enjoy for- bidden pleasures. INTRODUCTION. 7 The mountains and the seas love not, yet are they linked to and attracted towards each other. How can I believe that the human race, overflowing with love, should be able to subdue its mighty influences ? No ! no ! they are irresistible. The tides of tenderness are not to be arrested on their progress. I am about to tell you a marvellous tale. There is a love deep as the ocean and vast as the firmament. Why should I not narrate the story for the instruction of those who come after me? There lived in Soo Chow a clever youth whose name was Liang. His father was an Imperial functionary; his mother a most exemplary woman. He lived a lonely life, for he was brotherless. His countenance was fair as the moon, his cheeks rosy as the spring, his talents brilliant as new silk, or crystal clouds : yet was he gay and joyous as the man who rode triumphantly upon the whale, and as accomplished as the youth who mastered the Phoenix. 1 Liang was eighteen years old when he was 1 Li Tai Pe, a famous poet, fascinated a whale, and compelled the monster to swim with him to the celestial regions. Siaou Chi was another Chinese Orpheus, who, by the melodies of his flute, attracted THE FLOWERY SCROLL. ranked among the honored list of initiated students, and he longed for the day when he might be received into the service of the Em- peror. 1 the Phoenixes to a Tower, which he had erected, and called the Phoenix Tower. One day, the musician and his wife sprung upon the back of a Phoenix and were carried away to heaven. The Phoenix of Chinese fiction is a bird, possessing every conceivable attraction : its beautiful feathers represent, in their five colours, the cardinal virtues, its voice is melodious, its motions graceful, its affections full of tenderness : it has not been seen on earth in modern times, but the argus pheasant is a sort of representation of a degenerate Fung Hwang. Confucius refers to the disappearance of the Phoenix as an evidence of the downward progress of mankind. 1 This can only be accomplished by a succession of competitive examinations. The value attached to literary distinction, not only as marking unmistakeably a man's social position, but as the stepping-stone to imperial favour, will be exemplified in the whole course of this story. There is no part of the world where education, such as it is, is so highly estimated as in China. No enquiry is made as to the rank held the wealth or the poverty of the suc- cessful competitor in the examination halls. In the highest grades of eminence, the student is not only himself surrounded by a halo of glory, but it is reflected on his family, his clan, and the locality of his birth. A hundred proverbs are in constant use in China, exciting youth to struggle for literary distinction as the great end and object of life. " Man's mission is as much to rise, as it is the property of water to fall." "Our primary duty is to make our family illus- trious, and, by noble exertions, to bring glory to our race." " Learn- ing will raise the lowest of the people to the highest dignities. The sons of the highest dignataries, if unlearned, are mingled with the common mass." " Ten years of study under the window (in obs- curity) will bring promotion and fame under the canopy of heaven." (thro' the whole empire.) "A Seu-Tsai (literate), without going out of his door, is acquainted with the affairs of the whole empire." " In learning, there is neither age nor youth. The learned, whether young or old, will be raised above all." UNIVERSITY INTRODUCTK The selection of wise and meritorious persons to high office, with- out any reference to their social position^is not only reported as the practice of the ancient kings, but is insisted on by Confucius, Men- cius, and all the authoritative sages of China. Mencius says : " If a prince will avoid disgrace, he will honour virtue and respect the learned," " The emptiness of a country is seen when superior men are not selected to office," He thus reproved a prince : " What avails it that your kitchens overflow with costly food, that your stables are filled with pampered horses, if the faces of your people are pale with hunger, and their famished corpses cover your fields ? " He brings forward the example of a sage, who, in the presence of one of the ancient kings, quoted two lines from the Book of Odes Riches and power are blessings but to those Who soothe the widows' and the orphans' woes. " Admirable words !" said the sovereign. " Admirable words ! " and the sage answered : " If you find them admirable, why do you not practice them ? " A succession of sages and censors have repeated these councils to the Emperors. As a specimen of the frankness with which the sages addressed their sovereigns, the follow- ing is an extract from a remonstrance to Ting Tsing, who ascended the throne in A. D. 1064 from Sze Ma Lung, a member of the Hanlin College, and an assistant minister of the monarch whom he had the courage thus to address : "Among the officers of your government, the good and bad are mingled and confounded, a disorder, perilous to the State, and which your Majesty is called upon to remedy. You should ascertain who are most distinguished for virtue and capacity, and most likely to obtain the good opinion of the people. Select them from the crowd, and confer upon them the highest offices. If you live an idle life in your palace and deliver yourself over to dis- solute pleasures, if you transfer your authority to your officers, and enquire not who has merit and who has none, if you do not dis- tinguish between unobtrusive virtue and artfully disguised vice, if you appoint the first candidate to place, and, what is worse, are only influenced by your favoritism or your resentment, if you banish those who have displeased, and promote those who flatter you, if you use your power to reward sycophants and to punish honest ad- visers, whose sincerity is their only crime, you will have confusion both in your court and your country; no more law, no more order, no more peace. Can anything be more dangerous to the Empire and to yourself? " 1 * CHAPTER II. LIANG TAKES LEAVE OF HIS MOTHER AND ENTERS UPON HIS TRAVELS. IT was in a calm and pleasant mood that Liang strolled into the flower garden, whose atmos- phere seemed unusually sweet and grateful. Many tame birds were playing among the branches, and they, too, joined their thrill- ing songs with the fresh fragrance that wel- comed the wanderer. Yet a certain melan- choly oppressed him as he saw leaf by leaf of the peach-bloom fall into the water below and the leaves were carried off by the stream. 1 They were 1 Peach trees have a sort of sacredness among the Chinese. Peaches are symbols of long life or immortality. They are con- stantly introduced into paintings and sculptures, and are considered LIANG ENTERS UPON HIS TRAVELS. 11 whirled about by the breezes as they fell, for the spring was departing, and they taught the lesson that, all which concerns humanity is changeful as the winds and the clouds. 1 All is vanity that is not linked with enjoyment. The almond blossoms that drop into the water are borne about by its eddies, they meet, they part, and are all swept away. Yet, whether linger- ing in the ponds, or carried away by the run- ning stream, they are attracted towards one another, moved by a common sympathy, un- willing to journey alone. " And I have passed," thought he, " eighteen years in useless study, in loneliness unloving. This must not be. as appropriate presents to superiors. The ancient books are full of testimonies to the virtues of the peach. There is a peach tree on. the Kwoh Mountain which only produces one fruit in a thousand years, and he who eats it will never die. Another is celebrated in the Taouist Legends, which grew 3,000 years before it blossomed, and 3,000 years more before the blossoms ripened into fruit. There was also a peach of death which always bore two kernels ; it was of ravishing beauty, but a deadly poison. Another peach tree is said to have sheltered hundreds of demons, who concocted under its shadow their schemes for doing mischief to mankind. The secret society of the Hung pledges its members to fealty under peach trees. See Memoir es concernant les Chinois. 1 An ancient Chinese aphorism says : 4t As the winds and clouds of heaven are ever shifting, so the misery and happiness of men change from morning to evening," meaning that the fortunes of mankind fluctuate as the winds and the clouds. 12 THE FLOWERY SCROLL. Is there no Tsin Ying in the world, to care for me, to instruct me, to lead me into the western pavilion. 1 I have heard that Chang Chow is renowned for its beauties fair and rosy, soft and charming, each vieing with the others in the graces of their toilettes. I will take up my abode there; there will I look for happiness." He danced about the hall, de- lighted with the resolution he had taken. . He hastened to his mother, and said : "I cannot pursue my studies here. I have no friends to aid me. What can I do alone ? I have heard that in Chang Chow there are multi- tudes of learned men, and that it is easy to get introductions to the very best society. I must learn from the learned. 2 I must dispute with 1 Tsin Ying is a heroine of Chinese novels, the model of womanly grace and virtue. She encouraged the studies of Chang, her lover. Her life was full of vicissitude, but all the stories report the success, in the competitive examinations, of him to whom she was attached. The western pavilion is sometimes called the Palace of the Moon, to reach which, a magician made of his conjuring stick a bridge from earth to heaven. He conducted the Emperor Ming over the bridge to the palace, where he found a beautiful nymph, of whom he became enamoured. Returning to earth, he built an edifice resembling that which he had visited, and in inviting the goddess to adorn it, was informed that, when he could draw the moon out of the water his wish would be fulfilled. ~ A diligent perseverance hi the pursuit of literary fame is con- LIANG ENTEBS UPON HIS TRAVELS. 13 the doctors. I have come to tell you of my purpose, and to say to you Good-bye ! " " Trea- sure of a son," she answered, " I have heard that a student always wants the help of fellow- students. And I remember we have an aunt in Chang Chow. Her name is Yao. She is dying for news of us, and what luck ! to-mor- row is the anniversary of her birth. You shall go with our birthday gifts; you shall take our congratulations. 1 She will offer you stantly inculcated. " Determine to do it, and the deed is done ! " says one apophthegm. Another : " Waste not your time like the fisherman who fishes for three days, and then throws away two in drying his nets." Again, " The resolution which begins with youth, will bring honour to age." And, again, " He who is old cannot re- place the studies which he neglected when young." 1 Birth-day gifts hi every shape, and congratulations more or less formal, according to the relative position of the parties are associated with these anniversaries. As the Chinese have no regular days of rest, labour is continuous, except on the various festivals of the gods, or at the commencement of the year, when the holidays last for many days. The ceremonial visits are accompanied with various observances. Guests are formally announced, who always come in choice apparel, and are received with bows and prostrations, and congratulations of the most exaggerated character, each professing the greatest self-humility and the highest respect for the other. Inquiries are made into the health and well-doing of all the mem- bers of the family, and sweetmeats, cakes and other aliments, with tea and wine, are prepared for the guests. They are preceded by large crimson cards, so that preparations may be made for their be- coming reception. The form of announcement on a visiting card is, " Your stupid younger brother bows his head to salute you." If the 14 THE FLOWEBY SCROLL. you an apartment. She will take care of you. She will find you a meet companion. The olive branch of the moon 1 is not so far away. You shall win the competitive prize. You shall crown the family with honour and glory. I am only sorry your father is absent, and that he cannot at once take charge of the family person is requested to enter, the words of reception are : " How can I presume to receive the honourable footsteps that have taken this trouble. Is it well with the gentleman in the chariot ? " If there be a student in the family of the visitor, the topic becomes pro. minent. " He will perpetuate the fragrance of literature," to which the appropriate reply is, " Happiness is poor in hills and fields." (i.e., we have no great reputation). It is a matter of politeness to avoid mentioning names or parentage, except by a periphrase. " Does the honourable, great man enjoy felicity ? " for, " Is your father well ?" " Illustrious and venerable one, what honorable age ? " for " How old is he ? " The father of the host is called by the guest " The sire of the house." " The excellent and honourable." " The venerable, great prince." A son speaks of his father as " family's majesty," of a dead mother, as " the venerable great one who is at rest." The mistress of the house is enquired for as " the excellent longevity hall." If a man have but one son, he answers to the inter- rogation as to the number of " excellent young gentlemen in his fa- mily?" " Mine is a niggardly fate, I have only one little bug." A man calls his own wife " The mean one inside," or the " family foolish one," while every grandiose phrase is used by a visitor to his host. See Bridgman's " Chinese Chrestomathia," a treasury of useful information for a student of Chinese. 1 When the Emperor Ming was conducted to the Palace of the Moon, he found an olive tree, in remembrance of which he planted one in his own " Western Pavilion ; " and when a student obtains the highest honour, a branch of the olive tree is presented to him. LIANG ENTERS UPON HIS TRAVELS. 15 affairs. Never mind. Dear, dearest boy ! Go. Go, and come back, for if you come not back I shall destroy myself.*- I cannot bear the thought of not seeing you again." Liang bowed reverently, and said "Fare- well! " The servants busied themselves in packing up his belongings, in collecting the birthday presents, and he embarked on the river Chang. 1 Suicides are so common in China that they excite little atten- tion. They often terminate unfortunate love affairs. Opium is generally the instrument of death ; but among the aristocratical classes, the eating of gold-leaf is considered a more dignified mode of self-destruction. I remember one of our servants quietly re- porting that his wife had hanged herself that morning ; he said it was very improper, for she had chosen a day when he was particu- larly busy. It will be seen throughout our story how frequently the principal actors speak of the sacrifice of their lives. It may be said that in China life is held to be of little value, man's mundane existence being but a fragment of his many-staged being. A substi- tution is allowed for many offences in China ; and where the law is satisfied with life for life, there is likely difficulty in finding candidates for capital punishment, whose ordinary market price is a hundred ounces of silver, about 30 sterling. CHAPTER III. LIANG PRESENTS THE FAMILY CONGRATULATIONS TO LADY LAO. LIANG bade the boatmen to be diligent, and swiftly the boat sped over the blue water. The songs of the rowers mounted to the heavens, and the hawks floated above their heads. They anchored at Soo Chow, and, at the city walls, 1 he left the boat to seek the Lady Yao. 1 The passage boats which ply on the canals and rivers in China, usually convey their passengers to the walls of the towns and cities, which they enter under arched bridges, through narrow inlets, that can at any time be closed agamst them. Almost all travel is under- taken by water, as the roads are few, bad and narrow. Wheeled carriages are almost unknown, except in the capital, and even those who are conveyed in sedan chairs have often to cross the rice-fields in which an elevated path is generally left for the convenience of wayfarers. The few horses that are seen are of wretched breeds and wretchedly cared for. G-oods are generally carried on men's shoulders, suspended at the ends of plastic stems of bamboo, whose elasticity relieves the bearer of a portion of the dead weight. CONGRATULATIONS TO LADY LAO. 17 His servants preceded him with the crimson cards which bore his name, and announced his arrival. They returned from the ante-hall and brought greetings of welcome from the lady, requesting the immediate presence of her nephew, who entered, made a low bow, 1 and said, as he approached his aunt, " My mother has charged me to present her respectful salu- tations and best wishes : she hopes you will con- descend to accept some worthless gifts. Deign to receive them as evidence, too, of the warmth of my affection." On looking at the presents, Lady Yao was delighted. She bestowed upon him her most gracious smile. " I hope that your 1 There are eight degrees of reverence laid down by the Chinese authorities, whose observance is made peremptory by law. The first and lowest and commonest form of salutation is when the hands are joined and raised before the breast. ' This is the Kung Shau. In the second, the Tso Yih, a low bow accompanies the raising the hands. The third, the Ta Tsien, requires the knees to be bent as if about to kneel. The Kwei, or fourth, is actual kneeling. The fifth is the Ko Tau, which was the subject of so many controversies when- exacted from foreigners at court, where there is kneeling and knocking the head. In the sixth, San Kau, the head is three times knocked. In the seventh, Luh Kau, there is kneeling and knocking thrice, then standing up, and again there is kneeling and knocking. The culminating climax is the San Kivei Kiu Kau, where there are three distinct kneelings and nine knockings of the head. William's Mid. King., ii., 68, 69. 18 THE FLOWERY SCROLL. virtuous mother is happy, and that your honored father is well and prosperous. We will take care of your comforts, worthy nephew ! There are still some fragrant olive branches in the palace of the moon I 1 I am very, very thankful for your liberal presents. I shall remember. I shall not forget them! " " You are much too good," answered Liang, " They are undeserving of your kind notice. I was quite ashamed to present them. My mother enjoys health and peace. Your stupid nephew has no merits to enable him to bring honour to the family. In 1 An obscure hint that old Lady Lao would interest herself in any matrimonial arrangements on behalf of her nephew. She is quite alive to the bright prospects which his literary talents pro- mised. To mention the moon and olive branches in the same sen- tence, was a pretty way of suggesting that the youth might be looking round for an appropriate partner. It may be seen through- out this novel, that in China the great object of men is to obtain literary distinction, and of parents to provide literary alliances for their daughters. An ancient axiom is often cited : " In choosing a husband for your daughter, take care that he is superior to her in rank, that she may serve him with becoming re- spect and reverence, in choosing a wife for yourself, let her be your inferior, that she may bring becoming services to your family." Of women in China, among the higher ranks, it may be truly said with Byron, " Love is their sole existence," " For all of them upon that die is thrown, And if 'tis lost, life hath no more to bring To them, but mockeries of the past alone." CONGRATULATIONS TO LADY YAO. 19 our humble abode there was no talented man to help him. To remain there would have driven him to despair; but he had heard that there were many distinguished men in your illus- trious city, and perhaps among them he might find a friend and a master, and with his, and your gracious patronage, he might look upward." Lady Yao smiled a most benignant approval. " Listen, my dear Mr. Liang ! I know that your literary acquirements are very great, and great distinctions await you. A day may come when your name will be recorded in the Jasper Hall. 1 Do not complain of the shabbiness of my poor abode, but remain among us and pur- sue your studies." Liang again bowed most reverentially. "How can I sufficiently thank your great goodness? I shall never forget your indulgent reception, and gracious offer of an apartment," he continued. " And may I still further intrude, and venture to ask to be introduced to my cousin, that our present meeting may sweeten the sorrows of our long separation?" The Lady Lao responded : "My honoured Lord Lao, I hear, has been advanced 1 The Hanlin, or Doctorial CoUege. 20 THE FLOWERY SCROLL. to the rank of Major- General. My son is occupied, reading in his study. He has been arranging his books, and how glad I am that you, my dearest nephew, are come to study with him. You will give light to the stupid blindness of my son." 1 The Lady despatched a servant to summon the young student to her presence. He came with the speediest obedience to the inner chamber. The cousins were de- lighted to meet one another. Wine was brought in, and each pledged the other with hearty salutations. Each was ready to encourage each. They filled their glasses, and filled them again. Truth to say, they drank far too much ; the cheeks of both were crimson as peaches; and each announced to the other that the moon was shining for him in the Western Pavilion. 1 In intercourse, personal or epistolary, the Chinese use the most exaggerated expressions, in deprecation of themselves and their be- longings, and of laudation of the persons and possessions of those they address. Their own abodes, however grand, they call their " humble cottage," that, however lowly of him with whom they converse, " the illustrious palace." Evidences of this extravagant form of expression pervade this and all Chinese novels. CHAPTER IV. CONFIDENCES BETWEEN THE TWO COUSINS. AFTER making the becoming reverences to Lady Yao, the two students walked towards the study apartments. They took one another by the hand 1 and danced around the enclosure. On one side was a rambling path, bordered with bamboos. They walked by the ponds with the golden fish, and peeped into the conservatories. A servant had placed wax lights in their sockets, and immediately after entering the room, they sat down on their heels in the chair, lifted up their knees to their chins, 2 and began the usual 1 It is a custom for friends to walk holding each other's hand. 2 A common posture among the Chinese, who frequently sit upon chairs, as other orientals sit on the ground, with their knees propping up their chins. 22 THE FLOWERY SCROLL. gossip about the moon and the weather, when the moonlight entered the window. Lao rose up, and said to Liang, " Cousin of mine ! your body interrupts the entrance of the moonshine ; the shadow of the flowers is upon the grating, and, according to my notion, no one who sees the moon and the flowers together can be un- grateful for the return of spring. It is said, some people are so restless that they are always travelling hither and thither. Why should they be so weary of the business of life?" Liang smiled, and answered, " Brother, brother ! you are not sensitive enough. Who is there that does not enjoy the zephyrs and the moon- light, and who likes to abandon his own old homestead? but men are ever fascinated by the pursuit of fame and glory, in search of which they eat the wind and sleep upon the sea." They were thus discoursing, when Lady Yao sent a message for her son. He saluted his cousin, departed for the great hall, and Liang was left alone in the study. CHAPTER V. PLAYING AT DRAUGHTS. LIANG saw nothing but books; row over row upon the shelves. The room was circled with pots of flowers, which filled it with their odours. On the table was a lute, upon a jade stand, ind clouds of fragrant smoke rose from a golden chafing dish. A silver harpsichord, and a lute of jasper hung upon the walls. In a corner were two draught-boards, and, on both jides, scrolls of ancient poetry and fanciful 3aintings, representing lakes and woods, and bridges and pagodas. The scrolls were sus- pended in pairs. He stood up to feel the fresh air from the window, looking upon a winding balustrade which hung over a white lotus, that was swimming on the lake below. A stork crept 24 THE FLOWERY SCEOLL. slowly and stealthily along in the moonlight ; the wind shook down the willow catkins upon the water, over which, a vermilion painted bridge led to the inner garden. He admired the stripes of wavelets, broken by the light of the moon. On both banks, the branches of mournful willows were trembling, under one of which a boat was fastened, to enable the gardener to attend to the lotus flowers. 1 Gold fish, bright as satin in the sun, darted through the ponds, on whose sur- face the cloud-shadows were reflected. Liang crossed the bridge, and entered a pavilion on the farther side. From the balustrade he stretched his hand to gather a rose, the branch broke, and the frightened birds flew away. A 1 The lotus is a singularly beautiful flower, and is much attended to in the fish-ponds, which are among the constant ornaments of Chinese gardens. It "has been not unaptly called " the child of the sun," as it comes to the surface to welcome the sunrise, and hides itself under the water when the sun descends. Its stem is four or five feet long, supporting an elegantly formed cup, about eight inches in diameter, formed of soft white leaves, delicately pencilled with rosy stripes, having fruit in the centre, an inverted cone of bright green encircled by a fringe of golden anthers. The Hung Hwui, the secret society which overruns China, whose purpose is to restore the Ming dynasty, and is intimately connected with the Taeping and other insurrectionary movements, has made the lotus one of its sacred symbols. The place of their assemblages is called the Blue Lotus Hall. Sung League, SchlegeTs Introduc., p. xxxv. PLAYING AT DRAUGHTS. 25 cuckoo cried as if it were the waning of the moon. The piping of the goldfinches troubled his spirits ; their flight interfered with the moon- beams. Drops of dew hung upon the flowers. He passed another small bridge and came on a slippery path, on which unripe plums were lying. Two peacocks strutted away, and a cockatoo screamed from a golden cage. 1 Before him, was a park, wrapt in the shadows of spring. Two hues of peach trees formed a charming alley. " Surely this is a fit abode for spirits," whispered Liang to himself. " Would that the fisherman were here ! " 2 Proceeding westward, he crossed a garden of red apricot trees : he admired their bloom, and passed over turfs of luxurious and sweet- smelling grass, from which climbing rose trees sprung, and inter- 1 All these were evil omens. A Chinese superstition declares that the cuckoo's note is never heard till the moon is on the wane ; the waning of the moon and the obstruction of its rays are associated with sorrow and disappointment. Dew drops represent the tears of the flowers. 2 Sir John Davis gives the legend of the fisherman who followed some peach blossoms, driven by the wind to a narrow creek, which he crossed, and found a race of men living in primitive innocence, having no intercourse with the outer world. He returned home, narrated what he had seen, but never again was able to find the lost paradise. 2 26 THE FLOWERY SCROLL. twined themselves in mulberry branches. He did not linger long among these attractive scenes, but returned with slow steps to the study. The night was advancing, and he was sur- prised when sounds from a distant draught- board met his ear. " Who, at this late hour, can be so busy at play ? " With the softest tread, he approached the eastern side, and saw in the distance a tub with peonies. Half shaded by the trees, he perceived a lighted lamp, and under the trees several persons were seated. He heard bursts of laughter, with which the voices of girls were mingled. The air was burthened with the scent of fragrant flowers. He stole stealthily to a spot, whence, unobserved, he might spy what was going on. The moon was overclouded, so that, even if discovered, the female servants would take him for the young Lao, and nothing would be reported by them to their mistresses. Liang returned to the stone balustrade, and saw two lovely, graceful ladies, laughing together and playing at draughts. The long hair of the lady who sat on the western side was hanging loosely over her PLAYING AT DRAUGHTS. 27 shoulders. At the first glance, Liang's heart was overwhelmed. " This is no common wo- man," he said, " she resembles one of the nymphs by whom Lin Lang was allured." 1 His presumption broke all bounds. He flung off his outer garments, and sprang forward to salute the ladies. Little dreamed he of the fright he caused. They closed their glittering eyes. Meanwhile, another youth was seen approach- ing. They let the draught-board fall, and fled. But, while they fled, he took emphatic note of their persons. The expression of their coun- tenances was that of the Fu Yung ; 2 their eye- brows, long willow leaves ; their red lips, most charming and alluring ; in a word, their form and features were perfect, enough to transpierce the heart of any man. 3 He heard their silken 1 Lin Lang and a friend, when wandering among the mountains in search of medicinal plants, came to a ferry, which two maidens, of super-human beauty, invited them to cross, and conducted them to a grotto, in which they passed many blissful years. At last, desiring to revisit their native home, the nymphs allowed them to return. They found their children's children, down to the seventh generation. So long had their absence lasted, so rapidly the time of that absence had fled. 2 Hibiscus mutabilis. 3 A well-known description of a beautiful Chinese woman is : " Almond-flower cheeks, peach-blossom lips, willow leaf waist, bright- dancing ripple-eyes, lotus-flower footsteps." 28 THE FLOWERY SCROLL. garments fluttering in the wind ; he saw their noiseless golden lilies, 1 not two inches long, dis- appear. Once they looked round, and he per- ceived a smile upon their cheeks. " Under these trees will I die! " 2 exclaimed Liang. 1 Small feet. 2 The small value attached to life, and the unconcern with which the Chinese die, or contemplate death, may be attributed to two causes, the belief in predestination, and in the metempsychosis : the first, teaching that it is in vain to struggle against what is inevi- table ; the second, that our mortal stage of being, is but a fragment of our whole and interminable existence, to another phase of which death conducts us. The fact (mentioned before) that a man can be bought in the market for about 100 ounces of fine silver, to be pub- licly executed for another, is associated with the opinion, that such self-sacrifice is not only a merit to be rewarded hereafter, but has its recompense here in enabling the victim to make provision for his family, and the deed will be recorded as honourable on the Tablet of the ancestral hall. The French Ambassador informed me that the Elders of a Chinese village were astonished when he refused to accept two old men for sacrifice, in exchange for a young man who had been condemned to death for assaulting a Frenchman. On one occasion, when I had to complain to the Governor of Kiang Su, of the misconduct of some Chinese soldiers, we found six men kneeling, who were perfectly innocent, and His Excellency offered, as a becoming expiation, to behead them in the presence of myself and the Admiral who accompanied me. I have seen a corpse lying under the gambling tables at Canton, and I once stumbled over the dead body of a man when entering the door of an American missionary : neither the authorities nor passengers concerned themselves in the least about so common an occurrence, so have I frequently noticed old and decrepid people abandoned to starve and die on the high- ways, when the basin of rice, placed by their side, was exhausted. PLAYING AT DRAUGHTS. 29 Meanwhile, the serving maidens followed their mistresses. Liang reeled against the bal- cony like a drunken man. The sisters took one another by the hand, and, without uttering a word, returned to their odoriferous boudoir. Infanticide is justified by Chinese moralists, who teach that it is better the infant should suffer the pain of a moment, by drowning or strangling, than that it should live a life of misery and crime. I have seen ponds, into which