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Reasons Glory " THE LATE EMPEROR OF CHINA

From an original Chinese Painting .formerly in the possession of M' 'Morrison

FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF

THE GREAT REBELLION,

A^TT> J± DESCRIPTION OE ST. HELENA.

BY

CHARLES TAYLOR, M.D.,

(FORMERLY MISSIONARY TO CHINA),

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY OF THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL SOCIETY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. : J. B. McFEREIN, PUBLISHER

NEW YORK :— DERBY & JACKSON. 1860.

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by

CHARLES TAYLOR,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of South Carolina.

£3 (b Y3

W. H. Tinsox, Printer & Stereotyper.

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MY VENERABLE AND BELOVED FATHER,

DR. OLIVER SWAIN TAYLOR,

FOR FORTY YEARS AN INSTRUCTOR OF YOUTH,

THE POSITIONS OF HONOR AND USEFULNESS FILLED BY HUNDREDS OF HIS PUPILS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, CONSTITUTE THE RECORD OF HIS SUCCESS,

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TO MY HIGHLY ESTEEMED COUNSELLOR AND FRIEND,

BISHOP JAMES OSGOOD ANDREW,

BY WHOM I WAS ORDAINED AND SENT TO CHINA, THIS VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY AND RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

PREFACE.

Many, both friends and strangers, in different parts of the country, where I have conversed and lectured on China, have repeatedly urged me to make a book. I have at last made one, and here it is.

CONTENTS,

CHAPTER I.

HOW WE WENT TO CHINA.

Parting Exercises — Setting Sail — Occupations on the Ship— Sea-sick- ness— Sharks — Flying-Fish — Birds — Preaching — Route of Vessels to China — At the Equator — Cape of Good Hope — St. Paul's and Amsterdam— Hot Springs — Marryatt's Signals — Christmas Island — Straits of Sunda — Java and Sumatra — Malays, 25

CHAPTER II.

HOW WE REACHED CHINA.

Anjer — Fruits — Purveyors — Banyan Tree — Dutch Fort — May lay In- fants— " Osmond " — Mohammedans — Shock of an Earthquake — Java Sea — Straits of Banca — Tin Mines — Malay Pirates — China Sea— Beautiful Sunsets— A " School " of Whales— Coast of China- Chinese Sailors and their "Junks" — a Pilot — Hong-Kong, 35

CHAPTER III.

HOW HONG-KONG APPEARED.

How Great Britain came to own it — " Fragrant Streams " — British Dignity — Pleasant Reception— Town of Victoria— The Chinese Portion — " Coolies " — Foreign Buildings — The " Barracks " — The Church — Morrison Hill — " Happy Valley " — Morrison School — Mr. John Morrisey — Rev. Samuel Brown — Mr. William A. Macy — Rev- Charles Gutzlaff, D.D., 43

Vlll CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

GOING TO CANTON.

Leaving Hong-Kong — A Fellow PasseDger — Robbers — Dr. and Mrs. Sexton — Scenery along up " Pearl River " — Pagodas— Tombs — The 11 Bogue " or " Bocca Tigris " — Forts — Wharapoa — Boat-women— Boats — War-j unks — Flower-boats — More Pagodas — " Fan-kwei " — River Population— Proper Name of " Canton" — Appearance of the City — Foreign " Gardens," and *' Factories " — Peripatetic Mer- chants, Artisans, Tradesmen, and Mountebanks, 52

CHAPTER V.

SOMETHING ABOUT CANTON AND AMOY.

New Friends — Seamen's Bethel — Hospitals— Drs. Parker and Hobson — Leang Afa — Howqua's Gardens — General Description of Chinese Ornamental Gardens — Flowers and Shrubbery — Distorting and Dwarfing Trees — Honan Temple — Idols — Priests — " Sacred Pigs " — " did " and " New China Streets "— " Hog Lane "—Execution Ground — A Typhoon — Return to Hong-Kong— Up the Coast — Headwinds — Amoy — Opium Vessels — Fishing Boats — Batteries — 11 Queen Bess " — Native City — Ku-lang-su — Missionaries — Islands — Mouth of the Yang-tsz-kiang — " Child of the Ocean," 62

CHAPTER VI.

DESCRIPTION OF SHANGHAI.

River Hwang-pu — Appearance of the Country along its Banks — Foreign Town — Pleasant Reception — Mission Buildings — English Church — London Mission Premises — Yang-king-pang — Streets — French Consulate— Graves — Coffins — Geomancy — Repositories for Conine d-bodies— " Baby Towers " — City Wall— Gates— Coins — Currency— Buildings — Streets — Sewers — Offal — Shops — Pawnbro- kers— Various Trades — Facilities for Missionary Work, 75

CHAPTER VII.

THE HOUSES THEY LIVE IN. Materials used and Manner of Building — Floors — Oyster-shell Win- dows— Courts — Walls — Doors — Ornamental Work — Furniture — Idols — Ornaments — Wells — A Residence Procured — Servants —

CONTENTS. IX

Cooking — Learning to Talk — Native Politeness— Civilities — Mode of Serving Tea — Smoking Tobacco— Opium — Snuff — Forms of Sa- lutation, * 90

CHAPTER VIII.

CHINESE BEGGARS AND CHINESE COSTUMES. Beggary — Dead Bodies — Starvation — Benevolence of Foreigners — Gipsies — Extreme Suffering — Drowned — Loathsomeness and Filth — Regular Organization — • ' Beggar-King " — Regulations — Punish- ments— Beating — Cutting off the Queue — Description of the dif- ferent Articles of Dress — Mode of Dressing the Hair — The Queue — Headbands — Hats and Caps — Long Nails — Use of Long Sleeves — Materials of Clothing — A Novel Thermometer — Winter Clothing — Boots and Shoes — Mode of indicating Official Rank — Yellow, the Imperial Color — Mark of Respect to Age — Binding the Feet of Females — Origin of the Custom, 99

CHAPTER IX.

CHINESE NEW YEAR.

Worship in Temples — Costume — Gloves — Furs — Amusing Appear- ance of Children — " City Guardian's Temple " — Being taken for an Idol — Temple of Confucius — Burning Articles for the use of the Dead — Manner of Mourning — Immense number of Graves — Gene- ral Appearance of surrounding Country — Tenanted Coffins kept in Dwellings — Coffins left unburied in the Fields — A Settlement of Beggars — Their Condition — Tricks to excite Compassion — The Blind — A Native little Girl — Religious Instruction — Discourage- ments— Encouragements, 113

CHAPTER X.

WHAT AND HOW THEY EAT — MARRIAGE.

Vegetable Productions — Animal Food— Cattle — Poultry — "Shanghai Fowls " — Artificial Egg-hatching — Raising Ducks — Fishing — Eating Rats, Puppies, etc, — "Bird-nest Soup"— Shark Fins— Fruits — Pecu- liarities of Oranges and Persimmons — Other Fruits — "Japan Plum "—Nuts— Sugar— Modes of Cooking— Use of Oils— " Hen-Egg Cakes "—Abhorrence of Butter and Cheese— Native Names for these Articles— Milk— Mode of Eating— " Chopsticks "—Ideas

X CONTENTS.

of Politeness — A Chinese Feast — Great Number of Courses — An Intoxicating Drink — Manufacture of Salt, a Government Monopoly — Smuggling — Mode of Contracting Marriages — A " Go-between " — Betrothal — Marriage Ceremonies — Amusements, 126

CHAPTER XI.

NOTIONS OF MEDICINE AND DISEASE — PUNISHMENTS — PAU-SHAN.

Medical Practice — Native Ideas of Medicines and Anatomy — Diseases — Smallpox — Singular mode of Inoculation — Letters — Chinese Names and Titles — Modes of Punishment — Beating — The " Cangue" — Great Severity and Barbarity — City Prison — " Squeezing " — The Wooden Cage — Modes of Capital Punishment — Beheading — Stran- gulation— Modes of Suicide — Its Object — Flaying Alive — Cutting to Pieces — A Trip to Pau-shan — Description of the City — High em- bankment— Battery — Cannon — Scene of a Battle —Chinese Bravery — Deification of a General after his Death, 139

CHAPTER XII.

PREPARATION OF TEA-— AGRICULTURE — FUEL.

Modes of preparing " Green Tea" and " Black Tea" — Prussian Blue — Personal Observation — Signification of the different Names of Teas — Agricultural Implements — Two Varieties of Oxen — Culture of Rice — Mode of Manuring — Floating Gardens — Fuel — Wood — Coal — Hand and Foot Stoves — How Beds are warmed in Winter — The " Bamboo " or Cane — Its many Uses — Sedans — How made — Funeral Processions — Customs on such occasions, 151

CHAPTER XIII.

FEAST OF LANTERNS — FAMINE — FUNERAL RITES.

Tower of Lanterns— Fireworks — The " Dragon Lantern " — Origin of the Holiday — Superstitious Practices on that Day — Arrival of my Colleague at Shanghai— Famine — Extreme Suffering — Charity of Foreign Merchants — Worship of Ancestors — Rites for the Dead — Modes of burial— Ancient Tombs — " Mass for the Dead " — Change of Residence, , 161

CONTENTS. XI

CHAPTER XIV.

Passages from my Journal — Birds— An Old Grave — A Liberal Allow- ance— Life on Boats — A Drowned Boy — Death of our Babe — Rev. Dr. Medhurst — A Trip into the Country — Monumental Tablets — Preaching and Tract Distribution — Death of the Emperor Tau- Kwang — "Reason's Glory" — Accession of Hien-Foong — Death of Empress Dowager — Beautiful Sentiments, 115

CHAPTER XV.

EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL.

Building our Houses — Chapels— Schools — Birds — Tracts — Catechism — Medical Practice — Book Distribution — Conversation with an Idol- ater— A Sunday's Work — A Day in my Chapel — Synopsis of a Tract — Another Sunday — An Accident and Death — Removal of a Tumor from a Man's Nose — The " Tea-Gardens " — A Trip into the Country — A Crooked Stream — Mode of Planting Cotton — Preaching — A "Wheelbarrow Ride, 187

CHAPTER XVI.

CHINESE LANGUAGE SCHOOLS INVENTIONS — ODDITIES.

Character of the Language — Number of Characters — Radicals — Illus- tration— Native Dictionaries — "Four Books" of Confucius — Other Classics and Writers — Literature — Spoken Dialects — "Pidjin-Eng- lish " — Schools — Singular Mode of Studying and Reciting — School Text-Books—Manner of Writing— Of Book-Making— Printing — Gun- powder— Mariners' Compass — Chinese History — Their Ideas of other Countries — A Native "Map of the World" — Amusing Absurdities — Arithmetic — Book-Keeping — Literary Degrees — Corruption — Filial Respect — Seat of Intelligence — "Peking Gazette"— Postal Arrange- ment—Mode of Reckoning Time—" Time-Sticks," 205

CHAPTER XVII.

CHINESE MILITARY — "ALL SOULS' DAY."

A Military Review — Their Uniform — Martial Music — Archers — An Incident — Fire- Arms — Match-locks — Jinjals — A Chastisement — Small Arms— Shields — Gymnastics — Rewards — "All Soul's Day " — Its Origin — Procession of Idols — They take an Airing in Sedans — Burning Gilt Paper to provide the Dead with Money — Address to the Multitude, 217

XI 1 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVIII.

INFANTICIDE — CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS RELIGIONS

THEATRICALS OPPOSITES.

Infanticide — Causes — Extent — Foundling Hospital— Native Dispensary — Charity Schools — Three Forms of Idolatry — Confucius and his System — Mencius — Tauism — Buddhism — Time and Mode of its In- troduction into China — Tenets — A Recluse — Ideas of a Future State — Resemblance to Romanism — Various Deities — Pagodas — Lung-hwa-tah — Native Theatricals — Odd Differences, 227

CHAPTER XIX.

INCIDENTS.

A Foundling — Air-Castle Building — " Reckoning without the Host" — Disappointment — A Boat-Trip to Tsayn-so— Inundation — The City — Preaching and Tract Distribution — "Bread on the Waters," 240

CHAPTER XX.

Chinese New Year again— Making Calls — Sending Presents — Fire- works— Kitchen gods — Visit from Schools — A benevolent Mer- chant— His Almoner — Spinning — An incident — Gratitude — Difficul- ties— Hope — Probable destiny of Shanghai — Drought — Procession of Rain Dragons — Chinese Theory of Rain — Proclamation — Solem- nities— Crops, 250

CHAPTER XXI.

A TRIP TO BU-CHAU-

Taking boat— Disguise— The " Gem Hill City "— " Pheasant Mound " — Variety of Junks and Boats — Grain Junks — Timber — Canals — Bridges — Temples — Pagodas — " Great Lake " — " Lion Hills " — " Hill Pools"—'4 Tiger Den Hill "— " Thousand Men Rock"— Beau- tiful Shops and Streets— Return to Shanghai, 261

CONTENTS. Xiii

CHAPTER XXII.

SINGULAR CUSTOMS. Worship of Ancestors — Paper Money — Offerings to the Dead — A Wailing Widow— Shallow Grief— The " God of Wealth"— Offerings to it— Its Temple— " Man's Birthday "—The "Five Grains"— "Fuel" — "Rice" — " Mandarin's Day" — Influx of Paupers — " Open- ing the Seals" — Modes of asserting Innocence and Detecting Guilt — Forms of Oaths — Gods lose their Reputation — Practice of Weigh- ing annually on the first day of Summer — Departure of Family for the United States, 272

CHAPTER XXIII.

JOURNEY TO NAN-KING, THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF CHINA.

Signification of the Name — My Chinese Costume — Su-chau— Grand Canal — Custom House — Bridges — Boats — City of Vu-sih — Hills — Novel mode of Fishing — Fishing Cormorants — Grain-junks — City of Chang-chau — City of Tan-yang — Adventure with a Barber — Wheelbarrow ride— Face of Country — City of Chin-kiang-fu — Kin- shan, or Golden Island — Cast iron Pagoda, 285

CHAPTER XXIV.

JOURNEY TO NAN-KING CONTINUED.

Another Wheelbarrow Ride — Clear Water — A Night's Lodging — Summer Palace of a former Emperor — Stone Road — Modes of Conveyance — Approach to Nan-king — Tomb of an Emperor — An- cient City— Gates — Tartar City — Streets — Ox-cart — Site of Impe- rial Palace — Public Offices — The celebrated "Porcelain Tower" — A native description of it — A Donkey-ride — Face of Country — Terracing Hills— Modes of Irrigation, 298

CHAPTER XXV.

WHAT THEY THINK OF ECLIPSES AND EARTHQUAKES.

Native Astronomers — The Popular Theory — " Sun-Eating" — Worship of the Monster — Noises to frighten Him — An Earthquake— Its

XIV CONTENTS.

Effects — Native Theory — Ceremony of "Welcoming the Spring" —The " Spring Ox" — Presiding Deity of the Year" — A Procession —"Beating the Ox"— " Welcoming the God of Joy"— A Female Deity — Worship — Military Evolutions — Rewards, . . 811

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE GREAT REBELLION.

Place of Origin — Progress — Title of the Leader— Strange Doctrines — Knowledge of Old Testament — Anxiety of Foreigners — Arrival of Hon. Humphrey Marshall — Bayard Taylor — Attempt of the " Susquehannah " — Failure — Successful Trip of the "Hermes" — Sir George Bonham — Chin-kiang-fu — Grand Canal — Grain for Peking — Capt. Fishbourne — An Attack from the Insurgents — Arri- val at Nanking — Interview with the Insurgents — Their Books — A Second Attack — Fire returned — Return of the "Hermes" — Set out myself — Trip up the Yang-tsz-kiang — Appearance of the Country — Foo-shan — Occurrences at a Village — Our Native Assistant — Kiang-Yin — Pirates — Dead bodies — Burnt Junks — Running a Blockade — " Silver Island " — Its Temples — Destruction of Idols — Forlorn Priests — Timidity of Boatmen — Return to Shanghai, . . 325

CHAPTER XXVII.

SECOND TRIP TO THE INSURGENT CAMP.

New Boatmen — Run the Blockade again — Refusal of Boatmen to Proceed — Going Alone on Foot — A "Levee" on the River-bank — A Foot-path — Approach to Fortifications — Difficult Progress — Ob- structions— Entering the Fortress — A Strange Visitor — Appearance of the Insurgents — Motley Crowds — Arms and Defences — Condition of Chin-kiang-fu — Strange Sounds — General Lo — Awkward Mistake — Presenting him a Bag of Copies of the Gospels — The Costnme of the Soldiers — Morning Worship — Asking a Blessing — Unfortu- nate Coincidence — Attack by Imperialists — Suspected of being a Spy — Letter of General Lo — Cavalcade by Torchlight — Provisions — A Night on a War-Junk — Effort to remove Suspicion — Medical Relief— Extract from Journal, 339

CONTENTS. XV

CHAPTER XXVIII.

HISTORY OF TAI-PING-WONG, THE REVOLUTIONARY LEADER.

Literary Examinations at Canton — Receives a Christian Tract — Has a Vision — Diligent Study — Renounces Idolatry — Returns to Canton — Receives Instruction — Disappears — When next Heard of — Perse- cuted— Self-defence— Numbers Multiply — The Miau-tsz — " Triad Society " — Singular Proclamations-"-Fanatical Errors — Form of Prayer — Present Condition, 361

CHAPTER XXIX.

A TYFOON — THE HILLS — CAPTURE OF SHANGHAI

INCIDENTS. A Tyfoon — Destruction of Property and Life — One of the Sufferers — A Trip to " the Hills " — Companions — Employment — " Seven Pearls " — " Four Streams " — Hills — Temples— Pagodas— Groves — Flowers and Shrubbery — A Mausoleum — A Leaning Tower — Fall of Shanghai — Bands of Outlaws — Murder of the Mayor — Distress and Alarm — Visit to the Bandit Chief — He accepts and makes pub- lic a Proclamation of Tai-ping-wong against Idolatry — Adventure with Robbers— A Brave Army, 3*72

CHAPTER XXX.

THE VOYAGE HOMEWARD.

Cause of leaving China — Departure in the " Torrent " — Capt. Copp — A Fine Run — A Terrible Tyfoon — Sea-sickness — Loss of my Chinese dress — Damages to the Ship — A Fellow-Passenger — Time for Reading — Sight of Islands — The Anambas — Splendid Sun- sets—Crossing the Equator— The "Doldrums" — Winged Visitors — Reaching Java — Duties of Ship-Surgeon — Our Sable Cook — — Anjer — Strait of Sunda — Boats with Supplies — Turtles — " Mouse Deer " — Tedious Days — Storms — Calms — The Albatross — Porpoises — Whales — Sharks — Coast of Africa — Cape of Good Hope — Preach- ing on Ship-board — Christmas-day — Sabbaths at Sea — Two Sum- mers in One Year — New Appearance of the Heavens — The " Ma- gellan Clouds"— The " Southern Cross," 383

XVI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXXI.

TWO DAYS AT ST. HELENA — PRISON OF THE FIRST NAPOLEON.

Appearance of the Island from the Sea — Batteries and Fortifications — "Ladder Hill" — "Pearce's Revenge" — Jamestown — the "Castle" — Promenade — Moat — Landing-Place — The Town — View from the Anchorage — "The Briars"— Ride to "Longwood" — General De- scriptions— Yolcanic Origin — Flowers, Shrubbery, and Trees — Nadoleon's Tomb— Old Sally— "Vale of Arno "—Residence of Napoleon at "Longwood" — His Fishpond — "New House" — Sandy Bay Valley — " Plautation House " — Country Church — Return to Town — Rev. Dr. Bertram — Mission Chapel — Second Ride into the Country — " Francis' Plain " — "Rose Bower" — Astronomers — " Knollcombe " — Mission Cemetery — Return to Town — Sail from the Island, 394

FIVE YEAKS IN CHINA.

CHAPTER I.

HOW WE WENT TO CHINA.

Parting Exercises — Setting Sail — Occupations on the Ship — Sea-sick- ness— Sharks — Flying-Fish — Birds — Preaching — Route of Vessels to China — At the Equator — Cape of Good Hope — St. Paul's and Amsterdam — Hot Springs — Marryatt's Signals — Christmas Island — Straits of Sunda — Java and Sumatra — Malays.

We sailed from Boston on a gloomy Monday after- noon, the 24th of April, 1848. It was cloudy, and a raw, chilling wind was blowing from the north- east. Farewell religious services were performed on the deck of the little ship " Cleone," as she still lay alongside the wharf. The " Missionary Hymn " was sung, an earnest address delivered, and we all kneeled in prayer on the deck of the ship, with our heads un- covered to the sky. It was a solemn hour. Sad farewells were spoken, though none of our immediate relatives were present, but there were several friends who had shown us much attention and kindness dur- ing our sojourn of two weeks in Boston, while wait- ing for the ship. Ardent wishes for a safe and pleasant voyage were uttered ; Christian hearts beat

2

20 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

with a sympathy which found expression mostly in looks and tears — words were few. The ship was unfastened from her moorings ; the ropes rattled through the pulleys ; the sails flapped angrily in the wind, while the sailors pulled them to their proper places, accompanying their exertions with a lively song, the chorus of which was, u Yo-heave-O, Yo- heave-O." Soon we were out in the harbor, and speeding on our way, while handkerchiefs were waved from the shore, and from the ship in reply, as long as they could well be seen. By and by the city disappeared, then the forts at the entrance to the harbor, then the islands ; and finally, nothing could be seen, save a long, dim outline of the mainland, like a dark, blue cloud in the distant horizon. We gazed and gazed upon it long and sadly, until at last, our loved native land — never before so tenderly loved as then — receded from the view — of one of us, forever* I strained my eyes till they ached, to catch one more glimpse of it, but all in vain. It seemed to me almost like dying ; for at that time I little expected ever to see that land again. I was keenly alive to the sacrifice I was making, but as I turned and went down into the cabin, I said to myself: "This is all for Christ;" and then I was comforted and content ; for it was but very little, after all, for Him who had done and suffered so much for me.

Our cabin was about ten by fourteen feet square, and seven feet high, with a sleeping apartment — - called, by way of irony, I suppose, a state-room — on

* Mrs. Mary Jane Jenkins, the wife of my colleague, Rev. Ben- j amin Jenkins, who died on the voyage back, four years after.

HOW WE WENT TO CHINA. 27

each side. These state-rooms were six feet long, four feet wide, and of the same height as the cabin. Each room had two berths, or shelves, for sleeping on, with pieces of plank about seven inches wide, on the outer side to keep you from falling out. The berths were two feet wide, which left you but two feet by six for washing and dressing. Such was our bedroom for four mortal months — my wife and my- self occupying each a berth, and our infant, of six months, the space on the floor. My colleague, with his wife and two children, stowed themselves away (as the sailors would say) in the room opposite, of about the same dimensions. His two eldest boys had one of the three state-rooms that were on each side of the dining-cabin, on the deck, to which a flight of steps led from the centre of our cabin.

"We had a storm during the first night, to start upon, and the next morning found us all, except the youngest children, terribly sea-sick. Infants scarcely ever experience this malady, from which so few older persons are exempt. Several of us hardly left our berths, except for a few minutes at a time, for some days. "We were not able to go to the table, though fortunately we required but little food ; and yet our ill-natured captain grumbled at having to send us even that. He even had the carpet taken up, and left us on the cold bare floor. There we lay helpless, all huddled together down in our diminutive cabin. Those horrible days and nights rise up before me now, as about the gloomiest I have ever passed. After a week or two, however, we all recovered, the weather became pleasant, and we arranged things in our narrow quarters so as to become tolerably com-

28 FIVE YEAR3 IN CHINA.

fortable. The motion of the ship continued with greater or less violence throughout the entire voyage, except during calms, and sometimes then also, from what sea- faring men call a " ground swell ; but as we had passed through the initiation, we were not disagree- ably affected by it. In our attempts to walk, our movements were often precisely like those of a man who has been drinking freely of something stronger than water. It was highly amusing to see one of the ladies or children, sent rolling or tumbling from one side of the cabin to the other ; and still more amus- ing when, sometimes at the table, a sudden lurch of the ship would empty plates of soup, or dishes of meat and gravy, into the laps of those who happened at the time to be sitting on the lower side ; or, to use the sea-phrase, to leeward. Only a few times during the voyage was the sea so rough that we could not sit at the table. Then we sat on the floor, braced ourselves against the sides of the cabin, by placing our feet against the table legs, or something else im- movable, and took our food in our hands.

"We finally became so accustomed to our condition, that we could read and study much of the time ; the ladies could sew, and chat pleasantly together ; and the children could play almost as merrily as on land, except when our cross-grained captain would curse them for making a noise, or for being in the way. He had no children of his own. Sharks were often seen during the voyage, following the ship. One day we caught a small one with a large hook, baited with a piece of pork. As soon as he was pulled in on deck, the sailors, who always entertain the most bitter animosity against these terrible mon-

HOW WE WENT TO CHINA. 29

sters, by whom so many of their comrades have lost life or limb, plunged their knives into him with hearty spitefulness. Flying-fish were frequently seen, and occasionally one would fly upon the deck of our ship. They are about the size of herrings, having the lateral fins elongated, so as to become wings. We also had the company of birds throughout the voyage. Sea-gulls, " Mother Gary's chickens," cape pigeons, and albatrosses were seen, some or other of them flying about the ship every day.

On the second or third Sunday after leaving Bos- ton, we asked permission of the captain to have pub- lic service on the open deck of the ship, at which the sailors might be present. He consented, rather re- luctantly. All the sailors who were " off duty " attended, dressed in their best attire, and seemed interested, or at least gratified. The first-mate was the most profane man I ever heard : nor did he re- gard the presence of the ladies. He attended the preaching but once, I think ; and the captain per- haps twice. On all subsequent occasions, they sat a little distance from us, around the corner of the cabin, reading novels or conversing. Finding that the ser- vice was so manifestly disagreeable and annojdng to the captain, we thought it prudent, after a few times, to discontinue it.

Gentle reader, if you are curious to know the gene- ral direction pursued by our vessel in order to reach China, just take a map, and trace a line from Boston, directly eastward, till you bring it near the Azores, or Western Islands. In that vicinity we fall in with the northeast trade- winds, which, as you know, blow con- stantly from that direction toward the equator. As

30 FIVE TEAKS IN CHINA.

you approach the equator, these winds become lighter aud lighter, and finally cease altogether. Then you have calms for several days, and sometimes weeks. During these, scarce a breath of air visits your burn- ing cheek, night nor day. At noon the sun is exactly vertical ; and if you stand, at that hour, on the scorching deck, your form does not cast the least sha- dow. Often, the ocean — as far the eye can reach, that is, till the water is merged into the sky, in the far-away horizon — is like a " sea of glass," and reflects the rays of the tropical sun " as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire." What with drifting, patience, and occasional puffs of wind, you finally get across this enchanted region, and keep on the course you took from the Azores toward the coast of South America. We came within two hundred miles of Brazil, and vessels sometimes go near enough to see it, even while bound for China. Thence, still fol- lowing the route of prevailing winds, you steer south of east, for the Cape of Good Hope. Ships going eastward, seldom go within sight of the Cape, but keep about two degrees to the southward, to avoid the adverse winds and currents that sweep around it from the east. When off the Cape, and one hundred and fifty miles south of it, we found, as is usual at that season of the year, which, though toward the last of June, is always midwinter in those latitudes — strong westerly winds. Borne on by these, at the rate of two hundred or more miles a day, for some three weeks, directly eastward, we find — near the coast of Australia — the southeast " trades," as (navi- gators call the trade-winds,) and then change our course to due north, steering for the western extre-

HOW WE WENT TO CHINA. 31

mity of the island of Java. Remember, that in all this time — about three months — we had seen no land since leaving our native shores. In the Indian Ocean, about midway between the Cape of Good Hope and Australia, are two little solitary islands — St. Paul's and Amsterdam. Navigators who have visited them tell us, that on one there is a bold spring of boiling water, gushing from the rocks, and so near the shore, that they have caught fish from the sea, with a rod and line, and without moving a step have thrown them over and cooked them in the spring, before taking them from the hook. These islands are often seen by vessels in passing, but as the day on which we sailed by them was foggy and cloudy, we missed a sight for which our hearts longed, and for which our eyes were eagerly strained — a sight of much-wished-for land once more.

Almost ninety days — long and wearisome days and nights — had passed over our heads since we left Bos- ton. It was a tiresome thing to see the sun come up out of the ocean, pass over our heads, and go down into the ocean again, for days, and weeks, and months — to see nothing but sea and sky, and sky and sea. The clouds above and the water around us, formed our scenery, now and then relieved by a passing ship, that would sometimes be just visible for a few hours in the distance. Occasionally we would fall in with one sailing in the same direction with ourselves, and would be in her company for several days. Some- times we would come near enough one to the other, to enable us, with the help of the spy-glass, to ascer- tain to what nation she belonged, from her flag.

There are several systems of signals by which ves-

32 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

sels can converse, as far apart as the flags of different colors, which represent certain words or ideas, can be distinguished. Those invented by Capt. Marryatt, of the British navy, are in most general use. A book, or key of explanation, accompanies each set of flags, and so, communication, of course to a limited extent, but sufficient for all necessary purposes, becomes comparatively easy. They are known throughout the maritime world as " Marryatt's Signals."

On the morning of the eighty-eighth day, our cap- tain, who was a very skillful navigator, said to us : " About noon to-day, if you look directly ahead, you will see land : it is Christmas Island ; a small island about a hundred miles south of the western end of Java." All eyes were in requisition. I sat on the forecastle-deck, and was the first to discover it. Sure enough, there it was, a dim, cloud-like line, resting on the distant horizon, under the clear, blue sky ; for it was a bright, beautiful day, in perfect keeping with the joyous event. A moment more, and the welcome cry of " Land ! land !" was ringing through the ship. Hands were clapped for joy, while faces were beam- ing and hearts were beating with an ecstasy of de- light. The land at first looked like a heavy mass of dark-blue clouds in the distance, resting on the heav- ing bosom of the ocean. Then it became more and more distinct, till at last it loomed up before us a high, rocky mountain islet, partly covered with a scanty growth of diminutive trees. We saw multi- tudinous flocks of birds about the island, and the waters near it were seen to be teeming with fish ; but they could not be induced to bite a hook ; probably because we had no fresh bait. Leaving Christmas

HOW WE WENT TO CHINA. 33

Island to the right, we sailed on exultingly, and be- fore night saw the mountainous promontory of Java. A storm that night prevented us from approaching very near, lest we should be dashed upon the rocks. So we " stood out to sea " again till daylight. The morning broke in upon us gloriously : the ship wse " put about," and we stood in for the shore. That glad day — the twenty-third day of July, in the year of grace eighteen hundred and forty-eight — was Sunday, and on its blessed morning we entered the Straits of Sunda, with hearts swelling with thankful- ness for our preservation thus far through all the dangers of the deep.

There rose up grandly before us, clothed in all the luxuriant richness and beauty of oriental and tro- pical foliage, those magnificent islands — Java on the right and Sumatra on the left — islands, images of which had so often filled the day-dreams of my boy- hood as still retaining the gorgeous vegetation of the first Paradise ; nor did the reality fall far short of the splendid picture imagination had painted on the walls of memory, in the chambers of the far back, long, long ago. How strangely and sadly the sight of the first Pagans impressed me ! They were Malays. They came off to our ship in their dug-out canoes, with large, three-cornered, mat sails. They also had paddles, to use in case of need. The natives were of a dark copper color ; tall, straight, and well-propor- tioned. They generally wore only a piece of cotton cloth about the middle, and another wrapped around the head. They blacken their teeth by chewing betel- nut, for the sage reason that dogs have white teeth ! Some of them had procured from ships, as they fre-

2*

34 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

quently pass these waters, various articles of civilized costume ; but being ignorant as to the proper mode of putting them on, they often presented the most ludi- crous figures imaginable. One fellow had on an old broadcloth dress-coat next to his skin, then a dilapi- dated vest over that, and a shirt outside of all ; his legs, in the mean time, being in a state of native nudity. Thus attired, he and his comrades, in equally grotesque habiliments, paced up and down the deck of our vessel (for they had come on board to sell fruit), with as lordly an air as if they owned the ship.

CHAPTER II.

HOW WE REACHED CHINA.

Anjer — Fruits — Purveyors— Banyan Tree— Dutch Fort— Maylay In fants— w Osmond " — Mohammedans— Shock of an Earthquake — Java Sea— Straits of Banca— Tin Mines — Malay Pirates — China Sea— Beautiful Sunsets— A " School " of Whales— Coast of China- Chinese Sailors and their " Junks "—a Pilot— Hong-Kong.

We had anchored off Anjer — a Dutch settlement and military post on Java. During the two days of our tarrying, the natives brought large quantities of the finest tropical fruits to the ship, in their canoes, to sell or barter, as the case might be, for money or old clothes. Monkeys, also, " Java sparrows," birds of paradise, parrots, and other birds of rare and beauti- ful plumage, and some of sweet song, were among the commodities offered for sale. Some of these natives were regular purveyors to ships, and had small mem- orandum-books in which were written certificates from the captains whom they had supplied. These were not always as flattering as the holders imagined. They sometimes ran in this style — "If you buy any- thing from the bearer, watch him — he is the great- est rascal you ever saw, and will cheat you if he can."

As they have no native metallic currency, a variety of sea-shell, called " cowrie," is their sub-

36 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

stitute for small coin. Its average comparative value is at the rate of about 1000 for a dollar.

For a day or two our ship looked more like a menagerie and a fruit-market than anything else. The usual price for cocoa-nuts was a dollar a hun- dred ; for pine-apples, twenty-five cents a dozen ; for oranges ten cents a dozen ; and for everything else in the same proportion. There were dates, too, and a kind of sugar in small cakes, something like maple-sugar. The natives called it " joggery." We also took in fresh provisions for the remainder of our voyage. Pigs, geese, ducks, and chickens, with sweet potatoes and yams in abundance, were pur- chased from the Malays. This presented a most agreeable contrast with our fare up to this time. It had been very coarse and meagre — entirely inferior to what the owners of the ship had promised us. We afterward learned that the captain had reserved for nis own exclusive use, on the voyage back to the United States, most of the delicacies that had been put on board for his passengers.

On Monday, some of us got into the ship's boat with the captain, and went on shore at Anjer. As I stepped on terra-firma once more, old mother earth was never before by me so ardently loved. I almost felt as if I must stoop down and kiss the dear old lady. The first object that attracts your attention on approaching the shore, is a large banyan tree, be- neath whose ample shade several of the natives were quietly reclining. Near the sandy beach on which you land from the surf — for there was no wharf — was a small Dutch fort, and here and there a soldier, in faded, dingy, undress uniform, lounging idly about

HOW WE REACHED CHINA. 37

under the banyan tree, which stood near the entrance to the fort. The streets, or rather lanes, of this Malay village were quite narrow, and overgrown with grass. They were lined on each side with cottages, built of bamboo (canes), and thatched with long, narrow leaves. We saw but two shops of any kind, and these contained but a very scanty stock of goods, mostly of foreign manufacture, for the supply of ves- sels touching at the island. They were kept by Chinamen in full costume, of whom there are many at the different ports of the East-India islands. The trees, shrubbery, flowers, and fruit — the people and their dwellings — all looked strange and different from any I had ever before seen ; but the chickens looked and crowed, and the cats looked and mewed, like chickens and cats in a Christian land. And the little Malay babies cried and laughed and played, and said "mamma," just exactly like Christian babies. I felt then that humanity was the same all over the world.

The man who furnished most of the supplies for our ship was named Osmond, and he seemed to be a sort of chief among his people. He was well dressed, in a costume much resembling the Turkish, and was very civil, agreeable, and polite. He invited us into his cottage, and regaled us with delicious ban- anas, fresh from the trees. We saw no females, except a half-grown girl who seemed to be the nurse to Osmond's infant, of which he appeared very fond. We inferred that the women are kept very secluded. The only covering worn by the Malay infants was a heart-shaped plate of brass about four inches in diame- ter, tied by a string around the middle of the body.

38 FIVE YEAKS IN CHINA.

The natives are generally Mohammedans, and there was in the village a very ancient brick building, used as a mosque, with a populous graveyard attached. But we were informed that they very seldom had any ser- vice. It is going to ruin, like the system it represents. Just before we anchored, we all felt a strong and very peculiar jarring sensation, as if the ship had struck upon a rock, and was dragged over it, with a violent scraping of the keel of the vessel along the whole of its length. At first, we all supposed this was really the case. The ship seemed to get off in a few moments ; but, after a little, the same sensations occurred again, and after another short interval, a third time. We then began to think it must be the shock of an earthquake ; and when, going ashore on the next day (Monday), we visited the Dutch officer in command at Anjer, we learned from him that such was the fact. He had felt the same tremulous motions at the same hour with ourselves on the day before, and said they were common in that region. Mrs. Dr. Medhurst, the wife of the veteran and noble missionary, told us in Shanghai, a year or two after, that while they were living at Batavia, the principal city on the island of Java, some years before, such was the violence of these commotions beneath the surface of the earth on one occasion, that several houses were thrown down, and all the inhabitants of the town rushed out of doors, to avoid being buried beneath the ruins of their dwellings. These islands, and the many others composing the vast Eastern Archi- pelago, are evidently of volcanic origin. Travellers who have visited the interior of the island of Java speak of having seen the crater of an extinct volcano.

HOW WE BEACHED CHINA. 39

Leaving Anjer, we sailed along northwardly, through the Java Sea, keeping Sumatra in sight all the time on our left, and a multitude of smaller islands on the right, till, in a day or two, we entered the Straits of Banca, which separate an island of the same name from the coast of Sumatra. Banca also belongs to the Dutch, and is celebrated for its tin mines, which are a source of great revenue to that government. "We saw a foreign vessel in each of two or three harbors along its coast, which we pre- sumed was loading with tin. The Strait is quite nar- row, and of rather dangerous navigation, both from its shallowness and from the difficulty of finding the channel. Vessels sometimes get aground here, and some have been captured by the Malay pirates who infest these seas. They are always on the lookout for ships disabled or in distress, that they may have* a more favorable opportunity to murder the crew and seize the cargo. Our own ship touched bottom once and stuck fast, but fortunately the tide rose in a few hours and floated us off. Our progress was neces- sarily slow, and we were followed several times by large Malay proas, as their vessels are called, filled with men — in all probability pirates. There was, on the stern of our ship, a small cannon, which the cap- tain had loaded, and discharged at them. Whether the ball took effect or not, we could not tell ; but the fellows immediately turned off from the pur- suit probably thinking our vessel was a man-of- war, and that it would not be safe to venture an attack.

A few days of pleasant weather and light winds brought us safely through these perilous waters, and

40 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

out into the China Sea. Here we saw more gorge- ously glorious sunsets than any we had before wit- nessed. The varied shapes, hues, brilliancy and beauty of the evening clouds, as they rolled along up the sky in piled-up splendor and magnificence, suggested a possible resemblance to the heaven-built palaces and gilded battlements of the New Jeru- salem.

One evening another scene of novel and exciting interest presented itself. It was a " school " of whales. A great number of these leviathans of the deep seemed to have taken it into their heads to have a general frolic. They rolled and tumbled their enormous black bodies about on the surface of the sea, sporting like kittens. Occasionally they came so near to us as to engender the fear lest, in the reck- lessness of their gigantic play, they should accidentally strike the ship with their ponderous forms, and sink it to the bottom. But they passed on at last, leaving us unharmed.

We were sailing in sight of the coast of China several days before we came to the first port of our destination. This coast appeared totally different from what I had before imagined. Basing my idea on the known populousness of the empire, I expected to find the country gradually sloping toward the sea, and covered with multitudes of people, all in full view, busy in all kinds of labor, as bees in a hive ; with their numerous cities, towns and villages, crowded thickly together in every direction. Judge of my surprise, when, instead of these, there was nothing to be seen for hundreds of miles along the coast of China but dark, barren, bleak, precipitous,

HOW WE REACHED CHINA. 41

cragged rocks, rising almost perpendicularly from the sea. The only signs that we were in the vicinity of an inhabited country, were the fishing "junks" that we saw — large and small, occupied by the patient Celestials, wearing coarse straw or ratan hats, with cone-shaped crowns, beneath which were coiled up on their heads, to keep them out of the way, or hanging down their backs, tails or queues of straight, coarse, thick black hair, plaited, and often long enough to reach to the heels. They wore very full, loose coats and pantaloons, generally made of coarse cotton homespun, dyed blue and occasionally brown. The shoes of the sailors are sometimes wooden " dug- outs," but oftener made of coarse cloth, having thick soles consisting of many layers of felt, such as that of which hats are made. Their boats are very clum- sily but strongly built, and are kept well calked and oiled, but not painted. The sails are made of mats, or of coarse cotton or bark cloth, generally dyed a dark, reddish brown. The material used for dyeing this color, imparts, it is said, great durability to the cloth.

About the thirtieth morning after we left Java, one of these odd-looking crafts was seen approaching our ship. When he came near enough to be heard, one of the men called out :

" Good-ee morning, Cap-e-ting ; you wanchee pilot ? My number one good pilot."

He then drew alongside, fastened his boat to the ship, and, climbing up the side, came on board.

The first act of heathen idolatry I ever saw was this Chinaman kneeling before a rudely carved wooden image a few inches high, bowing his head to

42 FIVE TEAKS IN CHINA.

the deck of his boat several times, while two small red wax candles and some slender in cease-sticks — about as large as knitting-needles, and composed of fragrant substances — were burning before the idol, which represented the goddess of mercy or the " Queen of Heaven " — the tutelary diety of sailors and fishermen. How it shocked us and how we pitied him ! And he was but one of the millions whom we had come to enlighten and try to save.

After much discussion with our captain about the price, a bargain was struck. He took his position on the quarter-deck, near the man at the helm, and pointed out to him the direction to steer for Hong Kong. We then drew near the rock-bound coast, and the rocky islands that fringe it. It looks as if the ship was running directly upon the rocks, and was in danger of being dashed to pieces. As yet, there is no appearance of human abode, much less of civil- ization, when suddenly, as you sail around the jagged point of a high, hilly, rocky island, having some ver dure on its sides, lo ! there bursts upon your vision, as if by the touch of a fairy wand, or of the lamp of Aladdin, a beautiful town of white houses, with glass windows and green blinds, well built on the hillside, and arranged in streets. To crown the whole, there is the steeple of a Christian church ! What a wel- come sight to our wearied eyes, and how cheering to our anxious hearts ! That is the town of Victoria, and the island on whose bosom it so beautifully and quietly nestles is Hong-Kong, which we reach on this eighteenth day of August, after a voyage of one hundred and sixteen days from Boston.

CHAPTEE III.

HOW HONG-KONG APPEARED.

How Great Britain came to own it—" Fragrant Streams " — British Dignity — Pleasant Reception— Town of Victoria— The Chinese Portion—" Coolies" — Foreign Buildings — The "Barracks" — The Church — Morrison Hill — " Happy Valley " — Morrison School — Mr. John Morrison — Rev. Samuel Brown — Mr. William A. Macy — Rev. Charles Gutzlaff, D.D.

This island belongs to Great Britain, having been ceded to that power by the Emperor of China, as a part of the indemnity claimed at the close of the Opium war, in 1842. Although now universally called in English, Hong-Kong, yet its real name in Chinese, is Iliang-Kiang, and it means " Fragrant Streams." But the only streams we saw were those which ran down the rocky hillsides after a rain. They gleamed and flashed in the sunlight like threads of molten silver, and were certainly beautiful if not "fragrant." The outline of the island, on the side toward the mainland, is crescent-shaped ; its two horns, several miles apart, approaching within a half mile or even less of the opposite shore, and its inter- vening or receding portion forming, together with a similar conformation of the coast over against it, one of the finest harbors in the world. It embraces in the broad sweep of its arms, a magnificent sheet of

44 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

water, of sufficient extent to float the whole navy of Great Britain.

While we were entering the harbor, where we found a dozen or fifteen other foreign vessels, mostly British and American, the British harbor-master, wearing a blue cloth cap, with a gilt band around it, came off to us in his barge, pulled by six oars, in the hands of English sailors. He assumed the most im- portant airs and directed us where to anchor, with a display of authority that was truly edifying. An awfully dignified little midshipman, with a huge cocked hat big enough for him to sleep in, an epaulet on his shoulder that looked as if it was about as much as he could well stand up under, and a sword hang- ing by brass chains from his belt, so low that it would have dragged on the deck, had he not held it up in his left hand — came on board to get our ship's custom-house papers.

No sooner had we anchored, than an American missionary of the Northern Baptist church, Rev. John Johnson, having seen the ship enter the harbor, and recognized its nationality by the stars and stripes, came off to us in his boat, gave us a cordial welcome, and invited us to accompany him on shore, offering us the hospitalities of his house for the few days of our sojourn at the island. The Rev. William Dean was his colleague in that field, and they both treated us with great kindness.

A portion of the town of Victoria is assigned to the Chinese : it may have been the same locality that was occupied by the native town before the island became the property of Great Britain. The buildings extend down to the water's edge, and some of them

HOW HONG-KONG APPEARED. 45

are built upon piles, directly over the water, so that small boats can pass between the upright posts, and are then under the house, which has a large trap-door in its floor. Through this, persons can climb up by a ladder that is let down for the purpose, whenever it is needed. The houses are very small, generally but one story high, with a sleeping apartment in the attic, overhead. They are crowded together as closely as it is possible for them to be placed, and only a few feet- say eight or ten — are allowed for the width of the dark, dirty, irregular streets. Dark, because day- light is almost excluded by the projecting roofs of tiles, that overhang the walls of the buildings for about three feet on the opposite sides of these nar- row lanes. Here, too, you will find the Chinese market, filled with a great variety of fish, meats, fowl, fruits, and vegetables, to supply the demands of the foreign as well as the native population. And then the crowds of Chinese to be seen there, with their shaven heads, and long, braided hair.

Men supply the place of beasts of burden in China. A stick of bamboo (the cane of this country), or of some other tough, elastic wood, about five feet long, hav- ing a sling of ropes attached to each end, is balanced across the shoulder, and in each sling the Chinaman can easily carry a bag containing a bushel of rice, or about the same weight of any other article that will admit of being carried in that manner. You meet great numbers of these bearers, or coolies, as foreigners call them ; but that is an Indian term — the real name in Chinese is Tcang-foo. They walk very rapidly while carrying a load — almost run — and accompany every step with a loud exclamation,

46 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

" Hah-ho ! hah-ho /" The bearers of sedans are called keaw-foo, the word Iceaw meaning sedan. They generally wear sandals made of twisted and braided straw, as allowing more play and expansion to the feet, beside being very soft and cheap. The muscular development of the legs of these bearers is enormous. They also have a large, hard, fleshy pro- tuberance on the shoulders, where the stick crosses them. I saw, one day, from an elevated position on a hillside, about a hundred of these coolies, with an arrangement of ropes, poles, and sticks, carrying through one of the wide streets, the body of a very large tree, that was to furnish a mast for a ship. It bore a most curious and striking resemblance to a gigantic centipede, the bearers looking like its legs.

Just look yonder ! How pleasant it is to an Ame- rican, to see the stars and stripes waving, not only on some of the finest ships in the harbor, but also from the flag-staff on the top of the large white house on the corner of one of the streets in this pretty hillside town of Victoria. A little higher up are the London Missions premises, and then, still higher and beyond, is the British Government House — a larger, and hand- somer building, from whose roof floats the proud flag of Old England, St. George's Cross. Further along, up the main street, which is called " Queen's Road," there is the same national emblem flying on some spacious, though not very high structures of well- hewn stone. These are called " the Barracks," and are permanently occupied by a regiment of Her Britannic Majesty's troops, quartered here for the preservation of peace and order. It is composed in part of Sepoys from India. They are nearly black,

HOW HONG-KONG APPEARED. 47

and have thick, straight hair. The expression of their eyes is fierce and sinister. They are exceed- ingly slender, but lithe and active. Yon may, there- fore, see British soldiers and officers every day in full uniform ; and frequently does the band belonging to the garrison discourse sweet, and soul-stirring music, to the great delight and eniivenment of the whole town. It is especially charming, soothing, enchant- ing, enrapturing, when you hear it on a calm, still, summer evening, a little way off on the water. If you have ever heard a splendid band playing under such circumstances, you know the emotions it excites — they cannot be described.

There, too, not far from the barracks, and fronting on an open square, is a neat, small stone church, in the Gothic style of architecture, with its modest little spire pointing the people to the skies. Just the sim- ple fact of such an edifice, for such a purpose, in such a region of paganism — though this one was for the benefit of those only whose native language was English — impresses a Christian heart with peculiar pleasure ; for its very presence there breathes of hope for the heathen also, who live within sight of that spire, and within the sound of that sweet, church-going bell, which by its melodious chimings, calls the foreigners to their weekly worship, while it teaches the native idolater — as he stops, and, listen- ing, asks why the ringing of that bell so regularly every seventh day — of a Sabbath of rest from labor, and of prayer and praise to the only living and true God. It stands as a beacon-light on the confines of that vast land of darkness, darting its rays out into the gloom, directing the benighted and storm-tossed

48 FIVE TEARS IN CHINA.

on that sea of superstition and ignorance, to the only haven of deliverance from the shipwreck of the soul.

Its forms are those of the Church of England, and its chaplain at that time was a Rev. Mr. Monteith, of excellent repute, as a pious, evangelical, zealous minister of Jesus Christ.

Passing on through the town along its principal street, " Queen's Road," which extends on the hill- side for about a mile around a bay that beautifully indents the island at that point, you come to a pretty hill, having its gentle slopes covered with grass, while it seems quite disconnected from its higher and more scantily clothed, rugged, rocky sisters, that rise far above and beyond it. Indeed, they seem to throw their huge, rough arms around it, as if to fold it to their bosoms for protection, while they look down upon it with apparent pride that so beautiful a little thing is one of their own number, and belongs to them- selves.

Between it and their feet — as you discover on reaching it. — there lies one of the most charming little valleys your eyes ever beheld. A large portion of it is a perfect plain, covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, while it is fringed on its sides with beautiful trees and wild shrubbery. It has a small stream of clear, sparkling water winding through it, running around the hill, and dashing away down into the harbor. This delightful little vale is most appropri- ately named " Happy Valley," and it might well have served as the lovely prototype from which Johnson drew his charming picture in "Rasselas."

On the summit of that hill, with the town and the

HCfW HONG-KONG APPEARED. 49

harbor in front, and " Happy Yalley " behind it — is a long, low, white building, of but one story in height, and having a spacious veranda, which is inclosed with green Venetian blinds from the eaves to the floor. Most of the foreign buildings in China have these verandas or porticoes surrounding them, with a similar arrangements of blinds, as a protection from the excessive heat of the sun during the long sum- mers.

This edifice is the " Morrison School " for Chinese boys. It was built and sustained by the liberal con- tributions of the foreign merchants and others in China, who composed the "Morrison Education Society ;" and it was named in honor of the first Pro- testant missionary to that empire, the great and good Rev. Dr. Robert Morrison. His son, Mr. John Mor- rison, a most estimable, gifted, and pious young man, was, at the time of its establishment, interpreter of Chinese to the British government, and was largely instrumental in the accomplishment of the work. He died not long after its completion, deeply lamented by all who knew him — missionaries, merchants, natives, and foreigners.

Its first superintendent was, if I mistake not, the Rev. Samuel Brown, an American missionary, who was, after a few years, compelled to return to his country on account of the failure of the health of his wife. Soon after my own return for the same cause, our families had a delightful interview at his resi- dence in the State of New York, where he was keep- ing a select boarding-school for boys. There, too, we became acquainted with his mother, an unusually intelligent and pious old lady, who possessed peculiar 3

50 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

and additional interest to us, from the fact that she was the author of that beautiful hymn, beginning :

" I love to steal a while away From every cumbering care."

Mr. Brown has recently returned to the East as a missionary to Japan. A brief sketch of his history, together with an excellent photograph likeness, appeared some months ago in " Harper's Weekly."

Mr. William A. Macy, an American lay-missionary, was in charge of the Morrison School at the time of our landing at Hong-Kong. His mother accompa- nied him, being a widow, and he her only child. She lias since gone to take her harp, and he to get his crown.

The original object of the Morrison School was to teach Chinese boys the English language in connec- tion with Christianity ; but after an experiment of several years, it was found that the boys had so uni- versally perverted their knowledge of English, by becoming, for the sake of gain, interpreters for opium- traders, sailors, and others — generally for wicked purposes — making, to say the least, but very poor use of their English, and none at all of their Christi- anity, that the benevolent supporters of the school became discouraged, and I think it has now been for some time entirely discontinued. Full experience has therefore shown that it is a pernicious labor to teach English to the Chinese, and that the only safe method is to teach them Christianity through the medium of their own native tongue.

We also found, on our arrival in China, the cele- brated veteran missionary, Kev. Charles Gutzlaff, D.D.

HOW HONG-KONG APPEARED. 51

He was a Prussian by birth, and had been sent out by the Netherlands Missionary Society more than thirty years before. Possessed of a rare talent for acquiring languages, he had learned to speak, read, and write the Chinese with great fluency. He made a translation of the entire Scriptures into that lan- guage, and, besides translations of other books, wrote many tracts of his own composition. He often went among the Chinese in disguise, and spoke several of their dialects with such wonderful accuracy as to escape detection, where discovery would have been death. He had been as bold, intrepid and valiant a soldier of the cross as ever set foot on Pagan shores ; and yet, when we saw him, he had almost entirely laid aside his missionary character, having become Chinese secretary, and interpreter of the British government, with a large salary. Still, he had a class of Chinese, who came to his room every evening for instruction ; and it was on one of those occasions that I was introduced to him by a brother missionary. His manner was very kind and cordial. He was of about the middle stature — perhaps a little above it — and was growing quite corpulent. He had a very large, round, full, red face, beaming with the good nature that also twinkled in his small grey eyes. He was very bald, and wore a round-jacket, vest, and pantaloons, all of white linen, a common summer cosj tume worn by foreigners in China. He died some time after, while we were at Shanghai ; and although the evening and the sunset of his long and laborious life were not without a cloud, yet we cannot help think- ing that he must have accomplished great good, and that he is saved through the mercy of the Redeemer.

CHAPTER IV.

GOING TO CANTON.

Leaving Hong-Kong — A Fellow Passenger — Robbers — Dr. and Mrs. Sexton — Scenery along up " Pearl River " — Pagodas— Tombs — The "Bogue" or "Bocca Tigris" — Forts — Whampoa — Boat-women — Boats — War-junks — Flower-boats — More Pagodas — " Fan-kwei " — River Population— Proper Xame of " Canton" — Appearance of the City — Foreign " Gardens," and " Factories " — Peripatetic Mer- chants, Artisans, Tradesmen, and Mountebanks.

That part of our ship's cargo which consisted of resin in barrels, and pig-lead, was destined for Canton. So after a pleasant sojourn of a few days at Hong-Kong, we went on board again, weighed anchor, and spread our sails once more, under the guidance of the Chinese pilot, who was to show us the way to the great commercial city of the Celestial Empire. On account of the indisposition of his wife, my colleague had taken his family and baggage from the ship at Hong-Kong, where they remained for several months, We had been kindly entertained there for three or four days by our American Baptist missionary friends, and now one of them, the Rev. Francis C. Johnson, son of the Eev. William B. Johnson, D.D., of Edgefield, South Carolina, accompanied us to Canton. He was a gentleman of superior abilities and of great eccen- tricity, but, withal, a most generous, warm-hearted, and genial companion. His society for the few short

GOING TO CANTON. 53

days during which we were favored with it, con- tributed no little to our enjoyment and edification.

Bands of robbers, called Ladrones, infested Hong- Kong at the time of our visit. Such was their auda- city and adroitness, that they would climb by ladders up to the windows in the second story of even for- eign dwellings, enter apartments, often where persons were sleeping, and carry off everything they could find. It was supposed by many that they had a vo- latile preparation of some kind of drug, the fumes of which, diffused in the room, possessed the power so to deepen the slumbers of the occupants, or to stupefy them in some way, that they would not be wakened by ordinary noises. Our friend Johnson, being unmarried, had hired rooms in a Chinese build- ing, and these rascals had broken in — I think during his absence — and stolen his entire wardrobe that he had brought with him from America. He bore his loss with singular equanimity; and with the most philosophical coolness, as amusing to us as it seemed consolatory to himself, said in his peculiar drawling tone, that "he was really much obliged to the Ladrones for relieving him of his surplus clothing ; that he had more than he wanted anyhow, and didn't know what to do with it ; and that the robbers had done him an undesigned kindness in taking it out of his way !" So in fact the amiable and simple- hearted missionary seemed as independent of the world as was Diogenes in his tub. And, strangely regardless of the proprieties of ministerial attire, he had gone and bought himself a blue and white striped shirt, with a wide, open collar, in which, without cravat or ribbon, and in a white round-

54 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

jacket and pants, but no vest, he called with us to pay his respects to the representative of our government, the Hon. John Wesley Davis, of Indiana, who had just arrived as the United States Commissioner to China. Notwithstanding his oddities, it was a great loss to the missionary band in that Empire when the total prostration of his physical strength drove Mr. Johnson from their ranks back to his native land.

Sailing out of the beautiful harbor of Hong-Kong, the head of our ship was turned directly toward the frowning barrier of rocky islands that hemmed in the river and country behind it from our view.

We were now sailing over the very spot where, but a few weeks before, a sudden gust of wind had upset a small vessel, and hurried all on board, including a young medical missionary and his wife, Dr. and Mrs. Sexton, of Philadelphia, to a watery grave. They were sent out by the Southern Baptist Board, and had but just arrived, full of hope and promise ; but, having given evidence of their devotion to the mis- sionary work, they were taken home to its reward without having passed through its toils. We drop a tear that may mingle with the water which bathes their pale, cold cheeks, far down in the deep ; for theirs is no grave by which we may sit and weep out our sorrow that two, so young and lovely, should so early and so sadly have passed away.

Presently, a narrow opening appeared between two of the islands, through which, as one of its mouths, or "gates," as the Chinese call them, "Pearl River" runs down into the sea. Entering this on the bosom of the flood tide, and with a favoring breeze tilling our outspread wings of snowy canvas, the wall that

GOING TO CANTON. 55

had hitherto shut us out was soon left behind. Its landward side gradually sloped off into hills partly covered with grass and a thin low shrubbery, but mostly barren to all appearance ; while the interven- ing valleys were evidently more fertile, as they were occupied by cottages, hamlets, and villages, with trees enough for shade. Some portions of the coun- try along and near the river were undulating rather than hilly, being made up of alternate elevations and depressions. We had seen as yet but a sparse popula- tion when compared with the rumored multitudes in the " Central Flowery Kingdom." But the inhabitants, even in those immediate neighborhoods, were doubt less far more numerous than appeared to us from the deck of the ship. Now and then, we saw one ot those many-sided towers of several stories in height, such as we had often seen pictured in the juvenile his- tories and geographies of our childhood, and so unmis- takably Chinese, in the curved slope of the roof pro- jecting from each story, with its long, turned-up cor- ners. Scattered here and there on the hillsides, were some of the graves surrounded by mason-work of nicely hewn stone or of brick, plastered and white- washed, but always built in the form of a horse-shoe, the space thus inclosed being twelve or fourteen feet in diameter, and often floored with smoothly hewn blocks of granite, underneath which, in the centre, the coffin is deposited. The middle or back part of the wall is three or four feet high, gradually diminish- ing to one or two at the ends. The tablet or tomb- stone, inscribed simply with the name, and the year of the birth of the deceased, is placed upright against the middle of the wall, directly opposite the open

56 FIVE TEARS IN CHINA.

space between the two ends. Sometimes as much money is expended on these resting-places for the dead as on the habitations of the living.

From being spread out into a bay filled with islands on your left, as you sail up the river, for nearly fifty miles, it narrows down to a single passage at a point called the " Bogue," or Bocca Tigris.

The Chinese have shown more wisdom in the selec- tion of this spot for the defence of the approach to Canton than they have skill or bravery in occupy- ing it. There were on the hills commanding this pas- sage, well-built forts, with walls extending from them down to the river; but they were not proof against British cannon, and have been nearly destroyed. Beyond the Bogne, the face of the country soon becomes not only level, but more fertile and highly cultivated as the green fields of rice and other vege- tables, spread out before you on every side, do amply testify.

Some thirty miles more, and you come to the Chinese village of Whampoa, with many of its low, crowded dwellings, built over the water on posts, which are driven into the mud on the edge of the river. Here is the anchorage for the foreign ship- ping ; and here you may see the flags of many differ- ent nations flying gaily from the masts of the vessels moored in the stream. Even before we anchored, our ship was beset by nearly a score of small boats, mostly manned by women / some young, some old, with bare heads and feet, save when a large-figured head-kerchief is worn and tied under the chin. Their dress is simple and becoming; it consists of loose-flowing trowsers, reaching to the ankles, and an

GOING TO CANTON. 57

outer garment, with large sleeves, extending from the neck — around which it fits closely — to the knee. These articles are either of cotton or coarse silk, and are generally blue. They are excess ively fond of jewelry, and wear ear-rings, bracelets, anklets, and hair pins of such material as they can afford — gold, silver, precious stones, brass, shell, horn, or glass. Their boats are called tan-kid, meaning uegg-7wuse" boats, because of their resemblance — originally, more than at present — to a half of an egg, divided in the direction of its longest diameter.

These water-nymphs are clamorous to be employed to take passengers to the shore, or from one ship to another. Standing on the miniature deck at the hinder part of the little craft, she propels the boat with great skill and speed, by means of a single oar — a scull, in the stern. It is provided with mats sufficient to cover the whole boat at night, or, if necessary, during a rain ; but ordinarily, the two ends are open to the sky, and the middle portion only is covered by the mats, to protect the passengers, if they have any, from the sun and rain — otherwise the family ; for they are emphatically family boats, being the only dwelling. " Here whole families are reared, live and die. The room which serves for passengers by day, is a bedroom by night ; a kitchen at one time, a wash-room at another, and a nursery always."

At Whampoa, you are still twelve miles from Can- ton ; so you charter one of the tan-kid boats, and proceed on up the river. It is an intensely warm afternoon, and, as your course is due west, the declin- ing sun pours its merciless radiance of scorching heat, as well as blinding brightness, full into your

3*

58 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

face ; for, as you are here for the first time, you can- not endure to have the mats drawn over to shut out the sun ; you wish to see everything that is to- be seen of this strange country and still stranger peo- ple.

The river is filled with boats of every size and description ; large, clumsy lighters for loading and unloading ships; light, graceful "flower-boats," i. e. pleasure-boats, profusely ornamented with fantastic wood-engravings, paintings, large ornamental lan- terns, and little gay silken flags flaunting in the breeze. Then there are the armed war and govern- ment revenue junks, with ugly-looking cannon pro- truding threateningly from their port-holes, while their gaudily colored sides are covered with round shields of ratan, having painted on them the fiercest- looking tiger-faces imaginable ; such faces of tigers as never existed anywhere but in the fancy of the artists, marvellously prolific in the hideous and fright- ful. Some of these boats are so arranged as to be propelled by oars, of which they carry forty or fifty, and by this means they attain great speed.

Just above the anchorage at Whampoa is a small island-hill, rising from the river, which was assigned to foreigners for a burial-place. On it we saw some white marble tombstones, like those at home. These had been sent from England and America by the surviving friends of those who had died thus far away from their native land.

A little further on you come to a tall pagoda, nine stories high, on a slightly elevated island in the middle of the river ; and then, a few miles still on up the river, is another, of the same common octagonal

GOING TO CANTON. 59

figure, but of about the same height. Both are much dilapidated, and the former is partly covered with vines, which impart to it something of the beauty and interest of an ancient ruin.

As you advance, the crowd of boats becomes more dense, and as, from curiosity, scores of shaven-headed juveniles peep out at you from under the covers of their own boats in passing, you hear the same words from all : " Fan-lewd, fan-lcwei /" " foreign devils, foreign devils." This salutation is, to say the least, not as complimentary as might be ; but, since it does you no harm, you give yourself no uneasiness on the subject. Presently the thorough- fare on the river is narrowed down to the space of about two rods in the middle, and along this, hun- dreds of boats are constantly and swiftly passing up and down, almost touching each other, and yet guided with such skill as seldom to come into collision. The remaining surface of the river for one or two hundred yards on each side, is entirely hidden by the thou- sands of boats that are lying moored, and crowded as closely together as it is possible for them to be packed, to the banks on either side, which they totally conceal.

You have now reached the far-famed city. It is called by the natives, Kwang-tung sang-ching, which translated literally, means, " Kwang-eastern provincial city." There are two provinces — corresponding to our States — lying contiguous, called the uTwo Kwang," which are under one government. They are distin- guished from each other by the suffixes, tungy meaning " east," and si, " west." Thus we have Kwang-tung, and Kwang-si — the "Eastern Kwang," and the

60 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

" Western Kwang." The word " Canton," is only a foreign corruption of the real name — Kwang-tung.

This city occupies a low plain, extending from the " Pearl Kiver," back about three miles to the " White Cloud Hills," which are covered with tombs and con- stitute a vast cemetery. Its appearance is by no means imposing, and its walls, which are said to be six miles in circumference, are scarcely distinguish- able from the mass of low, dark, dingy dwellings, crowded together, both within them and without. Presently, your eyes are greeted with the sight of the American and British flags, flying from two tall flagstaff's in their respective " gardens," which together form a kind of open square or park, of not more than five or six acres. JS"ear the middle of it stands the English church. Facing this plea- sure-ground and the river, are the foreign " Hongs " — buildings of two and three stories high, well con- structed of brick and stuccoed. They are occupied by the foreign merchants, both as dwellings and places of business. The street running along in front of the foreign hongs, or " factories," was filled with peripatetic artisans and merchants, having the implements of their craft, their wares and their merchandise, conveniently suspended from the ends of a pole across the shoulder. It is astonishing to see how compactly they can thus stow away and carry their manifold utensils. The blacksmith for example, in this manner, carries his forge, bellows, anvil, tools and iron — all, of course, on a small scale — with perfect ease. So the baker, his oven, flour and kneading-board — the proprietor of an eating establishment, his kitchen, his dishes and provisions.

GOING TO CANTON. 61

There you may see a barber shaving the head, plait- ing the queue, thumping the back, or cleaning out the ears, eyes and nose of his customer, who is seated on a high three-legged stool in the street. Then there are travelling cobblers, tinkers, confectioners, dentists and quack-doctors, physiognomers, fortune-tellers, artisans, astrologers, jugglers, gamblers, venders of fruit and vegetables — all vociferating, gesticulating, importuning, elbowing and jostling in every direc- tion— seeming to you to constitute the veriest Babel to be found on earth. And — as sure as you were born — if there isn't that very Chinaman you saw in the picture in the school-geography when you were a child, with his broad-rimmed, peaked crowned hat, and a basket swinging from each end of a pole across his shoulder — one containing kittens and the other puppies ! And yet the tales that are current among us at home respecting the use of rats, cats and dogs, as articles of food with the Chinese, are doubtless somewhat exaggerated, for I was informed that only those who cannot afford to purchase other kinds of animal food will eat them.

CHAPTER Y.

SOMETHING- ABOUT CANTON AND AMOY.

New Friends — Seamen's Bethel — Hospitals— Drs. Parker and Hobson — Leang Afa — Howqua's Gardens — General Description of Chinese Ornamental Gardens — Flowers and Shrubbery — Distorting and Dwarfing Trees — Honan Temple — Idols — Priests — " Sacred Pigs " — " Old " and " New China Streets "— " Hog Lane "—Execution Ground — A Typhoon — Return to Hong-Kong — Up the Coast — Headwinds — Amoy — Opium Vessels — Fishing Boats — Batteries — 11 Queen Bess " — Native City — Ku-lang-su — Missionaries — Islands — Mouth of the Yang-tsz-kiang — " Child of the Ocean."

We soon found ourselves at the residence of the Rev. Peter Parker, M.D., by whom we were hospita- bly entertained, and where wre renewed the acquain- tance of our Minister to China, Hon. John Wesley Davis, whom we first met in Norfolk, Virginia, six months before. He had arrived but a day or two in advance of us. We also spent, by invitation, several days at the dwelling of a very kind gentleman of the mercantile community, John D. Swords, Esq., of Philadelphia, since deceased. The Rev. George Loomis had been sent out by the American Seaman's Friend Society, as chaplain to the sailors at Wham- poa, where he usually preached on board some of the ships. We heard him, however, on this occasion, discourse on Sunday morning to an attentive and in- telligent group of some forty or fifty Americans and

SOMETHING ABOUT CANTON AND AMOY. 63

English — mostly merchants — in Dr. Parker's dining- room, which was so arranged that it was often, if not regularly, used as a chapel. Mainly through the efforts of Mr. Loomis, a neat floating " Bethel " has been since built at Whampoa.

Daring the week passed at Canton wre became acquainted with all the Protestant missionaries then stationed there, and experienced at their hands many kind attentions. Dr. Parker, and Dr. Hobson of the London Missionary Society, each had hospitals, and on their appointed days for receiving patients, these establishments are crowded with applicants ; and while medicines are dispensed to their diseased bodies, the only remedy for the sin-sick soul is set before them by the mouth of the living preacher, by the distribution of tracts and books, or portions of Scripture, to such as can read. Leang-Afa, the old- est convert and native preacher, often officiated on these occasions, and on the Sabbath. One Sunday afternoon, I heard him in Dr. Parker's hospital. He was short and fat, but serious and venerable.

We found Mrs. Hobson an exceedingly interesting lady. She was a daughter of the founder of Protest- ant missions in China, Pev. Dr. Robert Morrison.

One afternoon we accompanied some friends in a boat, to visit the gardens of Howqua, one of the old u Hong merchants," or Chinese merchant-princes, who had made an immense fortune in the tea-trade with foreigners. They are two or three miles up the river, on the bank of which they stand, surrounded by a high wall, having a massive gate-way, which you enter by a flight of stone steps leading from the water's edge. The prominent features of these, and

64 FIVE YEAKS IN CHINA.

all other Chinese ornamental gardens, besides their flowers and shrubbery, are rocks, bridges, pools, and pavilions or arbors. The rocks are piled up and ce- mented together with a kind of plaster, which becomes, in a little time, as hard as the rock itself. Sometimes these piles of artificial rock-work are twenty feet high — not always solid masses, but oftener so built up as to form arches and crevices, caverns and grottoes, nooks and corners, of every shape that can be thought of — the more odd and strange, the more beautiful in native estimation. Then these rocks have paths winding about in all directions, inside and out, up flights of steps and down, often forming an intricate labyrinth. Another feature in these gardens consists in the artificial ponds or pools of water. They generally fill up so much of the space, that the rocks seem rather like islands rising out of them. Then these pools are crossed in various directions by bridges, some straight, and others running as zigzag as if they had been modelled after a streak of lightning. They are built of well-hewn stone, for the most part, and are from three to five feet high above the water, sup- ported by stone posts or pillars, and provided with curiously-wrought balustrades. — Sometimes they are built high enough to admit of a beautiful arch for a support. China abounds in these finely-arched bridges, crossing the numerous canals and rivers, throughout the whole country. Then there are arbors or summer-houses, of various fanciful shapes, from square to five, six, or eight sided, built out in the water, with merely a column at each corner, to support a curiously-constructed roof, which runs up

SOMETHING ABOUT CANTON AND AMOY. 65

in the centre to a point like a steeple. Often, too, these pavilions are built on the tops of the artificial rocky eminences. In private gardens, and in some public ones also, these little buildings have tables and benches, where friends and visitors resort to sit and smoke, drink tea, and chat. There are temples also, sad to say, with richly-carved and gilded wooden idols in them.

Many of the flowers and shrubs are very beauti- ful. They are placed about in different parts of the garden, in odd-looking, yet handsome and costly flower-pots, and on stands and tables in the summer- houses and temples. There are great numbers of tea-shops in the public gardens, where hundreds of people daily congregate, to drink tea, smoke, and talk. The great fondness of the Chinese for flowers is proverbial. They have numerous different kinds, and many of them are exceedingly beautiful and fragrant. Here are many varieties of roses, lilies, violets, hollyhocks, sweet-williams, pinks, tube- roses, verbenas, peonies, bachelor's buttons, helio- tropes, hibiscus, honey-suckles, geraniums, myrtles, cape-jessamines, hydrangeas, artemisias, coxcombs, chrysanthemums, iris, azaleas, magnolias, lagerstrce- mias, altheas, convolvulus, japonicas, and many others. The splendid white lotus or water-lily, is seen resting on the surface of the pools, with its leaves often as large as a parasol. Its root is a favorite article of food, being both palatable and nutritious. There is a magnificent variety of the peony, called the mau-tan, unknown in America. Besides flowers, there is a great variety of evergreen shrubbery, such as the box, the arbor-vitse, the cy-

66 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

press, cedar, and the pine. These are highly prized by the Chinese, and they force them to grow into many odd shapes by confining some of the branches with strings, and bending others, so as to make them grow in any direction they wish. Here are figures of birds and animals growing in this way. A deer with horns, or a long-necked crane, standing on one foot while the other is lifted up, and all growing fresh and green out of a flower-pot, is a very singu- lar sight. You will sometimes see one of these miniature trees that has been trained to resemble a pagoda of several stories in height. These Celestials have a strange passion for dwarfing and distorting all those varieties of shrubbery that will admit of the process.

ISfearly opposite the foreign factories, on the other side of the river, is the village and temple of Honan. From the landing a broad avenue, paved with large hewn stones, and shaded by grand old trees, leads directly to the temple. You first pass through a large portal, having within its walls, on each side, a gigantic image, clad in full armor, standing in a threatening attitude, its black, glaring eye-balls half protruding from their sockets, and the wrhole face wearing the fiercest conceivable expression of rage. These represented the gate-keepers or sentinels of the sacred inclosure,' and are called by the resident foreign- ers " Gog and Magog." We next passed through another similar entrance-building, in which were four of these colossal figures instead of two, and then found ourselves before the main temple. It was spacious, ornate, curious and costly. Its roof was tall, had a curved slope, and long turned-up cor-

SOMETHING ABOUT CANTON AND AMOY. 67

ners. Filled with idols — carved, gilded and painted — of all sizes and descriptions, it was a noted Buddhist monastery, and a company of some two hundred priests or bonzes lived there, performing its daily cathedral services. The whole establishment covered over forty acres, and comprised many buildings, walks and gardens. In one part we were shown the sty containing the "sacred hogs" — some ten or a dozen enormous grunters, which had been fed, fat- tened and pampered till their bellies dragged on the ground as they walked, and some were such rotund masses of obesity that they did not appear to be able to walk at all.

In a retired spot, surrounded by a pretty grove, near one of the vegetable gardens, stood a small building, about ten feet square, having but a single opening. The bodies of the deceased priests were put in here and burned till consumed to ashes.

The large dining-hall, with the whole fraternity at dinner, all clothed alike, in long, loose garments of dingy white, or pale, dirty yellow, and having their heads closely shaven, forcibly reminded us of the dining-rooms in some of the state-prisons we had visited in our own country.

In the immediate vicinity of the foreign hongs in Canton, and leading from them, are " Old China street," " New China street," and " Curiosity street" — all very narrow, perhaps eight feet wide, but well paved, and very cleanly. They are filled with shops kept with scrupulous neatness, and contain all varie- ties of native manufactures that are in demand by foreigners, on whom they mostly depend for patron- age. Here, among many other articles, you will find

68 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

shawls, silks and crapes ; lacquered-ware, china-ware, beautiful filigree-work in silver, curious carving in ivory, pearl, wood and bamboo — furniture of ebony, rosewood and marble — rich, quaint and costly.

Those streets frequented by the natives only, are narrower, filthy, and crowded. " Hog lane " is a dirty locality, to which foreign sailors mostly resort when they come up to the city from their vessels, which remain anchored at Whampoa.

One day in walking around the city, outside the walls, being permitted only to look through the mas- sive gateways into the city proper, we passed through the terrible execution ground, which seemed to be a part of a street, a little wider than the rest, having dwellings on one side, and a high wall on the oppo- site. Thrown together in a heap against this wall, were the heads of some twenty persons, several of them females, who had been executed on that very morning on a charge of pirac}r. The surviving friends are allowed to take away the headless bodies ; other- wise the officers have them put into the roughest, coarsest coffins and buried. It seems a vessel had been attacked and robbed a few days previous, and a government junk was sent out in search of the pirates. Falling in with a vessel, they captured it and brought the crew to Canton as the guilty persons. They might have been so, but it is just as probable they were not. For I was informed on the most credible authority that this is the common method of punish- ing crimes and satisfying the laws. It would appear to be a general principle in the administration of jus- tice, that somebody must suffer, and it is of the least consequence whether that individual be the guilty

SOMETHING ABOUT CANTON AND AMOY. 69

person or not. This is known to have been the fact, in the case of those who w^ere beheaded for the mur- der of the six Englishmen, two vears before. The authorities at Canton, in order to satisfy the British consul, arid to allay the excitement which the horri- ble outrage had produced in the foreign community, took four men from prison, who had been put there for some other offence, and executed them as the real perpetrators of the murder, while in fact they were some miles distant from the place at the time when it was committed.

After a very pleasant visit of a week in Canton, we returned to our ship at Whampoa, and were com- pelled to remain there at anchor during a very des- tructive typhoon, " great wind " — in which we after- ward learned, a number of foreign vessels were entirely lost at different points on the coast. At Macao and Hong-Kong, very many Chinese boats and junks were wrecked, and hundreds of lives lost. We had a passage of three days back to Hong-Kong, and after remaining there two more, proceeded on our voyage up the coast. Encountering strong head winds and a severe gale, we were nine days in reach- ing Amoy, 300 miles distant from Hong-Kong. Our captain put into this port, in order to replace his main-top-gallant yard which had been carried away in the storm, and to correct a derangement in his chronometer, which was necessary before proceeding on his voyage.

Beating against a head wind, is a discouraging business, especially wThen you sail all day long, your vessel going through the water at the rate of ten knots an hour, and vourself imagining vou are mak-

70 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

ing fine progress, then to find you are near the same point from which you started in the morning. So, for two or three days did we beat back and forth across the channel of Formosa, against a strong oppos- ing current, making the same points of land each night and morning.

It was on a lovely afternoon, on the fifteenth of September, 1848, when at last we made the head- lands at the entrance of the harbor of Amoy.

The city is ten or fifteen miles from the sea, and its harbor is one of the finest on the coast of China. Your course in reaching it is nearly west, perhaps a little northwest, entering, as we did, by the more southern of the two passages leading to it. This entrance has on the north a wide, low, sandy beach for some distance, and then it gradually rises to bar- ren, rocky hills. On these you will discover two small pagodas, and by the aid of a glass, one or two villages or hamlets, in green depressions — they can- not be called valleys — less barren than the other parts of the island ; for such it is, though not dis- tinguishable, from your position, from the mainland which rises in mountains far off in the blue dis- tance.

On the south you have bold, high mountains, ris- ing abruptly from the water, covered for the most part with stunted trees, while here and there you see the bare rocks. A tall pagoda stands on the top of the highest peak, and it is visible for many miles at sea. Snugly anchored in a little bay on your right, you will discover two or three foreign vessels, and at first you may suppose they are lying in the harbor at Amoy, but you soon learn your mistake, when, on

SOMETHING ABOUT CANTON AND AMOY. 71

approaching nearer, you see no signs of a town. These vessels are opium smugglers. They take up their station at this distance from the city, in order the more securely to carry on the traffic in this con- traband article. The native dealers in the drug can come off in well manned and armed boats, to this retired place, with less danger of interruption from the custom-house officers. Beautifully situated on the side of a hill, not far from this spot, and embow- ered in trees of luxuriant foliage, is a temple to the " Queen of Heaven " — a deity worshipped mostly by sailors.

Still proceeding toward Amoy, you soon approach a line of five or six rocks, rising perpendicularly out of the water, and stretching across the- mouth of the harbor. They present quite a formidable barrier in appearance, and the deepest channel lies between two so near together, that at first sight you would think a ship could scarcely sail between them with safety ; but with good seamanship and a steady helm you may pass them unharmed. The whole surface of the harbor is alive with fishing boats, of every size and description, from the frail skiff with one man, to the clumsy junk with twenty — all actively and cheerfully plying their vocation. These impart a very animated appearance to the whole scene. Every boat large enough, is stocked with a family, and we saw the laughing faces of fat, dirty, and happy chil- dren in abundance, together with men and women, assorting, drying and salting the fish they had taken. Now you come opposite to the island of Amoy on the north, but you do not yet see the town, as it is situ- ated on the western or southwestern side of the

72 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

island — the native shipping, with perhaps two or three foreign sail, indicate its position.

The southern beach of this island, for some two miles, is of white sand, very firm and compact, and it affords a fine walking and riding ground for the foreigners resident at Amoy. A long range of bat- teries runs along the beach, which were mounted by unwieldy guns, and manned by cowardly troops, during the war in 184:1 — of course, to little purpose. Not far from the shore the rocks rise suddenly into a rugged hill, over which a stone wall passes, beginning at the water's edge. 1 did not learn whether this barrier extends entirely across the island, so as to inclose the cit}r, but presumed it did. We had few opportunities for making inquiries, as our vessel remained there but a few hours.

On quite a commanding eminence, which over- looks the town, the British flag shows you the consu- lar establishment. At the time of our visit, there was no United States consulate, but one has since been established. The wild and rugged aspect of the rocks on this part of the island is greatly increased. Huge masses seem quite torn off from the sides of the hill, leaving deep clefts and yawning chasms. One large fragment on the shore, seen from a particular direction, bears some resemblance to a female figure, in a sitting posture. From this circumstance, we were told, the British residents have styled it " Queen Bess."

The town now appears in sight, and in its leading features is like most other Chinese towns. A vast number of low buildings densely crowded together, having tiled roofs, with the usual sloping curve and

SOMETHING ABOUT CANTON AND AMOY. 73

projecting eaves. Among these, your attention will be first attracted by several buildings constructed in the native style, but furnished with glass windows, and some other foreign improvements. These are occupied by English and American missionaries, who received and entertained us with the most cordial, Christian hospitality. That small island on your left, and just opposite the town, about a half mile distant, is Ku-lang-su — the site of the British garrison in the late war. Not a trace of its foreign occupancy now remains. As soon as the island was evacuated by the troops, the natives destroyed everything that could remind them of the unwelcome visit of the " foreign devils," or " outside barbarians." As there are pleasant walks on this island, it is visited for re- creation. The foreign residents have a burial-ground here also, and the tombstones bear some worthy names. Among them, Mrs. Boone, Mrs. Doty and Mrs. Pohlman — a trio of noble women, wives of mis- sionaries ; and, now lately, have been added since our visit, those of the Bev. John Lloyd, who died of fever, and the Bev. Wm. Pohlman. The latter was drowned by the wreck of the schooner " Omega," in which he was a passenger from Hong-Kong to this place. His body was afterward found washed ashore. During our short stay, we had formed a pleasant acquaintance with these two amiable and devoted brethren, and shared their friendly attentions. This privilege can never be ours again on earth, for the Master hath taken them to himself. Faithful and useful to an eminent degree, they have been thus early and mysteriously called to a higher, holier and happier sphere. The early departure of our ship

74 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

prevented us, much to our regret, from seeing and learning more of Amoy. Thus was afforded us an opportunity of becoming slightly acquainted with all the missionaries at that station also. Although our ship spent but a single day there, and we had but little opportunity for seeing the city, still a few r^purs intercourse with those kind friends was sufficient to endear them to our hearts. The little band consisted of ten at that time — Dr. Cumming, of Georgia, a medical missionary, being absent on a visit to America. He had a hospital here, and was expected to return soon. From Amoy, we sailed out of the beautiful harbor, and once more got under weigh toward the port of our destination.

The wind had changed in our favor, and in a few days more we passed the several clusters of small, rocky, and mostly uninhabited islands off the mouth of the Yang-tsz-Kiang — " Ocean-child-river." Among them, are the Saddle Islands, Bugged Islands, and Parker's Islands. Here the sea becomes discolored by the yellow muddy waters of this mighty river. It is the Mississippi of China.

The lofty, precipitous, rugged, rockbound coast has now been left behind, and on approaching the entrance to this great river, the land becomes very low and flat. Just in its mouth, which is from sixty to a hun- dred miles wide, is " Gutzlaff Island," a noted and convenient landmark for mariners.

CHAPTER VI.

DESCRIPTION OF SHANGHAI.

River Hwang-pu — Appearance of the Country along its Banks — Foreign Town— Pleasant Reception— Mission Buildings — English Church — London Mission Premises — Yang-king-pang — Streets — French Consulate — Graves — Coffins — Geomancy — Repositories for Coffined-bodies— " Baby Towers "—City Wall— Gates— Coins- Currency— Buildings — Streets — Sewers — Offal — Shops — Pawnbro- kers— Various Trades — Facilities for Missionary Work.

From the maps you may be led to suppose that Shanghai is situated immediately on the shore of the China sea, or at least, on the banks of the Yang-tsz- Kiang, the main artery of the empire. But neither of those suppositions would be correct. After sailing up this great riyer — whose embouchure might well be called a sea in itself — some forty or fifty miles from the sea proper, you enter, on the south bank, a small river, called the Hwang-pu, at the Chinese vil- lage of Wu-sung. Then, following the windings of this stream in a southerly direction, for eighteen miles through a flat, level, and exceeding fertile country, you reach Shanghai. The distance in a right line is but twelve miles. The landscape has all the diversity and beauty that every hue of luxuriant vegetation, and gracefully waving groves of bam- boo can impart ; and yet it is monotonous from the total absence of mountain or hill scenery. The near- est hills are thirty miles west of Shanghai ; and the

76 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

only elevations to relieve the dull level of the whole face of the country, as far as the eye can reach, are grave mounds. Nor indeed do these relieve it, for by their great numbers and sameness of form and size, being of conical shape and from six to ten feet high, they compose a monotony nearly as unpleasant as an unbroken plain.

But here is Shanghai laid out in regular squares, with narrow streets between, and yet how different is its appearance from that of an American seaport city — New York, Charleston or New Orleans. Instead of massive blocks of stores, four or six stories high, you see buildings rather resembling country villas. They are mostly two stories high, quite spacious, built of brick, and plastered outside as well as in, so that they are generally white, though some are brown- washed. They have piazzas, or, as they are called here in the East — verandas, with Venetian blinds, on all sides. Each building stands quite by itself, sur- rounded by a fine yard, tastefully laid out aud orna- mented with flowers and shrubbery. These are the mercantile establishments, or Jiongs — the Chinese term for stores or places of business, because such buildings are usually in " ranges " or " rows." They occupy the west bank of the river for about a half mile in length, and extend inland half that distance. Those not on the river are accessible from it by nar- row streets. The water is so shallow near the shore that it has not been found practicable, as yet, to build wharves. Yessels are compelled to lay at anchor in the stream, and discharge and receive their cargoes by means of large boats, built under the direction of foreigners, expressly for the purpose.

DESCRIPTION OF SHANGHAI. 77

There is a public promenade in front of the foreign hongs, thirty feet wide, and this is protected from being washed away by the inroads of high tides, by double rows of piles. Projecting from this about a hundred feet into the water, are several stone "jet- ties" or small wharves, twelve feet wide, to facilitate the landing and shipment of goods by the " cargo boats." The " bund" as this promenade is termed in oriental language, is alive with coolies — the substi- tutes for beasts of burden in China — carrying chests of tea, and bales of goods, slung from bamboo poles across their shoulders.

I have only been speaking, it will be seen, of the foreign town of Shanghai, which is situated immedi- ately adjacent to the northern suburbs of the native city. The site of the former was occupied by rice fields ten years ago, yet so rapid has been its growth that more business is now done here than in Canton.

Sailing up the Hwang-pu we at last arrived at our long-desired haven, and were received with open arms and hearts, by the missionaries of the Southern Baptist Board, the Rev. Messrs. Shuck, Yates, and Tobey, with their families. These brethren, though we were entire strangers to them, prompted only by their own kind, Christian feelings, had made arrange- ments for our accommodation, until we could rent a house, and had sent us a letter of welcome which met us at the, mouth of the Hwang-pu, off Wu-sung.

How grateful such an unexpected mark of affec- tionate interest must have been to our feelings at such a time, the reader can best judge. " They shall, in no wise, lose their reward."

The whole time that elapsed from our embarkation

78 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

at Boston, till we landed at Shanghai on the 30th of September, was five months and one week. Our health has been remarkably good, and we certainly have cause for unbounded gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the many mercies that have attended us, and for our safe deliverance from the dangers of the deep. Especially are we thankful for the inestimable privilege of being numbered among the laborers in this vast and interesting portion of our Master's vine- yard. 4

One of the first objects that now meets the eye, as you approach Shanghai by the river Hwang-pu, is the mission establishment of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. It has been built at that point since our arrival — the very spot at that time being a rice-field. The Mission then occupied buildings rented from the natives, two miles further up the river, in the southern suburbs of the city. Those commodious houses and that neat church — all of brick, stuccoed, and white or drab-washed — have since been erected under the oversight of Bishop Boone, and flourishing missionary operations are there in full progress. Then, it was a half mile from the business portion of the foreign settlement, and separated from it by a wide creek ; but the creek has since been bridged, and New Shanghai, as it is called, has extended out to it, and even gone beyond. The dwellings of Dr. Bridgman, and the other ^mission- aries sent out by the "American Board of Com- missioners for Foreign Missions " — composed of Con- gregation alists, Presbyterians, and Dutch Reformed — are adjacent to those of the Episcopal Mission. They all together present a neat and comfortable

DESCRIPTION OF SHANGHAI. , 79

appearance from the river, on the bank of which they stand, or, rather, were built ; for new land has formed so rapidly, in a few years, by deposits from the muddy waters, that the bank is now quite a distance from them.

There is also an English Episcopal Church on one of the back streets of the new town — the third run- ning parallel with the river. This is for the accom- modation of foreigners exclusively, and its services are conducted by a British chaplain, supported in part by the government which appoints him, and partly by the contributions of the foreign residents.

The premises of the Loudon Missionary Society formed, at that time, the western limit of New Shanghai, and consisted of six white, two-story build- ings, in a line facing the south, each having a veranda or portico, in front, above and below. Several of them were of semi-Chinese architecture. The one on the extreme left was a hospital for natives, under the care of a very skillful, and amazingly energetic English surgeon and physician, Doctor Wil- liam Lockhart, to whom I was indebted, during the whole of my residence in Shanghai, for many pro- fessional and friendly courtesies. Immediately before each residence, the ladies of the household had culti- vated gardens, containing a great variety of flowers, plants, and shrubbery — rare, beautiful, and curious. A few rods in front of this line of dwellings, these missionaries had built a small chapel for services in English, which were held every Sunday morning at nine o'clock, especially for the benefit of their own families ; but all others were cordially welcomed, and invited to participate. A brick wall, eight feet high,

80 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

inclosing several acres, surrounds the entire establish- ment.

A small creek, named the Yang-king-pang — " Ocean-flowing stream " — running into the river from the west, forms the southern boundary of New Shanghai. It is crossed by several substantial stone bridges, from two of which there are densely-crowded streets, about eight feet wide, filled with Chinese shops and dwellings, closely built on each side. One of these streets leads to the " North Gate " of the city proper, the wall of which is about two hundred yards from the Yang-king-pang. The other leads from the bridge which crosses that creek near its entrance into the Hwang-pu, and follows the windings of the bank of that river for some distance, around the eastern face of the city wall, to the "Great East Gate." Thence, still on, between the wall and the river — the intervening space of a few rods in width being most densely packed with shops and dwellings — on to the "Little East Gate." Then, still continuing, it leads into the populous suburbs beyond the city on the south. The space between these two streets, on the one hand, and the Yang-king-pang and the northern portion of the city wall on the other, was occupied partly by the grounds of the French Consulate, and partly by innumerable graves and coffins. The latter are made of very thick pieces of wood, with the joints so well fitted and so tightly cemented — together with the fact that the bodies within are laid in lime — that no odor from them is ever perceived. They are placed promiscuously on the surface of the ground, with no regard to order or regularity, but always according to direction of a geomancer, who pretends,

DESCRIPTION OF SHANGHAI. 81

by divination, to be able to determine precisely what position of the coffin — alike whether it is to be buried or to remain on the surface of the earth — will most conduce to the repose of the spirit of the departed. Accordingly, after going through sundry conjurations, with an air of great assumed solemnity and impor- tance, consulting his tables and his compass over and over again with the most exact minuteness, and squinting repeatedly along a line, he determines that the foot of the coffin must be placed in a certain direction — having it adjusted and re-adjusted till it does not deviate a hair's breadth from the point indi- cated. This custom accounts for the utter irregu- larity everywhere observed in the locality and posi- tion of coffins and graves. At the same time, there are many burial-grounds where the graves are placed close together, side by side. The conjurer occupies a length of time and assumes airs, in proportion to the amount he receives as a fee, and the social rank of the deceased person. Sometimes, a small house is built of brick over the coffin, completely incasing it, with a roof of tiles on the top, like that of a dwelling. A small aperture is left in one end or both, that the spirit may have free 'ingress and egress. It is stuc- coed and white-washed, and the little coffin-house, when finished, is not more than three feet high. There are also in that neighborhood, outside the North Gate, several spacious inclosures, surrounded by white walls, from ten to fourteen feet high, in which you may see scores, and even hundreds, of these thick, heavy coffins — all tenanted — more or less richly carved, painted, and gilded, according to the

respective ability of individuals. , They are there

4*

82 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

placed in rows, and piled up in tiers one upon another under long sheds. They are generally the bodies of strangers, and are deposited with the expectation of beiDg at some time removed to the place whence the deceased came. The natives of each district or pro- vince, extensively represented here, have their own in- closure for this purpose. When a coffin, after remaining there for a certain number of years, is not claimed by the friends of the occupant, it is taken out and buried. I have seen twenty or thirty, at a time, thus interred, side by side in one long, wide ditch. There are also in these establishments handsomely-finished apart- ments, richly-gilded, idols, and spacious halls, for worship, or for feasting, as the occasion may demand. These depositories for the dead are called by the natives, way-kway ; and as there are many people from E~ing-po, Foh-kien, Canton, and other places, you will find here the Ning-po Way-kway, Kwang- tung Way-kway, Foh-kien Way-kway, and so on.

In this same vicinity, several missionaries of the Southern Baptist Board had their dwellings very near the city wall ; while they had, in a most eligible site for securing congregations, the largest church edifice of any within the city. Its tall square tower is a conspicuous object from every direction, and commands the finest view, anywhere to be obtained, of the whole surrounding country for many miles.

Spme little distance outside the city walls — one near the north gate, and the other beyond the west gate-rr-are two small structures of octagonal shape, built of brick, plastered and whitewashed. Each of these is about ten feet in diameter and fifteen or twenty in height. Its roof runs up, for a few feet,

DESCRIPTION OF SHANGHAI. 83

forming a diminutive steeple. About ten feet from the ground are four openings in the sides, through which infants, who die when but a few months old, are thrown in promiscuously, being simply wrapped and tied in a bit of coarse cloth or matting. They are regarded as too young to have a spirit that would be at all distressed at the body being deprived of the ordi- nary rites of burial. By means of a ladder you may climb up the wall, and looking in at one of these open- ings, will see the place half-filled with these packages, some of which have been torn open and the contents half eaten by rats, that nightly feast on the tiny bodies. Lime is occasionally thrown in, to neutralize the disagreeable effluvium, that would otherwise ren- der any approach to these little charnel-houses into- lerable. But even this does not entirely obviate the difficulty, it only mitigates it. The foreigners resi- dent here, call these depositories, " baby towers."

The wall around the city of Shanghai is in the form of an irregular ellipse, rather approaching to cir- cular. It is about thirty feet high and is built of dark slate-colored brick of very large size — being about a foot and a half long, by nine inches wide and three or four in thickness. At the foundation the wall is about four feet thick, gradually diminishing to two, at the top. This wall is greatly strengthened by a heavy bank of earth thrown up against it on the inner side and reaching to within from two to four feet of the top of the brick portion, which thus forms a parapet along its whole extent, with embrasures even" few feet, and provided with heavy bastions of brick about one hundred yards apart, around its entire circumference. There are 1246 of these walled

81 FIVE YEAKS IN CHINA.

cities in China, differing of course in size and popu- lation. The wall of Shanghai is about four miles in circuit, and is surrounded by a moat, half tilled with stagnant, fetid water, black and thick with mud and filth.

The top of the embankment varies from four to twelve feet in width, and affords a pleasant walk around the city. It has six gates. The north, great and little east, great and little south, and the west. The gateways are low, strong double arches of brick or stone. They are very skillfully constructed for de- fence against such assailants as they were designed to resist ; but like the other parts of the wall, of very little avail against foreign cannon. A projection of semi-circular wall, about thirty feet in diameter, is built out from the main wall. It is entered at the side, after crossing the bridge over the moat, in aline parallel with the wall, under the first massive arch. You then find yourself in the open semi-circular space, in which you see a sort of guardhouse and several shops. Then turning to the right you pass through the second arch, in a line at right angles with the first, and you are in the city. Each of these arched entrances has a heavy gate made of wood, and covered with thick iron plates which are fastened on with large rivets. It is hung on strong hinges, and is kept closed every night. The gate-keeper, however, will open it, and allow you to pass at any hour, provided he is satisfied you are not a robber or otherwise danger- ous person ; and provided further that you will give him a fee of two " coins," or " cash," as they are called by foreigners. These are small circular pieces of brass or copper, about an inch in diameter, having a

DESCRIPTION OF SHANGHAI. 85

square hole in the middle for the purpose of being carried on strings. It is the only native coin in the empire — hence the general name — a coin. It has on one side two Chinese characters, signifying the name of the Emperor in whose reign it was issued, and two other — pau-tung — meaning "precious circulation." On the other side, are the same words in the Manchu Tartar language. Their relative value is from twelve to fifteen hundred for a dollar. An extensive busi- ness is carried on in the manufacture and circu- lation of spurious " coins," containing less copper than the genuine. Gold and silver are used in the form of lumps and bars, and their value estimated entirely by weight. A " tael " of silver is worth a dollar and a third. There is no paper currency, pro- perly speaking ; but there are banks of deposit and exchange.

Standing on the wall, and looking over the city, the prospect is a wavy sea of low dark roofs of tiles, with here and there the taller one of a temple or some other public edifice, rising from the midst of the undistinguishable mass ; and now also perchance several of temples for the worship of the true and living God.

Outside the city on the east, the thousands of junks in the river present a forest of masts surpassing in number that at New York. The streets are nar- row, varying from six to ten feet in width ; dark, filthy, and crowded with streams of living beings. They are also very irregular and winding ; but are mostly quite well paved with stone or brick ; some with large quadrangular pieces of stone which also, serve as the covering of the sewers that run beneath

86 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

parallel with the sewers of living filth above them, along many of the streets. They serve^to receive and retain the foul matter, rather than conduct it off into the river, as seems to have been the original design ; for the site of the city is so low that at high tides the water is sometimes a foot deep in several of the gate- ways. Often at such times, I have been compelled to hire one of the barefooted Chinamen to carry me on his back through the gates. They are there with their trowsers rolled up, waiting for passengers, and are as clamorous for you to employ them, as are the hackmen and porters in an American city.

You are every day, and at all hours of the day, meeting men in the narrow, crowded streets, carry- ing large wooden buckets of human excrement, which is sold for manure. This, with the numerous inks, shamelessly open and exposed on the public thoroughfares — occupants and all — constitutes one of the most annoying and disgusting nuisances of a Chinese town.

As the buildings on these streets are all in close contact, there is no opportunity for windows in the sides. In order, therefore, to admit as much light as possible, the whole front is so constructed that it can be taken out, panel by panel, leaving the shop and its contents open to the street, the dwelling part of the house being generally in the rear, particularly in the business sections of the city. The roofs of the op- posite sides of the street project some two or three feet over the walls, and in walking through the narrow- est of the thoroughfares, so low have been the build- ings, that I have touched the opposite projecting roofs with my extended hands.

DESCRIPTION OF SHANGHAI. 87

The pawnbrokers' establishments are among the most extensive and respectable places of business in the city. They cover a large area of ground, are sur- rounded by high strong walls, and are filled with thousands upon thousands of articles of ornament, of wearing apparel, and of household use. The busi- ness is conducted on precisely the same plan as in this country, but is far more reputable, and exceed- ingly lucrative. The proprietors of the two lar- gest in Shanghai are said to be millionaires.

Looking into the shops, as you pass along these swarming streets, you will see every variety of trade, occupation, and handicraft carried on, that you have ever met with in a civilized country, and even others besides. Several branches that belong to one trade among us, are separate and constitute distinct ones in China. There are carpenters, masons, cabinet- makers, tailors, blacksmiths, locksmiths, braziers, painters, makers of boots and shoes for dry weather, i. e. of cloth or satin, with thick soles of felt, and makers of boots and shoes for wet weather — *. e. of leather with large-headed iron nails driven into the soles, to prevent the wearer from slipping. Then you will see makers of scissors and razors ; of combs and brushes ; of oiled paper lanterns ; of horn and glass lanterns ; of oiled paper umbrellas ; of artificial flowers ; trunk-makers ; tub and bucket makers ; needle-makers ; button makers ; hat and cap makers ; makers of hair pencils (the pen of the Chinese) ; sta- tioners ; makers of stringed instruments of music ; of wind instruments ; of drums ; weavers of ribbon ; makers of utensils of bamboo; rope-makers; spin- ners of sewing silk ; makers of fireworks ; makers of

88 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA,

pipes ; brokers' shops ; tobacco shops ; bankers' offices ; printing offices ; drug shops ; rice shops ; liquor shops ; provision shops ; eating houses ; tea-drinking taverns; opium smokers' dens; grocery stores; book stores; clothing stores ; silk stores; tea stores ; china ware stores ; cotton goods stores ; stone-cutters ; car- vers in wood ; carvers in ivory ; makers of idols ; manufacturers and sellers of wax candles, incense sticks, and gilt paper — all used in idolatrous wor- ship ; curiosity shops ; wood and coal shops ; dealers in brick and tiles ; lumber dealers ; oil shops ; makers of gold and silver ornaments ; millers ; butchers and barbers ; wholesale grocers ; dealers in lime and very coarse paper, which is used in making mortar, as we use hair ; makers of oyster-shell windows ; makers of spectacles ; cotton warehouses ; cotton-ginning and cotton-picking establishments ; and others " too nu- merous to mention." These are all plentifully fur- nished with customers by the teeming population of this city and its vicinity.

These swarming myriads are very friendly in their disposition toward the foreigners, an4 are ever ready, willing, and often eager, to hear the Yah-Soo- taw-le — the " Jesus doctrines." Being a great mart both for trade with foreigners and the various parts of their own extensive country, thousands flock to it from almost every district in the interior, and are thus many of them brought under the sound of the Gospel ; for it is preached daily in five or six differ- ent chapels scattered throughout the city. Books and tracts are also distributed at these points- and by mis- sionaries in the streets, on board the junks, and at public places of resort, A large number of these

DESCRIPTION OF SHANGHAI. 89

silent messengers fall into the hands of strangers from the interior, who doubtless cany them home, and in many instances read them attentively and lend them to their neighbors. Not long since an intelligent man came here from many miles distant, sought out and found some of the missionaries, and informed them that he and his family had been induced to for- sake idolatry, from reading a religious tract that had been brought into his neighborhood from Shanghai. He came for the purpose of learning more fully these "new doctrines," and has himself written one or two tracts showing the absurdity of idol-worship. One day as I was walking out with a missionary who speaks the language fluently, a man pressed his way through the crowd that had gathered around us, as we stopped in one of the shops, saying he was from Nanking, and earnestly begged us to go there as there were no such teachers in that city.

CHAPTER VII.

THE HOUSES THEY LIVE IN.

Materials used and Manner of Building — Floors — Oyster-shell Win- dows— Courts — Walls — Doors — Ornamental Work — Furniture — Idols — Ornaments — Wells — A Residence Procured — Servants-^- Cooking — Learning to Talk — Native Politeness— Civilities — Mode of Serving Tea — Smoking Tobacco— Opium — Snuff— Forms of Sa- lutation.

Chinese houses are singular-looking affairs to one just arrived from the United States. They are gene- rally of one story ; though you will frequently meet with them one and a half or two stories high. In building them,- a slender frame of round posts, or large poles, is first put up, and then the thin brick walls are built in afterward, filling up the spaces between the posts and other parts of the remarkably well-fitted frame. The clay of which the bricks are made, is of a much darker color than that used in America, so that when burnt, the bricks are almost black. This would give the houses a very dark appearance, unless they were plastered and white- washed, which is usually the case.

For the roof, the rafters are placed about six inches apart, and upon them are laid rows of thin flat bricks, close together, forming what the natives call the " tile floor," or floor for the tiles ; supplying the place of what our carpenters call " sheeting," for upon it rows

THE HOUSES THEY LIVE IN. 91

of curved tiles are laid in mortar, to prevent them from sliding. They also lap over each other so as to shed rain perfectly* The form of the roof is not always straight from the ridge to the eaves, as on our houses in the United States, but is often slightly concave as it slopes downward, giving it rather a graceful appear- ance. The four corners of the roofs of temples, public buildings, and the dwellings of some of the wealthy, curve upward for several feet and are decorated with ornamental stucco, carved work, and painting, and often have small bells or wooden imitations of them, hanging underneath. The houses of the poor, very frequently have merely the curved tiles, laid upon the rafters, without the thin brick " sheeting."

The ground floor of nearly all Chinese dwellings is literally a ground floor, being nothing but the bare earth trodden hard, except the apartment in which visitors are received. This generally has a floor of large bricks, from a foot to a foot and a half square, very smoothly planed and nicely fitted together. In two-story houses, the second floor is made of plank, planed on one side. Which side do you suppose is placed upward ? Why, the smooth side, to be sure. By no means. The rough side is upward and the smooth side is nailed down upon the beams. Why is this ? Because the Chinese houses are never ceiled over-head, and the floor is nailed in this manner, so that the smooth surface of the plank may appear to those below. As the upper part is used only or chiefly for sleeping rooms, it is not considered at all important that they be either good-looking or cleanly.

The windows, in those houses which have them at

92 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

all, are of small pieces of oyster shell about two inches square, ground sufficiently thin simply to allow light to pass through, but you cannot see so as to distinguish objects through them — they are trans- lucent, but not transparent. These pieces are fitted into frames or sashes of little squares, differing in number according to the size of the window. The hinges, both of doors and windows, are always wooden ; very much like those of large gates you so often see at home.

The two story — or, perhaps, it may more properly be called a story-and-a-half house, is one of the better sort of Chinese dwellings ; but instead of building it large enough to give them all the room they want, they frequently build two, three, and sometimes four, of nearly the same size and appearance, one behind another, from ten to twenty feet apart, and united by walls on each side. There is a small open court between the tenements, which are connected together by two narrow corridors — one on either side of the court. These corridors are four or five feet wide, and have oyster-shell windows opening into the court on one side, and the brick wall which forms the gable ends of each tenement, is continued for the whole length, and forms the other side. These two long high walls are usually the outer walls of the premi- ses on both sides, and constitute the separation from the neighbors. There is often a small building or gateway immediately on the street, in front of all the others, and you have to pass through this to get to the main entrance. This is a very heavy two-leaved door, made of thick pine plank, and is fitted in a high stone or brick wall, and fastened with a large wooden

THE HOUSES THEY LITE IN. 93

bar on the inside. Then at the rear of the whole establishment there is also a high wall, and this, too, has a gate or door, well secured like the one in front. These walls are necessary to protect the inmates from the attacks of thieves and robbers, who are very numerous in every part of China.

The gateway in front is generally the most orna- mental, and fancifully- wrought mason work about the whole establishment. It frequently has figures of lions or tigers — such lions and tigers, however, as never existed, except in the imagination of the artist — carved in stone, and placed on the ground, one on each side of the door, to represent the guardians of the entrance. These images are always found at the gateways of temples, and of many other public buildings. Over the door, on a tablet, is a motto, or a moral maxim, from the writings of some of their ancient philosophers. This entrance opens into the first court, which is well paved with brick, and cross- ing it in the middle, is generally a walk of the same material, raised a few inches above the rest, and lead- ing directly into the lower room of the first tenement. This is always the reception room. The floor, as before mentioned, is of smoothly planed, nicely fitted tiles, or large square bricks.

The furniture of this room usually consists of a square table placed against the side of the apartment, directly opposite the entrance, and then, on each side of the table are placed, alternately, chairs and small stands, a foot or so square at the top, for hold- ing the cup of tea, and the pipe and tobacco, that are invariably offered to all visitors. Sometimes these chairs and tea-stands are arranged around the sides

94 FIVE TEARS IN CHINA.

of the room, and sometimes they are placed in two opposite rows ten or twelve feet apart, from the side of the table in the centre, in a straight line to each side of the entrance. There is generally, too, a pic- ture of some idol or of the family ancestors, hanging against the wall over the table, on which there are two candlesticks, sometimes very large, and elaborately wrought — one on each side — for burning red wax candles ; and a vessel of brass, pewter, or earthen- ware, containing ashes, into which sticks of incense are placed upright, and burned in worship to these painted representations.

There are also ornamental paintings in water colors — or copies of favorite sayings of Confucius, or some other philosopher, or some quotations from their poets in very large characters — on scrolls about a foot wide and five or six feet long, mounted like maps, and suspended on the walls around the apart- ment. Gaudily adorned lanterns of paper, horn, or glass and of various shapes and sizes, with heavy silk tassels at the corners, hang from the joists, over- head.

In the first and second courts, you will generally see flowers, plants and shrubbery — some of them very beautiful — in flower-pots often quite like those we have in America. Sometimes there is a fine large tree, which is valued highly, both for orna- ment and shade. In the third, fourth or last court, you will be likely to see round wooden or earthen wash-tubs and buckets, and a woman washing clothes. In the corner of this court is a well, having for its mouth, a round, or a five or six-sided, stone, about a foot and a half in diameter, and a foot high, a little

THE HOUSES THEY LIVE IN. 95

larger at the bottom than at the top. This stone has a hole cut through it, sufficiently large for a small bucket to pass through, but not large enough for a little child to fall through. So that, although only a foot higher than the brick pavement of the court, it is not dangerous to the children, of whom there is generally a plentiful supply.

In one or two, and frequently in all the courts, you may see large earthen jars about the size of a barrel, placed in the corners to catch the rain water, which is much better than well-water. To facilitate this, the houses are furnished with eave-troughs, and the water is conducted from these to large jars through long bamboo poles, which being hollow, and having had the natural partitions at the joints forced out by a long iron rod — serve as well as the tin conductors that are attached to our houses for the same pur- pose. In some instances, these jars are kept always filled with water, to be used only in case of fire.

In the summer time, the first and second courts are frequently provided with an awning of coarse cotton cloth, or of matting, as a protection from the rays of the sun ; or sometimes, instead of this, there is a shed or roof of small squares of oyster shell, which admit the light, but to some extent exclude the heat. Covered in this manner, the court has a table, it may be, placed in the centre, and chairs or benches at a little distance from it, for visitors, — so it becomes a summer sitting-room.

Most of the foregoing description belongs to the dwellings of the wealthy. The abodes of the great majority of the people are dark, dirty, gloomy and comfortless, with floors of earth, often without win-

96 FIVE TEAKS IN CHINA.

dows ; with neither stoves nor fire-places. There is a kind of furnace or cooking-range, in which a fire is kept, only when cooking is required, because of the scarcity and expensiveness of fuel.

After a diligent effort for about two weeks, during which we had shared the hospitalities of our South- ern Baptist Missionary friends, we succeeded in rent- ing a Chinese dwelling on the North Gate street, about half way between the narrow stone bridge across the Yang-king-pang and the wall of the city. It was one of the better sort ; but still, required con- siderable work to render it at all comfortable. Domi- ciled here at last, with a Chinese woman for a nurse to our little boy, and a young man for a cook and washer, we began, in good earnest, our life in China. Chinamen make excellent cooks, and they very readily learn our modes of culinary art. One of their modes of preparing a fowl for cooking, would seem to be a little singular. For instance, one day on looking into the kitchen, my wife saw, to her great horror, a chicken running about perfectly stript of its feathers — it had been plucked alive ! Whereupon she launched a volley of rather emphatic, and not very complimentary English, at the cook ; at which he seemed somewhat surprised, but not much wiser. With a small stock of the most common phrases, which had been furnished us by our kind friends, and such additions to it as we could make from day to day, in attempts at conversation with our servants ; together with the assistance of a native teacher whom I had employed, we gradually succeeded in making ourselves understood. But it was often in a most amusing, as well as imperfect manner. Intercourse

THE HOUSES THEY LIVE IN. 97

with the people in onr daily walks, we also found very serviceable in promoting onr acquaintance with the colloquial dialect of Shanghai. The inhabitants are always civil and affable, greeting us with smiles and polite salutations. In this respect, they present the strongest contrast with the people of Canton. Especially, when you enter their dwellings, are you welcomed in the most hospitable style. They urge you to sit, and then immediately have cups of tea made and placed on small stands before you, and you are solicited to u eat tea." A teaspoonful of the leaves is first put into the cup, then boiling wrater is 'poured upon them, and the very small saucer is placed on the top to prevent the escape of the aroma. A half of a green olive is also added when a particularly deli- cate flavor is desired. As soon as it becomes suffi- ciently cool, they begin to sip it through an opening made between the saucer and the cup, by sliding the former a little to one side. Milk and sugar are never used by them. Pipes and finely cut, mild tobacco, are also brought at the same time, and you are importuned to " eat smoke." Smoking opium — the only mode in which that drug is used — is called, " eating the great smoke? They never chew, nor do they make cigars ; but excellent snuff is made and used to a considerable extent. It is carried in a very small, curious, and sometimes very costly vial, to the stopper of which is attached a diminutive spoon of horn, shell, gold or silver. The small quantity of snuff dipped out by it, is deposited on the back of hand, whence it is taken up on the back of the long thumb-nail, and transferred to the nostrils. The bowl of the pipe is so very small as to require replen-

5

98 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

ishing after two or three whiffs. Metallic pipes of one variety, are so constructed that the smoke passes through water before it is inhaled.

The salutation between two Chinamen when they meet, consists in each clasping and shaking his own hands, instead of each other's, and bowing very pro- foundly, almost to the ground, several times. A question more common than "How do you do?" — is, " Have you eaten rice ?" This being the great staple article of food throughout the empire, and forming the chief, and indispensable part of every meal — it is taken for granted that if you have " eaten rice," you are well.

Etiquette requires that in conversation, each should compliment the other and everything belonging to him, in the most laudatory style ; and depreciate him- self with all pertaining to him, to the lowest possible point. The following is no exaggeration, though not the precise words :

" "What is your honorable name ?" " My insignificant appellation is Wong." " Where is your magnificent palace ?" " My contemptible hut is at Suchau." " How many are your illustrious children ?" " My vile, worthless brats are five." " How is the health of your distinguished spouse I" " My mean, good-for-nothing old woman is well." In leaving his house you must lack along out, bowing to the host and shaking your hands all the way. He follows you, doing the same, and repeat- ing, " Slowly go, slowly, slowly go." This is to sig- nify his reluctance at your departure.

CHAPTER VIII.

CHINESE BEGGARS AND CHINESE COSTUMES.

Beggary — Dead Bodies — Starvation — Benevolence of Foreigners — Gipsies — Extreme Suffering — Drowned — Loathsomeness and Filth — Regular Organization — ' ' Beggar-King " — -Regulations — Punish- ments— Beating — Cutting off the Queue — Description of the dif- ferent Articles of Dress — Mode of Dressing the Hair — The Queue — Headbands — Hats and Caps — Long Nails — Use of Long Sleeves — Materials of Clothing — A Novel Thermometer — Winter Clothing- Boots and Shoes — Mode of indicating Official Rank — Yellow, the Imperial Color — Mark of Respect to Age — Binding the Feet of Females — Origin of the Custom.

One portion of the people most frequently encoun- tered in our daily walks and most revolting in aspect, is composed of the beggars. Mendicancy constitutes a regular, occupation, and is followed by vast num- bers. The squalid filth and wretchedness of this class of the population is indescribable. Nearly every time I have walked through the city, I have seen one or more dead in the streets. One afternoon as I was crossing a bridge, there sat a man on the stone steps, very thin and haggard, apparently asleep. The next morning as I passed the same way, he lay stretched out, a lifeless corpse. Again, on a very cold morning after a rain, I saw two men, with scarcely rags enough to cover them, lying dead within a few feet of each other. The Chinese do not manifest the least con-

100 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

cern at these sights, and it is not surprising, perhaps, when you bear in mind that they see them every day. The dead bodies lie exposed until the city authori- ties have them placed in the rudest possible coffins* and removed. They are then taken to a public bury- ing-ground and piled one upon another, five or six deep, in a trench which is kept always open, a little earth being thrown on the upper coffin of the pile, and then another tier is begun immediately against the exposed sides of the last.

For several winters, some of the benevolent for- eigners at Shanghai have established and sustained by subscription a "soup kitchen," from which hundreds of beggars and other destitute poor of the native pop- ulation receive a bowl of rice soup, or congee, every morning. Tickets are distributed to them on a bridge crossing a canal not far from the kitchen ; and each one receiving his ticket can pass over and get his bowl of congee. Strange as it may appear, a kind of brokerage is carried on with these tickets, and many particularly opium smokers, who prefer a few " cash " to lay out in the purchase of this pernicious drug, will sell their tickets at half their value, even while they are almost starving for want of food. So inveterate is the grasp by which this destructive habit holds its victims. Such an assemblage of squalid wretchedness as congregates each morning at the bridge before mentioned, to receive " tickets for soup," you cer- tainly »ever saw, and would find it difficult to ima- gine. Beggars of every possiblejlescription, from decrepit age to prattling infancy — many clad in mats of straw, with not even a rag of cloth, literally speak- ing, to screen them from the cold or to hide their

CHINESE BEGGAK3 AND CHINESE COSTUMES. 101

nakedness — while others, a little better off, are sup- plied with rags, and that is all. I have seen them wearing nothing but a mat of straw, about seven feet long and two feet wide, with a hole in the middle, through which the head is thrust, while the sides, arms, and legs were entirely naked. One morning, when hundreds were collected on the bridge, the rail- ing on one side gave way and many fell into the creek. One poor fellow was drowned, I dragged him out, and tried to resuscitate him, but in vain. Another, who was rescued barely alive, died in the afternoon. There is a class who correspond to the character and habits of gipsies in Europe, and who flock to Shang- hai in winter, and disappear with the return of warm weather. With these, also, as with a vast number of constant residents here, beggary is a regular business, and they in particular, seem to thrive on it, for a fat- ter, healthier looking set of people than many of these gipsy-beggars you never saw. They come among the rest, to avail themselves of the bounty of the foreign- ers, and it is often quite an interesting, not to say an affecting sight, to see a mother with a fat, chubby, smiling, naked babe, suspended in her bosom by a band of rags passing over her shoulders. This little nursling is taught, as soon as it can direct its tiny arms, to hold out its hand to every passer-by for a cash or two. It is impossible to resist the mute pleading of these pretty gipsy babies, and if you go out with a pocket full of copper cash, you will find it empty when you return, if many of these beggars have crossed your path.

On one occasion, as Mrs. T. and myself were walk- ing out, we discovered a beggar indulging in great

102 FIVE YEABS IN CHINA.

glee over a very small dead pig which he had just found in a ditch, and at another time we saw one of the same wretched class, rejoicing in the possession of a dead cat which he had picked up a moment before. Its appearance indicated that it had been dead for seve- ral days. No language can adequately describe the loathsome filth and misery of this portion of the native population. On any pleasant morning, you may see numbers of them sitting in the sunshine on the city wall, picking and eating the vermin from each other's bodies. These pitiable human beings exist in great numbers, and nothing but the Gospel, operating upon the hearts of the rulers and legisla- tors, and changing the whole social condition of the people, can effect any permanent amelioration of this sad state of things. This leaven is doubtless already beginning to work its way silently though slowly through the great mass of this vast population. Of the hundreds who daily hear the Word of Life in five or six Protestant churches, we cannot but believe that here and there, one receives it in " a good and honest heart," and that it is taking root to manifest itself again, as " first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear."

In every large city there is a vast organization of these mendicants, to which every one who begs for a livelihood must belong. At the head of it is one styled the " Beggar-King." His authority is absolute, and to him all the others are amenable. It has a code of laws and regulations. Every beggar has a right, according to universal custom, to stand at the door of a dwelling or shop, and bawl, sing, knock, or make any other noise he may please, till the occu-

CHINESE BEGGARS AND CHINESE COSTUMES. 103

pant gives him one coin. Then he is obliged to desist, and can apply at the same place no more on that day. No two are allowed to importune to- gether at one place. Yet they are so numerous that few doors are free from their clamorings long at a time. The proprietors of large establishments, who prefer to " commute," and save themselves from the annoyance of these continual visitations, can do so by paying a certain sum at once, to the " king of the beggars ;" who thereupon causes a written statement in large characters, to that effect, to be pasted by the side of the door, and this procures for that house cer- tain exemption. No beggar dares approach it ; for, though very few of them can read, all recognize the seal of their chief upon the paper, and if any one transgress he may either be beaten by the inmates of the shop or dwelling, or will be more severely chas- tized if reported to the king. Every beggar has his own particular district, or " beat," assigned him, in which he may exercise his vocation, beyond which he must not go, on pain of punishment. They have their regularly appointed overseers, who have supervision over all in a certain ward or district. They must go to him every night and hand over a definite amount from the proceeds of each day. These overseers, in turn, pay a fixed sum daily or monthly to the king, whose income is said to be very large ; and indeed, it must be, for he lives like a nabob, in a style of great comparative luxury and elegance. If a beggar com- mit an offence against the laws he is not arrested by the constables like any other offender, but is reported or taken to the " king," who is held by the city mag. istrates, responsible for his punishment and good

104 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

behavior. But this process is too slow, troublesome, and uncertain, for the aggrieved people who are con- stantly suffering from the depredations of these thiev- ing vermin, and they themselves generally adminis- ter an impromptu castigation upon the poor wretch when caught. This often consists in tying his hands behind his back with one end of a long cord, and throwing the other over a limb of the nearest tree, drawing him up in his painful position, till his toes barely rest on the ground. They then beat him most unmercifully with sticks, clubs, fists, or anything that first comes to hand, till the miserable creature is half dead. Their vitality and power of endurance are amazing. I once saw one thus beaten, and when at last released, he fell down as if about to die ; but no sooner had the crowd moved off a few rods, leaving him as they thought, perhaps, for dead, than the fel- low leaped to his feet and ran like a deer. It was wonderful, how he could u play possum."

Cutting off the queue is another form of punish- ment, and one sorely deprecated by a Chinaman. It is a badge of disgrace equal to branding on the cheek, and is often practised on these beggars.

Black hair and black eyes are as universal as among the North American Indians. The only exceptions I have ever seen were albinos.

The queue is the most noticeable feature in a China- man's appearance, for it hangs down his back, some- times reaching to his heels, as he walks along. The heads of Chinese children, girls as well as boys, are shaven all over several times before they are a year old. Then, in a year or two more, two small round patches of hair are suffered to grow just above the

CHINESE BEGGARS AND CHINESE COSTUMES. 105

ears, near the top of the head. "When the hair from these becomes long enough, it is braided into two little tufts that project like horns on a cow. Then, after this, it is all shaven off again, and on the head of a boy the round spot is marked out on which it is afterward to grow until it becomes long enough for a queue. A quantity of black silken cord is braided in with the hair, both to facilitate the plaiting and increase its length.

On the heads of girls, the hair is still shaven around the edges, till they become twelve or fourteen years old, and daring this time they wear a black silk fringe around the head, hanging over the forehead and temples, and down the back of the neck. The remainder of the hair they put up in a graceful knot a little to one side of the head, and frequently wear flowers in it, giving them a very pretty appearance. When they become young women, the silken fringe is laid aside, the whole of the hair is permitted to grow, is combed back from the face, and put up on the back of the head, being kept in place by several long, ornamental pins of brass, silver, or gold, accord- ing to the ability of the wearer. They also wear a thick band around the head, about two inches wide, pointed in the middle upon the forehead, and gradu- ally becoming narrower, till it ends in two strings at the back, where it is tied under the hair. This band is often very beautifully wrought with silk and gilt lace, and generally has a round ornament, somewhat resembling a breast-pin, and sometimes very costly, fastened in the middle at the widest point. The women never wear any other covering on the head, except those who work in the fields during hot

5*

106 FIVE YEAES IN CHINA.

weather. These frequently have a kind of straw hat, not unlike a large tin pan turned bottom side up- ward, with a round hole in the middle, for the braid of hair to project through. This also serves to keep the hat on the head.

The nails are worn long, especially those of the little fingers, and are often seen as long as the fingers themselves. Ladies sometimes wear a golden sheath over the nail to prevent it from being broken. This sheath fits on the finger like a thimble, and is thus kept in place.

The men and boys wear very large, loose draw- ers, which are held up by a kind of band, pass- ing around the waist and tying before. The China- man carries his purse suspended by a loop from this band in front. The second garment is his shirt, on the upper part of the body, and hangs down a little over the top of his drawers. The third is much like the second, and may be called an outer shirt, and the fourth is not very different from the other two, in size, form, and the material of which it is made — all three reaching but little below the waist, and having sleeves nearly a foot longer than the arm, and about as much in width. These sleeves are often used as pockets ; for in them he carries his handkerchief, and frequently a small package. The sleeve is also' a receiver of stolen goods : for I once knew of a well- dressed Chinaman who took a small clock from my friend's room, concealed it in his sleeve, and as it was not missed at the moment, nor did he seem to have anything in his hands when he left, he escaped with it. Next comes a long gown, reaching nearly to the feet, which is fastened around the waist by a

CHINESE BEGGARS AND CHINESE COSTUMES. 107

long silken sash. After this, another, of the same length and pattern ; then, lastly, the coat or outer garment of all, which nearly resembles the shirt in its shape, reaching about half-way down the body. All these articles have several common points of resemblance. In the first place, they never fit the wearer, being always very large and awkward. Secondly, they all open in front, and fasten by means of small round buttons — not all in a straight row up and down ; but one at the neck, then a second on the breast, a little toward the right side, and the third still lower and further outward, the fourth on the side, under the arm, and then one more directly downward near the end of the garment. A set of buttons invariably consists of five. About the neck they wear a narrow, closely-fitting collar, of velvet or satin, sewed upon thick pasteboard.

The materials of which their clothing is made are as various as the ability of the individuals — the poorest, of coarse, cotton cloth, generally blue — then, many of silks, satins, velvet, broadcloth, and furs — all being wadded with cotton, and quilted for winter. In summer they wear but two or three thin, light gar- ments of cotton, linen, or silk. A Chinaman's cloth ing constitutes his thermometer. For instance, he will say, "To-day is three jackets cold, and if it in- creases at this rate, by to-morrow it will be four or five jackets cold." Their stockings are made of white cotton cloth, cut so as to fit the foot as well as pos- sible. These also are wadded and quilted for winter. The Chinese know nothing of knitting, and they greatly admire our stockings, readily admitting their superiority over their own. Their stockings come up

108 FIVE YEAKS IN CHINA.

quite to the knees, over the drawers, and are often fastened with handsomely embroidered garters. There are exceptions to the statement that Chinese garments never fit. They frequently wear a singular kind of pantaloons that fit the leg as tightly as pos- sible, and tie with long silken strings outside the stockings % on the ankles; but each leg is entirely separate from its fellow, and is put on and pulled off by itself. These are often made of various-colored, figured silks and satins, and are kept in place by a button or loop at the top of each leg, one on the right side, and the other on the left, fastening to the band around the waist.

Their shoes are made of cloth and velvet, of dif- ferent colors, never have elevated heels, are widest at the toes, where they turn up, and have soles from a half an inch to two inches in thickness. They are very awkward and clumsy. The wealthy, the literati, and the mandarins, often wear boots of black satin. Leathern boots and shoes are only worn in wet and rainy weather, and they always, to prevent slipping, have the soles driven full of large-headed nails, which make a great clattering on the pavements. Little children often wear caps and shoes embroidered with silk of various colors : and, indeed, their whole dress is very richly embroidered when the parents can afford it. They also wear charms and amulets to ward off disease, and to keep away evil spirits.

Chinese hats and caps are of three or four dif- ferent forms. One kind fits closely to the head, resembling, in shape, the scooped-out rind of half a watermelon. Hence they themselves call it the " watermelon cap." It is made of different materials

CHINESE BEGGARS AND CHINESE COSTUMES. 109

and colors — has a wide thick band around the edge, with no front-piece, but a knob of silken cord on the top, by which it is handled. If you have ever been into a hat shop, and have seen a hat before it has been shaped, just imagine its rim turned up half way to the top, and you will have a pretty correct idea of the appearance • of the second and most common kind. It is made of dark brown felt. There is a third, of the same general form and outline as the last, only it is made of velvet and satin, having stiff pasteboard for its foundation, which keeps it always in shape. This is the handsomest and most expen- sive kind worn. It has a heavy tassel of red silk fastened on the top by a brass knob, and hanging around on the crown. Among mandarins, the color and materials of this knob denote their rank. A gilt one is worn by the lowest, a white stone by the next, a clear crystal by the third, a pale blue precious stone by the fourth, a deep blue one by the fifth, a a pale red by the sixth, a deep red by the seventh, and this is the highest. The last four mentioned grades may wear a peacock's feather, by special per- mission from the Emperor, for distinguished merit.

As yellow is the Imperial color, it is not allowed to be conspicuous in the garments of the people. But as a mark of respect to advanced age, men who have lived ninety years may receive permission by a spe- cial edict from the " Son of Heaven " — one of the titles which the Emperor arrogates to himself — to wear yellow clothing ; and this token of imperial consideration, entitles them to particular reverence from the people. If they are so poor as to be com- pelled to beg for a sustenance, as is not unfrequently

110 FIYE YEARS IN CHINA.

the case, their yellow rags are a passport to public charity. Some of the garments worn by the females much resembles those of the other sex. Instead, however, of the long gown, the woman wears a very narrow skirt, plaited vertically, and open on both sides up to the waist. It is like two aprons, one behind and the other before. But the strangest pecu- liarity of Chinese females, consists in the unnatural and cruel compression of the feet. The practice is universal — among the poor as well as the rich, with this difference ; that the rich first bind the feet of the female infant during the earlier months of its life, while the poor — knowing it will be necessary for their child to wait upon herself and work for a living, allow her first to learn to walk, and then, at the age of five or six years, bind the feet. Of course, under such circumstances, they never become so small as those bound at an earlier period. The method is, to turn all the toes, except the great one, under the foot, and then apply tightly a bandage of strong cotton cloth, about two yards long and two inches wide. This is never removed except to tighten it, or apply a new one. This whole process is exceedingly pain- ful and produces inflammation and suppuration, resulting in settled disease and deformity. It is exceedingly doubtful whether they are ever free from pain, and the marvel is how they can ever walk at all. The gait is an awkward hobbling, precisely like your own while walking on your heels.

One day, as Mrs. T. and myself were passing a Chinese dwelling of the poorer class, we heard most piteous and imploring screams. On looking in at the open door, we saw a mother binding the feet of her

CHINESE BEGGARS AND CHINESE COSTUMES. Ill

little girl, who was seated on a high bench. We have seldom seen such a look of anguish as marred that fair, young face ; and such an expression of cruel indif- ference to the torture of her child as rested on the countenance of the mother. "We remonstrated and entreated ; but in vain. The reply was, u it is the custom of the people in the Middle country ;" and custom was law — it was inexorable. Is not u fashion " equally omnipotent in the lands of boasted civiliza- tion and Christianity ? And yet to this practice there are exceptions. The females who spend their lives on boats seldom bind their feet ; for as there is generally more or less motion to the boats, it would be almost impossible to stand. None of the Tartar females have their feet compressed, as I afterward discovered at Nanking, while on a visit to that ancient capital, hereafter to be described, nor do those who are received into Buddhist nunneries in child- hood. The little girls who come to the mission board- ing-schools are received on the express condition that their feet are to be allowed their natural growth.

The origin of this custom is quite obscure. My Chinese teacher could not enlighten me on that point. When I suggested to him the possibility that it was introduced by the men, who, perhaps, had been greatly annoyed by the gadding propensities of their wives, the old man laughed, and thought very likely that was the true history. There is a tradition of the manner in which it originated, that has some shadow of probability. It is related, that many hundreds of years ago, an imperial princess was deformed in her feet from her birth ; and that, when she became old enough to walk, the officers at her father's court had

112 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

the feet of their own daughters, who were her play- mates, compressed till they resembled hers, so as to save her from mortification, and to give them no advantage over her. This circumstance becoming known, the fashion was adopted at once throughout the empire. If this was true, it certainly, to say the least, placed her on an equal footing with other little girls of her age.

One of the first things in the appearance of a for- eign lady in China, that attracts attention and elicits remark from the native females, is the size of her feet. They speak of it, however, to approve the usage as far more natural, pleasant, convenient/and preferable in every respect, and express the wish that such were the case among themselves ; but confess that they, as well as their feet, are bound by the tyrant custom.

CHAPTER IX.

CHINESE NEW YEAR.

Worship in Temples— Costume — Gloves — Furs — Amusing Appear- ance of Children — " City Guardian's Temple " — Being taken for an Idol — Temple of Confucius — Burning Articles for the use of the Dead — Manner of Mourning — Immense number of Graves — Gene- ral Appearance of surrounding Country — Tenanted Coffins kept in Dwellings — Coffins left unburied in the Fields — A Settlement of Beggars — Their Condition — Tricks to excite Compassion — The Blind — A Native little Girl — Religious Instruction — Discourage- ments— Encouragements.

In my journal I find the following record :

Jan. 25, 1849. — Yesterday was the Chinese New Year's Day, and I went at an early hour, to one of the principal temples, to witness the offerings made to the idols. Although it was before sunrise, great numbers had already paid their annual devotions, and the ashes in the vessels before the idols, plainly indicated that bunches of incense-sticks had been burning through the whole night. Thirty or forty red wax candles were burning at the same time, in honor of these imaginary deities. Not long after I reached the spot the people began to come in crowds, comprising persons of both sexes, of every age, rank, an odition, from the mandarins down to the poor- est of the working class ; but I saw no beggars. Each individual was attired in his best, and the dress

114 FIVE YEAES IN CHINA.

of many of the ladies was really splendid. Although very costly, there was too great a profusion of orna- ment to comport with our ideas of good taste. The head was covered with trinkets of gold and silver, and flowers, real and artificial. The hair is always smoothly combed and neatly put up. Their dresses were of the most superb silks and satins, very beau- tifully embroidered with bright colors, and with gold and silver lace. The feet were so small that they could not walk, nor even stand, without great difficulty, and they hobbled along, leaning on the shoulders of waiting maids. The men wear long coats reaching nearly to the feet, made of rich dark satins and silks, plain and figured — or of broadcloth ; and short ones of similar materials over these, reach- ing to the hips. They are provided with very large sleeves, much longer than their arms, in order to pro- tect the hands from cold, as they have nothing in the shape of gloves. There is no part of my dress which attracts so much notice from the Chinese, as my gloves. Wherever I go, they at once point good- naturedly to my hands, and generally pull off my gloves and put them on their own hands, with ex- pressions of mingled delight and surprise, evidently much pleased to find how admirably the article an- swers the end for which it is designed.

As the winters are excessively cold, vast quantities of furs are worn, many of them remarkably elegant and very expensive. Great quantities are annually brought from Tartary and Siberia by traders, who come in large caravans, to be more secure against attacks from the roving tribes infesting the regions through which they pass. The poorer of the people

CHINESE NEW YEAE. 115

wear sheepskins, which are very well prepared, and when new, are as white as snow. These, as well as the finer furs, are made to resemble a large cape, com- pletely covering the shoulders, back; and arms. Many of the men have long fur robes, or overcoats, as we should call them, covering the whole body. Then they have small coverings for the ears, like pockets, lined with fur or with silk, wadded with cotton.

Frequently, too, you may see them with the head and hat entirely covered with a kind of large cape- like hood, of red and blue cloth, which comes down under the chin, having only a small round opening for the face, and effectually protecting the whole head and neck from the cold, as well as the shoulders in part, for it extends down in a point to the middle of the back.

It would be difficult to tell how many separate ar- ticles of clothing the Chinese wear at once in the winter season ; but certain it is, that on the approach of cold weather they begin to put on, adding one garment after another, until they swell nearly to the size of a large barrel, for they do not diminish any from the number till the return of warm wea- ther, and as many of them do not undress even to go to bed, they do not, as far as I can learn, take off their clothes until they are worn out, or until com- pelled by the heat of summer. The streets being very narrow, and generally crowded, if you go out on a very cold day, you cannot avoid jostling against men, women, and children, like so many animated bales of cotton. The arms are forced out nearly into a horizontal position by the immense mass of cotton and furs around the body, being themselves enve-

116 FIVE YEAE8 IN CHINA.

loped in a due proportion of the same materials. I have seen children clad in this manner, so that I can say, I think without exaggeration, that the diameter through the body was equal to its perpendicular height. If once a little fellow falls down, or rather rolls over, he is utterly unable to get up without as- sistance. But this is quite a digression.

On the day of which I speak, the great number who came to pay their New Year offerings to their idols, either brought with them, or purchased at the entrance, one or more red wax candles, a bunch of in- cense-sticks, and a quantity of gilt or silvered paper, all of which they presented to one of the attendant Buddhist priests, whose duty it was to receive and burn them before the idol, while the devotee kneeled on a low bench, clasped his hands, and bowed pro- foundly to his god a number of times. All distinctions of rank seemed to be lost sight of during these cere- monies, for by the side of the most wealthy knelt the poorest, paying their devotions at the same moment.

The temple is called the " Ching hwang miau" — " City guardian's temple." It is one of the principal in the city, and is certainly the most frequented. It is a very dark and gloomy building inside, its walls and roof blackened by the smoke from the burning incense, gilt or silvered paper, and the immense number of red wax candles that are continually burn- ing before the idols. The principal one is a large, ugly figure, richly gilt, in a sitting posture, surround- ed by many others as attendants. I was freely ad- mitted to every part of the building, and while stand- ing in a dark recess, a well-dressed female, just en- tering the temple from the back way, observed me

CHINESE NEW YEAR. 117

by the dim light, and as I stood perfectly still, she took me for one of the deities, and bowing several times most reverently, she passed on to her devotions, probably congratulating herself that she had propiti- ated at least one of the grim-looking monsters that inhabited the place. Yon may be assured that I did not feel very highly complimented at being classed in such company.

I left the place with a burdened heart, praying that a brighter day might soon dawn on this dark land of paganism.

On the afternoon of the same day, we went to the temple of Confucius. It consists of several spacious buildings in a large inclosure, and the whole has an air of cleanliness, arising, probably, from the fact that it is much less frequented than the other tem- ples in the city. -There is no image of the sage, but simply a wooden tablet, on which his name is in- scribed, in large gilt characters. This is set up in a kind of recess, behind curtains of rich yellow silk, and before it is an altar on which incense is burnt to his spirit. This shrine is called " his spiritual seat," and he is regarded by his worshippers as taking cognizance of their devotions. As you approach this main building, which, though but one story, is about fifty feet high — there are, on either side of the large court, two others, much lower, about a hundred feet in length, and about the same distance apart, contain- ing the tablets of two or three hundred other sages, of less renown. However high the veneration in which the Chinese hold Confucius and his associates, represented by their tablets, you would infer that their worship is not very popular, from the exhibition

118 FIVE TEAKS DC CHINA.

of that day, for while all the temples we saw contain- ing idols were thronged, we found not a solitary indi- vidual who had come to pay homage to the only one of all their deities deserving the least regard. Offer- ings of slain animals are presented to his spirit at this temple twice a year, but they have not taken place since our arrival.

The practice among the Chinese of burning articles for the use of the dead is well known. They suppose their deceased relatives to have a kind of spiritual ex- istence, in such a condition, however, as to require the use of houses, servants, clothing, house-keeping uten- sils, money, etc., just as they did while living. They, therefore, provide houses of straw or bamboo, vary- ing in size, costliness, and completeness of furniture, according to the wealth and station of the parties — from the dimensions of a bushel basket to those of an actual dwelling — and, by burning these, they be- lieve they send them to their departed friends. There are thousands of persons in this city alone, who get their livelihood by the manufacture of articles for the use of the dead, principally of a substitute for money, made of thin paper, having a slight coating of tin foil. It is cut in pieces of such form as to resemble a boat, when pasted together, and great numbers of these small paper boats are strung together on a thread, and thus committed to the flames, with the firm be- lief that the persons for whom they are designed act- ually receive so many pieces of sycee silver, which is of the same form, and constitutes the chief silver cur- rency of China. These masses of silver, called by foreigners sycee — a corruption of the Chinese name, " si-sz" meaning " fine floss," to denote its purity —

CHINESE NEW YEAR. 119

vary in value according to the weight — from twenty to fifty dollars. Real articles of clothing are burnt with the same intent, and the same confident expecta- tions.

From the window of my dwelling, but a few days since, I saw the actual dress necessary for a man? spread out upon some straw and set fire to, while two women were standing by, uttering most doleful lament- ations, which I was charitable enough to regard as real, until one of them stopped short in the midst of her cries, and, with the utmost coolness imaginable, requested a man who was present, as well as I could understand, to set fire to the straw on the other side, as the wind was blowing from a direction unfa- vorable to the rapid extension of the flames — prob- ably fearing lest she and her companion might be kept mourning rather longer than was agreeable on a cold day. When this was done, she proceeded with her wailing, as loudly and bitterly as before. A little boy was also there, perhaps the son of the deceased, who, with his hands placed together, fre- quently bowed toward the burning pile. The wo- men had bands of white — the mourning color of the Chinese — across their foreheads, and tied behind the head, the long ends hanging down the back. For a near relative, recently dead, they wear the whole out- er dress of white, even to the shoes and the silk cord intertwined with the hair.

The moral condition of this vast country corres- ponds, in one particular, to its physical aspect. China is not only an immense valley of dry bones, in a spi- ritual sense, but it is actually one wide graveyard. The extensive plain around Shanghai, as far as the

120 FIVE TEARS IN CHINA.

eye can reach, in every direction, contains multitudes of mounds covering the dead. These constitute by far the most prominent"" feature in a scene, which, but for this, would be one of the most beautiful on which the eye ever feasted. For fertility it is unsurpassed in the world. Then, it is in a state of the most per- fect cultivation — its fields neatly laid out, teeming with their crops of rice, cotton, wheat, and vegeta- bles. Presenting many a copse of trees, and of luxuriantly-waving bamboos and evergreens, it is dotted with hamlets and cottages, and intersected ev- erywhere by beautifully winding canals, rivers, and streams, throughout the whole landscape. But what sadly mars the prospect is the occurrence of a grave or a comparatively naked coffin, every few steps, for miles around. In this part of China, they do not very often apparently dig a grave, but simply place the coffin upon the ground, and either inclose it with brick masonry, having a diminutive roof, like a house, or cover it with earth, or bind straw over it, or else leave it standing entirely exposed. The coffins are made of pine wood, from four to six inches in thickness, and are rendered remarkably tight by means of a kind of cement, so that any offensive smell is seldom perceived from the decaying body. Indeed, in numberless instances, the coffin, with its tenant, is kept for years in the same house, and often in the same room with the family, as is the case with our next door neighbor on the left; or if the dwelling be too small to accommodate both the living and the dead, the coffin is frequently placed just outside the door, as our nearest neighbor on the right has done with the one containing the body of his wife, who died

CHINESE NEW YEAR. 121

ten years ago. This latter is within three feet of the back door of our residence ; and separated from us by a ditch or canal, ten or twelve feet wide, are the graves of hundreds, and I think I may safely say, of thousands, besides many coffins with no covering at all. Almost daily in our walks, we see coffins fallen into ruin from age, and the skeletons quite exposed. "We frequently observed some of these receptacles of the dead, in the midst of a garden or tilled field, ele- vated two or three feet above the surface of the earth, upon four sticks, and whatever was planted in the spot, also growing under the coffin. On inquiring the reason of this, I was told the surviving friends were too poor to purchase a spot on which to place it, and were obliged to put it in that position, that it*1 might take up no room on the ground. From this extreme parsimony of land devoted to the dead on the one hand, as in the case of the poorest, you will often find nearly an acre appropriated to the tomb of some distinguished mandarin, on the other, when it will be inclosed with a hedge or wall, and planted with evergreens.

A few afternoons since, we made a visit to a spot occupied by that loathsome, wretched class of peo- ple, the beggars, as their stopping place — it cannot be called residence. The settlement consists of about twenty lairs or dens, for they could not even be called huts, but merely a few pieces of worn-out mats, reaching from the ground on the sides, over a bam- boo pole, raised about four feet from the earth, and thus forming a miserable covering, in shape some- what like the roof of a house. The ends toward the north were closed, but those toward the south were left 6

122 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

open as the entrance. They were directly among the tombs, for they could not well be elsewhere, and be out of doors near Shanghai — the hollow space between two graves, with the addition of a little straw, furnishing the bed for the inmates. The only articles of furniture were a dish, in which to cook their rice, a bowl or two to eat it from, and a tea ket- tle. A rudely constructed furnace, just at the en- trance, very poorly contrived for imparting heat, was probably intended to be used only for cooking. There was not the most distant approach to anything in the shape of a chair, table, bedstead, or box, and with all these articles the dwellings of the very poorest of the working classes are supplied. Each den was about twelve feet long, by four wide, and four high in the middle, sloping off to the ground on each side. The fragments of mats which formed the only cover- ing, were precisely of the same kind as those used upon our floors in America. The inmates them- selves it is difficult to describe, meagrely clad in rags, and filthy in the extreme — of both sexes, and in every stage of life, from helpless infancy to hoary age. It was a little remarkable that they did not importune us for money, as they do when we meet them in the streets. On the contrary, they seemed desirous to show us some civility, by offering us pipes and tobacco, and begged us to smoke. Many arts are practised to excite the pity of passers-by in the streets, and at places of public resort. One woman, not knowing that I discovered it, was pinch- ing her infant child, and thus forcing it to scream as we passed along, thinking thereby to obtain alms from us. Another was sitting by her child as he lay

i

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stretched out on the side of the street, apparently very ill with the small pox. I did not stop to examine it at that time, but supposed it was really the case, until I was informed by another missionary that he had seen the same child in apparently the same stage of the disease for the last two years. She puts drops of flour paste on its face to resemble the pustules of small pox. In Canton it is a very common practice to put out the eyes of the children, in order to insure greater success in begging. I recollect, while in that city, meeting a man, woman, and several children, apparently all of one family, and all blind.

There now lives in the next house to the one we occupy, a little boy who has been blind from his infancy, in consequence of a severe attack of small- pox. His mother is dead, and her body is the one contained in the coffin above described as being but one step from our door. He is a very sprightly, active, and affectionate little fellow, but has a gloomy prospect before him for life, as his friends are all very poor. It makes one feel sad to meet a blind person in a Christian land, whose mind and heart may yet discern the truths, and feel the power of the blessed Gospel, and who can, with an eye of faith, look for- ward with sweet anticipation to a bright world, where the glorified body shall enjoy perfect vision. But it is sadder still to see one twice blind — the inner man sealed up in moral, as the outer is in physical, dark- ness.

We have in our family, a little Chinese girl, ten years of age, who has been for a year and a half in the family of another missionary, but as their situa- tion rendered it impracticable for them to keep her

124 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

any longer, we have taken her at their request, rather than allow her to go back to heathenism, after having been instructed in many truths of the Christian reli- gion. She can read quite well in the Bible, has com- mitted to memory several hymns, the ten command- ments, the Apostles' creed, and repeats the Lord's Prayer every morning with us at family worship — all in the English language. She prepares a spelling les- son, one also in reading, writes a composition, and commits to memory a verse of Scripture every day. All these exercises are performed under the superin- tendence of Mrs. Taylor, who is also teaching her to sew and knit. She then, in turn, is imparting instruc- tion to the nurse of our little boy, who is quite a sen- sible Chinese woman, and already manifests a strong desire to be taught the " Yah-soo tawle" — the " doctrines of Jesus." She now sits near me, eagerly studying the ten commandments in Chinese, as they have been read and explained to her by Annie — for this is the name of the little girl.

Feb. M. — I have just completed to-day, with the as- sistance of my teacher in giving me the idiom, a his- tory of the creation and the fall of man in the local dialect. It was entirely new to him and seemed to fill him with interest and surprise at every step. He has a family of grown-up children, and he said, as he was leaving me this evening, he would go home and tell them this strange narrative. I think he is fully persuaded of the folly of idolatry and the truth of the Christian religion, and my prayer to God is that his heart may be brought to experience the saving power of the Gospel. This is the point so difficult to attain, here as well as in Christian lands. We can

CHINESE NEW YEAR. 125

with comparative ease induce many to acknowledge the absurdity of their own superstitions and admit the truth of the Christian system, but it is quite ano- ther thing so to impress the doctrines of the Bible upon their consciences, that with the heart they will believe unto righteousness. Here lies the great trial of the missionary whose soul is in his work — it is not that he has left his home, his native land, his beloved kindred and friends, to see them perhaps no more on earth — no, this is light when compared with the grief that weighs down his spirit to see so little gen- uine, hearty, eager, joyful appreciation of "the truth as it is in Jesus " — so little real fruit of his labor after years of toil. But so it must be, " one soweth and another reapeth," now is the seed-time and the harvest will come by and by — yes, blessed be His holy name, the harvest will come — the promise of our God stands engaged that " they who sow in tears shall reap in joy," and, "he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall, doubtless, come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." What matters, it, then, whether or not I live to see the result of my toil ? the millions of China are to be converted to God — there is not a shadow of doubt on that point, and if faithful to the trust committed to me, 1 shall share in the final triumph.

CHAPTER X.

WHAT AND HOW THEY EAT MARRIAGE.

Vegetable Productions — Animal Food — Cattle — Poultry — " Shanghai Fowls " — Artificial Egg-hatching — Raising Ducks— Fishing — Eating Rats, Puppies, etc, — "Bird-nest Soup" — Shark Fins— Fruits — Pecu- liarities of Oranges and Persimmons — Other Fruits — "Japan Plum " — Nuts — Sugar — Modeso f Cooking — Use of Oils — " Hen-Egg Cakes " — Abhorrence of Butter and Cheese — Native Names for these Articles— Milk — Mode of Eating — " Chopsticks " — Ideas of Politeness — A Chinese Feast — Great Number of Courses — An Intoxicating Drink — Manufacture of Salt, a Government Monopoly — Smuggling — Mode of Contracting Marriages — A " Go-between " — Betrothal — Marriage Ceremonies — Amusements.

As China stretches over many degrees of lati- tude and extends into the temperate and torrid zones, its productions are as numerous and varied as those of any country on the globe. Among its arti- cles of vegetable diet, rice, as already stated, stands preeminent. "Wheat, buckwheat, rye, barley, oats and corn, beans and peas of many varieties, sweet- potatoes and yams, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, egg-plants ; watermelons and muskmelons ; leeks, onions, and garlic, of which they are extravagantly fond ; cabbage, cauliflowers, tomatoes, turnips, car- rots and parsnips. The young sprout of the bamboo is an excellent vegetable, and its taste much resem- bles that of green corn. There are also radishes,

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lettuce, spinach, parsley, celery, and others. I have never found beets, "Irish" potatoes, nor okra, indi- genous in China, but they have been introduced by foreigners for their own use, and will thus become known to the natives. '

Of animal food, pork is the most common of any used by the Chinese, and they cure hams and bacon well. They also have very fine sheep and goats, and consequently, good mutton. Beef is seldom eaten, partly, and perhaps mainly, on account of a superstitious veneration for the ox, as so useful and indispensable in their agriculture. They do not, how- ever, scruple to kill it and sell the beef to foreigners. Money is a wonderful remover of prejudice. Geese, ducks, and fowls, both of the tame and wild varieties, are abundant. The large fowl, known among us as the " Shanghai fowl," is peculiar to that part of the country. It is also my opinion, that those varieties called Cochin-China, Brahmapootra, and others, are all of this same brepd. With reference to one of them, a gentleman who had lived in Cochin-China for many years, told me that so far from being very large, the fowls in that country were actually smaller than our own in America. Eggs there are, of course, but instead of allowing them to be hatched naturally, they have large establishments for hatching them by artificial heat. There was one of these concerns directly opposite my house, across the Yang-King- pang. It often had sixty thousand eggs at a time undergoing this process. They were placed in large trays made of straw over capacious mud furnaces around the sides of the apartment, in wrhich the heat was graduated with great skill by the manipulators,

128 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

solely by their sense of feeling, as they have no ther- mometers. Thus warmed, the eggs were trans- ferred to shelves, eight or ten feet broad, arranged in tiers, one above another, on strong frames, filling the middle portion of the large, dark room. Each shelf has a raised edge to prevent the eggs from rolling off, and is covered with a thick layer of cotton batting, on which the eggs are placed. They are then covered by another layer of the cotton to retain the heat, and are taken out and warmed whenever necessary. These beds, for such they are, are frequently inspected, and the peeping of little chicks or ducks is con- stantly heard as they are finding their way through the shells, into the great world without. When fairly emerged, they are taken by the operators in the establishment and kept warm, nursed and fed till they are large enough to be sold. These egg- hatchers perform the offices of the mother-hen so well, that you almost expect to hear them cluck. Thousands of eggs are bought and thousands of chickens and ducks are sold every day. The ducks are afterward raised in flocks, often of two hundred, by men who give their whole time and attention to this employment, as a shepherd does to the care of his sheep. These duckherds, with a long pole, gently drive their flocks from pond to pond, and watch them through the day — calling them up to be fed, and shutting them up at night.

Fish in great variety abound in the waters of China, among them are the carp, eel, sole, mullet, and flounder. Shad come up the rivers in the spring, and are as highly esteemed by the " Celes- tials " as by ourselves. Fishing by seines and nets

WHAT AND HOW THEY EAT. 129

is the most common mode, but there are some other curious methods to be hereafter described. Among the shell-fish are lobsters, crabs and turtles ; and on some parts of the coast, clams and oysters are found. Snails are boiled, and I have often seen the natives take them thus cooked, and suck the contents from the shell. The common large earth-worms are by some, collected, dried, salted and eaten as a relish. Not only have I seen frogs used as an article of diet, but have eaten the hind-legs myself, and found them as white, delicate, and pleasantly flavored as the tenderest fowl. Cats, rats and dogs are certainly to be enume- rated in a complete list of Chinese eatables ; but so far from being regarded as delicacies, they are only eaten by those who cannot afford anything better. Bird's-nest soup is, on the contrary, an expensive luxury. A certain species of swallow frequenting the islands southeast from China, cements with its bill the leaves, twigs, straws and feathers of which the nest is mainly composed — with a gelatinous sub- stance which it collects from marine plants. These nests are gathered by the natives, from the rocks to which they are attached, and passed through repeated washings and scrapings, until nothing remains but a small, thin sheet of pure, clean gela- tin. These sheets are dried and packed in bundles to be sent to their destined markets. The soup made of the bird's-nest thus prepared, is rich and nutritious. Sharks' fins are likewise highly prized, and form a soup of similar properties.

The fruits are : Peaches of several varieties, of which some are nearly if not quite as fine as those in the United States. Plums of different kinds, most of

130 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

which, by a singular perversion of taste, are eaten perfectly green. Pears abound, of very large size and juicy ; but they are hard, even when fully ripe, coarse-grained and lacking in flavor. There are line quinces, but the few apples are very indifferent. Some are very small and acid ; others are quite large, beautiful and fragrant, but dry, spongy and tasteless. They are valued by the natives for smell and orna- ment. A few cherries are seen. There are tine grapes and pomegranates. Oranges are in abun- dance and of all sizes when ripe, from that of a wal- nut, to that common among us. The rind is so ten- der that it can easily be torn off without the use of a knife, and the divisions of the pulp almost fall apart in your hands. They are not perfectly round, but flattened at the ends, and the flavor, though deci- dedly pleasant, is not quite so delicious as that of the West India orange. There is, however, a vari- ety, known among foreigners as the "Hong-Kong orange," that nearly resembles in every respect that familiar to us. The persimmon grows to an enormous size — eight inches in circumference is common for it, and I have measured one that was ten. It is of a deep golden color, and has a rich, sweet taste, like that in our Southern States ; but it ripens before frost, and is not shrivelled. You can tear open the thin, smooth rind and eat it with a spoon, as you wrould a custard. The fig, guava and olive, and a fruit wrhich foreign ers call " dates" — though not the real date — are also found, and in the south of China, the banana, plan- tain, pine-apple, shaddock, lemon and citron. We saw but very few berries of any kind except the gooseberry. There is a wTild strawberry growing

WHAT AND HOW THEY EAT. 131

abundantly about Shanghai, but it is insipid and worthless. English strawberries have been intro- duced there by foreigners, and thrive well. There are several other varieties of fruits that are not known among us, and consequently have no English names ; except as some of them will admit of trans- lation, such as, for instance, the " yellow-skin " and the ': dragon-eye." One has been lately introduced into this country by the name of the " Japan plum." It certainly is not peculiar to Japan, for it abounds at Shanghai, and its name is Pe-lo.

The most common nuts are cocoa-nuts, walnuts, chestnuts, almonds, filberts, and ground-nuts, or, as they are variously called in different parts of this country — pea-nuts, ground-peas, goobers or pindars.

Sugar is made from the cane, which is now well known in the United States, as the " Chinese sugar- cane," and is extensively used in making confections, sweet-meats, and preserves, of which the ginger put up at Canton in small blue jars, is most familiar to us. Their modes of cooking are boiling, baking, broil- ing, frying and stewing. Much fat is required in some of these processes ; but as lard is expensive, vegetable oils, expressed from certain varieties of beans, and from cotton-seed, are generally used in cooking, as well as for burning. Even castor-oil may be included among them. Their flour, which is very fine — they make into a great variety of cakes and dumplings, some of which, in appearance, are not unlike many of ours ; but they differ widely in taste. We were not a little, and yet agreeably, surprised to find in their provision shops — sponge-cake, nicely made, precisely as it is among ourselves, and quite

132 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

palatable. The Chinese name for it, signifies " hen- egg cake." Vermicelli is abundant, cheap and nutri- tious. It may seem strange that they make no bread, nor is there any word in their language that corres- ponds to that term. Butter and cheese, also, are un- known among the Chinese, except as we have des- cribed to them the process of making these articles ; and they have applied to one, the term, " cow-milk grease," and to the other, " cow-milk cake ;" but they have a great abhorrence at eating them. Milk is but little if at all used, except for infants and persons of extreme age. "Woman's milk is often sold for this purpose. Being very fond of highly-seasoned food, they use many condiments, sauces and catsups. One of these has a taste very similar to that of the cele- brated " Worcestershire sauce."

They sit around a table at their meals, though workmen out of doors may often be seen stooping to the ground around their large bowl of rice, which is always the principal dish at every meal. In the house, it occupies the middle of the table and a small bowl is placed at each seat, with two straight sticks, ten inches long, lying by the side of it. These are "chopsticks" and supply the place of a knife and fork, but both are held in one hand. They are made of wood, bamboo, ivory or silver, according to cir- cumstances. Each person fills his bowl with* rice from the large one by a ladle, and then holding it to his mouth, stuffs and almost shovels in the rice with his chopsticks, till you wonder what becomes of it — so quickly has it disappeared. He then takes with his two sticks — handling them most dexterously — a bit of meat, fish or vegetable, as the case may be, that

WHAT AND HOW THEY EAT. 133

which required cutting having been divided into mouthfuls by the knife in the kitchen, before it was brought to the table. There is usually some kind of gravy, which each one can put on his rice with a small china ladle. This ladle serves as a spoon when soups or stews form a part of the meal. If one of your companions at the table, wishes to pay you a particular compliment, he dips the ladle, which has been in his own mouth, into the stew or gravy and helps you to it, pouring it over the rice in your bowl. Or again, he will take up with his chopsticks a delicate morsel and deposit it on your rice. If he thinks your chopsticks are not sufficiently clean or nice he wipes his own by drawing them through his hands, after having sucked them clean, and then passes them over to you. At a feast, or a special din- ner-party, there is a variety of dishes, and a number of courses, in proportion to the ability and position of the host. Forty or fifty courses are not uncom- mon among the wealthy, and the repast always begins with what we should consider the dessert and ends with plain boiled rice. In lieu of table nap- kins, there is a pile of pieces of red paper, about five inches square, and as each course is changed, you must take one, and having wiped your fingers with it, throw it upon the floor. The variety of preparations is certainly very great, and many of them are as delicate and well-flavored as any one could desire. Such at least is my own opinion, founded on actual experience ; for, just in order to inform myself, I have done what, perhaps, few foreigners who visit China venture upon — imagining the presence of some canine or feline ingredient — have tasted most of the

134 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

dishes at a fashionable Chinese dinner, even when the appearance and odor suggested something dis- agreeable, and have often found them exceedingly palatable.

"Women are never seen at the table with men, in families where the national etiquette is at all observed ; but you may often see it disregarded in the dwellings of the humbler classes.

An intoxicating beverage is distilled from rice, re- sembling the best whisky. It is taken in very small quantities, always warm and sweetened. But although there are numerous shops where it is sold — " liquor shops " — yet a drunken Chinaman is comparatively a rare sight.

The manufacture of salt is a government monopoly, and the tariff on it is very high ; but there are large quantities made and smuggled into market. It is often amusing to see a poor woman, with perhaps some article of her dress made to serve as a small, temporary sack, hobbling along with it on her shoul- der, filled with the contraband article ; and some- times skulking and dodging about, looking suspi- ciously at every one she meets.

Marriages are contracted by parents for their children during infancy ; nor, according to the usage of the country, can the parents of the one child nego- tiate directly with those of the other. An indis- pensable actor in the transaction, is a " middle per- son"—commonly called in English a " go-between." This individual may be either a man or a woman, and is generally an intimate friend of one family or the other. Supposing it a woman — she ascertains upon inquiry among families of the same social position, if

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a matrimonial alliance between them would be agree- able, giving to each all the information desired re- specting the other. If there be no objection, she inquires of them the precise date of the birth of the two children — the boy generally being, at least, a year or two the elder — and consults a fortune-teller or an astrologer, who, by comparing their horoscopes, pronounces whether a marriage between them will be fortunate or otherwise. If the response is favorable, it is so announced to the parents of both, and presents of greater or less value, according to their station in life, are exchanged between the families as a ratifica- tion of the betrothal. If the girl dies before mar- riage, another is sought for the youth in the same manner as at first. But if he dies, it is far more reputable for his betrothed to live single— she some- times becomes a nun. Presents are sent annually, and communication is kept up by messages, or writ- ing, or both, during the years that elapse till the marriage ; but the affianced pair do not see each other until the hour of their nuptials. When both become of suitable age — say from fifteen to twenty — one of the " lucky days " is selected for this event, which is always consummated at the house of the bridegroom, whose parents provide a sumptuous feast on the occasion. The bride is arrayed in her costliest attire — has a gaudy head-dress projecting several inches over her face, glittering with strings of pen- dent beads, while from its square front hangs the veil which hides her face. A " flowery sedan," with four bearers, is hired to convey her to the residence of her future husband. This vehicle is of much larger dimensions than those used for ordinary purposes — is

136 FIVE YEARS IN CHINA.

covered with flaming red cloth, gaily embroidered, and has long, heavy, silken tassels hanging from the four corners of its projecting top. On leaving her home, and taking her seat in the bridal sedan, she breaks out into the most violent lamentations, which must be continued, according to " custom," through- out the whole progress of the procession, till she reaches the entrance of her future abode ; for the newly-married pair always live for some time with the parents of the husband, to whom the wife becomes a servant. Especially does his mother often exercise over her a most tyrannical and exacting authority. So much so, that the cruelty of a mother-in-law has passed into a proverb. The bride is aware of this, and hence her wailing on leaving the home of her childhood for a new one, where she may be treated with a rigorous harshness. The sedan is preceded by men and boys carrying gay flags and lighted lanterns, even in the daytime ; and then comes a band of musicians, consisting of twelve boys in uniform, walk- ing in pairs, and wearing long drab gowns, black or claret-colored velvet jackets, and red-tasselled caps. Prominent among their instruments is the gong, of course ; then cymbals, horns, trumpets, and several others, which for want of any other name in English, I shall call clarionets, fifes, flageolets, and flutes, be- cause they bear some resemblance to those instru- ments. .Next comes a long train of well-grown boys, also walking two and two in holiday costume, which differs from that worn by the musicians, only in that the gowns are of light-blue, figured silk, and the jackets of dark-blue broadcloth. When the procession arrives at the place of its destination, packs of fire-

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crackers are let off, and strings