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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http : //books . google . com/ .'/ / I SCaxs 1MB II ^TT or Digitized by VjOCU" ^'^■' Digitized byCjOOQlC Digitized by CjOOQ iC SKETCHES OP CHINA; PARTLY DURING AN INLAND JOURNEY OF FOUR MONTHS, BETWEEN PEKING, NANKING, AND CANTON; WITH NOTICES AND OBSERVATIONS RELATIVE TO THE PRESENT WAR. By JOHN FRANCIS DAVIS, Esq., F.R.S., &c* \\ Late Hit Majestt/'s Chief SuperintMdent t» China, VOL.: 11. LONDON: CHARLES KNIGHT & Co., LUDGATE STREET. 184L Digitized by CjQOQ iC .../■ LONDON : Printed by William Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street. Digitized by CjOOQ iC CONTENTS OF VOL. II. CHAPTER XI, Qardens of the emperor at Kwa-chow — Golden Island — restraints of Chinese courtiers — military exercises — enter the Yang-tse-keang-^lohy salt-junks — approach to Nan- king — visit from the viceroy — ^high rank of a Kinchae proved— Hiescription of Nanking — its uninhabited area like that of modem Rome — departure — the emperor a slave to ceremony — his licence in private — breadth and depth of the Keang — ^town oi Ho-ckow — singular hill of Se-leang-shan — town of Woohoo-hien — tallow-tree — slow progress ••••«. Page 1 CHAPTER XII. Tea-plantations — temple on a height — clumsy and timid sailors — city of Ganking-foo — shops and their contents — deserted areas of some city walls — ^fatal accident — a soldier's funeral — little Orphan Hill'- Province of iTcon^y-^torm, and chance of shipwreck— quit the Yang't$e^keang — ^its vast size — Poyang Lake— city of Nankang-foo — its antiquity — Leushan mountains — Chinese verses on them — Anchorite priests-^-Hall of Confucius — Vale of the White Deer— cross the lake- commercial town of Woochin t . . • p. 33 343926 ^ , Digitized by VjOOQ iC VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. Emperor's birthday— city of iNrancAari^-/oo— change of boats — Porcelain — nine Chinese bottles from Egyptian tombs — examined — a conflagration — military degrees — parallel with civil— cricket-match in the centre of China — Asiatic inertness — examinations of literary candidates — ^moral instruction — popular maxims and sayings p. 66 CHAPTER XIV. Peculiar boats on the Kankeang — difficult navigation — symptoms of jealous precaution — merely local— town of FTan^anA/en —hall of ancestors — mountain scenery — white camellia — eighteen rapids — scraping a channel for boats — city of Kanchowfoo — ^bamboo water-wheels — halt at Nanganfoo — preparations for land journey — cross the Mei'ling pass — Chinese repast — increased military — reach Canton province . . • • p. 101 CHAPTER XV. Prepare to quit Nanheung-foo — notice of the Meaoutse — their independence — ^kill a Chinese general — account of Chinese victory — defeated by Meaoutse— end of war — progress through wooded country — ^arrival at Chaouckow- foo — deeper river and larger boats — diflFerent behaviour of people — rock of Kwdnyin — narrow pass in river — town of Tnng yiten Aien— commencement of flat country — approach Canton — arrive ^there— reflections . p. 133 Digitized by CjOOQ iC CONTENTS. Vll CHAPTER XVI. Canton and its neigbboarbood — ^barbours outside — difficul- ties of blockade — Bogj^e forts — river — city walls — Macao — held from Chinese — described — a Chinese governor — as well as Portuguese — ^population — chiefly Chinese — English and other Europeans — resident by Chinese order — Portuguese embassies — Saldanha — Metello — Sampayo — French ship Amphitrite — ^piracies of Portuguese — their ambassador put to death • . . . . p. 164 CHAPTER XVII. Chusan — described in 1101 — ^island of Pooto — of Kin-tfiln — advantages of Chusan — visits to, at diflFerent periods — Gutzlaff's three voyages— first in a junk — Shanghae — Tsoong-ming — ^the Peiho — ^Tien-tsin— rChapoo— Amoy — Chinese trade with Formosa — supplies of rice — Chinchew — Fochowfoo — best position for tea-trade . . p. 195 CHAPTER XVIII. Invasion of Burmese empire — Retreat of Chinese cut off — Entirely defeated by Burmese — Survivors made slaves — Religious inviolability of northern frontier — Military sys- tem and wars of the Chinese — Fortified places — Assist- ance of Europeans — Conquest by Manchows — Caused by internal division — Shorter reign of Mongols — Chinese navy — Structure of junks — Fights with Ladrones — Pre- sent circumstances favourable to their revival . p. 229 Digitized by CjOOQ iC vm CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIX. Miscalculations of Lin— Arrival of armament — Blockade of Canton— Chusan attacked and taken — Deserted by in- habitants — Canton mandarins elated by impunity — Arrival of the admiral — ^Letter refused at Amoy — ^Attack on unarmed boat — Chastised by the Blonde — Letter re- fused at Ningpo — Mr. Stanton seized at Macao — Chi- nese beaten at the barrier — Admiral visits the Peiho— Reception, and return to the south — Mortality at Chusan — Chinese make numerous prisoners — Prospects of nego- ciation considered . . . . , p. 260 Digitized by CjOOQ iC SKETCHES OF CHINA. CHAPTER XI. Gardens of the emperor at Kwa-chow — Golden Island — restraints of Chinese courtiers — ^military exercises — enter the Yangtsekeang — lofty salt-junks — approach to Nan- king — visit from the viceroy — ^high rank of a Kinchae proved — description of Nanking — its uninhabited area like that of modem Rome — departure — ^the emperor a slave to ceremony — his license in private — breadth and depth of the Keang — ^town of Ho-chow — singular hill of Se'leang-shan — town of Woohoo-hien — tallow tree — slow progress. We left the neighbourliood of the " lofty and bright temple" at an early hour on the 14th October, but very soon stopped on account of the wind being foul, at the distance of only half a mile from the great river, which the boatmen would not venture to encounter under these VOL. II. B Digitized by CjOOQ iC )C SKETCHES OF CHINA. adverse circumstances. Near to our place of anchorage was the old town of Kwa-chow^ the terminus of that portion of the canal which we had journeyed over, and seated exactly at its junction with the Keang. This place may at some future day become famous by our war steamers, or smaller vessels of war, sailing up to it from the mouth of the great river, to blockade the imperial canal. At a short distance up the canal we had left behind us the Woo yuen^ or " five gardens," which had been many years ago the temporary residence of the emperor Kien loong^ when he visited the more southern provinces of his em- pire, and especially the cities Soo-chow and Hang-chow. Soon after our arrival at the an- chorage, our chief military conductor, Wong Tajin, a mandarin of high rank, and decorated with a red ball on his cap, with much willing- ness and civility accompanied the ambassador and a large party of us to view these celebrated gardens. The ground which they covered was far from extensive, but by the usual intricacies and tricks of Chinese gardening, an artificial Digitized by Google £MP£ROR S GARDENS AT KWA-CHOW. 3 appearance of extent was given with the help of winding walks among pavilions, bridges, rocks, and groves ; the whole being embellished with the addition of a piece of water, in which was situated a little island. We were shown the room, or rather the open pavilion, in which this master of three hundred millions had dined ; and on an upright slab of black marble was engraved the fac-simile of some verses in the imperial handwriting surrounded with a rich border of dragons. Like almost everything of the kind that we had seen in the country, this once decorated abode was in a sad state of dilapidation and ruin, and calculated to produce no other emo- tions than those of melancholy. After breakfast (for the previous excursion was in the very earliest part of the morning), our obliging military mandarin walked with us to the point where the canal joins the Yang- tsekeang, along the shore of which we pro- ceeded in the direction of the stream, until we obtained a near view of the celebrated Kin-^ shan, or " golden isle," a beautiful island in the b2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 4 SKETCHES OF CHINA. middle of the river, covered widi Budhist tem- ples and places of worship, amidst which a very handsome Paoutd, or pagoda,, was the most conspicuous object This picturesque place is celebrated all over China, and we were fortunate to have such a view of it, as our course up the Keang, in the op- posite direction, prevented our passing it on the journey. The priests of Budha always contrive to fix their temples and pagodas in the most advantageous and beautiful spots, and no doubt find it politic to do so, as they in this manner become the haunts of travellers and curious people, who perform a willing pilgrimage to the shrines which they contain. From the great breadth of the river, which at this place is not less than two miles across, the islet was at a considerable distance from us, but we would willingly have crossed to inspect it had not the mandarin made so many difficulties that the point was given up. On our return we passed by the legate's boat, and the ambassador with his whole partj^ was civilly invited by him to walk in and take some Digitized by Google RESTRAINTS OF CHINESE COURTIERS. O tea. The conversation turned upon the re- straint which the Chinese officers of govern- ment suffer in. their movements from place to place. Kwong told us that when at Peking he could not go the distance of twenty miles without special leave from the emperor. He gave to the youngest of our party, a boy of fourteen, a very pretty embroidered purse. This, he observed, was Kea-tso, '* made by the females of his family," and he added that it would be improper in him to present such a thing to any older person, according to Chinese notions of fitness. Soon after returning to my boat, I received a box of tea from him ; this was of the fine green kind, named Loongtsingy of which we had partaken in his barge, and consisted of the young leaf-buds of the green tea plant, at Canton called " hyson pekoe" for that reason. Being but slightly fired in the manufacture, it very soon suffers from damp, and is accordingly less fitted to keep than any other tea. On the following day, as the wind still con- tinued unfavourable, we went to take another Digitized by CjOOQ IC b SKETCHES OP CHINA. view of the golden island, which, with its pa- goda, and the ornamental roofs of its temples and other buildings, looked like a fairy creation rising out of the silvery expanse of the Keang. Two more days of contrary wind succeeded, and were occupied in exploring the half deserted town of Kwa-choWy whose name signifies ** the island of gourds,"^ being completely insulated by the river and canal. We took a long walk along the top of the walls,, which were as usual of great thickness, and aflforded a broad level platform behind the parapet : the parapet itself, about six feet high, did not in thickness exceed the length of a brick and a half, and the em- brasures were evidently not constructed for cannon, being much too high. A very con- siderable portion of the area within the walls consisted of burial-grounds planted with cy- press ; and this alone was a sufficient proof of the decayed condition of the place, as in modern or fully inhabited cities no person can be buried within the walls. Almost every spot bore traces of ruin, and there appeared to be but one good street in the whole town ; this^ how* Digitized by CjOOQ iC MILITARY EXERCISES. 7 ever, was full of shops> and as busy as Chinese streets always are. Our friend, Wong Tajin, the military man-' darin, in consequence of a wish expressed by the ambassador, very civilly caused a small party of his Chinese soldiers to go through certain evolutions in firing and shooting with the bow. The archers were not so skilful as might have been expected, from the trained troops of a nation whose chief weapon has always been the arrow ; but they contrived to hit the target at about forty yards. The matchlock men did quite as well as we antici- pated. They shot in rapid succession, and kept up a sort of running fire round a man who stood with a flag in the centre, and served as a pivot to the rest. On the 18th of the month, as there still appeared to be no chance of moving, I set out with a party to explore the neighbourhood, and we made a circuit of nearly ten miles before returning to our boats. On first reaching the nearest gate of the town, with the intention of crossing through it to the opposite side, it Digitized by CjOOQ iC 8 SKETCHES OF CHINA. proved to be shut; but having discovered a narrow pathway by a canal which passed under an arch in the wall, we made no scruple to enter. Having proceeded a few hundred yards, a number of ChiAese appeared with a mandarin at their head, who civilly but earnestly dis- suaded us from going any further within the town- This sudden start of jealousy and cau- tion was rather surprising, as on the preceding day every one had entered the town with full liberty. The mystery, however, was cleared up by an edict of the emperor, which had just arrived, and of which we procured a copy soon^ after. This strange and characteristic docu- ment was worded as follows, and the caution concerning our rambles explained the adven- ture above mentioned. After commenting on the occurrences at Yuenmingyuen, and blaming the conduct of Duke Ho, as the cause of the embassy's departure, the emperor proceeds to say — ^^ I, considering that the said nation had sent a tribute of sincere and entire devotedness from beyond a vast ocean at the distance of thou- Digitized by CjOOQ iC EDICT OF THE EMPEROR. 9 sands of miles, could not bear to reject alto- gether their expressions of veneration and obedience; hence I transmitted my pleasure, requiring that the most trifling articles of tribute should be presented, and the kindness of receiving them conferred. They consisted of maps, painted portraits, and prints — three classes of objects.* At the same time I con- ferred upon the king of the said country ^joo-y of white jade, sapphire court beads, and purses of diflferent sizes, to manifest an example of * giving much and taking little.' The ambas- sador received them at Tungchow with extreme joy and gratitude, and also rather showed by his manner contrition and fear.f " Of late within the province of Pe-che-ly he has walked about very peaceably and quietly. Hereafter, when he shall enter the limits of the Keang provinces, let the viceroy enjoin on * Setting the insolence of this document aside, there was good taste in selecting those among the intended presents which were not of the greatest intrinsic value. t This is the emperor's account of the transaction at page 161, vol. i., and a specimen of the truth to be expected in negotiation. b3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 10 SKETCHES OF CHINA- all the officers who conduct the embassy to be- have with the civilities due to an ambassador. They must not allow themselves to treat him with insult or contempt. " The ambassador will arrive shortly at the fore-mentioned boundaries. The three pro- vinces, KeangsoOr Gankoey, and Keang^sy are under the control of the appropriate viceroy. Let that viceroy communicate information to the several deputy-governors of those provinces. When the embassy enters his limits, let him select civil and military officers, who must take under their command soldiers and police to conduct everything safely. Do not cause the persons of the embassy to land and create dis" turbancCr " Through the whole route let the military all have their armour fresh and shining, and their weapons disposed in a commanding man- ner, to maintain an attitude formidable and majestic. The said nation came with the in- tention of oflfering tribute; still treat it with civility,^ and cause it silently to feel gratitude and awe ; then the right principles of soothing and controlling will be acted on." Digitized by Google EDICT OF THE EMPEROR. 11 There was nothing remarkable in this, as a Chinese paper, on the score of arrogance ; but the falsehoods were most gross. The direc- tions to the viceroy, requiring that the soldiers should make their most formidable appearance, in order that we might be overcome by feelings of awe, rather showed that his majesty had some apprehensions of the future. A proposal had once been made that a letter should be written by the ambassador, thanking the em- peror for the favours we had experienced en route ; but this would undoubtedly have been one of the most impolitic measures in the world, and quite inconsistent with the general aspect of silent reserve that had hitherto been maintained. Knowing, as the emperor must, that in dismissing the mission from Peking with such insult and precipitation, he did a thing grossly unjustifiable, it was likely that feelings either of justice or apprehension might incline him to repair the act. Had we sent him an abject address, he would inevitably have taken it for granted that we were perfectly satisfied with the treatment we had received^ Digitized by CjOOQ iC 12 SKETCHES OF CHINA. and really felt that fear and awe which his majesty so ignorantly imputed to us- At length our long stay in the neighbour- hood of Kwa-chowy where we had exhausted the various objects of curiosity, was concluded by a light though favourable breeze which sprung up early on the morning of the 19th October, and we found ourselves launched on the Yang-tse-keang, " the son of the sea." After sailing for some time nearly due west, we came to a large island, dividing the river into two nearly equal streams, of which we took the northernmost. As there was a pretty strong stream running against our squadron, and but a light wind in our favour, the track- ers and rowers had a very hard day's work of it ; our departure from Kwa-'chow having been hurried, by the fears of our conductors, under rather unpropitious circumstances. The dull uniformity of the great island which we were passing on the left, covered as it was with reeds and high grass, was relieved by some lofty and picturesque mountains to the south-west. Our whole day's progress did Digitized by CjOOQ iC LOFTY SALT-JUNKS. 13 not amount to twenty miles, and we anchored at a place near the town of T-ching-Hien, dis- tinguished by a pagoda. The most remarkable objects that struck us here were some enor- mously large salt-junks of a very singular shape, approaching to a crescent, with sterns at least thirty feet above the water, and bows that were two-thirds of that height. They had " bright sides," that is, were varnished over the natural wood without painting, a very common style in Cliina. After waiting a whole day for a favourable wind to stem the stream of the Yang-tse- keang, the breeze freshened on the 20th in our favour, and we steered for the middle of the river, where our whole squadron of boats made way at the rate of four or five miles an hour. The great number of vessels in full sail scat- tered over the broad expanse of that fine river, had an animating efiect We were informed that on the following day we should be close to the ancient city of Nanking, and that the viceroy of the two Keang provinces would meet our embassy. This mandarin's hostile Digitized by CjOOQ iC 14 SKETCHES OF CHINA. feelings to the English, when governor of Canton, led us to expect very little from him in the way of civility. EJarly on the morning of the 21st we found ourselves anchored on the shore to our left, near a high rock, and at seven o'clock the vice- roy arrived at the boat of the legate. The latter was observed to advance some way out to meet him, but he was in his undress ; while the viceroy wore his habit of ceremony, like an inferior calling on his superior. Had we needed any further proof, this was conclusive that any mandarin bearing a special commis- sion from the emperor, and entitled a Kinchae, takes rank of every other, and that the grade of the ball on the cap has nothing to do in such cases. Some presents of provisions and sweetmeats afterwards came for the ambassador, commis- sioners, and suite ; upon which various articles were returned on the part of the embassy. An attempt was made to send back these with a sort of joking message from the viceroy ; but as the rejection of presents was an act of rude- Digitized by CjOOQ iC FORMS OF CEBEMONY. 15 ness quite inadmissible according to Chinese notions, a message was instantly returned by the ambassador to say^ that if those things^ were not received, the viceroy^s preswits should be sent back in like manner; which had the proper eflEect, His lordship sent his card to the viceroy, which accor(fing to the caprice of Chinese etiquette was immediately returnedy implying that the person so honoured is unworthy to retain it. A message, however, accompanied this to the effect that, the wind having just sprung up fair for our boats^ he would not detain the embasqr with a visit. The plea was nothing but an excuse for his want of civility in not exchanging visits with his lordship, whom it was plain he did not' wish to meet. While the Chinese were carrying on their ceremonial forms, we were not altogether without ours. This being the anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar, the marines of the guard, a very fine body of picked men, were turned out to be inspected by the ambassador. This military demonstration produced an Digitized by CjOOQ iC 16 SKETCHES OF CHINA. amazing commotion among our Chinese friends. The whole fry of mandarins, great and small, were on the qui vive, and bustled down to the scene of action. The city of Nanking seemed in danger, and general Wong himself hurried, in considerable perturbation, to ask the reason of so unusual an event. Great astonishment was depicted on the countenances of the whole party as the men marched past in double fUe^fulgenr tibus armis. Our boats were anchored at the foot of a high rock, called " Yen-tse Shan/" or the ^' swallow's promontory," from the top of which we obtained a very pretty view of the surrounding country and the course of the river, which was here divided into two streams by a low reedy island of considerable extent, opposite to which our squadron had stopped. When the review of the guard was concluded, we left our anchor- age, and proceeded along a very picturesque part of the river until about six o'clock in the evening, when we reached the suburbs of the outer wall of Nanking on the north side. An unusually long line of soldiers was drawn Digitized by CjOOQ iC CHINESE ABMOUR. 17 out, dressed in their armour, or petticoat of cloth studded with brass buttons, which is probably intended to resist arrows, for it cer- tainly would resist nothing else. They pro- duced a good theatrical effect, with something of the starch stifl&iess of the old pictures of men in armour. The only part of their dress that could really be called by that name was the long conical helmet of iron, with a spear at the point, and a tuft of red horsehair. As the wind continued unfavourable, a party of us set out early on the 22nd to explore within the walls of the ancient capital of China, and we met with no opposition, not- withstanding the late edict from Peking. The comparative liberty which we subse- quently enjoyed was to be attributed to the firmness of the ambassador, in resisting an attempt to shut the gates upon him as he was entering them this day, during a walk on shore ; and we were glad to observe a marked improvement in the behaviour of our con- ductors, as the consequence of this little ad- venture. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 18 SKETCHES OF CHINA. On entering within the wall, we walked to the top of a very high hill, from whence we could plainly see at a distance the inhabited part of the city and the famous porcelain tower, which, however, is porcelain in nothing but the tiles with which it is faced. ITie larger portion of the area within the wall, though no doubt thickly inhabited when this was the residence of the emperor,^ is now a mere waste, or laid out in gardens of vegetables, with occasional clumps of trees. The space enclosed is more irregular in shape than almost any other city of China, no doubt owing to the inequality of the surface ; as the northern part, where we were, is composed in a great measure of lofty hills* In the small proportion which the inhabited part bears to the whole area of the ancient walls, Nanking bears a striking resemblance to modem Rome ; though the walls of Nanking are not only much higher^ but more extensive, being about twenty miles in circuit. The un- peopled areas of both these ancient cities are alike, in as far as they consist of hills, and Digitized by Google DESCRIPTION OP NANKING. 19 remains of paved roads, and scattered culti- vation ; but the gigantic masses of ruin which distinguish modern Rome are wanting in Nanking, since nothing in Chinese architec- ture is lasting, except the walls of their cities. As I stood at Rome on the Coelian mount in 1837^ the resemblance of its deserted hills (setting apart the black masses of ruin) to those of Nanking struck me at once^ bounded as they are in both instances by an old wall. The modern town of Nanking covers less than a half of the immense enceinte of its walls, and being at the southern extremity of the long-shaped plan on which these are built, was the furthest removed from us, who were at the northern. In the course of our stay, some of the party walked as far as the modern city without interruption, but were deterred from entering by the immense crowds which came pouring out to view the strangers. The suburb on the outside of the gate nearest to our boats was well built and populous. Two large temples particularly deserved our notice. One of these, the handsomest I had Digitized by CjOOQ iC 20 SKETCHES OF CHINA. ever seen in Cliina> contained three huge bronze vases or censers of really elegant forms and fine workmanship. Round the rims of these were inscriptions, showing that they had been made in the reign of Hoonghy of the Ming dynasty, and presented to the temple by the person who travelled over a large por- tion of India with the purpose of inviting the different nations to send tribute. Nanking is not precisely situated on the Keang, but about three English miles from it, though a communication exists with the south of the city by a canal. All the ancient palaces, observatories, temples, and sepulchres were destroyed by the Tartars. The existing city, however fallen from its former state, is as large and populous as most other provincial capitals, and forms the residence of the first viceroy of the empire, the governor-general of the two Keang provinces. It is celebrated as a seat of Chinese learning, and sends more members to the imperial college of Peking than any other city. The books, the paper, and the printing of Nanking are celebrated Digitized by CjOOQ iC DEPARTURE FROM NANKING. 21 througli the country as being unrivalled. The best Chinese (called by us Indian) ink is manufactured, not here, but at another city of the same province, named Hoey^how foo^ and the moulds in which the finer kind is cast, or dried, are made to assume every possible shape. A box of these, elegantly fitted up with silk, forms a very pretty present. The silks, the teas, and various other products of this pro- vince render it the most valuable part of the whole empire ; and its climate is excellent. The famous pirate, who so long possessed the island of Formosa in the early period of the present Tartar dynasty, sailed up to Nanking, which he besieged. We were detained in this neighbourhood, much against the will of the legate, by a con- trary wind, which, though not violent, pre- vented them from attempting to stem the stream of the Keang. On the morning of the 24th of October, the wind being rather more fa- vorable, we set sail from the suburbs of Nanking, but had not proceeded above seven or eight miles before we were brought up at the side of Digitized by CjOOQ iC 22 SKETCHES OF CHINA. a krge island covered with tall grass and reeds, as much as eighteen feet high, which the Chi- nese were cutting down for fuel, or for re- pairing the banks of the canal. Here we were again detained, and probably came thus far only because the legate thought we were too near to the ancient city.* In our progress to this spot we were at one time more close to the city itself than at our last anchorage. The porcelain pagoda was very conspicuous; I counted seven out of its nine stories above the roofs of a temple to which it appears to be contiguous. The canal, which leads from the great river to the inhabited part of the city, could easily be traced as far as the walls, and is probably one of the chief causes of this portion of Nanking having retained its po- pulation while the rest is abandoned. I walked to the other end of our island, where the stream again unites with the main river. We were told that the whole of these reedy tracts are flooded in the spring. Small portions are divided out, and let to persons who cut down the reeds and sell them for fuel and other purposes. The Digitized by CjOOQ iC THE EMPEROR A SLAVE TO CEREMONY. 23 produce of tliis farming goes to the govern- ment. The legate paid a long visit to his excellency, and proved more loquacious than usual. He entered into a detail of all the restraints im- posed by his high station upon the emperor while in public — a detail which proved that the autocrat of so many millions was not to be envied. He cannot even lean back on his seat, nor use a fan to cool himself, like all his sub- jects of both sexes ; and is sometimes subjected to these painful demands of ceremony for a whole day. I once obtained from Padre Serra, a Catholic priest, who had passed many years in the neighbourhood of the palace, a particular ac- count of the daily habits of Keaking, the father of the present reigning emperor (1840). When the public ceremonies were over, he retired to play on instruments and sing with his comedi- ans, thus displaying a curious contrast between his private and his state demeanour. After this he sometimes drank to intoxication, and at night proceeded with some of his players, masked, to the seraglio. These things excited a re- Digitized by CjOOQ iC 24 SKETCHES OF CHINA. monstrance from the faithful minister and cen- sor, Soong Tajiuy who was only disgraced for his interference. We were in motion on the morning of the 26th, with a fairer prospect of getting on than since we had entered the Keang. Hereabouts the magnificent stream appeared in its full di- mensions, and asserted its claim to be the third river in the whole world, after the Amazons and the Mississippi. The breadth was fully three miles, or perhaps nearer four, and as the river is much narrower than this at Kwa-chow, or the entrance of the canal lower down the stream, it is reasonable to conclude that from that point to its mouth the depth must be very great. Indeed it is a common Chinese saying, that the " Keang has no bottom," which is a mere exaggeration of its great depth. We observed considerable plantations of the common cotton shrub, but looked in vain for the brown cotton, of which the Nankeen is made, and which is quite a different plant. The wind on the 27th was so unfavorable that it forced us to stop about four miles from Ho^ Digitized by CjOOQ iC TOWN OF HO-CHOW. 25 choWy which lay at that distance from the shore to OUT right, but with a navigable stream con- ducting to the main river. So well do the Chinese understand the value of water-com- munication, and so singularly is the whole country provided with it by the two great rivers and their tributaries, that scarcely any town of consequence is without a river or canal. While the wind detained us here, a psarty of us set out to explore the town of Ho^hoWy to which the road conducted along the bank of the stream before mentioned. The town was surrounded with walls in pretty good re- pair, and appeared populous. It had several Pae-hwSy or honorary gateways; but these looked old and ruinous, and seemed to indicate that the place had seen better days. On the return to the boats, one of the party bargained with an old woman for a milch goat, for which he gave her two dollars ; and the conveying the animal to her new destination proved a source of some fun to the natives as well as ourselves. We left the vicinity of Ho-chow early on the VOL. II. c Digitized by CjOOQ iC 26 SKETCHES OF CHINA. 29tli, but the wind was too light, and too far to the southward to admit of much progress. Our unfortunate boatmen were obliged to ap- proach the shore, and to pole us along against the stream with immense toil. Their joy must have been great when about three o'clock the wind shifted to easterly, and carried us along very fast. To estimate duly the advantages of steam-vessels, it is necessary to have crawled along the banks of Chinese rivers by poling and tracking. Our boat and that of the legate being a-head of the fleet, we arrived early in the evening at Se-leang Shan, a remarkably steep hill, which forms with a corresponding elevation on the opposite shore, named Tung-kang Shan, the Gades of the Yangtsekeang, as implied by the names, " eastern and western Pillar hills." We had time to ascend the romantic rock be- fore it was dark. The sides were nearly per- pendicular, and the ascent to the top by stone steps, in a zig-zag approach. About halfway up was a temple with images ; and on the sides we observed sentences which had been Digitized by CjOOQ iC TOWN OP WOOHOO HIEN. 27 inscribed in large characters by visitors of the place. From the top of the rock, a height of nearly j five hundred feet, we obtained a fine view of the course of the Keang flowing between two lines of mountains, as well as of the town below, ^ which was well built and paved, and seemed to owe its existence to the celebrity of the rock as a resort for visitors. The legate had mentioned this place to Lord Amherst as well worth his seeing ; but no other boats being up before dark, our party alone obtained a sight of it, for we were all away again by daylight. The strength of the stream, and the want of wind obliged us at mid-day to stop only about ten miles from our last halting-place, at ^ a very considerable town called Woohoo Hien, the largest of its class in China. The streets proved on inspection to be superior to those of many of the first class cities; and some were as large and as well furnished with handsome shops as at Canton. It is to the great inland commerce carried on by this town that such unusual wealth and prosperity is to be referred. c2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 38 SKETCHES OF CHINA. We observed, for the first time, bales of cloth with the East India Company's mark upon them. These had evidently made their way inland to this place, a distance of about six hundred miles from Canton, without being opened, and with the security of the stamp affixed to them. We first made our way to a pagoda on the summit of a hill about two miles distant, and met with several temples in our route, one of which was dedicated to Kwdn-tyy the tutelary Mars of China, worshipped by the military*- The temple attached to the pagoda was, as usual, of the Budhist religion,^ and contained the triad of Fo, with the attendant saints and divinities. On our return we entered the city at one of its principal gates, and walked straight through it to our boats. The shops of por- celain were particularly handsome and well- stocked, in consequence of its vicinity to the chief places of manufacture in the adjoining province of Keangsy, which we were now ap- proaching. We proceeded on the 31st, with a north-west Digitized by CjOOQ iC TEIH KEANG. 39 wind, and contrived to make considerable pro- gress, until, at a place where our course branched off from the main stream of the Keang, the clumsiness of the steersman ran our boat aground on the lee bank, and we remained there for half an hour, while all the boats passed us in succession. At eight o^clock in the evening we reached a place called Teih Keang, about one hundred /y from our last halting-place, being thirty miles, an unusual day's journey in our slow mode of travelling. The houses here were many of them built into the river on piles, either for the sake of gaining space, or for the convenience of embarkation. The change of season was strongly indicated by the thermometer, which fell to nearly fifty in our boats, as well as by immense flights of wild- geese, which really darkened the sky as they were shifting their quarters to a southern cli- mate. The emperor s desire to get rid of us by the shortest road was the fortunate occasion of our navigating this portion of the Yangtsekeang between the canal and the Poyang lake, in- Digitized by CjOOQ iC 30 SKETCHES OF CHINA. stead of following Lord Macartney s route along the remainder of the canal. After travelling through the swamps of Shantung, and the north of Keangndn, we were now in a climate and country which could yield to none in the whole world, and was equalled by very few. Here we met with English trees and plants in abundance, as the oak, the green-holly, wild pinks, violets, and the common bramble or blackberry, &c. The landscape, consisting of the finest combination of hill and dale, with very high mountains in the distance, was va- riegated in the most beautiful manner with the red and yellow tints of autumn. The brightest of all were exhibited in the changing foliage of the tallow-tree, which was here observed for the first time, being grown in great plenty for the sake of its berries, the seed of which is surrounded by a vegetable grease that has just the consistence of tallow, and is used for the same purposes. The clus- ters of the milk-white berry, contrasted with the bright red foliage, had a particular fine effect. The country near us was richly cul- Digitized by CjOOQ iC SLOW PROGRESS. 31 tivated with buckwheat, and a variety of cu- linary vegetables. His imperial majesty's wish to hasten the progress of his English visitors was grievously frustrated by the obstinate contrariety of the winds, which at this time generally blow pretty strong from the northward, but which ever since our entry into the Keang had baffled our progress in such a manner, that Ve were now only half way to the Poyang lake from Nan- king, after the lapse of about a fortnight. No- thing however could surpass the fineness of the weather, or the beauty and interest of the country ; and we had now established a system of rambling excursions in which our Chinese conductors silently acquiesced, seeing it was better to do so quietly; and finding, perhaps, by experience, that the wild beasts were not quite so mischievous as they had given them credit for. As early as nine o'clock in the morning of the 2nd of November, we were surprised to find the whole fleet come to an anchor at a considerable town called Tung-ling Hien, with the general Digitized by CjOOQ iC 32 SKETCHES OF CHINA. understanding tJiat we were to pass the whole day here. My party, as usual, set off on a ramble through the town into the country on the opposite side. In the course of an hour, however, the wind became fair, and the boats prepared to sail. Not knowing of this, we walked on without any thought of returning, until we had extended our excursion to about two hours, when some Chinese soldiers came hallooing and announcing the departure of the fleet. Some of our own people presently came up in search of us, and our party did not reach the boats until half-past one, after a walk of at least twelve miles. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 33 CHAPTER XII. Tea plantations — temple on a height — clumsy and timid sailors — city of Ganking-foo — shops and their contents — deserted areas of some city walls — fatal accident— a soldier's funeral — little Orphan Hill — Province of Keangsy — storm, and chance of shipwreck — quit the Yang'tsckeang — ^its vast size — Poyaug Lake— city of Nankang-foo — its antiquity — Leushan moimtains — Chinese verses on them — Anchorite priests-^-Hall of Confucius — Vale of the White Deer — cross the lake — commercial town of Woochin. On the morning of the third of November we found ourselves anchored at a village called Ta-tung-^hin, well furnished with shops, and supplied abundantly with provisions of all kinds. The wind being southerly, with a strong stream against us, no possibility ap- peared of our continuing the journey for the present; and we took advantage of the delay, as usual, to explore the country in the neigh- bourhood. Having soon made our way through the town, which was on the south-eastern side €3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 34 SKETCHES OF CHINA. of the river, we entered on the open country, in all its beautiful features closely resembling that of Tung-ling Hien, with some very high hills at the distance of several miles. The country people expressed by their looks the utmost surprise at the sight of such strange and unexpected visitors; but their behaviour was quiet and respectful, and, if we required assistance or information, always obliging. These long walks were a never-failing source of amusement as well as health, during our frequent halts on account of the wind. The day following our arrival at Ta-tung-chin, the excursion extended to a circuit of about twelve miles, towards the foot of the high ridge of hills lying between us and Tung-ling Hien. On the third day of our sojourn we left the boats at one o'clock in the afternoon, and were not back until near seven, having gone over a space of at least fifteen or sixteen miles. The course was at first along a regular path- way from the town, partly paved with broad stones, until we reached a village at the foot of the high hills which it was intended to Digitized by CjOOQ iC TEA PLANTATIONS. 35 ascend. In our way we came, for the first time, to some small tea plantations, being now within the latitudes in which the shrub flourishes. The quantity cultivated was still inconsiderable, compared with the vast tracts of country covered with the tea-plant in the south-eastern parts of Keang-ndriy and in Chg- keang and Fo-kien provinces. In the same valley we discovered a new and curious species of oak, unknown to our na- turalists, and likewise observed that the mul- berry was extensively cultivated. On ascend- ing one of the lofty hills of the range, a very fine prospect was afforded of the surrounding country and the course of the river. The whole surface of these picturesque mountains was covered with a vast variety of shrubs and plants, many of the latter aromatic, and among the rest the wild thyme very abundant. It was the Chinese Hymettus, but the weather was too cold for bees. On the 5th November we were still at our anchorage near the town, on the south-eastern bank of the Keang, and lying close to the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 36 SKETCHES OF CHINA. dirtiest portion of the peopled district. A remonstrance addressed to the legate on the part of the ambassador succeeded in effecting the removal of our boats to the opposite side of the river, where we anchored at one of the large islands that so frequently divide the waters of the great Keang. The situation was close to a range of trees, extending to a consi- derable distance, and partly concealing the well- cultivated fields of kitchen herbs which lay behind, and looked beautifully fresh and green. Until early on the morning of the 6th it rained very hard ; and our discomfort was com- pleted by the discovery that our boat leaked in all parts of the roof, thus exemplifying the Chinese notion of accumulated miseries, which they express by the phrase, "a leaky house on a rainy night." In the afternoon the weather cleared up, and a party of us crossed over from our island to the opposite shore, walking along the side of the river towards Tung^ling Hien, At the distance of about four miles from our anchorage, we reached the bottom of a high hill, and ascended a long flight of steps, ter- Digitized by CjOOQ iC TEMPLE ON A HEIGHT. 37 minating in a temple at the very summit. The Cfhinese seem to have a double motive for placing their religious edifices in such elevated situations. The seclusion and retirement of such sites is an obvious reason for their being selected ; and to this may be added the pic- turesque and romantic character which is thereby given to the buildings, joined to the merit of overcoming difficulties in transporting the materials to such unusual heights. The wind became fair for us in the evening, but we did not take advantage of it. On the morning of the 7th it blew strong from the north-east, and we set sail as early as five o'clock. Never before had we gone so fast on the Keang, for before one o'clock we arrived at Woo-sha Kea, distant one hundred ly fromTa-tung^chin. The name of this place signifies " Black-sand branch," — kea meaning any part of a river where the stream divides into two, to compass an island in the middle. As we were about to enter again on the main stream at this point, our Chinese conductors thought it necessary to Digitized by CjOOQ iC 38 SKETCHES OF CHINA. remain until the wind moderated, conceiving it too dangerous to proceed along the open breadth of the Keang while it blew so fresh. Nothing was more surprising to me than the difference between the Chinese sailors of Canton and their " longshore " brethren of the Yang-tse Keang, who in their clumsiness and timidity answer to the descriptions of the Greek mariners on the Euxine. The boats were almost as different as the boatmen; for while the Canton vessels are strongly built and capable of buffeting with the waves, the great square boxes, clamped with iron at the corners, in which we were at present embarked, seemed really to justify the apprehension of their conductors. This extraordinary difference may partly be ascribed to the habit of sailing on the sea, to which the Canton Chinese are accustomed, and partly, perhaps, to the exam- ple of Europeans at that place. As soon as the boats came to an anchor at the island, we crossed over to the south bank of the river, and took a long circuitous ramble through the beautiful undulating coun- Digitized by CjOOQ iC CLUMSY AND TIMID SAILORS. 39 try, of which the hills were planted with fine timber of Various kinds, including the oak and a species of sycamore, while the valleys seemed cultivated with rice, buckwheat, and the ginger plant. A husbandman, who was breaking the clods of earth on newly-ploughed land by means of a harrow, stood erect upon the machine to add weight to it, and thus guided the buffalo. 8th November. — ^The wind being too strong for our clumsy craft and lubberly sailors to proceed on the voyage, we passed our time in examining and exploring the large island at which the squadron was anchored. This was so extensive as to occupy the greater portion of the day in performing the circuit. The scattered farm-houses argued considerable comfort on the part of the inhabitants, who were farmers cultivating the different patches laid out in rice, cotton, and grain, notwithstanding that the low level of the island exposed it frequently to inundation — which, however, would agree very well with the rice, however unfriendly to other products. Our party were interested in Digitized by CjOOQ iC 40 SKETCHES OP CHINA. observing the formalities of a fiineral at one of the farm-houses, the Chinese mourning colour (white) being displayed by the relations and mourners, with the attendance of Budhist priests, and music of a harsh sound. The tem- perature was cold for such a latitude (30 J degrees) in the month of November — the thermometer within our boats descended to 54 degrees. Early on the morning of the 9th we left Woo-sha-kea with a light fair breeze, and made very good progress during the day (about one hundred ly), reaching our anchorage on the farther or western side of the city of Ganr king Foo about four o*clock in the evening. This is a large and important town, the capital of the southern division of Keang-ndn province, and the residence of a Foo-yuen. On approach- ing the eastern suburb of the city, we perceived a very long single rank of soldiers, in their petticoat armour, drawn out to the number of nearly five hundred. With their helmets, flags, and other appurtenances they made, as usual, a good theatrical show; and against Chinese rebels or robbers were probably invincible. Digitized by CjOOQ iC CITY OF GANKINQ-FOO. 41 Having admired these gentry, we made our boatmen approach the shore, and sallied forth to explore the city, which we entered at the eastern gate, nearest the water, and proceeded directly through the town, in a westerly direc- tion, to meet our boats at their anchorage beyond the western suburb. The streets were as narrow as I had ever seen them in a Chinese city, nor were the shops very splendid; but many good dwelling-houses presented them- selves — or rather their courts and gateways, for no gentleman's house in China ever adjoins the street. The fooyuen's or governor's palace we at first took for a temple, but were soon undeceived by the inscriptions on the huge lanterns at each side of the gateway in front of the great open court. These official residences seldom display any magnificence. The pride of a Chinese mandarin of rank consists in his power and station; and as the display of mere wealth attracts little respect, it is neglected more than in any country of the world. On particular family festivals, as marriages, fune- Digitized by CjOOQ iC 42 SKETCHES OF CHINA. rals, and the like, considerable sums are expended. The best shops that we saw were those for the sale of horn lanterns and porcelain. They possess the art of softening horn by the application of a very high degree of moist heat, and extending it into thin laminae of any shape, either flat or globular. The lamps constructed of this substance are about as trans- parent as ground glass, and ornamented with silken hangings, which give them a handsome effect. The porcelain in the shops was of the finest kind, arguing our gradual approach to the neighbourhood where it is produced. Among other things we purchased some of the Chinese fashioned tea-cups with covers, unusually ele- gant, both as regarded the material and the painting. The price was naturally very low in comparison with the sale value of these things at Canton. In making our purchases we were excessively annoyed by the importunate cu- riosity of the crowd, consisting of the very canaille of this large Chinese city. They Digitized by CjOOQ iC SHOPS AND THEIR CONTENTS. 43 evinced a greater disposition to liallooing and other rudeness than we had yet observed; and I was prepared to see this increase as we approached Canton. We made the complete trajet of the town, and issued out at one of the western gates, glad to reach our boats after a somewhat long and boisterous excursion. A good deal of visiting was observed to be going on between our legate and the district mandarins. No communications, however, took place between the Chinese authorities and the ambassador. It was a very fortunate circumstance for us, that the indispensable intercourse of business or ceremony, between our chief conductor and the officers of the cities and towns passed by us, made these occasional sojourns at the different places a matter of necessity ; for I am persuaded that to no other than this did we owe the very frequent and interesting opportunities of observation presiented to us during the journey. Could they have blinded and handcuffed us all the way, it would have been infinitely more agreeable to our Digitized by CjOOQ iC 44 SKETCHES OF CHINA. Chinese friends than the liberty which we Left Ganking Foo at an early hour on the morning of the 10th, and after the best day's . run since we had entered China (a hundred '\)t' ^^ and twenty-five ly, or forty miles), reached a place called Hwa-yuen Chin^ " the flower-garden station," in the evening. On our way we passed Tung-lew Hien on our left, a walled city of the third class, but containing within its extensive enceinte fewer streets than fields and gardens. The most populous part of the place was on the outside of the walls, between them and the river, along the sides of a creek or stream communicating with the Keang. It is probable that the severe municipal regula- tions in the interior of Chinese cities may induce a number of persons to prefer erecting their dwellings or shops on the outside of the walls« At least we had frequently observed the same indications throughout the empire. It rained a little, with a dark gloomy November sky, soon after our arrival at Hwa- yuen Chin; but we made an excursion along Digitized by Google FATAL ACCIDENT. 45 the side of the river to a small wood, consist- ing principally of green hollies, where several of the younger members of the party trespassed so far on the lord of the manor of Hvm-yuen Chin as to cut themselves some walking-sticks. On the following morning a reason truly original and Chinese was given for the boats staying another day at this anchorage — ^because it rained. It is probable, however, that they were deterred from proceeding by the lowering and windy state of the sky, although nothing evtentually came of it. The 11th November was doomed to be a black day in our calendar. The rain poured incessantly on our leaky roofs; and an unfor* tunate catastrophe in the evening proved the crowning disaster, being the only fatal acci- dent that occurred to the embassy in China. A soldier of the ambassador s guard, as he was passing along tJie gangway-board at the side of the boat, fell into the water and disappeared, being drawn under by the current. Every exertion was made to find and save him, but Digitized by CjOOQ iC 46 SKETCHES OF CHINA. with no eflFect; until the boats having been moved the body came up, though much too late to restore life. A message was sent to the legate, requesting that we might not start in the morning until after the funeral, which met with a ready assent; and the mandarins showed great alacrity in providing a coffin and all things suitable. At nine on the following morning the guard was turned out, and most of the mem- bers of the mission followed the body of their poor countrjonan to his solitary grave in the centre of China. On arriving at the place of interment, near the Chinese guard-house, the chaplain read the funeral service, at the conclusion of which the comrades of the deceased soldier fired three volleys of muskeby over his remains. Here the Chinese paid a pretty mark of respect on their own part, and one which, being quite unexpected, came with the better effect. After the volleys from the guard were concluded, they fired off three small pieces, and a band of music struck up one of Digitized by CjOOQ iC LITTLE ORPHAN HILL. 47 their funeral airs. This was evidently intended to imitate and to second our own ceremony. On the return of the party to our boats^ the whole squadron set sail, and proceeded along one of the branches of the river, which was divided by a long island into two streams. Towards the evening we approached a very singular rock, famous among the Chinese under the name of Seaou Koo-shan, the " Little Orphan (or Solitary) Hill," rising precipitously from the water to the height of between two and three hundred feet. It appeared inacces- sible in all points except one> and here the Bud- hist priests had contrived to erect some of their temples on terraces rising one above the other, in a most uncommon and picturesque manner. Presently we perceived some of these mendicant gentry afloat in a small boat, ready to board our barges in search of donations. They were very thankful for the gift of a dollar or two, and presented books in which we recorded our names in both Chinese and English, — relics which would no doubt remain in the archives of the temple as rare curiosities. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 48 SKETCHES OF CHINA. But perhaps the most remarkable feature was the countless swarm of pelicans, closely resembling the fishing bird of the country, which absolutely darkened with their numbers the summit and sides of the rock. It is here that they probably breed ; while they find their subsistence in the waters of the great river which flows round the base of this vast stone pillar. The larger number of these aquatic birds adhered to the face of the precipitous rock, or stood upon its ledges ; others were soaring about the summit, and added very much to the interest and life of the scene. We had now entered the limits of the pro- vince Keangsy, and the first town that we passed, by name Peng-tsS Hien, was in point of situation the. most remarkable of any that had yet been seen. This city of the third order lay on our left, and might be described as nestled in a romantic valley or basin, formed by the lofty hills surrounding it. Nearly the whole of the built and inhabited part was in this valley, but the walls themselves surrounded a much larger area, running up the ridges and over Digitized by CjOOQ iC STORM^ AND CHANCE OF SHIPWRECK. 49 the summits of the hills at the sides and back of the town; while the front or water line ran horizontally across the valley, looking towards the river. A very good Chinese drawing, in fair perspective, of this singular place is possessed by the author. The weather became extremely thick and boisterous, but our squadron nevertheless pro- ceeded, and some of the boats with much difficulty reached Kinkang-leaouy our destined resting-place, being a village of small note at the mouth of a creek on the north bank of the river. Many of our companions did not reach the anchorage until the following morn- ing, and one of the boats, having been driven from shore with only two of the crew on board, ran a narrow risk of being wrecked on the "little orphan rock." The passengers and their servants were obliged to turn out and provide for their safety by personal exer- tions. The wind continued so unfavourable and stormy, that we passed the thirteenth of November at this anchorage, the Chinese VOL. II. D Digitized by Google 50 SKETCHES OF CHINA. stating it to be about sixty ly, or less than twenty miles^ distant from tlie mouth of the Poyang lake, which we were now nearly approaching. We became naturally anxious to see this famous feature of the Chinese em- pire, which, though seventy miles in length, is only the second lake in point of size, and yields considerably in extent to the Tong ting hooy in the province Hoo-kwang. I had a printed Chinese itinerary, which, in its account of distances, varied materially from the accounts of the mandarins. It was to be expected, how- ever, that travellers on such a river as the Yang^tse-keang could not calculate their dis- tances with the same nicety as upon a turnpike road in Europe. Kwong visited the ambassador and expressed the anxieties that he had experienced during the late stormy weather, especially in reference to the boat with two of our companions so nearly wrecked. There was no difficulty in believing the Kinchae to be sincere in his professions, as it is pretty certain that any serious catastrophe, involving a number of Digitized by CjOOQ iC QUIT THE YANG-T8E--KEAN6. 51 the members of tlie mission, would be visited upon him with severity by the emperor, ac- cording to the unflinching system of respon- sibility which so strongly marks the Chinese government. The legate stated that an official report had been received of the safe arrival of all the ships of the ^nbassy at Canton. On the fourteenth of November we set sail early in the morning towards the Poyang lake, which was not twenty miles distant. On the bold and hilly shore to the left we passed Hookow-Hieviy or "the city of the lake's mouth," embosomed in high hills in a mannw not unlike Peng-tse Hien, already described. This town is at the very entrance of the Poyang, as its name imports. Here, after little less than a month's protracted, but not tedious journey, we quitted the magnificent Yang^ts^keang, nearly four hundred miles from its mouth, but still two thousand miles short of its source ! It is upwards of fifteen times longer than the river Thames, and bears about the same proportion to it, that the terri- d2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 52 SKETCHES OF CHINA. tory of China bears to that of England and Scotland. We had found its sides composed of the most beautiful country lying in the finest climate^ and planted with numerous and flourishing cities. Being the first Englishmen who had ever navigated its stream, and proba- bly the last who for a long period of years would be able to do so, the abundant leisure and opportunities afforded by our frequent halts had been employed agreeably, and per- haps not unprofitably, in strict accordance with the precept of the English poet, who says with reference to our own Thames : — " Search not its bottom, but survey its shore." We sailed into the lake by the channel, (about a mile in width,) through which it discharges its waters into the Keang. When this had been passed, the first prominent object was the Ta-koo-shdn, or " great solitary rock," rising out of the midst of the waters. In point of size, this rather exceeded the Seaou-koo-shdn previously passed, but it was inferior in irregu- Digitized by CjOOQ iC POYANG LAKE. 53 larity of shape, and general eflFect. The accessi- ble portions of the sides and the summit were occupied, as before, by temples and the dwell- ings of the priests. When the progress of our boats gave us a view from the south-west, at the distance of about three miles, the rock assumed a longer and flatter shape, not unlike a high shoe, and for this reason it is also called Heae-shdny ("the shoe rock,") by the Chinese. The Poyang does not possess that clearness of water, so frequently observable in large lakes from the subsidence and deposition of the soil previously held in suspension. So many troubled streams pour into it on all sides, from the mountainous country around, that there is not time for this operation; besides which, it is probable that the bottom of the lake is not very deep. At noon we reached Takoo-tdng^ a town situated within a deep bay, formed between what might be called the main land, and a small peninsula, jutting out like a breakwater into the lake. The mountains inland to the westward rose Digitized by CjOOQ iC 54 SKETCHES OF CHINA. gradually to a great height, until the most distant were capped with clouds, and could not be less than five thousand feet above the level of the lake. This range is called the Leur shdn, and is one of the most celebrated in China, for reasons, which will presently appear, independent of its great natural beauties. Our first excursion was a walk towards these, crossing over from the little peninsula on a sandy isthmus just broad enough to allow of a good pathway. We succeeded in reaching the top of the range of hills next in height to the Leu-sh&n, though still greatly inferior, and thence had a noble view of the lake and the surrounding country. These hills were covered with earth to the very top, but yet uncultivated. The vast variety of herbs which grew upon them were, almost without exception, strongly aromatic. A beautiful species of bright laurel- leaved oak, and the sycamore, were the trees principally observed. The rainy and unsettled weather on the 15th of November prevented our boats leaving their safe anchorage in the bay, to Digitized by CjOOQ iC CITY OF NANKANG-FOO. 55 tempt the waters of the lake. Our crews spent the interval in their noisy sacrifices with the gong, which accompanied the slaugh- ter of a cock, and the burning of much tinsel paper, with a view to securing a favourable and safe passage through the dangers. The rain did not prevent our exploring the town of Takoo-tdngy where we found many porcelain shops; and made some advantageous purchases. The abundance of this manufacture in the neighbourhood was indicated by the man- darins, our conductors, sending to the ambassa- dor and commissioners a present of forty or fifty tea-cups each. We left our anchorage at ten o'clock on the following morning, when the weather had cleared up, and proceeded towards Nankang-foo on the western shore of the lake. This inland sea had not as yet appeared to us very remark- able for its breadth; but they informed us that we had not reached the broadest part, which extends to the southward of Nankang- foo. We arrived at this city early in the day, and anchored near a mole built along the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 56 SKETCHES OP CHINA. south-eastern side of the town, forming a small harbour for boats to lie in, secure from the tempestuous waters of the lake in bad weather. Sufficient swell existed, as it was, to make it resetnble an arm of the sea,, and the shore was covere<l with shingles in the manner of a beach. Immediately on our arrival a party pro- ceeded to walk through the town. The walls were new, and appeared to have been lately buUt or repaired, but the town, strange to say, was completely desolate within. The shops were not so good as at the little town where we had lately stopped, and a very large portion of the area within the walls consisted of fields. The only decorations were a con- siderable number of stone paelows, or honorary gateways, on which the carved relief was re- markably bold, and contained representations of ancient historical events in well executed work. The inscriptions on some of these proved them to have existed between two and three hundred years, from the solid material of their Digitized by CjOOQ iC LEU-SHAN MOUNTAINS. 57 construction, very unlike the wooden gateways of the same kind which we had often seen elsewhere. The town must at some former period have been an important and flourishing place, in connexion with the literary and classical recollections of the Leu-shan in the immediate neighbourhood, which will pre- sently be noticed. We were much amused to find the customary prohibitions addressed to the people, forbidding them to communicate with us, converted at this place into four verses of seven syllables, and thus pasted up on the walls. It was probably intended that this song of non-intercourse should be committed to memory. As nothing more of interest existed within the town, we went through it to the opposite side, and pursued our walk in the direction of the lofty range of the Xeu-shan, some of whose highest peaks were evidently covered with snow drifts. Keeping a very fine and conspicuous water-fall in view, we reached the bottom of the range, and observed that the rocks were of the primitive kinds. The late- d3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 58 SKETCHES OF CHINA. ness of the hour compelled us to return sooner than we wished, but with a detennination to renew the attempt to ascend at an early hour on the following day, if still at our anchor- age. The beauty and sublimity of these moun- tains, combined with other associations, has rendered them the frequent subject of poetical celebration. The following lines are literally translated from some verses written by a Chi- nese who had ascended to the top : — *^ Yonder falls a precipitous cascade of three thousand feet ; Here the hibiscus shades every rising siunmit ; The mountain touches the sky and separates the orbs ; The drifting snows fly amidst the thunder. I am like a white bird among the clouds ; I insult the winds, and invade the profound abyss. As I turn and look down on each neighbouring province, The evening smoke of the dwellings appears in blue specks." A southerly wind fortunately prevented our moving on the 17th, and we accordingly set out in a large party with the intelition of reaching the mountains, and ascending them. Four miles of the distance were accomplished Digitized by CjOOQ iC LEU-SHAN MOUNTAINS. 59 before we seemed tx> be more than half way ; at which some were so far dispirited as to content themselves with surveying the country from an insulated hill in the neighbourhood, and then returning towards the boats. Others of us, less fatigued or more enterprising, aug- mented our speed with the determination of sealing the heights. Seeing a pagoda perched up at the elevation of many hundred feet near the water-fall, we made that our mark, and fortunately dis- covered a regular pathway up one of the ravines. As the increasing elevation changed the climate, we gradually observed the plants and trees which are found in a natural state in England. Slate appeared to be a principal constituent of this long and stupendous range ; and in the neighbourhood were quarries of fine granite. In about three hours and a half after quitting the town we reached the pagoda, a most romantic spot, which fully repaid the labour of attaining it. To the left of the pagoda, and just above the waterfall, was a small temple, near which Digitized by CjOOQ iC 60 SKETCHES OF CHINA. we observed some priests across the ravine which separated us. To this we accordingly directed our steps, not without the hope of some rest and refreshment after our up-hill walk of eight or nine miles, which must be repeated on the return. Our clerical friends expressed as much surprise at our strange appearance as befitted persons of their reserved character ; but civilly presented us with tea, and with the meagre and anchorite fare to which their sect is restricted; though scandal whispers that there are always better things ev ro> xpuTrro), — in the cupboard. I wrote in Chinese the names of our party, and the occasion which had brought us, and left it at the pagoda ; after which it was time to return. The cascade on finishing its descent formed one or two beautifully clear and pebbly streams, which wandered through the finely cultivated plain between the mountains and the lake, before they emptied themselves into the latter. We crossed these several times over bridges of hewn granite, well built of immensely long blocks of that material; for Digitized by CjOOQ iC HALL OF CONFUCIUS. 61 which, however, I had been fully prepared by the skill with which the Chinese quarry that hardest of stones near Canton. We were glad to reach our boats after a delightful excursion of nearly eighteen miles fast walking. Two days further delay at our present halt- ing-place would have tired us, had the neigh- bourhood of Nankang-foo been less worthy of attention ; but the time was fully occupied. Another excursion towards the mountains brought us to a romantic dell not far from the bottom of the waterfall, where we found gigantic characters, some feet in length, cut deeply into the face of the native rock, and calculated to endure for centuries. They were memorials of persons who had visited the spot, and who must have employed practised work- men in the execution. On returning to the town, a handsome tem- ple or hall of Confucius, styled Wun miaouy (temple of letters,) attracted my attention. The granite of the Leu-shan formed the pave- ment, the steps, and the basement of a number of courts and halls in which were arranged Digitized by CjOOQ iC 62 SKETCHES OF CHINA. tablets, commemorative of the worthies of the province and city ; while the principal apart- ment of the temple contained the tablet of the great teacher himself, with the inscription, " The seat of the deified Confucius, most holy teacher of ancient times." Everything in this city wore a cast of Chinese antiquity and let- ters, even to the materials of writing ; for the slate of the mountains supplies the substance of which they manufacture their slabs for rubbing the cakes of ink. This district was not the birthplace of Con- fucius, who was a native of Shantung; but his great disciple and commentator Choo-tsze lived and taught in a secluded valley about seven or eight miles distant from the city. A party of us started on the 19th of November to ex- plore this spot, and having at first missed our way, were obliged to find a Chinese to guide us. It was situated in a nook by the side of a rivulet which flowed down from the moun- tains, and was called " the vale of the white deer," from a tradition that the sage employed such an animal to bring his provisions from Digitized by CjOOQ iC COMMERCIAL TOWN OF WOOCHIN. 63 the market, by slinging a basket to its horns. The deer was represented in the hall of the temple by a figure. A tree was pointed out as having been planted by the Chinese philoso- pher, just as Voltaire's tree is shown at Femey. This spot was now appropriately dedicated to the purposes of education. In pne of the apartments, used as a schoolroom^ were sus- pended five large tablets, on which was in- scribed a dissertation on the " five human re- lations," which they designate as — 1. Father and son ; 2. Prince and minister ; 3. Husband and wife ; 4. Elder and younger brothers ; 5. Friends among each other. The buildings were comprised in a number of different courts, but quite plain, and evidently intended for use rather than show. This valley forms a place of pilgrimage to the literati of China. We quitted Nankang-foo at six o'clock on the morning of the 20th of November, and as the wind blew strong from the north-west, made great progress through this last portion of our journey on the lake, which terminated on the arrival of the boats at Wixhchiny a very Digitized by CjOOQ iC 64 SKETCHES OP CHINA. considerable place, though not dignified with any of the three terms applied to walled cities. We were much surprised, on walking through the town, to find it excel not only Nankang-foo in riches and population, but most other cities that we had hitherto seen. The gradual approach to Canton was marked by the bales of woollens and other European manufactures in the shops ; and in one place we' found a view of the factories, and of the ships at Whampoa. Two very hand- some temples, perhaps the finest we had yet seen, attracted our notice. One of them was dedicated to Wan-show-choOy " the lord of long life;" a gift which is probably highly valued by the rich and prosperous merchants, who con- gregate at Wo(hchin from the north, south, and east of the empire. The three good things which every Chinese wishes his friends at the new year, are F8, Lo, ShoWy " Happiness, wealth, and long life.** On quitting the Poyang lake at this point, we were surprised to have found the average breadth so much less than had been expected. Digitized by CjOOQ iC POYANG LAKE. 65 It may possibly extend considerably to the south-east ; or the flat expanse, on which we were now entering, might occasionally be flooded in such a manner as to have caused the designation of lake to be applied to that also. We had already seen to the northward that what elsewhere would be called only swamps, were frequently distinguished by the Chinese with the name of Hoo^ or lake. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 66 CHAPTER XIII. Emperor's birth-day — city of ATancfein^/oo—change of boats — ^Porcelain — ^niue Chinese bottles from Egyptian tombs — examined — a conflagration — military degrees — parallel with civil — cricket match in the centre of China — Asiatic inertness — examinations of literary candidates — ^moral instruction — ^popular maxims and sayings. Having quitted the Poyang lake, we were now in a sort of delta (if the embouchures of seve- ral rivers combined may be allowed that term), formed of the alluvial dibris brought down by the streams towards the lake, and intersected by a great number of channels. Along one of these we proceeded on the 21st of November towards Narvchang-foo^ the capital of Keangsy^ and reached a place called Whangshan, still above twenty miles from our destination. The river being narrow, and the stream against us, trackers again became serviceable, and we re- sumed our walks along the shore. The first Digitized by Google emperor's birth-day. 67 pasture that we had yet seen in China now occurred. It extended a long way from the banks, and being closely eaten by the bu&loes and other cattle which grazed it, was as level and smooth as a lawn. On the morning of the 22nd the wind was too light to make any way against the stream, and we brought up at a place called Tseaaur shay ; but in the course of an hour resumed our route. We were given to understand that in two days hence, the 24th November, would be the anniversary of the emperor's birth-day, an occasion always specially and reverently cele- brated by the officers of government. The Kinchae, our conductor, with a want of pene- tration which was hardly to have been ex- pected from a person of his sense and acuteness, appears to have entertained a hope that the am- bassador might be induced to join in the pros- tration at this place, notwithstanding all that had occurred near Peking ! He did not introduce the subject himself, but employed one of the Canton native linguists to sound the second commissioner, from whom Digitized by CjOOQ iC 68 SKETCHES OF CHINA. such answers were obtained as convinced the legate that his hopes were utterly fruitless. In order to show that every disposition existed on the part of the British embassy to honour the emperor, short of the last act of humiliation, a message was sent by the ambassador saying that his excellency would be happy to compliment the emperor after the English fashion, by parading the guard and firing a salute, should it meet with his approbation. To this a civil answer was returned by the legate to the effect that " he thanked his lordship for the proposal, but as this was not the Chinese custom, he would not trouble him." I expected as much ; for, so far as we are concerned, the emperor must be aut Ccesar^ aut nullus. In the course of this little piece of negocia- tion it was intimated by the legate that as the emperor's birth-day would be the occasion of considerable bustle within the city itself of Nanchang^foOy and as there would, moreover, be an examination of students, he requested that the gentlemen of the embassy would ab- stain from visiting the interior, for fear of the Digitized by CjOOQ iC CITY OF NANCHANG-FOO. 69 cliances of trouble. There seemed nothing unreasonable in this request, considering the perfect liberty that had been enjoyed by us. No restriction, at the same time, was interposed as regarded the suburbs, which in Chinese towns differ little, if at all, from the interior of their walled towns. Early on the morning of the 23rd our boats were anchored at Nanchang-foo. This city is said to have been a great sufferer by the Tar- tars at the last conquest, who left nothing ex- cept the walls ; but the interior has been since restored. In all those instances where we had seen a considerable circuit of city walls only partly filled with an inhabited town, I was told that the void space was the result of Tartar devastation, which had never since been re- paired. Nanking and Nanchang-foo are espe- cial instances of this. The southern capital was, of course, the particular object of their attack. We were now about to ascend the river which flows down from the mountains forming the boundary of Keangsy and Canton pro- Digitized by CjOOQ iC 70 SKETCHES OF CHINA. vinces ; and as both the rapidity and the shal- lowness of the stream must naturally increase as we mounted towards the source, it became necessary to embark at this place in boats of a different size and construction from our l^ist The new boats were found drawn up in a line along the bank of the river; the legate had given such bad accounts of their size and ac- commodation that they surpassed our expecta- tions, and seemed capable, after some alteration, of being made tolerably comfortable. The boat, however, which was provided for the am- bassador appearing to be much inferior to that of the Kinchae, it was determined that a better vessel should be procured before any luggage was allowed to be moved. While search was making for this purpose, the owners of some boats on the other side of the river came to me, and saying that the man- darins who had the charge of providing boats had procured the oldest and the worst for us, requested we would go over and look at them ; adding that if we insisted on it, they would be our s. On inspecting these, we found three Digitized by CjOOQ iC PORCELAIN. 71 boats mucli superior to any of the rest, and selected the best of them for his excellency. The mandarins on the following morning stated that we could not have them, but brought an- other very good boat with glass windows, which proved satisfactory, and similar windows were added to some of the others. The party of four with whom I had travelled being too much for the new boats, we separated into pairs for the remainder of the journey. On proceeding into the suburbs of the city, these appeared in no wise different from the city itself, which some of the party entered without knowing it. The porcelain shops were extremely well furnished, and reminded us of our vicinity to the great emporium of porcelain, Jaou'chow FoOj which lies about sixty miles distant on the north-east; while King-te- ching, the place of Inanufacture, is a little be- yond that, in the same direction. It was here that P^re Dentrecolles, the intelligent Jesuit, passed some years of his life, and acquired that intimate knowledge of the methods practised by the Chinese in the porcelain manufacture. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 72 SKETCHES OF CHINA. which firsf gave rise to its imitation in Europe. The knowledge of the finest kinds of porce- lain is not of very ancient date in China ; but various sorts of earthenware and pottery were known to this ingenious people in the earliest periods of their history. It is reasonable to suppose that they proceeded by gradual stages from one to the other ; and that the improve- ment of the opaque and coarse-grained earth- enware, with a glaze on its surface, until it became that beautiful semi-transparent sub- stance which we now admire in their porcelain, was the work of ages. This is proved by the antique specimens which the Chinese are fond of collecting. In connexion with this subject, I introduce a curious topic, which was slightly noticed in a previous work,* but concerning which much additional information has since been obtained. It is about five years since the public atten- tion was drawn to the fact of several little porcelain bottles, inscribed with Chinese cha- * * The Chinese.' Digitized by CjOOQ iC CHINESE PORCELAIN BOTTLES. 73 racters, having been found in Egypt, mixed up with the scarabsei and gems, and other small objects in the ancient tombs of Thebes. Of these, Mr. Wilkinson, in his work *0n the Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyp- tians,' observes as follows : — " The accidental discovery of a single bottle of this kind would naturally pass unheeded, and if we felt surprised that it should be depo- sited in an Egyptian sepulchre, conjecture would reasonably suggest that an accidental visitor in later times might have dropped it there, while searching for ancient treasures of a more valuable kind. But this explanation ceases to be admissible when we find the same have been discovered in various Thehan tombs. I myself have seen several, two of which I brought to England ; another is described by the learned Professor Rosellini, and found by him in a previously unopened Eg]rptian tomb of uncertain date, which he refers, from the style of the sculpture, to a Pharaonic period, not much later than the eighteenth dynasty ; a fourth is in the museum at Jersey; another VOL. II. E Digitized by Google 74 SKETCHES OF CHINA. was purcliased by Lord Prudhoe at Coptos, and is now in the museum at Alnwick Castle ; two (three) others are in the possession of Mrs. Bowen ; and another belongs to Mr. William Hamilton. They are about two inches in height; one side presents a flower, and the other an inscription," &c. Here then, are no less than nine porcelain bottles from Egypt, most of which I have seen, and read the Chinese inscriptions with which they are ornamented. Mr. Wilkinson sup- poses that they were brought into Egypt through India, with which country he believes the Egyptians to have traded at a very remote period ; and he states it as his opinion that they were applied to the ordinary purpose of holding the kohly or coUyrium, used by women for staining their eyelids.* When I saw in Lord Prudhoe's possession the first specimen that came under my obser- vation, his lordship informed me that the little bottle had not been found by himself in a * * Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,' vol. iii. Digitized by CjOOQ iC PORCELAIN BOTTLES EXAMINED. 75 tomb, but purchased from the fellahs at Cop- tos, near Thebes, in company with some of the small Egyptian relics which are there found in such numbers. On my arrival at Florence soon afterwards, I discovered by chance that Mrs. Bowen, a traveller in Egypt, had three more of these bottles, purchased in like manner from the fellahs, for the value of a few sous, together with scarabaei, and other small an- tiques. As an object of gain, then, there does not seem to have been any great temptation for the practice of fraud on the part of the sellers. When I had examined Signor RoseUini's specimen in the grand duke's museum at Flo- rence, I wrote to the professor at Pisa, re- questing he would favor me with a statement of the circumstances under which he had be- come possessed of the bottle. The following is an extract of the reply which I received to my letter: — " Lorsque je faisais faire de fouilles dans le necropole de Thebes, j'avais donne ordre qu'i e2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 76 SKETCHES OF CHINA. la decouverte d'un tombeau intact on m ap- pella k rinstant, et que personne n'osa y entrer avant moi. C'est de cette fa^on que je suis entre le premier dans trois tombeaux, dont j'ai abattu moi-meme le petit mur en briques qui bouche Tentree k la chambre sepulcrale. Ayant penetre dans un de ces trois tombeaux, j y ai trouve, avec d'autres objets Egyptiens, places dans un petit panier tissu de feuilles de palmier^ le petit vase en question." The above is very positive and circumstantial testimony, from a respectable source, as to the situation and manner in which one of the bot- tles was found. The only other evidence that we possess consists in the appearances pre- sented by the things themselves. On the first inspection of Lord Prudhoe's specimen, it so happened that I had in my possession a modern snuff or scent bottle from China, exactly alike in size and shape, but altogether different in the nature of the porcelain ; that from the Egyp- tian tombs being extremely coarse, while the modem Chinese bottle, on the contrary, was Digitized by Google PORCELAIN BOTTLES EXAMINED. 77 of the finest transparent porcelain now manu- factured by them, and freely admitting of the passage of light through its sides. This dif- ference in the substance might have led to the inference that the bottles were not Chinese, had not the inscribed characters placed this point beyond a doubt. From the nature of the manufacture, then, it might be concluded that the bottles from Egypt were made at a period when the art in China was yet in its infancy. The next point to be considered is the character inscribed. This is the contracted or running-hand used in writing, the commencement of which it seems difficult to assign with much certainty to any particular date, though Dr. Morrison, in his Dictionary, refers the first use of this form to the early part of the Christian era. The cha- racter is just the same as that used in printing, but contracted for the sake of rapidity in writ- ing: as soon, therefore, as writing came into use, the contraction of the characters would be most likely to follow as a matter of conve- nience or necessity; and hence the difficulty Digitized by CjOOQ iC 78 SKETCHES OF CHINA. of affixing it as an invention to any particular period. The inscription on every bottle that I have seen from Egypt consists of a line of five words, being in fact a verse of poetry. It is remark- able that three of the bottles have exactly the same inscription, with some diflference in the legibility of the characters — Hwa kae^ yew yS nien—of which this is the signification — " The flower opens, and lo, another year." Every one of the bottles has a flower or a sprig rudely sketched on the reverse side in black and red. A fourth bottle has inscribed on it, Che tsae tsze shan choong — " Only in the midst of this Digitized by CjOOQ iC PORCELAIN BOTTLES EXAMINED. 79 mountain." The cliaracters on this specimen are plainer than on any of the others, and easily legible at first sight. The surfaces of some of them have suflFered from age and at- trition, the enamel and inscription being par- tially worn. On another is exhibited the following line of five words, Ming yuS soong choong chaou — "The bright moon shines amidst the firs." This is the specimen adduced in ' The Chinese/ and it is one of the most obscure with refers ence to the condition of the characters. A sixth bottle, on which the writing is very distinct, bears this verse, Heng hwa Digitized by CjOOQ iC 80 SKETCHES OF CHINA. hoong shS ly — " The almond flower blushes for ten miles around." This is traceable to a Chinese song or poem older than the Christian era. The specimen in the museum at Jersey, and that in Mr. Hamilton's possession, I have not yet seen. It is strange that another of these curious bottles, identical in size, color, material, and general appearance, was lately found at Mat- lock, in Derbyshire, by Lord Prudhoe, who kindly forwarded it to me. It difiers from the others only in having ten characters inscribed instead of five ; but in other respects is so per- Digitized by CjOOQ iC PORCELAIN BOTTLES EXAMINED. 81 fecdy the same, that one is ahnost persuaded the whole number of bottles were produced at the same time, aud in the same place, if not by the same hand. I can only account for its being found at Matlock by that place being a resort for strangers, one of whom had it in his pos- session (perhaps from Egypt), and left it there. The repeated discovery of these little vases, among the small Egyptian relics, not in one tomb merely but in several, must be viewed as an extraordinary fact, when backed by the per- sonal testimony of Signor Rosellini, and of others. The professor observes in his letter to myself — " .Tai ete bien surpris de cette de- couverte, d'autant plus que plusieurs fragmens de vases pareilles m'avaient ^te offerts paries fellahs, et je les avais refuses, en croyant que c'etait de la moderne manufacture de Chine, porte par quelque hasard en Egypte. Le tombeau ou j'ai trouve ce petit vase n'avait pas de date, mais d'apr^s son emploiement, et le style des objets qu'il contient, je le juge appartenant au temps des dynasties XVIII"^, a la XX°*' ; ce6t-k-dire,de dix-huit k onze si^cles avant J. C. e3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 82 SKETCHES OF CHINA. Plus tard M. Wilkinson ma assure avoir lui- meme trouve, dans un tombeau intact k Thebes, un petit vase Chinois presque semblable."* These testimonies being impartially stated, every one may draw his own inferences. Sup- posing the high antiquity of the bottles to be established, two interesting conclusions would be deducible : — First, that the Egyptians at a remote period had some communication, either direct or indirect with China, and that they set some value on these porcelain bottles, which in their bluish green color resemble the coarse porcelain objects of undoubted Egyptian origin, found with them.f Secondly, that the Chinese practised the manufacture of porcelain at a very early date, but in a degree of fineness greatly inferior to the present state of the art. That portion of the internal evidence which most militates against the high antiquity of these specimens, is the form of the character y * Mr. Wilkinson only purchased his of the Arabs. t I have remarked, in my former work on China, that the round metallic mirrors in Mr. Salt's collection struck me at once by their perfect identity with the ancient metallic mir- rors of the Chinese, preserved by them to this day, but now superseded by the use of glass. Digitized by CjOOQ iC PORCELAIN BOTTLES EXAMINED. 83 which certainly is not that which the Chinese ascribe to their remotest periods. One of the verses, too, is said to belong to the Tdng dynasty (a.d. 622--897) ; but this is less de- cisive, as it might then have been borrowed from something earlier; and the three hun- dred poems compiled by Confucius himself, five hundred years before Christ, were of a date much anterior to that period. It is supposed by many that the Egyptian tombs have (some of them at least) received a succession of tenants, and that a portion of their contents are therefore not referable to a very remote antiquity. Under this supposi- tion, the appearances of the bottles would be- come more reconcileable with the circumstances under which they appeared. They might be- long to the period of the Roman empire, when we know that there was a direct intercourse with China, or they might perhaps be brought as low down as the period of the Arabian com- merce with that country. I am afraid that the subject must continue to remain involved in considerable doubt, until our expected con- Digitized by CjOOQ iC 84 SKETCHES OF CHINA. quests in China have enabled the Society of Antiquaries to establish a direct correspondence with the Hdnlin Ccdlege at Peking ! Although the 24th of November was the emperor s birthday, during our stay at Nanr chang Foo^ we could perceive no particular bustle among the people ; the observance of the day was confined exclusively to the mandarins. Some presents for the embassy were brought from the legate, and on every subsequent day during our stay something or other came from the judge and treasurer of Keangndn, who had travelled with us thus far, and were to leave us at this place. A dangerous fire (in Chinese towns a fire is always particularly dangerous) broke out on the opposite side of the river to that where our squadron was anchored. We all mounted on the tops of the boats to view it, and his excel- lency sent a message to the l^te, offering to despatch two engines, which were among the presents, to assist in extinguishing the con- flagration. This offer, however, was declined, and we could see the Chinese working an en- Digitized by CjOOQ iC CONFLAGRATION. 85 gine against the flames with great effect. It seems that from Canton the use and manufac- ture of the fire-engine has become universal through China; proving that, where an in- vention or discovery is of undoubted practical utility, they are not above availing themselves of it, as they have shown in the case of vaccination, and some other instances. In about two hours the fire was completely extingubhed, after burning down several houses, and destroying, as we were afterwards told, a great deal of property. Some of our party walked round the walls of the city, and found it answering to the de- scription in the first volume of Duhalde, the area being nearly six miles in circuit, of an oval shape, and with seven gates. In the course of their excursion they came suddenly upon a very curious scene — this was a military examination for degrees of honor. Three man- darins were contending in archery. They started one by one from an ornamented gate- way, erected for the purpose, on their small horses finely decorated^ and galloping past three Digitized by CjOOQ iC 86 SKETCHES OF CHINA. successive butts (placed forty or fifty paces from each other), shot an arrow at each. The mark was very large and at no great distance, but the skill seemed to consist in fitting and aiming the arrows with such rapidity while the horses were at speed. Several mandarins of rank were present in their badges of ceremony, and a vast concourse of spectators assembled to view each candidate, ** Doctum eagittas tendere Sinicas Arcu patemo." " Learned in archery" particularly applies in this instance, as the Chinese have military de- grees corresponding in name to the civil, al- though much less highly prized among them. A " military doctor" does certainly sound very strangely, and it may be apprehended that some of these learned individuals must be greatly puzzled by the novel practice of shot and shells to which they are exposed in the pending contest with our forces ; almost justifying the application of Milton's punning lines — " The terms we send are terms of weight, Of hard contents, and full of force urged home ; Digitized by CjOOQ iC ■"^•■^ MILITARY DEGREES. 87 Such as we might perceive amus'd them all, Aud stumbled many." — Parad. Lost. The military system of the Chinefie becomes in a measure interesting to us at present, and there is some detail of it in the writings of the Jesuits. The Bachelors in arms equal in numbers their literary compeers, but almost all of them are Tartars. Those among them who aspire to the next higher step undergo an examination or trial once in three years at the chief city of each province, two months after the literary examination, or about the tenth moon, which was nearly the date of our stay at Nanchang Foo. There are three examinations for the mili- tary Bachelors, and the viceroy presides at them. The first (that viewed by our party) consists in archery; the second in horseman- ship; and the third in what may be termed strategics, as the candidates are furnished with subjects of composition on points relating to the military art. The names of the successful com- petitors are publicly exhibited, as in the case of the literary degrees. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 88 SKETCHES OF CHINA. The military doctors pass their examination at Peking, in the same year with the literary; and those who gain this highest degree have a claim to all the military employments which correspond to the civil ones filled by the doctors in letters. This strange parallel between the civil and military profession is said to have been instituted by the present Manchow em- perors. Numberless precautions are used to obviate the effects of favor and interest in these examinations^ military as well as civil. Al- though the punishment of death is attached to the discovery of corrupt practkes> it is un- derstood that the sons of powerful mandarins are occasionally advanced unfairly, and to the prejudice of those who have less influential supporters. The Kinchae appeared to be either very partial to the city at which we were now stay- ing, or, for some reason unknown to us, very unwilling to hasten our progress towards Can- ton. The emperor s birthday passed over, and two days after that, without any symptoms of moving, although our new boats were all ready Digitized by CjOOQ iC A VISIT. 89 and occupied. On the 26tli of the month Kwong Tajm visited the ambassador^ accom- panied by the judge and a military mandarin of rank. In the course of conversation, the legate was invited by his excellency to partake of an entertainment subsequent to our ap- proaching arrival at Canton/ on board His Majesty's ^frigate ; and it was observed to him that Soong Tigin, the conductor of Lord Ma- cartney, had dined on board the Lion. Kwong replied, very politely,^ that he was much behind that minister in talent, but that his good wishes towards us were quite as sincere. "How," exclaimed he, turning to the other Chinese oflSicers, ** shall I be able to part with my friends?" His good humour appeared to have been par- ticularly excited by this meeting, as the Kinchae afterwards sent a pleasure-boat, attended by two mandarins, to convey the ambassador and commissioners to a temple, erected by the salt merchants of the place. It turned out to be a very splendid one, the whole of the idols, and the inside of the building, being quite new. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 90 SKETCHES OF CHINA. and on a scale of grandeur not surpassed by any that we had seen. ^Fhese salt merchants are the farmers of the Chinese gabelle, or salt revenue, and derive from their monopoly a fund of wealth superior to that of the Hong mer- chants, or monopolists of the European trade at Canton. A sort of public exhibition, truly and ex- clusively English, took place to-day at Nan- chang Foo ; the first of the kind, it may safely be averred, that had ever occurred in the heart of the Chinese empire. This was nothing more nor less than a cricket matchy between two elevens of the embassy. An immense, but very well-behaved concourse of the Chi- nese population assembled to view a spectacle so entirely novel to them, and stood in a huge circle formed by their police and soldiery. As the hits increased in hardness, the circle quickly enlarged itself, until every portion of it was at a respectful distance from the players, while several balls that plunged among the dense crowd created no small commotion. These active and hardy national habits con- Digitized by CjOOQ iC ASIATIC INERTNESS. 91 trast strongly with the inertness of the upper and middle classes in the East. Even among the lower orders of the Chinese, great as their industry may be in procuring a livelihood, or exercising a profession, the endurance of active exertion or toil from any other motive than necessity, or with any other object than gain, is ahnost unknown. The literary dignity of the upper classes would be quite compromised by such a rude exercise of the muscles as they beheld on this occasion. One of the man- darins expressed his surprise to me in the evening; and as I endeavoured to make him comprehend that the sedentary pursuits of learning were not the less valued among us for any thing that he had seen to-day, this led to a conversation respecting the triennial exa- mination for literary degrees which had lately terminated at Narichang Foo. It is the invariable rule to commence these examinations on the 8th day of the 8th moon. The two first days are occupied with the " Four Books" of Confucius ; the two next with the "Five Canonical works," — all these are the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 92 SKETCHES OF CHINA. standard of Chinese orthodoxy. Two more days are spent upon general subjects, chiefly political essays, and the whole process of the examina- tion is concluded in about nine days. To pre- vent any communication of their essays to persons outside, all the candidates are regis- tered, and locked up together within the en- closure for two successive nights at each of the above examinations. They are strictly searched, and allowed to have nothing in their possession but blank paper, ink, and their hair pencils for writing. The three species of composition at the above examinations are first, ff^wnrchangj or "fine writing ;" secondly, She^ " verses ;" and thirdly, Tscy " essays on politics or government" Novel tiieories "in advance of the age" meet with no favour, however well expressed. Everything must be Confucian in sentiment and principle as well as style. In this the Hdnlin College at Peking is a sort of Sorbonne, which dictates the points of orthodox belief, and watchfully guards against heretical innovation. Such in- stitutions account for the stationary state of Digitized by CjOOQ iC MORAL INSTRUCTION. 93 Chinese knowledge, and at the same time ex- plain one of the causes which have contributed to the stability of the Chinese system. The famous Choo-tsze (pi whom we have read some pages back) defined learning to* be " imitating, or conforming one's practice to the prescribed rule;" thus all the learned of China are the servum pecus denounced by the Latin poet. The most commendable feature of their sys- tem is the general diffiision of elementary moral education among the lower orders. To borrow the opening paragraph of the Seaou-heoy or " book of youthful instruction," the children of the poor and labouring classes are taught " to love their parents, to respect their supe- riors, to honour their teachers, to select their friends — fundamental principles in governing one's self; in regulating a family; in ruling a nation ; in tranquillising the world." It is in the preference of moral to physical instruction that even we might perhaps wisely take a leaf out of the Chinese book, and do something to reform this most mechanical age of our's. This chapter may close with a collection of Digitized by CjOOQ iC 94 SKETCHES OF CHINA. additional maxims and sentences picked up in the course of Chinese reading. Some of them are good, others indiflFerent ; but all sufficiently characteristic of the curious people who at pre- sent occupy so much of our attention. Maxims and Sayings. 1. Newness is valued in the garment, but antiquity in the man. 2. For the sake of one good action, a hun- dred evil ones should be forgotten. 3. The loftiest building arises from small accretions. 4. Let me fulfil my own part, and await the will of heaven. 5. Frugality is not difficult to the poor, nor humility to the low. 6. The straightest trees are first felled, and the clearest wells first dried up. 7. To the unwilling, the wing of a grasshop- per is heavy; but to the willing a thousand kin are light. 8. The best swimmers are oftenest drowned, and the best riders have the worst falls. Digitized by CjOOQ iC MAXIMS AND SAYINGS. 95 9. The tongue, which is yielding, endures ; the teeth, which are stubborn, perish. 10. The people are the roots of a state ; if the roots are flourishing the state will endure. 11. The blind have the best ears, and the deaf the sharpest eyes. 12. Life is a journey, and death a return home. 13. It is better to suffer an injury, than to commit one. 14. Causeless anger resembles waves without wind. 15. The horse's back is not so safe as the buffalo's — (The mandarin is not so secure as the husbandman). 16. A hunter's dog will at last die a violent death (i. e. he who lives by the destruction of others). 17. The wisest must in a thousand times be once mistaken ; the most foolish in a thousand times must be once right. 18. Forbearance is attended with profit. (The word patience is often inscribed on the rings of the Chinese.) Digitized by CjOOQ iC 96 SKETCHES OF CHINA. 19. He must be bad whom everybody con- demns. 20. He who is willing to inquire will excel ; but the self-suflBcient man will fail. 21. Evil is more easily learned than good. 22. Anger is like a little fire, which if not timely checked may burn down a lofty pile. 23. It is easier to fill lakes and rivers than to satisfy the heart of man. 24. He who hastens to be rich incurs peril. 25. Evil conduct is the " root of misery." 26. While silent, consider your own faults ; and, while speaking, spare those of others. 27. He who is clothed in silk is seldom a rearer of silkworms. 28. A discontented man is like a snake who would swallow an elephant. 29. Too much lenity multiplies crimes. 30. Water is less dreaded flian fire; yet fewer suffer by fire than by water. 31. When the error is committed, the good advice is remembered — too late. 32. Every day cannot be a " feast of lan- terns." Digitized by CjOOQ iC MAXIMS AND SAYINGS. 97 33^ Fine gold fears not the fire, nor solid stone the water. 34. The house wherein learning abounds will rise ; that in which pleasure prevails will faU. 35. The husbandman wishes for rain ; the traveller for fair feather. 36. To spoil what is good by unseasonable- ness, is like letting off fireworks in rain. 37. A leaky house on a rainy night — one misfortune upon another. 38. If men will have no care for the future, they will soon have sorrow for the present. 39. To look, listen, ask, and feel, is the busi- ness of a physician. 40. An ignorant doctor is no better than a murderer. 41. The sick man learns the advantages of health. 42. He who will have fresh fish must not mind the cost. 43. A large tree has some rotten branches ; an extensive kindred includes some beggars. 44. When the crane and the oyster tug to- VOL. II. F Digitized by CjOOQ iC 98 SKETCHES OF CHINA. gether, the fisherman makes his gain of it (ap- plied to litigation). 45. A man must make himself despicable before he can be really despised by others. 46. In every matter leave a little spare ground — (carry nothing to extremes). 47. Hear both sides, and all will be clear ; hear but one, and you will still be in the dark. 48. Kind feeling may be paid with kind ieeling ; but debts must be paid with hard cash. 49. To find others exactly like me is not possible ; unless there were two 7n£s. 50. A needle is not sharp at both ends — (nihil est ab omni parte beatum). 51. Plant a flower with care, and it may not grow; stick in a willow at random, and it forms a thick shade. 52. Old age is like . a candle in the wind — easily blown out. 53. To show the value of secrecy, an emperor made a statue of gold with its mouth closed. 54. Love of gain turns wise men into fools. 55. He who has many acquaintances will be mixed up with many troubles. Digitized by CjOOQ iC \ MAXIMS AND SAYINGS. 99 56. To be over-prudent is not much better than folly. 57. A scholar s children are familiar with books ; a farmer s sons are versed in the sea- sons. 58. Wife, fortune, children, and profession — are all predestined. 59. A wife should excel in four things — virtue, speech, person, and needlework. 60. High trees feel the wind ; lofty station is obnoxious to danger. 61. A certain sage feared the testimony of four witnesses — ^heaven, earth, his neighbour, and himself. 62. To contrive is man's part ; to accomplish is heaven's. 63. Those above should not oppress those below ; nor those below encroach on those above. 64. He, who could see only three days into futurity, might enrich himself for ever. 65. To be fully fed, and warmly clothed, and to dwell at ease without learning, is little better than a bestial state. F 2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 100 SKETCHES OF CHINA. 66. If a chattering bird be not placed in the mouth, vexation will not sit between the eyebrows. 67. Prosperity produces liberality and mode- ration of temper. 68. An illiterate person is like a dry ink- stone — turn it upside down, not a drop of ink comes from it. 69. A good rat will not injure the grain near its own hole — (It is an ill bird, &c.). 70. Think how you can sell a thing before you buy it. 71. Produce much, consume little; labour diligently, spend cautiously — (the way to get rich). 72. To persecute the unfortunate, is like throwing stones on one Fallen into a well. 73. He, who has a yellow face and white teeth, is an opium smoker. 74. When paths are constantly trodden they are kept clean, but when abandoned the weeds choke them up; so weeds choke the mind in the absence of employment. Digitized by Google ^•K>l:..:r- r CHAPTER XIV. Peculiar boats on the Kankeang — difficult navigation — symptoms of jealous precaution — ^merely local — town of Wanganhien—'liBUl of ancestors — mountain scenery — white camellia— eighteen rapids — scraping a channel for boats — city of Kanchowfoo — ^bamboo water wheels — halt at i\ran^an^M>— preparations for land journey — cross the Mei'ling pass — Chinese repast — increased military — reach Canton province. The river^ by name Kankeang^ against whose course we were now to make our way towards the frontier of Canton province, becomes so shallow as well as rapid near its source, that the boats which navigate it are of a peculiarly light construction. The upper works are en- tirely of matting, shaped like the tilt of a waggon, and the stem and stern rise with a sweeping curve high out of the water. In this manner they are made as buoyant as possible, and encounter the rapids and rocks which beset their course with comparative im- punity. These matted habitations were cer- Digitized by CjOOQ iC 102/- , . •dWEtCHBS'OP ^HINA. tainly far from prepossessing in their appear- ance ; but it was satisfactory to find that the legate himself was obliged to submit to neces- sity, and that he occupied one no better than our own. On trial they proved far more comfortable and water-tight than was expected. We quitted Nanchang on the 27th November with wet and boisterous weather, calculated to put any boats to the test, and were surprised to find them turn out so well. The wind being con- trary we made but small progress, and were obliged to stop at a place called She-kea, about fifty ly from our starting place. It proved to be a small country town, but with respectable shops, and an old pagoda of seven stories in the vicinity. The weather was so miserably wet, as to put a short stop to an attempted excur- sion into the country. We proceeded on the following day with no better auspices, our boats being poled against the stream with long bamboos, at the lower extremity of which was an iron point, to pre- vent their slipping against the rocks. The Digitized by CjOOQ iC DIFFICULT NAVIGATION. 103 bed of the river was composed of shingles and gravel, with occasional masses of stone jutting out. After the muddy canals and rivers to the northward, it was a gratifying change to travel along this clear and fresh-looking stream, and we only wanted a change in our dismal weather to render the journey a pleasant one. The flat country which we had just passed through began to assume a more varied and picturesque appearance, with occasional clumps of trees, and insulated hills. The massive camphor tree with its dark green leaves, resembling the Ilex in hue, was very abundant, and a great ornament to the landscape. Our resting-place on the 28th was Foong-ching Men, a small town with walls, but not the tenth part of the size of many places which do not rank with it municipally. The only thing we had to be satisfied with, was our reception, which was honoured with some very grand paehws (or- namented gateways), and rather more Chinese music than we wished for. The character of a mountain stream was marked by the great banks of gravel and stones Digitized by CjOOQ iC 104 SKETCHES OF CHINA. which constantly appeared above the water in the channel of the river. Stone embankments were occasionally observed on each side, to serve as a security against the sudden swellings of the stream. It was difficult to imagine how we could proceed at aU further on, as our light boats already touched ground very frequently. The Chinese informed us that we might con- gratulate ourselves on the incessant rain which had fallen since quitting NanchangfoOy as it would afford us sufficient water for our boats nearer to the source of the Kankeang. On the 29th we passed Chang-shoo Chiny " the station of camphor trees," where we ob- served a populous and well-built town. Ten ly beyond that, at five o'clock in the evening, we reached the mouth of the river Ijin-keang, which there joined the main stream, and formed our resting-place for the day. About twenty ly, or six miles up this small stream, lies lAnr keangfoo, a considerable town, which our short stay did not allow us to visit. I was sur- prised to see so much of the banks of our river in what might almost be styled a state Digitized by CjOOQ iC SYMPTOMS OF JEALOUS PRECAUTION. 105 of nature, growing nothing but wood. In con- sequence, probably, of the gravelly nature of the soil, and the liability to sudden inundations, field and garden cultivation appeared here to be more unfrequent than we had often observed. It is likely that the camphor and tallow trees, of which we saw great numbers, afford the best return under the circumstances of soil and situation. The weather fortunately cleared up on the 30th, and a northerly wind sent us fast onr ward. At five o'clock in the evening our squadron reached Sin-Jean Jffien, a small walled town of unprepossessing exterior, on the eastern bank of the stream. The local authorities seemed to have displayed their jealousy of strangers by preparing our usual accommoda- tions on the side of the river opposite to the town; and this was even carried so far, that one or two of our party, who wanted a boat to cross over, could not persuade the people to take them. The point was not urged, as there appeared no adequate inducement to take the trouble ; so our excursions extended only f3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 106 SKETCHES OF CHINA. to the country side of the water. I could ob- serve to-day some little approach to the fruit and vegetable cultivation prevailing about Can- ton. On the sides of the river were groves of the orange-tree, and the tops of the barren hills were thickly planted with fir. The stream became in ^me places contracted by the encroachment of the high banks; and to the south and south-east we could perceive mountains rising as we advanced. The wind increased to a gale during the night, and agitated the water to a degree that was far from agreeable in our light, narrow, and mat-covered boats, knocking them against each other in a very lively manner. After an attempt to leave our anchorage early on the morning of the 1st December, the squadron soon returned to it, as the mast of the Kin- chae's boat was ^rung, and the breeze too strong for our timid sailors. This made the fortieth stationary day, since our landing to the northward at the Peiho; and in this respect I believe we surpassed all former em- bassies. To those who wished to enquire and Digitized by CjOOQ iC EXTREME VIGILANCE DISPLAYED. 107 observe, it was a circumstance much in our favour ; and some of these long halts had been productive of pleasure and amusement, as well as instruction. There now seemed to be every prospect of our reaching Canton about Christma&<iay. As we approached nearer to our destination, impatience of unnecessary delays naturally increased. We quitted Sin-kan Hien early, and pro- ceeded with a fair wind and very fine weather to another walled town, called Keakeang Hien. Both these names indicate vicinity to the little Keang or river on which we were sailing. Thinking that the boats were to stop here, we went on shore, but found all the gates of the paltry town locked and barricaded in the most determined manner, as if to resist a siege. This laudable vigilance on the part of the Hieny or magistrate of the town, was perhaps intended to gain favour with his superiors, and evinced the most uncommon display of precaution that we had hitherto met with. The walls were not much higher than a com- mon garden enclosure, and perhaps the good Digitized by CjOOQ iC 108 SKETCHES OF CHINA. Hien's fears arose from a sense of his weak* ness. The weather bemg so fair, and the hour still early, our boats proceeded on their way, and we hastened to join them. The hills rapidly increased in number and height as we ad- vanced ; while among them the scattered pago- das, villages, and plantations of trees had a beautiful e£kct At a short distance from the last named town, the boat of one of our party suddenly struck upon a sunken rock, and by the time that the crew could run her ashore she completely swamped. The different articles of baggage being removed on board other boats, not without considerable damage from wet, we went on again after an hour s delay. At five o'clock we reached a place called Foa^kow, a hilly spot, with a military post, but no town of any consequence. We walked among the hills, which were here bleak and barren, and observed a number of deep holes or pits, around which were lying heaps of slaty coal. It was evident that these had been dug with the hopes of finding Digitized by CjOOQ iC KEIHGAN-FOO. 109 that mineral, and then abandoned as unprofit- able. We sailed very fast during the whole of the 3rd December, through a picturesque country of hills and woods, traversed by our clear mountain stream. We could not conveniently manage a walk on shore, and found the mat- tilted boats, with the thermometer at forty-four degrees, rather uncomfortable habitations. The evening found the squadron at Keihgarirfooy a city of the first class on the right; and we had just time enough to examine the town by daylight. As frequently before observed, the space within the walls was comparatively desolate, abounding more in garden grounds than streets of houses ; but the suburb was apparently new, and well stocked with good- looking shops. It is impossible to account for a circumstance so often remarked in the case of Chinese towns, except on the supposition that the severity of the internal regulations of their walled cities leads the industrious classes to prefer the outside of the walls. The readiness with which we entered the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 110 SKETCHES OF CHINA. gates of Keihgan-foo entirely removed the idea that the precaution adopted for the exclusion of the embassy at KeaJteang hien, on the day before, was the commencement of a plan of such absurd jealousy as we approached Can- ton. Indeed we had always found that the nature of our reception at different places depended more on the character and dispo- sition of the local authorities than on our conductor the legate, who could not precede us, but travelled in our company. It was at Keihgan-foo that we saw large quantities of the brown nankeen cloth ; having observed the cotton of which it is manufactured some days previous. From hence it is transported over the Meiling pass to Canton ; and therefore does not come from Nankingy as its name would seem to import, but is principally the produce of Keangsy. The river on the 4th December became narrow and confined between high wooded banks, which converted our previous shallows into deep rapids, and called for all the exer- tions of the boatmen to stem the stream by Digitized by CjOOQ iC SUGAR-CANE PLANTATIONS. Ill poling and tracking, the weather being nearly calm. As the progress was very slow, we mounted the banks and pursued our course along the ridge, looking down on the numerous squadron of boats, as they were urged forward with immense toil by their crews. In spite of these diificulties a good day's run (for China) was eflFected of ninety ly; and we anchored in the evening at Wong K4ng, a place about twenty ly short of Taeho-hien. At ten o'clock on the following morning the boats passed Taeho-hieny of which the walls were low and ruinous. On proceeding ashore to walk, about noon, I perceived for the first time some plantations of the sugar-cane, so common near Canton. Here, however, the great elevation of the land, and the higher northern latitude (nearly twenty-seven degrees), rendered the climate less favourable, and the canes were accordingly smaller m diameter and less flourishing. Stopped towards night at Yaou'taou. Early on the 6th December we reached Wanrgan-hieuy a walled town of the third Digitized by CjOOQ iC 112 SKETCHES OF CHINA. order, more populous and better built than any tliat we had lately passed. This was pro- bably owing to the advantages of its situation, being placed where the river widens out, and moderates the rapidity of the stream, with a fair depth of water up to the bank. Vast quantities of provisions were exhibited in the streets. Our attention was drawn to a hand- some Tsoo-tdng, or "Hall of Ancestors," one of which exists in every considerable neighbour- hood. In lieu of idols the niches are filled with tablets, to the honour of those worthies of the district who in their life-time distinguished themselves by talent or virtue. Posthumous admission into one of these temples is a sort of minor apotheosis, and reflects great honour on the descendants, who become of course anxious to obtain such a distinction for their predecessors. Having viewed the interior of this prosper- ous town, we took a complete circuit of the walls, walking on the top of them all the way, as the breadth within the battlement was a platform of several feet, ascended by stairs Digitized by CjOOQ iC HANDSOME PAELOW. 113 at intervals. In the course of this tour I saw the handsomest Paelow or honorary gateway that had yet presented itself in China. It was constructed of the red sandstone of the neigh- bourhood, with a great deal of carving in high relief. On the frieze was inscribed^ " The im- perial will/' denoting that it was erected by command of the sovereign. Just on the outside of the walls was a new and handsome temple to Wun-chang (" The glory of letters"), a minister of ancient times, who encouraged literature. We left Wavrgan-hien early on the morn- ing of the 7th, and after proceeding about eighty /y, stopped at a place called Keun- lun, the wind being slack, and insufficient to urge us against the rapid stream without un- intermitting toil. No people in the world except the Chinese would attempt to navigate this shallow stream so near its source. We went on shore and rambled among the nu- merous high and steep hills, which rose in all directions as far as the sight could reach, giving an uncommon character to the scenery; very much as if the sea in a storm off the Cape Digitized by CjOOQ iC 114 SKETCHES OF CHINA. were to be suddenly arrested by the magician's wand^ and every mountain wave fixed solid in its actual position. A great deal of the terrace cultivation was to be seen in the intervals between the hills. The upper portions of these, which in most countries would have been deemed perfectly incapable of any use, were thickly planted to the very summits with the single white camellia, called by the Chinese Cha-shoo^ or tea-tree, and nearly allied to that plant. As they were in full flower, they gave to the distant hills the appearance of a light covering of snow. From the seed of this beau- tiful and useful plant, the Chinese prepare an excellent vegetable oil, called by them " tea-oil," — Cha-yew. At eleven o'clock on the following day we stopped at Leang-kowy a small town, to wait for three of the baggage-boats left astern. The river here, by^ the near approach of the mountains with their hanging woods on each side, became a mere torrent through the gorge or defile, and assumed a most picturesque ap- pearance, its clear water sparkling and rushing Digitized by CjOOQ iC EIGHTEEN RAPIDS. 115 along the rocky and gravelly bed. We had long been told of the She-pa Tan^ or "eighteen rapids;" and before we left Wan-gdn-hien, a sum of money had (according to Chinese cus- tom) been given to the captain of each boat, to defray religious expenses in propitiating the gods against the coming dangers. These have been erroneously translated the "eighteen cataracts," the word Tdn in its derivative sense being composed of the charac- ters that signify difficult and water — " troubled waters," or rapids, and nothing more. Large masses of granite jut from the bed of the stream, which they confine in its course, and thereby add greatly to its turbulence and the difficulties of navigation. When the river is several feet higher than at the time we passed (as could plainly be seen by the state of the banks), most of these rocks must be under water, and thereby perhaps increase the danger. As it was, I believe that all of our squadron passed in safety. When the boats astern had come up, we set off again towards Kanrchow-foOy the next Digitized by CjOOQ iC 116 SKETCHES OF CHINA. large city in our course. During the whole of the day we performed but sixty /y, or less than twenty miles, and stopped at night about forty miles from Kan-chow-foo^ to reach which, in our existing straits and difficulties, was likely to occupy two days more! The legate informed our ambassador that we should arrive at Canton in about twenty days hence. On the following morning we were witnesses to a strange process — ^perfectly Chinese in all its prodigality of human exertion. The river was now so exceedingly shallow, that a line of men stood with great iron hoes on each side of the channel for the boats, and deepened it by scraping aside the sand and gravel before we could pass. The same men then put their shoulders (not to the wheel, but) to the sterns of the boats, and actually shoved them through by main force ! They stood at times not much more than ankle deep in the water. It was astonishing to think that the greater portion of the thirty millions of pounds of tea, sold at Canton to the English (not to include other nations), was conveyed up this trout-stream. Digitized by Google MANCBUVRES OF THE LEGATE. 117 and down another like it on the opposite side of the Mei-ling pass. The maxim of the legate still seemed to be festina lentk. We stopped at a place where there were no buildings, as early as three o'clock. There being no possibility of reaching the city of Kan-chow'foo before to-morrow, it seemed probable that our conductor wished to arrive there late in the day, and therefore delayed us now. In our excursion on shore we found the hills extremely barren, but still cultivated in some places with the camellia, as well as the tallow-tree. At nine o'clock on the 10th of December we passed the most dangerous of the Tdn^ or rapids. These were several rocks, just level with the water s edge in the channel for the boats, which was extremely narrow. At one o'clock we reached a part of the river where a channel was scraped out for our boats, as the day before, by labourers provided with iron hoes, as well as a board with which they removed the sand and stones. Finding some time afterwards that the distance to Kan-chow- Digitized by CjOOQ iC 118 SKETCHES OF CHINA. 4 \ foo was only twenty ly, or about six miles^ I left the boat and went on shore for the pur- pose of proceeding on foot to the city along the left side of the river. Several fields were passed, planted with the ground nut (arachis hypogced)y known in the West Indies, and used by the Chinese for extracting, their lamp oil. The people were busy in collecting the nuts, and separating them from the earth by means of sieves through which the mould was shaken. This plant has the singular property of ripen- ing the nut under ground, connected as it is by a filament with the flower above. At about five o'clock I reached the walls of KanrchoiD-foo. These were very extensive, and it was with more than half an hour s rapid walking that my companion and I arrived at the first gate, by which we entered the city. As the day was nearly closed, there was no judging of the place, except that the streets were spacious, and paved with small round stones, instead of the broad flags used at Can- ton. On proceeding to the anchorage of our squadron, we found that our own boat had Digitized by CjOOQ iC CITY OF KANCHO WFOO. 119 not arrived, and accordingly accepted the am- bassador s invitation to dine with him. It was satisfactory to learn that, as from the shallow- ness of the river between this point and Nan- gan-foOf (where our navigation was to end,) it would be necessary to change some of the baggage boats, we should remain for a day at this place, and have an opportunity of explor- ing the large and important town within the walls. On the morning of the eleventh a party of us took a walk through the centre of the city to a large pagoda, near the walls on the oppo- site side. Having mounted to the top of this, we were fully repaid for our trouble by the view which the summit afforded, from a height of considerably more than one hundred feet. The column-like building consisted of nine stories, on an hexagonal base, and proved to be in a higher state of repair than any that we had yet seen. The exterior looked perfectly new, and we were informed that it had been very lately repaired throughout; while a tablet of stone in the highest story recorded its having Digitized by CjOOQ iC 120 SKETCHES OF CHINA. been built in the second year of Keatsing of the Ming dynasty, or nearly three hundred years back. The architecture of this pagoda was not unlike that of the "lofty and bright" one near Yaitg-choto-foo. We afterwards went to see an extensive and handsome hall of Confucius, (called a TTwn- meaouy or temple of letters,) where the tablet of the holy sage was enshrined in a recess magnificently carved and gilt, and surrounded by those of his successors and disciples. The next visit was to a hall or exchange of the green-tea merchants, of which the principal apartment was designated, in large gilt charac- ters, Herchun Tang^ or the " hall of hyson tea." Through the whole of the morning's tour, a mandarin with a white button was our conductor, and nothing could exceed his civility. The city of Ka'nrchoW'fooy the whole circumference of whose walls we could view from the summit of the pagoda, seemed to me to surpass in the extent of its area any city of which I had yet had a complete view. It was, moreover, extremely populous, owing to the Digitized by CjOOQ iC SLOW PROGRESS OF THE BOATS. 121 extensive trade which it carries on with the province of Fokien in tea. The northern angle of the city is between two rivers, of which the Tung-ho, or eastern, flows from the frontier of Fokien, and the Sy-ho, or western, (our future course,) from that of Canton, On quitting Kanchom-foo on the 12th> we immediately found the river more shallow, and reduced altogether in size, from the loss of a principal tributary, the stream from the eastward. The stoppages on account of boats grounding were perpetual, and the whole pro- gress so slow, that we were enabled to pass the day on shore in walking excursions, which terminated in our proceeding on foot to the place of anchorage for the night, only forty ly from Nankang foo. In the course of our route we witnessed the process of extracting the vegetable grease from the croton, or tallow- tree; and likewise remarked the Tseih-shoo, or varnish shrub, from which the Chinese extract the fluid with which they manufacture their lacquered ware. A considerable quantity VOL .II. G Digitized by CjOOQ iC 122 SKETCHES OF CHINA. of this ware, though not of the best, was ex- hibited at Kanchow'foo. Two other interesting classes of objects frequently occurred in the distance that inter- vened before we reached Nangan fooy the last remaining city between us and the Meiling pass. These were the sugar manufactories, and thie huge bamboo water-wheels, which irrigate fields lying thirty feet above the level of the river, by the motion which the stream communicates to them. Both of these I have fully described in another work. On the morning of the 14th of December, as there appeared to be some ground near the banks adapted to cricket, a numerous party went on shore to join in that game. The boats moved so slowly against the shallow and rapid stream, and the grounding was so fre- quent, that it became an easy matter to over- take them before night. From an apprehen- sion, on the part of the Chinese, that the players might be left behind, some of the attendant boats remained, but no interruption was made to the sport. We arrived at Nan- Digitized brVjOOQlC NANKANG HIEN. 123 kang hien, a town of the third order, about half-^past five, and had just time before it grew "dark to walk through a portion of the interior, which appeared small, dirty, and unworthy of notice. The preparations for the ambassador, how- ever, were in better style than we had often seen them. Besides the usual Matow, or orna- mented landing-place, a very handsome tent with coloured lamps was erected on the shore, and a polite message came from the Hien, or governor, requesting that his excellency would take possession of this pavilion. It was stated that we should be three or four more days in reaching Nangan foo. On the 15th we proceeded through a beauti- fully wooded country until four o'clock in the afternoon, when the squadron brought up at a considerable distance from the nearest town Linchingy in consequence of the exhaustion of the crews in the grievous toil of urging on our boats through the shallows. It rained during the whole of that night, and for the greater part of the 16th, on which the boats 62 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 124 SKETCHES OF CHINA. continued their course until an unusually late hour, though the opposition of the stream was considerably augmented by the rain. On the following day we stopped as early as two o'clock in the afternoon, about thirty ly short of Nangan foOy and the Kinchae paid our ambassador a visit on board his boat. Kwong was accompanied by the Canton lin- guist, but as his excellency found this man quite unintelligible, he requested me to be the medium of communication. The Kinchae said that the cause of our stopping thus early, was the circumstance of several boats having been left behind. He added, that our un- usually successful day's work yesterday was the consequence of the fall of rain, by which the depth of water had been considerably augmented. This was a curious reason, and described in the most striking manner the nature of our navigation, along a stream so shallow that it could be sensibly increased by a few hours' rain. The conversation proceeded on indiflferent subjects until the legate rose up to go to his dinner. Digitized by CjOOQ iC HALT AT NANGAN FOO. 125 We were destined on the 18th of December to see the ne pliLs ultra of this extraordinary navigation, when the stream was in some places not larger than a brook that in England would turn a mill. With this character the river wound and twisted itself among very high hills on each side, covered with small firs, intermingled with which sometimes appeared a species of the Indian fig, or banyan. The wet and cold weather prevented any enjoy- ment of the open air ; and we were glad when the boats, on rounding a projecting point, brought us at once into a suburb of Nangan fooy situated in a valley formed by the moun- tains receding on the right and left. The ambassador's boat hauled up to a landing-place with a temporary building for his accommoda- tion. Ill walking through the city, we found it divided into two separate walled portions, betweeu which the river flows down, while the banks are joined by a mean bridge of tim- bers supported with piers of stone. On mounting a hill, at the top of which was a small pyramidal tower, (erected merely for the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 126 SKETCHES OF CHINA. sake of foong shuey, or good luck,) we had a bird's-eye view of the double town, which looked poor and wretched, notwithstanding its position in the high road of the pass. Arrange- ments were made for our baggage to cross the mountain on the next day, and for ourselves to follow on the day after. The morning of the 19th was employed in preparing all things to leave the boats ; after which some of us walked to the Koongkwdn^ or house on shore intended for us, which proved so vile a place that it was infinitely preferable to pass the remaining night on board the boats. We were not induced to occupy these quarters, even by the figures of the two "gods of the doorway," which were conspicuously exhibited on the gates. The legend concerning these states that Shin-too and Yoh-leo were two brothers who inhabited an island in the eastern sea. They lived under a peach-tree, and exercised a control over malign spirits. The ancient king, Hwong-ty, erected a gate of peach-tree wood, on which he painted the likeness of these two genii or gods. Digitized by CjOOQ iC PREPARATION FOR LAND JOURNEY. 127 as a safeguard against Kwei, or evil demons — a practice which continues to the present day through China. As Europeans are called Kiuei at Canton, our Chinese friends might have thought that the " gods of the doorway" prevented our occupying the abode in question. I was surprised to read the names " Deguignes" and "d'Ozy, 1795," cut upon the wooden panels of this house, proving that the Dutch embassy was lodged here, and that the place had never been altered since. An immense number of porters (said to ex- ceed two thousand) was assembled for carrying the baggage and presents of the embassy, which were certainly none of the fewest or smallest, some cases measuring ten feet square, and re- quiring forty men to carry them. The greatest care was taken to prevent confusion, by label- ling every thing in Chinese and English. At four o'clock on the following morning, long before daylight, we were all up and stirring to commence our day*s journey through the Meiling pass, a total distance of about thirty miles. The light of the twisted pine torches, used by the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 128 SKETCHES OF CHINA. Chinese, gave a picturesque eflfect to the whole scene. At half-past six, a party of us, mounted on the small horses of the country, commenced our journey, an hour or two before the am- bassador and second commissioner, who pro- ceeded in chairs. Mine was a tolerable nag, but I could not quite apply to him the Chinese description of a good horse, that " he ascends a hill like level ground, and crosses the water like a floating bridge/* At the commencement of our march, as we quitted the town, a long line of soldiers was drawn out under arms, with the usual salute in passing. We soon reached the bottom of the ascent, where we dismounted and began to walk up. Here commenced the paved gra- nite road which continues through the pass uninterrupted to Narv-heung foo on the Canton side — a really fine public work, to be classed among the best and most useful in China. As we gradually approached the summit of the ridge, where the rock is cut down to the depth of twenty-five or thirty feet, with a breadth of about twc^nty^ the view burst upon us in Digitized by CjOOQ iC - ifc *■ ft i*-i -I * - — *' A. CROSS THE MEILING PASS. 1^9 full grandeur, and displayed some mountain scenery perhaps nowhere surpassed. The descent into the plain on the Kwdng- tung or Canton side was at first steep and winding, but afterwards comparatively easy. I observed the Mei shooy a species of Prunus in flower, being that from which the pass derives its name Meiling, " the mountain ridge of the mei flower." It was evident, from two cir- cumstances, that the paved road across the mountain had not been made for wheel car- riages. There was not, in the first place, suf- ficient breadth for two carriages to pass each other; and about the steepest parts of the ascent the road was cut in steps, which pre- cluded the possibility of using wheels upon it. From an ancient inscription at the summit of the road, it appears that this work was eflfected by a person who lived under the Tang dynasty, in the ninth century of our era. Some time after clearing the pass, we ar- rived at a place called Choong-chen, "the middle halting-place," or halfway-house. Here we were invited to dismount, and being conducted g3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 130 SKETCHES OF CHINA. into the interior of a very respectable Koong- kwdn through the outer court, were agreeably surprised to see an excellent Chinese repast laid out for the refreshment and entertainment of the whole party, as they successively arrived. Our previous experience of Chinese hospitality had led to the precautionary measure of con- veying provisions on the march; but, as the weather was extremely sharp on these heights, a cold luncheon was well exchanged for the really comfortable warm repast, k la Chinoise, which here greeted the embassy, forming a strange contrast, after our quarrel with the emperor, to the vile and insulting feed which, on the night of the 28th of August, had been presented to the embassy when on the high road to the imperial presence ! It was quite clear that all the liberal treatment that we received in China was subsequent to the rejec- tion of the mission. A remarkable diflference was observed, on first entering the Canton province, in the uniforms of the soldiers. These had inva- riably been blue edged with red, throughout Digitized by CjOOQ iC REACH CANTON PROVINCE. 131 the whole empire to this frontier — from Peking to the Meiling pass. No sooner, however, had we reached the borders of Kw&ngtung, than the dress of the military became red edged with white ; and, on one or two occasions, when tiieir cavalry turned out for us, white edged with red. The display of. troops was more* over much more frequent on the Canton side than we had before observed it. At every four or five miles was a military station ; and just before we entered the frontier city Nanheung foOy not less than three hundred cavalry, matchlock men and archers, were drawn up on the two sides of the road. In no instance throughout the country did we ever see a line of soldiers two deep. Canton not being upon the whole a wealthier province than some that we had passed through (as Keang7idn)y it was reasonable to conclude that the extra display of military array was for the express purpose of awing the European barbarians, and show- ing them what they had to expect if they mis- behaved at Canton. When the steepest part of the declivity had Digitized by CjOOQ iC 132 SKETCHES OF CHINA. been passed^ we found ourselves on an irregular plain, still maintaining a gentle descent in the direction of the city which we approached. At the distance of about seventy ly, or twenty miles from the pass, we entered the suburbs of Nanheung foo^ an important city, vastly ex- celling the town which had just been quitted on the north of the mountain. All the signs of a public entry were here displayed ; among the rest we observed red hangings of silk or cloth, stretched across the streets at certain distances. After passing a long suburb we entered a gate in the wall, and traversed the whole length of the city to the side adjoining the river on which we were to embark — a dis- tance of not less than two English miles. *The embassy was ushered to a very respect- able Koongkwdriy much superior to the one we had so long occupied at Tongchow, near Peking. His lordship was received at the gate with military honors ; and here it was settled that our whole party should spend at least one day, while the new boats were loading for our reception. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 133 CHAPTER XV. Prepare to quit Nanheung foo — notice of the Meaoutse — their independence — ^kill a Chinese general — account of Chinese victory — defeated by Meaoutse — end of war — progress through wooded country — arrival at Chaouchow foo — deeper river and larger boats — different behaviour of people — rock of Kwdnyin — narrow pass in river — town of Tsing yuen hien — commencement of flat country — approach Canton — arrive there — reflections. The lodgings provided for us by the Chinese in the town were, for the first time, of such a description as not to make us wish for the boats in preference. The barks, indeed, which were to convey us along the upper portion of the stream were, from the necessity of the case, extremely wretched. Any thing intended to float in the rivulet, or at most trout stream, what we must navigate for the first few days, could only draw a few inches water. The boats provided for the ambassador and commissioners were rather better than the remainder; but Digitized by CjOOQ iC 134 SKETCHES OF CHINA. these were merely the cargo boats used in float- ing the tea down after it has crossed the Meiling pass. They had nothing but mat covers tilted over them, and were altogether without par- titions fore and aft — what they call on board ship " clear for action." Fortunately, however, our journey to Chaou- chow foo, the place of transhipment, could only last three or four days ; and the weather, though very cold (below forty degrees), was bright and clear as a winter in Italy. The legate sent a message, on the morning of the 21st of December, expressing his anxiety to depart with all speed, as the river was be- coming every day more shallow from the con- tinuance of dry weather, and likely iSbon to be unnavigable even to Chi^ese. This is con- stantly the cause of detention to the supplies of tea on their way to Canton. A civil oflfer from the Kinchae was as surprising as it was unexpected. He proposed to forward letters to our friends at Canton, where we should pro- bably arrive in twenty days; a proposal that was gladly accepted. Digitized by CjOOQ iC PREPARE TO QUIT NANHEUNG FOO. 135 A Chinese entertainment in very good style was served up in the Koonghwduy forming by no means a disagreeable change from our every day routine. A party some time afterwards proceeded to the bridge which crosses the river, for the purpose of examining a pair of guns stationed at the guard-house. While peace- ably engaged in viewing these, one of the in- ferior mandarins at the station displayed a disposition to be insolent and troublesome; but he became sufficiently quiet on its being gently hinted to him that he might possibly be taken by the tail before the legate. The guns were evidently some which had been cast by the Jesuits ; they were three or four pound- ers, with Chinese characters stamped on them. In the evening we all escorted the ambassador to his boat, accompanied by the guard; on which occasion some Chinese music struck up, and the usual salute of three guns was fired. Before quitting the city of Nanheung foo, I must notice its vicinity to a very singular race of people, the mountaineers, called Meaotir tse, who for ages have continued independent, Digitized by CjOOQ iC 136 SKETCHES OF CHINA. and proved very troublesome to the Chinese government. They inhabit principally that line of mountains which bounds the province of Kweichow to the south ; but a considerable portion extend to the north-west boundary of the Canton province, close to the city Lien- chaw. These last, as late as the year 1832, defeated the viceroy of Canton, and killed above two thousand of the Chinese forces ; and it is generally supposed that they were never eflfec- tually chastised. The Jesuit, P^re Parennin, in the Lettres edifiantes et curietises, gives a very correct account of these singular moun- taineers, and of the policy which the Chinese adopt towards them. As we are now at war with the empire, every part of the military system of that country becomes in some mea- sure interesting. Having never been able eflfectually to subdue the Meaoutse by arms, the government, to keep them in check, has erected towns and forts at the feet of the passes by which they were accustomed to descend and ravage the plains. This does not prevent their irruptions, of which accounts are imme- Digitized by CjOOQ iC NOTICE OF THE MEAOUTSE. 137 diately transmitted to Peking, and there spoken of as rebellion and revolt — the names given to every act of hostility against the emperor on the part of even independent nations. Edicts are immediately issued to the viceroys of the neighbouring provinces, ordering them to levy troops and chastise the rebels, or rob- hersy or dogmen, according as it may please the Peking government to style them, this mode of abuse being usual towards an enemy. Some troops are accordingly marched to the neighbourhood of those hilly forests which are the abodes of the Meaoutse; but these in their natural strongholds are more than a match for the Chinese troops, who do not ven- ture to intrude too far. In the mean while, some unfortunate stragglers are caught and put to death, and a report is made to Peking that the victory is complete, and that the rebels have been destroyed in their most secret recesses. Rewards are accordingly proposed for the most deserving officers and soldiers. In the year 1832, the MeaouUe, or, as they are there called, the Yaou-jin of Lien shdUy Digitized by CjOOQ iC 138 SKETCHES OF CHINA. (which are the mountains near Lien-chow in Canton province,) set up a leader whom they styled the "golden dragon." This person assumed the insignia of Chinese royalty, a yellow upper dress, with the title of TVong^ or king. The progress of the Yaou-jin was very rapid, and they possessed themselves of four considerable towns. They warred only against the Chinese military, not molesting such of the people as were not found in arms against them. A Tartar general named Hae-ling-ah fell into a snare which they laid for him, and was killed with about twenty other officers, and a great many soldiers ; while the guns, &c., were captured. A reinforcement of a thou- sand men being sent from Canton to the neighbourhood of Lten-chow, two hundred of these were sent back, as being quite unfitted for service by the use of opium. In a ren- counter with the Yaou-jin the Chinese force was again defeated, with a loss of two thou- sand men. At length a Peking gazette, dated in May 1838, contained an account of a great victory Digitized by CjOOQ iC THEIR INDEPENDENCE. 139 gained over the mountaineers on the north side of the Lien-shdny i. e. in Hoon^n province. " The rebels having invaded the level country, and taken a small town named Pingtseuen, our troops attacked them on all sides, and pre- vented their escape into Canton province. The rebels, however, still kept possession of the town, from the walls of which they fired on and greatly harassed our troops, until about forty of the latter advanced under cover of their shields, and leaped on the walls. At the first onset they were thrown back and several wounded; but they rallied, and more troops coming forward to support them, again mounted the walls, and cut down above a thou- sand of the enemy. The rest of the rebels then feigned to oflFer submission ; but Lo-sze- keu (the commander-in-chief) refused it, and placing two divisions on the north and west sides of the town to prevent escape, he himself advanced on the south and east sides. A cannonade was opened on the town, and fire- balls thrown in among the rebels, by means of which many were killed. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 140 • SKETCHES OF CHINA. " But they still continued to return our fire ; the troops, therefore, made a sudden rush among them, killed about a thousand^ and took several of their chiefs prisoners. They, how- ever, succeeded in closing the gates on us. Lo'Sze-keu urged a more vigorous attack ; our men rushed forward, fearless of danger, and the rebels were routed, but maintained a run- ning fight, until coming between two bodies of our troops, they were slain to the number of two or three thousand. Among prisoners taken were two sons of Chaou-kinloong, (" the golden dragon,") besides inferior persons. Ten cannon, and above three thousand small arms, were also taken." The Yaou'jin, being worsted in Hoondn, descended on the other side of the Lien-sMn into Canton province. The viceroy (called by the English governor Le) repaired to the scene of action with reinforcements. The Chinese army endeavoured to enter the moun- tains at five diflferent passes, but were repulsed with great loss, and as many as eighty officers were killed. In extenuation of the defeat, the Digitized by CjOOQ iC END OF THE WAR. 141 difficulties of the country, and the mode of warfare adopted by the Yaou-jin, were pleaded; in particular the explosion of a mine of gun- powder. Governor Le was, however, dis- graced, and not only deprived of his govern- ment at Canton, but condemned to pay a third of the expenses of the warfare, and banished to western Tartary. After the lapse of some time, the surprising rumour was heard that the formidable Yaou-jin were entirely subdued, and that the war was at an end. A paper, however, (for its boldness a most singular document,) was written by one of the civil or literary class of the Chinese, representing the submission of the moun- taineers as an entire deception, and the con- duct of the emperor s brother-in-law (a com- missioner on the occasion) an imposition on the Court. He stated that the commissioner gave half a million of taels for a sham surren- der of the Yaou-jin^ and that titles of distinc- tion were granted to some of the leading men among them. It was added that the moun- taineers still continued in some degree their Digitized by CjOOQ iC 142 ' SKETCHES OF CHINA. depredations on the plains, though the local Chinese officers dissembled the fact. If only one half of these circumstances were true, they present a strange picture of Chinese weakness. It is certainly in intrigue and negociation that they are chiefly redoubtable, and not in arms. To return to our journey. On the morning of the 22nd of December, the Kinchae started from Nanheung foo, nothing doubting that we should follow. In this, however, he was mistaken. Such a total disregard had been shown by the Chinese officers to the accommodation of the boats, and even to the furnishing our neces- sary supplies, that the ambassador insisted on the squadron remaining until this object was ao- complished. Some little demur was evinced by the boatmen to obey this order, but they yielded when they saw preparations to compel them. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the diflfer- ent boats had all received their supplies, and the signal was made on board the ambassador s boat to advance^ when the whole fleet got Digitized by CjOOQ iC PROORESS OF OUR JOURNEY. 143 under way. This determined step was the more requisite, as the Chinese had not only omitted to supply us themselves, but had sent on ahead our baggage-boats, from whence the deficiencies might in some measure have been made good. Very little progress was made this day, in consequence of the extreme shal- lowness of the stream causing the boats to ground constantly. The country was flat and uninteresting, with sandy banks, whose appearance proved that during rainy periods the stream is much broader and deeper than we saw it. The boatmen continued their exertions during the night, to further our progress, and overtake the Kinchae. On the morning of the 23rd I got on shore, and took advantage of our slow pace to make an excursion along the banks. It was a pleasant fertile country near the river, but in the distance to our right were some high and barren mountains, which could not be far from the Lien-shdn, the abodes of the fierce Yaou-jin, " the dogmen," or " wolfmen,** whose exploits have been just Digitized by CjOOQ iC 144 SKETCHES OF CHINA. noticed. We stopped early in the afternoon, as the ambassador's boat, from its superior size, was far astern, and impeded by the shal- lows. Our progress on the 24th was through a very picturesque hilly country, presenting in general a wild scenery. The course from Nanheung foo had been hitherto much to the westward of south, carrying us nearer to Lienr chow than we were before. Our travels through this part of China certainly tended to establish one fact, namely, that the old European accounts of the universal cultivation of the country had been very absurdly exagger- ated. It must be admitted, however, that the Chinese made a good use of the barren hills in this neighbourhood, by planting them thickly with firs, the timber of which is floated down the river towards Canton in immense rafts, on which are built houses, forming the dwellings of whole families. About noon on the 25th December we passed some very remarkable rocky cliflfe near the river, the most conspicuous of which so greatly Digitized by Google ARRIVAL AT CHAOUCHOWPOO. 145 impended over its base as to threaten destruc- tion to whatever passed under it. These are called by the Chinese Woo MatoWy not the " Five horses' heads/' (which is the literal meaning,) but the " Five piers, or jetties/' from a supposed resemblance to those landing-places for their boats which they call Matow, These rocks were above five hundred feet in height, and crowned partly with wood. The rugged sides occasionally narrowed and deepened the river by their approach, but in broader places the stream was still very shallow, and my own frail bark, once getting aground on the loose pebbly bottom, sprung a serious leak which was stopped with some trouble. For the purpose of more speedily closing an accidental leak, these boats had scarcely any flooring or deck to them. At other times, when close to the bases of the perpendicular cliffs, the water was ten or twelve feet deep ; and our speed during these; intervals made up in some measure for the ob* stacles elsewhere. Early in the afternoon we reached Chaouchowfoo^ a principal city of Can-*. VOL. II. H Digitized by CjOOQ iC 146 SKETCHES OF CHIKA. ton province. It was situated on tlie rigKt bank of the river, just above its confluence with the Sj/'-ho, or " western stream," which here combines to give a depth of water adequate to all purposes of navigation. The city no doubt derives its size and consequence from the circumstances of its situation* Soon after land- ing, some of our party endeavoured to cross the river and penetrate into the town; but per- ceived that, as soon as they approached, all the boats moved away from the shore. A bridge of boats, connected by a chain, appeared to have been purposely divided in the middle to prevent our passage. My curiosity concerning Chinese towns, after having visited so many, was now pretty nearly satisfied, and I therefore took no further pains about the matter; but some of us contrived to make their way in, and reported that it did not yield to any town that we had yet seen in the country. Being no longer restricted as to the size of our conveyances, we found, upon our arrival, the new and larger boats intended to carry the embassy on to Canton. It appeared, however, Digitized by CjOOQ iC DIFFERENT BEHAVIOUR OP PEOPLE. 147 upon examination, tliat these were all exactly alike, and each of them surmounted with a similar flag, inscribed Koongchuen, " tribute- boats," without the distinguishing marks that had always belonged to the ambassador and commissioners. On the other hand, the Kiinr chae we found, on inquiry, had contrived to be accommodated with a most elegant floating vehicle, carved and gilded quantum suff. When the proper remonstrances were made, we re- ceived for answer that the deputy-governor of Canton had sent his own barge for the com- missioner. This might be all very well; but the ambassador still desired to be furnished with a respectable boat, which at length was procured, with two others for the commissioners. These barges were indeed by far the most commo- dious of any that we had met with, and the aspect of the interior was rich and hand-' some. The people at this place were excessively in- solent, proving our approach to the vicious capital of the province. Canton. Some of them were chastised with a stick, and even a h2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 148 SKETCHES OF CHINA. mandarin of the rank of Hien ran a narrow risk of being ducked in the river. The ambas- sador and a party of us celebrated Christmas day in the third commissioner's boat, and it was with no small gratification we reflected that another week would remove us from the hospitality of the " celestials." We were detained during the 26th at our anchorage, on account of loading the new boats. The extreme negligence, whether acci- dental or studied, of the local officers as we approached Canton was remarkable, and re- quired some trouble to remedy it. They ab- sented themselves from us (contrary to the practice of all those with whom we had been concerned), and left everything to subordinates, in consequence of which we ran some chance of wanting both assistance and supplies. A written remonstrance to the Kinchae had the effect of flapping the ears of our Laputans, and bringing them to their recollection. Some of the beautifully bright and moderately cold weather, so common in a Canton winter, made amends for the conduct of our Chinese friends^ Digitized by CjOOQ iC RAPIDITY OF PROGRESS. 149 and was improved by the junior portion of the embassy to a game at cricket on shore. When we left the neighbourhood of the city early on the morning of the 27th December, and passed the junction of the two rivers just below the termination of the walls, the rapidity of our progress was an agreeable change which reminded some of the party of their approach to Canton. Our boats were provided with the great sculls abaft, which are so efficient in the river navigation at that place j and in addition to these the men helped us on lustily with their long bamboo poles, while the stream it- self ran at the rate of three miles an hour. Another symptom of Canton appeared in the long narrow guard-boats, rowed by eighteen or twenty men, with a swivel gun in the front of several. Whatever may be said about the indifference or repugnance of the Chinese as to copying foreigners, I am persuaded that the superior efficiency of many things of the kind at Canton, compared with the north and the interior, is owing greatly to hints furnished by our example to them. Digitized by CjOOQ iC ISO SKETCHES OF CHINA. We sailed along an interesting country of hills and rocks well wooded, the channel of the river sometimes flowing through an extensive valley, and at others straitened between lofty and projecting banks, where it bore a consider- able resemblance to the Rhine in the upper parts of its course. The hills that were not occupied by forest trees were occasionally planted with the Camellia oleifera. Some of our party observed, for the first and only time in the south of China, a boat with the fishing pelicans on board. With reference to our approaching arrival at Canton, the ambassador, by the advice of the second commissioner, came to the resolu- tion that the mission should land in state, as the eflfect of its public appearance there was a matter of some consequence, and the possession of our own crews and boats would enable it to make a very different figure from that which it possessed under Chinese tutelage. The Kin- chae had given us to understand that a koong- kwan, or public residence, was prepared by the government for the embassy's reception; a Digitized by CjOOQ iC ROCK OF KWANYIN. 151 satisfactory circumstance in itself, for though his excellency and suite would have been infi- nitely better lodged in the British factory, the oflFer on the part of the government proved its desire to preserve a friendly aspect towards us j and this was as much as any embassy, with all possible compliances, had ever been able to obtain. We knew from our position on the map that the famous rock and cavern containing a tem- ple, and called Kwdn-yin shduy could not be far distant. The desire of our whole party to inspect a place which had been so eloquently described by the pen of Lord Macartney, was accordingly made known to the Kinckae, our conductor. At about eight o'clock on the morning of the 28th December the squadron of boats was stopped purposely by the legate's order, in front of the huge precipitous lime- stone rock in which the caverns are situated. The height of the rock itself could not be under five hundred feet, rising abruptly from the river, with deep water close up to it. The natural fissures had been enlarged by art, and Digitized by CjOOQ iC 152 SKETCHES OF CHINA. steps were cut from the level of the river, lead- ing to what might be styled the basement floor. An interior flight of steps, also cut out of the native limestone, led to a second cavern over- head, the height of which above the water was estimated at about a hundred feet. A native Chinese drawing in my possession very fairly represents the external appearance of this sin- gular place, as seen from the river. Over the natural fissure in the rock, which formed the window of the upper story, hung a,n immense mass of a stalactitic appearance, perhaps formed by the percolation through the limestone of water charged with carbonic acid. This, and other overhanging portions of the black and dismal cliff, seemed to threaten de-^ struction to all who entered from below. The shaven priests received us politely at the foot of the steps, and conducted us to the pene- tralia of the temple, dedicated to the goddess Kwan-yin. This deity belongs to the Budhist religion, and though she has sometimes a place in the temples dedicated to the Trimurti, or Triad, we often found her monopolising, as in Digitized by CjOOQ iC ROCK OF KWANYIN. 153 the present case, an altar entirely to herself. As intercessor for the sins of mortals, (under the title of *^ the most merciful goddess,") she resembles in some degree the " queen of heaven" in the Romish worship. The two Canton linguists, who had accom- panied the embassy from Peking by the empe- ror's orders, performed their devotions by knocking head before the idol ; while we were contented with making an offering to the tem- ple, in return for the civilities of the priests. The curiosity of the party being gratified, we were glad to emerge from this living burial- place into light and air, and to rejoin the boats. The wind became so violent soon afterwards, that apprehensions were enter- tained by the Chinese as to proceeding, and at length an accident to the Kinchae's boat, by striking on a rock, brought the whole fleet to a stop, and obliged our conductor to change into another vessel. He took occasion of this delay to visit the ambassador, and renewed all his civil speeches ; adding that a particular order from the em- h3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 154 SKETCHES OF CHINA. peror had remitted the duties on the Indiaman in which the presents had come laden. We were glad to proceed on our journey after a few hours' stoppage, but did not advance above thirty ly further, before we anchored for the night opposite to Ying-tS Men, a small walled town, with a shabby modern pagoda near it, but a handsomer one upon our own side of the river. On the morning of the 29th we got under way with a strong north-east monsoon, and sailed along the valley in which the town of Ying^tS Men is situated, amidst fertile and well cultivated lands. Not more than thirty ly had been accomplished, when we approached a part of the river where the projection of the high rocky banks on either side formed a narrow gorge, through which the wind, before suffi- ciently strong, blew with a degree of violence which daunted our Chinese navigators, and caused the whole squadron to anchor early in the day near a sandy bank on the hither side of the pass. On our left was a thick and extensive grove of bamboos, which, being in fact a gigantic grass. Digitized by CjOOQ iC GROVE OF BAMBOOS. 155 might be compared to a meadow in Brobding- nag just ready for the scythe. The stem of the bamboo, like other grasses, dies as soon as it has flowered. It is cut down periodically by the Chinese, at diflFerent stages of its growth, according to the uses intended. The bamboo poles, on which two of the Chinese coolies, or porters, carry about 150 lbs. between them, measure four or five inches in diameter. At daylight on the 30th December we left our anchorage with a moderate breeze, and threaded the narrow defile which the boisterous weather of the preceding day had forbade our encountering. The river soon widened out considerably, but continued to wind occasionally between high hills at a little distance. About noon I left the boat to walk on shore, among plantations of sugar-cane, and rice fields which at this season exhibited nothing but the ground prepared for the reception of the seed or plants. Soon after I had returned to the boats, they passed another very beautiful channel, between lofty hills, completely covered with hanging woods of a noble growth. These were destined Digitized by CjOOQ iC 156 SKETCHES OF CHINA. to be the kst of the wild mountain and forest scenery, of which we had observed so much since entering the Canton province. Those persons who have never gone beyond the city of Canton are apt to imagine that the flat and fertile scenery, which they view around them, is a mere sample of the character and condition of the whole province; whereas it extends but a comparatively short distance up. the river, and changes (in the neighbourhood of Tsing-yuen-hien) into a mountainous and thinly-peopled country, which is the general character of the Canton province, taken in the gross. The Chinese history speaks of the aborigines of this wild region under the name of Man, who within a comparatively recent period were subdued and incorporated into the "Middle Nation." Many persons have re- marked a decidedly Malay cast in the features of the natives of this province ; and it is highly probable that the Canton and Fokien people were originally the same race as the tribes which still remain unreclaimed on the east side of Formosa. Digitized by CjOOQ iC TOWN OF TSING-YUEN-HIEN. 157 In the evening we reached Tdng-yuen-hieriy a walled town, situated on a sandy flat at the commencement of the alluvial country. Here our boats were anchored on the side of the river opposite to the town, according to the practice which had lately been adopted. The atmosphere of Canton jealousy and precaution seemed already to surround us; but our curi- osity had now been satisfied to the fiill, during the long inland travels which were here fast approaching to their termination. The town of Tsing-yuen-hien extended, with its suburbs, to a . considerable distance along the bank of the river, and had a populous and flourishing appearance. Two pagodas were distinguish- able, one close to the town, and another, con- siderably larger, some way down the stream. The hour being late, we did not trouble our Chinese friends with a visit across the water, but were contented with a walk through a fine grove of bamboos into the adjoining country, which was interspersed with farms situated amidst rice-grounds, reminding us of the familiar features of Canton scenery. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 158 SKETCHES OP CHINA. One of the peculiar boasts of this southern portion of the province is its rice cultivation, said to be the finest in the empire, and extend- ing over the vast flat through which the in- numerable channels of the river find their way into the sea. Almost every considerable vil- lage which we passed in our course had a sub- stantial square-looking building of brick, which served as a depository for the grain not required for immediate consumption. On the 31st December we held our course along the widening river, which flowed through a country that grew more flat as we advanced. Around us were low sandy islands and banks, which from their naked appearance were in- capable of cultivation, and occasionally flooded by water. I took an excursion on shore, which could not be otherwise than pleasant in the delightful climate for which this country is remarkable during the months that intervene between November and April. Here, for the first time in the course of our travels, my ears were greeted with the sounds so frequent and familiar at Canton, Fdnkwei and Hoong-maou, Digitized by CjOOQ iC "THE HIEN OF THREE STREAMS." 159 " Foreign devil," and " Rufiis," — without hav- ing the slightest personal claims to the last distinction, however indisputable my title to the first. Late in the evening we reached San-shuey- hien, " the hien of three streams," as it stands at the union of three watery channels. Here was at first some appearance of stopping for the night ; but the word was presently given to pro- ceed, in order that we might secure the passage of a shoal at the next high tide. This gave general satisfiiction, as it insured our arrival at Canton on the following day, after an absence of nearly six months from all the means of obtaining news from England, — to which may be added, that our protracted stay in the interior of the empire had rather tired us of our Chinese life, than reconciled us to it. At the same time, I believe' there was not one of the party but was well content to have purchased such rare opportunities of observa- tion and enquiry, at the expense of some per- sonal discomfort, and occasionally not a little mental irritation. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 160 SKETCHES OF CHINA. New-year's day seemed as if it dawned for the purpose of welcoming the return of our embassy to Canton. The boats proceeded at a rapid pace during the whole night of the 31st; and at nine o'clock in the morning of the 1st January we were not twenty miles from the city. The familiar scenery of that place here commenced. The river sides were planted with orange-trees, plantains, and lychees; while nothing but rice-fields appeared inland. The clear water of the stream on which we had sailed began now to assume a turbid ap- pearance, and to increase greatly both in depth and breadth. At length those who were look- ing out ahead descried the ambassador's barge, bearing the royal standard, and sweeping along towards us at a rapid pace. This was soon followed by a numerous procession of boats in two lines from all the British ships, with their crews in uniform. The American con- sul and some other foreigners came likewise to welcome his lordship's arrival ; and the day was concluded with a splendid banquet at the British Factory. Digitized by CjOOQ iC OPINIONS AT CANTON. 161 It was, I believe, a general sentiment at Canton, that the resistance made by the em- bassy to the haughty conduct of the Peking court was the best possible result that could have been obtained ; and that the mere recep- tion, followed by the supercilious dismissal of the mission, would have been far too dearly pur- chased by compliances which a former British ambassador very wisely refused. The impression produced by the spirit and firmness which had just been displayed, even under the personal frown of the despot, continued long to exercise its influence at Canton ; and if such temerity in foreigners surprised the ignorant Chinese, it was at the same time calculated to remove some portion of their silly prepossessions con- cerning the universal supremacy of the celes- tial empire. The eflfects, at least, were visible in the rapid increase of our valuable intercourse with Canton; until the destruction, in 1834, of a prosperous system of two hundred years' standing, entailed those unfortunate collisions which lately drove the British trade from a Digitized by CjOOQ iC 162 SKETCHES OF CHINA. port where it had long enjoyed an uncon- tested superiority over that of all other nations. Whatever may be the ultimate results of the hostilities in which we are now embarked, it is certain that for a considerable time, at least, expenditure must be substituted for re- venue — national loss for national profit — ^to which must be added the multiplied chances of being embroiled in critical discussions with other nations, whose respect for the rights of a belligerent power may grow impatient under the continued privation of a valuable trade. It is certain, however, that the de- graded condition to which foreigners have been reduced at Canton since the administra- tion of the Commissioner Lin, is calculated to make the more respectable, even among the Americans, partisans in the common cause of civilised right against barbarian assumption. It is extremely to be lamented that things should ever have been brought to such a pass, and by such a sudden wrench; but the die being once cast, there never was a better opportunity • for trying y at least, what can be Digitized by CjOOQ iC REFLECTIONS. 163 done towards improving the condition of our intercQurse with China. It may convey some idea of the slowness of Chinese travelling to observe, in concluding this chapter, that the average rate of our pro- gress from Peking to Canton, including stop- pages, was only ten miles a day, or considerably less than half a mile an hour — that is, not the fftieth part of the ordinary rail-road speed. The latter would " put a girdle round about the earth" in forty days; the former creep round in little less than seven years ! Digitized by CjOOQ iC 164 CHAPTER XVI. Canton and its neigbbourbood — ^barbours outside — dijQficul- ties of blockade — Bogue forts — river — city walls — Macao — beld from Cbinese— described — a Cbinese governor — as well as Portuguese — population — cbiefly Cbinese — English and otber Europeans — resident by Cbinese order — Portuguese embassies — Saldanba — Metello — Sampayo — Frencb sbip ilmpW/n/e— piracies of Portuguese — tbeir ambassador put to death. Whatever may be the objects and Results of schemes of warfare or occupation in other parts of China^ Canton must^ for a consider- able time at least, be the point to which, from ancient habit, long establishment, and the advantages of personal experience and know- ledge, the principal views of European and American merchants will be directed, until experimental enterprise has laid open and led the way to new ports. The fate of that old emporium in the pending contest becomes, therefore, a point of the highest interest. Digitized by CjOOQ iC CANTON AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 165 Apart from some peculiar disadvantages, of which the principal are its position at the southern extremity of the whole empire, at the greatest distance from the metropolis, and in a climate unsuited to the consumption of English manufactures. Canton is favoured by being placed on one of the finest and most commodious navigable rivers in the world. A particular account of this river, of the islands and principal anchorages in its neigh- bourhood, and of the means of defence which it seems to possess, will be read with some interest at the present time, when the public prints contain accounts of important naval transactions, and of movements from one place to another, whose names and localities are generally unknown. From Macao to the Boca Tigris, or true entrance of the river, is just forty miles, affording a very safe channel for the largest ships. Admiral Drury's ship of the line went up even to Whampoa, without any difficulty. As far as the Boca, or Bogue, the whole is a broad estuary of the sea, interspersed with Digitized by CjOOQ iC 166 SKETCHES OF CHINA. islands, of which the well-known Lintin lies just midway between Macao and the Bogue. Lintin is on the right of the channel for ships, and just abreast of it on the left is Lankeet island, forming behind it the harbour of Kuwr sing-moon, where the opium ships of late years were accustomed to lie at anchor in safety. About five miles south-west of Lintin an- chorage is Toon-koo, a safe harbour for large ships, formed between an island of that name and the main land. It was here that the fleet of the East India Company was anchored during several discussions with the Chinese government, until the settlement of difficulties admitted of their entering the port of Canton. Farther to the south-west, and nearly in the parallel of Macao (being about thirty miles due east of that place), is the harbour or anchorage of Hong-hong, so long the ren- dezvous of the English fleet in 1839. These all afford security to ships in bad weather, and with the excellent surveys that have been made of the whole coast of the Canton pro- Digitized by CjOOQ iC DIPPICULTIES OP BLOCKADE. 167 vince, are calculated greatly to facilitate the naval operations in that quarter. There is no entrance to the Canton river to the eastward of the Boca Tigris ; but on the west the case is widely diflferent; and it is there that the principal difficulties of a blockading squadron exist. The main part of the river flows through the Bogue ; but to the westward there stretches a great delta, which has been gradually formed by depositions of soil from the turbid waters, and is crossed in all directions by shallow channels com- municating with each other, and with Canton. Some of these channels form the inner passage, by which the British factory used generally to proceed between Canton and Macao, pass- ing a town called ffeang-shan, the /^residence of the chief magistrate of the Macao district. These shallow channels to the westward, though they are impassable by English ships, present no obstacle to the flat-bottomed trading craft of the Chinese, below the size of the larger junks. The power and facilities of eva- sion are therefore considerable, as the chan- Digitized by CjOOQ iC 168 SKETCHES OF CHINA. nels leading inwards are numerous, and theif mouths or entrances in such shoal water, as to render it possible for only the smallest sized English vessels to guard them. It may be expected, therefore, that without the use of open boats (always a severe service in a hot climate), a considerable portion of the trade of the Chinese will pass in and out from Canton. It is to be hoped that the blockade of the Bogue may lead to a speedy collision with the forts, and occasion the entire demolition of those defences, as the Chinese seem to have an idea that they are invincible. They have suflFered in several conflicts with our men-of- war, but these were merely in forcing the passage, without waiting to give the batteries an eflfective lesson ; and until some of our ships anchor before them, and entirely destroy the forts, as well as carry off the guns, they will always remain as a source of annoyance to merchant ships, over which they exercise a capricious tyranny. In any other hands than those of the Chi- Digitized by CjOOQ iC B06UE FORTS. 169 nese> the number of guns mounted by these formidable looking batteries, would sink a ship in a short time. They shewed about one hundred and twenty cannon when forced by the Imo- gene and Andromache frigates ; but the large fort on the right hand, (named Anunghoy^ has since been joined to another lower down, and at present displays a line of immense length. The defence on the little island, or rock, to the left cannot be increased, unless they add a third tier of guns to the two of which it now consists, as the whole rock is covered by the battery. Besides these, there is a fort to protect the shallow passage on the left of the island just mentioned, but quite out of reach of the main channel. These defences being passed, a huge black- looking rock, called Tiger Islandy about three miles higher up on the left, displays another battery with above thirty embrasures or ports, and the narrowness of the deep channel obliges every ship to pass close to its wall. No other fortification of the least consequence inter- venes in the thirty miles between this place VOL. II. I Digitized by CjOOQ iC 170 SKETCHES OF CHINA. and Canton ; but the Chinese, in case of at- tack, would have recourse probably to bloddng up the channel by sinking junks laden with stone. This being a desperate measure, and calculated to spoil the navigation of the river, nothing but extreme necessity will ever lead to its adoption ; but collections of granite have long been made in the neighbourhood of the second bar, apparently with this view. The second bar is about seven miles above Tiger island, or ten above the Boque, and twenty-two miles from Canton; it presents little difficulty at high water to the largest ships. Above the bar there is a sudden bend in the river to the westward, and at the dis- tance of about twelve miles upwards, is Wham- poa, the port of Canton, ten miles below the city and factories. No Chinese defences of any kind have been erected here; but at a point about midway to Canton, where the river divides into two channels, a small square fort was built some time after admiral Drury's expedition, and is called by the En- glish ^'Howqua's fort^" as that merchant is Digitized by CjOOQ iC MVER. 171 «aid to have defrayed the expenses of the erec- tion. The defences become more insignificant as the city is approached, which no doubt arises from the Chinese trusting to the diminished depth of the river as a safe-guard against European shipping. Yet very large junks oc- casionally come up to the walls of the city, and there is no doubt of a brig of war, or a steamer, doing the same if required. The river above Whampoa has never been as well surveyed as it ought to have been, if the possi- bility of warlike iterations was ever contem- plated. Two small forts in the river, just opposite to the city walls, have been very appropriately named follies^ as they are ap- parently much fitter for summer-houses than any purpose of a warlike kind. The whole city of Canton lies below the foreign factories on the river, so that an at- tacking force would have no occasion to ap- proach the latter in any plan of operation against the town. The old and the new city are divided by a wall running east and west, i2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 172 SKETCHES OP CHINA. and parallel to the river; but the circuit of the whole does not exceed six miles. The walls are built of brick with stone foundations. Their height is about twenty-five feet, rising perpendicularly, and within, (as usual in all Chinese towns,) is an earthen mound with a terre^plein below the parapet of the wall, of considerable breadth. The condition of the walls is extremely bad, particularly on the east side looking down the river, where a very little would bring them down. But the destruction of the comparatively defenceless town of Canton, if not essential to the attainment of any important point, is a thing very much to be deprecated. The suffer- ing and loss to the people would be incalcu- lable, and the means and sources of all future commerce would be crippled if not demolished for years. Our quarrel is with the govern- ment, and not the people; and the strongest impression will be produced by annihilating all the boasted defences on the river, as well as every species of force that they may venture to make trial of. The standing native army Digitized by CjOOQ iC MACAO. 173 of Canton has been generally estimated to consist of about seven thousand ill-conditioned troops; but there can be little doubt of all possible addition having been made since the alarm of war. The sudden diversion of the main part of the expedition to the northward, was of course calculated to perplex and con- found the preparations of the government for defence. Under every circumstance that may occur, there is one place which, from its position and old associations, must of necessity play a con- siderable part in the impending crisis. Macao being situated out of the river and port of Canton, and in the very centre of the active blockade, — ^being also claimed at once by the Chinese as landlords, and by the Portuguese as tenants, — must inevitably give rise to some curious and interesting episodes in the course of the general transactions. Some advocates have contended for its seizure and occupation, a plan that has wisely been over-ruled ; for, independently of such a measure involving the question of Portuguese sovereignty, (however Digitized by CjOOQ iC 174 SKETCHES OP CHINA. untenable that seems to be,) the two previous and unadvised occupations of the place during the last war, with their fruitless and mortifying results, would infallibly embolden the Chinese to imagine that we were again about to play the same futile game. Some curious information was collected respecting Macao by a Swedish gentleman, named Ljungstedt, since dead, from whose compilation, (as it was never regularly pub- lished, and is extremely scarce,) it may be as well to make citations. He commences by proving beyond a doubt that the Portuguese tenure of the place, is the very slightest of all — a tenancy at willy of the emperor of China. Late transactions have shewn it, if possible, to be even less than this. The Chinese com- missioner Lin took it upon himself to drive all the English out of the place in 1839, without asking leave of the Portuguese, and in fact very much against their will, as the best houses in the place, being their property, were tenanted by the English to the amount of thirty thou- sand dollars per annum. It is remarkable. Digitized by CjOOQ iC MACAO. 175 however, that as soon as a respectable naval force arrived on the coasts the Chinese com- missioner no longer persisted in his molestation of English residents ; and they have retamed and resumed their former abodes; though it must be acknowledged at the exp^ise of no small degree of personal jeopardy.* The accurate panorama of Macao, now ex- hibiting in London, represents a striking Eu- ropean-looking town, with its ehurcheSr con- vents, and forts built along the curve, and topping the heights, of a picturesque bay. Macao is placed on a small rocky peninsula, only three miles long, and about one broad, and joined to the Chinese district of Heang- shan by a narrow isthmus of sand dirown up by the sea. The mm originally paid by the Portuguese to its real sovereign, the Chinese emperor, as an annual rent, amounted for- merly to something considerable ; but in con- sequence of the increasing poverty of the place, it has been reduced to the mere quit rent of * Mr. Stanton has been seized since the above was written. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 176 SKETCHES OF CHINA. five hundred taels per annum. Across the isthmus of sand the Chinese have erected a barrier wall of separation, having a gate in the centre, through which no European is allowed to pass to the Chinese side. This barrier is said to have been formed in consequence of the practice in which the Romish priests in- dulged, of purchasing, or even stealing, Chi- nese children to make them proselytes. A mandarin resides in Macao, and issues his edicts to the Portuguese governor. Of the earlier institution of this office, Ljungstedt's memoir states, that natural born subjects of Portugal were not ashamed to lay complaints against their own countrymen before the local mandarins, and the higher authorities at Can- ton. To redeem themselves from the conse- quent vexations, the citizens of Macao had no other means than bribery. It is certain that at later periods the Macao mandarin (called Tso-tdng) has more than once reduced the Portuguese governor to obedience by stopping the entry of provisions and supplies for the town. Digitized by CjOOQ iC MACAO HELD OF THE CHINESE. 177 The Portuguese are not permitted to build new houses, nor even to repair old ones with- out leave. This is easily enforced, as all the workmen are Chinese. It is forbidden by a Chinese edict, dated 1749, to erect new churches or other edifices without a license from the mandarin of the district. This officer annually visits the Portuguese forts, and sees that no addi- tions have been made to them or their defences. The whole number of troops allowed by the Chinese is limited to four hundred black sol- diers, commanded by about eighteen Portuguese officers. These at present are below that num- ber, and miserably inefficient; but they must once have been of a diflFerent description, for a Dutch fleet of thirteen sail was, more than two hundred years ago (a.d. 1622), defeated in attempting to land troops and seize the town. In return for this service to the celestial em- pire the viceroy of Canton sent a present of two hundred peculs of rice to Macao. ITie Chinese, with their usual skill and tact, have made use of the Portuguese inhabitants against the enemies of the empire. The ex- i3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 178 SKETCHES OF CHINA. tensive coast, with its numerous islands, being much too great a charge for the puny naval force of the government, has given birth, from time to time^ to formidable fleets of pirates, who laid waste the country within a few miles of the sea. One of the most powerful of these combinations arose in the first years of the present century, and at length grew strong enough to threaten Canton. The viceroy was compelled to seek assistance from Macao, and an agreement was formed with the Portuguese authorities of that place on the 23rd of No- vember, 1809. Macao furnished six vessels, manned, armed, and provided with ammunition for six months, to act in concert with a squa- dron of war junks. This combined fleet say the Portuguese, gained some advantages over the pirates, who, being thus checked in their course, were prevented from obtaining the necessary supplies from the coast Want and distress every day increased, and they were compelled at length to listen to termis of surrender. The chief was pardoned, and made a mandarin. More than twenty thousand persons returned to their alle- Digitized by CjOOQ iC PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONARIES OF MACAO. 179 giance. A hundred and twenty-six were beheaded (after pardoning the chief), and a great many more exiled for different periods of time.* The principal Portuguese functionaries of Macao are the governor, who commands the military; the judge, or dezembargador, some- times called ^'o mmistro f* and the bishop. Each of these receives a stipend of two thou- sand ts^ls, or about six hundred pounds sterl- ing per annum, a sufficient remuneration when compared with the extent of their charge. The ill-conduct and illiberal spirit of the Por- tuguese drove away the English trade and ca- pital from Macao in 1822, and the place has declined ever since. The whole of the shipping consists of about sixteen small vessels, measuring little more than five thousand tons. Even these are many of them freighted by Chinese capitalists, because the property on board is considered safer than in a junk. The population of Macao consists of Chinese, native Portuguese, and Europeans. The first * Mr. Glasspoole's account differs from the Portuguese. See Chapter XVIII., infra. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 180 SKETCHES OP CHINA. form by far the most numerous portion, and amount to between twenty and thirty thou- sand. The Portuguese are numbered at some- thing more than four thousand, of whom above a fourth part are black slaves ; and the greater part of the Portuguese, so called, are Mestizos, or mongrels, descended from European fathers, but Chinese or Malay mothers. It appears to have been the early policy of Portugal to make its eastern colonies the places of banishment for public criminals, and Macao came in for its share of these exportations. A portion of the population, therefore, has this unlucky origin. But, from the governor down to the Caflfre slave, no Christian condescends to exercise any handicraft, which is left entirely to the Chi- nese. The builders, carpenters, shoemakers, &c., are without exception Chinese. Trade is the only gainful profession in which a Macao Portuguese will exert the few energies that he may be gifted with ; and the possession of some chests of opium constitutes what they call a merchant. The number of churches and other public Digitized by CjOOQ iC DEFENCES OF MACAO. 181 buildings, still remaining at Macao, bear witness that the place has once been much wealthier, if not more independent of China, than at pre- sent. Of churches there are at least a dozen, with a "Casa de Camera," or senate house, a ra- ther handsome building. The expenditure of the English had of late years been the prin- cipal support of the town, and many good houses were built expressly for them ; some of these by the advance of English capital under Portuguese names, as none but a naturalised Portuguese might possess a house there. The events that have occurred since 1834 have de- prived Macao of some of its best tenants, and there seems at present nothing to prevent its utter desertion, unless the place should come altogether under British protection — of which there is no immediate danger. The principal strength of the town consists in the shoalness of the water not permitting large ships to approach within gunshot range ; but there are several points at which troops could be landed out of reach of the forts. These forts are six in number, though they Digitized by CjOOQ iC 182 SKETCHES OF CHINA. are ill found and worse manned. The town is nearly surrounded^ on land^ by an old wall, which, in the Chinese fashion, crosses the tops of the hills, Thfci waU is said to hare been erected by the "travaux forces/* of the pri- soners taken in the unsuccessful Dutch attack of 1622. One of the most characteristic fea- tures of the place was the convent of Santa Clara, a huge black pile of building, where some forty nuns anticipated their final burial by being immured for life — ^very much for their own benefit, no doubt, and that of society at large. Some equally useful gentlemen kept them in countenance, hard by, in a monastery of Franciscan monks. The Portuguese were at first so blind to their real interest as to oppose the resort and residence of any Europeans but the subjects of Spain or Portugal, but this soon ceased to be optional. A regulation of the Emperor Kien^ loonff, in 1760, prohibited foreigners from re- siding at Canton after the shipping season was over, and positive orders were therefore issued that strange]:;s should, during the interval be- Digitized by CjOOQ iC PORTUGUESE EMBA£»3IES. 183 tween the end of one season and the beginning of the next, transport themselves to Macao. They accordingly came with the authority and commands of the Chinese government, addressed to the governor of Macao, who dared not re- fiise. The residence of the British factory during the summer months was by an express order from Lisbon. As the terms on which the Portuguese of Macao held that place made them, from the first, mere dependents of the Eimperor of China, this circumstance led to a great number of embassies to the imperial court. The detail of these (and of some others) is instructive, as it proves that the English is not the only nation which has objected to the humiliations sought to be imposed ; as well as that the cere- monies and usages of the Chinese have on par- ticular occasions been accommodated to circum- stances. The reception of an English ambas- sador is a question which may possibly ctgain arise out of our present disturbed relations with the country ; in which event the know- ledge of former precedents would be desirable. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 184 SKETCHES OF CHINA* When Formosa, towards the end of the 17th century, was in the hands of the Chinese, who had wrested that island from the Dutch, the Tartar fleet of the Emperor Kdnghy was unable to cope with the superior navy of the Chinese admiral. The Peking government accordingly adopted its peculiar policy of commanding all its subjects, who dwelt on the borders of the sea, to withdraw thirty Chinese ly (or about ten English miles) into the interior, leaving the coast bare to the invaders.* They were likewise forbidden to navigate. But this sum- mary order included Macao, which was just as much an integral part of the Chinese empire as any other. By the intercession of the Jesuit Adam Schaal, the emperor was pleased to except the Portuguese of that town from the sentence of moving to another place ; but the prohibi- tion against navigation remained in full force. As Macao subsisted entirely by trade, its in- habitants ventured to use their ships, partly by * Our history records a similar devastation of the land between the Tyue and the Humber, to guard against the Danes. Digitized by CjOOQ iC SALDANHA. 185 stealth and partly by means of bribery ; but the system proved so hazardous and uncertain that the senate determined on making the viceroy of Goa, Conte St. Vincente, acquainted with the miseries that threatened them. In hopes that an embassy might serve to alleviate their hardships^ the viceroy sent Emanuel de Sal- danha in the name of the king of Portugal to Peking. Saldanha arrived at Macao, at the time when seven ships with cargoes had been confiscated by an order from the emperor. The envoy was provided at Macao with pre- sents for the court of Peking, and after being long detained at Canton, was at length de- spatched in a barge which bore this inscription on a flag — " Get homme vient pour rendre hom- mage," which is exactly the Koong-she (tribute- bearer) of later embassies. The whole expense of the mission, including presents, was above thirty thousand taels, or ten thousand pounds, much more in those days than at present. The ships condemned were released, but in other respects the results were so unsatisfactory that the city of Macao begged to be at the charge Digitized by CjOOQ iC 186 SKETCHES OF CHINA. of no more embassies, except in some very im- minent and cogent case* When Yoongcliing, the successor of Kdng^ hyy provoked by the revolutionising intrigues of the Romish priests, had determined to rid himself of them, the king of Portugal in 1726 sent Metello as his ambassador to Peking. This envoy seems to have made some struggle for the sake of his dignity, and endeavoured to forward to the emperor a remonstrance, in which, alluding to the difference between a vassal king and an independent sovereign, he expressed his confidence that he should not be subjected to undue humiliations. He was as- sured at Canton that the words Tsin koong (tributary) should not be mentioned, and shortly afterwards proceeded by the usual land route with forty attendants. Arrived at Peking, Metello was presently conducted before the emperor, when he as- cended the steps of the throne, and kneeling, presented his credentials. Then, returning to the front of the centre gate, he and his retinue performed the Tartar act of homage which Digitized by CjOOQ iC PORTUGUESE MISSION OF 1726. 187 was rather at variance with his previous scru- ples. The audience of leave was at Yuenming- yuen, where the emperor presented to the am- bassador with his own band a cup of wine, and sent him some meat from his own table. Metello informed the Chinese minister that he could not receive a letter to his royal master unless it was couched in terms of equality ; but the latter contrived to satisfy his scruples on this point. The Portuguese embassy embarked atTungchow in boats, and was nearly five months on the journey to Canton. As usual, no advan- tage whatever was gained by this embassy ; but John v., king of Portugal, signified to the city of Macao that he would graciously condescend to accept a donative in return for the heavy charges of the mission. The sum of thirty thousand taels was accordingly contributed by the city, and by the Romish priests interested in the objects to which the embassy had been directed, though without the least success ; as the Catholic worship was finally prohibited in China, and has continued so for above a century to the present day. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 188 SKETCHES OF CHINA. The last Portuguese embassy from Macao was in 1753, when the court of Lisbon de- spatched an envoy to Peking in the person of Sampayo, to complain of certain encroachments made by the Canton government upon the city and population of Macao. This was just forty years before the mission of Lord Macartney, and to the same emperor, Kienloong, The ambassador proceeded from Canton with Father Hallerstein as interpreter — a name famous in the Catholic mission. The ceremonies were nearly similar to those in the previous mission, and the results quite as fruitless. After the usual period of about a month's residence at Peking, the letter to the king of Portugal was handed at Yuenmingyuen to the ambassador, who embarked in boats on the 3rd June, and reached Canton on the 6th October, after the customary journey of four months, over a dis- tance of less than thirteen hundred miles. This unprofitable embassy cost as much as the former one, and the Portuguese henceforward wisely abstained from sending any more. An occasion on which the equal and inde- Digitized by CjOOQ iC FRENCH SHIP AMPHITRITE. 189 pendent claims of European sovereigns were successfully maintained deserves notice, as it countenances and sanctions the proceedings of the English ambassadors. A French ship-of- war, rAmphitrite, was sent to Canton in 1699, under the command of the Chevalier de la Roque, to carry back the Jesuit, P^re Bouvet, who had been despatched on a particular mis- sion to France by the Chinese emperor. The ship on her arrival was exempted from duties and port charges, and the viceroy prepared an entertainment for the commander, who at the same time was made to understand that the Tartar prostration would be previously required. " As these thanksgivings" (says the Jesuit Bouvet) " take place in China with certain ceremonies which savour of submission and homage, we represented that the captain of the ship, being an officer of the greatest and most powerful monarch of the west, who was accus- tomed to receive homage without rendering it to any one, could not perform the ceremony in the Chinese manner. The mandarins, who Digitized by CjOOQ iC 190 SKETCHES OF CHINA. wished to do honour to our nation, and not to displease us, replied that it would be sufficient if it were done in a manner creditable to both nations; that is, partly in the Chinese, and partly in the French fashion ; and to this end they themselves proposed that the Chevalier de la Roque, with his face towards Peking, should hear the imperial commands, to be an- nounced by the viceroy, respecting the remis- sion of the port charges on the ship. That in token of reverence he might bend his knee, and then take off his hat in the French man- ner ; or, if he liked it better, he might hear the emperor's order with his hat off and his body inclined, without kneeling ; and that then he might show his respect after the fashion of his own country. " As M. le Chevalier found no difficulty in acceding to the latter proposition, he offered to conform to it, and the noble air with which he went through the ceremony inspired the vice- roy, and the other mandarins who assisted on this occasion, with respect for his person and his nation. He was then regaled with an en- Digitized by CjOOQ iC PIRACIES OF PORTUGUESE. 191 tertainment, at which himself and officers were placed above the principal mandarms." No formal embassy from the French court has ever appeared at Peking, though a commu- nication with Paris was long maintained through the medium of the Jesuits. TTie only European nations who have sent envoys to the Chinese emperor are the Portuguese, the Russians, the Dutch, and the English ; and as the English were the last to establish an in- tercourse, and the most active and enterprising to carry it on, so they have been the first to declare open war against the celestial empire. The early acts of violence committed by the Portuguese upon the coasts partook more of a private and piratical, than of a national cha- racter. The vessels were partly manned by convicts and renegades exiled from their native country, and the commanders themselves felt sufficiently exempt from control at that im- m^ise distance from Europe ; at a time when the modern facilities of communication were un- known, and a voyage out occupied nearly a year in duration. The first impression of the Euro- Digitized by CjOOQ iC 19S SKETCHES OF CHINA. pean character in China was that of a set of unprincipled commercial adventurers ; and the first embassy from Portugal disastrous in its results. The " Canton Miscellany" gives a detail, from the Portuguese historian de JSarros, of this very early mission, which was sent by the king of Portugal in the year 1520. The man- darins of Canton preceded the envoy's arrival by the most unfavourable accounts, represent- ing him and his retinue as spies. His country- men were said to have come to the east exclu- sively to make conquests; they had already seized upon Malacca, the deposed sovereign of which repaired to Peking, and entreated the protection of the emperor. After being sub- jected to the severest humiliations at Peking, the ambassador and his suite were sent back alive to Canton, but under strict custody. The Portuguese were directed to restore Malacca to its rightful owner, and never more to appear in China. In the mean while the proceedings of the adventurer Simon de Andrade, which were Digitized by CjOOQ iC SIMON D£ ANBRABE. l93 sufficiently outrageous, became represented at Peking with much exaggeration. He seized upon an island near Canton, raised a fort, and erected a gibbet to inspire the Chinese with terror. A fleet, in which was one ship from Lis- bon, arrived in the Canton river, conducted by a person who deeply incensed the government by his acts. He was presently joined by two ves- sels fully manned, and provided with stores and ammunition. They were attacked by the Chi- nese admiral with fifty sail of junks, which inflicted some, but received greater damage from the guns of the Portuguese. The latter, how- ever, were blockaded for nearly two months, until relieved by the arrival of two more ships from Malacca, when a sharp engagement took place, in which the Chinese admiral was de* feated, and his fleet subsequently dispersed in a violent storm. He revenged himself by put- ting to death the prisoners who had fallen into his hands. About this juncture the unfortunate envoy Pirez arrived at Canton from the court, where he and his companions were robbed VOL. II. K Digitized by CjOOQ iC 194 SKETCHES OF CHINA. of their property, thrown into prison, and at last put to death. Thus it appears that in the earlier periods of European intercourse, neither the Portuguese nor the Dutch proved altogether invincible in naval hostilities against the Chinese. The balance, however, has greatly altered in the interim, and while the latter have remained stationary, or perhaps retrograded, the art of naval warfare in Europe has made immense ad- vances. The result of direct warfare may be considered as already decided; but in policy and negociation we have to contend with the most astute government of Asia, possessing ab- solute power over its subjects, and by no means scrupulous as to the means by which it accom- plishes its ends. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 195 CHAPTER XVII. Chusan — described in 1101 — ^island of Pooto— of Kin-tfi-n — advantages of Chusan — visits to, at different periods — Gutzlaff 's three voyages— first in a junk — Shanghae — Tsoong-ming — ^the Peiho — ^Tien-tsin — Chapoo — ^Amoy — Chinese trade with Formosa — supplies of rice — Chinchew — ^Fochowfoo — best position for tea trade. The great interest which now attaches to Chusan, from the circumstance of its having been fixed upon as a place of occupation by the British force, calls for some particular notices respecting that part of the coast. It is the principal island of a group lying oflF the shores of China, due east of the city of Ningpo-foo, just under latitude 30* N. The principal town is Ting'hae, being in fact the port of Chusan, situated on the south-west coast of the island, about twenty-eight miles from the mouth of the Ningpo river. It is approached by a num- ber of deep channels among the islands, and there is a secure anchorage in the harbour, k2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 196 SKETCHES OF CHINA. wittin half a mile of the shore, fop-the largest ships, with a depth of water varying from five and a half to nine fathoms. A fair chart of the islands and anchorage was made by Mr. A. Dalrymple. The whole length of the island east and west is nearly thirty miles, with about half that breadth north and south. Some portions of the land rise into lofty hills, particularly towards the eastward, in which direction, nearly five miles from Chusan, lies the much smaller but romantic island of Poo-to, of which some notice will be taken, presently. When the English were allowed a factory at Tinghae, it was not within the walled city, but in a suburb (as at Canton), with the advantage, however, of being in sight, and almost in hail of the ships. Mr. Cunningham, a medical officer to the British factory at that time, thus describes it in a letter dated 1701 : — " Upon this island the Chinese have granted us a settlement and liberty of trade, but not to Ningpo, which is six or eight hours' sail to the westward, all the way among the islands. ... At the south- Digitized by CjOOQ iC CHUSAN IN 1701. 197 west end o£this island is the harbour, very safe and convenient, where the ships ride within call of the factorie, which is built close to the shore on a low plain valley, with near two hundred houses about it for the benefit of trade, inhabited by men whose jealousy has not yet permitted them to let their wives dwell here ; for the town of Tinghae, where they are, is three quarters of a mile further from the shore, environed with a fine stone wall about three miles in circumference, mounted with twenty- two square bastions at irregular distances, be^ sides four great gates on which are planted a few old iron guns seldom or never used. " The houses within are very meanly built. Here the Ghumpeen {Tsoong-ping, commander- in-chief,) or governor of the island lives, and between three and four thousand beggarlie in- habitants, most part soldiers and fishermen ; for the trade of the place being newly granted has not as yet brought any considerable merchants hither. The island in general abounds with all sorts of provisions, such as cows, buffaloes, goats, deer, hogs wild and tame, geese, ducks Digitized by CjOOQ iC 198 SKETCHES OF CHINA. and hens, rice, wheat, &c. ; but for merchan- dize there's none but what comes from Ningpo, Hangchow, Nanking, and the inland towns." The same letter gives an exact account of the very remarkable island called Pooto, lying close to Chusan, and generally considered to be the head-quarters of Chinese Budhism. The esta- blishments of temples and priests are enormous. Mr. Cunningham's account agrees exactly with that of Mr. Gutzlaff, given more than a hundred years afterwards. " It is inhabited" (he says) " only by bonzes, to the number of three thou- sand, all of the sect called Hoshang, or unmar- ried bonzes, who live a Pythagorean life ; and there they have built above four hundred pa- godas (temples), two whereof are considerable for their greatness and finery, being lately covered with green and yellow tiles brought from the emperors palace at Nanking;* and inwardly adorned with stately idols finely carved and gilded, the chief whereof is the idol Quon-eun (Kwanyin). " There's another island called Kim-tong * Soon after that city was dismantled by the Tartars. Digitized by CjOOQ iC ISLAND OF KIN-TAN. 199 (Kin-t4n), five leagues hence in the way to Ningpo, whither they say doe retire a great many manderines to live a quiet life after they have given over their employments. On that island^ also, are said to be silver mines, but pro- hibited to be opened. The rest of the circum- jacent islands are either desert, or meanly in- habited by a few fishing people, but all of them stored with abundance of deer." It is probable that this is by no means the present condition of the Chusan group. The immense advance made by the rest of China in population and prosperity since the time of the emperor Kanghy, (when the above letter was written,) has extended to the islands in question, which border on the very richest portion of the em- pire. Mr. Cunningham wrote not very long after the Manchow conquest, by which the whole country had been a severe sufferer in population and wealth. Perhaps no position could have been chosen better calculated than Chusan to annoy the Chi- nese government. The produce of the island alone, if it could be secured, and the industry Digitized by CjOOQ iC 200 SKETCHES OF CHINA. of the natives continue^ might be sufficient to maintain the whole armament hitherto sent. Within fifty or sixty miles to the westward is the city of Ningpo^ and at a hundred miles distance^ bordering an estuary of the sea, lies the most celebrated city of China, next to Pe- king, by name Hdngchowy the seat of vast in- dustry, population, wealth, and luxury. A little further to the north, at about a hundred and thirty miles from Chusan, is the mouth of the great river Yang-tse-keang, leading to the grand canal. The obvious advantages of CJhusan as the base of our operations had long ago been re- cognised. Its intended occupation was not known to the English public until November, . 1840 ; but a note to the ' Chinese' observes — '' In a war with China, the possession of Chusan would be a means of severely annoying the neighbouring coasts." As long ago as 1833, a paper in the Chinese Repository gave a sketch of operations that have been adopted in part. After observing that Canton was objectionable, from its position at the south- Digitized by CjOOQ iC ADVANTAGES OF CHUSAN. 201 ern extremity of the empire, it proceeds to say — " An admiral's station should therefore be selected. For the sake of resting upon some point, let Ningpo be adopted, or the adjacent island of Chusan The flag-ship was supposed to be established in the port of Chusan with her cruisers; the most valuable would certainly be our small sloopsK)f-war,* and flat- bottomed gun-boats. It will be seen, by refer- ence to the maps, that the admiral would possess, by means of the Hwanghof and other rivers, facilities for oper^-ting upon the grand canal, and cutting off the supplies of Peking." The province of Ch&keang, to which Chu- san pertains, is the very centre of the silk manufactures and of tea cultivation, the two great staples of British trade with China. A little islet which forms the southern side of the harbour of Chusan itself, is called " Tea- island," and is covered with tea-shrubs to the * There are no less than ten of these in the present expe- dition. The blockade of the canal remains for another campaign. t Rather, the Yang-tse-keang. k3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 202 SKETCHES OF CHINA. very tops of the hills. Both tea and silk are not more than one-half as dear as they are purchased at Canton. The taking of Hdng- chow would probably pay the indemnity for the opium seized by Commissioner Lin ; but a le- galised trade at that place, or its neighbour- hood, with the emperor s sanction, is not a very early prospect. It is not likely that the admi- ral or the queen's commissioner will openly countenance the illicit trade in opium ; but the indirect protection that this will derive from the presence of our ships-of-war is calculated to give it a great impulse. At the very time that the war with China (and with half of Asia besides) acts as a drain upon his revenue, it is not probable that the governor-general of India will be very hostile to the trade in opium. About twenty years after ]\Ir. Cunningham wrote the letter which has been quoted, the English were restricted, by an edict of the em- peror, to Canton alone, where the multiplied exactions soon forced them to attempt regain- ing their former footing (with all its discou- ragements) at Chusan and Amoy — ^but without Digitized by CjOOQ IC VISITS TO CHUSAN AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. 203 any success. The ship Grafton failed in 1734 at Amoy ; and two years afterwards the Nor- manton met with no better success at Ningpo and Ghusan. In 1759, the factories once occu- pied by the English at the latter places were destroyed, by order of the Chinese govern- ment, and the war-junks directed to prevent the supply of any provisions to our merchant ships. This gave rise to the enterprising ex- pedition of Mr. Flint, which terminated in that gentleman's imprisonment for two years near Macao.* The next visit to Chusan was from the squadron which conveyed Lord Macartney's embassy. In their way through the group of islands they reckoned that there must be full three hundred altogether. The Clarence brig was sent forward ahead, and anchored in Chusan harbour in five fathoms, about half a mile dist|tnt from the landing-place, near the residence of the Chinese governor, who was still a Tsoong-ping, or military commander, as in former times. In this situation the four * See * Chinese,' page 26, third edition. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 204 SKETCHES OF CHINA. passages into the harbour were all shut in, so that it looked like a lake surrounded by hills. Among these numerous islands^ there appeared to be almost the same number of good har- bours for ships of any burthen, — ^an important circumstance for the powerful squadron of ships which has lately sailed there. The Clarence found at Tinghae a Chinese merchant who had formerly traded with the EJast India Company, while they were per- mitted to visit that port ; and he still retained some knowledge of English. The interval, which was then only thirty-five, years, has now been increased to eighty, which precludes the possibility of any individual being now found by our armament who could recollect the English trade at that place. The reason stated to the visitors in the Clarence, for our exclu- sion from that port, seems to be the true one — not that we had given any just cause of um- brage, but the influence of the Canton man- darins at Peking, in their wish to centre the whole European trade in that province and city; to which might be added the jealous Digitized by CjOOQ iC TINGHAE. 205 fears of the Tartar government, and its un- willingness to admit our vessels so near to the most valuable portions of the empire. The party from the Clarence, on visiting the walled town of Tinghae, approached it from the suburb over a flat intersected with rivulets and canals. The ground is stated to have been cultivated like a garden ; not a spot was waste ; and the road, as usual, was narrow, that as little land as possible might be lost to culture. They found the walls of the town nearly thirty feet high, overtopping the houses. At the distance of every hundred yards were square towers of stone. In the parapets were also embrasures, and holes at intervals for archery; but no cannon were seen, except some old wrought-iron ones near the gate. This gate was double, and within the enclosure was a guard-house containing soldiers with their arms, which consisted of bows and arrows, pikes and matchlocks. The town itself was in some degree inter- sected with canals, the bridges over which were steep, and ascended by steps, like the Rialto at Venice. The streets, which were mere Digitized by VjOOQ iC 206 SKETCHES OF CHINA. alleys in breadth, were paved with flat stones, and the houses very low, and mostly of one story. This description answers to that of Canton. The town was full of shops, con- taining chiefly articles of food, clothing, and furniture — calculated rather for the supply of the inhabitants than for commerce, which is almost entirely absorbed by the neighbouring emporium of Ningpo-foo. As it is determined that Tinghae shall be constituted an English garrison-town, any account of its previous state is interesting. A portion of the embassy of Lord Macart- ney, on their return from Peking, joined the ships of the squadron lying at Chusan; but instead of proceeding straight from Hdng-chow (which is at the bottom of a bay) by sea, they were conducted by the Chinese to Ning-po along rivers and canals ; the reason of which proceeding was, in all probability, the fear of showing to the European party how approach- able the rich and flourishing city of Hdng- chow, the capital of the province, was by sea. The next account of a visit to the Chusan Digitized by CjOOQ iC gutzlaff's three voyages. 207 group is in the journals of Messrs. Gutzlaff and Lindsay^ who went straight to Ningpo-foo, The city and suburbs are described as covering more than half the space of Canton ; while the streets were wider and the shops handsomer than in any town th^t they saw on the coast. For trade, however, they found no place to equal Shanghae, whither they proceeded direct from Ningpo, crossing the mouth of the great bay which contains Hdng-chow-foo, As Shang- hae is not much more than a hundred miles from Chtisan, we are likely to hear of it very soon. The city or port is built on a broad and deep river, not far from the entrance, and ^ on the left bank. Commodious quays and large warehouses line the shore, where the water is deep enough to allow junks to unload along- side. In the middle the river has more than six fathoms depth, and it is nearly half a mile in breadth. More has been lately done towards ex- ploring the whole eastern coast, by the three voyages of Mr. Gutzlaff, than had been effected for many years previously. The first of these Digitized by CjOOQ iC 208 SKETCHES OF CHINA. voyages was performed in a Chinese junk, the second in the ship Amherst, and the last in a small opium vessel. The details of all three are highly curious and interesting. Mr. Gutz- laflF sailed from Siam, in 1831, on board a junk bound for Tienrtsin, near Peking. As these vessels coast it the whole way, he had thus the opportunity to take a general survey of the entire coast from Canton to the Peiho. On the 17th July they anchored in the har- bour of Namoh {Nangaou)y an island situated exactly on the frontier of the Canton and Fokien provinces, and the eastern limit of our existing survey on the coast. It is a military station, with a fort, and a place of considerable ^ trade, carried on between the people of Fokien and Canton. These two races were originally different ; a certain line of distinction prevails between them, and they are occasionally in- volved in desperate feuds, in which numbers are killed on both sides. The harbour of Namoh is described as spacious and deep, but the entrance as difficult and dangerous. On the 30th July Mr. Gutz- DJgitized by CjOOQ iC AMOY. 209 kff passed Amoy, formerly a seat of English trade, and now the principal emporium of Fokien, and the residence of numerous mer- chants, owning more than three hundred large junks, with which they carry on a trade with the other ports of China, and with the Malay archipelago. As Amoj/y like Chvsan, is an island, it has already become a scene of opera- tions tx) our men-of-war. The junk, with Mr. Gutzlaff, next sailed through the channel ' of Formosa, where northerly winds and strong southerly currents chiefly prevail. Since being colonised by the Chinese, Formosa is said to have made great advances. Its principal pro- ducts are rice, sugar, and camphor ; and as the rice is for the supply of the opposite provinces of China, the loss of this cannot fail to be felt in a maritime war. The inhabitants of For- mosa, being so far separated by sea, have proved a turbulent race, and given much trouble to the Chinese Government. A rebellion broke out in 1833, which was suppressed with great difficulty, and large numbers of the emperor s troops and of mandarins were killed. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 210 SKETCHES OF CHINA. Passing tlirough the Chusan group, the junk reached the mouth of the Yang-tse-keang, and the neighbourhood of the great emporium Shangkae. Just to the north of that port, and at the embouchure of the Yang-tse-keang , is a long flat island, not less than forty miles in length, called Tsoong-ming* of which a particular and curious account has been given by the Jesuits. It has been formed entirely by the deposition of soil from the great river where it first enters the sea ; being in fact a bar with channels on each side of it. The one which separates it from the continent to the south-west is stated to be about ten miles broad. Around this island are forming other smaller islets from the same causes, com- mencing in the first instance as shoals, which the Chinese call sha^ *' sands." The population of Tsoong-ming is greatly beyond what it could be supposed capable of maintaining. It was originally, from its wild and unpromising character, selected as a place * Sometimes Keangsfwy the " tongue of the Keang " — being just at its mouth. Digitized by CjOOQ iC TSOONG-MING. 211 of exile for convicts ; but time and industry have rendered it a rich and well-peopled por- tion of the empire. There is a considerable walled town on the south-east side, named Tsoong-minghien. The vicinity of the island to Chv^dn (ahont a degree and a half), must give to both places nearly the same climate; and accordingly the Jesuit account of Tsoong- ming in this respect becomes interesting. The frost lasts about twelve days in the depth of winter, and the snow that falls is melted immediately by the sun. The greatest heat prevails for two months> in July and August, but is generally moderated by gales or thunder- storms. It is less satisfactory to learn that severe hurricanes prevail here, similar to the typhoons on the Canton coast ; and as Ghusan is to the southward it must be expected to par- take of them. " There blow from the north- east," says the Jesuit P^re Jacquemin, long resident in the island, "terrible gales, which we call hurricanes in our seas, and the natives of the place Paou-foongy * cruel winds,' that nothing can resist. These furious tempest^s Digitized by CjOOQ iC 212 SKETCHES OF CHINA. generally prevail from July to September. During the short period of their continuance they destroy the labours of the country-people, and ruin the hopes of the most promising har- vest. Woe to the vessels which happen to be on the coast at these times ; they rarely escape shipwreck." The same authority states that in other respects the place is highly favoured. A number of considerable towns are spread over the island, abounding in well-stored shops, which contribute not only to the necessities but to the luxuries of life. We are likely to hear more of Tsoong'fning shortly. But to return to the coasting voyage of Mr. Gutzlaff. The junk, after putting in for a few days at Letaou, a spacious harbour at the extre- mity of the Shantung promontory, touched no- where else until the mouth of the Peiho was gained. The account of thi^ is curious at the present time. — " The entrance of the Peiho pre- sents nothing but scenes of wretchedness, and the whole adjacent country seemed as dreary as a desert. While the south winds blow, the coast (which is only just above the sea's level) is Digitized by CjOOQ iC THE PEIHO. 213 often overflowed to a considerable distance, and the country further inland affords very little to attract attention, being diversified only by stacks of salt and by numerous tumuli which mark the abodes of the dead. The people told me that when the vessels of the last English embassy were anchored off the Peiho, a detach- ment of soldiers, infantry and cavalry, was sent hither to ward off any attack that might be made. The impression made on the minds of the people by the appearance of those ships is still very perceptible. I frequently heard unrestrained remarks* concerning barbarian fierceness and thirst after conquest, mixed with eulogiums on the equitable government of the English at Sincapore. The people wondered how a few barbarians, without the trans- forming influence of the celestial empire, could arrive at a state of civilization very little inferior to that of the "middle kingdom." They rejoiced that the water at the bar of the Peiho was too shallow to afford a passage * Passing as he did for a Chiuese. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 214 SKETCHES OF CHINA. for men-of-war,* and that its course was too rapid to allow the English vessels to ascend the river. While these things were mentioned with exultation, it was remarked by one who was present, that the barbarians had "fire- ships," which could proceed up the river with- out the aid of trackers. This remark greatly astonished them and excited their fears, which, however, were quieted when I assured them that those barbarians, as they called them, though valiant, would never make an attack unless provoked." They little thought that this crisis was so near. About thirty men joined the junk to assist in towing her up against the stream, which, according to our authority, constantly flows towards the sea with more or less rapidity. During ebb tide there was not enough water for the junk to proceed ; and as the junks are flat-bottomed, this presents a bad prospect for * Mr. Gutzlaff adds, — " Which,*, however, is uot the case ; when the south wind prevails there is water enough for ships of the largest class." Digitized by CjOOQ iC TIEN-TSIN. 215 European vessels. Nearly a fortnight, from delays and other causes, seems to have elapsed from the arrival at Takoo to the time of their reaching Tien-tsin. This town is described, of course, as being very commercial, as equal- ling Canton in the bustle of its population, and surpassing it in the importance of its native trade. It is in fact the port of Peking, and supplies the capital with the two greatest necessaries of life — grain and salt. The dis- tance by land from the sea is not above forty miles. More than five hundred junks, according to Mr. Gutzlaff, arrive at Tien-tsin by sea from the southern provinces ; but by far the greater part of the trade, and all the grain junks, come inland by the canal. As the country here yields few productions, and Peking consumes immense quantities of stores, the imports are of course very great. Sysee silver is mentioned as being particularly plentiful, and in fact the chief article of export. This must of course be the case, where the native productions are little or nothing. *'I was quite surprised to see so Digitized by CjOOQ iC 216 SKETCHES OF CHINA. much Sysee silver in circulation. The quantity of it was so great that there seemed to be no difficulty in collecting thousands of taels at the shortest notice. A regular trade in silver is carried on by a great many individuals." The lateness of the season obliged the junk to hasten her departure on the 17th October, lest the Peiho, freezing up, should detain her over the winter. They then proceeded to Kin-chow, on the coast of Manchow Tartary, where the water is described to be as shallow as at the Peiho. Not far from this place, inland, is Motigden, the original birth-place of the reigning emperors of China; but the country is poor, and possesses few attractions. On their return towards Canton, where they did not arrive until December, Mr. Gutzlaff had occasion, in passing through the strait of Formosa, to observe the hardy maritime habits of the people of Fokien. Though the sea, as usual there, was running very high, numbers of fishing-boats were visible in all directions. The second coasting voyage of Mr. Gutzlaff was in the Amherst ; but his third and most Digitized by CjOOQ iC TELLOW SEA. S17 adventurous one was performed in the Sylph, a small opium vessel, which quitted Canton at a very unfavourable season, on the 20th of Oc- tober, and had to contend with adverse gales and currents the whole way up to the Yellow Sea. This voyage fully proves that extreme cold,— in fact, quite an arctic climate, — ^prevails on the coast of the Peking province during winter. On the way up they were continually advised not to proceed further north, as they would there fall in with ice, a prediction which was fully verified. The ship did not reach the north of the Yellow sea until more than a month after quitting Canton. "Perhaps in no part of the world (says Mr. Gutzlaff) does the sea retreat so rapidly and constantly as in Leaovrtung and Pe-che-le. Every year adds to the land some fertile acres, and makes the navigation more dangerous. In bearing away to the westward — to have a look at the great wall, the ship ran upon a sand-bank. A strong northerly wind blowing at the time, the water decreased until the ship was left nearly high and dry, and fell over on her beam-ends. To VOL. 11. L Digitized by CjOOQ iC 218 SKETCSSa OP C^tJNA. a,d4 to their peril — the Iwcar crew wm entirely disabled from exertfoa hy the exee^ive ccild. In going ft distance of twenty-five miles fo? »«^gistanee> one of the bo^'s ^rew was frozea to di^th. During their ahserioe 9. aoutib^y wind spnmg up ; t^e water returned and flbeted the ship, which w^ thus unexpectedly saved. The cold h«^ coated the vessel h^th msida and outside with solid ice— aBbd on the QtA of Depember they weire gl^d to escape froi» sueb a climate. In steering for the port of Shcmgkm pa th^ir way to th^ south, and at the distaj^ee of eighty mle0 from^ the ^oast of Keangn&n^ they nearly ran upon one of the shoals formed by the Yellow river ;; and this, is* the diaraeter of the Chiwse^ coast nearly everywhere to the north of ChusaJi, excepting the promontory oi Skflntunsi. Near the moiuth of the Woqsung river, 01^ which Shanghae is built, they had the good fortune to save the crew of a^ junk in distress, and cm^ie^ the men into port. TJlkis was^ probably the ca^ise of their being better t^^eated tihan i^ usually the case. With the exception of eommereial dealings^ the: yisjr Digitized by CjOOQ iC SHANGHAE--TSaDNGMINC(— OHAPOO. 219 torsf were allowed to eommunicdte with the people.' The population appeared ifiMneiwe, and to judge from the great numbers of children, must be on the increase. ^Mr. Outzlkff here repeats his conviction that Shanghae is the greatest maritime emporium of China, and this seems very possible from; the situation. Ifc ijtands just to tibe south of the island T^oonffmimg, and of the mouth of the Yangtsekeang, commufii- eating closely with the cities of Soocho'W' and HanftgthoWy and with the grand Canal. Mor^ ^an a thousand junks were anchoried in th^ river. On. the 3th of January they quitted Shang-, hae, and steered for Ckapoo, a harbou'r in the ntwrthem ^rtremity of CKSkeang province*. Until reaching the high laaids which form this port, the whole coast from the Yellow river is described as being' so flat as scarcely to be vi- sible from flie' ship when she was near shore. The sea here, as well as to the northward of SbaAttmg, appears receding from the land, so that the flats form a barrier to the coast, and are many of them dry at low water. They l2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 220 SKETCHES OF CHINA. tried to go on shore a few miles to the north of Chapoo, but even the boat got aground, and they must have waded above a mile through the mud before they reached the shore. Chapoo is the only place from which the Chinese commerce with Japan, ah imperial mo- nopoly, is carried on. The harbour is described as tolerable, but with a great rise and fall of the tide. With its suburbs the town is nearly five miles in circuit, built in a square, and in- tersected by numerous canals which are con- nected with the great city of Hdngchow. No- thing, says Mr. Gutzlaff, can exceed the pictu- resque appearance of the surrounding region. The whole country was covered with lofty pa- godas, and a multitude of temples and other ornamental buildings. This neighbourhood constitutes, in fact, the pride of China, and has often been visited by the Tartar emperors from Peking. Chapoo is not more than seventy or eighty miles from Chusan. In the account which is given of the party landing at this place from the ship, the bold- ness displayed by the strangers is not less sup- Digitized by CjOOQ iC AMOY. 221 pHsing dian the forbearance (for it could liardly in this instance be feiar) of the Chinese. "An armed force was drawn up along the shore. The soldiers had matcklocks and burn- ing matches ready for a discharge. A Tartar general had placed himself in a temple to su- perintend the operations. Being accustomed to the fire of Chinese batteries, which seldom do hurt, and knowing that their matchlocks cannot hit, we passed the line of their defence in peace. The soldiers retreated, and the crowds of people in the rear being very dense, a great part of the camp was over-run and pressed down, so that the tents fell to the ground. After this outset, nothing disagree- able occurred ; we were at full liberty to walk abroad and converse with the people, and were only occasionally troubled with the clamorous entreaties of some officers." Before quitting the subject of the eastern coast, the seat of war and of negociation, some more particular notice must be taken of the island of Amoy, a place of considerable importance on various grounds. It is situated Digitized by CjOOQ iC 322 SKETCHES OP CHINA. abov^e the twenty-fourth degree of nortii latir tud^ uearly half^-way between Canton and Chusan^ and is the port by wbicli tlie Chinese keep up their dilef communication with For- mosa. The lar^ quantities of rice, which an« nuaUy pro^ieed fn>m this last-mentioned great island to the opposite coasts, being cut off by Qur cruisers^ might serve to supply an expedi- tion with the commodity which forms the chief support of the native Indian Sepoy. The Chinesai in passing over from Amoy to Formosa, make use of the Ponghoo isles, (Pescador^) as a guide and a resting-place. These lie just in the route between Amoy and TQ^wan-foo, the capital of the colony, which is about thirty leagues distant from the oppo* site coast of Fokien. The Jesuit P^re de MaUla, who went over to survey and map the island of Formosa for the Chin^ste emperor, has given us an account of his voyage. They quitt^ Amoy in a sqxiadron of war junks on the 3rd of Aprils but were immediately obliged by bad weather to put into Kinmun, another island a littje to the eastward, of which the Digitized by CjOOQ iC CHlNCfiXW. 23^ f>ort is named Leaonlo. Being divined here 8ix days until the 9th, 1i^ set sail for the o j^site coast, steering nearly due east on account of the strong southerly current which constantly sets through ihe channel. The next day madie the Ponghoo isles, where de Mailla states he found a Chinese force of a thousand men eta* tioned. Though they are mere barren rocks the principal island contains a good harbour, which in stress of weather might prove im- portant to our ships passing through the chan*» nel. The Chinese find this harbour necessary for their war-junks employed as a guard on Formosa, since the latter great insular colony, strange to say, contains no safe port where a vessel drawing more than eight feet water can anchor* As a station of commerce, therefore, Formosa would seem to be out of the question, independently of its great size and extent. About forty or fifty miles to the northward of Amoy, and near the parallel of twenty-five degrees on the Chinese coast, lies the great city of Seuenchaw, or Chinchew, a famous place for the opium trade. The junks from this port Digitized by CjOOQ iC 224 SKETCHES OF CHINA. are the most adventurous of the empire, and sail south to the Malay archipelago, Java, and Sincapore. The only place of note on the east coast that remains to be noticed is Forchow-foo in latitude twentynsix degrees, the capital of Fokien, and the residence of the governor-ge- neral of that province and ChSkeang. It is built on the river Miny which is navigable to about ten miles* distance of the city, for large ships. Mr. Gutzlaff, in his visit to that port, found it answer all the expectations which had been formed of it as an emporium for the trade in black teas. The large river on which the town is built communicates with the districts where those teas are grown and manufactured ; and were the trade allowed to us at this point of the coast, we might have them cionveyed on board in boats from the farms where the teas are cultivated. *, By the restrictions which have confined the tea trade to Canton, we have been obliged to pay for the transport of the black teas over an immense distance, in which lofty mountains are to be crossed, and shallow rivers navigated Digitized by CjOOQ iC BEST POSITION FOR TEA TRADE. 225 with great difficulty, involving the additional charge of about 25 5. in every pecul weight, (133 lbs.,) or about 200,000/. on the annual supply. Mr. Ball, formerly inspector of teas to the company at Canton, first drew attention to this subject many years ago, and his calcu- lations seem to have been verified since. Should we, therefore, ever be in a situation to choose the most advantageous position for the tea tirade, there, seems to be no doubt of Fo-ckow- foo being the port selected. But it is not on account of teas only that the city in question has been singled out as the most favourable for the British trade; some calculations and esti- mates exist to show that for our woollen and other manufactures, Fo-chow-foo must be in- finitely superior to Canton, as being much nearer to the places of consumption. In this single view of the question, however, and apart from the main article of teas, it is most probable that Shanghae is superior to Fo- chov>foo. A general view has now been taken of the l3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC ggO »p:?TOHiiS OF CeWA. iftQrt importftut porta i-nd Wbouw on the Ctitt^se goftst b^twe^ji Pekiag wid Cwiton. The progr^si^ pf avwte at the p3rel^^t momeut- OU9 crisw Qa» 9.1oM determJM what is to be th? Mtwre of Qur future comiexion with them, a^ well Q$ their relative advaatftges and defects for purposes of either commerce or war* A change from Canton, pr, at least, ports in addi- tion to Canton have long been eonsidered as highly desirable, if not absolutely necessary, free trade, it was thought by some, was the grand nostrum by which all our grievances in China were to be remediedt Free trade was to e^^tend the qoneumptipn of British manu- factures, and open to up additional ports on the coast. Its first effects, on the contrary, have been rather to diminish than increase the importation pf our wooUen manufactures, to promote every species of smuggling, but of opinm especially, tp embroil us with the Chi'* nese, and finally to drive us out from Canton, the single port at which we had prosperously traded for two eenturies. This has been the Digitized by CjOOQ iC HOW WILL THE EMPEROR ACT ? 227 short woric of five years. All that is certain at present, is bad ; and all that is good is con- tingent upon events which nobody can foresee, because the course pursued is entirely without precedent, either in our own case, or that of any other European nation. Will the emperor of China, from feelings of compassion for the sufferings which our fleets and armies can inflict on his cities and subjects of the coast, enter into a bond fide treaty with us to save them ; or will he, with the same un- concern as has been shown by his predecessors, leave them to their fate, and only withdraw him- self still further from communication with us ? The obstacles to his open submission are almost, if not quite, insuperable. Hhe prestige^ by which a handful of Tartars have kept down the mil- lions of China would be utterly dissolved, and he would perhaps have more to apprehend from his own subjects by such submission, than he has to fear from us by obstinate perseverance. It is quite clear that active resistance to our arms is out of the question ; whatever our ex- pensive fleets and armies can reach and attack. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 228 SKETCHES OF CHINA. must yield; but it is the passive resistance; the vis inertuB of such a monstrous body, aided by the want of sympathy with Europeans, and the most absolute power possessed over its subjects by the native government, that we have to look to. Here it must be confessed the view is not encouraging. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 229 CHAPTER XVIII. Invasion of Bunnese empire — ^Retreat of Chinese cut off — Entirely defeated by Burmese — Survivors made slaves— Religious inviolability of northern frontier — Military sys- tem and wars of the Chinese — Fortified places — Assist- ance of Europeans — Conquest by Manchows — Caused by internal division — Shorter reign of Mongols — Chinese navy — Structure of junks — Fights with Ladrones — ^Pre- sent circumstances favourable to their revival. The moral power and influence of the Chinese empire over the surrounding nations may be viewed as a standing miracle, in connexion with the real weakness and inefficiency of its military institutions. Nor have signal in- stances been wanting where this weakness and inefficiency have been betrayed in a manner that might have seemed calculated to dispel the illusion which for centuries has protected the country from foreign aggression. Major Symes, in his * Embassy to Burma,' has given a correct account of the defeat and destruction of a numerous Chinese army in the latter part of the past century. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 230 SKETCHES OF CHINA. That ambitious and arrogant government (as Symes observes) had planned the subju- gation of the Burmese, intending to add the dominion of the Irawaddy, and the fertile plains of Mien-tien,* to their empire, abeady stretched beyond the limits to which any government can solidly extend the force of restrictive authority. In the beginning of the year 1767 the governor of the Burmese pro- vince bordering on Yunnan, sent intimation to the golden-footed monarch, that a Chinese army was advancing from the frontier, and had already passed the mountains that divide the two countries. This intelligence was no sooner com- municated than it was confirmed by the actual invasion. The Chinese forces, computed at 60,000 men, advanced by unremitted marches. Leaving the province of Bhamoo to the west, they penetrated by a town called Gouptong, near t» which there is a mart where the Chinese and Burmese meet and barter the commodities ♦ Thky and Awa^ wre the Chinese names for Bunna. I never heard of Zomiern,^ the word used by Symes. Digitized by CjOOQ iC J RETREAT OF CHINESE CUT OFF. 231 of their respective countries. This mart was taken and plundered by the Chinese. The Burmese monarch in the mean while appointed two separate armies : one> consisting of 10,000 infantry and 2000 cavalry, under the conduct of a leader named Amiou-mee, took the direct road towards the Chinese, through the district of Tagoung; the other army, of much greater force, was committed to Tengiarbou, a general of high rank and repu- tation. This latter was directed to make a circuitous march over hills lying more to the southward, to endeavour if possible to get into the rear of the Chinese and prevent their escape. The division of Amiou-mee first met the army near a town called Peen-gee, where they encamped, within eight miles of the Chinese army : on the following day a partial action took place, in which the Burmese were worsted, and obliged to retreat to the south- ward of Peen-gee. The Chinese, animated by this first success, and ignorant of the approach of Tengia-bou, supposed that they should meet no further impediment until they reached the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 232 SKETCHES OF CHINA. Burmese capital. With tliat persuasion they continued their march, and deviating from the most frequented road, probably for the con- venience of forage, pursued another route. Amiou-mee, though repulsed, still kept hover- mg on the skirts of the Chinese army, which had proceeded only two days farther to a town called Chibou, when the division com- manded by Tengia-bou suddenly appeared in their rear. The governor of a fort on the frontier approached at the same time with his party; thus inclosed on all sides, a retreat became impracticable, and to advance was desperajte. The Tartar cavalry, on whose vigour and ac- tivity the Chinese army depended for provisions, could no longer venture out, either to procure supplies or protect convoys. In this situation the Burmese attacked the enemy witib impetuosity ; while, on the other hand^ the defence made by the Chinese was equally resolute. The con- flict had lasted three days, when the Chinese in an eflfort of despair tried to cut their way through the divisions commanded by Amiou- Digitized by CjOOQ iC ENTIRELY DEFEATED BY BURMESE. 283 mee, which occupied the road by which retreat seemed least diflBicult. This last attempt proved fatal; Amiou-mee*s troops, certain of support, maintained their ground, until the coming up of Tengia-bou, which decided the event of the day. The harassed Chinese now sunk under the pressure of superior numbers, and the carnage was dreadful. Death or rigorous slavery is the certain doom of those whom the Burmese subdue in battle. Of the Chinese army not a man returned to his native country ; about 2,500 escaped the sword ; these were conducted in fetters to the capital, where an exclusive quarter in the suburbs of the city was assigned for their residence. They who did not understand any particular handicraft were employed in making gardens, and in the business of husbandry ; mechanics and arti- ficers were compelled to ply their trades accord- ing to the royal pleasure, with no other reward for their labour than a bare subsistence. The north-west frontier of China owes its freedom from disturbance in some measure to a cause which I do not remember to have seen Digitized by CjOOQ iC 234 SKETCHES OF CHINA. noticed. Thibet, and the neighbouring portion (rf Tartary bordering on the great wall are the head-quarters of the Budhist religion. The former especkliy is \hit patrimony of the church of Budha, and therefore held in the highest veneration by all the tribes of Tartar descent. To march into those countries with hostile de- signs i^inst China, would be like any Euro- pean nation violating the patrimony of St Peter during the dark ages. The Chinese government, therefore, affords every counte- nance and protection to the Grand Lama of Thibet, the papal head of the Budhist religion, with his hierarchy of unmarried priests. The natural features of the country are likewise a great defence, as a continuation of very high mountains extends from Yunn&n to the great wall. As there was once in France a legal or forensic knighthood, so (as we have already observed in Chapter XIII.) there is in China a class of military doctors; and whether the former system may or may not have pro- duced some martial lawyers, the latter certainly Digitized by CjOOQ iC MILITARY SYSTEM AMD WARS. 235 gives rige to loany umnilitary axid timid soldiers, if we are to judge by the coxuiuet of ttose hi- tliarto opposed to us — though it is but fair to make due aUowauces for their defective means of opposition, and the inferiority of tlicir arms and discipline. It may be interesting at the present moment to enter into some detail of the military system and wars of the celestial empire. In the almost total absence of actual war^ fare, the Chinese soldiers are periodically ex- ercised by tlieir commanders. Their field-days consist in tumultuous and disorderly marches in the train of their mandarins, or in sham fights which are conducted (like their theatrical performances) with the din of gongs and other noisy instruments. To tiiis is joined some practice in drawing die bow, and in the use of the sword. Their reviews consist partly in die examination of their matchlocks, dieir swords, imd arrows ; and^ when they have any, of their helmets and padded armour. As far as our experience went in the embas^, their ofl^sive arms were always in a wretched condition. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 236 SKETCHES OP CHINA. The greater number of the soldiers are at li- berty to follow some trade or occupation^ as they are» in fact^ a mere militia periodically called out Exceptions occur only among the Tartar troops^ and those Chinese who are em- ployed as a standing police or guard. So far from there being any necessity to enrol soldiers by compulsion, or by bounty money, the pro- fession is eagerly sought after as a favor, and as an addition to a person's means of liveli- hood. Of such soldiers as these it is computed that there may be about seven hundred thousand throughout the whole empire, with about eigh- teen thousand military mandarins of all grades. ''These troops (observes one of the Jesuits more than a century ago) appear pretty well clothed and found, and make a good show in a march or a review ; but they are greatly behind our troops in Europe, whether considered on the score of courage or of discipline. The least reverse is sufficient to intimidate them, and to put them to flight.'' The same observations must be infinitely more applicable at the pre- Digitized by CjOOQ iC MILITARY SYSTEM AND WARS. 237 3ent day, when the Tartars themselves have been assimilated to the Chinese, while the military and naval art in Europe has made immense advances. A long and profound peace of nearly two centuries, the universal preference of let- ters to arms, and the unmilitary education of all ranks, can be very ill fitted to form sol- diers. The only occupation of the Chinese army, with very few exceptions, since the Tartar conr quest, has been to overawe popular revolts, and keep the people in order. The board at Peking, called the Ping-poo, or "military tribunal," has control chiefly over the armed police of the empire, that is, the Chinese as distinguished from the Tartar troops. It has couriers always ready to be despatched to the provinces, and to convey its secret orders. Banditti and male- factors of every kind are traced out witlx almost unerring certitude, and all experience bears testimony to the extreme efficiency of the police of the country. Qualities of a very dif- ferent and much higher order would be re- quired to fit this standing army to meet a foreign Digitized by CjOOQ iC 238 SKETCHED OF CHINA. inrasioii of European troops* At the mtne time^ it must be supposed that to the nortJi of the great wall there are Tartar soldiers of a superior description to those of China proper, as rt i& said that such Russian troops as have made their way to the remote frontier have sometimes been beaten by^ them. The probabilities are, that it was the war of one tribe of Cossacks against another, and nodring more. As regards the waHed cities and other for- tified places, the whole defensive art of the Chinese consists m a high wall, which, upon being breached from below, must speedily fall by its own incumbent weight ; and form with its ruins an inclined plane to facilitate the assault There is generally, in addition, a good sized ditch filled with water ; and to such be- siegers as the Chinese have until now been accustomed to deal with, that m to say, people like themselves, their means of defence are sufficiently ample. The little that is known at Peking concerning the art of founding cannon was entirely derived fi^om the tuition of the Digitized by CjOOQ iC CONQUEST J»Y MANCHOWS. 239 Jesuit Fei^uand Verbiest. The reverend fii- ther, being called upon by the emperor to afisist him with his art against the enemy who just then ravaged the coasts of the empire, founded upwards of aa hundred guns, which on trial proved so good that the Jesuft, was raised to high honor by the Chinese sov^dgn. Verbiest at the same time compcKSied a treatise in the language of the country, containing all neces^ sary rules, with diagrama tao illustrate them. Should our war chance to be protracted, it is quite possible tibat the- Chinese might engage the a^istanee of Europeans against us ; for it is an establishad maxim of theirs to oppose one sat of foreigners against aiK)ther» There is eveiry reason to suppose that the empire is now quite as weak and unwarlSke as wh€9[i it was last eofiquered by the Manchows. These last have become entirely assimilated with the conquered, whom indeed they caould never haive overcome, but for the divisions that «^ted at the time^. and the aid of extraor- dinary circumstances. At the present juncture Digitized by CjOOQ iC 240 SKETCHES OF CHINA. the detail is curious^ and may be giyen at some length. In the year 1643, the Chinese army was near the great wall, occupied against the king of the Manchow, or Eastern Tartars. These, in order to take vengeance for the injustice suffered by their nation in trading with the Chinese, and the contempt with which their representations had been treated by the court, entered the territory of jLeaourtung in con- siderable force. The war continued for some time with various success. Towns were be- sieged, and irruptions made into the Chinese territory, but with no decisive result in relation to the ultimate objects of the war. The Em- peror Tsoong ching, destined to be the last of the Ming, or Chinese dynasty, whose brave founder had rid his country of the Mongol Tartars, passed his time at Peking in a fatal security. The unjust punishment to which he had condemned a minister in high credit and influence at his court, and the unrelenting severity with which he exacted all kinds of tax- Digitized by CjOOQ iC WARS OF THE CHINESE. 241 ation from his people at a period of unusual scarcity, had spread a spirit of discontent through the country, and rendered its inhabit- ants ripe for revolt. A Chinese named Ly-koong-tse, a native of the province Szechuen, and characterised by uncommon hardihood and enterprise, profited by this state of things to put himself at the head of a powerful rebellion. His adherents multiplied daily, until he found himself in a condition to capture several considerable towns. He next made himself master of some entire provinces, gaining over the people by exempt- ing them from the heavy imposts with which they had been burdened, and placing over them magistrates who were instructed to establish his authority by the moderation with which they administered it. On the other hand, he sacked every place that oflfered the least re* sistance, and abandoned it to the fury of his soldiers. At length, having conquered the populous province of HonAn, he penetrated into that of Shensy, where he found himself in a condition VOL. II. M Digitized by CjOOQ iC 243 SKETCHES OP CHINA. to declare himself emperor^ aasuming the name of Tieft^un, or "He who obeyed Heaven/* in d^vering the people from oppression. When the usurper found himself in the neighbour- hood of Peking^ where the divisions among the chief mandarins had fwmei his designei, he thought of the easiest means of mastering the capital. Peking was then ^prived of its prin- cipal troops, already engaged against the Man- chows on the frontier; several of the chief perscms favored his design; and he had the address to convey into t3ie city some confiden- tial agents in the character of merchants, who were ready to act on his side whenever he pre- sented himself before the walls. These measures were attended with success ; he had no sooner appeared than <mt of the gates was opened to the U6ui^)er before day- light. The slight resistance that met him being put down, he traversed the city and pro- ceeded straight to the palace. The outer wall was already forced, when the unhappy emperor became aware of his fate, and to attempt flight was impossible. Betrayed and abandoned hy Digitized by CjOOQ iC C0NQU£8T BY THB MANCHOWS. S43 his court, aod oo&sidering deat^ as a lesser ev^l tlian to fall aliv^ into the hands oi b, ve- beMous subject, he retired into his gardens with his daughter, whom he first dew by n. stroke of his «abre, and 4hen hanged himself to a tree. Everything was n^w at the disposal of the con- queror, who put te desAh «ome of the chief mandarins that lutd opposed him, and levied large contributioas from oth^?s. But Woo^ sankwei, general of the army, acting against the Manchows on the fronti^, refused to ac- knowledge the usurper. The fether of the ge- neral was at Peking, — ^an ^old man, venerable fyem his age and dignity. Him the iBtew emr peror commanded to appear, and to follow in the train of the projected expedition. inbe usurper proceeded at the head of his £Mrces to reduce Woosankwei, who had shut himself up in one of the cities of Leasutung. Having l»id siege to the walls, he caused the aged father of Woosankwei to be brought in front of them, loaded with fetters. Mid threat- ened that he would put him to death in view of his son, unless the latter gave himself up m2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 244 SKETCHES OF CHINA. with Ilis army. In tliis desperate choice of difficulties^ the Chinese general allowed his patriotism to prevail over his filial ties ; while his old parent applauded the choice^ and sub- mitted to the cruel sentence of the tyrant. This atrocious proceeding served only to in- spire the Chinese general with a strong desire for revenge. Unable, however, to make any effectual head against the superior numbers of the usurper s army, he resolved to throw him- self on the generosity of the Manchow Tartar king, with whom a peace was soon concluded, and an alliance against the new emperor. The Tartar was so well pleased with this promising scheme, which flattered his ambitious hopes with the chance of ultimate mastery over both the contending parties, that he soon put him- self at the head of a large army, and invaded the country. The usurper, informed of this formidable coalition, did not venture to hazard a direct opposition, but retired in haste to Peking, where he loaded a number of waggons with the spoils of the palace, to which he set fire. Digitized by CjOOQ iC CONQUEST BY THE MANCHOWS. 245 and then retreated towards Shensy, where he disappeared and was never more heard of. The Tartar king instead of disbanding his army remained at Peking, where he was received with acclamations by all ranks, and looked upon as the public benefactor. He played his part so well that he received the offer of the empire; but a sudden sickness, and the ap- proach of death, prevented his enjoying the fruits of his success. He had time, howevel*, before he died, to nominate for his successor his son Shunchy, a boy of only six years old, whose education, and the government of the state during his minority, were confided to an uncle of the prince, named Amawang. This person had the courage and address to subdue the greater part of the provinces which refused the dominion of the Tartar dynasty ; and, above all, the fidelity to give up the reins of government to his nephew, as soon as the latter had attained the proper age. The young emperor soon proved himself so capable of reigning that he gained the adherence of all parties ; and he so united the Tartars and Chi- Digitized by Google 246 l&K£TCHE8 OF CHINA. neee as to break down some of the chief bar- riers of national distinctioQ. He sustained the greatness and prosperity of the empire during his short reign in a manner which created ad<- miration during his life^ and caused his early death at the age of twOTity-four years to be deeply regretted. He left a son to siiceeed him^ whose age was only eight years^ but who be- came afterwards the greatest monarch that eyer ruled China, under the title of Kdnffky, and with the singular good fortune to enjoy a reign ol sixty years in uninterrupted and increasing prosperity.. It would thus appear that the Mamehow race obtained their first possession of the throne of China without fighting a single battle and not so HBfuch by the force of arms as of eireum- stances. Celled in at the outset during a period of civil anarchy, and when there wait no legiti- mate head of the nation existing/ they took ^ukt possigssion of the palace^ and subsequently subdued the Chinese by the aid of the Chinese fheu^selTes. The change to a foreign dynasty wad made with less iriolence than generally Digitized by CjOOQ iC SHORT REISN OF THE MONGOLS. 94f7 attends an internal transfer of the throne; and the Manchows had the sagacity to estdf bli^ their power by a wise and moderate system of gsovermnent; being distinguished by a series of the moat prudent and excellent moiiarehs that have ever ruled the eoimtry. Their strongest measure wi^ obliging the Chinese to adopt the Tartar costume. During the two late reigns changes of an unfavourable aspect, have taken place ; and it remains to be seen whether internal insurrection or foreign invasion is tfi> overthrow a government that has already existed in profound peace for neariy two hundred years. The Mongol dominion^ on the other han4 which was established by vioknce and absolute right of conquest^ endured little more than eighty year& The three last sovereigns of the previous Chinese fsbmily of Sbmtijit were all children, whom the Tartar eonqueror hunted . down €me by one, and deatre^^ in the courae of a few years. The kst remnant of the Chinese courts with the in&nt emperor, todc r^ge <m the coast of Canton, and was at last Digitized by CjOOQ iC 248 SKETCHES OF CHINA. driven to seek shelter in a fleet of war-junks at sea. Pursued by the Tartar squadron^ they were overtaken among the islands which have become so familiar to our vessels in the neigh- bourhood of Macao, where, after a feeble resist- ance, the whole of the Chinese were destroyed to the number of many thousands ; while the principal persons, including the young emperor and his mother, perished in the waves. Considering the important part which the navy of China has acted at different epochs of its history, and the great extent of the eastern and southern coasts, it is a matter of some sur- prise that its weakness and inefficiency should exceed even that of the military establish- ments of the country. At this day the Chinese war-junks answer exactly to the description given of them by the Jesuit P^re de Mailla, who proceeded, in the year 1715, on board an imperial squadron to make a geographical sur- vey of the island of Formosa. Their squadron, he observes, consisted of fifteen war-junks, in each of which were fifty soldiers, commanded by a military mandarin and four subaltern Digitized by Google CHINESE NAVY. 249 officers. "Imagine not," says the reverend father, '' that these vessels of war can be com- pared with our's. The largest are not more than from two to three hundred tons measure- ment. They are in fact great flat-bottomed barges with two masts." The head is unfurnished with any bowsprit, and the bows are curled up aloft into two wing-like appendages, between which the cables are worked, and on the outside of which are painted the two great ei/es which have, in precisely the same manner, been remarked on the models of ancient Eg)rptian vessels found in the tombs at Thebes. The poop or stern is also elevated, and open in the lower part to form a kind of bay or recess for the rudder, intended to protect it from the blows of the sea. This rudder is not hung on pintles, but suspended by ropes, which serve to raise or depress it. Of the two masts, that which may be styled the mainmast is near the centre of the vessel, and the foremast much farther forward. Their respective dimensions are nearly as two to three. There are no top- m3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 250 SKETCHES OF CHINA. masts, and therefoi^ only im/b iail on each mast, wliiioli bears nearly die whole strain of the wind acting on tibe ponderous mat sail, since there are no shrouds, and but few stays. Although the outside length of these vessels may sometimes be a hundred feet, every portion of them is unfit for mounting cannon, except a kind of broad open gangway near the maiur mast, where three or four guns are occasionally huddled together on each hand. The insides of these men-of'^war are crowded with Chinese, and encumbered with all kinds of loose wood- work and bamboo poles, which convert the eflfects of a shot into those of a shell* We cannot therefore wonder, under all the circum- stances, that thirty of them were utterly un- equal to cope with two of our sloops of war. The attention of the government was long since drawn to the weakness of the imperial navy, in consequence of its repeated failures against the pirates on the coast ; and the truth was scarcely attempted to be disguised, except in the pomp- ous edicts addressed to the English. In the year 1833, a paper written by the emperor Digitized by CjOOQ iC CHINBSB NAVY. 261 himself admitted the fact. *'The navy," ob- served the vermilhn pencily " is an emp4y s<mnd ; there is the nan^ of going to sea without the reality. Cases of piracy are perpetually oc^ curringv and even barbarian, barks anchor in our inner seas without the least notice. Go- vemma:tt appoints soldiers for the protection of the people ; and naval captains are not less requisite than soldiers on land. But the navy has lately fallen off, as appears by many cases of failure on the seas." The detailed accounts which we possess of "^e warfare between the squadrons of Ladrone junks and the imperial navy are especially curious at the present time, when the latter have been opposed to ourselves. Almost on every occasion the pirates seem to have gained the advantage, and the excesidve cruelties which they exercised on the vanquished, appear at Length to have intimidated the emperors war-junks in such a manner as to paralyse their efforts, and confine them altogether to their own harbours ; until the Ladrones were finally divided against each other, and the sur^ Digitized by CjOOQ iC 252 SKETCHES OF CHINA. viving portion bribed to submission by the government. When the imperial navy first attempted to subdue them by force, twenty- eight junks were taken by the pirates, and the remaining twelve escaped by flight. In two succeeding battles above twenty were lost. At length an admiral was sent against them with above a hundred sail of all sizes; but from him the Ladrones escaped. He at length was taken by surprise, lost twenty-five of his vessels, and killed himself in despair. The government next attempted the starva- tion system, by cutting off all supplies of pro- visions. The coasting-trade, in 1809, was put a stop to, and every junk prohibited from put- ting to sea. This only aggravated the atro- cities of the pirates by driving them to despera- tion. The helpless towns along the sea coast, and in the rivers, were pillaged by them, and laid under contribution with circumstances of the utmost cruelty. The governor of Canton moved to the neighbourhood of Macao, and entered into an agreement with the Portuguese of that place to supply six ships, manned with Digitized by CjOOQ iC THE LADRONES. 253 730 men, and equipped for the space of half a year, for the consideration of 80,000 taels to be paid by the Chinese government. We have the testimony of Mr. Glasspoole, an Englishman then in the power of the Ladrones, as to the extreme care with which these Portuguese avoided too close a collision with the- pirates. That gentleman gives a circumstantial account of a cruise of more than five hundred sail of diBFerent sizes to levy contributions on the towns and villages up the rivers. They passed in sight of the English merchant-ships at anchor under Chuenpee, but ignorant of his being on board this squadron. "The chief," he says, "called me, pointed to the ships, and told the interpreter to bid me look at them, for I should never see them again. About noon we entered a river to the west- ward of the Bogue, three or four miles from the entrance. We passed a large town, situated on the side of a beautiful hill, and tributary to the Ladrones. The inhabitants saluted them with gongs as they passed." A few days afterwards the fleet weighed at Digitized by CjOOQ iC 254 SKETCHES OF CHINA. niglit, dropped with tibie tide up the river, and anehored before a town surrounded by a thiek wood. Early in the morning the Ladronas assembled in row-boats and landed, th^i gave a shout, and rushed into the town sword in hand. The inhabitants fled to the adjacent hills, in numbers apparently superior to the Ladrones. The old and the siek, who were unable to fly or to resist, were either made prisoners or most inhumanly butchered. The boats continued passing and repassing from the junks to the shore in quick succession, laden with booty, and the men besmeared with blood. Two hundred and fifty women and several children were made prisoners and sent on board different vessels. Th^ were unable to escape with the men, owing to the custom of cramp- ing the feet. As much as ten dollars were given by the chief to his people for the head of every Chinese man killed; and Mr. Glass- poole himself told the writer of this, that he used to see them return on board with several heads suspended round their waists by the long queue, or tail. Digitized by CjOOQ iC THE PORTUGUESE INVINCIBLE SQUADRON. 255 Some time previous to this gentleman's ran- som^ the pirate fleet in passing . Lintin was chased by three Portuguese ships and a brig which stjrkd themselves ^^The invincible squadron cruising in the Tigris to annihilate the Ladrones." The black and red squadrons of pirates now united, but soon again separated ; the black standing out to the eastward, and the red being anchored in a bay under Lantao, the island which we have been lately told the emperor promises to cede to the British. Here they were attacked by the Portuguese, while seven junks of the pirates, being all that were then fit for addon, were hauled outside, and moored head and stern across the bay. The Portuguese ships, in passing this line, each fired her broadokle, but without eSkct, the shot falling short The Ladrones returned not a gun, but waited their nearer approach, of which, however, tiiey were disappointed; for the Portuguese retired, lamenting in their public report that there was not suf- ficient water for them to engage closer. Yet Mr. Glasspoole declares that the outside Digitized by CjOOQ iC 256 SKETCHES OF CHINA. junks lay in four fathoms^ which he sounded himself. The same bay under Lantao was the scene of a nine days' blockade, prolonged by that species of warfare which consists in either party avoiding as much as possible all unnecessary danger ; but of the two the ladrones certainly displayed the most resolution. On the 20th November an immense fleet of mandarin vessels was seen standing in for the bay. As they ' approached they formed a line and stood closer in, each vessel as she discharged her guns tacking to join the rear and re-load. They kept up a constant fire for about two hours, when one of the largest vessels was blown up by a firebrand thrown from a ladrone junk; after which they remained at a more respectfiil distance, but continued firing without intermis- sion for two days, when it fell calm. The ladrones then towed out seven large vessels with some hundred row-boats to board them ; but a breeze springing up, they made sail and escaped. When the ladrones returned into the bay and anchored, the Portuguese and Digitized by CjOOQ iC FIGHTS WITH LADRONES. 257 mandarins followed, and continued firing during that night and the following day. This went on for some time, until on the night of the eighth day of blockade they sent in several fire-vessels, which if properly con- structed must have done great execution. They came very regularly into the centre of the fleet, two and two, burning furiously ; one of them ran alongside the junk in which Mr. Olasspoole was, but they succeeded in booming her off. The ladrones towed them all on shore, extinguished the fire, and broke them up for fire-wood, just as our fleet lately did in the Capsingmoon harbour. The Portuguese sent a dispatch to the governor of Macao, saying that they had destroyed at least one-third of the ladrone fleet, and hoped soon to effect their purpose by totally annihilating them. On the 29th November the pirates being all ready for sea, weighed and stood boldly out, bidding defiance to the invincible squadron and the im- perial fleet, which consisted of ninety-three war-junks, six Portuguese ships, a brig and a schooner. The ladrones chased them for two Digitized by Google 258 SKETCHES OF CHINA. or three lioun^ keqpmg up a constant fire ; but, finding they did not come up with them, thej hauled their wind ai^ stood to the eastward. During the nine days' bkickade the {Urates com- pleted all their repairs, lost not a singk vessdi, and only thirty oir forty men out of many thousands. One American prisoner was killed, and Mr. Glasspoole himself had two narrow escapes, notwithstanding that the dueTs wife sprinkled him with garlic water, which they considered an ei^tive c^rm agaimt shot^ The time for the liberation of the EngUsh prisoners at length arrived. A note wa& re^ ceiyed from the captain of the company's cruii^r Antelope, sent in search of them, and the ne^ eessary arrangements were soon made. The ransom ecmsisted of bales of doth, chests of opium, several barrels of gunpowder, and a sum of money in dollars. On the 7th Decem- ber Mr. Glasspoole and the seamen captored wilh him were restored, after a maserable captmty among tibjese freebooters of eleven weeks and three days, during which they had ample time to observe their habits and mode of warfare. Digitized by CjOOQ iC FUTURE FIIOSPECTS. 259 There never was a state of things more fitted to revive the ladrones on the coast of China than the present eondition of the opium trade, and the crippled circumstances of the imperial navy since the commencement of the English quarrel. Captain Elliot sdys in his proclama- tion directed against I^in — ''He found these great provinces tranquil and flourishing. In less than a year he has reduced them to the very verge of ruin and insurrection ; and piracy and robbery stalk abroad unpunished." Digitized by CjOOQ iC 260 CHAPTER XIX. Miscalculations of LIN — Arrival of armament — ^Blockade of Canton— Chusan attacked and taken — Deserted by in- habitants — Canton mandarins elated by impunity — Arrival of the admiral — Letter refused at Amoy — ^Attack on unarmed boat — Chastised by the Blonde — Letter re- fused at Ningpo — Mr. Stanton seized at Macao — Chi« nese beaten at the barrier — Admiral visits the Peiho— Reception, and return to the south — M(ni»lity at Chusan — Chinese make numerous prisoners — Prospects of nego- ciation considered. The year 1840 was destined to present the extraordinary spectacle of a Britisli naval and military force on the coast of China, a region so far removed from Europe that its existence six hundred years ago was scarcely known, and the faithful narrative of a long resident and traveller in the country received as a tissue of fables concerning another El Dorado. Our own intercourse with this farthest extreme of the Asiatic continent had scarcely exceeded two centuries ; but in the course of that time a trade had grown up, and become of such importance to our commerce and revenue, that Digitized by CjOOQ iC MISCALCULATIONS OF LIN. 261 the loss of it could not be viewed in any other light than as a national calamity. The series of untoward events, which after a course of about five years terminated in the British trade being proscribed at Canton, it would be useless to recapitulate in this place, or to debate the question as to whence the disasters origin- ated. The commerce being once lost, a pow- erful and expensive armament was deemed necessary for its recovery, and for the vin- dication of injuries inflicted on the national honour and interests. It will, therefore, be more to our purpose to view the progress of events, and to consider what has yet been done towards restoring and improving the state of our relations with China. The course of rash and unadvised measures, pursued by the imperial commissioner at Can- ton, was clearly grounded on the notion that the English were unprovided with any means of redress, superior to those with which they had hitherto so inadequately opposed the arro- gance and oppression of his government. The frequent failure of strong measures, adopted on Digitized by CjOOQ iC 263 SKETCHES OF CHINA. cmr side with ifltsuifficieiit powers, had eridentiy ^nboldened the Chinese audiorities ; and it was plam ^tuat the <»Mnnii0Bi<nier further pro- ceeded on the presumption that, when the English had been excluded from Canton, their place would be amjAy supplied hj Americans and others. The commencement of a blockade ol the coast first opened his eyes to the error of tiie last calculation ; and it was not until the actual arrival of a powerfid force, liiat he began to relax in the confidence with which he viewed all hostile threats and rumours, as mere repetitions of those folmxnations which rq»eated impunity had at last taught the Chi- nese to disregard. The imperial commissioner, (now appointed vicCToy of Canton,) accordingly pursued his course of hostility in an uncompromising manr ner, aad to tibe best o(f his abilities. It may be a iquestion with some whether he authorised die poisoning of the water and the tea ; but the more *&pefa, though equally fruitless, at- tempts on the fleet of merchantmen with fipe- rafts, (a fnvourite metiiod of Chinese warfare,) Digitized by CjOOQ iC PIRB-RAFT6. 263 were three times repeated by the orders of Ais inrplacable enemy of the British name. It «© happened, that the last attack of fire-rafts occurred on the night of the 9th of June, the very day on which ihe Alligator, being the first ship of the approaching expedition, a,rrived off Macao. That frigate was in fieuit guided to the anchorage at Oapsingmoon byliie light of the burning rafts, and her boats were em- ployed in towing them away from tlie fleet. Hie attack had been concerted with all imaginable secrecy, and scarcely had the signal of danger been made than ihe fire burst out from nearly twenty rafts, or rather boats, chained together two-and-two, so tlmt they might swing athwart our ships with the tide, which, as well as the wind, was in their favour. The scene is descried as very beautiful, heightened as it was by the darkness erf the night. During their approach to the fleet, a portion of the combustibles exploded like regu- lar 'firework*. The confusion was considerable among the merchant shipping ; most of them slipped their cables in the hurry to move out Digitized by Google 264 SKETCHES OF CHINA. of danger^ and as the wind slackened several cases of collision occurred among the numerous vessels adrift at once in a narrow space. No serious injury, however, was sustained, and this cowardly mode of warfare proved utterly abortive ; though it could not be followed by the condign punishment which attended the more daring hostility of admiral KwAn's squad- ron of war-junks on a previous occasion. The Chinese authorities at Canton had now done their worst, and the arrival at last of the arma- ment, which they had long treated as an empty threat, disheartened them, for a time, from fur- ther attempts at active mischief. Captain Elliot appears to have been guided by a sound discretion in fixing the quarrel on Lin and his mandarin colleagues at Canton; while he appealed to the justice of the empe- ror against the misdeeds of those functionaries. It is an old practice of the Peking court to settle differences by sacrificing its own agents, and pretending that they have deceived their sovereign; and the fate of Lin might be con- sidered as sealed from the moment that warlike Digitized by CjOOQ iC PUBLIC DECLARATION. 265 measures were adopted; in which it was to be hoped there might be no relaxation until the ends were fully accomplished. In a Chi- nese declaration, issued by the chief super- intendent on the 26th of June, he observed, " How has the commissioner dared to degrade the majesty of China and of England by these insulting and violent proceedings towards an English functionary, acknowledged by his imperial majesty, and who has always respected the laws of the empire, and faithfully per- formed his public obligations? And which would have been the most effectual means of accomplishing the imperial pleasure — those that Elliot had offered and was ready to adopt, founded upon the separation of the innocent from the offending, and accompanied by pre- cautions and securities that would have given permanent efficacy to such distinctions^ — or those of senseless violence, casting upon the whole transaction the character of shameful i^liation? The commissioner preferred a career of needless and spoliatory constraint, which has made the amplest reparation a duty VOL. II. N Digitized by CjOOQ iC 266 SKETCHES OF CHINA. of higli obligation in tie government of England ; which has broken to pieces all sense of confidence in the wisdom or justice of the provincial government; and had the eflfect of immediately reviving the opium traffic at all points of the coast in the utmost vigour." The various other acts of the commissioner were then detailed, as the murder and mutilation of several British subjects, or of Spaniards in mistake for British; the expulsion of the English from Macao ; the poisoning of the water, &c , &c. The arrival of the first ship of the expedi- tion, with the Madagascar, armed steamer, evidently produced alarm at Canton. The preparations, meanwhile, to resist us were of the most ludicrous description. An old mer- chantman, purchased from the Americans, was painted blood-red all over to give her a terrible a|)pearance, and two small cutters of twenty- five tons were decorated with imperial yellow. Lin had hitherto spurned the idea of a blockade being established by the English. In his reply to a petition from the American mer- Digitized by CjOOQ iC BLOCKADE OF CANTON- 267 t;hants> " It is falsely stated (observed he) that the English contemplate putting on a blockade, and that they will not permit the ships of any nation to come to China* Truly this must be an audacious falsehood, or an egregious mistake. Try and reflect, that these are the celestial dynasty's ports and harbours. How can England blockade you, ye Americans? America is not a nation tributary to England.* How then can you listen to the said barbarians prohibiting your ships from coming?" This mystery of the law of nations was soon incul- cated on the Chinese in a manner they certainly did not expect; though it was far short of what it might have been. On the 21st of June arrived the Wellesley, line-of-battle ship, bearing commodore Sir Gordon Bremer's broad pendant, accompanied by the greater part of the expedition. That officer lost no time in opening the campaign : on the 22nd a notice was issued that '* a blockade of the river and port of Canton by all its * This fully explains the real notion which the Chinese attach to nations sending trihute to their emperor. n2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 268 SKETCHES OF CHINA. entrances would be established on and after the 28th of June.** At the same time, with a view to the convenience of British and other foreign ships resorting to the coast of China in ignorance of the blockade, it was declared that the senior officer of the station had been instructed to permit them to remain at any anchorage in the neighbourhood of flie port which he might indicate from time to time. Nothing could more strongly contrast the principles of civilised and barbarous warfare, than the proclamations and acts of the Chinese and British authorities respectively. It seemed to be pretty generally credited that commis- sioner Lin had authorised the experiment of a boat-load of poisoned tea, packed in small parcels, to be sold to the sailors. The boat was captured by pirates, who unknowingly sold the cargo to their own countrymen ; and so many deaths followed the use of the poisoned tea as to draw general attention to the subject. Thus ** Even-handed justice Return'd th* ingredient* of the poison'd chalice To their own lips.** Digitized by CjOOQ iC CHINESE PROCLAMATION. 269 This atrocity was accompanied by a pro- clamation from the same authorities, offering a scale of rewards for capturing or killing English subjects, and including in this pro- scription all those Chinese who furnished supplies to them. The same paper betrayed the extreme weakness and folly of its authors by declaring that, " whosoever should be able, whether civil or military officers, soldiers, or people, to take an English man-of-war carrying eighty great guTiSy should receive the reward of twenty thousand Spanish dollars." This would be doing the thing cheap indeed ! Their other notions of a man-of-war were no less original, for the paper proceeded to say that, "whatever the vessel contained besides the great guns, weapons of war, and opium, which must be given up to the mandarins, the addi- tional articles, as clocks and watches, clothes, goods or money, should be awarded to the takers of the vessel ;" — ^thus finding it impossible to disconnect them from the pursuits of trade. As a contrast to the above, the British authorities on their part exhorted " the natives Digitized by CjOOQ iC 270 SKETCHES OF CHINA. of the land to pursue their ordinary occupations in peace and security, in the assurance that no violence would be offered to them or their property, while they opposed none to the forces of the queen of England. Let them, therefore, bring their supplies and commodities to the several stations of the British forces without fear, in the certainty that they should receive kind protection and just payment." While the blockade allowed no native or other vessel to pass in or out of the port of Canton, fishing craft were permitted to proceed without obstruc- tion during the hours of daylight ; and the native trading vessels of the cities and villages on the coast were at liberty to resort for pur- - poses of mutual exchange to the stations of the British shipping. The naval force when collected consisted of the Melville, Wellesley, and Blenheim, line- of-battle ships, the Druid and Blonde, heavy frigates, the Volage, Conway, Alligator, and Herald, smaller frigates, with the Nimrod, Modeste, Hyacinth, Larne, Pylades, Cruiser, and Columbine, sloops of war, and the Algerine Digitized by CjOOQ iC ENGLISH FORCES. 271 brig. To these was added the important item of four war steamers, the Queen, Atalanta, Madagascar, and Enterprise, invaluable aids in a part of the world where the monsoons blow in the same direction for six months of the year, and thus oppose obstacles all but insurmount- able to sailing vessels. The land forces were conveyed in about twenty transports, and con- sisted of the 49th regiment the 26th or Camero- nians, the 18th Royal Irish, a body of Sepoy volunteers from Bengal, and a detachment of sappers and miners from Madras. This was a force more than adequate to any active oppo- sition that could be made by the Chinese ; who, on the other hand, were far more likely to follow their usual plan of gaining time, and attempting to disarm us by pretences of nego- ciation. On the arrival of commodore Bremer with- the first part of the expedition oflF Macao on the 21st of June, that officer, without waiting for the admiral, who did not reach China until a week afterwards, proceeded to the north-eastward with the transports and the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 272 SKETCHES OF CHINA. troops under brigadier Burrell's command. The instructions from the governor-general of India were to take possession of the Chusan group of Islands, with its capital city Ting-hae, ranking as a Hien or walled town of the third order. The armament was just eight days on the passage from Macao, and anchored in the harbour of Ting-hae on the 4th of July. The attack on, and capture of the town are detailed in brigadier Burrell's despatch to lord Auckland, of which it must be observed, that it displays the practice of the utmost humanity and for- bearance towards the Chinese. When her Majesty's ships Wellesley, Con- way, and Alligator entered the anchorage of the harbour, they took up a position in front of a hill to the right, upon which was a large temple, or jos-house.* In the evening of the same day a summons was sent to the Chinese admiral, (who was also governor of the Chusan group,) calling upon him to surrender the island, and soliciting him to do so that blood ^ See plan of Chussui harbour. Digitized by CjOOQ iC PLAN OP CHUSAN HARBOUR. 273 n3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 274 SKETCHES OF CHINA. might not be shed in useless opposition. The officers bearing the summons returned with the Chinese admiral to the Wellesley, accom- panied by two other mandarins; and although they acknowledged their incapacity to resist^ they endeavoured by evasions and requests to gain time, and left the ship without any satis- factory conclusion, but perfectly understanding that, if submission were not made before day- light on the following day, hostilities must commence. The hill and adjacent shore were observed on the morning of the 5th to be crowded with a large body of troops, and from the mast-heads of the ships the city was seen at less than a mile distance from the beach, the walls also lined with soldiers. On the temple hill, the landing-place of the suburbs, and a round tower adjoining, were mounted altogether twenty-- four guns of small calibre, varying from two to six or eight pounders. Besides these, there was a line of junks anchored along the shore, mounting a considerable number of guns. The wind and tide being against the trans- Digitized by CjOOQ iC •0 ATTACK OF CHUSAN. 276 ports, and only three hundred and fifty men, mcluding marines, as yet arrived in the harbour, occasion was taken of the delay to reconnoitre the beach beyond the temple hill, with a view of landing at some distance from the batteries. This, however, was abandoned, as if opposed there the shipping must have opened their fire on the different batteries, and the result have been the same with respect to the loss of life inflicted. About 2 p. M. her Majesty's ships Cruiser and Algerine got into position, and as the transports were then entering the harbour, the signal was given for landing the troops in rotation, as boats could be supplied. This was to be effected in two divisions, of which the first consisted of the 18th Royal Irish, the Royal marines, and the 26th regiment, with two nine pounders ; the second of the volunteer corps and the 49th regiment, and a detach- ment of sappers and miners. As soon as the 18th and Royal marines quitted the ships, the waving of flags and beating of gongs gave further intimatioii of the determination on the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 276 SKETCHES OF CHINA. part of the Chinese to resist. A gun was therefore fired from the Wellesley, after the first of the troops were in the boats, to test the intentions of the enemy. The whole of the guns on shore being manned, a return was instantly given from them and the war junks ; and this brought a fire upon the batteries and junks from all the ships of war. In a very few minutes the suburbs and hill were evacuated, and the junks abandoned by every individual on board ; the beach and wharf being thus cleared, the troops landed without opposition. Immediate possession was taken of the hill, from which there is a very good view of the city, at the distance of about fifteen hundred yards, or less than a mile. Advanced posts were pushed forward to within five hundred yards of the walls of the city, which, although in a dilapidated state, are suflGiciently formidable and difficult of access, as they are surrounded on three sides with a deep moat of about five- and-twenty feet wide, and an extensive tract of inundated paddy land. It was determined to breach the walls of the Digitized by CjOOQ iC ATTACK OF CHUSAN. 277 city near the south gate, and to throw shells into the west angle ; so that in the event of the guns being inadequate to effect a breach, the angle, which was meant to be taken by escalade, might be more easily carried from the fire kept up on that point having weakened the defence. When the advanced post took up this position, a fire was opened upon them from the walls of the city, and continued at intervals until nearly midnight. A few shots were fired from our battery, which tended to silence them; and the Chinese fire had no other effect than to prove an utter ignorance of gunnery. Early on the following morning the exer- tions of lieutenant-colonel Montgomerie, com- manding the artillery, had, in addition to the two nine pounders landed with the troops, got into position six other guns of the same calibre, two howitzers, and two mortars, making a total of ten pieces of ordnance within four hundred yards of the walls. From the still- ness of the town it was surmised that some change had taken place, and accordingly no Digitized by CjOOQ iC 278 SKETCHES OF CHINA. orders for offensive operations were given until daylight. At the first dawn the flags were seen on the walls as before, but with the increase of light there did not appear a single individual where thousands had been seen the preceding evening. On passing the canal by means of planks, (for the bridge had been broken down,) the walls were scaled. One or two Chinese who appeared on the parapet offered no resistance, but hung a placard over, which begged for mercy, and of course did not appeal in vain. The gate, which was barricaded with large sacks of grain, was soon opened, and the British flag hoisted over it. The loss on the side of the Chinese was not more than twenty-five killed; while in both the sea and land attack not a single Englishman was killed, and one seaman only slightly hurt. The amount of guns captured was numer- ically large, being little short of a hundred, but the bulk of them were under six-pounders. The magajsines contained an extensive supply of iron shot, matchlocks, swords, bows and arrows, with iron helmets and uniform cloth- Digitized by CjOOQ iC CAPTURE OF CHUSAN. 279 ing for a large body of men. This last^ from so little use having been made of it, would seem to be exclusively destined for shovtr. The easy cession of the city was said to have been owing to a shot striking the Hien, or civil governor, and killing him on the spot. After the capture of the place sentries were posted at every gate, and a fire which broke out in the town was extinguished by the troops. Though every protection was offered to the Chinese who would return, their dread of their own government, and of the Tartar law re- garding " traitorous intercourse" was so greats that very few came back to their deserted abodes. The supplies of provisions accordingly proved to be far from plentiful, with the ex- ception of grain, of which a considerable quantity was found in the town. We may now take a short review of the measures antecedent to the capture of Chusan, before proceeding to narrate the events which followed that operation. It had always been anticipated, both at home and in China, that the demolition of the forts at the Bogue would Digitized by CjOOQ iC 280 SKETCHES OF CHINA. have preceded all other operations to the northward. As those batteries are by far the strongest defences that the Chinese possess, and in fact the only things of the kind that deserve the name, their total destruction and disarmament would have been a primary blow, well calculated to awe the Canton government. That their escape greatly elated and gave additional confidence to Lin and his colleagues, is proved by the proclamations and conduct of those oflSicers subsequent to the departure of the expedition northward. The rewards for the destruction of English vessels, and for killing British subjects, were immediately pub- lished all over the neighbourhood. Lin gave orders to the Hong merchants, (very odd re- cruiting oflSicers, certainly,) to enlist men for the defence of the country, two thousand to be at the charge of that unhappy corporation, two thousand at that of the salt merchants, and one thousand at the expense of the Chin- chew merchants. The Consoo house was consequently filled with expectant recruits, whose pay was to be Digitized by CjOOQ iC MANDARINS ELATED BY IMPUNITY. 281 eight dollars a montli. These hopeful soldiers were to be sent out of the river in fishing boats to attack the blockading ships, with a promise of one hundred dollars for every Englishman's head they brought back, and two hundred to the families of such as should lose their lives. " Lin," says one of the letters from China, " has become very warlike and threaten- ing since the English squadron passed by his province, fearing now no attack upon his own. It is much to be regretted that Canton* had not first been demolished : it would have pro- duced a great moral eflFect, and perhaps have shortened the war and saved much bloodshed.'* Lin's own expressions were these : — " It has been discovered that lately English ships of war have appeared off the coast, which, how- ever, not daring to attack the government forcesy are merely there to protect the opium smuggling trade." The inference was a very natural one for the Chinese to draw, and it might as well, perhaps, have been prevented. * Rather, the Bogue forts. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 282 SKETCHES OF CHINA. Instead of attacking the enemy where they had made some preparation, and indeed, where there was the only respectable pretension to defence, that is, the Bogue forts, they saw us take an insular place on the coast by surprise. The batteries at the Bogue contained only mandarin soldiers, with perhaps, by this time, as many as two hundred guns. None but mandarin soldiers could therefore have been sacrificed; and the capture or destruction of such a quantity of their ordnance would have been a fine lesson, while at the same time it crippled them for the future. The offences, which the expedition was intended to punish, had all been committed by the Canton authori- ties. The false confidence, acquired by im- punity, was calculated to jeopardise the safety of the English remaining at Macao ; and we have since seen that one British subject was there seized, and a regular preparation was made to attack the rest, though happily frus- trated by the promptitude and determination of captain Smith's proceedings at the barrier. The somewhat lax and indecisive nature of Digitized by CjOOQ iC THE BLOCKADE. 283 the blockade established near Canton was like- wise canvassed, as being calculated to defeat the ends of our hostile measures. Considerable dissatisfaction has been expressed by those on the spot. Such junks as were captured laden with salt were restored, but the cargo detained, as the article is a government monopoly ; while rice and other grain passed free, the Macao passage being left open ! In our description of the Canton river in chapter XVI., the probable difficulties of a blockade to the westward of Macao were surmised, on account of the num- ber of inlets, and the shoalness of the water. Still there was nothing insuperable ; and to blockade Canton river by only one entrance, while the principal food of the country was allowed to pass free, does seem a little like what the Chinese in their broken English call "play business.** The observations of the Times were strong upon this point. — " In the language of a certain school it is worse than a crime. Even to the most obtuse understanding it must appear a folly, an egregious absurdity, since it directly Digitized by CjOOQ iC 284 SKETCHES OF CHINA. tends to defeat the only purpose for which a blockade in any form can be conceived to have been undertaken, and voluntarily to put into the hands of the Chinese government the means of defeating our most hostile demonstra- tions. We perceive no such equivocal bearing on the part of the Chinese towards the British. They do not recognife any middle term between peace and war. They do not understand such a state of things as peace in war, or war in peace, their hostility is outspoken and un- compromising.** — It certainly was of the most virulent character. Honours, rewards, and happiness, (declared Lin in one of his pro- clamations,) will be the lot of him who kills an Englishman. " Why," said that truly Chi- nese functionary to the people, " will you con- tinue poor and servile, when by one effort you can become rich and honoured? — for not only the rewards now promised will be given, but you may expect still greater favours at the hands of the paternal imperial government." Admiral Elliot^ on reaching Macao at the end of June, lost no time in receiving the Digitized by CjOOQ iC DISASTER OF THE MELVILLE. 285 chief superintendent, now plenipotentiary, on board the Melville, and sailing to join the expedition off Chusan, which he gained the day after that place was taken. The difficulties of so uncertain a navigation* were experienced by the Melville, and that ship unfortunately ran upon a sunken rock in the middle of a very narrow channel leading into Chusan harbour. The leak consequent upon this disaster proved to be so bad, that it was found necessary to discharge all her guns and stores, and heave the ship down for repairs ; an operation that could not be completed for some months. In passing Amoy, on the 2nd of July, the admiral stood in to that port, and sent H. M. Blonde, commanded by captain Bourchier, with a letter from the secretary of state to the ♦ The following note to the Admiralty chart may convey some idea of the little correct knowledge hitherto possessed of this neighbourhood : — "The Jesuits, 1*11*1, place Ting-hae in latitude 29° 51' Dalrymple, 1188 .... 30^25' Lord Macartney's voyage, 1193 . . 30** 25' Horsburgh, 1836 . . . . 30^ IC The Sylph, (by reduction from Sinkamun,) 1833, 29** sy' Digitized by CjOOQ iC 286 SKETCHES OP CHINA. Clxineee mimster at Peking, to be delivered to the local authorities for transmission. Here the wanton aggression of the Chinese military on an unarmed boat led to their receiving a severe and unexpected lesson. The most par- ticular account of the affiiir is given by Mr. Thom, employed as Chinese interpreter on the occasion. That gentleman having been directed on the 2nd of July to repair with captain Bourchier on board the Melville, a despatch was pro- duced, which the captain was instructed to convey to the Chinese admiral of the station, or, supposing him to be absent, to the highest local authority resident at Amoy, so as to secure its reaching its ultimate destination. The Blonde cast anchor off the port of Amoy about mid-day, one mile distant from a battery built for five guns, and which guarded the entrance to the inner harbour. After having been at anchor nearly an hour, a boat, resembling those used by the Hong merchants on the Canton river, came alongside bearing a red flag. Within were five or six people of the Digitized by CjOOQ iC AFFAIR AT AMOY. 287 class of mandarins' servants or followers, who, on reaching the deck, said they had been despatched to inquire about the ship. They were told that there was an important commu- nication for the admiral of the station, and that if he came on board he would be well received; but that if he declined doing so, no time should be lost in visiting him. They stated in reply that the admiral was at ChincheWy about forty miles oflF, and of course recommended that the ship should go there. On being asked who were the chief mandarins of the district, they stated that the principal civilian was a fuen-foOy or sub-governor, who wore a light blue button, and the highest military officer, a Choongymg^ with a crystal button. It was therefore determined to deliver the document to these two officers. Before quitting the Melville, a paper had been pre- pared in Chinese explaining the nature of a flag of truce, and warning the mandarins against the consequences of violating it. This document was delivered open to the mandarins' people, and in order to avoid all mistakes was Digitized by CjOOQ iC 288 SKETCHES OF CHINA. read to tliem at the capstan. They were re- peatedly asked if they understood its meaning, and always replied that they comprehended perfectly that the white flag was to be held sacred. These men accordingly went on shore, and within an hour returned, accompanied by another of better appearance and address, who pulling out the document which the others had taken, presented it, saying that the district mandarins had taken a copy of it for their superior officers, but, as they did not dare to hold communication with foreigners, they begged to return the original paper. On being told that the captain was strictly bound by his orders to send it on shore, and that he could not receive it back, the messenger acqui- esced. Accordingly at 3 P. M. the second lieutenant was sent on shore, accompanied by Mr. Thom in the cutter, and the party pulled straight for the beach in the vicinity of the fort. A white flag was flying at the cutter's bow, and they were quite unarmed. To their amazement, instead of the peaceful reception anticipated. Digitized by CjOOQ iC HOSTILE CONDUCT OF THE CHINESE. 289 they found the beach lined by between two and three hundred soldiers, with half a dozem man- darins, who manifested the most unfriendly disposition* The cutter s bow being tun upon the beach, the lieutenant and Mr. Thorn went forward, and pointing to the white flag, said they had a letter for the admiral, and had come in order to deliver it The reply was, that the admiral had gone to Chinchew, and that if they dared to come on shore they should be killed, or sent bound to Fo-chow-foo, the capital city. By way of supporting what they said by deeds, their spear and matchlock-men approached the water s edge until their wea- pons were within a yard of the strangers, and no other answer could be obtained from them but **off, offr* to which were added sundry imprecations and terms of abuse. The boat accordingly pulled off again for the frigate, and captain Bourchier, in the mean while, having perceived the hostile reception from the ship, sent the third lieutenant with an armed boat's crew to take possession of a large junk which was just leaving the port. VOL. II. o Digitized by CjOOQ iC 290 SKETCHES OF CHINA. Having anchored her under the stern of the Blonde, the captam was brought onboard, pre- senting a written paper to say, that he was only a trader bound for Chinchew, and did not know for what reason he was detained. It was explained that he would be required only to carry a letter on shore for the man* darins, and that the moment he returned with an answer his junk should be restored to him. A paper was then addressed to the mandarins, stating that when a flag of truce was sent to deliver a despatch, it had been repulsed ivith threats and violence, and it was determined in consequence to seize their junks and stop their trade until they should consent to receive it. No reply was ever brought to this note, and the junk slipped away just before daylight on the following morning. It seems unfortunate that a guard of a few men had not been placed on board the junk. They would have prevented this escapl^ and the object of delivering the letter might not have been frustrated so easily. Early on Friday morning sail was hoisted on the frigate, that she might stand in-shore. Digitized by CjOOQ iC WARLIKE PREPARATIONS. 291 with a view to make another attempt to deliver the despatch under cover of the ship's guns. The weather being dead calm, they did not weigh until 11a. m., but by noon were an- chored close to the shore, the Chinese battery bearing oflF the larboard quarter, distant about five hundred yards. A notice in large Chinese characters had been prepared on a piece of white cotton cloth, explanatory of the objects of the Blonde's visit, and declaring that their objects must be accomplished. The little jolly-boat was again sent on shore with five men and boys entirely unarmed, having this notice hung out so as to be legible at a distance, and the white flag displayed as before. The mandarins had been busy all day in warlike preparations. They had formed an en- campment at the beach, and had placed five guns, level with the water's edge, a little to the eastward of the casemate battery* at the entrance of the inner harbour. Some of the larger junks were brought down and armed, * One with a roof and parapet above the embrasures. o2 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 292 SKETCHES OF CHINA. while a number of smaller ones were filled with troops, and placed in the vicinity of the Blonde, as if with the intention of boarding. The frigate was anchored within four hundred yards, with springs upon her cable, upon the angle of the battery, so as to command it and the junks at the same time. On the jolly-boat being backed in stern foremost to the b66(ch with Mr. Thom as spokesman, the mandarins and troops were drawn up as before, with a crowd of idle spectators. The interpreter sat over the boat's stern, holding out the notice, i^nd requesting the mandarins to peruse it. They replied with nothing but threats and imprecations, making the usual sign of cutting oflF the head ; while their fury seemed to be aggravated by the notice being legible to the surrounding crowd. The boat was now close to the beach, and some of the Chinese soldiers were observed wading into the water to seize upon her. The men were told to pull a stroke or two, and when eight or ten yards off, Mr. Thom stood up and asked them, " for the last time, if they Digitized by CjOOQ iC ATTACK ON UNARMED BOAT. 293 would receive the letter or not?" '* No! '* was the uiiianunous shout of the whole assembly ; and, as if enraged at the escape of the boat, a number of shot and arrows were aimed at her, Fortunately for Mr. Thom, he fell suddenly with the motion as the boat sprang to the men s oar3, for at that instant an arrow struck the seat he had quitted with such force as to shiver its head to pieces ; while a matchlock ball hit the boat*s stern a couple of inches from the coxswain. Some guns at the same time were fired at the ship, and the Chinese were seen preparing for a general discharge, which would probably have killed those in the jolly-boat, when a couple of shot from the Blonde told with such fatal effect upon the dense masses on the beach, that they instantly fled for their lives, leaving ten or a dozen dead behind them. The guns in the ship were brought to bear upon the fort and junks, and these were battered until the for- mer was beaten in and unroofed, and the latter disappeared with the exception of one, whose crew having abandoned her, an officer was sent . Digitized by CjOOQIC 294 SKETCHES OF CHINA. to throw her armament into the sea and set her on fire. During the whole of this affair tiie neighbouring hills were covered with spectators* and the inner harbour with trading vessels, which remained entirely unmolested. Everything on this occasion appears to have been conducted in the best possible manner, if we admit that the adoption of '*a flag of truce" was the most advisable procedure with a people like the Chinese, who not only do not under- stand, but will not acknowledge these conven- tional modes of European nations. As it was, the Blonde sailed away without effecting her object, after having killed a considerable num- ber of the natives. Had she anchored at once in front of the city, and sent a strong armed body on shore to say, that unless the letter was received she would batter down the town, the end would probably have been gained. Be- ginning with an unarmed boat, and with what they call in Ashantee " a palaver," the Chinese were emboldened and tempted to adopt the plan of resistance, and in fact succeeded, after all, in preventing communication, though at Digitized by CjOOQ iC FLAG OF TRUCE. 295 the expense of losing many of their people, whose fate would be represented to the emperor as a gallant and successful devotion to his ser- vice. Mr. Thom had a narrow escape with his life> and deserved the highest credit for volunteering his services at such great personal risk; but every one perhaps will not agree with him in thinking that " the quarrel having originated concerning a white flag, this will be recognised all over the empire as the foreign emblem of peace'* ^^ Laissez nous, done, nous quereller en paix!" — ^says somebody in Moli^re. White is to the Chinese the emblem of death and mourning, and viewed by them as the type of all that is unlucky and ill- omened;* a superstition which the results of the unfortunate flag of truce were but too well calculated to confirm. The best peace-maker with them is an overwhelming force, and as few words as possible. With this they will respect any flag, and without it none. Above all, we should give up obtruding upon them our conventional forms of Europe, which by * * Chinese,' third edition, p. 174, note. Digitized byGoOgl 296 SKETCHES OF CHINA. a strange fatality are aknost invariaMy the very opposite of their own, and whidi accord- ingly they make it a point of honour to resist. In this sense we may almost turn up6n them their own rule of intercourse : — " The barbae rians are like the brutes, and not to be dealt with on the same principles as Chinese. Were any one to attempt controlling them by the great maxims of (Chinese) reason, it would lead to nothing but confusion," Another trial was made further north to land one of the letters for the minister of the emperor; and on the 10th July the Blonde, Conway, Cruizer, Algerine, and Queen steamer were despatched with Captain !Elliot to Ningpo^ the admiral proceeding himself on the 13th in the Atalanta steamer. The vigorous pro- ceedings at Chusan, in the immediate neigh- bourhood, had certainly awed • the Ningpo authorities; they had probably learned the consequences of the opposition at Amoy a week before ; and the imposing force of six vessels, which now threatened their city, was an additional argument for being civil. The Digitized by CjOOQ iC LETTER EEFUSED AT NINGPO- 297 admiral stated in his despatches hom^ ^that in "the correspondence which tx)ok place the style was totally different from what was ever known hcfor.e, claiming no mark of superiority whatever, but treating us perfectly as equals; no longer calling us barbarians, but honorable officers of the English nation."* However, they declined forwarding the letter, on the ground of its being contrary to their customs (which subsequent events at the Peiho proved to be false); but it was supposed that as they had an open Chinese copy of it in their hands for twenty-four hours, there could be no doubt of the Court of Peking being made acquainted with it Having given notice that the ports would be closed, the admiral quitted the river on the 15th July, and the blockade commenced. The alarm was evidently great; junks were sunk at the mouth of the river, and additions made to the batteries ; all which showed a determination to resist. In the mean while, the return of the inha- * Yet, in the late edict from the emperor at Peking, the old terms (^ abuse and insolence are again as bad as ever ! o3 Digitized by CjOOQ iC 298 SKETCHES OF CHINA. bitants to the deserted capital of Chusan was found to be extremely slow, thougb everything was done to produce confidence, and to protect them in their peaceful occupations. Some sup- plies were at length brought to market of vegetables, pigs, and poultry ; and the love of money, it was hoped, would influence the in- habitants of the country in producing more. To the latest date, however, there is a general complaint of the dearth of supplies. A public declaration was issued, giving to the natives the benefit of their own laws, customs, and usages, every species of torture excepted ; and they were declared liable only to such taxes and impositions as they had paid under the Emperor of China. The civil, fiscal, and judi- cial government of Chusan and its dependencies was vested in the military commandant, to be exercised by him, or under his warrant. There can be no doubt of the Chinese, upon trial, finding the British government infinitely milder and affording better security to person and property than that of their own man- darins; but, were the islands to be restored Digitized by CjOOQ iC HOSTILITIES AT MACAO. 299 to the emperor, those of the mhabitants who had placed themselves under British protec- tion would suffer cruelly from the Tartar law concerning "traitorous intercourse with fo- reigners ;" and some security for the safety of these poor people would be the first duty of our government, whenever the Chusan group returned to its former masters. Their terror of the consequences of such intercourse fully accounts for the desertion of Tinghae on its capture. While the transactions above noted were passing on the north-east coast, our country- men in the neighbourhood of Canton began to feel the effects of the impunity with which Governor Lin had flattered himself, as well as of the ridiculous "neutrality" of Macao — a place where the Chinese levied open war upon British subjects. The inner harbour had for months been filled with war-junks, and the streets thronged with Governor Lin's soldiers. They had been allowed to pitch tents and mount guns on the Portuguese side of the barrier, — if the name of Portuguese can Digitized by CjOOQ iC 300 SKETCHES OF CHINA. be allowed to any part of Macao since what has occurred. The avowed object of these hostile preparations was to drive away the British, or to put into effect the exhortations of Lin, and seize their persons or murder them for reward. An atrocious case of seizure at lenglji oc- curred. On the 6th of August, Mr. Stanton, a young man who seems to have gone to China with the intention of devoting himself to a missionary life, was suddenly missed l^ his friendd at Macao. He was in the habit of proceeding very early in the morning to bathe at a sandy and retired bay, well known by the name of Gasilha, about a mile or less on the outside of the town, towards the Chinese bar- rier. In a few days it was learned, that while going down to the beach he had been surprised by a gang of Chinese concealed behind some rocks, who wounded, seized, and conveyed him to a boat waiting in readiness, on board of which he was hurried up towards Canton. In the course of the same day he was seen by some natives near the Bogue, his person and clothes Digitized by CjOOQ iC MR. STANTON SEIZED AT MACAO. 301 bloody, and his liands tied behind him. On the 9th he reached Canton, and was examined before governor Lin, previously to being put into prison. The real '* barbarians** forced him to kneel, in his weak state, during the process of questioning ; but the information which, nothing daunted by his situation, he seems to have given, must have proved far from agree- able to the auditory. He told them of what they pretended, at least, to be ignorant — ^that there were plenty more of his countrymen at Macao ; and that his liberation would be the first care of the senior officer of the English squadron. Such was the event. The mandarins of Macao at first pretended ignorance of all the circumstances, and then said that they would apply for Mr. Stanton's liberation. Embold- ened at length to attempt more summary mea- sures of violence against the resident English, Governor Lin sent down the Taou-tae with troops to drive tiiem out of Macao, or seize upon their persons. Additions were made to the fortifications at the barrier, and to the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 303 SKETCHES OF CHINA. numbers of the garrison there ; and eight war- junks, which had long been anchored opposite to the town of Macao^ were stationed in a line near the barrier wall, close to the inner shore of the sandy isthmus, which is there very narrow. Captain Smith having in vain applied for the liberation of the captive, and clearly per- ceiving the further intentions of the Chinese, very wisely determined to be beforehand with them. On the 18th of August the Enterprise steamer arrived off Macao, in company with Her Majesty's ship Druid, and towing a trans- port in which was a corps of Bengal volun- teers. On the morning of the 19th the Hy- acinth and Larne got under way, and stood towa,rds the bay in which the barrier is situ- ated :* the volunteers were embarked on board the steamer ; while nine boats filled with ma- rines and seamen left the Druid (unable from her size to attempt the shoal water), and fol- lowed in the wake of the other ships. The weather was favourable, a light southerly wind * See Plan. Digitized by CjOOQ iC CASILHA BAT. 303 Digitized byGoOgl 304 SKETCHES OF CHINA. enabling the sliips very soon to take up a favourable position right in fSront of the bar- rier and Chinese fortification, at a distance of five or six hundred yards. When the Hyacinth began the cannonade at half-past one, it was answered by the Chinese from their breastwork, consisting of piles of sandbags, filled from the beach, the foundation of each pile about nine yards square, on which the shot had little effect. They had altogether twenty-four guns mounted, fifteen of which were pointed to the ships; but their fire was silenced by the Hyacinth and Lame, after only three broadsides. The eight junks before men- tioned had their hulls nearly hidden by the isthmus which intervened; and at the jos- house, on the Portuguese side of the barrier, were several guns from which a brisk fire was kept up on the ships. It was observed that these guns carried further than those from the junks, many of which fell short The ships received no injury, though a few shot passed through the awning and sails of the Hyacinth. When the engagement had commenced, the Digitized by CjOOQ iC ENGAGEMENT AT THE BARRIER. 305 garrison at the josf-house was re^-infor^ed by about three hundred Chinese soldiers, who marched out to it from the ** neutral" town of Macao ! It is calculated that there must al* together have been about two thousaivi Chi- nese soldiers on the spot, of whom a consider- able proportion were armed with matchlocks. The fire from the ships was at length only faintly answered by the junks^ but with more spirit from the jos-house, which had been spared, as being on the Portuguese side of the barrier, though Chinese property. Parties of soldiers were seen running between the b9'rrier and jos-house, occasionally creeping along on all-fours to avoid the shot^ and sometimes ye-, moving a dead or wounded comrade. In about an hour after the commencement of the fire, the English troops began to land on the beach at some distance from, and on the Chinese side of the fortification. Some Chinese soldiers, favored by the rising ground, crept and fired upon the parties landing ; but a field-piece was brought on shore, and a sharp fire was kept up on the Chinese encampment, on the junks, and Digitized by CjOOQ iC 306 SKETCHES OF CHINA. at last on the jos-house, which until now had been spared by Captain Smith's orders. Parties of soldiers were presently seen flying out of it, as well as from some mat sheds hard by, and running back to Macao. All the troops being landed soon after four, and mustering together about three hundred and eighty marines, sepoys, and seamen, under the command of Captain Mee of the Bengal volun- teers, they marched upon the fort, which was found deserted ; but a fire, when already there, was opened upon them from the junks and the jos-house, and soon silenced by the musketry of the volunteers. Two of the guns in the fort (as large and heavy as thirty-two pounders, though bored for only eighteens,) were found disabled, their carriages being splintered or broken to pieces by shot. These and all the other guns were spiked, and everything else destroyed or burned. The Chinese encamp- ment was next burned; but the junks, several of which were much injured by shot, unfor^ tunately escaped destruction, for as they were on the other side of the isthmus, there were no Digitized by CjOOQ iC CHINESE BEATEN. 307 boats by whicb tx) get at tbem. It is to be re- gretted that the jos-house, from which the liveliest fire had been directed against our people, altogether escaped destruction, much to the disappointment of the exasperated assailants, and it may be hoped that this will be the last pretence of " neutrality." The English party had none killed, but four badly wounded, two of them by the explosion of a powder magazine in the captured fort. The Chinese seem to have concealed their loss, but it must have been considerable. Their soldiers threw the blame of their flight on the cowardice of the officers, who they said were the first to run away. The Taoutae disap- peared after the fight, and the Tsotang, or resi- dent magistrate of Macao, also left that place, the population of which remained very quiet, although many families of Chinese began to remove. The provincial government had now received a wholesome lesson, and were not likely very soon again to attempt measures of violence against the English residents. Their Digitized by CjOOQ iC 308 SKETCHES OF CHINA. only possible course, after the failure of active hostilities, was the old and favourite one of starving the town, and driving away the na- tive inhabitants. To ascertain the eflFect of the various strong remedies applied, as already detailed, at the extremities of the empire, a portion of the squadron with the plenipotentiaries on board proceeded to the entrance of the Peiho to feel the pulse of the imperial patient. It must be observed that the Macao affidr, last mentioned, occurred while they were lying oflF that place, and .must have reached Peking before their de- parture from the neighbourhood. An imposing force, consisting of the Wellesley, Blonde, Modeste, Volage, Pylades, and Madagascar steamer, anchored on the 9th August oflf Takoo, being the anniversary of the day on which the last embasi^ landed there. Captain Elliot en- tered the river in the steamer, accompanied by the boats of all the ships manned and armed ; and with this proper convoy the flag of truce ran no risk whatever of being fired upon. The Digitized by CjOOQ iC ADMIRAL VISITS THE PEIHO. 309 shore* was crowded with spectators, astonished at the appearance of the steamer. A hoat pushed oflF from the fort, and received a written communication to be forwarded to Peking ; an answer to be returned in six days, the distance being one hundred miles by land. A reply arrived on the day appointed, to the eflFect that the emperor required ten days to consider the subject. This being acceded to, the squadron touched at different points in the neighbourhood to pro- cure bullocks and other supplies, in which they appear to have succeeded. The admiral took advantage of the delay to visit the extremity of the great wall at Shanhae kwdn, where it passes down into the sea to the distance of half-a-mile, and is terminated by a high tower. As if in mockery of all natural obstacles, this gigantic barrier, between twenty and thirty feet in height, and twenty feet broad, displays itself, as far as the eye can reach, traversing the very tops of the mountains, some of them computed * One account mentions the hills; but there is not a hill between the sea and Peking. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 310 SKETCHES OF CHINA. at three thousand feet above the sea's level, and those farther inland much higher. The em- peror can certainly boast a magnificent park wall, bounding many hundred miles of his here- ditary estate. On the 27th August, which was the day ap- pointed, the squadron returned to its anchor- age, when the document from Peking was sent oflF to the ships ; and on the 30th an interview took place between Captain Elliot and the im- perial commissioner, Kershen.* From that time until the middle of September, when the squadron took its departure southward for Chusan, a lengthened negotiation was carried on, of which nothing official transpired by the overland mail which reached London on the 6th January. The first impression produced by private accounts (which were almost en- tirely conjectural) was of the most exhilarating kind — nothing less than the near and satisfao- * Ke-shen is a Manchow Tartar, of the yellow standard, who a few years since was Governor of Pechely province. His rank is sufficiently high, without calling him the third man in the empire, as some of the accounts do. Digitized by CjOOQ iC admiral's visit to the peiho. 311 tory settlement of every difficulty. It was re- ported that the emperor had agreed to pay three miUions sterling as indemnity; that he disavowed the acts of Commissioner Lin^ and offered to surrender him into the hands of tte British, to be dealt with as they might think proper. The island of Lantao, just opposite to Macao on the east, was said to be offered in exchange for Chusan, and two commissioners were to be sent to the south in order to nego- tiate a treaty. The most probable part of the news, and the most consistent with the charac- ter of the Chinese government, was a hint con- veyed by the imperial commissioner, " that the admiral's visit had prevented the march of fierce soldiers to retake the island of Chusan." This visit was in fact eagerly seized by the Peking court as an occasion to be improved to the utmost, under the circumstances. In the absence of all official intelligence, one of the private letters stated that the Chinese papers " were couched in very civil language, con- taining none of tibe c^fenjfflTe epithets so freely applied to Europeans on former occasions." Digitized by CjOOQ iC 1 312 SKETCHES OF CHINA. This might be the case ; but an imperial edict dated the 17th September, issued after the conferences at the Peiho, and received at Can- ton on the 4th October, never was and never can be surpassed in the insolence and abusive*- ness of its language! It states that " the English barbarians had presented a respectful and obedient document of complaint craving imperial favour and kindness ; that they ought to have been exterminated for their previous disobedient and disorderly conduct; but the seaport town having attacked them and crushed their daring spirit, and the said foreigners having desired favour, the causes of what had passed must be searched to the bottom." The fact seems to have been, that the em- peror felt rather uncomfortable in the near neighbourhood of such unwelcome visitors as the admiral and his squadron. All possible means were to be used in order to remove him to the southward; which object being accomplished, the course of the monsoons would secure his absence for another year, or at least eight months. The arrival of the Digitized by CjOOQ iC RETURN FROM THE PEIHO. 313 squadron^ with a pacific address, afforded the Peking government a pretext to save its in- jured dignity, by construing and representing it to the Chinese nation as a suing for pardon after late indiscretions on the coast ; and so it is made out in the edict above quoted. What sincerity or good faith, it may be asked, can be expected from a government of this kind ; or what concessions except such as may be extorted by the guns of the squadron after they have reached Canton ? With such power- ful arguments as these, well directed, we may still hope for some contradiction of the ill- omened dictum of the Times — " that the great opium war against China has produced no results at all — ^not a shilling of indemnity — not an approach to a treaty — not even a pro- mise to negociate with the least reliance," — to which may be added the epigrammatic com- ment of the same authority, " that everything which had been attempted had succeeded, and yet nothing had been accomplished." The squadron reached Chusan on its return from the Peiho on the 28th September ; and VOL. II. p Digitized by CjOOQ iC 314 SKETCHES OF CHINA. two storeHsliips which had accompanied it brought great relief to the force there sta- tioned, in a supply of bullocks and sheep, as fresh meat had been almost entirely debarred to them since the capture of the place, with a general dearth of most other provisions. The great sickness and mortality which now pre- vailed among the troops were probably the consequences of their being encamped, at the autumnal season, on the outside of the town, in the immediate neighbourhood of extensive rice swamps, which skirt the vicinity of the walls. This cause, joined to inactivity and a dearth of provisions,* and samshoo secretly supplied, would seem fully adequate to the eflFect, without attributing to the island of Chusan any peculiar degree of unhealthiness. On the admiral's arrival the most effectual remedy was adopted, that of removing the troops into the unoccupied houses of the city. Meanwhile the Chinese had gained an im- * It has never been once hinted that the Chinese played any sinister tricks with the provisions; and if they had, the truth could scarcely have escaped the medical staff. Digitized by CjOOQ iC CHINESE MAKE NUMEROUS PRISONERS. 315 portant advantage, calculated to give them ela- tion and confidence, and not unlikely to be abused by them to sinister ends, in the capture of about twenty prisoners from the brig Kite, which had been sent to survey the mouth of the Yang-tse Keang^ and got aground there. Captain Anstruther, an officer of the Madras artillery, had likewise fallen into the hands of a concealed party, while he was out sketching in the neighbourhood of Tsinghae, and was carried oflf to Ningpo. The Chinese were thus hovering in a furtive manner within our own precincts, ready to perpetrate by treachery what they dared not attempt to accomplish by force. The fate of these several prisoners (with the addition of the captive at Canton) could not fail to weigh with some pressure upon the minds of the British plenipotentiaries. It was learned, however, that for the present they were kindly treated at Ningpo, and oflFered in exchange for Chusan. Whatever may be the nature of the negociations, the Chinese will consider these prisoners as their trump cards, and play them accordingly. Digitized by CjOOQ iC 316 SKETCHES OF CHINA. The cardinal and indispensable points to be gained from the Chinese may be comprised under a few heads. First, then, the safe sur- render of the said prisoners, which, in all pro- bability, will only be obtained by making the bombardment of Canton the alternative. Se- condly, considering the degradation of Lin as a matter of course,* some indemnity for the consequences of his acts. Thirdly, the resti- tution of the trade under circumstances of se^ curity to person and property, both of them so outraged by the Chinese commissioner. Under this head must be comprised some provision for cases of accidental homicide ; 'and the difficult subject of the opium trade.f Fourthly, the recognition of the national character of the British representative, and the disuse of the * In the Mahomedan Tartar war, the Chinese fiinctionary, whose acta had given rise to it, was degraded according to custom ; hut the unfortunate Jehanghir Khajah, being en- ticed by false promises to trust himself in the power of the Chinese, was conveyed to Peking, and there tortured to death. t Which however would cease altogether to be difficult. Could the emperor be induced to adopt the suggestion of hia minister in 1836, and legalise it with a fixed duty. Digitized by CjOOQ iC PROSPECTS OF NEGOCIATION. 317 offensive language in which the Canton officers have been accustomed to indulge. Without these, any treaty would be a lame and impotent con- clusion, and leave us just where we were before. There are other points whose concession, it cannot be denied, would be of high value and importance to the foreign trade ; but they are less absolutely necessary to its mere safe ex- istence than the foregoing, and would be more strenuously resisted. These are, admission to the northern ports for purposes of trade ; the abolition of the monopoly of Hong merchants, who can now no longer be opposed by the East India Company ; a tariff of regulated duties on exports and imports ; and the residence of an agent of the crown at Peking. The cession of an island is the very last point that would ever be yielded by the court of Peking, as the capture of one has been that which most annoyed it. The temporary occupation of such an island as a means of compulsion is excel- lent ; but the permanent possession of any Ba- rataria of the kind could not be easily proved to be otherwise than an embarrassment, if the Digitized by CjOOQ iC 318 SKETCHES OF CHINA power of the Chinese government can so effectu- ally prevail over its subjects, to leave us "alone in our glory/' as experience has proved at Chusan. A general feeling of disappointment and de- spondency was the result of the adjournment of the discussions to Canton, followed by the fruit- less expedition to Ningpo in behalf of the pri- soners. There was nothing peculiarly encou- raging even in the speech of the 26th of January on opening Parliament, for if the Chinese government could ever have been ex- pected, " from its own sense of justice,** to bring these matters to a speedy and amicable settle- ment, what, it may be asked, had twenty ships of war and four steamers to do in China? And what have they done beyond the capture of Chusan, to accomplish which a tenth part of the force would have amply sufficed?* A hope still remains that the concentration * By for the most striking exhibition of relative power and weakness occurred, long before the arrival of the expe- dition, in the pitched battle between the Chinese admiral's squadron, of twenty-nine ^ar-junks, and the Volage and Hyacinth. Digitized by CjOOQ iC FURTHER OPERATIONS NECESSARY. 319 of a large naval force in the Canton river may lead to such stringent measures as shall effect- ually bring down Chinese arrogance, and put an end to the temporising contrivances and lingering pretexts of that utterly weak, but most cunning and perfidious government. One season of operations on the coast is at an end, and the only chance of preventing the necessity for another seems to lie in placing Canton at the mercy of the British squadron. The delay of every month, with the sickness of the troops, and the capture of prisoners, is calculated to inspirit the Chinese, whom it certainly cannot be estimating too highly if we compare them to the Mexicans who opposed the Spaniards in the sixteenth century ; yet even they took courage to resist, when they found at last that their European enemies were subject to the casualties of sickness and death. It may fairly be doubted if any treaty is likely to be of the least avail to secure our trade from future annoyance in the Canton Digitized by Google 320 SKETCHES OF CHINA. river, should the batteries at the Bogue escape demolition. A lesson of that kind could never be dissembled nor forgotten, and as it is quite clear that no persuasion except that of force has the least chance of prevailing, there seems to be no theatre for its exercise preferable to the point where the Chinese consider themselves strongest When everything has been gained that an armed negociation can give, it must all be guaranteed by something more substantial than words, or even paper documents. The Chinese pretension to universal sovereignty is not altogether unlike the Romish claim of a cognate kind in spiritual matters ; and as the one dispenses with the observance of good faith towards " heretics," so the other rejoices in the same convenient latitude towards "barbarians." It is plain, therefore, that a respectable naval force will in future be always required on the Chinese coast; added to a well-founded conviction, on the part of the Peking court, that the renewed mis- conduct of its provincial functionaries will Digitized by CjOOQ iC FURTHER OPERATIONS NECESSARY. 321 be followed by trouble and involvement to itself. If a second campaign to the north-eastward (as now appears all but inevitable) should be undertaken in the summer of 1841, the cruise of the Conway and Algerine has established the most important fact, that the great Keang is navigable forty miles inwards from its mouth, and that a clear channel exists for vessels of any size, with a depth of five or six fathoms water. Whenever it shall be found necessary or expedient to " make war" on the Chinese government, in the sense which that term bears everywhere else, nothing can at once so severely distress and perplex it as the blockade of the grand canal at Kwa-chow; but this, to be completely effective, must com- mence before the grain and tribute junks begin their departure for the northward, in the month of May, or perhaps earlier. When it is con- sidered that the food and clothing of Peking, the rice and tea, the silk and cotton, proceed almost entirely from the south of the great Digitized by CjOOQ iC 822 SKETCHES OF CHINA. river, by what may really be called the aUment' ary canal of the empire, it is impossible not to acknowledge the importance of this point, 80 vulnerable to our steamers and ships of war, and at the same time so vital to the Chinese. THE END. LoMoow : Printed by William Clowu and Sons* Stamford Street. \y^ . ~ ' .•'..?., (Jm« ^^v y ^(} 7 Digitized by CjOOQ iC WORKS /3 PUBLISHED BY CHARLES KNIGHT AND CO., 22, LuDOATE Street. In One Volume, price bs,, with numerous EngraviDgs on Wood, The CHINESE : a Greneral Description of the Empire of China and its Inhabitants. By J. F. Davis, Esq., F.R.S., late His Majesty's Chief Superintendent in China. A New Edition, enlarged and revised, in which the History of English Intercourse is brought up to the present time. ** In Mr. Dftvis's aeeoout of China, we find every subject brought forward that can throw light on the laws and institutions of a people to whom, we think, that justice has not been rendered by foreigners which is their due. Mr. Davis brings to his task advantages wliich have fallen to the lot of few Europeans. He resided twenty years at Canton, where he at length rose to be chief of the factory ; he accompanied Lord Amherst's embassy to Pekin ; and he ranks as one of the few Europeans who have ever really mastered the lauKuage and literature of China. He has rendered into English 8e^^eral pieces from their romances, their poetry, and their dramatic works, of which last class, in all tongues, but more especially in the unique tongue of China, it is particularly difficult to preserve the spirit in a translation. We have a right, therefore, to consider the statements which he has now submitted to the public as containing as full and correct a view of this singular people, of their government, laws, and institutions — and, in short, of the whole frame or their society — as the many difficulties with which the subject is l)eset will admit." — Qwxrterly Review. THE PICTORIAL EDITION OF SHAKSPERE. EDITED BY CHARLES KNIGHT. THE HISTORICAL PLAYS, complete in 2 Volumes. 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This edition, which is publishing in Monthly Parts, price 2s. 64., an \ will include the whole worhs ofShalupere, will be completed in Seven Volumes. Digitized by CjOOQ iC On the Slst of March was published, Price Is. 6c{., LONDON, PART I. CONTENTS. No. I.— THE SILENT HIGHWAY. Illm$tratioms, 1. Richard II. mmI Oower. 9. Water QainUin. IT. Water Tonrnaments. 4. ProeeMion of James L 6. Palaee-Yard SUirs, 1641. 6. London and Westminster Steamers. Derigners . Emgravert. Pickes. Murdon. , . Auelay. C. Jewitt , . Fairholt. Wragg. . Tlmbrill. HoUoway. . Anelay. Rirchner. mers. . TimbrUU C. Jewitt. No. II.— CLEAN YOUR HONOUR'S SHOES. 7. London Shoeblack, 1750. 8. Football in Strand 9. Proclamation of Accession of Edward VI. 10. Palace- Yard 11. Sedan. 1638 12. Old Hackney Coachman, about 1690. 13. Cabriolet, about 1780 Fairholt. Andrew. Melville. J. Quartley. Murdon. Gorway. Nupent. F. Smyth. Gray. . Anelay. . Anelay. . Tiffin. . B.Sly. . Tiffin. No. III.— PAUL'S CROSS. 14. Elm Tree in St. PauVs Churchyard. . • , Fairholt. Leonard. 15. Roman Antiquities Fairholt. Andrew. 16. Henry III Fairholt. Slader. 17. James Baynham doing Penance (from Fox's Martyr- ology). . . , Fairholt. Murdon. 18. Latimer. 19. Paul's Cross. Fairholt. HoUoway. Anelay. F. Smyth. No. IV.— THE TABARD. 20. Border — Supper of the Canterbury Pilgrims. . . Buss. Murdon & Smyth. 21. Court-Yard of the present Talbot, from the Street. Archer. Jackson. 22. Exterior of Tabard Inn, from Urry's Chaucer, 172O. Tiffin. Jackson. 23. Court-Yard of the Tabard, from a drawing in the BritiKh Museum, about 1780. .... Prior. Jackson. This Work is also published in Weekly Numbers, Price Fourpence each. 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