An American engineer in China

An

American Engineer

in China

By

Wm. Barclay Parsons

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

An American Engineer
in China

■ [X,

fc/.

An

American Engineer

in China

By

Wm. Barclay Parsons

M

NEW YORK

McClure, Phillips & Co.

M C M

Copyright, 1 900, by
McCLURE, PHILLIPS & CO.

Preface

THE following- pages are designed to pre-
sent a view of China and the Chinese from
the stand-point of industrial development
as it exists at present and along the lines it is
likely to follow in the future. Such phases of
the Chinese question as the missionary problems,
and the causes and treatment of the recent politi-
cal disturbance, are left entirely to be dealt with
by others, as, likewise, are all matters of govern-
ment, internal and foreign politics, and personal
or national characteristics, except in so far as
they may come within the subject scope. In
the years 1898 and 1899 the author was in China,
under retainer of an American syndicate to ex-
amine, survey, and report on an extensive rail-
way enterprise, and the duties connected with
his professional work placed him in an excep-
tional position to study and observe this interest-
ing country and its people from a quite different
point of view from that taken by other writers.
The journey made in the course of the survey
had a special interest, in that it traversed Hu-nan,
that province of China of which the least was
known, and presented the opportunity, success-
fully availed of, to obtain an entrance to, and an

5

6 Preface

official recognition in, Chang-sha, the one large
city in China which hitherto had been closed to
foreigners. The author was accompanied by a
corps of engineers, consisting of Mr. R. C. Hunt,
Chief of Stall, and Messrs. A. E. Coulter, If. B.
Magor, W. K. Brice, and W. S. K. Wet more— to
whom were added Mr. Charles Denbv, Jr., as in-
terpreter and manager, and Dr. R. B. J el li son as
physician. Sheng Ta-jen, Director - General of
Imperial Chinese Railways, kindly attached to
the party Mi'. W. W. Rich, his consulting engineer,
and Woo Yung-fo, and Lo Kwok-shui, two of his
secretaries. The two last mentioned gentlemen
had been educated in the United States, the latter
as an engineer. They both had been recalled in
the midst of their collegiate studies, and subse-
quently Mr. Woo entered the Chinese navy,
where he served as flag-lieutenant to Captain
Lang, R.N., at that time acting as Chinese
Admiral. When Admiral Ting succeeded Cap-
tain Lang, Mr. Woo was transferred to the for-
mer's staff, and stood at the side of his chief in
the conning tower of the flag-ship in the famous
battle of the Ya-lu in the Japanese War.

The journey was not without its rough as well
as its interesting side, and was one of. some con-
siderable personal risk. The party was accom-
panied by a large force of Chinese soldiers for

Preface 7

protection, Chinese officials to indicate its char-
acter, and a body of coolies acting as porters, for
all stores had to be carried. Provisions, except
eggs, fish, and fresh meat, were purchased before
starting in sufficient quantity to maintain the
party in the field for some months. The articles
mentioned above were obtained without trouble,
and usually as presents from the local officials, the
meats consisting of buffalo, sheep, goat, deer, wild
ducks and chicken.

The author desires to take this opportunity to
express his sense of personal obligation to Their
Excellencies: Sheng, the Director-General of Rail-
ways and Telegraphs, with whom the author was
necessarily brought into close contact ; Chang
Chih-tung, the great central Viceroy, through
whose territory the survey was made; and Wu
Ting-fang, China's able representative in Wash-
ington ; to Mr. Conger, the United States Minister
at Peking, the latter particularly for such personal
aid as his official position permitted ; and to Mr.
John Goodnow, United States Consul-General
at Shanghai.

Part of the matter contained in this volume has
previously appeared in McClurc s and Engineering
Magazines and Harper s Weekly, and is republished
through the courtesy of the respective editors,

8 Preface

although now entirely rewritten and enlarged.
All the illustrations are from photographs act-
ually taken on the expedition, and for the most
part represent Chinese life as it exists in the in-
terior of the Empire.

NEW York, November, 1900.

46

A Table of the Chapters

Chapter Page

I. China 15

II. American Concession ..44

III. Hu-nan, The Closed Province of China . . 54

The Entrance 70

The Interior 90

The Exit 109

IV. My Chinese Impressions 127

V. Commerce and Commercial Relations . . .148

VI. Finances of China 181

VII. Chinese Construction 198

VIII. Inland Communication 221

IX. Railways 245

X. The Yellow Peril 286

XI. China in the Twentieth Century 306

A List of the Illustrations

The American Engineers in the Field

Frontispiece

Stairway Leading to Temple of Confucius, Peking .
Carved Stone Animals Lining the Road Leading to the

Ming Tombs .......

Four Members of the Tsung-li Yamen and Mr. Conger

in the Court-yard of the Yamen ....
Yang-tze Kiang, between Han-yang and Wu-chang
A Part of the City of Victoria, on the Island of Hongkong

at the Base of the Peak .....

The Last of Hu-nan ......

Junks on the River Han with Hankow in the Distance
A Group of Natives who Have Never Seen a Foreigner

Before ........

Another Group of Natives .....

Coolies Waiting to be Employed as Carriers

Coolie Carrying my Bedding .....

A Yamen Runner .......

The Procession .......

Placard Bearers who Preceded the Procession to Announci

Our Coming .......

Chinese Soldiers who Formed Our Guard

A Chinese Hsien Magistrate and His Red Umbrella, in

dicative of His Rank and Presence .
Main Court-yard of the Governor's Yamen at Chang-sha
River Gunboat .......

A Peculiar Custom by Chinese Women of Wearing Heat

ing-Baskets .......

Fage
79

26
2S

32

38

47
55

59
61

63
64
65

72

73
75

11
85
90

95

A List of the Illustrations

The Descent from the Che-ling Pass on the South Side
Two Faithful Friends ......

The Wall and Gateway on the Border between Hu-nan

and Kiang-si .......

A Bridge over Dry Ground with a Coolie Climbing th

Approach Steps on the Left ....

A Kwang-tung Pawnshop and Surrounding Village
Under Two Flags .......

Chinese and Manchu Ladies of the Upper Class
A Neglected Buddhist Temple
Chinese Graves ....

Flags were Everywhere in Profusion

General Liu Kao-chao at Tiffin

Wall Along Yang-tze Kiang at Wu-chang, Opposite

Hankow ....

Road-side Shrine in Which Papers are Burned
A Hu-nan Farm-house .
A Chinese Saw-mill
A Military Officer and Two Privates

"Bell "Cash

A Very Old Arch in Eastern Hu-nan, Previously In ex

plored .....

Ping-hsiang Bridge

A Beautiful Single Span .

Arch near Peking ....

A Small Bridge ....

Wooden Cantilever Bridge at Li-ling, over the Lu Ho
Pagoda near Wu-chang ......

Chinese House Construction — a Combination of a Wooden

Frame and Brick Walls .

A List of the Illustrations

13

The Famous Wall of the Tartar City, Peking, with One of
the Gate-towers .....

The Great Wall of China ....

The Siang Kiang ......

A Freight-boat Being Poled Against the Stream

A Sail That May Have Seen Better Days, but Which is by

no Means a Unique Specimen .
A Female Skipper ......

The Equality of Sex. A Man and a Woman at the Oar
A Cantonese Slipper B.oat ....

Fast Freight by Wheelbarrow ....

The Author Travelling in an Official Chair
Boy Carrying Coal from the Mines to the River
A Typical Road on Top of a Dyke between Rice-fields
A Road Paved with Stone Slabs Showing the Groove Cut
by Wheelbarrows .....

The " Rocket of China " and Mr. Kinder
Khojack Tunnel on the Sind-Peshin Railway, India
Japanese Passenger Train ....

Typical Large Railway Station in Japan .
Typical Small Railway Station in Japan .
Passengers Getting on a Train in China .
Japanese Railway Freight Station .
Second-class Train on the Imperial Chinese Railway
First-class Train on the Imperial Chinese Railway .

Page

214
2l6
224

230
232
233
235
237
238
240
241

242
248
268
270

272

276
278
282
284

Chapter

China

EVER since the days when Marco Polo
brought back to Europe the seeming fairy
tales of the wonder land of the Far East,
the country to which we have applied the name
of China has been a field more and more attrac-
tive for commercial conquest.

At the close of the nineteenth century, when the
ever-rising tide of industrial development has
succeeded in sweeping over Europe, America,
the better portion of Africa, Western Asia, and
India, it is the Chinese Wall alone that resists its
waves. The movement, however, is irresistible,
and not even the exclusiveness of the Chinese and
their extreme disinclination to change their ways
will be a sufficient protection against it. The re-
cent so-called "Boxer1' outbreak will probably
prove to be the death-knell to Chinese resist-
ance. Whatever may be the outcome of this out-
break, in so far as it affects the government or
the political integrity of the country, it can be
predicted with safety that the commercial and in-
dustrial life of China will be revolutionized, and
the beginning of the twentieth century will be
found to mark the dawning of a new era.

The present moment, when we are about to
pass from the old into the new state of things, is a

15

i'' An American Engineer in China

fitting time to survey the lie-Id of industrial enter-
prise by examining into what has been done, and
to .i-1 i rtain the sorl ol foundation thai lias been
prepared on which the Chinese people, aided .it
first l>\ foreigners, will eventually oi themselves
ere< I their own industrial structure.

In tin- consideration ol this very interesting
land there seems to be a surprise ;it every turn,
and one of the mosl peculiar is that weare met at
the outsel by the curious circumstance that it is a
countr} withoul a name. The Chinese themselves
have no fixed designation (or their country, using,
as a general thing, either the "Middle Kingdom,"
or the "Celestial Kingdom," or the "Great Pure
Kingdom.** The interpretation of the first is that
tin- pm] ile consider China to be the centre of the
world, all the other countries surrounding and be-
ing tributary to it; although the term probably
originated when, what is now the Province of
Ilo-nan was the central kingdom of several other
kingdoms which together formed a united coun-
try. The name "Celestial Kingdom" is a piece of
self-flattery, the Chinese Emperor being called in
like manner the " Son ol I leaven ; " while the last
name, that of the " Great Pure Kingdom," follows
the designation of the presenl ruling house, which
styles itself the " Pure Dynasty," in contra-dis-
tinction to the preceding dynasty which it over-
threw, and which was called the Ming or" Plight
Dynasty." The foreigner's appellation of China

Chapter I : China 17

is of uncertain origin, but it is supposed to mean
the land of Chin or Tsin, a family that ruled about
250 B.C. ; and even this name is used indiscrimi-
nately as covering- two areas very different in size.
When we use the word China it may mean the
Chinese Empire proper, the Empire of the eigh-
teen provinces; or it may mean the eighteen
provinces and the dependencies of Manchuria,
Mongolia, and Tibet, whose bond of attachment
to the Empire, in strength, is in the above order.
The eighteen provinces comprise in area about
1,500,000 square miles, or an area about equal
to that portion of the United States lying east
of Colorado. The shape of the Empire proper
is substantially rectangular, extending from the
latitude of eighteen degrees north, or the latitude
of Vera Cruz, to forty-two degrees north, which
is about that of New York. When the depen-
dencies are included under the title of China
the northern boundary is carried to the forty-
eighth parallel, or say the latitude of New Found-
land, and the whole has an area of over 4,000,000
square miles, a greater surface than that of
Europe, or of the United States and Alaska com-
bined. This great area is reputed to support a
population of upwards of 400,000,000 ; figures,
however, which, as I will later point out, are, in
my belief, a gross exaggeration ; but the bal-
ance, even after the most conservative reduc-
tions, will still easily be the greatest single con-

[8 An American Engineer in China

tiguous conglomeration ol people under one rul-
er. Racially speaking, they are a conglomeration.

Who the Chinese were originally is not known.
It is generally believed that they came from
Western or Central Asia, and, conquering the
scattered nomadic tribes inhabiting what is now-
China, seized their count ry.

In the dependencies and China proper we find
distinctly different peoples, with diverse customs;
while scattered about the Empire proper are set-
tlements ol strange tribes, whose origin is abso-
lutely unknown, but who are believed to be relics
of the aboriginal inhabitants.

Lack of intercommunication has allowed the
language of the Chinese to become locally varied,
and to such an extent that, although the written
characters are the same, the spoken dialects of the
North and South are so different as to be mutu-
ally unintelligible. There are said to be in the
Empire proper eight dialects, each again being
many times subdivided by local colloquialisms.
Of these dialects the most important is the so-
called Mandarin or Pekingese, the dialect of the
North and the official language of the country,
the one which all government officials are re-
quired to learn and use. It therefore holds the
position in respect to other dialects that the
French formerlv held in Europe as the court
tongue, or language of diplomacy and officialism.

Historically, China enjoys the distinction of

Chapter I : China 19

being the oldest continuing nation in the world.
Fairly authentic records trace back the course of
events to about 3,000 B.C., so that China rightly
claims an existence of at least 5,000 years. Re-
lating to the time previous to this period there
is a vast amount of legendary matter, in which
probability and fiction have not yet been separ-
ated.

China's own historians, with characteristic con-
ceit, make out their country's history to be con-
temporaneous with time. Owing to her seclusion
and isolation from the affairs of other nations, the
history of China possesses a local rather than a
world interest, and for the most part is a record
of the rise and fall of the several tribes or peoples
composing the nation, each such change estab-
lishing a new dynasty. However, there are cer-
tain epochs of general interest and certain salient
points in the nation's development and growth
that should be understood and kept in mind if
any study of China or of things Chinese is under-
taken.

Accepted Chinese chronology begins with the
reign of Fuh-hi, in the year 2852 B.C. As to the
significance of that date, it is interesting to note
that it is 200 years before the rise of the Egyptian
monarchy, 500 years before that of Babylon, and
precedes the reputed time of Abraham by a period
almost as long as the whole record of English his-
tory from the conquest to the present time.

An American Engineer in China

In the Chau Dynasty, which lasted from B.C.
1 122 to B.C. 249, we find the great period in Chi-
nese literature, an era comparable with that oi
Elizabeth in our records. In 550 B.C. Confucius
was born, whose philosophical reasonings, ow-
ing to the long time he antedated the spread of
Christianity and Mohammedanism, have affected
the thought of more human beings than the writ-
ings or sayings of any other man, with the possi-
ble exception of Buddha.

Although Confucius is the central figure of the
epoch, there are at least two other men sub-
stantially contemporaneous with him, who are
only a little less prominent : Liao-tze, who pre-
ceded him fifty years, and Mencius, who followed
him one hundred years. The former was a
religious philosopher, on whose writings has
been founded the doctrine of Taoism. This phi-
losophy is based on Reason (Tao) and Virtue
(Teh), and is of interest in that it leans toward
an eternal monotheism. According to his theory
the visible forms of the highest Teh can proceed
only from Tao, and Tao, he says, is impalpable,
indefinite. Taoism, therefore, contemplates the
indefinite, the eternal, and a pre-existent some-
thing which Liao-tze likens to the " Mother of all
things," or what wye call a creator.

In Chinese literature there are the nine classics,
the five greater and the four lesser books. The
former are Yih-King, the Book of Changes ; Shu-

Chapter I : China

King-, Book of Records ; Shi-King, the Book
of Odes; Li-Ki, the Book of Rites; and Chun-
Tsiu, a continuation of the Shu-King. Of the
above, the second, third and fourth, although long
antedating Confucius, were edited by him, while
the fifth is from his pen. The four lesser classics
are Ta-Hioh, Great learning; Chung-Yung, the
Just Medium ; the Analects of Confucius ; and
the writings of Mencius. The last is the great
production of Mencius, while the first three are
a digest of the moralizings of Confucius as
gathered by his disciples.

On these nine books are founded Chinese phi-
losophy, morals, thought, religion, education,
ethics, and even etiquette. The spirit of the mat-
ter in the classics is essentially lofty, moral, and
good.

In China, learning transcends all else in impor-
tance, and as Confucius is considered the foun-
tain head of literature and learning, so he has
come to be regarded as saints were regarded
by Europeans in the Middle Ages, and temples
to his honor are found in all large cities. The
most important is the beautiful example of Chi-
nese architecture in Peking, where the Emperor
annually worships before his tablet. In spite of
this apparent adoration, Confucius is not regard-
ed by the Chinese as a god, but is clearly under-
stood by them to have been a man and a philos-
opher, and is revered as the embodiment of wis-

An American Engineer in China

dom. He was not the founder of a religion, nor
was he a religious writer, although his sentiments
have become woven in the complicated fabric oi

Chinese faith. The name by which foreigners

Stairway Leading to Temple of Confucius, Peking

know him is a latinized corruption of Ktmg-tze,
the Master Kung, the last being his family name,
as Mencius is a similar corruption of Mang-tzo,
the Master Mang.

Following" the Chan dynasty comes that of Tsin,
which was noted for supplying the foreign appel-
lation of the country and for the great works,
both good and bad, of its name-giving Emperor.

Chapter I : China 23

It was he who united the various peoples of East-
ern Asia under one sway, laid the foundation for
at least internal commerce by beginning the con-
struction of the Chinese system of canals, started
the construction of the Great Wall, and succeeded
in raising his country to a point of material great-
ness not before reached. Then, with a view to
make all records begin with him, he ordered
burned all books and writings of every descrip-
tion, including those of Confucius and the other
philosophers. Fortunately, in spite of an ener-
getic attempt, this sacreligious act was not com-
pletely consummated.

From this period to the Tang dynasty in 618
A.D. the history of this country is a succession of
different reigning houses, internal wars, rebellions,
more or less successful, and during which the
capital was frequently moved; part of the time
being located at Nan-king on the Yang-tze, which
many of the Chinese to-day regard as the prop-
er site. The great single event of this long
stretch of years, and practically the only one of
foreign interest, was the introduction of Buddh-
ism at the close of the first century A.D.

The Emperor Ming-ti sent an embassy to the
West to bring back the teachings of the foreign
god, rumors of whose fame had already reached
the Pacific shore. It has since been supposed by
some that this meant tidings of Christ ; but the
basis for such an inference is doubtful. At any

24 An American Engineer in China

rate the embassy found its way to India and re-
turned thence with the doctrines of Buddhism,
which at once became the established religion oi
the country, spreading over the whole of China
and eventually Japan. It makes an interesting
speculation to consider what the effect on the
world would have been if the embassy had taken
a more northern route, bringing it to Palestine
instead of to India.

The Tang dynasty a.d. 618 to 908 marks per-
haps the zenith of Chinese development, when,
there is no doubt, its civilization and cultivation
outshone those of Europe at the same period.
Literature flourished ; trade was nurtured, the
banking system developed, laws were codified and
the limits of the Empire were extended even to
Persia and the Caspian Sea. The art of printing
was discovered, certainly in block form and prob-
ably by movable type. The fame of China
reached India and Europe, whence embassies
were dispatched bearing salutations and presents.
Monks of the Nestorian order were received by
the Emperor Tai-tsung, who gave permission for
them to erect churches; and thus was Christianity
first publicly acknowledged in China. Although
the efforts of the Nestorian monks continued for
many years, from perhaps as early as 500 a.d. to 845,
yet they were without permanent results, as they
left no monuments behind them, and the practice
of Christianity was suspended for some centuries.

Chapter I : China 25

In 12 1 3 A.D. the Chinese for the first time
passed under a foreign rule, when Genghis Khan,
the great Mongol, crossed the wall and began to
lay waste the country. When he had captured
Peking and established a Mongol dynast)-, he
turned his attention to further conquests, and in
1 2 19 led a force westward. With it he overran
Northern India, Asia Minor and even entered
Europe in Southern Russia. He then withdrew
to Peking, having established the largest Empire
in the world's history. Under his degenerate
successors this vast power dwindled, the only
permanent result being found in Europe; where
the Turks are the descendants of those whom
Genghis drove out of their own Asiatic country.

The last purely Chinese dynasty was the Ming
(Bright), which occupied the throne from 1368 to
its overthrow by the Manchus in 1644. The capi-
tal of this house was originally at Nan-king, but
was moved bv the great Emperor Yung-loh to
Peking in 1403, where he constructed the famous
Ming Tombs forty miles northwest of the city, and
where he and his successors of Ming lie buried in
solitary grandeur. He established also the laws
under which China is governed to-day, and under
Wan-leih the seeds of Christianity were perma-
nently planted in China in 1582 by the Jesuit mis-
sionary Matteo Ricci. About two hundred and
fifty years earlier a temporary foothold had been
gained by the same order. The first effort had

Chapter I : China 27

lasted, for only seventy-five years, and then, like the
Nestorian movement, quietly died without practi-
cal results. It was also during this dynasty that
the first foreign settlement was made on Chinese
soil, in the Portuguese port of Macao in 1557.

In the seventeenth century the northern tribes
set up a rebellion. Gaining adherents to their
cause they captured Peking in 1644, swept away
Chinese rule and established the Manchu dynasty,
to which they gave the name of " Ta Tsing "
or the " Great Pure." The principal effects of
this change were to establish the northern races
in control of the government, and to stamp upon
the whole people their most striking outward dis-
tinguishing mark, in the queue, which was a dis-
tinctly Manchu custom, the Chinese having pre-
viously cut their hair like Western people. On
their establishment the Manchu rulers ordered all
people to wear the queue as a token of subjugation.
This the Chinese natives still do, although the Ti-
betans and Mongols continue to cut their hair as
of old. Manchus and Chinese can be readily dis-
tinguished by their names. Thus one of Manchu
descent has but a double name, like Yung Lu, while
a Chinese has three characters as, Li Hung-chang.

The government ol China is an absolute des-
potism, wilh powers vested in an Emperor, whose
position is well indicated by his most used title
the "Son of Heaven." He is assisted by two
councils under whom are the seven boards of Civil

28

An American Engineer in China

Service, Revenue, Rites, War, Punishment, Works,
and Navy, who severally attend to the adminis-
tration ol affairs in their respective departments.
Then there is the Tsung-li Vaineii, or foreign of-

Four Members of the Tsung-li Yamen and Mr. Conger in
the Courtyard of the Yamen

From left to right they are : Hsu Yung-i, Wang Wen-shao, Chao Shu-
chiao, Mr. Conger, Yii Keng

fice, a bureau composed of twelve ministers, with
and through whom all relations with other nations
and foreigners generally are conducted.

The communication between the Imperial au-
thority and the people is through the local gov-

Chapter I : China 29

ernments of the provinces. These provinces in
their organization closely resemble an American
State, varying in size from Che-kiang, the smallest,
with an area of 35,000 square miles, to Sz-chuen,
the largest, embracing 170,000 square miles.
These are respectively comparable with the
States of Indiana (36,350 square miles) and Cali-
fornia (156,000 square miles). Each province is
ruled by a Governor appointed by the throne,
who exercises his authority through a chain of
officialism. The province is divided into circuits,
each circuit being controlled by an intendant of
circuit or taotai. In addition to the regular
taotais, there are special ones appointed to look
after the large treaty ports, like Shanghai. Such
taotais have immense powers, and the positions
are much sought after. The circuits or " Fu "
are usually again subdivided into two or more
" Chow," or prefectures, under a prefect, and each
prefecture into Hsiens, or districts, under a mag-
istrate. Cities where such officials dwell are
usually indicated by the adding " Fu," "Chow"
or " Hsien " to their names. The Hsien magis-
trates are the men who come in direct contact
with the people. The Governor in turn reports
to an officer properly styled a Governor-General,
but whose title foreign nations have translated
as Viceroy, each of whom usually controls two
provinces. These Viceroys form the real gov-
ernment of the country. Their powers are abso-

30 An American Engineer in China

lute. It is to them, armed with judgment of life
and death, thai the people look for justice and
protection, and to them, also, the throne itself
looks for support. Each Viceroy maintains his
own army, ot which, in some instances, a portion
has been foreign drilled ; and he has a right to
decide whether he will use this army for national
purposes or not.

Of the existing college of viceroys, there are
three who have brought themselves, by their acts,
abilities, and force of character, to the forefront,
and who are known as the three great viceroys.
These men are Li Ilung-chang, formerly Viceroy
of Chi-li, but now of Canton, ruling the prov-
inces of Kwang-tung and Kwang-si, and so usually
referred to as the Viceroy of the two Kwang;
Chang Chi-tung, the Viceroy of Wu-chang, in like
manner called the Viceroy of the two I In, as his
dominion covers the provinces of Hu-peh, and
Hu-nan ; and Liu Kun-yi, the Viceroy of Nan-
king, ruling the provinces of Kiang-si and Ngan-
whui.

Li Hung-chang, whose reputation is interna-
tional, needs no introduction. The other two,
while, perhaps, not so well known, are in China
of scarcely less importance, especially as they have
a personal hold on their people that is not equalled
by any other official. They are not rich, which
is almost the same as saying that they are honest,
and, although they are decidedly pro-foreign in

Chapter I : China 31

their views, nevertheless they are at the same time
imbued with a strong and earnest desire to ameli-
orate the condition of their charges and therefore
are honored and respected by their people. To
accomplish this end they do not hesitate to avail
themselves of occidental ideas or means if therein
they see a possibility of benefit.

When the Empress Dowager in 1898 executed
her coup d'etat and notified the Viceroys of what
she had done, Chang Chi-tung and Liu Kun-yi
were the only ones who had courage to express
their disapproval. In consequence there is little
doubt that she would have removed or beheaded
them if she had dared to brave the outcry of the
people of the four provinces which would cer-
tainly have followed. In any reorganization of
China these three men will pla\T an important
part. The influence of Chang Chi-tung and Liu
Kunyi will certainly be of weight, as they enjoy
the esteem and confidence of both foreigner and
native.

In the appointing of all officials there is one
rule that is curiously indicative of Chinese rea-
soning and methods. No official is allowed to
serve in a district in which he was born. The
reason for this is that, being a stranger, without
local prejudice or interest, he will, it is believed,
administer justice quite impartially. Unfortu-
nately, human nature being the same in China
as elsewhere, the official, on account of his lack

32

An American Engineer in China

of local prejudice and interest, administers justice
in such a manner as will best serve his own ends
and secure his advancement.

Topographically considered, China lies on the
eastern Hank of the great Central Asian plateau
and, therefore, its main drainage lines lie east and
west. There are three great valleys: that of the

Yang-tze Kiang, between Han-yang and Wu-chang

More than one mile wide, although seven hundred miles from the

mouth

Yellow in the north, Yang-tze in the centre, and
the Si or (West) in the south. The Yellow Riv-
er, or Hoang Ho, or as it is frequently called, on
account of its erratic and devastating floods,
" China's Sorrow," is a stream very much resem-
bling the Mississippi, earning a great amount of
alluvium, which it deposits at various places,
forming bars and shoals. In order to protect the
shores from inundations, the Chinese for many

Chapter I : China 33

years have been building dykes, with the result
of gradually raising the bottom of the river
through the deposition of alluvium. There are
now many places where the bottom of the stream
is actually higher than the normal banks. Under
such circumstances the breaking of a dyke means
untold destruction, with possible permanent
change of bed. The location of its mouth shows
the character of this great river. Eight)' years
ago it flowed into the Yellow Sea, south of the
Shang-tung Peninsula. To-day it enters the Gulf
of Pe-chi-li two hundred and fifty miles in a di-
rect line northwest of its previous location, or
about six hundred miles, when measured around
the coast line. The Yang-tze, on the other hand,
rightly merits its name of "China's Glory."
This noble stream, whose length is about 3,500
miles, of which 1,100 miles are navigable by steam
vessels, divides the country, approximately equal-
ly north and south. Its drainage area covers
more than one-half of the empire, the richest
and most valuable portion. This stream, like the
Hoang Ho. carries a large amount of alluvial mat-
ter, but it is much more orderly and well regu-
lated. Practically at its mouth, the gateway to
Central China, although actually on a small trib-
utary called the Whang-Poo, is Shanghai. The
West River, or Si Kiang, drains the southern and
south-western section of the empire, flowing into
the sea at Canton, where, with the Pei (North) and

34 An American Engineer in China

Tung (East) Rivers, it forms the broad estuary
known as the Canton River.

In agricultural possibilities and mineral wealth
China is particularly fortunate. On account of
its great dimensions north and south it enjoys all
varieties of climate, from the tropical to the tem-
perate, and in consequence possesses the ability to
raise almost any crop. The great bottom-lands of
the Yang-tze, the Hoang and other rivers, which
are subject to annual overflow, are thus by nature
enriched and automatically fertilized, as are the
bottom-lands along the Mississippi and other allu-
vium-bearing streams. In addition to the ordi-
nary advantages of soil and variety of climate to
which such a large expanse is naturally entitled,
China enjoys one special favor in the singular de-
posit known as Loess.

The country lying north from the Yang-tze
to the Gulf of Pe-chi-li, part of which has been
made by the alluvial deposits of the Yang-tze and
Yellow Rivers, is known as the Great Plain. Of
this territory there is a considerable section in
the provinces of Shen-si, Shan-si and Shan-tung,
which is known as the Loess formation. This
particular soil is yellow in appearance, resem-
bling alluvial material, but on examination is
found to consist of a network of minute capillary
tubes. The best theory for its deposit is that it
is the fine dust of dried vegetable matter carried
down by the winds from the north-west plains and

Chapter I : China 35

dropped where found. The fine tubes are ac-
counted for by believing them to be the spaces
occupied by the roots of grasses, as the latter
have been continually elevating themselves to re-
main on the constantly rising surface. The loess
soil is of great and unknown thickness, of extraor-
dinary fertility, and with great capacity for with-
standing droughts, as the tubes, by their capil-
lary action, serve to bring up moisture from the
ground water below. This part of the Great
Plain has been growing crops for many centu-
ries without fertilizing, and supports the densest
part of the Chinese population.

In minerals, China is particularly rich. Of the
precious metals, gold and silver are known to
exist and probably in paying quantities, while of
the less valuable metals, copper, lead, antimonv,
and others have been found, and but await the
introduction of proper transportation methods to
be developed. Petroleum occurs in Sz-chuen,
the extreme western province lying next to Ti-
bet. But China's greatest mineral wealth lies in
iron and coal. The great fields of the latter
are in Chi-li, Shen-si, Shan-si, Sz-chuen, Kiang-si
and Hu-nan, where all varieties from soft bitu-
minous to very hard anthracites are found. Of
the former there are coals both coking and non-
coking, fit for steel making or steam uses, while
of the latter there are those adapted for domes-
tic use, with enough volatile matter to ignite

:,(> An American Engineer in China

easily, and others sufficiently hard to bear the
burden in a blast turnaee and yet so low in
phosphorus, sulphur, and volatile substances as
to render them available for the manufacture of
Bessemer pig, as is done in Pennsylvania. Chi-
nese houses are usually without chimneys, and
therefore the native is compelled to use for do-
mestic purposes an anthracite, or, as he calls it,
a non-smoking coal, which he burns in an open
fireplace, the products of combustion escaping
through the doors, unglazed windows, or the
many leaks which are usually found in Chinese
roofs.

In opposing the introduction of occidental re-
forms, methods, and commercial relations, China
has invited, if not actually obliged, the forming of
bases by other nations from which to push their
trade. Chinese soil is now held, through some
excuse and under various conditions, by Portu-
gal, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and
Japan. In addition to this Italy has made an un-
successful attempt to secure a foothold at San
Mun Bay.

The Portuguese possession is Macao, situated
on the western side of the mouth of the Canton
River, a charming settlement covering the city
and a few square miles of territory separated
from the main land by a narrow neck. It is a de-
lightful little piece of southern European refine-
ment in an oriental setting, and perhaps the only

Chapter I : China 37

point on the coast to which the word charming
can be rightly applied. It was the first foreign
settlement in China, being ceded to Portugal in
1557, in return for services in putting down pi-
rates. On account of the shallowness of the har-
bor, the importance of Macao as a trading point
or military base is very small.

The British possessions are Hongkong, Kow-
loon, and VVei-hai-wei. As a result of the Opium
War of 1841, the island ol Hongkong, whose
greatest dimension is but nine miles, and wholly
mountainous, was given over by China as a part
of the indemnity. It is located at the eastern side
of the Canton estuary, directly opposite Macao,
but distant therefrom about forty miles. In i860
there was added, in order to complete the har-
bor, the shore of the main land, called Kow-loon,
across the roadstead whose width is rather more
than a mile. On this island the English have es-
tablished a colony, built the city of Victoria, and,
through the magnificent land-locked harbor, have
developed a trading point whose commerce ranks
with that of the world's greatest ports. There are
no customs dues nor restricting conditions, but all
nations and nationalities have an equal footing, so
that Hongkong has become the great entrepot or
warehouse for nearly the whole of Eastern Asia,
and absolutely so for Southern China, whose gate-
way it controls. A year's record shows that over
1 1,000 vessels enter and clear, not including up-

Chapter I : China 39

wards of 70,000 junks. Thus have the English
converted an apparently useless island into a most
valuable possession for themselves and a great
stepping-stone for the world's commerce.

The next country to establish a foothold on Chi-
nese soil was France, who acquired from Annam,
by war and treat)', between the years i860 and
1874, part of the province of Tong-king. In 1882
further trouble arising between France and An-
nam, the latter appealed to her protector, China,
and war ensued. The result was the permanent oc-
cupation of the whole of Tong-king and the plac-
ing of the French frontier next to that of China.

At the conclusion of the Japanese war, the
island of Formosa was permanently ceded by
China, and an arrangement made for the tempo-
rary occupation of Port Arthur. Then Russia
interfered, insisted on the withdrawal of the
Japanese troops from the North, and, as her price
for aiding China, secured for twenty-five years a
lease of the Liao-tung Peninsula, covering eight
hundred square miles, with the harbors of Port
Arthur and Talien-wan, and so, practically, ob-
tained the control of Chinese Manchuria.

In 1897 the German Emperor demanded, as
compensation for two German missionaries who
were killed, a share of Chinese territory, which
was granted through a " lease" of Kiao-chow Bay
for ninety-nine years.

These so-called "leases" are in fact nothing

4o An American Engineer in China

more than mere subterfuges to save "face" for
the Chinese in yielding up their territory, as the
following abbreviated quotations from the Ger-
man documenl will show :

"I. 1 1 is Majesty the Emperor of China, being
desirous oi preserving the existing good relations
with I lis Majesty the Emperor of Germany and
of promoting an increase of German power and
influence in the Far East, sanctions the acquire-
ment under lease by Germany of the land extend-
ing for one hundred li at high tide.

"Germany may engage in works for the public
benefit, such as water-works, within the territory
covered by the lease, without reference to China.
Should China wish to march troops or establish
garrisons therein she can only do so after negoti-
ating with and obtaining the express permission
of German v.

" II. His Majesty the Emperor of Germany be-
ing desirous, like the rulers of certain other coun-
tries, of establishing a naval and coaling station and
constructing dockyards on the coast of China, the
Emperor of China agrees to lease to him for the
purpose all the land on the southern and northern
sides of Kiao-chow Bay for a term of ninety-nine
years. Germany is to be at liberty to erect forts on
this land for the defence of her possessions therein.

" III. During the continuance of the lease China

Chapter I : China 41

shall have no voice in the government or admin-
istration of the leased territory. It will be gov-
erned and administered during the whole term of
ninety-nine years solely by Germany, so that the
possibility of friction between the two powers
may be reduced to the smallest magnitude.

" If at any time the Chinese should form schemes
for the development of Shan-tung, for the execu-
tion of which it is necessary to obtain foreign
capital, the Chinese Government, or whatever
Chinese may be interested in such schemes, shall,
in the first instance, apply to German capitalists.
Application shall also be made to German manu-
facturers for the necessary machinery and materi-
als before the manufacturers of an}7 other power
are approached. Should German capitalists or
manufacturers decline to take up the business, the
Chinese shall then be at liberty to obtain money
and materials from other nations."

While the area actually covered by the lease is
small, the shore-line being but 100 li (33 miles),
nevertheless the Germans, availing themselves
of the special commercial concession, as above
quoted, have thrown a sphere claim over the
whole province of Shan-tung, an area as large as
New England.

The strongholds of Kiao-chow and Port Arthur
— for the Germans and Russians immediately set

42 An American Engineer in China

about fortifying them — so threatened the balance
of power in the North, thai the British Govern-
ment in 1898, demanding something to offset
them, secured the harbor of Wei-hai-wei, directly
opposite Port Arthur and with it marking the
entrance to the Gulf of Pe-chi-li. This territory
is to be held as long as the Russians hold Port
Arthur. At the same time Great Britain extend-
ed the limits of her Kow-loon possession by two
hundred square miles, so as to absolutely protect
the harbor of Hongkong, and secured from the
Chinese Government a promise that no territory
in the Yang-tze Valley should be alienated to
any other power, thus obtaining a so-called sphere
of influence oyer the richest half of the Empire.
France, not wishing to see her commercial rivals
outdo her, demanded, as her share of the plunder,
the harbor and port of Kiang-chow-wau near her
province of Tong-king, and secured a lease of the
same lor ninety-nine years. Thus has the Chinese
Government given away its patrimony.

In addition to the above possessions of territory
actually held under the domination of their re-
spective governments, there are at the various
treaty ports the so-called foreign concessions,
which have been given by the Chinese Govern-
ment to the temporary care of the people of other
nationalities, permitting them to establish police
force, courts of justice, fire protective service, to
collect taxes for local use, and otherwise to main-

Chapter I : China 43

tain local governments according to foreign regu-
lations and practically without interference by the
Chinese Government. Such concessions remain,
however, in name at least, Chinese territory. The
largest and most important of them is Shanghai,
where grants were made some years ago to the
English, American, and French. The first, two
concessions have been combined into the Shang-
hai Municipality, under a system of popular gov-
ernment with annual elections, where the rate-
payers are voters and which in all its functions
closely resembles an independent republic. The
theorv that all nations are on an equal footing
within the limits of the Municipality is carried out
to such an extreme, that not only does the Chinese
Government maintain a post-office, but also do all
other countries under whose flags lines of mail
steamers are operated to and from the port.
There are thus to be found, in addition to the
Chinese post-office, regular establishments of the
United States, Great Britain, Germany and Japan,
while France has hers in the French concession,
at all of which the stamps of the several countries
are for sale.

Such, in a few words, is the political and phys-
ical status of that nation and that country on
which the attention of the civilized world is
focused, and whose development and regenera-
tion will probably be the leading feature of the
early years of the new century.

Chapter

II

American Concession

IN the making of Chinese foreign commerce
and the opening of the country to trade and
industrial enterprise, the position taken by
European governments lias been to foster and
support the efforts of their subjects. The policy
of the United States in this regard has been dis-
tinctly negative, and whatever has been accom-
plished by our citizens is the result of individual
energy without national support. There have even
been lacking co-operative efforts on the part of
our people, so that practically all of the corpora-
tion interests, such as banks, transportation lines,
railway and mining privileges, and the adminis-
tration of those departments of the Chinese Gov-
ernment whose functions are largely external,
such as the maritime customs, are in the hands of
Europeans, principally English. The reason for
this is partly due to the traditional policy of the
American Government not to interfere in foreign
affairs, but principally to the fact that the atten-
tion and capital of the American people have been
occupied in the development of their own country.
A change from such conditions and a turning of
American energies into new channels were devel-
opments that were inevitable. In the investiga-
tion of the transition of the American position the

44

Chapter II : American Concession 45

future historian will point to the mass of statisti-
cal information now being made, which will show-
that the status of our country changed from being
open to invasion by foreign capital to being capa-
ble of invading other lands with its own capital,
about the year 1895. The latent force was given
life by the Spanish War in directing the attention
by our people to foreign affairs, and the subse-
quent and consequent acquisition of foreign terri-
tory. A singular confirmation of the movement
toward a broadening out on the part of American
capital for foreign invasion, was the securing of
the concession of the railway from Hankow to
Canton, consummated by the signing of the grant
in Washington in April, 1S98, by H. E. Wu Ting-
fang, the Chinese Minister, and by a singular co-
incidence just one week before the declaration
of war, which was to establish the United States
as a colonizing power.

The concession covers about nine hundred miles
of railway, together with mining and other privi-
leges, which make it in value and in national im-
portance second to no other concession granted
by the Chinese Government. The projected route
of the railway itself is from Hankow, the metropo-
lis of the interior, or, as it is sometimes called, the
"Chicago of China," to Canton, the great port in
the South, and thence with rights to go to any
selected point on the coast i! desired. It lies
through part of the province ol Hu-peh, for four

46 An American Engineer in China

hundred miles through the whole length of the
province oi Hu-nan, and across the province of
K.wang-1 ung.

In order to investigate the local conditions and
to ascertain the official, physical, and commercial
aspects oi the concession, and to make a detailed
survey of the route ol the railway, the concession-
aire syndicate retained me as a Cliiel Engineer to
go to the East, with a complete stall. The work
of making this survey, the longest continuous in-
strumental measurement up to that time com-
pleted in China, and the other duties ol investiga-
tion connected therewith, necessarily brought me
in personal contact with Chinese officials of the
highest rank, such as members of the Tsung-li-
Yamen ; Sheng Tajen, the distinguished Director-
General of Rail ways and Telegraphs ; Viceroys;
Governors of Provinces; minor officials of all de-
grees; and the foreign merchants of different na-
tionalities who control the trade at the treats-
ports. I was obliged to visit not only the various
points from Peking to Canton that are accessible
to ordinary travellers, but typical portions of the
interior, which can be reached only with difficul-
ty, and others which it had not been previousl)
possible to reach at all, so that for five hundred
miles I was the first foreigner ever seen. 1 was en-
abled, by living among the people under all sorts
of conditions in official yamen, in temples, in vil-
lage inns, or in ordinary private houses, to inspect

J M

48 An American Engineer in China

and study at close range Chinese who were ab-
solutely and entirely unaffected by foreign or
outside influences. My experience with the peo-
ple extended therefore from the poorest peasant
through all grades oi society up to those actually
next to the throne, and my observations of the
country from the national and commercial capitals
down to the individual farmhouse, or the little
country hamlet, where a foreigner was as great
an object of wonderful astonishment as a man
from Mars would be with us.

Of the eighteen provinces which constitute the
Chinese Empire proper, the only one, until re-
cently, which had not been explored or mapped
by foreigners, previous to the occasion described
herein, was the province of Ilu-nan, extending
from the Yang-tze Kiang to the Nan-ling Range,
— that is, between the 30th and 25th parallels of
latitude, and between the 109th and 114th meri-
dians of east longitude.

From the earliest times, since the subject of the
development of the interior of China has been
considered, the province of Hu-nan has been re-
garded as one of the great objectives of the rail-
way and mining promoter, on account of its well-
known wealth in coal and other minerals, the fer-
tility of its soil, and the superior ability of its
people. The people themselves, however, have
been the most clannish and conservative in the
Empire, and have succeeded in keeping their

Chapter II : American Concession 49

province practically free from invasion by foreign-
ers or even by foreign ideas. All writers on
China refer to this attitude of the people of Hu-
nan. As Lord Charles Beresford says of it in his
recent work : " At present the province of Hu-nan,
though very rich, and the people very well-to-do,
is the most anti-foreign in China. Foreigners who
penetrate into Ilu-nan, even by help of the man-
darins with a military escort, do so at the risk
of their lives." Strangely enough, however, this
hostilitv is directed not only against foreigners,
but against other Chinese with almost equal force.
In the way of exclusiveness, the Ilu-nanese mark
therefore the extreme of the Chinese character in
that regard. Thev are, however, hard working,
and possess one of the richest provinces in the
empire as to mineral resources and fertility of
soil. In fact, it is doubtful if any other province,
except possibly Sz-chuen, exceeds Hu-nan in the
variety, extent, and value of its mineral wealth,
while Hu-nan has the great advantage over
Sz-chuen in having a double outlet north and
south for its products and being five hundred
miles nearer the sea-coast market.

In 1 871 Baron Richtofen, the great German
geologist, to whose investigations we owe the
greater part of our knowledge ol the geological
structure of China, made a trip from south to
north across Hu-nan to report on the coal areas
of the province to the Shanghai Chamber of Com-

5© An American Engineer in China

incite; but his voyage was confined wholly to
boat travel, and therefore the information that he

obtained was very limited. Some three years
previous to this, Pumpelly, the American geolo-
gist, had made an attempt to explore Iln-nan by
proceeding by boat up the Siang River from the
Yang-tze, but was not allowed to land, and finally
was compelled by the people to turn back alter
having reached, but not entered, Chang-sha, the
capital of the province. In 1878 Mr. G.J. Morrison,
an English engineer, travelled from north to south
across Hu-nan, having attempted to make the
journey on foot, but was compelled by the people
to take to boat, as Baron Richtofen had also done.
Missionaries have made a number of attempts to
travel through Hu-nan, but in every case without
success, except in the single instance of maintain-
ing one Roman Catholic Mission Station in South-
ern Hu-nan, so that the only accurate knowledge
of this most interesting section was that obtained
from the three travellers above mentioned, but
whose observations were made wholly from boats.
Xo laud journey by foreigners had been made
through the province, except in the northwestern
part, where the people are less anti-foreign. In
the other provinces little or no difficulty was to
be anticipated. In Ilu-peh foreigners were well
known and could travel at will, and the same was
true, although possiblv to a less degree, in Kwang-
tung. Hu-nan was peculiar.

Chapter II: American Concession 51

The province of Hu-nan has an area ol about.
75,000 square miles, or half as much again as the
State of New York. Its population is estimated
by the Chinese at 22,000,000. It is well watered,
for the Siang River, a tine stream, although too
shallow during the winter months lor anything
but light-draught junks, Hows northerly through
it into the Yang-tze. The upper part of the prov-
ince is open and gently undulating, growing the
finest quality of tea. As, however, the southern
portion is approached, the hills change into moun-
tains, the scenery becomes grander, the population
less dense, and the agricultural resources much
diminished. But these lower regions are much
more valuable from the point of view ol future
development as the lower half of the province, for
a length ol two hundred miles along our route,
and for a width of at least sixty miles, is underlain
with certainly three, and probably more, veins of
coal, which, curiously enough, is both bituminous
and anthracite. It took but small flights of fancy to
see future trains bearing their dark burden north-
ward to furnish power for the furnaces and mills
that will be built in central China to convert her
ores into metals or work her raw produce of cotton
and wool and hemp into articles of commerce;
or other trains south-bound carrying a like burden
to Canton and Hongkong to make steam for the
vessels ol all nations, bringing goods from other
lands to China, and taking back her teas and silks.

52 An American Engineer in China

Si Hue t luce years ago the Emperor appointed,
as Governor oi Hu-nan, Chen Pao-cheng, a man
of modern thought, who at once sel aboul to break
down the barriers which had hitherto shut in the
province from therest oi the empire and the world
at large. lie introduced electric lighting into
Chang-sha, the capital, established schools where
scientific subjects were taught, urged on the gen-
eral government the advisability and desirability
of railroad construction, and in many ways opened
the door for the entrance of Western civilization.
The Empress Dowager, immediately on accession
to power, removed Chen, and appointed in his
stead as governor, Yu Lien-san, a "conservative,"
an official of high character and attainments from
a Chinese point of viewT, but wdio did not believe
in departing from customs supported by lour
thousand years of precedents. He closed the
schools and set about to undo the work begun by
his predecessor. In a recent, memorial to the
throne, he apologized for his tardiness in entirely
uprooting the false doctrines, but hoped in the
end to bring the people back to the exclusive study
of the classics. In accordance with his views of
what was right, he used his influence to thwart
our going, even to the extent of sending word for-
bidding the foreigners to enter his province. It is
not surprising that in the recent " Boxer " out-
break the sympathies and influence of Yu were
enlisted on the anti-foreign side.

Chapter II : American Concession 53

The extreme position hitherto taken by the
Hu-nanese and their consequent isolation render

them unsurpassed among the Chinese as interest-
ing objects for study, and have gained for their
section the name of the "Closed Province of
China."

Chapter

III

Hu-nan, the Closed Province of China

Tl I E genera] condition of affairs as to the
hostility of the 1 1 u-nanese and the difficulty
ol travelling through Hu-rian was known
before our leaving New York, but on arriving in
Shanghai it was found that the political disturb-
ance following the coup d'etat executed bv the
Empress Dowager and the beheading of certain
members of the Reform or Emperor's Party, had
rendered the whole Chinese official class very
cautious about taking a decided stand upon any
important question, especially upon one looking
to the invasion of the country by foreigners, even
il they came with peaceful intents. A stop was
made in Shanghai only long enough to purchase
provisions and equipment, when the engineering
statf left there for Hankow to begin the survey
to Canton.

As our course from Hankow lay to the Nan-
ling Mountains, which form the divide of the
water-shed of the Yang-tze Valley from that of
the China Sea, along the Yang-tze and its trib-
utary the Siang for a distance of nearly five
hundred miles, it was decided to establish head-
quarters afloat, and thus avoid the difficulties and
dangers of sleeping on shore, except when the
latter was absolutely necessary. One morning

54

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 55

shortly alter reaching Hankow, and while the
preparation for our start was being made, I set
out in a sampan to find among the junks in the
River Han, a satisfactory one for our purpose.
A junk is a picturesque but not a pretty object,

Junks on the River Han, with Hankow in the Distance

but, in that flotilla which forms a solid surface
along- the banks of the Han for at least two
miles, there was a stern that caught my eve.
The ordinary junk stern is something that rivals
any stern that a naval architect of the sixteenth
century ever conceived, but this special one had
something: which singled it out from all its fel-

56 An American Engineer in China

lows. Possibly it was its height, for perched on
it one could imagine himseli a gay freebooter
ploughing the Spanish Main, until the sight of a
steel tape would rudely bring him back to the
realization thai he was nothing- but. an American
engineer making a survey for hire , or perhaps
it was an undefined and undistinguishable «*race
in the upward curve of the heavy timber on
the side ! Whatever it was, there was an instant
resolve made that the junk of which that stern
formed a part must be had. On hailing, the Lao-
dah (which is Chinese for captain) shoved his pig-
tail out of the door and invited us all on board.
With trepidation lest his demands would be un-
warrantably exorbitant, we gradually, and with
much circumlocution, according to Chinese eti-
quette, communicated our wishes to charter the
boat for a journey of two hundred and fifty or
possibly three hundred miles, in short stages, so
that the time might occupy a month, or even two.
As a preliminary to what was evidently about to
become an important financial negotiation, and
in compliance with Chinese custom, the Lao-dah,
in order to show his respect for us, offered tea.
We, with a still higher respect for ourselves,
with great ceremony and greater resolution, de-
clined the same. It is wonderful wdiat vile stuff
is drunk in that country, where the finest tea
that the world knows comes from ; but the na-
tives consume only what they cannot sell or give

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 57

away. After a long session with Mrs. Lao-dah —
for in every Chinese junk the woman seems to
command — the Lao-dah returned, chin-chinned,
and said that he would take us for forty taels.
Now forty taels means about twenty-eight dollars,
gold, and that was to include the boat, the crew
of eight men, with their rice and all expenses, for
possibly two months. Naturally our faces be-
trayed our astonishment, which the Lao-dah en-
tirely misunderstood, and apparently fearing that
he had lost the trade, begged us to make an offer.
We finally agreed on thirty-six taels, or twenty-
five dollars. Subsequently we discovered that
our childlike and bland young friend, knowing
that we would have a permit to pass all the " Lik-
in " stations — that is, the places where heavy in-
ternal customs taxes are levied — had made this low-
price in order to secure the charter, and had then
laid in a little stock of dutiable articles to trade
in on his own account ; in short, he made us his
partners in a smuggling enterprise! After that
I had, and will always entertain, the highest re-
spect for the ability of a Chinese to turn an hon-
est penny.

Early in December we started, but not without
much anxiety and misgivings on the part of the
chief. The Chinese officials had either tried to
dissuade me from going, or if, like the Viceroy
and the Director-General, courageous enough to
have me start, nevertheless impressed upon me

58 An American Engineer in China

the necessity for extreme caution when travers-
ing I lu-naii. 'The foreign residents were practi-
cally unanimous thai the trip could not be made,
or, if made, thai a land survey would be impos-
sible, and thai we would be compelled to remain
practically prisoners in our junk, although un-
der the orders of Viceroy Chang- Chih-tung we
were to be always accompanied by a guard of
Chinese soldiers.

The Yang-tze, even at: this distance of over
seven hundred miles from the mouth, is still a noble
stream, with a width of a mile, and a minimum
depth, at lowest stage of water in winter, of six
feet, with its continual procession of large junks
carrying down coal from Hu-nan, opium and silk
from Sz-chuen, wool from the mountains of Ti-
bet, and passing other large junks carrying up in
return, yarn from India, cottons from Lancashire,
and oil from America. Its banks, when not high
enough to be above flood-level, are built up with
dykes, behind which are farms of rice, oil-beans,
cotton, tobacco and, on approaching Hu-nan, tea.

For about one-hall of the time we were obliged
to sleep on shore, where camping in tents was
impossible cm account of the great curiosity of
the people. In their eagerness to see a "foreign
devil," to examine his short hair, to feel his queer
cloth clothes, to inspect his extraordinary big
leather boots — which last everywhere seemed, of
all our belongings, to attract the most attention —

CO

M

6o An American Engineer in China

they would certainly have torn down any tem-
porary shelter; and at such moments our guard,
in spite of its pretentious proportions oi three
hundred soldiers, would have been of little use.
In fact, the only benefit — which, however, was
no small one — that we derived from our guard,
was its notification to the people that we were
travelling officially and under the protection of
the government. At stopping-places we were
immediately surrounded by curious natives, on
whose faces ever)' human sentiment, from won-
derment to fear, or even hatred, was depicted.
Our preferred sleeping-places were examination
hails, in which are held the annual examinations
of students in the classics for literary degrees,
the stepping-stone for political preferment, the
ambition of every Chinese,- for in China public
office means wealth and power; temples, either
public of the Buddhist faith, or private ones for
ancestral worship — the latter much to be pre-
ferred as being cleaner and better tended ; tea-
hongs or large store-houses, or, as a last resort,
inns.

In the north, where there are horses and where
the roads concentrate toward Peking, there are
enough rich officials travelling to warrant the
maintenance of fairly decent accommodations.
The northern inns are set usually in a compound
in which the travellers' horses are stabled, while
the inn itself with two stories provides furnished

62 An American Engineer in China

rooms where the weary wanderer can secure

sonic rest. Rarely do these inns supply food,
which the traveller is supposed to carry with
him, but they are equipped with a large brick
oven called a kang, where the lodgers do their
cooking in common, and on top ol which they
frequently sleep in winter. In the south of China
the inns are quite different. There are no horses,
and there are rarely any grandee travellers. When
the latter do come the}7 are quartered in the yamen
of the local officials, or in temples previously en-
gaged and prepared. The southern inn is not
set in a compound, but opens directly on the vil-
lage street or country road. There is usually a
large hall containing" the kang, rarely arranged to
be slept on, and on both sides of the hall are the
sleeping-rooms, which are more like prison-cells.
Sometimes there is a window, which if it is
"glazed" is done so with thin tissue paper. On
arrival at such a place the foreigner in self-pro-
tection has to barricade his door, which may keep
him from personal contact with the crowd, but
does not protect him from observation. It is not
many minutes before his paper window is fairly
riddled with small holes, behind each one of which
he knows there is an almond-shaped eye, while a
glance overhead will show little bright beads of
light reflecting the flicker ol the Chinese candle
between the ceiling boards, the eyes of boys and
men lvinsr on the floor of the attic and taking in

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 63

everything from their point of vantage. A grunt-
ing noise under foot will explain the stench, that has
been so very oppressively evident, as arising from
the pigsty right beneath the very floor. Then a
later arrival will pile on the kang in the common
hall a lot <>l straw to rekindle the fire, whose tear-
producing effect is a welcome boon as drowning

Coolies Waiting to be Employed as Carriers

for a moment the odors of the pigsty and other
things worse, which cannot be defined. But even
under such circumstances sleep will come, and
at last the smoke, the pigsty, the peeping Toms,
and the babel in the hall are blotted out.

My first experience with the morning that fol-
lows I shall never forget. The main door was
barred and guarded by soldiers, and without,

64 An American Engineer in China

packed solid in the little narrow street, was a
mass ol struggling humanity all armed with
poles ami all shouting. " Was there a riot in

Coolie Carrying My Bedding

progress?" I asked. " Oh, no, these are the coo-
lies, three hundred in number, who will carry
our things to-day." A hurried breakfast eaten,
our belongings packed up, and then the doors
are swung back. In they rush ! There are more
coolies than are needed, so they realize that first
come, first employed, for there is no order, no
system. The strongest push aside the weakest,
and seize the lightest and most desirable pack-
ages. Our cook-stove, specially constructed for
the expedition, is seized while still warm and
swung from two bamboo poles, and off it goes

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 65

hanging on the shoulders ot lour men. Surely
everything will be broken, or if not broken, lost,
and I am in despair all day. That night, on reach-
ing our destination, I find my Chinese boy, as
serene and unconcerned as ever, getting ready
my pot. of tea. At last I pluck up courage to ask
him if certain things in which I am particularly
interested have arrived safely. " Have got,
massa." Then the greater question, " All things,
Yang?" " Yes, all tings, massa." I never under-
stood it, and finally became accustomed to it ;

X

A Yamen Runner

but the only explanation of tlie phenomenon
that I could give was that the Chinese way
was not my way, and that in spite of apparent

66 An American Engineer in China

disorder there was somewhere or somehow a
system.

In order that the people along the route might
be prepared for our coming and warned against
molesting us, large hand-written placards were
posted on the walls oi towns in advance of our
coming', bearing the official chop or seal of the
Viceroy, the Director-General, and the Governor.
These placards fully explained to the people the
nature of a railway, and described how "its bene-
fits would be manifold. Through its agency the
people will obtain a means of livelihood, thus sup
pressing vagrancy and robbery, to the benefit of
all localities. An equitable price will be paid for
all land required for the road, and no loss will be
suffered by any one. The blessings of the road
will be hundredfold to the people — the disadvan-
tages none whatever ; " and closing with these
words : " As the artisans of China are unfamiliar
with railroad construction, American engineers
have been engaged to come here to survey the
line, and it is feared that some persons, ignorant
of the purpose of their coming, may take alarm ;
therefore this proclamation is issued for their in-
struction. Let it be known to the scholars and
merchants, and people at large, that they must
peacefully pursue their occupation and create no
trouble or obstruction. The military and the
gentry are to instruct the populace to create no
disturbance. Should rowdies circulate rumors to

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 67

disturb the populace and gather crowds together,
the officials are ordered to assemble the police
and arrest them, and deal with them with severity ;
no mercy shall be shown them."

What is called in the proclamation a " police-
man " is an attendant of the magistrate's yamen
(official residence), and is an individual who is
even more loathed than feared by the people, if
that is possible. He rarely receives wages, and,
in fact, is said frequently to pay for his place.
He makes his living by a system of extortions
from the weak, by threatening to report them
for petty offences, sometimes not even committed;
by inflicting extra punishment when offenders
are convicted, unless bribed ; by reporting per-
sons for some special tax, or by other similar dis-
honest means. As showing the type of man these
yamen runners are, 1 recall a little incident which
happened, on one occasion, alter our whole party
lost its way, and the attending officials, the guard,
and the baggage train were hopelessly scattered.
The next morning early I started, with a solitary
guide, for the agreed-on point of rendezvous for
the night previous. On arrival I found that I
was the first of the foreigners to get there, and
had even preceded the greater part of the bag-
gage train. Through some of our servants who
could speak English, 1 communicated to the local
official that 1 would like to inspect the town, and
was thereupon conducted by several of these po-

68 An American Engineer in China

licemen or " yamen runners." As is usual, they
were armed with bamboo sticks about four feet
long, split down about three-quarters of their
length, so that when they were waved in the
air the pieces slapped each other and made a
terrifying din. With these sticks they clubbed
back the people, who naturally pressed forward
in their curiosity to see a foreigner for the first
time, but otherwise were perfectly orderly and re-
spectful I soon noticed that the yamen men were
exceedingly careful to avoid hitting full-bodied
men, but fearlessly exhibited their importance by
striking old men, cripples, and boys. When one
of them raised his stick to strike an inoffensive
old woman who was not in the way at all, I felt
obliged to interfere — an act which was greeted
with loud shouts of approval by the crowd.
These " yamen runners " are a cowardly, despica-
ble, lying lot, and represent one of the great causes
of discontent that the masses feel toward the gov-
erning class.

On this occasion, while inspecting the town, a
high-grade Chinese funeral was taking place.
Nowr a Chinese funeral is a great source of joy to
all but the central personage. At the head of the
procession come boys bearing placards reciting
the virtues of the deceased, many of which his
neighbors had probably failed to detect in life ;
then follows a bier, and alter that a collection of
various eatables and silver bullion, all in paper to

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 69

be burned at the grave, so as to provide the de-
parted with these necessaries on his long journey ;
while the coffin itself is surmounted by a gro-
tesque and ridiculous dragon, intended probably
to frighten away the evil Spirit. Before and be-
hind and on both sides are hired boys sending olf
enough tire-crackers to supply a small-sized New
England village on the Fourth of July. It was very
hard on the town that two such shows, a manda-
rin's funeral and the first foreigner, should both
be playing at the same time. For a moment the
crowd hesitated, but onlv for a moment! That
mandarin had his paid placard-bearers and his
fire-crackers, but otherwise went to his grave iin-
mourned and unsung. I had the crowd.

yo An American Engineer in China

Hu-nan : The Entrance

On the morning of December 24, 1898, we
crossed a long bridge, composed of stone beams
thirty feet long, with an attractive temple at the
farther end, into Hu-nan, which we had already
termed the "enemy's country." From that point
on we became an increasing source of wonder-
ment and amusement to the natives. Christmas
night found us at a little town called Ping-shui
(literally "Still Water"), and all preparations
were made for a proper dinner after the day's
work. We were located in a tea-hong, opening
directly on the village street, and with little pro
vision for keeping out the crowd, so that the room
in which we were dining was filled with natives,
standing four or five deep around our table, and
then stretching to the door and even to the street
in a solid crowd. It was a singular thought to
realize that our jollity that night was something
more than the customary Christmas celebration.
It was the first message to these people of a pos-
sible betterment in their condition, and a promise
of the breaking of the bonds which have held them
down for so many centuries, and our song of how
" from every mountain-side let freedom ring" had
that night possibly a special significance. But
perhaps still more striking was the fact that this
message of freedom was being carried by repre-

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 71

sentatives of the youngest nation upon earth to
the oldest. Our actions, our songs, our very
food, but above all, our forks and knives, were a
source of inexplicable astonishment to the people;
but when our plum pudding — a thoughtful gift oi
an English lady in Hankow — appeared, decorated
with holly and blazing in true Yule-tide style, a
look of terror appeared on their faces. The climax,
however, was reached when a flash-light picture of
the scene was taken. When the magnesium pow-
der flared up, the crowd broke and ran. Probably
the natives of Ping-shui stoutly maintain to-day
that "foreign devils" are huge men with beards,
who feed on uncooked meat which they tear to
pieces with short swords and spears, and which
excites them to such a degree that they shout loud
and often, and in the midst of their excitement eat
flames. I have not the slightest doubt that some
such idea is generally prevalent in that town to-
day.

After such extraordinary exhibitions it is little
wonder that so unenlightened a race as the Chi-
nese forms so erroneous an estimate of all for-
eigners. Fearing lest, our St. Nicholas zeal might
create a too strongly false impression, I sent for
the local officials and explained to them that we
were but celebrating the greatest day in our
calendar — a day that is to us of the same impor-
tance that New-Year's is to them. With that out-
ward politeness that is so charming, and at times

72

An American Engineer in China

so exasperating! v used as a cloak or subterfuge,
they expressed their regrets at their ignorance,
and said that had they but known it, they would
have been glad to have shown some special honor,
to both the day and us.

The Procession

Two official chairs are seen. The flags on the right indicate the posi-
tion of the military commander. The foreground is a flooded rice-
field

From now on we were conscious of the precau-
tions taken by the Viceroy for our protection.
Our guard was largely increased, so that our pro-
cession, including mandarins with their attendants,
soldiers, coolies carrying baggage and supplies,

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 73

consisted frequently of from live hundred to m\
hundred men, and as they marched in straggling
order and in single file, the distance from the head
to the rear of the column would frequently be five

Placard Bearers who Preceded the Procession to Announce
Our Coming

miles. The Chinese love a show, and this pro-
cession offered opportunities that could not be
neglected. Although the details were largely a
matter of the degree of imagination possessed by

74 An American Engineer in China

the local functionary in charge, we were usually
preceded by men or ragged boys carrying plac-
ards or wooden standards announcing our com-
ing, and commanding the people to give place.
Then there would he the Hags ol the commander
and of the regiment acting as guard; soldiers
armed with spears, tridents, two-handed swords,
flintlock or. at times, even match-lock guns. The
uniform of the Chinese soldier is a comfortable
but a most unmilitary collection of garments.
The coat, in its hang, resembles a cloak with wide,
loose sleeves. It is of a plain color, with a wide
marginal band of another hue. On the breast and
back are marked, usually on white discs sewed
to the coat, the number of the man, the desig-
nation of the organization to which he belongs,
and his position in the ranks. The trousers are
of dark blue cotton, and usually tied close around
the ankles. The queue is worn wrapped about the
head, and the whole enclosed in a dark blue cot-
ton turban. Beneath the coat is a waistcoat with
tight-fitting sleeves projecting about six inches be-
yond the ends of the fingers. The wearer can let
the projections hang down, when they protect the
hands from the weather, or can convert them into
a muff by merely clasping his hands within the
long sleeves. When he wishes to use his hands
he rolls his sleeves up. If the weather be cold he
wears as many undercoats as he pleases. He car-
ries no knapsack, but instead a cotton bag some-

76 An American Engineer in China

what like a short golf-club bag-, which he wears
diagonally across his back, suspended by a cord
over one shoulder and the chest, and in it he car-
ries all the articles needed for a march, his to-
bacco pipe, fan, and paper umbrella!

According to the instructions of the Viceroy,
we were accompanied by the local magistrate
having complete jurisdiction over the Hsien, or
district through which we were travelling, and
which average in area from about thirty to
forty miles square. In addition there were the
mandarins representing the Viceroy and Director.
General, always one and sometimes more dele-
gated by the provincial Governor, and a military
mandarin of high rank commanding the guard,
with the title of General, and of high "button"
rank of the blue or red. The mandarins were
carried in their official sedan chairs, the posi-
tion of the magistrate himself being denoted by
a large gorgeous red umbrella. The Hsien mag-
istrate is the official who comes in direct contact
with the people, and who dispenses justice, au-
thority, and bad government with no uncertain
hand. Two or three Hsiens go to form a Pre-
fecture, the Prefect in command reporting to
the Governor or some agent named by him.
These various officials receive as a regular emolu-
ment a sum much less than what the necessary ex-
penses attendant upon their office are known to
be. The difference between their regular compen-

78 An American Engineer in China

sation and actual income, which latter is supposed
to be large, is procured by deliberately appropri-
ating a portion of the tax levy, or, perhaps more
usually, through an ingenious system of squeezes
or extortions. From a foreign point of view,
they form a class intensely ignorant. The people
hate them, but, on account of their almost un-
controlled power, fear them ; while the magis-
trates, on the other hand, seem to fear the people,
and hesitate to exercise much authority over them
as a mass, preferring apparently to reserve their
power for extortions in individual cases. The
very evident mutual fear of the governing and
governed classes was striking and interesting.
This will be referred to later.

Some of these officials are not lacking in the
social traits which we call good fellowship, and
which made more than one a welcome guest at
the evening gathering between dinner and bed-
time, when our regret was that the conversation
had to pass through the halting medium of an in-
terpreter. There was one magistrate who took
most kindly to foreign ways, foreign food, and
even to foreign whiskev, with a particular fond-
ness for the variety of the last known as Old
Glenlivet.

At the time of passing through his jurisdiction
our headquarters were afloat, so that he joined
us with his junk, and every night his place at din-
ner was regularly set, and on returning to his own

Chapter III : Hu-nan. the Closed Province 79

boat he always took with him that comforting and
comfortable glow so frequently the accompani-
ment of Scotland's liquid production. One night
as he was leaving after dinner, dressed as usual in
his long embroidered official robes, with his button
and his peacock feather, "chin-chinning" or bow-
ing his farewell as he walked backwards down the
narrow plank connecting the junk with the shore,
there was suddenly a series of rapid gyrations,
like the rotating of the sails of a windmill, then a
void in the night air, followed a moment later by
a loud splash, immediately preceded by certain
articulations which fortunately our knowledge of
Chinese was not sufficient to catch exactly, but
concerning which it is hoped that the pen of the
recording angel will follow the example of mine.
Thanks to his queue and the united efforts of two
coolies and a boat hook, he was at last placed on
his native soil.

The Chinese costume does not diminish the be-
draggled effect of an involuntary bath. The next
evening he called as usual at the dinner-hour,
and expressed his deep mortification at the pre-
vious evening's catastrophe, explaining at great
length that his servant, an unfeeling rascal, had
held the light in the wrong place. We begged
him not to mention it; that we understood the
phenomenon perfectly ; that our servants had been
known to hold double lights, bringing us to grief,
and, in fact, it was well authenticated that in our

So An American Engineer in China

large cities, where lights were firmly fixed on iron
poles, the latter have been seen to wave. This
explanation gave him great comfort. lie was a
nice fellow, and 1 hope some day to see him be-
come a member of the Tsung-li Yamen, for he
would honor that or any other board.

The people in this northeastern part of the prov-
ince are generally well-to-do, living in tiled-roof
farm-houses or little hamlets. The valleys are
well and carefully cultivated, the principal crops
being tea and rice, the former for sale and export,
the latter for domestic consumption. The Chinese,
in all their habits, wants, and tastes, are extremely
simple beings. As variety and change seem to
possess no charm, their clothes in the country are
invariably the same — of indigo-dyed cotton — while
their food consists of the crop most easily grown
in the locality, which in Southern China is rice,
and in Northern China millet. This rice is eaten
flavored with pickled cabbage or other vegetable,
and sometimes relieved with fish, but rarely with
meat. In the case of a coolie — that is, of the low-
est class — such will be the diet the year through;
if more well-to-do the list will be enlarged by the
addition of pork, mutton, chickens, ducks, or eggs.
Since food cannot be cut on the table with chop-
sticks, meat is sliced into small pieces before cook-
ing, and then stewed. The higher-class Chinese
are great gourmets, as the following menu of a
dinner given us by the magistrate of Siang-yin

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 81

will show, the table being set with a number of
small dishes containing fancy cakes and sweet-
meats:

Chicken giblets and ham,

Sharks' fins,

Pigeon's eggs,

Wood fungus,

Dough cakes,

Lotus seeds (hot),

Stewed fish,

Stewed chicken and pork,

Snails,

Bamboo shoots,

Stewed mutton,

Meat cakes and sweet grapes,

Roast pig,

Pork, fish, and vegetables boiled in a chafing-dish

on the table,
Rice.

We had not been long in Hu-nan before receiv-
ing illustrative warnings of possible trouble. On
approaching Yo-chou, a large and flourishing city,
situated near the junction of the Siang and Yang-
tze rivers, the gate-way to the province, and which
has since been declared a treaty port, we received
word by courier from the Governor of Hu-nan that
on no account must we go near Yo-chou, let alone
enter it, as ten thousand students were gathered
there from all parts of the province trying to pass
the examination for the first degree, and that the
authorities would not be answerable for the conse-

82 An American Engineer in China

quences should we be found in their vicinity. Ap-
parently Chinese students do not differ essentially
from those of other lands. I replied to the Gov-
ernor's messenger that Yo-chou was a place of so
much importance, that a survey of it was necessary.
On reaching the outskirts we were met by a large
guard and politely conducted by a detour outside
of the city along the river-shore to our junks
where we slept, and which were flanked on both
sides by gun-boats. The first night, just before
retiring, a messenger came from the Hsien Magis-
trate announcing that a riot was imminent, that
the students had threatened to burn the Roman
Catholic Mission, whose priest was the sole for-
eigner in Yo-chou, and that the latter had tied. We
could do nothing as we were prisoners. The rea-
son for sending us word was not clear, unless as
a notice of what we ourselves might expect. Per-
haps the described riot did not occur at all. We
never knew. It is hard dealing with a Chinese
official. One is never sure. The next day, under
a strong military escort, I inspected the city and
saw no students.

Chang-sha, the capital of Hu-nan, is one of the
most interesting places in the whole empire, on
account of its extreme exclusiveness. Only two
or three foreigners, but no missionary, had ever
been within the city, and these few were smug-
gled in in closed chairs. Like all Chinese cities,
it is heavily walled, and strongly gated, the gates

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 83

being locked at night, giving a most mediaeval
air. The population is estimated by the Chinese
to be about a million, but that figure, like all oth-
ers in the same line, is probably an exaggeration.
Five hundred thousand would seem more likely to
be nearer the mark. The streets are narrow, being
but six to twelve feet wide. On them the shops
open directly, and in front of the shops are fre-
quently stationed small booths. During business
hours, the whole shop-front, consisting of wooden
shutters, is taken down, exposing the interior, so
that a street resembles a bazaar, or rather an ar-
cade, as it is frequent lv roofed over with bamboo
mats. Hanging down in front of the shops are
long, swinging signs, sometimes indicating the
kind of goods for sale, but more frequently being
felicitous greetings. I saw one that was trans-
lated, "Prices according to mutual agreement"
■ — no fixed price for that tradesman.

On account of the local traditions, which were
to be broken if possible, and on account of the
general attitude of the Governor, it was deemed
essential that not only should our expedition enter
the city, but that we should be received publicly,
and with full honors, according to the Chinese
ritual, by the Governor himself. 1, therefore,
with the " flag-ship " and an attending gun-boat,
pushed ahead of the survey party, and arrived
at Chang-sha on January 7th at eleven o'clock in
the forenoon. Our coming was expected; a tri-

84 An American Engineer in China

umphal arch had been erected on the shore — an
arch, by the way, as we afterwards learned, we
were nol expected to pass through, but which
we did, nevertheless — and as our junk was poled
np to the landing-place through a lane opened
among the other boats, a great crowd came down
to see us. Immediately on mooring, the local
magistrate, in his official robes, called and extend-
ed a greeting. I then, without delay, sent my
Chinese visiting-card to the Governor, announced
my arrival in his capital city, and stated that 1
desired, accompanied by my whole staff, to call
upon him and pay my respects. What followed
was a good illustration of Chinese diplomacy, the
roundabout ways of which were one of the diffi-
culties that beset our movements. The Governor
replied that he was glad to hear of our safe ar-
rival, but that he would not trouble us to call, in-
stead of which, accompanied by the chief officers
of the province, he would call on us the next
morning at eleven. With many complimentary
phrases, I immediately pointed out that not only
did Chinese etiquette, but even foreign etiquette,
demand that a Governor should have the stranger
call on him, and as my staff would arrive that
evening, and as he was apparently free at eleven
o'clock the next morning, I proposed that we
should all visit him formally at that hour. Word
then came from the Governor that he regretted
that he could not receive me at eleven, because at

hfl

c
(J

O

86 An American Engineer in China

that hour he would be engaged in inspecting his
troops at their archery practice; therefore he

wished us a pleasant and prosperous journey on-
ward trom Chang-sha. Of course there was
nothing then for us to do but put ourselves en-
tirely at his convenience for any hour of the day
or evening when he would be free from the ex-
actions of watching the archers. Then the ex-
cuse was offered that he had made no prepara-
tions to receive distinguished foreigners. This
requirement we, of course, at once waived. Then
his yamen (official residence) was too small. We
replied that we knew that his yamen was as large
as that of the Viceroy, and that the latter had
found no difficulty in receiving us. When it was
learned that the Viceroy had given us an audience,
the whole affair assumed a different aspect, and a
long conference with those versed in the intrica-
cies of Chinese etiquette ensued, during which a
small diagram which I had made in my note-book
illustrating the viceregal reception played a promi-
nent part. It was finally decided that Chang
Chih-tung, in permitting our chairs to be carried
to a certain place and in a certain manner, had used
the same ceremony that a provincial treasurer,
who ranks next to the Governor, was entitled to
have accorded him. Clearly a man who had been
thus received could not be unceremoniously re-
fused an audience. Then the Governor said he
would receive me alone, an offer that was respect-

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 87

fully declined, and finally he ventured, as a com-
promise, that I might select as companions three
members of my staff. 1 assured his Excellency
that my staff was composed of equally distin-
guished men, and that any invidious comparison
in the way of selection was out of the question,
but as it was now nearly midnight — for more
than twelve hours had been consumed in the di-
plomatic intercourse — that I would not trouble
him to reply immediately, but hoped that when
morning came he would see his way clear to re-
ceive us all. At 10.30 the next forenoon he sent
eleven official chairs from his own household, one
for each of the foreigners and Messrs. Woo and
Lo, the secretaries of H. E. Sheng, and a large
guard of soldiers under the personal command of
General Liu Kao-chao, the military commandant
of the capital. With his trumpeters and flag-
bearers preceding; with the genial and portly
general himself at the head of the troops ; with
our chairs in line, from the leading one of which
the chief engineer waved a small American flag
— we entered the city, the first foreign party to
do so publicly and with official honors, and very
proud to feel that the hist foreign flag to wave
within Chang-sha walls should be that of the
great republic. Thus fell Ilu-nan's strongest
tradition ! Although the streets were jammed
with people and the houses along the route filled
to overflowing, there was not heard a single op-

An American Engineer in China

probrious epithet or even impolite reference. As
a general thing', the people seemed glad to see
ns, or, at the worst, merely exhibited a stolid in-
difference or, more usually an inordinate curios-
ity. The reception by the Governor was all
that could be desired. Our chairs were carried
into the inner court, where we were met by a per-
sonal representative of the Governor, to whom
our Chinese cards were given. These, placed in
order of rank, he carried in his right hand above
his head, and so conducted us to the first reception-
room, where we were presented to the provincial
officers, such as the Treasurer, Salt Commis-
sioner, and others, and then by them led to a sec-
ond reception-room, where we were presented to
his Excellency Vu Lien-san. The Governor was
dressed in his official robes, which at that time
of the year consisted of sable. Wearing his red
button and peacock feather and other insignia of
high rank, he received us in a most gracious and
polite manner. He is a man of medium size, has
an iron-gray mustache and a small gray imperial,
with an intelligent face and great ceremony of
manner. He inquired about our work, expressed
his interest in its outcome, and his belief that a
railway would be of enormous benefit to his peo-
ple, and assured me that he had issued full in-
structions which would insure the party cordial
treatment for the rest of our journey. The inter-
view lasted about fifteen minutes, when we were

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 89

reconducted to our chairs, and returned to our
boat by the same way in which we came.

The shops of Chang-sha will compare favorably
with the shops of any other city in China, display-
ing- a full line of articles of Chinese and of foreign
manufacture; in fact, so wide a range of choice is
there that we were even able to stock our larder
with a good supply of Munich beer in the orig-
inal bottles.

90 An American Engineer in China

Hu-nan : The Interior

When the American party Left Chang-sha, two

of our boats, nicknamed the Mary Ann and Consort,
were exchanged for three smaller junks of lighter
draught, as the former were too large to proceed
farther at the existing low stage of the river.

River Gunboat

While on the Siang our flotilla was always
accompanied by one or more river gunboats.
These boats are intended to protect the trading-
junks from attacks of river pirates, which would
otherwise be of frequent occurrence. They are
from fifty to seventy-five feet in length, with a
beam of eight to ten feet, are flat-bottomed, and

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 91

draw but one foot. On the overhanging stern is
a little cabin for the commander, the crew sleep-
ing at night under an awning stretched over the
boat. They are constructed of a native wood
somewhat resembling yellow pine, which is oiled
only, so that the wood is left bright and its showy
grain fully brought out. They are furnished
with a square sail stiffened with bamboo slats,
hoisted on a pine mast without stays. If there is
an adverse wind or none at all, they can be easily
rowed. They are armed with a small cast-iron
cannon, about a three or a six pounder, fixed on
the bow, while the crew of eight to twelve men
are furnished with swords and muskets, the latter
being generally of a very old type, even match-
locks being not rare. These gunboats are always
kept in the pink of condition and repair. The
sails are of cotton canvas, sometimes colored blue,
and must be constantly changed, as we never saw
one in bad order. The crew see to it that the
boat itself is always shipshape and spotlessly
clean ; in fact, when any one boards a gunboat
one of the crew immediately presents a wet mop,
on which the feet must be wiped. All this appears
most striking in a country where the direct oppo-
site, in the way of untidiness and uncleanliness
and lack of attention to repair, is the universal
rule. Mow the gunboats ever escaped contami-
nation I could not learn ; but they have, and the
traveller is thankful.

92 An American Engineer in China

At night our boats were brought close together,
with gunboats on the flanks to protect them from
the petty river thieves. Watch was kept faith-
fully, sentries being armed with a loud bamboo
rattle, which they sounded at intervals of every
ten minutes. Ever} where in China the night
watchman is thus supplied, with the idea of fright-
ening away thieves. The practical result, is, how-
ever, to give exact information of the whereabouts
of the guard, and enable the thief to lie in wait-
ing until the guard has passed on his rounds.
It is the custom to give the attending guard a
" cumsha " or substantial gratuity. On one oc-
casion we gave a present to the crew of a gun-
boat the day before they left us. The captain, to
show his appreciation, had double guards set that
night, who sounded their rattles without cessa-
tion, making sleep an impossibility. After that
we gave no more presents until we were sure
that we would permanently part company with
that crew.

It was not long before it became desirable to
procure a horse to enable one of the engineers to
ride. This was no easy matter, as horses are used
but little. However, we finally found a man who
could accommodate us, and earl}' the next morn-
ing he brought around for our inspection an
animal that he called a horse, but which, had its
ears been longer, might have passed as a large
donkey. Price, 40 taels. We looked him over,

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 93

an operation not requiring much time, and bid 10
taels. The owner replied that 40 taels was his
lowest price, but if we meant business he would
say 35 taels, or would consider an offer. We
assured him of our business intentions, and raised
our figure to 12 taels. A horse trade is always
an interesting- ceremony, but how much more so
under these circumstances, where a foreigner was
to supply the victim ! Each bid and counter-prop-
osition was received with loud shouts of ap-
proval by the crowd, who offered advice freely
and impartially to both principals, for they were
divided in their desire to see the foreigner swind-
led and in their anxiety not to establish too high
a market value for horseflesh. When the differ-
ence between the negotiators became so small that
a trade was evidently in sight, it was suggested
that we go within the temple where we had spent
the night and conclude matters, and where at last
we reached an agreement of 20 taels, saddle in-
cluded. Our money was in bullion, for the tael
is not a coin, but a weight of silver, and the clos-
est approximation to 20 taels that we could make
was i9TVo> which our Chinese friend declined as
not according to compact. We told him we
would make up the difference by throwing in
something, and for him to select. After inspect-
ing our belongings he picked out an empty Apol-
linaris bottle, saying that he had owned a bottle
once and had found it very useful, but some years

94 An American Engineer in China

since it had been unfortunately broken. We told
him that we too came from a country where the
bottle was appreciated and highly valued, and for
him to choose again. In the meantime our servants
had packed nearly everything preparatory to the
day's march, and the only portable thing left, and
that of course had no value, was the rind of a pu-
maloe, a kind of orange about the size of a musk-
melon. This empty rind he was offered, and, to
our surprise it was promptly and gladly accepted.
Whether he saw some special virtue in it, whether
he had not recognized it, and thought it a peculiar
foreign article, or whether it was done merely to
"save face," on which so much store is set, I do
not know, but the last we saw of that man he was
hugging his rind like a treasure. Before we had
seen the last of his horse, however, we felt that if
the pumaloe rind had constituted the whole of
the purchase-price we still should have been the
losers.

It is surprising how closelv the people in one
section of the country pattern after those else-
where, when one remembers the lack, almost
absolute lack, of intercommunication. But in
spite of the general sameness, which perhaps
appears greater than it is on account of the uni-
formity in physiognomy of the people, with the
Mongolian coloring and jet-black hair, there were
many peculiar customs which appeared to- be
localized, as man)- of them were found only in

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 95

small districts, and travelled Chinese who accom-
panied me, said that they had never before seen
similar things elsewhere in the empire. Of these
the most singular was the carrying of small bam-
boo baskets lined with sheet metal and tilled with

A Peculiar Custom by Chinese Women of Wearing Heat-
ing-Baskets

hot wood-ashes. Such baskets the women in one
locality suspend from a belt beneath their short
blouses. Sometimes the baskets are worn in
front, sometimes behind, and occasionally in both
places, according-, apparently, to the fancy of the
wearer. Children also made use of the heating

96 An American Engineer in China

apparatus, but men only rarely. No matter how
worn, the effect in all cases was both extraordi-
nary and comical. To get a photograph of Chi-
nese women is almost as difficult as to photograph
a herd of wild deer. Women are supposed to
keep away from any man, and of course a foreign
man is specially terrible. The picture of the
women and their baskets was obtained by cau-
tious stalking behind some Chinese, while their
attention was attracted by one of the members of
my staff. The instant after the shutter dropped
the group had scattered.

In farming methods the Chinaman in the inte-
rior is, of course, centuries behind. His grain he
is accustomed to spread on the ground and drive
over it his beast of burden, the water-buffalo,
drawing a stone roller, in order to thresh it, while
in some places I saw hay ricks built around trees
as a centre support. Apparently the method of
constructing them was to begin at the top and
work down, instead of up, as do farmers else-
where. Farming and boating are the Chinaman's
great occupations, in which he most excels.

The horse is little used in China, as has been
stated before, but when he is and he needs shoe-
ing, the extensiveness of the ceremony makes up
for any deficiency resulting from infrequent oc-
currence of the operation. Two straight poles
are firmly planted in the ground, with a cross-
arm at the top. Suspended from the latter, and

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 97

fastened head and tail to the first two, the horse
is finally secured, and then the farrier is ready to
begin his work, to the delight of an audience
usually of no mean dimensions.

But for ingenuity of adapting means to an end,
his fishing arrangements excel all others. Instead
of bothering with nets, which are apt to break and
call for repairs, or with hooks and lines, which
may not be easy to procure, the fisherman on
most of the rivers in the interior makes use of cor-
morants— large black birds which are by nature
fish-hunters, and which become by tuition very
docile. He will start out on his piscatorial quest
in a small boat, with from six to a dozen of his
feathered helpers, to whom he has omitted prob-
ably to give a breakfast. Once on the fishing-
grounds, the birds begin to dive for fish, but
which, as their owner had tied a string around
each neck, they cannot swallow. As each fish is
brought to the surface, the boatman relieves the
bird of its prey, and thereupon, according to the
dictates of nature, it dives again. When the boat
is full the fisherman removes the strings about the
necks, rewards each bird with a fish, and returns
home.

The southern and eastern portions of the prov-
ince are not so densely populated nor so well
developed as the central part, nor as the great
tea-producing belt in the north. The streams are
smaller, giving more difficult means of travel,

98 An American Engineer in China

while the broken topography renders farming less
profitable. These are, however, the mineral dis-
tricts, where there is stored, awaiting develop-
ment, incomputable wealth.

The last place ol importance in Iln-nan is Chen-
chon, a prefecture town, with its fine arched
bridge of five spans crossing the Yu-tan River,
and its picturesque old gate-ways with carved
wooden lattices. It has a population of from five
thousand to eight thousand, and is evidently still
a prosperous place, although not now of the im-
portance that it was in those days when the Che-
ing highway, of which it is the northern gate-
way, was jammed with traffic.

The Nan-ling range is one of the great off-shoots
from the Central Asian table-land and extends in
a sharply marked position directly across the em-
pire from West to East, and forms the southern
boundary of the Yang-tze Valley. On the oppo-
site side from the Yang-tze, water flows south-
ward into the North and West Rivers and so to
the China Sea. The mountains comprising the
range are lofty and bold. There are three passes
crossing it, which have been occupied by trade
routes between North and South China. The
most westerly of the three is the lowest ; in fact
so low that a canal across it has been in exist-
ence for many years, rendering it possible to go
from the China Sea to the Yang-tze by boat.
This pass is in Southwestern Hu-nan, but on ac-

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 99

count of its indirectness and the shallow state of
the approaching streams is little used. On the
east is the Me-ling I'ass, at the head of the Pei-Ho,
and leads from Kwang-tung into the province of
Kiang-si. It. was this pass that Lord Macartney
crossed with his embassy in 1796. The central
and most celebrated of the passes is the Che-ling,
lying on a line almost due north from Canton.

Between the heads of navigation of the Wu-
shui River, on the south side of the Nan-ling
range leading to Canton, and the Vu-tan, a tribu-
tary to the Yang-tze on the north side, is a dis-
tance of but thirty miles, so that commerce be-
tween Canton and any point in the Yang-tze Val-
lev can be reached by boats, with this single and
small exception. The highway, crossing the
mountains by the Che-ling Pass, terminating at
I-chang on one end and Chen-chou on the other,
has therefore been the great trade route between
North and South China for certainly three thou-
sand years, and perhaps more — that is, during the
time when the whole of history has been written.
It stands to-day as one of the great monuments of
China's past, compared with which other relics of
antiquity seem but as things of yesterday. Many,
many years ago this road was paved for a width
of fifteen feet with large flat stones, ranging in
size from one to tour feet square. Deep in these
stones there are hollows worn by the bare feet,
of the coolies carrying their loads like beasts of

ioo An American Engineer in China

burden, or there are dug actual holes where the
feel of the ponies, jogging along with short steps,
have struck. It was lined with shops and with
inns serving accommodations on a cheap scale for
coolies and teamsters, and on an elaborate scale
lor mandarins or rich Cantonese, who, if they

The Descent from the Che-ling Pass on the South Side

had the funds, could gratify their taste with any
expensive luxury. But the opening of the Yang-
tze to commerce in 1861 seriously damaged the
prestige of this route, for with goods going from
or to Canton it was found more economical to
ship by steam-vessel between there and Hankow,
and be thence distributed. Since then its impor-
tance has been gradually diminishing, so that the

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 101

traffic now passing to and fro, although still consid-
erable, is but a small fraction ol what, it once was.
The rich merchant no longer frequents it, and the
elaborately decorated inn erected for his entertain-
ment is dropping to decay. Shops and resting-
places for the coolies or pony-drivers are actually
abandoned, and the great trade route, which for
so many centuries has resounded with the almost
continuous patter of the human foot or the clatter
of the ponies' hoofs, is now becoming more and
more disused, and stands, as so many other things
in this country stand, an eloquent but silent
witness of the past. It had been expected that
we could utilize the approximate location of this
highway for the route of the railway, but a care-
ful examination revealed the fact that the na-
tives had not found the true pass at all, which lav
some three miles to the eastward, and about one
hundred and fifty feet lower. For ten, twenty,
thirty, or some other number of centuries the
poor coolies have been carrying their loads, quite
unnecessarily, up and down one hundred and
fifty feet of elevation. What a waste of human
energy !

Ten miles after crossing the range we reached
the borders of Hu-nan, and passed into the prov-
ince of Kwang-tung. On reaching the frontier-
line, which crossed our path where it ran through
a little village, a very pretty ceremony was per-
formed. Our guard was, of course, composed of

An American Engineer in China

Hu-nanese soldiers, but as we were about to
pass into the viceroyalty of the "Two Kwang "
(Kwang-tung and Kwang-si), they had reached
the limit of their jurisdiction. Our Cantonese
guard was on hand ready to receive us, and in
their mushroom hats presented quite a different

Two Faithful Friends

appearance to the uniforms we had been accus-
tomed to. The two bodies of troops, having
saluted, the Hu-nanese soldiers passed over into
Kwang-tung and lined up along the highway, and
in like manner the Cantonese soldiers formed in
Hu-nan. The Kwang-tung captain was then in-
troduced. The Hu-nan general came up, " chin-

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 103

chinned " his farewell, and then shook hands like
a foreigner. When I came to say good-by to the
two Hu-nanese soldiers who had formed my par-
ticular body-guard, who had carried 1113- camera
or mv pack, and who had looked after my little
personal wants in so many thoughtful ways, I was
indeed sorry, for I was parting from two faithful
friends. Then with one last look at Hu-nan, the
journey across which I had regarded with so
much anxiety, but where, with two exceptions, I
had been treated with uniform kindness, courtesy,
and attention by both officials and people, I sig-
nified my readiness to proceed, and said good-by
to Hu-nan by saluting her soldiers as I walked
past their front.

Taking Hu-nan, the closed province of China,
as an extreme example, for there foreigners are
practically unknown, nevertheless the general
condition of life along the Siang River, the chief
artery of travel and trade, does not differ materi-
ally from that found in the more frequented parts
of the empire ; nor, in fact, does the undercurrent
of human affairs flow in channels radically differ-
ent from those in other countries. There is the
usual struggle for success, attended with the or-
dinary run of victory or failure; men rise and
men go down. In Chang-sha there is the regular
excitement always surrounding a political capital,
while in lighter ways there are the festivities at-
tending the Chinese New-Year's celebration, and

io4 An American Engineer in China

the occasional rendering of a Chinese play, for
the Chinese as a nation take great interest in the
drama. There are newspapers, and the telegraph,
administered entirely by Chinese, puts the great
cities in daily touch with other parts of the em-
pire. The majority of the people have probably
heard of the Japanese War of 1895, and the greater
part of these understand dimly that China was
defeated. Travelling merchants come from other
provinces, and the river boatmen are constantly
going to and from Hankow, or perhaps even to
so distant a port as Shanghai, so that the people
hear accounts of the doings of the outer world.
If foreigners are personally unknown, their ap-
pearance is not ; for the Chang-sha belle sees on
her bottle of pomade the prevailing fashion in
which her French sister does her hair, while the
young man about town in Siang-tan finds in his
package of American cigarettes a photograph of
the latest favorite of the London music-hall.

In Hu-nan there are two distinct classes, those
such as the above, who can enjoy life, and who
have attained a position easily comparable with
the best of conditions to be found anywhere, and
those who, living in the more remote parts of the
province, never come in contact with the outer
world. As soon as a departure is made from the
Siang River, such a difference is at once noticed,
and there is reached along the eastern side of the
province, where there is practically no trade and

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 105

consequently no communication with the rest of
the world, a condition of life that is distressingly
depressing. Not that there is suffering- or want,
for every bod v seems to have a home and enough
to wear and eat, but it is life reduced to its sim-
plest form, in which there is apparently lacking
every desire for amelioration or even a knowl-
edge or comprehension that such a thing is pos-
sible. Of education or religion or any aspiration
toward a better or a higher life, or intercourse
with the outer world, there is none. The soil
produces enough food and an occasional surplus,
which is sold in the nearest market-town, and
thus serves to provide clothing and the other
wants, which are of the simplest nature. There
seems to be nothing in the way of social inter-
course between the people, and life is merely a
struggle, day after day, for a bare existence.
From one year's end to the other there is no
pleasure, no enjoyment beyond the mere animal
instinct of living, and without a single event to
break the monotony. And yet, it must be re-
membered that this is not a savage country, but
one that had a high and complex civilization
before the time when Rome was, and this civiliza-
tion still remains among these people in the way-
off corners, probably not much altered except
that, it may have become sadly worn.

On our journey eastward from the Siang, we
made a short detour out of Hu-nan into the ad-

io6 An American Engineer in China

joining province of Kiang-si, and at the border
line of the province came across an amusing spec-
imen of Chinese reasoning, and a suggestive illus-
tration of the attitude of the I lu-nanese toward
their neighbors. The so-called anti-foreign feeling
in Hu-nan is a misnomer; it is really Chinese ex-
clusiveness carried to its logical conclusion, giving
rise to an antipathy against all who do not live in
the province, and to whom they apply the epithet
of" foreigner" without discrimination. The peo-
ple of Kiang-si, in order to defend themselves
from the wicked inhabitants of Hu-nan, had
erected, at the frontier, where the highway en-
tered their province through a narrow valley, a
massive masonry wall with a wide rampart and

The Wall and Gateway on the Border between Hu-nan
and Kiang-si

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 107

embattled parapet, and a gate-way with watch-
tower complete — a most formidable- looking
structure, and one that was practically impreg-

A Bridge over Dry Ground, with a Coolie Climbing the
Approach Steps on the Left

nable by direct assault by archers. Its length,
however, was only about 1,500 feet, merely reach-
ing from hill to hill, and as the flanking hills were
low and easy of ascent, there was nothing at all
to prevent an invading army from turning from
their path but a few yards to either the right or
left and inarching unmolested, so far as the wall
was concerned, around its ends. That the con-
structors evidently considered this a secure de-
fence, in the way that the ostrich buries its head,
there is apparently little doubt, but I could not
help wondering whether the Hu-nanese had been
similarly affected and so deterred from mak-
ing an attack. But this is on a par with an old

io8 An American Engineer in China

bridge that we met on our travels. Once upon a
time, when perhaps Elizabeth was reigning in
England, this bridge crossed a stream, but the
stream, unlike the natives, was capable of chang-
ing its course, and now the bridge spans dry
land. The highway, however, still continues to
cross the bridge, and the coolies, with their loads
upon their backs, still climb the flight of steps at
either end as their predecessors have done for
centuries. The Chinaman always accepts things
as they are, without inquiry or reasoning— actu-
ality and precedent being to him always para-
mount.

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 109

Hu-nan : The Exit

Five miles from the borders of Hu-nan we
reached Ping-shih, a flourishing-looking town of
perhaps three thousand people, the principal rea-
son of its existence being that it is a point of trans-
ferrence from boat transportation on the Wu-shui
to land portage. The whole surface of this part
of Kwang-tung, however, is very mountainous,
and the population is quite scant. The difference
from Hu-nan conditions was quite noticeable.
While foreigners rarely visited Ping-shih, they
were not entirely unknown, and therefore we
were not quite the same object of intense curi-
osity.

The most striking thing of all was the pawn-
shops. These singular buildings, which are a
particularly Kwang-tung institution — although
the pawnshop is known evervwhere in China —
are built of masonrv, in huge square towers, sixty
to eighty feet on a side, and with a height of one
hundred feet or more, presenting a most impos-
ing appearance, suggestive rather of an ancient
feudal castle, with the comparatively tiny houses
huddling about the base, than of anything so es-
sentially practical and commercial as a pawnshop.
The construction and shape of the building are
for protective purposes. The material of which
it is composed presents a safeguard against fire,
while its solidity, its great height, and fewness of

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province in

windows or other openings offer the greatest
obstacle to successful assault by robbers. Within
arc numerous floors, on which the pawned goods
are carefully stored after being neatly indexed.
The ordinary practice of the pawnbroker in the
way of high interest charges is the same here as
in other lands, but the calling is regarded quite
differently; in fact, the pawnshop is looked upon
as a blessing, the broker as a benefactor, and the
presence of a high tower the indication of good
business. If a town possesses more than one, it
is taken as a sign that it is particularly prosper-
ous, and places are described as being one, two,
three pawnshop towns, as the case may be. The
pawnshop partakes of the nature of a bank, the
Chinese arguing that, no one would borrow un-
less he can employ the capital with profit, and
as the pawnshops are the means of furnishing
capital, therefore the greater the number the
greater the prosperity. As the Cantonese have
always been the most progressive and energetic
merchants of China, so the pawn or banking sys-
tem of this province has become more highly
developed than elsewhere.

At Ping-shih the expedition was again divided,
the chief engineer preceding by boat to make a
reconnoissance of the river and of the route fol-
lowing the stream via Sam-shui and Fat-shan
while the survey party went overland, although
sleeping on boats to within lift)- miles of Canton,

ti2 An American Engineer in China

where they left the river and struck directly for
the city.

Kwang-tung is drained by three principal
streams, of which one is the Tung Kiang, which
flows to Canton from the east, and with which
our expedition has nothing to do. The others
are the Si Kiang (West River) and the Pei Ho
(North River), with their respective tributaries.
These latter rivers join at Sam-shui (literally
"Three Waters"), twenty-five miles clue west of
Canton, the combined streams going to form the
Canton River and the net-work of channels and
small streams that intersect the flat land that ex-
tends to the sea. The West River is the most
important, draining not only the western portion
of Kwang-tung, but the whole of the province of
Kwang-si, and is open for steam navigation, even
at low stage, for shallow-draught vessels for some
considerable distance, and, on account of the
facility of navigation, has become an important
trade route, with a treaty port of its own at Wu-
chow. The North River, as its name would indi-
cate, strikes north to Shao-chou, where it forks —
the right-hand branch, carrying the name of Pei
Ho, draining the Nan-ling Mountains on the south
side from the province of Kiang-si, while the left-
hand branch called the Wu-shui, drains the slope
of the same range on the south side from Hu-nan.
During the winter months the river is very shal-
low, shoals with not over one foot of water being

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 113

of frequent occurrence to within a short distance
of Sam-shui ; and even while following the tor-
tuous and continually shifting channel, a vessel
drawing two feet cannot proceed up the river
from the junction more than fifty miles. The
Wu-shui is very shallow — especially the upper
waters — for the first fifty miles below Ping-shih.
We were therefore compelled to take the smallest
boats we had yet used. These little boats have a
water-line length of about twenty-five feet, but on
account of their peculiar overhanging ends, in
order that they may be run up to the bank on a
flat shore, are apparently very much longer.
They are about five feet beam, are flat-bottomed,
and are built in the lightest manner possible, the
composing boards being only about three-quarters
of an inch thick, without braces or frames, while,
in order to give some stiffness, the sides at the top
are curved inwards amidships, and are held apart
by thwarts at the fore and aft quarters. The roof-
ing protection consisted of hemispherical bamboo
mats on light bamboo frames. The boats, when
loaded, drew about three or four inches only, and
furnished accommodations for two of our party
to each one. It was not long after leaving Ping-
shih before the reason for the design was appar-
ent. During at least half of the year, the river is
very low, and is nothing but a succession of quiet
pools separated by swiftly running rapids, some
of the latter being of no small force. In order to

ii4 An American Engineer in China

navigate the worst places a large oar would be
rigged on the bow, with which the boat was
steered as well as with one at the stern. On ap-
proaching a rapid the crew would cease rowing
and unship the oars while the two helmsmen, one
in front and one behind, would prepare for their
task. As the light boat feels the increasing cur-
rent she begins to increase her speed. In front
are two great masses of rocks, and between them
a narrow passage of white foaming water — a ver-
itable Scylla and Charybdis, with apparent equal
certainty of destruction whether we hit the rocks
or miss them, for surely no vessel as light as ours
could possibly stand the strain with safety. On we
shoot, straight for the rocks, when, just as a col-
lision seems absolutely certain, down goes the bow
oar, the boatman throws his weight against the
inboard end, our boat's head swerves, and with a
lurch she swings and clears the first danger by not
over six inches, but only to get into the seething
mass of foam. Surely now our frail craft must go
to pieces; instinctively one looks at the face of the
skipper, who, with stolid indifference, the charac-
teristic of his race, betrays no sign that anything
unusual is happening, but whose bright eye is fixed
steadfastly ahead, and the keenness of the glance
indicates that behind that eye, in spite of outward
appearances, is a brain that is alert. The boat
twists, she yields, her very bottom is seen to bulge
upwards as it actually slides over the rocks, which

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 115

are worn smooth by similar contact with many a
sampan, then with a final leap she reaches the
still surface of the pool ahead. It is only the
lightness of construction and the lack of stiffness
that makes the journey possible. A boat with a
frame and braces would have been wrecked
at once. In these runs no orders are given,
there is no excitement, no shouting, but every
man of the crew of four knows exactly what he
has to do and does it. These Chinese river-boat-
men make hne sailors. Before reaching the larg-
est of the rapids, which is really a succession of
several, our boats were beached and the combined
crews went ashore to a little temple to do " Joss
pigeon " to the river-god. From the fact that we
passed the danger in entire safety, one feels com-
pelled to assume that his godship was pleased
with the fire-crackers and brown paper burned in
his honor. As the crackers are sold by the priest
in charge, and as a large number of them were set
off, it would appear that the business of being a
river-god is not without its financial attractions.

From Ping-shih to Lo-chang, the first town seen
for a distance of nearly forty miles, there is one
continuous canon, furnishing the most beautiful
scenery found anywhere along our march, and,
for beauty and grandeur combined, is the equal
of any river-canon that I have ever seen. The
stream varies in width from one hundred to five
hundred feet. The hills, having a height of six

n6 An American Engineer in China

hundred to one thousand feet, run directly to the
water without any beach or level shore. The
country is absolutely wild, there being no popu-
lation and no cultivation. Unfortunately, too,
there are no trees except in a few places, the
mountains haying been long since stripped of
their timber. It is possible, perhaps probable,
that examination with a diamond drill will show
that these hills are underlain with coal, as coal
outcrops at Lo-chang, and again in the vicinity
of Shao-chou. The)- are covered with a rich,
strong grass, and are capable of supporting great
herds of sheep or cattle.

At Lo-chang, a place of perhaps four thousand
people, situated at the mouth of the gorge, wre ex-
changed our little boats for a regular junk. The
whole atmosphere of our surroundings was quite
different from what we had been accustomed to.
There are seen growing the banyan-tree, and
other tropical vegetation. Women are working
with men, especially in boats, and but few of them
have the terrible self-inflicted deformity of pinched
feet. The houses are of a type differing from
that in the more northern provinces, and in the
windows and from the balconies are seen growing
green plants and flowers. Neither in Hu-peh nor
Hu-nan had we seen a single evidence of an appre-
ciation by the lower classes of natural beauty, and
we had begun to consider the title of " Flowery
Kingdom " as sadly misplaced. From Lo-chang

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 117

onward we saw, in an increasing ratio, a desire
on the part of the people to improve the attrac-
tiveness of their environment.

In point of time we were now approaching the
Chinese New-Year, the greatest day, or rather
period, in the whole calendar, for the attendant
festivities are of a continuous character for three
days, during which all business, even in the com-
mercial centres, is absolutely stopped, while the
effect extends over about two weeks before nor-
mal conditions are again resumed. The Chinese
year is lunar, the beginning being marked by the
first new moon following the passage of the sun
into the constellation of Aquarius, imposing lim-
its of January 21st as the earliest date and Febru-
ary 19th as the latest. In 1899 it fell on February
10th. On all sides were evidences of the approach
of the fete. If no house-cleaning is done at other
times, and usually that is the case, it is ordained
by precedent that everything must be washed at
this season. Along the river-banks were seen
women with their trousers rolled up to their
thighs, standing in the water alongside of their
household furniture, giving their chairs, tables,
and clothes-presses a good bath. Boatmen were
pasting to the sides of their boats colored slips of
paper with " good luck " mottoes or prayers, while
the shops in the little villages were evidently do-
ing a thriving business.

Forty miles from Lo-chang brought us to Shao-

n8 An American Engineer in China

chou, a walled city with seven to eight thousand
people, the official residence of a taotai, a pre-
fect, and a magistrate, the most important city
in northern Kwang-tung. We arrived there on
New-Year's eve. As foreigners were known here
—some foreign missionaries being actually in res-
idence— a walk ashore without a guard was pos-
sible, a luxury not enjoyed since leaving Hankow.
Seasonable decorations were everywhere in
plenty; the shops were loaded with fire-crackers,
toys, house decorations (usually of red paper),
and articles suitable for presents — for the latter
are exchanged at this season of the year between
all friends. At one time there would be seen a
gentleman bringing to his home a chicken and
other delicacies, preparation for the coming feast
next day, and before which, having deposited them
on his door-step, he would prostrate himself with
all due ceremony. At another time we met a
business man hurrying along with a preoccupied
air. evidently finding difficulty in raising the funds
to pay off his debts, which must be liquidated, in
accordance with the Chinese law, before night-
fall. The evening was quiet, but exactly at mid-
night the New-Year was ushered in with a deaf-
ening peal of fire-crackers from every junk and
from every house, for no Chinaman is so poor as
not to be able to afford his salute, accompanied
by a general din of gongs, bells, and rattles.
On February 15th we passed out of Fat-shan

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 119

Creek at Fati, and Canton lay before us, and the
first American Industrial Invasion of China by an
organized force was at an end.

Ten days later the balance of the party, which
had necessarily made slower progress, arrived,
and in spite of mournful prognostications to the
contrary, the journey was finished, and with
much better treatment at the hands of the natives
than would a similar expedition of Chinese re-
ceive during a trip of equal length under similar
conditions in the United States, or even possibly
in Europe, due in great measure to the care taken
of us by their Excellencies Sheng and Viceroy
Chang Chih-tung, to both of whom in this and in
many other ways I am much indebted.

Our ears were frequently assailed with shouts
from the crowds of " Yang-kwei-tze," "foreign
devil," or some similar epithet, but in nearly
every case I am sure that such expressions usu-
ally meant little more than such terms as "John
Chinaman" or "Yankee" do with us, because
frequently I heard the shout of foreign devil
raised by someone calling a crowd from within
houses to the street to see the strange sight, and
such people, when thus summoned, would return
our bows with pleasant smiles or laughter. Some-
times sullen looks were seen, but rarely was any-
thing thrown or deliberate discourtesy shown,
and only once was any violence attempted. This
single case occurred in southern Hu-nan, when we

i2o An American Engineer in China

had begun to consider that no special precautions
were necessary, even among the famed turbulent
Hu-nanese, so that I did not hesitate to detach
myself from the party without a regular escort.
One day 1 was thus passing the little market
town of Wu-ni-pu (" rive mud shops") where the
weekly market had drawn from the surround-
ing country a crowd of perhaps two thousand.
My attendants were but three unarmed soldiers
and ni)- chair bearers. On learning of my com-
ing the crowd came out of the town and lined up
along the roadside. A boy in jest started the cry
of foreign devil, those near him took it up in sim-
ilar vein with laughter. Others in rear, not seeing
but hearing, also raised it, while those well at the
back, hearing the noise, pushed forward to ascer-
tain the cause. The pushing and the shouting
excited someone to throw a missile, whereupon
a quiet crowd unconsciously and quite uninten-
tionally was converted into a mob. Fortunately
they had nothing worse to throw than earth-clods
from the ploughed fields, but which having started
to do, they kept it up with energy and zeal. My
little guard stood bv me and urged me to run, as
resistance against such odds was out of the ques-
tion. To run I realized would encourage vio-
lence and invite stumbling, which would be fatal,
as likewise a proposition to take refuge in a little
temple at hand. The only chance lay in giving a
certain orderly portion in the crowd time to get

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 121

the disturbance under control, and in the mean-
while to protect my head with the collar of my
coat and to hope that the crowd would not find
any stones or bricks. After a somewhat mauvais
quart d ' Jicurc order supplanted violence, and I was
none the worse except for some dirty clothes and
a stiff neck, which two days' time quite cured.
After that, at the suggestion of the local officials,
we went armed.

I asked the Chinese dignitaries why we had
failed to experience the troubles that they had all
feared so keenly before starting. The answers
were threefold : we had shown no fear, and con-
sequently the people feared us; we neither mo-
lested nor interfered with anyone, therefore the
people respected us ; and we paid regular prices
for our purchases, and would not permit our
attendants to steal, therefore the people liked
us. There seemed to me to be another reason,
the good-will of the officials. I am confident that
the Government can, when it wants to do so, con-
trol the people, and is quite competent to bring
about any desired reform. The trouble is that
the existing clique realizes that with railways
and other innovations its powers are at an end.
One practical result of our trip is that mission-
aries have since penetrated without trouble into
Hu-nan, a thing impossible before, and the prov-
ince can now be considered as open as the other
seventeen.

Mr. Parsons Mr. Rich

Chinese Skipper

Under Two Flags

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 123

Wherever we went we had the pleasure and hon-
or of carrying with us the American flag-, the first
foreign flag to be seen in this portion of China,
and alongside of it, in compliment to the country
we were visiting, we flew the Imperial Dragon.

The scientific results were entirely satisfactory.
In addition to determining the general location
of the railway, we established the longitude and
latitude of the various cities, discovering, as was
to be expected, differences in their locations as
usually platted. We noted the magnetic varia-
tion of the needle, locating the line of no variation
where it crossed our path ; we established the
lines of drainage, both north and south of the
Nan-ling Mountains, correcting many errors; but,
above all, we discovered the true pass across the
range connecting the head-waters of the Yu-tan
with those of the Wu-shui, to which the staff gave
the name of " Parsons Gap," and so marked it on
our map.

In this work our difficulty lay principally in
procuring reliable information in advance. The
average Chinese, and certainly everyone in the
interior, does not comprehend at all the meaning
of the word accuracy — all his statements are
"about." The unit of distance in China is a li,
a distance which is approximately 1,825 leet, or
something more than one-third of a mile; but the
li (pronounced lee) differs in different parts of the
empire, just as the tael or standard of value differs,

124 An American Engineer in China

so that for ordinary usage the expression " li " is
of little value, while for accurate computations it

is worse than worthless, for it is misleading unless
all the circumstances are known. Thus there are
official li along certain highways specially devoted
to travel, which are termed "official highways."
On these coolies are paid for carrying merchandise
at so much per li, and by common consent under
these circumstances all distances are reckoned
short, the ratio of the error between stations not
being constant, and varying from twenty to as high
as fifty per cent. Thus a distance which would ac-
tually measure, say, 20 li would be set somewhere
between 24 and 30 li. On a parallel highway of
equal length the true distance, or something ap-
proximating it, would be stated ; hence we were
always in a perpetual quandary and argument
with the officials as to which would be the shortest
route to follow when there was a choice. Then,
to add to the complexity, in certain districts the
distance is reckoned not wholly on the basis of
length, but partly on the time required. Thus if
the road from A to B is up hill, the distance from
A to B might be 40 li, but from B to A only 30.
Distances are also stated in multiples of 10 above
20, and in multiples of 5 between 5 and 20, and
below 5 in single li — a custom arising from the
fact that the surface is considered as divided into
zones, the distance between the centres of the
zones being so many tens of li. If the points in

Chapter III : Hu-nan, the Closed Province 125

question are on the nearest limits of the zones, the
distance given on the zone basis is too great by
10 li, or, if on the outer limit, too little by a like
amount. All such distances are subject to fur-
ther correction as to whether they are official or
otherwise, and by the several other local condi-
tions or even personal equations of the informant.
If there were any rule in these vagaries it would
not matter so much, but there is absolutely none.
Of maps we were fortunate in securing one of
Hu-nan, which, considering it was a native pro-
duction, was very good, and as a general thing
fairly reliable, although once in a while its woful
errors ran us into difficulties. The local maps
purporting to give details were caricatures, and
outdid the productions of Herodotus and other
early European geographers. One particular
map, which undertook to represent not the unex-
plored country, but an area of civilization, includ-
ing the viceregal capital of Wu-chang and the
metropolis of Han-kow, can be taken as a fair
specimen of the lot. At this point the Yang-tze
River runs almost straight. Had the local car-
tographer so shown it on his map, one of two
things would have happened : either he would
have been obliged to use a larger sheet of paper
or the river would have run off the border. He
very successfullv and ingeniously avoided both
difficulties by giving the river a graceful bend.
The rest of his topography and details were

126 An American Engineer in China

shown with equal fidelity. Yet the officials treat
these things quite seriously, and in my own ex-
perience frequently such maps as these would be
produced and actually used as a basis of argu-
ment.

In China there is no fixed nomenclature — even
the country itself being without a name — and this
lack of distinct and recognized appellations was a
frequent source of difficult)'. Of personal infor-
mation from natives there was none obtainable on
which any credence could be placed. A Chinese,
unless he be a porter coolie or a boatman, rarely
travels or gets during his life more than a few
miles in any direction from the place where he
was born. When trying to procure information
concerning the immediate locality it was no un-
common thing to have a native, and even some-
times men of local position, say, " Oh, I have
never been so far away as that," or " I have never
been across that hill, and so do not know what is
be von d."

Chapter

IV

My Chinese Impressions

IT is related in the analects of Confucius that
one of his disciples put to him the question :
" Is there one word upon which the whole life
may proceed?" to which the Master replied: " Is
not Reciprocity such a word?" If it were pos-
sible to find a word expressive of that curiously
subtle thing, the Chinese character, perhaps Con-
tradiction would furnish the keynote.

There is probably no nation so extolled and
lauded by some writers, and so inveighed against
and execrated by others, as the Chinese, and this,
too, by observers who have lived in China for
many years. This great divergence of opinion is
due, 1 believe, to the spirit of contradiction in the
Chinaman himself.

This spirit of contradiction is found not only in
the frequently occurring examples of the Chinese
way of doing things quite differently from the
way that other people have found best, but more
particularly in the cases where the Chinaman is
so singularly inconsistent with his own apparent
way of thinking and of the rules which lie has
laid down for his own guidance. Me seems to be
at the same time the extreme of economical and
wasteful, practical and impractical, kind and cruel,
honest and deceitful. No sooner has the observer

127

128

An American Engineer in China

discovered and put in mental order a series of in-
cidents that seem to establish a certain trait, when

Chinese and Manchu Ladies of the Upper Class

The two on the ends are Chinese, with their feet compressed. The
third from the left is a Manchu, with the feet natural but wearing
the peculiar Manchu shoe on a central pedestal. The second
woman is a maid-servant, with her feet only partly compressed, as
is usual with women of her class. On the right is a Peking cart,
the private carriage of Minister Conger. This picture was obtained
by having Mrs. Parsons walk ahead to attract the attention of the
ladies to her foreign clothes

of a sudden he comes in contact with some new
fact or action, which completely upsets all pre-
conceived notions.

The well-known ways in which the Mongolian
methods and reasoning contradict the Caucasian
are both amusing and extraordinary in their com-

Chapter IV: My Chinese Impressions 129

plete and direct oppositeness. With the Chinese
white is the color of mourning, and the left, is the
place of honor. Men wear skirts and women wear
breeches, while everyone is addressed with the
family name first. The Chinaman talks of the
magnetic needle pointing to the south — singular
reasoning for one living in the Northern Hemi-
sphere— reads and writes from right to left, and
thus it goes through almost every detail of every-
day life. But the most amusing instance is the
practice of the night-watchman, who flourishes
everywhere from Peking down to the small cities
in the interior. Instead of going his rounds
stealthily, to better detect thieves, which are not
few, he equips himself with a bamboo rattle and a
tinkling metal cymbal, which he sounds rhythmi-
cally as he walks his beat. In the still hours of
the night it is perfectly easy to tell exactly where
he is, and when he will pass in return a given
point. The theory is that his fiendish weapons of
noise strike terror into the hearts of all evil-doers,
but I fear, judging from personal experiences,
that the ways of evil-doers, contrary to the rule
of Chinese opposite, are the same in all lands.

Self-contradiction is equally apparent, and must
be continually expected and allowed for if we
are to attempt to understand the Celestial and his
way of thinking. Even his Government is a most
bewildering mixture of the most absolute autoc-
racy and liberal democracy.

130 An American Engineer in China

The autocratic part is represented not so much
in the will of one man, the ruler, for the system of
government lias tended more and more to seclude
him from popular contact, but in the almost slav-
ish observance and veneration for precedent.
What is, is; and what has been done stands as an
example for all time or until some extraordinary
event establishes a new order. The personality
of the ruler and of the leading statesmen, there-
fore, is not stamped upon the course of affairs, nor
are the official personages of the same relative im-
portance that they are in other countries. Gov-
ernment is largely a matter of custom and of
precedent.

No dictator, no tyrant ever ruled with more
iron hand than does Precedent in China, and the
custom of obeying it is deep-seated and hoary
with age. Even before the time of Confucius it
was the ride, and his writings teem with admo-
nitions to observe the Rules of Proprieties and
Ceremonial.

The democratic side is shown by the fact that,
with but few exceptions, rank is not hereditary,
and that the meanest of the Emperor's subjects
may not only aspire to but actually attain the
highest place in his councils. Examinations form
the basis of political preferment, and these exam-
inations are open to all. But by one of those
strange inconsistencies of contradiction which
make the oldest of students of Chinese character

Chapter IV: My Chinese Impressions 131

timid as to exact determinations, the Chinese,
having elaborated the most perfect system of
selection, lose sight entirely of the main object,
and so conduct ihe examinations as to render
them practically valueless in really determining
the contestant's fitness for anything except writ-
ing involved essays on a text from Confucius. I
met some Chinese of the official class, who were
endowed by nature with strong talents that would
have insured their rise under any circumstances
and had already won the highest of examination
honors, who told me that they were endeavoring
to forget their Confucius as fast as possible and
trying to learn other things.

In judging the Chinaman, allowance must be
made for the point of view. He must not be
looked at entirely from his stand-point ; if so, he
has no faults; nor wholly from ours; for if so, he
has no redeeming features. Take, for example,
his standard of veracity. All Asiatics have the
reputation of being cunning, deceitful, and un-
truthful, and in ordinary dealings the Chinaman
is said to be no exception. On the other hand,
in commercial intercourse he has the reputation
of being so truthful and honest that foreign mer-
chants frequently rely on verbal contracts and to
an extent that they would not do with each other.
It is quite impossible that the same man can be so
wholly different. The contradiction must be more
apparent than real. What is his point of view?

132 An American Engineer in China

In ordinary transactions he is accustomed to
speak in exaggerated phrases, to veil his meaning
in obscure sentences, and to convey his thoughts
in an optimistic way; such has been his whole
education. He himself understands his fellows,
or, at least, does so after much circumlocutory
questioning. There has been no attempt to de-
ceive, and, therefore, he would say no lie.

This is not the direct bluntness of the Anglo-
Saxon ; it may not be the best way, but it is the
Chinese way, based on an experience of some
thousands of years, and he is at least entitled to
have his point of view taken into account. When
it comes to practical considerations, like making
a contract, he has learned that only the direct
method and rigid honesty are successful, and
therefore he governs himself accordingly and
perhaps more conscientiously than other people
with a so-called higher civilization.

In thinking of the Chinaman we frequently
make the error of vastly underrating his men-
tal ability, and regarding his stolidity and tenacity
to his own ways as precluding him from grasp-
ing another's point of view. But even from my
short experience I am convinced that such is far
from being the case. The Chinaman naturally
prefers his own way of accomplishing a given
end, but that does not prevent him from seeing
the line of thought and action of a mind trained
in methods diametrically opposite from his. On

Chapter IV : My Chinese Impressions 133

one occasion, when the regular nightly council of
local officials was being held to arrange for the
next day's march of the expedition, I stated
my plans, a suggestion which immediately met,
as was not infrequently the case, with their very
strong opposition and elicited a counter sugges-
tion that I must follow a highway in quite a dif-
ferent direction, for so the Governor had ordered.
The officials were firmly but politely informed
that the Governor was not the chief engineer, and
therefore not responsible for the survey. When
they realized that I was set upon my own course
they adopted the usual Chinese custom of indi-
rectness, and began to assure me that it was
impossible for me to go the way I proposed, as
there were high mountains and deep rivers in-
tervening which were quite impassable. Accord-
ing to Chinese custom I should have accepted
such circumlocution, although they not only knew
it was untrue, but knew that I knew that it was
untrue, because they were well aware that I had
made a personal reconnaissance in advance to de-
velop the feasibility of the route proposed. At
this juncture one of the officials, who at the outset
had behaved in exactly the same way by raising
all sorts of absurd objections and then in the end
doing without difficulty what he had previously
insisted was impossible, leaned across the table
and said in an undertone to his coadjutors:
" Don't talk to that man about mountains and

134 An American Engineer in China

rivers; he is not influenced by such phrases.
When \ on talk to him you must talk to the
point." Two weeks' intercourse had sufficed to
make him understand direct, straightforward

methods. One of these officials who that night
had been chief in resistance accompanied us for
four hundred miles, and developed into one of the
very best men we had, dropping his indirect ways
and talking " to the point."

The most striking trait in the Chinese character,
and which is chiefly answerable for the present
condition of the country, is exclusiveness. As a
nation they have produced great things, but they
have been for their own use and not for exchange
with other peoples for other ideas. This exclu-
siveness has operated not only to shut China in
from other nations, but has prevented that flow of
thought from within outward and from without
inward, a reciprocal action which is as necessarv
for the development of a nation as is variation in
physical and mental exercises for the development
of an individual. The teachings of nature show
that a stationary condition is impossible, that mo-
tion forward or backward is always taking place,
and as approach toward perfection is attained a
new condition of life is brought about under a
course of development. So life leads to death, and
death is but a birth for a new life. This law is
true for nations as well as for animals and plants.
Every great nation of the past has expanded until

Chapter IV: My Chinese Impressions 135

its limit of growth is reached, when it enters a pe-
riod of decadence and finally comes to a natural
death, giving rise, however, to new nations and
new peoples. Here again China seems to be an
anomalous contradiction. It is a nation which
died centuries ago, but which has never been
buried, and continues to remain above ground as
a sort of vivified mummy. Everywhere in the
interior where one turns, one is struck with this
deadness and arrest of development, as it were,
that occurred some centuries ago. Every writer
on China regards the peculiar natural condition
from his own point of view, and suggests as the
cause the lack of his particular nostrum. The
missionary argues that it is necessary to instil in
the Chinese a high moral sense, and then all
would be well ; the writer on material develop-
ment calls for unlimited railways ; the military
man for the reformation of the army and navy as
the panacea ; while the commercial man claims
that if enough treaty ports were opened China
would soon take care of herself. Any one of
these or other similar views is too narrow. A
deficiency in moral sense, and the failure to ap-
preciate the benefit of railways or unrestricted
commerce, are effects, rather than causes, or cer-
tainly are not the prime causes. The nation is
dead ; a new birth, a regeneration, a new life is
needed ; and while each one of the urged reforms
is necessary as one of the conditions to bring into

136 An American Engineer in China

existence this new life, no one by itself is suffi-
cient. To produce plant, life it is not only neces-
sary to have the seed ready to germinate, but there
must also be the required conditions of light, heat,
and moisture — no one in itself is enough, and
without the proper combination of all three our
seed will refuse to bring forth. Such is the con-
dition of China.

This lack of life is evident everywhere and is
interwoven in the whole fabric of Chinese exist-
ence. Take the writings of Confucius, on which
all Chinese thought and reasoning is both con-
sciously and unconsciously based, and it will be
seen that even his key-note is dead. The tone is
moral, the code of ethics is high, but his philoso-
phy is lifeless, for he speaks of himself as " I, a
transmitter and not an originator, and as one who
believes in and loves the ancients." This doctrine
he has taught successive generations, so that the
Chinaman is too apt to regard the future as
merely an opportunity to relive the past. But
this can be overcome.

Seeds for a new life, better and stronger than
the past life, even when China was the greatest
nation in existence, are there ready to sprout ; the
potentiality is great ; the people are by nature
peaceful, law-abiding, industrious, frugal, hard-
working, and patient — qualities absolutely essen-
tial to produce a great nation, and which under
proper conditions must produce one, in the same

Chapter IV: My Chinese Impressions 137

way that a healthy acorn under the proper condi-
tions must give growth to a sturdy oak.

In examining the characteristics of a people one
turns first to the status of education and to the nat-
ure and depth of religious belief, and in both of
these this deadness is oppressively conspicuous.
One day, while journeying along a highway in
Hu-nan, I turned to a bright little boy of apparently
about ten years who was in the crowd surround-
ing me, and asked him if he went to school. " Oh,
yes," he replied, and in answer to a question what
he studied, said, with a look that clearly indicated
his surprise that anyone should ask such a ques-
tion, " Why, the classics, of course." Not a word
about geography or history, even of his own conn-
try, to say nothing of others; not a line of science;
not a single thought of anything that could do him
a bit of good or fit him to be a useful member of
society, but merely the teachings of Confucius,
who lived twenty-five hundred years ago. An il-
lustration of what this leads to was well shown
one night when the local officials of the village
where we were stopping called, according to cus-
tom, to greet us and arrange for future progress.
One of them, a dear old gentleman, who had a
laugh that would have made his fortune on the
stage in any capital of Europe, inquired what land
I came from, if it was far from China, and then
whether I came by land or by sea, each question
being punctuated by a delicious laugh. To tell

138 An American Engineer in China

him, who considered one hundred miles as a long
journey, thai 1 had conic over ten thousand miles,
was to give the impression ol a gross exaggeration,
as he had no idea of the size of the earth or where
America was, as indicated by thequestion whether
it was north or south of China. One of his com-
panions, rinding that his friend was quite at sea,
finally summoned up courage and rebuked the
questioner by pointing out that America was in
the Western, and China in the Eastern, Hemi-
sphere. After other inquiries the hist man
brightened up and said, "Oh, I know now where
your land is ; it is between France and Germany : "
whereupon the second, who had been carefully
watching our faces and so perceived that the
other was wrong again, repeated his hemisphere
remark with a most supercilious and superior air.
As he ventured nothing more there was little
doubt that that comprised his whole knowledge
of the world's geography, although he had not
shown whether he really knew what a hemisphere
was. Vet these two men held important govern-
ment positions, and one of them has since been
promoted and is on the high road to still greater
places of trust, and such men the people must
look to and rely on for their guidance. But this
state of affairs must not be confounded with ig-
norance. These men were ignorant in the sense
of being uneducated according to our standards.
From a Chinese point of view they were very

Chapter IV: My Chinese Impressions 139

highly educated, and had spent an amount of
time in acquiring their information thai would
suffice with us to lake a man through a leading
university and give him a Ph. I), degree. They
had a vast amount of learning, hut it was of no
practical value. It was the teachings of the filth

GHhr m

4> j

Iwi f *

A Neglected Buddhist Temple

The roof-beams are elaborately and beautifully carved

century before Christ rather than the nineteenth
century after.

Then, as to their religion: nominally they
possess the Buddhist faith; practically the only
religion they have is ancestral worship. Their
Buddhist temples, as a general thing, are neg-
lected, the idols dirty and broken, and even sub-

140 An American Engineer in China

ject to sale by the priests if the traveller wishes
to carry them away, and nowhere seemingly
treated with any veneration or respect, except
possibly by the boatmen, who have a sort of su-
perstitions fetich, as is common to the sailor class
in all lands. Their ancestors they venerate, and
every Chinese consequently wishes to have a son
who will worship at his grave as he has done tow-
ard his predecessors. In going across the coun-
try one sees occasionally a handsome grave, on
which a certain amount of care and thought had
been bestowed at the time of its construction,
and possibly since ; but when one contemplates
the usual resting-place of departed Celestials, lit-
tle hummocks of pyramidal shape, unmarked by
any inscription, untended and unkempt, on one
hand scattered about in more or less disorder, or
on another hand huddled together, one is easily
forced to conclude that ancestral worship cannot
have any deep-rooted sentiment, and that it is,
like the system of government, a matter of prec-
edent, or, as the native picturesquely puts it in
his pigeon English, "That b'long ole custom."

At Shanghai, Canton, and even in the interior,
there are to be met large buildings, frequently of
elaborate and beautiful design, called ancestral
temples, where the records of past members of a
great family are kept and the honors that indi-
viduals have won for the house are properly
posted. Here the various branches of the family

o

142 An American Engineer in China

can meet and worship before the little tablets
bearing the names oi their lathers and grand-
fathers. But such buildings have a purpose other
than a purely religious one. They provide a place
where, at stated times, the scattered members of
the clan can come together and see each other.
They have, therefore, a social, or rather a tribal,
function as well as a religious one.

Reference was made above to the trait of ex-
clusiveness in the Chinese character. No great
principle ever stops abruptly in its effects, so this
spirit of exclusiveness not only limits the external
bearings of the empire, but affects the internal re-
lations of the people as well. Carried out to the
logical conclusion it has made the family the su-
preme unit. To his family, not merely his wife
and children, but his family collectively, to the
tribal or community relation, as it were, the Chi-
naman owes his first allegiance ; after that to the
district ; then to the state or province ; and finally
to the nation. In consequence, any real national
feeling or pride, or any sense of genuine patriot-
ism, or in fact of any patriotism whatever, is ab-
solutely wanting. The nation as a whole is a
great mass without cohesion, and inviting the
comparison, which is so frequently made, to a
huge jelly-fish. When the war between China
and Japan broke out, the men in the interior, pro-
vided they were cognizant, which many were not,
that a struggle was going on, declared it to be

Chapter IV : My Chinese Impressions 143

that " Peking man's [Li Hung-chang] war," that
he had got into it, therefore let him get out of
it, entirely oblivious of the fact that they them-
selves constituted China, and that no matter who
was the author or what the cause, war was on,
and war with China meant not war with Li Hung-
chang, but. war with them. In the same way they
have tolerated, with scarcely a protest, the giving
away of their national territory. The man from
the interior cares not a whit whether Germany
occupies Shan-tung, or whether Russia has seized
the Liao-tung peninsula — " that is the 'pigeon'
[i.e., business] of the Shan-tung man." On a jour-
ney of some thirteen hundred miles between points
of civilization which our expedition in its various
parts collectively covered, with the single excep-
tion of a tug belonging to the China Merchant
Steamship Company which, according to the cus-
tom of that company, carried the Chinese flag, and
which we happened by chance to meet on the
Siang River, we saw not a single Chinese national
emblem, except the one that I flew on my own
junk alongside of the Stars and Stripes. From
no official yamen, from no city wall or military
camp, was it once displayed. No river gun-boat
threw it to the breeze, nor did any body of troops
carry it at their head. Flags everywhere were in
profusion, and in great profusion <>t colors and de-
sign, but they were always of a local or personal
character. Every gun-boat carried at least two

Chapter IV: My Chinese Impressions 145

beautiful red ones with huge white hieroglyphics
— the name of the commander. The regimenl or
guard that marched with us bore standards on
which was inscribed the designation of their cap-
tain. The Hag ol China was everywhere absent.
There was but one man in that long journey
found to do it honor, and that man was a " for-
eign devil." Undoubtedly there were thousands
who saw for the first; time the flag with the yel-
low field and the blue dragon, which they sup-
posed to be the fanciful and decorative creation
of the foreigner's mind.

The personal bearing of the upper-class China-
man, even in the interior where he never comes
in contact with the outer world, is kindly, courte-
ous, and polite, and quite up to what is found in
similar classes in other countries, to which we ap-
ply the term "civilized." On my inland journey,
when approaching a town or city, 1 was invaria-
bly met, at some distance outside the walls, by a
subofficial representing the chief magistrate, who
handed me the latter* s card and bade me welcome.
A Chinese card is a piece of thin red paper, about
six inches long and three wide, with the name
printed in bold, black characters. There are
fashions in cards in China as in Europe. Some
high officials affect huge cards as indicative of
rank. Other persons, when leaving cards on per-
sons of position, use characters of microscopic
size as suggesting great inferiority on the part of

I 46

An American Engineer in China

the caller, a very pretty compliment, but one
whose sincerity, like other compliments, is open
to question. Mourning is indicated by a small
character in an upper corner. On reaching my
quarters, usually a temple, the local officials im-
mediately called, those of junior rank merely
leaving their cards without troubling me, and

General Liu Kao-chao at Tiffin

those of higher rank sending in their cards and
waiting for an interview if 1 desired one. The
etiquette of leaving cards and immediately re-
turning calls is more rigorous than with us. On
first meeting with an official, conversation was
naturally formal and stilted, but on subsequent oc-
casions small-talk would flow as easilv as the limi.
tations of interpreting both ways would permit.

Chapter IV: My Chinese Impressions 147

In some cases, where acquaintance was developed
by being fellow-travellers, we found among those
people precisely the same spirit of companionship
that existed among ourselves. External appear-
ances and differences in environment do not affect
human nature. General Liu Kao-chao, military
commandant of Chang-sha, who journeyed with us
for three hundred miles, by his genial and whole-
souled character caused us to part with him with
deep regrets, and his evidently unfeigned delight
in his midday tipple of Scotch whiskey at tiffin
will always remain a bright spot in a very inter-
esting journey.

Chapter

Commerce and Commercial Relations

THE foreign commerce of China is carried
on through and at twenty-nine Treaty Ports.
Previous to 1840 trade with foreigners was
much hampered owing to its being subject to local
regulations, all of which were annoying, many of
them ridiculous, and some actually jeopardizing
to both life and property. In 1842 Great Britain,
availing herself of the successful outcome of what
is known as the Opium War, stipulated that as
one of the indemnities, China should declare the
ports of Canton, Amoy, Fu-chow, Ning-po, and
Shanghai to be thrown entirely open to British
trade and residence, and that commerce with Brit-
ish subjects should be conducted at these ports
under a properly regulated tariff and free from
special Chinese restrictions. Although Great
Britain nominally secured for herself special con-
siderations, she intended and actually accom-
plished the establishing of commerce between
China and all other nations on a sound and liberal
basis. The treaty of Nan-king was immediately
followed by similar treaties with other powers,
that with the United States being executed in
1844. Additional ports, decreed by treaties or
other arrangements by the Chinese Government,
have been added from year to year. At the end

148

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 149

of the year 1899 the Maritime Customs reported
twenty-nine of these ports with several branch or
sub-ports in addition. At nearly all ol them there
is a special reservation, called the foreign conces-
sion, where foreigners are allowed to reside and
regulate their method of living in their own way.
Although foreigners are permitted to dwell in the
Chinese quarter if they so desire, the right to hold
property in the concessions is usually denied to
Chinese, and they are discriminated against in
other ways.

Previous to i860 the management of foreign
commerce had been in the hands of Chinese offi-
cials, with the usually unsatisfactory result attend-
ing any official department handled by native over-
seers. In that year the business of the port of
Shanghai was placed temporarily in the hands of
English, American, and French Commissioners,
who were able to so improve the receipts by effi-
cient and honest management that the Chinese
Government, recognizing the desirability of con-
tinuing foreign supervision, organized the Im-
perial Maritime Customs and placed the manage-
ment of the whole foreign trade in the hands of a
single Commissioner, called an Inspector-General.
It appointed to this position Mr. Lav, succeeded
in 1863 bv Mr., afterward Sir, Robert Hart, who
has continued in the control since then, and to
whom is due the present very satisfactory con-
dition of the management of this Bureau, to

150 An American Engineer in China

which has since been attached, in order to secure
efficiency, a Marine Department, covering light-
houses and harbor regulations and the Chinese
Imperial Post-office.

The ports open in 1899 were : Niu-chwang, Tien-
tsin, Che-ioo, Chung-king, I-chang, Sha-si, Yo-
chow, Hankow, Kiu-kiang, Wu-hu, Nan-king,
Chin-kiang, Shanghai, Soo-chow, Ning-po, Hang-
chow, Wen-chow, San-tuao, Foo-chow, Amoy,
Swa-tow, Wu-chow, Sam-shui, Canton, Kiung-
chow, Pack-hoi, Lung-chow, Meng-tsz, and Sz-
mao. Of these Niu-chwang is located in the north,
at the terminus of the Chinese Imperial Railway,
and is the gateway through which the trade passes
from China to Russian Manchuria. Two ports,
Tien-tsin and Che-foo, are situated on the Gulf of
Pe-chi-li, while the next eleven on the list, Chung-
king to Soo-chow, are on the Yang-tze Kiang or
its tributaries. Seven ports, Ning-po to Swa-tow,
are on the East Coast. Wu-chow and Sam-shui
are on the West River. Canton is the great port
of Southern China and the oldest seat of foreign
trade in the country. Kiung-chow is on the Isl-
and of Hainan, and Pak-hoi, Lung-chow, Meng-tsz,
and Sz-mao are on the Franco-China frontier of
Tong-king. The last three and Niu-chwang are
the only places not situated on important water-
ways. Of the total foreign trade about three-
quarters is transacted through Canton, Shanghai,
Tientsin, and Hankow, which are the great dis-

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 151

tributing points for the south, middle coast, north,
and interior.

The importance of Canton, Shanghai, Tien-
tsin, and Hankow, is fixed by geographical condi-
tions. Canton is at the head of the Canton River,
which is really the estuary for the combined flow
of the West, the North, and the East Rivers, the
three principal streams and consequent trade
routes of Southern China. With its fine harbor
and juxtaposition to Hongkong, it is, of necessity,
and must always continue to be, the gateway to
the southern part of the Empire. In like manner,
Shanghai, at the month of the Yang-tze, is the
controlling point for the whole of the central
zone; while Tien-tsin, the port of Peking, is the
entrance to the north, the northwest, and Mon-
golia. Hankow is at the head of steamship navi-
gation on the Yang-tze, and at the junction of thai
stream and its principal tributary, the Han, and if
the extreme western part of the country be omit-
ted, which part is mountainous and very thinly
populated, Hankow is approximately the geo-
graphical centre of the Empire.

Natiye vessels trading between native ports
report at custom-houses administered bv native
officials, where the records are hopelessly con-
fused, and which, as a source of income to the
Chinese Government, will be referred to in a later
chapter.

The foreign commerce of China, both import

bD tjj

*j c o

a

n!
3

c

IX

c

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 153

and export, is growing steadily, having doubled
since 1891, the figures for 1899 showing that for-
eign goods to the value of 264,748,456 Haikwan
taels ($185,324,000) were imported, and native
goods to the value of 195,784,332 Haikwan taels
($137,049,000) were exported, or a total commerce
of 460,533,288 Haikwan taels.

Owing to the lack of internal communication,
the distribution of Chinese commerce is singu-
larly restricted. Of the imports more than one-
half is confined to two classes of articles alone ;
thus cotton and cotton goods in 1899 accounted
for 40.2 per cent., and opium, unfortunately, for
13.5 per cent. In like manner the exports, silk
and tea, stand out almost without competition
with other articles ; these two together also ag-
gregating more than 50 per cent, of the total.
Silk provided no less than 41.8 per cent, and tea
16.3 per cent. Kerosene oil, metals, rice, sugar,
and coal are other articles largely imported, and
beans, hides and furs, mats and matting, and wool
other exports.

Although the extent of the traffic entered at
native custom-houses, or, at least, not passing
through the Maritime Customs, cannot be ascer-
tained, that it is considerable is well understood,
as can be shown by the single item of the export
of rice. The exportation of this article was in
1898 prohibited in order to prevent a possible
shortage at home. The Maritime Customs, there-

154 An American Engineer in China

fore, report no rice as having been shipped out-
ward during that year. The Japanese Customs,
however, report having received rice from China
to the value of $2,000,000 United States gold. It
had been smuggled out in native vessels through
the native customs and the Government deprived
of revenue. An amusing explanation of this is
given, which so thoroughly illustrates Chinese
methods as to be worth repeating. As rice forms
the greatest single item in Chinese food, any fall-
ing off in supply threatens a famine, the one thing
the Government most dreads. Such being the
case in 1898, stringent orders were sent to the
Customs Tao-tai in Shanghai to prohibit an)- ex-
port of the grain, the greatest source of supply
for which being the Yang-tze Valley, Shanghai
is the natural point of shipment. On account of
the power attached to it, and the opportunities
offered, the position of Shanghai Tao-tai is one
specially sought after, and it is generally believed
that the price paid for a three-year appointment,
in the way of "presents" to the Palace officials,
is about 200,000 taels. Since the authorized
emoluments are about 20,000 taels per annum, out
of which expenses exceeding that amount must be
paid, it is evident that great financial skill must
be displayed by the official in order to make both
ends meet. On receipt of the restraining order,
the Tao-tai, under the advice of the syndicate who
were "financing" him, held the order for some

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 155

days, during which time the energetic syndicate
members bought all the rice in sight, put it in
vessels, and rushed it abroad to Japan, a country
which buys the inferior grade of Chinese rice for
home consumption and ships abroad its own su-
perior article. As soon as the embargo was pub-
lished, the value of rice afloat at once rose and the
Tao-tai syndicate cleared a handsome profit. This
illustrates Chinese fiscal methods, and warrants
the statement that the actual foreign commerce
of the country is greater than the figures indicate.

China levies on its foreign commerce a tariff for
revenue only. The rate charged on nearly all
articles is five per cent, on imports and exports
alike, although there are some special rates and a
number of articles on the free list. The actual
average rate on imports and exports runs from
three to four per cent. It is the general opinion
of merchants in China that, should it become nec-
essary to add to the Government's income, this
rate could be increased without any serious detri-
ment to foreign commerce. In Japan the Govern-
ment has found it necessary, in order to derive
more revenue, to seriously increase its custom
tariff, so that the present charges range from
thirty to fifty per cent, ad valorem.

Foreign articles destined for consumption at
the treaty ports or places of importation pay no
further taxes. When, however, they are sent into
the interior, they are obliged to pay internal trans-

156 An American Engineer in China

portation taxes called " Likin," collected at vari-
ous stations along the trade routes. These likin
charges, although they form a perfectly legiti-
mate method of taxation, are objected to by the
Chinese quite as much as by foreign traders, on
account of their uncertain amount, which, accord-
ing to Chinese custom, is left largely to the official
in charge, who collects as much as he can. The
foreign nations, in order to obviate these diffi-
culties, have arranged with the Chinese Govern-
ment to permit foreign articles destined for the
interior to pay a single tax of two and a half per
cent, to the Imperial Maritime Customs and then
to receive what is called a " transit pass" entitling
the goods to pass the interior likin stations with-
out further charge. Unfortunately these transit
passes are not always respected by officials in the
interior, unless they think that the shipper will
appeal to a foreign government, and therefore the
officials are apt to levy likin in accordance with
their own needs, and of the total collected, but a
small part finds its way into the public treasury.

The native merchant has no such advantage as
the foreigner in securing immunity from likin ex-
tortion, and has to resort to all sorts of subter-
fuges to escape the impositions of his own coun-
trymen, one of the most frequent of such resorts
being to keep his goods under the name of a for-
eign merchant if possible. Another device was
told to me by a customs official on the West River,

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 157

where the local farmers raise tobacco which
is consumed mostly in Northern Kwang-tung.
If it were shipped direct it would be charged
en route a large and uncertain likin tax, the un-
certainty of the amount being the worst feature,
as it may easily convert an apparently profitable
transaction into a serious loss. To avoid this the
tobacco is loaded on a sea-going junk and shipped
to Hongkong. From there the junk brings it
back and enters it at the point of original ship-
ment as a foreign importation. For this the mer-
chant secures a transit pass under which he ships
it to its destination. lie has paid the freight and
import taxes of five per cent, each, the transit
pass fee of two and a half per cent., and the ship-
ping charges both ways to Hongkong, and the
expense of rehandling. These items he can ascer-
tain accurately beforehand, and therefore prefers
paying them rather than run the likin gauntlet,
which may be from ten per cent, to fifty per cent,
or more.

The Chinaman is by very instinct a trader, is
quick to see and seize an opportunity to turn a
profit, and has, what few other Eastern Asiatics
have, a high sense of commercial honor. Al-
though the great mass of them is poor, yet there
is a wealthy class, and there exists, even in the in-
terior, a demand lor much more than the mere
necessaries of life.

Now, what have the United States done in the

1 58 An American Engineer in China

past in this great country, how do they stand there
to-day, what can they do and what should they do
in the future? These are the considerations that
most concern us.

To answer the Hist two of these questions, there
are two sources of statistics which we can exam-
ine— the returns of the United States, and of the
Imperial Chinese Maritime Customs. Unfortu-
nately, both of these sources are rendered value-
less for exact deductions because of Hongkong.
This, as is well known, is a British colony, and one
of the few places on the globe where actual free
trade exists. Being a British colon)', enjoying
free trade, and possessing a magnificent harbor,
it has become a great depot, or warehouse, where
goods, whose ultimate destination, either in China
or anywhere else in the Far East, is not definitely
fixed, are shipped in the first instance, and thence
rebilled to the point of consumption.

In this act their nationality is lost, for the re-
turns of the shipping nation classes them as ex-
ports to Hongkong, while China, of course, treats
them as imports from that place. The import re-
turns of the Imperial Maritime Customs show
that nearly one-half of the foreign commerce
entering China comes from Hongkong. Thence
many waiters fall into errors, either by taking the
direct trade between China and any other coun-
try as limited to the reported figures, or by class-
ing Hongkong under the head of Great Britain

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 159

and Colonies. The conclusions reached in these
ways are grievously wrong. Although foreign
goods are trans-shipped from Hongkong to Japan,
the Philippine Islands, Siam, and other parts of
the Orient, yet at least three-quarters of all goods
(of American probably a higher proportion) re-
ceived there find their final market in China ; so
to determine approximately the exports from the
United States, or from any other country to China,
the only way is to add to the direct exports three-
quarters of the shipments to Hongkong. And to
determine the relative standing of the trade of
several nations, we should deduct the Hongkong
trade from China's total as shown by the returns
of the Imperial Maritime Customs, and then com-
pare the reported direct imports or exports. This
last calculation will not yield the actual amount
of trade by about one-half, but it will show with
fair closeness the percentage of trade secured
and the rate of increase. I have in this manner
obtained the figures for the year 1893, the period
just previous to the Japanese War; those of 1883
and 1873, respectively the tenth and the twentieth
year preceding 1893 ; and those for 1898, the fifth
year following, and also for 1899, the last com-
plete year of normal trade conditions existing be-
fore the Boxer revolution. This table shows the
import trade of China exclusive of Hongkong
and the relative standing of the leading commer-
cial powers, the actual trade of which is not as

160 An American Engineer in China

stated, for the tabic does not include shipments
through I [ongkong.

DIRECT EXPORTS TO CHINA.

1875 1883 1893 1898 1899
Hk. Tls. Hk. Tls. Hk. Tls. Hk. Tls. Hk. Tls.
Total, except Hong-
kong 44,202,000 45,863,000 72,435,922 116,737,079 146,652,248

Great Britain 20,991,000 16,930,000 28,156,077 34,962,474 40,161,115

India 16,709,000 17,154,000 16,739,588 19,135,546 31,911,214

Japan 3,207,000 3,738,000 7,852,068 22,581,812 31,414,362

Continent of Europe. . 662,000 2,385,000 5,920,363 10,852,073 13,405,637

United States 244,000 2,708,000 5,443,569 17,161,312 22,288,745

In the above tabic all the Continental powers of
Europe are grouped as one. From this it will be
seen that the export trade of the United States,
an insignificant amount in 1873, has now out-
stripped the combined exports from the whole
Continent of Europe, and will be soon contesting
for second place with India and Japan. Had it
not been for sudden increased shipments in 1899
of certain special articles like coal on the part of
these countries, which articles China can and
should produce, the United States would have
passed the Indian trade and be close on to that
of Japan. In point of exports from China the
United States trade in 1899 had reached a point
surpassing that of any other country except
Great Britain.

But along what lines have these increases been
made? Do they represent only a greater out-
turning of raw material — the direct products of
the soil — or of manufactured articles, carrying

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 161

with them the results of American ingenuity and
American labor, a form of export trade always
the most desirable ?

Taking the full list, there were, according to
the United States Government classification, ex-
ports in 1893 under fifty-seven heads, but. in 1898,
according to the same classification, exports un-
der seventy-six heads. The greater part of the
increase in the five years (amounting to a total of
$6,091,613) was due to manufactures of cotton,
which increased $3,558,794; to raw cotton, which
increased from nothing to $370,670; to manu-
factures of iron and steel, including machinery,
$416,048, and to oils, chiefly kerosene, $1,055,797.
The manufactures of cotton, which in 1898
amounted to $5,193,427, reached, during the next
United States fiscal year (1899), $9,844,565. That
is to say, the value of cotton cloths alone was, in
the year 1899, almost as large as the value of the
total American imports into China during the
preceding year of all articles of whatsoever nat-
ure. This class of goods, the products of our
New England and Southern mills, is the greatest
single item of American commerce, and has al-
ready reached a point where, in certain grades, it.
dominates absolutely the Chinese market.

Taking Drills, Jeans, and Sheetings, the three
great items of cotton goods consumed by the
Chinese, and examining the trade of the three
northern ports of Niu-chwang, Tien-tsin, and

\G2 An American Engineer in China

Che-foo, American goods comprise of total re-
ceipts at the fust : ninel y-eight per cent., and at the
second and third ninety-five per cent., the small
remaining balance being divided between the
English, Indian, Dutch, Japanese, and other man-
ufacturing nations. But quite as extraordinary
as this there must be kept in mind the fact that
of the total exports to all countries of American
manufactures in cotton cloths, the Chinese market
consumes just one-half.

Another article of American commerce that
figured very small in the earlv returns, but now
shows a great and increasing importance, is flour.
It is shipped almost wholly to Hongkong, and
thence forwarded to Canton, Amoy, or other
southern Chinese ports. In the fiscal year end-
ing June 30, 1898, no less than $3,835,727 worth
was exported from here, and during the corre-
sponding period of 1900, a value of $4,502,081.
Wheat is not grown in Southern China, and
American flour has captured the demand, just as
American cottons have done in the north. Next
to Great Britain and Germany our best customer
for American flour is China.

Such is the state of our Chinese trade to-day,
and no one can find fault with its present condi-
tion and its recent development. But what of
the future ?

The success of the American commercial in-
vasion depends absolutely on the maintenance of

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 163

the existing status. China, in the liberality of the
regulations affecting foreign commerce, is second
to no other nation. In levying a tax, amounting
to less than four per cent., she gives preferential
duties to none, special privileges only as com-
pelled by the stress of force in Manchuria and
Shan-tung, and extends a freedom of welcome
to all. It is true that nations occupying Chinese
territory make so far no invidious distinction be-
tween their own and other people; but it must be
remembered that their tenure is only nominal, and
while the title to these lands remains vested in
China, it would be difficult, in the face of existing
treaties, to impose discriminating rules. Let Rus-
sia, however, become legally, as she is virtually,
possessed of Manchuria ; let her Trans-Siberian
railway be completed, and let her claim openly
as her own, not only Manchuria, but also the
metropolitan province of Chi-li, is it to be sup-
posed for one moment that the present freedom
and equality of trade that China offers will be
maintained? If anyone believes this, let him talk
with those in China who direct the course of
Muscovite affairs. These officials, when in a con-
fidential mood, will explain that the Trans-Siberian
railway is a Government enterprise, and that it is
much more important for Russia to give low and
special rates to Russian cotton and other manufact-
ures which the Government is fostering at home
than to look for a direct profit from the operation

164 An American Engineer in China

oJ the railway. And vet Manchuria and the north-
eastern part of China are to-day the best, market
for American goods. During the year 1899 no
less than $6,297,300 worth of our cottons alone en-
tered the port of Tien-tsin, and $4,216,700 worth
entered the port of Niu-chwang in addition. The
latter amount was for consumption in Manchuria,
Chinese and Russian. It is interesting to note
that the whole import trade (including exports
through Hongkong) from Russia, Siberia, and
Russian Manchuria to the whole of the Chinese
Empire amounted to less than the imports of
two grades of American cotton goods at Niu-
chwang alone. When, therefore, Russia seized
Lower Manchuria, the country most interested
next to China, whose territory was being de-
spoiled, was not Japan, who was being robbed of
her fruits of victory; was not Russia, who was
adding another kingdom to her empire ; was not
Great Britain, the world's great trader, but it was,
little as it was appreciated, the United States.
The American interests in seeing commercial
equality maintained, far and away transcend those
of any other nation.

Foreign trade in China to-day is confined ex-
clusively to the treaty ports located along the
coast and up the Yang-tze River. When goods
are shipped to China, they are resold by the for-
eign houses resident in these treaty ports to Chi-
nese merchants, and by them in tun: are retailed

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 165

in the interior. So far, therefore, as the foreigner
directly is concerned, his trade is confined simply
to the outer edge of the country ; to him the in-
terior is a terra incognita. The success of a com-
mercial invasion depends, not on these treaty
ports, not on the purchase of goods along the
outer edge of the country, but on the possibility
of reaching directly that great mass of population
which lies far away from the sea, out of reach of
existing means of transportation, and practically
buried in the interior. If they cannot be got at,
or if, when reached, they cannot and will not trade,
then it is not worth while to consider any general
forward movement.

In the course of my journey in the interior of
China, I went through the province of Hu-peh,
which the Yang-tze Kiang traverses; the province
of Kwang-tung, lying along the China Sea, and,
between these two, the province of Hu-nan, which
practically had not been traversed before by white
men. Here evidently was virgin soil, and its con-
dition can, therefore, be taken as a criterion of
what the Chinaman is when unaffected by foreign
influences. Even here I found that, although the
foreigner's foot might never before have trodden
the streets of the cities, his goods were already
exposed for sale in the shop-windows.

In thinking of the Chinese, especially those in
the interior, we are wont to consider them as un-
civilized ; and so they are, if measured scrupulous-

166 An American Engineer in China

Iv by our peculiar standards. But, on the other
hand, they might say with some justice that we
are not civilized according to the standards that
they have set for themselves, founded on an ex-
perience of four thousand years. With all its
differences from ourselves, a nation that has had
an organization for five thousand years; that has

Road-side Shrine in which Papers are Burned

used printing for over eight centuries; that has
produced the works of art that China has pro-
duced ; that possesses a literature antedating that
of Rome or Athens ; whose people maintain
shrines along the highways in which, following
the precepts of the classics to respect the written
page, they are wont to pick up and burn printed

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 167

papers rather than have them trampled under

foot ; and which, to indicate a modern instance,
was able to furnish me with a native letter of
credit on local banks in unexplored Hu-nan, can
hardly be denied the right to call itsell civil-
ized. In the interior — in those parts where no
outside influence has ever reached — we found
cities whose walls, by their size, their crenelated
parapets, and their keeps and watch-towers, sug-
gested mediaeval Germany rather than Cathay.
Many of the houses are of masonry, with deco-
rated tile roofs, and elaborately carved details.
The streets are paved with stone. The shops dis-
play in their windows articles of every form, of
every make. The streams are crossed by arched
bridges unsurpassed in their graceful outline and
good proportions. The farmer lives in a group of
farm buildings enclosed by a compound wall— the
whole exceeding in picturesqueness any bit in
Normandv or Derbyshire. The rich mandarin
dresses himself in summer in brocaded silk, and in
winter in sable furs. He is waited on by a retinue
of well-trained servants, and will invite the stran-
ger to a dinner at night composed of ten or fifteen
courses, entertaining him with a courtesy and in-
tricacy of etiquette that Mavfair itself cannot ex-
cel. Such are actual conditions in parts of China
uninfluenced by foreign presence, and so far the
civilization of the interior is a real thing. That
the Chinaman allows his handsome building's to

168 An American Engineer in China

fall into disrepair ; that his narrow city streets
reek with foul odors; that the pig has equal rights
with the owner of the pretty farm-house; and that
the epicure takes delight at his dinner in sharks'

A Hu-nan Farm-house

fins instead of terrapin — these are merely differ-
ences in details ; and if they are faults, as we con-
sider them to be, they will naturally be corrected
as soon as the Chinaman, with his quick wit, per-
ceives his errors, when the opportunity to study
Occidental standards comes to him.

Chang-sha, the capital of Hu-nan, is one of the
most interesting cities in the whole Empire, as
marking the very highest development of Chi-
nese exclusiveness and dividing with Lhassa in
Tibet the boast of shutting its gates tightly in
the face of foreign contamination. In a previous
chapter an account was given of how the present
conservative governor had closed the schools
organized by his more liberal predecessor, and

Chapter V : Commercial Relations 169

had tried to root up the budding movement tow-
ard reform and progress. But he made one in-
teresting-and highly suggestive omission in allow-
ing the electric-light plant to continue. When,
at the end of our first day at Chang-sha, as I
stood on my boat watching the city wall, the
picturesque roofs, the junks on the shore and the
surging crowd slowly lose their distinctness in
the twilight, and then saw them suddenly brought
into view again by the glare of the bright electric
arcs as the current was turned on to light the nar-
row streets, I smiled as I realized the utter impos-
sibility ol stopping the onward march of nine-
teenth century progress, and that the Chinese
themselves, even at the very heart-centre of anti-
ioreignism, are ready to turn from the old to the
new.

In the shop- windows at Chang-sha there are
displayed for sale articles with American, Eng-
lish, French, German, Japanese, and other brands.
One shop, I noticed, displayed a good assortment
of American canned fruits and vegetables. This
is the condition of affairs, not in Shanghai or Amoy,
open ports, but in the most exclusively Chinese
section in the whole Empire. That the Chinaman
will buy, that he will adopt foreign ways, there is
no question; and he is just as ready to make the
greater changes in his life that must result from
the introduction of railways as to buy a few more
pieces of cotton or a few more tons of steel.

170 An American Engineer in China

But in order to buy more, the Chinaman must
be able to sell more ; for no mailer what his incli-
nation may be, unless he lias something to give in
return, he cannot trade. The exports from China
have been expanding gradually, and in step with
the imports. In 1888 they were 92,401,067 taels ;
had increased to 116,632,311 taels in 1893, and had
further advanced to 195,784,332 taels in 1899. The
two great items of Chinese export, as was shown
above, are silk and tea. The output of silk is in-
creasing steadily, especially in the manufactured
form. The amount of tea exported, however, is
not on the increase, being about the same that it
was ten years ago, the tea trade having been ad-
versely affected by the competition of Japan, Cey-
lon, and India, where more favorable transporta-
tion facilities have given advantages. Both tea
and silk, however, are staple articles, with no
chance of substitutes being found, and the world's
demand for both is steadily increasing. The
possibility of enlarging the output of silk is great,
tor there are in Northern Kwang-tung alone large
areas of land capable of producing mulberry, that
are lying idle at present because there are no
transportation facilities.

The idea we have of the interior of China as
over-peopled, and with every square foot of land
under cultivation, is entirely without founda-
tion, except possibly in certain portions of the
great loess plain in the north. There is a great

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 171

amount of land, capable of producing crops of
various kinds and of supporting a population, thai
to-day lies fallow and untilled. Given the means
of sending their produce to the sea and so to the
foreigner, the people of the interior will see to it
that the produce is ready.

Then there are vast mineral resources that are
practicallv untouched. China, with coal-fields
exceeding in quantity those of Europe, imported
last year no less than 859,370 tons of coal, valued
at $4,477,670 gold, nearly the whole of which came
from Japan. With railways to bring the output
of the mines to market, there will not only be no
importing, thus permitting at least that amount
to be expended for other foreign goods, but there
should be a large export of coal to Hongkong
for foreign shipping, and to other Eastern coun-
tries for local consumption. In addition to the
coal, there are beds of copper, iron, lead, and sil-
ver that, to-day untouched, are only awaiting the
screech of the locomotive whistle.

In short, the resources, both agricultural and
mineral, are at hand to permit a foreign commerce
to be carried on — to pay the cost of building of
railways and to provide sustenance for a commer-
cial invasion.

But as yet China has made no effort to develop
her latent powers. As was shown, the bulk of
her exports are confined to two articles, due to
her people not utilizing their natural advantages

i-j2 An American Engineer in China

in diversity of soil and climate. Each locality
produces that single article which gives the best
local result, without considering broad market
conditions. Thus in the south it is mostly silk
and rice; in the central zone rice and tea, and in
the north millet and wheat. Every bit of valley
land is cultivated, but the hills are let go waste.
There are gfreat areas of srrazhm- land where some
day the Chinese will let herds roam, producing
beef and hides, which they will turn to commer-
cial profit ; while on other hill-sides, as I saw be-
ing done in places, they will set out forests, and
arbor culture will be well suited to their patient
ways. As yet the)7 have worked their lands only
with a view to home consumption ; there are many
ways in which they can devote them and their
energies to furnish export articles for the imports
they will buy.

The position of the United States in China is
peculiarly advantageous, because, in the first
place, China regards our country as friendly in
the desire to protect rather than despoil her terri-
tory, and because, in the second place, other na-
tions have been willing to see ours come forward
when they would have objected most strenuously
to the same advancement on the part of one of
their own number. The men who guide our na-
tional affairs and foreign commerce should always
see to it that China's confidence is not abused.
But as for the friendliness of other nations tow-

Chapter V: Commercial Relations i

ard us in relation to China, so soon as the press-
ure of American trade begins to be felt by them,
efforts will be made to thwart it if possible ; and it
must be remembered that to-day all the machinery
of commerce, in the way of banks, transportation
companies, cable lines, and other forms, is in their
hands. When the meeting of the American and
European invasions takes place, unless we have an
organization, a base and rallying point, a tangible
something besides mere labels on boxes or bales
as representing American force, the struggle will
be a hard one, for the native is apt to judge his
associates by the outward visible signs, and with
a natural tendency to deal with the strongest. In
this respect commerce in the Far East stands, and
will stand for a long time, on a different footing
from that of commerce in Europe.

In order to be thoroughly successful, to expand
our trade far beyond its present boundaries, we
should make a careful and intelligent study of the
Chinaman in his tastes and habits. If we wish to
sell him goods, we must make them of a form and
kind that will please him and not necessarilv our-
selves. This is a fact too frequently overlooked
by both the English and ourselves, but one of
which the Germans, who may be our real compet-
itors in the end, take advantage. For example,
at the present moment, if a careful study were
made of Chinese designs, the market for American
printed goods could be largely broadened. It is

174 An American Engineer in China

not for our people to say that our designs are
prettier; the Chinaman prefers his own, and he
will not buy any other. The United States Min-
ister to China, talking upon this subject, gave me
a striking instance of foolish American obstinacy.
The representative of a large concern manufact-
uring a staple article in hardware, let us say
screws, had been working hard to secure an order
for his screws, which he knew were better than
the German article then supplying the demand.
At last he obtained a trial order, amounting to
$5,000, which he cabled out; but it was given on
the condition that the screws be wrapped in a
peculiar manner, say in blue paper, according to
the form in which the native merchant had been
accustomed to buy them. Was the order filled?
Not at all. The company cabled back that their
goods were always wrapped in brown paper and
that no change could be made. The order then
went to Germanv. To the American concern an
order for $5,000 was of small moment, perhaps;
but they overlooked entirely the fact that this
was the thin edge of the wedge, opening a trade
that could be developed into tremendous propor-
tions. This instance is not isolated, for, unfortu-
nately, the reports of all our consuls are filled
with parallel ones.

A study must also be made of the grade and
quality of the article shipped. It is no use to send
to China, to be sold in the interior, tools, for in-

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 175

stance, of the same high finish and quality that

our mechanics exact in their own. A Chinaman's
tools are hand-made, of rough finish and low cost.
In the interior cities one sees a tool-maker take a
piece of steel, draw all the temper, hammer it ap-
proximately to the shape of the knife or axe, chisel
or razor, or whatever other article he may be
about to make ; then, with a sort of drawing-knife
pare it down to the exact shape required, retem-
per it, grind it to an edge, and fix it in a rough
wooden handle. This work is clone by a man at
a wage of about ten cents a day, and this is the
competition that our manufacturer must meet.
In spite of the difference in cost of labor he can
do so, because his tools are machine-made, and
are better ; but he must waste no money on un-
necessary finish.

As an example, the case of lamps is directly to
the point. The Chinaman fairly revels in illumi-
nation ; he hates the dark, and everywhere, even
in the smallest country towns wholly removed
from foreign influence, it is possible to buy Stand-
ard oil or its competitors in the Chinese market,
the Russian and Sumatra brands. The importa-
tion of illuminating oils is increasing tremen-
dously. In 1892 it was 17,370,600 gallons, and in
1898 it was 44,324,344 gallons. But what of the
lamps in which this oil is burned? In 1892 the
United States sent to China lamps to the value of
$10,813, and in 1898 to the value of $4,690. That

176 An American Engineer in China

is to say, lamps are one of the few articles
which show a decrease. While the consumption
of oil had increased more than two and one-half

times, the importation of American lamps had de-
creased in almost the same ratio. This was not
due to the manufacture of lamps in China, but to
the German and Japanese manufacturers making
a study of the trade and turning out a special
article. These lamps — and I saw them for sale
everywhere, even in unexplored Hu-nan — have a
metal stand, generally of brass, stamped out from
thin sheets, with Chinese characters and decora-
tions; and were it not for a small imprint of the
manufacturer's name on the base, they woidd be
considered of Chinese make. They are inex-
pensive, of the kind desired by the Chinaman,
although perhaps not for sale in Hamburg or
Berlin. On the other hand, the American article,
much more handsome, from our point of view,
but also more expensive, is of the same style as is
sold on Broadway in New York.

There is no need to multiply examples. There
awaits the American manufacturer an outlet, espe-
cially for tools, machinery, and other articles in
iron and steel. He will find a demand for the
smaller and lighter machines, rather than for the
larger ones. That is to say, he must appeal first
to the individual worker who exists now, rather
than aim at the needs of a conglomeration in a
factory which will come about in the future. The

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 177

tools should be simple in character, easily worked
and kept in order, and without the application
of quick-return and other mechanical devices so
necessary for labor-saving with us. Light wood-

A Chinese Saw-mill

The teeth of the saw are arranged to cut on the up stroke instead of
on the down, as in other countries

working machinery can be made to supplant the
present manual-labor methods; and a large field
is open for all kinds of pumps, windmills, piping,
and other articles of hydraulic machinery.

Cotton goods of the finer grades, as well as the

178 An American Engineer in China

coarser which are supplied, household articles of
all kinds, glassware, window-glass, wall-paper,
and plumbing fixtures will find a ready market,
as will also farm equipments, such as light-wheeled
vehicles and small agricultural implements of all
kinds. In these, as in many manufactured arti-
cles, American trade has as yet made little or no
impression; and vet the American article has an
acknowledged superiority over any other for-
eign make.

It is necessary for us also to study the China-
man himself. The English and American traders
make but little attempt to learn the language, and
therefore frequently fail to come into personal
contact with the native merchant. They are in-
clined to leave such negotiations to be conducted
through a compradore, a native in the employ of
the firm, who makes all the contracts, and who
guarantees to his firm all native accounts, receiving
a commission for his services. The German, and
especially the Japanese, merchants, on the other
hand, make a great effort to come into direct rela-
tions with those with whom they trade. They
are still making use of the compradore system,
but within reasonable limits. As to which course
is preferable in the long run there can be no ques-
tion. Our houses should adopt, the suggestion
made in the report of the Blackburn (England)
Chamber of Commerce, "to train in the Chinese
spoken language and mercantile customs youths

Chapter V: Commercial Relations 179

selected . . . for their business capacity. Such
a system," the report adds, " would give us a hold
over foreign trade in China that present methods
can never do."

Finally to be considered, there is the official rep-
resentative of the United States, the consul. It
is bad enough, as our practice is, to send consuls
to France, or Germany, or Italy, who are un-
acquainted with the language of the country.
But how much worse to send as our Government
agents to China, the nation most difficult of all to
come into relations with, men without any idea,
not only of the language, but of the customs and
the idiosyncrasies of the people.

This is not a reflection upon our present staff,
many of whom are excellent and worthy men and
who are now acquainted with the characteristics
of those to whom they are accredited. But under
our system, by the time a man understands his du-
ties, he is removed. Nowhere else in the world
is there so great a need for a permanent consular
service as in China.

The British Government long ago established
a separate consular service for the East, entirely
distinct from that elsewhere, so that a man once
in the Chinese service stays there, and is not likely
to be transferred to a European or American post.
Secretary Hay has lately made a beginning tow-
ard this end by proposing to establish a school
at Peking. If the idea is not carried out now,

i So

An American Engineer in China

circumstances will compel its adoption later. We
should awake to the realization of our opportuni-
ties, and unite for the invasion, not only of China,
but of other Oriental lands as well.

A Military Officer and Two Privates

Chapter

VI

Finances of China

THE ability of the Chinaman to contradict
himself reaches the maximum in matters
of finance. This strikes the observer as
singular, for the Chinese have no equals in their
understanding of the use of money, in their ability
to husband it and make it go far, and in their
economical and saving habits. Yet they have
elaborated a monetary system which, for cumber-
someness and downright wastefulness, is without
an equal.

This lack of progress is rendered more extra-
ordinary by the fact that bank-notes, one of the
greatest steps in the way of making financial
transactions more convenient, originated in China,
where they were known probably as early as
A.T). 800, or about eight centuries before the de-
vice was reinvented in Europe. In the first place
there is no standard of value; the nearest ap-
proach being a tael, which is subdivided deci-
mally into maces, the mace into candareens, and
the candareen into li. But these things exist in
names only, and not as coins, for the lael is but a
weight of silver bullion. This would be serious
enough if there was only one tael, but, as a matter
of fact, there arc over sixty in different parts of
the country differing in value as much as kn per

181

182 An American Engineer in China

cent., the nearest approach to a standard being
the Haikwan tael as used in the Maritime Cus-
toms. When, therefore, a native merchant wishes
to pay a debt, it is not only necessary for him to
know the price, but to know the tael that the
price is expressed in, and to have at hand a set of
scales to weigh his broken bits of silver, while a
discussion as to the "touch" or fineness of the
metal offered may readjust the whole transaction.
There is, however, a Chinese coin, the cash.
This is of copper, round in shape with a square
hole in the centre to permit the pieces to be
strung together. It is a coin of great antiquity.
The earliest forms were about five inches in
length and something less than an inch in width,
shaped like a small knife and went by the name
of "knife" cash. These latter coins were in use
as early as 2,500 B.C., and owe their form prob-
ably to the fact that at that time the martial spirit
predominated, and a man's knife was his most
valuable possession, and therefore he made his
currency in the same shape. Later the knife-cash
coin was changed to the "bell" cash, which is
taken to indicate that the people had become more
civilized and that agricultural pursuits were now
dominant. This form of coin began to come into
use about 2,000 B.C. They are about 2 to 2\ inches
in height and 1 inch or more in width, and are
shaped somewhat like a bell with a hole at the
top. The present value of the cash, which is

Chapter VI : Finances of China 183

made of copper or brass, is very small, about
twenty of them being required to make an Amer-
ican cent, so that values expressed in cash, while
sounding enormous, are really of small moment.
Thus an account of 50,000 cash represents but $25
gold, while to pay a bill of $10, the services of a
wheel-barrow and an attendant are required. For
convenience in handling, one hundred cash are
put on a string- and then ten hundreds are tied
together in two parallel strings of five hundreds
each, the whole string of 1,000 being called a
tiao, the value of which is approximately one
silver dollar, but depending on the varying ex-
change between copper and silver. The system
of cash as a standard of value is awkward enough
in theory, but in practice it is worse on account
of the varieties of size of individual coins, saving:
rise to "big" and "little" cash, eight of the former
equalling about ten of the latter. As remelting of
coins and counterfeiting is common, the careful
Chinese has to examine every tiao he receives.
At the treat v ports the foreigners introduced the
silver dollar from Mexico, and an attempt has been
made to coin for use in China dollars by other
countries, notably the American experiment of
the trade dollar. The Chinaman, however, would
have none of it. lie had been accustomed to
understand the Mexican dollar, and when he met
with other coins he cast them into the melting-
pot. A beginning to straighten out the trouble

An American Engineer in China

with its attending annoyances, inconveniences,
and losses has been made by the establishing of
local mints by some of the viceroys where they
strike silver dollars of the weight and fineness of
the Mexican dollar and subsidiary silver coins of
50, 20, 10, and 5 cents each. In keeping with the
lack of centralized national effort, these coins are
not of national character, but bear the imprint of
the coining province. They, or some coin based on
them and struck by the central authoril \ , will prob-
ably become eventually the standard coin of the
country, and the present system will be given up.

The problems of China's financial status and
resources, rather than those of her monetary sys-
tem, are of greater world importance, especially
as some sort of Government assistance, in the way
of building railways, opening mines, and develop-
ing the country will be found necessary and de-
sirable in somewhat the same way as has been
done in India and Japan.

Owing to the entire lack of statistical records,
it is a difficult matter to obtain accurately either
the resources or the disbursements of the Chi-
nese Government. The funded debt of the coun-
try, however, is ascertainable, as such obligations
have been taken by foreigners.

Previous to the war with Japan, the funded
debt consisted of two issues of bonds, bearing
date 1886 and 1887 respectively; the former for
1,855,108.82 Shanghai taels, and the other for

Chapter VI: Finances of China 1S5

50,000,000 German marks, subject to reduction by
sinking fund provision. Since the war the Gov-
ernment has been obliged to contract further
loans. The existing funded indebtedness is given
in detail in the following table.

The net amount of China's debt outstanding,
exclusive of the railway debt, for which there is
actual property of at least equal value in exist-
ence as an asset, is, therefore, £50,304,989. On
the gross sum the total annual payments for. both
interest and sinking funds are £3,319,624, or ex-
clusive of the interest on the railroad loan, which
is self-supporting, £3,079,624. The debt of India,
whose population is about the same as China, is
about £135,000,000, or, deducting the value of the
Government railways, £56,000,000, and the debt
of Japan about £50,000,000. It can be seen, there-
fore, that in spite of the disastrous result of the
Japanese War, the debt of China is not a large or
burdensome affair.

The several sinking fund and interest payments
on each of the above issues have been promptly
met when due. To furnish the sums required for
these payments and the other sums requisite to
meet, the expenses for maintaining the various
branches of the Government, the Imperial Treas-
ury has at its hand: firstly, the net returns of the
Imperial Maritime Customs, which are, however,
pledged specifically as collateral for some of the
above loans; secondly, the net receipts of the Im-

1 86

An American Engineer in China

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Chapter VI : Finances of China 187

perial Chinese Railway; thirdly, various sources
of taxation.

As there is absolutely no system oi accounting-,
or of making detailed reports, it is impossible to
give even a close approximation of either revenue
or disbursements, except in the case of the Im-
perial Maritime Customs. From such informa-
tion, however, as is obtainable, the resources of
the Government under the above three heads will
be briefly stated.

Although the receipts of the Customs from im-
port and export duties have been gradually in-
creasing, in proportion to the increase in the im-
port and export trade, on the other hand there has
been a falling off in the receipts from opium likin,
to about the same extent as the increases in the
duties, so that the revenue of this department has
varied but little for the past ten years, except
that the receipts for 1899 show a sudden increase
of about 4,000,000 taels over the previous average,
distributed fairly evenly through the several
sources of income. The report for the year 1899
gave the gross receipts as follows :

Hk. Tls.

Import duties 8,437471

Export duties 10,235,968

Opium likin 4,748,243

Coast trade duties 1 ,763,757

Transit dues 835,830

Tonnage dues 640,191

Total 26,661 ,460

or equivalent to about $18,900,000 gold.

An American Engineer in China

The expense oi maintaining this department is
not published, bul from reliable information it is
estimated to amount to about 3,000,000 taels per
annum, leaving 23,500,000 taels as net profit. This
last sum, the equivalent of about £3,500,000, is in
itself almost enough to meet the services of the
Government loans. An increase of only ten per
cent, in the duties would make it ample.

The net earnings, over expenses, of the present
Imperial Chinese Railway amounted to about
1,000,000 Mexican silver dollars, prior to its ex-
tension beyond Chung-hou-so, near the Great
Wall, or, at least, such were the net returns as
shown by the Chinese book-keepers, for, although
the management of operations was in English
hands, the revenue was received by native offi-
cials. A loan of £2,300,000 was contracted part-
ly to provid' funds to pay for the extension to
Niu-chwang and thence to a connection with
the Manchurian extension of the Russian Trans-
Siberian Railway. The work was completed
shortly before the "Boxer" uprising, when the rail-
way was largely destroyed. No complete state-
ment of operations was obtainable, but the traffic
was apparently sufficient to much more than pay
the interest charges. When reconstructed, this line
will return to the Chinese Government, which is
the owner of the stock, a handsome profit over the
interest on the bonds, which are held largely in
London.

Chapter VI : Finances of China 189

The third source of income, namely, the various
forms of taxation, is, of course, the most important,
but, on the other hand, the most difficult about
which t( obtain reliable or even satisfactory in-
formation. The methods of internal taxation are
complex and wasteful. The Imperial Board of
Revenue at Peking- makes out each year a budget
for the expenses of the coming year, and propor-
tions the total thus ascertained among the various
provinces in accordance with what is considered
their ability to pay, and the governors of the va-
rious provinces are then informed of the amount
which they will be required to turn into the Im-
perial Treasury.

The Governor then distributes this amount, or
such additional amount as he sees fit, among the
tao-tais, prefects, and magistrates in his province.
If the Governor or any other official pays in eighty
per cent, of his assessment, no comment is made.
If his return is less than that without adequate
excuse, he is censured, and it he exceeds the full
amount, he is publicly commended. As there are
no accounts kept at any stage of the proceedings,
the possibilities for stealing on the part of sub- or
even high officials are practically unlimited, and
there is no question but that there is collected
from the people of China a very much larger
sum than the Imperial Government reports as re-
ceiving. A part ol this amount is deliberately
stolen, and a part ot it is wasted b}T the ridicu-

i9° An American Engineer in China

lously cumbersome and expensive methods em-
ployed.

The most fruitful source of revenue is the land
tax, payable partly in cash and partly in grain.
As illustrating the wasteful methods in vogue by
the Government, frequently the actual money in
silver bullion is forwarded to Peking, and even
when the tax is remitted by draft, the latter is
taken to Peking by a Chinese official, involving,
of course, according to Chinese etiquette, the ne-
cessity of being accompanied by a large and ex-
pensive retinue.

The land tax is payable partly in money and
partly in grain. The portion of the tax payable
in grain is settled by actually sending the grain
to Peking. Of course, the loss and waste in so
doing, in addition to the cost of handling and
storing it in Government granaries, is necessarily
enormous. Were this grain sold in the open
market, and the cash remitted, the net result
would be much greater.

Next to the land tax the greatest source of Gov-
ernment revenue is the tax on salt. The sale of
salt in China is an absolute Government monop-
oly, the importation of foreign salt being pro-
hibited by treaties at the request of China.

As the production of salt is one of China's great-
est industries, and as the principles involved are
well illustrative of native methods, a short de-
scription will be of interest. The country at large

Chapter VI: Finances of China 191

is divided into seven districts, in each of which
salt is produced by evaporation from sea-water or
from deep brine wells, as in Sz-chuen, and salt is
not allowed to be carried from one district to
another, no matter what the resulting economy
might be. Salt so produced is sold to regularly
appointed Government officials. In order to dis-
pone of the salt, the Salt Commissioner of the
district issues "warrants," each warrant entitling
the holder to purchase so much salt. These war-
rants are perpetual and are personal property,
and disposable at any time by sale, or bv will on
the holder's death. The number of warrants out-
standing is supposed to be fixed, a rule frequently
violated in spite of the protests by the warrant
owners. The warrant owner, having purchased
his quota of salt, can select any place in the dis-
trict as his point of sale, whither he must trans-
port his salt and place it in a Government ware-
house, where it is sold in order of entry, at a price
fixed by the Salt Commissioner. On the com-
pletion of the retailing, the warrant is returned
and the holder may repeat the operation. Ap-
parently the plan is most just to everyone, both
seller and buyer, as well as to the Government,
which receives an income through percentages
charged. As a matter of fact, the whole arrange-
ment is most expensive, as entailing in many cases
long hauls and shutting out certain districts where
salt can be produced very cheaply. The oppor-

192 An American Engineer in China

tunities for helping friends in granting warrants
or in allowing their warrants to take precedence
over those of men less friendly are not neglected
by the Salt Commissioner, so that this position is
one much sought after, and when secured the
holder is considered on the way to wealth. Under
such circumstances, in China as elsewhere, it is
the people who finally pay all bills.

Next to the salt tax in importance is the likin
tax, levied, as was explained previously, on the
inland transportation of goods. None of these
likin stations keeps a record, so once more the
opportunity for stealing and waste is great.

In addition to the above, there is the revenue
received from the native custom-houses, from
special taxes on opium and miscellaneous sources.
The actual receipts of the Government under these
various headings can be taken approximately, as
follows :

Tls.

Land tax, in money 25,000,000

" " " grain 7,000,000

Salt tax 14,000,000

Likin tax 1 3,000,000

Native customs 1 ,000,000

Opium tax 2,500,000

Miscellaneous sources 6,000,000

68,500,000

which, with the net return of the Maritime Cus-
toms, give a revenue of 95,000,000 taels, or about
5,ooo,ooo gold per annum.

Chapter VI: Finances of China 193

The principal thing for which the Government
of China is likely to incur further obligations will
be in the line of railways or other internal im-
provements. The railways created by these obli-
gations should be sell-sustaining, and, therefore,
practically not add to the Government's burdens.

Should, however, it become necessary, there
are many ways in which the Government can,
under proper financial administration, increase
its receipts. The following are some of the op-
portunities:

1. Maritime Customs charges, which, as pointed
out above, amount to an average of something
less than four per cent., can be materially raised
without interfering with Chinese trade.

2. The Native Customs can and should be con-
solidated with the Maritime Customs Bureau.
No department, such as Native Customs, entirely
in the hands of Chinese officials, returns the full
receipts. This fact is strikingly brought out by
Mr. George Jamieson, British Consul at Shanghai,
in a pamphlet published by him in 1897 on the
" Revenue and Expenditure of the Empire," the
best monograph on the subject, and to which the
author is indebted lor part of the information in
this chapter. As in the ease of the provincial
governors, so the Native-Customs tao-tais are
"assessed" by the Board of Revenue certain
amounts each year, which amounts or proper ex-
cuses must be forthcoming. Having met the

i94 An American Engineer in China

assessment, no one scrutinizes the methods or
actual collections. Mr. Jamieson records that the
Shanghai tao-tai who was " assessed "65,980 taels,
reports as having received 65,991 taels, or a sur-
plus of 11 taels, equal to about $8. A wonderful
piece of accurate estimating on the part of the
Peking officials ! As Mr. Jamieson says, " It needs
but a glance at the forest of masts that line the
banks of the river (at Shanghai) to show that the
native junk traffic is still of very considerable
proportions, and that the total duties of the year
as stated are altogether too ridiculous. Such a
sum must represent more nearly a week's collec-
tion than a year's." The Governor of Che-kiang
in the same year did even better than his Shang-
hai confrere, arranging his accounts to show a
balance of 40,000 taels, the exact amount required !
These are instances of what is taking place all
over China, in every Government office where
money is handled. The official class is not only
corrupt and dishonest to a point that we can
scarcely conceive, but they have been at it so
long, and the system is so perfect, that it has
ceased to cause comment or even to be thought
of, except as something quite legitimate.

3. The introduction of railways will increase
both the internal and external trade, thereby add-
ing to the Government revenue, both from likin
and Maritime Customs.

4. The whole method of tax gathering can be

Chapter VI: Finances of China 195

reorganized so as to save an enormous amount of
waste and stealing. There is probably little
doubt but that the people of China now pay at
least twice as much and probably more than the
Imperial Government, actually receives. In this
connection it is interesting to compare the land
and salt taxes of China and India, where the con-
ditions, in regard to population and comparative
wealth, are quite similar:

Tls.
Land tax — India 100,000,000

China 25,000,000

Salt tax — India 33,000,000

China 14,000,000

In like manner, the internal tax on native opi-
um, which now amounts to about 2,500,000 taels,
should, by those who have studied the problem,
amount to from 15,000,000 to 18,000,000 taels.
As the latter sum is the one which the people
probably pay, the difference between the pay-
ments and the reported receipts is lost by steal-
ing or waste.

5. Post-office Receipts. — A little over a year
ago the Post-office Department was organized
as a sub-department of the Maritime Customs.
Previous to that time each separate commercial
district of China maintained its own local post-
office. It is yet too early to note the beneficial
result of this action. There is no doubt, how-
ever, that after the new system has become thor-

196 An American Engineer in China

oughly well established and further extended, it
will work a profit to the Government, especially
as the management is under the control of for-
eigners.

There is one consideration in regard to the
general stealing of public funds, or the system of
"squeezes" and "presents," as it is euphemisti-
cally called, that must be kept in mind; which is,
that the official salaries paid to Government of-
ficers are ridiculously small, and in many cases
actually insufficient to meet the ordinary disburse-
ments for clerk hire and other entirely proper ex-
penses which the incumbent has to pay out of hi^s
stipend. This compels him to procure funds as
best he can, and as the insufficiency of salary is
understood by everyone, the principle and ne-
cessity for stealing can be said to be recognized
officially and publicly. Of course, once started it
is carried to the utmost extreme, and under such
conditions that, even if the official is perchance
reasonably honest, anything like economy is out
of the question. Should Chinese officials be paid
proper compensation, the expenses of the general
and local governments would be much greater
than they are now, but by getting competent and
honest men the returns would be still more in-
creased; besides which, it is possible to bring
about a still greater reform in abolishing the ex-
isting terribly wasteful, expensive, cumbersome
methods and instituting therefor a simple direct

Chapter VI : Finances of China

197

system. Japan has already carried out a system of
reforms such as is outlined above, showing that it
is possible for an Oriental nation to have its finan-
cial methods put on a solid basis. China can do
the same. Without increasing the burdens of the
people, but by a mere reorganization of methods,
it is possible to produce a much greater net rev-
enue than the various public treasuries receive,
and one quite sufficient to meet any and all le-
gitimate requirements. As the country becomes
more opened, as trade grows, as industries are
multiplied, there will come a general rise in all
values, returning a corresponding increase in
Government income without inflicting hardships
on the people.

"Bell" Cash

This coin is over 2,000 years old

Chapter

VII

Chinese Construction

IT must always be kept in mind that the twen-
tieth century development of China will be
along lines Chinese and not European ; that is,
it will be in conformity with native characteris-
tics, modified by modern ideas. This would be
an unnecessary truism were it not apparently lost
sight of at times by those planning for China's
development, and not always remembered by
foreigners in their general relations with the
Chinese Government and people. It is therefore
pertinent to inquire what is the condition of their
art of construction, wherein are the abilities of
the Chinese sufficiently advanced to-day, and
wherein must their resources be supplemented in
order to bring up the industrial development of
the country to the new standard.

Everyone knows that the Chinese once led the
world in scientific and material development, but
that they were acquainted with the principles of
good engineering design was a surprise to me.
At the seaports where foreigners have resided, or
even in those portions of the Empire into which
foreign ideas might have penetrated, it was ex-
pected to see structures bearing the imprint of
modern skill in design or construction ; but it was
not expected to find such things in the unexplored

iq8

Chapter VII: Chinese Construction 199

interior, remotely or entirely removed from out-
side influences, and of such self-evident age as to
stamp them as genuinely Chinese, both in work-
manship and plan.

The structures that impress the engineering ob-
server most strongly are the bridges, the pagodas,
the city walls, and certain details of building con-
struction. The arch, beautiful from the scientific
as well as the aesthetic point of view, is generally
believed to be of Roman origin, and is considered
to be one of the evidences of their advance over
other nations. It was not known to, or at least
never used by, the Greeks ; and although the shape
appears in certain specimens of Hindoo architect-
ure, it is of false variety — that is, a succession of
protruding corbels. In China, on the other hand,
we find it of most widespread and general appli-
cation, and examination shows that the principles
involved are thoroughly understood, as the arches
are composed of a complete ring of voussoirs, ra-
dially jointed and of proper proportions, making
it therefore a true arch and establishing beyond
question the Chinaman's complete understanding
of the scientific principles on which it rests.

On the other hand, the general use ot the design
in all parts of the country and the undoubted an-
tiquity of so many of t he exist ing examples clearly
demonstrate that it long antedates any possible
foreign suggestions, and go a long way to estab-
lish it as of Chinese origin, which, however, like

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Chapter VII : Chinese Construction 201

printing and gunpowder and so many other in-
ventions and discoveries, never passed beyond
the national oorders.

The largest application of the arch principle is
in the building of bridges, where spans of thirty
to forty feet are common, and single spans of
fifty feet were seen. Longer spans than these,
though perhaps existing, are not usually required,
as those streams which can be bridged do not, as
a rule, call for single openings larger than will
suffice to pass small boats. The arches are usu-
ally of the full half-circle, with the spring above
the ordinary flow line. The arch joints are cut
close and filled with hard, firm mortar, while the
spandrels are always built independently of the
arch, and usually of inferior workmanship, in-
dicating clearly that the designer understood the
theory. The piers frequently have \r-shaped ends
up stream, evidently to diminish scouring action
and to prevent drift trash from catching, rather
than for the more usual purpose as ice breakers,
for such additions are common even in the south-
ern districts where ice is unknown. The road-
way is guarded by carved railings in the case
of the more elaborate structures, or by a solid
parapet, some of the latter that 1 saw being com-
posed of concrete. These arches have a grace
of outline based on proper proportion, a solidity
in appearance resulting from good construction,
coupled with a very evident sound application of

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Chapter VII : Chinese Construction 203

theory to practical uses in accordance with the
requirements of local conditions — considerations
that stamp them as construction works of a very
high order, although their size, as compared with
arches in other lands, may be small.

Take the illustrations of the Ping-hsiang bridge,
and the one marked "A beautiful single span." In
the former let the reader note the arch lines ; the
proportions existing between the arches and the
piers ; the cut-water ends to the latter to prevent
drift catching ; the carved stone railing, supple-
menting but not detracting from the lines of the
main structure ; and finally the shrine on the cen-
tre pier, indicating that although the constructor
was compelled to place a pier in midstream, that
nevertheless he had the courage to emphasize it,
and that by making it a feature of the design he jus-
tified its location. In the other structure, crossing
a stream flowing from the Cheling Pass to the
China Sea, we have a design admirably meeting
in every respect the local conditions. The stream
is of no great importance, so that a central pier
and two spans would have answered as a mere
bridge, but such would not have been a well-con-
sidered design. On one side the ground is much
higher than on the other ; which is overcome by
spanning the brook with a bold single arch, whose
rise is the same as that of the high bank, with
steps on the lower side. Either of these beau-
tiful structures would have done credit to any

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Chapter VII : Chinese Construction 205

architectural engineer brought up in the most fas-
tidious school o[ Europe. They both are ol es-
sentially Chinese origin, the former of sonic an-
tiquity. Probably neither of them was ever seen
by foreigners before my trip.

The freedom that a designer takes when he is
sure of his principles, has caused some of the Chi-
nese arches to take extraordinary shape, such as
the single span near Peking, carried to a height
seemingly out of all proportion, but intentionally
so in order to pass boats with short masts ; and
yet, such a design, in a locality without wheeled
vehicles where a short excessive gradient, is not a
serious matter, not only meets the requirements
of economical planning, but adds the charm ol
irregularity, which, in a country distinguished
for sameness and lack of contrast, is especially
attractive.

The Chinaman is very much like a cat — he ob-
jects to getting his feet wet; and as he carries his
own loads, which he thinks he can do more cheaply
than by horse or carriage, he sees to it that all
streams are bridged. The arch he uses nearly
always in the large structures, and employs it
down the scale even to small culverts ; although,
when he begins to deal with little openings, he
frequently makes use of stone stringers. It suit-
able stones can be procured he does not hesitate
to be bold, as some beams I measured were thirty
feet long and fifteen inches deep. In other in-

Chapter VII : Chinese Construction 207

stances the effective spans were made shorter by
placing corbels beneath the ends of the stringers,
and occasionally intermediate supports were fur-
nished by framed bents of long stones, exactly
like the ordinary American timber construction.

But the most remarkable bridge I saw was a
wooden cantilever, in the eastern part of Hu-nan,
where no white man had ever previously been ;
a bridge remarkable, not only for its extraordi-
nary design, but also for the fact that it was of
wood, a material on account of its scarceness rarely
used for heavy construction. This bridge con-
sisted of six spans, with a length of four hundred
and eighty feet and a width of twenty feet, paved
with cobble-stones, while over it is erected a
frame to carry awning-mats in summer. The sub-
structure is masonry piers in good condition, but
evidently of good age, while the superstructure is
of wood and a genuine cantilever in design. The
timbers which compose it are about ten inches
square, laid in alternating layers in the direction of
and across the line of the bridge. As will be seen
from the illustration, each longitudinal layer pro-
jects beyond the one next below, and the series of
such projections builds out the cantilever arms
until the opposite ones are near enough together
to be spanned by a single timber. The super-
structure is not so old as the substructure, the
timber having been undoubtedly replaced, possi-
bly many times; but it was, when visited, in hor-

Chapter VII : Chinese Construction 209

rible condition of decay. At the time of my visit,
an attending mandarin, knowing its rotten condi-
tion, requested that our party should cross it. in
detachments, so as to divide the crowd and avoid
concentration. It will stand, however, without
repairs or attention — as all structures in China are
allowed to stand — until some day an extra-large
crowd will be too much for the rotten timbers to
hold up and it will collapse, with great loss of life.
From the point of view of artistic and essen-
tially Oriental design the pagoda possesses the
most interest. These singular constructions, of
which nearly every city possesses at least one,
fairly dot the surface of the country. Their pur-
pose appears to be twofold — either as monuments
commemorating the virtues or the munificence
of some departed benefactor, or as agents of " feng
shui " (literally " wind and water "), the spirit
genius of good and evil, which, if properly pro-
pitiated, will ward off pestilence and famine, and
permit only prosperity and happiness to visit the
neighborhood. These very curious towers are of
great antiqnitv, Chinese records authenticating
their origin at least as far back as the early part
of the Christian era. In size they vary from the
little ones, which are nothing more than roadside
shrines, to what was once the most beautiful and
largest — the celebrated porcelain pagoda of Nan-
king, destroyed in the Tai-ping rebellion. This
extraordinary structure had a height of two nun-

Chapter VII : Chinese Construction 211

dred and sixty-one feet, was built of masonry and
covered with glazed tiles of many colors, and was
a monuraenl to native skill in erection as well as to
artistic sense in design. Unfortunately, most, of

Pagoda near Wu-chang

the large pagodas are being allowed to crumble to
decay, although some are tended and give hope of
standing for other generations to admire. The
prominent ones vary in height from one hundred
to two hundred feet, are usually octagonal in plan,
with straight but tapering sides, and always are

Chapter VII : Chinese Construction 213

composed of an ndd number of stories; although
sometimes these stories are double ones, as in the
case of the Wu-chang pagoda, one ot the most
beautiful and best preserved in the country.
They were always built plumb, and it now in bad
condition, it is the result of lack of care and the
ravages of time and not of original faulty con-
struction. Chinese houses conform to certain
general types; the pagoda, therefore, in its wide
range of size and of decorations, from the severely
plain stone structure to the one covered with col-
ored tiles, marks one of the few breaks in the
characteristic national ride of uniformity and fur-
nishes an interesting construction study.

The method oi putting up buildings with a rigid
frame and then encasing them with thin mason-
ry walls is supposed to be something essentially
American ; but, like so many designs claimed as
modern, this, too, finds a universal application all
over China. Although the Chinese have every-
where at hand brick-making clay, the product is
not good, owing to their unfortunate tendency to
false economy — which, in this particular case,
takes the form of deficient burning. To give
sufficient rigidity, house-walls have to be made
thick, and thick walls, they found as we have
found, encroach seriously on floor space; there-
fore, they have developed "cage construction."
The materials employed are usually round tim-
bers, connected by mortise and pin joints, while

Chapter VII: Chinese Construction 215

the root truss is a peculiar and ingenious com-
bination of beams, taking load near the abutments
only. The accompanying illustration shows such
a building in process of being- encased.

If the arches display a knowledge of theory,
the houses are ingenious applications of practice,
and the pagodas are an appreciation of the beau-
tiful. The walls, without which no large city in
China exists, and which reach their maximum in
Peking or in the even more famous Great Wall,
are an evidence that our Oriental friend was
equally at home with large construction. These
great structures, with their massive proportions
(as in the Great Wall, with its length of fifteen
hundred miles, across wild hills and desert val-
leys), with their keeps and arched gateways, with
their parapets and moats, fill the observer with
admiration.

It is said that a nation's character is shown in
its architecture. This seems eminently true in
China, for no matter where one goes the same
general outline, varied slightly by local condi-
tions, meets the eye, and wherever a new build-
ing goes up it takes the same form as the one it
displaces, so that one feels that not only is every-
thing the same throughout the country, but that
it is just the same1 now as it was ever so main-
years ago, which is probably the fact. But if the
architectural form illustrates the Chinese lack of
originalitv and progress of development, the con-

o

Chapter VII: Chinese Construction 217

st ruction of their houses illustrates t he regrettable
side of their abilities — the want <>l thoroughness.
In all their work they use poor material and work-
manship, so that their building's will not stand
close inspection, and soon succumb to the ravages
of time. China is consequently singularly devoid
of antique buildings. In addition to the original
defects in construction, the little care that the
buildings receive is exceedingly distressing; even
in Peking such artistically beautiful structures
as the Temple of Confucius or the Hall of Clas-
sics— perfect types of Chinese architecture — are
actually dropping to pieces for need of a few
repairs. This deficiency in appreciating thor-
oughness and the necessity for maintenance will
be found one of the greatest obstacles to be over-
come in industrial development.

The engineering progress of the Chinese has
been along static rather than dynamic lines — that
is, they have learned how to construct bridges,
erect pagodas, and concentrate their forces to
build a wall fifteen hundred miles long, but not
how to construct a machine, or to do any of the
things the basal principle of which is movement.

Perhaps this is due to the similar traits that we
find forming the framework of the national char-
acter ; or, perhaps, it is due to the dread of displac-
ing manual labor and the baseless fear of depriving
their fellow-men of work. But no matter what the
cause may be, this marks the cleavage line along

2i8 An American Engineer in China

which foreign inspiration in the art of construc-
tion will Imd an outlet for development.

In solid, stationary structures, the Chinese can
supply their own needs unaided; hut the held
lor producing those aggregations ol engineering
and mechanical skill based on the theory or ap-
plication of movement, especially of economical
movement, lies unbroken and the soil is rich. The
idea of economy of movement is absolutely lack-
ing in the Chinese — a singular circumstance, as
there is no other nationality so strongly economi-
cal, even to the point of parsimony. This trait is
shown in their dwellings, in their clothes, and in all
their details of living, except in those where move-
ment is the main theme. The development, in
which foreign ideas will predominate and foreign
aid be required, will be, therefore, along this line,
and will show itself primarily in methods of
moving people and goods — namely, in means of
transportation; secondly, in the methods of mov-
ing the great untouched mineral wealth from its
existing subterranean hiding-places to the sur-
face, that is, in mining; and thirdly, in all matters
of construction whose parts are moving — namely,
machines.

The first of these is self-evident, and will be taken
up in detail in another chapter. The develop-
ment has already begun. The second, mining, is
about to begin, but is dependent on one form of
the devices under the third head — the means of

Chapter VII: Chinese Construction 219

moving' water. The third class is general in its
characterand will include all kinds ol machines.

The science ol handling water is practically un-
known in China, the Chinese pump being a mosl
crude and uneconomical device, and wholly in-
capable of raising water to a height above that
of a few feet, and the lack of proper and efficient
devices has absolutely prevented the develop-
ment of China's mineral resources. Mining- by
native methods has consisted in sinking a shaft or
an inclined drift down the vein until water was
encountered, or until coolies could no longer raise
the load on their backs, a limit in the latter case of
two hundred feet. When one of these contingen-
cies is reached the mine is abandoned. In order
to develop the mineral wealth, the first requisite
is a pumping plant ; the second, of much less im-
portance, is elevating machinery.

It is difficult to imagine a great country without
good pumps, but such China is. The native device
consists of flat paddles attached to a wooden end-
less chain turning over two sprocket wheels, on
one of which pedals are fixed. One or two men,
sitting on a frameover this wheel, work the pedals
with their feet and thus by pulling on the chain,
elevate the water. The water supply of the
crowded eities depends on hundreds ol coolies
constantly passing to and fro carrying the water
in buckets from the river, lor all cities are located
on rivers, and there is no attempt at any sort of

220 An American Engineer in China

tire protection, except such as can be done with
hand-buckets or by tearing down houses in the
path of the conflagration.

As the whole system oi Chinese farming seems
to depend on the areas that can be irrigated, there
is imposed a limit to such lands as can be reached
by natural flow, while low lands, subject to fre-
quent inundation, are abandoned. For all these
purposes the foreign pump will find an enormous
field of application and will prove to be an impor-
tant element in Chinese development.

If, therefore, I were asked to enumerate the
relative importance of engineering development,
I should say — means of transportation; hydraulic
machinery; mining; and then, those machines
which can compete against a very low-priced
manual labor, and which can, if possible, enter a
field of work not now undertaken, such as elec-
tric lighting, or enter the existing fields so as
to change present conditions without too violent
or immediately revolutionary effects.

Chapter

VIII

Inland Communication

FROM one end of the Chinese Empire to
the other there is not an instance of a road
whose quality would be termed in any other
country as even moderately good. China's riv-
ers and waterways are her highways, and it is on
them that she relies for means of internal com-
munication. In the way of rivers and sea-coast,
nature has been most liberal. Her coast line is
as long as both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of
the United States — that is, as long as the distance
from Florida to Maine added to the distance from
Southern California to Washington, and from it
there are noble rivers penetrating to the very
western confines of the Empire.

No attempt has been made by the Chinese of
their own motion to improve the rivers by remov-
ing their bars or deepening their channels in
order to render them more navigable. Such a
course for the general good is still far beyond
Chinese comprehension. Along the coast and for
short distances in the estuaries, the Government,
through the agency of the Maritime Customs and
Sir Robert Hart, has established and maintains
light-houses, has located beacons and buoys mark-
ing channels and dangerous places, while other
Governments, principally the British, have sur-

221

222 An American Engineer in China

veyed and charted the coast and harbors ; but all
such work, even when done by the home Govern-
ment, is ol foreign inspiration. lTp the rivers
where the traffic is wholly Chinese, nothing of
the kind has been attempted. The streams are
tilled with bars and bowlders and other obstruc-
tions, and the loss in time, property, and life which
they cause is something terrible. If a picture of
Chinese river-navigation is desired, accurate in
its details, true in color, and not exaggerated in
its tale of suffering, most of which is quite un-
necessary, it can be found in Mr. Little's work,
" Through the Yang-tze Gorges," or in " The
Yang-tze and Beyond," bv Mrs. Bishop. Both tell
of the Great River, where for some four hundred
miles west of I-chang it has laboriously cut its way
through the mountains in deep gorges, the gran-
deur and wildness of whose scenery is surpassed
nowhere. Into these gorges huge bowlders have
tumbled from the sides above, and in places even
the cliffs themselves in by-gone ages have slid off
and fallen forward. The bowlders and the debris
have never been removed, but are left lying where
they fell, and over and around them tumbles and
boils the Yang-tze, already a river of some two
thousand miles in length, which bears down, and
even up, against such difficulties, the out- and
in-commerce of all Western China. On other
streams where shoals are the worst enemy, the
great losses and dangers are eliminated, but the

Chapter VIII: Inland Communication 223

delays and their costs are not. As one jour-
neys along a Chinese river at its low stage in win-
ter, there is scarcely a moment when there is not
one junk hard aground with her crew pushing
and struggling with their bamboo poles to get her
off. It won Id be bad enough if these laborious
and exhausting methods were resorted to only
occasionally and unexpectedly, but such terrific
waste of human energy is uncomplainingly ac-
cepted as quite regular and inevitable. It is al-
most incredible that the strongest opposition to
an amelioration of their own condition through
improved methods of transportation comes from
these very boatmen.

In the summer, when the rivers are in flood,
unless there is a favorable wind to aid in stem-
ming the swift currents, the same struggle is re-
peated ; while at night, during both winter and
summer, all traffic ceases, owing to the uncertain-
ties of navigation, and yet, these are China's main
arteries of trade, transportation, and inland com-
munication, and it is extraordinary to what extent
they are employed in spite of the entire failure to
improve their navigation or remove natural ob-
stacles and impediments. Being the chief lines of
travel, on them are located the great cities, for
with scarce an exception every town of impor-
tance in the Empire is situated on some soil of
a navigable waterway, and no matter where the
traveller goes in the interior, he will find along

a

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Chapter VIII: Inland Communication 225

the river front oi the cities he visits, a veritable
forest of masts and a solid raft oi hulls.

A great deal has been said and written about
the improvement of the rivers of China and the
introduction upon them oi steamers of type some-
what similar to that used on shallow American
rivers or on the Nile. Advocates of such pro-
posals have pictured the running of steamboats
up the Yang-tze to Chung-king, sixteen hundred
miles, and on about, seven hundred miles more
on such tributaries to the Yang-tze as the Siang,
the Han, and the Kan. Southern and Southwest-
ern China it is proposed to reach by improving
the West and other streams for distances aggre-
gating-, possiblv, one thousand miles; while the
Yellow or the Pei Rivers are to provide perma-
nent means of steam communication in the North.
Constructively such a proposition is entirely fea-
sible. The rivers of China can be improved, but
their improvement will cost a great deal of money.
Practically, however, it is out of the question un-
til the Chinese people have been educated to con-
sider the undertaking and maintaining of such
works in a light different from that which they do
now. Obviously, it is impossible that such work
could be done by private corporations, for there
would be no means of preventing open competi-
tion, when the expensive work would be complet-
ed : it would, therefore, have to be undertaken un-
der Government direction and expense. It so, the

226 An American Engineer in China

hinds must conic from general taxation or special
boal charges. To levy a genera] tax for matters
oi general utility is something so unheard of that
no Government would dare do it until the people
by gradual experience in other ways with similar
experiments had learned to see t lie benefits. To
levy a special tax on boats, that is, on the class
who would be most directly benefited, would be
equally unpopular and impossible. The junkmen
would reply that they do not complain, which is
quite true, and they would say that to make trans-
portation easier would deprive many men of em-
ployment who are now hired as crews, and the
consequent saving would result finally not to the
junk owner's financial benefit, but in the lowering
of freight charges to consumers, a matter in which
they have no interest. Such reasoning may be
illogical, but it must be remembered that it is be-
lieved bv the Chinese to be sound. But even if
it were possible to have the streams canalized or
deepened, who will pay the dredging and mainte-
nance charges, for all the rivers oi China are of
such a nature that constant deposition of alluvial
matter is taking place? If a Chinaman will not
repair his house, in which he alone is interested,
is he likely to stand the expense of maintaining
rivers in which his interest is so remote and indi-
rect as not to be discernible? To improve the
rivers requires united effort, and a united effort
for the good of others is an altruistic policy which

Chapter VIII: Inland Communication 227

it will lake a iong time to make the Chinese un-
derstand. As an engineer, who has looked into
the feasibility oi doing this very thing, I am con-
vinced that it will be easier and better, as has
been found in other countries, to build railways
on the banks rather than to try to improve the
streams.

For coast and sea-going work the Chinaman
uses a junk oi large and strong proportions, and
on the rivers one more adapted to the particular
needs. Except for use on the lower reaches of
the Yang-tze, where deeper water permits some
latitude in construction, the up-river boats are of
one general type. The hull is flat-bottomed and
constructed of heavy planks, with a stout half-
round timber at the deck line, to serve as a guard
when the boats are banging together at landing-
places. The bow and stern are square, and the
latter is curved upward to form a poop. The hull
is divided by transverse wooden bulkheads into
water-tight compartments. It is a singular and
interesting fact that Marco Polo noted this very
useful device when he was in China in the thir-
teenth century, and, alter giving a minute de-
scription, so that there is no possibility ol his mis-
taking it, shows the intent by stating, " The object
ol this is to guard against accidents, which may
occasion the vessel to spring a leak." Staunton's
account of Lord Macartney's Embassy in 1796
again reports it, as did Abbe Hue some years

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Chapter VIII : Inland Communication 229

later. The bulkhead was introduced in European

ship building in 1840 as a brilliant and new idea.
Thus it is that at almost every turn in this queer
land one meets with some device which we regard
with pride as a modern invention, but which the
Chinese have employed so long that, its origin is
forgotten.

A deck load can be housed under curved
covers of bamboo matting resting on permanent
frames. Under these covers the crew ol five men
or more also find quarters, while the owner and
his family reside in the stern. There are one or
two masts, according to the size ol the boat, stand-
ing without stavs and carrying large sails of
cotton canvas or light bamboo mats. ()l boats
of this description there are tens ol thousands,
and they pass and repass in endless processions.
Usually the boat itself is kept, in lair condition.
but the same cannot be said of the sails. A new
sail is scarcely ever seen, and many of them are
so dilapidated as to cause wonder at their being
set at all. But a Chinese never considers time
as of value ; he feels no incentive to keep his
source of motive power in repair, but goes on
using it as it is until it can be no longer hoisted.

Even when his attention is called to the loss of
time involved, he will make the amusing reply
that should he go faster, no higher freighl rate
will be paid, and what could be done with his
crew during the time saved ? On one occasion

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Chapter VIII : Inland Communication

when making a river trip, where afixed price had
been agreed < a for the journey, I found the junk
to be equipped with bad sails. On complaining
to the captain, he said he had better ones, but that
he was keeping the new ones sale at home!

Boats rigged like these, without keels, and
of shallow draft, cannot make headway when both
wind and current are adverse. When this occurs,
or when the wind tails entirely, recourse is had
to poling, rowing, or the more Laborious method
of "tracking," which consists in dragging the
junk by means of a rope of twisted bamboo fibres
attached at one end to the masthead and at the
other to yokes over the shoulders of the crew
ashore.

On rivers where rapids are moderate, but which
are too great to be overcome by a single crew, it
is the custom lor boats to wait until a united force
has been collected sufficient to pull each one up
against the current. On such rivers as the upper
Yang-tze, where the rapids are very strong, there
are "tracker" settlements providing" sufficient
extra labor always at hand to help ascending
craft. Two hundred and fifty men or more on
the tow lines are frequently required.

The Chinese junkmen form a distinct class b\
themselves and in some localities are under special
laws. Their boats are their houses, on which
they are born, live, and die. The women do not
bind their feet, and take their turn with the men

Chapter VIII : Inland Communication 233

at the helm, sail, oar, pule, or even track line, in
addition to doing their own work of preparing
the meals for the crew and looking after the fi-
nances of the institution. When things go wrong,
and in accordance with Chinese custom, all begin

The Equality of Sex. A Man and a Woman at the Oar

to shout and each one to work on his own account
and so nullify the labor ol someone else, then the
strident notes of the voice of the Amazon skipper
will rise above the other din, and, finally, but not
until alter the use- ol language, whose rhythm and
force suggests that ol the old style deep-sea sailor,
will she succeed in drowning the orders of the

234 An American Engineer in China

others and bring about some sort of effort in
unison.

On reaching points where the shallowness of
the water stops the passage of such junks as draw
more than two or three feet, cargoes are trans-
shipped to smaller boats; and this goes on until
finally little sampans (literally, "three boards"),
boats of the flimsiest description, drawing four
inches or less, are employed to carry goods to the
very extreme of river navigation.

In the south, there is found plying on the
waters that intersect the province of Kwang-tung
and its neighbors a form of large junk, called a
Canton River boat, with a large sail, and in addi-
tion a stern-wheel like a Mississippi River steam-
boat. They are worked by crews of natives rang-
ing from twelve to thirty-six in number, according
to the size of the craft, and each carries a hundred
or more passengers. For more speedy transit, and
contrary to the common belief that the Chinese
does not appreciate quickness, there is the " slip-
per " boat, so called from its resemblance in form
to that useful article. These little boats are very
light in construction, and are propelled by four
oarsmen, either men or women, of whom three
stand up and push on the oars, while one sits down
and pulls. The passengers lie at full length in
the toe. A speed of eight miles an hour is at-
tained.

Arduous, however, as is the task of transport-

CO

236 An American Engineer in China

ing goods from, say, Shanghai or Canton into the
interior by means of river navigation, it is as
nothing compared with the labor required to de-
liver them at a destination removed from the wa-
ter-way. This is done almost wholly by coolies
travelling on foot. The horse is little used, except
in Northern China. Where men receive as wages
but five to ten cents per diem, the horse cannot
compete, especially when he has not, as with us,
the economy of cheaper living, for in China both
men and horses are grain fed.

The vehicle for land transportation, both for
goods and passengers, varies in different parts of
the Empire. On the great plains in the north,
which, by their nature, have permitted the con-
struction of passageways, that by way of eu-
phemism are called roads, we find a springless
two-wheeled cart drawn by a little pony or ox,
which form the sole means of transportation in
Peking. They are the essence of torture to ride
in, but the badness of the going will permit noth-
ing else. On the great trade route northwest
from Peking, camels in caravans are employed.
As the region of the great plain is left, the horse
and cart disappear, and the wheelbarrow takes
their place. The Chinese barrow, of course, dif-
fers from its European namesake, but is not with-
out very excellent qualities. As used in Central
China, the wheel is large, being about thirty inches
in diameter, with the body of the vehicle balanced

Chapter VIII : Inland Communication 237

on the axle, and on both sides of the wheel like an
Irish jaunting car. In some cities, like Shanghai,
these wheelbarrows are for hire like cabs by the
natives, and as little or no load comes on the
wheelman, it is not an infrequent sight to see him
pushing four fares at a speed of four or five miles
an hour.

Fast Freight by Wheelbarrow

In the up-country of the Yang-tze Valley such
wheelbarrows are the great means of fast freight
transportation. On them the farmer will take his
supply of produce to market, or if he has to take
his wife along, for she with her small feet cannot
walk, he will usually place her on one side and
possibly a dead hog that he has slaughtered that
morning on the other side in order to balance her
weight.

u

Chapter VIII : Inland Communication 239

As the Yaog-tze is left and Southern China is
approached, it is interesting to note the gradual
discontinuance of the wheelbarrow; its wheel
gets smaller and takes a position farther forward,
more like the western machine, and, at last, it
disappears from use entirely.

The rich or official Chinese on a journey always
uses a sedan chair borne by two, three, or four
men, according to his means and station, and fol-
lowed by a line of coolies carrying the miscella-
neous lot ol goods and encumbrances supposed to
be necessary for his comfort. Such a man never
walks, as it would be quite beneath his dignity to
do so. On my own trip it was with the greatest
difficulty that the attending officials could be per-
suaded, if they really ever were, that it was pos-
sible for a man to prefer the freedom of being on
foot to the cramping restraint of the little box of
a chair.

But whether in the north or in the centre or in
the south, if the Chinaman is unable to call to his
aid the springless cart or the wheelbarrow, he
has at all times at his service his own back, and
the greatest part of the country's commerce is
carried in two baskets, each of which is suspended
from a bamboo pole resting on the shoulders of
some coolie. In a Chinese city the last thing one
hears before dropping to sleep is the " he-ho " sing-
song of the poor, hard-working coolie, as late at
night he is carrying his loads through the narrow

240 An American Engineer in China

streets below, and again the first thing in the
morning it is this same ceaseless song that greets
the ear. On the roads, uphill and down, day after

Boy Carrying Coal from the Mines to the River

day, he plods along carrying his loads of rice, tea,
silk, or opium from his little farm to the market-
town on the river, and takes back with him an equal
burden of Lancashire or New England cottons,
of Russian or Pennsylvania oil, or other articles
of foreign import. 1 have seen even coal carried
for ten to fifteen miles, up, over, and down a range
of eight hundred feet of elevation before it could
be loaded into boats to find its way down the
Yang-tze. This would be bad enough and expen-

Chapter VIII : Inland Communication 241

sivc enough if 6nly the coolie had a decent road
on which to walk. But if no care is taken of the
waterways, even still less attention is paid to the
landways, there being no central authority by
which highways are laid out and maintained.

A Typical Road on Top of a Dike Between Rice-fields

As each land-owner has to give up to the gen-
eral public a portion ol his too small farm, from
which donation he derives, so far as he can see,
but a small personal benefit, he usually does SO by
giving a strip along one side of his tract, or on the

242 An American Engineer in China

top of one of the little dikes forming the rice-field
terraces. In either ease, as neither the farm lines
nor the rice-field dikes are straight, the road, so
called, winds its way in and out, increasing the
normal length by at least one-half. In width

A Road Paved with Stone Slabs Showing the Groove Cut
by Wheelbarrows

it is rarely more than that required for two
men to pass. In districts where there is a heavy
concentrated travel, some of these roads have
been paved with cobble-stones, or if it is a section

Chapter VIII : Inland Communication 243

where wheelbarrows are in use, they may have
been laid with longitudinal stone slabs, in which
the wheels of countless barrows have cut a groove
several inches in depth. A few of the great roads,
such as the one leading to the Ming Tombs,
northwest of Peking, or across the Che-ling Pass
in the Nan-ling Range, were, many years ago, care-
fully paved with stone; but it is now nobody's
business to make repairs, and these great monu-
ments of a past constructive era are dropping into
decay. In the north where wheeled vehicles are
used, the roads, in order to accommodate them,
have to be wider than the narrower paths in the
south, and as the soil is of an alluvial nature and
not fitted for road-making, the general condition
of affairs is even worse.

No better picture of the method of construct-
ing the Chinese road and its lack of maintenance
can be found than that given by Dr. A. II. Smith
in his " Village Life in China." In referring to
the fact that the ordinary road is but wide enough
for one vehicle, so that when two attempt: to pass,
it can be done only by trespassing on the crops,
he writes: "To prevent this, the farmer digs
deep ditches along his land, but when he drives
his own cart he, too, becomes a trespasser; thus a
state of chronic and immitigable warfare is estab-
lished, for which there is absolutely no remedy.
Where land is valuable and is all of private
property, road repairs are out of the question.

244 An American Engineer in China

There is no earth to repair with, and without re-
pair the roads soon reach a condition beyond the
possibility of any repairs. Constant travel com-
presses and hardens the soil, making it lower than
the adjacent fields. In the rainy season the fields
are drained into the road, which, at such times, is
constantly under water. A slight change of leyel
allows the water to escape into some still lower
road and thus a current is set up which becomes
eventually a brook and then a rushing torrent. It
is a proverb that 'a road one thousand years old
becomes a river, just as a daughter-in-law of many
years' standing, summers into a mother-in-law.' '

Such are the lines of communication every-
where in China. Such are the difficulties and
obstacles to be overcome and surmounted at tre-
mendous personal cost by the Chinese in main-
taining not merely his foreign commerce, but that
which is many fold greater, his own internal com-
merce. What the cost in humanity is can be
understood only by seeing the labor required ;
what it is in money can easily be imagined, and
that the charge for transportation runs as high
as ten cents to fifteen cents per ton per mile
is not surprising. To talk to the Chinese of the
wasteful and unnecessary expense is useless.
They must be shown by practical example that
their methods are actually detrimental. What
that practical example is and how it can be shown
will be told in another chapter.

Chapter

IX

Railways

THE preceding chapter gave a description
of the transportation facilities of China and
the condition in which they are allowed to
exist. The state of affairs is quite anomalous. In
other countries, including Japan, good high-roads
were constructed and maintained long before rail-
ways were thought of, thus permitting internal
trade to be carried on, if not with the economy
and speed of steam, at least with reasonable de-
spatch and cost, against which railways, when in-
troduced, were obliged to compete. In China
there was, and is, nothing of the kind. It is not
a question whether any line or system of railways
can stand the competition of existing canals or
high-roads, but whether it is best ab initio to im-
prove rivers, to lay out roads, or to build railways.
'The answer to this question is not difficult to find.
It is idle to expect any initiation from the great in-
ert mass of Chinese inaction, and the sole hope for
the beginning of a revolution of existing methods
lies in finding some way in which the foreigner
can levy a direct tariff in return for his services,
where no expense will be incurred by the Chinese
themselves previous to the charge for actual ser-
vices rendered, and where the direction of the
maintenance of the facilities created will not be

245

246 An American Engineer in China

under Chinese control. This can be accomplished
practically only by railways, and not by improving
rivers or making highways, even if the latter would
satisfv the requirements of modern commercial
conditions. In China, therefore, we shall see rail-
ways built first, followed by highways and event-
ually by improved rivers, as might naturally be
expected in the country where the order of things
is always reversed.

When about i860 the opening of the interior
of China was first seriously considered by foreign-
ers, the extraordinarily favorable conditions for
railways was at once appreciated, and from then
to now there has been a constant outside pressure
on the Chinese officials and people to overcome
their national antipathy to change. But it was not
until 1876 that official consent was obtained for the
first line. This was projected to run nine miles,
from Shanghai to Wu-sung, at the junction of the
Whang-poo and Yang-tze Rivers, on the former
of which Shanghai is situated. The line was con-
structed with a thirty-inch gauge, and, although it
traversed a perfectly flat country, it was given an
absurdly tortuous alignment, in order to avoid
graves, special tracts of land, houses, and similar
obstacles. The Chinese regarded the construction
with apparent indifference. But foreigners, al-
though knowing that in itself the line had no great
importance, nevertheless hailed the project as the
opening of the door to future railway operations.

Chapter IX : Railways 247

Almost immediately after its completion, the Chi-
nese Government bought it, an act that was be-
lieved to indicate that they were ready to take up
railways. It was true, for they took up this one
and threw the rails, cars, and locomotives into the
river, and with them went all hopes that an era
of Chinese development toward occidental civiliza-
tion had arrived. After this disappointment rail-
wav construction languished, and China continued
to get along, as she had done for many centuries,
and as indeed she does still, with junks, sampans,
ponies, and coolies. Some statesmen, by means
of memorials to the throne, urged upon the im-
perial authorities the advisability of making a
change and adopting a new order of things ; but
the memorials were referred to some Government
board, where they were conveniently pigeon-
holed.

But the first actual forward step was in connec-
tion with the Kai-ping coal-mines, eighty-four
miles northeast of Tien-tsin. This fine deposit of
really excellent bituminous coal required an outlet
to market. In 1881 the construction of a small
tram-way was begun to transport coal a few miles
to a river, whence it could find its way by junk to
tide-water. This little tram-way, projected by the
native proprietors to be operated by horses, was
the real beginning of the Chinese railway system.
The work was intrusted to an English engineer,
Mr. C. W. Kinder, to whose courage and persist-

X

Chapter IX : Railways 249

encc the present status of railway development
in China is largely due. He began, unknown to
the Chinese, the construction of a small loco-
motive, made up mainly from parts oi old ma-
chines that he could obtain on the ground. This
engine, appropriately named the " Rocket of
China," was actually put in service on this col-
liery tram-road during the first year o( the load's
operation, and served to convert it from its origi-
nal character into a real steam railway.

By demonstrating to the Chinese owners the
great economy oi steam traction, this engine ap-
pealed to their pocketbook reasoning, the near-
est way to reach the native mind, and so won for
itself a permanent place.

Step by step, mile by mile, the little railway
was extended, lirst to Tien-tsin ; then in 1893,
ninety miles, to Shan-hai-kw an, the point where
the Great Wall of China runs into the sea ; and
by 1899 forty miles farther, to Chung-hou-so,
with construction projected, and at this writing
just completed, to Niu-chwang, where connection
is to be made with the Chinese Eastern Railway,
the Manchurian branch of the Russian Trans-Si-
berian load.

That the railway has become a permanent in-
stitution in China there is, of course, no question.
The energy of the Government in pushing the
construction of its own system proves that the
day of tearing up rails, as was done on the Wu-

25° An American Engineer in China

sung line, is past. It is, indeed, the opinion
and confident belief of all who have investigated
the subject, that the time is at hand when the act-
ual system that is to cover the Empire with its
lace-work of steel may not only be projected on
paper but be actually begun in practical construc-
tion. Matters of this kind, however, move slowly
in China. Although the Northern Railway had
proved its commercial desirability and success, it
was not until the war with Japan had shown the
helplessness of the country, by reason of the entire
lack of rapid and certain means of communica-
tion, that measures were taken looking to decisive
action. The country was divided into two sec-
tions, called North and South, but with no exact
delimitations, over each of which there was in-
stalled an official with the title of Director-Gen-
eral of Railways ; and railways were talked of and
projected for the length and breadth of the land.

Up to the year 1896, connection between Tien-
tsin and Peking, a distance of eighty miles, was
maintained either by junks on the Pei Ho or by
ox-carts. In that year, however, the railway be-
tween these two places was begun, and completed
in May, 1897. We thus have a line, about five
hundred miles long, running1 from Peking to its
port, Tientsin, and thence northeasterly through
the Great Wall, which is owned by the Gov-
ernment and was constructed by it under the
direction of Mr. Kinder and through the instru-

Chapter IX : Railways 251

mentality of English banking houses. This rail-
way, which owes its inception to the ingenuity and
courage of Mr. Kinder, and its completion to its
nearness to Peking, whereby its benefits were
forced upon the attention of the imperial authori-
ties, has been the pioneer of like improvements in
China. Considered on its merits, its importance
arises from its connecting the capital of the coun-
try with the coast, and forming the highway
between China and the Russian Trans-Siberian
Railway, rather than from its being a great factor
in local development. In this latter respect the
Imperial Railway will be exceeded by other lines.

In the chapter devoted to the consideration of
commerce and trade conditions, the importance
of the four great points of distribution, Tien-tsin,
Shanghai, Canton, and Hankow, was shown, serv-
ing respectively the northern, central, southern,
and interior sections of the Empire, with Shang-
hai as the chief port of original entry. The com-
mercial supremacv of these points is irrevocably
fixed by geographical conditions, and necessarily
the lines of primary importance in China's future
railway system will be those connecting them.

As it happens, the four places are about equally
distant from each other, say seven hundred miles,
except that Hankow lies midway and in line be-
tween Canton and Tien-tsin. In the past, China
has been able to carry on her commerce because
these four cities enjoyed water connections. But

252 An American Engineer in China

modern conditions require a more certain and
speedy means ot communication. Especially is
this the case at Tien-tsin, where the port is closed
bv ice for nearly one-third of every year.

Agitation for concessions for these lines fol-
lowed closely on the conclusion of the Japanese
War, the first one "ranted being awarded in 1897
to a Belgian syndicate for the construction of the
link between Hankow and Peking, or rather with
a junction with the Tien-tsin-Peking line just out-
side of the capital, and this was followed in 1898
bv a like concession to the American syndicate for
the construction of the section joining Hankow
and Canton. These two railways when completed
will form an almost direct north and south line,
from Canton, the great southern port, to Tien-
tsin, the northern port, and Peking, the capital,
through Hankow, the metropolis of the interior.
Such a line would divide the Empire proper into
about equal portions east and west, and as it will
cross the Yang-tze River at the head of large ship
navigation at a point midway between its ter-
minals, the combined railway and the river will
approximately quarter the Empire. Moreover,
these two railways, considered as one, will con-
stitute the backbone of the future railway system
of China. Work on the line has passed the stage
of beginning. The American half has been sur-
veyed, and construction on the Belgian section
has progressed from both ends. In 1896, construe-

Chapter IX: Railways 253

lion, at that time under the direction of the
Government, was begun southerly from Peking,
and in February, 1899, had reached Pao-ting Fu,
a distance of eight}- miles. This section shortly
afterward was turned over to the Belgians to
operate, who have since extended it thirty miles
more, and built, but not yet commercially oper-
ated, twenty-five miles north from Hankow, with
other construction pending.

In the meantime the reconstruction of the de-
stroyed Wu-sung line was decided upon. The
work was undertaken by Sheng Ta-jen, the Direc-
tor-General of Imperial Chinese Railways of the
South, was completed during 1898, and put under
contract to be turned over at cost to an English
syndicate when so required by the latter.

Of what I have above mentioned as " primary"
lines the Canton-Hankow-Peking connection is
provided for. On two of the others, a beginning
has been made. A concession has been awarded to
an English syndicate for a railway from Shanghai
to Nan-king, the initial step toward a line be-
tween Shanghai and Hankow ; and from a point
on the Yang-tze, opposite Chin-kiang, which lat-
ter will be on the Shanghai-Nan-king Railway, a
concession has been awarded for an extension
north to Tientsin, thus forming the Tien-tsin-
Shanghai connection. This latter line, whose
length is about seven hundred and seventy five
miles, is divided between English and German

254 An American Engineer in China

interests, the latter contracting for the northern
part through Shan-tung, four hundred and seventy-
five miles, and the former undertaking the balance
between Shan-tung and the Yang-tze, three hun-
dred miles. The remaining primary line, that be-
tween Shanghai and Canton, is still in abeyance,
and this will be slower to develop than the others,
as it is paralleled by deep-sea navigation, and
moreover has to cross the successive drainage
lines that run to the coast, making construction
expensive. Its possibility is indicated by conces-
sions for the terminal ends being already awarded
to a British syndicate in a surveyed route from
Shanghai to Ning-po via Hang-chow, two hun-
dred miles, and in another project from Canton
to Kow-loon, one hundred miles.

Such are the main stems either under actual
construction or under more or less serious con-
sideration. Lines of secondary importance al-
ready projected are numerous. The " Peking
Syndicate," an Anglo-Italian combination, which
controls a large area of coal-fields in Shan-si and
Shen-si, claims railway rights, under a general
clause in their concession, amounting to about nine
hundred miles, ramifying through the provinces
named, connecting with the Belgian and British
lines and the Yang-tze in order to bring their
coal to market. On these, however, nothing has
yet been done. The Germans in Shan-tung are
at work building a local system connecting their

Chapter IX : Railways 255

port at Kiao-chow, while the French in Kwang-si
and Yun-nan have secured concessions aggregat-
ing aboul loin hundred miles, to extend their own
Tong-king railway into the two provinces named.
Of these latter the construction of the line from
Lang-son on the frontier to Nan-ning Fu, one
hundred miles, is now in hand.

There is one element in the Chinese railway
situation, however, whose importance is second to
no other, which of necessity will continue to be a
great factor in the future, and that is the presence
and participation of the Russians. Their inter-
ests have been concentrated in the construction of
the Trans-Siberian system, the obtaining of out-
lets on the Pacific coast and the eventual exten-
sion of its rails into Chinese territory. To these
ends there has been no wasting or scattering of
Russia's forces or energies. In point of view of
money spent and results accomplished, Russian
attainments vastly exceed those of all the other
nations combined, but it is often somewhat diffi-
cult to decide whether their operations are on
Chinese or Russian soil. The line to Yladi-
vostock traverses what is nominally Chinese
Manchuria, for 1,000 miles, while the branch
known as the Chinese Eastern, from Kirin to
Port Arthur and Ta-lien-wan. strikes north and
south through Manchuria, which is still consid-
ered Chinese territory, but where Russian influ-
ence, through the Port Arthur lease, is being im-

256 An American Engineer in China

pressed on the people gradually, but hoik- the less
effectually. This line will have a length ol about
four hundred miles, of which one hundred and
twenty-five miles between Port Arthur and Niu-
chwang are already built. In addition, Russia
claims, as conceded, branches from the Belgian
Hankow-Peking line, aggregating four hundred
and eighty miles.

The figures relating to concessions, and in fact
any statements in regard to them, are necessarily
vague and uncertain and constantly subject to
change. But few actual surveys have been made
and the maximum mileage in each case is usually
claimed. On the other hand, the terms of the con-
cessions are guarded as closely as possible, so
that it is difficult to ascertain what has been act-
ually granted. Some so-called concessions may
not have been finally executed, while perhaps,
although not likely to be the case, there are others
in existence which have not been made known.

Summarizing the figures, such as they are, we
find the present status of Chinese railways to be
about as follows :

Constructed ' : Miles.

Chinese Government system 534

Belgian concession 135

British concession 10

German Shan-tung concession 10

Russian Manchurian lines 125

Total 814

Chapter IX : Railways 257

/ Tnder construction :

Miles.

Belgian concession 55

French concession 100

German concession 96

Russian Manchurian lines 375

Chinese, part of American concession 10

Total 636

Concessions granted to foreigners, including the abcroe :

Miles.

British, including Peking syndicate 2.000

American 900

Russian, excluding 1,000 miles of Siberian

railway 880

German 800

Belgian 700

French 400

Total conceded 5,680

We have thus in China, including the Russian
branch in Manchuria, only about eight hundred
miles of railway serving a country whose area is
nearly half as large as that of the United States,
and whose population is said to be 400,000,000.
Lines aggregating 20,000 miles could well be built
during the next ten years with profit.

For the construction ol these and other lines
recourse must be had to foreign capital, aided by
the Chinese Government. Although the Chinese
Government itself, under English advice and fi-
nancial assistance, has been able to construct and

258 An American Engineer in China

successfully operate over five hundred miles in
and about the " metropolitan district," the task
of constructing and organizing the great system
that is already so imperatively needed is one from
which any government might well shrink, espe-
cially one so conservative and opposed to innova-
tion as that of China. On the other hand, while
there is a large amount of private wealth in China,
native capitalists have not been instructed in the
idea of combining in large joint-stock companies,
and therefore the initiative must devolve on the
foreigner.

The concessions referred to are a means to over-
come these difficulties, permitting the Govern-
ment to give, which they began to do in 1897, to
foreigners the right to construct and operate rail-
ways. These concessions clearly state, however,
that the title to the property thus to be created
remains in the Government (according to Chinese
theory, the Emperor is the owner of all things),
and that the money required for construction is
to be advanced by the foreigner as a loan. In
order that the latter may recoup himself for this
loan, he receives bonds guaranteed, both as to prin-
cipal and interest, by the Government, bearing
five per cent, interest, payable in the current gold
coin of the foreigner's country. These bonds are
issued at such a reasonable discount as to pay
the expense of making the issue to the investing
public, and limited to such an amount as is neces-

Chapter IX : Railways 259

sary to pay only the legitimate cost of construc-
tion, so that the purchasers of the bonds receive a
security based on positive value and without the
usual " watering." The time oi the loan varies
with each concession, but is usually between forty
and fifty years. During- this time the control of
the property, so far as financial matters are con-
cerned, is vested absolutely in the foreigner's
hands, and, so far as local matters are concerned,
in a board in which the foreign element and in-
fluence predominate. To pay the foreigner for
his labor he is entitled to receive a certain propor-
tion, usually twenty per cent., of the net earnings,
if any, after meeting operating expenses and in-
terest. The bonds are redeemable at a price fixed
in the contract of concession, so that, in the event
of the credit of the Chinese Government improv-
ing, the first issue may be refunded at a lower
rate. At the end of the fixed period and on re-
payment of the loan the foreigner's interest will
cease entirely, and the Chinese are to take over
the management. Other provisions require the
foreigner to maintain a school of instruction ; to
consider Chinese on an equal footing with for-
eigners for appointment ; to permit natives to in-
vest in the securities; to transport Government
troops and munitions of war at halt rates ; and,
in the event of war between China and another
power, not to give aid to the enemy. On the
other hand, the full power of the Government is

260 An American Engineer in China

pledged, in addition to its financial guarantee, to
protect the foreigner in the full and unrestricted
right, according to the terms of the concession, to
use and enjoy the fruits of his labors.

This combination, wherein there is secured, on
the one hand, the knowledge, experience, and
financial assistance of the foreigner, and, on the
other, the support, both moral and actual, of the
Government, when a permanent one is established,
is a most happy one. It assures security to the
investor, and obtains for China not only the pos-
sibility of rapid development, but the eventual re-
turn to the hands of her own people of the prop-
erties which her credit in the first instance created.
As the Government liability is limited to five
per cent, on the actual cost, it is not expected
that it will be called on for any payment, as each
railway should earn net, above operating expenses,
at least that return.

The danger in the method lies in that, owing to
the fact that the securities issued for the construc-
tion of railways are guaranteed by the Govern-
ment, promoters will not consider sufficiently well
the earning power of the lines they project and
will build lines either not immediately needed or
more rapidly than local trade conditions can as-
similate, and so place on the Government a yearly
burden of interest in excess of the net returns.
This risk must be guarded against by patriotic
and wise care on the part of the Chinese officials,

Chapter IX : Railways 261

and by cautious and conservative investigation on
the part of the foreign projectors.

The political aspect of the situation is unique,
since we see established on the soil of another
country the people of six different foreign na-
tions, with rights and privileges granted and guar-
anteed by the local Government, a situation which
may contain the germs of future complications.
Looking at it from the strategical point of view,
we see the control of all the country north of
the Chinese province of Chi-li absolutely in Rus-
sian hands. South from Tien-tsin, German inter-
ests are paramount, while between these and the
Russians there stands the Imperial Chinese Rail-
way system as a buffer. The land approaches
to Shanghai from the north, west, and south
have been secured by the English. Hankow, as
respects the north and east, is under the Belgian
domination. The American concession secures
the approaches to Hankow from the west and
south, and to Canton from the west and north, that
is to say, it controls the southwestern quarter of
the Empire. On the other hand, the French have
established themselves in the south and south-
west, while the Japanese are understood to have
eyes on the coast opposite Formosa.

Some of the railway projects in China have
been prompted undoubtedly much more by for-
eign politics than by commercial motives. As long
as other nations have a foothold on Chinese ter-

262 An American Engineer in China

ritorv under the thin guise of "leases," and either
claim to have a voice in the administration of
local affairs through "spheres of influence" or
are possessed with the fear that their rivals may in
some way secure special favors, the various Eu-
ropean powers will endeavor to put themselves
in advantageous positions, either to seize terri-
tory in the event of a break-up, or to prevent
others from doing so. There exists a general
belief in China, which repeated authoritative de-
nials seem, curiously enough, to strengthen, that
Russian influence was behind the Belgian syndi-
cate in procuring the railroad concession from
Peking to Hankow, the theory being that Rus-
sia's design is either to form, ultimately, a
through line from St. Petersburg to the Yang-
tze River, or to have something ready to offer in
trade for other concessions in the north of more
immediate benefit, to herself and of less threaten-
ing aspect to Great Britain. Whether true or
not, this supposed Russian "move" was immedi-
ately met by the British Government despatch-
ing two parties to China under the charge of
army officers to prospect for a route for a rail-
way controlling the Yang-tze Valley, usually con-
sidered as Great Britain's "sphere," and connect-
ing with the Burma system. One of the lines
projected follows up the Yang-tze from Hankow
to Chung-king, and thence to Burma. The other
runs across the northwest eorner of Hu-nan, and

Chapter IX : Railways 263

through Yun-nan, bv a more direct route, to the
same objective. They would have a length of
about 1,700 and 1,550 miles respectively. They
coidd be supported onlv as a political necessity,
for while a part of each would traverse a rich,
productive and remunerative territory, neither
as a whole would be profitable for many years.
The other nations that have political interests at
stake are German v, who appears to be content
to develop the resources of Shan-tung as a local
venture, and France, who, branching" out from
her Anam and Tong-king possessions, is desirous
somehow to reach across the Empire and clasp
hands with her Muscovite ally in the north. No
sadder thing could happen, not only for China,
but for the world at large, than to have some such
scheme of interference or European division be-
come a reality.

Two questions, each of vital importance, present
themselves in connection with possible railway
development. Firstly, will the Chinese permit
their construction, or will the national antipathy
to innovation and superstitious fear of violation
of ancestral tombs prevent the introduction of so
revolutionary a thing as a railway? Secondly, if
constructed, will railways pay ?

The principal opposition to railway construction
in China has come largely, I believe, from the of-
ficial class, which has realized quite well that on
the introduction of modern means of communica-

264 An American Engineer in China

tion, and the general enlightenment of the country
that would inevitably follow, its power would be
broken and its prerogatives greatly reduced. Of
course, there exists among the people a strong
prejudice against any innovation, but this preju-
dice can be, and is, easily overcome wherever
the innovation has official support and encour-
agement. The general popular opposition to rail-
ways in China is double, being partly religious and
partly through fear of competition against manual
labor. Being ignorant, the common people are
naturally superstitious, and every district has its
sacred hill or its holy river wherein resides the
spirit of the local protecting deity, which, if in-
terfered with, dreadful disaster will result. An
amusing instance concerns an island in the interior
on which it was necessarv to make some excava-
tion in the course of railway work. At once the
literar}' gentry were up in arms, explaining that
the island was really a fish who kindly kept watch
over the adjacent city, and that if an excavation
were made the fish's backbone would be cut and
he would die. Such is one form of popular and
superstitious opposition. Another formidable
obstacle is found in connection with the graves of
ancestors, which are the most important outward
evidence of Chinese religion. Unfortunately, these
graves are not placed in regular cemeteries but
are scattered more or less broadcast over the sur-
face of the country, so that it is impossible to run

Chapter IX : Railways 265

a railway line without frequently interfering with
them. At first this objection seemed fatal, and
the earh'cr lines were given an alignment thai
would prove seriously detrimental to impor-
tant railways. When the matter became acute in
the construction of the Imperial Railway in the
north, the question was taken up for settlement
on a business basis, and eight taels was reached
as a sort of tariff to compensate the resident for
the disturbance of each dead ancestor and to pay
for the removal of the latter to a new resting-
place. Experience has shown that this charge
was somewhat in excess of actual cost, for not
only has opposition practically ceased, but a new
business has sprung up. It is found that if the
natives learn in advance of the location of a new
line, that the more enterprising among them, it
so unfortunate as not to have a family burying-
gronnd in the way, will borrow from their neigh-
bors the temporary loan of a few grandfathers
whom they will quietly re-bury in advance of the
work. The charge of eight taels seems sufficient
to pay the expense of the double handling, with a
commission to the owner of the ancestor, and yet
leave an attractive profit to the borrower.

A more reasonable objection to the building
of railways is the fear that the coolies, who now
carry their goods and produce over their poor
highways on their backs, one hundred pounds at
a load, or the junkmen who now take weeks or

266 An American Engineer in China

perhaps months to move a cargo of American
kerosene a few hundred miles, will be deprived
of their means of support and existence. This
was urged to me by intelligent local officials and
merchants, who appeared genuinely desirous to
know what a railroad was and what its effects
would be. When it was explained to them that
similar fears had been found to be groundless in
other countries, and that railways, instead of de-
creasing, gave increased employment at higher
wages bv diversifying and developing new means
of trade, the local merchants and land-owners
almost without exception seemed satisfied and
urged my speedy return. The native prejudices,
although strong, are not by any means insuper-
able, and can be conquered by tact, firmness, and
money.

In order to give an answer to the second ques-
tion, that is, as to whether the financial returns will
pay a sufficient profit on the investment — for it
must be remembered that the Chinese natives are
very poor and apparently have no money for
travelling — let us first turn to China's more ad-
vanced neighbors and see what they have done
with their railways.

On one side we have India and on the other
Japan. While the Hindus and Japanese are races
different from each other and from the Chinese,
the differences are not so great as to destroy the
usefulness of the comparison. They are all Eastern

Chapter IX : Railways 267

Asiatics, with many institutions — and even relig-
ions in part — in common ; their countries have
dense populations, while they themselves possess
a natural disinclination to change established ways,
a strong and almost bigoted desire for hand-labor
methods, and a more or less deep suspicion of for-
eign ideas.

The Indian system of railways is of main years'
growth, and has now attained a length of 25,000
miles. It may be urged that this gets its strength,
and therefore has reached its development,
through British, and not native, sources, and con-
sequently is not a lair guide for comparison with
proposed railways in other Eastern countries. It
is, of course, true that the original incentive and
the power of promotion was of foreign origin;
but it is equally true that, unless the great mass
of people in the locality concerned will patronize
the newer systems of transportation — no matter
how energetically promoted and extolled — the
latter will not be profitable, and if the first lines
do not pay, no subsequent ones will be built. The
Indian system does pay, in spite of very heavy
cost in construction, and pays chief!}' through the
receipts from those classes who usually are not
supposed to have the means at hand. The receipts
of the whole Indian system amount to $4,000 gold
per mile, while the receipts of the "standard-
gauge" portion are more than $5000 per mile,
with the chief lines showimr results as high as

Chapter IX : Railways 269

$11,000 gold, which may be contrasted with an
average of $6,000 per mile for the railways in the
United States. These figures, too, are obtained
in a country where the natives are as poor as any
to be found on the .Asiatic continent, and where a
heavy mineral traffic, such as that in coal, is not
obtainable, as it is in the more favored Eastern
countries.

The Japanese railway system, however, is quite
free from the objection that may be brought
against the Indian railways as standards of com-
parison, because here we have all the usual ori-
ental conditions without foreign pressure, except
perhaps in the case of such foreign engineers or
others as may have been retained from time to
time for advice. Hence, in the Japanese system
we find an example by which we can judge of the
possibilities of development as to the capacity of
the Eastern Asiatic not only to adapt himself to
new conditions, but to take up the construction
and management of so essentially an occidental
idea as a railway, and also of his own initiative to
suggest, promote, and carry out new lines.

The case of Japan is peculiar. Prior to the visit
of Commodore Perry, in 1853, it was a country
practically closed to the outside world, and was
therefore far behind its neighbor, China, which
had been carrying on trade with foreign nations
for oyer three hundred years. In 1X70 there was
undertaken the construction ol a line from Tokyo,

Chapter IX : Railways 271

the capital, to Yokohama, the chief port, a dis-
tance of eighteen miles, whose operation was be-
gun in 1872. In 1893 the system had grown to
1,871 miles, and at the present time there are in
actual operation about 4,000 miles.

These railways are of three kinds: first, the
Government line, which constitutes the main stem,
from Tokyo westerly along the coast through the
great centres of trade and population, Yokohama,
Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe; second, private lines,
built with the aid of a Government subsidy ;
third, private lines, without Government aid. Of
the existing mileage, about nine hundred miles
belong to the Government and 3,100 miles to
private companies, of which the most important
is the Nippon Railway Company, whose lines run
east and northeast from Tokyo. The early Japa-
nese lines were built by foreign, usually English,
engineers and operated by foreign managers.
But nearly all the foreigners have since been re-
placed by Japanese officials, and no new ones are
engaged, the natives having amply demonstrated
their ability to do all the work of planning, con-
structing, and operating.

The principal lines are double-tracked. Such
single lines as exist are operated according to the
English system of the train staff; and as the cn-
ginemen are natives, at wages averaging $12 per
month, some such mechanical method, instead of
the American system o! telegraph despatching, is

Chapter IX : Railways 273

a necessity. The track is of the American type,
with flat-footed rails on wooden cross-ties and
stone ballast. The rolling stock is of the Eu-
ropean design, with cross compartments in the
passenger cars and freight equipment of the
"truck" order. The locomotives, on the other
hand, are both European and American. In or-
der to suit the passenger cars the stations have
high platforms, and the buildings, though simple
in design, are effective and usually models of
neatness. Passengers are not admitted to the
platform except with tickets, and are not allowed
to cross the tracks except by an overhead bridge.
The train schedules are generous in regard to
frequency of trains, and call for speeds of from
twenty to thirty miles per hour. Trains are
usually on time.

The results of operation are in every way satis-
factory, and are sufficient to completely dispel
any fear that the Oriental races will fail to appre-
ciate modern conditions when they have become
used to them ; for it must be kept in mind that it
is only within the last lew years that Japan has
attained commercial prominence, and that it was
but a short time since she occupied a position in-
ferior to other Asiatic peoples. The Government
lines earn per mile per annum about $8,000 gross,
while the private lines, many oi which are located
in the sparsely settled and mountainous districts,
succeed in averaging $3,500; but, owing to the

CD

a.

h

Chapter IX : Railways 275

low cost of labor, the ratio of operating expenses
is much less than is found in the United States,
ranging from forty per cent, to fifty per cent.,
thus giving a higher net return than is usual with
equal gross receipts on railways in the United
States.

Japan being insular, the railways there are sub-
ject to junk and steamer competition, and as the
Japanese coal-mines are located on the sea, such
traffic is almost exclusively water-borne. The for-
mer condition deprives the railways of through
freight, and the latter of coal and similar classes
ol heavy goods, except to interior points. To
American eves the anomaly in the returns is the
fad that passenger receipts exceed those from
freight, the ratio of earnings on the Government
lines being about as three to one, although on the
private lines, where the population is much less
dense, there is a nearer approach to equality.
The same state of affairs is found to exist on the
Indian system and on the Imperial Chinese Rail-
way so far as it is built, thus indicating the ex-
istence of similar conditions of life throughout
all the Far East. Contrary, therefore, to the or-
dinarily accepted belief, the Oriental is by nature
a traveller when he gets the opportunity: and the
extent to which he will travel is enormous. On
the 660 miles of Government lines in Japan,
there were carried in the year 1898 no fewer
than 28,000,000 passengers, an average per mile

j;0

An American Engineer in China

o! 42,000. The average number of passengers
per mile of railway in the United States is about
3,000. Taking a more striking comparison, the
whole Japanese system, Government and private,

Passengers Getting on a Train in China

in 1S98 aggregating 2,468 miles, carried 84,040,963
passengers, while the New York Central Railroad,
in the same year, with 2,395 miles — or almost ex-
actly the same length of line — carried 24,074,254
passengers, the relative density in favor of the
Japanese being thus more than three to one; and

Chapter IX : Railways 277

this in spite of the fact that the New York Central
had the benefit of including among its passengers
all the traffic received from Western, New Eng-
land, and other connecting lines. Even when
making a comparison as to passenger mileage,
the volume of business is found to be in favor ol
the Japanese system in the proportion of two to
one, the passengers carried one mile being in one
case 1,438,014,632, and in the other 712,115,222.

Nor are the rates of fare at which this business
is done so very low ; in fact, some of the charges
are high enough to excite the envy of the ordi-
nary American traffic manager. In India there
are lour classes of passenger accommodation, the
rates per mile ranging from 0.3 cent to 2.4 cents
gold. In Japan there are three classes, the
charges being 0.7 cent for the third class, 1.4
cent for the second, and 2.1 cents lor the first.
These last rates, adopted one year ago, are an in-
crease of one-third over the previous figures, it
being found that the natives demanded better
facilities and were willing to pay for them. On
the Chinese Imperial Railway the rates are 1*4
cents for first-class and ^ cent second-class, at
which prices, considering the shortness of the
line, an enormous business is done. Although
the rates for the lower classes seem low, it is to
be remembered that the accommodations offered
are of the simplest and cheapest character, pas-
sengers in China being transported in open gon-

Chapter IX : Railways 279

dola cars. The charges for first-class travel in all
the countries referred to are seen to compare fa-
vorably with American charges, again bearing
in mind thai the heavy, expensively decorated
American coach is unknown in the East. But
freight rates are proportionately higher, the larger
charges being rendered possible by competition
with man-carried transportation, in which neces-
sarily the cost is great, even in spite of the very
low wages paid. In India the freight tariff per
ton per mile ranges from 1.6 to 5.5 cents; in Japan
on ordinary goods from 1 to 2 cents with reduc-
tions for huge consignments, and in China from
1.2 to 2.25 cents. In 1898 the average charge per
ton per mile on the whole Japanese system was 1
cent, as compared with 0.6 cent on the New York
Central.

It would appear from these figures that two pop-
ular beliefs in regard to traffic conditions in the
Far East are fallacious; viz., that the natives are
too poor to afford to pay for modern facilities, and
that they will not travel freely. The facts are
otherwise. Their poverty is partly due to the
high charges the deficient native methods inflict,
which prevent any movements except those of
great inherent profit which can afford the traffic
expenses while in the interior of any of the
countries here concerned none but the rich can
gratify their desire to travel. Where the onlv
facility afforded to the poor man is to walk, it be-

280 An American Engineer in China

comes a condition as fatal to general movement in
China as it would be in any other country. As a
simple example ol what the Chinese will do when
they have the opportunity, the reports of the
Canton Customs Office show that the steamers
between Hongkong and Canton earn- annually
nearly 1,000,000 passengers, a daily average of
2,500, in addition to a large but cheaper travel
by native junk, of which no record is kept.

The electric trolley car is a form of railway de-
velopment which as yet has made but little head-
way, but which is certain to attain great success,
being peculiarly suited to the needs of the Chinese
on account of the density of population, and the
inherent tendency of the natives to prefer short
journeys, and journeys made at all hours, rather
than at fixed intervals on a regular schedule.
The electric tram-way has recently secured a foot-
hold in Japan, in Siam, and in a few other isolated
points; a few years hence will see its general use.

One curious and unfortunate feature in connec-
tion with Asiatic railways is the diversity of
gauges, with the entailed certainty of all the in-
conveniences, delays, and unnecessary expenses
that were experienced in the United States until
a uniform gauge was at last adopted. The gauge
of the Japanese system is 3 feet 6 inches, which is
found to be inconveniently small ; but as all the
lines are alike, and as no outside connections are
possible, it is not likely that any change will be

Chapter IX : Railways 281

made — at least, not for a long time. On the Con-
tinent the conditions are more complicated, and
such that some day will certainly give trouble.
The Russian Trans-Siberian Railway, and the Chi-
nese Eastern Railway ( which is t he extension of the
former through Manchuria, still nominally Chi-
nese territory) to Port Arthur and to a connection
with the Imperial Chinese Railway, has a gauge
of 5 leet, in accordance with Russian standards.
The Indian railways, on the other hand, have an
assortment of gauges, one ol 5 feet 6 inches, mis-
called the "standard gauge," being used on the
principal lines to the extent of about 14,000 miles.
Again, a gauge of 1 metre is in force on over 10,000
miles, while odd gauges of 2 feet and 2 feet 6
inches are found on a number of short lines, aggre-
gating, however, nearly 1,000 miles. The Chinese
authorities on the Imperial svstem in the north, and
on the Shanghai-Wu-sung line, have adopted the
European and American standard of 4 feet 8^
inches; and as the same dimension is being fol-
lowed by the Belgians on their Hankow- Peking
line, and will be used on the English and Ameri-
can concessions, a standard is thus formed that
will ultimately dominate the Empire, and which
in the end the exigencies of traffic will compel
the Russian and Indian railways to adopt.

The time will come, and perhaps at no very dis-
tant day, when it will be possible tor a traveller
starting, we may say, from Paris, to traverse North

u

If)

Chapter IX : Railways 283

Europe by way of Berlin and Moscow ; and to
proceed thence through Siberia; south to Peking
and China; across India, Persia, and Asia Minor;
by car-ferry over the Bosphorus ; and thence
through Austria and the Tyrol back to his start-
ing point, without changing cars.

In style of construction the Chinese railways
are a compromise between European and Ameri-
can lines. They are all single-track lines, except
the division between Tien-tsin and Peking. The
track is of the American type ; the locomotives
are partly American and partly English ; and the
cars, both passenger and freight, are an adapta-
tion of both the American and English patterns,
made to conform with local conditions, and in
their construction to come within the facilities of
local shops, for all the rolling stock, except the
engines, is home-made.

As a field for the future, China stands pre-
eminent on account ol its size, its population, and
its well-known but undeveloped mineral wealth,
and offers chances and opportunities that are to
be found nowhere else in the Orient.

The Japanese, in his essentials, does not differ
radically from other Eastern Asiatic races. Start-
ing from a point much inferior in the way of com-
mercial development to that attained by the Chi-
nese, he has built up, the greater part by his own
individual and unassisted efforts, a railway system
that can take rank with the railways of any other

Chapter IX : Railways 285

country. What he has done the Chinese can do,
and will do, especially seeing that the conditions
for success on the mainland, with possibilities for
through traffic and vast mineral deposits await-
ing rail transportation outward, exceed those of
insular Japan.

Chapter

X

The Yellow Peril

THERE arc two questions in regard to
China thai are frequently raised, which
merit attention on account of their being
supported by a belief that appears to be quite
wide-spread. One is whether it is not dangerous
commercially to supply the Chinese with facto-
ries, mills, railways and other modern means of
constructing, by means of which, operated by
their cheap labor, they will be able to flood the
world with articles at a price lower than they
can be manufactured elsewhere, and thus close
our own factories, or compel our laborers to
work for less pay. The other question is whether
it is not dangerous politically to teach the Chi-
nese modern methods, lest the}' will devote their
energies to making arms and ammunition and
overrun the world as Genghis Khan did, and
make us all yassals of the Son of Heaven. Both
questions are based on a fear of the so-called Yel-
low Peril. Let us take them up separately.

The basis of the first is the prevailing low rate
of wages. Although China is a land of surprises
and contradictions, the law of supply and demand
still remains true. A man is paid five cents a day,
because he is worth no more, and because there
are more men seeking employment than the

286

Chapter X: The Yellow Peril 287

scant diversity of occupation offers opportunities.
Wherever in any country the number of occupa-
tions is limited, the rate of wages is low ; thus a
man receives less for his labor in the rural dis-
tricts, where the variety of pursuits is small, than
lie docs in the cities, where it is great. Likewise
wherever labor is specialized, so that the output of
the article made is increased, wages rise ; wherever
labor is not specialized, wages fall.

The extremes of the less desirable of the above
conditions are those which exist in China. Ordi-
narily the man obtains his bare living in the hard-
est possible manner. 11 a farmer, he not only
raises his own food, but he spins his cotton or
his wool lor 1 1 is clothes; he constructs his own
farming implements and makes his own houses.
If he be a Laborer in his native cities, he does the
most menial o( work, such as carrying water,
hauling loads, and doing things that with us are
accomplished by animal or machine. We know
of our own experience that wherever that is the
case, wages rule low. The same thing is true in
China. Take any one of the treaty ports where
there are enough foreigners residing to make a
settlement, wages will be found rising, and ris-
ing in proportion as there are activity and diver-
sity of occupation. The more cotton mills, the
more silk filatures, the higher arc the wages paid.
When, therefore, China has reached a condition in
which she can invade us, it will be found that the

288 An American Engineer in China

labor conditions will have adjusted themselves to
a new level.

It is very difficult to argue against the propo-
sition that it is unwise to develop a country that
some dav may surpass us in trade. Yet the dis-
cussion cannot he Left in the condition that the
burden of proof rests properly with the affiant,
for those people who doubt the wisdom of the
policy would consider such a course as conceding
the argument. The proposition itself, if carried
out to a logical conclusion, would mean that the
world at large would be better off commercially
if a nation like Germany for instance were ab-
solutely destroyed or relegated to barbarism. Or
to put it in another form, have the iron masters
of England been ruined by the growth of Pitts-
burg? Has the cause of civilization or the com-
mercial interests of other nations been injured by
reclaiming what is now the United States from
the Indian tribes who once possessed it? If this
reasoning is objected to as not being parallel, in
that the development of the United States was
due to an overflow from European countries and
was not the result of transforming an already ex-
isting population from a state of non-production
to one of active competition, let us turn to the
East for an illustration that is exactly parallel.
We will pass over the customs returns of China,
which indicate unmistakably a growth in import
trade commensurate with that in export, and take

Chapter X : The Yellow Peril 289

up Japan. !n this we find a country having a
dense population, and one where the natives but
a few years since were lar behind the Chinese of
to-day ; where the prevailing rate of wages was
latelv equally low, but whose rapid rise into the
ranks of great nations is the marvellous wonder
of the age. It is not so very many years since
Japan was tightly closed to any and all external
relations, and even within a decade it looked to
other countries for such manufactured articles as
it consumed. Through wise statesmanship, new-
industries have been developed, trade nurtured,
a merchant marine established carrying the flag
of Japan into all ports, while its cities, like Osaka,
Kyoto, Nagova and Yokohama, might be mis-
taken, if judged by their factory chimneys and
active life, for some bustling cities in our own
nervous West. If there be anything in the Yel-
low Peril, here surely is an opportunity where
its evil effects can be seen. Here is a coun-
try, oriental in temperament, developed largely
through its own energy, and which is not, as the
United States may be said to be, a second En-
rope. What are the facts? In 1891 the United
States sold to Japan goods valued at $4,800,000,
and to about the same amount in 1895. In the
five years intervening since the latter year, the
phenomenal growth in Japanese industrial life has
taken place. Instead of the consumption of for-
eign articles diminishing, as the alarmists would

290 An American Engineer in China

have it, the imports from the United States have
increased by leaps and bounds, reaching in the fis-
cal year ended June 30, 1900, nearly $30,000,000, an
increase of about 600 per cent. In 1891 our sales
to China amounted to $12,000,000, or more than
twice those to Japan, while in 1900 our exports to
the former were about $21,000,000, or an increase
of less than 100 per cent. In short the advan-
tage and benefit to the commerce of this country
are greatest in connection with that oriental na-
tion which developed the most. An increase
of wages in Japan has taken place in comparison
with the increase in trade, as was shown to be the
case in China on a smaller scale. A few years
ago the supply of farm hands was much greater
than the demand ; to-day there is difficult)' in pro-
curing enough to gather the crops, the men being
attracted to the cities by the higher wages paid,
and the cheap labor of Japan is fast disappearing.
But even in spite of the difference in the ruling
rate of wages, in manufactured cotton goods the
United States is able to compete successfully with
Japan in China, although in the matter of raw
material the two nations stand on the same foot-
ing, as Japan imports American raw cotton to be
manufactured in her own mills. On this point
the Chinese Customs Report of 1898 says: "Jap-
anese sheetings show an immense decline, said
to be due to inequality in texture, which handi-
caps them, in competition with American goods."

Chapter X : The Yellow Peril 291

The Japanese labor is cheap because it is not as
efficient. When it is equally experienced, intel-
ligent and reliable, it will receive corresponding
compensation. So it will be in China. The
theory that would keep a large country, embrac-
ing an area equal to that of Europe, from the
blessings and comforts ot modern civilization, is
based only on the idea that trade is not mutual
and that the only customer to be desired is he
that will buy but cannot sell.

The second form of Yellow Peril fear rests on
the density of Chinese population. The popular-
ly conceived picture of China is one where the
population has grown to the actual limits that the
land can support, and that the "Yellow Terror"
needs but the suggestion and the means to burst
his bonds, and then from sheer necessity for the ac-
quisition of more space will overrun Europe. Let
us review briefly the facts in the case and ascer-
tain what is the basis for the belief that the popu-
lation is either as great as it is popularly supposed
to be or that the land is actually over-crowded.

According to Williams, the first Chinese census
of which there is any reliable record was one
taken in the year 1331 A.D., which placed the
population of the Empire at something less than
60,000,000. The first census to which any credit
can be attached, however, was one reputed to have
been taken in the year 171 1, placing the population
at less than 29,000,000, or about one-half of what it

292 An American Engineer in China

was said to be 406 years before. Although there
is considerable doubt as to whether this census
included the whole oi the Empire, the general
looseness ol statement in regard to the popula-
tion is to be noted. In 1812 an elaborate Chinese
census was said to have been compiled, placing
the population of the country at 362,000,000, and
in 1 86S a Russian statistician named Vassilivitch
estimated it at 405,000,000. In 1881 figures col-
lected through the Maritime Customs officials
gave a total of 380,000,000, being a decrease since
1868 and an absurdly small increase since 181 2.
These last three censuses so called are the ones
that are generally accepted as approximating the
population of the country, and from which, rely-
ing on a normal rate of increase, the present pop-
ulation is generally assumed to be about 450,000,-
000. Such are the primary facts. Now what is
the evidence in support of their reliability ? Of
course no actual count of the people in China has
ever been undertaken in the same correct and
careful manner that the regular count of foreign
nations is periodically made. The Chinese officials
attempt to keep a record of their people, which is
done, not by counting heads, but by ascertaining
the number of families in each small district, and
then by multiplying the number of families as
reported by an average, assumed to give correctly
the number of persons per family. In this man-
ner the supposed population in any given district

Chapter X : The Yellow Peril 293

is estimated. These figures are reported from
time to time to the higher provincial officers, in
order to determine the population oi each province
for taxation purposes, and it is on such figures
that the great Chinese census of 18 12 was made
and the subsequent figures ol Vassiliviteh and the
Chinese Customs compiled. If this method were
pursued faithfully, even approximately, the gen-
eral result would be somewhere near the actual
facts, but we know that the Chinese, of all peoples
in the world, are the most inaccurate. Whenever
a Chinese makes a statement it is invariably pre-
ceded by the word "about," and an accurate state-
ment of figures or statist ies is something entirely
beyond his comprehension. 1 1 is very system of
counting stops at ten thousand, and when he
wishes to use numbers above that, he is com-
pelled to count bv so many tens of thousands.
The methods of written arithmetic and of re-
cording figures are unknown to him. When he
wishes to work out an example in addition or
subtraction, or perform any other arithmetical
solution, he does so, not with the figures before
him, but on a counting machine. To him, figures,
or rather accuracy in handling them, mean noth-
ing, but when he does use figures, he not only
expresses them as "about," but invariably makes
an overstatement. It a distance between two
points is required, the figures given will always
be in excess. If the price of an article is asked,

294 An American Engineer in China

it is always one greater than the real one, and
even in stating his age, where one would natu-
rally look for accuracy, he increases the actual
figure by one year, by considering that the child
is one year old when he is born, and thus it goes
through all cases where he has to handle num-
bers. Such being the case, his own statements
in regard to population cannot command our ac-
ceptance without corroborating evidence. As has
been shown above, what might be termed the
internal evidence of the figures themselves is far
from convincing, for not only do the totals fail to
show any correlation, but the details of the prov-
inces also are sadly at variance. Thus the prov-
ince of Kwang-tung, where facts are easily ascer-
tainable, was shown in 1812 to contain 19,175,000
people, and was given 19,200,000 by the Customs
estimate in 188 1, while Sz-chuen, the extreme
western province, much less travelled than
Kwang-tung, was credited with 21,000,000 in 1812,
with 35,000,000 in 1 88 1, and with over 70,000,000
now. There has been no such disproportionate
growth. The most important of these censuses is,
of course, that given out by the Chinese Customs.
But the Maritime Customs Bureau had no means
of ascertaining the population except through
taking the Chinese figures and making such allow-
ance in them as seemed proper for local discrep-
ancies. The officials of the Customs are located
at the treaty ports, where, of course, the greatest

Chapter X : The Yellow Peril 295

concentration of population exists, and where the
outward evidence would seem to support the es-
timates of a dense population.

Various writers on China have discussed this
question ol population from both points of
view. Williams, in his " Middle Kingdom," says:
" Whatever may be our views of the actual popu-
lation, it is plain that these censuses, with all their
discrepancies and inaccuracies, are the only reli-
able sources of information. . . . As the ques-
tion stands at present they can be doubted, but
cannot be denied ; it is impossible to prove them,
still there are many grounds for believing them.
The enormous total which they exhibit can be
declared to be improbable, but not shown to be
impossible." From this, Williams goes on to
reason, although showing his own doubt, that
we should accept the figures until they can be
proved to be untrue.

Dr. A. II. Smith, who probably knows China
and the Chinese as well as any other writer, in
his recent book on "Village Life" supports the
idea of density of population as shown by the
Chinese census, by giving results of actual counts
in certain districts in the province of Shan-tung,
which would seem to bear out the official figures.
Among other critical observers, Mr. Colquhoun
states his belief, when comparing India and China,
the population of the former being fairly well
known, that the population of the latter would

296 An American Engineer in China

seem to be about 350,000,000, although admitting
thai other persons who have examined into this
question have put the population below 300,000,-
000. An American, General James 11. Wilson,
who has travelled extensively in the northern
part o! China, which is probably the most densely
populated portion, doubts the figures as stated by
the various authorities and considers that 360,000,-
000 would be the maximum limit that he would
believe. Other authorities can be quoted in a sim-
ilar strain, the general summary of such opinions
being that we should not doubt the Chinese fig-
ures until they are disproved, and that although
the population appears to the writers to be great,
it may not be so great as the census states. Such
is the defence of the theory of great density of
population. Oi all the statements made, that
possibly of Dr. Smith is entitled to the most re-
spect, but his figures were taken from the prov-
ince of Shan-tung, and on a portion of the great
plain, where naturally the population is most
dense, as there the greatest facilities for raising
crops and supporting the population exist. As
his work, that of a missionary, lay principally
among villages and places where most people
live, it is possible that even he did not make an
allowance for the vast areas of waste ground
which are to be found all over the Empire.

While the portion of China actually inspected
on my own journey and on other trips to the

Chapter X: The Yellow Peril 297

north and elsewhere is small as compared with
the whole, nevertheless the districts seen were
certainly typical and contained the great centres
of population. From what I saw I am forced
to believe that the density of the population
of China has been most grossly exaggerated.
Nowhere, not even on the plains surrounding
Peking, did I see anything approaching a condi-
tion of overcrowding. On all sides there was
evidence in abundance that the soil could sup-
port a very much larger mass of people than it
does at present, and my own attempts to secure
figures relating to the population of the districts
through which 1 travelled, convinced me that no
reliability whatever could be placed on Chinese
figures. In some cases it is true the local offi-
cial presented me with a tabulated statement
showing the population of a district, but when
these figures were compared with figures for an
adjoining district, and where in each case I was
able to make at least a comparison as to the rela-
tive density of population of the two, the evidence
of unreliability was so great thai 1 was forced to
discredit them both. In the majority of cases, in-
quiries as to population were productive of no re-
sults at all. As Dr. Smith himself states, such a
question usually provokes the answer of "Who
knows?" or " Quite a few." In one case in my own
experience an application made to the local mag-
istrate (the man who should keep in his 3 amen a

298 An American Engineer in China

record of the number of families) as to how many
people lived in his district, he replied, " Many tens
of thousands." .After he was pressed for greater
detail, he replied that he had told me that there
were " many " tens of thousands, and lie appeared
to really believe that the word " many " gave me
an accurate answer to my question. When it is
recalled that such men as these are those who
gather the basal figures for any census, and bearing
in mind the general inaccuracy and looseness of
statement characteristic of the Chinese, it seems
to me that their figures of population should be set
aside as almost unworthy of serious considera-
tion. The burden of proof is undoubtedly on the
Chinese, and as there is no direct evidence to sup-
port their claim, and much to make one doubt it,
the whole question seems to be (airly open for un-
biassed investigation.

In other countries the average density of popu-
lation depends largely upon the concentration of
people in great cities. Of the total population of
the State of New York, more than one-half of it
is concentrated in a small area, covered bv the
City of New York. Of the population of Eng-
land, one-fifth of it is comprised in London alone;
and if the population of all cities of over 50,000 in
any country are removed from consideration, the
average number of people per square mile will
be found to be very low. It used to be supposed
that the cities of China were exceedingly popu-

Chapter X : The Yellow Peril 299

Ions, Peking being credited with a population of
several millions. This is now known and gener-
ally admitted not to be the fact, and Peking,
instead of being one of the largest cities of the
world, evidently does not possess over 700,000
inhabitants.

Taking, for example, the provinces of Hu-peh,
Hu-nan, and Kwang-tung, along whose chief trade
routes, and consequently most densely populated
sections, my journey led me, of these Hu-peh is
usually credited with something over 30,000,000.
The only large centre of population of Hu-peh is
Hankow, which, with Wu-chang and Han-yang,
cannot have more than 1,250,000. While there are
several other cities in the province, with possibly
from 50,000 to 100,000 people each, there is no
other very large aggregation of people. Hu-nan
has an area of 75,000 square miles, or just about one
and one-half times as much as the State of New
York. The former is credited with 22,000,000 and
the latter with about 7,000,000 of people. My
journey through Hu-nan is comparable with a trip
from New York to Buffalo, along the line of the
Erie Canal and the New York Central Railroad.
On the first, there are but two really large cities,
Chang-sha and Siang-tan, to offset New York,
Albany, Schenectadv, Syracuse, Rochester, Buf-
falo, and intermediate points. It is impossible
to see how there can be a relative density per
square mile of more than two to one in favor of

300 An American Engineer in China

the Chinese province. Kwang-tung is given
30,000,000, approximately, on an area of about
80,000 square miles. The northern part is moun-
tainous and almost bare of people, and no crowd-
ing is apparent until Canton is approached. If
the district of Canton, including Fatshan and the
other places in the vicinity, be credited with 5,000,-
000 — a most generous allowance — there would
remain 25,000,000 to be made up by the smaller
cities and villages. If these places should aver-
age 2,500 people each, there would then be needed
10,000 of them. I am quite sure that no such
number can be found.

While I have no means of forming any estimate
of the actual number of people to be found in
these three provinces, I am convinced that the
originally reputed figures are more than twice too
great. This view of overestimating on the part
of the Chinese is corroborated by the report of a
commission sent by the Chamber of Commerce of
Lvons, France, in 1895, to investigate the trade
conditions of certain parts of China, notably the
provinces of Yun-nan and Sz-chuen, in which the
French Government claimed special commercial
privileges. In order to acquire information they
subdivided their main bod)- into several parties,
and thus in their two years' work covered all the
principal routes. Of the province of Yun-nan,
they speak as follows:

" There is the same uncertainty in the matter of

Chapter X: The Yellow Peril 301

population. In spite of the authorities, \vc are
forced to believe that the figure of twelve mill-
ions is too great, and that one of seven or eight
millions would come closer to the truth, although
a missionary who had travelled much throughout
the province gave an estimate of from four to five
millions."

The province of Sz-chuen, which is the largest
province in China, has assigned to it a population
of 73,000,000. The French commission state that
they discard, without hesitation, the above-named
figure, and give as their estimate from 40,000,000
to 50,000,000, but add that the Customs authori-
ties at Chung-king and the missionaries estimate
the population at from 30,000,000 to 35,000,000.

We thus have a careful estimate made by men
who can hardly be accused of pessimism, giving
but sixty per cent, of the usually quoted figures.
In addition to this they felt constrained to point
out that the missionaries, who probably know the
country better than anybody else, estimate the
population on a basis of from thirty to forty per
cent.

The foreigner gets his idea of the overcrowd-
ing of China by a cursory trip through the streets
of a Chinese city like Canton. These streets are
narrow, being but from eight to twelve feet wide,
and are consequently crowded, but he must re-
member that the widest one of Canton's busi-
ness streets is narrower than a single sidewalk in

304 An American Engineer in China

to consist of several millions of men, weighed
down with rifles and ammunition, artillery and
ordnance, and the other heavy impedimenta of
modern warfare. Thus encumbered — for the
whole of the equipment would have to be car-
ried from the starting-base — this huge, unwieldy
army would have to cross into Europe by one
of the three land routes, for an attack by water
would be impossible. These routes are: south-
westerly across Burma into India, northwesterly
across Siberia, or directly west across the high
table-land of Central Asia ; in any case a distance
of at least-6,000 miles. In either of the first two,
the attacking force would be met by defending
forces constantly in touch with their base of sup-
plies, through their own railway systems, and
which on retreating would form a greater concen-
tration. The attacking force would be under the
disadvantage of working further and further from
its base, with its line of communication being
thus constantly lengthened and attenuated, and
maintained only bv the constructing of new rail-
ways as it progressed, for, of course, the defend-
ing force, if defeated, would destroy their lines of
communication. The last of these routes, that
across Central Asia, would involve a march across
a high and mountainous country, where there is
practically no population, no means whatever of
feeding and supporting the gigantic army re-
quired, and where the combined Europeans could

Chapter X : The Yellow Peril 305

leave climatic conditions, starvation, and other
natural causes to protect them from the advanc-
ing foe.

To be able to carry out such an invasion there
would be required tremendous preparation, the
development of industrial enterprise, and the con-
sequent bringing up of the people to a high stand-
ard of civilization. When that point is reached,
the people themselves will shrink from general
warfare, as other civilized nations do now, since
their interests at home will transcend any possi-
ble gain to be obtained abroad. This reluctance
in the case of the Chinese will be further enhanced
through local racial prejudice, diversity of lan-
guage and temperament existing among them-
selves, as developed by climatic conditions, vary-
ing from the temperate to the tropical.

The only way in which the yellow races can
conquer the world, either commercially or actu-
ally, will be, not by force, not by hordes, but by
peacefully developing a higher civilization as the
Western World has done. The contemplation of
future generations receiving from the Far East a
betterment in condition and a higher civilization
is one that does not appear to contain many
terrors.

Chapter

XI

China in the Twentieth Century

IN the preceding chapters there has been pre-
sented a brief review of the greater and more
important conditions underlying and leading
up to such industrial development in China as is
found to exist at the close of the nineteenth cen-
tury. I have endeavored to let the reader see the
country, the people, their ways of doing things,
what has been accomplished and the difficulties
in the path of further progress, as these appeared
to me. But what of the future? We have seen
that the Chinese, are absolute and unthinking
slaves to precedent and established custom, and
how in lieu of a practical and serviceable educa-
tion they still continue to memorize the doc-
trines of Confucius, who, in his day, merely put
into permanent and imperishable form the teach-
ings of those whom even he called the ancients.
Are these habits so firmly fixed after five thousand
years of practice that they cannot be broken? Or
in spite of all, does there exist in the Chinese char-
acter the latent trait of mobility? The Chinaman
was once an engineer of no mean ability. Is he
going to let things rest as they are, or will he set
about to learn the newer application of science,
especially modern methods of transportation, the
direction in which he is most deficient ? Will he

306

Chapter XI : In the Twentieth Century 307

appreciate the benefits oJ railways and steam-boats,
of mines and metallurgy, oi factories and machin-
ery, of steam and electricity? Such are the ques-
tions that the critic asks alter a survey of the past
and present, but which questions are not subjeel to
an exact reply. In spite oi difference in surround-
ings and appearances, oi personal characteristics
and idiosyncrasies, the Chinese are actuated by
feelings, reasonings, passions, and motives similar
to those of other human beings, so that it is justi-
fiable to assume that similar causes will bring
about similar results. The development of China,
assisted at first perhaps by outside influence, but
eventually carried on by the impulses of her own
people, is as sure to come to pass as in the case
of other nations ; and when at last it has broken
down completely the wall of exclusion and isola-
tion, the progress that will follow will produce
great results, aided as it will be by the mineral
wealth of the country and the industrious habits
of the people.

Japan in less than lift}' years has risen from a
condition far inferior to that oi China to one
where in every walk of life she justly receives the
admiration of other nations. What Japan has done
there is nothing to prevent China doing. Hut
before any regeneration oi China can take place,
there is one institution that must go, and will go,
and one institution that must come, and will come.
The first is the present official class, and their

308 An American Engineer in China

method of governing, and the last is modern edu-
cation, the great prerequisite for a social revolu-
tion, and on which all rehabilitation ol the people,
including even their religion, will rest. These
two are so interdependent that it is difficult to
distinguish between cause and effect, but certain
it is that the weakening of incompetent rule and
the spread of occidental education are each at
work to secure the accomplishment of the other.

In no country is the gulf between the govern-
ing and the governed so wide and deep as it is in
China. As has been explained, the former appre-
ciate that their powers, perquisites, and oppor-
tunities for getting rich depend on maintaining
the existing condition of affairs. No great or
lasting advance is possible while the present sys-
tem of officialdom and officialism continues. In
this respect China resembles Japan as the latter
was when opened to the outside world by Com-
modore Perry, and down to the overthrow of the
Shogun and the attending feudalism. When these
surviving relics of by-gone centuries were swept
away, and the power to govern and to act was
concentrated in the hands of the Mikado, Japan's
regeneration began. There are men in China
who are able to see beyond the immediate limits
of their personal ends, and who can patriotically
consider the needs of their country, and there is
rapidly growing among the people an apprecia-
tion of wrongs suffered, and a possible betterment

Chapter XI : In the Twentieth Century 309

to be obtained. This movement will eventually
gather momentum sufficient to break down be-
fore it the barriers of ignorance, superstition, and
selfishness that now impede its progress. In the
achieving of this result outside help will do some
good, but the greater aid will be secured through
the education of the people. Of education, the
seeds have been planted, and some of the fruits
are alreadv being gathered. The work of dissem-
inating modern learning is being carried on freely
by the missionary bodies, but as a general rule
under a policv that is steadily becoming more
liberal in treating education as something which,
though possiblv leading to, is in itself distinct
from, religion, and a policv which therefore rec-
ognizes in schools no difference between those
professing Christianity and those adhering to
native beliefs. Similar good work is also done
through the agencv of a society which is espe-
cially organized under foreign and native patron-
age, tor the purpose of Diffusing Knowledge, and
partly by the labors of the Chinese themselves.
This last form is the most encouraging and prom-
ising sign. At Peking there was established a
well-organized college under imperial sanction
and support, where Chinese students could obtain
a very liberal education. At Shanghai there is
another college, maintained through the personal
liberalitv of Sheng Tajen, and at other points
throughout the Empire there are similar institu-

3io An American Engineer in China

tions. The several thousand students attending
the various "foreign" schools, although perhaps
but a small portion of the whole population, nev-
ertheless are sufficient to attest the successful and
permanent establishment of occidental education.
Every student that leaves one of these schools
becomes, as it were, a spore centre, whence a little
circle of new thought germinates and spreads,
and thus the progress and effect of education will
proceed, gathering strength of its own accord.

Two little incidents that came under my own
notice will illustrate the spirit that animates the
Chinese who have taken up this question of educa-
tion. The closing of the so-called foreign schools
at Chang-sha was followed by earnest efforts on
the part of the authorities to blot out if possible
all the effects of their teachings, and to this end
the native instructors were ferreted out and com-
pelled to leave the capital. During my stop at
Chang-sha there came to my boat a messenger
who left a package and immediately disappeared.
On opening it, it was found to contain a Chinese
work on geometry, with the card of the native
author who had been on the school staff. He left
no address and gave no way in which his gift could
be acknowledged. Probably he was hiding some-
where in the city and trying to eke out an existence
by some lowly trade, and biding his time with a
firm confidence that the hour would come again
when he could resume his teaching. Hearing

Chapter XI: In the Twentieth Century 311

that a foreigner, and that foreigner, a man like
himself, of scientific training, had at last reached
Chang-sha, he knew that in him he would find ap-
preciation, and therefore sent his little work with
an author's pride. He sought no other reward
than the pleasure he took in the knowledge that
the thought would be understood. If, as I be-
lieve, he did not dare make any more open recog-
nition, then the very simplicity of the act indicated
the spirit that, when necessity requires, suffices
to make the martyr.

On another occasion a high-class mandarin who
accompanied me during part of the journey, asked
for advice as to where in China he could best send
his two sons to receive a Western education, add-
ing that he had been burdened all his life with use-
less knowledge and therefore wished his sons to be
trained against the day which he was sure was
coming for China, when men of intelligence and
liberal education would be called on for public
office, adding naively that a Christian school was
not objectionable. Such examples are by no means
isolated. China is full of such men, and corrupt
officialism can no more stand against the growing
light than can the darkness of night prevent the
coming dawn. Education will sweep away the in-
crustations that hamper progress, and as each im-
provement intheranksof the official class occurs,
such addition will hasten the advance and spread
of education. Thus the downfall of one will go

3i2 An American Engineer in China

hand in hand with the rise of the other. Slower in
thought and action, slower to accept innovations
than the Japanese, yet this very trait makes the
Chinese tinner in the new way when once adopt-
ed, and therefore we may look in the twentieth
century for a development in China, less rapid
perhaps in its earlier stages, just as its beginning
has been longer postponed, yet in its ultimate ex-
pansion more thorough, more complete, and more
far-reaching.

The journey on which this book is based, was
made before the " Boxer " outbreak of June, 1900.
The latter seems to confirm the above-described
traits of national character and existing conditions
of life, and to emphasize that there is really no
such thing in China as a government, according
to our understanding of that term. There is the
outward form, but it is entirely devoid of sub-
stance. There are officials, but they lack power,
and even the imperious will of the Empress Dow-
ager cannot be impressed on the people at large.
The present disturbance, if it is viewed as a popu-
lar uprising, indicates the helplessness of the cen-
tral government to govern ; or if it is believed to be
actually supported by the authorities, then we see
the curious spectacle of a government carrying
on a war against the civilized world in concert,
with the greater part of its people and the whole
of its navy standing by, apparently unmoved.

Chapter XI : In the Twentieth Century 313

What other country but China can present such
an anomaly ?

But China and the Chinese must not be judged
by the movement of a fanatical sect, although that
movement may acquire sufficient strength to in-
flame the whole country, but rather by the failure
to govern on the part of a government whose life-
spring has long since been dead. On this account
there is no need to destroy the country, to parcel
it among the European Powers, or to reduce the
people to a state of vassalage to be used by the
other nations as " buffer states." Such is not
world's progress. The fault lies not in the peo-
ple but in the so-called governing class, who are
unable or unwilling to guide the people in their
tranquil ignorance, or to control them in their
ignorant turbulence. If the break-up of China
can be prevented for a few years, all this is sus-
ceptible of correction. Give China a chance and
a little help and she is quite capable of working
out her own salvation. Let there be established
a government that is capable of governing hon-
estly and well. Let order be guaranteed. Let
the way be prepared for transforming the dead
civilization of the past into the living civilization
of the present. As one looks at her fertile fields
and sees her patient and industrious people, one
cannot help wishing that there may come for
China a Peter the Great to elevate his people by
the developing of industry and diversifying of oc-

314 An American Engineer in China

cupation; and a Washington to instil in them a
lofty sense of national unity, spirit of freedom, and
love of country. The seeds for this work have
been sown. Schools have been founded, industries
are being multiplied, railways are being built to
connect the various parts of the Empire and so
actually and metaphorically to bind them together
with bonds of steel, while the foreign settlements
that are springing up are silent but eloquent wit-
nesses of better possible conditions of life. By all
of these, if time be given, in spite of such tem-
porary set-backs as the present trouble, there will
develop in the Chinese a new intellectual activity,
and an appreciation of patriotic unity which by
making the man from the East and the South feel
that he is one with him from the West and the
North, will enable China once more to take her
place among the great nations of the earth.

In the work of regeneration the influence of
the United States should be, and for many rea-
sons inevitably will be, of preponderating weight.
Thus we shall have the final confirmation of the
singular and interesting circumstance that the
world's progress has always been from the rising
to the setting sun, ex oriente lux. Now, after a
lapse of five thousand years, the youngest of the
great nations is preparing to pass on, or rather to
return, this light, to the oldest, whence it started
in its " circum-orbem " journey. Whether the
latter, receiving back the flame, will add some-

Chapter XI: In the Twentieth Century 315

thing to its brightness as each previous nation
has clone, and start it moving once more west-
ward, and so begin a new and still higher circle
of development for the world, is one of those in-
teresting questions that only a generation far in
the future will be able to answer. We of to-day
are concerned not so much with what China will
eventually do with progress, as with what we
ourselves can and should do with it now.

The End.

Ind

e x

Accuracy, 123, 293, 294, 297
American concession, 44-53, 252

influence, 173, 314

op] "inanities, 173-179

policy, 44, 314
Ancestral worship, 140
Annam, 39, 263
Anti-foreign spirit, 120
Arbor culture, 172
Arches, 20, 199-205
Architecture, Chinese, 215, 217

Banking, Chinese, 167, 181

111 concession, 252, 253, 256,
257, 262
I |i ,11 (Is of government, 27
Boxers, 52, 312
Bridges, 199-209

British concessions, 253, 254, 256,
257, 262
interests, 261, 262
possessions, 37, 42
Buddhism, 23, 139
Budget, Imperial, 189
Bulkheads in junks, 227

Cantilever bridge, 207

Canton, 45, 46, 99, 100, III, 112,
119, 151, 251, 252, 261, 280, 300,
301

1 anton River, 34, 37, 112

Card, Chinese visiting, 84, 88, 145

Cash, coin, 182

Celestial Kingdi 'in, [6

Census, Chinese, 291-296

Chair, sedan, 72, 76, 87, 89, 238,
239

Chang Chih-tung, 7, 30, 58, 86,

119
Chang-sha, 6, 50, 52, 82, 87, 103,

104, 168, 310
Character, 127, 215
Chan I >ynasty, 20
Che-ling Pass, 99
Chi-li, pro\ mce of, 35, 163
China, area of, 17

name of, 16
( 'hinese language, 18

origin of, 18
Christianity, introduction of, 24,

25

( 'hiistmas, 70

City, Chinese, 82, 301

Civilization, Chinese, 105, 166

( 'lassies, ( 'hinese, 20, 60, 137

( Ilothing, 80, 105, 167, 287

1 :oal, 35, 5i. 98. 116, 171, 247, 255

Coins, Chinese, 182

Commerce, 148, 180

with Europe, 160

with < heat Britain, 160

with India, 160

with Japan, 153, 155, 160, 171

with Russia, 164

with f'nited States, 160, 161,
162, 172
Conipradore, 178

Concessions (settlements), foreign,
42

(railway). See Railways
Confucianism, 21, 136
( lonfucius, 20, 21, 22

temple of, 22, 217
Construction, (hinese, 198, 220

317

3i8

Index

( loolies, 63, 64, 72, 80, 99, 101,239,

( ierman lease, 39

265

possessions, 39

< 'oiini >i;mt fishing, 97

Government, system of Chinese,

( lotton, imports of, 153, 161, 164

27, 130

Curiosity, 58, 60, 68, 88

( rraves, 69, 140, 264, 265

Customs dues, 155, 157, 163

Great Pure Kingdom, 16

Maritime, 149, 153, 155, 163, 185,

Great Wall, 23, 215, 249, 250

187, 192, 193

Guard, 58, 60, 63, 67, 72, 82,

102,

native, 154, 192, 193

118

peculiar Chinese, 95

Gun-boat 83, 90, 92, 145

Debt of China, 184, 186

Hankow, 45, 100, 104, 151,

251.

Dialects, 18

252, 261, 299

Canton Railway, 45, 46, 252

253

Education, 105, 137, 308-311

Hart, Sir Robert, 149

Empress Dowager, 52, 54, 312

Highways, 221, 241-244, 245

Engineering, Chinese, 198, 217

History, Chinese, 19-27

Etiquette, 21, 84, 145

Hoang (Yellow) Ho, 32, 225

Examination hall, 60

Ho-nan province, 16

Examinations, 130

Hongkong, 37, 42

Exclusiveness, 106, 134, 142

commerce of, 158, 280

Exports, Chinese, 152, 153, 154, 160

Horse trade, 92

Horses, 60, 62, 92, 96, 236

Farm produce, 58, 80

Houses, 109, 116, 152, 167,

212,

Farming methods, 96, 220

213, 216

Finance, Chinese, 181-197

Hsiens or districts, 29, 76

Flags, 72, 74, 143

magistrates, 29, 76, 77, 82, 84

Flour, imports of, 162

Hu-nan, 5. 35, 46, 48, 54, 70

8l,

Food, native, 80, 81, 154

87, 98, 101, 103, 104

Foreign concessions (settlements),

Governor of, 52, 81, 83, 88, 1

68

42

population of, 299

devils, 71, 119, 145

Hu-nanese, anti-foreign, 48, 49

, 120

possessions, 36, 43

Hu-peh, population of, 299

Formosa, 39

province, 45, 50

French concessions (railway), 255,

Hydraulics, 219

257, 262

possessions, 39, 42

Imports, 152, 153, 160, 161, 162

, 164

Funeral, Chinese, 68

Inaccuracy, 123, 293, 294, 297
Indirectness, 133

Genghis Khan, 25, 286, 303

Inn, Chinese, 60, 62, 100, 101

German concessions (railway), 253,

Invasion of Europe, 291, 303,

304,

254, 256, 257, 262

30s

Index

3T9

J vpan, development of, 289, 290
Japanese War, 39, 104, 142, 185,

250, 252
Junks, 55, 90, 113, 227, 229

Kai-ping coal-mines, 247
Kerosene, 35, 153, 175
Kiung-chow-wan, 42

Ki tng si, 30, 35, 106
Is i.ki chow, 39, 40, 41, 255
Kinder, C. W., 247, 250, 251
K( iv -loon, 37, 42, 254
Kwang-tung, 46, 50, 101, 109, 170
population ot, 294, 300

Lamps, 175

iguage, 18
Lease of Chinese territory, 39
Li 1 lung-chang, 30, 143
Li, unit of distance, 123
Liao-tung Peninsula, 39
Liao-tze, 20
Likin, 57, 156, 157, 192
Literature. 20
Liu Kao-chao, 77, 146, 147
Liu Kun-yi, 30
L01 5S formation, 34

Macao, 36, yj
Machines, 177, 217, 220
Manchu Dynasty, 25, 27
Manchuria, 17, 39, 163, 164, 255,

257, 281
Mandarin dialect, 18
Magistrates, 29, 76, 77, 82, 84
Maps, < Ihinese, 125
Matteo Ricci, 25
Me-ling Pass, 99
Mencius, 20
Middle Kingdom, 16
Minerals, 35, 49, 51, 98. 116, 171
Mines and mining, 218, 219

Mini; 1 )\ nasty, 25

M ing tombs, 25

Mints, 184

Mob violence, 119

Monetary system, 181

Mongol I >\ nasty, 25

Mongolia, 17

Movement, appreciation of, 217

Nan-king, 23, 25, 253
Nan-ling Range, 48, 54, 98, 112, 123
Ne ti 'l ian mi inks, 24
New Year, 71, 103, 117
Niu-chwang, 164, 249, 256
Nomenclature, lack ol fixed, 16,

126
North River, 37, 98, 99, 1 [2

Officiai corruption, 1 5 |, 156, 189,

192, 194, 196, 311
( Mlii ials, 76, 308

ignorance of, 131, 138

incompetence of, 121

powers of, 121, 312

salaries of, 77
Opium, 153
< >pium War, 37

Pagoda, 209, 213

Parsons < lap, 123

Patriotism, lack of, 142, 314

Pawnshops, 109

Pe-chi-li, Gulf of, 33, 42

Pei (North) Ho. 37, 98, 99, 112

Peking, 25, 27, 46, 60, 215, 250, 251,

252
s\ ndicate, 254
Pekinge e dialect, 18
Placards, 66, 68, 74
Point ol v iew, 1 ,1
Population, 17, 51, 83, 116, 291,

303

3-°

Index

Port Arthur, 39, 41, 255, 281
Portuguese possession, 36
Postal sen ice, 43, 195
Precedent, importance of, 130

Prefects, 29, 76
Printing discovered, 24
Proclamation, 66
Provinces, organization of, 29
Pumps, 219

Qi EUE, significance of, 27

Railway, Chinese Eastern, 249

concessions, American, 44-53,

252, 253, 257
concessions, Belgian, 252, 253,

256, 257, 262
concessions, British, 253, 254,

256, 257, 262
concessions, French, 255, 257,

262
concessions, German, 253, 254,

256, 257, 262
concessions, Russian, 255, 256,

257, 262

concessions, terms of, 258-261
construction, 271, 273, 283
electric, 279

equipment, 248, 273, 277, 283
gauges, 280, 281
Hang-chow-Shanghai, 254
Hankow-Canton, 45, 252, 262,

281
Hankow-Peking, 252, 253, 262,

281
Imperial Chinese, 187, 188, 250,

251, 261, 265, 275, 277, 281
Kai-ping, 247
Nan-king-Shanghai, 253
possibilities, 283, 284
tariffs, 277-279
traffic, 275-280

Railway, Trans-Siberian, 163, 188,
249, 251, 255, 281

Wu-sung, 246, 249, 250, 281
Railways, 245-285

constructed, 250, 253, 256

Director-General, 250

effect of, 193, 194

Indian, 267 269, 277, 279, 281

Japanese, 269-279

opposition to, 263-266

political aspect of, 261-263

primary, 251, 253, 254

revenue of, 188, 266-269, 273-
277

secondary, 254

statistics of, 256, 257, 275

to Burma, 262
Reform, 54, 169, 196
Religion, 23, 105, 139, 308, 309
Revenue, Government, 185, 187,
192, 195

Government, can be increased,
156, 193
Rice, 153, 162, 172
Rice-fields, 241, 242
Richtofen, Baron, 49
Rivers, importance of, 223

improvement of, 221, 225, 226,

245
navigation of, 114, 222, 231
Road. See Highway
Rocket of China, 248, 249
Russia, aims of, 163
Russian concessions (railway), 255,
256, 257, 262
interests, 255, 261, 262, 263
possessions, 39

Sails, 91, 229, 231

Salt, 190

Sam-shui, 112, 113, 254

Sam-pans, 234

Index

321

Shanghai, 33. 43, 149, 151, 154. 194.

251, 261
Shan-si, 34. 35

Shan-tung, 34, 41, 163, 254, 263,

295
Shao-chou, 112, 116, 118
Sheng Tajen, 7, 46, 66, 87, 119,

253. 309
Shen-si, 34, 35, 254
Shi 'i>. ' Chinese, 83, 89, 169
Siang River, 50, 51, 54, 90, 103,

104, 105, 224
Silk, 153. 170, 172
Slipper boat, 234, 235
Soldiers, 58, 60, 63, 74, 87, 103 .
Squeezes, 78, 196

"-tition, 115, 264, 309
Sz-chuen, 29, 35, 49, 191, 21,;

Tael, 57, 181
Talien-wan, 39
Tang I >ynasty, 24
Taoism, 20

I < itais, 29, 193
Taxation, system of, 156, 187, 189,

190, 194, 197
Tea, 58, 153, 170, 172
Telegraph system, 104

Temples, 22, 60, 62, 139, 140

Tibet, 17

Tien-tsin, 151, 247, 249, 250, 251,

252, 253, 261
Tong-king, 39, 42, 255. 263
Tools, Chinese, 175
Topography, 32
Transit Pass. 156. 157
Treaty ports, 148, 149

'I sm 1 )ynasty, 22
Tsung-li Yamen, 28

l Fniform, military, 71
United States commerce, 158, 160,
c6i, 162, 172, 283
c ( msuls, [74, 179

\ 11 1 kov, 29, 30, 58, 66, 72,
Victoria, 37

86

Wages, ran- of, 275, 286,287, 29°-

291
Wall, Great, 23, 215, 249, 250
Walls, citj . 214
Watchmen, 92, 129
Weapons, 74, 91
Wei-hai-wei, 37, 42
Wesl River, 112
Whang-Poo Kiang, 33
Wheat, 172

Wheelbarrow, 236, 237
Women, 95, 96, 128

on junks, 57, 231
Wu-shui, 112, 113
Wu-sung, 246
Wu Ting-fang, 7, 45

Yamen, 62, 67, 86

runner, 65, 67
Yang-tze Kiang, 33, 54, 58, 98, 100,

151, 222, 225, 252
Valley, 32, 42, 98, 99, 151
Yellow Peril, 291, 305

River, 32
Yo-chou, 81
Yun-nan, 255, 262, 300

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