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THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


PANORAMA   OF   THE  WEST  LAKE,   HANGCnOW  ;   THE   RIVER  TSINTANG   IN   THE   DISTANCE 


HALF  A  CENTURY 
IN  CHINA 

RECOLLECTIONS    AND    OBSERVATIONS 


BY   THE   VKNERABLE 


ARTHUR    EVANS    MOULE,    B.D. 

RECTOR  OF  BCRWARTON  ;    SOMETIME  ARCHDEACON   IN   MID-CHINA  ; 

MISSIONARY  OF  THK  CHURCH  MISSIONARY  SOCIETY  FROM  1861  ; 

AUTHOR  OF  '  NEW  CHINA  AND  OLD,'  F.TC. 


WITH    ILLUSTRATIONS  AND   MAP 


HODDER    AND    STOUGHTON 
LONDON      NEW  YORK      TORONTO 


DS 


TO 

E.  A.  M. 

MY  COJIPANION  AND  NEVEK-FAILING  HELPER 
THROUGH  FIFl'Y  YEARS 


PREFACE 

My  readers  must  not  expect  to  find  in  the  following 
pages  a  hand-book  on  China,  with  elaborated  details 
of  her  history  and  antiquities,  her  literature  and 
language,  her  productions  and  scenery.  These  are 
ready  to  hand  in  the  many  standard  books  on  the 
subject,  and  in  some  quite  recent  treatises. 

It  was  suggested  that  a  narrative  of  my  personal 
recollections  and  observations  during  just  half  a 
century,  lived  in  China  or  for  China,  would  be  of 
some  interest,  in  illustrating  these  features  of  the 
country  and  people  as  they  impressed  me  during 
my  years  of  personal  contact. 

Statistics,  therefore,  and  formal  particulars,  even 
about  the  changes  going  on  in  China  at  the  present 
time,  will  be  met  with  in  these  pages  only  incident- 
ally, and  not  in  ordered  sequence  and  definite  con- 
nection. 

One  avowed  object  which  I  have  in  this  narrative 
is  to  plead  both  with  patriotic  Chinese  themselves, 
and  with  friends  and  sympathisers  from  the  west, 
not  to  allow  changing  China  to  change  so  hurriedly 
and  radically  as  to  obliterate  or  ignore  or  minimise 
what  has  been  noble  and  useful  in  her  past.  I  offer 
these  suggestions  not  as  a  mere  sentimental  wish, 

a  2 


vi  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

but  with  a  practical  desire  to  help  in  some  small 
measure  China's  true  reform  and  progress. 

The  same  practical  object  of  subserving  a  great 
design  and  an  indispensable  work  must  be  my 
apology  for  touching  once  and  again  on  the  subject 
of  the  union  and  unity  of  Christendom,  a  con- 
summation vitally  important  and  whoUy  desirable  if 
it  can  be  honestly  obtained,  and  exhibited  especially 
in  the  presence  of  the  non-Christian  nations. 

My  words  must  not  be  interpreted  as  even  sug- 
gesting the  idea  that  this  great  union  and  unity 
can  be  obtained  through  the  forcible  application  of 
an  act  of  uniformity,  or  by  the  abandonment  or 
abjuring  of  cherished  beliefs  and  persuasions  on  the 
part  of  those  who  are  invited  to  conform.  It  is  a 
precisely  opposite  process  which  I  suggest,  by  draw- 
ing attention  to  the  existence  of  a  Church  scriptural, 
primitive,  and  in  Archbishop  Benson's  words, 
'  apostolic,  catholic,  reformed,  protestant,'  to  which 
(if  remaining  faithful  to  these  high  titles)  aU 
nonconformists  can  consistently  conform ;  those, 
namely,  who  in  the  truth  of  God  hold  the  one  faith, 
and  may  find  there  unity  of  spirit,  the  bond  of 
peace,  and  righteousness  of  life,  in  holy  union  and 
communion.  This  wiU  mean  conformity,  asked 
for  and  conceded  not  through  enforced  submission, 
but  by  comprehension  and  by  the  welcome  of 
recognition  in  the  glad  surprise  of  a  familiar  home. 

I  do  not  bring  forward  this  proposal,  therefore, 


PREFACE  vii 

in  a  dictatorial  manner,  but  I  offer  it  as  a  friendly 
and  practical  suggestion.  Some  may  call  it  a  dream, 
if  they  please,  yet  if  there  be  any  substance  at  all 
in  my  dream  it  would  be  wrong  to  withhold  it ;  a 
dream  made  all  the  more  desirable  and  fascinating 
to  fancy  and  hope  by  my  many  long  years  of  work 
for  the  ancient  east  as  an  emissary  of  what  must 
seem  to  it  divided  Christendom. 

I  should  add  that  my  recollections  and  observa- 
tions, though  from  time  to  time  touching  China  as 
a  whole,  principally  concern  Mid-China. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  proprietors  of  the  North 
China  Herald  and  Daily  News  for  the  permission 
to  avail  myself  of  articles  on  Ningpo  and  the  T'aip'ing 
rebellion  which  I  contributed  some  few  years  ago 
to  the  East  of  Asia,  an  illustrated  quarterly  magazine 
published  at  the  office  of  these  papers. 

A.  E.  M. 

BURWARTON,  March  1911. 


PAOE 

V 


CONTENTS 
Preface  

CHAPTEK   I 
Introductory:  Conservatism  and  Change 


CHAPTER   II 
The  T'aip'ing  Rebellion  :  1861-1864     ....        21 

CHAPTER   III 

The  T'aip'ing  Rebellion  :  its  Close  and  Consequences        47 

CHAPTER    IV 
NiNGPO,   Ancient  and  Modern 81 

CHAPTER    V 
Rumours  and  Legends 97 

CHAPTER    VI 
Inland  Cities:  Hanuchow  and  Chuki  .        .  125 


X  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

CHAPTER   VII 

PAOK 

Journeys  by  Land  and  by  Water       .        .        .        .153 

CHAPTER   VIII 
Shanghai,  Past  and  Present 205  p 

CHAPTER   IX 
The   Missionary  in   China,    and   the   Presentation 

OF  HIS  Message 237 

CHAPTER    X 
Education  and  Literature 267 

CHAPTER   XI 
Conclusion  :  Retrospect  and  Prospect        .        .        .      303 

Index 341 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Panorama  of  the  West  Lake,  IIancciiow     .         .     Froiitlnju'ece 

The  West  Lake,  Hangciiow  ....  To  f'lce  pat/e  9 

The  Beatitudes  Engraved  on  a  Great  Stone  by 

the  Leader  of  the  T'aip'ings        .         .         .      ,,       „      30 

Cormorant  Boats ,,35 

The  Pagoda  in  the  City  of  Ningpo     .         .         .      ,,       „      87 

A  Temple  Entrance „       ..      99 

Pavilion  on  the  West  Lakk,  Hangchow 127 

The  Tidal  Wave  on  thi;  Rivhi;  Tsintanc.    .         .      ,,       ,,131 

WaterGate  of  a  City ,,       ,,    136 

Canal  Rcene  near  Soochow  .         .         .         .      ,,       .,    154 

Approach  to  the  City  ov  T'aiohow  .         17G 

Fishing  on  the  River  Huangi-'u  .         .  .      ,,       ,,    208 


xii  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

'riiK  lUiNi),   SnAN"(;irAi      .....       To  facf  puije  '1\0 

The  French  Bund,  Shanghai        .         .         .         .      „  „    218 

Shop  at  the  Entrance  to  a  Temple    .         .         .      ,,  „    248 

The  Northern  Shore  of  the  West  Lake,  IIangchow     „  „    287 

Pagoda   on   the    Southern    Shore   of   thI';   West 

Lake,  Hangchow „  „    314 

Map  to  Illustrate  Half  a  Century  in  China      .         .  At  end 


I  owe  most  of  the  Illustrations  in  tins  book  to  the  kindness  of  the 
following  uentlenien  :  Mr.  H.  T.  Wade,  Mr.  A.  Waller,  the  Rev.  E. 
Thompson,  and  Mr.  W.  K.  Kahler. 


INTRODUCTORY: 
CONSERVATISM  AND  CHANGE 


CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTORY  :    CONSERVATISM   AND   CHANGE 

I  BEGIN  this  narrative  at  half-past  five  in  the  morn- 
ing on  board  a  small  Chinese  coasting-steamer  at 
anchor  in  the  harbour  of  Tinghai.  Tinghai  is  the 
capital  city  of  the  archipelago  of  Chusan,  which 
forms  the  utmost  eastern  point  of  the  Himalayan 
range.  Chusan  was  occupied  by  the  English  under 
Sir  Hugh  Gough,  1841-1844.  On  my  way  down  the 
coast  I  visited  the  British  cemetery,  now  guarded 
and  respected  by  the  Chinese  authorities,  in  which 
rest  those  who  lost  their  lives  during  that  occupa- 
tion, chiefly  from  the  ravages  of  disease  in  the 
swampy  rice-plains  of  the  otherwise  healthy  island. 
What  if  that  occupation  had  been  permanent,  and 
England's  authority  had  been  paramount  over 
the  beautiful  archipelago  ?  England  would  have 
had  her  left  hand  on  the  central  pulse  of  China's 
great  artery,  the  Yangtse,  and  her  right  hand, 
within  short  striking  distance,  menacing  and  con- 
trolling Japan,  then  scarcely  known  but  as  a 
fierce  and  unfriendly  power,  now  holding  England's 
right  hand  for  peace  and  for  the  maintenance  of 
peace. 

The  craft  in  which  I  sail  is  a  small  vessel  of  five 
hundred  tons  burden,  warranted  to  carry  three  or 
four  hundred  passengers  at  most.     She  left  Haimeii, 


4  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

two  hundred  miles  south,  yesterday,  with  a  thousand 
passengers  on  board.  She  is  commanded  and  officered 
and  disciphned,  if  discipHne  is  to  be  found  in  any 
corner  of  the  ship,  solely  by  Chinese.  The  Chinese 
have  been  bold  seamen  in  the  past.  In  a.d.  399 
Fa  Hien,  a  Buddhist  priest,  started  on  a  journey  of 
exploration  to  India,  and  crossing  the  Pacific  is 
asserted  to  have  discovered  Fusang,  which  is  iden- 
tified by  many  with  Western  America  and  Mexico. 
In  A.D.  528  two  other  Buddhist  devotees  made 
the  same  voyage  with  a  similar  purpose.  Chinese 
seamen  certainly  know  their  own  coast,  with  its 
long  fringe  of  rocky  islands,  its  shoals  and  reefs 
and  dangerous  currents,  well  and  intelligently. 
They  can  handle  steamers,  certainly  this  diminutive 
vessel  in  which  I  sail,  as  well  as  they  handled  their 
picturesque  junks  in  olden  days.  Are  they  getting 
overladen  now  with  the  ambition  to  assimilate  all 
foreign  inventions  and  apparatus  for  peace  and 
war  ?  Will  the  necessarily  hybrid  production 
serve  them  well  ?  Yet  the  captain  and  crew  of 
my  ship,  with  words  of  command  issued  and 
answered  in  an  uncouth  Anglo-Chinese  dialect, 
have  brought  the  Everlasting  Quiet  safe  into  port. 
And  will  awakened  China,  with  her  own  ancient 
intellect  and  wisdom,  aided  by  western  civilisation 
and  learning,  bring  the  vessel  of  state  after  three 
thousand  years  of  storm  and  calm,  under  a  paternal 
despotism,  safe  into  the  harbour  of  constitutional 
government,  and  find  after  all  no  sure  rest  and  quiet 
even  there  ? 

An  Imperial  edict  of  historic  interest  was  pro- 
mulgated in  1906  by  the  late  Empress   Dowager, 


CONSERVATISM  AND  CHANGE  5 

and  nominally  by  the  late  Emperor,  after  the 
return  to  China  of  the  Commission  of  Inquiry 
into  the  poUtical  systems  of  foreign  nations.  The 
Empress,  the  edict  declared,  had  discovered  that 
a  constitution,  and  advice  from  the  people, 
given  in  a  parliament,  was  the  foundation  on 
which  western  nations  had  built  up  their  wealth 
and  tranquillity.  The  hope  of  China,  too,  was  in  a 
constitution. 

The  narrative  in  the  following  pages,  covering 
half  a  century,  and  touching  one  vast  portion  of  the 
Far  East,  has  much  to  do  with  old  China,  with  her 
rude  awakening  in  1850-1864,  with  her  subsequent 
fitful  slumber  and  stirring  in  sleep,  and  now  with 
her  broad  awakening  in  the  dawn  of  the  hope  that 
patriotism  may  become  a  reality,  and  that  with 
patriotic  zeal  all  things  may  be  made  new.  I  shall 
not  pretend  to  deal  philosophically  with  this  period 
of  the  nation's  histor}^  almost  unique  as  it  is  in  its 
tragedy  and  pathos,  its  despair  and  hope.  My 
narrative  as  it  proceeds  will  suggest  to  the  reader's 
mind  many  problems,  and  perhaps  the  solution  of 
some  of  them. 

Before  my  eyes  as  I  write  spreads  a  picture  of 
the  hold  which  half  China  retains  on  her  ancient 
history  and  customs,  on  her  beliefs  and  supersti- 
tions. This  dangerous  mass  of  patient  passengers, 
stowed  away  almost  in  piles  all  over  the  ship,  con- 
sists very  largely  of  pilgrims  coming  from  the  south 
to  visit  the  sacred  island  of  P'ut'u  ;  or  of  pilgrims 
returning  from  a  long  and  difficult  journey  to 
worship  in  the  celebrated  temples  of  the  southern 
T'ient'ai  range.     The  Goddess  of  Mercy,  Kwanyin, 


6  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

so  legend  relates,  by  her  life  in  this  island  as  a  recluse 
and  devotee  flying  from  the  wrath  of  her  father, 
who  had  insisted  on  her  marriage,  has  consecrated 
this  beautiful  island  as  the  chief  centre  of  northern 
Buddhist  worship.  The  story  of  her  subsequent 
filial  devotion  to  her  angry  father,  and  the  saving 
of  his  life  by  a  piece  of  flesh  cut  from  her  own  arm, 
seems  exactly  suited  to  reconcile  Chinese  principles 
of  filial  piety  with  the  innovations  of  Buddhist 
doctrine  and  practice.  This  worship  and  this  centre 
of  worship  seem  to  the  Chinese  of  the  present  day 
remotely  ancient,  though,  in  the  long  vista  of  China's 
past.  Buddhism  is  a  new  thing,  only  some  sixteen 
hundred  years  old,  a  mere  chapter  in  China's  annals. 
Yet  to  this  they  cling,  and  the  P'ut'u  pilgrims  crowd 
and  worship  as  of  old.  They  come,  however,  now 
not  in  their  old  junks,  passing  helplessly  through 
swarms  of  pirates,  who  had  to  be  bought  off  by 
bribes,  but  in  vessels  which  can  outsteam  the 
fastest  piratical  craft,  by  machinery  and  skill 
all  learned  from  the  innovating  foreigner.  On  the 
mainland,  meanwhile,  the  idols  are  a  second  time 
being  abolished,  not  as  in  the  narrative  which 
follows  by  the  hordes  of  the  iconoclastic  T'aip'ings, 
but  by  the  exigencies  of  government  education. 
The  countless  new  schools,  with  western  methods, 
secular  through  and  through,  want  house-room,  and 
the  spacious  halls  of  Buddhist  and  Taoist  monasteries 
and  temples  are  requisitioned  for  this  purpose.  The 
idols  are  turned  out  of  doors  ;  nunneries  are  sup- 
pressed, and  the  multitudes  of  priests  find  their 
employment  slipping  from  their  hands,  as  the 
thoughtful  and  educated  Chinese  now  despise  and 


CONSERVATISM  AND  CHANGE  7 

ridicule  all  but  the  ancient  philosophy  and  ethics  of 
this  foreign  creed.     The  prospect  seemed  so  serious 
to  Buddhist  priests  in  the  neighbourhood  from  which 
I  write,  that  they  approached  the  magistrates  in 
almost  a  threatening  attitude,  remonstrating  against 
the   injustice   of  tolerating  the   foreigner   with   his 
creeds  and  churches,  while  persecuting  and  spoiling 
the  old  friends  of  China,  the  Buddhists.     '  Let  us 
alone,'  they  said,  '  and  we  promise  to  open  in  every 
temple  of  ours  a  school  with  western  learning.'     The 
grave  danger  for  China  lies  here,  and  a  similar  peril 
threatens  Japan,  and  is  already  attacking  with  a 
moral  cancer  western  lands  and  India.     Religion  is 
necessary  to  the  true  life  of  man.     A  false  religion, 
not  binding  the  heart  and  love  to  the  one  true  God, 
is  injurious  indeed.     But  if  such  be  discarded  as 
behind  the  times  by  educated  and  reforming  China, 
and  the  true  religion  be  not  embraced,  the  last  state 
of  such  a  country  cannot  but  be  worse  than  the 
first.      Mere  secularism   in  education,  the   neglect 
of  the  moral  sanctions  of  the  old  faiths  and  the 
want  of  recognition  of  the  yet  stronger  ethics  of  the 
new,  bring  in  rapidly  neglect  of  parental  authority, 
the  assertion  of  individual  independence,  and  insub- 
ordination in  schools.     This  will  lead  to  insubordina- 
tion in  the  army  and  civil  service,  and  um-est,  revolu- 
tion and  disruption  will  follow,  just  when  the  dawn 
seems  broadening  to  a  sunrise  of  national  revival 
and  prosperity. 

But  I  must  retrace  my  steps.  One  comet  has 
evaded  our  observation,  and  Halley's  comet  is  at 
hand.  The  Chinese  are  anxious  with  the  fear  that 
these  celestial  appearances  are  the  premonitions  of 


8  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

national  calamity.  The  Chinese  term  for  a  comet 
is  '  broom-star,'  possibly  suggesting  the  idea  that, 
as  the  temple-sweeper  of  the  courts  above  hurries 
his  besom  through  the  corridors  of  the  stars  and 
empties  the  refuse  into  the  sun's  furnace,  so  is  pre- 
figured some  avenging  action  of  heaven,  purging 
the  pathways  of  Chinese  public  and  private  life  by 
famine  or  pestilence  or  war.  Just  fifty  years  ago 
we  were  rounding  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  on  a 
four-months'  voyage  to  China.  We  ran  two  or  three 
hundred  miles  south  to  catch  the  trade-winds,  and 
met  with  bitterly  cold  weather  and  storms.  One 
morning  at  four  the  first  officer  caUed  me  on  deck. 
'  There  is  a  sight  worth  rising  early  to  see,'  he 
said.  The  storm  was  abating,  and  the  dark 
clouds  were  breaking,  and  through  a  rift  there 
sailed  majestically  into  view  the  bright  comet  of 
that  year  (1861).  Two  months  later  we  reached 
China,  and  there  in  the  night-sky,  and  faintly 
seen  by  day,  appeared  the  great  '  broom-star,' 
and  all  China  lay  trembling  under  its  spell  of 
warning  or  of  present  calamity.  That  calamity, 
the  fourteen  years  of  the  T'aip'ing  rebellion,  I 
relate  below. 

The  scene  now  changes  again  for  me.  I  am 
travelling  from  Shanghai,  the  commercial  capital 
of  the  farthest  east,  to  Hangchow,  for  two  hundred 
years  and  more  the  Imperial  capital  and  now  the 
civil  centre  of  the  province  of  Chekiang,  as  Ningpo 
is  the  commercial  centre  and  chief  port  of  the  pro- 
vince. The  journey,  which  we  hope  to  accomplish 
in  five  and  a  half  hours,  has  often  in  the  past  occu- 
pied five  and  a  half  days.     As  the  train  approaches 


CONSERVATISM  AND  CHANGE  9 

the  terminus  of  this  branch  line,  I  notice  to  my 
amazement  that  the  ancient  wall  of  Hangchow  has 
been  ruthlessly  pierced  by  the  engineers  of  the  rail- 
way, and  that  the  trains  are  soon  to  run  through 
the  wall  into  the  city  itself.  The  city-walls  every- 
where will,  it  is  said,  soon  be  levelled,  as  useless  for 
protection,  and  as  interfering  with  the  liberties  of 
the  people.  Antiquity  and  scenery  and  the  silence 
and  pathos  of  the  past  have  no  effect  on  China  in 
a  hurry ;  but  we  are  not  surprised  to  hear  that 
thoughtful  China  is  bemg  annoyed  and  alarmed  at 
the  vulgarity  of  western  civilisation,  and  at  the 
danger  of  materialism  in  education  and  morality, 
the  spiritual  and  the  real  and  the  true  being  brushed 
aside,  and  the  noisy  and  the  strong  and  the  lucra- 
tive alone  surviving  and  ruling.  But  China  in  a 
hurry  to  be  reformed  and  enlightened,  and  made 
mighty  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth,  is  liable  by 
some  false  step  to  slip  back  and  lose  her  vantage 
ground.  She  is  doing  so  as  I  write.  One  short 
week  of  blind  excitement,  disgraced  by  the  destruc- 
tive riots  of  Changsha,  has  sufificed  to  take  away, 
for  the  present  at  least,  that  which  was  slowly  grow- 
ing in  sympathetic  western  minds,  namely,  con- 
fidence in  China's  ability  to  restrain  her  unruly 
people,  and  to  guide  wisely  her  patriotic  sons  in 
their  desire  for  independence  and  liberty  and  re- 
form. The  proudest  and  most  exclusive  city  in  the 
most  warlike  province  of  China,  which  held  the 
distinction  of  being  almost  the  only  virgin  city 
amidst  the  desolating  conquests  of  the  T'aip'ings, 
had  during  the  past  ten  years  opened  her  gates  to 
western  nations   and   to   the   Japanese.     There,   in 


10  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

Hunan,  where  no  foreigner's  foot  was  ever  to  tread, 
a  hundred  missionaries  are  working,  western  im- 
provements have  been  welcomed,  good  roads  and 
poHcing  of  the  streets  have  been  introduced, 
schools  and  manufactures  are  in  full  operation, 
and  even  the  railway  is  drawing  near.  '  A  new 
Hunan  has  been  born,'  said  the  Chinese  themselves. 
But  stirred  by  a  mere  local  trouble,  the  high  price 
of  rice,  and  want  of  forethought  on  the  part  of 
those  in  authority,  the  old  hostile  and  exclusive 
spirit,  smouldering  all  the  time,  bursts  out,  and  all 
is  in  ruins.  The  great  clock  of  China's  progress  and 
prestige  stops.  Will  the  shadow  on  the  dial  go  back 
ten  degrees  ? 

The  sound  is  in  my  ears,  so  familiar  at  this  spring 
season  and  through  fifty  years  past,  of  the  blaring 
of  horns  and  roll  of  drums  and  explosion  of  fire- 
works, accompanying  the  idolatrous  processions, 
with  the  due  transit  of  which  through  the  country 
the  luck  of  the  rice-harvest  is  supposed  to  be  con- 
nected. In  a  fortnight's  time  the  w^hole  surface 
of  these  vast  rice-plains  will  be  under  cultivation. 
First  the  levelling  and  breaking  up  of  the  clods  in 
the  fields  already  deeply  ploughed,  then  their  inun- 
dation, then  the  vivid  green  of  the  rice  seed-beds, 
then  the  careful  planting  out  of  the  thick  clumps  of 
plants  six  inches  high  in  double  rows,  here  early, 
there  late  rice,  over  hundreds  of  thousands  of  square 
miles.  Four  years  ago,  in  the  first  outburst  of 
reform,  the  country  magistrates,  who,  with  local 
benches  under  the  authority  of  the  mandarins, 
control  the  morality  and  order  of  the  countryside, 
informed    the   leaders  of    these   wei  or  processions 


CONSERVATISM  AND  CHANGE  11 

that  they  could  not  much  longer  be  permitted.  They 
wasted  large  sums  of  money  which  would  be  better 
spent  on  the  schools.  They  were  not  helpful  to 
good  manners  and  morality ;  and  besides,  every 
one  knew  now  that  these  clay  idols  were  of  no  use. 
The  people  might,  however,  perform  the  ceremonies 
for  three  years  more,  cutting  off  a  third  of  the 
expense  and  display  each  year  till  they  were 
extinct.  The  three  years  passed,  and  a  mandarin 
whom  I  know  well,  the  very  soul  of  kindness  and 
justice,  and  one  ^^'hom  the  whole  district  trusts  and 
respects,  at  the  request  of  the  gentry  counselled 
the  people  to  forgo  the  processions  this  year,  and 
to  contribute  some  of  the  money  thus  saved  from 
vain  and  ignoble  uses  to  the  new  government 
schools.  '  Not  so,  your  Excellency  !  '  replied  the 
country  people  ; — or  rather,  to  quote  the  fuller  and 
better  known  title  of  this  chehien,  '  Not  so,  father 
and  mother  !  If  we  cannot  have  our  old  customs 
and  ceremonies,  and  must  subsidise  your  schools, 
then  both  shall  go,  and  we  will  pull  down  the  school- 
buildings.'  This  threat  was  actually  carried  out  a 
few  days  later. 

Shortly  after  the  date  of  the  preceding  para- 
graph, I  saw  with  my  own  eyes  proofs  of  the  fickle- 
ness and  yet  obstinacy  of  the  Chinese  when  a  wave 
of  change  passes  over  them,  and  the  change  is 
resented  and  the  old  life  appeals  more  strongly.  I 
was  standing  in  the  main  street  of  a  large  market- 
town,  when  the  bystanders  pointed  out  to  me  the 
ruins  of  a  large  school  established  on  western  lines, 
and  built  by  the  gentry.  The  mob  accompanying 
a  great  idolatrous  procession,  whose  object  was  to 


12  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

drive  beyond  their  boundaries  the  evil  spirits  of 
scarcity  and  sickness,  suddenly  turned  aside  to 
destroy  this  school.  I  asked  the  reason  for  this 
wanton  outrage,  but  no  one  seemed  disposed  to 
condemn  it  too  severely,  or  on  the  other  hand  to 
champion  such  mob-violence.  But  their  very 
silence  seemed  to  say,  '  Oppressive  taxation  and 
famine  prices,  and  murrain  among  the  cattle,  are 
they  not  in  some  way  caused  by  these  foreign 
fancies  and  reckless  changes  ?  They  tell  us  to  stop 
these  practices  as  behind  the  times  of  awakened 
China,  as  foolish  and  wasteful,  and  they  want  the 
money  saved,  they  say,  not  to  go  into  their  own 
pockets — into  which  it  probably  does  go — but  for 
these  foreign  schools.  Down  with  them  ! '  Mean- 
while, on  the  other  side  of  the  hills  amongst  which 
this  market-town  nestles,  men  were  exhibiting 
violence  and  lawlessness  of  the  old  type,  springing 
from  those  clan-disputes  which  from  time  to  time 
paralyse  local  government.  I  passed  in  the  dusk 
a  sluice  connecting  two  systems  of  canals,  and  my 
boat  was  hauled  across  the  embankment  by  a  hand- 
worked windlass.  The  foreman  of  the  haulers 
smiled  cheerfully  at  me,  and  exchanged  a  Avord  of 
welcome.  But  at  that  very  spot,  only  a  week 
earlier,  a  tragedy  had  been  enacted,  leaving  pro- 
bably a  blood-feud  for  long  years  to  come.  Some 
travellers  in  a  boat  wrangled  with  the  men  at  the 
sluice  over  a  coin  worth  a  farthing.  The  travellers 
struck  the  men  on  the  shore.  These,  with  gongs 
and  shouts,  raised  the  villages  near,  where  their 
kinsmen  dwelt.  The  strangers,  finding  themselves 
in  danger,  jumped  into  the  canal  to  get  across  to 


CONSERVATISM  AND  CHANGE  13 

the  further  shore,  and  two  out  of  the  number  were 
drowned.  Word  was  carried  to  a  town  of  eighteen 
thousand  people,  not  far  off,  to  which  the  dead  men 
belonged.  The  townsmen  came  in  numbers  to 
avenge  their  kinsmen.  The  sluice-men's  friends 
rallied  and  repulsed  them.  A  second  time  with 
larger  forces  the  attacking  party  came  on,  and, 
overpowering  all  resistance,  burnt  and  reduced  to 
ruins  numbers  of  houses,  and  would  not  cease  till  a 
fine  of  fifty  pounds  had  been  extracted  from  a 
tradesman  in  the  village,  Avho  was  wholly  uncon- 
nected with  the  affair.  This  fine  was  as  ruinous 
as  one  of  five  hundred  pounds  would  be  to  a  small 
English  farmer. 

Yet  to-day  comes  the  news  that  through  the 
greater  part  of  the  province  of  Szchuan,  with  sixty- 
nine  million  people,  where  in  former  years  during 
April  and  May  travellers  saw  hardly  anything  but 
the  poppy  growing,  now  they  search  in  vain  for  a 
single  plant.  This  democratic  race,  who  can  rise 
in  a  moment  and  defy  the  powers  that  be,  and 
make  their  will  prevail,  are  anon  submissive  to 
autocratic  rule  without  a  murmur,  and  without 
uprising.  Yet  once  more,  as  if  to  ridicule  all 
attempt  at  generalisation  in  Chinese  matters,  the 
news  reaches  us  that  one  large  county  in  Szchuan, 
seventy  miles  square,  ignoring  or  defying  all  Imperial 
and  provincial  edicts  of  prohibition,  and  with  con- 
fidence and  success  ousting  again  maize,  beans,  peas, 
wheat,  and  other  cereals,  and  even  rice,  Giina's 
staff  of  life,  is  replanting  the  more  profitable  but 
baneful  poppy. 

I    have    narrated    and    discussed    elsewhere    the 


14  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

story  of  the  Indo-Chinese  opium  trade,  and  of  the 
disastrous  use  of  opium  in  China.  There  exists  a 
large  hterature  on  the  subject,  famihar,  no  doubt, 
to  many  of  my  readers. 

One  consideration  of  special  importance  I  men- 
tion here,  namely  the  condemnation  of  the  use  of 
opium  by  the  conscience  and  moral  feeling  of  the 
Chinese  nation,  and  this  in  refutation  of  those  who 
have  laboured  to  prove  the  contrary.  This  point 
is  proved  incontestably  by  the  attitude  of  China  in 
the  face  of  government  edicts  implying  and  enforc- 
ing ruthless  and  universal  restriction,  repression, 
and  final  abolition  of  the  purchase,  production,  sale, 
and  use  of  the  drug.  Nothing  but  a  deep  moral 
persuasion  that  the  government  is  right  in  suppress- 
ing that  which  has  been  a  moral  wrong  to  the  nation 
and  to  the  individual  could  keep  China  as  quiet 
as  she  is.  This  being  so,  and  the  English  House 
of  Commons  having  avowed  that  the  opium 
trade  hitherto  has  been  morally  indefensible,  and 
should  be  abandoned  as  soon  as  possible,  many 
eager  moralists  and  philanthropists  both  in  Eng- 
land and  China  urge  the  instantaneous  righting 
of  a  wrong  now  that  that  wrong  is  detected  and 
acknowledged. 

It  is  further  urged  that  if  England,  India,  and 
China  have  agreed  to  proceed  pari  passu  in  the 
work  of  restriction  and  final  abolition,  and  if  one 
of  the  contracting  parties  (for  instance,  China)  finds 
herself  able  to  quicken  the  pace,  the  other  two 
should  then  be  if  not  morally  bound  to  quicken  their 
pace  yet  morally  stimulated  to  do  so,  and  should 
devise  means,  perhaps  by  an  appeal  to  the  con- 


CONSERVATISM  AND  CHANGE  15 

science  and  liberality  of  England,  to  stop  the  supply 
at  once  and  for  ever. 

The  reply  is,  we  fear,  one  which  cannot  lightly 
be  set  aside.  Moral  wrong  is  accompanied  by  a 
dread  nemesis.  It  becomes  so  deeply  rooted  in  the 
life  of  a  people,  and  so  entwined  with  their  habits, 
as  to  refuse  to  yield  to  drastic  and  sudden  uproot- 
ing and  removal  without  the  infliction  of  another 
wrong.  That  wrong  in  its  turn  demands  forcible 
redress,  and  brings,  perhaps,  a  fresh  wrong.  It 
has  seemed,  therefore,  to  the  negotiators  on  either 
side  that  a  gradual  but  continuous  and  steady 
reduction  is  the  surest  and  fairest  method  to  be 
adopted. 

The  problem  which  meets  us  at  the  present 
moment  may  briefly  be  stated  as  follows.  For  the 
eradication  of  the  habit  of  opium-smoking,  which 
is  now  enjoined  on  the  whole  Chinese  nation,  with 
a  few  exceptions  as  to  age,  a  limit  of  months  only 
is  required.  For  the  extirpation  of  the  poppy, 
grown  for  this  trade  and  this  use,  and  for  the  bring- 
ing to  an  end  of  the  trade  in  opium,  wholesale  and 
retail,  a  term  of  years  ma}^  be  required,  involving 
continued  readjustment  of  the  industries  of  the 
people,  rearrangement  of  revenue  and  taxes,  and 
replanting  of  the  land  (in  India  possibly  with  sub- 
sidies for  a  time,  and  no  monopoly  of  the  crops). 
Further,  it  would  be  necessary  to  dispose  of  the 
vast  reserves  of  Indian  and  Chinese  opium,  possibly 
by  confiscation  and  destruction  with  or  without 
compensation,  or  by  special  licensed  consumption 
spread  over  a  long  period.  The  ideal  before  us  is 
the  complete  abolition  both  of  demand  and  supply. 


16  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

While  the  supply  lingers  on,  there  is  grave  danger 
lest  the  demand  reassert  itself.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  the  demand  continues  through  inefficient  pro- 
hibition of  the  habit,  the  supply  will  come  from 
some  quarter. 

We  venture  to  hope,  however,  that  a  sure  result 
will  follow  from  the  present  agitation  and  restric- 
tive policy.  '  Young  China  will  not  take  opium. 
The  rising  generation  is  afraid  or  ashamed  to  acquire 
the  habit,  while  the  passing  generation  nervously 
and  resolutely  strives  to  get  rid  of  it.'  These  pro- 
phetic words  were  repeated  to  me  by  an  intelligent 
Chinese  observer  the  other  day. 

Meanwhile,  are  we  premature  in  expecting  signs 
of  economic  reform  in  Chinese  trade  and  general 
life,  consequent  on  the  release  of  large  sums  of 
money  saved  through  the  abandonment  of  opium  ? 
And  what  has  become  of  the  friction  and  ill-will 
between  China  and  England  so  justified  and 
fostered  by  the  old  opium-trade,  but  the  re- 
moval of  which  was  promised  as  a  sure  result  of 
the  change  of  policy  ?  China's  action  in  Tibet, 
secret  for  a  while  and  now  patent,  is  hardly  the 
act  of  a  power  grateful  and  friendly  to  India, 
and  to  India's  suzerain.  Yet  we  trust  that 
these  suspicions  will  be  falsified,  and  that  with 
complete  abolition  will  come  permanent  good  to 
China,  to  India,  and  to  England,  with  mutual 
friendship,  and  co-operation  in  every  legitimate 
enterprise. 

To  our  minds,  perhaps,  it  seems  doubtful  whether 
any  new  system  of  education,  any  great  inrush  of 
knowledge,   any  new  facilities  for  travel,  least  of 


CONSERVATISM  AND  CHANGE  17 

all  any  schemes  of  reform  which  involve  the  possi- 
bility of  dynastic  revolution  and  the  unspeakable 
terrors  of  bloodshed  and  confusion  which  have 
generally  accompanied  and  followed  such  changes 
in  China,  will  suffice  to  cure  the  failure  of  the 
administration  of  justice  in  this  great  land.  The 
failures,  I  say,  not  the  deficiencies  in  this  ideal  of 
government,  for  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
old  ideal  of  rule  by  a  patriarchal  and  paternal 
system  of  a  limited  autocracy,  limited  by  the  best 
counsel  in  the  land,  and  limited  by  the  people's 
own  power  of  appeal,  and  the  official  censors'  power 
of  criticism  or  even  of  denunciation,  is  after  all 
better  suited  to  a  realm  so  vast  in  extent  and  so 
heterogeneous  in  its  component  parts.  The  adequate 
payment  of  mandarins  is  the  most  pressing  reform 
needed,  and  one  involving  wide-stretching  conse- 
quences. Give,  for  instance,  to  the  chief  execu- 
tive mandarin  in  a  district  of  two  million  souls, 
not  the  pittance  of  seventy  pounds  per  annum, 
as  at  present,  but  seven  hundred  pounds  at 
least,  and  the  effect  would  be  great  in  lifting  the 
rulers  of  the  people  above  what  is  now  almost 
the  necessity  of  taking  bribes  and  exacting  more 
than  their  legal  dues.  A  sense  of  the  presence 
of  high-souled  and  incorruptible  justice  would 
create  a  feeling  of  security  and  trust  and  good- 
will among  all  classes. 

The  narrative  which  is  expanded  in  the  follow- 
ing chapters  will  exhibit  again  and  again  these 
changing  moods  of  the  Chinese.  I  do  not  pretend 
to  philosophise  about  the  phenomenon,  but  some 
of  its  secret  springs  may  be  disclosed  as  I  proceed, 


18  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

and  the  sole  ground  for  the  highest  hope  of  a  new 
China  will  be  emphasised — new,  without  forgetting 
or  wholly  losing  the  dignity  and  the  pathos,  the 
refinement  and  the  strange  light,  which,  amidst 
so  much  gloom  and  tragedy  and  failure,  adorned 
and  beautified  the  old. 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION,  1861-1864 


CHAPTER  II 

THE   T'AIP'ING   REBELLION,    1861-1864 

My  life  in  China  began  in  troublous  times,  and  my 
recollections  of  the  land  and  people,  stretching  back 
now  through  just  fifty  years,  are  so  vividly  con- 
nected with  that  period  of  upheaval  and  disorder, 
that  my  narrative  will  be  wholly  incomplete  without 
some  sketch  of  those  events.  China  was  still  in 
the  throes  of  the  T'aip'ing  rebellion.  The  unrest 
which  prevailed  throughout  the  empire  arose  from 
the  raging  billows  of  the  last  years  of  that  great 
hurricane,  and  the  sullen  and  heaving  swell  of  dis- 
tress as  the  storm  was  going  down. 

Now  the  story  of  that  rebellion  is  so  dark  a  passage 
in  the  annals  of  the  land  which  I  have  learnt  to 
love,  that  I  am  tempted  to  pass  it  over  in  silence. 
It  awes  me  by  the  fascination  and  pathos  of  its 
earlier  days,  by  its  high  though  exaggerated  and 
distorted  ideals,  by  the  dash  and  brilliancy  of  its 
campaigns,  one  of  Avhich  I  witnessed  in  person,  by 
its  grasp  almost  laid  on  the  Dragon  Throne,  by  the 
horrors  of  its  devastating  and  long-continued  destruc- 
tion without  reconstruction,  and  overthrow  of  the 
ruling  powers  with  no  power  itself  to  rule,  and  by 
its  final  collapse  in  blood  and  fire  and  the  shouting 
of  the  foreign-aided  conquerors,  with  the  land  all 
torn  and  scarred  around  them. 


22  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

I  cannot  explain  the  total  failure  of  this  great 
movement — since  it  did  wholly  miss  one  of  its  objects, 
beginning  in  Christian  reform  both  as  to  faith  and 
practice,  and  ending  in  un-Christian  cruelty  and 
reckless  bloodshed — except  by  recalling  the  great 
Christian  principle,  that  he  that  taketh  the  sword 
shall  perish  by  the  sword.  Though  force  may, 
through  stress  of  oppression,  seem  necessary  and 
righteous  to  put  down  t5n:'anny  and  misrule,  such 
force  is  outside  the  ideal  of  a  Christian  citizen's 
life.  Least  of  all  can  it  ever  be  true  that  the  pro- 
pagation of  the  Faith,  which  was  one  of  the  T'aip'ing 
leaders'  earliest  ambitions,  is  promoted  by  the 
sword.  The  love  of  Him  who  died  for  man  can 
never  become  a  constraining  power  when  the  threat 
of  loss  or  torture  or  death  is  presented  to  those 
who  do  not  conform.  '  Not  by  might  nor  by  power, 
but  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.' 

But  this  fact,  which  lifts  to  some  extent  the  cloud 
of  mystery,  cannot  wholly  extinguish  pity  and 
regret  at  the  thought  of  the  bright  days  of  the 
Great  Peace  (T'aip'ing)  Dynasty's  birth  and  hopes. 
Their  glamour  cannot  fade,  and  I  write  my  story 
with  a  heavy  heart. 

In  justice  to  those  whom  my  readers  will  perhaps 
too  hastily  condemn,  let  it  be  here  remarked  that 
at  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  T'aip'ing  rebellion, 
that  is  sixty  years  ago,  and  long  anterior  to  that 
period,  the  state  of  China  was,  in  the  words  of  a 
modern  Chinese  philosopher  and  reformer,  that  of 
a  body  fatally  diseased  with  a  national  cancer. 
This  state  of  things  had  been  brought  about  morally 
in  high  quarters,  and  socially  among  the  working 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION,  1861-1864     23 

classes,  by  effeminacy  affecting  what  once  was  the 
truest  nobility  and  chivalry,   and  by  despair  and 
insecurity  following  on  unremunerative  labour  and 
oppressive  taxes.     The  strong  sense  of  indignation 
against    these    social    A\Tongs    had    stirred    to    the 
depths  the  stolid  Chinese  nature  of  the   T'aip*ings, 
and  it  had  made  them    mad — mad  with  an  almost 
noble    madness    of    fanaticism,    against   which   the 
heroism   of   the   haughty  Manchu   aristocracy  was 
worse  than  useless.      The  Chinese  authority  whom 
I    quote   here    asserts    further    that    the    rebellion 
shattered  the  influence  of  the  IManchu  aristocracy, 
and   transferred  their  power  to  the  Chinese  literati, 
the  middle  class  of  China,  who,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  the  great  Marquis  Tseng  Kwoh-fan, 
were  definitely  trained,  mainly  under  his  directions, 
to  lead  the  peasantry  and  to  put  doAvn  the  rebelHon. 
It  is  asserted  further  that  one  object  of  the  present 
reform  movement,  at  least  in  its  more  sober  moods, 
is  to  conserve  if  possible  the  great  Manchu  aristo- 
cracy with  its  heroism  and  nobility  of  character — 
not  to  abolish  but  to  reform  this  second  chamber 
for  the  nation.      At  the  same  time  it  is  hoped  to 
control   in   the   wisest  way,   and   to   moderate   the 
ambitions  of  the    Chinese    gentry,    '  our    PhiHstine 
middle  class,'  as  this  philosopher   calls  them,  who 
appear  of  late  years  to  have  lost  their  morale,  and 
to   be   much   affected  by  vanity  and  conceit.     As 
the    result   of   such   a  movement  a  real  reform   is 
hoped    for  in  the  empire,  bringing  in  a  new  China, 
not  for  the  Chinese  alone,  with  angry  and  violent 
and  probably  futile  attempts  at  shutting  their  gates 
against  aU  foreign  friends  and  foes  alike,  but  a  new 


24  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

China  for  civilisation  and  humanity.  This  dream 
of  reform  reminds  us  of  the  T'aip'ings,  to  whom  I 
now  return. 

I  referred  in  my  introductory  chapter  to  what 
must  be  one  of  the  first  demands  in  any  scheme  of 
practical  reform  for  China,  namely,  the  adequate  pay- 
ment of  her  mandarins.  When  this  is  effected,  there 
will  result  such  a  feeling  of  security  and  hopefulness 
among  the  people  that  further  necessary  items  in 
the  scheme  may  be  hopefully  inaugurated,  some 
of  which  are  already,  in  fact,  set  on  foot,  such  as 
steam  navigation  in  the  inland  waters,  railroads 
intersecting  the  whole  land,  and  a  new  system  of 
education  and  of  literary  examinations.  Now  the 
T'aip'ing  leader,  the  'Shield  King,'  Hung  Siu-ts'iian's 
wisest  and  noblest  adviser  and  ablest  general,  in 
a  proclamation  dated  from  Nanking  in  1860,  not 
only  anticipated  these  measures,  but  -svent  further, 
and  recommended  the  Bible  as  a  text-book  in  the 
public  service  examinations — possibly  bringing  with 
it,  as  Thomas  Taylor  Meadows  considered,  the 
study  of  the  sacred  books  in  their  original  lan- 
guages. Foreigners  were  no  longer  to  be  called  by 
opprobrious  names  ;  missionaries  were  to  be  allowed 
to  travel  and  live  and  preach  any^vhere ;  the 
daily  press  was  to  be  encouraged,  and  fire-  and  life- 
insurance  companies  introduced  ;  while  the  improve- 
ment of  the  status  of  women  was  not  only  an  idea 
in  a  programme,  but  the  subject  of  actual  experi- 
ment for  a  short  time  in  Nanking. 

The  account  which  I  am  about  to  give  of  my 
personal  contact  with  the  T*aip*ings  at  and  near 
Ningpo  is,   I  believe,  the  only  existing  history  of 


THE  T^AIP'ING  REBELLION,  1861-1864     25 

those  events,  except  for  such  details  as  are  embodied 
in  official  and  naval  despatches  of  the  time.  There 
smi-vive  not  more  than  half  a  dozen  EngHsh  eye- 
witnesses of  the  T'aip'ing  sieges  of  Ningpo ;  and  my 
story,  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  render  accurate, 
is  in  a  sense  unique. 

This  chapter  in  a  long  and  lurid  narrative  is, 
further,  of  special  interest,  because  the  events  at 
Ningpo  proved  ahnost  as  significant  a  turning-point 
in  the  conquering  career  of  the  T'aip'ings  as  Gordon's 
achievements  at  Sungkiang  and  Nanking. 

Before,  however,  we  meet  the  T'aip'ings  at 
Ningpo,  we  must  glance  back  for  a  moment  at 
their  birth  and  origin.  Here  the  narrative  pos- 
sesses the  advantage  of  having  been  drawn  chiefly 
from  the  lips  of  Hung  Jin,  a  cousin  of  the  T'aip'ing 
leader,  who  had  personal  interviews  with  a  Basel 
missionary  in  1853,  and  provided  him  with  full 
details. 

Hung  Siu-ts'uan  could  trace  back  his  pedigree 
to  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  a.d.,  when 
the  emperors  Kien  Chung  and  Tsing  K'ang  were 
carried  captive  by  the  Kin  Tartars  on  their  first 
inroad.  Hung  Hau,  the  first  known  ancestor  of 
the  Hungs,  was  then  minister  of  state,  and  showed 
his  loyalty  to  the  throne  by  endeavouring  to  follow 
his  Imperial  master  into  the  Kin  Mongolian  wilds. 
Six  hundred  years  later,  after  the  Mongols  had 
"wrested  the  Imperial  power  from  the  Sung  dynasty, 
and  the  ^longols  in  turn  had  been  succeeded  by  the 
Chinese  Ming  djniasty,  that  dynasty  after  two 
hundred  and  sixty  years  was  overwhelmed  by  the 
conquering  Manchus.  who  still  reign  over  China.    One 


26  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

of  Hung  Siu-ts'iian's  ancestors  was  generalissimo  at 
the  time,  and  led  this  last  campaign  of  the  Ming 
dynasty.  It  is  to  restore  this  line  that  the  under- 
ground forces  of  revolutionary  thought  and  the 
secret  societies  which  honeycomb  the  land  now 
aspire.  The  Triad  Society,  which  offered  its  fight- 
ing aid  to  the  T'aip'ings  in  1852,  put  this  object 
definitely  forward.  Hung  Siu-ts'iian,  thinking  that 
after  the  lapse  of  two  hundred  years  the  Ming  line 
had  finally  disappeared  from  history,  and  possibly 
coveting  the  throne  for  his  own  name,  declined  the 
aid  of  the  Triad  Society,  unless  it  would  conform  in 
all  things  to  his  rule  and  dictation.  Hung  Siu-ts'iian 
himself  was  born  in  1813,  in  a  village  thirty  miles 
north-east  of  Canton.  His  father  w^as  a  KhihJcia,  a 
settler  from  a  neighbouring  province,  and  though 
headman  of  his  village  was  only  a  poor  husband- 
man. His  son,  having  shown  marked  ability,  was 
carefully  educated,  and  distinguished  himself  in  the 
preliminary  examinations.  He  failed,  however, 
repeatedly  at  the  final  trial  for  his  first  degree.  This 
is  no  necessary  mark  of  incompetence  in  a  candi- 
date, since  for  the  degree  of  siu-ts^ai,  with  thirty 
vacancies,  if  I  may  use  the  word,  there  used  on  an 
average  to  be  a  thousand  competitors ;  while  for  the 
second  degree,  which  qualifies  for  office,  with  eighty 
or  ninety  vacancies,  there  would  be  at  least  ten  or 
fifteen  thousand  competitors.  I  speak  here  of  course 
of  the  regime  before  the  annus  mirahilis,  a.d.  1905, 
which  saw  the  beginning  of  what  may  be  a  stupen- 
dous revolutionary  movement  in  China,  namely,  the 
abolition  of  the  old  system  of  public  competitive 
examinations  for  civil  and  military  degrees.     I  refer 


THE  T'AIFING  REBELLION,  1861-1864     27 

again  in  my  story  to  this  system  which  has  obtained 
from  the  second  or  third  century  of  the  Christian 
era.  Had  Hung  8iu-ts'iian  Hved  a  hundred  years 
later,  his  bitter  disappointment  and  failure,  caused, 
he  felt  sure,  by  bribery  and  favouritism,  might  have 
been  lost  in  the  excitement  of  the  new  learning. 
Some  accounts  state  that  he  did  succeed  in  both 
the  first  and  second  degrees,  but  that  when  qualified 
for  office,  a  continual  bar  and  ban  seemed  to  be 
against  him,  preventing  his  appointment.  In  1836 
he  met  two  men  in  the  streets  of  Canton,  one  a 
strange-looking  being,  as  Hung  described  him  to  be, 
a  foreigner,  the  other  in  all  probabiHty  Lcang  Ah-fah, 
a  convert  of  Dr.  Milne's,  and  Dr.  Morrison's  faithful 
but  illiterate  helper.  Leang  presented  Hung  with 
nine  small  volumes  of  Christian  tracts  and  books 
composed  by  himself.  These  Hung  laid  aside  in  a 
drawer,  without  reading  them  for  some  years.  Sub- 
sequently, after  failing  again  in  his  ambition  for 
office,  he  fell  ill  for  forty  days,  and  saw  visions, 
which  were  ever  after  quoted  by  him  as  the  cause 
and  explanation  of  the  great  rebellion.  A  being 
appeared  to  him,  so  he  asserted,  with  the  imperative 
command  to  destroy  the  Yao,  the  imps  (that  is,  the 
Manchus),  and  the  idols,  but  to  spare  the  people. 
The  war  of  1842  between  England  and  China 
opened  the  eyes  of  Hung  to  the  power  of  the  strange 
foreigners,  one  of  whom  he  had  seen  in  Canton.  He 
bethought  him  of  his  long-neglected  books,  and 
studying  them  without  a  friend  or  instructor,  he 
seemed  to  find  in  their  pages  a  confirmation  of  his 
visions.  Most  certainly  in  these  nine  volumes,  the 
titles  and  contents  of  whicli  lie  before  me,  he  found 


28  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

nothing  about  the  hatred  of  enemies,  but  rather  the 
duty  of  love.  The  folly  and  sin  of  idolatry  he  would 
find  exposed  and  denounced,  but  as  an  evil  to  be 
removed  from  the  hearts  of  the  ignorant  and  unen- 
lightened, not  by  armies,  not  by  fire  and  sword, 
but  by  spiritual  warfare.  So  the  Kingdom  of 
Great  Peace  was  to  come.  For  a  time  Hung  Siu- 
ts'iian  turned  to  noble  pursuits.  His  friend  and 
one  of  his  first  converts,  Fung  Yun-san,  an  earnest 
simple-minded  man,  helped  him  to  found  in  Kwangsi 
a  Society  of  Worshippers  of  God,  renouncing  idolatry, 
and  abjuring  the  glory  and  pleasures  of  this  present 
evil  world.  Surely  it  is  a  pathetic  picture  which 
rises  up  before  our  fancy,  stretching  back  through 
nearly  seventy  years.  This  little  band  of  seekers 
after  God  by  night  on  the  '  Thistle  Mount,'  their 
chief  rendezvous^  without  image  or  incense  or 
temple  or  outward  display,  are  bending  low  in 
worship  and  prayer  before  the  true  Shang  Ti,  the 
lord  and  maker  of  the  higher  heavens,  those  heavens 
full  of  stars  soaring  over  their  heads.  An  answer 
most  certainly  came  for  all  who  prayed  there  in 
sincerity  and  truth,  for  that  eternal  Power  has 
promised,  '  I  said  not,  Seek  ye  me  in  vain.' 

In  1847  Hung  Siu-ts'iian  applied  for  baptism  to 
Mr.  Roberts,  an  American  Baptist  missionary  at 
Canton,  who  was  still  living  when  I  reached  China, 
and  who  joined  his  pupil  in  Nanking  later  in  his 
career,  striving  in  vain  to  stem  the  progress  of  his 
downward  course.  Baptism  was  defeiTed  then,  since 
the  hope  of  mission  employ  appeared  to  be  his  chief 
motive,  and  this  may  finally  have  alienated  Hung 
from   the   restraint   of   Christian   teachers.     Mean- 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION,  1861-1864     29 

while  iconoclastic  zeal  on  the  part  of  these  worshippers 
of  God  attracted  the  notice  of  the  mandarins.  The 
province  of  Kwangsi  was  at  this  time  in  a  low  state 
socially  and  morally.  Two  centres  of  worship,  the 
idol  Kanwang  and  the  '  Temple  of  Six  Caverns,' 
where  vice  was  celebrated,  deified,  and  almost  wor- 
shipped, were  by  this  Gideon  destroyed.  '  Let  Baal 
plead,'  seemed  the  answer  when  the  people  were 
roused  by  the  insult  to  their  gods  ;  and  the  white 
ants  appeared  to  complete  the  ruin  of  the  temple 
buildings,  the  evil  idols  of  which  8iu-ts'iian  had 
destroyed.  In  1850,  the  year  of  the  death  of  the 
great  emperor  Tao  Kwang,  the  little  band  had 
to  stand  on  their  defence  against  imperialist  soldiers 
sent  to  attack  them.  The  cause  of  the  attack  was 
not  the  knowledge  of  insurrectionary  designs  on  the 
part  of  the  society  itself,  but  the  fact  that  the 
refugees  defeated  in  a  clan-fight  between  the  Punti, 
or  aborigines,  and  the  KhihJcia,  or  settlers,  had  fled 
to  Hung  for  protection,  and  the  God-worshippers 
were  thus  involved  in  an  almost  inevitable  conflict. 
They  were  successful  in  their  first  encounter  with 
the  imperialist  troops,  and  the  news  spread  like 
wildfire  through  south  China.  Hung  Siu-ts'iian, 
after  offering  the  supreme  power  to  each  of  his  four 
prominent  captains  in  turn,  was  compelled  him- 
self to  take  the  lead,  and  raised  the  standard  of 
the  dynasty  of  Great  Peace.  He  took  the  title  of 
King  of  Great  Peace,  or  King  of  the  Heaveifly 
Kingdom,  or,  as  some  from  a  confusion  of  dialectic 
pronunciation  erroneously  gave  it,  King  of  Heavenly 
Virtue.  Great  crowds  now  flocked  to  his  banner ; 
defence   turned   into   attack.      He   became  a  mili- 


30  HAT.F  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

tary  leader  of  conspicuous  ability,  and  a  great 
conqueror,  but  the  scourge  and  devastator  of  his 
native  land. 

It  has  often  been  urged  that  had  Mohammed  en- 
countered Christianity  and  Christian  professors 
worthy  of  the  name,  instead  of  the  contending  sects 
and  growing  superstition  of  the  degenerate  Christi- 
anity which  he  did  know,  his  career  might  have  been 
wholly  changed.  The  two  men  and  their  circum- 
stances were  totally  different,  but  of  Hung  Siu-ts'iian 
in  like  manner  it  may  be  urged,  that  had  he  had 
more  careful  teaching  and  wiser  counsellors,  and 
(it  must  be  added)  had  he  possessed  a  fuller  appre- 
ciation and  application  to  his  conscience  of  what 
he  did  know,  the  T*aip'ing  rebellion  might  still 
have  become  a  fact  of  history,  but  he  would  not 
have  led  it.  He  started  at  length  on  his  terrible 
career,  to  end  fourteen  years  later  in  defeat,  despair, 
and  suicide. 

In  the  first  three  years  after  the  encounter  with 
the  imperialist  forces  mentioned  above,  the  T'aip'ing 
armies  fought  and  burnt  their  way  through  the 
provinces  of  Kwangsi  and  Hunan  ('  Hunan  has 
been  trodden  in  dust  and  ashes,'  says  a  contemporary 
imperialist  decree),  through  Hupeh  also,  and  Anhui, 
Kiangsi  and  Kiangsu,  up  to  Nanking,  which  vast 
city,  the  ancient  southern  capital  of  the  empire, 
they  stormed  on  19th  March  1853,  and  occupied  for 
ten  years.  Twenty  thousand  Manchus  were  kiUed 
in  the  sacking  of  this  city.  At  that  time  the  total 
T'aip'ing  strength  was  estimated  at  from  sixty  to 
eighty  thousand  trusted  adherents,  divided  into 
five  armies,  besides  a  hundred  thousand  at  least 


THE   BHATITl'DKS    i;N   ,  I;  Will)    (».\    A    (iUHAT   SToNH. 
BY   TIIIO    LHADKi;    OK   TIIH  T-AIl'iNG^ 

Tlie  lar;j:(>  clianictei-  iiiPiiiis  liaiipiiicss  or  lilfssi-dncss,  nml  is  used  ns  a  form 
of  salutation  outside,  many  Clilni'si'  Imus  s.     The  sinalli-r  cliaracti-is  are  the 

fight  licatitudes.     Tliis  is  tl iily  iusUuicm  in  wliich  the  Christian  Hi'ati- 

tudes  aro  known  to  liavc  Ijcen  puhlicdy  a  'ijied  in  Clima.  Tin-  lower  white 
siiuareon  the  left  hand  side  is  the  seal  of  I  lie  l.eailer  of  thoT'aip'inx  Uehellion. 
The  stone  was  sot  up  at  tin?  entrance  nl  the  T'aip'inc  Palace  in  Nanking. 
The  Iniiierial  Troops  <lestroye.i  it  when  liev  captured  the  city.  It  measured 
eleven  fei'l  by  nine. 

This  ruliliing  was  presented  to  the  HiliU-  S  ciety  l>y  Mr.  Alexander  Wylie, 
the  Society's  Apent  at  tlio  time  in  I'hina.  It  is  here  reproduced  liy'tho 
kindness  of  the  Rev.  James  Thomas. 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION,  1861-1864      31 

of  non-combatants,  doing  duty  as  porters,  trench- 
diggers,  and  artificers.  This  force  was  subsequently 
swollen  by  very  many  recruits  from  the  White  Lotus 
and  other  secret  political  societies  ;  and  it  is  worth 
observing  that  the  accession  of  these  motley  crowds, 
most  of  whom  Avere  without  any  religion  at  all,  or 
devoted  adherents  of  the  God  of  War,  must  have 
exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  neutralising  and 
eventually  obhterating  the  spiritual  elements  in 
the  earliest  bands  which  I  noticed  above.  Com- 
paratively httle  is  known  from  personal  observation 
of  the  religious  character  of  the  movement  during 
the  years  which  elapsed  between  their  first  taking 
up  arms  and  their  contact  with  foreigners  at  Nan- 
king, Soochow,  and  Ningpo.  When  I  reached 
China  I  found  that  some  experienced  missionaries 
were  disposed  to  regard  the  movement  with  some 
hope,  notwithstanding  the  excesses  of  the  T'aip'ings. 
But  the  opinion  of  one  of  the  most  sober  of  these 
observers,  at  first  favourably  inclined,  was  that  the 
rebels  at  Ningpo,  whom  I  describe  below — and  the 
same  was  true,  it  is  to  be  feared,  of  the  T'aip'ings 
everywhere,  at  that  period — had  no  real  refigion, 
were  worse  than  the  heathen,  and  lacked  almost 
entirely  those  two  bright  features  in  the  Chinese 
character,  education  and  poHteness. 

The  great  conquering  horde  advanced  from  its 
point  of  vantage  in  Nanking.  In  1854,  with  two 
streams  of  war,  one  issuing  from  Nganking  and  one 
from  Nanking,  the  rebels  moved  northwards,  and 
reached  a  town  only  seventy  miles  from  Peking, 
where  they  encamped  and  went  into  winter  quarters. 
Here,  with  final  victory  almost  in  sight,  the  Tartar 


32  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

horsemen  under  the  leadership  of  San-ko-lin-sin 
checked  the  further  advance  of  the  rebels.  Return- 
ing slowly,  and  capturing  city  after  city  in  Chihli, 
Shantung,  Shansi,  and  Honan,  the  T'aip'ings  were 
at  length  beleaguered  in  Nanking  by  imperialist 
forces.  Though  hard  pressed  and  on  short  rations, 
and  crippled  by  the  terrific  fights  among  the  followers 
of  the  different  subordinate  kings  in  Nanking,  when 
thirty  thousand  were  slain  by  violence  and  stratagem, 
yet  in  March  1860  they  suddenly  broke  through  the 
cordon ;  and  then  followed  the  most  brilliant  achieve- 
ment of  their  long  campaigns.  They  rapidly  ad- 
vanced, a  comparatively  small  body  and  in  light 
marching  order,  on  Hangchow,  and  stormed  and 
sacked  that  city.  Then,  after  three  days  of  pillage  and 
bloodshed,  and  the  spectacle  of  the  governor  hanging 
himself  in  despair  over  one  of  the  city  gates — scenes 
described  to  me  by  an  eye-witness,  who  himself 
narrowly  escaped  death — the  T'aip'ings  evacuated 
the  city,  wheeled  round,  and  passed  at  a  long 
distance  the  imperialist  host  lumbering  heavily  in 
pursuit ;  and  when  the  imperialists  arrived  at 
Hangchow  to  find  the  city  desolate,  the  victorious 
rebels  had  reached  Nanking.  By  a  sudden  assault 
they  swept  away  the  half-defended  imperialist  forts 
and  encampments,  and  annihilated  for  the  time 
being  the  government's  power  in  that  region, 
seventy  thousand  soldiers  laying  down  their  arms 
and  joining  the  rebel  host.  Soochow  then,  with  a 
large  part  of  the  province  of  Kiangsu,  fell  under 
their  sway. 

In  1861   two  auxihary  armies,  one    apparently 
from  Soochow  and  the  other  from  the  south-west, 


THE  T^AIP'ING  REBELLION,  1861-1864     33 

moving  down  the  Tsintang  River,  invaded  the  fair 
province  of  Chekiang.  They  were  determined  to 
supply  the  pressing  want  of  a  seaport,  and  eager 
to  establish  friendly  intercourse  with  western 
powers,  a  hope  which  seemed  impossible  of  realisa- 
tion at  Shanghai,  through  the  hostile  attitude 
assumed  by  foreigners  there.  After  their  repulse 
from  Ningpo  and  expulsion  from  Chekiang,  which 
T  am  about  to  relate,  they  swept  through  Kiangsi 
into  Fukien  ;  and  thus  from  first  to  last  thirteen 
out  of  the  eighteen  provinces  of  China  proper  felt 
their  power,  and  the  blighting  influence  of  their 
presence.  It  has  been  estimated  that  an  area  of 
twenty-six  thousand  square  miles,  representing 
twelve  hundred  miles  of  latitude  and  six  hundred 
miles  of  longitude,  was  traversed  by  the  T'aip'ing 
rebels,  and  that  twenty  million  lives  were  sacrificed 
in  the  struggle. 

When  I  reached  Ningpo  in  August  1861,  the  city 
had  recently  been  inspected  by  Captain  Goodenough, 
R.N.,  and  some  formidable  pieces  of  English  ord- 
nance were  placed  by  him  on  the  walls.  Even  then 
great  anxiety  was  felt  in  the  city  and  country  as 
to  the  approaching  storm.  Shortly  after  my  arrival 
I  went  for  a  ten  days'  trip  into  the  country  with  my 
brother  George,  afterwards  Bishop  in  Mid-China, 
one  of  the  very  few  surviving  witnesses  of  the  events 
which  I  relate,  to  visit  some  of  our  country  stations, 
and  especially  the  city  of  Yiiyao,  thirty  miles  inland, 
where  it  was  proposed  that  I  should  reside  and 
work.  The  beauty  of  the  country  in  those  calm 
October  days  I  can  never  forget,  set  as  that  beauty 
was   in   vivid   and  pathetic   loveliness   against   the 

c 


34  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

black  cloud  of  apprehension  and  panic  rising  and 
mounting   China's  sky.     The  second  rice-crop — the 
first  had  already  been  garnered  in  early  August — 
lay  in  deep  yellow-brown  masses  covering  the  plain 
and  running  into  the  lower  hill- valleys,  and  along 
the  upland  terraces.     The  hills,  with  infinite  variety 
of  formation,  were  bright  with  autumn  flowers — 
wild  pinks,  gentians,  bluebells,  and  the  blossoms  of 
the   tea-plant — and   the  trees    in    the   persimmon- 
groves  were  hung  with  red  and  yellow  fruit ;    while 
over  all  stretched  the  clear  blue  arch  of  the  sky. 
But  nothing  could  be  more  pathetic  than  the  expres- 
sion  of  gnawing   anxiety   and  tyrannous  suspense 
which  we  noticed  on  all  sides.     Every  village  we 
visited  greeted  us  with  the  eager  questions  :    '  Are 
they  really  coming  ?  '    'Is  there  any  fear  ?  '    *  Need 
we   fly  ? '     '  Whither    shall   we    go    to    escape   the 
"  long-haired  "  ?  '     What  could  we  reply  so  far  as 
human  hopes  and  help  were  concerned  ?     Yet  these 
poor  people  had  time  to  listen  to  our  message,  and 
to  show  true  Chinese  courtesy  and  friendliness.     xA.s 
we  passed  through  a  small  village  we  noticed    an 
old  man  who  had  climbed  a  persimmon  tree  with 
the  help  of  a  ladder  and  was  busy  picking  the  fruit. 
'  Will  you  sell  us  a  few  ?  '  we  called  to  him.     '  Sell  ?  ' 
he  replied  ;     '  take  some,   and  welcome  '  ;   and  he 
deftly  threw  some  down  for  us  to  catch.    We  thanked 
him,  but  as  we  parted  with  a  few^  words  of  farewell 
we  little  thought  that  in  a  few  months'  time  that 
harmless,  peaceful  village  would  be  burnt,  and,  as 
they  told  us  near,  all  the  inhabitants  put  to  the 
sword  by  the  ruthless  invaders. 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  the  probable  fate  of  the 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION,  1861-1864     35 

fishing  industry  in  Ningpo  and  the  neighbourhood 
during  the  T'aip'ing  occupation.  Ningpo  is  reckoned 
as  third  in  the  great  fish-markets  of  the  world, 
London  and  Nagasaki  alone  preceding  it  in  import- 
ance. A  fleet  of  ten  thousand  sail  plies  up  and 
down  the  coast,  and  many  of  the  boats  are  employed 
in  deep-sea  fishing.  It  is  a  wonderful  sight  when 
some  two  thousand  of  them  in  company  start  under 
sail  for  their  fishing-grounds.  Was  there  desolation 
here  when  the  markets  were  ruined  by  the  T'aip'ings 
on  shore,  and  all  business  in  great  waters  paralysed 
by  the  pirates,  freed  from  all  control  ? 

When  we  retiu"ned  to  Ningpo  we  found  a  panic 
in  the  strong  city  itself.  T'aip'ing  spies  had  been 
discovered  and  arrested,  and  some  with  great  shout- 
ing were  executed  on  the  parade-ground  in  front 
of  our  house.  It  was  known  that  the  rebel  hosts 
were  on  the  move,  that  Shaohing  was  threatened, 
and  that  the  avowed  intention  of  the  leaders  was 
to  attack  Ningpo.  The  city  walls  looked  brave 
and  warlike,  with  fluttering  flags  all  round  the  six 
miles'  circuit ;  but  no  display  of  bunting,  no  amount 
of  cannon  or  musket-practice,  not  the  sight  of  the 
familiar  river  and  broad  moats  washing  and  pro- 
tecting the  walls,  not  the  further  line  of  defence, 
the  hundred  miles  of  the  embracing  hills,  could 
check  the  panic  and  arrest  the  sad  and  headlong 
exodus  which  now  commenced,  and  ceased  not  till 
the  city  fell  in  December,  when,  out  of  the  original 
four  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  there  remained 
scarcely  twenty  thousand  within  the  walls.  Numbers 
fled  by  junks  and  lorchas  to  Shanghai,  and  a  large 
proportion  of  these  fell  a  prey  to  the  pirate  fleets 


36  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

hovering  round  the  Chusan  islands.  Others  fled 
to  the  hills  and  country  villages,  where  many  of 
them  met  a  worse  fate  than  those  who  stayed  in 
the  city.  November,  generally  clear  and  bright, 
was  wet  and  cold  and  gloomy,  and  it  was  an  in- 
expressibly melancholy  sight  to  watch  the  crowds 
of  fugitives  hurrying  through  the  dripping  streets 
with  despair  on  their  faces.  The  crowding  was  so 
great  that  on  the  2nd  of  November  a  woman  was 
crushed  to  death  crossing  the  old  bridge  of  boats. 
We  began  to  lay  in  stores  as  for  a  siege  ;  rice,  and 
all  provisions  which  always  follow  the  lead  of  rice, 
rose  in  price,  and  one  week  the  Mexican  dollar 
exchange  in  copper  cash  reached  eighteen  hundred 
instead  of  the  average  eleven  hundred  cash  to  a 
dollar.  1  On  the  3rd  of  November  news  arrived  of 
the  fall  of  Shaohing ;  on  the  5th,  the  gates  of 
Ningpo  were  shut  early,  and  so  every  succeeding 
day  until  they  were  opened  by  the  T'aip'ings  them- 
selves. On  the  6th,  Lieutenant  Huxham,  R.N., 
and  his  officers  rode  round  the  wall  at  the  request 
of  the  Chinese  Protection  Guild,  and  the  rumour 
spread  at  once  that  a  thousand  redcoats  were  coming 
to  protect  the  city.  But  on  the  9th  Sir  Frederick 
Bruce  having  sent  positive  orders  not  to  interfere 
with  the  T'aip'ings,  and  the  French  consul  having 
refused  help  in  consequence  of  a  quarrel  with  the 
Chinese  admiral,  the  panic  and  the  mad  exodus 
resumed  their  disastrous  course.     The  unfortunate 


^  It  may  be  interesting  here  to  notice  the  great  depreciation  of  silver 
during  the  last  fifty  years.  The  Mexican  dollar,  which  changes  now  for 
less  than  two  shillings,  was  worth  in  1861  from  four  and  sixpence  to  four 
and  tenpence. 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION,  1861-1864     37 

authorities  did  their  best  to  put  the  city  in  a  state 
of  defence,  especially  by  strengthening  the  inner- 
most bulwark,  the  solid  walls.  On  the  9th  of 
November,  when  walking  on  the  broad  top  of  the 
walls,  we  observed  bamboo  cranes,  fitted  with  ropes 
and  pulleys,  ready  to  let  down  heavy  beams  of  wood, 
bristling  with  iron  or  wooden  spikes,  on  the  heads 
of  the  assailants.  On  the  22nd  it  was  reported  that 
Funghwa,  a  district  city  to  the  south-west,  less  than 
thirty  miles  distant,  had  been  taken  by  a  great 
contingent  of  rebels  under  Fan,  second-in-command, 
and  a  man  of  great  energy  and  courage.  The  main 
body  under  Wang  was  advancing  on  Yiiyao  and 
Ts'zch'i  to  the  north-west.  On  the  24th  a  terrible 
and  ominous  calamity  occurred.  The  apron-strings 
of  a  man  working  in  a  gunpowder  factory  acci- 
dentally caught  fire,  and  the  whole  place  blew  up. 
Thirtj^  or  forty  men  were  fearfully  burnt,  and 
scarcely  any  recovered,  though  tenderly  nursed  and 
doctored  by  my  brother  and  two  missionar}^  friends. 
Nineteen  members  of  one  family  were  amongst  the 
sufferers,  and  a  grandfather,  son,  and  grandson  lay 
close  to  one  another.  The  owner  of  the  magazine, 
driven  mad  by  his  calamities,  threw  himself  into  the 
canal,  but  was  rescued  just  in  time.  A  hundred 
days  before  this  event  a  similar  explosion  had 
destroyed  another  of  his  sheds.  He  went  into 
the  country  with  his  family,  and  the  house  where 
they  were  staying  was  burnt  down.  He  had 
returned  to  the  city  that  very  day  to  look  after 
his  business  when  the  second  explosion  took  place. 
But  such  sorrows  and  calamities  were  soon 
swallowed  up  in  the  great  flood  of  misery  coming 


38  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

in  as  by  an  earthquake  wave.  On  the  25th  of 
November  Yiiyao  fell,  and  a  great  fire  in  the  south- 
west alarmed  us  at  night.  Next  day  we  heard  that 
three  thousand  houses  had  been  destroyed  by  that 
fire,  and  that  the  rebels  might  be  on  us  by  noon. 
Two  Englishmen  arrived  on  this  day  from  the 
country.  They  had  seen  the  rebel  chiefs,  and 
brought  papers  with  them  stating  that  if  foreigners 
left  the  rebels  alone  they  would  be  unmolested. 
On  the  29th  I  left  the  city  and  crossed  to  the  north 
bank  of  the  river,  in  accordance  with  the  consul's 
direction  that  all  who  could  not  speak  Chinese 
fluently  should  quit  their  intramural  residences. 
We  crossed  the  river  daily,  however,  and  entered 
the  city  for  Chinese  study  until  two  days  before  the 
city  fell.  On  this  same  day,  the  29th  of  November, 
the  gunboat  Kestrel,  with  the  consuls  on  board, 
steamed  up  the  main  branch  of  the  river  to  Yiiyao 
to  hold  a  parley  with  the  rebel  chiefs.  Suddenly 
we  saw  vast  columns  of  smoke  rise  to  the  north- 
west, evidently  from  the  proud  and  rich  city  of 
Ts'zch'i,  only  twelve  miles  off.  At  nightfall  we 
heard  that  the  Ts'ing-tau-kwun,  a  Taoist  temple, 
which  was  the  glory  and  the  pride  and  the  luck  of 
all  that  region,  had  been  burnt  to  the  ground.  Now, 
by  the  Ningpo  Taotai's  order,  houses  in  the  north 
and  east  gate  suburbs  were  fired,  lest  they  should 
afford  shelter  to  the  enemy.  The  crash  as  they  fell 
one  after  another  sounded  ominous  on  the  evening 
air.  That  fire  blazed  unchecked  for  nearly  a  fort- 
night, and  the  whole  of  the  rich  suburb  from  the 
east  gate  to  the  old  bridge  of  boats  was  swept 
away.     The  Kestrel  on  her  return  brought  ample 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION,  1861-1864     39 

promises  from  the  T'aip'ing  leaders  that  the  foreign 
settlement  should  not  be  touched,  nor  foreigners 
molested,  nor  the  people  wantonly  put  to  the  sword  ; 
promises  which,  considering  the  untamed  rabble 
composing  the  conquering  army,  were  for  a  time 
fairly  well  observed. 

On  the  1st  of  December  a  Chinese  well  known 
to  us  appeared,  in  a  sedan-chair  carried  by  four 
bearers,  at  Mr.  (afterwards  Bishop)  Russell's  house. 
He  had  come  with  almost  foolhardy  bravery  as  a 
messenger  from  Luh  Sin-Ian,  a  merchant  at  Tsz'ch'i, 
purveyor  to  the  British  forces  which  occupied 
Ningpo  under  Sir  Hugh  Gough  in  1844,  a  sworn 
friend  of  foreigners,  and  now  compelled  by  the 
T'aip'ings  to  govern  his  native  city  for  them.  This 
city,  though  it  had  opened  its  gates  to  the  invaders 
and  had  welcomed  them  by  a  submissive  deputation, 
was  half  destroyed  by  wanton  incendiarism.  Luh 
Sin-Ian  had  sent  our  Chinese  friend  at  the  imminent 
risk  of  his  head,  with  rebel  uniform  actually  worn 
under  his  outer  robe,  to  buy  silk  for  his  master  and 
deliver  letters  to  Mr.  Russell,  requesting  the  loan 
of  his  pony  on  which  to  ride  in  triumph  to  the  city, 
and  announcing  the  near  approach  of  a  hundred 
thousand  '  brothers.'  Mr.  Russell,  with  a  mixture 
of  ready  wit  and  truest  courage,  seated  himself  in 
the  chair,  made  the  messenger  fall  in  behind  as  a 
servant,  and,  riding  thus,  saw  him  safe  beyond  the 
imperialist  lines.  Luh  Sin-Ian  subsequently  became 
Taotai  of  Ningpo,  and  did  what  he  could  to  keep 
faith  with  foreigners,  sending  them  warning  of  the 
final  act  of  hostility  and  treachery.  Eventually, 
to  our  profound  shame  and  distress,  he  met  with 


40  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

a  sad  and  tragic  end  after  the  expulsion  of  the 
T*aip'ings  whom  he  had  unwiUingly  served.  When 
Ningpo  was  retaken  in  1862  the  old  man  took 
refuge  on  board  Captain  Roderick  Dew's  ship.  His 
safety  was  guaranteed  by  the  British,  but  he  pre- 
sumed too  far  on  the  good  faith  of  the  new  imperialist 
magistrates  in  the  city,  and,  though  often  warned, 
he  walked  freely  about  the  streets.  He  called  on 
his  English  friends,  leaving  presents  of  the  delicious 
arbutus  fruit,  ripe  in  July,  till  one  day  he  was 
decoyed  into  the  chief  ya7nen  of  the  city.  His 
message  of  earnest  entreaty  for  some  foreigners 
to  come  and  help  him  was  delivered  too  late,  and 
when  help  did  arrive  Lull  Sin-Ian  was  already 
dead  by  the  treacherous  stroke  of  the  men  whom 
his  foreign  friends  had  rescued  from  the  merciless 
T'aip*ings. 

On  the  7th  of  December  we  crossed  the  ferry  as 
usual  and  went  into  the  city,  and  made  pretence 
to  study  the  language ;  but  application  to  study  was 
not  easy  with  the  Chinese  teacher  himself  trembling 
and  shaking  in  his  chair,  and  the  air  full  of  rumour 
and  alarm.  The  peril  was  near  indeed.  A  knock 
was  heard  at  my  brother's  door,  and  a  missionary 
ran  in  to  say  that  the  T'aip'ings  in  force  had  been 
sighted  outside  the  west  gate,  called  '  the  gate  look- 
ing towards  the  capital,'  and  that  as  the  city  gates 
were  being  shut  we  must  run  for  it,  if  we  were  to 
reach  the  settlement  in  time.  We  started  at  once. 
There  was  a  great  tumult  at  the  Salt  Gate,  '  the 
gate  of  peace  and  righteousness.'  Soldiers  were 
trying  to  keep  back  the  panic-stricken  crowd,  and 
to  shut  to  the  great  leaves  of  the  city  gate.     As  we 


THE  T'ATPING  REBELLION,  1861-1864     41 

hurried  up  the  heavy  cross-bar  of  the  gate  sHpped 
out  of  a  soldier's  hand,  and  fell  close  to  my  wife's 
head,  a  merciful  escape  from  certain  death.  Our 
missionary  friend,  who  had  warned  us  of  our  danger, 
followed  half  an  hour  later,  and  was  let  down  over 
the  wall  in  a  basket.  He  had  been  the  first  to 
descry  through  his  binoculars  from  the  west  gate 
the  pennons  of  the  advancing  host.  He  handed 
the  field-glass  to  the  imperialist  commandant  at  his 
side.  The  old  soldier  gazed,  and  then  with  the  cry 
'AhyahV  and,  louder  and  yet  louder,  'Ahyah,  ahyah  !' 
he  returned  the  glass  and  prepared  for  the  worst. 
On  the  8th  of  December,  a  still,  fine  day,  Avith  haze 
covering  the  distant  hills,  we  heard  heavy  firing 
from  the  southern  side  of  the  city.  The  rebel  hosts 
were  preparing  for  assault ;  and,  as  they  showed 
themselves  from  time  to  time,  the  imperialist 
gunners  brought  their  guns  to  bear,  and  tired.  A 
loud  report  duly  followed,  and  the  boom  on  the 
still  air  sounded  formidable,  but  the  fire  was  for 
the  most  part  absolutely  harmless.  The  balls,  too 
small,  or  rammed  carelessly  home,  rolled  out  as 
the  gun  was  depressed,  and  dropped  tamely  on  to 
the  ground  before  the  roar  of  the  explosion.  We 
attended  service  in  the  north  bank  church  that 
morning,  Sunday,  the  8th  of  December.  The 
preacher  was  late,  and  some  one  else  began  the 
service.  Presently  he  appeared,  not  a  little  hurried 
and  excited,  and  no  wonder,  for  the  rebel  chief 
commanding  outside  the  north  gate,  '  the  gate  of 
everlasting  prosperity,'  had  called  at  his  house,  and 
as  they  walked  together  along  the  river  bank  they 
were  descried  by  the  garrison-soldiers,  who  instantly 


42  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

fired,  this  time  without  the  necessity  of  depressing 
the  gun,  as  it  was  at  a  distance,  and  a  ball  came 
whizzing  over  their  heads.  On  the  9th  of  December 
we  rose  early,  and  watched  first  the  awful  fire  at 
the  east  gate,  which  was  still  blazing.  Suddenly 
we  saw  flags  waved  on  the  wall  near  the  Salt  Gate, 
which  was  just  opposite  to  our  house.  The  rumour 
reached  us  that  the  T'aip'ings  had  stormed  success- 
fully in  the  early  morning,  and  had  secured  a  foot- 
ing on  the  south  wall.  Then  a  friend  ran  in  with 
great  excitement  to  say  that  he  had  seen  them 
storm  the  north  gate  also.  Two  Cantonese  war- 
junks  which  had  been  lying  near  that  gate  hastily 
weighed  anchor,  and  with  a  harmless  parting  shot 
of  cowardly  defiance  hurried  down  the  river  on 
the  ebb-tide,  and  did  not  return  for  five  months, 
and  then  only  under  the  stern  of  British  war-ships. 
We  watched  from  our  verandah,  and  saw  horsemen 
with  gay  colours  shouting  and  careering  along  the 
river  bank  from  the  direction  of  the  north  gate. 
Suddenly  they  reined  up  and  walked  their  horses 
slowly  and  cautiously.  The  British  gunboat  Hardy 
had  her  72-pound  pivot  gun  run  out  in  a  threaten- 
ing manner.  She  was  silent ;  they  passed  out  of 
range,  and  then  with  a  shout  they  galloped  on  to 
the  Salt  Gate,  to  find  it  open  for  them.  The  north 
gate  was  so  strongly  stockaded  that,  though  the 
city  had  fallen  and  the  defenders  had  fled,  they 
could  not  at  once  enter  by  that  gate.  Just  beyond, 
on  the  face  of  the  wall  connecting  the  north  and 
west  gates,  a  short  but  brilliant  fight  had  given  the 
city  to  the  T'aip'ings.  The  storming-party  had 
noticed  the  great  beams  of  wood  prepared  for  their 


THE  T'AIP*ING  REBELLION,  1861-1864     43 

destruction,  and,  ransacking  the  houses  near,  they 
secured  tables  with  thick  mattresses  and  coverlets 
spread  over  them.  They  then  swam  the  moat,  a 
hundred  yards  across,  floating  these  tables  with 
their  scaling  ladders  by  their  side,  rushed  under 
the  walls,  and  received  unharmed  the  beams  on  the 
wadded  tables,  using  them  Hke  the  Roman  testudo, 
wherever  the  garrison  had  the  heart  to  lower  them. 
In  an  instant  the  ladders  were  fixed, and  the  T'aip'ings 
like  wild  cats  had  mounted  the  Avail.  The  garrison 
with  a  yell  broke  up  and  fled,  and  throwing  off  their 
outer  jackets,  their  only  imperialist  uniform,  rushed 
in  among  the  terrified  crowds  in  the  streets,  hoping 
thus  to  escape  the  sword.  Soon  we  heard  one  of 
the  church  bells  rung  violently  in  the  city,  a  pre- 
concerted signal  in  case  of  imminent  danger.  Two 
of  the  missionaries  crossed  at  once,  and  returned 
after  some  time  with  strange  and  stirring  tidings. 
The  slaughter  in  the  city  Avas  not  very  great,  though 
many  dead  bodies  were  seen ;  but  the  rebel  bands, 
consisting  largely  of  lads  trained  to  bloodshed  from 
childhood,  foreboded  grave  danger.  iNlost  of  the 
mission-houses  had  been  entered,  and  the  churches 
broken  into ;  and  our  own  mission-house,  where  my 
brother  was  on  guard  alone,  was  overrun  by  these 
wild  and  eager  visitors.  Our  mission  school-boys 
were  tied  queue  to  queue,  and  were  being  led  off 
not  for  slaughter  but  for  training  in  slaughter. 
Several  valuable  articles  were  stolen,  and  but  for 
the  arrival  of  one  of  the  rebel  leaders,  known  as 
'  Little  Looking-Glass,'  and  who  knew  foreigners 
well,  violence  would  have  followed.  Some  of  the 
Chinese  converts  were  carried  off  from  the  streets  or 


44  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

from  the  chapels  where  they  had  taken  refuge  ;  and 
only  the  bold  attitude  of  the  missionaries  Russell 
and  Burdon,  who  guarded  the  house  where  Mrs. 
Russell  was  still  remaining  with  her  girl-pupils  inside 
the  city,  prevented  violence  there  also. 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION: 
ITS  CLOSE  AND  CONSEQUENCES 


CHAPTER   III 

THE  T*AIP'ING  REBELLION  :     ITS  CLOSE  AND 
CONSEQUENCES 

On  the  10th  of  December  I  went  into  the  city  and 
spent  three  days  and  nights  with  my  brother.  We 
were  undisturbed  as  we  passed  through  the  streets 
from  the  Salt  Gate  to  the  Little  Parade-Ground 
mission-house,  our  home.  But  the  men  whom  we 
met  with  shaggy  heads  (the  T'aip'ings  abandoned 
the  queue  to  let  their  hair  grow  long  :  hence  their 
common  name  the  chang-mao  or  'long-haired'), 
and  with  drawn  swords  and  variegated  uniforms, 
looked  ready  for  any  outrage  at  the  shortest  notice 
on  a  bold  leader's  signal.  I  found  a  soldier  sitting  in 
our  hall,  and  subsequently  squatting  by  our  dining- 
room  fire  to  warm  himself.  He  had  been  stationed 
there  by  the  '  kings  '  to  warn  off  intruders. 

In  the  afternoon  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  Harry) 
Parkes  called,  and  Captain  Corbett  of  the  Scout. 
Sir  Harry  had  come  to  interview  the  T'aip'ing 
leaders,  and  he  gave  the  chiefs  Wang  and  Fan  so 
vigorous  and  idiomatic  an  address  as  to  excite  their 
mingled  rage,  astonishment  and  admiration.  It  is 
probable  that  this  exhortation  led  the  T'aip'ing 
leaders  to  facilitate  the  removal  to  the  settlement 
of  all  the  foreign  residents  within  the  city,  and  also 
to  connive  at  the  flight,  under  the  protection  of  the 


48  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

missionaries,  of  a  large  number  of  refugees,  both 
Christian  and  heathen. 

This  process  of  uprooting  and  removal  occupied 
the  next  ten  days.     They  were  days  of  great  anxiety 
and  no  little  danger.     I  spent  most  of  the  time  in 
the   city  with   my  brother   and   our   colleagues  in 
planning  and  carrying  out  this  exodus.     I  was  told 
off  to  convey  to  the  veteran  missionary,  Mr.  Hudson, 
the  consul's  and  the  admiral's  orders  for  the  evacua- 
tion of  the   city.     On  reaching  the   mission-house 
near  the  east  gate  I  found  it  shut  fast  and  barri- 
caded.    After  long  delay  the  old  gentleman  came 
down  from  his  fortress,  and  let  me  in.     He  demurred 
strongly  to  carrying  out  the  order  I  had  brought 
him,  and  proposed  to  obey  it  at  his  leisure.     '  See,' 
he  said,   '  my  house  is  full  of  refugees ;    I  cannot 
abandon  these  poor  people,  and  how  can  I  ever  get 
them  all  safely  out  of  the  clutches  of  these  ruffians  ?  ' 
He  then  related  to  me  a  recent  experience  of  his. 
On  the  morning  of   the  capture  of  the  city  he  was 
conducting  prayers  with  these  refugees,  thirty  or 
forty  in  number.     He  sat  with  his  back  to  the  door  ; 
and  hearing  the  door  open,  he  was  surprised  at  the 
look  of  horror  which  passed  suddenly  over  the  faces 
of    his    audience.     He    turned    and    saw    T'aip*ing 
soldiers  with  drawn  swords  at  the  door.     He  then 
rose,  bowed  low  to  his  visitors,  informed  them  that 
he  was  engaged  in  divine  worship,  and  begged  them 
to  enter.     '  But  stay,'  he  said,  '  these  poor  people 
are  timid,  and  the  sight  of  your  weapons  renders 
them  nervous  and  uncomfortable  ;    kindly  allow  me 
to   take   charge   of   them   for   you.'     So   with   the 
utmost  courtesy  he  disarmed  them,  locked  up  the 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION:  ITS  CLOSE    49 

swords  in  an  inner  room,  and  made  the  soldiers  sit 
down.     He  then  gave  the  whole  audience  a  long 
expository    discourse,    and    finally,    returning    the 
swords  to  the  soldiers,  he  begged  them  to  act  gently 
and  justly  towards  the  people,  and  not  to  come 
back  and  frighten  his  flock.     They  left  without  any 
violence  or  insult,   and  with   many  expressions  of 
approbation.     Mr.  Hudson  eventually  left  the  city, 
walking  very  deliberately,  and  his  whole  company 
were  safely  landed  on  the  further  bank  of  the  river. 
During  the  second   night  which   I   spent  in  the 
cit}^    my   brother   and   I   were   alarmed   at   eleven 
o'clock  by  a  disturbance  at  the  back  of  the  house. 
Presently  a  gentle  knock  was  heard.     We  opened 
the    door    very    cautiously,    fearing    some    armed 
intruder,  but  Ave  were  met  only  by  a  young  Chinese 
and  his  wife,  standing  there  trembling.     They  had 
scaled  our  garden  wall,  got  down  into  the  well  by 
the    stone-stepped    sides,    and    there    had    stayed 
listening  in  terror  and  without   food   for  two  days 
and  two  nights.     They  then  climbed  out  and  asked 
for  our  protection.     Three  days  later  I  started  with 
one   of   the  passes  granted  by  the  T'aip'ing  chiefs 
for  our  people  to  be  transferred  to  the  settlement. 
We  interpreted  the  phrase  '  our  people  '  very  freely, 
so  that  this  young  couple  and  two  men  and  a  boy 
besides,  all  non-Christians,  formed  ni}^  party.     All 
went  well  till  we  reached  the  Salt  Gate,  when  a  burly 
T'aip'ing  ran  after  us,  seized  me  by  the  shoulder, 
broke  a  stick  over  the  backs  of  the  men,  and  ordered 
them  and  the  woman  back,  declaring  that  we  should 
not  go  out.     My  little  band  were  terrified  and  wanted 
to  return  ;   but  with  indignant  and,  I  fear,  not  very 


50  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

idiomatic  Chinese,  I  told  the  man  who  I  was,  and 
that  they  were  my  people,  and  that  I  had  permis- 
sion from  his  chiefs,  and  that  I  would  go.  The 
man  was  obstinate  and  shouted  loudly,  and  I  was 
not  a  little  alarmed,  but  we  moved  forward  and 
the  great  T'aip'ing  let  us  go.  Having  seen  my  poor 
trembling  friends  safely  into  the  ferry-boat,  I 
returned  into  the  city  alone,  and  looked  with  some 
apprehension  for  my  gigantic  assailant  to  appear, 
but  he  did  not  trouble  me. 

After  this  event  it  was  arranged  that  foreigners 
should  never  venture  out  alone  in  charge  of  refugees. 
We  were  able  first  and  last  to  rescue  hundreds  of 
people  from  misery,  oppression,  and  danger  in  the 
city.  Special  refuges  were  provided  in  the  settle- 
ment. I  was  appointed  treasurer,  and  received 
hearty  co-operation  and  liberal  help  from  the 
merchants.  On  one  occasion  an  American  friend 
and  I  took  out  a  party  of  fifty-five  men,  women 
and  children,  who  had  been  up  to  that  date  housed 
in  one  of  the  American  mission-chapels.  There 
was  a  great  downpour  of  rain,  and  the  streets  were 
flooded  ;  much  to  our  discomfort,  as  it  appeared 
at  the  time,  but  really  much  to  our  advantage,  for 
the  rain  kept  the  soldiers  indoors.  I  led  the  van, 
and  my  friend  had  the  post  of  honour  in  the  rear. 
To  excite  pity,  and  also  to  ensure  his  OA\ai  safet}^  a 
Chinese  dwarf  marched  just  behind  me  at  the  head 
of  the  column.  He  was  nearly  drowned  in  the  deep 
pools,  but  eventually  we  all  got  safely  out  of  the 
city.  To  show  the  absolute  security  in  which  the 
T'aip'ings  lived  at  this  time,  and  their  contempt 
for  the  risk  of  imperialist  attack,  I  relate  the  follow- 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION;  ITS  CLOSE     51 

ing  incident.  A  friend  and  I  were  late  one  evening 
in  entering  the  city,  and  found  the  gates  shut. 
FaiHng  to  make  any  one  hear  we  procured  a  ladder, 
scaled  the  wall,  and  descended  into  the  city,  and 
met  no  one  all  along  the  streets,  except  a  harmless 
lad. 

On  the  20th  of  December  we  finally  evacuated  the 
city.  Mrs.  Russell  was  escorted  over  the  river  by 
Captain  Corbett  and  the  English  consular  authori- 
ties ;  and  from  that  day  till  the  26th  of  May  1862 
we  were  shut  out  from  our  houses,  and  our  work  was 
at  a  standstill. 

An  old  beggar-woman,  well  known  in  the  streets 
of  Ningpo,  met  with  a  melancholy  fate  about  this 
time.  She  had  saved  after  long  years  of  begging 
some  seventy  or  eighty  dollars.  These  beloved 
pieces  of  silver  she  feared  to  take  away,  and  could 
not  abandon — where  her  treasure  lay,  there  her 
heart  was  also.  So  she  hid  them  in  a  coffin  which 
she  had  managed  to  buy  in  her  deep  poverty  and 
had  (according  to  a  common  Chinese  custom) 
deposited  in  her  hovel.  She  closed  the  lid  care- 
fully, and  then  resumed  an  air  of  abject  poverty 
and  misery.  But  a  mischievous  neighbour,  through 
a  chink  in  the  wooden  partition-wail,  had  seen  all 
this.  He  went  off,  and  undertook  to  lead  some 
T'aip'ings  to  a  treasure  if  they  would  allow  him  to 
share  in  the  spoil.  They  consented ;  and  the 
party  went  straight  to  the  coffin,  rifled  it,  and 
then  left  the  poor  old  woman  to  hobble  out  of  the 
city,  and  die  in  misery  under  the  wall. 

Strangely  fell  our  Christmas  Eve  in  1861.  The 
city  and  neighbourhood  seemed  fairly  quiet ;   so  at 


52  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

the  consular  interpreter's  invitation  I  went  with  a 
friend  to  search  for  holly.  We  were  late  in  starting, 
and  had  not  allowed  sufficient  daylight  for  our 
adventure.  We  crossed  the  city,  and  when  near 
the  south  gate  we  met  Fan,  the  second  in  command, 
on  horseback.  He  was  well  mounted,  and  looked 
full  of  energy,  and  a  thorough  soldier.  He  reined 
up,  and  wanted  to  know  what  we  were  doing.  We 
replied  that  we  were  going  for  a  walk,  and  so  with 
a  friendly  salutation  he  passed  on.  This  brave  and 
able  leader  (though  some  say  he  was  a  braggart) 
was  shot  dead  at  the  recapture  of  the  city  on  the 
10th  of  May.  We  were  soon  benighted,  and  had 
despaired  of  finding  the  holly,  when  my  companion, 
who  was  in  front,  discovered  it  by  running  his  head 
into  a  holly-bush.  We  cut  off  boughs  in  the  dark- 
ness, and  were  delighted  on  reaching  home  to  find 
quantities  of  berries  on  them.  But  the  desolation 
of  the  country  was  terrible,  and  we  saw  great 
numbers  of  dead  bodies.  We  had  found  our  holly, 
but  we  had  lost  our  way.  We  saw  a  solitary  light 
in  a  village  which  was  almost  deserted.  When  we 
knocked  at  the  door  an  old  man  came  out.  '  Could 
he  lend  us  a  lantern  ? '  '  Yes,  but  he  had  no 
candle.'  He  then  kindly  offered  to  guide  us,  and 
further  on  in  an  old  temple,  which  had  for  some 
reason  been  unharmed  in  the  general  destruction 
of  all  idol-temples  (though  the  Confucian  temples 
were  spared),  we  secured  a  candle.  The  state  of 
Chekiang  and  most  of  the  thirteen  ravaged  provinces 
of  China  could  best  be  described  in  the  words  of 
Isaiah  :  '  Here  cometh  a  troop  of  men  ;  the  city  is 
fallen,  and  all  the  graven  images  of  gods  are  broken 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION:  ITS  CLOSE     53 

to  the  ground.'  Our  walk  home  was  one  of  real 
peril.  As  we  passed  under  the  walls  we  heard  the 
watch  being  set  and  the  guard  changed  twenty 
feet  above  us.  Had  they  seen  or  heard  us  walking 
by,  they  would  in  all  probability  have  stoned  us, 
or  fired  on  us  as  spies.  We  reached  home  at  last 
at  8  P.M.  ;  and  both  our  own  rooms  and  the  gunboat 
on  which  I  took  service  next  day  were  adorned  with 
our  hard-won  holly. 

The  rebel  chiefs  at  first  were  anxious  to  maintain 
order,  and  many  soldiers  were  beheaded  when 
caught  in  the  act  of  plundering.  A  soldier, 
arrested  by  foreigners  in  committing  an  outrage 
on  some  poor  neighbours,  was  executed  instan- 
taneously on  the  parapet  of  a  bridge  by  order  of  a 
rebel  chief.  I  can  see  him  now  as  he  passed  by 
through  the  parade-ground,  led  off  by  the  foreigners 
for  trial ;  neither  they  nor  I  anticipated  the  speedy 
vengeance  which  fell  upon  him.  The  next  day 
another  man  was  caught  under  similar  circum- 
stances, and  the  captor,  shrinking  from  the  responsi- 
bility of  leading  him  to  certain  death,  produced 
a  stout  stick,  and  summoning  an  inferior  officer  of 
the  T'aip'ings  bade  him  belabour  the  private,  if 
he  did  not  wish  him  to  be  beheaded.  The  officer 
did  his  part  so  thoroughly  that  the  private  howled 
for  mercy. 

Early  in  1862  symptoms  of  dissatisfaction  and 
unfriendliness  showed  themselves  amongst  the 
forces  in  the  city.  The  chiefs  hoped  to  be  able  to 
control  the  Customs  since  they  had  seized  the  port ; 
but  foreigners  demurred  to  paying  any  customs 
at    all    under   such    a    nondescript    regime,  and    of 


54  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

native  traders  there  were  none.  None,  that  is  to 
say,  in  the  ordinary  lines  of  the  great  junk  and 
lorcha  trade  between  Ningpo  and  Shanghai,  and 
along  the  coast-line  southwards ;  but  a  mischievous 
and  at  the  time  illegal  trade  in  fire-arms  flourished. 
Before  the  rebel  inroad  Ningpo  had  been  a  great 
receiving  and  forwarding  place  for  tea  and  silk  for 
the  foreign  and  coast  markets,  and  the  harbour 
was  full  of  clippers,  loading  with  Ningpo  cotton  for 
Liverpool,  the  American  supply  being  cut  off  by 
the  Civil  War,  so  that  a  serious  cotton  famine  was 
prevailing  in  the  north  of  England. 

The  chiefs  had  promised  to  restrain  their  men 
from  visiting  the  settlement,  so  as  to  avoid  com- 
plications ;  but  small  bands  persisted  in  crossing 
the  river,  and  they  were  treated  with  unnecessary 
roughness  and  even  violence  in  the  settlement,  and 
the  friction  and  irritation  increased.  On  the  13th 
of  January  Admiral  Sir  James  Hope  arrived,  and  a 
salute  was  fired  when  the  consul  called  on  board  the 
admiral's  ship.  The  T'aip'ings  were  greatly  excited 
at  this,  one  result  of  which  was  violent  stone- 
throwing  from  the  walls,  from  which  I  narrowly 
escaped  injury.  Earlier  than  this,  as  we  heard 
subsequently  from  a  man  who  had  spent  four  months 
in  the  city,  the  rebels  were  greatly  alarmed  by  the 
minute-guns  which  were  fired  when  the  news  of  the 
Prince  Consort's  death  arrived. 

Dark  days  indeed  they  were  for  us  all ;  for  just 
at  this  time  war  between  England  and  the  United 
States  (already  convulsed  by  the  Federal  and  Con- 
federate internecine  conflict)  hung  in  the  balance  of 
ominous  uncertainty.     This  was  the  winter  also  of 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION :  ITS  CLOSE     55 

a  great  snowstorm,  a  phenomenon  which  the  people 
of  Ningpo  connect  with  the  advent  of  big  ships  of 
war,  a  similar  snowfall  having  occurred  when  the 
English  seized  and  occupied  Ningpo  in  the  winter 
of  1843.  The  weather  was  intensely  cold,  the 
thermometer  standing  at  only  thirteen  degrees 
above  zero  in  my  room,  with  a  fire  burning  all  night. 
The  severit}^  of  the  weather  kept  the  T*aip'ings 
quiet  for  a  time,  but  they  observed  the  20th  of 
January,  Hung  Siu-ts'iian's  birthday,  with  great 
noise  and  display.  The  weather  could  not  numb 
English  energy,  for  we  played  hockey  on  the  ice 
which  covered  the  broad  moat  near  the  north  gate. 
In  February  rumours  abounded.  San-ko-lin-sin, 
the  great  cavalry  leader  of  the  north,  was  reported 
as  near  at  hand  with  a  quarter  of  a  million  men, 
but  he  never  appeared. 

The  people  themselves,  however,  began  to  \\rithe 
and  struggle  under  the  incubus  of  their  oppressive 
rulers.  On  the  fine  plateau  of  Ta-lan-san,  the 
'  Great  Mist  Mountain,'  three  or  four  thousand  feet 
high,  native  patriotic  levies,  the  White  Caps,  were 
gathering  and  drilling.  (The  name  Ta-lan-san  corre- 
sponds to  that  of  the  African  Ruwcnzori,  the  great 
mist-hidden  line  of  mountains,  six  times  higher  than 
the  Chekiang  hills.)  The  rebels  generally  suc- 
ceeded in  breaking  up  and  destroying  these  com- 
binations, and  the  acts  of  vengeance  and  bloodshed 
among  the  beautiful  western  hills  no  one  can  fuUy 
describe,  for  very  few  survived.  I  heard,  however, 
from  one  who  escaped,  what  her  experience  was, 
an  experience  which  was  but  one  instance  out  of 
a  countless  multitude.      With  her  children  clasped 


56  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

to  her  bosom  this  woman  rolled  herself  down  a 
hillside  so  precipitous  that  the  pursuers  dared  not 
follow ;  and  thus,  shaken  and  bruised  and  half- 
dead,  she  escaped  from  their  ruthless  hands.  These 
children  in  early  days  repeated  Scripture  to  me 
many  a  time ;  and  recently,  as  grown  women,  came 
to  bid  me  farewell  on  my  last  return  to  England  on 
furlough. 

But  once  at  least,  and  that  some  time  before 
the  roar  of  English  guns  was  heard,  the  White  Caps 
triumphed  savagely  over  their  hated  foes.  There 
is  a  pass  over  which  I  have  often  walked  in  spring- 
time, the  stillness  broken  only  by  the  notes  of  the 
cuckoo,  or  the  tinkle  of  the  mountain  streams,  or 
the  stroke  of  the  woodman's  axe  on  the  hillside,  or 
the  creak  of  the  water-wheels  in  the  rice-flats  lower 
down.  This  pass  and  the  great  curve  of  lofty  hills 
which  sweep  round  and  prevent  the  possibility  of 
turning  it,  rang  once  with  shouts  and  groans,  and  the 
stone  path  was  red  with  blood.  '  Little  Looking- 
Glass '  was  advancing  with  the  intention  of  pene- 
trating into  the  rich  valleys  to  the  east  of  this  pass. 
The  White  Caps  assembled  in  force,  and  as  the 
T'aip'ings  wound  round  the  zigzag  path  which 
climbs  the  pass,  they  rolled  down  great  rocks,  and 
pelted  the  soldiers  with  stones  from  the  summit. 
The  rebel  musketry  fire  was  of  little  avail,  as  the 
White  Caps  had  shelter  behind  crags  and  walls. 
The  battle  raged  for  some  time  ;  but  at  last,  three 
hundred  of  their  number  having  been  maimed  or 
killed  outright,  the  rest  broke  and  fled,  '  Little 
Looking-Glass '  himself  narrowly  escaping  with 
his  life.     He  soon  returned,  however,  with  a  strong 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION :  ITS  CLOSE     57 

body  from  Ningpo,  and  his  vengeance  was  savagely 
complete.  A  town  of  ten  thousand  people,  where 
we  have  since  carried  on  mission- work,  was  burnt 
down,  and  the  whole  of  the  long,  lovely  valley, 
twelve  miles  in  extent,  bowery  with  mulberry  groves, 
was  blasted  by  lire,  and  the  precious  trees  were 
cut  down.  The  manner  of  warfare  described  above 
is  suited  to  the  region,  where  the  steep  hillsides 
and  lofty  summits  tower  above  the  pass ;  one 
summit  near  is  called  '  The  plot  close  to  heaven.' 
The  tragedy  in  the  Great  Valley  recalls  Southey's 
lines  in  Roderick  : — 

*  Forthwith 
On  either  side,  along  the  whole  defile, 
The  Asturians,  shouting  in  the  name  of  God, 
Set  the  whole  ruin  loose  !     Huge  trunks  and  stones 
And  loosened  crags,  down,  down  they  rolled,  with  rush 
And  bound  and  thundering  force. 
From  end  to  end  of  that  long  strait  the  crash 
Was  heard  continuous,  and  commixt  with  sounds 
More  dreadful — shrieks  of  horror,  and  despair 
And  death — the  wild  and  agonising  cry 
Of  that  whole  host  in  one  destruction  whelmed. 

Echo  prolonged 
The  long  uproar ;  a  silence  then  ensued, 
Through  which  the  sound  of  Deva's  voice  was  heard, 
A  lonely  voice  of  waters  wild  and  sweet.' 

A  similar  catastrophe  occurred,  though  in  this  case, 
so  says  Herodotus,  through  supernatural  agency, 
when  the  Persians,  during  Xerxes'  invasion  of 
Greece,  made  an  unsuccessful  attack  on  Delphi. 

But  the  time  of  deliverance  was  drawing  on. 
The  T'aip'ings  daily  committed  acts  of  impudence 
or    violence    at    Ningpo.     They    stoned    the    vice- 


58  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

consur.s  house  under  the  city  wall ;  they  fired  a  shot 
into  the  mission-house  in  which  we  had  earlier  been 
lodged,  and  other  bullets  entered  the  girls'  school- 
room. They  threatened  a  missionary  with  a  spear, 
and  were  only  deterred  from  violence  by  his  defend- 
ing himself  with  his  stout  walking-stick.  On  the 
26th  of  March  I  was  deputed  to  accompany  Mr. 
Burdon  (afterwards  Bishop  of  Victoria)  with  a 
large  cargo  of  rice  sent  by  friends  in  Hongkong 
for  the  relief  of  our  Christians  in  the  country.  We 
had  a  rough  time,  our  boat  being  stoned  twice  by 
the  rebels  at  the  inland  custom  barriers,  but  we 
accomplished  our  object  without  serious  mishap. 
We  found  the  populous  and  beautiful  Sanpeh  plain 
groaning  under  the  yoke  of  the  oppressor.  While  I 
was  sketching  on  a  hill-top,  some  of  the  people  came 
up  to  watch  and  to  talk.  '  The  T'aip'ings,'  they 
said,  '  are  taxing  us  in  an  exorbitant  manner  ;  seven 
cash  a  day  for  a  youth,  ten  cash  for  an  adult ;  and 
off  with  your  head  and  down  with  your  house  in 
flames  if  you  refuse  to  pay !  The  T'aip'ings  !  they 
can  never  pacify  the  empire  or  found  a  d3rnasty ; 
only  you  English  can  do  that.'  We  spent  a  Sunday 
at  our  mission-station.  It  was  a  strange  experience. 
The  earliest  convert,  who  had  himself,  before  he 
became  a  Christian,  led  a  riot  against  the  Christians 
in  his  native  town,  was  now,  as  a  man  of  substance 
and  influence,  urged  and  almost  commanded  hj  the 
rebels  to  take  office  under  them.  What  should  he 
do  ?  Mr.  Burdon  was  ill  and  had  lost  his  voice  ; 
and  I,  with  scarcely  five  months'  acquaintance  with 
Chinese,  had  to  take  the  service  and  exhort  and 
guide  the  people  as  best  I  could.     Outside  the  door 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION:  ITS  CLOSE     59 

the  T'aip'iiig  soldiers  were  passing  armed,  and  when 
we  left  it  was  with  sad  apprehension  as  to  the  fate 
of  Sanpeh.  This  glorious  plain  was  fearfully  ravaged 
later  when  the  rebels  were  exasperated  by  their 
defeats  at  the  hands  of  foreigners  and  by  the  native 
rising.  I  have  myself  seen  ponds  and  pools  which 
had  been  filled  not  long  before  with  the  bodies 
of  women  and  girls  who  had  drowned  themselves 
to  escape  from  T'aip'ing  hands.  But  I  shall  never 
forget  my  surprise,  as  we  returned  in  the  soft 
sunshine  of  the  spring  afternoon,  at  the  cheerful 
call  of  a  countryman  ploughing  his  fields,  unmoved, 
as  it  seemed,  by  the  desolation  around  him,  or  by 
the  fear  of  coming  evil. 

And  now  the  crisis  rapidly  approached,  and 
rumours,  and  then  grave  peril  gathered  thick  and 
fast.  Round  Shanghai  the  danger  was  great.  The 
French  admiral  Protet  was  killed  in  a  sortie  against 
the  T'aip'ings,  and  the  English  admiral  was  wounded. 
The  T'aip'ing  soldiers  in  Ningpo,  expecting  an 
attack  daily,  were  said  to  be  tying  up  their  booty 
in  bundles  as  if  for  flight.  On  the  23rd  of  April, 
Fan,  the  second-in-command,  returned  from  Nan- 
king with  great  triumph  and  jubilation.  He  had 
gone  thither  to  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  '  throne  '  a 
report  of  the  capture  of  Ningpo  and  of  the  occupa- 
tion of  Chekiang,  and  he  returned  with  the  title 
of  wang  or  king  for  himself  and  for  his  senior 
comrade  in  arms.  The  ebbing  tide  was  rushing 
fast ;  and  the  sight  of  a  hundred  and  more  gaily- 
decorated  boats  sweeping  past  us,  with  the  garrison 
turned  out  at  the  east  gate  to  welcome  their  '  king,' 
was    striking    and    ominous.     Loud    salutes    were 


60  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

fired,  and,  not  for  the  first  or  last  time,  with  ball- 
cartridge.  We  saw  the  little  French  gunboat 
UEtoile,  which  lay  at  anchor  near  the  east  gate, 
in  commotion.  Her  big  gun  was  run  out  and 
loaded.  Had  she  fired,  it  might  have  been  the 
death-knell  of  foreigners  on  the  settlement  side, 
and  of  the  crowd  of  Chinese  refugees.  No  wonder 
the  Frenchman  was  excited.  Three  Chinese  were 
killed  by  that  volley  of  salute,  and  a  score  of  bullets 
passed  over  the  gunboat.  But  evening  fell ;  the 
jubilant  T'aip'ings  withdrew  inside  the  city  ;  and 
the  crisis  passed. 

The  next  day  I  went  into  the  city  with  my  brother 
to  visit  our  houses.  No  harm  befell  us,  but  I  was 
heartily  thankful  to  get  safely  out  again.  Three 
days  later  the  corvette  Encounter,  mounting  twelve 
guns,  and  the  gunboat  Hardy  steamed  up  the  river 
from  Shanghai,  with  Captain  Roderick  Dew  in 
command.  He  was  the  bearer  of  an  ultimatum 
from  the  British  admiral,  and  an  offer  of  terms  to 
the  T'aip'ings.  We  had  just  bidden  farewell  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Russell,  who  were  compelled  to  return 
to  England  on  furlough  after  fourteen  years'  con- 
tinuous work.  The  sailing-ship  Harvest  Home,  with 
our  friends  on  board,  was  dropping  down  the  river 
when  she  met  this  little  squadron  steaming  up. 
Mr.  Russell  could  not  restrain  his  anxious  interest, 
and  persuaded  the  captain  to  put  him  on  shore 
and  allow  him  to  run  back  to  inquire  what  the 
demonstration  meant. 

Captain  Dew  now  (29th  of  April)  communicated 
his  instructions  to  the  rebel  chiefs.  The  well-built 
and  well-armed  fort  which  the  T'aip'ings  had  erected 


THE  T'AIPING  REBELLION :  ITS  CLOSE     61 

outside  the  east  gate,  commanding  the  shipping  and 
the  settlement,  was  to  be  dismantled  ;   and  the  guns 
on  the  north-east  wall,  which  also  threatened  the 
settlement,    were    to    be     dismounted.      If    these 
demands    were    complied    with,    then    the    British 
guaranteed  to  the  T'aip'ings  the  peaceable  possession 
of  the  city,  and  the  prohibition  of  the  threatened 
attack  by  Ahpack's  piratical  fleet.     The  offer  was 
made  in  good  faith.     Captain  Dew  called  at  our 
house  the  same  day,  and  told  us  that  he  had  offered 
fair  terms,  and  that  the  rebels  would  be  very  foolish 
if  they  rejected  them.     '  But,'  he  added,  '  I  can't 
be  sure  what  they  will  decide  ;   and  I  hope  the  ladies 
will  not  then  be  startled  if  they  hear  a  little  noise 
of  guns  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.'     On  the 
30th   the   rebel  chiefs   scornfully   rejected  Captain 
Dew's  proposal.     They  claimed  the   settlement  as 
belonging    to    the    '  Heavenly    King.'     '  Come    on, 
you  Dew  !  '  said  Fan  ;    '  and  let  us  see  which  is  cock 
and  which  is  hen.'     And  the  captain  came  on.     A 
price  of  a  hundred  dollars  was  set  by  the  rebels  on 
every  foreigner's  head.     All  residents  on  the  south 
bank  were  now  ordered  to  leave  and  cross  to  the 
north  bank.     The  ships  of  war  took  up  their  posi- 
tions.    The  Encounter  anchored  off  the  Salt  Gate  ; 
the  despatch-boat  Ringdove  at  the  north  gate  ;    the 
Chinese    gunboat    Confucius,    manned    by    IMalays, 
and  the  French  gunboat  UEtoile  at  the  east  gate  ; 
while  the  British  gunboats  Kestrel  and  Ilardij  were 
under   steam.     Boats   with   muffled   oars   patrolled 
the  river  to  give  notice  of  any  sudden  attack  on  the 
settlement.     As  I  write,  after  the   lapse  of  nearly 
half  a  century,  I  can  see  their  gleam  through  the 


62  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

darkness  of  the  night,  and  just  catch  the  sound  of 
the  oars'  touch  on  the  water.     We  had  a  native 
boat  moored  near  our  house,  and  were  prepared  to 
move  the  ladies  and  children  at  a  moment's  notice, 
the  scull  being  kept  in  the  house  lest  the  boatman 
should  make  off  with  his  boat.     We  kept  the  night 
watches  in  turn.     My  watch  was  from  1  to  3  a.m. 
Suddenly  I  saw  a  bright  light  blaze  out  near  the 
east  gate,  and  I  called  my  brother.     The  light  died 
out.     Then  I  heard — I  could  hardly  be  mistaken — 
the  shout,  swelling  on  the  night  wind,  of  the  rebels 
advancing,  as  we  feared  they  would,  from  the  sea- 
board which  they  held,  to  attack  the   settlement 
in  the  rear.     I  listened  once  more  before  giving  a 
second  false  alarm,  and  found  that  it  was  merely 
the  full  cry  of  multitudes  of  frogs  in  the  paddy- 
fields.     My  watch  was  relieved  at  3  a.m.,  and  at 
4  we  were  called  up  to  see  what  appeared  to  be  a 
rocket  or  lantern-kite,  sent  up  as  a  signal  in  the 
eastern  sky.     We  looked  again,  and  it  was  the  morn- 
ing star  shining  through  rifts  in  the  flying  clouds. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  the 
merchants,  who  were  disposed,  I  think,  to  minimise 
the  danger,  all  merchantmen  (of  which  there  were 
thirty  or  forty  sail  in  the  river)  were  ordered  two 
miles  down  stream,  out  of  the  way  of  fire-rafts,  and 
to  give  the  men-of-war  room  to  manoeuvre  and 
fire.  On  the  2nd  the  T'aip'ings  parleyed :  they 
would  brick  up  the  embrasures  of  the  fort  and  on 
the  wall,  but  they  would  not  remove  the  guns.  On 
the  8th  word  was  secretly  sent  by  Luh  Sin-Ian  to 
a  family  still  lingering  on  the  south  bank,  to  leave 
immediately,  as  an  attack  was  planned  that  night. 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION:  ITS  CLOSE     63 

The  imperialist  Taotai,  after  capturing  Cliinhai  at 
the  river  mouth,  was  creeping  up  the  river  under 
the  shelter  of  the  English  ships,  and  he  had  announced 
a  counter-attack  for  3  a.m.  on  the  9th  of  May. 
The  missionaries  drew  up  two  petitions,  one  to  the 
English  admiral  and  one  to  the  Taotai^  begging 
them  to  prevent  cruelty  and  bloodshed  as  far  as 
possible.  A  proclamation  had  already  been  issued 
ordering  the  people  to  shave  their  heads  once  more 
after  the  five  months  of  non-shaving  in  accordance 
with  the  T'aip'ing  custom  and  command,  this  com- 
mand being  a  protest  against  the  foreign  Tartar 
dynasty,  which  had  imposed  shaving  of  the  head 
and  wearing  of  the  long  queue  as  a  badge  of  sub- 
jection. This  proclamation  was  premature,  and  it 
caused  disaster  in  many  places,  the  shaved  heads 
falling  by  rebel  swords,  and  the  vacillating  or 
unshaven  heads  by  imperialist  cruelty.  1  took  the 
news  of  the  expected  attack  to  Captain  Dew,  but 
he  thought,  with  the  ships  placed  as  they  were, 
such  an  attack  was  unlikely.  The  threatened  fight 
on  the  9th  did  not  take  place,  and  an  uncertain 
rumour  flew  about  to  the  eft'ect  that  the  T'aip'ings 
were  abandoning  their  bombast  and  defiance,  and 
were  prepared  to  come  to  terms. 

This  was  but  a  feint,  however,  and  the  final  attack 
was  planned  on  both  sides  for  the  10th  of  May.  I 
rose  at  four  o'clock,  and  watched.  The  Cantonese 
war-junks  were  slowly  moving  up  with  the  fiood- 
tide.  They  slackened  and  anchored.  The  hour  for 
attack,  five  o'clock,  passed,  and  nothing  occurred 
until  nine  o'clock.  The  junks  were  under  way  again  : 
they  dropped  anchor  under  the  bows  of  the  Con- 


64  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

fucius,  and  would  go  no  further,  nor  engage  the  fort. 
Mr.  Hewlett,  interpreter  to  the  consulate,  went 
down  in  a  gig,  revolver  in  hand.  He  threatened  to 
fire  at  the  helmsman  of  the  hindmost  junk  unless 
they  advanced.  They  obeyed  and  slowly  forged 
ahead.  At  half-past  nine  desultory  shots  were 
fired  from  the  rebel  fort.  At  9.50,  as  we  watched 
the  densely-crowded  battlements  over  the  Salt  Gate, 
two  men  sprang  to  the  front,  and  sharp  ringing 
musket-shots,  aimed  at  the  Encounter,  were  heard. 
In  an  instant  she  replied  with  a  broadside.  The 
Ringdove  at  the  north  gate  joined  in  with  the  roar 
of  her  big  guns.  The  gunboats  engaged  the  east 
gate  fort,  and  for  over  two  hours  the  bombardment 
went  on,  without  a  pause  and  without  any  per- 
ceptible effect.  The  T'aip'ings  fought  their  guns 
well :  one  gun  in  particular,  on  the  wall  nearly 
opposite,  from  which  balls  passed  over  our  house 
and  pitched  splashing  in  the  paddy-fields  close  by, 
was  knocked  over  three  times  by  the  Encounter, 
and  each  time  remounted.  We  saw  a  boy  waving 
a  red  flag  by  the  gun  till  he  was  struck,  and  sank 
down  dead  through  the  embrasure.  At  1.30  the 
English  ships  which  were  under  steam  moved  up 
near  our  house,  and  concentrated  their  fire  on  the 
Salt  Gate,  where  the  rebels  were  in  full  force.  A 
strong  party  now  landed  from  the  Encounter  and 
occupied  a  foreign  house,  recently  inhabited  by 
Mr.  Hewlett  and  myself,  just  under  the  wall.  The 
marines,  stationed  in  the  turret  of  this  house,  tried 
to  clear  the  wall  with  their  fire,  but  two  of  them 
soon  fell,  badly  wounded.  A  field-piece  was  next 
landed,  and  its  fire  from  the  courtyard  of  the  house 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION :  ITS  CLOSE     C5 

knocked  to  pieces  the  brick  battlements  of  the  city 
wall.      At    3    P.M.    Captain    Iloderick    Dew    led    a 
storming-party,   and   was   first  on    the   wall.     His 
lieutenants,  Cornewall  Lewis  and  Hugh  Davis,  were 
just  behind  him,  and  Lewis  was  instantly  shot  dead. 
Lieutenant    Davis    the   next  day   described  to  me 
the  scene.     They  were  shoulder  to  shoulder,   and 
actually   touching   one   another ;     and   he   felt   the 
shock  and  shudder  in  his  comrade's  body  as  he  was 
struck  and  fell.     A  marine  and  a  bluejacket  were 
killed    at    the    same    time.     The    gallant    Captain 
Kenny  of  the  French  gunboat  UEtoile  was  mortally 
wounded,  but  the  storming-party  gained  a  footing 
on  the  wall,  and  the  T'aip'ings  fell  back.     It  was 
a  perilous  position.     With  the  Ringdove  storming- 
party  of  about  thirty  men,  which  had  also  gained 
the  top  of  the  wall,  there  were  not  two  hundred 
Englishmen  opposed  to  the  rebel  garrison,  twenty 
thousand  strong.     We  strained  our  eyes  across  the 
river,  and  saw  to  our  dismay  a  dense  column  of  the 
T'aip'ings  advancing  from  the  east  gate  to  over- 
whelm the  storming-parties  ;    and  from  behind  the 
tombs   inside    the    wall  rebel    sharpshooters    were 
firing  hotly.     Captain  Dew  told  me  the  following 
day  that  he  thought   for  the  moment  that  all  was 
over.     But  just  then  the  cooks  and  stewards  of  the 
Encounter,  who  were  left,  under  Paymaster  Swain, 
in  charge  of  the  ship  (the  bluejackets  and  marines 
having  all  left  to  join  the  storming-party),  seeing 
their  captain's  danger,  trained  their  big  gun  on  the 
wall,  and  let  fly  a  shell  which  burst  between  the 
opposing  columns.     The  T'aip*ings  wavered,  broke, 
and  fled. 

E 


66  HALF  A  CENTURY  TN  CHINA 

Meanwhile,  imperialist  soldiers  on  the  north  bank, 
who  had  been  brought  up  on  board  the  Cantonese 
junks,  slunk  away,  and  dared  not  cross  the  river  to 
enter  and  occupy  the  city,  the  chief  gate  of  which 
had   been   opened   for   them.     They   had    actually 
to  be  forced  into  boats  by  foreigners  before  they 
would  venture.     The  day  was  fast  wearing  away  ; 
the  garrison  was  still  at  full  strength  ;   and  the  grave 
fear  was  before  us  of  a  dark  night  in  which  the 
T'aip'ings  might  rally  and  drive  out  the  insignificant 
force  which  had  stormed  the  walls.     But  now  the 
Kestrel,  by  a  bold  and  skilful  manoeuvre,  gained 
the   day.     She   had   sixty-eight  round-shot   in   her 
hull  alone :    one  which  struck  only  two  inches  from 
the  boilers  was  given  to  me  afterwards  by  the  crew. 
Her  rigging,  too,  was  severely  damaged,  but  she 
fought  on,  and,  seeing  the  obstinacy  of  the  T'aip*ings, 
steamed  up  the  south  branch  of  the  river.     As  she 
was  stopped  by  the  chained  bridge  of  boats,  the 
key  of  which  was  in  rebel  hands,  her  boatswain  with 
his  men  landed  under  a  heavy  musketry  fire,  cut 
through  the  chains  with  a  cold  chisel,  and  let  the 
bridge  swing  apart.     The  Kestrel  steamed  on,  till 
from  the  south  angle  of  the  city  she  shelled  the  west 
gate,   the   only   available   line    of   retreat   for   the 
T'aip'ings.     The    garrison,    finding    this    exit    also 
commanded  by  the  British  fire,  cried  out  and  fled, 
every  one  of  them,  in  dire  confusion. 

It  was  now  nightfall.  Would  they  rally,  and 
turn  back  and  reoccupy  the  scarcely  held  city  ? 
The  imperialists  were  utterly  unreliable,  the  English 
party  wearied  with  the  fight,  the  French  captain 
mortally  wounded,  the  city  on  fire  in  many  places. 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION:  ITS  CLOSE     67 

The  night  passed  darkly  and  doubtfully  for  us,  but 
it  passed  in  safety.  '  At  eventide  behold  terror, 
and  before  the  morning  they  are  not.'  The  next 
day  was  Sunday,  and  going  on  board  the  Kestrel 
to  offer  service  as  usual,  I  found  her  under  steam. 
Lieutenant  Huxham,  full  of  thankfulness  for  the 
victory  of  the  preceding  day,  told  me  that  he  had 
orders  to  steam  up  the  river  and  ascertain  the 
whereabouts  of  the  rebels.  He  returned  at  night, 
having  found  that  the  host,  flying  headlong  to  the 
great  western  sluice  and  ferry,  ten  miles  from 
Ningpo,  had  struggled  and  fought  for  the  few  boats 
lying  there,  fearing  that  the  gunboats  would  come 
in  pursuit.  Very  many  were  drowned,  and  the  rest 
had  taken  refuge  in  Ts'zch'i.  Our  house  on  the 
edge  of  the  '  Little  Parade-Ground '  lay  just  in  the 
line  of  the  guns  of  the  Encounter,  which  by  sights 
taken  from  the  fighting-tops  had  been  trained  on 
this  rendezvous  of  the  garrison.  We  found  our 
house  shot  through  by  a  cannon-ball  from  end  to 
end.  Two  old  men  were  in  charge,  one  a  Christian 
and  one  not.  When  the  bombardment  began  they 
ran  into  the  verandah,  and  prayed,  and  as  they 
knelt,  the  Encounter's  round-shot,  crashing  through 
the  house,  passed  just  over  their  heads,  and  spent 
its  force  against  the  boundary  wall.  The  men 
jumped  up  and  ran  to  the  school-yard  behind,  and, 
getting  into  two  large  water- jars,  hoped  thus  to 
escape  from  danger.  The  Encounter  fired  again, 
and  a  second  round-shot  struck  the  school-house, 
and  passed  over  them  once  more  without  hurting 
them.  These  two  cannon-balls  still  lie  in  our  house 
as  a  remembrance  of  those  days. 


68  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

The  rebels  hovered  round  the  city  for  many  weeks, 
burning  and  sacking  Ts'zch'i  a  second  time ;  and, 
after  a  desperate  fight  in  the  hill-passes  with  the 
men  of  the  plain,  they  ravaged  the  great  Sanpeh 
region.  On  the  26th  of  May  we  returned  to  our 
city-home,  and  began  work  again,  after  some  attempt 
at  clearing  the  canals  near  by,  into  which  many 
dead  bodies  had  been  thrown.  On  the  30th  of 
May  the  city  was  so  quiet  that  a  cricket-match 
was  played  on  the  parade-ground  in  front  of  our 
house.  The  cricket-gear  of  the  navy  was  for  three 
or  four  successive  years  deposited  with  us.  Shanghai 
was  hard  pressed  at  this  time,  and  Ningpo  was 
actually  appealed  to  for  reinforcements  to  help  the 
European  defenders  of  that  supremely  important 
centre. 

Gradually  the  T*aip*ings  were  pushed  back  from 
the  Ningpo  district,  and  well  kept  in  check  all  the 
summer  at  Yiiyao,  thirty  miles  to  the  north-west. 
I  remember  climbing  the  '  Great  White  Mountain ' 
near  Ningpo  one  afternoon  in  August,  and  hearing 
the  far-off  echoes  of  cannonading  directed  against 
the  rebels  as  they  attempted  to  advance  again  on 
Ningpo.  On  the  4th  of  August,  however,  Yiiyao 
fell,  and  Ningpo  breathed  more  freely.  On  Sunday, 
the  14th  of  September,  I  went  down  to  Changkiau, 
a  station  near  Ningpo  ;  on  the  18th  we  Avere  startled 
by  the  news  that  the  rebels  had  swept  down  on 
Ts'zch'i,  had  captured  and  burnt  what  remained 
of  the  city,  and  were  marching  on  Ningpo.  On 
the  19th,  five  days  after  our  quiet  service  there, 
they  had  entered  and  burnt  Changkiau,  our  small 
Christian  community  escaping  with  the  utmost  diffi- 


THE  T'xilP'ING  REBELLION :  ITS  CLOSE    09 

culty  to  Ningpo.  Most  providentially  the  tide  was 
favourable,  and  the  strong  arm  of  the  Christian  who 
owned  the  rescue-boat  sculled  them  just  in  time 
down  the  canal  to  the  river.  They  had  scarcely 
reached  mid-stream  when  the  rebel  soldiers  came 
up  to  the  ferry  at  a  run,  and  fired  on  the  refugees, 
but  they  were  unhurt  and  reached  Ningpo  in  safety. 
The  Encounter  now  moved  up  to  the  north  gate, 
and  her  guns  were  trained  on  the  west  gate  as  well. 
I  called  on  board,  and  as  I  was  talking  to  the 
officers  Captain  Dew  came  on  deck,  conversing 
eagerly  with  a  short,  wiry,  soldierly  man — the  well- 
known  General  Ward,  the  American  adventurer,  who 
first  trained  Chinese  soldiers  in  western  drill  and 
tactics,  and  had  come  down  from  Shanghai  to  help 
repel  this  sudden  and  dangerous  inroad.  Dangerous 
it  was,  indeed,  for  now  the  '  brothers  '  were  brothers 
no  longer,  but  the  SAvorn  foes  of  foreigners.  I 
watched  Ward  as  he  pointed  scornfully  towards 
Ts'zch'i,  in  which  direction  we  could  see  incendiary 
fires  burning  in  village  after  village.  The  plan  of 
attack  was  arranged  for  the  next  day,  and  only 
two  days  later  General  Ward  was  mortally  wounded 
under  the  walls  of  Ts'zch'i,  which  he  was  in  the  act 
of  storming. 

On  the  20th  of  September  a  hundred  tliousand 
men  were  reported  as  advancing  on  Ningpo  from  the 
south-west,  and  we  heard  afterwards  from  our 
Chinese  friends  in  the  country  something  of  that 
terrible  march.  Tlicsc  poor  people,  a  man  and  liis 
wife  and  daughter,  fled  from  their  cottage  and  hid 
for  three  days  amongst  the  thick,  tall  reeds  and 
rushes  of  the  canal,   up   to  their  necks  in   \\ater. 


70  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

They  heard  the  host  go  by  in  the  neighbouring 
street,  and  the  tramp  did  not  pause  or  cease  for 
sixteen  hours.  On  the  23rd  my  eldest  son  was 
born,  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  with  war  surging 
round,  and  the  city  shut  up  hard  and  fast.  The 
parade-ground  was  filled  with  recruits  being  hastily 
drilled.  The  T'aip'ing  host  was  outside  the  city, 
and  many  of  them  had  entered  in  disguise,  and 
were  waiting  to  overpower  the  guards  and  open  the 
gates.  On  the  24th  the  rebels  were  seen  from  the 
walls.  The  city  was  in  a  state  of  wild  and  dangerous 
panic,  when  Captain  Dew  ordered  Lieutenant  Tin- 
ling  to  land  with  seventy  men;  and  the  cheerful 
and  gallant  lieutenant  spent  a  long  afternoon  in 
marching  and  countermarching  his  little  band  all 
about  the  streets  and  lanes  of  the  city,  till  the 
astonished  and  delighted  citizens,  believing  a  strong 
English  army  to  have  come  to  their  relief,  quieted 
down.  '  Fifty  of  your  men,'  they  said,  '  are  worth 
five  thousand  of  ours.'  How  long  will  this  be  true 
of  China,  with  the  new  learning  and  the  new  drill  ? 

For  the  country  those  days  of  suspense  were  in 
many  places  days  of  indescribable  terror.  Some 
years  later  I  was  walking  amongst  the  hills  ten 
miles  from  Ningpo.  It  was  a  lovely  afternoon  in 
April,  and  the  lower  slopes  of  the  hills  were  red  with 
azaleas.  I  pointed  them  out  to  my  Chinese  com- 
panion. '  Ah  !  '  he  said  ;  '  do  you  see  that  hill  ? 
When  the  long-haired  made  their  last  assault  on 
Ningpo,  the  people  of  "  Yellow  Valley  Market "  ' 
(the  little  town  which  we  were  then  approaching) 
'  offended  them  in  some  way :  they  attacked  the 
place,  and  all  the  inhabitants  fled  to  the  hillside  ; 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION:  ITS  CLOSE     71 

and  there  I  myself  saw  men,  women,  and  children 
lying  dead,  as  thick  as  the  flowers  to-day.' 

On  the  8th  of  October  Captain  Dew,  with  rein- 
forcements from  Shanghai,  started  to  attack  the 
T'aip'ing  stronghold,  Funghwa,  thirty  miles  to  the 
south-west.  The  rebel  army  fell  back  to  defend 
their  base,  and  the  siege  of  Ningpo  was  raised. 
Funghwa  was  beleaguered  for  three  days,  and 
desperately  defended  by  the  T'aip'ings.  They  had 
some  foreign  advisers  with  them,  but  when  these 
men  arrived  on  the  field  of  battle  in  sedan-chairs, 
they  were  peppered  so  hotly  by  the  fire  of  the 
English  marines  that  they  jumped  out  and  escaped. 
A  pitched  battle  in  the  open  field  followed,  a  rare 
occurrence  in  this  campaign.  The  loss  on  the 
English  side  was  twenty-three  killed  and  wounded, 
but  the  rebels  were  defeated.  They  abandoned 
Funghwa  and  retired.  Admiral  Sir  James  Hope 
arrived  the  day  before  this  battle,  just  in  time  to 
join  the  little  force  during  the  fight,  and  he  was 
present  at  a  thanksgiving-service  held  on  the 
Encounter  on  Sunday,  the  12th  of  October.  In  this 
last  battle  a  strong  detachment  of  the  Chinese 
foreign-drilled  levies,  the  Green  Caps,  as  they  were 
called,  under  Colonel  Cooke,  with  Major  Watson 
second  in  command,  took  a  prominent  part.  The 
pluck  and  enthusiasm  of  these  men  when  well  led 
was  sliown  a  few  months  later.  The  T'aip'ings  in 
Hangchow,  hard-pressed  by  the  French  levies  who 
were  besieging  the  city,  made  a  sortie,  defeated 
these  levies,  crossed  the  Tsintang  River,  and  were 
reported  to  be  advancing  on  Ningpo  once  more. 
Volunteers  for  the  front  were  called  for.     Many  of 


72  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

the  Green  Caps  were  just  then  in  hospital,  but  they 
all  found  themselves  suddenly  convalescent,  and 
eagerly  asked  to  be  allowed  to  go  to  the  front. 

The    French    forces    under    M.    le    Breton,    who 

arrived  on  23rd  October  1862,  and  was  killed  later 

by  the  explosion  of  one  of  his  own  siege  guns  before 

Shaohing,  did  good  service  in  pressing  the  rebels 

back  to  that  great  city,  and  then  further  on  to 

Hangchow.     The    French    and    English    acted    in 

perfect  harmony,  both  forces  recognising,  however, 

the  supreme  ability  and  dash  and  tactical  skill  of 

Captain  Roderick  Dew.     When  the  French  before 

Shaohing  were  in  grave  danger  of  defeat,  Captain 

Dew,   ignoring   the   instructions  from   home   as  to 

confining  the  defence  of  Ningpo  to  an  imaginary 

thirty-mile  radius,  went  in  person  to  support  the 

French  with  a  siege  gun,  a  small  body  of  marines, 

and    his    second    lieutenant,    Tinling.     With    true 

genius  he  recognised  that  in  a  country  like  Chekiang, 

rivers    and    mountain-chains,    and    not    the    limits 

prescribed  in  Downing  Street,  must  be  taken  into 

consideration ;    and  that  if  the  rebels  burst  out  of 

Shaohing,  eighty  miles  off,  no  arbitrary  thirty-mile 

limit  Avould  arrest  their  invasion  of  Ningpo.     The 

combined  attack  eventually  succeeded  (15th  March 

1863),  though  with  serious  loss  of  life.     The  death 

of  Lieutenant  Tinling,  who  was  mortally  wounded 

under  the  walls,  cast  a  gloom  over  the  whole  of 

Ningpo,  as  well  as  through  the  fleet  and  in  far-off 

Gloucester.     The  T'aip'ings  held  out  in  Hangchow 

for  nearly  a  year,   and  then  suddenly  abandoned 

the  great  city  in  the  night  (10th  March  1864).     They 

moved  south-westwards,  and  threatened  the  province 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION :  ITS  CLOSE     73 

of  Fukien,  which  had  hitherto  been  untouched  by 
their  devastating  inroads. 

The  going  down  of  this  long  storm  of  confusion 
and  bloodshed  and  rapine  was  protracted  by 
mutinies  in  Ningpo,  quarrels  among  the  leaders  of 
the  various  contingents,  treacherous  cruelties  on 
the  part  of  the  imperialists,  and  the  desolation  of 
countless  homes.  The  foreigners  of  all  nationalities 
who  had  been  engaged  to  fight  for  the  imperialists 
or  the  rebels  were  now  thrown  out  of  employment, 
and  many  of  the  less  reputable  of  them  roamed 
about  the  country  levying  blackmail.  It  required 
the  utmost  energy  and  courage  on  the  part  of  the 
newly-formed  police,  under  Colonel  Cooke  and  Major 
Watson,  to  arrest  and  scatter  them.  In  November 
1864  a  large  body  of  Hmianese  braves  were  ordered 
from  Hangchow,  then  in  imperial  occupation,  to 
Ningpo,  to  embark  there  in  steamers  for  Foochow, 
which  was  tlu-eatened  with  a  last  despairing  rebel 
attack.  These  men  were  born  soldiers,  but  wild 
and  ill-disciplined.  My  brother,  on  a  tentative 
journey  to  Hangchow,  met  this  body  of  braves 
and  sent  me  a  warning  message  about  them.  The 
week  which  they  spent  in  the  parade-gromid  by  my 
house  was  one  of  no  little  anxiety  to  me.  I  tried 
to  show  them  civility,  calling  on  them  and  giving 
them  books.  When  they  moved  off  on  the  19th 
of  November  they  favoured  us  with  a  parting 
salute,  presumably  with  blank  cartridge,  but  I 
heard  bullets  rattle  on  the  roof  over  my  head.  The 
men  mutinied  during  the  voyage  to  Foochow  and 
had  to  be  battened  down. 

Thus  peace  came  back  to  the  distracted  land,  not 


74  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

gently  and  smoothly,  but  as  though  terrified  to  return 
to  scenes  from  which  she  had  been  so  long  banished. 
One  of  the  most  serious  symptoms  pointing  to 
the  uncertainty  of  peace  and  the  insecurity  of  the 
Government,  was  the  very  early  manifestation  of 
the  ingratitude  of  the  Chinese  towards  their  friends 
and  deliverers.  The  recrudescence  of  the  oppro- 
brious terms  applied  to  foreigners,  and  the  childish 
manner  in  which  they  tried  to  assert  their  fancied 
independence,  were  not  encouraging.  In  order  to 
protect  the  Ningpo  settlement  and,  through  it,  the 
city  of  Ningpo  itself,  against  sudden  assault  from 
the  north-east  (seawards),  a  canal  was  cut,  under 
the  direction  of  the  officers  of  the  Encounter,  through 
the  narrow  piece  of  land,  scarcely  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  wide,  which  forms  the  neck  of  the  bottle- 
shaped  peninsula  on  which  the  foreign  settlement 
stands,  thus  joining  the  waters  of  the  great  curves 
of  the  river  Yung  ;  and  two  forts  were  built  on  the 
canal  banks,  armed  with  guns  from  the  fleet.  The 
canal  was  not  only  a  defensive  work  of  real  value, 
but  also  a  sanitary  improvement  of  the  first  import- 
ance. The  once  green,  stagnant,  and  offensive 
canals  at  the  back  of  the  foreign  houses  were  now 
flushed  with  salt  water  twice  every  day,  and  the 
sail  round  the  newly-formed  island  in  the  hot 
weather  was  a  pleasant  and  refreshing  diversion. 
But  five  years  later  the  scholars  amongst  the  ruins 
of  Ts'zch'i,  a  city  once  famed  for  literary  merit, 
were  annoyed  and  surprised  at  their  repeated 
failures  in  the  periodical  examinations.  On  con- 
sulting a  geomancer,  they  were  informed  by  him 
that  the  luck  of  the  city  was  injured,  if  not  destroyed, 


THE  T'AIP'ING  REBELLION:  ITS  CLOSE     75 

by  this  newly-opened  mouth,  gaping  at  Ts*zch'i 
from  the  east.  After  long-drawn  negotiations  and 
threatened  riots  the  canal  was  closed. 

A  smaU  obelisk,  built  in  memory  of  the  English 
and  French  who  had  fallen  for  Ningpo,  was  erected 
out  of  the  stones  of  the  demolished  rebel  fort  near 
the  east  gate.  The  ungrateful  and  foolish  people 
rioted  over  this  also,  saying  that  its  sharp  apex 
would  injure  and  annoy  the  spirits  of  the  air.  But 
in  this  case  the  mob  and  the  mob-led  mandarins 
were  not  allowed  to  prevail,  and  the  obelisk  stands 
to-day.  The  inscription  on  it  has  recently  been 
restored  and  recut,  by  order  of  the  British  Admiralty, 
in  concert  with  the  French  authorities. 

Hung  Siu-ts'lian  committed  suicide  on  30tli  June 
1864,  when  all  hope  of  defending  Nanking  was  lost. 
The  city  was  taken  by  assault  on  19th  July  by  the 
troops  of  the  imperial  commander,  Tseng  Kwoh- 
ts'iian,  with  the  help  of  General  Gordon.  It  was 
after  this  that  the  rebels  moved  south,  on  Fukien, 
as  mentioned  above.  Repulsed  thence,  the  T'aip'ing 
bands  scattered,  and  little  is  known  of  their  subse- 
quent movements.  Some  years  later  I  was  travel- 
ling in  Chekiang,  Avhen  I  met  a  Chinese  merchant 
who  had  returned  from  a  long  journey  in  the  interior, 
visiting,  as  he  told  me,  the  southern  part  of  Szchuan, 
and  the  province  of  Yunnan.  He  had  heard  positive 
tidings  of  the  T'aip'ings,  whose  power  we  supposed 
by  that  time  to  have  entirely  collapsed.  A  hundred 
thousand  of  them,  my  informant  said,  had  settled 
down  in  the  south-Avest  of  China,  imperialist  man- 
darins, and  the  people  generally,  giving  way  before 
them.     They  were  quiet  enough  if  unmolested,  but 


76  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

showed  fierce  fight,  as  of  old,  if  meddled  with.  These 
remnants  of  the  once  mighty  host  were  (if  we  may- 
trust  recent  accounts)  driven  at  last  over  the 
Chinese  border  into  Tongking ;  and  they  formed 
the  main  force  of  the  Black  Flags  who  gave  the 
French  so  much  trouble  in  those  regions  nearly 
twenty  years  later. 

In  1867,  one  summer  afternoon  at  Ningpo  I 
noticed  a  procession  of  seven  stretchers  with  bodies 
on  them  being  carried  to  the  hospital  near  the  Salt 
Gate.  On  inquiry  I  was  informed  that  some  boys, 
playing  on  the  shore  of  the  small  west  lake  within 
the  walls  of  the  city,  and  paddling  in  the  mud  which 
had  been  exposed  after  long  drought,  had  struck 
their  feet  against  a  heavy  round  object,  and  rolled 
it  out.  It  was  a  shell,  thrown  there  during  the 
bombardment  five  years  before.  A  man  took  it 
up  to  examine  it ;  the  shell  slipped  from  his  hands, 
fell  on  the  paving-stones,  and  exploded,  mortally 
wounding  seven  onlookers.  I  am  not  far  wrong, 
surely,  in  regarding  this  tragic  event,  first  as  a 
Avarning  of  the  seeds  which  war  sows  for  future 
trouble  ;  and  further,  as  affording  a  hint  to  the 
rulers  and  people  of  this  great  and  awakening  China 
to  search  carefully  for  all  secret  or  half-developed 
sources  of  discontent,  oppression,  and  confusion, 
and  to  remove  them,  not  hastily  but  soberly ;  all 
defects  in  law  or  custom  or  fashion  ;  all  that  stifles 
or  dwarfs  knowledge  and  noble  freedom  of  thought ; 
and  all  unworthy  elements  in  pride  of  race  and 
antiquity. 

It  cannot  be  Avise,  when  aiming  with  truest  patriot- 
ism at  the  elevation  of  country  and  people,  to  revive 


THE  T'ATP'ING  REBELLION :  ITS  CLOSE     77 

or  intensify  supercilious  contempt  for  Western 
learning  and  Western  helpers  in  learning.  And  the 
expansioii  of  China's  influence  cannot  be  compassed 
by  still  shutting  her  up  within  her  own  borders,  and 
excluding  Western  enterprise  and  legitimate  co- 
operation. On  the  other  hand,  it  Is  not  only  folly, ^, 
but  mischievous  ignorance,  which  leads  some  too 
keen  Western  educators  to  minimize  or  despise 
Chinese  learning  and  scholarship,  and  her  great 
achievements  in  the  arts  of  peace  in  past  ages,  with 
the  implication  that  the  ancient  wisdom  is  dead, 
and  that  aU  wisdom  will  die  for  China  if  she  fails 
to  conform  to  Western  ideals. 

But  far  more  important  than  any  other  is  the 
consideration  that  the  '  Heavenly  Kingdom  of  the 
Great  Peace '  which  Hung  Siu-ts'iian  promised  to 
establish  ;  that  security  against  continual  convulsion 
and  reiterated  calamity — '  quietness  and  assurance 
for  ever ' — can  only  be  obtained  for  China  by  the 
whole  nation  rooting  out  its  unbelief  in  the  one  true 
God,  and  accepting  in  the  power  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  the  faith  of  Christ. 


NINGPO,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN 


CHAPTER   IV 

NINGPO    (ancient   AND   MODERN),    *  THE    CITY 
OF   THE  PEACEFUL   WAVE' 

Old  city  wliere  the  waves  lie  still, 

Thy  threefold  ramparts  circle  round, 

Thy  proud  defence  and  ample  bound  ; 
Strong  walls  and  streams  and  distant  hill. 

The  hills,  dark  blue  against  the  gold 

At  eve,  clear-cut  in  lines  of  snow. 

Or  sleeping  in  midsummer's  glow, 
City  and  far-stretched  plain  enfold. 

The  tides  are  swaying  past  thy  feet, 
And  the  still  moats  on  either  face 
With  their  broad  depths  thy  walls  embrace  ; 

And  close  the  circling  waters  meet. 

The  walls  with  honeysuckle  clad, 
And  rose  and  fern  above  the  gate. 
Surround,  but  could  not  guard  from  fate 

The  rumour-shaken  city  sad. 

My  recollections  of  life  in  China  are  concerned 
chiefly  with  three  great  cities  :  Ningpo  during  nearly 
thirty  years,  Hangchow,  and  Shanghai. 

Ningpo  and  its  calamities  during  the  rebellion 
have  been  my  theme  in  the  last  two  chapters,  and 
I  propose  now  to  write  of  the  city  itself,  and  of  its 
surroundings. 

'  The  City  of  the  Peaceful  Wave '  leads  us  by  its 
historical  documents  and  legends  far  back  into  the 
earlier  ages  of  the  world,  and  touches  itself  or  by  its 

F 


82  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

environments  some  of  the  most  stirring  events  of 
China's  modern  history. 

Its  present  situation  is  almost  ideally  perfect  for 
commerce  in  peace,  and  for  defence  in  war  ;  if  only 
we  could  dispense  with  the  troublesome  and  merci- 
less instruments  of  modern  warfare.  The  Chinese 
have  a  saying  which  contains  sober  sense  in  its 
bombastic  language  : — 

'  Traverse  and  search  the  whole  wide  earth,  and  after  all 
What  find  you  to  compare  with  Ningpo's  river-hall  ? ' 

The  city  lies  at  the  junction  of  the  two  branches 
of  the  river  Yung.  The  south-west  branch  rises  in 
the  heart  of  the  Funghwa  mountains,  and  in  the 
direction  of  the  '  Snowy  Valley,'  and  waters  a  large 
part  of  Ningpo's  rich  plain.  The  north-west  branch 
rises  near  the  shores  of  the  Ts'aungo  River,  and 
bears  in  its  higher  waters  the  names  of  China's 
primitive  emperors,  Yao  and  Shun ;  and  passing 
the  busy  city  of  Yiiyao  and  the  sleepy  city  of 
Ts'zch'i,  brings  down  large  wealth  of  inland  com- 
merce, and  carries  on  its  bosom  great  numbers  of 
travellers. 

Both  branches  are  now  traversed  by  steam- 
launches,  the  service  on  the  Yiiyao  River  being 
regular,  and  the  boats  crowded  with  passengers. 
The  two  branches  join  near  the  east  gate  of  the  city, 
and  flow  in  one  broad  and  winding  stream,  twelve 
miles  to  the  sea  at  Chinhai.  A  very  large  trade 
centres  at  Ningpo,  and  radiates  from  it  northwards 
to  Shanghai,  and  up  the  Yangtse,  and  to  the  northern 
ports,  and  soutlnvards  along  the  coast,  and  inland 
to  Shaohing  and  Hangchow,  and  beyond.     Though 


NINGPO,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN       S3 

foreign  commerce  is  not  nearly  what  it  was  forty 
years  ago,  the  native  trade  is  steadily  growing  and 
developing,  and  the  sea-borne  business  enjojs  far 
greater  secm-ity  than  in  former  years,  now  that 
revenue  steam-cruisers  patrol  the  coast,  and  the 
whole  junk-traffic  is  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Imperial  Maritime  Customs. 

The  city  forms  what  is  in  a  true  sense  an  epitome 
of  four  thousand  years,  linking  in  its  history  the 
events  of  history,  and  the  characteristics  of  the  old 
China  and  the  new. 

The  strategic  importance  of  Ningpo,  to  which  I 
alluded  in  my  introductory  chapter,  is  demon- 
strated by  the  fact  that  the  great  Japanese  general 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  Hideyoshi,  the  conqueror 
of  Korea,  who  was  hindered  only  by  death  from 
attempting  the  conquest  of  China,  had  fixed  upon 
Ningpo  as  one  point  of  special  advantage  in  his 
proposed  campaign.  He  doubtless  realised  that 
Ningpo,  through  her  outpost,  the  Chusan  archi- 
pelago, would  control  China's  greatest  waterway, 
the  Yangtse,  which  stretches  three  thousand  miles 
inland,  up  to  and  beyond  the  extreme  south-^est 
borders. 

Mount  to  the  top  of  the  pagoda,  '  Heaven-in- 
vested,' and  see  the  great  city  below  you,  and  mark 
the  three-fold  embrace  with  which  nature  and  art 
have  combined  to  surround  her,  and,  as  the  Ningpo 
people  once  fondly  hoped,  surely  to  protect  her. 
8ee  the  magnificent  sweep  of  the  amphitheatre  of 
hills,  a  hundred  miles  and  more  in  circuit,  with 
peaks  rising  to  two  or  three  thousand  feet.  They 
bend  coastwards  from  Chinhai  to  the  south  of  the 


84  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

eastern  lakes,  and  then  twining  behind  Funghwa 
to  the  '  Snowy  Valley '  hills  and  the  great  8ze- 
ming-san  range,  leap  the  Yung  River  to  Ts'zch'i 
and  the  ridge  of  mountains  which  sweeps  to  the 
'  Crouching  Dragon  hill '  and  Hap'u.  Thence  to 
Chinhai — a  distance  of  about  ten  miles — stretches 
a  low  shore  with  shoal-water,  from  which  the  sea 
is  fast  receding ;  and  this  forms  the  mouth  of  the 
amphitheatre,  and  the  opening  of  the  horse-shoe, 
and  is  itself  a  continuation  of  the  defence.  Then 
watch  the  gleam  of  water  all  round  the  five  miles 
and  more  of  the  wall,  the  two  branches  of  the  river 
washing  the  south-east  and  north-east  faces  ;  and 
the  broad  moat  on  the  north-west  and  south-Avest, 
with  only  a  narrow  neck  of  land  at  the  north  gate, 
less  than  a  hundred  yards  in  breadth — the  only 
breach  in  that  circumambient  watery  defence. 

The  third  and  inner  line  of  all  is  the  wall  itself, 
eighteen  Chinese  li  (rather  mider  six  miles)  in 
circuit,  with  an  average  of  twenty-five  feet  in  height, 
and  a  width  of  twenty-two  feet  at  the  base,  and 
fifteen  at  the  top.  The  wall  is  pierced  with  six 
gates,  with  a  barbican  to  each  ;  namely,  the  North, 
South,  East,  and  West  Gates,  and  the  Salt  and 
Fairy-bridge  Gates.  The  last-named  gate  leads  to 
the  old  bridge  of  boats,  of  unknown  antiquity, 
crossing  which  we  enter  one  of  the  busiest  suburbs 
of  the  city,  Kiangtung,  or  '  East  of  the  River.' 
There  is  a  second  floating  bridge,  of  recent  date, 
connecting  the  east  gate  with  the  foreign  settlement. 

Now  this  city,  though  probably  at  least  twelve 
hundred  years  old,  is  not  old  Ningpo.  The  origmal 
city  lay  at  some  distance  fi'om  the  present  site,  and 


NINGPO,  ANCIENT  AND  :\IODERN       85 

I  have  seen  the  grass-covered  heavings  of  the 
ancient  walls.  The  old  name  was  Yangchow  or 
Yungtung,  a  name  which  it  still  bears  in  certain 
documents.  It  was  a  comparatively  insignificant 
place  in  ancient  days.  In  the  time  of  the  great 
Yii  (B.C.  2205)  it  was  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
Kwekyi,  which  now  forms  one  of  the  districts  of 
the  Shaohing  fu  (prefecture),  and  is  in  its  turn,  by 
the  revolution  of  the  destinies  of  countries,  under 
the  control  of  the  Intendant  of  Ningpo. 

The  province  of  Chekiang,  of  which  Ningpo  is 
the  commercial  capital  and  the  chief  seaport,  is 
full  of  the  voices  of  the  past.  Perhaps  this  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at,  as  Chekiang  formed  the  southern 
limit  of  ancient  China.  Shun,  the  Chinese  Cincin- 
natus,  called  from  the  plough  to  the  throne,  tilled,  if 
he  ever  really  did  so,  his  fields  with  an  elephant  and 
an  ox  near  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Yii3'ao,  thirty 
miles  above  Ningpo,  It  was  in  his  home  there 
that  he  maintained  so  calm  a  demeanour  amidst 
the  quarrels  of  two  troublesome  wives,  as  to  attract 
the  attention  of  the  emperor  Yao,  who  called  him 
thence  to  share  with  him  the  Dragon  Throne.  The 
young  empire  was  already  like  a  household,  and 
he  who  could  order  even  a  disorderly  family  well, 
and  produce  peace  where  there  was  no  peace,  surely 
must  be  the  heaven-sent  helper  to  secure  and 
maintain  order  in  the  household  of  China.  Fifty 
years  later,  the  great  Yii  subdued  the  floods  which 
submerged  China,  after  nine  years  of  such  incessant 
care  that  he  is  said  to  have  passed  and  repassed 
his  home  again  and  again  deaf  to  the  call  of  wife 
and  children.     His  tomb  and  image  are  to  be  seen 


86  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

standing  to-day  near  the  city  of  8haohing.  The 
dates  assigned  to  Yii  and  to  Noah  are  ahnost  the 
same. 

Ningpo  was  still  standing  on  its  ancient  site  when, 
some  eighteen  hundred  years  later  (about  B.C.  210), 
She  Hwang  Ti  visited  the  place,  coming  down  from 
Hangchow.  This  emperor,  as  is  well  known  to  all 
who  study  Chinese  history,  destroyed  as  thoroughly 
as  he  could  the  classical  literature  of  China,  and 
extirpated  her  scholars,  not  so  much  from  ignorant 
vandalism  as  from  an  ambitious  desire  to  recreate 
China,  and  make  its  history  commence  with  the 
inauguration  of  his  own  reign  and  name. 

In  the  year  a.d.  713,  twelve  centuries  ago,  the 
city  was  transferred,  Ave  know  not  certainly  why, 
to  its  present  matchless  site.  It  was  named  Ming- 
chow  after  the  celebrated  range  called  the  '  Four 
Illustrious  Hills.'  These  mountains  have  their 
southern  base  in  far-off  T'aichow,  their  western 
branches  behind  Shaohing,  and  the  northern  and 
eastern  spurs  dip  into  the  sea.  The  title  '  Four 
Illustrious,'  which  is  still  used  of  Ningpo,  is  con- 
nected with  the  legend  of  a  hill  in  the  range,  on  the 
top  of  which  there  is  a  natural  observatory,  with 
apertures  in  the  rock  facing  the  four  quarters  of 
the  heavens,  for  celestial  and  terrestrial  survey. 
To  this  day,  influenced  partly,  perhaps,  by  a  freak 
of  local  pronunciation,  and  partly  by  a  remem- 
brance of  the  old  name,  some  people  call  the  city 
Mingpo. 

When  the  Ming  dynasty  came  to  the  throne, 
anxious  fears  beset  the  minds  of  the  loyal  citizens 
as  to  the  propriety  of  continuing  to  use  the  name 


NINGPO,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN       87 

Ming  (now  identified  with  the  illustrious  imperial 
family)  as  the  name  of  their  mean  city.  But  the 
emperor  of  the  time  came  to  the  rescue,  and  sug- 
gested a  change.  '  There  is  a  city,'  he  said,  '  sixty 
miles  to  the  eastward,  named  Tinghai  ("  Settle  the 
sea  ").  When  the  sea  goes  down,  the  waves  are  at 
peace  ;  why  not  call  your  city  Ningpo  ("  Peaceful 
Wave  ")  ?  '  This  suggestion  was  accepted  with  much 
fervour  of  gratitude,  and  Ningpo  remains  to  this 
day  the  city's  name. 

Meanwhile   Ningpo   had   sprung   up,   and   gro\\n 
round  the  '  Pagoda  of  Heavenly  Investiture.'     This 
pagoda  dates  from  a.d.  696,  or  seventy-six  years 
earlier  than  the  building  of  the   city  itself.     The 
following  seems  generally  to  have  been  the  order  of 
events  in  the  foundation  of  a  Chinese  city.     First, 
the   luck   of   the   place   was   ascertained,   and   the 
approach  of  evil  influences  repelled  b}'^  the  pagoda, 
or  suppressed  by  its  weight.     Then  the  circuit  of 
the  walls  was  traced,  and,  finally,  the  houses  filled 
in.     Stirring   events    in   the    west   have   coincided 
with  the  vicissitudes  of  the  pagoda's  history.     It 
was  built  A.D.  696,  when  Oswy  was  Bretwalda  in 
Britain.     In   1107,  just  as  the  majestic  cathedral 
of  Durham  was  rising  on  its  wood-fringed  island- 
hill,   the  pagoda  was  destroyed.     It  was  restored 
in  1145,  when  the  yellow  plague  was  devastating 
Europe.     In  1221,  during  the  reign  of  one  of  the 
Chinese  emperors,  who  strove  to  suppress  Buddhism, 
it   was   levelled   to   the   ground,    and   houses   were 
built  on  the  site.     In  1285,  with  the  iirst  Edward 
on  the  English  throne,  the  pagoda  rose  from  its 
dust  and  ruins.     In  1327,  at  the  time  of  our  third 


88  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

.Edward,  it  entirely  collapsed.  In  1330,  and  again 
in  1411,  it  was  restored  and  repaired.  In  1413,  the 
year  of  Agincourt,  it  was  struck  by  lightning  ;  and 
in  the  stormier  days  of  our  Elizabeth,  about  the 
time  of  the  Armada,  it  was  blown  over  by  a  hurri- 
cane. In  the  year  of  the  Restoration  it  was  rebuilt ; 
and  it  stands  to-day,  stripped  of  its  outer  galleries, 
apparently  by  fire,  but  erect  and  picturesque  still, 
though  repaired  fifty  years  ago,  and  looking  as 
though  a  gentle  earthquake  shock  might  over- 
throw it  for  final  ruin.  When  seen  from  the  neigh- 
bouring hills,  its  dark  pencil-like  form,  rising  from 
the  smoke  and  haze  of  the  great  city,  is  a  familiar 
and  striking  object. 

A  legend,  thirteen  centuries  old,  lives  on  in  some 
of  the  names  and  places  of  the  city.  Near  the  site 
of  the  new  bridge  of  boats  there  existed  in  ancient 
times  a  ferry,  called  T'au-hwa-tu,  or  '  Peach-flower 
Ferry.'  Twenty  miles  north-west  of  the  city  stretches 
the  fine  range  of  hills  separating  the  Ningpo  plain 
from  Sanpeh,  and  one  of  the  many  passes  through 
these  hills  is  called  the  '  Peach-flower  Pass.'  It 
was  much  used  by  the  T'aip'ing  rebels,  but  it  is 
little  frequented  now.  I  imagine  that  the  pass 
and  the  ferry  had  an  intimate  connection  in  this 
legend,  even  as  they  bear  the  same  name.  The 
events  of  this  strange  story  antedate  the  foundation 
of  the  city ;  but  they  may  possibly  have  combined 
to  hasten  its  transference  to  its  present  site.  The 
legend  runs  thus.  In  ancient  times  a  dragon  used 
periodically  to  emerge  from  the  river,  and  unless 
appeased  by  the  yearly  offering  of  a  boy  and  girl, 
it  would  ravage  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  terrify 


NINGPO,  ANCIENT  AND  IMODERN       89 

the  inhabitants.  So  this  periodical  sacrifice  was  a 
custom  observed  with  agony  by  those  whose  children 
were  selected  for  the  purpose,  and  with  awe  b}^  the 
people  generally.  In  the  year  a.d.  618,  a  mandarin 
named  Huang  Shing  was  on  his  way  up  to  the  cit}'- 
to  assume  office,  coming  perhaps  across  the  '  Peach- 
flower  Pass.'  As  he  wended  his  way  through  the 
great  plain,  he  caught  up  two  country  people,  man 
and  wife,  with  two  little  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl, 
who  were  to  be  the  victims,  wailing  and  lamenting 
as  they  walked  along.  '  What  ails  you  ?  '  asked 
the  magistrate  ;  and  they  told  him  the  pitiful  story. 
The  magistrate's  heart  (large  as  the  proverbial 
heart  of  the  Prime  ^linister  himself,  '  of  capacity 
enough  to  float  a  ship  ')  was  stirred  with  compas- 
sion and  fired  with  indignation.  On  his  arrival  at 
the  spot  where  the  dragon  was  said  to  appear,  he 
mounted  a  white  horse  ;  and,  armed  with  a  sword 
made  of  rushes,  he  plunged  into  the  river  and  was 
seen  no  more.  Neither  was  the  dragon  seen  from 
that  day  forward  ;  only,  after  a  commotion  of  the 
waters,  they  became  dyed  as  by  the  colour  of  the 
peach-blossom,  with  the  mingled  blood  of  the  dead 
dragon  and  the  dead  but  victorious  champion. 
At  nearly  the  same  moment,  caused  by  the  dying 
throes  of  the  dragon,  a  pool  welled  up  within  the 
bounds  of  the  present  city  ;  and  this  still  remains, 
with  a  temple  on  its  bank  to  the  memory  of  the 
ancient  hero.  On  the  anniversary  of  this  event, 
in  the  month  of  I\Iay  or  June,  every  house  in  Ningpo 
has  to  this  day  over  its  door  a  cross  of  rushes  in 
commemoration  of  the  sword  of  the  avenger.  1 
have    myself    traversed    the    '  Peach-flower    Pass,' 


00  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

probably  unchanged  during  these  thirteen  hundred 
years.  But  the  '  Peach-flower  Ferry  '  is  no  more  ; 
and  the  hero's  spirit  has  to  endure  the  screeching  of 
the  sirens  of  the  Httle  river-steamers,  moored  close 
to  the  shore  from  which  he  plunged. 

These  thirteen  hundred  years  have  not  passed 
over  Ningpo  simply  with  the  roll  of  the  seasons,  the 
tranquil  occurrence  of  births  and  deaths,  with  cold 
and  heat,  and  day  and  night,  and  summer  and 
winter  in  featureless  succession ;  with  the  fair 
circling  hills  now  capped  or  furrowed  with  snow, 
now  all  ablaze  with  azaleas,  and  later  lit  up  with 
the  lightning  of  summer  storm  and  reverberating 
with  its  echoes  ;  its  rich  plains  now  covered  Avith 
wealth  of  wheat,  and  the  fourfold  rice-crop  and 
cotton,  now  brown  under  winter  skies,  with  clang- 
ing geese  flying  over  the  frozen  lakes  and  pools. 
Events  have  occurred  here  which  doubtless  broke 
the  monotony  of  the  busy  city's  life.  But  most  of 
the  old  voices  are  silent  in  history  and  silent  to 
memory ;  I  have  not  been  able  to  search  minutely 
into  Ningpo's  old  annals,  but  I  record  here  one 
or  two  of  her  ancient  and  modern  historical  events. 

During  the  Ming  dynasty,  probably  about  the 
time  of  their  commercial  enterprises  in  Japan,  both 
Portuguese  and  Dutch  merchants  appear  to  have 
settled  for  a  time  in  Foochow,  Amoy,  and  Ningpo. 

A  Ningpo  man  once  threatened  the  reigning 
dynasty,  and  in  fact  helped  to  bring  to  an  end  the 
great  and  regretted  rule  of  the  Ming  line.  This 
man,  Li  Ch'ang,  with  the  title  of  Tsz'  Ching,  Avas  a 
woodcutter  on  the  hills,  near  a  town  on  the  banks 
of   the   eastern   lakes,   twelve   miles   distant   from 


NINGPO,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN       91 

Ningxoo,  a  district  in  which  I  have  often  taught. 
One  hot  da}^  early  in  the  seventeentli  century,  he 
was  stooping  down  to  drink  and  bathe  in  the  moun- 
tain-stream, when  he  saw,  reflected  in  the  mirror 
of  the  water,  horse  and  foot-soldiers  in  bright  array, 
with  banners  flying,  and  at  their  head  a  man  on  a 
white  horse,  the  very  image  of  liimself.  Astonished 
at  the  apparition,  he  believed  that  it  Avas  his  fate  or 
his  honour  to  lead  an  army  and  to  found  a  dynasty. 
He  raised  a  rebellion,  and  so  severely  defeated  the 
imperialist  troops  that  the  emperor  Ts'ung  Cheng 
hanged  liimself  on  the  '  Coal  Hill '  in  Peking,  and 
Li  mounted  a  throne,  though  it  was  not  the  Dragon 
Throne.  But  eventually  he  was  defeated,  and  his 
power  overthrown  by  the  generalissimo  of  the 
Ming  line.  Possibly  this  general  was  an  ancestor 
of  Hung  Siu-ts'lian,  the  T'aip'ing  leader.  These 
lake-people  have  much  independence  of  spirit,  and 
during  the  occupation  of  the  country  by  the  rebels, 
the  lakes  were  carefully  avoided.  Earlier  than 
this,  in  1858-1859,  at  a  time  of  oppressive  taxation, 
the  lake  people,  under  chosen  leaders,  marched  on 
Ningpo  ;  and  defying  the  ragged  soldiers  of  the 
time,  compelled  the  mandarins  to  accede  to  their 
demands.  And  then,  with  that  combination  of 
contempt  of  life,  regard  for  law  and  order  and 
noblest  altruism,  which  the  Chinese  sometimes 
exhibit,  the  leaders,  having  gained  their  point  and 
rescued  their  fellow-lakesmen  and  the  country 
generally  from  oppression  and  wrong,  calmly  gave 
themselves  up  for  execution,  in  order  to  save  the 
magistrates'  honour  and  to  safeguard  the  law. 

One   poet   and   patron   of  literature   is   specially 


02  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

remembered  in  Ningpo,  and  a  temple  to  his  honour 
still  stands  on  the  shores  of  the  small  west  lake 
within  the  city  wall.  He  is  known  in  some  connec- 
tions, so  Mayers  tells  us,  as  the  '  Madcap  of  Sze- 
ming.'  But  there  must  have  been  more  in  this 
man  (Ho  Che-chang)  than  the  stories  of  his  joviality 
and  dissipation  would  imply.  He  lived  at  the  same 
time  as  Cuthbert  of  Northumbria,  and  the  outburst 
of  English  sacred  song  from  Caedmon's  voice  and 
harp  in  the  halls  of  Whitby's  abbey.  The  Ningpo 
poet  and  patron  of  letters  is  said  to  have  brought 
to  imperial  notice  and  favour  the  most  widely  cele- 
brated poet  of  China,  Li  Peh  by  name,  who  flourished 
and  faded  in  fame,  and  revived,  and  wandered  from 
far  Szchuan  to  the  Court,  where  his  Ningpo  friend 
described  him  as  an  immortal  banished  to  earth. 
Subsequently,  becoming  involved  in  some  intrigues, 
he  was  banished,  not  back  to  heaven,  but  to  remote 
Yunnan,  and  eventually  died  in  peace  at  Nanking, 
not  far  from  his  patron  at  Ningpo. 

These  ancient  singers  of  China  sang  of  lower 
themes  than  those  which  made  Caedmon's  old  voice 
young  again.  Not  the  glory  and  the  Avorks  of  God, 
but  the  follies  and  excesses  of  bacchanalian  scenes 
too  often  formed  their  subject.  But  in  some  of 
these  songs,  and  in  Chinese  classical  poetry  gener- 
ally, as  distinguished  from  the  stilted  verses  of 
modern  times,  there  is  the  truest  poetry.  Nature 
is  described  with  the  accuracy  of  careful  observation, 
but  softened  by  the  silver  haze  of  tears  which  love 
for  her  beauty  and  grief  for  her  fading  call  forth 
from  the  heart.  Such  description  is  itself  noblest 
sentiment  and  deepest  teaching.     The  soul  of  nature 


NINGPO,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN       93 

lives  and  sings  in  the  true  poet's  heart  and  voice, 
while  he  never  altogether  forgets  the  power  divine 
around  and  above  and  within  her. 

It  is  difficult  to  imagine  in  the  friendly  and 
prosperous  Ningpo  of  the  present  day  hoAv  un- 
friendly it  has  sometimes  been  in  the  past,  and  how 
terribly  it  suffered  during  the  great  rebellion.  There 
are  some  people  still  living  who  remember  and 
have  described  to  me  the  stranding  of  the  transport 
Kite  on  the  shores  of  the  Hangchow  Bay,  sixty 
years  and  more  ago,  and  the  exhibition  in  the  streets 
of  Ningpo  of  the  captain's  wife,  who  was  seized  by 
the  wreckers  and  carried  about  the  country  in  a 
criminal's  cage.  She  was  finally  released,  but  was 
for  a  time  exposed  to  the  insult  I  mention  by  the 
people  who  now,  in  city  and  country  alike,  are 
courteous  and  friendly  to  all  those  who  treat  them 
with  courtesy,  and  not  with  supercilious  contempt. 

The  peninsula  on  which  the  foreign  settlement  of 
Ningpo  stands  has  a  strange  story  connected  with 
it.  In  former  times  an  official  of  high  rank  was 
falsely  accused  and  beheaded.  The  dead  man's 
friends  sought  to  honour  him  by  fitting  a  golden 
head  to  the  corpse,  so  that  he  might  not  appear 
headless  in  Hades.  But  lest  the  precious  mass 
should  be  stolen,  they  built  six  elaborate  and  costly 
sepulclu*cs  to  baffle  search.  And  then,  to  make 
the  secret  doubly  secure,  they  cruelly  put  to  death 
all  the  workmen  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  build- 
ing of  the  tombs. 

The  hills  and  plains  of  Ningpo  are  for  the  most 
part  free  from  both  dangerous  wild  beasts  and 
venomous   reptiles.     I>ut   three   times   over   within 


94  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

my  memory  royal  tigers  have  visited  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  city,  and  leopards  and  large  wild 
cats  are  frequently  seen  in  the  Ningpo  hills.  A 
sportsman  once  told  me  of  an  adventure  he  had  on 
the  hills  to  the  north-west.  He  was  lying  on 
his  back  one  moonlight  night  watching  for  wild 
geese  to  fly  over,  when  a  beast  leapt  over  him,  and 
then  turned  and  faced  him,  near  a  white  grave- 
stone. To  his  astonishment  he  saw  that  it  was  a 
full-grown  wolf;  and  the  country-people  told  him 
next  day  that  wolves  hunt  in  packs  in  those 
districts.  Two  large  wolves  were  shot  at  the  lakes 
near  the  city  a  few  winters  ago. 


RUMOURS  AND  LEGENDS 


CHAPTER   V 

RUMOURS   AND    LEGENDS 

It  is,  I  think,  quite  possible  to  exaggerate  the  vahie 
of  the  assistance  given  by  foreign  nations  to  China, 
when  she  slowly  rose  from  the  dust  and  mire  and 
endeavoured  to  collect  her  distracted  forces,  and  to 
stand  and  rule  again  after  the  staggering  blows  of 
disastrous  foreign  war  and  the  unparalleled  woe  of 
the  years  of  the  rebellion. 

The  assurance  that  the  imperialist  Government 
could  now  count  on  foreign  sympathy  and  help, 
as  shown  by  the  operations  at  Nanking  and  round 
Shanghai,  and  by  the  later  events  at  Ningpo,  removed 
a  great  incubus  of  apprehension,  and  set  the  despair- 
ing Government  free  to  concentrate  all  its  energy 
on  the  restitution  of  law  and  order,  and  of  industry 
and  trade,  in  the  desolate  land. 

On  the  other  hand,  foreigners  are  most  liable  to 
underestimate  China's  own  God-given  and  eminent 
power  of  cohesion  and  recuperation.  Only  those 
who  have  seen  with  their  own  eyes  China's  life  and 
activities  almost  silenced,  her  cities  and  plains 
desolate  and  scorched,  her  educational  system 
paralysed,  and  her  power  and  rule  so  completely 
shattered  that  a  tripartite  division  of  the  land  by 
three  leading  European  powers  seemed  the  kindest 
thing  for  a  country  already  apparently  in  a  state  of 


98  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

disRolutioji — those  eye-witnesses,  and  they  alone 
perhaps,  can  appreciate  the  wonder  of  China's 
revival,  and  of  the  restoration  of  the  activities  of 
education,  agriculture,  handicraft,  and  commerce 
— that  fourfold  division  of  Chinese  life — which, 
after  a  pause  necessitated  by  the  awful  fatigues 
of  fourteen  years  of  civil  strife,  renewed  their 
existence. 

The  destruction  of  the  Buddhist  and  Taoist 
temples  and  monasteries,  and  the  abolition  of  the 
idols,  afforded  one  instance  only  of  the  desolation 
in  all  departments  of  life  and  work.  The  mandarins, 
with  the  acquiescence  of  the  people,  presuming  on 
the  practical  genius  of  the  race,  forbade  for  the 
time  being  all  expense  and  toil  in  the  rehabilitation 
of  the  idols.  I  have  seen  proclamations  from  non- 
Christian  official  pencils  forbidding  the  practice  of 
idolatry  and  prohibiting  the  rebuilding  of  the 
temples,  on  the  double  ground  of  their  essential 
uselessness  and  the  waste  of  money  at  a  time 
when  all  available  capital  was  required  for  other 
projects.  Nothing  more  scathing  or  more  drastic 
could  have  been  issued  had  a  Christian  magistrate 
or  a  church  official,  acting  under  unwise  advice, 
sought  to  coerce  instead  of  to  influence  conscience 
and  belief.  The  proclamations  contained  one  signifi- 
cant and  characteristic  clause ;  the  idol-temples 
were  indeed  on  no  account  to  be  restored  till  further 
notice,  nor  were  the  images  to  be  settled  on  their 
pedestals  again,  with  new  heads  and  limbs  provided 
for  them,  but  it  was  added  that  exception  might 
be  made  in  favour  of  such  hero-  and  guardian-images 
as  had  deserved  well  of  the  people.     The  Chinese 


RUIVIOURS  AND  LEGENDS  99 

possess,  besides  the  shrines  of  their  recognised 
systems.  Buddhism,  Confucianism,  and  Taoism, 
temples  called  side  miau,  erected  in  memory  of 
local  heroes,  the  merit  of  whose  exploits  in  the  past 
is  supposed  still  to  guard  the  luck  of  the  special 
locality.  These  temples  are  quite  distinct  from 
ancestral  temples,  which,  as  a  rule,  have  no  images 
in  them.  So  far  as  I  miderstand  them,  they  are 
in  a  sense  mider  the  patronage  of  the  established 
creeds  Taoism  and  Buddhism,  and  special  ceremonies 
in  them  would  be  under  the  control  of  Taoist  or 
Buddhist  priests.  The  idea  of  these  guardian  spirits, 
deified  and  powerful,  was  expressed  not  obscurely 
in  William  the  Conqueror's  dirge  and  prayer  over 
Harold's  tomb  at  Battle  Abbey  : — 

'  Let  his  corpse  guard  the  coasts  wliich  his  life  madly 

defended  : 
Let  the  seas  wail  his  dirge  and  girdle  his  grave, 
And  his  spirit  protect  the  land  that  hath  passed  to 

the  Normans.' 

It  is  noteworthy,  however,  how  audacious  the 
materialistic  and  unspiritual  nature  of  Chinese 
religious  thought  may  suddenly  declare  itself  to 
be.  Here  the  mandarins,  under  the  pressure  of 
national  calamity  and  present  want,  set  tlicmselves 
to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  gods,  to  criticise  their 
powerlessness  in  the  struggle  through  which  China 
had  just  passed,  and  to  point  out  that  deities  which 
could  not  keep  their  heads  on  their  own  shoulders 
could  not  be  of  much  avail  in  saving  the  people 
from  decapitation,  and  that  it  might  be  mere  irony 
to    rehabilitate    and    re-establish    those    mIio    lia(i 


100         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

fallen  so  low.  At  the  same  time  they  claimed, 
as  I  have  said,  the  power  of  discrimination,  and 
rewarded  those  gods  who  had  tried  to  do  their 
duty.  This  very  mixture  of  superstition,  incre- 
dulity, and  insolence,  however  reasonable  and 
true  in  such  a  connection,  scarcely  avails  to  hide 
from  view  the  real  unreligiousness  of  the  Chinese 
nature. 

It  was  a  further  proof  of  the  pathetic  hopelessness 
of  the  people  and  of  the  helplessness  of  their  own 
religions,  that,  knowing  the  iconoclastic  rage  of  the 
T'aip'ings,  the  Chinese  endeavoured  frantically  to 
save  the  images  which  could  not  save  them,  by 
hiding  the  idols  within  the  black-walled  ancestral 
temples.  Ked  or  yellow  waUs  distinguish  the 
temples  of  Taoism  or  Buddhism  and  of  local  heroes 
and  genii,  and  thither  the  iconoclasts  would  go  for 
their  destructive  work  ;  but  the  people  hoped  they 
might  avoid  the  black  ancestral  walls,  since  no 
images  would  be  expected  there. 

I  have  spoken  above  of  the  after-days  of  China's 
great  woe  being  like  the  heaving  and  sighing  of  a 
storm  going  down.  China  had  been  rudely  awak- 
ened from  end  to  end.  That  rude  shock  Avas  in 
some  senses  the  first  symptom  of  the  greater  awaken- 
ing which  has  now,  after  several  intervening  shocks, 
thrown  the  land  almost  into  convulsion.  But  that 
upheaval  not  only  aroused  a  feeling  of  insecurity 
and  a  yearning  for  some  sound  and  practical  reform, 
with  patriotism  also  struggling  for  a  voice :  it 
seemed  to  influence  society  in  all  grades,  and  for  a 
while  to  release  from  all  control  the  generally  sound 
sense  and  practical  genius  of  the  Chinese,  and  to 


RUMOURS  AND  LEGENDS  101 

lead  them  to  believe,  in  a  kind  of  frenzy,  any 
monstrous  tale,  any  rumour  of  magic  or  of  portent, 
and  even  to  invent  such  if  they  could  not  encounter 
them. 

It  was  strange  and  disappointing  to  note  how 
readily  the  people  and  the  government  forgot  what 
they  themselves  had  been  so  loud  in  proclaiming, 
their  debt  to  foreigners  for  delivering  them  from 
their  oppressors,  and  for  saving  so  many  of  them 
from  slavery,  starvation,  and  death.  Some  of  their 
cxliibitions  of  ini2;ratitudc  were  either  malicious  or 
childish,  such  as  the  riotous  demand  for  the  filling 
up  of  Dew's  defence-canal,  and  the  threat  to  demolish 
the  obelisk  erected  in  memory  of  those  who  had 
died  for  Ningpo.  But  early  in  these  unsettled  years 
unrest  and  dissatisfaction  were  aroused  amongst  the 
people  by  more  serious  causes.  The  coolie-traffic 
in  the  Eastern  seas,  sometimes  semi-officially  recog- 
nised, though  with  certain  restrictions,  sometimes 
lawless  and  contraband,  was  carried  on  largely  by 
foreign  adventurers  in  fast-sailing  barques  or  lorchas. 
They  would  lie  at  anchor  near  the  mouths  of  rivers 
connecting  with  large  cities  and  towns,  and  sending 
well-manned  boats  with  muffled  oars  in  the  dusk 
up  these  rivers,  they  would  waylay  and  carry  out 
to  sea  unwary  countrymen  on  their  way  home  from 
market.  The  form  this  Iddnapping  was  supposed 
to  take  at  Ningpo  was  expressed  by  the  shout, 
L^ao  dac,  'gag  biin  in  the  sack,'  which  I  have  had 
shouted  after  mo  many  liuudred  times,  innocent  as 
I  was.  The  story  was  that  the  kidnappers  carried 
sacks  with  them,  which  they  threw  over  the  heads 
of  their  victims,  and  then  tied  tightly,  so  as  practi- 


102         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

cally  to  gag  the  men  and  render  them  helpless. 
Some  such  cases  must  certainly  have  occurred  to 
account  for  the  frenzy  of  the  people.  It  became  so 
serious  as  to  form  a  menace  to  all  foreigners.  I  was 
at  the  time  the  senior  member  of  our  mission  in 
Ningpo,  my  brother  having  gone  inland  to  open  a 
station  at  Hangchow ;  and  I  was  summoned  one 
day  by  special  messenger  to  the  British  consulate 
to  attend  a  meeting,  with  closed  doors,  of  an  emer- 
gency committee,  at  which  the  consul,  the  captain 
of  the  man-of-war  in  harbour,  and  a  few  leading 
residents  were  present.  The  danger  was  deemed  by 
them  so  grave  that  a  scheme  of  defence  in  case  of 
attack  was  drawn  up,  and  signals  were  agreed  upon. 
I  Avas  directed  by  the  consul  to  have  a  swift  '  foot- 
boat  '  (described  in  chapter  vii.),  with  two  strong 
and  trustworthy  men,  ready  to  convey  a  warning 
as  swiftly  as  possible  (in  days  when  no  telegraph 
was  available  nor  steam  on  the  inland  waters)  to 
Hangchow  and  the  mission  there ;  a  warning 
which  was  to  imply  a  command  to  leave  for  the 
nearest  port.  My  brother  was  privately  informed 
by  myself  of  the  danger,  and  of  the  possible 
arrival  of  such  messengers.  He  communicated 
the  news  to  the  Roman  Catholic  sisters  residing 
alone  in  the  city,  and  was  warmly  thanked  by 
them.  The  danger  passed,  but  it  had  been  a  real 
danger,  and  the  rumour  was  renewed  from  time 
to  time. 

I  was  sitting  one  day  in  my  study  with  my  Chinese 
pupils,  when  a  Chinese  preacher  ran  in  to  inform 
me  that  an  anonymous  placard  of  a  peculiarly 
truculent  and   dangerous  character  was  displayed 


RUMOURS  AND  LEGENDS  103 

in  the  main  street  of  the  city,  near  my  house,  and 
that  a  great  crowd  was  eagerly  reading  it.     We  went 
out  together  to  see  what  could  be  done,  and  found 
a  man  reading  the  placard  aloud  to  the  people.     It 
related  that  on  the  previous  day  a  certain  man 
had  freed  himself  from  the  kidnappers  by  a  desperate 
effort,  and  leaping  into  a  boat  bound  for  the  city 
with  the  rushing  flood-tide,  had  escaped  from  his 
enemies,    who    were    making    slow   progress   down 
stream  and  against  the  tide.     He  was  said  to  be  in 
a  house  in  a  street  specified  on  the  placard,  and  to 
be  dying  from  the  effects  of  the  fright  and  the 
struggle  ;    and  the  people  were  urged  to   avenge 
the  outrage.     We  drew  nearer,  and  I  addressed  the 
crowd,  telling  them  that  this  was  a  serious  affair 
indeed.     If  true,  the  kidnappers  must  be  pursued 
and  punished  :   if  false,  those  who  issued  the  placard 
and  invented  the  story  would  be  punished  severely. 
'  I  must  remove  the  placard,'  I  said,  '  and  bring  it 
to  the  notice  of  the  mandarins  and  of  the  English 
consul'     We  then  carefully  tore  down  the  placard 
and  pocketed  it,  the  people  apparently  acquiescing. 
'  But  meanwhile,'  I  said,  '  will  you  not  accompany 
me  to  call  on  this  poor  dying  man  ?     Here  we  have 
the  name  of  the  street  and  of  the  house  where  he  is 
lying,  not  far  from  this  spot.'     I  then  led  the  way 
with    my   Chinese    companion,    the    mob   following 
with   curiosity   or   serious   intent.     We   found   the 
house,  and  knocking  at  the  door,  we  asked  with 
great  concern  whether  it  was  true  that  a  man  who 
had  escaped  from  the  wicked  kidnappers  was  lying 
there  at  the  point  of  death.     '  He  has  been  here,' 
the  people  of  the  house  replied,  '  ])ut  he  left  early 


104         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

this  morning  for  a  house  near  the  south  gate.'  '  Is 
that  possible  ?  '  we  replied  ;  '  we  must  hasten  to 
find  him  at  his  new  residence.'  Turning  to  the 
crowd  I  said  that  if  they  would  spare  the  time  to 
walk  another  mile  or  so,  we  would  search  for  our 
dying  friend.  We  reached  the  south  gate,  and 
knocked  at  the  door  of  the  house  specified.  '  Is  the 
man  here,'  we  asked,  '  lying  at  death's  door,  who, 
as  we  are  informed  by  the  placards,  escaped  with 
the  utmost  difficulty  and  danger  from  the  kid- 
nappers ?  '  '  Let  me  see,'  replied  the  man  who 
opened  the  door  ;  '  yes,  he  has  been  here,  I  believe. 
But  he  has  gone  off  now  to  the  country.'  I  then 
turned  again  to  the  crowd,  which  had  already 
dwindled  to  a  much  smaller  company,  and  asked 
them  if  they  believed  the  story.  They  laughed 
heartily,  and  broke  up  with  restored  confidence. 
The  placard  was  not  re-issued,  but  danger  for  a  time 
was  imminent. 

It  will  hardly  be  possible  for  China  to  experience 
again  the  excitement  and  the  frenzy  described  in 
the  following  narrative.  Already  the  daily  press, 
with  morning  and  evening  Chinese  newspapers  in 
large  cities,  and  country  editions  as  well,  has  shamed 
away  some  of  the  most  barbarous  features  of  Chinese 
justice,  such  as  torture  and  excessive  scourging. 
These  are  not  so  lightly  inflicted  now,  with  the 
wholesome  fear  of  the  next  morning's  police-reports 
published  in  the  columns  of  the  daily  newspapers. 
To  a  yet  greater  extent,  perhaps,  will  rumours  of 
magic  art  or  portents,  invented  by  dealers  in  false 
news,  cease  to  be  believed  by  the  people,  when  they 
no  longer  pass  like  winged  words  from  mouth  to 


RTOIOURS  AND  LEGENDS  105 

mouth,  with  no  responsible  author  and  with  few 
data  as  to  time  and  place,  but  appear  in  print, 
involving  risk  to  the  credit  of  editor  and  corre- 
spondents, if  proved  to  be  only  baseless  machina- 
tions. It  is  true,  however,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
some  papers  would  lose  their  attraction  and  suffer 
accordingly  if  they  closed  their  columns  to  all 
fanciful  stories  and  marvellous  tales.  During  the 
present  year  (1010)  rumours  of  what  is  called 
'  cutting  the  melon,'  by  which  phrase  is  meant  the 
suspected  design  of  Western  powers  for  the  parti- 
tion of  China,  have  been  fully  reported  and  eagerly 
commented  upon  in  the  press.  The  remarkable 
feature  in  the  stories  which  follow  is  that  they  spread 
like  an  epidemic  through  the  land,  a  feature,  in  my 
sober  opinion,  pointing  to  something  lower  and  yet 
mightier  than  human  agency. 

It  was  about  the  time  of  the  great  famine  in  the 
north  (to  which  1  refer  later),  and  the  period  of  the 
Mohammedan  uprising  in  Yunnan  and  in  the  far 
north-west,  when  the  portrait  and  seal  of  the  coming 
Moslem  emperor  were  secretly  distributed.  It  was 
the  period  also  a\  hen  the  great  Tso,  with  his  Fabian 
policy  of  delay,  halting  his  army  more  than  once 
to  sow  the  fields  and  garner  the  harvest,  prepared 
for  another  great  stride  towards  the  far-off'  enemy, 
the  Mohammedan  rebels  ;  and  so,  gathering  strength 
as  he  advanced  and  halted  and  then  advanced  again, 
struck,  when  he  did  strike,  with  full  and  resistless 
force.  It  seems  probable,  from  some  of  the  symp- 
toms accompanying  these  rumours,  that  the  renniants 
of  the  T'aip'ings  also  were  biding  their  time  and 
preparing  for  another  bid  for  power.     Some  of  these 


106         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

rumours  and  consequent  panics  burst  upon  us 
suddenly ;  others  arrived  after  long  weeks  of 
distant  warning. 

I  was  residing  at  the  time  in  the  interior,  working 
in  the  first  inland  city  (Hangchow)  definitely  and 
permanently  occupied  as  a  place  of  residence  and 
mission-work  away  from  the  coast  or  river-ports. 
I  was  rendered  uneasy  in  the  late  spring  of  1876 
by  rumours  of  secret  signs  and  magic  arts  which 
seemed  forewarnings  of  an  early  call  to  arms  by 
some  hidden  revolutionary  agency.  The  sign  was 
the  disappearance  from  many  heads  of  the  long 
queue,  which  is  regarded  as  a  badge  of  subjection 
imposed  by  the  Tartar  rulers  of  China.  It  is  longer 
than  the  English  queue  of  a  century  ago.  The 
rumour  leapt  from  lip  to  lip  and  from  town  to  town 
that  these  queues  fell  off  by  some  unseen  and  un- 
known agency,  and  it  was  a  fatal  sign  of  calamity 
for  a  tailless  man ;  he  would  die  in  three  days  or 
in  three  hundred  days.  Strange  to  say,  instead  of 
suspecting  the  secret  agency  of  T^aip'ing  emissaries, 
which  seemed  more  than  probable  from  the  fact  that 
the  T'^aip'ings  themselves,  in  their  conquests,  every- 
where compelled  the  abandonment  of  the  queue,  the 
distracted  and  ungrateful  people  began  to  lay  the 
blame  on  foreigners,  and  as  missionaries  were  the 
only  foreigners  in  the  inland  districts,  they  looked 
askance  at  us.  Many  times,  when  after  preaching 
in  the  street-chapel  I  walked  with  my  wife  and 
children  to  the  nearest  city  gate  for  air  and  exer- 
cise, the  men  as  they  met  us  in  the  crowded  streets 
would  sidle  away,  holding  their  long  queues  over 
their  shoulders  tightly  in  their  hands.     It  was  diffi- 


RUMOURS  AND  LEGENDS  107 

cult  not  to  feel  amused  contempt  for  their  cowardly 
and  unfriendly  folly.  The  rumour  soon  touched  us 
very  closely,  and  possibly  by  that  close  touch,  com- 
bined with  other  causes,  warded  off  the  danger  of 
actual  violence.  My  trusted  and  much-valued 
Chinese  helper,  ^Matthew  Tai,  when  kneeling  at 
evening  prayers  in  his  own  house  with  his  family 
and  some  school-boys,  found  on  rising  that  his  queue 
was  gone.  He  had  felt  no  jerk,  and  was  unaware 
of  any  jar  of  scissors  or  shears  separating  the  coil ; 
yet  the  twists  of  a  Chinese  queue  are  so  thick  and 
close  that  nothing  but  a  sharp  instrument  and  a 
strong  hand,  and  that  with  an  inevitable  shock, 
could  effect  it.  His  tail  was  gone  ;  and,  though 
not  believing  in  magic  or  trusting  the  sinister  pro- 
phecy, neither  he  nor  we  felt  quite  comfortable  in 
the  matter.  I  suspected  at  the  time  one  of  the 
school-boys  who  was  present,  and  who  was  notorious 
for  merriment  and,  when  possible,  practical  joking, 
but  this  conjecture  was  rudely  disposed  of  the  very 
next  day.  This  boy  came  to  my  house  at  three 
o'clock  on  a  summer  afternoon.  On  his  way  home, 
a  distance  of  only  a  few  hundred  yards,  he  met  no 
one  ;  but  on  his  reaching  the  door,  his  mother,  to 
her  horror  and  alarm,  saw  at  once  that  her  son's 
queue  was  gone.  He  too  was  quite  unconscious  of 
any  shock  or  jar  or  sound.  Our  English  doctor, 
suspecting  the  employment  of  some  strong  chemicals, 
very  carefully  examined  the  edges  both  of  the  fallen 
queue  and  of  the  stumps  remaining,  but  he  could 
trace  nothing.  1  can  see  now  the  awed  and  half- 
guilty  faces  of  the  man  and  boy  side  by  side  in 
chiu'ch  the  next  Sunday,  and  the  expectation  of  the 


108         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

congregation.  Three  days,  or  three  hundred  days  ! 
What  a  starthng  prospect  and  agonising  suspense  ! 
Tlie  days  of  probation  passed  in  peace  for  them  both, 
and  the  boy,  after  thirty-four  years,  with  a  new 
queue  is  Uving  still.  This  rumour,  Avith  its  mis- 
chievous consequences,  subsided ;  but  the  real 
occurrence  of  such  portents  remains  a  fact  of  history, 
and  that  they  have  never  been  fully  explained 
is  also  true. 

During  the  summer  which  followed  on  this  queue- 
cutting  scare,  we  noticed  with  anxiety  the  news  in 
the  weekly  press  of  the  appearance  in  the  far  north- 
west, and  the  gradual  spread  through  the  provinces, 
of  what  came  to  be  known  as  the  '  paper-man  ' 
portent.  The  story  was  that  paper  figures,  either 
in  human  form  or  in  the  form  of  some  animal,  were 
cut  out  by  unseen  hands  with  magical  art,  and  sent 
up  into  the  air,  to  return  heavy  as  lead  and  crush 
to  death  the  victims  on  whom  they  descended.  We 
watched  the  progress  of  this  rumour  as  it  crept  or 
sprang,  like  some  beast  of  prey,  from  province  to 
province  and  from  city  to  city.  The  direction  taken 
seemed  to  point  towards  Hangchow  and  Chekiang. 
It  drew  near.  The  inhabitants  of  a  town  only  ten 
miles  to  the  north  of  HangchoAv,  T'angsi,  maddened 
by  the  supposed  arrival  of  the  monster,  seized,  on 
suspicion  of  black  arts,  a  Buddhist  priest  and  a 
Roman  Catholic  Christian,  and  burnt  them  alive 
in  the  market-place.  On  Saturday,  the  7th  of 
September,  the  news  came  that  the  mysterious 
visitant  had  reached  the  northern  suburb  of  Hang- 
chow, four  miles  from  our  mission-house.  A  busy 
Sunday  followed  for  me,  with  Sunday-school,  two 


RUMOURS  AND  LEGENDS  109 

Chinese  services,  and  baptismal  and  funeral  services 
in  addition.  Tired  ^'►liysically  by  the  long  day,  I 
was  pacing  to  and  fro  in  my  verandah  at  9  p.m., 
when  suddenly  I  was  startled  by  an  unearthly  scream 
and  shout,  followed  by  a  noise  as  of  horse-hoofs 
trampling  on  a  loose  floor,  and  the  cries  and  murmurs 
of  a  crowd  in  the  '  Horse  Lane  '  outside  my  garden 
wall.  Feeling  sure  that  the  mysterious  visitor, 
whatever  it  might  be,  had  leapt  to  our  very  door, 
I  called  my  Christian  cook,  having  no  English 
colleague  in  the  city  at  the  time,  and  directed  him 
to  light  a  lantern  and  accompany  me  into  the  lane 
outside,  to  mingle  with  the  crowd  and  see  what  help 
we  could  render  them,  God  guiding  us.  It  was 
probably  a  risk,  for  already,  as  shown  in  the  town 
named  above,  the  blame  for  these  magic  arts  was  by 
mischievous  and  unfriendly  people  laid  at  the 
foreigner's  door.  I  found  the  lane  crowded  with 
people,  jostling  one  another  and  shouting.  '  What 
is  the  matter,  my  friends  ?  '  I  asked.  '  Don't  you 
know  ?  '  they  replied.  '  He  has  come  !  '  '  Who  has 
come  ?  '  '  The  paper-man,  and  he  has  fallen  and 
nearly  crushed  to  death  a  weaver  in  the  house  just 
opposite.'  I  asked  if  I  could  see  him  ;  not  the 
paper-man,  for  I  did  not  believe  there  was  such 
a  being,  but  the  man  on  whom  he  had  fallen. 
'  Please  come  in,'  they  said,  '  and  examine  the 
victim.'  I  entered  the  house,  and  found  a  young 
weaver  raving  with  terror,  running  and  stamping 
up  and  down  the  floor.  I  begged  him  to  sit  down 
and  taUv  quietly,  and  he  became  calmer.  Then,  as 
we  fanned  ourselves  in  the  dense  hot  atmosphere, 
he  told  me  what  had  happened.     '  I  luid  finished  my 


110         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

supper,'  he  said,  '  and  had  lain  down,  drawing  the 
mosquito-curtains  round  me,  when  suddenly  they 
seemed  to  be  lifted,  and  something  fell  on  me  like 
a  lump  of  lead,  doubtless  this  paper-man.  Had  I 
not  cried  out,  and  thrown  it  off,  and  leapt  out  of 
bed,  I  should  have  died  as  others,  we  hear,  have 
died.'  '  Where  is  this  paper-man  ?  '  I  asked  ;  '  what 
has  become  of  this  weight  of  lead  ?  It  must  be 
somewhere  in  this  room.'  '  It  has  gone,'  they  aU 
shouted  ;  '  the  paper-man  is  never  seen  !  '  I  asked 
them  then  to  answer  two  questions.  '  Were  you 
not  all  sitting  up  late  in  the  hot  street,  gossiping 
and  discussing  this  very  rumour  ?  Is  it  strange, 
then,  that  this  young  friend  of  ours  dreamed  of  it 
as  he  fell  asleep,  and  with  a  nightmare  reahsed  it  ? 
And  once  more,  may  I  ask  the  victim  what  he  had 
for  supper  ?  '  He  replied  indignantly  that  that 
could  not  account  for  it,  and  it  Avas  impossible 
to  laugh  the  matter  to  scorn,  and  explain  it  by 
ridicule.  I  said  that  such  a  thing  was  farthest 
from  my  purpose,  and  that  I  had  made  the  sugges- 
tion only  to  comfort  them  in  that  special  instance, 
not  to  deny  the  possibility  or  the  reality  of  portents 
which  we  could  not  at  once  explain.  I  wished 
further,  I  said,  to  present  to  them  a  better  prophy- 
lactic than  that  which  was  then  recommended  in 
the  city.  Umbrellas  were  to  be  held  up  day  and 
night,  and  gongs  were  to  be  incessantly  struck,  to 
ward  off  and  frighten  away  the  magic.  There  was 
not  another  umbrella  or  gong  to  be  bought  in  the 
city.  I  told  them  there  was  an  even  better  plan. 
In  every  trouble  sharp  and  strong,  as  in  that  visita- 
tion, or  amidst  their  ordinary  daily  annoyances  and 


RTOIOURS  AND  LEGENDS  HI 

anxieties,  they  should  go  straight  to  the  great  God, 
only  '  three  ieet  above  their  heads,'  as  their  proverb 
told  them,  a  God  near  and  not  far  off,  their  God 
and  Father  in  Christ,  and  like  as  a  father  pities  his 
children,  so  God  would  pity  them.  The  crowd  did 
not  cheer,  but  with  a  murmur  of  appreciation  and 
thanks  for  my  sympathy  it  dispersed,  and  I  re- 
entered my  garden-gate.  The  danger  had  passed 
away  for  us  ;  but  all  through  that  sultry  night 
we  heard,  now  near,  now  further  off,  the  same  sudden 
cry  of  surprise  and  anguish  as  one  house  after 
another,  street  by  street,  was  visited  by  the  strange 
portent. 

After  some  time  the  story  of  these  incidents  came 
to  the  ear  of  the  Viceroy.  He  was  informed  of  the 
dangerous  proportions  the  rumours  were  acquiring, 
and  of  the  imminent  danger  of  attacks  on  missions 
and  on  Chinese  converts.  The  Viceroy  acted  at 
once.  He  was  no  friend  of  foreigners  or  patron  of 
Christian  missions,  but  he  was  an  honest  and 
powerful  ruler.  He  issued  a  proclamation,  which 
was  largely  distributed,  and  Avas  affixed  to  the  great 
gates  of  the  pubUc  enclosure  in  Nanking,  which 
contains  accommodation  for  fifteen  thousand 
graduates,  when  competing  for  the  degree  of  kil-jin, 
the  second  degree.  The  proclamation  thus  met 
the  eyes  of  the  proud  and  inimical  gentry,  as  they 
entered  the  enclosure  day  after  day,  for  it  was  at 
the  time  of  examinations.  The  proclamation  ridi- 
culed the  credulity  of  the  people  \\ho  could  place 
credit  in  such  foolish  and  groundless  stories.  They 
were  forbidden  to  circulate  the  rumours  any  longer, 
and  were  exhorted  to  be  quiet  and  do  their  own 


112        HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

business.  '  At  any  rate,'  the  Viceroy  proceeded, 
'  of  one  thing  I  can  assure  you  ;  the  Christians  have 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  this  mischievous  con- 
spiracy. I  can  testify  that  they  are  amongst  the 
most  peaceable  and  law-abiding  of  my  subjects.' 
The  effect  was  almost  instantaneous  ;  the  rumours 
died  away,  the  paper-men  became  extinct,  and  God 
made  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him. 

Not  all  the  legends  and  superstitions,  however, 
which  dominate  China's  thought,  and  often  dominate 
her  society,  are  of  so  malicious  and  hostile  a  nature. 
The  deepest  pathos  lies  in  some  of  the  old  stories 
and  in  the  folklore  of  the  land,  of  which  I  WTite 
in  my  chapter  on  country-life.  A  great  charm 
attaches  to  the  dark  and  cold  winter  and  early 
spring  in  the  part  of  China  with  which  I  am  especi- 
ally acquainted,  because  of  their  early  and  sweet- 
smelling  flowers.  The  lah-mei,  or  waxen  almond, 
bears  yellow  globular  blossoms,  which  cluster  along 
its  twigs  by  the  side  of,  or  pushing  off,  the  brown 
leaves  of  the  dying  year,  and  appear  long  before 
the  spring  leaf-buds  show  themselves.  This  flower 
is  very  fragrant ;  and,  shining  through  the  snow 
of  Christmastide  and  early  January,  is  specially 
welcome.  The  lan-hwa  also,  an  orchid  with  green- 
veined  and  pink-lipped  flowers,  of  a  gentle  fragrance 
and  with  long  thin  grass-like  leaves,  is  greatly 
prized  through  February  and  March.  But  the 
sweetest  of  all  is  the  narcissus  ;  the  '  water-fairy 
flower.'  The  bulbs  can  be  purchased  in  Northern 
markets  in  late  November,  and  other  varieties,  all 
of  which  are  said  to  come  from  the  South,  go  on 
flowering  till  the  end  of  March.     The  orthodox  plan 


RUMOURS  AND  LEGENDS  113 

is  to  place  the  bulbs  in  shallow  blue  dishes,  filled 
with  water,  and  with  small  stones  or  preferably 
sea-  or  torrent-pebbles  surrounding  them.  A  prac- 
tical reason  for  the  addition  of  these  pebbles  would 
seem  to  be  the  support  afforded  to  the  bulbs,  which 
prevents  their  falling  over  when  the  plants  are  full- 
grown  and  heavy  with  the  leaf-sheaths  and  clusters 
of  flowers.  But  legend  is  stronger  than  use,  and 
the  real  reason,  so  the  Chinese  say,  is  as  follows. 
Long,  long  ago,  an  old  man  and  his  wife  lived  in 
extreme  poverty,  near  to  a  mountain  stream  in 
Southern  China.  They  had  the  blessing  of  two 
daughters,  who  would  not  leave  their  parents  for 
homes  of  their  own,  but  dutifully  and  tenderly 
cared  for  them.  The  old  people  died,  and  were 
buried  near ;  and  the  poor  girls  went  daily  to  the 
side  of  the  stream  to  weep.  Narrow  strips  of 
ground  with  poor  sandy  soil,  stretching  along  the 
bank  formed  their  sole  patrimony ;  but  now,  as  their 
tears  fell  like  rain,  the  sand  and  pebbles  heaved  ; 
and  the  leaves,  and  then  the  sweet  flowers  of  count- 
less narcissus  plants  pushed  their  way  through,  and 
their  whole  heritage  shone  with  a  fragrant  and 
valuable  harvest.  They  sold  and  sold  again  this 
bountiful  gift  of  the  divinely-sent  fairy,  and  their 
descendants  (so  the  legend  concludes)  for  long 
generations  have  derived  wealth  froni  this  soiu'ce. 

The  Chinese  in  this  region  do  not  seem  to  care 
to  preserve  the  roots,  after  flowering,  for  the  next 
winter,  though  they  succeed  fairly  well  if  planted 
out.  The  natives  seem  to  prefer  to  wait  for  a  fresh 
supply  from  the  regular  market  in  the  south.  It 
is  a  beautiful  legend,  fragrant  with  tlie  best  traits 

H 


114         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

of  Chinese  filial  piety  and  ancestral  worship,  and 
sweetest  of  all  because  it  puts  women  in  the  place 
of  honour  as  the  heroines  of  virtue. 

The  following  simple  lines  narrate  in  verse  the 
story  of  the  '  water-fairy  '  flower. 

In  bygone  days,  so  runs  the  tale, 
There  lived  in  a  lone  upland  vale, 
Husband  and  wife,  poor,  blind,  and  old. 
Their  lowly  hut  by  waters  cold 
Of  mountain  stream,  yet  bright  and  fair 
Shone  with  the  rays  of  treasure  rare. 
The  duteous  love  of  gentle  daughters. 

The  winter  streams  now  darkly  flow, 
With  skirt  of  ice  and  fringe  of  snow  ; 
Death  rides  upon  the  stormy  blast. 
And  those  tired  souls  away  have  past. 
Hopeless  upon  the  pebbly  sand 
The  lonely  maidens  weeping  stand  ; 

Their  tears  mix  with  the  moaning  waters. 

This  dreary  reach  of  barren  soil, 

That  yields  no  harvest  to  their  toil, 

This  is  their  patrimony  poor ; 

Nay  !  rather  Heaven's  high  promise  sure, 

That  crowns  with  blessing  filial  love. 

And  hfts  into  the  ranks  above 

The  lowliest  home  with  this  fair  order. 

Sudden,  as  touched  by  Eden's  breath, 
Light  springs  from  darkness,  hfe  from  death  ; 
The  sands  are  clothed  with  sheaths  of  green. 
And  fragrant  blossoms  shine  between  ; 
The  sweet  narcissus  crowds  the  land ; 
The  roots  on  the  smooth  pebbles  stand. 
Firm  resting  as  in  garden  border. 


RIBIOURS  AND  LEGENDS  115 

Soon  far  and  near  the  rumour  spreads 
Of  the  sweet  water-fahies'  beds  ; 
And  from  the  wealth  of  flowers  there  came 
To  the  poor  maidens  wealth  and  fame. 
And  still  wide  China  draws  her  store 
Of  stone-rimmed  flowers  from  that  lone  shore  ; 
Far  echo  of  tlie  ancient  story ! 

Fair  flower,  the  first  to  break  the  gloom 
With  fragrance,  ere  the  violets  come, 
And  hyacinths  blow,  and  tulips  blaze, 
And  the  red  rose  in  summer  days  ; 
Thy  I\[akcr  walked  this  earthly  road. 
With  love  to  man  and  love  to  God ; 
The  flowery  path  that  leads  to  glory. 

8uch  legends  of  benevolent  beings,  however,  arc 
not  numerous  ;  and  those  of  malevolent  spiritual  in- 
fluences in  sorcery  and  witchcraft  are  more  common. 
A  belief  in  demoniacal  possession  is  ridiculed  by 
many  to-day  as  behind  the  times,  and  a  relic  of 
superstition  and  the  dark  days  of  hunum  thought 
and  fancy.  But  it  is  a  subject  as  to  which,  to 
use  Huxle3^'s  dictum  in  regard  to  miracles,  impos- 
sibility must  no  longer  be  predicated,  nor  prejudice 
decide,  but  where  evidence  must  be  demanded  and 
examined.  Our  Lord's  divine  veracity  and  supreme 
knowledge  arc  challenged  by  those  who  would  deny 
such  demoniacal  possession  when  He  was  on  earth  ; 
but  if  the  unseen  powers  hostile  to  man  as  to  God 
were  active  during  our  Lord's  mission  on  earth,  in 
testing  and  opposing  that  mission,  it  is  surely  to 
be  expected  that  when  Christ  comes  in  power  and 
love  to  a  country  like  China,  with  its  limited 
knowledge     and     strong     intellect,    the      attempt 


116         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

should  again  be  made  by  occult  influence,  as  by 
open  attack,  to  turn  aside  converts  from  the  faith. 
It  is  in  this  way  that  witchcraft  has  crossed  my 
path. 

I  knew,  many  years  ago,  an  earnest  but  reticent 
Christian,  a  woodcutter  in  the  western  hills  of 
Ningpo.  He  stood  alone  as  a  Christian,  amongst 
the  numerous  towns  and  villages  of  that  beautiful 
region,  and  was  distinguished  not  by  eloquence  or 
by  scholarship,  but  by  consistent  Sunday  observ- 
ance. A  reputed  witch  in  the  same  village  set  her 
'  evil  eye '  on  him  and  on  me  and  on  the  church. 
'  If  you  go  up  to  the  city  to-morrow  for  service,' 
she  shouted  to  him,  '  you  will  find  your  house  on 
fire  when  you  return.'  The  Christian  was  aware 
that  it  was  not  her  magic  art  that  would  set  fire  to 
his  house,  but  she  herself  who  would,  under  the 
cloak  of  demoniacal  control,  certainly  do  it,  if  he 
specially  provoked  her  wrath.  This  woman  was  sub- 
sequently married  to  a  young  man  of  my  acquaint- 
ance, a  fine,  stalwart  woodman,  and  always  courteous 
and  friendly  to  me.  Soon  after  their  marriage,  the 
man  was  infected  by  the  same  unaccountable  influ- 
ence ;  and  from  time  to  time  raved  and  prophesied 
and  divined  as  his  wife  was  doing.  They  came  one 
evening  to  my  house  in  the  city  of  Ningpo,  and 
humbly  begged  for  a  lodging,  as  they  had  missed 
the  market-boat.  I  demurred  strongly  to  this 
request.  '  You  are  continually  reviling  Christianity,' 
I  said,  '  and  opposing  our  work  most  unkindly. 
You  say  that  this  is  not  your  own  action,  and  that 
you  are  prompted  and  controlled  by  mysterious 
powers.     I  have  no  wish  to  harbour  such  powers 


RmiOURS  AXD  LEGENDS  117 

under  my  roof.'  '  Sir,'  they  protested  with  manifest 
sincerity,  '  we  will  tell  you  now  the  whole  truth 
of  this  matter.  Sometimes,  indeed,  for  the  sake 
of  gain,  we  pretend  to  hold  communication  with 
the  spirit-world.  We  tell  lies,  and  draw  on 
our  imagination,  and  invent  what  is  not  there. 
But  at  other  times  it  is  not  so.  A  real  and 
sensible  and  terrible  power  beyond  our  control 
enters  in,  and  speaks  and  acts  through  us.'  '  I 
believe  you,'  I  said ;  '  there  may  be  such  mys- 
terious and  unseen  influence,  and  certainly  I  can 
show  no  hospitality  to  it.'  '  Let  us  in,  sir,'  they 
persisted,  '  let  us  in ;  save  us  for  this  night  at 
least.  These  evil  powers  a\  ill  not  venture  to  enter 
here.' 

On  one  occasion  direct  and,  I  fear,  fatal  injury, 
not  to  the  body  but  to  the  spirit,  was  wrought  by 
one  of  these  women.  She  was  called  in  by  the 
weak-minded  widow  of  a  Christian  farmer  Avho 
had  recently  died,  to  conjure  up  his  spirit  and  to 
converse  with  him.  I  had  baptized  this  farmer 
some  time  before,  and  had  rejoiced  in  his  honest 
whole-hearted  and  consistent  life.  His  little  grand- 
son lay  dying,  and  in  anguish  a  message  was 
despatched  by  the  mother  for  a  Taoist  exorcist, 
to  expel  the  evil  spirit  which  was  kilHng  her  child. 
The  farmer,  hearing  of  this,  sent  two  messengers 
who  outran  the  first,  and  called  the  Chinese  clergy- 
man and  the  nearest  doctor  to  come  with  all  speed. 
Earnest  prayer  came  first,  and  was  heard  ;  whole- 
some remedies  were  applied  and  were  blessed  by 
God  ;  and  the  exorcist  and  fortune-teller  arrived 
too  late.     The  boy  recovered,  and  was  afterwards 


118         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

baptized.  Then  the  head  of  the  household  fell  ill 
and  died,  a  Christian  death-bed  of  the  noblest  and 
most  peaceiul  kind.  He  had  no  fear.  '  I  die  in 
the  faith  of  Christ,'  he  said  ;  '  I  shall  live  again  and 
go  home  to  God.  Wife,  children,  follow  me,  as  I 
have  tried  to  follow  Christ.  Abandon  all  idolatry ; 
attend  Christian  worship  ;  believe  and  pray  your- 
selves ;  and  we  shall  meet  again.'  He  was  buried, 
and  the  family  reverently  remembered  for  a  while 
this  solemn  wiU  and  testament,  till  the  foolish 
widow,  as  I  have  said  above,  called  in  the  '  Vv  itch,' 
to  know  how  her  husband  was  faring  in  the  other 
world.  '  He  has  come  !  '  said  the  witch,  pausing 
in  her  incantations.  '  He  is  groaning  and  crymg, 
and  begs  you  on  no  account  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian. His  spirit  is  not  allowed  to  enter  the 
back  gate  or  the  front  door  of  the  ancestral 
temple,  and  he  is  shut  out  in  cold  and  misery.' 
The  effect  of  this  malicious  lie  was  disastrous. 
The  widow  and  the  greater  part  of  the  family 
abandoned  their  incipient  faith,  but  one  son  held 
out.  '  Do  not  try  to  persuade  me,'  he  said ; 
'  My  dear  father's  dying  words  and  his  life  and 
example  weigh  with  me  ten  thousand  times  more 
than  the  lies  of  this  wicked  woman,  who  in- 
vents these  stories  for  gain.'  He  held  fast  to  his 
faith,  and  spent  many  years  of  consistent  Christian 
life. 

One  day  I  was  crossing  a  pass  in  the  momitains, 
when  I  noticed  a  number  of  hill-men  gathered 
together.  I  drew  near,  and  saw  and  heard  a  lad 
swaying  to  and  fro  in  a  frenzy,  regardless  of  the 
exhortation     or    rougher    rebuke    of    the    people 


RUIVIOURS  AND  LEGENDS  119 

round,  and  uttering  in  his  fit  or  possession  pro- 
phecies, objurgations  and  incantations.  The  people 
gradually  became  silent,  awed,  as  it  seemed, 
by  the  presence  of  some  mysterious  power,  and 
persuaded  that  the  lad  Avas  really  possessed  by 
the  soul  of  some  departed  spirit  speaking  through 
him. 

Within  the  past  three  years,  the  great  alluvial 
plain  of  Sanpeli,  the  chief  cotton-growing  region 
of  these  districts,  has  been  seized  with  a  rage  for 
lottery-gambling,  as  with  a  demoniacal  possession, 
which  the  magistrates  were  powerless  to  exorcise. 
The  furor  affected  all  classes,  and  was  closely  con- 
nected with  magical  arts,  cleverly  manipulated  by 
the  promoters  of  the  gambling-ring.  The  people 
were  invited  to  subscribe  to  the  lottery,  and  a  large 
number  of  prizes  were  announced,  varying  from 
about  ten  thousand  dollars  to  ten,  in  value.  The 
poorer  people  would  part  with  almost  anj^thing  in 
order  to  find  money  for  the  purchase  of  these  tickets  ; 
for  they  were  told  that  by  sleeping  all  night  on  the 
ground  by  certain  tombs  on  the  hill-sides,  they 
would  have  a  dream,  and  in  the  dream  a  spirit  would 
reveal  to  them  the  prize-numbers,  and  guide  them 
in  drawing  the  numbers  at  the  office  the  next 
day.  Men  and  women  left  home  and  shelter, 
and  crowded  together,  regardless  of  the  weather, 
and  regardless  of  that  separation  and  decency  so 
natural  to  the  Chinese,  spending  the  nights  thus 
on  the  hill-sides.  The  craze  was  taken  advantage 
of  by  robbers,  who  watched  their  opportunity, 
and  attacked  isolated  bands,  depriving  them 
of    clothes    and    money.      This   infatuation    lasted 


120         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

for  many   months,  and  breaks  out  still  from  time 
to  time. 

It  is  remarkable  how  calamity  or  unusual  pro- 
sperity seems  in  Chinese  thought  to  be  connected 
sometimes  not  with  magic  art  or  with  the  incanta- 
tions of  witch  or  wizard,  but  with  a  name  or  site. 
Chinese  artificial  canals  stretch  in  long  and  appar- 
ently regular  lines  through  the  fields  ;  but  whenever 
it  is  possible,  what  would  be  a  straight  and  un- 
interrupted reach  is  artificially  broken  and  deflected 
according  to  the  rules  of  fung-sliui,  the  system  of 
geomancy,  in  order  to  perplex  and  hinder  the 
flight  or  flow  of  evil  spirits  and  influences  in  that 
direction. 

A  few  years  ago  I  attended  a  remarkable  enter- 
tainment at  Ningpo,  on  the  occasion  of  a  great 
Cliristian  gathering  amongst  the  Chinese  churches. 
The  chief  mandarins  of  the  city  had  received  a 
courteous  invitation  from  the  missionaries  to  attend 
a  social  meeting  of  the  convention,  when  Christian 
loyalty  and  patriotism  and  obedience  to  the  powers 
that  be  were  discussed.  The  Taotai  of  the  city, 
with  his  colleagues,  returned  the  compliment  by 
inviting  all  the  foreign  missionaries  and  visitors  to  a 
luncheon.  The  feast  passed  off  weU,  and  friendly 
and  courteous  words  were  interchanged,  and  the 
high  philanthropy  of  our  mission  was  explained. 
As  we  separated,  the  mandarins  stood  in  a  double 
row  at  the  door,  and  with  stately  poUteness  said 
farewell.  We  had  hardly  left  when  the  sad  news 
reached  us  that  during  our  quiet  meeting  a  small 
coasting-steamer,  moored  not  a  mile  away,  just 
weighing  anchor  and  moving  into  mid-stream,  had 


RUIVIOURS  AND  LEGENDS  121 

capsized  and  sunk.  A  sudden  panic  had  seized  the 
dense  crowd  of  jiassengers,  which  led  them  to  rush 
to  one  side  of  the  vessel,  and  the  crank  craft,  unal)le 
to  bear  the  strain,  turned  over  and  went  to  the 
bottom.  Out  of  the  three  hundred  on  board, 
scarcely  ten  were  saved. 

Was  there  not  a  sinister  omen,  it  was  asked  by 
the  Chinese,  in  the  too  euphemistic  name  of  the  ill- 
fated  vessel,  '  The  Waves  at  Rest '  ? 

I  composed  and  sent  to  the  broken-hearted  Taotai\ 
as  a  token  of  our  sincere  sympathy  with  him  and  his 
people,  the  following  brief  dirge.  I  print  it  here 
in  romanised  Chmese,  with  a  literal  English  version, 
as  a  specimen  of  the  rhythm  of  ancient  odes,  on 
one  of  which  it  was  modelled,  and  as  embodying 
both  the  play  on  names  m  hicli  Chinese  superstition 
countenances,  and  the  higher  hope  which  we  have 
brought  to  the  people : — 

Da  jri  ao  yi  t'in  ts  ming  yi 
Se  pell  k'o  ts'eh  pih  we  me  yi 
Joh  oil  Cii  sing  teh  ii  gong  nyi. 

Po  nying  hae  ding  hweh  yiu  jiin  tao 
Shing  sih  ts  kj'in  siao  pin  ae  'ao 
Ts'aen  jd  song  yi  k'oh  sing  long  dao. 

Kao  yi  gyi  yi  Zong  ti  eng  yi 
Sing  ts  dae  we  so  kyi  sing  yi 
Sing  tsiae  k'o  teh  Sing  ling  dzu  tsi 

Uong  yiin  dzae  t'in  fong  ding  long  zing. 

Great  aye  !  deep  aye  !   Heaven's  decrees  be  ; 
Wlio  can  trace  them  ?  yet  how  noble  ! 
Who  can  guide  and  teach  the  highest  ? 


122         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

Waves  still,  sea  still,  see  the  boat  sinks, 
In  a  moment  laughter  ceases, 
And  the  wailing  comes  like  billows  ! 
Oh  !  the  sadness  !  oh  !  the  heartbreak  ! 

Great  aye  !  deep  aye  !  God's  great  mercy. 

His  dear  Son  to  ransom  cometh. 

His  blest  Spirit  strength  and  grace  gives  ; 

Heaven  knows  ever  wind  still,  sea  still. 


INLAND  CITIES.     HANGCHOW  AND  CHUIvI 


CHAPTER   VI 

INLAND   CITIES.      IIANGCIIOW   AND   CIIUKI 

My  personal  recollections  carry  me  now  to  inland 
China  ;  not,  indeed,  far  from  the  coast,  for  China 
proper,  embracing  eighteen  provinces,  stretches 
from  Ningpo  and  Chusan,  as  the  farthest  eastern 
limit,  due  west  to  the  borders  of  Burma,  and  north- 
west to  the  confines  of  Tibet.  In  the  one  case, 
passing  through  the  provinces  of  Chekiang,  Kiangsi, 
Hunan,  Kweichow,  and  Yunnan,  the  distance  is 
about  fifteen  hundred  miles  ;  in  the  other,  passing 
through  Kiangsu,  Anhui,  Hupeh,  and  »Szchuan,  it 
is  about  two  thousand  miles.  Beyond  these  pro- 
vincial limits  stretch  the  yet  vaster  regions  which 
acknowledge  China's  rule  or  suzeraint}',  Tibet, 
Eastern  Turkestan,  and  INIongolia. 

My  inland  step  is  a  short  one,  of  only  about  two 
hundred  miles,  but  far  enough  to  lead  us,  in  the 
early  times  of  which  I  write,  three  or  four  days' 
journey  away  from  the  coast  and  the  open  ports, 
and  from  the  presence  of  Europeans  ;  from  that 
also  which  was  deemed  by  adverse  critics  the 
indispensable  accompaniment  of  missionary  enter- 
prise, the  inevitable  gunboat. 

The  city  to  which  my  story  now  leads  is  Hang- 
chow,  the  imperial  capital  during  the  souHumii  Sung 
dynasty  from  1127  to  1280  a.d.,  and  bearing  still 


126         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

traces  of  its  old  grandeur,  in  some  of  its  finer  build- 
ings with  imperial  yeUow  tiles  fast  fading  in  colour  ; 
in  its  dialect,  a  refined  form  of  the  dialect  of  the 
court ;  and  in  the  solemnity  of  its  surrounding  hills, 
its  broad  river,  and  matchless  lake. 

The  position  of  Hangchow  for  influence  and  exer- 
cise of  rule,  and  for  communication,  seems  to  be 
superior  to  that  of  the  other  ancient  southern 
capital,  Nanking.  The  circuit  of  the  walls  of  these 
cities  must  originally  have  been  nearly  the  same, 
some  thirty  miles.  Though  Hangchow  is  nearer  to 
the  open  sea  than  Nanking,  its  outlet  to  the  ocean, 
a  hundred  miles  av/ay,  lies  down  its  dangerous  and 
treacherous  river,  issuing  in  a  shoaly  bay,  vvhile  the 
broad  Yangtse  wafts  Nanking's  fleets  or  merchant- 
men more  secm^ely  to  the  outer  sea.  Hangchow 
has,  at  any  rate,  the  advantage  of  being  the  terminus 
of  the  Grand  Canal,  which  leads  through  Soochow, 
the  capital  of  Kiangsu,  across  the  Yangtse  and 
across  the  Huangho,  six  hundred  miles  to  Tientsin. 
This  canal  was  the  second  of  the  great  constructive 
works  of  She  Hwang  Ti,  self-styled  the  First  Uni- 
versal Emperor,  B.C.  209,  who  built  the  Great  Wail, 
1260  miles  long,  defending  the  north-west  and 
northern  frontier.  He  was  the  destroyer  of  the 
canonical  literature  of  China,  especially  of  its 
historical  classic,  and  the  would-be  exterminator 
of  Chinese  scholars,  not  contemning,  it  is  true,  their 
learning,  but  fearing  lest  their  memories  should 
reproduce  the  old  records  of  the  empire  which  he 
strove  to  abolish,  and  hoping  to  make  Chinese 
history  begin  with  himself  and  his  audacious  reign. 
Hangchow   is   famous,    according   to    Chinese   pro- 


HANGCHOW  AND  CHUKI  127 

verbial  lore,  in  the  estimation  both  of  ancient  and 
modern  pleasure-seekers.  '  There  is  heaven  above  ; 
but  there  is  an  earthly  paradise  too — Hangchow  and 
Soochow,'  beautiful  in  situation,  celebrated  in  art 
and  song,  intellectual  and  scholarly,  but  supreme, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  not  heavenly-minded  young 
China  of  ancient  and  modern  days,  as  the  homes 
of  luxurious  pleasure.  The  description  of  Kinsay, 
as  he  styles  Hangchow,  by  Marco  Polo  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  represents  these  different  features, 
the  picturesque,  the  intellectual,  the  sensual,  of 
the  celebrated  city ;  and  the  visions  still  pass 
before  us,  and  the  figures  of  pleasure  -  seekers 
in  silks  and  satins,  not  aU  ghostly  and  imaginary, 
still  haunt  the  lake  and  the  islands  and  the  sacred 
hills. 

Turning  for  a  moment  from  the  consideration  of 
political  or  commercial  advantage,  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  the  intrepid  traveller  Gutzlaff,  whom 
I  mention  elsewhere,  when  asked  about  ninety  years 
ago  what  place  he  would  recommend  as  a  strategic 
point  in  the  enterprise  of  Christian  missions,  advised 
Singapore  as  an  outpost  and  as  a  place  of  observa- 
tion and  preparation,  and  Hangchow  as  a  centre 
of  supreme  advantage  when  once  a  foothold  should 
be  gained  on  Chinese  soil. 

We  are  noAV  approaching  Hangcho\s',  having 
crossed  the  Ts'aungo  River  in  safety  ;  and  we  arc 
passing  through  the  densely-peopled  Shaohiug  plain, 
with  its  spreading  camphor-trees  and  pellucid  canals, 
and  its  towns  and  villages,  better  built  than  those 
in  the  Ningpo  plain,  with  stone  foundations  and 
strongly- built   walls   as   a   defence   against   sudden 


128         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

inundation.  I  have  reason  to  remember  this  river 
Ts'aungo.  It  has  on  either  bank  a  succession  of 
pa^  or  haul-overs,  with  mud  inclines  leading  up  the 
high  banks  which  protect  the  lower  level  of  the  plain 
from  the  river  when  in  flood.  The  boats  on  the 
canal-line  of  traffic  between  Ningpo  and  Hangchow 
cross  the  river,  and  moor  at  the  foot  of  the  incline, 
waiting,  with  sometimes  thirty  or  forty  companions, 
to  surmount  the  bank.  The  nooses  of  two  strong 
hawsers,  cross-wise,  are  slipped  over  the  stern  of 
the  boat,  and  sometimes,  when  the  boat  is  specially 
heavy,  additional  ropes  are  attached  to  an  extempor- 
ised pole  amidships.  The  windlass  on  the  top  of  the 
bank  is  first  set  turning,  and  the  ropes,  which  have 
been  fully  paid  out,  are  drawn  taut ;  then  a  dozen 
or  more  men,  assisted  by  half  a  dozen  water-buffaloes 
on  either  side,  begin  to  haul,  while  other  men  at  the 
stern  or  at  the  sides  of  the  heavily-laden  boat 
literally  put  their  backs  to  the  work,  and  give  the 
boat  a  heave  and  a  jerk  to  set  it  going.  Once  really 
on  the  move,  they  attempt  to  increase  the  pace, 
and  with  shouts  to  the  buffaloes  and  rough  songs  in 
time,  strive  to  lift  it  onwards.  It  sticks  fast,  and 
another  and  yet  another  united  effort,  with  much 
additional  shouting,  are  required  before  the  boat 
reaches  the  top  of  the  incline.  Here  it  is  balanced 
for  a  few  minutes.  Custom-house  officers,  with 
dubious  authority,  come  to  search  the  baggage ; 
and  altercation  goes  on  as  to  the  amount  of  the  fee 
to  be  paid  to  the  haulers.  A  boat  of  such  unheard- 
of  weight,  a  morning  of  such  exceptional  wet  and 
cold,  and  the  Avell-known  generosity  of  the  pas- 
sengers— aU  are  urged  as  reasons  for  a  few  more 


HANGCHOW  AND  CHUKI  129 

cash.  At  last  all  is  settled,  good-humour  hke  sun- 
shine generally  breaking  through  the  passing  clouds 
of  Chinese  quarrelling.  The  hawsers  are  unshipped, 
a  shove  is  given  to  the  boat,  and  it  slides  swiftly 
down  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet  into  the  canal 
below,  the  boatmen  on  the  boat's  sides  and  head 
deftly  preventing  contact  with  the  stone  base  of  the 
incline,  or  with  other  boats  moored  at  its  foot.  I 
had  crossed  the  'pa  on  the  western  shore  of  this 
river  one  October  day,  and  was  in  the  river  slowly 
tracking  up  the  stream  against  the  tide,  aiming  at 
the  corresponding  haul-over  a  mile  away  on  the 
eastern  bank.  I  was  reading  quietly  in  the  boat, 
and  enjoying  the  freshness  of  the  line  autumn  air. 
'  What  o'clock  is  it  ?  '  shouted  the  boatmen  to  me. 
'  Nearly  1  p.m.,'  I  answered.  '  What  o'clock  is  it 
no^^^  ?  '  they  shouted  again,  three  or  four  minutes 
later.  '  Quite  1  p.m.,'  I  replied.  '  What  o'clock 
did  you  say  it  was  ?  '  they  called  again,  with  much 
agitation.  I  was  annoyed  by  their  persistence,  and 
asked  hastily  what  it  was  they  really  wanted  to 
know.  '  It  is  just  past  one  ;  do  not  trouble  me 
again.'  They  uttered  an  excited  exclamation,  leapt 
on  shore,  and  both  of  them  witli  might  and  main 
towed  the  boat  up  stream  so  as  to  reach  the  haul- 
over.  A  moment  later,  with  a  louder  exclamation 
they  leapt  on  board  again,  and  pushed  the  boat  off 
into  mid-stream.  At  the  same  time  I  seemed  to 
hear  a  roar  overhead,  such  as  I  have  heard  in  times 
of  great  drought  in  the  winter  from  m^Tiads  of  \\ild- 
fowl  sweeping  over  in  dense  clouds  searching  for 
water.  Looking  from  the  boat's  head  as  it  now 
pointed  down  stream,  I  saw  and  heard  coming  round 

I 


i:}0         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

a  sharp  bend  which  we  had  passed,  a  wall  of  water 
nearly  five  feet  high  careering  along  at  a  great  pace, 
and  apparently  preceded  by  three  waves,  with  a 
deep  trough  between  each.  It  was  the  tidal  wave, 
the  full  moon  autumn  bore,  which  was  rushing  up 
the  outer  stream  (the  Tsintang)  from  the  sea,  and 
was  pushing  into  this  feeder  (the  Ts'aungo).  The 
boatmen  knew  that  it  was  due,  but  they  had  hoped 
to  get  over  the  further  pa  before  the  wave  came  up. 
Though  they  were  caught  now,  they  knew  from 
experience  what  it  was  wisest  to  do.  Instead  of 
running  the  boat  ashore,  and  trying  to  scramble  up 
the  bank  through  the  mud — a  course  which  would 
have  meant  the  destruction  of  the  boat  and  its  cargo, 
and  the  loss  of  our  lives — they  turned  the  boat,  so 
as  to  meet  the  bore  in  mid-stream.  But  it  was 
almost  too  strong  for  us.  We  weathered  the  first 
wave  unhurt,  but  as  we  dipped  into  the  trough  the 
second  wave  was  upon  us  before  we  could  fairly 
right  ourselves,  and  knocking  in  the  boat's  head, 
it  half  filled  the  boat  with  water.  We  rode  over 
it  somehow,  and  surmounting  the  third  without 
further  injury,  found  ourselves  swayed  and  whirled 
about  on  the  agitated  face  of  the  incoming  tide, 
but  with  no  more  waves.  This  tide  wafted  us  in 
a  few  minutes  to  the  pa,  and  with  thankful  hearts 
we  found  ourselves  at  rest  in  the  tideless  canal 
beyond.  My  boatmen  were  old  sea-fishermen, 
and  they  told  me  that  they  had  never  before, 
even  in  the  open  sea,  been  in  greater  danger. 
As  the  tide  sped  on  up  the  river,  I  could  see 
junli  after  junlv  seized  and  tossed  violently  to  and 
fro,   and  the  river's  face   was   marked   with   poles 


HANGCHOW  AND  CHUKI  131 

and    bamboo    boat-tilts   which    had    been   washed 
away. 

It  would  have  fared  differently  with  us  had  we 
encountered  the  bore  on  the  main  river  itself. 
The  tidal  wave  on  the  Tsintang  is  well  known 
to  science  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  bores. 
There  is  a  perceptible  wave  with  the  incoming 
tide  every  day  of  the  year  ;  but  in  the  spring  and 
autumn,  at  the  special  seasons  of  high  tides, 
the  phenomenon  is  one  to  inspire  awe.  Sucked 
from  out  the  ocean  washing  the  Cliusan  archi- 
pelago, and  fed  by  the  coastal  tides  entering  the 
Hangchow  bay,  by  the  currents  and  tide  from  the 
outer  sea,  and  by  the  wash  of  the  Yangtse  coming 
down  from  the  north  inside  the  Chusan  group,  the 
flood,  with  these  united  forces,  moves  up  the  bay  past 
Chapoo,  and  enters  the  narrow  funnel-shaped  mouth 
of  the  Tsintang  at  Haining.  The  roar  can  be  heard 
fully  half  an  hour  before  the  tide  comes  up,  travelling 
at  the  speed  of  thirty  miles  an  hour.  It  pushes 
through  the  funnel,  sweeping  clear  of  the  cleverly- 
built  bamboo  sidings  to  which  the  junks  have  rini 
for  shelter  and  where  they  ride  in  safety,  and  is 
lifted  to  a  wall  of  water  twelve  feet  high  and  two 
miles  wide,  the  head  breaking  in  foam  like  a  horse's 
mane.  I  have  seen  the  people  along  the  shore  bow 
down  to  worship  the  god  of  the  tide  as  he  passes  by. 
The  mandarins  outside  the  '  Tide-waitintr  Gate  '  of 
Hangchow  used  to  go  out  to  worship  there.  Hang- 
chow is  thirty  miles  from  the  river's  mouth,  but  the 
bore  rushes  past  with  scarcely  diminished  force, 
till  after  another  ten  miles'  race  westwards,  it  is 
checked  by  a  great  bend  in  the  river,  and  dies  away 


132         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

into  a  more  normal  tide.     The  large  free-ferry  junks, 
carrying  fifty  or  sixty  people  each — a  remarkable 
public  charity,  endowed,  partly  by  rich  individual 
philanthropists,  partly  by  the  guilds  at  Ningpo — 
almost  always  calculate  accurately  the  time  of  the 
passing  of  the  tide,  and  lie  up  in  the  sidings  till  it 
has  gone  by.     But  occasionally  a  strong  wind  from 
the  sea,  or  some  unusual  current,  brings  it  up  before 
time  ;    and  then  a  junk  may  be  caught,  and  all  on 
board  perish.     A  pathetic  story  was  reported  to  me 
by  the  country-people  on  the  banks  of  the  Tsintang, 
the  very  legend  forming  a  proof  (as  it  seemed)  of 
their  belief,  not  so  much  in  the  consideration  of  the 
tide-god,    as   in   the   tender   mercies   of   the   great 
Creator  Avhich  are  over  all  His  works.     During  the 
years  of  untold  misery  which  marked  the  sieges  of 
Hangchow  and  its  alternate  occupation  by  imperial- 
ists  and   T'aip'ings,   the   country-people   on  either 
side  of  the  river  were  constantly  flying  across  its 
face,  to  and  fro,  to  escape  from  this  enemy  or  that. 
Were  the  T'aip'ings  coming,  and  had  the  country- 
people  shaven  heads,  they  must  fly  for  their  lives, 
for  they  would  be  beheaded  if  they  were  captured. 
Were   the   imperialists  rallying   and   coming   back, 
and  had  the  people  long  hair  and  unshaven  heads, 
it  was  a  case  of  life  and  death  again,  for  there  was 
no  time  to  shave  their  heads  and  don  the  queue 
once  more.     Sometimes  they  had  to  fly  at  an  hour's 
notice,  and  neither  wind  nor  tide,  day  nor  night, 
could  be  considered.     But  when  the  bore  was  due, 
though  they  dreaded  it  less  than  the  human  foe, 
could  they  possibly  brave  its  overwhelming  force  ? 
It  never  came,  they  said.     They  assured  me  that 


HANGCHOW  AND  CHUKI  133 

for  nearly  three  years  the  great  wave  ceased  to  roar 
and  flash  by,  and  they  could  cross  and  recross  the 
river  in  safety. 

On  the  banks  of  this  river,  I  had  once,  during 
my  residence  in  Hangchow,  an  interesting  experi- 
ence,   which   illustrates   certain   phases   of   Chinese 
thought    and    hfc.     I    was    starting   on    a    visit    to 
Shaohing  and   Ningpo,   and  proposed  to  cross  by 
the  free-ferry.     To  my  surprise,  the  boatmen  refused 
to  start,  though  there  was  an  average  number  of 
passengers  already  on  board.     On  inquiry,   I  was 
told  that  in  those  times  of  trouble   (that  is,   the 
expedition  of  General  Tso  against  the  Mohammedan 
rebels,  and  the  famine  raging  in  the  North)  the  lead- 
ing banker  in  the  city,  who  Avas  treasurer  both  to 
the   army   commissariat   and   to   the   famine-fund, 
empowered  by  the  authorities  of  the  city,  was  detain- 
ing each  boat  on  the  free-ferry  (of  which  he  was 
one  chief  guarantor)  until  the  passengers  had  placed 
a  small  sum  in  the  collecting-boxes  on  board.     The 
countrymen  in   my  boat  were  indisposed  to   con- 
tribute, and  time  just  then  seemed  to  be  no  special 
object    with    them.     Meanwhile    the    boatmen    sat 
whistling,   and   made   no   show   of   starting.     Time 
was,  however,  an  object  with  me  ;    so  after  much 
protestation  against  compulsion  of  what  were  called 
voluntary    offerings,    I    ostentatiously    took    out    a 
dollar,  threw  it  ringing  into  the  box,  and  demanded 
a  start  to  save  the  time  of  the  poor  industrious 
people.     A  shout  of  approbation  met  me  from  both 
boatmen,   and  passengers,   praising  my  exemplary 
self-denial  and  bountiful  charity.     We  moved  gaily 
across  the  river,  the  passengers  helping  at  the  oar. 


134         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

But  in  the  court  of  my  conscience,  I  fear,  there  was 
no  such  sounding  praise. 

The  railway  projected  between  Hangchow  and 
Ningpo,  and  communicating  from  Hangchow  with 
the  Yangtse  railway  system,  has  been  surveyed. 
The  chief  difficulty  is  the  crossing  of  this  dangerous 
river,  the  Tsintang.  Abreast  of  Hangchow,  and 
up  and  down  for  some  distance,  the  river  has  a  bed 
of  deep,  shifting  sand.  I  have  watched  the  destruc- 
tion and  construction  wrought  by  the  bore  on  the 
bed  of  this  shallow  river.  A  sand  bank  had  been 
formed,  and  apparently  consolidated.  It  lifted 
itself  above  the  river's  surface ;  soil  was  soon 
developed ;  coarse  grass  covered  it ;  huts  were 
erected  upon  it.  The  ferry-boats  found  it  worth 
the  while  to  land  passengers  there,  and  let  them 
walk  across  to  other  boats  waiting  to  convey  them 
to  the  further  shore.  Thus  I  crossed  on  one  occa- 
sion, as  I  went  home  to  England  on  furlough.  On 
my  return,  after  eighteen  months'  absence,  I  found 
the  ferry  plying  without  interruption  straight  across. 
The  island  with  its  verdure  and  habitations  had 
vanished  altogether,  swept  away  by  the  destruc- 
tive tide.  It  seems  impossible,  therefore,  to  build 
for  a  bridge  a  mile  and  a  half  long  piers  strong 
enough  to  resist  the  tidal  shock.  It  might  be 
feasible  to  throw  a  suspension-bridge  across,  with 
towers  on  the  banks  ;  and  if  the  reluctant  Chinese 
railway-projectors  would  trust  English  engineers, 
such  a  triumph  might  be  effected.  But  they  will 
probably  decide  to  employ  a  steam-ferry  as  a  con- 
nection, a  dangerous  experiment,  since  from  over- 
confidence  or  forgetfuLness  it  may  be  overtaken  by 


HANGCHOW  AND  CHUKI  135 

the  bore.  The  last  proposal  is  to  cross  the  river 
six  or  seven  miles  above  Hangchow,  where  the  hills 
come  down  to  the  water's  edge,  and  rock  can  be 
struck  in  the  river-bed.  It  seems  likely,  therefore, 
that  this  old  free-ferry  charity  will  not  be  inter- 
fered with,  and  the  junks  will  ply  as  before.  The 
ancient  and  stately  city  is  being  worried  out  of  its 
dignity  by  young  China's  ambitions. 

One  of  the  newly-appointed  provincial  assemblies, 
the  practice-ground  for  China's  future  parliament, 
has  its  spacious  courts  in  Hangchow.  There  is  a 
Chamber  of  Commerce  also,  which  is  making  experi- 
mental attempts  to  regulate  and  restrict  the  lease 
or  sale  of  land  and  houses  to  foreigners.  The  streets 
are  policed  by  men  standing  every  hundred  yards, 
with  swords  instead  of  the  batons  and  rattan  canes 
with  which  they  were  at  first  entrusted.  There 
is  some  pretence  at  scavenging  in  the  streets,  in 
addition  to  the  old  methods  of  cleaning  the  houses. 
One  great  advance  in  social  reform  may  be  seen  in 
Hangchow,  as  also  in  most  of  the  cities  and  towns 
in  the  empire.  The  change  is  so  great  and  universal 
as  to  be  almost  inconceivable.  During  my  resi- 
dence in  the  city,  thirty  years  and  more  ago,  in  all 
the  lanes  and  cross-streets,  opium  dens  were  con- 
spicuous, with  their  darkness  and  squalor  and 
shame.  My  Chinese  writer,  an  old  man  who  had 
known  Hangchow  from  his  youth  up,  informed  me 
that  in  his  childhood  opium  smoking  was  little 
practised  in  the  city.  There  were  no  public  divans. 
Opium  was  consumed  secretly.  Then  suddcnl}', 
after  the  so-called  opium-wars  and  the  larger  influx 
of  Indian  opium,  the  scene  changed,   and  opium- 


136         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

shops  began  to  multiply  in  the  city.  Lately  the 
fiat  went  forth  from  Peking,  and  the  edict  has  been 
promulgated  in  every  province,  that  all  opium- 
shops  were  to  be  closed  on  a  certain  day ;  the 
cultivation  of  the  poppy  for  native  manufacture 
was  to  be  at  first  restricted,  and  then  (as  at  the 
present  time)  altogether  prohibited  ;  and  the  use 
of  opium  as  a  luxury  was  to  be  abandoned  by  all, 
after  brief  periods  of  grace  in  certain  cases.  Recently 
in  Hangchow  eight  thousand  opium-pipes  and 
lamps  were  consumed  in  a  holocaust,  with  flags 
flying  and  drums  and  horns  and  bugles  sounding ; 
and  the  city  is  apparently  freer  from  opium  now 
than  it  was  a  hundred  years  ago. 

During  my  residence  in  Hangchow,  the  ancient 
custom  was  observed  of  prompt  and  rigid  shutting 
of  the  city  gates  at  night.  In  the  district  and 
departmental  cities,  the  land-  and  water-city-gates 
(most  of  the  cities  having  this  double  penetration 
of  the  walls)  can  be  opened  in  times  of  peace  by 
loud  battering  on  the  iron-sheathed  gates,  or  by 
the  offering  of  a  few  copper  cash.  But  in  the  pro- 
vincial capitals  a  far  sterner  rule  prevailed.  The  sun 
goes  down ;  the  guards  at  the  gate  light  a  red  tallow 
candle,  and  place  it  in  a  socket  on  the  ground,  allow- 
ing it  to  burn  itself  out,  which  with  the  flickering  and 
flaming  caused  by  the  wind,  occupies  twenty  minutes 
or  so.  Directly  the  candle  goes  out,  the  gates  are 
closed  ;  and  it  used  to  be  declared  that  the  governor 
of  the  province  himself  would  not  be  allowed  to 
enter  when  once  the  doors  were  barred.  Friends 
of  mine,  hurrying  back  from  the  country,  were 
thus  shut  out  one  summer  night ;   and  after  friendly 


WATKR   CATK   OF   A    CITY 


Mi:  a.  H'alttr 


HANGCHOW  AND  CHUKI  137 

parleying  with  the  guard  on  the  wall,  they  were 
informed  that  they  could  not  have  the  gates  opened, 
but  that  as  the  late  mail  was  sometimes  let  down 
in  a  basket  from  the  wall,  they  might  perhaps  meet 
it  and  go  up  in  the  return  basket.  My  friends 
eventually  had  to  spend  the  night  outside  the  city, 
trying  to  sleep  on  a  hard  table  in  a  tea-shop,  with 
no  covering,  and  persecuted  by  clouds  of  mos- 
quitoes. Now  the  stern  rule  is  being  relaxed.  At 
the  pilgrim  season,  when  endless  lines  of  devotees 
come  up  from  the  country,  to  worship  at  the  great 
temples,  T'ienchuh  and  Linyin,  beyond  the  western 
lake,  the  gates  are,  by  order,  left  open  till  midnight 
in  the  fine  weather  of  April ;  and  the  pressing  need 
of  a  foreign  doctor  summoned  to  see  a  patient  out- 
side the  walls  will  open  the  gates  which  neither 
governor  nor  grandee  could  open  in  days  that  are 
past. 

Strangest  of  all,  and  (as  it  seems  to  me)  more  to 
be  deprecated  than  all,  is  that  to  which  I  alluded 
in  a  previous  chapter,  the  discovery  of  the  useless- 
ness  of  these  ancient  and  picturesque  city-walls, 
and  the  announcement  of  their  impending  destruc- 
tion, the  demolition  of  the  gates,  and  the  building 
of  macadamised  roads  along  the  historic  lines. 
Reforms  of  this  nature,  however,  cannot  be  effected 
without  danger.  As  a  rule,  the  suppression  of  the 
opium-trade,  and  of  the  abuse  of  opium,  is  found 
throughout  the  provinces  to  have  the  conscience 
of  the  people  behind  it.  That  overrides  the  clamour 
and  obstruction  of  the  governors  and  the  traders. 
But  in  these  other  changes,  which  have  no  moral 
significance,  and  seem  to  insult  the  shades  of  China's 


138         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

history,  no  enthusiasm  is  Hkely  to  be  aroused,  but 
rather  strong  opposition. 

When  I  first  reached  Hangchow,  I  looked  with 
interest  towards  the  blue  mountains  on  the  southern 
horizon,  eighty  or  a  hundred  miles  distant.  They 
were,  I  was  told,  the  mountains  of  Chuki,  and  some- 
where in  that  region  dwelt  a  Christian  girl,  who  had 
recently  been  taken  from  our  mission-school  to  be 
married  to  a  non-Christian  husband.  She  had  pro- 
mised to  write,  if  possible,  and  let  us  know  how  she 
was,  and  whether  she  prospered  in  every  way.  No 
tidings  came  ;  the  place  was,  we  believed,  remote, 
and  postal  communication  was  impossible,  as  the 
village  was  scarcely  known,  but  I  was  dissatisfied 
until  some  effort  had  been  made  to  find  her.  Though 
I  was  not  sure  of  the  name  of  her  village,  I  knew 
at  least  half  of  the  name,  and  as  it  had  an  unusual 
sound,  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  trace  it.  During  two 
journeys  through  wide  tracts  of  the  Chuki  district, 
I  seemed  again  and  again  to  be  close  to  the  village. 
'  No,  this  place  is  called  Yangsaen,  not  Yangwu, 
as  you  had  supposed.  Yangwu  you  will  find  ten 
miles  further  south.'  When  I  reached  Yangwu, 
the  people  told  me  there  had  been  a  young  woman 
there  who  had  learnt  to  read  Chinese  in  a  foreign 
school ;  but  she  had  left,  and  they  hardly  knew 
where  to  advise  me  to  seek  for  her.  I  continued 
to  search,  penetrating  almost  to  the  walls  of  the 
proud  city  of  Chuki.  This  city  had  some  reason 
for  her  haughty  pride,  and  (as  I  experienced  later) 
her  indignant  refusal  to  admit  a  foreigner,  how- 
ever benevolent  he  might  profess  to  be.  Had  not 
Chuki   stood   out   almost   alone   in   Chekiang,    and 


HANGCHOW  AND  CKUKl  139 

indeed  in  all  the  provinces,  with  the  exception  of 
the  city  of  Changsha,  against  the  terrible  T'aip'ings  ? 
I  saw  at  some  distance,  the  white  walls  of  what  was 
once  a  rough  fortress,  P'ao-tsong.  Behind  those 
walls,  with  one  antiquated  long  gun,  the  people  of 
Chuki,  under  a  capable  leader,  and  with  enthusiasm 
and  pluck,  had  defied  all  the  forces  the  rebels  could 
spare  from  Hangchow  to  attack  them.  Three  or 
four  hundred  of  the  rebels  were  killed,  and  the 
fortress,  if  I  remember  rightly,  was  not  stormed, 
but  abandoned  in  the  night.  The  walls  of  the  city 
were  placarded  a  little  later,  when  we  were  planning 
to  gain  an  entrance  for  our  mission,  witli  the 
announcement  that  so  long  as  the  world  stood, 
Chuki  would  never  allow  the  despicable  foreigner, 
Moule,  to  rent  houses  or  to  come  near  the  city. 
Would  Chuki,  who  had  stemmed  the  flood  of  rebel- 
lion, give  way  before  a  single  foreigner  ? 

I  received  no  insult,  however,  during  those  first 
exploratory  visits,  and  subsequently,  when  my  own 
search  had  failed,  I  found  the  young  woman,  my 
wife's  former  pupil,  through  the  enterprise  of  a 
Christian  Chinese,  who  went  down  alone.  After- 
wards, under  his  guidance,  I  reached  her  remote 
village,  travelling  behind  the  majestic  '  Lion  Moun- 
tain'  ;  and  it  was  worth  all  my  toil  by  water  and 
on  land,  to  succeed  at  last  in  my  search.  The 
scene  was,  in  some  respects,  most  unusual.  I  went 
inside  the  house,  being  kindly  welcomed  by  the 
girl's  mother-in-law,  and  the  room  was  soon  filled 
to  overflowing  with  the  men  just  back  from  tlie 
fields  and  hill-sides,  for  their  midday  meal.  A 
foreigner,  through  all  the  centuries,  had  never  been 


140         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

there  before.  I  called  to  my  young  friend,  who, 
shy  before  such  a  company,  had  run  into  the  interior 
of  the  house.  She  came  forward,  bringing  her 
Chinese  New  Testament  at  my  request.  Then,  at 
my  suggestion,  she  read  the  first  few  verses  of  the 
third  chapter  of  St.  John's  Gospel,  well  and  clearly, 
showing  that  she  had  not  forgotten  her  reading. 
Her  elder  sister-in-law,  who  was  not  a  Christian, 
told  me  that  so  far  from  forgetting  or  neglecting 
what  she  had  learnt,  Ruth  (as  she  was  named)  used 
to  go  upstairs  three  times  every  day,  spending  some 
time  in  reading  and  praying  ;  and  '  moreover,'  she 
added,  '  she  is  teaching  me.'  The  men  then  joined 
in  a  chorus  of  rough  but  friendly  admiration.  '  Why 
should  you  be  ashamed,'  they  asked,  '  to  come 
forward  and  read  ?  It  is  we  who  ought  to  be 
ashamed.  You  are  a  fine  scholar,  and  we  know 
not  a  character.'  It  was  a  proof  to  me  at  the  time — 
— alas  !  how  frail  human  nature  is — of  the  great 
power  of  the  Christian  faith,  that  this  young  timid 
woman  could  for  long  stand  her  ground,  quite  alone, 
with  no  church  or  school,  without  Christian  teacher 
or  friend. 

My  next  visit  to  this  region,  thus  forcibly  brought 
to  my  notice  by  the  accident  of  an  acquaintance 
lost  amongst  the  wilds,  sprang  from  an  almost 
supernatural  incident,  and  it  carried  me,  as  I  desire 
to  carry  my  readers  now,  into  the  very  heart  of  this 
district,  with  its  rough  and  yet  not  barbarous  nor 
wholly  uncivilised  inhabitants. 

Outside  the  '  Periwinkle  Gate  '  of  Hangchow,  the 
present  site  of  the  railway-station,  I  had  opened  a 
small  mission-room  for  preaching  and  conversation. 


HANGCHOW  AXD  CHUKI  141 

The  venture  seemed  a  failure  ;  no  one  came  in.  It 
was  proposed  to  close  the  room  and  try  in  another 
quarter ;  but  I  preferred  to  wait  awhile,  and 
unexpectedly  the  work  bore  fruit.  One  morning, 
when  the  doors  were  closed  and  the  shutters  put 
up,  as  no  preacher  had  arrived,  a  man  passed  by 
on  his  way  to  the  market.  He  was  a  native  of 
Chuki,  and  had  come  up  to  Hangchow  on  a  visit  to 
friends.  He  was  a  fair  scholar,  and  master  of  an 
endowed  school  in  his  native  village  amongst  the 
mountains.  As  he  passed  the  room,  the  sign  over 
the  door  caught  his  eye — '  The  Holy  Religion  of 
Jesus.'  He  stood  still,  reading  it  aloud  to  himself ; 
and  as  no  one  was  about  except  the  landlady  of 
the  room,  he  asked  her  what  the  sign  implied,  and 
what  the  name  Jesus  meant.  She  replied  that  she 
could  not  tell  him  much  ;  she  believed  it  was  a  good 
doctrine,  and  that  they  were  good  people  who 
preached.  He  had  better  go  into  the  city  and  see 
them  for  himself — iMr.  Moule  and  Mr.  Tai.  She 
offered  to  guide  him,  as  he  did  not  know  the  way  ; 
and,  notwithstanding  her  cramped  feet  and  the 
two  miles'  walk,  she  brought  the  stranger  to  my 
helper  Matthew  Tai's  door,  and  left  him  there. 
The  Chuki  man  at  once  avowed  the  reason  of  liis 
visit,  and  the  catechist  without  wasting  lime  in 
complimentary  talk  took  him  to  the  liible,  and 
for  two  or  three  hours,  out  of  the  Law  of  Moses 
and  the  Psalms,  the  Prophets  and  the  Gospels,  lie 
expounded  to  him  the  things  concerning  Jesus 
Christ.  Then  they  came  over  to  the  mission-house 
to  see  me  ;  and  as  I  welcomed  this  stranger  and 
heard  a  little  of  his  history,   1  was  astonished  to 


142         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

observe  how  eagerly  he  brushed  aside  preHminary 
topics  and  went  straight  to  the  point,  narrating 
with  clearness  and  earnestness  the  Gospel  story, 
and  discussing  Christian  doctrine.  I  asked  him 
politely  how  long  he  had  been  a  Christian.  '  I  do 
not  understand  you,  sir,'  he  said  ;  '  I  know  not 
what  a  Christian  is.'  '  How  long,  then,'  I  con- 
tinued, '  have  you  been  acquainted  with  the  Bible 
and  Christian  literature,  enabling  you  to  speak  so 
clearly  on  these  matters  ?  '  '  For  a  period  of  two 
hours  and  a  half,'  he  said  ;  '  I  never  heard  of  Jesus 
or  met  with  preachers  or  Christian  books  till  ]Mr. 
Tai  read  with  me  and  instructed  me.'  He  seemed 
on  the  spot  to  have  received  the  truth  of  God  in  the 
love  of  it,  and  after  thirty-five  years  of  chequered 
life  he  is  living  still,  a  headstrong,  wayAvard  man, 
as  he  has  shown  himself  from  time  to  time,  but 
never  abandoning  his  faith,  and  possessed  of  a  sort 
of  genius  and  unquenchable  zeal  for  evangelisation. 
I  do  not  attempt  to  relate  his  history  at  length,  but 
as  he  was  my  chief  guide  to  the  heart  of  Chuki, 
where  we  are  lingering  now,  I  could  not  omit  to 
mention  him.  This  visit  of  his,  followed  by  three 
weeks'  reading  and  study  and  prayer  under  my  roof, 
led  to  the  foundation  of  a  church  in  his  mountain- 
home,  which  has  since  extended  to  almost  all  parts 
of  the  district  of  Chuki.  After  my  first  visits  to 
that  region,  and  the  baptism  of  nineteen  men, 
women  and  children,  and  the  further  spread  of 
inquiry,  persecution  broke  out,  the  first  miu"murs 
of  w^hich  had  been  heard  on  the  very  morning  of  the 
first  baptism.  That  baptism  was  held  by  the 
gracious  permission  of  the  clan,  a  permission  they 


HANGCHOW  AND  CHUKI  143 

speedily  repented  of,  in  the  great  ancestral  hall  of 
the  Chow  family.  Behind  me,  as  I  conducted  the 
service,  rested  on  shelf  over  shelf  the  tablets  of  the 
family,  the  habitation  of  the  souls  of  those  who 
through  three  hundred  years  had  climbed  those 
hills,  and  toiled  on  those  terraced  fields  and  in  the 
plain  below.  When  the  persecution  fell,  some  of 
the  Christians,  the  young  men  particularly,  faced 
the  shock,  but  most  of  them  fled  for  refuge  to 
Hangchow.  IMy  later  journeys,  after  the  persecu- 
tion had  abated,  led  me  further  afield,  and  showed 
me  more  and  more  of  the  state  of  this  wild  region. 
On  one  of  them  I  was  introduced,  for  once  in  my 
life,  to  the  inner  rooms  of  a  Chinese  yamen. 

I  was  calling  on  the  chchien,  the  chief  mandarin 
of  the  district,  with  my  card,  to  thank  him  for  his 
exertions  (however  tardily  put  forth)  to  protect  and 
bring  back  the  fugitive  Christians.  A  violent 
thunderstorm  gathered  and  broke  as  I  was  con- 
versing with  the  magistrate,  and  I  had  been  already 
detained  by  flood-water  in  the  river.  When  I  rose 
up,  avowing  ni}'  intention,  late  as  it  was,  of  pressing 
on  through  the  night  to  the  village  of  '  Great  Valley 
Stream,'  he  interposed  with  a  courteous  but  positive 
veto.  He  would  not  answer  for  my  life  if  I  ventured 
through  the  floods.  I  must  spend  the  night  under 
his  roof,  and  my  room  was  already  prepared,  lie 
kindly  promised  to  have  the  yamen  gates  thrown 
open  as  early  as  I  pleased,  even  at  break  of  day,  the 
next  morning.  A  secretary  was  detailed  to  attend 
on  me  ;  and  the  mandarin's  son  was  my  host  at 
dinner,  an  attractive,  scholarly  lad,  who  had  just 
taken  his  first  degree.     For  a  time  I  conversed  w  ith 


144         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

the  magistrate  himself,  pleading  earnestly  the 
claims  of  Christianity.  He  then  retired,  as  he  told 
me,  to  his  court  of  justice,  which  was  to  be  opened 
between  9  and  10  p.m.,  according  to  the  custom  in 
this  region.  My  watch  had  gained  an  hour,  and 
instead  of  calling  the  unfortunate  secretary  at  five 
in  the  morning  for  my  breakfast,  I  summoned  him 
at  four ;  and  instead  of  leaving  the  yamen  gates 
at  six,  we  were  off  at  five.  The  magistrate  had 
talked  to  me  with  much  feeling  of  the  turbulence  of 
the  people,  and  of  the  difficulties  of  his  post,  bringing 
forward  these  as  some  excuse  for  his  own  extreme 
remissness,  if  not  hostility,  in  not  preventing  or 
for  the  time  allaying  the  fierce  attack  upon  the 
Christians.  '  What  do  you  think  happened  to  me 
last  week  ?  '  he  said.  '  A  funeral  was  taking  place. 
A  fight  began  over  the  unclosed  coffin,  and  with 
the  dead  man's  eyes  upon  them,  between  the  two 
branches  of  the  clan  to  which  he  belonged.  I  was 
summoned  to  attend  and  restore  order,  but  for  a 
while  I  was  powerless  before  the  clansmen.' 

The  Chuki  people  seem  to  regard  lawsuits,  and 
any  dispute  which  may  lead  to  litigation,  as  the  very 
breath  of  life.  One  man,  on  his  baptism,  brought 
me  as  a  sure  proof  of  sincerity  a  large  chest  full  of 
deeds  and  other  documents  referring  to  laAvsuits, 
some  still  pending,  others  still  unsettled  of  more 
ancient  dates,  with  all  of  which  he  desired  finally 
to  break.  Yet  amidst  their  contentions  and  head- 
strong ways,  much  strength  of  character  and  rude 
nobility  shine  forth.  I  was  warned,  when  entering 
these  regions,  that  they  were  always  fighting.  I 
was  told  that  if  a  man  were  killed  in  a  quarrel,  the 


HANGCHOW  AND  CHUKI  145 

murderer  without  hesitation  or  delay  would  walk 
up  to  the  yamm,  not  waiting  for  runners  or  police, 
and  deliver  himself  up  to  be  tried  for  murder  or 
manslaughter. 

The  state  of  social  life  and  the  standard  of  morality 
in  these  regions  are  not  low,  if  not  conspicuous  for 
refinement  and  order.  The  canonical  hour  for 
weddings  is  not  before  noon,  as  once  prevailed  in 
England,  or  in  the  early  afternoon,  but  at  midnight. 
In  other  parts  of  the  country  the  hour  is  in  the  late 
evening,  and  this  does  not  conduce  to  the  mainten- 
ance of  decorum,  which  is  sometimes  rudely  dis- 
regarded by  the  friends  of  the  bridegroom  and  by 
strangers  on  these  occasions.  I  camiot  but  testif}^ 
however,  with  admiration,  that  in  China's  ordinary 
social  life,  and  even  in  the  accessories  of  their 
idolatrous  worship,  outrages  on  decency  and  morality 
are  quite  the  exception,  and  are  in  no  sense  part 
of  their  customs  and  worship. 

On  one  occasion  I  was  invited  to  perform  a  mar- 
riage service  under  somewhat  strange  circum- 
stances. I  fixed  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning  for 
the  time  of  service,  and  enjoined  strict  punctuality, 
as  I  had  a  long  journey  to  take  in  the  afternoon. 
The  wedding-party  accepted  the  hour,  and  promised 
conformity  to  my  conditions  as  to  time.  1  arrived 
on  the  stroke  of  eleven,  and  was  smilingly  informed 
by  the  bridegroom  and  the  host  that  the  bride  was 
not  quite  ready ;  but  if  I  would  sit  down  and 
partake  of  refreshment,  all  would  be  arranged.  1 
did  so  reluctantly,  and  nibbled  severely  some  nuts, 
and  drank  a  cup  of  tea.  I  then  went  out  for  a  five 
minutes'  stroll,  telling  them  that  on  my  return  1 

K 


14G         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

should  proceed  with  the  service.     I  was  received 

with  fresh  smiles  and  excuses.     The  bride  was  not 

yet  quite  prepared  ;   they  were  sorry  for  the  delay  ; 

would  I  accept  further  refreshment  ?     I  sat  down 

for  a  minute,  conversing  with  them  and  explaining 

my  views  on  punctuality  and  also  on  the  solemnity 

of   this   service.     I   then   started   for   a   somewhat 

longer  stroll,  mounting  a  low  hill.     In  half  an  hour 

I  was  back,  and  prepared  to  push  matters  to  an 

extremity,   but  it  was   quite  useless.     There  were 

unavoidable  hindrances  ;    all  would  soon  be  ready  ; 

would  I  accept  a  cup  of  tea  and  some  fruit  ?     I 

soon  left,  to  climb  a  yet  higher  hill,  and  strove  to 

restrain   my   vexation.     My   ascents   and   descents 

and  remonstrance  and  hope  and  despair  lasted  till 

five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.     It  was  getting  dark  ; 

my  onward  journey  was  out  of  the  question  ;    my 

head  was  aching  violently  ;   when  suddenly  I  heard 

a  shout  and  a  scuffle.     The  bride  was  pushed  in, 

and  the  service  proceeded,  not  with  much  edification, 

I  fear,  in  the  darkness  and  confusion  and  crowding. 

At  the  end  I  was  informed  that  the  bride,  out  of 

consideration  for  me,  had  consented  to  get  up  at 

five  in  the  afternoon,  instead  of  at  nine  in  the  evening, 

the  usual  hour,  and  had  considerably  shortened  her 

lamentation  and  tears  at  the  prospect  of  marriage, 

a  form  of  mourning  in  which,  according  to  the  old 

rule  of  China's  etiquette,  every  bride  should  indulge. 

Round  and  above  these  vagaries  of  human  nature, 

how  beautiful  and  melodious,   and,   in  some  true 

sense,  how  sympathetic,  are  the  sights  and  sounds 

of  God's  earth  and  sky  !     I  was  being  carried  on  one 

occasion  by  night  far  into  the  depths  of  the  hiUs, 


HANGCHOW  AND  CHUKI  147 

not  knowing  whither  I  was  going,  at  the  mercy,  so 
it  seemed,  but  really  with  the  loyal  and  respectful 
care  of  my  bearers  and  companions.  As  we  passed 
through  the  fields  half  inundated  for  the  rice-grow- 
ing, the  bright  stars  overhead  were  reflected  in  the 
water,  the  reflection  broken  at  times  by  men  fishing 
in  the  canals  with  flaring  torches  to  guide  their  hands 
and  to  lure  their  prey. 

The  hill-sides  in  spring-time,  colourless  in  the  gloom 
of  night,  are  by  day  lit  up  with  azaleas.  Some  of 
the  hills  are  three  thousand  feet  high,  and  covered 
to  the  top  with  the  flowers  of  this  shrub — scarlet, 
crimson,  purple,  pink,  with  occasional  white 
blossoms,  or  great  spikes  of  yellow — a  sight  so 
beautiful  as  to  make  it  worth  the  while  to  run 
round  the  world  to  behold  it.  The  cuckoo  is  sing- 
ing, our  own  English  bird  ;  but  its  note  to  the 
Chuki  people  is  both  more  promising  and  at  the 
same  time  more  deceptive  than  the  song,  without 
such  words,  which  in  sweet  English  fields  makes 
the  roving  schoolboy  stop  and  listen.  Tsoh-k'u, 
tsoh-k'Uy  the  Chinese  interpret  the  call,  '  INIake  my 
nest,  make  my  nest '  ;  a  boast  or  promise  addressed 
to  the  bunting  or  hedge-sparrow,  '  Next  year  I  \\  ill 
make  my  own  nest.'  Or  perhaps  the  boast  is 
addressed  to  the  more  credulous  public,  and  refers 
to  the  present  season,  '  I  made  the  nest ;  I  made 
the  nest.' 

Again  there  resounds  through  the  hills  the  in- 
cessant cry  of  a  hill-bird,  one  of  the  cuckoo  species, 
and  this  cry  also  to  Chinese  ears  has  two  interpreta- 
tions. K'dng-k'tng-mah-koy  '  Hide,  hide  the  wheat- 
cakes  !  '  cries  one.     H yiao-ts-tdng-t6ng,  '  Dutiful  son 


148         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

will  hold  you  up,'  cries  another.  Thus  two  pathetic 
and  tragic  stories  of  ancient  days  are  blown  about 
the  hills.  Both  seem  to  make  old  China's  vanishing 
life  live  on  in  these  remote  hills,  though  new  China 
comes  bustling  through  her  cities  and  plains. 

Once  upon  a  time  a  poor  down-trodden  girl  lived 
with  her  cruel  mother-in-law,  working  hard  and 
being  half-starved.  One  day  she  was  desperately 
hungry,  and  ventured  to  take  two  small  newly- 
baked  wheaten  cakeB  from  the  oven.  She  heard 
her  mother-in-law's  step  approaching,  and  in  terror 
stuffed  them  both  into  her  mouth,  hoping  to  hide 
her  theft.  But  she  was  suffocated  and  died,  and 
ever  cries  now  with  returning  spring,  '  Hide,  hide 
the  wheat-cakes  !  ' 

Long,  long  ago  a  dutiful  son  was  mourning  bitterly 
his  mother's  death,  his  father  having  died  some  years 
before.  His  mother  was  carried  out  for  burial  on 
the  distant  hill-side,  and  as  the  procession  wound 
along  the  pathways,  they  had  to  cross  a  narrow 
stream.  The  bearers  carrying  the  coffin  stumbled  ; 
and  the  weeping  son  ran  forward,  and  received  the 
weight  of  the  falling  coffin  on  his  own  shoulder.  He 
was  crushed  to  death,  and  he  cries  now  everywhere 
on  the  spring  winds,  '  Your  loving,  dutiful  son  will 
bear  you  up.'  The  musical  calls  of  the  hill-birds, 
which  should  sound  notes  of  praise  and  gladness, 
seem  to  turn,  as  so  often  with  us,  to  the  wailing  of 
the  fifes  and  the  roll  of  the  muffled  drum  as  the 
dead  pass  on  to  the  grave. 

This  double  view,  of  a  great  and  ancient  city 
waking  up  for  movement  and  experiments  in  reform 
and  change,  and  a  great  region  hard  by,  scarcely 


HANGCHOW  AND  CHUKI  149 

touched  by  the  awakening,  yet  sighing  for  something 
new  and  something  better,  presents — not,  I  trust, 
without  significance — an  epitome  of  the  China  I 
am  trying  to  portray. 

Meanwhile,  to  the  old  and  new  China  alike  God's 
remedy  for  sin  and  sorrow,  and  change  and  disap- 
pointment and  death,  is  being  offered. 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER 


CHAPTER   VII 

JOURNEYS    BY   LAND    AND    BY   WATER 

The  time  seems  to  be  hastening  on  when  descrip- 
tions of  travel  in  China,  both  over  faniihar  routes 
and  in  hitherto  untrodden  regions,  will  form  com- 
paratively monotonous  reading,  for  they  will  so 
closely  resemble  European  traveUing  in  the  acces- 
sories of  locomotion.  Let  me  then,  before  old  China 
fades  from  view,  conduct  my  readers  on  a  few  trips 
by  land  and  by  water  through  the  China  that  I 
have  known. 

Some  thirty  years  ago  there  occurred  at  Ningpo 
a  manifestation  of  the  fear  entertained  by  the  Chinese 
boatmen  and  others  as  to  the  probable  effect  on 
their  boat-traffic  of  the  introduction  of  steam 
navigation.  The  people  rioted,  because  the  chief 
magistrate  of  the  city  gave  permission  to  run  a 
steam-launch  both  for  passenger-service  and  for 
use  as  a  tug-boat  about  thirty  or  forty  miles  up 
the  main  river.  In  the  face  of  this  opposition  the 
launch  was  withdrawn  ;  but  before  many  years 
had  passed  other  companies  petitioned  the  magis- 
trate, and  at  the  present  time  two  or  three  lines 
of  launches,  carrying  about  two  hundred  passengers 
each,  ply  to  and  fro  daily.  The  effect  on  the 
ordinary  boat-traffic  must  be  (one  would  think) 
considerable,  and  it  will  be  aggravated  when  the 

163 


154         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

railway  between  the  capital  of  the  province  (Hang- 
chow)  and  the  chief  port  (Ningpo)  is  opened.  But 
at  present  it  is  scarcely  apparent.  The  smaller 
market-boats  for  passenger-traffic,  and  the  larger 
black-tilt  boats  both  for  passengers  and  for  cargo, 
crowd  up  the  river  with  every  tide,  and  come  down, 
sometimes  a  fleet  of  them,  with  the  ebb.  Each 
boat  is  provided  w^ith  protuberant  red  eyes  and 
white  eyeballs,  not  for  the  skipper's  use  as  tele- 
scope or  binocular,  but  for  the  boat's  own  conven- 
ience and  clearer  vision.  These  boats,  which  with 
care  can  be  made  almost  as  comfortable  as  the 
Shanghai  house-boats,  will  be  needed  for  long  years 
to  come  in  these  regions,  intersected  as  they  are 
by  canals  and  creeks  and  rivers  which  no  steam- 
vessels  or  branch  railways  will  ever  traverse  or  tap. 
The  express-boats  of  this  part  of  China,  called  by 
foreigners  '  snake-boats '  on  account  of  their  wriggling 
motion,  and  by  the  Chinese  '  foot-propelled  boats,' 
draw  very  little  water,  and  can  run  up  the  rivers 
against  the  tide  by  creeping  inshore,  or  can  pene- 
trate into  the  narrower  creeks  and  canals  where 
larger  craft  would  be  stranded.  The  one  long  scull 
is  seized  and  worked  by  the  boatman's  two  bare 
feet.  He  sits  on  a  narrow  plank  at  the  stern,  with 
an  upright  board  for  him  to  lean  against,  and  a 
small  paddle  under  his  arm  by  which  he  can  steer 
and  steady  the  boat.  Then  gathering  up  his  legs 
he  drives  the  oar  through  the  water  with  a  strong 
stroke  and  feather,  the  boat  travellmg  at  nearly 
double  the  pace  of  ordinary  boats.  The  passenger 
must  be  content  day  and  night  to  lie  down  flat,  or 
to  sit  on  the  boat's  floor  with    his  back  propped 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    155 

against  his  roll  of  bedding.  The  tilt  drawn  over 
him  as  a  protection  against  rain  or  the  blazing  sun 
is  too  low  to  allow  of  his  sitting  up  in  a  chair,  and 
if  he  stands  up  the  boat  will  capsize.  Many  years 
ago  I  conducted  an  episcopal  traveller  in  such  a 
humble  and  crazy  vessel  for  about  a  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  up  the  country.  It  was  a  serious  respon- 
sibility. I  waited  on  the  bishop's  boat  in  a  similar 
one  of  my  own  ;  tied  my  boat  to  his  at  meal-times  ; 
served  him  out  his  meals  and  washed  his  plates  for 
him,  as  it  was  not  convenient  to  take  a  servant. 
Finally,  I  saw  the  prelate  into  bed,  with  respectful 
but  strict  orders  not  to  move  about  or  toss  to  and 
fro,  or  turn  over  suddenly.  Darkness  fell,  and  I 
hoped  that  we  were  safe  for  the  night,  when  a  sudden 
call  from  the  boatman  told  me  that  the  bishop  was 
in  danger  of  upsetting  the  boat  by  violent  rearrange- 
ment of  himself  and  his  bedding.  Just  in  time  he 
consented  to  lie  still,  and  the  danger  of  capsizing 
was  averted.  But  for  those  unaccustomed  to  this 
kind  of  travelling  neither  comfort  nor  safety  can 
be  assured. 

There  are  several  other  methods  of  travelling 
which  may  be  mentioned.  In  the  north,  where 
rough  roads  are  met  with,  you  may  travel  in  mule- 
litters  or  carts,  both  most  uncomfortable,  from 
my  experience  of  them  in  Shantung.  Wheel- 
barrows, also,  are  constructed  with  one  tall  central 
wheel,  and  a  ledge  on  either  side  of  the  wheel  on 
which  heavy  baggage  can  be  laid  and  strapped  tight ; 
or  on  which,  carefully  balancing  themselves,  two 
or  even  three  passengers  can  sit  by  either  face  of 
the  wheel,  one  leg  hanging  down,  the  other  eased 


156         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

by  a  rope  stirrup.  The  strength  of  some  of  these 
wheelbarrow-men  is  extraordinary,  and  they 
sometimes  have  an  auxiliary  in  a  small  sail  which 
they  set  to  waft  them  along.  For  land-travel  in 
Mid-China,  alike  in  the  cities  with  their  narrow 
paved  streets,  and  in  the  country,  and  in  the  hill- 
districts,  intersected  by  yet  narrower  paved  paths, 
wide  enough  only  for  passengers  in  single  file,  we 
depend  on  sedan-chairs  with  two  bearers,  one  in 
front  and  one  behind,  supporting  the  bamboo  poles 
on  their  shoulders.  In  the  case  of  long  distances 
there  are  one  or  two  extra  men  to  each,  and  they 
change  shoulders  without  lowering  the  chair.  These 
conveyances  vary  in  style.  We  have,  first,  the 
mandarin's  chair,  with  scarlet  cloth  seats  and 
inside  padding,  and  four  bearers  with  extra  yokes, 
and  runners  and  lictors  before,  sounding  a  trumpet 
with  shouts  to  clear  the  way.  Then,  since  these 
grander  conveyances  are  prohibited  to  all  but 
officials  (though  I  have  once,  to  my  annoyance,  in 
the  heart  of  the  mountains,  been  surreptitiously 
carried  over  the  hills  by  an  illegal  quaternion  of 
chair-bearers),  you  may  hire  ordinary  chairs  with 
tilts  over  your  head,  and  closed  in  on  both  sides 
with  sliding  windows.  Or,  finally,  you  may  travel 
lightly  if  unrestfuUy  in  mountain-chairs,  consisting 
of  three  pieces  of  wood  affixed  to  the  two  long 
bamboo  poles  ;  one  plank  to  sit  upon,  one  to  lean 
against,  and  one  narrower  piece  of  wood,  fitted  with 
ropes,  as  your  foot-support ;  and  with  no  cover 
against  sun  or  rain.  In  mission-travel,  however, 
when  we  aim  not  so  much  at  reaching  far  distant 
places  as  at  moving  from  point  to  point  over   the 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    157 

plain  or  amongst  the  hills,  we  trust  to  our  feet, 
carefully  shod  so  as  to  stand  the  jar  of  the  rough  or 
uneven  stone  or  pebble  paths  ;  or  with  the  useful 
guard  of  straw  sandals  strapped  under  the  boot,  so 
as  to  prevent  stumbling  on  the  steep  and  slippery 
mountain-roads.  On  one  occasion  I  was  crossing 
a  pass  in  the  Ningpo  hills,  called  the  '  Pass  of  the 
Long  Winding  Torrent.'  A  number  of  passengers 
were  travelling  by  the  same  route,  some  going, 
some  coming.  '  Look,'  said  one,  '  at  that  foreigner 
on  foot ;  why  does  he  not  hire  a  chair  and 
ride  ?  '  '  He  is  parsimonious,'  replied  his  friend, 
'  and  wants  to  save  the  chair-hire.'  '  I  know 
better,'  said  another ;  '  he  walks  because  we 
walk,  and  he  wishes  to  talk  with  us  on  the  way.' 
That  true  word  made  my  heart  glad,  and  my  step 
lighter. 

The  preparations  for  a  prolonged  absence  on  such 
journeys  sometimes  involve  special  precautions,  in 
the  case  of  mission-houses  isolated  in  crowded  cities. 
The  tifao  or  constable  of  the  district  is  sent  for.  He 
is  informed  that  the  master  is  starting  on  a  journey, 
and  will  be  absent  for  some  days.  The  house  is 
solemnly  placed  in  his  care.  The  mistress  is  here, 
and  the  children  ;  he  must  be  very  careful,  and 
will  be  held  strictly  responsible  if  thieves  should 
break  in.  With  polite  assurance  we  remind  him 
that  he  knows  all  about  the  thieves,  and  that  with 
the  greater  confidence  we  commit  the  matter  into 
his  hands.  A  theft  is  committed,  and  on  the  master's 
return  the  constable  is  sent  for.  He  professes  indig- 
nant and  agitated  surprise.  He  will  make  in([uiries, 
and  do  his  best  to  recover  the  rroods.      lie  fails  to 


158         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

do  so  once  and  again.  The  magistrate  is  then 
informed,  and  the  constable  in  evil  case  is  beaten, 
and  ordered  again  to  investigate  the  matter.  Then 
the  chief  of  police,  the  hu-yuh,  is  summoned.  He, 
too,  fails  in  his  investigations,  and  consequently 
is  beaten  with  bamboos.  This  last  castigation  never 
(or  seldom)  fails  to  result  in  the  discovery  of  the 
thief  and  the  restitution  of  the  goods.  For  in  the 
old  China  I  have  known,  '  set  a  thief  to  catch  a 
thief '  was  an  acknowledged  principle,  since  the 
superintendent  of  police  was  generally  a  well-known 
trainer  or  patron  of  thieves.  This  grotesque  state 
of  things,  so  familiar  to  those  who  have  long  known 
China,  and  her  rough  and  yet  ever  ready  ways  of 
doing  things,  will  doubtless  be  a  thing  of  the  past  in 
the  near  future  of  new  and  reformed  China.  About 
thirty-four  years  ago,  when  living  in  the  heart  of 
the  city  of  Hangchow,  I  was  much  annoyed  by  the 
continual  throwing  of  stones,  some  of  large  size, 
over  my  high  garden  wall,  to  the  danger  of  life  or 
limb.  We  could  not  trace  the  culprits,  though  our 
suspicions  were  awake.  I  therefore  sent  for  the 
constable.  '  You  see  the  state  of  the  case,'  I  said 
to  him  ;  '  you  probably  know  all  about  these  out- 
rages on  propriety  and  neighbourly  duty.  This 
stone-throwing  must  cease.  If  one  stone  comes  in 
after  to-day,  I  shall  report  the  matter  to  the  man- 
darin, and  demand  your  punishment.  If  no  stone 
comes  over  till  the  end  of  the  year  [this  was  in  July] 
you  will  be  rewarded  with  a  dollar.'  The  bargain 
was  kept  on  both  sides.  No  more  stones  were 
thrown,  and  the  constable  claimed  and  received  his 
dollar. 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER     159 

Journeys  in  China  must  be  undertaken  in  all  kinds 
of  weather,  from  deep  snows  and  raging  wind  to 
almost  intolerable  oppression  of  dry  or  moist 
heat.  We  have,  however,  more  equable  and  settled 
weather  in  late  autumn  and  early  winter,  and  also 
in  early  spring.  November,  for  instance,  so  often 
veiled  in  the  west  with  gloomy  skies  and  cold 
fogs,  is  accompanied  in  this  part  of  China  with 
brilliant  sunshine,  cloudless  skies,  and  keen  and 
fresh  air. 

I  was  once  travelling  in  a  boat  along  the  canals 
not  far  from  Ningpo.  A  heavy  thunder-storm  broke, 
and  the  rain  leaked  through  the  bamboo  tilt,  so 
that  when  I  retired  to  rest  I  was  obliged  to  have  a 
small  tub  suspended  over  my  head  to  catch  the 
water.  My  attention  was  soon  taken  off  my  own 
position  by  observing  that  the  storm's  chief  fury 
was  being  spent  over  the  city,  twelve  miles  awa}'. 
I  reached  home  the  next  day,  and  found  that  the 
thunder  and  lightning  had  been  of  exceptional  and 
alarming  violence.  One  of  our  mission-rooms  in 
the  heart  of  the  city  was  struck  twice  in  the  same 
storm.  On  going  to  examine  the  damage  done,  I 
saw  running  down  a  certain  wooden  pillar  two  dis- 
tinct grooves  cut  by  the  lightning.  Tlic  wife  of 
the  Chinese  preacher  who  was  my  companion  on 
the  journey  had  been  sleeping  with  her  head  close 
to  this  pillar.  She  was  quite  unhurt,  though  shaken 
with  alarm,  and  no  further  damage  was  done  to  the 
house.  I  therefore  questioned  the  neighbours  and 
others  as  to  the  effect  which  this  stroke  from  heaven, 
falling  on  a  Christian  building,  would  have  on  the 
thoughts  and  superstitions  of  the  city.     Was  it  a 


160         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

sign  of  heaven's  wrath  or  vengeance,  a  curse,  a 
warning  ?  '  On  the  contrary,'  they  said  ;  '  it  is  a 
most  propitious  and  fortunate  sign.  Some  evil 
spirit  was  doubtless  seeking  right  of  asylum  in  your 
sacred  courts,  and  the  vengeance  of  heaven  fell 
twice  to  drive  the  evil  influence  out.'  This  seems 
to  be  the  accepted  view  on  the  subject.  An  indi- 
vidual struck  by  lightning  is  himself  the  object  of 
heaven's  wrath.  A  building  struck  is  honoured  and 
sanctified  thereby,  as  protected  by  heaven  itself 
from  the  inroads  of  evil  spirits.  It  seems  possible 
that  the  custom  by  which  trees  scarred  and  blackened 
by  lightning  are  left  standing  and  regarded  with 
superstitious  awe,  and  sometimes  adorned  with  a 
small  shrine  and  image,  bears  the  same  interpreta- 
tion. The  tree  was  not  at  fault  because  the  light- 
ning struck  the  life  out  of  it,  but  the  evil  spirit 
lodging  there  was  scorched  and  expelled.  The 
tree's  truer  life  remains ;  and  now  as  a  nobler 
inmate,  and  a  preserver  of  its  sanctity,  an  unsightly 
image  is  set  up.  The  recognition  of  higher  and 
spiritual  powers,  guiding  and  controlling  the  powers 
of  nature,  is  a  remarkable  feature  in  Chinese  thought ; 
but  it  perplexes  one  to  find  how  so  wise  and  under- 
standing a  people  can  go  as  far  and  as  foolishly 
astray  in  legend  and  myth  as  the  most  barbarous 
tribes,  leading  them  to  worship  and  fear  not  the 
Creator  but  the  deified  creature.  This  phenomenon 
of  folly  and  ignorance  in  the  highest  region  of 
thought,  and  on  the  part  of  a  people  so  wise  and  so 
scholarly  in  other  departments,  is  an  illustration  of 
St.  Paul's  strong  saying,  '  The  world  by  wisdom 
knew  not  God.'     '  The  God  of  glory  thundereth  ; 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    161 

the   voice   of   the    Lord   is   full   of   majesty.'     The 
Chinese  admit  this  in  their  own  proverbial  sayings  : — 

*  Fear'st  thou  not  God  ?     Be  still,  0  soul ! 
And  listen  to  the  thunder-roll.' 

But  for  worship  they  conceive  the  idea  and  mould 
the  image  of  the  uncle  and  the  aunt  of  thunder. 
'  The  voice  of  the  Lord  is  upon  the  waters.'  I  have 
seen  the  hundred  miles  of  hills  surrounding  the 
Ningpo  plain  scarred  by  landslips  caused  by  the 
breaking  of  the  springs  during  torrential  typhoon 
rains  and  the  accompanying  waterspouts  ;  and  the 
plain  itself,  over  a  thousand  square  miles  in  extent, 
completely  under  water.  This  is  the  linger  of  God, 
the  Chinese  inner  conscience  admits ;  but  the 
accepted  account,  half  believed  in,  is  that  by  these 
burstings  of  the  springs  great  frogs,  which  were  con- 
fined there,  are  released,  and  pass  out  to  sea  on  the 
wings  of  the  tempest,  to  be  examined  for  the  degree 
of  dragon.  The  dragon  is  the  rain-king  ;  and  if  you 
venture  to  doubt  this  you  are  asked  to  watch  a 
waterspout  by  sea,  or  more  rarely  by  land,  the  sure 
sign  of  storm  and  abundant  rain.  '  See  !  '  they 
say,  '  the  tail  of  the  god  is  let  down,  and  the  dragon 
is  drawing  up  the  water.'  It  must  be  added,  in 
justice  to  Chinese  thought  and  reasoning,  that  there 
may  after  all  be  some  reason  in  their  superstitious 
madness,  though  it  be  reason  clouded  by  wilful 
ignorance.  In  the  case  of  drought  or  flood,  when 
all  prayers  and  incantations  to  the  higher  powers 
and  the  heavens  seem  to  fail,  the  people  and  the 
magistrates  combine  to  bring  the  gods  to  their 
senses,  and  to  arouse  the  virtue  of  sympathy  by 

L 


162         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

enforced  fellow-suffering.  They  carry  the  idols  into 
the  blazing  sun  for  a  sense  of  the  torture  of  drought, 
and  into  the  open  court  where  the  rain  is  descend- 
ing in  torrents  for  the  knowledge  of  flood  ;  and  so 
endeavour  to  compel  the  spirits  to  care  for  men. 

On  a  recent  occasion  in  Ningpo,  an  incarcerated 
robber,  who  was  being  taken,  heavily  chained  and 
under  escort,  to  a  distant  place  for  punishment, 
was  rescued  by  a  band  of  desperadoes.     The  man- 
darin who  was  responsible  for  the  prisoner,  with 
the  alternative  of  heavy  penalties  and  degradation, 
despairing  of  tracing  the  criminal,  at  last  caused  the 
stone  figures  of  dragons  and  lions  at  his  yamen  gate 
to  be  exposed  to  the  sun  and  rain,  in  order  to  extract 
the   secret  from   them.     A  year   ago,   in   the   hills 
from  which  I  now  ^vrite,  during  a  time  of  protracted 
drought,  imperilling  the  whole  rice-crop  which  was 
fading  and  withering  just  before  the  harvest,  some 
woodmen  whom  we  knew  well  appeared  with  native 
sportsmen's  guns.     They  were  bent  on  shooting  the 
rain-god  or  dragon,  and  proposed  to  fire  on  the  first 
living  creature  they  met  with,  in  which  the  dragon 
might  possibly  be  hiding.     This  violent  and  aggres- 
sive way  of  crying  '  0  Baal,  hear  us  !  '  would,  they 
hoped,   melt  the  brazen  heavens  and  bring  down 
rain.     When  remonstrated  with  on  their  apparently 
impious  conduct,  they  avowed  that  their  wrath  and 
importmiate  threats  were  not  directed  against  the 
great  God  above,  the  supreme  emperor.     He  would 
not  be  unkind,  or  do  Avrong.     But  the  dragon-king 
and  the  deities  represented  by  the  idols,  who  were 
merely  subordinate  gods,  his  mandarins,  were  failing 
in  their  duty,  and  for  personal  interest  neglecting 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    1C3 

the  orders  of  the  emperor  far  off  in  his  capital. 
These  they  must  censure,  even  as  the  people  from 
time  to  time  besiege  and  force  an  entrance  into  the 
yamen,  and  bring  unjust  and  oppressive  mandarins 
to  their  knees.  But  no  insult  was  intended  to  the 
supreme  God,  and  no  insurrectionary  plot  aimed 
against  the  emperor.  This  belief  is  expressed  in 
the  proverb,  '  Heaven  is  very  high  ;  the  emperor 
is  far  off.'  In  the  words  of  Mencius  (Bk.  I.  Pt.  ii. 
iii.  7),  partly  his  own,  and  partly  a  quotation  from 
the  classic  of  history,  '  Heaven,  when  sending  down 
the  people  to  earth,  appointed  for  them  rulers  and 
teachers,  simply  saying,  "  They  are  to  help  God."  ' 

Unfortunately,  this  special  pleading  as  an  excuse 
for  the  insulting  of  idols  leaves  the  main  accusation 
of  the  neglect  caused  by  idolatry  unanswered.  For 
not  only  are  prayers  and  complaints  addressed  to 
these  lower  imaginary  powers  of  nature,  and  not 
to  the  supreme,  whom  yet  in  words  they  confess, 
but  when  the  rain  does  come  and  drought  is  relieved, 
or  when  the  thunder  and  the  rain  and  the  hail  cease, 
and  flood  is  arrested,  and  the  earth  brings  forth 
her  fruit  once  more,  thanks  and  praise  rise  then  no 
higher  than  to  the  dragon  and  the  idols.  The 
emperor  is  in  person  still  unapproachable  ;  heaven 
is  still  high,  and  God  far  off. 

The  myths  and  superstitions  of  the  Chinese  are 
sometimes  connected  with  prognostications  so 
strange  as  to  startle  one  by  their  accuracy.  A 
transit  of  Venus  was  announced  by  western  astron- 
omers as  due  in  a  certain  j^ear.  The  Chinese 
astrologers  and  fortune-tellers  accepted  the  calcula- 
tion, which  had  been  beyond  their  powers,  remark- 


164         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

able  as  they  have  been  for  long  ages  in  their  accuracy 
of  observation  and  in  their  minute  records.  Tliey 
added  then  their  own  interpretation  and  prognostica- 
tion. It  boded  evil.  The  emperor  is  the  sun  of 
China's  sky.  A  spot  moving  over  the  face  of  the 
sun  means  something  wrong  with  the  emperor's 
glorious  face.  That  very  year  the  emperor  died  of 
smallpox. 

To  return  to  the  subject  of  travel.  I  cannot  call 
myself  an  explorer  or  traveller,  although  I  have  in 
the  way  of  duty  seen  many  comitries.  My  first 
place  of  foreign  residence  was  the  island  of  Malta 
in  1856-57.  Here  I  experienced  a  great  earth- 
quake, which  agitated  the  Ionian  Islands.  This 
was  followed  by  the  breaking  up  of  a  drought  which 
had  lasted  for  five  months,  and  had  clothed  the 
hot  and  withering  island  with  a  pall  of  dazzling 
dust.  The  monsoon  burst  at  last,  after  three  or 
four  evenings  of  lightning  and  portentous  phenomena 
in  the  west,  and  by  the  rushing  rains  of  a  single  night 
the  island  was  washed  green.  I  witnessed  also  the 
coming  on  and  the  raging  for  ten  days  of  the 
Euroclydon,  a  great  north-easter.  Neither  sun 
nor  stars  appeared,  and  a  tempest  lay  on  the  sea 
and  on  the  land.  The  storm  ceased,  and  we  sallied 
forth  to  see  its  effects  along  the  coast.  After  a  walk 
of  ten  miles  we  reached  St.  Paul's  Bay,  and  found 
there  a  sailing-ship,  driven  in  by  the  wind  and 
current,  and  wrecked  on  the  very  spot  where  almost 
certainly  St.  Paul's  ship  ran  aground  and  broke  up 
eighteen  hundred  years  before.  There,  too,  I  saw 
the  English  fleet  just  back  from  the  Crimea,  the 
Duke  of   Wellington,  a  four-decker  with  auxiliary 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    165 

steam,  but  most  of  the  frigates  and  warships  full- 
rigged  and  manceu\Ting  under  sail  in  a  gale  of  wind. 
It  was  an  even  finer  sight  than  that  I  witnessed 
in  1902,  the  gathering  of  the  fleets  in  the  Solent 
at  the  time  of  the  coronation  of  King  Edward. 

In  recent  years  I  have  been  several  times  in 
Japan,  visiting  those  beautiful  and  strangely  attrac- 
tive islands  before,  during,  and  after  the  war  with 
Russia.  During  the  war  I  wondered  at  the  bearing 
and  attitude  of  the  people,  so  far  as  I  could  observe 
it,  so  serene,  undaunted  and  self-contained  in  the 
tension  of  suspense,  the  anguish  of  anticipation, 
the  intoxication  of  victory,  and  the  emergence  of 
the  nation  from  the  conflict,  great  and  in  the  first 
rank  of  the  powers.  But  all  this  others  have 
described  with  varying  tones  of  sympathy  or 
criticism  over  and  over  agam. 

I  have  seen  also  a  good  part  of  the  coast  of  China  : 
Swatow,  sheltered  behind  '  Double  Island  '  from  the 
miseries  of  the  storm  ;  Amoy,  with  its  low  and 
unhealthy  yet  populous  city  and  its  beautiful  island 
across  the  harbour,  with  hedges  of  heliotrope  and 
pleasant  roads  and  gardens  and  fair  blue  sea ; 
Foochow,  and  the  almost  matchless  scenery  on  the 
river  IVIin  and  round  the  great  city.  I  have  been 
up  the  great  Yangtse,  which,  after  a  course  of 
between  three  and  four  thousand  miles,  falls  into 
the  sea  below  Shanghai.  On  this  journey  I  passed 
Nanking,  the  ancient  southern  capital,  with  a  wall 
thirty  miles  in  circumference,  and  visited  the 
junction  of  three  great  cities,  Hankow,  Wuchang 
and  Hanyang,  in  what  is  the  exact  geograpliical 
centre  of  China  proper.     The  mention  of  these  visits. 


166         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

with  one  to  the  watering-place  of  Chef oo  in  Shantung, 
will  serve  to  show  that  my  travels  in  China  and  the 
Far  East  have  not  been  wholly  confined  to  the 
districts  of  Mid-China  with  which  this  book  deals. 
The  regions  through  which  I  have  passed  in  China 
and  Japan  have  reminded  me,  in  their  infinite 
variety,  now  of  quiet  landscapes  in  southern  France, 
now  of  Alpine  scenery,  and  not  seldom  of  village- 
scenes  at  home  in  England. 

I  turn  from  the  more  familiar  and  well-beaten 
tracks  to  the  less  known  pathways  of  my  personal 
experience. 

A  few  years  after  the  close  of  the  T'aip'ing  rebellion 
I  started  on  a  short  tour  of  exploration.  I  had  heard 
so  far  back  as  1862  of  the  country  people's  desperate 
rally  (described  above),  unable  any  longer  to  endure 
the  oppression  of  the  T'aip'ings.  The  tribes  had 
chosen  as  their  first  meeting-place  the  plateaus  and 
upper  valleys  of  the  '  Great  Mist  Mountain,'  rising 
more  than  three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and, 
as  they  hoped,  inaccessible  to  the  foe.  The  war  was 
over.  The  White  Caps  had  been  fiercely  pursued 
and  decimated  by  the  warlike  and  active  '  long- 
haired.' The  dead  had  long  been  buried  ;  the  sur- 
vivors had  repaired  their  blasted  homes,  and  were 
retilling  their  fields,  which  had  lain  almost  desolate  ; 
and  wheat  and  rice  fields  in  terraces  and  indian- 
corn  plantations  appeared  once  more  on  the  moun- 
tain-side. Could  I  not  visit  them  now,  I  thought, 
and  take  them  good  tidings  ?  I  started  on  foot  up 
the  long  valley  with  a  Chinese  companion.  We 
passed  through  continuous  groves  of  mulberrj'^  trees, 
which  had  been  hacked  and  lopped  and  burnt  by 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    167 

the  rebels,  but  were  now  slowly  recovering  growth 
and  verdure  with  careful  grafting  and  culture. 
Again,  we  traversed  hundreds  of  acres  devoted  to 
the  cultivation  of  a  medicinal  plant,  used  for  making 
a  tonic  medicine,  the  price  of  which  shows  a  steady 
tendency  to  advance,  and  is  at  present  at  a  high 
figure,  notwithstanding  the  influx  of  foreign  remedies 
and  nostrums,  and  the  great  benefit  brought  to  China 
by  western  medical  skill.  We  had  walked  eighteen 
miles  up  the  valley,  crossing  and  recrossing  a  beauti- 
ful broad  stream,  with  rapids  and  shallows  and  deep 
pools.  The  passage  of  some  of  the  bridges  tried  to 
the  utmost  my  powers  of  keeping  a  steady  head. 
Lifted  up  twenty  or  thirty  feet  above  the  rushing 
stream  on  poles  easily  removable  in  case  of  sudden 
summer  freshets,  the  bridges  were  laid  with  hurdles, 
seemingly  quite  loose,  and  with  occasional  gaps. 
'  Keep  your  eyes  straight  in  front !  '  shouted  my 
companion  to  me.  I  did  so,  and  crossed  safely,  but 
a  slip  would  have  been  fatal.  Later  in  the  after- 
noon we  reached  the  slopes  of  the  '  ^list  Mountain,' 
and  just  as  we  were  planning  to  attempt  a  liigher 
climb,  a  hurricane  of  wind  and  rain  met  us,  and 
we  ran  for  shelter  to  the  house  of  a  small  farmer, 
a  friend  of  my  Chinese  guide.  He  welcomed  us  in 
a  hospitable  manner,  and  invited  us  to  spend  the 
night  under  his  roof.  After  supper  I  talked  with 
him  far  into  the  night  about  God  and  the  life  to 
come  and  the  way  tliither.  He  was  an  intelligent 
man  and  listened  well.  '  Sir,'  he  said,  '  you  have 
spoken  of  lieaven.  Have  you  ever  seen  the  place  ?  ' 
'  No,'  I  replied,  '  but  T  hope  to  see  it  some  day.' 
'  Well,  I  have  seen  it,'  he  said.     '  Last  year  I  was 


168         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

sitting  at  my  door,  as  we  are  sitting  now  after  the 
storm,  when  the  sky  seemed  to  open,  and  I  saw, 
as  it  seemed  to  me,  straight  into  heaven.  There 
were  such  colours  of  glory  and  shifting  beauty  there, 
it  must  have  been  the  heavenly  land.'  I  gathered 
from  his  vivid  yet  sober  account  that  he  had  wit- 
nessed what  is  a  rare  phenomenon  in  this  part  of 
China,  a  specially  brilliant  display  of  the  aurora 
borealis,  such  as  I  witnessed  in  England  in  October 
1869,  like  the  very  glory  of  heaven. 

Subsequently  I  made  a  second  and  more  successful 
attempt  to  scale  the  mountain,  discovering  beautiful 
upland  villages,  with  clumps  of  silver  pine,  and 
spaces  like  village-greens  in  England.  My  visit 
led  to  enterprising  explorations  by  other  foreigners, 
and  to-day  it  is  a  comparatively  familiar  region ; 
but  mine  was,  I  believe,  the  first  English  foot  ever 
to  climb  those  beautiful  hills.  We  have  recently 
established  a  small  mission-station  at  the  base  of 
the  mountain. 

Let  me  now  lead  my  readers  to  different  scenes, 
namely,  to  the  great  aUuvial  plain  Sanpeh,  north 
of  the  Ningpo  hills.  The  plain  stretches  from  the 
feet  of  the  northern  face  of  these  hills  in  a  deep  broad 
belt  to  the  sea,  which  is  twelve  or  fifteen  miles 
distant.  The  sea  must  have  receded  gradually,  or 
the  land  must  have  been  reclaimed,  in  comparatively 
recent  times  ;  and  the  possible  return  of  the  sea 
is  guarded  against  by  a  carefully  built  series  of  sea- 
walls. Rocky  islets  crop  up  here  and  there  in  the 
plain,  no  longer  rising  from  the  salt,  turbid  sea 
(coloured  here  and  far  down  the  coast  by  the  great 
wash  of  the  Yangtse),  but  from  an  ocean  of  beans 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    169 

and  wheat  and  cotton.  There  remain  landmarks 
to  bear  witness  to  the  former  configuration  of  the 
district.  One  of  our  mission-stations  at  the  foot 
of  the  hills  is  called  the  '  Eastern  Landing-Stage  ' ; 
and  a  mile  fmi:her  into  the  hills  there  lies  a  village 
kno\^Ti  as  the  '  Customs  Head.' 

Some  years  ago  I  was  passing  slowly  do\Mi  the 
plain  in  my  mission-boat,  stopping  to  preach  and 
give  books  at  town  after  town.  One  evening,  as  I 
was  rejoining  my  boat  after  what  I  had  intended 
to  be  the  last  address  for  the  day,  I  caught  sight 
of  the  figure  of  an  aged  man  walking  towards  me, 
leaning  on  two  sticks.  I  went  to  meet  him,  and 
saluting  him  respectfully,  I  asked  his  '  honourable 
age.'  '  I  am  but  a  child,'  he  said,  smiling,  '  1  am 
only  ninety.'  '  That  is  a  great  age,'  I  proceeded  ; 
'  may  I  have  the  honour  of  calling  on  you  and 
conversing  for  a  short  time  ?  '  '  Do  come  in,'  he 
replied ;  and  as  the  weather  was  fine  and  Avarm, 
he  called  for  chairs  and  we  sat  together  in  the 
courtyard.  My  aged  friend  listened  eagerly  and 
reverently  to  my  message,  starting  once  with  hot 
indignation  at  the  account  of  the  Crucifixion.  '  Should 
such  a  man  die  for  such  sinners  ?  Impossible ! 
They  should  all  have  died  for  him  !  '  Then  he 
invited  me  into  his  house  to  see  his  aged  wife.  The 
old  lady,  with  a  dignified  and  beautiful  face,  and 
with  snow-white  hair  (which  is  quite  uncommon 
for  aged  women  in  China),  gave  me  a  cordial  welcome. 
She  was  eighty-eight,  she  said,  and  was  busy  with 
her  daughters,  granddaughters,  and  daught(>rs-in- 
law  spinning  and  winding  cotton.  She  ordered  tea 
to  be  brought  by  this  bevy  of  women,  who  loolccd 


170         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

at  me  with  anything  but  friendly  eyes,  fearing  lest 
some  harm  should  happen  to  the  patriarch  and  his 
wife.  There  were,  if  I  remember  rightly,  five  genera- 
tions living  together  in  one  compound,  but  with 
separate  sets  of  rooms,  and  apparently  in  harmony 
and  affectionate  subjection  to  the  old  couple.  To 
my  distress  I  found  that  the  venerable  and  gracious 
lady  was  stone-deaf ;  and  I  could  only  hope  that 
her  husband,  who  was  able  to  read  and  write,  and 
with  whom  we  left  copies  of  the  Gospels,  might 
with  his  long  familiar  voice  find  an  entrance  where 
our  voices,  though  raised  to  the  loudest  pitch,  were 
inaudible.  The  old  man  lived  to  be  ninety-nine, 
and  died  just  after  the  emperor,  hearing  of  his  age 
and  merits,  had  sanctioned  the  family's  wish  to  set 
up  a  memorial  arch  or  p'ai-lau.  These  erections, 
made  of  solid  stone,  have  two  upright  shafts, 
strengthened  and  protected  by  low  buttresses,  with 
a  shallow,  decorated  roof  at  the  top,  and  two  plinths 
below,  deeply  carved,  with  sculptures  representing 
processions  with  banners  crossing  bridges,  and 
flowers  and  fruit  at  the  side.  The  plainest  of  these 
would  cost  one  hundred  pounds,  and  more  elaborate 
arches  fully  three  hundred.  In  the  centre,  under 
the  stone  canopy,  the  Chinese  characters  for  virtue, 
charity,  and  filial  piety  are  cut ;  and  above,  in  red 
letters,  are  seen  the  words,  '  By  the  imperial  will.' 
The  average  length  of  life  both  for  men  and 
women  is  not  far  short  of  that  in  England.  This 
alluvial  plain  where  my  aged  friends  lived  is  cele- 
brated for  its  nonagenarians  and  centenarians. 

Some  years  after  this  journey,  I  visited  a  moun- 
tain region,  beyond  the  beautiful  lake  east  of  Ningpo, 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    171 

mentioned  in  a  former  chapter.     Once  after  cross- 
ing this  sheet  of  water,  I  had  called  on  an  aged 
woman,   a   Christian,   quite  blind,   and  livmg  in   a 
lakeside    town    of    eighteen   thousand    people.     So 
limited  was  the  building  area  between  the  roots  of 
the  lofty  hill  at  the  back  and  the  lake-shore,  and  so 
great  the  increase  in  population,  that  unlike  most 
Chinese  houses  which  have  one  or  two  storeys  only, 
the  houses  there  carried  at  least  tliree  ;  and  the  town 
was  beginning  to  climb  tier  by  tier  up  the  steep  hill- 
side itself.     The  lake,   six  miles  long  and  two  or 
three  wide,  lies  generally  tranquil  like  a  silver  shield  ; 
but  sometimes  a  gale  from  the  east  or  south  will 
raise  dangerous  waves  and  high  water,  to  the  peril 
of  the  houses  on  the  edge.     Each  town,  accordingly, 
has    breakwaters,    picturesque    and    efficient,    con- 
sisting of  mud-banks  in  a  semicircle,  planted  with 
willows  to  secure  cohesion  and  stabilit}^  and  having 
a  narrow  entrance  for  boats  to  go  in  and  moor  by 
the  shore.     When  the  green  leaves  are  out,  and  the 
blue  water  is  lapping  below,  these  breakwaters  add 
greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the  scenery.     My  aged 
friend   came   in   to   see   me,   led   by  her  daughter. 
'  How    are    you,    mother  ? '     I    said.     '  Well,'    she 
replied,    '  but  troubled  in   mind.     I   had   a  dream 
last  night :    an  angel  appeared,  and  promised  mc 
that  I  should  see  when  the  morning  broke.     It  is 
morning  now,  is  it  not  ?      I  can  feel  the  sunshine, 
yet  I  cannot  see.     Can  the  angel's  promise  be  true  ?  ' 
'  Most   true,'    I   said,    '  when    the   eternal    morning 
breaks.     Only  walk   now,  as  we  must  all  walk   in 
passing  through  this  dark  world,  in  the  true  light.' 
Beyond    this   lake   my  wife  and    I    iiad   licard   a 


172         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

rumour  of  a  woman  living,  who  was  reported  to  be 
a  hundred  and  two  years  old  ;  and  we  planned  to  go 
and  see  her,  and  talk  with  her,  if  it  were  possible, 
before  her  long  life  closed.  We  started,  I  on  foot 
and  my  wife  in  a  rough  mountain-chair,  to  climb  a 
thousand  feet  up  to  the  '  Moon  Bow  Hill.'  The 
summit  was  clothed  with  fine  timber  and  bamboo- 
groves,  through  which  sang  and  leapt  and  flashed 
a  mountain-torrent,  broken  by  two  or  three  water- 
falls. As  we  approached  the  outskirts  of  the  village, 
a  prosperous-looking  place  with  two  thousand  in- 
habitants and  three  endowed  schools,  I  accosted  a 
countryman,  who  was  sitting  by  the  wayside.  I 
asked  him  if  he  could  tell  us  if  there  was  an  aged 
woman  living  there,  more  than  a  hundred  years 
old  ;  and  whether  she  was  well,  and  if  it  would  be 
convenient  for  us  to  call  on  her.  '  Yes,'  he  replied, 
'  she  does  live  here,  and  has  been  well  and  strong 
until  two  or  three  days  ago,  when  she  sprained  her 
ankle.  Hitherto  she  has  done  everything  for  her 
self.  Now  we  think  there  must  be  something  amiss, 
for  she  actually  allows  her  daughters-in-law  to  help 
her.'  We  had  been  informed  that  she  had  six  sons, 
and  that  she  was  invited  by  these  dutiful  children  to 
to  live  with  them  in  rotation,  a  month  or  two  at  a 
time.  The  eldest  son,  past  eighty  years  of  age,  had 
just  died,  and  they  had  not  ventured  to  tell  the  old 
grandmother.  She  had  heard  the  wailing  for  the 
dead,  and  asked  who  had  died,  and  they  put  her 
off  with  an  invented  stor3^  We  went  now  to  the 
second  son's  house,  thinking  it  wisest  to  attempt 
the  fortress  of  the  old  lady's  sacred  presence  by 
gradual  approaches.     We  were  courteously  received 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    173 

by  this  son,  himself  nearly  eighty,  and  he  sent  over 
word  to  his  mother.  A  polite  message  was  retui'ned, 
stating  the  old  lady's  regret  that  she  was  not  able 
to  come  over  in  person  to  pay  her  respects  to  the 
foreign  lady  and  gentleman  :  would  they  take  the 
trouble  to  come  to  her  humble  dwelling  ?  She  had 
injured  her  foot,  and  could  not  walk  for  a  day  or 
two.  We  went  over  at  once,  and  were  not  welcomed 
so  much  as  arrested  by  a  crowd  of  curious  and 
suspicious  women,  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the 
six  families,  each  with  their  three  or  four  genera- 
tions. It  was  a  moving  sight,  as  we  passed  through 
this  bodyguard  of  dutiful  hearts  to  the  central 
object,  the  true  goddess  of  their  piety.  There  she 
sat,  a  hundred  and  two  years  old,  but  she  might 
have  been  two  hundred  at  least,  so  far  as  the  wither- 
ing effects  of  extreme  old  age  on  her  face  and  hands 
and  whole  frame  indicated.  She  looked  like  a 
human  image  of  brown  paper.  She  was  not  dead, 
however ;  her  hands  were  busy  with  the  distaff  ; 
her  eyes  were  keen  and  bright  and  fixed  upon  us, 
as  with  a  courteous  inclination  of  her  head  she 
begged  us  to  be  seated.  Her  voice  was  strong 
enough,  ordering  tea  to  be  brought,  but  could  she 
hear  at  all  ?  I  addressed  a  few  words  to  the  ancient 
lady  through  her  daughter-in-law,  who  stood  guard- 
ing her  right  hand.  '  Speak  to  the  old  lady  direct,' 
called  out  my  Chinese  catechist.  '  She  can  hear 
and  will  understand.'  I  did  so  ;  and  for  nearly 
twenty  minutes,  after  restless  turning  of  her  head 
to  and  fro  for  a  time,  she  fixed  her  eyes  on  me,  and 
listened  to  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  and  the 
hope  of  eternal  life,  beyond  her  wonderful  century 


174         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

of  years.  Then  we  rose  to  go,  fearing  lest  we  should 
weary  the  old  woman,  and  intrude  too  long  on  their 
hospitality.  But  before  leaving  we  offered  her  some 
simple  gifts,  scented  soap  and  other  trifles,  together 
with  a  few  Christian  books.  The  family  politely 
asked  us  to  stay  to  dinner  ;  but  they  were  evidently 
glad  to  get  rid  of  their  outlandish  visitors,  probably 
the  first  English  faces  ever  seen  on  that  hill-top. 
On  our  way  home  we  stopped  at  an  island  on  the 
lake,  and  related  our  journey  to  an  eager,  earnest 
woman  residing  there.  She  asked  if  she  should  go 
and  try  to  teach  the  old  lady  more  of  what  we  had 
told  her.  We  gladly  assented,  and  offered  to  hire 
a  sedan-chair,  as  the  walk  was  beyond  her  powers. 
She  went  hopefully,  and  was  welcomed  and  enter- 
tained by  the  family  for  two  days  ;  and  she  taught 
the  venerable  lady  as  much  as  she  could  of  eternal 
truth.  After  some  interval  we  suggested  a  second 
visit,  and  she  mounted  the  hill  again.  She  called 
at  the  house,  but  greatly  to  her  surprise  and  dis- 
appointment was  refused  admittance,  and  with 
angry  insults  dismissed.  '  We  know  well,'  said  the 
irate  women,  '  what  that  foreigner  and  his  wife 
came  here  for,  and  you  doubtless  are  in  league  with 
them.  We  have  heard  of  what  all  China  talks 
about,  the  evil  eye  of  these  foreigners.  They 
pretend  with  bland  and  pleasant  words  to  teach  us 
and  help  us ;  but  if  one  listens  to  them,  when 
death  draws  near  and  the  "  three-inch  breath  "  is 
breaking,  they  gouge  out  the  eyes  of  their  convert, 
and  cut  out  the  liver,  and  make  them  into  medicine 
— probably  opium  is  one  of  its  forms — to  poison  and 
seduce    us.     Now    grandmother's    liver,    being    a 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    175 

hundred  and  two  years  old,  is  of  course  of  special 
value,  and  that  is  what  they  hoped  to  obtain  in 
coming.  Please  to  leave  us  and  come  back  no  more.' 
They  slammed  the  door  in  the  Christian's  face ;  but 
she  was  not  to  be  baulked,  and  watching  her  oppor- 
tunity, she  sHpped  in  at  the  back-door  while  the 
family  were  at  dinner,  and  seeing  the  old  lady  sitting 
alone,  she  crept  up  to  her  and  said  :  '  Great-great- 
grandmother  !  Is  this  your  doing  ?  Do  you  wish 
me  to  go,  and  teU  you  no  more  about  the  merci- 
ful Savioiu"  ?  '  '  No,  no  !  '  she  replied ;  '  it  is  these 
women's  doing.  Sit  down  awhile,  please.'  She 
did  so,  and  related  again  to  her  the  sweet  story  of 
old.  Then  she  left,  and  hurried  down  the  hill ; 
and  that  autumn,  just  before  reaching  the  age  of  a 
hundred  and  three,  our  venerable  friend  went  to 
her  long  home.  The  family  since  then  have  shown 
a  more  amicable  spirit. 

The  malicious  and  ghastly  falsehood  related  by 
these  hostile  women  is,  as  they  said,  known  through- 
out China.  Its  origin  has  never  been  traced,  unless 
the  secrecy  sometimes  observed  in  the  last  rites 
for  the  Christian  dead  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  may  have,  in  some  cases,  given  colour  to 
the  already  fabricated  lie.  It  has  always  seemed 
to  me  that  this  story  is  the  greatest  insult  ever  paid 
by  China  to  herself.  It  affords  the  worst  instance 
that  I  know  of  the  debasing  effect  of  superstition 
and  of  ignorant  enmity  on  the  clear  intellect  of  the 
wisest  of  mankind  ;  and  its  ultimate  origin,  what- 
ever individual  may  be  to  blame,  is  in  the  strictest 
sense  Satanic. 

My  duties  as  archdeacon  have  frequently  taken 


176         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

me  to  the  southern  parts  of  the  diocese,  to  the  district 
of  T'aichow.  Six  or  seven  years  ago  I  started  out, 
travelling  overland,  as  the  coasting-steamers  were 
under  repair  and  withdrawn  from  service  for  a  few 
days.  This  overland  route  generally  occupies  at 
least  four  days.  Leaving  Ningpo  one  night  in  May, 
I  travelled  first  by  boat  up  the  southern  branch  of 
the  river  Yung  as  far  as  the  tide  would  serve,  and 
soon  after  midnight  came  to  anchor  at  a  point 
where  the  river  is  joined  by  a  small  branch-stream 
which  leads  up  to  '  Great  Bridge,'  the  river-port  of 
Funghwa.  I  rose  at  half -past  four,  and  finding  that 
we  could  get  no  higher  up  this  creek,  and  that  no 
sedan-chairs  were  procurable,  I  set  out  to  walk  the 
seven  miles  to  '  Great  Bridge,'  where  I  hoped  to 
hire  chairs  for  the  longer  stretch  through  the  hills. 
Starting  thus  at  five  in  the  morning,  we  were  travel- 
ling continuously  until  nine  at  night.  I  had  a 
mountain-chair  with  me,  and  three  bearers,  but 
they  could  not  carry  me  except  on  fairly  level 
ground ;  and  as  the  whole  route,  with  rare  exceptions, 
was  one  continual  ascent,  climbing  up  and  down, 
with  seven  passes  to  surmount,  I  covered  the  greater 
part  of  the  147  li,  or  45  miles,  of  stone-flags  and 
pebbly  paths  on  my  feet.  The  fresh  mountain  air, 
and  the  entrancing  interest  of  new  scenery,  and 
constant  opportunities  for  conversation,  took  away 
all  feelings  of  extreme  fatigue.  During  the  seven 
miles  of  walk  before  breakfast,  I  crossed  a  low  pass 
enveloped  in  mist,  and  as  I  sat  to  rest  for  a  few 
minutes  on  a  bridge  the  other  side  of  the  pass,  my 
fellow-travellers  told  me  the  legend  of  that  very 
bridge,  and  of  the  pagoda  just  rising  out  of  the 


^M\i 


!!•  V.  E.  Thompfon 
APPROACH   TO  THE  CITY  OF  TAK HOW 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    177 

trees  through  the  fog.  Two  brothers  lived  once  in 
the  village  near,  well-to-do,  and  of  good  reputation 
amongst  the  people.  They  married  two  sisters,  and 
lived  in  harmony  and  happiness  till  the  men  both 
fell  ill  and  died.  There  were  no  sons  or  daughters 
born  in  either  family,  and  the  childless  widows  were 
heart-broken  at  the  loss  of  those  they  loved.  From 
love  to  their  husbands  they  refused  to  seek  rest  by 
remarriage,  since  that  would  involve  changing  the 
name.  Yet  how  could  that  name  be  made  to  live 
on  ?  They  consulted  together,  with  tears,  and 
eventually  sold  all  their  lands  and  houses ;  and 
keeping  only  sufficient  money  for  a  life  of  poverty 
and  seclusion,  they  spent  the  whole  of  the  remainder, 
the  one  in  building  a  pagoda,  the  '  Golden  Pagoda,' 
as  it  is  called,  with  the  small  bells  round  its  roof 
swaying  in  the  wind  and  repeating  the  name  of  the 
departed,  and  its  tower  guarding  the  luck  of  the 
land  ;  the  other  in  building  a  bridge,  the  '  Bridge 
of  Tears  and  Sighs,'  comiecting  the  pagoda-hill  with 
the  fields,  and  weeping  the  loss  of  the  beloved  ;  for, 
like  tears  of  sympathy,  drops  of  moisture  ever  fall 
from  the  bridge,  even  when  scorching  drought 
endangers  the  crops  and  makes  the  gentle  stream 
below  dry  and  silent. 

'  Great  Bridge  '  is  an  interesting  specimen  of  the 
covered  bridges,  lined  \\  ith  inhabited  shops,  which 
are  to  be  seen  in  China,  and  somewhat  resemble 
old  London  Bridge.  After  a  short  delay  at  this 
place,  winning  the  good^^•ill  of  the  landlord  of  the 
inn,  and  gaining  the  confidence  of  his  little  son., 
I  resumed  my  journey  in  a  chair  with  three  bearers, 
and  a  small  following  of  three  coolies  willi  luggage, 


178         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

and  my  manservant  on  foot.     As  my  servant  was 
not  very  strong,  and  much  lighter  than  his  master, 
we    '  rode   and   tied,'    and    up   inchnes   where    my 
weight  was  too  great   for  the  bearers  they  carried 
the  servant.     So  we  journeyed  onwards  into   the 
very   heart    of    the   lofty   hills   which   now   closed 
round  us  and  then  widened  out  continually  ;    and 
as  we  rose  higher,  the  well-wooded  valleys  below, 
each  with  a  shining  stream,  increased  in  beauty. 
Suddenly,  with  a  great  unveiling  south-eastwards, 
the  island-studded  coast  and  Nimrod  Sound  came 
into  sight,  and  we  turned  southwards,  dipping  down 
to  the  sea-level,  and  traversing  the  outskirts  of  the 
Men  (district)  city  of  Ninghai.     In  the  early  after- 
noon we  reached  a  very  steep  pass,  a  thousand  feet 
and  more  in  height,  the  '  Division  Pass.'     This  neigh- 
bourhood, where  three  Men  meet,  used  to  be  the 
haunt  of  highway  robbers.     The  hope  of  these  out- 
laws was  that  with  clever  use   of   the  boundaries 
they  could  escape  from  justice.     Funghwa,  Ninghai, 
and  T'ient'ai  meet  and  join  hands  on  this  pass. 
The  Funghwa  police   and  soldiery  would  be  sent 
in  pursuit  of  robbers  abroad  in  their  district.     When 
they  drew  near  in  hot  pursuit,  the  robbers  stepped 
across  the  boundary  into  the  Ninghai  district,  and 
the  soldiery  stopped  short :   it  was  not  their  business 
to  break  through  the  bounds  of  jurisdiction,  even 
in  pursuit  of  highwaymen.     Then  Ninghai  would 
despatch   her   police   in   pursuit,    and   the   robbers 
escaped  into  the  T*ient'ai  region.     Thus  passing  to 
and  fro  they  often  succeeded  in  eluding  the  hand 
of  justice. 

Now  as  I  climbed  slowly  up  the  pass,  I  noticed 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    179 

near  the  top  signs  of  military  occupation.  Instead 
of  the  ragged  and  insolent  miUtia  of  old  days, 
soldiers  well-clothed  and  disciplined  saw  me  and 
stood  at  the  salute.  I  stopped  for  a  moment  under 
the  rest-shed  at  the  top  of  the  pass,  and  offered 
some  books  to  the  men.  They  told  me  that  the 
garrison  consisted  of  thirty  or  forty  men  under  a 
commandant,  holding  the  pass  and  successfully 
suppressing  the  highwaymen  who  had  rendered  this 
great  route  of  travel  and  commerce  almost  im- 
passable. I  asked  if  their  commandant  was  in,  and 
if  they  \\  ould  present  a  book  to  him,  with  my  card, 
and  tell  him  that  I  was  on  my  way  to  T'aichow  on 
important  business,  and  begged  leave  to  salute  him. 
Just  as  I  was  getting  into  my  chair  to  ride  down 
the  pass,  the  officer  himself  came  running  out,  and, 
taking  hold  of  both  my  hands,  courteously  com- 
pelled me  to  go  into  the  inner  guardroom,  and  sit 
and  talk  with  him.  I  was  agreeably  surprised  at 
the  order  of  the  whole  establishment.  The  large 
and  well-furnished  room  had  a  fine  outlook  seawards. 
Thirty  stands  of  arms  were  ranged  round  the  walls. 
The  officer,  a  soldierly  man  with  a  fair  amount  of 
scholarship,  took  down  one  rifle  after  another  for 
my  inspection  and  criticism.  I  pleaded  ignorance, 
but  expressed  my  hope  that  the  weapons  were 
modern  and  efficient.  In  reply  he  told  me  of  his 
success  in  restoring  order  and  confidence  on  the 
route,  and  assured  me  that  1  could  proceed  with 
safety.  He  asked  with  eagerness  about  Shangliai, 
and  the  changes  coming  over  China  generally;  and 
then,  ranging  further  afield,  hogged  me  to  tell  liini 
somethhig  about  England  and  the  great  west.     Ho 


180         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

was  full  of  eager  intelligence  and  of  friendly  inquiry, 
nor  did  his  interest  flag  when  I  led  his  thoughts 
higher  to  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come.  At 
last  I  rose  to  go.  He  insisted  on  seeing  me  into 
my  chair ;  and  as  I  went  down  the  pass,  I  was 
honoured  by  an  official  roll  of  the  drums  as  a  passing 
salute.  At  the  foot  of  the  defile,  I  questioned  the 
country  people  as  to  the  character  and  conduct  of 
the  soldiers  of  the  garrison.  They  spoke  in  the 
highest  terms  of  their  discipline  and  order  and  good- 
will ;  and  the  incident  gave  me  a  fresh  insight  into 
the  reality  of  the  more  sober  reform  which  is  coming 
over  China.  In  the  well-known  Sacred  Edict  of 
Kang  Hi  and  Yung  Cheng,  the  soldiers,  equally 
with  other  classes,  are  continually  appealed  to  as 
those  who  should  be,  and  are  recognised  as  being, 
models  of  propriety  and  justice,  and  as  the  friends 
and  helpers  of  the  people.  But  for  years  past  the 
Chinese  army  has  been  (with  some  exceptions)  ill- 
paid,  badly  clothed,  imperfectly  disciplined,  and 
too  often  the  plague  and  terror  of  country  districts 
when  soldiers  are  quartered  there.  The  army  was 
supposed  to  possess  in  its  ranks  an  average  of  seventy 
or  eighty  per  cent,  of  opium-smokers.  The  recent 
change  is,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  notice  it, 
great  and  far-reaching  in  its  effects. 

On  only  one  other  occasion  have  I  received  similar 
marks  of  official  courtesy  and  recognition.  When, 
after  the  Boxer  War,  official  rank  was  offered  to 
missionaries,  to  ensure  respect  and  attention  being 
paid  to  them,  the  doubtful  honour  was  declined  by 
all  Protestant  missionaries.  These  examples,  there- 
fore,  of   courteous   honour   spontaneously   paid   to 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER     181 

those  who  have  no  Chinese  official  rank,  are  all  the 
more  significant  of  a  certain  change  in  the  former 
anti-foreign  attitude  of  the  higher  classes.  i\Iy  own 
impression  is  that  old  and  sober  China  was  prepared 
thus  definitely  to  modify  her  ways,  and  to  recognise 
the  brotherhood  of  nations  ;  and  that  it  is  young 
and  half-enlightened  and  ambitious  China  from 
whom  danger  may  be  anticipated.  The  foolish 
fancy  too  often  possesses  headstrong  minds  that 
patriotism  is  best  manifested,  and  the  glory  and 
honour  and  well-being  of  China  best  safeguarded, 
by  exhibiting  a  spirit  of  rudeness  and  unfriendliness 
and  exclusiveness  to  foreigners,  many  of  whom 
have  been  China's  truest  friends,  and  whose  sole 
desire  is  now  to  aid  in  her  revival.  The  other  occa- 
sion on  which  I  received  special  honour  Avas  when 
returning  a  call  on  a  mandarin  in  a  small  neigh- 
bouring city.  It  was  a  call  of  courtesy  and  of 
friendship,  for  on  such  visits  we  carefully  avoid  all 
matters  of  business  affecting  the  mission  or  oin-- 
selves,  except  in  cases  of  sudden  emergency.  On 
parting  with  the  mandarin  in  the  courtyard  of  the 
yamhi,  I  found  that  he  had  ordered  six  of  his 
soldiers  to  run  in  front  of  my  chair  and  escort  me 
to  my  boat.  We  passed  along  streets  where  in  past 
days  I  had  often  been  insulted,  or  tolerated  only 
as  an  unwelcome  visitor.  Then,  as  night  came  on, 
the  magistrate  sent  his  secretary  to  ask  after  my 
welfare.  I  replied  that  I  was  safe  and  comfortable. 
Darkness  fell,  and  again  the  secretary  called  to 
know  if  I  was  in  lack  of  anything.  Finally,  at  the 
second  watch  of  the  night,  four  soldiers  with  a  big 
drum   arrived   on   the   canal-bank   near   my   boat. 


182         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

After  honouring  me  with  a  resounding  tattoo, 
repeated  at  the  beginning  of  each  watch,  the  men 
settled  down  ;  and  throughout  the  night  they  struck 
the  hours  and  half-hours  and  quarters  on  their 
triangles  and  on  the  drum  till  the  fifth  watch  and 
the  dawn.  The  time  kept  was  so  good,  and  the 
sounds  so  harmonious,  that  the  loud  honour  did  not 
prevent  my  sleeping. 

As  the  afternoon  proceeded,  on  my  journey 
amongst  the  T'aichow  mountains,  I  began  to  wonder 
how  long  we  could  hold  out,  and  where  we  should 
spend  the  night.  My  chair-bearers  and  coolies  began 
to  show  a  more  or  less  pronounced  liking  for  each 
town  and  village  we  reached,  with  the  promise  of 
good  accommodation  for  man  and  beast ;  and  the 
reminder  was  added  that  the  sun  would  surely  set 
before  long.  But  I  wished  to  make  the  fullest  pos- 
sible use  of  the  daylight,  and  now  pressed  on  far 
in  front  of  my  companions.  The  twilight  deepened  : 
I  was  on  the  top  of  a  pass,  and  could  trace,  though 
less  and  less  distinctly,  the  whole  course  of  the 
mountain  road  from  the  place  where  my  men  had 
lingered  to  the  foot  of  the  pass  on  which  I  stood. 
I  gazed  and  gazed,  but  could  see  nothing  of  the  line 
of  coolies.  We  shouted,  but  there  was  no  answer  ; 
and  I  sent  back  one  of  my  chair-bearers  to  search 
for  the  stragglers.  I  resolved  on  no  account  to  go 
back  myself,  and  they  were  plainly  determined  not 
to  come  on  ;  and  unfortunately  all  my  provisions 
and  bedding  were  in  their  hands.  I  was  chilly  and 
tired,  but  after  a  long  and  weary  wait  they  appeared 
at  last,  and  w^e  hastened  on  as  fast  as  the  difficult 
and  dangerous  road   would   allow.      We    had    no 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    183 

lanterns,  and  the  path  skirted  a  hill  with  a  precipi- 
tous decline  into  the  valley  beneath.  I  walked  on, 
almost  feeling  my  way,  and  was  assured  that  the 
'  White  Dragon  Temple '  and  village  were  near, 
with  an  old-established  and  hospitable  inn.  Thus 
stumbling  through  the  darkness,  after  colliding  with 
an  animal  (doubtless  a  wild  boar),  which  grunted  and 
ran  into  the  bushes,  I  saw  at  last  the  lights  of  the 
inn  through  the  chinks  in  the  closed  door  and 
windows.  At  that  late  hour  (nine  o'clock)  and  on 
a  dark  night,  I  feared  that  the  inn  would  be  shut 
up,  and  no  accommodation  would  be  possible ; 
but  I  ventured  to  push  the  door  open  and  walk  in. 
The  inn  consisted  of  a  single  long  chamber,  with  no 
upper  storey  or  parlours.  The  kitchen  was  in  the 
centre  of  the  room,  and  there,  half  hidden  by  smoke 
and  steam,  the  landlady  stood,  with  smiling  face, 
busy  supplying  the  wants  of  the  twenty  or  more 
travellers  who  had  crowded  in  and  were  proposing 
to  spend  the  night  in  this  common  room.  Some 
were  actually  in  bed,  some  were  getting  into  bed, 
some  were  finishing  their  supper.  The  landlord 
and  the  children  were  having  their  meal,  spread  on 
the  only  table  of  the  establishment.  '  Where  would 
the  foreign  gentleman  prefer  to  sleep  ?  '  they  asked. 
'  There  is  an  inner  room  partitioned  off ;  would  he 
like  to  go  there  ?  '  The  foreign  gentleman  looked 
in,  but  finding  two  more  weary  travellers  there, 
already  in  bed,  and  their  bales  of  goods  blocking 
the  way,  he  elected  to  sit  out  the  night  in  a  corner 
of  the  crowded  room,  reclining  in  his  canvas  travel- 
ling chair.  The  landlord  kindly  finished  his  supper 
with  haste,  and  the  one  table  was  cleared  for  the 


184         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

stranger's  meal.  The  travellers  now  sat  up  in  bed, 
and  some  rose  and  drew  near  to  watch  the  foreigner 
eat.  Until  half-past  ten  they  listened  to  the  message 
which  he  had  brought  them.  Then  at  eleven,  when 
all  were  asleep,  the  weary  but  good-tempered  land- 
lady put  out  the  fire,  and  with  her  husband's  help 
carried  the  children  upstairs,  the  ladder  creaking 
as  they  went  up  to  a  kind  of  cockloft,  the  only  up- 
stairs apartment.  I  was  left  in  silence,  and  occupied 
my  time  in  reading  and  in  writing  to  friends  in  the 
Far  West  until  past  midnight.  Then,  after  dozing 
awhile,  I  woke  at  four,  at  the  first  cockcrowing  ; 
and  rousing  my  weary  servant — the  landlady  was 
already  astir — I  breakfasted,  and  started  soon  after 
five.  I  felt  no  fatigue  after  the  forty-five  miles' 
tramp  of  the  day  before,  and  that  day  we  covered 
thirty-two  miles  of  mountain  travel,  and  the  next 
day  the  same.  Then  followed  a  far  harder  walk 
than  those  on  the  preceding  days,  namely,  fourteen 
miles  of  incessant  climbing  over  the  mountain,  two 
thousand  feet  high,  which  looks  down  on  the  plains 
and  hills  of  T'aichow.  My  second  night  was  spent 
again  in  a  wayside  inn,  and  this  time  the  landlady 
arranged  for  me  to  occupy  an  upstairs  room,  but 
on  the  strange  condition  that  I  was  not  to  talk  at 
all.  The  silkworms,  the  '  precious  ones,'  as  they 
call  them,  were  passing  through  a  delicate  stage  of 
their  useful  if  precarious  existence.  Their  nerves  are 
supposed  to  be  very  high-strung,  and  if  frightened 
they  will  not  consume  the  mulberry-leaves,  with 
which  the  upstairs  room-floor  was  strewn  that  even- 
ing. I  accepted  the  conditions,  and  the  women 
hung  up  a  curtain  to  hide  me  from  the  silkworms. 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER     185 

I  mentioned  above  that  just  before  my  arrival 
at  the  '  White  Dragon  Inn '  I  ran  up  against  what 
seemed  to  be  a  wild  boar.  It  may  be  asked  why  it 
could  not  have  been  a  pig  from  some  farmyard  near. 
The  answer  is  that  in  those  regions  no  Chinese  in 
his  senses  would  fail  to  secure  his  pigs  and  cattle  in 
safety  for  the  night.  Tigers  are  abroad  there.  We 
had  penetrated  into  the  heart  of  the  hills  where 
more  thickly  wooded  and  remote  jungle  ground 
harbours  tigers,  black  panthers,  wolves  and  bears. 
At  the  foot  of  the  mountain  we  had  now  descended 
lies  the  town  of  '  Great  Stone,'  so  called  from  a 
flat  stone  in  the  main  street  of  the  place,  which  is 
believed  to  expand  and  contract  from  time  to  time 
in  a  mysterious  manner.  Full-grown  roj^al  tigers 
not  seldom  invade  this  region  and  cause  great  alarm. 
There  was  a  drought  four  summers  ago,  and  birds 
and  beasts  as  well  as  men  and  crops  were  distressed 
by  lack  of  moisture.  Pits  were  dug  on  the  lower 
slopes  of  the  hill-side  in  the  hope  of  finding  water. 
The  beds  of  these  pits  were  cool  and  moist,  and  to 
one  of  them  came  two  tiger-cubs  for  rest.  The  hill- 
men  killed  them  both.  Not  long  ago,  during  after- 
noon service  at  our  church  in  that  place,  the  tiger's 
cry  was  heard  not  far  off.  The  congregation  decided 
to  spend  the  night  in  the  church,  being  afraid  to 
venture  home  across  the  fields,  a  mile  and  more  to 
the  busy  town.  The  cries  of  what  are  locally  called 
'  dog-headed  bears '  (probably  wolves)  are  heard 
here  every  night,  and  they  are  dangerous  though 
cowardly  beasts.  A  husbandman  and  his  wife 
recently  went  out  to  work  in  the  fields,  the  woman 
with  her  baby  in  her  arms.     When  they  had  reached 


186         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

their  own  plot  of  ground,  the  woman  laid  the  child 
to  sleep  in  the  long  grass.  A  '  dog-headed  bear  ' 
had  followed  their  steps  unknown  to  them,  and 
when  the  parents  were  a  short  distance  away  the 
beast  ran  in  and  carried  off  the  child.  Not  far  from 
'  Great  Stone '  I  passed  through  riverside,  marshy 
and  waste  ground,  and  was  shown  the  sandy  path 
along  which  a  tiger  had  carried  a  pig  of  two  or  three 
hundred  pounds'  weight  in  its  mouth,  clear  off  the 
ground,  as  a  cat  carries  a  kitten.  Then,  apparently 
tired  of  the  burden,  the  beast  had  dragged  it  along 
in  the  sand  to  a  bamboo-grove,  as  the  traces  showed, 
and  there  undisturbed  had  devoured  the  best 
portions  of  its  victim.  Not  far  from  the  same  region 
I  was  dining  with  a  native  gentleman,  when  a  Chris- 
tian woodman  came  in  to  salute  me.  He  told  me 
of  his  recent  adventure  on  a  hill  only  two  miles 
distant.  Round  this  hill  a  lawsuit  between  two 
branches  of  a  clan  had  raged  for  two  generations, 
and  neither  side  dared  to  touch  the  disputed  land. 
It  had  therefore  relapsed  into  a  dense  and  almost 
inaccessible  jungle,  the  haunt  of  a  number  of  tigers. 
My  friend  told  me  that  he  went  to  the  hill-side  one 
day  to  cut  cane,  and  pressing  his  way  a  few  yards 
tlirough  the  thicket,  he  came  to  an  open  space  of 
ground  where,  to  his  terror,  he  saw  a  full-grown  tiger 
stretched  out  asleep.  The  beast  woke  and  saw  him, 
and  being  apparently  as  startled  as  the  man,  ran 
east  while  he  ran  west.  On  the  same  hill-side  he 
had  seen,  he  told  me,  two  tigers  standing  together, 
one  yellow  with  black  stripes,  and  one  black  all  over. 
I  asked  him  if  he  was  sure  of  the  colour  and  the 
marking  of  the  tiger.     '  Yes,'  he  replied ;    '  it  was 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    187 

not  a  beast  like  this,  which  we  killed  the  other  day  ' 
(taking  a  leopard's  spotted  skin  down  from  the 
wall)  ;  '  it  was  striped,  not  spotted/  Man-eating 
tigers  seldom  make  their  appearance,  but  the  danger 
is  great  in  certain  regions.  Only  this  year,  and 
in  the  same  region,  a  tiger  entered  a  dwelling-house 
(a  most  unusual  act  of  effrontery),  and  carried  off 
and  killed  a  woman  from  the  very  midst  of  her 
children.  These  great  beasts  occasionally  wander 
from  their  distant  lairs  to  the  more  open  and  thickly 
populated  country.  Three  times  during  my  resi- 
dence in  Ningpo  full-grown  tigers,  ten  feet  long  and 
more,  have  come  quite  near  to  the  city.  One  came 
up  in  time  of  snow,  hungry,  and  in  pursuit  of  deer. 
It  was  chased  into  a  half-built  temple,  with  the 
rafters  laid  and  a  staircase  placed  in  position.  The 
tiger  ran  up  the  stairs  ;  but  missing  its  footing  on 
the  narrow  rafters,  it  hung  clinging  to  the  woodwork, 
with  a  yelling  crowd  of  husbandmen  below,  armed 
with  hoes  and  spades  and  forks.  It  dropped  at  last 
from  exhaustion,  and  was  done  to  death.  Another 
tiger  was  driven  into  a  house,  blinded  with  lime, 
and  killed.  The  third  beast  I  must  myself  have 
been  quite  near  to,  without  knowing  it,  shortly 
before  it  made  a  nobler  fight  for  life.  I  had  travelled 
home  near  midnight  a  very  short  time  before, 
passing  the  spot  where  the  following  tragic  event 
occurred.  In  the  dusk  of  evening  a  great  tiger 
suddenly  appeared  and  killed  a  man.  The  man 
shrieked  and  roused  the  villagers,  but  he  was  dead 
when  they  arrived.  It  can  only  be  conjectured 
what  had  happened.  The  victim  must  have  been 
coming   quietly  home   in  the  gloaming   in   a   little 


188         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

skiff,  driving  before  him  his  flock  of  ducks,  which 
were  swimming  home  from  their  day's  feeding  and 
diving  in  the  canal.  In  his  hand  he  held  a  long 
bamboo  pole  with  which  to  hasten  their  waddling 
up  the  bank  to  their  pens  in  the  farmyard,  by  the 
time-honoured  device  of  beating  the  last  duck  out 
of  the  water.  The  poor  fellow  must  have  seen  a 
beast  drinking  by  the  canal  side  as  he  passed,  and 
(perhaps  thinlcing  it  was  a  buffalo)  have  given  it  a 
poke  with  his  pole,  and  so  have  been  seized  and  killed. 
The  tiger,  meanwhile,  terrified  by  the  answering 
shouts  from  the  village,  had  run  for  shelter  to  a 
bamboo  thicket,  and  lay  there  at  bay.  The  village 
was  quite  near  to  a  crowded  suburb  of  Ningpo, 
and  only  four  miles  distant  from  the  densely-peopled 
city.  News  was  sent  to  the  chief  magistrate  of  the 
city,  the  taotai,  and  to  the  commander  of  the  troops, 
the  titai.  The  gallant  general  advanced  with  half 
a  regiment  and  two  field-pieces.  The  tiger  was 
traced  to  its  hiding-place,  a  cordon  was  drawn 
round  the  thicket,  and  a  plan  of  battle  was  arranged. 
The  tiger  charged  and  charged  again,  badly  mauling 
some  of  the  soldiers.  At  last,  either  with  musketry 
or  with  artiUery,  the  great  cat  was  done  to  death. 
Then  with  the  hour  of  victory  came  the  anxious 
question  to  whom  the  tiger  belonged.  '  To  the 
governor  of  the  province,  the  futai,^  said  a  legal 
authority.  '  To  me,'  said  the  taotai,  '  as  chief  magis- 
trate of  these  regions.'  '  To  me,'  said  the  titai  ; 
'  I  have  kiUed  the  tiger  ;  and,  moreover,  my  duty 
is  to  be  courageous.  It  is  weU  known  that  soup 
made  from  tiger's  bones  is  the  best  recipe  for 
bravery  :   the  beast  belongs  to  me.'     A  compromise 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    189 

was  arranged.  The  tiger's  head  was  sent  with 
compHments  to  the  futai ;  the  skin  to  the  iaotai ; 
the  flesh  and  bones  to  tlie  titai.  But  that  was  in 
the  time  of  the  old  China.  What  would  the  new 
China  do  under  similar  circumstances  ?  Such  an 
event  might  recur,  for  tigers  are  not  j^et  extinct  in 
these  mountains  and  valleys  of  Chekiang.  Only 
two  summers  ago  a  tiger  was  killed  at  a  village 
within  half  a  mile  of  the  hill-station  near  Ningpo 
from  which  I  write,  and  the  countrymen  here  com- 
plain of  the  tigers  carrying  off  full-grown  cattle. 

One  Sunday  afternoon,  many  years  ago,  at  the 
close  of  afternoon  service,  I  went  with  my  Chinese 
colleague  to  the  low  hills  near  the  city  of  Ts'zch'i, 
to  preach  in  the  villages  there.  We  were  skirting 
the  upper  slopes  of  the  hills,  when  turning  round  a 
corner  I  saw,  much  to  my  astonishment,  a  fox,  a 
badger,  and  a  wild-boar,  sitting  on  their  haunches 
and  facing  the  west,  as  if  in  quiet  contemplation. 
They  separated,  but  without  hurry  ;  and  when  shall 
I  meet  such  a  trio  again  ?  Wild  boars  of  great  size, 
three  or  four  hundred  pounds  in  weight,  are  met 
with  in  these  hills,  and  are  dangerous  if  encountered 
in  a  narrow  passage. 

During  my  tour  through  the  T'aichow  mountains 
I  visited  the  interesting  and  picturesque  city  of 
T'ient'ai.  The  great  temples  there,  perched  on  the 
lofty  mountain  tops,  form  (as  1  mentioned  in  my 
introductory  chapter)  a  centre  for  the  visits  of 
Buddhist  pilgrims.  As  I  was  entering  the  city  a 
thunderstorm  burst.  The  mission-house,  which  wo 
reached  just  before  the  tornado,  was  nearly  unroofed 
by  the  storm;    many  houses  were  ruiiuMl,  and  even 


190         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

massive  stone  memorial  arches  were  blown  flat. 
Boats  in  the  mountain-stream  close  by  were  over- 
turned, and  the  passengers  drowned.  One  incident, 
hardly  credible,  was  soberly  related  to  me  by  eye- 
witnesses, as  follows.  A  coffin,  which  was  being 
borne  to  the  grave,  was  suddenly  torn  open  by  the 
force  of  the  blast,  or  possibly  by  lightning  (which 
sometimes  exhibits  astonishing  power  of  leverage), 
and  the  corpse  was  lifted  out  and  hoisted  up  into  a 
tree,  whence  it  fell  to  the  ground,  the  grave-clothes 
remaining  suspended  in  the  branches.  On  my  return 
journey  from  T'aichow,  again  overland,  but  by  a 
somewhat  different  route,  I  witnessed  on  the  first 
evening  of  my  journey  a  wonderful  display  of  light- 
ning. I  had  started  at  five  o'clock  on  a  summer 
morning,  and  had  made  fair  progress,  covering 
nearly  thirty  miles  by  six  in  the  evening.  We  were 
stopped  by  a  great  thunderstorm,  and  compelled 
to  run  for  shelter  just  as  we  reached  a  small  town. 
It  was  a  magnificent  sight,  the  clouds  and  lightning 
rushing  up  the  valley.  The  thunder  was  incessant ; 
and  the  lightning,  touching  the  ground,  seemed  to 
bound  over  the  fields.  I  found  my  way  to  the 
village  inn,  and  was  informed  that  for  a  considera- 
tion I  could  occupy  the  large  upper  room  in  which 
eighteen  men  had  slept  the  night  before — which  did 
not  promise  well  for  its  hygienic  state.  I  stipulated 
that  I  must  have  the  room  completely  to  myseK, 
and  that  it  must  be  cleaned  and  swept.  This  was 
a  rash  command.  Eighteen  mattresses  and  cover- 
lets of  indescribable  uncleanliness  were  piled  in  a 
heap  close  to  me.  The  dust  and  the  vermin  of 
years  filled  the  air  as  the  ostler  swept  the  floor.     I 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    191 

then  left  my  servant  to  lie  down  where  he  thought 
fit,  but  I  decided  myself  to  sit  out  the  night  in  my 
camp-chair  by  the  open  window,  as  the  air  after 
the  storm  was  close  and  hot.  Downstairs,  my 
retainers,  the  chair-bearers  and  cooHes,  were  sup- 
posed to  be  sleeping.  I  dozed  for  a  while,  after 
charging  my  servant  and  the  men  below  to  be  up 
betimes,  five  o'clock  at  the  latest,  so  as  to  be  well 
on  our  way  before  sunrise.  Suddenly  I  woke,  and 
looking  at  my  watch  found  it  was  half-past  one. 
There  was  movement  below,  and  I  heard  voices  ; 
so  I  called  my  servant  and  bade  him  go  down  and 
see  what  the  men  were  doing.  They  were  astir, 
he  said  ;  the  dawn  was  breaking,  and  they  were 
getting  up  to  prepare  their  morning  meal.  I  replied 
that  he  might  let  them  do  so.  I  knew  well  that  it 
was  not  the  dawn,  but  the  glow  of  the  full  moon 
drawing  westward.  As  they  Mere  up,  they  might 
stay  so  ;  we  too  would  rise,  and  my  breakfast  could 
be  prepared.  The  men  assented,  and  mc  were 
actually  on  the  march  at  three  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  Walking  on  until  six  in  the  evening, 
we  made  a  long  stride  towards  home  ;  though  we 
were  again  hindered  from  taking  full  advantage  of 
daylight  by  a  heavy  and  dangerous  thunderstorm, 
from  which,  through  God's  mercy,  we  obtained 
shelter  just  in  time.  The  inn  on  this  second  night 
was  much  like  that  on  the  first,  and  once  more 
I  saw  no  hope  of  passing  the  night  quietly,  except 
by  reclining  in  my  chair  by  the  open  window. 
I  had  no  expectation  of  another  start  before  tlie 
dawn,  but  I  urged  the  men  to  awake  and  rise  early. 
To  my  surprise,  as  I  woke  after  a  short  sleep,  i 


192         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

found  it  was  again  half -past  one.  As  before,  I 
heard  a  noise  downstairs,  and  caught  sight  of  the 
flickering  of  a  lamp  through  the  chinks  in  the  floor. 
I  ordered  the  half-awakened  servant  to  go  and  see 
what  the  men  were  doing  this  time.  He  said  they 
had  been  sitting  up,  gambling.  I  told  him  that  he 
might  take  them  word  that  they  were  to  stay  up, 
and  that  I  should  shortly  start.  We  set  out,  and 
the  moon  being  hidden,  it  was  almost  too  dark  to 
see  our  way,  until  the  dawn  began  to  breathe  and 
waver  behind  the  eastern  hills  which  we  Avere 
approaching.  Fireflies  were  glancing  over  the  pools 
w^hich  gleamed  by  the  wayside,  almost  the  only  relief 
in  the  darkness.  A  second  forced  march  of  eighteen 
hours  would  have  brought  us  home  in  '  record ' 
time,  under  three  days  for  a  hundred  and  twenty 
miles,  instead  of  the  usual  three  or  four  days,  had 
not  wind  and  tide  failed  us  just  as  we  reached  the 
Ningpo  River. 

In  the  southern  regions  of  Chekiang,  near  the  sea- 
board, travel  by  land  and  by  water  is  certainly  not 
luxurious.  One  of  my  colleagues  was  shipwTccked 
on  the  low  shore  in  a  small  native  junk,  and  escaped 
with  great  difficulty.  Another  missionary  colleague 
and  a  Chinese  catechist  started  with  me  one  day  to 
visit  an  island  not  far  from  the  Fukien  border.  We 
sailed  down  an  arm  of  the  sea  in  a  small  junk, 
embarking  at  the  appointed  time,  so  as  to  catch  the 
full  tide,  but  the  crew  of  five  or  six  men  were  not  so 
pmictual.  The  captain,  who  was  part-owner  and 
pilot  as  well,  was  there,  and  one  able  seaman ;  bub 
they  had  to  jump  ashore,  and  go  shouting  across 
the    fields,    before   thc}^    could    secure    a   sufficient 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    193 

number  of  hands  to  sail  the  ship.  There  was  a 
swell,  and  the  first  to  succumb  was  not  myself,  nor 
the  husbandmen,  but  the  seaman.  After  getting 
clear  of  the  land  we  were  met  by  an  adverse  half 
gale  of  wind.  The  old  junk,  sailing  and  tacking 
close  to  the  wind,  behaved  beautifully,  and  bore 
up  against  the  full  force  of  the  gale.  At  last,  both 
wind  and  tide  opposing  us,  we  were  obliged  to  run 
for  shelter  :  the  wind  was  broken  by  the  headland, 
but  the  swell  continued.  On  our  return,  with 
quieter  waters,  our  track  was  crossed  and  recrossed 
at  some  little  distance  from  us  by  a  huge  porpoise, 
dazzling  white,  leaping  and  plunging  across  the 
narrow  sea.  These  great  fish  play  havoc  with  the 
strongest  nets  the  fishermen  can  lay  down.  As  we 
approached  the  little  harbour,  we  anchored,  and 
went  below  to  luncheon.  In  a  brief  twenty  minutes 
the  receding  tide,  which  we  had  not  noticed,  had 
run  out  so  far  as  to  leave  us  surrounded  by  a  sea  of 
mud.  Wading  ashore  was  attempted,  but  it  meant 
for  most  sinking  over  the  knees  and  deeper  still. 
At  last  one  of  the  seamen  got  ashore,  and  ran  round 
the  houses  near  to  borrow  a  flat-bottomed  boat  in 
which  we  might  be  dragged  to  land  over  the  mud. 
He  failed  in  house  after  house,  but  at  last  he  returned 
triumphantly  with  a  washing-tub,  just  large  enough 
to  stand  in.  So  my  colleague  and  I  in  turn,  clamber- 
ing down  the  junk's  side,  dropped  into  the  tub, 
and  were  thus  dragged  safe  to  shore.  A  few  months 
after  this  my  friend  was  sailing  this  sea  alone,  and 
he  and  the  crew  were  held  up  by  pirates,  who,  witli 
sword  and  firearms  at  his  throat  and  lieart,  de- 
manded his  money  and  took  his  clothing  and  betiding. 

N 


194         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

With  the  true  heroism  of  patience  and  good-humour, 
he  escaped  the  certain  death  which  would  have 
followed  any  resistance. 

Before  I  close  this  chapter  of  travels,  I  relate  the 
journey   of   a  laborious   and  eccentric   Chinese,   in 
illustration  of  a  type  of  character  which,  though 
rare  to-day,  this  versatile  people  may  occasionally 
develop  in  the  future.     In  my  introductory  chapter 
I  referred  to  the  pilgrims  who,  thirteen  or  fourteen 
centuries  ago,  girt  with  oak  and  triple  brass,  crossed 
the  Pacific  in  the  search  for  relics  and  documents 
connected   with   their   faith.     The   traveller   whom 
I  now  describe  had  no  such  lofty  motive  on  his  long 
journey.     One  afternoon  he  reached  my  house  in 
Shanghai,   footsore,   indescribably  ragged   and   un- 
washed,   and    asked   for   help    and   guidance   to    a 
respectable   lodging.     In   answer  to   our   questions 
he  then  related  his  strange  story.     So  far  as  we 
could  understand  the  exceedingly  difficult  dialect 
which  he  employed,  he  fled  from  China,   or  was 
carried  off  as  a  child  by  some  unknown  hand,  during 
the  early  years  of  the  T'aip'ing  rebellion.    Settling 
down  in  the  United  States,  he  learnt  a  trade,  and 
was,  he  believed,  baptized.     He  seemed  never  to 
have  learnt  much  English  ;   or  else  he  had  forgotten 
it,  or  purposely  dispensed  with  it  when  talking  with 
us.     Seized  with  a  sudden  desire  to  see  once  more, 
after  forty  years'  absence  and  silence,  his  old  home, 
and  to  find  out  any  surviving  friends  who  might 
remember  him,  he  took  ship  for  Hongkong.     On 
arrival  there  he  ingratiated  himself  with  the  German 
and  other  benevolent  missions,  and,  from  the  little 
store  of  his  savings  which  he  had  brought  with  him. 


J0URNEY8  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    195 

subscribed  to  their  work,  receiving  in  return  for  his 
liberality  their  thanks  expressed  in  writing,  which 
he  showed  to  me.  Thence  he  went  on  slowly  to  his 
native  province,  far-off  and  then  desolate  Yunnan, 
travelling  up  the  Red  River.  He  was  recognised  by 
some  old  family  friends,  and  advised  by  them  to 
marry  and  settle  down  ;  but  his  ambition  was  to 
found  and  endow  a  church  in  his  native  town.  Still 
restless,  and  eager  to  be  on  foot  again,  he  formed 
other  projects  in  order  to  raise  funds  for  this  enter- 
prise. As  a  result  of  the  desolation  wrought  in 
the  province  by  the  T'aip'ings,  and  the  further  ruin 
caused  by  the  Mohammedan  Yakub  Beg's  adventure, 
the  bodies  of  both  men  and  women  were  exposed  as 
chattels  for  sale,  and  girls  could  be  purchased  for 
a  very  few  dollars.  Why  should  he  not  collect  a 
cargo  of  them,  convey  them  carefully  to  civilised 
regions,  sell  them  at  a  gain — not  for  immoral  pur- 
poses, but  to  poor  and  honest  bachelors — and  with 
the  money  thus  gained,  return  to  carry  out  his 
ecclesiastical  scheme  ?  This  plan,  inspired  by  zeal 
without  knowledge,  would  probably  have  cost  him 
his  life  at  the  hands  of  the  authorities,  and  was 
peremptorily  forbidden  by  his  friends.  He  then 
started  on  a  vast  journey  to  the  coast,  chiefly  on 
foot,  and  visited  Shanghai,  in  order  to  purchase 
Manila  lottery-tickets,  intending  ^illi  the  grand 
prize  of  ten  thousand  taels  (which  he  was  sure  he 
would  win)  at  length  to  attain  his  ambition.  In 
connection  with  these  projects  he  called  on  me. 
He  had  bought  his  tickets  ;  did  I  not  approve  of 
the  scheme  ?  Would  1  not  help  him,  and  ensure 
the  realisation  of  his  hopes  ?     Alas  !    for  the  pity 


196         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

of  the  thing ;  I  could  only  reply  without  circum- 
vention :  '  You  profess  to  be  a  Christian,  and  a 
Christian  does  not  gamble.  These  lotteries  are 
forbidden  and  suppressed  by  your  own  Chinese  law. 
I  dissuade  you  altogether  from  having  anything 
at  all  to  do  with  this  matter.'  He  would  not,  it 
seemed  he  could  not,  listen  to  me.  Later,  he  re- 
turned to  tell  me  that  he  had  drawn  a  blank  ;  would 
I  kindly  help  him  with  a  small  sum  to  enable  him 
to  reach  Hankow,  where  other  friends  would  help 
him  home  ?  I  consented,  and  saw  him  off  with  a 
few  dollars  in  his  pocket,  and  he  faded  from  my 
view.  I  have  never  before  or  since  seen  such  a 
union  in  one  person  of  naive  simplicity,  conspicuous 
zeal  without  a  spark  of  wisdom,  a  fatal  inclination 
to  do  wrong,  yet  without  craft  or  malice  jyrepense, 
a  vague  ambition  and  the  heart-sickness  of  hope 
deferred.  Could  it  be,  I  asked  myself,  a  type  of 
awakening  China,  or  of  China  as  she  was  of  old, 
with  vague  aims  at  impossible  or  undesirable 
ideals  ?  Or  was  it  rather  a  picture  of  the  pathos 
and  tragedy  of  a  life  lived  with  any  object  lower 
than  the  glory  of  God,  the  triumph  of  virtue,  and 
the  good  of  men  ?  At  any  rate,  my  poor  friend's 
toilsome  journey  was  not  so  happy  as  the  journeys 
I  have  described  above.  Yet  imagine  the  scenery  of 
grandeur  and  wide-spreading  beauty  through  which 
he  passed,  of  mountain  and  hill,  of  valley  and  plain 
and  desert ;  of  rolling  rivers  and  broad  silver  lakes ;  of 
busy  cities  and  smiling  farmsteads ;  of  life  in  market- 
boat  and  passengers'  junks ;  of  solemn  solitudes 
and  loud  discordant  cries  in  many  tongues,  during  his 
journey  of  at  least  three  thousand  miles  across  China. 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    197 

The  average  length  of  a  day's  march  for  foot- 
travellers  in  China  is  ninety  /^,  or  about  twenty- 
eight  miles.  The  thought  of  these  weary  marches 
of  millions  of  footsore  wayfarers  through  all  the 
ages  of  China's  history  is  pathetic.  The  divine 
vision  of  earthly  and  heavenly  travel  is  one  which 
we  would  desire  for  the  Chinese  and  all  mankind  : 
'  The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day,  nor  the  moon 
by  night.  The  Lord  shall  preserve  thee  from  all 
evil ;  the  Lord  shall  preserve  thy  soul ;  the  Lord 
shall  preserve  thy  going  out  and  thy  coming  in  from 
this  time  forth  and  for  evermore.' 

The  very  proverbs  of  the  Chhiese  speak  of  life 
itself  as  one  long  journey,  and  of  life  spent  in  earthly 
houses  or  lodgings  as  of  a  few  hours  passed  under 
a  rest-shed  by  the  wayside,  not  in  an  abiding 
dwelling-place.     Ut  migralurus  hahila. 

I  close  this  chapter  with  an  account  of  m}-  journey 
to  China  in  1861,  expecting,  as  I  write,  shortly  to 
return  to  England  by  Siberia.  The  lirst  journey 
was  by  the  aU-bluewater  route,  taking  in  my  case 
a  hundred  and  eleven  days,  though  sometimes  as 
much  as  a  hundred  and  fifty,  or  a  hundred  and  sixty 
days.  By  the  Siberian,  the  all-rail  route,  London 
can  now  be  reached  in  under  fifteen  days  from 
Shanghai.  Had  I  been  able  to  come  to  China,  or 
to  go  home  at  any  time  by  the  American  Pacific 
line,  or  by  the  Canadian  Pacific — the  all-red  route — 
my  experience  would  have  been  nearly  complete. 
How  intolerable  would  it  be  to  travellers  in  these 
days  of  ever-gathering  hurry  and  accelerated  speed 
to  embark  in  a  small  sailing-vessel  of  750  tons 
burden,  well  found  indeed,  and  well  mamied,  for 


198         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

we  carried  a  crew  of  thirty  or  forty  men  ;  well 
sailed  and  well  manoeuvred,  though  we  occupied  in 
beating  out  of  the  Channel  from  the  Downs,  against 
the  April  west  winds,  nearly  half  as  much  time  as 
will  be  required  to  hurry  us  home  by  Siberia  !  No 
land  was  sighted  between  the  last  point  of  England 
and  Java  Head.  We  spent  eighty  days  of  sky  and 
sea,  of  storm  and  calm,  without  a  whisper  from  or 
to  Eastern  and  Western  hemispheres,  save  the 
signalling  of  the  name  and  number  of  passing  ships, 
and  the  request  from  our  captain  that  they  should 
report  us  at  Lloyd's.  Then  deep  silence  fell  again, 
except  for  the  seabirds'  voice  and  the  ocean's  cease- 
less call.  We  had  sailed  slowly  through  the 
Doldrums,  the  belt  of  calms,  when,  after  a  sunset 
more  lurid  and  threatening  than  any  I  have  since 
witnessed  by  sea  or  by  land,  we  were  met  and 
caught  and  shaken,  shuddering,  to  and  fro  by  a 
great  hurricane,  a  fierce  cyclone.  The  ship  could 
not  bear  up  against  the  gale  ;  the  master  dared  not 
let  her  drive.  He  could  only  lie  to.  Even  a  small 
storm-sail,  the  only  canvas  which  seemed  possible 
to  steady  her  head,  was  torn  away.  The  ship 
laboured,  rolling  and  shivering  as  the  screaming 
blasts  and  drenching  rain  swept  by.  We  listened 
to  the  thunder  of  the  blows  of  the  confused  waves 
against  the  dead-lights  of  our  cabin.  Then  suddenly 
calm  fell.  The  cyclone  had  met  us  in  front ;  the 
plane  of  the  storm,  having  a  wide  circumference, 
was  itself  moving  slowly  over  the  sea,  while  its  outer 
circles,  whirling  round  at  over  a  hundred  miles  an 
hour  with  hurricane-blasts,  had  raised  the  waves 
literally  mountains  high.     The  front  semicircle  of 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER     199 

the  cyclone  had  surged  past,  and  was  drawing  over 
us  the  mysterious  false  calm  of  '  the  whirlwind's 
central  heart  of  peace.'  The  air  seemed  motionless, 
and  we,  watching  and  waiting  anxiousty  below, 
imagined  almost  with  exultation  that  the  storm 
was  over  and  all  danger  past.  The  seamen  knew 
better  ;  the  glass  had  fallen  ominously  low,  and 
showed  in  what  position  we  were.  No  more  danger- 
ous place  could  be  imagined  ;  there  was  not  a  breath 
of  air  to  sail  by  or  to  steady  the  ship  ;  the  waves, 
without  crests  indeed  but  mountains  high,  buffeted 
us  with  gigantic  force.  So,  as  we  were  helplessly, 
and  it  seemed  hopelessly,  flung  to  and  fro,  the 
fifty  minutes  of  dreadful  calm  passed  by.  Then 
with  a  shriek  and  a  howl  the  whirlwind's  circling 
blasts  leapt  upon  us  and  seized  us  with  greater  fury 
than  before  ;  and  once  again  we  were  in  the  grasp 
of  the  hurricane.  Then  slowly  the  glass  began  to 
rise  ;  the  gusts  gradually  lessened  in  frequency  and 
violence,  and  after  nearly  thirty  hours  of  imminent 
danger — '  Fine  weather,'  shouted  the  second  mate 
to  me  ;  '  we  are  setting  sail,  thank  God  !  '  Morning 
was  breaking,  and  when  the  sun  was  up  we  were 
allowed,  with  a  strong  arm  on  either  side,  to  climb 
the  low  ladder  to  the  gunwale  and  gaze  for  a  time 
at  the  sea.  The  cyclone  had  passed  ;  the  wind  had 
shifted,  and  had  settled  down  to  a  whole  gale  of 
great  force,  but  with  a  bright  sun  and  fair  sky  over- 
head we  flew  before  it.  To  our  landsmen's  eyes  it 
seemed  impossible  that  we  coukl  ever  surmount  tlie 
waves  of  immense  height,  with  lofty  heads  breaking 
in  snow,  the  great  Atlantic  rollers,  the  heaviest  in 
all  seas,  and  agitated  now  b}-  the  passage  of  this 


200         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

great  storm.  The  words  of  the  psalm  were  literally 
true  for  us :  we  mounted  up  to  the  heaven — the 
heaven  which  seemed  almost  to  touch  and  kiss  the 
foam-flecked  top  of  the  blue  mountain-wave  before 
us  ;  then  down  again  to  the  depths,  the  blue  tossing 
valleys  beneath. 

Six  weeks  later,  after  catching  the  trade-winds, 
now  strong,  now  fair  and  moderate,  and  being 
buffeted  by  the  winter-storms  round  the  Cape,  and 
passing  two  or  three  hundred  miles  to  the  southward, 
so  as  to  hold  the  trades,  we  sailed  at  length  through 
the  Straits  of  Anger  and  Sunda,  past  the  Caspar 
rocks.  We  left  Krakatoa  moodily  smoking  and 
awaiting  the  terrific  explosion  of  twenty  years  later, 
the  tremor  of  which  was  felt  round  two-thirds  of  the 
world's  belt,  while  the  dust  of  the  discharge,  forced 
into  the  upper  currents  of  the  air,  wandered  over 
the  earth  and  glorified  its  sunsets. 

Then,  nearing  the  Borneo  coast,  infested  at  that 
time,  like  the  whole  of  the  China  seas,  by  pirates, 
we  encountered  a  second  danger,  calm,  more  perilous 
even  than  storm.  It  was  better  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  Lord,  in  whose  protection  we  were 
kept  while  the  Almighty  lifted  up  the  waves  of  the 
sea,  than  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  men,  who  were  in 
murderous  plot  waiting  for  us,  and  would  have 
attacked  us  had  the  terrible  calm  lasted  another 
hour.  We  had  been  lying  ten  days  becalmed  on  a 
sea  almost  molten  under  a  cloudless  sky,  with  an 
August  sun  pouring  down  on  us.  There  was  no 
wind,  no  breath  of  air,  not  even  a  cat's-paw  on  the 
water  ;  or  if  such  appeared  far  off,  and  with  infinite 
toil  anchor  was  weighed,   as  was  done  five  times 


JOURNEYS  BY  LAND  AND  BY  WATER    201 

over  one  weary  afternoon,  no  sooner  was  the  anchor 
hauled  on  deck  than  the  cat's-paw  died  away  and 
the  hope  was  gone.  We  had  drifted  near  the  islands, 
and  could  see  the  lagoons  between  the  infinite 
ramifications  of  the  system  of  islets.  We  well  knew 
who  lived  there,  and  imagined  we  saw  skiffs  moving 
across  to  carry  signals  and  summons  for  a  fight. 
Muskets  and  cutlasses  were  brought  on  deck,  loaded 
and  sharpened.  The  sun  set,  and  as  we  expected 
at  any  moment  the  murderous  assaults  of  the  pirates, 
we  watched  with  grave  apprehension  while  tropic 
darkness  fell.  Just  then  there  was  a  sigh  in  the 
air,  and  a  breath,  and  suddenly  a  steady  breeze 
awoke.  Anchor  was  weighed  with  eager  haste,  and 
we  stood  away  with  a  fair  draught  of  wind,  and 
clearing  the  islands,  shaped  our  course  for  Shanghai. 
Our  captain's  anxiety  had  been  doubly  great ;  for 
he  feared  not  only  an  attack  by  pirates,  but  also 
that  which  is  generally  foretold  b}^  these  summer 
calms,  the  approach  of  a  typhoon.  Just  after  we 
had  reached  the  haven  where  we  would  be,  and  were 
safe  at  anchor,  one  of  these  terrors  of  the  China 
seas  from  June  till  October  burst  over  Shanghai — 
the  '  great  wind '  as  the  Chinese  word  signifies,  the 
very  demon  of  the  storm,  a  typhoon  such  as  is 
raging  in  these  hills  as  I  write,  shaking  the  house  and 
bending  double  the  bamboos.  These  storms,  destruc- 
tive and  desolating  as  they  are,  probably  tend  to 
purify  and  regulate  the  otherwise  intolerably  hot, 
close,  and  deadly  atmosphere  of  sumnioi-  and  early 
autumn,  and  may  thus  prove  to  be  beneficent  and 
health-bringing  to  the  land,  to  the  sea,  and  to  man- 
kind. 


202         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

Since  writing  the  above  paragraphs  I  have  ac- 
compHshed  my  projected  journey  from  Shanghai 
to  London  in  sixteen  days.  A  description  of  that 
remarkable  route,  which  is  becoming  more  and  more 
familiar,  I  must  leave  to  other  pens,  but  I  record 
here  the  profound  impression  left  on  my  mind  by 
this  all-rail  journey  of  eight  thousand  miles  across 
Asia  and  Europe. 

In  the  long  sea- journey  which  I  describe  above, 
we  were  almost  oppressed  from  time  to  time  with  the 
awe  of  nothing  but  the  great  and  wide  sea,  silent 
save  for  her  own  majestic  voices,  those  solitary 
wastes,  with  only  skies  above  and  with  no  glimpse 
of  land  for  eighty  days.  In  the  long  rail-route  the 
vastness  of  the  depths  and  breadths  of  the  dry 
land  awed  us,  its  silent  steppes  and  populated  areas, 
the  constantly  changing  features  of  hill  and  plain, 
of  lake  and  river,  and  specially  the  hints  and  sugges- 
tions of  the  great  regions  of  Central  Asia  to  our  left 
and  right,  out  of  sight  but  almost  felt  by  their 
proximity — Mongolia,  Chinese  Turkestan,  Tibet  in 
her  white  solitudes,  Nepal,  Bhutan,  vast  India  and 
Persia,  the  Altai,  and  the  higher  regions  of  Siberia. 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT 


CHAPTER   VIII 

SHANGHAI,   PAST   AND   PRESENT 

I  CANNOT  exclude  Shanghai  from  the  narrative  of 
my  recollections  of  China  during  the  past  fifty  years. 
It  was  the  first  inhabited  place  which  I  saw  on  my 
arrival.  It  will  be  the  last  to  fade  from  sight  when 
I  leave  China.  The  strong  fair  wind  whicli  I  de- 
scribed in  my  seventh  chapter  as  springing  up  at 
nightfall  and  rescuing  us  from  tlie  merciless  attacks 
of  pirates,  carried  us  on  past  the  Paracels  and  the 
Pratas  shoal,  and  then  through  the  Pescadores 
Channel  (where  the  P.  and  O.  liner,  the  Bokhara, 
was  lost  many  years  later).  Thence  we  sailed  up  the 
China  Sea,  till,  driven  too  near  the  coast,  owing  to 
the  treacherous  currents  and  slackening  breeze,  we 
sighted  the  prominent  look-out  island  Video  and  the 
Pihting  group.  So  near  were  we  to  the  ishinds, 
that  a  kingfisher  flew  on  board,  and  other  hind- 
birds  had  followed  us  for  some  days.  This  devia- 
tion necessitated  a  long  and  tantahsing  tack  south- 
eastwards,  so  as  to  clear  the  treacherous  shoals 
and  the  network  of  countless  islands  which  fringe 
the  coast  for  five  hundred  miles,  with  scenery  as 
beautiful  as  the  Inland  Sea  of  Japan,  though  lack- 
ing the  blue  water.  Stately  junks  now  appeared 
on  the  horizon  ;  and  some  smaller  lishing-smacks 
came  round  us,  or  tried  to  cross  our  bows,  the  crews 


206         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

clamouring  and  shouting,  as  they  do  still,  and 
warning  the  steersmen  of  the  foreign  ships  to  keep 
clear,  if  possible,  of  their  great  nets  with  floats, 
covering  the  face  of  the  sea.  This  was  my  first  sight 
of  the  Chinese,  though,  to  be  sure,  I  had  seen,  some 
five  years  previously,  one  of  the  same  race  wander- 
ing, ragged  and  friendless,  in  Fleet  Street.  Chinese 
visitors  are  commoner  now  in  our  English  cities 
and  towns,  and  hold  their  heads  higher.  China 
was  sleeping  then,  or  rather,  she  was  seized  by  the 
nightmare  of  disastrous  convulsion,  and  England 
was  but  half  awake  to  the  claims  and  the  interests 
and  the  possibilities  of  the  Far  East. 

Now  the  monsoon  strengthens,  and  with  a  racing 
south-east  wind  we  sail  past  the  Barren  Islands  and 
the  Saddles,  the  extreme  northern  point  of  the 
Chusan  Archipelago,  and  entering  the  vast  yawning 
mouth  of  the  Yangtse,  pick  up  our  pilot  near  Gutzlaff 
Island,  and  in  the  early  afternoon  of  the  15th  of 
August  anchor  at  Shanghai's  outer  port,  Woosung, 
a  hundred  and  eleven  days  from  the  Downs. 

The  names  of  some  of  the  landmarks  we  have 
passed  are  significant  of  the  still  recent  history  of 
Shanghai  and  of  the  whole  neighbourhood.  Gutzlaff 
Island,  which  now  carries  an  observatory  and  a 
flashlight  of  exceptional  brillianc}'',  is  the  first  and 
most  important  point  from  which  incoming  steamers 
are  signalled  by  telegraph,  and  derives  its  name 
from  the  intrepid  missionary  pioneer  and  explorer, 
Gutzlaff.  It  was  he  who,  nearly  eighty  years  ago, 
long  before  China  v/as  opened  for  residence  and 
trade,  except  within  the  contracted  limits  of  the 
Canton  factories,  resolved  to  fulfil  his  commission, 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      207 

and  distribute  the  Bible  and  deliver  his  message 
everywhere.  He  took  passage  sometimes  in  the 
swift  barques  which  carried  opium  up  the  coast, 
and  coming  on  one  occasion  to  the  very  port  which 
we  have  reached,  Woosung,  he  decided  to  press 
on  to  Shanghai  itself.  His  enterprise  was  inter- 
dicted by  the  authorities  of  the  then  small  but 
ancient  hien  city  of  Shanghai ;  he  was  opposed, 
cajoled,  exhorted,  threatened  and  besought,  but  he 
made  his  way  up  to  the  city,  delivered  his  message, 
and  returned  at  last  safely  to  his  ship,  to  the  relief 
of  the  mandarins,  who,  however,  could  not  but 
admire  the  zeal,  if  lacking  tact  and  courtesy,  of 
this  obstinate  philanthropist.  A  worthy  man  he 
was,  and  courageous  to  the  highest  degree  ;  and 
his  name  is  held  in  honour  as  one  of  the  earliest  of 
the  last  century's  well-wishers  to  China,  coming  to 
warn  her  of  danger,  and  to  point  out  the  right 
channel  to  be  taken  so  as  to  avoid  the  peril,  even  as 
now  the  Gutzlaff  lights  continually  flash  warning 
and  guidance  along  the  dangerous  coast.  A  blind 
Chinese  girl,  whom  Gutzlaff  had  rescued  and  taught, 
was  living  still  in  our  mission-house  at  Ningpo  when 
we  arrived  in  1861,  another  link  with  the  stormy 
days  of  the  first  half  of  the  century. 

Then,  as  we  left  Woosung  to  run  u])  th('  river 
Huangp'u  to  Shanghai,  we  passed  Gough  Island,  at 
that  time  a  shoal  with  its  surface  of  mud  and  slime 
just  appearing  at  low  water.  It  is  now  an  island 
threequarters  of  a  mile  in  length,  green  with  reeds 
and  rushes,  and  with  some  huts  on  it  ;  and  it  will 
doubtless  soon  be  reclaimed  and  cultivated  by  the 
industrious  Chinese,  if  only  the  myriads  of  rats  that 


208         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

infest  the  island  can  be  extirpated.  This  shoal  is 
named  after  the  hero  of  Chillianwallah  and  Sobraon, 
Lord  Gough,  who,  as  Sir  Hugh  Gough,  captured 
the  Chusan  Archipelago  and  Ningpo,  and  held  his 
conquest  for  nearly  three  years,  until  the  first  treaty 
of  peace.  Between  the  northern  end  of  that  shoal 
and  the  north-eastern  shore  of  the  river  lay,  when  I 
reached  these  waters  in  1861,  the  Woosung  Bar. 
This  barrier  Chinese  patriots  and  obstructionists 
have  ever  called  the  *  heaven-sent  barrier,'  as 
shutting  out  the  too  free  and  forceful  entrance  of 
foreign  trade,  and  excluding  warships  of  any  for- 
midable size.  Our  small  tea-clipper,  the  Solent,  of 
only  750  tons'  burden,  but  with  a  deep  draught  and 
a  full  general  cargo,  was  detained  nearly  a  week  at 
Woosung,  unable  to  cross  the  bar  until  high  water. 
That  barrier,  continuously  abused  by  the  captains 
of  ships,  continually  excused  by  the  Chinese, 
frequently  dredged  and  as  often  silting  up  again, 
has  at  last  been  circumvented.  The  old  and  ob- 
structed channel  has  now  been  abandoned  by  foreign 
ships  and  vessels  of  deep  draught ;  and  a  channel 
to  the  south  of  Gough  Island,  dredged  out  and 
constantly  scoured,  is  made  permanently  available 
for  large  vessels.  The  Conservancy  Board,  with  a 
full  representation  of  Chinese  authorities  and  agents, 
but  under  foreign  control  and  engineering  skill,  has 
long  grappled  with  this  difficult  problem.  Gough 
Island  will  now,  we  trust,  no  m.ore  be  connected 
with  ideas  of  obstruction  and  ill-will,  but  with  those 
of  open  doors  and  unrestricted  channels  for  legitimate 
and  beneficent  commerce,  even  as  the  great  soldier 
himself,  the  loyal  and  gallant  servant  of  his  country 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      209 

in    those    far-off    days    of    confusion,    desired    the 
prosperity  alike  of  England  and  of  China. 

The  singular   and  exceptional  importance  of  this 
city  and  port  of  Shanghai  is  perhaps  not  generally 
known  and  appreciated.     Nearly  a  quarter  of  my 
half-centuiy  of  life  and  service  in  China  has  been 
spent  in  and  for  Shanghai,  and  the  rest  of  my  years 
have  been  passed  not  far  off  and  in  frequent  touch 
with  the  place.     Its  history  and  gro\\'th,  its  present 
state  after   long   struggles  and  its  possible   future, 
provide,   surely,   subjects   of   unusual   interest.     It 
may  now,  I  believe,  without  any  possibility  or  prob- 
ability of  a  rival,  be  called  the  commercial  metropolis 
of  the  Farthest  East.     Whence  does  it  derive  this 
supremacy   and   the   energies   which   maintain   it  ? 
Its  name  means  not  '  on  the  sea,'  but  rather  the 
'  upper  sea,'  possibly  pointing  to  the  fact  that  it 
was  in  ancient  times  a  seaport,  not  as  now  a  river- 
port,  and  that  the  promontory  of  Pootung,  between 
the   Yangtse   and   the   Huangp'u,   lay   then   under 
water.     The  yellow  muddy  sea,  stained  by  the  long 
wash  of  the  gigantic  Yangtse,  possibly  surged  round 
the  island  or  oasis  of  Shanghai,  and  then  flowed 
south-westwards  through  the  alluvial  plain,  which 
is  checked  at  last  by  a  low  line  of  hills  twenty  miles 
distant.     The  upper  waters  of  the  Huangp'u  River, 
near  the  city  of  Sungkiang,  notorious  in  Gordon's 
campaigns,  widen  out  into  creeks  and  lagoons,  which 
suggest  the  existence   in   ancient  days  of  broader 
expanses  of  water  covering  the  whole  area. 

Shanghai  itself,  with  its  old  city  walls  encircling 
three  hundred  thousand  people,  and  its  suburbs 
and  settlements  containing  at  least  seven  hundred 

o 


210         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

thousand    more,    and    nearly   twenty    thousand    of 
foreign  nationahties  ;    Shanghai,  with  its  long  line 
of  palaces  on  the  Bund,  clubs  and  banks  and  hotels 
and    offices ;     with    its    countless    ramifications    of 
streets  and  squares  with  well-paved  and  well-drained 
roads ;     with    its    gardens    and    wide    recreation- 
grounds,  its  racecourse,  its  Rotten  Row,  its  theatres, 
electric  tramways  and  railways  ;  with  all  its  vigorous 
commercial  life  and  the  enterprises  and  expansions 
of  trade  ;    with   its   intellectual  culture  and  educa- 
tional development,  its  love  of  music  and  of  the 
fine  arts ;    its  laughter  and  its  tears  ;    its  storm  in 
typhoon  and   its   calm  in  blazing   heat ;    its   lives 
and  deaths,  its  meetings  and  partings — Shanghai  is 
afloat  all  the  time.     Water  can  be  struck  every- 
where after  not  very  deep  borings  ;    and  the  city 
may  perhaps  be  fitly  called  not  only  the  '  upper 
sea,'  Shanghai,  but  the  city  '  on  the  sea,'  Haishang. 
What,  then,  accounts  for  the  exceptional  growth 
and  the  continuous  and  advancing  life  and  prosperity 
of  the  place,  notwithstanding  the  ups  and  downs  of 
trade  ?     These  vicissitudes  have,  indeed,  been  ex- 
ceptional and  abnormal.     We  have  known  of  for- 
tunes in  silk,  for  instance,  made  or  lost  in  a  week ; 
and  of  a  '  boom  '  in  land-purchase,  especially  during 
and  immediately  after  the  days  of  the  T'aip'ing 
Rebellion,  when  some  bold  speculators  are  said  to 
have  made  ten  thousand  per  cent,  on  their  original 
outlay.     The  fluctuations  in  the  Chinese  tea-trade 
also  have  been  remarkable.    Owing  to  carelessness  in 
maintaining  the  superiority  of  their  produce,  Chinese 
growers  and  agents  have  suffered  much  from  the 
formidable  rivalry  of  Ceylon  and  India.     Despair 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      211 

has  sometimes  seized  on  the  Shanghai  markets, 
followed  by  revival ;  and  now  better  tea  seems 
destined  to  demand  better  prices.  So  that  con- 
tinuous anxiety  and  depression,  side  by  side  with 
continuous  hope  and  encouragement,  have  marked 
and  still  mark  Shanghai's  commercial  life. 

Can  we  account  for  the  importance,  the  evidently 
abiding  importance,  of  the  place  ?  There  was  not 
much  visible  to  the  eye  when  I  arrived  in  1861. 
Steam  was  scarcely,  if  at  all,  employed  in  those 
days.  Electricity  was  unknown ;  but  Shanghai 
subsequently  had  the  distinction  of  lighting  her 
streets  with  electricity  before  London,  although  it 
must  be  confessed  that  our  early  adventures  left 
us  sometimes  in  half  darkness.  Instead  of  running 
up,  as  we  do  now,  by  steam-launch  from  the  Woosung 
anchorage  to  the  Shanghai  wharves  and  landing- 
stages  in  a  little  more  than  an  hour,  I  had,  on 
abandoning  the  faithful  Solent  after  an  acquaintance 
of  a  hundred  and  twelve  days,  to  trust  myself  to  a 
pilot-boat  which  was  passing  for  Shanghai,  under 
sail.  Wind  and  tide  Avere  not  propitious ;  the 
xA.ugust  sun  beat  down  with  almost  intolerable  heat ; 
and  though  weighing  anchor  before  noon,  we  did 
not  reach  Shanghai  until  half-2)ast  six  in  the  evening, 
weary  and  distressed.  \\g  passed  by  a  forest  of 
merchant  ships,  from  three  to  four  hundred  sail,  a 
proof  in  itself  of  vigorous  trade,  while  there  were 
but  two  or  three  merchant  steamers  in  port,  besides 
men-of-war.  Among  the  sailing-ships  lay  the  Julia, 
a  tea-clipper  similar  in  tonnage  to  the  Solent,  which 
had  left  the  Downs  at  the  same  time  as  ourselves, 
and    had    proposed    a    friendly    race    to    the    Far 


212         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

East.  We  sighted  her  only  once  on  the  course  of 
fifteen  thousand  miles,  when  we  were  becalmed  near 
Borneo.  She  seemed  then  to  be  passing  ahead  of 
us,  but  eventually  the  Solent  reached  Woosung  a 
full  day  before  her  rival ;  though  the  Julia,  with  a 
lighter  cargo  and  shallower  draught,  crossed  the 
bar  without  difficulty,  and  slipped  up  to  Shanghai 
before  us. 

The  ten  or  twelve  miles  of  river  up  which  we  were 
crawling  in  the  pilot-boat  exhibit  now  on  either 
shore  for  at  least  half  the  distance  one  continuous 
line  of  factories,  with  steam-power  and  electric  light, 
and  relays  of  mill-hands  working  day  and  night. 
These  include  paper-mills,  cotton-cleaning  works, 
silk-filatures,  water-works,  foundries,  gas-works, 
docks,  wharves,  and  godowns.  Each  large  block  of 
factories  is  built  in  foreign  style,  with  villages  round 
them  for  the  accommodation  of  the  workmen,  and 
country  villas  standing  a  little  back.  Nearer  the 
settlement  the  streets  lie  three  or  four  deep,  with 
unbroken  stretches  of  shops  and  warehouses.  Then, 
as  the  river  bends  sharply  southwards,  we  pass  the 
beautiful  public  gardens,  opposite  the  British  Con- 
sulate, and  the  long  Bund  with  its  green  foreshore, 
and  reach  the  upper  harbour,  with  its  crowd  of 
steamers,  merging  in  the  distant  view  into  the  yet 
denser  masses  of  Chinese  junks,  Avhile  beyond  all 
the  Chinese  arsenal  stands,  a  prominent  landmark. 

Now,  when  I  traversed  those  twelve  miles  fifty 
years  ago,  there  were  scarcely  any  signs  on  shore 
of  commercial  enterprise,  and  no  hint  of  the  coming 
expansion  of  this  great  centre.  There  were  no 
chimneys  smoking  by  day  and  by  night,  and  no 


SHANGHAI,  PART  AND  PRESENT      213 

buildings  of  any  kind,  till  we  passed  the  upper 
portion  of  Hongkew  (the  name  of  the  so-called 
American  settlement).  Another  name  of  that  por- 
tion of  the  settlement  is  the  '  lower  stretch  of  the 
sea '  ;  and  to  show  the  altered  configuration  of  the 
locality — caused  partly  by  the  encroachments  of  the 
river  on  the  one  bank  and  its  retirement  from  the 
other,  partly  by  the  reclamation  of  land  for  house- 
building— I  may  add  that  as  we  passed  by  I  saw 
(and  old  prints  of  that  time  bear  witness  to  the 
fact)  the  Church  of  Our  Saviour,  built  a  little  earlier 
by  the  American  Protestant  K})i8copal  .Mission, 
standing  close  to  the  river  bank.  The  church 
remains  ;  but  it  stands  now  in  the  heart  of  a  new 
and  busy  town,  and  we  can  catch  only  a  glimpse 
of  it  through  a  vista  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
length,  opening  between  lofty  godowns. 

I  have  not,  however,  yet  discussed  the  reasons, 
geographical,  political,  and  commercial,  which  have 
combined  to  transform  this  place,  formerly  some- 
what obscure,  difficult  of  access,  and  unimportant, 
into  the  very  centre  and  throbbing  heart  of  the  trade 
and  enterprise  of  mid  and  north  China,  and  of  the 
Farther  East.  Shanghai  lies  quite  near  to  the 
ancient  southern  capital  of  China,  Nanking,  and 
is  now  connected  with  Nanking  by  railway,  as  well 
as  by  daily  communication  on  the  river  Yangtse. 
Yet  her  comparative  proximity  to  that  vast  city  of 
thirty  miles'  circumference  had  no  effect  in  ameliora- 
ting the  former  comparative  isolation  of  Shanghai  ; 
and  there  are  no  signs  that  the  improved  communica- 
tion between  the  two  cities  is  tending  to  transfer 
the   present   prosperity   of   Shanghai    to    Nanking. 


214         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

Shanghai  possesses  a  supreme  advantage  in  her 
geographical  position,  lying  near  the  mouth  and 
entrance  of  the  Yangtse.  In  war-time,  if  the  forts 
were  backed  by  an  efficient  land-force,  the  Woosung 
batteries  would  dominate  the  Yangtse,  and  shield 
Shanghai,  thus  giving  her  the  strength  and  prestige 
of  a  vital  spot  in  the  empire's  defences.  In  times 
of  peace,  this  geographical  position  enables  her  to 
combine  and  collect  in  her  markets  all  the  products 
of  foreign  and  native  trade,  imported  from  the  west 
and  east  and  south,  and  now  from  the  north  as  well, 
and  to  distribute  these  over  trade-routes  by  land 
and  by  water,  pushing  ever  farther  into  the  interior 
of  the  empire ;  while  for  exports,  she  forms  the 
chief  centre  and  agency  for  collecting  and  transmit- 
ting the  exports  of  inland  China  and  the  north  to 
the  west  and  south.  Her  river-trade,  two  thousand 
miles  inland,  her  coast-trade,  a  thousand  miles  from 
north  to  south,  her  foreign  trade,  both  in  foreign 
and  in  native  bottoms,  north,  east,  south  and  west 
— though  I  do  not  attempt  to  particularise — is 
enormous.  There  exists  no  other  port  capable  of 
such  development,  because  there  is  none  on  the 
coast  or  up  the  rivers  of  China  possessed  of  such 
incomparable  advantages.  Hongkong  boasts  of  a 
larger  shipping  tonnage,  but  that  great  commercial 
centre  is,  first,  not  Chinese  ;  and,  secondty,  it  is 
more  a  port  of  call  and  of  transhipment  than  a 
terminus  and  a  collecting  and  distributing  centre, 
like  Shanghai. 

From  another  point  of  view,  Shanghai,  being  not 
only  a  centre  of  foreign  trade  par  excellence,  but  also 
the  great  gathering-place  of  those  engaged  in  foreign 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      215 

enterprise  in  all  its  branches,  may  be  regarded,  I 
think,  as  a  vast  exhibition-enclosure,  where,  in 
active  and  working  order  and  life,  the  developments 
of  western  science  and  discovery  may  be  continuall}^ 
displayed,  and  our  best  methods  of  education  may 
be  seen  in  operation.  To  exliibit  these  is  as  impor- 
tant as  to  engage  in  the  mere  contests  of  the  markets, 
and  of  barter,  and  of  rival  companies.  If  this  be 
a  fair  description  of  the  raison  d'etre  of  Shanghai, 
then  no  other  place  on  the  coast  or  in  the  interior 
can  be  imagined  so  convenient,  so  secure  if  firmly 
held,  and  so  peaceable  as  Shanghai. 

Two  events  stand  out  in  my  memory,  small  and 
insignificant  in  themselves,  but  affording  a  striking 
evidence  of  the  growth  and  expansion  of  Shanghai. 
On  the  17th  of  August  1861,  after  a  hot  and  sultry 
day,  the  chaplain  of  the  English  church  with  w  hom 
I  was  staying  took  me  for  a  country  walk.  The 
chaplain's  house,  known  now  as  the  deanery,  stood 
where  it  now  stands,  a  short  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  Bund.  Behind  the  house  a  three  minutes' 
walk  took  us  to  the  old  cemetery  which  is  now  closed, 
and  outside  the  cemeterj^  westwards  we  passed  at 
once  into  the  open  country,  with  rice-fields — 
changed  a  few  years  later  for  cotton-fields,  much  to 
the  advantage  of  the  salubrity  of  the  place — and 
hamlets  surrounded  by  neat,  strongl^^-woven  bamboo 
fences.  The  country  people  were  cutting  their  early 
rice,  and  chatted  in  a  friendly  manner  to  our  guide. 
Now  fields  and  crops  and  fences  and  homesteads 
and  husbandmen  have  all  gone,  and  a  roaring  city 
stretches  where  green  fields  alone  were  then  seen. 
From  that  cemetery,  so  local  legend  declares,  the 


216         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

long-dead  residents  of  Shanghai  rise  from  time  to 
time,  and  walk  in  the  stillness  of  the  night  up  and 
down  the  Maloo,  the  great  street  which  runs  west- 
wards through  the  heart  of  the  settlement.  This 
would  occur,  to  Chinese  thought  and  imagination, 
on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  Chinese  seventh  month, 
the  time  of  the  annual  release  of  the  spirits  in  prison. 
The  old  cemetery,  with  its  carefully  preserved 
memorials  of  the  dead,  now  possesses  an  institution 
of  lasting  benefit.  The  mortuary  chapel,  which  is 
no  longer  used,  has,  through  the  kindness  of  the 
Municipal  Council,  been  placed  temporarily  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Chinese  native  church,  gathered 
and  founded  as  one  result  of  the  sixty-six  years' 
work  of  the  English  Church  Missionary  Society  in 
Shanghai,  a  work  carried  on  in  happy  harmony 
with  the  other  missions.  This  native  church  is 
now  self-supporting,  and  can  soon  claim  to  be 
independent  and  self-governing  in  communion  with 
the  churches  of  the  west,  and  part  of  the  Church 
of  China.  The  chapel  is  beautifully  fitted  up, 
and  large  congregations  assemble  here  under  their 
Chinese  pastor  for  praise  and  prayer. 

Three  years  later  I  was  again  in  Shanghai,  ^ly 
friend  the  chaplain  had  died,  and  a  military  chap- 
lain, attached  to  the  large  force  of  British  troops 
then  stationed  near  the  native  city,  was  in  temporary 
charge  of  the  English  services.  I  offered  ni}^  help, 
and  he  asked  me  to  take  for  him  the  afternoon 
military  service  in  a  temple  five  miles  off,  where 
the  troops  were  stationed.  He  mounted  me  on  a 
charger,  with  an  orderly  as  guide.  I  left  the 
chaplain's    door,    passed   the    cemetery    mentioned 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      217 

above,  and  was  in  the  open  country  immediately. 
Turning  southwards,  I  traversed  the  paths  through 
the  rice-fields,  and  crossed  several  narrow  creeks, 
and  duly  reached  the  barracks  at  the  hour  mentioned 
by  the  chaplain.  The  general  in  command  gave 
me  a  hearty  welcome,  but  he  informed  me  that  the 
chaplain  had  inadvertently  given  me  the  wrong 
hour,  and  that  he  himself  had  just  finished  reading 
the  service.  So  I  saluted  the  officers  and  men,  had 
tea  with  the  general,  and  then  rode  leisurely  home- 
wards across  the  ciuiet  fields.  Those  fields  have 
completely  vanished,  due  west  from  the  deanery 
for  a  mile  and  more,  and  south-west  and  southwards 
for  three  or  four  miles.  If  you  ride  or  walk,  or  are 
carried  in  sedan-chair  or  jinrik.'^ha  or  motor-car  or 
tram-car,  not  a  blade  of  grass,  or  a  vestige  of  tree 
or  garden  or  crops  will  meet  your  eye.  Only  streets 
and  alleys  are  there,  with  dense  blocks  and  rows  of 
houses,  and  multitudes  of  busy,  nois}',  shouting 
people.  With  the  extension  and  the  improvement 
of  the  roads,  initiated  largely  by  Gordon,  owing  to 
the  necessities  of  military  transport,  the  methods 
and  facilities  of  locomotion  have  altered  greatly. 
The  old  church  had  deep  verandahs  and  porticoes, 
which  were  crowded  on  Sundays  with  sedan-chairs 
with  green  blinds,  in  which  gentlemen  and  ladies  alike 
came  to  church.  Now  no  sedan-chairs  arc  to  be  seen 
in  Shanghai  streets,  except  when  a  mandarin,  or  per- 
haps a  doctor  from  the  country,  passes  timidl}^  and 
wonderingly  along.  Whether  this  be  an  altogether 
wholesome  and  desirable  expansion  of  Shanghai 
is  a  debatable  point.  When  the  port  was  opened 
for  foreign  trade  and  residence  in  1843,  certain  areas, 


218         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

now  called  the  settlements,  facing  the  river  in  its 
bending  course  and  stretching  back  a  mile  or  so 
into  the  country,  were  set  apart  expressly  for  the 
erection  of  merchants'  offices  and  warehouses,  and 
for  dwelling-houses.  The  whole  district,  about  five 
miles  in  extent  along  the  river,  might  probably  have 
been  appropriated  as  a  territorial  possession  or  free- 
hold in  perpetuity,  even  as  the  French  claim  to 
regard  their  portion  of  the  settlement.  But  the 
English,  who  were  paramount  in  numbers  and  in 
influence,  declined  this  privilege  from  considerations 
of  international  courtesy,  and  occupied  the  territory 
on  terms  of  what  may  be  called  perpetual  lease, 
with  ground-tax  paid  to  the  emperor,  and  with  the 
right  granted  to  residents  and  occupiers  of  sub- 
letting and  also  of  buying  and  selling  land  and 
houses  within  the  settlements.  But  the  district 
was  designed  for  foreign  residents  and  for  business 
alone,  and  if  this  condition  had  been  resolutely 
observed,  we  should  have  had  the  sight,  by  the  river 
and  in  its  neighbourhood,  behind  and  beyond  the 
banks  and  offices,  of  one  continuous  park,  dotted 
over  with  country-houses,  surrounded  by  fair  lawns 
and  gardens,  such  as  you  see  now,  to  your  surprise 
and  delight,  if  you  penetrate  four  or  five  miles  into 
the  country.  When  the  T'aip'ings  Avere  in  posses- 
sion of  the  regions  round  Shanghai,  multitudes  of 
refugees  crowded  into  the  settlements  for  protection ; 
and  the  temptation  to  make  money  surely  and 
swiftly  overcame  the  consideration  of  the  obvious 
advantages  of  the  original  arrangement  for  sanita- 
tion, quiet,  and  security.  The  Chinese  were  ad- 
mitted  within   the   once   sacred   precincts   of   the 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      219 

foreign  concession,  and  multitudes  of  houses  were 
erected  for  their  accommodation,  and  streets  were 
planned,  and  roads  were  metalled,  stretching  in  all 
directions.  Fortunes  were  thus  made  by  the  sale 
or  lease  of  land  at  fabulous  prices,  and  by  the  ample 
return  for  the  outlay  in  the  high  rents  readily  paid 
for  the  houses  ;  while  the  refugees  found  better  and 
more  salubrious  dwellings  than  they  had  been 
accustomed  to,  and  for  a  time  abundant  and  lucrative 
employment.  The  close  of  the  rebellion  and  the 
pacification  of  the  country  drew  back  again  to  their 
desolated  homes  and  fields  large  numbers  of  the 
refugee  population  of  Shanghai,  and  this  happened 
so  suddenly  as  to  threaten  with  ruin  many  of  the 
speculators  in  land  and  houses,  and  to  dislocate  the 
labour-market.  But  the  settlements,  thus  invaded 
and  captured  and  built  over,  and  then  half  deserted, 
never  relapsed  first  into  a  wilderness  and  then  into 
their  primitive  park-like  aspect.  The  supreme 
advantages  of  security  and  order  provided  in  the 
foreign  settlements,  and  the  rapidly  increasing 
demands  of  trade,  attracted  merchants,  shop- 
keepers, artisans,  servants,  and  workmen  of  all 
kinds  to  the  settlement  boundaries  ;  and  the  tide 
of  immigration  set  in  again  and  has  never  ceased  its 
flow  since  that  date.  So  that  to-day  the  select 
population  of  two  hundred  foreign  residents  in  1850, 
and  fewer  than  that  at  the  opening  of  the  port 
in  1843,  has  grown  to  nearly  twenty  thousand  ;  and 
the  small  bands  of  Chinese  workers,  who  formerly 
entered  the  settlements  only  during  business  hours, 
are  changed  for  the  hum  and  clamour  and  bustle 
and  eager  life  of  seven  hundred  thousand  souls. 


220         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

I  cannot  explain,  nor  can  I  pretend  to  justify  or 
condemn  the  anomaly  presented  by  Shanghai  as 
I  have  known  it  for  fifty  years  and  as  it  exists  now ; 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  the  Chinese  will  never  suc- 
ceed in  materially  altering  the  scheme  of  things. 
It  works  quite  well,  and  inflicts  practically  no  injury 
on  themselves  or  on  the  public  generally,  if  only 
the  exceptional  and  unique  circumstances  of  the 
case  are  taken  into  consideration.  The  Chinese 
patriots,  jealous  of  what  they  are  beginning  to  call 
their  sovereign  rights,  and,  perhaps  it  must  be 
added,  the  authorities  of  the  powers  watching,  and 
rightly  watching,  the  interests  of  their  different 
nationalities,  will  be  Avell  advised  if  they  give  an 
ungrudging  sympathy  and  practically  a  free  hand 
to  this  supremely  interesting  exhibition,  before  the 
eyes  of  the  watching  East  and  the  not  unobservant 
West,  of  self-government  by  an  epitome  (if  I  may 
say  so)  of  the  best  civilisation  and  enlightenment 
of  the  West,  to  the  advantages  and  securities  of  which 
the  Chinese,  as  well  as  foreigners,  are  admitted.  The 
land-regulations  and  the  magic  cluster  of  the  Muni- 
cipal Council's  laws  and  by-laws  and  rights  may  be 
all  anomalous,  for  the  area  in  which  they  exercise 
their  powers  is  Chinese,  not  British  or  German  or 
American  ;  but  the  Chinese  swarm  into  this  area, 
where  they  form  the  very  life  and  vigour  of  the  place, 
and  are  content  to  live  under  foreign  taxation  and 
foreign  police  control,  with  a  Mixed  Court  indeed, 
retaining  the  trappings  of  Chinese  authority  (a 
Chinese  magistrate  presiding),  but  with  foreign 
assessors  ever  present  to  forbid  bribery,  corruption, 
torture,  and  wilful  miscarriage  of  justice.     Now  aU 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      221 

these  Chinese,  contented  thus  to  yield  allegiance  to 
this  imperium  in  imperio,  are  Chinese  subjects  still, 
and  are  not  in  any  specific  way  detached  from  their 
Chinese  citizenship  or  released  from  loyalty  to  the 
throne.  But  justice,  if  the  Chinese  government 
authorities  clamour  for  justice,  is  conserved  and 
never  wilfully  perverted,  nor  are  the  high  prin- 
ciples of  Chinese  jurisprudence  broken.  China  is 
in  fact  learning,  unconsciously  perhaps,  but  most 
surely,  wholesome  lessons  from  the  incorruptibility 
of  our  English  shipping  courts  (for  instance),  the 
swiftness  and  directness  of  foreign  incpiiry  and 
pleadings  to  trace  the  truth  ;  and  the  search-light 
of  a  protected  daily  press  turned  on  to  China's  old 
systems  of  injustice  is  a  most  useful  educational 
process.  How  urgently  China  still  needs  such 
lessons  !  As  I  write,  in  the  neighbouring  province 
three  Chinese  of  respectability,  charged  with  a 
great  crime,  are  lying  condemned  or  waiting  for 
death,  after  being  compelled  by  savage  torture  in 
a  Chinese  court  to  confess  what  their  consciences 
would  never  admit.  Nearer  to  me,  a  husbandman, 
guilty  perhaps  of  a  small  offence,  for  which  he  has 
made  tenfold  reparation,  was  rearrested  by  the 
powerful  gentry  and  handed  over  to  the  magistrates 
on  other  charges.  Before  these  had  even  been  in- 
vestigated, the  accused  man,  for  the  convenience  or 
rather  the  shifting  of  justice,  was  transferred  to  the 
court  of  the  governor  of  the  province;  and  by  him, 
still  untried,  unheard,  uncondemned,  was  sentenced 
to  imprisonment  for  life.  A  few  days  ago  a  foreign 
lady  and  her  husband  were  sketching  near  the  wall 
of  this  enlightened  and  progressive  city  of  Shanghai 


222         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

— an  innocent  and  lawful  diversion  here,  where 
kodaks  are  in  full  operation.  A  number  of  lads  and 
others  gathered  round  ;  and  as  one  obstructed  the 
view,  he  was  politely  asked  to  move  aside.  This 
scion  of  young  China's  nobility  shouted  out  in  clear 
English  one  of  the  carefully  acquired  aphorisms  of 
the  new  learning  :  '  We  stand  on  our  sovereign  rights. 
This  is  China :  I  am  a  Chinese,  and  I  can  stand 
w^here  I  please.'  But  young  China  and  old  China 
(though  old  China  knew  better)  have  yet  to  learn 
that  there  are  no  sovereign  rights  which  allow  the 
Chinese  to  be  tyrannous,  cruel,  unjust ;  and  no  law, 
written  or  unwritten,  which  permits  the  Chinese 
to  part  with  their  good  manners.  This  forms,  to 
my  mind,  the  saddest  and  most  ominous  feature 
of  China's  awakening,  of  her  so-called  Renaissance, 
of  her  new  life  and  hope  and  plans  for  reform  and 
rejuvenescence.  She  is  in  danger  of  losing  in  part 
what  the  T'aip'ings  were  charged  with  losing  wholly, 
the  two  bright  characteristics  of  Chinese  nationality, 
education  and  good  manners.  For  some  of  this 
deterioration  in  good  manners  her  foreign  teachers 
and  exemplars  must  be  held  accountable ;  but, 
from  whatever  cause,  she  is  most  certainly  threatened 
with  this  irreparable  loss. 

Yet  how  chivalrous,  how  high-souled  China  can 
be  amidst  the  materialism  of  her  earthly  ambitions  ! 
During  my  residence  in  Shanghai,  in  1884,  at  the 
time  of  the  long-draAvn  dispute  between  a  foreign 
power  and  the  Chinese  with  reference  to  Tonkin  and 
Annam  and  the  shadowy  Chinese  suzerainty  there, 
I  remember  sitting  on  the  Shanghai  Bmid  and 
watching  the  telegraphic  news  arriving  from  hour 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      223 

to  hour  from  Foochow,  five  hundred  miles  south, 
detailing   the   gradual   destruction   of   the    Chinese 
fleet,  decoyed  into  the  harbour  and  then  fired  on 
by  the  enemy.     On  that  occasion,  it  seemed  to  us, 
the  historic  chivalry  of  that  western  power  seemed 
for  the  time  to  have  disappeared,  making  way  for 
the  outshining  of  the  chivalry  of  China.     The  young 
Chinese  naval  cadets  on  board  their  ships  of  war 
scorned  to  strike  their  flags  under  the  crushing  fire, 
and  went  down  with  their  colours  still  Hying.     At 
Shanghai  an  extraordinary  scene  was  witnessed  by 
us.     It  must  be  remembered  that  war  was  never 
actually  declared,  but  the  declaration  seemed  every 
day  imminent.      A  gunboat   of   the  foreign  power 
was  at  anchor  in  the  higher  reaches  of  the  river  at 
Shanghai,    opposite    the    native    city.     WIkmi    the 
fighting   at   Foochow   occurred,    the   foreigner   was 
requested  and  advised  by  the  Chinese  to  leave  for 
neutral    waters.     The    captain    of    the    man-of-war 
resented  the  warning,  and  threatened  to  bombaid 
the  city  if  he  were  molested.     The  Chinese  replied 
by  anchoring  two  '  terrors  of  western  nations,'  gun- 
boats   with   Armstrong    guns,    one    on  either  side 
of   the  foreign   man-of-war.     They    then    ])atiently 
waited,  allowing  the  foreign  gunboat  meanwhile  to 
be  provisioned  from  the  shore  ;    and  at  last,  when 
the  captain  pleaded  the  impossibility  of  his  running 
the  gauntlet  of  the  Woosung  forts  as  he  passed  sea- 
wards, the  Chinese  placed  a  mandarin  on  board  the 
foreign  boat,  with  an  escort  of  two  C'hinese  gun- 
boats   as    guarantees    of    immunity    from    attack. 
Conducting  the  foreigner  past  the  silent  i"oi*ts  and 
beyond  the  lighthouse  limits,  the  mandarin  rejoined 


224         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

his  own  ships,  bowed  to  the  enemy,  wished  him  fair 
wind  and  fair  tide,  and  returned  to  Shanghai. 
Meanwhile  at  Ningpo,  only  a  hundred  and  forty 
miles  distant,  as  I  witnessed  myself,  a  state  of  war 
without  the  declaration  of  hostilities  was  in  progress. 
The  foreign  fleet  was  blockading  Chinhai,  the  port 
of  Ningpo.  They  lay  for  many  days  just  out 
of  range  of  fire  of  the  formidable  Chinhai  forts, 
moving  back  a  little  indeed,  for  as  they  threw  an 
idle  shell  over  the  Chinhai  hill  into  the  city  below, 
the  forts  at  once  opened  fire.  The  banks  of  the 
river  Yung,  meanwhile,  were  alive  with  soldiers  and 
countrymen  working  day  and  night  at  the  ancient 
and  long-abandoned  earthworks  between  Chinhai 
and  the  city.  Great  excitement  and  violent  indigna- 
tion prevailed  in  Ningpo,  where  these  foreigners  had 
serious  interests  at  stake.  It  was  the  centre  of  one 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  missions,  with  a  bishop  and 
a  large  staff  of  priests  and  of  sisters  of  charity.  No 
protection  of  any  kind  could  be  afforded  to  the 
defenceless  men  and  women  by  their  own  people. 
Other  nationalities  at  Ningpo  were,  of  course,  more 
or  less  involved  in  the  general  exasperation  of  the 
people.  But  the  chief  peril  seemed  to  threaten 
the  Roman  Catholic  sisters.  The  Chinese,  however, 
with  the  truest  sense  of  honour,  gave  minute  orders 
for  the  full  protection  of  these  non-combatants. 

The  growth  and  expansion  of  Shanghai,  which  I 
am  sketching  in  this  chapter,  have  been  sometimes 
hindered,  sometimes  accelerated,  by  the  exhibition 
of  these  conflicting  features  in  the  character  of  the 
Chinese.  Their  general  friendliness  and  goodwill 
are    marred    and    shamed    sometimes    by   sudden 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      225 

ebullitions  of  violence  and  the  exploiting  of  griev- 
ances which  could  have  been  easily  adjusted  by 
quiet  negotiation,  without  wild  riot  and  assaults 
on  innocent  people.  Now  the  wheelbarrow  men  go 
out  on  strike,  with  trade-unions'  violence  against 
independent  workers  ;  now  the  jinrik^^ha  men  are 
on  strike,  probably  when  their  laborious  services 
are  specially  needed,  their  grievance  being  some 
small  extra  tax,  or  greater  strictness  in  the  monthly 
examination  of  their  vehicles  ;  now  the  electric- 
tram  projectors  and  engineers  are  warned  of  a 
general  and  dangerous  uprising  on  the  occasion  of 
the  first  tram  being  put  in  motion.  As  far  back  as 
1876,  when  the  first  raihvay  laid  on  Chinese  soil 
was  opened,  in  the  face  of  grave  opposition,  the  idea 
of  a  riot  was  abandoned,  but  a  soldier  was  bribed 
to  throw  himself  under  the  engine  drawing  the  first 
train,  with  the  promise  of  a  hundred  dollars  for  his 
sorrowing  widow  and  children.  He  actually  per- 
formed his  part,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the  luck  of 
the  line  would  be  for  ever  blasted  and  ruined.  The 
trains  ran  successfully  for  a  time,  the  Chinese 
crowding  from  afar  to  see  the  strange  monster,  but 
the  promoters  were  obliged  at  last  to  yield  to  per- 
sistent opposition,  and  they  sold  the  line  to  the 
government  for  two  million  taels,  professedly  for 
transportation  to  Formosa  and  use  there.  The 
material  reached  the  shore  of  Formosa,  and  was 
landed  and  left  to  decay.  Factious  opposition  is 
not,  however,  always  sincere  or  formidable.  Con- 
siderable excitement  was  caused  at  one  time  by  the 
rifle-practice  at  the  butts  just  outside  the  settlement. 
A  shot  is  supposed  to  have  ricochetted,  and  so  to 

I' 


226         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

have  wounded  an  old  woman  as  she  was  working  in 
the  fields  near.  She  was  promptly  taken  to  the 
hospital,  and  the  wound  not  being  of  a  serious 
character  she  soon  recovered,  and  was  consoled  by 
the  gift  of  thirty  dollars.  Upon  this  she  expressed 
her  purpose,  so  soon  as  she  could  walk  again,  to 
proceed  to  the  same  neighbourhood,  with  the  hope 
of  being  struck  a  second  time,  and  a  second  time 
well  paid  for  the  suffering. 

There  is  one  advantage  which  the  Chinese  may 
derive,  if  they  wish  it,  from  the  object-lesson  of 
western  life  and  western  methods  presented  before 
their  eyes.  They  have  had  for  long  years,  probably 
for  centuries,  fire-brigades,  with  '  fire-dragons,'  as 
their  pumps  are  called.  These,  hoAvever  inefficient 
in  themselves,  are  worked  sometimes  with  far  more 
pluck  and  vigour  than  is  generally  supposed.  On 
the  alarm  of  fire,  sounded  on  gongs  through  the 
streets,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  mandarins  to  repair  in 
person  to  the  place,  and,  seated  in  state  as  near  as 
possible,  personally  to  superintend  the  efforts  made 
to  subdue  the  fire  or  prevent  its  spread.  The 
soldiers  accompanying  the  officials  are  supposed  to 
suppress  the  brutal  pillage  to  which  the  poor  people 
are  exposed  on  these  occasions,  when  their  goods, 
salved  indeed  from  the  flames,  and  sat  upon  by  the 
family,  are  yet  sometimes  snatched  away  from  them. 
In  the  main  streets  of  Chinese  cities  fire-walls  are 
seen,  arching  the  street  at  every  three  or  four 
hundred  yards'  interval,  which  do  not  indeed  pre- 
vent the  destruction  of  aU  houses  between  two  such 
walls,  but  which  effectually  prevent  the  fire  from 
passing  further.     The  skill  and  reckless  courage  of 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      227 

the  foreign  volunteer  fire-brigades,  with  their  brass 
helmets  and  modern  engines,  working  sometimes  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  blaze  under  the  almost  fiercer 
heat  of  summer,  but  chiefly  on  winter  nights  near 
new-year-tide,  with  frost  so  biting  as  to  coat  with 
ice  the  drenched  uniforms  of  the  firemen  as  they 
fight  the  flames,  is  a  sight  from  which  the  Chinese 
may  well  learn  a  lesson  of  true  public  spirit  and 
devotion. 

One  feature  which  too  long  prevailed  on  this 
exhibition-ground  of  Christian  England  and  Europe 
and  America  is  now,  I  believe,  definitely  lessening, 
and  in  some  places  disappearing.  A  lax  tolerance 
of  houses  of  ill-fame  and  the  allurements  and 
solicitations  to  vice  so  common  in  great  cities,  and 
more  particularly  in  harbours  and  shipping-centres, 
is  entirely  foreign  to  the  Chinese  sense  of  law  and 
order.  Haunts  of  evil  are  indeed  common  enough 
in  many  cities  and  towns  of  China,  but  they  are  under 
a  ban,  are  branded  with  shame  by  their  low  and 
narrow  entrances,  and  are  not  seldom  suppressed 
and  exterminated  during  the  rule  of  some  rigorous 
mandarin.  The  moral  feeling  of  the  thoughtful  and 
respectable  Chinese  was,  therefore,  shocked  from 
time  to  time  by  the  comparative  publicity  and 
licence  allowed  to  such  places  and  practices  in 
Shanghai.  I  have  heard  the  taunt  and  sneer  uttered 
in  far-off  country  districts,  and  even  in  other 
provinces  :  '  Shanghai !  yes,  it  is  a  wonderful  city 
indeed,  but  a  dangerous  place  for  temptation  and 
evil  example.'  This  was  never  the  fault  of  tlie 
high-souled  leaders  of  Shanghai's  political  and 
municipal  life.     They  surely  deplored  the  state  of 


228         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

things,  but  were  confronted  by  the  difficulties 
involved  alike  in  a  policy  of  forcible  suppression, 
and  in  that  of  gradual  removal,  with  the  help  of 
moral  persuasion  and  the  light  of  public  opinion. 
The  reproach  has  not  yet  vanished,  but  it  is  steadily 
and  surely  passing  away. 

I  imagine  that  Shanghai  must  be  held  in  high 
estimation  by  the  country  people  in  the  neighbour- 
hood; and  that  they,  at  least  secretly,  look  upon 
the  place  as  their  own,  and  a  proud  possession, 
the  ruin  of  which  would  involve  disaster  to  them- 
selves. The  growth  and  expansion  of  Shanghai 
has  doubtless  brought  wealth  to  a  very  large  number 
of  people,  by  supplying  markets  larger  and  firmer 
than  any  existing  previously  to  1843  ;  and  the 
country  people  would  probably  resent  the  idea  of 
the  disappearance  or  decay  of  Shanghai  as  loudly 
as  any  foreigner.  But  they  have  hitherto  declared 
their  independence  in  a  specially  unfriendly  manner 
as  soon  as  foreigners  pass  beyond  the  protection 
and  care  of  the  police.  This  arose,  doubtless,  in  the 
past  from  the  overbearing  spirit  and  the  lack  of  con- 
sideration shown  too  often  to  the  country  people 
by  foreigners  ;  and  the  exhibition  of  the  hauteur 
due,  it  was  supposed,  from  a  superior  race  to  an 
inferior.  Owing  to  the  passion  for  cross-country 
riding,  one  of  Shanghai's  numerous  recreations — 
racing,  drag-  and  paper-hunts,  cricket,  football, 
golf,  polo,  hockey  and  tennis,  baseball,  shooting 
and  yachting  and  rowing,  with  many  others — the 
gardens  and  growing  crops  of  the  country  people 
were  too  often  needlessly  trampled  down,  when  less 
desperate  hurry  and  a  slight  curve  in  the  course 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      229 

would  have  avoided  the  plots  so  dear  and  precious 
to  the  poor,  though  overlooked  by  the  well-mounted 
rich.  But  this  feeling  of  resentment  which  has, 
within  recent  years  and  quite  close  to  the  settle- 
ment, shown  itself  in  rudeness  and  rough  assaults 
on  ladies  and  defenceless  passers-by,  is  not  by  any 
means  universal,  and  is,  we  trust,  distinctly  on  the 
decline.  Of  one  thing  I  can  speak  positively,  from 
personal  recollection,  and  it  seems  to  me  significant 
of  a  true  change  in  the  general  attitude  of  China 
towards  her  western  guests  and  visitors  and  immi- 
grants, and  that  notwithstanding  spasmodic  and 
ominous  hints  of  a  desire,  not  yet  extinct,  to  get 
rid  of  us  altogether.  I  refer  to  the  cessation  in 
every  district  with  which  I  am  acquainted  of  a 
hateful  practice,  which  during  the  course  of  many 
years  had  become  so  common  and  apparenth'  in- 
curable, that  it  no  longer  aroused  indignation  or 
caused  any  serious  annoyance.  Opprobrious  names 
and  epithets,  such  as  '  demon,'  '  white  demon,' 
'  red-haired  monster,'  '  ladro7ies,'  and  the  like,  were 
everjrvvhere  applied  by  the  Chinese,  by  grown-u}) 
men  and  children  alike,  to  foreigners.  The  polite 
retort  that  if,  in  China's  noble  phrase,  '  within  the 
four  seas  all  are  brethren,'  then  it  follows  that 
within  the  four  seas  all  are  demons,  robbers,  anil 
red-haired,  might  turn  the  edge  of  the  attack  for 
the  moment,  but  still  the  odious  and  un-Chincse 
discourtesy  continued.  After  1000,  however, 
whether  awed  by  the  supernatural  and  sublime 
courage  of  the  Christians,  western  and  Chinese,  in 
the  fires  of  martyrdom,  or  amazed  at  the  staying 
and  conquering  power  of  the   gallant    bekML'ucred 


230         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

band  in  Peking  (where  again  Chinese  Christians  bore 
so  much  of  the  brunt  of  the  conflict),  or  convinced 
of  the  futiUty  of  either  abuse  or  brutal  violence  in 
trying  to  remove  the  foreign  incubus,  the  Chinese 
have  ceased  to  employ  these  evil  epithets,  and  the 
salutary  silence  has  rarely  been  broken  since.  Our 
desire  now  is  that  both  in  Shanghai  and  wherever 
the  great  influence  and  example  of  that  cynosure  of 
watching  eyes  can  reach,  and  everywhere  throughout 
China,  justice  and  honour,  sympathy  in  the  high 
aspirations  of  the  Chinese,  and  hearty  co-operation 
with  them  in  all  works  of  truest  philanthropy,  may 
justify  this  altered  tone,  and  lay  the  foundations  of 
mutual  respect  and  enduring  friendship. 

In  closing  my  Shanghai  recollections,  I  record 
one  instance  of  the  way  in  which,  long  before  these 
latter  and  more  friendly  days,  the  true  courtesy  of 
the  people  in  remote  country  regions  was  capable 
of  manifestation. 

One  day  early  in  the  spring  of  1887  I  was  return- 
ing from  Hangchow  to  Shanghai  in  one  of  the 
'  foot-boats  '  described  in  my  seventh  chapter.  The 
weather  was  sultry,  with  a  south-easterly  breeze. 
We  had  made  good  progress ;  and  leaving  the 
waters  of  the  Grand  Canal  at  Kashing,  and  running 
through  creeks  and  broad  streams  near  Sungkiang, 
we  had  just  joined  the  upper  waters  of  the  Huangp'u, 
about  thirty-five  miles  above  Shanghai.  We  hoped 
thus  to  reach  the  city  the  same  evening.  The  wind, 
however,  suddenly  shifted  to  the  north-west,  and 
a  heavy  gale  struck  us,  changing  in  a  few  minutes 
the  placid  face  of  the  river  into  an  angry  sea  with 
threatening   waves.     The   slight   craft   was   nearly 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      231 

overturned,  and  we  hastily  ran  for  shelter  into  a 
little  creek.  It  was  already  afternoon  ;  important 
business  was  awaiting  me  in  Shanghai,  requiring  my 
attendance  the  next  morning  at  latest.  The  boat- 
men assured  me,  however,  that  the  fijale  would 
certainly  last  for  two  or  three  days,  and  that  tlioy 
could  not  move  till  it  had  abated.  We  were  moored 
near  a  village,  and  knowing  that  there  must  be  a 
cross-country  road,  I  directed  one  of  the  boatmen 
to  leap  ashore  and  inquire  whether  sedan-chairs  or 
wheelbarrows  or  any  other  vehicles  could  be  pro- 
cured. The  answer  came  back  that  nothing  of  the 
kind  was  available  in  the  neighbourhood.  When 
I  inquired  further  through  the  boatman  how  far 
it  was  by  road  or  footpath  to  Shanghai,  and  whether 
any  one  would  guide  me  thither,  the\'  said  the 
actual  distance  was  not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen 
miles,  but  the  road  was  very  bad,  and  in  such  stormy 
weather  no  one  would  care  to  guide  a  foreign 
stranger.  Then  I  leapt  ashore  m3^self,  and  told  the 
villagers  my  difficulty,  and  remonstrated  with  them 
on  their  unwillingness  to  help  a  stranger.  As  soon 
as  they  heard  me  speak  to  them  in  their  own 
language,  or  in  something  approaching  to  it  (they 
used  a  very  rough  dialect  in  that  district),  they  at 
once  became  friendly ;  and  two  of  them,  plucking 
up  courage,  undertook  to  guide  me  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Shanghai,  until  they  could  hire  chairs 
for  my  further  journey.  1  think  they  were  more 
afraid  of  me,  though  I  was  alone  and  unarmed, 
than  I  of  them.  They  insisted  tlial  Iwo  men  a( 
least  should  accompany  me,  one  to  lead  and  one 
to  follow,  each  carrying  a  lantern.     1  urged  then  an 


232         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

instant  start,  as  it  was  nearly  seven  o'clock  and 
darkness  was  falling.  But  they  must  first,  with 
much  deliberation,  eat  their  evening  rice,  procure 
lanterns  and  red  candles,  and  tie  on  their  straw 
sandals,  taking  an  extra  pair  or  two  for  the  long 
tramp.  So  I  rejoined  my  boat,  and  had  my  own 
supper  ;  and  then,  entrusting  my  bedding  and  other 
things  to  the  care  of  the  boatmen  to  bring  on  with 
them  when  the  gale  abated,  I  started  with  nothing 
but  a  thick  coat  (as  it  had  become  very  cold),  and  a 
walking-stick.  The  gale  did  not  moderate  at  all,  even 
at  sundown,  when  the  wind  generally  slackens, 
and  our  course  lay  in  the  teeth  of  the  wind.  The 
country  was  quite  unknown  to  me,  and  I  soon  began 
to  suspect,  as  the  darkness  deepened,  that  my 
guides  were  not  certain  of  the  way.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  they  lost  the  path  more  than  once,  and  the 
ten  or  fifteen  miles  of  the  short  cut,  avoiding  the 
endless  turns  of  the  river,  became  at  least  twenty 
miles  before  we  sighted  the  Lunghwa  pagoda,  with 
seven  miles  more  to  go  ere  my  house  was  reached. 
We  frequently  crossed  creeks  and  canals,  the 
bridges  over  which  were  no  more  than  eighteen 
inches  in  width.  As  the  wind  struck  us  in  gusts, 
the  danger  of  crossing  these  without  the  help  of  a 
handrail  was  considerable.  So  we  advanced  into 
the  night ;  the  villages  and  towns  which  we  passed 
seemed  darker  and  darker ;  the  glimmering  lights 
of  those  who  were  working  or  gambling  late  went 
out  one  by  one ;  and  our  only  welcome,  and  that  an 
angry  and  threatening  one,  was  from  the  numerous 
fierce  village  watch-dogs.  At  about  eleven  o'clock 
we  passed  through  a  market-town ;  and  my  guides, 


SHANGHAI,  PAST  AND  PRESENT      233 

determined  that  I  should  have  some  rest  and  refresh- 
ment, hammered  at  the  door  of  a  native  inn  which 
had  been  long  closed  for  the  night.  The  landlord 
got  up,  unbarred  the  door,  and  without  grumbling 
or  remonstrance  welcomed  us  inside.  He  gave  us 
some  lukewarm  tea  ;  and  I  sat  some  time  and 
talked  with  him,  offering  him  some  Christian  books 
as  I  left.  He  declined  all  offer  of  remuneration, 
and  bidding  farewell  to  his  guest,  this  outlandish 
foreigner,  coming  at  so  inopportune  a  time,  he  retired 
to  rest,  while  we  plunged  into  the  darkness.  It 
was  near  the  time  of  the  Feast  of  Lanterns,  if  I 
remember  rightly,  and  to  the  right  and  left  the 
night  sky  seemed  alive  with  lantern-kites ;  while  in 
some  places,  apparently  hung  from  temple-roofs, 
long  streamers  of  lanterns  were  seen  swaying  in  the 
wind.  At  one  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  reached 
the  pagoda  and  the  little  town  in  which  it  stands. 
There  was  not  a  sound  to  be  heard  in  the  streets, 
except  the  tinkling  of  the  small  bells  hung  round 
the  ornamental  canopy  of  the  pagoda.  My  guides 
ran  hither  and  thither  shouting  for  a  chaii",  and 
with  no  response  for  a  time  save  from  the  angry 
and  suspicious  dogs.  At  last  an  answermg  shout 
was  heard,  and  three  sedan-chair  coolies  appeared, 
who  cheerfully  carried  me  through  the  bitter  air 
and  raging  wind,  and  landed  me  at  my  door  just  as 
four  o'clock  was  striking.  I  bade  farewell  to  my 
kind  and  faithful  guides  before  starting  hoincw  ards 
from  the  pagoda.  They  had  held  me  all  night  long 
at  their  mercy — had  tliey  been  the  merciless  and 
hostile  ruffians  supposed  to  inhabit  those  regions. 
They  had  unwillingly  misled  mc,  indeed,   but   the 


234         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

toil  and  trouble  had  been  borne  chiefly  by  them. 
They  had  found  me  what  I  wanted,  further  con- 
veyance ;  and  now  how  could  I  repay  them  and 
adequately  thank  them  for  their  kindness  ?  They 
disdained  to  bargain  before  we  started,  and  there 
was  no  exorbitant  demand  now.  They  did  not  care 
for  anything  but  thanks,  they  avowed,  and  wished 
me  a  safe  onward  journey.  A  silver  dollar,  worth 
about  two  shillings,  which  was  all  I  had  with  me 
at  the  time,  but  which  I  promised  to  supplement 
by  sending  further  money  to  their  village,  or  to 
double  or  treble  if  they  would  come  on  with  me  to 
Shanghai  and  return  in  the  daylight — this  one  coin 
overwhelmed  them  with  gratitude.  It  was  enough 
and  more  than  enough  :  they  instantly  said  fare- 
well, with  thanks  and  good  wishes,  and  stepped 
back  into  the  black  and  stormy  night  for  the  long 
march  of  twenty  miles  to  their  homes.  It  was  an 
exhibition  of  the  truest  kindness  and  courtesy  ;  rare, 
perhaps,  but  characteristic  of  the  Chinese  in  their 
better  moods ;  and  a  foretaste,  let  us  hope,  of  that 
trust  and  esteem,  in  co-operative  work  for  mutual 
good,  which  shall  characterise  the  future  intercourse 
between  China  and  western  nations. 

There  is  no  reason  why  the  renewal  of  the  youth 
of  China,  and  her  awakening  patriotism  and  thirst 
for  independence  and  power,  should  forbid  such  a 
closer  rapprochement,  and  such  mutual  and  practical 
goodwill,  not  only  in  and  around  the  anomalous 
and  at  the  same  time  representative  Shanghai — to 
which  I  now  bid  farewell — but  throughout  China, 
and  in  her  relations  with  aU  nations. 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA,  AND  THE 
PRESENTATION  OF  HIS  MESSAGE 


CHAPTER   IX 

THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA,  AND  THE 
PRESENTATION   OF   HIS   MESSAGE 

In  the  preceding  chapters  I  have  brought  before  my 
readers  a  country  and  a  people  representing  the 
oldest  of  the  living  empires  of  the  world.  Egj^t 
and  Assyria,  Persia,  Rome  and  Greece  are  as  world- 
empires  a  name,  a  voice,  and  no  more.  But  China, 
with  her  roots  and  foundations  of  empire  struck 
down  into  soil  as  old  as  the  oldest,  has  outlived 
them  all.  With  such  antiquit}^  in  the  institutions 
of  civilisation,  with  a  legal  and  moral  code  so  ancient 
and  so  high-toned,  with  education  part  and  parcel 
of  the  nation's  life  for  nearly  two  thousand  years, 
and  Avith  the  arts  of  agriculture,  handicraft,  and 
commerce  so  indicative  of  a  wise  and  great  people, 
it  may  not  unreasonably  be  asked  what  right  have 
western  nations  to  come  as  teachers  and  not  rather 
as  scholars  to  China  ?  What  right  have  we  to  offer 
to  them,  in  place  of  the  indigenous  creeds,  Con- 
fucianism and  Taoism,  and  the  once  alien  creed  now 
naturalised  in  China,  Buddhism,  this  western  book, 
the  Bible,  and  this  foreign  creed,  which  some  con- 
temptuously call  '  a  local  thing,'  Christianity  ? 
Confucius  indeed  says,  in  the  opening  sentences  of 
the  Analects,  '  Is  it  not  pleasant  to  have  friends 
coming  from  distant  quarters  ?  '     But  that  welcome 


238         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

was  rather  to  scholars  and  inquirers  after  wisdom 
than  to  authoritative  leaders  and  masters.  The 
answer  to  this  objection  is  clear  and  sharp  in  its 
precision.  The  Bible  is  at  least  as  much  eastern 
as  western,  and  Christianity  is  not  local  but  uni- 
versal ;  and  both  the  Word  of  God  and  the  special 
message  of  God  are  offered  and  proclaimed  to  the 
Chinese  by  divine  commission  and  command.  We 
come  in  obedience  to  the  King's  marching-orders. 

But  this  answer  is  met  in  modern  days  with 
special  persistence  by  the  further  question,  whether, 
if  this  be  so,  the  Christian  faith  does  not  require 
a  restatement,  a  resetting,  a  revised  and  perhaps 
expurgated  or  eclectic  version,  for  presentation  to 
these  eastern  and  comparatively  enlightened  people. 
Should  not  the  metaphysical  mysteries  of  the  faith 
and  its  dogmatic  supernaturalism,  such  as  the 
Incarnation,  Atonement,  Resurrection,  sin  as  a 
crime  and  fault  and  not  rather  as  a  symptom,  the 
future  state,  the  judgment  to  come  and  its  issues, 
and  the  imperious  command  of  faith  in  a  God  made 
man  as  the  one  condition  for  salvation — should  not 
all  these  doctrines  be  reconsidered  and  modified  and 
adapted,  so  as  to  meet  the  spiritual  instincts  of 
Hindus  or  Chinese  or  Japanese,  perhaps  even 
shrewder  and  keener  than  those  of  the  west  ? 
Besides,  is  not  Christian  truth,  if  it  be  the  truth, 
encumbered  and  deformed  by  western  dress  and 
western  accretions  ?  What  right  have  we  to  go 
to  the  Chinese  with  our  creeds  and  forms  from  the 
west,  which  are  surely  no  essential  part  of  genuine 
Christianity  ?  And,  once  more,  do  not  the  assured 
results,  or,  as  it  should  perhaps  more  correctly  be 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  239 

put,  the  confident  assertions,  of  criticism  and  of 
antiquarian  research,  compel  us  to  utter  with  more 
bated  breath  the  truths  which  we  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  regard  as  miassailable  ? 

Perhaps  I  may  be  allowed  a  hearing  on  these 
points  as  one  who  has  spent  fifty  j^ears  in  the  very 
centre  and  living  heart  of  the  philosophies  of  the 
Farthest  East,  and  who  has  been  at  the  same  time 
not  wholly  out  of  touch  with  the  thoughts  and  the 
stirring  disputations  of  the  West.  I  have  watched 
the  advances  and  the  retreats,  the  assaults  and  the 
retirements,  the  flood  and  the  ebb  of  criticism, 
which  have  swayed  round  the  faith  and  the  sacred 
writings  for  so  long.  The  tide  seems  to  me  to  be 
turning  now  slowly  but  strongly  in  the  direction 
of  old  dates,  old  ascriptions  of  authorship,  old 
paths.  What  I  state  here  is  partly  a  confession  of 
my  personal  faith,  and  also  an  apologia  for  having 
ever  come  to  China  to  preach  Christ ;  and  a  justifica- 
tion, if  indeed  it  be  required,  of  the  whole  idea  of 
Christian  missions  to  all  lands.  It  will  provide 
also  a  reason  for  the  introduction  of  this  chapter 
into  my  book  of  recollections ;  since  Christian 
preaching  to  the  Chinese  could  not  exist  at  all,  in 
my  opinion,  if  these  objections  which  I  have  men- 
tioned were  valid.  It  may  be  permissible,  perhaps, 
to  reply  to  some  of  these  doubts  by  corresponding 
questions  as  to  the  grounds  for  their  existence. 

Quite  early  in  my  missionary  life  and  study  of  the 
Chinese  language,  I  was  almost  entranced  by  finding 
what  I  deemed  adumbrations  of  the  revelations  of 
the  Bible  in  the  Confucian  classics  of  China  ;  and 
I  pursued  the  theory  to  a  fanciful  extent,  pushing 


240         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

hither  and  thither  in  search  of  corroborating  evi- 
dence. But  this  phenomenon  of  partial  and  appar- 
ent resemblance  in  some  aspects  between  Christ  and 
other  masters,  Christianity  and  other  faiths,  so 
familiar  two  generations  ago  to  missionaries  and 
students,  is  brought  forward  now  as  a  new  dis- 
covery, and  as  one  requiring  a  change  of  method, 
and  an  eirenic  tone,  in  place  of  denunciation  and  of 
reproof  addressed  to  the  professors  of  these  creeds. 
But  no  sober  student  of  ancient  literature,  and  no 
one  face  to  face  with  idolatry  and  heathenism  at 
work,  would  be  so  audacious  and  so  foolish  as  to 
imagine  that  these  other  creeds  form  a  part,  precise 
and  designed,  of  God's  revelation,  or  are  in  any  real 
sense  ancillary  to  or  anticipatory  of  the  Gospel  of 
the  grace  of  God — in  such  a  way,  for  instance,  as 
the  Old  Testament  may  be  called  the  Gospel  in 
promise,  in  type,  and  in  prophecy.  If  ethics  can 
save  the  soul,  if  a  good  code  of  morals,  involving 
some  amelioration  of  the  sorrows  of  earthly  exist- 
ence, can  satisfy  the  desire  of  all  nations  and  the 
great  need  of  the  human  race,  then  there  is  much 
to  admire,  if  something  also  to  condemn,  in  the 
teachings  of  Confucianism,  Buddhism  and  Taoism 
in  China,  and  in  their  feelings  after  God.  But  they 
in  no  sense  meet  Christianity  half-way.  They  are 
not  God's  primary  revelation.  Every  knee  shall 
bow  to  Christ  alone  ;  not  one  to  idol,  or  hero,  or 
philosopher,  or  sage. 

Further,  with  reference  to  our  Lord's  supreme 
claim  to  divine  authority.  His  omniscience  and  His 
consequent  position  as  the  final  court  of  appeal 
concerning  the  veracity,  the  authenticity  and   the 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  241 

genuineness  of  Holy  Scripture,  some  exegetes  seem 
to  have  gone  needlessly  astray  in  expounding  what 
St.  Paul  had  akeady  been  at  pains  to  define,  the 
meaning  of  the  unique  term  kenosis.  St.  Paul 
evidently  confines  it  to  the  true  yet  inexplicable 
inanition  implied  by  taking  the  form  of  a  servant 
awhile,  instead  of  the  form  of  God.  Critics,  both 
within  and  outside  the  Church,  wish  to  expand  its 
meaning,  and  refer  the  word  to  a  voluntary  defect 
of  knowledge  ;  a  voluntary  assumption  of  ignorance 
where  He  might  have  known  ;  a  voluntary  submis- 
sion to  the  sway  of  environment  when  He  was  holy, 
harmless,  undefiled,  and  separate  from  sinners,  and 
the  dwelling-place,  as  God  incarnate,  of  all  the 
treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge.  Assume  then 
the  mistakes  necessitated  by  this  mental  emptying, 
and  Jesus  Christ's  testimony  to  the  Bible  is  in- 
validated, and  the  truth  of  God,  preached  and 
wrought  out  by  the  very  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the 
Life,  is  only  in  part  divine  truth  and  in  part  human 
error.  The  withering  blight  which  is  spread  over 
Christian  faith  and  Christian  practice  by  this 
gratuitous  assumption,  cannot,  I  fear,  be  fully 
known.  But  its  effects  are  seen  not  indistinctly 
in  the  diminishing  of  genuine  missionary  zeal,  the 
falling  off  in  missionary  funds,  the  holding  back  of 
missionary  recruits. 

I  wiU  not  pursue  the  argument  further,  nor 
traverse,  as  I  should  be  disposed  to  do,  every  one  of 
the  positions  of  destructive  criticism  to  which  I 
have  drawn  attention.  My  object  here  is  simple 
and  precise.  If  I  were  not  confident  of  tlic  divine 
commission  and  of  the  genuineness  and  infallibilily 


242         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

of  the  credentials  of  my  commission,  I  should  never 
have  come  to  China  at  all,  nor  have  been  able  to 
relate  to  my  readers  my  recollections  of  fifty  years 
of  Chinese  preaching.  It  cannot  be  a  Christian 
duty  to  preach  to  the  Chinese,  as  a  necessary  part 
of  our  message,  our  Christian  doubts.  The  Church 
of  Christ  has  surely  reached  open  ground,  after  long 
struggle  through  the  early  thickets  and  sunless 
forests  of  unbelief,  heresy  and  schism.  She  has  no 
right,  then,  to  urge  the  Chinese,  for  instance,  to 
enter  the  same  jungle,  but  should  rather  present 
to  them  a  clear  statement  of  truth,  drawn  from  the 
infallible  source  of  truth. 

One  point,  however,  I  must  pause  to  notice,  again 
in  the  form  of  a  question.  What  part  of  Christian 
truth  and  dogma,  as  taught  now  to  the  nations 
of  the  east,  is  essentially  western  and  not  equally 
eastern  ?  The  creeds,  the  Apostles'  and  the  Nicene, 
which  are  surely  an  essential  part  of  the  Christian 
faith,  notwithstanding  eminent  assertors  to  the 
contrary,  are  accepted  by  the  eastern  as  well  as 
the  western  church,  with  the  exception  of  one 
clause,  and  that  referring  to  a  doctrine  not  originally 
rejected  by  the  eastern  church,  but  excluded  now 
as  having  been  introduced  without  notice  and  with- 
out the  combined  authorisation  of  the  churches. 

The  western  dress  worn  by  missionaries  does  not 
imply  that  their  doctrine  is  western.  We  do  not 
repel  confidence  by  the  cut  of  our  clothes,  but  by  a 
lack  of  courtesy,  charity,  and  sincerity.  We  get 
no  nearer  to  the  people's  hearts  by  eating  what 
may  be  to  us  unwholesome  or  unsavoury  food,  than 
by  retaining  what  they  know  to  be  our  usual  diet. 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  243 

To  perish  like  flies  from  cholera  in  an  Indian  bazaar 
or  Chinese  slum,  which  is  the  ideal  of  duty  for  some 
keen  volunteers,  when  with  care  and  precaution 
one  may  not  get  ill  and  die,  but  live  and  go  on 
working,  produces  no  faith  in  Christ,  but  in  the 
ascetic's  own  merits.  Try  by  all  means  to  make 
the  bazaars  and  slums  more  cleanly,  if  you  please, 
and  venture  into  any  place  and  into  any  atmosphere 
where  j^ou  can  relieve  distress  or  reach  the  lost, 
but  do  not  make  a  merit  of  your  misery  and  stay 
to  die,  when,  without  any  neglect  of  duty,  j^ou  may 
come  out  and  live.  It  may  further  be  asserted  that 
not  one  distinctive  doctrine  or  belief  need  be  re- 
stated, or  withdrawn  for  a  while,  because  it  is 
western  and  not  universal.  The  Christian  Church 
in  China  it  is  now  proposed  to  call  the  Holy  Church 
of  China.  We  have  been  content  hitherto  either 
with  the  Chinese  official  term  for  non-Roman 
Christianity,  the  Holy  Religion  of  Jesus  (the  Roman 
Church  being  called  the  Religion  of  the  Lord  of 
Heaven),  or  with  the  words  The  Episcopal  Church, 
The  Anglican  Communion,  with  other  names  for 
other  bodies.  I  still  entertain  a  hope  which  1  have 
long  cherished,  that  the  Chinese  churches  may  some 
day  join  the  reformed  churches  of  Christendom 
in  corporate  yet  independent  union  with  (if  she  be 
faithful  to  herself  and  to  God)  that  which  would 
seem  to  be  the  only  practical  and  possible  centre 
for  reunited  Christendom — and  a  centre  is  surely 
necessary  for  such  union — the  Church  of  England, 
primitive,  apostolic,  faithful  to  KScripturc  and  Ihe 
faith  of  the  ages,  and  containing  and  harmonising 
in  her  creeds  and  services  and  solemn  ritual  all  the 


244         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

many-lustred  truths  which  other  churches  hold 
perhaps  too  individually  and  with  too  little  harmony 
of  proportion.  This  is  the  hope  ;  but  meanwhile, 
in  order  to  assure  the  Chinese  of  that  which  they 
need  never  have  doubted,  namely,  our  desire  not 
to  transplant  a  foreign  church,  with  foreign  prestige 
and  foreign  dominion,  to  Chinese  soil,  but  to  plant 
a  living  branch  of  the  Qi^cumenical  Church  of 
Christ,  with  her  own  ecclesiastical  constitution, 
her  own  bishops  and  presbyters,  a  friend,  companion 
and  colleague,  but  in  no  way  a  subject,  of  the  west 
— we  call  the  church  now  the  Holy  Church  of  China. 

The  attitude,  deliberately  assumed  or  uncon- 
sciously displayed,  of  being  one  of  the  ruling  race, 
as  in  India,  or  of  belonging  to  a  superior  and  conquer- 
ing people,  as  was  once  the  temptation  in  China, 
must  be  abandoned  by  the  preacher,  and  replaced 
by  an  attitude  of  courtesy  and  forbearance.  But 
that  is  all.  All  western  elements,  as  such,  have 
vanished.  The  whole  counsel  of  God  is  our  message, 
to  east  as  well  as  to  west ;  and  for  ever,  0  God, 
Thy  Word  is  settled  in  heaven. 

It  must  not  be  inferred,  however,  from  the  fact 
that  the  truth  of  God  is  uniform,  and  universal  in 
its  applicability  and  benefit,  that  the  way  of  pre- 
senting it  is  at  all  times  and  everjrvvhere  the  same. 
If  there  be  no  shunning  to  declare  the  whole  message, 
the  preacher  may  seek  for  acceptable  words,  and 
cultivate  skill  in  seizing  opportunities — '  imprint 
your  seal  according  to  your  chance,'  as  the  Chinese 
proverb  says — so  as  to  adapt  the  subject  to  the 
circumstances  and  constitution  of  the  audience ;  and, 
avoiding  the  extremes   of   flattery  on  the  one  side, 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  245 

and  harsh  denunciation  on  the  other,  seek  to  win 
all  men  by  all  means.  Now,  if  my  premises  are 
correct,  and  it  be  admitted  that  we  have  such  a 
divine  sanction  and  authorisation  for  our  enter- 
prise, I  shall,  I  believe,  interest  my  readers  by  a 
few  recollections  of  attempts  thus  to  preach  to  these 
eastern  people.  If  I  am  wrong,  then  Christianit}"  is 
only  an  ambitious  and  somewhat  presumptuous  rival 
to  other  religions,  and  no  interest  can  be  excited  by 
my  subject.  For  Christian  preaching  will  be  then  a 
mere  human  impertinence,  and  a  needless  and  futile 
attempt  to  unsettle  and  destroy  the  faith  of  ages. 

There  are  more  ways  than  one  in  which  we  can, 
according  to  the  words  of  our  commission,  teach  and 
preach  Jesus  Christ.  Now,  with  the  ancillary  aid 
of  healing  the  sick  ;  now,  Avitli  Christian  religious 
teaching,  that  true  beginning  of  wisdom,  in  schools, 
providing  the  Chinese  Avith  sound  training  in  their 
own  language,  and  possibly  with  bilingual  study  ; 
again,  by  the  distribution  or  sale  of  the  Bible,  or 
by  the  preparation  of  books  and  tracts  and  leaflets  ; 
or,  finally,  by  that  round  which  my  recollections 
chiefly  gather,  preaching  in  mission-rooms  and 
halls,  at  street-corners,  or  in  the  open  air  in  country 
market-towns  and  villages,  in  temple-courts,  or 
from  house  to  house.  This  evangelistic  work  must 
be  carried  on,  if  at  all,  continuously  and  systemat- 
ically, and  with  the  aid  of  native  helpers  where 
such  can  be  secured.  The  Bible,  when  given  or 
sold  to  intelligent  and  sincere  readers,  may  be  left 
without  note  or  comment  to  do  its  work  by  its  own 
majestic  and  supernatural  power  ;  the  entrance  of 
God's  Word  giveth  liglit.     But  for  Uw  help  of  those 


246         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

whose  interest  is  already  aroused  careful  commen- 
taries may  be  abundantly  useful,  if  only  they  give 
the  results  of  a  careful  and  devout  study  of  the 
])Ook,  and  not  the  shifting  doubts  of  men.  Special 
treatises  also  are  prepared,  appealing  to  the  scholars 
and  students  of  China,  and  intended  to  remove 
prejudice  and  secure  an  honest  hearing  of  the 
definite  message  conveyed. 

I  give  here  a  brief  sketch  of  such  an  open  letter 
to  scholars,  presenting  an  apology  for  missions,  and 
a  statement  of  the  Christian  preacher's  unique 
credentials. 

The  letter  begins  with  a  panegyric  on  China,  not 
fulsome  or  exaggerated,  but  explanatory  of  the 
deep  and  almost  romantic  interest  which  China 
has  inspired  in  the  west  for  generations  past ;  an 
interest  sometimes  ignorant  and  grotesque,  but 
quickened  and  deepened  greatly  by  what  we  have 
learned  in  later  years.  We  are  impressed  not  only 
by  the  antiquity  of  the  great  empire  and  her  people, 
but  more  particularly  by  that  which  is  unparalleled 
in  the  history  of  nations,  the  early  development  and 
abiding  nature  of  her  civilisation,  her  language  and 
script,  and  her  literature,  rich  in  wisdom  and  philo- 
sophy, and,  with  human  bounds,  in  the  highest 
ethical  teaching.  Ancient  also  in  her  pursuit  of  art, 
and  the  culture  of  the  arts  of  peace  : — 

'  A  people  numerous  as  the  ocean  sands, 
And  glorying  as  the  mightiest  of  mankind  ; 
Yet  where  they  are,  contented  to  remain  ; 
From  age  to  age  resolved  to  cultivate 
Peace,  and  the  arts  of  peace  :  turning  to  gold 
The  very  ground  they  tread  on,  and  the  leaves 
They  gather  from  their  trees  year  after  year.' 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  247 

Then  this  interest  in  China  aroused  the  spirit  of 
exploration  and  travel,  and  the  desire  for  trade  and 
commerce,  so  eager  and  active  in  our  western  nature. 
We  had,  perchance,  some  goods  to  offer  Avorthy  of 
China's  notice,  though  she  is  so  self-contained  that 
she  could  have  got  on  very  well  without  us.  Of 
late  years  we  have  brought  machinery,  and  other 
artificial  helps  to  trade  and  manufacture.  We 
venture  to  hope,  also,  that  some  specimens  of  our 
western  literature,  and  methods  of  education, 
may  be  acceptable,  and  especially  the  wonderful 
discoveries  of  science  in  medical  art.  China  had 
on  her  side  precious  goods,  such  as  tea  and  silk,  to 
barter  in  exchange.  Alas !  to  our  shame,  that 
opium  was  for  so  long  an  article  of  commerce  ; 
that  dark  phase  of  international  trade  is,  we  trust, 
vanishing.  Now  we  confidently  desire  that  with 
open  doors  and  increasing  facilities  for  business, 
fair  trade  may  be  found  more  than  ever  before 
beneficial  to  China,  and  her  neighbours,  and  may 
prosper  and  increase.  But  neither  of  these  motives, 
the  love  of  travel  and  the  fascinating  adventures  of 
trade,  accounts  for  the  initiation  and  carrying  on 
of  the  work  of  Christian  missions  in  China.  China 
has  her  own  religions :  are  they  not  sufficient  ? 
Yet  the  fact  that  all  three  systems  are  often  pro- 
fessed by  the  same  individual  implies  grave  doubt 
as  to  the  reliability  or  sufficiency  of  any  one  of  them  ; 
and  it  may  be  admitted  that  foreigners  might  offer 
courteously  to  China  one  more  companion  religion, 
even  as  Buddhism  was  introduced  from  abroad 
nineteen  hundred  years  ago.  Christianity,  how- 
ever, is  offered  as  the  supreme  religion,  and  as  the 


248  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

sole  guide,  teacher,  and  ruler  of  men's  souls.     Why- 
is  this  ?     Can  this  be  considered  a  sufficient  motive 
for  crossing  the  seas,  and  coming  to  teach  instead 
of  to  learn  ?     The  answer  is  simply  as  follows.     The 
first  duty  of  man  to  man  is,  as  Chinese  philosophy 
tells  us,  the  exhibition  of  love  to  your  neighbour 
as  to  yourself.     The  truest  exhibition  of  love  is,  as 
Chinese  proverbial  philosophy  teaches,  to  sympathise 
in  happiness  and  to  share  it  with  others  ;    to  sym- 
pathise in  sorrow  and   to   alleviate  it  for   others. 
R-ejoice  with  those  who  rejoice  ;    weep  with  those 
who  weep.     Now  Christianity  is  from  heaven  and 
not   from    England.     Jesus   Christ   saves   from   sin 
and   death.     We   have   realised   this   happiness   of 
salvation.     Humanity   itself,    then,    and   the   voice 
of  God  above  all,  urge  us  to  share  this  happiness 
with  you,   honourable   gentlemen.     The   best  way 
in  which  I  can  show  love  to  any  man  is  to  lead  that 
man  to  love  God.     And  this  happiness  of  fearing 
and  loving  God,  universally  exercised,  will  bring  the 
surest  blessing  and  peace  to  the  whole  of  your  great 
land.     On  this  account  we  could  not  resist  the  call 
to  cross  the  seas.     My  friends,  do  not  reject  the 
invitation  from  heaven. 

And  now  to  describe  open-air  or  mission-room 
preaching.  The  missionary  is  confronted  by  an 
audience  constantly  varying  in  numbers  and  char- 
acter. He  appeals  now  not,  as  in  his  letter,  to  a 
number  of  scholars  able  to  consider  his  message 
at  their  leisure,  but  to  husbandmen  resting  for  a  few 
minutes  under  a  willow  or  camphor-tree  by  the  canal- 
side,  or  to  a  crowd  of  men,  it  may  be,  of  all  classes 
from  the  streets — hucksters,  stall-keepers,  country- 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  249 

men  staying  but  a  few  moments  and  hastening  on 
lest  the  city  gates  be  shut,  artisans  on  their  way 
back  from  work,  and  a  scliolar  or  two,  or  a  merchant, 
strolhng  up  for  amusement.  The  preacher,  if  his 
mind  and  conscience  be  awake,  is  fired,  and  yet 
ahnost  paralysed,  by  the  thought  that  for  many  of 
those  who  hear  him  this  may  be  the  first  and  also 
the  last  time  that  they  will  listen  to  the  Gospel. 
He  cannot  afford  to  dally  with  compliments  and 
light  words  before  he  presents  to  them  the  Saviour 
knocking  at  the  door.  He  must  be  as  direct  and 
yet  as  fuU  as  he  can  in  these  few  minutes.  So  he 
spends  little  or  no  time  in  denouncing  '  the  godless 
multitude  of  gods,'  of  whom  Origen  speaks  ;  or  in 
discussing  '  the  unsettling  of  old  religions  by  com- 
merce,' of  which  Professor  Clwatkin  reminds  us, 
and  of  which  China's  present  awakening  is  perhaps 
an  illustration.  It  may  be  a  matter  of  life  and 
death.  He  dares  not  hold  back  for  a  time,  from 
motives  of  expediency,  the  Cross  and  the  central 
fact  for  all  mankind  of  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ. 
But  how  shall  he  begin  ?  He  must  be  quick  to 
watch  for,  or  even  to  force,  an  opening,  and  not  to 
rely  on  the  delivery  of  a  well-ordered  and  well- 
prepared  discourse,  though  he  will  have  done  a\c11 
if  he  has  spent  time  beforehand  in  prayer  and  in 
careful  study  of  some  special  passage  from  the 
Bible.  Some  answers  to  a  question  from  the 
preacher  himself,  or  some  flippant  remark  from  a 
member  of  the  audience,  may  be  the  opening  of  the 
door ;  and  he  must  be  alert  with  proverb,  illustra- 
tion, classical  quotation,  or  humbler  folklore  to 
press  home  his  message.     '  You  cannot  tell  in  the 


250         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

morning  what  will  happen  at  night,'  the  speaker 
reminds  his  audience  ;  '  but  besides  this  famihar 
Chinese  aphorism,  hear  further  the  saying  of  Con- 
fucius, "  If  you  hear  the  doctrine  in  the  morning, 
you  may  die  in  peace  at  night "  ;  or  the  yet  nobler 
anonymous  saying,  "  If  you  have  done  nothing 
against  conscience,  a  summons,  a  knock  at  dead  of 
night  Avill  not  startle  you."  '  The  speaker  asks 
what  doctrine  this  is,  and  where  such  sinless  people 
are  to  be  found.  '  There  are  two  good  people,  and 
two  only,'  say  the  Chinese ;  '  one  is  dead,  and  one 
not  yet  born.'  '  Even  the  saints  and  sages  of  old 
had  at  least  three  parts  out  of  ten  bad,'  the  Chinese 
hold.  '  Now  listen,'  the  preacher  continues.  '  Nov/ 
or  (it  may  be)  never  : — 

*'An  inch  of  time,  I  'm  told 
Is  worth  an  inch  of  gold  : 
But  more  than  gold  'twill  cost 
To  ransom  time  once  lost." 

So  the  rhyming  Chinese  proverb  warns  us.  "  You 
pull  off  your  stockings  and  shoes  to-night ;  will 
you  put  them  on  to-morrow  ?  "  is  another  of  your 
sayings.  Your  very  clothes  and  food,  and  the 
breath  you  draw ;  whom  do  you  thank  for  these  ? 
In  your  own  words,  "  You  eat  the  rice  of  the  man 
opposite,  who  is  your  benefactor :  you  thank  the 
man  next  door,  who  is  nearer  to  you,  though  he 
has  never  helped  you."  Yet  remember  that  Con- 
fucius said,  "  If  you  sin  against  Heaven  there  is  no 
place  for  prayer."  But  you  feel  aU  the  while  that 
you  must  pray.  As  another  of  your  proverbs  says, 
"  Heaven's  height  is  not  high  :    man's  heart  soars 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  251 

ever  higher !  "  We  have  the  same  in  our  western 
dress  : — 

"  The  Peak  is  high,  und  the  stars  are  high. 
And  the  thought  of  a  man  is  higlicr." 

Yet  you  yourselves  say  all  the  time  that  you  are 
the  offspring  of  God,  heaven-nourished,  heaven- 
born  ;  He  is  your  Father.  Your  proverb  says, 
"  Man  nourishes  man,  and  he  is  all  skin  and  bone  : 
Heaven  nourishes  man,  and  he  is  fat  and  well- 
liking."  "  Heaven  produces  no  man  without  his 
appropriate  blessing :  the  earth  produces  no  plant 
of  grass  without  its  provided  root."  Seek  God's 
happiness,  then,  and  do  not  fear  man.  "  Man  ma}^ 
despise  me,"  you  say ;  "  but  if  Heaven  spm'ns  nie 
not,  then  loss  is  gain."  ' 

Thus  provided  with  a  repertory  of  proverbs  and 
illustrations,  the  speaker  opens  his  Bible  for  his 
text,  for  the  substance  of  his  discourse,  and  for  final 
appeal ;  and  begins  to  preach.  It  will  be  well,  also, 
if  with  care  and  accuracy  he  can  intersperse  quota- 
tions from  the  philosophy  and  sententious  sayings 
of  Confucius  and  Mencius,  not  for  the  display  of  his 
scholarship,  nor  as  a  feeble  admission  of  parallel 
divine  teaching,  but  rather  as  an  evidence  that 
Christianity  is  not  an  abstraction  and  out  of  sym- 
pathy w^ith  the  aspirations  and  nobler  thoughts  of 
all  nations,  but  in  deepest  sympatliy  with  them, 
and  that  it  brings  the  fulfilment  of  their  highest 
hopes  ;  and  again  to  show  that  without  Christianity 
all  the  wisdom  of  the  Four  Books  and  Five  Chissics 
together  can  provide  no  remedy  for  the  ills  bewailed, 
no  realisation  of  the  ideals  presented. 


252         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

I  sketch  ill  what  follows  an  imaginary  but 
thoroughly  typical  address,  drawn  partly  from 
my  remembrance  of  effective  native  preaching, 
and  partly  from  my  own  experience. 

The  text  in  the  preacher's  mind  is,  '  The  wages  of 
sin  is  death  ;  the  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.'  The  speaker  has  no  sur- 
plice or  bands  or  preaching-gown  ;  the  discourse 
is  not  divided  into  so  many  heads  and  addressed  to 
different  classes  of  the  congregation  ;  the  pulpit  is 
a  little  elevation  under  a  tree  by  the  canal-side, 
or  on  the  steps  of  a  temple-court ;  the  congregation 
consists  of  a  knot  of  friendly  but  curious  men,  and 
one  or  two  women.  '  What  is  your  honourable 
family-name  ?  '  asks  the  speaker,  accostmg  the 
senior  of  the  band  of  listeners.  '  My  disreputable 
name  is  Yang,'  he  replies.  '  And  your  distinguished 
name  ?  '  '  My  poor  name  is  Mo.'  '  What  may  be 
your  honourable  age  ?  '  the  preacher  asks  again. 
'  I  am  but  young  :  my  age  is  sixty-eight.'  '  Sixty- 
eight  !  can  you  add  another  sixty-eight  to  your 
life,  venerable  sir  ?  '  '  You  flatter  me,'  he  replies  ; 
'  who  can  live  so  long  as  that  ?  '  '  Why  not  ?  See 
this  camphor-tree  !  It  is  five  hundred  years  old  at 
least.  Why  are  men  so  short-lived  and  trees  so  long- 
enduring  ?  But  if  it  be  so  as  you  say,  my  venerable 
friend,  and  if  more  than  half  your  journej^  is  over, 
what  place  do  you  hope  to  reach  at  the  end  ?  Your 
proverb  says,  "  This  Avorld  is  very  well  as  a  rest- 
house,  but  not  as  our  abiding  home."  There  is 
no  real  and  lasting  happiness  here.  You  commonly 
say,  "  Gold  is  empty,  silver  is  empty,  and  when 
death  comes,  who  can  hold  them  in  his  hand  ?  "    We 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  253 

are  but  pilgrims  and  strangers,  and  our  home  is  in 
heaven.  You  yourselves  confess  that  you  are 
heaven-born,  that  the  heavenly  Ruler  is  your  Father 
in  heaven.  As  children  on  foreign  travel  you  hope 
to  return  home  after  a  while.  Is  that  your  hope, 
venerable  sir,  and  yours,  honourable  friends,  to  go 
thither  ?  '  'To  be  sure,'  they  rej^ly  ;  '  but  -who 
can  go  to  heaven  ?  '  '  What  difficulty  is  there  in 
the  way  ?  '  asks  the  preacher.  '  I  refer  you  again 
to  your  own  sayings.  "  Bright  and  clear  is  the 
way  to  heaven,"  you  say  ;  "  the  myriad  people  are 
unwilling  to  walk  in  it."     And  again  you  say, 

"  Heaven  has  a  shining  path  ;  none  walk  along  it : 
Hell's  gateless  wall  to  scale,  the  nations  throng  it.' 

"  The  good  go  to  the  good  place,"  it  is  said  ;  and 
are  none  in  your  honourable  village  good  ?  '  'To 
be  sure,'  they  reply  ;  '  everywhere  there  are  bad 
and  good  to  be  found.'  '  Indeed  ?  '  rejoins  the 
preacher  ;  '  in  all  foreign  countries  we  cannot  find 
one  truly  righteous  person  ;  and  I  have  heard  that 
in  your  honourable  country  there  are  just  two,  one 
dead  and  one  not  yet  born.'  This  raises  a  loud 
laugh,  but  yet  a  laugh  of  assent,  for  by  the  witness 
of  a  Chinese  proverb  all  the  Avorld  is  accounted 
guilty  before  God.  '  Now,  my  friends,'  proceeds 
the  speaker,  '  it  is  guilt  that  makes  us  short-lived  ; 
it  is  sin  that  has  brought  death  into  the  wojld,  and 
which  fills  even  the  longest  life  with  sorrow  ;  the 
wages  of  sin  is  death.  It  is  this  which  nuikes  us 
fear  we  cannot  reach  heaven.  Sin,  as  you  all  avow, 
must  be  punished  sooner  or  lalci-,  and  Confucius 
says  that  "  if  you  sin  against  Heaven  there  is  no 


254         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

place  for  prayer."     What  is  to  be  done  ?     You,  my 
venerable  friend,  are  like  yon  westering  sun.     Your 
day  is  far  spent,  and  you,  my  friends,  young  and 
old,  remember  the  proverb,   "  Who  knows  in  the 
morning  what  will  happen  at  night  ?  "     Is  there 
no  remedy  for  sin,  no  salvation,  no  Saviour  ?     Will 
fasting    serve,    or    penance,    or    almsgiving  ?     You 
yourselves  say  that  so  long  as  the  heart  is  unchanged, 
outward   observances,   such   as   vegetarianism,   are 
powerless.     Or  can  Confucius  save  you,  or  Lao  Tsze 
forgive  you  ?     Or   Shakyamuni,   he  too   a  foreign 
sage,    could    he    take    sin    away  ?     These    are    all 
teachers  and  exhorters,  but  not  saviours.     Now  if 
I  saw  you,  my  friend,  tumble  into  this  deep  canal, 
and  knew  you  were  drowning,  would  it  help  for  me 
to  shout  to  you,  to  exhort  you,  to  quote  Confucius 
to  you,  and  to  tell  you  that  you  ought  never  to  have 
fallen  in  ?     No,  no  !   you  will  never  exhort  a  man 
on  to  the  bank.     Bring  a  rope,  a  bamboo-pole,  or 
jump    in   yourself    and   save   the   drowning   man ! 
That  is  what  we  require  ;    salvation  first,  and  then 
the  exhortation,  "Walk  warily,  do  not  fall  in  again  !  " 
Now  this  is  exactly  the  religion  that  I  come  to  preach 
to  you.     "  Within  the  four  seas  all  are  brethren  "  ; 
and  we  as  brethren  have  come  to  tell  the  good 
tidings  to  our  brethren.'     From  this  vantage-ground 
plainly,  fully,  lovingly,  we  preach  and  teach  Jesus 
Christ.     '  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  gave  Himself  a 
ransom  for  all,  outweighing  in  value  all  the  human 
race,  even  as  a  good  silver  dollar  exceeds  in  value 
a  small  base  coin.' 

'  All  very  good  !  '  shouts  out  a  man  on  the  out- 
skirts  of   the   crowd ;     '  all   very   weU !     But   this 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  255 

doctrine  comes  from  abroad,  and  it  is  you  foreigners 
who  bring  us  opium.'     '  My  friend,'  interposes  the 
Chinese  catechist  by  the  preacher's  side,  "  do  you 
buy  hicifer  matches  instead  of  your  old  flint  and 
steel  and  tow,  or  do  you  not  ?     Do  you  wear  foreign 
calico  ?     Is  it  not  plain  that  some  foreign  things 
are  good,  and  some  bad  ?     Even  supposing  Chris- 
tianity to  be  foreign  (which  it  is  not,  for  it  is  from 
heaven),  yet  why  reject  it  unheard  ?     Why,   you 
let   in   Buddhism   nineteen   hundred   years   ago,    a 
downright  foreign  creed.     And  see  how  foolish  we 
Chinese  are  !     Here  comes  a  pedlar  with  two  packs 
of  merchandise  ;    one,  beneficial  to  body  and  mind, 
and  freely  distributed  to  all  applicants  ;    the  other, 
ruinous  to  a  man's  whole  being,  and  yet  an  article 
for  which   a   heavy  price   is   demanded.     For  the 
brief  enjoyment  of  the  latter,  thousands  and  millions 
are  willing   to  sacrifice  fortune  and  life  ;    but  for 
the  first,  with  its  lasting  blessing,  few  will  even 
stretch  out  a  hand  to  receive  it  as  a  gift.     Is  not 
this  what  we  are  doing  ?     We  reject  Christianity's 
priceless  blessing  because   we  fancy   it  is  foreign. 
We  accept  Buddhism,  and  spend  much  money  with 
little   profit,   and  we   greedily   consume   a  ruinous 
drug,  knowing  both  to  be  foreign.'     '  Well,  well !  ' 
retorts  this  same  critic  ;    '  but  the  fact  of  the  whole 
matter  is  this.     We  in  the  middle  kingdom  have 
Confucius  ;    you   in  the  west  Jesus.'     '  My  friend,' 
replies    the   preacher,    '  Confucius   and   Jesus   can- 
not thus  be  compared  together.     It  is  not  just  to 
your  great  and  noble  sage;    it  is   not   just  to  tlie 
divine   Saviour.     The   people    of   your    hon()uial>l(> 
country  resemble  a  man  walking  along  a  iliilic  nil. 


256         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

dark  and  slippery  path,  with  a  precipice  on  either 
side  ten  thousand  feet  in  depth.  One  false  step, 
and  you  will  be  over  the  brink,  and  no  power  or 
device  of  your  own  can  then  save  you.  As  you  enter 
the  path  a  kind  friend  gives  you  a  lantern,  by  using 
which  you  may  perhaps  avoid  some  of  the  dangers. 
This  is  Confucius,  and  his  light  is  contained  in  his 
canonical  books.  Have  you  always  used  this  light, 
and  the  candle  of  your  own  conscience  ?  '  '  No, 
no  !  '  they  all  exclaim  ;  '  not  one  of  us  has  fully 
followed  the  doctrine.'  '  Then  you  are  already  on 
the  very  edge  of  the  precipice.  As  you  fall,  all 
Confucius,  Mencius  and  the  sages  can  do  is  to  look 
over  the  edge  and  say,  "  I  told  you  so  !  "  Only  the 
power  and  wisdom  of  God  can  save.  Christ  is  that 
power,  Christ  that  wisdom.  But  remember,  my 
friends,  that  Christianity  is  not  a  foreign  creed. 
We  foreigners  are  but  letter-carriers  and  heralds. 
The  letter  and  the  message  come  from  heaven. 
See  that  setting  sun  !  Is  it  a  native  or  a  foreign 
sun  ?  '  The  crowd  laughs :  '  We  suppose  you 
foreigners  too  get  some  warmth  from  it  !  '  '  Cer- 
tainly we  do,'  the  preacher  proceeds  ;  '  there  are 
native  and  foreign  lamps  and  candles  of  many 
varieties,  but  there  is  only  one  sun ;  and  when  the 
dawn  comes,  and  the  sun  is  up,  blow  out  your 
candles  !  You  have  many  kinds  of  fans,  most  use- 
ful in  the  heat  and  close  atmosphere.  But  the  free 
wind  of  heaven  is  for  all,  and  when  it  comes  sweep- 
ing along  shut  up  your  fans.  So  when  the  doctrine 
of  Jesus  Christ  comes,  and  the  Holy  Spirit's  power 
is  felt,  these  glimmering  specks  of  light,  these  feeble 
movements  of  the  air,  cease  to  be  of  lasting  use. 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  257 

My  friends,  while  you  have  the  light,  believe  in  the 
light !  Do  not  be  half  persuaded  ;  do  not,  in  the 
words  of  your  proverb,  have  one  foot  in  one  boat, 
one  in  another,  lest  they  push  off  and  both  fail 
you.'  '  But  Avhere  is  this  Jesus  ?  '  earnestly  asks 
an  old  woman,  seated  at  a  house-door  just  within 
hearing.  '  How  must  I  pray  to  Him  ?  '  'Do  you 
not  know,'  replies  the  preacher,  '  your  common 
saying,  "  Three  feet  over  your  head  is  God  "'  ?  Jesus 
is  God,  everywhere  present.  In  your  bedroom  or 
sitting-room  or  in  the  open  air,  or  (if  you  will  come) 
in  His  house  of  prayer  you  will  find  Him.  Pray, 
trusting  in  His  merits,  and  you  will  surely  be  heard. 
Then  at  last  the  words  written  over  all  your  shrines 
and  in  your  temples  will  be  real,  ''  Pray,  and  be 
heard  ;  pray,  and  you  will  receive  !  "  No  candles 
are  required  by  Him  in  worship,  who  made  the  great 
lights  of  heaven  ;  no  incense  by  Him  who  made  the 
sweet  flowers  in  the  gardens  and  on  a  thousand 
hills.  Trust  in  the  incense  of  the  Saviour's  life  and 
death,  and  you  are  safe.  And  as  a  thank-offering 
give  to  him  henceforth  not  your  old  threefold 
sacrifice  of  fish  and  flesh  and  fowl,  but  the  lip  of  truth, 
the  uncorrupt  life,  the  clean  heart.'  '  Ah  !  but  1 
am  fixed  in  evil,  born  to  it,  as  our  proverb  says,' 
she  replies.     '  How  can  I  change  ?  ' 

'  Go,  shake  yon  mountain  range  ! 
Man's  nature  who  can  change  ?  ' 

'  You  are  right  again,'  we  reply  ;  '  but  God  can 
move  the  mountain  and  change  the  heart  by  the 
power  of  His  Spirit.  Accept  His  salvation  ;  we 
are  ambassadors  for  Christ ;    we  beseech  you,  wo 

R 


258         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

pray  you,  be  ye    reconciled  to  God  and  He  wiU 
lead  you  safely  home.' 

Then  tea  is  brought  from  several  houses,  and 
books  and  tracts  are  sold  half-price  or  given  away, 
according  to  the  missionary's  discretion.  The  ser- 
mon is  over ;  the  audience  is  invited  to  attend  the 
nearest  mission-chapel ;  the  crowd  breaks  up,  and 
the  missionary  and  his  assistants,  promising  other 
periodical  visits,  pass  on  to  preach  thus  in  other 
villages  also,  for  therefore  came  we  forth. 

Now  it  may  fairly  be  asked,  as  I  close  this  brief 
narrative  of  my  recollections  of  preaching,  whether 
I  can  point  to  any  results  following  from  that  which, 
as  St.  Paul  reminds  us,  is  called  by  some  '  the 
foolishness  of  preaching.'  The  question  may  of 
course  be  turned  aside  by  the  familiar  dictum  that 
duties  are  ours,  results  are  God's ;  and  as  this 
preaching  has  been  demonstrated  to  our  consciences, 
at  any  rate,  as  a  duty  to  God,  we  perform  it,  and 
ask  no  questions.  This  fencing  with  the  inquiry 
will  perhaps  do  as  a  device  of  cold  disputation  ; 
but  when  life  and  death  are  the  issues,  and  when 
promise  is  attached  to  the  faithful  performance  of 
duty,  the  question  may  justly  be  put  a  second 
time  :  '  Are  teaching  and  preaching  thus  effectual  ? 
Can  you  point  to  definite  results  ?  '  It  is,  I  believe, 
quite  legitimate,  and  very  much  to  the  purpose,  to 
reply  that  the  intellectual  and  educational  and 
political  awakening  and  uprising  both  in  China  and 
in  Japan  are  attributable  to  the  proclamation  of 
Christianity  in  public  preaching  and  in  Christian 
education,  and  also  in  the  presentation  of  Christian 
philanthropy,    far    more    than    the    patriots    and 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  259 

reformers  in  those  countries  would  be  prepared 
without  mucli  thought  to  admit.  It  has  been 
truly  said  that  '  Christianity  absolutely  and  always 
declines  to  meddle  with  revolution,  while  it  is 
incessantly  teaching  principles  of  the  true  spiritual 
order,  which  lead  to  sound  and  lasting  reform.' 
Most  certainly  the  thirst  for  wider  kno\\lcdge  and 
for  the  best  literature  of  the  world,  and  the  demand 
for  a  wider  curriculum  in  education,  are  directly 
traceable  to  mission-schools,  and  the  issue  of 
scholarly  translations  of  western  literature,  and  to 
the  light  of  the  Bible  itself  scattered  so  widely  now, 
that  noblest  illuminating  and  expanding  influence 
on  the  intellect  as  well  as  on  the  spiritual  life  of  men. 
But  more  specifically  as  to  public  preaching  or 
private  enunciation  of  truth — is  this  agency  in  itself 
effective  ? 

I  was  greatly  interested  some  years  ago  in  the 
case  of  a  Buddhist  nun,  far  advanced  in  life.  .She 
found  her  way  one  afternoon  into  one  of  our  mission- 
chapels  while  public  preaching  was  going  on  ;  and 
after  a  foolish  attempt  to  ridicule  and  ojipose  the 
preacher,  she  was  arrested  tiiere  and  Ihen  by  the 
doctrine  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God.  She  heard  and 
believed,  though  with  trembling  at  first,  the  truth 
that  one  who  had  wandered  so  far  and  so  long  in 
superstition  and  ignorance  migiit  now  enter  the 
family,  and  be  reckoned  among  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  Lord  Almighty.  After  a  few 
months  of  happy  Christian  life  she  died  in  this 
faith. 

My  attention  was  drawn  during  a  long  evangel- 
istic tour  to  a  small  and  secluded   village,   *  Lake 


260         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

Side,'  which  we  were  passing.  It  seemed  so  in- 
significant a  place,  with  only  half  a  dozen  families, 
that,  Avith  my  eye  fixed  on  the  town  of  the  '  Pure 
Water  Lake,'  with  a  thousand  inhabitants,  in  front, 
I  had  not  even  noticed  this  little  hamlet.  The 
Chinese  colleagues  who  were  with  me  suggested 
what  I  had  myself  forgotten  for  the  moment,  that 
our  commission  was  to  preach  to  ever}^  creature, 
and  that  this  small  village  should  not  thus  be  totally 
ignored.  So  we  turned  aside,  and  saluting  the 
people,  asked  permission  to  deliver  to  them  a  most 
important  message.  They  had  never  seen  an  English 
face  before  in  their  village  ;  but  with  the  greatest 
kindness  and  cordiality  they  begged  me  to  come 
in  and  sit  down  awhile  in  the  open  air,  as  it  was  a 
fine  spring  evening.  We  did  so,  and  as  time  was 
pressing,  we  went  straight  to  our  great  subject,  and 
almost  immediately  an  old  man  amongst  the  little 
band  of  listeners,  struck  to  the  heart  by  conviction 
of  wrong-doing,  and  stirred  to  the  depths  by  the 
news  of  forgiveness  and  salvation,  repented  and 
turned  to  God,  and  accepted  and  held  fast  till 
death  the  truth  of  the  Gospel.  He  was  known  as 
the  worst  man  in  the  j)lace,  notorious  for  violence 
of  temper  and  foul-mouthed  abuse  ;  quarrelsome, 
and  at  enmity  with  all.  This  was  aU  changed.  He 
despaired  at  first  of  curbing  a  tongue  and  changing 
a  nature  inborn — as  the  Chinese  phrase  expresses  it, 
'  Nature  is  fixed  and  unalterable,  like  the  inset 
flowery  ornament  of  a  steelyard ' — but  he  tried 
the  effect  of  faith  in  divine  influence  and  help.  He 
conquered  his  tongue,  and  became  a  benefactor,  a 
helper  to  his  fellow-villagers,  through  nine  months 


THE  fflSSIONARY  IN  CHINA  261 

of  happy  Christian  life.  He  burnt  a  cross  into  his 
wrist  with  a  hot  iron,  so  as  never  to  forget  the  cruci- 
fied Saviour.  He  died,  fully  conscious  to  the  last, 
in  the  unfaltering  profession  of  the  faith. 

These,  however,  it  may  be  objected,  were  illiterate 
and  perhaps  excitable  individuals.  I  narrate,  there- 
fore, as  a  proof  that  the  results  of  Christian  preaching 
affect  all  ranks  and  all  classes,  an  incident  which 
occurred  in  the  market-place  of  that  proud  and  once 
most  exclusive  place  Cliuki,  mentioned  in  my  fourth 
chapter.  Public  preaching  was  going  on  ;  a  great 
crowd  had  assembled  ;  and  there  were  indications 
of  rudeness  and  rough  opposition,  partly  at  the 
instigation,  as  it  appeared,  of  a  Chinese  gentleman 
standing  with  the  mob.  He  seemed  to  be  agitated 
and  annoyed,  as  though  some  word  which  he  had 
heard  had  gone  home,  like  a  sharp  arrow  in  the 
heart  of  the  king's  enemies.  He  was  politely  re- 
quested by  the  speaker,  the  late  Bishop  Hoare,  to 
refrain  from  captious  interruption,  as  it  hindered 
others  from  hearing.  The  man  indignantly  refused 
to  listen  to  this  friendly  remonstrance,  and  became 
more  troublesome  and  aggressive,  till  the  leader  of 
the  preachers  beckoned  to  one  of  the  Christian 
students  Avho  were  with  him,  and  directed  him 
politely  to  request  this  scholar  to  withdraw  from 
the  crowd  and  talk  quietly  to  him  if  he  had  any 
difficulties  or  any  questions  to  propound.  The 
scholar  sullenly  assented,  and  passing  out  of  earshot 
to  a  bridge-parapet,  he  sat  and  talked  with  the 
student  for  an  hour.  This  Chinese  gentleman, 
scholarly,  shrewd  in  argument,  and  plainly  ill  at 
ease  in  mind,  turned  at  once  on  the  young  Cliristian 


262         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

student,  and  asked  about  the  mystery  of  human 
nature,  the  problem  of  moral  evil,  its  origin,  and 
the  being  and  nature  of  God,  a  future  life,  and  the 
credentials  of  our  message.  '  Jesus  Christ !  What 
need  have  we  in  the  Central  Realm  of  a  foreign 
sage  ?  And  what  after  all  must  I  do  for  peace  of 
mind  and  of  soul  ?  '  On  every  point  of  atheistic, 
agnostic  or  philosophic  doubt  and  objection,  the 
Christian  apologist,  setting  aside  for  the  while  his 
own  store  of  apologetic  learning  and  research,  begged 
his  aggressive  friend  to  listen  to  a  higher  authority, 
to  God's  own  Word.  And  then,  with  wonderful 
strength  of  memory,  and  ability  of  exposition,  for 
every  question  the  Confucianist  scholar  asked  he 
turned  to  the  right  book,  chapter  and  verse,  and 
found  the  answer  there.  These  replies  struck  home 
with  the  clearness  of  conviction,  as  coming  from  a 
voice  and  a  mind  which,  so  this  scholar  afterwards 
confessed,  had  known  his  thoughts  long  before,  and 
had  anticipated  and  met  them  all.  '  Hold  !  '  he 
said  at  last.  '  Enough  !  that  is  an  extraordinary 
book.  I  must  study  it.'  He  carried  it  home,  and 
the  entrance  of  the  Word  of  God  once  more  brought 
life  and  light  to  a  soul. 

It  is  not  always  so.  As  with  St.  Paul's  meetings 
for  debate  in  his  own  hired  house  in  Rome,  so  here 
during  public  preaching  in  China,  some  believe  the 
things  that  are  spoken,  and  some  believe  not. 

I  was  once  reading  and  speaking  far  into  the  night 
in  a  house  in  a  country  village.  The  schoolmaster 
and  reading  men  of  the  village  were  there,  with  a 
number  of  husbandmen.  They  listened  well,  and 
argued  keenly  and  fairly.     Then  as  I  drew  to  my 


THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CHINA  263 

climax,  and  held  up  the  Cross  of  Christ,  the  offence 
of  the  Cross  broke  out  with  its  ancient  virulence. 
They  frowned,  and  moved  uneasily,  and  would 
listen  no  more.  Ethics  and  science  and  philosophy, 
even  western  discoveries — yes  !  But  atonement 
and  the  doctrine  of  one  dying  for  those  who  them- 
selves deserved  to  die — no  !  they  did  not  care  to 
hear  of  this.  It  was  late,  too  ;  at  some  convenient 
season  they  would  hear  me  again  of  the  matter. 

Another  time  I  was  preaching  in  the  market- 
place of  the  town  '  Pure  Water  Lake,'  mentioned 
above,  when  a  man,  a  veritable  Saul,  breathing  out 
threatenings  and  opposition,  and  prepared,  if  he 
could  have  his  way,  to  show  violence  also,  con- 
fronted me.  He  told  me  afterwards  that  he  remem- 
bered in  his  early  boyhood  accompanying  his  father 
and  uncles,  while  they  were  patrolling  at  night  the 
banks  of  the  river  Yung.  It  was  during  the  time 
of  the  first  war  with  England,  and  before  Ningpo 
was  opened  as  a  port  for  residence  and  commerce. 
The  object  of  the  patrol  w^as  to  waylay  and  arrest, 
and,  if  there  were  opposition,  kill  any  foreigner  who 
might  have  been  foolhardy  enough  to  land  from  the 
ships  of  war  outside  and  wander  into  the  country. 
His  old  animosity  seemed  to  revive  when  he  saw 
and  heard  this  Englishman  preaching.  On  two 
occasions  he  vigorously  opposed  the  preacher ; 
but  the  word  which  he  heard  at  last  went  home, 
and  he  became,  by  baptismal  name  and  by  earnest 
evangelistic  zeal,  Paul  instead  of  Saul. 

To  show  that  effects  may  follow  from  public 
preaching  without  the  speaker's  knowledge  till  long 
after,  if  ever,  I  may  relate,  in  closing,  what  happened 


264         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

to  me  only  a  few  months  ago,  amongst  these  hills 
from  which  I  write.  I  was  visiting  a  mountain- 
village  two  thousand  feet  above  the  plain,  and  after 
I  had  been  preaching  for  a  time  in  the  house  of  a 
Chinese  acquaintance  to  a  not  very  sympathetic 
audience,  the  elder  brother  of  my  friend,  who  had 
been  listening,  turned  to  me  and  said,  '  Twenty- 
seven  years  ago  you  sat  where  you  are  sitting  now, 
and  preached  to  us  this  same  doctrine.'  '  You  are 
surely  mistaken,'  I  replied  ;  '  I  have  no  recollection 
of  ever  having  been  here  before.  But  if  it  be  so, 
will  you  not  accept  now  this  repeated  invitation  ?  ' 
On  my  return  home  I  consulted  my  diary,  and 
found  that  he  was  correct  to  the  very  year.  I  had 
forgotten  what  seemed  to  me,  doubtless,  at  the  time 
a  resultless  preaching.  But  it  had  not  wholly  faded 
from  the  memories  of  those  to  whom  I  spoke. 

In  conclusion,  it  may  be  asserted,  not  on  the 
ground  of  human  estimates,  but  from  the  express 
promise  and  purpose  of  God,  that  such  preaching 
is  never  wholly  without  effect.  '  My  Word  shall 
not  return  unto  me  void,  it  shall  prosper  in  the  thing 
whereto  I  sent  it.' 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE 


CHAPTER   X 

EDUCATION    ANT)    LTTEKATFRE 

I  PROPOSE  in  this  chapter  to  offer  to  my  readers, 
besides  recollections  and  observations  of  educated 
and  civilised  China,  some  remarks  on  the  unique 
and  unprecedented  spectacle  which  meets  us  in 
China  to-day,  the  significance  and  wonder  of  which 
most  people  seem  too  busy  or  too  self-absorbed  to 
notice. 

Here  we  have  a  great  and  ancient  people  educated 
for  long  centuries,  and  we  propose  by  our  own 
western  methods,  if  not  in  person,  to  educate  them. 
Civilised  also  they  were  long  before  the  dawn  of 
civilisation  in  Europe,  and  we  flatter  ourselves  that  we 
can  aid  in  their  civilisation.  Amonirst  the  Chinese 
people,  meanwhile,  we  notice  the  ebullition  of  what 
we  never  credited  China  with  in  former  years.  She 
seemed  too  vast,  too  heterogeneous,  too  provincial, 
ever  to  be  really  Imperial.  But  now  patriotism,  in 
name  if  not  in  reality,  has  come  to  light.  This 
jiatriotism  leads  young  China  to  boycott  sometimes, 
to  despise,  to  reject  in  thought  and  theory  l)ul  not 
somehow  in  action,  everything  that  is  foreign, 
including  foreign  education  and  civilisation. 

Yet  that  very  patriotism  ever  and  anon  blinds 
the  eyes  of  patriots  to  this  foreign  element,  if  only 
in  our  systems  and  plans  of  education  and  of  reform 


268         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

we  can  help  China  to  be  great  and  strong  and 
prosperous  once  more. 

Three  years  ago  I  received  an  invitation  and  re- 
quest from  the  gentry  and  inhabitants  of  a  large 
market-town  only  eight  miles  from  my  present 
lodging.  They  offered  me  a  five-roomed,  one- 
storey  house,  which  they  proposed  to  put  in  repair, 
setting  apart  one  room  for  residence  and  another 
large  room  for  Christian  worship  if  we  so  desired, 
but  first  and  chiefly  for  the  opening  of  a  school. 
They  would  guarantee  at  least  twenty  paying  pupils 
if  I  would  provide  a  master.  They  said  they  knew 
the  ability  and  character  of  our  masters  trained 
at  Trinity  College,  Ningpo  ;  they  taught  well,  and 
would  impart  all  the  knowledge  the  applicants  cared 
to  know,  and  much  better  than  the  new  government 
schools  and  teachers  could  guarantee.  After  careful 
inquiry  I  was  arranging  to  accept  this  offer,  when 
a  telegram  reached  the  town-leaders  from  a  so- 
called  patriotic  club  in  Shanghai,  busy  at  that  time 
in  boycotting  American  goods  in  consequence  of 
their  indignation  at  the  treatment  received  by  some 
of  their  fellow-countrymen  in  certain  of  the  American 
states.  The  telegram  ran  thus  :  '  Don't  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  anything  that  is  foreign  '  ;  and 
for  a  time  the  plan  has  fallen  through.  I  mention 
this  recent  event  as  illustrating  the  double  attitude 
of  the  Chinese  mind  at  the  present  time. 

Two  thousand  years  and  more  ago  Mencius  spoke 
thus  to  his  disciples  :  '  I  have  heard  of  persons 
using  the  doctrines  of  our  great  land  to  change  the 
barbarians  :  I  have  never  heard  of  any  one  being 
changed  by  the  barbarians.'     Yet  now  the  scholastic 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        269 

system  of  the  land,  her  scheme  of  education,  her 
methods  of  examination,  are  all  changing  ;  and  in 
that  change,  inevitably,  her  literature  and  ancient 
teaching  and  doctrines  Avill  be  involved.  The 
barbarian,  if  not  changed  himself  by  the  Four 
Books  and  the  Five  Classics,  is  allowed  to  do  his 
worst  in  his  own  barbarian  manner  to  change  and 
enlighten  great  China. 

In  order  to  estimate  right!}'  the  significance  and 
the  probable  permanence  of  these  changes,  it  is, 
I  think,  legitimate  to  ask  what  in  Chinese  estimation 
and  what  in  western  estimation  is  meant  by  educa- 
tion and  civilisation,  and  Mhat  motives  are  at  work 
in  the  mind  of  China,  and  what  ideal  the  Chinese 
set  before  them  in  these  drastic  changes,  in  the 
new  thirst  for  knowledge  and  the  resolve  to  make 
all  things  new. 

Civilisation  and  education  are  joined  together 
very  clearly  in  the  theories  of  most  reformers.  '  To 
civilise  the  people,'  says  a  philosophising  theorist 
in  one  of  Count  Tolstoy's  stories,  '  three  things  are 
necessary :  schools  and  schools  and  schools.'  It 
was  objected  that  the  addition  of  knowledge  and 
the  expansion  of  information  touching  other  men 
and  other  things  would  create  the  idea  of  new 
necessities  in  the  minds  of  young  and  old  students 
alike,  and  that  education  in  itself  has  no  power 
to  satisfy  the  cravings  it  has  created.  This  possible 
fiasco  is  illustrated  in  dark  colours  in  India  at  the 
present  day,  and  it  will  surely  affect  China  if  she 
pursues  the  same  path.  The  acquisition  of  some 
foreign  language  and  the  knowledge  of  science  and 
literature  seem  to  the  student  to  raise  liis  personal 


270         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

value  higher  and  higher  in  the  market  of  govern- 
mental or  commercial  or  educational  posts.  He 
can,  when  he  has  '  graduated,'  command  a  high 
salary,  and  can  hope  then  to  satisfy  the  new  neces- 
sities which  his  education  has  suggested,  by  visions 
of  luxury  and  enhanced  comfort  and  enjoyment  in 
life.  Moreover,  in  India — and,  so  long  as  schools 
are  founded  and  carried  on  more  or  less  under 
government  control,  in  China  too — the  persuasion 
will  persistently  prevail  that  it  is  the  duty  of  govern- 
ment to  provide  such  posts  for  all  successful  students. 
The  market  will,  before  long,  be  quite  overstocked, 
and  the  disappointed  scholars,  indisposed  to  turn 
their  talents  and  thoughts  to  other  occupations,  and 
stranded  in  literary  solitude,  will  drift  gradually 
into  the  ranks  of  the  discontented  and  then  of  the 
insurrectionary  plotters.  There  is  grave  reason  for 
the  fear  that  an  exaggerated  and  perverted  inter- 
pretation of  the  dictum  '  Knowledge  is  power ' 
may  be  largely  influencing  young  China  at  the 
present  time.  She  hopes  to  gain  through  education 
power  to  conquer  in  every  fight,  power  to  lead  and 
control  and  not  follow  the  nations,  power  to  get 
rich  and  to  rise  continually  in  the  scale  of  human 
progress. 

If,  then,  this  desire  for  mastery,  material  pros- 
perity and  national  glory  is  the  one  mainspring  of 
China's  awakening,  it  is  impossible  to  take  any 
very  keen  interest  in  her  race  for  knowledge  and  in 
her  precipitate  pursuit  of  educational  methods. 
Neither  can  we  feel  hopeful  as  to  the  part  which 
western  teachers,  with  their  curriculum,  their 
schemes,   their   text-books,   will   bear   in   assisting 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        271 

China's  mere  ambition  of  rivalry,  unless  it  become 
a  nobler  ambition. 

But  it  is  quite  possible  to  frame  a  more  hopeful 
and  a  more  charitable  view  of  China's  awakening, 
and  of  the  revolution  in  her  educational  system, 
and  of  her  demand  for  a  constitution  and  for  con- 
stitutional government. 

Mencius,  in  striking  words  capable  of  more  exposi- 
tions than  one,  describes  the  great  end  of  learning 
as  nothing  else  than  '  to  seek  for  the  lost  mind,' 
and  in  the  context  he  defines  benevolence  as  man's 
mind,  and  righteousness  as  man's  path.  '  When 
men's  fowls  and  dogs  are  lost,'  he  goes  on  to  say, 
'  they  know  how  to  seek  for  them  again,  but  they 
lose  their  mind  and  they  do  not  know  how  to  seek 
for  it.'  The  philosopher  seems  here  to  mean  not 
so  much  that  they  are  out  of  tlieir  minds,  in  our 
ordinary  expression,  but  that  their  minds  are  some- 
how outside  them.  If  this  was  true  of  China  more 
than  two  thousand  years  ago,  and  of  education 
which  has  survived  and  flourislied  in  China  ever 
since,  is  China  conscious  in  these  later  days  of 
awakening  that  more  than  ever  she  has  to  seek 
her  lost  mind,  to  come  to  her  sober  senses,  and  to 
search  for  the  highest  wisdom  which  secures  this 
sound  mind  V  If  so,  the  prospect  is  a  more  hopeful 
one,  and  the  subject  becomes  one  of  absorbing 
interest.  It  has  been  truly  said  and  with  solenni 
significance  that  the  supreme  love  of  God  is  the 
sum  of  man's  duty ;  and  further,  that  sucli  love  is 
the  germ  of  all  goodness  and  especially  of  all  true 
benevolence  to  man.  Now  benevolence,  so  says 
Mencius,  is  China's  lost  mind.     She  desires  now  to 


272         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

seek  it,  and  find  it,  and  bring  it  back.  Education, 
she  hopes,  will  do  this  for  the  people  at  large  and 
the  nation.  It  follows,  then,  that  secular  educa- 
tion in  the  cold  precision  of  this  term,  that  form  of 
education  and  civilisation  which  Chinese  as  well 
as  Christian  philosophers  are  beginning  to  brand  as 
vulgar  materialism,  can  never  seek  and  find  the 
lost.  The  fear  and  love  of  God  must  be,  for  China 
and  for  every  soul  of  man,  the  beginning  and  the 
end  of  true  wisdom  ;  the  foundation  and  the  root, 
the  core  and  the  heart,  the  flower  and  the  fruit  of 
true  and  effective  education.  China  must  learn 
this,  or  she  will  fail  in  her  ambition.  English 
philanthropists  and  western  educationalists  must 
remember  and  accept  this  in  their  efforts  to  supply 
China  with  models  of  the  best  methods  of  western 
education,  or  their  attempts  are  likely  to  prove 
abortive. 

This  view  of  the  education  of  man  of  course  lifts 
the  subject  to  a  higher  plane,  and  suggests  that 
idea  which  is  very  generally  ignored,  namely,  that 
we  are  learning  and  training  for  another  life,  a 
nobler  sphere.  '  If  the  sole  aim  of  civilisation,' 
says  a  modern  philosopher,  '  be  to  translate  every- 
thing into  enjoyment,  then  I  prefer  to  remain  a 
barbarian.'  The  meaning,  I  apprehend,  is  that  life 
on  earth  and  man's  action  must  be  laborious  and 
earnest,  because  it  is  the  training-ground  for  the 
life  to  come.  Confucius  says  that  the  words  '  No 
continuance '  are  inscribed  over  everything,  and 
to  educate  pupils  for  a  life  of  vapour,  for  a  dream, 
for  a  brief  flash  of  sunshine,  is  not  worth  the  trouble. 
To  use  once  more  a  Chinese  figure  :   A  school  under 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        273 

a  rest-shed,  with  wandering  beggar-lads  as  pupils, 
here  to-day  and  in  the  woods  to-morrow,  is  a  grief 
and  a  distress  to  the  learned  pedagogue. 

But  to  educate  for  a  coming  life,  for  distinction 
and  usefulness  in  a  long  home  of  gladness  and 
beauty — that  is  worthy  of  the  best  gifts  and  powers 
and  perseverance  on  the  part  of  master  and  scholar 
alike. 

To  anticipate  for  a  moment  my  later  conclusions, 
I  feel  sure  that  the  noble  enterprise  inaugurated 
by  Lord  William  Gascoyne-Cecil  and  his  associates, 
to  present  to  China's  eyes  and  ears  and  to  offer  to 
China's  use  and  assimilation  the  best  specimen 
possible  of  English  university  life  and  teaching, 
will  fail  if  it  be  not  distinctly  and  avowedly  religious 
and  Christian.  The  glory  and  strength  of  our 
ancient  universities  has  been,  and  surely  still  is, 
the  fact  that  they  are  religious  foundations.  If 
this  glory  is  not  to  pass,  and  if  the  substance  of  all 
true  learning  and  beneficence  is  not  to  be  removed, 
then  we  must  still  hold  to  the  idea  which  animated 
Erasmus  and  Colet,  that  with  all  tlie  riclics  of  re- 
discovered wisdom  and  the  fascination  and  alhirc- 
ments  of  science  revealing  nature's  secrets,  and  the 
mathematical  laws  of  the  skies  suggesting  their 
order  and  their  Maker  and  Controller,  the  foremost 
learning  of  all  lies  in  tlie  reading  and  study  of  tlic 
great  classic  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  J^ible.  Dr. 
Lindsay,  in  his  Ili.^tory  of  the  Bcfoniialiun,  tells  us 
that  Alexander  Hegius  (1433-1408),  the  founder  and 
teacher  of  the  truly  great  school  at  Deventer,  one 
of  the  forerunners  of  the  Renaissance,  with  Erasmus 
as  one  of  his  numy  illustrious  pupils,   maintained 

s 


274         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

continually  in  his  promotion  of  learning  the  maxim 
that  knowledge  without  piety  is  rather  a  curse 
than  a  blessing.  Pope  Julius  ii.  (1503-1513),  when 
commanding  Michelangelo  to  portray  him  as  Moses, 
described  this  revival  of  learning  as  the  blessed 
promised  land,  to  the  borders  of  which  he  might 
guide  the  Church,  a  land  consisting  in  the  enjoyment 
of  the  highest  intellectual  benefits,  and  the  training 
and  consecration  of  all  the  faculties  of  man's  mind 
to  union  with  God. 

If  we  adopt  this  description  as  a  whole  it  may 
form  a  hopeful  forecast  of  the  effect  on  China  of 
this  revival  of  learning  in  a  learned  land.  But  if 
the  description  halts  at  the  enjoyment  merely  of 
intellectual  benefits,  and  falls  short  of  union  with 
God,  the  curse  which  Hegius  feared  may  fall, 
instead  of  the  blessing  invoked  by  Julius.  The 
Chinese  will  think  lightly  and  speak  sneeringly  of 
any  eirenicon  Avhich,  while  professing  to  bring  to 
China  our  best  educational  apparatus,  hides  or  omits 
or  relegates  to  hostels  and  outhouses  the  foundation 
and  glory  of  it  all. 

I  am  aware  of  the  perplexity  of  the  problem,  and 
of  the  distressful  and  almost  deadly  slur  on  the 
Christian  faith  which  arises  from  the  practical 
question,  '  How  can  Christian  faith  and  teaching 
be  set  forth  as  the  prominent  part  of  a  university 
course  of  study  and  lecture,  when  Christians  are 
not  agreed  among  themselves,  and  when  even  in 
China  there  are  nearly  a  hundred  separate  Christian 
religious  bodies  ?  '  But  I  write  with  the  persuasion, 
drawn  from  long  experience,  of  the  real  union  and 
possibility  of  co-operation  between  all  who  are  one 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        275 

in  the  faith  of  God  and  in  trust  in  His  Word.  I  am 
persuaded  that,  rather  than  present  to  the  Chinese 
a  mere  teaching-machine,  having  all  the  branches 
of  literature  and  science  and  scholarship  professed 
and  lectured  upon  by  an  array  of  learned  men, 
except  only  the  Christian  faith  in  theology  and 
bibUcal  research,  the  churches  should  decide  to 
place  such  definite  teaching  in  the  hands  of  one 
church,  and  that  not  a  branch  merely  but  one  of 
the  very  roots  of  the  Church  universal,  containing 
within  its  constitution  and  orders  and  doctrine  and 
sacraments  all  that  is  apostolic  and  primitive  and 
truly  catholic,  restored  to  Christendom  at  the 
Reformation.  The  English  Church— as  I  point  out 
elsewhere — if  she  is  true  to  herself  and  her  history, 
is  not  sacerdotal,  political,  and  social  alone,  accord- 
ing to  the  somewhat  harsh  condemnation  of  a 
modern  writer,  but  she  is  truly  catholic  in  her  order 
and  doctrine  and  sacraments.  She  docs  not  exclude, 
and  she  has  abundant  room  to  include,  the  churches 
which  profess  and  accept  the  same  scriptural 
doctrine,  but  most  of  them  with  rather  isolated 
programmes,  and  with  somewhat  exaggerated 
exhibition  of  the  individual  doctrines  of  Christen- 
dom. The  English  Church,  stretching  back  through 
the  British  cliurches  to  Rome  and  tlie  apostles 
themselves,  embraces  within  the  fold  of  her  doc- 
trines and  of  her  observances  Episcopalian,  Presby- 
terian, Congregationalist,  Baptist  (without  their 
negative  denunciations),  Methodist — all  these  not 
merged  and  fused  and  obliterated,  but  rather  in- 
cluded in  the  harmony  of  the  proportion  of  the 
faith.     The  professors,  however,  of  Christian  doc- 


276         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

trine  in  such  a  Christian  university,  and  guided  by- 
such  a  Christian  church,  must  not  be  professors  of 
their  own  learning  and  theories  about  the  Bible, 
but  professors  of  the  sacred  book  itself,  and  of  the 
supernatural  religion  it  proclaims.  The  under- 
graduates and  graduates  meanwhile  would  under- 
stand that  in  the  affiliated  colleges  and  hostels 
connected  with  the  university  they  can  study  if 
they  please  the  minor  differences  which  exist  amidst 
the  majestic  unity  of  Christians,  and  the  several 
aspects  of  the  one  truth. 

But  suppose  this  be  guaranteed  as  one  great 
contribution  from  the  west  to  the  new  educational 
enterprise  of  China,  a  help  to  her,  in  fact,  in  the 
search  for  her  lost  mind,  another  question  under- 
lies the  whole  discussion.  Mencius  defined  this 
search  as  the  great  object  of  learning  and  education 
many  centuries  ago.  How  far  has  the  sacred 
literature  of  the  Chinese,  which  has  formed  the 
aliment  of  her  educational  system  since  then,  and 
how  far  also  has  the  system  itself  failed  or  succeeded 
in  the  quest  ?  Has  the  failure  been  so  complete 
as  to  justify  what  seems  to  be  the  sudden  and 
drastic  sweeping  away  of  the  whole  by  the  Dowager- 
Empress's  edict  of  1905  ?  Was  the  system  incap- 
able of  readjustment  and  reform  ?  Could  nothing 
but  western  methods  and  learning  and  languages 
be  substituted,  drawn  from  lands  and  peoples 
barbarian  long  after  the  old  sage  thought  China  could 
change  them  and  that  they  could  never  change 
China  ?  Look  at  the  language  of  China.  Is  it 
quite  necessary  for  sound  education,  and  for  the 
successful  recovery  of  China's  lost  mind,  to  teach 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        277 

English  or  some  other  language  compulsorily  in 
schools  for  all  classes,  to  the  inevitable  nealect  of 
the  study  of  their  own  language  ?  Goethe  assures 
us  in  one  of  his  sententious  sayings  that  the  man 
who  is  unacquainted  with  foreign  languages  knows 
nothing  of  his  own;  and  tlie  great  advantage  of 
bilingual  study  to  most  minds  is  insisted  ujion  by 
many  experts.  But  the  Chinese  may  be  said  to 
engage  of  necessity  in  bilingual  study,  owing  to  the 
peculiar  character  of  their  own  language  in  its  many 
varieties  ;  and  multitudes  of  them  surely  know  a 
great  deal  about  their  own  language.  There  are 
several  distinctive  tongues,  dialects  for  speech,  the 
kwan-hwa  or  mandarin  dialect  being  the  most 
widely  spoken  colloquial,  as  well  as  the  court  dialect 
for  the  whole  empire.  They  have  besides,  as  the 
substratum  and  the  glory  of  them  all,  as  well  as 
the  most  concise  and  yet  the  richest  and  most 
graceful  of  tliem  all,  iren-li,  not  a  tongue,  not  a 
dead  language — for  it  has  never  been  spoken  and 
was  never  designed  for  oral  communication — but 
a  language  for  literature,  for  oflicial  proclamation 
and  edict,  for  epistolary  communication  and  for 
scholarly  exercise.  It  can  be  enunciated  as  it 
stands  according  to  tlie  pronunciation  or  province 
of  the  district  or  reader,  sounded  indeed,  but  still 
unintelligible  to  the  ear  of  most  listeners,  till 
translated  clause  by  clause  into  the  hcaicr's  own 
home  speech.  The  training  of  mind  and  memory, 
therefore,  implied  by  the  acquisition,  tirst,  of  the 
colloquial  of  a  Chinaman's  native  province ;  secondly, 
of  this  luen-Ii,  silent  to  the  ear,  eloquent  to  the 
scholarly  eye,  and  yet  making  itself  recognised  here 


278         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

and  there  in  polished  phrase  of  the  higher  colloquial ; 
and  further,  for  many,  the  learning  of  this  third 
language,  the  Court  dialect  kwan-hwa — this  tri- 
lingual study  may  surely  suffice  for  the  athletic 
exercise  of  Chinese  minds  and  memories,  and  for 
the  expansion  of  the  brain  and  intellect,  without 
the  necessity  of  further  training  in  some  foreign 
tongue.  I  speak  here  of  language  as  an  exercise 
and  a  part  of  the  mind's  reclamation  from  its  lost 
estate,  not  as  a  supposed  royal  road  to  higher  learn- 
ing, nor  as  a  certificate  for  lucrative  employment. 
Confucius  gives  a  warning  on  this  subject :  '  The 
object  of  the  superior  man  is  truth  :  with  learning 
emolument  may  be  bound  up  ;  but  the  supreme 
man  is  anxious  only  lest  he  should  not  get  the  truth, 
not  lest  poverty  should  ensue.' 

In  China's  new  programme,  therefore,  of  educa- 
tion and  of  competitive  examination,  it  will  surely 
be  disastrous  if  the  Chinese  language  is  in  any 
definite  way  ousted  by  foreign  tongues.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  for  the  true  study  and  apprecia- 
tion of  the  best  of  western  literature,  the  Chinese 
language  is  not  expansive  enough,  and  rich  and 
elastic  enough,  in  scholarly  hands,  to  transplant 
such  literature  in  Chinese  vessels  to  Chinese  soil.  I 
do  not  underrate  the  linguistic  powers  being 
developed  now  by  many  students  from  China  and 
Japan,  and  the  growing  number  of  those  who  are 
able  (they  assure  us)  to  read  and  understand  the 
language  and  the  thought  of  European  literature. 
But  if  such  a  triumph  of  study  and  of  intellect 
implies,  as  it  generally  does,  the  loss  or  defect  of 
scholarly    and    classical    Chinese    iven-li,    and    the 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        279 

neglect  and  the  passing  into  oblivion  of  the  treasures 
of  their  own  literature,  I  believe  the  advantage 
will  be  dearly  bought.  On  the  other  hand,  careful, 
accurate  and  scholarly  Chinese  translations,  such 
as  are  continually  being  produced  now,  will  both 
conserve  for  China  her  own  incomparable  language, 
and  secure  at  the  same  time  what  is  really  valuable 
in  the  treasures  of  foreign  literature. 

Thus  far,  therefore,  in  the  consideration  of  the 
language  and  literature  of  China,  we  must  conclude 
that  through  the  long-established  system  of  uni- 
versal education,  and  through  the  cohesive  power 
of  the  public  competitive  examinations,  much  has 
been  attempted  during  these  two  thousand  years, 
in  the  w'ords  of  Mencius,  to  '  bring  back  the  lost 
mind.'  But  the  serious  question  occurs  again, 
though  in  a  different  form.  Language  alone,  how- 
ever polished  and  expressive,  can  never  produce 
benevolence  or  lead  along  the  path  of  righteousness. 
What  learning,  we  ask,  have  the  Chinese  found  in 
their  own  language,  gathered  from  the  lips  and  the 
records  of  sages  and  heroes  before  the  great  trans- 
mitter and  editor,  Confucius,  with  his  own  high- 
soaring  thought,  and  his  reverence  for  the  times 
that  are  past ;  before,  also,  the  great  philoso])h(M- 
Mencius,  with  his  harder  logic  and  more  audacious 
speculation  and  broader  mind  ?  Nothing  need 
detain  us  in  this  inquiry  as  to  Chinese  canonical 
literature  after  the  fourth  century'  before  Christ. 
The  canon  of  Chinese  scripture,  the  Four  Books 
and  the  Five  Classics,  was  fixed  about  a.d.  4.  The 
books  were  gathered  and  copied  from  apparently 
genuine   originals,   copies   being  discovered,   or   r<- 


280         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

produced  from  memory,  after  the  burning  of  the 
books,  all  but  the  Record  of  Changes,  in  B.C.  202. 
The  authoritative  comments  of  Chu  Hi,  in  the 
twelfth  century,  the  Chinese  read  and  learn  ;  and 
the  countless  treatises  on  all  subjects  which  scholars 
have  produced  down  the  Christian  era  ;  and  ethical 
works,  echoes  of  the  teaching  of  Buddha  and  Lao 
Tsze,  they  possess  and  learn,  and  the  effect  of  these 
latter  treatises  has  not  been  small.  But  by  the 
canonical  books  alone  can  the  usefulness  and  effi- 
ciency of  Chinese  education  in  the  past  be  judged. 
Is  it  worth  while  for  awakened  China  and  for 
the  sympathetic  west  to  conserve  and  still  utilise 
this  ancient  learning  and  this  ancient  system  ?  Or 
must  the  whole  be  rooted  up  and  swept  away 
before  the  new  can  be  planted  and  take  root,  and 
rightly  and  efficiently  educate  China  ? 

This  latter  seemed  to  be  the  tendency  of  the  drastic 
course  adopted  quite  suddenly  in  1905  by  the 
Empress  Dowager  and  her  chief  advisers  at  the 
time.  Neither  the  Chinese  classics  nor  the  memory 
and  cult  of  Confucius  were  allowed  to  be  despised 
or  forgotten,  yet  with  the  whole  curriculum  of 
education  changed  and  the  subjects  for  public 
examinations,  leading  on  to  public  office  in  the 
state  and  in  society,  altered,  the  ancient  literature 
must  of  necessity  retire  to  a  subordinate  position  ; 
and  the  old  system  which  has,  I  believe,  made 
China  stable  to  a  wonderful  extent  in  the  past  will 
be  forgotten. 

Is  it  quite  too  late  to  arrest  the  process,  and  is  it 
worth  the  while  ? 

About  1891,  if  I  remember  rightly,  and  during 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        281 

the  closing  years  of  the  last  century,  a  process  was 
observed  in  action  of  gradual  change,  which  would, 
if  conducted  wisely  and  cautiously,  yet  with  courage 
when  a  faster  speed  was  possible,  liave  secured  for 
China  something  more  suited  to  the  nature  and 
genius  and  character  of  the  pooj^le  than  our  arti- 
ficial and  sometimes  dangerously  intiated  western 
methods.  Gradually,  and  as  it  were  inadvertently, 
new  subjects  were  announced  as  to  be  introduced 
and  marked  and  fully  recognised  in  the  public 
examinations.  An  essay  on  some  recondite  theme 
from  the  Chinese  classics,  such  as,  '  Having  no  ofh- 
cial  emplo3nnent,  I  acquire  many  arts,'  or,  '  The 
accomplished  scholar  is  not  a  utensil,'  might  be 
omitted  to  make  room  for  papers  on  the  geograjihy 
of  other  lands,  on  mining,  on  the  history  of  Euro})e, 
and  such  new  and  startling  themes.  The  students 
in  preparation  for  the  examiiiatit)ii  would  find  liltlr 
about  these  themes  in  the  Four  Books  and  the 
Five  Classics,  and  were  obliged  to  turn  to  the  books 
and  magazines  published  by  the  different  Christian 
Literature  societies,  including  each  month,  besides 
the  higher  learning,  articles  of  useful  information 
on  science  and  discovery,  and  news  of  the  great 
barbarian  world  beyond  the  seas.  The  themes  had 
still  to  be  written  in  sonnd  and  elegant  irni-li,  and 
the  grace  of  style  and  apt  quotation,  and  the  llexi- 
bility  of  this  apparently  stilT  and  |)rini  hut  lrul\ 
plastic  language,  were  not  to  be  forgotten. 

The  long  vista  of  the  past,  narrowed  as  it  had  been 
on  either  side  for  the  glimpse  of  China's  past  alone, 
and  used  hitherto  as  the  sole  ])ractising-groun(l  tor 
scholarship  and  research,  foi-  prose-essays,  and   for 


282  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

the  strictly  regulated  and  legally  rhymed  imagina- 
tions of  poetry,  remained,  and  was  not  clouded  over 
or  blurred  by  neglect  and  the  conceit  of  modern 
knowledge.  But  it  was  being  gradually  broadened 
and  lengthened,  so  as  to  let  in  the  sights  and  scenes 
of  other  lands,  and  the  stirring  life  and  action  of 
more  modern  days.  The  near  firmament  of  China's 
sky  (to  adopt  Macaulay's  words  of  the  Renaissance 
in  Europe),  which  had  seemed  so  fixed  and  un- 
changing and  solid,  moved  gently  back,  still  holding 
in  its  embrace  the  old  lights  and  glories  and  great 
memories  of  its  literature  and  customs  and  history, 
but  passing  into  the  vaster  depths  of  the  thickly 
peopled  ether  of  the  world  which  was  living  and 
breathing  round  and  beyond  China,  and  which  she 
could  no  longer  despise  nor  shut  out  from  her  atten- 
tion, and  on  to  the  depths,  vaster  still,  of  the  dis- 
coveries of  science,  theoretical  or  applied,  in  earth 
and  air  and  sea. 

Now  such  a  development  might  go  on  without 
any  violent  upheaval.  The  same  system  in  the 
innumerable  country  schools,  some  few  of  them 
being  endowed  charitable  institutions,  but  in  the 
vast  proportion  of  instances  self-instituted  and 
self-supported  in  every  market-town,  might  con- 
tinue ;  with  the  same  sure  if  slow  method  of  learning 
the  formidable  complications  of  the  Chinese  written 
character.  But  here  an  earlier  touch  of  sympathy 
might  be  introduced  between  master  and  scholar 
than  has  obtained  of  old,  by  the  explanation  of 
words  and  sentences,  not  reserved  as  now  for 
specially  promising  pupils  and  for  a  later  period 
in  the  plodding  schoolboy's  career,  but  explanation 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE       283 

and  exposition  and  enlightening  given  pari  passu 
with  the  drudgery  of  mechanical  learning.     Let  the 
same  horn-book  be  used,  and  elementar}'^  treatises, 
and  the  same  gradus  ad  Parnassum  :    and  let  the 
classics  be  reached  at  last,  and  in  the  old  order. 
But  into  each  grade  of  learning  and  into  each  school 
there  should  be  introduced — as  is  indeed  already 
done  in  many  cases,  though  with  insufficient  care 
as    to    selection — elementary    treatises,    witli    illus- 
trated charts,  on  general  information  and  on  easy 
scientific     subjects— geography,     botany,     zoology, 
history,  geology  and  chemistry.     It  might  perhaps 
be  suggested  without  disloyalty  and  offence   that 
the  Spring  and  Autumn  Classic,  dry  as  dust  as  it 
seems  to  our  eyes,  though  Confucius  deemed  it  his 
greatest  work,  might  be  omitted,  as  Chinese  history 
seems  sufficiently  handled   in   the   great  classic   of 
History,  and  also  in  the  Four  Jiooks.     There  is  one 
treasure  which   must,  it  seems  to  me,  be  retained 
at  all  costs.     I  refer  to  that  almost  unique  feature 
of  Chinese  education,  and  that  unique  distinction 
of   Chinese   intellect,   the   genius   for   reject  it  ion   ])y 
heart.     This    used    to    be    a   prominent   feature    in 
western  education,  but  it  seems  to  be  disappearing 
now,  and  is,  we  fear,  doomed  in  China.     This  genius 
of   memorising,   however,    if  rescued   from    neglect, 
should   not   be   so    indiscriminate    as    in    the    ])ast. 
Only  those   portions   of   Chinese   classical    writings 
which  are  of  an  ethical   character,  or  suitable  for 
repetition    at    all    times,    should    l)e    committed    to 
memory.     This  might  apply  to  text-books  (.r  larger 
treatises    on    Mestern    science    and    learning.      Let 
much   be   committed    to   memor\-,    but    onK    those 


284  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

portions  which  are  of  value  in  quotation,  in  calcula- 
tion, or  in  continuous  admonition. 

I  emphasise  here  the  grave  importance  of  retaining 
subjects  and  methods  of  education  which  have  been 
in  vogue  for  eighteen  hundred  years  in  China,  as 
indispensable  to  a  Chinese  programme  for  the 
nation's  future  education,  and  this  with  a  definite 
reason.  We  desire  with  Mencius  that  China  should 
find  her  lost  mind.  Her  subjects  and  methods  of 
education  during  long  centuries  have  been  deficient, 
and  she  is  still  affected  by  aberrations  of  mind, 
notably  in  the  higher  regions  of  thought  and  aspira- 
tion, and  perceptibly  also  in  the  lower  regions. 
But  Chinese  literature  and  the  modes  of  imparting 
knowledge  have  not  been  wholly  useless,  and  their 
best  advantages  may  be  retained  amidst,  or  even 
sometimes  as  a  direct  substitute  for,  more  reckless 
experiments  in  reform.  If  we  can  be  sure  of  trans- 
planting to  China  at  once,  and  if  China  would  accept 
the  gift  of  the  whole  of  our  apparatus  of  perfected 
education  in  the  fear  of  God  and  the  reverence  and 
love  of  man,  let  it  be  thus  transplanted,  but  let 
China  herself  uproot  that  which  decayeth  and 
passeth  away.  Yet  that  is  not,  we  fear,  what  the 
awakened  country  is  now  aiming  at  and  desiring. 
Education  without  ethics,  save  when  spasmodically 
interjected ;  education  without  subordination  of 
pupil  to  master,  of  child  to  parent,  of  subject  to 
sovereign  ;  education,  above  all,  soaring  in  conceit 
above  faith  in  and  worship  of  the  Supreme — this  is 
what  threatens  China,  and  it  is  coming  in  like  the 
flood-tide.  In  order  that  the  nation  may  be  pre- 
served from  rupture  and  decay,  and  may  hold  to- 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        285 

gether  and  still  live  on,  till  the  day  of  the  dawning 
and   the   rising   of   the   true   light   and   the   higher 
learning,  I  contend  that  the  retention  and  use  of 
the  old  system  of  imparting  knowledge,  witli   the 
due  gradation  of  subjects  and  the  glory  and  the 
exhilaration  of   the  old   competitive   examinations, 
opening  as  before  to  poor  and  ricli  ahke  tlie  hope  of 
honour   and  of   literary  renown, — the   retention    of 
this  great  cohesive   and   stimulating  process,   ever 
enlarged  and  expanded  and  vivified  by  new  litera- 
ture  and   new   subjects,   will    maintain    an    etliical 
foundation,  the  spiritualising — if  I  may  say  so — of 
the  lower  strata  of  man's  lost  mind,  without  which 
(to  quote  Chinese  opinion  once  more)  education  and 
civilisation    are    but    vulgar    materialism.     It    will 
preserve  also  that  wholesome  and  intelligent  regard 
for  antiquity,  for  authorit}',  and  for  years,  which  is 
slipping  away  so  fast  from  Chinese  life  and  cliaracter, 
as  from  the  whole  hurrying  world.     I  do  not  inuigine 
for  a  moment  that  ethics  can  find  and  save  the  lost 
soul,  but  ethics  can  show  it  in  some  sober  maniMM- 
how  far  it  has  wandered  ;  and,  with  the  higlier  etliics 
of  duty  to  the  Supreme,  point  out  the  place  where 
the  ways  parted  and  the  mind  went  astray.     I'm  t  h«r-, 
with    the    contrast    which    they    present    to    mans 
actual  life  and  moral  achievements,  they  must  kcc}) 
the  student  humble,   and  expectant  also  of  some 
higher  ethic   which   shall   su])ply   that   lack    which 
was  mourned  over  by  Confucius  and   .Mcncius  and 
all    great    teachers:      'We    have    the    ])()W(m/    said 
Mencius,    'to    teach,    but   we    cannot    iini)art    our- 
selves the  love  and  genius  of  learning  to  tiic  hearts 
of  our  pupils.     A  cai'pontcr  or  a  carria^c-niakcr  may 


286  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

give  a  man  the  circle  or  the  square,  but  cannot  make 
him  skilful  in  the  use  of  them.'  Chinese  students, 
with  even  the  limited  ethics  of  their  own  sages 
before  them,  will  possess  a  wholesome  preventive 
against  the  conceit  which  half-knowledge  or  suddenly 
acquired  knowledge  so  commonly  produces. 

'  Knowledge  is  proud  that  she  has  learnt  so  much  ; 
Wisdom  is  humble  that  she  knows  no  more.' 

And  then,  if  the  government  and  reformers  in 
China  will  have  the  supreme  wisdom  to  accept  the 
Christian  faith  as  embodying  both  God's  truth  and 
the  very  foundation  and  superstructure  of  all  wisdom 
and  all  knowledge,  imparting  both  instruction  and 
energising  life  to  her  scholars — accept  it,  not  for 
compulsory  national  conformity,  but  as  the  very 
essence  and  efflorescence  of  that  education  and 
enlightenment  for  which  the  nation  yearns — then 
in  a  wonderful  way  our  utmost  desires  for  China 
may  be  realised,  and  China's  most  vivid  waking 
dream  may  be  fulfilled.  Doubt  is  no  part  of  the 
education  of  the  soul  and  of  the  search  for  the  lost 
mind.  Discussions  and  differences  between  teachers 
are  not  much  desired  or  appreciated  by  those  who 
seek  for  reliable  teachers  and  sound  education. 
But  Christian  education  and  civilisation,  and  auth- 
entic teaching,  gently  laying  aside  for  the  purpose 
her  many  varieties  of  thought  and  many  preferences 
of  expression,  and  generously  accepting  and  sus- 
taining one  orthodox  expression  of  the  common 
faith,  may  be  welcomed  as  China's  great  teacher  for 
the  learning  of  time  and  for  the  scholarship  of  eternity. 

Let  us  listen  for  a  while  to  some  of  the  sayings 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE       287 

and  aspirations  and  laments  recorded  in  these 
canonical  books  of  Chinese  literature,  which  for  tMo 
thousand  years  have  been  read  aloud  and  repeated 
and  sung  by  the  now  silent  voices  of  untold  myriads 
of  Chinese  scholars  ;  now  in  elementary  schools, 
each  scholar  with  his  back  to  his  mast€r  and  sway- 
ing to  and  fro  from  one  leg  to  the  other ;  repeated 
again,  with  eager  anxiety,  by  freshmen  and  under- 
graduates and  graduates  as  the  sounds  of  ancient 
wisdom  and  their  guides  for  the  present,  but  chietiy 
as  the  subjects  for  examination  and  the  themes  for 
prose  and  verse  in  those  supreme  moments  of  their 
literary  career,  involving  success  or  failure  in  com- 
petitions for  degree  and  honour  and  oilice.  These 
sounds  have  been  heard,  borne  on  the  winter  blasts, 
as  the  school-door  stood  open  for  a  moment,  or  on 
the  soft  spring  breezes  and  the  strong  summer 
winds  ;  heard,  too,  in  the  village-school  held  in  some 
hired  house  or  temple-court ;  and  in  guest-rooms, 
again,  for  reading-parties  in  monasteries  or  remote 
hill-temples.  IMore  loudly  and  persistently  do  they 
sound  as  the  sometimes  deadly  days  of  autunui  pass, 
and  the  kwei-hiva,  the  flower  of  scholarship  and 
scholars,  is  out,  and  the  ten  thousand  siu-ts\n,  or 
candidates  for  the  second  degree,  are  waiting  for 
the  sunimons  to  enter  the  lanes  and  dens  of  the 
great  examination-enclosure  for  their  nine  days' 
incarceration  and  seclusion.  Thus  in  audible  repeti- 
tion the  voices  of  Chinese  scholars  all  down  the 
eighteen  centuries  have  declaimed  these  words  of 
wisdom  or  despair  or  mistake.  If  to  these  pathetic 
and  dying  sounds  of  the  past  are  now  added,  taking 
the    leading     part    or    rather    the    energising    and 


288  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

harmonising  music,  the  glad  tidings  of  heaven's 
wisdom  and  salvation,  and  the  lost  mind  and  soul 
found  and  changed  and  taught  and  enlightened  for 
ever,  then  the  day  of  China's  rejuvenescence  and 
the  renewal  of  her  strength  will  indeed  have  come, 
and  her  past  search  and  the  records  of  her  search 
will  not  be  all  a  pathetic  loss.  They  were  not 
indeed  God's  full  revelation,  but  they  were  the 
yearning  after  such  a  revelation,  and  are  now  ful- 
filled and  satisfied. 

It  may  be  worth  while  here  to  make  my  position 
clear  ;  for  what  I  state  somewhat  dogmatically  is 
not,  I  am  aware,  the  accepted  view  in  this  age  of 
thought,  even  amongst  enthusiastic  supporters  of 
Christian  missions  and  believers  in  the  supreme 
claims  of  Christianity.  We  are  encouraged  by  some 
great  leaders  of  thought  to  regard  ourselves  as 
emerging  now  after  long  centuries  of  perhaps  neces- 
sary narrowness  of  view  into  the  clearer  atmosphere 
and  nobler  large-heartedness  of,  for  instance, 
Clemens  Alexandrinus,  who  held  that  the  true 
philosophy  of  the  Greeks,  and  with  perhaps  equal 
reason,  it  may  be  added,  the  nobler  philosophy  and 
reasonings  of  ancient  thought  in  all  nations,  were 
given  as  a  preparation  and  a  training  for  the  Gospel, 
and  to  be  regarded  as  a  real  revelation  and  justifying 
covenant  with  God.  What  is  meant  by  a  justifying 
covenant  with  God  I  cannot  pretend  to  define.  If 
it  means  another  Gospel,  or  a  justifying  and  saving 
portion  of  the  only  Gospel,  the  statement  is  surely 
erroneous  and  misleading.  If  it  means,  however, 
what  I  wholly  believe,  that  as  we  hold  faith  to  be 
the  justifying  requirement  before  God,  because  of 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE       289 

the  justifying  merit  and  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  so 
we  may  beheve  and  rejoice  in  the  hope  that  to  very 
many  in  all  ages  who  have  '  revolted  from  idohitry 
and  sought  for  the  truth  of  God,'  and  have  stretched 
out  through  the  darkness  of  the  search  true  faith, 
however  feeble,  in  the  unknown,  to  them  the  justify- 
ing covenant,  sealed  by  the  Lord  Himself,  is  effica- 
cious— that  is  a  very  different  consideration,  and 
one  which  we  msiy,  I  think,  thankfully  accept. 
But  if  this  argument  is  utilised  in  proof  of  the  further 
theory  of  the  evolution  of  religion,  then  when  we 
come  to  China  and  listen,  as  I  ask  my  readers  now 
to  listen,  to  the  teachings  and  aspirations  of  her 
ancient  instructors,  we  find  ourselves  confronted 
by  this  phenomenon.  Evolution  of  religion  has 
been,  so  far  as  we  can  miderstand  these  ancient 
and  somewhat  obscure  literary  relics,  not  from 
darkness  or  dim  light  into  the  dawn  and  the  sun- 
rising,  but  from  the  already  fading  evening  light 
of  China's  earlier  knowledge  of  God,  derived  we 
imagine  from  those  to  whom  the  Word  of  God  did 
come — Abraham,  for  instance,  and  his  descendants — 
on  to  the  twilight  of  mere  philosophy,  the  worship 
of  the  powers  as  well  as  the  Creator  of  heaven  and 
earth ;  leading  on  to  ancestral  worship,  deeper 
silence  about  the  Supreme,  with  widening  distance 
from  him,  ethics  and  precepts  for  the  visible  and 
natural  world  alone,  the  reality  of  the  spiritual 
being  overclouded  ;  and  ending  in  the  darkness 
of  the  idolatries  of  Buddhism,  and  of  Taoism  which 
followed  its  new  rival's  idolatrous  lead.  In  the 
sacred  courts  the  canonical  literature  and  the 
ancient  teaching  still  sounded  on,  but  the  voices  of 

T 


290         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

idolatry  and  the  comparative  desecration  of  true 
religion  were  heard  above  them. 

Let  us  listen,  then,  to  a  few  of  these  ancient 
words  of  China's  wisdom  in  verse  and  prose.  The 
pathos  and  significance,  to  my  mind,  lie  here,  that 
they  have  not  only  been  read  and  studied  in  silence, 
but  have  been  heard  in  continuous  repetition  all 
down  the  centuries. 

I  do  not  attempt  to  arrange  these  excerpts  under 
subjects  or  in  groups,  but  take  one  quotation  here, 
another  there,  as  significant  of  the  general  tone  of 
the  long  reverberations. 

I  quote  first  from  the  more  ancient  utterances  of 
the  Odes.  These  Odes  were  ancient  in  the  time  of 
Confucius,  and  were  edited  and,  some  say,  selected 
by  him,  leaving  three  hundred  and  five  as  the  Classic 
of  Poetry.  I  quote  also  from  the  sayings  of  Confucius 
himself,  collected  chiefly  in  the  Analects,  which  are 
regarded  as  the  sacred  centre  of  the  Chinese  canon 
of  philosophy  and  instruction.  These  date  from 
the  fifth  century  before  Christ.  Again  I  cite  a  few 
of  the  sayings  of  Mencius,  who  is  known  as  the 
'  second  sacred  sage.'  His  life  and  teaching  date 
from  the  third  and  fourth  centuries  before  Christ. 

The  other  canonical  books,  the  Changes,  the 
History,  the  Rites,  the  Spring  and  Autumn  Classic, 
the  Great  Learning,  the  Golden  Mean,  and  the 
semi-canonical  classic  of  filial  piety,  do  not  utter 
different  sounds,  though  the  style  and  matter  var3^ 
But  the  selections  which  I  give,  as  stating  and 
illustrating  the  principles  of  government,  the  rights 
of  kings  and  the  rights  of  the  people,  the  five  cardinal 
virtues  (benevolence,  righteousness,  propriety,  know- 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE       201 

ledge,  fidelity),  the  five  relationships  (sovereign  and 
minister,  father  and  son,  elder  brother  and  younger, 
husband  and  wife,  friend  and  friend) — tliesc,  with 
their  far-off  religiousness  and  glimpse  of  the  Most 
High,  and  their  nearer  unreligiousness  or  the  silence 
of  awe  and  distance,  will  suffice  to  illustrate  my  con- 
tention that  the  ancient  literature  of  China  and  her 
ancient  method  of  instruction  are  worthy  of  sympa- 
thetic and  genuine  interest,  as  the}'  sound  on  the  wind 
and  the  airs  of  two  thousand  years,  and  are  worthy 
of  being  sounded  still,  if  only  accompanied  and  out- 
sung  by  the  yet  more  ancient  divine  song  of  revela- 
tion, the  finding  of  the  lost  mind  and  soul  of  man. 

The  Book  of  Poetry,  the  contents  of  which  are 
the  most  ancient  of  the  Chinese  writings,  is  some- 
times ascribed  to  Confucius  as  a  redactor,  sometimes 
as  a  mere  editor.     He  is  credited  by  some  Chinese 
critics  with  the  rash  and  somewhat  presumptuous 
task  of  examining  the  three  thousand  odes  which 
were  current  at  his  birth  and  rejecting  all  but  three 
hundred    and    five.     But    more    probably    the    old 
baUads  and  poems  of  the  land,  scattered  through 
the  centuries,  had  already  been  collected  and  ac- 
cepted   when    Confucius    reverently    edited    them, 
with  the  mingled  delight  and  awe  whirh   he  must 
have  experienced  in  his  office  of  transmitter  rather 
than  that  of  rough   critic   or  independent   autiior. 
Confucius  himself  praises   them   as  pervaded   with 
'  thought  without  depravity.'     They  give  ghmpses, 
indeed,   of  the   looseness  of  social   life   and   moral 
corruption  in  those  ancient  days,  hardly  consistent 
with  our  dream  of  the  golden  past  and  of  better 
days  than  ours  ;    but  the  tone  of  the  Odes  may  l)o 


292         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

called  moral  throughout,  since  the  evil  is  described 
as  a  truthful  picture  of  what  is  at  the  same  time 
deplored,  and  in  contrast  to  the  many  scenes  and 
characters  of  high-toned  excellence.  Through  them 
all,  while  the  mysteries  of  providence  and  of  human 
life  are  lamented,  the  reverent  recognition  of  the 
Supreme  sounds  out  again  and  again.  The  Odes 
are  frequently  quoted  in  the  later  canonical  books. 
'  It  is  by  the  Odes,'  said  Confucius,  '  that  the  mind 
is  aroused  '  ;  and  one  of  the  two,  and  only  two, 
admonitions  which  Confucius  is  said  to  have  ad- 
dressed directly  to  his  son,  hurrying  as  he  was 
through  the  house  to  avoid  his  father's  frown  (for 
according  to  the  ancient  rules  of  propriety  a  father 
must  exercise  towards  his  son  '  a  distant  reserve '), 
was  this  :  '  Have  you  read  the  Odes  ?  Go  and 
study  them  ;  otherwise  you  will  be  a  man  not  worth 
conversing  with.'  In  a  specimen  of  verse  referring 
to  an  age  much  more  ancient  than  that  of  the 
canonical  Odes,  a  picture  is  supposed  to  be  given 
of  the  life  and  habits  of  the  country  people  in  the 
days  of  the  semi-legendary,  semi-historical,  Yao  and 
Shun,  in  the  third  millennium  before  Christ.  The 
description  might  well  suit  this  second  millennium 
after  Christ,  as  expressing  the  countryman's  crude 
idea  of  getting  on  well  enough  without  emperor,  and, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  without  God.  I  have  not  seen 
the  original,  but  I  give  Dr.  Legge's  translation  : — 

'  We  rise  with  the  smi ; 
We  rest  at  sundown. 
We  dig  wells  and  drink  ; 
We  till  our  fields  and  eat. 
What  is  the  strength  of  the  emperor  to  us  ? ' 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE       293 

Shun  himself,  the  Cinciiinatus  of  Cliina,  called 
from  the  plough  to  help  in  the  guidance  of  the  empire, 
is  esteemed  the  first  Chinese  poet,  B.C.  2255.  But 
his  tone,  both  about  the  throne  of  man  and  the  throne 
of  God,  would  be  different.  '  Shun,'  says  Mencius, 
'  rose  from  the  furrowed  fields.' 

Those  more  ancient  and  doubtful  odes,  however, 
from  which  I  have  just  quoted,  are  not  taught  and 
repeated  in  schools. 

We  come  now  to  the  canonical  Odes,  and  lind 
this  as  the  battle-cry  given  to  King  Woo,  B.C. 
1100,  by  one  of  his  officers,  a  cry  remembered  and 
adopted  in  later  battles  for  the  throne,  '  God  is  w  itli 
you.' 

'  Great  Heaven  makes  no  mistakes,'  says  another 
in  times  of  sceptical  despair. 

'  Think  of  the  imperial  and  supremo  God.  Is 
there  any  being  who  is  hated  by  him  ?  ' 

Then,  in  words  the  very  ring  of  which  has  sounded 
the  call  to  pious  reverence  all  down  the  ages,  '  Be 
reverent,  be  reverent,  O  soul !  Heaven  will  soon 
reveal  Heaven's  mind  to  you.' 

We  hear  also,  as  a  far-off  double  note,  first,  of 
the  distance  of  God  from  us,  an  idea  which  is  pleaded 
so  often  as  an  excuse  for  idolatry,  the  worship  of 
God's  delegates,  and  the  minor  deities,  tlie  powers 
of  nature,  and  then,  of  the  sympathy  and  of  the 
communion  of  God  with  man.  First  comes  the 
confession  of  faith  : — 

'  0  vast  and  distant  Heaven 
Who  art  called  our  ])arent !  ' 

(Parent,  literally  '  our  father,  our  mother.') 


294  HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

Then  follows  an  ancient  expression  of  the  heart's 
awe  at  the  apparent  mystery  of  the  dealings  of  God, 
but  accompanied  by  a  vindication  of  God's  justice 
and  the  assurance  that  the  crooked  things  of  man's 
actions  shall  be  made  straight,  that  clouds  and 
darkness  are  round  about  Him,  righteousness  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  His  throne. 

'  How  vast  is  God,  the  ruler  of  men  below  ! 
How  awful  in  terror  is  God ! 
How  many  things  seem  inept !  ' 

'  Are  these  all  His  ordering  ?  '  So  seems  to  speak 
the  complainant.  Yet,  the  poet  proceeds  to  reply, 
you  dare  not  complain  of  God's  doings,  for — 

'  Heaven  gave  birth  to  the  multitudes  of  the  people  ; 
But  that  nature    [heaven-conferred,   man    himself    has 

made]  unreliable. 
All  are  good  at  first. 
But  few  prove  themselves  to  be  so  at  the  last.' 

'  All  are  good  at  first.'  This  seems  echoed  by 
the  first  sentence  in  the  first  Chinese  reader  put 
into  the  hands  of  pupils,  '  Man's  heart  is  originally 
good.' 

Then,  letting  these  sounds  in  metre  and  sometimes 
in  rhyming  verse  echo  on  as  the  expression  of  the 
higher  thoughts  and  lower  imaginations  of  three 
thousand  years  ago,  listen  to  those  which  China 
used  chiefly  to  love,  though  now  growing  fainter 
to  her  ears,  the  sententious  sayings  and  aphorisms, 
and  teaching  as  of  household  words,  of  the  Con- 
fucius '  before  whom  never  was  a  Confucius,  after 
whom  never  shall  another  Confucius  arise,'  so  great 
is  he,  so  humble,  so  deprecatory,  so  authoritative  ; 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        295 

and  listen  also  to  the  stronger  A\'ords  of  liis  disciple 
and  successor,  Mencius. 

But  here,  first,  is  a  general  statement  about  man 
and  the  whole  duty  of  man,  attributed  to  the 
grandson  of  Confucius,  K'ung  Ki : — 

'  What  Heaven  has  conferred  is  called  the  nature  : 
accordance  with  this  nature  is  called  the  path  :  the 
regulation  of  this  path  is  called  instruction.' 

And,  as  a  solemn  anticipation  of  8t.  Paul's 
teaching  that '  the  things  that  are  seen  are  temporal  ; 
the  things  that  are  unseen  are  eternal,'  K'ung  Ki 
speaks  thus  : — 

'  There  is  nothing  more  visible  than  what  is  secret, 
and  nothing  more  manifest  than  what  is  minute. 
Therefore  the  ideal  man  is  watchful  over  himself 
when  he  is  alone.' 

Then  Confucius  himself  speaks  of  man's  state 
and  position  in  the  world  : — 

'  Death  and  life  have  their  appointment.  Riches 
and  honour  [come  not  by  chance  nor  by  violence, 
but  they]  too  are  the  gift  of  Heaven.' 

Confucius  in  his  own  sayings  rarely  uses  the  name 
of  God,  though  reverencing  and,  if  one  may  say 
so,  sanctioning  its  use  in  the  ancient  books  which 
he  edited,  adored,  and  transmitted.  J3ut  of  Heaven 
both  he  and  ]Mencius  often  speak,  sometimes  per- 
sonally, sometimes  evidently  impersonally. 

'If  you  sin  against  Heaven,'  says  tlit^  Master. 
'  there  is  no  place  for  prayer.' 

Yet  when  asked  further  about  prayer  by  his 
disciples,  and  about  his  own  private  prayer,  he  says, 
'  My  praying  has  been  for  long  time.'  As  much  as 
to  say,  '  I  have  had  a  place  for  prayer  ;   1  have  used 


296         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

it  by  my  conscientious  seeking  after  righteousness 
and  not  sinning  thus  against  Heaven.' 

But  anon  he  breaks  out  into  deprecatory  self- 
condemnation  : — 

'  Alas  !  alas  !  I  have  never  yet  met  a  man  who 
loves  virtue  more  than  he  loves  sensual  pleasure.' 

Or  again : — 

'  I  have  not  yet  seen  a  person  who  loved  virtue, 
or  one  who  hated  what  was  not  virtuous.' 

And  of  himself  he  says  : — 

'  A  seeker,  a  sincere  inquirer  I  may  be.  But  the 
two  great  words,  holy,  benevolent,  I  dare  not  apply 
to  myself.' 

The  Chinese  word  translated  '  holy '  seems  to 
bear  the  sense  of  the  highest  attainment  of  moral 
and  intellectual  power. 

The  Master  says  again  : — 

'  With  coarse  rice  for  my  food,  with  water  for 
my  drink,  and  my  bended  arm  a  pillow,  I  have  joy 
still  present  with  me.' 

These  remarkable  words  will  bear  a  brief  exposi- 
tion. Coarse  rice  and  tasteless,  havmg  no  '  under- 
rice '  (as  fish  and  vegetables  for  flavouring  are 
called),  is  given  as  a  punishment  to  a  refractory 
child.  '  With  such  poor  fare,  and  not  even  the 
weakest  tea '  (another  punitive  idea),  '  but  water 
to  drink ' — ^the  Chinese  scarcely  ever  drink  cold 
water — '  and  my  bended  arm  a  pillow,  I  have  still 
joy.'  The  Chinese  words  here  are  very  expressive. 
They  mean,  my  joy  in  goodness  is  free  and  inde- 
pendent. It  lives  and  sings  anjrwhere,  and  here 
also  with  such  food  and  drink  and  unrestful  repose 
I  can  be  glad. 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        207 

'  Heaven  produced  the  virtue  that  is  in  me,' 
Confucius  said  in  a  time  of  great  danger  to  his 
disciples  who  urged  him  to  fi}^ ;  '  Hwcn  T'uy,  what 
can  he  do  to  me  ?  '  Hwen  T'uy  was  a  high  officer 
from  the  imperial  court  sent  to  attack  him. 

'  Nothing  can  hurt  me  till  Heaven's  time  has 
come.'     I  will  not  fear  what  flesh  can  do  unto  me. 

'  It  is  all  over,'  said  the  Master  at  another  time, 
analysing  the  mysteries  of  human  nature.  '  I  have 
never  seen  a  man  who  can  perceive  his  faults  and 
straightway  inwardly  accuse  himself.'  This  seems 
to  imply  that  the  acknowledgment  of  fault  in  the 
court  of  conscience  comes  later  in  time  than  acknow- 
ledgment in  the  court  of  human  inquiry. 

Confucius  and  his  disciples  Avere  one  day  })hiying 
at  the  sober  game,  if  I  may  say  so,  of  relating  their 
hearts'  wishes,  and  the  absence  of  selfishness  in 
each  was  remarkable. 

Tse  Loo,  Confucius'  favourite  disciple,  wished  for 
chariots  and  horses  and  fur  dresses,  but  to  share 
them  with  his  friends,  and  avowed  that  he  would 
feel  no  displeasure  if  they  were  all  spoilt  and  worn 
out. 

Yen  Yuen  would  like  never  to  boast  of  liis  own 
merits,  or  to  describe  at  length  his  o\\n  meritorious 
deeds. 

Confucius  would  desire  most  to  afford  rest  to  llio 
aged,  to  be  sincere  in  dealing  witli  his  friends,  and 
to  show  tenderness  to  the  young. 

Then  suddenl}'  Confucius  seems  confronted  \\itli 
the  solemn  problems  of  life  and  death. 

The  Master  said,  '  If  a  man  in  the  morning  hear 
the  right  way,  he  may  die  in  the  evening  without 


298         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

regret.'     But  he  does  not  specify  and  point  out  what 
is  the  right  way. 

'  I  venture  to  ask  about  death,'  said  Kee  Loo, 
another  of  his  disciples,  one  day. 

'  Whither  does  it  all  lead  ? '  he  seems  to  say.  '  We 
are  growing  old  along  with  you,  great  master.  Is 
the  best  yet  to  be,  the  end  of  life,  the  great  after- 
death,  for  which  the  first  was  made  ?  I  venture 
to  ask  about  death  once  more.' 

The  answer  has  been  sounding  for  two  thousand 
years  and  more  : — 

'  If  you  do  not  know  life,  hoAV  can  you  know 
death  ?  '  An  avoidance  of  teaching  just  when  the 
scholar's  needs  were  direst,  but  a  question  which 
the  Lord  of  life  alone  can  answer. 

Once  more  coming  back  to  life  and  its  duties, 
Confucius  speaks  in  a  nobler  tone.  When  he  was 
asked  if  he  could  give  one  word  which  might  serve 
as  a  rule  of  practice  for  all  men's  lives,  the  Master 
answered  : — 

'  Is  not  shu  such  a  word  ?  ' 

The  Chinese  word  used  by  Confucius  corresponds 
to  St.  Paul's  '  moderation,'  consideration  for  others, 
treating  them  as  you  would  be  treated  yourself. 
Dr.  Legge  renders  it  by  '  reciprocity,'  the  negative 
side,  and  yet  sometimes  the  most  positive  and 
practical  side,  of  the  Golden  Rule. 

Then  Mencius  calls  to  us  down  the  centuries.  '  I 
love  life,'  he  says,  '  and  I  love  righteousness.  If  I 
cannot  keep  both,  I  let  life  go  and  retain  my  right- 
eousness.' A  thought  and  a  resolve  of  the  noblest 
type,  and  implying,  however  inarticulately,  a  belief 
in  that  after-death  which  Confucius  had  set  aside. 


EDUCATION  AND  LITERATURE        200 

'  Weeping  for  the  dead,'  says  Meiieiu.s  again, 
'  should  be  genuine  sorrow  for  the  dear  departed  ; 
not  for  the  sake  so  much  of  the  living  ' — in  the 
selfish  thought  of  personal  loss  or  in  the  display  of 
noisy  grief. 

Here  is  one  delight  of  the  '  superior  man  '  of 
whom  Confucius  and  Mencius  speak  so  much,  the 
ideal  sage  and  saint,  yet  possessing  an  excellence 
which  all  men  should  aim  at. 

'  When  looking  up  he  has  no  occasion  for  shame 
before  Heaven.' 

Heaven  is  surely  used  here  in  a  personal  sense, 
though  Confucius  and  ^fencius,  as  I  mentioned  above, 
refer  seldom  to  God  as  the  personal  Shang  Ti. 

'  And  below  he  has  no  occasion  to  blush  before 
men.' 

'  Herein  do  I  exercise  myself,'  says  St.  Paul,  with 
a  similar  desire  for  pure  delight,  and  with  a  know- 
ledge of  the  secret  of  attainment ;  '  to  have  always 
a  conscience  void  of  offence  toward  God  and  toward 
men.' 

The  voices  which  1  have  now  sounded  in  my 
readers'  ears  are  but  isolated  ejaculations  and  calls, 
heard  and  then  silent  in  the  pauses  of  tlic  uiiids 
which  waft  down  to  us  the  life  and  tlie  thoughts  of 
two  thousand  years.  They  are,  in  the  writer's 
estimation,  with  all  their  imperfections,  and  the 
imperfections  and  mistakes  and  omissions  in  the 
great  body  of  history  from  whicli  tliov  are  extracted, 
sufficient  to  sustain  the  contention  tli.il  tlicv  are 
worth  preserving. 

China  will  not  only  be  ungrateful  to  her  teachers 
and  sages  of  the  past,  she  will  be  untrue  also  to  herself 


nOO         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

and  to  history,  if,  by  practically  abandoning  her 
classics  in  teaching,  and  allowing  thus  the  memory 
and  high  honour  of  her  sages  to  wither,  if  not  to 
die,  she  announces  to  the  world  that  she  has  been 
barbarian  and  not  civilised,  rude  and  untaught 
rather  than  educated,  for  more  than  twenty 
centuries. 


CONCLUSION :  RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT 


CHAPTEli   XI 

CONCLUSION  :    RETROSPECT   AND    PROSPECT 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  a  country  peopled  so  long 
ago,  and  settled,  ordered  and  unchanging  for  so 
many  centuries,  there  seem  to  be  few  really  ancient 
buildings  and  monuments  of  the  past.  Confucius 
himself  lamented  this  in  his  daj^ ;  the  records  of  the 
wise  men  of  his  '  long  ago  '  had  perished,  and  he 
could  not  invent  history.  Amidst  the  shifting  sands 
of  the  desert,  Egypt's  ancient  pjTamids  renuiin 
conspicuous  and  unmoved,  though  the  king  of 
Egypt  in  now  ancient  times  was  '  but  a  noise  '  ; 
he  had  passed  the  time  appointed,  China,  rivalling 
Egypt  in  early  civilisation,  amidst  her  mountains 
and  rivers  and  plains,  has  no  pyramids  and  but 
few  ancient  monuments.  But  though  her  dynasties 
have  come  and  gone,  yet  her  ordered  state,  her 
throne  and  theory  of  government,  true  monuments 
of  the  past,  remain.  Is  she  not,  after  all,  lier  own 
great  memorial  ? 

I  was  invited  not  long  ago  to  see  and  measure 
two  ancient  yew-trees  in  England,  with  the  rejmted 
age  of  two  thousand  seven  hundred  years.  (Ireat 
age  is,  if  not  accurately  reckoned,  yet  suggested  by 
the  fallen  companions  of  the  yew-trees.  Two  oaks, 
sprung  from  acorns  which  long  long  ago  were 
dropped   at  the   roots   of  the   already   aged   yews, 


304         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

unable  to  contend  with  the  strength  of  the  older 
trees,  grew,  nevertheless,  and  flourished  for  centuries, 
leaning  outwards  so  as  to  avoid  the  yews'  straight, 
stiff  growth  and  foliage.  At  last,  only  two  or  three 
summers  ago,  weary  as  it  seemed  of  the  fatigue 
and  humiliation  of  this  everlasting  submission,  and 
overburdened  with  their  own  gathering  weight  of 
timber  and  foliage,  they  quietly  lay  down  and  died, 
and  the  yews  live  on  without  decay,  with  nine  yards' 
girth  and  vigorous  growth. 

China  has  seen,  not  by  her  roots'  side  indeed, 
nor  blighted  by  her  proximity  and  power,  but  afar, 
ancient  empires  in  Europe,  Asia  and  Africa,  flare 
up  in  the  firing  of  the  woods,  or  fall  prostrate  from 
deca}^ ;  but  she  lives  on.  Some  say  that  she  is 
fast  renewing  her  youth  ;  others,  that  the  changes 
now  threatening  to  convulse  her  will  mean  uprooting, 
or  the  lopping  of  her  branches,  or  the  splitting  with 
wedge  and  mallet,  or  with  stronger  explosives,  of 
her  great  stem,  three  or  four  thousand  years  old. 

It  may  be  asked  whether  a  country  and  a  people 
so  ancient  and  stable,  so  highly  educated  and 
civilised,  need  any  radical  change  at  all.  Who  told 
the  Chinese  that  they  must  change,  lest  the  oaks 
springing  up  all  round  press  her  too  close,  and 
monopolise  the  soil,  and  stunt  and  ruin  her  growth  ? 

We  looked  at  the  old  yew-trees  with  awe,  not 
wholly  unmingled  Avith  incredulity.  Tavo  thousand 
seven  hundred  years  (or,  according  to  the  revised 
version  of  experts,  two  thousand  six  hundred  years) 
old  !  Then  they  could  remember,  if  the  news  were 
wafted  so  far,  the  foundation  and  the  rising  of  the 
low  walls  of  early  Rome.     Rome  has  come  and  gone. 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         303 

but  the  yews  live  on.  Yet  that  far-off  year  of  their 
reputed  birth  marks  only  the  days  of  niediaBval 
China.  Lao  Tsze,  the  founder  of  Taoism,  had  not 
yet  been  born,  nor  the  Buddha,  nor  Confucius  ;  but 
when  those  philosophers  began  their  lives,  and  still 
more  so  when  Buddhism  entered  China,  it  was  an 
already  ancient  empire  to  which  they  came.  Wliy 
should  China  change  at  all,  then,  wlien  her  present 
constitution  and  order  have  served  her  well  for 
three  millenniums  ?  Can  she  not  live  on  without 
foreign  artificial  culture,  perhaps  till  all  things  are 
uprooted  and  changed  ?  Or  is  the  more  serious 
question  and  forecast  of  the  future  rather  this  ? 
Are  there,  as  some  long  ago  suspected,  seeds  of  decay 
developed  through  contact  with  the  west,  whidi 
if  not  removed  will  strike  down  to  the  roots  and 
wither  the  great  tree  ? 

It  is  to  some  of  these  symptoms  of  decay,  calling 
for  definite  remedies,  that  1  call  my  readers'  atten- 
tion in  this  closing  chapter. 

The  only  warning  I  should  like  to  sound  i/i  lifiiinc 
is,  that  we  from  the  west  may  be  running  a  doul)lc 
risk  :  first,  in  suggesting  to  China  change  where  she 
needs  no  change,  simply  because  the  great  east 
happens  to  differ  from  the  great  west ;  secondly, 
in  tacitly  assuming,  or  loudly  proclaiming,  that  what 
suits  the  bustling  west  must  be  the  one  remedy 
for  the  wants  and  woes  of  the  more  deliberate  and 
tranquil  east. 

A  series  of  lectures  has  recently  been  gi\('n  in 
Shanghai  by  a  true  and  devoted  friend  of  Cliina's 
progress,  and  an  earnest  pleader  for  interiuitional 
amenities.     An   institute  has   been   formed   for  tlie 

u 


306         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

promotion  of  these  objects,  a  club  in  which  the 
east  may  touch  and  grasp,  if  she  will,  the  hand  of 
the  west,  and  enjoy  the  interchange  of  thought  and 
the  study  of  international  problems.  The  course 
of  lectures  to  which  I  allude  consisted  of  a  review 
of  the  different  systems  of  government  in  the  states 
of  Europe  and  in  the  United  States.  Informing  and 
stimulating  as  the  dissertations  were,  it  must  have 
struck  thoughtful  and  patriotic  Chinese  that  a  two- 
fold assumption  underlay  the  whole.  First,  that 
China  is  wholly  dissatisfied  with  her  present  govern- 
ment and  constitution ;  secondly,  that,  if  she 
changes,  she  cannot  reform  and  remodel  herself, 
but  must  adopt  some  western  method,  or  leave  the 
enterprise  alone. 

We  take  for  granted,  perhaps  correctly,  that  the 
phenomenon  of  change  in  China  is  so  significant  as 
to  mark  a  new  era  in  the  world's  history,  because 
China  has  refused  to  change  for  so  many  centuries. 
This  may  be  generally  true.  China's  implements 
and  methods  of  handicraft  and  agriculture  are  much 
the  same  as  a  thousand  years  ago,  and  in  her  culture 
and  preparation  of  tea  and  silk — though  accelerated 
by  machinery  in  its  later  stages  in  some  centres  of 
industry — the  methods  of  three  thousand  years  ago 
are  still  employed  in  countless  homes  in  hiU  and 
plain.  But  it  is  a  fact,  though  often  overlooked, 
that  all  the  time  China  has  been  quietly  changing. 
She  has  had  her  ebb  and  flow  of  fashion  in  the  past 
ages — even  in  the  past  generation — as  the  following 
slight  indications  show.  Young  China  now  seems 
unable  to  use  the  large  black  folding-fans  of  twenty 
or  thirty  years  ago,  with  their  gilded  inner  face  and 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         307 

gold-dust  drawings  on  the  outer  side.  The  fans 
in  fashion  to-day  are  scarcely  more  than  half  the 
size  of  the  older  patterns.  The  cut  of  men's  loose 
sleeves,  and  the  number  and  arrangement  of  buttons 
on  women's  jackets,  have  changed  more  than  once. 
One  fashion,  everywhere  conspicuous  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Ningpo  fifty  years  ago,  has  entirely 
disappeared.  Girls  before  marriage  would  wear 
their  black  hair  plaited  in  a  long  queue  ;  but  later 
it  would  be  put  up,  and  worn  with  an  appendage 
at  the  back  of  the  head  and  reaching  half-way  down 
the  back.  The  effect  was  somewhat  like  a  dragon- 
fly's wings,  now  drooping,  now  slightly  expanding, 
the  coarse  hair  being  arranged  in  two  frames  of  thin 
whale-bone,  meeting  at  the  base  in  a  pad  \\liicli 
was  attached  to  the  head.  These  wings  disappeared 
about  twenty  years  ago,  and  after  lingering  for  a 
while  amongst  the  women  of  the  low  class,  consisting 
of  chair-bearers,  barbers,  actors,  and  go-betweens, 
they  have  now  completely  disappeared.  The  par- 
ticular class  to  which  I  refer  had  been  under  a  ban 
for  an  unknown  period,  apparently  as  a  punislnnent 
for  sharing  in  some  insurrectionary  movement.  The 
men  were  forbidden  to  compete  in  the  j)ublic  Uterary 
examinations,  and  though  living  in  the  midst  of 
the  common  people  they  did  not  intermarry  with 
them.  Then  change  came.  The  ban  was  removed 
by  imperial  edict  as  an  act  of  grace  about  eiijlit  years 
ago  ;  but,  to  the  astonishment  of  the  public,  the 
boon  was  declined  by  this  independent  class.  To 
show  their  real  independence,  and  that  tlieir  menial 
occupations  were  voluntary  and  not  enforced,  the 
barbers  and  chair-bearers  struck  work  :  and  further. 


308         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

to  show  that  China  changes  not,  they  did  not  care 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  permission  to  compete  for 
literary  distinction. 

Now  the  forward  look  which  I  attempt  in  this 
chapter,  and  the  suggestion  of  a  forecast  as  to  China's 
near  and  more  remote  future,  necessitate  a  look  back- 
ward at  her  great  and  glorious  and  peaceful  past, 
and  at  her  past  of  turmoil  and  disruption  ;  her 
'  battles  of  the  warrior  with  confused  noise  and 
garments  rolled  in  blood,'  her  sitting  apart  from 
the  nations  in  magnificent  solitude  and  remoteness, 
save  for  some  passing  touch  or  glance,  till  now  she 
is  vivified  and  awakened  by  contact  with  the  west, 
and  the  spur  and  the  shock  of  daring  innovations. 
How  has  her  past  in  methods  of  government  and 
education  and  civilisation  served  her  ?  Must  they 
be  readjusted  merely,  or  radically  changed  ?  I 
noticed  in  my  last  chapter  a  possible  method  of 
gradual  or  vigorous  change  in  the  curriculum  of 
education.  Many  particulars  in  this  imaginary 
transformation  have  already  been  adopted,  and  are 
now  in  operation  in  numerous  government  and 
private  schools.  Yet  it  seems  significant  that  there 
are  symptoms,  if  not  of  reaction,  certainly  of  slacken- 
ing in  the  process  of  enlightening  and  reforming  the 
nation.  The  histories  of  other  lands,  and  the 
geography  of  the  world,  two  great  items  of  education, 
in  which  China  obviously  required  a  widening  of 
her  knowledge  and  teaching,  are  in  some  schools 
being  dropped ;  and  Chinese  history,  which  is  being 
reproduced  in  numerous  hand-books,  is  to  be  the 
subject  after  all.  The  glory  and  power  of  China 
must  be  the  object  in  life  of  the  new  China,  not  the 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         300 

acquirement  of  knowledge  for  its  own  fair  and  noble 
sake. 

This  same  idea  may  be  made  the  ruling  principle 
in  dealing  with  the  ancient  monuments  of  the  land, 
when  China  is  confronted  by  the  problems  of  tlic 
future.  What  is  to  be  done  with  these  monuments 
in  stone  and  brick,  in  literature,  and  in  the  state 
and  constitution  of  China's  realm  ?  Let  us  consider 
these  relics  in  order,  and  imagine  ourselves  in  the 
place  of  thoughtful  and  reasonable  Chinese  patriots, 
eager  for  their  country's  honour  and  power,  but 
more  zealous  still  for  her  enlightenment  and  for  that 
'  righteousness '  which  Confucius  set  before  him  as 
his  own  aim,  and  which  alone  '  exalteth  a  nation.' 

What  part  have  old  pagodas  and  temples,  and 
Chinese  literature,  and  her  constitution  and  mode 
of  government,  borne  in  the  fortunes  and  stability 
of  the  empire  ?  Have  they  still  their  uses,  or  are 
they  so  much  out  of  date  and  out  of  keeping,  in  the 
dream  of  a  new  China,  as  to  be  doomed  ? 

The  first  two,i:)agodasand  temples — whether  for  the 
worship  of  idols,  or  for  the  cult  of  deified  heroes  and 
benefactors — have  been  designed,  indeed,  to  lix  and 
preserve  the  fung-shui ;  the  luck,  that  is,  of  cities  or 
districts,  of  river-bed  or  bridge  or  mountain-valley. 

The  following  brief  account  of  fumj-s/iui  will 
accentuate  the  question  whether  the  past  shall  live 
on  in  the  future  of  enlightemd  (  liina. 

Fung-shui  means  literally  'wind  and  water'; 
and  some  say  that  it  is  so  called  '  because  it  is  a 
thing  like  wind,  which  you  caiuiot  com])r(^h(Mi(l  ; 
and  like  water,  which  you  cannot  grasj)/  I'.ui  tliis 
is  vague  and  superficial. 


310         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

The  formulated  system  of  fung-shui  has  four 
divisions  :  Li,  the  general  order  of  nature  ;  Su,  her 
numerical  proportions  ;  KH,  her  vital  breath  and 
subtle  energies  ;  and  Hing,  her  form  or  outward 
aspect.  The  harmonising  of  these  four  would  appear 
to  constitute  a  perfect  fung-shui  ;  the  contrary  will 
produce  calamity. 

Three  points  are  insisted  upon  by  the  professors 
of  this  art,  in  which  truth  and  error  strangely  mingle  : 
(1)  that  heaven  rules  the  earth  ;  (2)  that  both  heaven 
and  earth  influence  all  living  beings,  and  that  it  is 
in  man's  power  to  turn  their  influence  to  the  best 
account  for  his  own  advantage ;  (3)  that  the  fortunes 
of  the  living  depend  also  on  the  good- will  and  general 
influence  of  the  dead.  In  direct  connection  with 
this  third  point  comes  in  ancestral  worship. 

Under  Li,  or  order  in  nature,  the  Chinese,  believing 
implicitly  in  the  Reign  of  Law,  make  much  of  the 
number  5.  There  are  five  elements — metal,  wood, 
water,  fire,  earth ;  five  planets — Jupiter,  Mars, 
Saturn,  Venus,  Mercury  ;  five  viscera  ;  five  colours  ; 
five  kinds  of  happiness  ;  and  the  five  relationships 
— viz.,  those  of  prince  and  minister,  father  and 
son,  husband  and  wife,  elder  and  younger  brothers, 
friend  and  friend.  As  to  the  Su,  or  numerical 
proportions  of  nature  (closely  connected  with  the 
Li),  ancient  and  modern  fung-shui  literature  are  at 
variance.  At  the  time  of  the  Yih  King,  the  most 
ancient  of  the  Chinese  classics,  they  recognised  six 
elements.  The  modern  system  of  fung-shui,  formu- 
lated by  Chu  Hi  (the  great  commentator  on  Con- 
fucius), and  by  others  during  the  Sung  dynasty 
(a.d,    112(5-1278),   endeavoured   to   harmonise   the 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         311 

two;  and  taking  10,  or  twice  5,  as  the  sacred  number 
for  heaven,  and  12,  twice  6,  or  8  and  4,  the  numbers 
of  the  two  sets  of  mystic  diagrams  known  to  the 
ancients,  as  the  sacred  number  for  earth,  they 
constructed  10  heavenly  stems  and  12  terrestrial 
branches,  and  from  their  combination  composed  the 
cycle  of  60  names,  which  is  now  used  to  designate 
successive  years. 

A  clever  geomancer,  well  versed  in  this  intricate 
but  meaningless  array  of  formulae,  imposes  with 
ease  on  his  ignorant  and  superstitious  clients. 

The  Chinese  think  that  the  soul  of  man  is  two- 
fold. They  distinguish  an  animus  and  an  anima  : 
the  first  is  the  breath  of  heaven,  and  at  death  returns 
thither.  The  anima  is  the  earthly  or  animal  element, 
and  returns  to  earth  at  death.  The  common  people, 
modifying  this  doctrine,  suppose  that  the  dead  are 
chained  to  the  tomb  by  the  earthly  soul,  and  that 
the  spiritual  nature  hovers  round  the  old  home ; 
and  therefore,  as  there  must  be  an  action  and 
reaction  of  the  two  souls  on  one  another,  the  comfort 
of  the  corpse  makes  the  earthly  soul  complacent, 
and,  flashing  complacency  to  the  spiritual  soul, 
produces  in  some  unseen  way  prosperity  in  the  home 
of  the  living.  It  is  said  that  in  Hongkong  Chinese 
who  wish  to  obtain  some  favour  from  foreigners 
will  actually  sacrifice  and  pray  in  the  foreign  ceme- 
tery, so  as  to  secure  the  good  offices  of  the  spirits 
of  the  departed  in  influencing  the  living.  Again, 
it  is  asserted  that  in  cases  of  rebellion  the  first  step 
taken  by  government  is  to  send  secret  agents,  who 
discover  the  tombs  of  the  ancestors  of  the  insurgent 
leaders,  and  then  proceed  to  open  them,  scatter  the 


312         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

contents,  desecrate  the  graves,  and  insure  in  this 
way  calamity  from  the  disturbed  and  annoyed  spirits 
on  their  Hving  and  rebeUious  representatives. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  enumerate  here  all  the 
steps  necessary  to  secure  the  quiet  repose  of  the 
corpse  and  the  consequent  luck  of  the  house.  The 
tomb  must  be  guarded  from  all  noxious  influences, 
which  come  chiefly  from  the  north.  Trees  are 
planted,  or  mounds  raised  to  ensure  this  ;  water 
also,  as  an  emblem  of  wealth  and  affluence,  should 
be  near ;  and  straight  lines  in  paths  or  water- 
courses must  be  avoided  as  unlucky. 

The  connection  between  ancestral  worship  and 
fung-sliui  will,  however,  be  sufficiently  clear  without 
further  detail.  And  in  very  deed  it  presents  the 
Chinese  virtue  of  filial  piety  in  a  somewhat  im- 
amiable  light.  The  long  days  spent  in  the  land 
given  them  by  the  Lord  God  seem  to  imply  the 
existence  of  at  least  some  genuine  honour  for 
parents  amongst  the  Chinese.  But  there  is  a  vast 
admixture  of  selfishness  in  the  practice.  It  is 
rather  from  the  fear  of  evil  consequences  to  the 
survivors  than  from  loving  care  for  the  dead  that 
sacrifices  are  offered,  and  tombs  are  so  carefuUy 
tended  and  visited. 

And  it  will  be  seen  that  whilst  fung-shui  is  a 
formidable  obstacle  to  railways  and  other  modern 
improvements,  since  some  lucky  tree  or  mound  or 
tomb  meets  and  resists  the  bewildered  contractor 
every  hundred  yards  or  so,  the  system  of  ancestral 
worship  is  a  tremendous  obstacle  to  Cliristianity. 
It  has  the  sanction  of  very  ancient  observance  ;  it 
has  the  far  stronger  sanction  of  the  virtue  of  filial 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         313 

piety,  of  which  it  seems  to  be  the  sure  expression  ; 
and  it  has  the  yet  more  powerful  motive  of  self- 
preservation  and  self-aggrandisement.  Christianity, 
forbidding  and  condemning  this  practice  as  super- 
stitious and  idolatrous,  encounters  a  mighty  foe, 
which  the  almighty  power  and  wisdom  of  God  alone 
can  overthrow.  The  question  has  often  been  asked 
with  much  earnestness  and  anxiety,  by  both  mission- 
aries and  Chinese  converts,  whether  some  Christian 
rite  may  not  be  substituted  for  ancestral  worship  ; 
which,  while  omitting  and  condemning  all  that  is 
merely  superstitious,  idolatrous,  or  utilitarian,  may 
yet  preserve  the  Christian  religion  from  even  the 
appearance  of  sanctioning  the  neglect  of  filial 
piety. 

To  resume,  the  temples  have  covered  the  land, 
dotting  the  vast  plains  with  red  or  yellow  walls 
and  roofs,  and  placed  sometimes  picturesquely  on 
mountain  ledges  or  in  gorges  and  valleys  ;  and  their 
removal  would  seriously  spoil  many  a  landscape 
where  man's  works  and  God's  seem  from  a  distance 
to  combine  in  harmony  of  form  and  colour.  Have 
they  had  any  further  efficacy  and  pacifying  influence 
in  the  empire  ?  A  certain  instinct  of  religion  may 
have  been  satisfied  at  first  by  them,  a  kind  of 
impression  that  the  unseen  but  real  powers  of  nature 
and  of  the  spirit-world  have  not  been  wholly 
neglected  in  seed-time  and  harvest.  But  they  have 
led  the  people,  with  the  eyes  of  conscience  not  Avholly 
closed,  from  the  Creator  to  the  creature  for  worship. 
Even  cold  and  soulless  science  in  the  new  secular 
schools  is  leading  the  nation  to  awake,  and  perceive 
the    follies    of    superstition    and    idolatry.      Shall 


314         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

pagodas,  then,  be  levelled  to  the  ground,  as  was 
done  in  the  thirteenth  century,  during  the  reign 
of  one  of  the  few  Chinese  emperors  who  strove 
to  suppress  Buddhism  ?  Shall  the  temples  be 
destroyed,  or  turned  wholly  into  secular  schools,  as 
has  already  been  done  in  many  cases  ?  Or  shall 
they  be  allowed  to  live  on  in  a  dying  life,  sad, 
melancholy  in  their  picturesque  ruin,  sounding  on 
their  stiU  rolling  drums  and  gongs  and  in  their 
deep-toned  bells  the  echoes  of  their  unsatisfying 
teaching  ? 

'  Lo  !  as  the  wind  is  so  is  mortal  life, 
A  moan,  a  sigh,  a  sob,  a  storm,  a  strife.' 

The  city  walls,  again  ;  shall  they  disappear,  as 
marks  of  barbaric  unrest,  or  of  the  times  of  inter- 
necine strife  and  dynastic  wars,  and  as  unsuited 
now  for  practical  defence  ?  The  remains  of  the  old 
wall  of  London,  visible  here  and  there,  shut  in  and 
pressed  upon  by  warehouses  and  crowded  streets  ; 
or  Caracalla's  wall,  near  York  ;  or  the  traces  of  the 
old  vallum  at  Dorchester — are  they  of  practical  use 
to  modern  England  ?  Will  young  China  in  her 
advanced  civilisation  decide  to  have  these  city  walls 
levelled  all  over  the  land,  and  roads  made  in  their 
place  ?  I  dip  into  the  future,  but  I  cannot  conjure 
up  such  a  picture  of  Chinese  cities  and  towns,  or 
believe  that  such  a  change  would  be  altogether  for 
her  good.  A  better  course  w^ould  be  that  the  more 
serviceable  of  the  old  buildings  should  be  used,  as 
some  now  are,  for  secular  purposes  ;  or  better  still, 
as  we  may  hope  in  the  near  future,  for  purposes  of 
Christian  worship  ;  ^^'hile  the  rest  could  be  preserved 


I     > 


3: 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         315 

as  historic  monuments  to  prevent  young  China  from 
forgetting  her  glorious  past. 

I  have  alread}^  discussed  the  question  of  the 
conservation  of  China's  most  ancient  monument, 
her  Hterature,  and  her  system  of  education.  I 
address  myself  now  to  the  last  subject,  Avhich  seems 
to  be  absorbing  interest  at  the  present  time,  the 
question,  namely,  of  the  future  mode  of  government 
in  China.  It  will  be  found,  if  I  mistake  not,  that 
this  subject  also  is  bound  up  with  the  past  history 
of  China,  and  as  such  it  suggests  an  inquiry  of 
profound  interest. 

Is  reform  in  the  departments  and  details  of  govern- 
ment all  that  is  required  ?  ShaU  its  ancient  regime 
of  paternal,  patriarchal  rule  live  on,  with  the  emperor 
the  father  of  his  great  family,  reigning  indeed, 
autocratic,  supreme,  but  ruling  with  the  sole  and 
overmastering  desire  for  the  good  of  each  member 
of  the  family,  inquiring  into  their  needs  and  fore- 
stalling them,  listening  with  patience  to  their 
complaints,  guided  and  helped  by  the  counsel  and 
growing  experience  of  the  elder  children,  but  ruling, 
not  ruled  ;  a  leader  and  a  legislator,  not  a  puppet 
and  figurehead  ?  And  shall  the  emperor's  delegated 
authority  continue  in  the  person  of  the  higher  and 
lower  grades  of  mandarins  throughout  the  empire, 
clothed  with  the  same  solemn  responsibility  of  un- 
selfish, untiring  care  for  the  people,  and  not  for  self, 
'  bearing  not  the  sword  in  vain,'  but  also  '  the  father 
and  mother '  of  the  people  ?  Is  it  not  the  failure 
of  the  individuals  on  the  throne  or  in  the  yameUy 
and  not  the  failure  of  the  ideal  and  of  the  constitu- 
tion  which   has   '  reduced   China,'    in   the   pathetic 


316         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

moan  of  the  late  empress  dowager,  '  to  a  halting 
position  in  a  dangerous  and  sorrowful  place.'  Does 
not  the  empress  herself  hint  at  the  reason  for  this 
state  of  things  ?  '  China's  government,'  she  says, 
'  has  been  for  long  ages  established,  but  officials 
have  forgotten  to  protect  their  people,  and  the 
people  know  not  how  to  assist  their  country.  A 
veil  hangs  between  those  below  and  those  above.' 
Surely  the  failure  of  officials  and  people  cannot  be 
urged  as  the  fault  of  the  theory  of  government, 
but  rather  as  an  infraction  of  its  first  principles  and 
rules.  What  might  not  the  effect  be  if  a  drastic 
reform  in  the  practice  of  old  principles  and  rules 
were  attempted  before  the  old  principles  and  rules 
were  condemned  as  effete  ?  Suppose,  for  instance, 
the  unfortunate  officials  were  paid  adequate  salaries 
instead  of  the  starving  pittance  dealt  out  in  most 
cases  now.  They  would  thus  be  lifted  beyond  that 
which  is  now  almost  a  resistless  temptation  to 
accept  bribes  and  to  exact  more  than  is  legally  due. 
They  would  think  no  longer  how  much,  during 
their  term  of  office,  they  could  extort  from  the 
people,  but  how  much  they  could  do,  by  just  and 
humane  rule  and  sympathetic  counsel  and  help, 
to  benefit  the  people  and  pacify  the  country.  The 
people  then  in  their  turn  would  be  law-abiding, 
loyal  to  the  ya^nen,  and  loyal  to  the  throne. 

China  has  known  and  still  knows  such  rulers, 
though  they  be,  it  is  to  be  feared,  few  and  far 
between.  A  great  viceroy  had  so  endeared  himself 
to  the  people  of  the  two  provinces  over  which  he 
held  sway,  that  they  followed  his  barge,  men,  women, 
and   children,    for   miles,    weeping   their   farewells. 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         317 

when  the  time  came  for  him  to  leave  his  old  post 
and  go  into  retirement.  It  is  not  every  one  who 
can  do  as  he  did,  but  the  present  system  of  fatal 
underpayment  for  officials  renders  it  practically 
impossible  for  the  government  to  work  efficiently, 
and  for  the  relations  between  the  emperor  and  the 
people,  the  upper  and  the  lower,  to  be  maintained 
without  incessant  ebullitions  of  unrest  and  ill-will. 
No  vox  populi  roaring  in  a  parliament  formed  entirely 
on  Western  models,  demanding,  perhaps,  the  rights 
of  one  class,  and  forgetting  or  opposing  the  rights  of 
another,  will  necessarily  remedy  such  a  state  of  things. 
It  is  profoundly  interesting  to  notice  in  the  records 
of  China's  past  how  theories  of  rule  were  early 
formulated,  and  early  subjected  to  almost  violent 
suggestions  of  reform,  and  how  many  of  what  we 
deem  modern,  socialistic,  and  democratic  extrava- 
gances were  in  ancient  times  broached,  advocated, 
exposed,  and  condemned,  the  good  in  them  pre- 
served, the  bad  submerged.  The  idea  which  is 
said  by  some  to  be  the  reality  in  the  British  con- 
stitution, that  our  '  Mother  of  Parliaments '  is 
supreme  in  administration  and  legislation  alike ; 
that  the  king  is  not  ruler,  but  servant,  and  liable 
to  dismissal,  not  controlling,  not  advising,  not 
objecting  or  vetoing,  but  simply  recording  the  will 
of  his  Parliament  if  the  two  Houses  agree — this 
abolition  both  of  the  royal  prerogative  and  of  the 
people's  own  last  safeguard  of  liberty  finds  no  place 
in  China's  past  theories  and  practice  of  government. 
But  tlie  sovereign,  though  supreme,  and  the  acknow- 
ledged fountain-head  of  law  and  of  taxation,  holds 
his  prerogatives  fenced  round,  and  the  rights  and 


318         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

liberticF;  of  the  people  fully  protected  and  defined. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  legal  necessity  of  justice,  of 
benevolence,  of  sympathy,  of  mercy,  of  setting  the 
people  first  and  the  country's  weal  and  honour  fore- 
most, or,  again,  the  absence  of  forced  loans  to  the 
sovereign  for  the  sovereign's  extravagant  use,  and  of 
favouritism  or  partial  patronage :  all  this  constitutes 
the  keeping  of  a  contract  far  better  than  any  Bill  of 
Rights,  and  yet  preserves  the  divine  right  of  kings 
to  rule,  and  of  the  people  to  honour  and  obey.  I 
insist  upon  this  point,  because  it  appears  to  me  that, 
as  in  the  case  of  education  so  in  the  case  of  consti- 
tution-building, China  will  be  best  advised  if  she 
amends  her  constitution  not  by  slavish  copying  of 
Western  models,  but  by  self-improvement  and  self- 
reform,  conserving  as  far  as  possible  all  that  is  just 
and  beneficent  in  her  own  ancient  system.  Our 
Western  fashions  will  not  of  necessity  fit  and  adorn 
Eastern  constitutions.  Imagine  party  government 
introduced  into  China,  and  the  vast  country,  with 
ten  times  the  population  of  England,  broken  up 
into  ten  times  as  many  contending  parties  !  How 
few  would  be  for  the  state,  for  the  empire,  for  the 
welfare  and  mutual  content  and  uplifting  and 
highest  good  of  all  classes,  and  how  many  for  their 
own  class  and  private  interest  alone  !  It  is  surely 
a  relief  to  many  and  a  gladness  to  know  that  their 
kings  and  queens,  with  all  loyalty  to  constitution, 
do  reign  still,  and  that  allegiance  is  sworn  and 
rendered  to  ruling  persons  and  not  to  ornamental 
relics  of  the  past.  It  appears,  at  any  rate,  from 
the  various  decrees  and  memorials  on  this  great 
subject,  either    presented  to  the  throne  or  issued 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         319 

by  the  prince  regent  and  his  council  as  from  the 
throne,  that  the  authority  of  the  emperor  must  be 
preserved,  supreme,  while  subject  ever  to  the  yet 
more  supreme  consideration  of  the  good  of  the 
people,  whose  needs  and  wishes — perhaps  a  more 
constitutional  word  than  '  will,'  which  is  too  im- 
perious— shall  be  ascertained  in  the  future  in  a 
more  satisfactory  way  than  in  the  long  past.  The 
people  have  made  their  voices  heard  all  down  the 
ages  in  China,  but  too  spasmodical^,  too  much 
under  the  excitement  of  oppression  and  sudden 
wrong.  Now  they  will  have  their  representative 
assemblies  ;  country  clubs  of  advisers,  and  benches 
of  magistrates ;  county  councils  and  provincial 
councils  ;  and  the  national  assembly,  to  constitute 
eventually  the  Parliament  of  the  empire  with  two 
Houses.  The  voices  of  such  representatives  will 
be  more  dignified  and  more  influential,  perhaps, 
than  what  I  have  witnessed  myself,  the  right  and 
power  of  the  poorest  peasant,  or  of  women,  to 
demand  special  audience  from  the  local  mandarin, 
and  procure  administration  of  justice  in  case  of 
special  wrong,  or  on  the  failure  of  justice  in  the 
ordinary  courts.  Widows  oppressed  by  an  adver- 
sary will  fall  down  and  stop  the  chair  of  just  or 
unjust  judge  alike,  and  compel  attention  and 
redress.  I  saw  a  young  man  on  one  occasion,  alone 
and  without  card  of  patron  to  herald  him,  enter 
the  yaiMn  door,  penetrate  into  the  second  court, 
and  striking  violently  and  urgently  a  bell  hung  there 
for  the  purpose,  without  any  opposition  from  the 
runners  and  the  lictors,  continue  the  noise  till  the 
mandarin  himself  came  out  of  his  private  apart- 


320         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

ments,  and  gave  this  peasant  an  audience  and 
promised  redress.  More  dignified,  if  not  less  loud, 
may  be  the  debates  and  representations  of  these 
national  assemblies,  and  if  they  can  enunciate  the 
nation's  wants  and  rights  as  forcibly  and  directly 
as  the  peasant  did  his,  the  emperor  and  his  council 
will  listen  and  obey.  It  is  surely  a  consideration 
worthy  of  serious  attention  whether,  in  attempting 
to  formulate  a  constitution  under  the  special  pressure 
of  indiscretions  and  wrongs  in  kingcraft,  the  framers 
of  some  Western  constitutions  have  not  gone  near 
to  ruining  the  people's  rights  and  powers  by  para- 
lysing the  power  of  him  whose  supreme  right  and 
glory  and  prerogative  it  is  to  see  that  the  people's 
rights  are  safeguarded  and  preserved.  If  the  king 
reign  and  rule  but  in  dumb  show,  the  sovereign 
people  will  be  at  the  mercy  of  those  who  are  neither 
for  king  nor  nation,  but  for  party  and  themselves. 
China  seems  alive  to  this  danger  in  these  times  of 
the  forging  and  polishing  and  framing  of  a  constitu- 
tion ;  and  with  a  wholesome  regard  for  the  power 
and  rights  of  the  people,  the  government  are  not 
disposed  to  abdicate  on  the  emperor's  part  his 
supreme  power  by  which  those  popular  rights  are 
guaranteed.  But  it  is  a  critical  time.  It  is  far 
more  dangerous  for  an  ancient  state  which  has 
known  ordered  rule  to  act  as  though  it  were  begin- 
ning its  political  life,  and  to  proclaim  a  constitution 
as  though  such  had  never  been  known,  than  for  a 
youth  amongst  the  nations,  which  has  won  its  spurs 
by  patient  endurance  of  oppression  and  the  exhibi- 
tion of  powers  which  can  be  trusted  with  authority, 
to  formulate  and  demand  a  constitution. 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         321 

Unless  China  is  content  to  believe  that  the  past  has 
not  so  grossly  \\Tonged  the  empire,  and  that  she  has 
much  to  learn  from  that  past,  and  much  thankfully 
to  retain  in  her  schemes  of  reform,  she  is  sure  to 
wreck  her  high  emprise  by  headlong  pace  and  neglect 
of  the  balancing  powers  in  a  true  constitution. 

The  following  significant  and  sober  words  of 
Goethe  are  far-reaching  in  their  application  : — 

'  We  require  in  our  language  a  word  to  express 
the  same  relation  to  the  word  "  nation  "  as  "  child- 
hood" bears  to  "child."  The  teacher  must  hear 
childhood  and  not  the  child.  The  lawgiver  and 
ruler  must  heed  "  nationhood  "  and  not  the  nation. 
The  former  always  says  the  same  things,  is  sensible, 
consistent,  straightforward,  and  true ;  the  latter 
wants  so  many  things  that  it  never  really  knows 
its  own  mind.  And  in  this  sense  the  law  can  and 
ought  to  be  the  generally  expressed  will  of  "  nation- 
hood," a  will  which  is  never  declared  by  the  mob, 
but  which  the  intelligent  man  is  able  to  detect, 
which  the  wise  man  knows  how  to  appease,  and  the 
good  man  is  eager  to  satisfy.' 

Hear  now  how  these  problems  of  king,  lords,  and 
commons,  of  sovereign  power  and  sovereign  rights, 
have  stirred  the  thoughts  of  China's  sages  for  two 
thousand  years,  and  consider  whether  they  are  not 
still  capable  of  application. 

Confucius  describes  the  duties  of  a  ruler  compre- 
hensively but  somewhat  vaguely  thus  : — 

'  There  must  be  reverent  attention  to  business  ; 
the  exhibition  of  sincerity  ;  economy  in  expenditure  ; 
love  for  men  ;  and  the  employment  of  the  people 
at  the  proper  seasons.' 

X 


322         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

These  departments  of  administration  are  now  of 
necessity  delegated  to  different  departmental  officers, 
but  the  emperor  must  retain  in  his  ruling  mind  and 
hand  the  principles  of  all  and  the  ability  to  transact 
all  on  emergency. 

And  now  as  to  the  requisites  of  government. 
They  are  threefold.  '  First,  sufficiency  of  food ' 
(involving  good  harvests,  good  markets,  fair  trade, 
constant  employment).  '  Secondly,  sufficiency  of 
national  equipment '  (a  powerful  fleet  and  a  well- 
drilled  army).  '  Thirdly,  confidence  of  the  people 
in  their  ruler.' 

'  But  suppose  one  at  least  of  these  requisites 
must  be  abandoned,  which  of  these  could  be  spared 
with  least  loss,'  asked  one  of  Confucius'  disciples. 

'  Military  equipment,'  said  the  Master. 

'  And  when  dire  necessity  comes,  which  must  go 
next  ?  ' 

'  Part  with  the  food,'  said  the  Master  with 
startling  precision.  '  Of  old  death  has  been  the  lot 
of  all  men.' 

No  need  of  regret,  then,  if  you  die  early  rather 
than  late,  if  only  the  ruler  be  still  trusted  and  main- 
tained on  his  throne. 

Watch,  now,  one  of  these  ancient  emperors  on  his 
throne.  So  far-off  he  appears,  four  thousand  years 
and  more  ago,  that  we  cannot  see  his  features  right. 
Even  now  the  Chinese  emperor,  seated  in  remote 
Peking,  is  mysterious  and  invisible  to  the  people. 

'  May  not  Shun,'  asked  Confucius,  '  be  described 
as  having  governed  efficiently  without  exertion  ? 
What  did  he  do  ?  He  did  nothing  but  gravely  and 
reverently  occupy  his  imperial  seat.' 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         323 

This  was  a  lesson,  no  doubt,  as  to  the  influence 
of  the  emperor's  personal  character,  but  Shun,  if 
he  were  living  now,  would  leave  his  throne,  and  in 
person,  like  our  great  English  sovereigns  for  seventy 
years  past,  ascertain  the  needs  of  the  people  and  of 
the  whole  realm,  and  '  with  exertion  '  and  in  council 
with  his  private  advisers,  hearing  first  his  faithful 
Commons  and  his  faithful  Lords,  govern  and  rule. 

Here  follow  rules  for  the  renovation  and  regulation 
of  an  empire. 

'  Resolve,  0  Son  of  Heaven,  to  regulate  well  your 
state  ;  then  your  family  ;  then  your  person  ;  and 
then  your  heart.  Sincerity  is  thus  produced.  That 
leads  to  extension  of  knowledge,  and  extension  of 
knowledge  to  the  investigation  of  all  things.  Then 
[working  backwards]  complete  knowledge  and  sin- 
cere thoughts  and  rectified  hearts  and  cultured  per- 
sons and  regulated  families  and  rightly  governed 
states,  result  in  empire,  tranquil  and  established.' 
And  the  regulation  of  the  empire  is  further  enforced 
by  the  remembrance  that  all  that  is  required  in  the 
constitution  of  a  state  is  included  in  a  perfect  family. 
'  Filial  piety  means  that  the  sovereign  is  served. 
Fraternal  submission  means  that  elders  and  superiors 
are  served.  Kindness  and  love  are  the  virtues 
wherewith  the  multitude  must  always  be  treated.' 

Confucius  then  quotes  the  Odes,  where  it  is  said  : — 

'  Let  the  ruler  discharge  his  duties  as  a  father, 
son,  and  brother — as  a  model ;  and  then  the  people 
will  follow  and  imitate  him.' 

And  here  again  speak  the  democratic  and  yet 
imperialist  Odes : — 

'  When  a  prince  loves  what  the  people  love,  and 


324         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

hates  what  the  people  hate,  he  is  called  the  parent 
of  the  people.  By  gaining  the  people  the  king- 
dom is  gained ;  by  losing  the  people  the  kingdom 
is  lost.' 

Yet  how  supreme  the  emperor  is  !  He  is  his  own 
minister  of  religion ;  his  own  chancellor  of  the 
exchequer ;  his  own  minister  of  education.  '  To 
him  it  appertains  to  order  ceremonies  ;  to  form  the 
measures  ;   to  determine  the  characters.' 

But  who  is  sufficient  for  these  things  ?  Confucius 
seems  to  lament. 

Let  us  now  hear  Mencius  treating  of  empire  and 
of  government.  Of  the  origin  of  power  he  writes 
sometimes  vaguely,  sometimes  with  startling 
directness. 

'  The  emperor  cannot  give  the  empire  to  another. 
Heaven  gives  the  empire  :  the  people  give  it.  There- 
fore in  the  Great  Declaration  these  words  occur : — 
Heaven  sees  as  my  people  see ;  Heaven  hears 
according  as  my  people  hear.' 

Again,  Mencius  seems  to  forget  for  the  moment 
his  great  teacher  Confucius'  estimation,  and  his  own 
elsewhere,  of  imperial  power. 

'  The  people  are  the  most  important  element  in 
a  nation ;  the  spirits  of  the  land  and  grain  the 
next ;  the  sovereign  the  lightest.' 

'  Feed  the  people,'  he  says  to  the  ruler,  '  and  then 
educate  them.  If  they  have  a  certain  livelihood, 
they  will  have  a  fixed  heart.' 

'  There  is  a  way  to  gain  the  empire,'  he  says 
again.  '  Get  the  people,  and  the  empire  is  got. 
Get  their  hearts,  and  the  people  are  got.  Collect 
for  them  what  they  like  ;  lay  not  on  them  ^^ilat  they 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         325 

dislike.  The  people  will  turn  to  a  benevolent  rule 
as  water  flows  downward.' 

Hear,  again,  the  ancient  Odes  of  the  time  of 
Chow  and  King  Wan,  of  the  emperor  and  the 
hundred  generations  which  would  follow  him, 
supreme,  a  ruler  in  the  fear  of  God  and  love  of 
man. 

The  Ode  speaks  first  of  him  as  he  was  when  a 
ruler  below,  and  of  his  place  now  in  the  unseen  world, 
and  as  it  seems  of  his  touch  still  maintained  on  the 
dynasty  and  the  empire  he  made  so  great. 

'  King  Wan  is  on  high  ; 
0  bright  is  he  in  heaven. 
King  Wan  ascends  and  descends 
On  the  left  and  right  of  God. 
Full  of  earnest  activity  was  he. 
His  fame  is  without  end. 
Profound  was  King  Wan. 

The  gifts  of  Chow  extend  to  King  Wan's  descendants. 
Ever  think  ye  of  your  ancestors  ; 
Take  your  pattern  from  King  Wan.' 

It  would  appear,  from  these  specimens  of  theorising 
on  the  subject  of  empire,  that  the  problems  of  con- 
stitution and  government,  with  which  it  is  now 
proposed  to  agitate  China,  have  been  known  to  her 
and  to  her  sages  and  leaders  for  long  centuries.  The 
mutual  relationship  between  sovereign  and  j)Coplc, 
the  one  ever  above,  the  second  ever  below,  yet  the 
Son  of  Heaven  ruling  enthroned  above,  living  and 
reigning  solely  for  the  benefit  and  the  peace  and  the 
higher  welfare  of  the  sovereign  people — this  secTus 
to  be  the  ideal.  To  ensure  this,  China  has  developed 
the   patriarchal,   or  rather  the  paternal,   form   of 


326         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

government.     The  father  of  the  people  must  rule, 
even  as  the  father  of  a  family  is  supreme  in  the 
house.     But  with  a  true  father  and  mother,  their 
waking  thoughts  and  sleeping  dreams  are  occupied 
not  with  self,  but  with  the  welfare  and  education 
of  the  children  and  with  the  good  name  of  the 
family.     In  early  life  this  rule  is  absolute,  and  the 
obedience  of  the  children  should  be  unquestioned. 
China,  after  four  thousand  years,  is  not  in  a  state 
of  abject  tutelage,  or  of  tender  subject  childhood, 
unless   she   be   in   danger   of   a   second   childhood 
manifesting    itself    by    rash    and    self-willed    folly. 
But  the  ideal  of  a  Chinese  family  may  be  the  ideal 
of  a  great  nation.     I  have  seen  it  myself,  as  I  relate 
elsewhere,   and   have   watched   the   life   of   such   a 
family.     Five  generations,  separating  into  different 
households,  but  living  practically  under  the  same 
roof  of  the  ancestral  compound,  dwelling  in  peace, 
bound  together  by  the  common  love  and  reverence 
and  obedience  rendered  to  the  nonagenarian  parents 
yet  spared  to  them,  living,  loving,  and  reigning  still. 
The  patriarch  leans  on  his  sons  for  counsel  and 
support  and  suggestion,  whereas  once  he  supplied 
all  these  to  them,  but  his  decision  and  his  will  still 
form  the  final  court  of  appeal.     If  China  resolves 
to  break  up  her  great  family,  to  leave  with  violent 
insurrection  the  paternal  roof  of  empire  and  imperial 
rule,    and   to    break   up    into   eighteen   or    twenty 
independent  sovereign  and  soon  warring  states,  then 
constitution   and  government  and  order  wiU  find 
little  guidance  save  of  the  loudest  warning  from  the 
history  of  her  past.     But  if  she  remain  one  empire, 
then  her  new  constitution  may  realise  the  best  ideal 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         327 

of  the  past,  correcting  subsequent  errors  and  supply- 
ing deticiencies.  The  voice  of  the  manhood  of  China, 
her  womanhood  also  not  quite  silent,  will  be  heard 
in  her  tentative  provincial  councils,  in  the  national 
assembly  to  meet  this  autumn,  and  eventually  in 
her  Parliament  with  an  Upper  and  Lower  House. 
This  voice,  if  it  is  the  voice  of  the  many-tongued 
and  dififerently  constituted  provinces  and  prefectures 
and  counties  and  districts,  and  not  the  voice  of 
tyrannous  majorities  closuring  and  stifling  the  voice 
of  temporary  minorities,  will  be  listened  to  and 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  empire  by  the  acuter 
ear  and  clearer  vision  of  the  Upper  House,  un- 
trammelled by  the  needs  of  party.  The  emperor, 
too,  seated  on  the  Dragon  Throne  three  thousand 
years  old,  but  in  person  not  yet  in  his  dotage,  will, 
with  his  privy  council  of  state  (especially  if  the  seat 
of  empire  be  moved  to  the  ancient  southern  capital), 
listen  to  the  wishes  of  his  people,  and  if  he  finds 
them  to  be  the  voice  of  the  empire,  and  for  the  good 
of  the  empire,  not  mere  whims  of  party  or  petulant 
demands  of  selfish  intrigue,  will  make  the  people's 
will  the  sovereign's  will. 

So  far  as  the  information  at  present  procurable 
guides  us,  it  seems  probable  that,  miless  fear  of 
dynastic  revolution  alter  violently  the  course  and 
development  of  events,  some  such  enlargement  and 
adaptation  of  the  ancient  government  of  China  will 
be  adopted,  such  as  have  been  realised  in  some  of 
the  golden  periods  in  her  history.  The  emperor 
will  still  be  supreme  and  rule,  the  source  of  power 
and  law,  but  so  completely  and  continuously  in 
touch    with    his    people,    sympathising    with   their 


328         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

legitimate  ambitions  and  patriotic  hopes,  expressed 
and  explained  by  constitutional  utterances  in  legal 
assemblies,  that  the  people  will  rule  while  they  serve, 
and  the  emperor  (in  the  high  regal  words  which 
guide  our  own  sovereigns)  wiU  serve  while  he 
reigns. 

I  cannot  but  regard  the  political  future  in  this 
forward  glance  as  ominous  and  uncertain,  though  not 
without  rays  of  sunshine  struck  across  the  haze. 
But  in  at  least  three  directions  there  is  ground  for 
legitimate  congratulation  and  bright  hope.  I  allude, 
first,  to  the  great  reform  of  the  abolition,  by  imperial 
exhortation  if  not  decree,  of  the  deforming  and 
useless  fashion  of  binding  and  cramping  the  feet  of 
Chinese  girls.  This  reform  is  spreading,  and  be- 
coming the  true  fashion  in  higher  society,  but  the 
unnatural  custom  (which  is  probably  a  thousand 
years  old)  is  scarcely  altered  at  all  among  the 
industrial  and  agricultural  classes.  The  uplifting  of 
woman's  position  in  society,  which  I  notice  below, 
will  gradually,  perhaps  quite  soon,  accelerate  and 
complete  the  process  of  reform.  Secondly,  I  notice 
a  change  of  the  utmost  significance,  namely,  the 
prohibition  and  gradual  suppression  of  the  gro^\'tll 
of  the  poppy  for  the  manufacture  of  opium,  and  the 
sale  of  the  drug  and  its  use  as  a  vicious  luxury,  a 
reform  extending  to  all  ranks  of  society  and  to  all 
parts  of  the  empire,  and  by  mutual  arrangement 
for  gradual  but  steady  withdrawal,  afiecting  the 
foreign  trade  in  opium  and  causing  it  also  to  cease. 
This  reform,  thus  inaugurated  and  carried  forward, 
surpasses  the  most  audacious  dreams  of  early 
Christian    workers    and    philanthropists,    and    the 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         329 

utmost  hopes  of  China's  own  great  dreamers.  It 
requires  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  incessant  watch- 
fulness and  the  frequent  issue  and  repetition  of 
prohibitory  decrees,  lest  by  easily  opened  back- 
doors both  the  growth  of  the  poppy  and  the  sale 
and  use  of  opium  be  secretly  revived  and  reintro- 
duced. The  great  reform  is  hampered  somewhat, 
yet  from  another  point  of  view  perhaps  stimulated, 
by  the  remembrance  that  the  co-operation  of 
England  and  India  in  this  prohibition  and  suppres- 
sion depend  not  wholly  (as  they  should  depend)  on 
motives  of  humane  justice,  but  on  the  condition 
of  China's  honesty  in  carrying  on  'pari  passu  her  own 
prohibition,  her  own  suppression.  But  if  only  the 
exclusion  and  death  of  one  vice  do  not  admit  and 
foster  habits  and  vices  of  yet  more  deadly  power, 
the  change  is  one  deserving  of  profoundest  con- 
gratulation, adding  to  the  health  and  strength  and 
conscious  manhood  of  China,  and  securing  her 
esteem  and  influence  amongst  the  nations. 

Perhaps  the  brightest  prospect  of  aU  lies  in  the 
introduction  of  education  for  women,  a  great  and 
noble  reform,  very  largely,  if  not  exclusivel}-,  due 
to  the  stimulus  and  example  given  by  the  w  ork  of 
Christian  women  from  the  west  for  their  sisters  in 
the  east.  Woman  has  not  been  subjected  in  China 
all  down  her  history  to  the  degradation  and  oppres- 
sion and  downright  wrong  imposed  in  barbarous  or 
semi-civilised  lands.  China  has  not  always  thought 
or  spoken  so  viciously  and  so  contemptuously  about 
woman  as  did  the  excited  and  irate  Earl  of  Fan, 
when  speaking  about  King  Yew  and  his  advisers 
nearly  three  thousand  years  ago.     The  earl  seems 


330         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

specially  contemptuous  when  woman  as  by  accident 
is  educated  and  by  chance  is  wise. 

*  A  wise  man  builds  up  the  wall : 
But  a  wise  woman  overthrows  it. 
Disorder  does  not  come  down  from  heaven  : 
It  is  produced  by  the  woman. 

Those  from  whom  come  no  learning  and  no  instruction 
Are  women.' 

In  the  same  ode  there  follows  a  violent  condemna- 
tion of  woman's  interference  in  subjects  outside  her 
home-duties. 

*  A  woman  who  occupies  herself  at  all  in  public  affairs 
Leaves  her  silkworms  and  weavmg.' 

But  China  has  held  woman  in  higher  estimation 
than  this  throughout  her  history.  The  sanctity  of 
marriage,  one  of  China's  greatest  glories,  the  tone 
of  sober  happiness  and  contentment  and  order  of 
innumerable  Chinese  homes  show  this.  But  such 
a  state  of  things  would  be  impossible  if  in  China 
a  woman  were  a  mere  despised  slave  or  chattel. 
Solomon,  writing  in  his  haste,  as  the  Earl  of  Fan 
spoke — both  of  them  probably  with  special  instances 
before  their  eyes — mentioned  the  woman  whose 
heart  is  as  snares  and  nets  and  her  hands  as  bands  ; 
and  spoke  of  one  man  amongst  a  thousand  as  worth 
finding,  and  a  woman  amongst  these  as  not  to  be 
found.  But  Solomon  ends  his  divinely-inspired 
proverbs  of  wisdom  by  the  noble  panegyric  on  the 
virtuous  woman :  Her  price  above  rubies ;  the 
heart  of  her  husband  trusting  in  her ;  she  does  to 
him  and  her  household  good  and  not  evil  all  the 
days  of  her  life  ;   provident,  prudent,  indefatigable, 


KETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         331 

educated  surely,  for  she  opens  her  mouth  with 
wisdom,  and  that  best  fruit  of  high  learning,  the 
law  of  kindness,  is  on  her  tongue  ;  '  her  children  rise 
up  and  call  her  blessed,  her  husband  praises  her,' 
and  her  example  is  the  theme  of  praise  in  the  gates 
of  her  native  town. 

China  has  known  such  women,  and  she  needs  no 
further  touch  for  the  perfection  of  the  picture,  save 
this : — 

'  A  woman  that  feareth  the  Lord,  she  shall  be 
praised.' 

'  I  am  but  a  poor  reader  and  scholar,'  said  a 
countryman  to  me  the  other  day.  '  You  wiU  find 
me  to  be  slow  of  speech  and  dense  of  apprehension, 
but  you  should  hear  my  Avife.  How^  sensible  and 
quick  she  is,  and  so  wise  and  good  !  Do  talk  to  her 
and  examine  her  ;   she  will  speak  for  me.' 

Yet  with  all  this  rule  of  comparative  dignity  and 
recognition,  and  with  all  these  exceptions  of  educa- 
tion and  developed  intellect,  woman  in  China  has 
been,  according  to  the  sadly  prevalent  custom,  un- 
educated and  untaught.  This  state  of  things  is 
now  rapidly  changing.  Woman  is  being  recognised 
more  and  more  as  the  help  meet  for  man  in  the 
companionship  of  mind  as  well  as  of  life  and  of  the 
same  roof.  The  shrewd  remark  was  made  by  a 
Chinese  gentleman  that  men  in  the  A\cst,  though 
rendering  to  woman  all  chivahous  honour,  and 
giving  her  precedence  and  the  first  consideration 
in  social  life,  yet  all  the  while  rule  and  control. 

In  China,  however,  while  Avoman  is  not  honoured 
as  she  should  be,  and  is  considered  inferior  in  position 
and  in  authority,  yet  after  all  it  is  she  who  rules 


332         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

the  Chinese  house  and  life.  And  as  education,  from 
whatever  ulterior  motive,  is  being  aimed  at  so 
generally  by  men,  young  China's  young  men  desire 
to  have  young  China's  girls  educated  at  least  as 
carefully  and  thoroughly  as  themselves;  and  the 
girls  and  their  parents  respond  to  the  challenge,  a 
call  and  response  full  of  promise  in  this  survey  of 
China's  future.  Perhaps  the  fears  which  spring  to 
the  fancy  are  exaggerated  if  not  groundless,  yet  it 
is  impossible  to  suppress  the  persuasion  that  every- 
thing, humanly  speaking,  depends  on  who  the 
teachers  of  these  girls  are  to  be,  and  what  the  pupils 
are  to  learn,  and  with  what  object  and  to  what  end. 
There  is  a  grave  fear  lest  Chinese  girls'  schools  should 
overleap  the  primary  and  secondary  stages,  and 
mount  at  once  to  what  is  called  high-school  educa- 
tion, in  the  luxuries  and  fancies  and  mere  displays 
of  education — a  fear  lest  both  teachers  and  scholars 
should  think  that  to  read  their  own  literature  in 
their  own  language  with  ease,  and  to  compose  clearly 
and  with  elegance,  and  to  know  something  of  the 
history  and  geography  and  productions  of  the 
central  realm  and  of  other  countries,  are  not  of 
great  consequence  compared  with  the  accomplish- 
ment of  playing  an  American  organ  instead  of  their 
old  tuneful  lutes  and  guitars,  or  with  excerpts  from 
scientific  treatises  and  the  delights  of  calisthenics 
and  of  fancy-work,  instead  of  plain  hemming  and 
sewing,  or  lessons  in  cookery  or  in  other  useful  house- 
work. If  this  be  so,  higher  education  must  retire 
for  a  while  and  make  way  for  practical,  deeper, 
broader,  more  truly  refined  learning.  There  is 
danger,  of  course,  of  reaction  from  the  old  state  of 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         333 

comparative  humiliation  and  submission  to  a  clamour 
as  to  rights,  and  the  equality,  if  not  the  superiority, 
of  woman ;  and  that  not  only  in  her  own  department, 
which  may  yet  be  a  wide  one  in  the  household  or  the 
state. 

Not  long  ago  I  witnessed  an  instance  of  what 
seemed  a  symptom  of  a  coming  regime,  though  it 
may  have  been  only  a  rare  exception.  In  one  of 
the  side-streets  of  Shanghai,  as  1  turned  a  corner 
with  a  friend,  we  met  a  procession  of  Chinese  girls. 
A  teacher  led  the  long  line  of  forty  or  fifty  girls, 
ranging  in  age  from  fifteen  or  sixteen  to  ten  years. 
Another  teacher  brought  up  the  rear.  They  had 
been  attending  drill,  and  they  marched  back  to 
their  school  with  a  military,  defiant  air,  lifting 
their  feet  with  the  high  step  of  the  march,  and 
v/ith  the  intimation  in  their  steadfast,  upturned 
faces  that  China  defies  the  world.  These  same  sirls 
had  a  short  time  before  made  a  bonfire  of  the  flags 
of  all  nations,  China's  flag  alone  being  left  unscorched 
above  the  ashes. 

But  there  are  already  symptoms  abroad  \\hich 
show  that  the  first  outburst  of  excitement  and  foolish 
bombast  is  dying  down.  The  insurrectionary  spirit 
amongst  the  large  numbers  of  Chinese  students 
acquiring  western  learning  in  Japan,  a  symptom 
which  had  so  alarmed  the  Chinese  government  at 
one  time,  is  gradually  disappearing,  and  a  more 
genuine  zeal  for  learning  seems  to  be  setting  in. 
The  acquisition  of  the  English  language,  at  first 
avowedly  desired  simply  as  a  means  to  obtam 
lucrative  employment,  is  becoming  more  and  more 
a  genuine  intellectual  ambition ;   and  at  the  same 


334         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

time  we  are  assured  by  those  who  call  themselves 
the  leaders  of  China's  true  reformers,  that  the 
quality  and  purity  of  the  English  acquired  are 
continually  being  improved,  while  the  number  of 
really  competent  professors  and  students  of  English 
is  steadily  on  the  increase.  They  go  so  far  as  to 
prophesy  that  the  coming  language  of  China  will  not 
indeed  be  that  which  so  many  regard  as  the  coming 
language  of  the  world,  English,  but  a  curious 
amalgam  of  the  kwan-hwa,  changed  by  contact  with 
the  many  other  dialects  of  China,  a  contact  which 
railways  will  quicken  and  facilitate,  with  a  large 
accretion  of  English  and  of  other  western  tongues. 
I  had  always  anticipated  the  disappearance  of  some 
at  least  of  the  many  varieties  of  dialect  in  China 
by  the  closer  communication  caused  by  the  accelera- 
tion of  locomotion,  but  I  had  not  anticipated  such  a 
complete  change  as  these  reformers  expect  in  the 
general  speech  of  the  empire. 

The  present  aspect  of  the  political,  educational 
and  social  reforms  in  China  gives  rise  to  the  hope 
that  the  reformers  in  China  and  the  government 
generally  will  speedily  abandon  the  folly  of  attempt- 
ing retribution  for  the  wrongs  received  from  the 
west  in  the  past,  by  the  suicidal  policy  of  treating 
that  which  is  now  the  friendly  west  with  hostility, 
suspicion,  and  attempted  exclusion. 

We  may  also  venture  to  hope  that  that  Avhich  is 
so  pressing  a  question  in  the  business  world  of  the 
present  time,  the  reform  of  the  currency  and  the 
steadying  of  exchange,  may  be  so  negotiated  and 
arranged  as  to  result  in  the  mutual  advantage  and 
prosperity  of  commercial  China  and  her  commercial 
friends  from  the  west. 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         335 

But  now  to  speak  more  directly  of  great  China 
herself. 

I  mount  the  hill,  from  the  slopes  of  which  I  am 
writing,  and  look  down  on  a  scene  familiar  to  me 
for  fifty  years.  As  I  gaze,  the  landscape  north,  west, 
and  south  seems  to  widen  out  to  the  utmost  limits 
of  the  great  empire,  and  beyond  them  to  other  lands 
with  which  China  is  now  in  contact.  The  question 
rises,  as  I  turn  away  from  this  contemplation  of  the 
outward  face  of  China  and  from  my  recollections  of 
the  land,  and  notices  of  her  ancient  history  and  new 
enterprises — what  does  she  really  want  ? 

Long  lines  of  woodmen,  heavily  laden  with 
bamboos  or  fir-poles,  and  in  the  spring  months  with 
loads  of  bamboo  shoots,  descend  the  stone-paths 
among  the  hills  upon  which  we  have  been  gazing, 
returning  with  yet  heavier  sacks  of  rice  exchanged 
for  the  timber.  They  live  a  life  which  has  been 
going  on  for  centuries.  The  crops  in  the  plains 
below  have  sometimes  been  ruined,  and  the  grace- 
ful bamboos  uprooted  by  tempest  and  flood,  but 
oftener  the  rice  has  been  reaped  and  garnered,  and 
the  treasures  of  the  hills  gathered  in  safety  and 
plenty.  The  fishermen,  in  like  manner,  storm-tossed, 
wrecked,  lost  sometimes  in  the  howling  typhoon, 
but  oftener  returning  under  full  sail  with  gi'eat  hauls 
to  fetch  good  prices  ;  and  the  traders  in  the  hot 
crowded  streets,  or  with  snow  drifting  in  on  to 
their  exposed  counters  and  benches ;  and  the 
artisans  and  the  merchants,  and  the  scholars  in 
their  retirement  of  country-house  or  village-school 
— do  all  these  represent  in  their  stirring  life 
of    action   and    thought   what   a   modern    Chinese 


336         HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 

writer  has  called  '  a  deficient  and  rotten  social 
order '  ? 

What  now  do  they  propose  to  will  and  demand 
by  the  voice  of  Parliament  and  the  declaration  of 
the  people's  wishes  ?  Where  shall  reform,  with 
tact  and  practical  innovation  make  itself  construc- 
tive and  useful,  and  not  destructive  and  meddle- 
some ? 

I  have  suggested  above  one  imperative  need,  the 
satisfaction  of  which  will  be  full  charged  with  bene- 
ficial effects  on  society  generally — the  generous  and 
adequate  pay  of  the  magistrates.  This  w^ould 
bring  with  it  the  removal  of  one  fear  which  over- 
shadows the  thoughts  and  lives  of  these  hill-men 
and  plain-dwellers,  even  more  than  the  dread  of 
flood  or  drought ;  I  mean  the  imposition  of  arbitrary 
and  oppressive  taxes  just  when  the  people  can  least 
bear  them.  The  markets  also,  both  native  and 
foreign,  will  with  this  reform  gather,  in  all  proba- 
bility, greater  steadiness  azid  reliability.  Facilities 
of  locomotion  will  extend  the  area  of  the  markets, 
if  it  does  not  rumously  affect  the  ancient  calling  of 
boat-traffic  and  porterage.  China,  again,  may 
gladly  welcome  sanitation,  some  compulsory  by  the 
order  of  the  local  magistrates,  some  Avhich  their 
own  hands  alone  can  effect,  bringing  health  and 
cleanliness  to  city  and  upland  village  alike. 

These  changes,  with  drastic  reform  in  the  pro- 
cedure of  the  criminal  and  civil  courts  (the  code  of 
law  itself  is  perhaps  too  indiscriminately  condemned), 
will  brighten  the  lives  and  lighten  the  burdens  of 
very  many.  But  change  will  not  always  and  every- 
where   be    welcomed,    where    from    generation    to 


RETROSPECT  AND  PROSPECT         337 

generation,  with  Chinese  air  and  cHmate,  Chinese 
custom  and  instinct,  Hfe  has  been  lived  out  for  such 
countless  multitudes  with  Chinese  methods  and 
appliances,  so  well  and  with  such  placid  routine. 
Change  is  not  always  to  be  desired.  If  it  excites 
the  dangerous  and  insatiable  passion  for  fresh 
change,  the  changing  East  may  become  a  less 
pleasant  place  for  life  and  work  than  the  old  East 
afforded ;  while  to  be  abreast  of  the  West  in 
education,  civilisation,  culture,  and  power  may 
mean  a  loss  of  stability,  of  rest  and  reliance. 

I  can  only  say,  in  conclusion,  to  my  Chinese  friends 
and  fellow-countrymen,  in  the  words  ascribed  to 
our  Lord  Himself,  cut  on  an  eastern  bridge  : — '  Life 
is  like  a  bridge  '  across  a  rift  in  the  deep  sea  of 
eternity.  The  Chinese  people,  like  all  mankind, 
are  setting  their  feet  on  this  bridge.  '  Cross  it ' 
as  best  you  can,  and  as  conveniently  and  com- 
fortably as  may  be  possible.  '  But  do  not  build 
upon  it.'  Your  higher  concern  is  with  the  farther 
shore. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Ancestral  worship,  52,  114,  312, 

313. 
Ancient  China,  304,  305. 
Ancient  monument^,  303,  309. 
Astrolojxy,  1G3. 

Bible,  the,  237-242,  245. 

Boat  travel,  154,  155. 

Bore  on   the    rivers    Ts'aungo    and 

Tsintang,  127-133. 
Bridges,  167,  177. 
Bruce,  Sir  Frederick,  36. 
Buddhism,  4,  6,  7,  52,  99,  100,  233, 

305. 

Cecil,  Lord  William  Gascotke, 

273. 
Chang-viao,  47. 
China,  new  and  old,  5,  222-224,  229. 

changing,  306-308,  314. 

her  needs  and  hopes,  335-337. 

Chivalry,  Chinese,  222,  223,  231-234. 

Chu  Hi,  280,  310. 

Chuki,  ch.  iv.  and  138,  139. 

Church  I^nion,  275,  and  vide  Preface. 

Chusan,  3. 

CLin  fights,  12,  144. 

Classics,  Canon  of  the,  279,  280. 

Comets,  7,  8. 

Confucius,  251,  255,  256,  272,  279, 

283,  285,  290-292,   295-298,   321- 

324. 
Conservatism  and  change,  cli.  i.  an<l 

306,  307. 


Constitutional  government,  318-320, 

327. 
Cooke,  Colonel,  71,  73. 
Cornewall  Lewis,  Lieutenant,  death 

of,  65. 
Cotton,  culture  of  and  trade  in,  54, 

169. 
Country  life,  335. 
Cyclone,  a,  described,  198-200. 

Dew,  Captaix  Roderick,  40,  60-72. 

Education,  ch.  x.  and  7. 
Encounter,  H.M.S.,  60,  64,  65. 
Examination  halls  and  degrees,  26, 
111,  279,  280,  287. 

Fa  Hien,  4. 

Fan,  the  T'aip'ing  leader,  47. 

Ferry,  free,  133. 

Fire  brigades,  226,  227. 

Fishing  industry,  the,  35. 

Flowers,  112-115,  147,  287. 

Foochuw,  165. 

Foot-binding,  328. 

Funghwa,  37,  71. 

Fiiiig-shni;  120,  309-311. 

(iAMIlLINC),   119. 

Gates,  city,  47,   84,  136.  137,   207, 

208. 
Gordon,  General,  75,  217. 
(Jough,  Lord,  3,  39. 
Government,  Chinese,  the,  315-321. 

341 


342 


HALF  A  CENTURY  IN  CHINA 


Grand  Canal,  the,  12G. 
Green  (Japs,  the,  71,  72. 
Gutzhiff,  Karl,  127,  206,  207. 

Haimen,  3. 

Haining,  131. 

Hangchow,  ch.  vi.  and  32,  71. 

Hankow,  165. 

Hanyang,  165. 

Hardy,  H.M.S.,  60. 

Hills,  83,  84,  86,  139,  166. 

Hope,  Admiral  Sir  James,   54,  59, 

71. 
Huangp'u  river,  207,  209,  230. 
Hudson,  T.,  48,  49. 
Hung  Siu-ts'iian,  ch.  ii.,  iii. 
Huxham,  Lieutenant,  36. 

Inns,  country,  183,  184,  190,  191. 
International  Institute,  the,  305,  306. 

Japan,  83,  165,  278,  333. 

Kang  Hi,  180. 

Kenny,  Captain,  65. 

Kestrel,  H.M.S.,  38,  61,  66,  67. 

Kidnapping,  101-104. 

Kinsay,  127. 

Kwan-hwa,  277,  278. 

Kwanyin,  5,  6. 

Lao  Tsze,  305. 
Leang  Ah-fah,  27. 
Legends,  114,  147,  148,  161,  177. 
L'Etoile,  gunboat,  60,  65. 
Letter  to  scholars,  a,  246-248. 
Literature,  Chinese,  ch.  x. 
Longevity,  instances  of,  169-175. 
Luh  Sin-Ian,  39,  40. 

Malta,  164. 

Mandarins,    17,    179-182,   188,    315, 

316. 
Marco  Polo,  127. 


Marriage  customs,  145,  146. 
Mencius,    163,   268,  271,  279,  285, 

298,  299,  324. 
Ming  dynasty,  the,  25,  26,  86,  90, 

91. 
Missions,  Christian,  ch.  ix. 
Mohamiiiedanism,  105,  195. 
Morrison,  Robert,  27. 
Moule,  Bishop  G.  E.,  33,  34. 

Nanking,  30,  31,  120,  213. 

Newspapers,  104. 

Nganking,  31. 

Ningpo,  ch.  iv.  and  33,  35,  36. 

storming  of,  by  the  T'aip'ing.s, 

42-44. 
storming  of,  by  the  English  and 

French,  62-65. 

Odes,  the,  291-294. 

Official  rank,  offered  to  missionaries, 

180. 
Opium-trade,   the,   13-16,  135,   136, 

328,  329. 

Pagodas,  87,  314. 
Parkes,  Sir  Harry,  47. 
Patriarchal  government,  325-327. 
Pirates,  6,  193,  194,  200,  201. 
Poetry,  92. 
Police,  157,  158. 
Preaching,  248-264. 
Protet,  Admiral,  59. 
Proverbial  sayings,  249-257. 
Provincial  assemblies,  135. 
P'ut'u,  5. 

Queues,  105-108. 

Railways,  134. 
Religion,  100,  237,  243. 
Repetition,  283,  287. 
Ringdove,  H.M.S.,  64. 
Routes  to  Cliina,  197-202. 


INDEX 


343 


Rumours,  105,  111,  175. 
Russell,  Bishop,  39,  60. 

San-ko-lix-sin,  32,  55. 
Sanpeh,  58,  59,  168,  169. 
Schools,  ch.  X.  and  11,  282,  283. 
Sedan-chairs,  155-157,  217. 
Shanghai,  33,  ch.  viii. 

new,  220-222. 

old,  215-218,  227-229. 

position  of,  209,  210. 

trade  of,  210,  211,  214. 

Shaohing,  36,  72. 

She  Hwang  Ti,  86,  126. 

Shipping  and  seamanship,  4,  192, 193. 

Shun,  59,  85,  293. 

Silkwonns,  184. 

Soldiers,  178-180. 

Solent,  voyage  in  the,  197-208,  211, 

212. 
Soochow,  32. 
Spring,  147. 

processions,  10,  11. 

Sungkiang,  209,  230. 
Swatow,  165. 
Sze-ming-san,  84,  86. 

Tai,  Matxhkw,  141. 
T'aichow,  176-192. 
T'aip'ing.s,  the,  ch.  ii.,  iii. 

driven  out  of  Ningpo,  62-65. 

meaning  of  the  name,  29,  77. 

origin    and    early    history    of, 

25-30,  105,  106. 
storm  of  Ningpo,  by,  42-44. 


Ta-lan-san,  55,  166-168. 

Tao  Kwang,  29. 

Taoism,  99,  100,  234,  305. 

T'au-hwa-tu,  88-90. 

Temples,  38,  98-100,  309,  313. 

Thunderstorms,  159-161,  189,  190. 

T'ient'ai,  5,  189,  190. 

Tinghai,  3,  87. 

Tinling,  Lieutenant,  72. 

Triad  Society,  the,  26. 

Ts'aungo  river,  127-131. 

Tseng  Kwoh-ts'iian,  75. 

Tsintang  river,  131. 

Tso,  General,  105,  133. 

Ts'zch'i,  37,  74. 

Typhoon.?,  201. 

Wang,  the  T'aip'ing  leader,  47. 

Watson,  Major,  71,  73. 

Weather,  159,  160. 

Wcn-li,  277,  278,  281. 

Wheelbarrows,  155. 

White  Caps,  the,  55-57. 

White  Lotus  Society,  the,  31. 

Wild  beasts,  94,  185-189. 

Witchcraft,  116-119. 

Women,  status  and  education  of,  2-1, 

169,  172,  173,  329-333. 
Wuchang,  165. 

Yamen,  143,  144,  162. 

Yangtse  river,  83,  165,  214. 

Yao,  85. 

Yii,  85. 

Yiiyao,  37,  38,  85. 


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