John Thomson

“ The moats have become long shallow lagoons, and yonder a train of 100 camels is wading calmly through one into the city. The Government probably know all this, and have turned their attention to the defence of the coast line and frontiers ; in the hope perhaps that a foreign foe will never again be able to flounder over the broken highways, and bring warfare to the palace door. A vain delusion truly, unless China is prepared to take to heart the sad lessons of modern battle-fields, and to keep pace with the ever-progressive science that is at work in our European arsenals. ”

“ China may get off by paying the cost of the expedition — a proceeding which, while it humbled her national vanity, might stir her up to imitate and rival Japan, so as, if possible, to outstrip her in the march of progress, from the sheer necessity of self-preservation; and I have no hesitation in saying that China, petrified and stagnant as she is, and has been for so many centuries, yet contains within herself all the material elements that will one day win her a proud pre-eminence among the nations of the earth. ”

“ As I have said already, there is a finish about the whole settlement, a splendour and sumptuousness about its buildings, its wide roads and breathing spaces, its spacious wharves and elegant warehouses, that stand as a solemn rebuke to the niggardliness and grinding despotism which within the adjoining native city have penned thousands of struggling beings in the most temporary abodes; there to carry on a ceaseless strife for existence, breathing the fetid air of narrow polluted alleys, exposed to the constant risk of fearful conflagration and the grim horrors of pestilence or famine. ”

“ Ahong informed me, in strict confidence, that the dexterity of the savages hereabouts in the use of the bow and poisoned arrows was no less wonderful than the cool way in which they boiled and ate their tender-hearted but tough-limbed Chinese foes. He besought me not to venture much further into the mountains, as the hill-men never show themselves when they attack, but discharge their arrows high into the air, with such unerring precision that, as they fall, they pierce the skulls of their victims and cause instant death. ”

“ The town contains a population of about thirty thousand souls, and does a considerable trade in paper, lackered ware, baskets and tea. The foot of the hill was encircled by a high wall, from within which rose an inclined plane of roofs, broken here and there by groves of trees and temples, but still almost appearing one solid slope of tiled steps, over which an Alpine tourist might scramble to the outermost wall above, whose top could be seen in a faint line sweeping round the heights that closed in the city from behind. ”

“ As we pass through the city we notice numerous edifices substantially built of brick, the residences of native merchants, temples with a sculptured granite façade, and a large customs station; but the houses in the suburbs which border the creek are raised above the water, on piles, and their temporary, miserable appearance is in striking contrast to the abodes and evidences of wealth which we encounter in the heart of the town. ”

“ Off they sped, yelling like fiends above the roar of the water ; while the boy, to add to the din, lustily beat a gong, and the cook a small drum, for the purpose of stirring the men to put forth their full strength. At about the centre of the rapid there was a dead halt, as if the boat had stuck fast on a reef, though the trackers were straining to their utmost with hands and feet planted firmly on the rocks. The skipper stamped, danced and bellowed to his crew; and they, responding with a wild shout, a desperate tug and a strain, at last launched our boat into the smooth water above. ”

“ For I must tell you that whenever the Sovereign is carried abroad, outside his own palace walls, the roads must be cleared, and even cleaned, that his sacred eyes may not be offended with a glimpse at the true condition of his splendid capital. After he has passed by, booths, tents and stalls are re-erected, and commerce and confusion resume their sway. As matters stand, these roadside obstructions are really a great boon to the people. Anything can be bought at the stalls, and their owners are neither slow nor silent in advertising the fact. At one a butcher and a baker combine their crafts. ”

“ By way of a lamp we had a small cup of oil, in which floated a few shreds of burning pith, and by this flickering light I could see that the clay walls were blackened and the rafters glazed with sooty smoke. In a corner above my head were a bundle of green tobacco, one or two spears, a bow, a heap of arrows, a primitive match- lock, and lastly, — an object which I had not hitherto noticed — a huge bin of unhusked rice at the side of the bed. I fain hoped that there the rats might find occupation during the night more profitable than worrying our slumbers. ”

“ A wooden stockade would now-a-days be about as effective a protection to the Imperial throne within. They seem to be well defended, however. Casting our eyes up to the great tower above the gateway, we can see that it bristles with guns; yet the little field-glass of modern science reveals to us after all only a mock artillery, painted muzzles on painted boards, threatening sham terrors through the countless embrasures.
A few rusty, dismantled cannon lie here and there beneath the
Imperial Palace Wall, Peking. ”

“ My party consisted of my two China boys, and four Ningpo coolies engaged to transport my baggage to the hills. Our path lay across fields of bean and rape, now in full bloom and exhal- ing a delightful fragrance, which contrasted strikingly with the morning whiffs from the manure-bestrewed fields, which commonly salute the wanderer in China. Everything hereabouts shone with freshness and beauty, and it was evident that we must have landed in a real paradise of cultivation. ”

“ It is only in the faces of the players one can see the signs of emotion, or the sullen determination to carry on at all hazards, until Fortune smiles once more, or leaves them beggared at the board.
Native gambling is not confined to gaming-houses, it is carried on in clubs and private abodes, in the highways and at the corners of streets by labourers in their leisure moments; even children will form a ring round a vendor of sweets and stake their cash in the attempt to win a double share of his condiments. Lotteries are also in great vogue in China at all times ”

“ Macao is interesting as the only Portuguese settlement to be found on the coast of China. It may be reached by steamer either from Hongkong or Canton, and it is a favourite summer resort for the residents of our own little colony. In that pretty watering-place we may enjoy the cool sea-breezes, and almost fancy, when promenading the broad Praya Grande, as it sweeps round a bay truly picturesque, that we have been suddenly transported to some ancient continental town. Macao is a magnificent curiosity in its way. The Chinese say it has no right to be there at all ”

“ Many of these dwellings are in a sad state of decay and dilapidation ; and the long, dark, narrow street which runs the length of the settlement is paved with cross flags of stone so worn and loose that they rest for the most part in treacherous pits of mud; and thus, if a foot be placed hastily on the rocking flag, a shower of most offensive dirt is splashed up over one's clothes. Every second shop reeks with a smell of roasting fat and onions. ”

“ Foochow city, one of the great tea marts of China, stands about seven miles above the arsenal and the harbour where the vessels load tea. Of all the open ports this is perhaps the most picturesque, and its stone bridge of *'ten thousand ages" proves that the Chinese, had they so chosen, might have left monuments behind them more worthy of their civilisation and prowess than their great unwieldy wall monuments, which would have shed a gleam of truth across the obscure pages of their bygone history. ”

“ Reform, one would suppose in the case of China, to be effective, would begin, not in wild schemes for arming the the Empire in defence of the very institutions which are the cause of her impotency, and of a system of corruption which would render her land forces and fleet useless in a struggle against any third-rate power, but begin with the government itself. The system of administration must be made worthy of respect, so as to be supported by the patriotic endeavour of the whole nation. ”

“ Steering clear of a floating market in one of the main alleys of this aquatic Babel, we come in front of a row of flower- boats, the floating music-saloons of this quarter of the stream. It is growing dark, and the numerous lamps which hang round these boats produce a very striking effect. Each saloon rears its head high above the water, and is carved into the most elaborate representations of the animal and vegetable world, of the beauties on earth or the wonders in the heavens above. ”

“ Those who are familiar with the factory site, and who can figure what that must have been in olden times, when the foreign merchants were caged up like wild beasts and subjected to the company and taunts of the vilest part of the river population, and to the pestilential fumes of an open drain that carried the sewage of the city to the stream, will be surprised at the transformation that has, since those days, been wrought. ”

“ He further pointed out that each nation has a right to guard and protect its own territory by the means it alone deems best. It is perhaps very natural to suppose that China was made exclusively for the support of Chinamen, and that no other race has a right to question this divine arrangement, or to seek by the simple dredging of a sand-bar to thwart the plans of a kind Providence, who is thus closing up the river-courses against the commerce which furnishes millions of Chinese with means to feed and clothe themselves that formerly they could never have obtained. ”

“ As to the settlement itself, those of my readers who have not visited China will feel interested in a brief description of its appearance. The approach by the river almost looks like that of any busy prosperous European seaport. There one finds ships of all nations ; and, anchored in mid-channel, or making their way to their moorings, a long line of ocean steamers; while steam-launches, bearing mails and despatches, dart in and out among the crowd of native craft that are seen around. Advancing further up the river, we pass rows of store- houses, foundries, dockyards and sheds. ”

“ The interior of the temple cloister is paved with granite and decorated with flowers set out in vases and ornamental pots; thus art lent its aid to a scene of natural loveliness, the most romantic and beautiful. On the opposite bank of the stream a narrow path leads to a wooded ravine, whither the monks retire when they ought to abstract themselves from the world, forgetting existence, with its pleasures and sorrows, and cultivating that supreme repose which will bring them nearer Nirvana. ”

“ Many Chinese ladies spend a great portion of their time in gossiping, smoking and gambling — very unlady-like occupations my fair readers will exclaim ; nevertheless, these accomplishments, taken either singly or collectively, require years of assiduous training before they can be practised with that perfection which prevails in polite circles in China. Gambling, it is to be regret- ted, is by far the most favourite pastime, and it is perhaps but cold comfort to reflect that this vice is not monopolised by the ladies of Cathay, but that it is their lords who set them the example. ”

“ He probably knows that for untold centuries there has been little or no opportunity for the development of genius in China. The light of truth has been sought for only in the dark pages of past history; and the Chinese, in their efforts to attain to the perfection of their mythical kings and of the maxims em- bodied in their classics, have set up an inquisition which perforce suppresses originality and uproots invention like a noxious weed. ”

“ The village dwellings, like the Taku forts, were for the most part constructed of millet-stalks and mud; but however well calculated to resist the shots of an ordinary foe, these frail abodes, one by one had silently dissolved before the invading waters, leaving nothing behind them but something that looked like grave-mounds, the melancholy landmarks of each new work of desolation. We could see the wretched villagers squatting on the tops of their hillocks, sheltered by scraps of thatch or matting which they had rescued from the flood. ”

“ For the first half of our journey we were marching along the bed of a stream, but at length we ascended a narrow defile where mighty rocks towered high above our heads, arched over in places by great forest- trees, or giant ferns. A clear rill leapt from ledge to ledge, where with its glassy surface it mirrored the bright reflection of the ferns as they flung their fronds from the rock to form a frame around the pool. ”

“ The beach on which the European hotel is built, skirts the foot of a low range of grassy hills, and reminded me, in its semicircular sweep and general aspect, of Brodic Bay in Arran, on the west coast of Scotland. I have a Hvely recollection of Chefoo Bay; of its stretch which at the time appeared interminable; and of the soft yielding sand over which, with a friend remarkable alike for his good-nature, weight and agility, I had to run from the steamer to forestall the other passengers and secure the best apartment for an invalid lady from Shanghai. ”

“ The season has been a plenteous one, and the farmers are full of joy, praising the god of agriculture for the abundance of this their second crop from a soil which has yielded produce during centuries of constantly recurring harvests. The Chinese are careful farmers, and were probably the first to understand that their land requires as much consideration as their oxen or their asses; that the substance which it gives up to a crop has to be replaced by manure, and that it requires a time of rest after a season of labour, before it will yield its greatest increase. ”