William Tarrant

“ Gambling comes in for a share of the poet's reprobation: the vicious gamester, he says, conceals the dagger with which he strikes his victim, therefore we are to beware of a practice which is opposed to reason. The getting of unrighteous gain, he avers, is like quenching one's thirst with poison: the more you gamble the poorer you become. Opium smoking is also condemned, upon which some people are so mad. In the present day, says our poet, many a noble son of Han has stabbed himself with the opium dagger. ”

“ It is not an unusual thing for the foreign traveller in this quarter to be politely asked to get out of his chair to be looked at;—every article of dress and foreign manufacture being scrutinized with prying eyes. To pilfer or cheat appears foreign to their composition;—and loudly indeed may the foreign missionary declaim against opium smoking, for, on a cursory glance at the habits of the people, it appears to be the only vice to which they are addicted. ”

“ Of all the intellect-stultifying devices superstitiously conceived, Buddhism must be the most successful. Happy the day when the devotion now so uselessly expended is given in the exercise of a rational religion! Speaking of them as a body, the Chinese are, intrinsically, a very God fearing people, and Christianity once introduced will have ardent and faithful practisers. ”

“ As it is my intention to publish fuller particulars in the shape of a hand-book to the whole land travel, two-thirds of which was through districts never before traversed by Europeans in their usual costume, at all events during the remembrance of "the oldest inhabitant," we found the people as kind as it is possible to conceive. A nod or a smile was, instantly returned, and a salute promptly responded to in a spirit indicating respect and appreciation of the compliment. Certainly, if prejudice does exist against foreigners in these regions, it was not exhibited towards us ”

“ Half an hour's walk from the Monastery, travelling in chairs is no longer possible for the male adult;—though small footed old ladies and unused-to-travelling Chinese teachers, with heads insensible to giddiness from the peculiar swinging motion imparted by the bearers to chairs when ascending heights, do manage to keep their seats without flinching. The first Ding from the commencement of the ascent is reached in about seven minutes, and eight minutes walking further on brings the traveller within view of the small temple at the entrance of the Sze-tze-kow, or Cave of the Lion's mouth. ”

“ Beside this image, which is in the district of Ka-seng-peng, under the whole heavens there can be no other to equal it.* Therefore he determined to engrave the idol's dimensions on a stone, in order to preserve a memorial for Spectators from every quarter;—so gratifying the eyes and ears with information regarding it. Extraordinary is thy influence, Oh Divine Spirit!—Extraordinary the workmanship on thy exterior;—and, as long as generations endure, so long will thy fame, and that of Low, who carved thee, be told in glowing language. ”

“ It is hard for a foreigner to predicate from the disposition of the people in one provincewhat is likely to be expected in the province adjoining. In one district the inhabitants are highly philanthropic, keeping tea ready for the traveller's com fort, with payment to a priest to see that the kettle boils;—in another the tea has to be paid for, but in all the districts we are writing of, there is a laudable spirit of treating each other kindly, and doing for the neighbour what they would have done for themselves. ”

“ And with justice, indeed, may the people complain, when, for whatever tax they pay, they see nothing in the shape of return. The Government, to all intents and purposes, is conducted by the people themselves. The laws of society outraged, the offender is taken to the ancestral hall of his clan, or to the nearest monastery. There, the superior of his tribe, if the offender is a native, or the superior elder if a stranger, investigates the complaint, enforces the punishment, and at once ends the matter. ”

“ Farther down the pass, a beautiful place among the hills, is the hospitable village of Le-shuet-sun of 300 families, and a short distance up the glen is the Ka-yuen-sze a small monastery of five priests. Umbrageously sheltered, it is a dwelling which in the greatest of heats of summer possesses a delicious coolness. The Superior, by the name of Che-yuen, is remarkably attentive to foreigners. ”

“ A cave in a rock above the temple is also said to contain the books and remains of a studious old priest. The monks speak of a fire so intense as to have destroyed the fingers of the image as at first carved, and of the plunder of a precious gem, erst in the place of the present jade between the eyebrows;—circumstances leading to the conclusion that in days gone by there were ruthless men as little disposed to pay respect to Buddha as the present iconoclastic followers of Tai-ping-Wang. ”

“ This plant is extensively grown in this part of China, both in the province of Che-kiang and also in Kiangsoo, and there is a great demand for the oil which is pressed from its seeds. For the information of readers not acquainted with botany, I may state that this plant is a species of cabbage, producing flower stems three or four feet high, with yellow flowers, and long pods of seed like all the cabbage tribe. In April, when the fields are in bloom, the whole country seems tinged with gold, and the fragrance which fills the air, particularly after an April shower, is delightful. ”

“ The people employed on the Tea works are all paid after the rate of a mace a day, in hard coin; and it is easy therefore to understand that copper cash will be in great demand;—but over and above the labourers' wages there must be a large surplus, and it is to be regretted that an introduction can not be made of our woollen goods. It would be even advisable to give away woollen comforters and socks and mits for a time in places like Fong-je-how, in order to induce a fancy to such things. ”

“ Idols, it is affirmed, are only recent inventions; creation, therefore, could not have originated with them. Growing eloquent in his pleadings for God, the author tells us, "He warms us by his sun, He moistens us by his rain, He moves the thunderbolt, He scatters the wind;" let us act, therefore, like honest men, and give to God the honour which is due to him alone. The poet then proceeds to inveigh against lewdness, which he says calls down on those who practise it the wrath of Heaven, and brings with it its own punishment. ”

“ The European traveller has no reason to complain of difficulty in getting along in this quarter. Dings, substantially roofed sheds, through which the roads run, open to all, are to be found at nearly every mile, and within them, or not far distant, are shops for the sale of good wheaten flour pancakes at two cash each, fresh boiled sweet potatoes at five cash a catty, rice congee at 2 cash the half pint basin, and a liquor not unlike stale small beer, a potation not over agreeable to all palates, fermented from rice, and sold hot at eight cash the gill. ”

“ On the southern bank of the stream, skirting the suburbs of Dzing, is a small monastery, in which the foreign traveller can obtain quarters, though less luxurious than those of the Tow-va-sze. A tablet here records the setting off of a large tract of the river for the preservation of life; and fishing within it, in order than life may be sustained, is not allowed.
Very good boiled bread, in not less than four catties at a boiling, can be obtained at Dzing, if ordered over night, at 40 cash per catty. Buffalo milk is procurable too occasionally. ”

“ News travels so slowly in the interior that fifty miles from Ningpo the mass of the people never heard that that place was in the hands of the English for some time in 1841 and 42; and unless brought more closely to their senses than is now apparent, the present generation of people away from the Northern Consular cities may never hear of the "Second War with China."—I am, Dear Sir, your's truly. ”

“ After leaving the old Monastery the roughly laid path takes up and away to the southward and westward—the huge mountain being literally skirted round for a distance of about seven miles, when, with the cave crowned peak bearing East, the road runs down a precipitous flight of steps to the N. N. W , ascending as sharply to an arched Ding on a road side opposite. In some parts of the road, before it branches off as descirbed, the side of the mountain is so nearly perpendicular that travelling in a chair is out of the question to any one keeping his eyes open. ”

“ From Sing-jow to Kwong-Djean the distance, in a N.W. ly direction,is four miles; though, all around, the plain appears covered with straggling hamlets; the white washed houses, with their step like gables, appearing at a distance like gothic priories. The people of this quarter speak in high terms of the security they enjoy from plunder or attack from free booters. Bee hives are to be seen in this quarter;—and honey is procurable at a cheap rate. ”

“ The writer then states, in a way peculiarly Chinese, that God has made the ground on which we stand, and the food we eat; he also gives us sun and rain; deprived of his aid, we could not live a single moment; why then should we pray to idols? He then supposes an objector saying, 'but my idol is efficacious.' And says, in reply, that all our blessings come from the great God, while men erroneously suppose that they come from some corrupt devil. ”

“ Cleanliness being next to Godliness, Christianity when introduced will be a great boon. Idolatry, then, and the absence of a taste for cleanliness in their domestic arrangements, appear to be the great—almos tthe only—sins with which Chinese away from towns,have to be taxed;—the indulgence in opium smoking being seldom entered on 'till disease, or—who shall deny it?—the desire to forget fulness a feeling of hate for the government under which they live—renders it necessary. ”

“ The writer then goes on to combat the erroneous notion current in China, that the king of Hades determined life and death: this king of Hades, he says, is no other than the old serpent, the Devil.* He then lays down a method by which men may judge the correctness of principles, and avers that those which are diffused through all ages and countries are generally right, while parital and private views are to be suspected: but the principle above stated he adds is found neither in Chinese nor foreign classics, but in the Buddhist and Taouist books and therefore concludes that it must be wrong. ”

“ Every collector must furnish a certain quantity both of money and grain. If he fails to do so, he must reimburse the deficit himself. His whole property is made surety for the due payment, and if this be insufficient, he is sent to an adjoining rich district, and permitted to exercise extortions, until he has obtained the requisite sum. Such a visit is feared by the people as much as the plague, many of the richer classes immediately abscond, whilst others hide their valuables. ”

“ The base of this tomb, a hexagon of two and three quarters feet wide sides, and three feet high, decorated with antique sculpture in relief, is constructed of the red sand stone spoken of, surmounted by a plastered cone, four feet high, and within which, it is presumed, is the honoured urn.—Pilgrims from afar immediately on reaching the entrance, or arch way, six feet high, prostrate themselves, and render as much homage as the most devoted Catholic would give to Corpus-Christi. The paved floor sounds hollow;—beneath it, perhaps, is another cave. ”

“ Western writers point to China's system of giving office to men who have distinguished themselves in a literary way as something excellent. The idea, speaking generally, is a fallacy. No matter how excellent a man's ability—the first office can only be obtained by purchase after the literary degree has been conferred;—succeeding steps by the same means;—so that, in reality, he who can extort with the greatest ability is the man most likely to make his way. ”

“ Few or no birds or animals are to be seen in this quarter; indeed, throughout the province, the brute creation is sparse ;—the necessities of the people, perhaps, inducing them to destroy and use for food all the caro crossing their path. ”

“ The name of Che-foo-tsze, the founder, some seven or eight hundred years ago, of the Chinese atheistic school, from characters said to have been written by himself, is engraved on a rock outside the cave a short distance from the Monastery, On the right of the flight of steps from the hill top is another cave about 80 feet wide, 30 deep, and 16 high. No less than one thousand images line the walls of this place, mere dolls for the most part, recessed in mud daubings around a gentleman of large proportions in the centre. ”

“ After leaving Keu-zhin the road runs through a rocky glen, with one or two beautiful water falls, to the hamlet of Seang-ming, of 30 families. The distance from Keu-zhin to this place is about a mile and a third N. W.—West again, distant four miles, is the San-moong-ling to reach which, the road, very narrow, skirts the sides of mountains of frightful acclivity, studded from bottom to top with some of the loftiest bamboo trees in the world, here and there, on western sides, over patches of tea trees. It is hardly safe to attempt riding in a chair in this quarter ”

“ When spoken to of the rebellion going on in adjacent provinces, and of the fears that must be entertained for the continuance of their order, but little from which an opinion can be formed is given by the priests in reply;—they are passive on the subject, and patiently await the coming of what, in their opinion, appears to be inevitable—a rev olution throughout the country. Conveniently blind though they be, they are not so bigotted as to be ignorant of the fact that the religion, or rather the mummery they practise is entirely unworthy the light of reason. ”