Yung-lun Yüan

“ Robbers or pirates are usually ignorant of the principles concerning human society. They are not aware that power is derived from the people for the general advantage, and that when it is abused to a certain extent, all means of redress resorted to are legitimate. But they feel most violently the abuse of power. The fruit of labour is too often taken out of their hands, justice sold for money, and nothing is safe from their rapacious and luxurious masters. People arise to oppose, and act according to the philosophical principles of human society, without having any clear idea about them. ”

“ Every province, every town, and every village of China has its particular tutulary saint, or god, and on the day of his festival his effigy is carried in public. There is no essential difference in this respect between China and those countries where Roman Catholicism is yet in its highest vigour. The effigies of the Chinese gods and goddesses are all of the human shape; they have no monsters like India and Egypt, under which it was once the fashion to seek for extraordinary wisdom and astonishing science. ”

“ It happens sometimes that sea waves have such a luminous appearance, as if the whole sea were full of fire. If you cast any thing into the sea, it becomes luminous like a star; but you do not see this during moonlight. ”

“ TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
Conquerors are deemed successful robbers, while robbers are unsuccessful conquerors. If the founder of the dynasty of the Ming had failed in his rebellion against the Moguls, history would have called him a robber; and if any one of the various robber-chiefs, who in the course of the two last centuries made war against the reigning Manchow, had overthrown the government of the foreigners, the official historiographers of the "Middle empire" would have called him the far-famed, illustrious elder father of the new dynasty. ”

“ Even if we dared to sail up a stream and boldly go on with anxiety of mind under wind, rain, and stormy weather, we must every where prepare for fighting. Whether we went to the east, or to the west, and after having felt all the hardships [Pg 72] of the sea, the night dew was our only dwelling, and the rude wind our meal. But now we will avoid these perils, leave our connexions, and desert our comrades; we will make our submission. The power of government knows no bounds; it reaches to the islands in the sea, and every man is afraid and sighs. ”

“ The old and the sick, who were unable to fly, or to make resistance, were either made prisoners or most inhumanly butchered! The boats continued passing and repassing from the junks to the shore, in quick succession, laden with booty, and the men besmeared with blood! Two hundred and fifty women, and several children, were made prisoners, and sent on board different vessels. They were unable to escape with the men, owing to that abominable practice of cramping their feet: several of them were not able to move without assistance, in fact, they might all be said to totter, rather than walk. ”

“ If Paou and we should again measure our strength against each other, our force will not be found sufficient; we are only one to ten. It is to be feared that they will collect all their forces together to exterminate us. They may on a sudden come against us and make an attack,—our small body must certainly be in fear of their vast number. There is Leang po paou, an experienced pirate on the sea; if he should on a sudden turn his vessels against us, there is not one among us who would be able to resist him. ”

“ If we consider how easily the Chinese could procure information regarding foreign countries during the course of the two last centuries, and then see how shamefully they let pass all such opportunities to inform and improve themselves, we can only look upon these proud slaves of hereditary customs with the utmost disgust and contempt. ”

“ Roman Catholicism is at this moment nearly [Pg xiii] extinguished in China. To become a Christian is considered high-treason, and the only Roman Catholic priest at Canton at the present time, is compelled to hide himself under the mask of shopkeeper. In their successful times, during the seventeenth century, the Roman Catholic Missionaries published in Europe, that no nation was more virtuous, nor any government more enlightened than that of the Chinese; these false eulogies were the source of that high opinion in which the Chinese were formerly held in Europe. ”

“ The pirates will never be satisfied; [Pg 33] if we give them the tribute now, we shall not be able to pay it on another day. If they should make extortions a second time, when should we get money to comply with their demands? Why should we not rather spend the two thousand pieces of money to encourage government officers and the people? If we (16 r.) fight and happen to be victorious, our place will be highly esteemed; but if, what heaven may prevent, we should be unlucky, we shall be everywhere highly spoken of. ”

“ The sovereign is the vice-regent of heaven, and all in all; he is the only rule of right and wrong, and commands both what shall be done in this world and thought of concerning the next. It may be easily imagined, that the Jesuits, on their first arrival in China, were delighted with such a perfect specimen [Pg xi] of government according to their political sentiments. They tried all that human power could command to succeed in the conversion of this worldly paradise. ”

“ Death could not move me, but I fear the cruel behaviour of the banditti; I fear that if the battle come to its highest summit, our fathers and mothers, our wives and sons, will be taken captives. United with the principal men of the town, we cannot destroy the pirates, neither protect the country, our (3 r.) families, nor our own firesides,—but the circumstances being desperate, we must do our utmost. ”

“ There is, however, no official court in China to regulate the course of the human understanding, there is nothing like that tribunal which in the greater part of the Continent of Europe is called the Censorship. Fear alone is quite sufficient to check the rising spirits of the liberals in the middle empire. ”

“ Ching tsih being a man who had lived all his life on the water, behaved himself, as soon as he got possession of the bay of Annam, in a tyrannical way to the inhabitants; he took what he liked, and, to say it in one word, his will alone was law. His followers conducted themselves in the same manner; trusting to their power and strength, they were cruel and violent against the people; they divided the whole population among themselves, and took their wives and daughters by force. The inhabitants felt very much annoyed at this behaviour, and attached themselves more strongly to Fuh ying. ”

“ Chow.—"I know very well that O po tae could not come up to you, Sir; but I mean only, that since O po tae has made his submission, since he has got his pardon and been created a government officer,—how would it be, if you with your whole crew should also submit, and if his Excellency should desire to treat you in the same manner, and to give you the same rank as O po tae? Your submission would produce more joy to government than the submission of O po tae. You should not wait for wisdom to act wisely; you should make up your mind to submit to the government with all your followers. ”

“ It is well known that a great part of the population of China live on the water, and they are generally called Tan (9832) people;—a word which in the Canton dialect is pronounced Tanka. They are quite a separate race, and harshly dealt with by the Chinese government. There exist particular works concerning the history, the customs and laws of these boat-people. They more than once opposed the despotic regulation of their masters, and government was always afraid they might join the pirates. The history of the southern barbarians in the often quoted Memoirs, &c. ”

“ Tung king and Cochin-China now form one empire, under the name of Annam or Annan. The king of this country acknowledges the supremacy of the Chinese emperor, and sends every year a tribute to Pekin. The time of the reign of every king is known by an honorary title, like that of the emperors of China. ”

“ The Europeans themselves, at their first appearance in the middle empire, only became known as pirates. Simon de Andrada, the first Portuguese who (1521) tried to establish any regular trade with [Pg viii] China, committed violence against the merchants, and bought young Chinese to use them as slaves; and it is known that it was the policy of the civilized foreigners from the "Great Western Ocean" (which is the Chinese name for Europe) to decry their competitors in trade as pirates and outlaws. ”

“ If on a piratical expedition any man left the line of battle, whether by advancing or receding, every pirate might accuse him at a general meeting, and on being found guilty, he was beheaded. Knowing how watchful Chang paou was on every side, the pirates took great care to behave themselves well. ”

“ It is the interest of the Emperor to deal out justice to the lowest of his subjects; but, supposing it [Pg xvi] were possible that one man could manage the government of such an immense empire, who either could or would dare to denounce every vicious or unjust act of the officers employed by government? The Chinese themselves are a clever shrewd sort of people; deceit and falsehood are, perhaps, more generally found in the "flowery empire" than any where else ”

“ The government officers are usually delineated as the most excellent men in the world. When they run away, they know before-hand that fighting will avail nothing; and when they pardon, they are not said to be compelled by necessity, but it is described as an act of heavenly virtue! ”

“ We must therefore now make an attack, when they cannot avail themselves of their number, and contrive something besides physical strength, for by this alone it is impossible for us to be victorious. The pirates are now all assembled in Ta yu shan, a place which is surrounded by water. Relying on their strength, and thinking [Pg 60] that they will be able to vanquish us, they will certainly not leave this place of retirement. We should therefore from the provincial city (Canton) assemble arms and soldiers as many as we can, surround the place, and send fire-vessels among their fleet. ”

“ Oh we must be destroyed by our crimes, none can escape who opposeth the laws of government. May you then feel compassion for those who (12 v.) are deserving of death; may you sustain us by your humanity! ”

“ Peace and quietness was not known by the inhabitants of the sea-coast for a period of ten years. On the side from Wei chow and Neaou chow [37] farther on to the sea, the passage was totally cut off; scarcely any man came hither. In this direction is a small island, surrounded on all sides by high mountains, where in stormy weather a hundred vessels find a safe anchorage; here the pirates retired when they could not commit any robberies. This land contains fine paddy fields, and abounds in all kinds of animals, flowers, and fruits. ”

“ The citizens retired to their intrenchments, and made such vigorous resistance that the pirates could not make them captives. Chang paou therefore ordered O po tae and Leang po paou to make an attack on both sides, on the front and the rear at once; so the citizens sustained a great defeat, and about a hundred of them were killed. A placard was then posted up in the town, admonishing the citizens that they being unable to resist the enemy, must, under these cruel circumstances, send messengers to make terms with the pirates. ”

“ The footing which Europeans and Americans now enjoy in China, originated from the assistance given by the Portuguese to the Manchow against the Patriots, otherwise called pirates, who would not submit to the sway of foreigners. Macao, the only residence (or large prison) in which foreigners are shut up, is not considered by the Chinese Government as belonging exclusively to the Portuguese. ”

“ In no other oriental language has there been so much done by the natives for the foreign student as by the Chinese.
[82] The most common denomination for Portugal is now Se yang kwŏ, or more correctly Siao se yang kwŏ. "The small realm in the western ocean; Europe is called Ta se yang." (See Preface.) I thought it here more proper to translate E by foreigner, than by barbarian. In a Chinese history of Macao, we find various particulars regarding the Portuguese. The description of the Portuguese clergy and the Roman Catholic religion is the most interesting part of this curious publication. ”

“ Poetry is perhaps more esteemed in China, than in any other country in the world. The late governor-general of Kwang tung and Kwang se, his Excellency Yuen, published the poems of his daughter, who died when only nineteen years of age. Most of the emperors of China wrote verses, and I have, if I remember rightly, an imperial collection printed at the command of Këa king of many volumes, containing the poetry of the crowned heads of China. The reader may easily imagine that the Chinese have many works on poetry ”

“ We being driven about on the ocean, without having any fixed habitation;—pray let us go to Canton to inform government, to state the reason of the recoiling waves, to clear up all doubts, and to agree on what day or in what place we shall make our submission. ”

“ The Ladrones are a disaffected race of Chinese, that revolted against the oppressions of the mandarines.—They first commenced their depredations on the Western coast (Cochin-China) , by attacking small trading vessels in row-boats, carrying from thirty to forty men each. They continued this system of piracy several years; at length their successes, and the oppressive state of the Chinese, had the effect of rapidly increasing their numbers. Hundreds of fishermen and others flocked to their standard; and as their number increased they consequently became more desperate. ”

“ With these junks they formed a very formidable fleet, and no small vessels could trade on the coast with safety. They plundered several small villages, and exercised such wanton barbarity as struck horror into the breasts of the Chinese. To check these enormities the government equipped a fleet of forty imperial war-junks, mounting from eighteen to twenty guns each. On the very first rencontre, twenty-eight of the imperial junks struck to the pirates ”

“ If the valiant men let their spirits droop, and the soldiers themselves become frightened at these repeated defeats, the pirates will certainly overpower us at last; we can really not look for any assistance to destroy them. We must try to cut off all provisions, and starve them." In consequence of this, all vessels were ordered to remain, or to return into harbour, that the pirates might not have any opportunity to plunder, and thus be destroyed by famine. The government officers being very vigilant about this regulation, the pirates were not able to get provisions for some months ”