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^AUTHENTIC ACCOUNT
AN EMBASSY
FROM
THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN TO THE EMPEROR OF CHINA;
INCLUDING
CURSORY OBSERVATIONS MADE, AND INFORMATION OBTAINED, IN TRAVELLING THROUGH
THAT ANCIENT EMPIRE, AND A SMALL PART OF CHINESE TARTARY.
TOGETHER WITH A RELATION OF
THE VOYAGE UNDERTAKEN ON THE OCCASION
BY HIS MAJESTY'S SHIP THE LION. AND THE SHIP HINDOSTAN, IN THE EAST
INDIA COMPANY'S SERVICE, TO THE YELLOW SEA, AND GULF OF PEKIN;
AS WELL AS OF THEIR RETURN TO EUROPE;
WITH
NOTICES OF THE SEVERAL PLACES WHERE THEY STOPPED IN THEIR WAY OUT AND HOME;
BEING THE ISLANDS OF MADEIRA, TENERIFFF., AND ST.JAGO; THE PORT OF RIO DE
JANEIRO IN SOUTH AMERICA; THE ISLANDS OF ST. HELENA, TRISTAN
d'aCUNHA, AND AMSTERDAM; THE COASTS OF JAVA, AND SUMATRA,
THE NANKA ISLES, PUI.O CONDORE, AND COCHIN-CHINA.
TAKEN CHIEFLY FROM THE PAPERS OF
His Excellency the EARL OF MACARTNEY, Kniglitof the Batli,His Majesty's
Embassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Emperor of China ; Sir ERASMUS GOVVER,
Commander of the Expedition, and of other Gentlemen in the several departments of the Embassy.
By sir GEORGE* STAUNTON, Baronet,
Honorary Doctor of Laws of the University of Oxford, Fellow of the Royal Society of London, his Majesty's Secretary of Embassy to the Emperor of China, and Minister Plenipotentiary in the absence of the Embassador.
In Two Volumes, with Engravings ; beside a Folio Volume of Plates. VOL. II.
LONDON :
PRINTED BY W. RULMER AND CO.
FOR G. NICOL, BOOKSELLER TO HIS MAJESTY, PALL-MALL.
MDCCXCVII.
vs
Il'i7
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECOND VOLUME
CHAPTER I.
PROGRESS OF THE EMBASSY ALONG THE RIVER PEI-HO, TOWARDS THE CAriTAI OF CHINA. DEPARTURE OF THE SHIPS FROM THE GULF OF PE-CHE-I.EE.
Safety of the Embassy in China — its arrival at Ta-coo within the tnuutb of the Pei-ho — accommodation yachts there — description of that prepared for the Embassador — how distinguished from the rest — large boats provided for carrying the baggage — what provisions sup- plied for the yachts — tnode of dressing them. — Cakes of flour how boiled in steam. — All expences of the Embassy, from the time of its landi?ig, borne by the Empej-or. — Fisit to and from the Viceroy of Pe-che-lee — manners of the latter. — Temple and statue of the god of the sea — cofijecture concerning Neptune's tridefit. — Hall of audience at Ta-coo — ?-epast .sent by the Viceroy — tffcct of the awe of the upper ranks upon the loiver. — Embassy proceeds up the river — signals — order and regularity oj yachts — crowds assemble on the banks of the river. — Con- jectures on the formation of the Pei-ho. — Mounds collected, for what use — cultivation — habitations — pyramids of salt — illuminations. — Few cattle— few meadow lands — no fallozv. — Burying ground detached from temples. — Quantity of salt piled up inpyratnids — imported chiefly from the sea coasts — method of procuring it there — number of vessels employed in britigitig it. — Arrival ofEtnbassy at Tien-sing. — Chinese
VOL, II. a
20^653
IV TABLE OF CONTENTS.
names not arbitrary sounds. — Decent behaviour of the spectators at Tien-sing. — Troops drazvn out to receive the Embassador at landing — order oj parade— fans carried by the military. — Ceremony implying ubiquity of the Emperor's person — his desire to receive the Embassy at Zhe-hol inTartary. — Proposal of the Legate respecting the presents — over-7'uled by the Viceroy. — The conduct of those two persons con- trasted.— Presents from the Viceroy to the whole suite. — Chinese theatre — scene in a play. — Intelligence receivedfrom Sir E.Gower. — Account of tzvo missionaries endeavouring to reach Pekin. — Character of civil and military officers of Tien-sing. — Letters brought privately to the Embassador from Pekin — their contents. — Extent and population of Tien-sing. — hihabitants residing upon the water. — Buildings of Tien-sing — the Citta Celeste of Marco Polo— fields cultivated with the holcus sorghum — measures of capacity ascertained by this grain — uses of this plant — millet and other esculent plants — no weeds. — Lands subject to inundations — and grain to be devoured by locusts. — Yachts pushed on by sculling — by tracking. — Insects. — Conduct of the Legate — causes of it. — fVhy court of Pekin, of late, dissatisfied zvith the English. — ffW of Thibet — refections relative thereto. — Refusal of the Legate to forzvard the Embassador's letters to or from him. — Con- tinuation of the passage up the river — vessels carrying taxes in kind to the capital — population of the river. — Method of refining the muddy water of the Pei-ho. — Chinese particular in their use of water, — Tea. — Ice applied to fruits — seldom to liquors. — Upper ranks live luxurious- ly.— Indifference of Chinese to any country but their own. — Story in Abbe Reynal's history of the Indies corroborated in the Chinese writings. — Train attenditig a ?na?tdarine — mode of travelling — method of saluting. — Military, how employed. — Travelling conveyances — wheel-bar rozvs with sails. — A palace of the Emperor. — Embassy arrives at Tong-choo-foo. — Observations made by the ships in the gulf of Pe-che-lee — their departure from thence for Chu-san.
page 1 f 0 8 1 .
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER U.
EMBASSY LANDS NEAR TONG-CHOO-FOO ; PROCEEDS THROUGH PEKIN TO A PALACE IN ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. RETURNS TO THE CAPITAL.
Great plain of Pe-che-lee an ifiterestifig object — conjectures as to its formation. — Extent of plain round Pekin — distajice ofTong-choofoo from that capital. — Why Efnbassy slops at the former place — temple there prepared for the reception of the Embassador and suite — descrip- tion of temple and apartments, relinquished on the occasion by the priests — principal deity worshipped there — temporary buildings erected for the baggage and presents — banquet given by the mandarines. — Fire engines introduced into China. — Among the crowds of people, no beggars. — Precautions taken against famine — benevolence of the Em- peror on such an occasion. — Some account of Tong-choofoo — curiosity of the natives — excited particularly by a black boy. — Projectio7i of a lunar eclipse — conduct of the Emperor at an eclipse of the sun — Chinese ignorant of the prediction of eclipses — of the common operations of arithmetic. — Their Swan-pan — compute and divide decimally — have only one standard coin — silver a merchandize — series of their coins mounting beyond the Christian era. — Ancient fabric at Tong- choo-foo. — Chinese pagodas not places for religious worship — points of resemblance between the zvorship of Fo and that of some Roman Ca- tholics— abundance of images in Chitiese temples — no state religion — people extremely superstitious — believe in the transmigration of souls. — Death and funeral of an artificer belonging to the Embassy — Chinese burying ground. — Spoiled horses common. — Implements of husbandry — -jood of animals kept for tillage — peasantry — industry of the women — held in subjection by the men. — Ties of kindred — relations not suffered to be in want — never lose sight of each other. — Near
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
three thousand men employed to carry the baggage — method of carry- ing heavy packages. — Magnijicent avenue to Pekin — halt at an inn — suburbs and walls of Pekin — gate — width of the streets — triumphal gateways — ornamented roofs — splendid shops— funeral and marriage processions — crowds assembled on various occasions — kept hack by soldiers. — Wall of the Imperial palace — glimpse of Imperial palace and gardens. — Immense bell. — Lake covered with the nympbcea nelumbo — Library of foreign manuscripts — Tartar ladies. — Pass the western gate into an extensive suburb — granite road contiiiued. — Villa near Hai-tien intended for the reception of the Embassador — decorated with Chinese drazuings — their defects. — Hall of audience at Tuen- nnn-yuen — throne for the Emperor — offerings made before it — the name of the Deity cojfounded with that of the Etnperor — adoration paid to the latter. — Proposal to the Embassador to perform the ceremony of adoration. — Chinese ijiscription upon the English pre- sents.— Conduct of Russian Embassador relative to the ceremony of prostration — of former Dutch Embassadors — and their conse- quences.— Mistrust of the Tartars against the English — difficulties to be encountered in establishing an iyitercourse with China. — Con- ditions proposed by the Embassador on being urged to act of prostra- tion— diffculty of having those conditions translated into Chinese. — Missionaries visit the Embassador. — A Portuguexe Jesuit proposed as interpreter — Embassador' s native iiiterpreter preferred. — Embassy removes to Pekin — lodged in a palace — description of it. — Chinese Christian employed as translator by Embassador — process of render- ing papers into the Chinese language to be delivered at court — paper addressed to the prime minister. — Field-pieces intended as presents for the Emperor kept at Pekin. — Gunpowder belonging to the Em- bassy demanded. — Taste of the Chinese for British inanufactures. — Extent of Pekin — Chinese and Tartar cities. — Annual ceremony of Emperor's directing the plough. — Temple consecrated to heaven — to
TABLE OF CONTENTS. Vll
the earth. — Contrast of Pekin with European capitals. — Property jluctuating in China. — Three classes oj people. — Tribunals of the em- pire— their fu?ictions — offices hoiv conjerred — ciualiflcations required for them — how ascertained. — Principles in the conduct of public affairs — steadiness of the government. — Introduction of Tartars into public offices. — Population — dwellings^food — healthiness. — Conduct of the natives. — Security, and police of the city — Jiatives healthy. — China populous — from what causes — early marriages. — Children bound to maintain their parents — infants abandoned sometimes by authors of their beings — refections thereupon — females chiefly exposed — attention of government on the occasion — of the Missionaries — such exposed in- fants as are saved by the latter bred Christians, and aid the Missiona- ries in the conversion of other Chinese. — Conduct and character of the Missionaries — services rendered by them. — Visits of Chinese to Embassador — concerts of European music at his hotel. — Presents brought by him admired — observation of a Chinese on seeing the por- trait of a young English Duke. — Objection of Chinese to the form of an English chariot with an elevated box for coachman. — Preparations for journey into Tartary. — Gracious message from the Emperor to the Embassador. — List of plants collected in province of Pe-che-lee.
page 82 to 167.
CHAPTER III.
JOURNEY TO THE NORTHERN FRONTIER OF CHINA. VIEW OF THE GREAT WALL. VISIT TO THE EMPEROr's COURT AT HIS SUMMEr's RESIDENCE IN TARTARY.
Road beyond Pekin — travelled by the Embassador in an English carriage — its commodiousncss admired by the Chinese — culture on each side of the road. — A dye, like indigo, made from a species of polygo- num— a green dye, from a colutea — all plajits converted to tise by
OF CON'lENTS.
Chinese — succedanea for those not found amongst them. — Course of rivers in the road to Tartary — animals of burden used upon this road — palaces at regular stages on the road for the Emperor — Embassy stops at them by invitation — general description of them. — Mineralo- gical remarks. — Tobacco cultivated — how cured — how used. — He- scription of the hills — strata of the mountains — bridges. — Traits of difference between Tartars and Chinese — ornaments of females — cul- ture of flowers — beggars on the roads. — Distant view of great wall — where carried — occasion of its construction — buildings erected on si- milar accounts elsewhere — present state of Chinese wall — period of its completion — reflections on the credibility of historical assertions — wall not passed by Marco Polo — pass leading to the wall — military post — description of such — Koo-pe-koo — military parade — visit to, and examination of, wall — its structure, dimensions, and ?naterials — its towers and battlements — measurements of them. — Conjecture on the ancient knowledge of gunpozvder in China — inferences as to the state of the Chinese government at the period of constructing the great xvall — still a line of demarcation between the inhabitants on different sides of it, tho all obedient to Emperor. — Respect of Chinese to- wards Tartars of the com-t. — Vegetation in Tartary. — Animals — pe- culiar species of hare — manner of hunting them. — Tartar dog. — Ge- neral situation of roads. — Swelled neck common in Tartary — nature of it — affects the mind. — Hills — perpendicular rock — height of moun- tains.— Arrival of Embassy at Zhe-bol — croxvds — dress of Lainas. — Embassador s hotel. — Conduct of Legate — of Thibet General — dis- cussion on ceremony of reception. — Colao desirous to see Embassador without delay — his Excellency being ifidisposed, Colao visited by Mi- nister Plenipotentiary — indifferent apartments of Colao in the palace — origin of Colao' s sudden elevation—fall — returnto power. — Conference held in presence of many persons — Embassador solicited to comply with ceremony of prostration — reports on bis resistance. — Excursion of
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
some getitlcmen of the Embassy in the environs of Zhe-hol — gold in river near Zhe-hol — zvhimsical objection against the straJigers visiting a pyramid, overlooking the Imperial gardens. — Ceremony ofreceptioti settled to mutual satisfaction. — Presents brought to Zhe-hol graciously received. — Conference betiveen Embassador and Colao — manners and character of Colao — suspected of aspiring to make his family succeed to the throne. — Indiscreet advice given to the Emperor to appoint his successor — adviser put to death — reasons for ?iot following it, published by the Emperor. — Alt the branches of the Imperial family attend pre- sentation of Embassador — no distinction denoting Emperor's choice of a successor. — Story how Emperor's father obtained the throne. — Public presejitation of Embassador — great tent prepared for the purpose — zvhy — arrival of Emperor to great tent — what persons admitted into it. — Dresses of Embassador and Minister Plenipotentiary on the occasion, conformable to Chinese ideas of propriety. — Emperor's gra- cious and distinguished reception of British Embassador, and of the King's letter — short speech of Emperor — presents offered by Em- bassador and Minister to Emperor, and those given by Emperor — 7iotice taken by him of an English youth who understood Chinese. — Banquet given by Emperor — probable origin of ceremonies in use towards the Emperor. — Handsome compliment of Emperor towards his Britannic Majesty — appearance — manners — age — health of Em- peror— presents sent by him to Embassador after his return from, court. — All intercourse between different ranks accompanied by offer- ings from inferiors, and donations from superiors. — Second meeting 'with Emperor — his civility to Embassador. — Invitation to visit the Im- perial gardens of Zhe-hol — accompanied by Emperor's Ministers oj state, and by Thibet General — character of the latter^robable occa- sion of his dislike of the E?iglish. — Description of Imperial gardens — intended conference zvith Colao prevented by illness of the latter — consults Embassador's physician — nature of his complaints — of Chinese
VOL. II. b
X TABLE OF CONTENTS.
medical opinions and practice.— Letter prepared by Embassador, addressed to Colao — how translated and copied — why not delivered to Legate — account of his degradation — still however employed — how letter forwarded to Colao. — All business suspended during cele- bration of Emperor's birthday — ceremonies and solemn fnusic in praise of his Imperial Majesty— himself not visible during the whole day.— Embassador's visit to great Lama temple — accompanied by Sun-ta-Zhin — description of temple— erected by Ejuperor at a vast expence— accounted for — his enthusiasm accotnpafiied by great talents — large assemblage at his court, political — number of troops, of man- darines, assembled on the occasion of his awiiversary — variety of enter- tainments exhibited before the Emperor, and his male courtiers — Fireworks in the day time— figured ballets — dancing— tumbling — pantomime in the ladies' theatre. — Ladies concealed — curious to see an Englishman— indulged in the instance of an English youth.— Emperor's observation to Embassador on occasion of his assisting at public spectacles— his arrangement in public affairs, &c. — employment of his leisure — character of his writings — tasle. — Departure of Tartar princes from Zhe-hol — their condition. — Supposed descent of Em- peror from Gengis-Khan—long reign of Che Ji- Lung — extent of his dominions — considered as a Tartar, tho born in China — guarded chiefly by Tartars — why preference given to them — antipathy between them and Chinese. — Strict and successful government of Tartar dynasty — views and system of Emperor's government — inte?ition of resigning the throne, to a successor inclined to cotitinue the same system. — His male descendants. — Festival concluded at Zhe-hol. — Emperor pre- pares to return into China— to be preceded by Embassador. — Favour- able answer to the letter from the Colao to a former message. — Lati- tude of Zhe-hol. — List of plants growing between it and Pekin.
Page 168 to 276.
i ABLE or CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
RETURN TO PEKIN. OBSERVATIONS AND OCCURRENCES THERE, AND AT
YUEN-MIN-YUEN.
Departure from Zhe-bol. — Difference of treatment to different Embassadors, at the Chinese court. — British Embassador allowed to travel on road allotted to courtiers. — Particular road reserved for the Emperor — a common road for all other travellers .— Embassy arrives at Koo-pe-koo. — Fresh instance of jealousy of Chinese in regard to foreigners. — Contrivance to divert travellers from pursuing objects of curiosity. — Delicacy of Chinese, that no person be allowed to expire within the preciftcts of any of the Imperial palaces. — Medical treat- ?nent of an European, by a Chitiese physician. — Arrival of Efnbassy at Pekin. — Secluded life of those left by the Embassador in his hotel, during his absence in Tartary. — Mistrust of Chinese of all Europeans. — Occupations at Pekin and Tuen-min-yuen of the Eng- lish left behind during his Excellency's absence at Zhe-hol. — Soap manufactured for the use of the Embassy. — Linen little used by the Chinese. — Incident which gave offence.— Honours paid to the Embassador on his return to Pekin. — Usual time for an Embassy to remain in China. — Embassador's speedy departure expected— adjust- ment of presents previous to that event. — Ingenuity of Chinese work- men.— Considerations in favour of the remote antiquity of arts in China. — peculiarity inform of utensils for several trades in China — instanced in anvil — bellows —plane .— Probable progress in the refined arts— gunpowder— printing. — Simplicity of Chinese printing— no moveable types — why. — Pekin gazettes — Chinese literature — no libels, but pri- vate plots against the state. — Disposition of Chinese towards a change of government — in different classes — ivby. — lis security
Xll TABLE OF CONXi-NTS.
founded on patriarchal system. — Steadiness of Chinese governynent — principles favourable to the monarch diffused among the people — sacred honours in his favour. — Palaces superior to tetnples in Pekin — Household gods. — Chinese Jupiter or tbimderer. — Gaj-dcns of Tuen-min-yuen. — Painting and sculpture indifferent. — Elephafits bred in China — observations concertiing them. — Officers of Imperial household chiefly eunuchs — why preferred — how made — at what ages. Surgical operations less dangerous in China than in the north of Europe— from zvhat causes. — Persons — conduct — disposition of eu- nuchs— attend the ladies of the palace. — Ladies removed after death of Emperor — others offered by parents to the new Sovereign. — Con- cubines.— Eunuchs feared by the missionaries — 7iew arrangement of presents by their direction at Tue?i-mi}i-yuen, on the expected arrival of the Emperor. — Embassador went to meet him — procession. — Comparison of Chitiese and Eu?'opean carriages. — Emperor's exa- mination of European presents — his probable sentiments of the Em- bassy.— Embassador invited to Tuen-min-yuen — conference there with the great Colao. — Visit of Etnbassy to Imperial palace in Peki?i — ceremonies and conference there— farewell presents. — Thoughts of a person long resident in China, as to the character of the people and government of that country. — Intelligence received by Embassador of impending war with France — bis determination to depart without delay in order to convoy, in the Lion, the fleet to Europe— preparing to leave Pekin.— Climate of that capital. Page 277 to 339.
CHAPTER V.
DEPARTURE FROM PEKIN. JOURNEY TO HAN-CHOO-FOO, PARTLY UPON THE IMPERIAL GANAL.
Principal mode of travelling in China. — Northern rivers of China become shallow in the end of autumn— from what cause. — Freeze early in the wi?iter —Ceremonies on Embassy departing from Pekin
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
— by ivhom accompanied—sets out by land — road constantly crowded — occasion ofit. — Processioji of funerals — marriages. — Sentime?its to- . wards parents.— Structure near the high road. — Dece7it manners of Chinese —co?itrasted with those of so?ne other countries. — Arrival at Tong-choof^oo. — Dress of troops— guardian spirits — variety of Chinese deities — cotnpared with those of other nations— foreign deities easily adopted by Chinese. — Neglect of forefathers chief obstacle to progress of Christianity in China. — Sect of Tao-tse, or Lao-koun. — Embassy embarks — rivers already growing shallow. — Dryness and heat of autumn — harvest. — Warmth — serenity of weather. — Inter- views with Su)i-ta-Zhin — extract of letters from Emperor — character and disposition of Sun-ta-Zhin — circumstances becoming favourable for Embassy — general utility of such intercourse between sovereigns. — View of the country along the river — subsistence of the people — culture of the soil — plough — temperature of the air — description of lower class of wojnen — of the men. — Cheerfulness of harvest. — General description of towns — villages — under protection of particular stars. — Astrofiofny cultivated early by Chinese — degenerated into astrology — connected with religion. — No Sabbath, or periodical day of rest. — Festivals — New year. — Lower classes retain health and strength longer than elsewhere — zvhy.- — How taxed — exempt from ecclesi- astical dues — some taxes received in kind. — Culture of wheat. — Drill husbandry. — Labourers pressed to track the barges. — Feast of full moon. — Province of Shan-tung. — Cotton. — Pagodas. — Embassy en- ters the Imperial canal — description of it— floodgates— fatal accident to some spectators of the passage of the Embassy — trait in character of Chinese — popidousness along the banks of the canal. — Co7ijectures on origin of the fuountains and of the plains of Pe-che-lee and Shaji- tung. — How Imperial canal supplied — how constructed. — Fishing birds. — Nenuphar, or nymphcea nelumbo. — Culture of rice. — Layid not suffered to liefallon'. — Various methods of catching fish. — Food
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
of C/miese. — Method of catching waterfowl. — Palma Cbristi oil.—' Common people frequently distressed — borrow upon pledges, and at high interest. — Some lands near the canal swampy and uncultivable — but in general fertile. — Canal seldom perfectly level — crosses Tellozu river — rapidity of the latter — sacrifices previous to crossifig it— pro- bable origin of such sacrifices — resemble those made in other nations and times — course, length, and nature ofTellozv river — calculation of mud wafted down by it— progress of such mud tozvards filling the bason of the Tellow sea. — Occasional visits between Sun-ta-Zhin and Embassador. — Favourable disposition of Emperor increased in con- sequence of Sun-ta-Zhin's representations of the real views of the Embassy. — Pleasant scene on the caiial. — Lake of Pao-yng.— Chinese method of raising crops of vegetables upon the water, and on marshy grounds. — Few Chinese colonize. — Prejudice against Tartars. Mulberry trees — their culture— for feeding silk worms — method of raising them. — Canal crosses great river of Tang-tse-kiajig — course and exte?it of it — tract between the Tellow and great rivers — golden mountain in midst of the latter. — Nankeen cotton — its natural colour. — Bridges over some parts of the canal. — Arrival at Sou-choo — de- scription of the place — of the ladies there. — Tai-hoo lake — Tallow trees. — Instance of Chinese economy in use of cajidles. — Approach to Han-choo-foo. — Visit from new Viceroy of Canton — his character. — ■■ Of 1-anks and families in China. — Rewards and punishments. — Limits to powers of monarchy. — Character of Viceroy. — Lisst of plants iji Sban-tung and Kiang-nan. P^g^ 34° to 438.
TABLE OF CONTKNTS.
CHAPTJiR VI.
HAN-CHOO FOO, JOURNEY FROM TIIKNCE TO CHU-SAN: AND ALSO TO CANTf)N. PASSAGE OF THE I ION AND HINDOSTAN FROM THE FORMER TO THE LATTER,
Description of Han-choo-foo — river between it and the sea — dress of the men at Han-choo-foo — of the ladies. — Intelligence of Sir Eras- mus Gower. — Some persons of the Embassy destined to go to Chu-san — others to Canton — the former to be accompajiied by Su?i-ta-Zhin — the latter by Viceroy of Canton. — Visit to Sec-hoo lake — Vale of Tombs described. — Instance of Chinese jealousy and alarm. — Jour- ney of party to Chu-s-an — country described — lands highly cultivated — zvaste lands forfeited to the crown — passage between canals of dif- ferent levels — arrival near Chu-san. — Exemptions to ship Hindostan confirmed. — Departure of Sun-ta-Zhin to return to Pekin — depar- ture of other party from Han-choo-foo toivards Canton. — Honours paid to Embassador. — Tartar cavalry — dress and arms of troops. — Description of barges on Han-choo-foo river — chain of bills along the river — cultivatio?i ofvallies — trees — camphor tree — camphor drug. — Visit of Embassadors from Licu-kieu Islands — their dress — man- ners— account of Licu-kieu Islands. — Neighbourhood of Han-choo- foo river planted with canes — their cultivation — system in snaking sugar. — Chinese fruits. — Hills — how< cultivated. — Tea-plant — soil suited to its culture — form of plant — method of curijig it. — Cha-wha, or Camellia Sesancjua — ^cultivated for its oil — in what portion. — Ma- terials found near the river for making porcelain — nature of them — number of furnaces for baking porcelain in one place — dedicated to the genius of fire. — Embassy meets with bad weather for the first time — cause of it. — Land jour?iey — little frequented. — Intercourse betiveen Viceroy and Embassador— favourable disposition of the for- mer.— Mode of travelling by land— face of the country — conical
ABLE OF CONTENTS.
hills. — Population. — Slopes converted into terraces — how cultivated — jnanure how collected — what kind — how managed — how used — seeds how preserved — bow dejiciency of manure supplied. — Irrigation of lands. — History of chain-pump — its different forms. — Embassy lodged in house zvhere students examined for degrees — nature of such examinations — importance of degrees — utility to the state. — Conver- sation between Viceroy and Embassador — delicate situation of Vice- roy— pleased with his Excellency's sentiments— pi'oposal of Viceroy that an intercourse should be continued between the sovereigns of England and China — anszver. — Viceroy writes to E7nperor. — Em- bassy re-embarks 07i its ivay towards Canton — excursions ashore — in- solence of some Chinese — reprobated by Viceroy and mandarines. — Chinese trials and punishments — torture — revision of sentences. — Maxims of hu?nanity prevalent iji the government — crimes occasioned by famine. — Jails — temporary confnement for debt. — Slavery. — Fraudule?it debtor to the crown punished capitally — Emperor s inte- rest always the first object — few civil suits — why. — Bribes — presents. Salaries of magistrates. — Effect of the importation of silver. — Jus- tice leans toivards Tartars — few of them in southern provinces. — Embassy proceeds to Poy-ang lake — description of it — of neighbour- ing country — resources of inhabitants. — Arrival in the neigbourhood of sugar plantations — description of admirable fnachine for watering the cane grounds — chiefly made of bamboo — calculation of water j'aised by it. — Bamboo plant described — its many uses. — Woineri la- borious in the province of Kiang-see — tenure of land in that and other provinces. — A day's journey by land. — Great mountain dividing pro- vinces of Kiang-see and Quang-tung — magnifceiit view from thence — height above the sea. — Small horses in Quang-tung. — Embark on Pe-kiang river — its course — cultivation alongits banks — collieries close to it — substances used by the Chinese for fuel. — Arrival at Chau-choo- foo — cultivation in its neighbourhood — boats rozved by females — their
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XVll
double occupations. — Great subjection of zvomen to 7nen — its cause — its consequence. — Chinese society of what nature. — Character of Chinese men. — Influence of English trade perceptible before arrival of Em- bassy at Canton. — Temple excavated in an immense rock overhanging the river. — Entrance of Embassy into Canton — likely influence of honours paid to it. — Passage of Lion from Chu-san — treatment ivhile there. — State of the weather — struggle of monsoons. — Arrival of Lion atLadrone isles — received supplies from Canton. — Endeavours in vain to beat tozvards Japan, against monsoon. — Chinese pirates — attack no Europeans. — Capture of the brig to which the people left at Am- sterdam belonged. — Hindostan xvell treated at Chu-san — why not load there. — Tempestuous weather in passage towards Canton. — List of plants in provinces of Kiang-see and Ouang-tung.
P^ge 439 to rj2r>.
CHAPTER VII.
RESIDENCE OF THE EMBASSY AT CANTON, AND AT MACAO.
Temperature of Canton — effect offoreigners resorting to it. — Trade carried on principally by public companies — advantage of such a system — high estimation of English Company. — Chief article of export to Europe — /// effects of smuggling it into England — plan to prevent it — success of such plan. — Agejits of English Company at Canton — grievances. — Remonstrance of Embassador — iyiterference of Viceroy — circumstances favourable to English. — European improvements. — Medical relief to Chinese patients. — Lozu state of medicine in China — of surgery. — Inoculation of small-pox. — Beverage of immortality. — ■State of 7nany sciences in China — of arts. — White copper — tutenag — quicksilver. — Effect of patriarchal system on population — of early mar- riages.— Of converting most lands to means of subsistence for man. —
VOL. II. c
TABLE OF COXTEXTS.
hills. — Population. — Slopes converted into terraces — how cultivated — manure how collected — zvhat kind — hozv managed — how used — seeds how preserved — how deficiency of tnamire supplied. — Irrigatiofi of lands. — History of chain-pump — its different forms. — Embassy lodged in bouse where students examined for degrees — nature of such examinations — importance of degrees — utility to the state. — Conver- sation betweeji Viceroy and Embassador — delicate situation of Vice- roy— pleased with his Excellency' s sentiments— proposal of Viceroy that a7i intercourse should be continued betweefi the sovereigns oj England and China — ansiver. — Viceroy zvrites to Etnperor. — Em- bassy re-embarks on its way towards Canton — excursions ashore — in- solence of some Chinese — reprobated by Viceroy and mandarines. — Chinese trials and pimishments — torture — revision of sentences. — Maxims of humanity prevalent in the government — crimes occasioned by famine. — Jails — temporary confinement for debt. — Slavery. — Fraudule?it debtor to the crown punished capitally — Emperor s inte- rest ahvays the first object— few civil suits — why. — Bribes — presents. Salaries of magistrates. — Effect of the importation of silver. — Jus- tice leans tozvards Tartars— few of them in southern provinces. — Embassy proceeds to Poy-ang lake — description of it — of Jieighbour- ing country — resources of inhabita?its. — Arrival in the neigbourhood of sugar plantations — description of admirable machine for watering the cane grounds — chiefly made of bamboo — calculation of water raised by it. — Bamboo plant described — its many uses. — Women la- borious in the province of Kiang-see — tenure of land in that and other provinces. — A day's journey by land. — Great mountain dividing pro- vijices of Kiang-see and Quang-tung — magnificent view from thence — height above the sea. — Small horses in Quang-tung. — Embark on Pe-kiang river — its course — cultivation along its banks — collieries close to it — substances used by the Chinese for fuel. — Arrival at Chau-cboo- foo — cultivation in its neighbourhood — boats rozved by females — their
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XVll
double occupation^;. — Great subjection of zvonien to men — its cause — its consequence. — Chinese society of what nature. — Character of Chinese men. — hfluence of English trade perceptible before arrival of Em- bassy at Canton. — Temple excavated in an immense rock overhanging the 7-iver. — Entrance of Embassy into Canton — likely infuence of honoujs paid to it. — Passage of Lion from Chu-san — treatment xvhile there. — State of the weather — struggle of monsoons. — Arrival of Lion atLadrone isles — received supplies from Canton. — Endeavours ifi vain to beat toivards Japan, against monsoon. — Chinese pirates — atlack no Europeans. — Capture of the brig to which the people left at Am- sterdam belonged. — Hindostan ivell treated at Chu-san — ivhy not load there. — Tempestuous weather in passage towards Canton. — List of plants in provinces of Kiang-see and Ouang-tung.
P^g^ 439 to 5^r>-
CHAPTER VII.
RESIDENCE OF THE EMBASSY AT CANTON, AND AT MACAO*
Temperature of Canton — effect offoreigners resorting to it. — Trade carried on principally by public companies — advantage of such a system — high estimation of English Company. — Chief article of export to Europe — /// effects of smuggling it into England — plan to prevent it — success of such plan. — Agents of English Company at Canton — grievances. — Remonstrance of Embassador — interference of Viceroy — circumstances favourable to English. — European improvements. — Medical relief to Chinese patients. — Lozv state of medicine in China — of surgery. — Inoculation of small-pox. — Beverage of immortality. — ■State of 7nany sciences in China — of arts. — White copper — tutenag — quicksilver. — Effect of patriarchal system on population — of early ?nar- riages. — Of converting most lands to means of subsistence for ?nan. —
VOL. II. c
XVlll TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Statements of population obtained. — Of revenues — taxes. — Military offices — pay of troops Tartar and Chinese. — Life of a Chinese more adapted for literature, of a Tartar for military pursuits. — Chinese atmosphere favourable to astronomical observatiojis — rise of astronomy. — Probable antiquity of Chinese. — Chinese cycle — annals. — Coincidence of Chinese history tvith celestial and terrestrial phano- mena. — Chinese tnethod of measuring sjnall portions of time — of ex- pressing nmnhers. — Probable reason why geometry not invented, or acquired in China. — Chinese less suspicious, formerly, of foreigners than at present. — Advantages of trading there by companies. — Chinese Hong, or associated mercha7its. — Commissioners feel necessity of some of their own country at Canton understanding the Chinese language — nature of Chinese language — different in its construction from all others — simplicity of its grammar. — Difference between written and oral language — hieroglyphic — regular system of Chinese tongue — unmixed zvith any other — primeval in China — natural passage from hierogly- phic to alphabetic language — why such change took place elsewhere — zvhy not in China. — Construction of Chinese dictionaries. — Permission given by Viceroy, that natives may teach Chinese to the English. — Invitation from Emperor for a continuation of ititercourse from Eng- land by succeeding ministers. — Departure of Embassy from Canton. Parting with mandarine friends. — Passage to Macao — reception there — description of the place — its ancient prosperity and present decline —from what causes. — Fonjier and present disposition of Portuguexe settlers. — Civil — military — religious establishments. — Christians in China, Tun-quin, and Cochin-China. — Missionaries. — Subjection of Portugueze to their Chinese neighbours. — Garden and cave where Portugueze poem of Lusiad written. — Description of Isle Verde. — Inner and outer harbour of Matao. — Intelligence which determined Embassador to convoy, in the Lion man of war, the English merchant ships homeward bound from China. page 526 to 594.
TABLE OF CONTENTS. XIX
CHAPTER VIII.
PASSAGE TO ST. HELENA; NOTICES OF THAT ISLAND. RETURN HOME.
■ Departure from Macao. — Disposition of the jieet. — Monsoojis.— Effect of weather on marine barometer. — Intelligence of the enemy in Chinese seas. — Malay pirates. — Risk of navigating in Asia. — Pro- gress of fleet across Indian ocean. — Effect of approach to coast of Africa. — Predictions of marine barometer. — Tempests— fleet dispersed — reassembled near St. Helena— joined by others — anchor at that island — description of it — circumference — anchorage — tides . — First discovery of island — presetit improvements — tnatmers of the people. — Reception of strangers — refreshments. — Island cultivated by black slaves — their condition — meliorated. — Also by free negroes — protected by government. — St. Helena an agreeable retreat — height of hills — fatal accident to a mariner^feats of agility of a seaman from Sand- ivich Islands. — Departure from St. Helena — cross the Line. — Trial of a marine chair. — Meet a fleet supposed to be an enemy — prepare for action — conduct of a young person on board the Lion. — Escape a superior French fleet. — Avoid Isles of Scilly. — Enter the British Channel — run foul of the grand fleet of Earl Howe. — Arrive at Spithead. p^g^ 595 ^o 614,.
APPENDIX.
No. I. Table of extefit and population of China Proper, from official papers. — II. Account of revenues of China, received ifi the Impei'ial treasury at Pekin. — III. List of chief civil off cers ofChi?ia, their number, stations, and salaries. — IV. List of chief military off cers of China, their number, rank, and .salaries. — V. Trade of
2 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passageup August, 1793, the towii of Ta-coo, within the Pei-ho, ' or White river, and the first place of any note in this north-east frontier of China. There they found a consi- derable number of yachts, or large covered barges, and boats of burden, calculated to pass over the shallows of the Pei-ho, and destined to convey the whole of the Embassy as far as that river led towards the capital of the empire.
The Embassador entered immediately into the yacht prepared for his reception. It bore some resemblance to the passage-boats on the English and Dutch canals ; but being intended for a longer and uninterrupted route, was made more spacious, and fitted up with greater conveniences, as well as better decorated. The apart- ment allotted for his Excellency took up most of the vessel, and consisted of an antichamber, a saloon, a bed- chamber, and a closet. In the saloon was a seat of ho- nour, or square sopha, such as is found in the houses of every chief mandarine, and on which, supported by large cushions, he gives audience to his suitors. A gang- way, stretching out about two feet beyond the gunwale of the yacht, served for a communication on each side, from stem to stern, for the domestics and crew, without passing through the rooms. On these gangways the seamen stepped, when it happened to be necessary to force, by setting-poles, the vessel over the shallows, or through thick mud. The crew had a small cabin next
EMBASSY TO CHINA. t
the stern, in a corner of which perfumed matches were Passage up constantly kept lighted, and placed round an idol upon ==^1=^ a small altar. Boats attended with provisions and cooks, to supply the Embassador's table, without the necessity of going ashore, or suffering any delay whenever the tide or wind should be favourable for proceeding.
Sixteen other yachts, most of them of a larger size than that of the Embassador, as intended each to carry many passengers, were found sufficient for holding the whole of his Excellency's suite. Many of those vessels were eighty feet long, and very capacious; yet they were built of such light wood, and so constructed, as not to sink more than eighteen inches into the water, tho they were lofty above it. The cabins were high and airy. Above them were births for the crew, and beneath the floors were lockers for stowing necessaries.
The chief distinction, as to ornament, between the Embassador's and the other yachts, consisted in the greater proportion of glass panes which adorned the windows of the former ; while the frames of the others were generally filled with a kind of paper, manufactured chiefly in Corea, and in the composition of which an unctuous substance is employed, for rendering the paper more durable when thus exposed to the weather, it being much less easily affected by rain, or any kind of wet, than that which is made in Europe. The general use of glass in the yacht where decoration was principally
4 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up studlcd, and the substitution of another material for it in === most of the others, sufficiently indicated that it was in estimation, but not in plenty.
A considerable guard of Chinese soldiers were destined to attend the Embassador on shore ; but a few only could be conveniently distributed among the yachts. When- ever an European went ashore from any of them, the pre- sence of a soldier with him announced the immediate protection of the government; and might have been in- tended also, as a check upon his conduct.
Beside the yachts for passengers, an equal number of large boats of burden were found necessary for the con- veyance of the presents and baggage. The Chinese were not deficient either in expedition, or management, in re- moving the several articles out of the holds of the sea- junks, in order to tranship them into what might, per- haps, be properly called river-lighters.
No slight care was requisite in the transfer of the packages which contained the presents. This business was entrusted to the superintendance of the same person who had succeeded in transhipping them, without da- mage, from the Hindostan. Tho the people under his inspection could be employed at one junk only at a time, yet all the packages, in number about six hundred, most of which were heavy and unwieldy, were safely placed on board the lighters in the course of two or three days.
While this operation was going forward, the chief
EMBASSY TO CHINA. S
conductors of the route, Chow-ta-zhin and Van-ta-zhin, Passage up
the Pei-ho.
waited frequently upon the Embassador, not only to pay == their respects to him, but to take his commands in case any thing were wanting for his perfect accommodation and comfort. They likewise made visits of civility to the principal gentlemen of the Embassy. Inferior man- darines attended all thevessels, for the distribution of pro- visions, and necessaries for every individual of his Ex- cellency's suite. These persons went from one yacht to another in small boats, called san-pans, which be- ing decked and flat bottomed, could neither sink or be overset.
A separate table for the gentlemen in each yacht was served up in the manner, and occasionally with all the delicacies, of the country ; and sometimes, also, in an aukward imitation of English cookery. The Chinese method of dressing victuals, consisted chiefly in stewing animal substances, divided into small square morsels, mixed with vegetables, and seasoning them with a variety of savoury sauces, and a combination of opposite tastes. The meat most plentiful was beef and pork. The com- mon fowls of Europe were also common here. Among the most expensive articles, and accounted the greatest delicacies, were the nests of a particular species of swal- low mentioned in the former volume of this work, and the fins of sharks, both of which afford rich and fatten- ing juices; but require, like the turtle, the admixture of strong spices, to be much relished. With a view to gra-
6 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up tify, as was thought, the English appetite, instructions
were given by the mandarines, to roast large pieces, such
as pigs, turkies, and geese, entire. This is a mode of pre- paring food which did not appear to have been practised in China ; and was executed very indifferently by the Chinese cooks.
Baking bread was as little common as roasting meat. No proper oven was to be seen, in this part of the country. Instead of bread, boiled rice, or other grain, was gene- rally used. The rice swells considerably in boiling ; and this operation is supposed to answer, as to whole- someness or facility of digestion, the purpose of the fer- mentation of the dough in regard to bread. Wheat grows in many provinces in China. That grain, also, called buck-wheat, produces flour, which, when freed entirely from the bran, is perfectly white, and is frequendy, as well as other flour, made by the Chinese into the form of cakes. These, by exposure to steam, are reduced to the consistence of dumplins: for this purpose, the cakes are arranged upon stages of lattice work, fixed in the inside of a wooden frame, and closed on every part except the bottom. The frame, with its contents, is placed over a vessel of boiling water, the steam of which ascends through the lattice work ; but is sufficient only to surround the cakes with a thin soft crust. Such as are afterwards sliced and toasted become better substitutes for hard baked bread. Some are rendered more palatable by the admix- ture of aromatic seeds.
EMBASSY TO CHINA. )
To each yacht were sent jars of a yellow vinous li- Passage up quor, and also of a distilled spirit. The management of '
the latter seemed to be understood better than that of the former ; for the wine was generally muddy, indiffe- rent in taste, and soon grew sour. The spirit was strong and clear, and seldom partook of any empyreumatic odour. In the northern provinces it was generally dis- tilled from millet, as in the southern, from rice. The strength of some of it was, upon trial, ascertained to be above the common proof for ardent spirits. It is called by the Chinese hot wine, shoiu-choo. Regular supplies also came of fruits, such as plums, pears, apples, grapes, apricots, and oranges. Peaches were presented as com- ing from Pekin, in the neighbourhood of which, pro- bably a greater attention is paid to the culture of that fruit than in the provinces. Green and bohea tea were supplied also in abundance ; the former chiefly from the Kiang-nan, and the latter from the Fo-chien provinces, both some degrees to the southward of the Pei-ho. The tea, however, was often too fresh foran English palate; and it was not unusual to hear a wish expressed for London tea. The province of Fo-chien furnished also sugar-candy and brown sugar ; but none in loaf. The Cochin-chinese sugar crystallized in cakes, tho excellent and very cheap, seemed not to have been imported, or much used in this part of China.
Ample allowance was made of every necessary article
8 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up to thc gentlemen, and likewise to the artificers, soldiers, and ^ domesticsin the train of the Embassador. No slight magni-
ficence was displayed, and noexpence seemed to be spared in the treatment of the Embassy, either as to the num- ber of mandarines who were appointed to accompany it, and whose salaries were increased upon this particular service; the crowd of inferior Chinese who were en- gaged to attend upon the occasion ; the many vessels em- ployed in conveying the whole ; the parade of reception wherever the yachts stopped; and the occasional shows and decorations as they passed along ; the cost of all which, together with that of the supplies of every kind which could be wanted, the Emperor chose, should be en- tirely borne by himself; upon this grand idea, that the whole empire was as his private property and dwelling, m which it would be a fiiilure of hospitality to suflPer a vi- sitor, for as such an Embassador is always considered by theChinese, to be at the least charge for himself or for his train, while he continued there. His Imperial Majesty's orders on this subject were very strictly obeyed. A gen- tleman who accompanied the Embassador, and who wished to purchase some trifling articles of dress, was immediately supplied ; but the mandarine who had been employed to buy them, declared he dared not accept the price from him for whose use they were destined, but charged the same to the Emperor's account. The Impe- rial mandates, on all occasions, seem to be received with
EMBASSY TO CHINA. <
a degree of awe, and to be executed with a punctuality Passage up
, . P . , the Pei-ho.
which imply that they are seldom known to be infrniged === without a punishment adequate to the offence. The authority of government is delegated, on particular occa- sions, to superior mandarines ; an instance of which oc- curred in the dismissal of a subordinate officer attendant upon the Embassy, by the chief conductors of it, for no very violent transgression.
During the Embassador's stay before Ta-coo, there was also an interchange of visits between him and the Viceroy of the province, who, by the Emperor's order, came from Pao-ting-foo, his usual place of residence, dis- tant an hundred miles, to compliment his Excellency on his entrance into the Chinese dominions, and to issue such orders, in regard to him, as the occasion might re- quire. He was the person of the highest rank whom yet the Embassador had an opportunity of seeing in China ; and was certainly a man of the most polished manners. He was tottering with age; but not less dig- nified than he was venerable. In his reception of the Embassador, he behaved with refined and attentive po- liteness; but without the constraint of those distant forms, or particular ceremonies, which are sometimes thought proper to take place in China between persons of unequal rank, or to be substituted where sentiment or education is supposed to be deficient. The punctilios and tiresome formalities, for example, described in some
VOL. II. C
10 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up j-elatlons of Chinese customs, when tea is served upon
the Pei-ho. ^
== the arrival of a visitor, were not observed, or were slightly passed over on the present meeting ; in which there was nothing particular in this respect to notice, unless it may be mentioned, that the tea was brought in cups with covers upon oblong saucers, and infused in each cup separately, the leaves remaining at the bottom of the cup; and that the simple infusion of tliis herb was thought by the host, if not by the guests, preferable to its mixture with cream and sugar.
The Viceroy had taken up his abode at the principal temple of Ta-coo, consecrated to the god of the sea, the proximity of which occasioned, no doubt, frequent in- vocations to that deity, under the appellation of Toong- hai-vaung, or king of the eastern sea. There were seve- ral figures of him in different brilliant edifices of porce- lain, within one inclosure. The annexed engraving is one representation of this Chinese Neptune ; and is em- blematic of the element over which he is considered as presiding. He sits upon the waves with firmness, ease, and dignity ; and tho he brandishes no trident, to call up monsters from the vasty deep, yet he seems to be conscious of security by the possession of a magnet in one hand, while the dolphin, which he holds in the other, denotes his power over the inhabitants of the ocean. His beard flowing in all directions, and his agitated locks seemed intended for a personification of that troubled element.
EMBASSY TO CHINA.
II
The circumstance of the divinity's reliance upon a mag- passage up
cr • •!•• 1 •• 111 ^''^ Pci-ho.
net, IS a sumcient indication how intimately the know- „,,,>...^ ledge of its properties has been incorporated with the mythological doctrines of the Chinese ; as well as at what an early period that knowledge must have been applied to navigation. They who suppose, indeed, from various allusions in ancient authors, as well as from a consideration of the facility with which pieces of iron placed in particular positions acquire magnetic qualities, that these were known in Europe also in very remote
12 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up agjcs, conjecture that the trident itself in the hand of
the Pei-ho. T-'f ^. , . ^ , , , r 1
■ JNeptune is less a magic wand, than an emblem ot that unerring guidance which the magnet is capable of sup- plying.
Not far from the Hai-chin-miao, or temple of the sea god, was the hall of audience of Ta-coo. It was situ- ated in the midst of a spacious court. A broad flight of steps led to a building, of an hexagon form, with a roof supported by pillars, the diameter of which bore a greater proportion to the length of the shafts, than in any order of Grecian architecture. These pillars were of varnished wood, which material might require more thickness than those of stone ; as pillars of iron, no doubt, would less than either. For the natural rules and proportions in this science, must necessarily de- pend on the substance to be employed, as well as on the effect they are meant to produce upon the eye. The hexagon was open on all sides : a circumstance which indicated the mildness of the climate, and was not ill calculated to impress the mind with the pleasing, tho perhaps erroneous idea, that justice there was free and accessible to all. On benches covered with red cotton cloth and satin cushions, sat six magistrates, five, probably, as assessors to the chief, and who might serve the purpose of a check on the caprice or passions of a single judge. The attendants and spectators were very numerous.
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 13
Soon after the Embassador returned to his yacht, the Passngeup
' ' the Pel ho.
Viceroy sent there a sumptuous repast for him, and three =====1 other dinners, each consisting of twenty-four dishes, to the three gentlemen who had accompanied his Excellency on the visit. Why the Viceroy preferred this method of showing civility to his visitors, to that of retaining them to partake of a banquet with him that day, or of inviting them for the next, could be explained by nothing known in Chinese manners or opinions, except what might re- late to the rank of the gentlemen accompanying the Em- bassador. It did not proceed, as it might in India, from any religious scruple, against eating with profane fo- reigners. More, indeed, than four persons seldom sit at the same table in China ; but a banquet is frequently served upon several tables in the same apartment. It is possible that some circumstance of delicacy towards the Embassador, which was not explained, or of doubt con- cerning English customs, might have induced the Vice- roy to adopt this particular mode of hospitality, which, indeed, the tables supplied at the Emperor's charge had rendered altogether superfluous.
During the Embassador's stay before Ta-coo he was visited by the principal mandarines of the neighbour- hood, in whom, as in other Chinese of rank, fewer na- tional peculiarities or partialities were apparent, than in the lower classes of life. The exercised mind is, certainly, less the child of example, or the creature of climate and
H EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up govemment than that in which nothing intervenes to ' counteract the influence of those powerful causes. That the people are justly said to be whatever they are made, is sufficiently instanced in the effect produced upon the common Chinese by the continual apprehension, in which they are held, of the heavy hand of power. When free from that restraint, they are of a cheer- ful and confident disposition ; but they are extreme- ly timid in the presence of their magistrates. This effect was conspicuous in the case of the young man who has been already mentioned to have come purposely in the Endeavour brig from Canton, to offer himself to serve as one of the interpreters of the Embassy. He was some- times employed to interpret to the mandarines ; but he stood in such excessive awe before them, that he seldom acquitted himself well ; and never without turning the becoming style of conversation among equals, which he had to render from an European language, into the most abject address that the Chinese idiom admitted from per- sons of the lowest degree. Not satisfied, however, with taking that sort of precaution for his security, he consi- dered it still as dangerous for him to serve foreigners on any terms, and sacrificing, to his new fears, the inclina- tion he had to see, by means of the office he had un- dertaken, the capital, and the sovereign, of his country, as well as his desire of emolument in fulfilling the duties of his employment, he determined to return immediately
EMBASSY TO CHINA. IS
to Canton In the vessel wliicli had brought him from Passage up
, ° the Pei-ho.
thence. =====
Every arrangement being completed for the Embassy's proceeding up the river, and his Excellency's orders having been taken upon the subject, the signal was made for sailing on the morning of the ninth of August. To the vessels already mentioned, were added such others as were to carry the mandarines of various ranks, and other Chinese appointed to attend the Embassy, in num- ber, at least, equal to that of the Europeans who com- posed it. No guns are fired in China by way of signal ; but circular rimmed plates of copper, mixed with tin, or zinc, to render it more sonorous, are struck with wooden mallets, and emit a noise almost deafening to those who are near it, and which is heard to a considerable distance. This instrument, which the Chinese call loo, and the Europeans, in China, go?ig, from the name it bears in other parts of the East, is generally used upon the water. In like manner two pieces ofwood struck against each other, and producing a sound like that of a great rattle, serve ashore to give notice from authority, on most occasions, especially among the troops. Drums do not seem to be used in the army ; but they form a part of religious music in the temples.
Almost every vessel connected with the Embassy had on board both Europeans and Chinese. From a mixture of people whose habits, wants, and languages, were so
16 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up ncw to cach Other, much confusion might be expected to ' arise. It was avoided by caution and method. Tiie mandarines were, on every occasion, attentive to the accommodation of the passengers. Even the Chinese soldiers and sailors displayed a gentleness of deportment, and a willingness to oblige, distinguishable from the mere execution of a duty ; and which showed that the present strangers, at least, were not unwelcome. These strangers were, indeed, announced as coming from afar to pay a compliment to their sovereign ; and the lowest of the Chinese were not so depressed as to be insensible of some national gratification on that account.
The approach of the Embassy was an event of which the report spread rapidly among the neighbouring towns and villages. Several of these were visible from the barges upon the river. Crowds of men were assembled on the banks, some of whom waited a considerable time to see the procession pass, while the females, as shy as they were curious, looked through gates, or peeped over walls, to enjoy the sight. A few, indeed, of the ancient dames almost dipped their little feet into the river, in order to get a nearer peep ; but the younger part of the sex generally kept in the back ground. The strangers, on their part, were continually amused and gratified with a succession of new objects. The face of the coun- try, the appearance of the people, presented, in almost every instance, something different from what offers to
EMBASSY TO CHINA. I
the view elsewhere. And a eeneral sentiment prevailed, Passage up
° ^ the Pei-ho.
that it was well worth while to have travelled to such a ;==== distance to behold a country which promised to be in- teresting in every respect.
The direct progress of the Embassy upon the Pei-ho was very slow ; the course of that river being remark- ably serpentine. The route was therefore considerably lengthened ; and the wind, which upon one stretch was favourable, became adverse upon the other. All rivers or streams of water, no doubt, affect straight lines from their sources to the sea, deflecting only where obstacles occur which their impulse is not able to surmount. If those obstacles consist of rocks or elevated compact grounds, no subsequent accidents are likely to change the bed once formed ; but if the waters flow through a country nearly level, and between banks of so loose a mold as to be incapable of resisting a partial swell, or rapid motion, of the river, it will probably, on such oc- casions, form new and circuitous channels for itself. It did so in the present instance ; and to a degree of inconve- nience, which appears to have induced the superintending government to take pains for confining it within its usual bounds ; and, accordingly, extraordinary quantities of earth have been placed along its sides, in order imme- diately to fill up any breach which from time to time might be made in them. There are mounds of this kind, in the form of truncated wedges, all along the banks of
18 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up the Pci-ho, wliicli may also have partly been composed of ' mud collected from the river's bed. At present the banks
of the river are higher than the adjacent plains. Those plains extend as far as the eye could reach ; and the windings of the river through them made the masts of the vessels, sailing on it, appear throughout the country, as if moving over the fields in every direction, while the water lay concealed.
The fields exhibited a high state ofcultivation, and were generally covered with the kolcus sorghum or tallest of the vegetables producing esculent grain, commonly called Barbadoes millet. It grows to ten or twelve feet high ; and the lowest calculation of its increase was an hundred fold.
In the villages near the river during the first day's jour- ney, the houses had the appearance of being built of mud, like those described near the mouth of the Pei-lio ; but, on a closer inspection, the walls were found to be made of bricks ill-burnt, or baked in the sun ; which after- wards, as well as the tiled roofs, were plastered over with a muddy-coloured substance, unmixed with lime. There is, indeed, no lime, unless from sea shells, to be had for a very considerable distance from the river, or stone of any kind. A pebble is here a rarity.
Near some of the towns and villages were pyramids about fifteen feet high, but of different dimensions as to length and thickness. They consisted of bags of salt heaped together in that form, as peat is preserved in
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 19
some parts of Europe. These bags were covered merely Passage up with common matting; which was, however, found '
sufficient shelter against the dissolution of their con- tents by rain. The sliowers which fell in this part of the country were indeed slight, and seldom happened. The fields nevertheless did not appear scorched in the month of August. Few clouds overhung the sky. The desrees of heat felt in the shade each noon are marked upon the two sheets, No. 9 and 10, containing the route through China. No indication of a damp at- mosphere was observed ; but, in the evenings, a dew was perceptible upon the ground approaching to the river.
As soon as night came on, the banks were illu- minated with variegated lights, from lanterns whose transparent sides were made of different coloured paper, some white, some stained with blue, and others red. The different numbers of lanterns hoisted on the masts' heads of the various vessels in the river, denoted the ranks of the passengers they held; all which, together with the lights from the cabins of the junks, reflecting from the water, produced a moving and party-coloured illumination: a species of magnificence much affected by the Chinese. The night was nearly as noisy as the day, to which contributed not a little the shrill sounds emitted from the loo, struck upon every oc- casion of conveying signals. The threatening hum.
20 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up ancl frequeiit sting of musquitoes, were likewise particu-
■-..■.■■■ larly troublesome in the night.
In the course of travelling the next day, a consider- able inclosure was, for the first time, perceived, resem- bling a gentleman's park in England. It was the resi- dence of the Ta-whang, or chief of the district. His dwelling was distinguished by treble gates, and by two poles erected near them, each forty feet high, destined to bear ensigns of dignity, and, in the night, to carry lanterns for use and ornament. Within the inclosures were seen several buildings, a variety of trees, several sheep and horses. Hitherto very few cattle of any kind had been, any where, observed. Tho the lands lay low, and fit to be converted into meadow, scarcely any were found in that state ; or any lying fallow.
On one side of the river was a large grove of high and wide spreading pines ; near and amongst which were dis- covered several monuments of stone, erected to the me- mory of persons buried underneath. No temple was in the neighbourhood of this cemetery. However a view of the repositories of the dead may increase the disposition to seriousness and piety in buildings consecrated to public worship ; considerations of health towards the living, may have been thought sufficient in China to keep those places entirely separate.
The opposite bank of the river, for a considerable way, was crowded with pyramids or stacks of salt, of the
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 21
heiffht of those already mentioned. The quantity of that Passageup
. , rn 1 1 11 thePei-ho.
article necessary to nil such heaps appeared to be so ssss=s^
enormous, that Mr. Barrow was induced to ascertain it by some sort of calculation. " The number of entire " stacks was two hundred and twenty-two, besides se- " veral others that were incomplete. A transverse sec- " tion of each stack was found to contain seventy bags. " None of those stacks were less in length than two hun- " dred feet. Some extended to six hundred. Supposing " the mean or average length of those stacks to be four " hundred feet, of which each bag occupied a space of " two feet; there would then be, in each stack, two " hundred sections, or fourteen thousand bags, and in " the two hundred and twenty-two stacks, upwards of " three million bags of salt. Every bag contained about "two hundred pounds weight of salt; and, conse- " quently, altogether six hundred millions of pounds in " weight of that article."
When in the former government of France, several of its provinces were subjected to the gabelle or duty upon salt, a calculation was carefully made of the average con- sumption of that article. It was then deemed to be con- siderably under twenty pounds weight in the course of the year, for each individual, including the several uses to which that article was applied . But upon the supposi- tion of the entire quantity of twenty pounds being an- nually consumed by every Chinese, the present collec-
22 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up tloii of that Commodity was sufficient for thirty millions
the Pei-ho. i r • i i • • i
— ot people tor a year, without taking into the account the stacks then opened for consumption, and the lesser accumulations before observed along the banks of the river.
This article is a source of considerable revenue to the crown in China. The amount of the duties upon it in the province of Pe-che-lee, is stated to be inferior to what is collected in various other parts of the empire. In several districts of that province, particularly in the neighbour- hood of the capital, instead of marine salt, a coarse or unpurified nitre is said to be so abundant, as to be often substituted for it by the people, as in some of the in- terior parts of India, and may there deserve more the name of common salt than that which the sea produces Most of the marine salt imported into the Pei-ho, is brought from the sea coasts of the two southern pro- vinces of Fo-chien and Oiian-tung, where it is prepared from sea water. Large fields being made perfectly smooth and flat, with margins elevated about six inches, sea water is let in upon a clayey surface, either through sluices, or pumped up at high water by chain-pumps. The water is suffered to lie on those fields to the depth of two or three inches. The heat of the sun in the summer season is sufficiently strong to evaporate the wa- ter. The evaporation carried on slowly and uniformly, leaves behind large cubic crystals, and forms that species
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 25
usuallv known by the name of Bay-salt in England. Passage up
^ _ -^ ' _ O _ the Pei4o.
There are similar works near tlie mouth of the Pei-
lio river, but to no considerable extent. Its more north- ern situation is certainly not so favourable for the pro- cess by solar heat. Artificial heat is found necessary to complete the process in England, and even in some of the southern parts of France. The salt brought from Oiian-tung and Fo-chien into the Pei-ho, is sufficient to load annually near two thousand vessels of two hundred tons burden each. When one article alone employs so many junks, it is easy to account for the multitude of them seen upon that river. And, indeed, neither the number of towns and villages within view of the Pei-ho, nor of the inhabitants flocking towards it, surprised the travellers so much as that of the junks which were every instant overtaken, or met sailing upon the river, or passed at anchor in creeks along its banks.
The pyramids above described were within sight of the great port called Tien-sing, the literal signification of which Chinese name is, heavenly spot : an appella- tion which it claims as situated in a genial climate, a fer- tile soil, a dry air, and a serene sky. It is the general emporium for the northern provinces of China, and is built at the confluence of two rivers, from which it rises in a gentle slope. The palace of the governor stands on a projecting point, from whence it commands the pro- spect of a broad bason, or expanse of water, produced
24 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up bv the unioii of the rivers, and which is almost co- ' vered with vessels of different sizes. Many of them never cross the shallow bar at the mouth of the Pei-ho ; but are employed in the internal trade carried on by the means of canals as well as great rivers throughout the empire.
Of the rivers uniting at Tien-sing, one, on which the Embassy was to proceed, bore the same name of Pei-ho, that was continued to both when joined. The other was called Tun-leang-ho, or grain-bearing river, from the quantities of wheat conveyed upon it from the province of Shen-see, and sent up by the Pei-ho to the neighbour- hood of Pekin. Even at this early stage of the present tra- vellers'route through China, they found that the Chinese names of whatever had hitherto occurred to them in the country, were not mere arbitrary unmeaning sounds, or names derived from a foreign origin, but had a significa- tion in the language which served to explain the nature or qualities of what was so expressed: a circumstance which leads to a presumption, that this country had, from the remotest periods, been possessed always by the same race, retaining through all ages the same original idiom, without any material admixture with the people or the language of other regions.
Across the rivers, where united at Tien-sing, was a bridge of boats for the convenience of the people, but which occasionally separated to let vessels pass between
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 25
the Pei-ho.
them. Along the quays were some temples, and other Passage up handsome edifices, but the rest consisted chiefly of shop? for the retail of goods, and also warehouses, together with yards and magazines for maritime stores. The private houses presented little more than dead walls in front, the light only coming to them from interior courts. The spectators were mostly in the streets, and upon the ves- sels, literally covering the water opposite the city. Few females were mixed with those spectators. The crowds, however, were immense, not only from the highest ground to the water's edge ; but hundreds were actually standing in the water, in order to approach nearer to the spectacle of the vessels which conveyed the strangers. As these could not be incommoded by the crowd, no- thing like soldiers or constables interfered with the movements of the people. Yet in all the ardour of cu- riosity, the people themselves preserved a great degree of decency and regularity in their demeanour. Not the least dispute seemed to take place among them; and, from a sense of mutual accommodation, none of the common Chinese, who usually wear straw hats, kept on theirs, while the procession of the Embassy was passing, lest they should obstruct the view of the persons behind them, tho their bare heads were thus exposed to a scorch- ing sun. The gradual rise on every side from the water to the furthest extremity of the city, rendered the whole one great amphitheatre. It was literally lined with heads.
26 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up OHC behind and a litde above the odier. Every face was " seen ; and die number appeared to surpass any former mukitude observed in the country.
The fleet which conveyed the Embassy stopped nearly in the center of the city, and opposite to a pavilion where the Viceroy waited for the Embassador. The for- mer had come over land from Ta-coo by a shorter route than was described by the windings of the river. The Embassador disembarked with all the gendemen of the Embassy, and attended with his whole train of servants, musicians, and guards. He was received on shore by the Viceroy and the Legate mentioned in the last pages of the former volume. A body of Chinese troops was drawn up behind them, according to the following or- der of parade in front, as particularly noticed by Cap- tain Parish.
Three military mandarines, or principal officers.
A tent, with a band of music outside the tent.
Three long trumpets,
A triumphal arch.
Four large green standards, w ith live small ones between
each, and bowmen between each small colour. Six large red standards with matchlock men, and five
small colours between each standard.
Two large green standards, with swordsmen between each.
Music tent.
Triumphal arch.
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 27
Tlie weather being very warm, several of the troops Passage up carried fans together with their military arms. Fans are ===== worn in China equally by both sexes, and by all ranks ; and this use of them at a military parade, will appear less surprising to those who have observed sometimes officers in other parts of the East exercising their battalions with umbrellas over their heads.
The Viceroy conducted the Embassador with the principal gendemen into the pavilion, at the upper end of which was a darkened recess, or sanctuary, where the majesty of the Emperor was supposed to be constantly residing ; and to that majesty it was signified that a re- spectful obeisance should be paid ; which, however sin- gular, was accordingly performed by a profound incli- nation of the body. No such ceremony had taken place when the Viceroy alone received the Embassador atTa- coo. His refined manners would not probably allow him to obtrude suddenly a proposal for the acknowledgment of this attribute of ubiquity upon a stranger who might not be accustomed to recognize such a quality in any mortal ; but the presence of the Legate, of a disposition apparendy opposite to his own, in all likelihood made it necessary even for the dignified and venerable Viceroy not to omit, in the company of such an emissary from the court, any of the usual acts of unlimited respect to the exalted sovereign of the empire.
Tea, sweetmeats, and other refreshments being served,
28 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up and somc mutual civilities having passed, it was an- ^ nounced by the Legate to the Embassador, that the Em-
peror was at his country residence at Zhe-hol, in Tar- tary, where he intended to celebrate the anniversary of his birthday, being on the thirteenth of the eighth moon, answering to the seventeenth of September ; and that he desired to receive the Embassy there. Beside the dis- position of the Embassador to comply with any wishes of the Emperor, it was particularly grateful to him, that he was to pass intoTartary, as on the frontier he should have an opportunity of seeing the great wall of China ; of which the celebrated Doctor Johnson, in the enthu- siasm of curiosity, is asserted to have said, that it might be a subject of some boast for the grandson of him who saw it.
The remainder of the Legate's conversation was less satisfactory. He said that the Embassy, after reaching Tong-shoo by water, within twelve miles of Pekin, should proceed by land direcdy for Zhe-hol, together with all the presents. Many of these were not likely to suffer by the carriage in such a journey ; but it was ob- viously impossible to convey in safety, over the moun- tains and rugged roads of Tartary, some of the most va- luable and curious, which consisted of delicate ma- chinery, or were partly composed of brittle materials. The object of exhibiting all the presents at once before his Luperial Majesty, immediately upon their arrival at
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 29
Zhe-hol, could not, at any rate, be attained, because some Passage up of the complicated machines had necessarily been taken to ==^ pieces, in order to be packed before they were embarked ; and it would take some time to put them again together. It was desirable, beside, to fix them at once in the Em- peror's chief place of residence, from whence, after be- ing adjusted by the proper artists, under the inspection of Doctor Dinwiddie and Mr. Barrow, they should not afterwards be removed. Such monuments of European ingenuity and knowledge merited to be preserved in their perfect state. But the Legate was averse to any measure tending to the least delay in the neighbourhood of the capital, which it seemed to have been his inten- tion that no person belonging to the Embassy should vi- sit. He had not been in the habit of forming any just notions, or any adequate estimation of the nice instru- ments of science ; and nothing but the interposition of the Viceroy saved them from the destruction to which the determination of the Legate had devoted them. It was at length determined, that they should be left at a pa- lace near Pekin, usually destined for the reception of such objects.
In the course of this discussion, the Legate betrayed a perverse temper under an exterior of much calmness. His irregular mind seemed tinctured with a jealousy of all foreigners, and, at the same time, with an utter con- tempt for them. But the urbanity and graciousness of the
up thePei-ho.
30 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Viceroy compensated for the failure of the Legate ; and the Embassador had only to lament, that the great age and different avocations of the former had not allowed of his being appointed to the office connected with the Em- bassy, which had been conferred upon the latter.
Soon after the Embassador, and the gentlemen of his suite, had returned to their respective yachts, a magni- ficent repast, with wine, fruit, and sweetmeats, was sent to them on the part of the Viceroy, as at Ta-coo, together with presents of tea, silk, and muslins. Tho of no con- siderable value, those presents were accompanied with such obliging expressions and compliments, that they were received in the manner which was thought would be most satisfactory to the donor. He likewise sent a plentiful dinner and presents to the soldiers, musicians, artificers, and servants, of the Embassy.
Among other instances of his attention to the Embas- sador, a temporary theatre was erected opposite to his Excellency's yacht. The outside was adorned with a variety of brilliant and lively colours, by the proper distribution of which, and sometimes by their contrast, it is the particular object of an art among the Chinese to produce a gay and pleasing effect. The inside of the theatre was managed, in regard to decorations, with equal success; and the company of actors successively exhi- bited, during the whole day, several different panto- mimes and historical dramas. The performers were
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 31
habited in the ancient dresses of the Chinese at the pe- Passage up
f the Pa-ho.
riod when the personages represented were supposed to . have lived. The dialogue was spoken in a kind of re- citative, accompanied by a variety of musical instru- ments ; and each pause was filled up by a loud crash, in which the loo bore no inconsiderable part. The band of music was placed in full view, immediately behind the stage, which was broad, but by no means deep. Each character announced, on his first entrance, what part he was about to perform, and where the scene of action lay. Unity of place was apparendy preserved, for there was no change of scene during the representa- tion of one piece. Female characters were performed by boys or eunuchs.
One of the dramas, particularly, attracted the atten- tion of those who recollected scenes, somewhat similar, upon the English stage. The piece represented an em- peror of China and his empress living in supreme feli- city, when, on a sudden, his subjects revolt, a civil war ensues, battles are fought, and at last the arch-rebel, who was a general of cavalry, overcomes his sovereign, kills him with his own hand, and routes the imperial army. The captive empress then appears upon the stage in all the agonies of despair naturally resulting from the loss of her husband and of her dignity, as well as the apprehension for that of her honour. Whilst she is tearing her hair and rending the skies with her com-
32 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up plaints, the conqueror enters, approaches her with re-
the Pei-ho. ^ ' , / . , ^ ^ , ,
==^= spect, addresses her in a gentle tone, soothes her sorrows with his compassion, talks of love and adoration, and like Richard the Third, with lady Anne, in Shakspeare, pre- vails, in less than half an hour, on the Chinese princess to dry up her tears, to forget her deceased consort, and yield to a consoling wooer. The piece concludes with the nuptials, and a grand procession. One of the prin- cipal scenes is represented in Plate 30 of the folio volume. At Tien-sing the Embassador received accounts from the squadron at the river's mouth. It was preparing for a speedy departure: Sir Erasmus Gower, having received the order for supply he had requested, which was di- rected to the mandarines, wherever he might have occa- sion to stop for the recovery of his men. It seems, in- deed, that twelve months provisions were offered him from Ta-coo, as if already to prepare him for his return home, it being known that he had been ten months in his voyage out.
Among the passengers returning, in the Endeavour, to Canton, beside the interpreter who would not venture to proceed to Pekin, were two missionaries, who could not, for want of a licence, be taken to that capital. These men, who from a very early period of their lives had devoted themselves to the propagation of Christianity in foreign parts, were sent several years since, by the su- periors of the missions, then resident at Paris, to Macao,
EMBASSY TO CHINA. S3
in order, from thence, to join their brethren at Pekin. Passage up They arrived in the midst of a persecution of Chris- '
tians in several provinces of the Empire. It owed its origin to some real or pretended practices of the Euro- pean preachers, or their Chinese converts, of a tendency to produce disturbance. The jealousy of the priests of the religions already established in China, working on the prejudices or passions of the mandarines, often led to the revival of edicts against the introduction of new sects, and novel doctrines, as likely to affect the tranquil- lity of the state. Those persecutions increased the diffi- culty and danger for the new missionaries to traverse the country unperceived. They were, in tlie mean time, oc- cupied by the superior clergy of Macao, in giving instruc- tion to young Portuguese intended for the priesthood. They had not, however, lost sight of their original desti- nation, and eagerly sought for opportunities to pursue it. They had, before they left Europe, qualified themselves, by some application to mathematical and astronomical studies, to be of use at the observatory at Pekin. One of them had been, for some time, a pupil of the celebrated astronomer Lalande. Their talents and acquirements, when known to the Emperor, might render them ac- ceptable ; and might at length procure them seats in the tribunal of mathematics, in the imperial palace. It is the only department of the state to which Europeans are competent. They who belong to it at present are Por-
34 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
the Pei-ho.
Passage up tugucse ; and it is the supposed policy of several of that nation in China, to exclude all other foreigners from a concurrence with them in that respect. This policy, how- ever, is perfectly colonial, or local, neither suggested nor encouraged by the cabinet of Lisbon, nor even, perhaps, known there. But on the supposition of its existing at Macao or Pekin, it is likely, as those two missionaries were not Portuguese, that the qualifications which rendered them useful at Macao, and those others from whence they might derive promotion at Pekin, may have equally operated to produce the obstacles raised at the former place against their departure from it. They had, how- ever, after some struggle and great patience, overcome those obstacles, and were arrived in the Pei-ho river in their way to Pekin. But not forming a part of the Em- bassador's suite, and the expected permission from court not having arrived before the departure of the vessel for Canton, they were under the necessity of embarking for that place. It may not, however, be ungrateful to the reader to be made acquainted that the perseverance of those pious men was at last rewarded in the way they wished ; and that they obtained permission from the Emperor to repair to the capital, where they were taken into his service.
The throng of visits to the Embassador was consider- able at Tien-sing, from the several civil and military officers of the place. In seeking out for the nearest re-
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 35
semblance between these persons and Europeans, the Passage up character of gentlemen of rank in France, while mo- == narchy subsisted there, occurred readily to the mind. An engaging urbanity of manners, instantaneous fami- liarity, ready communicativeness, together with a sense of self-approbation, and the vanity of national superio- rity, piercing through every disguise, seemed to con- stitute their character.
After the ceremonies of the day were over, and his Excellency was alone, he was informed that a Chinese, who had long been hovering about the yacht, desired to be admitted to his presence. A youth was introduced, clean and composed in his dress, of a modest counte- nance, and humble in his deportment. He proved to be a young neophyte, a sincere convert to the doctrines of Christ, and a fervent disciple of the missionary who had regenerated him from the paganism of his ancestors. He was devoted to the commands of his ghostly father, and performed now a service of no little danger, in bring- ing letters to the Embassador, without permission either from the magistrates of the place from whence he came, or those where he now arrived. For not only such com- munication with a stranger is not allowed ; but even among the natives it is much restrained. There is no es- tablishment of a post for the general convenience of the people through the Chinese empire. Expresses are con- tinually sent on horseback, to convey intelligence to the
36 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
the Pel- ho.
Passage up Emperoi alone, from every point of his wide dominions, with a celerity scarcely exceeded even by the latest im- provements of that kind in Europe. Dispatches are, in one day, carried one hundred and fifty miles. Slower messengers are employed for the ordinary purposes of government, and the use of the mandarines. These are charged sometimes, through particular favour, with the packets of individuals. But the provident attention of the Chinese government preserves carefully the exclu- sive advantage of giving information to, or withhold- ing it, as it may deem expedient, from, the body of the people.
The letters brought secretly to the Embassador were from one of the principal missionaries of Pekin, whose attention appeared not to be confined to spiritual affairs. In the first of these letters, dated at Pekin, the seventh of May, 17 9S, the writer informs his Excellency, that " the account of the intended Embassy had reached the " Emperor on the third of the preceding December; " that he shewed marks of great satisfaction at the intel- " ligence, and gave immediate orders that the port of " Tien-sing should be open for the reception of the ves- " sels employed upon the occasion ; that he (the letter " writer) was happy at the report he had that day heard '• (which, however, was premature) of his Excellency's " approach to Tien-sing; and begged to assure him of " his personal respects, and of his determination to exe-
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 37
•' cute the promise he had e;iven to Messieurs Cox and Passage up
^ *^ 1 • 1 1 '''^ Pei-ho.
" Mierop at Canton, that he would embrace with zeal ..^==
" every opportunity that should offer of rendering ser-
" vice to the English Company and nation; that upon
" the first account of an English Embassy he had taken
" pains to prepare men's minds, as much as in him lay,
" and not, he hoped, unprofitably for its favourable re-
" ception ; and that he should be ready, during his Ex-
" cellency's stay, to render him all the service in his
" power."
In the second letter from the same person, dated the sixth of August, a few days only before the reception of it, he acquainted the Embassador that " the Chinese govern- " ment had appointed a Portuguese missionary (whom " he named) to hold himself in readiness to go to Zhe- " hoi, in order to perform the office there of interpreter " to the Embassy, and to guide the Embassador in all " matters of ceremony and state; that he (the letter " writer) thought it right to put his Excellency upon " his guard against the evil disposition and adverse " designs towards the English nation, of the person so " appointed; and whose conversations had already be- " traycd how inimical he was to the success of the pre- " sent Embassy; that if the court had been at Pekin, " he (the letter writer) should hope to prevail in coun- " teracting the injurious impressions, whicli the rash " and ill-founded discourses of the intended interpreter
58 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up " wcrc calcuIatcd to produce; as well as the multiplied '- " calumnies contained, and the strange and malignant " suspicions of the latent projects of the Embassy sug- " gested, in a variety of letters from Canton and Macao: " but that he was very apprehensive mischief might be " done at Zhe-hol, where the Emperor resided ; but " where he (the letter writer) could not proceed, unless " called there by the government; that he was truly " anxious to testify his gratitude, in common with most *' of his colleagues, to the English nation, for the pro- ** tection afforded, in their settlements in India, to the " missionaries employed for the propagation of Christia- " nity there; that his first letter had, on the different " reports of his Excellency's arrival, been already three " times at Tien-sing." And he concludes by requesting that " his letters should be kept secret, lest the know- " ledge of their contents might draw upon him the re- " sentment of the Portuguese."
Tho the above letters might have been dictated by a spirit of opposition, ambition, or intrigue, the assertion of extraordinary jealousy on the occasion of the Embassy, was only a confirmation of what had been communicated, upon the same subject, by disinterested persons at Macao. No answer, however, was hazarded to this unexpected addresser; nor was the time yet come to take any mea- sures upon the subject. There was perhaps greater cause of apprehension from the untoward disposition of the
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 39
Legate, and the prejudiced reports he might make to the Passage up minister, than from the influence of any European. ==.
The weather in the evening was favourable for de- parture ; and the several yachts and other vessels belong- ing to, or connected with, the Embassy, sailed a little way beyond Tien-sing. It appeared, as the vessels passed thro it, to be of considerable length. Some of the ob- servers supposed it to extend as far as from Millbank to Lime-house, or about the length of London. The man- darines of the place asserted that its population was equal to seven hundred thousand souls. The immense number of spectators it supplied rendered such a computation likely, even allowing for the accession of persons from the neighbourhood, whom the novel sight might have attracted ; but adding, at the same time, the due propor- tion of females and of children, that had mixed but little in the crowd. Thejunks, which were numerous enough almost to cover the waters which divide this commercial city, contained several thousand people. It is not alone to the persons sufficient to navigate those vessels that they afiorded habitations. The wives and families of the officers and sailors reside with them constantly on board. There many of them are born ; and all of them spend their lives. Every shore to them was foreign ; and the earth an element on which they ventured but occasionally.
Such of the houses of Tien-sing as, by having shops
10 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up foF thc retail of merchandize, or working places for ma-
the Pei-ho. , i r 1 1 r
=== nufacturers, were open to the street, seemed as tuli oi people as the habitations upon the water. Of the num- bers contained in the other buildings some judgment may be formed, not only by those of the spectators seen abroad, but from the constant and, probably, patriarchal usage, to which this people still adhere, of having all the branches or existing generations of the same family, under a single roof, and in small apartments. In conse- quence of such usage, retained by the Chinese emigrants at Batavia, it appeared upon a regular census taken of the inhabitants of that settlement, that ten men fit to bear arms were found in every Chinese house.
The houses of Tien-sing were chiefly built of brick, of a leaden blue colour. Few were red. Such as were used in the smallest and poorest dwellings, were of a pale brown. These different tints are supposed to have arisen not from any difference in the nature of the earth of which they severally consisted, but in the method of converting that earth into bricks. Those last mentioned had been exposed to no other heat than that of the sun, in which they were onlybaked or indurated imperfectly. The blue bricks were exposed to the action of a close wood fire, in kilns erected for that purpose, and where little actual flame was suffered to attain the surface of the bricks. Such as received the action of the flame were inclined to red. When the clay is first moulded into the form
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 41
intended for bricks, it is the custom in the East to lay Passage up
them at once in rows one above another. They are, when
thus laid, in a soft and humid state, and from the nature of argillaceous earth, particularly adhesive. It becomes, therefore, in that state, necessary to keep them separated by some substance of a nature that will not itself adhere to either surface ; without which the different rows of bricks would, as they dried, form together one solid mass, incapable of being applied to the use for which they were destined. This purpose is answered by pla- cing between these rows thin layers of straw ; and this precaution is deemed so essential, that it has given rise to the oriental proverb, on this subject, which has passed into the languages of the west.
Many of the houses at Tien-sing are two stories high. This is contrary to the general mode which the Chinese af- fect in building. Tlieymostly prefer houses of a single sto- ry, in conformity to the original form of all dwellings: and there are many Chinese who still feel aukwardly in ascending stairs, or looking down from heights. But the advantage of being near the quays and water side of a com- mercial town, has given rise to what is considered in that country as a duplication of building on the same site.
The confluence of two navigable rivers, one flowing
from the neighbourhood of the capital, and the other
communicating with some of the distant provinces,
must have rendered this heavenly spot a place of some
VOL. II. (;
42 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up icsort, froiii the cailiest period of the union of the Chi- 4L^!=^ nese into one empire. The annals of the country, con- firmed by tradition, mention that a northern branch of the great Yellow river once fell into the gulf of Pekin ; and continued in that course, until the violence of tor- rents raised a mound which, increased by prodigious ef- forts of human labour, threw the whole of the river into the eastern branch, which now conveys the total mass of waters of that vast flood through the province of Kiang-nan into the Yellow sea. The ancient maps of China show the original division of the Yellow river in- to two branches ; but those maps are so confused and in- correct, that it is not perfectly clear whether the northern branch was added to the rivers at Tien-sing, or whether it joined the gulf alone ; but if the former were the case, the expanse of waters round which that city was erect- ed, must have been still more considerable than it now appears ; and it is accordingly represented in ancient maps much larger than it is at present, particularly in that of Marco Polo, in which Tien-sing is called Citta celeste. It was already, at that time (in the thirteenth century) in the rank of a city; but it long bore, as its former termination of Tien-sing-wee in the Chinese tongue implies, the character only of a town, of little note and confined jurisdiction. Wherever a town was built in remote antiquity, and is still inhabited, the original houses must have often, in the course of ages, yielded to
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 45
new erections raised, in some measure, upon tlie former Passige up
. '^''^ Pei-ho.
ruins. The foundations of buildings in existence now, -
are, therefore, more elevated than those which stood prior to such gradual accumulation. Tlie present city appears, consequently, to be built on a rising ground, tho on every side the country falls into a perfect flat, and, like the sea, presents one simultaneous plane termi- nated only by the horizon.
The lands, as the Embassy proceeded, continued to appear cultivated with the utmost care. Most of the fields yveie covered as on the other side of Tien-sing, with the holciis sorghum, or Barbadoes millet, distinguished by the Chinese under the name of kow-leang, or lofty corn. It is cheaper than rice in all the northern provinces, where probably it was the grain first cultivated, as it appears in ancient Chinese books, that measures of capacity were originally ascertained by the ninnbers of this grain which they contained. Thus one hundred grains would fill a choc ; and this measure was multiplied and divided in decimal proportions. Distances, or measures of length, and also weights, were likewise calculated from stand- ards taken from the same grain. The straw or stalks of this corn are too stiff and firm for the uses to which such a material is generally applied elsewhere. But coarse mats are sometimes made of them, and laths to receive plaster for walls and ceilings. The lower part of the stalk, together with the root, serve for fuel, except
44 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up whcrc Wanted for banking up the loose sides of canals -■ and rivers. The sides of the Pei-ho are supported also
by parapets of cut granite, to resist the floods, at particu- lar reaches of the river ; and at others the banks are bor- dered by causeways of the same material for a consider- able length, together with sluices at proper distances, to let off the water, which is distributed in due proportion, for the irrigation of the adjacent grounds. In some parts accumulations of sand and mud form islets in the ri- ver, thus dividing it into two narrower and shallower branches.
The Barbadoes millet was frequently planted in al- ternate rows, having between them rows of a smaller grain and humbler stems, either the panicum italicum, or paniciim cms galli, to be sheltered for a time by its taller neighbour, until tlie latter shall be reaped ; when the former, then fully exposed to the sun's rays, ripens in its turn, and is fitted for the sickle. Sometimes in small spots accidentally vacant near the edges of the bank, or along ridges of corn, was planted a species of dolichos, not unlike the kidney-bean. Sometimes were seen whole fields of beans, and also several of sesamum, and other plants, of which the seeds yield oil much used for culinary purposes. No weeds were any where observed to diminish useful produce, or to share with it the fruitfulness of the earth. Every field had the neatness and regularity of a garden. The
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 45
corn and pulse then ffrowins; had succeeded to a former Passage up
^ " " the Pei ho.
crop in the same year. Wheat in dry, and rice in moist, === situations, were said to be cultivated to advantage.
Few trees or cattle adorn these plains. The eye, how- ever, was delighted witli the unbounded prospect of ha- bitations, and the prosperous effect of careful culture. Famines sometimes happen, notwithstanding, in this part of the province. In some seasons inundations, pro- duced by torrents from the mountains, and as often the de- predations of locusts, are causes of this disaster. On these occasions, robberies are frequent; and, tho checked, are not easily repressed, by all the rigour and exertions of the government. But as they are, in fact, committed from necessity and the goadings of hunger, so they usually cease at the return of plenty.
The tide, of which the flood had aided the progress of the yachts conveying the Embassy, ceased about thirty milesbeyondTien-sing. Where there happened to be little or no stream or wind, it was not uncommon for the sailors to make use of two large sculls or oars, sometimes placed towards the fore part of the vessel, like the two pectoral fins of a fisli, and sometimes near the stern ; and in other vessels one only at the stern, and one at the bow. Each oar has a small socket that receives an iron pivot, fixed on a piece of w^ood projected for that purpose from the gunwale. Several men are employed to move each of these large oars, which are never taken out of the water ;
46 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
the Pei-ho.
Passage up but RFC made to perform beneath its surface, a kind of vibratory motion, displacing the water first with one edge, and afterwards with the other. This labour the men seem to undergo with pleasure, keeping time with their strokes to a spirited air sung by the master, and accompanied in the chorus by all the men. The same air is sung on board every vessel in the river. On a still moonlight night, this cheerful air re-echoed from a hundred different vessels gliding in various directions through the water, conveyed a pleasing idea of the con- tented disposition of this laborious class, living entirely on the water, and forming no inconsiderable portion of the general population.
When the method just described for forwarding the progress of the yachts was impracticable or insufficient, and the breeze was unfavourable, or too weak to stem the current tending to the sea, other means were used, such as had been practised near the mouth of the river, to track or drag the yachts against the stream. For this purpose, in most other countries, horses or mules are ge- nerally employed. In China it is not merely that the labour of men is cheaper; but it does not seem to occur to spare it, wherever the purpose can be answered by its exertions. In the present instance, the tracking rope is fixed to the upper extremity of the principal mast ; and is joined to another that proceeds from the vessel's prow. The rope, to which the power is applied, is of consi-
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 47
derable length. To this main rope are fastened cords Passage up
° ^ . the Pei-ho.
formed into loops, one of which each tracker throwing ■
over his head, places opposite to his breast ; and fre- quently substituting to the cord a piece of board, to pre- vent the immediate pressure of the former around his breast, which might impede the playing of the lungs. Thus the trackers yoked move in a line together to the sound of a popular song, which, by regulating their steps, and uniting their efforts, renders the latter more effectual ; and diverting their minds from the hardships of their situation, contributes to reconcile them to their labour, and even animates their exertions. There were, upon an average, about fifteen men employed to track each yacht. The whole number was, at least, five hun- dred for tliis service only, in actual exercise, beside an equal number to relieve the others alternately. They were well-made, muscular men ; but remarkably round- shouldered. In the summer they go almost naked up- wards from the waist; and those parts of their skin are copper-coloured; but they are naturally fair, as appears from their lower extremities, which they uncover when they have occasion to plunge into the water.
The low and sometimes marshy country, through which the river passes, is favourable to the production of insects ; and many of them were very troublesome, some principally by their sting ; and others by their constant stunning noise. The music emitted by a species
48 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up of cicada, was not of the vocal kind; but produced by LL=^!=i the motion of two flaps or lamellae which cover the abdo- men or belly of the insect. It is the signal of invitation from the male of that species to allure the female, which latter is quite unprovided with these organs of courtship. This favourable soil gave birth likewise to a species of moth, of a size not very much inferior to that of a hum- ming bird.
A variety of objects upon the shore, attracted the no- tice of the travellers, and often impelled them to quit the yachts, the progress of which was frequently so slow as to allow of occasional excursions upon land. But they began to observe that they were watched with a degree of jealousy and suspicion, beyond what they had heard or read of the cautious police of China. This change was found to be the consequence of orders from the Legate. It was difficult to attribute unnecessary mea- sures of restraint to ill-humour alone ; and no other cause could be conjectured. At length the interpreter discovered, from scattered hints in the familiarity of dis- course with the mandarines, that dissatisfaction had lately been conceived at court against the English nation. The only explanation, which after much difficulty, and with no slight caution, could be obtained on this occasion, was the following. In a war which the Emperor of China had waged in the country of Thibet, his army met with more resistance, and suffered greater losses,
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 49
than were foreseen from such an enemy as was expected Pa?sage up to be encountered. Some of the Cliinese officers imme- ====
diately fancied that they perceived European troops, and the effect of European discipline, in opposition to them. TJiey discovered hats, they said, as well as turbans, among their enemies. The former, it was concluded, could be only English. The report put politically for- ward among the people of China was, that, on the con- trary, the English had given assistance. Tho the Em- bassador took for granted, that neither fact was true, yet he was conscious that the belief of the first assertion would be sufficient to alienate the administration of China from any favourable disposition towards, or confi- dence in, the government of Great Britain.
In such a temper, tho the Emperor personally was flattered with the Embassy, and peremptory In his orders for its reception, yet the ministers^ coupling this mission from the English with their supposed hostility, and their real strength, on the side of India, might be disposed to suspect some sinister intention latent under the present proffer of gifts and friendship. Similar suspicions led, it is known, not long since, the Ottoman court, to pro- hibit the passage of English travellers through Egypt, on the ground, as was set forth in the body of the procla- mation, that it was the practice of their military men to go disguised as merchants, and take plans of foreign places, and make observations on their state of defence,
VOL. JI. H
50 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up in Order to return afterwards in force, to attack them
the Pei-ho. . „ y
=== with a greater certainty ot success. It was no uncom- mon policy in the East, to precede an attack upon a fo- reign nation, by the semblance of an amicable embassy to it, for the real purpose of examining its situation. The British administration was perfecdy aware of the preju- dices that might be attempted to be excited against the English, as to ambitious views, from the circumstance of their acquisitions in Bengal ; and the most judicious me- thod had been pointed out to the Embassador to follow, in order to allay any suspicions arising from a dominion so accidental, and so little sought for; but it was impos- sible to foresee, or prepare against, the imputation of an actual interference with the Chinese arms, which had never taken place ; and it was only after the Embassador's arrival in Canton, in the following year, that he learned, by dispatches from England and Calcutta, what were the circumstances that led to so groundless an assertion. In those dispatches it was mentioned that hostilities had, for some time, subsisted between the governing power residing at Lassa, situated to the north-north-east, and that at Napaul, to the north-west, of Calcutta; both ly- ing northerly from the Soubah, or viceroyalty of Bengal. Napaul borders immediately upon the British territories or dependencies, which extend to the northern limits of the plains of Hindostan. From these plains the earth rises to a perpendicular height of seven thousand feet in
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 51
the short distance of fifteen miles; and " from the sum- Passage up
. „ . I 1 1 I 1 • • thePei-ho.
" mit, as IS expressed by the elegant and instructive -
pen of Major Rennell, " the astonished traveller looks " back upon the plains, as on an extensive ocean beneath *' him." Beyond Napaul to the west, and Bootan to the east, is situated the country of Great Thibet, where the British arms penetrated, through fortified passes, upwards of twenty years ago, and forced the government there to sue for peace. The Teshoo Lama, or spiritual chief and sovereign of Thibet, sent, on that occasion, an Em- bassador to the Governor General at Calcutta ; and an Embassy went, in return, from the latter place to Lassa. From that period there has been no difference of any kind between the respective governments ; on the contrary, an amicable intercourse took place between them. Com- mercial exchanges were begun from the one country to the other; and more were in contemplation.
At that period the Emperor of China, tho a disciple of the religion of the Lama, and considered as his temporal protector, did not appear to interfere in the afhiirs of Thibet. But soon afterwards he invited the Lama, to whose doctrines he was zealously attached, to visit him at his court, in order to confer with him on religious subjects. The accounts from Pekin of the Lama's recep- tion, are full of the extraordinary honours paid to him as the head of the Emperor's faith, and visible type of the deity he adored ; and also of the regret which his Majesty
52 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
the Pei-ho.
Passage up fclt Oil thc Laiiia's dcatli, occasioned by the small-pox, soon after his arrival. The suddenness of this calamity excited, however, strong suspicions in Thibet. It was there imagined, that the Teshoo Lama's correspondence and connection with the English government of Bengal, had given umbrage to his Imperial Majesty, who yield- ing, it was concluded, to the suggestions of a policy prac- tised sometimes in the East, drew the Lama to his court with intentions different from those which he had ex- pressed in his invitation. Certain it is, that Sumhur Lama, brother of the deceased, was so much alarmed, that he fled from Lassa, taking with him a considerable quantity of treasure ; which, probably, contributed to procure him the protection of the Rajah of Napaul. In order to ingratiate himself with this Rajah, he described to him the gold and silver mines in the neighbourhood of Lassa ; and informed him likewise of the vast riches remaining in the Poo-ta-la, or great temple, situated near that capital. Allured by the temptation of booty, the Rajah sent troops towards Lassa, which after a march of about twenty days, met the Thibet army assembled to resist them. Many battles were fought between them. Victory remained on the side of the assailants ; and a peace was made on the condition of an annual tribute of three lacks of rupees from the Lassa country to the Rajah of Napaul.
In the vicissitudes of power, so frequent in many
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 53
parts of the East, Lassa had been aheady once dependent Passage up
^ . . , the Pei-ho.
upon Napaul ; and the effigy of its Rajah was stamped, as — = paramount sovereign, uponthe coin of Lassa. For the con- tinuance or revival of this practice, the present Rajah of Napaul stipulated likewise in the new treaty, which ap- pears to have been concluded through the intervention ofa chief, belonging to the Emperor of China, habitually resi- dent at Lassa. It probably was meant, by the vanquished, to continue only till they could obtain succours from else- where. Application was made for this purpose to the Governor General of Bengal, who declined to interfere. The Rajah of Napaul, encouraged by his success at Lassa, sent troops afterwards to Diggurah, another dis- trict of Thibet, and plundered the treasury belonging to the Lama of that place, who was also one of the high priests of die Emperor's religion. These repeated aggres- sions on the part of the Napaul Rajah against the spi- ritual fathers of the faith of his Imperial Majesty, and against countries which were under his protection, at length determined him to avenge those injuries, not- withstanding the great length and difficulty of the road through which his troops would have to march, before they should arrive at the enemy's country. Seventy thousand men reached the borders of Thibet in 17 91. From thence to Napaul the distance exceeds five hun- dred miles ; and the country is difficult and rugged. " Some of the mountains of Thibet, which are visible
54 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up " from the plains of Bengal, at the distance of one hun- ^ " dred and fifty miles, are," Major Rennell says, " com-
" monly covered with snow." He supposes them to be " in point of elevation, equal to any of those of the old " hemisphere ;" and adds, that " the country of Thibet, " is altogether one of the highest in Asia: it being a part " of that elevated tract which gives rise, not only to the " rivers of India and China, but to those also of Siberia " and Tartary." The climate is remarkably severe, tho situated in the southern part of the temperate zone, un- der the fortieth degree of north latitude. Beside the dif- ficulties which such a country naturally presented to the passage of an army, the hills which were to be traversed on the Napaul side, were said to be fortified by art. The Rajah's own army was considerable, and flushed with former successes. He was not, perhaps, without hope of military assistance from Bengal. He claimed it as a neighbour and an ally. He had, by many friendly ad- vances, long souglit to form an intimate connection with the British government ; and which was then recently effected in the form of a commercial treaty. It was not unusual for the princes in alliance with, or dependent upon, Bengal, to obtain from thence the use of troops for particular services ; and about this time a small detach- ment was sent to the Rajah of Deringha, to enable him to recover possession of his country lying to the east- ward of Bengal, not far from the western boundaries of
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 55
China: and another detachment was sent to quell some Passage up
, . . ^ the P'-i-i'O.
disturbances in Assam, occasioned principally by bands == of vagabonds from Bengal. The Rajah of Napaul en- couraged his troops with the expectation of similar assist- ance ; and spread the report of having received it, in or- der to intimidate his enemies.
On the other hand, the general of the Chinese forces wrote, in a lofty style, to the Governor General of Ben- gal, desiring, in the name of his master, " the ^ower of " the imperial race, the sun of the Jirviament of honour, " the resplendent gem in the crown and throne of the " Chinese territories, that British troops should be sent " to seize and chastize the Rajah as he deserved." Among the extravagant ideas which the unlimited authority of the sovereigns of China over all things immediately around them, had led them to entertain, was that of uni- versal monarchy ; and a renunciation of so absurd a claim, is mentioned as an instance of the moderation and good sense of the present Emperor. It is, however, possible that some such notions still prevalent in the mind of this commander of his troops, may have induced the latter to expect an immediate compliance with his desire on the part of a British governor. The letter conveying this desire was written in the language of the Emperor of China, and could not then be translated at Calcutta ; but the substance of it was communicated in another from Dha- lary Lama, at that time reigning in Thibet.
56 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up It is ncccssary in this place to observe, that in Hin-
' dostan the heat and cold do not vary throughout the year in so sensible a manner, as to occasion the principal division of the seasons to be made, into summer and win- ter, as in Europe. In the first six months of the year, the weather is remarkably dry; while in the remainder the rain falls in torrents unknown in other regions ; and which swell suddenly the rivers, inundate plains, de- stroy roads, and almost change the appearance of the country. The year is, therefore, justly distinguished there into the dry and rainy seasons.
The season of the rains, which intervened soon after the receipt of the above mentioned letters at Calcutta, rendered the journey difficult and tedious between that settlement and Lassa. The messenger who had brought the dispatches from thence, was detained also in his re- turn, a long time upon the road, by illness. The Chi- nese general receiving no answer at the expected period, was the more easily disposed to credit the reports spread in the country, that British troops had, contrary to his expectation, been sent to the assistance of the Rajah ; es- pecially as he found the struggle was maintained by the latter with uncommon obstinacy. Nor is it absolutely impossible that a few fugitive sepoys from the forces maintained in the northern districts of Bengal, ac- quainted with the discipline, and even dressed in the uniform, of the English East India Company's troops.
EMBASSY TO CHINA. hi
may have found their way to the Napaiil army, where, Passage up
no doubt, they would be joyfully received. The bad- . ■ =
ness of the season, and the ruggedness of the country, increased the danger to the attacking army, and ren- dered their success uncertain. The idea of havino; a double enemy to encounter would add to the renown of victory, or mitigate the disgrace of a defeat. Accounts were accordingly said to be transmitted to Pekin that English troops had joined the Rajah. The intimate con- nections of the Chinese commander with the court, the remoteness of the country where he was sent, the laws of the empire prohibiting all persons belonging to the army from corresponding, except with the consent of the commander in chief, on military matters, the general ignorance of the people of China as to all political trans- actions, their prudent silence on such subjects, had al- ready enabled that commander, it.was whispered, to prac- tise similar impositions, while at the head of an army sent against the Tung-quinese. On that occasion, not- withstanding his misconduct and discomfiture, he con- trived to satisfy the Emperor, and to receive the reward of merit and success. His conduct was likewise blame- able as Viceroy of Canton, where he committed acts of oppression towards foreigners, and hated them, perhaps, for the injuries he made them suffer.
So far, however, was the present accusation against the English from having the least foundation, that the
58 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up noblc peisoii wlio then presided in Bengal, with so " much honour to himself, and advantage to his country, conducted himself in this business, not only with the most strict neutrality, but with peculiar propriety and attention towards the Emperor of China. It was deter- mined by him " to send a friendly deputation to the " Napaul Rajah, with instructions to assure him, that it " was the earnest wish of the members of the Bengal " government to extricate him from a ruinous war; but " at the same time to state to him, that as the amicable ^' correspondence which they had held with the Lamas, " and the commercial connection which had long sub- " sisted between their country (of England) and that of " the Emperor of China, did absolutely preclude them " from committing hostilities against either of these " powers, without any provocation on their part, it was " only by means of conciliatory negotiation that they " could endeavour to assist him; and that, in order to " effect this desirable purpose, it would be necessary to " open an immediate intercourse with the commander " of the Chinese and Thibet forces." A collateral advan- tage was expected to be derived from sending such a de- putation to Napaul ; for, " owing to the jealousy which " the chiefs of that country had hitherto shewn of the " English, the latter knew little more of the interior " parts of Napaul, than of the interior parts of China; " and it was therefore thought that no pains or attention
EMBASSY TO CHINA. J!
" should be spared to take advantage of so favourable an Passage up
, . , . . f. . , . , the Pei-ho.
" opportunity to acquire every intormation that might ==
" be possible, both of the population and of the manners
" and customs of the inhabitants, as well as of the trade,
" manufactures, and natural productions of a country,
*' with which it must ever be desirable to maintain the
" most friendly communication."
The Governor General wrote immediately to Dhalary Lama, that " as the English Company had nothing more " at heart than to maintain the most cordial and friendly " terms with all the powers in India; and, sensible of " the wisdom of that conduct, they were careful not to " infringe the rules of friendship by interference, in a " hostile manner, in the disputes prevailing among fo- " reign powers, except when self-defence or wanton at- *' tacks obliged them. That the English governor had " sent an answer, conformable to those sentiments, upon " the Rajah of Napaul's application for military assist- '•' ance. It could not be unknown to him (Dhalary " Lama) that a friendship had long subsisted between •' the English and the Rajah of Napaul, and also be- " tween the Emperor of China, whose protection ex- ** tended over the Lama, and the Company. The Eng- " lish had for many years carried on commercial con- " cerns with the subjects of the Emperor, and had ac- •' tually a factory established in his dominions. On " account of the connection with the Emperor, and
60 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up " kiiowlng tlic Laiiia to be held in high veneration by =4=^i=^ " his Imperial Majesty, the Governor General was an- " xioLis that his (the Lama's) country should continue " in peace ; and that an end should be put to war, which " ultimately contributed only to the misery and distress " of his subjects. With this view, therefore, the Gover- " nor General should be happy if his amicable inter- " ference could, in any shape, contribute to establish " harmony and peace between the Lama and the Rajah " of Napaul, and should be ready to use it in the way " of a friend and mediator. As the (then) present season " of the rains, however, would not admit that any steps " towards such mediation be adopted, he should post- " pone his intentions until the rains were over, when " he would depute a gentleman, in his confidence, to " that quarter, who would communicate his sentiments " fully; and by his endeavours he hoped that peace " would again reign between the Lama and the Rajah " of Napaul, and the intimacy and friendship between *' each other be increased. That gentleman being in his " confidence, would be accompanied by a few sepoys " as a guard and protection to himself and servants; " and this the Governor General mentions to prevent " the bad effect of fallacious reports."
Some opportunities, however, offered, or pressing cir- cumstances happened, to induce the Chinese and Thi- betian troops to put an end to the war as soon as pos-
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 61
sible, by attack ino; the Raiah of Napaul, notwithstand- Passage up ing the inconvenience oi the rains, without waiting tor ;=== the effect of the proffered mediation ; and the Rajah, des- pairing of the succour with which he had vainly flat- tered himself from the English, restored the plunder he had seized, and was allowed to continue in possession of his former territories. The Chinese general had, in the beginning, threatened to exterminate the Rajah's race, and to add his dominions to those of China. In such an event, the British, would have joined the Chinese, em- pire. But whether he was apprehensive that such a neighbourhood would not be coveted by the English, who might still interfere to prevent it, or was satis- fied with the glory he had acquired ; and mindful how much his army had already suffered in the several con- flicts that had taken place, he affected to procure the Ra- jah's pardon from the Emperor,, on the ground of " his " country being of small extent, and its inhabitants of a " foreign tribe;" and on " his consenting to pay a fixed *' tribute, and to deliver up the bones of Sumhur Lama, " the original instigator of the war, together with his " women and effects. " But over the Soubah, or country of Lassa, which he came to protect for the Lama, he placed a temporal chief, to whom he committed the care of all af- fiiirs civil and political; alleging, that " the territory of " Lassa had, for a great length of time, been in the firm " possession of the imperial throne, and so should always " remain. "
62 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up Thus thosc rcffions, which had been hitherto consi-
thePei-ho. ^ , ... r 1
== dered as pertaining to the great Lama, the supreme sove- reign in regard to spiritual affairs, and, in regard to tem- poral, under the protection only of the Emperor of China as first disciple and defender of the faith, were now declared an integral part of the Chinese empire. From its new boundary, on the side of Hindostan, to the British possessions there, only a narrow territory in- tervenes, about one degree in latitude, part of which constitutes Napaul. The western boundary of China had already approached somewhat to the eastern limits of Hindostan since the year 17 73, when a Chinese ge- neral, Akoni, entirely subdued a people called Miaotse, part of whom had lived within the ancient boundaries of the Chinese empire, but had rebelled ; and part inha- bited an independent territory to the westward of it. Should an interference take place in future, on the part of his Imperial Majesty, in the dissentions which fre- quently arise between the princes possessing the coun- tries lying along the eastern limits of Hindostan, as has now happened in relation to its northern neighbours, there may be occasion for much mutual discussion and explanation between the British and Chinese govern- ments ; and no slight precaution may be necessary on their parts to avoid being involved in the quarrels of their respective dependents or allies. The immediate intercourse, however, between the frontiers of Hindos- tan and China, was not increased by the late events in
EMBASSY TO CHINA. G3
Thibet and Napaul ; for the Chinese general, who was Passage up
i ' ~ ^ the Pei-ho.
victorious over the latter, became as jealous, as its for- mer sovereigns are described to have been, of any visit from an English envoy ; and he wrote a very civil let- ter to dissuade the Governor General from sending the deputation thither which he had intended. " As the "journey," the Chinese general observed, " from the " Governor's place of residence to Napaul was very " long, it were putting himself to great inconvenience " to depute a person thither. What necessity was there " to put himself to inconvenience? He hoped the Go- " vernor would alter his intention: no doubt liis letter " to the Rajah had its due effect, and induced him to " yield obedience to the imperial yoke." The letter con- cluded with acknowledgments of the Governor Gene- ral's " uprightness, attachment, and friendliness." If a copy of this letter had reached the Emperor's hands, it would effectually have refuted any account, he might have formerly received, of English succours having been afforded to his enemy ; but the writer of it was not pro- bably disposed to acknowledge, by the transmission of such a letter to his Imperial Majesty, the futility of the reports that had been previously made to him : and there was little likelihood of his learning it through any other channel, as no communication whatever had then as yet taken place between the courts of London and Pekin. Had not the Embassy intended for China in 17 87
64 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up been defeated, as mentioned in the beginnino; of this
thePei-ho. 1 , , -11 '11 1
==== work, by the untimely decease ot the gentleman then appointed as British minister to the court of Pekin, Jiis presence there would have probably prevented any mis- understanding taking effect on occasion of the Thibet war. It is even possible, that no such war would have been carried on. Nothing but the repeated provocations of the Napaul Rajah could have forced the Emperor to engage in an undertaking so distant and precarious. In liis former war against the Eleuths inTartary, tho it ter- minated in the subjugation of their country, it was wa- ged, in the course of it, with opposite successes. His troops were often worsted. A great proportion of them perished. The contest lasted a long time ; and cost im- mense sums. His Chinese ministers were averse from wars; and his own advanced age took, latterly, much away from the relish of any conquest. Had any person from the King of Great Britain been accredited in China, in 17 89 or 17 90, by whose means the government of Ben- gal might have been requested to exert its influence, at an early period, with the Rajah of Napaul, to desist from his predatory incursions into Thibet, the Emperor would have- preferred such a method of attaining his purpose, with- out a risk, upon the same principle which induced af- terwards the commander of his forces to apply to the Governor of Bengal to bring about the same effect. And Thibet might have been productive of more advantage
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 6i
to Benp;al in Its independent state, than as a province of Passngtup another empire. ==
If, fortunately, the events of the Thibet war had reached the present Embassador before he had left the neighbourhood of Canton, he might have been enabled to destroy the effect of any misrepresentation of them ; but in the present instance, he was yet utterly unac- quainted with every circumstance from whence the late groundless and injurious rumour against the English had arisen ; and had not, therefore, the common resources for refuting calumny, by a statement of the particulars to which it was meant to be applied. The pains which, indeed, his Excellency took to convince his principal Chinese fellow-travellers, that the story they had heard could have no foundation, had, from their confidence in his assertions, their full effect on their own minds ; but they were not authorized to hold any immediate com- munication with the court ; and were apprehensive that, prejudiced as it was, a favourable declaration on their part would be construed into a corrupt partiality for their new acquaintance. They had beside, being of a Chinese race as well as birth, no sort of influence over the Tartar Legate ; a secret but strong antipathy still subsisting between those two nations.
To the Legate, wlio was alone allowed to correspond with the government concerning the Embassy, and whose good will the Embassador tried every means to
66 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up cultivat€, hc took opportunitics of conveying Informa- '- tion of the great distance from the chief English settle- ment of Calcutta to Napaul and Thibet, and the slight connection of the English with either country in com- parison of their trade to Canton, and their preferable at- tention consequently to the latter object. He mentioned also the instructions given constantly to the Governor of Bengal, to be particularly attentive to such of its neigh- bours as were amicably connected with, or under the protection of, the Chinese empire. A more direct de- nial of having given succour to its enemies, when no accusation was brought forward, or even the belief of any ground for it avowed, might serve only to enforce the probability of tlie fact on the temper with which the Embassador had to deal. Whatever effect his observa- tions might have had on the opinion of the Legate on this particular point, they produced little alteration on him in other respects ; and he showed no disposition to make a favourable or Just representation of the English, or of the Embassy. From suspicion, or ill-will on his own part, he declined even forwarding the Embassador's letters to Sir Erasmus Gower, by the messengers of go- vernment, tho he knew that the Emperor had been pleased to transmit a packet to his Excellency, which had been carried to Zhe-hol. There Mas no opportunity of conveyance without the Legate's permission; and an attempt to obtain it, for the purpose of communicating
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 67
with the Company's Commissioners at Canton, was like- Passage up
wise fruitless. The Embassy was thus shut out from the r -'-
most necessary intercourse, with little prospect of re- dress ; the Legate being the intimate creature of the Col- lao, who was the prime minister of the empire ; and the intentions of the one might be conjectured from the con- duct of the other.
Such were the untoward circumstances which pre- sented themselves before the Embassy had yet reached the capital. It had moved only by slow degrees against the current of the river. In this course, large junks were constantly met passing fromTong-choo-foo, in the neighbourhood of Pekin, where they had carried grain ; and were returning before the approach of the winter season, during which the river is constantly frozen over, tho within the fortieth degree of nortli latitude. Most of those large junks were in the service of government, and employed in carrying such of the taxes as were taken in kind : a mode of taxation which had, at least, the advan- tage of preventing the possibility of individuals being forced to sell the produce of their labour at an under va- lue, in order to discharge the amount of the impost, were it exacted in coin or in silver bullion, which is here equally current. Part of the taxes received in grain is des- tined to replenish the granaries which are erected in every province of the empire, in order to mitigate the evil of a scarcity, where there is little recourse to foreign markets.
68 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up Udoii tlic dcck of cach of thcsc large junks is built a lone ===. range of apartments, containing several tamilies. It was calculated, that every one of these vessels contained not less than fifty persons ; and that there were, between Tong-choo-foo and Tien-sing, at least one thousand such grain junks ; thus containing fifty thousand inhabitants. An immense number of various other kinds of craft were continually passing to and fro, or lying before the towns bordering upon the river; and the number of people in them could not be less than fifty thousand more. So that upon a branch of a single river, the population of its moveable habitations amounted to one hundred thou- sand persons.
In this shallow river, the mud, or diluted clay, raised from its bottom by tlie large vessels passing over it, or detached from its loose banks, or wafted down from the distant hills, is suspended in the water in such large quantities, as to render it scarcely potable. But it is quickly refined for use by the following simple process. A small lump of alum is put into the hollow joint of a bamboo, which is perforated with several holes. The water taken from the river is stirred about with this bamboo for three or four minutes, during which the earthy particles uniting with the alum are precipitated to the bottom, leaving the water above them clear and pure. This method was not applied in consequence of any general knowledge of the elective attractions of dif-
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 69
ferent bodies, and is scarcely known to chemists, even Passage up where that theory is familiar. Practical men are satis- '
fied to make trials for answering the particular purpose they have in view. The numerous Chinese, who subsist upon the rivers, sought, until they found, the means of rendering the water in them, fit to become a wholesome beverage. The water of the Nile is also said to be puri- fied by alum. And its use for the same purpose has been discovered in Europe, likewise, by the workmen em- ployed in different manufactures, in which the mixture of clay and other earths in water was injurious.
Persons of rank in China are so careful about the cjua- lity of the waiter intended for their own consumption, that they seldom drink any without its being distilled ; and every Chinese infuses tea, or some other vegetable supposed to be salubrious, in the water which he uses. It is generally taken hot, as is indeed wine, and every other liquid ; and habit has that effect upon the senses, that fermented and spirituous liquors made hot, are thought agreeable as \vell as salutary. In other climates warm beverages are also found most wholesome. In the hot climate of Hindostan, choultries or inns are founded along some of the public roads, as buildings for pious uses are elsewhere. In those choultries weak but warmed liquors are provided for all travellers. The Chinese en- joy, however, in hot weather, the grateful coolness pro- duced by ice, seldom, indeed, applied to any of their
70 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
passageup liquois ; but principally to fruit and sweetmeats, which
thePei-ho. ^ i-i
■ thus may be justly termed refreshments. In bowls,
which are generally used in China instead of dishes, al- ternate layers were placed of ice, together with kernels of apricots and walnuts, or the seeds and slices of the hairy root of the lien-wha, or nymphaa nelumho, probably the lotus of the Egyptians ; and were frequently presented to the Embassador and his suite at breakfasts, given by some of the principal mandarines.
Tho tea be the general beverage of all the Chinese ; tho they drink it between meals, and present it to their guests on visits at all hours, yet strong, and particularly spirituous, liquors are sometimes relished by them, espe- cially in the northern provinces. When the company begins to be exhilarated, and some of the party are de- sirous of retiring, the same compulsory devices are de- scribed to be practised for preventing their departure, or recalling them, if already going away, as have some- times been used on similar occasions of convivial merri- ment in Europe.
As to eating, the mandarines did indulge themselves in habits of luxury. They ate several meals, each day, of animal food highly seasoned ; each meal con- sisting of several courses. They employed part of their intervals of leisure in smoking tobacco mixed with odo- rous substances, and sometimes a litde opium, or in chewing the areca nut. Tho books of entertainment,
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 71
such as histories, plays, and novels, abound in China, Passage up
, , . , the Pei-ho.
reading was not there become so universal an amuse- ...n !■ nient, as it is now in all the polished parts of Europe, Sedentary gratifications of the senses, rather than exer- cises of the body, or pleasures of the mind, seemed to be the resources principally thought of in vacant hours.
The chief mandarines. Chow and Van Ta-zhin, passed much time in conversation with the Embassador and the gentlemen of the Embassy, with the assistance of the interpreters. The mandarines asked, indeed, fewer questions than they answered. The Chinese are, perhaps of any people, the most eager in their curiosity about foreigners coming amongst them; it being a sight so rare, except at Canton. But about the countries of such foreigners they are more indifferent. They have been always in the habit of confining their ideas to their own country, emphatically styled the middle kingdom. No Chi- nese ever thinks of quitting it, except a few, of desperate fortunes, residing near the sea coast, or of seafaring men, who form a class apart, in great measure, from society. Even foreign commodities consumed in China remind them only of Canton, from whence they receive them as if produced in it. Regions out of Asia are scarcely men- tioned in their books, or noticed on their distorted maps. They have, indeed, some florid descriptions of HIndostan ; and the same story is mentioned, by Chinese writers, which is inserted in the Abbe Raynal's relation of both the Indies. The story relates to a district in HIndostan,
72 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up of whlcli the govemment is described to have been once
thePd-ho. ° .11
- SO perfect, and the people so strictly honest, that a purse
or a jewel dropped upon the road, would be left by the finder on the nearest conspicuous spot, that the loser might the more easily discover it on missing, and return- ing to search for, his lost treasure. The Chinese did not certainly borrow this account from the French author, nor the latter from the former; and the coincidence leads to hope that there was some foundation in truth for it.
With regard to more distant regions, no doubt, per- sons in the government of China must have a knowledge of its external relations ; as mercantile men must have of the places with which their trade connects them. The other classes of society have scarcely any thing to interest them out of China ; and the bulk of the people would perhaps be little gratified, in respect to foreign countries, with any thing less than tales of wonders not performed at home, or of powers exerted beyond the ordinary boun- daries of nature.
To the mandarines who conducted the Embassy, it afforded sufficient pleasure to satisfy the inquiries made about their own country, as far as they were able. Tho in their opinions they were partial and national ; in re- gard to facts, they seemed to endeavour at being correct. Chow-ta-zhin particularly, who was a man of business, founded his information generally upon public docu- ments. The Legate seldom passed into familiar converse with the Embassador ; nor was it deemed expedient to
EMBASSY TO CHINA.
73
appear Inquisitive about China in his presence. He vi- sited his Excellency almost every day, tho he travelled part of the way by land, and with no inconsiderable pomp. He was preceded by soldiers or servants, an- nouncing loudly his approach, and clearing the way before him. His carriage was such a sedan chair as has been mentioned in the first volume, but more orna- mented with silken tassels. It was borne by four men, whose strength was applied in the following manner, as represented in the annexed engraving. The poles of the chair were suspended at their extremities by cords ; in the bend of which short bamboos were passed. The ends
74 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up of cacli bamboo rested upon the shoulders of the chair- '■ men, of whom two supported and divided the weight before the chair, and two behind. Four others were in attendance to relieve them. Servants carrying umbrellas, and others standards of honour, accompanied the chair, which was followed by several men on horseback. It seldom indeed happens that any mandarine of rank either travels, or is even seen out of his own house, without a train suitable to his dignity. So essential it is thought for men in office to preserve, unremittingly, the appearances calculated to inspire the vulgar with respect, that for such persons to walk the streets, at any time, without attendants, would be considered as a sort of de- gradation. They were therefore careful to maintain all the importance of their station, and to exact from the people all the honours appertaining to it. This habit rendered them the more attentive in paying those they considered due to others, and especially to foreigners of distinction received amongst them.
At every military post, and every town of note along the river, troops were drawn out while the yachts carry- ing the Embassy were passing, and a salute of three guns was fired. These guns were a kind of short petards, in- tended only for salutes. A small quantity of gunpowder is put into them. They are fixed perpendicularly in the ground, and rammed full of sand or earth. After the salutes were over, the gaudy dresses or uniform of the
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 75
soldiers, worn upon extraordinary occasions, together with p^^^^^j^^p their arms, were said to be deposited in the storehouse of '
the station until they should again be wanted. Inthe inter- vals the men assume not always a military, but often the common, habit of the people, and are occupied in manu- factures, or the cultivation of the land. They certainly thus become more useful in time of peace ; but must have less of the spirit and discipline which fit for scenes of war. The pay and allowances of the soldiery exceed the usual earnings of common men. Some shadow likewise of that power, which they display when under the orders of their officers, follows them in their separate ca- pacity: and, upon the whole, to be enlisted is consi- dered as, in some sort, to be preferred; and it requires neither force nor stratagem to recruit the Chinese army. Of military posts, some were passed every day, when the high road happened to approach the river. This road was good, but very narrow. Few carriages were seen upon it, and none with more than two wheels, either for carrying goods or travellers. Both were equally without springs. Gentlemen travel generally on horse- back, or in sedan chairs, or chair-palanquins ; and ladies are mostly carried in close litters, suspended between mules or horses. But these conveyances were little used except for short distances ; or in places remote from ri- vers or canals. Semedo asserts, in his History of China, that formerly coaches were much in use there, from
76 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Passage up whciice they were first introduced into Italy in the six- s==s^ teenth century: tho the Chinese have laid them since aside, as inconvenient and expensive.
The custom mentioned by some old travellers, of the Chinese applying sails to carriages by land is still, in some degree, retained. It was probably observed in parts less fertile than the borders of the Pei-ho ; for Milton mentions —
" The barren plains " Of Sericana, where Chineses drive " With sails and wind their cany waggons light."
Those cany waggons are small carts, or double barrows, of bamboo, with one large wheel between them. When there is no wind to favour the progress of such a cart, it is drawn by a man, who is regularly harnessed to it, while another keeps it steady from behind, beside as- sisting in pushing it forward. The sail, when the wind is favourable, saves the labour of the former of these two men. It consists only of a mat, fixed between two poles rising from the opposite sides of the cart. This simple contrivance can only be of use when the cart is intended to run before the wind ; and was probably the resource of an individual, who wished to have no companion of his labour and partner of his profits, or who hap- pened not to meet one. Complicated machines, suscep- tible of being applied to important purposes, are most
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 77
likely to owe their origin to countries where the mind Passage up
1 . , . . , , the Pei-ho.
IS excited to exertion, and invention upon the stretch, === by the prospect of large emoluments arising from disco- veries for improving the quality of any article of con- sumption, or for supplying it in more considerable quantities, or at a cheaper rate, than by the methods be- fore in practice.
No deficiency appeared in the construction of the bridges which were observed along the Pei-ho. None, indeed, were erected over it, which might have impeded its navigation ; but several of hewn stone were thrown over branches that ran into it, or canals that were dug from it. The remains of a bridge in one place indicated the force of an inundation violent enough to carry a part of it away. Near it was a considerable palace, sur- rounded by a garden and pleasure grounds, inclosed within a wall, with a treble gate towards the water side. It was said to belong to the Emperor, and to be the occasional residence of some part of his family. No private property seemed to be adorned for pleasure. Every large building was said to be destined for some public use ; or for the habitation of a man in office. Such, if there were, to whom fortunes had descended from their ancestors, but who held no department under government, were certainly not ostentatious in their pos- sessions ; and enjoyed their riches in obscurity.
The persons composing the Embassy had scarcely
78 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Departure of secii 2L cloud movIng in the sky since their arrival in fromtheguif. China ; nor was there a hillock on any side between them and the horizon, until the fourth day of their de- parture from Tien-sing, when some high blue mountains were seen rising from the north-west. They indicated the approach to Pekin, beyond which they were situ- ated. Two days afterwards, on the sixteenth of Au- gust, the yachts came to anchor within twelve miles of that great capital, and within half a mile of the city of Tong-choo-foo, beyond which the Pei-ho was no longer navigable unless for boats ; and the Embassy ceased tra- velling by water for some time. The distance fromTien- sing to Tong-choo-foo is about ninety miles.
The former companions of the Embassy who remain- ed in the Lion and Hindostan, did not long continue in the gulf of Pe-che-lee. While they were at anchor there, they ascertained the following points.
Latitude of the anchorage - 58° 5 I'i north.
Longitude by time-keeper - 117 50 east.
Longitude by the mean of several ob- servations of the sun and moon, on the 29th of July - - 118 7 east.
Longitude by observations of the same
on the 30th - - - 117 58 east.
Mean of observations of both days 118 2'30"east. Variation of the compass, by ampli- tude, on the 2 7 th of July - 1 30 west.
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 79
And on the 28th - - . T 20' west.
Latitude of the sandy islands in the gulf, named by the old pilot, Sha- loo-poo-tien - - - 39 I north.
Longitude of the same by time-keeper 118 40 east.
Latitude of the mouth of the Pei-ho,
or white river - - - 39 0 north.
The rise and fall of the tides at the anchorage, were about eight or nine feet. They ebbed and flowed irregular- ly, and from every point of tlie compass ; but the strength of the flood tide was from the south-east, and of the ebb from the north-west. On the sixth of August (being the day of new moon) the flood tide made at nine hours for- ty minutes in the morning ; it rose ten feet, and was high water at one o'clock ; and remained witliout turn- ing till four in the afternoon. The wind was then east, and moderate. There was no perceptible difference in the observation of the tide on the following day. These circumstances were accurately noticed upon the sugges- tion of a foreign astronomer of eminence, who wished those facts to be ascertained, as necessary towards the com- pletion of a theory of the tides in which he was engaged.
On the eighth of August the ships set sail, and on the twelfth passed through the straits of Mi-a-tao. They were accompanied through the gulf by a vast number of junks of different sizes, some with four stout masts ta- pering regularly to the head, and none of them sup-
80 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Departure of poited by shrouds, but fixed by a strong massy step in fromtheguif. the kclson below, and kept firm by large wedges driven in at the partners above. Their sails were some of mat- ting, others of cotton. Their cables and ties were mostly made of hemp, apparendy well manufactured. The smallest only of the junks passed through the Mi-a-tao ^ strait. The others went to the northward of the islands
that bear the same name, which experience had, no doubt, shown to be the safest passage.
At Ten-choo-foo Sir Erasmus Gower experienced the good effects of the orders that had been forwarded in his favour by the Viceroy of Pe-che-lee. A sup- ply was furnished of provisions and live stock for all his people. From thence he proceeded to examine the bay of Ki-san~seu, sometimes called Zeu-a-tao bay. He arrived there the fifteenth of August, and " found the " bay sufficiently secure in all directions for a well- " found ship to winter in ; the bay extensive ; depth of " water from nine to five fathoms, the ground tough " and very holding." Wood for fuel, and fresh wa- ter were, however, at a distance in the bay. The fa- tigue of obtaining these might prove injurious to the Lion's crew in their diminished number and weak- ened state. The barren aspect of the neighbouring country, and the poverty of the inhabitants, left it doubtful whether the sick and convalescents of the squadron could be easily supplied there with all things
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 81
necessary to recruit them. It was determined, therefore, Departure of to continue the voyage to Ghu-san, where there was a fromtheguif. greater likelihood of effectual assistance. The distance was short, the season favourable ; and in the former passage it had been found, that " in no part of the world " was the sea so clear of danger as from Chu-san to the " river of Tien-sing."
82 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
CHAPTER II.
EMBASSY LANDS NEAR TONG-CHOO-FOO. PROCEEDS THROUGH PEKIN TO A PALACE IN ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. RETURNS TO THE CAPITAL.
Tong-choo- I ^^ Embassador and his suite had hitherto pro-
secuted their journey towards the capital of China with- out fatigue or inconvenience. They could not but be gratified in finding, in almost every object that pre- sented itself to them, something from its novelty striking to the eye, or otherwise interesting to the mind. Even the uniformity of the country, through which they had travelled, was a spectacle scarcely to be paralleled, for so vast an extent, elsewhere. The whole of it might be considered, according to a sacred and pleasing theory, as a part of the earth in the first state of its formation, preserv- ing still its equal and fruitful surface, while convulsions threw the rest into inequality anddeformity; but to those, who attend to the operations of nature, it appeared as a creation subsequent to the existence of the more elevated portions of the globe, and consisting of alluvial land brought down by torrents from the neighbouring moun- tains, and settling at the bottom of them, and gradually gaining upon the sea.
Towards the western extremity of the immense plain,
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 83
probably so formed, stands Pekin, the present capital of Tong-choo- China. The route lay through it from Tong-choo-foo '
to the autumnal palace of the Emperor, called Yuen- min-yuen, or garden of perpetual verdure, where such of the presents as could not be transported with safety to Zhe-hol, were to be deposited ; and the Embassador and his suite were to be accommodated close to Yuen- min-yuen, while preparations were making for the jour- ney into Tartary.
As there was no navigable communication for vessels of the size of yachts between Pekin and Tong-choo-foo, where those of the Embassy were now arrived, a temple or monastery near the latter was prepared for the recep- tion of the persons landing from them. The baggage and presents were secured in two temporary buildings erected for the purpose, of which the materials were strong bamboos, and close matting impervious to rain. Each of those buildings was upwards of two hundred feet in length. They were situated opposite to each other ; surrounded by a strong fence, and shut in with gates at the extremities. Guards were stationed round ; and notices posted up forbidding all persons from ap- proaching the place with fire. These extensive store- houses were finished in a few hours. Every thing brought by the Embassy was taken out of upwards of thirty vessels, and safely lodged in the course of a single day. But materials and labourers are, in China, at the
VOL. n. M
84 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tongchoo- instant command of the state. There was also a promp- • titucle and cheerfulness of obedience, which argued a confident expectation of an adequate recom}3ence.
The temple and monastery intended ior the accom- modation of the Embassador and his suite, had been founded by a munificent bigot, some centuries ago, for the maintenance of twelve priests of the religion of Fo, which is the most general in China. This edifice is now occasionally converted into a kind of choultry, or cara- vansera, where travellers of rank are lodged in their jour- nies, upon the public service, through this part of the country. The most conspicuous deity in this temple was a personification of Providence, under a female figure, holding in her hand a circular plate, with an eye depicted on it, as appears in the annexed engraving. This figure displayed some grace and dignity.
Mr. Hickey, painter to the Embassy, and already quoted in the former volume, notices this building in the following terms: " It is situated on a rising ground, " of gentle ascent, about half a mile from the river, " and close to the suburbs of Tong-choo-foo, and " is encompassed with a high wall, in which a small " door, opposite to the river, was guarded upon the oc- " casion by Chinese soldiers; and before it was a tent, " containing a band of musicians, to play whenever the " Embassador, or principal persons of the Embassy, "passed by them. From this door, through several
EMBASSY TO CHINA. Sii
" court-yards and low buildings for domestic uses, a Tong-choo-
" passage led to those particularly consecrated to the ■
'* exercises of religion. They were separated from the
•' others by a wall, in which was an opening of the
" exact form of a circle. The diameter was about eight
•' feet. Beyond this circular opening were two places
86 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
too.
Tong-choo- " or halls of worship, situated opposite to each other; " between them was a spacious area; and before each " was a portico supported by wooden columns, paint- " ed red, and varnished. The diameters of those co- " lumns were small in proportion to their length. They " tapered slightly from the base to the capital, which " was little ornamented, except with gilding. The base " rested simply, like the ancient Doric, upon the floor. " The halls of worship were of the whole height of the " fabric, without any concealment of the beams or raf- *' ters of the roof. They contained several statues of " male and female deities, some carved in wood, and " painted with a variety of colours, mostly of modern " and indifferent workmanship ; others were of porce- *' lain."
The numerous train of the Embassador took up most parts of the temple that were allotted for dwelling places, and one priest only remained in it, to watch over the lamps of the shrine, and to receive his Excellency's commands, while the rest retired to a monastery in the neighbour- hood ; but attended in the halls of worship at stated hours. The apartments they had quitted were desirable in that warm season, on account of their coolness. At one end of each room was a platform of boards, raised upwards of a foot above the floor, such as are sometimes seen in military guard-rooms in Europe. A thick woollen cloth, not woven, but worked into a firm substance, like felt for
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 87
too.
hats, was spread upon the platform, and, with the addi- Tong-choo- tion of a cushion, formed the whole of the bedding, on = which those priests reposed ; and little more is used by other classes of society in China, where, at least the com- mon people, continue to wear at night a considerable part of the dress which covers them in the day.
The separate apartments, belonging to the superiors of the monastery, were now allotted to the principal per- sons of the Embassy. In some of the other rooms the priests had suffered scorpions and scolopendras to har- bour thro neglect. Those noisome insects were known only by description to some gentlemen of the Embassy, who had not visited the southern parts of Europe. The sight of such, for the first time, in their bedchambers, and upon their clothes, excited a degree of horror in their minds ; and it seemed to them to be a sufficient ob- jection to the country, that it produced those animals. But the apprehension was greater than the danger. For however capable of mischief, they are found to commit it, where they most abound, but very seldom ; and no ac- cident happened from them in the present instance. The heat of the weather, which was favourable to their existence, was, indeed, felt as no trifling inconvenience. The thermometer of Fahrenheit rose, in the shade, to eighty-six degrees ; its violence, however, was avoided in the open courts within the precincts of the temple, by canvas sheets spread horizontally between the ridges
SS EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tong-choo- of the roofs. Cords were attaclied to the canvas, with a ' contrivance to enable persons underneath, to move it in whatever sense was necessary, to admit the air into those places from whence the sun successively withdrew.
The morning after the arrival of the Embassy, every person belonging to it partook of a banquet, to which they were invited by the mandarines. It was deemed, from the hour of giving it, a breakfast ; but which, from the kinds and quantities of viands served, was equal to the most sub- stantial repast. Tho tea be made to accompany or follow every meal, it does not constitute the principal part of any . The tables were spread in such different parts of the new storehouses, as happened to be vacant. No other place, under cover, was sufficiently ample. It seemed, in this instance, to be the Chinese etiquette, when an extraor- dinary mark of civility is intended, to include, with the principal object of it, the whole of his attendants of every degree. Invitations to partake of the gratifica- tions of the table are, it seems, considered as so essen- tial a portion of good breeding, that they were not to be omitted on the present occasion, tho the hospitality of the Emperor rendered every other a matter of superero- gation.
The assemblage of people was so great upon the broad sandy beach, between the temple and the river, that booths were erected there, in which a variety of ar- ticles, but principally fruits and liquors, were exposed
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 89
to sale. The stands were sliaded l)y quadrilateral roofs Tong-choo- of canvas, supported from the centre by a single pole ==== stuck into the ground. Fires for cooking victuals were made in the open air, and fire-engines were at hand, near water, in case of accidents arising from them. Those engines were constructed on principles, similar to those of Europe ; and they are said to have been introduced in- to China, and partly from materials brought from thence; since the conflagration which happened at Canton, in Lord Anson's time, when the use of them, by his sailors, had so great an effect in stopping it. Other European improvements and conveniences will probably be adopt- ed by the Chinese, as the intercourse with them shall in- crease ; and the exportation of such articles alone from England is likely to add materially to its commerce.
Amongst all the crowds assembled near Tong-choo- foo, or those which the approach of the Embassy had attracted in other places, since its entrance into China, not one person in the habit of a beggar had been seen, or any one observed to solicit charity. No small portion of the people seemed, it is true, to be in a state approach- ing indigence ; but none driven to the necessity, or inured to the habit, of craving assistance from a stranger. The present was not, indeed, one of those seasons of ca- lamity, which destroys or diminishes the usual resources of the peasant, and drives him sometimes, even into criminal excesses, to procure subsistence. In such times,
90 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tong-choo- however, the Emperor of China always comes forward ; ' he orders the granaries to be opened ; he remits tlie taxes to those who are visited by misfortunes ; he affords as- sistance to enable them to retrieve their affairs : he ap- pears to his subjects, as standing almost in the place of providence, in their favour : he is perfecdy aware by how much a stronger chain he thus maintains his abso- lute dominion, than the dread of punishments would af- ford. He has shewn himself so jealous of retaining the exclusive privilege of benevolence to his subjects, that he not only rejected, but was offended at, the proposal once made to him, by some considerable merchants, to contribute towards the relief of a suffering province. He accepted, at the same time, the donation of a rich widow of Tien-sing, towards the expences of the Thi- bet war. But independently of any general evil, which every wise government is attentive to remedy or alle- viate, accidental causes of distress, or individual failures of the means to procure subsistence, give occasion, at all times, in most other countries, to the affecting spectacle of human beings dependent for their existence, on the precarious aid of those whom they may chance to meet, but who have the power of withholding it.
The Embassador had given gratuities, occasionally, to the people of the yachts, and others employed about the Embassy ; but such gratuities were never asked, and were unknown to the mandarines. As these had al-
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 91
ready insisted upon charging to the Emperor's account Tong-choo- some small articles purchased by them for one or two gen- '
tlemen of the Embassy, a party of the latter went them- selves to buy a few trifles in the adjoining city, for which excursion beside, their curiosity was a sufficient motive. Some of the mandarines took the trouble of accompany- ing them, particularly Van-ta-zhin, who was a native, and willing to do the honours, of the place. He conduct- ed them thro a large suburb, which denoted the. modern increase of Tong-choo-foo, since the erection of the walls which encompass the original buildings. The walls are of brick, substantially built, and higher than the houses they inclose, which mostly are of wood. The city walls are washed by the river on one side, and de- fended by a broad wet ditch on the others. There were no guns upon the ramparts, but a few swivels were placed upright near the gates. The principal streets were straight, paved with broad flag-stones, and had a raised foot-path on each side. An awning across the streets shaded them from the scorching heat of the sun's rays. Many, however, of the labouring people were naked from the waist upwards. Several extensive buildings con- tained grain of different kinds, of which, it was said, a provision for several years is always kept in store, for the consumption of the capital. Most of the houses had shops or working rooms in front. And an industry was -displayed, such as the neighbourhood of Pekin was
92 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tong-choo- likely to excite. The outside of the shops was painted === with a variety of lively colours, as well as gilt, with rich ensigns before them, and long labels inviting customers. Amongst the chief articles exposed to sale were tea, silks, and porcelain, imported from the southward, and furs of different kinds, most of which were brought from Tartary. It was a pleasing circumstance to observe, also, among other goods, some English cloths, tho in no consi- derable quantities.
The appearance of Englishmen interrupted, for a while, the usual occupations of the people. Other Eu- ropeans, mostly missionaries, had travelled thro the city ; but in order to escape notice, they were clad in the long dresses of the country, and had suffered their beards to grow, in imitation of the Chinese. The short coats and smooth faces of the present strangers, formed, therefore, a new spectacle. The greatest surprise, however, was occasioned by a black servant, who attended one of the gentlemen of the party. He had been brought from Ba- tavia, to supply the place of an European who returned home. The jet hue of his complexion, his woolly head, and features peculiar to the negroes, nothing like which had been remembered to have been seen before, in this inland part of China, led some of the spectators almost to doubt, whether he belonged to the human species ; and the boys exclaimed, that it must be a black demon, fan-quee ; but a good-humoured countenance soon re-
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 93
conciled them to his appearance, and they continued to Tong-choo- stare at him without apprehension or dislike. '
As the party passed along the streets, they observed, in several places on the sides of houses, the projection of a lunar eclipse, which was to happen soon afterwards. In the clear and pleasant atmosphere of this climate, all classes of men living mostly out of doors are inclined to be attentive to the appearances of the heavens, which they acquire gradually the habit of connecting with sub- lunary events, as if the latter were dependent upon the former. Some accidental coincidences taking place served to strengthen this belief; and the vanity of prediction had certainly its share in forming the pretended science of astrology. If eclipses, in particular, were considered as having the power to influence the operations of nature, and the transactions of mankind, the periods of their occurrence necessarily became an object of attention and solicitude ; and the government of the country, ever anxious to establish the foundations of its authority in the people's opinion of its superior wisdom and constant care of their security and welfare, has converted their prejudices to account, by exclusively procuring a com- munication of whatever science and observation could afford in this respect. Such communications are after- wards announced to the people, as in the instance of the present projection, at the times, and with the solemnity, fitted to ensure veneration for that superintending power
VOL. 11. N
94 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tong-choo. from whence such knowledge was immediately derived
foo.
■ to them.
It is easy to conceive also, in regard to eclipses of the sun, how much the disappearance of that luminary in the midst of its wonted career must have appeared awe- ful (as if nature were about to be annihilated) to him who is ignorant of the natural causes of such an event, and of the certain shortness of its duration. The people of China have, from the earliest ages, considered a solar eclipse as ominous of some general calamity ; and as great pains are taken to inspire them with a belief that their prosperity is owing to the wisdom and virtues of their sovereign, so they are tempted to attribute to some deficiency on his part whatever they think portentous. To this inconvenient prejudice the emperor, himself, finds it prudent to accommodate his conduct. He never ventures on any undertaking of importance at the ap- proach of such an eclipse, but affects to withdraw himself from the presence of his courtiers, to examine strictly into his late administration of the empire, in or- der to correct any error, for the commission of which the eclipse may have been an admonition, and invites his subjects to offer him freely their advice.
Some of the mandarines, who accompanied the Eng- lish in their excursion to Tong-choo-foo, were well aware of the true nature of eclipses. They knew also that there were Europeans employed at the Emperor's
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 9 J
court in the calculation of them ; but believed their Tong-choo- own countrymen capable of predicting them with tole- ' rable exactness. It did not appear, however, from their conversation, by what means such predictions were ef- fected. There were indeed, among the Chinese, constant and patient observers ; but they did not seem to possess the science of calculation necessary to arrive at the solu- tion of any intricate problems. Even the first operations of arithmetic were not very generally known amongst them. In the shops, where the party went to buy some trifles, regular entries were made of the articles disposed of; and the several prices were affixed in the common Chinese characters, equivalent to the words which ex- press numbers in other languages. But not by a distinct set of figures, upon a system similar to that of those called Arabic by Europeans ; of which the powers or amount increase decimally, as they are placed to the left of each other upon the same line ; and to which the usual operations of arithmetic may apply. The Chinese calculate by the assistance of a machine, called by them swan-pan, in which balls are strung upon wires in dif- ferent columns, and arranged upon the plan of Arabic figures, the balls representing units in the first column to the right, with a decuple progression of the others from right to left.
The decimal multiplication and subdivision of quan- tities and measures, used almost in every instance by
96 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tong-choo- the Chinese, greatly simplifies their computations. Thus, === for example, a hang, which is generally equal to an ounce of silver, is subdivided into ten chen, the chen into ten fen, and the fen into ten lee. The ideal sub- divisions of money descend much lower, but always, as well as in increasing quantities, in the same decimal proportions. A lee, or thousandth part of a leang, is an actual coin of copper, far from being pure. It is of a circular form, with a square hole in the middle, for the convenience of being strung together upon a sort of pack-thread ; and tens and multiples of tens pass thus current ; often a smaller number only is transferred un- strung. A coin of such little value is convenient to the lower part of the people, who thus can buy as small a quantity of merchandise as they please, or is suitable to their situation ; and in lieu of which, for an article wanted, a higher price might sometimes be demanded, if payment of a smaller could not be effected for want of change. Tea, like beer in England, is sold in public houses in every town, and along public roads, and the banks of rivers and canals. In these a single cup is sold for a single lee ; nor is it unusual for the burdened and wearied traveller to lay down his load, refresh himself with one cup of warm tea, and then pursue his journey. These lees, collectively called chen, form, in fact, the only standard coin in China. Government may have considered, that one material only can, in strict-
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 97
ness, form a standard coin. For the relative values of Tong-choo- two or more metals, for example, taken separately, are .
liable to vary from the different proportions which may occasionally take place between the demand for them in the market, for other uses than as a medium of exchange, and the quantities of them respectively exposed to sale ; so that a piece of money, of one metal, may in fact be- come worth more or less than that of another metal, which the standard had made of equal value to it, according to the prices of the metals at the time of the adjustment.
Silveris more properly, among the Chinese, a merchan- dise. None of it is coined, but large payments are made with lumps of it in the form of the crucibles in which it was refined, and with the stamp of a single character upon it, to ascertain its weight, mostly of ten ounces.
The value of silver, in the current coin, varies ac- cording to the relative scarcity or plenty of that metal issued from the Imperial treasury. Spanish dollars are common throughout all Asia ; and are equally well known to the pilot of Cochin-china, as mentioned in the former volume, and to the shopkeepers of Tong- choo-foo. Gold is seldom seen in the transactions of commerce, tho it be, occasionally, employed in the luxuries of dress and furniture. In general, the value of silver has borne a much greater proportion to that of gold in China than in Europe, except where an ex- traordinary demand for the latter, by foreign merchants,
98 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tong-choo- has increased the rate of it. That effect, indeed, was
too.
-==- supposed likewise to have been produced by the ex- traordinary quantity of gold employed in the decoration of Lama temples, by the Emperor, both in China and in Tartary.
Upon the decease of a sovereign of China, the coin, bearing the impression of his name, is in some degree depreciated. The material, being of such a base alloy, is little convertible to use ; and specimens remaining of ancient coins are common in the country. There are a few curious Chinese who collect coins ; but none prize them to the degree of tempting artists to make counter- feits of them. A series of them, therefore, corresponding to the sovereigns mentioned in the annals of the empire, may be considered as a confirmation of their history; and a series, not indeed complete, but mounting upwards beyond the Christian era, has been brought to Europe. The histories of China state, and the traditional ac- counts confirm, the natural propensity of the Chinese emperors to transmit their names and fame, by the most durable monuments, to posterity ; but it has been hitherto the cruel policy of every dynasty, or new family mount- ing the throne of China, both to destroy the remaining branches of the former race, and to level the edifices dedicated to their memory. The ancient fabrics, therefore, which have been suffered to subsist, bear no traces of the persons by whom they were erected. One that has
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 99
very much the appearance of antiquity, stands in a re- Tong-choo- mote corner of Tong-choo-foo, to which it does not seem °"" to bear the least relation, being so situated as not to serve the purpose of any ornament; and is so far from being useful, that its original destination is not known with certainty. It is built of brick, and in its exterior form resembles what are called in Europe Chinese pagodas, and supposed to be places of religious worship. But the present building cannot have had such a destination, being, tho of considerable diameter, perfectly solid in the first and second story. There is not even the appear- ance of a door or window in either. There are no re- mains of steps, or other means of ascent to the third story, in which there is a door ; the several stories, eleven in niunber, distinguished by a belt of brick on the out- side, continue to be entire, tho weeds and shrubs are growing out of many parts of them. It is thought most probable that this building was erected prior to the exist- ence of Tong-choo-foo, and perhaps of the great Chinese wall, and was intended for a watch tower, to guard against the sudden approach of the Tartar enemy.
Of those circular and lofty edifices, by Europeans termed pagodas, there are several kinds, and dedicated to several uses in China ; but none to religious worship. The temples which are consecrated to such a purpose differ little in height from common dwelling houses, as in the instance of the Embassador's momentary residence
100 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tong-choo near Tong-choo-foo. The presence of foreigners there - did not prevent the usual affluence of devotees. The
Chinese interpreter of the Embassy, who was a most zealous Christian of the Roman Catholic persuasion, and himself a priest of that communion, saw, with regret, the English curiously examining the images, or attending to the ceremonies of the religion of Fo, lest they should perceive the resemblance between its ex- terior forms and those in his own church. Such resem- blance had been, indeed, already thought so striking, that some of the missionaries conjectured that the Chinese had formerly received a glimpse of Christianity from the Nestorians, by the way of Tartary ; others that Saint Thomas the Apostle had been amongst them ; but the missionary Premare could account for it no otherwise than by supposing it to have been a trick of the Devil to mortify the Jesuits. One of them observes, that the like- ness is so strong between the apparent worship of many of the priests of Fo, and that which is exhibited in churches of the Roman faith, that a Chinese conveyed into one of the latter, might imagine the votaries he saw were then adoring the deities of his own country. On the altar of a Chinese temple, behind a screen, is fre- quendy a representation which might answer for that of the Virgin Mary, in the person of Shin-moo, or the sacred mother, sitting in an alcove with a child in her arms, and rays proceeding from a circle, which are called a
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 101
glory, round her head, with tapers burning constantly Tong-choo. before her. The long coarse gowns of the Ho-shaungs, or =s== priests of Fo, bound with cords round the waist, would almost equally suit the friars of the order of St. Fran- cis. The former live, like the latter, in a state of celi- bacy, reside in monasteries together, and impose, occa- sionally, upon themselves voluntary penance, and ri- gorous abstinence.
The temples of Fo abound with more images than are found in most Christian churches ; and some that bear a greater analogy to the ancient than to the present worship of the Romans. One figure, representing a female, was thought to be something similar to Lucina, and is parti- cularly addressed by unmarried women wanting hus- bands, and married women wanting children. The doc- trine of Fo, admitting of a subordinate deity particularly propitious to every wish which can be formed in the human mind, would scarcely fail to spread among those classes of the people who are not satisfied with their prospects, as resulting from the natural causes of events. Its progress is not obstructed by any measures of the go- vernment of the country, which does not interfere with mere opinions. It prohibits no belief which is not sup- posed to affect the tranquillity of society.
There is in China no state religion. None is paid, preferred, or encouraged by it. The Emperor is of one faith ; many of the mandarines of another ; and the ma-
102 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tong-choo- joi ity of the common people ofa tliird, which is that of Fo.
f'oo. .
=== This last class, the least capable, from ignorance, of ex- plaining the phenomena of nature, and the most exposed to wants which it cannot supply by ordinary means, is willing to recur to the supposition of extraordinary powers, which may operate the effects it cannot ex- plain, and grant the requests which it cannot other- wise obtain.
No people are, in fact, more superstitious than the com- mon Chinese. Beside the habitual offices of devotion on the part of the priests and females, the temples are particu- larly frequented by the disciples of Fo, previously to any undertaking of importance; whetber to marry, or go a journey, or conclude a bargain, or change situation, or for any other material event in life, it is necessary first to consult the superintendant deity. This is performed by various methods. Some place a parcel of consecrated sticks, differently marked and numbered, which the consultant, kneeling before the altar, shakes in a hollow bamboo, until one of them falls on the ground ; its mark is examined, and referred to a correspondent mark in a book which the priest holds open, and sometimes even it is written upon a sheet of paper pasted upon the in- side of the temple. Polygonal pieces of wood are by others thrown into the air. Each side has its particular mark ; the side that is uppermost when fallen on the floor, is in like manner referred to its correspondent
EMBASSY TO CHINA. J 03
mark in the book or sheet of fate. If the first throw be Tong-choo- favourable, the person who made it prostrates himself in •
gratitude, and undertakes afterwards, with confidence, tlie business in agitation. But if the throw should be ad- verse, he tries a second time, and the third throw deter- mines, at any rate, the question. In other respects the people of the present day seem to pay little attention to their priests. The temples are, however, always open for such as choose to consult the decrees of heaven. They return thanks when the oracle proves propitious to their wishes. Yet they oftener cast lots, to know the issue of a projected enterprize, than supplicate for its being fa- vourable ; and their worship consists more in thanks- giving than in prayer.
Few Chinese are said to carry the objects, to be ob- tained by their devotion, beyond the benefits of this life. Yet the religion of Fo professes the doctrine of the trans- migration of souls, and promises happiness to the people on conditions, which were, no doubt, originally intend- ed to consist in the performance of moral duties ; but in lieu of which are too frequently substituted those of contributions towards the erection or repair of temples, the maintenance of priests, and a strict attention to par- ticular observances. The neglect of these is announced as punishable, by the souls of the defaulters passing into the bodies of the meanest animals, in whom the suffer- ings are to be proportioned to the transgressions com- mitted in the human form.
lot EMBASSY TO CHINA.
too.
Tong-choo- While the English were observing some of the reli- gious customs of the Chinese, an event took place which gave the latter an opportunity of seeing an European cere- mony of religion in the funeral of a person belonging to the Embassy, who died during its short stay near Tong- choo-foo. He was an ingenious and skilful artist in brass and other metals. From Birmingham he had settled in London, where he was earning a decent subsistence, when he heard that an expedition was fitting out for China. He had conceived a notion that many improvements in the arts were practised at Pekin, which were little known in Europe ; among others, that of making a kind of tinsel that did not tarnish, or at least that kept without tarnish- ing much longer, than any that was made according to European methods. He fancied that were he acquaint- ed with such improvements, he should be enabled to provide handsomely for his family. He did not, indeed, expect to enjoy long, himself, thebenefitof any secrets he should discover. He was past the middle age ; of a feeble make, and subject to many complaints. But he thought it not too much to shorten his own life, in a perilous voyage, for the sake of being able to communicate to his offspring, what would be the means of their prosperity. He offered his services to the Embassy. At Madeira the Embassador perceiving this man's health impaired already in the passage, urged him to return home ; but he was bent on the accomplishment of his purpose. He pur- sued the voyage ; and tho he was visited by the epide-
EMBASSY TO CHLNA. 105
too.
mlcal diseases, by which, in tlie course of it, many Tong-choo- young and robust persons rapidly lost their lives, he held out till he was within one day's journey of that ca- pital, where he hoped to attain the object of his pursuit. But his constitution, broken down by fatigue and ill- ness, was unable to support him any longer, and he fell a sacrifice to the affection he bore his children. He was a quiet, sober, and honest man, meek and decent in his manners: and his fellow-travellers of every rank regret- ted him ; nor should his humble station preclude him from being mentioned, in this relation of an Embassy, to which he was attached. His name was Eades. His funeral was attended, not only by the greatest number of his Lite fellow-travellers, but by a vast concourse of Chinese. Every form was observed, and the ceremony performed with much gravity and decency, as well in respect to the memory of the deceased, as in compliance with the ideas of the Chinese, who are apt to consider the least sliglit or inattention, on such solemn occasions, as marks of barbarism and inhumanity.
This Englishman was interred in the midst of several Chinese tombs, interspersed with cypress trees, at a dis- tance from any church or temple, but near the public road leading outofTong-choo-foo. The Chinese burying-places are no otherwise consecrated than by the veneration of the people, the remains of whose ancestors are deposited in them. The people preserve those sacred repositories, with all the care they can afford to bestow upon them.
106 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tong-choo- They visit them annually, repair any breaches that acci- " dents may have made, and remove any weeds that may have grown, or dirt that may have been thrown about them. Where there is uncultivable ground, it is always preferred for places of interment, as less liable to be dis- turbed ; yet the poorest peasant will respect the spot over which a heap of earth denotes a repository of the dead beneath, until In the course of time, and by the gradual effect of the weather, the heap itself sinks into a level with the circumjacent ground.
The country about Tong-choo-foo, for several miles, is level and fertile. Some of the English gentlemen were supplied with horses, to ride about in the neighbourhood. The horses were strong and bony, generally such as ap- pears in plate, (No. 32.) of the folio volume. The breed does not seem to have been improved by care. Mules bear a greater price than common horses, as subsisting on less food, and capable of more labour. Many of the horses were spotted as regularly as a leopard. Such were so common, as to remove the suspicion of any fraud by ar- tificial colouring. The race of those spotted horses is supposed, among other means, to be obtained by cross- ing those of opposite hues. The saddle furniture dif- fered as much from the neatness of what is made in England, as the cattle themselves from Arabian coursers. The riders met several Chinese on horseback, who, on approaching, alighted in civility to the strangers. This is a mark of respect shewn here always to superiors, and
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 107
the custom has been extended to other parts of the East. Tong-choo- The Dutch governor and counsellors of: the Indies ex- .=a=sH=^ act, in imitation, that kind of homage from all persons re- sident in Batavia. It appeared indeed, from several in- stances, in Java, Sumatra, and Cochin-china, that China gives the tone to the countries bordering on the Chinese seas. The distinction of yellow colour, for example, by the Emperor, is affected by every sovereign in the eastern part of Asia.
The mixture of eastern and western customs, is to be sttn sometimes in China. Thus in the neighbourhood of Tong-choo-foo, the season of the harvest gave occa- sion to observe, that the corn is sometimes thrashed with the common flail of Europe, and sometimes pressed out by cattle treading on the sheaf, as is described by Orien- tal writers. A roller is likewise moved over it by the Chinese. For these operations a platform of hard earth and sand is prepared in the open air. A machine has been always used here for winnowing corn, exactly si- milar to that which has been introduced, within this century, it is said, in Europe. It is probably a Chinese invention.
Indian corn and small millet formed, in this place, the principal produce of the autumn crop. There were few inclosures, and few cattle to make them necessary. Scarce- ly any fields to be seen in pasture. The animals neces- sary for tillage, or for carriage, and those destined to
108 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Tong-choo- serve for food, were mostly fed in stalls, and fodder col- . lected for them. Beans, and the finer kind of straw cut small, composed a great proportion of the food for horses. The roots of corn, and coarser stems, are fre- quently left to rot upon the ground for the purpose of manure.
The houses of the peasants were scattered about, in- stead of being united into villages. The cottages seem- ed to be clean and comfortable: they were without fences, gates, or other apparent precaution against wild beasts or thieves. Robbery is said to happen seldom, tho not punished by death, unless aggravated by the commission of some violent assault. The wives of the peasantry are of material assistance to their families, in addition to the rearing of their children, and the care of their domestic concerns ; for they carry on most of the trades which can be exercised within doors. Not only they rear silk-worms, and spin the cotton, which last is in general use for both sexes of the people ; but the women are almost the sole weavers throughout the empire. Yet few of them fail to injure their healths, or at least their active powers, by sacrificing, in imitation of females of superior rank, to the prejudice in favour of little feet ; and tho the operation for this purpose is not attempted at so early a period of their infancy, or followed up af- terwards with such persevering care, as in the case of ladies with whom beauty can become an object of more
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 109
attention, enough is practised to cripple and disfigure Tong-choo- them. .===
Notwithstanding all the merit of these helpmates to their husbands, the latter arrogate an extraordinary do- minion over them, and hold them at such a distance, as not always to allow them to sit at table, behind which, in such case, they attend as handmaids. This dominion is tempered, indeed, by the maxims of mild conduct in the different relations of life, inculcated from early childhood amonsist the lowest as well as hio;hest classes of society. The old persons of a family live generally wdth the young. The former serve to moderate any oc- casional impetuosity, violence, or passion of the latter. The influence of age over youth is supported by the sentiments of nature, by the habit of obedience, by the precepts of morality ingrafted in the law of the land, and by the unremitted policy and honest arts of parents to that effect. They who are past labour, deal out the rules which they had learned, and the wisdom which expe- rience taught them, to those who are rising to manhood, or to those lately arrived at it. Plain sentences of morals are written up in the common hall, where the male branches of the family assemble. Some one, at least, is capable of reading them to the rest. In almost every house is hung up a tablet of the ancestors of the persons then residing in it. References are often made, in con- versation, to their actions. Their example, as far as it
110 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
too.
Tong-choo- was good, serves as an incitement to travel in the same path. The descendants from a common stock visit the tombs of their forefathers together, at stated times. This joint care, and indeed other occasions, collect and unite the most remote relations. They cannot lose sight of each other ; and seldom become indifferent to their re- spective concerns. The child is bound to labour and to provide for his parents' maintenance and comfort, and the brother for the brother and sister that are in extreme want ; the failure of which duty would be followed by such detestation, that it is not necessary to enforce it by positive law. Even the most distant kinsman, reduced to misery by accident or ill health, has a claim on his kindred for relief. Manners, stronger far than laws, and indeed inclination, produced and nurtured by intercourse and intimacy, secure assistance for him. These habits and manners fully explain the fact already mentioned, which unhappily appears extraordinary to Europeans, that no spectacles of distress are seen, to excite the com- passion, and implore the casual charity of individuals. It is to be added, that this circumstance is not owing to the number of institutions of public benevolence. The wish, indeed, of the Persian monarch is not realized in China, that none should be in want of the succour administered in hospitals ; but those establishments are rendered little necessary, where the link which unites all the branches of a family, brings aid to the
EMBASSY TO CHINA. Ill
suffering part of It witliout delay, and without humi- xong-choo-
, . foo.
nation. s==
It seldom, indeed, happens that the infirmities of men, or the weakness of children, render them utterly inca- pable of making some return of industry for the subsist- ence they receive In the manufactures carried on with- in doors, very material assistance may often be afforded, with little exertion of strength ; and abroad, the soil is light, and tillage easy. Oxen are used for ploughing in this part of China, being too cold for buffaloes, which are preferred where they can be reared. Cattle are yoked by the neck, instead of being so by the horns, as upon the continent of Europe.
Several of the labouring men of Tong-choo-foo were engaged to convey to Hoong-ya-yuen, close to the Em- peror's autumnal palace beyond Pekin, the presents and the baggage of the Embassy. The weight of all those articles had been hitherto of little consideration, as they had come by sea, or upon a river. They were now to be carried by animal or human labour. Such of the presents as were liable to be injured by the rough move- ment of carriages without springs, were to be entrusted to men only. Some of the gentlemen belonging to the Embassy had calculated their baggage more for a sea voyage, than for land carriage. Preparing for a distant country, where they had not been before, it happened to them to provide some articles which were to be found
112 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
FromTong- In it, and others which they foresaw the possibility of
choo-foo to • 1 1 • 1 1
, Pgkin. wanting ; but which they never came to want. Upon a calculation of the necessary means for conveying all the baggage and presents, the mandarines were obliged to order near ninety small waggons, forty hand-carts or barrows, upwards of two hundred horses, and within a very few of three thousand labouring men to serve in dif- ferent capacities, beside what of all kinds was necessary for themselves, and their attendants.
Bulky and heavy articles are carried by the mere strength of men, applied in the following manner. Two strong bamboos are fastened to the sides of the load. If two men to each bamboo, being four to the whole load, should not be sufficient, two shorter bamboos are fixed to the extremitiesof each of the originallong ones. The eight extremities of the short bamboos are made to rest on the shoulders of eight men, in the manner apparent in the op- posite engraving: and by bamboos fastened upon others, the strength of more men maybe applied in a geometrical proportion, each sustaining an equal degree of pressure in raising and carrying very considerable weights.
The Embassador and three gentlemen of liis suite travelled in sedan chairs, which are the usual vehicles for persons of high rank in China, even in long journies. The other gentlemen were on horseback, as were all the mandarines : the principal among the latter rode near the chair of the Embassador. The Chinese soldiers were
EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Ji:
on foot, and cleared the way. The servants and privates From Tong-
r 1 • T-> n ' 1 . 1 • choo-footo
or his Excellency s guard were in rough carnages or Pekin. waggons. The chairs, the wheel-carriages, the horse- men, the presents, and the baggage, filled up the road for a considerable space. This road forms a magnificent avenue to Pekin, for persons and commodities bound for that capital from the east and from the south. It is per-
.#fp«''
Ill EiMBASSY TO CHINA.
FromTong. fectly levcl ; the centre, to the width of about twenty Pekin. feet, is paved with flags of granite, brought from a con- " siderable distance, and of a size from six to sixteen feet in length, and about four feet broad. On each side of this granite pavement was a road unpaved, wide enough for carriages to cross upon it. The road was bordered in many places with trees, particularly willows of a very uncommon girth.
The travellers soon passed over a marble bridge, of which the construction appeared equal to the material. The perfection of such a fabric may be considered to consist in its being made as like as possible to that of which it supplies the want ; and the present bridge seems to answer that description; for it is very wide and sub- stantially built, over a rivulet not subject to inundations, and is litde elevated above the level of the roads which it connects together.
In pursuing the journey some of the privates of the guard grew tired at being immured in waggons moving in slow procession ; and alighting, continued their route on foot. They thus afforded opportunities to the crowds waiting to see the strangers, to examine their figures, countenances, and dresses. Their ruddy complexions, powdered hair, and clothes shewing the form of the limbs, drew particular attention. The weather was ex- tremely sultry ; Fahrenheit's thermometer was at ninety- six degrees in the covered carriages. They who walked
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 115
were sometimes perceived to suffer from the dust, the From Tong- fatigue, the sun, and the press of people round them. Pcki.i. Several of the spectators felt for their situation, and open- ed a way for them to enjoy the air. To a few of the light and ignorant they were a subject of sport.
A halt was made to breakfast at a village on the road. The inn at which they stopped bore no resemblance to the modern edifices of that kind in England. No ele- gance ; no decorations ; but the rooms, tho small, were clean and cool. Every sort of refreshment was pro- vided. From this place, if not before, the mind was at every step in anxious expectation of discovering that capital which was said to be the greatest in the world. No gentlemen's houses scattered round, no small villas announced to the party that they should see it pre- sently. They arrived, at length, at one of the eastern suburbs. The street through which they passed was paved, and full of people. It exhibited a busy scene of manufacturers, shopkeepers, and buyers. The concourse of people did not so much appear to have been collected for the expected sight, as each being employed in his occupation ; and tho diverted for a while by the pass- ing spectacle, returning afterwards to his own concerns. To traverse this suburb took about fifteen minutes, when the party arrived before the walls of the city of Pekin. the arrival of the Embassador was announced by the firing of guns ; and refreshments were made ready for all
16 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Pekin. the gentlemen, at a resting place within the gate. Near *'''''°''''^'™ it the walls were faced with stone, elsewhere with brick. Over the gate was a watch tower several stories high. In each story were port-holes for cannon, painted, as some- times on the sides of merchant vessels which have none. Round the gate, on the outside, was a semicircular wall, with a lateral gate, upon the plan of European fortifi- cations, which may be a modern addition. The city walls were about forty feet in height. The parapet was deeply crenated, but had no regular embrazures ; nor did any cannon appear upon the walls ; but in the mer- lons were loopholes for archery. The thickness of the walls was at the base about twenty feet, and twelve across the terreplaine, upon which the parapet was erected. The outside of the city wall, tho not perfectly perpendicular, was smooth , but the inside was upon a considerable bevil ; the rows of bricks which form it being placed, like steps, one above and behind the other, such as are described to be the faces of the Egyptian pyramids. The walls were flanked on the outside by square towers, at about sixty yards distance from each other, and projecting from the curtain between them forty or fifty feet. Several horsemen were able to ride abreast upon the ramparts, ascending to them upon slopes of earth raised on the inside.
Pekin exhibited, on the entrance into it, an appearance contrary to that of European cities, in which the streets
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 117
are often so narrow, and the houses so lofty, that from Pekin. one extremity of a street the houses appear at the other to be leaning towards, and closing upon, each other. Here few of the houses were higher than one story ; none more than two ; while tlie width of the street which divided them was considerably above one hun- dred feet. It was airy, gay, and lightsome.
The street was unpaved, and water sprinkled on it to keep down the dust. A light handsome building was erect- ed across it, called by the Chinese Pai-loo, which word has been translated to mean a triumphal arch, tho nothing like an arch is in any part of it. The whole was built of wood, and consisted of three handsome gateways, of which the middle is the highest and largest. Over these were constructed three roofs above each other, richly decorated. Large characters painted or gilt upon the uprights and the transoms, indicated the purpose for which the pai-loo was erected. They are meant to compliment particular persons, or to perpetuate the memory of some interesting event. The Plate (No. .SI.) in the folio volume, contains a representation of such a building.
The first street extended on a line directly to the west- ward, until it was interrupted by the eastern wall of the imperial palace, called the yellow wall, from the colour of the small roof of varnished tiles with which tlie top of it is covered. Various public buildings seen at the same
118 EMBASSY TO CHINA.
Pekin. time, and considered as belonging to the Emperor, were covered in the same manner. Those roofs, uninterrupted by chimnies, and indented in the sides and ridges into gentle curves, with an effect more pleasing than would be produced by long straight lines, were adorned with a variety of figures, either in imitation of real ob- jects, or more commonly as mere works of fancy; the whole shining like gold under a brilliant sun, imme- diately caught the eye with an appearance of grandeur in that part of buildings where it was not accustomed to be sought for. Immense magazines of rice were seen near the gate. And looking from it to the left, along the city wall, was perceived an elevated edifice, described as an observatory erected, in the former dy- nasty, by the emperor Yong-loo, to whom the chief em- bellishments of Pekin are said to be owing.
In front of most of the houses in this main street were shops painted, gilt, and decorated l*l^e those of Tong- choo-foo, but in a grander style. Over some of them were broad terraces, covered with shrubs and flowers. Before the doors several lanterns were hung, of horn, muslin, silk, and paper, fixed to frames, in varying the form of which, the Chinese seemed to have exercised their fancy to the utmost. Outside the shops, as well as within them, was displayed a variety of goods for sale.
Several circumstances, independently of the arrival of strangers, contributed to throng so wide a street. A pro-
EMBASSY TO CHINA. 119
cession was moving towards the gate, in which the white Pekin. or bridal colour, according to European ideas, of the persons who formed it, seemed at first to announce a marriage ceremony ; but the appearance of young men overwhelmed with grief shewed it to be a funeral, much more indeed than the corse itself, which was con- tained in a handsome square case, shaded with a canopy, painted with gay and lively colours, and preceded by standards of variegated silks. Behind it were sedan chairs covered with white cloth, containing the female relations of the deceased ; the white colour, denoting in China the affliction of those who wear it, is sedulously avoided by such as wish to manifest sentiments of a con- trary kind : it is therefore never seen in the ceremony of nuptials (met soon afterwards), where the lady (as yet unseen by the bridegroom) is carried in a gilt and gaudy chair, hung round with festoons of artificial flowers, and followed by relations, attendants, and servants, bearing the paraphernalia, being the only portion given with a daughter, in marriage, by her parents. The crowd was not a little increased by the mandarines of rank, appear- ing always with numerous attendants ; and still more by circles of the populace round auctioneers, venders of medicines, fortune-tellers, singers, jugglers, and story- tellers, beguiling their hearers of a few of their chen, or copper money, intended probably for other purposes. Among the stories that caught,