CHAPTER XXIV. THE TAIPING REBELLION
The war, which was brought to an end by the treaty of JS anking, left the imperial government astonished and crippled, but not paralyzed or dejected. It had, moreover, the effect of arousing it from the old notions of absolutism and security; and though the actual heads of bureaus at Peking were unable, from their secluded position and imperfect education, to ascertain and appreciate the real nature of the contest, the maritime officials could see that its results were likely to be lasting and serious. A few thoughtful men among them, as Ilipu, Seu Kiyu, Iviying and his colleagues, understood better than their superiors at the capital that the advent of the ‘ Western Ocean people ‘ at the five open ports introduced a permanent influence upon the Black-haired race. They could not, of course, estimate what this influence would become, but a sense of its power and vitality had the effect of preventing them from petty opposition in carrying out the treaty stipulations. With the major part of the officials, on the other hand, life-long prejudice, joined to utter ignorance as to the numbers, position, and resources of foreign nations, led them to withdraw from even such a measure of intercourse with consular and diplomatic officials as they could easily have held. The tone of official society was opposed to having any personal relations with their foreign colleagues, and after the old Emperor Taukwang had passed off the stage in 1850, his son showed—even eight years after the peace—that promotion was incompatible with cultivating a closer acquaintance with them.
It is not surprising that this reaction took on the form of doing as little as possible, and that its stringency was increased ill reality by the device of making the governor-general at Canton the only channel of correspondence with foreign ministers.
This magnate was surrounded in that city by ^subordinates whose training had been inimical to extending intercourse with foreigners, because they had reaped the advantages of the old system in their monopoly of the trade. The intendants at the other open ports were directed to refer difficult (piestions relating to foreigners to this high functionary, but as they wero more disposed to let such disputes settle themselves, if possible, few cases were ever sent to him. The animus of the whole governing class gradually assumed a settled determination to keep aloof from those who had humbled them in the e^’es of their subjects, and yet give no handle to these potent outsiders to repeat their descent on the coast. It was a poor policy in every point of view, only serving to hasten the evils they dreaded.
SIR JOHN DAVIS AND KITING, 577
Sir John Davis was appointed governor of Hongkong in 1844, and during four years’ service so soon after the war saw much of this proud and foolish spirit. His two volumes, published in 1852 (China during the AVan and since the Peace), contain a digest of the official records and acts of the Chinese government which is highly instructive. It is remarkable that lie should show so much surprise at the mendacity, ill-will, and weakness of the officers in these reports to their master, or at the Emperor’s persistency in wreaking his wrath on those whose poltroonery had done him so much harm. A residence of nearly thirty years in the country should have developed, in his case, an intimate acquaintance with native ideas of honor and mercy, and shown him how little of either are practised in time of war.
If he blames the Chinese leaders for their ignorance and silly mistakes in its conduct, one can readily see that they never had an opportunity to learn the truth about their enemies. Their struggle against the impossible was not altogether in vain, therefore, if it prepared them for accepting the inevitable. Had Sir John manifested a little sympathy for their plight in such an unequal contest, and shown more humanity for their sufferings under the evils which afflicted them, his opinion of the best remedies would have carried much weiirht. As an instance of the result of Ills own training in the East India Company’s school, he remarks respecting the imperial edicts against opium, that they fell into disuse, and that the subject had never been revived since the war ; adding, ” But at no time was the traffic deserving the full load of infamy with which many were disposed to heap it, for at most it only supplied the poison, which the Chinese were not obliged to take. The worst effect, perhaps, was the piracy it engendered, for this has told against the honest trade.” ‘ In his first interview with Kiying, in May, 1844, he proposed that the Chinese government should legalize the opium trade, for ” such a wise and salutary measure would remove all chances of unpleasant occurrences between the two governments; it might provide an ample revenue for the Emperor, and check to the same extent the consumption of a commodity which was at present absolutely untaxed.’” He, however, brought it more directly to his notice the next year in consequence of the revival of smuggling at Whampoa to as great a degree as in 1839, and the opium vessels all left the Reach.
Kiying was entirely indisposed to move, or even aid, in this matter, which he knew would be distasteful to the Emperor, other than by a truly Chinese device—that the oflScials of both nations should let it go on by nnitual connivance. Sir John naively remarks on this : ” The only thing wanting was that the Emperor should publicly sanction what he had once publicly condemned. . . . The trade, however, was practically tolerated, and to us this made a great difference. The Chinese government was not sufficiently honest to make a public avowal of this change in its system, but the position in which Great Britain stood became materially altered. China had distinctly declined a conventional arrangement for the remedy of the evil, and expressed a desire that we should not bring the existing abuse to its notice.” ^ With two such men in command, of course nothing was ever done by either side to restrain the evils growing out of this contraband and demoralizing trade, until another war and new treaties changed the national relations.
‘ Chimi chning tits War, etc., Vol. I., p. 19.Ubid., Vol. li., p. 44.3/6j«., Vol. n., p. 303.
At Canton the long-cherished dislike to foreigners was fomented by demagogues and idlers. These worked upon the fears of the people In- telling them that their lands were to be taken to build warehouses upon ; and this rumor was so far believed that it soon became unsafe for foreigners to venture far into the suburbs. In December, 1847, not long after the arrangement with Sir John Davis respecting an entrance into Canton city was made, six Englishmen were attacked by a mob at Hwang-chuh-ki while on a ramble, and all killed, some of them with reiined cruelty. Kiying took immediate measures—extremely creditable to his sense of what he owed to justice and maintenance of peace—to pnnisli these villagers. A mimber of men whom their fellows indicated as leaders in the outrage were arrested ; the prisoners were tried at Canton by the regular courts. Four were presently decapitated in the sight of a military deputation sent from Hongkong, and two others by orders from Peking. This well-timed justice secured the safety of foreigners peaceably going about the city and environs ; but it was creditjly stated afterward that there were numerous placards already posted in that region informing the people that foreigners would perhaps be coming thither to select sites for themselves. These unfortunate Englishmen, indeed, would perhaps have been allowed to return home, if they had been able to speak to the villagers and explain their object.
DISPOSITION OF CHINESE TOWARD FOREIGNERS. ^70
This incident makes it proper to notice a common misapprehension abroad in respect to the influence of the treaties which had been signed with China upon the people themselves. It was inferred that as soon as the three treaties with England, France, and America had been ratified, the great body of educated Chinese at least would inquire and learn what were their provisions, and a natural curiosity would be manifested to know something about the peoples of those lands. Nothing could be more likely—nothing was farther from the reality, No efforts were ever made by the imperial officers at the capital or in the provinces to promulgate these national compacts, whose original and ratified copies were never even transmitted to Peking. Consequently, the existence and nature of these Iiaoo yoh, or ‘peace contracts,’ had to be continually taught to the natives, who on their part did not usually feel themselves under much obligation to obey them. In China, as elsewhere, just laws never execute themselves, and it is hardly surprising that not an officer of the Emperor should go out of his way to enforce their distasteful stipulations.
It was therefore uphill work to see that the treaties did not become a dead letter, and all the hardest part of this labor fell to the lot of the British consuls. They alone stood forth among foreign officials as invested with some power of their own ; and being generally able to use the Chinese language, they came into personal relations with the local officers, and thus began the only effectual mode through which the treaties could become agencies for breaking down the hoary wall of prejudice, ignorance, and contempt which had so long kept China out of the pale of progress. In doing this, no fixed course could be laid down ; though the constant tendency of the consuls was to encroach on the power of the mandarins, these latter were generally able to recur to the treaties, and thus learn the necessity and benefits of adherence to them. Their education was a colossal undertaking, and considering the enormous difficulties, its progress has been as rapid as was consistent with the welfare of themselves or their subjects. In this progress they bear the greatest share of the burden ; its responsibilities and costs, its risks and results, almost wholly come upon them, while foreign nations, with the immense undefined rights of exterritoriality on their side, are interested on-lookers, ready to take advantage of every fauxpas to compel them to conform to their interpretation of the treaties. Very little consideration is given to their ignorance of international law, to their full belief in the power of China, or to their consequent disinclination to accept the new order of things so suddenly forced on them. On the other hand, no one who knows all the features of this period will withhold the praise due to the British authorities in China for their conduct in relations with its functionaries ; it might fairly be added that the improved state of international intercourse is mostly due to them.
The condition of the Empire at the close of the war was most discouraging to its rulers, who had not dreamed of receiving so crushing a defeat. It is creditable to them that they honorably paid up the $21,000,000 exacted of them by the British, who of course restored Chusan at the stipulated time.
The name of II. Montgomery Martin, tlien treasurer of Hongkong colony, must be awarded due mention as being the only Queen’s official who endeavored to resist its surrender, on the plea of its great benefit to her eastern empire and influence.
Sir John Davis speaks of the “political and military considerations” which gave importance to it ; but the proposal of Mr. Martin was promptly rejected by his superiors, and the whole archipelago has since been neglected. At the four northern ports opened by treaty, with the exception of Fuhchau, trade began without difficulty. This city having entirely escaped the ravages of the war, its proud gentry influenced the citizens against foreigners and their trade ; the first European residents there met with some ill-usage, but this bitter feeling gradually wore off as the parties became better known.
At Canton the case was aggravated by the prejudices of race and the turbulence of the unemployed braves who had flocked into it on the invitation and inducements of Commissioner Lin to enlist against the English. They had been disbanded by Kiying, but had not returned to their homes ; their lawlessness increased till it threatened the supremacy of the provincial government, and required the strongest measures of repression.
The disorders spread rather than diminished under an impoverished
treasury and ill-paid soldiery, and prepared the way for
the rebellion which during the next twenty years tasked the utmost
resources’ of the nation. The ignorance of one part of its
people of what was taking place in another province—which
during the foreign war so greatly crippled the Emperor’s efforts
to interest his subjects in this struggle—hete did much to preserve them from unitino; against him to his overthrow. It was
plain to every candid observer that however weak, unprincipled,
and tyrannical the Manchu rulers might be, they were as efficient
sovereigns as the people could produce, and no substituted sway
could possibly’ elevate and purify them until higher principles of
social and political life had been adopted by the nation at large.
CAUSES OF THE TAI-PIXG IXSURRECTIOIS”. 58T
The protracted convulsion, known abroad as the Tai-ping Rebellion, owed much of its duration as well to the exposure of the government’s internal rottenness as to its weakness against foreign nations ; hut many other causes were at work. The body of the Chinese people are well aware that their rulers are no better than themselves in morals, honesty, or patriotism ; but they are all ready to ascribe the evils they suffer from robbers, taxation, exactions, and unjust sentences to those in authority.
The rulers are conscious that their countrymen consider it honorable
to evade taxes, defy the police when they can safely do so,
and oppose rather than aid in the maintenance of law and order.
There is no basis of what in Christian lands is regarded as the
foundation of social order and just government—the power of
conscience and amenableness to law ; nevertheless, from the
habits of obedience taught in the family and in the schoolroom,
the people have attained a good degree of security for themselves
and show much regard to just rulers. The most serious
evils and sufferings in Chinese society are caused by its disorderly
members, not its rapacious rulers ; and both can only be
removed and reformed by the reception of a higher code which
raises the standard of action from expediency to obligation.
In giving an account of the rise and overthrow of the Tai-pin Rebellion, it will be necessary to limit the narrative to the most important religious, political, and military events connected with it up to its suppression in ISGT. The phrase ” Tai-ping Rebellion ” is wholly of foreign manufacture ; at Peking and everywhere among those loyal to the government the insurgents were styled Changmaozei or ‘Long-haired rebels,’ while on their side, by a whimsical resemblance to English slang, the imperialists were dubbed imj)s. When the chiefs assumed to be aiming at independence in 1850, in order to identify their followers with their cause they took the term Ping Chao, or ‘Peace Dynasty,’ as the style of their sway, to distinguish it from the Qing Chao, or ‘ Pure Dynasty,’ of the Manchus. Each of them prefixed the adjective Da (or Tai, in Cantonese), ‘ Great,’ as is the Chinese custom with regard to dynasties and nations ; thus the name Tai-ping became known to foreigners. The leader took the style Tien-teh^ or ‘Heavenly Virtue,’ for his reign, thereby indicating his aim in seeking the throne, his own personal name, Hong Xiuquan, was regarded as too sacred to be used by his followers. The banners and edicts used at Nanjing and in his army bore the inscription, Tian-fu, Tian-xiong, Tian-wang Tai-ping Tian-guo, or ‘ Heavenly Father, Heavenly Elder Brother, Heavenly King of the Great Peace [Dynasty] of the Heavenly Kingdom ‘ (i.e., China).
The incidents of this man’s early life and education were ascertained in 1854, from his relative Hung Jin, by the Rev. Theodore Hamberg, whose narrative’ bears the marks of a trustworthy recital. Hung Siu-tsuen was the youngest son of Hung Jang, a well-to-do farmer living in Plwa hien, a district situated on the North Eiver, about thirty miles from Canton city, in a small village of which he was the headman. The family was from Kiaying prefecture, on the borders of Kiangsi, and the whole village was regarded as belonging to the Hakkas, or Squatters, and had little intercourse with the Pun-tis, or Indigenes, on that account. Siu-tsuen was born in 1813, and at the usual age of seven entered school, where he showed remarkable aptitude for study. His family being too poor to spare his services long, he had to struggle and deny himself, as many a poor aspirant for fame in all lands has done, in order to fit himself to enter the regular examinations. In 1826 his name appeared on the list of candidates in Hwa hien, but Hung Jin says : ” Though his name was always among the first upon the board at the district examinations, yet he never succeeded in attaining the degree of Siu-tsai.” In 1833 he was at Canton at the triennial examination, when he met with the native evangelist Liang A-fah, who was distributing and selling a number of his own writings near the Kung yuen to the candidates as they went in and out of the hall. Attracted by the venerable aspect of this man, he accepted a set of his tracts called Quan Shi Liang Yan, or ‘ Good Words to Exhort the Age.’ He took them home with him, but threw them aside when he found that they advocated Christianity, then a proscribed doctrine.
‘ Visions of Hun(j Siu-tshuen and Orifjin. oftlie Kwang-si Insurrectioii, Hongkong, 1854. Mr. W. Sargent in the North American Review for July, 1854,Vol. LXXIX., p. 158.
THE LIFE OF HONG XIU-QUAN 583
In 1837 he was again in the provincial tripos, where his repeated disappointment and discontent aggravated an illness that seized him. On reaching his home he took to his bed and prepared for death, having had several visions foretokening his decease, he called his parents to his bedside and thus addressed them: “My days are counted and my life will soon be closed. O my parents ! how badly have I returned the favor of your love to me ; I shall never attain a name that shall reflect lustre on you.”
After uttering these words he shut his eyes and lost all strength and command over his body, and became unconscious of what was going on around him. His outward senses were inactive, his body appeared as dead, but his soul was acted upon by a peculiar eneigy, seeing and remembering things of a very extraordinary nature.
At first, when his eyes were closed he saw a dragon, a tiger,
and a cock enter the room ; a great number of men placing
upon instruments then approached, bearing a beautiful sedanchair
in which they invited him to be seated. Kot knowing
wdiat to make of this honor, he was carried away to a luminous
and beautiful place wherein a multitude of fine men and women
saluted him on arrival with expressions of joy. On leaving the
sedan an old woman took him down to a river, saying : ” Thou
dirty man, why hast thou kept company with yonder people and
defiled thyself ? I must now wash thee clean.” After the
washing was over he entered a large building in company with
a crowd of old and virtuous men, some of whom were the ancient
sages. Here they opened his body, took out the heart and other
organs, and replaced them by new ones of a red color ; this
done, the wound closed without leaving a scar. The whole
assembly then went on to another larger hall, whose splendor
was beyond description, in which an aged man, with a golden
beard and dressed in black robes, sat on the liighest place. Seeing
Siu-tsuen, he began to shed tears and said : ” All human
beings in the world are produced and sustained by me ; they eat
my food and wear my clothing, but not one among them has a
heart to remember and venerate me ; what is worse, they take
my gifts and therewith worship demons ; they purposely rebel
against me and arouse my anger. Do thou not imitate them.”
Hereupon he gave him a sword to destroy the demons, a seal to overcome the evil spirits, and a sweet yellow fruit to eat. Sintsueii
received them, and straightway began to exhort his venerable
companions to perform their duties to their master. After
doing so even to tears, the high personage led him to a spot
whence he could behold the world below, and discern theliorrible
depravity and vice of its inhabitants. The sight was too awful to
be endured, and words were inadequate to describe it. So he
awoke from his trance, and had vigor enough to rise and dress
himself and go to his father. Making a bow, Siu-tsuen said : “The venerable old man above has commanded that all men shall turn to me, and that all treasures shall ilow to me.” This sickness continued about forty days, and the visions were multiplied.
]Ie often met with a man in them whom he called his elder brother, who instructed him how to act and assisted him in going after and killing evil spirits. lie became more and more possessed with the idea, as his health returned, that he had been commissioned to be Emperor of China ; and one day his father found a slip on which was written ” The Heavenly King of Great Heason, the Sovereign King Tsuen.”” As time wore on, this lofty idea seems to have more and more developed his mind to a soberness and purity which overawed and attracted him. ]S’othing is said about his utterances while the war with England was progressing, but he must have known its progress and results. His cataleptic fits and visions seem not to have returned, and he pursued his avocation as a school teacher until about 1843, having meanwhile failed in another trial to obtain his degree at Canton. In that year his wife’s brother asked to take away the nine tracts of Liang A-fah to see what they contained ; when he returned them to Siu-tsuen he urged him to road them too.
HIS HKLIEF IN HIS DIVINE CALLING. 585
They consisted of sixty-eight short chapters upon common topics, selected from the Bible, and not exactly fitted to give him, in his excited state and total ignorance of western books and religion, a fair notion of Christianity. As he read them he saw, as he thought, the true meaning of his visions. The venerable old man was no other than God the Father, and his guide was Jesus Christ, who had assisted him in slaying the demons. “These books are certainly sent purposely by heaven to me to confirm the truth of my former experience. If I had received them without having gone through the sickness, I should not have dared to believe in them, and by myself to oppose the customs of the whole world. If I had merely been sick, but not also received the books, I should have had no further evidence as to the truth of my visions, which might also have been considered as mere products of a diseased imagination.”
This sounds reasonable, and commends itself as wholly unlike the ravings of a madnuin. Nevertheless, while it would be unwise for us to closely criticise this narrative in its details, and assert that Siu-tsuen’s pretensions were all hypocritical, we must bear in mind the fact that he had certaiidy, neither at this time nor ever afterward, a clear conception of the true nature of Christianity, judging from his writings and edicts.
The nature of sin, and the dominion of God’s law upon the sinner ; the need of atonement from the stain and effects of sin ; Christ’s mediatorial sacrifice ; were subjects on which he could not possibly have received full instruction from these fragmentary essays. In after days his conviction of his own divine calling to rule over China, seems to have blinded his understanding to the spiritual nature of the Christian church.
His individual penchant was insufficient to resist or mould the
subordinates who accepted his mission for their own ends. But
lie was not a tool in their hands at any time, and his personal
influence permeated the ignorant mass of reckless men around
him to an extraordinary degree, while his skill in turning some
of the doctrines and requirements of the Bible as the ground
and proofs of his own authority indicated original genius, since
the results were far beyond the reach of a cunning impostor.
From first to last, beginning with poverty, obscurity, and weakness in II wa, continuing with distinction, power, and royalty at Nanking and throughout its five adjacent provinces, and ending with defeat, desertion, and death in his own palace, Hung never wavered or abated one jot of his claim to supreme rule on earth. When his end was reported at Peking in August, 1864, thirty-one years after his receiving Liang A-falTs tracts, the imperial rescript sadly said : ” Words cannot convey any idea of the misery and dedolation lio caused ; the measure of his iniquity was full, and the wrath of both gods and men was roused against him.”
N^ A career so full of exceptional interest and notable incidents
cannot, of course, be minutely described in this sketch. xVfter
Hung’s examination of the tracts which had lain unnoticed in
his hands for ten years, followed by his conviction of the real
meaning of his visions in 1837, he began to proclaim his mission
and exhort those around him to accept Christianity. Hung
Jin (who furnished Mr. llamberg with his statements) and a
fellow-student, Fung Vun-shan, were his first converts; they
agreed to put away all idols and the Confucian tablet out of
their schools, and then baptized or washed themselves in a
brook near by, as a sign of their purification and faith in Jesus.
As they had no portion of the Sacred Scriptures to guide them,
they were at a loss to understand many things spoken of by
Liang A-fah, but his expositions of the events and doctrines
occurring in them were deeply pondered and accepted. The
Mosaic account of creation and the flood, destruction of Sodom,
sermon on the Mount, and nature of the final judgment, were
given in them, as well as a full relation of Christ’s life and
death ; and these prepared the neophytes to receive the Bible
M’hen they got it. Jhit the same desire to find proof of his
own calling led Siu-tsuen to fix on fanciful renderings of certain
texts, and, after the maimer of commentators in other lands,
to extract meanings never intended. A favorite conceit, among
others, was to assume that wherever the character tsaen, ^,
meaning ‘ whole,’ ‘ altogether,’ occurred in a verse, it meant
himself, and as it forms a part of the Chinese phrase for al-
Qiilghtij, he thus had strong reasons (as he thought) for his
course. The phrase Tien kwoh, denoting the ‘ Kingdom of
Heaven ‘ in (Jhrisfs preaching, they applied to China, With
such preconceived views it is not w^onderful that the brethren
were all able to fortify themselves in their opinions by the
strongest arguments. All those discourses in the series relating
to repentance, faith, and man’s depravity were apparently
entirely overlooked by them.
HIS C0:N VERSION AM) EARLY ADHERENTS. 587
The strange notions, unaffected earnestness, moral conduct, and new ideas about God and happiness of these men soon began to attract people to them, some to dispute and cavil, others to accept and worship with them. Their scholars, one and all, deserted
them as soon as the Confucian tablet was removed from
the schoolroom, and they were left penniless and unemployed,
sometimes subjected to beatings and obloc^uy for embracing an
outlandish religion, and other times ridiculed for forsaking their
ancestral halls. The nundjer of their adherents was too few to
detain them at home, and in May, 1844, Siu-tsuen, Yun-shan,
and two associates resolved to visit a distant relative who lived
near the MiaoZu in Kwangsi, and get their living along the road by peddling ink-stones and pencils. They reached the adjoining district, Tsingj’uen, where they preached two months and baptized several persons ; some time after Hung Jin took a school there, and remained several years, baptizing over fifty converts. Siu-tsuen and Yun-shan came to the confines of the Miaotsz’ in Sinchau fu in three months, preaching the existence
of the true God and of redemption by his Son, and after many
vicissitudes reached their relative’s house in Kwei hien among
the mountains. Here they tarried all summer, and their earnest
zeal in spreading the doctrines which they evidently had found
so cheering to their own hearts, arrested the attention of these
I’ude mountaineers, and many of them professed their faith in
Christ. Siu-tsuen returned home in the winter, and was disappointed
in not finding his colleague Yun-shan there as well as the other two, nor could he give any account of his course.
It appeared afterward that Yun-shan had met some acquaintances on his road, and became so much interested in preaching to them at Thistle-mount that he remained there two years, teaching school and gathering churches.
Siu-tsuen continued to teach and preach the truth as he had
learned it from the books in his hands. In 1846 he heard of I.
J. Roberts, the American missionary, living at Canton, and the
next spring received an invitation to come there and study. He
and Hung Jin did so ; the former remained with Mr. Roberts about two months, giving him a narrative of his own visions, conversion, and preaching, at the same time learning the nature and extent of foreign mission work in that city. He made a visit home with two native Christians, who had been sent to llwa to learn more about him. They seem to have obtained good reports of his character; but others in Mr. Roberts’ employ were afraid of his influence if he should enter their church, and therefore intrigued to have him refused admission just then.
IMr. Tl(A)erts appears to have acted discreetly according to the
light he had respecting the applicant’s integrity, and would no
doubt have baptized him had not the latter soon after left
Canton, where he had no means of support. At this time
the i^olitical distui-bances in Kwangtung seem to have greatly
influenced Siu-tsuen’s course, and Mhen he reached home he
made a second visit to his relative, and thence went to Thistlemoimt
to rejoin Fung Ynn-shan. Hung Jin states that before
this date he had expressed disloyal sentiments against the Manchus,
but these are so common among the Cantonese that they
attracted no notice. On secini; Yun-shan and meeting the two
thousand converts he luid gathered, it is pretty certain that
hopes of a successful resistance must have revived in his breast.
A woman among them also began to relate some visions she had seen ten years before, foretelling the advent of a man who should teach them how to worship God. The number of converts rapidly increased in three prefectures adjacent to the liivcr ^ uh ill the eastern part of Kwangsi, and no serious hindrance was met with from the officials, though there were not wanting enemies, by one of whom Yun shan was accused and then thrown into prison. However, the prefect and district magistrate to whom the case was referred, fiiuling no sutlicient cause for punishment, liberated him; though the new sectaries had made themselves somewhat obnoxious to the idolaters by their iconoclasm —so hard is it to learn patience and toleration in any country. In very many villages in that region the ^-^Shaiigti hwui^ or ‘ Associations for worshipping God,’ began to be recognized, but they do not seem to have quoted the toleration edict obtained in 1844 in favor of Christianity, as that only spoke of the Tun-ehu kiao, or Catholics. The worship of Shangdi is a peculiar function of the Emperor, as has been already explained ; and it is not surprising to 1)C told by Hung Jin that tlic new sect was reiiarded as ti’casonable.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SIIANGTI IIWUI. ^89
111 1848 Sill tsueii’s father died trusting in the new faith and
directing that no Buddhist services be lield at his funeral ; the
whole family had l)y this time become its followers, and when
the son and Yun-shan met them soon after, they began to discuss
their future. The believers in Kwangsi were left to take
care of themselves during the whole winter, and appear to liavo
gone on witli their usual meetings without hindranceo In June,
1849, the two leaders left Uwa for Kwangsi, assisted by tlio
faitliful, and found much to encourage them in their secret
plans in the general unit}’ which pervaded the association.
Some members had been favored with visions, others had become exhorters, denouncing those who behaved contrary to the doctrines; others essayed to cure diseases. Siu-tsuen was immediately acknowledged by all as their leader; he set himself to introduce and maintain a rigid discipline, forbade the use of opium and spirits, introduced the observance of the Sabbath, and regulated the worship of God. No hint of calling in the aid of a foreign teacher to direct them in their new services appears to have been suggested by any member, nor even of sending to Canton to engage the services of a native convert, though Liang A-fah was still living then. The whole year was thus passed at Thistle-mount, and the nucleus of the future force thoroughly imbued with the ideas of their leader, who had, by June, 1850, gathered around him his own relatives and chosen his lieutenants.’
‘ The insurgents cut off the tail, allowed their hair to grow, and decided that all who joined the insurrectional movement should leave off the chinig and the Tartar tunic, and should wear the robe open in the front, which their ancestors had worn in the time of the Mings. —Callerv and Yvan, llixiory of the Jimarycctiou in China, translated by John Oxeuford, p. 61. London, 1853.
The existence of such a large body of people, acting together under the orders of one man, whose aspirations and teachings had gradually filled their minds with new ideas, could not remain unnoticed by the authorities. The governor-general lived at Canton, and received his information through local magistrates and prefects, whose policy was rather to understate the truth. But Sii Kwang-tsin felt that he was not fitted for the coming struggle. His place was therefore filled by the appointment of Lin, then living in Fuhchau, who started to fulfil his new ehai’ge, but died in October, as he entered the province.
Governor Sii Avas obliged to leave Canton on duty, but he never
met the enemy nor returned to his post. The po})ulac’e of the
city made themselves merry over his violent conduct toward a
poor paper-image maker near the landing, who had just set out
to di-y some effigies dressed in high ofiicial costume, each one
lacking a head. Su chose to regard this proceeding as an intentional
insult, as the artisan must have known that he was to
pass by that way, and ordered him to be bambooed and his ettigies
destroyed to neutralize the bad omen. The Peking government
had just sent three Manchus to superintend operations in
Kwangsi ; their predecessors, Li and Chau, with the provincial
governor, Clung, were all degraded, but these new imperial
officials did no better, nor did those on the spot expect that
they would succeed. Tahungah was the ruffian who had executed
one hundred and eighty British prisoners in Formosa
nine years before ; and Saishangah was the prime minister of
the young Emperor llienfung, as worthless as he was depraved.
Cruntai, who had long been in command of the Manchu garrison
at Canton, was also sent, in May, 1851, to check the growing
power of the insurgents. They were well posted in Wusiuen
hien, near the junction of two rivers, and this chieftain
naively expresses his surprise in his report to the Emperor that
the rebels should occupy an important })Ost which he had just
decided to fortify. However, his official rei)oit ‘ explains the
reasons for the imperial reverses better than anything wliich
had hitherto appeared. Corruption, venality, idleness, opiumsmoking,
and peculation had made the whole army a mass of
rottenness ; no one can wonder that the Tai-pings marched
without dan<»;er throufrh the land to their ij-oal at Xankiuii;.
A year previous to this date, however, the conflict had been
begun by the followers of Siu-tsuen. In tlieir zeal against idolatry
they had destroyed tem])les and irritated the people, which
ei-e long aroused a S])irit of distrust and emnity ; this was further
increased by the long-standing feud and mutual hatred
* Chinese Reposikn’y, Vol. XX. , p. 493.
COMMENCEMENT OF THE IJEVOLT. 591
between the j>un-iis and h<(kk-as (natives and squatters) wlileh
j-an through society. 8iu-tsuen and his chiefs were mostly of
the latter class, and whenever villages were attacked and the
hakkas worsted, they moved over to Thistle-mount and professed
to worship Shangti with Siu-tsuen. In this way the
whole population had become more or less split up into parties.
When a body of imperial soldiers sent to artest him and Yunshan
were driven off, they availed themselves of the enthusiasm
of their followers to gather them and occupy Lienchu, a lai-ge
market-town in Kwei hien. This proceeding attracted to their
banner all the needy and discontented spirits in that region, but
their own partisans were now able to regulate and employ all
who came, requiring a close adherence to their religious tenets
and worship. This town of Lienchu w^s soon fortified, and the
order of a camp began to appear among its possessors, wdio, however, spared the townspeople. The drilling of the force, now increased to many thousands, commenced ; its vitality was soon tested when it was deemed best to cross the river and advance on Taitsun in order to obtain more room. The imperialists were hoodwinked by a simple device, and when they found their enemy had marched off, their attack on the rear was repulsed
with much loss. Like all their class, they turned their
wrath on the peaceful inhabitants of Lienchu, killing and burning
till almost nothing was left. This needless cruelty recoiled
on themselves, and all the members of the Shangti /iwui, loyal
and disaffected alike, felt that their very name carried sedition
in it, and they must join Siu-tsuen’s standard or give up their
faith. lie had induced some recent comers belonging to the
Triad Society to put their money into the military chest and
to submit to his rules. One of his religious teachers had been
detected embezzling the funds while on their way to the commissariat, but the public trial and execution of the man had
served both as a warning and an encouragement to the different
classes who witnessed the affair. Most of the Triad chiefs, however,
were afraid of such discipline, and drew off to the imperialists
with the greater number of their followers. The defection
furnished Siu-tsuen an opportunity to make known his settled
opposition to this fraternity, and that every man joining his party must leave it. At this time the discipline and good order exhibited in the eneaiiipment at Taitsiin nnist have struck the people around it with surprise and admiration, if the meagre accounts we have received are at all trustworthy.
About one jeai- elapsed between the contiict near Lienchu
and the capture of Yung-ngaii chau, u city on the liiver j\Iei in
Pingloh pi’efecture. During this period Siu-tsuen had become
more and more possessed with the idea of liis divine mission
from the Tieti-fu, or ‘ Heavenly Father,’ as God was now
connnonly called, and the Tien-Jiiung, or ‘ Ileaveidy Elder
Brother,’ as he termed Jesus Christ. He began to seclude
himself from the gaze of his followers, and deliver to them
such revelations as he received for the management of the force
committed to him to clear the land of all idolatry and 0})pression,
and cheer the hearts of those pledged to the gloiious
cause. This course was destructive of all those peculiar tenets
which Christianity teaches, and, so far as can be learned, neither
lie nor Yun-shan any longer prominently set forth the doctrines
of salvation by repentance and faith in Christ, as they had done
in their first journey among the INIiaotsz’, but held their followers
together by fanaticism and the hope of final triumph. In
its main features, his course was copied from that of IMoses and
Aaron when they withdrew into the tal)ernacle, and it was
easy to impress upon his ujiinstructed followers the repetition
in his person of the same mode of making known the will of
Heaven. An adequate reason can also be found in this scheme
why he never called in the aid of foreign missionaries to teach
his followers the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, knowing full
well that none of them w^onld lend any conntenance to such delusion.
As early as April, 1849, when still in Kwei hien, he began to promulge his decrees in the form of revelations received from the Heavenly Father and Elder Brother, when one or the other came down into the world to tell him what course lie should pursue. In March, 1853, just before capturing Nanking, he issued a book of ” Celestial Decrees,” containing a series of these revelations, from which the I’eal nature of his character can be learned. Two extracts will be sufficient to
(piote:
CHAKACTEU OF THE TIEN-WANd’s ATJTHOKITY. 593
The Heavenly Father addressed the multitude, saying, O my children ! Do
you know your Heavenly Father and your Celestial Elder Brother ? To which
they all replied, We know our Heavenly Father and Celestial Elder Brother.
The Heavenly Father then said, Do you know your Lord, and truly ‘i To
which they all replied, We know our Lord right well. The Heavenly Father
said, I have sent your Lord down into the world to l)ecome the Celestial King
(Tkn-icniuj) ; every word lie litters is a celestial command ; you must be obedient
; you must truly assist your Lord and regard your King ; you must not
dare to act disorderly, nor to be disrespectful. If you do not regard your Lord and King, every one of you will be involved in difficulty.’
It is only from these official documents that we can learn the real political and religions tenets of the revolutionists now intrenched at Yung-ngan, and soon to burst forth in fury upon their country. It was in vain to expect gospel ligs from such a bramble bush.
Another extract exhibits their jugglery still more clearly. It is dated December 1), 1S51, and contains the proceedings and sentence in the case of Chan Sih-nang, mIio had been detected holdins intercourse with General Saishan^ah at Taitsun. Four of the kings were that day consulting upon some weighty matters, when suddenly the Heavenly Father came down among them and secretly told them to instantly arrest Chan and two others and bring them to Yang, the Eastern King, while he returned to heaven. They did so, and reported the matter to the Tian Wang, but none of them had any evidence to proceed upon.
” Happily, how^ever, the Heavenly Father gave himself the
trouble to appear once more,” and ordered two of the royal cousins
to go and inform the several princes of his presence. They
all attended at court and entreated the Ileavenlv Kino; to
accompany them. Hereupon, his Majesty, guarded by the
princes and body-guards, together with a host of officials, advanced
into the presence of the Heavenly Father. They all
kneeled down and asked, ” Is the Heavenly Father come down ?
‘
He replied, addressing the Tien-wang, ” Siu-tsuen, I am going
to take this matter in hand to-day ; a mere mortal would find
it a hard task. One Chan has been holdins; collusive commu-
‘ This decree bears the date April 19, 1851, at Tung-hiang, a village nea<
Wusiuen.
iiication with the enemy yesterday, and has returned to court,
intending to carry into effect a very serious revolt. Go and
bring him liere.” The culprit soon came, and the examination
is reported in full. In answer to tlie question, ” Who is it that
is now speaking to you ? ” he replied, ” The Heavenly Father,
the Supreme Lord and Great God (Shangti) is addressing me.”
He said soon after, ” I am aware that the Heavenly Father is
omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent/’ By a series of
questions his guilt was proved, and he and his accomplices, with
his wife and son, were all put to death as a warning to traitors,
in presence of a large concourse, to whom they confessed the
justice of their fate.
When in possession of Nanking, Hung Siu-tsuen was formally
proclaimed by his army to be Emperor of China, and assumed
the style and insignia of royalty. Five leading chiefs were
appointed to their several corps as South, East, West, North,
and Assistant Kings ; Fung Yun-shan w’as the Southern King.
Who among them were the efficient disciplinarians and leading
minds in carrying on their plan cannot be now ascertained, so
complete was the secrecy which enveloped the whole movement
from first to last as to the personnel of the force. Dr. Medhurst’s
translations of their orders, tenets, laws, revelations, and textbooks
furnish the most authentic sources for estimating its
character, but they fail to describe its living agents. In so
large an army, composed of the most heterogeneous elements,
it cannot be expected that there would be at any time nnicli
knowledge of the sacred Scriptures, on which its leaders based
their assumed powers derived from the ‘ Heavenly Father and
Elder Brother ;
‘ but there certainly was a remarkable degree
of sobriety and discipline among them during the first few
years of their existence. A most perplexing question, which
increased in its urgency and difficulty as soon as opposition
drove the rebel general to intrench himself at Liencliu, was
temporarily arranged by forming a separate cMcaiu])inent for
the women, and placing over them officers of their own sex to
see that discipline was maintained. In doing this he allowed
the married people as great facilities for the care of their children
as was possible under the conditions of army life; but
THE REBEL ADVANCE TO THE YANGTSZ\ 505
diiriu*^ their progress through the land in 1852 and 1853, much
suffering must have been endured.
In 1852 the state and size of the army in Yung-ngan fully
authorized the leaders of the I’evolt to march northward. Several
engagements had given their men confidence in each other
as thev saw the imperialists put to flight ; defeats had furthermore
shown that their persevering enemy entertained no idea
of sparing even one of them if captured. The want of provisions
durino- their fiv^e months’ sieo;e within its walls further
trained them to a certain degree of patient endurance ; when,
therefore, they broke through the besieging force in three divisions
on the night of April T, 1852, they were animated by
success and hope to possess themselves of the Empire. Marching
north they now attacked Kweilin, the provincial capital,
May 15tli, but having no cannon fit to besiege a walled city of
that size, crossed the border and captured Tau in Hunan, which
gave them access to the Iliver Siang and means of transportation.
Their course was thenceforth an easy conquest of the
towns along its valley. Kweiyang chau, Chin chau, Tunghing,
ISTganjin, and others were taken and evacuated, one after the
other, until they reached the capital of this province, September
18th. Chano-sha and Siangtan together form one immense city,
and its defenders fully understood their peril, and the probability
of entire destruction if they allowed it to be captured.
For eighty days the Tai-pings exerted themselves in vain to
obtain possession, losing, however, very few men, and doing no
great harm to their enemy, who kept beyond reach. December
1st they raised the siege, and by the 13tli reached Yohchau on
the Yangtsz ‘, which was taken without a struggle. Ten days
after, replenished and encouraged by the spoil found in Yohchau,
they occupied Hanyang and Wuchang, the capital of
Ilupeli province, lying on the other side of the river. Its garrison
was unable to escape, and many eoldiers were destroyed.
Hwangchau and Kiukiang, two prefect cities lower down, were
captured January 12th and February 18th, while Nganking,
the capital of i^ganhwui, fell a week later. Nothing seemed
able to resist the advance of the insurgents, and on March
8th they encamped before Nanking. It was garrisoned by Mancbus and Chinese, who, however, made no better defence than their comrades in other cities ; in ten days its walls were breached, and all the defenders found iii>i(lc put to death, including Luh, the governor-general of the province. Chiidciang and Yangchau soon were dragged to the same fate, thus depriving the imperialists of their control of the (irand Canal.
This I’apid progress through the land since leaving Yung-ngan eleven months previously had spread consternation among the demoralized officers and soldiers of the Emperor, mIio, on his part, Avas as weak and ignorant as any of his subordinates.
The march of the insurgents showed the ntter hollowness of the imperial troops, the incapacity of their most trusted leaders, and the little interest taken by the great body of the nation in the conflict. Many causes which might adequately c.\}»lain this extraordinary success cannot now be ascertained, but a national dislike of the Mancbus on the part of the Chinese lay at the bottom of their coldness. They felt, too, that a government wdiich could not protect them against a few thousand foreign troops might as well give place to a native one. The insurgents had perhaps not more than ten thousand adherents, including women and children, when they left Yung-ngan ;’but these went forth in the full conviction of the heavenly commission of their leader to destroy idolatry, set up the worship of the true God, and inaugurate the kingdom of heaven hi the person of the “Heavenly King.”‘ The term SJuDujti was known by every schoolboy to be the name of the God worshipped at Peking by the Emperor in his right as Son of Heaven, and the successor of the ancient sovereigns mentioned in the Ska King ,’ accordingly, when the insurgents set up the worship of the true God as they had been able to learn it from Gutzlaff’s revised version of the Bible, their countrymen immediately recognized the challenge. It was an attack on the religious as well as political position of Taukwang; whoever maintained his side in the gage of battle, with him were undoubtedly the powers above. The progress of the new banner from Yuiig-ngan to banking was like that of a fiery cross, and the sufferings of the people, except in a few large cities, were really more owing to the savage itnperialists than to the Taipings.
‘ Though one of their officers told Mr. Meadows, at Nanking, that the force was about three thousand.
SOUIICKS OI- rilKHl STKENGTir. 597
The latter grew in strength as they advanced, owing to indiscriminate slaughter on the part of their enemies of unoffending natives, and at last reached their goal with not much less than eighty thousand men.
Their position was now accessible to foreigners—who had
been watching their rise and progress under great disadvantages
in arriving at the truth—and they were soon visited by them
in steamers. The first to do so was Governor Bonham in
II. M. S. Ilermes, accompanied by T. T. Meadows, one of the
most competent linguists in China, who published the result of
liis inquii-ies. The visitors were at first received with incredidity,
but this soon gave way to eager curiosity to learn the real
nature of their religious views and practices. The insurgents
themselves were even inore ignorant of foreigners than were
these of the rebels, so that the interest could not fail to be reciprocal,
nor could either party desire to come into collision with the other.
About two months after the cities of Nanjing, Chinkiang, and Yangzhou had been taken, garrisoned, and put in a state of defence by their inhabitants, working under the direction of Tai-ping officers, the leaders felt so much confidence in their cause, their troops, and their ability, that they despatched a division to capture Peking. Xo particulars of its size or composition are given, but its course and achievements are recorded in the Peking Gazette. The force landed not far from Kwacliau, where it defeated a body of Manchus, and then proceeded to Liuho and Fungyang fu without finding serious opposition.
Crossing the province of Xganhwui, they entered that of Honan, and in one month from landing the troops laid siege to Kaifeng, the provincial capital, June 19th. Three days later they were repulsed, and their leaders crossed the Yellow River to Hwaiking fu, about a hundred miles west of Kaifung. For two months they were baffled by an unusual resistance on the part of the imperialists, and were compelled to leave it and go west into Shansi, where they took Pingyang fu and flanked the enemy by turning east and north-east till they crossed the Liiuniing pass and got into Chihli. It was their design to have gone down the River “Wei to Lintsing chau on the Grand Canal, but they were compelled to make a detour of some hundreds of miles to reacli this last place. In doing so they ascended the steep defiles leading from the basin of the Yellow River to the plateau in South Shansi. This march was accomplished in the month of September, and on October9th the prefect city of Shinchau in Chihlf, only two hundred
miles from Peking, was taken. Their army remained at Shinchau
for a fortnight, when they marched across the plain northeasterly
to Tsinghai hien, on the Grand Canal. Here they
intrenched themselves on October 2Sth, but twenty miles south
of Tientsin. A detachment sent to attack that city was repulsed,
and the whole body were blockaded on Xovember 3d by
the Manchu force, wliicli had followed it from Ilwaiking, and
other corps ordered from the north to intercept its progress
toward the capital. In six months this insurgent force had
traversed four provinces, taken twenty-six cities, subsisted themselves
on the enemy, and defeated every body of impei’ialists
sent against thenio The men who performed this remarkable
march of fully one thousand five hundred miles in the face of
such odds, would have accomplished even greater deeds under
better training. Considering all things, it is quite equal to
General Sherman’s march to the sea in 1861: ; yet so little is
known of the details of this feat, that we are not even cei’tain
of its leader’s name—whether Lin Fung-tsiang, spoken of by
the Gazette as a ‘ Pretended Minister,’ or some other general,
was in command.
. It is rather hard to understand why the Tai-pings intrenched
themselves so near to Tientsin, but the officials of that city, in
1858, ascribed it to the fact that water covered the plain, preventing
all operations against the town. Perhaps their want
of siege guns, and the cavalry now brought from Mongolia, decided
the leaders to intrench themselves at Tsinghai and send
to Nanking for reinforcements. The Tai-ping Wang immediately
despatched an auxiliary force, which also crossed Kganliwui
to Funghien on the north bank of the Yellow lliver ; this
THE EXPEDITION AGAINST PEKING. 599
place was captured March IT, 1854, “after taking city after
city,” as the Emperor llieiifung expressed it. The ice was gone
when the army reached Liiitsiiig cliau, April 12th, and that
city was taken by a tierce assault against the combined resistance
of its garrison and the imperialists outside, after the insur’-‘
ciit auxiliary was attacked in force. The other body had
left Tsinghai in February, starved out rather than driven away,
and gone to the district town of Ilien, which they left March
KUh for Fauching, and probably rejoined their comrades somewhere
between that and Lintsing. They were about a hundred
miles apart, and the intervening region was no doubt forcibly
drained of its supplies. This joint army remained in possession
of their depots as long as they saw lit, and ti-eated the inhabitants
reasonably well, among whom there were no Manchus,
The inability to understand each other s speech kept the people
of this district from mixing with the southerners, and, combined
with the impossibility of keeping open the road to Nanking,
decided the Tai-pings to return. This they did in March, 1855,
by re-entering IS^ganhwui and rejoining the main body whereever
ordered ; but no details are known of their movements for
nearly a year before that date. Peking and the Great Pure
dynasty were saved, however ; while the failure of Hung Siutsuen
to risk all on such an enterprise proved his ignorance of
the real point of this contest. lie never was able to undertake
a second campaign, and his followers soon degenerated into
banditti.
The possession of Nanking, Chinkiang, and Kwachau, with
the large flotilla along the Yangtsz’ River west to Ichang in
Hupeh, a distance of over six hundred miles, had entirely sundered
the Emperor’s authority over the seven south-eastern provinces.
The country on each side for fifty or one hundred and
fifty miles was visited by the insurgents’ troops merely for supplies.
Their boats penetrated to Nanchang in Kiangsi, went
up the Piver Siang even beyond Changsha in Ilunan, ravaged
one town after another in quest of provisions and reinforcements,
which were either taken to Nanking or used to support
the crews ; but nowhere did the leaders set up anything like a
government, nowhere did they secure those who submitted or pursued their avocations quietly any protection against imperialist
or other foes. As a revohition involving a reorganizatioTi of the Chinese nation on Christian principles, and a well-defined assertion of the rights and duties of rulers and subjects, it had failed entirely within a year after the possession of Kanking.
There was no hope that any of the leaders in the movement would develop the ability to initiate the establishment of a consistent and suitable control, since not one of them was endowed either with the experience necessaiy to introduce provisional government over concpiei’ed communities, or with that tact calculated to impress their inhabitants with enduring confidence in them. All their prisoners were compelled to work or fight in their service, and were willing to earn their food and clothes ; while in obeying such orders, and going through such religious ceremonies as were told them, they of course had not much to complain of ; but this conduct did not imply hatred of the mandarins or an abjuiation of Buddhism.
During the three years after JS’anking had V)een occupied, the people in the Vangtsz* valley had suffered much from the conflict. Both armies lived on the land, and tlu; danger of resisting the demands for food, clothes, and animals was nearly equaled by that of j(,)ining the contending forces ; in either case beggary or loss of life was sure to be the end. As an instance of by no means unexamjilcd suffering, the populous mart of Hankow and its environs was taken by assault six different times during the thirty months ending in May, 1855, and finally was left literally a heap of ruins. In country places the imperialists were, of the two parties, perhaps the more terrible scourge, but as the region became impoverished each side vied with the other in exhausting the people. The Tai-pings were gradually circumscribed to the region around Kaiiking and Nganking by the slow approaches of the government troops, and in 1800 seemed to be near their end. The interest which had been aroused at Shanghai in 1853, upon hearing of their Christian tenets and organization, had been satisfied in the various visits of foreign functioiuiries to Xanking, the intercourse with the leaders and men, perusal of their books, and observation of their policy.
FAILURE OF THE ENTERPRISE. 601
One inherent defect in the enterprise, when viewed in its political bearing, ere long showed itself. Nothing could induce Iluiii”: Siu-tsuen to lead his men to the north and risk all ill an attack on Peking. His own conviction of his divine mission had been most cordially received by his generals and the entire b(xly of followers which left Yung-ngan in 1852; but their faith was not accepted by the enormous additit>ns made to the Tai-pings as they advanced to Nanking, and gradually the original force became so diluted that it was inade<juate to restrain and inspirit their auxiliaries. Moreover, the Tien-wang had never seriously worked out any conception of the radical changes in his system of government, which it would be absolutely necessary to inaugurate under a Christian code of laws.
Having had no knowledge of any western kingdom, he probably regarded them all as conformed to the rules and examples given in the Bible ; perhaps, too, he trusted that the ” Heavenly Father and Elder Brother ” would reveal the proper course of action when the time came. The great body of literati would naturally be indisposed to even examine the claims of a western religion which placed Shangdi above all other gods, and allowed no images in worship, no ritual in temples, and no adoration to ancestors, to Confucius, or to the heavenly bodies. But if this patriotic call to throw off the Manchu yoke had been fortified by a well-devised system of public examinations for office—modified to suit the new order of things by introducing more practical subjects than those found in the classics—and had been put into practice, it is hard to suppose that the intellectual classes would not gradually have ranged themselves on the side of this rising power. The unnecessary cruelty and slaughter practised toward the Manchu garrisons and troops carried more dread into the hearts of the population than stimulus to co-operate with such ruthless revolutionists. The latter had weakened their prospects by destroying confidence in their moderation, justice, and ability to carry out their aim to establish a new sway. There was a large foundation of national aspirations and real dislike to the present dynasty, on which the Tien-wang could have safely reckoned for help and sympathy. But he was far from equal to the exigency of his opportunity. The doubts of his countrymen as to his coiiipeteney were proved by the ^iitisfaction and relief felt when his movement collapsed.
When the remnants of the two corps which returned from the north in 1855 were incorporated into the forces holding the Grand Canal and the Liang Kiang province, their outposts hardly extended along the Great Eiver beyond Chinkiang on the east and Xganking on the west. In that year dissensions sprung up among the leaders themselves inside of Nanking, which ended in the execution of Yang, the Eastern King, the next year ; a tierce struggle maintained by Wei, the Northern King, on behalf of the Tien-wang, upheld his supremacy, but at a loss of his best general. Another man of note, Shi Dakai, the Assistant King, losing faith in the whole undertaking, managed to withdraw with a large following westward, and reached Sz’chuen. The early friend of Hong Xiuquan, Feng Yunshan, known as the Southern King, disappeared about the same time. Humors of these conflicts reached Shanghai in such a contradictory form that it was impossible to learn all their causes.
(3ne source of sti’ife arose by Yang assuming to be the Holy
Ghost. Ileceiving communications from the Heavenly Father
and Elder Brother, he thus placed himself above the Tien-wang, and, it is said by Wilson,’ ” required him to humble himself and receive forty lashes” for some misdemeanors complained of by the Comforter. The notices of this man which have reached us show that he early took a prominent part in the movement, and perhaps manipulated ”descents of the Heavenly Father,” like the one referred to above as mentioned in the ” Book of Declarations ” in the case of Chan Sih-nang.” Many proclamations were issued in his name (»n the progress to Naidving, which set forth the principles under which the Heavenly Dynasty were trying to conquer. Incentives addressed to the patriotic feelings of the Chinese were mixed up with their obligations to worship Shangdi, now made known to them as the Great God, our Heavenly Father, and security promised to all who submitted.
‘ Tfie, ** ?Jrer-Vict<>rums Army,”^ Lt.-Col. Gordon’s Chinrxr Citmpaiqn, p. 43.
‘.T. Milton Mackie, Life of Tni-pinfi-Wang, Chief of the Chinese Insurrection^Chap. XXXIV., New York, 1857.
DISSENSIONS AMONG THE TAI-PING LEADERS. 603
In one sent forth by liini when nearing Nanking, he thus summarizes the rules which guided the Tai-pings:
I, the General, in obedience to the royal commands, have put in motion the troops for the punishment of the oppressor, and in everyplace to which I have come the enemy, at the first report, have dispersed like scattered rubbish. As soon as a city has been captured, I have put to death the rapacious mandarins and corrupt magistrates therein, but have not injured a single individual of the people, so that all of you may take care of your families and attend to your business without alarm and trei^idation. I have heard, however, that numbers or lawless vagabonds are in the villages, who previous to the arrival of our troops take advantage of the disturbed state of the country to defile mens’ wives and daughters, and burner plunder the property of honest people. . . .
I have therefore especially sent a great officer, named Yiien, with some hundreds of soldiers, to go through the villages, and as soon as he finds these vagabonds he is commissioned forthwith to decapitate them ; while if the honest inhabitants stick up the word shun [‘ obedient ‘J over their doors, they will have nothing to fear.
‘Such manifestoes could not reassure the timid population of the valley of the Yangtsz’, and the carnage of the unresisting JVLanchus inXanking, Chinkiang, and elsewhere indicated a ruthless license among the followers of the Tien-wang, which made them feel that their success carried with it no promise of melioration.
In addition, as the vast spoil obtained from these cities and towns up to 1S50 was consumed, the outlook of the rebels was most discouraging. Among their forces, the disheartened, the sick, and the wounded, with the captived and desperate, soon died, deserted, or skulked, and their places Avere filled by forced
levies. Under these circumstances the dissensions within the
court at Xanking imperilled the whole cause, and showed the
incapacity of its leaders in face of their great aim. Yang had
sunk into a sensual, unscrupulous faction leader who could no
longer he endured ; by October, 1856, he and all his adherents,
to the number of twenty thousand, were utterly cut off by Wei.
But this latter king speedily met with a like fate. Shih, the
Assistant King, was at this time in the province of Kiangsi. It
had become a life struggle with Siu-tsuen, and his removal of the
four kings resulted in leaving him without any real military
chief on whose loyalty he could depend. The rumors which
‘Lindley, Tai-ping Tien-kwoh, \ol. I., p. 94. reached Shanghai in 1856 of the fierce conflict in the city were probably exaggerated by the desire prevalent in that region that the parties would go on, like the Midianites in Gideon’s time, beatinir down each other till they ended the matter.
The success of the Tai-pings had encouraged discontented leaders in other parts of China to set up their standards of revolt. The progress of Shih Ta-kai in Sz’chuen and Kweichau engaged the utmost efforts of the provincial rulers to restore peace. In Kwangtung a powerful band invested the city, but the operations of Governor Yeh, after the departure of Sii Kwang-tsun in 185i, were well supported by the gentry. By the middle of 1855 the rising was quenched in blood. The destruction of Fatshan, Shauking, and other large towns, had shown that the sole object of the rebels was plunder, though it was thought at first that they were Tai-pings. The executions in Canton during fourteen months np to August, 1856, were nearly a hundred thousand men ; but the loss of life on both sides must be reckoned by millions. A band of Cantonese desperadoes seized the city of Shanghai in September, 1853, killing the district magistrate and some other officials. They retained possession till the Chinese New Year, January 27, 1854, leaving the city amid flames and carnage, when many of the leaders escaped in foreign vessels.’ None of these men were affiliated with the Tai-pings.
Jn Formosa and Hainan, as well as in Yunnan and Kansuh, the provincial authorities had hard work with their local contingents to maintain the Emperor’s authority. This wretched prince was himself fast bound under the sway of Suhshun and his miserable coterie, devising moans to rej>lcnish his coffers by issuing iron and paper money, and proposing counters cut out of jade stone to take the place of bullion. The national history, however, had many notices of precisely such disastrous epochs in former times, and the nation’s faith in itself was not really weakened.
THE REBEL SORTIE FROM NANKING. 605
By 1857 the imperialists had begun to draw close lines about ‘No foreigners here or elsewhere in China were injured designedly during all this insurrection.
the rebels, when they were nearly restricted to the river banks between Nganking and Nanking, both of which cities were blockaded. Two years later the insurgent capital was beleaguered,
but in its siege the loyalists trusted almost wholly to
the effects of want and disease, which at last reached such an
extreme degree (up to 18G0) that it was said human flesh was
sold on the butchers’ stalls of Xanking. Their ammunition was
nearly expended, their numbers were reduced, and their men
apparently desirous to disperse ; but the indomitable spirit of the
leader never quailed. He had appointed eleven other ((‘(okj, or generals,
called Chung TFan^ (‘ Loyal King ‘j, Ylng Wang (‘Heroic
King’), Kan TH/vi^ (‘ Shield King’), Ting Wang (‘Listening
King ‘), etc., whose abilities were cpiite equal to the old ones.
As the siege progressed events assumed daily a more threatening
aspect. Chang Kwo-liang and Ilo Chun, two imperialist generals,
invested the city more and more closely, driving the insurgents
to extremity in every direction. The efforts of these men
were, however, not aggressive in conseqnence of the war then
waging with the British and French on the Pei ho. This encouraged
the beleaguered garrison to a desperate effort to free themselves,
and on May G, 18G0, a well-concerted attack on the
armies which had for years been intrenched behind outworks
about the city scattered them in utter disorder. A small body
of Tai-pings managed to get out toward the north of Kiangsu,
near the Yellow Kiver. Another body had already (in March)
carried Hangchau by assault by springing a mine ; as many as
seventy thousand inhabitants, including the Manchu garrison,
perished here during the week the city remained in possession of
the rebels. On their return to Nanking the joint force carried all before it, and the needed guns and annnunition fell into their hands. The loyalist soldiers also turned against their old officers, but the larger part had been killed or dispei’sed. Chinkiang and Changchau were captured, and Ilo Kwei-tsing, the governor-general, fled in the most dastardly manner to Suchaii, without an effort to retrieve his overthrow. Some resistance was made at Wnsih on the Grand Canal, but Ilo Chnn was so paralyzed by the onslaught that he killed himself, and Sucliau fell into the hands of Chung Wang with no resistance whatever.
It was, nevertheless, burned and pillaged by the cowardly imperialists before they left it, Ho Kwei-tsiug setting the large suburbs on tire to uncover the solid walls. This destruction was so unnecessary that the citizens welcomed the Tai-pings, for they would at least leave them their houses. AVith Suchau and Ilangchau in their hands, the Kan Wang and Chung Wang had control of the great watercourses in the two provinces, and their desire now was to obtain foreign steamers to use in regaining niasteiy of the Yangzi River. The loss of their first leaders was by this time admirably supplied to the insurgents by these two men, who had had a wider experience than the TianWang himself, while their extraordinary success in dispersing their enemies had been to them all an assurance of divine protection and approval.
The populous and fertile region of Kiangnan and Chehkiang was wholly in their hands by June, 1800, so far as any organized Mancliu force could resist them. The destruction of life, property, and industry within the three months since their sally from Nanking had been unparalleled probably since the Conquest, more than two centuries before, and revived the stories told of the ruthless acts of Attila and Tamerlane. Shanghai was threatened in August by a force of less than twenty thousand men led by the Chung Wang, and it would have been captured if it had not been protected by British and French troops. Many villages in the district were destroyed, but the flotilla approaching from Sungkiang recoiled from a collision with foreigners, and the insurgents all retired before September. They, however,
could now be supplied with nnmitions of war, and even began
to enlist foreigners to help them drill and light. It was an
anomalous condition of things, possible only in China, that
while the allied force was marching upon Peking to extort a
treaty, the same force was encircling the walls of Shanghai, burning its suburbs to destroy all cover, and aiding its rulers to preserve it to Ilienfung— all in order to conquer a trade. It was then the moment for the Tai-pings to have moved rapidly upon Chihli and tried the gage of battle before the metropolis, as soon as possible after Lord Elgin had withdrawn. But they had now very few left to them of the kind of troops which threatened the capital in 1853-54, and could not depend on recruits from Kiangnan in the hour of adversity.
FOREKiN AID AGAINST THE REBELS. ”><)7
At this juncture the imperialists began to look toward foreigners for aid in restoring their prestige and power by employing skill and weapons not to be found among themselves.
An American adventurer, Frederick G. Ward, of Salem, Mass., proposed to the Intendant Wu to recapture Sungkiaiig from the Tai-pings ; he was repulsed on his first attempt at the head of about a hundred foreigners, but succeeded on the second, and the imperialists straightway occupied the city. This success, added to the high pay, stimulated many others to join him, and General Ward ere long was able to organize a larger body of soldiers, to which the name of Cliang-shing Mun, or ‘ Ever-victorious force,’ was given by the Chinese ; it ultimately proved to be well applied. Its composition was heterogeneous, but the energy, tact, and discipline of the leader, under the impulse of an actual struggle with a powerful foe, soon moulded it into something like a manageable corps, able to serve as a nucleus for training a native army. Foreigners generally looked down upon the undertaking, and many of the allied naval and military officers regarded it with doubt and dislike. It had to prove its character by works, but the successive defeats of the insurgents during the year 1862 in Kiangsu and Chehkiang, clearly demonstrated the might of its trained men over ten times their number of undisciplined braves.
But we must retrace our steps somewhat. In 1860 the possession of the best parts of Kiangsu and Chehkiang led the Tian Wang to plan the relief of Nganking by advancing on Hankow with four separ’ate corps. They were under the leadership of the Chung Wang, and, so far as the details can be gathered, manifested a practical generalship hardly to be expected.
The Ying Wang was to move through Ng-anhwui from Lucliau westerly to Ilwangchau ; the Attendant King (Shih) was to leave Kiangsi and co-operate with the Chung Wang by reaching the Yangtsz’ as near Hankow as possible, and a smaller force under the Tu AVang was to recover Ilukau at the mouth of Poyang Lake and ascend the Great River in boats. The area through which this campaign was to be carried on may be understood when we learn that the Chung Wang’s march of five hundred miles was over the two ranges of mountains on the frontiers of Kiangsi, and that of the Ying Wang two hundred miles through the plains of Xganhwui. This last king did actually take his force of about eighty thousand men two hundred miles to II wangchau (fifty miles below Hankow) in eleven days, but none of his colleagues came to his aid. The experience of eight years had quite changed the elements of the contest.
The people now generally realized that neither life, property, nor government was secured under the Tai-pings ; the imperialists had learned how to obtain the co-operation of the patriotic gentry, and the rank and file of the Tai-pings were by this date mostly conquered natives of the same region, as no recruits had ever come from Kwangsi. Moreover, the region was impoverished, and this involved greater privations to all parties. Yet the Chung AVang went from AVuhu south-west to Kwangsin, crossed the water-shed into Kiangsi, defeated a force at Kienchang, crossed the River Kan near Linkiang, and marched north-west to AVuning hien on the River Siu. Here he heard of the defeat of Tu AVang, and the non-arrival of Shih’s force ; and, lest he should be hemmed in himself, as the failure of the campaign was evident, he led his army back across the province to Kwangsin by September, 1861. The particulars of this last great exploit of the Tai-pings are so imperfectly known, that it is impossible to judge of it as a military movement accomplished under enormous difficulties ; but the Loyal King must have been a strategist of no mean rank. In November, 1861, Nganking succumbed to the imperialists. Its defenders and the citizens endured untold sufferings at the last, while its victors had an empty shell ; but the river Avas theirs down to Nanking, On his return east, Chung AVang moved into Chehkiang and overran all the northern half of that province, his men inflicting untold horrors upon the inhabitants, whom they killed, burned, and robbed as they listed.
THE ” EVER-VICTOKIOUS FORCE.” 609
Ningpo was taken December 9th and held till May 10th, when it was recaptured by the allies; foreign trade had not been interrupted during this period, and the city suffered less than many others. In September the Tai-pings were driven out of the valley of the Yung River, but the death of General Ward at Tsz’ki deprived the imperialists of an able leader. The career of this man had been a strange one, but his success in training his men was endorsed by honorable dealing with the mandarins, who had reported well of him at Peking. He was buried at Sungkiang, where a shrine was erected to his memory, and incense is burned before him to this day.
It was difficult to find a successor, but the command rather devolved on his second, an American named Bui-gevine, who was confirmed by the Chinese, but proved to be incapable. He was superseded by Holland and Cooke, Englishmen, and in April, 1863, the entire command was placed under Colonel Peter Gordon, of the British army. During the interval between May, 1860, wdien Ward took Sungkiang, and April 6, 1863, when Gordon took Fushau, the best manner of combining native and foreign troops M’as gradually developed as they became more and more acquainted with each other and learned to respect discipline as an earnest of success. Such a motley force has seldom if ever been seen, and the enormous preponderance of Chinese troops would have perhaps been an element of danger had they been left idle for a long time.
The bravery of the Ever-victorious force in the presence of the enemy had gradually won the confidence of the allies, as well as the Chinese officials, in whose pay it was ; and when it operated in connection with the French and British contingent in driving the Tai-pings out of jS^ingpo prefecture, the real worth of Ward’s drill was made manifest. The recapture of that city by Captain Dew’s skilful and brave attack in reply to their unprovoked firing at H. M. S. Encounter, brought out the bravery of all nationalities, as well as restored the safety of the port. An extract from Captain Dew’s report will exhibit the dreadful results to the common people of this civil war:
I had known Ningbo in its palmy days, when it boasted itself one of the first commercial cities of the Empire; but now, on this 11th of May, one might have fancied that an angel of destruction had been at work in the city as in the suburbs. All the latter, with their wealthy hongs and thousands of houses, lay levelled ; while in the city itself, once the home of half a million of people, no trace or vestige of an inhabitant could be seen. Truly it was a city of the dead. The rich and beautiful furniture of the houses had become firewood, or was removed to the walls for the use of soldiers. The canals were filled with dead bodies and stagnant filth. The stonework of bridges and pavements had been nplifted to strengthen walls and form barricades in the streets ; and in temples once the pride of their Buddhist priests, the chaotic remains of gorgeous idols and war gods lay strewn about—their lopped limbs showing that they had become the sport of those Christian Tai-pings whose chief, the Tien-wang. eight years before at Nanking, had asked Sii George Bonham if the Virgin Mary had a pretty sister for him, the King of Heaven, to marry ! It has been my good fortune since to assist at the wresting o; many cities from these Tai-pings, and in them all I found, as at Ningbo, that the same devilish hands had been at work—the people expelled from their houses and their cities ruined.’
Yet so speedy was the revival from the ruins, that we are told that in one month houses had been refurnished and shops opened ; their owners had mostly fled across the river into the foreign settlement. A larger force was now organized
—MM. Le Brethon and (iiquel behig in charge of a Franco-Chinese regiment—and an advance made on Yiiyau, which was retaken, and one thousand drilled Chinese left to defend it.
Tsz’ki, Funghwa, and Sluuigyii were also cleared of rebels, and during the month of March they evacuated the prefect city of Shauhing, never again to return to this fertile valley. Their inroad had been an unmitigated scourge, for they had now given up all pretense of Christianity, and had not the least idea of instituting a regular government ; to plunder, kill, and destroy was their only business. Their sense of danger from the liatred of the people whom they had so grievously maltreated led them at this time to defend the walled cities with a reckless bravery that made their capture more difficult and dangerous. This was shown in the siege of Shauhing fu, within whose walls about forty thousand Tai-pings were well led by the Shi Wang. The possession of cannon enabled them to reply to the balls thrown by Captain Dew’s artillery, while despair lent energy to their resistance ; so that the attack turned into a regular siege of a montlrs duration, when, food and amnumition being exhausted, they retreated en mas.se to llangchau.
> A. Wilson, The ” Ecer-Vidorious Armi/,” p. U)2, London, 18G8.
SUCCESSES OF THE FORCE UNDER GOItDON. 611
While this success relieved the greater part of Chehkiang from the scourge, the failure of the Ever-victorious force to retake Taitsang and Fuslian, under Holland and Brennan, had discouraged Governor Li, who had now come into power, he applied to General Stavely, who, with a full appreciation of the exigencies of the case, and concurrence of Sir Frederick Bruce, aided iti reorganizing Ward’s force and placing Colonel Gordon over it with adequate powers. There were live or six infantry regiments of about five hundred men each, and a battery of artillery; at times it numbered five thousand men. The commissioned officers were all foreigners, and their national rivalries were sometimes a source of trouble ; the non commissioned officers were Chinese, many of them repentant rebels or seafaring men from Canton and Fuhkien, promoted for good conduct. The uniform was a mixture of native and foreign dress, which at first led to the men being ridiculed as ‘ Imitation Foreign Devils ; ‘ after victory, however, had elevated their esprit du corps, they became quite proud of the costume.
In respect to camp equipage, arms, commissariat and ordnance departments, and means of transport, the natives soon made themselves familiar with all details; while necessity helped their foreign officers rapidly to pick up their language. It is recorded, to the credit of this motle}^ force, that ” there was very little crime and consequently very little punishment; . . . as drunkenness was unknown, the services of the provost-marshal rarely came into use, except after a capture, when the desire for loot was a temptation to absence from the ranks.”‘
In addition, the force had a fiotilla of four small steamers, aided by a variety of native boats to the number of fifty to seventy-five. The plain is so intersected by canals that the troops could be easier moved by water than land, and these boats enabled it to carry out surprises which disconcerted the rebels. Wilson well remarks concerning Gordon’s force : ” Its success was owing to its compactness, its completeness, the quickness of its movements, its possession of steamers and good artillery, the bravery of its officers, the confidence of its men, the inability of the rebels to move large bodies of troops with nqudity, tlio nature of the country^ the almost intuitive perception of the leader in adapting his operations to the nature of the country, and his untiring energy in carrying them out.*”
‘ Wilson, ibid, p. 133.
The details of this singular troop are worth telling with more minuteness than spaee here allows, for its management will no doubt form a precedent in the future ; hut the good its remarkable chief effected in restoring peace to Kiangsu calls for that recognition which skill, tact, and high moral purpose ever deserve. Being formally put in command on March 24, 18G3, he promptly reinstated the foreign officers belonging to the force, paid their dues, and within a few days was in readiness to march upon Fnshan, a town on the Yangtsz’ above Panshan.
The fall of this place on April Gth led to the ca}>tu]”e of (“hanzu,
when preparations wei-e made for besieging Taitsang fu, where
an army of ten thousand rebels, aided by foreign adventurers,
presented a formidable imdertaking for his force of two thousand
eight hundred men, although supported by a large body
of imperialists. In its capture (May 2d) the killed and wounded
numbered one hundred and sixty-two officers and men ; the
boot}- obtained was so large that Colonel Gordon led his men
back to Sungkiang, in order to reorganize them after this experience
of their conduct. Finding that their former license
in appropriating the loot thus obtained tended to demoralize
them all, he accepted the resignations of some of the discontented
officers, and adopted stringent measures to bring the
others to render military obedience. Consequently, when he
started for Iviunshan with about three thousand men, he had
liis force in a much better condition. This city occupied an
important position between Shanghai, Chanzu, Taitsang, and
other large towns on the east, and Suchau on the Avest. The
rebels had set up a cannon foundry within its M-alls, and from
it obtained supplies for the last-named city, with which it -was
connected by a causeway. By means of the armed steamer
Ilyson, Colonel Gordon was able to bi-ing up through one of
the canals a comj^any of three hundred and fifty men and field
artillery, cutting the causeway and pursuing its defenders, some
‘ Ibul, p. 138.
ENVIRONMENT OF SUCIIAU. 613
into the town and some toward Sncliau, almost to its veiy
gates. On the return of the steamer in the night, the commander
found the imperialists engaged M’ith the garrison in a
sharp contest, in which the foreigners then aided, and completely
routed the rebel body of nearly eight thousand men.
Fully four thousand of them were killed outright, and others were drowned or cut off by the exasperated peasantry before the day was over. This was on May 30th. The captured town was made headquarters by its victors, as a more eligible location than Sungkiang, though against the wishes of the native office’s, who desired to go back there with their booty. The loss of men, material, and position to the rebels was very great, and Colonel Gordon could now safely turn his whole thoughts to the capture of Suchau.
This city is like Venice in its approaches by canals ; owing to its location it was deemed best, before attempting its capture, to reduce certain towns in the vicinity, from which it derived supplies, so that the Chung “Wang should not be able to co-operate with its garrison. The district towns of AVukiang and Kahpu were both taken in July with comparatively little loss. This rapid reduction of many strong stockades, stone forts, and walled towns, with the panic exhibited by the men, proved how useless to the rebels the foreigners in their service had been in rendering them really formidable enemies, and how incapable the wangs had been to appreciate the nature and need of discipline.
After these places had been occupied. Colonel Gordon found his position beset with so many unexpected annoyances, both from his rather turbulent and incongruous troops as well as from the Chinese authorities, that he went to Shanghai on August 8th for the purpose of resigning the command. Arriving here, however, he ascertained that Burgevine had just gone over to the Tai-pings with about three hundred foreigners, and was then in Suchau. The power of moral principle, which guided the career of the one, was then seen in luminous contrast to its lack as shown in the other of these soldiers of fortune. To his lasting credit Colonel Gordon decided to return at once to Kiunshan, and, in face of the ingratitude of the Chinese and iealousy of his officers, to stand by the imperialist cause. he uraduallv restored his influence over officers ai\(l men. ascertained that Burgevine’s position in the Tai-ping army did not allow him freedom enough to render his presence dangerous to their foes, and began to act aggressively against ISuchau by taking Patachiau on its southern side in September, Emissaries from the foreigners in the city now reported considerable dissatisfaction with their position, and Colonel Gordon was able to arrange in a short time their withdrawal without much danger to themselves. It is said that Burgevine even then proposed to him to join their forces, seize Suchau, and as soon as possible march on Peking Avith a large army, and do to the Manchus what the Manchus had done, two hundred and twenty years before, to the Mings, (\jlonel Gordon’s own loyalty was somewhat suspected by the imperialist leaders, but his integrity carried him safely through all these temptations to swerve from his duty.
As soon as these niercenaries among the rebels were out of the
way, operations against Suchau were prosecuted with vigor, so
that by Xovember 19th the entire city was invested and carefully
cut off from comnnmication with the north. The city
being now hard pushed, the besieging force prepared for anight
attack upon a breach previously made in the stockade near the
north-east gate. It was well planned, but the Muh Wang, /rtc^/Ai
j)rince2)s among the Tai-ping chiefs in courage and devotion,
liaving been informed of it, opened such a destructive fire that
the Ever-victorious force was defeated with a loss of about two
hundred officers and men killed and wounded. On the next
morning, however (November 2Sth), it was reported that the
cowardly leaders in the city were plotting against the Muh
Wang—the only loyal one among their number—^and were talking
of capitulating, using the British chief as their intermediary.
This rumor proved, indeed, to be so far true, that after some
further successful operations on the part of Gordon’s division,
the Wangs made overtures to General Ghing, himself a foi-mcr
rebel commander, but long since returned to the impei’ial cause
and now the chief over its forces in Kiangsu. The Muh Wang
was publicly assassinated on December 2d by his comrades,
SURRENDER AXD EXECUTION OF ITS GENERALS. 615
and on tlie 5th tlie negotiations liad proceeded so far that interviews
were held. Colonel Gordon had withdrawn his troops a
short distance to save the city from pillage, hut did not succeed
in obtaining a donation of two months’ pay for their late bravery
from the parsimonious Li. IJe therefore proposed to lay down
his command at tliree o’clock i’.m., and meanwhile went into tlie
city to interview the Na Wang, who told him that everything was
proceeding in a satisfactory manner. Upon learning this he
repaired to the house of the nun-dered Muh Wang in order to
get his corpse decently buried, but failed, as no one in the place
would lend him the smallest assistance. While he was thus occupied,
the rebel wangs and officers had settled as to the terms
they would accept ; and on reaching his own force, Gordon found
General Ching there with a donation of one month’s pay, which
his men refused.
The next morning he returned into the city and was told by
Ching that the rebel leaders had all been pardoned, and would
deliver up the city at noon ; they were preparing then to go out.
Colonel Gordon shortly after started to return to his own camp
and met the imperialists coming into the east gate in a tumultuous
manner, prepared for slaughter and pillage. He therefore
went back to the Xa Wang’s house to guard it, but found
the establishment already quite gutted ; he, however, met the
Wang’s uncle and went with him to protect the females of the
family at the latter’s residence. Here he was detained by
several hundred armed rebels, who would neither let him go
nor send a message by his interpreter till the next morning
(December Ttli), when they permitted him to leave for his
boat, then waiting at the south gate ; narrowly escaping, on his
way thither, an attack from the imperialists, he reached his
Ijodyguard at daybreak, and with them was able to pi-event
any more soldiers entei’ing the city. His preservation amid such
conflicting forces was providential, but his indignation was great
M-hen he learned that Governor Li had beheaded the eight rebel leaders the day before. It seems that they had demanded conditions quite inadmissible in respect to the control of the thirty thousand men under their orders, and were cut off for their insolent contumacy. Another account, published a* Shanghai in 1871, states that nearly twenty chiefs were exe cuted, and about two thousand privates.
As Colonel Gordon felttliat his good name was compromised
by this cruelty, he threw up his command until he could confer
with his superiors. On the 2*Jth a reply came to Li llungchang
from Prince Kung, highly praising all who had been
engaged in taking Suchau, and ordering him to send the leader
of the Ever-victorious force a medal and ten thousand taels—
both of w Inch he declined. The posture of affairs soon became
embarrassing to all pai’tics. The rebellion was not suppressed ;
the cities in rebel hands would soon gather the desperate men
escaped from Suchau ; Colonel Gordon alone could lead his
troops to victory ; and all his past bi-avery and skill might be
lost. He therefore resumed his command, and presently recommenced operations by leading his men against Ihing hien, west of Suchau.
Concerning this wretched business of the Suchau slaughter,
much was said both in the foreign commimities in China and
later in England. Mr. Wilson, in his book compiled largely
from Colonel Gordon’s notes on this campaign, discusses the
question with as great fairness as precision, and concludes—as
must every well-wisher of China with him—that it was in every
way fortunate, both for his reputation and the cause to which
he had lent himself, that this heroic man returned to his thankless
task. Summing up the arguments of the Chinese and the
various attendant circumstances that brought about this execution,
Mr. Wilson points to Li’s not nnnatural desire after revenge
for his brother’s murder by the rebels before Taitsang;
to the army still under control of the wangs ; to the almost
absolute certainty of massacre of those imperialists who had
already entered the city should he refuse compliance with their
demands ; as also to the impossibility of arresting these chiefs
without an alarm of treachery spreading among their troops
within the walls, and thus giving them time to close the gates,
cutting off the imperial soldiers inside the city from those who
were without. ” Li was in a very ditficult and critical position,”
he says, ” which imperatively demanded sudden, unprcmedilated
action ; and though, no doubt, it would have been more
COLONEL OORDON’S FURTHER OPERATIONS. 617
honorable for liiin to have made the wangs prisoners, he cannot
in tlie circumstances be with justice severely censui-ed for haviuij;
ordered the Tai-ping chiefs who were in liis power, but who
detied his authoi’ity, to be innuediately killed. It is also certain
that Colonel Gordon need not liave been in a hui-ry to consider
himself as at all responsible for this almost necessary act,
because in a letter to him (among his correspondence relating
to these affairs) from the Futai [Li], dated November 2, 18G3,
I find the following noteworthy passage, wliich shows that the
governor did not wish Gordon to interfere at all in regard to
the capitulation of the Suchau chiefs :
‘ With respect to Moh Wang and other rebel leaders’ proposal, I am quite satisfied that you have determined in no way to interfere. Let Ching look after their treacherous and cunning management.’” ‘
On reaching thing, the dreadful effects of the struggle going on around Gordon’s force were seen, and more than reconciled him to do all he could to bring it to an end. Utter destitution prevailed in and out of the town; people were feeding on dead bodies, and ready to perish from exposure while waiting for a comrade to die. The town of Liyang was surrendered on his approach, and its iidiabitants, twenty thousand in number, supplied with a little food. From this place to Kintan proved to be a slow and irksome march, owing to the shallow water in the canal and the bad weather. On March 21st an attack was made on this strong post by breaching the walls; but it resulted in a defeat, the loss of more than a hundred officers and men, and a severe wound which Colonel Gordon received in his leg— oddly enough the oidy injury he sustained, though frequently compelled to lead his men in person to a charge. Next day he retired, in order, to Liyang, but hearing that the son of the Chung Wang had retaken Fushan he started with a thousand men and some artillery for Wusih, which the rebels had left.
‘Wilson, The ” Eccr-Victorioiis Army,” p. 204.
The operations in this region during the next few weeks conclusively proved the desperate condition of the rebels, but a hopeless cause seemed often but to increase their bravery in defending what strongholds were left them. At the same time a body of Franco-Chinese was operating, in connection with Gen^eral Ching on the south of Suchau, against Kiahing fn, a large city on the (4rand Canal, held by the Ting Wang. This position was taken and its defenders put to the sword on March 20th, but with the very serious loss of General Ching, one of the ablest generals in the Chinese army. Ilangchau, the capital of Chehkiang, capitulated the next day, and this was soon followed by the reduction of the entire province and dispersion of the rebels among the hills.
Colonel Gordon had recovered from his wound so as to lead an attack on Waisu April Cth, which town fell on the 11th, when most of its defenders were killed by the peasantry as they attempted to escape. His force was also much weakened, and needed to be recruited. With about three thousand in all, he now went to aid Governor Li in reducing Chaiigchau fu, and invested it on the 25th. The entire besieging force numbered over ten thousand ; and as the rebels were twice as many, on the Mhole well provided, and knew that no mercy would be shown, their resistance was stubborn. Several attacks were repulsed with no small loss to Gordon’s force, so that slower methods of approach were resorted to till a general assault was planned on May 11th, when it succumbed. Only fifteen hundred rebels were slain, and the greater part of the prisoners were allowed to go home, the Xwangsi men alone being executed. With this capture ended the operations of the Evervictorious force and its brave leader. Nanking was now the only strong place held by the Tai-pings, and there was nothing for that army to do there, as Tsang Kwoh-fan, the generalissimo of the imperial armies, had ample means for its capture.
THE EVHU-VICTOllIOns FOUCE DIS;BANDED. 619
Colonel Gordon, therefore, in conjunction with Governor Li, dissolved this notable division ; the latter rewarded its officers and men with liberal gratuities, and sent the natives home. During its existence of about four years down to June 1, 1804, nearly fifty places had been taken (twenty-three of them by Gordon), and its higher discipline had served to elevate the morale of the imperialists who operated with them. It perhaps owed its greatest triumph to the high-toned uprightness of its Christian chief, which impressed all who served with him. The Emperor conferred on liinitlie bigliest iiiilitarj- rank of t’l-tuJi, or
‘ Captain-General,’ and a yellow jacket {ina-k(ca) and other uniforms,
to indicate the sense of his achievements. Sir Fredei’ick
Bruce admirably summed up his character in a letter to Earl
Russell when sending the imperial rescript:
Hongkong, July 12, 1864.
My Lord,
I enclose a translation of a despatch from Prince Kung containing the decree
published by the Emperor, acknowledging the services of Lieutenant-
Colonel Gordon, R. E., and requesting that her Majesty’s government be
pleased to recognize them. This stej) has been spontaneously taken. Lieutenant-
Colonel Gordon well deserves her Majesty’s favor ; for, independently
of the skill and courage he has shown, his disinterestedness lias elevated our
national character in the eyes of the Clnuese. Not only has he refused any
pecuniary reward, but he has spent more than his pay in contributing to the
comfort of the officers who served under him, and in assuaging the distress of
the starving population whom he relieved from the yoke of their oppressors.
Indeed, tlie feeling that impelled him to resume operations after the fall of
Suchow was one of the purest humanity. He sought to save the people of
the districts that had been recovered from a repetition of the misery entailed
uijon them b/this cruel civil war. I have, etc.,
F. W. A. Bruce.
The foreign merchants at Shanghai expressed their sense of
his conduct in a letter dated November 24th, written on the
ev^e of liis retui-n to England, in which they truly remark : ” In
a position of unecpialled difficulty, and surrounded by complications
of every possible nature, you have succeeded in offering
to the eyes of the Chinese nation, no less by your loyal and
disinterested line of action than by your conspicuous gallantry
and talent for organization and command, the example of a
foreign officer serving the government of this country with
honorable tidelity and undeviating self-respect/’ ‘
‘ ” The rapidity with which the long-descended hostility of the Chinese government became exchanged for relations of at least outward friendship, must be ascribed altogether to the existence of the Tai-ping Rebellion, without whose pressure as an auxiliary we might have crushed, but never conciliated the distrustful statesmen at Peking.”—Fraser^s Magazine, Vol. LXXL,p. 145,February, 18G5.
Such men are not only the choice jewels of their own nation(and England may justly be proud to reckon this son among her worthies), but leave beliiiul them an example, as in the case of Colonel Gordon, which elevates (1n-istianity itself in theeyes of the Chinese, and will remain a legacy for good to them through coming years.’
After the dissolution of the Ever-victorious force, its leader visited Nganking and Nanking to see the governor-general, Tsiing Kwoh-fan, and his brother, mIio were directing operations against the rebels, in order to propose some improvements in their future employment of foreign soldiers and military appliances. They listened with respect, and took notes of important suggestions—knowing at the same time that their subordinates were uiuible to comprehend or adojit many such innovations. The work before’ Ts’anking indicated the industry of its besiegers in the miles of walls connecting one hundred and forty mud forts in their circumvallations. and in various mines leading under the city walls. The Tai-pings at that
date seldom appeared on the walls, and had recently sent out
thi’ee thousand women and children to be fed by their enemies,
proof enough of their distressed condition. The only general
capable of relieving the Tien “Wang was the Chung Wang,
whose army remained on the southern districts of Kiangsu,
while he himself was in the city with the Ivan “Wang (Hung Jin), now the trusted agent of his half-brother. All egress from the doomed city was stopped by flune 1st, when the explosion of mines and bursting of shells forewarned its deluded defenders of their fate. Of the last days of their leader no
authentic account has been given, and the declaration of the
Chung Wang in his autobiography, that he poisoned himself
on June 30th, ” owing to liis anxiety and troul)le of mind,” is
probably true. His body was buried behind his palace by one
of his wives, and afterward dug up by the imperialists.
On Julv 19, 1804, the wall was breaclied hy the explosion of
forty thousand pounds of powder in a mine, and the Chung
Wang, faithful to the last, defended until midnight the Tien
Wang’s family from the imperialists. lie and the Kan Wang
‘Compare further Col. C. C. Chesney’s Essays on Modern Military Biograpliy
(from the Fjliithnnjh Rcdeir), pp. 1G3-213, London, 1874.
FALL OF NANKING. 621
then escorted Hung Fu-tien—a lad of sixteen, who had succeeded to the throne of Great Peace three weeks before—with a thousand followers, a short distance beyond the city. The three leaders now became separated, but all were ultimately captured and executed. The Chung AVang, during his captivity before death, wrote an account of his own life, which fully maintains the high estimate previously formed of his character from his public acts.’ lie was the solitary ornament of the whole movement during the fourteen years of its independent existence, and his enemies would have done well to have spared
him. More than seven thousand Tai-pings were put to death
in Xanking, the total number found there l)eing hardly over
twenty thousand, of whom probably very few Mere southern
Chinese —this element having gradually disappeared.
After the recaptui-e of Xanking, two small bodies of rebels
remained in Chehkiang. The largest of them, under the Tow
Wang, held Iluchau fu, and made a despei’ate resistance until
a large force, provided with artillery, compelled them to evacuate.
During this siege the sanguinary conduct of the Taipings
showed the natural result of their reckless course since
their last escape from Xanking; the narrative of an escaped
Irishman, who had been compelled to serve them in Iluchau
for some months, is terrible enough : ” All offences received
one puinshment—death. I saw one hundred and sixty men
beheaded, as I understood, for absence from parade ; two boys
were beheaded for smoking ; all prisoners of war were executed ;
spies, or people accused as such, were tied with their hands behind
their backs to a stake, brushwood put around them, and
they burned to death.” The rebel force nundjered nearly a
hundred thousand men, and tlieir vigorous defence was continued
for a fortnight, till on August 14th their last stockade
was carried by the imperialists, and about half their number
made good tlieir escape to the neighboring hills, leavijig the
usual scene of desolation behind them. This body undertook
to march south through the hilly regions between Kiangsi and
‘ Tlie Autohiofp’dphy of tlie Chung- Wang, translated from the Chinese b^
W. T. Lay, Shanghai, 1865.
Clielikiaiig. The best disciplined portion was led by the Shi
Wan*’, who had joined it witli his men from the former province,
and arranged an attack on Kwangsin, near wliich they
were defeated. The remainder managed to march across tlio
intervening districts south-westerly to the city of Changchau,
near Amoy, where they intrenched themselves till the next
spring, subsisting on the supplies found in it and the neighborhood.
The Shi Wang and Kan Wang then left it April 16th,
in two bodies, unable to resist the disciplined force of eight
thousand men brought from the north. Feeling that their
days were numbered, the}’ seem to have scrupled at nothing to
show their savagery—as, for example, when they slaughtered
sixteen hundred imperialists who had surrendered on a promise
of safe-conduct. No mercy was therefore shown them by the
iidiabitants ; at Clumping in Kwangtung they even cut down
their growing rice in order to prevent the rebels using it. The
last straggling relics of the Tai-ping Heavenly King’s adherents
were thus gradually destroyed, and his ill-advised enterprise
brought to an end.
Fifteen years had elapsed since he had set up his standard of
revolt in Kwangsi, and now there was nothing to show as a return
for the awful cariuige and misery that had ensued from his
efforts. No new ideas concerning God or his redemption for
mankind had been set forth or illustrated by the teachings or practices of the Tai-ping leader or any of his followers, nor did they ever take any practical measures to call in foreign aid to assist in developing even the Christianity they professed. True the Kan Wang called Mr. Roberts to Nanking, but instead of consulting with him as to the establishment of schools, opening chapels, preparing books, or organizing any kind of religious or benevolent work to further the welfare of his adherents, the Tien AVang did not even grant an interview to the missionary, who, on his part, was glad to escape with his life to Shanghai.
If this rebellion practically exhibited no religious truth to the educated mind of China, it was not for lack of jniblications setting forth the beliefs its leaders had drawn from the Bible, or for laws sanctioned by severe peiuilties, both of which were scattered throuirh the land. Dj-. Medhurst’s careful translations
END OF TIIK TAI-1’IN(J IlEBELLION. 6^^’
of these tracts has preserved them, so that the entire disregard
manifested hj the new sect of tlieir plainest injunctions may he
at once seen.’ Tlie strong expectations of the friends of China
for its regeneration through the success of Ilung Siu-tsuen,
would not have heen indulged if they liad hetter known the
inner workings of liis own mind and the flagitious conduct of
liis lieutenants.
In his political aspirations the Tien Wang entertained no new
principle of govermnent, for he knew nothing of other lands,
their jurispi’udence or their polity, and wisely enough held his
followers to such legislation as they were familiar with. They
all probably expected to alter affairs to their liking when they
liad settled in Peking. But if this mysterious iconoclast had
really any ideas above those of an enthusiast like Thomas Miinzer
and the Anabaptists in the early days of the Reformation
—
whose course and end offers many parallels to his own—he
must have lamented his folly as he reviewed its results to his
country. The once peaceful and populous parts of the nine
great provinces through which his hordes passed have hardly
yet begun to be restored to their previous condition. Ruined
cities, desolated towns, and heaps of rubbish still mark their
course from Kwangsi to Tientsin, a distance of two thousand
miles, the efforts at restoration only making the conti’ast more
apparent. Their presence was an unmitigated scourge, attended
by nothing but disaster from begimiing to end, without the
least effort on their part to rebuild what had been destroyed, to
protect what was left, or to repay what had been stolen. Wild
beasts roamed at large over the land after their departure, and
made their dens in the deserted towns ; the pheasant’s whirr resounded
where the hum of busy populations had ceased, and
weeds or jungle covered the ground once tilled with ])atient industry.
Besides millions upon millions of taels irrecoverably
lost and destroyed, and the misery, sickness, and starvation
‘ Pamphlets issued hy the Chinese Tnsnnients at JVan-Kinfj ; to whicJi is added
a histwy of the Kwangsi liehellion, etc., etc., compiled by W. H. Medhurst,
Senr., Shanghai, IS”):}. Coinjjare II. J. Forrest in Joirrntd iV. C Br. R. A.
Soc, No. IV., December, 18G7, pp. 1«7 ff. The China Mail for February 2,1854. which were endured by the survivors, it has heon estimated by foreigners living at Shanghai that, during- the whole period from 1851 to 1905, fully twenty millions of human beings were destroyed in connection with the TaiPing Rebellion.’
V ‘ The most complete authorities on this conflict are files of the North China lliruld (Slianghai) and the Vhina Mail (Hongkong) during the years from 1853 to 1869 ; a careful summary of these has been made by M. Cordier in his Bibliotheat Sinica, pp. 273-281, wliich will be useful alone to those who can gain access to these newspapers. The number of articles on various phases of the rebellion contained in English and American magazines is exceedingly numerous, and can be readily found by reference to Poole’s Index. Among these compare especially the London Qudrterly, Vol. 112, for October, 1862; Fmser^s Magnzine, Vol. 71, February, 1865 ; Blarktrood’s, Vol. 100, pp. 604 and 683 ; W.Sargent in the North Antcrican Revieir, Vol. 7v’), July, 1854, p. 158. See also the various Blue Books relating to China ; Capt. Fishbourne, Inijiremons of China and the Present Berohttion, London, 1855; Gallery and Yvan, LTnsnrrertion en Chine, Paris, 1853—translated into English, London, 1853; Charles Macfarlane, The Chinese Berohttion, London, 1853 ; T. T. Meadows, The Chinese and their Behellions, London, 1856 ; J. M. Mackie, Life of Tai-piny Wang,N. Y., 1857; Commander Lindesay Brine, Narrative of the Rise and Progress of the Taeping Rebellion in China, London, 1862; “Lin-le,” Ti-Ping Tienkifoh,the History of the Ti-Ping Berolution, London, 1866— a rather untrustworthy record ; Sir T. F. Wade in the Shanghai Miscellany^ No. I. ; Richthofan, Letter on the l^rotince of Shensi.
CHAPTER XXV. THE SECOND WAR BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND CHINA
The particulars given in the last chapter respecting the TaiPing Rebellion did not include those details coiniected with foreign intercourse during the same period which have had such important results on the Chinese people and government.
It is a notable index of the vigor and self-poise of both, that
during those thirteen terrible years, the mass of inhabitants in
the ten eastern provinces never lost confidence in their own
government or its ability to subdue the rebels ; while the leading
officers at Peking and in all those provinces at no time expressed
doubt as to the loyalty of their countrymen when left
free to act. The narrative of foreign intercourse is now resumed
from the year 1849, when the British authorities waived
the right of insisting upon their admission into the city of
Canton according to the terms of the convention with Iviying
in 1847. The conduct of the Cantonese, in view of the forcible
entrance of English troops into their city, is an interesting
exhibition of their manner of arousino; enthusiasm and raisino’
funds and volunteers to cope with an emergency. The series
of papers found in Vol. XVIII. of the Chinese Re2)Ository well
illustrates the curious mixture of a sense of wrong and deep concern
in public affairs, combined with profound ignorance and
inaptitude as to the best means for attaining their object.
A candid examination of the real meaning of the Chinese
texts of the four earlier treaties makes clear the fact that there
were some grounds for their refusal ; but more attractive than
this appears the study of an address from the gentry of Canton,
sent upon the same occasion, to Governor Bonham at Hongkong,
dissuading him from attempting the entry. Their conduct was naturally legarded by the British as seditious, and of these many urged their authorities to vindicate the national honor and force a way over the walls into the city. The practice of an unwonted approach toward self-government which this popular movement in defence of their metropolis gave the citizens, was of real service to them in the year 1855, when it was beleaguered by the rebels, since they had learned how to use
their powers and resources. One result of their fancied victory
over the British at this time was the erection of six stone j)ailau,
or honorary portals, in various parts of the city and suburbs,
on each of which was engraved the sentence, ” Reverently
to commemorate glory conferred,” together with a copy of
the edict ordering their establishment, and a list of the w^ards
and villages which furnished soldiers during their time of need.’
The outcome of the working of treaty provisions between
foreigners and natives at the five opened ports during the ten
years up to 1853, had been as satisfactory to both sides
as could have been reasonably expected. The influx of foreigners
had more than doubled their numbers ; and as almost
none of them could talk the Chinese language, it happened that
natives of Canton became their brokers and compradores
—
rather more by reason of speaking pl(/eon-Migllsh than by their
wealth or capacity. The vicious plan of marking off a separate
plat of land for the residence of foreigners at each port was
adopted, and their development tended to build up concessions,
or settlements, which were to be governed by the various nationalities.
In doing this the local authorities vacated their
rights over their own territory, and these settlements have since
become the germs of foreign cities, if not colonies. The British
and French consuls at Shanghai claimed territorial jurisdiction
over all who settled within the limits of their allotted districts,
and carried this assumption so far as to exercise authority
over the natives against their own rulers. The British erelong
gave up this pernicious system, which had no legal basis by
treaty or conquest, and yielded the entire internal management
‘ The one placed near the southern gate became a target for the British gunners
in October, 1856, its demolition, most unfortunately, involving the de
Ptruction and burning of uiiilionii of Chinese books iu the shops on that street
INFLUENCE OF TREATIES ON THE CHINESE. 627
of all consular communities to those foreigners which composed
them. There were not enougli residents elsewliere to raise this
question of local government to any importance, but the progress
of the Tai-piiigs and the rapid growth of Shangliai as a
centre of trade for the Yangtsz’ basin, compelled the preparation
and adoption of a set of land regulations in order to institute
some means of governing the thousands of foreigners who
had flocked thither. George Balfour, the first British consul
in that port, had sanctioned a seiies of rules in 1845, which
purported to be drawn up by the tautal, or intendant of circuit,
and which worked well enough in peaceful times.
In the year 1853, however, the civil war altered the conditions,
when certain Cantonese rebels captured Shanghai and
killed some of its magistrates, driving others into the British
settlement, to which ground the custom-house was shortly afterward
removed. The collector of the port, AVu Kien-chang, had
formerly been a hong merchant at Canton, and he willingl}^
entered into an arrangement for putting the collection of foreign
duties into the hands of a commission until order was restored.
The presence there of the British, American, and
French ministers facilitated this arrangement. Their respective
consuls, R. Alcock, R. C. Murphy, and B, Edan, accordingly
met Wu on June 29, 1854, and agreed to a set of custom-
house rules which in reality transferred the collection of
duties into the hands of foreigners. The first rule contains the
reason for this remarkable step in advance of all former positions,
and has served to perpetuate the employment of foreigners
at all the open ports, and maintain the foreign inspectorate
:
Rule I.—The chief difficulty experienced by the superintendent of customs
having consisted in the impossibility of obtaining custom-house officials
with the necessary qualifications as to probity, vigilance, and knowledge of
foreign languages, required for the enforcement of a close observance of treaty
and custom-house regulations, the only adequate remedy appears to be in the
introduction of a foreign element into the custom-house establishment, in the
persons of foreigners carefully selected and apjjointed by the tantai, who
shall supply tlie deficiency complained of, and give him efficient and trustworthy
instruments wherewith to work.’
‘ McLane’s Cornnpondcixr, 1858. Senate Ex. Doc, No. iJ8, p. 154.
628 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
In. carrying out the new arrangement, each consul nominated
one man to the intendant, viz., T. F. Wade for the British, L.
Carr for the American, and Arthur Smith for the French
member of the board of inspectoi-s, who togetlier were to talce
charo-c of the new department. The chief responsibility for its
oro-anization fell on Mi-. Wade, inasmuch as he alone of this
number was familiar with the Chinese language, and possessed
other qualifications fitting him for the post. He, however, resigned
within a year, and the intendant appointed II. X. Lay,
a clerk in the British consulate, who completed the service organization.
This proceeding shows the readiness with which
the Chinese will shirk their own duties and functions in government
employ, and illustrates as well many peculiar traits in
their character.
The city of Shanghai had been in possession of a Cantonese
chief, Liu Tsz’-tsai, and his rabble since September T, 1853, and
the position of foreigners at that port in the presence of such a
body of outlaws developed new points of international law. If
the foreignei’s had all been of one nationalitv the consul would
probably have assumed temporary control of the city and j^ort
to assui’e their safety ; but in this case a naval force under each
flag lying in the river guaranteed ample protection of life and
property. As soon as the city was occupied the difficulty of
restraining the disorderly elements, as well among foreigners
as nativ^es, became painfully apparent to their rulers. Foreign
rowdies eagerly purchased the plunder brought to them and
supplied arms and other things in return—a line of conduct
very naturally irritating to the officials in charge of the siege
and inclining them at once toward coercive measures.
The fact that the French settlement adjoined the moat on
the north side of the city made its authorities desirous to dislodge
the brigands, which they essayed to do January 6, 1855,
b}’ joining the imperialists in breaking the walls ; they were
repulsed, however, with a loss of fifteen men killed and thii’tyseven
wounded, out of a rank and file numbering two hundred
and fifty. Another joint attack, undertaken a month later, was
likewise unsuccessful, though the attempt seems to have frightened
the force within the walls, since on the night of February
WORK or THE REBELS AT SirANGIIAI AND AMOY. 629
JOtli tliej retired, leaving the })lace in ruins. A like cordiality
was nevertheless not always maintained between native and foreign
soldiers, for in the previous year (April 4, 1854) occurred a
collision with the imperialists, in consequence of their near approach
to the foreign quarter, in which over three hundred Chinese
soldiers were killed by the foreigners who landed to resist
them. This untoward rencontre did not, however, interrupt
amicable relations with the intendant, and was followed by consular
notifications that whoever entered the service of the combatants
in or out of the city would forfeit all protection.
These notices were nevertheless soon disrefrarded as the struggle
went on, for the temptation to enjoy a lawless life was too
strong for hundreds of sailors then found in that port. It was
an anomalous state of affairs, and the exigency led to some acts
of violence by consuls in control of men-of-war.
The city of Anioy had been captured by insurgents on May
IS, 1852, but no contravention occurred ; the number of foreigners
residing at this port was small, while the opposite island
of Kulang su afforded a refuge beyond the range of missiles.
The city was regained by the imperialists before a jear had
passed. The districts north of Canton, whence Hung Siu-tsuen
and many of his adherents originated, began the same year to
send forth their bands of robbers to pillage the province. These
gangs had really no affinity with the Tai-pings, either in doctrine
or plans, and none of them succeeded in gaining even a
temporary success. When the booty was expended they usually
quarrelled, and the impei-ialists destroyed them in detail. Every
part of the province was at one time or another the scene of
savage conflict between tliese contestants, and it was soon shown
that no regenerating principle was involved on either side. The
confidence of the educated and wealthy classes in the just cause
and final success of their rulers was shown in raising men and
money for the public service and organizing bodies of local
police ; but the want of a sagacious leader to plan and execute,
so that all this mateiial and action should not be frittered away,
was painfully apparent.
In the capture of banking by Tai-pings, the restless leaders
of sedition in Kwangtung saw their opportunity, and gathered
630 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
their bands of freebooters in tlic southern prefectures. In June,
185-i, the district town of Tungkvvan neur the JJogue was taken,
the ricli manufacturing mart of Fuhshan (or Fat-slian) near
Canton fell a month later, followed by that of Shuntch, Sanf-
hui, and other lesser places, throwing the southern part of the
province into a state of anarchy. The theory of the Chinese
govermnent, that if the capital is preserved the whole province
is loyal, and its officers can use its revenue, enabled Governor-
General Yell to concert measures to repress these disorders.
The City of Hams was environed during August by large bttdies
of insurgents, whose wants were supplied from Fuhshan. In
this crisis about one thousand five hundred houses abutting
outside the city walls Mere destroyed, and the ward police
strengthened for the better protection of their neighborlioods
against incendiaries. In all these proceedings the foreigners
at Canton were ne\er consulted or referred to by the ofiicials,
l)ut their merchant steamers kept the Pearl River open to the
sea, while their men-of-war lying off the factories proved a
safeguard to the crowded city. The rebels had occupied a post
near Whampoa, and their gunboats prowled through every
creek in the delta, burning, destroying, capturing, and murdering
without resti-aint. They would be followed by a band of
imperialists, whose excesses were sometimes even more dreadful
than those of their enemies. So terrible was the plight of
the ^\•retched countrymen that the headmen of ninety-six villages
near Fuhshan formed a league and armed their people
to keep soldiers from either side from entering their precincts.
In September, at a general meeting of the gentry of Canton,
a pi-oposal to save the city by asking foreign aid was approved
by Yell, but liappily the project failed of fulfilment and only
resulted in showing them how nmch better was a reliance upon
their own resources. The news of this discussion led Chin Uienliang,
the rebel leader near Whampoa,. to circulate proposals
aniong the foreigners asking them to help him in capturing the
city and promising as rewai’d a portion of the island of Ilonan.
The condition of the peo])le at this time was sad and desperate
indeed, and their only remedy was to arm in self-defence, in
doing which they found out how small a ]>ro})ortion of the inTHE
INSUKRECTION IN KWANGTUNG. 631
habitants was disloyal. Ko quarter was given on either side.
and the carnage was appalling Avhenever victory remained with
the imperialists. During this year the emigration to California
and Australia became larger than ever before, while the coolie
trade waxed flonrishing, owing to the multitudes thi’own out of
employment who wci-e eager in accepting the offers of the
brokers to depart from the country and escape the evils they
saw everj’where about them. The terrors of famine, fighting,
and plundering paralyzed all industry and trade, and enal)led
one to better understand similar scenes described by ancient historians
as occurring in Western Asia.
The exhaustion and desperation consequent on these events
had almost demoralized society in and around Canton, which
was overcrowded M’ith refugees, raising food to famine prices.
It was creditable to these poor and sickly people that their influx
produced no other fear than that of a higher rate of living—
none of pestilence or plunder, even in the extremity of
their sufferings. In Fuhshan, fifteen miles away, no one was
safe. The rebels had depleted its resources, killed its gentry,
and oppressed the townsfolk until a quarrel broke out in their
camp, and they departed about the season of Christmas, leaving
the whole a smoking ruin. One of the insurgent practices consisted
in driving great numbers of people into squares and there
shooting them down by cannon placed in the approaching streets,
while the houses around them were burning. The flames could
be seen for two or three days from Canton, and it was estimated
that during this conflict fully two hundred thousand human
beings perished. The town was the manufacturing centre for the
foreign trade, where silks, satins, shawls, paper, fire-crackers,
pottery, and other staples were made, and their workmen resided.
After this dreadful act the insui-gents grew more and more desperate,
feeling that they could not hold out much longer for
want of booty and supplies to keep their men together. By
March the force of fifteen thousand men inside the city was
ready, and on the 6th it went quietly down to attack the fort
below Whampoa. The onset and resistance were most determined
; before the position succumbed, some twenty-five thou-,
sand men must have perished by battle or flood ; the rebel
632 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
leader escaped toward lliangslmu. The insurrection was, however,
scotched, and its victoi-s celebrated their triumph three
days later in the city to a grateful and applauding concourse.
When the city of Shanking, west of Canton, was retaken in
May, its victors boasted that thirty thousand rebels were drowned
or beheaded.
Notwithstanding these reverses the insurgents did not yet disappear,
but maintained themselves along the watercourses in
lai’ge flotillas during many months. The Portuguese and British
also fitted out expeditions to pursue the pirates, as the same men
were now called, desti’oying them and their haunts at Kulan
Lantao, and elsewhere. In rooting out these land and sea
brigands, the merciless character of the people was made manifest
; every one convicted of rebellion was straightway executed
by the authorities. At Canton, where prisoners were received
from all such districts, the executions were on a terribly huge
scale, as many as seven or eight hundred persons being beheaded
in a single day. A count taken at the city gate whence they
all issued on their way to the field of blood near the river, revealed
the fact that fully eighty thousand were thus executed
in the year 1855. This did not include thousands who connnitted
suicide in places provided for them near their homes, from
which their relatives could take their bodies to the family tomb.
As might be expected, other thousands left the province for the
north, or escaped into distant lands as coolies and emigrants.
I’ublic attention abroad was at this time so engrossed with
the greater rebellion going on along the Yangtsz’ Tliver that the
liorrors of that in Kwangtung were overlooked. There were
many foreigners at Whampoa and Hongkong who sided with
the leading brigands, reported their successes in the newspapers,
and supplied them with munitions of war. The inefiiciency of
a foreign consul to restrain his countrymen thus flagrantly violating
all their treaty obligations toward China, showed most
conclusively how easy it is for the stronger party in such cases
to demand their rights, and shirk their duties if it suits their
convenience.
During the year 1856 affaii’S between the Chinese government
and foreign powers became more and more hampered, while
flELATIUNS BETWEEN ENGLAND AND CHINA. 633
all attempts to ai’rangc difficulties as tliey arose wore defeated
by the obstinate refusal of Yeh Ming-chin, the governor-general
at Canton, to meet any foreign minister. He intrenched himself
behind the city gates, and would do nothing. Sir John
iiowring, the British plenipotentiary and governor of Jlongkong,
had most reason to be dissatisfied with this conduct, inasmuch
as there were many questions which could have been easily
ari’anged in a personal interview. It was ascertained from some
documents ‘ afterward found in Yeh’s office that this seclusion was
a })art of the system devised at Peking to maintain a complete
isolation and keep the dreaded foreigners at a distance. Ko
coui’se could be more likely to bring upon tlie government the
evils it feared, and at the same time show more conclusively the
ignorant and inapt cliaracter of those who carried it on. This
state of things could not long continue when such powerful
agencies were at work along the coast to disorganize legal trade
and thwart the utmost efforts of all officials to resti-ain the
reckless conduct of their subjects. The ten years now elapsed
since the opening of the five ports had involved the Chinese in
more complications, miseries, and disasters than had been known
since the Mancliu conquest ; nevertheless, neither rebellion nor
foreign comjdications seem to have impi’essed their lessons upon
the proud bureaucracy in Peking, which was as unwilling to
remedy as unable to appreciate the real nature of the difficulties
that beset the country.
In the struggle between nations, as between individuals, the
agony and weakness of one side becomes the opportunity of the
other ; and these conditions were now open to the British, who
speedily found their excuse for further demands. In order to
develop the trade of the free port of Hongkong, its laws encouraged
all classes of shipping to resort thither, by removing
all charges on vessels and granting licenses, with but few and
unimportant restrictions, to Chinese craft to cany on trade
inider the British flag. This freedom had developed an enormous
snuiggling trade, especially in opium, which the Chinese
revenue service was unable to restrain or unwilling to legalize.
^ Blue Book, 1857.
634 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
These boats cruised wlierever they might tiiid a trade to invite
or reward them, wholly indifferent to their own government,
which could exercise no adequate control over them, and kept
from the last excesses only on account of the risk of losing
their cargoes. To the evils of smuggling were added the worse
acts and dangers of kidnapping natives to supply baracoons at
Macao. The Poi’tuguese had many of these lorchas to carry on
their commerce, and gradually a set of desperate men had so
far engrossed them in acts of daring and pillage that honest
native trade about any part of the coast south of Shanghai
became almost impossible except undei” their con vo3\ The two
free ports of Macao and Hongkong naturally became their resorts,
where they all took on the aspect of legitimate traders,
which, indeed, most of them were—save under great temptations.
It was not surprising that Chinese rulers should confound
these two classes of vessels, nor, from the traders’ side, was it a
wonder that their crews should use the flag which gave them
the greatest protection when beyond foreign inspection and
jurisdiction. Few nations have ever been subjected to such
continuous and prolonged irritation in respect to its connnercial
regulations as was the Canton government from those two
alien communities during the ten years ending with 1850 ; few
nations, on the other hand, have acted more unwisely in exertions
toward peace and the removal of such difficulties than
did the unspeakable Governor-General Yeh. That the inevitable
collision between the Chinese and British was now at hand,
follows almost as a matter of course, when to our knowledge
of the commissioner’s character we add Mr. Justin McCarthy’s
very appropriate estimate of the two Englishmen in whose
hands well-nigh all British affairs in China were vested : ” Mr.
Consul Parkes,” says he, ” was fussy. Sir John Bowring was
a man of considerable ability, but . . . full of self-conceit,
and without any very clear idea of political principles on the
large scale.”
‘
Early in the morning of October 8th, two boat-loads of
‘ A Uintonj uf Our Own Times, Chap. XXX.
THE CASE OF THE LOltCllA AKUOW. 635
Chinese sailors, Avith their ofiicers, put off from a large war-junk,
boarded the lorcha Arrow lying’ at anchor in the river before
Canton, pinioned and carried away twelve of the fourteen natives
who composed her crew, and added to this unexpected
” act of violence,” as Mr. Tarkes stated it, ” the significant insult
of hauling down the Iji’itish ensign.” One Kennedy, a
young Irishman who is described as a very respectable man of
his class, was master of the lorcha, but chanced at the time to
be on another boat lying in the innnediate neighborhood of his
own, and could in consequence offer no resistance. It is probable,
judging from testimony given at the British consulate, that
the hauling down of the flag was a mere bit of wantonness on
the part of the junk’s oflicer upon his finding that no foreigner
was (ni board, and the offence might readily have been followed
by an apology had the command of negotiations been in any
other hands than those of Yeh. The Arrow was owned by a
Chinese, Fong A-ming, her nominal master being engaged by
Mr. Block, the Danish consul at Hongkong; his vessel was not,
however, entitled to protection, inasmuch as her British register
had expired by its own limitation eleven days before the
episode in Canton lliver, and the lorcha was already forfeited
to the crown.’ Her papers were then at the consulate, and it
was contended by Mr. Parkes that under Clause X. of the
ordinance she retained a right to protection ; a mere quibble,
since the cause refers to the vessel when upon a voyage, and the
Arrow had confessedly remained about the ports of Macao and
Canton during a month.
Consul Parkes, aftei’ ascertaining the facts connected with
this high-handed outrage, pushed off to the war-junk—which
remained the while quietly at anchor—to claim the captured
sailors and ” explain to the officers, if it were possible that they
had acted in error, the gi’oss insult and violation of national
‘ Sir John Bowring indeed conceded that ” the Arrow had no right to hoist
the British flag,” but alleged that the Chinese had no knowledge of the expiry
of the license, and that this ignorance deprived them of the legal value of
the truth. He quoted, moreover. Article IX. of the Supplementary Treaty,
requiring tliat ‘• all Chinese malfaisants in British ships shall be claimed
throui’h the British authorities.”
636 I’HE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
rights which tlicy had coininitted.” ‘ Tliis was in vain. ^Viiiuiig
the men was a notorious pirate, he was told, and tlieir orders
wei’e tliat the suspected crew should be sent to the governor
for examination. Veh stoutly upheld the act of his subordinate,
and affii’med that the lorcha had no right to fly the British
flag, disclaiming, however, any intention of molesting lawful
traders under the emblem. Katui-ally enough, he would
not yield the right of jurisdiction over his own subjects, and in
doing this was asserting precisely what Great Britain and every
other nation on the globe knew to be the first privilege of an independent
government. The case was not unlike that much-discussed
affair of the American Commodore AVilkes, who boarded
the Trent in 1863 and captured Mason and Slidell—performing
a right-enough action, but in a wrong and hasty fashion.
In his reply to Mr. Parkes, Yeh declares that he has held an
examination of the sailors and finds that three of them M’ere
implicated in a piracy of the preceding month on St. John’s
Island, that the officei’s had good reasons for seizing these men,
that the remaining nine shall ])e sent back to their vessel ; which
he straightway does, but they are as promptly returned l)y the
consul because the entire crew is not given up. Sir John Bowring
now demands, through his representative at Canton (1), ” an
apology for what has taken place, and an assurance that the
British flag shall in future be respected ; ” (2) ” that all proceedings
against Chinese offenders on board British vessels
must take place according to the conditions of the treaty ; ” “
in case of refusal the consul is to concert with the naval autliorities
the measures necessary for enforcing redress. This
threat extracted from the governor-general a promise that
” hereafter Chinese officers will on no account, without i-eason,
seize and take into custody the people belonging to foreign
lorchas;” adding very properly, “but when Chinese subjects
build for themselves vessels, foreigners should not sell registers
to them, for if this be done, it will occasion confusion between
native and foreign ships, and render it difficult to distinguish
^ Blue Book: Papers relatinri to tlie Proceedings of her Majesty^s Naval Forces
at Canton, p. 1.
‘Blue Book, Ibid., p. 13.
OPENING or HOSTILITIES. 637
between them.” ‘ Twelve days afterwuiU (Octoljer 22d) the
entire crew were returned, but once more refused by Mr.
Parkes, ostensibly because the apology was not sent with them
—and this the connnissioner coukl not offer either in justice to
his government or to the cause of truth.
Ensconced behind, the walls of Canton city, Yeh resolved to
stand firm on his rights as he understood them, even should the
doing so involve the lives and property of thousands of his
countrymen. To all foreigners in Chiua this affair was intinuitely
connected with most important possibilities and consequences:
the inviolability of national flags, protection to
every one whom they covered, personal intercourse with Chinese
officers, maintenance of treaty rights. In upholding these
the British drew to their side the good wishes of all intelligent
observers for their success in arms, however unhappy their excuse
for a resort to such means might be. One more word
from Mr. McCarthy before leaving the initial episode of this
war. ” The truth is,” he sums up, ” that there has seldom been
so flagrant and so inexcusable an example of high-handed lawlessness
in the dealings of a strong with a weak nation,” ^ but
like many another conflict where strength and justice have been
ranged on opposite sides, the latter was speedily pushed to the
wall. The incident of the Arrow” appeared a trifling one ; nevertheless
on so slight a hinge turned the future welfare and
progress of the Chinese people in their intercourse with other
nations, a hinge which, opening outward, unclosed the door for
all parties to learn the truth respecting the countries of each,
and, in the end, agree upon the only grounds on which a beneficial
and intelligent intercourse could be maintained.
It is hardly necessary to recount in detail the steps by which
Governor Bowring and Admiral Seymour vainly attempted to
bring Yeh to their terms. ” Acknowledge that you are in the
wrong,” was their ultimatum, ” by merely sending the three
‘Ibid.., p. 15.
‘^ Ifixtory of Our (hen Times, Vol. III., Chap. XXX. Lord Elgin in his journal
refers frankly enough to ” that wretched question of the Arrow, which is
a scandal to us, and is so considered, I have reason to know, hy all except the
few who are personally compromised.”
—
Letters and Journcds of Lord EJlgin,
edited by T. Walrond, p. 209.
638 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
bUspects to the consulate, and ask that tliey be returned on
cliarge of piracy.” The long-continued national policy of exclusion
could not, however, be so easily ovei’thrown ; its reduction
must be by force. The seizure of a military junk was the
lirst act of the British, then the capture of the liarrier forts,
followed by that of all others on the south of Canton, and lastly
breaching the city wall opposite Yeh’s yamun. This was entered
by Adnural Seymour with a snudl party of marines.
Sir John Bowring had already nuide the demand that the city
gates should be opened to them in accordance with the agreement
entered into ten years before between Governor Davis
and Kiying, and expresses his gratification to the consul that now
one great object of hostile action had been satisfactorily accomplished—
an object whicli Mi’. Parkes declares was clearly based
on treaty rights. However, they did not see Yeh, who resorted
to all manner of petty annoyances, the evils of which mostly fell
on his own people, without in the least advancing his cause.
On Xovember 15th, to the complications with the English
was added a quarrel with the Americans, whose boats had
been twice fired into and one man killed by the Chinese officers
in command of the Barrier forts. Commodore J. Armstrong
had under his connnand the San Jacinto, Poi-tsmouth, and Levant,
then lying at Whampoa. He ordered the two latter to go
as near to these forts as possible, and directed Captain A. H.
Foote of the Portsmouth to destroy them all. Foote accordingly
organized a large force and attacked them on the 16th,
20th, and 21st, till they were reduced and occupied. The resistance
of the Chinese on this occasion was unusually brave
and ])rolonged, the admirable position of the forts enabling
each of them to lend assistance to the others. On the part of
the Americans, seven were killed and twenty-two wounded ;
perhaps three hundred Cliinese were put hors de comhat ; the
guns in the forts (one hundred and seventy-six in all) were destroyed,
and the sea-walls demolished with powder found in
the magazines.’ This skirmish is the only passage of arms ever
‘ One brass gun of eight-inch calibre was twenty-two feet five inches long ;
the entire armament of these forts was superior in equipment to anything
before seen in China.
COLLISION WITH THE AMKltlCANS. 639
engaged in by American and Chinese forces— one whieli ^cli
seemed to ix-gard as of slight moment, and for wliich he cared
neither to apologize nor sympathize, llis unexampled indifference
in referring to the affair less than two days after the
demolishment of his forts ‘ was met by an equal frankness on
the part of Dr. Parker, who at once resumed correspondence
•witli the commissioner, and, content with the practical lesson
just administered, said no more about ” apologies and guarantees.”‘
This episode is interesting chiefly as an example of the
American course regarding an insult to the national flag, as contrasted
with the English dealing with an injury not very different
either in nature or degree.
Relations between Great Britain and China continued in this
constrained position until the opening of another year, the conflict
now being almost wholly restiicted to unimportant collisions
with village braves on land and voluminous discussions
with the governor-general on paper. In Xovember the French
minister withdrew his legation from Canton, there being by
that time neither French citizens nor interests to watch over.
Principal among the events during this interval was the burning
of the foreign factories by order of Yeh, Decend^er 14th.
They were fired in the night and were entirely consumed with
all their contents, as well, too, as the contiguous poi’tion of the
suburbs. The offer of thirty taels head-money for every Englishman
killed or captured resulted in a few endeavors on the part
of natives, whereby they kidnapped or slew two or three seamen
when separated from their ships. These attempts at
guerilla warfare were so promptly met and rewarded on the
part of the English, by wholesale punishment of offending
villages, as to cause little annoyance after the lesson of certain
retribution had been taken to heart by the Chinese. More important
than all these was a dastardly attempt, on January 11,
‘ ” There is no matter of strife between our respective nations. Henceforth
let the fashion of the flag which American ships employ be ck^arly defined,
and inform me what it is beforehand. This will be the verification of the
friendly relations which exist between the two countries.”—Hoppin, Life of
Admiral Foote, pp. 110-140. CorrcKpondenrc of McLdue and Parker, Senate
Document No. 2^, December 20, 1858, pp. lOlo’ff. lUue Book, p. 137.
640 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
1857, to poison the foreigners at Hongkong, by putting arsenic
in the bread supplied from a Chinese baker. This, it was afterward
asce]”tained, was at the instigation of certain officials on
the mainland, but fortunately even here their villany was
foiled, owing to the overdose Contained in the dough. It
ought to be stated, in passing, that such acts are not common
in China, and, in this case, that the baker’s employers were proven
entirely innocent.
Duriner much of this time Canton had been reminded of the
presence of the British force by intermittent bombarding of the
city from guns in Dutch Folly Fort. Sir John Bowring had
demanded an interview wdth Yeh in Xovember, but received a
prompt refusal, followed by a still more vigorous carrying on of
the war in his peculiar fashion, and by raising the price on
English heads. Admiral Seymour had now less reason for remaining
within the Bogue, as all trade was at an end. Hundreds
of foreigners had already been thrown out of employment,
their property destroyed, their plans broken np, and in a
few instances their lives lost in consequence of tliis quarrel.
After holding an intrenched position around the church and
])arracks of the factories for the s])ace of a month, the uselessness
of this effort when sustained by so paltry a force seems tf
have moved the admiral (January 14, 1S5T) to retire from
Canton, falling back npon Macao Fort nntil reinforcements
should arrive from India. Before leaving the site of the factories,
however, he burned down the warehouses of those native
merchants in the vicinity, their inmates having previously
beeu warned to leave them. These buildings and their contents
were private pi’operty, and the intrenched position in the factory
garden was not endangered by their reniaining. The
leaders of the British operations had hitherto professed to spare
private property ; and even if the performance was meant as a
})arting menace to the governor-general—” to show him,” as
]Mr. Parkes remarked, ” that we can burn too “—it Avas one of
the few acts, on their side, which has left a stigma npon the
English name in China. The hostile proceedings of the Chinese
authorities had been both petty and nseless, but as Admiral
Seymour’s force was inadequate to take and hold Canton,
PUBLIC SENTIMENT IN ENGLAND. 641
a more serious cannonading of the imperial quarters might have
been a more honorable method of taking retribution for outrages,
and better calculated than this cuunter-incendiarism to increase
respect for British arms and civilization.
The news of these operations in China excited great interest
and speculation in Europe, inasmuch as all its nations were more
or less interested in the China trade. Parliament was the scene
of animated argument as to the policy of Sir John Bowring and
his colleagues ; the moral, commercial, and political features of
British intercourse with China were discussed most thoroughly
in all their bearings, the arguments of both parties in the debate
being drawn from the same despatches. One remarkable
series of papers was presented to the House of Lords in February,
1857, entitled Coi’vespoiulence resjpecting Insults in China,
“containing the particulars of twenty-eight outrages committed
by the Chinese upon British and other foreigners between the
years 1812 and 1856.” This publication M’as intended apparently
to show how impracticable the Chinese authorities were
in all their intercourse with foreigners, and its contents became
to members of the House so many arguments for placing this
intereourse on a better basis at the imperial court. To those
who had watched since 1812 the results of treaty stipulations
upon the people of China and their rulers, it was plain that no
satisfactory political intercourse could be hoped for so long as
the governor-general at Canton had the power of concealing
and misrepresenting to his government everything that happened
between foreign representatives and himself. Xevertheless
such a series of papers was but one side of the insults
endured. As long as the British government upheld the
opium trade, and did nothing to restrain smuggling and the
awful atrocities of the coolie traffic at MaccO, which were tilling
the ears of all the world with their sho ‘king tales, these
few ” outrages •’ seem very petty if put forward as a defence
of Lord Palmerston’s going to war on account of the lorcha
Arrow.
In the vote upon the question of employing force in China,
the better sense of Parliament protested against the policy
which had directed recent events ; but the Premier knew his
642 THE MIDDLE KIXGDOM.
fouiitiynien, and in forty days from the dissolution (March
21st) England returned him a House of Commons strongly
in his favor. He now decided to complete what had been
wanting in the treaty of Nanking, and obtain a residence for
a l>ritish n)inister at Peking. The governments of France,
liussia, and the United States wei’e invited to co-operate with
England so far as they deemed proper, and their united interests
were those of Christendom, Xo well-wisher to China
could j)atiently look forward to a continuation of the past tantalizing
senjblance of official intercourse at Canton, and the
Aaried experience of twelve years at other ports proved that the
Chinese people did not sympathize in this policy. The French
Emperor had a special grievance against II. I. M. Ilienfung, on
account of the judicial murder of Pere Chapdelaine, a missionary
in Kwangsi province, who had been tortured and beheaded
at Si-lin hien on February 20, 1856, by order of the
district magistrate. This outrage was in direct violation of
the rescript of ISII, and some atonement and apology were
justly demanded. How totally unconscious of all these discussions
and plans were Hienfung and his counsellors at Peking,
may be guessed from their blind fright during subsequent
events, Mdiile their inability to devise a course of action corresponded
to their childish ignorance of their position and
duties.
A j^owerful though nnspoken reflection among these rulers
}iiust not here be overlooked as a secret motive in deciding
many of their short-sighted counsels. Pemembering the way
in Avhich their ancestors had captured the Empire over two centuries
before, they felt that great risk was run in admitting the
barbarians to the capital now, since the same game would probably
be ])layed over again. The visits of foreign ministers to
the insurgents at Xanking, and their readiness at Canton to
quarrel about so trifling a point as pulling down a flag and carrying
off a few natives under its protection, all indicated, in
their opinion, nothing shoi’t of conquest and spoliation. With
such tremendous ])ower ari-ayed against so weak an adversary,
they knew well enough what would ensue. Their miserable
policy of isolation liad left them more helpless in their ignoBOMBARDMENT
AND CAPTURE OF CANTON. 643
ranee than diminislied in their resources, and thoy had to })ay
dearly for their instruction.
Tlie appointments of Lord Elgin and Baron Gros as plenipotentiaries
for Great Britain and France were most foi’tunate
as a selection of eminent diplomatists and clear-headed men.
The two ambassadors entered into most cordial relations as
soon as the land and sea forces placed at their disposal arrived
on the Chinese coast. Lord Elgin reached Hongkong in July,
but learning the state of affairs in that region, and that no advances
had been made from Peking to settle the dispute, concluded
to take the Shannon to Calcutta, to the assistance of Lord
Canning against the mutineers ; from this place he proposed
to proceed in the cold weather, when the force detailed for China
would all be ready. Returning to Hongkong by September
20th, he was obliged to tarry yet another mouth before the last
of his reinforcements, or those of the French, had joined him.
By the end of November the American minister, W. B. Reed,
in the fi-igate Minr.esota, and the Russian admiral, Count
Poutiatine, in the gunboat Amerika, had likewise come.
Early in December, after a refusal on the part of Yeh of their
ultimatum, the allied forces advanced up the Canton River. An
extract from one of Lord Elgin’s private letters illustrates admirably
the spirit in which he entered upon the work he had been
chosen to do. ” December 22d.—On the afternoon of the 20th
I got into a gunboat with Commodore Elliot, and went a short
way up toward the Barrier forts, w^iicli were last winter destroyed
by the Americans. When we reached this point, all
was so quiet that we determined to go on, and we actually
steamed past the city of Canton, along the whole front, within
pistol-shot of the town. A line of English men-of-war are now
anchored there in front of the town. I never felt so ashamed
of mj’self in my life, and Elliot remarked that the trip seemed
to have made me sad. There we were, accumulating the means
of destruction under the very eyes and \vithin the reach of a
population of about one million people, against whom these
means of destruction were to be employed !
‘ Yes,’ I said to
Elliot, ‘ I am sad, because, when I look at that town, I feel that
I am earning for myself a place in the Litany, immediately
644 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
after “plague, pestilence, and famine.”‘ I believe, however,
that, as far as 1 am concerned, it Mas impossible for me to do
otherwise than as I have done. . . . AVhen we steamed up
to Canton and saw the rich alluvial banks covered with the luxurious
evidences of nnrivalled industry and natural fertility
combined—beyond them barren uplands sprinkled Avith a soil
of reddish tint which gave them the appearance of heather
slopes in the Highlands, and beyond these again the White
Cloud mountain range standing out bold and blue in the clear
sunshine—I thought bitterly of those who, for the most selfish
objects, are trampling under foot this ancient civilization.”
‘
On the 2Ttli the British and French, about six thousand in
all, landed on the east bank a short distance below the walls.
During the whole of the following day a furious bombardment
was opened upon the city from tlie ships, driving thousands of
the frightened natives into the western sul)ur])S and destroying
considerable portions of the town. By three o’clock of the 20th
the city was in the hands of the foreigners—almost exactly the
two hundred and seventh anniversary of its capture and entire
reduction by the Manclnis (November, 1()50). The A’ictory was
not a brilliant one, since scarcely any one could be found witli
whom to fight ; tln-ee or four forts to l)e entei’ed, the wall scaled,
a loss of one hundred and ten in killed and wounded to the victors,
perhaps five times as numy to the vanquished—this was alL
Immediately upon their entry within the hitherto forbidden
city the chiefs were forced to turn their energy upon their own
troops and prevent them fi-om bullying and looting the helpless
Chinese.
Governor-General Yeh was, after some little search, found
and captured while attempting an escape from his yamun,° and
within twenty-four hours the lieutenant-governor, Tartar general,
and all others in high authority came into possession of the
invaders. Yeh was carried forthwith on board II. B. M. S.
Inflexible, a wise step which deprived him of further power of
‘ Letters and JoitrnaU, p. 212.
‘ Some very cnrions documents were found among his archives ilhistrating
the character both of tlie man and his government. See Oliphant, Elr/i>i\>t Mis’
mn to China, Vol. I., Chap. VIII. Reed’s Correspondence, 1858, pp. 443-488.
TUE CITY OF CANTON AND ADJACENT ISLANDS.
646 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
resistance and misrepresentation, and left the plenipotentiaries
free to arrange some method of temporary government for the
city. This was a difficult problem, ciiietiy owing to the lack of
competent interpreters, but rendered mure so by the natural irritation
of the conquered people at the losses they had sustained,
the flight of the local officers, and the alarming extent of robbery
by natives, somewhat countenanced by foreign soldiers.
The skill and tact of Lord Elgin were never better shown than
in the construction out of such incongruous materials of a mixed
government whose subsequent easy working abundantly proved
the master mind of the builder.’ The two Manchus, Governor
Pihkwei and the connnandant of the garrison-—called also the
Tartar general—were now brought forward to assist in saving
tlieir capital from destruction and to form with the allies a joint
tribunal. Pihkwei became legally (by Yeh’s capture) the governor-
general of the Liang Kwang, and his functions in that
capacity were not interfered with ; those of his colleague had
always been restricted within the city walls. On January 9tli
they were installed by Lord Elgin and Baron Gros with all possible
ceremony as rulers of the city, under the surveillance of
three foreigners. Colonel Ilolloway and Consul Harry Parkes
for the British, and Captain Martineau for the French. This
commission had its headquarters in the same extensive yanmn
with Pihkwei, in whom happily were combined some estimable
qualities for managing the difficult post he filled. The orderly
habits of the literati and traders in and around Canton afforded
a guaranty that no seditious proceedings would be countenanced
against this joint authority if it gave them the security they had
asked from the allies. A force of marines and the Fifty-ninth
Regiment were quartered on Pagoda Hill, on the north side of
the city, and ere long the commandant’s yaniun was cleared of
its rubbish and put in order for the commission, leaving the
other for Pihkwei. The allied chiefs deemed it wisest to attempt
to govern as little in detail as possible, and their commissioners
found enough to do in adjusting complaints brought by
‘ “You may imagine,” he writes, “what it Is to undertake to govern seme
millions of people when we have in nil two or three people who understand
the language ! I never had so difficult a matter to arrange.
“
JOINT GOVERNMENT OF THE CITY. 647
the Chinese against their own men. The Cantonese did not fail
to contrast the considerate treatment they received irunx their
foreign captors with the carnage and utter ruin which would
have followed the occupation of the city by the Tai-pings or
other insurgents, and during the whole period quietly submitted.
The greater part of the responsible labor came upon Mr. Parkes,
because of liis ability to talk Chinese, but before many mouths
he had taught many natives how to assist in carrying out the
necessary details. He showed much skill in circumventing the
designs of the discontented officials at Fuhshan, giving Pihkwei
all the native criminals to judge, restraining the thievery or
cruelty of the foreign police, and sending out proclamations for
the guidance and admonition of the people.’
The kindness shown by Lord Elgin after the capture of Canton
infused itself into the minds of those working with and
under him, and the newly installed governor soon recovered his
composure as he found himself in possession of his own dignities
and power. The local and provincial officers under liim
kept themselves at Fuhshan, now recovering from its destruction
of three years before. By the end of January affairs were
put in order, the blockade was taken off the port, foreign merchants
returned and settled in the warehouses still unharmed
on llonam, while the native dealers reopened their shops in the
vicinity.^ Sixteen months had elapsed since the affair of the
Arrow, and every one felt that a new day had begun to dawn
on the relations of China with other lands.” Among the papers
‘ Blue Book: Lord Elginls Correspondence, July 15, 1859, Despatches Nos. 88,
94, 108, and 128. Oliphant, ^^//w/’.v ^fimon to China, Vol. I., p. 170.
” Oddly enough, among the most earnest appeals for the restoration of commerce
came one from Fihkwei himself, who wrote to Lord Elgin : “The
eagerness with which merchants will devote themselves to gain, ii: the trade
be now thrown well open, will increase manifold the good understanding between
our nations, and the step will thus, at the same time, enhance your
excellency’s reputation.”
—
Bine Bonk, January 24, 1858.
^ The letters of G. W. Cooke, the Times’ correspondent (London, Routledge,
1858), contain a fairly complete accoiint of the proceedings of the allies at
Canton ; his conversations with Governor-General Yeh on the way to Calcutta
are less valuable Compare an article in the Revue des Devr Monde;’. {V JTiillet.
1859), by C. Lavallee, Un Historiograplie de la Presse anglaise dans la guerre d«
Chiiui.
648 THK MIDDLE KINGDOM.
taken in Yeh’s yamuu were the ratilied copies of the treaties
between Cliiua and Great Uritriu, France, and the United kStatt l^
carefully preserved there, it was said, by directions from Peking,
m order to serve for reference in case of dispute as to the text.
It was, however, one of the indexes proving the desire of the
Emperor to keep liiniself aloof from pergonal contact with
foreigners.
The allied chiefs, early in the month of February, proposed
to their American and llussian coadjutors to join them in
laying their demands before the Peking Court, and affording
it one more opportunity to amicably settle the pending difficulties
by sending an officer to Shanghai with full powers
for that end. Both Russians and Americans were cordially in
miison with the allies, and their several despatches addressed
to Yii, the first member of the J^ul JC/i, or “Inner Council,’
at Peking, were taken up to Shanghai and thence to Suchau,
where Ho Ivwei-tsing received and forwarded them before the
end of February. These four letters simultaneously sent to
the secluded court at Peking contained nothing which could
alarm its members ; but such was the ignorance of the highest
officers there, that they knew not M’hat to do—ostrich-like,
hiding their heads from the approaching danger, simply declining
to answer any tmpleasant communication, hoping
thereby to put far off the evil day. Their isolation would remain
if left to themselves, and to have sent Kiying again to
the south would only have cherished their stupid pride and
worked their subjects ultimate injury. Their old-time policy
of absolute non-intercourse lay like some great frigate sunk
athwart the mouth of a river ; the obstacle once removed,
nothing remained to prevent the vast and populous regions
beyond the barrier from an active and profitable communion
with the whole world. They could no longer be left in statu
quo, and few can find fault with the plan proposed to solve their
difficulties—a })lan which brought the four most powerful nations
of Christendom in joint consent to set themselves on a
fair and advantageous footing with the most ancient and populous
nation of Asia. To those who admit the direct government
of tiie Almighty lluler in ordering the policy of nations in accord
ADVANCE OF THE ALLIES TOWARD PEKING. 640
with His wise plans, this simultaneous approach to Peking will
always be deemed as one of the waymarks f human progress.
The letfc”; o presented to tlie Emperor ‘ form in their topics
and toie a pleasant . >ntrast to the connnunications in past
years. That of the ll’issian minister was peculiar in bringing
forwaid the desH’ableness of llowing he profession of (Christianity
to all natives desirous of embracing it ; but this point
was made the subject of an address by the British missionaries
at Xingpo and Shanghai to Lord Elgin, Avliose reply was a
happy exposition of the dangers and difficulties connected with
the toleration of Christianity by a government ignorant of its
precepts. The imperial replies to these advances were, as
everyone expected, in the strain of non 2)0ssumus. Lord Elgin
returned his copy to Ho Kwei-tsing at Suchau, and enclosed
therewith another despatch to Yii, in which he announced his
intention to proceed to Taku, Mhere he would aw^ait the arrival
of a commissioner qualified to treat upon the points in dispute.
The force designed to accompany the allied chiefs was gathering
at Sha glial, and by t.^.e miv, die vi April most of the ships
and transports had anchored off the Pci ho, together with the
American frigates Minnesota and Mississippi and the Russian
gunboat Amerika, having the legations of those nations on
board. Xothing could be more dreary than the aspect of the
rendezvous at this season. The ships were obliged to anchor
about eight miles from shore, which M’as level, and would have
been invisible if it had not been for the forts at the entrance of
the river. The dim, hazy horizon was lurid with the rays of
the sun shiniiii; throu<:;h the dust that came in clouds from the
plains of Mongolia and Chihli. Th^ turbid waters were often
lashed into foam by the conflicting forces of tides and winds
which acted on it from every quarter, and kept the gulf in a
turmoil. Xo native boats ventured out to traffic, as would have
been the case in the south, and the only signs of life were the
gunboats and launches running in and out of the river, or the
barges passing from ship to ship. Added to other discommodi-
‘ These are all given in the correspondence of IVlr. Reed, printed hy the
Senate—Despatch No. 9, Ex. Dociuiteitt No. 30, March 13, IbGU, pp. 122-183.
650 THE MIDDLE KIXGDOM.
ties, were occasional blasts of hut air which swept over the
water, charged with fine dust that settled on the decks and rigffin’^
and insinuated itself into the dress and faces in an uncomfortable
manner.
As usual the Chinese had done nothing. The increasing
number and size of the ships which were anchored off the Pei ho
luid, however, been duly reported at Peking, and the llussian
admiral had received a reply to his announcement of arrival.
On April 23d communications were addressed by the four
ministers to Yu-ching at Peking, and on the 20th replies came
from Tan Ting-siang, governor-general of Chihli, informing
them that he, with Tsunglun and Wu, had been deputed to
” receive their complaints and investigate and manage.”‘ The
governor-general was not empowered to settle upon the terras
of a treaty, but he desired to have a personal conference to
learn what was demanded. Upon the day appointed the Russian
and American ministers met Tan at the Taku forts (April
30th) at separate hours, when they learned that he had not
been invested with ” full powers,”‘ like those granted to Kiying
and tlipu in 18-12, but had authority to discuss all matters preparatory
to signing a ti-eaty. The truth was that they were
(juitc ignorant of the important questions raised at Canton ; but
while willing to discuss them, they were equally set on keeping
the foreigners away from the capital. Here the allied chiefs
and their two colleagues took issue. The former held out for
commissioners to be sent with full powers ; but the latter deeming
that the governor-general had adequate authority, accordingly
presented him with the main points of their demands and
afterward with the drafts of their treaties. The negotiations
were delayed by the difficulties of the entrance, but they afforded
a needed instruction to these conceited and ignorant
men, who were thus enabled at their leisure to prepare for the
struggle. Not only were the officers themselves brought face
to face with their dreaded visitors, and made to perceive the
folly of resisting the armaments at their connuand, but with
the democratic habits usual in Chinese courts, the hundreds of
attendants present at the conferences heard all that passed.
Ere the non-belligerent powers had completed their negoCAPTURE
OF THE TAKU FORTS. 651
tiations, tlie allies turned over theirs into the liands of the
two admirals, MM. Seymour and liigault de Genouilly. These
advanced up the river on May 20th, forcing the slight boom
across the stream, and capturing all the forts on both banks,
with all their stores. Comparatively few Chinese were killed,
and their defence of the forts was creditable to their courage
and skill. All the troops fled or w^ere driven from their
intrenched camps as far as Taku town, and the other defences,
stockades, and fire-rafts having been destroyed, the
gunboats proceeded to Tientsin. The losses by shot on the
part of the Allies were unhappily doubled bj^ the explosion
of a powder magazine in a fort as a party of Frenchmen entered.
The news that the foreigners had forced the defences
at the mouth of the Pel ho was soon spread thi-ough the towns
along its banks, and myriads of unarmed people flocked to the
shore to see the gun-boats, whose smoke and masts towering
above the low land indicated their presence to the amazed inliabitants.
A house having been prepared at Tientsin for the allied
chiefs, Lord Elgin and Baron Gros reached the city at daylight
on May 30th, followed by the other two ministers, all of them
having come np during the night without mishap or oppo
siti(m. The inhabitants of the city were highly excited at
the presence of the vessels and those of whom they had lieard
fiuch dreadful stories, but their curiosity and fear kept them
quiet and civil, and they wei-e content with lining the shores in
dense crowds, to gaze and talk. The general ignorance of each
other’s lanOsuaOse did not prevent a constant intercourse with IT
the citizens, all the more agreeable after the confinement on
board ship. One old man was found managing a ferry-boat,
who remembered Lord Amherst’s visit in 1816. After his inquiries
as to the meaning of the flags on board the ships had
been answered, he exclaimed, “How easily you and we could
get along if you but understood our language “—to which the
crowd around reechoed their hearty assent.
Two higher commissioners now appeared on the scene of action,
Kweiliang and llwashana, who superseded the discomfited
Tan, Tsunglun, and Wu, and presented their cards as
652 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
having been invested with full powers to treat. Negotiations
were opened witli them, and thus, after months of delay, tlie
plan which Yeli had so foolishly adhered to at Canton in October,
to refuse all personal discussion, was accomplished at
Tientsin under far more promising circumstances. The Chinese
were obliged to accept almost any terms offered them, for
negotiations carried on under such conditions were hardly those
of free agents. The high commissioners were ignorant beyond
conception of the gravity of their position and the results
which were to flow from these treaties, whose provisions, linked
into one compact by the favored nation clause, were, in fact, to
form the future magna charta between almost the two halves
of the human race. It was true that the Chinese commissioners
were not altogether their own masters in making them, but
owing to their perverse seclusion, they had foolishly shut themselves
out from the opportunity of learning their rights. They
had, of course, no desire to learn what they knew nothing
about, and there was no alternative other than the display of
force to break down the barriers which pride alone made
strong. They had some grounds for fear, from their recent
occupation of Canton, that the British wished for more territory
than Hongkong ; and the frequent visits of the national vessels
of Great Britain, the United States, and France to the insur-
“•ents at Xankini;; indicated serious results in the future, for the
latter owed all their religious fanaticism to foreign inspiration.
To the persistent smuggling of opium along the whole coast
shice the treaties negotiated by Kiying sixteen years before,
and the many social and financial evils entailed thereby, were
now added the atrocities of the coolie trade in Kwangtung province.
Yet the reserve of the officials upon these and other
topics on which they might be expected to have expressed their
views or remonstrances, was only equalled by the politeness and
freedom with which they met their enemies in consultation.
Never again in the history of nations can functionaries to
whom were confided the settlement of questions of so great
moment, be brought together in such honest ignorance of the
other’s intentions, fears, and wishes. It was high time for
each of the five powers, now face to face, to have the way
THE ALLIES AT TIENTSIN—APPEARANCE OF KIYING. t53
opened for the removal of this ignorance and a better understanding
substituted.
Tlie despatches of Lord Elgin and Mr. Reed contain translations
of many reports and memorials which were found in
Yeh’s yamun at Canton, and give one a good idea of the sort
of information furnished to the Emperor by his highest officers.
It is a wrong view of these papers to regard their extraordinary
misstatements as altogether designed to deceive the court and
screen the ill-success of the writers, for they had had no more
facilities to investigate the real condition of foreign lands and
the policy of their rulers than had the poor boy Caspar Ilauser
to learn about his neighbors.
One untoward event occurred durino; the negotiations. Tliis
was the sudden arrival of Kiying (June 8th) and his effort to
force himself into the company of the plenipotentiaries. Since
his departure from Canton in IS-iT he had filled the premiership
before the death of the late Emperor Taukwang, after
which he had been deprived of all power and most of his
honors. He seemed to have tried to recover them by making
large promises at court respecting his influence over the harhariatis
/ but when he reached Tientsin he was without credentials
enabling him to participate, and acted as if his misfortunes
had in a measure unsettled his reason. The British minister
was suspicious of his designs, and sent his two secretaries,
on the 9th, to learn what they could of or from him. These
gentletnen plainly pointed out to the old man the difficulties in
the way of settling the present troubles in any other manner
than by acceding to the demands of Lord Elgin. Kiying had,
however, put himself in a serious dilemma. Finding very soon
that he was powerless to change the course of events and get the
steamers away from Tientsin (as he no doubt had promised to
do, and thus prove his influence), he returned to Peking on the
12th, though he had announced the reception of his full powers
only the day before. His colleagues were not sorry to have
him depart, but nothing definite was learned of his fate until
at the end of three weeks, when the Emperor’s rescript ordering
him to connnit suicide was received. His case was deemed
of sufficient importance to call for a summation of the principal features in order to prove the righteousness of Iiis sentence, and manifest the Emperor’s extreme desire to be at once just and gracious in his decree. Kiying’s case is rather an unusual one auiung Chinese officials, but the real reasons for his fall are probably not all stated; his prominence abroad, arising from his connection with the ]Sanking treaty, was no criterion of his influence at home or of the loss to the government by his death.’
Soon after his departure the impertinence of a native crowd
to a party of British officers while walking through the city,
lent some strength to the belief that Kiying’s counsel had been
warlike, and that a coup^ similar to the one made at Canton in
1841 by Yihshan, had been suggested, and the destruction of
all the foreigners in Tientsin was hoped for as its result. Their
relations with the citizens thus far had been amicable on the
whole, and the interruption in this desirable state of things was
very brief. Negotiations continued, therefore, but with an
undercurrent of doubt as to details on some important points
among the foreign envoys. Lord Elgin had the greatest responsibility,
indeed, and the task before him was difficult and delicate,
but he failed in drawing to himself his colleagues and
learning their views. They hardly knew w^iat to do, for none
of them wished to thwart his desires for complete and honorable
intercourse with the central government, though the
manner of reaching this end might admit of discussion. This
he never invited. The position of the American and Russian
envoys, pledged to their instructions not to fight, and having
the feeling that their nations were to obtain the atlvantages resulting
from the hostilities of the allies, was not a pleasant one; but it could have been made so, and he himself relieved of his main anxiety as to the result, by an interview. In contrast
‘ Oliphant’s Mission of Lord Elgin to China and Japan, pp. 2B8-253 (American edition), N. Y., 1860. It is interesting to note, before leaving this episode,
u Frenchman’s opinion of the character of this statesman: ” Kiying a
ote de 1842 a. 1844 le grand nugociateur de la Chine. Les ministres ctrangers ont vautu son habilete, sa finesse, ses fa(^ons aimables et courtoises.
Son nom sjmbolisait line politiqne nonvelle, bienveillante ponr les ctrangers, tolerante, liberale ; il representait nne sorto de ‘eune Chine.”—M. C. Lavalleo
in the Eenie des Deux Mondrs, If) Dc’c. IHni), p. (502. The same article contains an interesting account of the first e.\])edilion up the Pei ho and its results.
iSai ijilii -“eN -r- IMPE^RIS’-. CCN1MIS3I0NER .
LORD Elgin’s perplexities. 65^
with Lord Elgin’s general bearing toward those around him, as detailed in his correspondence, his biographer gives an extract from a private letter written the day after signing his treat^, which describes his perplexities:
June 29th.—1 have not written for some days, but they have been busy ones. We went on lighting and bullying, and getting the poor commissioners to concede one point after another, till Friday the 2″)th, when we had reason to believe that all was settled, and that the signature was to take place the following day. On Friday afternoon, however, Baron Gros came to me with a message from the Russian and American ministers to induce me to recede from two of my demands—1, a resident minister at Feking, and, 2, permission to our people to trade in the interior of China ; because, as they said, the Chinese plenipotentiaries had told them that they had received a decree from the Emperor stating that they should infallibly lose their heads if they gave way on these points.
The resident minister at Peking I consider far the most important matter gained by the treaty ; the power to trade in the interior hardly less so. I had at stake not only these important points in my treaty, for which I had fought so hard, but I know not what behind. For the Chinese are such fools that it was impossible to tell, if we gave way on one point, whether they would not raise difficulties on every other. I sent for the admiral; gave him a hint that there was a great opportunity for England ; that all the powers were deserting me on a point which they had aH, in their original applications to Peking, demanded, and which they all intended to claim if I got it ; that, therefore, we had it in our power to claim our place of priority in the East by obtaining this when others would not insist on it. Would he back me V This was the forenoon of Saturday, 2Gth, and the treaty was to be signed in the evening.
I may mention, as a proof of the state of people’s minds, that Admiral Seynour told me that the French admiral had urged him to dine with him, assuring him that no treaty would be signed that day ! I sent Frederick to the imperial commissioners to tell them that I was indignant beyond all expression at their having attempted to communicate with me through third parties ; that I was ready to sign at once the treaty as it stood ; but that if they delayed or retreated, I should consider negotiations at an end, go to Peking and demand a great deal more, etc. Frederick executed this most difficult task admirably, and at six r.M. I signed the treaty of Tientsin. I am now anxiously awaiting some communication from Peking. Till the Emperor accepts the treaty I shall hardly feel safe. Please God he may ratify without delay ! I am sure that I express the wish just as much in the interest of China as in our own. Though I have been forced to act almost brutally, I am China’s friend in all this.’
‘ Walrond’s Life and Letters of Lord EUjin , p. 252.
The importance of these two provisos was not exaggerated in his mind, but lie might have seen that the difficulties with his colleagues were increased by his own reticence.
However much a different course might have liariuouized these discordant views, the pressure on the city of Tientsin was too near and severe upon the Chinese, and they yielded from fear of worse consequences when no other arguments coukl have induced them. It was not Lord Elgin alone who felt very sensibly, on that occasion, ” the painfulness of the position of a negotiator who has to treat with persons who yield nothing tu reason and everything to fear, and who are at the same time profoundly ignorant of the subjects under discussion and of their own real interests.” Looked at in any point of view, this period of negotiation at Tientsin in 1858 was a remarkable
epoch. The sole great power of paganism was being bound by
the obligations of a treaty extorted from its monarch by a
handful of men in possession of the entrance to its capital. As
one of the British officers pithily stated it, two powers had China
by the throat, while the other two stood by to egg them on, so
that all could share the spoil. Yet the past sixteen years had
proven most conclusively that, unless this pressure was exerted,
the imperial government would make no advance, admit no
opening for learning its real position among the nations of the
world, but mulishly cherish its ignorance, its isolation, its conceit,
and its folly, until these causes had worked out the ruin so
fondly hoped to be avoided. Even the necessity of coming
into personal official relations with the foreign consuls to promote
the maintenance of good order between their subjects had
been hampered or neutralized by the Chinese authorities at all
the ports ; and there was no hope of introducing a better state
of things until foreign ministers were received at Peking. Happily, Lord Elgin then saw the question in all its bearings, and no one ever proved to be a truer friend to China than did he in forcing it upon her. He had little idea, probably, of one^’.iOtive for their resistance, namely, the fear of the ManZu rulers, already referred to, that in admitting the enemy to the capital they would be as summarily ejected as had been their predecessors in 1644.
TIIK TREATIES SIGNED AND RATIFIED. 60?
However, by the first week in July the four treaties had been signed and ratified by Hienfung, and all the vessels had left the Pei ho, which itself was no doubt the greatest proof to his Majesty that they were valid compacts ; for if the tables had been turned he would not have let them oif so easily, and perhaps wondered that Tientsin had not been ransomed at the same rate that Elliot had spared Canton in 1841. It is difficult to fully appreciate the crass ignorance and singular perversity of the men in whose hands the sway of the Chinese people were now lodc-ed. lie who is unwillinci: to acknowledge the overruling hand of God in this remarkable meeting of nations, would find it very difficult to acknowledge it anywhere in human history.
The revision of the tariff had been deferred for a future discussion among those qualified for the work. Five Chinese commissioners reached Shanghai early in October for this and other purposes, of whom Kweiliang and Ilwashana were two. In this part of the negotiations the controlling power was properly left in the hands of the British, for their trade was worth more than all others combined. They used this power most selfishly, and fastened on the weak and distracted Empire a veritable remora, which has gone on sucking its resources without compunction or cessation. By making the tariff an integral part of the treaty, they theoretically made every infraction a casus Ijelli, and as no provision was left for revision, it was virtually rendered impossible, since the original four powers could not again be brought to unite on its readjustment with a view to the rights of China. While particular provision was made in it for preventing the importation of salt and the implements and munitions of war, the trade in opium was legalized at a lower rate than was paid on tea and silk entering England, and the brand of itmnorality and smuggling was removed from its diffusion throughout China. The weakness and isnoranee of the Chinese were such as laid them open to the power and craft of other nations, but the inherent wrong of the principle of ex-territorial ity was never more unjustly applied than in breaking down the moral sense of a people by forcing them to legalize this druc;. The evils of smug-o-lino: it were insufferable, but a heavy duty was desirable as a check and stigma upon the traffic. The solution to a statesman in Lord Elgin’s position was exceedingly difficult in relation to this point, and he perhaps took the safest course under the existing circumstances, but it has proved to be fraught with evils to the Chinese.
One who now reads his biography and learns his nice sense of right and equity in national affairs, will not be surprised to see his doubts as to the best course to take where all were so many moves in the dark.
The war which arose about the Arrow was now virtually closed, but many things remained to be enforced in can-ying out the treaty stipulations or restraining the irritation they produced. The vastness of the Empire sundered its inhabitants so widely that each felt the troubles it endured only when they came near; but to all of them the obligations of treaty were of the most shadowy nature. It would require years of patient instruction to educate the mass of natives up to the idea that these obligations affected them as individuals. One means of this instruction, which subsequent years have shown to be both practical and profitable, was the extension and reorganization of the administration of the customs under foreign supervision. Its short service at Shanghai had proved it to be easy and safe of operation, and the increased fidelity everywhere in collecting the duties gratified the central and provincial governments exceedingly.
It was a startling proof of the degrading effects of the opium and smuggling trade upon the honor of the foreign merchants that they generally resisted the transfer of collecting duties from native to foreign hands, and endeavored in a thousand ways to thwart and ridicule the altered system. This feeling, however, disappeared with the incoming of a new set of merchants, and the Chinese government has, since the first, found no difficulty in utilizing the skill, knowledge, and power of their employes, not only in fiscal departments, but where ever they felt the need of such qualifications. Beginning at Shanghai, when the local officers were helpless against their own subjects, mandarins and people alike desired the advantages of an honestly collected tariff to be extended to every port opened for foreign trade.
CLOSING INCIDENTS OF THE WAR, 659
The changes formulated in the treaties of Tientsin could receive their accomplishment only after patient efforts on the part of ministers, consuls, and collectors to carry them into effect with due regard to the position of the native rulers. In order to open the way into the country, Lord Elgin visited Hankow in four ships in November, after he had signed the tariff. The rebels in possession of Naidving and other towns, being unapprised of his character, fired at him from some of their forts, for which “they were pounded pretty severely in return.” But a few words afterward proved more effectual than many shots, and no further altercation occurred. The voyage to and return from Hankow occupied seven weeks, and inaugurated a commerce and intercourse which has resulted in much good to the natives by making them rapidly acquainted with foreigners. The right of China to the exclusive navigation of her internal waters was summarily set aside by making Hankow a seaport; on the other hand, the government derived many advantages in the moral assistance given her at the time against the rebels by having them restrained, and, up to the present day, in the stimulus given to internal trade and rapid intercourse between the peoples of remote districts.
The year 1858 was fraught with great events, involving the welfare of the people of China and Japan and their future position and progress. Much against their will they had been forced into political relations with Europe and America, and in a measure deprived of their independence under the guise of treaties which erected an {77vperiiim in iinpeiHO in their borders.
Their rulers, ignorant of the real meaning of these principles of ex-territoriality, were tied down to observe them, and found themselves within a few years humbled before those of their own subjects who had begun to look to foreigners for protection.
The perplexity of the Chinese commissioners at Shanghai in this new position was exhibited in a despatch addressed on November 1, 1858, to the three envoys. In it they discuss the right of foreigners who have no treaties to go into the interior, and insist upon the absolute necessity of restraining them, which their own mercantile consuls could not and would not do. ” Being unacquainted,” they wrote, ” with the usages of foreign nations in this respect, and unwilling of ourselves to lav down preventive regulations respecting issuing passports, \\g desire first to receive the result of your deliberations before we act ill the premises/’ They then proceed tu show how necessary it will be for the future peace between contiicting interests and nationalities that consuls should not be merchants, for” some of those of your respective nations have formerly and often acted in a manner calculated to impede and mar the harmony that existed between their nations and our own; wilfully disregarding everything but their own opinions, they have carried out their own high-handed measures to the ruin of all cordial feeling.”” The writers had no idea how this despatch was an argument and a proof of the need of strong measures to drag them out of their stupid ignorance and childish desires for isolation, and compel them to understand their duties.
The education then begun was the only means through which to raise the Chinese rulers and people to a higher plane of civilization and liberty. One document like this carries in itself enouo;li to show how ignorant were its writers and their coleso leagues of their own duties, and how hopeless was the prospect of their emergiiiii; voluntarilv from their seclusion. The treaties bound them down to keep the peace, while they opened the channels through which the people could learn whatever was true and useful, without fear of punishment or reproach. The toleration of Christianity, the residence of foreign ministers at Peking, and the freedom to travel through the land were three avenues heretofore closed against the welfare and progress of China which the treaties opened, and through which she has already made more real advances than ever before in her history.’
‘ For full details on these important negotiations, see the Blue Book presented to Parliament July 15, IS”)!), containing Lord Elgin’s correspondence; f’. <?. Senate Krerutice Document No. 30, read March i;}, IHGO, containing correspondence of Messrs. Reed, Williams, and Ward, from June, 1857, to September 17, 1859; Oliphant’s Mmioii of Lord Elrjin to China and Japan, London and New York, ISfiO ; Lieutenant-Colonel Fisher, Pers<onal Narrative of Three Years’ Serrire in (lldna, London, 1S(>:}; le Marquis de Moges, liaron. Groups EndxtHny to China and Japan, 1800; Walrond’s Letterx and JoiirnaU of James, Earl of Elfjin, London, 1872; Lieut. J. D. Johnston, China and Japan, Philadelphia, 18C0 ; North American Reriew, Vol. XC, p. 125; BlackwoocPii Magazine. Vols. LXXXVL, p. G47, LXXXVIL, pp. 430, 535, audLXXXIX., p. 37a
SENTIMENT OF CHINESE TOWARD THE ALLIES. 661
By the end of December, 1858, the four envoys had left China, as well as most of the small force under their control. Koneof them had reached Peking, so that the Emperor was relieved of his fear that he would be carried off as was his commissioner, Yeh, from Canton; he had, moreover, another year of grace to learn what he ought to do to carry out the treaties. lie was also relieved by the refusal of the allies to join their quarrel with the efforts of the Tai-pings and march together to the conquest of the Empire. In Canton the presence of the allies had been an irritation chiefly to the provincial officers, who busied themselves in stimulating large bodies of braves in its vicinity to assassinate and rob individual foreigners near or in the city, keeping up in this manner a lasting feeling of discontent. Several skirmishes took place, and a large district within the city near the British quarters on Kwanyin Shan Avas burned over to insure protection against sudden attacks.
The new governor-general, Hwang, had formed a league of the gentry and braves, which chiefly exhibited their power in harassing their own countrymen. He was removed in disgrace at Lord Elgin’s request, and all these puny and useless attacks brought to an end.
An incident which occurred near Canton about fifteen months after the city had been captured, strikingly shows the character of the people: ” February 11th.—On the 8th a body of troops about one thousand strong started on an expedition which was to take three days. I accompanied, or rather preceded them on the first day’s march, about twelve miles from Canton. We rode through a very pretty country, passing by the village of Shek-tsing, where there was a fight a fortnight ago. The people were very respectful, and apparently not alarmed by our visit. At the place where the troops were to encamp for the night a cattle fair was in progress, and our arrival did not seem to interrupt the proceedings. February 13th.—The military expedition was entirely successful. The troops were everywhere received as friends. Considering what has been of yore the state of feeling in this province toward us, I think this almost the most remarkable thing which has happened since I came here. Would it have happened if I had given way to those uiio wished me to carry tire and swoni through all the country villages ? ” ‘
These same villages furnished thousands of volunteers in May, 1841, to attack Sir Hugh Gough’s army, and had been engaged in a desperate struggle with their countrymen only three years before, so that this change was owing neither to cowardice nor Bulkiness. It had been brought about chiefly through considerate treatment of the people by the British gari-ison in Canton, by honest payment for supplies, and by regard for the traffic and local government of the city ; the citizens consequently had no complaint to make or revenge to satisfy. Those who from infancy had been brought up to call every foreigner ^fan-lm^ei^ or ‘ foreign devil,’ now slowly appreciated the fact that they had been mistaken—nor were the misconceptions all on their side. During the three years the city was occupied, public opinion there underwent an entire change ; and the Cantonese are now as courteous as they before were ill-mannered.
At this season of rebellion and foreign war under which China was now suffering, the province of Kwangtung had a special cause for just irritation against all foreigners in the coolie trade. The headquarters of this trade were at Macao, and by 1860 it had become nearly the only business carried on there.
‘ Walrond’s Letters and Joxi,rnals of Lord Elgin, p. 308.
ATROCITIES OF THE COOLIE TRADE. 663
The population of the colony is perhaps seventy-odd thousand, of whom less than five thousand wear a foreign dress. Traffic and industry are mostly carried on by Chinese, who do all the work. When the trade of hiring Chinese as contract laborers to go to Cuba, Peru, and elsewhere began, there was no difficulty in obtaining men willing to try their fortunes abroad. As rumors of gold diggings open to their labors in California were spread abri)ad and confirmed by returning miners, the coolie ships were readily filled by men whose ignorance of outer lands made them easily believe that they were bound to El Dorado, whatever country they shipped for. The inducement for hiring them was the low rate of wages ($4 a month) at which they were willing to sell their labor, and the profits derived from introducing them into westeirn tropical regions. The temptations of this business became so great that within ten years the demand had far exceeded the supply. Seldom has the unscrupulous character of trade, where its operations are left free from the restraints either of competent authority or of morality, been more sadly exhibited than in the conduct of the agents who filled these coolie ships. The details of the manner in which natives of all classes, scholars, travelers, laborers, peddlers, and artisans, were kidnapped in town and country and sent to Macao, were seldom known, because the victims were unable to make themselves heard. When the rebels at Fuhshan were defeated in 1855, thousands of their followers were glad to save their lives by shipping as coolies, but this lasted only a short time.
The allied commissioners in charge of Canton took cognizance of these outrages, and upon the representations of Governor-General Lao took vigorous measures for breaking up the trade at Wham]x»a.’ The United States minister, lion. J. E. “Ward, lent his aid in February, 1860, by allowing the Chinese authorities to take three hundred and seventeen men out of the American ship Messenger in order to ascertain whether any of them were detained on board against their will. Every one of them declined to go back to the ship, but it was not proved how many had been beguiled away on false pretences—the usual mode of kidnapping. The report of the commission sent to Cuba a dozen ^-ears later asserts, as the result of careful inquiries, that the majority of the coolies in Cuba ” were decoyed abroad, not legitimately induced to emigrate.”
The Portuguese rulers of Macao “were unwilling to make thorough investigation into the facts about this business until after the return of the commission sent to Cuba in 1873, whose report disclosed the inevitable evils and wrongs inherent in the traffic. Urged by the British government, they finally (in 1875) closed the barracoons, and thus put an end to it. During the twenty-five years of its existence about five hundred thousand coolies were taken away.
‘ Compare Lieutenant-Colonel Fisher, Pfrsomd Nan-ative of Three Years^ Serrke in China, pp. 260-342, where the matter is pretty thoroughly discussed and Lao’s proclamations given in detail.
To return to the war : throughout the winter no event of note occurred in any part of China, but the imperial government was busily employed in fortifying the mouth of the Pei ho to prevent the entrance of the allies. They demolished the old forts to rebuild new ones of materials gathered on the spot, and constructed somewhat after the manner laid down in foreign authorities on fortification. These books had been translated for them by natives trained in mission schools. Notwithstanding all that Kweiliang and llwashana may have assured them to the contrary, the Emperor and his officers could not divest
themselves of their fears of serious reprisals, if not of conquest,
should they pennit the allied gunboats to anchor a second
time at Tientsin and their embassies to enter the capital. The
two commissioners awaited at Shanghai the arrival of the British,
French, and American plenipotentiaries, for the purpose of
urging them to exchange the ratifications in that city. Nevertheless,
since Peking was expressly appointed in the first two
treaties as the place for signing them, Mr. Bruce and M. Bourboulon,
the English and French ministers, determined to insist
upon this detail. The poor commissioners, on the other hand,
knowing more than they dared to tell of the hostile preparations
going on, steadily declined the offer of a passage to Taku.
KEPULSE OF THE ALLIES BEFORE TAKU. 665
Mr. Ward was not tied down to any place or time for exchanging the American treaty, but decided to do so at the same place with his colleagues. The three ministers remained in the south to exchange views and allow the British gunboats to collect off Taku before their arrival, when they all joined them on June 20th. The appearance of the forts was entirely different from last year, and confirmed the reports of the great efforts making to prevent foreigners reaching the capital in large numbers. The river was found to be barred by an elaborate boom of timber and chains; but though no soldiers were in sight on the battlements, it was evident that a collision was intended. The reconnoissance had been carefully made from the ITth to the 2tl:th, and the riiiuese gcnierul, S;nig-k()-lin-siii, felt confident of his ability to hold his own against the shi])s inside of the bar. All official intercourse was refused with Admiral Hope, though he had stated his purpose clearly, because, as was alleged, these forts and men were merely gathered by the conniion people to defend themselves against pirates.
In order to discover the real state of feeling toward a neutral, Commodore Tatnall took Mr. AVard, in the United States chartered steamer Toeywan, into the river on the 24th, and proceeded toward a jetty near the fort. The steamer ran aground when about half a mile short of it; the minister then sent his interpreters to the jetty, where they were met by a dozen or more miserably dressed fellows who had come from the fort for that purpose. On learning the errand of the foreigners, one or two of the men spoke up in a way which showed that they were officers—probably disguised as coolies—telling the deputation
that the passage to Tientsin by the Pei ho had been barred, but
that the governor-general, Ilangfuh, was then at Pehtang, a
place about ten miles up the coast, where he was ready to receive
the American minister. They added that they had no
authority to take any letter or card for him ; that they knew
very well the nationality of the Toeywan, which would not be
harmed if she did not attempt to break through the boom laid
just above the jetty ; and, lastly, that they were not at all empowered
to aid or advise the Americans in getting up to Pehtang.
The whole episode was a ridiculous ruse on the part of the Chinese to hide their design of forcibly preventing the ministers from ascending the river; but by so undignified a behavior the general commandino; the works forfeited whatever moral advantage might otherwise have remained on his side. After Admiral Hope had commenced his operations against the barriers, Ilangfuh did indeed send a letter to the British minister—then lying nine miles off the shore—informing him of the arrangements made at Pehtang to take the allied envoys from thence to the capital. These arrangements certainly violated no article of the treaties, nor any promise made to the foreigners, though they neutralized entirely the journey to Peking upon which the British government had determined to send its plenipotentiary.
One may learn from the letters of Mr. Bruce to Lord Malmesbury(of July 5th and 13th) many details of the impertinent reception accorded to Admiral Hope’s messengers by the rabble and soldiers near the Taku forts, all proving plainly enough their hostile intentions. But the minister overlooks what we, in retracing the history of these years, cannot too attentively keep in mind, namely, the ever-present fear of trickery and foul play with their unknown engines of war which the Emperors counsellors momentarily dreaded from their foreign adversaries.
On the other hand, what could be done with a government which would never condescend to appreciate its own weakness, would never speak or act the truth, would never treat any other nation as an equal ? These and other despatches from the Blue Book afford a key to the policies of both parties in this remarkable contest, and convince the impartial student of the necessity of personal contact and acquaintance before it was possible to reach a lasting understanding between the holders of so widely separated views.
During the night of the 23d, after the Toeywan had floated at high water, the British advanced and blew up the first boom, leaving, however, the second and stronger obstruction untouched.
The attempt to ascend the river in force was commenced by the allies in the following afternoon, when the forts opened fire upon them and by evening had sunk or silenced almost every vessel. In this Hect thirteen small ii’unboats were enji-ased, one of the largest among them, a French craft, carrying six hundred men ; besides these were some six hundred nuirines and engineers
designed to serve as an escort upon the journey to the
capital. This guard was now landed in the mud before the
forts and an attempt made to carry the works by escalade, but
the effort failed, and by daylight the men were all once more
afloat. From the gunboats twenty-five men were killed and
ninety-thi-ee wounded ; the loss among tlie marines was naturally
heavier—sixty-four killed and two hundred and fifty-two
wounded, while of the boats four were sunk.’
Throughout this action the American vessel Toeywan remained inside of the Ijar, being a non-combatant. The gallant energy of Commodore Tatnall, who in the thick of the fight passed through the fleet to visit the British admiral lying
‘ One of these afterward lloated of itself and was preserved.
Upper North Fort
PLAN OF THE MOUTH OF THE PEI-HO.
Sheicing the Defences
and illustrative of the Attack o/25!» June, 1859
wounded in the Plover, well-nigh cost him his life; a shot from the Chinese guns tore into the stern of his harge, killing the coxswain, and narrowly missed sinking the boat with all on board. Tatnall’s declaration, in extenuation of his technical violation of international law by towing boat-loads of British marines into action, that ” blood is thicker than water,” has indissolubly associated his name with this battle of the Pei ho.’
The American minister was present as a spectator at this repulse before the Taku forts, but this could not be properly considered as a reason for not making further attempts to reach Peking. He accordingly, though not without some difficulty, notified the governor-general at Pehtang of his arrival, and four days later a pilot was sent off and the Toeywan taken up to Pehtang. Mr. Ward, in his report to Washington, expresses his belief that he would not be allowed to reach Peking, while the Chinese had no other intenti(jn than to escort him there and bring him safely back. On July Sth boats were sent to conduct his party to the place of meeting, which they reached through a line of soldiers in uniform placed along the sides of the streets, and were ushered into a large hall amid a crowd of officials. The recent encounter at Taku was discussed in a sensible manner, without apparent anxiety or bravado, and then the arrangements for taking the whole party of twenty to Peking were made known. Among other topics of inquiry brought forward was the cost of such vessels as had been sunk in the Pei ho by their guns—as if the officials had been estimating the probable expense of their victory when the English brought in their usual bill of damages. But the offer of Commodore Tatnall to place his surgeons at the disposal of the Chinese, to aid in treating the wounded men at the forts, was declined.
‘ Lieutenant-Colonel Fisher’s Personal Nmrative of Three Tears” Service in China, Chaps. XIII. and XIV.
MIJ. WAKD’s visit to PEKING. 660
Everything being made ready by July 20th, the American minister set out under the escort of Chunghow, now first brought into contact with foreigners. About forty miles of flat, saltish plain was crossed, until the party reached Pelitsang, on the Pei ho, where were lying the boats prepared for their reception. As they proceeded up the river the inhabitants flocked to the banks to behold the dreaded foreigners, but no expressions of vaunting or hostility were heard among the myriads who now gazed for the first time upon them. The
vast crowd at Tungchau, when the twenty Americans landed,
comprised apparently the whole population of that city ; clad in
white summer garments, and preserving a most remarkable
stillness and decorum as they lined the river banks and highway,
this silent, gazing multitude produced upon the strangers
an effect incomparably weird. The day was oppressively hot,
and many preferred the carts to the mules provided for the
trip to Peking, where they all arrived on the 2Ttli. A ridiculous
rumor, illustrated by appropriate pictures, respecting this
journey was circulated in Paris about a fortnight afterward,
stating that Mr. Ward and his party were conducted from the
coast in an innriense ” box or travelling chamber, drawn overland
by oxen,” and then put ” on a raft to be towed up the river and
Imperial Canal as far as the gate of the capital. They were
well treated, and were taken back to the coast in the same
manner.” This jeux (Tesjyi’it ju-obably expressed the popular
sentiment in France of what was expected from the Chinese,
and has ever since been associated with it.
On announcing his arrival, a meeting was arranged for the 30th between Mr. Ward and Kweiliang and Ilwashana, at which all the time was occupied in discussing the question of the manner of audience. The minister had the advantage in this interesting colloquy, for he had come up at the invitation of the governor-general, had no directions from the President upon the matter, was quite indifferent as to the result of the conference, and had no presents to be rejected as Lord Amherst’s were in 181G. The nature of the hotow and the reasons for requiring it of all who had audience of the Emperor were fully discussed at several interviews in the most amicable and courteous manner. The Chinese were anxious to bring about an audience, and went so far as to waive the ketou or knocking head, from the first, and proposed instead that the envoy should bend one knee as he approached the sovereign. This was even less of an obeisance than English courtiers paid their Queen, and might have been accepted without difficulty—if any eouiproinise were possible—had not one of the party previously declared the religious nature of the ceremony by saying, ” If we do not kneel before the Emperor, we do not show him any respect; it is that or nothing, and is the same reverence which we pay the gods.” Kweiliang further said that he himself would willingly burn incense before the President of the United States if asked to do so.’
During their whole national history the Chinese rulers and
people had accepted this ceremony as the inseparable prerogative
of the Son of Heaven ; and as this discussion in their capital
was in the hearing of a great crowd of officials, who, doubtless,
were prompt enough in circulating among the populace a
report of the disagreement, one may appreciate the feelings of
the latter when the American embassy was allowed quietly to
leave the city without enterhig into the “Great Interior” to
behold the Dragon’s Face. Foreigners have been so ready in
China to ridicule or depi’eciate whatever partakes of resistance
to their notions (unless it be backed up by force to make it respected),
that this remarkable discussion on a vital point in Chinese
etiquette and theology was generally regarded as silly verbiage
on their part or ascribed to the effect of fear on the part
of the Americans. As the time and phice for exchanging ratifications
were not mentioned in the treaty, there was no insuperable
difficulty in adjourning the ceremony to another place; yet it seemed a grotesque ending to the four days’ discussion for Kweiliang to seriously ask the minister for what purpose he had come to Peking, he himself being quite at a loss to understand the reason. Mr. Ward replied that it was to deliver the letter from the President, and to exchange the ratifications. It would have been better if he had held him to the promise made by the governor-general at Pehtang to do so in Peking. However, the return trip was concluded by the exchange of ratifications on August 15th at Pehtang, and the departure of the frigate for Shanghai soon after.
‘ See Ward’s despatches, pp. 594-617, U. 8. Senate Executue Document No. 30, read Marcli 1;5, 1800; American Eclectic Magazine, New York, Vol. 51, April and May, 18G1 •, North China Br. Ji. A. Society, Vol. I., No. 3, 1859.
LORD ELGIX AND BARON GROS RETURN TO CHINA 671
The mortification of having been repulsed at Taku was not concealed by the British public or press, when they ascribed it to the too hasty landing at sunset on a mud flat over which there was no pathway or footing. There certainly was no treachery on the part of the Chinese, as Mr. Swinhoe declares in his JVorf/i China Ca//tj>ai^n, for they plaiidy told what they would do if the passage were attempted.’ Yet it was a grievous disappointment to find that the exchange of ratifications had been interrupted from any cause; and though it will probably always be a debatable point whether it was right for the allied envoys to refuse the offered means of reaching Peking by way of Pehtang, there was no debate now as to the necessity of hastening to the capital at once.
‘ Though they told many lies as well. These charges against the Chinese were reiterated until they were believed by all the world; but in the effort to find a good reason for proceeding to Peking in order to exchange the ratifications, it was not needful to say that the forts fired upon the British ships without notice. Mr. Bruce’s despatches to Lord Malmesbury (of Jul}’ i;]th), together with the eufilosures and translations of native documents, discuss this question with much good sense.
The British and French governments moved immediately in the matter, and M’isely decided to place the settlement of the question in the same hands that had carried it thus far. In April, 1860, Earl Kussell wrote to Lord Elgin that ” Her Majesty resolved to employ every means calculated to establish peace with the Emperor of China, and had determined to call upon him again to give his valuable services to promote this important object.” The indispensable conditions were three, viz., an apology for the attack on the allied forces at the Pei ho ; the ratification and execution of the treaty ; and payment for the expenses incurred by the allies. Lord Elgin’s colleague was Baron Gros, and the two were ready to leave Europe in April. They were supported in making their demands by an army of about ten thousand British troops of all arms, gathered from England, Cape Colony, and Lidia, and nearly seven thousand French sent from France. Their respective naval forces were not largely added to, but the requisite transports increased the fleets to more than two hundred vessels in all, of which thirty-three
were French. The latter had small iron gunboats, fitted to carry one gun, brought from home hi fifteen pieces each; when screwed together each boat had three compartments, made water-tight with layers of vulcanized rubber at the joinings^
The British forces gathered at Talien-wan Bay on the southeastern side of Prince llegent’s Sword, and the French at Chifu on the coast of Shantung. The plenipotentiaries had arrived iu July of this year and found the imperial government maintaining its old attitude of conciliation and undue assumption.
On March 8th the foreigners^ terms had been made known by Mr. Bruce, and a reply shortly afterward transmitted to him through Ho Kwei-tsing at Shanghai. In it the lurking fear of reprisals, so largely actuating its conduct, appears from the conclusion, when the council says : ” If Mr. Bruce will come north without vessels of war and with but a moderate retinue, and will wait at Pehtang to exchange the treaties, China will not take him to task for what has gone by. But if he be resolved to bring up a number of war-vessels, and if he persist in proceeding by way of Taku, this will show that his true purpose is not the exchange of treaties.” ‘ After such a declaration there was but one way left by which to prove to the Emperor how thoroughly in earnest were the allies in their intention of exchanging the treaties. The last bulwark of Chinese seclusion was now to be broken down—never more, we may hope, to be erected against the advancing influences of a more enlightened civilization.
‘ Wolseley’s Narrative, p. 14. Fislier’s C/nmi, Chap. XXIII.
LANDING OF THE ALLIES AT PEIITANG. 673
After the usual delays incident to moving large bodies of troops with their various equipages, the combined forces left their anchorages on July 26th, presenting with their long lines of ships a grand sight as they went up the smooth waters of the Gulf of Pechele toward the mouth of the Pehtang River. This assemblage was many times larger than the armaments sent to the same region in the two previous years, and the experiences of those years had prepared both parties to regard this third attempt to reach the Court of Cambaluc as decisive of their future relations. The forces found much inconvenience in effecting a landing at Pehtang, where the beach at low tide extends over miles of ooze and sticky mud, but met no forcible opposition. The towns in this region are among the most repulsive-looking on the whole Chinese coast. In consequence of
the saline soil no trees or grass are to be seen on the wide
plain ; the only green things being a few fruit trees near the
Jiouses, or scattering patches of salsola and similar plants. The
houses are built of mud and chopped straw ; their walls rest on
layers of sorghum stalks spread on the foundation to intercept
the saline influences, while the thatched roofs also contain
much mud. These soon present a scanty covering of grass,
which, speedily withering in the hot sun, imparts to the dwelling a still more forlorn aspect. Cheerless enough on a bright day, the appearance of one of these hamlets in wet weather—with mud streaming from the roofs, the streets reeking with noisome filth, through which loaded carts and half-naked men wend dolefully their way—is certainly melancholy beyond any description.
The allies were on shore by the evening of August 2d, and
in a most pitiable plight in their own eyes. The men had been
obliged to wade through the mud left by the retiring tide to
reach solid ground, and then cross a moat that received the
drainings of the town, a reeking mass much worse, of course,
than the other. Xo fresh water was to be had, and the time
which elapsed before the men could be supplied from the boats
Avas spent in putting themselves up for the night, Avet, dirty,
and hungry as they were. In the morning it was found that
the few forts which they were to attack were merely for show,
and soon the town was occupied by the ti’oops, their generals
taking the temples for quarters. In less than three days every
house in it had been pillaged, and whatever was worthless for
plunder was destroyed as useless, ” the few natives that still
lingered by their uinisurped domiciles,” adds Mr. Swinhoe,
” quietly watching with the eye of despair the destruction of
all the property they possessed in the world, and the ruin of
their hopes perhaps forever.” Even the poor wretches who
were trying to cany off their goods in packs were stopped and
stripped by the prowling soldiers.
Ill less than a fortnight the entire force had been brought
ashore without accident or opposition. There were men, tents,
guns, horses, provisions, animals, stores, ammunition, baggage, —everything, in short, which an army now needs and which
steam easily brings to it. Besides these, two thousand live
hundred Cantonese coolies, each of whom is estimated by
Colonel Wolseley, with supreme candoi’, to have been of more
general value than any three baggage animals. They were
working constantly for ten days, carrying water, landing stores,
and performing the toil devolving on camp followers, for which
this author magnanimously praises them by saying: “They
were easily fed, and when properly treated most manageable.”
On August 12th the forces were ready to move on the Taku
forts lying about five miles distant across the plain, now rendered
miry by the constant rains. A single causeway three
miles long, flanked by deep ditches, traversed it, and along this
progress, especially for the heavy artillery, was exceedingly
slow. Upon their passage of this road the Chinese general,
Sangkolinsin, yielded the only vantage-ground where he could
have encountered his enemy with hope of success. This ignorant
blunder on the part of so energetic a commander seems all
the more unaccountatle, since a week previously the Chinese
cavalry had been nnich emboldened by some slight successes
over a reconnoitring party of the allies, and ” approached our
outposts with wonderful courage, a few even advancing to within
a few hundred yards, brandishing the swords and making grotesque
gesticulations.”
At last the allies were ready to advance to the attack of the
Chinese. The Mongol horsemen commenced the engagement
by rushing fearlessly forward in several irregular lines of
skirmishers, and bravely received the shot from the Armstrong
guns, until they charged with a loud, M’ild yell the Sikh cavalry,
with whom they engaged in close conflict. But ” in less than
a minute the Tartai’s had turned and were flying for their lives
before our well-armed irregulars supported b}^ two squadrons
of the finest dragoons in the British army ; the ])ursuit lasted
for five miles, and was then only ended by our horses being
pumped out. Had they been in good working order the vq
CAPTURE OF SINIIO AXD THE TAKU FOKTS. 675
suits would have been far more satisfactory, and the worthy tax-payers at home would have had the pleasure of gloating over the account of an immense Mst of slain enemies.”‘
TliQ allied infantry had already reached the intrenched canjp, near the village of Sinho, and the ” beautifully precise practice” of the Armstrongs, together with the accurate rifled guns of the French, were brilliantly successful in knocking over the Chinese who served their gingalls at the ranges of fourteen hundred or a thousand yards.
The reader cannot desire further particulars of this unequal
contest as described by Colonel (now Lord) Garnet “Wolsele^-.
The various forces of the Chinese M-ere entirely routed by the
allies ; the plain was speckled for miles l)y native corpses, while
the care of wounded men called out the sympathies and skill of
their conquerors. The village of Sirdio was plundered, and its
inhabitants fled, glad to escape with their lives.^ The next
morning an advance was made by the entire force upon the five
forts and intrenched camps at Tangku, three miles ofF, from
which the imperialists were dislodged with considerable loss on
their part, the rest retreating across the Pei ho toward Taku.
Tangku town was occupied by the foreigners, who took under
their care everybody left in it, and relieved the wounded and
starving while preparing for the intended attack on the forts.
This kindness, and the consequent increased acquaintance arising
between the contending parties in obtaining supplies, did much
to remove their ignorance and contempt of each other—a result
far more desirable and useful than the capture of forts and
prisoners.
‘Wolseley, NniTatiir, p. 108.
‘ A great collection of official documents disclosing the views of the court upon the struggle was found iu the yamun.
” Lieutenant-Colonel Fisher, Personal Narrative, pp. 404-409.
The French having already- encamped on the further bank of the Pei ho, each army commenced the building of a bridge ^ across the stream, completing the structure so speedily that by the morning of August 21st the whole attackingforce was in position. The twenty-three pieces of artillery now began to fire upon the north fort, from which the Chinese replied with all the alacrity they could, although taken thus in rear. About six o’clock, when the fire waxed hotter and hotter, and the troops were anxiously looking for the signal to advance, ” a tall black pillar, as if by magic, shot up from the midst of the nearest fort, and then bursting like a rocket after it had obtained
a great height, was soon lost in the vast shower of earth and
wood into which it resolved itself—a loud, bursting, booming
sound marking the moment of its short existence.” But the
fire from the fort only ceased for a minute or two, and the
gunners served their pieces most manfully, though sometimes
unprotected in any way from the crushing shell fire opposed to
them. The attack Ijegan about seven o’clock, nearly four thousand
men all told forming the advance. A gallant defence was
made to a still bi-aver onset, but the victoiy naturally fell to
the disciplined forces of the allies, who had j^ossessed themselves
of all the defences before noon. A few guns taken from
the ships destroyed June 25, 1850, were now recovered l)y the
British, but otherwise the fort contained nothing of Aalue. The
loss of life on both sides was coni]):iratively slight. The Jh-itish
had seventeen killed and one hundred and eighty-three wounded ; the French, one hundred and thirty casualties in all; the Chinese lay dead in heaps in the fort, and their total loss probably exceeded two thousand. The interior testified in every part the noble manner in which it had been defended, even after the disastrous explosion had crippled the resources and discouraged the enthusiasm of its garrison. From this position the allies moved on the other n(n-thern fort with their artillery, under a continual fire from its Avails ; but before the guns could open upon it, many white; flags appeared on the parapets; messengei’S were ere long seen to leave the gi’cat southern fort. They were all given up before sunset, and the famous Taku foi’ts, Avhieh had last year witnessed the discomfiture of the allies, now saw them enter as conquerors’—” the tarnished honor of our arms was <i;loriouslv vindicated.”
‘ When tlio allied generals came to carefully examine the construction of the walls, casemates, and internal arrangements, with the preparation made outside to hinder the enemy, they declared them to be absolutely impregnabW from seaward if defended as well as the north fort had been.
THE ADVANCE TO TIENTSIN. 077
Lord Elgin M-as quietly resting in Tangkn, and refused to jeceive their surrender, or even to hold intercourse with Hangfnh, the governor-general of Chihli, then in command, but turned him over to the commander of the forces. The path heing now open for the troops to march upon Tientsin, the gunboats were sent forward to see that the river was clear. On the ^.^th the two ])loiiipotentiaries wei-e again housed at Tientsin,
accompanied by naval and land forces amply strong to take
them to Peking. Xo opposition M’as, howevei”, experienced in
i-eaching that city, while the pleasing contrast in the surface of
this country with that of the dreary flats near Pehtang and
Taku refreshed the men as much as the abundant supplies and
})eacefulness of the people aided them. Such remarkable contrasts
in China illustrate the inert character of this extraordinary
people; and further, also lead one to incpiire what is the
reason for their loyalty to a government which fails so completely
in protecting them from their enemies. Mr. Swihhoe
records’ a conversation held with a M’ell-to-do Chinese, in which
this inquiry receives a partial answer in the peaceful education
of a race M’hicli lias no alternative.
‘ North China Campairjn, pp. 158-161.
His intrenchments at Sinho and Tangku being demolished, his vaunted defences upon the liver razed, his enemies’ ships in possession of Tientsin, nothing now remained for Sangkolinsiii save to move his entire army nearer Peking, and there again meeting the invaders, endeavor to preserve the capital from capture. He would not there be able to shift the odium of defeat on the difficulties of the river defences, while the moral effect would be incomparably greater if he were vanquislied near the palace. The aged Jvweiliang, the father-in-law of Prince Kung, was again directed to repair to Tientsin, where he arrived about August 2Sth. He and two others (all of them Manchus) endeavored to negotiate a peace so as to prevent the allies from advancing on Peking with their armies. Finding that they were trifling, Lord Elgin stopped the palaver, and started for Tungchau on September Stli, the British taking the left bank and the French keeping the southern. jS^ear Yangtsun a new cummission of higher rank reported itself, but it was rejected, and the army continued on its M’ay. Further on, at Ilosi-wu and Matau, signs of serious strife began to appear, but the commissioners assured their negotiators, Messrs. Wade and Parkes, that
everything was or would be ready at Tungchau to conclude the
convention. Affairs were becoming critical in the matter of
supplies and transport, for Sangkolinsin’s army prevented the
people from safely bringing animals and making sales. The commissariat,
therefore, was obliged to seize what could be found
to feed the advancing force, and this involved ransacking most
of the towns and handets lying near the river between Hosi-wu
and Tungchau. The progress of the force was, therefore, much
slower than below Tientsin, though the possession of sixty or
eighty small boats helped to bring on the amnumition and
other supplies.
On September 1ith the interpreters, Messrs.AYade and Parkes,
reached Tungchau, in order to meet Prince I and his colleague
to discuss the terms for stoj^ping the army and exchanging
the ratifications. This interview was marked with apparent
sincerity, and resulted in an order for the army to move forward
to a place designated near the town of Changkia-wan,
about three leagues from Tungchau, \vhere the troops were to
encamp. The camp broke up from IIosi-wu early on the 17th
to carry this arrangement into effect. Mr. Parkes was again sent
forward to Tungchau (twentj^ -five miles), accompanied by an escort
of twenty-six Sikh and other soldiers, to inform the imperial
connnissioners, and finally arrange terms. The ground pointed
out was reached, and seemed to be well suited for the j^ui-pose.
At Changkia-wan the party met an ofiicer at the head of some
cavalry, who challenged them, but allowed all to go on to Tungchau.
Mr. Parkes soon met another high official in charge of a
guard, who treated them with marked courtesy, informing
them that he had been the general at Sinlio, and let them proceed.
They were received at Tungchau and conducted through
the town to a temple by a messenger sent from the prince. At
one o’clock the discussions began, but instead of entering into
the details of carrying out the agreement, difficulties were made
OCCUKRENCES AT TUNGCIIAU. 679
about Lord Elgin’s delivering his letter of credence to the Emperor.
The whole afternoon was consumed in this debate,
which probably was grounded not a little on the recent decision
of Ilienfung to leave the capital for his summer palace at
Jeh-ho while the way was yet clear. At eventide the commissioners
waived the settlement of the audience, and soon agreed
to all the other points relating to the encampment near Changkia-
wan. In the morning Mr. Parkes, Colonel Walker, and
eleven others, leaving the rest of their party in the temple to
await the arrival of the plenipotentiaries the next day, departed
to view the designated encampment. Their journey was somewhat
eventful. As they reached Changkia-wan they met bodies
of Chinese infantry going south, but no notice was taken of
them, and the foreigners rode on to reach the appointed spot.
In doing so they came across a body of a thousand dismounted
liorsemen concealed in a dry watercourse, or nullah, evidently
placed there in ambush ; while riding along in front no interruption
was made to their progress. Further on, in a small
village, they detected a large force hidden behind the houses
and in gardens, but still no hindrance to their advance was interposed
by these men. A short distance ahead they came upon
a masked battery of twelve guns just placed in position, from
which they were driven away. It was now phiin that Sangkolinsin
Avas preparing an ainbushment for the allied forces to
enter, feeling confident, no doubt, of his success.
Mr. Loch, who accompained Mr. Parkes thus far, was now
designated to force his way through the Chinese troops, so as to
meet the allied generals and tell them the state of things. Sir
Hope Grant had already noticed some bodies of men on his
flanks, and was preparing for them when he learned the truth ;
but in order to give Mr. Parkes and the others a chance to escape
from Tungchau, he agreed to delay two hours before opening
upon the enemy. Mr. Loch accordingly started, in company
with Captain Brabazon and two horsemeu,to return to Tungchau.
They reached it in a few hours and found their friends, unconscious
of the danger, wandering through the town. Mr. Parkes
had learned something of it, and called on Prince I at his
quarters to claim protection ; this dignitary was in a state of much excitement, and said that ” mitil the question of delivering the letter of credence was settled there coiikl \)c no peace ; there must be war.” On returning to their temple the foreigners immediately started off in a body, but some of their horses were jaded, and the country was filled with moving bodies of troops.
When about five miles wei”e gone over they came on a brigade
of matchlock men, and ere long an officer of rank stopped them
from going further, but offered to accompany two of them to
obtain from the general a pass allowing the whole party to ride
around the Chinese army on their way back. Mr. Parkes and
Mr. Loch and a Sikh accordingly M’ent with him, and he bravely
looked after their safety. Meanwhile the battle had alreadybcgun,
as the booming cannon intimated. They had advanced only a
few rods when the trio found themselves in the midst of a large
body of infantry, some of whom seized their bridles, but their
guide rushed in, striking i-ight and left, and thus cleared the
way. Ten rods in the rear they met the Chinese general, to
whom Mr. Parkes addressed himself, pointing to the flag of
truce and asking for a pass for the whole party to return to the
P>ritish armv. 8aii<rkolinsin ” irave a derisive lau<2;h, and broke
out into a torrent of abuse, lie accused Parkes of being the
cause of all the troubles and difficulties that had arisen. Not
content with attempting to impose conditions which would have
been derogatory to the dignity of the Empei’or to accept, he
had now brought the allied armies down to attack the imperial
forces.” This is only a part of his excited conversation with Mi”.
Parkes, as reported by Mr. Loch. They were now imprisoned,
and ordered to l)e taken in an open cart with two French prisoners
to Tungehau, and delivered over to Prince I. The others,
twenty-three in all, had also been made prisoners where they
were waiting, and ere long conducted to Tungehau in charge
of a guard.
The five in the cart reached Tungehau after Prince I had
left his temple, and were therefore hurried on to Peking after
him, but on the way were turned off near Pa-li-kiau {i.e.,
‘ Eight Lt Bridge’) and taken to the quai’ters of Jinlin, a general
then in command of the Peking gendarmerie, fie ques’
IMPKISONMENT OF PARKES AND LOCH. 681
tioned Mr. Parkes upon the strength of the allied foi’ces, until
the latter ended this catechising under the torture of kneeling
with the arms twisted behind him, by pretending to faint.
In the aftei-noon, MJiile again undergoing examination by some
officials formerly with Prince 1, they were suddenly interru})
ted b}’ a commotion, and everybody ran off, leaving them
alone. Soon a number of soldiers rushed in and bound their
arms, while they were led away to be beheaded in an outer
court. But just as they crossed the yard a mandarin hurried
forward, and seizing liold of the soldier, then waving his
sword over Mr. Loch, rescued them both and hurried them into a cart, where the other three prisoners lay, upon which they immediately started for Peking by the great stone road. The torture and jolting of this ride over the rough causeway were increased by their weariness, hunger, and cramped position, and when they got out of the cart at the Iling Pu, in Peking, they were utterly prostrated. Kevertheless, their misery during the ride of ten miles was transient and light compared with what awaited them inside of the Board of Punishments.
They were there separated, heavily pinioned, and put with the native prisoners. Mr. Loch justly commends these wretched men for their sympathy, and mentions many little acts of kindness to him in dividing their cakes and giving him a special bench to sit on during the ten days he was quartered with them. Tie was then tai:en to the room with Mr. Parkes, and they were soon driven away to a temple in the northern part of the city, whore rooms had been fitted up for them. As to the party of twenty-three English and thirteen Frenchmen left by Parkes at his capture, they had been taken to Yuan-ming Yuan under a strong guard.
Meanwhile the allied army had come up to the Chinese
forces. These, about twenty thousand men in all, had been
posted with considerable skill betvreen Changkia-wan and the
Pei ho, showing a front of nearly four miles, nuich of which
w^as intrenched and presenting a succession of batteries. The
battle on the 18th died away as the allies reached that town, having driven Sangkolinsin’s troops toward Peking, captured eighty guns, and burned all his camps. The loss of life was much less among his men than at the Taku fort, for here none of them were chained to their guns, and were able to escape when their position was untenable. Changkia-wan was thoroughly pillaged that night by those who could get at it, especially the poor natives who followed the army.
On the 21st the Chinese forces made another stand near the
Eight Li Bridge over the Canal, from which the French dislodged
them without much difficulty. The British came up on
their flanks and drove them in upon their centre, which of
course soon resulted in a general dispersion. The artillery
opened up at long range ; the cavalry riding in upon the
Chinese horsemen, easily scattered them, often burning the
separate camps before returning. The contest at the bridge
was the most serious, and their loss here was estimated at three
hundred ; on the whole field it probably did not exceed five
hundred, for neither their cavalry nor infantry often presented
a solid front. The entire losses of the allies were less than
fifty killed and wounded. Nothing intei’posed now between
them and Peking, but they delayed to move until October
3d, when their entire force had come up, siege guns and
commissary stoi-es included. Full knowledge had been obtained
of the environs of Peking, and iiegotiations had been
going on respecting the return of the prisoners as a preliminary
to the close of hostilities. These were now conducted with
Prince Ivung, the next youiiger brother of the Emperor, who
was himself by this time safe at Jeh-ho.
TILLAGE OF YUEN-MINU YUEN. G88
On October Gtli Lord Elgin and the generals M-ere settled in the spacious quarters of the Hwang s//, a lamasaiy near the northwest gate of Peking, and their army occupied much of the open spaces between it and the city. On that day, the outposts of the French army and some of the British cavalry reached the great cantonment of Hai-tien (where the Manchu garrison of Peking was quartered) and the palace of Yuan-ming Yuan near by. This was soon pillaged under circumstances and in a barbarously wasteful manner which will reflect lasting obloquy upon General Montaubon, who, more than any other person, could have interposed to save the hnniense and precious collection of objects illustrating Chinese art, architecture, and literature. Lord Elgin’s journal gives his view of this act in a few words:
October 7th, 5 o’clock r. M. —I have just returned from the Summer Palace.
It is really a line thing, like an English park—numberless buildings
with handsome rooms, filled with Chinese curios, handsome clocks, bronzes,
etc. But alas ! such a scene of desolation. The French general came up,
full of protestations. He had prevented looting in order that all the plunder
might be divided between the armies, etc. There was not a room that I saw
m which half the things had not been taken away or broken to pieces. I
tried to get a regiment of ours sent to guard the place, and then sell the things
by auction ; but it is difficult to get things done by system in such a case, so
some of the officers are left [there], who are to fill two or three carts with
treasures, which are to be sold. Plundering and devastating a place like this
is bad enough, but the waste and breakage are much worse. Out of a million
pounds’ worth of property, I daresay fifty thousand pounds will not be realized.
French soldiers were destroying in every way the most beautiful silks,
breaking the jade ornaments and porcelain, etc. War is a hateful business.
The more one sees of it the more one detests it.
‘
Mr. Swinhoe’s account of one room in this palace has now a historical interest—but his description must be condensed:
Facing the gate (he says) stood the grand reception hall, well adorned outside, and netted with copper wire under the fretted eaves to keep off the birds.
Entering it we found ourselves on a marble floor in front of the Emperor’s
ebony throne ; tliis was adorned with carved dragons in various attitudes ; its
floor was covered with light red cloth, and three low series of steps led up to
it, on the central and widest of which his subjects made the kotow. The left
side of the hall was adorned with a picture representing the grounds of the
palace, and the side tables contained books in yellow binding and ornaments.
There was somehow an air of reverence throughout this simple but neat hall.
On an audience day the Emperor here seated himself attired in a yellow robe
wrought with dragons in gold thread, his head surmounted with a spherical
crown of gold and precious stones with pearl drops suspended around b}’ light
gold chains. Eunuchs and ministers in court costume kneel on each side in
long lines, and the guard and musicians are arranged in the outer court. The
name of the person to be introduced is called out, and as he approaches the
band strikes up. He draws near the ” Dragon’s Seat” and kneels before the
central steji, removes his hat, placing it on the throne floor with the peacock’s
feather toward the imperial donor. His Ma’esty moves his hand and down
goes the head, striking on the step three times three. The head is then raised,
but with downcast eyes the man hears the behests of his great master. Wheii
‘ Elgin’s Letters^ p. 361.
the voice ceases, again the hciul niukes t\w nine knocks, thus acknowledging the sovereign right, and the man withdraws. How different the scene now, adds Mr. Swinhoe. The hall filled with crowds of a foreign soldiery, and the throne floor covered with the Celestial Emperor’s choicest curios, destined as gifts for two far more worthy monarchs. ” See here,” said General Montaubon, pointing to them, ” I have had a few of the most brilliant things selected to be divided between the Queen of Great Britain and the Emperor of the French.” ‘
On the following day—October Sth—the coniuiaiulers were
greatly relieved by the return of Parkes, Loch, d’Escayrac de
Lauture, and five soldiers ; the first two of these gentlemen had
been comparatively well treated after their terrible experiences
within the lling Pu. A few days later botli armies were horrified
by the appearance in camp of eleven wretched men—all who
had survived from the party of French and English made prisoners
near Tungchau ; Anderson, Bowlby, de Xornian, and
others had succumbed to the dreadful tortures caused by the
cords which bound them. The coffined bodies were all brought
to camp within a few days, hardly recognizable from the effects
of lime thrown upon them. On the 16th occurred the impressive
ceremony of theii* interment in the Russian cemetery near
Peking, Lord Elgin, Sir Hope (Jrant, Parkes, and Loch being
chief mourners, while a deputation from every regiment in the
allied armies followed in the train.
Two days after this Lord Elgin ordered the destruction of the
palace of Yuen-ming Yuen ; a sudden though deliberate act.
Feeling prul)ably that such a decision would be closely criticised
by those wlio were far removed in time and place from the exciting
scenes around him, he took occasion to review his position
in a long despatch. It was impossible in his situation to learn
whether the responsibility for the capture and savage treatment
of these men rested with the same Chinese officials.’ This
‘ Swinhoe, JVorth China Campairin, pp. 294 fF. —the most detailed and interesting
account of this palace and its destruction. Compare M. C. Lavalloe in
the Reciie den Deux MowUs for August 1, 18(io. Other French writers on this
war are Lieutenant de vaisseau Pallu, lirhitioit (U I’expeditMn de Cliiiic, Paris,
1803; le Cornte d’Escayrac de Lauture, Memoirex sur hi Ch/’nc, Paris, 18(54;
Sinnebaldo de Mas, Iai Ghiiie et les ptmsances chretiennes, 18()1.
•’ I’robably not. The prisoners were in the hands of lictors wliosc habit it
was to torture in the hope of extorting money on their own account. The
DESTRUCTION OF THE SUMMER PALACE. 685
much, nevcrtlieless, was })laiii—that the Chinese were full^
aware of the obligations of a tlag of truce, inasmuch as they
had ah’eady often av’ailed themselves of its privileges. Lord
Elgin makes the Emperor personallj responsible for the crimes
which had been committed, but specifies Sungkolinsin as the
real culprit, lie then says
:
I had reason to bolieve that it was an act which was calcnlated to produce a
greater effect in China and on the Emperor than persons who look on from
a distance may suppose. It was the Emperor’s favorite residence, and its
destruction could not fail to be a blow to his pride as well as to his feelings.
To this place he brought our hapless countrymen, in order that they might
undergo their severest tortures within its precincts. Here have been found
the horses and accoutrements of the troopers seized, the decorations torn from
the breast of a gallant French officer, and other effects belonging to the
prisoners. As almost all the valuables had ah-eady been taken from the
palace, the army would go there, not to pillage, but to mark, by a solemn act
of retribution, the horror and indignation with which we were inspired by the
perpetration of a great crime. Tlie punishment was one which would fall,
not on the people, who may be comparatively innocent, but exclusively on the
Emperor, whose direct personal responsibility for the crime committed is establislied,
not only by the treatment of the prisoners at Ynen-ming Yuen,
but also by the edict in which he offered a pecuniary reward for the
heads of the foreigners.
‘The work of destruction left hardly a trace of the palace of the ” Round-bright Garden ;” indeed, the provocation for this act was great. The despatch refers only to the palace where Hienfung spent most of his time, and it is probable that Lord Elgin intended to burn that alone. He gave no orders for the destruction of the buildings on Wan-shao shan, Yuh-tsien shau, the Imperial Park near Pih-yun sz’, and other places five to ten miles distant. All of these residences or villas had been erected or enlarged by former Emperors of the present dynasty ; none have since been rebuilt. It is, nevertheless, easy to gather from Colonel Wolseley’s record that his lordship’s satisfaction in this candid spirit of Loch’s narrative is wanting in the more colored accounts of Wolseley and Swinlioe, written in the flush of victory. The charges they make against Prince I of treachery toward Mr. Parkes are not borne out ; the deaths of Captain Brabazon and the Abb; de Luc seem to have been by order of Pao, and not from SSngkolinsin. Compare an article in the Rente den Deux Mondcn (If) juillet, 18G5) by C. Lavallue, UExpedition anglo-francaise en Chine ‘ Elyin”s Letters and Journals, p. 300. ” retribution”‘ was not greatly impaired by its over-zealous performance on the part of the troops. In addition to the loss of the palaces, the Chinese had to pay £100,000 as indemnity to be given to the prisoners and their families, before the victors would consent to sign the convocation.
On the 13tli the ultimatum had been accepted by Prince
Kung, who about two hours before noon opened the An-ting or
northeast gate of Peking, wdiich commanded the whole city.
Arrangements were gradually completed for the grand entry of
the plenipotentiaries into Peking. The L’l Pu, or Board of
Rites, was selected as the place for exchanging the ratifications
of the treaty of Tientsin and signing the convention, while the
fa^ or palace of Prince I, had been chosen for Lord Elgin’s residence
in the city. On October 24th the latter was escorted to
both these places by many officers, together with a body of four
hundred infantry and one hundred cavalry, while in all the streets
leading to them were guards placed. The wdiole city was out to
witness the unusual parade. The procession passed slowly through
the wide avenues, the music of the band heralding i’ts approach to
the dignitaries anxiously awaiting the arrival. The utmost care
had been taken that no excuse should be ever after brought ft»rward
that the Emperor had not assented to tlie two documents
signed that day ; but much besides Mas done to show Prince
Kung and liis officers that they were in the presence of their
conquerors.’
The following day Baron Gros signed his convention and exchanged
the ratifications of the French treaty under similar
fornuilities. The principal points in the l>ritish convention of
nine articles were—the payment of eight million taels ; the permission
given by imperial sanction for the emigration at will of
Ciiinese subjects as contract laborers or otherwise ; the cession
of Kowlung to the crown as part of the colony of Hongkong.
Without delaying for additional connnent, the insertion here
of a poi’tion of Lord John Uusseirs despatch to Eord Elgin will
‘ The frontispiece of this volume is intended to represent this ceremony.
Its interest lies chielly iu the fact that it is from the work of one of the ablest
painters in the capital, and represents from a native’s staud-poiut one of the most remarkable and important events in the history of modern China.
THE TREATIES SIGNED AT PEKING. 687
not be uninteresting in connection witli these treaties. His
lordship’s document reads like the balance-sheet of a London
merchant at the termination of some successful adventure:
“The Convention is entirely satisfactory to Her Majesty’s
Government, it records the reparation made by the Emperor
of China for his disregard in the previous year of his treaty
engagements ; it sets Her Majesty’s government free from an
implied engagement not to insist m all particulars on the fulfilment
of those engagements ; it imposes upon China a fine
in the shape of an augmented rate of indemnity ; it affords an
additional opening for British trade ; it places on a recognized
footing the emigration of Chinese coolies, whose services are so
important to Her Majesty’s colonial possessions ; it relieves Her
Majesty’s colony of Hongkong from a source of previous
annoyance.”
‘The French convention of ten articles contained like demands
and rewards, but instead of a slice of territor}^, the sixth
provided that Koman Catholic Christians should be indemnified
for ” all such churches, schools, cemeteries, lands, and buildings
as were owned on former occasions by persecuted Christians,
and the money handed to the French representative at Peking
for transmission to the Christians in the localities concerned.”
The fulfilment of this article required over ten years ; and as
the injuries had been done in some cases as far back as the reign
of Louis XHL, great irritation was aroused in the minds of the
natives who had for generations been quietly in possession of
lands which they had purchased.^
‘”The practical result was not very great,” concludes Mr. McCarthy.
•’ Perhaps the most important gain to Europe was the knowledge that Peking
was by no means so large a city as we had all imagined it to be. . . . There
is some comfort in knowing that so much blood was not spilt wholly in vain.”
—A History of Our (km Times, Chap. XLII., Vol. III.
^’An instance is mentioned in No. IV. of the Journal of the N. C. Br. R. A.Soc, 18G7, pp. 21-33, where a Roman Catholic church at Hangchau, which had been confiscated by the Emperor Yungcliing (about 1730), was changed into a temple dedicated to 7Y(7i JLto, the Queen of Heaven, “to serve th« double purpose of extirpating a religion of false gossip and obduracy, and of making an offering to a spirit who really has a beneficial influence over humaa destinies.”
The i:;reat objects of tlie expedition wei’e now attnined, and
foi-ei*;n nations conld congi-atulate tl)eniselves n)M»n liaving settled
their representatives in tlie Chinese caj)ital on terms of
equality. Two /^«, or palaces, were immediately occupied by
those from Great Britain and France. Subsecjuently, the niiii’
isters from other countries have grouped themselves around
these, and a foreign (piarter has gradually grown up in the
south-eastern part of the city. The chief agents in this im])ortant
opening, Lord Elgin and Baron Gros, were well fitted by
their urbanity, phiUiuthropy, and moderation for the delicate
task assigned them. Tlie terrified officials and citizens in
Peking had expected the worst consequences on the capture of
their city, but besides the destruction of Yuen-ming Yuen, their
capital and national unity escaped uninjured.
It was probably a great aid to the policy adopted by Prince
Kung and his colleagues that the Emperor and his court had
fied to Jeh-ho, for their influence, as the sequel proved, would
have opposed any pacification. It was still more important for
all future co-operation that he never came back at all, and thus
the real guidance of affaii’s fell into better hands.
The 24:th day of October saw the ending of the seclusion of
the Chinese from their fellow-men ; the contest honestly enough
begun in 1839 by Lin, to rescue his country from the curse of
opium, was in a manner completed on that day by the admission
of those regenerating influences which could alone effectually remove that evil. The intermediate twenty years had done much to prepare the Chinese for this concluding act ; and the honorable manner in which they fulfilled their promises and payments will stand as a lasting monument to, their national credit.
The retirement of the allies from Peking was accomplished
without impediment from the Chinese army under Sangkolinsin
; the money disbursed for boats, carts, supplies, fuel, etc.,
as the troops went down the river, compensating many natives
for their losses. By the end of November all had embarked
except the garrisons left at Tientsin and Taku, which latter
were removed as soon as the portion of the indemnity involving
their occupation was paid up. The effectual and salutary work
OBJECTS OF tup: WAR AC(‘0Mri>I8IIEU. 689
ing of tlio treaty stipulations for the niutual welfare of all parties
deiieiided on the di})loiiiatic and consular oflEicers left in the
capital and open ports. The British fijoverninent alone was
adequately supplied in this respect, and their consulates hecaine
the expositors to the local rulers of the manner in wliieli tlie
treaties were to be interpreted and enforced. The great mass
of natives knew almost nothing of their provisions, and looked
upon the struggle chiefly as one between their sovereign and
the foreigners. The defeat of the latter was in remoter districts
declared proven by their retirement from Peking ; but
along the coasts and up the Yangtsz’ the actual sight of steamers
and contact with foreigners who could talk with them and
explain the new state of things, really did more than anything
else to show them that these strangers were by no means overcome.
What was thus achieved to enlighten the people near
the trading marts only required time and contact to spread into
distant regions of the interior. As for the citizens of Peking,
they met only those foreigners who could talk with them, for
that city was not open to trade ; and thus one prolific source of
misunderstanding was removed. The death of the Emperor
Ilienfung (August 17, 1861) relieved them, too, from any attempt
he might have made, in his irritation on returning to the Forbidden
City and seeing his ruined palaces, to vent his wrath on the
few foreigners then living near him. Christian missionaries
also began their work in 1861, and thus thousands, who had had
only vague ideas about the ” barbarians,” could easily learn the
truth concerning them. Most fortunately, then, circumstances
were from the first favorable for forming an intelligent public
opinion in the capital.
CHAPTER XXVI. NARRATIVES OF RECENT EVENTS IN CHINA
Twelve months elapsed before the political atmosphere of China was disturbed by any break or change in its condition—a period of qniet which the government sorely needed for an appreciation of its relations with the foreigners who had forced their way into the capital. His Majesty Ilienfung having ascended the Dragon Throne on high, left the Empire in the
hands of his only son, a child six years old ; whether thixxigh
incapacity or disease, the debauched sovereign had long before
his death allowed his courtiers to engross the reins of goveriv
ment, and these now formed a cotei’ie which at Jeh-lio was ajipowerful.
At his death the administration i-csted in the hands
of a council of eight, whose nominal head was Tsai-yuen, Prince
1, a member of the imj)erial family belonging to the same generation
with the infant Emperor. The design of this cabal was to
at once assume the absolute power of a regency, to retain possession
of the young Emperor’s person at Jeh-ho, to make way
in secret with his mother and the Empress-dowager, and lastly
to arrest and destroy his father’s three brothers ; these initiatory
steps to sovereignty being accomplished, nothing would
interrupt their complete mastery of the government.
But in Prince Kung,’ the Emperor’s oldest surviving brother.
‘ Kung Tsin-waiig, ‘Prince Respect’—called by the people Wu-ako, ‘Fifth
Elder Rrother ‘—is the sixth son of Tauk’.vang, and was born about 1S;!1.
‘Ihree older brothers died young ; Ilienfung, the fourth, succeeded his father,
wliile the fifth, being adopted into a branch of the Emperor Kiaking’s faujily,
was dropped out of Tankwang’s household, leaving Princa Kung. in 18G1 ‘«>
be the first prince during the minority of Tungchi. His persona’, name, Tih-hii.
is never employed by those outside his immediate family. He has : roni
mendable record for an Asiatic statesman trained in habits Ol autocratic .1151.
mand The background in the i)ortrait ou the opposite page is a bit of ”oxm
work in the Foreign Office at Peking.
PRINCE KUNG. THE COUP D’ETAT OF PKINCE KUNG. 691
the conspirators found an opponent of no ordinary ability, to
whose astuteness in outwitting their machinations (as may he
safely affirmed in view of events which followed) is doubtless
owing the continuance of the present reigning family. The
prince was in concealment during the autumn of 1860, when
his brother fled to Jeh-ho, but appearing when the capital was
surrendered to the allies, he bore the brunt of that impleasant
task, signing the treaties, and undertook almost alone the management
of affairs with foreigners while the government was
recovering from its paralysis of defeat. It was a happy augury
for the continuance of peace and friendly intercourse that to a
man so well fitted by temperament for liis difficult position
should be joined the able and experienced statesman Kweiliang
;
though too old to take an active part in the settlement of the
succession, this skilful diplomatist lent the greatest aid to his
son-in-law by giving advice and a much needed support to the
Empresses-dowager at this critical period.
Hastily quitting Jeh-ho with the boy—who had been proclaimed
Emperor under the reign-name of Ki-tsiang, ‘ Lucky
Omen ‘—the two Empresses availed themselves of their right to
join the first prince, and repaired to Peking. Once settled in
the Forbidden City they were able to impart to Prince Kung
the magnitude of the plot against them, and concert measures
witli leading members of the impei’ial clan for the general
safety. The arrest and trial of the traitors was promptly carried
out ; by a decree of December 2, 1861, Prince 1 and his
principal coadjutor, Prince Chin, were allowed to commit
suicide, while their powerful and clever colleague, Suhshun, was
executed in the market-place, to the unfeigned delight of the
populace. This conspirator in his machinations and gross assumptions
had acted like a veritable Tigellinus, and earned for
himself a hatred and contempt which even members of the war
party could not conceal. Others of this unsuccessful clique
were disgraced or banished, but the punishments were not
numerous or barbarous. The reign-name was now changed
from Ki-tsiang to Timg-chi, or ‘ Union Rule,’ to mark the successful
demolition of this conspiracy, while Prince Kung (now
but thirty years old), the shrewd perpetrator of the couj? cPetat,
692 THE CUDDLE KINGDOM.
was \)roc]’dimed T-e/ung-ivamj, or ‘licgeiit I’liiicc,’ mid with the
Empresses constituted the regency during the iniiK^rity.’
Considerini>- all the circumstances of this ijalace intriijue, the
rank of its leading members, and its successful suppression hy
tlie operation of legal methods alone, it may well deserve the
attention of those interested in the political and historical
development of China as an admirable instance of both the
strength and weakness of her paternal government. To the
ordinary outlays of the Empire were superadded the innuense
burdens of a foreign invasion just concluded and a terrible
struggle with domestic enemies; yet neither the Regent nor his
colleagues appear during this period of stress to have lost a
particle of their contidence in the loyalty of the people ; through
loss and gain, failure of material or resource, treachery in palace
or camp, abuse or assistance frozn foreigners, this faith in one
another failed not. The face of China in 1865 was perhaps as
wi-etchcd as that of Central Europe after the peace of AVest»
phalia; indeed a more general desolation could hardly be imagined.
Xevertheless the rapidity with which its iidiabitants not
only resumed their occupations as best they could but rebuilt
dwellings and reorganized trade, startled even their habitual
disparagers into praise and testified to the marvellous recuperative
powers of this much-despised civilization.
Pleased with the excellent results of the introduction of
western drill and ai-ms into their military service, as against
the Tai-pings, certain of the mandarins at the south proposed
utilizing foreign war-vessels to the same end. To this scheme
as at first suggested there was not, perhaps, much to say either
in its behalf or otherwise. Their purpose was to purchase three
or four gun and despatch boats, man them with as many scores
of native seamen, and impart to these the necessary instruction
by placing them under foreign ofiicers. Mr. Horatio X. Lay
liad in 1850 proposed the use of armed revenue vessels in the
customs service, a very similar suggestion. But innocent as
were these conce])ti()ns, they assumed the gravest proportions
Wounud N. C. Br. R. A. S., December, 1864, pp. 110-114. Dr. Rennie,
J’ekiitr/ (iiul the Pekinfjese, Vol. II., passim—an interesting contemporary recorcj
of this event.
THE LAY-OSBORNE FLOTILLA. 693
when in 1861 Mr. Lay was allowed to visit England and there contract
for the construction of a steam fleet and secure a number
of British naval officers for three years” service.’ The Peking
authorities were still laboring under the disadvantages of their
ignorance, and nothing can illustrate better than this remarkable
enterprise the good influence which Sir Frederick Bruce had
acquired in their counsels, and their willingness to follow his
sufforestions. Their secluded life in Pekinii; had pi’evented thera
from learning many things in respect to the conduct of affairs
in their new relations, but they could hardly have had a better
counsellor than he. The instructions from Prince Ivung sent to
Mr. Lay in England described the kind of officers and hands
which the vessels were to carry ; they were to be men able and
willing to teach ignorant sailors the practice of navigation, the
management of machinery, and the use of guns of every kind.
Instead of these he contracted for ei<:;ht gunboats of different
sizes, one or two of them powerful vessels, able to carry two
hundred and more men ; they arrived in China early in 1863
under the command of Capt. Sherard Osborne, H. X. Mr.
Lay’s disappointment was great and undisguised when, on reachinn;
Pekingr in June, he found that Prince Kung and his advisers
were totally unprepared for such a fleet, and unwilling to
endorse the engagements he had entered into with the Queen’s
officers ; nor were the funds for their current expenses provided.
His ideas of his own position were soon modified, for he found
that the vessels must necessarily be placed under the direction
of the provincial authorities in operations against the rebels.
One of the articles in the agreement with Captain Osborne stipulated
that he should receive all his orders on those matters from
the Foreign Office through Mr. Lay, and would follow his own
choice in obeying others. Mr. Lay says himself that he was
“ambitious of obtaining the position of middle-man between
China and the foreign powers, because I thought I saw a way of
solving the problem of placing pacific relations with China upon
a sure footing. . . . My position was that of a foreigner engaged
by the Chinese government to perform certain work for
• Blue Bool; China, No. 2 (1864), p. 7.
694 THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
them, not under them. I need scarcely observe, in passing,
that the notion of a gentleman acting under aw Asiatic barbarian
is preposterous.” ‘ Ideas like these quite unfitted him for working
with the Chinese, either under orfor them, lie could not
understand that the former days of coercion and bullying had
passed awa}’, and that time must be allowed for them to graduallv
learn in their own way how to rise in the scale of nations,
and adopt such improvements as they pleased.
In his perplexity and chagrin, he began to blame the British
minister for lukewarmness in supporting his schemes, and to
weary the members of the Tsung-li Yamun by his demands.
The controversy continued to grow warmer after Captain
Osborne’s arrival at Peking in September, where he first learned
its real nature. Finally, in October, Prince Kung refused to
ratify Mr. Lay’s agreement made in England, very properly
remarking upon the obnoxious article which required the commander
of the flotilla to act only under orders from Peking.
Happily for China, the dissolution of the force was decided on.
The ships were to be sent back, for it was impossible to prevent
the native officials from selling them after they had full
control, and persons were already looking at them for their own
lawless designs. At this juncture Sir F. Bruce came to the relief
of the Chinese, and took the ships off their hands on
account of the British government, paying back from the indemnity
fund due to England all claims for wages, salary, and
other expenses to officers and men till their arrival in London.
This settlement involved an outlay of about $525,000, but the
total cost of the vessels, crews, and outfit from first to last was
not nnu’h less than a million sterling. The Peking government
had, therefore, by this arrangement escaped a serious
imbroglicj with the provincial governors and generals—one
which would have soon neutralized all responsibility, and perchance,
even at that late date, entailed the success of the
Tai-pings.
Mr. Lay, blinded by his own egotism and ambition, ascribes
his failure to the negligence, treachery, ignorance, and ill-will
‘ Our Interests in China : A Letter to Earl Russell, p. 19.
COLLAPSE OF THE SCHEME. 695
of Sir F. Bruce, whose performances in these lines are fully
detailed in his Letter to Earl RusselV of November 26, 1864.
This statement of wliat occurred in relation to the Lay-Osborne
flotilla exhibits the difficulties in the progress of Asiatic nations
in the path of what we call civilization^ and the ideas which
such men have as to the way in which they are to be forced
into this desirable condition. This extraordinary paper is an
instructive exhibition of British interference in tlie administration
of Asiatic countries, and how totally alien ” the spirit of
trade and progress” is to the independence and elevation of a
pagan people when it alone is the chief agency depended on.
In no case, nor under the best control, could Mr. Lay’s plan
liave worked real benefit to China ; but carried out under the
domineering leadership of such a man, the scheme would have
not only been humiliating in the last degree to those whom it
was designed to assist, but would have inevitably resulted in
the restoration of the conservative party to power and another
profitless struggle with the foreigners.
Upon the dismissal of Mr. Lay the management of the Lnperial
Maritime Customs was placed in the hands of Robert Hart,
Esq., who for a period of two years had given proof of his discretion
in this position, and (in the words of Mr. Burlingame)
had ” by his tact and ability w^on the regard of every one.”
Already the imperial officers began to appreciate the immense
material advantages of a regular income from the open ports,
especially in the practical help it furnished toward the expenses
of the dviui’ i-ebellion. The contact of native and foreisrn
rule in the same territory necessarily involved much assumption
of power and friction of authority growing out of the undefined
limits of the laws of ex-territorial ity ; but the legitimate working
of treaty provisions—the prompt reference of grievances
from complainant to consul, from the consul to his minister at
Peking—served to enlighten court and country as to the gen-
^ Our Interests in China, by H. X. Lay, C.B., London, 1864, pp. 66. See
also correspondence in Blue Gjok, and letter of Sir F. Bruce, of November 19,
1863. U. S. Diplomatic Coi^respond^iwe for 1864, Part III., pp. 348-378 ; and
for 1865, Part I., p. 670. A. Wilson, The ” Erer- Victorious Army,” pp. 260-
266. Fraser’s Magazine, February, 1865, p. 147.
696 TIIIO MIDDLE KINGDOM.
eral honesty of their quoiulaiii enemies, in a fashion whicli
neither preaching nor fighting conld ever have accomplished.’
In the year 1866 the arsenals at Fnhchau, Nanking, and Shangliai
were reorganized and made to inclnde schools for naval and
military instruction as well as engine and gun works ; the value
of such works was promptly nndei’stood by the Chinese, and
has been already the source of a creditable navy.”
The retirement of the Hon. Anson Bnrlingame from the position
of United States minister in November, 1867, furnished to
the Chinese government both an admirable agent and opportunitv
for an initial step in establishing diplomatic intercourse
M-ith the treaty powers. Into the hands of this gentleman was
placed the charge of a general mission to those governments,
there being added two co-ordinate Chinese ministers, an English
and French secretary, and six students from the Tung-wiin
Kwan at Peking. The three ministers were appointed Imperial
Envoys and furnished with a letter of credence to eleven
governments. The party left Shanghai February- 25, 1868,
for San Francisco, which ])ort they reached about a month
later. Few persons can now appreciate the excitement and
discussion in China and elsewhere caused by this first diplomatic
effort of the imperial government to take its place among
the family of nations. Mr. Bnrlingame, naturally hopeful and
enthusiastic, described his mission as an earnest of future peaceful
relations with the Middle Kingdom. AVherever he went he
elevated the estimate held of that ancient land by his hearers,
and urged the European courts to l)ut wait in patience until its
backward people might be pi-epared for the changes it wished
to adopt. Those changes and improvements were only to be
‘ The trial and condemnation of an American, who was hung at Shanghai in
1804 for the murder of two Chinese, tended to repress lawlessness on the part
of foreigners and assure the native rulers of theirearnest co-operation in bringing
tlic guilty to punishment. Tlie enlightened and friendly action of Prince
Kiing in issuing a proclamation, at re(iuest of Mr. Burlinganie, against allowing
any American Confederate cruisers to enter Chinese waters, was warmly appreciated
by this and the other treaty powers as an interesting testimonial of
tlie genuine friendsliip which was already disarming fear.
‘Compare Captain Bridge, 77w; Warlike Power of China, iu Franer^s Magazine,
Vol. 90, pp. 778 ir.
THE BI^RLINGAME MISSION. 697
adopted when China liad become convinced of their need and
practicability ; but many of Mr. Bnrlingame’s hearers were
botli more eager and more ambitions than he, regarding the
introduction of raih’oads, telegraphs, and steamers as opening
an enormous field for their own innnediate activity and gain.
The consequent indignation among foreign merchants in China and at hojue upon learning the extent of his exaggeration was universal ; the British merchants especially representing in strong terms the evil consequences of such ” baseless expectations.”
The different points of view of the two parties will account for their opposite opinions. On the one side, the merchants were vexed that their hopes of a general trade arising all over China, as a result of the treaties of Tientsin, were likely to be disappointed, owing to the increasing attention of native traders in their own internal and external commerce to the exclusion of foreigners ; while on the other, Mr. Burlingame laid great stress on those things which the Chinese government desired
and intended to do as they became more and more qualified
to act for themselves, through the agencies and institutions
which they were inaugm-ating. The merchants seemed to
think that nothing had as yet been accomplished in the direction
of ” progress,” inasmuch as their personal expectations of an
instant and lucrative trade were not realized ; in reply to Mr.
Burlingame’s ” enthusiastic fictions,” they called for “tangible
evidence of the existence of this spirit M’hich he celebrates so
loudly—some tittle of proof to support his sweeping theory.” ‘
Without dw^elling further upon these discussions, it pertains
to the present narrative to briefly point out the two salient
features of China’s initial attempt to knock at the doors of
‘ See the letters to the Daily News of J. Barr Robertson, of Shanghai, which have been taken as a fairly characteristic specimen of the mercantile and political view. An article by the same gentleman in the Wedminster Revkic for January, 1870, is rather calmer in language. Other data and opinions may be gathered from a work filling 890 pages, by the late J. von Gumpach, entitled The Biirlinf/ir/ne Miaxion : A Political Disrlostire, etc., 1872. Compare also the English newspapers issued in Shanghai and Hongkong in 1867-70; Bntish ParUamentay Papers ; U. S. Ex. Doc., Foreign IMitions, 1868-71; Harper’s Monthly Maaazine, Vol. XXXVII., p. 592; The Galaxy, Vol. VI., p. 613-
Other nations. Of these the first may be described as wholly
sentimental ; but it was the healthy sentiment of justice and
good feeling towai’d a distant and unknown community, which
Mr. Burlingame’s tact and ability called forth in behalf of his
clients’ cause from their recent conquerors. Dui’ing the years
1SG8 and 1869 he spoke for the right and privilege of the
Chinese to manage their om’ii affairs, and in America, England,
France, Prussia, and other countries had already created a more
healthy feeling of forbearance toward them, when his sudden
death at St. Petei-sburg (February, 1870) cut short the complete
achievement of his mission.’
‘ His colleagues, Chi-kaiig and Sun Kia-kii, afterward visited Italy, Spain, and other countries, returning to China within the same year. Neither of them was, however, brought forward at the capital as an adviser in relation to foreign ailairs.
ITS TKEATY BETWEEN CHINA AND AMERICA. 699
In the United States the passage of this embassy might have made but a transient impression had it not negotiated a treaty of eight articles (July 28, 1868), regarded as an integral part of the Reed, treaty of ten years previous. This, the second feature of the mission, has been attended with consequences whose influence does not yet appear to have ceased. Owing to the surprise of the Chinese government, which had given no express instructions as to treaty-making, the Foreign Office was somewhat tardy in ratifying this compact. This was, however, done in the following year. Its fifth article provides that the contracting powers “cordially recognize the inherent and inalienable right of man to change his home and allegiance, and also the nuitual advantage of the free migration and emigration of their citizens and subjects respectively from the one country to the other for the purposes of curiosity, or trade, or as permanent residents. The high contracting parties therefore join in reprobating any other than an entirely voluntary emigration for these purposes.” At this time the British and French ministers had recently agreed to a convention with Prince Kung respecting the conduct of the coolie trade in accordance with the stipulations made at Peking in October, 1860. The draft of those regulations had been submitted to the American as well as all other foreign legations, but only the Spanish treaty contained an article allowing the engagement of Chinese laborej’s in their own country for service abroad. This traffic had become so infamous
from the cruelties and wrongs perpetrated on the coolies,
both in China before they embarked and in Cuba and Peru
after they had landed, that the American Congress had already
passed laws against it ; and this article was drawn up almost
wholly with reference to that trade, and to show the abhorrence
with which it was regarded. Chinese immigrants had come
to San Francisco to the number of Hfty-three thousand since
1855, and had been harshly treated by the miners and others in their common struggle for gold ; the Burlingame treaty simply acknowledged their right to immigrate like other foreigners.’
Meantime at Peking the foreign ambassadors were in the way
of learniny; that in their relations with the government to which
they were accredited they had to deal with men of acute minds,
whose prejudices and conservatism only needed enlightening to
bring them quite upon a level with any other body of intelligent
diplomatists. It was indeed a crucial period with Prince
Kung and his coadjutors of the Tsung-li Yamun—Wansiang,
Tung Sinn, Tan Ting-siang, llung-ki—who were placed between
the two great pressures of a warped and bigoted nuiltitude of
literati wedded to the old regime and the ministers of the outside
powers, themselves dwelling complacently in the imperial
city and representing armies and navies which had been found
invincible. Tlie pride of the ” Celestial ” was necessarily
brought low, but the situation was accepted, on the whole,
both wisely and cautiously ; the good fortune of having men of
the kindness and honor of Bruce, Ylangali, P>erthemy, and Burlingame as heads of the four chief legations, can hardly be exaggerated in its encouraging and healthful effects upon the impression taking root in the minds of Chinese officers.
At this juncture occurred the massacre at Tientsin of twenty
‘ But notwithstanding its acceptance of their “inalienable right ” to freely change their residence, the clamor against this admission was afterward so great among the people on the Pacific coast that a special embassy of three commissioners was sent to Peking in 1880, which relegated the right of admitting Chinese as immigrants into American territory entirely to Congress.
French and Eussiaus and destruction ui’ the French consuhite
L’Uthedral, and uj’phanage, by a niub on June 21, l:?i7U, attended
by circumstances of great atrocity. The event was a severe
blow as well to the anxious mandarins at the capital as to
every honest friend of the new order of things thioughout the
Empire. The Peking authorities were slow at lirst in opening
an investigation, but testified to their earnestness and righteous
indignation at the enormity in disposing troops about the capital
and summarily examining the criminals, so that by the end
of a month every fear of a general emeute had vanished.
The causes which led to this outbreak appear to have been
almost wholly local, taking their rise in the year 1861, w’hen
the French occupied as their consvdate a temple in Tientsin,
where in former times the citizens nsed to promenade ; this and
other unpopular acts kept the natives at enmity with them.
A more especial account of the most important of these is contained in Mr. Low’s despatch of June 27th: ”At many of the principal places in China open to foreign residence, the Sisters of Charity have established institutions, each of which appears to combine in itself a foundling lu)spital and orphan asylum. Finding that the Chinese were averse to placing children in their charge, the managers of these institutions offered a certain sum per head for all the children })l;iced under their control given to them, it being understood that a child once in their asylum no parent, relative, or guardian could claim or exercise
any control over it. It has been for some time asserted
by the Chinese, and believed by most of the non-Catholic foreigners
residing here, that the system of paying bounties induced
the kidnapping of children for these institutions for the
sake of the reward. It is also asserted that the priests or Sisters,
or both, have been in the habit of holding out inducements
to have children brought to them in the last staii^es of illness,
for the purpose of being baptized in aiilealo /jwrtis. In
this way many children have been taken to these establishments
in the last stages of disease, baptized there, and soon
after taken away dead. All these acts, together M’ith the
secrecy and seclusion which ap]’)ear to be a part and parcel of
the regulations which govern institutions of this character
THE TIENTSIN MASSACRE. 701
everywhere, have created suspicions in the minds of tlie Chinese,
and these suspicions have engendered an intense hatred
agahist tlie Sisters on tlie pai-t of all the common ])e(»ple who
live anywhere near a mission ; and any rumor concei’ning tlie
Sisters or their acts, however improbable or absuixl, found thousands
of willing and honest believers among the ignorant and
superstitious people. Some time about the end of May or be«
ginning of June an epidemic prevailed at the Sisters’ institution
at Tientsin, and a considerable number of the children died.
In some way the report got abroad that the Sisters were killing
the children to get their eyes and hearts for the purpose of
manufacturing some sort of a medical specific much sought
after in Europe and connnanding a fabulous price. This report
spread from one to another, and soon the belief became
general. Crowds of people assembled from time to time near
the mission buildings, demanding the liberation of the children,
and on one occasion they became so noisy that the Sisters, fearing
violence from the mob, consented that an examination
should be made by a connnittee of five. The consul, hearing
of the disturbance, made his appearance about this time, and
although the connnittee had been selected and were then in the
building, he stopped the whole proceeding and drove away the
committee Nvith angry w^ords. Subsequently the district magistrate
took a man who had been industriously spreading the reports,
who said he could ])oint out the persons who were guilty
of acts of sorcery and o^her crimes, to question him in the presence
of the Sisters, and when confronted by them admitted that
all his stories were without foundation and false. The day
prior to the outbreak the district magistrate {ch’iJilen) called
upon the French consul, and stated that unless permission be
given for a thorough examination of the Sisters’ establishment,
it was difficult to foretell the result. The consul, construing
the language into a threat, replied that the magistrate being inferior
in rank to the consul, no negotiation could take place
between them for the purpose indicated or any other.”’
‘ Foreign Relations of the United States, 1870, p. 355. A private letter quoted in the Westminster Review for April, 1871, says : ” Even then (on the I9th) I think the riot could have been prevented if the consul had earnestly joined
This very unwise answer turned the popuLir rage against the
French consuLate as well as the cathedi-al and orphanage, and
the 21st saw a surging multitude assembled in their vicinity
ready for any violence. M. Foutanier, the Frent-h ct)nsul, now
thoroughly alarmed, hurried off to the yannm of Chuughow (the
superintendent of customs), while stones Hew about the building
he was quitting. For the rest, this poor man’s fate is involved
in uncertainty. Eeaching Chunghow’s office in a ” state of excitement
bordering upon insanity,” he failed, either by persuasion
or menace, in getting that dignitary to promise the impossible—
to quell at once the angry }nob. The officials, indeed, by this
time were as helpless as he, and coidd only urge his renuiining
in the compound until the streets were clear. But the Frenchman
and his clerk heeded nothing ; how they were cut down in
the way, after firing into the angry mob, hoM* the rampant populace
now attacked and pillaged the three or four French l)uildino-
s, how the defenceless Sisters were butchered in their orphanaire
after sufferini^; nameless barbarities, and how the frenzied
host left the burning ruins to glut their passions upon the
neighboring houses, has come to the wt)rld solely on Chinese
authoi-ity, and nnist renuiin always in the obscurity resulting
from greatly contiicting testimony. The children of the orphanage,
however, were taken off, and tht)ugh attenq^ts upon
some of the Protestant buildings were made, nothing serious
resulted. Among the saddest casualties of this bloody day was
the death of a Russian, his young bride, and a friend, who in
esca|)ing toward the foreign settlement of Tsz’-chuh-lin, two
miles away, were mistaken for Frenchmen and pronq^tly hacked
to pieces on the road. The total number of victims in the
massacre amounted to twenty foreigners and as many more
Chinese servants, acolytes, and others.
To the joint note of the seven foreign ministers in ‘Peking, calling* for immediate and vigorous measures in the face of this terrible news, Prince Kung replied (on the 25th) that in vindication of the honor and justice of the inq3erial government toward with the local authorities in raakinq a full inquiry, with a number of the gentry, inside of the infirmary and church, to show them again that the rumors of foul deeds therein were groundless.”
ACTION OF THE PEKING GOVEllNMENT. 703
foreigners, Tsang Ivvvoli-faii (governor-general of the province)
and Cliunghow luiJ already been directed to do everything
in their power to suppress tlie spirit of riot and arrest lawless
men. An imperial edict was issued for the appiehension
of Chau, Chang, and Lin, the intendant, prefect, and magistrate
of Tientsin, for their remissness and complicity in the riot.
The fact that no foreign armed vessel was there on the 21st
doubtless had its weight with these officials in carrying ont
their plans at the moment. They now saw that they had pursued
their ill-will too far, and that retribution was sure to follow
for their atrocities. Exaggerated reports of their doings had
rapidly gone over the world, and as the extent and strength of
the disaffection in other provinces could not be ascertained, the
inference was made that all foreigners in China were in tmminent
jeopardy, and that the people had at last risen in their streno;th to aid their sovereii^n to drive them out of the land.
When the storm had passed over, and those in authority had examined the criminals and given such justice as they could, the opinions of the best informed observers as to the immediate causes were found to be sustained.
In a few weeks the naval forces of the leading powers had assembled at Tientsin. The French charge d’affairs, Count E-ochechouart, took the lead and demanded the execution of the prefect and magistrate for having instigated the riot. The Chinese refused to do this until a trial had proved their guilt
—
liaving, perhaps, in some measure recovered their composure
upon learning of the commencement of hostilities between
France and Germany, The imperial government was unable
itself to coerce the turbulent populace of Tientsin, for it had no
troops who could be depended on to punish the rioters, with
whom the soldiers sympathized. The extravagant statements
and demands continually put forth in the Shanghai and Hongkong
newspapers tended to irritate and disconcert those high
officials, who w^ere already at their wits’ end and were anxious
to prevent a worse disaster. The foreigners seemed to think
that they could utter hard charges indiscriminately against the
Chinese rulers and people, who on their part were not to say a
word. Minister Low, in his despatch of August 24th, when
speaking of tlie thousands of fans sold at Tientsin containing
luc-turco of the riot and murdering of foreigners, sajs : ”These
fans are made to suit the taste of the people, and the fact that
such engravings Mill cause a better sale for the fans is a conclusive
argument that there is no sentiment of regret or sorrow
among the people over the result of the riot. There is, undoubtedly,
greater unanimity of opinion in Tientsin in favor of
the rioters than in Ireland among the peasantry in favor of one
of their number who shoots his landlord. If this feelinij in
Ireland is strong enough to baffle all attempts of the English
government to bring to justice by the ordinary forms of laM’ a
peasant accused of injuring the person or property of his landlord,
is it surprising that this feeble central government should
find it difficult to ascertain and punish the rioters in a city of
four hundred thousand inhabitants, all of whom either aided
in the massacre or sympathized with the rioters?”‘
The judicial investigations in Tientsin were conducted in a
dilatory manner, but the above indicates some of the difficulties
in the way of the presiding judges. However, on October 5th
and 10th II. I. Majesty’s decrees were made known to the foreign
ministers, stating that the prefect and magistrate had been
banished to Manchuria, twenty criminals who had killed the
foreigners sentenced to death, and twenty-one others actively
aiding in the riot banished. On the morning of October I8th
sixteen were decapitated in the presence of the foreign consuls
and others assembled as witnesses. This closing act of the
tragedy, as a condign punishment of guilt, was, however, unfortunate
; it was made rather an occasion of showinic to the
people that the sufferers had the sympathy of their rulers, while
many foreigners looked upon the execution as a ghastly farce
—
” a cold-blooded nuu’der.” Many believed that the sixteen men
M-ere purchased victims; the proofs were ample, however, of
the complicity of all ; indeed, some of them gloried in what they
Iiad done, and were escorted by admiring friends to the block.”
^Foreifin Jirlntiov!^ of the UnHed StatcK- China, 1871, p. 380.
‘ As an instance of some of the bitter sentiment rampant upon this occasion,
may he quoted tlie open proposition of a British missionary, who insisted that
one-half of the city of Tieutsiu be razed by a detachment of foreign troops of
PUNISHMENT OF THE RIOTERS. 705
It is a pal})al)le exaggeration of the power or desires of a
Chinese official to affirm that he is capable of buying up candidates
for ini mediate execution.
As to the remaining four condemned culprits, M. Ylangali, the
Tvussian minister, judiciously refused to accept their deaths as a
proper satisfaction foi- the murder of the three Ilussians until satisfied
personally of their direct complicity in the deed. A careful
examination of their case having been made before the consulgeneral
of the Czar at Tientsin, revealed the fact that only two
were guilt v of the actual crime ; the minister consented then
that the punishment of the other two should be commuted to
banishment. The sum of Tls. 400,000 was paid to the French
for loss of life and property ; in addition to this the loss done
to Protestant mission premises was also made good. Chunghow
was appointed imperial commissioner to proceed to France
and present to that government a formal apology for the affair.
This mission left Peking early in 1871 and returned the following
year. The American missionaries who had in August been
frightened away from their post in Tangchau’ by the warnings
and threats of certain evil disposed persons, were taken back from
their asylum in Chifu two months later in the U. S. S. Benicia,
and publicly received by the prefect. This was the only instance
throughout the Empire, connected with the riot of June,
in which foreigners were interfered with, and here grave doubts
exist as to the i-eality of danger and need of flight from Tangchau.
In estimating the conduct of the Chinese in dealing with this
eruption, the foreign press habitually spoke of them as if they
were unwilling to grant any redress or take any measures for
the future safety of those living among their sul)jects. Little
consideration was made for the enormous difficulties of their
position. They had been reared in ignorance of the multiplied
questions and responsibilities involved in the recent treaties
with other nations ; and though the foreign ministers were
various nationalities, and that a pillar be erected upon the open space thus
made, with a suitable inscription as to the occasion and authors of the monument.
‘ On the promontory of Shantung.
really acting most kindly toward them in forcing them to can-v
out every plain treaty obligation, the fair-minded observer can
find small excuse for the harsh criticism, not to add abuse,
which was hurled at everything said or done by Prince Kung
and his colleagues in their peril and perplexity. The writers in
newspapers seemed to look upon China as an appanage of
Europe—one Englishman even going so far as to urge the most
reckless employment of force to compel her rulers to give up
the three odious officials to be dealt with and publicly executed.
Another says that the execution of the sixteen criminals could
“hardly be viewed as other than cold-blooded murder while
those men are shielded from the demands of justice.” Yet
these writers forgot that all the treaties required that ” Chinese
subjects guilty of criminal acts toward foreigners shall be arrested
and punished by the Chinese authorities according to
the laws of China ;” and each nation obliged itself to try and
punish its own criminals. Chunghow was the object of much
abuse because he had not prevented or put down the mob,
though he was merely a revenue officer and had neither territorial
nor military jurisdiction at Tientsin. Even the members
of the Tsung-li Yamun were freely charged with complicity
in the tragedy, if not knowledge or approval. In short, the
whole history of the riot—its causes, growth, culmination, results,
and repression—combine as many of the serious obstacles
in the way of harmonizing Chinese and European civilizations
as anything which ever occurred.’
‘ The records of this event are widely scattered in the local papers published in China and in diplomatic correspondence. See the ^fi’ssio^l(l)•l/ Recorder November, 1870, and January, 1871 ; Jouriuil of N. C. Bnntch of li. A. Soc, No. VI., pp. 18()-1!)0; Eiliiihiir(]h Iier/nr, Jannary, 1871; ]\'(!<tiitiii!itcr Reriew, April, 1871, Art. VI. ; T/te Tiod^in Massacre, kc, by Geo. Thin, M.D., Edinburgh, 1870; Foreitpi Relations of the United States for 1870 and 1871 ; Ij^gation to China ; ParUamentanj Elite Book, 1871 ; H. Blerzy, Les affaires de Chine en 1871, Revue des Deu.r Mondes, 1 juillet, 1871 ; North China Daily News and North China lTer(dd for 1870. One of the most carefully prepared and interesting accounts of the massacre is contained in Baron Iliibner’s Rani’hie Jionnd the World, translated by Lady Herbert, New York, 1875, pp. 526-573.
KULES SUGGESTED FOR CONTROL OF MISSIONARIES. 707
As a natural sequence to the judicial proceedings which terminated the Tientsin tragedy, came the inquiry of the imperial counsel into what was briefly summed upas the “missionary question.” More than ten years had now elapsed since the general repeal of all pre-existing edicts against Christianity in the Empire, and the officials were already concerned as to the movements and rumors respecting the new sect which had come to their ears since that time. Accordingly in February, 1871, after an earnest study of the matter from their stand-point, the Foreign Office sent to the various legations the following note and memorandum:
TuNGCiii, 9th year, 12th moon, 24th day.
Sir : In relation to the missionary question, the members of the Foreign
Office are apprehensive lest in their efforts to manage the various points connected
with it they .shall interrupt the good relations existing between this
and other governments, and have therefore drawn up several rules upon the
subject. These arc now enclosed, witli an explanatory minute, for your examination,
and we hope that you will take them into careful consideration.
With compliments, cards of Wansiang.
Shan Kwei-fan.
The rules proposed (1) that only the children of native Christians be received into Komish asylums ; (2) that ” in order to exhibit the reserve and strict propriety of Christianity,” no Chinese females should enter the chapels nor foreign women propagate the doctrines ; (3) that missionaries should confine themselves to their proper calling, and that they ” ought not to be permitted to set up an independent style and authority ;” (4) that they should not interfere in trials of their native converts when brought into criminal courts ; (5) that passports given to missionaries should not be transferred, but returned to the Chinese authorities when no longer required, “nor should they avail themselves of the passport to secretly go elsewhere,” as the French ofttimes did ; (6) that the missionaries should never receive men of bad character into the church, nor retain
those of notoriously evil characters ; moreover that quarterly reports
of the converts be handed in to the provincial officers, as
did the Buddhist and Taoist houses ; (7) that missionaries
should not use official seals, nor write official despatches to the
local authorities, nor otherwise act as if they were officials
instead of commoners. The last rule complained of the unreasonable demands of the Rouiisli missionaries for lands and houses to be restored to them in accordance with the Peking convention ; it proposed that no more be restored, and that lantis bought for erecting churches be held in the name of the native church members.
This state paper was remarkable as being the first in which
the Chinese government had expressed its desire for a satisfactory
discussion and decision of the difficult questions involved
in Christian missions, and the quasi independence allowed their
foreign agents by the treaties. The public sentiment among
foreigners in China was that these good people had a right to
do everything not expressly prohibited by treaty until their
own consular officers notified them to the contrary. The un
authorized conduct of Romish missionaries in two western
provinces had already given rise to riots, in which Frenchmen
had been killed. In such judicial proceedings as that described
by Abbe Hue in his interesting travels are seen the high-handed
perversion of justice denounced in the seventh section of this
paper.’ The writers of these rules were hardly aware of the
serious import of the questions they had grappled, still less of
the ignorance they exhibited in their handling of them. All
the strictures referred exclusively to the Roman Catholics, for
Protestant missionaries were hardly known to the Chinese
magistrates, no complaints having been entered against them.
Most of the foreign ministers long delayed their answers to this
minute, so that no personal discussion ever took place between
the parties most interested. The straightforward and eai’iiest reply of Mr. Low, the United States envoy (dated March 20th), carefully went over all the main points, and gave Wansiang
and Shan Kwei-fan a clear idea of what they might expect from
other ministers, together Avith manv “‘ood sut^y-estions as to their
own duties. Nothing practical ever came of the paper, but the
discussions it caused throughout the country showed the interest
felt in the whole matter.” A few Protestant missionaries
themselves indulged in harsh sti-ictures on the native officials,
‘ Travels in tJie Chinese Empire, Vol. I., Chap. VI.
‘ Forciyn Relations of the United States, 1871, pp. 99-111 ; also for 1872, pp 118-130 and 137-138. Missionary Recorder, Vols. III. and IV. passim.
THEIR RECEPTION BY FOREIGNERS. 709
one going the length of saving tliat he “looked upon the document
rather as an excuse offered beforehand for premeditated
outrages than as an indication of measures being taken to prevent
them.” However, no evil results ever came to the converts
or their teachers from the discussion of the minute, and
its diffusion gave many i-eaders their first information on the
whole subject. Differences of opinion led to a comparison of
facts, and the small number of grievances reported upheld the
conclusion that the Chinese officials and literati had been, on the
whole, extremely moderate, considering their limited opportunities
to examine the question and the irritation aroused by the
demands and hauteur of the Romish missionaries. The unjust
manner in which they possessed themselves of the ground
within the city of Canton on which the governor-general’s yamun
once stood had made a deep impression on the citizens;
and when their cathedral, towering above all the temples and
ofiices of the metropolis, was located upon this site, their indignation
knew no bounds.
The year 1873 saw the conclusion of the Mohammedan insurrection
in the north-western provinces, the exact extent of
which has never been perfectly made known. The capture of
Suhchau (near the Kiayii Pass in Kansuh) by the imperial
troops under General Tso Tsung-tang brought to an end all organized
rebellion in China Proper.’ As is customary, the central
government threw the responsibility of promoting the
peace of the provinces upon their governors, and the welldisposed
among the people were usually sure of protection.
The foreign administration of the import customs turned a
large and certain revenue into the hands of the Peking officials,
and their development of the defences of the coast in buildingforts,
launching war steamers, and making war material at the
new arsenals, indicated their fears of foreign reprisals and
their unwisdom in deeming such outlays effectual. The same
money spent in making good wagon roads, working iron, coal,
and other mines, deepening navigable watercourses, and intro-
‘ Foreign Relations of the United States., 1874^ p. 350. Peking Gazette, December 28, 1873. ciuc’ing fimall steamers on them, would have brought more substantial returns. But these were achievements which the future alone coukl accomplish, and the people must be somewhat taught and prepared for them before any permanent advances would ensue.’
On October 16, 1872, occurred the marriage of the Emperor Tungchi to Aluteli, a Manchu lady. The ceremonies attending her selection, betrothal, and espousal were elaborate and complete in every particular. Such an event had only once before taken place during the Manchu dynasty—when Kanghi was a minor, in 1674—all the other emperors having been
married during their fathers’ reigns. The occasion, therefore,
excited great attention, while the attendant expenses were
enormous ; but all passed off without the least disturbance and
apparently to general satisfaction. The two Empresses-dowager
controlled the details, the most important of which were announced
to the Empire in a series of edicts prepared by members
of the Li P\i^ or Board of Bites, containing directions for
every motion of the two principal actors, as well as for those
who joined the ceremonies during the occasion till the 21st of
the montli.^
The young Emperor entered into the spirit of the preparations
with great interest, and on the day before sending the
bride her phoenix robes and diadem he ordered three princes to
offer sacrifice and burn incense on the altar to heaven, ” these
informing heaven that he was about to marry Aluteh, the wise,
virtuous, and accomplished daughter of Chung, duke and
member of the llanlin.” Another prince informed mother
earth, and a third announced it to the imperial ancestors, in
their special temple. During the weeks preceding and following
the happy day, all courts throughout the land were closed
and a general jail delivery promulgated.
‘ Compare a rather enthnsiastic article by Captain A. G. Bridge, The Bciiral vf the Warhke Poirer of China, Fmnrfs Mitfiozinp ior imw, 1879, p. 778.
* A translation of these papers was made at Shanghai, not long after, by Miss L. M. Fay, an American lady, and furnishes an interesting and authentic account of the whole wedding.
MARRIAGE OF THE EMPEROR TUNOCIII, 711
Many of the ceremonies and processions in Peking were not public, for considerations of state and security deuianded great care.’ On the 19tli the wedding was thus announced to the foreign ministers by II. I. Majesty, through Prince Kung : “We having with pious veneration succeeded to the vast dominion founded by Our ancestors, and enjoying in its fuhiess the glorious lot to which We have been destined, have chosen one
virtuous and modest to be the mistress of Our imperial home.
Upon October 15th, We, by patent, installed Aluteh, daughter
of Chung Chi, a sJu-tslany in the Ilanliu College, as Empress.
This from the Emperor.” The court had not as yet outgrown
its exclusiveness further than this step of announcing the marriage
and its completion ; and to those best acquainted with the
etiquette observed for centuries, even this seemed to be a good
deal in advance of former times. The great counsellors of
state soon arranged for closing the regency which had existed
since 1861. The Emperor Tungchi, though born on April 27,
1856, was called seventeen at his marriage. The Empressesdowager
accordingly announced on October 22d that he
would attain his majority at the next Chinese new year, and be
inaugurated with all the usual ceremonies. One of his special
imperial functions, that of offering sacrifices to heaven at the
winter solstice, would be performed by him in person—a ceremony
which had been intermitted since December, 1859.
‘ For a report of what could be watched of this ceremony, see William Simpson, Meeting (lie Sun, Chap. XV. The bridal procession came off during the night, when a bright moonlight enabled him to see it pass, without molestation, from the shop where he was hidden. This chiaroscuro sort of panorama rather suited the ideas of the people, and was submitted to by the Pekingese crowd without a murmur. Compare K. Bismark in the Galaxy, Vol. XIX., p. 182; CornMl Magazine, Vol. XXVII., p. 83.
Accordingly, on February 23, 1873, he issued a decree through the Board of Rites, as follows : ” A¥e are the humble recipient of a decree from their Majesties the two Empresses, declaring it to be their pleasure that We, being now of full age, should in person assume the superintendence of business, and in concert with Our officers in the capital and in the provinces, attend to the work of good government. In respectful obedience to the commands of their Majesties, We do in person enter upon the important duty assigned to L s on the 26th day of the 1st moon of the 12th year of the reign Tungclii.”
This announceineTit was on the same day connnunicated to the
ministers of Itussia, Germany, tlie United States, Great Britain,
and France. They returned a collective note the following
morning, and asked Prince Ivnng to ” take his Imperial Majesty’s
orders with reference to their reception.”” This intimation
could not have been nnexpected to him and his colleagues, but
with their nsual habit of putting off the inevitaljle, they began
to make excuses. .Vfter deferring the consultation with the envoi’s
a fortnight on the plea of AVansiang’s illness, they met
at the Russian legation on March 11th. The question of
the I’ofoir was the crucial point, as it had Ijeen in 1859 between
1\ weiliang and Mr. Ward. Then the conrt was willing to accept
a sort of curtsey instead of a prostration when the American
minister apjjroached the throne. Xow the court had put the
strongest argument into the hands of foreign ministers by
sending the Burlini^-ame mission to their courts, and the ritjhts
of independent nations could not be waived or implicated by
the least sign of inferiority. The conference was amicable and
the matter fully ventilated. The demands n])on the Chinese
were summarized by the ministers : That a pei-sonal audience
with the Emperor was proper and needful ; that it should not
be unnecessarily delayed ; and that they would not kneel before
him, nor perform any other ceremony derogatory to their
own dignity or that of their nationalities. These points were
maintained as their united decision in the weary series of conferences,
correspondence, and delays which ensued during the
next four months in Peking. The prince and his colleagues,
by their discussion of the point, had aroused the resistance of
the great body of literati and conservative officials in the Empire,
who had grown u]^ in the belief that its unity and prosperity
were involved in the [)erf()rnuince of the kotow. The
discussion in July, 185!), when the Emjieror Ilienfung could
safely decline to admit Mr. Ward to an audience without it, had
exhausted their ai’gunu’iits ; but his son had come to the throne
under the new influences, which were rapidly breaking down
all those old ideas and safeguards. The prince had, moreover,
DISCUSSION OF THE AUDIENCE QUESTION. 7J3
ieariied tiiat the foreign ministers were not very strongly sup^
ported by tlieir own governments, none of whom intended to
make the audience question a casus helli, or even a reason for
withdrawing their legations from Peking. Perhaps the Yannni
thought that the departure of the Ilussian and German ministers
would leave the other three less inclined to persist in their
demand, if serious consequences were likely to result.
The American minister clearly states the pith of the matter
in his despatch of March S-ith in his closing words : ” I attach
importance to the proper settlement of the audience question
at the earliest time possible. To demand it, and urge compliance
with the demand, is a duty every western nation owes
to its own dignity and to the welfare of its citizens and subjects
residing here ; it is also a kindness to this government to try
through this moans to improve relations, and thus prevent, or
at least postpone, what are now likely at any time to occur—hostile collisions, with their dreadful consequences.” ‘ This
alternative was not a fanciful one, and this canse of chronic
dispute and irritation between China and other nations during
many centuries was removed chiefly through the patient pereistance
of Mr. Low in this discussion. His despatches contain
every fact and argument of importance in perhaps the most
serious controversy ever brought before China. One cannot
but sympathize with Prince Ivung and his colleagues in their
dilennna, and to this embarrassment Mr. Low gives due weight.
The Chinese ofhcials took a month to discuss the points
among themselves, and signs of yielding were apparent both
in the note of Prince Kung of April IGth and the memorandum
of the 29th brought forward at an interview with the
legations. Much of the same ground was gone over again ; a
vacation ensued, then another protocol on May 15tli appeared,
followed by notes on the 20th and 29th from both sides,
all tending to the desired conclusion. At last the audience
question was settled on June 29th by the Emperor first
‘ Forenjn EelatioriH nfllip United Sfiitrs, 1873, p. 160. See also the despatches
of that year, and compare Pauthier’s ITixUrfrc flea TiiiatioiiH Politique (fe la Cliine, Paris, 1858. Narrative of the American Embassy’s visit to Peking, N. a Br. R. As. Sv., Vol. I, 1859.
receiving Soyeshima, the ambassador from Japan, by himself; and immediately afterward the five ministers of Russia, the United States, (ireat Britain, J”ranee, and Holland, accompanied only by Mr. Carl Bismarck, the German secretary, who interpreted for them.’ Mr, Low’s despatch of July 10th, giving the details of the ceremonies and the previous discussion in settling them, with the difficulty the prince and others had in swallowing
the bitter pill, is very valuable as a description of the finale
of this last struggle of Chinese seclusion to resist the incoming
wave of w’estern power. The wall of their separation was at
last broken down. They were really stronger and wiser than
ever, and every nation interested felt a relief that the days of
proud assumption were ended. The young Emperor held only
three more audiences during his short reign of nineteen months ;
and in all these discussions he seems to have taken no active
part, nor did he oppose the conclusion. His ignorance of the
whole question made his opinion a matter of small moment.
Among other advantages resulting to all parties by the settlement
of this question was the right adjustment of the Chinese
government in its relations with other courts. This acknowledgment
of their equality as independent nations did not in anywise
interfere with the obeisance of native ofiicials when approaching
their sovereign ; but it smoothed the way for future
diplomatic relations. Xo western power could maintain an
envoy near the TTtrmvjt’i at Peking with the least self-respect
if he were not allowed to see this potentate unless by prostrating
himself. While none of the great nations would deem a mere
matter of ceremony a sufficient pretext for resorting to war
—
since war itself often fails to convince—a long, continuance of
this state of affairs must inevitably have led to complications
the more unpleasant to diplomatists because sure to be oft-recurring.
It was probably owing to the personal influence of Prince Kung and Wansiang, the two most enlightened statesmen of this period, that a further insistance upon the kotow was not made, and preparations thus arranged for reciprocal courtesies when Chinese ambassadors appeared at foreign courts.
‘ Compare the lUustrated London News for June 23, 1873.
THE AUDIENCE GRANTED—COOLIE TKADE STOPPED. 715
But against what tremendous odds of superstition and national
prejudice these two otiicials were pitted in this curious contest
those who liave never lived in the Empire can liardly appreciate.’
The years 1873 and IST-i were marked by the abolition of
the coolie trade at Macao, which since its rise in IS-iS had been
attended with many atrocities on land and sea. During these
twenty-five years attempts had been made to conduct the trade
with some regard for the rights of the laborers, but experience
had shown that to do this was practically impossible if the
business were to be made remunerative. Driven from Hongkong
and Whampoa, the agents of this traffic had long found
shelter in the Portuguese harbor of Macao, from which semiindependent
port they could despatch Chinese crimps on kidnapping
excursions for their nefarious trade. When at last the
governor closed this haven to its continuance, the Spaniards and
Peruvians were the only nationalities whom the action affected ;
but Spain, falling back on her treaty of 1864, insisted that the
coolie trade be allowed. The Yanmn was advised not to admit
this privilege until the harsh treatment of the laborers in Cuba
had been inquired into. This was done in 1873, by means of a
commission composed of three foreigners and two Chinese, who
made as thorough an inquiry as the Cuban authorities would
permit and reported the results in 1874. Since the dreadful
disclosures which transpired in their report the trade has never
revived. Peru, indeed, sent M. Garcia as its envoy to Peking to negotiate a treaty and obtain the right of engaging laborers,
but tills o-entleinan met with no success whatever. The Chinese iieirotiations on this occasion showed the <rood resulti? of their freer intercourse with foreigners in the improved character of their arguments for maintaining their rights.” Tlic Lamentable condition of Chinese laborers in Peru was fully enough proved, inasmuch as their appeal for relief to their home government had been before the Yannm since 18GS, but it could do nothing effectual to help them.
‘ Of Wansiang’s personal history little is known. He was a Mancliu, and a man of uncommonly prepossessing manner, being perhaps most highly esteemed of all the officials who came in contact with the foreign legations. At the termination of hostilities and the organization of the Tsung-li Yamun in 1861, he came prominently forward as a most efficient and sagacious adviser of the government. We have already in this narrative had occasion to note the influence of his name in the settlement of the Lay-Osborne flotilla and in the missionary question, the satisfactory conclusion of which was a meet tribute to his talents and judgment. He died at an advanced age in 1875, at the head of the administration. In his death the Chinese government lost an unselfish patriot and a keen observer of those things which were for the best interests of his country.
The Japanese government undertook in this year to try the
issue of war with the Chinese in order to settle its demand of
redress for the murder, in 18T1, of some fifty-four Lewchewan
sailors by savages on the eastern coast of Formosa. Japan
had recently deposed the native authorities in Shudi, and being
hard pressed for some employment of the feudal retainers of
the retired daimios, undertook to redress Lewchewan grievances
by occupying the southern part of Formosa, asserting that
it did not belong to Cliina because she either -vvould not or
could not govern its savage inhabitants. This view of the divided
ownership of the island was promptly rejected by the foreign
ministers resident at Tokio, but the officials were persuaded
that all they had to do was to occupy the whole southern
district, and the Chinese could not drive them out when once
their intrenchments were completed.
The Mikado accordingly gathered his forces in Kiusiu during
the years 18T3-T-4-, placing them under the command of (ieneral
Saigo, and engaging (qualified foreign military men to assist.
The expedition was called a High Commission, accompanied by
a force sufficient for its protection, sent to aboriginal Formosa to
inquii-e into the murder of fifty-four Japanese subjects, and
take steps to prevent the recurrence of such ati’ocities. A pi-oclamation
was issued April IT, 1874, and another May 19th,
stating that General Saigo was directed to call to an account
the persons guilty of outrages on Japanese subjects. As he
knew that Chiiui was not prepared to resist his landing at
Liang-kiao, his chief business was to provide means to house
‘ Foreign Relations of tJie United Stntcn, 1874, pp. 198-232. Westminster
lievietr, Vol. lUO, p. 75. Customs Hqjort on Cabau Coolie Trade, 1870.
JAPANESE EXPEDITION TO FORMOSA. 717
and feed tlie soldiers under his command. Tlie Japanese authorities
do not appear very creditably in this affair. JSo sooner
did they discover the wild and barren nature of this unknown
region than they seemed fain to beat an incontinent and hasty
retreat, nor did the troops landed there stand upon the order of
their going. They had in some measure been misled by the fallacious
arguments of Gen. Charles Le Gendre, formerly United
States consul at Amoy, who had travelled through these districts
in 18G5 ; the enormous cost which they had already incurred
made them hesitate about proceeding further, though they had
announced their intention of retaining possession of the territorj’.
The aborigines having tied south after the first rencontre, the
Japanese leader employed his men as best he could in opening
roads through the jungle and erecting houses.
Meanwhile the Peking authorities were making ^^reparations
for the coming struggle, and though they moved slowly they
were much in earnest to protect their territory. General Shin
Paochin having been invested with full powers to direct operations
against the Japanese forces, began at once to draw together
men and vessels in Fuhchau and Amoy. The Japanese consuls
at Amoy and Shanghai were allowed to remain at their posts;
and during the year two envoys arrived at Peking to treat
with the Court. Their discussions soon narrowed down to a
demand on the Japanese ministers, Yanagiwara and Okubo, to
withdraw from Formosa before treating with them upon the
outrages there ; which was met by a refusal on the ground that
the Emperor had voided his sovereignty by having for three
years taken no steps to punish his subjects, notwithstanding the
repeated requests made to this end. The Chinese proved that
the Japanese had violated their ti-eaty, and acted in an underhand
manner in certain negotiations w^ith their envoy, Soyeshima,
the preceding year ; but this continued sparring was mere
child’s play. The probabilities were strong against any settlement,
when the parties were induced to arrange their quarrel
by the intervention and wise counsel of Sir T. F. Wade, the
British minister. The Japanese accepted five hundred thousand
taels for their outlays in Formosa for roads, hotises, and
defences ; agreeing thereupon to retire and leave the further punishment of the aborigines to the Chinese authorities. The two envoys left Peking, and this attempt at war was happily frustrated.’
The history of this affair was exceedingly instructive to those who saw the risks to their best interests which both these nations were running in an unnecessary appeal to force. Never, perhaps, has the resort to arbitration been more happy, when to the difficulty of keeping out of a quarrel which so many fortune seekers were ready to encourage was added the fact that both nations had been eagerly developing their land and marine forces by adopting foreign arms, drill, ships, and defences; every friend felt the uselessness of a disastrous conflict at this
time and willingly strove to prevent any such result. The civilization
of all parts of Foi-mosa has since rapidly advanced by
the extension of tea and sugar culture, the establishment of
Christian missions, and the better treatment of the native
tribes. A single incident at this time illustrated the undefined
position of the parties in this dispute. This was the arrival
in Peking, after Okubo’s departure, of a large embassy of Lewcliewans
to make their homage to the Emperor Tungchi. The
Japanese charge d’affaires was denied admittance to the Lewchewan
hotel, and the Yamun refused to dismiss the embassy,
but gave it an audience, as was the usage in former days—probably
the last in their history. The experience acquired by these
three natioTis in their quarrel concerning Formosa has not prevented
considerable bitterness aljout their rights to Lewchew.
No sooner had the Chinese government escaped from the
Japanese imbroglio by the payment of half a million taels than
it foiuid itself involved in another and more troublesome question
with the British. This arose from the persistent attempts
of the latter to open a trade through Burmah, along the Irrawadi
River, with Yunnan and other south-western parts of
China. The Indian government had sent or encouraged explorers
to go through the little known regions lying between
‘ h Ahorif/inal Formosa a part of tJie Chinese Empire? with eight maps,
folio, Shangliai, 1874, pp. 20. Foirign Relations of the United States for 1873
and 1.S74—( liina and Japan, passim. 71ie Japan Herald aud North China
Herald for those years record all the leading events.
MAJOR SLADEN’S MISSION TO YUNNAN. 719
tlie Brahmaputra and Lantsang rivers, but no ti-ade could be
developed in so wild and thinly settled a region. During the
Tai-ping Rebellion the Emperor’s authority in Yunnan had
been practically in abeyance, and over the western half of the
province it had been superseded by a revolt of the Panthays, a
Mohammedan tribe long settled in that region. These sectaries
date their origin from the Tang dynasty, and had been generally
unmolested by the Chinese so long as they obeyed the
laws. During the Mongol sway their numbers increased so that
they began to participate in the government, while ever since
they have enjoyed more or less the control of affairs.’ The
differences in faith and practice, however, aided in keeping them
distinct ; and in Yunnan their numbers were recruited by settlers
from Ivansuh and Koko-nor, so tliat they were led to
throw off the Chinese rule altogether.
They began about the year 1855 to defend themselves against
the imperialists, captured Tali in 1857, pushing their arms
as far eastward as the provincial capital Yunnan fu, which was
seized and held for a brief period ; but in 1867 they proclaimed
Tu Win-siu as their Imam, and located their capital in Tali.
With affairs in this condition law and order speedily vanished,
life and property were sacrificed, and general misrule furnished
the lawless with an opportunity to burn, kill, and destroy until
the land became a desert. The Panthays, as the Burmese
called the insurrectionists, turned their hopes westward for
succor, and to this end endeavored to keep open the trade with
Burmah and India, but under the circumstances it could not
flourish. The British in those countries were, however, quite
ready to countenance, if not aid, the new ruler at Tali, as soon
as his power was sufficiently consolidated to keep open the roads
and protect traders.
In 1868 a party was ordered to proceed to this city and ” discover
the cause of the cessation of trade formerly existing by
these routes, the exact position held by the Kakhyens, Shans, and
Panthays Avith reference to that traflic, and their disposition or
‘ Compare Dr. Anderson, From Mandalay to Momien, p. 323. Du Halde,
Hutoire, Tome I., p. 199. Grosier, China, Vol. IV., p. 270. Gamier, Voyaye
d’Explaration, Tome I. Cooper, Travels of a Pioneer of Commerce.
otherwise to resuscitate it.” This party, iininberiiii;- a hnmlred
in all, was in charge of Major Sladen, assisted by live qualitied
men, and guarded by an escort of fifty armed police ; its object
embraced diplomacy, engineering, natural science, and commerce.
Their steamer reached IJliamo January 22, ISOS, and
the party began their travels early in March, arriving after nuicli
delay at Momcin (or Tuiig-yueh chau), a town on the Taping
River, one hundred and thirty-five miles from Bhanio and about
five thousand feet above the sea. Another forced delaj- of near] ,•
two months convinced them of the impossibility of their getting
to Tali (nearly as far again) ; in face of the determined opposition,
therefore, both of the hill tribes and Chinese traders. Major
Sladen was fain to retire in safety to Bhamo. The retreat of
this anomalous expedition could be officially ascribed to the
weakness of the Panthay rulers, the wild region traversed, and
its yet wilder inhabitants. But to what principles of justice or
equity can we attribute the action of the British in retaining
their minister at the capital of an Empire Avhile sending a
peaceful mission to a rebel in arms at its boundaries ? This
impertinence seems thinly veiled by dubbing the expedition one
of inquiry concerning trade ; no trade did or could exist with
an ill-assorted rabble of wild mountaineers; when these had
been duly subjected an expedition for purposes of science would
meet with as ready assistance from the authorities as did that
of the Frenchman, Lieutenant Garnier, then exploring eastern
Yunnan. This disregard of the courtesies and i-ights of independent
nations refiects as little credit upon the powerful luition
which used her strength thus unfairly as does her similar attempt
of negotiating with another rebel, Yakub Beg in Ili.
Major Sladen’s mission, owing to the admirable qualities of
its leader, made so fair an impression upon the natives along
his route that upon his return in 1873 his progress was materially
assisted, instead of retarded, by them as far as Momcin.
In the years intervening the Imam at Tali, with about forty
thousand of his followers, had been hemmed in by the Chinese
forces under the leadership of Li Sieh-tai, or Brigadier Li. The
Mohannnedans felt their weakness against such odds, and the
80-called Sultan Suleiman sent his son Hassan to London to
SECOND BRITISH MISSION TO YUNNAX. 721
implore recognition and aid from tlie British government ; but
before lie returned his father had killed himself and the victorious
Chinese had massacred most of their opponents and regained
possession of the whole province in 1873. Its western
half had been virtually inde])endent since 1855, during which
period the wretchedness of the inhabitants had greatly reduced
their numbers and resources.
Trade soon revived. The British appointed an agent to reside
at Bhamo and learn its amount and character. In 1874 an ex
pedition—this time provided with Chinese passports—was
planned to make the trip across China from Burmah to Hankow,
as Lieutenant Garnierhad done from Saigon. The Chinese
traders in Burmah set themselves to circumvent it, for its success
boded disaster to them, as they better knew the resources
of their competitors. The British plan was to send an accredited
agent across the country from Hankow to Bhamo, there to
meet a party under charge of Col. Horace Browne, which was
to “thoroughly examine the capabilities of the country beyond
Momein.” As only six years had passed since Sladen’s party
had reached that town on its way to the Panthays at Tali, there
had perhaps been hardly time to remove all suspicion among
the local officials about the objects of this new move. One
of the consular clerks, Augustus R. Margary, was furnished
with necessary passports and instructions from her Majesty’s
legation to go to Bhamo and act as Colonel Browne’s guide and
interpreter. His journals testify that no better choice could have
been made, and all who knew him were hopeful of the success
of this young man.” He left Hankow September 2d and reached
Bhamo January 17th without molestation or accident, having
been received with respect by all Chinese officials, whom the
governor-general of Yunnan had required thus to act. While
the party in Bhamo prepared the equipment for its journey, Dr.
Anderson observes that the Chinese ” watched its movements
with a secret feeling that the objects contemplated were somewhat
beyond the peaceful pursuits of commerce and scientific inquiry.’”
‘ Journals of A. R. Margary, edited by Sir R. Alcock, London, 1877.
– The report was also circulated that the party was going to lay down a rail road.
Mr. Margary intimated that lie thought there were intrigues
going on at Manwyne adverse to the advance of the mission ; but
Brigadier Li, who treated liim there with great honor, did every
thing to promote his journey to Bhamo.
The arrangements as to routes and escorts were at last completed
so far as to allow the party iinally to leave Bhamo
February 3, 1875 ; it numbered nearly fifty persons in all, together
with a Burmese guard of one hundred and iifty. The rivalries and
deceptions of the Ivakhyen tribes proved to be worse than in 1868,
and progress was slower from the difficulty of providing animals
for transport. By the 18th it had crossed the frontier, and the
next morning Mr, Margary left, with five Chinese, for Manwyne,
to arrange there for its reception by Brigadier Li. Increased
dissensions among the tribes as to escort, transport, and pay
led Colonel Browne to push on after him with a guard so as to
reach that town and find some competent authority to aid his
expedition. Many signs of serious opposition had by this time
manifested themselves ; and when he was preparing to start
from Seray on the 23d, large bodies of armed men were seen
on the opposite hills coming to attack the British. A Burmese
messenger also arrived from Manwyne with letters giving an
account of the horrid murder of Mr. Margary and his attendants
by the treacherous officials there on the 20th, The Chinese
soldiers or robbers were in a manner repulsed by the
bravery of Browne’s escort and by firing the jungle, but the expedition
was in face of too powerful an opposition to contemplate
advancing after such disasters. The return to Bhamo was
soon made, and the earnest efforts of the Burmese officers there
to recover everything beloi^ging to the British proved their
lionesty.
The disappointment at this rebuff was exceeded by the general
indignation at tlie treachery which marked the murder. It
was soon known’ that J^i Sieh-tai was not at Manwyne at tlie
time, though the real actors in tlie tragedy l)el()nged to his ainiy,
and must have made him cognizant of the (IcmhI.’
‘ MiDiihild]! to Momien : A Narratm’ of Tiro Krjmh’t/ous toWfufcrii (‘fii)ia,
by T)i .lolm Anderson, contains a most satisfactory narrative of tlu’se attempts;
the writer’s ojjinion is of the highest value.
MURDER OF MARGARY AT MANWYNE. 7:^3
When news of this disaster reached London and Peking, the
British minister was directed to deinand an investigation of tlie
facts connected with the outrage in presence of a British
officer in Yunnan, the issue by the Yaniun of fresh passports
for a new mission, and an indemnity. After montlis of dehiy
and correspondence with the Yamun Sir Thomas Wade, the
British minister, was able to make np his commission and despatcli
it from Hankow, November 5th, for Yunnan fu. It consisted
of the Hon. T. G. Grosvenor, second secretary of the
legation, and Messrs. Davenport and Baber of the consular
ser\”ice, all of them well fitted by previous training for attaining
the objects of their expedition. The journey was performed
in company with a Chinese escort, without danger or
interference, the city of Yunnan being reached in March. The
gentlemen found the provinces through which they travelled
perfectly at peace, and the Emperor’s authority everywhere
acknowledged—a fact extremely creditable to the Chinese after
more than twenty years of civil war.
The Chinese appointed to condnct the inquiry into the
murder, in connection with Mr. Grosvenor, was Li Han-chang,
governor-general at Wuchang and brother of Li Ilung-chang.
He Avas long in making the journey, but the two began their
proceedings, having Sieh IIwan, an old member of the Yamun
in 1864, as aid. Those who had any experience or acquaintance
with similar joint commissions in China anticipated but
one result from it—an entire failure in proving or punishing
the guilty parties ; while those who wish to see their character
should read Mr. Grosvenor’s various reports ‘ to learn how slow
are the advances of the Chinese in truth-telling. Nevertheless,
such an investigation had some prospective benefit in that the
trouble which the British made on account of the taking of one
life warned the officials to exercise the greatest caution in
future. In this preventive aspect, the mission doubtless accomplished
more than can be estimated. Mr. Baber is sure that
Margary was killed (and his opinion is entitled to great respect)
by the discontented Chinese trainbands then around Manwyne—
‘ Rue Book—China, No. 1 (1876) and No. 3 (1877).
a lawless set, who were afterward hunted to death.’ Tlie
weight of evidence obtained at Yunnan fu went to prove that
the repulse of the British party was countenanced, if not
planned, by the governor-general, and carried into effect w^ith
the cognizance of Brigadier Li. Amid so much ii-reconcilable
evidence, the inference that the officers, ch icily by so doing, intended
to prevent the extension of trade by the British, offers
the niost adequate explanation. When the impoverished condition
of Southwestern China is remembered, the question
arises, Why should the Indian government strive to open a trade
where industry and population have been so destroyed ? But
the expectation that thereby a greater market would be found
for its opium in all Western China is a sufficient reason, perhaps,
for undertaking so costly an experiment.
Xo sooner had Sir Thomas Wade learned of Margary’s
death than he impressed upon the Chinese government the
necessity for unremitting and vigorous measures toward the
arrest and punishment of the guilty. In addition to what has
been already stated concerning this reparation, he brought forward
some other matters affecting the intercoui-se between the
two countries. They were long and painfully debated, and
those agreed on were embodied in a convention wdiich was
signed l)y himself and Li Ilung-chang, on the part of Great
Britain and China, September 13, 1870. The correspondence
relating to this convention is given, with its text, in the Parliamentary
Bhie Books,” and is worth perusal by all Avho M-ish to
learn the workings of the Chinese government.
The Yunnan case was settled by inmiediate payment of two
hundred thousand taels (.^280,000), which included all claims
of British merchants on the Chinese government; by posting
an imperial proclamation in the cities and towns throughout
the Empire ; by sending an envoy bearing a letter of regret to
Queen Victoria for what had occurred in Yunnan ; and by
‘ Blue Book—CMna, No. 3, 1878. Beport of Mr. Baher on the route follovxd
Inj Mr. (rrosveno7’^s luvmion between Tali fit, and Moinein. Reprinted, with his
other interesting travels and researches in Western Cliina, in Supplementary
Papers, Vol. I., Part 1, 1882, of Roi/. fM)f/. Sor., London.
^Bluc Book— China, No. 1 (1876) and No. 3 (1877).
THE CTIIFTT CONVENTION. 725
stationing Untisli officers at Tali or elsewhere in that province
to “observe the conditions of trade.” The proclamation’ was
posted very widely (three thonsand copies in Kiangsu province
alone), and through it the people learned that the safety of all
foreigners travelling through their countrj^ was guaranteed by the
Emperor. Other matters agreed upon in this convention were
the manner of official intercourse between native and foreign
officers at Peking and the ports, so that perfect equality might
be shown ; the better administration of justice in criminal cases between their respective subjects, every such case being tried by the official of the defendant’s nationality, while the plaintiffs official could always be present to watch proceedings; the extension of trade by opening four new ports as consular stations, and six on the Yangtsz’ River for landing goods, with other regulations as to opium, transit, and U-km taxes on goods; and lastly, the appointment of a joint commission to establish some system that should enable the Chinese government to protect its revenue without prejudice to the junk trade of Hongkong.
This final article might well have been omitted. The concessions
and advantages in it accrued to the British, and through
them also measurably to other nationalities. But while the
Chinese under the circumstances had no right to complain
of paying heavily for Margary’s life, it was manifestly unfair
to cripple their commerce by sheltering Hongkong smugglers
under promise of a commission which could never honestly
agree. In order to better understand the British minister’s
views regarding the political and commercial bearing of his
convention, the reader is referred to his labored minute of July
‘ Blue R)ok—Chm<i, No. 3 (1877). “^ Ihid , pp. 111-147.
1-1, 1877,’ in which the fruits of thirty-five years of official experience in China impart much value to his opinions. The singular mixture of advice, patronizing decisions, and varied knowledge running through the M^hole i-ender the paper extremely interesting. The Chinese historian of the next century will read with wonder the implied responsibility of the British minister for the conduct of the Empire in its foreign management, and the enormous development of the principle of ex-ter ritorialitv so as to cover almost every action of every British subject. He may also be instructed by this proof of the ignorance and fears of the former rulers, as well as their conceit
and hesitation in view of their wants and backwardness to cope
with the advancing age. lie must acknowledge, too, that the
sharj) and prolonged discussion of eighteen months between Sir
Thomas and the Yamun was one of the most protitable exercises
in political science the high officers of Peking ever had allowed
them.
Since the convention of Chifu the progress of China at home
and abroad has been the best evidence of an improved administration.
The reign of Hienfung ended in 1861, with the prestige,
resources, and peace of the realm he had so miserably
governed reduced to their lowest ebb. During the twelve years
of his son’s nominal regime, the face of affairs had quite changed
for the better. Peace and regular government had been for the
most part resumed throughout the Eighteen Provinces, and even
to the extreme western frontier of Ivashgar and Kuldja. The
people were returning to their desolated villages, while their
rulers did what they could to promote agriculture and trade.
The young Emperor gave small promise of beconung a wise or
efficient ruler ; and when he died (January 12, 1875) it was felt
that an effigy only had passed away, and no change would ensue
in the administration. In the question of selecting his inheritor
were involved some curious features of Chinese customs. It
is a rule that the succession to the Lung-wei, or ‘ Dragon’s
Seat,’ cannot pass to the preceding generation, since this would
involve the worship of a lower or younger generation by an
older one. The line of Jlienfung died out in his childless son ;
the eldest of his brothers had, as we have seen, been made posthumous
heir of an uncle in 1854, consequently his son, Pu-lun,
was ineligible. The elevation of Prince Kung’s son Tsai-ching
to be Emperor was in the highest degree inexpedient, as this
would necessitate the retirement of his father from active participation
in the govermnent, arising from their relationship of
father and s(mi. The next eligible candidate, Tsai-tien, a child
of Prince Chun—the seventh son of Taukwang—born August 15j
ACCESSION OF THE EMPEROR K^\’ANGS^j. 727
1871, was unanimously chosen by the Empresses dowager and assembled princes of the Manchu Imperial Clan. His parents were brother and sister of those of his predecessors, while the same regency had been reappointed, so that his tender age involved neither difficulty nor alteration during the minority.
He took the reign-name of Kwang-sl’i., or ‘ Illustrious Succession,’
having reference to the disturbance in the regular descent.
By this arrangement the same general set of officials
was continued on the government, and the risk to its peaceful
working from the freaks of Tungchi avoided.’
A most notable event during the last decade has been the recovery of the vast regions of the Tarim Valley to the imperial sway. Their loss took place during the early part of the Tai-ping Rebellion, beginning in Kansuh, where the discontented Moslem population, aided by the reckless and seditious of all clans, arose and drove out the governmental minions even to the eastern side of Shensi. Of this extended revolt little is known in the west save the name of its figure-head and leading character under whose mastery it culminated and succumbed.
The famous Yakub Beg, whom the jealous attentions of both
England and Russia had united in raising to the rank of a hero,
commenced his militarv career as lieutenant of Buzuro; khan,
a son of the notable Jehangir, kojeh of Ivokand. By the
year 1866 the energetic lieutenant had made way with his licentious
and cowardly chief, and possessed himself of a large part
of Western Kashgaria ; then, turning his attention to the rebellious
Dunganis north of him, a series of vigorous campaigns
ended in leaving him undisputed ruler of all Tien- Shan Nan
Lu. These conquests over, hordes of neighboring rebels nmst
now be recognized as fatal errors in the policy of Yakub. The
Atalik Gliazi, or ‘ Champion Father’ as he was now called,
had not only attracted the distrust of Russia—manifested in
their taking of Kuldja from the Dunganis before his approach
was possible—but in annihilating other Moslem insurrectionists,
‘ The Eastern Empress-dowager, the legal widow of Hienfung, whose only
child, a daughter, died early in 1875, followed her to the grave in 1881, leaving
the regency with her coadjutor, the Empress An, aided by Prince Kung had constituted himself an avenger of Chinese wrongs, and prepared the way of his own enemies whenever the terrible day of reckoning should come.
The attempt on the part of China to restore its prestige in a
territory where every hand was tm-ned against her seemed
indeed liopeless. Her exhausted resources, her constant fear
of tlie foreigners within lier gates, her suspicions of Russia,
the immense distances to be traversed, seemed to unite every
factor against her success. Nevertlieless, by 1871 symptoms of
disorganization began ah-eady to appear among tlie rebels, wliile
in the wishes of the common people for a strong power to insure
order and encourage trade Tso Tsung-tang, the Chinese
general, found both assistance and men.
A moment’s attention to the relations l)etwecn the Chinese
and Mohammedans of this region will throw much light on
their contest. Since their conquest by Kienlung, the inhabitants
of Eastern Turkestan had enjoyed an unexampled period of
tranquillity and prosperous trade. The Chinese, known as
Kitai, settled in their cities and brought a degree of wealth
and civilization far ahead of anything previously known, wliile
the rulers, or ambans, joined to their duties as administrators of
justice a fostering care of trade routes and methods for developing
the country. They have at all times been celebrated for
irrigating their provinces, and now reproduced their wonderful
canals (says Boulger) ” even in this outlying dependency.
Eastern Turkestan is one of the worst-watered regions in the
world. In fact there is only a belt of fertile country around
the Yarkand lliver, stretching away eastward along the slopes
of the Tien Shan as far as Ilanii. The few snudl rivers which
are traced here and there across the map are during many
months of the year dried up, and even the Yai’kand then
becomes an insignificant stream. To remedy this, and to
husband the supply as much as possible, the Chinese sunk dikes
in all directions. By this means the cultivated country was
slowly but sui-ely spi’cad over a great extent of territory, and
the vicinity of the three cities of Kashgar, Yangi llissar, and
Yarkand ])e(‘ame known as the garden of Asia. Corn and fruit
grew in abundance, and from Yarkand to the south of the Tien
TAKUB BEG AND THE REVOLT IX TURKESTAN. 729
Shan the traveller could pass through one endless orchard. On all sides he saw nothing but plenty and content, peaceful hamlets and smiling inhabitants. These were the outcome of a Chinese domination.” ‘
In addition to the fields and rivers, mines were worked, mountain passes cut and kept in repair, and the internal government of tribes placed on an equable basis. As to the precise manner in which discontent and rebellion crept into this apparently happy territory, it must always remain a matter of conjecture. The customs of its inhabitants have for ages been based on the tribal principle to such an extent that they found it impossible to assimilate with the Chinese and their methodical government, even though for their advantage to do so. The repeated failures of the United States to introduce a certain degree of civilization among the Indians present an analogous case. Uneasiness among the natives caused by agents from Kokand and Tashkend was speedily followed by larger demands from turbulent Mussulmans, who saw in Chinese moderation an evidence of weakness and decline. Jehangir’s rebellion not unjustly incensed a government which had devoted more than half a century to the building up of a shattered State, and was punished with merciless rigor. Oppression from the Chinese met by resistance, equitable rule alternating with weakness and injustice, trade impeded by illegal imports, ambitious Usbeck chiefs exciting their tribes to rise against their conquerors—these and similar causes had been at work to prevent all permanent progress in Turkestan.
‘ Life of Yakoob Beg, London, 1878, p. 59. See also R. B. Shaw, Visiti to High Tartary, Yarkand, and Kashgar, London, 1871, Chaps. II. and III.
During the lowest ebb of JSIanchu authority in the Empire, when foreigners and Tai-pings were straining the utmost resources of the government in the East, a small village of Kansuh was the scene of a sudden riot. When after two days couriers brought word that the disturbance was quelled with some loss of life, the authorities began to suppose that the affair had already been forgotten; but it proved to be the fuse that lighted an outbreak scarcely smaller than the other civil war within the provinces.’ The Dunganis had arisen and spreaa the infection of revolt wherever they existed—over hirge districts «^tf Slieiisi, but principally toward the west, to Turfan, Ivuche. and Aksu—continuing the weary story of surprise, slaughter,
and barbarity even to the city of Knldja.’ Allying with
themselves the Tarantchi, a sort of fellah class which the Chinese
had imported into the regions from Kashgar, the victorious
rebels established one of those ephemeral governments over the
Tien Shan and its adjoining valleys that have so frequently
arisen in the history of Central Asia. Under their rule ti’avel
beyond the Kia^’ii Pass was of course impossible, while trade
diminished throughout the conntry, and Russia, as we have seen,
wrested Knldja from Abul Oghlan in order to secnre her own
borders. The first sei’ious check received by this confederation
Avas its virtnal overthrow, when Yakub advanced npon Aksu
and from thence cleared the great road eastward to Tnrfan.
Tso’s first labor, then, was to clear Shensi and Kansuh of the
rebels, in which his progress was marked by admirable foresight
and energy in disposition of men, arrangement of conrier
service, and use of modern arms. Establishing himself by 1876
in Barknl and Ilami as headcpiarters, by the following spring
he was prepared for a concerted movement from the north
(Gutchen and Urumtsi) and east (Pidshan) npon ‘^’akub l>eg at
Turfan. The redoubtable chieftain was finally caught by the
tardy but certain power which he had long despised with impunity,
and driven backward through the towns of Toksnn and llarashar to Tvorla, where he died or was murdered, May, 1877.
‘ *’ It is impossible not to connect this event in some degree with that unaccountable revival among Mohammedans, which has produced so many important events during the last thirty years, and of which we are now witnessing some of the most striking results. “—Boulger. Life of Yakooh li’f/, p. 95.
“^ Which fell in January, 18C0, after the Chinese governor had destroyed himself and his citadel by gunpowder.
THE REBELLION SUPPUESSED. 731
During this and the following years the governor-general succeeded in reinstating the authority which had been in abeyance nearly a score of years. His army under two able generals advanced along the parallel roads north and south of the Tien Shan, punishing the rebels without mercy, while ” the Moham-niedaiis who submitted themselves were perm’.lfc<\ to revert to their peaceful avocations.” ‘ When upon the desert the troops were provisioned from Russian territory, but during the early years of the campaign it appears that the soldiers were made to till the ground as well as construct fortifications. The history of the advance of this ” agricultural army ” would, if thoroughly known, constitute one of the most remarkable military achievements in the annals of any modern country.^
With the fall of Kashgar (December 17, 1877) the reconquest was practically completed, though Yarkand and the neighboring towns held out some months longer, at the end of which the chiefs of the Moslem movement had either fled to Ferghana or succumbed in the light. The Chinese now turned their attention to the occupation of Kuldja, and sent Chunghow in December, 1878, to St. Petersburg upon a mission relating to its restoration. The envoy needed, indeed, but to remind the Czar of Russian promises made in Peking in 1871 concerning the prompt retrocession of the occupied territory when China should have reasserted her authority in those regions; but neither European nor Oriental diplomats seemed to regard the city “held in trust for China by the Russian government” as in the least likely to return to the dominion of the Huangdi, while many were persuaded that Russia would resort to arras before surrendering one of the most prosperous of her possessions in order to keep a rash promise.^
‘ Peking Gazette.
« The Spectator, April 13, 1878, Pall Mall Gazette, June, 1878, and London Times, November, 1878. Boiilger, Life of Yalvol) Bn/, Chaps. XII. -XIV.
^ For an excellent illustration of the prevailing sentiment on this question, even after Chunghow’s embassy, see Mr. D. C. Boulger in tVaner’s Magazine fcr August, 1680, p. 104.
Chunghow—whose capacity had been in some degree tested in the Tientsin riot—was hardly the best choice for envoy even among the still ignorant officers at Peking, inasmuch as to the seemingly apparent defect of an unusually Boeotian temperament was added a profound ignorance of any European language, of modern methods of diplomacy, and of the topography of the territory in question. It is almost needless to add that such an enil)assy was ill-prepared to cope with the astute diplo niatists of an eager court, or that it speedily fell a prey to the designs upon it. A treaty of eighteen articles was signed at Livadia yielding a portion of the Kuldja district to China, Russia retaining, however, the fruitful valley of the Tekes river, all the more important strategic strongholds and passes in the Tian Shan, and the city of Yarkand ; China, moreover, to pay as indenmity five million rubles for the cost of occupying Kuldja.
Other important concessions, such as a trade route from Hankow through Suhchau to Kuldja and Siberia, the opening to Russian caravans of thirty-six frontier stations, the modification of the Kashgarian frontier, the arming of Muscovite merchants, and the navigation of the Songari River, were apparently added to this compact according as the Russians increased their experience of the “gullability” of these remarkable ambassadors.
Even officers of the Czar’s army, in referring afterward to this treaty, were prone to add to their remarks some measure of apology. When in January, 1880, Chunghow returned home with the unwise and humiliating document in his possession, he could not have felt wholly certain of a triumphant reception. Nevertheless it is not likely that the luckless ambassador contemplated being at once deprived by imperial edict of all his offices and turned over to a board for trial and punishment. Statesmen of both parties joined in denouncing him, Li Hongzhang and Tso alike presenting memorials to the same effect, while a flood of petitions more or less fierce poured upon the
govei’ument from mandarins of all ranks. On the 2Sth the
returned envoy was cashiered for having signed away territory
and promised indemnity without special authorization, and in
punisliment was sentenced to decapitation. The actoi’s in this
movement, which upon the manifestation of such prompt and
furious measures assumed the phase of an intrigue of the war
party, were Tso and Prince Chung, who seized upon the popular
wrath as an opportune moment for a master stroke against
Prince Kung.
NEGOTIATIONS RESPECTING THE CESSION OF KULDJA. 733
With the appearance of danger such as this the party in power recoiled at once from its angry position, depreciated the highly bellicose tone of court officials, and accepted the good offices of the foreign ministers who j(»ine(l in protesting against the unworthy treatment of Chunghow and the monstrous barbarity of his sentence. Possibly the temperance (»f Russia’s attitude in demanding the uncoiuiitiunal pardon of ( liunghow before consenting to receive a second ambassador—the Marquis Tsang, minister to Enghmd, aheady appointed—materially aided in quieting the storm. Fortunately, tuo, amid the rumors of a resort to arms and manifest preparations of the palace discontents to force an issue, Colonel Gordon visited the capital, and in a communication to Governor Li pointed out the folly of attempting a foreign conflict and the peculiar dangers in overwhelming, by courting a certain defeat, the great benefits which nnist come to the Chinese army by its gradual reorganization
upon modern methods. “Potentially,” said this unpalatable
but honest critic, “you are perhaps invincible, but the outcome
of this premature war will show you to be vulnerable at a thousand
points.” Counsels such as these carried unusual weight
as coming from a man whom all parties in China respected and
admired ; there can be little doubt that it sensibly decreased
the war feeling, and possibly proN^ented the country from rushing
to certain disaster.
Chunghow was accordingly reprieved, and in June of this
year set free. The intelligence and experience of Tsang’
proved an acceptable contrast to his ^predecessor’s unguarded
conduct, and resulted in an agreement (May 15th) on the part of
the Czar’s negotiators to recede nearly the whole of the contested
district, excepting a narrow strip upon its western edge
for purposes of colonization or retreat for those inhabitants of
III who preferred to remain under Russian control.’ In return
‘ Upon his return to China the marquis published his diary, some portions of which have found their way into the China Review (Vol. XI., p. 135) and are extremely interesting as the outspoken opinion of an appreciative and enlightened Chinese gentleman.
‘-‘ Precisely the extent of this strip depends upon the exact definition of the boundary here under Taukwang. The present line is laid down in that portion of the new treaty quoted in Volume I., p. 218 ; the territory forms approximately a wedge whose a])ex is in the Ala Tau Mountains, and whose base, about three degrees south of this point, lies against the crest of the Tian Shan.
It meets the old boundary at the Muzart (or Muz-daban) Pass. Since the treaty
“for military expenses incurred by Ilnssia in lu>](Iing and pro
teeting Ili on belialf of China since the year 1871, and in satisfaction
of all claims by Russian merchants for losses previonsiy
suffered by pillage within Chinese territory, and by Russians
who have suffered outrage,” the Chinese agreed to pay nine
million roubles. This appears to have been less repugnant to
oriental diplomacy than live millions in acknowledgment of
getting back their borrowed property. As for the other points,
the treaty does not seem to have been greatly altered, save in
the Songari River and other more vexatious clauses. This treaty
was ratified August 19, 1881.
From domestic wars and political complications, the influences
of which have hai’dly as yet disappeared fi’om our morning
newspapers, our attention must be turned to the yet sadder
spectacle of famine and pestilence. The occasional notices of a
great scarcity of food in Xorthwestern China which drifted into
the news items of western countries may still remain within the
memory of many; those, however, who live under the ascendancy
of occidental institutions can with difficulty appreciate,from
any mere description of this scourge, its immense influence as a
factor in removing somewhat the suspicions of the ignorant and
apathetic Chinese against their fellow-men in other lands. The
sympathies and chai’ities of the Chi-istian world, as called forth
by this terrible visitation, were more effectual in making acceptable
the distasteful presence of foreigners within their cities
than had been the miited influence of two wars and a halfcentury
of trade, diplonuicy, and social intercourse.
The Great Famine of 1878 was in some measure foretold
over Sliansi and Shensi by the decreasinir rainfall of the four
])revious years. The peculiar nature of this loess-covered
region, and its absolute dependence for fertility upon a sufficient
supply of moisture, has been pointed out in another chapter
of this woj-k. Here, then, and in Shantung the missionaries
of all denomiiuitions were called upon to organize methods
strenuous efforts have been made by the officers of both nationalities stationed
tliere to entice the U.sbeck, Kirghis, and Diinganis of the region to settle per
manently on their side of the boundary.
THE GEEAT FAMINE OF 1878. 735
of relief as early as the summer of 1877. By the opening of
the following spring a central committee in Shanghai and their
agents in Chifu and Tientsin—all Protestant and Roman Catholic
missionaries—had put forth so great energy in their Avelldirected
efforts as to gain the zealous co-operation of Li Iluugchang,
governor-general of Cliihli, and active countenance of
the rulers and gentry in otlier provinces. “At the beginning
of their labors,” writes the secretary of the committee, ” the
distributors were received with a degree of prejudice and suspicion
which utterly frustrated any attempt to prosecute the
work. They were supposed to have sinister objects in view,
and not only was their charity refused, but they were even in
innninent danger of their lives. It required the utmost carefulness
on their part to carry on their operations with any degree
of success. They were urged to act in a way that contemplated
the speedy exhaustion of their funds and their evacuation of
the pla-ce. So far as we can ascertain, however, the distributors
conducted themselves in a most connnendable manner,
and after a time at least bore dow^n the ill-will and aspersions
of all classes, changing their sentiments and feelings of doubt
and distrust into those of the deepest gratitude and respect, so
that they are now regarded as the very saviours of the people.” ‘
After the experience of some weeks in the destitute regions,
it was found that only the strictest adherence to a business system
of distribution could be attended with any mitigation of the
evil. Tickets representing certain amounts of money were given
to the houses of each community which appeared on the catalogues
of needy families furnished by village elders. Food being
plenty in the south, the means of transportation and storage
during distribution constituted the chief labor of those concerned
in this work. When brought to the starving settlements,
grain was promptly doled out in exchange for the tickets, and
to the lasting credit of the Chinese character it must here be noticed
that not a single raid upon the provisions or resort to force
in any way has been recorded of these famished multitudes.
‘ Rev. W. Muirliead, in Report of the China Famine Relief Fund, Shanghai, 1879, p. 4.
That good-will, affection, an] gratitude should take the place
of the old mistrust under these conditions was niOst natural.’
Xevertheless the terrors of their experiences in this awful time
were hardly lightened by this cheering aspect of the curse.
Misery and desolation such as this overwhehned every other
sentiment save that of compassion. The visitor was often met
hy the solitary remnant of a large household, to hear from him
a harrowing recital of suffering and death, fitted to shock the
most callous of humanity. Again, he would come upon the
corpse of one recently fallen in the vain effort to walk to a
neighboring town, and about it a lazy pack of wolves squatting
—gorged and stupid from the fulness of many ghastly meals.
At other times a silent dwelling might be found giving shelter
only to the cadaverous bodies of its former inmates ; or anon a
ruined house would tell M’here the timbers had been plucked
out and sold for a little bread. Of the last extreme of famine,
caimibalism, which cropped out here and there, but which in
most cases met with instant punishment when discovered, it is
hardly necessary to add notice or description. The remarkable
patience under suffering exhibited by the people made their
relief compai’utively easy, though the despair which had rendered
them insensible to excitement or violence often prevented their
recuperation from the fever and plague which laid hold upon their
weakened bodies even after plenty had returned to the land.
In their report the connnittee at Shanghai acknowledge
Tls. 204,560 as having passed through their hands, while about
as much more may safely be said to have been otherwise expended
by foreigners for the relief of the sufferers.” The
Chinese government furnished food and supplies amounting to
‘ A notable exception to this universal sentiment of kindliness was exhibited
among the officials and gentry of Kaifung, the capital of Honan, in which city
foreigners were to the last forbidden to remain, or even to carry on their work in the environs.
FOREIGlSr EFFOETS TOWARD ITS RELIEF. 737
‘•’ About $22,070 were subscribed in the United States—which does not include, however, the donation from the Pacific slope. An effort was made to Induce Congress to return on this occasion the surplus of the Chinese indemnity fund, amounting to nearly $()()(),()()(), but upon this the Committee on Foreign Affairs rcportiul adversely, alleging among other reasons that all the starving people would be dead before the machinery of both nations would admit of this money being exchanged for food I
more than Tls. 2,000,000, while rich natives contributed very
lai-gely in their own districts. Sixty-nine foreigners were personally
engaged upon the work of (listributi(jn in the four
afflicted provinces, of whom Messrs. Ilall, Hodge, Barradale,
and AVhiting died in consequence of exposure and overwork.’
Upon the mortality connected with this frightful visitation
there exist hut the vaguest figures. ” The destruction as a
whole is stated to be from nine and a half to thirteen millions,”
observes the JA^mH^ alreiidy quoted, and its proofs in support
of this statement are as trustworthy as any that can be compiled.
Xo famine is recorded in the history of any land which equalled
this in death-rate. The area at the base of the Tibetan and
Mongolian highlands will always be subject to great vicissitudes
of heat and moisture,’ and the future, like the past, cannot but
suffer from these frightful droughts unless a careful attention
to the climatic influence of trees and irrigation mitigate in some
degree the dreadful comings of these plagues.
The Chinese plenipotentiary in London, T\ woh Sung-tao, gave
utterance to the sincere sentiments of his government in saying:
The noble philanthropy wliich heard, In a far-distant country, the cry of
suffering and hastened to its assistance, is too signal a recognition of the common
brotherhood of humanity ever to be forgotten, and is all the more worthy
to be remembered because it is not a passing response to a generous emotion,
but a continued effort, persevered in until, in sending the welcome rain.
Heaven gave the assuring promise of returning plenty, and the sign that the
brotherly succor was no longer required. Coming from Englishmen residing
in all parts of the world, this spontaneous act of generosity made a deep impression
on the government and people of China, which cannot but have the
effect of more closely cementing the friendly relations which now so happily
exist between China and Great Britain. But the hands that gave also assumed
the arduous duty of administering the relief ; and here I would not forget to
offer my grateful thanks and condolence to the families of those, and they are
not a few, who nobly fell in distributing the fund.’*
Mr. Whiting was honored by the governor of Shansi with a public funeral
in Taiyuen, the provincial oaiiital.
» P. 7.
^ Mr. A. Hosi.i in the X 0. Br. E. A. P!. JoHvniil, Vol. XIII., 1878, has
translated the native lists of more than eight hundred famines and droughts
occurring in the Yangtsz’ basin and northward on the Plateau during a thousand
years ending a.d. 1643.
* Letter of October 14, 1878, to Lord Salisbury.
One who has been acquainted with Chinese affairs for the last
fifty years can better than younger persons appreciate from this
letter the vast stride wliieh has been made by (^hina since the
withdrawal of the East India Company’s factory in 1834. The
Empire had then been closed for more than a century, and its
inhal)itants liad been taught to believe that all mankind outside of
its b()un(hiries were little better than i<!;norant savaijes. Their
rulers had maintained that ” barbarians could only be ruled by
misrule,” and in their honest efforts to keep them fi-om entering
the gates of the Celestial Empire in order that the people might
not become contaminated, had faithfully though ineffectually
endeavored to fulfil the first duty of every government. We
have seen how small was their success when dealing with the
iniquitous opium traffic ; no amount of moral or ethical principle
in the cause which he represented could make up to Connnissioner
Lin for his ignorance and stiff-neckedness in pushing his
injudicious methods of reforming this abuse. Had he succeeded
as he and his imperial master had ])lamied, they would have
sealed their country against the only possible remedies for those
evils they were striving to remove—free intercourse, commercial,
intellectual, and political, with their fellow-men.
The story of Cliina’s rapid progress from semi-barbarism
toward her appropriate position among nations is now fully
known to any whose interests have directed their attention
thither. It cannot be denied that the advance has been hampered
by the mass of superstitions, assumptions, and weaknesses
through which every such stride to reformation nnist push forward
; nor is it strange that interested foreigners from their vantage-
ground of a more perfect civilization should at times bemoan
the wearisome course and manifold errors of this regeneration.
Nevertheless, liopeful signs abound on every side ; against a
few errors may be balanced a multitude of genuine successes,
and the fact that these latter have come about deliberately
assures us that they are permanent. In the hands of statesmen
as far-sighted and ])atriotic as those who now control the government,
there is little cause to apprehend retrograde steps or a return
to the exclusive policy of (yonnnissioners Lin and Yeh. As
for the conservative spirit which yet characterizes the present
THE CHINESE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION. 739
regime, in this will be found the safeguard against extravagant
and premature adoption of western machines, institutions,
nietliods, dress, and the thousand adjuncts of modern European
life which, if too rapidly applied to an effete and backward
civilization, push it rather into bankruptcy and overthrow than
out into a new existence.
Before closing these volumes, and as an illustration of these
observations, it remains to notice the so-called Chinese Education
Commission—a highly lauded project which is still fresh
in the minds of many Americans. Soon after the Tientsin
riot and Chunghow’s mission of apology, Yung Wing, a
Chinese graduate of Yale College, proposed to Li Ilung-chang
and others in authority a plan of utilizing certain surplus
moneys remaining from the fund for military stores, to defray
the expenses of educating a number of Chinese boys in the
United States. The scheme found such favor with the governor-
general and members of the Foreign Office, that early in
the year 1872 thirty boys were selected by competitive examination
at Shanghai, and took passage for San Francisco July
12th, Yung Wing having preceded them to make the necessary
arrangements. This gentleman’s acquaintance w^ith the
social life and educational methods in IS^ew England was so
complete as to enable him readily to place the students—usually
in pairs—in comfortable households, where they might learn
English and become initiated into the manner of life among
western peoples as agreeably as possible.
The commission established its headquarters in Hartford and
easily disposed their boys in adjoining towns of Connecticut
and Massachusetts, where numbers of families welcomed them
with open arms. Prince Kung’s satisfaction upon learning of
this friendly reception was expressed in a personal note of
thanks to Mr. Low at Peking, while the fair prospects of the
scheme now tended to hasten other parties of students to these
shores until their number was swelled to one hundred and
twenty.’ These lads proved themselves almost without excep-
‘ The original plan included the sending of one hundred and fifty boys, but the fund laid aside for the purpose was found to be insufficient to cover the cost of the full number.
tion capable and active in tlie studies set before them, and a8
their hold upon the language increased, began to outrank all
but the brightest of their American classmates. As they advanced
into the higher scientific schools or colleges, greater
liberty was allowed them, each boy pursuing his inclination as
to a special course or institution. With the appointment of
Yung “Wing to the Chinese legation at Washington and the
arrival of one Wu Tsz’-tang (who knew no English) as commissioner
in his place at Hartford, the complexion of this enterprise
seems to have changed. In the spring of 1881 a formal
memorial, endorsed by Chin Lan-pin, the minister at Washington,
was addressed to the home government, complaining of
the course of study pursued by these youths as including Latin
and Greek and other unnecessary subjects ; of the disrespectful
behavior of the l)oys when brought before their chiefs ; of
their deplorable luck of patriotism ; of their forgetting their
mother tongue, and other sins of omission and commission.
The memorial seems to have fallen in with the desires of those
momentarily in power at Peking ; the commission and students
were all recalled by the return mail, and arrived at Shanghai
in the fall of the same year.
Although this action may have been in some degree
prompted by a spirit of conservatism and distrust, the leading
motive of the Chinese government cannot be far to seek.
Had these boys of a dozen years each received his fifteen years’
instruction in our common-school, classical, and })r(>fessional
courses, it is impossil)le to believe that the}’ would not at the
end of this time have been more American than Chinese.
Their speedy recall was a matter of regret to the many friends
these interesting lads had made in New England, but from a
truly Chinese stand-point this foreign popularity would become
as the flesh-pots of Egypt to them after their return to
the arid intellectual life in China—and the event in one or two
instances appears to have proved the shrewdness of this surmise.
However, this expei’iment can in no wise be considered
a failure, even if we consider only the knowledge of English
and elements of a western education obtained by each student; how considerable has been its success will be seen when the
PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTURE OF CHINA. 741-
young incii—now engaged by their government in telegraph
posts, arsenals, schools, etc.—shall have achieved sufficient distinction
in their vai-ious professions to prove their fitness for
the pains bestowed upon them. The organization of scliools
for other than Chinese methods of education is already begun
in China—as, for example, tlie Tung-wan Kwan, under charge
of Dr. Martin, at Peking—and from these a much more
rational advance to their proper position in scientific knowledge
may be expected, than by hazardous schemes of foreign
tuition.
The pages of this brief compendium of our present knowledge
of the Chinese Empire were not written in the first place,
nor have they been revised, with any intent to laud that people
beyond their just deserts. What there is of weakness, vice,
narrowness, bigotry, in the national character has been pointed
out with great frankness, while their blindness and folly after
the lessons of two warlike visitations from foreign nations
have not passed unnoticed. The experiences of the last three
decades will probably prove more momentous for the Chinese
than those of any previous century in their history, and these
have not come about without much bitterness and the surly
traces of misunderstanding and misrepresentation. But the
great fact must have become apparent, even to the cursory
reader, that in the Chinese character are elements which in due
time must lift her out of the terribly backward position into
which she had fallen and raise her to a rank among the foremost
of nations. There is a basis of encouragement when we
keep in mind the literary institutions of tho country and their
early attention to obtaining a corps of scientific men of their
own nationality, as in the effort just mentioned.’
‘ The reserved force in the Chinese character was very strikingly brought
out in a new-year’s call at Peking, which the writer remembers, in 1870.
The topic came up as to how to diminish the expense of getting coal from the
mines to the city (which up to that time was carried on camels and mules , so
a.i to put it within the reach ol the poor people. I suggested a tram road
as the best plan for the fifty miles distance from the mines, and involving
trifling expense. After listening to the plan, Tan Ting-siang, one of the
members of the Board of Revenue, and Prince Kung, together exclaimed,
” Tieh-lu lai liao! Tkh-la lai Uao!” (‘ Railroads are coming in time’}, Tke ex
Another ground of hope—and tliese words are as pertinent
today as when written thirty-five years ago—lies in the matterof-
fact habits of the Chinese, tlieir want of enthusiasm and dislike
of cliange, which are rather favorable than otherwise to
their development as a great community. The presentation
and reception of the highest truths and motives the human
mind can realize always excites thought and action ; the chiefest
fear must be that of going too fast in schemes of reform
and correction, and demolishing the fabric before its elements
are ready for reconstruction. The non-existence of caste, the
weakness of a priesthood which cannot nerve its persecuting
arm with the power of the State, the scanty influence religion
has over the ])opular mind, the simplicity of ancestral worship,
the absence of the allurements of gorgeous temples, splendid
ritual, seductive music, gay processions, and above all, sanctified
licentiousness, to uphold and render it enticing to depraved
human nature, the popular origin of all government holidays,
and lastly, the degree of industry, loyalty, and respect for life
and property—these are characteristics which furnish some
grounds for trusting that the regeneration of China will be accomplished,
like the operation of leaven in meal, without shivering
the vessel.
istence of the treaty principle of ex-territoriality and its consequences is constantly
before the Chinese high officers, though they appreciate as well the
fact that their country is preparing and will be the better for such improve*
ments.
INDEX.
ABACUS, or Sioanpan, principle of,
ii. 60.
Abeel, Rev. D., i. 134, 835, ii. 240 ; arrives
in China, ii. 325, 327, 338, 348; memoir,
ii. 368.
Abel, Clarke, i. 363, ii. 458.
Aboriculture, curiosities of, ii. 13.
Aboriginal races, of China, i. 41 ; of Formosa,
i. 137 ; in Hunan, i. 148.
Abulgasi (History of the Tartars), i. 202-
203.
Abu Zaid, his work on China, ii. 168
;
generally trustworthy, ii. 414, 425.
Acupuncture, ii. 123.
Adams, Hon. John Quincy, his mistaken
notions of Chinese war, ii. 469.
Agar-agar, a glue made from seaweed, ii.
397.
Agnosticism, Chinese, ii. 201.
Agriculture, Temple of, Peking, i. 78 ; in
loess fields, i. 302 ; Chinese works upon,
i. 686 ; consideration of, ii. 1 ; utensils,
ii. 3.
Aksa, town and river of fli, i. 225 ; Yakub
Bey captures, ii. 730.
Alabaster’s Wheel ofthe Law, ii. 229.
Alak. See Tien Siian.
Alcock. Sir R. , ii. 637.
Almanac, rectified by Jesuits, ii. 68, 298
;
its importance, ii. 79.
Altai, i.e., ‘Golden Mountains,’ or Kin
Shan, i. 9.
Altars, to Heaven, Agriculture, and Earth,
Peking, i. 70-78 ; fashion of Romish, in
China, ii. 31.-).
Altchuku, or A-shi-ho, town in Kirin, i.
197.
Alum, found in Sz’chuen, i. 308 ; an article
of export, ii. 392.
Amber, brought to China, ii. 398.
Amherst, Lord, rebuff of his embassy at
Ynen-niing Yuen, i. 80 ; his mission to
the capital, ii. 4.58.
American, missionaries and the Hangchau
settlement, ii. 351 ; treaty with China
respecting toleration of Christianity, ii.
360 ; trade with China, ii. 460 ; residents
at Canton and Governor Lin, ii. 514
1
embassy to China concludes treaty oi
VVaiighia, ii. .567 ; homicide of Chinese
by, in Canton, ii. 568 ; Chinese favorably
disposed toward, ii. 570 ; fleet destroy
the Barrier forts, ii. 638 ; government
asked to co-operate with England,
ii. 642 ; minister. Sir. Reed, arrives in
China, ii. 643 ; minister, Mr. Ward, cooperates
in preventing coolie trade, ii.
663 ; negotiations with the Chinese
ofiicials at Taku forts, ii. 665 ; embassy
escorted to Peking via Pehtang, ii. 669
;
minister refuses to kotow and returns,
ii. 670 ; sailor hung for murder at Shanghai,
ii. 696 ; treaty with China negotiated
)jy Burhngame, ii. 6US ; missionaries
frightened away from TSugchau, iL 705.
Amiot, Pere i. 598, ii. 96, 149, SOU.
Ampere, J. J., i. 715.
Amoy, climate of, i. 53 ; island, i. 129
;
city, i. 183; its environs, i. 134; lexicon,
the Shili-wrt Yin, i. 590; dialect,
i. 611, 612,615; New Year usages at,
i. 814; infanticide at, ii. 239; sentiment
toward foreigners, ii. oS8 ; Protestant
mission at, ii. 348; Chinese and Dutch
take, ii. 438 ; East India Company trade
at, ii, 445, 448 ; taken by the English,
ii. .524, .528 ; not hostile to foreigners, ii.
573 ; during Tai-ping Rebellion, ii. 629.
Amulets and charms, to ward off evil, iL
25.5-257.
Amusements, at dinner, i. SOS ; out-door,
i. 825 ; peaceful character of Chinese, i.
829.
Amur River (called also Sas^alien, Kwantung,
Helung kiang), i. 189.
Analects of Confucius, the Lun Yu, i.
656.
Ancestral worship, compatible with
Buddhism, ii. 223; its antiquity, ii. 236;
its forms, etc., ii. 250-2.55; allowed by
Ricci, ii. 292, 299; and Christianity, ii.
355.
Anderson, Dr. John, i. 79, 181, 184, 337,
ii. 719, 721, 732.
(44 INDEX.
Anglo-Chinese College <at Malacca, ii. 324.
Animals, of China, quadiumanous, i. 814-
317, carnivoious, SlV-^iriO, ruminants.
320-323, dome stic, 323-320, rodents and
smaller animals, 32G-o2′.>, cetaceous,
329-330, four fabulous, 342-34r) ; in the
Herbal, i. 374-377 ; used as iood, i. 772,
77() ; pack, ii. 7 ; of the calendar and
zodiac, ii. fi’.t, 71 ; sculptured, ii. 115.
Ant-eater, or pangolin, Chinese ideas of,
i. 328.
Antelope, hwangyang, or clzcren, of Mongolia,
i. 321.
An-ting man, in Peking wall, 1. 63
;
opened to the allied troops, ii. 680.
Ants, studied by Chinese, i. 354.
Apple, or haw. of Manchuria, i. 300.
Arab, merchants introduce the name
Chhia into Europe, i. 3; travellers in
China, li. l’;S, 414, 421; name for opium,
ii, 373.
Arabdan, khan of the ^ongares, i. 233.
Architecture, Chinese, compared with Indian,
i. 72(i, domestic, ‘i28, military,
758 ; its needs and limitations, ii. 11(1.
Area of the Eighteen Provinces, i. 272,
£70.
Argali, mountain sheep, in China, i. 321.
Arithiuctic, Chinese knowledge of, ii. GO.
Arms used in warfare, ii. 88.
Army of China, pay of, i. 2′.)3 ; laws concerning,
i. 388 ; memorial as to its condition
in 1838, i. 494 ; examination
system in, i. 560 ; in theory and practice,
ii. SS-93 ; its condition on outbreak
of Tai-ping Rebellion, ii. 590.
Arnold’s Light of AfIu, ii. 220.
Arrow, case of the lorcha, ii. 359,
035-038.
Art, Chinese, in book illustrations, i. 080 ;
in aboriculture, ii. 13 ; in bronze, ii. 31 ;
porcelain decorations, ii. 25 ; carving,
etc., li. 59 ; illustrative, iL 105-111
;
symbolic, ii. Ill, 112; caricatures, ii.
115 ; export of objects of, ii. 393 ; example
of, ii. 080, note.
Assam, tea native of, iL 51.
Ass, wild, of the steppes, i. 212, 323.
Assembly balls, or club-houses, in Chinese
cities,!. 70, 122,107,739.
Astrology and divination, ii. 09, 74.
Astronomy, Chinese study of, ii, 68, 72
romance of, ii, 70 ; and Jesuits, ii. 298.
Atkinson, T, W., i. 331.
Atlas of China, the Tien Chii, or ‘Heaven’s
Pillar Mountains,’ i. 13.
Auber, Peter, on foreign trade with
China, ii. 4.50. 45;).
Audience, of officials before Emperor of
China, i. 801 ; of the Dutch ambassadors
Goyer and Keyzer,. ii. 435 ; of
Lord Macartney, ii. 4.55 ; question not
raised by Gushing, ii. 570 ; question discussed
by Ward’s embassy at Peking,
ii. 009 ; Rwinhoe’s descriptin -^f an, at
Yuen-ming Yuen, ii. 083; _, .uted to
all foreign ministers, ii. 714.
Azaleas about Ningpo, i. 370.
Azure Sea (see Koko-nor), i. 210.
BABER, E. C, i. 181 ; sent on Gro*.
venor mission, ii. 723, 724.
Baldwin, C. C, i. 015.
Balfour, F. H., li. 212.
Ball, Samuel, ii. .5.5, 373.
Ballads, specimens of Chinese, i. 705-714.
Balls, hollow, how carved, ii. 59.
Bamboo, beauty and uses of, i. 3.58-.’;00;
articles exported, ii. 393.
Bamboo books, the, i. 681 ; their authenticity,
ii. 149, 15.5.
Banditti numerous in China, i. 480,
495, 497.
Banks and banking system in China,
ii. 85.
Baptism, of moribund infants by Catholics,
ii. 310; discussion among missionaries
concerning Mord for, ii. 363.
Baptist Missionary Society in Hong Kong,
ii. 347.
Barbers’ establishments in China, i. 7(50;
their traitment of tlie eye.s, ii. 129.
Barkul (or Chinsi fu), town and lake of
Kansuh, i. 214.
Barkut, or golden eagle, hunting with,
i. 331.
Barrier forts, near Canton, destroyed by
Americans, li. 038.
Barrow, J., i. 22, 105, 117, 175, 287, 290,
741, 7.55, 772; ii. 5, 9.5, 97, 104, 240, 455.
Batang, in Sz’chuen, i. 20.
Bats, Chinese, i. 316 ; symbol of happiness,
ii. Ill
.
Bayan-kara in the Kwanlun system, i. 11,
211.
Bazin, i. 84.5, 714, ii. 213, 217.
Beal, Samuel, ii. 229.
Bcal, T., aviary of, at Macao, i. 341.
Bears, Chinese, i. 317.
Beggars, on the Tai-shan, i. 91 ; in Canton,
i. 730 ; how controlled, i. 742 ; condition
of, i. 835 ; and Buddhist priests,
ii. 220; alms for, ii. 203.
Bell, great, of Peking, i. 74 ; temple of, at
Puking, i. 79.
Bell, John, his residence at Peking,
ii. 442.
Belles-lettres, character and variety of
Chinese, i. 074.
Bellew, Dr. II. W., i. 234, 227.
Bells, rich in tone, ii, 20.
Belur-tag, Tartash ling, Tstmg ling,
‘ Onion ‘ or ‘ Blue Mountains,’ i. 9.
Benevolent institutions, Chinese, ii. 208-
20() ; foreign : Morrison’s and Parker’s
hospitals, ii. 333 ; Society for Diffusion
of Useful Knowledge, ii. 340 ; Morrison
Education Society, ii. 341.
INDEX. 745
Bentham, Gro., i. 9,<}C>, 355.
lietel-nut, a masticatory, how used, ii.397.
Jittiothment, cereniotiies relative to, i.
785 ; ‘spilling the tea,’ i. T’Jo ; evils attending
earl J’, i. 7135.
Bible, translated by Nestorians, ii. 280 ;
Montecorvino ordered to illustrate the,
ii. 288 ; withheld from Chinese by
Ricci, ii. 292 ; Ur. Morrison’s translation,
ii. lil’.l, o20; revi.sion, ii. SOo, o04 ;
contains the earliest notice of China,
ii. 408 ; revision and J. R. Morrison,
ii. 5(i0.
Biohe-de-mer, or sea-slug, how eaten,
i. 780 ; imported, ii. ;)U7.
Bickmore, A. S., i. 29(>.
Biographies, numerous in Chinese literature,
i. (581.
Biot, Edouard, i. 259, 263, 271, 413, 421,
482, 521, 543, 554, 559, 590, G3S, 644,
081, ii. 34. 87, 203.
Birds, of Tibet, I 243 ; of China, i. 330-
341 ; under one radical, i. 374.
Birds’-nest soup, its preparation, i. 780
;
and sharks’ fins imported, ii. 397.
Birthday fete at Ningpo, i. 814.
Black-haired race. Li Alin, common term
for Chinese, i. 5.
Blacksmith, his shop and tools, ii. 57.
Blakiston, T. W., i. 21-22, 145, 30.^.
Blodget, Dr. H., ii. 304.
Blood of animals used for food, medicines,
etc., i. 778.
Boards, Six, in government, i. 415 ; Civil
Office, i. 421 ; Revenue, i. 422 ; Rites,
1. 423; War, i. 424 ; Punishments, i. 426;
Works, i. 427 ; iiresidents of, i. 436
;
subordinate offices in the, i. 559.
Boats, bridge of, at Ningpo, i. 121 ; variety
and number of, in China, i. 749-753 ;
decorated at New Year, 1. 813 ; and internal
navigation of China, ii. 390.
Bogue, or Bocca Tigris, near Canton, i.
100; negotiations v/ith Kishen at, ii.
517 ; forts taken, ii. 520 ; destroyed
again, ii. .528 ; supplementary treaty
signed at, ii. .501 ; Governor Davis retakes
the forts, li. .573.
Bonham, Governor, visits the Tai-pings
at Nanking, ii. .577; advised by gentrv
of Canton not to enter the city, ii.
025.
Bwk of Rites {Li Ki), i. 424, 520, 643-
047, 805, ii. 33.
Book of Odes {Shi King), i. 636-643, ii.
236, 321.
Book of Records {Shu Kijig), i. 633-636,
808, ii. 32, 30, 08, 146 ff., 169, 372.
Book of Chanfies ( Yih Kiiir/), i. 027-033.
Books, used in schools, i. .520-.541, .574 ;
manufacture and price of, i. 600-0( 2
burned by Tsin. B.C. 200, ii. 101 ; Nestorian,
destroyed, ii. 286 ; circulated in
the opium traffic, ii. 379 ; destroyed at
Canton, ii. 026 ; by Protestants, ii. 328»
331, 340.
Boone, W. J., ii..^38, 348.
Bore, or Eagre, of the Tsientang, i. 114,
ii. 415.
Borget, A., i. 128, 320, 771.
Bostang-nor, or Lake Bagarash, i. 24,
223, 224.
Botany, of China, i. b’SS-SIO ; of the
/’lilt tsito, i. 372-374.
Boulgcr, D. C, i. 237, ii. 137; notice of
Turkestan, ii. ‘i28 ; of Mohammedan
revolt, ii. 730, 731.
Boundaries, of the Chinese Empire, i. 6 ;
of tlu! Eighteen Provinces, i. 8 ; made
under Kienlung. i. .59; of 111, i. 215 ;
of Tibet, i. 237 ; disputes concerning
the Amur, ii. 441 ; of the Empire near
Kuldja, ii. 733.
Bowring, Sir John, i. 459 ; his relations
with Yeh, ii. 033 ; his character, ii.
634; action in the Arrow case, ii.
635 ; opens hostilities with China, ii.
‘ 637 ; his conduct discussed in Parliament,
ii. 041.
Braam, Andreas van, Dutch ambassador
to Kienlung, i. 324, ii. 489.
Bremer, Sir Gordon, attacks Tinghai
with the fleet, ii. 514; takes the Bogue
forts, ii. 517, 520 ; sails for Calcutta,
ii. 521.
Breton, i. 314, 771.
Bretschneider, Dr. E., i 84, 345, 651,
ii. 413.
Bribes, nature and extent of, among officials,
i. 474 ; at examinations, i. 569.
Bricks, Chinese, their shapes and uses,
i. 728.
Bridges, construction and variety of, in
China, i. 7.53-756.
Bridgman, Dr. E. C, i. .530, 537. ii. 277;
arrives in China, ii. 327, 333, 335,
342, 346.
Bridgman, J. G., i. 43, 209, 316.
Bronze, beauty and excellence of, ii. 20.
Bros.set, jeniic, i. 643.
Brown, Rev. S. R., ii. 342, .344.
Bruce, Sir Frederick A., and reorganization
of Ever-Victoiious force, ii. 611 ;
commendation of (Gordon’s conduct,
ii. 619 ; sent by Elgin to commissioners
at Tientsin, ii. 655 ; repairs to Taku
with the allies, ii. 064, 065, 071, 672 ;
his good offices in Lay-Oslxime flotilla
affair, ii. 093, 694 ; his influence in
China, ii. (i99.
Buddha, temple and statue of, in Peking,
i. 71 ; near Si-ngan, i. 151 ; his life,
ii. 218 ; Chinese expedition to buy
relics of, ii. 414.
Buddhism, of the Mougol.s, i. 305,
ii. 234 ; in Khoten, i. 231 ; the lion and,
i. 317; ridiculed in the ‘Sacred Commands,’!.
689; and pagodas in China,
746 INDEX.
i. 744; introduced a.b. 05, under
Ming ti, ii. 163 ; in fourtli century A. d.,
ii. 165; and the Emperor Wu ti, ii.
166 ; its growth in China, ii. 217-229
and Koniaiiism compared, ii. 281,
315; bibliography, ii. 22′.t, 232, 234;
and J’uii(/-s/iui, ii. 246.
Buddhist, name for China, Chin-tan, i 3,
5; Olympus, i. 12; temples in
Peking, i. 73-79 ; manufactories at
Dolon-nor, i. 87; temples in Hangchau,
i. lis ; on Puto Island, i. 124; at
Canton, i. I(i4-1()() ; books translateil into
Mongolian, i. 206 ; temples at Kuldja,
i. 218; at H’lassa, i. 245; priests
and snakes, i. 346 ; images in clamshells,
i. 350 ; c7iaA’*v<»’ar^^i audCliinese
hwamjt’i^ i. 395 ; arrangement of Chinese
characters, i. 589 ; tractatG, i. 708 ;
chanting, ii. 96 ; pilgrims between
India and China, ii. 413 ; notions of cosmogony,
ii. 139 ; charm cut in Kiiyung
kwan gateway, ii. 176; missionaries
in China, ii. 189 ; priest as rain-maker,
ii. 203 ; priests oppose Nestorians, ii.
280, 28(5.
Buffalo {^hui ni/i), used more than the
ox. i. 274, 320 ; in rice-fields, ii. 3
;
worshipped, ii. 14.
Bukur, a town of 111, i. 225.
Bunge, Alex, von, i. 296, 355.
Ikirdon, Bishop J., ii. 364.
Burgevine, succeeds Ward in command
of the Ever-Victorious force, ii. 609;
goes over to Tai-pings, ii. 613 ; his proposal
to (Jordoii, ii. 614.
Burial, of lamas in Tibet, i. 250 ; places
in china, i. 275 ; ceremonies attending,
ii. 243-2.55 ; ceremonies and Christians,
ii. 3] 3.
Burkhan-buddha in the Kwanlun system,
i. 11, 211.
liiirlingame, Hon. Anson, ii. ()95 ; enters
upon Ills mission to foreign powers, ii.
696 ; his death, ii. 698 ; influence in
China, ii. 699.
Bushell, Dr. S. W., i. 88, ii. 160, 174.
(CABINET, or Imperial Chancery, i.
; 415-417.
Callery, J. M., i. 589, 643, 644, 672, 627.
Cambaluc (Peking), i. 61, 63, 6.5.
Camellia, a favorite flower, i. 367; akin
to tea, ii. 40.
Camels, wild, of Lob-nor, i. 223 ; usefulness
of, i. 325 ; hair rugs, ii. 39.
Camphor on Formosa, i. 140; its preparation,
ii. 55.
Canals (se<! (Irand Canal, i. 31), i. 37.
Candida, a Roman Catholic convert,
establishes hospitals, ii. 265; baptized,
ii. 292 ; her good works, ii. 294.
Cangue {Icia), its use as a punishment, i.
509.
Canfu (or Kanpu), i. 127, ii. 414 ; Abu
Zaid concerning, ii. 415.
Cannon, imitating English, found, ii. 62 ;
cast b}’ Jesuit missionaries, ii. 298;
found at Tinghai, ii. 525 ; at Shanghai,
ii. .536 ; at Barrier forts, ii. 638.
Canton, climate of, i. 53 ; rainfall, i. 56 ;
description, i. 160-169 ; environs, i.
169-170 ; granaries in, i. 295 ; the tankia,
i. 412, 751 ; location of magistrates
in, i. 445 ; Gov. Chu’s departure
from, i. 462 ;
‘ Free Discussion Hall
‘
at, i. 488 ; executions at, in 18.54, i. 513 ;
prisons, i. 514 ; examinations, i. 550
;
words in dialect, i. 611, 614; shops,
i. 736; street scenes, i. 740; fire control
in, i. 743 ; the river craft of, i. 749 ;
dog-mear, restaurants, i. 778 ; at New
Year, i.813; at Feast of Lanterns, 1.819 ;
porcelain painting, ii. 26 ; a cotton
–
factory experiment at, ii. 63 ; taken by
Manchus in 1650, ii. 179; the prefect
and governor of, pray for rain, ii. 203-
205 ; infanticide rare in, ii. 239,
242 ; disposal of the dead at, ii 254 ;
worship at street shrines, ii. 263 ; Moslems
in, ii. 268; excitement in, about
Portuguese, ii. 292 ; Morrison arrives in,
ii. 318; dies there, ii. 327 ; unpromising
field for missionarit’s, ii. 34() ; Marcus
Aurelius’s eiiiliassy enters, ii. 410 ; the
East India (“onipany established at, ii.
446 ; homicides among foreigners in, ii.
451; Lord Napier at, ii. 467-473; foreigners
detained Ijy Lin at, ii. 498 ; Elliot
leaves, ii. 503 ; fortified, ii. 513, 521 ;
Elliot accepts a ransom for, ii. 523 ; dislike
of foreigners at close of war, ii. 555 ;
Kiyiiig sent to. ii. 557 ; troubles at, with
foreigners, ii. .5(i8
; question of admittance
to the city, ii. 573; lawlessness
at, ii. 580 ; sentiment in. ii. 625 ; rebels
about, ii. 630 ; their wholesale execution,
ii. 632 ; Admiral Seymour enters,
ii. 638 ; French legation withdraws
from, ii. 639 ; taken by Franco-English
forces, ii. 644 ; influence of Elgin’s tact
at, ii. 647, 661 ; coolies with British
at Taku, ii. 674 ; French missionary
aggressions at, ii. 709.
Cantor, Dr. T. E., i. 350, 351.
Caps, various official, i. 414.
Cards, visiting, i. 802.
Caricature in Chinese art, ii. 11.5.
Carving, delicacy of Chinese, ii. 59 ; exj)
ort of, ii. :!94 ; horn and ivory, ii. 400.
Cassia, and cinnamon, ii. .55 ; and cassia
oil as exports, ii. 392 ; the inalaOatliriDii
of the Periplus, ii. 412.
Catalogue, Imperial, i. 626; of ancient
Chinese books recovered, ii. 149.
Cathay, a modern Persian name for
China, i. 4 ; its signification in the Middle
Ages, ii. 408.
INDEX. 747
Cats (kia-li), in China, i. 318 ; eaten, 1.
777.
Celestial Empire, derived from 2^ie7i
C/iiix, ‘Heavenly Dynasty.’ i. 5.
Celestial Mountains. .See Tien Shan.
Censorate, its duties and influence, i. 430-
483.
Censors, report.s from, i. 4G4, 480, .5(]().
Censuses of China, i. 2.58-2(54 ; considered
and compared, i. 2U5-272 ; method of
taking, i. 2S()-282 ; probable accuracy,
i. 283-288.
‘Century of Surnames ‘ {Pi/i Kia Sing),
a school-book, i. S^’IO.
Ceremonies, importance of, in government,
i. 424 ; (jourt of, i. 43.5 ; the iSiao Ilioh
upon, i. .540 ; in broader sense mean /t,
i. G45 ; marriage, i. 787-701 ; of obeisance
at court, i. 801 ; funeral, ii. 243-
250.
Ceylon, Yungloh’s expedition against, ii.
414.
Chahar. See Tsakhar, i. 87.
Chalmers, John, ii. 72, 207, 211.
Chang-an, in Shensi. See Si-ngan.
Changchau, in Puhkien, i. 13.5-13G ; bridge
at, i. 7.55 ; infanticide in, ii. 240
;
taken by Tai-pings, ii. 605.
Chang-peh Shan, ‘ Long White Mountains,’
their position, i. 10 ; called Kolmin-
shanguin alin by Manchus, i. 13,
188.
Changsha, capital of Hunan, i. 147
stormed by Tai-pings, ii. 595.
Chapu, i. I2(i, ii. 414; captured by the
British, ii. .533.
Characters, Chinese, for bee, ant, etc. , i.
354 ; botanical, i. 372 ; zoological, i.
874; method of memorizing, at school,
i. 5-11 ; origin of, i. 580; six classes, i.
583 ; their number, i. 580 ; classification,
i. .590-.508.
Chan, ‘department’ or ‘district,’ term
explained, i. .58; prefect of, i. 441.
Chan dynasty, term ‘ Middle Kingdom ‘
dates from, i. 4 ; and the Kvi-oh-tsz’
Kien, i. .543 ; King Wan of the, i. 020;
Duke, i.C37, 643, 808, ii. 157-1(50 ; After
Chan, ii. 172.
Chau hu, ‘Nest Lake,’ in Nganhwui, i.
109.
Chau-ll, or ‘ Ritual of Chau,’ i. 483; its
character, i. (543.
Chau-sm, Emperor of the Shang, ii. 1.56.
Chehkiang province, climate of, i. 55 •,
position and water ways, i. 114; trees
and productions, i. 11.5; the mulberry
in, ii. 11; silk, ii.34 ; missions in, ii. .)51.
Chess, the Chinese games of, i. 827-829.
Chih-li, ‘ Direct rule,’ term explained,
i. 58.
Chihli province, position, i. 60; lakes
and rivers of, i. 88 ; productions, i. 89.
Children, course of study for, i. 521-541 ;
how regarded in ancient time.s, i. 640;
ari’angement of their hair, i. 765
;
names, i. 797 ; how sj)oken of, i. 804 ;
infanticide, ii. 239ff.; foundling hospitals
for, ii. 264 ; baptism of, by Catholics,
ii. 310 ; in the Tientsin Romanist
orphan asylum, ii. 700.
Chifu, in Shantung, i. 90, 9.3 ; gold near,
i. 311 ; French at, ii. 6’i2 ; convention,
ii. 724.
Chin dynasty, its trade and intercourse,
ii. 166.
Vhi)\ sub-district or department, term
explained, i. .59.
Chin Hwa-ching, Chinese general, at
Wusung, ii. 534 ; his bravery, ii. .53.5.
China, origin of name uncertain, probably
from Tuin, i. 2, ii. 161 ; name
introduced into Europe by Arab traders,
i. 3 ; native names of, i. 4 ; Buddhist
and Mohammedan terms for, i. 5 ;
dimensions of the Empire, i. 5 ; of the
Eighteen Provinces, i. 8 ; boundaries,
i. 6 ; its three grand divisions, i. 7 ;
its mountain systems, i. 9 ; deserts, i.
15-17; rivers, i. 18; lakes, i. 23 ; coast,
i. 25; Great Wall of, i. 29; Grand
Canal, i, 31 ; roads, i. 37; general aspect,
i. 40 ; aboriginal races of, i. 42 ;
climate on coast of, compared with
America, i. .55 ; colonies, i. 185-257
;
population, i. 264; science in, i. 297,
377; education in, i. .521 ft’.; popular
ideas concerning, i. 724 ; methods of
cultivation in, ii. 7 ; its early history
not without foundation, ii. 135; Christianity
in, ii. 275 ; surve}^ of, by the
Jesuits, ii. 308 ; prospects of Christian
missions in, ii. 354 ; ancient and modern
commerce of, ii. 372. 390 ft’. ; earliest
notices of, ii. 408 ; general condition of,
after first war, ii. .573 ; forcibly opened,
ii. 656 ; condition in 1865, ii. 6′.)3 ; hopeful
prospects for the country, ii. 738,
743.
Chinchew, or Tsiuenchau, the ancient
Zayton, i. 129, 136; bridge at, i. 755;
Portuguese traders at, ii. 428.
Chin-chin, origin of the word, i. 805.
Chinese, race types, i. 41 ; women, 1. 42
;
industry and civilization of, i. 46 ; works
on geography, i. 49 ; people of Shantung,
i. 93; policy in I’ll, i. 314 ft’.;
Herbal, i. 370-377 ; political education
of, i. 384; divisions of society, i. 411;
advancement aft’ected by their language,
i. 579 ; philosophy mixed with divination,
i. 629, 632, ii. 74 ; care of their
early records, i. 651 ; their notions of
foreign countries, i. 725 ; popular ideas
respecting their food, i. 777 ; their social
customs, i. 782 ; regulations regarding
marriage, i. 792; names, how written,
i. 798 ; ceremony and etiquette, i.
748 IXDEX.
800 ; a temperate people, i. 808 ; commendable
traits of the, i. H’d’d ; gardeners
rather than farmers, ii. o ; societj’,
industry of, ii. C3 ; their tendency to
co-operate, ii. 88 ; chronology and cosmogony,
ii. 13G-144; their origin, it
144 ; adopt the queue, ii. 17′.) ; causes
of their remarkable duration, ii. 188 ft”.;
influence of ancestral worship on, ii.
‘2o7 ft”. ; benevolence, ii. SG:! fT. ; Christian
missions among the, ii. 27.^ ; character
of, emigrants in the Archipelago, ii.
3’2:^ ; future influence of newspapers
among, ii. o41 ; generally irreligious, ii.
355 ; tluir early isolation and suspicion,
iL 40t) ; subse<iuent estimate of foreigners
influenced by early Portuguese traders,
ii. 4:27 ; maltreated by Spaniards in
Manila, ii . 432 ; terms for ‘ foreigner,
‘
ii. 461 ; view of first war with England,
iL 508 ; national confidence during Taiping
Rebellion, ii. 604, 625 ; foreigners’
abuse of, ii. 706 ; character as exhibited
during the great famine, ii. 735,
736 ; Education Commission to the
United States, iL 7’39, 740.
Chinese Rcj)ository, its origin and object,
ii. 332 ; on first war with England, ii.
.550.
Chinhai, in Chehkiang, L 123 ; capture of,
ii. 520.
Ching-hwang miao, of Peking, i. 69 ; in
Canton, i. 165 ; in Shanghai, i. 107, ii.
202, 535.
Chingtih. See Jeh-ho, L 88.
Chingtu, in Sz’chuen, L 149, 156-157.
Chinkiang, in Kiangsu, i. 104 ; Nestorians
in, ii. 285 ; capture by British, ii.
.540; by Tai-pings, ii. 590; recaptured
by rebels, ii . 605.
Cholera and small-pox common, ii. 132.
Chop (//'(“), meaning of the term, i. 800 ;
in tea trade, ii. 48.
Chop-sticks (Av/vji tsz’), how used, L 807.
Christianity, and the Sabbath in China,
i. 810; its introduction into China l)y
Nestorian.s, ii. 275 ; l)y Roman (‘atholics,
ii. 287 ; confounded with Triad
Sect, iL 312 ; Protestants commence
their labors, ii. 318 ; prospects for toleration
in China, ii. 354 ; jjreached in
Formosa by the Dutch, ii. 434 ; Hung
Siu-tsuen accepts, ii. 58(i ; he studies at
Canton, ii. 588 ; absence of its principles
in Tai-ping movement, ii. 600- Lord
Elgin’s reply to missionaries concerning,
ii. 649 ; and missions in China,
problem discussed by the officials, ii.
707.
Chronology, Chinese, ii. 135 ; its claims
to belief, ii. 143.
Chu, (Jovernor, valedictory ode of, i. 462.
Chu Hi, commentator of Confucius, his
home in Kiangsi.i. 113 ; his Siau IHolt^
i. .540 ; commentaries of, i. 652, 654,
677 ; his philosophy, i. 683 ; on cosmogony,
ii. 141; on Tablet of Yu, iL
150, 174, 200.
Chukiang. See Pearl River, L 22, 159,
etc.
Chung-ho tien, ‘ Hall of Central Peace,’
Palace at Peking, i. 68.
Chunghow, escorts American embassy to
Peking, ii. 668 ; in the Tientsin riot, ii.
702, 703 ; sent to France on a mission
of apology, ii. 7C.5 ; abused by the
foreign press, ii. 706 ; sent to Russia,
ii. 731 ; jjunishmcnt for negotiating
treaty of Livadia, ii. 732.
Chungking, in S/.’cliueii, L 155, 158.
Vhuriij Kiuoh, or ‘ Middle Kingdom,’ name
for China since B.C. 1150, i. 4, 98.
Chusan Archipelago, i. 123-126; British
fleet arrives at, ii. 515 ; restored, ii. 580.
Chun 2’xiu, or ‘ Spring and Autumn Record,’
i. 647-651, 663.
Chu Tsun, a censor, i. 432.
Cibot, Pere, i. 537, iL 14.
Cicadas, tricks with, i. 3.52.
Cities in China, aspect of, i. 40 ; arrangement
of streets in, i. 738 ; their dull
appearance, i. 746.
Civilization, of the Chinese, L 46, 380-
383 ; the wife in, i. 792.
Club-houses, in Peking, i. 76 ; Ningpo, i.
122; Canton, i. 167, 739.
Clans, in south China, i. 482 ; their customs,
i. 484 ; secret societies, i. 492 ; in
the Archipelago, ii. 323.
Classics, or Chinese canonical books,
characters in, i. 589 ; the minor, as
school-books, i. 526-541 ; price of the
nine, i. 602 ; the five cliief, described, i.
627-651 •, the ‘Four Books,’ or minor,
L 652-672 ; Hall of the, i. 74, 730.
Clientclage in Chinese official ranks, i. 461.
Climate, of Eighteen Provinces, i. 50 ; of
Mongolia, i. 201 ; of lli, L 223 ; of Tibet,
i. 241.
Cloisonni’, its manufacture, ii. 60.
Coal, in Chilili, i. 89 ; in Shantung, i. 93 ;
in Shansi, i. 94-95 ; in Formosa, i. 139;
in Hunan, i. 147; Kwangtung, i. 174;
Yunnan, i. 184 ; modeo.f working, i. 305.
Coast, length of Chinese, i. 7 ; granitic
mountains of, i. 14; character of, i.
26 ; climate of, i. 55 ; trade along the,
ii. 389.
Cobblers, itinerant, ii. 39.
Cobdo province, i. 208 ; Tourgouths in,
i. 220.
Coffin, C. C, i. 781.
Coffins, stored in temples, i. 275 ; form
and value of, ii. 244 ; in larariums, ii.
2.54.
Cole, R., i. 604, ii. 325, 350.
Colledge, Dr. T. R., his hospital at Ma.
cao, ii. 333, 335.
INDEX. (49
Colleges, in Canton, i. 542, 545 ; Anglo-
Chinese, at Malacca, ii. 324.
Collie Kev. David, i. 054, ii. o24, 368.
Colonial Office, Peking, i. 72, 426.
Colonial Possessions oi Cliina, i. 7 ; genoral
table of, i. KSi» ; population, i. 284 ;
governed by the Li Fan Yuen, i. 428.
Commerce, Chinese, ii. 373^05. See also
nnder Trade
Concessions, or foreign settlements at
trade i)orts, ii. 020.
Concubines, their position in the household,
i. 791.
Confucius, worship of, in ‘ Hall of Intense
Thought,’ Peking, i. (>’.); temple to, at
Peking, i. 73. ii. 15!) ; l)irthplace, i.
90; ‘ bird of,’ the pjacock, i. 337 ; influence
of, on permanence of Chinese institutions,
i. 3SL ; family of, ennobled,
i. 387, 406. 52;), 525 ; and Hiang Toll, i.
534, 530, 538, (;3t), 637 ; and the Li Ki, i.
644 ; his Ckiui Tsiii, i. 047 ; Ana ects of,
i. 6.5() ; his life, i. 058 ; character of his
philosophy, i. 003 ; worship of, i. 004 ;
influence in government j)olity, ii. 92;
on music, ii. 94 ; and early emperors, ii.
146 ; writings burned, ii. 101 ; worshipped,
ii. 195 ; on religion, ii. 199 ; tsmples
to, ii. 203 ; as an example, ii. 206 ; his
meeting with Lau-tsz’, ii. 212, 218, 237.
Contrarieties in Chinese and Western
usages, i. 829-833.
Cooking among the Chinese, i. 781.
Cool.e trade, and Kwangting rebellion, ii.
631 ; its atrocities, and efforts toward its
suppression, li. 0tj2 ; labor employed by
the British at Taku, ii. 084 ; convention
signed respecting, ii. 098 ; is finally
abolislied, ii. 715.
Cooper, T. T., i. 43, ii. 719.
Copper, m Yunnan, i. 184 ; uses and localities
of, i. 311 ; manufacture, ii. 19.
Cordier, Henri, i. 034, 781, ii. 318, 024.
Corea. frontier of, i. 190 ; trade at Ki-iu
wan fair, i. 194 ; Chinese attempts to
conquer, ii. 92 ; conquest of, by the
Tang, ii 109; language, ii. 190.
Cormorant, fishing with the, ii. 10 ; noticed
by Friar Odoric, ii. 423.
Cosmogonj’-, Chinese, ii. 137 ; Chu Hi’s,
li. 141, 200.
Cotton cultivati m, ii. 9 ; and manufacture,
ii. 36, 02.
Cottrell, C. H., i. 207.
Council of State, or General Council, i.
415, 418.
Couriers, government and post, i. 389, 425.
Court, of Controllers, Peking, i. 69 ; arrangemont-^
of imperial, i. 407 ; of Colonial
Government, i. 428 ; Censorate, i.
430 , Transmission and Judicature, i.
433 ; minor court.s, i. 4:!5 ; criminal, i.
503 ; dialect, i. 013 ; ceremony otkotoii\
i. 801.
Creation, Chinese ideas concerning, u
137.
Crickets used for gambling, i. 352, 886.
Crime, laws respecting, in the code, i
389.
Crow, the, on Desert of Sha-moh, i. 17
;
about Peking, i. 334.
Cashing, Hon. Caleb, appointed U. S.
minister to China, ii. 505 ; concludes
treaty of Wanghia with Kiying, ii. 567 ;
correspondence in case of homicide, ii.
568.
Customs, management of, i. 444, ii. 402 ;
internal transit, ii. 391 ; revenue, ii.
404 ; put into hands of foreigners at
Shanghai, ii. 027, 658 ; under Mr. Hart,
ii. 095.
Cutch, or terra japonica, a dve, imported,
ii. 398.
Cuvier, Baron G., i. 343.
Cycle adopted by Hwangti, ii. 69, 146.
Cyclopedias in Chinese literature, i. 693.
DALAI-LAMA of Tibet, i. 245, 256 ;
the Pope of Shamanism, ii. 3:!3.
Dancing, or posture-making, ii. 104.
Daourian Mountains, on north frontier of
China, i. 9.
Darwin, Charles R., i. 3.”34.
Darwin, Erasmus, i. 357.
Dates, so-called, of China, the jujube
plum, i. 305, 775.
D’Avezac, ii. 416, 418.
David, P.re, i. 157, 343, 290, 314, 317,
331, 3.52, 355.
Davis, Sir J., notice of Grand Canal, L
32 ; of Yuen-mir.g Yuen, i. 80 ; on
Canal, i. 92 ; Nanking, i. 101 ; Nganking,
i. HO; tSketches, i. 114, 101,
290, 297, 434, 5(51, 055 ; Vhinc.ae Poetry,
i. 703, 714, 715, 719, 722, 745, ii. 19,
22, 27, 28, .5.5, 05, 79, 118, 137, 1.52,
179, 200, 214, 220, 233, 349, 3.52, 382,
400, 42(), 440, 4i9, 454, 458, 404 ; Kiying
introduced to, ii. 567 ; takes the Bogue
forts, ii. .573, 574; his China during
the. W<u\ ii. 570.
Day, its divisions, ii. 79.
Debts and debtors, laws and practice concerning,
i. 515 ; at New Year, i. 811.
Deer, varieties of, in China, i. 321.
Degrees, four literary, in China, i. 547-
500 ; sale of, i. 549, 500 ; value of, i.
571.
De Guignes, i. 37, 119, 200, 271, 280, 289,
291, 292, 081, 724, 735, 794, 800, 812,
ii. 30, 32, 33, 73, 96, 307, 250, 271, 410,
439.
D’Herbelot, on origin of name China, L
3 ; on Tartar, i. 302.
Deluge of Yao, probably an inundation,
ii. 147.
Dennys, N. B., i. 84, 130, 170.
‘ Density of population in China, i. 373.
750 l^•l)EX.
Dent, invited to meet liin in Canton, ii.
4’M ; conducted to consulate by Captain
Elliot, ii. 5UU ; Liu probably wislies
him as a liostage, ii. 5U8.
D’Entiecolks, ii. ^0.
DeQuincey, Tiiomas, i. 234.
Desert of Gobi, or Sha-moh, i. 15. See
Gobi.
Deshauterayes, Le Roux, i. l’)”)!.
Dew, Captain, captures Ningpo, ii. GOO
;
before Shauhing, ii. 010.
Dialects, of the Chinese language, i. 611;
the Mandarin, i. Gil! ; Canton and Amoy,
i. ()14-Gia
Dictionary, of Kanghi, i. 588, 591, 592,
G02, (u’i ; Dr. Morrison’s, i. 611 ; its
compilation, ii. o20.
Dictionaries, used by the Chinese, i. 589-
591 ; words in various, i. 611 ; of dialects,
i. 015 ; in the Imperial Catalogue,
i. 672.
Dikes, along Yellow River, i. 19 ; the
Grand Canal, i. o5 ; at Kaifung, i. 99,
100.
Dinners, formal Chinese, described, i.
806.
Dish-mending by travelling tinkers, ii. 58.
Diseases prevalent in China, ii. 12U.
Divination, by the figures of the Yifi
Jung, i. 632 ; by the horary characters,
ii. 69 ; at graves, ii. 240 ; Chinese, compared
with Roman, ii. 201.
Divisions, of China, i. 7 ; of Mongolia, i.
202 ; of Tibet, i. 244 ; of society, i. 412 ;
b}- Yang Kien into chau, hieii, etc.,
ii. 167.
Divorce, laws respecting, i. 794.
Dogs, in China, i. 318 ; eaten, i. 777.
Dolon-iior, or Lania-miao, i. 87.
Dominican friars in China, ii. 297; rivalry
and quarrels with .Jesuits, ii. 299, 300 ;
persecuted in Macao, ii. 302.
Doolittle, Justus, i. 480, .550, .5.59, 719,
7.52, 781, 788, 797, 817, 821, 827, ii.
14, 7(), 87, 104, 119, 212, 2-Jl, 242, 248,
255, 2(;i.
Douc, or Cochinchinese monkey, i. 314.
Douglas, Dr. C, i. 61.5.
Douglas, R. K., i. 663, ii. 217, 261.
Dragon, or funr/, of the Chinese, i. .344
;
imperial enil^lcm, i. 395 ; on Emperor’s
used as symbol, ii. 112 ; and grave geomancv,
ii. 246.
Dragon-boat Festival, i. 148. 696, 816.
Dramas and plays in China, i. 714 ; resume
of a plot, i. 822.
Dress, style and variety of Chinese, i.
7.59 ; of Chinese women, i. 763 ; at theatrical
representations, i. 822 ; felts and
skins as, ii. 39 ; of Tai-pings, ii. .589.
Drought, action of officials during, ii.
203-205.
Drum Tower, Peking, i. 74 ; stone drums
in Confucian Temple, ii. 159.
Ducks, numerous, i. 339 ; the mandarin,
i. 340 ; hatching establishments, i. 77a.
Dudgeon, Dr. J., i. 770, li. 134, 240, 241,
44a.
Dufresse, Romish missionary to China,
ii. 30(j, 307 ; on infant baptism, ii. 311
his letters, ii. 317.
Du Halde, i. 02, 196, 523, ii. 137, 294,
443, 719.
Duuganis, Mohammedan tribe of, L 210,
and Yakub lieg, ii. 727 ; their revolt,
ii. 730.
Du Ponceau, P. S., i. 586.
Dutch, bring tea into Europe, ii. 51
;
tlriven from Formosa by Ko.\inga, ii.
180; in the Pescadores, i. 141, ii.
433 ; and missionaries in the Archipelago,
ii. 320 ; Chinese notice of, ii. 427
;
trade and embassies to China, ii. 434.
Dutch Folly Fort, at Canton, i. 163,
170 ; British bombard Canton from, iL
640.
Dwellings, in loess, i. 301 ; in cities,
construction and arrangement, i. 727-
733 ; boats used as, i. 750.
Dyer, Samuel, i. (iC»4, ii. 325, 368.
Dynasties, table of the Chinese, ii. 186.
Dzaring Lake, in Koko-nor, i. 18.
EAGLE, or Barkut, in Mongolia, i.
331.
East India Company, appoint Morrison as
translator, ii. 319: oppose his son’s
press at Macao, ii. 345 ; and the opium
trade with China, ii. 376, 377 ; its influence
and character in China, ii. 443,
4.59, 403 ; attempt to start a trade at
Fuhchau, ii. 445 ; control the British in
China, ii. 453; its responsibility, ii.
458 ; its close, ii. 4.V.), 738.
Eclip.se.s, of moon at (^antou, i. SI 9 ; Chinese
observations of, ii. 73 ; noticed in
the tShii, ii. 149.
Edicts, style of, and modes of publishing,
i. 409.
Edkins, Dr. Joseph, i. 3, 752, ii. 197,212,
217, 229, 247, 271, 364.
Education, in China, Chap. IX. ; probable
extent of, i. 545 ; female, i. 572-
577 ; character of Chinese, ii. 370 ; of
Chinese by missionaries, ii. 310, 341 ;
of Chinese boys in the United States,
ii. 739-741.
Egypt, Chinese snuff-bottles found in, ii
27,
Eighteen Provinces (or China Proper),
called Shih-jxih Sing and C’him(\
Kwoh in Chinese, i. 8; its mountaiu
system, i. 14 ; boundaries, i. 25 ; coast,
i. 26; climate, i. .50; topographical
divisions, i. .58 ; area and population’
density of. i. 272 ; their government, i
437-443.
INDEX. 761
Eitel, Ernest, ii. 233, 247.
Elders of villages, their position, i. 483,
500.
Elephants at Peking, i. 323.
Eleuths, tribe uf Mongols, i. 213, 219.
Elgin, Loid, his opinion of the Arrow
case, li. 037; arrival in China, ii. (143;
before Canton city, ii. (144 ; construction
of municipal control at its capture,
ii. (;4G ; replies to Shanghai missionaries
on toleration of Christianity, ii. 049
;
reaches Tientsin, li. Ool ; bearing toward
the allies in Tientsin, ii. 054 ; and
the opium question, ii. 057 ; visits the
rebels at Hankow, ii. 059 ; among native.”?
near Canton, ii. 001 ; reappointed
plenipotentiary to ( liina, ii. 071 ; refuses
surrender of Takii forts and advances
to Peking, ii. 0’i7; view of the
pillage of Yuen-miiig Yuen, ii. 683 ; he
orders its destruction, ii. 684 ; signs
the treaty of Peking, ii. OsO \ his character,
ii. 688.
Elliot, Admiral G., arrives at Chusan,
ii. 515.
Elliot, Captain Charles, made superintendent
of trade, ii. 481 ; his opinion of
the opium trade, ii. 482 ; . ordered to
drive away opium ships, ii. 491 ; his
exertions to stop smuggling, ii. 496 ; returns
to Canton and oilers co-operation
with Lin, ii. 499 ; his circular upon surrendering
the opium, ii. 502 ; leaves
Canton with the prescribed Englishmen,
ii. 503 ; retires with them on board
ship, ii. 506 ; effect upon Lin of his
protecting Dent, ii. 509 ; arrival off
Chusan as plenipotentiary, ii. 515 ; interview
with Kishen at Taku, ii. 510
;
at the Bogue, ii. 518; his humane
policy, ii. 519 ; reward offered for, ii.
520; accepts a ransom for Canton, ii.
523 ; superseded by Sir H. Pottinger, ii.
524.
Ellis,’Henry, i. 85, 174, 5(il, ii. 458.
Embassy, received by Kienlung, ii. 182;
to China : of Marcus Aurelius, ii. 410 ;
Ibn Batuta, ii. 423 ; character of an,
during the Ming, ii. 42() ; the Portuguese
send four, ii. 438 ; Spanish, ii.
432 ; Dutch, ii. 438, 439 ; Macartney’s,
ii. 454 ; Lord Amherst’s, ii. 458 ; Pottinger’s
question concerning reception
of an, ii. 5.53 ; the Burlingame, to
foreign countries, ii. 097.
Embroidery, on official costume, i. 703
;
on ladies’ dresses, i. 7(55 ; Chinese skill
in, ii. 36.
Emigration, restrictions to, from China,
i. 378, 411 ; character of, to the
Archipelago, ii. 323 ; of Chinese to
Amei’ica, treaties respecting, ii. 699.
Emperor of China, his residence at Peking,
i. ()6-69 ; country place at Jeh-ho,
i. 88 ; revenue of, i. 289 ; position, titles,
etc., i. 393-399; inaugural proclamation,
i. 399 ; coronation, i. 401 ; authority, i.
403; family of, i. 404; his escort, i. 410 ;
relations with ministers, i. 420, 437 ;
his dress, i. 703 ; worship, i. 801 ; his
ceremony of ploughing, ii. i;> ; in Chine.
se annals, ii. 15^ ; tables of Ming and
Tsing, ii. 1!?6; worships Heaven as
‘Tiv)i.-tsz\ ii. 194-199; prays lor rain,
ii. 305 ; and ancestral worship, ii. 2;.’S ;
funeral of, ii. 250; worshipped in
mosques, ii. 370 ; peculiarities about
succession of the present, ii. 726.
Empress-dowager, position of, i. 409; death
of the Eastern, ii. 727.
Empress-regent, two during Tungchi, ii.
184 ; their critical position at death of
Hienfung, ii. 091 ; and marriage ceremonies
of Tungchi, ii. 710.
England, compared with China as to population-
density, i. 273 ; consumption of
tea in, ii. 51 ; attitude of, at commencement
of opium war, ii. 510 ; observations
upon, ii. 572.
English, manifesto against, at Canton,
i. 488; caricature of, ii. 116; outrage
the dead at Canton, ii. 354 ; toleration
clause in, treaty, ii. 360 ; introduce
opium into China, ii. 377 ; commerce
attempted in 1635 and 1664, ii. 444 ; and
French sailors’ quarrels, ii. 451 ; troops
at Macao, ii. 456 ; and Chinese expectations
at Napier’s arrival, ii. 400 ; at
Canton petition the king regarding
trade, ii. 470 ; losses during the hrst
war, ii. 550 ; murder of, near Canton,
ii. 578 ; consuls at Chinese ports, ii.
579 ; waive right of entering Canton,
ii. 573, 025 ; attack pirates, ii. 032
;
insult to flag, ii. 035 ; open hostilities
at Canton, ii. 638 ; sustain Palmerstoii’s
war policy at home, ii. 041 ; influ.
ence of, consular body, ii. 0S9 ; expeditions
“of trade and exploration” into
Yunnan, ii. 718-723 ; responsibility foi
China, ii. 725.
Erman, A., i. 306.
Escayrac-de-Lauture, Comte de, ii. 215;
his return from imprisonment at Peking,
ii. 684.
Etiquette, at a court levee, i. 800; of a
formal call, i. 803.
Eunuchs in imperial household, i. 407.
” Ever-Victorious Force” {Cha)ip-sfn)iff
Kiuii), its organization under Ward, ii.
007 ; under Col. Gordon, ii. 009; uniform
and character, ii. Oil ; takes
Fushan and other towns, ii. Oil 2 ; before
Suchau, ii. 013 ; last operations, ii. 617;
dissolved June 1. 1864, ii. (»18.
Examinations, Hall of, at Canton, i.
106 ; riot, i. 498 ; system of, founded, i.
521 ; mode of conducting, i. 547 ; ar752
IXDEX.
rangements, i. 551 ; example of an es-
Si.j , i. 554 ; statistics of, i. 55S ; army,
i. 560 ; practical merits and demerits of
system, i. 5t»2-573.
Execution, of criminals, i. 511 ; attempted,
in front of factories, ii. 405 ; of rebels
in Canton, ii. 632 ; of Shushun, ii. 691
;
of Tientsin rioters, ii. 704.
Exports, of silk from China, ii. ‘SH ; items
of, from China, ii. 373, 3112 ; table of,
ii. 405 ; duties on, in eighteenth century,
ii. 447.
Ex-territoriality, its inherent wrong, ii
657 ; Chinese officials inquire concerning,
ii. 659; its indirect influence, ii.
695 ; assumption of, by British minister,
ii. 72(; ; anecdote illustrating Chinese
dislike of, ii. 741.
Extortions practised by officials, i. 475.
Eyelet-hole ware, called ‘ rice-China,’ how
made, ii. 25.
FABER, Ernst, i. 603, ii. 25.5.
Fabulous animals of the Chinese, i.
342.
Factories, the, at Canton, i. 107 ; Chinese
troops placed over, ii 474 ; mob attack
the, ii. 495 ; Lin confines foreigners in,
ii. .500 ; occupied by British troops, ii.
521 ; brawl and fire at, ii. 556 ; burned
by Yeh, ii. 639.
Fairs, on frontiers of Corea, i. 194 ; at
Peking, i 817.
Falcons in Peking, i. 332.
Families, cluster together in China, i.
277 ; Confucian, ennobled, i. 387 ; in
tea cultivation, ii. 41 ; and ancestral
worship, ii. 2:>6 ff’.
P’amine of 1878, Chinese benevolence
during, ii 266 ; its extent and terrors,
ii. 734 ; efforts of foreigners toward its
relief, ii. 73 5.
fan River, in .Shansi, i. 94.
J<^au kuiei, ‘ foreign devils.’ reason for
name, i. 42 ; use at Canton, ii. 346,
347 ; influence of the term, ii. 461
gradual disappearance, ii. (i(i2.
Farce, a Chinese, i. 715.
Farms in Cldna, generally small, i. 276,
278.
Feet, compressed, origiti and extent of
practice, i. 776 ; its appearance and effects
ujjon women, i. 768 ; noticed by
Friar Odoric, ii. 423.
Pelt, poorly m;ide, ii. 39.
Female, education in China, i. .57:2-577
;
dress, i. 763 ; position in society, i. 784
privileges and misfortunes, i. 794-796
;
parts in theatres, i. 821 ; missionaries,
ii. 36i.
Fergusson, James, i. 726, 727, 745, 758,
ii. 176, 232.
Festivals, of Dragon-boats, i. 696, 816
numerous and popular, i.809; New Year,
i. 810-816 ; of lanterns, i. 817, 818 ; of
ploughing and the first of spring, iL 13.
Fiction (see also Novels), character of
Chinese, i 694.
Field. Dr. H. M., on Chinese justice,
i. .510.
Fi-fi, Chinese monkey, i. 31.5.
Filial Duty, the ‘ Canons of,’ or Ifiao
King^ i. 536 ; notable examples of, i
.
.538 ; taught in the JJoolc of liitvs, i.
646.
Finn, James, ii. 271, 274.
Fires, how controlled in cities, i. 743 ; in
pawnshops, ii. 87.
Fire-wells in Sz’chuen, i. 312.
Fire-works, in Peking, i. 817; a- id gunpowder,
ii. 90.
Fischer, Heinr., i. 309.
Fisher, Lieut. -Col, ii. 600, 663, 667, 608,
675.
Fishes, immense supply of, in China, i.
276 ; of the Empire, i. 340-350 ; shellfish,
i. 350-351 ; in (“Janton m.arkets, i.
780; models of, carried in procession, i.
818; and fishermen, ii. 14; fins and
maws eaten, ii. 397.
Fishing, various methods of, i. 779, ii.
14.
Five Sovereigns, the, of Chinese legendary
history, ii. 142-148.
Flag, Chinese national and private, i. 7.52.
Flint, his efforts to establish a trade, ii.
448 ; imprisoned, ii. 449.
Flogging, a common punishment, i. .509.
Flowers, much esteemed, i. 368 ; worn
upon the head, i. 704 ; at New Year, i.
811 ; culture of, ii. 12 ; used in scenting
tea, ii. 48.
Food, of Tibetans, i. 241 ; in use in China,
i. 274 ; supplies of palace, i. 408 ; Chinese,
i. 771-778.
Foreigners, how classified, i. 429; ideas
of Cliiuese society, i. 782 ; thought to
have no surnames, i. 798; tricks playi’d
on, i. 799 ; establish free hospitals, ii.
333 fi”. ; Morrison Education Society, ii.
340; Chinese contempt for, ii. 450-4.5-1 ;
Chinese terms for, ii. 401 ; in Canton
kept like animals, ii. 477; imprisoiu’il liy
Lin in the factories,’ ii. 500 ; how looked
uj)on by the Chinese, ii. 538 ; in general
included in terras of English treaty of
Nanking, ii. oCd ; continued hatred of,
at Canton, ii. .578,-580; and the Taipings
at Nanking, ii. 597 ; none injured
by Tai-pings, ii. 604 ; enlisted by
the rebels, ii.OOO ; by imperialists under
Ward, ii. 007; and the Ever-Victorious
force, ii. (ill ; and collection of duties
at Shanghai, ii. 627 ; Chinese opinjpn
of, after the war of ISliO, ii. <iS9 ; phm
of employing, on war vessels, ii. 692 ;
their abuse of China, ii. 70() ; admitted
to audience of Emperor, ii. 714 ; efforts
INDEX. 753
toward relief of the famine of 1878, ii.
735.
Formosa Island, or Taiwan, i. 27, 44
;
position, character, and products of, i.
137-141 ; hog found in, i. 324 ; pheasant
of, i. 337 ; camplior on, ii. .55 ; Dutch
driven from, ii. 180 ; missions in, ii.
349 ; history of the Dutch occupation of,
ii. 433^38 ; massacre of shipwrecked
crews on, ii. 554 ; during the Tai-ping
Rebellion, ii. (i()4 ; Japanese descent
upon, ii. 710 ; its recent growth and
improvement, ii. 71S.
Ports, their construction in China, i. 758 ;
at the Bogue. ii. 520; at Taku, ii. 676.
Fortune, R., i. 107, 136, 29e”., 370, 733, ii.
10, 12, 29, 38, 55, 2.53.
Fortune-tellers, and the cabala of the Yih,
i. 632 ; and astrology, ii. 74 ; their
methods, ii. 260.
Fox, localities of, ideas concerning, i. 320.
French, studies in Chinese silk-culture,
ii. 32, 34 ; toleration clauses in, treaty,
ii. 361 ; relations with China, ii. 441 ;
and English sailors, their quarrels at
Canton, ii. 451 ; treaty of Whampoa
with China, ii. 571 ; attack on rebels at
Shanghai, ii. 028 ; legation withdraws
from Canton, ii. 639 ; grievance against
China, ii. 642 ; convention of Peking,
ii. 087 ; massacre of consul and Sisters
of Charity at Tientsin, ii. 700 ; action
of the, charge’, ii 703.
Fritsche, H., i. 52, 57.
Frogs, how caught, i. 778.
Fruits, of China, i. 366 ; common table,
i. 774 ; at dinner, i. 807.
I^’u, ‘ department ‘ or ‘ prefecture, ‘ term
explained, i. 58 ; government, i. 441.
Fuhchau (Hokchiu), description of, i.
130-133 ; its dialect, i. 611 ; bridge at,
i. 754 ; nunneries abolished in, ii. 230 ;
missions at, ii. 349 ; van Hoorn lands
at, ii. 438 ; East India Company commence
trade at, ii. 44.5 ; treatment of
foreigners at, ii. 580 ; arsenal established
at, ii. 61)6.
Fuh-hi, the inventor of writing, i. 580 ;
and the Yih King, i. 627-628 ; the first
monarch, ii. 142 ; confounded with Fuh
(Buddha), ii. 217.
Fuhkien province, temperature of, i. .55 ,
description of, i. 127-13’t; dialect, i.
614-616 ; marriage customs of, i. 78.5,
7S7; experiment in coinage, ii. 84;
Taoist priests in, ii. 215_; infanticide
in, ii. 240 ; funeral customs, ii. 243 ;
missions in, ii. 348.
Fuh-niu shan, in Honan, i. 98.
Fuhshan (or Fat-shan), a mart near Canton,
i. .59 ; taken by rebels, ii. 630 ; their
brutalities in, ii. 631.
Funerals, ceremonies attending, ii. 343-
255.
Vol. II.—48
Fung-hmang, or phoenix, i. 343 ; as an
emblem, ii. 111.
Fuiig-shui, founded on the Yih King^ i.
628 ; a system of geomancy, ii. 246.
Fung Sien tien, temple in Emperor’s
Palace, Peking, i. 09.
Fung Yun-shan, an early follower of
Hung Siu-tsuen, ii. 586 ; made the
‘ Southern King,’ii. 594 ; he disappears,
ii. 602.
Furniture, in country houses, i. 733
materials, i. 734.
Furs used for winter garments, i. 763.
Futai^ orfuyen^ governor of a province,
i. 438.
Fuyin, or mayor of Peking, i. 82.
GABEL, or Salt Department, its im^
portance, i. 443.
Gambier, an import, ii. 400.
Gamble, VV., i. 604, ii. 325.
Gambling, modes and extent of, i. 825.
Games, morra {cliai rnri)^ at dinner, L
808 ; out-door, i. 825 ; chess, i. 827.
Gang-<lis-ri, Zang, or Kailasa Mountains,
i. 13.
Gardens, style of private, in China, i. 734;
in Shanghai, ii 202.
” Gates of China,” perhaps Straits of Luichau,
i. 26 ; probably at Canfu, i. 127,
ii. 415.
Gaubil, Pore, i. 63.3, 634,0.36, 809.
Gegen, at Wu-tai shan, in Shan si, i. 96.
Geography, Chinese knowledge of foreign,
i. 49 ; native topographies, i. 50, 185
;
popular ideas of, in China, ii. 80,
Geology of China, i. 297-312.
Gerbillon, Pere, i. 88, ii. 181, 441.
German representative sent to China in
1843, ii. .565.
Genghis khan, i. 726 ; takes Peking, iL
175 ; and Pres^r John, ii. 286.
Gill, Capt. \V., r21.
Ginseng, localities of, i. 367.
Glass, manufacture of, ii. 21.
Gobi, or Sha-moh, Great Desert of, the
Olympus of Buddhist and Taoist myths,
i. 12 ; its position and area, i. 15; sandhills,
i. 16 ; called Peh hai and Hah hai,
i. 2.5, 201, 216 ; grasses of, i. 357 ; its influence
on Chinese civilization, ii. 189.
God, word for, in Chinese, ii. 154; discussion
concerning, among Romanists, ii.
297 ; among Protestants, ii. 304.
Goddard, Josiah, i. 015.
Goes, Benedict, i. 310 ; his journey to
Cathay, ii. 424.
Gold, found in Shensi, i. 151 ; in Khoten,
i. 230 ; in Tibet, i. 244 ; uses of, i. 311,
ii. 19 ; never coined, ii. 83, 84.
Golden Island (Kin Shan), in Kiangsu, i
10.5.
Gold-fish, methods of rearing, i. 348.
Gon9alves, J. A., i. 591.
IND1′:X.
Gongs, how made, ii. 20 ; their use, ii.
103.
Gordon, Colonel Peter, ii. 91 ; takes command
of the ‘ Ever-Victorious force,’
ii. 609, i’Al ; captures Fushan, ii. 012;
before Suchau, ii. Clo ; efforts to protect
life after its surrender, ii. CIS;
indignation, ii. (510; wounded before
Kintan, ii. 017 ; dissolves the ‘ Ever-
Victorious force,’ ii. 018; his honorable
conduct appreciated, ii. 019 ; visits
the works before Nanking, ii. 020; his
advice to Peking officials as to a war
with Russia, ii 7c!3.
Gough, Sir Hugh, arrives to command
English land force, ii. 521 ; invests Canton,
ii. 522 ; at Ningpo, ii. 529 ; his
foroe at taking of Chapu, ii. 5:>) ; at the
capture of Chinkiang, ii. 542; before
Nanking, ii. 545 ; his rewards after the
war, ii. 556.
Gould, Dr., ii. 340.
Gould, John, i. 330.
Government, of Peking, i. 82-83 ; of Mongolia,
i. 199 ; of Ili, i. 231-233 ; of Tibet,
i. 255-;357 ; revenue of imperial, i. 289-
292 ; Chinese, its theory patriarchal, i.
380 ; laws and departments of, i. 381-
384; cabinet and boards of, i. 415; provincial,
i. 437-447 ; influence upon literature,
i. 719.
Grain, Commissioner of, i. 443.
Grains, in the Herbal, i. 372 ; eaten by
the Chinese, i. 772; how sown, ii. 5.
Grammar of the Chinese language, i.
617-021 ; MoiTison’s, ii. 321.
Grand Canal, Chah ho, or Yun ho, i. 31 ;
Davis’s description of, i. 32; present
condition, i. 35, .52, 89, 92, 108, 119;
deepened by Kublai, ii. 17() ; Tai-pings
control, ii. 590.
Grasshoppers, edict for destruction of, i.
409.
Graves, in China, i. 275 ; legend concerning
the false, ii. 107; geomancy in selecting,
ii. 240 ; pai shan at, ii. 252
;
prayers before, ii. 262.
Gray, Archdeacon J. H., i. 413, 573, 715,
778, 788, 790, 821, ii. 14, 231, 355, 201,
271.
Gray, Mrs., i. 752, 788.
Great Plain of China, i. 14 ; extent, i. 27 ;
pojjulation of, i. 28 ; climate, i. 52.
Great Wall. Waii-li Chang Ching, i. 29;
construction, i. 30; aspect, i. 31, 152,
203; built by Tsin, ii. 100; Arch of
Mongol dynasty in, ii. 170.
Greece, and China, infanticide in, ii. 242 ;
China known as Q\v in, ii. 408 ; communication
with China in the dark ages,
ii. 412.
Griffis, W. E., ii. 78.
Gros, Baron, arrives in China, ii. 043 ; at
capture of Canton, ii. 646 ; arrives at
Tientsin, ii. 6.51 ; leaves China, ii. 661 ;
reappointed envoy with Lord Elgin, ii.
671 ; signs the treaty of Peking, ii. 686
;
well fitted tor his task in China, ii, 688.
Grosier, Abbe, ii. 38, 5(), 90, 104, 719.
Grosvenor, Hon. T. (I., sent as commissioner
to Yunnan, ii. 723.
Gully, Robert, his shipwreck and murder
on Formosa, ii. .554.
(iunpowder, invention and use of, ii. 89.
Gutzlaff, Rev. Charles, i. 100, 193, ii. 137,
180, 325 ; his three voyages, ii. 328, 350,
303 ; at Chusan during the war, ii. 515
at Shiinghai, li. 530, 542, 548, 556.
Gypsum, uses of, i. 306.
HAAS, Joseph, i. 033.
Hailing, General, at Chinkiang, ii.
2.’)5 ; his devotion, ii. 540 ; posthumous
honors to, ii. .557.
Hainan Island, aborigines on, i. 44 ; notice
of the island, i 175.
Hair, how dressed and worn, i. 701 ; of
women, i. 704.
Hai-tien, near Peking, i. 80 ; British and
French troops at, ii. 083.
JIai-tuh, or khi-doc, a Chinese monkey,
i. 31.5.
Hakkas, in Formosa, i. 138 ; in Kvvangtung,
i. 486 ; and the Tai-pings, ii. 582,
591.
Hales, Dr., chronology of, ii. 143, 145.
Hanbury, Daniel, i. 3.53, 3.55, ii. 134.
Hamberg, Rev. Theodore, his Life of
Ilnnq SUi-Uncn, ii. ,582.
Hami, or Kamil, in Kansuh, i. 213, 224.
Han dynasty, Latin name of .SVjv.s originated
during, i. 4; Hau (or ‘After’ Han)
at Chingtu, i. 1.54 ; censuses under, i.
260 ; its historians, ii. 159 ; its founder
Kautsu, ii. 162; and Eastern Han, ii.
164 ; After Han, XXth dynasty, ii. 172.
Hance, Dr. H. F., i. 3.”)5, 305.
Hangchau, capital of Chehkiang, i. 115;
its temples and manufactures, i. 117-
119 ; pagoda at, i. 744 ; Moslems in, ii.
268, 270 ; Nestorians in, ii. 285 ; missions
in, ii. 251 ; Abu Zaid on, ii. 415;
retaken by imperialists, ii. 618; Romanist
church confiscated at, ii. 087.
Hanchuug, in iShensi, i. 151.
Han hai, ‘ Mirage Sea,’ or Desert of Lobnor,
i. 16.
llan-jin^ JIa7i-tiiz\ ‘Men,’ or ‘Sons of
Han,’ terms used by Chinese for themselves,
i. 4. ii. 102.
Hankow, in Hupeh, i. 144; its fortune
during the reljellion, ii. 000, 007 ; visited
by Lord Elgin, ii. 0.59.
Hanlin Yuen, National Academy, Peking,
i. 72 ; its character, i. 434 ; membership
a degree of literary rank, i. 559.
Han River, in Hupeh, i. ]4’2.
Han-sing Pass, in Shansi, i. 97.
INDEX. 755
Hao-king, ancient name of Si-ngan, i. 3.
Harashar (or Karashar), town and district
of I’ll, i. 234
Hardy, R. S., i. 395, 413, ii. 217, 218, 2:30,
224, 2J6, 232.
Hare, alpine and others, i. 327.
Harem, imperial, i. 407 ; and Board of
Revenue, i. 422 ; Sung’s daughter in, i.
45().
Harland, Dr., ii. 123.
Hart, Sir Robert, takes management of
customs service, ii. G95.
Hats, official, i. 414 ; laborers’ and other,
i. 762.
Hayton, king of Armenia, vists Mangu
khan. ii. 420.
Heaven, Altar to, Peking, i. 76; ideas
concerning the creation of, ii. 138
;
worship of, ii. 194-198 ; and the term
tifii, ii. 300.
Hedde, Isidore, ii. 34.
Heeren, A. H. L., i. 196, 238, 343, 398, 413,
44(i, 482, 503, ii. 410, 412.
Hemp, four kinds of, ii. 10.
Henderson, Dr. James, ii. 127.
Hepburn, Dr., ii. 131.
Jferbnl, Chinese (see Pii?i tsao)^ i. 370,
etc.
Herdsman and weaver-girl, fable of the,
ii. 76.
Hereditary local officers of «.?’ districts,
i. 59.
Hervey-Saint-Denys, Marquis d’, i 703,
701, ii. 14.
Hia dynasty, founded by Yu, ii. 148 ; its
early annals, ii. 152 ; its period, ii. 158.
Hia, Tartar tribe, ii. 173, 174.
Hiao, Emperor, B.C. 909. confers Tsinchau
on Prince Feitsz’, i. 2.
Hiao Kinf], or ‘Canons of Filial Duty,’
a school-book, i. 536.
Hieii, ‘district,’ term explained, i. 58;
its fAi, or ‘ district magistrate,’ i. 441.
Hienfung, Emperor, his reign, ii. 184;
attitude toward foreigners, ii 575 ; imbecilifcv
during Tai-ping revolt, ii. 604 ;
childish ignorance during war with
England, ii. 642 ; signs treaty of Tientsin,
ii. ()5() ; escapes to Jeh-ho, ii 679 ;
his death, ii. 689.
Hieroglyphics, Chinese and Assyrian, L
581 ; early Chinese, i. 583-586 ; erroneous
ideas concerning Chinese, i. 605,
606.
Himalaya Mountains, i. 10 ; the fourth
mountain system of China, i. 13.
Hindu name for China, ‘ Ma-chin,’ i. 3.
Hing-an mountain system, i. 13.
Hingking (Yenden), in Shingking, i. 193.
Hinkai-nor, in Kirin, i. 24.
History, of ili, i. 233-237; of Tibet, i.
254-255 ; in Chinese literature, i. 675
;
and chronoloj^y of China, ii 136 ; period
of fable, ii. 1 37 ; of legend, ii. 143 ; of
the twenty-six dynasties, il. 148-187″
worth of Chinese, ii. 413.
iriston/ of the Tlirie States, a Chinese
historical novel, i. 603, 677-680, ii. 164.
H’lassa, capital of Tibet, i. 245-247.
Ho, Duke, i. 80 ; career of, i. 452.
Hobson, Dr., i. 776, ii. 125, 137, 337.
Hohson, B. H. E., ii. 180, 346.
Hodgson, B. H., i. 243, 254.
Hog, a[)i)earance and usefulness of, i. 334
;
much eaten, i. 777 ; for sacrifices, i. 781.
Ho Kwei-tsing, governor-general of Kiangsn,
his cowardice at fall of Chinkiang
and Suchau, ii. 605; receives letters
of the allies, ii. 648 ; sends reply
to Mr. Bruce at Shanghai, ii. 672.
Homicides, foreign, at Canton, ii. 451-454,
460 ; of Lin Wei-hi at Hongkong, ii.
505 ; of Sii A-mun at Canton, ii. 568 ; of
Englishmen near Canton, ii. .578.
Honam, or Honan Island, opposite Canton,
i. ir)4-165, 169.
Honan province, its position and people,
i. 97-99.
Hong, explanation of term, i. 167 ; merchants
: their garden.s, i. 736 ; their integrity,
i. 834 ; monopoly established,
ii. 447 ; relations with foreign traders,
ii. 450 ; their position between Governor
Lu and Napier, ii. 469, 473 ; and
Chinese shopkeepers, ii. 477 ; expostulate
with foreigners concerning opium
smuggling, ii. 493, 494 ; a last attempt
to squeeze, ii. 559.
Hongkong, climate of, i. 54 ; description
of city, i. 171-173 ; botany of, i. 355 ;
Triad Society prohibited in, i. 493 ;
missions remove to, ii. 347 ; homicide
of Lin Wei-hi at, ii. 50.”) ; taken possession
of b}’^ British, ii. 557 ; influence as
a free port on smuggling, ii. 633 ; attempt
to poison foreigners at, ii. 640 ;
British encouragement to smuggling at,
ii. 725.
Honorary Portals, or Pai-lati, i. 83, 756.
Hoorn, Van, Dutch ambassador to Peking,
ii. 438.
Hoppiu, Prof. J. M., ii. 639.
Horse, new wild, found by Prejevalsky
in Khoten, i. 231 ; little used, i. 274,
320 ; appearance, i. 323 ; notices of, in
the Herbal, i. 375 ; shoeing, ii. 4.
Hospitals, native foundling, at Shanghai,
ii. 2(i4 ; established by Candida, ii. 295 ;
by Dr. Parker at Canton, ii. 333, 334
fF.; versus itinerary practice, ii. 340; at
Tinghai and Shanghai, ii. 351.
Howqua, a Canton merchant, his son.
created kn-Jin, i. 567; and Parker’s
hospital, ii. 334 ; his death, ii. 559.
Hue, Pere Evariste Re’gis, i. 88, 144, 156,
195, 210, 313, 246. 257, 336, 343, 644, ii.
50, 331, 332, 277, 386, 390, 293, 299, 42:3,
708.
7.”iG INDEX.
Hiimlioldt.’s theory of hills in Mongolia,
i. 11; Sx’chucn springs, i. 81o; on the
plantain, i. 362.
Hume, David, on infanticide in Rome, ii.
242.
Himan province, i. 140-14S; inscription
of Yu in, ii. 149.
Hung Jin, brother of the Tien Wang, ii.
58:i ; is converted, ii. 58G ; teaches and
baptizes, ii. 587 ; at the capture of Nanking,
ii . 620 ; subsequent efforts, ii.
Hung Siu-tsuen, the Tim Wang, leader
of the Tai-jnng revolt, ii. .582 ; his
vision, ii. 58o ; belief in his divine calling,
ii. .58.5 ; goes to Mr. Roberts, ii.
.588 ; commencement of military movement,
ii. 5′.t0 ; his opposition to the
Triad Society, ii. .501 ; his ‘ Celestial
Decrees,’ ii. 5y:3 ; proclaimed Emperor
at Nanking, ii. 594 ; failure to reach
Peking the death of his movement, ii.
.500 ; dissensions among his generals, ii.
602 ; his indomital)le sfiirit, ii. 605 ;
his death at Nanking, ii. 620 ; character
of his political aspirations, ii.
623.
Hungtsih Lake, in Kiangsu, i. 24, 100, 100.
Hungwu, Emperor, tomb of, at Nanking,
i. 101, ii. 115 ; inaugural proclamation
in 1644, i. 395 ; founds the Ming, ii.
177.
Huns, driven back by Tsin, ii. 161 ; inroads
during third century A.D., ii.
165 ; their kingdom of Wei in fifth and
sixth centuries a.d., ii. 166; go West
instead of East, ii. 169.
Hunter, W. C, ii. 560.
Hupeh ]n-ovince, i. 142-140.
Hurun Lake, in Manchuria, i. 24.
Hwaiking, in Shansi, i. 01.
Ilira Hill, ‘ Glorious Hia,’ an ancient
term for China, i. 5.
Ilwai-ngan, in Kiangsu, i. 108.
Hwang Ching, ‘ Imperial Citj-,’ Peking,
i. 60.
Hwang ho. See Yellow River.
Hwangti’, an appellation of the Emperor,
i. 303 ; a jjrimeval monarch, tlie pos.sibleinventor
of writing, i . 580 ; of clothing,
ii. 32; of the si ^tj -year cycle, ii.
60, 146; importance of audience before
the, ii. 714.
JIuHUKj gang (AnlrJnpc gnlluroaa), i. 321.
Hwang sz’, monument to Teshu Lama,
Peking, i. 70 ; Lord I’^lgin at, ii. 682.
Hwashana, Commissioner, at Tientsin, ii.
651 ; at Shangliai, on tai ill’ revision, ii.
657, 664 ; discusses audience question
with Ward at Peking, ii. 660.
Hwuichau, in Nganhwui, i. 110.
Hwui, kwan, cluh-houses at Peking, i. 76 ;
‘clubs,’ variety and extent of, ii. 87.
Hyacinthe, Pere, i, 63.
I
‘BARBARIAN,’ a term for foreign
^ ers, ii. 461.
I, Prince, and the British interpretei-s at
Tungchau, ii. 67!-!, (i70 ; the ])risoners
sent to, ii. 680 ; Elgin located in palace
of, ii. 686 ; his conspiracy, ii. 600
;
death, ii. 691.
Ibn Batuta, ii. 271, 373 ; his travels iu
Cathay, ii. 421.
Ibn Wahab, an Arab traveller, ii. 414, 425.
Ice in Peking, i. 52 ; the coast towns, i.
.53.
Tchang, in Hupeh, i. 145.
Iching, on the Yangtsz’, reception of the
English at, ii. 544.
Ides, E. Ysbrandt, envoy of Russia to
Peking, ii. 442.
Idols, how carved, ii. 115; iu Buddhist
temples, ii. 235 ; ])atronage of, general,
ii. 2.59 ; allowed by Ricci, ii. 202.
Ifung hien, in Ilonan, waste-wier at, i.
Tlchi, capital of Khotcn, i. 230.
lli province, i. 21.5 ; its recent boundaries,
i. 215; physical features, i. 216; its
two circuits — Songaria, i. 218-220;
Eastern Turkestan, i. 221-231 ; its government,
i. 231-233 ; historical notice
of, i. 233-237 ; Mohammedans of, ii.
271
.
Ilipu, Governor-General and Commissioner,
i. 464 ; truce with Elliot at
Chusan, ii. 517 ; his banishment, ii.
529 ; thanks the English for care of
prisoners, ii. 534 ; associate commissioner
with Kiying, ii. 537; concludes
and signs treaty, ii. 547, 553 ; death, ii.
557.
Imitation a Chinese national trait, ii. 6.3.
Imperial, City, Ibi’ang Ching, I’eking, i.
69 ; clan and its government, i. 40.5
family, i. 407 ; Academy, or Hanlin
Yuen, i. 434.
Imports, of opium into China, ii. 388
;
from the Archipelago, ii. 306.
Infanticide, female, in Fuhkien, i. 136
prevalence of the practice in China, ii.
239-241 ; comparison with Greece and
Rome, ii. 242.
Ink, materials of India, i. 500.
Inner Council, or Cabinet, i. 41.5.
Inscription, of Yu, in Kau-lau shan,
Hunan, ii. 140; in gateway at Kii-yung
kwan, ii. 176; on Nestorlan Tablet of
Si-ngan, ii. 277.
Insects of China, i. 351-3.54.
Intercourse, social, among the Chinese, i.
800; between China and Western Asia,
ii. ICiC) ; ancient, with foreign nations,
ii. 408; mediaeval, ii. 414. See also
under Trade.
Iron, in Shantung, i. 93 ; in Shansi,
al)undant, i. 95-‘J6 ; its manufacture,
ii. i’J,
INDEX. 757
Irrigation, various morlos of, ii. 6.
Islaniisni. Sec Moliaiiinietlan.
Issik-kul, or Lnkr ‘rciniiitu, i. 24, 217.
Isolation of the (“hinesi’, its influence on
their character, i. 5^3, Soo ; its causes
and results, ii. lSS-100, 642, 648, 660.
Isothermal lines of China, L 51.
Ivory imported from Africa, ii. 400.
JADE, or yuhs found in Khoten, i.
22.3, 220 ; description of, i. 309 ; feU
txui, or jadeite, i. 312.
Janiho, food used in Tibet, i. 241.
Japan, tea shrub.s, ii. 41 ; character symbols
and sounds in, ii. 190 ; expedition
to Formosa, ii. 716.
Jauchau, in Kiangsi, i. 113.
Jehangi’r, kojeh of Kashgar, i. 235, 454
;
his end, ii. 184, 727, 729.
Jeb-ho, or Chingtih, Emperor’s summer
retreat, i. 88, 312; thermal springs at,
i. 313 ; Sung at, i. 455 ; expense of, L
566 ; Hienfung retires to, ii, 682 ; palace
conspiracy at, ii. 690.
Jenkins, Dr. B., i. 530, ii. 90.
Jesuit missionaries, correct the Chinese
calendar, ii. 68 ; their map-making, ii.
80; enter China in 1.580, ii. 177; and
ancestral rites, ii. 2.52, 293, 299 ; and
other Catholics, ii. 294, 297 ; obnoxious
to Yungching, ii. 443.
Jewels, of China, i. 310 ; imported, ii. 400.
Jews in China, ii. 271 ; visited by Dr.
Martin, ii. 272.
Jones, Owen, ii. 107.
Johnson, Samuel, his Oriental Religions,
i. 691, ii. 211, 217,255.
Johnson, Rev. Stephen, ii. 349.
Judicial proceedings, character of, i. .500-
508 ; cruelty and mercy of, i. 510 ; in
cases of foreign homicides, ii. 451 flF.,
460.
Julien, Stanislas, i. 345, 590, 674, 714, iL
22, 32, 33, 62, 207, 212, 229.
Junks, Chinese, 1. 7.5.3; coast trade in,
decreasing, ii. 389.
‘Just Medium,’ the, Vliunfj Yung, i. 053.
KAIFUNG (Pien-liang), capital of
Honan, i. 99 ; Jews in, ii. 271 ff.;
stormed by Tai-pings, ii. 597 ; surly
spirit in, during the famine, ii. 736.
Kailasa, mountain in Tibet, i 239.
Kalgan, town in Northern Chihli, i. 203.
Kalkas, Mongol tribc’S. i. 20.5, 206, 209.
_ Kan River, tributary of the Yangtsz’, L
21, 112; boats upon, i. 751.
Kanchau, in Kiangsi, i. 113.
Kane, Dr. H. H,, ii. 388.
Kang. or brick bed. i. 53, 306.
Kanghi, Emperor, singular festival of, i.
08 ; abolishes capitation tax, i. 266
;
dictionary of, i. 588-591, 602, 672, etc.;
orders copper types, i. 603 ; his ‘ Sacred
Commands,’ i. 687; tries to suppress
fashion of compressed feet, i. 770 ; and
the calendar, ii. 68 ; introduces foreign
music, ii. 103; and Koxinga, ii. 180;
against strange religions, ii. 227; prevents
immolation of women, ii. 250
;
and Father Schaal, ii. 297, 298 ; memorialized
by Jesuits, ii. 299 ; counter decree
agaiiist the Pope, ii. 302 ; Portuguese
embassy to, ii. 429 ; letter of
Louis XIV. to, ii. 441 ; sends Tulishen
to the Czar, ii. 442 ; his prophecy
quoted, ii. 484.
Kanpu, or Canfu, i. 127.
_
Kansuh province, climate, i. 55 ; description
of, i. 152-154 ; Mohammedan insurrection
in. ii. 269, 7;>0.
Kaolin, a constituent of jjorcelain, ii. C3.
Kara-korum, Mountains, their position,
i. 13 ; town, Carpini’s mission to Kuyuk
at, ii. 416.
Kashgar, government and town, i. 227-
228, ii. 728 ; its reconquest, ii. 731
.
Katshe, or Korkache, a district of Tibet,
i 238.
Kantsu. or Lin Pang, founder of the Han,
ii. 162.
Kautsung, Emperor of Tang dynasty, iL
170.
Kerr, Dr. J. G., i. 164, ii. 337, 339, 340.
Khoten, district of 111, i. 230-231.
Kiakhta, trading post on Russian frontier,
i. 207 ; apples of, i. 366, ii. 443.
Kiaking, the Emperor, i. 431, 453, 465,
466 ; his reign, ii. 182 ; prohibits import
of opium, ii. 378.
Kiang, ‘river.’ See Yangtsz’.
Kialing River, in Sz’chuen, i. 1.55.
Kiangnan—the two Kiang, fertility of
the region, L 100.
Kiangning (see Nanking), i. 100.
Kiangsi province, its surface, i. 111.
Kiangsu province, i. 99 ; watercourses, i.
100 ; its towns, etc., i. 101-108. _
Kiao, ‘sect,’ meaning of term, ii. 193,
194; its vagueness, ii. 358.
Kiayii kwan. on Great ^V’aU in Kansuh, L
1.52, 211, ii. 14.5, 189.
Kieh Kwei, last Emperor of the Hia, ii.
1.53.
Kienlung, Emperor, festival of, i. 67-68
;
effusion on Mukden, i. 193, 5V»8 ; revives
census, i. 260, 285, 291 ; upon naming
his successor, i. 404 ; casts lead types,
i. 603 ; bronzes made under, ii. 20 ; his
reign, ii. 181 ; treatment of Catholics,
ii. 305 ; Van Braam’s embassy to, ii.
439, 447, 449.
Kicn Tsing Kung, ‘ Palace of Heavenly
Purity,’ Peking, i. 68.
Kihngan, in Kiangsi, i. 112.
Ei-lin, or unicorn, i. 342 ; Sz’ma Kwang
and the pretended, i. 676.
758 INDEX.
Kilung, on Formosa Island, i. 1 “7.
Kin, or Niu-chih (or Nu-chih), Tartars, i.
202; established in Pi’king, ii. 174;
inscription at Kii-yung kwan, ii. 176 ;
overthrow tlie Mings, ii. 178.
Kinchau, in Shingking, i. I!t3, 195.
King, Kiiig-tu, Ki>i(/-s.z\ Chinese terms
for the capital, i. CO, (il.
King Shan. Prospector Coal Hill, Peking,
i. 70.
Kingsmill, T. W., i. 296, 298, 299, 304,
ii. 159, 40().
Kingteh chin (Kiangsi), porcelain works
at, i. lis, ii. 22, 394.
Kin-sha. ‘ River of Golden Sand,’ a name
of the Yangtsz’, i. 20, 155.
Kin Shan, or Altai Mountains, i. 9.
Kircher. i. 79, 257, ii. 277, 284, 286.
Kirghis, and Prutli Kirghis, tribes of Ili,
i. 22() ; in Kashgar, etc., i. 2o(‘), “31.
Kirin. province of M.anchuria, i. 19()-198;
town, called Chiien Chwang, i. 197.
Kishen. governor-general of Cliihli’, interview
with Captain Elliot at Taku, ii.
.516 ; apologizes for attack on flag of
truce, ii. 517 ; negotiation with Captain
Elliot at the Bogue, ii. 518 ; ordered to
Peking, ii. 521 ; reprieved and associated
with Yihlcing, ii. 529.
Kitai, a Russian form of Ca/Iiai/, i. 4;
term for (‘hinese in 111, i. 224.
Kitan, or Liautiing Tartars, oppress the
After Tsin, ii. 172.
Kites, flying, a favorite amusement, i.
820.
Kiukiang, on the Yangtsz’, captured by
Tai-pings, ii. .595.
Kiu-tiao shan, in Shensi, i. 151
.
Kiying, Commissioner, his life, i. 459,
570 ; obtains toleiation for Christians,
ii 356, 358 ; grants privileges to Macao,
ii. 430; joint commissioner with llifiu,
ii. 537; writes to Pottinger, ii. 546;
signs Nanking treaty, ii. 549; exchanges
ratifications, ii. .557 ; his proclamation,
ii. 558 ; includes all foreigners
under terms of Nanking treaty, ii.
561 ; interviews with representatives of
other foreign power.s, ii. 5(15 ; reappointed
commi.^sioner to meet Mr.
Gushing, ii. 566; his correspond 3nce on
case of homicide, ii. 56^ ; concludes a
treaty with M. de Lagrene’, ii. 571 ; interview
with Governor Davis on opium
question, ii. 577 ; action regarding murder
of l]nglislim(!ii near Canton, ii. 57S;
disbands companies of braves about
Canton, ii. 58() ; his sudden apjiearance
at Tientsin, ii. 6.53 ; his untimely end,
ii. 654.
Klaproth, .[., derives name of Tsung ling
from onions found there, i. 9 ; on (irand
Canal, i. 3(>-37 ; Peking, i. 62 ; Afemoircs^
12<.», 141, 188, 193, 204, 213, 226; on
Tibet, i. 245, 2.54, 285 ; deluge of Yao
ii. 147; on Tsin, ii. 160, 163, 20.5, 232,
233,411, 421, 442.
Koeppen, C. F., on IJuddhism, i. 249, 250,
^ii. 229, 259.
Koko-nor, Tsing hai, or ‘ Azure Sea,’ i.
35, 209-213.
Kopi. See Gobi.
Koro-s, Cosma de. Hungarian author o*
Tibet, i. 244, 353.
Kotow, or prostration, Ceremonial Court
and the, i. 435 ; described, i. 801 ; at
funerals, ii. 245 ; performed by Dutch
ambassadors, ii. 435 ; by Ides, ii. 442
;
discussed before Ward’s embassy at
Peking, ii. 669 ; its importance in audience
of the Emperor, ii. 712; the ceremony
yielded in case of foreign minister.
s, il. 714.
Ko-tsing shan, in Western Nganhwui, i.
12.
Koulkun. See Kwanlun.
Kowlung, opposite Hongkong Island, i.
172 ; allVay at, in 1839, ii. 506; ceded to
the British, ii. 558, ()86.
Koxinga, his descendants ennobled, i. 406;
takes Formosa, ii. 180, 435.
Kreitner, Lieutenant G.,i. 151, 1.58, 213,
214, 357, 300, 715.
Kublai khan, i. 176, 181, 281, 318, 3-30;
his pai)er money, ii. 85; his reign, ii.
175; receives Montccorvino, ii. 3S7;
and the Polos, ii^ 420.
Kuche, a town of Ili, i. 225, ii. 730.
Kil-jhi, ‘promoted men,’ second degree of
literary rank, i. 550 ; their number, i.
5.58 ; military, i. 560, 5()().
Kuldja (Goul(lja), Kuren, or Hwuiyuen
ching, capital of Ili, i. 218 ; it^ capture,
i. 219; occupation by Russia, i. 236,
ii. 727, 730 ; Friar Pascal at, ii. 289
;
negotiations respecting its cession, ii.
731-734.
Kung. Princp, Kunr/ tshi-waiir/ his proper
title, i. 405; appointed a regent, ii. 184;
rewards Colonel Gordon, ii. 616; conducts
negotiations with Elgin at Peking,
ii. 682 ; signs the treaty, ii. 686 ; iiis coup
cCttat, ii. 691 ; refuses to ratify Lay’s
agreement, ii. 694; signs convention respecting
coolie trade; ii. 698.699; inTicntsin
riot correspondence, ii. 702, 705
discusses audience question, ii. 712, 715;
his son and the succession, ii. 726, 739.
Ku-peh kau Pass, in Great VV’all, i. 39, 89.
Kuren (see Urga). i. 204.
Kur-kara usu (Kingsni ching), town and
district of Ili, i. 2.iO.
Kuro-siwo, ocean current, i. 55.
Kutuktu, lama high-priest in Urga, i. 204.
Kuyiik khan, Piano Carpiiii’s embassy to,
ii. 415.
Kuzupchi, sand-hills on Desert of Gobi, i
16.
INDEX. 759
Kii-V’ing Kwan, gateway at,, ii. ITfi.
Kwangsi, an unhealthy province, i. 55 ;
its position and proilucts, i. 17(5; rise of
Tai-ping Rebellion in, ii. 5′.’0-595.
Kwangsii, his succession to the throne, i.
398, 404 ; his reign, ii. 185, 186 ; his accession,
ii. 7′.iC.
Kwaiigtung, considered unhealthj’, i. 5.^ ;
description and towns of, i. 158-1 Tfi;
revenue of, i. 290 ; resists the Manchu
conquest, ii. 179; missions in, ii. o48 ;
rebels in, ii. (i04, C;JO.
Kwanlun, or Koulkun Mountains, position
and extent, i. 11 ; mineral treasures,
i. 12 ; source of Yangtsz’, i. 20.
Kwanyin, (Joddess of Mercy, temple to,
in Kwangtung, i. 175.
Kweichau province, 1. 55 ; description of,
i. 1 78-180.
Kweiliang, Commissioner, meets allies at
Tientsin, ii. (iSl ; sent to Shanghai to
revise tariff, ii. 057 ; refuses to accompany
the allies to Taku, ii. Wi ; discusses
the audience question with Minister
Ward, ii. (i()9; sent to intercept-
Elgin at Tientsin, ii. 677 ; his support
to Prince Kung, ii. (>91.
Kweilin, capital of Kv/angsi, i. 177; attacked
by Tai-pings. ii. 595.
Kn’oh hao, national designation, period,
or reign name of Emperor, i. 398.
LACHARME, Pere, 1. 643.
Lacquered-ware, Hwuichau, i. 110;
its manufacture, ii. 30 ; export, ii. 394.
Ladak not a Chinese possession, i. 13.
Lagrene, French envoy to China, ii. 309 ;
obtains toleration for Christians through
Kiying, li. 355, 357 ; his mission in
1844, ii. 441 ; concludes treaty of
Whampoa with Kiying, ii. 571.
Lakes, of China, i. 23 ; of Hupeh, i. 143 ;
of ill’, i. 216-317 ; of Tibet, i. 240.
Lama, mausoleum to a, Peking, i. 79.
Lamasary ( Yumj-lio Kung) at Peking, i.
to.
Lanchau, capital of Kansuh, i. 154.
Land, how held, ii. 1-3.
Landscape, appearance of, in China, i. 40.
Land tax in China, i. 294, 739.
Language, of Tibet, i. 253 ; proportion of
readers in China, i. .544 ; Chinese, its
groups of natural objects, i. 372 ; labor
of learnin;,^ its characters, i. .541 ; an obstacle
to progress, i. 568 ; its influence
upon people and literature, i. 579, ii. 190;
origin of, i. 581 ; misaj>prehciision regarding,
i. 605 ; dialects, Mandarin and
local, i. 611-616 ; its grammar, i. 617 ; defects,
i. 621 ; methods of studying, i. 623 ;
an obstacle to missions, ii. 370 ; ignorance
of, by earlj’ traders, ii. 450, 453.
Lange, Laurent, his residence at Peking,
IL 442.
Lanterns, feast and variety of, i. 817.
Lantsan River, in Yunnan, L 181.
Larks as song birds, i. 333.
Lau-tsz’, founder of Taoism, i. 684 ; hifl
life, ii. 2U6 ; and teaching.s, ii. 207-214.
Lavallc’e, C, ii. 647, 654, 684, 685.
Laws, of China, i. 384 ; reports pf, 385 ;
Penal Code, 3S5-393 ; their administration.
Chap. VIII.; as a profession, i.
‘(83 ; controlling marriage, i. 793.
Lav, C. T., i. 60.5, 606, 715, 822, ii. 102,
103, 117, 330.
Lay, H. N., appointed intendant of customs,
ii. 62.S ; his tiotilla fiasco, ii. 692.
Lay, W. T., ii. 621.
Leather, quality and uses of, ii. 39.
Le Comte, i. 289, 509, ii. 285, 295.
Le (iendre, C. W., i. 140, ii. 717.
Legge, Dr. James, i. 398, 537, 627, 639,
633, 634, 635, 636, 638 ff., 648, 603, 671,
674, 681, 703, 809, ii. 73, 143, 144, 147,
198, 213, 237, 347. 372.
Legislation, general features of, i. 391-
394.
Li Hung-Chang, Governor-General, concurrence
in reorganizing the ‘ Ever-Victorious
force,’ ii. 611 ; executes surrendered
wangs at Suchau, ii. 615 ; his
position there, ii. 616 ; dis.solves the
‘ Ever- Victorious force,’ ii. 618; and
Sir T. Wade in the Chifu convention,
ii. 734 ; denounces the treaty of Livadia,
ii. 733 ; co-operates with foreigners
in relief of Great Famine, ii. 735.
Li Tai-peh, a poet of the Tang dynasty,
story of, i. 696-703 ; extent of his collected
poems, i. 704.
Liang dynasty, the Xlllth, ii. 166 ; After
Liang, XVIIth dynasty, ii. 171.
Liang A-fah, Morrison’s first convert, ii.
321 ; his labors and persecution, ii. 328,
347, 371 ; his tracts fall into the hands
of Hung Siu-tsuen, ii. .582, 589.
Liau River (?>ira-muren), in Manchuria,
i. 190.
Liau, Tartar tribe, ii. 173, 174.
Library at Peking, i. 69 ; its catalogue, i.
62().
Li E . or ‘ Book of Rites,’ i. 643-647, 805,
ii. 196.
Li-kilt., or ‘ cash a catty’ tax, i. 444.
Lilies, varieties of, i. 361 ; eaten, i. 773.
Li Miu, ‘ Black-haired Race,’ common
name for Chinese, i. 5 ; a tribe on Hainan
Island, i. 176.
Lime, made from shells, i. 307 ; use in
building, i. 729 ; how burned, ii. 56.
Li-mn, aboriginal tribe, i. 41 ; iu Hainan,
i. 44 ; mountains, i. 1.59.
Li shui River, in Hunan, i. 147.
Lin Tseh-si), Commissioner, geography of,
i. 50 ; and the rhubarb trade, i. 365
;
career of, i. 457, 4()4, 473, ii. 184 ; ar*
rives at Canton, ii. 497 ; demands sur«
760 IlS^DEX.
render of opirnn, ii. 40S; imprisons
foreigners in factories, ii. 50() ; an example
of his i)nl)lic writings, ii. 501 ;
visits Macao, ii. oO(i ; his reason for demanding
Mr. Dent, ii. 508 ; reply to
American request, ii. 514 ; offers rewards
for British, ii. 510 ; his recall, ii.
510; memorializes the P^mpcror against
peaceful measures, ii. 518; recalled from
hanishmcnt, ii. 5rJ9 ; his death, ii. S’JO.
Lindsay, H. H., i. 481.
Lintin, Sir G. Robiuson among opium
smugglers at, ii. 479 ; Captain Elliot ordered
to send opium smugglers away
from, ii. 491.
Lin-tsing-chau, in Shantung, i. 93.
Lion, tlie, in China, i. ol7.
Liquor little used in China, i. 808.
Literati, or literary class, the gentry of
China, its influence, i. 520, 5()”2 ; and
religious sects, i. (391 ; persecuted by
Tsin, ii. 1()2 ; their opposition to Buddhism,
ii. 2;2o, 237 ; to Christianity, ;J69.
Literature, Chinese geographical, i. 50
;
classical, size and importance, i. 020
five greater, i. 027-052, and four lesser
classics, i. 052-072 ; works on history, i.
075; historical novels, etc., i. 077; fiction,
i. 094, ballads and impromptu
verses, L 705; dramas, i. 714; its limits
and deficiencies, i. 718; of Chinese
music, ii. 98; flourishes under the
Hans, ii. 164; foreign missionary, ii.
367.
Ljilngstedt, Sir A., i. 171, ii. o33, 428;
his liistory of Macao, ii. 4o().
Lob-nor, Desert of, i. 16 ; Lake, 1. • 24,
222-223.
Lobscheid, Rev. W., i. 271, 615.
Loch, Captain G. G., i. 105, ii. 302, .53(),
541, 543, .547, .5.50.
Loch, Henry, experiences at Tungchau,
ii. 678 ; capture and imprisonment at
Peking, ii. ()80, CSl ; is returned to the
English, ii. 084, 085.
Lockhart, Dr. Wm., ii. 123, 139, 134,300,
336, 339, 350, 354.
Locusts, occasional ravages of, i. 351
edict against, i. 460 ; character for, i.
587 ; Father Faber’s miracle of the, ii.
290.
Loess, roads in, i. .38, 97; of Shanst, i.
95; of Shensi, i. 149; extent of, in
China, i. 297; its nature, i. 298-300;
dwellings in, i. 301 ; Richthofen’s theory
of origin, i. 303; terraces, ii. 0;
great famine in the region, ii. 734.
Loll (or Fo Loll) River, in Sz’chuen, i. 15,5.
Lohyang, made the capital by Siangkwan,
i.’S, ii. 159, 102, 104, 108, 174; and
Buddhism, ii. 218, 411.
Lolos race, in Sz’chuen, i. 43, 158 ; in
Yunnan, i. 183.
Longevity, Temple of, at Canton, i. 104.
Loomis, Rev. A. W., i. 703, ii. 350.
Lotus, highly esteemed, i. 308.
Low, Hon. P. F., United States Ministef
to China, ii. 700 ; concerning sentiment
toward foreigners at Tientsin, ii. 704
;
his reply to Wansiang’s note, ii. 708 ; on
audience question, ii. 713, 714 ; thanked
bv Prince Kuiig, ii. 739.
Lowrie, \V. M., i. 7.55, ii. 287, 350, 368.
Lu, governor of Kwangt>ung, opposes Napier’s
coming to Canton, ii. 464 ; rejects
iiis letter, ii. 467 ; stops the trade, ii.
471, 473 ; his succes.sor Tang, ii. 481.
Luhchau, on female education, i. .574 ; instance
of reproving a mother-in-law, i.
795.
Lukan Gorge, on Yangt-sz’, i. 146.
Ltinfi, or dragon of the Chinese, i. 344;
carried in procession, i. 818.
Lung River, in Fuhkien, i. 129.
Lung-tsiien, in Shansi, i. 95.
Lute, or kln^ a favorite instrument, ii. 99.
“\ r A TSUPU, marine goddess, temple
ItL to, at Ningpo, i. 123; and the Virgin,
ii. 316.
MaTwan-lin, his Antiquarian Rcsearclies,
i. 259-205, 081 ; list of comets, ii. 73.
Macao, climate of, i. 54 ; description of,
i. 170; governor of Canton retires to,
from pirates, ii. 183; Ricci in, ii. 390;
Tournon imprisoned in, ii. .302 ; Mrs.
Gutzlaft”s school at, ii. 345 ; smuggling
trade in opium at, ii. 378 ; origin of the
settlement and name, ii. 438 ; recent
history, ii. 4oO ; the Dutch repulsed before,
ii. 433 ; English man-of-war at, ii.
448 ; their troops occupy, ii. 4.5(i ; Lord
Napier reaches, ii. 404; Elliot and the
English retire to, ii. .500 ; Lin’s soldiers
repiiLsed at, iL 51(j ; Kiying goes to, ii.
507 ; becomes a resort of smugglers, ii.
034 ; of coolie traders, ii . 002 ; finally
closed to the coolie trade, ii. 715.
Macartney, Lord, i. 402, 431, 452, 454;
his embassy to Peking, ii. 4.54.
Macgowan, Dr. D. J., ii. 3.50, 388.
Ma-chin, from Mah<i-china, ‘ Great
China,’ its Hindu name, i. 3.
Mackie, J. Milton, ii. 002, 624.
Macy, Wm. A., ii. 344.
Magaillans (Magalhaens), Pere Gabriel, i.
04, 289, 473, 589, 817, ii. 297; his embassy,
ii. 429.
Mahdbhdrata, name China occurs in the,
i. 2.
Mail I a, J-A-M. de M., ii 34. 7.3, 137, 152,
309, 413.
Maimai chin, of Urga, i. 204 ; of Kiakhta,
i. 207, ii. 443.
Malacca, Protestant missions in, ii. 323i
324.
Malte Brun, estimate of Eighteen Prov
inces, i. 8, 296.
INDEX. r6i
Manchu, physical traits, i. 44 ; Empprors
pul>lish the I’eiial Code, i. 385 ; nobility,
i. 3S7; and education system, i. 521,
5()0 ; and Chinese poem, i. 598 ; alter
the Chinese head-dress, i. 761 ; names,
how written, i. 79S ; military endeavors
of their Emperors, ii. 9:3 ; peculiar dread
of foreign invasion, ii. 6-1;*.
Manchuria, one of the three grand divisions,
i. 7 ; extent of, i. LS7 ; watercourses
and mountains, i. 188-191
;
three provinces, i. 191-‘2O0; climate, i.
195; adndnistration of government, i.
199; by native nobles, i. 40().
Manchus, their ancestors the Kins, ii.
174 ; overthrow the Mings, ii. 178 ; their
government better than the Mings, ii.
185; and the Triad Society, ii. 2(57;
close China to foreign trade, ii. 420
;
terrible destruction of, at Chinldang,
ii. 542 ; as rulers of China, ii. 580 ; national
dislike of, and Tai-ping revolt,
ii. 596.
Mandarin ducks, fidelity of, i. 340 ; as an
emblem, ii. 112.
Mandarin, derivation of word, i. 417.
Mandarin (or court) dialect, the kwan
hwa, i. 613; the Bible in, ii. 364.
Mangu khan, successor of Kuyuk, mission
of Rubruquis to, ii. 418 ; of King
Hayton to, ii. 420.
Manji, tribes in Yunnan, i. 4.
Manning, T., mission of, to Tiljet in
1811, i. 246.
Mausoleum, of Grand Lama at Peking, i.
79 ; at Teshu Lumbo, i. 252 ; of Chinese
Emperors, ii. 248.
Munu, Laws of] mention of China in, i.3.
Manures, preparation of, ii. 8.
Marble, uses of, i. 307; slabs, etc., exported,
ii. 394.
Marco Polo. See Polo.
Margary, A. R., i. 184; sent from Hankow
to Bhamo, ii. 721 ; his murder, ii.
722 ; its subsequent investigation, ii.
723, 734.
Marriage, customs in Tibet, i. 251 ; in
Puhkien, i. 785-791 ; good sense of the
laws controlling, i. 793 ; and ancestral
worship, ii. 239 ; of Emperor Tungchi,
ii. 710.
Marshall, Thos., ii. 287, 307, 318.
Marshman, J., i. 657, ii. 320; his term
for baptism, ii. 363.
Martin, R. M., i. 120, 285, ii. 406, 443,
562 ; his proposition regarding Chusan,
ii. 580.
Martin, Dr. W. A. P., i. 20, 435, 550, 551,
559, ii. 217, 372, 741.
Match-makers employed in marriages, i.
785, ‘586.
Matting, grass grown for, i. 357 ; manufacture
and uses of, ii. 61 ; export of,
ii. 395.
Mavers, W. F., i. 438, 753, ii. 90, 185,
217, 348.
Maximo witch. CarlJ., i. 296, 355.
McCarthy, Justin, ii. 565; estimate of
Bowring and Parkes, ii. 6:34, 637 ; on
results of the w.ar, ii. 687.
McCarty, Dr. D. B., ii. 350.
McClatchie, Rev. Canon T., i. 633, 633;
ii. 142, 200.
McCulloch’s area of China, i. 5 ; of the
Eighteen Provinces, i. 8 ; population on
Plain, i. 28 ; Mongols, i. 45 ; popula-»
tion, i. 285.
Meadows, T. T., i. 192, 494, ii. 3, 596.
597. 624.
Measures of length, weight, etc., ii. 81.
Meats seen upon Chinese tables, i. 776.
Mechanical arts, and implements, ii. 18;
attainments in, ii. 117.
Medhurst, W. H., i. 12.5, 2(15, 271, 278,
290, 530, 615, 634, 636, 685, 755, 809.
ii. 28, 151, 214, 258, 295, 321, 336, 329,
330, 352, .354, 3(i3, 369; his Tai-ping
translations, ii. 594, 623.
Medicine, practice better than theories
of, i. 377 ; its profession in Chinese
society, i. 783 ; attainments in, ii. 118-
134.
Mei ling, in Kwangtung, i. 12.
]VIoi Shan, or ‘ Coal Hill,’ Peking, i. 70.
Mencius, birthplace of, i. 90 ; praises the
Chiui Tsiu, i. 649 ; life of, i. 666 ; his
doctrines, i. 66S-672 ; and early Emperors,
ii. 146; writings burned, ii. 161 ;
a saint, ii. 201, 237.
Mendacity of the Chinese, i. 834.
Metals and metallurgy, ii. 1 S ; knowledge
of, ii. lis.
Metaphysics of Chu Hi and tendency of
Chinese thought, i. 6S3-(i85.
Meteorology of China, i. 51-.55.
ATi’ao hao, or ancestral name of Emperor,
i. 399.
Miaotsz’, i. 41 ; sa?:.ff and sliuh, i. 43, lli},
177, 179-180; tankla descendants of, at
Canton, i. 412 ; songs, ii. 95 ; Hung
Siu-tsuen among, ii. 587.
Michie, A., i. 20.5.
Middle Kingdom, Chung Kwoh, a name
for China since B.C. 11.50, i. 4.
Military, control of, in provinces, i. 444 ;
examinations among the, i. 560 ; architecture
in China, i. 758 ; science, ii. 88.
Milk little used, i. 77(5.
Millet, Italian {Setaria”, in Shingking, L
191 ; much eaten in the North, i. 772.
Milne, Rev. Wm. C, i. 121, 494, .508, 686,
744, 745, 746, il 132, 339, 231, 265, 369,
350.
Milne, Dr. W.. ii. 325 ; arrives in China,
ii. 319; at Malacca, ii. 323, 368.
Min River, in Fuhkien, i. 128; in Sz’chuen,
i. 154, 155.
Minerals, probably abundant in Kwan’
r62 INDEX.
lun, i. 12; of Shantung, i. 93; of
Yunnan, i. 183 ; of the Empire, i. 304-
310.
Ming dynasty, its period, ii. 177-179; table
of Emperors, ii. 1S6 ; trade during,
ii. 373.
Ming ti, Emperor, ii. 163 ; introduces
Buddhism, ii. 21 S, 229.
Mint, its management, i. 428 ; one in
every province, ii. 83.
Mirrors, Chinese magic, ii. 20; to cure
maniacs, ii. 2.50.
Missionaries, letter from Romish, concerning
Chinese boat life, i. 751 ; they teach
mathematics at Peking, ii. 07 ; under
Kanghi, ii. 181 ; Buddhist, their influence,
ii. 189 ; Mcsiem, ii. 268 ; Nestorian,
ii. 275, 2Sr) ; Roman Catholic, ii.
287 ; their conduct in China, ii. 305
;
the first Protestant, ii. 318 ; female,
their influence, ii. 304 ; information derived
from French, ii. 440 ; French, beheaded
ia Kwangsi, ii. 642 ; British,
address to Lord Elgin, ii. 649 ; their
influence in Peking, ii. 689 ; massacre
of French, at Tientsin, ii. 700 ; American,
frightened away from Tangchau,
ii. 705 ; Chinese grievances against, ii.
701) ; their devotion during the great
famine, ii. 736.
Missions, earliest Christian, to China, the
Nestorians, ii. 275-286 ; Roman Catholic
: first period, ii. 287-289 ; second period,
ii. 289-304 ; decrease after edict of
Yuiigching, ii. 394 ; statistics of Catholic,
ii. :)07 ; their literary and educational
labors, ii, 309 ; Protestant, introduced
by MorrLson, ii. 318; among
Chinese emigrants in the Archipelago,
ii. 323 ; their hospital practice, ii.
333-340 ; condition of Protestant, at
Morrison’s death, ii. 340 ; conference
of, in 1877, ii. 3(;5 ; ob.stacles and encouragements
to, ii. 3fi8 ; Russian, established
at Peking, ii. 443 ; problem
of foreign, in China, rules suggested, ii.
707.
Mobs, fear of, in Peking, i. 84; attack
British troops before Canton, ii.
523 ; attack tiie factories, ii. 495, 556,
50S.
Mohammedan, name for China, Timg
Tu, i. 5 ; mosque in Peking, i. 74
in Hangchau, i. 119; rebellion in 1865-
73, i. 149, 154, 2(i9 ; sect in China, ii.
268-271 ; insurrection in Kansuh suppressed,
ii. 709; uprising in Yunnan
province, ii. 719 ; rebellion in Eastern
Turkestan, ii. 727-731.
Mohammedans, in Kuldja, i. 219; in
B ikur, i. 225 ; first come to China, ii.
268; the sect in tlie Empire, 270; found
by Ibn Batuta, ii. 422 ; universal uprising
of, ii. 730.
Monetary system of the Chinese, ii. 83,
Mongol, race characteristics, i. 144;
derivation of name, i. 202 ; dynasty
(Yuen) and paper money, ii. 8.5, 177;
regime, ii. 175; Buddhists, ii. 229,
233.
Mongolia, position and climate, i. 200-
202 ; divisions—Inner Mongolia, i. 202-
204 ; Outer Mongolia, i. 204-209 ; Kokonor,
i. 209-213 ; outljing towns, i.
213-21.5.
Mongols, their number, i. 45; religion.
Shamanism, ii. 233 ; tolerate the Nestorians,
ii. 280 ; and first period of
Catholic missions, ii. 288 ; their conquests
in Europe, and the embassies to,
ii. 415.
Monkeys of China, i. 314-316.
Monsoons on coast, i. .53-54.
Moutecorvino, John of, ii. 271 ; goes to
Cathay, ii. 287, 421 ; found in Peking
by Friar Odoric, ii. 423.
Moon, an eclipse at Canton, i. 819; symbols
of, ii. 73, 74.
Morals of the Chinese stage, i. 824.
Morrison, J. R., ii. 332, 342, 345, 363 ; revi’ard
offered for, ii. 520 ; services as an
interpreter, ii. 547, 548, 556 ; his death,
ii. 560
Morrison, Dr. Robert, i. 230, 265-269,
282, 284, 523, 524, 5:^0. 559, 603, 622,
624, 074, 801, 817, ii. 227; his life, ii.
318; and-Ricci compared, ii. 322,333,
333, 303, 453, 458, 459.
Morrison Education Society, ii. 341.
Mosques, at Kuldja, i. 218 ; near Moslem
pagoda in C;inton, i. 745 ; notice of, at
Ningpo, ii. 269.
Mountains, of China, its frontier, i. 9
;
its four great ranges, i. 10; Pnmpelly’s
” Sinian Sy.stem,” i. 14 ; passes
in, i. 39 ; of Manchuria, i. 188.
Mourning, cards, i. 802 ; customs in
China, ii. 249, 250.
Mukden, capital of Shingking, i. 87
desci-iption of, i. 192 ; money remitted
to, i. 295 ; Kienlung’s elegy on, i.
598.
Mulberry and silk worms, ii. 10.
Mules, fine, in China, i. 323.
2TuH-pai, or ‘ door-tablet ‘ for the census,
i. 283, 388.
Murray, Hugh, i. 309, ii. 137, 1.52, 400,
410.
Murui-ussu, ‘Tortuous River,’ i. 20.
Music, in Tibet, i. 25:1; Board of, i. 424 A
works on, in the ratalogue, i. 072; style
j and principles of Chinese, ii. 93-98 ; m-j
• strumcnts of, ii. 99-104. /
Musk, and mu.sk-deer in China, i. 332 ;
exporte<l, ii. 395.
Myths and legends, of the Chinese, ii.
70; of the creation, ii. 138-142 ;TaoiBt,
ii. 210 ; Buddhist, ii. 222.
llSTDEX. 763
NAILS worn long on fingers, i. TOO.
Names, for China, i. 2-5, ii. 408 ; ancestral,
of Emperor, i. ;!99; how inilicated
in books, i. fJ’il ; changed at marriage,
i. 788 ; several, during life, i. T’.IT
; periphrases
in use for. i. )S0o ; for jiorcelain,
ii. ‘2’i ; for tea, ii. 45 ; for opium, ii. 87o.
Nanchang, cajjital of Kiaugsi, i. 113;
Ricci in, ii. 2W.
Nanhiung, in Kwangtimg, i. 174.
Nan-kan, ‘South Gate,’ in Great Wall,
i. 14, 81.
Nankeen, a cotton cloth, ii. 37 ; decrease
in export of, ii. o95.
Nanking, climate of, i. 52 ; description of,
i. 100; Porcelain Tower of, i. 102; its
iKiiikce/i cloth, ii. 37 ; stone animals at,
ii. 115; capital of one of the ‘Three
States,’ A.D. 211, ii. 1(54; pillaged by
the Kin, ii. 175; capital of the Ming,
ii. 177 ; Ricci in, ii. ~90 ; the English
before, ii. 545 ; treaty of, ii. 549
;
Hung Siu-tsuen proclaimed Emperor
(Tien-teh) at, ii. 584 ; rebel capture of,
ii. 59*’) ; their stress in, ii. (505 ; taken by
imperialists, ii. 020.
Nan ling, ‘Southern Mountains,’ a continuation
of the Yun ling, i. 12.
Nan shall, in Kwangtuiig, i. 159; in
Koko-nor, i. 211.
Napier, John, mentioned in a Chinese treati.
se, ii. 07.
Napier, Lord, superintendent of trade,
his arrival, ii. 4(54; letter to (Governor
Lu rejected, ii. 407; contest with the
governor, ii. 471 ; retires from Canton
and dies suddenh-, ii. 474.
Nari ( A-li), a division of Tibet, i. 244, 2.56.
Navarette, a Dominican friar, and the
Jesuits, ii. 300.
Natural history, study of, in China, i.
290 ; geology, i. ‘297-313 ; zoology, i.
313-340 ; ichthyology, i. 340-351 ; insects,
i. 351-354; botany, i. 355-370;
the Pun-tsao, or Herbal, i. 371-376
;
condition of the science in China, i.
377-379.
Niu-chih, or Kin Tartars, i. 202 ; ancestors
of Manchus, ii. 174.
Navy, control of, interchanged with army,
i. 445, 496, 502 ; Lay’s flotilla fiasco, ii.
()92.
Nestor’an, monument at Si-ngan, i. 151,
ii 27(i ; missionaries at court of Taitsung,
ii. 1(J9 ; during the Yuen, ii. 280 ;
oppose Corvino, ii. 287 ; missionaries
come with traders, ii. 411 ; priest and
Rubruquis, ii. 418.
Nevius, J. L., i. 810, ii. 217.
Newspapers (see also I’ck’uKj Gazette) and
chea]) type.s, i. 005 ; edited by Protestant
missionaries, ii. 341.
New Year, festival and ceremonies, i. 810-
810 ; its date, ii. 70,
Nganhwui province, i. 108.
Nganking, or Anking, in Nganhwui, i.
110; taken by Tai-pings, ii. .595 ; their
march to relief of, ii. 007 ; captured by
imperialists, ii. 008.
N)ng[)o, tempeiature at, i. 53; description
of, i. 120-123; the to niin of, 1.
412; l)irthday fete at, i. 814; spring
festival, ii. 14 ; cannon found at, ii.
02; the cholera at, ii. 132; nunneries
at, ii. 231 ; foundling hospital, ii. 205 ;
its mosque, ii. 269 ; missions at, ii. 350 ;
Portuguese at, ii. 428 ; its capture by
the British, ii. 527 ; attemi)t at recapture,
ii. 531, ii. 573; during Tai-ping
Rebellion, ii. 008, 009.
Nieuwhof (or Nieuhoff), J., ii. 3, 428;
account of the fall oi Fort Zealandia,
ii. 436.
Nitre common in China, i. 308.
Niu Kien, Governor-General, conduct at
Wusung, ii. 535, 537 ; British offer, opj)
ortanity of ransoming Nanking, ii.
544 ; joint letter to Pottinger, ii. 546.
Niuchwang (Yingtsz’), in Shingking, L
194, 751.
Nobility, Manchu and Chinese, i. 387
;
orders of, i. 406.
Notation, Chinese arithmetical, ii. 66
musical, ii. 94.
Novels, Tibetan, i. 251 ; and tales in Chinese
literature, i. 692; character of
Chinese fiction, i. 095.
Nui Hing-an ling, or Sialkoi Mountains,
west of the Amur, i. 1 3.
Numerals, Chinese, i. 619 ; limitations to
use of, ii. 60.
Nuns, Buddhist, at Canton, i. 105 ; and
nunneries, ii. 230.
Nii-rh Yu, ‘ Words for Women and
Girls,’ a school-book, L 577.
OBEISANCE, sundry degrees of, i.
801.
Observatory at Peking, i. 72; and the
Jesuit missionaries, ii. 298.
Odes, the Book of (see Shi Kinrj, i. 686,
etc.), ‘for children,’ the Yin Hioh Shitlrh,
i. 533 ; in Nestorian inscription at
Si-ngan, ii. 282.
Odoric, Friar, i. 302 ; on casting out
devils, ii. 314; his journey to Cathay,
ii. 422.
Officers, in China, their extortions, i. 278 ;
nine ranks, i. 413-415 ; and Board of
Civil Office, i. 421 ; provincial, i. 438-
448; checks upon, i. 449; their character
and position, i. 451 ; their establishments,
i. 503 ; compelled to e.xtortion,
i. 510 ; of education, i. 548 ; dresses, i.
703 ; formalities of meeting, i. 805
;
their religious duties, ii. 201-205 ; instance
of their functions, ii. ‘230 ; of
their corruption, ii. 378 ; of theil
764 INDEX.
methods, ii. 557; attitude toward foreigners
at close of the opium war,
ii. 575.
Oling Lake, in Koko-nor, i. 18.
Oliphant, Lawrence, i. 400, ii. 644, 647,
654, 0()0.
Olives (the Pimela), so-called, of China,
i. o()5, 775.
Olyphant & Co., their assistance to missionaries,
ii. o2S, hiSO, 342.
Oineto Fiih, Buddhist prayer, i. 125.
Om maiu padiiii hum, its meaning, i.
349.
Opium, smuggling incident, i. 477 ; its
increase under Taukwang, ii. 184; introduction
and names of, ii. 37y ; cultivation
in India, ii. o74 ; preparation
and sale, ii. o76 ; manner of smoking,
ii. 381 ; its effects, li. 384 ; value of the
trade, ii. 3S7, 430 ; Robinson’s paper
on smuggling, ii. 479 ; proposal to
legalize, ii. 48’3 ; the matter referred to
Canton, ii. 480 ; prohibitory laws severely
enforced, ii. 490 ; increase of smuggling,
ii. 492 ; demanded by Lin, ii.
498 ; surrendered, ii. 502 ; and destroyed,
ii. 504 ; sales recommence, ii. 506 , Pottinger’s
position regarding, ii. 538 ; his
discussions on, with commissioners, ii.
5.50 ; smuggling and the port of Hongkong,
ii. 558 ; laissez fairc policy of
British and Chinese after first war. ii.
501, 577 ; increase of smuggling, ii. 033 ;
legalized in revised tariff, ii. 0.57.
Oranges, many varieties of, at Canton, i.
774.
Osbeck, Peter, his voyage to China, ii.
461.
Onchterlony, Lieutenant J., his Chinese
\Vio\n. .551, 574.
Oysters common along the coast, i. 350
;
their quality, i. 780.
PAGODA, Porcelain, at Nankin* i.
1 02 ; and dagoba in China, i. 743 ;
purpose and construction, i. 745 ; plain,
at Canton, ii. 209.
J’ai-laii, in Peking, i. 83 ; their purpose
and construction, i. 7.50-7.58 ; to commemorate
British retreat from Canton,
ii. 620.
Painting, as a fine art in China, ii. 105
examples of illustrations, ii. 100-116
on pith paper, ii. 113. For reproductions
of Chinese, see the two frontispieces
of these volumes.
Pakhoi, port in Kwanj^tung, i. 175.
Palace, of Emijcror, at Peking, i. 65-69 ; of
Yuen mitig Yuen, i. 80; life and arrangements
of, i. 407.
Palafox, Bishop, i. 162.
Palisade boundary between Chihli and
Shingking, i. 25, 187.
PalladiuB, Archimandrite, ii. 277, 285.
Palms, fan, cocoanut, etc., i. 300.
Palti, or Yamorouk Lake, in Tibet, i. 25.
Panthay insurrection in Yunnan province,
ii. 719.
Pao-ho tien, ‘ Hall of Secure Peace,’ in
Peking, i. 68.
Pao-tch, on Yellow River, and chief anticlinal
axes of Sinian system, i. 14.
Paper, in China, history and varieties of,
i. 599 ; used for window glass, i. 732
;
collected by priests, ii. 257 ; burned for
spirits, ii. 257.
Paper monej’, in Fulichan, i. 132 ; Polo’s
delight over, ii. 85 ; and Yuen dynasty,
ii. 177; mentioned by Ibn Batuta, ii.
422.
Parker, Admiral Sir William, arrives
from England, ii. 524.
Parker, Dr. P., i. 706, ii. 124, 325; his
hospital at Canton, ii. 333-337, 567,
639.
Parkes. Sir Harry, ii. 29 ; McCarthy’s
estimate of, ii. 634 ; action in the Arrow
case, ii. 635-637, 040; one of
commission to govern C.mton, ii. 046 ;
his ability, ii. 047; experiences _ at
Tungchau, ii. 078 ; his capture and imprisonment,
ii. 080.
Pascal, a Spanish friar, missionary to
Kuldja, ii. 289, 424.
Patriarchal feature of government, i. 381.
Panting, in Chihli, i. 85.
Pauthier, G., i. 05, 84, 043, 003, 674, iL
34, 85, 87, 137, 149, 150, 101, 307, 210,
212, 280, 413, 419, 713.
Pauying Lake, in Kiangsu, i. 100.
Pavif. T., i. 096.
Pavilion, prominent feature of Chinese
architecture, i. 730.
Pawnbrokers’ establishments, ii. 86.
Peacocks reared throughout China, i. 337.
Pearl River, in Kwangtung, i. 22, 1.59;
duck-hatching on, i. 778 ; pirates on,
during this century, ii. 183 ; kept open
by foreigners, ii. 630.
Pearls, genuine and artificial, i. 350.
Pechele (for Pch-rhihli), sometimes used
for Chihli, i. 00.
Peepnl, or 7J?<-^i tree {Ficus religiosa),
worshipped, ii. 259. .
Pell ling, ‘ Northern Mountains,’ in
Kwanlun system, i. 12.
Peh-ta -sz’, ‘ White Pagoda Temple,’ Peking,
i. 75.
Pehtang, Americans urged to go to. ii.
()(J5 ; they repair to Peking, via, ii. (i08
;
Ho asks Englisli to exchange treaties
at, 072 ; allies land and capture, ii. 073.
Pei iio, and towns on its banks, i. 85-86;
allied fleet reach, ii. 649 ; repulse at
battle of, ii. 0()6.
Peking, climate of, i. 51 ; situation, area,
and history, i. ()0-64 ; walls, i. (i4
;
‘ Prohibited City,’ i. 05 ; plan of, i. 66,*
INDEX. 765
palaces, i. 07-60; ‘Imporial City,’ i.
G9 ; parks, public buildings, temples, i.
69-T!>; Altar to Heaven, i. 7<); otlier
temples, i. 78 ; summer palace, i. 80 ;
streets, city government, life, i. 81-84 ;
dogs of, i. yi9 ; crows about, i. 3H4
State school at, i. 543 ; examinations
for isin-sz’ degree, i. 558 ; Pih-yung
Kung, i. 73, 730 ; street scenes in, i.
741 ; carts used by royalty in, i. 747 ;
compressed feet in, i. 770 ; marriage
processions at, i. 7S9 ; fireworks in, i.
817; ploughing ceremony at, ii. 13; its
medical college {T’ai-i Yucit), ii. 121 ;
taken by the Mongols, ii. 175; by the
Mings, ii. 177, 178; Barrow on infanticide
in, ii. 240 ; funerals in, ii. 345,
2.50; Moslems in, ii. 2(59; Catholics first
established in, ii. 287 ; Ricci goes to,
ii. 291 ; medical instruction at, ii. 33′.)
Friar Odoric visits, ii. 423 ; Van
Hoorn’s embassy to, ii. 438 ; Russian
mission at, ii. 443 ; Tai-ping expedition
against, ii. 597 ; Ward’s visit to,
ii. 6′)9 ; allied troops at, ii. (382, 686 ; a
foreign quarter in, ii. 088.
Pekinq Gazette {Kiiirj Pao), on revenue,
i. 293 ; notice of, i! 420.
Paial Code, of China, i. 279, 282, 287 ;
examination of, i. 384-392 ; regulating
trials and punishments, i. 50(3 ; number
of characters in, i. 589 ; laws on
land, ii. 2 ; on physicians, ii. 133
;
framed by Yungloh, ii. 177.
People of China, their clans, i. 483 ; general
education, i. 519.
Pepys, Ramtiel, mentions tea, ii. 51.
Ferny, P., i 719, ii. 90.
Pescadores, or Panghu Islands, i. 27, 141 ;
the Dutch in, ii. 433.
Petitions presented by the poor to high
magistrates, i. 505.
Petroleum in Formosa, i. 139.
Pheasants, gold, silver, Reeves, and
others, i. 336.
Philosophy, Chinese, of the Yih Kinq, i.
028-033 ; of Confucius, i. 062 ; of Chu
Hi, i. (183 ; ideas concerning the ‘ action
and reaction of the elements,’ ii.
74 ; of the creation, ii. 137-144 ; Bazin’s
view of growth of Chinese, ii. 213.
Phoenix, or Fniifj-Zitrnng, i. 343.
Physical traits of Chinese, i. 41.
Physicians, their position in society, i.
783 ; their practice, ii. 124-127; foreigners
educate Chinese as, ii. 339.
Pigeon-English, an unwritten patois, i.
624 ; examples of, i. 832, ii. 340, 402,
62().
Pigeons, abundant in Peking, 1. 335
;
raised and eaten, i. 779.
Pihkwei, made governor of Canton after
Yeh’s capture, ii. 64(! ; asks Lord Elgin
to reopen trade, ii. 647.
Pih-ynngKung, or ‘ Classic Hall,’ Confu«
cian Temple, Peking, i. 73, 730, 757.
Pilgrims, to Tai Shan, i. 90 ; Chinese, ta
Mecca, ii. 370 ; travels of Buddhist, iL
413.
Pines, the white, etc., i. 302.
Pirates, infest Kwangtung, ii. 183 ; pursued
by British and Portuguese, ii. 032.
Piry, A. Theophile, i. 080.
Pi-shan, a doubtful volcano in 111, i. 11.
Plain. See Great Plain, i. 14, 27, etc.
Piano Carpini, John of, missionary to
China, ii. 287 ; his mission to Kuyuk, ii.
417.
Plantain, productiveness of, i. 301 ; how
eaten, i. 774.
Plough, its construction, ii. 3; drillplough,
ii. 5; foreifjn, introduced, ii. 63.
Ploughing, annual ceremony of,at Peking,
i. 78, ii. 1, 13.
Poetry of the Sh I King, i. 038-043 ; characteristics
of Chinese, i. 7(3 ; examples
of their odes and liallads, i. 70,5-714.
Po-lai-tsz’, a name of the Yangtsz’ kiang,
i. 20.
Police, of Peking, i. 83; tyranny and
venality of, i. 475—480; memorial to
Emperor concerning, i. 495.
Policy of Cliinese government, in Ili, i.
214 ; its theory, i. 3S0-3S4 ; toward foreign
traders since the Mings, ii. 426 ; at
close of opium war, ii. 575.
Polo, Marco, i. 32, 110, 118, 127, 130, 157,
181, 213, 242, 281, 304, 330, 330, 337,
343, 345, 350, 300, 304, ii. 51, 85, 176,
271, 285, 415 ; his journeys in China,
ii. 420, 425.
Polyandry in Tibet, i. 350.
Polygamy, its extent in China, i. 792.
Poor, troublesome element of Peking
population, i. 84 ; petitions forced upon
magistrates, i. .505 ; dwellings of the, i.
733 ; disposal of their dead, ii. 2,54.
Pope of Rome, appoints Corvino archbishop,
ii. 287 ; sends other missionaries
to China, ii. 288 ; Ming claimants write
to, ii. 29(5 ; and question of rites, ii. 299,
301, 302 ; supports Tournon and the
Dominicans, ii. 303 ; sends Carpini to
Kuyuk khan, ii. 415.
Population, of Great Plain, i. 28 ; of Peking,
i. (i3, 84; of Canton, i. 101; of
Shingking, i. 193 ; of the Empire, i.
2.58-288 ; of Tibet, unknown, i. 284 ; of
China during the Tang, ii. 171 ; of Peking
at last determined, ii. 087.
Porcelain, i. Ill ; works, i. 113 ; materials
and manufacture, ii. 22 ; export of, ii.
394.
Porcupine in China, i. 328.
Portuguese, church in Peking, i. 75 ; in
Ningpo, i. 120; settlers in Formosa, i,
137; in Macao, i. 170; name porcelain,
ii. 22 ; during the Mings, ii. 177 ; and
766 INDEX.
pirate fleets, ii. IS” ; oppose introducing
Christianity, ii. 281) ; excitement iu Canton
against, ii. ‘.i’.U ; conduct of early,
traders with China, ii. 42t; ; misrepre-
Bent the English, ii. 444 ; keep tFiem
out of Canton, ii. 44() ; homicide of a, at
Canton, ii. 451 ; attack the pirates, ii.
632 ; smuggling lorchas, ii. K’A ; abolish
coolie trade at Macao, ii. (163.
Pottinger, Sir Henry, arrives irom England,
ii. r)”24 ; takes Chinhai and Ningpo,
ii. 527 ; his proclamation before
Chinkiang, ii. 5;i7 ; his position regarding
the opium trade, ii. Oo’J ; Kiying
writes to, ii. 546; exchanges civilities
with commissioners, ii. 547; discusses
opium problem with them, ii. 550
;
^igns Nanlcing treat}’, ii. 5.53 ; action
on hearing of Formosa massacres, ii.
5.55 ; exchanges ratifications with Kiying,
ii. 557 ; on J. R. Morrison, ii. 501 ;
action against opium smuggling, ii. 502.
Poutiatine, Admiral Count, his arrival in
China, ii. 043.
Poyang Luke, in Kiangsi, i. 33, 111.
Players, Buddhist, ii. 225, 226 ; machines
for, ii. 334 ; at ancestral tomb, ii. 253;
‘Girdle Classics,’ ii. 257.
Prejevalsky, Colonel N., observations on
Gobi, i. 10; on source of Yangtsz’, i.
20 ; Lob-nor, i. 24 ; Kansuh, i. 153
Mongolia, i. 205, 210, 212, 222, 231, 243,
290, 338, 355, 304.
Pre’mare. Pere, i. 581), 714, ii. 232.
Prester John, Prince of the Kara Kitai,
ii. 385, 280.
Priests, in Canton, i. 104, 165; and
snakes, i. 340 , harbor thieves, i. 498
in society, i. 783 ; and theatres, i. 830 ;
grow tea, ii. 42 ; no hierarchy of, in
China, ii. 101, 199; Taoist, ii. 214, 215;
Buddhist, ii. 220, 224, 250 ; Nestorian,
ii. 285, 380.
Primitives in the Chinese language, i.
591-593.
Printing, in China, i. 600 ; missionary, ii.
307.
Processions, marriage, i. 787-791 ; style
of, i. 819 ; funeral, ii. 345, 348.
Professions, the liberal, in Chinese society,
i. 783.
Prisons in (>anton, i. 167, 514.
Pronunciation, varieties in local Chinese,
i. 61.5-017.
‘Prohibited City’ of Peking, i. 65.
Pro.spect, or ‘Coal’ Hill, Peking, i. 70.
Protestants, first, missionaries to (!hina,
ii. 31S ; niethods compared with Catholics,
ii. ;?22 ; toleration granted to, ii.
357 ; statistics of, in China, ii. oOtJ.
Proverbs, Chinese, i. 110,442, 019; collections
of, and specimen, i. 719-733,
792, ii. 244.
Provincial governments, character of the
system, i. 437; higher, i. 438, and lowei
officers, i. 441 ; law courts, i. 504.
Prussian blue, \i8ed in coloring teas, ii.
47 ; introduced, ii. 62.
P.salmanazar, George, his Ilintory of Forinoaa,
i. 141.
Ptolemy, the geographer, his mention of
China, ii. 408 ; his “Stone Tower,” ii.
409.
Pulses, their importance in medical practice,
ii. 122, 12.5.
Pumpellyj R., his “Sinian System” of
mountains, i. 14; remarks on Gobi, i.
17; quoted, i. 145, 205, 207, 296, 304,
305.
Punishments, Board of, i 426; five kinds,
i. 508 ; Parkes and Loch at Board of,
ii. 681.
Pan t.iao, or ‘Chinese Herbal,’ i. 316;
concerning the sphex. i. 354 ; its author
and scope, i. 370 ; divisions of : geology,
i. 371 ; botany, i. 372 ; zoology, i. 374 ;
notices of the horse, i. 375, 691, iL
373.
Pushtikhur, mountain knot in Turkestan,
i. 10.
Puto Island, i. 124.
Puyur, or Pir Lake, in Manchuria, i. 24.
Pwanku, the first man, ii. 138-141.
UAILS, fighting, i. 826.
^ Queues, how worn, i. 761 ; false ohair in, i. 765 ; imposed upon Chinese
by the Tartars, ii. 179 ; mourning,
ii. 249 ; cut ofT by Tai-pings, ii. 589.
Quicksilver mines in Kweichau, i. 178,
311 ; experiments in, ii. 118.
I)
ACES (see under Aboriginal), abor-
\) iginal and colonial, of China, i. 43.
Radicals in the Chinese language, i. 591-
593.
Raffles, SirT. S., i. 482.
Rain, in North China, i. 51 ; in the south,
i. 53; contrast in. between coasts of
China and America, i. 55 ; Taukwang’s
prayer for, i. 407 ; eflbrts after, by
officers, ii. 203-205.
Ranking, J., i. 330.
Ranks, titular, of noblemen, i. 405 ; of
the people, i. 411 ; insignia of, i. 414.
Rationalists, or Taoists, considered as
magicians, i. ()94 ; ideas of the creation,
ii. 138; creed, ii. 207 0″.
Rats, how and when eaten, i. 778.
lied Book, of officials, its character, i
452.
Reed, William B.^ United States Minister,
i. 400; arrives in China, ii. 643,
649.
Regis, Pere J. B., i. 633.
Reinaud, J. T., i. 127, u. 168, 271, 414,
425. 426.
Religion, sects in Tibet, i. 248 ; ridicuU
INDEX. 7G7
of, by the literati, i. 601 ; none in early
mythology, ii. 14)3; only external modifying
intlaence in China, ii. 18′.); two
negative features of Chinese, ii. 192
;
the tliree ki<w, or sects : State, ii. 194 ;
Tao. or Rationalist, ii. 207 ; Fuh, or
Buddhist, ii. 217; toleration of, in
Cliiua, ii. 221 ; eft’eto among the people,
ii. 2G0.
Be’musat, Abel, his derivation of word
Tsunfj ling, i. 9 ; myths of the Great
Deseit, i. 12 ; river basins of China, i.
27, 2i:!, 214, 2:50, 2:11, 2>!:;, 2:J4, 237, 28t<,
2.’)0, 2.”)1, 254, 308, 353 ; observations on
natural sciences, i. 377, 500, .^97, ()0.5
;
on Chinese grammar, i. 617 ; Mencius,
i. (iOtJ, 674, 675, 681, 682, 694, 696. ii.
123, 139, 167, 176, 180, 224, 232, 233,
293, 309, 441.
Rennie, Dr. D. F., i. 05, ii. 602.
Researches of Ma Twan-lin, i. 2.59-265.
Responsibility, a main feature of government,
i. 382-383 ; its operation, i. 436 ;
of Emperor for natural calamities, i.
465; results of, i. 481.
Revenue, of Chinese Empire, i. 289-292
;
Board of, i. 422 ; Department of, i. 443 ;
and transit duties, ii. 391.
Rhubarb from Kansuh, i. 864.
Ricci, Father Matteo, comes to China, ii.
289 ; travels northward, ii. 290 ; his
death, ii. 2,12 ; his character, ii. 293 ; decision
as to the rites, ii. 292, 299 ; compared
witli Morrison, ii. 322 ; compiles
account of Goes’ journey, ii. 425.
Rice, its importance, i. 772 ; its cultivation,
ii. 5-7; paper, painting on, ii.
113; an import, ii. 396.
RichanlsL.!!, Sir John, i. 296, 347, 348.
Richthofen, Biron F. von, remarks on
conformation of Central Asia, i. 18
roads in loess, i. 39, 97, 120, 150, 1.5S,
184. :^12, 221, 222, 257, 296, 297, 303,
305. 636, ii. 137 ; on early knowledge of
China, ii. 407. 411, 624.
Ripa, Pere M., ii. 124; arrives in China,
ii. 302; observations on Catholic missionaries,
ii. 305.
Rites, five kinds of, i. 423; Book of, i.
643-f)47 ; question of the, Ricci’s precedent,
ii. 292 ; Catholic quarrels concerning,
ii. 297-303.
Ritter, Carl, i. 208, 234, 237, 257.
Rivers, of China, i. 18; of Shansi, i. 94;
boat life on, i. 751.
Roberts, Rev. I. J., his connection with
Hung Siu-tsnen, ii. 587, 622.
Roads, public, i. 37 ; mountain, i. 39 ; of
Shansi, i. 91″!
; of Sz’chiien, i. 156; safety
of, in the Empire, i. 212 ; in loess region,
i. 300.
Robinson, Sir G. B., associated with Napier,
ii. 464 ; succeeds him as superintendent,
ii. 479.
Rome, Chinese knowledge cf, during the
Han dynasty, ii. 163; the country ‘i’u
Tsin, ii. 207 ; and Ciiiiia, infanticide in,
ii. 242 ; divination in China and, ii.
261 ; intercourse with Cliiua, ii. 410.
Roman Catholics’, and Huddliists’ rituals
compared, ii. 231, 315 ; they suggest
the founding of hospitals, ii. 205 ; missi
jns first established in China, ii. 286
;
second period of their missions, ii. 289
diseussions concerning the rites, ii. 253,
292, 299 ; expelled from China by Yungciiing,
ii. 304 ; character of their la})or3
in China, ii. 316 ; they move to Hongkong,
ii. 347 ; restitution of their confiscated
property, ii. 361 , 362 ; indemnified
in treaty of Peking, ii. 687.
Rondot, Natalis, Chinese commerce, ii.
19, 31, 38, 83.
Roofs, how constructed in China, i. 726,
729.
Rubruquis, Friar William, sent by Louis
XI. to Mangu khan, ii. 418, 425.
_
Russia, treaty^ between, and China on
frontier of II i, i. 215, .594; and toleration
of Christianity in China, ii. 360
;
boundary disputes, trade, and treaties
of, with China, ii. 441 ; takes possession
of Kuldja, ii. 727.
Russian, ‘pigeon,’ spoken in Vierny, ii.
402 ; Admiral Poutiatine arrives in
China, ii. 643 ; and American ministers
at Tientsin, ii. 6 4 ; diplomacy and the
Kuldja question, ii. 732.
SABBATH not known in China, i. 809.
SacharofF, T., i. 271.
Sacred Edict (or Commands) of Kanghi,
the Shing Ym, i. .548; a politico-moral
treatise, i. 686-601 ; its observations on
mulberry culture, ii. ; 3 ; illus-trations
from, ii. 107-111, 227,_ 267.
Sacrifices, no human, in China, ii. 192;
three grades, ii. 105; of women at funeral
of Empress, ii. 250.
Sagalicn, River (see Amur), i. 180; town
of (Igoon),i. 108.
Sa,int-Martin, Didier, Romish missionary
to China, ii. 3C6, 312 ; on casting out
demons, ii. 314.
Salaries, of Chinese officers, i. 204 ; of
Mongol princes, i. 430.
Sale of office practised continually by
Emperor, i. 475.
Salisbury, Prof. E. E., ii. 232.
_
Salt, produced in Shansi, i. 95 ; in
Sz’chuen, i. 158, 308 ; Yunnan, i. 184
;
Department, or Gabel, i. 443.
Salve tat, ii. 23, 24.
‘Sand,’ a malady at Nanking, i. 52.
Sand-storms on the Plains, i. .52 ; dunes
or moving hills in Kashgar, i. 227.
Sangkolinsin, Tartar general, at Takii
forts, ii. 664 ; drives back the allies, il
7G8 INDEX.
606 ; blunder in operations against allies
before Taku, ii. 074 ; retires toward Peking,
ii. (577 ; his deception, ii. 079
;
conversation with Parkes, ii. (i80 ; his
connection with treatment of English
pi isoners, ii. 085 ; allows the return of
allied troops, ii. 088.
San-Ux’ Kim], or ‘ Trimetrical Classic,’ a
school-book, i. 526-530.
Sayce, Prof. A. H., on hieroglyphics, i.
581.
iSchaal, Father Adam, recommended to
the Emperor, ii. ;i94 ; and Shunchi’, ii.
2y0 ; j)roscribed, and dies, ii. ;i’J7
;
makes cannon, ii. ~98.
Scarborough, W., i. 720.
tSchereschewsky, Bishop, S. I. J., ii. 873,
304.
Science, study of, in China, i. 297; foreign
terms of, introduced, i. 021 ; abstract,
not pursued, ii. 65 ; attainments
in and ideas upon, ii. 06-86.
B.adegel, Dr. Gustave, i. 48, 494, 633.
(School name, shu mltit/, i. 525; when
conferred, i. 797.
Schools, boys’, how conducted, i. 525
books studied, i. 527-541 ; high, i. 542
Romish mission, ii. 310 ; Morrison
Education Society, ii. 341-345.
Rchuhmacher, M. Job. H. , i. 033.
Schuyler, Eugene, i. 217, 219, 233, ii. 402.
Sculpture as a fine art, ii. 105, 114.
Secret societies in China, i. 492 ; their
character, ii. 2()7.
Sedan chairs of magistrates, i. 50;! ; their
kinds and uses, i. 748.
Senamand, J., i. 003.
Seres, Latin designation for China, i. 4 ;
distinguished from Sinw, ii. 408.
Sen Ki-yu, Governor, compend of geography
by, i. 50; and Dr. Abeel, ii. 348,
409, 575.
Sevres and Chinese porcelains compared,
ii. 23.
Seymour, Admiral, ii. 037 ; enters Canton
city, ii. 038 ; withdraws from the river
to Macao Fort, ii. (J40 ; takes Taku
forts, ii. i’>T>\.
Sexes, separation of in Chines&^ociety, i.
784. _
-^
Shamanism, the Buddhism of Tibet and
Mongolia, ii. 233-235.
Shameen, foreign settlement at Canton,
i. 168.
Sha-moh (see Gobi), i. 15 ; its character,
i. 17.
Shang dynasty, its annals, ii. 154-157, 158.
Shangchuen, Sancian, or St. John’s Island,
Kwangtung, i. 173, ii. 289, 437.
Blianghai, climate, i. 53 ; rainfall, i. 50 ;
description of, i. 100; its dialect, i.
01 1 ; Ching-hwang miao at, ii. 202
;
foundling hospital at, ii. 264 ; missions
aBtablished at, ii. 351, 357 ; conference,
ii. 305 ; taken and ransomed by th«
British, ii. 530 ; at close of lirst war, ii
573 ; captured by rebels, ii. 004 ; protected
from Tai-pings by foreigners, ii.
000 ; foreigners at, thank Gordon, ii.
019; customs duties entrusted to foreigners
at, ii. 027 ; troubles with Cantonese
rebels at, ii. 628 ; arsenal estab
lished at, ii. 690.
Shangti’, worship of. as God, ii. 154, 157
;
the Taoist, ii. 215 ; and Tien, the term
question among Catholics, ii. 297
among Protestants, ii. 364 ; Hung Siutsuen
and the worship of, ii. 588, 590.
Shangtu, or Xanadu, i. 87.
Shan-hai kwan, a town on the Gulf of
Pechele, i. 25.
Shansi province, description of, i. 94;
productions, i. 95 ; mountain passes, i.
97 ; loess regions of, i. 398-303.
Shantung province, i. 89 ; productions, L
92 ; people of, i. 93.
Shark, mode of catching, i. 347 ; fins
eaten, ii. 397.
Shasi, in Hupeh, i. 14.5.
Shauchau, in Kwangtung, i. 173.
Shanking, a town in Kwangtung, i. 173;
Ricci establislied there, ii. 290, 431
;
rebel slaughter at, ii. 632.
Shaw, R. B., ii. 729.
Shaw, Samuel, his voyage to China, ii. 460.
Sheep, domestic and mountain, i. 321
.
Shensi province, i. 148-152 ; loess in, L
298 ; the Huns in, ii. 10.5.
Shigatsc’, capital of Ulterior Tibet, i. 247.
Shih, a grain measure, its value, i. 290.
Shih-pah Sang, or ‘ Eighteen Provinces,’
called t’liHHij Kii’oh. i. 8.
Slii Kin(/, the ‘ Book of Odes,’ its poetry,
i. 03(5-043, 703 ; allusion to silk, ii. 32
and ancestral worship, ii. 230.
Shingking colony, i. 25 ; a province of
Manchuria, i. 191-19(5.
Shinnung, inventor of agriculture, temple
to, at Peking, i. 78.
Shoeing animals, manner of, ii. 4.
Shoes, how made and worn, i. 701 ; women’s,
i. 769 ; given at New Year, i. 811.
Shops, in Peking, i. 82 ; arrangement of
Chinese, i. 73(5 ; their names, i. 799
;
decorated at New Yeai’, i. 811-813.
Shiiga Mountains, in the Kwanlun system,
i. 11.
SJinKing, the ‘Book of Records,’ i. 90;
its character and value, i. 633-630 ; on
temperance, i. 808 ; notice of silk culture,
ii. 32 ; of cotton, ii. 3(5 ; of early
attention to astronomy, ii. OS, (59 ; the
deluge of Yao, ii. 147 ft’.; its credibility,
ii. 152, 155 ; and House of Chau, u.
157, 159; and religion, ii. 190; on ancient
commerce, ii. 372, 59(5.
Shun, an early Emperor, ii. 145, 146-148.
Shunchi, Emperor, i. 385 ; orders women
INDEX. (GO
immolated, ii. 250 ; and Schaal, ii. 290,
-,
^*^-
Shuntien, a department of Chihli, i. (iO.
Sialkoi Mountains, in Manchuria, L 13,
1S».
Slang River, in Hunan, i. 14fi.
eiangkwan, King of Tsinchau, changes
his ca[)it;il to Lohyang, i. o.
Siao lUiih, or •Juvenile Instructor,’ a
text-book, i. 5:22, 540.
_
Sign-boards of Poking, i. 8o. 738.
Sihota, or Sili-hih-teh Mountains, in
Manchuria, i. 10, 188.
Si Hu, ‘West Lake,’ near Hangchau, i.
117; near Fuhchan, i. 131.
Silk. Hangchau. i. 119; of Sz’chuen, i.
157 ; worm reared, i. 351 ; manufacture,
ii. 33-35 ; export of. ii. 395.
Siik-worm, discovered by Yuenfi, i. 71
;
its culture, ii. 33.
Silver, localities of, i. 311 ;
‘ shoes ‘ of
si/crr. ii. 84.
Silver Island (Siung Shan), near Chinkiang.
i. 100.
Simon, Eug. , ii. 88.
Simpson, William, i. 737.
Si-ugan (Hao-king and Chang-an), abandoned
in 770 1?. c. by Siangkwan, i. 3;
description of the city, i. 1 50 ; capital of
the Chau, ii. l.-)2. 1.58, 102. 105; during
the Tang, ii. 108 ; temple to Lautsz’ in,
ii. 215 ; Nestorian tablet of, ii. 270, 408.
Sining, in Kansuh, i. 154, 210, 213. 2.52.
ijiu fsui. or ‘Bachelor of Arts,’ first degree
in examination system, i. .547;
military, i. 500 ; Hung Siu-tsuen tries
for, ii. ‘582.
Siuenhwa, in Chihli, i. 86.
Six Boards, bureaus of, Peking, i. 72, 415,
421-428.
Si Yuen, ‘Western Park,’ Peking, i. 70.
” Skinning papers ” used in examinations,
i. 551.
Slaves, few in China, i. 413, 564.
Smith, Rev. Arthur, i. 97.
Smith, Bishop George, i. 498, ii. 242, 272.
Smith, F. Porter, ii. 134, 241.
Smuggling, desperate case of opium, L
447 ; at Macao and Whampoa, ii. 378 ;
increase of, about Hongkong, ii. 633
British encouragement of, ii. 725.
Snakes in China, i. 34′>.
Snow, in Peking, i. 51 ; in Shanghai, i.
.53 ; in Canton, i. .”4.
Snuff, how taken, i. 771 ; bottles found
in Egypt, ii. 27.
Social life, in China, i. 782-830 ; and government
in reform movements, ii. 581.
Society, Medical Missionary, ii. ;)34 ; for
the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge in
China, ii. 340 ; Morrison Education, ii.
341.
Songari River, in Manchuria, i. 190 ; in
treaty of Livadia, ii. 732.
Vol. II.—49
Songaria (see Tien-shan Peh Lu), or
Dzungaria, i. 215 ; its productions, i.
218; chief cities, i. 219; history, i.
233-230.
Sorghum (kaoliaiuj), on Teungming Island,
i. 108 ; not used for sugar, i. 776.
Sounds, of the Chinese language indicated
by symbols, i. 580; mistaken
ideas regardmg, i. 005 ; still unwritten,
i. 608 ; dialectic, of Canton and Amoy,
i. 615; and sense in Chinese rhymes, i
704.
Soy, how made, i. 365, 773 ; an export, ii.
390.
Soyorti Mountain.s. See Sialkoi.
Spanish, trade and relations with China,
ii. 431 ; Don S. de Mas appointed, minister,
ii. 505 ; government and the
coolie trade, ii. 715.
Spectacles, fashion of Chinese, ii. 22.
Sphex, or solitary wasp, Chinese ideas respecting,
i. 354.
Spirits, ardent, temperance in use of, L
808 ; dread of wandering, ii. 258.
Squirrels, varieties of, i. 327.
Stanlev, Dean A. P., on Confucius and
Buddha, ii. 220.
Stanovoi, or Wai Hing-an Mountains,
their position, i. 9.
Stars, arrangement of the, ii. 76.
Staunton, Sir G. L.. i. 89, 118, 269, 353,
362, 403, 453, ii. 444, 454.
Staunton, Sir G. T., i. 279, 384, 589, 674,
080, ii. 318, 4.52, 458. 400.
Steel everywhere made, ii. 19.
Stent, Geo. C, i. 703, 7C6, 770.
Stevens, Rev. Edwin, i. 93, 129, 764, ii.
329, 352, 308.
Stimpson, i. 290.
Strass, made in Tsinan, i. 91 ; uses of,
ii. 21.
Strauss, Victor von, i. 643, ii. 207, 212.
Streets, of Peking, i. 82 ; of Canton, L
168 ; scenes in, i. 740 ; at New Year,
812, 815; at Emperor’s funeral, ii. 250.
Sturgeon, or ijin yii, in Yaugtsz’, i. 347.
Sii, a censor, his punishment, i. 432.
Su-Hwui, a poetess of the fourth century,
i. 708.
Sii Kwang-hi, or Paul Sii, his Encyclopedia
of Aqricnlture, i. 686, ii. 10, 51
;
converted by Ricci, ii. 291, 292, 294,
354.
Sii Kwang-tsin, Governor-General, keepp
foreigners out of Canton, ii. 573 ; his
folly, ii. .590, 604.
Suchau, in Kiangsu, i. 103 ; captured by
Tai-pings, ii. OUG ; recapture of, ii. 013-
616.
Sugar, on Formosa, i. 139; largely grown,
i. 776; how made, ii. 11.
Suhshun, favorite of Hienfung, ii. 604;
his conspiracy and death, ii. 691.
Sui dynasty, ii. 167.
770 INDEX.
Suicides carofiilly drcssod, i. 513.
Sulphur found in Formosa, i. 139.
Sun symbolized by a raven, ii. 74.
Sung dynasty, cotton introduced during
the, ii. ;>7 ; the Xlth dynasty or Northern
Sung, ii. 10.5 ; the XXIId, its period,
ii. 173 ; the Southern Sung, ii. 174.
Sung, a censor, his rectitude, i. 431 ; his
career, i. 4.54.
Sunijkiaug, in Kiangsu, recaptured by
Ward, ii, (507 ; Gordon retires to, ii.
(iia.
Suuglo hills, in Nganhwui, i. lO’J ; in
‘ Tea-Picker.s’ Ballad,’ i. 710 fF.
Sunnite tribe of Mongols, i. ^06.
Superstitions, of the Chinese, respecting
divination, 1. tilJO ; in marriages, i. 785
ff.; Taoist priests and, i. 694, ii. 214;
m funerals, fung s?iui, ii. 24.5, 24()
;
various, ii. 255-‘3()o ; Chinese and
Romish, ii. 314, 316; of mediaeval travellers
in the East, ii. 423.
Supremacy, Governor Lu’s ideas of Chinese,
ii. 472 ; Chinese principles of, ii.
475, 476 ; illustrated in case of Lin’s
homicide, ii. 506, 510; Chinese, and
Pottinger’s proclamation, ii. 538.
Swallows about Peking, i. 332.
Swinlioe, Robert, i. 206, 318, 328, 329,
331, 337, 342, ii. 671, 673, 677, 683, 684,
685.
Symbolism, Chinese, ii. 74, 111.
Syle, B. W., ii. 96.
Sz\ a ‘township’ or ‘commune,’ i. 59;
government of, i. 441.
/Sz’ (‘Silk’), origin of the Latin Seres,
China, i. 4 ; of silk, ii. 35.
Sz’chuen province, climate, i. .55 ; description
of, i. 1.54-158; alum found in,
i. SOS ; wax-worm of, i. 353 ; tea of,
ii. 50,
Sz’ Hai, ‘ All within the Four Seas,’ ancient
Chinese terra for the land, i. 4.
Sz’ma Kwang, a historian, i. 676, ii. 174.
Sz’ma Tsicn, a Chinese historian, i. 675,
ii. 140, 149, 212.
TABLES : Area and population of
Eurojjean States, i. 272 ; Censuses
of the Eiglite(-n Provinces since 1710, i,
264; Colonies of China, their government
and sulidivisions, i, 186 ; Dynasti:;
s of China, ii. 18(;; Expenditure
of Chinese government, i. 293 ; Exports
from China during 1880 iind 1881, ii,
405 ;
” Five Sovereigns ” of Chinese
legendary annahs, ii. 148; Ming and
Tsing Emperors, ii. 18(i; Missionaries
(Protestant) in China, 1877, ii. 366;
Nature, ywwers, and functions of elementary,
ii, 75 ; Numerals, (‘iiinese, in
three dialects, i. 619; Opium import
to Hongkong, ii, 388 ; /’«// Kirn of Puhlii’,
in the )’//’ Kiii’i. i. O’.’B ; Population
of China, comparatirc estimates of, i
263 ; Provinces, government and divisions
of the Eighteen, i, 01 j Provincial
officer.?, i. 444 ; Pulse and its corresponding
organs in the human body, u. i22 ;
Revenue of the Eighteen Provinces
:
Cu.stoms report, ii. 4U4 ; De Guifines’a
estimate, i. 291 ; Medhurst’s estimate,
i. 299 ; Radicals of the Chinese language,
i. 592 ; Rice tribute sent to Peking,
ii. 5 ; Tea exj)()rt during ten
years, ii. 404 ; Trade, value of Chinese
foreign, ii. 4():>; Zodiac, divisions of
the Chinese, ii. 71
.
Ta-chungsz’, ‘Bell Temple,’ Peking, i. 79.
Ta Hioli, or ‘Superior Learning,’ i. 052,
Ta hu, or Tai hu, ‘(ireat Lake,’ near the
Yangtsz’, i. 2:!, 100, 103.
Tai-ho tien, ‘ Hall of Highest Peace,’
imperial palace, Peking, i. 67.
Tai Miao, ‘Great Temple,’ Peking, i. 70.
Taintor, E. C, i. 141, 176, 433.
_ Tai-ping, ‘ Tri-netrieal Clas-sic ‘ of, i.
.530 ; loyalty of imperial officials during
the rebellion, i, 5C3, ii. 184, 3.59
;
origin of the t3rm, ii. 581 ; commencement
of insurryctiaii, ii. 589 ; first military
success, ii. 591 ; character of its
control, ii. 59 J ; arrangement of camp,
ii. 594 ; advance to Nanking, ii. .595
;
expedition against Peking, ii. 597
rapid degeneration of the movement
after this failure, ii. 599 ; dissensions
among the leaders, ii. 602 ; eleven new
wangs appointsd—the sortie from Nanking
of May, 1 800, ii. 005 ; they fail in
not following Elgi.i to Peking, ii. 600 ;
operations to relieve Nganking, ii. 607
;
resistance at Suchau, ii. 613 ; execution
of leaders at its surrender, ii. 61 5 ; desperate
condition of the rebels, ii. 617
end of rebellion in the fall of Nanking,
ii. 620 ; subsequent movements of the
refugees, ii. 621 ; their final collapse,
ii. 622; authorities on the rebellion, ii.
624 ; army at Hankow visited bv Elgin,
ii. 0.59.
Tai shan, in Shantung, i. 90.
Taitsung, Emperor, of t!ie Tang dynasty,
institutes examination system, i. .521
;
his reign and acts, ii. 168-170.
Taiwan, on b’ormosa, i. l-;0.
Taiyuen, cai>ital of Shansi, i. 96.
Taku, on the Pei ho, i. 86; interview between
Elliot and Kishen at, ii. 515 ; the
allied licet at, ii. 049 ; Russian and
American interviiw with Tan at, ii. 6.50;
forts taken by l^nglish and French, ii.
651 ; the four forci>;n ministers repair
to, ii, t)64; negotiations of Americans
at, ii. 065 ; repulse of the allies at, ii.
600 ; attack upon .and capture of, ii. 676.
Tallow and the tallow-tree, ii, 11.
Tang dynasty, the best period of Chinese
INDEX. 771
poetry, i. 704; drama originates dnring,
1. 714; its brilliant period, ii. Ui7-17l ;
the After Taug, ii. 17^.’; Mo.slems in
Ciiina during the, ii. 268 ; Arabs, ii. 41 o ;
travelling regulations under, ii. 4~5.
Tnii</Jin, Tail’/ Shan, local terms for the
Chinese and China, i. 4, ii. 1G8.
Tangnu Mountains’, in Mongolia, i. 0.
Tang Ting-ching, governor at Canton, ii.
481 ; his son in the opium trade, ii. 4′.)3
;
his helpless position toward foreigners,
ii. 4′.)5 ; foolish answer to Elliot, ii. 4’JG
;
visit.s Macao, ii. 506.
TangTsz’, Temple to Imperial Ancestors,
Peking, i. 73.
Tangnts, tribe of, i. 210, 212.
Tankia boats at Canton, i. 412, 751.
Tan Ting-siang, governor-general of
Chihli, meets American and Russian
minist^ns at Taku, ii. (JiiO ; superseded
by Kwciliang at Tientsin, ii. 651.
Taoism, or Rationalism, priests regarded
as magicians, i. 694 ; its founder, ii.
206 ; its classic, the Tao Teh King, ii.
297-214; 3.ndfu)!g s/nii, ii. 246.
Tarbagatai, district of Songaria, i. 220.
Tariff and commercial regulations after
the first war, ii. 558 ; after the second,
ii. 657.
Tarim, or Ergu River, i. 16 ; its course and
basin, i. 221-223 ; reconquest of the
valley, ii. 727.
Tartars, or Tatars, i, 44; ” Fish-skin,” i.
1U6 ; derivation of name, i. 2U2 ; Kitaii
of Liautung and the After Tsin, ii. 172 ;
and the Kin, ii. 174.
Tartary, country formerly called, i. 202.
Tatnali, Commodore, at Taku, ii. 665 ; his
conduct during the action, and bon mot,
ii. ()68.
Ta Tshu/ Kwoh, ‘Great Pure Kingdom,’
present official name of China, i. .5.
Tati, Tau-tui, ‘Circuit’ and ‘ Intendant
of Circuit,’ i. .59, 440.
Taukwang, the Emperor, coronation address,
i. ;J99 ; honors the Empress-dowager,
i. 409 ; rescript of, i. 449 ; prayer
for rain i. 466 ; his reign, ii. 18o ; his
efforts to stop the opiam trade, ii. 492,
497; rejects Bogne treaty, ii. 519; his
spirit in pushitig the war, ii. 527 ; proclamation
concerning th”? causes of the
war, ii. 539 ; his death, ii. .575.
Taxes, in China, i. 294 ; difficulty of collecting,
i. 498; ‘Sacred Edict’ upon,
i. 688 ; on building lots, i. 739 ; land,
ii. 2; how paid, ii. 84.
Taye, son of Emperor Chuen-hii, founder
of the Tsin family, i. 2.
Taylor, Dr. C, i. 1(>2.
Tea, in Ngauhwni, i. 109 ; Kiakhta trade
in. i. 207; its preparation in Tibet, i.
‘241 ; ballad on picking, i. 710 ; culture,
ii. 39; manufacture, etc., ii. 40-55; as
an export, ii. 373, 404; duty on, in
1689, ii. 446.
Teachers in boys’ schools, i. .524 ff.
;
qualitications, i. .526 ; severity required,
i. 546.
Temperance, address of Duke Chau i”
the Shu King, i. 808, ii. 157 ; of th^.
Chinese, ii. .54.
‘J’emples, in Peking (q.v. ) i. 73-80; in
Canton, i. 164-166 ; in Tibet, i. 245
;
pillars of Chinese, i. 730 ; public resorts,
i. 738, ii. 202 ; to Confucius, li.
203 ; proportion of Buddhist, ii. 224 ;
worship in, ii. 232, 263.
Temperature, of Peking, i. 51 ; of coast
towns, i. .53.
Tengkiri-nor, in Tibet, i. 25, 240. •
Tennent, Sir E., ii. 413.
Terrace cultivation, in loess, i. 300; extent
of, ii. 6.
Terranova, an American sailor, case of,
ii. 453 ; his judicial murder, ii. 460.
Teshu-lama, monument to a, Peking, i.
79 ; palace of the, at Teshu-Lumbo,
Tibet, i. 247, 2.52, 2.56.
Theatres, management of, i. 820 ; style of
plays, i. 714, b22 ; morals of Chinese, i.
824.
Thom, Robert, interpreter to Pottinger,
ii. 548, 556. 557.
Thompson, James, i. 771.
Tlioms, P. P., i. 392 ; fonts of Chinese
type of, i. 603 ; Chinese Courtshij:), i.
704, ii. 320.
‘ Thousand Character,’ or ‘ Millenary
Classic’ {Tsien Txz’ IV’ds;*), a schoolbook,
i. 531, 598.
Thrashing-floors, how made, ii. 9,
Thrushes, trained, i. 333.
Tibet, physical characteristics of people,
L 45; names and boundaries, i. 237;
natural features, i. ‘238-240 ; climate,
productions, and animals, i. 241-244
;
H’lassa and Shigatse, i. 245-247 ; manners
and customs, i. 248-2.54 ; language,
i. 2.53 ; history, i. 2.54 ; government, i.
255 ; population not numbered, i. ‘284
;
manner of concocting tea in, ii. 50 ; annexed
by Kienlung, ii. 182 ; Shamanism
in, ii. 2.33.
Tick kii, ‘ Iron whirlwind,’ term for typhoon,
i. 57.
Tien, ‘ Heaven.’ worshipped, ii. 194, 195,
198; and Shanr/ti, as terms for Grod, ii.
297, 300.
Tien chu, ‘Heaven’s Pillar,’ or Atlas of
China, a name for the Kwanlun. i. 13.
Tifn Ilia, ‘ Beneath the Sky,’ a term for
China, i. 4.
Tien shan, Tengkiri, or Celestial Mountains,
in Cobdo, i. 9 ; erroneously called
Alak, i. 10; one of the four great
chains of China, i. 11.
Tien-shan Nan Lu, or Southern Circuit
772 INDEX.
(Eastern Turkestan), i. 231 ; its position
and topography, i. :221-2:i3 ; population,
i. ;224 ; towns, i. 324-231 ; history, i.
233-237.
Tieu-shan Peh Lu, or Northern Circuit
(Songaria), i. 218; its towns and districts,
i. 218-221.
Tien Tan, ‘Altar to Heaven,’ Peking, i.
70; Emperor’s worship at, ii. 195-198.
Tientsin, description, i. S~) ; riot and missions,
ii. 313 ; Mr. Gutzlaff’s visit to,
ii. 328 ; Flint at, ii. 449 ; Tai-pings repulsed
at, ii. 598 ; allies reach, ii. 051 ;
negotiations of the allies at, ii. 654 ; the
armies again reach, ii. 677 ; riot and
massacre of foreigners at, ii. 700 ; feeling
in the city, ii. 703.
Tiger, the, in China, i. 318 ; in geoniancy,
ii. 246.
Timur, or Ching-tsung, Kublai khan’s
successor, ii. 176.
Ti’iy, ‘department’ or ‘district,’ term
explained, i. .58; prefect of, i. 441.
Tiughai, capital of Chusan Archipelago,
i. 123; Lockhait’s hospital at, ii. S.^O;
capture of, by British in 1841, ii. 514
;
second cajjture, ii. 525.
Tinikow.ski, i. SO, 207, 2.50, ii. 442, 44.3.
Ti Tan, ‘Altar to Earth,’ Peking, i. 78.
Titles, of Emperor, i. 397-399 ; of nol)ility,
i. 405, 40(i ; and Board of Civil
Office, i. 422 ; assumed on taking office,
i. 799 ; of the Tien Wang, ii 582.
Ti Wang Miao, the Walhalla of China, i.
75.
Tobacco, introduced into China, i. 309
how used, i. 776; exported, ii. 394.
Tonil)s, of the Chinese, ii. 246; worship
at, ii. 252.
Tones {sfii7ig’), in the Chinese language, 1.
609.
Topographical, terms, i. 58 ; divisions of
China, i. 61.
Tortoise, or kiccl, fabulous animal, i. 345.
Torture, its infliction upon criminals, i.
.507.
Tourgouths, tribe of, in Northern fli, i.
2’20; flight of, from Knssia, i. 234
;
Tulishen’s embassy, concerning, ii. 442.
Trade, restrictions of, with Corea, i.
194 ; tl:rouL;h Kiakhta, i. 206 ; revenue
from, etc., i. 291 ; ancient, of China, ii.
372 ; value of opium, ii. 388 ; general
export, ii. 391 ; import, ii. 397 ; present
management of, ii. 402 ; ancient, with
Roman Empire, ii. 411, 414 ; limited to
Canton by the Manchns, ii. 426 ; Portuguese,
ii. 430 ; Sj)anish, ii. 431 ; Dutch,
ii. 433 ; Russian, ii. 141 ; history of the
English, ii. 443-4.59 ; peculiarities of
early Chinese, ii. -1.50 ; American, ii.
4t)0 ; Napier appointed suiiernitcndent
of British, ii. 464 ; mutations of, during
Napier’s embroglio, ii. 473-477 ; Lin
finally stops the British, ii. 507 ; carried
on during the war, ii. 517, 521, 524;
settlement of, regulations after the first
war, ii. .557.
TransformatiLns, Chinese notions about,
I. 345, 378.
Travelling, modes of, in China, i. 747
;
rognhitions under the Tangs, ii. 425.
Treaties, Husso-Chinese, concerning frontier
of Hi, i. 215; clauses of toleration
in, of June, 1858, ii. 360 ; Russian, ii.
441 ; failure of the negotiations at the
Bogue, iL 518 ; of Nanking, ii. 549 ; its
ratification, ii. 557 ; British supplementary,
signed at Bogue, ii. 5(;i ; of
Wanghia l>etween China and the United
States, ii. 567 ; French, of Whampoa,
ii. 571 ; how regarded by the Chinese,
ii. 578 ; of Tientsin signed, ii. 656 ; difficulty
of enforcing, in CJhina, ii. 658 ;
American, ratified at Pehtang, ii. 670;
English and French, signed at Peking,
iL 686; the Burlingame, ii. 698; of
1880, ii. 699 ; of Chunghow at Livadia,
iL 732 ; of MarquLs Tsfing in settlement
of Kuldja question, iL 734.
Triad Society, or Water-lily Sect, i. 493 ;
its character, ii. 267 ; and Christians,
iL 812, 323 ; opposition of Hung Siutsuen
to, ii. .591.
Trials, criminal, how conducted, i. 504.
Trigautius (or Trigault), French missionary,
i. 265, 289, ii. 293, 309, 425, 428.
‘ Trimetritxil Classic,’ Saii-tsz’ King, a
school-book, L 52()-.530.
Trinity of the Tao-teh -King, Pauthier’a
fancy, ii. 210.
Tsaidam, plain of, L 210.
Tsakhar, or Chahar, territory in Chihli,
i. 60, 87 ; tribes, i. ‘203.
Tsang Kwoh-fan, generalissimo of imperial
forces against the Tai-pings, ii.
618 ; is visited by Gordon, li. 620 ; investigates
Tientsin massacre, ii. 703
his son sent to England and Russia, iL
733.
Tsau hu, in Nganhwui, i. 23 ; its goldfish,
i. 348.
Tsau-ti, or Gras.sland of Gobi, i. 17.
Tsetsen khanate, i. 204.
Tsi dynasty, A. i). 479-502, ii. 166.
Tsientang River, in Chehkiang, L 114.
Tsin, the IXth dynastv in Cliina, ii. 165;
After Tsin, XIXth,’ii. 172.
Tsin, name t’hin.a. derived from family
of, i. 2, ii. 101 ; tbey establisli the custom
of giving tlie Empire the dynastic
name, i. 4; dynasty ends witli Chwaiigsiang,
ii. 1()3 ; Tit-tsii).. an ancient name
for Rome, ii. 410.
Tsin Chi Hwangti, ‘Emperor First,’
alters taxes, i. 2C0 ; first universal
monarch, ii. 160 ; subjugates feudal
States, iL 188.
INDEX. 773
Tei’nan, capital of Shantung, i. 91
.
Tsinchau awarded to Feitsz’, a prince of
Tsin, i. 3.
Tsing, present dynasty of China, ii. 179-
186.
Tsing hai (see Koko-nor), i. 209.
Tsining chau, in Shantung, i. 92.
TzinistiP, a term for China, i. 4 ; used by
the Greek monk Cosmas, ii. 412.
Tsin-sz’, third literary degree, i. 558, 566.
Tsitsihar province (Helung kiang), i.
198-21)0 ; town of, i. 199,
Tsiuenchau (Chinchew), the ancient Zayton,
i. 129, lo6, ii. 431.
Tso Churn, a commentary on the Chun
Tsiu. i. 649.
Tso Tsung-tang, commences operations
against Mohammedan rebels, ii. 709,
728 ; his successful campaign, ii. 730 ;
leader of the war faction, ii. 732.
Tsungming Island, mouth of Yangtsz’
River, i. 108.
Tsungling, ‘Onion,’ or ‘ Blue Mountains,’
also Belur-tag and Tartash ling, its
position, i. 9.
Tsiingttih, Governor-General, or Viceroy,
i. 438.
Tsz’ki, near Ningpo, visited by British
troops, ii. 530 ; camp near, ii. 531 ;
Ward’s death at, ii. 609 ; taken from
the rebels, ii. 610.
Tuchetu (Tusietu) khanate, i. 204.
Tumors common among tke Chinese, ii.
131.
Tunes, examples of Chinese, ii. 97.
Tungchau, the port of Peking, i. 86
Ward’s embassy at, ii. 669 ; Parkes’s
experiences in, ii. 678-681.
Tungchi, the Emperor, i. 411 ; his reign,
ii. 184 ; palace intrigue upon his accession,
i. 404, ii. 691 ; Peking in mourning
for, ii. 250, 276 ; his marriage, ii.
710 ; audience before, iL 714 ; his death
and successor, ii. 726.
Tungting Lake, in Hunan, i. 23, 147.
Tung Til, ‘Land of the East,’ Mohammedan
name for China, i. 2.
Tung-wan Kwan, at Peking, i. 436, ii.
339, 696, 741.
Turkestan, Eastern (see Tien-shan Nan
Lu), i. 221-337; the region, ii. 728.
Turkoman races of Mongolia, i. 44.
Til sz\ commune divisions in South
China, i. .59.
Types, movable printing, in China, i.
603-605 ; Dyer’s work on, ii. 32.5, 367.
Tyfoons, phenomena described, i. 56.
ULIASUTAI, in Sainnoin khanate, i.
208, 209.
Unicorn, or ki-lin, i. 343.
United States, trade relations with China
up to 1843, ii. 460 ; first minister to China,
ii. 565 ; treaty of Wanghia, ii. 567
;
Minister Ward visits Peking, ii. 660
;
the Burlingame treaty with China, i.
698 ; action of Congress as to indemnity
surplus, ii. 736 ; Chinese boys sent
to, for education, ii. 739.
Urga, or Kuren, i. 17, 204.
Urumtsi, or Tih-hwa, western department
of Kansuh, i. 214.
Ushi, or Ush-turfan, a towTi of 111, i. 225,
226.
VACCINATION, its adoption in China,
ii. 132.
Van Braam, A. E. (see Braam), i. 324.
Varnishes, manufacture and use of, ii. 32.
Vegetables used in Chinese cooking, i. 773.
Verbiest, a Jesuit priest, ii. 297 ; appointed
astronomer at Peking, ii. 298.
Vermilion, its preparation, ii. 61.
Vice, never deified in China, ii. 192 ; absence
of, in their mythology, ii. 232,
and in theic funerals, ii. 254 ; the opium,
ii. 386.
Victoria (see Hongkong), i. 171.
Villages (hiang), usual aspect of Chinese,
i. 40 ; about Canton, i. 280 ; their
elders, i. 483, 500.
Visdelou, Bishop Claude, i. 3, 202, 633,
681, ii. 277, 309.
Visiting, the etiquette of formal, i. 802
;
at New Year, i. 815; cards, how adorned,
ii. Ill, 249.
Vissering, W., ii. 87.
Vlangali, Russian minister at Peking, ii.
699 ; his temperate action in trial of
Tientsin rioters, ii. 705.
Vocabularies (see also Dictionaries), native
Chinese, i. 590.
Volcanoes, so-called, in Formosa, i. 140
in Central Asia, i. 319.
Voltaire, founds a drama on the ” Orphan
of China,” i. 714.
Vrooman, Daniel, i. 169.
WADE, Sir T. F., i. 398, 420, 460,
611, ii. 624 ; nominated intendant
of customs at Shanghai, ii. 628
experiences at Tungchau, ii. 678 ; his
good offices between China and Japan,
iL 717 ; action upon murder of Margary,
ii. 734 ; his minute on the Chifu
convention, ii. 725.
Wai Hing-an, or Stanovoi Mountains, i. 9.
Wall (see also Great Wall) of Peking, i.
63.
Wallace, A. R., i. 360.
Walls, construction of house, i. 738.
I Walrond, T., ii. 637, 6.55, 660, (502.
Wanghia, treaty of, between the United
States and China, ii. .507 ; taken as basis
for French treaty of Whampoa, ii.
.571.
Wanleih, Emperor, receives Ricci, ii. 293,
294.
774 INDEX.
Wan Miao, ‘Literary Temple,’ Peking, i.
73.
Wansiang, a minister of the Foreign Office,
his superstition, ii. 304, 691); letter
to foreign ministers at Peking, ii.
707; Low’s reply to, ii. 708, 712, 714;
his character and influence, ii. 715.
Wan-yuen koh, or library, Peking, i. 69.
War, I3oard of, i. 425 ; theory of. studied,
ii. SS.
War, with England, features of the first
Chinese, ii. 4Kj ; Lord John Russell’s
reasons for declaring, ii. 510; debate
upon, in Parliament, ii. 512 ; opened
by capture of Tinghai, ii. 514 ; resumed
after negotiations at the Bogue, ii. 521
;
thouglit by Chinese to be an opium
war, ii. 539 ; concluded with treaty of
Nanking, ii. 547, 550 ; a wholesome infliction
upon Cliina, ii. 572 ; authorities
upon, ii. 574 ; Tai-ping Rebellion, ii.
575-624 ; second, with England and
France—the Arrow case, ii. 635 ; hostilities
opened by Admiral Seymour,
ii. 637 ; discussed in Parliament, ii.
641 ; a’rival of Elgin and Gros and
capture of Canton, ii. 643 ; Taku forts
taken, ii. 651 ; treaties signed at Tientsin,
ii. 656 ; closing incidents, 6.59 ; repulse
of allied envoys at Taku forts, ii.
666 ; allies land at Pelitang and recommence
the, ii. 673 ; capture of Taku
forts, ii. 676 ; operations on tlie way to
Peking, ii. 679-682 ; autljorities on the,
of 1860, ii. 684 ; objects attained, ii.
687, 688.
Ward, Frederick G. , organizes the ‘ Ever-
Victorious force,’ ii. 607; his deatli at
Tsz’ki, ii. 6t9.
Ward, Hon J. E., ii. 660; co-operates in
suppressing coolie trade, ii. 6(53 ; repairs
with tho allies to Taku, ii. 661
;
interview with natives, ii. 665 ; goes
to Peking, ii. 6(58 ; refuses to kotow
before the Emperor, and returns, ii.
670.
Watters, T, ii. 212, 229.
Wa.x-worm of Sz’chuen, i. 3.53.
Wei River, in Shensi, i. 148.
Whales, and mode of catching them, 1.
339.
Whampoa, a town on the Pearl River, i.
170 ; opium lirst shir)ped to, ii. 378 ;
case of lioniicide at, ii. 453 ; treaty of,
between France and Ciiina, ii. .571.
Wheelbarrows used for travelling, i. 747,
ii. 7.
White Deer Vale, in Kiangsi, i. 113.
Whitney, Prof. Wm. D., ii. 73, 234.
Wife, her jjosition in Chinese society, i.
792 ; controlled liy the mother-in-law,
i. 795 ; is given a new name, i. 797,
799 ; elevated in ancestral worship, ii.238.
Willow, in poetry, etc., i. 363.
Williams, John, on comets, ii. 73.
WilUam.son, Rev. Ale.x., i. 65, 87, 190,200, ii. 277.
Wilson, Andrew, i. 250, ii. 92, 602, 610,611, 616, 617, 69.5.
Wolseley, Colonel Garnet, ii. 672 ; observations on Canton coolies, ii. 674, 675 ;character of his narrative, ii. 685.
Women, physical traits of Chinese, i. 43;in Tibet, i. 248 ; laws resbricting, i. 388of imperial palace, i. 408 ; illiteracy of mothers, i. 521 ; their education, i. 572;
position, i. 646 ; consideration of literary,
i. 681 ; kidnapped at fires, i. 743
their dress, i. 763 ; shoes, i. 769 ; toilet,
i. 770 ; their milk sold, i. 776 ; separation
from men, i. 784 ; conduct toward
young brides, i. 789; never appear at
feasts, i. 806 ; well treated in crowded
fairs, i. 817 ; their skill in embroidery,
ii. .36 ; they practise obstetrics, ii. 123;Chinee historians on Empress Wu, ii.171 ; not admitted to worship, ii. 196 ;Yungching against, at Buddhist temples,ii. 228 ; as nuns, ii. 230 ; their tablets honored in tlie ancestral hall,
ii. 338, 350 ; Kanghi forbids immolation
of, ii. 250 ; old, employed as baptists
by Catholics, ii. 311; as missionaries
among the Chinese, ii. 364;
how disposed of in Tai-ping camp, ii 594.
Wolves in China, i. 320.
Wood, Lieutenant J., i. 321, 230, 341,310.
Wordsworth, W., ii. 233.
Worship, of Shangti in Shang dynasty,ii. 154; by the Emperor, ii. 197; of Heaven, the ceremony and its meaning,i. 76, ii. 194-198; various objects of, ii. 202; Buddhist and Catholic, compared,
ii. 3-!2 ; ancestral, ii. 236-255
disputes respecting ancestral, by Romanists,
ii. 297-1303.
Writing, how taught in schools, i. 541 ;six styles of, L 597-598 ; materials, i..599.
Wu River, in Kweicliau, i. 31.
Wu Tsih-tien, the Empress
Wu of the Tang, her reign, ii. 170, 280.
Wuchang, in Hupch, i. 144; taken by the Tai-pings, ii. .595.
Wuchau fu, in Kwangsi, i. 177.
Wuhu hien, on the Yangtsz’, i. 110.
Wusung, near Shanghai, j. 106; captured by the English, ii. 534.
Wylie, A. , i. 494, 523, 68(), ii. 67, 72, 73,119, 176, 213, 214, 377, 286, 321.
XANADU, or Shangtu, ancient palace of Kublai, i. 87.
Xavier, tomb of, on Shaiigchuen Island, i.
173 ; his mission to China, ii. 289, 428.
a reward of i?200 for such evidence as would lead to the eonvic*
tioii of the offenders ; and advanced in all S2,00U to the friends of
the deceased as some compensation for their lieavy loss, and to
the villagers for injuries done to them in the riot. Having
formed the court, he politely invited the provincial officers to attend
the trial ; and when it was over, informed them that he had
been unable to ascertain the perpetrator of the deed. Five sailors
were convicted and punished for riotous conduct hy fine and imprisonment,
and sent to England under arrest, but to everybody’s
surprise were all liberated on their arrival. The proceedings in
this matter were perfectly fair, and the commissioner should have
been satisfied ; but his subsequent violent conduct really placed
the dispute on an entirely new ground, though he regarded his
action as simply exercising the same prerogative of control over
foreigners in both cases. Finding his demand for the murderer
disregarded, he took measures against the English then in INfacao
which were calculated to bring serious loss upon the Portuguese
population. His course was prompted by anger at losing the
trade, and only injured liis own cause. In order to relieve the
unoffending and helpless people in Macao, Captain Elliot and
all British subjects who could do so left the settlement August
26th, and M’ent on board ship for a time. During this interval
Lin and Governor Tang visited Macao under an escort of Portuguese
troops, but retired the same day. This move placed the
English beyond his reach, but did not advance his efforts to
drive the opium ships from the coast, or induce the regular
traders to enter the port. The sales of opium had begun again
even before the destruction of the drug, and ra])idly increased
when it M^as knoM’n that that immense quantity had really been
destroyed. Lin now began to see that his plan of proceedings
might not ultimately prove so successful as he had anticipated^
for he was bound to remain at Canton until he could report the
complete suppression of the contraband and safe continuance of
the legal trade.
Finding that the British fleet at Hongkong was too strong to
drive away, he forbade the iidial)itants supplying the ships with
])rovisions. This led to a collision between the British and three
junks near Ivowlung, which resulted, however, in no serious
FURTIIEK TROUBLES BETWEEN EiNCJLlSII AND CHINESE. 507
damage. On Septcinber lltli, Captain Elliot, luiving oixlered
all British vessels engaged in the opium trade to leave the
harbor and coast, thej mostly proceeded to Tsamoh. TJie
Chinese burned the next day a Spanish vessel, the IJilbaino, in
Macao waters, under the impression that she was English.
In unison with all the strange features of this struggle, while
hostilities were going on, negotiations for continuing trade M-ere
entered into in October, when the connnissioner signed the agreement,
and Captain Elliot furnished security for its being conducted
fairly. But the unauthorized entrance of the English
ship Thomas Coutts, whose captain signed the bond, led to a
rupture and the renewed demand for the murderer of Lin
Wei-hi. Captain Elliot ordered all British ships to reassemble
at Tungku under the protection of the ships of w^ar Yolage
and Hyacinth. He also proceeded to the Bogue to request a
withdrawal of the threats against the British until the two
governments could arrange the difficulties, when an engagement
ensued between Admiral Kwan, with a fleet of sixteen
junhs, and the two ships of war ; three junks w^ere sunk, one
blown up, and the rest scattered. The commissioner had been
foiled in all his efforts to destroy the opium trade and continue
the legal commerce. As a last effort against the Bi-itish,
he declared their trade at an end after December G, 1839, and
issued an edict like that of Xapoleon at Berlin, Kovember 19,
1806, forbidding their goods to be imported in any vessels. An
enormous amount of property now lay at Canton and on board
ship waiting to be exchanged in the course of regular trade, but
only the opium traffic flourished.
The close of the year 1839 saw the two nations involved
in serious difficulties, and as the events here briefly recounted
were the cause of the war, it will be proper to compare the
opinions of the two parties, in order to arrive at a better judgment
upon the character of that contest. The degree of
authority to be exercised over persons Mdio visit their shores is
acknowledged by Christian nations among themselves to be
nearly the same as that over their o\vn subjects ; but none of
these nations have conceded this authority to unchristian
powers, as Turkey, Persia, or China, mainly because of the little security and justice to be expected. The Chinese luive looked upon foi-eigners resortino; to their ports as dinng so by sufferance ; they entered into no treaty to settle the conditions of authority on either side, for the latter considered themselves as sojourners and aliens, and the natives were unaware of their rights in the matter. Their right to prohibit the introduction of any particular articles was acknowledged, and the propriety of making regulations as to duties allowed. But traders from western nations often set light by the fiscal regulations of such countries as China, Siam, etc., if they can do so without personal detriment or loss of character ; and where there is a want of power in the government, joined to a lack of moral sense in the people, all laws are imperfectly executed.
No one acquainted with these countries is surprised at frequent and flagrant violations of law, order, justice or courtesy, both among rulers and ruled ; yet the obligation of foreigners to obey just laws made known to them surely is not to be measured solely by the degree of obedience paid by a portion of the people themselves.
The Chinese government discussed the measure of legalizing
a trade it could not suppress, but before constructing a law to
that effect, it determined to nudce a final and more vigorous
effort to stamp it out. Might nuikes right, or at least enforces
it ; had the Chinese possessed the power to destroy every ship
found violating their laws, although the loss of life M-ould have
been dreadful, no voice would have been raised against the proceeding.
“Her Majesty’s government,” said Lord Palmerston,
“cannot interfere for the purpose of enabling Bi’itisli sul)jects
to violate the laws of the country to which they trade.” But in
that case this power would not have been dared; the known
weakness of the government end)oldened both sellers and
buyers, until Captain Elliot told the Foreign Secretai-y that ” it
was a confusion of terms to call the opium trade a snuiggling
trade.”
Lin probably wished to get Mr. Dent as a hostage for the
delivery of the opium in the hands of his countrymen, not to
punish him for disobedience to previous oi’dei’s ; expecting no
opposition to this denuiud, he seems to have been unwilling to
MOTIVE.S AND POSITION OP COMMISSIONEIl LIN. 509
seize him iuimediately, preferring tu try persuasion and command
longer, and detain him and other foreigners niitil he was
obeyed ; Captain Elliot he viewed as a mere head merchant.
When, therefore, the attempt was made, as he supposed, to take
Mr. Dent out of his hands, lie was ap[)rehensive of a sti’uggle,
and instantly took the strongest precautionary measui-es to prevent
the prey escaping. Considei-ate allowance should he granted
for the serious mistake lie made of imprisoning the innocent
M’ith the guilty ; hut when Captain Elliot took Mr. Dent thus
under his protection, the connnissioner felt that his pui-pose
would be defeated, and no opium ol>tained, if he began to draw
a distinction. I)esides, conscious that lie possessed unlimited
power over a few defenceless foreigners, nearly all oi whom
were in his eyes guilty, he cared vfry little M’here Ids acts felL
There is no s’ood evidence to show that he seriouslv meditated
anything which would liazard their lives. “When lie had received
this vast amount of property, success evidently made him
careless as to his conduct, and judging the probity and good
faith of foreigners by his own standard, he deemed it safest to
detain them until the opium was actually in his possession.
Concluding that Captain Elliot did attempt to abscond with Mr,
Dent, it is less surprising, therefore, that lie should have looked
upon his offers to ” carry out the will of the great Emperor,”
when set at liberty, as a hire rather than a sincere proposition.
In imprisoning him he had no more idea he was imprisoning,
insulting, threatening, and coercing the representative of a
power like Great Britain, or violating rules western powers call
jus gentium, than if he had been the envoy from Siam or Lewcliew.
Wliether he should not have known this is another
question, and had he candidly set liimself, on his arrival at
Canton, to ascertain the power, position, and commerce of west
em countries, he would have found Captain Elliot sincerely
desirous of meeting him in his endeavors to fulfil his high commission.
Let us deal fairly by the Chinese rulers in their desire
to restrain a traffic of which they knew and felt vastly more of
its evil than we have ever done, and give Lin his due, though
his endeavors failed so signally.
The opium was now obtained ; no lives had been lost, nor any one endangered ; but the Uritisli government felt bound to pay its own subjects for their cliests. The only source Captain Eiliut suggested was to make the Chinese refund. The Emperor ordered it to be destroyed, and the conunissioner, after executing that order, next endeavored to separate the legal from the contraband trade by demanding bonds ; they liad been taken in vain from the hong merchants, but there was more hope if taken directly from foreigners. The bonds were not
made a pretext for war by the English ministry ; that, on the
part of England, according to Lord John llussell, was “set
afoot to obtain reparation for insults and injuries offered her
Majesty’s superintendent and subjects; to obtain indenniitieatiou
for the losses the merchants had sustained under threats of
violence ; and, lastly, to get security that persons and property
trading with China should in future be protected from insult
and injury, and trade maintained upon a proper footing.”
Looking at the war, therefore, as growing out of this trade, and
waged to recover the losses sustained by the surrendry to the
British superintendent, it was an unjust one. It was, moreover,
an imnioral contest, when the standing of the two nations was
examined, and the fact could 7iot be concealed tluit Great Britain,
the first Cliristian ])Ower, I’eally waged this war against the
pagan monarch who had vainly endeavored to put down a vice
hurtful to his people. The war was looked upon in this light
by the Chinese ; it will always be so looked upon by the candid
historian, and known as the Opium War.
On the other hand, the war was felt by every well-wisher to
China to involve far higher princi})lcs than the mere recovery of
the opium ; and had it been really held to be so by the English
ministry, they would have done well to have alluded to them.
Lin’s reiterated denumds for the murderer of Lin AVei-hi,
though told that he could not be found, was only one form of
the supremacy the Chinese arrogantly assumed over other nations.
Li all their intercourse with their fellow-men the}’ maintained
a patronizing, unfair, and contemptuous position, which
left no alternative but withdrawal from their shores or a humiliating
submission that no one feeling the least inde])endence
could endure. ‘SoX. unjustly prt)ud of their country in compariCHAKACTER
OF THE DEBATE UPON THE WAU. 511
son with those near it, her Emperor, her nileivs, and her people
all believed her to be inipregnably strong, portentously awful,
and ininienselj rich in learning, power, wealth, and territory,
Konc of them imagined that aught could be learned or gained
from other nations ; for the ” outside barbarians ” were dependent
for their health and food upon the rhubarb, tea, and
silks of the Inner Land. They had seen, indeed, bad specimens
of western power and people, but there were equal opportunities
for them to have learned the truth on these points. The i-eception
of the religion of the Bible, the varied useful branches
of science, and the many mechanical arts known in western
lands, with the free passage of their own people abroad, M’ere
all forbidden to the millions of China by their supercilious
rulers ; they thereby preferred to remain the slaves of debasing
superstitions, ignorant of common science, and deprived of
everything which Christian benevolence, philanthropy, and
knowledge could and wished to impart to them. This assumption
of supremacy, and a -real impression of its propriety, was a
higher wall around them than the long pile of stones north of
Peking. Force seemed to be the only effectual destroyer of
such a barrier, and in this view the war may be said to have
been necessary to compel the Chinese government to receive
western powers as its equals, or at least make it treat their subjects
as well as it did its own people. There was little hope of
an adjustment of difficulties until the Chinese were compelled
to abandon this erroneous assumption ; the conviction that it
was unjust, unfounded, and foolish in itself could safely be left
to the gradual influences of true religion, profitable commerce,
and sound knowledge.
The report of the debate in the British Parliament on this
momentous question hardly contains a single reference to this
feature of the Chinese government. It turned almost wholly
upon the opium trade, and w^hether the hostilities had not proceeded
from the want of foresight and precaution on the part
of her Majesty’s ministers. The speeches all showed ignorance
of both principles and facts : Sir James Graham asserted that
the governors of Canton had sanctioned the trade ; Sir George
Staunton that it woidd not be safe for British power in India if these insults were not cheeked, and that the Chinese had far exceeded in their recent efforts the previous acknowledged laws of the land ! Dr. Lushington maintained that the connivance of the local rulers accjuitted the smugglers ; Sir John llohhouse truly stated that the reason why the government had done nothing to stop the opium trade was that it was profitable; and Lord Melbourne, with still more fairness, said : ” We possess immense territories peculiarly fitted for raising opium, and though I would wisli that the government were not so directly concerned in the traffic, I am not prepared to pledge
myself to relinquish it.” The Duke of AWllington thought
the Chinese government was insincere in its efforts, and therefore
deserved little sympathy ; while Lord Ellenborough spoke
of the million and a half sterling revenue ” derived from foreigners,”
which, if the opium monopoly was given up and its eultivatio7i abandoned, they must seek elsewhere, 2\”o one advocated war on the groimd that the opium had been seized, but
the majority were in favor of letting it go on because it was
begun. This debate was, in fact, a remarkable instance of the
way in which a moral question is blinked even by conscientious
persons whenever politics or interest come athwart its course.
Xo declaration of war was ever published by Queen Victoria,
further than an order in coimcil to the admiralty, in which it
was recited that ” satisfaction and reparation for the late injurious
proceedings of certain officers of the Emperor of China
against certain of our officers and subjects shall be demanded
from the Chinese government ; ” the object of this order was,
chiefly, to direct concerning the disposal of such ships, vessels,
and cargoes belonging to the Chinese as might be seized. Perhaps
the formality of a declaration of war against a nation
which knew nothing of the law of nations was not necessary,
but if a minister plenipotentiary from Peking had been present
at the debate in Parliament in April, 1S40, he would have
declared the motives and proceedings of his government
strangely misrepresented. It was time that better ideas of
one another should find ]>lace in their councils, and tliat means
enould l)e afforded tlie rulers of each nation to learn the truth.
The Chinese apparently foresaw the coming struggle, and
PREPARATION FOR HOSTILITIES. 513
began to collect troops and repair their forts ; Lin, now governor-
general of Kwangtnng, purchased the Chesapeake, a large
ship, and appointed an intendant of circuit near Macao, to
guard the coasts. The English carried on their trade under
neutral flags, and Lin made; no further efforts to annoy them.
He, however, wrote two official letters to Queen Victoria, desiring
her assistance in putting down the opium trade, in which
the peculiar ideas of his countrymen respecting their own importance and their position among the nations of the earth
were singularly exhibited.’ Ts otwithstanding the causes of complaint
he had against the English, he behaved kindly to the
surviving crew of the Sunda, an English vessel wrecked on
Hainan, and sent them, on their arrival at Canton, to their
•countrymen, ‘ Chimse Bejwsitory, Vol. VIII., pp. 9-12, 497-503 ; Vol. IX., pp. S41-257.
