CHINESE SKETCHES

by Herbert A. Giles

"The institutions of a despised people cannot be judged with fairness. "

Spencer's Sociology: The Bias of Patriotism. 

DEDICATION

To Warren William de la Rue, "As a mark of friendship. "

PREFACE

The following _Sketches_ owe their existence chiefly to frequentperegrinations in Chinese cities, with pencil and note-book in hand. Some of them were written for my friend Mr. F. H. Balfour of Shanghai, and by him published in the columns of the _Celestial Empire_. Thesehave been revised and partly re-written; others appear now for thefirst time. 

It seems to be generally believed that the Chinese, as a nation, arean immoral, degraded race; that they are utterly dishonest, cruel, andin every way depraved; that opium, a more terrible scourge than gin, is now working frightful ravages in their midst; and that only theforcible diffusion of Christianity can save the Empire from speedy andoverwhelming ruin. An experience of eight years has taught me that, with all their faults, the Chinese are a hardworking, sober, and happypeople, occupying an intermediate place between the wealth andculture, the vice and misery of the West. 

H. A. G. 

Sutton, Surrey, 1st November 1875. 

CHINESE SKETCHES

THE DEATH OF AN EMPEROR

His Imperial Majesty, Tsai-Shun, deputed by Heaven to reign over allwithin the four seas, expired on the evening of Tuesday the 13thJanuary 1875, aged eighteen years and nine months. He was erroneouslyknown to foreigners as the Emperor T'ung Chih; but T'ung Chih wasmerely the style of his reign, adopted in order that the people shouldnot profane by vulgar utterance a name they are not even permitted towrite. [*] Until the new monarch, the late Emperor's cousin, had beenduly installed, no word of what had taken place was breathed beyondthe walls of the palace; for dangerous thoughts might have arisen hadit been known that the State was drifting rudderless, a prey to thewild waves of sedition and lawless outbreak. The accession of a childto reign under the style of Kuang Hsu was proclaimed before it waspublicly made known that his predecessor had passed away. 

 [*] Either one or all of the characters composing an emperor's name are altered by the addition or omission of certain component parts; as if, for instance, we were to write an Alb_a_rt chain merely because Alb_e_rt is the name of the heir-apparent. Similarly, a child will never utter or write its father's name; and the names of Confucius and Mencius are forbidden to all alike. 

Of the personal history of the ill-fated boy who has thus beenprematurely cut off just as he was entering upon manhood and theactual government of four hundred million souls, we know next tonothing. His accession as an infant to the dignities of a sensual, dissipated father, attracted but little attention either in China orelsewhere; and from that date up to the year 1872, all we heard aboutHis Majesty was, that he was making good progress in Manchu, or hadhit the target three times out of ten shots at a distance of abouttwenty-five yards. He was taught to ride on horseback, though up tothe day of his death he never took part in any great huntingexpeditions, such as were frequently indulged in by earlier emperorsof the present dynasty. He learnt to read and write Chinese, thoughwhat progress he had made in the study of the Classics was of courseonly known to his teachers. Painting may or may not have been anImperial hobby; but it is quite certain that the drama received moreperhaps than its full share of patronage. The ladies and eunuchs ofthe palace are notoriously fond of whiling away much of theirmonotonous existence in watching the grave antics of professionaltragedians and laughing at the broad jokes of the low-comedy man, withhis comic voice and funnily-painted face. Listening to the tunesprescribed by the Book of Ceremonies, and dining in solemn solitarygrandeur off the eight[*] precious kinds of food set apart for thesovereign, his late Majesty passed his boyhood, until in 1872 hemarried the fair A-lu-te, and practically ascended the dragon throneof his ancestors. Up to that time the Empresses-Dowager, hidden behinda bamboo screen, had transacted business with the members of the PrivyCouncil, signing all documents of State with the vermilion pencil forand on behalf of the young Emperor, but probably without even goingthrough the formality of asking his assent. The marriage of theEmperor of China seemed to wake people up from their normal apathy, sothat for a few months European eyes were actually directed towards theFlowery Land, and the _Illustrated London News_, with praiseworthyzeal, sent out a special correspondent, whose valuable contributionsto that journal will be a record for ever. The ceremony, however, washardly over before a bitter drop rose in the Imperial cup. Barbariansfrom beyond the sea came forward to claim the right of personalinterview with the sovereign of all under Heaven. The story of thefirst audience is still fresh in our memories; the trivialdifficulties introduced by obstructive statesmen at every stage of theproceedings, questions of etiquette and precedence raised at everyturn, until finally the _kotow_ was triumphantly rejected and fivebows substituted in its stead. Every one saw the curt paragraph in the_Peking Gazette_, which notified that on such a day and at such anhour the foreign envoys had been admitted to an interview with theEmperor. We all laughed over the silly story so sedulously spread bythe Chinese to every corner of the Empire, that our Minister's kneeshad knocked together from terror when Phaeton-like he had obtained hisdangerous request; that he fell down flat in the very presence, breaking all over into a profuse perspiration, and that the haughtyprince who had acted as his conductor chid him for his want of course, bestowing upon him the contemptuous nickname of "chicken-feather. "

 [*] These are--bears' paws, deers' tail, ducks' tongues, torpedos' roe, camels' humps, monkeys' lips, carps' tails, and beef-marrow. 

Subsequently, in the spring of 1874, the late Emperor made his greatpilgrimage to worship at the tombs of his ancestors. He had previousto his marriage performed this filial duty once, but the mausoleumcontaining his father's bones was not then completed, and the wholething was conducted in a private, unostentatious manner. But on thelast occasion great preparations were made and vast sums spent (onpaper), that nothing might be wanting to render the spectacle asimposing as money could make it. Royalty was to be seen humblyperforming the same hallowed rites which are demanded of every child, and which can under no circumstances be delegated to any other personas long as there is a son or a daughter living. The route along whichHis Majesty was to proceed was lined with closely-packed crowds ofloyal subjects, eager to set eyes for once in their lives upon a beingthey are taught to regard as the incarnation of divinity; and when theSacred Person really burst upon their view, the excitement was beyonddescription. Young and old, women and children, fell simultaneouslyupon their knees, and tears and sobs mingled with the blessingsshowered upon His Majesty by thousands of his simple-minded, affectionate people. 

The next epoch in the life of this youthful monarch occurred a fewmonths ago. The Son of Heaven[*] had not availed himself of westernscience to secure immunity from the most loathsome in the longcategory of diseases. He had not been vaccinated, in spite of theknown prevalence of smallpox at Peking during the winter season. True, it is but a mild form of smallpox that is there common; but it is easyto imagine what a powerless victim was found in the person of a youngprince enervated by perpetual cooping in the heart of a city, rarelypermitted to leave the palace, and then only in a sedan-chair, calledout of his bed at three o'clock every morning summer or winter, totransact business that must have had few charms for a boy, andpossessed of no other means of amusement than such as he could derivefrom the society of his wife or concubines. Occasional bulletinsannounced that the disease was progressing favourably, and latterly itwas signified that His Majesty was rapidly approaching a state ofconvalescence. His death, therefore, came both suddenly andunexpectedly; happily, at a time when China was unfettered by war orrebellion, and when all the energies of her statesmen could beemployed in averting either one catastrophe or the other. For onehundred days the Court went into deep mourning, wearing capes of whitefur with the hair outside over long white garments of various stuffs, lined also with white fur, but of a lighter kind than that of thecapes. Mandarins of high rank use the skin of the white fox for thelatter, but the ordinary official is content with the curly fleece ofthe snow-white Mongolian sheep. For one hundred days no male in theEmpire might have his head shaved, and women were supposed to eschewfor the same period all those gaudy head ornaments of which they areso inordinately fond. At the expiration of this time the Courtmourning was changed to black, which colour, or at any rate somethingsombre, will be worn till the close of the year. 

 [*] Such terms as "Brother of the Sun and Moon" are altogether imaginary, and are quite unknown in China. 

For twelve long months there may be no marrying or giving in marriage, that is among the official classes; the people are let off moreeasily, one hundred days being fixed upon as their limit. For a wholeyear it is illegal to renew the scrolls of red paper pasted on everydoor-post and inscribed with cherished maxims from the sacred books;except again for non-officials, whose penance is once more cut down toone hundred days' duration. In these sad times the birth of a son--aChinaman's dearest wish on earth--elicits no congratulations fromthronging friends; no red eggs are sent to the lucky parents, and nojoyous feast is provided in return. Merrymaking of all kinds isforbidden to all classes for the full term of one year, and thefamiliar sound of the flute and the guitar is hushed in everyhousehold and in every street. [*] The ordinary Chinese visiting-card--a piece of red paper about six inches by three, inscribed with itsowner's name in large characters--changes to a dusky brown; and thevery lines on letter paper, usually red, are printed of a dingy blue. Official seals are also universally stamped in blue instead of thevermilion or mauve otherwise used according to the rank of the holder. Red is absolutely tabooed; it is the emblem of mirth and joy, and thecolour of every Chinese maiden's wedding dress. It is an insult towrite a letter to a friend or stranger on a piece of plain white paperwith black ink. Etiquette requires that the columns should be dividedby red lines; or, if not, that a tiny slip of red paper be pasted onin recognition of the form. For this reason it is that all stamps andseals in China are _red_--to enable tradesmen, officials, and othersto use any kind of paper, whether it has already some red about it ornot; and every foreigner in China would do well to exact on alloccasions the same formalities from his employes as they wouldconsider a matter of duty towards one of their own countrymen, howeverlow he might be in the social scale. 

 [*] Mencius. Book v. , part ii. , ch. 4. 

Certain classes of the people will suffer from the observance of theseceremonies far more severely than others. The peasant may not have hishead shaved for one hundred days--inconvenient, no doubt, for him, butmild as compared with the fate of thousands of barbers who for threewhole months will not know where to look to gain their daily rice. Yetthere is a large section of the community much worse off than thebarbers, and this comprises everybody connected in any way with thetheatres. Their occupation is gone. For the space of one year neitherpublic nor private performance is permitted. During that time actorsare outcasts upon the face of the earth, and have no regular means ofgetting a livelihood. The lessees of theatres have most likelyfeathered their own nests sufficiently well to enable them to last outthe prescribed term without serious inconvenience; but with us, actorsare proverbially improvident, and even in frugal China they are noexception to the rule. 

Officials in the provinces, besides conforming to the above customs inevery detail, are further obliged on receipt of the "sad announcement"to mourn three times a-day for three days in a particular chapeldevoted to that purpose. There they are supposed to call to mind thevirtues of their late master, and more especially that act of gracewhich elevated each to the position he enjoys. Actual tears areexpected as a slight return for the seal of office which has enabledits possessor to grow rich at the expense too often of a poor andstruggling population. We fancy, however, that the mind of the mourneris more frequently occupied with thinking how many friends he cancount among the Imperial censors than in dwelling upon thetranscendent bounty of the deceased Emperor. 

We sympathise with the bereaved mother who has lost her only child andthe hope of China; but on the other hand if there is little room forcongratulation, there is still less for regret. The nation has beendeprived of its nominal head, a vapid youth of nineteen, who wascontent to lie _perdu_ in his harem without making an effort to do alittle governing on his own responsibility. During the ten years thatforeigners have resided within half a mile of his own apartments inthe palace at Peking, he has either betrayed no curiosity to learnanything at all about them, or has been wanting in resolution to carryout such a scheme as we can well imagine would have been devised bysome of his bolder and more vigorous ancestors. And now once more thesceptre has passed into the hands of a child who will grow up, likethe late Emperor, amid the intrigues of a Court composed of women andeunuchs, utterly unfit for anything like energetic government. 

The splendid tomb which has been for the last twelve years inpreparation to receive the Imperial coffin, but which, according toChinese custom, may not be completed until death has actually takenplace, will witness the last scene in the career of an unfortunateyoung man who could never have been an object of envy even to themeanest of his people, and who has not left one single monument behindhim by which he will be remembered hereafter. 

THE POSITION OF WOMEN

It is, perhaps, tolerably safe to say that the position of women amongthe Chinese is very generally misunderstood. In the squalid huts ofthe poor, they are represented as ill-used drudges, drawers of waterand grinders of corn, early to rise and late to bed, their paththrough the vale of tears uncheered by a single ray of happiness orhope, and too often embittered by terrible pangs of starvation andcold. This picture is unfortunately true in the main; at any rate, there is sufficient truth about it to account for the element ofsentimental fiction escaping unnoticed, and thus it comes to beregarded as an axiom that the Chinese woman is low, very low, in thescale of humanity and civilisation. The women of the poorer classes inChina have to work hard indeed for the bowl of rice and cabbage whichforms their daily food, but not more so than women of their ownstation in other countries where the necessaries of life are dearer, children more numerous, and a drunken husband rather the rule than theexception. Now the working classes in China are singularly sober;opium is beyond their means, and few are addicted to the use ofChinese wine. Both men and women smoke, and enjoy their pipe oftobacco in the intervals of work; but this seems to be almost theironly luxury. Hence it follows that every cash earned either by the manor woman goes towards procuring food and clothes instead of enrichingthe keepers of grog-shops; besides which the percentage of quarrelsand fights is thus very materially lessened. A great drag on the poorin China is the family tie, involving as it does not only the supportof aged parents, but a supply of rice to uncles, brothers, and cousinsof remote degrees of relationship, during such time as these may beout of work. Of course such a system cuts both ways, as the time maycome when the said relatives supply, in their turn, the daily meal;and the support of parents in a land where poor-rates are unknown, hastended to place the present high premium on male offspring. Thus, though there is a great deal of poverty in China, there is very littleabsolute destitution, and the few wretched outcasts one does see inevery Chinese town, are almost invariably the once opulent victims ofthe opium-pipe or the gaming-table. The relative number of humanbeings who suffer from cold and hunger in China is far smaller than inEngland, and in this all-important respect, the women of the workingclasses are far better off than their European sisters. Wife-beatingis unknown, though power of life and death is, under certaincircumstances, vested in the husband (Penal Code, S. 293); while, onthe other hand, a wife may be punished with a hundred blows for merelystriking her husband, who is also entitled to a divorce (Penal Code, S. 315). The truth is, that these poor women are, on the whole, verywell treated by their husbands, whom they not unfrequently rule withas harsh a tongue as that of any western shrew. 

In the fanciful houses of the rich, the Chinese woman is regarded witheven more sympathy by foreigners generally than is accorded to herhumbler fellow-countrywoman. She is represented as a mere ornament, ora soulless, listless machine--something on which the sensual eye ofher opium-smoking lord may rest with pleasure while she prepares thefumes which will waft him to another hour or so of tipsyforgetfulness. She knows nothing, she is taught nothing, never leavesthe house, never sees friends, or hears the news; she is, consequently, devoid of the slightest intellectual effort, and no morea companion to her husband than the stone dog at his front gate. Now, although we do not profess much personal acquaintance with the_gynecee_ of any wealthy Chinese establishment, we think we havegathered quite enough from reading and conversation to justify us inregarding the Chinese lady from an entirely different point ofview. In novels, for instance, the heroine is always highlyeducated--composes finished verses, and quotes from Confucius; and itis only fair to suppose that such characters are not purely and whollyideal. Besides, most young Chinese girls, whose parents are well off, are taught to read, though it is true that many content themselveswith being able to read and write a few hundred words. They all learnand excel in embroidery; the little knick-knacks which hang at everyChinaman's waist-band being almost always the work of his wife orsister. Visiting between Chinese ladies is of everyday occurrence, andon certain fete-days the temples are crowded to overflowing with"golden lilies"[*] of all shapes and sizes. They give littledinner-parties to their female relatives and friends, at which theytalk scandal, and brew mischief to their hearts' content. The firstwife sometimes quarrels with the second, and between them they makethe house uncomfortably hot for the unfortunate husband. "Don't youforeigners also dread the denizens of the inner apartments?" said ahen-pecked Chinaman one day to us--and we think he was consoled tohear that viragos are by no means confined to China. One of thehappiest moments a Chinese woman knows, is when the family circlegathers round husband, brother, or it may be son, and listens withrapt attention and wondering credulity to a favourite chapter from the"Dream of the Red Chamber. " She believes it every word, and wandersabout these realms of fiction with as much confidence as was everplaced by western child in the marvellous stories of the "ArabianNights. "

 [*] A poetical name for the small feet of Chinese women. 

ETIQUETTE

If there is one thing more than another, after the possession of thethirteen classics, on which the Chinese specially pride themselves, itis _politeness_. Even had their literature alone not sufficed to placethem far higher in the scale of mental cultivation than the unletteredbarbarian, a knowledge of those important forms and ceremonies whichregulate daily intercourse between man and man, unknown of course toinhabitants of the outside nations, would have amply justified thegraceful and polished Celestial in arrogating to himself the proudposition he now occupies with so much satisfaction to himself. A fewinquiring natives ask if foreigners have any notion at all ofetiquette, and are always surprised in proportion to their ignoranceto hear that our ideas of ceremony are fully as clumsy and complicatedas their own. It must be well understood that we speak chiefly of theeducated classes, and not of "boys" and compradores who learn in avery short time both to touch their caps and wipe their noses on theirmasters' pocket-handkerchiefs. Our observations will be confined tomembers of that vast body of men who pore day and night over the"Doctrine of the Mean, " and whose lips would scorn to utter thelanguage of birds. 

And truly if national greatness may be gauged by the mien and carriageof its people, China is without doubt entitled to a high place amongthe children of men. An official in full costume is a most imposingfigure, and carries himself with great dignity and self-possession, albeit he is some four or five inches shorter than an averageEnglishman. In this respect he owes much to his long dress, which, bythe way, we hope in course of time to see modified; but more to aclose and patient study of an art now almost monopolised in Europe byaspirants to the triumphs of the stage. There is not a single awkwardmovement as the Chinese gentleman bows you into his house, or suppliesyou from his own hand with the cup of tea so necessary, as we shallshow, to the harmony of the meeting. Not until his guest is seatedwill the host venture to take up his position on the right hand of theformer; and even if in the course of an excited conversation, eithershould raise himself, however slightly, from a sitting posture, itwill be the bounden duty of the other to do so too. No gentleman wouldsit while his equal stood. Occasionally, where it is not intended tobe over-respectful to a visitor, a servant will bring in the tea, onecup in each hand. Then standing before his master and guest, he willcross his arms, serving the latter who is at his right hand with hisleft hand, his master with the right. The object of this is to exposethe palm--in Chinese, the _heart_--of either hand to each recipient oftea. It is a token of fidelity and respect. The tea itself is called"guest tea, " and _is not intended for drinking_. It has a more usefulmission than that of allaying thirst. Alas for the red-hairedbarbarian who greedily drinks off his cupful before ten words havebeen exchanged, and confirms the unfavourable opinion his host alreadyentertains of the manners and customs of the West! And yet a littletrouble spent in learning the quaint ceremonies of the Chinese wouldhave gained him much esteem as an enlightened and tolerant man. Forwhile despising us outwardly, the Chinese know well enough thatinwardly we despise them, and thus it comes to pass that a voluntaryconcession on our part to any of their harmless prejudices is alwaysgratefully acknowledged. To return, "guest tea" is provided to be usedas a signal by either party that the interview is at an end. A guestno sooner raises the cup to his lips than a dozen voices shout to hischair-coolies; so, too, when the master of the house is prevented byother engagements from playing any longer the part of host. Withoutprevious warning--unusual except among intimate acquaintances--thistea should never be touched except as a sign of departure. 

Strangers meeting may freely ask each other their names, provinces, and even prospects; it is not so usual as is generally supposed toinquire a person's age. It is always a compliment to an old man, whois justly proud of his years, and takes the curious form of "yourvenerable teeth?" but middle-aged men do not as a rule care about thequestion and their answers can rarely be depended upon. A man may beasked the number and sex of his children; also if his father andmother are still "in the hall, " i. E. , alive. His wife, however, shouldnever be alluded to even in the most indirect manner. Friends meeting, either or both being in sedan-chairs, stop their bearers at once, andget out with all possible expedition; the same rule applies toacquaintances meeting on horseback. Spectacles must always be removedbefore addressing even the humblest individual--sheer ignorance ofwhich most important custom has often, we imagine, led to rudenessfrom natives towards foreigners, where otherwise extreme courtesywould have been shown. In such cases a foreigner must yield, or takethe chances of being snubbed; and where neither self-respect ornational dignity is compromised, we recommend him by all means toadopt the most conciliatory course. Chinese etiquette is a wide fieldfor the student, and one which, we think, would well repay extensiveand methodical exploration. 

ETIQUETTE, NO. II

The disadvantages of ignoring alike the language and customs of theChinese are daily and hourly exemplified in the unsatisfactoryrelations which exist as a rule between master and servant. That thelatter almost invariably despise their foreign patrons, and are onlytempted to serve under them by the remunerative nature of theemployment, is a fact too well known to be contradicted, though whythis should be so is a question which effectually puzzles many who areconscious of treating their native dependants only with extremekindness and consideration. The answer, however, is not difficult forthose who possess the merest insight into the workings of the Chinesemind; for just as every inhabitant of the eighteen provinces believesChina to be the centre of civilisation and power, so does he inferthat his language and customs are the only ones worthy of attentionfrom native and barbarian alike. The very antagonism of the fewforeign manners and habits he is obliged by his position to cultivate, tend rather to confirm him in his own sense of superiority thanotherwise. For who but a barbarian would defile the banquet hour "whenthe wine mantles in the cups" with a _white_ table-cloth, the badge ofgrief and death? How much more elegant the soft _red_ lacquer of the"eight fairy" table, with all its associations of the bridal hour! Thehost, too, at the _head_ of his own board, sitting in what should bethe seat of the most honoured guest, and putting the latter on his_right_ instead of his left hand! Truly these red-haired barbariansare the very scum of the earth. 

By the time he has arrived at this conclusion our native domestic hasby a direct process of reasoning settled in his mind another importantpoint, namely, that any practice of the civilities and ceremonieswhich Chinese custom exacts from the servant to the master, would beentirely out of place in reference to the degraded being whom anaccidental command of dollars has invested with the title, thoughhardly with the rights, of a patron. Consequently, little acts ofgross rudeness, unperceived of course by the foreigner, characterisethe everyday intercourse of master and servant in China. The house-boypresents himself for orders, and even waits at table, in short clothes--an insult no Chinaman would dare to offer to one of his owncountrymen. He meets his master with his tail tied round his head, andpasses him in the street without touching his hat, that is, withoutstanding still at the side of the street until his master has passed. He lolls about and scratches his head when receiving instructions, instead of standing in a respectful attitude with his hands at hisside in a state of rest; enters a room with his shoes down at heel, orwithout socks; omits to rise at the approach of his master, mistress, or their friends, and commits numerous other petty breaches of decorumwhich would ensure his instant dismissal from the house of a Chinesegentleman. We ourselves take a pride in making our servants treat uswith the same degree of outward respect they would show towards nativemasters, and we believe that by strictly adhering to this system wesucceed in gaining, to some extent, their esteem. Inasmuch, however, as foreign susceptibilities are easily shocked on certain pointsignored by Chinamen of no matter what social standing, we have foundit necessary to introduce a special Bill, known in our domestic circleas the Expectoration Act. Now it is a trite observation that theChinese make capital soldiers if they are well commanded, and what isthe head of a large business establishment but the commander-in-chiefof a small army? The efficiency of his force depends far more upon themoral agencies brought to bear than upon any system of rewards andpunishments human ingenuity can devise; for Chinamen, like othermortals, love to have their prejudices respected, and fear of shameand dread of ridicule are as deeply ingrained in their natures as inthose of any nation under the sun. They have a horror of blows, not somuch from the pain inflicted, as from the sense of injury done tosomething more elevated than their mere corporeal frames; and a friendof ours once lost a good servant by merely, in a hasty fit, _throwinga sock at him_. We therefore think that, considering the vast extentof the Chinese empire and its innumerable population, all of whom areconstructed mentally more or less on the same model, their languageand customs are deserving of more attention than is generally paid tothem by foreigners in China. 

LITERATURE

It is an almost universally-received creed that behind the suicidalprejudices and laughable superstitions of the Chinese there is amysterious fund of solid learning hidden away in the uttermostrecesses--far beyond the ken of occidentals--of that _terraincognita_, Chinese literature. Sinologues darkly hint at elaboratetreatises on the various sciences, impartial histories and candidbiographies, laying at the same time extraordinary stress on theextreme difficulty of the language in which they are written, andcarefully mentioning the number (sometimes fabulous) of the volumes ofwhich each is composed. Hence, probably, it results that few studentsventure to push their reading beyond novels, and remain during thewhole of their career in a state of darkness as to that literarywealth of China which enthusiasts delight to compare with herunexplored mines of metal and coal. Inasmuch, however, as it is notabsolutely necessary to read a book from beginning to end to be ableto form a pretty correct judgment as to its value, so, many studentswho are sufficiently advanced to read a novel with ease and withoutthe help of a teacher, might readily gain an insight into a largeenough number of the most celebrated scientific or historical works toenable them to comprehend the true worth of the whole of this vastliterature. For vast it undoubtedly is, though our own humble effortsto appraise it justly, in comparison of course with the otherliteratures of the world, brought upon us in the first hours ofdiscovery that some years of assiduous toil had been positively thrownaway. Sir W. Hamilton, if we recollect rightly, said that by so manymore languages as a man knows, by so many more times is he a man--anapophthegm of but a shallow kind if all he meant to convey was that anEnglishman who can speak French is also a Frenchman by virtue of hisknowledge of the colloquial. The opening up of new fields of thoughtthrough the medium of a new literature, is a result more worthy theeffort of acquiring a foreign language than sparkling in a _salon_with the purest imaginable accent; and herein Sir W. Hamilton countedwithout Chinese. The greater portion of the "Classics, " cherishedtomes to which China thinks even now she owes her intellectualsupremacy over the rest of the world, is open through Dr Legge'stranslation to all Englishmen, and those who run may read, weighing itin the balance and determining its status among the ethical systemseither of the past or present. Had we found as much that is solid inother departments of Chinese literature, as there is mixed up with theoccasional nonsense and obscurity of the Four Books, our protest wouldhave taken a milder form; as it is, we think it right to condemn anyand all random assertions which tend to strengthen in the minds ofthose who have no opportunity of judging, the belief that China ispossessed of a vast and valuable literature, in which, for aught anyone knows to the contrary, there may lie buried gems of purest rayserene. Can it be supposed that, if true, nothing of all this has yetbeen brought to light? There have been, and are now, foreignerspossessing a much wider knowledge of Chinese literature than manynatives of education, but, strange to say, such translations as havehitherto been given to the world have been chiefly confined to playsand novels! We hold that all those whom tastes or circumstances haveled to acquire a knowledge of the Chinese language have a great dutyto perform, and this is to contribute each something to the scantyquota of translations from Chinese now existing. Let us see what thepoets, historians, and especially the scientific men of China haveproduced to justify so many in speaking as they have done, and stilldo speak, of her bulky literature. Many, we think, will be deterred bythe grave nonsense or childish superstitions which they dare notsubmit to foreign judges as the result of their labours in thisfantastic field; but to withhold such is to leave the public where itwas before, at the mercy of unscrupulous or crazed enthusiasts. 

We were led into this train of thought by an article in the _NorthChina Daily News_ of 10th July 1874, in which the writer speaks ofChina as "a luxuriant mental oasis amidst the sterility of EasternAsia, " and "possessing a literature in vastness and antiquarian valuesurpassed by no other. " He goes on to say that the translationshitherto made "have conveyed to us a faint notion of the compass, variety, solidity, and linguistic beauties of that literature. " Suchstatements as these admit, unfortunately, of rhetorical support, sufficient to convince outsiders that at any rate there are two sidesto the question, a conviction which could only be effectuallydispelled by placing before them a few thousand volumes translatedinto English, and chosen by the writer of the article himself. [*]When, however, our enthusiast deals with more realisable facts, andsays that in China "there is no organised book trade, nor publishers'circulars, nor Quaritch's Catalogues, nor any other catalogues whetherof old or new books for sale, " we can assure him he knows nothing atall about the matter; that there is now lying on our table a verycomprehensive list of new editions of standard works lately publishedat a large book-shop in Wu-chang Fu, with the price of each workattached; and that Mr Wylie, in his "Notes on Chinese Literature, "devotes five entire pages to the enumeration of some thirty well-knownand voluminous catalogues of ancient and modern works. 

 [*] Baron Johannes von Gumpach. Died at Shanghai, 31st July 1875. 

EDUCATIONAL LITERATURE

A ramble through a native town in China must often have discovered tothe observant foreigner small collections of second-hand books andpamphlets displayed on some umbrella-shaded stall, or arranged lesspretentiously on the door-step of a temple. If innocent of all claimsto a knowledge of the written language, he may take them for cheapeditions of Confucius, with which literary chair-coolies are wont tosolace their leisure hours; at the worst, some of these myriad novelsof which he has heard so much, and read--in translations--so little. It possibly never enters our barbarian's head that many of theseitinerant book-sellers are vendors of educational works, much afterthe style of Pinnock's Catechisms and other such guides to knowledge. Buying a handful the other day for a few cash, [*] we were much amusedat the nature of the subjects therein discussed, and the manner inwhich they were treated. The first we opened was on Ethnology andZoology, and gave an account of the wonderful types of men and beastswhich exist in far-off regions beyond the pale of China andcivilisation. There was the long-legged nation, the people of whichhave legs three _chang_ (thirty feet) long to support bodies of nomore than ordinary size, followed by a short account of a cross-leggedrace, a term which explains itself. We are next told of a countrywhere all the inhabitants have a large round hole right through themiddle of their bodies, the officials and wealthy citizens beingeasily and comfortably carried _a la_ sedan chair by means of a strongbamboo pole passed through it. Then there is the feathered or birdnation, the pictures of which people remind us very much of Lapps andGreenlanders. A few lines are devoted to a pygmy race of nine-inchmen, also to a people who walk with their bodies at an angle of 45degrees. There is the one-armed nation, and a three-headed nation, besides fish-bodied and bird-headed representatives of humanity; lastbut not least we have a race of beings without heads at all, theirmouth, eyes, nose, &c. , occupying their chests and pit of the stomach!

 "And of the cannibals that each other eat, The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads Do grow beneath their shoulders. "

The little work which contains the above valuable information waspublished in 1783, and has consequently been nearly one hundred yearsbefore an enlightened and approving public. 

 [*] About 24 cash go to a penny. 

Not to dwell upon the remaining portion, devoted to Zoology, andcontaining wonderful specimens of various kinds of animals and birdsmet with by travellers beyond the Four Seas, we would remark that thegeography of the world, notwithstanding some very fair existingtreatises, is little studied by Chinese at the present day. More workson topography have been written in Chinese than in probably any otherlanguage, but to say that even these are read is quite another matter. Geography, properly so called, is almost entirely neglected, and in arather extensive circle of literary acquaintances, it has never beenour fortune to meet with a single scholar acquainted with the usefulpublications of Catholic or Protestant missionaries--the latter havenot contributed much--except perhaps the mutilated edition ofVerbiest's little handbook. 

To describe one is to give a fair idea of all such native works forthe diffusion of knowledge. We found in our little parcel a completeguide (save the mark!) to the _Fauna_ and _Flora_ of the CelestialEmpire, besides a treatise headed "Philosophy for the Young, " in whichchildren are shown that to work for one's living is better than to beidle, and that the strength of three men is powerless against _Li_. Now as _Li_ means "abstract right, " and as it is an axiom of Chinesephilosophy that "right in the abstract" does exist, we are gravelyinformed that neither the moral or physical violence of any three menacting in concert can hope to prevail against it. So much for thestate of education in China at the present day, the remedy for whichunwholesome condition will by no means readily be found. From time totime a few scientific treatises are translated by ambitious members ofthe missionary body, but such only tend to swell the pastor's fameamongst his own immediate flock: they do not advance civilisation onesingle step. The very fact of their emanating from a missionary wouldof itself be enough to deter the better class of Chinese frompurchasing, or even accepting them as a gift. [*]

 [*] "The principal priest . . . Declined the gift of some Christian books. "--From _Glimpses of Travel in the Middle Kingdom_, published in the _Celestial Empire_ of July 3d, 1875. 

DENTISTRY

Roaming in quest of novelty through that mine of marvels, a Chinesecity, we were a witness the other day of a strange but not uncommonscene. We had halted in front of the stall of a street apothecary, surgeon, and general practitioner, and were turning over with our eyeshis stock of simples, dragons' teeth, tigers'-claws, and like drugsused as ingredients in the native pharmacopoeia, when along came aman, holding his hand up to his jaw, and apparently in great pain. Hesat down by the doctor and explained to him that he was suffering withthe toothache, to get rid of which he would like to have his toothremoved. The doctor opened his patient's mouth and inspected theaching tooth; then he took a small phial from his stock of medicines, and into the palm of his hand he shook a few scruples of apink-coloured powder. He next licked his finger and dipped it into thepowder, and inserting this into the man's mouth, rubbed it on theaching tooth and gum. He repeated this three or four times, and thenconcluded by turning the patient's head upside down; when, to the nosmall astonishment of many of the bystanders, among whom wasapparently the man himself, the tooth dropped out and fell upon theground. The doctor then asked him if he had felt any pain, to which hereplied that he had not, and the payment of a small fee brought the_seance_ to a close. At our application the tooth was picked up andvery civilly exhibited to us by the owner himself; it was evidentlyfresh from a human jaw, though there had not been the slightesteffusion of blood from the man's mouth. The thought had naturallysuggested itself to us that the whole thing was a hoax, and that thepatient was an accomplice; but if so, the doctor was no novice atsleight of hand, and the expression of astonishment on the other man'sface when he found his tooth gone, was as perfect a specimen ofhistrionic emotion as it has ever been our lot to behold. 

That night we had visions of a large establishment in Regent Street, with an enormous placard announcing "Painless Dentistry" over thedoor, and crowds of dukes and duchesses mounting and descending ourstairs to have their teeth extracted by some mysterious processimported from China, and known to ourselves alone. Next day weproceeded to rummage through our Chinese medical library and see whatwe could hunt up on the subject of dentistry. The result of thissearch we generously offer to our readers, thus, perhaps, sacrificingthe chance of securing a colossal fortune. 

In the "New Collection of Tried Prescriptions, " a sort of domesticmedicine published for the use of families in cases of emergency whenno physician is at hand, we find the following remarks:--

Method for Extracting Aching Teeth. 

 "A tooth ought not to be taken out, for by doing so the remaining teeth will be loosened. If the pain is very acute and interferes with eating or drinking, then the tooth may be extracted; otherwise, it should be left. Take a bream about ten ounces in weight, rip it open and insert 1/10 of an ounce of powdered arsenic. Then sew up the body and hang it up in the wind where it is not exposed to the sun or accessible to cats and rats. After being thus hung for seven days, a kind of hoar-frost will have formed upon the scales of the fish. Preserve this, using for each tooth about as much as covers one scale. When required, spread it on a piece of any kind of plaster, press it with the finger on to the aching place, and let it stick there. Then let the patient cough, and the tooth will fall out of itself. This prescription has been tested by Dr. Wang. "

 Another Method. 

 "Take a head of garlic and pound it up to a pulp. Mix it up thoroughly with one or two candareens' weight of white dragon's bones, and apply it to the suffering part. In a little while the tooth will drop out. "

It will be noticed that the above descriptions are neither without oneor other of two characteristics always to be found in the compositionof Chinese remedies. In the first recipe, the ingredients are simpleenough, and all this is required is time, seven days being necessaryfor its preparation. Now, as it is very unlikely that any one wouldcollect the "hoar-frost" deposit from the scales of a bream stuffedwith arsenic, in anticipation of a future toothache, and as he wouldprobably have got well long before the expiration of the seven days ifhe set to work to make his medicine only when the tooth began to ache, the genius of the physician and the efficacy of the recipe are alikesecure from attack. In the second case, the very existence of one ofthe drugs mentioned is, to say the least, apocryphal; and althoughsuch can be purchased at the shops of native druggists, any complainton the part of a duped patient would be met by the simple answer, thatthe white dragon's bones he bought could not possibly have beengenuine!

A few days after the above incident, we returned to the dentist'sstall, and asked him if he had any powder that would draw out a toothby mere application to the gum or to the tooth itself? He replied thatsuch a powder certainly existed, and was commonly manufactured in allparts of China, but that he himself was out of it at the moment. Headded, that if we would call again on the 4th of the 4th moon, before12 o'clock in the day, he should be in a position to satisfy ourdemands. 

In conclusion, we append a quotation from the _China Review_, whichappeared in print after our own sketch was written:--

 "Despite the oft-repeated assertion as to painless, or at least easy, dentistry in China, very few people seem prepared to admit that teeth are constantly extracted in the way described by (I think) a former correspondent of the _Review_. He stated that a white powder was rubbed on the gums of the patient, after which the tooth was easily pulled from its socket; and this I can substantiate, noting, however, that the action of the powder (corrosive sublimate) is not quite so rapid as represented. A short time since I witnessed an operation of this kind. The operator rubbed the powder on the gum as described, but then directed the patient to wait a little. After perhaps ten minutes' interval, he again rubbed the gum, and then, introducing his thumb into the mouth, pressed heavily against the tooth (which was a large molar). The man winced for a second as I heard the 'click' of the separation, but almost before he could cry out, the dentist gripped the tooth with his forefinger and thumb, and with very little violence pulled it out. The gum bled considerably, and I examined the tooth so as to satisfy myself that there was no deception. It had an abscess at the root of the fang, and was undoubtedly what it professed to be. When the operation was over, the patient washed his mouth out with _cold_ water, paid fifteen cash and departed. "

MEDICAL SCIENCE

In spite of the glowing reports issued annually from various foreignhospitals for natives, and the undeniable good, though desultory andpractically infinitesimal, that is being worked by these institutions, we cannot blind ourselves to the fact that western medical science isnot making more rapid strides than many other innovations in the greatstruggle against Chinese prejudice and distrust. By far the majorityof our servants and those natives who come most in contact withforeigners never dream of consulting a European doctor; or if they do, that is quite as much as can be said, for we may pronounce it a factthat they never take either his advice or his medicine. They stillprefer to appear with large dabs of green plaster stuck on eithertemple, and to drink loathsome concoctions of marvellous drugs, compounded according to eternal principles laid down many centuriesago. In serious cases, when they employ their own doctors, they areapt to mark, as Bacon said, the hits but not the misses; and failureof human skill is generally regarded as resulting from theinterposition of divine will. Directly, however, a foreigner comesupon the scene they forget at once that medicine is an uncertainscience, and expect not only a sure but an almost instantaneousrecovery; and, unfortunately, a single failure is quite enough to undothe good of many months of successful practice. One Chinaman bitterlycomplained to us of a foreign doctor, and sweepingly denounced thewhole system of western treatment, because the practitioner alluded tohad failed to cure his mother, aged eighty, of a very severe paralyticstroke. A certain percentage of natives are annually benefited byadvice and medicine, both of which are provided gratis, and go home totell the news and exhibit themselves as living proofs of the _foreigndevils'_ skill; but in many instances their friends either believethat magical arts have been brought to bear, or that after all aChinese doctor would have treated the case with equal success, andaccordingly the number of patients increases in a ratio verydisproportionate to the amount of good really effected. Besides, iffaith in European doctors was truly spreading to any great extent, weshould hear of wealthy Chinamen regularly calling them in andcontributing towards the income of those now in full practice at theTreaty ports. It is absurd to point to isolated cases in a nation ofseveral hundred millions, and argue that progress is being madebecause General This or Prefect That consented to have an abscesslanced by a foreign surgeon, and sent him a flowery letter of thankswith a couple of Chinese hams after the operation. The Chinese as apeople laugh at our medical science, and, we are bound to say, withsome show of justice on their side. They have a medical literature ofconsiderable extent, and though we may condemn it wholesale as afarrago of utter nonsense, it is not so to the Chinese, who fondlyregard their knowledge in this branch of science as one among manyprecious heirlooms which has come down to them from times of theremotest antiquity. 

We alluded in the last Sketch to a work in eight small volumes called"New Collection of Tried Prescriptions, " a book which answers to our"Domestic Medicine, " and professes to supply well-authenticatedremedies for some of the most common ills that flesh is heir to. Thisbook gives a fair idea of the principles and practice of medicalscience in China. It is divided into sections and subdivided intochapters under such headings as the _eye_, the _teeth_, the _hand_, the _leg_, &c. &c. We gave a specimen of the prescriptions hereinbrought together in our late remarks upon the methods of extractingteeth, but it would be doing an injustice to the learning of itsauthor if we omitted to point out that in this book remedies areprovided, not only for such simple complaints as chilblains or thestomach-ache, but for all kinds of serious complications arising fromthe evil influence of demons or devils. One whole chapter is devotedto "Extraordinary Diseases, " and teaches anxious relatives to giveinstant relief in cases of "the face swelling as big as a peckmeasure, and little men three feet long appearing in the eyes. ""Seeing one thing as if it were two, " would hardly be classed byLondon doctors as an extraordinary disease, and is not altogetherunknown even amongst foreigners in China. "Seeing things upside downafter drinking wine, " belongs in the same category, and may be citedin proof of a position take up by most observers, namely, that theChinese are a sober people. "Seeing kaleidoscopic views which turn tobeautiful women, " "the flesh becoming hard as a stone and soundinglike a bell when tapped, " "objecting to eat in company, " and suchdiseases have each a special prescription offered by the learned DrWang with the utmost gravity, and accepted in good faith by many aconfiding patient. 

Chinamen look with suspicion on the sober treatment of the West, whereno joss-stick is burnt, and no paper money is offered on the altar ofsome favourite P'u-sa; though, if they knew the whole truth, theywould discover that intercessory prayers for the recovery of sickpersons are considered by many of us to be of equal importance withthe administration of pills and draughts. Further, like our ownagricultural classes, they have no faith in medicine of any kind whichdoes not make its presence felt not only quickly but powerfully. Thislast desire was amply fulfilled in the case of one poor coolie whoapplied to an acquaintance of ours for some foreign medicine to cure asick headache and bilious attack from which he was suffering. Ourfriend immediately bethought himself of a Seidlitz powder; but whenall was ready, the acid in one wine-glass of water and the salt inanother, the devil entered into him, and he gave them to his victim todrink one after the other. The result was indescribable, for themixture _fizzed inside_, and the unfortunate coolie passed such a_mauvais quart d'heure_ as effectually to cure his experimentingmaster from any further indulgence in practical jokes of so extremelydangerous a nature. 

MEDICAL SCIENCE, NO. II

Luxuriating in the "mental oasis" of Chinese literature in general, and the "New Collection of Tried Prescriptions" in particular, wehave been tempted to carry our researches still further in thatlast-mentioned valuable work. It would have been sufficient to establishthe reputation of any European treatise on medical science had itcontained one such simple and efficacious method for extracting teethas we gave in our chapter on Dentistry; but Chinese readers are not soeasily satisfied, and it takes something more than mere remedies forcoughs, colds, lumbago, or the gout, to ensure a man a foremost placeamong the Galens of China. Even a chapter on "Extraordinary Diseases, "marvellous indeed in the eyes of the sceptical barbarian, is notenough for the hungry native mind; and nothing less than a wholesection of the most miraculous remedies and antidotes, for and againstall kinds of unheard-of diseases and poisons, would suffice to stampthe author as a man of genius, and his work as the offspring ofsuccessful toil in the fields of therapeutic science. Thus it comesabout that the author of the "New Collection of Tried Prescriptions"gathers together at the close of his last volume such items ofexperience in his professional career as he has not been able tointroduce into the body of his book, and from this chapter we purposeto glean a few of the most striking passages. 

To begin with: Mr Darwin will be delighted to hear, if this shouldever meet his eye, that the growth of tails among mankind in China isnot limited to the appendage of hair which reposes gracefully on theback, and saturates with grease the outer garment of every high or lowborn Celestial. Elongation of the spine is, at any rate, common enoughfor Dr Wang to treat it as a disease and specify the remedy, whichconsists in tying a piece of medicated thread tightly round it, andtightening the thread from time to time until the tail drops off. Inorder, however, to guard against its growing again, a course ofmedicine has to be taken, whereby any little irregularities of the_yin_ or female principle[*] may be corrected, and the unpleasanttendency at once and for ever checked. 

 [*] The symbol of the _yin_ and the _yang_, or male and female principles, has been used in the beading of the cover to this volume. The dark half is the _yin_, the other the _yang_. 

We then come to elaborate directions for the extirpation of all kindsof parasites, white ants, mosquitoes, &c. ; but judging from theplentiful supply of such pests in every part of China, we can onlyconclude that the natives are apathetic as regards these trifles, anddo not suffer the same inconvenience therefrom as the moredelicately-nurtured barbarian. The next heading would somewhatastonish us, accustomed as we are to the vagaries of Chinesebook-makers, were it not that the section upon which we are engaged issupposed to contain "miscellaneous" prescriptions, which may includeanything, though it is a somewhat abrupt transition for a gravemedical work to pass from the destruction of insects to a remedyagainst _fires_!

"Take three fowl's-eggs, and write at the big end of each the word_warm_, at the small end the word _beautiful_. Then throw them singlyto the spot where the fire is burning brightest, uttering all the time'fooshefahrun, fooshefahrun. ' The fire will then go out. " There areseveral other methods, but perhaps this one will be found to answerthe purpose. 

Further on we find a most practicable way for pedestrians ofdiscovering the right direction to pursue at a cross road. "Carry withyou a live tortoise, and when you come to a cross road and do not knowwhich one to choose, put down the tortoise and follow it. Thus youwill not go wrong. " For people who are afraid of seeing bogies atnight, the following is recommended:--"With the middle finger of theright hand trace on the palm of the left hand the words _I am adevil_, and close your hand up tight. You will then be able to travelwithout fear. " Sea-sickness may be prevented by drinking the drippingsfrom a bamboo punt-pole mixed with boiling water, or by inserting alump of burnt mortar from a stove into the hair, without lettinganybody know it is there; also by writing the character _earth_ on thepalm of the hand previous to going on board ship. Ivory may be cleanedto look like new by using the whey of bean-curd, and rice may beprotected from weevils and maggots by inserting the shell of a crab inthe place where it is kept. The presence of bad air in wells may bedetected by letting a fowl's feather drop down; if it falls straight, the air is pure; if it circles round and round, poisonous. Danger maybe averted by throwing in a quantity of hot vinegar before descending. A fire may be kept alight from three to five days without additionalfuel by merely putting a walnut among the live ashes; and a method isalso given to make a candle burn many hours with hardly anyperceptible decrease in size. 

We close Dr Wang's "New Collection of Tried Prescriptions" withmingled feelings of admiration and regret: admiration, not indeed forthe genius of its author, or any new light which may have been let inupon us during our study of this section of the "mental oasis" ofChinese literature, but for the indomitable energy and skill of thosewho have helped to emancipate us from similar trammels of ignoranceand folly; regret, that a nation which carries within its core thegerms of a transcendent greatness should still remain sunk in thelowest depths of superstitious gloom. 

LOAN SOCIETIES

In a country where money is only obtainable at such an exorbitant rateof interest as in China, it is but natural that some attempt should bemade to obviate the necessity of appealing to a professionalmoney-lender. Three per cent. Per month is the maximum rate permitted byChinese law, which cannot be regarded as excessive if the full risk ofthe lender is taken into consideration. He has the security of one ormore "middlemen, " generally shopkeepers whose solvency isunimpeachable; but these gentlemen may, and often do, repudiate theirliability without deigning to explain either why or wherefore. Hiscourse is then not so plain as it ought to be under a system ofgovernment which has had some two thousand years to mature. Creditorsas well as debtors shun the painted portals of the magistrate'syamen[*] as they would the gates of hell. Above them is traced thesame desperate legend that frightened the soul of Dante when he stoodbefore the entrance to the infernal regions. Truly there is no hopefor those who enter here. Both sides are _squeezed_ by the gate-keeper--a very lucrative post in all yamens--before they are allowed topresent their petitions. It then becomes necessary for plaintiff anddefendant alike to go through the process of (in Peking slang) "makinga slit, " i. E. , making a present of money to the magistrate and hissubordinates proportionate to the interests involved. In many yamensthere is a regular scale of charges, answering to our Table of Fees, but this is almost always exceeded in practice. The case is thenheard: occasionally, on its merits. We say occasionally, because ninetimes out of ten one of the parties bids privately for the benefit ofhis honour's good opinions. Sometimes both suitors do this, and thenjudgment is knocked down to the highest bidder. The loser departsincontinently cursing the law and its myrmidons to the very top of hisbent, and perhaps meditating an appeal to a higher court, from whichhe is only deterred by prospects of further expense and repeatedfailure. As to the successful litigant, he would go on his wayrejoicing, but that he has a duty to perform before which he is not afree man. The "slit" he made on entering the yamen needs to berepaired, and on him devolves the necessity of "sewing it up. " Thecase is then at an end, and the prophecy fulfilled, which says:--

 "The yamen doors are open wide To those with _money_ on their side. "

 [*] Official and private residence, all in one. 

Wiser and more determined creditors take the law into their own hands. With a tea-pot, a pipe, and a mattress, they proceed to the shop ofthe recalcitrant debtor or security as circumstances may dictate, andthere take up their abode until the amount is paid. If inability tomeet the debt has been pleaded, then this self-made bailiff willinsist on taking so much per cent. Out of the daily receipts; if it isa mere case of obstinacy, a desire to shirk a just responsibility, theplace is made so hot for its owner that he is glad to get rid of hisvisitor at any price whatever. Were manual violence resorted to, theinterference of the local officials would be absolutely necessary; andin all cases where personal injuries are an element, their action isnot characterised by the same tyranny and corruption as where onlyproperty is at stake. The chances are that the aggressor would comeoff worst. 

To protect themselves, however, from such a prohibitive rate of usuryas that mentioned above, Chinese merchants are in the habit ofcombining together and forming what are called Loan Societies for themutual benefit of all concerned. Such a society may be started in thefirst instance by a deposit of so much per member, which sum, in theabsence of a volunteer, is handed over to a manager, elected by athrow of dice, whose business it is to lay out the money during theensuing month to the best possible advantage. Frequently one of themembers, being himself in want of funds, will undertake the job; andhe, in common with all managers, is held responsible for the safety ofthe loan. At the end of the month there is a meeting at which the pastmanager is bound to produce the entire sum entrusted to his charge, together with any profits that may have accrued meanwhile. Anothermember volunteers, or is elected manager, and so the thing goes on, arunning fund from which any member may borrow, paying interest at avery low rate indeed. Dividends are never declared, and consequentlysome of these clubs are enormously rich; but any member is at libertyto withdraw whenever he likes, and he takes with him his share of allmoneys in the hands of the Society at the moment of his retirement. Tooutsiders, the market rate of interest is charged, or perhaps a trifleless, but loans are only made upon the very best securities. 

GUILDS

In every large Chinese city are to be found several spacious buildingswhich are generally reckoned among the sights of the place, and areknown by foreigners under the name of guilds. Globe-trotters visitthem, and admire the maximum of gold-leaf crowded into the minimum ofspace, their huge idols, and curious carving; of course passing overthose relics which the natives themselves prize most highly, namely, sketches and scrolls painted or written by the hand of some departedcelebrity. Foreign merchants regard them with a certain amount of awe, for they are often made to feel keenly enough the influence whichthese institutions exert over every branch of trade. They come intobeing in the following manner. If traders from any given provincemuster in sufficient numbers at any of the great centres of commerce, they club together and form a guild. A general subscription is firstlevied, land is bought, and the necessary building is erected. Regulations are then drawn up, and the tariff on goods is fixed, fromwhich the institution is to derive its future revenue. For all thestaples of trade there are usually separate guilds, mixedestablishments being comparatively rare. It is the business of themembers as a body to see that each individual contributes according tothe amount of merchandise which passes through his hands, and thebooks of suspected defaulters are often examined at a moment's noticeand without previous warning. The guild protects its constituents fromcommercial frauds by threatening the accused with legal proceedingswhich an individual plaintiff would never have dared to suggest; andthe threat is no vain one when a mandarin, however tyrannical andrapacious, finds himself opposed by a body of united and resolute men. On the other hand, these guilds deal fairly enough with their ownmembers, and not only refuse to support a bad case, but insist on justand equitable dealings with the outside world. To them are frequentlyreferred questions involving nice points of law or custom, and one ofthe chief functions of a guild is that of a court of arbitration. Inaddition to this they fix the market rates of all kinds of produce, and woe be to any one who dares to undersell or otherwise disobey theinjunctions of the guild. If recalcitrant, he is expelled at once fromthe fraternity, and should his hour of need arrive he will find nohelping hand stretched out to save him from the clutches of the law. But if he acknowledges, as he almost always does, his breach of faith, he is punished according to the printed rules of the corporation. On alarge strip of red paper his name and address are written, the offenceof which he has been convicted, and the fine which the guild hasdetermined to impose. This latter generally takes the form of a dinnerto all members, to be held on some appointed day and accompanied by atheatrical entertainment, after which the erring brother is admittedas before to the enjoyment of those rights and privileges he wouldotherwise infallibly have lost. 

On certain occasions, such as the birthday of a patron saint, theguild spends large sums from the public purse in providing a banquetfor its members and hiring a theatrical troupe, with their everlastingtom-toms, to perform on the permanent stage to be found in every oneof these establishments. The Anhui men celebrate the birthday of ChuHsi, the great commentator, whose scholarship has won eternal honoursfor his native province; Swatow men hold high festival in memory ofHan Wen-Kung, whose name is among the brightest on the page of Chinesehistory. All day long the fun goes on, and as soon as it begins togrow dusk innumerable paper lanterns are hung in festoons over thewhole building. The crowd increases, farce succeeds farce without amoment's interval, and many a kettle of steaming wine warms up thespectators to the proper pitch of enthusiasm and delight. Beforemidnight the last song has been sung, a considerable number of peoplehave quietly dispersed without accident of any kind, and the courtyardof the guild is once more deserted and still. 

It is open to any trader to join the particular institution whichrepresents his own province or trade without being either proposed, seconded, or balloted for. He is expected to make some present to theresources of the guild, in the shape of a new set of glass lanterns, apair of valuable scrolls, some new tables, chairs, or in fact anythingthat may be needed for either use or ornament. Should he be in want ofmoney, a loan will generally be issued to him even on doubtfulsecurity. Should he die in an impoverished condition, a coffin isalways provided, the expenses of burial undertaken, and his wife andchildren sent to their distant home, with money voted for that purposeat a general meeting of the members. Were it not for the action ofthese guilds in regard to fire, life and property in Chinese citieswould be more in danger than is now the case. Each one has its ownfire-engine, which is brought out at the first alarm, no matter whereor whose the building attacked. If belonging to one of themselves, menare posted round the scene of the conflagration to prevent looting onthe part of the crowd, and the efforts of the brigade are stimulatedby the reflection that their position and that of the presentsufferers may at any moment be reversed. Picked men are appointed toperform the most important task of all, that of rescuing from theflames relics more precious to a respectable Chinaman than all thejade that K'un-kang has produced. For it often happens that anobstructive geomancer will reject site after site for the interment ofsome deceased relative, or perhaps that the day fixed upon as a luckyone for the ceremony of burial may be several months after death. Meanwhile a fire breaks out in the house where the body lies in itsmassive, air-tight coffin, and all is confusion and uproar. The firstthought is for the corpse; but who is to lift such a heavy weight andcarry it to a place of safety without the dreaded jolting, almost aspainful to the survivors as would be cremation itself? Such harrowingthoughts are usually cut short by the entrance of six or eight sturdymen from the nearest guild, who, armed with the necessary ropes andpoles, bear away the coffin through flame and smoke with the utmostgentleness and care. 

PAWNBROKERS

Few probably among our readers have had much experience on the subjectof the present sketch--a Chinese pawnshop. Indeed, for others thanstudents of the manners and customs of China, there is not much thatis attractive in these haunts of poverty and vice. The same mightymisery, which is to be seen in England passing in and out ofmysterious-looking doors distinguished by a swinging sign of threegolden balls, is not wanting to the pawnshop in China, though the actof pledging personal property in order to raise money is regarded morein the light of a business transaction than it is with us, and less asone which it is necessary to conceal from the eyes of the world atlarge. Nothing is more common than for the owner of a large wardrobeof furs to pawn them one and all at the beginning of summer and toleave them there until the beginning of the next winter. Thepawnbrokers in their own interest take the greatest care of allpledges, which, if not redeemed, will become their own property, though they repudiate all claims for damage done while in theirpossession; and the owner of the goods by payment of the interestcharged is released from all trouble and annoyance. 

Pawnshops in China are divided into three classes, one of which hassince the days of the T'ai-p'ings totally disappeared from all partsover which the tide of rebellion passed. This is the _tien tang_, where property could be left for three years without forfeit, and toestablish which it was necessary to obtain special authority from theBoard of Revenue in Peking. At present there are the _chih tang_ andthe _ssu ya_, both common to all parts of China, and to these we shallconfine our remarks. The former, which may be considered as thepawnshop proper, is a private institution as far as its business isconcerned, but licensed on payment of a small fee by the localofficials, and regulated in its workings by certain laws which emanatefrom the Emperor himself. A limit of sixteen months is assigned, within which pledges must be redeemed or they become the property ofthe pawnbroker; and the interest charged, formerly four per cent. , isnow fixed at three per cent. _per month_. Before the licenseabove-mentioned can be obtained, security must be provided for theexistence of sufficient capital to guard against a sudden or afraudulent collapse. For any article not forthcoming when the ownerdesires to redeem it, double the amount of the original loan isrecoverable from the pawnbroker. Should any owner of a pledge chanceto lose his ticket by theft or otherwise, he may proceed to thepawnshop with two substantial securities, and if he can recollect thenumber, date, and amount of the transaction, another ticket is issuedto him with which he may recover his property at once, or at any timewithin the original sixteen months. Pawn-tickets are not unseldomoffered as pledges, and are readily received, as the loan is nevermore than half the value of the deposit; and tickets thus obtained areoften sold either to a third person or perhaps to the pawnbroker whoissued them in the first instance. Formerly, when the interest payablewas four per cent. Per month, it was a standing rule that during thelast three months in every year, i. E. , the winter season, pledgesmight be redeemed at a diminished rate, so that poor people shouldhave a better chance of getting back their wadded clothes to protectthem from the inclemency of frost and cold. But since the rate ofinterest has been reduced to three per cent. This custom has almostpassed away; its observance is, however, sometimes called for by aspecial proclamation of the local magistrate when the necessaries oflife are unusually dear, and the times generally are bad. Thefollowing is a translation of a ticket issued by one of these shops, which may often be recognised in a Chinese city by the character for_pawn_ painted on an enormous scale in some conspicuous position:--"Inaccordance with instructions from the authorities, interest will becharged at the rate of three per cent. [per month] for a period ofsixteen months, at the expiration of which the pledge, if notredeemed, will become the property of the pawnbroker, to be disposedof as he shall think fit. All damages to the deposit arising from war, the operations of nature, insects, rats, mildew, &c. , to be acceptedby both sides as the will of Heaven. Deposits will be returned onpresentation of the proper ticket without reference to the possessionof it by the applicant. " Besides this, the name and address of thepawnshop, a number, description of the article pledged, amount lent, and finally the date, are entered in their proper places upon theticket, which is stamped as a precaution against forgery with theprivate stamp of the pawnshop. Jewels are not received as pledges, andgold and silver only under certain restrictions. 

The other class is not recognised by the authorities, and its veryexistence is illegal, though of course winked at by a venialexecutive. Shops of this kind, which may be known by the character for_keep_, are very much frequented by the poor. A more liberal loan isobtainable than at the licensed pawnbroker's, but on the other handthe rate of interest charged is very much more severe. Pledges areonly received for three months, and on the ticket issued there is nostipulation about damage to the deposit. No satisfaction is to be gotin case of fraud or injustice to either side: a magistrate wouldrefuse to hear a case either for or against one of these unlicensedshops. They carry on their trade in daily fear of the rowdies whoinfest every Chinese town, granting loans to these ruffians onvalueless articles, which in many cases are returned without paymenteither of interest or principal, thereby securing themselves from thedisturbances which "bare poles" who have nothing to lose are everready to create at a moment's notice, and which would infallibly handthem over to the clutches of hungry and rapacious officials. Thecounters over which all business is transacted are from six to eightfeet high, strongly made, and of such a nature that to scale themwould be a very difficult matter, and to grab anything with the viewof making a bolt for the street utterly and entirely impossible. In aChinese city, where there is no police force to look after the safetyof life and property, and where everybody prefers to let a thief passrather than risk being called as a witness before the magistrate, itbecomes necessary to guard against such contingencies as these. Asthings are now, pawnshops may be considered the most flourishinginstitutions in the country; and in these establishments many even ofthe highest officials invest savings squeezed from the districtsentrusted to their paternal care. 

POSTAL SERVICE

Many residents in China are profoundly ignorant of the existence of anative postal service; and even the few who have heard of such aninstitution, are not aware of the comparative safety and speed withwhich even a valuable letter may be forwarded from one end of theEmpire to the other. Government despatches are conveyed to theirdestinations by a staff of men specially employed for the purpose, andunder the control of the Board of War in Peking. They ride fromstation to station at a fair pace, considering the sorry, ill-fed nagsupon which they are mounted; important documents being often carriedto great distances, at a rate of two hundred miles a-day. The people, however, are not allowed to avail themselves of this means ofcommunication, but the necessities of trade have driven them toorganise a system of their own. 

In any Chinese town of any pretensions whatever, there are sure to beseveral "letter offices, " each monopolising one or more provinces, toand from which they make it their special business to convey lettersand small parcels. The safety of whatever is entrusted to their careis guaranteed, and its value made good if lost; at the same time, thecontents of all packets must be declared at the office where posted, so that a corresponding premium may be charged for their transmission. The letter-carriers travel chiefly on foot, sometimes on donkeys, tobe found on all the great highways of China, and which run withunerring accuracy from one station to another, unaccompanied by anyone except the hirer. There is little danger of the donkeys beingstolen, unless carried off bodily, for heaven and earth could no moremove them from their beaten track than the traveller who, desirous ofmaking two stages without halting, could induce them to pass the doorof the station they have just arrived at. Carrying about eighty orninety pounds weight of mail matter, these men trudge along some fivemiles an hour till they reach the extent of their tether; there theyhand over the bag to a fresh man, who starts off, no matter at whathour of the day or night, and regardless of good or bad weather alike, till he too has quitted himself of his responsibility by passing onthe bag to a third man. They make a point of never eating a full meal;they eat themselves, as the Chinese say, six or seven tenths full, taking food as often as they feel at all hungry, and thus preservethemselves from getting broken-winded early in life. Recruited fromthe strongest and healthiest of the working-classes, it is above allindispensable that the Chinese letter-carrier should not be afraid ofany ghostly enemy, such as bogies or devils. In this respect they mustbe tried men before they are entrusted with a mail; for an ordinaryChinaman is so instinctively afraid of night and darkness, that theslightest rustle by the wayside would be enough to make him fling downthe bag and take to his heels as if all the spirits of darkness hadbeen loosed upon him at one and the same moment. 

The scale of charges is very low. The cost of sending a letter fromPeking to Hankow--650 miles, as the crow flies--being no more thaneight cents, or four pence. About thirty per cent. Of the postage isalways paid by the sender, to secure the office against imposition andloss; the balance is recoverable from the person to whom the letter isaddressed. These offices are largely used by merchants in the courseof trade, and bills of exchange are constantly being thus sent, whilethe banks forward the foil or other half to the house on which it isdrawn, receipt of which is necessary before the draft can be cashed. Such documents, together with small packets of sycee, make up atolerably valuable bag, and would often fall a prey to the highwaymenwhich infest many of the provinces, but that most offices anticipatethese casualties by compounding for a certain annual sum which is paidregularly to the leader of the gang. For this blackmail the robbers ofthe district not only agree to abstain from pilfering themselves, butalso to keep all others from doing so too. The arrangement suits thelocal officials admirably, as they escape those pains and penaltieswhich would be exacted if it came to be known that their rule was tooweak, and their example powerless to keep the district free from theoutrages of thieves and highwaymen. Large firms, which supply carts totravellers between given points, are also often in the habit ofcontracting with the brigands of the neighbourhood for the safepassage of their customers. In some parts soldiers are told off by theresident military officials to escort travellers who leave the innsbefore daybreak, until there is enough light to secure them againstthe dangers of a sudden attack. In others, there are bands of trainedmen who hire themselves out in companies of three to five to convey astring of carts with their dozen passengers across some dangerous partof the country, where it is known that foot-pads are on the look-outfor unwary travellers. The escort consists of this small number only, for the reason that each man composing it is supposed to be equal tofive or six robbers, not in mere strength, but in agility andknowledge of sword-exercise. To accustom themselves to the attacks ofnumbers, and to acquire the requisite skill in fighting more than oneadversary at a time, these men practise in the following remarkablemanner. In a lofty barn heavy bags of sand are hung in a circle bylong ropes to the roof, and in the middle of these the student takesup his position. He then strikes one of the bags a good blow with hisfist, sending it flying to a distance from him, another in the sameway, then another, and so on until he has them all swinging about inevery possible direction. By the time he has hit two or three it istime to look out for the return of the first, and sometimes two willcome down on him at once from opposite quarters; his part is to beready for all emergencies, and keep the whole lot swinging withoutever letting one touch him. If he fails in this, he must not aspire toescort a traveller over a lonesome plain; and, besides, the ruthlesssand-bag will knock him head over heels into the bargain. 

SLANG

Although native scholars in China have not deemed it worth while tocompile such a work as the "Slang Dictionary, " it is no less a factthat slang occupies quite as important a position in Chinese as in anylanguage of the West. Thieves have their _argot_, as with us, intelligible only to each other; and phrases constantly occur, even inrefined conversation, the original of which can be traced infalliblyto the kennel. _Why so much paint?_ is the equivalent of _What a swellyou are!_ and is specially expressive in China, where beneath aflowered blue silk robe there often peeps out a pair ofsalmon-coloured inexpressibles of the same costly material. _They haveput down their barrows_, means that certain men have struck work, andis peculiarly comprehensible in a country where so much transport iseffected in this laborious way. Barrows are common all over theEmpire, both for the conveyance of goods and passengers; and wherelong distances have to be traversed, donkeys are frequently harnessedin front. The traditional sail is also occasionally used: we ourselveshave seen barrows running before the wind between Tientsin and Taku, of course with a man pushing behind. _The children have officialbusiness_, is understood to mean they are laid up with the small-pox;the metaphor implying that their _turn_ has come, just as a turn ofofficial duty comes round to every Manchu in Peking, and in the sameinevitable way. Vaccination is gradually dispelling this erroneousnotion, but the phrase we have given is not likely to disappear. 

A magistrate who has _skinned the place clean_, has extorted everypossible cash from the district committed to his charge--a "father andmother" of the people, as his grasping honour is called. _That horsehas a mane_, says the Chinese housebreaker, speaking of a wall wellstudded at the top with pieces of broken glass or sharp iron spikes. _You'll have to sprinkle so much water_, urges the friend who advisesyou to keep clear of law, likening official greed to dust, whichrequires a liberal outlay of water in the shape of banknotes to makeit lie. A _flowery bill_ is understood from one end of China to theother as that particular kind in which our native servants delight toindulge, namely, an account charging twice as much for everything aswas really paid, and containing twice as much in quantity as wasactually supplied. A _flowery suit_ is a case in which women play aprominent part. _You scorched me yesterday_ is a quiet way ofremarking that an appointment was broken, and implying that the raysof the sun were unpleasantly hot. _Don't pick out the sugar_ is a verynecessary injunction to a servant sent to market to buy food, &c. , themetaphor being taken from a kind of sweet dumpling consumed in greatquantities by rich and poor alike. Another phrase is, _Don't ride thedonkey_, which may be explained by the proverbial dislike of Chinamenfor walking exercise, and the temptation to hire a donkey, and squeezethe fare out of the money given them for other purposes. _That houseis not clean inside_, signifies that devils and bogies, so dreaded bythe Chinese, have taken up their residence therein; in fact, that thehouse is haunted. _He's all rice-water_, i. E. , gives one plenty of thewater in which rice has been boiled, but none of the rice itself, issaid of a man who promises much and does nothing. _One load betweenthe two_ is very commonly said of two men who have married twosisters. In China, a coolie's "load" consists of two baskets orbundles slung with ropes to the end of a flat bamboo pole about fivefeet in length, and thus carried across the shoulder. Hence theexpression. Apropos of marriage, _the guitar string is broken_, is anelegant periphrasis by which it is understood that a man's wife isdead, the verb "to die" being rarely used in conversation, and neverof a relative or friend. He will not _put a new string to his guitar_is, of course, a continuation of the same idea, more coarselyexpressed as _putting on a new coat_. His father has been _gathered tothe west_--a phrase evidently of Buddhistic import--_is no more, hasgone for a stroll, has bid adieu to the world_, may all be employed tosupply the place of the tabooed verb, which is chiefly used of animalsand plants. After a few days' illness _he kicked_, is a vulgar way ofputting it and analogous to the English slang idiom. The Emperor_becomes a guest on high_, riding up to heaven on the dragon's back, with flowers of rhetoric ad nauseam; Buddhist priests _revolve intoemptiness_, i. E. , are annihilated; the soul of the Taoist priest_wings its flight away_. 

_Only a candle-end left_ is said of an affair which nears completion;_red_ and _white matters_ are marriages and deaths, so called from thecolour of the clothes worn on these important occasions. A blushingperson _fires up_, or literally, _ups fire_, according to the Chineseidiom. To be fond of _blowing_ resembles our modern term _gassing_. A_lose-money-goods_ is a daughter as compared with a son who can go outin the world and earn money, whereas a daughter must be provided witha dowry before any one will marry her. A more genuine metaphor is a_thousand ounces of silver_; it expresses the real affection Chineseparents have for their daughters as well as their sons. To _let thedog out_ is the same as our letting the cat out; to _run against anail_ is allied to kicking against the pricks. A man of superficialknowledge is called _half a bottle of vinegar_, though why vinegar, inpreference to anything else, we have not been able to discover. He hasalways _got his gun in his hand_ is a reproach launched at the head ofsome confirmed opium debauchee, one of those few reckless smokers towhom opium is indeed a curse. They have _burnt paper together_, makesit clear to a Chinese mind that the persons spoken of have gonethrough the marriage service, part of which ceremony consists inburning silver paper, made up to resemble lumps of the pure metal. _Wehave split_ is one of those happy idioms which lose nothing intranslation, being word for word the same in both languages, and withexactly the same meaning. _A crooked stick_ is a man whoseeccentricities keep people from associating freely with him; he won'tlie conveniently in a bundle with the other sticks. 

We will bring this short sketch to a close with one more example, valuable because it is old, because the date at which it came intoexistence can be fixed with unerring certainty, and because it iscommonly used in all parts of China, though hardly one educated man inten would be able to tell the reason why. A jealous woman is said _todrink vinegar_, and the origin of the term is as follows:--FangHsuan-ling was the favourite Minister of the Emperor T'ai Tsung, of theT'ang dynasty. He lived A. D. 578-648. One day his master gave him amaid of honour from the palace as second wife, but the first or realwife made the place too hot for the poor girl to live in. Fangcomplained to the Emperor, who gave him a bowl of poison, telling himto offer his troublesome wife the choice between death and peaceablebehaviour for the future. The lady instantly chose the former, anddrank up the bowl of _vinegar_, which the Emperor had substituted totry her constancy. Subsequently, on his Majesty's recommendation, Fangsent the young lady back to resume her duties as tire-woman to theEmpress. But the phrase lived, and has survived to this day. 

FORTUNE-TELLING

Everybody who has frequented the narrow, dirty streets of a Chinesetown must be familiar with one figure, unusually striking where all isnovel and much is grotesque. It is that of an old man, occasionallywhite-bearded, wearing a pair of enormous spectacles set in clumsyrims of tortoiseshell or silver, and sitting before a small table onwhich are displayed a few mysterious-looking tablets inscribed withcharacters, paper, pencils, and ink. We are in the presence of afortune-teller, a seer, a soothsayer, a vates; or better, a quack whotrusts for his living partly to his own wits, and partly to the wantof them in the credulous numskulls who surround him. These men aregenerally old, and sometimes blind. Youth stands but a poor chanceamong a people who regard age and wisdom as synonymous terms; and itseems to be a prevalent belief in China that those to whom everythingin the present is a sealed book, can for this very reason see deeperand more clearly into the destinies of their fellows. It is not untilage has picked out the straggling beard with silver that thevaticinations of the seer are likely to spread his reputation farbeyond the limits of the street in which he practises. Youngercompetitors must be content to scrape together a precarious existenceby preying on the small fry which pass unheeded through the meshes ofthe old man's net. Just as there is no medical diploma necessary for adoctor in China, so any man may be a fortune-teller who likes to startbusiness in that particular line. The ranks are recruited generallyfrom unsuccessful candidates at the public examinations; but all thatis really necessary is the minimum of education, some months' study ofthe art, and a good memory. For there really are certain principleswhich guide every member of the fraternity. These are derived frombooks written on the subject, and are absolutely essential to success, or nativities cast in two different streets would be so unlike as toexpose the whole system at once. The method is this. A customer takeshis seat in front of the table and consults the wooden tablet on whichis engraved a scale of charges as follows:--

 Foretelling any single event . . . . . . . . 8 cash Foretelling any single event with joss-stick, 16 cash Telling a fortune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 cash Telling a fortune in detail . . . . . . . . . 50 cash Telling a fortune by reading the stars . . . 50 cash Fixing the marriage day . . . . . . . According to agreement

In case he merely wants an answer on a given subject, he puts hisquestion and receives the reply at once on a slip of paper. But if hedesires to have his fortune told, he dictates the year, month, day, and hour of his birth, which are written down by the sage in theparticular characters used by the Chinese to express times andseasons. From the combinations of these and a careful estimate of theproportions in which the five elements--gold, wood, water, fire, andearth--make their appearance, certain results are deduced upon whichdetails may be grafted according to the fancy of the fortune-teller. The same combinations of figures, i. E. , characters, will always givethe same resultant in the hands of any one who has learned the firstprinciples of his art; it is only in the reading, the explanationthereof, that any material difference can be detected between thereckonings of any two of these philosophers, which amounts to sayingthat whoever makes the greatest number of happy hits beyond the meretechnicalities common to all, is esteemed the wisest prophet and willdrive the most flourishing trade. 

Fully believing in the Chinese household word which says "Ignorance ofany one thing is always one point to the bad, " we have several timesread our destiny through the medium of some dirty old Chinaman. On thelast occasion we received the following advice in return for our 50cash, paid as per tablet for a destiny in detail:--"Beware the oddmonths of this year: you will meet with some dangers and slightlosses. Three male phoenixes (sons) will be accorded to you. Yourpresent lustrum is not a fortunate one; but it has nearly expired, andbetter days are at hand. Fruit cannot thrive in the winter. (We hadplaced our birthday in the 12th moon. ) Conflicting elements oppose:towards life's close prepare for trials. Wealth is beyond your grasp;but nature has marked you out to fill a lofty place. " How the abovewas extracted from the eight characters which represented the year, month, day, and hour of our birth, is made perfectly clear by a sumshowing every step in the working of the problem, though we mustconfess it appeared to us a humbugging jumble, the most prominent partof which was the answer. We found among other things that _earth_predominated in the combination: hence our inability to grasp wealth. _Water_ was happily deficient, and on this datum we were blessed inanticipation with three sons, to say nothing of daughters. 

And this is the sort of trash that is crammed down the throats ofChina's too credulous children--the "babies, " as the Mandarins are sofond of calling them. For this rubbish they freely spend theirhard-earned wages, consulting some favourite prophet on most of theirdomestic and other affairs with the utmost gravity and confidence. FewChinamen make a money venture without first applying to the oracle, and certainly never marry without arranging a lucky day for the event. Ignorance and credulity combine to support a numerous class of themost consummate adepts in the art of swindling; the supply, however, is not more than adequate to the demand, albeit they swarm in everystreet and thoroughfare of a Chinese city. 

GAMES AND GAMBLING

Chinamen suffer horribly from _ennui_--especially the first of thefour classes into which the non-official world has been subdivided. [*]They have no rational amusements wherewith to fill up the intervals ofwork. They hate physical exercise; more than that, they despise it asfit only for the ignorant and low. Yet they have not supplied itsplace with anything intellectual, and the most casual observer cannotfail to notice that China has no national game. Fencing, rowing, andcricket, are alike unknown; and archery, such as it is, claims theattention chiefly of candidates for official honours. Within doorsthey have chess, but it is not the game Europeans recognise by thatname, nor is it even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath. There is also another game played with three hundred and sixty blackand white pips on a board containing three hundred and sixty-onesquares, but this is very difficult and known only to the few. It issaid to have been invented by His Majesty the Emperor Yao who livedabout two thousand three hundred and fifty years before Christ, sothat granting an error of a couple of thousand years or so, it isstill a very ancient pastime. Dominoes are known, but not muchpatronised; cards, on the other hand, are very common, the favouritegames being those in which almost everything is left to chance. As toopen-air amusements, youths of the baser sort indulge in battledoreand shuttlecock without the battledore, and every resident in Chinamust have admired the skill with which the foot is used instead, atthis foot-shuttlecock game. Twirling heavy bars round the body, andgymnastics generally, are practised by the coolie and horse-boyclasses; but the disciple of Confucius, who has already discovered how"pleasant it is to learn with a constant perseverance andapplication, "[+] would stare indeed if asked to lay aside for onemoment that dignified carriage on which so much stress has been laidby the Master. Besides this, finger-nails an inch and a half long, guarded with an elaborate silver sheath, are decidedly _impedimenta_in the way of athletic success. No, --when the daily quantum of readinghas been achieved, a Chinese student has very little to fall back uponin the way of amusement. He may take a stroll through the town andlook in at the shops, or seek out some friend as _ennuye_ as himself, and while away an hour over a cup of tea and a pipe. Occasionally anumber of young men will join together and form a kind of literaryclub, meeting at certain periods to read essays or poems on subjectspreviously agreed upon by all. We heard of one youth who, burning forthe poet's laurel, produced the following quatrain on _snow_, whichhad been chosen as the theme for the day:--

 The north-east wind blew clear and bright, Each hole was filled up smooth and flat: The black dog suddenly grew white, The white dog suddenly grew--

"And here, " said the poet, "I broke down, not being able to get anappropriate rhyme to _flat_. " A wag who was present suggested _fat_, pointing out that the dog's increased bulk by the snow falling on hisback fully justified the meaning, and, what is of equal importance inChinese poetry, the antithesis. 

 [*] Namely, (1) the literati, (2) agriculturists, (3) artisans, and (4) merchants or tradesmen. 

 [+] The first sentence of the Analects or Confucian Gospels. 

Riddles and word-puzzles are largely used for the purpose of killingtime, the nature of the written language offering unlimited facilitiesfor the formation of the latter. Chinese riddles, by which term weinclude conundrums, charades, _et hoc genus omne_, are similar to ourown, and occupy quite as large a space in the literature of thecountry. They are generally in doggerel, of which the following may betaken as a specimen, being like the last a word-for-wordtranslation:--

 Little boy red-jacket, whither away? To the house with the ivory portals I stray. Say will you come back, little red-coat, again? My bones will return, but my flesh will remain. 

In the present instance the answer is so plain that it is almostinsulting to our readers to mention that it is "a cherry, " but this isby no means the case with all Chinese riddles, many being exceedinglydifficult of solution. So much so that it is customary all over theEmpire to copy out any particularly puzzling conundrum on a paperlantern, and hang it in the evening at the street door, with thepromise of a reward to any comer who may succeed in unravelling it. These are called "lamp riddles, " and usually turn upon the name ofsome tree, fruit, animal, or book, the direction in which the answeris to be sought being usually specified as a clue. 

Were it only in such innocent pastimes as these that the Chineseindulged, we might praise the simplicity of their morals, and contrastthem favourably with the excitement of European life. But there isjust one more little solace for leisure, and too often business hours, of which we have not yet spoken. Gambling is, of course, thedistraction to which we allude; a vice ten times more prevalent thanopium-smoking, and proportionately demoralising in its effect upon thenational character. In private life, there is always some stakehowever small; take it away, and to a Chinaman the object of playingany game goes too. In public, the very costermongers who hawk cakesand fruit about the streets are invariably provided with some meansfor determining by a resort to chance how much the purchaser shallhave for his money. Here, it is a bamboo tube full of sticks, withnumbers burnt into the concealed end, from which the customer draws;at another stall dice are thrown into an earthenware bowl, and so on. Every hungry coolie would rather take his chance of getting nothing atall, with the prospect of perhaps obtaining three times his money'sworth, than buy a couple of sausage-rolls and satisfy his appetite inthe legitimate way. The worst feature of gambling in China is thenumber of hells opened publicly under the very nose of the magistrate, all of which drive a flourishing trade in spite of the frequent_presents_ with which they are obliged to conciliate the venalofficial whose duty it is to put them down. To such an extent is thesystem carried that any remissness on the part of the keepers of thesedens in conveying a reasonable share of the profits to his honour'streasury, is met by _a brutum fulmen_ in the shape of a proclamation, setting forth how "it having come to my ears that, regardless of law, and in the teeth of my frequent warnings, certain evil-disposedpersons have dared to open public gambling-houses, be it hereby madeknown, " &c. , &c. , the whole document being liberally interspersed withallusions to the men of old, the laws of the reigning dynasty, andfilial piety _a discretion_. The upshot of this is that withintwenty-four hours after its appearance his honour's wrath is appeased, and croupiers and gamblers go on in the same old round as if nothingwhatever had happened. 

JURISPRUDENCE

Law, [*] as we understand the term, with all its paradoxes andrefinements, is utterly unknown to the Chinese, and it was absolutelynecessary to invent an equivalent for the word "barrister, " simplybecause no such expression was to be found ready-made in the language. Further, it would be quite impossible to persuade even the mostenlightened native that the Bar is an honourable profession, and thatits members are men of the highest principles and integrity. Theycannot get it out of their heads that western lawyers must belong tothe same category as a certain disreputable class among themselves, tobe met with in every Chinese town of importance, and generallyresiding in the vicinity of a magistrate's or judge's yamen. Thesefellows are always ready to undertake for a small remuneration theconduct of cases, in so far as they are able to do this by thepreparation of skilfully-worded petitions or counter-petitions, and byotherwise giving their advice. Of course they do not appear in court, for their very existence is forbidden, but their services are largelyavailed of by the people, especially the poor and ignorant. At thetrial, prosecutor and accused must each manage his own case, themagistrate himself doing all the cross-examination. We say_prosecutor_ and _accused_ advisedly, for as a matter of fact civilcases are rare in China, such questions as arise in the way of tradebeing almost invariably referred to some leading guild, whosearbitration is accepted without appeal. Now, we know of no such bookas "Laws of Evidence" in the whole range of Chinese literature; yet webelieve firmly that the intellects which adorn our own bench are notmore keen in discriminating truth from falsehood, and detecting at aglance the corrupt witness, than the semi-civilised native functionary--that is, when no silver influences have been brought to bear uponhis judgment. The Chinese have a penal code which, allowing for thedifference in national customs and habits of thought, stands almostunrivalled; and with this solitary work their legal literature beginsand ends. It is regarded by the people as an inspired book, though fewknow much beyond the title, and seems to answer its purpose well. 

 [*] Civil law. 

But inasmuch as in China as elsewhere _summum jus_ is not infrequently_summa injuria_, a clever magistrate never hesitates to set aside lawor custom, and deal out Solomonic justice with an unsparing hand, provided always he can shew that his course is one which _reason_infallibly dictates. Such an officer wins golden opinions from thepeople, and his departure from the neighbourhood is usually signalisedby the presentation of the much-coveted testimonial umbrella. In thereign of the last Emperor but one, less than twenty years ago, therewas an official of this stamp employed as "second Prefect" in thedepartment of Han-yang. Many and wonderful are the stories told of hisunerring acumen, and his memory is still fondly cherished by all whoknew him in his days of power. We will quote one from among numeroustraditions of his genius which have survived to the present day. 

A poor man, passing through one of the back thoroughfares in Hankow, came upon a Tls. 50[*] note lying in the road and payable to bearer. His first impulse was to cash it, but reflecting that the sum waslarge and that the loser might be driven in despair to commit suicide, the consequences of which might be that he himself would perhaps getinto trouble, he determined to wait on the spot for the owner and restcontent with the "thanks money" he was entitled by Chinese custom toclaim as a right. Very shortly he saw a stranger approaching, with hiseyes bent on the ground, evidently in search of something; whereuponhe made up to him and asked at once if anything was the matter. Explanations followed, and the Tls. 50 note was restored to its lawfulpossessor, who, recovering himself instantaneously, asked where theother one was, and went on to say that he had lost _two_ notes of thesame value, and that on recovery of the other one he would reward thefinder as he deserved, but that unless that was also forthcoming heshould be too great a loser as it was. His benefactor was protestingstrongly against this ungenerous behaviour when the "second Prefect"happened to come round the corner, who, seeing there was a row, stopped his chair, and inquired there and then into the merits of thecase. The result was that he took the Tls. 50 note and presented it tothe honest finder, telling him to go on his way rejoicing; while, turning to the ungrateful loser, he sternly bade him wait till he metsome one who had found _two_ notes of that value, and from himendeavour to recover his lost property. 

 [*] Fifty taels, equal to about 15 pounds. 

JURISPRUDENCE, NO. II

From the previous sketch it may readily be gathered that the state ofChinese law, both civil[*] and criminal, is a very important item inthe sum of those obstacles which bar so effectually the admission ofChina--not into the cold and uncongenial atmosphere euphuisticallyknown as the "comity of nations"--but into closer ties ofinternational intercourse and friendship on a free and equal footing. For as long as we have ex-territorial rights, and are compelled toavail ourselves thereof, we can regard the Chinese nation only _dehaut en bas_; while, on the other hand, our very presence under such, to them abnormal conditions, will continue to be neither more or lessthan a humiliating eye-sore. Till foreigners in China can look withconfidence for an equitable administration of justice on the part ofthe mandarins, we fear that even science, with all its resources, willbe powerless to do more than pave the way for that wished-for momentwhen China and the West will shake hands over all the defeatssustained by the one, and all the insults offered to the other. 

 [*] That is, local custom. 

It is in the happily unfrequent cases of homicide where a native and aforeigner play the principal parts, that certain discrepancies betweenChinese and Western law, rules of procedure and evidence, besidesseveral other minor points, stand out in the boldest and mostirreconcilable relief. To begin with, the Penal Code and all itsmodifications of murder, answering in some respects to our distinctionbetween murder and manslaughter, is but little known to the people atlarge. Nay, the very officials who administer these laws are generallyas grossly ignorant of them as it is possible to be, and in everyjudge's yamen in the Empire there are one or two "law experts, " whoare always prepared to give chapter and verse at a moment'snotice, --in fact, to guide the judge in delivering a proper verdict, and one such as must meet with the approbation of his superiors. Thepeople, on the other hand, know but one leading principle in cases ofmurder--a life for a life. Under extenuating circumstances cases ofhomicide are compromised frequently enough by money payments, but ifthe relatives should steadily refuse to forego their revenge, fewofficials would risk their own position by failing to fix the guiltsomewhere. As a rule, it is not difficult to obtain the conviction andcapital punishment of any native, or his substitute, who has murdereda foreigner, and we might succeed equally well in many instances ofjustifiable homicide or manslaughter: it is when the case is reversedthat we call down upon our devoted heads all the indignation of theCelestial Empire. Of course any European who could be proved to havemurdered a native would be hanged for it; but he may kill him inself-defence or by accident, in both of which instances the Chinesewould clamour for the extreme penalty of the law. Further, _hearsay_is evidence in a Chinese court of justice, and if several witnessesappeared who could only say that some one else told them that theaccused had committed the murder, it would go just as far tostrangling or beheading him, as if they had said they saw the deedthemselves. The accused is, moreover, not only allowed to criminatehimself, but no case being complete without a full confession on thepart of the guilty man, torture might be brought into play to extortfrom him the necessary acknowledgment. It is plain, therefore, thatChinese officials prosecuting on behalf of their injured countrymen, are quite at sea in an English court, and their case often fallingthrough for want of proper evidence, they return home cursing theinjustice done to them by the hated barbarians, and longing for theday which will dawn upon their extermination from the Flowery Land. 

On the other hand, the examination of Chinese witnesses, either in acivil or criminal case, is one of the most trying tests to which theforbearance of foreign officials is exposed in all the length andbreadth of their intercourse with the slippery denizens of the middlekingdom. Leaving out of the question the extreme difficulty of thelanguage, now gradually yielding to methodical and persevering study, the peculiar bent of the Chinese mind, with all its prejudices andsuperstitions, is quite as much an obstacle in the way of elicitingtruth as any offered by the fantastic, but still amenable, varietiesof Chinese syntax. We believe that native officials have the power, though it does not always harmonise with their interests to exerciseit, of arriving at as just and equitable decisions in the majority ofcases brought before them, as any English magistrate who knows"Taylor's Law of Evidence" from beginning to end. They accomplish thisby a knowledge of character, unparalleled perhaps in any country onthe globe, which enables them to distinguish readily, and without suchconstant recourse to torture as is generally supposed, between thefalse and honest witness. The study of mankind in China is, beyond alldoubt--man and his motives for action on every possible occasion, andunder every possible condition. Thus it is, we may remark, that theChinese fail to appreciate the efforts made for their good bymissionaries and others, because the motives of such a course areutterly beyond the reach of native investigation and thought. They areconsequently suspicious of the Greeks--_et dona ferentes_. Theself-denial of missionaries who come out to China to all the hardshipsof Oriental life--though, as a facetious writer in the _ShanghaiCourier_ lately remarked, they live in the best houses, and seem tolead as jolly lives as anybody else out here--to say nothing ofgratuitous medical advice and the free distribution of all kinds ofmedicine--all this is entirely incomprehensible to the narrow mind ofthe calculating native. Their observations have been confined tothe characters and habits of thought which distinguish theirfellow-countrymen, and with the result above-mentioned; of theEuropean mind they know absolutely nothing. 

As regards the evidence of Chinese taken in a foreign court ofjustice, the first difficulty consists generally in swearing thewitnesses. Old books on China, which told great lies without muchdanger of conviction, mention cock-killing and saucer-breaking asamong the most binding forms of Chinese oaths. The common formula, however, which we consider should be adopted in preference to anyhybrid expression invented for the occasion, is an invocation toheaven and earth to listen to the statements about to be made, and topunish the witness for any deviation from the truth. This is sensibleenough, and is moreover not without weight among a superstitiouspeople like the Chinese. The witness then expects the magistrate toask him the name of his native district, his own name, his age, theage of his father and mother (if alive), the maiden name of his wife, her age, the number and the ages of his children, and many morequestions of similar relevancy and importance, before a single effortis made towards eliciting any one fact bearing upon the subject underinvestigation. With a stereotyped people like the Chinese, it does notdo to ignore these trifles of form and custom; on the contrary, thewitness should rather be allowed to wander at will through suchuseless details until he has collected his scattered thoughts, and maybe safely coaxed on to divulge something which partakes more of thenature of evidence. Under proper treatment, a Chinese witness is by nomeans doggedly stubborn or doltishly stupid; he may be either or bothif he has previously been tampered with by native officials, but eventhen it is not absolutely impossible to defeat his dishonesty. Occasionally a question will be put by a foreigner to anunsophisticated boor, never dreamt of in the philosophy of the latter, and such as would never have fallen from the lips of one of his ownofficials; the answers given under such circumstances are usuallyunique of their kind. We know of an instance where a boatman wasasked, in reference to a collision case, at what rate he thought thetide was running. The witness hesitated, looked up, down, on eitherside, and behind him; finally he replied:--"I am a poor boatman; Ionly earn one hundred and fifty cash a day, and how can you expect meto know at what rate the tide was running?"

BUDDHIST PRIESTS

There are few more loathsome types of character either in the East orWest than the Buddhist priest of China. He is an object of contempt tothe educated among his countrymen, not only as one who has shirked thecares and responsibilities to which all flesh is heir, but as amisguided outcast who has voluntarily resigned the glorious title andprivileges of that divinely-gifted being represented by the symbol_man_. With his own hands he has severed the five sacred ties whichdistinguish him from the brute creation, in the hope of some dayattaining what is to most Chinamen a very doubtful immortality. Payingno taxes and rendering no assistance in the administration of theEmpire, his duty to his sovereign is incomplete. Marrying no wife, hisaffinity, the complement of his earthly existence, sinks into avirgin's grave. Rearing no children, his troubled spirit meets afterdeath with the same neglect and the same absence of cherished riteswhich cast a shadow upon his parents' tomb. Renouncing all fraternalties, he deprives himself of the consolation and support of abrother's love. Detaching himself from the world and its vanities, friendship spreads its charms for him in vain. Thus he is in noChinese sense a man. He has no name, and is frequently shocked by somewestern tyro in Chinese who, thinking to pay the everyday complimentbandied between Chinamen, asks to his intense disgust--"What is yourhonourable name?" The unfortunate priest has substituted a "religiousdesignation" for the patronymic he discarded when parents, brethren, home, and friends were cast into oblivion at the door of the temple. 

But it is not on such mere sentimental grounds that the Chinese nationhas condemned in this wholesale manner the clergy of China. Did thelatter carry out even to a limited extent their vows of celibacy andPythagorean principles of diet, they would probably obtain a fairshare of that questionable respect which is meted out to enthusiastsin most countries on the globe. The Chinese hate them as double-dyedhypocrites who extort money from the poor and ignorant, work upon thefears of, and frequently corrupt, their wives or daughters; proclaimin bold characters at the gates of each temple--"no meat or wine mayenter here"--while all the time they dine off their favourite pork asoften as most Chinamen, and smoke or drink themselves into a state ofbeastly intoxication a great deal more so. Opium pipes are to be foundas frequently as not among the effects of these sainted men, who, withall the abundant leisure at their command, are rarely of sufficienteducation to be mentioned in the same breath with an ordinarygraduate. Occasionally there have been exceptions to the rule, but thephenomenon is seldom met with in modern times. We have read of a lameold priest so renowned for self-denying liberality that the greatEmperor Ch'ien Lung actually paid him a visit. After some conversationCh'ien Lung presented him with a valuable pearl, which the old manimmediately bestowed upon a beggar he espied among the crowd. HisMajesty was somewhat taken aback at this act of rudeness, and askedhim if he always gave away everything in the same manner. On receivingan affirmative reply, the Emperor added, "Even down to the crutch onwhich you lean?" "Ah, " said the priest, "it is written that thesuperior man does not covet what his friend cannot spare. " "Butsupposing, " said the Emperor, "he was not a superior man. " "In thatcase, " answered the priest, "you could not expect me to be hisfriend. "

Cleanliness, again, is an especial attribute of Buddhism, and in a fewtemples in the south there is an attempt to make some show in thisdirection; but as regards the person, priests are dirtier if anythingthan the humblest members of their flock. It is laughable indeed tohear them chant the _Ching_, ignorant as ninety-nine per cent. Are ofevery word they are saying, for of late the study of Sanskrit has beenutterly and entirely neglected. Their duties, however, in this respectare as much curtailed as possible, except when wafting with theirprayers some spirit of the dead to the realms of bliss above. In suchcases it is a matter of business, a question of money; and theunctuous air of solemn faith they then put on contrasts curiously withthe bored and sleepy look apparent on their faces as they gabblethrough a midnight mass, in the presence of some such limited andunimportant audience as a single and perhaps a red-haired barbarian. 

It is pleasant to dismiss from our thoughts this lying, shameless, debauched class; and we do so, wondering how Buddhism has retained itshold so long over an intellectual people possessed of an elaboratemoral code, which has been for centuries the acknowledged standard ofright and wrong, and which condemns all fear or hope of an unknown andunseen world. 

RESPECT FOR THE WRITTEN CHARACTER

One of the most curious and harmless customs of the Chinese is that ofcarefully burning every scrap of paper inscribed with the cherishedcharacters which, as far as calligraphy goes, justly take precedenceof those of any other language on the globe. Not content with merereduction by fire, a conscientious Chinaman will collect the ashesthus produced, and sealing them up in some earthen vessel, will burythem deep in the earth or sink them to the bottom of a river. Thenonly does he consider that he has fully discharged his duty towardspaper which has by mere accident become as sacred in the eyes of allgood men as the most precious relic of any martyred saint in theestimation of a Catholic priest. Rich men are constantly in the habitof paying _chiffoniers_ to collect such remnants of written paper asthey may find lying about the streets, and in all Chinese towns thereare receptacles at the most frequented points where the results oftheir labours may be burned. The above facts are pretty generallyknown to foreigners in China and elsewhere, but we do not think thatnative ideas on the subject have ever been brought forward otherwisethan indirectly. We therefore give the translation of a short essaypublished in 1870 by an enthusiastic scholar, and distributed gratisamong his erring countrymen:--

 "From of old down to the present time our sages have devoted themselves to the written character--that fairest jewel in heaven above or earth beneath. Those, therefore, who are stimulated by a thirst for _fame_, strive to attain their end by the excellency of their compositions; others, attracted by desire for wealth, pursue their object with the help of day-book and ledgers. In both cases men would be helpless without a knowledge of the art of writing. How, indeed, could despatches be composed, agreements drawn up, letters exchanged, and genealogies recorded, but for the assistance of the written character? By what means would a man chronicle the glory of his ancestors, indite the marriage deed, or comfort anxious parents when exiled to a distant land? In what way could he secure property to his sons and grandchildren, borrow or lend money, enter into partnership, or divide a patrimony, but with the testimony of written documents? The very labourer in the fields, tenant of a few acres, must have his rights guaranteed in black and white; and household servants require more than verbal assurance that their wages will not fail to be paid. The prescription of the physician, about to call back some suffering patient from the gates of death, is taken down with pen and ink; and the prognostication of the soothsayer, warning men of evil or predicting good fortune, exemplifies in another direction the use of the written character. In a word, the art of writing enriches and ennobles man, hands him over to life or death, confers upon him honours and distinctions, or covers him with abuse and shame. 

 "Of late, however, our schools have turned out an arrogant and ignorant lot--boys who venture to use old books for wrapping parcels or papering windows, for boiling water, or wiping the table; boys, I say, who scribble over their books, who write characters on wall or door, who chew up the drafts of their poems, or throw them away on the ground. Let all such be severely punished by their masters that they may be saved, while there is yet time, from the wrath of an avenging Heaven. Some men use old pawn-tickets for wrapping up things--it may be a cabbage or a pound of bean-curd. Others use lottery-tickets of various descriptions for wrapping up a picked vegetable or a slice of pork, with no thought of the crime they are committing as long as there is a cash to be made or saved. So also there are those who exchange their old books for pumeloes or ground-nuts, to be defiled with the filth of the waste-paper basket, and passed from hand to hand like the cheques of the barbarian. Alas, too, for women when they go to fairs, for children who are sent to market! They cannot read one single character: they know not the priceless value of written paper. They drop the wrapping of a parcel in the mire for every passer-by to tread under foot. Their crime, however, will be laid at the door of those who erred in the first instance (i. E. , those who sold their old books to the shopkeepers). For they hoped to squeeze some profit, infinitesimal indeed, out of tattered or incomplete volumes; forgetting in their greed that they were dishonouring the sages, and laying up for themselves certain calamity. Why then sacrifice so much for such trifling gain? How much better a due observance of time-honoured custom, ensuring as it would a flow of prosperity continuous and everlasting as the waves of the sea! O ye merchants and shopkeepers, know that in heaven as on earth written words are esteemed precious as the jade, and whatever is marked therewith must not be cast aside like stones and tiles. For happiness, wealth, honours, distinctions, and old age, may be one and all secured by a proper respect for written paper. "

SUPERSTITION

Educated Chinamen loudly disclaim any participation in thesuperstitious beliefs which, to a European eye, hang like a dark cloudover an otherwise intellectually free people. There never has been aState religion in China, and it has always been open to every man tobelieve and practise as much or as little as he likes of Buddhism, Taoism, or Mahomedanism, without legal interference or social stigmaof any kind. Of course it is understood that such observances must bepurely self-regarding, and that directly they assume--as lately in thecase of Mahomedanism--anything of a political character, the ChineseGovernment is not slow to protect the unity of the Empire by the bestmeans in its power. And so, but for the suicidal zeal of Christianmissions and their supporters, who have effected an unnaturalamalgamation of religion and politics, and carried the Bible intoChina at the point of the bayonet, the same toleration might now beaccorded to Christianity which the propagators of other religions havehitherto been permitted to enjoy. 

As to religion in China, it is only of the ethics of Confucius thatthe State takes any real cognizance. His is what John Stuart Millalluded to as "the best wisdom they possess;" and, as he furtherobserved, the Chinese have secured "that those who have appropriatedmost of it shall occupy the posts of honour and power. " His maxims areentirely devoid of the superstitious element. He recognises aprinciple of right beyond the ken of man; but though he once said thatthis principle was conscious of his existence and his work on earth, it never entered his head to endow it with anything like retributorypowers. Allusions to an unseen world were received by him with scorn;and as regards a future state, he has preserved a most discreetsilence. "While you do not know life, how can you know about death?"was the rebuke he administered to a disciple who urged some utteranceon the problem of most interest to mankind. And yet, in spite of theextreme healthiness of Confucian ethics, there has grown up, aroundboth the political and social life of the Chinese, such a tangled mazeof superstition, that it is no wonder if all intellectual advancementhas been first checked, and has then utterly succumbed. The rulingclasses have availed themselves of its irresistible power to give thema firmer hold over their simple-hearted, credulous subjects; they havepractised it in its grossest forms, and have written volumes insupport of absurdities in which they cannot really have the slightestfaith themselves. It was only a year or two ago that the most powerfulman in China, a distinguished scholar, statesman, and general, prostrated himself before a diminutive water-snake, in the hope thatby humble intercession with the God of Floods he might bring about arespite from the cruel miseries which had been caused by inundationsover a wide area of the province of Chihli. The suppliant was no otherthan the celebrated Viceroy, Lu Hung-chang, who has recently armed theforts at the mouth and on the banks of the Peiho with Krupp's bestguns, instead of trusting, as would be consistent, the issue of afuture war to the supernatural efforts of some Chinese Mars. 

Turning now to the literature of China, we cannot but be astonished atthe mass of novels which are one and all of the same tendency; infact, not only throughout the entire stratum of Chinese fiction, buteven in that of the gravest philosophical speculations, has themiraculous been introduced as a natural and necessary element. Thefollowing passage, taken from the writings of Han Wen-kung, whose namehas been pronounced to be "one of the most venerated, " is a fairspecimen of the trash to be met with at every turn in that trackless, treeless desert, which for want of a more appropriate term we areobliged to call the literature of China:--

 "There are some things which possess form but are devoid of sound, as for instance jade and stones; others have sound but are without form, such as wind and thunder; others again have both form and sound, such as men and animals; and lastly, there is a class devoid of both, namely, _devils and spirits_. "

Descending to the harmless superstition of domestic life, we find thatthe cat washing her face is not, as with us, a sign of rain, but thata stranger is coming. On the other hand, "strangers" in tea portend, as with us, the arrival of some unlooked-for guest, tall or short, fator lean, according to the relative proportions of the prophetic twig. Aching corns denote the approach of wet weather--we do not quote thisas a superstition--and for a girl to spill water on fowls or dogs willensure a downpour of rain on her wedding-day. Any one who hears a crowcaw should shatter his teeth three times and blow; and two broomstogether will bring joy and sorrow at the same time, as a birth and adeath on the same day. "Crows' feet" on the face are called "fishes'tails, " and in young men mean what the widower's peak is supposed tosignify with us. 

Superstition is China's worst enemy--a shadow which only the purelight of science will be able to dispel. There are many amongst us whowould give her more: but they will not succeed. 

NATURAL PHENOMENA

It is a question of more than ordinary interest to those who regardthe Chinese people as a worthy object of study, What are thespeculations of the working and uneducated classes concerning suchnatural phenomena as it is quite impossible for them to ignore? Theirtheory of eclipses is well known, foreign ears being periodicallystunned by the gonging of an excited crowd of natives, who areendeavouring with hideous noises to prevent some imaginary dog ofcolossal proportions from banqueting, as the case may be, upon the sunor moon. At such laughable exhibitions of native ignorance it will beobserved that there is always a fair sprinkling of well-to-do, educated persons, who not only ought to know better themselves, butshould be making some effort to enlighten their less fortunatecountrymen instead of joining in the din. Such a hold, however, assuperstition on the minds of the best informed in a Chinese community, that under the influence of any real or supposed danger, philosophyand Confucius are scattered to the four winds of Heaven, and theproudest disciple of the Master proves himself after all but a man. 

Leaving the literati to take care of themselves, and confining ourattention to the good-tempered, joyous, hospitable working-classes ofChina, we find many curious beliefs on subjects familiar among westernnations to every national school-boy. The earth, for instance, ispopularly believed to be square; and the heavens a kind of shell orcovering, studded with stars and revolving round the earth. Weremember once when out of sight of land calling the notice of ournative valet to the masts of a vessel sinking below the horizon. Wepointed out to him that were the earth a perfectly flat surface itsdisappearance would not be so comparatively sudden, nor would the shipappear to sink. But at the last moment, when we felt that convictionwas entering into his soul and that another convert had been made tothe great cause of scientific truth, he calmly replied that it waswritten--"Heaven is round, earth is square, " and he didn't very wellunderstand how books could be wrong!

The sun is generally supposed to pass at sunset into the earth, and tocome out next morning at the other side. The moon is supposed to risefrom and set in the ocean. Earthquakes are held to result fromexplosions of sulphur in the heart of the earth; rain is said to bepoured down by the Dragon God who usually resides on the other side ofthe clouds, and the rainbow is believed to be formed by the breath ofan enormous oyster which lives somewhere in the middle of the sea, faraway from land. Comets and eclipses of the sun are looked upon asspecial warnings to the throne, and it is usual for some distinguishedcensor to memorialise the Emperor accordingly. The most curiousperhaps of all these popular superstitions are those which refer tothunder, lightning, and hail, regarded in China as the visitation ofan angry and offended god. In the first place it is supposed thatpeople are struck by thunder and not by lightning--a belief which wasprobably once prevalent in England, as evidenced by the English word_thunderstruck_. Sir Philip Sydney writes:--"I remained as a manthunder-stricken. " Secondly, death by thunder is regarded as apunishment for some secret crime committed against human or divinelaw, and consequently a man who is not conscious of anything of thekind faces the elements without fear. Away behind the clouds during astorm or typhoon sit the God of Thunder armed with his terrible bolts, and the Goddess of Lightning, holding in her hand a dazzling mirror. With this last she throws a flash of lightning over the guilty manthat the God of Thunder may see to strike his victim; the pealingcrash which follows is caused by the passage through the air of theinvisible shaft--and the wrongs of Heaven are avenged. Similarly, hailis looked upon as an instrument of punishment in the hands of the HailGod, directed only against the crops and possessions of such mortalsas have by their wicked actions exposed themselves to the slow butcertain visitation of divine vengeance. 

Each province, nay, each town, has its own particular set ofsuperstitions on a variety of subjects; the above, however, dealingwith the most important of all natural phenomena, will be found commonto every village and household in the Chinese Empire. The childlikefaith with which such quaint notions are accepted by the people atlarge is only equalled by the untiring care with which they arefostered by the ruling classes, who are well aware of their value inthe government of an excitable people. The Emperor himself prays loudand long for rain, fine weather, or snow, according as either may beneeded by the suffering crops, and never leaves off until the elementsanswer his prayers. But here we are ridiculing a phase of superstitionfrom which nations with greater advantages than China are not yetwholly free. 

CELEBRATION OF THE NEW YEAR

China New Year!--What a suggestive ring have those three words for"the foreigner in far Cathay. "[*] What visions do they conjure up ofill-served tiffins, of wages forestalled, of petty thefts andperhaps a burglary; what thoughts of horrid tom-toms and ruthlessfire-crackers, making day hideous as well as night; what apparitions ofgaudily-dressed butlers and smug-faced coolies, their rear brought upby man's natural enemy in China--the cook, for once in his life clean, and holding in approved Confucian style[+] some poisonous indigestiblepresent he calls a cake!

 [*] The title of Mr Medhurst's work. 

 [+] "In presenting gifts, his countenance wore a placid appearance. "-- Analects: ch. X. 

New Year's Day is the one great annual event in Chinese social andpolitical life. An Imperial birthday, even an Imperial marriage, palesbefore the important hour at which all sublunary affairs are supposedto start afresh, every account balanced and every debt paid. About tendays previously the administration of public business is nominallysuspended; offices are closed, official seals carefully wrapped up andgiven into the safe keeping of His Honour's or His Excellency'swife. [*] The holidays last one month, and during that time inaction isthe order of the day, it being forbidden to punish criminals, or evento stamp, and consequently to write, a despatch on any subjectwhatever. The dangerous results, however, that might ensue from a tooliberal observance of the latter prohibition are nearly anticipated bystamping beforehand a number of blank sheets of paper, so that, ifoccasion requires, a communication may be forwarded without delay andwithout committing an actual breach of law or custom. 

 [*] A universal custom which may be quoted with countless others against the degradation-of-women-in-China doctrine. 

The New Year is the season of presents. Closely-packed boxes ofChinese cake, biscuits, and crystallised fruit, are presented astributes of respect to the patriarchs of the family; grapes fromShansi or Shan-tung, hams from Foochow, and lichees from Canton, allform fitting vehicles for a declaration of friendship or of love. Now, too, the birthday gifts offered by every official in the Empire to hisimmediate superior, are supplemented by further propitiatorysacrifices to the powers that be, without which tenure of office wouldbe at once troublesome and insecure. Such are known as _dry_, incontradistinction to the _water_ presents exchanged between relativesand friends. The latter are wholly, or at any rate in part, articlesof food prized among the Chinese for their delicacy or rarity, perhapsboth; and so to all appearance are the baskets of choice oranges, &c. , sent for instance by a District Magistrate with compliments of theseason to His Excellency the Provincial Judge. But the Magistrate andthe Judge know better, for beneath that smiling fruit lie concealedcertain bank-notes or shoes of silver of unimpeachable touch, whichform a unit in the sum of that functionary's income, and enable him inhis turn to ingratiate himself with the all-powerful Viceroy, while helays by from year to year a comfortable provision against the timewhen sickness or old age may compel him to resign both the duties andprivileges of government. 

To "all between the four seas, " patrician and plebeian[*] alike, theNew Year is a period of much intensity. On the 23rd or 24th of thepreceding moon it is the duty of every family to bid farewell to theSpirit of the Hearth, and to return thanks for the protectionvouchsafed during the past year to each member of the household. TheSpirit is about to make his annual journey to heaven, and lest aughtof the disclosures he might make should entail unpleasantconsequences, it is adjudged best that he shall be rendered incapableof making any disclosures at all. With this view, quantities of a verysticky sweetmeat are prepared and presented as it were in sacrifice, on eating which the unwary god finds his lips tightly glued together, and himself unable to utter a single syllable. Beans are also offeredas fodder for the horse on which he is supposed to ride. On the lastday of the old year he returns and is regaled to his heart's contenton brown sugar and vegetables. This is the time _par excellence_ forcracker-firing, though, as everybody knows, these abominations beginsome days previously. Every one, however, may not be aware that theobject of letting off these crackers is to rid the place of all theevil spirits that may have collected together during the twelve monthsjust over, so that the influences of the young year may beuncontaminated by their presence. New Year's eve is no season forsleep: in fact, Chinamen almost think it obligatory on a respectableson of Han to sit up all night. Indeed, unless his bills are paid, hewould have a poor chance of sleeping even if he wished. Hispersevering creditor would not leave his side, but would sit therethreatening and pleading by turns until he got his money or effected acompromise. Even should it be past twelve o'clock, the wretched debtorcannot call it New Year's Day until his unwelcome dun has made it soby blowing out the candle in his lantern. Of course there areexceptions, but as a rule all accounts in China are squared up beforethe old year has become a matter of history and the new year reigns inits stead. Then, with the first streaks of dawn, begins that incessantround of visits which is such a distinguishing feature of the wholeproceedings. Dressed out in his very best, official hat and boots, button and peacock's feather, if lucky enough to possess them, [+]every individual Chinaman in the Empire goes off to call on all hisrelatives and friends. With a thick wad of cards, he presents himselffirst at the houses of the elder branches of the family, or visits thefriends of his father; when all the seniors have been disposed of, heseeks out his own particular cronies, of his own age and standing. Ifin the service of his country, he does not omit to call at the yamenand leave some trifling souvenir of his visit for the officerimmediately in authority over him. Wherever he goes he is alwaysoffered something to eat, a fresh supply of cakes, fruit, and wine, being brought in for each guest as he arrives. While thus engaged hisfather, or perhaps brother, will be doing the honours at home, readyto take their turn as occasion may serve. "New joy, new joy; get rich, get rich, " is the equivalent of our "Happy New Year, " and is bandiedabout from mouth to mouth at this festive season, until pettydistinctions of nationality and creed vanish before the convictionthat, at least in matters of sentiment, Chinamen and Europeans meetupon common ground. Yet there is one solitary exception to therule--an unfortunate being whom no one wishes to see prosperous, andwhom nobody greets with the pleasant phrase, "Get rich, get rich. " Itis the coffin-maker. 

 [*] Chinese society is divided into two classes--officials and non-officials. 

 [+] No matter whether by merit or by purchase. 

THE FEAST OF LANTERNS

A great Chinese festival is the Feast of Lanterns, one which is onlysecond in importance to New Year's Day. Its name is not unfamiliareven to persons in England who have never visited China, and whoseideas about the country are limited to a confused jumble of pigtails, birds'-nest soup, and the _kotow_. Its advent may or may not benoticed by residents in China; though if they know the date on whichit falls, we imagine that is about as much as is generally known byforeigners of the Feast of Lanterns. 

This festival dates from the time of the Han dynasty, or, in roundnumbers, about two thousand years ago. Originally it was a ceremonialworship in the temple of the First Cause, and lasted from the 13th tothe 16th of the first moon, bringing to a close on the latter date allthe rejoicings, feastings, and visitings consequent upon the New Year. In those early days it had no claim to its present title, for lanternswere not used; pious supplicants performed their various acts ofprayer and sacrifice by the light of the full round moon alone. It wasnot till some eight hundred years later that art came to theassistance of nature, and the custom was introduced of illuminatingthe streets with many a festoon of those gaudy paper lanterns, withoutwhich now no nocturnal fete is thought complete. Another three hundredyears passed away without change, and then two more days were added tothe duration of the carnival, making it six days in all. For this itwas necessary to obtain the Imperial sanction, and such was ultimatelygranted to a man named Ch'ien, in consideration of an equivalentwhich, as history hints, might be very readily expressed in taels. Thewhole thing now lasts from the 13th of the moon, the day on which itis customary to light up for the first time, to the 18th inclusive, when all the fun and jollity is over and the serious business of lifebegins anew. The 15th is the great time, work of every kind being asentirely suspended as it is with us on Christmas Day. At night thecandles are lighted in the lanterns, and crackers are fired in everydirection. The streets are thronged with gaping crowds, and cut-pursesmake small fortunes with little or no trouble. There being nopolicemen in a Chinese mob, and as the cry of "stop thief" would meetwith no response from the bystanders, a thief has simply to look outfor some simple victim, snatch perhaps his pipe from his hand, or hispouch from his girdle, and elbow his way off as fast as he can go. 

Plenty of lights and plenty of joss-stick would be enough ofthemselves to make up a festival for Chinamen; in the present instancethere should be an extra abundance of both, though for reasons notgenerally known to uneducated natives. Ask a coolie why he lightscandles and burns joss-stick at the Feast of Lanterns, and he willprobably be unable to reply. The idea is that the spirits of one'sancestors choose this occasion to come back _dulces revisere natos_, and that in their honour the hearth should be somewhat more swept andgarnished than usual. Therefore they consume bundle upon bundle ofwell-scented joss-stick, that the noses of the spirits may run no riskof being offended by mundane smells. Candles are lighted, that thesedisembodied beings may be able to see their way about; and their senseof the beautiful is consulted by a tasteful arrangement of the prettylamps in which the dirty Chinese dips are concealed. Worship on thisoccasion is tolerably promiscuous; the Spirit of the Hearth generallycomes in for his share, and Heaven and Earth are seldom left out inthe cold. One very important part of the fun consists in eatinglargely of a kind of cake prepared especially for the occasion. Sugar, or some sweet mince-meat, is wrapped up in snow-white rice flour untilabout the size of a small hen's egg, only perfectly round, and theseare eaten by hundreds in every household. Their shape is typical of acomplete family gathering, for every Chinaman makes an effort to spendthe Feast of Lanterns at home. 

Under the mournful circumstances of the late Emperor's death, the 15thof the 1st Chinese moon was this year (1875) hardly distinguishablefrom any other day since the rod of empire passed from the hands of aboy to those of a baby. No festivities were possible; it was of courseunlawful to hang lamps in any profusion, and all Chinamen have beenprohibited by Imperial edict from wearing their best clothes. Theutmost any one could do in the way of enjoyment was to gorge himselfwith the rice-flour balls above-mentioned, and look forward to gayertimes when the days of mourning shall be over. 

OPIUM SMOKING

Many writers on Chinese topics delight to dwell upon the slow but suredestruction of morals, manners, and men, which is being graduallyeffected throughout the Empire by the terrible agency of opium. Harrowing pictures are drawn of once well-to-do and happy districtswhich have been reduced to know the miseries of disease and poverty byindulgence in the fatal drug. The plague itself could not decimate soquickly, or war leave half the desolation in its track, as we are toldis the immediate result of forgetting for a few short moments thecares of life in the enjoyment of a pipe of opium. To such an extentis this language used, that strangers arriving in China expect to seenothing less than the stern reality of all the horrors they have hearddescribed; and they are astonished at the busy, noisy sight of aChinese town, the contented, peaceful look of China's villagers, andthe rich crops which are so readily yielded to her husbandmen by manyan acre of incomparable soil. Where, then, is this scourge of whichmen speak? Evidently not in the highways, the haunts of commerce, orin the quiet repose of far-off agricultural hamlets. Bent on search, and probably determined to discover something, our seeker after truthis finally conducted to an opium den, one of those miserable hellsupon earth common to every large city on the globe. Here he beholdsthe vice in all its hideousness; the gambler, the thief, the beggar, and such outcasts from the social circle, meet here to worship the godwho grants a short nepenthe from suffering and woe. This, then, isChina, and travellers' tales are but too true. A great nation hasfallen a prey to the insidious drug, and her utter annihilation is butan affair of time!

We confess, however, we have looked for these signs in vain; but ourpatience has been rewarded by the elucidation of facts which have ledus to brighter conclusions than those so generally accepted. We havenot judged China as a nation from the inspection of a few lowopium-shops, or from the half dozen extreme cases of which we may havebeen personally cognizant, or which we may have gleaned from thereports of medical missionaries in charge of hospitals for nativepatients. We do not deny that opium is a curse, in so far as a largenumber of persons would be better off without it; but comparing itsuse as a stimulant with that of alcoholic liquors in the West, we arebound to admit that the comparison is very much to the disadvantage ofthe latter. Where opium kills its hundreds, gin counts its victims bythousands; and the appalling scenes of drunkenness so common to aEuropean city are of the rarest occurrence in China. In a countrywhere the power of corporal punishments is placed by law in the handsof the husband, wife-beating is unknown; and in a country where anardent spirit can be supplied to the people at a low price, _deliriumtremens_ is an untranslateable term. Who ever sees in China a tipsyman reeling about a crowded thoroughfare, or lying with his head in aditch by the side of some country road? The Chinese people arenaturally sober, peaceful, and industrious; they fly fromintoxicating, quarrelsome samshoo, to the more congenial opium-pipe, which soothes the weary brain, induces sleep, and invigorates thetired body. 

In point of fact, we have failed to find but a tithe of that real vicewhich cuts short so many brilliant careers among men who, with all theadvantages of education and refinement, are euphemistically spoken ofas addicted to the habit of "lifting their little fingers. " FewChinamen seem really to love wine, and opium, by its very price, isbeyond the reach of the blue-coated masses. In some parts, especiallyin Formosa, a great quantity is smoked by the well-paid chair-coolies, to enable them to perform the prodigies of endurance so often requiredof them. Two of these fellows will carry an ordinary Chinaman, withhis box of clothes, thirty miles in from eight to ten hours on thehottest days in summer. They travel between five and six miles anhour, and on coming to a stage, pass without a moment's delay to theplace where food and opium are awaiting their arrival. After smokingtheir allowance and snatching as much rest as the traveller willpermit, they start once more upon the road; and the occupant of thechair cannot fail to perceive the lightness and elasticity of theirtread, as compared with the dull, tired gait of half an hour before. They die early, of course; but we have trades in civilised England inwhich a man thirty-six years of age is pointed at as a patriarch. 

It is also commonly stated that a man who has once begun opium cannever leave it off. This is an entire fallacy. There is a certainpoint up to which a smoker may go with impunity, and beyond which hebecomes a lost man in so far as he is unable ever to give up thepractice. Chinamen ask if an opium-smoker has the _yin_ or not;meaning thereby, has he gradually increased his doses of opium untilhe has established a _craving_ for the drug, or is he still a free manto give it up without endangering his health. Hundreds and thousandsstop short of the _yin_; a few, leaving it far behind them in theirsuicidal career, hurry on to premature old age and death. Further, from one point of view, opium-smoking is a more self-regarding vicethan drunkenness, which entails gout and other evils upon the thirdand fourth generation. Posterity can suffer little or nothing at thehands of the opium-smoker, for to the inveterate smoker all chance ofposterity is denied. This very important result will always act as anefficient check upon an inordinately extensive use of the drug inChina, where children are regarded as the greatest treasures life hasto give, and blessed is he that has his quiver full. 

Indulgence in opium is, moreover, supposed to blunt the moral feelingsof those who indulge; and to a certain extent this is true. If yourservant smokes opium, dismiss him with as little compunction as youwould a drunken coachman; for he can no longer be trusted. His wagesbeing probably insufficient to supply him with his pipe and leave abalance for family expenses, he will be driven to squeeze more thanusual, and probably to steal. But to get rid of a writer or a clerkmerely because he is a smoker, however moderate, would be much thesame as dismissing an employe for the heinous offence of drinking twoglasses of beer and a glass of sherry at his dinner-time. Anopium-smoker may be a man of exemplary habits, never even fuddled, still less stupefied. He may take his pipe because he likes it, orbecause it agrees with him; but it does not follow that he mustnecessarily make himself, even for the time being, incapable of doingbusiness. Wine and moonlight were formerly considered indispensablesby Chinese bards; without them, no inspiration, no poetic fire. Themodern poetaster who pens a chaste ode to his mistress's eyebrow, seeks in the opium-pipe that flow of burning thoughts which hisforefathers drained from the wine-cup. We cannot see that he doeswrong. We believe firmly that a moderate use of the drug is attendedwith no dangerous results; and that moderation in all kinds of eating, drinking, and smoking, is just as common a virtue in China as inEngland or anywhere else. [*]

 [*] Sir Edmund Hornley, after nine years' service as chief judge of the Supreme Court at Shanghai, delivered an opinion on the anti- opium movement in the following remarkable terms:--"Of all the nonsense that is talked, there is none greater than that talked here and in England about the immorality and impiety of the opium trade. It is simply sickening. I have no sympathy with it, neither have I any sympathy with the owner of a gin-palace; but as long as China permits the growth of opium throughout the length and breadth of the land, taxes it, and pockets a large revenue from it, --sympathy with her on the subject is simply ludicrous and misplaced. "--(J. W. Walker v. Malcolm, 28th April 1875. )

 But the following extract from a letter to the _London and China Express_, of 5th July 1875, part of which we have ventured to reproduce in italics, surpasses, both in fiction and naivete, anything it has ever been our lot to read on either side of this much-vexed question:--"The fact is, that this tremendous evil is utterly beyond the control of politicians, or even philanthropists. Nothing but the divine power of Christian life can cope with it, and though this process may be slow, it is sure. Christian missions alone can deal with the opium traffic, now that it has attained such gigantic dimensions, and the despised missionaries are solving a problem which to statesmen is insoluble. Those, therefore, who recognise the evils of opium- smoking will most effectually stay the plague _by supporting Christian Protestant Missions in China_. --Yours faithfully, "An Old Residenter in China. 

 "London, June 28, 1875. "

THIEVING

Nowhere can the monotony of exile be more advantageously relieved bystudying dense masses of humanity under novel aspects than in China, where so much is still unknown, and where the bulk of which isgenerally looked upon as fact requires in most cases a leaveningelement of truth, in others nothing more nor less than flatcontradiction. The days are gone by for entertaining romancespublished as if they were _bona fide_ books of travel, and the openingof China has enabled residents to smile at the audacity of the toomendacious Huc. It has enabled them at the same time to view millionsof human beings working out the problem of existence under conditionswhich by many persons in England are deemed to be totally incompatiblewith the happiness of the human race. They behold all classes in Chinalabouring seven days in every week, taking holidays as each mayconsider expedient with regard both to health and means, but withoutthe mental and physical demoralisation supposed to be inseparable froma non-observance of the fourth commandment. They see the unrestrictedsale of spirituous liquors, unaccompanied by the scenes of brutalityand violence which form such a striking contrast to the intellectualadvancement of our age. They notice that charity has no place amongthe virtues of the people, and that nobody gives away a cent he couldpossibly manage to keep; the apparent result being that every onerecognises the necessity of working for himself, and that themendicants of a large Chinese city would barely fill the casual wardof one of our smallest workhouses. They have a chance of studying acompetitive system many hundred years old, with the certainty ofconcluding that, whatever may be its fate in England or elsewhere, itsecures for the government of China the best qualified and mostintelligent men. Amongst other points, the alleged thievishness of theChinese is well worth a few moments' consideration, were it only outof justice to the victims of what we personally consider to be a verymischievous assertion. For it is a not uncommon saying, even amongEuropeans who have lived in China, that the Chinese are a nation ofthieves. In Australia, in California, and in India, Chinamen havebeaten their more luxurious rivals by the noiseless but irresistiblecompetition of temperance, industry, and thrift: yet they are a nationof thieves. It becomes then an interesting question how far a low toneof morality on such an important point is compatible with theundisputed practice of virtues which have made the fortunes of so manyemigrating Celestials. Now, as regards the amount of theft dailyperpetrated in China, we have been able to form a rough estimate, byvery careful inquiries, as to the number of cases brought periodicallybefore the notice of a district magistrate or his deputies, and wehave come to a conclusion unfavourable in the extreme to westerncivilisation, which has not hesitated to dub China a nation ofthieves. We have taken into consideration the fact that many pettycases never come into court in China, which, had the offence beencommitted in England, would assuredly have been brought to the noticeof a magistrate. We have not forgotten that more robberies areprobably effected in China without detection than in a country wherethe police is a well-organised force, and detectives trained men andkeen. We know that in China many cases of theft are compromised, bythe stolen property being restored to its owner on payment of acertain sum, which is fixed and shared in by the native constable whoacts as middleman between the two parties, and we are fully aware thatunder circumstances of hunger or famine, and within due limits, theabstraction of anything in the shape of food is not considered theft. With all these considerations in mind, our statistics (save the mark!)would still compare most favourably with the records of theftcommitted over an area in England equal in size and population to thatwhence our information was derived. The above refers specially toprofessional practice, but when we descend to private life, and viewwith an impartial eye the pilfering propensities of servants in China, we shall have even less cause to rejoice over our boasted morality andcivilisation. In the first place, squeezing of masters by servants isa recognised system among the Chinese, and is never looked upon in thelight of robbery. It is _commission_ on the purchase of goods, and istaken into consideration by the servant when seeking a new situation. Wages are in consequence low; sometimes, as in the case of officialrunners and constables, servants have to make their living as bestthey can out of the various litigants, very often taking bribes fromboth parties. As far as slight raids upon wine, handkerchiefs, Englishbacon, or other such luxuries dear to the heart of the Celestial, wemight ask any one who has ever kept house in England if pilfering isquite unknown among servants there. If it were strictly true thatChinamen are such thieves as we make them out to be, with our easternhabits of carelessness and dependence, life in China would be next toimpossible. As it is, people hire servants of whom they knowabsolutely nothing, put them in charge of a whole house many rooms inwhich are full of tempting kickshaws, go away for a trip to a portfive or six hundred miles distant, and come back to find everything inits place down to the most utter trifles. Merchants as a rule havetheir servants _secured_ by some substantial man, but many do not takethis precaution, for an honest Chinaman usually carries his integritywritten in his face. Confucius gave a wise piece of advice when hesaid, "If you employ a man, be not suspicious of him; if you aresuspicious of a man, do not employ him"--and truly foreigners in Chinaseem to carry out the first half to an almost absurd degree, placingthe most unbounded confidence in natives with whose antecedents theyare almost always unacquainted, and whose very names in nine cases outof ten they actually do not know! And what is the result of all this?A few cash extra charged as commission on anything purchased atshop or market, and a steady consumption of about four dozenpocket-handkerchiefs per annum. Thefts there are, and always will be, in China as elsewhere; but there are no better grounds for believingthat the Chinese are a nation of thieves than that their own traditionis literally true which says, "In the glorious days of old, ifanything was seen lying in the road, nobody would pick it up!" On thecontrary, we believe that theft is not one whit more common in Chinathan it is in England; and we are fully convinced that the imputationof being a nation of thieves has been cast, with many others, upon theChinese by unscrupulous persons whose business it is to show thatChina will never advance without the renovating influence ofChristianity-an opinion from which we here express our mostunqualified dissent. 

LYING

We have stated our conviction that the Chinese as a nation are notmore addicted to thieving than the inhabitants of many countries forwhom the same excuses are by no means so available. That noundiscerning persons may be led to regard us as panegyrists of astationary civilisation, we hasten to counterbalance our somewhatlaudatory statements by the enunciation of another proposition lessstartling, but if anything more literally true. _The Chinese are anation of liars. _ If innate ideas were possible, the idea of lyingwould form the foundation of the Chinese mind. They lie by instinct;at any rate, they lie from imitation, and improve their powers in thisrespect by the most assiduous practice. They seem to prefer lying tospeaking the truth, even when there is no stake at issue; and as forshame at being found out, the very feeling is unfamiliar to them. Thegravest and most serious works in Chinese literature abound in lies;their histories lie; and their scientific works lie. Nothing in Chinaseems to have escaped this taint. 

Essentially a people of fiction, the Chinese have given up as muchtime to the composition and perusal of romances as any other nation onthe globe; and this phase of lying is harmless enough in its way. Neither can it be said to interfere with the happiness of foreignerseither in or out of China that Chinese medical, astrological, geomantic, and such works, pretend to a knowledge of mysteries we knowto be all humbug. On the other hand, they ought to keep their lying tothemselves and for their own special amusement. They have no right tocirculate written and verbal reports that foreigners dig out babies'eyes and use them in their pharmacopoeia. They have no right topublish such hideous, loathsome pamphlets, as the one which was someyears ago translated into too faithful English by an Americanmissionary, who had better have kept his talents to himself, or topost such inflammatory placards as the one which is placed at the endof this volume. Self-glorification, when no one suffers therefrom, isonly laughable; and we shall take the liberty of presenting here thetranslation of an article which appeared in the _Shun Pao_ of the 19thSeptember 1874, as a specimen of the manner in which Chinamen delightto deceive even themselves on certain little points connected with thehonour and glory of China. The writer says:--

 "I saw yesterday in the _Peking Gazette_ of the 10th September 1874 that the Prince of Kung had been degraded, --a fact received with mingled feelings of surprise and regret by natives of the Middle and Western kingdoms alike. For looking back to the last year of the reign Hsien Feng, we find that not only internal trouble had not been set at rest when external difficulties began to spring up around us, and war and battle were the order of the day. To crown all, His Majesty became a guest in the realm above, leaving only a child of tender years, unable to hold in his hands the reins of government. Then, with our ruler a youth and affairs generally in an unsettled state, sedition within and war without, although their Majesties the Empresses-Dowager directed the administration of government from behind the bamboo screen, the task of wielding the rod of empire must have been arduous indeed. Since that time, ten years and more, the Eighteen Provinces have been tranquillised; without, _western nations have yielded obedience and returned to a state of peace_; within, the empire has been fixed on a firm basis and has recovered its former vitality. Never, even in the glorious ages of the Chou or Hsia dynasties, has our national prosperity been so boundless as it is to-day. Whenever I have seen one among the people patting his stomach or carolling away in the exuberance of his joy, and have asked the cause of his satisfaction, he has replied, 'It is because of the loving-kindness of this our dynasty. ' I ask what and whence is this loving-kindness of which he speaks? He answers me, 'It is the beneficent rule of their Majesties the Empresses- Dowager; it is the unspeakable felicity vouchsafed by Heaven to the Emperor; it is the loyalty and virtue of those in high places, of Tseng Kuo-fan, of Li Hung-chang, of Tso Tsung-t'ang. ' These, however, are all provincial officials. Within the palace we have the Empresses-Dowager, and His Majesty the Emperor, toiling away from morn till dewy eve; but among the ministers of state who transact business, receiving and making known the Imperial will, working early and late in the Cabinet, the Prince of Kung takes the foremost place; and it is through his agency, as natives and foreigners well know, that for many years China has been regaining her old status, so that any praise of their Imperial Majesties leads naturally on to eulogistic mention of our noble Premier. Hearing now that the Prince has incurred his master's displeasure, there are none who do not fear lest his previous services may be overlooked, hoping at the same time that the Emperor will be graciously pleased to take them into consideration and cancel his present punishment. "

Lying, under any circumstances, is a very venial offence in China; itis, in fact, no offence at all, for everybody is prepared for liesfrom all quarters, and takes them as a matter of course. 

It is strange, however, that such a practical people should not havediscovered long ago the mere expediency of telling the truth, in thesame way that they have found mercantile honesty to be unquestionablythe best policy, and that trade is next to impossible without it. Butto argue, as many do, that China is wanting in morality, because shehas adopted a different standard of right and wrong from our own, is, _mutato nomine_, one of the most ridiculous traits in the character ofthe Chinese themselves. They regard us as culpable in the highestdegree because our young men choose their own partners, marry, and setup establishments for themselves, instead of bringing their wives totend their aged parents, and live all together in harmony beneath thepaternal roof. We are superior to the Chinese in our utter abhorrenceof falsehood: in the practice of filial piety they beat us out of thefield. "Spartan virtue" is a household word amongst us, but Sparta'sclaims to pre-eminence certainly do not rest upon her children's loveeither for honesty or for truth. The profoundest thinker of thenineteenth century has said that insufficient truthfulness "does morethan any one thing that can be named to keep back civilisation, virtue, everything on which human happiness, on the largest scale, depends"--an abstract proposition which cannot be too carefullystudied in connection with the present state of public morality inChina, and the general welfare of the people. Dr Legge, however, whoselogical are apparently in an inverse ratio to his linguistic powers, rushes wildly into the concrete, and declares that every falsehoodtold in China may be traced to the example of Confucius himself. Heacknowledges that "many sayings might be quoted from him, in which'sincerity' is celebrated as highly and demanded as stringently asever it has been by any Christian moralist, " yet, on the strength oftwo passages in the Analects, and another in the "Family Sayings, " hedoes not hesitate to say that "the example of him to whom they bowdown as the best and wisest of men, encourages them to act, todissemble, to sin. " And what are these passages? In the first, Confucius applauds the modesty of an officer who, after boldlybringing up the rear on the occasion of a retreat, refused all praisefor his gallant behaviour, attributing his position rather to theslowness of his horse. In the second, an unwelcome visitor calling onConfucius, the Master sent out to say he was sick, at the same timeseizing his harpsichord and singing to it, "in order that Pei mighthear him. " Dr Legge lays no stress on the last half of thisstory--though it is impossible to believe that its meaning can haveescaped his notice altogether. Lastly, when Confucius was once takenprisoner by the rebels, he was released on condition of not proceedingto Wei. "Thither, notwithstanding, he continued his route, " and whenasked by a disciple whether it was right to violate his oath, hereplied, "It was a forced oath. The spirits do not hear such. "

We shall not attempt to defend Confucius on either of theseindictments, taken separately and without reference to his life andteachings; neither do we wish to temper the accusations we ourselveshave made against the Chinese, of being a nation of liars. But when itis gravely asserted that the great teacher who made truthfulness andsincerity his daily texts, is alone responsible for a vicious nationalhabit which, for aught any one knows to the contrary, may be a growthof comparatively modern times, we call to mind the Horatian poetaster, who began his account of the Trojan war with the fable of Leda and theswan. 

SUICIDE

Suicide, condemned among western nations by human and divine lawsalike, is regarded by the Chinese with very different eyes. Posthumoushonours are even in some cases bestowed upon the victim, where deathwas met in a worthy cause. Such would be suicide from grief at theloss of a beloved parent, or from fear of being forced to break a vowof eternal celibacy or widowhood. Candidates are for the most partwomen, but the ordinary Chinaman occasionally indulges in suicide, urged by one or other of two potent causes. Either he cannot pay hisdebts and dreads the evil hour at the New Year, when coarse-tonguedcreditors will throng his door, or he may himself be anxious to settlea long-standing score of revenge against some one who has beenunfortunate enough to do him an injury. For this purpose he commitssuicide, it may be in the very house of his enemy, but at any rate insuch a manner as will be sure to implicate him and bring him under thelash of the law. Nor is this difficult to effect in a country wherethe ends of justice are not satisfied unless a life is given for alife, where magistrates are venal, and the laws of evidence lax. Occasionally a young wife is driven to commit suicide by the harshnessof her mother-in-law, but this is of rare occurrence, as theconsequences are terrible to the family of the guilty woman. The bloodrelatives of the deceased repair to the chamber of death, and in theinjured victim's hand they place a broom. They then support the corpseround the room, making its dead arm move the broom from side to side, and thus sweep away wealth, happiness, and longevity from the accursedhouse for ever. 

The following extract from the _Peking Gazette_ of 14th September1874, being a memorial by the Lieutenant Governor of Kiangsi, willserve to show--though in this case the act was not consummated--thatunder certain circumstances suicide is considered deserving of thehighest praise. In any case, public opinion in China has every littleto say against it:--

 "The magistrate of the Hsin-yu district has reported to me that in the second year of the present reign (1863) a young lady, the daughter of a petty official, was betrothed to the son of an expectant commissioner of the Salt Gabelle, and a day was fixed upon for the marriage. The bridegroom, however, fell ill and died, on which his _fiancee_ would have gone over to the family to see after his interment, and remain there for life as an unmarried wife. As it was, her mother would not allow her to do so, but beguiled her into waiting till her father, then away on business, should return home. Meanwhile, the old lady betrothed her to another man belonging to a different family, whereupon she took poison and nearly died. On being restored by medical aid, she refused food altogether; and it was not until she was permitted to carry out her first intentions that she would take nourishment at all. Since then she has lived with her father and mother-in-law, tending them and her late husband's grandmother with the utmost care. They love her dearly, and are thus in a great measure consoled for the loss of their son. Long thorns serve her for hair-pins;[*] her dress is of cotton cloth; her food consists of bitter herbs. Such privations she voluntarily accepts, and among her relatives there is not one but respects her. 

 "The truth of the above report having been ascertained, I would humbly recommend this virtuous lady, although the full time prescribed by law has not yet expired, [+] for some mark[:] of Your Majesty's approbation. " Rescript:--Granted!

 [*] Instead of the elaborate gold and silver ornaments usually worn by Chinese women. 

 [+] A woman must be a widow before she is thirty years old, and remain so for thirty years before she is entitled to the above reward. This is both to guard against a possible relapse from her former virtuous resolution, and to have some grounds for believing that she was prompted so to act more by a sense of right than by any ungallant neglect on the part of the other sex. 

 [:] Generally a tablet or banner, inscribed with well-chosen words of praise. 

The only strange part in this memorial is that the girl's mother wasnot censured for trying to prevent her from acting the part of avirtuous wife and filial daughter-in-law. It is also more thanprobable that her early attempts at suicide, rather than anysubsequent household economy or dutiful behaviour, have secured forthis lady the coveted mark of Imperial approbation. 

Suicide, while in an unsound state of mind, is rare; insanity itself, whether temporary or permanent, being extremely uncommon in China. Neither does the eye detect any of the vast asylums so numerous inEngland for the reception of lunatics, idiots, deaf-mutes, cripples, and the blind. There are a few such institutions here and there, butnot enough to constitute a national feature as with us. They are onlyfor the poorest of the poor, and are generally of more benefit todishonest managers than to anybody else. And yet in the streets of aChinese town we see a far less number of "unfortunates" than among ourown highly civilised communities. Blindness is the most common of theabove afflictions, so many losing their sight after an attack ofsmall-pox. But a Chinaman with a malformation of any kind is veryseldom seen; and, as we have said before, lunacy appears to be almostunknown. Such suicides as take place are usually well-premeditatedacts, and are committed either out of revenge, or in obedience to the"despotism of custom. " Statistics are impossible, and we offer ourconclusions, founded upon observation alone, subject to whatevercorrection more scientific investigators may hereafter be enabled toproduce. 

TORTURE

Torture is commonly supposed to be practised by Chinese officials uponeach and every occasion that a troublesome criminal is brought beforethem. The known necessity they are under of having a prisoner'sconfession before any "case" is considered complete, coupled with somefew isolated instances of unusual barbarity which have come to thenotice of foreigners, has probably tended to foster a belief that suchscenes of brutality are daily enacted throughout the length andbreadth of China as would harrow up the soul of any but a soullessnative. The curious part of it all is that Chinamen themselves regardtheir laws as the quintessence of leniency, and themselves as themildest and most gentle people of all that the sun shines upon in hisdaily journey across the earth--and back again under the sea. Thetruth lies of course somewhere between these two extremes. For just aspeople going up a mountain complain to those they meet coming down ofthe bitter cold, and are assured by the latter that the temperature isreally excessively pleasant--so, from a western point of view certainChinese customs savour of a cruelty long since forgotten in Europe, while the Chinese enthusiast proudly compares the penal code of thisthe Great Pure dynasty with the scattered laws and unauthorisedatrocities of distant and less civilised ages. 

The Han dynasty which lasted from about B. C. 200 to A. D. 200 has beenmarked by the historian as the epoch of change. Before that timepunishments of all kinds appear to have been terribly severe, and thevengeance of the law pursued even the nearest and most distantrelatives of a criminal devoted perhaps to death for some crime inwhich they could possibly have had no participation. It was thendetermined that in future only rebellion should entail extirpationupon the families of such seditious offenders, and at the same timelegal punishments were limited to five, viz. : bambooing of two degreesof severity, banishment to a certain distance for a certain time orfor life, and death. These were, however, frequently exceeded byindependent officers against whose acts it would have been vain toappeal, and it was not until the Sui dynasty (589-618 A. D. ) thatmutilation of the body was absolutely forbidden. It may, indeed, besaid to have survived to the present day in the form of the "lingeringdeath" which is occasionally prescribed for parricides and matricides, but that we now know that this hideous fate exists only in words andform. When it was first held to be inconsistent with reason to meteout the same punishment to a highway robber who kills a traveller forhis purse, and to the villain who takes away life from the author ofhis being, a distinction was instituted accordingly, but we can onlyrest in astonishment that any executioner could be found to put such ahorrible law into execution as was devised to meet the requirements ofthe case. First an arm was chopped off, then the other; the two legsin the same way. Two slits were made transversely on the breast, andthe heart was torn out; decapitation finished the proceedings. Now, aslight gash only is made across each collar-bone, and three gashesacross the breast in the shape of the character meaning _onethousand_, and indicative of the number of strokes the criminal oughtproperly to have received. Decapitation then follows without delay. The absurd statement in the Shanghai _Daily News_ of the 16th Januarylast, that this punishment "is the most frightful inflicted, even inany of the darkest habitations of cruelty, at the present day, " isutterly unworthy of that respectable journal, but only of a piece withthe general ignorance that prevails among foreigners generally ontopics connected with China and the Chinese. At the same time, it mayfairly be pleaded that the error in question was due todisingenuousness on the part of the translator from the _PekingGazette_ who, mentioning that such a sentence had been lately passedupon two unhappy beings, adds that, "they have been publicly sliced todeath accordingly, with the usual formalities, "--which certainly mightlead a mere outsider to conclude that the horrible decree had actuallybeen put into execution. We may notice in passing that this so-called"lingering death" is now almost invariably coupled with the name ofsome poor lunatic who in a frenzy of passion has killed either fatheror mother, sometimes both. Vide _Peking Gazette_, two or three timesevery year. This is one of those pleasant fictions of Chinese officiallife, which every one knows and every one winks at. In nine cases outof ten, the unhappy criminal is not mad at all; but he is alwaysentered as such in the report of the committing magistrate, who wouldotherwise himself be exposed to censure and degradation for not havingbrought his district to estimate at their right value the five[*]cardinal relationships of mankind. 

 [*] Between, (1) sovereign and subject, (2) husband and wife, (3) parent and child, (4) brothers, and (5) friends. 

Under the present dynasty the use of torture is comparatively rare, and mutilation of the person quite unknown. Criminals are often thrustinto filthy dungeons of the most revolting description, and are therefurther secured by a chain; but except in very flagrant cases, ankle-beating and finger-squeezing, to say nothing of kneeling onchains and hanging up by the ears, belong rather to the past than tothe present. The wife and children of a rebel chief may pass theirdays in peace and quietness; innocent people are no longer made tosuffer with the guilty. A criminal under sentence of death for anycrime except rebellion may save his life and be released from furtherpunishment, if he can prove that an aged parent depends upon him forthe necessaries of daily existence. The heavy bamboo, under theinfliction of which sufferers not uncommonly died, has given place tothe lighter instrument of punishment, which may be used severelyenough for all practical purposes while it does not endanger life. TheEmperor K'ang Hsi, whose name is inseparably connected with one of themost valuable lexicons that have ever been compiled, forbade bambooingacross the upper part of the back and shoulders. "Near the surface, "said this benign father of his people, "lie the liver and the lungs. For some trivial offence a man might be so punished that these organswould never recover from the effects of the blows. " The ruling systemof bribery has taken away from the bamboo its few remaining terrorsfor those whose means are sufficient to influence the hand which laysit on. Petty offences are chiefly expiated by a small payment of moneyto the gaoler, who lets the avenging bamboo fall proportionatelylight, or assists the culprit by every means in his power to shirk thedegradation and annoyance of a week in the cangue. [*] These two arethe only ordinary punishments we hear much about; torture, properly socalled, is permitted under certain circumstances, but rarely if everpractised. 

 [*] A heavy wooden collar, taken off at night only if the sentence is a long one, or on payment of a bribe. 

In further support of this most heterodox position, we beg to offer atranslation of two chapters from "Advice to Government Officials, " anative work of much repute all over the Empire:--

"CHAPTER V. 

 "The infliction of the bamboo is open to abuse in various ways. For instance, the knots in the wood may not have been smoothed off; blows may be given inside the joints, instead of above the knees; the tip end instead of the flat of the bamboo may be used; each stroke may be accompanied by a drawing movement of the hand, or the same spot may be struck again after the skin has been broken, whereby the suffering of the criminal is very much increased. Similarly, the 'squeezing' punishment depends entirely for its severity on the length of the sticks employed, whether these are wet or dry, as well as upon the tightness of the string. Such points should be carefully looked to by the magistrate himself, and not left to his subordinates. At the time of infliction still greater precautions should be taken to prevent the possibility of any accident, and where the offence was committed under venial circumstances, some part of the punishment may be remitted if it is considered that enough has already been inflicted. Such punishments as pressing the knees to the ground, making prisoners kneel on chains, or burning their legs with hot irons, adopted under the specious pretence of not using the 'squeezing' torture, are among the most barbarous of prohibited practices, and are on no account to be allowed. "

"CHAPTER VI. 

 "Lu Hsin-wu says, There are five classes of people who must be exempted from the punishment of the bamboo. (1) The aged. (2) The young. (3) The sick. [It is laid down expressly by statute that the aged and the young must not be thus coerced into giving evidence, but there is a danger of overlooking this in a moment of anger. ] (4) The hungry and naked. [For thus to punish a beggar half dead with cold and hunger and destitute of friends to nurse him afterwards, would be equivalent to killing him outright. ] (5) Those who have already been beaten. [Whether in a brawl or by other officials. A second beating might result in death for which the presiding magistrate would be responsible. ]

 "There are five classes of people not to be hastily sentenced to the bamboo. (1) Members of the Imperial family. [The relatives of his Majesty, even though holding no rank, are not, says the statute, to be hastily punished in this way. The case must be laid before the proper authorities. ] (2) Officials. [However low down in a scale, they are still part of the scheme of government; besides, it affects their good name ever afterwards. ] (3) Graduates. (4) The official servants of your superiors. [Look out for the vase when you throw at the rat. Though you may be actually in the right, yet the dignity of your superiors might be compromised. A plain statement of the facts should be made out and privately handed to the official in question, leaving punishment in his hands. But to refrain from such a course through fear of the consequences would be weak indeed. ] (5) Women. 

 "There are also five cases in which temporary suspension of punishment is necessary. (1) When the prisoner is under the influence of excitement, or (2) anger. [The working classes are an obstinate lot and beating only increases their passion, so that they would die rather than yield. Arguments should first be used to show them their error, and then corporal punishment may be used without fear. ] (3) Or drink. [A drunken man doesn't know heaven from earth, how can he be expected to distinguish right from wrong? Besides he feels no pain, and further there is a risk of his insulting the magistrate. He ought to be confined until he is sober and then punished; but not in a cold place for fear of endangering his life. ] (4) Or when a man has just completed a journey, or (5) when he is out of breath with running. 

 "There are also five instances in which it is well for your own sake to put off punishment for a time. (1) When you are in a rage. (2) When you are drunk. (3) When you are unwell. [For in the latter case the system is heated, and not only would you be more liable to improper infliction of punishment, but also to lose your temper; and thus injury would be done both to yourself and the prisoner. ] (4) When you can't see your way clearly as to the facts of the case. (5) When you can't make up your mind as to the proper punishment. [For in difficult cases and when the prisoner in question is no ordinary man, it is just as well to look forward a little as to how the case is likely to end before you apply the bamboo. It would never do to take such measures without some consideration, or you might suddenly find that you had by no means heard the last of it. ]

 "There are three classes of people who should not be beaten in addition to what they are to suffer. (1) Those who are to have their fingers squeezed. (2) Those who are to have the ankle frame applied. (3) Those who are to be exposed in the cangue. [For if previously beaten they might be almost unable to move, or their sores might not heal, and death might perhaps ensue. The statute provides that they shall be beaten on release, but this might easily be forgotten in a moment of anger. ]

 "There are three instances in which compassion should save the prisoners from the bamboo. (1) When the weather is extremely cold or hot. (2) When a festival is being celebrated. (3) When the prisoner has lately been bereaved. [A man who is mourning for his father, mother, wife, or child, should not be punished corporeally; it might endanger his life. ]

 "There are three cases in which a beating deserved should nevertheless be remitted. (1) When one of the litigants is considerably older than the other, he should not be beaten. (2) When one of the litigants is an official servant, the other should not be beaten. [For although the former may be in the right, his opponent should be treated with leniency, for fear of people saying you protect your Yamen servants; and lest in future, when the servant is in the wrong, no one will dare come forward to accuse him. ] (3) Workmen and others employed by the magistrate himself should not be bambooed by him, even if they deserve it. 

 "Three kinds of bambooing are forbidden. (1) With the greater bamboo. [One stroke of the _greater_ bamboo is counted as ten; three with the _middle-sized_, and five with the _smaller_. Officials are often too free with, never too chary of, their punishments. With the smaller bamboo, used even to excess, life is not endangered. Besides, if the punishment is spread over a longer time, the magistrate has a longer interval in which to get calm. But with the heavy bamboo, there is no saying what injuries might be done even with a few blows. ] (2) It is forbidden to strike too low down. (3) It is forbidden to allow petty officers to use unauthorised instruments of punishment. These five preceding clauses refer to cases in which there is no doubt that punishment ought to be inflicted, but which officials are apt to punish too indiscriminately without due investigation of circumstances, whereby they infallibly stir up a feeling of discontent and insubordination. As regards those instances where punishment is deserved but should be temporarily suspended, a remission of part or the whole of the sentence may be granted as the magistrate sees fit. The great point is to admit an element of compassion, as thereby alone the due administration of punishment can be ensured. "

FENG-SHUI

"Feng-shui" has of late years grown to be such a common expression inthe mouths of foreigners resident in China that it stands no poorchance of becoming gradually incorporated in the languages of morethan one nation of the West. And yet, in spite of Dr Eitel's littlehand-book, we may venture to assert that a very small percentage ofthose who are constantly using this phrase really have a distinct andcorrect idea as to the meaning of the words they employ. It is vaguelyknown that Feng-shui is a powerful weapon in the hands of Chineseofficials whereby they successfully oppose all innovations whichsavour of progress, and preserve unbroken that lethargic sleep inwhich China has been wrapt for so many centuries: beyond this all ismystery and doubt. Some say the natives themselves do not believe init; others declare they do; others again think that the masses havefaith, but that enlightened and educated Chinese scout the whole thingas a bare-faced imposture. Most Chinamen will acknowledge they areentirely ignorant themselves on the subject, though at the same timethey will take great pains to impress on their hearers that certainfriends, relatives, or acquaintances as the case may be, have devotedmuch time and attention to this fascinating study and are downrightprofessors of the art. They will further express their conviction ofits infallibility, with certain limitations; and assert that there areoccasions in life, when to call in the assistance of Feng-shui is notonly advisable but indispensable to human happiness. 

For those who will not be at the trouble of reading for themselves DrEitel's valuable little book, we may explain that Feng is the Chineseword for _wind_ and Shui for _water_; consequently, Feng-shui iswind-water; the first half of which, _wind_, cannot be comprehended, thelatter half, _water_, cannot be grasped. It may be defined as a systemof geomancy, by the _science_ of which it is possible to determine thedesirability of sites whether of tombs, houses, or cities, from theconfiguration of such natural objects as rivers, trees, and hills, andto foretell with certainty the fortunes of any family, community, orindividual, according to the spot selected; by the _art_ of which itis in the power of the geomancer to counteract evil influences by goodones, to transform straight and noxious outlines into undulating andpropitious curves, rescue whole districts from the devastations offlood or pestilence, and "scatter plenty o'er a smiling land" whichmight otherwise have known the blight of poverty and the pangs ofwant. To perform such miracles it is merely necessary to build pagodasat certain spots and of the proper height, to pile up a heap ofstones, or round off the peak of some hill to which nature's rude handhas imparted a square and inharmonious aspect. The scenery round anyspot required for building or burial purposes must be in accordancewith certain principles evolved from the brains of the imaginativefounders of the science. It is the business of the geomancer todiscover such sites, to say if a given locality is or is not all thatcould be desired on this head, sometimes to correct errors whichignorant quacks have committed, or rectify inaccuracies which haveescaped the notice even of the most celebrated among the fraternity. There may be too many trees, so that some must be cut down; or theremay be too few, and it becomes necessary to plant more. Water-coursesmay not flow in proper curves; hills may be too high, too low, and ofbaleful shapes, or their relative positions one with another may beradically bad. Any one of these causes may be sufficient in the eyesof a disciple of Feng-shui to account for the sudden outbreak of aplague, the gradual or rapid decay of a once flourishing town. TheFeng-shui of a house influences not only the pecuniary fortunes of itsinmates, but determines their general happiness and longevity. Therewas a room in the British Legation at Peking in which two persons diedwith no great interval of time between each event; and subsequentlyone of the students lay there _in articulo mortis_ for many days. TheChinese then pointed out that a tall chimney had been built oppositethe door leading into this room, thereby vitiating the Feng-shui, andmaking the place uninhabitable by mortal man. 

From the above most meagre sketch it is easy to understand that if thenatural or artificial configuration of surrounding objects is reallybelieved by the Chinese to influence the fortunes of a city, a family, or an individual, they are only reasonably averse to the introductionof such novelties as railways and telegraph poles, which mustinevitably sweep away their darling superstition--never to rise again. And they _do_ believe; there can be no doubt of it in the mind of anyone who has taken the trouble to watch. The endless inconvenience aChinaman will suffer without a murmur rather than lay the bones of adear one in a spot unhallowed by the fiat of the geomancer; the sumshe will subscribe to build a protecting pagoda or destroy some harmfulcombination; the pains he will be at to comply with well-knownprinciples in the construction and arrangement of his privatehouse--all prove that the iron of Feng-shui has entered into his soul, and that the creed he has been suckled in is the very reverse ofoutworn. The childlike faith of his early years gradually ripens intoa strong and vigorous belief against which ridicule is perhaps theworst weapon that can possibly be used. Nothing less than years ofcontact with foreign nations and deep draughts of that real sciencewhich is even now stealing imperceptibly upon them, will bring theChinese to see that Feng-shui is a vain shadow, that it has played itsallotted part in the history of a great nation, and is now only fit tobe classed with such memories of by-gone glory as the supremacy ofChina, the bow and arrow, the matchlock, and the junk. 

MONEY

Few things are more noticeable in China than the incessant chatteringkept up by servants, coolies, and members of the working classes. Itis rare to meet a string of porters carrying their heavy burdens alongsome country road, who are not jabbering away, one and all, as if inthe very heat of some exciting discussion, and afraid that theirjourney will come to an end before their most telling arguments areexhausted. One wonders what ignorant, illiterate fellows like thesecan possibly have to talk about to each other in a country wherebeer-shop politics are unknown, where religious disputations leave nosting behind, and want of communication limits the area of news tohalf-a-dozen neighbouring streets in a single agricultural village. Comparing the uncommunicative deportment of a bevy of Englishbricklayers, who will build a house without exchanging much beyond anoccasional pipe-light, with the vivacious gaiety of theselight-hearted sons of Han, the problem becomes interesting enough todemand a solution of the question--What is it these Chinamen talkabout? And the answer is, _Money_. It may be said they talk, think, dream of nothing else. They certainly live for little besides the hopeof some day compassing, if not wealth, at any rate a competency. Thetemple of Plutus--to be found in every Chinese city--is rarely withouta suppliant; but there is no such hypocrisy in the matter as that ofthe Roman petitioner who would pray aloud for virtue and mutter"gold. " And yet a rich man in China is rather an object of pity thanotherwise. He is marked out by the officials as their lawful prey, andis daily in danger of being called upon to answer some false, sometrumped-up accusation. A subscription list, nominally for a charitablepurpose, for building a bridge, or repairing a road, is sent to him bya local magistrate, and woe be to him if he does not head it with ahandsome sum. A ruffian may threaten to charge him with murder unlesshe will compromise instantly for Tls. 300; and the rich man generallyprefers this course to proving his innocence at a cost of about Tls. 3000. He may be accused of some trivial disregard of prescribedceremonies, giving a dinner-party, or arranging the preliminaries ofhis son's marriage, before the days of mourning for his own fatherhave expired. No handle is too slight for the grasp of the greedymandarin, especially if he has to do with anything like a recalcitrantmillionaire. But this very mandarin himself, if compelled by age andinfirmities to resign his place, is forced in his turn to yield upsome of the ill-gotten wealth with which he had hoped to secure thefortunes of his family for many a generation to come. The young hawkspeck out the old hawks' e'en without remorse. The possession of moneyis therefore rather a source of anxiety than happiness, though thisdoesn't seem to diminish in the slightest degree the Chinaman'snatural craving for as much of it as he can secure. At the same time, the abominable system of official extortion must go far to crush aspirit of enterprise which would otherwise most undoubtedly be rife. Everybody is so afraid of bringing himself within the clutch of thelaw, that innovation is quite out of the question. 

Neither in the private life of a rich Chinese merchant do we detectthe same keen enjoyment of his wealth as is felt by many an affluentwestern, to whom kindly nature has given the intellect to use itrightly. The former indulges in sumptuous feasts, but he does notcollect around his table men who can only give him wit in return forhis dinner; he rather seeks out men whose purses are as long as hisown, from amongst whose daughters he may select a well-dowried matefor his dunderheaded son. He accumulates vast wardrobes of silk, satin, and furs; but he probably could not show a copy of the firstedition of K'ang Hsi, or a single bowl bearing the priceless stamp ofsix hundred years ago. These articles are collected chiefly byscholars, who often go without a meal or two in order to obtain thecoveted specimen; the rich merchant spends his money chiefly ondinners, dress, and theatrical entertainments, knowing and caringlittle or nothing about art. His conversation is also, like that ofhis humbler countrymen, confined to one topic; if he is a banker, rates of exchange haunt him day and night; whatever he is, he lives indaily dread of the next phase of extortion to which he will be obligedto open an unwilling purse. How different from the literati of Chinawho live day by day almost from hand to mouth, eking out a scantysubsistence by writing scrolls for door-posts, and perhaps presentingthemselves periodically at the public examinations, only to find thattheir laboured essays are thrown out amongst the ruck once more! Yetthese last are undeniably the happier of the two. Having no wealth toexcite the rapacious envy of their rulers, they pass through life inrapt contemplation of the sublime attributes of their Master, forgetting even the pangs of hunger in the elucidation of some obscurepassage in the Book of Changes, and caring least of all for the idolof their unlettered brethren, except in so far as it would enable themto make more extensive purchases of their beloved books, and provide amore ample supply of the "four jewels" of the scholar. Occasionally tobe seen in the streets, these literary devotees may be known by theirrespectable but poverty-stricken appearance, generally by theirspectacles, and always by their stoop, acquired in many years ofincessant toil. These are the men who hate us with so deep a hate, forwe have dared to set up a rival to the lofty position so long occupiedby Confucius alone. If we came in search of trade only, they wouldtolerate, because they could understand our motives, and afford todespise; but to bring our religion with us, to oppose the precepts ofChrist to the immortal apophthegms of the Master, this is altogethertoo much for the traditions in which they have been brought up. 

A DINNER-PARTY

It is a lamentable fact that although China has now been open for aconsiderable number of years both to trade and travellers, she isstill a sealed book to the majority of intelligent Europeans asregards her manners and customs, and the mode of life of her people. Were it not so, such misleading statements as those lately publishedby a young gentleman in the service of H. I. M. The Emperor of China, and professing to give an account of a Chinese dinner, could neverhave been served up by half-a-dozen London newspapers as a piece ofvaluable information on the habits of Chinamen. There is so much thatis really quaint, interesting, and worthy of record in the socialetiquette observed by the natives of China, that no one with eyes tosee and ears to hear need ever draw upon his imagination in theslightest degree. We do not imply that this has been done in thepresent instance. The writer has only erred through ignorance. He hasdoubtless been to a Chinese dinner where he "sat inside a glass door, and cigars were handed round after the repast, " as many other bravemen have been before him, --at Mr Yang's, the celebrated Pekingpawn-broker. But had he been to more than that one, or taken thetrouble to learn something about the subject on which he was writing, he would have found out that glass doors and cigars are not naturaland necessary adjuncts to a Chinese dinner. They are in fact only tobe found at the houses of natives who have mixed with foreigners andare in the habit of inviting them to their houses. The topic is aninteresting one, and deserves a somewhat elaborate treatment, both forits own sake as a study of native customs, and also to aid indispelling a host of absurd ideas which have gathered round theseeveryday events of Chinese life. For it is an almost universal beliefthat Chinamen dine daily upon rats, puppy-dogs, and birds'-nest soup;whereas the truth is that, save among very poor people, the first iswholly unknown, and the two last are comparatively expensive dishes. Dog hams are rather favourite articles of food in the south of China, but the nests from which the celebrated soup is made are far tooexpensive to be generally consumed. 

A dinner-party in China is a most methodical affair as regardsprecedence among guests, the number of courses, and their generalorder and arrangement. We shall endeavour to give a detailed andaccurate account of such a banquet as might be offered to half-a-dozenfriends by a native in easy circumstances. In the first place, noladies would be present, but men only would occupy seats at thesquare, four-legged "eight fairy" table. Before each there will befound a pair of chopsticks, a wine-cup, a small saucer for soy, atwo-pronged fork, a spoon, a tiny plate divided into two separatecompartments for melon seeds and almonds, and a pile of small piecesof paper for cleaning these various articles as required. Arrangedupon the table in four equidistant rows are sixteen small dishes orsaucers which contain four kinds of fresh fruits, four kinds of driedfruits, four kinds of candied fruits, and four miscellaneous, such aspreserved eggs, slices of ham, a sort of sardine, pickled cabbage, &c. These four are in the middle, the other twelve being arrangedalternately round them. Wine is produced the first thing, and pouredinto small porcelain cups by the giver of the feast himself. It ispolite to make a bow and place one hand at the side of the cup whilethis operation is being performed. The host then gives the signal todrink and the cups are emptied instantaneously, being often turnedbottom upwards as a proof there are no heel-taps. Many Chinamen, however, cannot stand even a small quantity of wine; and it is nouncommon thing when the feast is given at an eating-house, to hire oneof the theatrical singing-boys to perform vicariously such heavydrinking as may be required by custom or exacted by forfeit. Thesixteen small dishes above-mentioned remain on the table during thewhole dinner and may be eaten of promiscuously between courses. Now wecome to the dinner, which may consist of eight large and eight smallcourses, six large and six small, eight large and four small, or sixlarge and four small, according to the means or fancy of the host, each bowl of food constituting a course being placed in the middle ofthe table and dipped into by the guests with chopsticks or spoon ascircumstances may require. The first is the commonest, and we append abill of fare of an ordinary Chinese dinner on that scale, each coursecoming in its proper place. 

 I. Sharks' fins with crab sauce. 1. Pigeons' eggs stewed with mushrooms. 2. Sliced sea-slugs in chicken broth with ham. II. Wild duck and Shantung cabbage. 3. Fried fish. 4. Lumps of pork fat fried in rice flour. III. Stewed lily roots. 5. Chicken mashed to pulp, with ham. 6. Stewed bamboo shoots. IV. Stewed shell-fish. 7. Fried slices of pheasant. 8. Mushroom broth. Remove--Two dishes of fried pudding, one sweet and the other salt, with two dishes of steamed puddings, also one sweet and one salt. [These four are put on the table together and with them is served a cup of almond gruel. ] V. Sweetened duck. VI. Strips of boned chicken fried in oil. VII. Boiled fish (of any kind) with soy. VIII. Lumps of parboiled mutton fried in pork-fat. 

These last four large courses are put on the table one by one and arenot taken away. Subsequently a fifth, a bowl of soup, is added, andsmall basins of rice are served round, over which some of the soup ispoured. The meal is then at an end. A _rince-bouche_ is handed to eachguest and a towel dipped in boiling water but well wrung out. With thelast he mops his face all over, and the effect is much the same ashalf a noggin of Exshare diluted with a bottle of Schweppe. Pipes andtea are now handed round, though this is not the first appearance oftobacco on the scene. Many Chinamen take a whiff or two at theirhubble-bubbles between almost every course, as they watch theperformance of some broad farce which on grand occasions is alwaysprovided for their entertainment. Opium is served when dinner is overfor such as are addicted to this luxury; and after a few minutes, spent perhaps in arranging the preliminaries of some future banquet, the party, which has probably lasted from three to four hours, is nolonger of the present but in the past. 

FEMALE CHILDREN

A great deal of trash has been committed to writing by variousforeigners on the subject of female children in China. The prevailingbelief in Europe seems to be that the birth of a daughter is lookedupon as a mournful event in the annals of a Chinese family, and that alarge percentage of the girls born are victims of a wide-spread systemof infanticide, a sufficient number, however, being spared to preventthe speedy depopulation of the Empire. It became our duty only theother day to correct a mistake, on the part of a reverend gentlemanwho has been some twelve years a missionary in China, bearing on thisvery subject. He observed that "the Chinese are always profuse intheir congratulations on the birth of a _son_; but if a girl is born, the most hearty word they can afford to utter is, 'girls too arenecessary. '" Such a statement is very misleading, and cannot, in thesedays of enlightenment on Chinese topics, be allowed to passunchallenged. "I hear you have obtained one thousand ounces of gold, "is perhaps the commonest of those flowery metaphors which the Chinesedelight to bandy on such an auspicious occasion; another being, "Youhave a bright pearl in your hand, " &c. , &c. The truth is that parentsin China are just as fond of all their children as people in other andmore civilised countries, where male children are also eagerly desiredto preserve the family from extinction. The excess in value of themale over the female is perhaps more strongly marked among theChinese, owing of course to the peculiarity of certain nationalcustoms, and not to any want of parental feeling; but, on the otherhand, a very fair share both of care and affection is lavished uponthe daughters either of rich or poor. They are not usually taught toread as the boys are, because they cannot enter any condition ofpublic life, and education for mere education's sake would beconsidered as waste of time and money by all except very wealthyparents. Besides, when a daughter is married, not only is it necessaryto provide her with a suitable dowry and trousseau, but she passesover to the house of her husband, there to adopt his family name inpreference to her own, and contract new obligations to a father- andmother-in-law she may only have seen once or twice in her life, morebinding in their stringency than those to the father and mother shehas left behind. A son remains by his parents' side in most cases tilldeath separates them for ever, and on him they rely for that dueperformance of burial rites which alone can ensure to their spirits aneternal rest. When old age or disease comes upon them, a son can goforth to earn their daily rice, and protect them from poverty, wrong, and insult, where a daughter would be only an additional encumbrance. It is no wonder therefore that the birth of a son is hailed withgreater manifestations of joy than is observable among westernnations; at the same time, we must maintain that the natural love ofChinese parents for their female offspring is not thereby lessened toany appreciable degree. No _red eggs_ are sent by friends andrelatives on the birth of a daughter as at the advent of the firstboy, the hope and pride of the family; but in other respects thecustoms and ceremonies practised on these occasions are very much thesame. On the third day the milk-name is given to the child, and if agirl her ears are pierced for earrings. A little boiled rice is rubbedupon the lobe of the ear, which is then subjected to friction betweenthe finger and thumb until it gets quite numb: it is next pierced witha needle and thread dipped in oil, the latter being left in the ear. No blood flows. Boys frequently have one ear pierced, as some peoplesay, to make them look like little girls; and up to the age ofthirteen or fourteen, girls often wear their hair braided in a tail tomake them look like little boys. But the end of the tail is alwaystied with _red_ silk--the differentiating colour between youths andmaids in China. And here we may mention that the colour of the silkwhich finishes off a Chinaman's tail differs according tocircumstances. Black is the ordinary colour, often undistinguishablefrom the long dresses in which they take such pride; _white_ answersto deep crape with us, and proclaims that either the father or motherof the wearer has bid adieu to this sublunary sphere;[*] _green_, _yellow_, and _blue_, are worn for more distant relatives, or forparents after the first year of mourning has expired. 

 [*] The verb "to die" is rarely used by the Chinese of their relatives. Some graceful periphrasis is adapted instead. 

We will conclude with a curious custom which, as far as our inquirieshave extended, seems to be universal. The first visitor, stranger, messenger, coolie, or friend, who comes to the house where a new-bornbaby lies, ignorant that such an event has taken place, is on noaccount allowed to go away without having first eaten a full meal. This is done to secure to the child a peaceful and refreshing night'srest; and as Chinamen are always ready at a moment's notice to disposeof a feed at somebody else's expense, difficulties are not likely toarise on a score of a previous dinner. 

TRAVEL

Books of travel are eagerly read by most classes of Chinese who havebeen educated up to the requisite standard, and long journeys haveoften been undertaken to distant parts of the Empire, not so much froma thirst for knowledge or love of a vagrant life, as from a desire tobe enrolled among the numerous contributors to the deathlessliterature of the Middle Kingdom. Such travellers start with a fullknowledge of the tastes of their public, and a firm conviction thatunless they can provide sufficiently marvellous stories out of whatthey have seen and heard, the fame they covet is not likely to beaccorded. No European reader who occupies himself with these works canfail to discover that in every single one of them invention is broughtmore or less into play; and that when fact is not forthcoming, theexigencies of the book are supplemented from the convenient resourcesof fiction. Of course this makes the accounts of Chinese travellersalmost worthless, and often ridiculous; though strange to say, amongstthe Chinese themselves, even to the grossest absurdities and mostpalpable falsehoods, there hardly attaches a breath of that suspicionwhich has cast a halo round the name of Bruce. 

We have lately come across a book of travels, in six thin quartovolumes, written by no less a personage than the father of Ch'ung-hou. It is a very handsome work, being well printed and on good paper, besides being provided with numerous woodcuts of the scenes andscenery described in the text. The author, whose name was Lin-ch'ing, was employed in various important posts; and while rising from theposition of Prefect to that of Acting Governor-General of the twoKiang, travelled about a good deal, and was somewhat justified incommitting his experiences to paper. We doubt, however, if hisliterary efforts are likely to secure him a fraction of the notorietywhich the Tientsin Massacre has conferred upon his son. He never sawthe moon shining upon the water, but away he went and wrote an ode tothe celestial luminary, always introducing a few pathetic lines on thehardships of travel and the miseries of exile. One chapter is devotedto the description of a curious rock called the _Loom Rock_. It issituated in the Luhsi district of the Chang-chou prefecture in Hunan, and is perfectly inaccessible to man, as it well might be, to judgefrom the drawing of it by a native artist. From a little distance, however, caves are discernible hollowed out in the cliff, and in thesethe eye can detect various articles used in housekeeping, such as ateapot, &c. ; and amongst others a _loom_. On a ledge of smooth rock aboat may be seen, as it were hauled up out of the water. How these gotthere, and what is the secret of the place, nobody appears to know, but our author declares that he saw them with his own eyes. We havegiven the above particulars as to the whereabouts of the rock, in thehope that any European meditating a trip into Hunan may take thetrouble to make some inquiries about this wonderful sight. The late MrMargary must have passed close to it in his boat, probably withoutbeing aware of its existence--if indeed it does exist at all. 

We cannot refrain from translating verbatim one passage which hasreference to the English, and of which we fancy Ch'ung-hou himselfwould be rather ashamed since his visit to the Outside Nations. Hereit is:--

 "When the English barbarians first began to give trouble to the Inner Nation, they relied on the strength of their ships and the excellence of their guns. It was therefore proposed to build large ships and cast heavy cannon in order to oppose them. I represented, however, that vessels are not built in a day, and pointed out the difficulties in the way of naval warfare. I showed that the power of a cannon depends upon the strength of the powder, and the strength of the powder upon the sulphur and saltpetre; the latter determining the explosive force forwards and backwards, and the former, the same force towards either side. Therefore to ensure powder being powerful, there should be seven parts saltpetre out of ten. The English barbarians have got rattan ash which they can use instead of sulphur, but saltpetre is a product of China alone. Accordingly, I memorialised His Majesty to prohibit the export of saltpetre, and caused some thirty-seven thousand pounds to be seized by my subordinates. "

PREDESTINATION

Theoretically, the Chinese are fatalists in the fullest sense of theword. Love of life and a desire to enjoy the precious boon as long aspossible, prevent them from any such extended application of theprinciple as would be prejudicial to the welfare of the nation; yeteach man believes that his destiny is pre-ordained, and that the wholecourse of his life is mapped out for him with unerring exactitude. Happily, when the occasion presents itself, his thoughts are generallytoo much occupied with the crisis before him, to be able to indulge inany dangerous speculations on predestination and free-will; hispractice, therefore, is not invariably in harmony with his theory. 

On the first page of a Chinese almanack for the current year, we havea curious woodcut representing a fly, a spider, a bird, a sportsman, atiger, and a well. Underneath this strange medley is a legend couchedin the following terms:--"Predestination in all things!" Theletterpress accompanying the picture explains that the spider had justsecured a fat fly, and was on the point of making a meal of him, whenhe was espied by a hungry bird which swooped down on both. As the birdwas making off to its nest with this delicious mouthful, a sportsmanwho happened to be casting round for a supper, brought it down withhis gun, and was stooping to pick it up, when a tiger, also with anempty stomach, sprang from behind upon the man, and would there andthen have put an end to the drama, but for an ugly well, on the brinkof which the bird had dropped, and into which the tiger, carried on bythe impetus of his spring, tumbled headlong, taking with him man, bird, spider, and fly in one fell career to the bottom. This fableembodies popular ideas in China with regard to predestination, byvirtue of which calamity from time to time overtakes doomed victims, as a punishment for sins committed in their present or a past state ofexistence. Coupled with this belief are many curious sayings andcustoms, the latter of which often express in stronger terms thanlanguage the feelings of the people. For instance, at the largestcentre of population in the Eighteen Provinces, there is a regulationwith regard to the porterage by coolies of wine and oil, whichadmirably exemplifies the subject under consideration. If on a wet andstormy day, or when the ground is covered with snow, a coolie ladenwith either of the above articles slips and falls, he is heldresponsible for any damage that may be done; whereas, if he tumblesdown on a fine day when the streets are dry, and there is no apparentcause for such an accident, the owner of the goods bears whatever lossmay occur. The idea is that on a wet and slippery day mere exercise ofhuman caution would be sufficient to avert the disaster, but happeningin bright, dry weather, it becomes indubitably a manifestation of thewill of Heaven. In the same way, an endless run of bad luck or somefearful and overwhelming calamity, against which no mortal foresightcould guard, is likened to the burning of an _ice-house_, which, fromits very nature, would almost require the interposition of Divinepower to set it in a blaze. In such a case, he who could doubt thereality of predestination would be ranked, in Chinese eyes, as littlebetter than a fool. And yet when these emergencies arise we do notfind the Chinese standing still with their hands in their sleeves (forwant of pockets), but working away to stop whatever mischief is goingon, as if after the all the will of Heaven may be made amenable tohuman energy. It is only when an inveterate gambler or votary of theopium-pipe has seen his last chance of solace in this life cut awayfrom under him, and feels himself utterly unable any longer to stemthe current, that he weakly yields to the force of his destiny, andborrows a stout rope from a neighbour, or wanders out at night to thebrink of some deep pool never to return again. 

There is a charming episode in the second chapter of the "Dream of theRed Chamber, " where the father of Pao-yu is anxious to read theprobable destiny of his infant son. He spreads before the little boy, then just one year old, all kinds of different things, and declaresthat from whichever of these the baby first seizes, he will draw anomen as to his future career in life. We can imagine how he longed forhis boy to grasp the manly _bow_, in the use of which he might someday rival the immortal archer Pu:--the _sword_, and live to beenrolled a fifth among the four great generals of China:--the _pen_, and under the favouring auspices of the god of literature, rise toassist the Son of Heaven with his counsels, or write a commentary uponthe Book of Rites. Alas for human hopes! The naughty baby, regardlessalike of his father's wishes and the filial code, passed over allthese glittering instruments of wealth and power, and devoted hisattention exclusively to some hair-pins, pearl-powder, rouge, and alot of women's head-ornaments. 

JOURNALISM

Were any wealthy philanthropist to consult us as to the disposal ofhis millions with a view to ensure the greatest possible advantages tothe greatest possible number, we should unhesitatingly recommend himto undertake the publication of a Chinese newspaper, to be sold at amerely nominal figure per copy. Under skilled foreign guidance, andwith the total exclusion of religious topics, more would be effectedin a few years for the real happiness of China and its ultimateconversion to western civilisation, than the most hopeful enthusiastcould venture to predict. The _Shun-pao_, edited in Shanghai by MrErnest Major, is doing an incredible amount of good in so far as itsinfluence extends; but the daily issue of this widely-circulated paperamounts only to about four thousand copies, or one to every hundredthousand natives! Missionary publications are absolutely useless, asthey have a very limited sale beyond the circle of converts to thefaith; but a _colporteur_ of religious books informed us the other daythat he was continually being asked for the _Shun-pao_. Now the_Shun-pao_ owes its success so far to the fact that it is a pure moneyspeculation, and therefore an undertaking intelligible enough to allChinamen. Not only are its columns closed to anything likeproselytising articles, but they are open from time to time to suchtit-bits of the miraculous as are calculated to tickle the nativepalate, and swell the number of its subscribers. Therefore, to avertsuspicion, it would be necessary to make a charge, however small, while at the same time such bogy paragraphs as occasionally appear inthe columns of the _Shun-pao_ might be altogether omitted. 

Our attention was called to this matter by a charming description inthe _Shun-pao_ of a late balloon ascent from Calais, which was sonearly attended with fatal results. Written in a singularly easystyle, and going quite enough into detail on the subject of balloonsgenerally to give an instructive flavour to its remarks, this articlestruck us as being the identical kind of "light science for leisurehours" so much needed by the Chinese; and it compared most favourablywith a somewhat heavy disquisition on aeronautic topics which appearedsome time back in the _Peking Magazine_, albeit the latter wasaccompanied by an elaborate woodcut of a balloon under way. There isso much that is wonderful in the healthy regions of fact which mightwith mutual advantage be imparted to a reading people like theChinese, that it is quite unnecessary to descend to the gross, and toooften indecent, absurdities of fiction. Much indeed that is notactually marvellous might be put into language which would rivet theattention of Chinese readers. The most elementary knowledge, accordingto our standard, is almost always new, even to the profoundest scholarin native literature: the ignorance of the educated classes issomething appalling. On the other hand, all who have read their_Shun-pao_ with regularity, even for a few months, are comparativelyenlightened. We heard the other day of a Tao-t'ai who was alwaysmeeting the phrase "International Law" in the above paper, and hiscuriosity at length prompted him to make inquiries, and finally topurchase a copy of Dr Martin's translation of "Wheaton. " Hesubsequently complained bitterly that much of it was utterlyunintelligible; and judging from our own limited experience of thetranslation, we think His Excellency's objection not altogethergroundless. 

Of the domestic life of foreigners, the Chinese, with the exception ofa few servants, know absolutely nothing; and equally little of foreignmanners, customs, or etiquette. We were acquainted with one healthyBriton who was popularly supposed by the natives with whom he wasthrown in contact to eat a whole leg of mutton every day for dinner;and a high native functionary, complaining one day of some tipsysailors who had been rioting on shore, observed that "he knewforeigners always got drunk on Sundays, and had the offence beencommitted on that day he would have taken no notice of it; but, " &c. , &c. They have vague notions that filial piety is not considered avirtue in the West, and look upon our system of contracting marriagesas objectionable in the extreme. They think foreigners carry whips andsticks only for purposes of assault, and we met a man the other daywho had been wearing a watch for years, but was in the habit of neverwinding it up till it had run down. This we afterwards found out to bequite a common custom among the Chinese, it being generally believedthat a watch cannot be wound up whilst going; consequently, manyChinamen keep two always in use, and it is worth noticing that watchesin China are almost invariably sold in pairs. The term "foreign devil"is less frequently heard than formerly, and sometimes only for thewant of a better phrase. Mr Alabaster, in one of his journeys in theinterior, was politely addressed by the villagers as _His Excellencythe Devil_. The Chinese settlers in Formosa call themselves "foreignmen, " but they call us "foreign things;" for, they argue, if we calledyou foreign men, what should we call ourselves? The _Shun-pao_deserves much credit for its unvarying use of _western_ instead of_outside_ nations when speaking of foreign powers, but the belief isstill very prevalent that we all come from a number of small islandsscattered round the coast of one great centre, the Middle Kingdom. 

And so we might go on multiplying _ad nauseam_ instances of Chineseignorance in trivial matters which an ably-conducted journal has it inits power to dispel. We are so dissimilar from the Chinese in our waysof life, and so unlike them in dress and facial appearance, that it isonly many years of commercial intercourse on the present familiarfooting which will cause them to regard us as anything but thebarbarians they call us. Red hair and blue eyes may make up what BaronHubner would euphemistically describe as the "beau type d'un gentlemananglais, " but when worn with a funny-shaped hat, a short coat, tighttrousers, and a Penang lawyer, the picture produced on the retina of aChinese mind is unmistakably that of a "foreign devil. "

FUNERALS

Of all their cherished ceremonies, there are none the Chinese observewith more scrupulous exactness than those connected with death andmourning. We have just heard of the Governor of Kiangsu going intoretirement because of the decease of his mother; and so he willremain, ineligible to any office, for the space of three years. Hewill not shave his head for one hundred days. For forty-nine nights hewill sleep in a hempen garment, with his head resting on a brick andstretched on the hard ground, by the side of the coffin which holdsthe remains of the parent who gave him birth. He will go down upon hisknees and humbly kotow to each friend and relative at their firstmeeting after the sad event--a tacit acknowledgment that it was buthis own want of filial piety which brought his beloved motherprematurely to the grave. To the coolies who bear the coffin to itsresting-place on the slope of some wooded hill, or beneath the shadeof a clump of dark-leaved cypress trees, he will make the sameobeisance. Their lives and properties are at his disposal day andnight; but he now has a favour to ask which no violence could secure, and pleads that his mother's body may be carried gently, without jaror concussion of any kind. He will have her laid by the side of hisfather, in a coffin which cost perhaps 100 pounds, and repair thitherperiodically to appease her departed spirit with votive offerings offruit, vegetables, and pork. 

Immediately after the decease of a parent, the children and other nearrelatives communicate the news to friends living farther off, by whatis called an "announcement of death, " which merely states that thefather or mother, as the case may be, has died, and that they, thesurvivors, are entirely to blame. With this is sent a "sad report, " orin other words a detailed account of deceased's last illness, how itoriginated, what medicine was prescribed and taken, and sundry otherinteresting particulars. Their friends reply by sending a present ofmoney to help defray funeral expenses, a present of food orjoss-stick, or even a detachment of priests to read the prescribedliturgies over the dead. Sometimes a large scroll is written andforwarded, inscribed with a few such appropriate words as--"A hero hasgone!" When all these have been received, the members of the bereavedfamily issue a printed form of thanks, one copy being left at thehouse of each contributor and worded thus:--"This is to express thethanks of . . . The orphaned son who weeps tears of blood and bows hishead: of . . . The mourning brother who weeps and bows his head: of. . . The mourning nephew who wipes away his tears and bows his head. "

It is well known that all old and even middle-aged people in Chinalike to have their coffins prepared ready for use. A dutiful son willsee that his parents are thus provided, sometimes many years beforetheir death, and the old people will invite relatives or friends toexamine and admire both the materials and workmanship, as if it weresome beautiful picture or statue of which they had just cause to beproud. Upon the coffin is carved an inscription with the name andtitles of its occupant; if a woman, the name of her husband. At thefoot of the coffin are buried two stone tablets face to face; onebears the name and title of the deceased, and the other a shortaccount of his life, what year he was born in, what were hisachievements as a scholar, and how many children were born to him. Periods of mourning are regulated by the degrees of relationship tothe dead. A son wears his white clothes for three years--actually fortwenty-eight months; and a wife mourns her husband for the sameperiod. The death of a wife, however, calls for only a single year ofgrief; for, as the Sacred Edict points out, if your wife dies you canmarry another. The same suffices for brother, sister, or child. Marriages contracted during these days of mourning are not onlyinvalid, but the offending parties are punished with a greater orlesser number of blows according to the gravity of the offence. Innumerable other petty restrictions are imposed by national or localcustom, which are observed with a certain amount of fidelity, thoughinstances are not wanting where the whole thing is shirked asinconvenient and a bore. 

Cremation, once the prevailing fashion in China, is now reserved forthe priest of Buddha alone, --that self-made outcast from society, whose parting soul relies on no fond breast, who has no kith or kin toshed "those pious drops the closing eye requires;" but who, seated inan iron chair beneath the miniature pagoda erected in most largetemples for that purpose, passes away in fire and smoke from this valeof tears and sin to be absorbed in the blissful nothingness of aneternal Nirvana. 

INQUESTS

Inquests in China serve, unfortunately, but to illustrate one morephase of the folly and ignorance which hopelessly overshadow the vastarea of its Empire. For although the Chinese justly regard suchinvestigations as matters of paramount importance, and the office ofcoroner devolves upon a high functionary--the district magistrate--yetthe backward state of science on the one hand, and the necessity theruling classes have been under of supplying this deficiency on theother, have combined to produce at once the most deplorable and themost laughable results. Two good-sized volumes of "Instructions toCoroners, " beautifully printed on white paper and altogetherhandsomely got up, are published under the authority of theGovernment, and copies of this book are to be found in the offices ofevery magistrate throughout the Empire. It is carefully studied evenby the underlings who play only subordinate parts on such occasions, and the coroner himself generally carries his private copy with him inhis sedan-chair to the very scene of the inquest. From this work thefollowing sketch has been compiled, for though it has been our fate tobe present at more than one of the lamentable exhibitions thusdignified by the name of inquest, and to have had ocular demonstrationof the absurdities there perpetrated, it will be more satisfactory tostick closely to the text of an officially-recognised book, thetranslation of which helped to while away many a leisure hour. 

The first chapter opens as follows:--

 "There is nothing more sacred than human life: there is no punishment greater than death. A murderer gives life for life: the law shows no mercy. But to obviate any regrets which might be occasioned by a wrong infliction of such punishment, the validity of any confession and the sentence passed are made to depend on a satisfactory examination of the wounds. If these are of a _bona fide_ nature [i. E. , not counterfeit], and the confession of the accused tallies therewith, then life may be given for life, that those who know the laws may fear them, that crime may become less frequent among the people, and due weight be attached to the sanctity of human existence. If an inquest is not properly conducted, the wrong of the murdered man is not redressed, and new wrongs are raised up amongst the living; other lives may be sacrificed, and both sides roused to vengeance of which no man can foresee the end. "

On this it is only necessary to remark that the "validity" of aconfession is an important point in China, since substitutes areeasily procurable at as low a rate as from 20 to 50 pounds a life. 

The duties of a Chinese coroner are by no means limited to _postmortem_ examinations; he visits and examines any one who has beendangerously wounded, and fixes a date within which the accused is heldresponsible for the life of his victim. 

 "Murders are rarely the result of premeditation, but can be traced, in the majority of cases, to a brawl. The statute which treats of wounding in a brawl attaches great weight to the 'death- limit, ' which means that the wounded man be handed over to the accused to be taken care of and provided with medical aid, and that a limit of time be fixed, on the expiration of which punishment be awarded according to circumstances. Now the relatives of a wounded man, unless their ties be of the closest, generally desire his death that they may extort money from his slayer; but the accused wishes him to live that he himself may escape death, and therefore he leaves no means untried to restore his victim to health. This institution of the 'death-limit' is a merciful endeavour to save the lives of both. "

One whole chapter is devoted to a division of the body into vital andnon-vital parts. Of the former there are twenty-two altogether, sixteen before and six behind; of the latter fifty-six, thirty-sixbefore and twenty behind. Every coroner provides himself with a form, drawn up according to these divisions, and on this he enters thevarious wounds he finds on the body at the inquest. 

 "Do not, " say the Instructions, "deterred by the smell of the corpse, sit at a distance, your view intercepted by the smoke of fumigation, letting the assistants call out the wounds and enter them on the form, perhaps to garble what is of importance and to give prominence to what is not. "

The instructions for the examination of the body from the headdownwards are very explicit, and among them is one sentence by virtueof which a Chinese judge would have disposed of the Tichborne casewithout either hesitation or delay. 

 "Examine the cheeks to see whether they have been tattooed or not, or whether the marks have been obliterated. In the latter case, cut a slip of bamboo and tap the parts; the tattooing will then re-appear. "

In cases where the wounds are not distinctly visible, the followingdirections are given:--

 "Spread a poultice of grain, and sprinkle some vinegar upon the corpse in the open air. Take a piece of new oiled silk, or a transparent oil-cloth umbrella, and hold it between the sun and the parts you want to examine. The wounds will then appear. If the day is dark or rainy, use live charcoal [instead of the sun]. Suppose there is no result, then spread over the parts pounded white prunes with more grains and vinegar, and examine closely. If the result is still imperfect, then take the flesh only of the prune, adding cayenne pepper, onions, salt, and grains, and mix it up into a cake. Make this very hot, and having first interposed a sheet of paper, lay it on the parts. The wound will then appear. "

Hot vinegar and grains are always used previous to an examination ofthe body to soften it and cause the wounds to appear more distinctly. 

 "But in winter, when the corpse is frozen hard, and no amount of grains and vinegar, however hot, or clothes piled up, however thick, will relax its rigidity, dig a hole in the ground of the length and breadth of the body and three feet in depth. Lay in it a quantity of fuel and make a roaring fire. Then dash over it vinegar, which will create dense volumes of steam, in the middle of which place the body with all its dressings right in the hole; cover it over with clothes and pour on more hot vinegar all over it. At a distance of two or three feet from the hole on either side of it light fires, and when you think the heat has thoroughly penetrated, take away the fire and remove the body for examination. "

It is always a great point with the coroner to secure as soon aspossible the fatal weapon. If a long time has elapsed between themurder and the inquest, and no traces of blood are visible on theknife or sword which may have been used, "heat it red hot in acharcoal fire, and pour over it a quantity of first-rate vinegar. Thestains of blood will at once appear. "

The note following this last sentence is still more extraordinary:--

 "An inquest was held on the body of a man who had been murdered on the high road, and at first it was thought that the murder had been committed by robbers, but on examination the corpse was found to be fully clothed and bearing the marks of some ten or more wounds from a sickle. The coroner pointed out that robbers kill their victims for the sake of booty, which evidently was not the case in the present instance, and declared revenge to be at the bottom of it all. He then sent for the wife of the murdered man, and asked her if her husband had lately quarrelled with anybody. She replied No, but stated that there had been some high words between her husband and another man to whom he had refused to lend money. The coroner at once despatched his runners to the place where this man lived, to bid the people of that village produce all their sickles without delay, at the same time informing them that the concealment of a sickle would be tantamount to a confession of guilt. The sickles were accordingly produced, in number about eighty, and spread out upon the ground. The season being summer there were a great quantity of flies, all of which were attracted by one particular sickle. The coroner asked to whom this sickle belonged, and lo! it belonged to him with whom the murdered man had quarrelled about a loan. On being arrested, he denied his guilt; but the coroner pointed to the flies settling upon the sickle, attracted by the smell of blood, and the murderer bent his head in silent acknowledgment of his crime. "

Inquests are often held in China many years after the death of thevictim. Give a Chinese coroner merely the dry and imperfect skeletonof a man known to have been murdered, and he will generally succeed infixing the guilt on some one. To supplement thus by full and openconfession of the accused is a matter of secondary difficulty in acountry where torture may at any moment be brought to bear withterrible efficacy in the cause of justice and truth. Its application, however, is extremely rare. 

 "Man has three hundred and sixty-five bones, corresponding to the number of days it takes the heavens to revolve. The skull of a man, from the nape of the neck to the top of the head, consists of eight pieces--that of a Ts'ai-chow man, of nine; women's skulls are of six pieces. Men have twelve ribs on either side; women have fourteen. "

The above being sufficient to show where the Chinese are with regardto the structure of the human frame, we will now proceed to thedirections for examining bones, it may be months or even years afterdeath. 

 "For the examination of bones the day should be clear and bright. First take clean water and wash them, and then with string tie them together in proper order so that a perfect skeleton is formed, and lay this on a mat. Then make a hole in the ground, five feet long, three feet broad, and two feet deep. Throw into this plenty of firewood and charcoal, and keep it burning till the ground is thoroughly hot. Clear out the fire and pour in two pints of good spirit and five pounds of strong vinegar. Lay the bones quickly in the steaming pit and cover well up with rushes, &c. Let them remain there for two or three hours until the ground is cold, when the coverings may be removed, the bones taken to a convenient spot, and examined under a red oil-cloth umbrella. 

 "If the day is dark or rainy the 'boiling' method must be adopted. Take a large jar and heat in it a quantity of vinegar; then having put in plenty of salt and white prunes, boil it altogether with the bones, superintending the process yourself. When it is boiling fast, take out the bones, wash them in water, and hold up to the light. The wounds will be perfectly visible, the blood having soaked into the wounded parts, marking them with red or dark blue or black. 

 "The above method is, however, not the only one. Take a new yellow oil-cloth umbrella from Hangchow, hold it over the bones, and every particle of wound hidden in the bones will be clearly visible. In cases where the bones are old and the wounds have been obliterated by long exposure to wind and rain or dulled by frequent boilings, it only remains to examine them in the sun under a yellow umbrella, which will show the wounds as far as possible. 

 "There must be no zinc boiled with the bones or they will become dull. 

 "Bones which have passed several times through the process of examination become quite white and exactly like uninjured bones; in which case, take such as should show wounds and fill them with oil. Wait till the oil is oozing out all over, then wipe it off and hold the bone up to the light; where there are wounds the oil will collect and not pass; the clear parts have not been injured. 

 "Another method is to rub some good ink thick and spread it on the bone. Let it dry, and then wash it off. Where there are wounds, and there only, it will sink into the bone. Or take some new cotton wool and pass it over the bone. Wherever there is a wound some will be pulled out [by the jagged parts of the bone]. "

A whole chapter is devoted to counterfeit wounds, the means ofdistinguishing them from real wounds, and the manner in which they areproduced. Section 2 of the thirteenth chapter is on a cognate subject, namely, to ascertain whether wounds were inflicted before or afterdeath:--

 "If there are several dark-coloured marks on the body, take some water and let it fall drop by drop on to them. If they are wounds the water will remain without trickling away; if they are not wounds, the water will run off. In examining wounds, the finger must be used to press down any livid or red spot. If it is a wound it will be hard, and on raising the finger will be found of the same colour as before. 

 "Wounds inflicted on the bone leave a red mark and a slight appearance of saturation, and where the bone is broken there will be at either end a halo-like trace of blood. Take a bone on which there are marks of a wound and hold it up to the light; if these are of a fresh-looking red, the wound was afflicted before death and penetrated to the bone; but if there is no trace of saturation from blood, although there is a wound, if was inflicted after death. "

In a chapter on wounds from kicks, the following curious instructionsare given regarding a "bone-method" of examination:--

 "To depend on the evidence of the bone immediately below the wound would be to let many criminals slip through the meshes of the law. Where wounds have been thus inflicted, no matter on man or woman, the wounds will be visible on the upper half of the body, and not on the lower. For instance, they will appear in a male at the roots of either the top or bottom teeth, inside; on the right hand if the wound was on the left, and _vice versa_; in the middle of the wound was central. In women, the wounds will appear on the gums right or left as above. "

The next extract needs no comment, except perhaps that it forms themost cherished of all beliefs in the whole range of Chinese medicaljurisprudence:--

 "The bones of parents may be identified by their children in the following manner. Let the experimenter cut himself or herself with a knife and cause the blood to drip on to the bones; then, if the relationship is an actual fact the blood will sink into the bone, otherwise it will not. N. B. Should the bones have been washed with salt water, even though the relationship exists, yet the blood will not soak in. This is a trick to be guarded against beforehand. 

 "It is also said that if parent and child, or husband and wife, each cut themselves and let the blood drip into a basin of water the two bloods will mix, whereas that of two people not thus related will not mix. 

 "Where two brothers who may have been separated since childhood are desirous of establishing their identity as such, but are unable to do so by ordinary means, bid each one cut himself and let the blood drip into a basin. If they are really brothers, the two bloods will congeal into one; otherwise not. But because fresh blood will always congeal with the aid of a little salt or vinegar, people often smear the basin over with these to attain their own ends and deceive others; therefore, always wash out the basin you are going to use or buy a new one from a shop. Thus the trick will be defeated. 

 "The above method of dropping blood on the bones may be used even by a grandchild, desirous of identifying the remains of his grandfather; but husband and wife, not being of the same flesh and blood, it is absurd to suppose that the blood of one would soak into the bones of the other. For such a principle would apply with still more force to the case of a child, who had been suckled by a foster-mother and had grown up, indebted to her for half its existence. With regard to the water method, if the basin used is large and full of water, the bloods will be unable to mix from being so much diluted; and in the latter case where there is no water, if the interval between dropping the two bloods into the basin is too long, the first will get cold and they will not mix. "

Not content with holding an inquest on the bones of a man who may havebeen murdered five years before, a Chinese coroner quite as oftenproceeds gravely to examine the wounds of a corpse which has beenreduced to ashes by fire and scattered to the four winds of heaven. Nomere eyewitness would dare to relate the singular process by whichsuch a result is achieved; but directions exist in black and white, ofwhich the following is a close translation:--

 "There are some atrocious villains who, when they have murdered any one, burn the body and throw the ashes away, so that there are no bones to examine. In such cases you must carefully find out at what time the murder was committed and where the body was burnt. Then, when you know the place, all witnesses agreeing on this point, you may proceed without further delay to examine the wounds. The mode of procedure is this. Put up your shed near where the body was burnt, and make the accused and witnesses point out themselves the very spot. Then cut down the grass and weeds growing on this spot, and burn large quantities of fuel till the place is extremely hot, throwing on several pecks of hempseed. By and by brush the place clean, and then, if the body was actually burnt in this spot, the oil from the seed will be found to have sunk into the ground in the form of a human figure, and wherever there were wounds on the dead man, there on this figure the oil will be found to have collected together, large or small, square, round, long, short, oblique, or straight, exactly as they were inflicted. The parts where there were no wounds will be free from any such appearances. But supposing you obtain the outline only without the necessary detail of the wounds, then scrape away the masses of oil, light a brisk fire on the form of the body and throw on grains mixed with water. Make the fire burn as fiercely as possible, and sprinkle vinegar, instantly covering it over with a new well-varnished table. Leave the table on for a little while and then take it off for examination. The form of the body will be transferred to the table and the wounds will be distinct and clear in every particular. 

 "If the place is wild and some time has elapsed since the deed was done, so that the very murderer does not remember the exact spot, inquire carefully in what direction it was with regard to such and such a village or temple, and about how far off. If all agree on this point, proceed in person to the place, and bid your assistants go round about searching for any spots where the grass is taller and stronger than usual, marking such with a mark. For where a body has been burnt the grass will be darker in hue, more luxuriant, and taller than that surrounding it, and will not lose these characteristics for a long time, the fat and grease of the body sinking down to the roots of the grass and causing the above results. If the spot is on a hill, or in a wild place where the vegetation is very luxuriant, then you must look for a growth about the height of a man. If the burning took place on stony ground, the crumbly appearance of the stones must be your guide; this simplifies matters immensely. "

Such, then, are a few of the absurdities which pass muster among thecredulous people of China as the result of deep scientific research;but whether the educated classes--more especially those individualswho devote themselves in the course of their official duties to thetheory and practice of _post mortem_ examinations--can be equallygulled with the gaping crowd around them, we may safely leave ourreaders to decide for themselves. 

INQUESTS, NO. II

Section IV. Of the valuable work which formed the basis of ourpreceding sketch, is devoted to the enumeration of methods forrestoring human life after such casualties as drowning, hanging, poisoning, &c. , some hours and even days after vitality has to allappearances ceased. We shall quote as before from our own literaltranslation. 

 "Where a man has been hanging from morning to night, even though already cold, a recovery may still be effected. Stop up the patient's mouth tightly with your hand, and in a little over four hours respiration will be restored. _Or_, Take equal parts of finely-powdered soap-bean and anemone hepatica, and blow a quantity of this--about as much as a bean--into the patient's nostrils. 

 "In all cases where men or women have been hanged, a recovery may be effected even if the body has become stiff. You must not cut the body down, but, supporting it, untie the rope and lay it down in some smooth place on its back with the head propped up. Bend the arms and legs gently, and let some one sitting behind pull the patient's hair tightly. Straighten the arms, let there be a free passage through the wind-pipe, and let two persons blow incessantly into the ears through a bamboo tube or reed, rubbing the chest all the time with the hand. Take the blood from a live fowl's comb, and drop it into the throat and nostrils--the left nostril of a woman, the right of a man; also using a cock's comb for a man, a hen's for a woman. Re-animation will be immediately effected. If respiration has been suspended for a long time, there must be plenty of blowing and rubbing; do not think that because the body is cold all is necessarily over. 

 "Where a man has been in the water a whole night, a recovery may still be effected. Break up part of a mud wall and pound it to dust; lay the patient thereon on his back, and cover him up with the same, excepting only his mouth and eyes. Thus the water will be absorbed by the mud, and life will be restored. This method is a very sure one, even though the body has become stiff. 

 "In cases of injury from scalding, get a large oyster and put it in a basin with its mouth upwards somewhere quite away from anybody. Wait till its shell opens, and then shake in from a spoon a little Borneo camphor, mixed and rubbed into a powder with an equal portion of genuine musk. The oyster will then close its shell and its flesh will be melted into a liquid. Add a little more of the above ingredients, and with a fowl's feather brush it over the parts and round the wound, getting nearer and nearer every time till at last you brush it into the wound; the pain will thus gradually cease. A small oyster will do if a large one is not to be had. This is a first-rate prescription. 

 "Where a man has fallen into the water in winter, and has quite lost all consciousness from cold, if there is the least warmth about the chest, life may still be restored. Should the patient show the slightest inclination to laugh, stop up his nose and mouth at once, or he will soon be unable to leave off, and it will be impossible to save him. On no account bring a patient hastily to the fire, for the sight of fire will excite him to immoderate laughter, and his chance of life is gone. 

 "In cases of nightmare, do not at once bring a light, or going near call out loudly to the sleeper, but bite his heel or his big toe, and gently utter his name. Also spit on his face and give him ginger tea to drink; he will then come round. _Or_, Blow into the patient's ears through small tubes, pull out fourteen hairs from his head, make them into a twist and thrust into his nose. Also, give salt and water to drink. Where death has resulted from seeing goblins, take the heart of a leek and push it up the patient's nostrils--the left for a man, the right for a woman. Look along the inner edge of the upper lips for blisters like grains of Indian corn, and prick them with a needle. "

The work concludes with an antidote against a certain dangerous poisonknown as _Ku_, originally discovered by a Buddhist priest andsuccessfully administered in a great number of cases. Its ingredients, which comprise two red centipedes--one live and one roasted--must beput into a mortar and pounded up together either on the 5th of the 5thmoon, the 9th of the 9th moon, or the 8th of the 12th moon, in someplace quite away from women, fowls, and dogs. Pills made from thepaste produced are to be swallowed one by one without mastication. Thepreparation of this deadly _Ku_ poison is described in the lastchapter but one of Section III. In the following words:--

 "Take a quantity of insects of all kinds and throw them into a vessel of any kind; cover them up and let a year pass away before you look at them again. The insects will have killed and eaten each other until there is only one survivor, and this one is _Ku_. "

In the next chapter we are informed that spinach eaten with tortoiseis poison, as also is shell-fish eaten with venison; that deathfrequently results from drinking pond-water which has been poisoned bysnakes, from drinking water which has been used for flowers, or teawhich has stood uncovered through the night, from eating the flesh ofa fowl which has swallowed a centipede, and wearing clothes which havebeen soaked with perspiration and dried in the sun. Finally, "A case is recorded of a man who tied his victim's hands and feet, and forced into his mouth the head of a snake, applying fire at the same time to its tail. The snake jumped down the man's throat and passed into his stomach, but at the inquest held over the body no traces of wounds were found to which death could be attributed. Such a crime, however, may be detected by examination of the bones which, from the head downwards, will be found entirely of a bright red colour, caused by the dispersion of the blood; and moreover, the more the bones are scraped away, the brighter in colour do they become. "

It is difficult to speak of such a book as "Instructions to Coroners"with anything like becoming gravity, and yet it is one of the mostwidely-read and highly-esteemed works in China; so much so, thatnative scholars frequently throw it in the teeth of foreigners as oneof their many repertories of real wonder-working science, equal toanything that comes from the West, if only foreigners would take thetrouble to consult it. To satisfy our own curiosity on the subject webought a copy and translated it from beginning to end; but our readerswill perhaps be able to determine its scientific value from the fewquotations given above, and agree with us that it would hardly beworth while to learn Chinese for the pleasure or profit to be derivedfrom reading "Instructions to Coroners" in the original character. 

CHRISTIANITY

The extraordinary feeling of hatred and contempt evinced by theChinese nation for missionaries of every denomination who settle intheir country, naturally suggests the question whether Christianity islikely to prove a boon to China, if, indeed, it ever succeeds intaking root at all. That under the form of Roman Catholicism, it oncehad a chance of becoming the religion of the Empire, and that thatchance was recklessly sacrificed to bigotry and intolerance, is toowell known to be repeated; but that such an opportunity will everoccur again is quite beyond the bounds, if not of possibility, at anyrate of probability. Missionary prospects are anything but bright inChina just now, in spite of rosily worded "reports, " and annualstatistics of persons baptized. A respectable Chinaman will tell youthat only thieves and bad characters who have nothing to lose availthemselves of baptism, as a means of securing "long nights ofindolence and ease" in the household of some enthusiastic missionaryat from four to ten dollars a month. Educated men will not toleratemissionaries in their houses, as many have found to their cost; andthe fact cannot be concealed that the foreign community in Chinasuffers no small inconvenience and incurs considerable danger for acause with which a large majority of its members has no sympathywhatever. It would, however, be invidious to dwell upon the class ofnatives who allow themselves to be baptized and pretend to acceptdogmas they most certainly do not understand, or on the mental andsocial calibre of numbers of those gentlemen who are sent out toconvert them; we will confine ourselves merely to considering whatpractical benefits Christianity would be likely to confer upon theChinese at large. And this we may fairly do, not being of those whohold that all will be damned but the sect of that particular church towhich they themselves happen to belong; but believing that the Chinesehave as good a chance as anybody else of whatever happiness may be instore for the virtuous, whether they become Christians or whether theydo not. 

In the course of eight years' residence in China, we have never met adrunken man in the streets. Opium-smokers we have seen in all stagesof intoxication; but no drunken brawls, no bruised and bleeding wives. Would Christianity raise the Chinese to the standard of Europeansobriety? Would it bring them to renounce opium, only to replace itwith gin? Would it cause them to become more frugal, to live moreeconomically than they do now on their bowl of rice and cabbage, moistened with a drink of tea, and perhaps supplemented with a fewwhiffs of the mildest possible tobacco? Would it cause them to be moreindustrious than--e. G. , the wood-carvers of Ningpo who work daily fromsunrise to dusk, with two short intervals for meals? Would it makethem more filial?--justly renowned as they are for unremitting care ofaged and infirm parents. More fraternal?--where every family is asmall society, each member toiling for the common good, and being sureof food and shelter if thrown out of work or enfeebled by disease. More law-abiding?--we appeal to any one who has lived in China, andmixed with the people. Would it make them more honest?--when manyEuropeans confess that for straightforward business they would soonerdeal with Chinamen than with merchants of certain Christiannationalities we shall not take upon ourselves to name. Should we notrun the risk of sowing seed for future and bloody religious wars onsoil where none now rage? To teach them justice in the administrationof law would be a glorious task indeed, but even that would have itsdark side. Litigation would become the order of the day, and arapacious class would spring into existence where lawyers andbarristers are now totally unknown. The striking phenomenon of extremewealth side by side with extreme poverty, might be produced in acountry where absolute destitution is at present remarkably rare, andno one need actually starve; and thus would be developed a fine fieldfor the practice of that Christian charity which by demoralisation ofthe poorer classes so skilfully defeats its own end. We should rejoiceif anything could make Chinamen less cruel to dumb animals, desistfrom carrying ducks, geese, and pigs, hanging by their legs to a pole, feed their hungry dogs, and spare their worn-out beasts of burden. Butpigeon-shooting is unknown, and gag-bearing reins have yet to beintroduced into China; neither have we heard of a poor heathenChinaman "skinning a sheep alive. " (_Vide Daily Papers of July_ 12, 1875. )

Last of all, it must not be forgotten that China has already fourgreat religions flourishing in her midst. There is _Confucianism_, which, strictly speaking, is not a religion, but a system ofself-culture with a view to the proper government of (1) one's ownfamily and of (2) the State. It teaches man to be good, and to lovevirtue for its own sake, with no fear of punishment for failure, nohope of reward for success. Is it below Christianity in this?

_Buddhism_, _Taoism_, and _Mahomedanism_, share the patronage of theilliterate, and serve to satisfy the natural craving in uneducated manfor something supernatural in which to believe and on which to rely. The _literati_ are sheer materialists: they laugh at the absurditiesof Buddhism, though they sometimes condescend to practise its rites. They strongly object to the introduction of a new religion, andsuccessfully oppose it by every means in their power. They urge, andwith justice, that Confucius has laid down an admirable rule of lifein harmony with their own customs, and that the conduct of those whoapproximate to this standard would compare not unfavourably with thepractice, as distinguished from the profession, of any religion in theworld. 

ANTI-CHRISTIAN LYRICS

The following inflammatory placard, which was posted up last year at aplace called Lung-p'ing, near the great tea mart of Hankow, will givea faint idea of native prejudice against the propagation ofChristianity in China. The original was in verse, and evidently thework of a highly-educated man:--

 Strange doctrines are speedily to be eradicated: The holy teaching of Confucius is now in the ascendant. There is but one most sacred religion: There can be but one Mean. By their great virtue Yao and Shun led the way, Alone able to expound the "fickle" and the "slight;"[*] Confucius' teachings have not passed away, Yet working wonders in secret[+] has long been in vogue. Be earnest in practising the ordinary virtues: To extend filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, and considerateness, is to benefit one's-self. Be careful in your speech, And marvels, feats of strength, sedition, and spirits, [:] will disappear from conversation. I pray you do not listen to unsubstantiated words: Then who will dare to deceive the age with soft-sounding phrases. Our religion is for all who choose to seek it; But we build no chapels to beguile the foolish. Our true religion has existed from of old, up to the present day, undergoing no change. Its true principles include in their application those of the middle and outside nations alike. Great is the advantage to us! Great is the good influence on this generation! Of all religions the only true one, What false doctrine can compare with it? The _stillness_ and _cleanliness_ of Buddhism, The _abstruseness_ and _hollow mockery_ of Taoism-- These are but side-doors compared with ours; Fit to be quitted, but not to be entered. These are but by-paths compared with ours; Fit to be blocked up, but not to be used. How then about this one, stranger than Buddhist or Taoist creed? With its secret confusion of sexes, unutterable! More hurtful than all the dogmas of the other two; Spreading far and wide the unfathomable poison of its mysteries. Herein you must carefully discriminate, And not receive it with belief and veneration. Those who now embrace Christ Call him Lord of heaven and earth, Worshipping him with prayer, Deceiving and exciting the foolish, Dishonouring the holy teaching of Confucius. I laugh at your hero of the cross, Who, though sacrificing his life, did not preserve his virtue complete. Missions build chapels, But the desire to do good works is not natural to them. The method of influencing the natures of women Is but a trick to further base ends. They injure boys by magical arts, And commit many atrocious crimes. They say their religion is the only true one, But their answers are full of prevarication. They say their book is the Holy Book, But the Old and New Testaments are like the songs of Wei and Cheng. [!] As to the people who are gradually being misled, I compassionate their ignorance; As to the educated who are thus deceived, I am wroth at their want of reflection. For these men are not of us; We are like the horse and the cow;[@] If you associate with them, Who will expel these crocodiles and snakes? This is a secret grievance of the State, A manifest injury to the people! Truly it is the eye-sore of the age. You quietly look on unconcerned! I, musing over the present state of men's hearts, Desire to rectify them. Alas! the ways of devils are full of guile! But man's disposition is naturally pure. How then can men willingly walk with devils? You, like trees and plants, without understanding, Allow the Barbarians to throw into confusion the Flowery Land. Is it that no holy and wise men have appeared? Under the Chow dynasty, when the barbarians were at the height of their arrogance, The hand of Confucius and Mencius was laid upon them! Under the T'ang when Buddhism was poisoning the age, Han and Hsi exterminated them. Now these devils are working evil, Troubling the villages and market-places where they live. Surely many heroes must come forward To crush them with the pen of Confucius. Turn then and consider That were it not for my class[#] None would uphold the true religion. I say unto you, And you should give heed unto me, Believe not the nonsense of Redemption, Believe not the trickery of the Resurrection. Set yourselves to find out the true path, And learn to distinguish between man and devil. Pass not with loitering step the unknown ford, Nor bow the knee before the vicious and the depraved. Wait not for Heaven to exterminate them To find out that earth has a day for their destruction. The shapeless, voiceless imp-- Why worship him? His supernatural, unprincipled nonsense Should surely be discarded. Ye who think not so, When the devils are in your houses They will covet your homes, And they will take the fingers and arms of your strong ones To make claws and teeth for imps. They excite people at first by specious talk, Not one jot of which is intelligible; Then they destroy your reason, Making you wander far from the truth. You throw over ancestral worship to enjoy none yourselves; Your wives and children suffer pollution, And you are pointed at with the finger. Thus heedlessly you injure eternal principles, Embracing filth and treasuring corruption, To your endless shame And to your everlasting misfortune. Finally, if in life your heads escape the axe, There will await you the excessive injury of the shroud. [$] Judging by the crimes of your lives, Your corpses will be cast to scorpions and snakes. The devils introduce this doctrine, Which grows like plants from seeds; Some one must arise to punish them, And destroy their religion root and branch. Hasten, all of you, to repent, And walk in the way of righteousness; We truly pity you. A warning notice to discard false doctrines!

 [*] The fickle nature of men's minds, and slight regard for the true doctrine. 

 [+] Forbidden by Confucius. 

 [:] Avoided by Confucius as topics. 

 [!] Licentious. 

 [@] The Chinese say horses prefer going against, cows with, the wind. 

 [#] The _literati_. 

 [$] Missionaries are said to keep the corpses of converts concealed from public view between death and interment, that the absence of the dead man's eyes may not be detected. 

CONCLUSION

"Surely it is manifest enough that by selecting the evidence, anysociety may be relatively blackened, and any other society relativelywhitened. "[*] We hope that no such principle of selection can betraced in the preceding pages. Irritation against traducers of Chinaand her morality[+] may have occasionally tinged our views with asomewhat rosy hue; but we have all along felt the danger of this bias, and have endeavoured to guard against it. We have no wish to exaltChina at the expense of European civilisation, but we cannot blindourselves to the fact that her vices have been exaggerated, and hervirtues overlooked. Only the bigoted or ignorant could condemn withsweeping assertions of immorality a nation of many millions absolutelyfree, as the Chinese are, from one such vice as drunkenness; in whosecities may be seen--what all our legislative and executive skillcannot secure--streets quiet and deserted after nine or ten o'clock atnight. Add to this industry, frugality, patriotism, [:] and a boundlessrespect for the majesty of office: it then only remains for us toacknowledge that China is after all "a nation of much talent, and, insome respects, even wisdom. "[!]

 [*] Spencer's Sociology: The Bias of Patriotism. 

 [+] "The miseries and horrors (?) which are now destroying (?) the Chinese Empire are the direct and organic result of the moral profligacy of its inhabitants. "--_Froude's Short Studies on Great Subjects_. 

 [:] "Every patriotic Chinese--and there are millions of such. "--_Dr Legge to London and China Telegraph_, July 5, 1875. 

 [!] Mill's Essay on Liberty.