CHAP. VI.

FIRST VISIT TO NING-PO.--THE BRIDGE OF BOATS.--CITY AND

PAGODA.--MEDICAL MISSIONARY.--TEMPERATURE.--CHINESE MODE OF

KEEPING THEMSELVES WARM.--CHARCOAL STOVES.--MY LODGINGS.--CHINESE

GAMBLERS.--DESCRIPTION OF SHOPS.--SILKS AND EMBROIDERY.--JADE

STONE.--COTTON PRINTING.--ROPE MAKING.--CURIOSITY SHOPS

AND CONTENTS.--"FURNITURE STREET" AND FURNITURE.--BANKING

ESTABLISHMENT.--NO PROSPECT OF FOREIGN TRADE.--TEMPLES, AND

DEVOTION OF SOME OF THE PEOPLE.--DWARFED TREES.--MODE OF DWARFING

EXPLAINED.--MANDARINS' GARDENS VISITED AND DESCRIBED.--VIEW FROM

NORTHERN HILLS.--AGRICULTURE.--NATIVE FLORA OF THESE HILLS.--GRAVES OF

THE DEAD.--COFFINS EXPOSED.

I visited Ning-po for the first time in the autumn of 1843. It is a

large town, situated on the main land, nearly west from the Chusan

group of islands, on the east coast of China. It stands about twelve

miles from the sea, at the junction of two fine streams, which by

their union form a noble river capable of being navigated by the

larger vessels and junks. One of these branches runs from the west,

and the other from the south, meeting at Ning-po; and over the latter

the Chinese have constructed a bridge of boats for the traffic with

the suburbs on the opposite shore. This bridge is a most simple and

ingenious contrivance, consisting of a number of large boats moored at

equal distances across the river, forming the basis on which the upper

woodwork rests, and enabling the whole to rise and fall to a certain

extent with the tide. By this means there is sufficient room under the

bridge to allow fishing and passage boats to pass through at all times

of the tide, providing it is not running too strong. At spring tides

the water rushes through these spaces between the boats with great

velocity, and sometimes it is next to impossible to get through.

[Illustration: CITY OF NINGPO--BRIDGE OF BOATS.

London, John Murray, Albemarle Street.]

The city itself is strongly fortified with high walls and ramparts

about five miles round, and the space inside the walls is almost

entirely filled with houses, in most parts densely crowded together.

There are two or three very fine streets; finer, indeed, and wider than

those of any other Chinese town which I have visited. A good view of

the city and the surrounding country, as far as the eye can reach, is

obtained from the top of a pagoda about one hundred and thirty feet

high, having a stair-case inside by which the top can be reached.

(See following page.) This pagoda is named "_Tien-foong-tah_" or

the "Temple of the Heavenly Winds;" it is evidently very old, and,

like many others of the same kind, is in a state of decay. Whenever I

visited this place, the Priests (Budhists) were always in attendance

with their offerings of cake and tea, for which a small gratuity was

expected.

[Illustration]

When I first landed at Ning-po, the British consul, Mr. Thom, had not

arrived, and I was quite at a loss where to go, or to whom to apply

for quarters. Leaving my boat and servant on the river, I strolled

away into the city to reconnoitre, thinking that something might turn

up which I could use for my advantage. I was soon surrounded by crowds

of the natives, and amongst them some blackguard boys who had been

corrupted to a great extent by the troops during the war, but who

luckily understood a little of the English language, and were able to

be of essential service to me. They informed me that there was one

"_Hong-mou-jin_"--(red-haired man)--a term which they apply to all

western nations--already in the city, and immediately led the way to

his quarters. When we arrived at the house, I was surprised to find a

former acquaintance. He was an American Medical Missionary, and was

dressed _à la Chinoise_, tail and all complete, but truth compels me

to state that his dress was rather a ludicrous one. Afterwards when

my knowledge of the Chinese costume was more complete, I have often

laughed when I thought of the figure the little doctor must have

appeared in the eyes of the Chinese. The large flowing gown which he

wore was almost too fine for a mandarin, while the hat was one commonly

worn by servants and coolies. The English reader, if he wishes to

understand the strange sort of appearance the doctor presented, must

imagine a London judge clothed in his fine black flowing gown, and

wearing the hat of a dustman. I recollect one evening after dark going

out into one of the main streets, accompanied by the doctor, to see an

offering which was there presented to the Gods, and I soon found that

he in his Chinese dress was a greater object of attention than I was

in my English one. How the Chinese laughed and enjoyed the joke! I had

obtained a room in the same house with my friend, who was visited daily

by great numbers of the Chinese, and who, although not a very good

Chinaman, was most zealous in the cause of medical missions.

As the winter approached the weather became extremely cold, and

in December and January the ice on the ponds and canals was of

considerable thickness. The most attractive shops in the city now, were

the different clothing establishments, where all articles of wearing

apparel were lined with skins of various kinds, many of them of the

most costly description. The very poorest Chinese has always a warm

jacket or cloak lined with sheep skin, or padded with cotton, for the

winter; and they cannot imagine how the Europeans can exist with the

thin clothing they generally go about in. When the weather was cold, I

used always to wear a stout warm great coat above my other dress, and

yet the Chinese were continually feeling the thickness of my clothes,

and telling me that surely I must feel cold. Their mode of keeping

themselves comfortable in winter, differs entirely from ours: they

rarely or never think of using fires in their rooms for this purpose,

but as the cold increases, they just put on another jacket or two,

until they feel that the warmth of their bodies is not carried off

faster than it is generated. As the raw damp cold of morning gives way

to the genial rays of noon, the upper coats are one by one thrown off,

until evening, when they are again put on. In the spring months, the

upper garments are cast off by degrees, and when the summer arrives,

the Chinese are found clad in thin dresses of cotton, or in the grass

cloth manufactured in the country. In the northern towns the ladies

sometimes use a small brass-stove, like a little oval basket, having

the lid grated to allow the charcoal to burn and the heat to escape;

this they place upon their tables or on the floor, for the purpose

of warming the hands and feet. Nurses also carry these little stoves

in their hands under the feet of the children. Such, however, is the

thickness and warmth of their dresses, that it is only in the coldest

weather they require them. Little children in winter are so covered up,

that they look like bundles of clothes, nearly as broad as they are

long, and when the padding is removed in warm weather, it is difficult

to imagine that you see before you the same individuals.

I never felt so cold in England as I did during this winter in

the north of China, and yet, as may be seen from the chapter on

temperature, the thermometer did not indicate a very low degree. The

house in which I lived was so open, that the wind rushed in at every

crevice; the windows were large, not glazed, as with us, but papered,

and in many places perfectly open. During the day I got on very well,

as I was always out and moving about from morning until dark. But the

long evenings, with the wind whistling through the windows, and blowing

upon my candle, were dreary and cold enough.

To vary the monotony of the scene, as well as to warm myself, I used

frequently to take a stroll down the main street. The Chinese, as a

nation, are great gamblers; even the poorest of them cannot resist

the temptation, and in this street after nightfall, there used to be

numerous stalls of oranges, sweetmeats, and trifling curiosities, at

each of which there were dice of some kind, and a "wheel of fortune,"

surrounded by the Chinese in great numbers, trying their luck with a

few copper cash, and evincing, by their looks and language, the most

intense interest in the stopping of the wheel, or the throwing of the

dice.

Besides the shops already noticed for the sale of clothes and skins,

there are many others worthy of our attention. There are a number of

excellent silk shops and warehouses a little off the main street,

which, like our old-established houses at home, have but little

external show to attract notice. Here, too, are large quantities of

that beautiful northern embroidery which is so much admired by all

who have had an opportunity of seeing it. It is entirely different

from that commonly procured at Canton, and much more elaborate and

expensive. A considerable demand for articles of dress which would

be fashionable in England, has induced the Chinese to get them made,

and they are now exposed for sale in all the towns in the north

frequented by the English. Ladies' aprons, scarfs, shawls, work-bags,

and many other articles made up in the English style, and beautifully

embroidered, are the things most in demand.

The Chinese estimate their celebrated jade stone very highly, and here

there are numerous shops, both for cutting it and exposing it for

sale, carved into all those curious and fantastic forms for which this

people are so well known. The process of cotton printing in its most

simple and original form may be seen in most of the streets here, as

well as in other towns in China. Rope-making is carried on extensively

in the suburbs near the river, and some strong cables and ropes for

junks are made from the bracts of the palm, formerly noticed, and from

the bark of the urticaceous plant, commonly called hemp by the English

in the north of China. There are, of course, the usual quantity of

curiosity shops, containing bamboo ornaments carved into all possible

forms; specimens of ancient porcelain, which are said to "preserve

flowers and fruit from decay for an unusual time," lacquered ware,

and other ornaments brought by the junks from Japan, many beautifully

carved rhinoceros' horns, bronzes, and other articles to which the

Chinese attach great importance, purchasing them at exorbitant rates,

apparently far beyond their value. But what struck me as being most

unique, was a peculiar kind of furniture, made and sold in a street,

generally called "Furniture Street" by foreigners who visit Ning-po.

There were beds, chairs, tables, washing-stands, cabinets and presses,

all peculiarly Chinese in their form, and beautifully inlaid with

different kinds of wood and ivory, representing the people and customs

of the country, and presenting, in fact, a series of pictures of China

and the Chinese. Every one who saw these things admired them, and, what

was rather strange, they seem peculiar to Ning-po, and are not met

with at any of the other five ports, not even in Shanghae. As all this

beautiful work is expensive, it is, of course, only used in the houses

of the wealthy.

There are some large banking establishments in Ning-po, having

connection with all the other towns in the north, and it is here,

therefore, that the value of money is regulated, the "stocks" rising

and falling exactly as they do in England. There can be little doubt

that it is a place of great wealth. There are a large number of retired

merchants in the city and suburbs, who have made their fortunes in

early life, and who now seek to enjoy themselves amid the luxuries and

retirement of Ning-po. But these circumstances, unfortunately, do not

fit it for a place of active foreign trade; and hence, although it is

large, rich, and populous, our merchants find the northern port of

Shanghae of far greater importance as regards the sale of European and

American manufactures, and the purchase of tea and silk,--the staple

productions of the country. And yet, judging from appearances, one

would think that a considerable foreign trade might be carried on at

Ning-po, as it is in itself a large town, is in the midst of a populous

country, and has excellent water communication with all parts of the

empire. Time, and the perseverance of our merchants, will soon show

whether this supposition is a correct one.

Many of the temples in this town have been much admired by foreigners,

but I must confess that, to me, the very best of them had a childish

and tinselly appearance, which I could not admire. The one called

the Fokien Temple is best and most showy. The Confucian Temple was

formerly a large and celebrated place, but it was nearly destroyed

during the war, and up to the time when I left China, no attempt had

been made to rebuild it, or put it in a state of repair: the Chinese

seemed to consider that the touch of the _barbarian_ had polluted the

sacred edifice. The Budhists' temples are crowded with painted wooden

images of their gods. The "three precious Budhas," the "past, present,

and future," are generally enormously large, being often thirty or

forty feet in height. To these, and to the numerous small images, the

poor deluded natives bow the knee, burn incense, and engage in other

exercises of devotion. The traveller meets with these temples, or

joss-houses, as they are commonly called, in all the streets, at the

gates of the city, and even on the ramparts, and cannot but admire the

devotional spirit of the inhabitants, although he may wish that it was

directed to a higher and purer object. I have often looked on, when

these simple people,--the women more particularly,--seemed actually,

like Jacob of old, "wrestling with God in prayer," and using various

means to ascertain whether the mind of the Deity had softened towards

them, and granted their requests. Two small pieces of wood, flat on one

side and rounded on the other, are generally used to accomplish this

end; these are thrown up in the air, and if they fall on the desired

side, it was well; if not, some more incense was burned, and again and

again they prostrated themselves before the altar, and seemed engaged

in earnest prayer. Many of their religious ceremonies have a great

resemblance to those of the Roman Catholic church, and I remember being

much struck on a Sunday afternoon, when passing out at one of the city

gates, by hearing the sounds of prayer and praise, not unlike those of

the Christian churches of other lands. I immediately walked into the

place from whence the sounds came, and found, to my disappointment,

that it was one of the numerous temples with which the city abounds,

and that the sounds of praise which fell upon my ears, were only

addressed to the gods of the heathen. But many of these temples are

in a most ruinous state, and are evidently not so well supported now

as they have been at some former time. In fact, the town of Ning-po

itself, with all its riches, and all its advantages, has been in a

decaying state for years, and is one example, amongst many others, of

the truth of what I formerly stated concerning the general state of

this country.

My first business, when I reached Ning-po, was to make inquiries

regarding the gardens of the Mandarins, which I had heard something of

from the officers who were there when the city was taken by the English

troops, during the war. I had the same difficulties to encounter as

I had at Amoy, owing to the jealousy of the Chinese. Ultimately,

however, these too were overcome, and I obtained access to several

Mandarins' gardens and nurseries, out of which several new plants were

procured, which proved very valuable additions to my collections. Here,

as at other places, I made many inquiries after the supposed yellow

camellia, and offered ten dollars to any Chinaman who would bring me

one. Anything can be had in China for dollars! and it was not long

before two plants were brought to me, one of which was said to be light

yellow, and the other as deep a colour as the double yellow rose. Both

had flower-buds upon them, but neither were in bloom. I felt quite

certain that the Chinaman was deceiving me, and it seemed foolish to

pay such a sum for plants which I should in all probability have to

throw away afterwards; and yet I could not make up my mind to lose the

chance, slight as it was, of possessing the _yellow camellia_. And the

rogue did his business so well. He had a written label stuck in each

pot, and _apparently_ the writing and labels had been there for some

years. I fancied I was as cunning as he was, and requested him to leave

the plants and return on the following morning, when he should have an

answer. In the meantime I asked a respectable Chinese merchant to read

the writing upon the labels. All was correct; the writing agreed with

what the man had told me; namely, that one of the plants produced light

yellow blooms, and the other deep yellow. "Did you ever see a camellia

with yellow flowers?" I inquired of my friend the merchant. "No," said

he, in his broken English. "_My never have seen he, my thinkie no

have got_" On the following morning the owner of the plant presented

himself, and asked me if I had made up my mind upon the subject. I told

him that I would take the plants to Hong-kong, where I was going at

the time; that they would soon flower there; and that, if they proved

_yellow_, he should have his money. This, however, he would not consent

to; and at last we compromised the matter, I agreeing to pay half the

money down, and the other half when the plants flowered, providing

they were "true." On these conditions I got the camellias, and took

them with me to Hong-kong. It is almost needless to say that when they

flowered there was nothing yellow about them but the stamens, for they

were both semi-double worthless kinds.

The gardens of the Mandarins in the city of Ning-po are very pretty

and unique; they contain a choice selection of the ornamental trees

and shrubs of China, and generally a considerable number of dwarf

trees. Many of the latter are really curious, and afford another

example of the patience and ingenuity of this people. Some of the

specimens are only a few inches high, and yet seem hoary with age.

Not only are they trained to represent old trees in miniature, but

some are made to resemble the fashionable pagodas of the country, and

others different kinds of animals, amongst which the deer seems to be

the favourite. Junipers are generally chosen for the latter purpose,

as they can be more readily bent into the desired form; the eyes and

tongue are added afterwards, and the representation altogether is

really good. One of the Mandarins of Ning-po, anxious, I suppose, to

confer some mark of especial favour upon me, presented me with one of

these animals,--plants, I should say;--but as it was of no real use to

me, and as my collections of other things were large, I was obliged to

decline his present, which he evidently considered of great value, and

no doubt wondered at my want of taste.

Another example will show the passion which exists amongst the

Chinese for things of this kind. When I was travelling on the hills

of Hong-kong, a few days after my first arrival in China, I met with

a most curious dwarf _Lycopodium_, which I dug up and carried down

to Messrs. Dent's garden, where my other plants were at the time.

"Hai-yah," said the old compradore, when he saw it, and was quite in

raptures of delight. All the other coolies and servants gathered round

the basket to admire this curious little plant. I had not seen them

evince so much gratification since I showed them the "old man Cactus"

(_Cereus senilis_), which I took out from England, and presented to

a Chinese nurseryman at Canton. On asking them why they prized the

Lycopodium so much, they replied, in Canton English, "_Oh, he too

muchia hemdsome; he grow only a leete and a leete every year; and

suppose he be one hundred year oula, he only so high_" holding up their

hands an inch or two higher than the plant. This little plant is really

very pretty, and often naturally takes the very form of a dwarf tree in

miniature, which is doubtless the reason of its being such a favourite

with the Chinese.

The dwarfed trees of the Chinese and Japanese have been noticed by

every author who has written upon these countries, and all have

attempted to give some description of the method by which the effect

is produced. The process is in reality a very simple one, and is based

upon one of the commonest principles of vegetable physiology. We all

know that any thing which retards in any way the free circulation

of the sap, also prevents to a certain extent the formation of wood

and leaves. This may be done by grafting, by confining the roots,

withholding water, bending the branches, or in a hundred other ways

which all proceed upon the same principle. This principle is perfectly

understood by the Chinese, and they make nature subservient to this

particular whim of theirs. We are told that the first part of the

process is to select the very smallest seeds from the smallest plants,

which is not at all unlikely, but I cannot speak to the fact from

my own observation. I have, however, often seen Chinese gardeners

selecting suckers and plants for this purpose from the other plants

which were growing in their garden. Stunted varieties were generally

chosen, particularly if they had the side branches opposite or regular,

for much depends upon this; a one-sided dwarf tree is of no value in

the eyes of the Chinese. The main stem was then in most cases twisted

in a zigzag form, which process checked the flow of the sap, and at

the same time encouraged the production of side branches at those

parts of the stem where they were most desired. When these suckers had

formed roots in the open ground, or kind of nursery where they were

planted, they were looked over and the best taken up for potting. The

same principles, which I have already noticed, were still kept in view,

the pots used being narrow and shallow, so that they held but a small

quantity of soil compared with the wants of the plants, and no more

water being given than what was barely sufficient to keep them alive.

Whilst the branches were forming, they were tied down and twisted

in various ways; the points of the leaders and strong growing ones

were generally nipped out, and every means were taken to discourage

the production of young shoots which were possessed of any degree of

vigour. Nature generally struggles against this treatment for a while,

until her powers seem in a great measure exhausted, when she quietly

yields to the power of art. The Chinese gardener, however, must be ever

on the watch, for should the roots of his plants get through the pots

into the ground, or happen to be liberally supplied with moisture, or

should the young shoots be allowed to grow in their natural position

for a short time, the vigour of the plant which has so long been

lost will be restored, and the fairest specimen of Chinese dwarfing

destroyed. Sometimes, as in the case of peach and plum trees, which are

often dwarfed, the plants are thrown into a flowering state, and then,

as they flower freely year after year, they have little inclination to

make vigorous growth. The plants generally used in dwarfing are pines,

junipers, cypresses, bamboos, peach and plum trees, and a species of

small-leaved elm.

Amongst the Mandarins' gardens, in the city of Ning-po, there is one

in particular which is generally visited by all strangers, and is

much admired. It is situated near the lake in the centre of the city.

The old man to whom it belongs has long retired from trade with an

independent fortune, and he now enjoys his declining years in the

peaceful pursuits of gardening, and is passionately fond of flowers.

Both his house and garden are unique in their way, but they are most

difficult to describe, and must be seen to be appreciated. In this

part of the country the building of artificial rockwork is so well

understood, that the resemblance to nature is perfect, and it forms a

principal feature in every garden. This old gentleman has the different

parts of his house joined together by rude-looking caverns, and what at

first sight appears to be a subterraneous passage, leading from room to

room, through which the visitor passes to the garden, which lies behind

the house. The small courts, of which a glimpse is caught in passing

through, are fitted up with this rockwork; dwarf trees are planted

here and there in various places, and creepers hang down naturally

and gracefully until their ends touch the little ponds of water which

are always placed in front of the rockwork. These small places being

passed, we are again led through passages like those already noticed,

when the garden, with its dwarf trees, vases, rockwork, ornamental

windows, and beautiful flowering shrubs, is suddenly opened to the view.

It must be understood, however, that all which I have now described

is very limited in extent, but the most is made of it by windings and

glimpses through rockwork, and arches in the walls, as well as by

hiding the boundary with a mass of shrubs and trees.

Here old Dr. Chang--I believe that was his name--was spending the

evening of his days in peaceful retirement. When I called upon him he

was extremely polite, and, after making a great many very low bows,

requested me to take the seat of honour by his side. The servants

were then ordered to bring tea, a beverage which is offered to every

stranger, and which was of the very finest description. Messengers were

sent round to all the old man's particular friends, who each hurried

to see the foreigner. One by one they dropt in, until the room was

nearly full. The servants, who seemed to think themselves quite as good

as their masters, mixed with the company, and made their remarks upon

me with the greatest freedom. Every thing about me was examined and

criticised most minutely, particularly my watch, which they seemed to

admire very much. I was frequently requested, as a great favour, to

allow them to see the works, and to hold it to their ears, in order

that they might hear the sound which it made. The old mandarin now

led me round his house, and showed me all the curiosities which it

contained, and of which he was a great collector. Old bronzes, carved

woods, specimens of porcelain, and other articles of that kind, were

arranged with great taste in several of the rooms. From the house we

proceeded to the garden, but as it was winter, and the trees leafless,

I could form but little idea of the rarity or beauty of the plants

which it contained. I took my leave, after drinking some more tea,

promising to visit the old man again whenever I returned to Ning-po.

I visited also at this time several other Mandarins who had gardens,

and from all of them I received the greatest civility. Some small

articles which I brought out with me as presents were of the greatest

use, not only in procuring me a civil reception, but also in enabling

me to get plants or cuttings of rare species which were only found in

the gardens of the rich, and which, of course, were not for sale.

The level plain on which the city of Ning-po is built is at least

thirty miles across, surrounded on all sides by a circle of hills, but

opening on the east to the sea, where the town of Chinhae stands, and

forms, as it were, the sea-port town of Ning-po. The view from the

hills is very fine--the broad extensive plain forming, as it were, a

vast amphitheatre, traversed by beautiful winding rivers and by canals

in all directions; thus enabling the natives to convey the produce

of their country and its merchandise to Ning-po, and from thence to

Hang-chow-foo, and any other part of the world. Rice is the staple

production of the low land in this part of the country during the

summer months, and the oil plant is cultivated extensively on the same

land in winter and spring, being in seed and ready to harvest by the

time for sowing the first crop of rice. Large quantities of the trefoil

which I have noticed before are also grown here, and for the same

purposes; indeed, the agricultural productions, both of the low lands

and on the sides of the hills, are really the same as those formerly

described on the island of Chusan.

The native flora of the hills to the north of Ning-po is nearly the

same as that found on Chusan and the neighbouring islands, but more

extensive. It is a curious fact, that I always found the main land

of China more productive in species of animals and plants than the

neighbouring islands, although these islands were large, and only

separated from the main land by a narrow extent of sea. I met here, for

the first time in a wild state, the beautiful yellow _Azalea sinensis_.

These hills are somewhat more barren than most of the others in this

part of the country, and there are few trees on them of any size. They

are very different from those which I have yet to describe, a few miles

to the south of Ning-po.

The graves of the dead are scattered all over the plain, and give the

stranger a good idea of the immense population of the country. In

travelling from Ning-po to the hills, I could not account for the vast

number of tombs which I met with on my way; but when I reached the

summit of the hills, and looked down upon the wide-spreading plain,

covered with towns and villages in all directions, densely peopled

with human beings, it was easily accounted for. Here, as at Chusan and

Shanghae, the traveller is continually coming upon coffins placed on

the surface of the ground, and in many instances decaying, and exposing

the skeleton remains of the dead. I was much struck by frequently

meeting with large numbers of coffins piled one above another, in heaps

of from thirty to forty, chiefly those of young children. I was told

that they are buried periodically, but from their appearance many of

them must have remained in the same place for years, and their tenants

must long ago have mouldered into dust.

CHAP. VII.

REMARKS ON THE CHINESE LANGUAGE.--ICE-HOUSES NEAR NING-PO

DESCRIBED.--THEIR SIMPLICITY AND UTILITY.--NOVEL MODES OF

FISHING.--FISHING CORMORANTS MET WITH.--THEIR ACTIONS DESCRIBED.--TWO

PAIRS PURCHASED.--ACCOUNT OF THEIR FOOD AND HABITS.

In sailing up the river towards _Ning-po_, I observed a great number of

thatched houses, and desired my Chinese servant to go to the boatman

and inquire what they were. He went immediately to the man at the helm,

and, after a conversation of at least ten minutes' duration, came back

hanging his head, and slunk away without reporting the result of his

inquiries. "Well," said I, "what is the use of all these houses which

we now see on the shore?" With all the gravity in the world, he replied

that the boatman said they were places built to keep Chinese soldiers

in during the cold winter months. "Nonsense," said I, "they cannot fill

all these places with soldiers." "_Well,_" said he, "_he have talkie

my so fashion._" As I could not conceive this to be true, I went to

the man myself, and with the little knowledge of the language which

I then possessed, soon found out that the buildings in question were

ice-houses, for which commodity, he informed me, there was a great

demand daring the summer months. This shows that the Chinese language

differs so much in different provinces, that a native of Canton and

another in the north cannot understand each other: and indeed this is

so much the case, that my Macao servant was almost entirely useless

to me in the north, in so far as the language was concerned. In this

instance the Chinese word "_Ping_"--or I should rather say sound--means

both soldier and ice, and it immediately struck my servant, who I

suppose had never seen ice in his life, that the buildings in question

were soldiers' houses instead of ice-houses; rather cold barracks, I

should think.

I was much struck with the simplicity of the construction of these

ice-houses, and my only doubt about them was whether or not the ice

would keep well in them throughout the hot summer months. The results

of my investigation I sent in the following letter to Professor

Lindley, who published it in the "Gardener's Chronicle" for 1845:--

"A short time before I left England, you published in the 'Gardener's

Chronicle' a number of letters and plans for the construction of

ice-houses, but, as far as I can remember, nothing at all resembling

the Chinese one which I shall now describe to you. On the right bank of

the Ning-po river, above the town and fort of Chinhae, and in various

other parts of the north of China, I have met with these ice-houses.

When I inspected them for the first time last winter (1843), their

construction and situation differed so much from what I had been

accustomed to see at home,--differing, too, in things which I used to

consider as indispensable to an ice-house,--that I had great doubts

regarding their efficiency; but at the present time, which is now the

end of August, 1844, many of these houses are yet full of ice, and

seem to answer the end most admirably. You are probably aware, from my

former descriptions of the country, that the town of Ning-po stands in

the midst of a level plain from twenty to thirty miles across. These

ice-houses are built on the sides of the river in the centre of the

plain, completely exposed to the sun--a sun, too, very different in

its effects from what we experience in England,--clear, fierce, and

burning, which would try the efficiency of our best English ice-houses

as well as it does the constitution of an Englishman in China.

[Illustration: Ice-houses near Ning-Po.]

"The bottom of these ice-houses is nearly on a level with the

surrounding fields, and is generally about twenty yards long, by

fourteen broad. The walls, which are built of mud and stone, are very

thick, twelve feet in height, and are, in fact, a kind of embankment

rather than walls, having a door on one side level with the floor, for

the removal of the ice, and a kind of sloping terrace on the other, by

which the ice can be thrown into the house. On the top of the walls

or embankment a tall span roof is raised, constructed of bamboo,

thickly thatched with straw, and in appearance exactly like an English

haystack. And this is the simple structure which keeps ice so well

during the summer months, and under the burning sun of China!

"The Chinaman, with his characteristic ingenuity, manages also to fill

his ice-houses in a most simple way, and at a very trifling expense.

Around the house he has a small flat level field connected with the

river. This field he takes care to flood in winter before the cold

weather comes on. The water then freezes and furnishes the necessary

supply of ice at the very door. Again in spring these same fields are

ploughed up and planted with rice, and the water which drains from the

bottom of the ice-house helps to nourish the young crop. Of course

here, as in England, when the house is filled the ice is carefully

covered up with a thick coating of straw. Thus the Chinaman, with

little expense in building his ice-house, and an economical mode of

filling it, manages to secure an abundant supply for preserving his

fish during the hot summer months.

"It now, I think, becomes a question whether we could not build

ice-houses at less expense and more efficient, upon the Chinese

plan, than upon the old under-ground system common in England. The

accompanying sketch will enable you to form an idea of the appearance

which these ice-houses present to the traveller, in going up the

Ning-po river. _Ning-po, August_, 1844."

Since this letter was published I have had frequent opportunities of

testing the qualities of the Chinese ice-house, both at Ning-po and

also at Chusan and Shanghae, and I have found that it answers the

purpose admirably. The winter of 1844-1845 was unusually mild in this

part of China; little or no ice was formed on the ponds and canals,

and of course the ice-houses could not be filled; but many of them

contained large quantities which had been laid up the year before, and

by this means the market was supplied with ice which had been in store

at least a year and a half, and would probably have kept some time

longer.

This ice is of great importance to the Chinese, who depend so much for

their food upon the fish which is caught in their waters. They are

enabled by this means to keep their fish during the hottest weather for

a considerable time, and transmit them in this way to different parts

of the country.

Immense quantities of fish are daily caught in the river above the

town. Their mode of catching them is ingenious and amusing. One day I

was going up a considerable distance in a boat, and set out a little

before low water, that I might have the full benefit of the flow of the

tide, and get as far up as possible before it turned. On the side of

the river, a few miles above Ning-po, I observed some hundreds of small

boats anchored, each containing two or three men; and the tide turning

just as I passed, the whole fleet was instantly in motion, rowing and

sculling up the river with the greatest rapidity. As soon as the men

reached a favourable part of the stream they cast out their nets and

began to make a loud noise, splashing with their oars and sculls,

with the intention, I suppose, of driving the fish into the nets.

After remaining in this spot for about a quarter of an hour, all the

boats set off again, farther up, for the next station, when the crew

commenced again in the same noisy manner, and so on, for a long way up

the river, as long as the tide was flowing; they then returned with the

ebb, loaded with fishes for the next morning's market.

There is another mode of catching fish, which I have frequently seen

in the northern provinces, even more curious than that which I have

just noticed. Every one acquainted with Chinese history knows that

fish abound in all the rivers and lakes of the north; indeed, every

little pond swarms with them. I was greatly surprised when I first

saw the fish-catcher following his profession in these places. He is

literally amphibious. He is to be seen perfectly naked, half walking,

half swimming; now he raises his arms and hands above his head, and,

bringing them down, strikes a sharp blow upon the water, making a loud

and splashing noise. His feet are not idle: they warn him that a fish

is at hand, and they are now feeling for him amongst the mud at the

bottom of the pond. The next moment the fisherman has disappeared: he

is now under water, and he remains so long that you think something has

happened to him. There is, however, no cause of fear; a few seconds

more and he appears, rubbing his face and eyes with one hand, and in

the other triumphantly holding up the poor little fish which he has

just captured. It is immediately placed safely in his basket, and

the work goes on as before. The surface of the water is struck and

splashed, as I have just described, in order to frighten the fish which

are swimming amongst the feet of the Chinamen. Being frightened, they

dive immediately to the bottom amongst the mud, where they are felt by

the feet, and are soon taken by these expert divers.

But the most singular of all the methods of catching fish in China is

that of training and employing a large species of cormorant for this

purpose, generally called the fishing cormorant. These are certainly

wonderful birds. I have frequently met with them on the canals and

lakes in the interior, and, had I not seen with my own eyes their

extraordinary docility, I should have had great difficulty in bringing

my mind to believe what authors have said about them. The first time I

saw them was on a canal a few miles from Ning-po. I was then on my way

to a celebrated temple in that quarter, where I intended to remain for

some time, in order to make collections of objects of natural history

in the neighbourhood. When the birds came in sight I immediately made

my boatmen take in our sail, and we remained stationary for some time

to observe their proceedings. There were two small boats, containing

one man and about ten or twelve birds in each. The birds were standing

perched on the sides of the little boat, and apparently had just

arrived at the fishing ground, and were about to commence operations.

They were now ordered out of the boats by their masters; and so well

trained were they, that they went on the water immediately, scattered

themselves over the canal, and began to look for fish. They have a

beautiful sea-green eye, and, quick as lightning, they see and dive

upon the finny tribe, which, once caught in the sharp-notched bill of

the bird, never by any possibility can escape. The cormorant now rises

to the surface with the fish in its bill, and the moment he is seen

by the Chinaman he is called back to the boat. As docile as a dog,

he swims after his master, and allows himself to be pulled into the

San-pan, where he disgorges his prey, and again resumes his labours.

And, what is more wonderful still, if one of the cormorants gets hold

of a fish of large size, so large that he would have some difficulty in

taking it to the boat, some of the others, seeing his dilemma, hasten

to his assistance, and with their efforts united capture the animal

and haul him off to the boat. Sometimes a bird seemed to get lazy or

playful, and swam about without attending to his business; and then

the Chinaman, with a long bamboo, which he also used for propelling

the boat, struck the water near where the bird was, without, however,

hurting him, calling out to him at the same time in an angry tone.

Immediately, like the truant school-boy who neglects his lessons and

is found out, the cormorant gives up his play and resumes his labours.

A small string is put round the neck of the bird, to prevent him from

swallowing the fish which he catches; and great care is taken that this

string is placed and fastened so that it will not slip farther down

upon his neck and choke him, which otherwise it would be very apt to do.

Since I first saw these birds on the Ning-po canal I have had

opportunities of inspecting them and their operations in many other

parts of China, more particularly in the country between the towns of

Hang-chow-foo and Shanghae. I also saw great numbers of them on the

river Min, near Foo chow-foo. I was most anxious to get some living

specimens, that I might take them home to England. Having great

difficulty in inducing the Chinese to part with them, or, indeed, to

speak at all on the subject, when I met them in the country, owing to

our place of meeting being generally in those parts of the interior

where the English are never seen, I applied to Her Majesty's Consul at

Shanghae (Captain Balfour), who very kindly sent one of the Chinese

connected with the Consulate into the country, and procured two pairs

for me. The difficulty now was to provide food for them on the voyage

from Shanghae to Hong-kong. We procured a large quantity of live eels,

this being a principal part of their food, and put them into ajar

of mud and fresh water. These they eat in a most voracious manner,

swallowing them whole, and in many instances vomiting them afterwards.

If one bird was unlucky enough to vomit his eel, he was fortunate

indeed if he caught it again, for another, as voracious as himself,

would instantly seize it, and swallow it in a moment. Often they would

fight stoutly for the fish, and then it either became the property of

one, or, as often happened, their sharp bills divided the prey, and

each ran off and devoured the half which fell to his share. During the

passage down we encountered a heavy gale at sea, and as the vessel was

one of those small clipper schooners, she pitched and rolled very much,

shipping seas from bow to stern, which set every thing on her decks

swimming. I put my head out of the cabin-door when the gale was at its

height, and the first thing I saw was the cormorants devouring the

eels, which were floating all over the decks. I then knew that the jar

must have been turned over or smashed to pieces, and that of course all

the eels which escaped the bills of the cormorants were now swimming

in the ocean. After this I was obliged to feed them upon any thing on

board which I could find: but when I arrived at Hong-kong they were not

in very good condition: two of them died soon after; and as there was

no hope of taking the others home alive, I was obliged to kill them and

preserve their skins.

The Chinaman from whom I bought these birds has a large establishment

for fishing and breeding the birds about thirty or forty miles from

Shanghae, and between that town and Chapoo. They sell at a high price

even amongst the Chinese themselves--I believe from six to eight

dollars per pair, that is, from 30_s_. to 40_s_. As I was anxious

to learn something of their food and habits, Mr. Medhurst, jun.,

interpreter to the British Consulate at Shanghae, kindly undertook

to put some questions to the man who brought them, and sent me the

following notes connected with this subject:--

"The fish-catching birds eat small fish, yellow eels, and pulse-jelly.

At 5 P. M. every day each bird will eat six taels (eight ounces) of

eels or fish, and a catty of pulse-jelly. They lay eggs after three

years, and in the fourth or fifth month. Hens are used to incubate

the eggs. When about to lay their faces turn red, and then a good hen

must be prepared. The date must be clearly written upon the shells of

the eggs laid, and they will hatch in twenty-five days. When hatched,

take the young and put them upon cotton, spread upon some warm water,

and feed them with eel's blood for five days. After five days they can

be fed with eel's flesh chopped fine, and great care must be taken in

watching them.

"When fishing, a straw tie must be put upon their necks, to prevent

them from swallowing the fish when they catch them. In the eighth or

ninth month of the year they will daily descend into the water at ten

o'clock in the morning, and catch fish until five in the afternoon,

when they will come on shore. They will continue to go on in this way

until the third month, after which time they cannot fish until the

eighth month comes round again. The male is easily known from the

female, in being generally a larger bird, and in having a darker and

more glossy feather, but more particularly in the size of the head, the

head of the male being large and that of the female small."

Such are the habits of this extraordinary bird. As the months named in

the note just quoted refer to the Chinese calendar, it follows that

these birds do not fish in the summer months, but commence in autumn,

about October, and end about May--periods agreeing nearly with the

eighth and third month of the Chinese year.

CHAP. VIII.

SHANGHAE VISITED AT THE END OF 1843.--MY LODGINGS.--PREJUDICES AND

SUPERSTITIONS OF THE INHABITANTS.--THE CITY DESCRIBED.--SHOPS AND

MERCHANDISE.--FOOD.--AN IMPORTANT STATION FOR FOREIGN TRADE.--THE

EXPORTS OF THE COUNTRY; TEAS AND SILK EASILY BROUGHT TO IT.--THE

ADJACENT COUNTRY DESCRIBED.--ITS CANALS.--AGRICULTURE.--TOMBS OF

THE DEAD.--TREES AND SHRUBS.--GARDENS AND NURSERIES.--DIFFICULTY

OF ACCESS TO THEM.--CUNNING AND DECEIT OF THE CHINESE.--A CHINESE

DINNER.--THEATRICALS.

Shanghae is the most northerly of the five ports at which foreigners

are now permitted to trade with the Chinese. It is situated about a

hundred miles, in a north-west direction, from the island of Chusan.

The city stands on the bank of a fine river, about twelve miles from

the point where it joins the celebrated Yang-tse-kiang, or "Child

of the Ocean." The Shanghae river, as it is generally called by

foreigners, is as wide at Shanghae as the Thames at London Bridge. Its

main channel is deep, and easily navigated when known, but the river

abounds in long mud-banks, dangerous to large foreign vessels unless

they happen to go up with a fair wind, and manage to get a good pilot

on board at the entrance of the river.

I visited this place for the first time at the end of 1843, as soon as

the port was opened by Her Majesty's Consul, Captain Balfour, and took

up my quarters in a kind of bank or government shroff establishment,

in company with two or three gentlemen who were here for purposes of

trade. As none of us carried a cooking establishment with us, our

meals were necessarily of the roughest description, neither exactly

Chinese nor English, but something between the two. Our bed-rooms

were miserably cold: often, in the mornings, we would find ourselves

drenched in bed with the rain; and if snow fell, it was blown through

the windows and formed "_wreaths_" on the floor. Nevertheless, the

excitement produced on our minds by every thing around us kept us in

excellent health and in good spirits, and we made light of many things

which in other circumstances we might have considered as hardships.

Whenever we moved out of the house hundreds of people crowded the

streets, and followed in our wake, as anxious to catch a glimpse of us

as the crowds in London are to see the Queen. Every door and window was

crammed with men, women, and children, who gazed upon us with a kind of

stupid wonder, as if we had been inhabitants of the moon, and not the

ordinary sons of earth. The children more particularly looked upon us

with a kind of fear and dread, doubtless implanted in their young minds

by their parents, who had less or more of the same feelings themselves.

The name we bore--_Kwei-tsz_, or devil's child--was also calculated to

produce erroneous impressions, particularly on the minds of the young,

and make them regard us with superstitious horror. In these times it

was quite common for us to hear such expressions as the following: "The

devil's children are coming," or "Come and see a devil's child;" and

not infrequently "Kwei-tsz" was called out to us in derision. Several

complaints were made of this conduct to the British Consul by parties

who believed it to be very bad policy at the first commencement of

the trade to submit to any marks of contempt, however slight; and

strong remonstrances were promptly made by him to the Taoutae, or head

Mandarin, of Shanghae. This policy was the very best which could have

been pursued with the Chinese authorities; and the consequence was,

that in a very short time the offensive appellation was rarely heard

in the streets of Shanghae; and if some little urchin, remembering

the lesson so early taught him, came out with it unawares, he was

immediately rebuked by the respectable part of the bystanders.

The following incident shows the kind of superstitious dread in which

we were held by the inhabitants. A friend and myself were asked to

a dinner given on board one of the vessels in the river, and as the

cabin was much more comfortable than our cheerless, fireless rooms on

shore, we remained until nearly eleven o'clock. Not only are the gates

of a Chinese town closed after dark, but all communication even with

the streets in the suburbs is cut off by numerous gates and doors,

which are fastened up about ten or eleven o'clock at night. This has

doubtless been a very ancient custom, to prevent any sudden surprise by

an enemy, or by the unruly populace themselves, and is still kept up

in more peaceful times. When, therefore, we landed, we found all the

gates in the suburbs closed and locked; and we had to pass through one

at least before we could reach our quarters. Not a sound was heard;

every house was closed; and all that dense multitude which thronged

the street by day had sunk into repose. "How shall we get through?"

said my friend. "Shake the gate," said I; "perhaps the noise will bring

some one; or perchance, as it seems pretty old, it may give way." We

took hold of the gate and gave it a good shake, calling out at the

same time for some one to come and open it. The watchman's light was

now seen coming towards us, and my friend again called out to him to

make haste. At last two men with their lanterns came up, in that dreamy

state which I have already noticed as a characteristic feature in the

Chinese race, and muffled up with skins, as the night was very cold.

They could not see distinctly who were on the other side of the door;

and, as we mumbled a word or two of Chinese, they were put completely

off their guard, and supposed we were benighted Chinamen. The bolts

were drawn, the door opened, and behold, two of the dreaded "red-haired

race" stood before them. I shall never forget their astonishment when

they got their eyes upon us after the gate was opened: and whether

they actually believed us to be beings of another world, or supposed

we had another army at our back to take the city a second time, it is

impossible to say, but quick as lightning they both turned their backs

and fled, leaving us to shut the gates or admit an army, if we chose.

We walked quietly home, and neither saw nor heard any thing more of the

bold guardians of the night.

The city of Shanghae is surrounded with high walls and ramparts built

upon the same plan as all other Chinese fortifications of this kind.

The circumference of the walls is about three and a half miles, and

the greater part of the inside is densely studded with houses; the

suburbs, particularly all along the side of the river, are very

extensive. Although the gates of the city are closed soon after dark,

the people are allowed to pass through afterwards on the payment of a

few "cash." When the gate is opened to one, a whole crowd are ready to

rush through along with him, the first only paying the "cash." Such

is the custom, so that if a poor man comes to the gate he has only to

wait until one richer than himself arrives, when, the fee being paid,

they pass through together. Joss-houses are met with in all directions,

both in the city and suburbs; at certain parts on the ramparts, also,

these temples are built and crowded with idols, where the natives come

to burn incense, bow the knee, and engage in the other ceremonies of

heathen idol worship. Fortune-tellers and jugglers are also in great

request, and reap a rich harvest by working upon the credulity of their

countrymen. You meet these characters in all the streets and public

squares in Shanghae, and, what is very strange, the _sing-song_ or

theatricals, of which the Chinese are particularly fond, are frequently

exhibited in the temples. This is much opposed to our ideas of religion

and propriety; but, somehow or other, the customs of our Celestial

friends are in many instances directly opposed to ours.

The streets are generally very narrow, and in the day time are crowded

with people actively engaged in business. The merchandise, which is

the most striking to a stranger walking through the streets, is the

silk and embroidery, such as I formerly noticed at Ning-po, cotton and

cotton goods, porcelain, ready-made clothes of all kinds beautifully

lined with skins and fur, bamboo pipes six feet long and nicely

arranged in the shops, pictures, bronzes, and numerous curiosity shops

for the sale of carved bamboo ornaments, old pieces of porcelain, and

things of that kind, to which the Chinese attach great value. But

articles of food form of course the most extensive trade of all; and

it is sometimes a difficult matter to get through the streets for the

immense quantities of fish, pork, fruit, and vegetables which crowd

the stands in front of the shops. Besides the more common kinds of

vegetables, the shepherds' purse, and a kind of trefoil or clover, are

extensively used amongst the natives here; and really these things,

when properly cooked, more particularly the latter, are not bad.

Dining-rooms, tea-houses, and bakers' shops, are met with at every

step, from the poor man who carries his kitchen or bakehouse upon his

back, and beats upon a piece of bamboo to apprise the neighbourhood

of his presence, and whose whole establishment is not worth a dollar,

to the most extensive tavern or tea-garden crowded with hundreds of

customers. For a few cash (1000 or 1200 = one dollar) a Chinese can

dine in a sumptuous manner upon his rice, fish, vegetables, and tea;

and I fully believe, that in no country in the world is there less real

misery and want than in China. The very beggars seem a kind of jolly

crew, and are kindly treated by the inhabitants.

[Illustration: RIVER AT SHANGHAE

London, John Murray, Albemarle Street.]

Shanghae is by far the most important station for foreign trade on the

coast of China, and is consequently attracting a large share of public

attention. No other town with which I am acquainted possesses such

advantages: it is the great gate--the principal entrance, in fact--to

the Chinese empire. In going up the river towards the town, a forest

of masts meets the eye, and shows at once that it is a place of vast

native trade. Junks come here from all parts of the coast, not only

from the southern provinces, but also from Shantung and Peechelee:

there are also a considerable number annually from Singapore and the

Malay Islands. The convenience of inland transit is also unrivalled

in any part of the world. The country, being as it were the valley of

the Yang-tse-kiang, is one vast plain, intersected by many beautiful

rivers, and these again joined and crossed by canals, many of them

nearly natural, and others stupendous works of art. Owing to the level

nature of the country, the tide ebbs and flows a great distance inland,

thus assisting the natives in the transmission of their exports to

Shanghae, or their imports to the most distant parts of the country.

The port of Shanghae swarms with boats of all sizes, employed in this

inland traffic; and the traveller continually meets them, and gets a

glimpse of their sails over the land, at every step of his progress in

the interior. Since the port has been opened these boats bring down

large quantities of tea and silk to supply the wants of our merchants

who have established themselves here, and return loaded with the

manufactures of Europe and America, which they have taken in exchange.

Our plain cotton goods are most in demand amongst the Chinese, because

they can dye them in their own peculiar style, and fit them for the

tastes of the people. From what we know of the geographical nature of

the country, there can be no doubt that all the green teas, and perhaps

the greatest portion of the black, can be brought to Shanghae at less

expense than they can be taken to Canton, or any of the other southern

towns, except, perhaps, Ning-po; and as the tea-men incur less risk in

taking their money home from the North, owing to the peaceable nature

of the inhabitants, this will be another very great inducement to

bring their teas to Shanghae. I am aware that people generally suppose

the black-tea districts to be nearer the port of Foo-chow-foo than

either Ning-po or Shanghae; but it must be recollected that very few

of the black teas now imported to England are from the Bohee hills,

as these teas are considered coarser, and much inferior in quality to

other kinds, which are from a very different country, much farther to

the north, and on the northern side of the great mountain range. The

large silk districts of Northern China are close at hand; and there

can be no doubt that a large proportion of that commodity in a raw

state will be disposed of at Shanghae. Taking, therefore, all these

facts into consideration--the proximity of Shanghae to the large towns

of Hangchow, Soo-chow, and the ancient capital of Nanking; the large

native trade, the convenience of inland transit by means of rivers and

canals; the fact that teas and silks can be brought here more readily

than to Canton; and, lastly, viewing this place as an immense mart for

our cotton manufactures, which we already know it to be,--there can be

no doubt that in a few years it will not only rival Canton, but become

a place of far greater importance. And, when I add that the climate

is healthy, the natives peaceable, and foreign residents respected,

and allowed to walk and ride all over the country to any distance not

exceeding a day's journey, it will be acknowledged that, as a place to

live at, it has many advantages over its southern rival.

I have already said that this part of China is a complete net-work of

rivers and canals. These were often most annoying to me in my travels

over the country, when I happened to get off the Emperor's highway,

a circumstance of no rare occurrence. I have often been obliged to

press a boat into my service much against the will of the owners, more

particularly when I visited this region for the first time, because

I was then unacquainted with the localities, and the Chinese always

seemed to fear I might take, or rob, their boats if I succeeded in

getting into them, such were the opinions formed of foreigners at that

time.

One day, in particular, I had been a considerable distance inland to

the westward of Shanghae, and on my return, by some means or other, I

got off the beaten track, and in pursuing my way, as I supposed in the

proper direction, I was "brought up" by a large and deep canal. About

two miles from where I stood, I saw a bridge, and, as it was nearly

dark, I made for it as fast as I could. Unluckily, however, just as I

thought my difficulties were over, being within gun-shot of the bridge,

I was again stopped by another canal, which crossed the former one at

right angles. I was now completely brought to a stand still, but in a

few minutes I perceived a boat approaching, and a man tracking it on

the same side as that on which we were. As soon as it came near, we

called out to the men on board to pull the boat towards us, and allow

us to get across to the other side. They seemed much frightened, and

after making the man who was tracking the boat come on board, they

pulled her into the middle of the canal, and then sculled away with

all their might. They would soon have passed far beyond our reach, and

left us to feel our way in the dark, or plunge through the deep muddy

canal. Necessity, they say, has no law. "Call out to them," said I to

my servant, "that if they do not immediately stop I will fire into

the boat and kill the whole of them," and at the same moment I fired

one of my barrels a little way ahead. This was quite sufficient. They

immediately came towards us, and put us quickly over to the other side.

I paid them for their trouble, and desired them to be more civil to the

next traveller they might meet in the same circumstances. They went

off in high spirits, and we heard them laughing and joking about the

adventure long after they had passed out of our sight.

As an agricultural country, the plain of Shanghae is by far the richest

which I have seen in China, and is perhaps unequalled by any district

of like extent in the world. It is one vast beautiful garden. The hills

nearest to Shanghae are distant about thirty miles. These have an

isolated appearance in the extensive plain, and are not more than two

or three hundred feet high. From their summit, on a clear day, I looked

round in all directions, and was only able to see some few hills,

apparently having the same isolated character, far away on the horizon,

to the south; these, I have since ascertained, are near the Tartar city

of Chapoo. All the rest of the country was a vast level plain, without

a mountain or a hill to break the monotony of the view. The soil is a

rich deep loam, and produces heavy crops of wheat, barley, rice, and

cotton, besides an immense quantity of green vegetable crops, such

as cabbages, turnips, yams, carrots, egg-plants, cucumbers and other

articles of that kind which are grown in the vicinity of the city. The

land, although level, is generally much higher than the valleys amongst

the hills, or the plain round Ning-po; and, consequently, it is well

adapted for the cultivation of cotton, which is, in fact, the staple

production of the district. Indeed this is the great Nanking cotton

country, from which large quantities of that article are generally

sent in junks to the north and south of China, as well as to the

neighbouring islands. Both the white kind, and that called the "yellow

cotton," from which the yellow Nanking cloth is made, are produced in

the district.

The soil of this district is not only remarkably fertile, but

agriculture seems more advanced, and bears a greater resemblance to

what it is at home, than in any part of China which I have seen. One

here meets with a farm-yard containing stacks regularly built up and

thatched in the same form and manner as we find them in England; the

land, too, is ridged and furrowed in the same way; and were it not for

plantations of bamboo, and the long tails and general costume of the

natives, a man might almost imagine himself on the banks of the Thames.

A very considerable portion of the land in the vicinity of the town is

occupied by the tombs of the dead.[1] In all directions large conical

shaped mounds meet the eye, overgrown with long grass, and in some

instances planted with shrubs and flowers. The traveller here, as well

as at Ning-po and Chusan, constantly meets with coffins placed on the

surface of the ground out in the fields, carefully thatched over with

straw or mats to preserve them from the weather. Sometimes, though

rarely, when the relatives are less careful than they generally are, I

met with coffins broken or crumbling to pieces with age, exposing the

remains of the dead. I was most struck with the coffins of children,

which I met with every where; these are raised from the ground on a

few wooden posts, and carefully thatched over to protect them from the

weather--reminding the stranger that some parent, with feelings as

tender and acute as his own, has been bereaved of a loved one, whom he,

perhaps, expected should cheer and support him in his declining years,

and whose remains he now carefully watches. Those in the higher ranks

of life have, generally, a family burial-place at a little distance

from the town, planted with cypress and pine trees, with a temple

and altar built to hold the josses or idols, and where the various

religious ceremonies are performed. A man with his family is stationed

there to protect the place, and to burn candles and incense on certain

high days. Others, again, are interred in what may be called public

cemeteries, several of which I met with in the vicinity of Shanghae.

These are large buildings, each containing a certain number of spacious

halls or rooms, and having the coffins placed in rows around the sides.

A flat and highly cultivated country, such as I have just described,

cannot be expected to be rich in indigenous plants. There are, however,

many beautiful clumps of the bamboo growing round all the villages

and small farm houses, which give a kind of tropical character to the

scenery, but it is the _only_ type of the tropics met with in this

district, at least as regards trees. I have already mentioned the

clumps of cypress and pine trees planted in the cemeteries of the

rich, which are seen studded all over the country, and form one of its

most striking features. Among these, I met for the first time with the

beautiful _Cryptomeria japonica_, a species of pine not unlike the

_Araucarias_ of Norfolk Island and Brazil. When growing luxuriantly, it

is highly ornamental, rising from the ground as straight as a larch,

and sending out numerous side branches almost horizontally from the

main stem, which again droop towards the ground in a graceful and

"_weeping_" manner. The wood of the tree has a kind of twisted grain,

and possesses great strength and durability. It is highly valued by

the Chinese, and from its beauty and straightness is often used by

the mandarins and priests for those long poles which are generally

seen in front of their houses and temples. It is also well known and

highly prized by the natives of Japan. My first seeds and plants of

this beautiful fir were sent from Shanghae, in the autumn of 1843,

and fortunately reached the garden of the Horticultural Society, at

Chiswick, in excellent order. It is to be hoped that it will prove

hardy, and if so, it will form a striking feature in the woods of

England.

The only tree which I met with of very large size in this district is

the _Salisburia adiantifolia_, commonly called the Maiden-hair tree,

from the resemblance its leaves bear to a fern of that name. This is

one of the plants which the Chinese are fond of dwarfing, and it is,

consequently, often seen in that state in their gardens. Its fruit is

sold in the markets in all Chinese towns by the name of "_Pa-Kwo_," and

is not unlike dried almonds, only whiter, fuller, and more round. The

natives seem very fond of it, although it is rarely eaten by Europeans.

The weeping-willow, apparently the same species as we possess in

England, is also common on the sides of all the rivers and canals, as

well as in the gardens of the Chinese; and there is also a species

of elm, but it never attains any great size, and can therefore be of

little value.

Although there is a paucity in the number of plants which are really

indigenous to this district, yet Shanghae is rich in species which have

been brought from other parts of the empire, and are here exposed in

gardens for sale: but there are here no mandarin gardens similar to

those at Ning-po, this being essentially a mercantile city, and all the

residents engaged in active business. The difference between the two

towns, in this respect, is indeed very striking. To make up, however,

for the deficiency of private collections, I found a number of nursery

gardens containing excellent assortments of plants for sale, many of

which were new to me, and are unknown in Europe; and, being at the

same time very ornamental, were consequently of great value. At first

I had great difficulty in finding out these gardens. The Chinese, from

motives which it would be difficult to define--perhaps jealousy or

fear,--were unwilling to give me the slightest information about any of

these places outside of the town. They told me there were numbers of

flower-shops in the city, but denied having any knowledge of nurseries

or gardens in the country.

"If you want flowers," said they, "there they are in the shops; why do

you not buy them? Shanghae men do this, and you should do the same."

"But then shops do not contain the things which I want," said I.

"Then give us the names of the things you want, and we will get them

for you."

"But how can I give you the names? I do not understand your language;

you would, of course, send to your nurseries for them if I could only

furnish you with their names?"

"Yes."

"Oh, then, you have nursery gardens in the country?"

"Yes; but they are a very long way off."

Of course I knew enough of the Chinese by this time to doubt every

word they told me, unless I had good reasons for believing them to

be speaking the truth, which I had not in this case. I also saw at

a glance, from the state of the plants, that they had not only been

grown in the country, but I knew from their condition that they could

have come but a very short distance, for they had been dug out of the

ground with a portion of the soil adhering to the roots. For some few

days, however, all my efforts were completely baffled, until a lucky

circumstance enabled me to get the better of my Chinese friends. My

servant and myself were returning home from the country, after an

unsuccessful day's search, when, as we neared the north gate of the

city, I shot a bird, which was new to me; being at that time engaged

in making a collection of the skins of Chinese birds. I was of course

immediately surrounded by all the boys in the neighbourhood, who

were quite in raptures at my gun, as it was so different from their

own clumsy matchlock. "Now," said I to the juvenile crowd around

me, "who can show me the way to the nearest flower-garden, where I

can purchase some flowers." "Lyloe, lyloe,"[2] said half a dozen

of them at once, and I found, to my surprise and pleasure, that I

was almost close to the gate of a very good nursery belonging to an

individual who had a flower-shop in the city, and with whom I had had

the conversation related above. It was now getting too dark to see

the plants well, but I marked the spot, and returned on the following

day. This time, however, I was not successful, for, as I approached,

a boy, who was on the watch, scampered away to the gardener's house

and gave notice of my appearance; and long before I reached the gate

it was closed and barricaded, and no persuasion nor entreaty could

remove their fears, or induce them to allow me to enter. The next day,

and the next again, the very same thing took place, although I took

different roads, in the hopes of finding the young sentinel off his

guard. I was now obliged to have recourse to other means to gain my

end. Her Majesty's consul, Captain Balfour, had from the first taken

great interest in the success of my pursuits, and kindly offered me

every assistance in his power, should I find any difficulties in my

way. I therefore related the circumstance to him, and requested him

to allow one of the Chinese officers attached to the consulate to

accompany me to the garden, and explain that my object was to purchase

plants, and not to take any thing away against their will. From our

experience of Chinese character, we were well aware that, if this were

properly explained, the poor people, whose livelihood depended upon

the propagation and sale of plants, would be very glad to allow me

to make purchases at their garden. I therefore set out again on the

following day, accompanied by an officer from the consulate. When we

approached the garden, my young friend was at his post, as usual, and

ran off immediately, and forthwith the gate was closed and barricaded

as before. We walked quietly up to it, and knocked, but there was no

answer; and the place seemed all at once to be deserted. The officer

well knew that the family had hid themselves just inside the gate,

and commenced talking to them, and laughing at their fears. In a few

seconds we heard a movement amongst the bushes, and then the inmates,

gaining courage, ventured to approach the gate to reconnoitre. At

last, being apparently satisfied, the bolts were withdrawn, and we

were admitted within the sacred precincts of the garden, when I soon

found several very valuable plants. The ice was now broken, and, with

the assistance of the Chinese officer, I got the names and localities

of several other gardens, which I soon found out: and, although it

was the winter season, and vegetation in a state of repose, I was

able in a few weeks to get together a collection of plants, which,

when they flowered, proved not only quite new, but highly ornamental.

A few months wrought a great change upon these diffident and timid

people, and, at length, they not only received me with pleasure,

but begged me to bring my friends and acquaintances to see their

flowers. I frequently did so, and as we always treated them with

kindness and consideration, a favourable impression was made upon

their minds, which, I have no doubt, will long continue. When I was

leaving Shanghae for the last time on my return to England, I went to

remove a collection of plants which I had in one of these gardens: as

I was doing so, the proprietor said to me, "the next time you come to

Shanghae I shall have left this garden, and gone to one which I have

taken in the next district, where I shall be glad to see you, and

supply you with the plants you want."

"Thanks, my good friend," said I, "but as my labours in the 'central

flowery land' are ended, I shall now return again to my own country,

'Ta-Eng-co[3],' a land in the far distant west, and you shall never see

me again; fare you well."

He then kindly wished me fair winds, smooth seas, and a happy meeting

with my friends at home.

I merely mention this circumstance to show what a change took place in

the feelings of these poor people in the course of two years, and which

I regard as an earnest of what may be done with the northern Chinese,

who differ widely from their haughty and insolent countrymen in the

south.

Another example may be given to show the cunning and deceit of many of

the Chinese here as elsewhere. A flower painter in Chusan had informed

me that several very valuable varieties of the _Moutan_, or Tree

Pœony, were to be found in gardens near Shanghae. Those varieties of

this flower, which are yearly brought from the northern provinces to

Canton, and which are now common in Europe, have blossoms, which are

either rose-coloured or white: but it was always asserted, although not

believed, that in some part of China purple, blue, and yellow varieties

were produced, although these were never brought to Canton for sale.

It was for these that I made the most particular inquiries, and this

painter not only affirmed he had seen them, but also offered, for a

small sum, to make me drawings from memory of all the different kinds.

I employed him at once, and when he had finished the drawings, I took

them with me to Shanghae. A nurseryman, who had a flower-shop in the

town, to whom I showed these drawings, promised at once to procure

living plants for me, but said they would be very expensive, as he

would have to send to Soo-chow, a distance of nearly one hundred miles,

for they were not to be procured in the vicinity of Shanghae, and a

man would be absent at least eight days. I was, of course, glad to get

them upon any terms, and gave the man the price he asked, which, after

all, was not much out of the way, if they were to be brought a hundred

miles. At the specified time the Moutans arrived, and proved most

valuable kinds, which, in England, would have brought a very high sum.

Amongst them there were _lilacs_ and _purples_; some nearly _black_;

and one which the Chinese called "_the yellow,_" which, however,

was only white with a slight tinge of yellow near the centre of the

petals. Altogether the collection was a valuable one, and I was highly

satisfied with my bargain. Great was my surprise when I afterwards

found that these plants were brought a distance not more than six miles

from the walls of Shanghae, and that the celebrated town of Soo-chow

was, in fact, supplied with "Moutans" from the very same place.

It was the winter season when I paid my first visit to Shanghae, and

of course few plants were then in bloom except the Chrysanthemum, the

varieties of which are as numerous here as in the south of China; and

as the Chinese gardeners understand their cultivation well, they were,

at this particular season, objects of great interest. My collections

were chiefly deciduous plants, which it was impossible to determine or

describe at the time, being chosen partly on account of the families

they belonged to, and partly from the characters given them by the

Chinese. Every one acquainted with practical Botany can form a very

fair idea of the value of plants even in this condition, and I was

not disappointed in the expectations I had formed regarding this

collection, many of the specimens afterwards proving plants of great

beauty and value.

Whilst at Shanghae, I, with some other Europeans, had an invitation

to go to the house of a mandarin, to see a theatrical performance or

"Sing-song," and to dine with him in Chinese style afterwards. Sedan

chairs were sent to take us to his house, where we were introduced to

a number of his friends, and, as the invariable custom is, tea was

immediately handed round. Shortly afterwards a servant came with a tray

full of wet, warm towels, not unlike those generally used in kitchens

at home, and presented one to each of us. At first, we could not

conjecture what these were for; but, on looking at our Chinese friends,

we observed them rubbing their faces and hands with them, and, although

not very agreeable to us, we immediately did the same. I afterwards

found that this was a common custom amongst the Chinese, and I have

often been much refreshed by it after a warm walk. In hot countries

like China this plan is much better, and more conducive to health, than

either washing or bathing in cold water.

While this was going on in the house, the players were getting every

thing ready in the large room where the performance was to take place.

In a little while one of them entered the room where we were, carrying

in his hand several fine long ivory cards, on which were written a

number of the most popular plays of the day, any one of which the

players were ready to perform at the command of our host and his

friends. We were most politely consulted on the subject, which, as we

did not know a single character of the language, and had the greatest

difficulty in understanding what was said to us, was not of much

use. Having at last fixed upon a particular piece for the evening's

entertainment, we were all led into the theatre. The room was large and

nearly square, having a platform at the upper end for the actors and

band, and one of the sides being only separated from an open lane by

a railing, so that the public might also have a view of the play. The

centre of the room was completely filled with guests, and from the roof

hung a number of lanterns in the Chinese style. As it was early in the

afternoon when the play commenced, the lanterns were not lighted and

the piece went on in daylight, the Chinese actors not excluding it as

we do in our theatres in England.

The play began with some pantomime-like feats, such as we see in

English theatres at Christmas. This was succeeded by something which

appeared to be very pathetic, judging from the language and gestures

of the performers. All was gone through in a kind of opera style, the

actors singing their parts with false voices. The feats of tumbling

which were now and then performed were extremely dexterous and clever,

and attracted our notice more than any thing else, probably because

they were best understood.

The dresses of the actors were superb, and must have cost a large sum

of money. There were no females amongst them, as it is not customary

for them to act; but their places were supplied by men or boys, chosen

from amongst those who are most "lady-looking," and so well were

their appearance and dresses arranged, that it would have required a

practised eye to have detected the difference.

The voices of the actors were not musical, at least to English

ears, but the whole was in unison with the noisy gong, and the wind

instruments, like bagpipes, which are in common use amongst the

Chinese. In fact, noise seemed to be the thing which produced the

greatest effect, and we certainly had enough of it.

I was struck by the various figures made by the actors on the stage,

intended, no doubt, to represent something like those scenes or

pictures which are so much studied in our theatres at home. A quadrant

seems to be a great favourite, and was constantly made by them in the

different acts. They have no scenery to assist the delusion, only a

simple screen, which is sometimes used to represent a room out of

which some actor is to make his appearance. Fencing is much practised,

and is, perhaps, the most curious part of these exhibitions. Each

individual has two swords, which he swings about his head in the

wildest manner, at the same time throwing his feet and legs about in a

most fantastic way, as if they had as much to do in the business as the

hands and arms. The exhibition or play lasted for three hours, and then

we left the theatre and retired into another room. While we were there

the servants were busily employed in rearranging the theatre, which was

now to be converted into a dining-room.

When all was ready we were led in with great ceremony, and placed in

the principal seats of honour. We had now an opportunity of seeing

the extent to which the Chinese carry their ceremony and politeness

amongst themselves when they are about to be seated at table. Our host

and his friends were nearly a quarter of an hour before the whole of

them were seated. Each one was pressing the most honourable seat upon

his neighbour, who, in his turn, could not think of occupying such a

distinguished place at the board. However, after a great deal of bowing

and flattery, all was apparently arranged satisfactorily and dinner

commenced.

The tables were now covered with a profusion of small dishes, which

contained all the finest fruits and vegetables of the season, besides

many of the most expensive kinds of soups, such as the celebrated

bird's nest and others, many of which were excellent even to the palate

of an Englishman. The servants were continually employed in removing

the centre dishes and replacing them by others of a different kind,

until at last every one seemed perfectly satisfied. Still, however,

the ceremony of bringing in new dishes went on, and these were merely

looked at and removed. Our maiden efforts with the chopsticks must have

been a source of great amusement to our Chinese friends, but they were

polite enough not to laugh at us, and did every thing in their power to

assist us. The play was resumed again as soon as the dinner commenced,

and continued as briskly as ever. The "lady actors" at intervals came

down from the platform and supplied the guests with different kinds

of wines. During the entertainment, a piece of money was handed to

each of the guests, which they were desired to leave as a present for

the actors at the conclusion of the piece. When this was given them,

the whole of the _corps dramatique_ came round, and each made a most

polite bow of acknowledgment and withdrew. Still, however, the dinner

ceremonial went on; hundreds of fresh dishes were brought in, and as

many in their turn removed. The Chinese guests were sometimes smoking,

sometimes eating, just as it seemed good to them, and uniformly

praising every thing which made its appearance on the table.

We had now been three or four hours at table, and although the whole

affair had been very amusing, we had had enough of it, and were

beginning to tire. "How long shall the dinner last?" said I to a

linguist who was placed next me, and who had most politely explained

every thing which had occurred during the entertainment. "Oh," said

he, "it will last for three or four hours longer, but if you want to

go away, you may do so now." We were very glad to find that Chinese

etiquette permitted us to withdraw, and ordered our chairs, which were

waiting in the court-yard to receive us. Our host and his friends

lighted us out with lanterns, and we took our departure in the same

style in which we came. So ended my first Chinese dinner. Since then

such things have been no rarity, either in the palaces of the rich or

in the cottages of the poor, and they have been even more frequent in

the temples with the priests.

[1] It is stated in Davis's "Chinese," that the dead are all buried on

the sides of the barren hills.

[2] Come, come.

[3] Great England, or Great Britain, the name which our country is

known by in the north of China.

CHAP. IX.

RETURN TO THE SOUTH OF CHINA.--THE CANTON RIVER DESCRIBED.--FORTS

AT THE BOCCA TIGRIS.--PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY.--THE "SIGHING"

WILLOW.--CULTIVATION OF THE NELUMBIUM.--BOATS ON THE RIVER.--THE

BARBER'S BOAT, &C.--SPLENDOUR OF THE FLOWER BOATS.--APPEARANCE OF

THE RIVER AT FESTIVALS.--ORDER WHICH PREVAILS IN THIS FLOATING

CITY.--HOUSES BUILT OVER WATER.--CHINESE DEXTERITY IN SWIMMING

AND DIVING.--FA-TEE GARDENS.--THEIR PLANTS.--OLD ACHING GETS A

BAD NAME BECAUSE HIS SEEDS DO NOT GROW.--HE DOES NOT DESERVE

IT.--ADVICE TO THE BUYERS OF SEEDS.--ENGLISH AND AMERICAN PUBLIC

GARDENS AT CANTON.--CHINESE NEW YEAR.--ATTACKED AND ROBBED BY THE

CHINESE.--A SUBSEQUENT ATTACK MADE UPON SOME OFFICERS OF THE ENGLISH

GOVERNMENT.--THEIR LETTER TO HER MAJESTY'S CONSUL.

As the island of Chusan was my head-quarters in the north of China, I

now proceeded thither with my collections from Shanghae, preparatory to

sailing for Hong-kong and the southern ports of the country. The Chusan

hills were now covered with snow, and the weather was piercingly cold.

Large quantities of pheasants and water-fowl were daily brought to the

markets by the Chinese, who found the English good customers. A small

species of deer was also brought from the main-land, and frequently

alive. Four or five fine pheasants were often to be purchased for a

dollar, and duck and teal were also remarkably cheap: I believe from

two to four rupees were generally given for a deer.

The officers of the troops stationed at Chusan, who were fond of

shooting, obtained excellent sport by engaging Chinese boats and going

across to the hills on the main-land, there being little game of any

kind upon the island itself.

Having got all my things packed, I took a passage in a vessel bound for

the South, and having a fair monsoon down the China sea, we arrived at

Hong-kong in a few days, without any thing occurring worthy of notice.

The various collections which I had made in the North were now put up

in glazed cases and shipped for England.

As the south of China had been ransacked by former botanists, I could

not expect to find much which was new or worthy of being sent home, and

I therefore arranged to proceed north again in March or April, in order

to have a whole season before me. In the meantime, as I had a few weeks

to spare in the south, I determined on a visit to Canton and Macao,

which are both within a short distance from Hong-kong.

The Canton river is certainly one of the most imposing and striking

objects which the traveller meets with in this celebrated country.

The sea, near its mouth, is studded all over with numerous islands,

of which a good view is obtained in going over from Hong-kong to

Macao: and in sailing from either of these places to Canton, we pass a

succession of them, most of which are mountainous, having huge masses

of rock and yellow gravelly clay protruding here and there through the

surface, and but thinly covered with vegetation of any kind.

Sometimes however, in our progress, we obtained views of beautiful

bays, with a few acres of level land near the shore, in the midst of

which there are some pretty houses or huts, surrounded by a few trees

and shrubs. In sailing amongst these islands one is apt to think that

in the retirement of such places, far removed from the vicious world,

and the "busy hum of men," the inhabitants must indeed be happy and

innocent, having their few wants abundantly supplied by the rice which

grows luxuriantly around their dwellings, and by the never-failing

supply of excellent fish, which are easily caught in the sea. But these

dreams of happiness and innocence are soon dispelled--these quiet

villages abound with pirates, who frequently commit acts of the most

cold-blooded cruelty, and render the passage between Hong-kong, Canton,

and Macao an alarming and dangerous affair. Lorchas and other small

vessels, with valuable cargoes on board, are frequently attacked, the

crew and passengers murdered, and the vessels disabled or destroyed.

A few hours' sail, with a fair wind and tide, brought me in sight of

the celebrated Bocca Tigris, the entrance to the Canton river. The

forts destroyed during the war had been rebuilt on a more extensive

scale; and, if manned with English soldiers, no hostile fleet in the

world could pass them without being blown to pieces. I fancy, however,

that the Chinese, although they have had a lesson in the art of war,

which will make them more difficult to conquer in future, would still,

with all their forts, afford, but a feeble resistance against the

military and naval tactics of the English and other civilised nations

of the West.

Inside the Bogue the river widens very much, and presents the

appearance of an inland sea. The view now becomes beautiful and

highly picturesque, the flat cultivated land near the shores forming

a striking contrast to the barren hills on the outside of the forts;

the mountains in the distance appear to encircle the extensive plain;

and although, like the others, they are barren, yet they make a fine

back-ground to the picture. A few miles further up the river, the

shipping in Blenheim and Whampoa reaches come into view, and the

celebrated Whampoa pagoda, with several more of less note, besides

numerous other towers and joss-houses, all remind the traveller that

he is approaching the far-famed city of Canton, one of the richest

and most important in the celestial empire. The noble river, with its

numerous ramifications, forms many islands, on one of which the small

town or village of Whampoa is built.

Large quantities of rice are grown, both on the islands formed by

the river, and on the flats on the main land. The tide is kept out

by embankments, and the ground can be overflowed at will. These

embankments are not allowed to lie idle, but are made to produce crops

of Plantains. When the land is too high to be flooded by the tide, the

water-wheel is brought into play, and it is perfectly astonishing how

much water can be raised by this simple contrivance in a very short

space of time.

Sugar-cane is also grown rather extensively near Whampoa, and in

its raw state is an article in great demand amongst the Chinese. It

is manufactured into sugar-candy and brown sugar; many kinds of the

latter being particularly fine, though not much used by the foreigners

residing in the country; who generally prefer the candy reduced to

powder, in which state it is very fine and white. I did not see our

loaf-sugar in any part of China, and I conceive that it is not made

there.

A great number of the common fruit trees of the country grow all over

the plains and near the side of the river. The mango, guava, wangpee

(_Cookia punctata_), leechee, longan, oranges, and pumeloes, are the

principal kinds. Besides these, there are the cypress, thuja, banyan

and other kinds of fig-trees, and a species of pine, called by the

Chinese the water pine, from its always growing by the sides of the

rivers and canals. The bamboo, and a sort of weeping willow very much

like our own, are also frequently met with. The name which the Chinese

give to the latter is the "sighing" willow, coinciding rather curiously

with our own term of "weeping," and when taken in connection with the

historical fact of the Jews weeping by the streams of Babylon, and

hanging their harps upon the willows, show that this is regarded as the

emblem of sorrow as universally as the dark and sombre pine and cypress

are considered in all countries fit companions to the cemetery and

churchyard.

On the sides of the river, both below and above the city, large

quantities of the water lily, or lotus, are grown, which are enclosed

by embankments in the same manner as the rice fields. This plant is

cultivated both as an ornament, and for the root, which is brought

in large quantities to the markets, and of which the Chinese are

remarkably fond. In the summer and autumn months, when in flower, the

lotus fields have a gay and striking appearance, but at other seasons

the decayed leaves and flowers, and the stagnant and dirty water, are

not at all ornamental to the houses which they surround.

One of the most striking sights on the Canton river is the immense

number of boats which are moored all along the shore, near the foreign

factory. There are hundreds of thousands of all kinds and sizes, from

the splendid flower-boat, as it is called, down to the small barber's

boat, forming a large floating city, peopled by an immense number of

human beings. In sailing up the river you may observe a very small

boat, perhaps the smallest you ever saw, exposed on the water, being

nothing more than a few planks fastened together. This is the barber's

boat, who is going about, or rather swimming about, following his daily

avocation of shaving the heads and tickling the ears and eyes of the

Chinamen. By the by, this same barber has much to answer for, for his

practice has a most prejudicial effect upon the eyes and ears of his

countrymen. He, however, works his little boat with great dexterity,

and with his scull manages to propel himself with ease and swiftness

through the floating city of boats, larger and more powerful than

his own. Then you see boats of various sizes, such as those at Macao

and Hong-kong, covered over, divided into three compartments, and

kept remarkably clean and neat. These are hired by either natives or

foreigners for the purpose of going off to the large junks, or other

vessels moored out in the river, or for short excursions to the island

of Honan, the Fa-Tee Gardens, or such places. The centre division of

the boat forms a very neat little room, having windows in the sides,

ornamented with pictures and flowers of various kinds. The compartment

at the bow is occupied by the rowers, and that at the stern is used for

preparing the food of the family to whom the boat belongs.

The boats of the Hong merchants, and the large flower-boats are very

splendid. They are arranged in compartments like the others, but are

built in a more superb and costly manner. The reader must imagine a

kind of wooden house raised upon the floor of the boat, having the

entrance near the bows, space being left there for the boatmen to stand

and row. This entrance being the front, is carved in a most superb

style, forming a prelude to what may be seen within. Numerous lanterns

hang from the roof of these splendid showy cabins; looking-glasses,

pictures, and poetry adorn their sides; and all the peculiarities of

this singular people are exposed to our view in these their floating

palaces.

Then there are the Chop boats, which are used by the merchants for

conveying goods to the vessels at Whampoa; the passage-boats to

Hong-kong, Macao, and various parts of the country; the Mandarin-boats,

with their numerous oars, which have a strange appearance as they pass

up and down the river (I have seen a single boat of this kind with

forty oars on each side); and, lastly, the large unwieldly sea-going

junks. There are various modifications of all these kinds of boats,

each adapted for the particular purpose for which it is designed.

At festival times, the river has a singularly gay and striking

appearance, particularly at night, when the lanterns are lighted, and

numberless boats gaily decorated with them move up and down in front

of the factory. The effect produced upon a stranger at these times

by the wild and occasionally plaintive strains of Chinese music, the

noisy gong, the close and sultry air, the strange people,--full of

peculiarities and conceit,--is such as he can never forget, and leaves

upon his mind a mixed impression of pleasure, pity, admiration, and

contempt. Throughout the whole of this immense floating city, the

greatest regularity prevails; the large boats are arranged in rows,

forming streets, through which the smaller craft pass and repass, like

coaches and other vehicles in a large town. The families who live in

this manner seem to have a great partiality for flowers, which they

keep in pots, either upon the high stern of their boats, or in their

little parlours. The Chinese Arbor vitæ, Gardenias, Cycas revoluta,

cockscombs, and oranges, seem to be the greatest favourites with

them. A joss-house--small indeed, in many cases, but yet a place of

worship--is indispensable to all these floating houses. Here the

joss-stick and the oil are daily burned, and form the incense which

these poor people offer to their imaginary deity.

Upon the sides of the river, and the numerous canals in the suburbs

of Canton, whole streets of wooden houses are built upon stakes which

are driven firmly into the mud. These dwellings very much resemble the

travelling shows which are often seen in the market towns of England;

except that posts supply the place of wheels, and that they are crowded

together in hundreds, forming crooked and irregular streets. Thousands

of the inhabitants live and enjoy health and happiness in such places,

which would soon be graves for Europeans--such is the difference of

constitution.

But what surprised me most was the old women and young children bathing

in the river, which seemed as if it were their natural element, and

they appeared quite as much at home there as the fishes themselves. The

Chinese boat population are famous for their dexterity in and under

the water. Since the island of Hong-kong became an English settlement,

officers of the government, sent to apprehend thieves in the bay, have

frequently failed to do so owing to this circumstance. The Chinamen,

whenever they found that there was any danger of being taken, jumped

all together overboard, diving out of sight, and swimming under water

until they were out of the reach of their pursuers, or until they found

shelter in some of the numerous boats belonging to their own clan,

which lay moored in the bay.

I lost no time in visiting the celebrated Fa-tee Gardens, near Canton,

the "flowery land," as the name implies, from whence a great number of

those fine plants were first procured which now decorate our gardens in

England. They are situated two or three miles above the city, on the

opposite side of the river, and are, in fact, Chinese nursery gardens,

where plants are cultivated for sale.

Here, then, I beheld a specimen of the far-famed system of Chinese

gardening, about which we have read so much in European authors:

I will, therefore, describe them somewhat fully. The plants are

principally kept in large pots arranged in rows along the sides of

narrow paved walks, with the houses of the gardeners at the entrance

through which the visitors pass to the gardens. There are about a dozen

of these gardens, more or less extensive, according to the business

or wealth of the proprietor; but they are generally smaller than the

smallest of our London nurseries. They have also stock-grounds, where

the different plants are planted out in the ground, and where the first

process of dwarfing their celebrated trees is put in operation. These

contain large collections of Camellias, Azaleas, oranges, roses, and

various other well-known plants, which are purchased by the Chinese

when in flower. The most striking plant in autumn or winter is the

curious fingered Citron, which the Chinese gather and place in their

dwellings or on their altars. It is much admired both for its strange

form and also for its perfume. The mandarin orange is also much grown

at Fa-tee, where the plants are kept in a dwarf state, and flower and

fruit most profusely, producing large, flat, dark, red-skinned fruit.

The Chinese have a great variety of plants belonging to the orange

tribe; and of one which they call the _cum quat_--a small oval-fruited

variety--they make a most excellent preserve. The _Murraya exotica,

Aglaia odorata, Ixoras_, and _Lagerstrœmias_ are very ornamental here

in autumn.

But it is of course in spring that the Fa-tee gardens possess the

greatest attractions. They are then gay with the tree pæony, azaleas,

camellias, roses, and various other plants. The azaleas are splendid,

and reminded me of the exhibitions in the gardens of the Horticultural

Society at Chiswick, but the Fa-tee exhibitions were on a much larger

scale. Every garden was one mass of bloom, and the different colours

of red, white, and purple blended together, had a most beautiful

and imposing effect. The principal kinds grown were _Azalea indica,

indica_ _alba, phœnicea, lateritia, variegata_, and the yellow _Azalea

sinensis_. I may mention in passing, that I found the latter plant wild

on the Ning-po hills, so that there is no doubt of its being a genuine

Chinese species. The air at this season around Fa-tee is perfumed with

the sweet flowers of _Olea fragrans_, and the _Magnolia fuscata_, both

of which are grown extensively in these gardens. Dwarf trees, as may be

supposed, occupy a principal station; they are trained into the most

grotesque and curious forms. The plants which stand next to dwarf trees

in importance with the Chinese are certainty chrysanthemums, which they

manage extremely well, perhaps better than they do any other plant.

So high do these plants stand in the favour of the Chinese gardener,

that he will cultivate them extensively, even against the wishes of

his employer; and, in many instances, rather leave his situation than

give up the growth of his favourite flower. I was told that the late

Mr. Beale used to say that he grew chrysanthemums in his garden for no

other purpose than to please his gardener, not having any taste for

this particular flower himself.

Tree pæonies are not natives of the south of China, but are brought

down in large quantities every year, about the month of January, from

the northern provinces. They flower soon after they arrive, and are

rapidly bought up by the Chinese to ornament their houses, after which

they are thrown away, as they do not thrive well so far south as Canton

or Macao, and will not flower a second season. They are sold according

to the number of flower-buds they may have upon them, many of them

fetching rather high prices.

One of the old gardeners here speaks the English language very well,

and carries on a considerable trade in seeds with the English and

American residents, but, unfortunately, he has got a bad name, owing

to his seeds generally failing to grow when they are sent home. It is

now currently reported that the old man boils them, in order that his

trade may not be spoiled by some enterprising propagator in England or

America. Such, however, is not the case; on the contrary, I am quite

certain that he does every thing in his power to preserve them, but

very likely some may be a year or two old before they are dispatched

to Europe. Besides, the long voyage round the Cape--during which the

seeds have twice to cross the tropics--is very prejudicial to their

germination. There is, however, no great loss in these seeds not

growing, as there is nothing amongst them new, or of any value, for

they are gathered from the plants common in the Fa-tee gardens, the

greater part of which have been years ago introduced to our gardens at

home. I would, therefore, strongly advise my friends in China not to

spend their money upon such seeds.

Although the botanist can find little that is new to him in these

gardens, yet they are well worthy of a visit; and in the spring months,

when most of the plants are in bloom, they have a singularly gorgeous

and imposing appearance, and really deserve the poetical name of

"Fa-tee," or flowery land, which the Chinese have given them.

The garden which formerly belonged to the East India Company is still

in existence. It is but a small plot of ground on the river side, not

more than sixty paces each way, having broad chunamed walks round it,

and a clump, with a few trees in the middle, and a few more between the

walk and the wall all round. Since Mr. Reeves's time no one seems to

have paid any attention to the plants here, and if there ever were any

rare species, they are now all lost. A few Palms, Plantains, _Magnolia

grandiflora, Clerodendron fragrans, Justicia Adhatoda, Ligustrum,

Murraya exotica_, the Leechee, and two or three other well-known

things, are all that it contains. In front of the American factory

there is a very nice public garden, at least six times the size of

the Company's, with fine broad walks for recreation, and containing

numerous shrubs and trees indigenous to the country; nothing, it is

true, of any rarity, but sufficient to make it look extremely well. A

good garden and promenade are of much importance here; for it is likely

to be some years before foreigners enjoy the same liberty at Canton of

walking about the country as they do in the other parts of China.

At this period the Chinese were making great preparations for the

celebration of New Year's Day, which then fell on the 18th of February.

Flowers of all kinds were in great demand amongst the inhabitants, who

employ them in the decoration of their houses and temples. In going

up the river towards the Fa-tee Gardens, I met boats in great numbers

loaded with branches of peach and plum trees in bloom, _Enkianthus

quinqueflorus_, camellias, cockscombs, magnolias, and various other

plants which flower at this season. The Enkianthus is brought down

from the hills with the buds just expanding; and after being placed

in water for a day or two, the flowers come out as healthy and fresh

as if the branches had not been removed from the parent tree. This

plant is a great favourite amongst the Chinese. The common jonquil

too comes in for a very extensive share of patronage; and in the

streets of Canton one meets with thousands of bulbs growing in small

pans amongst water and a few white stones. In this case the Chinese

exhibit their peculiar propensity for dwarf and monstrous growth, by

planting the bulbs upside down, and making the plants and flowers

assume curious twisted forms, which appear to be so agreeable to the

eyes of a Chinaman. Large quantities of all these flowers are exposed

for sale in many of the shops and in the corners of the streets in

Canton, where they seem to be eagerly bought up by the Chinese, who

consider them quite indispensable at this particular season. Not only

are the houses and temples decorated with them, but the boats on the

river also come in for a most extensive share. Indeed, these boats are

only floating houses, for a very great part of the population of Canton

lives upon the river. The flower-boats, as they are commonly called,

are particularly gay at new-year time with flowers of all hues, and

gaudy flags streaming from each mast and stern. Crackers or fireworks,

of which the Chinaman is so fond, are let off in large quantities for

several days in all parts of the town, and form part of their religious

ceremonies or offerings to their gods. Their shops are closed on New

Year's Day, and for two or three days afterwards. The greater part of

the natives wear their holiday clothes, and tramp about amongst their

relations and friends to _chin-chin_ them, and wish them a happy new

year, as we do at home. Large parties are made at this season to go

up to the gardens at Fa-tee; and on particular days you find there

hundreds of these flower-boats crowded with young Chinese of the better

classes, enjoying themselves as our own population do at Richmond or

Hampton Court. Great numbers of well dressed ladies also go over to

Fa-tee in the flower-boats, and walk about in the gardens; and this is

the only season when they are visible at Canton.

After having been several months in the north of China, and, with one

or two exceptions, always experiencing the greatest civility from

the natives, I was beginning to form a high opinion of the Chinese

as a nation, and inclined to trust the people about Canton in the

same manner as I had done in the northern provinces. I very soon,

however, found out my mistake, and in a most disagreeable manner.

There were some hills behind the city, a few miles distant, which I

had often wished to visit for the purpose of examining their botanical

productions. One morning I started off through the town, in the

direction of these hills; and after walking between two and three

miles, I reached the suburbs on the side of the town, opposite to that

where the foreign factory stands. The sounds of "_Fankwei,_"[1] with

which I was assailed in the early part of my walk, had now nearly

ceased, and I began to imagine that I had got out from amongst the

impertinent boys and low Chinese, whom one continually meets in the

back streets of Canton. I was now on a good road, amongst fields and

gardens, and had an excellent view of the surrounding country, and

hills. How very strange, thought I, that the foreign residents in the

factories never avail themselves of the opportunity of coming here,

when they might enjoy the fresh air, and see the country, which would

help to relieve the monotonous life they are compelled to lead.

As I was walking quietly along, I met a Chinese soldier on horseback,

who by gestures and words did every thing in his power to induce me to

retrace my steps. I knew nothing of the Canton dialect at this time,

and as I thought he only wished to prevent me from taking a walk in

the country, I paid no attention to him, but passed onwards. Soon

afterwards, however, I began to suspect the ill intentions of several

groups of ill-looking fellows who seemed to be eyeing me narrowly as

I proceeded. I now came to a little hill which seemed to be used as

a cemetery: it was enclosed, but the door which led to it was wide

open, and the place appeared to be quite public. In order to have a

more extended view of the country, I walked in and began to ascend

the hill. I had only proceeded about half way up, when a number of

Chinamen who had followed me in, began to crowd round me, asking for

"_comeshaws,_"[2] and becoming every moment more numerous and urgent. I

tried what civility would do with them for a little while, but by the

time I reached the top of the hill I clearly perceived that I was in a

trap, out of which it would be a difficult matter to extricate myself.

Up to this time, however, no one had attempted to lay hands upon me.

Taking a cursory view of the surrounding country, I began to devise

in my mind the best mode of getting rid of my troublesome companions.

There seemed no other way than putting a bold face on the matter, and

retracing my steps to Canton. "You more better come down this way,"

said a fellow to me in broken English, pointing to a ravine on the

opposite side of the hill. My suspicions, however, were now roused,

and I saw at once the object of my adviser, which was to get me into

some place out of sight, where I should doubtless have been robbed of

every article I had about my person, and probably stripped into the

bargain. "No, no," said I, "I have nothing to do down there," and began

to retrace my steps down the hill. The Chinese now closed upon me, and

seemed determined to obstruct my progress. Some laid hold of my arms;

one fellow seized my cap, and ran off with it, another did the same

with my umbrella, several hands were in my pockets, and others were

even attempting to get my coat off. I now saw that nothing short of

getting every thing I possessed would satisfy them, as each one wanted

something, and "their name was legion." Collecting all my strength, I

threw myself upon those who were below me, and sent several of them

rolling down the side of the hill. This, however, was nearly fatal to

me, for, owing to the force which I exerted, and the uneven nature of

the ground, I stumbled and fell; but fortunately I instantly recovered

myself, and renewed the unequal struggle, my object being to reach

the door of the cemetery by which I had entered. The Chinese on the

hill now called out to their friends below to shut the door, and thus

prevent me from reaching the open road. Seeing at once that if this

were accomplished I should be an easy prey to them, I determined if

possible to prevent it. Springing out of the grasp of those by whom I

was surrounded, I made for the door, which I reached just as it was

closed, but fortunately before it was fastened on the other side.

The force with which I came against it burst it open, and threw the

Chinamen on their backs who were busily fastening it. I was now in

the open road, where some hundreds of the Chinese were congregated

together; some of them apparently respectable, but the greater part

evidently nothing but thieves and robbers. The respectable part would

not, or probably durst not, render me any assistance. Stones were now

flying about me in all directions, and a brick struck me with great

force on the back, and nearly brought me to the ground. I was stunned

for a few seconds, and leaned against the wall to breathe and recover

myself, thinking that I was now comparatively safe as I was out on

the open road. I was soon undeceived, however, for the rascals again

surrounded me, and relieved me of several articles which had escaped

them before. As the whole neighbourhood was evidently a bad one, it

would have been madness to have taken shelter in any of the houses,

and I therefore had to struggle with the robbers for nearly a mile,

sometimes fighting, and sometimes running, until I got out of their

territory, and near the more populous parts of the town. The plight I

was now in may easily be conceived, but taking everything into account,

I came off better than might have been expected.

On my way home, having neither hat nor umbrella, I suffered greatly

from exposure to the sun, which, in the south of China, is very

powerful on a clear day, even in spring. I would have gladly gone into

a shop and bought a Chinese hat, but the rascals had not left me even a

copper cash for the purpose. Fortunately I had left my watch at home,

otherwise that would have been taken amongst the first things, as

Chinese thieves are very partial to watches and know their value well.

The Honourable F. C. Drummond, with whom I was staying at the time,

informed me afterwards that the place where I had been attacked was one

of the worst in the suburbs of Canton, and that three gentlemen of his

acquaintance, a year or two before, had come off even worse than I had

done, the Chinese having taken away nearly all their clothes.

About two years after this attack upon me three gentlemen holding

government appointments in China, Mr. Montgomery Martin, the Rev.

V. Stanton, and Mr. Jackson, having incautiously strolled into the

suburbs, were also attacked; and the letter which they addressed

officially to Her Majesty's consul complaining of the treatment they

had received, shows so clearly the state of things at Canton, that I

give it entire:--