THE annexed figure, either from the striped dress, or the furious
looking head painted on the shield, has been called a tiger of war; but
he is not so fierce as he appears to be, or as the name would imply;
indeed the Chinese admit that the monstrous face, on the basket-work
shield, is intended to frighten the enemy, and make him run away; like
another Gorgon’s head to petrify those who look upon it. This corps of
infantry, in its exercise, assumes all kinds of whimsical attitudes,
jumping about and tumbling over each other, like so many mountebanks.
Indeed the whole of the Chinese military tactics are as absurd as they
are ridiculous. When an army is drawn out, it must represent the
heavens, or the earth, or the moon, or the five planets, or the
five-clawed dragon, or mystical tortoise. Père Amiot, a French
missionary, has been at the trouble of collecting or composing the
military tactics of China, which fill a large quarto volume.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
CHINA—PLATE 25
]
Plate XXV.