THE CONVEYANCES OF CHINA AND JAPAN
One is always accustomed to think of China as a strange,
topsy-turvy country, where everything is marvellous and unexpected,
so that it is no surprise to find there many queer conveyances and
modes of travel. Even in very early times China, or Tartary as it
was called then, was looked upon as a veritable wonderland, and
Marco Polo, who explored the country more than six hundred years
ago, gives us a very interesting description of how the Emperor
travelled when he went on one of his hunting expeditions. This is
what he says:
"The Khan upon his journey is borne upon four elephants, in a fine
parlour made of timber, lined inside with plates of beaten gold and
outside with lions' skins. Sometimes, as they go along, and the
Emperor from his chamber is discoursing with his nobles, one of the
latter will exclaim, 'Sire! Look out for cranes!' Then the Emperor
has the top of his chamber thrown back, and having seen the cranes,
he casts one of his falcons, and often the quarry is struck in his
sight, so that he himself has the most exquisite sport as he sits
in his chamber or lies on his bed. I do not believe that there ever
existed a man with such sport or enjoyment as he has."
Modern tourists in China cannot see quite such wonderful equipages
as this, but the Emperor's state palanquin, which was still in use
in 1880, was a very gorgeous affair, and it was carried by no less
than sixteen bearers.
China has always been a land of ceremony, and very strict etiquette
is maintained with regard to the conveyances of the mandarins.
Sedan chairs are used, and these vary in colour, decoration, and
number of carriers, according to the rank of the owner. If the
mandarin is of a very high class he is accompanied on his journeys
by a whole retinue of servants. One of these carries a large open
umbrella, a second has a fan attached to a pole, while others bear
tablets on which the insignia of his rank are displayed. It is a
great offence if a man has more coolies in attendance than those to
which he is entitled.
[Illustration: CHINESE COUNTRY CHAIR.]
In a wedding procession a beautiful palanquin is used to take the
bride from her parents' house to the home of her future husband.
It is painted red and ornamented with kingfishers' feathers. The
little Chinese lady only travels once in this gorgeous conveyance.
After her marriage she has to be content with an ordinary sedan
chair, the curtains of which are always tightly drawn so that she
can neither see nor be seen as she is carried through the streets.
[Illustration: MULE PALANQUIN.]
When an important mandarin travels everyone makes way for him and
his imposing retinue, but with those of lower rank this is not
the case, and it is one of the duties of his bearers to keep up
a constant succession of loud shouts and commands such as "Mind
your back!" "Move to the right!" "Get out of the way!" As may
be imagined the streets of a Chinese town are very noisy, for
they are narrow and crowded with a motley throng of people, among
whom are porters with heavy packs on their shoulders, itinerant
merchants carrying their wares in baskets slung on long poles,
beggars, and children of all sizes and ages.
[Illustration: WHEELBARROW OMNIBUS.]
Besides these private sedan chairs there are others which may be
hired. These are fairly comfortable, being provided with cushions
and having a narrow shelf on either side on which the passenger
can rest his arms. In country districts, however, the traveller has
to be content with a simpler conveyance, consisting of a roughly
made bamboo chair attached to long poles.
[Illustration: A TRAVELLING TRADESMAN.]
Sometimes much larger palanquins are seen. These will hold several
people and are carried by two mules or ponies.
In China, rickshaws, which are wheeled chairs drawn by one or
more coolies, are also used, their name coming from the Chinese
word _jin-li-che_, which means "man-power-carriage." These little
vehicles are convenient, but in many cities the streets are so
narrow that they cannot be employed. Then it is that we find the
quaint wheelbarrows, which are, perhaps, the strangest conveyances
in the whole world. These wheelbarrows are used both to carry
passengers and merchandise. Those intended for the former purpose
have a very large wheel, on either side of which is a seat arranged
rather in the fashion of an Irish jaunting car. Below the seat a
cord is suspended on which the feet of the travellers can rest.
Two, four, six, or even, sometimes, as many as eight native women
can be carried, and the coolie who pushes the barrow has a strap
across his shoulders which eases his arms of some of the weight.
Occasionally hooded wheelbarrows are seen, and for them a second
coolie in front is employed.
[Illustration: CHINESE CART.]
In Northern China donkeys and bullocks often drag these strange,
one-wheeled carts. The roads are so bad that it is almost
impossible for larger vehicles to be used, although sometimes we
see a native family with their household goods moving from one
place to another in a rough wagon drawn by an ox and a donkey
harnessed side by side.
[Illustration: JAPANESE RICKSHAW.]
From China we travel still further east, and in Japan, the Land of
the Rising Sun, other curious and picturesque conveyances are to be
seen by the fortunate tourist who is able to journey so far afield.
Horses are very little used in this country, and the Chinese
jin-li-che is the principal conveyance, its name being now changed
into jin-ri-che or jinricksha. Very charming these little vehicles
look, as they careen through the streets of a town, or under the
blossom-covered cherry-trees of a country road, especially if the
wheels are painted scarlet, and if the passengers are two dainty
little Jap maidens, with gay obis round their waists and flowers
decking their smooth, dark heads.
The coolies who draw the jinrickshas are also picturesque in
their blue cotton clothes, and in winter-time they wear most
extraordinary straw cloaks which make them look like small moving
haystacks.
Another interesting Japanese conveyance is the kago. This is a
small, hammock-shaped litter made of cane and bamboo, suspended
to a strong pole. There is an awning overhead, and on this the
light luggage of the passenger--a pair of straw shoes, a bouquet
of chrysanthemums, or a bundle tied up in a brightly coloured
handkerchief--is carried.
The bearers of a kago are two stalwart, bare-legged men, and they
always carry long sticks in their hands.
This curious type of litter is much used by the Japanese
themselves, but not by Europeans, as the occupant of a kago has to
sit with his knees doubled up in what seems to Western ideas a most
uncomfortable position.
There are other strange conveyances to be seen in Japan, one of
the most interesting of all being the Imperial chariot which has
its place in great religious processions. It is drawn by a black
bull, and is decorated with the Mikado's crest, a sixteen-petalled
chrysanthemum.