THE INVASION OF THE FAR EAST
I.--_Early Days in China_
There has been much discussion during recent years concerning the
remarkable awakening of China in every ramification of progress and
industry, but without a doubt the most wonderful manifestation of this
movement has been in regard to railways. In 1870, when the United
Kingdom was criss-crossed with no less than 15,537 miles of the iron
road, and the United States was threaded with 52,922 miles of railway,
the huge tract of Asiatic territory known as the Chinese Empire, of
sufficient area to absorb easily both the United States and the British
Isles, and outnumbering the combined population of the two latter
nations by more than 6 to 1, did not possess 100 yards of the steel
highway.
This remarkable state of affairs was not due to lack of enterprise or
initiative on the part of far-seeing financiers and engineers. It was
attributable directly to one influence--Fung Shui, an unfathomable and
insurmountable difficulty--which thwarted every attempt to bring the
great nation on the eastern borders of the Pacific Ocean into line with
other countries. The Flowery Land is ridden with mystery, superstition,
and a religious fanaticism. These offered an insurmountable barrier
to development in any form. The balance between the “White Tiger” and
the “Azure Dragon,” two inscrutable forces, had to be maintained at
all costs, and unless every member of the Celestial community strove
to maintain this equipoise, the fates in store for him were beyond
comprehension.
An effort to break through the influence of Fung Shui was made in 1875
by a group of Englishmen. The firm of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson &
Company, who have large interests in China, desired to connect Shanghai
to Woosung with 12 miles of railway, and they secured the services of
the late Mr. G. J. Morrison, an accomplished engineer, to carry the
project to fulfilment. Great difficulty was experienced in securing
the requisite permission to proceed, because the Chinese entertained
a deep-rooted objection to the invasion of their country by the
foreigner. However, the application proved successful and the line was
built.
The opening of this short road was received with acclamation by the
lower classes in close proximity to the line. They experienced a
peculiar delight in travelling in the carriages drawn by the steam
horse, and all was proceeding merrily. The opposition of the Chinese
to the new-fangled idea had been overcome, argued the promoters of
the enterprise, and they looked forward to further railway expansion.
But they did not reckon with the offended opposition and ignorant
vested interests, as represented by influential land-owners and high
personages. The wrath of the gods was anticipated in no uncertain
manner, but as this did not appear to have vent spontaneously, the
opponents resorted to ingenious methods to achieve their desires. They
induced a soldier to throw himself before an approaching train, under
the promise of a payment of $100 to his family. The latter, possibly
entertaining the belief that the presence of his body stretched across
the metals might arrest the progress of the train, or at least throw
it off the track, without inflicting injury upon himself, submitted to
the ordeal, with the inevitable result. He was killed. Instantly the
intriguers published this circumstance as an instance of the intense
displeasure of the gods, and the countryside rose up with one voice,
calling for the destruction of the innovation.
The agitation startled the Government. An inquiry was held upon the
suicide, and the unanimous verdict was that the line was unsafe.
It was condemned forthwith. The Government even went farther under
public pressure. It purchased the railway, lock, stock and barrel,
at cost price, and turned it over to the enraged populace to do with
it according to their inclinations. The frenzied fanatics tore the
track up piecemeal, threw the rolling stock out of the country, and,
to propitiate the gods, erected a temple to the Queen of Heaven upon
the site selected as the terminus in Shanghai. The promoters of the
ill-starred enterprise retrieved as much of the discarded remains of
the line as possible, and transported them to the island of Formosa
for another undertaking. Such was the inglorious end that befell the
first attempt to introduce Stephenson’s invention into the land of the
Celestial.
Curiously enough, among those most prominent in the opposition to
this movement was Li-Hung-Chang, subsequently China’s foremost and
most enlightened statesman. He had spared no effort to prevent the
construction of the first railway, and when it was completed he left
no stone unturned to bring about its demolition. Shortly afterwards,
however, he became converted to the new method of locomotion. Among
those few enterprising and enlightened Chinese gentlemen who realised
the widespread advantages accruing from the adoption of railways
in other parts of the world, and who foresaw its possibilities in
his native land, was General Tong-King-Sing. He had followed the
Shanghai-Woosung experiment with deep interest. Undeterred by the
fate which had overwhelmed the effort of Messrs. Jardine, Matheson &
Company, he decided to build another line, but he took care first to
win the most powerful opponent to such a movement to his side. The
General was identified with a steamship company which required cheap
coal. Li-Hung-Chang, then Viceroy of Chichli, was interested in some
collieries at Tongshan, some 30 miles inland from the nearest port at
Pehtang.
The General approached the Viceroy, and the two, with the aid of some
other influential friends, decided to exploit the deposits. But the
question arose as to how the coal could be carried cheaply to the
coast. General Tong-King-Sing maintained that there was no means of
transportation which could compete with the railway, and he skilfully
won the Viceroy round to his side. In this manner the Viceroy was
converted from an implacable enemy to a strenuous advocate of railways.
They approached the Government for the requisite permission, and
the latter, impressed possibly by the great men associated with the
enterprise, sanctioned the project. The preliminary arrangements
were hurried forward, an Englishman, Mr. C. W. Kinder, who might be
described as the Father of the Railway in China, being enlisted as
engineer-in-chief.
Before actual constructional work was commenced, however, the
Government--no doubt owing to pressure--repented of its action and
withdrew its approbation. As a result the company were forced to build
a canal, which was completed for some miles, but the head of this
waterway was some 7 miles from the coal-pits. From the end of the
canal to the port, the Government authorised the construction of a
tramroad, but it stipulated that mules should be employed exclusively
for the haulage of the trucks. The company was forced to make the most
of this indifferent bargain, and so the coal was transported from the
collieries to the port under very adverse circumstances.
These slow methods, however, did not appeal to the engineer, and
secretly he decided to effect an improvement. He fashioned a locomotive
from the best materials he could command, a portable engine which was
used at the mines being mounted on a truck in such a way as to secure
self-propulsion. This was used for haulage between the collieries
and the head of the canal. As no ill results attended its use, the
Government finally approved of its utilisation. Shortly afterwards the
line as a railway was extended to Tientsin, and opened for traffic
in October, 1888. Subsequently the railhead was pushed onwards to
Shan-Hai-Kuan. From the small 7-mile road upon which the enterprising
engineer surreptitiously placed a fearsome-looking locomotive the
railway has spread its tentacles throughout the Chinese Empire, the
original road has been extended, and has effected connection with other
systems, giving communication in the north with Mukden, Harbin and the
Trans-Siberian railway.
The original road is intensely British, both in its character and
operation. It was built on the English model, and differed greatly
from the usual class of pioneer railway. The gradients are easy and
the curves are of wide radius. At one point the location of the line
ran through two private cemeteries, but as the graves of the ancestors
could not be disturbed under any considerations whatever, the line had
to make a wide swerve to avoid this obstruction.
All the materials for the railway were obtained from Great Britain,
and the solidity of the construction is an outstanding feature. Every
bridge is carried out either in steel, concrete, brick or stone,
whichever was found to be the most economical. This feature somewhat
surprised American engineers, who are accustomed to less durable work
in the initial stages, especially as it did not appear justifiable
in such a fickle country as China. The latter were also astonished
at the low price at which the requisite materials were landed in the
country, and the fact that mechanical appliances could not compete
with coolie labour in point of cheapness. As a matter of fact, the
country traversed at that time was exceedingly poor, the inhabitants
experiencing a terrible struggle to eke out a pitiable existence.
Indeed, around Tongshan, at the time the railway made its appearance,
it was estimated that over 50,000 natives died of starvation in two
months. When the iron horse invaded this territory a change for the
better set in, inasmuch as it offered a ready and inexpensive means of
conveying the produce from the land to market.
One piece of engineering skill has always ranked as a distinct wonder
in the neighbourhood. This is the bridge over the Lan-ho, 2,170 feet in
length, in which there are 5 spans each of 200 feet. It was designed
by the late Sir Benjamin Baker, and aroused interest because of its
unusual design, which was condemned severely by American engineers.
This famous bridge-builder, however, was by no means content to abide
by hide-bound rules and regulations, and though in this structure he
departed from the orthodox very decidedly, he forced his detractors
to admit that the bridge was absolutely safe, and was able to meet any
traffic that it was likely to be called upon to bear.
Another feature compels attention. Just before reaching Shan-Hai-Kuan,
the line strikes across a valley about a mile in width. Here there is
a bridge having an opening of some 1000 feet, through which a narrow
stream makes its way. Originally the track was carried about 10 feet
above the floor of the valley, but the very next wet season caused
the small stream to swell into a wide, foaming torrent, rising to
16 feet above high watermark, and it swept over the embankment like
a mill-race. When the waters subsided, the engineers, instead of
overhauling their earthworks, lowered the track to the bottom of the
valley, so that no obstruction should be offered to future floods,
while the road-bed was protected by a paving extending for 50 feet
on either side, with bushes planted on the superimposed earth. This
expedient was found to meet the situation completely and to protect the
track from destruction by the flood-waters, which fall quickly after
attaining their highest level.
In the early days the trains constituted a source of infinite
amusement. They were what are known as “mixed” trains; _i. e._ they
carried both passengers and freight. The passenger coaches were of
varying classes, the Chinese travelling in long, open trucks, with
tarpaulins to protect them from inclement weather. The natives appeared
to enjoy this experience highly, especially when the train attained
its maximum speed of about 25 miles an hour, which they admitted was
quicker travelling than by an animal-drawn cart. The whole 100 miles
were covered in about 5½ hours, including stops, some of which, at
intermediate points, were of long duration. At these points, however,
the time was whiled away by watching the antics of the Chinese
travellers, who were sorely perturbed lest the steam horse might start
before its scheduled time. This initial trunk line played an important
educational part in the railway expansion of China, and the cost of
travelling was cut down to the lowest figure. The first-class fare for
the whole distance was 5_s._ 5_d._, or $1.30 for 100 miles, which,
in comparison with the scale prevailing in other parts of the world
for similar accommodation, was absurdly cheap. The Chinese at first
regarded the railway with childish delight, those who could afford the
expense travelling to and fro for the mere pleasure of travelling.
Consequently, it is not surprising that the railway soon established
itself in popular favour. Indeed, resentment from the earliest days
had proceeded only from the upper classes; the peasants hailed it with
unfeigned pleasure. Accordingly, as railway expansion set in, any
opposition that was encountered was fostered by ignorant, affected,
wealthy interests. After Li-Hung-Chang became a staunch friend of
the new means of travel, he established his own ways of dealing with
opposition, which were peculiarly Chinese. On one railway which he
supported, traffic was interrupted frequently by displaced rails and
sleepers. When he, in his official capacity, sought to ascertain the
reason for such disturbance, he was informed that it was due to the
spirits, who resented its intrusion. He made no reply to this ingenuous
reply, but hinted that if he caught the spirits interfering with the
line, it would go hard with them. Needless to say, no further trouble
was experienced on that line in regard to breaks in the track.
Within the past few years several momentous railway undertakings have
been carried to successful conclusion, and to-day there is feverish
activity in covering the empire with the iron thread on every hand.
Foremost among these enterprises are the Shanghai-Nanking, the
Pekin-Kalgan, and the Canton-Kowloon lines. Railways, indeed, are being
driven through the country by various interests and nations, including
British, United States, Belgian, French, Portuguese and German. In
fact, there is spirited competition among the various powers to bring
about the complete conquest of the Celestial Kingdom by the iron road.
Although the initial venture in regard to introducing the railway into
China had been so disastrous, Messrs. Jardine, Matheson & Company were
by no means deterred. They waited a favourable opportunity before
repeating their experiment. It came twenty-three years after their
first ill-starred adventure, for in 1898 they received permission to
connect Pekin with Nanking by rail, a distance of some 200 miles,
together with other enterprises of a similar character. This railway
was undertaken by a group of financiers known as the British & Chinese
Corporation, and they carried the first part of the scheme through to
success. The arrangement was drawn up that this line should coincide
in every particular with a typical first-class European railway,
and this has been secured to the strict letter of the agreement.
Indeed, it stands as the finest-built line in China. It proved an
expensive undertaking, due in a great measure to the solidity of the
constructional work, but the policy has been well repaid. The railway
serves a wealthy district, where the possibilities of expansion are
extensive, for the territory is rich in all resources.
Curiously enough, this line includes the stretch of 12 miles between
Shanghai and Woosung which it was attempted to connect by the iron
road in 1875, and which the natives tore up and destroyed in an
unceremonious manner. The promoters of that enterprise may be said
to have achieved a sweet revenge, especially as “Fung Shui” does not
appear to have been perturbed by the second attempt to set the Tiger
and Dragon at variance.
This line is what is known as a “fast road”; that is, owing to its
comparatively easy alignment, there being several stretches of straight
road, while the track is well ballasted, it is favourable to high
speeds. Indeed, on the opening day, the special train which travelled
over the line with privileged guests covered the 193 miles in 5½ hours,
notwithstanding that on the last 25 miles the speed had to be dropped
to a maximum of 25 miles per hour, as the road had not been ballasted
thoroughly. On some portions of the line the train notched a speed of
57 miles an hour, and apparently was appreciated greatly by the Chinese
guests.