_Agriculture and Industry._
China is pre-eminently an agricultural country. The great majority of
its inhabitants are cultivators of the soil. The holdings are in general
very small, and the methods of farming primitive. Water is abundant and
irrigation common over large areas. Stock-raising, except in Sze-ch'uen
and Kwang-tung, is only practised to a small extent; there are few large
herds of cattle or flocks of sheep, nor are there any large meadows,
natural or cultivated. In Sze-ch'uen yaks, sheep and goats are reared in
the mountains, and buffaloes and a fine breed of ponies on the plateau.
Cattle are extensively reared in the mountainous districts of
Kwang-tung. The camel, horse and donkey are reared in Chih-li. Forestry
is likewise neglected. While the existing forests, found mainly in high
regions in the provinces of Hu-nan, Fu-kien and Kwei-chow, are
disappearing and timber has to be imported, few trees are planted. This
does not apply to fruit trees, which are grown in great variety, while
horticulture is also a favourite pursuit.
The Chinese farmer, if his methods be primitive, is diligent and
persevering. In the richer and most thickly populated districts terraces
are raised on the mountain sides, and even the tops of lofty hills are
cultivated. The nature of the soil and means of irrigation as well as
climate are determining factors in the nature of the crops grown; rice
and cotton, for example, are grown in the most northern as well as the
most southern districts of China. This is, however, exceptional and each
climatic region has its characteristic cultures.
Soils.
The loess soil (see Sec. _Geology_) is the chief element in determining
the agricultural products of north China. Loess soil bears excellent
crops, and not merely on the lower grounds, but at altitudes of 6000
and 8000 ft. Wherever loess is found the peasant can live and thrive.
Only one thing is essential, and that is the annual rainfall. As,
owing to the porous nature of loess, no artificial irrigation is
possible, if the rain fails the crops must necessarily fail. Thus
seasons of great famine alternate with seasons of great plenty. It
appears, also, that the soil needs little or no manuring and very
little tillage. From its extremely friable nature it is easily broken
up, and thus a less amount of labour is required than in other parts.
The extreme porosity of the soil probably also accounts for the length
of time it will go on bearing crops without becoming exhausted. The
rainfall, penetrating deeply into the soil in the absence of
stratification, comes into contact with the moisture retained below,
which holds in solution whatever inorganic salts the soil may
contain, and thus the vegetation has an indefinite store to draw
upon.[18]
There is no one dominant deposit in south China, where red sandstone
and limestone formations are frequent. Cultivation here is not
possible on the high elevations as in the north, but in the plains and
river valleys the soil is exceedingly fertile, while the lower slopes
of the mountains are also cultivated. In the north, moreover, but one
crop, in general, can be raised in the year. In the centre two and
sometimes three crops are raised yearly, and in the south, especially
in the lower basin of the Si-kiang, three crops are normally gathered.
In the north, too, the farmer has frequently to contend with drought
or with rain or floods; in the central and southern regions the
weather is more settled.
Distribution of crops.
In the north of China wheat, barley, millet, buckwheat and maize are
the staple crops. Beans and peas are also cultivated. Rice thrives in
north-east Kan-suh, in some districts of Shan-si, in the extreme south
of Shan-tung and in parts of the Wei-ho plain in Shen-si. Cotton is
grown in Shen-si and Shan-tung. In Kan-suh and Shen-si two crops are
raised in favoured localities, cereals in spring and cotton or rice in
summer. Tobacco and the poppy are also grown in several of the
northern provinces. Rhubarb and fruit trees are largely cultivated in
the western part of north China.
In the central provinces tea, cotton, rice and ramie fibre are the
chief crops. Tea is most largely cultivated in Ngan-hui, Kiang-si,
Hu-peh, Hu-nan, Sze-ch'uen and Yun-nan. Cotton is chiefly grown in
Kiang-su, Ngan-hui and Hu-peh. The seed is sown in May and the crops
gathered in September. The cotton is known as white and yellow, the
white variety being the better and the most cultivated. The poppy is
largely cultivated and, in connexion with the silk industry, the
mulberry tree. The mulberry is found principally in the provinces of
Sze-ch'uen, Kiang-su and Cheh-kiang. The central provinces are also
noted for their gum-lac, varnish and tallow trees.
The crops of the south-eastern provinces are much the same as those of
the central provinces, but are predominantly rice, the sugar-cane,
ground-nuts and cinnamon. Tea is the chief crop in Fu-kien. The
sugar-cane is principally cultivated in Kwang-tung, Fu-kien and
Sze-ch'uen. In the south-western provinces the poppy, tea, tobacco and
rice are the chief crops. Wheat, maize and barley are also largely
raised.
While rice does not, unlike tea and cotton, form the principal crop of
any one province it is more universally cultivated than any other
plant and forms an important item in the products of all the central
and southern provinces. Regarding China as a whole it forms the staple
product and food of the country. Two chief varieties are grown, that
suited only to low-lying regions requiring ample water and the red
rice cultivated in the uplands. Next to rice the most extensively
cultivated plants are tea and cotton, the sugar-cane, poppy and
bamboo. Besides the infinite variety of uses to which the wood of the
bamboo is applied, its tender shoots and its fruit are articles of
diet.
Fruits.
Fruit is extensively cultivated throughout China. In the northern
provinces the chief fruits grown are pears, plums, apples, apricots,
peaches, medlars, walnuts and chestnuts, and in Kan-suh and Shan-tung
the jujube (q.v.). Strawberries are an important crop in Kan-suh. In
Shan-si, S.W. Chih-li and Shan-tung the vine is cultivated; the grapes
of Shan-si are reputed to produce the best wine of China. Oranges are
also grown in favoured localities in the north. The chief fruits of
the central and southern provinces are the orange, lichi, mango,
persimmon, banana, vine and pineapple, but the fruits of the northern
regions are also grown. The coco-nut and other palms flourish on the
southern coast.
The poppy.
As shown above, the poppy has been grown in almost every district of
China. In 1906 it was chiefly cultivated in the following provinces:
Yun-nan, Kwei-chow, Sze-ch'uen, Kan-suh, Shen-si, Shan-si, Shan-tung,
Ho-nan, Kiang-su (northern part) and Cheh-kiang. The poppy is first
mentioned in Chinese literature in a book written in the first half of
the 8th century A.D., and its medicinal qualities are referred to in
the _Herbalist's Treasury_ of 973. It was not then nor for centuries
later grown in China for the preparation of opium.[19] There is no
evidence to show that the Chinese ever took opium in the shape of
pills (otherwise than medicinally). The cultivation of the poppy for
the manufacture of opium began in China in the 17th century, but it
was not until after 1796, when the importation of foreign opium was
declared illegal, that the plant was cultivated on an extensive scale.
After 1906 large areas which had been devoted to the poppy were given
over to other crops, in consequence of the imperial edict aimed at the
suppression of opium-smoking (see Sec. _History_).
_Mining._--The mineral resources of China are great, but the government
has shown a marked repugnance to allow foreigners to work mines, and
the mineral wealth has been very inadequately exploited. Mining
operations are controlled by the Board of Commerce. In 1907 this board
drew up regulations respecting the constitution of mining and other
companies. They contained many features against which foreign powers
protested.
Coal.
Coal, iron, copper and tin are the principal minerals found in China;
there are also extensive deposits of coal and other minerals in
Manchuria. In China proper the largest coal measures are found in
Shan-si, Hu-nan, Kwei-chow and Sze-ch'uen. There are also important
coalfields in Chih-li, Shan-tung, Shen-si, Ho-nan, Yun-nan, Hu-peh and
Kwang-tung--and almost all of the seven other provinces have also coal
measures of more or less value. The lack of transport facilities as
well as the aversion from the employment of foreign capital has
greatly hindered the development of mining. Numerous small mines have
been worked for a long period by the natives in the province of
Hu-nan. There are two principal local fields in this province, one
lying in the basin of the Lei river and yielding anthracite, and the
other in the basin of the Siang river yielding bituminous coal. Both
rivers drain into the Yangtsze, and there is thus an easy outlet by
water to Hankow. The quality of the coal, however, is inferior, as the
stratification has been much disturbed, and the coal-seams have been
in consequence crushed and broken. The largest coalfield in China lies
in the province of Shan-si. Coal and iron have here been worked by the
natives from time immemorial, but owing to the difficulty of transport
they have attained only a limited local circulation. The whole of
southern Shan-si, extending over 30,000 sq. m., is one vast coalfield,
and contains, according to the estimate of Baron von Richthofen,
enough coal to last the world at the present rate of consumption for
several thousand years. The coal-seams, which are from 20 to 36 ft. in
thickness, rest conformably on a substructure of limestone. The
stratification is throughout undisturbed and practically horizontal.
As the limestone bed is raised some 2000 ft. above the neighbouring
plain the coal-seams crop out in all directions. Mining is thus
carried on by adits driven into the face of the formation, rendering
the mining of the coal extremely easy. The coalfield is divided into
two by a mountain range of ancient granitic formation running
north-east and south-west, termed the Ho-shan. It is of anterior date
to the limestone and coal formations, and has not affected the
uniformity of the stratification, but it has this peculiarity, that
the coal on the east side is anthracite, and that on the west side is
bituminous. A concession to work coal and iron in certain specified
districts in this area was granted to a British company, the Peking
Syndicate, together with the right to connect the mines by railway
with water navigation. The syndicate built a railway in Shan-si from
P'ingyang to Tsi-chow-fu, the centre of a vast coalfield, and
connected with the main Peking-Hankow line; lines to serve coal mines
have also been built in Hu-nan and other provinces. The earliest in
date was that to the K'aip'ing collieries in the east of the province
of Chih-li, the railway connecting the mines with the seaport of Taku.
The coal at K'aip'ing is a soft bituminous coal with a large
proportion of dust. The output is about 1,500,000 tons per annum. A
mine has also been opened in the province of Hu-peh, about 60 m. below
Hankow, and near the Yangtsze, in connexion with iron-works.
Iron.
Iron ore of various qualities is found almost as widely diffused as
coal. The districts where it is most worked at present lie within the
coalfield of Shan-si, viz. at Tsi-chow-fu and P'ing-ting-chow. The ore
is a mixture of clay iron ore and spathic ore, together with limonite
and hematite. It is found abundantly in irregular deposits in the Coal
Measures, and is easily smelted by the natives in crucibles laid in
open furnaces. This region supplies nearly the whole of north China
with the iron required for agricultural and domestic use. The out-turn
must be very considerable, but no data are available for forming an
accurate estimate. The province of Sze-ch'uen also yields an abundance
of iron ores of various kinds. They are worked by the natives in
numerous places, but always on a small scale and for local consumption
only. The ores occur in the Coal Measures, predominant among them
being a clay iron ore. Hu-nan, Fu-kien, Cheh-kiang and Shan-tung all
furnish iron ores. Iron (found in conjunction with coal) is worked in
Manchuria.
Copper, tin, &c.
Copper is found chiefly in the provinces of Kwei-chow and Yun-nan,
where a rich belt of copper-bearing ores runs east and west across
both provinces, and including south Sze-ch'uen. The chief centres of
production are at the cities of Tung-ch'uen-fu, Chow-t'ung and
Ning-yuen. The mines are worked as a government monopoly, private
mining being nominally prohibited. The output is considerable, but no
statistics are published by government. Rich veins of copper ore are
also worked near Kiu-kiang. Tin is mined in Yun-nan, the headquarters
of the industry being the city of Meng-tsze, which since 1909 has been
connected with Hanoi by railway. This is an important industry, the
value of tin exported in 1908 being L600,000. Tin is also mined in
Hai-nan and lead in Yun-nan. Antimony ore is exported from Hu-nan;
petroleum is found in the upper Yangtsze region. Quicksilver is
obtained in Kwei-chow. Salt is obtained from brine wells in Shan-si
and Sze-ch'uen, and by evaporation from sea water. Excellent kaolin
abounds in the north-eastern part of Kiang-si, and is largely used in
the manufacture of porcelain.
Precious metals.
The Chinese government has opened small gold mines at Hai-nan, in
which island silver is also found. A little gold-washing is done in
the sandy beds of certain rivers, for instance, the Han river and the
upper Yangtsze, above Su-chow (Suifu), which here goes by the name of
the "Goldsand" river. The amount so extracted is extremely small and
hardly pays the labour of washing, but the existence of gold grains
points to a matrix higher up. The whole of south-western China has the
reputation of being highly metalliferous. Gold is obtained in some
quantities on the upper waters of the Amur river, on the frontier
between China and Siberia. The washings are carried on by Chinese.
Gold has also been found in quartz veins at P'ing-tu, in Shan-tung,
but hardly in paying quantities. There are silver mines in Yun-nan.
Silk and porcelain.
_Manufactures._--The principal native manufactures before the
competition of western nations made itself felt were--apart from the
preparation of tea and other produce for the market--those of
porcelain and silk. The silks and gauzes of Su-chow and Nanking in the
province of Kiang-su, and those of Hang-chow in Cheh-kiang, are highly
esteemed throughout China. Silk-weaving is still carried on solely in
native looms and chiefly in the cities named. The greater part of the
silk spun is used in China, but a considerable export trade has grown
up and 27% of the world's supply of raw silk is from China. The
reeling of silk cocoons by steam-machinery is supplanting native
methods. There are filatures for winding silk at Shanghai, Canton,
Chifu and other cities.
The most famous porcelain came from the province of Kiang-si, the seat
of the industry being the city of King-te-chen. Imperial works were
established here about the year A.D. 1000, and the finest porcelain is
sent to Peking for the use of the emperor. At one time 1,000,000
work-people were said to be employed, and the kilns numbered 600. The
Taiping rebels destroyed the kilns in 1850. Some of them have been
rebuilt. "Activity begins to reign anew, but the porcelain turned out
is far from equalling in colour and finish that of former times. At
the present day King-te-chen has but 160 furnaces and employs 160,000
workmen."[20] The common rice bowls sold throughout China are
manufactured here. The value of the export sales is said to be about
L500,000 yearly.
Cotton, &c.
The spinning and weaving of cotton on hand-looms is carried on almost
universally. Besides that locally manufactured, the whole of the large
import of Indian yarn is worked up into cloth by the women of the
household. Four-fifths of the clothing of the lower classes is
supplied by this domestic industry. Of minor industries Indian ink is
manufactured in Ngan-hui and Sze-ch'uen, fans, furniture, lacquer ware
and matting in Kwang-tung, dyes in Cheh-kiang and Chih-li, and
varnished tiles in Hu-nan. Paper, bricks and earthenware are made in
almost all the provinces.
Of industries on a large scale--other than those indicated--the most
important are cotton-spinning and weaving mills established by foreign
companies at Shanghai. Permission to carry on this industry was
refused to foreigners until the right was secured by the Japanese
treaty following the war of 1894-95. Some native-owned mills had been
working before that date, and were reported to have made large
profits. Nine mills, with an aggregate of 400,000 spindles, were
working in 1906, five of them under foreign management. There are also
four or five mills at one or other of the ports working 80,000
spindles more. These mills are all engaged in the manufacture of yarn
for the Chinese market, very little weaving being done. Chinese-grown
cotton is used, the staple of which is short; only the coarser counts
can be spun.
At certain large centres flour and rice mills have been erected and
are superseding native methods of treating wheat and rice; at Canton
there are sugar refineries. At Hanyang near Hankow are large
iron-works owned by Chinese. They are supplied with ore from the mines
at Ta-ye, 60 m. distant, and turn out (1909) about 300 steel rails a
day.
_Commerce_.
The foreign trade of China is conducted through the "treaty ports,"
i.e. sea and river ports and a few inland cities which by the treaty
of Nanking (1842) that of Tientsin (1860) and subsequent treaties have
been thrown open to foreigners for purposes of trade. (The Nanking
treaty recognized five ports only as open to foreigners--Canton,[21]
Amoy, Fu-chow, Ning-po and Shanghai.) These places are as follows,
treaty ports in Manchuria being included: Amoy, Antung, Canton,
Chang-sha, Dairen, Chin-kiang, Chinwantao, Ch'ungk'ing, Chifu,
Fu-chow, Funing (Santuao), Hang-chow, Hankow, I-ch'ang, Kang-moon,
Kiao-chow, Kiu-kiang, K'iung-chow, Kow-loon, Lappa, Lung-chow,
Mengtsze, Mukden, Nanking, Nanning, Ning-po, Niu-chwang, Pakhoi,
Sanshui, Shanghai, Shasi, Su-chow, Swatow, Szemao, Tatungkow,
Tientsin, Teng-yueh, Wen-chow, Wu-chow, Wuhu, Yo-chow.
The progress of the foreign trade of China is set out in the
following table. The values are given both in currency and sterling,
but it is to be remarked that during the period when silver was
falling, that is, from 1875 to 1893, the silver valuation represents
much more accurately variations in the volume of trade than does the
gold valuation. Gold prices fell continuously during this period,
while silver prices were nearly constant. Since 1893 silver prices
have tended to rise, and the gold valuation is then more accurate. The
conversion from silver to gold is made at the rate of exchange of the
day, and therefore varies from year to year.
_Table of Imports and Exports, exclusive of Bullion._
+--------+---------------------------+---------------------------+
| | Imports. | Exports. |
| +-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Year. | Value in |Equivalent in| Value in |Equivalent in|
| | Taels. | Sterling. | Taels. | Sterling. |
+--------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| 1875 | 66,344,000 | L19,903,000 | 77,308,000 | L23,193,000 |
| 1885 | 84,803,000 | 22,618,000 | 73,899,000 | 19,206,000 |
| 1890 | 113,082,000 | 29,213,000 | 96,695,000 | 24,980,000 |
| 1895 | 154,685,000 | 25,136,000 | 154,964,000 | 25,181,000 |
| 1898 | 189,991,000 | 28,498,000 | 170,743,000 | 25,612,000 |
|[A]1904 | 344,060,000 | 49,315,000 | 239,486,000 | 34,326,000 |
|[A]1905 | 447,100,791 | 67,065,118 | 227,888,197 | 34,183,229 |
+--------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
[A] This marked increase is partly owing to a more complete
presentation of statistics; in 1903 an additional number of vessels
were placed under the control of the imperial maritime customs.
In 1907 the net imports were valued at L67,664,222 and the exports at
L42,961,863. In 1908 China suffered from the general depression in
trade. In that year the imports were valued at L52,600,730, the
exports at L36,888,050. The distribution of the trade among the
various countries of the world is shown in the table which is given
below. Hong-Kong is a port for trans-shipment. The imports into China
from it come originally from Great Britain, India, Germany, France,
America, Australia, the Straits Settlements, &c., and the exports from
China to it go ultimately to the same countries.
_Imports into China._ (000's omitted.)
+-------------------------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+--------+
| Imports from |1875.|1880.|1885.| 1890.| 1895.| 1905.| 1908.|
+-------------------------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+--------+
|United Kingdom |L6340|L6382|L6396|L6,357|L5,518|L1,971| L9,647|
|Hong-Kong | 8282| 8829| 9404|18,615|14,331|22,240| 20,033|
|India | 4451| 6039| 4306| 2,661| 2,753| 5,220| 4,066|
|Other British possessions| 396| 346| 542| 571| 732| 963| |
|United States | 304| 351| 884| 949| 827|11,538| 5,499|
|Continent of Europe | | | | | | | |
| (except Russia) | 230| 671| 671| 638| 1,227| 4,295|[B]3,332|
|Russian Empire | .. | .. | .. | 231| 309| 302| 422|
|Japan | 746| 1021| 1404| 1,909| 2,794| 9,197| 7,000|
+-------------------------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+--------+
_Exports from China._ (000's omitted.)
+-------------------------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+--------+
| Imports from |1875.|1880.|1885.| 1890.| 1895.| 1905.| 1908.|
+-------------------------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+--------+
|United Kingdom |L6340|L6382|L6396|L6,357|L5,518|L1,971| L9,647|
|Hong-Kong | 8282| 8829| 9404|18,615|14,331|22,240| 20,033|
|India | 4451| 6039| 4306| 2,661| 2,753| 5,220| 4,066|
|Other British possessions| 396| 346| 542| 571| 732| 963| |
|United States | 304| 351| 884| 949| 827|11,538| 5,499|
|Continent of Europe | | | | | | | |
| (except Russia) | 230| 671| 671| 638| 1,227| 4,295|[B]3,332|
|Russian Empire | .. | .. | .. | 231| 309| 302| 422|
|Japan | 746| 1021| 1404| 1,909| 2,794| 9,197| 7,000|
+-------------------------+-----+-----+-----+------+------+------+--------+
[B] Germany, France, Belgium and Italy only.
The chief imports are cotton goods, opium, rice and sugar, metals,
oil, coal and coke, woollen goods and raw cotton, and fish. Cotton
goods are by far the most important of the imports. They come chiefly
from the United Kingdom, which also exports to China woollen
manufactures, metals and machinery. China is next to India the
greatest consumer of Manchester goods. The export of plain cotton
cloths to China and Hong-Kong has for some years averaged 500,000,000
yds. per annum. The only competitor which Great Britain has in this
particular branch of trade is the United States of America, which has
been supplying China with increasing quantities of cotton goods. The
value in sterling of the total imports into China from the United
Kingdom long remained nearly constant, but inasmuch as the gold prices
were falling the volume of the export was in reality steadily growing.
The imports into England, however, of Chinese produce have fallen off,
mainly because China tea has been driven out of the English market by
the growth of the India and Ceylon tea trade, and also because the
bulk of the China silk is now shipped directly to Lyons and other
continental ports instead of to London, as formerly was the rule. The
growth of the import of Indian yarn into China has been very rapid. In
1884 the import was 35,000,000 lb and in 1904 it reached 217,171,066
lb. The imports into China from all countries for 1908 were as
follows:--
Opium L4,563,000 Coal and coke 1,124,000
Cotton goods 14,786,000 Oil, kerosene 2,666,000
Raw cotton 232,000 Rice 3,543,000
Woollen goods 717,000 Sugar 3,514,000
Metals 2,956,000 Fish, &c. 1,028,000
The principal exports from China are silk and tea. These two articles,
indeed, up to 1880 constituted more than 80% of the whole export.
Owing, however, mainly to the fall in silver, and partly also to cheap
ocean freights, it has become profitable to place on the European
market a vast number of miscellaneous articles of Chinese produce
which formerly found no place in the returns of trade. The silver
prices in China did not change materially with the fall in silver, and
Chinese produce was thus able to compete favourably with the produce
of other countries. The following table shows the relative condition
of the export trade in 1880 and 1908:--
+---------------+-------------+-------------+
| Exports of | 1880. | 1908. |
+---------------+-------------+-------------+
| Silk | L9,750,000 | L11,055,000 |
| Tea | 11,774,000 | 4,384,000 |
| Miscellaneous | 4,058,000 | 21,448,000 |
+---------------+-------------+-------------+
| Total | L25,582,000 | L36,888,000 |
+---------------+-------------+-------------+
In the miscellaneous class the chief items of exports in 1908 were
beans and beancake, L3,142,000; raw cotton, L1,379,000; hides,
L1,028,000; straw braid, L1,002,000; furs and skin rugs, L760,000;
paper, L458,000; and clothing, L177,000. Sugar, tobacco, mats and
matting are also exported. The export of all cereals except pulse is
forbidden. Of the tea exported in 1908 the greater part went to Russia
and Siberia, the United States and Great Britain. There is a regular
export of gold amounting on an average to about a million sterling per
annum. A part of it would seem to be the hoardings of the nation
brought out by the high price of gold in terms of silver, but a part
is virgin gold derived from gold workings in Manchuria on the upper
waters of the Amur river.
Customs duty is levied on exports as well as imports, both being
assessed at rates based on a nominal 5% ad val.
_Shipping and Navigation._--Besides the over-sea trade China has a
large coasting and river trade which is largely carried on by British
and other foreign vessels. During the year 1908, 207,605 vessels, of
83,991,289 tons (86,600 being steamers of 77,955,525 tons), entered
and cleared Chinese ports.[22] Of these 28,445 vessels of 34,405,761
tons were British; 33,539 of 11,998,588 tons, Chinese vessels of
foreign type; 103,124 of 4,947,272 tons, Chinese junks; 5496 vessels
of 6,585,671 tons, German; 30,708 of 18,055,138 tons, Japanese; 653 of
998,775 tons, American; 3901 of 5,071,689 tons, French; 1033 of
980,635 tons, Norwegian.
Of vessels engaged in the foreign trade only the entrances during the
year numbered 38,556 of 12,187,140 tons, and the clearances 36,602 of
12,057,126 tons. The nationality of the vessels (direct foreign trade)
was mainly as follows:--
+-------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| | Entrances. | Clearances. |
| Nationality +--------+-----------+--------+-----------+
| 1908. | No. | Tons. | No. | Tons. |
+-------------+--------+-----------+--------+-----------+
| British | 4,569 | 4,678,094 | 4,614 | 4,754,087 |
| German | 891 | 1,195,775 | 928 | 1,124,872 |
| Norwegian | 255 | 254,211 | 259 | 255,295 |
| French | 468 | 629,680 | 468 | 616,883 |
| American | 136 | 440,602 | 131 | 439,947 |
| Japanese | 2,187 | 2,587,818 | 2,046 | 2,461,132 |
| Chinese | 29,775 | 2,001,872 | 27,888 | 1,915,258 |
+-------------+--------+-----------+--------+-----------+
The tonnage of the Dutch, Austrian and Russian vessels cleared and
entered was in each case between 102,000 and 127,000.
_Communications._
External communication is carried on by ancient caravan routes
crossing Central Asia, by the trans-Siberian railway, which is
increasingly used for passenger traffic, but chiefly by steamship,
the steamers being almost entirely owned by foreign companies. There
is regular and rapid communication with Europe (via the Suez canal
route) and with Japan and the Pacific coast of America. Other lines
serve the African and the Australasian trade. The only important
Chinese-owned steamers are those of the Chinese Merchants' Steam
Navigation Company, which has its headquarters at Shanghai.
Internal communications are by river, canal, road and railway, the
railways since the beginning of the 20th century having become a very
important factor. In 1898 the Chinese government agreed that all
internal waterways should be open to foreign and native steamers, and
in 1907 there were on the registers of the river ports for inland
water traffic 609 steamers under the Chinese flag and 255 under
foreign flags.
The Pioneer Line destroyed.
China's first efforts.
The era of concessions.
Administration.
_Railways._--A short line of railway between Shanghai and Wusung was
opened in 1875. The fate of this pioneer railway may be mentioned as
an introduction to what follows. The railway was really built without
any regular permission from the Chinese government, but it was hoped
that, once finished and working, the irregularity would be overlooked
in view of the manifest benefit to the people. This might have been
accomplished but for an unfortunate accident which happened on the
line a few months after it was opened. A Chinaman was run over and
killed, and this event, of course, intensified the official
opposition, and indeed threatened to bring about a riot. The working
of the line was stopped by order of the British minister, and
thereupon negotiations were entered into with a view to selling the
line to the Chinese government. A bargain was struck sufficiently
favourable to the foreign promoters of the line, and it was further
agreed that, pending payment of the instalments which were spread over
a year, the line should continue to be worked by the company. The
expectation was that when the officials once got the line into their
own hands, and found it a paying concern, they would continue to run
it in their own interest. Not so, however, did things fall out. The
very day that the twelve months were up the line was closed; the
engines were dismantled, the rails and sleepers were torn up, and the
whole concern was shipped off to the distant island of Formosa, where
carriages, axles and all the rest of the gear were dumped on the shore
and left for the most part to disappear in the mud. The spacious area
of the Shanghai station was cleared of its buildings, and thereon was
erected a temple to the queen of heaven by way of purifying the sacred
soil of China from such abomination. This put a stop for nearly twenty
years to all efforts on the part of foreigners to introduce railways
into China. The next step in railway construction was taken by the
Chinese themselves, and on the initiative of Li Hung-chang. In 1886 a
company was formed under official patronage, and it built a short
line, to connect the coal-mines of K'aip'ing in Chih-li with the mouth
of the Peiho river at Taku. The government next authorized the
formation of a Native Merchants' Company, under official control, to
build a line from Taku to Tientsin, which was opened to traffic in
1888. It was not, however, till nine years later, viz. in 1897, that
the line was completed as far as Peking. A British engineer, Mr
Kinder, was responsible for the construction of the railway. Meantime,
however, the extension had been continued north-east along the coast
as far as Shanhai-Kwan, and a farther extension subsequently connected
with the treaty port of Niu-chwang. The money for these extensions was
mostly found by the government, and the whole line is now known as the
Imperial Northern railway. The length of the line is 600 m. Meanwhile
the high officials of the empire had gradually been brought round to
the idea that railway development was in itself a good thing. Chang
Chih-tung, then viceroy of the Canton provinces, memorialized strongly
in this sense, with the condition, however, that the railways should
be built with Chinese capital and of Chinese materials. In particular,
he urged the making of a line to connect Peking with Hankow for
strategic purposes. The government took him at his word, and he was
transferred from Canton to Hankow, with authority to proceed forthwith
with his railway. True to his purpose, he at once set to work to
construct iron-works at Hankow. Smelting furnaces, rolling mills, and
all the machinery necessary for turning out steel rails, locomotives,
&c., were erected. Several years were wasted over this preliminary
work, and over L1,000,000 sterling was spent, only to find that the
works after all were a practical failure. Steel rails could be made,
but at a cost two or three times what they could be procured for in
Europe. After the Japanese War the hope of building railways with
Chinese capital was abandoned. A prominent official named Sheng
Hsuan-hwai was appointed director-general of railways, and empowered
to enter into negotiations with foreign financiers for the purpose of
raising loans. It was still hoped that at least the main control would
remain in Chinese hands, but the diplomatic pressure of France and
Russia caused even that to be given up, and Great Britain insisting on
equal privileges for her subjects, the future of railways in China
remained in the hands of the various concessionaires. But after the
defeat of Russia by Japan (1904-1905) the theory of the undivided
Chinese control of railways was resuscitated. The new spirit was
exemplified in the contracts for the financing and construction of
three railways--the Canton-Kowloon line in 1907, and the
Tientsin-Yangtsze and the Shanghai-Hangchow-Ning-po lines in 1908. In
the first of these instances the railway was mortgaged as security for
the loan raised for its construction, and its finance and working were
to be modelled on the arrangements obtaining in the case of the
Imperial Northern railway, under which the administration, while
vested in the Chinese government, was supervised by a British
accountant and chief engineer. In the other two instances, however, no
such security was offered; the Chinese government undertook the
unfettered administration of the foreign capital invested in the
lines, and the Europeans connected with these works became simply
Chinese employes. Moreover, in 1908 the Peking-Hankow line was
redeemed from Belgian concessionaires, a 5% loan of L5,000,000 being
raised for the purpose in London and Paris. In that year there was
much popular outcry against foreign concessionaires being allowed to
carry out the terms of their contract, and the British and Chinese
corporation in consequence parted with their concession for the
Su-chow, Ning-po and Hang-chow railway, making instead a loan of
L1,500,000 to the ministry of communications for the provinces through
which the line would run. A double difficulty was encountered in the
construction and management of the railways; the reconciliation of the
privileges accorded to foreign syndicates and governments with the
"Recovery of Rights" campaign, and the reconciliation of the claims of
the central government at Peking with the demands of the provincial
authorities. As to the foreigners, Great Britain, France, Germany, the
United States, Russia and Japan, all had claims and concessions, many
of them conflicting; while as between Peking and the provinces there
was a quarrel mainly concerned with the spoils and "squeezes" to be
obtained by railway construction; in some instances the provinces
proved more powerful than the central government, as in the case of
the Su-chow-Ning-po line, and notably in the matter of the
Tientsin-Pukau (Nanking) railway. In that case the provincial
authorities overrode the central government, with the result that "for
wholesale jobbery, waste and mismanagement the enterprise acquired
unenviable notoriety in a land where these things are generally
condoned." The good record of one or two lines notwithstanding, the
management of the railways under Chinese control had proved, up to
1910, inefficient and corrupt.[23] Nevertheless, so great was the
economic development following the opening of the line, that in
Chinese hands the Peking-Hankow railway yielded a profit.
The Railway systems.
The main scheme of the railway systems of China is simple. It consists
of lines, more or less parallel, running roughly north and south,
linked by cross lines with coast ports, or abutting on navigable
rivers. One great east and west line will run through central China,
from Hankow to Sze-ch'uen. Connexion with Europe is afforded by the
Manchuria-trans-Siberia main line, which has a general east and west
direction. From Harbin on this railway a branch runs south to Mukden,
which since 1908 has become an important railway centre. Thence one
line goes due south to Port Arthur; another south-east to An-tung (on
the Yalu) and Korea; a third south and west to Tientsin and Peking. A
branch from the Mukden-Tientsin line goes round the head of the Gulf
of Liao-tung and connects Niu-chwang with the Mukden-Port Arthur line.
By this route it is 470 m. from Peking to Niu-chwang.
From Peking the trunk line (completed in 1905) runs south through the
heart of China to Hankow on the Yangtsze-kiang. This section (754 m.
long) is popularly known as "the Lu-Han line," from the first part of
the names of the terminal stations. The continuation south of this
line from Hankow to Canton was in 1910 under construction. Thus a
great north and south connexion nearly 2000 m. long is established
from Canton to Harbin. From Mukden southward the line is owned and
worked by China.
A railway (German concession) starts from Kiao-chow and runs westward
through Shan-tung to Chinan Fu, whence an extension farther west to
join the main Lu-Han line at Cheng-ting Fu in Chih-li was undertaken.
Westward from Cheng-ting Fu a line financed by the Russo-Chinese Bank
runs to T'ai-yuen Fu in Shan-si.
Another main north and south railway parallel to, but east of, the
Lu-Han line and following more or less the route of the Grand Canal,
is designed to connect Tientsin, Su-chow (in Kiang-su), Chin-kiang,
Nanking, Shanghai, Hang-chow and Ning-po. The southern section
(Nanking, Shanghai, &c.) was open in 1909. This Tientsin-Ning-po
railway connects at Chinan-Fu with the Shan-tung lines.
A third north and south line starts from Kiu-Kiang on the Yangtsze
below Hankow and traversing the centre of Kiang-si province will join
the Canton-Hankow line at Shao-Chow in Kwang-tung province. The
construction of the first section, Kiu-Kiang to Nanchang (76 m.),
began in 1910.
In southern China besides the main Canton to Hankow railway (under
construction) a line (120 m. long) runs from Canton to Kowloon
(opposite Hong-Kong), and there are local lines running inland from
Swatow and Fuchow. The French completed in 1909 a trunk line (500 m.
long) from Haiphong in Tong King to Yun-nan Fu, the capital of
Yun-nan, some 200 m. being in Chinese territory. The French hold
concessions for railways in Kwang-si and Kwang-tung. The British
government has the right to extend the Burma railway system through
Yun-nan and north to the Yangtsze.
There are local lines in Hu-nan and Ho-nan which connect with the
trunk line from Canton to Peking. The Peking-Kalgan line (122 m. long)
is a distinct undertaking. The Chinese propose to continue it another
530 m. north-westward to Urga in Mongolia, and an eventual junction
with the trans-Siberian railway in the neighbourhood of Lake Baikal is
contemplated. This line would greatly shorten the distance between
Moscow and Peking.
In 1910 there were open for traffic in China (not reckoning the
Russian and Japanese systems in Manchuria, _q.v._) over 3000 m. of
railway, and 1500 m. of trunk lines were under construction.
Roads, rivers, and canals.
China is traversed in all directions by roads. Very few are paved of
metalled and nearly all are badly kept; speaking generally, the
government spends nothing in keeping either the roads or canals in
repair. The roads in several instances are subsidiary to the canals
and navigable rivers as a means of communication. The ancient trade
routes were twelve in number, viz.[24]:--
1. The West river route (W. from Canton).
2. The Cheling Pass route (N.W. from Canton).
3. The Meiling Pass route (N. from Canton).
4. The Min river route (N.W. from Fu-chow).
5. The Lower Yangtsze route (as far W. as Hu-peh and Hu-nan).
6. The Upper Yangtsze route (from I'chang to Sze-ch'uen).
7. The Kwei-chow route.
8. The Han river route (Hankow to Shen-si).
9. The Grand Canal (already described).
10. The Shan-si route.
11. The Kiakhta route.
12. The Manchurian route.
Of the routes named, that by the West river commands the trade of
Kwang-si and penetrates to Yun-nan (where it now has to meet the
competition of the French railway from Tong King) and Kwei-chow. The
Cheling Pass route from Canton is so named as it crosses that pass
(1500 ft. high) to reach the water-ways of Hu-nan at Chen-chow on an
affluent of the Siang, and thus connects with the Yangtsze. The trade
of this route--whence in former times the teas of Hu-nan (Oonam) and
Hu-peh (Oopaek) reached Canton--has been largely diverted via Shanghai
and up the Yangtsze. The Canton-Hankow railway also supersedes it for
through traffic. The route by the Meiling Pass (1000 ft. High) links
Canton and Kiu-kiang. This route is used by the King-te Chen porcelain
works to send, to Canton the commoner ware, there to be painted with
florid and multicoloured designs. The Min river route serves mainly
the province of Fu-kien. The Lower Yangtsze is a river route, now
mainly served by steamers (though the salt is still carried by junks),
and the Upper Yangtsze is a river route also, but much more difficult
of navigation. The Kwei-chow route is up the river Yuen from Changte
and the Tung-t'ing lake. The Han river route becomes beyong Sing-nagn
Fu a land route over the Tsingling mountains to the capital of
Shen-si, and thence on to Kan-suh, Mongolia and Siberia. The Shan-si
route from Peking, wholly by road, calls for no detailed account; the
Manchurian route is now adequately served by railways. There remains
the important Kiakhta route. From Peking it goes to Kalgan (this
section is now served by a railway), whence the main route traverses
Mongolia, while branches serve Shan-si, Shen-si, Kan-suh, Turkestan,
&c. By this route go the caravans bearing tea to Siberia and Russia.
Other routes are from Yun-nan to Burma and from Sze-ch'uen province to
Tibet.
The government maintains a number of courier roads, which, like the
main trade roads, keep approximately to a straight line. These courier
roads are sometimes cut in the steep sides of mountains or run through
them in tunnels. They are, in the plains, 20 to 25 ft. wide and are
occasionally paved. The chief courier roads starting from Peking go to
Sze-chu'en, Yun-nan, Kweilin (in Kwang-si), Canton and Fu-chow. Canals
are numerous, especially in the deltas of the Yangtsze and Si-kiang.
In the centre and south of China the roads are rarely more than 5 ft.
broad and wheeled traffic is seldom possible. Bridges are generally of
stone, sometimes of wood; large rivers are crossed by bridges of
boats. In the north carts drawn by ponies, mules or oxen are employed;
in the centre and south passengers travel in sedan-chairs or in
wheelbarrows, or ride on ponies. Occasionally the local authorities
employ the corvee system to dig out the bed of a canal, but as a rule
roads are left to take care of themselves.
_Posts and Telegraphs._--Every important city is now connected by
telegraph with the capital, and the service is reasonably efficient.
In 1907 there were 25,913 m. of telegraph lines. Connexion is also
established with the British lines in Burma and the Russian lines in
Siberia. The Great Northern Telegraph Company (Danish) and the Eastern
Extension Telegraph Company (British) connect Shanghai by cable with
Hong-Kong, Japan, Singapore and Europe. An imperial _postal service_
was established in 1896 under the general control of the maritime
customs.[25] By an edict of November 1906 the control of the postal
services was transferred to the Board of Communication. The Post
Office serves all the open ports, and every important city in the
interior. There were in 1910 some 4000 native post-offices, employing
15,000 persons, of whom about 200 only were foreigners. The treaty
powers however, still maintain their separate post offices at
Shanghai, and several other treaty ports for the despatch and receipt
of mails from Europe. During the years 1901-1908 mail matters
increased from ten millions to two hundred and fifty-two millions of
items; and the 250 tons of parcels handled to 27,155 tons. In postal
matters China has adopted a most progressive attitude. The imperial
post conforms in all respects to the universal Postal Union
regulations. (G. J.; X.)