_Chinese Mettle_
[Illustration: A Temple of Healing.]
CHINESE METTLE
_Written and Illustrated by E. G. KEMP, F.R.S.G.S._
_Author of “The Face of China,” “The Face of Manchuria, Korea
and Russian Turkestan,” “Wanderings in Chinese Turkestan,”
“Reminiscences of a Sister” illustrated_....
“Travaile, in the younger Sort is a Part of Education; in the
Elder, a Part of Experience.... When a Travailer returneth
home, let him not leave the countries, where he hath travailed,
altogether behind him.... Let it appeare that he doth not
change his country manners for those of Forraigne Parts; But
onely pricke in some Flowers of that he hath Learned abroad,
into the Customs of his own Country.”—BACON’S _Essays_.
_Hodder and Stoughton Ltd._
_Toronto_ _London_ _New York_
_St Paul’s House Warwick Square E.C.4_
_Printed in 1921_
DEDICATED TO MY CHINESE FRIENDS
_Prologue_
Books of a descriptive nature, especially on a foreign country, are most
difficult to write. Under ordinary circumstances, writers of such books,
due to the differences of historical setting and social background,
may find it hard to free themselves from prejudice. When the visit is
confined to a section of the country, their views are liable to be
provincial. On the other hand, hasty travelling, however large an area
they may cover, makes their impressions superficial.
It is well said that modern travellers see nothing but the interior of
trains and hotels. This is gradually becoming true along the eastern
coast of China. To-day one who confines his visit to Shanghai or Tientsin
can not be said to have seen China, for it is not there that one sees the
real Chinese life. Civilization means more than mechanical improvements.
Herein lies the value of Miss Kemp’s book. She has wisely neglected the
“show window” by putting seaports at the end. By acquainting the public
with the wealth and beauty of the interior—places seldom traversed by
sojourners,—she reveals to the readers the vitality and potential energy,
both natural and cultural, of a great nation. Throughout the book the
authoress combines the sincerity of description with the picturesqueness
of details.
Equally instructive is the authoress’ description of Chinese society and
some of the prominent Chinese men and women. Great changes are going on
in China. Nothing could afford more interest and knowledge to the friends
of China than to witness the shifting scenes of the young Republic. The
general tendency is undoubtedly towards stability and progress, evolving
order out of derangement resulting from so immense a change as absolute
monarchy to a modern democracy. The authoress has well illustrated by
facts the advance which China has made in education, industry, commerce,
etc.
It is a common conviction nowadays that “the future of the world depends
largely on what happens in China during the next few decades.” To know
China, and to know her intimately, is the first step towards a better
international understanding and the assurance of future peace in the Far
East. The present volume serves as an admirable guide.
Since the days of Marco Polo scores of books describing China, both good
and poor, have been written. As an intimate friend and careful observer
of China, Miss Kemp’s new production together with her previous works are
certainly to be classified among the best ones. From cover to cover, this
volume contains facts and experiences that are entertaining, informative,
and valuable.
SAO-KE ALFRED SZE.
CHINESE LEGATION, WASHINGTON, D.C.
_October 24, 1921._
_Contents_
PROLOGUE BY HIS EXCELLENCY SAO KE ALFRED SZE
(Chinese Minister at Washington)
CHAP. PAGE
INTRODUCTION 11
I THE LONG ROAD 17
Provinces visited: =1 Shansi=, the Progressive—Railway
Journey from Shanghai to Taiyuanfu. =2 Chihli=—A few words
about Peking. =3 Shantung=—The Japanese domination—Tsinan, a
great Educational Centre. =4 Kiangsi=—Shanghai, the centre
of Great National Movements. =5 Chekiang=—Railway Trip to
Hangchowfu—Down the Coast by Steamer to Hong Kong and Tongking.
Through Indo-China by Rail to =6 Yünnan=. From Yünnanfu by
Chair into =7 Kweichow=, a most backward Province. From Chen
Yüen by House-boat through =8 Hunan=. By Steamer from Changsha
into =9 Hupeh=. Down the Yangtze from Hankow through =10
Nganhwei=, =11 Kiangsi= to Shanghai.
II THE MODEL GOVERNOR—YEN HSI-SHAN 49
Description of Taiyuanfu, the Capital—The Hall of Public
Worship—Girls’ Schools—Sports—New Institutions for Cattle
Breeding, Agriculture, Sericulture—Beggars removed into
Workhouses—Introduction of the New Script—Unification of the
Language—The Governor as Author—Famine Relief Works—Four
Hundred Miles of Road-making—The Model Gaol—Quick Methods of
Communication—Transport Lorries from England.
III THE PROVINCE OF YÜNNAN 67
French Influence—Activity of Brigands—A Modern Robin
Hood—Chinese Home Missions—Women’s Initiative—A Visit to
the Lake and its Places of Pilgrimage—Mineral Resources of
Yünnan—Preparations for Road Journey—Wonderful Scenery and
Flora—Stormy Weather—Opium Culture—The Chinese View of Opium
Smoking—Sale of Children—Difficulties with Coolies—Weather
Symbols.
IV THE PROVINCE OF KWEICHOW 87
A Land of Mountains and Valleys—Extraordinary Rock
Formations—Surface Coal—The Rose Garden of the World—Post
Office Facilities—Varieties of Inns—Buffaloes as
Neighbours—Wild Animals—Industries at Lang-tai-Fung—Roman
Catholic Missions—Anshunfu—Hospitals Needed—Visits to the
Haunts of Aborigines—First Miao Church—Tenten—Baptismal
Service—A Chinese Farm—Village Shrines—Ta-ting, the Mission
Centre for many Tribes—Bridges of Various Kinds—Kwei Yang,
the Capital—Buddhist Monks—Valuable Trees—Military Escort
Needed—Strict Rules not Strictly Observed—Chen Yüen—Start on
River Journey in small House-boat.
V SOME ABORIGINAL TRIBES IN KWEICHOW 117
The Miao Family—Their Character, Habits, Dress,
Embroideries, Hairdressing, Food, Morals—Tribes Numerous:
Not yet Classified—Language: no Written Language—Great
Flowery and Small Flowery Miao—The “Wooden Combs” and
Black Miao—Ancestor Worship—The I-chia—A Different Set
of Tribes—Written as well as Spoken Language—Notes from
Dr. Henry’s Observations—On Death Rites, on various
Superstitions, on Types, on Language—Animistic Religion—Theory
of Nestorian Influence—Sacrifice—MS. Story of Creation and
Deluge—Black Miao Version—Festivals—“Courting-talk”—Music and
Dancing—Witchcraft—Chinese Attitude towards the Tribes.
VI THE PROVINCE OF HUNAN 141
Boat Travel—Fear of Robbers and Evil Spirits—Yuanchowfu—White
Wax Industry—Hong Kiang—Medical Work—Shenchowfu—American
Ideals—Standard Oil Company—Changteh—Journey by Launch
across Tong Ting Lake to Changsha, Capital of Hunan—Fear of
Southerners—Red Cross Preparations—Various Missions—Yale
College—Dr. Keller’s Bible School—An English Consulate.
VII PRESENT-DAY IRONSIDES—GENERAL FENG YU HSIANG 159
Changsha Headquarters—Work of 16th Mixed Brigade in
Sze-Chuan—Arrival at Changsha—Changes in City Life—Suppression
of Opium Dens, Gambling Hells, Theatres, etc.—Open-air Evening
Schools—Industrial Schools—Women’s Education—General Feng’s
Career—Murder of Dr. Logan—The General’s Patriotism—Industrial
Training of Army—Strict Discipline—Sunday in the Army—Service
for the Ladies—Officers’ Service—Recent Events—Withdrawal of
Northern Army from Changsha—Entry of Southern Troops—No Pay for
the 16th Mixed Brigade.
VIII THE NEW CHINESE WOMAN—MISS TSENG, B.SC. (Lond.) 175
Chinese ideas of Woman’s Sphere—Confucius on Woman—“Rules for
Women”—Modern Women—Their Patriotic Spirit—Miss Tseng’s Early
Life and Training—Adoption of Christianity—English University
Career—Return to China—School started for Chinese Girls of
Middle Classes—Sports—Decision of Students not to Strike—Miss
Tseng’s Influence—Women Journalists and Doctors.
IX THE YOUTH OF CHINA 189
Veneration of Old Age Modified—Young Chinese in
responsible posts—Youth criticizes Antiquity: Seizes
Responsibility—Attitude to Japan—Organized Union defeats
Government—Co-operation with Shopkeepers—Effect of Spirit on
Literature—Change of Education by Dowager Empress—Further
Development under Republic—Contrast between Renaissance
of China and Japan—Attitude towards Religion—Noxious
Effects of Propaganda by Missions—Importance of Improved
Educational Work—Students and Social Service—Famine
Relief—National University of Peking—Foreign Lectureships—Hong
Kong University—Projected University at Amoy—St. John’s
College, Shanghai, and Others—Child Labour—The Boy Scout
Movement—Student Demands—Youth Accepting Christian Ideals.
X SOME CHINESE SEAPORTS AND COMMERCE 205
Wênchowfu and Its Waterways—Foochow—Trinity College and
Union—Many Institutions and Industries—Floods—Amoy—Curious
Scenery—Y.M.C.A.—Chambers of Commerce—Guilds—Trade
Relations—Swatow—Great Commercial Centre and Outlet for
Hinterland—Journey by Railway to Home of Tan Family—Fine
Ancestral Tablets—American Baptist Community—City of Chao
Chowfu—Results of Earthquake—New Hospital—Missionary
Memorial Tablet in Buddhist Temple—Swatow’s Industries—Light
Railway—Presbyterian Missions—Hong Kong contrasted with
Macao—Trip to Canton—Wonderful Maze of Narrow Streets—Many
Industries—City of the Dead—Railways—Commercial
Outlook—Britain’s Opportunity for Service.
INDEX 223
_Illustrations_
PAGE
A Temple of Healing _Frontispiece_
A Chinese Ritz 40
Yen Hsi Shan, Statesman 48
Temple of Heaven and Hell, Workhouse 56
The Pilgrim Way, Yünnanfu Lake 72
In Cloudland 72
The Gate of the Elements 80
“Lonely I Stand on the Loneliest Hill-top” 96
Robbers’ Haunts 104
Light for the Spirits 112
Little Flowery Miao Coat 120
Ancient I-chia Script 128
Great Flowery Miao 136
A Roadside Restaurant 136
A Man of Mark 160
A Chinese Leader of Thought 176
“Nor soul helps body more
Than body soul.” 184
“Girls,
Knowledge is now no more a fountain seal’d:
Drink deep.” 184
Storm-driven Boats 208
_Chinese Mettle_
_Introduction_
“Why do you go on journeys to such impossible places?” is a question
which I am continually asked. “Can it possibly be for _pleasure_? How can
any one like,” and here the eyebrows are raised and a shade of disgust,
politely veiled, is visible, “to stop in awful inns and visit cities full
of dirt and smells? What is your _real_ reason for travelling in the
interior of China?”
Strange as it may seem to the comfort-loving Britisher, PLEASURE is the
main lure to China, and a sort of basilisk fascination which is quite
irresistible. Naturally, there are other reasons also—this time it was
to take a young doctor niece to see what the Chinese Empire was like
(we passed through thirteen out of the eighteen provinces) before she
settled down to work in her own hospital. Besides this, in the interests
of geography and a better understanding of the Chinese people by our own
people it seems worth while for an artist to try and show what China
is like at the present time. That is the reason for writing this book.
I frankly own that I hate writing, but am consumed with a desire that
people should know what is now going on in China. My rooted conviction
is that the future of the world depends largely on what happens in China
during the next decade. This is the decisive hour. An American deplored
to a Chinaman the troublous condition of the country, and received a
reply to the following effect: “You must have patience with us, we are
only a nine-year-old Government, and, if my memory does not deceive me,
the United States did not get their constitution for thirteen years.”
The amazing fact is that an empire that has outlived every other
world-empire of antiquity is now completely changing its whole government
and institutions in a time of world-wide disintegration, and is steadily
_moving forward_, despite internecine warfare.
What is more remarkable still is the changing mettle of the race. Its
temperamental characteristics seem to be undergoing as great a change
as the social fabric. China has an inward force that is stronger than
appears: her faults are so glaring that they have obscured this fact
completely. She has been wise enough—unlike all other countries—to
entrust certain branches of her administration to foreigners until she is
capable of taking over control; these branches are the Customs, the Salt
Gabelle and the Post and Telegraph Service; and she has been admirably
served by them, despite some flaws in the administration. The vital need
of to-day is for honest, incorruptible, educated Chinese who will save
their country from their worst enemies—the self-seeking, ambitious,
unscrupulous Chinese, who play off one party against another and, through
fear of foreign foe as well as home treachery, are dragging China to the
verge of the precipice.
To the Chinese themselves, therefore, this book is very specially
addressed, and I search for winged words to summon them to their great
task to act as true patriots and to devote every energy and talent they
possess to building up a new and more glorious empire than the Celestial
Empire of the past.
The conditions of China are changing not merely from day to day, but
from hour to hour, so that my book must seem strangely paradoxical.
The mutable jostles the immutable, and—as in life itself—all sorts of
things get mixed up together. There are no watertight compartments in
nature, and I have taken the liberty of making my book as miscellaneous
as the page of a dictionary. It tells of great personalities, of great
movements, of wild tribes, of nature and of human nature, of politics,
commerce, religion and education, and scores of other things.
The account of the Miao and I-chia tribes opens up a question of
considerable importance in the new China, for there are unaccounted
tribes throughout the whole of Western China, not to mention those in
other parts, such as the Hakka tribe, whose picturesque boats ply on the
Han Kiang (= river) on which Chao Chowfu is situated.
The task has been a heavy one, because the worthy treatment of such
a vast and complex subject is far beyond my powers, but in past days
readers have always treated my books so far more generously than they
deserved, that I take courage and send forth this fledgling of my pen and
brush.
LONDON, 1921.
_Chapter I_
_The Long Road_
“Travel abroad for one year is more profitable than study at
home for five years.... Mencius remarks that a man can learn
foreign things best abroad; but much more benefit can be
derived from travel by older and experienced men than by the
young.”—CHANG CHIH TUNG.
_Chapter I_
_The Long Road_
[Illustration: OUR FELLOW TRAVELLERS.]
The journey through thirteen provinces of China brought us into contact
with such an amazing variety of people that it is no easy task to
describe clearly what we saw. I propose to give first of all a brief
account of the journey as a whole, and then deal with the more important
and less-known provinces somewhat in detail. The one salient fact which
emerges from the welter of experiences is that the mettle of the Chinese
people is changing, even to the remotest bound of the empire. What
it will eventually become, the wisest man cannot foretell, but it is
amazingly interesting to watch the changes taking place, and I hope that
the sympathetic interest of my readers will be quickened by the record.
The journey in China itself lasted six months. We reached Shanghai
February 1, via the United States, and at once went by rail to Taiyuanfu,
the capital of Shansi. Visitors to China nowadays can get on fairly
comfortably without any knowledge of the language, if they keep to the
beaten track. The railway runs from Shanghai up to Peking, and only two
changes have to be made during the journey of two days and a night;
the first is at the Pukow ferry, a very easy matter and well arranged.
The train goes down to the Yangtze at Chen Kiang, and the steam tug
takes you across in about ten minutes. At the other side we got into a
more comfortable train where we had secured sleeping places; in all the
long-distance trains there are restaurant cars, where you can get fairly
good meals at reasonable prices.
The next afternoon we reached Tientsin at 4.40, and had to change into
a crowded train to Peking; there is always, I believe, a sort of free
fight to get in at all, and the weakest go to the wall, except in the
case of children, for the Chinese are very fond of children, and never
fail to make room for them. Peking is reached by 8 p.m. After leaving the
train we passed through two great old gateways, linking Past and Present,
to another railway station close at hand, and had only sufficient time
to get our luggage through the customs, and to start at 9.30 on the
Peking-Hankow line for the junction at Shihchiah Chwang. It is not
pleasant to do cross-country travelling in any country at night, and to
reach a place at 4.20 a.m. on a cold February morning where you have to
change stations would be far too difficult a matter for foreigners were
it not for mission friends. They never seem to think anything of such
trifles as spending nights looking after helpless travellers. We soon got
all our goods and chattels out, and handed them over to a Chinese, whom
our friend had engaged to look after them till the train left at 7 a.m.
for Taiyuanfu. Meanwhile he escorted us to a clean inn, and comforted
us with tea and cake and bedding till it was time to start. The bright
cold dawn saw us off once more at 6 o’clock, rather enjoying a walk to
the station; there we got into quite a comfortable train, and our friend
travelled with us back to his own station, the first up the line. All day
we passed through fascinating scenery, often following the course of a
river, where turbine water-wheels in groups were busy grinding corn.
The line was only begun in 1903 by a French company, but the Chinese
have bought it up, and it ought to be increasingly valuable, chiefly
for the transport of coal, in which product Shansi is specially rich.
How well I remember in the old days seeing the long files of donkeys,
each laden with basketfuls of coal, slowly wending their way across the
plains and over the hills; whereas now the railway taps some of the
chief coal-mines in the Pingtau district. The seams are from eleven
to thirty feet in thickness and quite near the surface, and the coal
is of excellent quality. The length of the line is only one hundred
and fifty-five miles, and we did it in nine hours, whereas on my first
journey we were more than nine days travelling up by mule litter and on
horseback!
The railway station at Taiyuanfu is outside the great city wall, and
we saw as we approached it fine new barracks—Governor Yen has had a
macadamized road built to reach one of his barracks, leading through a
gate which has been closed over three hundred years. The account of this
wonderful man and all his varied activities is set down in Chapter II.
The penalty of greatness is seen in the fact that in this famine year
refugees from all the surrounding provinces poured by thousands and
thousands into Shansi. Relief work was rapidly organized, but it meant a
heavy strain on the resources of every one.
After spending ten days with our friends, we went back to Peking,
starting in a heavy downfall of snow, which made the Chinese rejoice; it
is considered a sign of great prosperity before the approaching New Year.
There is so little rain in Shansi and irrigation is so difficult that
a good fall of snow is essential for the crops. We found it extremely
chilly, however, waiting for three hours at the junction in the middle
of the night, without any shelter. The Hankow train was delayed; when it
did arrive it was full of Chinese soldiers and others who occupied all
the carriages, though we had bespoken sleeping-places in advance. We had
to spend the rest of the night in the corridor—a cold and weary time. In
the morning a Chinaman came out of a sleeping-carriage and took pity on
us, giving us his coupé; but it is a great mistake that the railways are
so badly managed, and the military are allowed to monopolize them free
of charge whenever they please. Later on in the year they were for some
weeks entirely closed to civilian traffic.
At Peking I had the pleasure of being welcomed by the Anglo-Chinese
Friendship Society, with which I have been connected ever since it was
started. Its object is to cement the friendship between our peoples
by putting Chinese and other students when they come to England into
touch with congenial English people, and showing them the courtesy
and helpfulness they need on arrival in a strange land. It is greatly
to be wished that more Chinese of both sexes should come and study in
England, and see what is best in our civilization. So many go to America
in comparison with those who come here; yet not a few Chinese students
have told me that they felt it would be better for them had it been the
reverse, because our ideals are nearer to Chinese ones, and our desire
for self-realization is so keen. A denationalized Chinaman is a poor
product, but a Chinaman who has got his own Chinese culture and adds to
it the best we can give of Western knowledge and culture, can, when he
returns home, be a tremendous power in the moulding of the new China.
He has a reverence for all the great past of his own country, and will
strive to preserve its beauty, together with all that is good and great
in its literature, art and customs. Wherever I travelled in China this
fact was brought home to me. So much that is of historic and artistic
value is being ruthlessly swept away, and the tragedy of it is that it
is so unnecessary. For instance, in Canton, the most historic Yamen[1]
was pointed out to me on a wide new thoroughfare, but its façade had
completely lost its dignity and character by the guardian lions having
been swept away. There was more than room enough for them, but their
value had been ignored. I wanted to see the wonderful old water-clock,
the triumph of ancient Chinese science, but was informed it had been
taken away in the grand new improvements, and would be set up in a
garden. “But do they know how to set it up again so that it will go?” I
asked. “Probably not,” said my Chinese guide complacently. So it is with
countless treasures in China to-day.
It will cost more money perhaps to send students to England than to
the United States, but there are plenty of wealthy men, and still more
of women, who are willing to make sacrifices to give their sons and
daughters the best possible education, if they realize that they will
really get it by coming over here. If only those who come have either
friends to look after them, or apply to the Anglo-Chinese Friendship
Society, there will not be the disappointment which some have experienced
in past times. In Shanghai I was told that students returning with
diplomas from England had no difficulty in finding satisfactory posts at
once, and are in greater demand than those from America.
France has now entered the lists, and there are some two thousand
students in France, most of whom are studying textile manufactures. They
have been sent over by the Government, the cost being defrayed by the
French remission of the remainder of the Boxer indemnity, and half the
cost of the journey is paid by France.
In order to accommodate so many students, the French have had to make
special provision, and I met a party of students who originally came to
study in England, but were obliged to go to France because they could
find no room in English colleges. This is a most deplorable state of
affairs.
A French professor, whom I met on the journey out, was welcomed in Peking
by old students who attended his lectures at the Sorbonne, and he told me
afterwards of the extraordinary warmth of their reception and recognition
of indebtedness for his teaching. When he left they told him that they
were sending him a tribute of gratitude; some months later he received
a very costly cloisonné vase, made expressly for him and bearing an
inscription, with the names of the donors incorporated in the design. The
professor, when he showed me the vase and its case, was evidently deeply
impressed by this unique experience in a long teaching career.
Peking is a most fascinating city, and the new and old jostle one another
strangely. Some writers tell you the old has quite vanished, but they
are entirely wrong: even the old camel caravans—than which nothing can
be more picturesque—may be seen wending their leisurely way beneath its
ancient walls, to the clanking music of their bells. The city dates
back to two hundred years B.C., and it has been the real capital of the
Empire since the thirteenth century A.D. It consists of two cities,
called the Outer and the Inner City; they lie side by side—one square
and one rectangular. Each city is surrounded by its own wall: that of
the Inner being thirty-seven feet high, fifty-two feet wide at the
top, and it is thirteen miles in extent. The other city wall is not so
lofty. Sixteen great gateways lead into this marvellous city, where
within another wall is the old Imperial City. The legation hotels, post
offices (there are _six foreign_ post offices), shops and banks, etc.,
and also a native business quarter, are all in the Inner city, which
is becoming very cosmopolitan, and is increasing rapidly. The numerous
Government buildings are all in the Inner city—Council of State, Foreign
Office, Finance, Home, Communications, Navy, War, Judiciary, Education,
Agriculture and Commerce Departments.
Peking is now becoming a great centre of Western learning, and the
Rockefeller Institution aims at becoming the main School of Medicine and
Scientific Research in China. Its beautiful roofs, in the old Chinese
style, have been built regardless of cost: two million gold dollars will
not cover the initial expense of this place, and money has been poured
out like water to secure not only the best equipment, but also the best
brains.
Fine modern roads are being made, and automobiles are (for the wealthy)
taking the place of the old slow-going cart and sedan chair; but economy
will prevent these and the ricksha from going out of fashion.
The beginnings of industrial life are to be seen in the Government
Industrial Factory, where there are five hundred apprentices; the Private
Industrial Factory, the Match Factory, the Electric Company (which
supplies the city with electric light), and the Tobacco Manufacturing
Company—but Peking has never been an industrial centre, nor is it suited
to become one.
Peking was so cold and snowy that we were glad to go south after a couple
of days, and broke our journey at Tsinanfu. What changes have taken
place since first I knew it only twelve years ago! Then it was smarting
under German occupation; now it is under a still heavier yoke, and every
one says “would we were under the Germans rather than the Japanese!”
The latter seem to be far more grasping, and have no lack of funds for
securing the things which they do not dare to seize by force. Commerce is
one of their main objects, and they are pushing it with feverish zeal, so
as to establish themselves securely as traders while they hold undisputed
possession. It is sad to think that the militarist party in Japan has at
the present time such complete control of her destinies, and that the
finest part of the nation, while utterly condemning their policy, is
incapable of influencing it. More than once I heard from reliable sources
that this party considers that nothing less than foreign force can break
the militarism of Japan. Wherever we went, even to the remotest parts of
the empire, there is a growing hatred of Japan, and it almost seems as if
this were the most potent factor in strengthening and unifying China. In
one sense it may be looked on as a blessing in disguise! It certainly is
calling out all the hitherto latent patriotism of young China.
The approach by railway to Tsinan suggests a busy manufacturing town;
tall chimneys, Chamber of Commerce, big post offices, banks, public
buildings, wide well-paved roads, with big houses and gardens, form large
suburbs outside the city wall. It is a strange contrast to the old-world
city, with its narrow picturesque streets and the lovely lake where wild
birds haunt the sedgy islands—
“Here long ago ...
When to the lake’s sun-dimpled marge the bright procession wends,
The languid lilies raise their heads as though to greet their friends.”
—WANG CH’ANG LING—_circa_ A.D. 750.
Oh, there is a charm in China found nowhere else! You pass out of
thronged streets into calm poetic retreats where the turmoil of life is
hushed; for a brief spell life stands still.
But one turns back into the city, with its teeming inhabitants. A very
up-to-date city it is, with its schools, hospitals, museums, arsenal,
barracks, and soldiers’ institute,[2] etc., etc. Its commercial interests
are increasing by leaps and bounds, now that it is linked by the railways
with Peking and Tientsin on the north, with Nanking and Shanghai on the
south, and with Chingtao and the sea on the east. But what interested us
most of all was the Shantung Christian University, with its School of
Medicine, one of the most important schools in China. It is emphatically
a union college, being supported by nine different missions, British,
Canadian and American. The teaching staff is approximately twenty-six,
and the students about one hundred, with some forty-five in the
pre-medical department of the School of Arts and Science. Already more
than one hundred graduates are practising in Mission, Government and
Civil employment.
The training is of a high order, each member of the faculty a specialist
in his own department: the teaching is in Mandarin Chinese, but all the
students learn English, largely on account of having access to English
textbooks. The large well-appointed hospital may not be so imposing in
appearance as some of the American institutions, but it is second to none
in the work done within its walls. The approximate annual cost of the
medical school is Mex. $225,000 (£25,000). It is of paramount importance
that all British educational work in China to-day should be impeccable in
quality, but the problem is where to find the necessary men and money.
Far more than five million dollars have been spent in building and
equipping mission hospitals in China,[3] and it is high time that
native men of means should take up the work, either by supporting such
institutions as the above, or by undertaking similar ones. The Government
of China is only beginning this herculean task, but in many respects it
is better that private initiative should be active in hospital work,
because the human touch is of infinite value where suffering humanity is
concerned.
An interesting extension work has recently become part of the university,
namely the Institute, and has proved a great draw to people of all
classes. It was originally started by the British Baptist Mission at
Tsingchoufu in 1887; it is a sort of glorified museum for the special
purpose of making known Western ideas on all the varied sides of life,
and promoting a spirit of brotherhood. You go into an airy, well-lighted
hall and are confronted with glass cases containing models such as are
not to be found elsewhere, and as interesting as they are novel. For
instance, there is a large wooded surface with a heavy shower of rain (in
the shape of fine glass rods) falling on it, while alongside are barren
rocky slopes, bespeaking the land where no rain falls. Who could possibly
look at this exhibit without asking the meaning, especially when there
is some one at hand eager to talk about afforestation? Incidentally, it
may be mentioned that the Government is beginning to take up this subject
in all parts of China, and sorely needs the intelligent interest and
co-operation of the people in order to ensure success.
A thrilling new exhibit is the work of the Red Cross during the war,
containing two hundred separate models, starting with the firing-line
and ending with the convalescent wards of the hospital. Little model
figures engaged in all sorts of war-work are a source of continual
delight to the spectators, who throng the hall every day of the week.
“What are they doing to that dog?” says an inquisitive woman. No words
can paint her astonishment when she hears that it is a wounded war-dog
being carefully bandaged. Lectures on Red Cross work have been listened
to with deepest interest, while demonstrations in bandaging were given by
nurses attached to the University hospital. An audience of three hundred
girls heard what other girls have been doing in the war. Then, too, Boy
Scouts learn what part they can play in national service. The History of
Hygiene is well illustrated, and the greengrocer and butcher see what
happens when a luscious melon or beefsteak is visited by flies. Much has
already been done by these striking models to awaken a wholesome fear
in the minds of the people. During epidemics most valuable advice has
been promulgated from the Institute both by lectures and literature. All
the admirable models are made in the workshop of the Institute, under
the clever superintendence of Mr. Whitewright, its head and founder.
There are models of hospitals, churches, cemeteries, museums, streets of
England, which act as texts for explanation.
On the walls are diagrams and comparative tables of statistics,
illustrating a great variety of subjects, and specially calculated to
awaken the attention of the Chinese to relative conditions between their
country and others. That it has more than fulfilled its object is obvious
by the effect it has had not only on society in general but also in the
special interest it has aroused in the Chinese educational authorities.
Their representatives have repeatedly come to see the Institute and
to study its methods, and from it educational work of considerable
importance has radiated far and wide.
There is a separate department for students of Government colleges, and
they have their own reading-room, recreation-room and classroom. This
department shows fifteen thousand attendances in the year. An important
part of the work of the Institute is the encouragement of friendly
relations between the staff and all sections of the community. Visits are
arranged for parties of officers, merchants, police, Mohammedans, etc.,
when receptions are held specially interesting to these people, followed
by lectures and cinematograph shows.
This is truly a wide-minded piece of missionary enterprise. The catholic
spirit, which thus shows Christianity animating every part of human life,
is a fine corrective to some of the narrow sectarian missions which still
abound. Millions of people have visited the Institute, and more workers
are needed to carry forward this splendid religious and educational
venture.
I heard interesting details at Tsinanfu about the returned coolies from
the Great War. There was a reading-room for them, and it was amusing
to see the recruiting placards by which they had been attracted to the
ranks. When first the idea of coolie labour was started in Shantung the
British consuls were directed to arrange for recruiting, but they drew
a blank. What did the Chinese coolie know of the value of a consul’s
promises: he had no personal knowledge of him, and the proposition was
an entirely novel one. So the missionary was set to tackle the problem,
and he had to explain the scheme and show how the coolie’s family would
profit by having a regular and sure source of income during his absence.
The tide was turned: as many recruits were forthcoming as were needed,
indeed far more. Germany spread a malicious propaganda, that the Chinese
were placed in the firing-line to protect our troops. Our Government
countered with cinema shows in which the people could recognize their
men working in France. A time of dearth emphasized the value of their
new income. Men returning from France told their experiences, and most
significant of all was the universal expression of willingness to repeat
the service in case of need.
I have said so much elsewhere about the city of Tsinanfu[4] that I shall
pass on to our next stopping-place—Shanghai. We stayed at the Missionary
Home, up the North Szechuen Road, a boarding-house with very moderate
prices, which is the rendezvous for missionaries from all parts of the
empire. It was most useful to us to be in touch with them, and we revised
our itinerary in consequence, and were able to do many interesting things
which we should otherwise not have done. Not only missionaries frequent
it, but others also, for it is very helpful to any travellers going off
the beaten track to be in such a centre of information. For people not
knowing the language all needful help is provided in meeting steamers and
trains, for which the most moderate charge is made.
Shanghai is the strangest medley of incongruities, but extraordinarily
interesting, because it has become the common meeting-ground of all
nationalities and the natural centre for great movements. It is the
most accessible spot for conferences, being linked by its railways
and waterways with all parts of the empire, so that it may almost be
considered geographically as the heart of China; but it would perhaps
be more accurate to describe it as the skin, or surface, whereby all
the interior is related to the outer world. Less than eighty years ago
it was merely an insignificant Chinese town, but in 1842 the Chinese
Government made it an open port; a British concession was granted—to be
followed by French and American ones. Soon the British concession was
internationalized, and in course of time became so popular among the
Chinese that to-day far more than half the Chinese population of Shanghai
is found in it, and of course this far exceeds the foreign population.
Its government is rather remarkable; the municipal council is composed
of nine foreigners of several nationalities, who are responsible for the
self-government of the community. In their hands is the exclusive police
control (how dignified the Sikh police are and how picturesque!), the
drainage, lighting, roadmaking, sanitation, taxation, control of markets,
etc. Each nationality has its own judicial court, and there is the Mixed
Court for the settlement of cases between Chinese and foreigners. This
extra-territoriality has long been a source of soreness with the Chinese,
and has acted as a spur to the reforms now going on in their judicial
system. The French alone have continued to keep to a settlement of their
own, which is run on similar lines.
Shanghai has naturally become the base of all sorts of experiments, and
has a special value to the empire on that account. It is an object-lesson
in self-government of no small value. Round it have sprung up mills of
all sorts, and shipbuilding on foreign lines, and of course its shipping
links it with every part of the globe. In another chapter I shall refer
to its value as an educational centre.
An interesting experiment has been successfully made (by an entirely
Chinese firm) of our western methods in social welfare (so new to us
also) for dealing with employees. The Commercial Press was founded in
1896 to meet the rapidly growing demand for handbooks in Chinese on all
sorts of subjects of western knowledge. It grew so rapidly that its
branches are to be found in all the large cities of the empire, while
its publications reach to the remotest towns. But to me one of its chief
interests is to be found in the relations between its officials and
staff, which consists of over one thousand persons. In the fine central
building the fourth floor has a large dining-room, where three hundred
of the employees have their meals, and there is a roof garden for their
benefit. The workpeople are well paid, they receive bonuses according
to their services, and are entitled to pensions on retirement: when
employees die their necessitous families receive pay. There is a savings
department which pays nine per cent. interest. There are school and
hospital facilities for employees and their families, and they can join
Y.M.C.A. and other institutions at a cheapened rate. Special arrangements
are made for women at the time of childbirth, and a sum of money is given
them at the beginning and end of the time they are absent from work on
that account. Babies being nursed are allowed to be brought in to be
fed by the mother during work hours. The hours of work are limited to
nine per day, and there is a garden in which the workers can spend their
leisure time.
Another institution in Shanghai which greatly interested me was a
Cantonese Baptist Institutional Church, which I attended one Sunday
morning. It was extremely attractive, not only in its setting, but most
of all in its human qualities. I arrived while Sunday school was still
going on, and saw boys and girls of all ages in classrooms, and scattered
about in the big hall. The teachers were, with one or two exceptions,
Chinese, and looked thoroughly competent for their tasks. “They are
the best workers I have ever met,” said Miss Lyne, my guide. The sight
of a stranger was quite a matter of indifference to both teachers and
taught, and had no effect on their concentrated attention. An American
lady took me all over the building, which seemed admirably suited to its
purpose. Upstairs was a large bright room—the chapel—electric lighted,
and with a baptistery which was the gift of one of the members in memory
of his wife. In the kindergarten the sweetest babes had been making
tulips. The hall below is used for a gymnasium, games and other purposes.
Religious plays are very popular, and my guide said that although she
came prepared to disapprove of them, she had been converted by seeing
how they seemed to make the Bible so much more real to the people. A
very interesting detail of the place was the excellent bathrooms and
sanitary arrangements, hot and cold water laid on, the whole supplied
by a thoroughly up-to-date Scotch firm. This section was entirely due
to the wish of the young people, who had raised the funds ($300) for it
themselves. The building was in a nice garden, with tennis courts and
other facilities for games.
The most interesting part of the morning was the service, despite the
fact that I do not understand Chinese. The men sat on one side and
the women on the other, but there was no partition, and men and girls
respectively took up the collection on their own side of the hall. A
Chinaman conducted the service, and the singing was hearty and reverent,
without any starchiness. After the sermon, candidates for baptism were
brought forward, each one by his or her sponsor, for the Church’s
approval before admission to the rite; they had been already examined
and under training for some two years. Some of the candidates were quite
young, others grown up: the pastor’s son and another boy were about
eleven years old. They were asked a variety of practical questions by the
pastor, but when it came to his own son, he said, “Will some one else
ask little brother’s son?” and this was accordingly done. After this
the Church members voted as to whether they should receive baptism. I
asked if the vote was ever adverse, and was told it was not infrequently
the case, although they were not recommended for baptism till they were
considered ready.
There are so many Cantonese in Shanghai that missionaries find it
necessary to have special work amongst them: they are like a different
race, with a different language.
There are all sorts of interesting things to be seen in Shanghai, but
it takes time, and the only other place of special interest we saw was
the old native city, just the same picturesque, dirty, crowded spot that
it was hundreds of years ago, surrounded by its three-and-a-half-mile
wall, of which the gates are still shut at night. The old willow-pattern
tea-house I was glad to see is still intact, also the garden from which
the lovers fled who were turned into doves. It is not safe to venture
into the old city unaccompanied, and the beggars are truly awful.
From Shanghai I visited the neighbouring province of Chekiang, which
is considered one of the most beautiful by many people. The capital,
_Hangchowfu_, can be reached both by water and by rail, and I much regret
that I only went by rail, as an economy of time: it was a mistake, for
by all accounts the waterway is most lovely. The journey takes three or
four hours by rail and eighteen by boat. As one passes through mulberry
groves and wide-stretching rice fields, one sees most picturesque groups
of buildings, standing up on slightly raised ground, like oases in the
flat land, and lofty sails move slowly across the landscape. In the soft
glow of evening light it was perfectly enchanting. We passed near two
walled cities, but the railway lines as a rule do not break through such
walls, and it is in many ways more convenient to have the station outside
the cities. I could not but regret that this rule had been broken in the
case of Hangchow, where the railway station was an ugly, though imposing,
modern building, erected close to the breach in the wall through which
the line enters the city.
On leaving the station by a wide new thoroughfare, you see numbers of
European-looking shops, full of up-to-date European wares, for Hangchow
is a large and wealthy manufacturing city, in the centre of an important
agricultural district. Learning and Industry have flourished here from
the earliest times, and now it has a population estimated at 35,000. I
was thankful to get away from the modern town to a good old-fashioned
Chinese quarter, where I shared the ever-generous hospitality of Dr. and
Mrs. Main. Their hospitals are a sight worth seeing—although in certain
respects they would challenge criticism; that is because they grew into
being nearly forty years ago and were built up under every kind of
difficulty by the untiring zeal of one man, and his hall-mark is seen in
every part of them. The Chinese are an industrious people and put our own
to shame, but even to them this object-lesson of what can be achieved
by one individual is perhaps as valuable as the actual good done to the
thousands who have found healing and comfort in these hospitals. There
are no less than twenty-two departments of work, of which I shall only
enumerate a few of the most important.
Directly after breakfast on the day after my arrival I started on a tour
of inspection, and saw over the men’s and the women’s general hospitals,
where a cheerful activity reigned. There is a family likeness about
mission hospitals, so I shall say nothing further about them; but what
amused and fascinated me was my visit to the maternity hospital, which
is a thoroughly attractive place. Already five little new-comers into
this sad world were lying in a row, all tidy and washed, and one was
lifting up a loud remonstrance at her fate; another was only an hour old.
Sometimes you may see as many as fifteen, and I hope they do not get
mixed up. There were no less than a hundred and seventy-seven in-patients
during the year. These maternity hospitals are an unspeakable boon to the
country, the more so because they are training schools for midwives. How
badly these are needed can only be known by dwellers in the East. The
Chinese make admirable nurses, especially the women, and many hospitals
who in deference to custom have been in the habit of having men to nurse
their own sex, are now giving it up in favour of women, because they are
found more reliable and conscientious. This I was told when I deprecated
the change.