keeping up a perpetual fire burning upon the altars than the Roman
Vestals were in this respect; but no expiation nor punishment being
considered necessary, as in the latter case, they cannot boast that
"flames unextinguish'd on their altars shine." They are, in fact,
frequently extinguished by carelessness or accident. No virgins attend
this holy flame, but the charge of it is committed generally to young
boys under training for the priesthood. Like the Greeks and the Romans,
the Chinese have also their penates or household gods, which are not
represented under any particular personification, but generally by a
tablet bearing a short inscription and a taper burning before it. Every
ship, however small, has its tablet and its taper; and within the
compass-box or binnacle a taper is continually kept burning.
In every city, town and village, sometimes in the midst of woods, in the
mountains and most lonely places, are small temples, the doors of which
are continually left open for the admittance of such as may be desirous
of consulting their destiny. The practical part of Chinese religion may,
in fact, be said to consist in predestination. A priest is not at all
necessary for unravelling the book of fate. If any one be about to
undertake a journey, or to purchase a wife, or to build a house, or,
above all, to bury a deceased relation, and any doubt should arise in
his mind as to the fortunate result of such undertaking, he repairs to
the nearest temple; and, if he should not be able to read himself, he
takes a friend by the hand who can. On the altar of every temple is
placed a wooden cup, filled with a number of small sticks, marked at
the extremities with certain characters. Taking the cup in his hands he
shakes it till one of the sticks falls upon the ground and, having
examined the character upon it, he looks for the corresponding mark in a
book which is generally appended to the wall of the temple. The lot, in
this manner, is cast several times, and if one lucky flick in three
should happen to turn up, he is willing to consider the omen as
favourable; and, if the event should answer the expectation he has been
led to form from the book of fate, he considers it as a duty to return
to the temple and to burn a sheet or two of painted paper, or of paper
covered with tin foil, and to deposit a few pieces of copper money on
the altar, in token of gratitude for the favour he has received[52]. In
this manner is consumed the greatest part of the tin that is carried to
China by the trading companies of Europe. I have already observed that
they have no communion of worship to offer up, in a public manner, their
prayers or thanksgivings.
[52] The present Emperor shewed his gratitude for his prayers
having been heard, by granting in a public edict an additional title to
the temple in which they were offered.
IMPERIAL EDICT.
"_The gracious protecting temple of the king of the dragons_, on the
mountain of _Yu-chun_, has on every occasion of drought proved
favourable to our prayers offered up there for rain, as duly observed on
our sacred registers. From the summer solstice of the present year, a
great want of rain has been experienced, on which account we were
induced, on the 17th of this moon, to offer up our prayers and
sacrifices in person at the said temple. During the very same day, a
fall of small rain or dew was observed, and, on the day following, the
country was relieved by frequent and copious showers. This further proof
of efficacy in granting our requests, augments our veneration and, in
testimony whereof, we direct that the temple of the propitious divinity
shall receive an additional title, and be styled on all future
occasions,
"_The gracious in protecting, and efficacious in preserving, the temple
of the king of the dragons._
"_Be our will obeyed._"
_Pekin Gazette, 23rd day of 5th Moon,
of 6th year of Kia-King._
Formerly it was the custom to bury slaves with emperors and princes and
sometimes also their concubines alive; but this cruel practice has given
way, in modern times, to the more harmless one of burning
representations of their domestics in tin foil, cut into the shape of
human beings, and of placing their statues in wood or stone upon their
graves; this seems to be the remains of a Scythian or Tartar custom,
which, according to Herodotus, was commonly observed at the funerals of
their sovereigns, when their horses, their slaves, and their concubines
were impaled alive and placed in order round the tyrant's tomb. The last
remains of a relation are interred with all the honours that the family
can afford. I never passed between the capital and _Yuen-min-yuen_
without observing numbers of funeral processions. Those of great
officers of state would sometimes extend for nearly half a mile. The
train was usually arranged in the following order. In front marched a
priest uncovered, next a group of musicians with flutes, trumpets, and
cymbals; after these the male relations of the deceased in long white
frocks and behind them the chief mourner, supported by two friends,
whose exertions to prevent him from tearing his cheeks and hair appeared
to be truly ridiculous. Then followed the coffin, covered by a
magnificent canopy and borne generally by four men, sometimes by eight.
After the canopy the female relations proceeded in chairs, or more
generally in the little covered carts, wearing white frocks like the
men, their hair dishevelled, and broad white fillets bound across their
foreheads. On approaching a bridge or a temple the procession always
halted while the priest burned little images of tin foil, or let off a
few crackers, upon which the noisy _gong_ and the rest of the band made
a flourish.
The famous feast of lanterns, when the whole empire is lighted up from
one extremity to the other, in every possible way that fancy can
suggest, is an ancient religious usage of which, at the present day,
they can give no plausible account. It is just possible that, among
other Egyptian ceremonies, this may be one derived from a common origin
with an annual illumination of the same kind mentioned by Herodotus;
which was generally observed, from the cataracts of the Nile to the
borders of the Mediterranean, by hanging lamps of different kinds to the
sides of the houses. On this day the Chinese not only illuminate their
houses, but they also exercise their ingenuity in making transparencies
in the shape of different animals, with which they run through the
streets by night. The effect when perfectly dark is whimsical enough.
Birds, beasts, fishes, and other animals are seen darting through the
air, and contending with each other; some with squibs in their mouths,
breathing fire, and others with crackers in their tails: some sending
out sky-rockets, others rising into pyramids of party-coloured fire, and
others bursting like a mine with violent explosions. But the most
ingenious are those that, Proteus-like, change their shape from time to
time, and under every form exhibit a different display of fire-works.
I have observed, at the beginning of this chapter, that the temples are
occasionally appropriated to the use of state-officers, embassadors and
other public characters, when travelling through the country, there
being no other houses affording accommodations equally suitable. On
quitting the temple it is generally thought necessary to perform an act
of reverence bordering on devotion, not however to the Deity, but to the
name of the Emperor inscribed on the altar. This custom, together with
that of depositing rice and other grain, tea and oil at certain seasons,
especially on the day of his nativity, although perhaps, in the first
instance, a token only of respect and gratitude, and in the other an
acknowledgment of his being the sole proprietary of the soil, are
nevertheless acts that tend, from the sanctity of the place where they
are performed, to the encouragement of idolatry. By thus associating the
offerings made to the Deity and to the Monarch, the vulgar become apt to
magnify the power of the latter and to raise it on a level with that of
the former. A Chinese in speaking of a propitious event occurring,
either in his own or any other country, generally attributes it to the
joint Will of Heaven and the Emperor of China.
The conversion of the temples into lodging-houses is attended with some
temporal advantages to the priests, by the donations that are generally
made on such occasions. Most of them being supported entirely by
voluntary contributions and trifling legacies that may be left by pious
persons, they are thankful for the smallest gifts: for as there is
little or no connection between the church and the state, they derive no
pay, nor emolument, nor preferment from the latter. The Emperor pays
his own priests, which are those of all his Tartar subjects; the Chinese
Confucionists, or men of learning, and the state officers contribute to
the maintenance of theirs, whether of _Fo_ or _Tao-tze_, and the mass of
the people, from the prevailing propensity of enquiring into futurity,
afford the means of support to many thousands, I might perhaps say
millions of priests, by the offerings carried to the altars whenever
they find it necessary to consult the book of fate, which is done on
most of the common occurrences in life.
From the short view I have here taken of the different sects, I think it
may justly be concluded that the primitive religion of China no longer
exists, or exists only in a corrupted state; that there is at present no
national nor scarcely a state religion: and that the articles of faith
are as various as the modes of worship; in all of which the people
appear to be rather actuated by the dread of evil in this life, than by
the fear of punishment in another: that the duties they perform are more
with a view to appease an angry deity and to avert impending calamities,
than from any hope of obtaining a positive good: that they rather
consult or enquire of their gods what may happen, than petition them to
accomplish or avert it; for a Chinese can scarcely be said to pray; he
is grateful when the event proves favourable to his wishes; petulant and
peevish with his gods when adverse.
Little as the priests, or the numerous noviciates that are found in all
the principal temples, are employed in the duties of their office, or
in worldly concerns, they are not less uncleanly in their persons and
their apartments than those are whose time is taken up in providing for
the necessities of life. The room, in which some of us _should_ have
slept, was so full of scorpions and scolopendras, and they crept in such
numbers into our beds, that we were fairly driven out and obliged to
swing our cots in the open air between two trees. Here we were not much
less annoyed by myriads of musquitoes and the unceasing noise of the
chirping cicadas, which continued without intermission until the still
more noisy _gong_ announced the break of day, and summoned the holy men
to their morning devotions.
CHAP. IX.
Journey from Tong-choo-foo to the Province of Canton--Face of the
Country, and its Productions.--Buildings and other Public
Works.--Condition of the People--State of Agriculture.--Population.
_Attentions paid to the Embassy--Observations on the Climate and
Plains of Pe-tche-lee--Plants of--Diet and Condition of the
People.--Burying-place--Observation on Chinese Cities--Trackers of the
Yachts--Entrance of the Grand Canal.--The Fishing Corvorant--Approach to
the Yellow River--Ceremony of crossing this River.--Observations on
Canals and Roads--Improvements of the Country in advancing to the
Southward--Beauty of, near Sau-choo-foo--Bridge of ninety-one
Arches--Country near Hang-choo-foo.--City of--Appearance of the Country
near the Po-yang Lake.--Observations in Proceeding through
Kiang-see.--The Camellia Sesanqua--Retrospective View of the Climate and
Produce, Diet and Condition of the People, of Pe-tche-lee--Some
Observations on the Capital of China--Province of Shan-tung--Of
Kiang-nan.--Observations of the State of Agriculture in China--Rice
Mills--Province of Tche-kiang.--Of Kiang-see.--Population of China
compared with that of England--Erroneous Opinions entertained on this
Subject.--Comparative Population of a City in China and in
England--Famines accounted for.--Means of Prevention.--Causes of
Populousness of China._
On the 8th of October we embarked, for the second time, on the Pei-ho in
yachts, however, that were very different from those on which we had
ascended the river, being much smaller but broader in proportion to
their length, and so shallow and flat-bottomed, that they required
little depth of water; yet we found them sufficiently commodious. Of the
necessity of such a change in the accommodation yachts, on account of
the low state of the river, we were speedily convinced, which, previous
to our embarkation, had been by some attributed to a different cause. It
was supposed that the men in office throughout the country, piqued at
the refusal of the Embassador to submit to their degrading ceremony,
would not fail to retaliate the affront by depriving us of every little
comfort and convenience, and by otherwise rendering the long journey
before us extremely unpleasant. The character of the people at large
justified such a conclusion; and, I believe, every individual had laid
his account of meeting with difficulties and disagreeable occurrences on
the journey to Canton. In justice, however, to those who had the
superintendence of the embassy, and particularly to the two most worthy
characters _Van_ and _Chou_, who were more immediately connected with
its concerns, it is but fair to observe that no attention was wanting,
nor expense spared, to render our situation as easy and comfortable as
possible. Supplies of every kind were sent on board in the greatest
profusion and with the most scrupulous punctuality. And as a singular
proof of attention shewn to us in the commencement of this journey, our
conductors, having observed that we used milk with our tea, had
purchased two fine cows in full milk, which were put on board a yacht
prepared for their reception, for a supply of that article. And, it was
observed, that whenever the chief officers of the provinces, through
which the embassy was to pass, prepared an entertainment in honour of
the occasion, they had given themselves all possible trouble to render
it more acceptable, by endeavouring to serve it up, as they thought, in
the English style. In some of those feasts we had hogs roasted whole,
that could not have weighed less than fifty pounds; quarters of mutton,
geese, ducks, and fowls roasted or boiled whole, a mode of cookery
altogether different to the practice of the country, which is chiefly
confined to that of stewing small morsels of meat with greens or rice.
The awkward manner in which they were prepared, being generally burnt
and glazed over with oil, was entitled to and found an ample excuse in
the desire thus testified of pleasing.
From the time that we first embarked in August at the mouth of the
Pey-ho, or White River, until our return, we experienced only a single
shower of rain. It is observed, indeed, that during the autumnal months
the northern provinces enjoy a cloudless sky; an advantage of which they
avail themselves in thrashing out the different kinds of grain in the
field, thus saving the labour of bearing it into barns or piling it into
stacks. It is either thrashed out on clay floors with flails, similar to
our own, beat out of the ear against the edge of a plank, or trodden by
oxen or buffalos. The grain that we had noticed just striking into the
ear, on ascending the river, was now generally reaped. It consisted
principally of the different species of millet, as before observed, and
a small proportion of _polygonum fagopyrum_ or buck-wheat. A species of
_Dolichos_ or bean, that had been sown between the drills of the Holcus,
or tall millet, was now in flower.
The range of Fahrenheit's thermometer in the province of _Pe-tche-lee_,
during the month of August, was from 80° to 88° in the middle of the
day, and during the night it remained generally about 60° to 64°. In
September, the medium temperature at two o'clock was about 76°; and in
October about 68°; but in the latter month, it decreased in the night
sometimes to 44°.
In the neighbourhood of the _Pei-ho_ a light sandy soil chiefly
prevails, with a mixture of argillaceous earth and slimy matter,
interspersed with shining particles of mica: but not a stone of any
magnitude, nor pebbles, nor even gravel occur in the whole extent of
country through which this river is navigable. The surface, indeed, is
so flat and uniform, that the tide, which rises only nine or ten feet in
the gulph of _Pe-tche-lee_, flows to the distance of thirty miles beyond
_Tien-sing_, or one hundred and ten miles from the mouth of the river;
and it frequently submerges the whole country, notwithstanding the great
pains bestowed by the inhabitants in raising and keeping in order
artificial banks. Such inundations, although frequently the causes of
great fertility, are sometimes productive of general calamity,
especially if they happen at a season when the crop is too far advanced.
These plains exhibit the appearance of a more than ordinary incroachment
of the land upon the sea. The general level of the face of the country,
at high water, is not more elevated than two feet above the surface of
the river, of which not only the bed, but also the substratum of the
enclosing banks, are composed entirely of fine sand similar to that on
the shore of the sea. The deepest part of the wide gulph of
_Pe-tche-lee_ exceeds not twelve fathoms, and the prodigious number of
small sandy islands, just appearing above the surface, are said to have
been created within the records of history. A great portion of the
enormous mass of mud that is perpetually wafted down the Yellow River,
and which was found by experiment to exceed two million solid feet in an
hour, is borne by a strong current from the Yellow Sea into the gulph of
_Pe-tche-lee_, where the stillness of the water allows it to subside. In
the map of Marco Polo, which was most probably copied by him from one in
the possession of Gengis-khan, or some of the learned men about his
court, _Tien-sing_ is placed upon the sea coast; and a branch of the
Yellow River, after traversing the provinces _Kiang-nan_, _Shan-tung_,
and part of _Pe-tche-lee_, in the direction nearly of the present canal,
discharges itself into the gulph near the _Pei-ho_. Were this branch of
the river actually turned, the rapidity with which the gulph of
_Pe-tche-lee_ is filling up is the less surprising, as the only stream
to keep its waters in motion at present is the _Pei-ho_. It has been
calculated that, by the simple turning of the great river that falls
from Winandermere-lake, the estuary of Morecombe Bay, which it now
crosses, would, in the natural course of events, be converted in a few
years into a green meadow. If the abovementioned chart be correct, it
would prove also that the Mongul Tartars did actually first bring the
grand navigation of China to the state in which it now appears.
This uniform plain of China afforded little interest to the traveller.
Few trees appeared, except now and then a clump of firs surrounding a
temple, or the plantations contiguous to the dwelling of some officer
of government. In such situations were also large elms, willows, and a
species of ash unknown in Europe. There were no hedge-rows. Property
here is divided only by narrow ditches, serving at the same time for
drains, or by ridges of unploughed ground, as in the common fields of
England, which answer the purpose of foot-paths. These ridges were
generally well covered with that family of running trefoil, known by the
name of _Melilotos_, intermixed with a species of _Poa_ or meadow grass,
_Avena_ or wild oats, and _Briza_ or quaking grass. In the ditches,
beside the common reed the _Arundo phragmites_, were growing two species
of _Cyperus_, and a _Scirpus_ or club-rush. None of the artificial
grasses, usually so called, are cultivated by the Chinese. It is not an
object with them to fodder their cows for the sake of obtaining a
greater quantity of milk, this nutritive article of food being very
sparingly used either in its raw state or in any preparation; and they
are either ignorant of the processes of converting it into butter and
cheese, or, for certain reasons, prefer to employ the little they make
use of in its original state. Horses are rarely kept for luxury or for
labour; and the few animals employed in agriculture, which are mostly
asses, mules, or buffalos, subsist in the winter season on chaff and
straw; and their chief support in the summer is derived from the strong
grasses that grow in the ditches and the common reed, with which, in
this part of the country, large tracts of swampy ground are covered.
On approaching _Tien-sing_, we observed several large fields cultivated
with a vegetable called by the Chinese the _Pe-tsai_, or white herb,
apparently a species of _Brassica_ or cole; though insipid in its
taste, being not unlike that of the cos-lettuce, it is held in
preference to all other vegetables; and the capital is most abundantly
supplied with it in the summer season fresh from the gardens in its
vicinity and, in the winter, salted and prepared somewhat in the same
manner as the _Sour-Krout_ of the Germans. We observed also in the
gardens, carrots, turnips, black radishes, a species of asparagus, the
_Solanum Melongena_, a species of _physalis_ or winter-cherry,
water-melons and musk-melons, pumpkins and cucumbers. Onions and garlic
were common vegetables planted near every peasant's house. The _Trapa_
or water-caltrops grew in the ditches, the nuts of which, with the seeds
and the roots of the Nelumbium, generally furnished out our desert; to
which, indeed, sometimes were added tolerably good peaches, dry spongy
apples not unlike quinces in appearance, and pears of an immense size
but of a harsh and austere taste.
However unfavourable the country might be for an extended cultivation,
which did not appear to be the case, the proximity to the capital would
have led one to expect a corresponding population. Nothing of the kind
appeared; the vast numbers we had observed in ascending the river were
drawn from the distance of many miles out of mere curiosity; the
inhabitants only of the vicinity now shewed themselves; and we were
rather surprized at the fewness of these, as well as at the very ruinous
and miserable condition of almost all the cottages. These mean huts were
built, some of half-burnt bricks and others of clay, and they were
thatched with the straw of grain or with reeds. Some were enclosed
within walls of mud, or with a kind of course matting made of reeds, or
the stalks of the _holcus sorghum_, which enclosure generally contained
the families of two or three generations, the cattle, pigs, poultry, and
all the living creatures belonging to the establishment. The Chinese
have a common saying, that "although there be poverty without Pekin,
there is plenty within its walls." The appearance, indeed, of all the
peasantry in this province was marked with every indication of poverty;
nor was the condition much better of those who were employed about the
vessels which carried the Embassador and his train. With the greatest
thankfulness they received the offals of our allowance; and the
tea-leaves, which we had used, were sought after by them with avidity
and boiled up for their beverage. A little boiled rice, or millet, with
a few vegetables, commonly the _Pe-tsai_, and onions fried in oil,
constituted their principal meals, of which they made only two regular
ones in the day, one about ten o'clock in the morning, and the other at
four or five in the afternoon. They generally however had the frying-pan
on the fire at three or four o'clock in the morning. The wine or liquor,
which we received in large jars, and which was so miserably bad as not
to be used, afforded a great treat to the poor people, whose
circumstances seldom allowed them to taste it. This liquor is brewed
from a mixture of rice and millet, and from its quickly turning sour
seems to have little strength, and to have undergone a very imperfect
degree of fermentation. Their _hot wine_ is seldom used except by the
upper class of people who, not satisfied with the strong empyreumatic
flavour communicated in the distillation, drink it boiling hot in the
midst of summer.