exchanged our flat-bottomed boats for large and commodious yachts, the
river being here much increased by the confluence of another stream. The
boats before this city were mostly managed by young girls, whose dress
consisted of a neat white jacket and petticoat and a gipsey straw hat.
Having for so great a length of time scarcely ever set our eyes upon a
female, except the heads of some at a distance, peeping from behind the
mud walls that surround the houses, or labouring in the grounds of
_Kiang-see_, the ferry girls, though in reality very plain and
coarse-featured, were considered as the most beautiful objects that had
occurred in the whole journey. To the occupation of ferrying passengers
over the river it seemed they added another, not quite so honourable,
for which, however, they had not only the consent and approbation of
their parents, but also the sanction of the government, or perhaps, to
speak more correctly, of the governing magistrates, given in
consideration of their receiving a portion of the wages of prostitution.
In this mountainous district a few fishermen's huts and those of the
colliers were the only habitations that occurred; but the defect of
population was abundantly supplied by the number of wooden dwellings
that were floating on the river. Small huts, to the number of thirty or
forty, were sometimes erected upon a single floating raft of fir baulks,
lashed together by the ends and the sides. On these rafts the people
carry on their trade or occupation, particularly such as work in wood.
Our conductors directed the yachts to halt before a detached rock,
rising with a perpendicular front from the margin of the river to the
height of seven hundred feet. In this front we observed a cavern, before
which was a terrace that had been cut out of the rock, accessible by a
flight of steps from the river. Proceeding from the terrace into the
cavity of the rock, we ascended another flight of stairs, also cut out
of solid stone, which led into a very spacious apartment. In the centre
of this apartment sat the goddess _Poo-sa_ upon a kind of altar,
constituting a part of the rock, and hewn into the shape of the
_Lien-wha_ or Nelumbium. A small opening, next the river, admitted a
"dim religious light," suitable to the solemnity of the place, which we
were told was a temple consecrated to _Poo-sa_, and a monastery for the
residence of a few superannuated priests. On the smooth sides of the
apartment was inscribed a multitude of Chinese verses, some cut into the
rock, and others painted upon it. The lodgings of the priests were small
caves branching out of the large temple. A third flight of steps led
from this to a second story, which was also lighted by a small aperture
in front, that was nearly choaked up by an immense mass of stalectite
that had been formed, and was still increasing, by the constant oozing
of water holding in solution calcareous matter, and suspended from a
projection of the upper part of the rock. But the light was sufficient
to discover a gigantic image with a Saracen face, who "grinn'd horrible
a ghastly smile." On his head was a sort of crown; in one hand he held a
naked scymeter, and a firebrand in the other; but the history of this
colossal divinity seemed to be imperfectly known, even to the votaries
of _Poo-sa_ themselves. He had in all probability been a warrior in his
day, the Theseus or the Hercules of China. The cave of the Cumæan Sibyl
could not be better suited for dealing out the mysterious decrees of
fate to the superstitious multitude, than that of the _Quan-gin-shan_,
from whence the oracle of future destiny, in like manner,
"Horrendas canit ambages, antroque remugit,
Obscuris vera involvens."
"The wond'rous truths, involv'd in riddles, gave,
And furious bellow'd round the gloomy cave."
Lord Macartney observed that this singular temple brought to his
recollection a Franciscan monastery he had seen in Portugal, near Cape
Roxent, usually called the _Cork Convent_, "which is an excavation of
considerable extent under a hill, divided into a great number of cells,
and fitted up with a church, sacristy, refectory, and every requisite
apartment for the accommodation of the miserable Cordeliers who burrow
in it. The inside is entirely lined with cork: the walls, the roofs, the
floors, are covered with cork; the tables, seats, chairs, beds, couches,
the furniture of the chapel, the crucifixes, and every other implement,
are all made of cork. The place was certainly dismal and comfortless to
a great degree, but it wanted the gigantic form, the grim features, the
terrific aspect which distinguish the temple of _Poo-sa_, in the rock
of _Quan-gin-shan_." Dismal as this gloomy den appeared to be, where a
few miserable beings had voluntarily chained themselves to a rock, to be
gnawed by the vultures of superstition and fanaticism, it is still less
so than an apartment of the Franciscan convent in Madeira, the walls of
which are entirely covered with human skulls, and the bones of legs and
arms, placed alternately in horizontal rows. A dirty lamp suspended from
the ceiling, and constantly attended by an old bald-headed friar of the
order, to keep the feeble light just glimmering in the socket, serves to
shew indistinctly to strangers this disgusting _memento mori_. It would
be difficult to determine which of the three were the most useless
members of society, the monks of _Poo-sa_, the monks of the Cork
convent, or the monks of Golgotha.
In several places among the wild and romantic mountains through which we
were carried on this river, we noticed quarries of great extent, out of
which huge stones had been cut for sepulchral monuments, for the arches
of bridges, for architraves, for paving the streets, and for various
other uses. To obtain these large masses, the saw is applied at the
upper surface, and they work down vertically to the length required.
Each stone is shaped and fashioned to the size that may be wanted,
before it is removed from the parent rock, by which much difficulty is
avoided and less power required in conveying it to its destination. Rude
misshapen blocks, requiring additional labour for their removal, are
never detached from the rock in such a state. In this respect they are
more provident than the late Empress of Russia who, at an immense
expense and with the aid of complicated machinery, caused a block of
stone to be brought to her capital, to serve as a pedestal for the
statue of the Czar Peter, where it was found expedient to reduce it to
two-thirds of its original dimensions.
Between the city of Canton and the first pagoda on the bank of the
river, there is a continued series of similar quarries, which appear not
to have been worked for many years. The regular and formal manner in
which the stones have been cut away, exhibiting lengthened streets of
houses with quadrangular chambers, in the sides of which are square
holes at equal distances, as if intended for the reception of beams; the
smoothness and perfect perpendicularity of the sides, and the number of
detached pillars that are scattered over the plain, would justify a
similar mistake to that of Mr. Addison's Doctor of one of the German
universities, whom he found at Chateau d'Un in France, carefully
measuring the free-stone quarries at that place, which he had conceived
to be the venerable remains of vast subterranean palaces of great
antiquity.
Almost all the mountains that occurred in our passage through China were
of primæval granite, some few of sand-stone, and the inferior hills were
generally of lime-stone, or coarse grey marble. Except the Ladrone
islands on the south, and some of the _Chu-san_ islands on the east, we
observed no appearances in the whole country of volcanic productions.
The high mountains, indeed, that form great continental chains are
seldom, if ever, of volcanic formation. The presence of a vast volume
of water seems to be indispensably necessary to carry on this operation
of nature and, accordingly, we find that volcanic mountains are
generally close to the sea coast, or entirely insulated. Thus, although
a great part of the islands on the coast of China are volcanic, we met
with no trace of subterranean heat, either in volcanic products or
thermal springs, on the whole continent. Yet earthquakes are said to
have been frequently felt in all the provinces, but slight and of short
duration.
About seven miles to the southward of the temple in the rock, the
mountains abruptly ceased, and we entered on a wide extended plain
which, to the southward and on each side, was terminated only by the
horizon. This sudden transition from barrenness to fertility, from the
sublime to the beautiful, from irregularity to uniformity, could not
fail to please, as all strong contrasts usually do. The country was now
in a high state of tillage; the chief products were rice, sugar-canes,
and tobacco; and the river was so much augmented by the tributary
streams of the mountains, which we had just left behind, that it was
nearly half a mile in width. Canals branched from its two banks in every
direction. At the city of _San-shwee shien_, we observed the current of
the river receding, being driven back by the flux of the tide.
On the 10th, we halted before a village which was just within sight of
the suburbs of Canton. Here the Embassador was met by the Commissioners
of the East India Company, whom the Chinese had allowed to proceed thus
far from the factory, and to which place the servants of the Company
are occasionally permitted to make their parties of pleasure. In the
neighbourhood of this village are extensive gardens for the supply of
the city with vegetables. In some we observed nurseries for propagating
the rare, the beautiful, the curious, or the useful plants of the
country; which are sent to Canton for sale. On this account we were not
sorry to be obliged to spend the remainder of the day at this place.
Among the choice plants we noticed the large _Peonia_ before mentioned,
white, red, and variegated; the elegant _Limodorum Tankervilliæ_, and
that singular plant the _Epidendrum flos aeris_ so called from its
vegetating without the assistance of earth or water; the _Hybiscus
mutabilis_, the _Abelmoschus_, and other species of this genus; the
double variegated _Camellia Japonica_; the great holly-hock; the scarlet
_amaranthus_ and another species of the same genus, and a very elegant
_Celosia_ or cock's comb; the _Nerium Oleander_, sometimes called the
Ceylon rose, and the _Yu-lan_, a species of magnolia, the flowers of
which appear before the leaves burst from the buds. Of the scented
plants the _plumeria_ and a double flowering jasmine were the most
esteemed. We observed also in pots the _Ocymum_ or sweet Basil,
_Cloranthus inconspicuous_, called _Chu-lan_, whose leaves are sometimes
mixed with those of tea to give them a peculiar flavour; the _Olea
fragrans_, or sweet scented olive, said also to be used for the same
purpose; a species of myrtle; the much esteemed _Rosa Sinica_; the
_Tuberose_; the strong scented _Gardenia florida_, improperly called the
Cape Jasmine; the China pink and several others, to enumerate which
would exceed the limits of this work.
Of fruits we noticed a variety of figs, and three species of mulberries;
peaches and almonds; the _Annona_ or custard-apple; the _Eugenia
Jambos_, or rose-apple; the much-esteemed _Lee-tchee_ or
_Sapindus-edulis_; and the _Koelreuteria_, another species of the same
genus; the _Averhoa Carambola_, an excellent fruit for tarts; and the
_Ou-long-shoo_, the _Sterculia platanifolia_. Besides these were
abundance of oranges and bananas.
As vegetables for the table, was a great variety of beans and
calavances, among which was the _Dolichos Soja_ or soy plant, and the
_polystachios_, with its large clusters of beautiful scarlet flowers;
the _Cytisus Cadjan_, whole seed yields the famous bean-milk, which it
is the custom of the Emperor to offer to Embassadors on their
presentation; large mild radishes, onions, garlic, _Capsicum_ or
Cayenne-pepper; _convolvulus batatas_, or sweet potatoes; two species of
tobacco; _Amomum_, or ginger, in great quantities, the root of which
they preserve in syrup; _Sinapis_, or mustard, and the _Brassica
orientalis_, from which an oil is expressed for the table.
Of plants that were useful in the arts, we observed the _Rhus vernix_,
or varnish-tree, and two other species of the same genus; _Curcuma_, or
turmeric; _Carthamus_ used as a dye, and the _polygonum Chinense_ for
the same purpose; the _Rhapis flabelliformis_, the dried leaves of which
are used for fans among the common people, and particularly by those who
live in vessels; _Corchorus_ whose bark, in India, is used as flax; but
not, I believe, to any extent in China, the white nettle being here
preferred. The only medicinal plants were the _Rheum palmatum_,
_Artemisia_, and the _Smilax_ or China root.
To make our _entré_ into Canton the more splendid, a number of superb
barges were sent to meet us, carrying flags and streamers and umbrellas
and other insignia of office; and in some were bands of music. About the
middle of the day we arrived before the factories, which constitute a
line of buildings in the European style, extending along the left bank
of the river, where the Embassador was received by the _Song-too_, or
Viceroy, the Governor, the _Ho-poo_, or collector of the customs, and
all the principal officers of the government. From hence we were
conducted to the opposite side of the river, where a temporary building
of poles and mats had been prepared for the occasion; within which was a
screen of yellow silk bearing the name of the Emperor in gilt
characters. Before this screen the Viceroy and other officers performed
the usual prostrations, in token of gratitude to his imperial Majesty,
for his having vouchsafed us a prosperous journey.
It is but doing justice to the Chinese government and to the individuals
in its employ who had any concern in the affairs of the embassy, to
observe, that as far as regarded ourselves, their conduct was uniformly
marked by liberality, attention, and an earnest desire to please. Nor is
there any vanity in saying that, after observing us closely in the
course of a long journey and daily intercourse, the officers of
government gradually dismissed the prejudices imbibed against us, as
foreigners, from their earliest youth. Gained by our frank and open
manners, and by little attentions, they seemed to fly with pleasure to
our society as a relief from the tedious formalities they were obliged
to assume in their official capacity. _Van_ and _Chou_ constantly passed
the evenings in some of our yachts. It is impossible to speak of those
two worthy men in terms equal to their desert. Kind, condescending,
unremitting in their attentions, they never betrayed one moment of
ill-humour from the time we entered China till they took their final
leave at Canton. These two men were capable of real attachments. They
insisted on accompanying the Embassador on board the Lion, where they
took their last farewell. At parting they burst into tears and shewed
the strongest marks of sensibility and concern. Their feelings quite
overcame them, and they left the Lion sorrowful and dejected. Early the
following morning they sent on board twenty baskets of fruit and
vegetables, as a farewell token of their remembrance. We had the
satisfaction to hear, that immediately on their arrival at Pekin they
both were promoted. _Chou_ is at present in a high situation at court,
but _Van_, the cheerful good-humoured _Van_, has paid the debt of
nature, having fallen honourably in the service of his country. On the
conduct of _Lee_, our Chinese interpreter, any praise that I could
bestow would be far inadequate to his merit. Fully sensible of his
perilous situation, he never at any one time shrank from his duty. At
Macao he took an affectionate leave of his English friends, with whom,
though placed in one of the remotest provinces of the empire, he still
contrives to correspond. The Embassador, Lord Macartney, has had several
letters from him; the last of which is of so late a date as March 1802;
so that his sensibility has not been diminished either by time or
distance.
It is the custom of China to consider all Embassadors as guests of the
Emperor, from the moment they enter any part of his dominions, until
they are again entirely out of them. The inconvenience of this custom
was severely felt by us, as it prevented us from purchasing, in an open
manner, many trifling articles that would have been acceptable. The very
considerable expence, incurred by the court on this account, may be one
reason for prescribing the limited time of forty days for all
embassadors to remain at the capital. To meet the expences of the
present Embassy, _Van-ta-gin_ assured me, that they were furnished with
an order to draw on the public treasuries of the different provinces
through which we had to pass, to the amount of five thousand ounces of
silver a-day, or about one thousand six hundred pounds sterling: and
that fifteen hundred ounces a-day had been issued out of the treasury at
Pekin for the support of the Embassy during its continuance there.
Supposing then these data to be correct, and I see no reason for calling
their authenticity in question, we may form an estimate of the whole
expence of this Embassy to the Chinese government.
From the 6th of August (the day we entered
the Pei-ho) to the 21st (when we arrived in Oz.
Pekin) inclusive 16 days, 80,000
From the 22d August to the 6th October (in
Pekin and in Gehol) 46 days, 69,000
From the 7th October to the 19th December
(when we arrived at Canton) 74 days, 370,000
---------
Total ounces of silver 519,000
Or one hundred and seventy-three thousand pounds sterling; three Chinese
ounces being equal to one pound sterling.
It is hardly possible that this enormous sum of money could have been
expended on account of the Embassy, though I have no doubt of its having
been issued out of the Imperial treasury for that purpose. One of the
missionaries informed me, in Pekin, that the Gazette of that capital
contained an article stating the liberality of the Emperor towards the
English Embassador, in his having directed no less a sum than fifteen
hundred ounces of silver to be applied for the daily expences of the
Embassy, while stationary in the capital and at Gehol. The same
gentleman made an observation, that the great officers of government, as
well as those who had the good luck to be appointed to manage the
concerns of a foreign embassy, considered it as one of the best
wind-falls in the Emperor's gift, the difference between the allowances
and the actual expenditure being equivalent to a little fortune.
_Van-ta-gin_, indeed, explained to us, that although the Imperial
warrant was signed for those sums, yet that having a number of offices
to pass through, in all of which it diminished a little, the whole of it
was not actually expended on the Embassy. He gave to the Embassador an
excellent illustration of the manner in which the Imperial bounty was
sometimes applied. An inundation had swept away, the preceding winter, a
whole village in the province of _Shan-tung_, so suddenly, that the
inhabitants could save nothing but their lives. The Emperor having once
lodged at the place immediately ordered 100,000 ounces of silver for
their relief, out of which the first officer of the treasury took
20,000, the second 10,000, the third 5,000, and so on, till at last
there remained only 20,000 for the poor sufferers. So that the boasted
morality of China is pretty much the same, when reduced to practice, as
that of other countries.
The real expence, however, of the British Embassy, could not have been a
trifle, when we consider what a vast multitude of men, horses, and
vessels were constantly employed on the occasion. _Van-ta-gin_ assured
me, that there were seldom fewer than one thousand men, and frequently
many more, employed one way or other in its service; and I am persuaded
he did not intend to exaggerate. In the first place, from the mouth of
the _Pei-ho_ to _Tong-tchoo_, we had forty-one yachts or barges, each on
an average, including boatmen, trackers, and soldiers, having on board
fifteen men; this gives six hundred and fifteen men to the boats only.
Caterers running about the country to collect provisions, boatmen to
bring them to the several barges, the conducting officers, and their
numerous retinue, are not included in this estimate. From _Tong-tchoo_
near three thousand men were employed to carry the presents and baggage,
first to _Hung-ya-yuen_, beyond Pekin, and then back again to the
capital, which took them three days. In our return from _Tong-tchoo_ to
_Hang-tchoo-foo_, we had a fleet of thirty-vessels, with ten men at
least and, for the greatest part of the journey, twenty additional
trackers to each vessel; this gives nine hundred people for the yachts
alone.
From _Hang-tchoo-foo_ to _Eu-shan-shien_ and from _Hang-tchoo-foo_ to
_Chu-san_, there might probably be employed about forty vessels, with
twelve men to each, or four hundred and eighty in the whole. And,
besides the people employed by the officers of government to purchase
provisions, numbers were stationed in different parts of the rivers to
contract the stream, by raking together the pebbles where, otherwise,
the water would have been too shallow for the boats to pass; and others
to attend at all the fluices on the canals to assist the vessels in
getting through the same.
From _Tchang-shan-shien_ to _Eu-shan-shien_, overland, we had about
forty horses, and three or four hundred men to carry the baggage.
From the _Po-yang_ lake to Canton, we had generally about twenty-six
vessels with twenty men to each, including boatmen, soldiers, and
trackers, which gives five hundred and twenty men for these alone.
The Embassy consisted of near one hundred persons, but as for the
several officers and their numerous retinue of guards, attendants, and
runners, I have not the least idea to what their numbers might amount;
all of whom, being on extraordinary service, were supported at the
public expence.
The whole expence of the Embassy to this country, including the
presents, did not exceed eighty thousand pounds; an inconsiderable sum
for such a nation as Great Britain on such an occasion, and not more
than a fourth part of what has been generally imagined.
Although the British factory was in every sense more comfortable than
the most splendid palace that the country afforded, yet it was so
repugnant to the principles of the government for an Embassador to take
up his abode in the same dwelling with merchants, that it was thought
expedient to indulge their notions in this respect, and to accept a
large house in the midst of a garden, on the opposite side of the river,
which was fitted up and furnished with beds in the European manner, with
glazed sash windows, and with fire grates suitable for burning coals. On
our arrival here we found a company of comedians hard at work, in the
middle of a piece, which it seemed had begun at sun-rise; but their
squalling and their shrill and harsh music were so dreadful, that they
were prevailed upon, with difficulty, to break off during dinner, which
was served up in a viranda directly opposite the theatre.
Next morning, however, about sun-rise, they set to work afresh, but at
the particular request of the Embassador, in which he was joined by the
whole suite, they were discharged, to the no small astonishment of our
Chinese conductors, who concluded, from this circumstance, that the
English had very little taste for elegant amusements. Players, it seems,
are here hired by the day and the more incessantly they labour, the more
they are applauded. They are always ready to begin any one piece out of
a list of twenty or thirty, that is presented for the principal visitor
to make his choice.