THE BUILDERS
RELATING HOW THE SUPPLIES WERE USED
IN an incredibly short space of time our compound was overrun by a gang
of one hundred men from the province of Honan. The land in Southern
Shansi has been too fertile and yielded too rich a crop of opium to
leave us good workmen; when therefore we want work quickly and well
done, we inquire for a Honan or Shantung man.
Our helpers searched the countryside for likely trees, which were felled
and in a few days made their reappearance as pillars and beams. Old
buildings were bought, demolished, and sorted into usable and unusable
material, so that as the walls went up the empty spaces about the city
increased in number.
Before dawn each morning we were aroused by the beating of a loud gong
which called the men to work. This work they might not leave until the
last streak of daylight had faded, except for the brief space allowed
for breakfast and dinner, when huge cauldrons of a sticky mass of boiled
millet was ladled out in generous portions. Millet is the cheapest grain
food procurable, and the Shansi man cannot thrive upon it; to the Honan
man it is the staff of life, and in consequence their rate of wage is
lower.
A race of giants they were, handsome, magnificently built, and well
skilled in the use of their simple tools. In the use of the adze they
were particularly proficient, and able to plane a section of wood to
within a hairbreadth of thickness by the use of this alone. They liked
to use it for the most delicate work, so certain are they of their
accurate manipulation, and on one occasion when I supplied a bandage to
bind a wound on the finger of a workman who had met with a slight
accident, as I turned to take up my scissors, the head carpenter,
without a trace of humour on his face, stepped forward with a four-foot
long adze, and offered to sever the calico.
Heavy work requiring the combined strength of several men, such as the
beating in of foundations, or the lifting of a great beam, was
accompanied by the sound of the weirdest rhythmic chant, sustained for
hours if needs be.
A night watchman was employed, who in accordance with the custom of the
country constantly beat a loud gong, by means of which any intending
thief is made aware that all are not asleep. The English policeman's
rubber sole, and the Chinese watchman's noisy methods, strange to
relate, attain the same ends.
On one occasion, hearing blood-curdling yells at midday, we inquired and
were told that a workman had caught a tramp, red-handed, in the act of
stealing his tools. Our informant described him as aged, starved, and
infirm, "truly pitiable," and strung up by his thumbs to a beam. The
sound of those yells made us fear that something akin to the famous
death by slow degrees, so constantly referred to in Chinese
jurisprudence, was being carried into effect at our very door. Pastor
Wang, the merciful, was already interceding on the man's behalf, and we
sent a peremptory message that the thing must stop. Our desire was
acceded to, and the wretched victim made his escape, more terrified than
really hurt.
The next reminder of the incident was the following item in the
builder's final account: "To missing tools, unclaimed in accordance with
missionaries' loving heart, 2s."
One of the minor expenses connected with our building operations was the
inviting of guests to a succession of feasts. The occasion of the
stamping of the contract in the _Yamen_, which marked the conclusion of
the middlemen's responsibility in the purchase of property, was
celebrated by a handsome meal, to which all in any way connected with
the transaction were invited.
The necessity of conciliating our neighbours to the inevitable trouble
which the dust and litter of building would entail upon them, caused us
to spread another feast, to which all who could shelter beneath the term
"neighbour" were asked.
By the building contract we found ourselves obliged to conform to the
customary requirement made by workmen that every tenth day we should
provide a "reward for work," which, in fact, amounted to supplying one
pound of white flour and a handful of vegetable to each workman. This
arrangement ensured pleasant relations between the men and ourselves,
for each time they were our guests grievances were forgotten and a fresh
start made. The swinging of the huge beams of the church roof was the
occasion for extra festivity.
This custom of inviting guests does much to smooth over difficulties,
and is customary, not only in matters of building, but also on numerous
other occasions. For instance, the autumn rains swelling the river
necessitate the use of a ferry boat for about two months of the year.
The expense of this is met by public subscriptions from the more
important people of the city, and a small fare for each passenger. Those
whose names appear on the subscription list are invited to an annual
banquet given by the ferrymen; I have often wondered what would happen
were some simple soul to accept the invitation, which in reality is only
intended to serve as a reminder that subscriptions are now due.
It is part of the convenient social system of this land that no woman
would presume to put in an appearance on such occasions. Throughout the
building operations the only part of the feast in which we were
privileged to share--which privilege was unquestioningly granted--was
the payment of all expenses.
How glad we should have been to find such an easy solution to the
problem of the importunate widow. This aged lady entered a claim for two
stones occupying nine square feet of waste land, to the sale of which
she declared her consent had never been given. The matter had been
referred to middlemen who decided in our favour; nevertheless, we
learned to dread the daily tap, tap, of her stick, and the shrill squawk
of her strident voice as she came with fresh deeds (some of them dating
back to former dynasties) of which she demanded the examination. She was
generally accompanied by friends, all of whom were prepared to support
her claim.
I have seen her stand by the workmen, and with her nagging tongue drive
them, and the foreman, almost to despair. It was impossible to recognise
her rights even to the extent of feasting her, so we endured until the
walls were built, and then to compensate her for her trouble handed her
the equivalent of 2s., which sum she accepted, but every time we meet
her she reminds us that we are occupying land which belongs to her.
The first autumn frosts saw a large expanse of waste land, which had
formerly lain around our compound, transformed into a neat series of
courtyards, and a spacious church occupied seventy feet of the main
street frontage, providing sitting accommodation for a congregation of
six hundred. In all, we had erected fifty _gien_[8] of room space, in
addition to the church.
Thanks to an unusually profitable rate of silver exchange which held
during these few months, and owing to the faithful oversight and
scrupulous economy of Pastor Wang and his helpers, our L500 proved
sufficient to meet all necessary requirements of Church, School, Bible
School, and Dispensary.
FOOTNOTE:
[8] The space between two beams in a Chinese building.
WOMEN'S BIBLE TRAINING SCHOOL
"Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel."
Motto of the Hwochow Bible School.
"Cornelius halted at a doorway in a long, low
wall--the outer wall of some villa courtyard, it
might be supposed--as if at liberty to enter, and
rest there awhile. He held the door open for his
companion to enter also, if he would, with an
expression, as he lifted the latch, which seemed
to ask Marius, "Would you like to see it?" Was he
willing to look upon that, the seeing of which
might define--yes! define the critical
turning-point in his days?"--WALTER PATER.