main land of China, and about 500 miles to the northward of Amoy. These
islands, many of them very diminutive, are so close to each other, that
on threading them to approach the town of Chusan, the channel wears the
appearance of a small river branching out into every direction. If the
leading marks were removed it would be a complete marine labyrinth, and
a boat might pull and pull in and out for the whole day, without
arriving at its destination. Narrow, however, as is the passage, with a
due precaution, and the necessary amount of backing and filling, there
is sufficient water for ships of the largest size. At sunset we anchored
off the town of Chusan. Here the islands form a beautiful little
harbour, sufficiently capacious. The island being covered with tea
plants, the panorama is pretty and refreshing. From the anchorage little
can be seen of the town, as it is built on a flat, and hidden by a
parapet and bank of mud, which runs along the bottom of the harbour.
This temporary fortification is called a bund, and was erected by the
Chinese previous to the capture of the place. Behind this bund is an
esplanade, parallel with which are houses, which serve as barracks for
the troops, and the residences of the civil and military functionaries.
The country is hilly, and several commanding forts are visible from the
anchorage.
On landing, we directed our steps to the town by a causeway which leads
from the landing-place to the gates between the fields of paddy, which
are, as usual, swamped with water. The sides of this causeway are lined
with shops; and the island being occupied by the English, soon stared
you in the face, in the shape of boards in front of each shop, bearing
such inscriptions as "Snip, from Pekin," "Stultz, from Ningpo," and
others equally ludicrous, in good English letters. There were
"Buckmasters" and "Hobys" innumerable; Licensed Victuallers and "Dealers
in Grocery." Passing a tolerably well constructed gate, guarded by an
English sentry, we entered the town. The streets are cleaner than those
of Amoy, and not so narrow; but what gave us most satisfaction was, that
our appearance excited no attention; and we enjoyed our walk, and made
our observations uninterruptedly.
Our first visit was to a toy-shop: a great many articles were exposed
for sale, and many very beautiful carvings; they were, however, far too
delicate for a midshipman's chest, and the price did not exactly suit a
midshipman's pocket. A silk warehouse next occupied our attention: here
we were shown some beautiful embroidery, some of which was purchased.
After walking over the whole town, we proceeded to the principal
joss-house: this was very handsome; but I was sorry that it had been
selected as a barrack, and was occupied by a company of sepoys. The
altar was converted into a stand for arms, and the god Fo was accoutred
with a sheath and cross belt. To complete the absurdity, a green demon
before the altar was grinning maliciously from under the weight of a
frieze coat. At the entrance of the joss-house is a covered porch, under
which are two figures sitting, and in this posture nearly twenty feet
high. The interior of the house is handsomely ornamented and gilt; and
behind the altar there is a row of some fifteen figures, in a sitting
posture, all gilt from head to foot, and forming a very goodly assembly:
they represented old men wrapped in togas, with faces expressive of
instruction, revelation, and wisdom. There was nothing Chinese in their
features; the heads were shaved, and it is to be presumed that they
represented the prophets and holy writers who flourished antecedent to
the great Fo. The expression on their countenances was admirable; and
surprised us the more, from a knowledge how fond the Chinese are of
filling their temples with unnatural and unmeaning devils.
We then visited a smaller god-house: this the 8th regiment had converted
into a theatre. Very little traces of a holy temple were discernible;
and the great Fo occupied a corner of the green-room. The scenes were
painted in fresco, and the whole affair was very tolerably arranged.
Most part of the scenery had been painted by my brother during his stay
at this port in the Cambrian. The Chinamen consider this no sacrilege,
as they always use the temples as theatres themselves.
During the winter months Chusan is very cold, and the snow lies on the
ground. The country there abounds with game--deer, swans, partridges,
pheasants, and wild fowl of every description: the prices are very
moderate; a fine buck may be purchased for a dollar, and a brace of
pheasants for a rupee. It was now the month of May, and the swans and
geese had departed, and game was becoming scarce as the weather became
fine; still, however, there was a duck or so to be picked up, so I
joined a party bent on trying their luck, and we prepared for a hard
day's work.
No one who has not tried it can have an idea of the fatigue of a day's
shooting at Chusan. Having a Chinese covered boat, we loaded her with
quite sufficient to support nature for twenty-four hours; and pulling
about four miles through the channels intersecting the islands, we
landed about daylight. Before us was a vast paddy field, into which we
plunged up to our knees in mud and water. As we approached one of the
dykes which convey the water for the irrigation, caution was observed,
not a word was uttered by one of the party, and our good behaviour was
rewarded by a brace of fine birds, which were deposited in the bag,
carried by a celestial under-keeper. Crossing the dyke, we continued to
wade through the paddy fields, shooting some plover and a red-legged
partridge, until we arrived at a Chinese village. We passed through it,
and fell in with a herd of water buffaloes, as they term them. One of
them charged furiously, but the contents of one of our barrels in his
eyes made him start in mid career; and having had quite enough into his
head, he turned to us his tail. These animals show a great antipathy to
Europeans, probably from not having been accustomed to their dress. Red,
of course, makes them furious, and, thanks to his jacket, a drummer of
one of the regiments was killed by these animals. Towards evening we
felt it quite impossible to wade any further; and although nightfall is
considered the best time for shooting ducks, we thought it was the best
time to return to the boat, which we did not regain, fatigued, hungry,
and covered with mud, till ten o'clock at night.
[Illustration: VIEW ON THE ISLAND OF POO-TOO.
(NEAR CHUSAN.)
F. M. DELT.
M. N. HANHART LITH. PRINTERS
LONDON; LONGMAN & CO. 1848]
One day, strolling in the country about four miles from Chusan, we fell
in with a very pretty little house surrounded with trees. The courtesy
usually shown to the English at Chusan induced us to enter it, that we
might inspect the premises. Its owner, a mandarin, was absent, but his
major-domo took us over the whole house. The round doors and
oyster-shell windows amused us greatly. The garden was ornamented with
artificial rocks, studded with flowering shrubs, with great taste. There
were two or three grottoes, in one of which was a joss; and an arbour of
lilacs and laburnums, in full bloom, gave a charming appearance to the
whole. Thanking the Chinaman for his civility, we went away, much
pleased with the mandarin's country retreat.
During our stay at Chusan we had made a party to go to the island of
Poo-too, but we were hurried away sooner than we expected, and our
design was frustrated. I will, however, give a description of the island
of Poo-too, as described to me. This island is about forty miles from
Chusan, and is inhabited solely by priests. These being condemned to a
life of celibacy, no woman resides on the island, which is covered with
temples of all descriptions, many of them very handsome, but one in
particular, which was built by the emperor. The island is not large, and
is laid out like a vast garden, with squares and walks, bridges, &c.
We left Chusan, and soon afterwards anchored off the mouth of the Ningpo
River, which is only thirty miles to northward and westward of the
Chusan isles. The first object of interest before us was the famous
joss-house fort, which gave us so much trouble at the capture. General
D'Aguilar and Captain Mundy being about to visit the city of Ningpo, a
party of us obtained a week's leave of absence for the same purpose. We
landed in a ship's boat at Chinghae, a small but tolerably fortified
town, which, however, needs no description. There we obtained a covered
Chinese boat, in which we put our beds and blankets, intending to live
on board her during our stay at Ningpo. Starting with a fair wind and
tide, by noon we were within five miles of the city, which is built
about forty miles up the river. The banks of the river appeared to be
highly cultivated, and the river was crowded with boats of all
descriptions, some going up with the tide, others at anchor, waiting for
the tide to change, to go in an opposite direction. The first that we
saw of Ningpo was a low wall, from the middle of which rose a tall
pagoda. This, with innumerable masts of the vessels lying off the town,
was all that was visible: nor could we discern much more on a nearer
approach. Threading the crowd of vessels which filled the river, on our
left we could only see the wall and battlements of the town, the
before-mentioned pagoda soaring above every thing. To the right, on the
side of the river opposite to the town, were several detached houses,
surrounded with low shrubberies; behind these was the Chinese country,
and then the eye wandered over countless paddy fields, until it at last
rested upon some faint blue mountains in the distance.
Among the houses on the right was that of the vice-consul, Mr. Thorn.
Anchoring our boat as near to his landing-place as possible, we made
arrangements for the night, it being then too late to pay him the
accustomed visit. We had, however, scarcely spread our mattresses, and
put some supper on the fire, when we were hailed by a Chinese boy, and
requested to come on shore. Ignorant from whence the invitation might
come, but nothing loath, we hauled our boat to the jetty, and, landing,
followed young pigtail, who ushered us through a court-yard into a house
of tolerable dimensions, agreeably arranged according to English ideas
of comfort. In five minutes more we were introduced to Mr. Mackenzie, an
English merchant, who, having been informed of our arrival, had sent for
us to request that, during our stay at Ningpo, we would make his house
our home. We would not tax his hospitality so far as to sleep at his
house, having already made our own arrangements; but we willingly
accepted his kind offer of being his guests during the day, and proved
our sincerity by immediately sitting down to an excellent dinner, and in
the evening we retreated to our boat. The next morning we breakfasted
with our host, and then crossed the river, to inspect the city. Having
landed at one of the gates, we hired a sort of sedan chairs, which were
carried by two athletic Tartars, and proceeded to examine a very
remarkable building called the Ruined Pagoda. I shall give Dr. Milne's
description of it, taken out of the Chinese repository, as I think it
will be better than my own:--
"We bent our steps to the Tien-fung, called by foreigners the Ruined
Pagoda. Foreigners make for it as soon as they enter the east gate.
After shaping their course in a south-east direction through numberless
streets, it abruptly bursts upon the view, rising 160 feet above their
heads, and towering high above the surrounding houses. The pagoda is
hexagonal, and counts seven stories and twenty-eight windows. Above
every window is a lantern, and when the pagoda is illuminated, the
effect is very brilliant. This building is in much need of repair, and
is daily becoming more dilapidated. It has already deviated many feet
from the perpendicular, and might not unaptly be described as the
Leaning Tower of Ningpo."
Dr. Milne thus describes the view from the summit:--
"The entire city and suburbs lay beneath us; the valley of Ningpo, with
its hamlets and villages, hills and rivers, on every side; and away in
the distance, on the one hand chains of lofty mountains, the sea, with
all its islands, on the other." Dr. Milne asserts that Ningpo is 10,000
years old, and that the pagoda was raised antecedent to the city being
built. He concludes by explaining the object of the Chinese in raising
these monuments.
[Illustration: PAGODA--NINGPO.]
The view from the summit is remarkably fine, and the ruinous condition
of the pagoda almost warrants the supposition of its being nearly as
ancient as Dr. Milne asserts. I made a drawing of it, and we then
proceeded to the joss-house, which is considered as the handsomest in
the Celestial empire. No part of the building was visible from the
street, and we stopped at an unpretending door where we dismounted from
our vehicles. A Bhuddist priest, clothed in grey and his head shaved,
ushered us through a long gallery into the court-yard of the temple. To
describe this building accurately would be impossible. It was gilt and
carved from floor to ceiling. The porch was supported by pillars of
stone beautifully carved with figures of griffins and snakes. In the
court-yard were two lions carved out of a purple marble, and in the
middle of the yard was an immense brazen ram highly ornamented with
hieroglyphics and allegorical designs. As for the temple itself, it was
so vast, so intricate, and so various in its designs and gildings, that
I can only say picture to yourself a building composed entirely of
carving, coloured porcelain, and gilding, and then you may have a faint
idea of it. I attempted to make a drawing of it, but before I had
obtained much more than the outline, it was time to recross the river.
We dined and passed the evening with Mr. Mackenzie as before. The next
morning I walked to the Chinese cemetery with my gun in my hand, and
shot a few snipe and wood pigeons, and after breakfast we crossed the
river to pay a visit to the shops of Ningpo. The streets of the city are
narrow, but superior to any that we had yet seen. The principal streets
are ornamented with stone arches, and the huge painted boards used by
the Chinese for advertisements give them a very gay appearance. We first
entered into a furniture warehouse, some 300 yards in length, and filled
with Chinese bedsteads carved and gilt in a very splendid manner. These
bedsteads consist of moveable frames about twelve feet square, and
within them are disposed couches, chairs, tables, and the requisites for
the toilet, besides a writing desk, so that a bedstead in China contains
all the furniture of the room. Some of these were valued at five and six
hundred dollars, but were very highly ornamented and of exquisite
workmanship.
A hat shop was the next visited. Its interior would have been considered
splendid even in Regent Street. A long highly polished counter with a
top of cane-work, was loaded with the hats and caps of Mandarins of
every class, and the display was very tempting to those who wanted them.
We then passed five minutes in a porcelain warehouse; from the warehouse
we went to a toy-shop, and being by this time pretty well encumbered
with mandarins' hats and caps, gongs, and a variety of other articles
which we did not want, at the same time making the discovery that our
purses were not encumbered with dollars as they were when we set forth,
we thought it advisable to leave off shopping for the day.
The next day we visited the Hall of Confucius, which was not worth
seeing, nor could we discover to what use it was dedicated, so we turned
from it and went off to see a Chinese play. As we proceeded to the
theatre we were surprised to hear a lad singing "Jim along Josey," we
turned round and found it was a real pig tail who was singing, and we
inquired where he learnt the air. We found that he had served on board
one of our vessels during the Chinese war, so we hired the young traitor
as a cicerone during our stay at Ningpo, and ordered him to follow us to
the theatre, which as usual was a temple or joss-house.
[Illustration: CHINESE JOSS HOUSE AT NINGPO.
F. M. DELT.
M. N. HANHART LITH. PRINTERS
LONDON; LONGMAN & CO. 1848]
We found it crowded with Chinese, and the actors were performing on a
raised platform. Our entrance caused a great sensation, and for a short
time the performance was unnoticed by the audience. Our beaver hats
quite puzzled them, for we were in plain clothes; even the actors
indulged in a stare, and for a short time we were "better than a play."
The Chinese acting has been often described: all I can say is, that so
far it was like real life that all the actors were speaking at one time,
and it was impossible to hear what they said, even if the gongs had not
kept up a continual hammering, which effectually drowned the voices. At
all events they were well off in the property line, being all very
showily dressed. Fireworks were at intervals exploded, and occasionally
a tumbler would perform some feat, but I felt little interest in the
performance, and kept my eyes on the gallery containing the ladies,
among whom I saw one or two very pretty faces.
The wall round Ningpo is built wide enough for a carriage drive. It has
embrasures, but no guns were mounted. By ascending some steps near to
the town gate we found ourselves on the top of the wall, and walked half
round the town on the parapet. It was very extensive, and, as far as the
eye could reach, the plain was studded with country houses of a slate
colour.
I forgot to mention that while here we visited a sect of Chinese nuns or
female devotees. They were assembled in a large room, at one end of
which was an image of the god Fo. Each nun was seated at a small table
on which was a reading stand and a book of prayers. They were all
reading, and at the same time beating a hollow painted piece of wood:
the latter duty was, we were informed, to keep up the attention of the
god. What with them all gabbling at once, and the tapping noise made
with the wood, god Fo appeared more likely to have his attention
distracted than otherwise. However, it was of no consequence, as Fo was
one of that description of gods mentioned in the Bible, among whose
attributes we find, "Ears have they, but they hear not."
We remained here a week, and I was much interested with what I saw; but
so much has already been written about the Chinese, that I wish to
confine myself to what may be considered unbroken ground. As the time
fixed for our departure approached, we determined to go to Chinghae
overland, in chairs. Taking a farewell of our kind and hospitable host,
Mr. Mackenzie, we each took a chair, and took our departure. The road
was interesting, being at one time through tea plantations, and at
another through paddy fields. Our bearers were strong muscular fellows,
and thought little of carrying us twenty-five miles. We passed crowds of
Chinamen irrigating the land, and working in the paddy fields. In some
instances they favoured us with a salute of yells and stones; and as we
approached Chinghae, the unwashed vented their feelings in some very
unpleasant ways. In the town we were followed by a mob; and by the time
we had reached the quay, and procured a boat to take us off to the ship,
the whole town had turned out. Tapping one or two of the most officious
with the bamboo oars, we managed to shove the boat off, and pulled on
board.
We sailed for Chusan the same evening, but this time I unfortunately was
attacked by one of the prevailing diseases of the country, and was
confined to my hammock. We revisited Amoy, and then shaped our course
for Hong Kong. On our arrival, we found no ship there but the Castor,
the admiral and fleet being employed on the coast of Borneo, subduing
the pirates in Maludu Bay. The ship being again about to start for the
northward, I was considered too unwell to remain in her, and was sent on
board the Minden hospital ship, to live or to die, as it might please
God.
The Minden hospital ship is a fine 74; and as all the guns, masts, and
stores, had been landed at the time that she was selected for the duty,
there was great accommodation on board of her; but great as it was,
unfortunately there was not sufficient to meet the demands upon it in
this unhealthy climate. A description of her internal arrangement may
not be uninteresting. The quarter-deck and poop was set apart for the
convalescents; but the heat of the sun was so overpowering, that it was
not until late in the afternoon that they could breathe the purer
atmosphere. Long confinement below had left them pale and wan, and their
unsteady gait proved how much they had suffered in their constitution,
and how narrowly they had escaped the grave. To some this escape had
been beneficial, as their constant perusal of the Bible established;
others, if they even had during their illness alarms about their future
state, had already dismissed them from their thoughts, and were
impatiently awaiting their return to health to return to past folly and
vice. The main deck was allotted to the medical and other officers
belonging to the ship, the seamen who composed the ship's company, and
also on this deck were located the seamen who had been discharged cured,
and who then waited for the arrival of their ships, which were absent
from Hong Kong. On this deck, abaft all, was the inspector's cabin, and
adjoining it the mess-room of the assistant-surgeons, who, like all
their class, rendered callous by time and habit to their dangerous and
painful duty, thought only of driving away the memory of the daily
mortality to which they were witnesses by jovial living and mirth.
Indeed nothing could be a more harassing scene than that of the lower
deck, where the patients were located. Under any circumstances an
hospital is a depressing and afflicting sight, even with all the
advantages of clean well-regulated wards, attentive nurses, and pure
ventilation. Imagine then the feelings of a sick wretch, stretched on a
canvass cot, who is first hoisted up the ship's side, and then lowered
down a dark hatchway (filled with anxiety and forebodings as to his ever
leaving the vessel alive) to the scene of misery which I am about to
describe--the lower deck of the Minden hospital ship.