From Navarette, Le Comte, Du Halde, &c.
The Husbandmen in China, as to rank, are preferred to Merchants
and Mechanics. They are endowed with large privileges, their
profession being considered as the most necessary one in a state.
Navarette observes, that the Chinese say, that the Emperor ought
to take them under his particular care, and to allow them as
large privileges as may be; because all the empire subsists by
their labour and industry. Nay, it could not subsist without the
strongest inclination and application of the country-people that
way! China being so vastly populous, that if every inch of arable
land was sowed, as in fact it generally is, yet the produce would
be scarce sufficient to support the multitudes of inhabitants; and
the empire is too extensive to have its wants that way supplied from
foreign parts, even if it kept up a correspondence with them. For
these reasons it has always been one of the chiefest cares of the
government to promote Agriculture, by honouring husbandmen and their
profession. With this view a festival is instituted in honour of
agriculture; and the Emperor himself, once a year, turns ploughman,
in imitation, as it is said, of the early monarchs, whose history
seems to be calculated for the same end.
The common opinion, according to the Missioners, is, that husbandry
was first taught by _Shin-nong_, who is at this day reverenced
as the inventor of so useful an art; which has still gained
farther credit from what is related in the books of their ancient
philosophers. The Emperor _Yau_, who began to reign four hundred and
eighty years after the monarch, it seems, set aside his own children
in favour of a young husbandman, whom he chose for his successor.
This choice of an emperor out of the country, has inspired the
Chinese with a great esteem for agriculture. _Yu_, who succeeded
_Shun_, came to the throne after the same manner. It is said, he
found out the way, by means of canals, to drain off the water into
the sea, which at the beginning of the empire overflowed several
low countries, and afterwards made use of them to render the soil
fruitful. It is added that he wrote several books concerning the
manner of cultivating land, and watering it, which induced _Shun_
to appoint him his successor, and has contributed much to raise the
credit of agriculture, as they see it has been thought worthy the
care and application of a great Prince.
Several other emperors have expressed their zeal for this art. _Kang
Vang_, third monarch of the _Chew_ family, caused land-marks to be
fixed, to prevent disputes among the husbandmen. _King-Ving_, the
twenty-fourth of the same race, in whose reign _Confusius_ was born,
five hundred and thirty-one years before Christ, renewed the laws
that had been made for promoting agriculture. In a word, the Emperor
_Ven-ti_, who reigned three hundred and fifty-two years after,
raised its esteem to a great pitch: for this Prince perceiving,
that his country was ruined by the wars, to engage his subjects to
cultivate the land, set them an example himself, by ploughing the
fields belonging to his palace: which obliged all the ministers and
gentlemen of his court to do the same.
It is thought, that this was the original of a great festival that
is solemnized every year in all the great cities of China, when
the sun enters the fifteenth degree of aquarius; which the Chinese
look upon as the beginning of the spring. On this day the Governor
comes out of his palace, carried in his chair, preceded by banners,
lighted torches, and divers instruments; he is attended with several
litters, painted, and adorned with a variety of silk tapestry;
exhibiting various figures, and the portraits of illustrious
persons who had practised husbandry, with histories relating to
the same subject! He is crowned with flowers; and marches in this
equipage towards the eastern gate of the city, as it were to meet
the spring.
Among the figures, there is a cow of earthenware, so monstrously
large that forty men can hardly carry it.--Behind the cow, whose
horns are gilt, is a young child with one foot naked and the other
shod: him they call the _genius of labour and diligence_; who
strikes the earthen cow incessantly with a rod, as though it were to
make it advance. All the husbandmen follow with their instruments;
after whom proceed companies of Masquers and Comedians, acting
plays. In this manner they march to the Governor's palace, where
they strip the cow of her ornaments; and drawing out of her belly a
prodigious number of small cows made of clay, and distribute them
among the multitude, as well as the fragments of the cow, which they
break into pieces.--Afterwards the Governor makes a short discourse,
recommending the care of husbandry as one of the things most
conducive to the good of a state.
The attention of the Emperors and Mandarins to the cultivation
of the land is so great, that when deputies arrive at court from
the Vice-Roys, the Chinese monarch never forgets to demand in
what condition the fields appeared to them; and the falling of
a seasonable shower furnishes a proper occasion for visiting a
Mandarin, to compliment him thereupon.--Every year, in spring,
which falls in February, the Emperor (according to the ancient
custom) goes himself, in a solemn manner, to plough a few ridges
of land, in order to animate the husbandmen by his own example;
and the Mandarins of every city perform the ceremony, which is as
follows--The tribunal of Mathematics having, pursuant to orders,
fixed on the twenty-fourth of the second moon, as the proper day
for the ceremony of tillage, that of the Rites gave notice to the
present Emperor _Yong-Ching_, by a memorial which set forth the
following particulars to be observed by him, preparatory to this
festival.--1st. That he should appoint 12 illustrious persons to
attend and plough after him, viz. three princes, and nine presidents
of the sovereign courts; or the assistants of the latter, in case
they were too old, or infirm.--2nd. That as this ceremony does not
solely consist in the Emperor's ploughing the earth, in order to
stir up emulation by his own example; but also includes a sacrifice,
which he, as Chief Pontiff, offers to _Shang-ti_, to procure plenty
from him in favour of the people; therefore by way of preparation,
he ought to fast and observe continence the three preceding days;
the Princes and Mandarins, who accompany his Majesty, ought to
prepare themselves in the same manner.--3rd. That on the eve of the
ceremony, his Majesty is to send several Lords of the first quality
to the Hall of his ancestors, to prostrate themselves before their
Tablet, and give them notice, as though they were yet living, that
the next day he will offer the great sacrifice.
Besides these directions to the Emperor, the tribunal likewise
prescribes the preparations to be made by the different tribunals;
one is obliged to prepare the sacrifice; another to compose the
formula; another to carry and set up the tents, under which his
Majesty is to dine, in case he so orders it; a fourth is to assemble
forty or fifty husbandmen, venerable for their age, who are to be
present when the Emperor ploughs the ground, with forty of the
younger sort to make ready the ploughs, yoke the oxen, and prepare
the grain that is to be sown; consisting of five sorts, supposed to
comprehend all the rest, as wheat, rice, beans, and two kinds of
millet.
On the twenty-fourth day of the moon, the Emperor went with his
whole court, in his habit of ceremony, to the place appointed, to
offer to _Shang-ti_ the spring sacrifice; by which he is implored to
increase and preserve the fruits of the earth. The place is a little
hillock made of earth, a few furlongs south from the city; on the
side of this elevation, which ought to be fifty feet four inches
high, is the spot which is to be ploughed by the Imperial hands.
After the Emperor had offered sacrifices, he descended with the
three Princes and nine Presidents, who were to plough with him.
Several great Lords carried the valuable chests, which contained
the grains that were to be sown. All the court attended with
profound silence; then the Emperor took the plough and tilled the
ground several times backwards and forwards; when he quitted it a
prince of the blood held it and ploughed; as did all the rest in
their turns. After having ploughed in several places, the Emperor
sowed the different grain; and the day following, the Husbandmen by
profession, (forty-four of them old and forty-two of them young)
finished the remainder of the field that was left untilled. The
ceremony concluded with the appointed reward, which the Emperor
bestowed upon each of them; consisting of four pieces of dyed cotton
to make cloths.
The Governor of _Pe-King_ goes often to visit this field, which is
cultivated with great care; and examines all the ridges thoroughly,
to see if he can meet with any uncommon ears, such as they reckon
good omens; on which occasion he gives notice, that he found a
stalk, for instance, that bore thirteen ears. In the autumn the same
governor gets in the grain in yellow sacks; which are stowed in a
granary built for that purpose, called the _Imperial Magazine_. This
grain is kept for the most solemn ceremonies; for when the Emperor
sacrifices to _Tyen_, or _Shang-ti_, he offers it as the fruit of
his own hands; and on certain days in the year, he presents it to
his ancestors, as if they were still living.
Among several good regulations made by the same Emperor, he has
shown an uncommon regard for the Husbandmen. To encourage them in
their labour, he has ordered the governors of all the cities to send
him notice every year, of the person of this profession, in their
respective districts, who is most remarkable for his application to
agriculture; for unblemished reputation; for preserving union in
his own family, and peace with his neighbours; for his frugality
and aversion to extravagance. Upon the report of the governor,
the Emperor will advance this wise and diligent Husbandman to the
degree of a Mandarin of the eighth order, and send him patents of an
ordinary Mandarin; which distinction will entitle him to wear the
habit of a Mandarin, to visit the governor of the city, to sit in
his presence, and drink tea with him. He will be respected all the
rest of his days.--After his death he will have funeral obsequies
suitable to his degree; and his title of honour shall be written in
the hall of his ancestors. What emulation must such a reward excite
among the Husbandmen!
Accordingly we find that they are continually busied about their
lands if they have any time to spare, they go immediately to the
mountains to cut wood; to the garden to look to their herbs, or
to cut canes, &c. so that they are never idle. The land in China
never lies fallow. Generally the same ground produces three crops
in a year; first rice; and before it is reaped they sow fitches;
and when they are in, wheat, beans, or some other grain: thus it
goes continually round. They very seldom employ their land for
unprofitable uses, such as flower gardens, or fine walks; believing
useful things more for the public good, and their own.
The attention of husbandmen is chiefly employed in the cultivation
of rice. They manure their land extremely well; gathering for that
purpose, with extraordinary care, all sorts of ordure, both of men
and animals, or truck for it wood, herbs, or linseed oil. This kind
of manure, which elsewhere would burn up the plants, is very proper
for the lands of China; where they have an art of tempering it with
water before they use it. They gather the dung in pails, which they
commonly carry covered on their shoulders; and this contributes very
much to the cleanness of their cities, whose filth is thus taken
away every day.
In the province of _Che-Kyang_, and other places, where they sow
rice, they use balls of hog's, or even human hair; which, according
to them, gives strength to the land, and makes that grain grow
better. For this reason, Barbers save the hair which they cut off
the heads, and sell for about a halfpenny a pound to such people,
who carry it away in bags; and you may often see barks loaded with
it. When the plant begins to ear, if the land be watered with spring
water, they mix quicklime with it; saying that it kills worms and
insects, destroys weeds, and gives a warmth to the ground, which
contributes much to fertility. By this means the rice fields are so
clean, that Navarette, sometimes, walked through them, looking for
some small herb; and could never find any; so that he concludes, the
rice which is surprisingly tall and fine, draws all the nourishment
from the ground.
The husbandmen sow their grain at first without any order; but when
it has shot about a foot, or a foot and a half high, they pluck it
up by the roots; and making it into a sort of small sheaves, plant
it by a line, and checkerwise; to the end, that ears, resting upon
each other, may stand more firmly, and resist the winds.--But,
before the rice is transplanted, they level the land, and make it
very smooth, after the following manner. Having ploughed the ground
three or four times successively, always to the ancles in water,
they break the clods with the head of their mattocks; then, by the
help of a wooden machine (on which a man stands upright, and guides
the buffalo that draws it) they smooth the earth, that the water may
be every where of an equal height; insomuch that the plains seem
more like vast gardens than open fields.
The mountains in China are all cultivated; but one sees neither
hedges nor ditches, nor scarce any tree; so fearful they are of
loosing an inch of ground. It is very agreeable to behold, in some
places, plains three or four leagues in length, surrounded with
hills and mountains, cut from bottom to top, into terraces three
or four feet high, and rising one above another, sometimes to the
number of twenty or thirty. These mountains are not generally rocky,
as those in Europe, the soil being light and porous, and so easy to
be cut in several provinces, that one may dig three or four hundred
feet without meeting with the rock. When the mountains are rocky,
the Chinese loosen the stones, and make little walls of them to
support the terraces; they then level the good soil and sow it with
grain.
They are still more industrious.--Though in some provinces, there be
barren and uncultivated mountains, yet the valleys and fields which
separate them in a vast number of places, are very fruitful and well
cultivated. The husbandman first levels all the unequal places that
are capable of culture. He then divides that part of the land, which
is on the same level, into plots; and that along the edges of the
valleys, which is unequal, into stories, in form of an amphitheatre:
and as the rice will not thrive without water, they make reservoirs,
at proper distances, and different heights, to catch the rain and
the water which descends from the mountains, in order to distribute
it equally among their rice plots; either by letting it run down
from the reservoir to the plots below, or causing it to ascend from
the lower reservoir to the highest stories.
For this purpose they make use of certain hydraulic engines, which
are very simple, both as to their make and the manner of playing
them. It is composed of a chain made of wood, resembling a chaplet
or pair of beads, strung as it were with a great number of flat
boards, six or seven inches square, and placed parallel at equal
distances. This chain passes through a square tube or gutter: at
the lower end whereof is a smooth cylinder or barrel, whose axis is
fixed in the two sides: and to the upper end is fastened a sort of
drum, set round with little boards to answer those of the chain,
which passes round both it and the cylinder; so that when the drum
is turned, the chain turns also; and, consequently, the lower end of
the gutter or tube being put into the water, and the drum-end set
to the height where the water is to be conveyed, the boards filling
exactly the cavity of the tube, must carry up a continual stream
so long as the machine is in motion; which is performed in three
ways:--1st. With the hand, by means of one or two handles applied
to the ends of the axis of the drum.--2nd. With the feet, by means
of certain large wooden pegs, about half a foot long, set round the
axle-tree of the drum for that purpose.--These pegs have long heads,
rounded on the outside, for applying the soles of the naked feet; so
that one or more men, may with the greatest ease put the engine in
motion, either standing or sitting; their hands being employed all
the while, the one holding an umbrella, and the other a fan.--3rd.
By the assistance of a buffalo, or some other animal made fast to
a great wheel, about four yards in diameter, placed horizontally.
Round its circumference are fixed a great number of pegs or teeth;
which tallying exactly with those in the axle-tree of the drum, turn
the machine with a great deal of ease.
When a canal is to be cleansed, which often happens,--it is divided,
at convenient distances, by dikes; and every neighbouring village,
being allotted its share, the peasants immediately appear with
their chain-engines; whereby the water is conveyed from one to the
other. This labour, though painful, is soon ended, by means of the
multitudes of hands. In some parts, as the province of _Fo-Kyen_,
the mountains, though not very high, are contiguous, and with
scarce any valleys between; yet they are all cultivated by the art
which the husbandmen have to convey the water from one to the other
through pipes made of bamboo.
To this surprizing industry of the husbandmen, is owing that
great plenty of grain and herbs, that reigns in China above all
other regions. Notwithstanding which, the land hardly suffices to
support its inhabitants; and one may venture to say, that to live
comfortably they have need of a country as large again.