The Present Situation in China
Since the preceding chapters were written great changes have taken
place in the Chinese Empire, and a new reign has begun. The sudden,
simultaneous death of the Emperor and the Dowager Empress at first
caused a feeling of general consternation; but it soon became evident
that the reins of government had passed into strong and capable hands.
The Regent has already shown that he intends to pursue the policy of
his predecessor, both with regard to external and internal matters, and
reform is the order of the day.
In the concluding pages of this volume I venture to give a brief
summary of the special points under consideration at the present time,
which foreshadow the changes to be expected in the near future. It
is impossible for any one, no matter how intimately acquainted with
Chinese affairs, to foretell what will be the outcome of the great
constitutional change which is contemplated; but it is of importance
that the European public should understand the conditions under which
it takes place. It would be presumption on my part to do anything more
than call attention to the problems and the difficulties which beset
the path of the reformer.
At the present time the government of China is an absolute monarchy,
and as the new Emperor is but four years old, the supreme power is
vested in a Regent, his father, Prince Chun: he was really appointed
by the late Dowager Empress, though nominally by the Emperor. The
Regent is assisted by a Grand Council, composed of five leading State
officials, and contains some of the ablest statesmen in the Empire.
There are, moreover, several boards for the control and management of
various State departments, such as the Wai wupu, the Board for Foreign
Affairs (formerly called the Tsung Li Yamen); the Lung-kung-shangpu,
the Board of Agriculture, Industry, and Commerce; the Tuchihpu, the
Board of Finance; the Boards of Education, of Justice, of War, of Naval
Affairs, &c.; but all these boards are under the absolute control of
the Regent. He has the supreme authority, and can depose, banish,
or execute at will, and without any form of trial, any official of
whatsoever rank, as was seen in the recent case of H.E. Yuan Shih Kai,
one of the ablest Chinese statesmen and one of the leading figures
in educational reform. The Regent appoints all officials on these
several boards, all viceroys and governors of provinces, and all
envoys to foreign countries. Since the troubles of 1900 there has been
a growing desire for constitutional reform, and a few years ago H.E.
Tuan Fang, Viceroy of the Liangkiang, was despatched on a mission of
investigation to several large European countries, to America, and to
Japan. I cannot do better than quote his own words as to the result
of his mission. They form part of a preface written by him (as an
introduction) to Green’s “Short History of the English People,” which
has recently been translated into Chinese. “In the various civilised
countries my object was to select and compare their constitutions.
Arriving in London, I saw the excellent order of the constitution in
ruler and people. In Japan’s reformation she got much from England;
much more will our country by-and-by take England for her model....
Excellent is the word of Dr. Macklin [the translator], ‘If you desire
to establish a constitution you must follow England. To follow England
you must read English history.’”
The determination has been arrived at to have a representative
assembly; other envoys have been sent to Europe to obtain fuller
information about constitutional methods, and measures are being
taken to prepare the Chinese people for the momentous change. The
development of local government is an important step in this direction,
and the Regent has strongly commended the successful work done in the
Liangkiang provinces, urging others to follow the good example of
H. E. Tuan Fang. The elective body will be a very limited one: it will
consist of (i) all holders of literary degrees (students only holding
degrees granted by Christian colleges are debarred from voting); (ii)
all holders of property to the amount of 5000 taels (about £750).
Those eligible for the vote are further restricted by the prohibition
against opium-smokers, Buddhist monks, &c. The date is not yet fixed
for the summoning of the first assembly, but it is proposed that it
should take place in the fourth year of the present reign.
The salient characteristic of the present Government is the divorce
of the executive from the legislative faculty. Edicts are issued
incessantly, but very little is done to give practical effect to
the majority of them. Official corruption is almost universal, and
the difficulties of combating it are so great that many good men
are deterred from entering official life because they feel the
impossibility of putting a stop to bribery in their own Yamens. Up
to the present time bribery has been legitimatised and nothing done
to check it, except in flagrant cases; now there is to be a serious
attempt made to put it down, and the fact is recognised that it is a
public wrong, as may be seen from the edict quoted on page 129.
While the general public in China does not show much interest in the
question of representative government, nor indeed understand anything
about it, there is a growing interest taken in the question of social
reforms. One of the most pressing ones is that of prison reform. The
extra-territoriality agreement is a source of constant irritation to
the Chinese, although they are forced to admit the necessity for it,
so long as the administration, the prisons, and the laws are in such
an unsatisfactory condition. Commissioners have been appointed to
thoroughly investigate the whole question and to study European prison
methods, while newspaper intelligence informs us that a gallows has
been imported from Great Britain! New prisons are being erected in many
places, but that is the least important change which humanity demands.
Of more importance than prison reform is the opium question. Since the
conference at Shanghai in the early part of this year more strenuous
efforts are being made to combat the evil, and real progress is
reported from those parts of the Empire where officials are loyally and
enthusiastically enforcing the imperial decrees. In a report of H.E.
Tuan Fang it is stated that during the three years which have elapsed
since the anti-opium campaign was started 60 per cent. of the smokers
have given up the habit. The mowage of the poppy-planted ground and the
number of opium shops have been decreased more than 50 per cent.
From the province of Yünnan, where we saw much poppy cultivation, news
comes that the traveller sees practically none; from Szechwan and
Shansi similar reports state that other crops have entirely replaced
the poppy except in isolated districts. Opium dens are being closed,
and fines and other punishments are imposed on growers and sellers of
the drug. In addition to the severe penalties already in force, yet
worse are to follow in case opium-smoking is not abandoned within the
prescribed time limit. From the current year--according to a recent
edict--to the fifth year of Hsuan Tung the maximum penalty for
officials smoking opium is _strangulation_; in the sixth year this
penalty is to be extended to the gentry, and in the seventh to the
common people. There is no doubt but that China is in real earnest in
her determination to root out what she considers the worst evil in
her national life, and it will be a disgrace to the British Empire
if we let selfish considerations prevent our loyal co-operation with
her. What is to be said of such double-dealing as is shown in the
fact that the British Government has agreed to reduce the import of
opium from India, and to let it entirely cease by 1917, provided the
Chinese Government shows her sincerity in putting down the traffic,
while at the same time the very efforts made by the Chinese officials
are checkmated by the protests of his Majesty’s Government? This has
actually stopped the splendid work of H.E. Tuan Fang in the Kiangsu
province during the last two years. “His action was suspended on the
protest of his Majesty’s Government that it came in conflict with
treaty provisions. The whole scheme is now in abeyance,” &c.[9]
Other difficulties which China has to face in dealing with the opium
question are set forth in an imperial decree of March 15, 1909:--
“Opium suppression is a necessary measure to the strengthening
of our Empire, as well as the main-spring of the development and
instruction of the people, involving, as it does, questions of hygiene,
of enriching the people, of developing terrestrial profits, and of
arresting a drain on the national wealth. All eyes are turned to this
subject, and much universal sympathy and assistance have been exhibited.
“On the question, three steps are closely interrelated and dependent,
and these are: prohibition of smoking and of plantation, and devising
of means to raise revenue to fill the deficit caused in the opium
duties. Should any one of these be inefficiently carried out, the other
two will in consequence be hampered, and success would be looked for in
vain.
“In recent years, though officials addicted to the smoking habit have
been examined and denounced on repeated occasions by the Anti-Opium
Commissioners and Viceroys and Governors of the provinces, there still
exists a number of them who trifle with the interdict and veneer their
faults in that respect.
“With regard to the prohibition of the poppy plantation in the
provinces, it was first decided to decrease the plantation gradually in
ten years. Later, the authorities of Yünnan, Szechwan, Shansi, Chili,
Heilungkiang, and other provinces asked permission to forbid plantation
entirely in one year. This, no doubt, shows great energy of purpose;
but whether their intention is thoroughly carried out in all their
provinces, and whether the local officials succeed in inducing the
people to plant other profitable products on their soil to yield them
a living so that they gladly submit to the suppression, remains to be
seen.
“The duties and likin on this drug are required for the bulk of the
army estimates. Recently the Ministry of Finance memorialised us and
obtained permission to increase the price of salt to make up for these
duties and likin. This plan, however, only aggregates four or five
million taels, and there still remains a large deficit.
“We are eagerly bent on introducing a better government, and between
our agitation at the long weakness of our people, in whom it is
difficult to infuse energy, and the fear that the expectations of
the friendly Powers may not be easily satisfied, we are filled with
constant and pressing anxiety. We hereby reiterate the prohibition
against smoking. The Anti-Opium Commissioners and the high officials in
the capital and provinces are held responsible to forbid, faithfully
and with energy, all officials, civil or military, to smoke. Those in
command of troops or in charge of educational institutions are made
responsible for suppression of smoking among soldiers and students.
As to merchants and the people, the responsibility must rest with the
Ministry of the Interior, the Viceroys, Governors, Military Governors,
and the Governor of the Imperial Prefecture of Shuntienfu. They will
try to obtain the best prescriptions, establish anti-opium institutes,
and distribute free medicines when necessary. They should encourage
their sense of honour, and adopt the plans and practices of foreign
countries, so that the people’s vices may be gradually lessened and
finally eradicated.
“As to the prohibition of plantation, Viceroys or Governors, the
Governor of the Imperial Prefecture of Shuntienfu, and Military
Governors are commanded to direct their subordinates to carry out the
suppression with care and thoroughness. They should also cause other
grains to be planted in place of the pernicious drug, and they will be
rewarded according to the degree of success they attain. The Ministry
of the Interior will supervise these measures being put in operation.
“In regard to devising means to fill the deficit of duties and likin,
the Ministry of Finance is desired carefully to consider the question.
It is, undoubtedly, an important point to be dealt with, but it may
be disposed of by weighing advantages and drawbacks and considering
all possible resources. Viceroys and Governors who may have valuable
suggestions on the question are ordered to memorialise the Throne for
their adoption, so that those carrying out the suppression need not
be hampered by financial considerations. Though the Government is in
straitened circumstances, it will neither seek to satisfy its hunger
nor quench its thirst at the expense of this harmful poison, so that it
may rid its people of this great bane.
“Dividing, in this way, the responsibilities and actions, no evasion
of burden will be permitted, and all concerned are commanded to put
forth their best energies to aid us in securing prosperous rule by
taking natural advantages to ameliorate the conditions of life among
our people. After receipt of this Edict each office in the capital
or provinces is commanded to make a careful report of its plan of
operation in this affair.”
[The above edict is sealed by the Prince Regent, and is signed by the
Grand Councillors Prince Ching, Shih Hsü, Chang Chih-tung, and Lu
Ch’uan-lin.]
This decree leads us to another problem the solution of which will task
the ablest of her statesmen, namely, the financial problem. It may well
be that she would be wiser to seek foreign expert knowledge to grapple
with it, rather than to tide over present difficulties by having
recourse to foreign loans.
There seems no reasonable doubt that China possesses untold mineral
wealth, and that railway enterprise ought also to become a valuable
source of income. Foreign nations have realised it only too well, and
railway and mining concessions have been granted, which China is now
trying to win back into her own hands. She has not been altogether
faithful to her agreements, and the foreign Powers remind one of a
pack of snarling hounds quarrelling over the booty. It is certain that
China cannot dispense at the present time with foreign assistance, but
she would probably find it more profitable in the long run to obtain
the best expert knowledge, and to pay for it, rather than to try and
make bargains and to obtain quick returns. At the present time the
mineral wealth of the country can only be successfully developed under
the direction of trained Europeans, but the Chinese--not unnaturally,
one must admit--are suspicious of foreign aid. The mining concessions
already granted to foreign nations are a constant source of friction,
and entail perpetual controversy. Misunderstandings inevitably arise.
Perhaps the most important of all the changes taking place in China
to-day is in its system of education. It has been somewhat unfairly
said that the only things she cared for in her old educational scheme
were Scholarship and Style. Had there not been some more vital quality
in it, it could hardly have held on so securely for many hundred years.
That vital element may have been the love of _morals_ so inseparably
connected with scholarship in China. Now the old system has been
completely abolished, and the Chinese classics are in danger of being
relegated to the background. As soon as the change was commenced by the
abolition of the triennial examinations thousands of students flocked
to Japan, eager to absorb the new learning which was to replace the
old. This was no difficult task in one way, for the cultivation of the
memory was the main object of the former education, and they learnt
what was taught them with a readiness which naturally led them to
suppose that they had mastered a subject when they had committed its
terms to memory. The result was as unsatisfactory as might have been
anticipated; for they merely brought home with them a second-hand,
unassimilated collection of information without any satisfactory
foundation. Japanese influence, which was paramount after the amazing
success of Japan during the recent war, soon waned, and even the
Japanese themselves have deplored the rashness of their policy with
regard to China.[10] The returned students were by no means fitted for
the position of becoming teachers of “Young China.” The impossibility
of obtaining competent teachers of Western science for so vast an
empire as China must be obvious to every one, and the appointment of
unqualified teachers has brought much confusion into the schools. The
spirit of unrest and insubordination has been steadily growing, and the
Government has tried to check this by enjoining a stricter worship of
Confucius.
In mission schools the influence of this spirit has also been felt,
although in a less degree. It is of the utmost importance that all
missions should do their best to counteract this feeling and to
inculcate loyalty and obedience, while endeavouring as far as possible
to correlate the education with that given in the Government schools.
They are seriously handicapped by the much larger salaries now offered
by Government in order to get capable teachers, and the missions must
be prepared to make large sacrifices if they are to continue the
educational work which they have so successfully inaugurated. They have
at least 1500 primary schools, in which there are not less than 30,000
scholars. In these the teaching is usually superior to that of the
Government schools, but the equipment is very inferior.
It would be out of place to describe here the various schemes which
are now being put before the British public for carrying on the
education of those trained in mission schools into the higher branches
of knowledge implied in a college training, but it is of supreme
importance that the education which is given by Europeans--whether in
mission or in other schools--should be first-rate in quality. It were
better, if need be, to restrict the scope of operations rather than
allow any defect in the quality of the work. It has been the tendency
of most missions to undertake more work than they could successfully
cope with; and while admiring the results they have achieved, often
under a heavy strain, I cannot but hope that in the future a more
generous support, especially in the matter of increased staff, will be
given to those who are labouring for the educational regeneration of
China.
An increasing number of students are going to Great Britain and America
for education, but it is recognised that there are difficulties
and dangers in this course. One of the most far-sighted of China’s
statesmen, H.E. Tuan Fang has instituted a wise scheme of preparation
for such students. There is an annual examination held at Nanking
for all students going abroad under Government auspices. In 1907
eighty-four candidates presented themselves, of whom seventy-two were
men and twelve women. They were examined in the following subjects:
English composition, translation from English into Chinese and _vice
versa_, Latin, French, German, chemistry, physics and physiology,
history, geography, Chinese composition, geometry, trigonometry,
algebra. The only failures were in languages.
In a recent lecture to the China Society, Mr. Cantlie stated the fact
that the average size of the Chinese brain is greater than that of any
other race; and certainly the students who have come over to Europe
show a capacity of not only keeping up with our students in their work,
but frequently of surpassing them.
The whole civilised world looked on with astonishment and admiration
at the rapid evolution of the Japanese nation in recent times, and
now the Chinese Empire has resolved to make a similar change. It has
a much more difficult task to achieve, and one which, on account of
the size of the Empire, is likely to have a far greater importance for
the world at large. The Chinese are strongly animated by the spirit
of patriotism; they have great qualities of heart and mind, and a set
determination to carry through the necessary reforms. In the dark ages
of the past they were the pioneers in art, science, and philosophy;
therefore one can with hopefulness look forward to a yet nobler
future, and trust that the new era which is beginning may be one of
ever-increasing greatness for the Celestial Empire.
TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL CHINESE DYNASTIES
Legendary Chinese history extends from the twenty-ninth to the tenth
century B.C., the first dynasty emerging from the mists being the
Chow dynasty 1122 to 249 B.C.
Han dynasty 206 B.C. to 220 A.D.
Tang dynasty 618 A.D. to 906 A.D.
Sung dynasty 960 A.D. to 1279 A.D.
Yuan (the Mongol) 1280 A.D. to 1367 A.D.
Ming 1368 A.D. to 1643 A.D.
Ching, or Ts’ing (Manchu) 1643 to the present day.
FOOTNOTES
[1] The legend of the Willow Pattern (introduced into England by
Minton in 1780) is as follows:--Koong-Shee, the daughter of a wealthy
mandarin, fell in love with her father’s secretary, Chang. She had been
already affianced to a wealthy suitor, so her father shut her up in his
house close by the tea-garden. Koong-Shee begged Chang to help her to
escape before the peach came into blossom, and he succeeded in doing
so. In the willow pattern they are seen escaping across the bridge.
They were followed, alas! by the irate suitor to a distant island,
where he set fire to their house. The spirits of the lovers were
transmuted into doves, which are seen hovering over their old haunts.
[2] A society has been formed in China this year (1908) for the purpose
of preserving ancient monuments, as they are suffering not only at the
hands of travellers, but of native officials.
[3] The first Chinese settlers are said to have come from the shores of
the Caspian Sea, bringing with them the silkworm and the mulberry.
[4] Five missionary societies have combined to provide a good teaching
staff. It is to be hoped that several other such union colleges may be
established in different parts of the Empire.
[5] H. E. is a nephew of the late Li Hung Chang, and was adopted by him.
[6] For these details I am indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Ivan Chen,
of the Imperial Chinese Legation.
[7] The late Dowager Empress conferred on him the title of “Sincere and
loyal Spreader of Civilization,” in addition to his old title of “The
great, righteous, and complacent Buddha of Western Heavens.”
[8] Hankow is six hundred miles from the sea-coast, but ocean-going
ships can come right up the river to that point, and smaller steamers
go yet another four hundred miles to Ichang.
[9] Extract from Sir John Jordan’s correspondence with the Foreign
Office--Paper _China_, No. 1, 1908, page 36. For full details of
this matter, see Arnold-Forster’s “International Commission for the
Investigation of the Opium Trade” (Hodder & Stoughton).
[10] See Count Okuma’s article in “The Far East.”
INDEX
Aboriginal tribes, Kachins, 253
Lolos or Ibien, 175, 197, 211
Manzas, 211
Miaos, 206–7, 210
Ming Chiaos, 235
American Episcopal Mission, 11
Board Mission School, Peking, 34
hospital, 68
Presbyterians, 17, 40
soldiers, 93
Ancestral worship, 119, 215
Anti-footbinding, 168
Arsenal, 42
Art, Chinese and Japanese, 100
Baber, 175
Bábúland, 211
Baptist Mission, 38, 40
Belgian Syndicate, 106
Bhamo, 255
Binyon, Lawrence, 189
Bôdhisattva, 97
Book of Rites, 50
Boxers, 104, 43
Bridegroom, 213
Brooke, 174
“Buddha’s Glory,” 192
Buddhism, 50, 64
“Buddhism as a Religion,” ix, 166
Buddhist temples, 96, 193, 241
monasteries, 64, 96–8, 164, 190–1
Camel-back bridge, 144
Camels, 74
Cantlie, James, 270
Chang Chih Tung, 215, 266
Chaotung, 205–6
Chefoo, 14
Chen, Ivan, 90
Cheng Ting, 80
Chengtu, Ch. xv.
Chili, vii, 72
China Society, 69, 270
“China’s Only Hope,” 215
Ching, Prince, 266
Chowtsun, 27
Christian converts, 76–7
“Cliff of the Love of Life,” 52
Colleges, Anglo-Chinese, Tientsin, 71
St. John’s, Shanghai, 10–12
Tsinan, 40
Union Medical, Peking, 41
medical, for women, Tientsin, 71
“Concession,” 2, 112
Confucius, Ch. vii.
his doctrine, 57–9, 120
grave, 61
worship, 268
sacrifices, 57
temple, 57
Constitution, 259
Cormorant fishing, 194, 198
River, 201
Cottonwool fowl, 15
Cruelty, 113
Currency, 126–30
Dalai Lama, 98
“Doctrine of the Mean,” 61
Dragon, symbolic, 189
Dust storms, 80, 98
Earth, Temple of, 96
Education question, 267
Emperor, present, 258
late, 257, 258
Shun, 49
Yu Huang, 49
Empress, Dowager, 100, 257–8
Eton hostel, 172
Examinations, military, 86
triennial, 87–90
hall, Chengtu, 88
Nanking, 269, 270
Extra-territoriality, 260
Finance problem, 264, 266
French influence, 168, 218
Friends’ Mission, 160
German Sphere, Ch. ii.
High school, 14
railway, 14
Giles’s “Religions of Ancient China,” ix
Gin Tien, 221
Government, 258
Grand Council, 258, 266
Canal, Ch. viii.
Great North China Plain, 110
Great Wall, 110
Gunboat, British, 144
Hackmann, ix, 166
Hall of the Classics, 104
Han dynasty, 28
Han Lin, 90
Han Yang, 115
Hankow, 111–5
Hart, Sir Robert, 35
Heaven, altar of, 95
temple of, 95
and Hell, Temple of, 81
Gate of, 49
“Heavenly Gates,” 78
Hong Kong, 1, 2
Hopkinson, Professor, 86
Hosie, 118, 148, 225
Hwang Ho, 68, 119
Ichang, 116–20
Imperial decrees, on Currency, 126–30
on Opium, 262–6
Infanticide, 212
Irrigation, 152, 177
Jade, 103
James, H. E. M., 77
Japanese art, 100
influence, 268
Jordan, Sir John, 262
Ju Jen degree, 90
Kachins, 253
Kaifeng, 33
Kiangsu, 262
Kiaochow, 13
Kiating, 181, 192
Ku, Mr., 104
Küfow, Ch. vii.
Kwan Hsien, 177
Kwanyin, 97, 241
Kweichow Fu, 135
Lama temple, Peking, 97
Laowatan Rapid, 201
Li Ching Fong, Lord, 69
Li Hung Chang, 36, 69
Likin, 264
Lincheng, 107
Little, 201
Lo Han, 65
Local government, 161, 258
Loess formation, 78
Lolos, 175, 197, 211
Loti, Pierre, 18
Lu, monastery of, 64
Lu Ch’uan Lin, 266
Lu Feng Hsien, 228
Macgowan, 135
Manchu dress, 100
Manchu garrison, 26
lady, 99
yamen, 171
Manchuria, 77
Mandarin’s palace, 6
Manifold, Col., 158
Man-tsi tombs, 183
Manzas, 211
Marco Polo, 65, 163, 184
Medical missions, 40–42
Mekong River, 244
Mencius, 56, 57
Miaos, 206–7, 210
Military escort, 54
Min Hills, 177
Min River, Ch. xvi.
Ming Chiaos, 235
Ming Dynasty, 205
Mining Concessions, 266–7
Museum, 38
Myers, Captain, 93
Nail paintings, 99
Nanking, 269
Nature worship, 49, 50
_North China Herald_, 185
Official corruption, 260
Okuma, Count, 268
Omi, Mount, Ch. xvii.
“O mi to fu,” 203
Opium, 80, 261–6
“Orphan spirit” lights, 203
Otter fishing, 180
Paoting-fu, 72
Paper windows, 228
Péhan railway, 80
Peiho River, 73
Peking, Ch. xi.
Penshan, 184
Police, Sikh, 9
Chinese, 161
Pollard, S., 204
Post Office, Shanghai, 10
Postmaster, British, 35, 248
Presbyterians, 77, 116
Prison reform, 260
“Railway Enterprise in China,” Kent, ix
German, 14
Chinese, 91
Péhan, Ch. xii.
Taiyüanfu, 80
Regent, 257, 258
Review, 84
Salween River, 246
Schools, girls’, 33, 34, 168
mission, 268
Sericulture, 28
Shanghai, Ch. i.
Shans, 249
Shansi, Ch. ix., x.
Shantung, Ch. ii.
Shi Hsü, 216
Showyang, 82
Shun King Fu, 155
Shuntien Fu, 265
Siege of Peking, 93, 94
Social Reform, 260
Soldiers, Chinese, 39, 83, 172
Students in England, 90, 169
Sui Fu, 195–7
Szechwan, Ch. xiv.
Tai An, 47
Tai Shan, Ch. vi.
Taiyüanfu, Ch. x., viii, 113
Tali Fu, Ch. xxi.
Taoism, 81
Taping River, 249
Tehchow, 66, 68
Teng Yueh, 247–9
Theatre, 82
Theatricals, 250
Tibetan pilgrims, 191
Tientsin, 70–72
Tiger, 188, 189
braves, 85
“climb-mountain,” 48
Towers of refuge, 204
Tsinan, Ch. v.
Tsingchowfu, 17
Tsingtao, 13
Tsinssu, 85
Tsowping, 29
Tuan Fang, H.E., 258, 262, 269
Tungchwan Yun, 209
University, Chengtu, 169
Taiyüanfu, 81
Tsinan, 32
“Uplift of China,” ix
Veitch’s Chinese shrubs, 232
Village schools, 23, 24
Wai wupu, 258
Wan Yen Sz, 186, 187
Wang’s village, 19–23
Wanhsien, 144
War, Ministry of, 85
Wei-hai-wei, 71
Weihsien, 16, 17
Wesleyan mission, 210
Wheelbarrow travelling, 20
White wax insects, 183, 210
Willow pattern, 5
Worship, earliest form in China, 50
Wu, Lord, 42
Wu Chang, 115
Yellow River, Ch. viii., 109
Yuan Shih Kai, 71, 258
Yung Chang Fu, 245
Yünnan, province, Ch. xviii.
Fu, Ch. xx.
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
Edinburgh & London
Transcriber’s Notes
Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a
predominant preference was found in the original book; otherwise they
were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; unbalanced quotation
marks were remedied when the change was obvious, and otherwise left
unbalanced.
Illustrations in this eBook have been positioned between paragraphs
and outside quotations. In versions of this eBook that support
hyperlinks, the page references in the List of Illustrations lead to
the corresponding illustrations.
Transcriber made some minor adjustments to the List of Illustrations to
make it more useful with electronic media.
Transcriber copied captions in the List of Illustrations to the
corresponding illustrations that did not have captions or whose
captions were unclear. Transcriber also attempted to increase the
contrast of very light text within some illustrations.
Footnotes, originally at the bottoms of the pages from which they
were referenced, have been collected, sequentially renumbered, and
repositioned just before the Index.
The index was not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page
references.
Some Roman numerals ended with “j”. Transcriber changed those to “i”.
Page 76: “he retailed” was printed that way.