Chapter 17

[142]This occurs on the 5th of the 5th moon, and is commonly known as the Dragon-Boat Festival, from a practice of racing on that day in long, narrow boats. It is said to have been instituted in memory of a patriotic statesman, whose identity, however, is not settled, some writers giving Wu Yun (seeThe Middle Kingdom,Vol.II.,p.82), others Ch‘ü Yüan (seeThe Chinese Reader’s Manual,p.107), as the hero of the day.return to text[143]A hare or rabbit is believed to sit at the foot of the cassia-tree in the moon, pounding the drugs out of which is concocted the elixir of immortality. An allusion to this occurs in the poems of Tu Fu, one of the celebrated bards of the T‘angdynasty:—“The frog is not drowned in the river;The medicine hare lives for ever.”return to text[144]By which he would become eligible for Government employ. The sale of degrees has been extensively carried on under the present dynasty, as a means of replenishing an empty Treasury.return to text[145]Kung-sun is an example of a Chinese double surname.return to text[146]Such is the common system of repaying the loan, by means of which an indigent nominee is enabled to defray the expenses of his journey to the post to which he has been appointed, and other calls upon his purse. These loans are generally provided by some “western” merchant, which term is an ellipsis for a “Shansi” banker, Shansi being literally “west of the mountains.” Some one accompanies the newly-made official to his post, and holds his commission in pawn until the amount is repaid; which settlement is easily effected by the issue of some well-understood proclamation, calling, for instance, upon the people to close all gambling-houses within a given period. Immediately the owners of these hells forward presents of money to the incoming official, the Shansi banker gets his principal with interest, perhaps at the rate of 2 per cent.per month, the gambling-houses carry on as usual, and everybody is perfectly satisfied.return to text[147]Which fact would disqualify him from taking the post.return to text[148]Literally, “Square hole.” A common name for the Chinese cash. SeeNo. II.,note 42.return to text[149]In the case of wealthy families these strong rooms often contain, in addition to bullion, jewels to a very great amount belonging to the ladies of the house; and, as a rule, the door may not be opened unless in the presence of a certain number of the male representatives of the house.return to text[150]Pieces of silver and gold paper made up to represent the ordinary Chinese “shoes” of bullion (SeeNo. XVIII.,note 133), and burnt for the use of the dead. Generally known to foreigners in China as “joss-paper.”return to footnote anchor 150return to footnote anchor 180return to footnote 259[151]SeeNo. VII.,note 54. In this case the reference is to a similar Board in the Infernal Regions.return to text[152]These would be sure to sneer at him behind his back.return to text[153]A compliment usually paid to an in-coming official.return to text[154]SeeNo. I.,note 39.return to text[155]The retinue of a Mandarin should be in accordance with his rank. I have given elsewhere (SeeNo. LVI.,note 315) what would be that of an official of the highest rank.return to text[156]SeeNo. LXXVII.,note 76.return to text[157]Good writing holds a much higher place in the estimation of the Chinese than among western nations. The very nature of their characters raises calligraphy almost to the rank of an art.return to text[158]The commentator here adds a somewhat similar case, which actually occurred in the reign of K‘ang Hsi, of a Viceroy modestly attended falling in with the gorgeous retinue of a Magistrate, and being somewhat rudely treated by the servants of the latter. On arriving at his destination, the Viceroy sent for that Magistrate, and sternly bade him retire from office, remarking that no simple magistrate could afford to keep such a retinue of attendants unless by illegal exactions from the suffering people committed to his charge.return to text[159]The Yang-tsze: sometimes spoken of as the Long River.return to footnote anchor 159return to footnote anchor 246[160]The full point of this story can hardly be conveyed in translation. The man’s surname was Sun, and his prænomen, Pi-chên, (which in Chinesefollowsthe nomen) might be rendered “Must-be-saved.” However, there is another word meaning “struck,” precisely similar in sound and tone, though written differently, to the abovechên;and, as far as the ear alone is concerned, our hero’s name might have been eitherSun Must-be-savedorSun Must-be-struck. That the merchants mistook the characterchên, “saved,” forchên, “struck,” is evident from the catastrophe which overtook their vessel, while Mr. Sun’s little boat rode safely through the storm.return to text[161]Here again we have a play upon words similar to that in the last story.return to text[162]We read in theHistory of Amoy:—“In the year 1622 the red-haired barbarians seized the Pescadores and attacked Amoy.” From the Pescadores they finally retired, on a promise that trade would be permitted, to Formosa, whence they were expelled by the famous Koxinga in 1662. “Red-haired barbarians,” a term now commonly applied to all foreigners, was first used in the records of the Ming dynasty to designate the Dutch.return to text[163]Our author would here seem to have heard of the famous bull’s hide which is mentioned in the first book of theÆneid. In any case, the substitution of “stretching” is no improvement on the celebrated device by which the bull’s hide was made to enclose so large a space.return to text[164]The common method of porterage in China is by a bamboo pole over the shoulder with well-balanced burdens hanging from each end. I have often seen children carried thus, sitting in wicker baskets; sometimes for long journeys.return to text[165]It would be more usual to “renew the guitar string,” as the Chinese idiom runs. In the paraphrase of the first maxim of theSacred Edictwe are told that “The closest of all ties is that of husband and wife; but suppose your wife dies, why, you can marry another. But if your brother were to die,”&c.,&c.return to text[166]This, as well as the staff mentioned below, belongs to Buddhism. SeeNo. IV.,note 46.return to text[167]The first Manchu ruler of the empire of China. He came to the throne inA.D.1644.return to text[168]It is worth noting that the author professes actually to have witnessed the following extraordinary scene.return to text[169]The vernal equinox, which would fall on or about the 20th of March.return to text[170]A fabulous lady, said to reside at the summit of the K‘un-lun mountain, where, on the border of the Gem Lake, grows the peach-tree of the angels, the fruit of which confers immortality on him who eats it.return to text[171]One of the most celebrated of the numerous secret societies of China, the origin of which dates back to aboutA.D.1350. Its members have always been credited with a knowledge of the black art.return to text[172]Of Chinese jugglers,IbnBatuta writes as follows:—“They produced a chain fifty cubits in length, and in my presence threw one end of it towards the sky, where it remained, as if fastened to something in the air. A dog was then brought forward, and, being placed at the lower end of the chain, immediately ran up, and reaching the other end immediately disappeared in the air. In the same manner a hog, a panther, a lion, and a tiger were alternately sent up the chain, and all equally disappeared at the upper end of it. At last they took down the chain, and put it into a bag, no one ever discerning in what way the different animals were made to vanish into the air in the mysterious manner above described. This, I may venture to affirm, was beyond measure strange and surprising.”Aproposof which passage, Mr. Maskelyne, the prince of all black-artists, ancient or modern, says:—“These apparent effects were, doubtless, due to the aid of concave mirrors, the use of which was known to the ancients, especially in the East, but they could not have been produced in the open air.”return to text[173]SeeNo. LXXI.,note 53.return to text[174]This instrument, used by Buddhist priests in the musical accompaniment to their liturgies, is said to be so called because a fish never closes its eyes, and is therefore a fit model of vigilance to him who would walk in the paths of holiness and virtue.return to text[175]The duties of Coroner belong to the office of a District Magistrate in China.return to text[176]Without such certificate he would be liable to be involved in trouble and annoyance at the will of any unfriendly neighbour.return to text[177]SeeNo. XLV.,note 267.return to text[178]We have in this story the keynote to the notorious and much-to-be-deprecated dislike of the Chinese people to assist in saving the lives of drowning strangers. Some of our readers may, perhaps, not be aware that the Government of Hong-Kong has found it necessary to insert a clause on the junk-clearances issued in that colony, by which the junkmen are bound to assist to the utmost in saving life. The apparent apathy of the Chinese in this respect comes before us, however, in quite a different light when coupled with the superstition that disembodied spirits of persons who have met a violent death may return to the world of mortals if only fortunate enough to secure a substitute. For among the crowd of shades, anxious all to revisit their “sweet sons,” may perchance be some dear relative or friend of the man who stands calmly by while another is drowning; and it may be that to assist the drowning stranger would be to take the longed-for chance away from one’s own kith or kin. Therefore, the superstition-ridden Chinaman turns away, often perhaps, as in the story before us, with feelings of pity and remorse. And yet this belief has not prevented the establishment, especially on the river Yang-tsze, of institutions provided with life-boats, for the express purpose of saving life in those dangerous waters; so true is it that when the Chinese people wish to moveen massein any given direction, the fragile barrier of superstition is trampled down and scattered to the winds.return to footnote anchor 178return to footnote 191[179]As there are good and bad foxes, so may devils be beneficent or malicious according to circumstances; and Chinese apologists for the discourtesy of the term “foreign devils,” as applied to Europeans and Americans alike, have gone so far as to declare that in this particular instance the allusion is to the more virtuous among the denizens of the Infernal Regions.return to text[180]SeeNo. XCVII.,note 150.return to text[181]A phrase constantly repeated, in other terms, by a guest to a host who is politely escorting him to the door.return to text[182]The spiritual lictors who are supposed to arrest the souls of dying persons, are also believed to be armed with warrants signed and sealed in due form as in the world above.return to text[183]Literally, the “nine dark places,” which will remind readers of Dante of the nine “bolgie” of theInferno.return to text[184]This is a cliff over which sinners are hurled, to alight upon the upright points of knives below. The branches of the Sword Tree are sharp blades which cut and hack all who pass within reach.return to text[185]A crime by no means unknown to the clergy of China.return to text[186]That is, when the lictors had returned his soul to its tenement.return to text[187]SeeNo. VI.,note 52.return to text[188]InA.D.1621.return to text[189]According to theYü-li-ch‘ao, this potion is administered by an old beldame, named Mother Mêng, who sits upon the Terrace of Oblivion. “Whether they swallow much or little it matters not; but sometimes there are perverse devils who altogether refuse to drink. Then beneath their feet sharp blades start up, and a copper tube is forced down their throats, by which means they are compelled to swallow some.”return to text[190]And such is actually the prevalent belief in China to this day.return to footnote anchor 190return to footnote 267[191]Note 178toNo. CVII.should be read here. To save life is indeed the bounden duty of every good Buddhist, for which he will be proportionately rewarded in the world to come.return to text[192]Salt is a Government monopoly in China, and its sale is only permitted to licensed dealers. It is a contraband article of commerce, whether for import or export, to foreign nations trading with China. In an account of a journey from Swatow to Canton in March-April, 1877, I wrote:—“Aproposof salt, we came across a good-sized bunker of it when stowing away our things in the space below the deck. The boatmen could not resist the temptation of doing a little smuggling on the way up.... At a secluded point in a bamboo-shaded bend of the river, they ran the boat alongside the bank, and were instantly met by a number of suspicious-looking gentlemen with baskets, who soon relieved them of the smuggled salt and separated in different directions.” Thus do the people of China seek to lighten the grievous pressure of this tax. A curious custom exists in Canton. Certain blind old men and women are allowed to hawk salt about the streets, and earn a scanty living from the profits they are able to make.It may interest some to know that in the cities of the north of Chinaiceandcoalmay only be retailed by licensed dealers, who retain such authority on the condition of supplying the yamêns of the local mandarins with these two necessaries, free of all charge.return to text[193]The Styx.return to text[194]These words require some explanation. Ordinarily they would be taken in the sense of castingcashof a base description; but they might equally well signify the casting of iron articles of any kind, and thereby hang some curious details. Iron foundries in China may only be opened under license from the local officials, and the articles there made, consisting chiefly of cooking utensils, may only be sold within a given area, each district having its own particular foundries from which alone the supplies of the neighbourhood may be derived. Free trade in iron is much feared by the authorities, as thereby pirates and rebels would be enabled to supply themselves with arms. At the framing of the Treaty of Tientsin, with its accompanying tariff and rules, iron was not specified among other prohibited articles of commerce. Consequently, British merchants would appear to have a full right to purchase iron in the interior and convey it to any of the open ports under Transit-pass. But the Chinese officials steadily refuse to acknowledge, or permit the exercise of, this right, putting forward their own time-honoured custom with regard to iron, and enumerating the disadvantages to China were such an innovation to be brought about.return to text[195]The allusion is to women, of a not very respectable class.return to text[196]No Chinese magistrate would be found to pass sentence upon a man who stole food under stress of hunger.return to text[197]His own village.return to text[198]The whole story is meant as a satire upon the iniquity of the Salt Gabelle.return to text[199]The chief supporters of superstition in China.return to text[200]SeeNo. I.,note 39.return to text[201]Such is one of the most common causes of hostile demonstration against Chinese Christians. The latter, acting under the orders of the missionaries, frequently refuse to subscribe to the various local celebrations and processions, the great annual festivities, and ceremonies of all kinds, on the grounds that these are idolatrous and forbidden by the Christian faith. Hence bad feeling, high words, blows, and sometimes bloodshed. I say “frequently,” because I have discovered several cases in which converts have quietly subscribed like other people rather than risk anémeute.An amusing incident came under my own special notice not very long ago. A missionary appeared before me one day to complain that a certain convert of his had been posted in his own village, and cut off from his civic rights for two years, merely because he had agreed to let a room of his house to be used as a missionarydépôt. I took a copy of the placard which was handed to me in proof of this statement, and found it to run thus:—“In consequence of——having entered into an agreement with a barbarian pastor, to lease to the said barbarian pastor a room in his house to be used as a missionary chapel, we, the elders of this village, do hereby debar——from the privilege of worshipping in our ancestral hall for the space of two years.” It is needless, of course, to mention that Ancestral Worship is prohibited by all sects of missionaries in China alike; or that, when I pointed this out to the individual in question, who could not have understood the import of the Chinese placard, the charge was promptly withdrawn.return to text[202]An historical character who was formerly among the ranks of the Yellow Turban rebels, but subsequently entered the service of Kuan Yü (seeNo. I.,note 39), and was canonized by an Emperor of the last dynasty.return to text[203]This curious ceremony is the final touch to a newly-built or newly-restored temple, and consists in giving expression to the eyes of the freshly-painted idols, which have been purposely left blank by the painter. Up to that time these blocks of clay or wood are not supposed to have been animated by the spiritual presence of the deity in question; but no sooner are the eyes lighted than the gratified God smiles down upon the handsome decorations thus provided by devout and trusting suppliants.There is a cognate custom belonging to the ceremonies of ancestral worship, of great importance in the eyes of the Chinese. On a certain day after the death of a parent, the surviving head of the family proceeds with much solemnity to dab a spot of ink upon the memorial tablet of the deceased. This is believed to give to the departed spirit the power of remaining near to, and watching over the fortunes of, those left behind.return to text[204]Such indeed is the fate of a per-centage of all public subscriptions raised and handled by Chinese of no matter what class. A year or two ago an application was made to me for a donation to a native foundling hospital at Swatow, on the ground that I was known as a “read (Chinese) book man,” and that consequently other persons, both Chinese and foreigners, might be induced to follow my example. On my declining to do so, the manager of the concern informed me that if I would only put down my name for fifty dollars, say £10, no call should be made upon me for the money! Even in the matter of the funds collected for the famine-stricken people of 1878, it is whispered that peculation has been rife.return to text[205]The reader must recollect that these are the words of the God, speaking from the magician’s body.return to text[206]It is considered a serious breach of Chinese etiquette to accept invitations without returning the compliment at an early date.return to text[207]A high Chinese official, known to foreigners as Intendant of Circuit; the circuit being a circuit of Prefectures, over which he has full control, subject only to the approval of the highest provincial authorities. It is with this functionary that foreign Consuls rank.return to text[208]SeeNo. XCIII.,note 122.return to text

[143]A hare or rabbit is believed to sit at the foot of the cassia-tree in the moon, pounding the drugs out of which is concocted the elixir of immortality. An allusion to this occurs in the poems of Tu Fu, one of the celebrated bards of the T‘angdynasty:—“The frog is not drowned in the river;The medicine hare lives for ever.”return to text

“The frog is not drowned in the river;The medicine hare lives for ever.”

“The frog is not drowned in the river;

The medicine hare lives for ever.”

return to text

[144]By which he would become eligible for Government employ. The sale of degrees has been extensively carried on under the present dynasty, as a means of replenishing an empty Treasury.return to text

[145]Kung-sun is an example of a Chinese double surname.return to text

[146]Such is the common system of repaying the loan, by means of which an indigent nominee is enabled to defray the expenses of his journey to the post to which he has been appointed, and other calls upon his purse. These loans are generally provided by some “western” merchant, which term is an ellipsis for a “Shansi” banker, Shansi being literally “west of the mountains.” Some one accompanies the newly-made official to his post, and holds his commission in pawn until the amount is repaid; which settlement is easily effected by the issue of some well-understood proclamation, calling, for instance, upon the people to close all gambling-houses within a given period. Immediately the owners of these hells forward presents of money to the incoming official, the Shansi banker gets his principal with interest, perhaps at the rate of 2 per cent.per month, the gambling-houses carry on as usual, and everybody is perfectly satisfied.return to text

[147]Which fact would disqualify him from taking the post.return to text

[148]Literally, “Square hole.” A common name for the Chinese cash. SeeNo. II.,note 42.return to text

[149]In the case of wealthy families these strong rooms often contain, in addition to bullion, jewels to a very great amount belonging to the ladies of the house; and, as a rule, the door may not be opened unless in the presence of a certain number of the male representatives of the house.return to text

[150]Pieces of silver and gold paper made up to represent the ordinary Chinese “shoes” of bullion (SeeNo. XVIII.,note 133), and burnt for the use of the dead. Generally known to foreigners in China as “joss-paper.”return to footnote anchor 150return to footnote anchor 180return to footnote 259

[151]SeeNo. VII.,note 54. In this case the reference is to a similar Board in the Infernal Regions.return to text

[152]These would be sure to sneer at him behind his back.return to text

[153]A compliment usually paid to an in-coming official.return to text

[154]SeeNo. I.,note 39.return to text

[155]The retinue of a Mandarin should be in accordance with his rank. I have given elsewhere (SeeNo. LVI.,note 315) what would be that of an official of the highest rank.return to text

[156]SeeNo. LXXVII.,note 76.return to text

[157]Good writing holds a much higher place in the estimation of the Chinese than among western nations. The very nature of their characters raises calligraphy almost to the rank of an art.return to text

[158]The commentator here adds a somewhat similar case, which actually occurred in the reign of K‘ang Hsi, of a Viceroy modestly attended falling in with the gorgeous retinue of a Magistrate, and being somewhat rudely treated by the servants of the latter. On arriving at his destination, the Viceroy sent for that Magistrate, and sternly bade him retire from office, remarking that no simple magistrate could afford to keep such a retinue of attendants unless by illegal exactions from the suffering people committed to his charge.return to text

[159]The Yang-tsze: sometimes spoken of as the Long River.return to footnote anchor 159return to footnote anchor 246

[160]The full point of this story can hardly be conveyed in translation. The man’s surname was Sun, and his prænomen, Pi-chên, (which in Chinesefollowsthe nomen) might be rendered “Must-be-saved.” However, there is another word meaning “struck,” precisely similar in sound and tone, though written differently, to the abovechên;and, as far as the ear alone is concerned, our hero’s name might have been eitherSun Must-be-savedorSun Must-be-struck. That the merchants mistook the characterchên, “saved,” forchên, “struck,” is evident from the catastrophe which overtook their vessel, while Mr. Sun’s little boat rode safely through the storm.return to text

[161]Here again we have a play upon words similar to that in the last story.return to text

[162]We read in theHistory of Amoy:—“In the year 1622 the red-haired barbarians seized the Pescadores and attacked Amoy.” From the Pescadores they finally retired, on a promise that trade would be permitted, to Formosa, whence they were expelled by the famous Koxinga in 1662. “Red-haired barbarians,” a term now commonly applied to all foreigners, was first used in the records of the Ming dynasty to designate the Dutch.return to text

[163]Our author would here seem to have heard of the famous bull’s hide which is mentioned in the first book of theÆneid. In any case, the substitution of “stretching” is no improvement on the celebrated device by which the bull’s hide was made to enclose so large a space.return to text

[164]The common method of porterage in China is by a bamboo pole over the shoulder with well-balanced burdens hanging from each end. I have often seen children carried thus, sitting in wicker baskets; sometimes for long journeys.return to text

[165]It would be more usual to “renew the guitar string,” as the Chinese idiom runs. In the paraphrase of the first maxim of theSacred Edictwe are told that “The closest of all ties is that of husband and wife; but suppose your wife dies, why, you can marry another. But if your brother were to die,”&c.,&c.return to text

[166]This, as well as the staff mentioned below, belongs to Buddhism. SeeNo. IV.,note 46.return to text

[167]The first Manchu ruler of the empire of China. He came to the throne inA.D.1644.return to text

[168]It is worth noting that the author professes actually to have witnessed the following extraordinary scene.return to text

[169]The vernal equinox, which would fall on or about the 20th of March.return to text

[170]A fabulous lady, said to reside at the summit of the K‘un-lun mountain, where, on the border of the Gem Lake, grows the peach-tree of the angels, the fruit of which confers immortality on him who eats it.return to text

[171]One of the most celebrated of the numerous secret societies of China, the origin of which dates back to aboutA.D.1350. Its members have always been credited with a knowledge of the black art.return to text

[172]Of Chinese jugglers,IbnBatuta writes as follows:—“They produced a chain fifty cubits in length, and in my presence threw one end of it towards the sky, where it remained, as if fastened to something in the air. A dog was then brought forward, and, being placed at the lower end of the chain, immediately ran up, and reaching the other end immediately disappeared in the air. In the same manner a hog, a panther, a lion, and a tiger were alternately sent up the chain, and all equally disappeared at the upper end of it. At last they took down the chain, and put it into a bag, no one ever discerning in what way the different animals were made to vanish into the air in the mysterious manner above described. This, I may venture to affirm, was beyond measure strange and surprising.”Aproposof which passage, Mr. Maskelyne, the prince of all black-artists, ancient or modern, says:—“These apparent effects were, doubtless, due to the aid of concave mirrors, the use of which was known to the ancients, especially in the East, but they could not have been produced in the open air.”return to text

Aproposof which passage, Mr. Maskelyne, the prince of all black-artists, ancient or modern, says:—“These apparent effects were, doubtless, due to the aid of concave mirrors, the use of which was known to the ancients, especially in the East, but they could not have been produced in the open air.”return to text

[173]SeeNo. LXXI.,note 53.return to text

[174]This instrument, used by Buddhist priests in the musical accompaniment to their liturgies, is said to be so called because a fish never closes its eyes, and is therefore a fit model of vigilance to him who would walk in the paths of holiness and virtue.return to text

[175]The duties of Coroner belong to the office of a District Magistrate in China.return to text

[176]Without such certificate he would be liable to be involved in trouble and annoyance at the will of any unfriendly neighbour.return to text

[177]SeeNo. XLV.,note 267.return to text

[178]We have in this story the keynote to the notorious and much-to-be-deprecated dislike of the Chinese people to assist in saving the lives of drowning strangers. Some of our readers may, perhaps, not be aware that the Government of Hong-Kong has found it necessary to insert a clause on the junk-clearances issued in that colony, by which the junkmen are bound to assist to the utmost in saving life. The apparent apathy of the Chinese in this respect comes before us, however, in quite a different light when coupled with the superstition that disembodied spirits of persons who have met a violent death may return to the world of mortals if only fortunate enough to secure a substitute. For among the crowd of shades, anxious all to revisit their “sweet sons,” may perchance be some dear relative or friend of the man who stands calmly by while another is drowning; and it may be that to assist the drowning stranger would be to take the longed-for chance away from one’s own kith or kin. Therefore, the superstition-ridden Chinaman turns away, often perhaps, as in the story before us, with feelings of pity and remorse. And yet this belief has not prevented the establishment, especially on the river Yang-tsze, of institutions provided with life-boats, for the express purpose of saving life in those dangerous waters; so true is it that when the Chinese people wish to moveen massein any given direction, the fragile barrier of superstition is trampled down and scattered to the winds.return to footnote anchor 178return to footnote 191

[179]As there are good and bad foxes, so may devils be beneficent or malicious according to circumstances; and Chinese apologists for the discourtesy of the term “foreign devils,” as applied to Europeans and Americans alike, have gone so far as to declare that in this particular instance the allusion is to the more virtuous among the denizens of the Infernal Regions.return to text

[180]SeeNo. XCVII.,note 150.return to text

[181]A phrase constantly repeated, in other terms, by a guest to a host who is politely escorting him to the door.return to text

[182]The spiritual lictors who are supposed to arrest the souls of dying persons, are also believed to be armed with warrants signed and sealed in due form as in the world above.return to text

[183]Literally, the “nine dark places,” which will remind readers of Dante of the nine “bolgie” of theInferno.return to text

[184]This is a cliff over which sinners are hurled, to alight upon the upright points of knives below. The branches of the Sword Tree are sharp blades which cut and hack all who pass within reach.return to text

[185]A crime by no means unknown to the clergy of China.return to text

[186]That is, when the lictors had returned his soul to its tenement.return to text

[187]SeeNo. VI.,note 52.return to text

[188]InA.D.1621.return to text

[189]According to theYü-li-ch‘ao, this potion is administered by an old beldame, named Mother Mêng, who sits upon the Terrace of Oblivion. “Whether they swallow much or little it matters not; but sometimes there are perverse devils who altogether refuse to drink. Then beneath their feet sharp blades start up, and a copper tube is forced down their throats, by which means they are compelled to swallow some.”return to text

[190]And such is actually the prevalent belief in China to this day.return to footnote anchor 190return to footnote 267

[191]Note 178toNo. CVII.should be read here. To save life is indeed the bounden duty of every good Buddhist, for which he will be proportionately rewarded in the world to come.return to text

[192]Salt is a Government monopoly in China, and its sale is only permitted to licensed dealers. It is a contraband article of commerce, whether for import or export, to foreign nations trading with China. In an account of a journey from Swatow to Canton in March-April, 1877, I wrote:—“Aproposof salt, we came across a good-sized bunker of it when stowing away our things in the space below the deck. The boatmen could not resist the temptation of doing a little smuggling on the way up.... At a secluded point in a bamboo-shaded bend of the river, they ran the boat alongside the bank, and were instantly met by a number of suspicious-looking gentlemen with baskets, who soon relieved them of the smuggled salt and separated in different directions.” Thus do the people of China seek to lighten the grievous pressure of this tax. A curious custom exists in Canton. Certain blind old men and women are allowed to hawk salt about the streets, and earn a scanty living from the profits they are able to make.It may interest some to know that in the cities of the north of Chinaiceandcoalmay only be retailed by licensed dealers, who retain such authority on the condition of supplying the yamêns of the local mandarins with these two necessaries, free of all charge.return to text

It may interest some to know that in the cities of the north of Chinaiceandcoalmay only be retailed by licensed dealers, who retain such authority on the condition of supplying the yamêns of the local mandarins with these two necessaries, free of all charge.return to text

[193]The Styx.return to text

[194]These words require some explanation. Ordinarily they would be taken in the sense of castingcashof a base description; but they might equally well signify the casting of iron articles of any kind, and thereby hang some curious details. Iron foundries in China may only be opened under license from the local officials, and the articles there made, consisting chiefly of cooking utensils, may only be sold within a given area, each district having its own particular foundries from which alone the supplies of the neighbourhood may be derived. Free trade in iron is much feared by the authorities, as thereby pirates and rebels would be enabled to supply themselves with arms. At the framing of the Treaty of Tientsin, with its accompanying tariff and rules, iron was not specified among other prohibited articles of commerce. Consequently, British merchants would appear to have a full right to purchase iron in the interior and convey it to any of the open ports under Transit-pass. But the Chinese officials steadily refuse to acknowledge, or permit the exercise of, this right, putting forward their own time-honoured custom with regard to iron, and enumerating the disadvantages to China were such an innovation to be brought about.return to text

[195]The allusion is to women, of a not very respectable class.return to text

[196]No Chinese magistrate would be found to pass sentence upon a man who stole food under stress of hunger.return to text

[197]His own village.return to text

[198]The whole story is meant as a satire upon the iniquity of the Salt Gabelle.return to text

[199]The chief supporters of superstition in China.return to text

[200]SeeNo. I.,note 39.return to text

[201]Such is one of the most common causes of hostile demonstration against Chinese Christians. The latter, acting under the orders of the missionaries, frequently refuse to subscribe to the various local celebrations and processions, the great annual festivities, and ceremonies of all kinds, on the grounds that these are idolatrous and forbidden by the Christian faith. Hence bad feeling, high words, blows, and sometimes bloodshed. I say “frequently,” because I have discovered several cases in which converts have quietly subscribed like other people rather than risk anémeute.An amusing incident came under my own special notice not very long ago. A missionary appeared before me one day to complain that a certain convert of his had been posted in his own village, and cut off from his civic rights for two years, merely because he had agreed to let a room of his house to be used as a missionarydépôt. I took a copy of the placard which was handed to me in proof of this statement, and found it to run thus:—“In consequence of——having entered into an agreement with a barbarian pastor, to lease to the said barbarian pastor a room in his house to be used as a missionary chapel, we, the elders of this village, do hereby debar——from the privilege of worshipping in our ancestral hall for the space of two years.” It is needless, of course, to mention that Ancestral Worship is prohibited by all sects of missionaries in China alike; or that, when I pointed this out to the individual in question, who could not have understood the import of the Chinese placard, the charge was promptly withdrawn.return to text

An amusing incident came under my own special notice not very long ago. A missionary appeared before me one day to complain that a certain convert of his had been posted in his own village, and cut off from his civic rights for two years, merely because he had agreed to let a room of his house to be used as a missionarydépôt. I took a copy of the placard which was handed to me in proof of this statement, and found it to run thus:—“In consequence of——having entered into an agreement with a barbarian pastor, to lease to the said barbarian pastor a room in his house to be used as a missionary chapel, we, the elders of this village, do hereby debar——from the privilege of worshipping in our ancestral hall for the space of two years.” It is needless, of course, to mention that Ancestral Worship is prohibited by all sects of missionaries in China alike; or that, when I pointed this out to the individual in question, who could not have understood the import of the Chinese placard, the charge was promptly withdrawn.return to text

[202]An historical character who was formerly among the ranks of the Yellow Turban rebels, but subsequently entered the service of Kuan Yü (seeNo. I.,note 39), and was canonized by an Emperor of the last dynasty.return to text

[203]This curious ceremony is the final touch to a newly-built or newly-restored temple, and consists in giving expression to the eyes of the freshly-painted idols, which have been purposely left blank by the painter. Up to that time these blocks of clay or wood are not supposed to have been animated by the spiritual presence of the deity in question; but no sooner are the eyes lighted than the gratified God smiles down upon the handsome decorations thus provided by devout and trusting suppliants.There is a cognate custom belonging to the ceremonies of ancestral worship, of great importance in the eyes of the Chinese. On a certain day after the death of a parent, the surviving head of the family proceeds with much solemnity to dab a spot of ink upon the memorial tablet of the deceased. This is believed to give to the departed spirit the power of remaining near to, and watching over the fortunes of, those left behind.return to text

There is a cognate custom belonging to the ceremonies of ancestral worship, of great importance in the eyes of the Chinese. On a certain day after the death of a parent, the surviving head of the family proceeds with much solemnity to dab a spot of ink upon the memorial tablet of the deceased. This is believed to give to the departed spirit the power of remaining near to, and watching over the fortunes of, those left behind.return to text

[204]Such indeed is the fate of a per-centage of all public subscriptions raised and handled by Chinese of no matter what class. A year or two ago an application was made to me for a donation to a native foundling hospital at Swatow, on the ground that I was known as a “read (Chinese) book man,” and that consequently other persons, both Chinese and foreigners, might be induced to follow my example. On my declining to do so, the manager of the concern informed me that if I would only put down my name for fifty dollars, say £10, no call should be made upon me for the money! Even in the matter of the funds collected for the famine-stricken people of 1878, it is whispered that peculation has been rife.return to text

[205]The reader must recollect that these are the words of the God, speaking from the magician’s body.return to text

[206]It is considered a serious breach of Chinese etiquette to accept invitations without returning the compliment at an early date.return to text

[207]A high Chinese official, known to foreigners as Intendant of Circuit; the circuit being a circuit of Prefectures, over which he has full control, subject only to the approval of the highest provincial authorities. It is with this functionary that foreign Consuls rank.return to text

[208]SeeNo. XCIII.,note 122.return to text

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