CHAPTER VI.Visit to the Temple of Honan—Colossal figures—The priesthood—Votive offerings—Mummery—Holy pigs—Their corpulency—The hall of the factory—Duck-boats—Alabaster—Chinese snake—Leave Canton and return to Macao—Visit the Lappa Island—Hill-pines—Mass of granite rocks—Their sonorous qualities—Tanka-boats—Chinese burial-grounds—Cassilhas Bay—Manufacture of ropes—Portuguese ladies at Macao—Origin of that name—Another temple near Macao.
Visit to the Temple of Honan—Colossal figures—The priesthood—Votive offerings—Mummery—Holy pigs—Their corpulency—The hall of the factory—Duck-boats—Alabaster—Chinese snake—Leave Canton and return to Macao—Visit the Lappa Island—Hill-pines—Mass of granite rocks—Their sonorous qualities—Tanka-boats—Chinese burial-grounds—Cassilhas Bay—Manufacture of ropes—Portuguese ladies at Macao—Origin of that name—Another temple near Macao.
I visited one evening the Temple of Honan, situated a short distance on the opposite side of the river to that on which the factories are built. Having crossed, with my companions, in a boat, we proceeded a little way down the river, and landed at a dirty causeway near some timber-yards, in which a quantity of fir-timber, of China, of various dimensions, was piled with an extreme degree of regularity. The entrance to the temple or temples, and extensive groundsabout them, was close to the landing place; and passing some miserable fruit and eating stalls adjoining, we noticed a large, clean, open space, planted with trees, and having in the centre a broad pavement of granite, kept very clean. The quietness that reigned within formed a pleasing retreat from the noise and bustle without.
This paved way brought us to the first portico; here we beheld, on huge granite pedestals, a colossal figure on each side, placed there to guard the entrance to the Temple of Buddha; the one on the right in entering is the warrior Chin, ke, and on the left is Ching, Lung.[41]After passing these terrific, colossal guards, we entered another somewhat similar court to the first, also planted with trees, and a granite foot-path, which led to one of the temples. At this time the priesthood were assembled, worshipping, chanting, striking gongs, arranged in rows, and frequently performing theko-tow, in adoration of their gilded, senseless deity, of which a number of small and colossal figures, of the god Buddha, decorated a very handsome temple.
The priesthood performed their devotions by themselves, for there was not a Chinese presentat the worship; indeed the Chinese seem to have but little regard for religion; they visit the temples early in the morning to make their offerings before the idols, and perform the usual religious ceremonies at sunset, but apparently more as a custom, than from any sincere religious devotion. I have seen the parents visit the temples at an early hour in the morning, bringing their family to adore the idols with them, each carrying tapers and offerings. The ceremony of prostration, &c. was gone through in so mechanical a manner, as to leave but little or no doubt in the mind of the spectator, that it was observed rather as a custom descended to them from their forefathers, than as arising from any sense of religious feeling towards a superior and benevolent Deity.
During a visit I made in company with Mr. Fearon to that picturesque and beautiful temple,[42]which is a subject of so much admiration, from its romantic situation, to all persons visiting Macao;[43]a parent came with a lad six or sevenyears old, and a tottering infant, with offerings, which being arranged in one of the small temples before the idol, the father performed the ceremony of prostration; the lad followed the example of his parent seemingly as a matter ofcourse; the young, unexpanded mind of the infant did not understand the meaning of it, but stared at us, and then at its parent; the silence that prevailed corresponded with the solemnity that reigned in this sacred, romantic spot. I could not avoid reflecting at the time, that this infant would be brought to go mechanically through the pagan worship, to gaze on the tinsel and gaudiness of the temple and the gilded figure, before its mind had dawned; it would awake in fetters, and follow implicitly the custom of its forefathers, satisfied with their blind superstition and pagan ignorance.
I must apologize for thus digressing, and return to the chanting priests in the temple, who, with shaven crowns, and arrayed in the yellow robes of the priests of Buddha, appeared to go through the mummery with devotion. They had the lowering look of bigotry, which constant habit had at last legibly written upon their countenances. The priests were evidently, in characteristic features, a distinct race from the Chinese, and came at the introduction of the Boodha religion into China, from some other parts of Asia, probably the Birmah empire.
As soon as the mummery had ceased, the priests all flocked out of the temple, adjournedto their respective rooms, divested themselves of their official robes, and the senseless figures were left to themselves, with some lamps burning before them; and the silence of the temple was a type of that portentous spectre, superstition. Another large and handsomely-adorned temple was situated beyond this, as well as numerous others, of smaller size, within the inclosure, all kept in a very neat and clean state.
Being soon satiated with the sight of gilded gods, and fanatical priests, mingled with all the gaudy paraphernalia of superstition, we adjourned to view the fat pigs which saluted us by their effluvia some time before we attained their dwelling,—where we beheld them luxuriating in a bed of filth, having nothing to do but undergo the laborious occupations of eating, drinking, sleeping, and getting fat: before them were sacred buckets, which had been probably filled with food, but were now empty. They were enormously fat, and seven or eight in number. Some persons informed me that they were kept until they died suffocated with fat; but others said that they formed an annual sacrifice to the gods, during the grand festivals. These huge, filthy creatures, are so gross as to cause the mouths of the Chinese who beholdthem to water with delight, in anticipation of the splendid dishes their carcases would afford, to gratify their mortal appetites, exciting deep regret that they are to be devoted as ideal feasts only for immortals.
After wandering over this extensive inclosure, in which we met with no hindrance or molestation, I returned to Canton much gratified by the visit.
The hall of the factory of the Honorable East India Company, as well as the whole range of buildings, is very elegant. At one end of the large room in the building is a magnificent portrait of his late majesty George the Fourth, by Sir Thomas Lawrence; and opposite to it, an accurate full-length portrait of Lord Amherst, by the same artist. On ascending to the terrace, above the building, a beautiful panoramic view of the city of Canton is obtained. The winding river crowded with boats; numerous pagodas, as far as the eye could reach; a fine view of Whampoa, and some of the shipping; the number of paddy fields in the vicinity; interspersed with habitations and plantations, with hills in the distance,—formed a scene both novel and interesting. I afterwards visited, in company with my friend, Mr. Whiteman, the extensive tea hongs of Kingqua, andother of the hong merchants, which are well worthy the notice of a stranger.
Among the Chinese novelties to be seen in the vicinity of Canton, but more especially about Whampoa, are theduck-boats, used as residences for the owners and their families, as well as for their numerous feathered charge. The fledged bipeds inhabit the hold of the boat, and the human bipeds, or keepers, the upper accommodations of the vessel. These boats are most abundant about the rice-fields, near the river, soon after the harvest has been gathered in, as at that time the broad-billed animals glean the fields, and have a better prospect of a supply of food than at any other period. The owner of the boat moves it about from place to place, according to the opportunities that may be offered to him of feeding his flock.
On the arrival of the boat at the appointed spot, or one considered proper for feeding the quacking tribe, a signal of a whistle causes the flock to waddle in regular order from their domicile across the board placed for their accommodation, and then rambling about undergo the process of feeding. When it is considered by their keeper that they have gorged sufficiently, another signal is made for the return of the birds: immediatelyupon hearing it, they congregate and re-enter the boat. The first duck that enters is rewarded with some paddy, the last is whipped for being dilatory; so that it is ludicrous to see the last birds (knowing by sad experience the fate that awaits them) making effortsen masseto fly over the back of the others, to escape the chastisement inflicted upon the ultimate duck.
A large quantity of a kind of alabaster or gypsum is brought down from the northward in large junks to Canton; it is called in the Chinese languageShek, oo, and is used by them, as well as by Europeans, in a pulverized state, as a dentifrice: it is also employed and highly esteemed by the Chinese as atisan, for the purpose of allaying the ardent thirst in fevers, and is considered by themnourishingas well as cooling. It is pulverized and used in the adulteration of powdered sugar-candy, to which it bears in appearance a very close resemblance; indeed, it is (except by the taste) not easy to distinguish one from the other.
Dr. Cox presented me with a specimen in spirits of a very venomous snake, which is not uncommon in China; this one had some time since bitten a Chinese servant in the Dutch Hong, and occasioned his death in a few hours. The head of thereptile in this specimen had been cut off by the Chinese who first arrived to the assistance of the wounded man, who having bruised it, had applied it as a poultice to the bitten part; from which a query may arise, whether the poison mingled with the mashed head, being applied to the bitten part, may not have served to hasten the fatal termination.
This venomous reptile is calledwhite and black snake, from its colours; by the Chinese,Pak, y, hak, (pak signifying white, and hak, black). The largest size it has been seen to attain, has been three feet. The colour of the reptile is a bluish white, with black, circular, broad rings, around the body. The head (which I had an opportunity of examining in another and unmutilated specimen) was broad, flattened, with ten broad scales upon the upper and lateral parts; and around the body, from one extremity to the other, there were forty-nine circular rings. The length of my specimen is nearly three feet.
The Chinese, just mentioned as having been bitten by this reptile, was described to me as being a stout, robust, and healthy man. The part of his body wounded, was on and about the little toe. He was bitten at elevenP.M., and in the space of an hour was quitesenseless. Before this, he described the pain as ascending rapidly up the body. It appears that when first bitten, he thought his assailant was a rat, and, kicking the reptile, he was rebitten; and, altogether, was wounded three times: he expired a little before fourA.M.This snake is said to be used by the Chinese as a medicine, being dried, pulverized, and administered as an internal remedy. During floods, these reptiles are very commonly seen about the houses, coming from the creeks up the drains into the kitchens: they very probably inhabit marshy places, and are often brought down during the freshes of the river, among the weeds, rushes, &c., and at that time may be descried sporting and swimming about the multitude of boats in the river. They are killed in numbers by the boatmen. During the late floods which prevailed at Canton, a number of these venomous reptiles were destroyed.[44]
I availed myself of the kind offer of Mr. Davis, and left Canton with him at daylight of the 28thof October, in the Company’s yacht for Macao, where, after a long, but agreeable passage, we arrived on the evening of the next day.
During my further stay at Macao, I visited one evening, in company with Mr. Davis, a place called the Lappa,[45]situated on the opposite side of the peninsula, upon which the city of Macao is erected, in the inner harbour. The lofty hills have a barren and uninteresting appearance; and there is nothing attractive in the aspect of that part of the country, until, on landing, a pathway leads to a delightful, picturesque, and fertile valley, smiling with the cultivated plantations of rice, yams, sweet potatoes, and interspersed by rural cottages, peeping through a dense crowd of bamboo, pandanus, and plantain trees. Near the beach was a cluster of wretched-looking huts; but the features of the country, both in its natural state, as well as improved by art, were pleasing as we advanced further up this pretty, sheltered valley.
The declivities of some of the hills on theinner or sheltered side towards the valley, were covered by the Hill pines, or Shan, tchong[46]of the Chinese, thePinus sinensisof botanists, of which I collected a few specimens in a state of fructification. Rivulets meandering through the valley, irrigate and fertilize the soil; and their banks are covered with a profusion of wild plants, a number of ferns, Myrtus tomentosa, Sida, Urtica, Melastoma quinquenervia, (or Kai, chee, neem, of the Chinese,) and a multitude of others. From the cultivated, we came upon a wilder, more stony, and less beautiful part of the valley, among scattered masses of granite rocks, about which a wild and profuse vegetation was lavished.
At one part, my attention was directed to a mass of granite rocks, appearing as if they had been huddled together by some convulsion of nature, and many of them were found to be moveable, when trodden upon. Some of these were described as being sonorous; and as they were regarded as one of the Macaolions, they were of course well worth seeing, if it was only for the pleasure of relating to every one thatyou had seen them. The first, and by far the most sonorous, was partially excavated underneath; and by striking it upon the upper part, a deepsound like that of a church bell was produced. The battered appearance of the stone above, bore several proofs of how many visitors had made thislion roar. Many of the other rocks were also sonorous, but not so loud as the first; and from their situations, (although moveable when trodden upon,) it could not be seen whether they were naturally excavated similar to the preceding. The Lappa is a place to which the residents of Macao resort, forming pic-nic parties for the purposes of enjoying a change of scene in their limited place of residence, and deriving a gratification from the natural and cultivated beauties of this pretty valley.
We returned late in aTankaboat. These boats, from their bearing some resemblance to a section of an egg, are called egg-boats, or egg people boats; tan signifying an egg, and ka, people: they are principally navigated by women. The egg-boat people, both males and females, are only permitted to intermarry among themselves. Some of the females have often a little claim to personal beauty.
The Chinese burial-grounds are never inclosed, and are usually seen situated on the slopes of the hills. The graves never being opened a second time, the burial-grounds take up a large quantity of land. I believe the handsome and extensivevaults are sometimes re-opened for the interment of a second corpse: the graves of the poorer class have merely a headstone, upon which Chinese characters are engraved, giving the name, family, &c. of the individual, whose mortal clay reposes beneath.
One of the promenades in the vicinity of Macao, is to a sandy bay, called Cassilha’s Bay,[47]in which there was nothing to excite interest, having merely barren hills about it, and a distant view of islands. The only benefit derived from a visit to it, is the exercise of walking.
I remarked some Chinese one morning near Macao engaged in making some very durable ropes from rattan: the process of manufacture was but little different from that of hemp. The rattans were split longitudinally, soaked, and attached to a wheel, which one person was keeping in motion, whilst another was binding the split rattans together, adding others to the length from a quantity he carried around his waist, until the required length of the rope was completed.
The Portuguese ladies at Macao are, for the most part, possessed of but few attractions. The dark-eyed, beautiful damsels, the destroyers ofso many hearts in Lisbon, are here seldom to be met with. The lower class may be seen covered by their mantilla, walking at a funereal pace to mass or confession; the only duties for which a Portuguese female considers it worth while to take exercise. The higher class are carried from one street to another by negroes, in clumsy and tawdry palankeens.
I have before observed that Macao signifies in the Portuguese language a mallet, and the name has been given to it from the resemblance of the peninsula to that instrument; the sandy isthmus which runs out, connecting the elevated spot upon which Macao has been erected to the main land, resembles the handle. At the distance of about half-way across this sandy neck of land the Chinese barrier is erected, beyond which no European is suffered to pass.
The morning previous to my departure from Macao, I visited another Chinese temple, situated near the sandy isthmus. It had nothing to recommend it for picturesque or romantic beauty; its interior was more extensive than the one I had previously visited. Passing through the temple, numerous granite rocks were scattered about the brow of a hill in their natural state, and upon many of them were Chinese inscriptions, probably moral sentences,which the Chinese are so fond of teaching, but never trouble themselves about practising. Near the road side, and upon the summit of the hill, on the brow of which the inscriptions on the granite rocks just mentioned were remarked, were several small cone-shaped buildings, resembling somewhat the eastern Linguams. For what purpose they had been erected, I could not gain any information; there were three a short distance apart, close to the road side, and another of large size situated in a very conspicuous spot upon the summit of a hill. The Linguams, if they may be so named, are rather more than five feet high, and constructed of brick plastered over; in one the plaster had fallen off, leaving the brick exposed, evidently showing that not much attention was paid to them. At the base of the cone was a small square hole. The one situated upon the lofty summit of a hill, looked like a white conical land-mark; I did not ascend to examine it.