Old Highways in China

Preface

. During my earlier years, in the company of my hus band, Dr. "Williamson, I made several journeys through the province of Cheh-kiang, and resided in some of the cities in the interior of that province. At that time I gave my impressions of the women of China in a series of articles, entitled ' Our Sisters in China.' These appeared in the ' Leisure Hour ' for 1863. In 1864, removing to the province of Shan-tung, which had been recently opened to foreigners, I occupied myself for some years in tentative work in Chefoo and the neighbourhood. After becoming familiar with the language of that district, and also with the habits and O O I etiquette of the women of that province, I made four long journeys, two of which are briefly described in the following pages. The first journey was undertaken in the autumn of

PREFACE.

. 1873, vid Weihien, Tsi-nan-foo, Tai Shan, and the cities of Confucius and Mencius, returning by ilung, Yiu hien, and Tsingchow-foo; the second in 1875 to Weihien, Tsi-nan-foo, and back; the third in 1881 from Chefoo to Peking, as narrated; the fourth in the spring of 1882, partly on the ' Old Highways,' and partly on the byways and bridle-paths of the eastern portion of Shan-tung. The object of these journeys was first to carry Gospel truth to as many of the women of China as I could reach, and secondly, to familiarise them with Western women, and so to render the visits of those who followed me more easy. Both objects were attained, and the result has been that Western women can safely travel and reside in any part ofthe province. This volume does not profess to give an account of mission work — that will be found in our denominational literature — but rather records observations of every-day life made during my journeys through North China and during my intercourse with the people.

I trust, however, that it will deepen the interest of English readers in the women of China ; they well deserve it. As regards natural endowments, they are, as may be supposed, in every respect compeers

PREFACE.

. 7 of the men — active, intelligent, and, like our sisters in every land, more open to religious teaching than the men are. Missionaries of the widest information and greatest experience, both in China and India, concur in affirming that missionary operations have reached that point when efficient zenana work is indispensable to satis factory progress. They find that men will never be converted in any large numbers till the women are won over to the side of Christianity. The women conserve the ancient religions and superstitions of their country ; and what can a man do when the women of the house hold are against him ? The elevation, therefore, of the nations of the East, and the advancement of Chris tianity among them, depend to a large extent upon the women of Christendom. Again, the promises of Scripture converge towards the Gospel being preached to every creature.

Nearly half the women of the world belong to the two great empires of China and India. The Scriptures can never be fulfilled so long as these Eastern women have not had even the opportunity of hearing of the Gospel of Salvation. The end of all evils, therefore, and the fulfilment of the purposes of God, seem contingent on our Zenana work. I look upon work among the women

PREFACE.

. of the East as now the great question of the Christian Church. There are many noble-minded women of independent means and few family ties wishing for an outlet equal to their zeal, and why should they not go forth resolved to spend their lives in this work ? In such a beautiful country as North China there is no more danger to health than there is in the Northern States of America or in Australia. May God so bring home, to those who can go, the needs of the women of China, that there may soon be a great going forth of the Christian women of Great Britain, thus fulfilling the prophecy contained in Psalm lxviii. 11, new version: 'The Lord giveth the word, and the women that bring glad tidings are a great host.' ISABELLE WILLIAMSON. CONTENTS. CHAPTEE I. PAGE Old highways— Their great interest, antiquarian and modern- China's daughters— Our vehicles— Their construction and motion — Our start— Our travelling companions, their dress and idiosyncrasies ...... 17 CHAPTEE II.

Our first halting-place — An old friend and his family — Hearty welcome and cordial greetings — How mandarins become rich — The famous mountain, Ai-Shan — Legendary lore — A quaint and beautiful story pertaining to Ai-Shan . 23 CHAPTEE III. Rugged roads — Charming scenery — A wasteful watercourse — Lotus ponds — Arrowroot produced from lotus — The village of Wun Shih Tang — The inn and its garnishings — Hot mineral baths — An amusing incident. 31 CHAPTEE IV. The Old Highway again— Our first hostelry : its guests and bustle— The city of Whang Hien, its reputation — The market town of Pe Ma, or White Horse Town — The cordiality of the natives — The town of Whang San Kwan — Chinese peasants and peasant life — Wayward and wasteful watercourses again, alternating with plains of wondrous and varied fertility — Multitudinous variety of grains and vegetables — Beautiful orchards ..... 3G CONTENTS.

PACE 11 48 53 59 09 CHAPTEE V. Arrival at the city of Laichow-foo— Our experiences there- Boys : their pranks, and their defeat— The traffic as seen in the inn-yard — Trip through the city — Steatite slabs, cups, and ornaments — Fine marble quarries— Contrast between cities and villages — Our departure ; a block on the road — Chats with the natives and wayfarers — A bridge out of the way — A beautiful archway . CHAPTEE VI. The town of Sa Hoh — The centre of the great straw-braid district — The producers : their diligence and expertness — A Chinese funeral — Preparations made at night, and the reason why — A description of the rites, procession, and obsequies. ....... CHAPTEE VII. A genuine country fair — The buyers and sellers : their commodities, ways, and keenness — Barter — Domestic cotton spinning : its utility and importance — The town of Han Ting — A touching sight at the inn —The city of Wei Hien : how it was taken — The inn-yard . . . .

CHAPTEE VIIL Chinese ladies — A Chinese lady's dinner — Its cuisine, etiquette, and elegance. ...... CHAPTEE IX. A grand archway in honour of a virtuous woman — Its ornamentation — Pleasant villages — The city of Chang Loh— Lime-kilns— Novel house-building— Sunday— Native Christians —Transmission of letters— Manufacture of twine . CHAPTEE X. The city of Tsingchow-foo— Its antiquity— Inns— Process of disinfection— A murder story— Falcons and falconry CONTENTS. 11 PAGE 71 82 89 96 101 Archers— A walk through the city— Trades : silks, cutlery, calico printing— Musicians— Chinese music— Maxims by ancient sages— Steam-whistles in China— The manufacture of silk— A Tartar city ..... CHAPTEE XL A Chinese bride— Bridal privileges— Bridal attire— The return of a bride to the house of her parents — Betrothal : when and how — Sacredness — Marriages are made in heaven — A famous Chinese story in illustration thereof . .

CHAPTEE XII. Chinese marriages : their antecedents and formalities — The bride passes through a trying ordeal — A Chinese woman-hater — How he trained his son : his precautions, and the result. ... . . . . CHAPTEE XIIL A religious festival : its inconvenience — A ruffian innkeeper — The Chinese theatre : its acts, actors, and character — The town of Chang San Hien, or Long Hill Town — Large crowds : their anxiety to see us— Kindliness of the women — A Chinese mother and her first-born — Women police — Fine pei-lows in the place — Silk for England's fairest daughters : how and by whom produced CHAPTEE XIV. The outskirts of Chang San Hien : their beauty — The city of Tseu Ping Hien : also of great antiquity, and full oipeilou-s — A city market — The politeness of the people — Efforts of the women to see the foreign sister — ' She speaks our language ' — A Chinese lady ; her kindly attention — A cup of tea — How to reckon the population of a city — Cremation : its former practice, its present illegality — A funeral cortige on its way from Peking — The desire of the Chinese to be literally ' gathered to their fathers ' . , CONTENTS. 12 PAGE 111 126 132 151 CHAPTEE XV.

Waterwheels — Coal and coalmen — Native ventilating hats — Nearing the capital — Bullocks shod with iron and with straw — The Sentinel Hill — First visit to Tsi-nan-foo — Provincial examination — Tsi-nan-foo, the Paris of North China — The Boman Catholic cathedral — The Mahommedan mosque— A sail on the Shining Lake— Pleasure palaces — Pleasure-seekers — Gay students — Enchanting scene at sunset on the lake — Floating lamps used for divination — Sad corh'gc— The Chinese Morgue— Superstition against dying in a neighbour's house — Chinese revenge— Visit to mosque — Mahommedan women CHAPTEE XVI. Tsi-nan-foo in Carnival time— Comical heterogeneity of the fair— A Chinese auctioneer: his tricks of trade— The natural fountain of Tsi-nan-foo— Encounter with a bear — Merry-makers of many kinds — Contrast between the theatres of China an Borne— The mosque revisited— Two heroines CHAPTEE XVII.

Classic China— Tali with the women— An invitation— A party of Chinese ladies— An indolent daughter punished— Care of Chinese mothers in training their daughters— The tomb of Shao Hao— The Tai Shan— The Temple— The ascent of the sacred mountain— A nunnery— A priest sitting in his bones— The land of Confucius— Kio-foo-hien— Invitation to the duke's palace— Descendants of Confucius— The Great Temple -The tomb of Confucius— Tsow Hien— The Temple of Mencius— The mother of Mencius— Tablet erected in honour of the sage— Mencius contemporary with Plato and Demosthenes CHAPTEE XVIII. Tsow Hien, or the city of Mencius-Our reception there -The teaching, of Chinese sages CONTENTS. 13 CHAPTEE XIX. PAGE China's Sorrow ' — Crossing the Yellow River — The ferry : ferrymen and mules — Rural life — A fine inn, but a bad landlord — Uniformity of the scenery — Wheelbarrows with sails — Arid soil — How the natives treated the gods to cause them to send rain ...... 155 CHAPTEE XX.

Chinese burial-grounds — An imperial courier — Temples : the beauty of their sites— Chinese Christians — The spread of Christianity in Shantung— The telegraph — Whang ho Yeh — The emporium of Teh Chow— A great depot on the Grand Canal — Fine pci-loio — Great display of lethal weapons at every gate — Bookselling — Chinese ' exquisites ' and Chinese roughs —Hunt for an inn — A guest-room tastefully ornamented — ' The seven ages of man ' — Chinese honesty. . 162 CHAPTEE XXI. The Grand Canal : the ferry — A new fort and garrison — Another imperial courier — The city of King chow with fine pagoda — An affable innkeeper — A newly dug canal — Chinese bridges — Superstition connected with their erection — Sacrifices of children— The reopening of water communication — The town of Shen Kia Lin— Sickness— Gambling— Chinese gallants . . • 172 CHAPTEE XXII.

The famine districts in C'hih Li— Sad stories— A good dog story The departmental city of Ho kien foo — Roman Catholic establishment and Church of England mission — The ruins of old and handsome bridges— An inn three storeys deep — Sing-song girls — A specimen of their musical recitations — Tune, Madame Wang— Great distributing city of Ma Chow — A great wholesale fair— Sign-boards and advertisements — A miserable inn— The merrymaking of the fair — Canals and junks. ..... CONTENTS. PAGE 194 207 218 CHAPTEE XXIII. The banks of the T'sing ho— A beautiful walk— Pao Kow ho — Origin of the term ' Ma ten '—Another unruly mob — Origin of names of places — .Natural hayforks— Lumbermen — The city of Tso Chow— A nation has changed her colours — Death of the Eastern Empress— Sign-boards— Pawnbroking — Peripatetic kitchens — Magnificent bridge — The tortoise, heraldic emblem of China— How Chinese defend their live-stock against wolves ....

CHAPTEE XXIV. How our ' walking map ' turned out— Difficulty of governing desperadoes — A run on a bank — The summary punishment of the villains — An escape from roughs — A new feature on the ' old highways '— Camels : their drivers and burdens — Approach to Peking — Bad roads — A Peking street — The walls — Manchu women — Origin of the small feet — Bandaging and the pain it causes .... CHAPTEE XXV. Peking— Its plan, buildings, and institutions — Its social economy — Improvements since 18G6 — Bailway and telegraph — Journey. by canal— Infanticide not common in North China ■ -Tien-tsin— -The Pei hoh— The Taku Forts— Chefoo ILLUSTRATIONS •<>* tage Frontispiece CHINESE PEASANT LIFE— GOING TO MARKET 17 A CHINESE BULLOCK CAKT ON A COUNTRY ROAD 25 A CHINESE OFFICIAL GATEWAY OF A WALLED VILLAGE 45 A CHINESE LADY 61 CHINESE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS 77 CHINESE COUPLE LATELY MARRIED 91 103 A CITY MARKET OR FAir, 112 CO,*iL MEASURE WITH HANDLES FOR CARRYING . 119 A CHINESE TEMPLE 160 A CHINESE WHEELBARROW WITH SAILS A CHINESE CANNON . 166 A CHINESE OFFICER 174 175 CHINESE SOLDIERS AND TENT 179 A CHINESE LIGHT CART OR CAB 190 A CHINESE MERCHANT CHINESE LUMBERMEN ON THE TA T'SING HO 197 THE CHINESE CHARACTER ' TANG,' THE PAWNBROKER'S SIGN A CHINESE BULLOCK CART ON A COUNTRY ROAD. OLD HIGHWAYS IN CHINA.

Chapter I

Old highways — Their great interest, antiquarian and modern- China's daughters — Our vehicles — Their construction and motion — Our start — Our travelling companions, their dress and idiosyncrasies. From Chefoo to Peking is a journey of about seven hundred miles, and we go by the Old Highways. Old Highways indeed ! old, almost beyond historical record. Trodden by the feet of more than a hundred generations, they are yet fresh as of yore, and ever and anon present landscapes of the rarest beauty. To one B CHINA'S DAUGHTERS. 18 acquainted with the language and habits of the people these highways are a never-ending book of antiquity, from which to read the story of the past, blended with the life thoughts of the present. China comes to us like a submerged continent newly upheaved from the ocean of time ; and on its vast extent there are no objects of interest greater than China's daughters.

Beautiful they are with a certain beauty of their own. On them, alas! centuries of non-culture have pressed heavily ; but now, Undine-like, each Chinese maid and matron seems rising and asking for a soul. On the journey my interest was chiefly in the women, and I looked at all through a woman's eyes. April 7th is the day fixed for our start. The muleteers promise to be in good time ; all arrangements have been made, and nothing has to be done in the mornincf but to load the animals. o - • Our preparations have not been extensive, as we depend on native sources for our supplies. "We take a few pounds of sugar, a pound or so of tea, four tins of condensed milk, a small bag of sea biscuit, three bottles of arrowroot, a few articles of crockery, and a small medicine chest. Our clothing is in a carpet sack, which serves for a pillow.

A dressing bag does a like duty. These, and a Chinese quilt for each, comprise our travelling outfit. There is a small mountain of books to be conveyed, inasmuch as to sell and distribute good books is one of the main objects of our journey. They also are piled up in readiness. Mules are always used for long journeys, as they are hardy and sure-footed. True to their promise, at early dawn the muleteevs lead the mules into our OUR VEHICLES. 19 courtyard. To convey our books and baggage we require six animals. They are all examined to see that they are in good condition. One mule has a large wooden pack-saddle ; a second has a pair of immense panniers. Our vehicles are called shendzles, and each shendzle requires two mules. These shendzles are of the simplest construction, and are very light.

Three small wooden pack-saddles are laid on the ground about three feet apart. These are fastened to two poles about eighteen feet long. After the poles are securely tied to the upturned saddles, three narrow but strong strips of bamboo are arched over the poles. Reed matting is spread upon the bamboos, and sewn firmly to them with twine. Be twixt the poles, about two feet from either end, there is stretched a broad band of cowhide. The shendzle mules have wooden pack-saddles, and in the centre of each saddle is fixed an iron spike, standing upright. In the middle of the band of untanned cowhide a hole is pierced, and in putting the shendzle on the backs of the mules, the poles are raised so high that the iron spike on the saddle can be run through the hole in the cowhide band. There is no strap or fastening.

There you are — balanced. Very careful driving is required, and a good muleteer is always on the watch to lay hold of the poles at any signs of toppling. Over the shendzle we tied a sheet of vulcanised indiarubber cloth, which is most useful in travelling. It defends from both sun and rain. Every night it is spread on the sleeping-place, as a protection from damp, and in very many other circumstances it is a comfort. Our energetic friend, Mr. Paton, looks after the packing of the books. The panniers are filled with B OUR START. 20 them. A box of them is strapped on each side of the pack-saddle, and the remainder is packed away in the under parts of the shendzles. Our quilts and eatables are put in. Everything being ready, we are invited to crawl into the place that is to be a home for many days.

"We crawl in. Good-byes are said to numerous teachers and Chinese friends. All the school girls and boys and all the members of the establishment come up and wish us a good journey and a speedy return. We say good-bye to Mr. Paton, and to the sunny -haired English baby in the arms of her smiling mother. How fair and sunny the two look beside the bronzed and yellow-tinted sons and daughters of China ! Well, of all vehicles a shendzle is one of the fun niest. Outwardly, it looks like a gigantic chrysalis ; inwardly, it seems comfortable as a couch. There is great difficulty in the balancing of it. Slung simply on the backs of the mules, an unlucky, awkward move ment of the traveller within it may send it rolling down the first precipice. So soon as we are fairly started, one is requested to sit ' a little more to the north ' ; then, ' a little more to the south ' ; ' no, not so much ' ; till, after a variety of orders and counter-orders, at last the muleteer is satisfied.

We climb a hill immediately after starting, and we soon find that the mules have had no training, and never by any chance step together. We are rocked from side to side cradle fashion, then jolted to and fro from head to heel. Backwards, forwards, see-saw, zig-zag, jerk, jolt, jog, joggle ! — the proverbial ' baby on the tree top ' must have had quiet compared to this. Sea-sickness is disagreeable, but mal de shendzle is worse. However, the disagreeable experience usually OUR TRAVELLING COMPANIONS. 21 passes away with one day ; and it is found that, although it is a very unsocial, yet it is not an altogether un pleasant, mode of travel. Few can read in a shendzle, and those who do read must have books of very large type. A Chinese book in good-sized type may be read with comfort. Our travelling companions are two muleteers, a help for bookselling, and a man who is half servant half man of business.

My muleteer, who claims the lead, is a roguish looking man, rather surly and taciturn. He has some ugly scars on his visage, and a peculiar leer in one eye. He is strong and hardy, and has the reputation of being a perfect walking map. His head is adorned with a marvellous cap of soft grey felt. On ordinary days it looks like a plain skull-cap. As the weather changes I discover that this cap is a multum in parvo. If the wind blows hard from the north, he immediately doffs his cap, and pulls out a flap that defends his ear and neck. If the mornings are cold, the cap has flaps to cover both ears. Should the sand be driving in his face, an immense scoop is projected in front to protect his eyes. When it rains, a great peak appears, to prevent the water running in at the collar of his jacket. His jacket is of blue cotton, wadded.

His continuations are buffcoloured leather. He has white cotton stockings quilted with cotton, and black cloth shoes with a most liberal allowance of sole. He carries a whip at his girdle, but, to my great comfort, seldom uses it. The other muleteer is a younger man, with a quiet look. He is dressed much in the same style — only his continuations are of olive-green leather, and he is not the proud possessor of a multum in parvo cap. The bookseller was engaged the evening before we OUR TRAVELLING COMPANIONS. 22 started. He was recommended as a ' decayed gentle man.' He is very much decayed indeed, but he has a cheery, happy-go-lucky way, and is not an unpleasant travelling companion. He has a faculty of making friends, not enemies. We were obliged to take him in the place of a dear old man who became ill just before we left, and who died ere we returned from our journey.

The man Friday is a fine, tall, handsome Chinaman, a good scholar, and a gentleman in his manners. He can do anything, from writing a Chinese document to boiling an egg*, and he has a marvellous facilitv for making palatable whatever provisions we can get at inns or country markets. He is the butt of the party. His mounting on his mule is one of the sights not to be lost. Many directions he receives as to his demeanour on his steed. ' Sit to the east,' is shouted to him ; again, ' To the west ' — ' More to the back ' — ' Nearer to the front ' — and he makes an effort to comply as far as he can. His perch is on the mule with the panniers, and he falls off on an average three times a day. It is supposed that he goes to sleep, and thus overbalances the panniers. His falls are not serious, as the panniers save him, and he is generally found seated in one of them.

He always persists in packing the crockery in these panniers, as a proof that he has no fear of an upset, but after reducing us to one teacup, he becomes exceedingly careful to put it in the snuggest place in my shendzle. I fear I must be troublesome to him, as I constantly tease him to read all the sentences the Chinese write on their doors, and also the ornamental scroll-work with which they decorate their dwellings. He is a most agreeable companion, and never loses his temper : his wits he sometimes loses.

Chapter II

Our first halting-place — An old friend and his family — Hearty welcome and cordial greetings — How mandarins become rich — The famous mountain, Ai-Shan — Legendary lore— A quaint and beautiful story pertaining to Ai-Shan. OCR path lay off the main road and through a fine valley. The greater part of the way was a watercourse, lined on each side with lovely trees. We had arranged to stay the first night at the house of one of our church members, a faithful old man with small ability but a true heart. He and his friends were expecting our visit. As we emerged from the shade of the trees, and were crossing a stony ridge at the head ofthe glen, in the dim tivilight, we could descry figures and hear voices hailing us, and shouting, ' Take the north road.' Presently we met the old man and his son, their faces beaming.

In the distance we could see lights and hear the hum of a village. As we got near to the house, just on the edge of tbe hamlet, we found nearly all the villagers assembled. The greetings were numerous and cordial. Women came round, and were introduced as the mothers of sons named to us. Indeed, a woman's title in China is usually the name of her eldest son ; and what title is sweeter to a mother's ear ? Everything was made tidy for us. The lest laiisj 1 1 Brick bed. AN OLD FRIEND. 24 was lit, and the mill-room arranged for a sitting-room. For a long time Dr. Williamson sat conversing with the men on religious subjects. In the inner room, entering by another door, I saw the women. It was pleasant to find how much of Scripture truth the women and girls knew. The family of our host consisted of his wife, a son, and a daughter, the brightest little Chinese maiden I have ever seen.

She was greatly interested in my buttoned boots ; the particular fault of this little Chinese, maid was a tendency to be untidy in her gaiters and shoes. So she at once informed her mother that she would not need to be scolded for her besetting sin if her shoes and gaiters were all in one piece, as mine were, and if they were made of leather. Altogether she took my heart — a cheery, sunny, little lassie. The story of this family is a good illustration of how an unjust magistrate may oppress his people. Some five or six years ago this man had, in foreign employment, saved about one hundred and twenty thousand cash. For a peasant this is quite a little fortune. The mandarin of the district, a very petty magistrate indeed, knew this. For some time he sought an occasion to bring this man up before him on some offence.

First he had him arraigned on a charge of having broken down a small mud embankment, and sent water and stones over a field belonging to a neighbour. But it was clearly proved that the water and stones had found their way into that field without Shoo's help. At the time of the floods the man was at his work in Chefoo, some twenty miles away ; and his wife could not have walked such a distance in the storm. This charo-e thus fell to the ground, though a horde of underlings had to HOW MANDARINS BECOME RICH. 25 be paid their fees. Nevertheless the mandarin raised another case against him, and kept it on and on, till, by fines and otherwise, he got the one hundred and twenty thousand cash Shoo had saved. He then released his victim, who had all the costs of the suit to pay. Old and poor, he has to begin again ; and he says, ' If I save any money now, I'll be careful not to let my neighbours know.' A CHINESE OFFICIAL.

There is nothing a respectable Chinaman fears more than to get into the clutches of the mandarins. He prefers to suffer loss rather than go to law to recover a debt, particularly if he has any money to lose. After a comfortable night, and after seeing a great many Chinese who were clamouring around us before THE FAMOUS MOUNTAIN, AI-SHAN. 26 sunrise, we started from Mee Kow about seven a.m. Almost immediately on leaving Shoo's village, afar on the horizon, framed in by the arching trees, rises on our view the lofty Ai-Shan. Its summit is strikingly like the dome of St. Paul's, but under a bluer sky. The general outline of the whole mountain is suggestive of a majestic cathedral. Its highest peak is seen afar off on the sea by the mariner, and guides him into harbour. The following is a legend of this mountain : — A young girl, beautiful and affectionate, lived under the shadow of the celebrated Ai-Shan.

Her father owned property in junks, and was very rich. She had two brothers older than herself. Her father and her two brothers set sail for the south, one fine autumn day. They went each in charge of a junk. Tbe girl was sorry to part with them ; but they comforted her by promising to return in the following summer, when the soft south wind would waft them gently home to their own quiet bay, and they would bring beautiful presents for her, as by next autumn she would be wearing the scarlet dress of a bride. Months passed, and the young maiden dwelt with her mother. When the winter wind howled round their home at night, she used to shiver, as she thought of her dear father and brothers in the junks, tossing on the stormy sea. Sometimes an old friend of her father would come to visit them. This man was also rich, and a junk owner.