Chapter 36

In every city, town and village, sometimes in the midst of woods, in the mountains and most lonely places, are small temples, the doors of which are continually left open for the admittance of such as may be desirous of consulting their destiny. The practical part of Chinese religion may, in fact, be said to consist in predestination. A priest is not at all necessary for unravelling the book of fate. If any one be about to undertake a journey, or to purchase a wife, or to build a house, or, above all, to bury a deceased relation, and any doubt should arise in his mind as to the fortunate result of such undertaking, he repairs to the nearest temple; and, if he should not be able to read himself, he takes a friend by the hand who can. On the altar of every temple is placed a wooden cup, filled with a number of small sticks, marked at the extremities with certain characters. Taking the cup in his hands he shakes it till one of the sticks falls upon the ground and, having examined the character upon it, he looks for the corresponding mark in a book which is generally appended to the wall of the temple. The lot, in this manner, is cast several times, and if one lucky flick in three should happen to turn up, he is willing to consider the omen as favourable; and, if the event should answer the expectation he has been led to form from the book of fate, he considers it as a duty to return to the temple and to burn a sheet or two of painted paper, or of paper covered with tin foil, and to deposit a few pieces of copper money on the altar, in token of gratitude for the favour he has received[52]. In this manner is consumed the greatest part of the tin that is carried to China by the trading companies of Europe. I have already observed that they have no communion of worship to offer up, in a public manner, their prayers or thanksgivings.

[52] The present Emperor shewed his gratitude for his prayers having been heard, by granting in a public edict an additional title to the temple in which they were offered.

IMPERIAL EDICT.

"_The gracious protecting temple of the king of the dragons_, on the mountain of _Yu-chun_, has on every occasion of drought proved favourable to our prayers offered up there for rain, as duly observed on our sacred registers. From the summer solstice of the present year, a great want of rain has been experienced, on which account we were induced, on the 17th of this moon, to offer up our prayers and sacrifices in person at the said temple. During the very same day, a fall of small rain or dew was observed, and, on the day following, the country was relieved by frequent and copious showers. This further proof of efficacy in granting our requests, augments our veneration and, in testimony whereof, we direct that the temple of the propitious divinity shall receive an additional title, and be styled on all future occasions,

"_The gracious in protecting, and efficacious in preserving, the temple of the king of the dragons._

"_Be our will obeyed._"

_Pekin Gazette, 23rd day of 5th Moon, of 6th year of Kia-King._

Formerly it was the custom to bury slaves with emperors and princes and sometimes also their concubines alive; but this cruel practice has given way, in modern times, to the more harmless one of burning representations of their domestics in tin foil, cut into the shape of human beings, and of placing their statues in wood or stone upon their graves; this seems to be the remains of a Scythian or Tartar custom, which, according to Herodotus, was commonly observed at the funerals of their sovereigns, when their horses, their slaves, and their concubines were impaled alive and placed in order round the tyrant's tomb. The last remains of a relation are interred with all the honours that the family can afford. I never passed between the capital and _Yuen-min-yuen_ without observing numbers of funeral processions. Those of great officers of state would sometimes extend for nearly half a mile. The train was usually arranged in the following order. In front marched a priest uncovered, next a group of musicians with flutes, trumpets, and cymbals; after these the male relations of the deceased in long white frocks and behind them the chief mourner, supported by two friends, whose exertions to prevent him from tearing his cheeks and hair appeared to be truly ridiculous. Then followed the coffin, covered by a magnificent canopy and borne generally by four men, sometimes by eight. After the canopy the female relations proceeded in chairs, or more generally in the little covered carts, wearing white frocks like the men, their hair dishevelled, and broad white fillets bound across their foreheads. On approaching a bridge or a temple the procession always halted while the priest burned little images of tin foil, or let off a few crackers, upon which the noisy _gong_ and the rest of the band made a flourish.

The famous feast of lanterns, when the whole empire is lighted up from one extremity to the other, in every possible way that fancy can suggest, is an ancient religious usage of which, at the present day, they can give no plausible account. It is just possible that, among other Egyptian ceremonies, this may be one derived from a common origin with an annual illumination of the same kind mentioned by Herodotus; which was generally observed, from the cataracts of the Nile to the borders of the Mediterranean, by hanging lamps of different kinds to the sides of the houses. On this day the Chinese not only illuminate their houses, but they also exercise their ingenuity in making transparencies in the shape of different animals, with which they run through the streets by night. The effect when perfectly dark is whimsical enough. Birds, beasts, fishes, and other animals are seen darting through the air, and contending with each other; some with squibs in their mouths, breathing fire, and others with crackers in their tails: some sending out sky-rockets, others rising into pyramids of party-coloured fire, and others bursting like a mine with violent explosions. But the most ingenious are those that, Proteus-like, change their shape from time to time, and under every form exhibit a different display of fire-works.

I have observed, at the beginning of this chapter, that the temples are occasionally appropriated to the use of state-officers, embassadors and other public characters, when travelling through the country, there being no other houses affording accommodations equally suitable. On quitting the temple it is generally thought necessary to perform an act of reverence bordering on devotion, not however to the Deity, but to the name of the Emperor inscribed on the altar. This custom, together with that of depositing rice and other grain, tea and oil at certain seasons, especially on the day of his nativity, although perhaps, in the first instance, a token only of respect and gratitude, and in the other an acknowledgment of his being the sole proprietary of the soil, are nevertheless acts that tend, from the sanctity of the place where they are performed, to the encouragement of idolatry. By thus associating the offerings made to the Deity and to the Monarch, the vulgar become apt to magnify the power of the latter and to raise it on a level with that of the former. A Chinese in speaking of a propitious event occurring, either in his own or any other country, generally attributes it to the joint Will of Heaven and the Emperor of China.

The conversion of the temples into lodging-houses is attended with some temporal advantages to the priests, by the donations that are generally made on such occasions. Most of them being supported entirely by voluntary contributions and trifling legacies that may be left by pious persons, they are thankful for the smallest gifts: for as there is little or no connection between the church and the state, they derive no pay, nor emolument, nor preferment from the latter. The Emperor pays his own priests, which are those of all his Tartar subjects; the Chinese Confucionists, or men of learning, and the state officers contribute to the maintenance of theirs, whether of _Fo_ or _Tao-tze_, and the mass of the people, from the prevailing propensity of enquiring into futurity, afford the means of support to many thousands, I might perhaps say millions of priests, by the offerings carried to the altars whenever they find it necessary to consult the book of fate, which is done on most of the common occurrences in life.

From the short view I have here taken of the different sects, I think it may justly be concluded that the primitive religion of China no longer exists, or exists only in a corrupted state; that there is at present no national nor scarcely a state religion: and that the articles of faith are as various as the modes of worship; in all of which the people appear to be rather actuated by the dread of evil in this life, than by the fear of punishment in another: that the duties they perform are more with a view to appease an angry deity and to avert impending calamities, than from any hope of obtaining a positive good: that they rather consult or enquire of their gods what may happen, than petition them to accomplish or avert it; for a Chinese can scarcely be said to pray; he is grateful when the event proves favourable to his wishes; petulant and peevish with his gods when adverse.

Little as the priests, or the numerous noviciates that are found in all the principal temples, are employed in the duties of their office, or in worldly concerns, they are not less uncleanly in their persons and their apartments than those are whose time is taken up in providing for the necessities of life. The room, in which some of us _should_ have slept, was so full of scorpions and scolopendras, and they crept in such numbers into our beds, that we were fairly driven out and obliged to swing our cots in the open air between two trees. Here we were not much less annoyed by myriads of musquitoes and the unceasing noise of the chirping cicadas, which continued without intermission until the still more noisy _gong_ announced the break of day, and summoned the holy men to their morning devotions.

CHAP. IX.

Journey from Tong-choo-foo to the Province of Canton--Face of the Country, and its Productions.--Buildings and other Public Works.--Condition of the People--State of Agriculture.--Population.

_Attentions paid to the Embassy--Observations on the Climate and Plains of Pe-tche-lee--Plants of--Diet and Condition of the People.--Burying-place--Observation on Chinese Cities--Trackers of the Yachts--Entrance of the Grand Canal.--The Fishing Corvorant--Approach to the Yellow River--Ceremony of crossing this River.--Observations on Canals and Roads--Improvements of the Country in advancing to the Southward--Beauty of, near Sau-choo-foo--Bridge of ninety-one Arches--Country near Hang-choo-foo.--City of--Appearance of the Country near the Po-yang Lake.--Observations in Proceeding through Kiang-see.--The Camellia Sesanqua--Retrospective View of the Climate and Produce, Diet and Condition of the People, of Pe-tche-lee--Some Observations on the Capital of China--Province of Shan-tung--Of Kiang-nan.--Observations of the State of Agriculture in China--Rice Mills--Province of Tche-kiang.--Of Kiang-see.--Population of China compared with that of England--Erroneous Opinions entertained on this Subject.--Comparative Population of a City in China and in England--Famines accounted for.--Means of Prevention.--Causes of Populousness of China._

On the 8th of October we embarked, for the second time, on the Pei-ho in yachts, however, that were very different from those on which we had ascended the river, being much smaller but broader in proportion to their length, and so shallow and flat-bottomed, that they required little depth of water; yet we found them sufficiently commodious. Of the necessity of such a change in the accommodation yachts, on account of the low state of the river, we were speedily convinced, which, previous to our embarkation, had been by some attributed to a different cause. It was supposed that the men in office throughout the country, piqued at the refusal of the Embassador to submit to their degrading ceremony, would not fail to retaliate the affront by depriving us of every little comfort and convenience, and by otherwise rendering the long journey before us extremely unpleasant. The character of the people at large justified such a conclusion; and, I believe, every individual had laid his account of meeting with difficulties and disagreeable occurrences on the journey to Canton. In justice, however, to those who had the superintendence of the embassy, and particularly to the two most worthy characters _Van_ and _Chou_, who were more immediately connected with its concerns, it is but fair to observe that no attention was wanting, nor expense spared, to render our situation as easy and comfortable as possible. Supplies of every kind were sent on board in the greatest profusion and with the most scrupulous punctuality. And as a singular proof of attention shewn to us in the commencement of this journey, our conductors, having observed that we used milk with our tea, had purchased two fine cows in full milk, which were put on board a yacht prepared for their reception, for a supply of that article. And, it was observed, that whenever the chief officers of the provinces, through which the embassy was to pass, prepared an entertainment in honour of the occasion, they had given themselves all possible trouble to render it more acceptable, by endeavouring to serve it up, as they thought, in the English style. In some of those feasts we had hogs roasted whole, that could not have weighed less than fifty pounds; quarters of mutton, geese, ducks, and fowls roasted or boiled whole, a mode of cookery altogether different to the practice of the country, which is chiefly confined to that of stewing small morsels of meat with greens or rice. The awkward manner in which they were prepared, being generally burnt and glazed over with oil, was entitled to and found an ample excuse in the desire thus testified of pleasing.

From the time that we first embarked in August at the mouth of the Pey-ho, or White River, until our return, we experienced only a single shower of rain. It is observed, indeed, that during the autumnal months the northern provinces enjoy a cloudless sky; an advantage of which they avail themselves in thrashing out the different kinds of grain in the field, thus saving the labour of bearing it into barns or piling it into stacks. It is either thrashed out on clay floors with flails, similar to our own, beat out of the ear against the edge of a plank, or trodden by oxen or buffalos. The grain that we had noticed just striking into the ear, on ascending the river, was now generally reaped. It consisted principally of the different species of millet, as before observed, and a small proportion of _polygonum fagopyrum_ or buck-wheat. A species of _Dolichos_ or bean, that had been sown between the drills of the Holcus, or tall millet, was now in flower.

The range of Fahrenheit's thermometer in the province of _Pe-tche-lee_, during the month of August, was from 80° to 88° in the middle of the day, and during the night it remained generally about 60° to 64°. In September, the medium temperature at two o'clock was about 76°; and in October about 68°; but in the latter month, it decreased in the night sometimes to 44°.

In the neighbourhood of the _Pei-ho_ a light sandy soil chiefly prevails, with a mixture of argillaceous earth and slimy matter, interspersed with shining particles of mica: but not a stone of any magnitude, nor pebbles, nor even gravel occur in the whole extent of country through which this river is navigable. The surface, indeed, is so flat and uniform, that the tide, which rises only nine or ten feet in the gulph of _Pe-tche-lee_, flows to the distance of thirty miles beyond _Tien-sing_, or one hundred and ten miles from the mouth of the river; and it frequently submerges the whole country, notwithstanding the great pains bestowed by the inhabitants in raising and keeping in order artificial banks. Such inundations, although frequently the causes of great fertility, are sometimes productive of general calamity, especially if they happen at a season when the crop is too far advanced. These plains exhibit the appearance of a more than ordinary incroachment of the land upon the sea. The general level of the face of the country, at high water, is not more elevated than two feet above the surface of the river, of which not only the bed, but also the substratum of the enclosing banks, are composed entirely of fine sand similar to that on the shore of the sea. The deepest part of the wide gulph of _Pe-tche-lee_ exceeds not twelve fathoms, and the prodigious number of small sandy islands, just appearing above the surface, are said to have been created within the records of history. A great portion of the enormous mass of mud that is perpetually wafted down the Yellow River, and which was found by experiment to exceed two million solid feet in an hour, is borne by a strong current from the Yellow Sea into the gulph of _Pe-tche-lee_, where the stillness of the water allows it to subside. In the map of Marco Polo, which was most probably copied by him from one in the possession of Gengis-khan, or some of the learned men about his court, _Tien-sing_ is placed upon the sea coast; and a branch of the Yellow River, after traversing the provinces _Kiang-nan_, _Shan-tung_, and part of _Pe-tche-lee_, in the direction nearly of the present canal, discharges itself into the gulph near the _Pei-ho_. Were this branch of the river actually turned, the rapidity with which the gulph of _Pe-tche-lee_ is filling up is the less surprising, as the only stream to keep its waters in motion at present is the _Pei-ho_. It has been calculated that, by the simple turning of the great river that falls from Winandermere-lake, the estuary of Morecombe Bay, which it now crosses, would, in the natural course of events, be converted in a few years into a green meadow. If the abovementioned chart be correct, it would prove also that the Mongul Tartars did actually first bring the grand navigation of China to the state in which it now appears.

This uniform plain of China afforded little interest to the traveller. Few trees appeared, except now and then a clump of firs surrounding a temple, or the plantations contiguous to the dwelling of some officer of government. In such situations were also large elms, willows, and a species of ash unknown in Europe. There were no hedge-rows. Property here is divided only by narrow ditches, serving at the same time for drains, or by ridges of unploughed ground, as in the common fields of England, which answer the purpose of foot-paths. These ridges were generally well covered with that family of running trefoil, known by the name of _Melilotos_, intermixed with a species of _Poa_ or meadow grass, _Avena_ or wild oats, and _Briza_ or quaking grass. In the ditches, beside the common reed the _Arundo phragmites_, were growing two species of _Cyperus_, and a _Scirpus_ or club-rush. None of the artificial grasses, usually so called, are cultivated by the Chinese. It is not an object with them to fodder their cows for the sake of obtaining a greater quantity of milk, this nutritive article of food being very sparingly used either in its raw state or in any preparation; and they are either ignorant of the processes of converting it into butter and cheese, or, for certain reasons, prefer to employ the little they make use of in its original state. Horses are rarely kept for luxury or for labour; and the few animals employed in agriculture, which are mostly asses, mules, or buffalos, subsist in the winter season on chaff and straw; and their chief support in the summer is derived from the strong grasses that grow in the ditches and the common reed, with which, in this part of the country, large tracts of swampy ground are covered.

On approaching _Tien-sing_, we observed several large fields cultivated with a vegetable called by the Chinese the _Pe-tsai_, or white herb, apparently a species of _Brassica_ or cole; though insipid in its taste, being not unlike that of the cos-lettuce, it is held in preference to all other vegetables; and the capital is most abundantly supplied with it in the summer season fresh from the gardens in its vicinity and, in the winter, salted and prepared somewhat in the same manner as the _Sour-Krout_ of the Germans. We observed also in the gardens, carrots, turnips, black radishes, a species of asparagus, the _Solanum Melongena_, a species of _physalis_ or winter-cherry, water-melons and musk-melons, pumpkins and cucumbers. Onions and garlic were common vegetables planted near every peasant's house. The _Trapa_ or water-caltrops grew in the ditches, the nuts of which, with the seeds and the roots of the Nelumbium, generally furnished out our desert; to which, indeed, sometimes were added tolerably good peaches, dry spongy apples not unlike quinces in appearance, and pears of an immense size but of a harsh and austere taste.

However unfavourable the country might be for an extended cultivation, which did not appear to be the case, the proximity to the capital would have led one to expect a corresponding population. Nothing of the kind appeared; the vast numbers we had observed in ascending the river were drawn from the distance of many miles out of mere curiosity; the inhabitants only of the vicinity now shewed themselves; and we were rather surprized at the fewness of these, as well as at the very ruinous and miserable condition of almost all the cottages. These mean huts were built, some of half-burnt bricks and others of clay, and they were thatched with the straw of grain or with reeds. Some were enclosed within walls of mud, or with a kind of course matting made of reeds, or the stalks of the _holcus sorghum_, which enclosure generally contained the families of two or three generations, the cattle, pigs, poultry, and all the living creatures belonging to the establishment. The Chinese have a common saying, that "although there be poverty without Pekin, there is plenty within its walls." The appearance, indeed, of all the peasantry in this province was marked with every indication of poverty; nor was the condition much better of those who were employed about the vessels which carried the Embassador and his train. With the greatest thankfulness they received the offals of our allowance; and the tea-leaves, which we had used, were sought after by them with avidity and boiled up for their beverage. A little boiled rice, or millet, with a few vegetables, commonly the _Pe-tsai_, and onions fried in oil, constituted their principal meals, of which they made only two regular ones in the day, one about ten o'clock in the morning, and the other at four or five in the afternoon. They generally however had the frying-pan on the fire at three or four o'clock in the morning. The wine or liquor, which we received in large jars, and which was so miserably bad as not to be used, afforded a great treat to the poor people, whose circumstances seldom allowed them to taste it. This liquor is brewed from a mixture of rice and millet, and from its quickly turning sour seems to have little strength, and to have undergone a very imperfect degree of fermentation. Their _hot wine_ is seldom used except by the upper class of people who, not satisfied with the strong empyreumatic flavour communicated in the distillation, drink it boiling hot in the midst of summer.