Chapter 14
Seen from the city wall or any very high point, Canton seems a city of roofs, with scarcely an opening and not a vestige of green. The narrow streets are many of them covered with awnings. It is a city of great color, the brilliant signs, the covered palanquin chairs, the costumes of the wealthy Chinese, all contributing to the riotous effect. It is a city of very wide contrasts, for rich and poor jostle each other on the streets and their homes are often side by side.
Canton is, after all, even with the noise, smells, and dirt included, a fascinating city, and while one would not care to remain long in it, one should never omit it.
Shameen, the island of concession, where are located two hotels, consulates, churches, some shops, and the homes of all the foreign residents, is a most pleasing place. Long avenues of trees are seen on every side, the grounds of many of the homes sloping to the river, which of itself adds to the beauty; the water is spanned by two iron bridges which are locked every night; everywhere a general air of refinement prevails. This very Shameen furnishes the greatest contrast of all to hoary, venerable old Canton.
It is claimed that Canton's origin dates from three hundred years before the Christian era. The city was then encircled by a kind of stockade made of bamboo and river mud, and it resembled a camp in most of its details. A thousand years and Canton is alluded to as a commercial city, with a special commissioner appointed by the Government to superintend foreign trade. At an early date the great pass was constructed through the Mei-hung range of mountains, and this proves to be one of the principal trade-routes in use at the present time. Another thousand years and we have the city of to-day, with its peculiar conditions, its fascinations. Surely its age commands our respect. Its people, seemingly impassive, are a subject for study, as are all the Chinese. Will the Western mind ever be able to understand this? I have a theory that behind the impassiveness there is a certain kind of responsiveness if it can be reached, but thus far I have only been able to test it upon house servants in California and those who have served us at different points in our trip. I have met persons who share my belief, their opinion being based on an acquaintance with the educated class.
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MACAO, _March 28th_: We again took the steamer _Kian Tang_ for an eighty-mile run to Macao. The scene is quite as varied and pleasing as the passage from Hong-Kong to Canton. There were numerous islands, and, on the mainland, villages were seen with occasional forts which told the story of past invasions. Rice fields and great groves of mulberry trees indicated some of the chief industries of China. Macao is situated on the western shores of the estuary of the great Pearl River, sometimes called Canton River. It was founded early in the sixteenth century by the Portuguese, who were the first nation to invade the Eastern seas in the interest of commerce, having aided the Chinese during the invasion of pirates. As a reward, in the year 1557, the rocky peninsula was given to them, the Portuguese having previously made use of it as a trading-station and a naval depot.
Macao is beautifully located high above the sea, and the approach is fine; the first impression is of a Mediterranean port, but on landing, the style of the buildings and the arrangement of the streets reminded me of Spain, while the blended coloring on the parapet and walls (which only time can give) was like Ponta Delgada of the Azores. Our hotel stood on an eminence overlooking the sea, indeed so near the sea that the moan and swish of the waves were always with us. The view from my balcony brought to mind the outlook from the old monastery at Amalfi, Italy. The whole atmosphere of the place was peaceful, and this was its chief attraction. We were there over Sunday, and the impression was deepened. Our arrival being early in the morning, we at once commenced our tour of observation, our guide seeming quite intelligent. We knew that the population of Macao was about eighty thousand, and, with the exception of a few Portuguese officials, entirely Chinese, so we were prepared for Chinese scenes, and it seemed quite consistent that we should first visit a large opium factory, this drug being one of the large exports of Macao. Here was explained the entire process of manufacture, from the poppy leaf to the final shipment; and for a further object lesson, we were taken into a room arranged for smoking opium, where sat three richly dressed Chinamen, half reclining; two had already passed into the temporary land of bliss and the third had the far-away look in his eyes that betokened semi-unconsciousness.
The fourteenth-century façade of San Paulo greatly interested us aside from its architectural merit; it stands to-day, as it has stood for generations, the sole remnant of a fine cathedral which perished in an earthquake. It is like a sentinel pointing the way to a better life. The modern Catholic cathedral had no distinctive features. The English church was unpretentious, but the Protestant cemetery adjoining contains tablets sacred to the memory of many military and naval officers and also of missionaries and their families; I remember especially the stone erected to a Rev. Mr. Morrison, one of the early missionaries to China.
Macao's chief claim to renown is its association with Camoëns, the great Portuguese poet of the sixteenth century, whose epic poem, "The Lusiads," has been translated into most known languages. This poem was written during his ten years' residence in Macao, and the garden, grotto, and bust of Camoëns are all a memorial tribute from a fellow countryman, Lorenco Marques. The garden and grotto were interesting, and the bronze bust which rests on a block whereon is engraved a poem to Macao by an English scholar, Sir John Bowring, is fine in design and execution. It is interesting to note that through "The Lusiads" Camoëns was permitted to return to Portugal to end his days, he having been banished twice because his views were too outspoken. He died at Lisbon in 1580.
The shops in Macao were of no special interest, and the street scenes lacked life and color. A long drive followed luncheon, first to the wonderful Bund, here called Praia Granda, which is semi-circular like the harbor, and the street fronting the water is lined with homes or business houses. Not one discordant note is here found. The drive is protected on the water side by a high stone coping, and it was being extended far beyond the original curve on the right-hand side, while at the left it leads out into a prolonged drive, first on the heights where are located residences and a club, then on to the country, until we reach the dividing line between a Portuguese possession and China. This is marked by an imposing arch. On the outskirts we visited several factories, one for weaving matting, another for the manufacture of every form of fire-works (a regular Fourth of July supply), and that the realism should not be missing, some small boys on the corner exploded a bunch of fire-crackers.
There were other factories, but the most interesting was one devoted to the manufacture of silk thread from cocoons. It was very large, and only women and girls were there employed, and the deft way in which they caught the silk end from the cocoon (the latter is first placed in boiling water) and wound it on reels quite won our admiration. We were then taken to rooms where large twists of silk were placed ready for shipment to England, a package not over two feet square representing an investment of many thousands of dollars. The long drive to the hotel ended an eventful day; the evening was to furnish further excitement in a visit to some fan-tan parlors for which Macao is noted; indeed, it is the Monte Carlo of the Far East, and I fear this feature attracts more tourists than the beauty of the location. Certain it is that the steamers from Hong-Kong supply a large contingent that comes hither daily, since both fan-tan and lotteries are prohibited in Hong-Kong. All the parlors are under Chinese management and are extensively patronized. Some are said to be very luxurious in their appointments, being, of course, for the wealthy patrons, who do not, however, sit on the floor where the gambling is going on, but in a little room arranged with galleries all around. Their servants sit below and receive from them an indication as to certain numbers which may win or lose as the wheel of fortune turns. There are retiring-rooms for the opium smokers and separate places for serving refreshments. Such a condition represents the aristocratic status of the game. The reverse aspect is seen in the miserable "joints," which are too dreadful even to contemplate. Here is where Macao derives the revenue to carry on its fine improvements, and, as in Bangkok, there is no intimation of a desire to reform the evil.
The Chinese have also invaded Burma, and intermarriage with the Burmese maidens is becoming general. Java is not exempt from their presence; in Siam they are very numerous; in Singapore they permeate everywhere; and in Macao they are possessors of the field. Truly their colonizing power is tremendous, and, unlike the British, they commence downward and work upward, the coolie ever being the advance guard.
On Sunday morning there was no service at the English church, and so two of our party, by invitation of the missionary, Rev. Mr. Todd, attended a Chinese service held in rooms which were far from adequate for their needs. A Sunday-school of about two hundred children was just leaving as we entered, and their interested faces made me hopeful that this early influence might save them from the fan-tan attraction. The service was in Chinese, but the reverend gentleman, not being fluent in the Chinese language, first gave a paragraph in English, and this was translated by his wife into Chinese, which made it more interesting and assuredly more understandable to us. The audience paid the closest attention, and to my surprise their faces revealed an animated response. The women were dressed in the long black coats and loose trousers seen everywhere, but their hair ornaments were of gold, set with jewels, and their earrings jade or large pearls of great value. At the close of the service a man arose and evidently made a most impassioned appeal, judging by the intonation of his voice and the spontaneous applause he received. At the close Mr. Todd told us that it was an appeal for money with which to secure a better place of meeting, and that the Chinese women in front had already given two hundred dollars toward the movement.
On Monday morning the steamer _Suitai_ carried us safely back to Hong-Kong. The harbor looked more attractive than ever, and we were glad to be again under English rule. On entering the hotel, an incident occurred that lent coloring to my "theory." In order to explain, I must go backward. On my first arrival at the hotel I had placed some photographs on my chiffonier, and among them was the one of little Katharine in the dog-cart with Omg, our American China boy, standing by her. The following morning on entering my room, I saw both of the men who were in charge of the cleaning gazing intently at the picture; turning around, one of them asked, "You know China boy?" I assented, and then told him something of the Chinamen who were employed in California. This seemed to please them both immensely. On my return from Canton and Macao, I walked down a long hall to my room and encountered several of the so-termed "boys," every one of whom smiled and greeted me. I was puzzled for a moment,--they had formerly seemed so impassive,--and then I remembered the morning's incident and inferred that all had seen the picture and had been told that I "knew China boy."
Manila was in our original itinerary, and on our first arrival in Hong-Kong we were given our choice of a trip there or of the one we had enjoyed at Canton and Macao, as the visit to Manila would have afforded us but one day in Canton without even a glimpse of Macao. We thought we had chosen wisely, but that evening, when we heard the enthusiastic report of several who had just returned from Manila, I regretted that we could not have done both, which would be my advice to all future tourists.
We had three more days in Hong-Kong. There were jinrikisha rides, shopping, and attendance at a Chinese theatre where much noise, vigorous action, and very little dramatic talent were in evidence. It was, however, interesting to watch the people, and to note their enthusiasm, with no impassiveness now, as well as the peculiar mixture of costumes. The business streets were full of life and action, and the shops contained a very tempting array of articles. One afternoon I took a jinrikisha ride on the Bund, past the great warehouses, or godowns as they are called, filled with goods or food stuffs for shipment to every port in China. Hong-Kong also aims to be a centre of supply for the shipping of the world that comes to her door, and her dockyards and shops are said to be equal to the demand. Somewhere I have seen this statement, "that if Hong-Kong could be a port of origin instead of a port of call, her commercial importance would equal that of London." The means of transportation are varied, including electric cars, carriages, jinrikishas, and sedan chairs. These may sometimes be seen following each other in succession. The streets show the cosmopolitan side of the city's life, as denizens of almost every clime assemble there, in the interest of business or of pleasure.
The militia gives a dash of color to the scene,--the officers with their uniforms, and the ever-present Tommy Atkins in his khaki suit,--besides the wealthy Chinese in robes of brocade, the first of the kind we had seen, and the coolie in short jacket and blue knee trousers, the color being a badge of servitude. The English social life of the city is also said to be very agreeable to residents, or to those who remain long enough to participate in it, and I can now understand the enthusiasm of friends who once resided there. When we left Hong-Kong, we felt that we could have lingered much longer and been happy.
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SHANGHAI: Our approach to Shanghai was through the Wusung River, as all large steamers are obliged to anchor at the bar. A launch was taken for a ride of sixteen miles. The river banks were picturesque, and little villages were succeeded by a vast amount of shipping, while factories and warehouses from an artistic standpoint spoiled a large space of the water front, the redeeming feature further on being a Public Garden, the Consulates, and a collection of fine business houses.
We arrived at Shanghai on the morning of April 6th, and at once proceeded to the Hotel Astor; then we left almost immediately for a general drive, as we were to remain only for the day. We first visited the native quarter, where the streets were narrow; but, in comparison with Canton, they seemed much less crowded. We saw the exterior of some temples and an interesting tea-house and bazar which were similar in arrangement to those in Canton, and contained about the same articles. The native town is very tame in comparison with Canton. Before luncheon we visited two large silk houses, where we examined a remarkable display of all kinds of silks and embroideries. After luncheon we proceeded to take what is called the "Bubbling Well Drive," first exploring two interesting tea-houses, one called the "Mandarin Teahouse" being very elegant in all of its appointments. It had a garden arranged in conventional Chinese style, with a rockery, miniature lake, and dwarf trees. On the ride to Bubbling Well Road, we saw many beautiful homes of modern European style, Shanghai being considered a very desirable residence for foreigners. After visiting other points of interest, in the late afternoon we returned to our steamer, having had time only for a bird's-eye view of Shanghai and a brief outline of its places of interest.
Shanghai is situated on the left bank of a stream called the Hiangpo, a tributary of the Yangtse River. Formerly there were an English settlement and an American settlement, the latter with no legal claims. These are now merged into the foreign settlement. There is also a French colony, with its numerous concessions.
The history of the city may be divided into two sections, the pre-foreign period and the foreign period. In both there has been a continuous increase of prosperity and importance, due to furnishing unusual facilities for fostering trade. In the early years Shanghai was subject to frequent raids and disturbances, and in 1543 there was a general devastation. Foreign residence was sanctioned only as a result of the first Chinese war. The signing of the treaty of Nanking threw open Shanghai and four other ports to foreign trade, the latter being Swatow, Amoy, Foochow, and Ningpoo, but these have never acquired the importance of Shanghai, which has the advantage of being at the mouth of the Yangtse River.
In 1849 a concession was granted to the French, but as late as 1850 there were only one hundred and fifty-seven foreign residents, and twenty-five foreign firms doing business. Shanghai is distinctively a commercial city, with a flat location, no background, and an artificial foreground of solid rows of business buildings. The approach to the city reveals a succession of mills, docks, wharves, engineering works, and buildings of every description, except those of artistic and pleasing appearance. The principal streets, the Bund and the Nanking Road, run at right angles to each other, and the chief thoroughfares run parallel to these two. The Bund is broad, fronting the water, and is a popular thoroughfare. The Nanking Road deserves special mention. It begins as a narrow passage-way with foreign business houses on each side; it then widens, and has Chinese shops, with, later on, the recreation ground, Town Hall, and Library. Farther on it is known as Bubbling Well Road.
Shanghai, as a residence for the European, is said to be the finest city in the East as regards modern conveniences, finer than any place east of Suez, but it is a city of contrasts. No centre can offer a wider choice for enjoyment,--the public recreation ground covering eight thousand acres. Within this enclosure is the race course, where cricket, football, hockey, tennis, golf, polo, and baseball are played; and numberless pavilions, dressing-rooms, and a swimming-bath are included in the adjacent building--all free to the public. There are in addition many clubs of a private nature, some social and others musical, and many of them owning fine buildings. Matters of education are not neglected, and the public schools even include kindergartens. There are likewise private schools, but the provisions for educating Chinese children are very inadequate, and mostly of the mission order. The Roman Catholic missions have excellent schools and well-equipped buildings. There is a fine American College, St. John's, that grants degrees. Some institutions are managed by the Chinese, the principal one being the Imperial Polytechnic College, which is housed in a fine block of buildings. There are also various organizations of an intellectual order, such as the Royal Asiatic Society, which is affiliated with a society of the same name in England; and an American Asiatic Society to further interests in the Far East. Architects, engineers, and missionaries likewise have their guilds.
The religious life of the settlement is very diversified, and includes Jews, Parsees, Mohammedans, Greek and Roman Catholics, and members of the Anglican Church; the various forms of the Protestant Church are represented, and most of the missions have their headquarters here.
We returned to our steamer in the evening, and sailed on for Kobe, our point of departure, but we had "stop-over privileges at Nagasaki." Our intervening day was passed mostly on deck, the weather being fine.
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NAGASAKI, _April 8th_: We arrived at Nagasaki on the morning of April 8th in a pouring rain which rather dampened our ardor, inasmuch as we had a full day's programme arranged. We went ashore, however, and proceeded to the Cliff House for a short time, but as the storm increased we returned to the steamer somewhat crestfallen. The _Korea_ was taking on coal when we left, but on our return there was an ominous silence, and we learned that the workers, thoroughly drenched, had struck and that the vessel would be compelled to remain another day. Hope revived amongst us, and on the following morning the sun was shining brightly. This was the only time I have known a strike to be of benefit.
The process of taking on coal was very peculiar. Ladders were placed up the sides of the steamer, relays of men and women were arranged in nine rows, counting from the bottom; coal was placed in baskets and passed up in fire-bucket fashion with the utmost quickness and dexterity. It continued incessantly until the work was completed. There were more women than men working, and they all wore pointed white handkerchiefs over their heads.
A steam launch conveyed us to Nagasaki, and once there we took a jinrikisha for a memorable mountain ride of five miles, along a road called the Mogi. We ascended gradually from the sea-level, and soon the loveliest view was spread before us. On our right, looking downward, were the sea and the city rising in terraces from the water, the hillsides covered with foliage, all sparkling in the morning light; on our left, foothills, and beyond these the mountains. We stopped at a Japanese tea-house to rest the jinrikisha men, and soon after, we came to a point in the landscape said to be represented in the opera of "Madame Butterfly." Reaching the Mogi, we found another tea-house, and we all alighted and roamed around the point, where we had a magnificent, far-reaching panorama. The descent was quite as enjoyable, and altogether we voted the ride an entire success.
We next visited some bazars. The temples were omitted, but I later visited them on my return trip to North China. Then we returned to the steamer for a late luncheon, and the bevy of animated coal-heavers were still at work. The day following was our last on the steamer, and our way lay through one portion of the Inland Sea, meaning a narrow waterway, the shores of which were visible on both sides.
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KOBE: We arrived at Kobe on the evening of April 10th, and fell at once into the grasp of the custom-house authorities, who proved, however, very lenient. Our valued Director here left us to go on to Yokohama and was succeeded by a Japanese guide, Mr. Macheeda, who took charge of four of the party, small groups and native guides being the policy in Japan.[6] Our abiding-place in Kobe was the Oriental Hotel.
The following morning we went out early in jinrikishas for a general ride through Kobe, going first to the distant waterfall in the mountains, which really proved a fine spectacle. Next we visited temples, then some shops or bazars, and a Satsuma studio, where the whole art process was explained to us by a most courteous Japanese, who spoke English perfectly. All the appointments of the studio were truly Japanese, including the sliding windows and doors, the hardwood floor and the matting walls. Here tea and little cakes were served to us.