Chapter V: The Conveyances of China and Japan

One is always accustomed to think of China as a strange, topsy-turvy country, where everything is marvellous and unexpected, so that it is no surprise to find there many queer conveyances and modes of travel. Even in very early times China, or Tartary as it was called then, was looked upon as a veritable wonderland, and Marco Polo, who explored the country more than six hundred years ago, gives us a very interesting description of how the Emperor travelled when he went on one of his hunting expeditions. This is what he says:

"The Khan upon his journey is borne upon four elephants, in a fine parlour made of timber, lined inside with plates of beaten gold and outside with lions' skins. Sometimes, as they go along, and the Emperor from his chamber is discoursing with his nobles, one of the latter will exclaim, 'Sire! Look out for cranes!' Then the Emperor has the top of his chamber thrown back, and having seen the cranes, he casts one of his falcons, and often the quarry is struck in his sight, so that he himself has the most exquisite sport as he sits in his chamber or lies on his bed. I do not believe that there ever existed a man with such sport or enjoyment as he has."

Modern tourists in China cannot see quite such wonderful equipages as this, but the Emperor's state palanquin, which was still in use in 1880, was a very gorgeous affair, and it was carried by no less than sixteen bearers.

China has always been a land of ceremony, and very strict etiquette is maintained with regard to the conveyances of the mandarins. Sedan chairs are used, and these vary in colour, decoration, and number of carriers, according to the rank of the owner. If the mandarin is of a very high class he is accompanied on his journeys by a whole retinue of servants. One of these carries a large open umbrella, a second has a fan attached to a pole, while others bear tablets on which the insignia of his rank are displayed. It is a great offence if a man has more coolies in attendance than those to which he is entitled.

In a wedding procession a beautiful palanquin is used to take the bride from her parents' house to the home of her future husband. It is painted red and ornamented with kingfishers' feathers. The little Chinese lady only travels once in this gorgeous conveyance. After her marriage she has to be content with an ordinary sedan chair, the curtains of which are always tightly drawn so that she can neither see nor be seen as she is carried through the streets.

When an important mandarin travels everyone makes way for him and his imposing retinue, but with those of lower rank this is not the case, and it is one of the duties of his bearers to keep up a constant succession of loud shouts and commands such as "Mind your back!" "Move to the right!" "Get out of the way!" As may be imagined the streets of a Chinese town are very noisy, for they are narrow and crowded with a motley throng of people, among whom are porters with heavy packs on their shoulders, itinerant merchants carrying their wares in baskets slung on long poles, beggars, and children of all sizes and ages.

Besides these private sedan chairs there are others which may be hired. These are fairly comfortable, being provided with cushions and having a narrow shelf on either side on which the passenger can rest his arms. In country districts, however, the traveller has to be content with a simpler conveyance, consisting of a roughly made bamboo chair attached to long poles.

Sometimes much larger palanquins are seen. These will hold several people and are carried by two mules or ponies.

In China, rickshaws, which are wheeled chairs drawn by one or more coolies, are also used, their name coming from the Chinese word _jin-li-che_, which means "man-power-carriage." These little vehicles are convenient, but in many cities the streets are so narrow that they cannot be employed. Then it is that we find the quaint wheelbarrows, which are, perhaps, the strangest conveyances in the whole world. These wheelbarrows are used both to carry passengers and merchandise. Those intended for the former purpose have a very large wheel, on either side of which is a seat arranged rather in the fashion of an Irish jaunting car. Below the seat a cord is suspended on which the feet of the travellers can rest. Two, four, six, or even, sometimes, as many as eight native women can be carried, and the coolie who pushes the barrow has a strap across his shoulders which eases his arms of some of the weight. Occasionally hooded wheelbarrows are seen, and for them a second coolie in front is employed.

In Northern China donkeys and bullocks often drag these strange, one-wheeled carts. The roads are so bad that it is almost impossible for larger vehicles to be used, although sometimes we see a native family with their household goods moving from one place to another in a rough wagon drawn by an ox and a donkey harnessed side by side.

From China we travel still further east, and in Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, other curious and picturesque conveyances are to be seen by the fortunate tourist who is able to journey so far afield.

Horses are very little used in this country, and the Chinese jin-li-che is the principal conveyance, its name being now changed into jin-ri-che or jinricksha. Very charming these little vehicles look, as they careen through the streets of a town, or under the blossom-covered cherry-trees of a country road, especially if the wheels are painted scarlet, and if the passengers are two dainty little Jap maidens, with gay obis round their waists and flowers decking their smooth, dark heads.

The coolies who draw the jinrickshas are also picturesque in their blue cotton clothes, and in winter-time they wear most extraordinary straw cloaks which make them look like small moving haystacks.

Another interesting Japanese conveyance is the kago. This is a small, hammock-shaped litter made of cane and bamboo, suspended to a strong pole. There is an awning overhead, and on this the light luggage of the passenger--a pair of straw shoes, a bouquet of chrysanthemums, or a bundle tied up in a brightly coloured handkerchief--is carried.

The bearers of a kago are two stalwart, bare-legged men, and they always carry long sticks in their hands.

This curious type of litter is much used by the Japanese themselves, but not by Europeans, as the occupant of a kago has to sit with his knees doubled up in what seems to Western ideas a most uncomfortable position.

There are other strange conveyances to be seen in Japan, one of the most interesting of all being the Imperial chariot which has its place in great religious processions. It is drawn by a black bull, and is decorated with the Mikado's crest, a sixteen-petalled chrysanthemum.