Chapter II (1)

GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF THE EASTERN PROVINCES.

The provinces of China Proper are politically subdivided in a scientific manner, but in the regions beyond them, these divisions are considerably modified. Manchuria is regarded as belonging to the reigning family, somewhat as Hanover once pertained to the kings of England, and its scanty population is ruled by a simple military organization, the higher officials being appointed by his majesty himself. The khans of the Mongols in Mongolia and Ílí, the Mohammedan begs in Turkestan, and the lamas in Tibet, are assisted in their rule by Chinese residents and generals who direct and uphold the government.

The geography of foreign countries has not been studied by the Chinese; and so few educated men have travelled even into the islands of the Indian Archipelago, or the kingdoms of Siam, Corea, or Burmah, that the people have had no opportunity to become acquainted with the countries lying on their borders, much less with those in remoter parts, whose names, even, they hardly know. A few native works exist on foreign geography, among which four may be here noticed. “1. _Researches in the East and West_, 6 vols. 8vo. It was written about two centuries ago; the first volume contains some rude charts intended to show the situation and form of foreign countries. 2. _Notices of the Seas_, 1 vol. Its author, Yang Ping-nan, obtained his information from a townsman, who, being wrecked at sea, was picked up by a foreign ship, and travelled abroad for fourteen years; on his return to China he became blind, and was engaged as an interpreter in Macao. 3. _Notices of Things heard and seen in Foreign Countries_, 2 vols. 12mo; written about a century ago, containing among other things a chart of the whole Chinese coast. 4. _The Memoranda of Foreign Tribes_, 4 vols. 8vo, published in the reign of Kienlung.”[24] A more methodical work is that of Lí Tsing-lai, called ‘_Plates Illustrative of the Heavens_,’ being an astronomical and geographical work, much of whose contents were obtained from Europeans residing in the country. But even if the Chinese had better treatises on these subjects, the information contained in them would be of little use until it was taught in their schools. The high officers in the government begin now to see the importance of a better acquaintance with general geography. Commissioner Lin, in 1841, published a partial translation of Murray’s _Cyclopædia of Geography_, in 20 volumes; Gov. Seu Ki-yu, in 1850, issued a compend of geographical notices with maps, and many others, more accurate and extensive, are now extant.

However scarce their geographical works upon foreign countries may be, those delineating the topography of their own are hardly equalled in number and minuteness in any language: every district and town of importance in the empire, as well as every department and province, has a local geography of its own. It may be said that the topographical and statistical works form, after the ethical, the most valuable portion of Chinese literature. It would not be difficult to collect a library of 10,000 volumes of such treatises alone; the topography of the city of Suchau, and of the province of Chehkiang, are each in 40 vols., while the _Kwangtung Tung Chí_, an ‘Historical and Statistical Account of Kwangtung,’ is in 182 volumes. None of these works, however, would bear to be translated entire, such is the amount of legendary and unimportant matter contained in them; but they contain many data not to be overlooked by one who undertakes to write a geography of China.

~CLIMATE OF THE PROVINCES.~

The _Climate_ of the Eighteen Provinces has been represented in meteorological tables sufficiently well to ascertain its general salubrity. Pestilences do not frequently visit the land, nor, as in Southern India, is it deluged with rain during one monsoon, and parched with drought during the other. The average temperature of the whole empire is lower than that of any other country on the same latitude, and the coast is subject to the same extremes as that of the Atlantic States in America. The isothermal line of 70° F. as the average for the year, which passes south of Canton, runs by Cairo and New Orleans, eight degrees north of it; the line of 60° F. average passes from Shanghai to Marseilles, Raleigh, St. Louis, and north of San Francisco; and the line of 50° F. average goes near Peking, thence on to Vienna, Dublin, Philadelphia, and Puget’s Sound, in lat. 52°. These various lines show that while Shanghai and Peking have temperatures similar to Raleigh and Philadelphia, nearly on their own parallels, Canton is the coldest place on the globe in its latitude, and the only place within the tropics where snow falls near the sea-shore. One result of this projection of the temperate zone into the tropical is seen in the greater vigor and size of the people of the three southern provinces over any races on the same parallel elsewhere; and the productions are not so strictly tropical. The isothermal lines for the year, as given above, are not so irregular as those for winter. The line of 60° F. runs by the south of Formosa and Hongkong, to Cairo and St. Augustine, a range of nine degrees; but the winter line of 40° F. passes from Shanghai to Constantinople, Milan, Dublin, and Raleigh, ending at Puget’s Sound, a range of twenty degrees. A third line of 32° for winter passes through Shantung to N. Tibet and the Black Sea, Norway, New York, and Sitka--a range of twenty-five degrees.

Peking (lat. 39° 55′ N.) exhibits a fair average of the climate in that part of the Plain. The extremes range from 104° to zero F., but the mean annual temperature is 52.3° F., or more than 9° lower than Naples; the mean winter range is 12° below freezing, or about 18° lower than that of Paris (lat. 48° 50′), and 15° lower than Copenhagen. The rainfall seldom reaches sixteen inches in a year, most of it coming in July and August; the little snow that descends remains only two or three days on the ground, and is blown away rather than melted; no one associates white with winter, but snow is earnestly prayed for as a purifier of the air against diphtheria and fevers. The winds from the Plateau cause the barometer and thermometer to fall, but the sky is clear. In the spring, as the heat increases, the winds raise the dust and sand over the country; some of these sand-storms extend even to Shanghai, carrying millions of tons of soil from its original place. The dryness of the region has apparently increased during the last century, and constant droughts destroy the trees, which by their absence increase the desiccation now going on. Frost closes the rivers for three months, and ice is cheap. After the second crops fully start in August, the autumns become mild, and till the 10th of December are calm and genial.[25]

The climate of the Plain is generally good, but near the rivers and marshy grounds along the Grand Canal, agues and bowel complaints prevail. A resident speaks of the temperature of Nanking and the region around it: “This vast Plain being only a marsh half drained, the moisture is excessive, giving rise to many strange diseases, all of them serious, and not unfrequently mortal. The climate affects the natives from other provinces, and Europeans. I have not known one of the latter who was not sick for six months or a year after his arrival. Every one who comes here must prepare himself for a tertian or quotidian. For myself, after suffering two months from a malignant fever, I had ten attacks of a malady the Chinese here call the _sand_, from the skin being covered with little blackish pimples, resembling grains of dust. It is prompt and violent in its progress, and corrupts the blood so rapidly that in a few minutes it stagnates and coagulates in the veins. The best remedy the people have is to cicatrize the least fleshy parts of the body with a copper cash. The first attack I experienced rendered all my limbs insensible in two minutes, and I expected to die before I could receive extreme unction. After recovering a little, great lassitude succeeded.”[26] The monsoons form an important element in the seaside climate as far north as latitude 31°. The dry and wet seasons correspond to the north-east and south-west monsoons, assuaging the heats of summer by their cooling showers, and making the winters bracing and healthy. Above the Formosa Channel they are less regular in the summer than in winter.

~CLIMATE OF THE COAST TOWNS.~

The inhabitants of Shanghai suffer from rapid changes in the autumn and spring months, and pulmonary and rheumatic complaints are common. The maximum of heat is 100° F., and the minimum 24°, but ice is not common, nor does snow remain long on the ground. The average temperature of the summer is from 80° to 93° by day, and from 60° to 75° by night; the thermometer in winter ranges from 45° to 60° by day, and from 36° to 45° by night.

Owing in some degree to the hills, the extremes are rather greater at Ningpo than Shanghai. The thermometer ranges from 24° to 107° during the twelvemonth, and changes of 20° in the course of two hours are not unusual, rendering it the most unhealthy station along the coast. There is a hot and cold season of three months each at this place. The cold is very piercing when the north-east winds set in, and fires are needed, but natives content themselves with additional clothing. The large brick beds (_kang_) common in Chihlí are not often seen. Ice forms in pools, and is gathered to preserve fish. Snow frequently falls, but does not remain long. Occasionally it covers the hills in Chehkiang for several weeks to the depth of six inches. Fuhchau and Canton lie at the base of hills, within a hundred miles of the sea-coast, and their climates exhibit greater extremes than Amoy and Hongkong. Frost and ice are common every winter at each of the former, and fires are therefore pleasant in the house. The extremes at Fuhchau are from 38° to 95°, with an average of 56° during December and 82° for August. Along this whole coast the most refreshing monsoon makes the summers very agreeable. The climate of Amoy is delightful, but its insular position renders a residence somewhat less agreeable than on the main. Here the thermometer ranges from 40° to 96° during the year, without the rapid changes of Ningpo. The heat continues longer, though assuaged by breezes from the sea.

Meteorology at Canton and its vicinity has been carefully studied; on the whole, its climate, and especially that of Macao, may be considered more salubrious than in most other places situated between the tropics. The thermometer at Canton in July and August stands on an average at 80° to 88°, and in January and February at 50° to 60°. The highest recorded observation in 1831 was 94°, in July; and the lowest, 29° in January. Ice sometimes forms in shallow vessels a line or two in thickness, but no use is made of it. A fall of snow nearly two inches deep occurred there in February, 1835, which remained on the ground three hours. Having never seen any before, the citizens hardly knew what was its proper name, some calling it _falling cotton_, and every one endeavoring to preserve a little for a febrifuge. Another similar fall occurred in the winter of 1861. Fogs are common during February and March, and the heat sometimes renders them very disagreeable, it being necessary to keep up a little fire to dry the house. Most of the rain falls in May and June, but there is nothing like the rainy season at Calcutta and Manilla in July, August, and September. The regular monsoon comes from the south-west, with frequent showers to allay the heat. In the succeeding months, northerly winds commence, but from October to January the temperature is agreeable, the sky clear, and the air invigorating. Few large cities are more healthy than Canton; no epidemics nor malaria prevail, notwithstanding the fact that much of the town is built upon piles.

The climate of Macao and Hongkong has not so great a range as Canton, from their proximity to the sea. Few cities in Asia are more salutiferous than Macao, though it has been remarked that few of the natives there attain a great age. The maximum is 90°, with an average summer heat of 84°. The minimum is 50°, and average winter weather 68°, with almost uninterrupted sunshine. Fogs are not often seen here, but on the river they prevail, being frequent at Whampoa. North-easterly gales are common in the spring and autumn, and have a noticeable periodicity of three days. The vegetation does not change its general aspect during the winter, the trees cease to grow, and the grass becomes brownish; but the stimulus of the warm moisture in March soon makes a sensible difference in the appearance of the landscape, and bright green leaves rapidly replace the old. The reputed insalubrity of Hongkong, in early days, was owing to other causes than climate, and when it became a well-built and well-drained town, its unwholesomeness disappeared. The rain-fall is greater than in Macao, owing to the attraction of the high peaks. During the rainy weather the walls of houses become damp, and if newly plastered, drip with moisture.

The Chinese consider the provinces of Kwangtung, Kwangsí, and Yunnan to be the most unhealthy of the eighteen, and for this reason employ them as places of banishment for criminals from the north-eastern districts. The central portions of the country are on some accounts the most bracing, not so liable to sudden changes as the coast, nor so cold as the western and northern districts. Sz’chuen and Kweichau are cooler than Fuhkien and Chehkiang, owing to the mountains in and upon their borders.

~RAIN-FALL ON CHINESE AND AMERICAN COASTS.~

The marked contrast between the Chinese and American coasts in regard to rain is doubtless owing, in a great degree, to the outlying islands from Formosa to Sagalien on the former, whose high mountains arrest the clouds in their progress inland. The _Kuro-siwo_, being outside of them, allows a far greater mass of cold water between it and the shore on the Chinese, than is the case on the Atlantic coast, and renders it the colder of the two by nearly eight degrees of latitude, if isothermal lines alone are regarded. This mass of cold water, having less evaporation, deprives the maritime provinces of rain in diminishing supply as one goes north along the skirts of the Plain, until the Chang-peh shan are reached. The rains which fall in the western provinces and the slopes of the Bayan kara Mountains, coming up from the Indian Ocean during the south-west monsoon, fall in decreasing quantities as the clouds are driven north-east across the basins of the Yangtsz’ and Yellow rivers. In the western part of Kansuh the humidity covers the mountains with more vegetation than further east, toward the ocean. Snow falls as late as June, and frosts occur in every month of the year. The enormous elevation of the western side of China near Tibet, the absence of an expanse of water like the great lakes, and the bareness of the mountains north of the Mei ling, account for much of this difference between the United States and China; but more extended data are needed for accurate deductions.

The fall of rain at Canton is 70 inches annually, which is the mean of sixteen years’ observation. Ninety inches was registered during one of these years. Nearly one-half of the whole falls during May, June, and September. The average at Shanghai for four years was 36 inches. No observations are recorded for the valley of the Yangtsz’. Near the edge of the Plateau the rainfall averages 16 inches in the province of Chihlí, and rather more in Shansí and Shantung, where moisture is attracted by the mountains. More than three-fourths of the rain falls during the ten weeks ending August 31st. Snow seldom remains on the level over a fortnight.

~TYFOONS.~

The increased temperature on the southern coast during the months of June and July operates, with other causes, to produce violent storms along the seaboard, called _tyfoons_, a word derived from the Chinese _ta-fung_, or ‘great wind.’ These destructive tornadoes occur from Hainan to Chusan, between July and October, gradually progressing northward as the season advances, and diminishing in fury in the higher latitudes. They annually occasion great losses to the native and foreign shipping in Chinese waters, more than half the sailing ships lost on that coast having suffered in them. Happily, their fury is oftenest spent at sea, but when they occur inland, the loss of life is fearful. In August, 1862, and September 21, 1874, the deaths reported in two such storms near Canton, Hongkong, and their vicinity, were upward of 30,000 each. In the latter instance the American steamer Alaska, of 3,500 tons, was lifted from her anchorage and quietly put down in five feet of water near the shore, from whence she was safely floated some months afterward.

Tyfoons exhaust their force within a narrow track, which, in such cases as have been registered, lies in no uniform direction, other than from south to north, at a greater or less angle, along the coast. The principal phenomena indicating their approach are the direction of the wind, which commences to blow in soft zephyrs from the north, without, however, assuaging the heat or disturbing the stifling calm, and the falling barometer. The glass usually begins to fall several hours before the storm commences, and the rarefaction of the air is further shown by the heavy swell rolling in upon the beach, though the sea remains unruffled. The wind increases as it veers to the north-east, and from that point to south-east blows with the greatest force in fitful gusts. The rain falls heaviest toward the close of the gale, when the glass begins to rise. The barometer not unfrequently falls below 28 _in._ Capt. Krusenstern in 1804 records his surprise at seeing the mercury sink out of sight.

The Chinese have erected temples in Hainan to the Tyfoon Mother, a goddess whom they supplicate for protection against these hurricanes. They say “that a few days before a tyfoon comes on, a slight noise is heard at intervals, whirling round and then stopping, sometimes impetuous and sometimes slow. This is a ‘tyfoon brewing.’ Then fiery clouds collect in thick masses; the thunder sounds deep and heavy. Rainbows appear, now forming an unbroken curve and again separating, and the ends of the bow dip into the sea. The sea sends back a bellowing sound, and boils with angry surges; the loose rocks dash against each other, and detached sea-weed covers the water; there is a thick, murky atmosphere; the water-fowl fly about affrighted; the trees and leaves bend to the south--the tyfoon has commenced. When to it is superadded a violent rain and a frightful surf, the force of the tempest is let loose, and away fly the houses up to the hills, and the ships and boats are removed to the dry land; horses and cattle are turned heels over head, trees are torn up by the roots, and the sea boils up twenty or thirty feet, inundating the fields and destroying vegetation. This is called _tieh kü_, or an _iron whirlwind_.”[27] Those remarkable gusts which annually occur in the Atlantic States, called _tornadoes_, defined as local storms affecting a thread of surface a few miles long, are unknown in China. The healthy climate of China has had much to do with the civilization of its inhabitants. No similar area in the world exceeds it for general salubrity.

~FU, TING, CHAU, AND HIEN.~

The Chinese are the only people who have, by means of a term added to the name of a place, endeavored to designate its relative rank. Three of the words used for this purpose, viz., _fu_, _chau_, and _hien_, have been translated as ‘first,’ ‘second,’ and ‘third’ rank; but this gradation is not quite correct, for the terms do not apply to the city or town alone, but to the portions of country of which it is the capital. The nature of these and other terms, and the divisions intended by them, are thus explained:

“The Eighteen Provinces are divided into _fu_, _ting_, _chau_, and
_hien_. A _fu_ is a large portion or department of a province, under
the general control of one civil officer immediately subordinate
to the heads of the provincial government. A _ting_ is a division
of a province smaller than a _fu_, and either like it governed
by an officer immediately subject to the heads of the provincial
government, or else forming a subordinate part of a _fu_. In the
former case it is called _chih-lí_, _i.e._ under the ‘direct rule’
of the provincial government; in the latter case it is simply called
_ting_. A _chau_ is a division similar to a _ting_, and like it
either independent of any other division, or forming part of a _fu_.
The difference between the two consists in the government of a _ting_
resembling that of a _fu_ more nearly than that of a _chau_ does:
that of the _chau_ is less expensive. The _ting_ and _chau_ of the
class to which the term _chih-lí_ is attached, may be denominated in
common with the _fu_, _departments_ or _prefectures_; and the term
_chih-lí_ may be rendered by the word _independent_. The subordinate
_ting_ and _chau_ may both be called _districts_. A _hien_, which
is also a _district_, is a small division or subordinate part of a
department, whether of a _fu_, or of an independent _chau_ or _ting_.

“Each _fu_, _ting_, _chau_, and _hien_, possesses at least one walled
town, the seat of its government, which bears the same name as the
department or district to which it pertains. Thus Hiangshan is the
chief town of the district Hiangshan hien; and Shauking, that of
the department Shauking fu. By European writers, the chief towns of
the _fu_ or departments have been called cities of the first order;
those of the _chau_, cities of the second order; and those of the
_hien_, cities of the third order. The division called _ting_, being
rarely met with, has been left out of the arrangement--an arrangement
not recognized in China. It must be observed that the chief town
of a _fu_ is always also the chief town of a _hien_ district; and
sometimes, when of considerable size and importance, it and the
country around are divided into two _hien_ districts, both of which
have the seat of their government within the same walls: but this
is not the case with the _ting_ and _chau_ departments. A district
is not always subdivided; instances may occur of a whole district
possessing but one important town. But as there are often large and
even walled towns not included in the number of chief or of district
towns, consequently not the seat of a regular _chau_ or _hien_
magistracy, a subdivision of a district is therefore frequently
rendered necessary; and for the better government of such towns
and the towns surrounding them, magistrates are appointed to them,
secondary to the magistrates of the departments or the districts in
which they are comprised. Thus Fuhshan is a very large commercial
town or mart called a _chin_, situated in the district of Nanhai, of
the department of Kwangchau, about twelve miles distant from Canton.
The chief officer of the department has therefore an assistant
residing there, and the town is partly under his government and
partly under that of the Nanhai magistrate, within whose district
it is included, but who resides at Canton. There are several of
these _chin_ in the provinces, as Kingteh in Kiangsí, Siangtan in
Hunan, etc.; they are not inclosed by walls. Macao affords another
instance: being a place of some importance, both from its size and
as the residence of foreigners, an assistant to the Hiangshan hien
magistrate is placed over it, and it is also under the control of an
assistant to the chief magistrate of the _fu_. Of these assistant
magistrates, there are two ranks secondary to the chief magistrate
of a _fu_, two secondary to the magistrate of a _chau_, and two also
secondary to the magistrate of a _hien_. The places under the rule
of these assistant magistrates are called by various names, most
frequently _chin_ and _so_, and sometimes also _chai_ and _wei_.
These names do not appear to have reference to any particular form of
municipal government existing in them; but the _chai_ and the _wei_
are often military posts; and sometimes a place is, with respect to
its civil government, the chief city of a _fu_, while with respect to
its military position it is called _wei_. There are other towns of
still smaller importance; these are under the government of inferior
magistrates who are called _siun kien_: a division of country under
such a magistrate is called a _sz’_, which is best represented by the
term township or _commune_. The town of Whampoa and country around
it form one such division, called Kiautang sz’, belonging to the
district of Pwanyu, in the department of Kwangchau.

“In the mountainous districts of Kwangsí, Yunnan, Kweichau, and
Sz’chuen, and in some other places, there are districts called _tu
sz’_. Among these, the same distinctions of _fu_, _chau_, and _hien_
exist, together with the minor division _sz’_. The magistrates of
these departments and districts are hereditary in their succession,
being the only hereditary local officers acknowledged by the supreme
government.

“There is a larger division than any of the above, but as it does
not prevail universally, it was not mentioned in the first instance.
It is called _tau_, a _course_ or _circuit_, and comprises two or
more departments of a province, whether _fu_, or independent _ting_
or _chau_. These circuits are subject to the government of officers
called _tau-tai_ or intendants of circuit, who often combine with
political and judicial powers a military authority and various duties
relating to the territory or to the revenue.”[28]

The eighteen provinces received their present boundaries and divisions in the reign of Kienlung; and the little advance which has been made abroad in the geography of China is shown by the fact, that although these divisions were established a hundred years ago, the old demarkations, existing at the time of the survey in 1710, are still found in many modern European geographies and maps. The following table shows their present divisions and government. The three columns under the head of _Departments_ contain the _fu_, _chihlí ting_, and _chihlí chau_, all of which are properly prefectures; the three columns under the head of _Districts_ contain the _ting_, _chau_, and _hien_.

~TOPOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS OF CHINA PROPER.~

--------------------+--------+-----------------+-----------------+
|AREA IN | DEPARTMENTS. | DISTRICTS. |
PROVINCES. |ENGLISH +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|SQ. MLS.| Fu. |Ting.|Chau.|Ting.|Chau.|Hien.|
--------------------+--------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
NORTHERN PROVINCES. | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
Chihlí | 58,949 | 11 | .. | 6 | 3 | 17 | 124 |
| | | | | | | |
Shantung | 65,104 | 10 | .. | 2 | .. | 9 | 96 |
Shansí | 55,268 | 9 | .. | 10 | 3 | 6 | 85 |
Honan | 65,104 | 9 | .. | 4 | .. | 6 | 97 |
| | | | | | | |
EASTERN PROVINCES. | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
Kiangsu } | 92,961 | { 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 62 |
Nganhwui } | | { 8 | .. | 5 | .. | 4 | 50 |
Kiangsí | 72,176 | 13 | .. | 1 | 2 | 1 | 75 |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
Chehkiang | 39,150 | 11 | .. | .. | 1 | 1 | 76 |
Fuhkien | 53,480 | 10 | .. | 2 | 3 | .. | 62 |
| | | | | | | |
CENTRAL PROVINCES. | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
Hupeh } |144,770 | {10 | .. | 1 | .. | 7 | 60 |
Hunan } | | { 9 | 3 | 4 | .. | 3 | 64 |
| | | | | | | |
SOUTHERN PROVINCES. | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
Kwangtung | 79,456 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 79 |
| | | | | | | |
Kwangsí | 78,250 | 11 | .. | 1 | 3 | 16 | 47 |
| | | | | | | |
Yunnan |107,969 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 27 | 39 |
Kweichau | 64,554 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 34 |
| | | | | | | |
WESTERN PROVINCES. | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
Shensí } |154,008 | { 7 | .. | 5 | 5 | 5 | 73 |
Kansuh } | | { 9 | .. | 6 | 7 | 7 | 51 |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
Sz’chuen |166,800 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 111 |
--------------------+--------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+

--------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------
| |
PROVINCES. | CAPITAL. | GOVERNMENT.
| |
--------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------
NORTHERN PROVINCES. | |
| |
Chihlí | Pauting fu. | Ruled by a governor-general or
| | _tsungtuh_.
Shantung | Tsínan fu. } | Each separately ruled by a
Shansí | Taiyuen fu. } | lieutenant-governor or
Honan | Kaifung fu. } | _fuyuen_.
| |
EASTERN PROVINCES. | |
| |
Kiangsu } | Kiangning fu. } | Each under a lieutenant-governor,
Nganhwui } | Nganking fu. } | subordinate to one
Kiangsí | Nanchang fu. } | governor-general, called
| } | _Liang Kiang tsungtuh_.
| { | Each under a lieutenant-governor,
Chehkiang | Hangchau fu. { | subordinate to a
Fuhkien | Fuhchau fu. { | governor-general, called _Min
| { | Cheh tsungtuh_.
CENTRAL PROVINCES. | |
| |
Hupeh } | Wuchang fu. { | Each under a lieutenant-governor,
Hunan } | Changsha fu. { | subordinate to a governor-general,
| { | called _Liang Hu tsungtuh_.
SOUTHERN PROVINCES. | |
| |
Kwangtung | Kwangchau fu, } | Two lieutenant-governors,
| or Canton. } | subordinate to a governor-general,
Kwangsí | Kweilin fu. } | called _Liang Kwang tsungtuh_.
| |
Yunnan | Yunnan fu. { | Two lieutenant-governors, subordinate
Kweichau | Kweiyang fu. { | to a governor-general, called
| { | _Yun Kwei tsungtuh_.
WESTERN PROVINCES. | |
| |
Shensí } | Síngan fu. { | Under a governor-general, called
Kansuh } | Lanchau fu. { | _Shen Kan tsungtuh_, and one
| { | lieutenant-governor over Shensí.
| |
Sz’chuen | Chingtu fu. | Ruled by a governor-general.
--------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------

The province of CHIHLÍ is the most important of the whole. On foreign maps it is sometimes written Pechele (_i.e._, North Chihlí), a name formerly given it in order to distinguish it from Kiangnan, or _Nan-chihlí_, in which the seat of government was once located. This name is descriptive, rather than technical, and means ‘Direct rule,’ denoting that from this province the supreme power which governs the empire proceeds; any province, in which the Emperor and court should be fixed, would therefore be termed _Chihlí_, and its chief city _King_, ‘capital,’ or _King-tu_ or _King-sz’_, ‘court of the capital.’ The surface of this province lying south of the Great Wall is level, excepting a few ridges of hills in the west and north, while the eastern parts, and those south to the Gulf, are among the flattest portions of the Great Plain.

It is bounded on the north-east by Liautung, where for a short distance the Great Wall is the frontier line; on the east by the Gulf of Pechele; on the south-east and south by Shantung; on the south-west by Honan; on the west by Shansí; and north by Inner Mongolia, where the river Liau forms the boundary. The extensive region beyond the Wall, occupied mostly by the Tsakhar Mongols, is now included within the jurisdiction, and placed under the administration of officers residing at one of the garrisoned gates of the Great Wall; the area of this part is about half that of the whole province. The chief department in the province, that of Shuntien, being both large and important, as containing the metropolis, is divided into four _lu_ or circuits, each under the rule of a sub-prefect, who is subordinate to the prefect living at Peking.

Peking[29] (_i.e._, Northern Capital) is situated upon a sandy plain, about twelve miles south-west of the Pei ho, and more than a hundred miles west-north-west of its mouth, in lat. 39° 54′ 36″ N., and long. 116° 27′ E., or nearly on the parallel of Samarkand, Naples, and Philadelphia. It is a city worthy of note on many accounts. Its ancient history as the capital of the _Yen Kwoh_ (the ‘Land of Swallows’) during the feudal times, and its later position as the metropolis of the empire for many centuries, give it historical importance; while its imperial buildings, its broad avenues with their imposing gates and towers, its regular arrangement, extent, populousness, and diversity of costume and equipage, combine to render it to a traveller the most interesting and unique city in Asia. It is now ruinous and poor, but the remains of its former grandeur under Kienlung’s prosperous reign indicate the justness of the comparisons made by the Catholic writers with western cities one hundred and eighty years ago. The entire circuit of the walls and suburbs is reckoned by Hyacinthe at twenty-five miles, and its area at twenty-seven square miles, but more accurate measurements of the walls alone give forty-one _li_, or 14.25 miles (or 23.55 kilometres) for the Manchu city, including the cross-wall, and twenty-eight _li_, or ten miles, for the Chinese city on its south; not counting the cross-wall, the circuit measures almost twenty-one miles. The suburbs near the thirteen outer gates altogether form a small proportion to the whole; the area within them is nearly twenty-six square miles. Those residents who have had the best opportunities estimate the entire population at a million or somewhat less; no census returns are available to prove this figure, nor can it be stated what is the proportion of Manchus, Mongols, and Chinese, except that the latter outnumber all others. Du Halde reckoned it to be about three millions, and Klaproth one million three hundred thousand; and each was probably true at some period, for the number has diminished with the poverty of the Government.

~POSITION AND HISTORY OF PEKING.~

Peking is regarded by the Chinese as one of their ancient cities, but it was not made the capital of the whole empire until Kublai established his court at this spot in 1264. The Ming emperors who succeeded the Mongols held their court at Nanking until Yungloh transferred the seat of government to Peking in 1411, where it has since remained. Under the Mongols, the city was called _Khan-baligh_ (_i.e._, city of the Khan), changed into Cambalu in the accounts of those times; on Chinese maps it is usually called _King-sz’_.

Peking has, during its history, existed under many different names; after each disaster her walls have been changed and her houses rebuilt, so that to-day she stands, like the capitals of the ancient Roman and Byzantine empires, upon the débris of centuries of buildings. The most important renovations have been those by the Liao dynasty, in 937 A.D., who entirely rebuilt the city, and by the Kin rulers in 1151.

It was at first surrounded by a single wall pierced by nine gates, whence it is sometimes called the City of Nine Gates. The southern suburbs were inclosed by Kiatsing in 1543, and the city now consists of two portions, the northern or inner city (_Nui ching_), containing about fifteen square miles, where are the palace, government buildings, and barracks for troops; and the southern or Outer city (_Wai ching_), where the Chinese live. The wall of the Manchu city averages fifty feet high, forty wide at top, and about sixty at bottom, most of the slope being on the inner face. That around the Outer city is no more than thirty in height, twenty-five thick at bottom, and about fifteen at top. The terre-plein throughout is paved with bricks weighing sixty pounds each; a crenellated parapet runs around the entire town, intended only for archers or musketeers, as no port-holes for cannon exist. It is undoubtedly the finest wall surrounding any city now extant. Near the gates, of which there are sixteen in all, the walls are faced with stone, but in other places with these large bricks, laid in a concrete of lime and clay, which in process of time becomes almost as durable as stone. The intermediate space between facings is filled up with the earth taken from the ditch which surrounds the city. Square buttresses occur at intervals of sixty yards on the outer face, each projecting fifty feet, and every sixth one being twice the size of the others; their tops furnish room for the troops posted there to resist side attacks. Each gate is surmounted with a brick tower of many stories, over a hundred feet high, built in galleries with port-holes, and giving a very imposing appearance to the city as one approaches it from the wide plain. The gates of the Manchu city have a double entrance formed by joining their supporting bastions with a circular wall in which are side entrances, thus making an enceinte of several acres, in which the yellow-tiled temple to the tutelary God of War is conspicuous. The arches of all the gates are built solidly of granite; the massive doors are closed and barred every night soon after dark.

~GENERAL ASPECT OF THE CAPITAL.~

At the sides of the gates, and also between them, are esplanades for mounting to the top; this is shut to the common people, and the guards are not allowed to bring their women upon the wall, which would be deemed an affront to Kwantí. The moat around the city is fed from the Tunghwui River, which also supplies all the other canals leading across or through the city. The approach to Peking from Tung chau is by an elevated stone road, but nothing of the buildings inside the walls is seen; and were it not for the lofty towers over the gates, it would more resemble an encampment inclosed by a massive wall than a large metropolis. No spires or towers of churches, no pillars or monuments, no domes or minarets, nor even many dwellings of superior elevation, break the dull uniformity of this or any Chinese city. In Peking, the different colored yellow or green tiles on official buildings,[30] mixed with the brown roofs of common houses, impart a variety to the scene, but the chief objects to relieve the monotony are the large clumps of trees, and the flag-staffs in pairs near the temples. The view from the walls impresses one with the grand ideas of the founders of the city; and the palaces in the Forbidden City, towering above everything else, worthily exhibit their notions of what was befitting the sovereigns of the Middle Kingdom. The Bell and Clock Towers, the Prospect Hill, the dagobas, pagodas, and gate towers, and lastly the Temple of Heaven, are all likewise visible from this point, and render the scene picturesque and peculiar.[31]

REFERENCES.

A. The Meridian Gate.

B. Gate of Extensive Peace.

C. Hall of Perfect Peace.

D. Hall of Secure Peace.

E. Palace of Heaven--the Emperor’s.

F. Palace of Earth’s Repose--the Empress’.

G. Gate to Earth’s Repose, leads to a Garden.

H. Ching-hwang miao.

I. Temple of Great Happiness.

J. Northern gate of Forbidden City.

K. Nui Koh, or Privy Council Chamber, lies within the wall.

K. Gate of Heavenly Rest.

L. Hall of Intense Mental Exercises.

M. Library, or Hall of Literary Abyss.

N. Imperial Ancestral Hall.

O. Hall of National Portraits.

P. Printing Office.

Q. Court of Controllers of Imperial Clan.

R. Marble Isle: a marble bridge leads to it.

S. Five Dragon Pavilion.

T. Great Ancestral Temple.

U. Altar to the Gods of Land and Grain.

V. Artificial Mountain. The Russian school lies just north of the
Eastern gate near N.

W. A summer-house.

X. Military Examination Hall.

Y. Plantain Garden, or Conservatory.

Z. A Pavilion.

_a._ Medical College.

_b._ Astronomical Board.

_c._ Five of the Six Boards. The Hanlin Yuen lies just above them.

_d._ House of the Russian Mission.

_e._ Colonial Office.

_f._ Temple for Imperial worship.

_g._ Imperial Observatory, partly on the wall.

_h._ Hall of Literary Examination.

_i._ Russian Church of the Assumption.

_j._ Temple of Eternal Peace of the lamas.

_k._ Kwoh Tsz’ Kien, a Manchu College.

_l._ Temple of the God of the North Star.

_m._ High Watch-tower and Police Office.

_n._ Board of Punishments.

_o._ Censorate.

_p._ Mohammedan Mosque.

_q._ Portuguese Church.

_r._ Elephant’s Inclosure.

_s._ Principal Ching-hwang miau.

_t._ Temple of Deceased Emperors of all ages.

_u._ Obelisk covering a scab of Buddha.

_v._ Altar to Heaven.--Altar to Earth is on the north of the city.

_w._ Altar to Agriculture.

_x._ Black Dragon Pool, and Temple of God of Rain.

_y._ Altar to the Moon.

_z._ Altar to the Sun.]

The plan of the city here given is reduced from a large Chinese map, but is not very exact. The northern portion occupies for the most part the same area as the Cambaluc of Marco Polo, which, however, extended about two miles north, where the remains of the old north wall of the Mongols still exist. On their expulsion Hungwu erected the present northern wall, and his son Yungloh rebuilt the other three sides in 1419 on a rather larger scale; but the arrangement of the streets and gates is due to the Great Khan. When taken possession of by the Manchus in 1644, they found a magnificent city ready for them, uninjured and strong, which they apportioned among their officers and bannermen; but necessity soon obliged these men, less frugal and thrifty than the natives, to sell them, and content themselves with humbler abodes; consequently, the greater part of the northern city is now tenanted by Chinese. The innermost inclosure in the _Nui Ching_ contains the palace and its surrounding buildings; the second is occupied by barracks and public offices, and by many private residences; the outer one, for the most part, consists of dwelling-houses, with shops in the large avenues. The inner inclosure measures 6.3 _li_, or 2.23 miles, in circuit, and is called _Tsz’ Kin Ching_, or ‘Carnation Prohibited City;’ the wall is less solid and high than the city wall; it is covered with bright yellow tiles, guarded by numerous stations of bannermen and gendarmerie, and surrounded by a deep, wide moat. Two gates, the _Tung-hwa_ and _Sí-hwa_, on the east and west, afford access to the interior of this habitation of the Emperor, as well as the space and rooms appertaining, which furnish lodgment to the guard defending the approach to the Dragon’s Throne; a tower at each corner, and one over each gateway, also give accommodation to other troops. The interior of this inclosure is divided into three parts by two walls running from south to north, and the whole is occupied by a suite of court-yards and halls, which, in their arrangement and architecture, far exceed any other specimens of the kind in China. According to the notions of a common Chinese, all here is gold and silver; “he will tell you of gold and silver pillars, gold and silver roofs, and gold and silver vases, in which swim gold and silver fishes.”

~PALACES OF THE PROHIBITED CITY.~

The southern gate, called the _Wu Măn_, or ‘Meridian Gate,’ is the fourth in going north from the entrance opposite the _Tsien Măn_, and this distance of nearly half a mile is occupied by troops. The _Wu Măn_ leads into the middle division, in which are the imperial buildings; it is especially appropriated to the Emperor, and whenever he passes through it, a bell placed in the tower above is struck; when his troops return in triumph, a drum is beaten, and the prisoners are here presented to him; here, too, the presents he confers on vassals and ambassadors are pompously bestowed. Passing through this gate into a large court, over a small creek spanned by five marble bridges, ornamented with sculptures, the visitor is led through the _Tai-ho Măn_ into a second court paved with marble, and terminated on the sides by gates, porticos, and pillared corridors. The next building, at the head of this court, called the _Tai-ho tien_, or ‘Hall of Highest Peace,’ is a superb marble structure, one hundred and ten feet high, standing on a terrace that raises it twenty feet above the ground; five flights of stairs, decorated with balustrades and sculptures, lead up to it, and five doors open through it into the next court-yard. It is a great hall of seventy-two pillars, measuring about two hundred feet by ninety broad, with a throne in the midst. Here the Emperor holds his levees on New Year’s Day, his birthdays, and other state occasions; a cortége of about fifty household courtiers stand near him, while those of noble and inferior dignity and rank stand in the court below in regular grades, and, when called upon, fall prostrate as they all make the fixed obeisances. It was in this hall that Titsingh and Van Braam were banqueted by Kienlung, January 20, 1795, of which interesting ceremony the Dutch embassador gives an account, and since which event no European has entered the building. The three _Tien_ in this inclosure are the audience halls, and the side buildings contain stores and treasures under the charge of the Household Board, with minor bureaus.

Beyond it are two halls; the first, the _Chung-ho tien_, or ‘Hall of Central Peace,’ having a circular roof, that rests on columns arranged nearly four-square. Here the Emperor comes to examine the written prayers provided to be offered at the state worship. The second is the _Pao-ho tien_, or ‘Hall of Secure Peace,’ elevated on a high marble terrace, and containing nine rows of pillars. The highest degrees for literary merit are here conferred triennially by the Emperor upon one hundred and fifty or more scholars; here, also, he banquets his foreign guests and other distinguished persons the day before New Year’s Day. After ascending a stairway, and passing the _Kien Tsing Măn_, the visitor reaches the _Kien Tsing Kung_, or ‘Palace of Heavenly Purity,’ into which no one can enter without special license. In it is the council-chamber, where the Emperor usually sits at morning audience up to eight o’clock, to transact business with his ministers, and see those appointed to office. The building is the most important as it is described to be the loftiest and most magnificent of all the palaces. In the court before it is a small tower of gilt copper, adorned with a great number of figures, and on each side are large incense vases, the uses of which are no doubt religious. It was in this palace that Kanghí celebrated a singular and unique festival, in 1722, for all the men in the empire over sixty years of age, that being the sixtieth year of his reign. His grandson Kienlung, in 1785, in the fiftieth year of his reign, repeated the ceremony, on which occasion the number of guests was about three thousand.[32] Beyond it stands the ‘Palace of Earth’s Repose,’ where ‘Heaven’s consort’ rules her miniature court in the imperial harem; there are numerous buildings of lesser size in this part of the inclosure, and adjoining the northern wall of the Forbidden City is the imperial Flower Garden, designed for the use of its inmates. The gardens are adorned with elegant pavilions, temples, and groves, and interspersed with canals, fountains, pools, and flower-beds. Two groves rising from the bosoms of small lakes, and another crowning the summit of an artificial mountain, add to the beauty of the scene, and afford the inmates of the palace an agreeable variety.

In the eastern division of the Prohibited City are the offices of the Cabinet, where its members hold their sessions, and the treasury of the palace. North of it lies the ‘Hall of Intense Thought,’ where sacrifices are presented to Confucius and other sages. Not far from this hall stands the _Wăn-yuen koh_, or the Library, the catalogue of whose contents is published from time to time, forming an admirable synopsis of Chinese literature. At the northern end of the eastern division are numerous palaces and buildings occupied by princes of the blood, and those connected with them; and in this quarter is placed the _Fung Sien tien_, a small temple where the Emperor comes to ‘bless his ancestors.’ Here the Emperor and his family perform their devotions before the tablets of their departed progenitors; whenever he leaves or returns to his palace, the first day of a season, and on other occasions, the monarch goes through his devotions in this hall.

The western division contains a great variety of edifices devoted to public and private purposes, among which may be mentioned the hall of distinguished sovereigns, statesmen, and literati, the printing-office, the Court of Controllers for the regulation of the receipts and disbursements of the court, and the _Ching-hwang Miao_, or ‘Guardian Temple’ of the city. The number of people residing within the Prohibited City cannot be stated, but probably is not large; most of them are Manchus.

~IMPERIAL CITY.~

The second inclosure, which surrounds the imperial palaces, is called _Hwang Ching_, or ‘Imperial City,’ and is an oblong rectangle about six miles in circuit, encompassed by a wall twenty feet high, and having a gate in each face. From the southern gate, called the _Tien-an Măn_, or ‘Heavenly Rest,’ a broad avenue leads up to the _Kin Ching_; and before it, outside of the wall, is an extensive space walled in, and having one entrance on the south, called the gate of Great Purity, which no one is allowed to enter except on foot, unless by special permission. On the right of the avenue within the wall is a gateway leading to the _Tai Miao_, or ‘Great Temple’ of the imperial ancestors, a large collection of buildings inclosed by a wall 3,000 feet in circuit. It is the most honored of religious structures next to the Temple of Heaven, and contains tablets to princes and meritorious officers. Here offerings are presented before the tablets of deceased emperors and empresses, and worship performed at the end of the year by the members of the imperial family and clan to their departed forefathers. Across the avenue from this temple is a gateway leading to the _Shié-Tsih tan_, or altar of the gods of Land and Grain. These were originally _Kau-lung_, a Minister of Works, B.C. 2500, and _Hau-tsih_, a remote ancestor of Chau Kung; here the Emperor sacrifices in spring and autumn. This altar consists of two stories, each five feet high, the upper one being fifty-eight feet square; no other altar of the kind is found in the empire, and it would be tantamount to high treason to erect one and worship upon it. The north, east, south, and west altar are respectively black, green, red, and white, and the top yellow; the ceremonies connected with the worship held here are among the most ancient practised among the Chinese.

~PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND PARKS.~