NOTE

There is so little in this volume which is drawn from other sources than personal observation, and information obtained from our Chinese and missionary friends on the spot, that I have thought well not to burden the reader with foot-notes. The various details as to the religions of China are mainly drawn from an interesting little volume by Giles, “Religions of Ancient China,” Smith’s “Uplift of China,” and Hackmann’s “Buddhism as a Religion”; while the account of the railways is from Kent’s “Railway Enterprise in China.”

The spelling of Chinese names is according to the most recent standard map, giving the orthography of the Chinese Imperial Post Office.

CONTENTS

Preface [vii]
Note [ix]
I. Shanghai [1]
II. Shantung, the German Sphere of Influence [13]
III. A Day in the Country (Shantung) [20]
IV. Shantung Silk [27]
V. Tsinan [31]
VI. The Sacred Shrine of Tai Shan [45]
VII. The Home of Confucius: Küfow [53]
VIII. The Yellow River and Grand Canal [66]
IX. Journey into Shansi in 1893 [73]
X. Taiyüanfu [81]
XI. Peking [92]
XII. The Péhan Railway: from Peking to Hankow [106]
XIII. On the Yangtze: Ichang to Wanhsien [116]
XIV. Szechwan High-roads [145]
XV. Chengtu [161]
XVI. The Min River [173]
XVII. Mount Omi [182]
XVIII. From Szechwan into Yünnan [195]
XIX. The Road to Yünnan Fu [208]
XX. Yünnan Fu [218]
XXI. Tali Fu [234]
XXII. Tali Fu to Teng Yueh [241]
XXIII. From China into Burma [252]
XXIV. The Present Situation in China [257]
Table of Dynasties [271]
Index [273]

ILLUSTRATIONS

Coloured Plates
Portrait of Author as Chinese “Female Traveling Scholar” ([p. 236])[Frontispiece]
Tea-House in Old Shanghai [6]
A Suburb of Weihsien [16]
A Village School [24]
Official (Court Dress) [30]
Mountain Chair [46]
Tai Shan [48]
Private House: Küfow [54]
Confucian Temple [56]
Mounted Military Escort [64]
Our Houseboat, Grand Canal [69]
Camel Inn [74]
Opium Refuge [80]
Theatre Stage [82]
Pagoda [84]
Tiger Brave [86]
Scholar—Southern Servant [91]
City Wall of Peking [92]
Temple of Heaven [96]
A Lady of Quality—An Official [100]
Boxer—Kachin Woman ([p. 253]) [104]
Mr. Ku [106]
The Brakeman on the Péhan Railway [108]
Ancestral Tablet [120]
Blue Dawn [122]
Yeh Tan Rapid [124]
Village and Junk [132]
The Look-out on the Yangtze [134]
Camel-back Bridge [144]
Szechwan Highway [150]
Sunlight and Mist in the Mountains [158]
Buddhist Monastery [166]
Military Yamen [171]
House on Min River [179]
Otter Fishing on Min River [181]
Mount Omi Bridge [187]
Summit of Mount Omi [192]
Copper Idol, Sui Fu [196]
Cormorants on the Cormorant River [198]
Laowatan River [201]
Wha Miao [206]
Bridegroom—Funeral Pagoda [213]
Temple of the God of Literature [221]
Fellow-Travellers [226]
Tomb of a Philosopher among Rice-fields [229]
Tali Fu [235]
Shan Woman [249]
Sepia Drawings
Cemetery of Confucius [61]
Old Examination Buildings [88]
Great Wall [110]
Chinese Graves [116]
River-side Shrine [141]
The Chef on the Yangtze [141]
City Gate: Chengtu [160]
Police Boatman: Min River [181]
Signboard of Inn [181]
Buddhist Monk beating Fish Gong while Chanting [189]
Tiger Shrine [189]
Our Military Escort [203]
“Orphan Spirit” Shrine [203]
Tower of Refuge [204]
“Omi to fu” Shrine [204]
Miao Woman [206]
Upland Village [208]
Uh Chai [208]
Yünnan Hat [211]
Lolo Woman [211]
Village Screen Wall [233]
Carrying-Chair [233]
Suspension-Bridge [243]
Bridge made of Creepers [244]

THE FACE OF CHINA

CHAPTER I
Shanghai

My first voyage to China was unspeakably distasteful, and as we neared Hong Kong we were suddenly caught up in the tail of a typhoon and carried for forty-eight hours wherever it pleased to take us. Most of that time we were without food, and could not even get a cup of tea; while we found it hard work to cling to a seat. When we emerged from the storm, and steamed into the wonderful bay of Hong Kong, it seemed like Paradise; it looked to my eyes the most beautiful harbour I had ever seen: and I have seen nearly all the most celebrated ones, without feeling tempted to change my opinion. The first introduction to a new country, if it happens to be when the faculties are specially quickened, makes an indelible impression, and from this time China has been to me a land of infinite charm and beauty. The more I have seen of it, the more I have realised its fascination; even its ugliness is interesting.