Ancient Chinese books in speaking of their character, say: “Their natural disposition is light and ostentatious, fond of talk, artfully specious, with little truth or sincerity—the people of Canton are silly, light, weak in body and in mind, and without any ability to fight. The Chinese believe in sorcery and demons, and lay stress on a multiplicity of sacrifices—they have tattooed bodies, and short hair.” Of these ancient features of their character, they still retain a fondness of talk, are specious, crafty and insincere; their timidity and weakness, also still remain; they believe in sorcery and demons, and lay stress on a multiplicity of sacrifices. Sir Thomas Herbert in his quaint language, says: “The Chinese are no quarrellers, albeit voluptuous, costly in their sports, great gamesters, and in trading, too subtle for young merchants; oft-times so wedded to deceiving, that after they have lost their whole estate, wife and children are staked; yet in a little time, Jewlike, by gleaning here and there, they are able to redeem their loss; and if not at the promised day, wife and children are then sold in the market.” The Chinese settlers throughout the Indian Archipelago, are described as being at once enterprising, keen, laborious, luxurious, sensual, debauched, and pusillanimous; they are generally engaged in trade, in which they are equally speculative, expert, and judicious. Their superior intelligence and activity have placed in their hands the management of the public revenue, in almost every country of the Archipelago, whether ruled by native or European: the traffic of the Archipelago, with the surrounding foreign states, is almost wholly conducted by them.
There is scarcely a government gazette published at Peking; almost daily, placards are posted at the principal places about Canton and its suburbs, giving accounts of murders, and insurrections, robberies, shocking and unnatural crimes of kidnapping, infanticides, suicides, and of all the beastly and unnatural crimes of which the world ever heard or read. The various modes of punishment resorted to by the government, and the unequal distribution of justice, are revolting to humanity, and most disgusting and loathsome in the recital. I will relate one case to show, that, in modern times, the Chinese are not less refined in their cruelties, than when Ta-he, the queen of Chow, among many other horrible inventions, caused brazen rollers to be heated, and then smeared with an unctuous matter, so that she might have the supreme pleasure of seeing miserable culprits, fruitlessly endeavouring to pass this burning bridge, and continually slipping into a tremendous fire, there to meet with a death horrible in the extreme. The case to which I have alluded, took place in the year 1813, when the emperor of China convicted a eunuch of being concerned in a treasonable conspiracy. The victim had been a favourite servant of the emperor’s father, Keen-lung, who had conferred upon him many favours. The poor wretch was bound round with cords and canvass, to which was added a quantity of tallow and other combustible matter, so as to convert him into a gigantic candle, and he was slowly consumed at his father’s grave: the wretched being died in tortures the most excruciating that imagination can conceive!
COURT CEREMONIES.
As our departure from hence will be for the kingdoms of Cochin-China, and Siam, to effect suitable commercial treaties with those countries, and as similar court ceremonies are there used as at the court of Pekin, I herewith present a memoir, written by a most worthy and highly respectable clergyman, the Reverend Doctor Morrison of Canton, upon the subject of court ceremonies, observed from the lower to the higher dignitaries throughout the Chinese empire, from the simple joining of the hands and raising them before the breast, to the climax of all that is debasing, the ceremony called the San-kwei-kew-kow, or “kneeling three different times, and at each time knocking the head thrice against the ground.”—“What are called ceremonies, sometimes affect materially the idea of equality. They are not always mere forms, but revelations of a language, as intelligible as words. Some ceremonies are perfectly indifferent, as whether the form of salutation be taking off the hat and bowing the head, or keeping it on and bowing it low, with the hands folded below the breast; these, the one English, and the other Chinese, are equally good. There is, however, a difference of submission and devotedness, expressed by different postures of the body; and some nations feel an almost instinctive reluctance to the stronger expression of submission. Standing and bending the head, for instance, are less than kneeling on one knee, that is less so than kneeling on both knees; and the latter posture less humiliating than kneeling on two knees, and putting the hands and forehead to the ground; doing this once, is, in the apprehension of the Chinese, less than doing it three, six, or nine times.
“Waiving the question, whether it be proper for one human being to use such strong expressions of submission to another or not; when any, even the strongest of these forms are reciprocal, they do not destroy the idea of equality, or of mutual independence; if they are not reciprocally performed, the last of the forms expresses in the strongest manner, the submission and homage of one person or state to another; and, in this light, the Tartar family, now on the throne of China, consider the ceremony called San-kwei-kew-kow thrice kneeling, and nine times beating the head against the ground. Those nations of Europe who consider themselves tributary and yielding homage to China, should perform the Tartar ceremony; those who do not so consider themselves, should not perform it. The English ambassador, Macartney, appears to have understood correctly the meaning of the ceremony, and proposed the only alternative which could enable him to perform it; viz., a Chinese of equal rank performing it to the king of England’s picture.
“Perhaps a promise from the Chinese court, that should an ambassador ever go from thence to England, he would perform it in the king’s presence, might have enabled him to do it. These remarks will probably convince the reader that the English government acts as every civilized government ought to act, when she endeavours to cultivate a good understanding, and liberal intercourse with China, while, using those endeavours, she never contemplates yielding homage, and wisely refuses to perform by her ambassador, that ceremony which is the expression of homage.
“The lowest form by which respect is shown in China at this day, is kung-show, that is, joining the hands and raising them before the breast. The next is tsa-yih, that is, bowing low with the hands joined. The third is ta-tseen, bending the knee as if about to kneel. The fourth is kwei, to kneel. The fifth is ko-tow, kneeling and striking the head against the ground. The sixth, san-kow, striking the head three times against the earth before rising from the knees. The seventh, luh-kow, that is, kneeling and striking the forehead three times; rising on the feet, kneeling down again, and striking the head, again, three times on the earth. The climax is closed by the sun-kwei-kew-kow, kneeling three different times, and at each time knocking the head thrice against the ground. Some of the gods of China are entitled only to the san-kow; others to the luh-kow; the teen (heaven) and the emperor, are worshipped with the san-kwei-kew-kow.”
BEGGARS.
Beggars are licensed by the government, confined within particular districts, and are under the control of certain officers. If any are found wandering beyond their designated limits, they are liable to be punished by the officer who has charge over them; in addition to this, they seldom escape being severely beaten by the mendicants whose district they invade. They are all registered, and receive a small monthly allowance of rice, which, together with the alms they obtain, barely suffices to keep them from starving. Great numbers die in the streets, in the winter, from cold and want of food, and are buried at the public expense. A beggar is seldom forcibly driven away from a door; for, should that occur, a complaint would be instantly made to the proper officer, and the offender would be punished, or be squeezed, as the Chinese term it, or mulct in a heavy fine. On the 28th November, 1832, public notice was given, for the beggars of a certain district, to assemble in front of the foreign factories, “upon important measures, touching the interests of the fraternity.” It was stated, that certain impostors, from other districts, had been guilty of the great crime of begging within their limits; and it was therefore necessary that the name of each person should be ascertained, that he might be brought before the proper officer for punishment, and be driven into his own proper district. Great numbers assembled, toward sunset, after the regular begging hours were over. I had the curiosity to visit this horrible group of unfortunates for a few moments, and the recollection of the scene can never be effaced from my memory. The blind, halt, and lame, were there, of all ages and of both sexes; a more motley group, or a more disgusting spectacle, was never before seen. They were squalid and ragged, filthy, and covered with vermin. Many a blind Bartelmy, and many a Lazarus, were lying there, literally covered with sores. I returned home, sincerely thanking God that I was not thus wretched, and that I stood in no need of a temporal physician to cure me of any loathsome disease.
Blindness is a very common misfortune in China; it is said to be caused generally by depriving the head of almost its entire natural covering, by being closely shaven, and using no effectual guard to protect it from the extremes of the weather: none wear turbans, and but few hats or umbrellas; slight paper fans being in general use. We were informed, that many a child was made blind by the use of caustic, applied by its parents, or by those who purchased it, for the purpose of exciting compassion, in order to increase their gains in the practice of soliciting alms. There are few sights so ridiculously amusing, in the suburbs of Canton, as these untiring vagabonds: they are an excessive annoyance to shop-keepers: a stranger cannot walk without seeing a number of them assembled in the shop of some obstinate fellow, who apparently seems determined to tire them out.