CHINA.
The participation of China at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was authorized by an imperial decree issued in January, 1903. The same decree appointed an imperial commission, as follows:
His Royal Highness Prince Pu Lun, imperial high commissioner; Sir Robert Hart, Bart., G.C.M.G. (inspector-general of customs), president ex-officio; Mr. Wong Kai-Pah, imperial vice-commissioner; Mr. Francis A. Carl, imperial vice-commissioner; Mr. D. Percebois, secretary of Chinese imperial commission; Mr. J.A. Berthet, assistant to secretary of Chinese imperial commission.
The amount set apart by the Chinese Government to meet the expenses connected with China's participation in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was 750,000 taels, or, roughly speaking, $500,000 gold. As with all previous expositions in which China has taken part, the collecting of exhibits was intrusted to the imperial Chinese maritime customs service, under the control of Sir Robert Hart, Bart., G.C.M.G., inspector-general of customs. This service, with its numerous branches and ramifications throughout the Empire and an experienced staff acquainted with both native and foreign tastes was in an exceptional position to succeed in making a representative collection of the best in Chinese arts, manufactures, and products. The commissioners of customs at the principal trading centers took the work in hand, selecting such exhibits as were suitable when offered by merchants, and purchasing outright such articles as could not be procured otherwise. The collections were made at the following treaty ports: Newchang, Tientsin, Chefoo, Chungking, Hankow, Kiukiang, Wuhu, Nanking, Chinkiang, Shanghai, Hangchow, Ningpo, Wenchow, Foochow, Amoy, Swatow, Canton, Pakhoi, Kiungchow, Mengtse, Lungchow, and Szemao.
Besides the Government exhibits from the foregoing-mentioned places, the provincial authorities of Hupeh, Hunan, Kiangaan, and Fukien also made collections. This is noteworthy, as it was the first time on record that the regular Chinese officials have taken any interest in a foreign exhibition. In addition to the Government participation, fifty-three firms and private individuals sent their quota of exhibits. The following table gives the kind, class, and approximate value of exhibits installed by each:
Porcelain curios, cloisonne, carpets, art work in metal,
tapestries, furniture, silks, ivory, fans, and jade …… $510,200
Furs and skins …………………………………….. 6,500
Cement and fire bricks ……………………………… 1,000
Fancy articles, wood carvings, paintings, and drawings, etc 11,600
Collections of butterflies ………………………….. 100
Preserved meats, fish, vegetables, and fruit ………….. 100
Chinese postal stamps and coins ……………………… 5,000
Silverware and lanterns …………………………….. 2,750
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Total …………………………………………… 537,250
Government exhibits ………………………………… 40,000
Provincial ………………………………………… 61,000
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Grand total ……………………………………… 638,250
The collection made by the twenty-two treaty ports comprised such articles as were not offered by the mercantile class. In nearly every case the ports' collection included samples of products and manufactures typical to the district, models of the prevailing architecture and of any special costume worn by the people, models of the types of boats in use, carriages and wheelwrights' work, agricultural implements and farm machinery, appliances and methods used in agricultural industries, agricultural seeds, equipment and method employed in the preparation of foods, minerals and stones and their utilization, musical instruments, chemical and pharmaceutical arts, gold and silver ware, weights and measures, coins and medals, and photographs of the port. The collections made by the provincial authorities comprised art work in jade, crystal, porcelain and bronze, Chinese books and publications, lacquered ware and fancy articles.
The total approximate value as given above was $638,250, but this sum included the cost of transportation and installation. It represents in fact the market value in the United States. There was in the neighborhood of 2,000 tons of shipments from China to St. Louis—800 tons from the south of China, and 1,200 from the north of China. The rate from the south of China, i.e., Hongkong, was $8 per ton, while from the north of China, i.e., Shanghai, or nearly 900 miles shorter trip, the rate was $14 per ton. The amount paid for transportation was more than $20,000, to which must be added some $2,000 for terminal and switching charges. The cost of installation for the entire exhibit was about $7,500. The exorbitant wages necessary for all work done at the exposition accounts for this heavy expenditure. Another large item of expense, according to the Chinese commissioner, was the 5 per cent rate charged in this country for fire insurance. Most of the foreign countries taking part in the exposition effected insurance in home companies at about half the above rate.
The total cost of the Chinese Government Pavilion amounted to $75,000. It was partly a reproduction of a portion of Prince Pu Lun's palace at Peking. Models were sent from China and copied in this country, the large arch at the entrance being a "Pai-Lou," or memorial arch, common in China as entrances to palaces, temples, and tombs. A small octagonal pavilion or tea house was shown. They are always at some beautiful spot in the gardens of the wealthy. Two flagstaffs outside were also copies of Chinese models. The wood carvings were very expensive, and good examples of what the Chinese workman can do in that line. Special men from China were imported to carry out the designs of the building and to do the painting in the Chinese style.
The space occupied by the Chinese in the Liberal Arts Palace was 28,000 square feet, and, with the exception of another 1,500 square feet in the Educational Department, China was not represented in other buildings of the exposition. The small exhibit in the Educational Palace was not an attempt to illustrate the Chinese system of education. It was intended simply to give the world an idea of the work being done by foreign societies—missionary and otherwise—in the educational line in China.