The construction of forts and towers presents little worthy of observation, since there is no other evidence of science than what the erection of lines of massive stone wall displays. The port-holes are too large for protection and the parapet too slight to resist modern missiles. The Chinese idea of a fortification is a wall along the water’s edge, with embrasures and battlements, and a plain wall landward without port-holes or parapets, enclosing an area in which a few houses accommodate the garrison and ammunition. Some erected at the junction of streams are pierced on all sides; others are so unscientifically planned that the walls can be scaled at angles where not a single gun can be brought to bear. The towers are rectangular edifices of brick on a stone foundation, forty feet square and fifty or sixty high, to be entered by ladders through a door half way up the side.
The forts in the neighborhood of Canton, probably among the best in the Empire, are all constructed without fosse, bastion, glacis, or counter-defence of any kind. Both arrangement and placement are alike faulty: some are square and approachable without danger; others circular on the outer face but with flank or rear exposed; others again built on a hillside like a pound, so that the garrison, if dislodged from the battlements, are forced to fly up the slope in full range of their enemy’s fire. The gate is on the side, unprotected by ditch, drawbridge, or portcullis, and poorly defended by guns upon the walls or in the area behind. In general the points chosen for their forts display a misapprehension of the true principles of defence, though some may be noted as occupying commanding positions.
In recent times mud defences and batteries of sand-bags have proved a much safer defence than such buildings against ships and artillery, and show the aptitude of the people to adopt practical things. Though not particularly resolute on the field, the Chinese soldier stands well to his guns when behind a fortification of whose strength he is assured. The forts which have recently been constructed under supervision of European engineers are rapidly taking the place of native works in all parts of the country.
Dress, like other things, undergoes its changes in China, and fashions alter there as well as elsewhere, but they are not as rapid or as striking as among European nations. The full costume of both sexes is, in general terms, commodious and graceful, combining all the purposes of warmth, beauty, and ease which could be desired, excepting always the shaven crown and braided queue of the men and the crippled feet of the women, in both of which fashions they have not less outraged nature than deformed themselves. On this point different tastes exist, and some prefer the close-fitting dress of Europeans to the loose robes of Asiatics; but when one has become in a measure habituated to the latter, one is willing to allow the force of the criticism that the European male costume is “a mysterious combination of the inconvenient and the unpicturesque: hot in summer and cold in winter, useless for either keeping off rain or sun, stiff but not plain, bare without being simple, not durable, not becoming, and not cheap.” The Chinese dress has remained, in its general style, the same for centuries; and garments of fur or silk are handed down from parent to child without fear of attracting attention by their antique shapes. The fabrics most worn are silk, cotton, and grass-cloth for summer, with the addition of furs and skins in winter; woollen is used sparingly, and almost wholly of foreign manufacture.
Barber’s Establishment, showing also the Dress of the Common People.
VARIETY AND MATERIAL OF APPAREL.
The principal articles of dress are inner and outer tunics of various lengths made of cotton or silk, reaching below the loins or to the feet; the lapel on the right side folds over the breast and fits close about the neck, which is left uncovered. The sleeves are much wider and longer than the arms, have no cuffs or facings, and in common cases serve for pockets. A Chinese, instead of saying “he pocketed the book,” would say “he sleeved it.” In robes of ceremony the end of the sleeve resembles a horse’s hoof, and good breeding requires the hand to be kept in a position to exhibit the cuff when sitting. In warm weather one upper garment is deemed sufficient; in winter a dozen can be put on without discommodity, and this number is sometimes actually seen upon persons engaged in sedentary employments, or on those who sit in the air. Latterly, underwear of flannel has become common among the better dressed, who like the knitted fabric so close-fitting and warm. The lower limbs are comparatively slightly protected; a pair of loose trousers, covered to the knee by cloth stockings, is the usual summer garment; tight leggings are pulled over both in winter and attached to the girdle by loops; and as the trousers are rather voluminous and the tunic short, the excess shows behind from under these leggings in a rather unpleasant manner. Gentlemen and officers always wear a robe with the skirt opened at the sides, which conceals this intermission of the under apparel. The colors preferred for outer garments are various hues of buff, purple, or blue.