Kathay: A Cruise in the China Seas

by W. Hastings Macaulay

The principal trade appeared to be in opium. There were two receiving ships in the bay, and from the general appearance of the people, would be led to suppose that a great deal of it was smoked by them, and this accounted for their apathy and want of energy.

It must end so, that this opium trade will be the ruin of China, for in its use it not only enervates the people, but it is procured by draining the country of the precious metals, and it may be fairly stated, that for every ounce of opium brought into the country, nearly its weight in Sycee silver has been extracted.

The town of Amoy presents the same features as Shanghae, and other Chinese cities: streets narrow and filthy, and dirt abundant, an equal number of offensive smells pervade the atmosphere, and as many disgusting sights offend the eye; beggars, to be sure, are not so common as at Shanghae, but the inhabitants have a squalid look, as if too lazy to beg. Infanticide—or if I may be allowed to coin a word for this peculiar kind of child murder on account of its being confined entirely to the female sex—"Puellacide" is said to prevail to a greater extent in this region than even in Canton itself. Whilst sons are considered an honor, and their growth looked upon as a matter of profit, the giving birth to a daughter is proportionably a disgrace, and the rearing of it a disadvantage, consequently the female infant is generally allowed but a few moments existence in "this breathing world," and is usually strangled by the hands of its unnatural mother immediately upon its birth. The manner in which this act is said to be performed, is by filling up the mouth of the babe with rice, and holding its nostrils closed with the hand until suffocation is produced.

It is hard to suppose that a mother can thus act towards her offspring, but it is known to be too true, and it may be a better fate than is reserved for many of the sex whose lives have been spared, for so useless an incumbrance are females considered in the families of the lower orders, and so little regard have their parents for them, that even before they grow up, they are often sold for the worst purposes.

A Chinese woman, who had been converted to Christianity, confessed, that in her ignorance, she had destroyed seven of her own infants, females of course, not considering the custom of her country, at that time, a crime.

Although there is but little to interest one in the town of Amoy, there are several pleasant places in its vicinity. Yet every where appeared the evidence of "decay's effacing fingers." On the opposite side of the bay was once a flourishing site, which previous to the attack of the English had been the residence of the wealthier citizens, mandarins, etc. When the British troops invested this place, they occupied these buildings as barracks; and being withdrawn after the treaty, left them in a ruinous condition. They have not been used since, and the large gardens, evidently at one time cultivated with much taste, have now run to waste. In these were romantic grottoes, in which are curiously carved resting-places, cut out of the rock.

The English burial ground is in this neighborhood; it is a small place, and walled in. The mortality amongst the troops was very great during the occupancy of this place, and this area is said to contain over a regiment of soldiers.

The American cemetery is more prepossessing in appearance. It is situated in a picturesque valley, full of beautiful trees, and did not contain many graves. From it there is a fine view of the bay and islands, and the city of Amoy.

In crossing the bay on our return, there was pointed out a singularly shaped rock in height about thirty feet, with a narrow base, and swelling out as it ascended, in appearance similar to a boy's top. The Chinese have a startling prophecy connected with it, which is, that when it shall fall, the present dynasty of China will also decline; reminding one of the Latin saying, "When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall." But Rome has fallen, and the Coliseum still stands! Will the parallel hold good between this rock and China? The island of Koo-lung-Seu, when the British made the attack upon Amoy, appears to have been well fortified, but the Chinese committed a great error in the training of their guns, or rather in placing them so as to have been unable to take any other range than point blank! Here is a fort mounting upwards of fifty guns of large calibre, which would have commanded the bay, but the embrasures are so small as barely to admit the muzzle of the gun, the breech of which was imbedded in the earth. These were soon silenced, as may well be supposed, by the attacking squadron taking a position beyond their range, and training their own batteries to bear upon the Chinese gunners within, who kept blazing away into the unresisting air, whilst the British riddled the fort at leisure. The mandarin in charge, a Tartar, who would not be caught, drowned himself.

From Mr. Bradley, our intelligent Consul at Amoy, who appears to have devoted much time to the study of the Chinese and their customs, obtained a great deal of information respecting them.